The Boy Ranchers of Puget Sound Part 27

Harry made a sign of a.s.sent.

"I guess you've hit it first time, but I'll go up and get the mainsail on her. I can manage it alone with two reefs in, and you can stay where you are until your clothes are a little drier, unless I call you."

He went out, and Frank heard a clatter of blocks and flutter of canvas.

After that there was a sharp rattling as Harry hauled in the anchor chain, and then the boat suddenly slanted over with a jerk which flung Frank backward against the side of her. As he got up he heard the water splash about her bows. A few minutes later they began to swing sharply up and down, and the thuds against them made it evident that the sloop was plunging close-hauled through a short, head sea. By and by the plunges grew more violent, and struggling into his clothes, which were partly dry, Frank put out the lamp and crawled out into the well. For a minute or two he could see nothing as he held on by the weather coaming, though he felt the buffeting of the wind and the sting of the spray upon his face. Then by degrees he made out that the sloop was lying down on one side, with the small black strip of her double-reefed mainsail slanting sharply above her, and a filmy white cloud flying at her bows.

Suddenly the frothing water began to glitter, and on looking up he saw that the moon, which had grown brighter, had just emerged from behind a bank of flying cloud. Then Harry who sat at the helm called to him.

"Look yonder! Just over the bowsprit end," he cried.

Frank, gazing where his companion told him, saw a bright red twinkle low down above the sea and apparently two or three miles away.

"A fire!" he exclaimed. "On the island by the point, isn't it?"

"A signal," Harry a.s.sented. "Guess it's to show the schooner men the bush gang are ready." He broke into a laugh which reached Frank faintly.

"They're figuring we're safe on the island out of the way. You couldn't see that fire from the beach we were left upon."

"What are you going to do?"

"Stand right on to where the fire is. We have to make a long leg on this tack, anyway. When we're close up with the point we'll consider. Get a little more head sheet in if you can."

It cost Frank an effort, though the sloop was carrying her smallest jib, and when he had made the rope fast he crouched beside his comrade in the partial shelter of the coaming with the dog at his feet. It was blowing moderately fresh, and the sloop was very wet, for the tide was running with her and she thrashed on at a great pace pitching the water all over, while the red twinkle ahead grew steadily higher and brighter. It was the only thing that Frank could see, because the moon had disappeared again.

In the meanwhile he wondered what his companion meant to do, for he fancied that Harry had something in his mind. The latter was like his father in some respects, since he did not, as a rule, explain what his intentions were until he was reasonably sure that he could carry them out. One result of this was that while each seldom did less than he said he would he not infrequently did a good deal more. Folks of this kind, Frank reflected, inspired one with confidence.

At last, when the fire was large and bright, a head loomed up above it with the wavering glow falling upon its rocky face. On one side of the crag there was a strip of darkness, which Frank supposed was water, and a little nearer him a long shadowy patch, which he knew to be an island.

He turned to Harry, who was just then glancing up at the sky.

"We'll run right into the light if you stand on much longer," he pointed out.

He had hardly spoken when the red blaze sank down amidst an upward rush of sparks, and as it died away Harry laughed.

"That means one of two things," he said. "Either they've given the schooner up, or she has her anchor down inside and they've no more use for a light that might set folks wondering, though I don't know that anybody would be likely to see it."

"Anyway, you'll go ash.o.r.e if you stand on," persisted Frank.

"It's not my intention that we should stand on," said Harry, glancing up again at the cloud-barred sky. "We can just weather the island as she's lying, and when that's done I could put up my helm and run through the sound behind it. I'll do it if the moon keeps in. If the schooner's inside yonder we ought to see her."

Frank was rather staggered by the boldness of the idea. The strait seemed narrow and he fancied that it would be further contracted by shallows now that the tide was getting low, while it appeared very probable that if they saw the schooner her crew would see them. If she were landing cargo there would be boats about, and he did not think it would be pleasant to fall in with them, after the pains somebody had taken in setting the canoe adrift. Still, though he was very dubious about its wisdom, the prospect of the adventure appealed to him and Harry seemed to take his consent for granted.

"We'll carry a fair wind through," the latter announced. "If it's necessary we could lower the peak down and that would leave very little canvas to be seen. You had better shorten the canoe up while I luff.

She's half full and towing heavily."

The mainsail thrashed and the speed slackened when he put down his helm, and Frank, hauling with all his might, dragged the canoe up a little closer astern and made her fast with a shorter rope, after which Harry got way on the boat again. It seemed to Frank to be blowing harder, and she swayed down farther, plunging furiously through the short seas with a white belt of surf which had shadowy rocks behind it to lee of her.

The moon was still hidden, but it was evident that they were very close to the end of the island. By and by the white line to lee suddenly vanished and they stretched out into the dark water, with a high, black ma.s.s not far ahead.

"We've got to jibe her," said Harry. "Get the peak down."

The deck was horribly slanted and slippery, but Frank made his way forward along it while the seas which seemed steeper there drenched him with showers of cold brine. He found the halliard and let it go, and scrambling aft as the head of the sail swung down, helped his companion, who was struggling with a rope, while he jammed the tiller over with his shoulder.

"Handy!" cried Harry. "You must check the boom as it comes over."

The craft was coming round with her stern to the wind, and as she did so the canoe came up on the top of a sea and struck her with a crash. Frank had, however, no thought to spare for her. He was dragging at the mainsheet as the big boom tilted up into the darkness above his head, while the sloop rolled heavily. Then the upper part of the bagging sail swung over with a bang and he whipped the rope around something as the heavy spar followed it. The sloop rolled at the same time until half her deck was in the sea, the sheet was torn furiously through his hands, and the canoe hit her with another heavy thud as she swayed up again. Then it drove astern, and Frank had s.p.a.ce to gather his breath and look about him as they swept on into smoother water.

Harry was edging in toward the low black ridge of the island, and there was a higher ma.s.s on the opposite side crested with what appeared to be rows of pines, with a dark gap between them. They could now hear the surf on the weather side of the island, which told them that they were already behind it. Four or five minutes later the channel twisted, and as they swept around a black rock two or three lights blinked out ahead, with a low red blaze behind them, apparently on the opposite beach.

"There she is; ready to clear at the shortest notice," said Harry, stretching out a pointing hand. "They've kept the boom-foresail and most of the mainsail on her, though I guess the anchor's down. We'll get the centerboard up."

They were drawing nearer the lights rapidly, but it was two or three minutes before Frank, who heaved the board up into its case, could make out a black ma.s.s of fluttering canvas against the sky. Then Harry spoke again:

"There's a shingle bank runs out not far ahead and there can't be much water over it now the tide's nearly run out. I'm afraid I'll have to pa.s.s on the other hand of the schooner."

Frank could understand why he did not want to do this, since the channel was narrow and they must pa.s.s between the lights of the vessel and the fire upon the beach. It seemed to him that it would be singularly awkward if they met a boat coming from or going to the latter, which, however, was precisely what befell them.

Harry ran the sloop off as far as he dared, and Frank was watching the schooner's black hull rise higher when he made out a dim shape that moved between her and the beach.

"A boat, sure!" cried Harry. "Get the mainsheet in. We'll have to take our chances of the shoal."

He helped Frank with one hand, but the task was almost beyond their strength, and while they dragged at the rope the half-seen boat and the schooner seemed to be flying toward them. Then as they made the rope fast and the sloop headed in toward the island a pale gleam from a light on the vessel fell upon her. It seemed impossible to Frank that they should not be seen, but n.o.body hailed them, and while he listened, expecting every moment to hear a shout, a clatter of blocks broke through the splash of approaching oars. Even behind the island, the water was rather broken and the men seemed to be pulling hard.

A moment later the light faded off the sloop, though Frank could see the schooner comparatively plainly. Her tall, shadowy canvas was fluttering athwart the light, and beneath it a cl.u.s.ter of indistinct figures rose and fell as they heaved up something with a tackle. He could hear their voices clearly, and he was glad to remember that the dusky ridge of the island rose behind the sloop, though he wished his companion would run closer in with it. He had seen all he wanted and only desired to get away as soon as possible.

It became evident by and by that Harry had run in closer than was advisable, for there was a crash and the sloop suddenly stopped. Almost immediately afterward she lay over with her boom and most of her deck on one side in the water, while the tide, twisting her bows around, threatened to pour into her over the depressed coaming. As she had come up nearly head to wind, her mainsail thrashed furiously, jerking the boom up out of the sea every now and then and letting it splash in again, while the flapping jib seemed likely to snap off the head of her rattling mast. Loose ropes appeared to be flying everywhere and Frank clung stupidly to the coaming, uncertain what to do. They were aground unfortunately close to the schooner, and, he feared, within sight of the men on board her. Harry's voice, however, roused him to make an effort.

"Jump forward with the big oar! We must get her off," he said. "The tide's still falling."

Frank trod upon and fell over the dog, who fortunately was unable to see anything over the coaming. He scarcely heard it yelping as he scrambled along the steeply slanted deck dragging the heavy oar. They got it over and thrust upon it in desperate haste in an attempt to cant her bow off, but as the tide swung her farther around her side came up against the oar, threatening to break it or pitch the boys over the rail, and for a while they strained every muscle in vain. Then she suddenly swung back in the midst of a furious swirl, and Frank fell down on something that seemed unpleasantly hard. Harry, flinging the oar upon the deck, dropped close by, feeling for a rope.

"Get up and get hold!" he cried breathlessly. "We must box her round with the jib. You can lie down afterward."

Frank scrambled up and pulled in a frenzy, and the boat swung farther around. Then the mainsail ceased fluttering, and jumping aft they fell into the well, where Frank fancied that he trod upon the dog again.

Harry immediately seized the tiller, thrusting it to weather, and the sloop commenced to move slowly through the water, though there was a harsh grinding beneath her. By and by she suddenly shot forward again.

"She's off!" exclaimed Harry. "Give her sheet!"

Frank let the mainsheet run and afterward leaned breathlessly upon the coaming with a thrill of relief as they drove out into the deeper water; but it appeared that his companion was not satisfied yet.

"She should run over to the opposite side without bringing the boom across," he said. "There seems to be a big rock yonder and we could heave her to in the gloom of it. If I remember, it's good water."

"What for?" asked Frank, who was anxious to get out of the channel.

"Well," said Harry, "we've seen the schooner, a boat, and a fire upon the beach, but, after all, that's not a great deal to go upon. We want to make sure what she's putting ash.o.r.e."

The boom lifted ominously as he ran her off and Frank fancied that somebody would certainly hear the crash if he jibed it over. She stretched across, however, and, rounding her up close beneath a dark rock, they hauled the jib to windward and waited. Though they were in deep shadow, a stream of flickering radiance fell upon the water not far away and lighted up a narrow strip of beach. A few minutes pa.s.sed and then Harry touched his companion, who saw several men cross the shingle with loads upon their shoulders. Their figures showed black against the light, and Frank fancied that they were carrying square wooden cases.

After them came several more figures, but these carried nothing and were dressed differently. They looked like Chinamen and they had evidently just got out of an unseen boat.

"Now," said Harry, "I guess that will do. If you'll trim the jib over I'll get way on her."

Frank was glad to do it. He felt that he had seen quite enough and it would be wiser to get away before any misadventure befell them. They ran out of the channel and were thrashing close-hauled into a rather steep head sea when Harry spoke again.