The Pirate Shark Part 21

CHAPTER XVII

THE MYSTERY O' THE SEA

As around the stern of the _Seamew_ came a prau, Ah Sing shrieked aloud in delight and the boys gave a hearty cheer at sight of Captain Hollinger and Swanson standing in the prow of the craft. Beside them stood the two engineers, while the Kanaka crew of the yacht were at the sweeps.

"By golly, they got away!" gasped Mart, managing to scramble to his feet. The sight of the motionless figure of Jerry Smith sobered both boys, however, and while Bob stepped forward to meet his father, Mart kneeled down beside Jerry with feeble efforts to revive him. His own strength was not yet fully returned.

"What's all this?" demanded the captain, as he leaped from the prau to the landing. "Where are those mutineers, Bob?"

"Ash.o.r.e, all but Jerry," returned Bob promptly, pointing to the quartermaster's figure. Captain Hollinger waved back his men and joined Mart. After a cursory examination he rose to his feet and pulled Mart up also.

"No use, boys," he said softly. "Jerry has found the mystery of the sea at last. Now come along. Tell me what's been going on here."

Mart was unable to speak for a moment, but startled as Bob was, he replied with another question, as Captain Hollinger drew them both up the ladder to the deck.

"Tell us how you got away, first. We thought the Malays had you!"

"So they did," grimaced the captain, "until that a.s.sistant engineer came ash.o.r.e with the Kanakas. Before they got him into the river he had impelled the Kanakas to capture the prau. Then he got his irons cut off and led the Kanakas straight up to the village. I was just starting for the hunt, in blissful security, when he broke in on us and told us what was up. As the Kanakas were armed, the Malays had to give in gracefully--and here we are. Now come across, you boys!"

Naturally, his wonder was great at finding Mart and Jerry in diver's dress, the old quartermaster dead, and Bob looking pretty shaky. Bit by bit the boys told their tale, and only by an effort could they realize that so many things had happened in this one day, for it was not yet sunset.

While they were talking, Swanson joined them with word that Jerry must have died from heart failure, not from suffocation; no doubt the shock of finding himself cut off had stricken him. But Captain Hollinger and his first mate forgot all else in their amazement at Mart's story of the fight eight fathoms down. In fact, Mart saw plainly that they did not believe him and thought that the descent must have shaken his mind.

With that he pulled off the diving costume, which as yet he had had no chance to remove. When they had helped him out of it, and three or four gold pieces fell to the floor, all incredulity vanished. Bob, Mart and Swanson crowded around the captain, examining the coins with wild excitement.

"Well, I'm bound to say that your story and Jerry's yarns seem to be substantiated, boys!" exclaimed Captain Hollinger. "These seem to be old Spanish or Portuguese coins--they coined them out here then, you know.

And here's the date--1632. Yes, they all have the same date. By Jove, Mart, you've made a haul here!"

The boys stood silent, and Swanson pawed over the gold pieces with a flame in his eyes until Captain Hollinger had switched up the electric lights, for the sudden night of the far east had fallen. Then the mate abruptly pushed the coins across the table, and faced the captain, breathing heavily.

"Cap'n Hollinger," he said, with a visible effort, "when you took me on you knew that I'd had a more or less shaky kind o' past, didn't you?"

"Eh?" The captain flung him a keen glance. "What do you mean, Mr.

Swanson?"

"Just this, Cap'n. Once, when I was a fool young fellow, I got mixed up wi' old Jerry. He was a trader among the islands then, nothin' short of piracy it was in them days. When he come aboard this yacht, wi' them four men out o' his old crew, I knowed there was trouble brewin'. He finally told me about this here treasure, and how he was a-goin' to take the yacht, and wanted me to join him. I warned him off, Cap'n, and I was fool enough to think he'd take the warnin'. But he didn't. Now that it's come out right, I wanted to get it off'n my conscience, that's all."

Captain Hollinger reached across the table, and gripped Swanson's hand.

"Mr. Swanson," he said, smiling, "I'm proud of you. Your wages are doubled this trip--no, no protests, please! Evidently Jerry led me astray all along, and the only gold in this lagoon was the treasure. Now I think you'd better take the deck, Mr. Swanson."

"Yes, sir," replied Swanson humbly, his eyes gleaming oddly. "And what about them four men on the island, sir?"

"Let them go, Swanson. They'll get food from the Malays, and they can easily make their way to Singapore in the boat. I'll not prosecute them.

As for Jerry, we'll bury him in the morning."

Swanson lumbered out of the cabin. Captain Hollinger turned to Mart, and asked him to go over his fight with the Pirate Shark in more detail.

Mart did so, for by this time he had recovered entirely except for a shakiness in his legs. The captain listened to the story silently, then nodded.

"I'm pretty sure you finished off the brute, Mart. That finishing blow of yours seems to have driven in the kris either through his throat or else through his mouth to the brain."

"But you didn't see anything of the body as you came?" asked Bob anxiously.

"No. He'd probably not rise until to-morrow, in any case. I've no doubt, however, that we'll find his body to-morrow or next day, boys. What a trophy his skin would make, eh?"

"Could we have it mounted, dad?" queried Bob.

"Too big," retorted Mart practically. "The only place it could be used would be in a museum, Holly."

"Well, why not?" smiled the captain. "It would be a welcome addition to any museum, Mart, and our Kanakas can take off the skin in a few hours.

And think--after it's mounted and set up, you'll see your name on the bottom--killed and presented by Mart Judson! How's that?"

"Pretty good," grinned Mart. "But say, let's get down to solid earth, Cap'n. Are we going to get after the rest of that treasure down there?"

"Are we?" retorted the captain. "Surest thing you know, Mart! We'll bury poor old Jerry to-morrow morning, and in the afternoon we'll send down a couple of the men, when we've made sure that the Pirate Shark is out of the way. And if there's as much of the stuff as you say you saw, Mart, you'll have a good stake to--"

"Hold on," interrupted Mart, surprised. "You seem to think that I'm trying to grab it all, Cap'n. I didn't mean to--"

"Of course you didn't," laughed Captain Hollinger, stretching out easily in his chair. "But I'd like to know who else the gold belongs to, Mart.

You've won it by right of conquest, seems to me."

"That's right," added Bob hastily. "It's all yours, old boy. You fought for it, and you ought to--"

"Now look here," and Mart leaned forward earnestly, with his air of determination. "That's not right. I'd never have got up if it hadn't been for Bob, Cap'n. We're in on this thing as partners, and when we get that treasure we're goin' to split on it, or Mart Judson isn't goin' to touch any of it. Now, that goes."

There was no doubt that he meant his words. Bob, however, still attempted to protest, but Mart promptly shut him up.

"None of that, Holly. I guess there's enough treasure there to satisfy us all, and my end of it is going for an education. That's all I have to say."

"Then that settles it," laughed Captain Hollinger, rising at the sound of the gong from the mess saloon. "Ah Sing has mess ready, and I'm famished. Come along, boys, and we'll all feel better after a bite to eat."

He led the way out, but at the door Mart stopped his chum.

"I forgot to thank you, Holly," he said quietly. "I won't forget that it was you pulled me up, old man. And when we mount the Pirate Shark, our names go on that bra.s.s plate together!"

And Bob grinned happily as they struck hands.