The Rover Boys on Land and Sea Part 44

With equal care they moved around to the other side of the wreck, over a ma.s.s of burnt brushwood.

"Hark!" said Tom.

They listened, and, from a distance, made out a faint groan.

"That is somebody, and in great pain," said d.i.c.k. "Come on," and he led the way.

Around a pile of rocks they found a sailor. He was propped up against a tree, and was suffering from some burns on his legs and feet.

"Bostwick!" said old Jerry.

"Oh! oh! Help me!" groaned Bostwick piteously. "Give me a drink of water!"

"Where are the others?" asked d.i.c.k.

"Gone! They left me to take care of myself. Oh, the wretches! Please help me; won't you, for the love of Heaven!"

"Yes, we will help you," answered Tom.

"You are certain they have all gone?" went on d.i.c.k, as he got out some oil and bandages, while Tom ran for water.

"Yes, yes!"

"Where did they go?"

"They went--oh, my legs and feet! How they smart! They went to the--the--house! Lesher said you must have set the ship on fire, and Baxter said the same. They--oh, what a pain! Please be careful!"

Bostwick gulped down the water Tom gave him. "That is good."

"What did they say, Bostwick?" asked d.i.c.k, as he continued to work over the hurt man.

"They said they were going to pay you back. They all went armed; that is, all but me and Shular. Shular was burnt up. They said they were going to shoot you down on sight, and then run the house to suit themselves. I said--oh, the pain. I--I--how weak I am!"

And with those words the burnt sailor fell back in a dead faint.

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE DEFENSE OF THE CAVE--SAVED!

"He has fainted, poor fellow!" said d.i.c.k, as he bent over the unconscious form of Bostwick.

"We ought to git back to the house at once!" put in old Jerry. "We must warn the cap'n and the others of what Lesher and his crowd intend to do."

"That is true, but we can't leave this poor chap here. He might die for the want of care," came from Tom.

"We'll take him along," said d.i.c.k. "Come, lift him up."

As carefully as they could they lifted the unconscious form up and bore it to where the rowboat was lying. Soon all were on board, and while Tom did his best to revive Bostwick, d.i.c.k and old Jerry bent their back to the oars, pulling as they had seldom pulled before.

The beach in front of the house was almost gained when they heard a shot ring out, followed by several others.

"Just as I feared!" groaned d.i.c.k. "Lesher and the others have begun the attack!"

"Then we'll have to be careful how we land," said old Jerry. "If we aint, we may run right into 'em!"

There was no moon, but the stars shone brightly, so the beach line was dimly visible in the distance. Standing up in the bow, Tom saw a flash of fire from the jungle below the house, and heard the crack of a firearm. Then he saw some dark forms running along the beach.

"Our party is making for the cave!" he cried. "We had better turn in that direction."

Several other shots followed, but they could not tell if anybody was. .h.i.t. In the distance several rum-crazed sailors were yelling like so many Indians.

Bostwick came to his senses just as the sand was reached.

"Whe--where am I?" he asked feebly. "Oh, my feet!"

"We have brought you with us, Bostwick," answered d.i.c.k. "Keep still, and we will do what we can for you."

As soon as possible they took the hurt man up, and all started for the entrance to the cave.

"Who goes there?" cried a voice out of the darkness.

"Is that you, Sam?" called back d.i.c.k.

"d.i.c.k! I am glad you are back. They attacked the house, and we are going to the cave to--"

"Yes, we know all about it, Sam. We have brought one of the sailors along. He is badly, burnt. Are the girls safe?"

"I guess so. We told them to go ahead," answered Sam.

Carrying Bostwick between them, d.i.c.k and old Jerry soon reached the cave, where they found the three girls standing in a group, each full of dread over what was occurring. Hardly had they gotten inside when Captain Blossom came up on a run, accompanied by Gibson and Marny.

"Back, are you?" he said. "I am glad to see it. But it may put you in a tight hole. Hullo, so you've got Bostwick with you, eh? Everybody get into the cave, just as quick as you can."

Once inside of the cave Captain Blossom commanded everybody to he silent. The hurt sailor was carried to the inner chamber, where a lantern was lit, for it would be impossible to see this light from outside. Then the girls set to work to make Bostwick comfortable.

"Has anybody been shot?" asked Tom.

"I got a bullet scratch on the arm," answered the captain. "And Marny got a few buck-shot in his shoulder. But neither of the hurts amount to anything."

"What do you think the mutineers will do next?"

"Ransack the house first," said Sam. "Oh, but they are a bad crowd!

They came on like a lot of demons."

"Of course Baxter was with them."