The Mystery Boys and Captain Kidd's Message by Van Powell
CHAPTER XXX CLIFF PLAYS HIS PART
Cliff, on board the stranded _Senorita_, with Sam and Jim and the navalpatrol sailor, Jack, knew nothing of the exciting events that had justoccurred.
Nor did he guess that an escaping white boat full of desperate men waslaying its course to pass his station.
Tom’s effort to destroy the carbureter had drawn the attention of thecrew to the engineer’s repeated assertions that the leaky old carbureterwas wasting gas, and that they ought to be sure they had enough to runthe channel and escape.
“But where can we get any more?” said Senor Ortiga.
“On the wrecked _Senorita_, of course,” snapped his brother. “Her tanksare almost full.”
“But with the cutter coming, how can we stop for gas?” demanded Tew.
“Easy,” said a sailor, and revealed a plan.
Of all that Cliff was ignorant. He, with Sam, Jim and the sailor, hadstood watch-and-watch through the night and up into the day.
But nothing had altered the monotony.
But excitement was coming, and coming fast!
Nicky and Tom had been unceremoniously roped and flung into the opencockpit aft of the engine compartment. The cockpit was a low step higherthan the cabin flooring, but its coaming and sides were so high that allthe two chums could see was the sky and, when they ran close to anislet, the tops of the trees where these grew near the water.
The cutter had been delayed for a moment to pick up Mr. Neale andBrownie, who had rowed with all their might and had sighted the cutterin time to hail her and to be taken aboard. Lieutenant Sommerlee wantedBrownie, a good shot, and Mr. Neale would be able to play a part ifhand-to-hand fighting came about.
He sent Brownie forward and bade him scan the water closely as they putfull speed on to chase the _Libertad_, long since passed out of viewbeyond the first island of the archipelago.
“I suspect they will try to do something to delay us,” the lieutenantsaid. “They may drop something in the channel, for there is one placewhere it is very narrow and quite shallow, and almost any largeobject—an anchor, sticking up on the coral, would crush our bow planksat the speed we’re making.”
Brownie kept a sharp watch, and soon discovered, as they approached thenarrowest and shallower part of the channel, something dark on thebottom.
“Cliff and Jack and the colored men will stop them I hope,” said thecommander as they slowed and drew near to the submerged danger.
“They will, if they can do it,” Brownie said. He dropped over the bowand discovered that his commander had foreseen exactly what had beendone; the _Libertad’s_ anchor had been cut loose, and, with some spareengine parts, had been flung from the white boat’s stern into thechannel with the hope that the cutter would run onto them and beentirely disabled, before they were noticed.
While the damage was averted, it took time to lift the heavy metal underthe water, and to displace it.
Meanwhile Cliff sat on the slanting deck of the _Senorita_, with Jackand Sam, while Jim hung close above them on the top of the cabin, hiseyes fixed on the distances of the channel.
“What will you do if they come in daylight?” Cliff looked up at him toask.
“Shoot at the waterline and let the water in,” said Jack.
“But they’ll shoot back,” objected Cliff.
“That’s the chance we have to take,” Jack answered.
“We might load up the signal cannon with some slugs, or something,”suggested Jim. He had begged Cliff’s pardon for his part in the tying-upand other maltreatment aboard the _Senorita_; Jim was not a bad being atheart; he had been employed by Senor Ortiga and Mr. Coleson and had onlydone their bidding, with no animosity or cruelty in his actions. Cliffhad readily forgiven him. Jim, thus made happy, was just as determinedto help the side of right and justice as he had been, before, to earnhis pay honestly, as he saw honesty and his duty to his employers.
“The cannon wouldn’t carry the slugs any distance,” said Sam.
“But they’d have to pass within three feet of us,” said Jim.
He pointed overside to the channel, where the deep water was at the sideof the wrecked vessel. “This boat ran onto coral because her tiller ropebroke, remember! There’s plenty of water, and they can pass us, butthey’ll have to steer close.”
Cliff nodded.
“If you fellows won’t think I’m bossy,” he said, modestly, “and if Jackwon’t be mad and think I want to be the leader, I’d like to saysomething.”
“Go ahead,” said Jack. “Always open to good ideas, buddy!”
Cliff expounded a plan: his first idea was that to fire at the vessel,if she ever came, would bring about firing in response. If they could insome way lure some of the hi-jackers onto the _Senorita_, without theirown numbers being endangered, several of them might board the other boatand destroy her steering gear, or even capture her.
Jack liked the plan better than he did his own.
“I’m for it,” he said. “If you can get them to stop—if they come out atall, and if they get past the cutter, which I don’t see how they can!”
“Jim, they know, is on board,” Cliff said. “My plan would be for Sam,and you, Jack, and me, to hide behind the cabin where they couldn’t seeus, and have Jim hail them, if they come close enough and slow up enoughto let him jump aboard—and they might not. But if they didn’t, Jim couldbe up forward on the cabin, and keep their attention on that end of theboat, and when they come abreast maybe one or more of us could runaround the after end of the cabin and jump aboard.”
“Pretty wild chance,” commented Sam. “But it’s better than risking ournecks standing up to be shot at—we’d have at least the chance ofsurprising them, and if we got aboard——”
“There’s a rocket!” cried Jack. “And another—” They all scrambled ontothe cabin and stared toward the distant coast. Three puffs of smoke hungin the air, low over the trees.
“Nicky’s signal—or the cutter’s,” Cliff cried. “Be ready for—foranything!”
The wait was tedious. Their nerves were taunt and their voices when theyspoke briefly were rather shrill and shaky. They did not know what washappening or what might happen. Would they be called on, really, to tryto stop a band of hi-jackers? It seemed very easy when they discussed itin calm security; but with those signals shredding into nothing in theair, the reality and seriousness of their position came home to themall.
The time seemed endless, but finally Jim, alone on the cabin roof,whispered down, without moving enough to disclose the fact to hisoncoming adversaries, “here she comes—_El Libertad_—and a-hummin’.”
“How many on her? Who can you see?” asked Cliff, tensely.
The white craft came ahead at her full speed. After a brief wait Jimanswered Cliff. “I see my old boss, Senor Ortiga,” he said, “and MarseColeson! And some other men—why, it’s the men who used to be in businesswith my boss, only they turned hi-jackers. Yes, sar, there’s Don Ortiga,the brother—and Tew—and all o’ them, the very ones we sent you to withthat message in the can.”
“I know,” said Cliff. “Never mind, now—hail them, aren’t they nearenough?” Being under the cabin wall for concealment he was not able tosee.
“Now they are,” said Jim softly and sent a hail across the water.
“Take me off, stop and take me off—Master Coleson, it’s Jim!” heshouted. There was no answer. The white boat, as he reported in lowtones, between hails, was slowing up, and coming closer, losingway—stopping. Jim, to carry out his part, sprang down from the cabin.
Cliff, Sam and Jack crouched; they were no longer able to tell what washappening, but they knew that Jim would call out “Bless you for savingme!” if he got aboard and then they could act quickly, knowing that theboat would be opposite their end of the cabin.
Instead, another voice came, loud and clear.
“We’ll see about taking you off; we’re stopping! We need gas.”
“Yes we have,” called the voice. Cliff thought it sounded like Tew. “Wegot a hose rigged to our bilge pump, and we’ll pump with that.”
The white boat scraped along the _Senorita’s_ tilted side, and menswarmed over onto her deck; the crouching three heard their bootsscrabble, thud and clump about. They were forward, and Jim had run alongthe forward end of the craft to continue his talk. The after end of the_Senorita_ was, therefore, beyond the after rail of the shorter boat.
Cliff inched his way around the aft side of the cabin until he couldpeer forward, taking a big chance, but feeling that he must see.
Jack, and Sam, creeping close behind him, waited in suspense.
Cliff took a swift peep and ducked back.
“They’re stretching a hose to the _Senorita’s_ forward tank,” hebreathed. “There are some men on the _Senorita_, and—let me look again!”
He protruded his head again, and then he thought he heard a low whistle.
Cliff turned, looking down toward the stern of the white vessel.
There, trussed up like two turkeys, in the cockpit of the _Libertad_,lay Tom and Nicky, the latter grinning a little sheepishly.
Cliff turned to his companions. His voice came in swift, whisperedwords. Jack nodded.
“We’ll do it!” he answered, hoarsely. “Inch as close as you can andwe’ll be behind you. You take the cockpit, and free your chums. I’llrace forward, shooting, call Jim to help, and try to prevent the othersfrom getting off our wreck. Sam, you shoot—in the air, in thewater—anywhere; but shoot, load again and shoot—holler and try to scarethem if you can’t hit them!”
“All right,” said Sam. Cliff inched along the deck. He was in plainview, now, from forward on the _Senorita_, or from the _Libertad_.
But the trio in the cabin of the latter vessel were deep inconversation, and the men were busy with the hose.
“Start your bilge pump!” called a sailor. Tew, on the white boat, bentand engaged a clutch; there was a heavy grind of gearing and the slowpulsation of a pump.
“Now!” whispered Cliff, and dashed for the rail.
“Look out—we’re caught!” yelled a man, on guard atop the _Senorita’s_cabin, watching for the cutter. He fired at Cliff, but Sam, reaching ablack arm over the cabin studding, yanked his leg, threw him offbalance, and spoiled aim. Shooting, yelling, Jack charged up narrowdeck, Sam at his heels.
Cliff leaped and landed beside Nicky!