The Young Engineers on the Gulf

by H. Irving Hancock

  CHAPTER V

  WANTED---DAYLIGHT AND DIVERS

  In a trice the foreman of the gang on the wall wheeled his men about,running them out seaward toward the scene of the latest explosion. Thatmuch was plain from the twinkling of the rapidly-moving lanterns.

  "Come on, Renshaw!" Tom shouted. "You, too, Nicolas. You can pull anoar."

  Reade was already racing out on to the small dock. He all but threwhimself into a rowboat that lay tied alongside.

  "Cast off and get in," Tom ordered his companions, as he pushed out a pairof oars. "Nicolas, you're also good with a pair of oars. Mr. Renshaw,you take the tiller. Inform me instantly when you see the first gleam ofthe 'Morton's' search-light. Evarts ought to have caught the scoundrelsthis time. Evidently he's been cruising softly without showing a light."

  Mr. Renshaw gathered up the tiller ropes as Tom pushed off from the dock.Then the chief engineer addressed himself to the task of rowing. His firmmuscles, working at their best, shot the little craft ahead. Nicolas, atthe bow oars, did his best to keep up with his chief in the matter ofrowing, though the Mexican was neither an oarsman nor an athlete.

  "Don't you make out the motor boat's lights yet?" Tom asked impatiently,after the first long spurt of rowing.

  "Not yet, sir," replied the superintendent. "I shan't miss the light whenit shows."

  A few minutes later the superintendent announced in a low voice:

  "There's some craft, motionless, just a bit ahead."

  Tom, without stopping his work at the oars, turned enough to glanceforward.

  "Why, it's---it's the 'Morton'!" he gasped.

  "I believe it is," declared the superintendent, staring keenly at thenearly shapeless black mass ahead.

  Tom, with his jaws set close, bent harder than ever at the oars.

  "Senor!" wailed Nicolas, gaspingly. "If you do not go more easily I shallexpire for lack of breath. I cannot keep up with you."

  Reade fell into a slower, stronger stroke.

  "Drop the oars any time you want to, Nicolas," Reade urged. "There won'tbe much more rowing to do, anyway."

  Presently Tom himself rested on his oars, as the boat, moving under itsown headway, approached the motor boat.

  "Going to board her on the quarter?" the superintendent asked.

  "No; by the bow," Tom answered. "Let go the tiller ropes. I'll pullalongside."

  As they started to pass the boat a sound reached them that made Reade growwild with anger. Snore after snore, from five busy sleepers!

  Tom pulled softly up to the bow.

  "There's the anchor cable!" snorted Tom, Pointing to a rope that ran fromthe bow of the "Morton" down into the water. "Did you ever see morewicked neglect of important duty? And not even a lantern out to mark herberth! Get aboard, Mr. Renshaw, and go aft to start the engine. Nicolas,you take this boat astern and make fast. Don't wake the sleepers---poor,tired shirkers!"

  Tom, in utter disgust, leaped aboard the boat at the bow. There, behindthe wheel, Evarts lay on the floor of the boat, his rolled-up coat servingas a pillow.

  Almost noiselessly Tom hauled up the light anchor. Then he stood by thewheel.

  "All ready at the engine, Mr. Reade!" called the superintendent, softly.

  "Let her go," Tom returned, "as soon as Nicolas boards."

  The Mexican was quickly aboard, after having made the rowboat's painterfast.

  "Headway!" announced Renshaw, throwing over the drive-wheel of the engine.

  "Put-put-put!" sputtered the motor. Then the "Morton" began really tomove. With the first real throb of the engine the electric running lightsgleamed out.

  Aft Conlon began to stir. Then he opened his eyes.

  "What---" he began.

  "Silence!" commanded Mr. Renshaw.

  "Tell me who's at the wheel?" Conlon begged.

  "Mr. Reade," replied the superintendent, dryly. "Now, keep still!"

  "Whew---ew---ew!" whistled Conlon, in dire dismay. Then he sank back,watching the engine with moody eyes. The other three men aft still slept.

  Presently Tom, in shifting his position, touched one foot lightly againstthe foreman's head. Evarts half-awoke, then realized that the boat wasmoving.

  "Who started this craft against my orders?" he drowsily demanded, as hesat up.

  "I did," Tom retorted witheringly, "though I didn't hear your orders tothe contrary."

  "You---Mr. Reade?" gasped the foreman, leaping to his feet.

  "Yes---and a fine fellow you are to trust!" Tom rejoined. "I leave youwith very definite orders, and you go to sleep. Then there's anotherexplosion out on the wall and you sleep right along."

  "Another explosion?" blurted Evarts, rubbing his eyes with his fists."Here, let me have that wheel, sir. I'll have you out there quick!"

  "You've nothing more to do here," Tom answered, dryly, without yieldingthe wheel.

  "What do you mean by that?" Evarts cried quickly.

  "Can't you guess?" wondered Reade.

  "Mr. Reade means," said Conlon, who had come forward, "that we'refired---discharged."

  "Nonsense!" protested Evarts.

  "Conlon has guessed rightly, as far as you're concerned," Tom continued."To-morrow, Evarts, you go to Mr. Renshaw and get your pay. As for you,Conlon, you're not discharged this time. Evarts admitted himself that itwas he who gave positive orders to tie the boat up at anchor. You wereunder his orders, so I can't hold you responsible. Are you wide awake,now?"

  "Yes, sir," answered Conlon meekly.

  "Then go back and attend to your engine. Look sharp for hail or bell."

  "I guess you'll find you can't quite get along without me," argued Evartsmoodily. "You'll find that you need me to manage some of the men you'vegot."

  "You're through with this job, as I just did you the honor to inform you,"Tom responded quietly. "To-morrow Mr. Renshaw will pay you off up todate."

  "If I'm bounced, then you'll pay me for the balance of the month, anyway!"snarled the foreman defiantly. "You can't drop me without notice likethat."

  "You'll be paid to date only," Tom retorted. "You've been discharged forwilful and serious neglect of duty, and you're not entitled to pay for thebalance of the month."

  "All right, then," retorted the other hotly. "I'll collect my moneythrough the courts. I'll show you!"

  "Just as you please," Reade replied indifferently. "But I imagine anycourt will consider seven dollars a day pretty large pay for a man whogoes to sleep on duty."

  "See here, I'll---"

  "You'll keep quiet, Evarts, or you'll go overboard," Reade interruptedsignificantly. "I happen to know that you can swim, so I won't bebothered with you here if you insist on making a nuisance of yourself."

  Mr. Renshaw, having been relieved at the engine, now came forward.

  "Mr. Renshaw," directed the young chief engineer, "as soon after daylightas it is convenient for you you'll pay Evarts off in full to date and lethim go. He threatens to sue if he is not paid to the end of the month, butif he wants to we'll let the courts do our worrying."

  "All right, sir," nodded the superintendent.

  Evarts had dropped into a seat just forward of the engine. He sat there,regarding Tom Reade with a baleful look of hate.

  "You're a success, all right, at one thing, and that's making enemies,"muttered the discharged foreman under his breath.

  Besides attending to the wheel Tom now reached out with one hand andswitched on the search-light, which he manipulated with one hand. Shortlyhe found the spot where the portion of the wall had been blown away by thefirst explosion. A hundred and fifty yards farther out he beheld the workof the second explosion. Some seventy-five yards in length was the newopen space, where at least as much of the retaining wall as was visibleabove the water had been blown out.

  "Slow down, Cordon," ordered Tom. "All we want is headway."

  "All right, sir."

  Tom drifted in within a few feet of the former site of the reta
ining wall.The "Morton" moved slowly by, Tom, by the aid of the searchlight, notingthe extent of the disaster.

  "Get back aft, Evarts," ordered the young engineer, turning and beholdingthe late foreman. "We don't want you here."

  For a moment or two it looked as though Evarts would refuse. Then, witha growl, he rose and picked his way aft. By this time the other men whohad been in his gang were awake. They regarded their former foreman withno great display of sympathy.

  "I'll confess I'm mystified," muttered Tom, watching the scene of thelatest explosion for some minutes after the engine had been stopped."When daylight comes and we can use the divers we ought to know a bit moreabout how such a big blast is worked in the dead of night when thescoundrels ought to make noise enough to be heard. It must have been aseries of connected blasts, all touched off at the same moment, Mr.Renshaw, but even such a series is by no means easy to lay. And then theblasts have to be drilled for, and then tamped."

  "As you say, sir," replied the superintendent, "a much clearer idea can beformed when we have daylight and the divers."

  Tom held his watch to one side of the searchlight.

  "Nearly two hours yet until daylight, Mr. Renshaw," he announced. "And,of course, it will be two or three hours after daylight before we can getthe divers at work. A fearful length of time to wait!"

  "You'd better go back to the shore, sir," urged the superintendent.

  "Not while this boat needs to be run," objected Reade. "For the rest ofthe night I want a man here whom I can trust."

  "Will you trust me with the boat?" proposed the superintendent.

  "Why, of course!"

  "Then let me run back to the dock and put you ashore, Mr. Reade. Afterthat I'll come out here and patrol along the wall until broad daylight."

  That was accordingly done. The "Morton" lay alongside the dock, andNicolas instantly busied himself with casting off the rowboat and makingher fast to the pier instead.

  Evarts sullenly remained in the boat.

  "Come on, Evarts," spoke Tom quietly.

  "Mr. Reade," expostulated the late foreman, "I'm not going to be thrownout of my job like this."

  "Which especial way of being thrown out do you prefer then?" Tom queried,dryly.

  "I'm not going to be put out of my job until I've had at least one goodtalk with you," insisted the foreman.

  "I'm afraid the time has passed for talking with you," Reade responded,turning toward the shore. "You lost a great chance, to-night, to servethe company with distinction, and your negligence cost the company a lotof money through the second explosion. Are you coming out of thatboat---or shall I come back after you?"

  Evarts rose, with a surly air. He stepped slowly ashore, after which oneof the crew cast off. The engine began to move, and the "Morton" startedback to her post.

  "Oh, you feel fine and important, just at this minute!" grumbled thedischarged foreman, under his breath, glaring wickedly at the broad backof the young chief engineer. "But I'll do something to take theimportance out of you before very long, Tom Reade!"

  Truth to tell, Tom, though he was still alert to the interests of hisemployers, felt anything but important. The thought of Harry Hazelton'sunknown fate caused a great, choking lump in his throat as Reade steppedfrom the pier to land.