Four Afloat: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Water

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER XIV--IN WHICH TOM DISAPPEARS FROM SIGHT

  When Bob awoke the next morning it was to a gray world. The open portswere rimmed with tiny drops of moisture and the mist swirled in likefilms of smoke. He got out of bed, traversed the cabin, thrust open thehatch and put his head out of doors. The morning was warm and still, sostill that the voice of some one on the wharf hundreds of feet awaysounded close at hand, so still that the lapping of the water againstthe hull, usually unnoted, seemed a veritable clamor. The deck, cockpitfloor, cabin roof, all surfaces were covered with miniature pools, andBob's hands, clasping the doorway, came away wringing wet.

  There was nothing to be seen in any direction, save that now and then,as the mist momentarily lessened, the upper part of the mast and riggingof a sloop moored some thirty feet away from the _Vagabond_ became dimlyvisible. It was as though some mischievous giant had in the night, witha sweep of his hand, sponged everything out of existence, everythingsave the _Vagabond_ and the little fog-rimmed pool of water in which shesat. It was wonderful and uncanny. It was also very damp, and Bob,standing at the cabin entrance, gazing blankly about him, felt the tinyparticles of moisture, blown on a light southwest breath from the ocean,settling on his face and damping his pyjamas until they began to clingto him. He beat a retreat to the cabin, drawing the doors closed behindhim, and proceeded to awaken his companions by the simple expedient ofpulling the bedclothes off them.

  "Get up and look at the fog," he commanded. "It's all over the shop andso thick you can cut it with a knife--any knife, even Dan's!"

  "That's all right," muttered Tom, striving to keep warm by bringing hisknees up to his chin, "you cut me a slice, Bob, and toast it lightly onboth sides."

  "Want any butter?" asked Bob solicitously.

  "There isn't any," answered Tom sleepily.

  "Isn't any?" cried Dan, waking up very suddenly. "What the dickens arewe going to do for breakfast?"

  "There's some lard," murmured Tom.

  Dan leaped out of his berth and rolled Tom onto the floor.

  "Here, you! Are you telling the truth? Isn't there really any butter forbreakfast?"

  "Not a bit," answered Tom cheerfully. "We ran out of it yesterday noonand I forgot to get any last night. Butter's very unhealthy, though,Dan; it gives a fellow boils. I read in a paper just the other day thatwe eat too much butter and grease. We really oughtn't, you know."

  "I vote we make Tommy go and get some," said Nelson, yawning and sittingup on the edge of his berth.

  "Oh, I'll go," replied Tom, climbing to his feet, "if you think you musthave it. It is bad for you, though, honest! Look at Dan's complexionalready! It's awful! For his sake, Nel, supposing we leave butter outfor a few days."

  "My complexion!" jeered Dan. "Look at your own, Tommy!"

  "I have a perfect complexion," said Tom gravely. "It is like peaches andcream. Yours is like--like apple sauce." He bolted for the toilet roomand got the door fastened behind him before Dan could reach him.

  "Looks to me as though we were here for a while," observed Nelson,glancing through a port at the impenetrable grayness outside. "We can'tgo chugging around the place in this fog."

  "Maybe it will burn off after a time," said Bob. "If we get to Newportbefore dark we can spend the night there. What's the good of hurrying,anyhow? We haven't got to get anywhere at any particular time."

  "Well, there's Dan to think of. He's homesick and wants to get to NewYork, you know."

  "The only thing I want to get is breakfast," answered Dan. "And I intendto have butter with it, too. Tommy's got to hike out and find some."

  "I won't!" cried Tom from behind the partition. "I'm cook and don't haveto run errands."

  "We'll see about that," returned Dan grimly. Tom, who had begun tosplash water in the basin again, ceased operations for a moment.

  "I won't, I won't!" he called gleefully. "I've mutinied. Down with thecaptain! I'm going to scuttle the ship in a minute. Anyone seen thescuttle?"

  "No, but several persons are going to see your finish when you comeout," answered Dan. "We're going to string you to the yardarm."

  "There isn't any!"

  "Then we'll keel-haul you, whatever that is."

  "I demand to be put in chains. Then I can't go for butter."

  "We really ought to have a brig," said Nelson.

  "What's that?" asked Tom anxiously. "Can you eat it?"

  "It's a place where they confine sailors that don't behave themselves, asort of prison cell."

  "How would the ice box do?" Bob asked.

  "Huh," answered Dan, "that would be a prison cell on us; Tommy would eatup everything in there and then we'd have to knock the box to pieces toget him out."

  "Well," said Tom in an aggrieved voice, "if I can't be put in chains Irefuse to mutiny."

  So he went for butter instead. Bob volunteered to start breakfast andTom got into the tender and paddled off into the fog on his errand.

  "If I get lost," he called, "you must blow the whistle so I'll knowwhere to find you."

  "All right," Nelson answered. "Only you'll have to let us know."

  "Sure; I'll send you a telegram." And Tom disappeared whistling gayly.

  The others finished dressing, and then, while Bob started the fire,found the bacon and sliced bread, made the coffee and set the table, Danand Nelson pulled the deck awning out of the locker and set aboutspreading it over the stanchions. It had not been used before on thepresent trip and it took them some time to solve the intricacies of it.But finally it was in place, Dan had wiped the chairs and seat untilthey were comparatively dry and Nelson had tended to the lanterns. Bythat time breakfast was ready and Tom had been gone a full half hour.

  "How far is the store?" asked Dan impatiently.

  "Oh, just a little ways," said Bob. "Maybe, though, it wasn't open whenhe got there."

  "More likely he's gone and got lost in the fog," said Nelson anxiously."If he doesn't show up pretty soon, let's eat. I'm starving."

  So, when ten minutes more had passed without Tom's appearance, the threesat down to breakfast. By that time Dan was so hungry that he didn'tcare whether there was any butter or not. They finished the meal andreturned to the deck.

  "Maybe we'd better start the whistle," suggested Dan.

  "If we call out it will do just as well," said Bob. "Come on, alltogether!"

  "_O Tommy!_" they yelled. There was no answer. They tried again andstill again.

  "Oh, let him alone," said Dan disgustedly. "He'll find his way back whenhe gets ready. I dare say he's found a candy store."

  "Well, we'll leave some breakfast for him," said Bob. "Come on down andlet's get the things washed up. I vote we have luncheon on shore."

  The fog held steadily. Now and then voices reached them or the creakingof a boom as some small craft tried to work her way out of the harbor.But for the most part the silence was as thick as the fog which rolledin across the island. The awning was some protection, but it didn't keepthe cockpit dry by any manner of means, and so they got into theiroilskins. When five bells had struck below Nelson got worried and triedthe whistle. After the third or fourth blast a voice hailed them fromoff to starboard.

  "Hello, there! What's the matter?" was the inquiry.

  "One of our fellows has gone ashore and hasn't come back," answeredNelson. "We thought maybe he had got lost in the fog. Where are you?"

  "On the steamboat wharf," was the reply.

  "On the steamboat wharf!" muttered Nelson, looking perplexedly about himinto the mist. "But the wharf ought to be in the opposite direction,Bob!"

  "Pshaw!" answered Bob. "The tide's swung the boat around, that's what'shappened."

  "And Tommy's gone off across the harbor!" chuckled Dan, "looking forbutter!"

  "What's over there, I wonder?" asked Nelson.

  "I don't know," Bob replied, "but it's a good mile across in a straightline."

  "And Tommy was never able to row straight in his life," laughed Dan."Oh, well, he'll get onto himse
lf after a while and come back."

  "He's been gone long enough already to have rowed over there and backtwo or three times," said Bob uneasily. "Toot your old whistle somemore, Nel."

  And Nelson obeyed, blowing the whistle at intervals for the next hourand only ceasing when the air pressure gave out. And Tom refused to showup.

  At twelve they began to think of luncheon.

  "Wherever he is," said Dan, "he's safe enough. Trust Tommy to look afterhimself! I dare say he's toasting himself in front of someone's stoveand eating caramels. So I say we go ashore and find some luncheon.Something tells me that it is approaching the hour."

  "Don't happen to know how we're going to get ashore, do you?" askedNelson. Dan's face fell.

  "Thunder! That's so; Tommy's got the boat. Can't we pull up anchor andchug over to the wharf?"

  "I don't want to try it," was the reply. "We might make it all right andwe might not. There are two or three small boats between here and thereand I don't want any bills for damages. Let's see what there is in thelarder."

  They went down together and rummaged.

  "Here's bacon," said Nelson, "and plenty of bread."

  "And potatoes," added Dan. "And cereal, although I never tried it forluncheon."

  "And jam and jelly," said Bob, "and a can of peaches."

  "And cheese," continued Dan.

  "And one egg," said Nelson.

  "Saved!" cried Dan. "Here's three cans of corned-beef hash! Oh, yum,yum! Me for the corned beef!"

  "Oh, we've got plenty of stuff here," said Nelson cheerfully. "We'llhave some boiled potatoes and hash, tea, bread, cheese, and jam. Whatmore could we want?"

  "Well," answered Dan, "far be it from me to throw cold asparagus on yourmenu, Nel, but it does seem that a tiny pat of butter would help alittle, now doesn't it?"

  "Remember what Tom told you about your complexion," said Nelsonseverely.

  "I wonder if he'll find any luncheon?" said Dan.

  "Maybe he's more concerned just now with breakfast," said Bob. "As faras we know he hasn't had that yet!"

  "Poor old Tommikins," muttered Dan. "And he so fond of eating, too! Ireally believe that if Tommy missed two meals in succession he'd die ofstarvation."

  "Well, let's get busy," said Nelson. "We'll help you, Bob."

  "All right; there's the potatoes and here's the knife. Peel them thin,now. By the way, how would they taste fried?"

  "Oh, great!" cried Dan, smacking his lips. "Say, I believe this old fogmakes a fellow hungrier than anything else!"

  "Fried it is, then," answered Bob. "There's plenty of lard. Find the canopener, Dan, and yank the lid off of one of those cans of hash."

  "We never got a can opener!" exclaimed Nelson. "I forgot all about it.Use the old potato knife, Dan."

  "All right. Say, this is great fun, isn't it? _Wow!_"

  "Cut yourself?" asked Nelson.

  "Oh, not much. Next time I see a store I'm going to buy an opener if itcosts ten cents! _Thunder!_"

  The can slipped out of his hands and went skimming across the oilclothfloor. Luckily the top was only half off and very little of the contentswas spilled. Dan rescued it, seated himself on the steps and, placing itfirmly between his knees, sawed away at the tin.

  "There you are!" he said triumphantly. "It smells mighty good, too!Hurry up, Nel, with those potatoes, or I'll perish before your veryeyes."

  "Where's the lard?" asked Bob. "Tommy said there was lots of it. Look inthe ice box, Bob."

  "Here it is: 'Leaf Lard,' whatever that is."

  "Got any water on for tea, Bob?" asked Nelson.

  "No, put some in the kettle, will you? I'll cut these potatoes up, whatyou've left of them; I rather think we'd get more if I fried the skins!"

  "Oh, you run away and play," answered Nelson. "They're peeled to theQueen's taste."

  "Perhaps the Queen had more potatoes than we have," was the answer. "Youget out of here, Dan, you're in the way."

  "Well, I'll go up and discover Tommy."

  "You'll set the table," said Nelson, "that's what you'll do."

  "Sure! How do you do it?"

  "Put the cloth on and I'll come and help you," answered Nelson.

  "Aye, aye, sir! A sailor's life for me!"

  Twenty minutes later they were seated around the table on which steameda dish of corned-beef hash, nicely browned about the edges, a dish ofhashed brown potatoes, and three cups of very strong tea. There wasbread, too, and cheese in a little crockery jar, and jam and crackers.Dan uttered a sigh of content as he piled his plate.

  "Tommy doesn't know what he's missing," he said.

  "I wish to goodness he'd show up," said Bob. "Is it clearing up any,Dan?"

  "Not so you'd notice it," replied that youth who had been up on deck amoment before. "It's as thick as ever and maybe thicker."

  "Well, Tommy'll turn up all right, I guess," said Nelson.

  "When he does I'll bet he will be hungry enough to eat raw dog," saidDan. "Gee, but this hash is swell! Who's got the bread?"

  "Have some butter, won't you, Dan?" begged Nelson.

  "Well, I should say not! With my complexion? What are you thinkingabout? Say, how would a little lard taste on the bread, fellows?"

  "You might try it," answered Bob. "I dare say it wouldn't be any worsethan some butter I've met."

  They were very hungry, very merry, and very noisy, and as a consequenceof the latter fact they did not hear the sound of oars outside or offeet on the deck, nothing, in fact, until some one stumbled wearily downthe steps and appeared at the stateroom door.

  "Tommy!" cried Dan, and----

  "Tommy!" echoed Bob and Nelson.

  Tommy, very tired looking and extremely damp, dragged himself across thefloor and sank onto the edge of a bunk, staring famishedly at the table.

  "Haven't you got through breakfast yet?" he asked weakly.

  "For goodness sake, Tommy," exclaimed Nelson, "where have you been?"

  "Been!" answered Tom with a suggestion of returning spirit, as he drewfrom his pocket a misshapen object wrapped in brown paper and tossed itonto the table, "I've been after your blamed old bu-bu-bu-butter!"