by James Otis
CHAPTER VII.
ON SHORE.
When the first rays of the sun appeared above the horizon the sailorssearched with their eyes in every direction; but neither land nor acraft could be seen.
"I knew we were bound to run away from the rest of the party," Jakesaid, keeping his face turned toward the bow, for the slightestcarelessness might be fatal to all. "If this wind dies out we can laystill till they come up, as they're sure to do before long."
"But suppose the other boats have been swamped?" Neal suggested, with achoking sob as he realized that he might never see his father again.
"We won't suppose anything of the kind," Jake replied sharply. "Thereare plenty in the crowd who can handle the boats better than this onewas handled, and if we rode out the night in safety why shouldn't theyhave done the same?"
"The only chance of our not seein' 'em," one of the sailors saidthoughtfully, "is, that sailin' slower, they may now be near land thatwe passed in the night without knowin' it. There should 'a been a lot ofkeys within fifty miles of where we abandoned the Sea Dream."
"That's very true, matey," and now Jake spoke in his customary cheerfultone, "an' we'll soon be makin' some place where there'll be a chance ofstretchin' our legs. Overhaul the grub, one of you, an' let's have abite; I feel like a man what's been on a thirty hour watch."
"So you have, for that matter. Even if you ain't a sailor man I'd liketo see him as could handle a little craft any better. With me at thehelm she'd have gone to the bottom before midnight."
"I won't kick 'cause you praise me," Jake replied with a laugh; "butdon't lay it on too thick for fear I might get proud."
"I was only tellin' the truth, an' jest what all of us think. When thebreeze freshened I made up my mind that the voyage was about ended; buthere we are yet, an' here we're likely to be a spell longer unless westrike another norther."
While the man was speaking he had passed aft two cans of preserved meat,some hard bread, and a small jar of pickles, after opening the tins withhis sheath knife, and every one on board made a hearty meal, the boysin particular feeling decidedly cheerful when the repast had been eaten.
"The wind is fallin' off a bit, an' I reckon it'll come dead calm bynoon," Jake said, after refusing to allow one of the seamen to relievehim. "We'll all soon have a chance to bottle up sleep."
"How long do you think it ought to be before we sight the land?" Nealasked.
"That's jest what I can't say, lad; but 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'we was a good bit below the coast of Cuba when the little yacht wentdown. That norther blew us a good way off our course, an' it's possibleMr. Walters might have made a mistake in determinin' the position,although it ain't exactly the proper thing for an engineer to set upagin a first-class sailin' master."
"It won't take long to find out if this breeze holds, an' that's somecomfort," one of the sailors replied, and then the three men drew lotsto see which two should take a watch "below."
During the forenoon there was but little change in the condition ofaffairs. The wind decreased until it was nothing more than a goodsailing breeze; but the expected calm did not come.
The boat reeled off the knots in fine style, despite the poor apologyfor a sail, and the boys were allowed to change their position, whichthey did by sitting on the after thwart.
About twelve o'clock Jake stretched himself out on the bottom for a nap,awakening one of the sleepers that the man at the helm might haveassistance in case he should require it, and the boys alternately dozedor searched the horizon in vain for some signs of the other boats.
Those who were hungry ate whenever it pleased them to do so, and therewas no lack of either food or water. Teddy would have talked with hisfriend regarding the prospects of reaching home within a reasonablelength of time; but Neal was so anxious about his father that he couldspeak of nothing else.
Toward the close of the day the wind freshened again, and, in obedienceto his previous orders, Jake was awakened, the man at the helm saying inan apologetic tone:
"I can hold on here a good bit longer; but you wanted to know if therewas any change, an' there is. It looks to me as if we should have moreof a breeze than we had last night."
"No signs of land yet?"
"No sir; but the Cuban coast, if that's what we're headin' for, is solow that we wouldn't be likely to raise it till we got close on."
Jake ate supper before taking his seat at the helm, and then the boyswere advised to lie down as on the preceding night.
"You'll be comfortable there, and won't stand so much of a chance ofgettin' wet."
It was evident that Jake wanted to have them out of the way, and bothobeyed at once, Teddy saying as he stretched himself out on the hardboards:
"It seems as if my bones were coming through the skin, and I'm sore allover."
"Things are not nearly as bad as they might be, so we musn't complain,"Neal replied philosophically; but at the same time it seemed as if hecould not remain in that position another night.
Even in face of the danger to which they would be exposed, the occupantsof the boat welcomed the increase in the weight of the wind since it wasreasonable to suppose that each mile traversed carried them just so muchnearer the land, and, with the exception of Neal and Teddy, all were ingood spirits when the darkness of night covered the ocean.
Owing to the absence of exercise the boys did not sleep well, and whenthe unconsciousness of slumber did come upon them for a few moments at atime, it brought in its train dreams so distressing that wakefulnesswith the full knowledge of the dangers which encompassed them, waspreferable.
It seemed as if twenty hours instead of ten had passed when one of themen in the bow cried joyfully:
"If I don't see the loom of land now it's because I never saw such asight before."
"Where away?" Jake asked, straining his eyes in the vain effort todiscern anything amid the gloom.
"Dead ahead as we are running. It must be somethin' more'n a cay, or itwouldn't show up so big."
The gray light of approaching dawn was lifting the mantle of night whenthe man spoke, and, ten minutes later, all saw with reasonabledistinctness the dark cloud which could be nothing less than land.
Now the roar of surf was heard, and Jake said in a troubled tone:
"I don't see how we are to make it after all, unless we plump herstraight on, an' that's likely to be a dangerous experiment."
"Why not take in the sail, and work the oars; then you can pick alanding place?"
"All right, let go the halyards; but instead of furling the canvas youcan stow it under one of the thwarts."
This order was given and obeyed cheerily, for all were in the best ofspirits now that the end of the wearisome journey seemed to be so nearat hand and in a very short time the boat was moving slowly toward theshore, rising and falling gently on the heavy swell.
Each moment it was possible to see more distinctly the coast, and whenthey were thirty yards from a shore strewn with jagged blocks of coral,Jake shouted:
"Hold on, boys, it would be worse than folly to attempt to run in therewhile the sea is so high."
"Can't you find a better place?" one of the men asked.
"It appears to be the same all along for a mile or so in eitherdirection."
"There's more danger of bein' swamped while runnin' up or down thecoast, than in makin' a try for it here. Let her go in on the swell, an'when the water shoals we can jump over to lighten her so she'll strikewell up on the shore where there'll be no trouble in savin' everything."
"I don't like the idea," Jake replied. "We can't tell what a fellowmight meet with, an' to be swung agin one of them rocks would be hardlines."
The sailors were determined to make the attempt regardless of hiswarnings, and after a few moments he refused to argue longer.
"You ought to know better than I," he said, "an' its no more'n right youshould have your own way without any fuss; but the boys an' I will stayhere till she strikes. That is a better plan than goin' over t
he sidewhen you know nothing about the shore, and besides, I can't see theadvantage of lightenin' her."
"So she'll strike higher up on the beach, of course, otherwise she'd bestove before you could say Jack Robinson."
"Do as you please, an' so will I. Shall I steer her in now?"
The sailors kicked off their boots, and began pulling vigorously at theoars while Jake said in a low tone to the boys:
"Be ready to jump the minute she strikes; but not before. Look out forthe rocks, and take care the swell don't drag you back."
The heavy waves were rolling up on the shore with a roar that renderedconversation difficult, and as he glanced ahead at the foaming waters inwhich it did not seem possible the little craft could live for a singlemoment, Teddy pressed Neal's hand as if to say good-by.
Neal gave him one quick, hopeful glance; pointed shoreward to intimatethat they must watch every motion of the boat in order to be preparedwhen the most favorable time arrived, and, following Jake's exampleboth arose from the thwart, standing in a stooping posture in order tosteady themselves by the rail.
Carried on the crest of an enormous wave the tiny craft hangs as ifpoised in mid-air for an instant, and as the vast body of water isdashed forward the three sailors leap into the boiling, swirling foam.
Teddy fancied he heard a muffled cry of agony; but just at that momenthe could think only of saving his own life, and there was no time to somuch as glance around.
The boat was shot suddenly forward with the water dashing above thestern and sides, and Jake shouted:
"Over with you now!"
At the same instant that the boat struck the boys leaped, and duringseveral fearful seconds it was doubtful whether they could hold theirown against the treacherous under-tow.
By clinging to the sides of the craft, and straining every muscle, theattempt was successful, and as the wave receded the little tender layacross a sharp piece of coral, almost a total wreck.
"Take hold and shove her further up!" Jake shouted. "Work now as younever did before, or we shall lose all our stores!"
During the next half minute the three struggled to the utmost of theirpower, and then the fragments of the boat and the goods which had beenbrought from the Sea Dream were high upon the beach beyond reach of thenext wave, which swept in with a yet louder roar as if enraged at havingbeen deprived of its prey.
Not until this had been done was it possible to look around for thesailors, and Teddy cried as he gazed seaward without seeing any livingcreature:
"Where are they?"
Jake watched the boiling waters several seconds before he repliedmournfully:
"It was as I feared. They either struck some of these jagged rocks asthey leaped from the boat or the under-tow was so strong that it draggedthem down."
"Do you mean that all three have been drowned?" Neal cried.
"If they were alive we should see them by this time," and Jake ran alongthe shore hoping they might have succeeded in scrambling out at someother point.
Teddy and Neal followed him, and when five minutes passed there could beno further doubt.
"If they had waited until the boat struck, as we did, there would havebeen little trouble to get ashore; but now we shall never see themagain."
The boys could hardly realize that three strong men had been taken fromthis world so quickly, and when finally the fact stood out boldlywithout the slightest possibility of mistake, a feeling of deepestdepression took possession of all.
Teddy threw himself face downward on the sand and gave way to grief,while Neal and Jake stood by his side in silence, for this dreadfulcatastrophe seemed to be a warning of their own fate.