CHAPTER XXVIII
JESS TO THE RESCUE
"Who are you talking to?" asked Jerry.
"Jess, of course," replied Ned, greatly excited. "She's outside. Jess!Jess!" he called again. "We are locked in the storeroom!"
The boys waited anxiously. Then, from without, came a whisper thatsounded loudly through the darkened room.
"What has happened? Where is my uncle? Who are you?"
"It's me; Ned," was the reply, whispered from the prison. "Theycaptured us! Have you a key? Can you let us out? How did you get awayfrom Noddy?"
"Oh, this is terrible!" cried Jess. "How did it happen?"
She was standing under the small slit in the masonry that served to letair into the storeroom. The light from a lamp in the kitchen of theplace streamed out from a window full on her, so Ned could see the girlplainly, though of course she could not see him.
"Why you are all wet!" cried Ned. "Did you fall in the water?"
"No, I jumped," came the tense whisper. "What shall I do to let youout?"
"Can you get the key to this place?" asked Ned. "If you can, sneak intothe house, and open the door, let us out and we'll call help, and tryto prevent the men from changing the light."
"Where is my uncle?"
"He was called away, by a false telephone message, we believe, to seehis sick sister! The men put up a game to get him away! Quick Jess, orit will be too late!"
Ned saw the girl step back out of the path of illumination and gazeupward. As she did so she uttered a half suppressed scream.
"They are changing the light!" she uttered in a shrill whisper. "Andthere's a storm about to break! What shall I do?"
As she spoke there came a low rumble of thunder off to the west and aflash of lightning.
"Let us out if possible!" whispered Ned. "They are so busy with thelight they may not notice you. Get the keys and let us out!"
"I will! I will!" exclaimed Jess. "If I can only succeed!"
Ned saw her dart around the corner of the house. Then she was out ofhis line of vision. They could only wait developments now.
"Do you think she can do it?" asked Jerry.
"She will if it's possible," replied Ned. "Only there is not much time.My! But it's going to storm fierce!"
A loud crash of thunder sounded, making the stout lighthouse vibrate.The flashes of lightning showed through the ventilating window,illuminating the small apartment with a weird glow. The wind washowling about the place.
"There'll be a heavy sea on," said Jerry. "The ship will get upon therocks and go to pieces. Then these scoundrels will go out and pick upthe cargo."
"There may be many lives lost," exclaimed Bob. "The life saving stationis short-handed. They all are in the summer time."
"If Jess can only get the keys!" Ned murmured.
It seemed like an hour before there sounded a tapping on the storeroomdoor. Ned sprang to answer it.
"Are you still there, boys?" they heard Jess ask.
"Yes! Yes!" whispered Jerry. "Have you the keys?"
"No, the men must have taken them."
"Then get an axe and see if you can't break the lock."
"It is too strong. Besides they might hear the blows."
"Where are the men?"
"In the lantern tower," the girl replied. "Wait a minute, let me thinkof a plan."
Outside the storm was raging. Locked in the storeroom the boys feltlike beating at the door with their fists to break it down, so theymight get out, change the light, and save the steamer.
"I have it!" Jess whispered through the big keyhole. "I will burn thelock out."
"How?" asked Ned.
"With a hot poker. I'll heat it in the kitchen stove. I'll burn a lotof little holes all around the lock, and then I can knock the piece ofdoor out! The men can't hear that!"
"Good!" cried Ned. "Hurry Jess!"
They could hear the girl moving about the kitchen. The rattle of ironon iron came to their ears. Presently there was the smell of burningwood. It grew stronger. Then a dull red point pierced the door, andcame through into the storeroom.
"That's the first hole!" whispered Jess. "I'll burn them as fast as Ican."
To the boys it seemed as if there was half an hour between eachreappearance of the glowing point of the poker, but it was only a fewminutes. There were seven holes burned, when they heard Jess hurry away.
Then resounded the tramp of feet in the lower part of the lighthouse. Afew seconds later the boys heard voices.
"Is it working all right?" a man asked.
"You bet," was the reply. "Now you and Bill had better put off in thesloop. She'll strike pretty soon, and you may pick up passengers with alot of valuables."
"It's blowing pretty hard to go out in the sloop," one of the crowdobjected.
"Oh, don't get chicken-hearted," was the sneering response. "You andBill have got to go. Me and Jim will stay here and work the light. Wecan tell when the rockets go up that she's struck, and then we'll skip.We'll meet at the cove."
The voices died away, as though the men had left. The sound of thestorm increased. Anxiously the boys waited for Jess to come back. Itwas several minutes before she did so. Then she whispered through thekeyhole:
"I had to run and hide when I heard the men coming from the tower. Twoof them have gone out, and the others have gone back to the light. Wemust hurry!"
Once more came the smell of burning wood, and once more the dull redpoint of the poker began to show. But it was slow work, for the doorwas thick, and of hard material. Then too, the poker would get coolcarrying it from the stove to the portal.
But Jess worked like an Amazon. Back and forth she went with the hotiron, burning herself several times when it slipped. But she gave smallheed to this. She wanted to save the ship and the honor of her uncle,who might be blamed for losing control of the lighthouse.
Hole after hole was burned. Now Ned began trying to knock out the pieceof door containing the lock. He found a small stone and hammered on theweakened wood. But it was still too strong for the feeble instrument hehad.
"Ten more holes and I think it will come out," the girl whispered.
Out on the deep, struggling through the storm which had suddenlybroken, was a large steamer, laden with a rich cargo. There were notmany passengers, as it was from a South American port, but these few,as well as the crew, had no warning of the danger that threatened them.
In the bow stood the lookout, scanning the expanse of angry water fora sight of lighthouses and headlands that would indicate the channelup the dangerous coast. Suddenly off to his left there shot out twobrilliant red flashes.
"North light two points off the port bow!" he called to the pilot.
"Lookout?" called the pilot.
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Are you sure that's the North light?"
"Aye, aye, sir. The south light shows a white flash and two red ones.These were only two red. There they are again, sir."
"Yes, I see them," as once more the false lights flashed across thesea. "We must have passed the South light while the weather wasthicker. I'll have to put her in a bit."
Then the pilot, deceived by the light, steered the vessel over towardthe ledge of dangerous rocks, instead of keeping out, as he would havedone, had the two red flashes been preceded by a white one.
But in the lighthouse three brave boys and as brave a girl, werestriving to aid the ill-fated steamer. Would they be in time?
Jess made hole after hole, though her arms ached, her eyes smarted withthe smoke, and her hands were burned in a number of places.
Again and again Ned beat with his stone on the wood around the lock.The circle of holes was complete at last.
"It's giving away! It's loosening!" cried the boy. He struck with allhis force. The stone flew from his hand, and fell through the openingthat suddenly appeared. The lock had been burned away, and the heavydoor swung inward. The boys were free.
"Now to change the lights!" cried Jerry, as, followed by his ch
ums hedashed toward the winding stairs that led to where the big lanternlenses revolved.
At that instant the door of the kitchen flew open and Mr. Hardackentered, wild and disheveled, dripping water from the storm which wasnow raging at its height.
The Motor Boys on the Atlantic; or, The Mystery of the Lighthouse Page 28