The Pirate Shark

by Elliott Whitney

  CHAPTER XVII

  THE MYSTERY O' THE SEA

  As around the stern of the _Seamew_ came a prau, Ah Sing shrieked aloudin delight and the boys gave a hearty cheer at sight of CaptainHollinger and Swanson standing in the prow of the craft. Beside themstood the two engineers, while the Kanaka crew of the yacht were at thesweeps.

  "By golly, they got away!" gasped Mart, managing to scramble to hisfeet. The sight of the motionless figure of Jerry Smith sobered bothboys, however, and while Bob stepped forward to meet his father, Martkneeled down beside Jerry with feeble efforts to revive him. His ownstrength was not yet fully returned.

  "What's all this?" demanded the captain, as he leaped from the prau tothe landing. "Where are those mutineers, Bob?"

  "Ashore, all but Jerry," returned Bob promptly, pointing to thequartermaster's figure. Captain Hollinger waved back his men and joinedMart. After a cursory examination he rose to his feet and pulled Mart upalso.

  "No use, boys," he said softly. "Jerry has found the mystery of the seaat last. Now come along. Tell me what's been going on here."

  Mart was unable to speak for a moment, but startled as Bob was, hereplied with another question, as Captain Hollinger drew them both upthe ladder to the deck.

  "Tell us how you got away, first. We thought the Malays had you!"

  "So they did," grimaced the captain, "until that assistant engineer cameashore with the Kanakas. Before they got him into the river he hadimpelled the Kanakas to capture the prau. Then he got his irons cut offand led the Kanakas straight up to the village. I was just starting forthe hunt, in blissful security, when he broke in on us and told us whatwas up. As the Kanakas were armed, the Malays had to give ingracefully--and here we are. Now come across, you boys!"

  Naturally, his wonder was great at finding Mart and Jerry in diver'sdress, the old quartermaster dead, and Bob looking pretty shaky. Bit bybit the boys told their tale, and only by an effort could they realizethat so many things had happened in this one day, for it was not yetsunset.

  While they were talking, Swanson joined them with word that Jerry musthave died from heart failure, not from suffocation; no doubt the shockof finding himself cut off had stricken him. But Captain Hollinger andhis first mate forgot all else in their amazement at Mart's story of thefight eight fathoms down. In fact, Mart saw plainly that they did notbelieve him and thought that the descent must have shaken his mind.

  With that he pulled off the diving costume, which as yet he had had nochance to remove. When they had helped him out of it, and three or fourgold pieces fell to the floor, all incredulity vanished. Bob, Mart andSwanson crowded around the captain, examining the coins with wildexcitement.

  "Well, I'm bound to say that your story and Jerry's yarns seem to besubstantiated, boys!" exclaimed Captain Hollinger. "These seem to be oldSpanish or Portuguese coins--they coined them out here then, you know.And here's the date--1632. Yes, they all have the same date. By Jove,Mart, you've made a haul here!"

  The boys stood silent, and Swanson pawed over the gold pieces with aflame in his eyes until Captain Hollinger had switched up the electriclights, for the sudden night of the far east had fallen. Then the mateabruptly pushed the coins across the table, and faced the captain,breathing heavily.

  "Cap'n Hollinger," he said, with a visible effort, "when you took me onyou knew that I'd had a more or less shaky kind o' past, didn't you?"

  "Eh?" The captain flung him a keen glance. "What do you mean, Mr.Swanson?"

  "Just this, Cap'n. Once, when I was a fool young fellow, I got mixed upwi' old Jerry. He was a trader among the islands then, nothin' short ofpiracy it was in them days. When he come aboard this yacht, wi' themfour men out o' his old crew, I knowed there was trouble brewin'. Hefinally told me about this here treasure, and how he was a-goin' to takethe yacht, and wanted me to join him. I warned him off, Cap'n, and I wasfool enough to think he'd take the warnin'. But he didn't. Now that it'scome out right, I wanted to get it off'n my conscience, that's all."

  Captain Hollinger reached across the table, and gripped Swanson's hand.

  "Mr. Swanson," he said, smiling, "I'm proud of you. Your wages aredoubled this trip--no, no protests, please! Evidently Jerry led meastray all along, and the only gold in this lagoon was the treasure. NowI think you'd better take the deck, Mr. Swanson."

  "Yes, sir," replied Swanson humbly, his eyes gleaming oddly. "And whatabout them four men on the island, sir?"

  "Let them go, Swanson. They'll get food from the Malays, and they caneasily make their way to Singapore in the boat. I'll not prosecute them.As for Jerry, we'll bury him in the morning."

  Swanson lumbered out of the cabin. Captain Hollinger turned to Mart, andasked him to go over his fight with the Pirate Shark in more detail.Mart did so, for by this time he had recovered entirely except for ashakiness in his legs. The captain listened to the story silently, thennodded.

  "I'm pretty sure you finished off the brute, Mart. That finishing blowof yours seems to have driven in the kris either through his throat orelse through his mouth to the brain."

  "But you didn't see anything of the body as you came?" asked Bobanxiously.

  "No. He'd probably not rise until to-morrow, in any case. I've no doubt,however, that we'll find his body to-morrow or next day, boys. What atrophy his skin would make, eh?"

  "Could we have it mounted, dad?" queried Bob.

  "Too big," retorted Mart practically. "The only place it could be usedwould be in a museum, Holly."

  "Well, why not?" smiled the captain. "It would be a welcome addition toany museum, Mart, and our Kanakas can take off the skin in a few hours.And think--after it's mounted and set up, you'll see your name on thebottom--killed and presented by Mart Judson! How's that?"

  "Pretty good," grinned Mart. "But say, let's get down to solid earth,Cap'n. Are we going to get after the rest of that treasure down there?"

  "Are we?" retorted the captain. "Surest thing you know, Mart! We'll burypoor old Jerry to-morrow morning, and in the afternoon we'll send down acouple of the men, when we've made sure that the Pirate Shark is out ofthe way. And if there's as much of the stuff as you say you saw, Mart,you'll have a good stake to--"

  "Hold on," interrupted Mart, surprised. "You seem to think that I'mtrying to grab it all, Cap'n. I didn't mean to--"

  "Of course you didn't," laughed Captain Hollinger, stretching out easilyin his chair. "But I'd like to know who else the gold belongs to, Mart.You've won it by right of conquest, seems to me."

  "That's right," added Bob hastily. "It's all yours, old boy. You foughtfor it, and you ought to--"

  "Now look here," and Mart leaned forward earnestly, with his air ofdetermination. "That's not right. I'd never have got up if it hadn'tbeen for Bob, Cap'n. We're in on this thing as partners, and when we getthat treasure we're goin' to split on it, or Mart Judson isn't goin' totouch any of it. Now, that goes."

  There was no doubt that he meant his words. Bob, however, stillattempted to protest, but Mart promptly shut him up.

  "None of that, Holly. I guess there's enough treasure there to satisfyus all, and my end of it is going for an education. That's all I have tosay."

  "Then that settles it," laughed Captain Hollinger, rising at the soundof the gong from the mess saloon. "Ah Sing has mess ready, and I'mfamished. Come along, boys, and we'll all feel better after a bite toeat."

  He led the way out, but at the door Mart stopped his chum.

  "I forgot to thank you, Holly," he said quietly. "I won't forget that itwas you pulled me up, old man. And when we mount the Pirate Shark, ournames go on that brass plate together!"

  And Bob grinned happily as they struck hands.

 
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