CHAPTER XVI.
FOR PIRACY ON THE HIGH SEAS.
The boys hastened down to the campfire and quickly extinguished it, muchto the disgust of Jimmie, who had begun the preparation of an elaboratemeal--at least as elaborate as could be gotten together out of tin cans.
This precaution taken, the _Manhattan_ was towed into the mouth of thelittle creek and climbers and creepers drawn over her until no one wouldhave suspected her presence there. The engine was not set in motion inmaking this change because of the danger from the explosions.
All this accomplished, Ned and Pat climbed back to the shelf of rock andagain looked out over the mysterious China Sea. There were the twolights, one to the west and one to the north. They were closer to theisland than before, however, and the light up toward Formosa was drawingto the south rapidly.
"They are going to meet here, all right," Pat said, "and I'll go applesto snowballs that they've got arms for the insurrectos. The manager ofthis enterprise never let all those chiefs get away from that otherisland without signing the treaty, and now he's sneaking in guns to helpthem out."
The boys discussed the situation for some moments, the lights comingnearer with astonishing rapidity. At length another light showed away tothe south and west, but not such a light as the others.
It was not high up in the air, like the others, and directly it seemedto divide itself into half a dozen points. Its progress toward theisland seemed to be even faster than that of the others.
"That's a steamer," Ned said, after a long look through his glass.
"The other lights are on steamers, too," Pat replied. "No wind-jammercould make the time, in this calm, that those boats are making."
While the boys looked the lights went out, or appeared to, and there wasonly the glimmer of the unfamiliar constellations of the heavens overthe China Sea.
"That's strange!"
Pat turned to Ned and grasped him by the arm.
"What do you make of it?" he continued.
"That may be a signal," was the reply.
"If it is, the glims will show again directly."
"They may," was the reply.
But the lights did not show again, and, after waiting for an hour ormore, the boys started back to the camp. Half way down, the dull,reverberating boom of a cannon came to their ears, over the water.
"What does that mean?" asked Pat.
"It may be the gunboat Jimmie insisted would be sent for me," smiledNed.
"You don't really think that?"
"Hardly," was the reply, "but I don't know what to make of it."
"Perhaps it was a command for the other ships to show their lights," Patsuggested.
"I hope Uncle Sam is becoming wise to the game that is being played downhere," Ned said, "and has sent a gunboat to look into it."
"That's it!" cried Pat. "That's just it! If she doesn't pass the shipsin the dark there'll be something doing here."
The dull boom of the gun came again, and, far out, the low lights of thegunboat showed above the water. She seemed to be passing swiftly to thenorth.
"She's going to pass us, all right!" Pat cried. "Now, what did she makethat noise for? To warn the ships that she was coming, and to get out ofthe way?"
"There's some good reason," Ned replied.
In a moment a searchlight shot out from the gunboat and prowled over thesea. The boys could see it moving about, but could not see that itpicked up the ships which had previously shown the lights. One of thevessels, it appeared, was too far to the south and the other too far tothe north to be reached by the traveling rays from the gunboat.
"She's slowing down!" Pat cried, in a moment. "She's going to search theislands. Glory be!"
"You may not want to meet her people, after you find out what theywant," said Ned. "Remember that battle with the Filipinos back there."
"I'm willing to take chances with them," was the reply.
The boys now hastened back to camp and Ned passed on to the creek wherethe _Manhattan_ lay in hiding.
"Jimmie," he said, turning to face that young gentleman, "do youremember whether those rockets we bought at Manila were put on board?"
"Sure they were!" was the reply. "Want 'em?"
Ned replied that he did, and the boy went prospecting in the lockers ofthe boat.
"Got 'em!" he cried presently.
"Do you know how to send them off?" asked Ned.
"Do I? Well, if you'd ever seen me bossin' the fireworks at TompkinsSquare, in little old N. Y., I guess you wouldn't ask that!"
Just then Jack came blundering along through the brush and half fellinto the boat.
"You'd make a fine scout!" Jimmie said. "You move through the thicketswith the stealth and grace of an elephant!"
"What's that firing about?" asked Jack, paying no attention to the boyand facing Ned anxiously, his face only half seen in the semi-darkness.
"That is what I want you to find out," was the reply. "I want you andJimmie to put the boat in running condition, everything ready for aspurt of speed. And I want you to remain here in the boat, ready toshoot out in a second."
"All right! That's easy."
"You may have to wait a long time," Ned went on, "and you may have to goinside of five minutes. When you go, muffle the engine as much aspossible, but run like the Old Nick was after you--run for the gunboatout there!"
"They'll pinch me!" wailed Jimmie.
"And when you get to the gunboat," Ned continued, "tell the officer incharge that Nestor is a prisoner on this island, and that theinsurrectos are about to land guns and ammunition here."
"You a prisoner!" Jack echoed. "What's the use of lying about it?"
"I shall be a prisoner by the time you reach the gunboat," Ned said,coolly--as calmly as if he had been announcing that he would be takinghis supper at that time.
"If you go in the _Manhattan_," Jack said, "you won't be a prisonerhere."
"But I've got to stay here," Ned said, "and besides, the boat must notbe loaded down. She may have to make a hot run for the gunboat."
"I don't know what you're up to," Jack said, doubtfully, "but I guessyou do, so I'll do just as you say."
"What about the rockets?" asked Jimmie.
"They are to be used in signaling the gunboat," Ned replied. "She may bea long ways off when you get out there."
When the boys at the camp had finished their supper, eaten in thedarkness, and watched the sea for signs of the ships for half an hour,they started toward the boat. Then another shot came over the water,followed by two more, fired in quick succession. Ned joined theminstantly, for, following the shots, the rattle of sailing gear and thethud-thud of boxes or boards on a deck echoed over the sea.
"One of the ships is close in," Ned said. "Now we'll see if the ownersare unloading missionaries here!"
The vessel close in looked like an old-fashioned top-sail schooner;still there was an engine and a propeller. She was a three-master, andlooked, in the uncertain light, as if she had been in service in theEast for a long time.
She glided into the harbor between the Tusks as if she knew every inchof the channel, and brought up close to a flat surface of rock on one ofthe Tusks, which formed a natural pier. Then the hatches were opened,and shaded lanterns gleamed about the deck.
Ned glanced back over the mountain, and was astonished at seeing a greensignal light there, almost at the top. The men on the schooner saw thesignal, too, for Ned could see them pointing at it, could hear themlaughing as if a great point had been gained.
"Wonder why we didn't see that?" asked Frank. "It must have been therewhen the lights showed from the ships."
"We didn't go up high enough, or it might not have been there when wewere looking," was the reply.
"Well," Frank said, then, "if we didn't see the chap who is tending thatlight on the mountain, he must have seen us; or if he didn't see us hemust have heard the engine of the _Manhattan_ doing her talking stunt."
"Probably," replied Ned.
Th
e matter was more serious than his manner indicated, for he turnedquickly and walked toward the _Manhattan_, calling out softly to Pat ashe did so. There was no answer for a moment, and then it came in theshape of a dozen pistol shots.
Ned dropped down behind a clump of bushes and waited for an instant,resolved to know what was going on at the boat before advancing. Thenthe boys from the camp came running up, asking questions, and all made arush for the boat.
When they came within sight of the spot where she lay, they saw that shewas moving out into the bay, and that Pat was standing by the enginewhirling the fly-wheel. On the shore were a score of Filipinos, standingwith guns turned toward the boat.
The boys saw Ned and Frank spring forward, saw them hesitate an instant,and then drop to the ground. The _Manhattan_ swung out into the bay withengines snapping and propeller churning the smooth waters.
"Whoop--ee!" shouted Pat from the deck.
"Got her off all right!" shouted Jimmie. "Nobody hurt!"
"Straight to the Northwest," shouted Ned, "and keep your rockets going!"
"I wish we had been able to get on board," Frank said, regretfully, asthe _Manhattan_ showed a clean pair of heels out of the bay. "I saw Jackon her."
"The boys on board have their instructions," Ned said, "and now we mayas well be getting out of range of these little brown men! If Pat andthe others hadn't been on their guard the boat would have beencaptured."
The moon was rising now, almost at full, and brought the natives,standing on the beach, out in full relief. They were well armed, andseemed very angry at the turn matters had taken. They had evidently beensent out to capture the boat, and were not pleased at the report theywould now be obliged to make.
They stood looking out at the fast receding boat for only a momentbefore opening fire on her. Directly, however, the _Manhattan_ was outof range, and then they turned their attention to Ned's party, which,being hidden by the thicket, might not have been discovered at that timeonly for the instructions shouted out by Ned as the boat slid away.
Knowing that he would be between two fires if a battle opened, Ned madeno show of resistance when the natives approached him with leveled guns.There was a great bustle between the Tusks now, showing that the cargoof the schooner, whatever it was, was being landed, and it was naturalto suppose that there existed an understanding between the crew and themen on the island.
"Don't try to shoot!" a voice said in good English. "My men have youcovered."
"Who are you?" asked Ned, not much surprised, after what had takenplace, to find the party officered by an American.
"An officer in the United States army," was the unexpected reply.
"Then what are you doing all this shooting for?" demanded Frank. "Whydid you molest the _Manhattan_, here on government service?"
"We'll see about the service she is on later," replied the officer."Beat it for the harbor, all of you."
When the party reached the Tusks the crew of the schooner was busyunloading long pine boxes which looked as if they contained shovels andhoes, and seemed to be very heavy. The second vessel, the one which hadbeen observed in the north, lay close in.
"Where's the officer in charge?" asked Ned, as they approached a groupstanding at the head of the harbor.
The officer who had captured the boys pointed out a tall, ratherfine-looking man who was standing, pencil and paper in hand, checkingoff the boxes as they crashed down on the beach.
"There he is," was the information given. "Lieutenant Carstens, and amighty good man at that!"
The Filipino boy stepped forward, as if anticipating a friendly greetingand then drew back in confusion. Lieutenant Carstens had looked himfairly in the face and had not recognized him.
Ned did not step forward to present his side of the case to the manpointed out to him, for there was no need to do so. The man was the onehe had met in the tea house in Yokohama, in the Street of a ThousandSteps.
"Go on and give him a talk," Frank said, as Ned drew back.
"There is not a bit of use," Ned replied. "The man is a crook, and isnot acting for the government here."
"Then why these vessels?" asked Frank. "He must be a good deal of a wisecrook if be sails about with a fleet like that."
"I rather think he is a good deal of a wise crook," Ned replied. "He'sthe man whom Jimmie saw mixing with the rebel chiefs."
"But look here," Frank insisted, "look at the blue coats unloading theboxes. They are in the service, for sure. This Lieutenant Carstens maybe a crook, but he has a command in the United States navy, all right."
One of the men who was assisting the Lieutenant in the tally now calledhis attention to the prisoners and the Filipino boy standing by theirside. He listened for a moment to what was said to him, then motionedfor the Filipino boy to approach. The two talked for a moment inSpanish, and then the boy, evidently much against his will, was sent onboard the ship.
In a few moments the Lieutenant turned to Ned, a smile of victory on hislips.
"Well," he said, "your career as a pirate has been brought to a suddenclose."
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Ned.
The question was a natural one, but was entirely unnecessary, for theboy knew what was meant--knew on what desperate chance the lives ofhimself and his friends rested.
"I mean," answered the Lieutenant, "that you are under arrest for piracyon the high seas. Also for deliberate murder. Also for the larceny ofthe _Manhattan_ from Manila."
"Very well," Ned replied, coolly, "take me back to Manila for trial. Iam willing to go with you."
"We don't take pirates back to Manila for trial," was the sneeringreply. "We give them a hearing and shoot them down on the spot. I'llattend to your case directly."
"You've got your nerve!" cried Frank.
The Lieutenant turned with a snarl and pointed the end of his penciltoward the two boys.
"Put them in irons," he said. "We'll give them a drum-head when we getthe goods out of the _Clara_ and will shoot them at midnight."
The boys made no resistance. That would have been useless, for therewere twenty to one against them.
"And," continued the officer, "send for the relatives of the nativesthis man Nestor murdered on Banta Isle. We'll have them for witnesses."
"They attacked me," Ned said, in a second sorry that he had spoken atall.
"They were ordered to recover the _Manhattan_, property stolen from thegovernment," was the reply, "and you resisted them. Put a stick in hismouth, Ben, if he talks any more."
Ben, a muscular, scar-faced fellow of thirty, stepped forward and took aseat on the rock near the captives. He had the mild, soft eyes of astudent of theology and the square jaw and hard hands of a prizefighter.
"You're to keep your face closed--see?" he said, nudging Ned in the sidewith an elbow. "You're to keep your clapper tied," he went on, "or I'lltie it up for you. And how in the name of the Seven Seas did you everget in such a scrape, Ned Nestor?"
The last words were spoken very softly, but before that Ned hadrecognized the man as one he had known and liked on the water front inNew York.
"You're in a bad box," Ben went on, "for that slob means business."
"There's just one chance for us," Ned whispered. "If the rockets are allright, and the gunboat is not too far away to see the signals!"
Boy Scouts in the Philippines; Or, The Key to the Treaty Box Page 16