CHAPTER X
THE BURNING LAUNCH
The launch fortunately was not very far out. Had it been more than ahundred feet or so from shore no one could have done much for theunfortunate party on board, since beyond the shelter of the cove thelake was like a stormy sea, with white-capped waves defying swimmers,and giving even the stoutest of the craft that had been caught in thesquall all they could do to make headway against the wind.
The three Scouts, swimming strong and fast, saw as soon as they werewithin plain sight of the launch that she was doomed. The fire hadspread with a rapidity that would have been astonishing had it beenanything but gasolene that supplied fuel for the flames over the afterportion of the boat, where the tank had been. Up in the bow, huddledtogether, and shrieking for help, were two men and two women. Theyseemed to be terrified, and none of them had thought to seek safety bydropping overboard. They seemed, indeed, to prefer to stay and waitfor the fire to reach them, which it threatened to do at any moment.
It was no time to waste breath on words, but Jack, who had takencommand of the situation, as he always seemed to do, held his head wellout of the water to see what lay in front of them and then turned tohis companions.
"They can't swim," he said. "We'll have to make them jump overboard,though, and take a chance in the water. Then, if they don't gettroublesome, we'll probably be able to keep them up until help comes.You know how to choke them if they try to drag you down. And don'thesitate, even if it's a woman. It's better to be rough with them thanto let them drown."
Even in the water the heat from the blazing launch was terrific as thethree Scouts approached the burning boat. For those on board it waseven worse. The flames were almost touching them as Jack and theothers got within a boat length of the burning boat, and Jack cuppedhis hands and shouted through them, so that those on board could hearhim above the roar of the flames and their own cries of terror anddistress.
"Jump into the water!" he cried. "Don't struggle, and we'll be able tohold you up all right. But jump quick--it's your only chance!"
One of the women--she was a girl, not more than twenty, Jackthought--jumped at once. Sparks had set her hair on fire, but thewater put that out as soon as she was in it, and Pete Stubbs, who wasnearest to her, swam to her at once, and supported her in the water.She was plucky, and made no attempt to interfere with him. He told herto put her hand on his shoulder and keep perfectly still, and sheobeyed without question.
"Good work!" cried Jack. "Swim ashore with her, Pete, and then comeback here. We need all the help we can get if these others are scaredto jump."
But whether they were scared or not, the fire left them no choice aftera moment more. One after another the three of them jumped.
The two men, who were both fairly young, seemed to be plucky enough.They waited quietly enough for Tom Binns to swim to them, and, bytreading water, he was able to let each one of them put a hand on hisshoulder, so that they could keep their own heads out of water. Hecouldn't swim with them, but he could, at least, keep them from sinkinguntil help came. That could not be very long, since the blazing launchwas a signal of danger and the need of help for everyone who could seeit.
But Jack's task was more difficult and dangerous by far, both forhimself and for the woman he was trying to save. She had been mad withterror when she jumped, and, as soon as she felt Jack's arm about her,after she had struck the water, she fastened both her arms about himconvulsively, and began dragging him down with her. Her strength wasgreater than Jack's, since she was a big, powerful woman, and Jack hadno chance to break her hold on him by ordinary methods.
"Let go!" he cried. "I'll save you if you'll leave me alone and justput your hand on my shoulder. You'll drag us both down if you keepthis up!"
But she only shrieked the louder, when her lungs were not so full ofwater as to silence her, and Jack felt his strength going, and knew,that in order to save either of them, he must be brutal. So, without amoment's hesitation he seized her hair, which had come down about hershoulders, and pulled until he wondered why it did not come out by theroots.
She continued to shriek, but it was with pain now instead of fright,and in a moment her arms relaxed their desperate grip about Jack's armsand shoulders, so that he was free. She continued to struggle like amadwoman, however, and, since there was nothing else to do, Jack hither again and again, until she was afraid of him, and ready to do whathe told her.
It had taken him some time, and as he turned with the woman he hadsaved, limp and helpless now, to swim for the shore, Pete Stubbs passedhim.
"Want any help, Jack?" cried Pete.
"No, thanks! We're all right now. Go on out and help Tom and the twohe's got, Pete. You two can get them ashore all right, I guess."
Only the woman that Jack had saved was in need of attention when theywere all finally ashore. She was half drowned, thanks to the struggleshe had put up after she had jumped into the water, but it was not muchof a task to revive her, and when she had regained her senses she, likethe others, was grateful. Jack himself was tired and pretty wellexhausted by his exertions, but he cared little for that, since he hadbeen successful. A few minutes' rest, and he was all right.
"Our launch--it's burned up, I guess!" cried the girl who had been sosensible and plucky, the one who had let Pete Stubbs tow her ashorewithout making a single movement to hamper him in any way. "Look, thefire seems to be out, but I don't believe there's much left of the poorlittle boat."
The driving rain and the lake water had, indeed, put the fire out, andthe blackened hull of the launch, which had drifted slightly toward theshore, was floating quietly now.
"I'll swim out and see what sort of shape she's in," said Jack."Perhaps she's worth saving yet. The engine may be all right, with alittle repair work, and I think I can tow her in without much trouble.She's drifted pretty close in already."
He plunged in at once, without heeding the protests from the rescuedones, who said he had already done more than enough for them. A minuteof fast swimming took him out to the launch, and he climbed aboard,cautiously, to see what damage had been done. The boat smelled mostunpleasantly of the fire, and he found that the engine would need agood deal of attention before it would be of service again. But theforward part of the boat had suffered comparatively slight damage, asJack saw with pleasure. Then, suddenly, as he looked around him, hesaw something that made him jump.
"It can't be!" he exclaimed to himself.
But a few moments of examination convinced him that he had made nomistake. He searched the boat then from stem to stern, and, when hehad satisfied himself, he dropped overboard again, after making a ropehe had carried with him from the shore fast to the launch, and towedher leisurely in, until her keel grated on the beach, and the men whohad been on board pulled her up beyond high water mark.
As soon as he could then Jack drew Pete Stubbs aside.
"Say, Pete," he said, in a low tone, and tremendously excited, "here'sa queer business! That launch is the one that was used to carry me offlast night. I'm absolutely certain! I stayed on board long enough tomake sure. Do you suppose these people can be mixed up with thatscoundrel? It's the same boat--and if you'll notice, when you get achance, she's been patched up in front, right where she must have beensmashed up in going through that lock. What do you make of that?"
Pete looked frightened as he realized what it might mean.
"I know one thing we ought to do," he said. "That is let Tom Binns gethold of Dick Crawford right away and tell him about this. There'ssomething mighty funny doing, and I don't think we can get at thebottom of it by ourselves."
"That's a good idea, Pete! Tom's the fastest runner. You get him offby himself and tell him to get Dick Crawford. They'll have to stayaround here until their clothes dry off, anyhow, so I guess we canmanage to hold them here until he comes back."
Tom had already put on his clothes, and he was able to slip offquietly, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the sh
ivering castaways,who, muffled in blankets that were kept by the Boy Scouts in the hutnear the beach, were waiting while their clothes dried out.
When he had gone off Jack and Pete busied themselves with making afire. It was still raining, but not very hard, but if the clothes ofthose from the burned boat were to be dried that night a fire wasnecessary. And, as they worked, Jack got a chance to examine the partymore closely.
The men didn't please him very much as he looked them over. Theylooked like cheap, flashy fellows, who might be fond of drinking andsmoking because they thought it made them look like men. Indeed, oneof them, as soon as the fire was made, and he had seated himself asclose to it as possible, asked Jack if he had a cigarette or themakings of one, and seemed scornful when Jack told him that he neversmoked.
The woman who had given Jack so much trouble, too, was hard of face andunpleasant in her speech. She scowled at Jack as if she resented therough way he had handled her, and seemed entirely forgetful now of thefact that he had had to treat her in just that way to save his life--tosay nothing of her own. But the younger girl, whose hair had been onfire when she jumped, was sweet of face, and had been trying to showhow grateful she was ever since she had been brought ashore. Shelooked sadly out of place when compared to her companions, and Jackwondered mightily how she came to be with them. He couldn't sayanything about it, however, and he and Pete busied themselves withtrying to make those they had rescued comfortable. After all, Jackthought, these people had been in the gravest sort of peril, and itmade no difference whether they were pleasant or not. To go to therescue had been no more than their duty as Scouts, and no Scout is eversupposed to stop and think about personal likes or dislikes when he hasa chance to be of service to anyone in trouble or danger and needs helpa Scout can give.
Jack, looking around for Pete Stubbs after he had been off to bring upa fresh supply of dry firewood, since the wood all about the fireitself was damp and too wet to burn with the bright heat that wasneeded to dry the clothes of the victims of the fire, found that hisred-headed chum was missing. The two women, in fact, were the onlyones about. He looked in surprise for the men of the party, and thenspoke.
"Your friends haven't gone off without their clothes?" he said.
"No," replied the older woman. "They've just gone off to have a lookat the launch, and they look like red Indians. I'm sure our clothesare taking long enough to dry--and when we get them, I suppose we'llhave to walk miles and miles to get anywhere!"
"We're lucky to be able to walk at all," said the girl, interrupting,then. "I think we ought to be very grateful, Mrs. Broom, instead ofcomplaining so much about what's a very little discomfort, anyhow."
Jack liked her for that speech, as he had already liked her for thepluck she had shown. But before he could answer her, he was seizedsuddenly from behind, and a cloth was thrown over his head, so that hecould not cry out. He heard the girl scream, and one of the men shoutroughly to her to keep out and not interfere. Then he was carried awayswiftly.
But his captivity did not last very long. Before he had been carriedmore than a hundred paces the man who was carrying his head stumbledsuddenly, and, cursing, went down in a heap. The one behind, who hadJack's feet, fell over him, and Jack, active as a cat, worked himselffree in a second, and twisted the bag from his head.
"Soak 'em, Jack!" cried a cheery voice, and he realized that PeteStubbs, alarmed in some way, had been ready to rescue him, and hadseized the exact moment to do it. Now Pete, with a cry of exultation,snatched the blankets from the two men, who were struggling with oneanother on the ground, and ran off with them.
"Get their clothes, Jack!" he shouted. "They were carrying them in abundle. They can't go very far that way."
Jack laughed as he saw the dark bundle of clothes and picked it up.Then he ran swiftly after Pete, chuckling at the savage threats andexclamations from the two men, who, without a stitch of clothing, wouldcertainly not dare to pursue them very far, for fear of being seen inthat state of nature, as well as for the brambles and thorns that wouldscratch them if they attempted to make their way through the woodswithout the protection of clothes and, more especially, shoes.
At the camp they found Dick Crawford, who had returned with Tom Binns.The two women, their clothes dry by this time, had taken possession ofthe hut to make themselves presentable, and Dick in silent astonishmentheard Jack's story.
"There's something queer behind all this," said he. "The attack thosefellows made on Jack shows that they are pretty hard characters. Why,he'd just saved their lives for them!"
Boy Scout Fire Fighters; Or Jack Danby's Bravest Deed Page 10