by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER X.--COLON.
At a word from Mr. Willing, after several hours of rowing, Shirley andMabel cuddled up in their end of the boat and tried to sleep; but thisthey found impossible, and all through the night they gazed out over thedark waters.
Here and there the lights in the other boats were visible, but beforemorning they had lost sight of these. When the first faint streaks ofdawn appeared in the east there was not another boat to be seen. Theyhad become separated in the night.
The almost twenty passengers in the little craft ate of the food thathad been provided and drank of the water. Thus refreshed, and with thesun now appearing above the horizon, their predicament did not seem asserious as it had during the blackness of the night.
There was not an object in sight to break the monotony of the water, andthe boat rocked gently on the easy swell of the sea. The men bent to theoars again and sent the little craft skimming through the water.
Came a cry from the man at the rudder, and the eyes of the othersfollowed his gaze toward the distant horizon. They beheld a faint cloudin the otherwise clear sky.
"Steamer!" cried the first man.
The cloud approached nearer and at last the outline of a ship, appearingvery small at that distance, could be made out. It was headed on acourse that would bring it almost directly in the path of the smallerboat.
As the hull of the vessel grew larger by its approach, occasional cheersbroke from the lips of those in the little craft. So far it wasimpossible to tell whether the castaways had been sighted or not; but asthe big ship neared them--now scarcely more than a mile away--the shrillblast of the steamer's whistle split the air. The small boat with itspassengers had been discovered. The passengers raised another cheer.
Rapidly the large vessel bore down on them, and the little craft bobbedswiftly toward it. At last they came alongside.
"Ladies first!" cried the captain of the _Yucatan_.
Shirley and Mabel were the first over the rail, where they stoodawaiting the arrival of the others.
Mr. Willing, Colonel Ashton and Dick were the last to go aboard, and nosooner were the refugees all on deck than the big vessel resumed hercourse. The captain motioned them to his cabin.
The ship upon which they now found themselves proved to be the_Reliance_, with a cargo of freight from New Orleans for Colon.
This the captain explained when he learned where the erstwhile refugeeswere bound.
"We can't offer you the same accommodations you had aboard the_Yucatan_," he said, "but you are welcome to the best we have."
"And we are indeed glad to get it, captain," Shirley spoke up.
"No doubt, no doubt," smiled the captain. "All night in an open boat isno pleasure trip, even if this is the month of June," and he orderedthem assigned quarters forward.
While by no means as large and pretentious as those on the _Yucatan_,the cabins were nevertheless clean and comfortable.
"We can thank our stars that we were fortunate enough to be picked up sosoon," declared Dick.
"What can have become of the other boats?" asked Mabel.
"Probably reached the Cuban shore," replied Colonel Ashton. "We aredoubtless the only ones that lost our course. The others more thanlikely stuck close together."
"I hope they are all safe," declared Shirley.
"I am sure they are," returned her father.
"Now," said Colonel Ashton, "the thing to be considered is, what to dowhen we reach Colon. Shall we take another steamer and continue ourcourse, or shall we turn about and go home?"
"We don't want to go home, Dad," exclaimed Shirley. "You won't give upthe trip to San Francisco, will you?"
"No, I think not," was the reply. "We can replenish our wardrobes inColon sufficiently to get to Frisco, and we can do the rest of ourbuying there. No, we shall go on."
The girls clapped their hands in delight. Both had feared that thedisaster might put an untimely end to their summer vacation.
"What do you suppose the Germans intend doing with the _Yucatan_?" askedDick.
"Well, you heard the captain speak of a naval base on the coast of Cuba.They probably will run in there, put some big guns aboard and start outon a privateering cruise. There have been a couple of such Germanraiders, and they did considerable damage to British merchant shipsbefore they were chased to the safety of internment in Newport News."
"I guess that is about what they plan to do," agreed Dick. "I'll surelyhave one experience of which to write when I get back to work."
An hour later the party was gathered on deck, when the captain of the_Yucatan_ approached.
"The first thing I shall do is to report this to General Fullaway, atColon," he declared.
"General Fullaway!" exclaimed Mr. Willing. "You don't mean General HughFullaway?"
"The same," replied the captain. "Do you know him?"
"Well, rather," replied Mr. Willing. "We were schoolmates years ago, andhave been close friends since. He comes from my home town. I shall lookhim up. But I didn't know he was in command in Colon."
"He has only been recently put in command," was the reply. "I too knowhim well."
The _Reliance_ proved to be a very slow vessel, and it was days beforethe city of Colon was sighted.
At the entrance to the Panama Canal, Colon is a very picturesque city.Since work on the canal was begun, bringing thousands of Americans tothe country, it has been more or less metropolitan in character, at thesame time retaining its South American atmosphere.
Shirley and Mabel looked about with wonder as they made their waythrough the dirty narrow streets toward the hotel. This, however, theyfound to be strictly up to date in all respects, and they were sooninstalled in comfortable quarters.
Several hours later, Mr. Willing and Colonel Ashton left the hotel,announcing that they were going to pay their respects to GeneralFullaway. They were back several hours later and informed Shirley, Mabeland Dick that they were to dine with the general in his quarters thatnight.
The girls were naturally excited at this prospect, and spent most of theday in the purchase of suitable garments. Dick, as well as Mr. Willingand Colonel Ashton, also purchased more clothing to take the place ofwhat had been lost when they were set adrift from the _Yucatan_.
General Fullaway had already heard the story from the captain of the_Yucatan_, but supper over, he desired to hear it once more from hisguests.
Mr. Willing related their first meeting with the German commander, whohad introduced himself as Henry Bristow when they had first met. He toldof the experience aboard the _Yucatan_ while the vessel was tied up atJacksonville.
"You did wrong not to let the men take him, no matter who they were,"was General Fullaway's verdict.
"I realize that now," said Mr. Willing, "but who could have suspectedsuch a gigantic plot?"
"It was a gigantic plot," agreed the general, "and was carried outexcellently. It must have been well planned."
"Mr. Bristow warned us not to come to Colon, general," spoke up Shirley.
"He did?" exclaimed the general in surprise. "And why, pray?"
"Well, he said it wasn't safe," replied Shirley.
"Hm-m-m," muttered the general, with a smile. "And did he tell you why?"
"No, sir."
"I thought not," laughed the general.
"But he told me, general," put in Mabel.
The others looked at the girl in surprise, but Mabel bore up steadilyunder their scrutiny.
"What do you mean, Mabel?" demanded Colonel Ashton.
"You remember when he took me aside just before we were set adrift,father?" asked Mabel.
"Yes, of course."
"That's when he told me, but it seemed so absurd and impossible that Ididn't repeat it."
"What was it, Miss Ashton?" asked General Fullaway. "Will you tell us?"
"He said that Colon was in danger," replied Mabel, and she repeated theconversation she had had with Captain Von Blusen aboard the _Yucatan_.
The others listened t
o her with breathless interest, and there wereexclamations of surprise when she concluded.
"Absurd," said Mr. Willing.
"Impossible," Colonel Ashton agreed.
"It would seem so, on the face of it," said General Fullaway, "and Isuppose it is. It is true, there are two Japanese warships off theentrance to the Canal. They have not been allowed to pass throughbecause several German merchant vessels are here. As soon as they havecleared, of course we shall permit the Japs to go through."
"And have the Japs objected to the delay?" asked Mr. Willing.
"They have indeed. They have demanded permission to pass, which has beenrefused. That was yesterday. But this tale of yours," the general turnedto Mabel, "is incredible. I suppose the German commander told it to youto frighten you."
"I suppose that was his reason," Mabel agreed.
At this moment an orderly entered the room and gave a message to GeneralFullaway. The latter read it, and then turned to Mabel again.
"It seems that your warning may bear fruit, after all," he said quietly.
"Why, sir?" asked the girl eagerly.
"Why, this message I have here," said the general, tapping the paperwith his finger, "is, or seems to be at least, a communication from theJapanese commander. He says if his ships are not allowed to pass throughthe canal to-morrow, he will destroy the city of Colon!"