She found the three chums at the stern. They had been fishing for some time and several fish lay on the deck near them.
“Hullo, Dora, want to try your luck?” asked Fred, pleasantly. “I’ll fix you a line—and fix lines for Nellie and Grace, too, if they want them.”
“I want to tell you boys something,” said the girl, in almost a whisper, and not noticing what Fred had proposed. “I-I am afraid something is going to happen.”
“What’s that?” asked Songbird, and all three youths looked at Dora anxiously.
“I was just up near the bow of the boat, and I overheard Mr. Carey, the mate, talking to Mr. Bossermann, the assistant engineer. You know I don’t like those men a bit.”
“None of us do,” said Fred.
“Didn’t ve haf a quarrel mid both of dem,” added Hans.
“They were so in earnest that they did not notice me,” continued Dora. “I was going to walk away when I saw them, but then I overheard the name of Walt Wingate and I turned back to learn what they were saying about that bad man. It seems both the mate and the assistant engineer have been talking to Wingate, and Wingate has made them an offer.”
“Does Wingate want his liberty?” questioned Fred.
“Yes, and he wants more—he wants the mate and the assistant engineer to help him to defeat Mr. Rover’s plan to get the treasure. He told Mr. Carey and Mr. Bossermann that if they would aid him he was sure Sid Merrick would reward them handsomely.”
“And what did Carey and Bossermann say to that?” asked Songbird eagerly.
“They said they’d like to talk it over with Sid Merrick.”
“The scoundrels!” vociferated Fred. “Talk it over with Merrick! We ought to put ’em, both in irons!”
“I wanted to hear more, but they walked away and I was afraid to follow them,” continued Dora. “I thought I had better tell you and perhaps you’d know what to do. I didn’t want to worry mother or my aunt.”
“We ought to let Captain Barforth know of this at once,” said Songbird.
“Chust vot I say,” said Hans. “Der better der quicker.”
“How can you let him know?”
“One of us might row ashore,” said Fred. “The others ought to stay behind to watch affairs.”
“I’ll go ashore,” said Songbird promptly.
“You’ll have to have one of the sailors row you.”
“I know it. I can take Hollbrook, he’s a pretty decent sort of chap and I know he can row well.”
The fishing lines were wound up, and without delay Songbird presented himself to Asa Carey.
He and the others had agreed to say nothing to the mate about what Dora had over heard.
“Mr. Carey, I wish to go ashore,” he said. “Can I have Hollbrook row me to the beach?”
“Go ashore?” growled the mate. “I didn’t know anybody else was going.”
“Well, I’ve just made up my mind to go. Can Hollbrook take me in one of the small boats?”
“Why didn’t you go when Captain Barforth went?”
“I didn’t think of it then.”
“I don’t know that I can spare Hollbrook,” grumbled the mate. He was eyeing Songbird in a suspicious manner.
“He doesn’t seem to be doing anything just now.”
“Say, who is running this vessel, you or I?” cried Asa Carey.
“Captain Barforth is running her. But she is under charter to Mr. Rover, and Mr. Rover told me to use a small boat whenever I pleased,” answered Songbird sharply. “If you refuse to let me have a boat say so.”
“Oh, I—er—I didn’t say that,” stammered the mate. “If you want to go do so. But I don’t know if Hollbrook can get you through the reef in safety or not.”
“I’ll risk it,” said Songbird briefly and hurried below to prepare himself for the trip. Fred and Hans met him in his stateroom.
“I think Carey is suspicious,” said Songbird. “Keep an eye on him, and if anything goes wrong shoot off the cannon or a gun. I’ll do my best to find Mr. Rover and the captain and bring them back as quickly as possible.”
In a few minutes Songbird and the sailor were over the side of the Rainbow. Hollbrook could pull a long, telling stroke, and under his guidance the craft soon shot through the opening in the reef and glided safely into the bay.
“I am glad to put foot on shore,” said the sailor, as he leaped out on the sand.
“I want you to remain near the boat,” said Songbird. “I want to see the captain and it is possible we may want to get back to the steam yacht in a hurry.”
“Oh! All right, sir.”
“While I am gone watch the Rainbow and if she should steam away any great distance call me.”
“Why, I thought orders were for us to remain near the reef,” cried Hollbrook.
“So they were, but Mr. Carey is in command now.”
Leaving the sailor on the sand, Songbird hurried up the path which the Rovers and Captain Barforth had taken earlier in the day. He had covered less than half the distance to the shattered cave when he heard a shout from the beach. Then, from the water, came the sound of a shotgun.
“Something is wrong already!” he gasped, as he stopped running. “I wonder what it can be?”
He hesitated, not knowing whether to go forward or back. Then he set up a yell on his own accord.
“Captain Barforth! Mr. Rover! This way, quick!” he called at the top of his lungs.
At first no answer came back, but presently he heard Tom’s shrill whistle, and then a cry from Sam and Dick. The three Rover boys came down the path pell mell, and their father and the captain were not far behind them.
“What’s the trouble?” came simultaneously from Dick and Tom. Sam would have asked the question too, but he was out of breath.
“It’s Asa Carey,” answered Songbird. And then, as the others came up, he told what Dora had overheard.
“And that shot we heard?” questioned Captain Barforth.
“It told that there was trouble on board, but what I don’t know.”
“Let us get to the shore,” said Dick. He was thinking of Dora and her mother and the Lanings.
As quickly as possible they dashed along to the sandy beach. Hollbrook was still calling for Songbird.
“The yacht is steaming away!” he announced. “She is standing to the eastward.”
Captain Barforth gave a look and something like a groan escaped him. The Rainbow was a good mile away from where she had been stationed since reaching Treasure Isle.
“Can it be possible Carey and Bossermann are running away with the vessel?” asked Sam.
“That would be both mutiny and robbery,” answered the captain. “I gave orders to Carey to leave her where she was, unless a heavy blow threatened to send her in—then he was to stand off until the blow was over.”
“Do you know what I think?” came from Dick. “I think he is going to sail around to the other side of the isle. Probably he has an idea of consulting with Sid Merrick. Then, if Merrick’s offer suits him, he will do all he can to prevent us from getting the treasure.”
“You mean he and Bossermann will throw in their fortunes with Merrick?” asked Mr. Rover.
“Yes, and as many more on the steam yacht as Carey can win over. I believe Carey is a rascal and Bossermann is no better.”
“Yes, but they are only two against over a dozen?” said Captain Barforth.
“No, three, for you must remember they have Wingate with them,” put in Tom.
“That is true.”
“Can’t we get to the yacht somehow?” asked Sam. He was thinking of Grace and the other girls, and wondering what would become of them in case there was a fight on board.
“No, that is out of the question,” answered Mr. Rover. “All we can do is to remain on the isle and wait developments. If they land w
e can fight them, but not before.”
CHAPTER XXVIII
A NEW MOVE OF THE ENEMY
“Something is up.”
It was Fred who spoke, only a few minutes after Songbird and the sailor in charge of the rowboat had left the side of the steam yacht. He addressed Hans.
“Vot you vos see?” asked the German youth.
“Look!”
Hans looked and beheld Walt Wingate on the deck, in earnest conversation with the mate. The deck hand was not handcuffed as he had been a short while before, when tramping the forward deck for air, by Captain Barforth’s permission.
“Carey must haf daken dem handguffs off,” said the German youth. “I ton’t like dot. Maype dot Vingate make troubles, hey?”
The boys watched, and presently saw Bossermann come up and join the pair. Then Bossermann went below to the engine room. Shortly after this the yacht began to get up steam.
“We’re moving!” cried Dora, as she came to the boys, accompanied by Nellie and Grace. “Oh, what does it mean?”
“I don’t know,” answered Fred.
“Can’t you find out, Fred?” asked Nellie. “I am sure the captain said nothing about sailing before he went ashore.”
“I’ll find out—if the mate will tell me,” answered Fred.
He walked over to where the mate stood, close to the wheelhouse, giving directions to the pilot of the Rainbow.
“Mr. Carey, where are we bound?” he asked, respectfully.
“Oh, just going to take a little sail around, to test the engine,” was the apparent indifferent answer.
“Is the engine out of order?”
“Not exactly, but I thought it best to test the shaft. The assistant engineer thinks it is weak.”
This was apparently a fair enough answer and Fred bowed and walked away. Then he went down the ladder leading to the engine room. He met Frank Norton coming up. There was a look of concern on the head engineer’s honest face.
“Mr. Norton, is there anything wrong with the engine or the shaft?” asked Fred.
“Nothing the matter. Why?”
“Mr. Carey said there was, and he is taking a cruise around to test them—so he says.”
“I don’t understand it, Garrison. Everything 0.K.”
“Are you in charge now?”
“No, this is my hour off. Bossermann is in charge. By the way, I see Powell went off after the others.”
“Yes, and I wish the others were back,” answered Fred. He hesitated a moment. “Mr. Norton, I believe you have been with Captain Barforth a long time and that you and he are old chums.”
“That’s right.”
“Then I can trust you, can’t I? It is something which concerns Captain Barforth and this vessel very much.”
“Sure you can trust me.”
Without hesitation, for he felt sure Norton was both honest and reliable, Fred told his story to the head engineer, who nodded many times during the recital.
“I see it,” whispered Norton. “I suspected something was wrong. Carey and Bossermann are in some sort of a plot with this Wingate, who came on board solely to aid that Sid Merrick. I believe Carey is going off to meet Merrick and see if he can make a deal with him.”
“That is what I think. How can we thwart him?”
“Better fire that gun, as a signal to those on shore, first of all. Then we’ll see what the mate has to say.”
Fred needed no urging and soon he brought up a shotgun from the cabin and discharged it—the signal heard by Songbird, as we already know. Scarcely had this been accomplished when Asa Carey rushed down upon him from the pilot house.
“Hi! what did you do that for?” roared the mate, in sudden anger.
“Just for fun,” answered Fred, as coolly as he could, although his heart beat rapidly.
“For fun?”
“Yes. Haven’t I a right to fire a gun if I want to?”
“I reckon that was some sort of a signal for those on shore.”
“And supposing it was, what then, Mr. Carey?” Fred put the question boldly and looked the mate squarely in the eyes as he spoke.
“Why—er—it’s most unusual. There was no need of a signal.”
“I wanted them to know we were moving, that’s all.”
“Humph! There was no use of alarming them. We’ll be back long before they want to come aboard again.”
“In that case I’ll have nothing more to say.”
“Don’t you believe it?”
“I’m bound to believe it, if you say so.”
“Don’t get impudent, young man!”
“I am not impudent, and you needn’t get impudent either!” cried Fred, his anger rising. “You are in command here, but this boat is under charter and just now I represent the man who owns that charter. If you have got to cruise around to test the engine and shaft well and good, but if you are merely cruising around for the fun of it I say go back to where we came from—none of us want to do any cruising today.”
At this plain speech the mate grew purple in the face. He raised his hand as if to strike the youth, but just then Aleck came on deck, carrying a pitcher of ice water in his hand.
“Stop dat! Don’t yo’ go fo’ to hit dat boy!” cried the colored man. “If yo’ do I’ll fling dis watah pitcher at yo’ head!”
“You shut up, you rascally nigger!” shouted the mate. “You have nothing to say here!”
“I’se got somet’ing to say if yo’ hit Massa Fred,” answered Aleck, and held the water pitcher as if ready to launch it at the mate’s head.
There was a moment of excitement and several crowded around, but then the mate waved the crowd away.
“I shall report this to Captain Barforth as soon as he comes back,” he said, and turning on his heel, he walked off. Fred went down into the cabin, and Aleck followed him. A few minutes later Norton joined the youth and the others, who had gathered to talk the matter over.
“We must be on the watch,” said the chief engineer. “I am certain now that Carey is up to some game.”
A long discussion followed, but nothing came of it. The steam yacht kept on its way and rounded the eastern point of Treasure Isle. Then it stood to the north westward.
“I hope he knows his course,” said Norton, to the boys. “If he doesn’t he stands a good chance of running us on some key or reef.”
If the boys were excited, the girls and ladies were more so. Nobody knew exactly what to do, and each minute added to the general anxiety.
At last the vessel rounded another point of the isle and came in sight of the sea beyond. There in the distance was a steamer at rest on the waves, and Fred and Hans felt certain she must be the Josephine.
The two vessels were soon close together. As the Rainbow came up to the other craft, Walt Wingate went to the rail and shouted something through a megaphone which the mate loaned him. Immediately came back an answering cry, but the boys did not catch what was said.
“This is going pretty far,” said Fred, to Frank Norton. “Don’t you think I ought to step in and stop it?”
The chief engineer shrugged his shoulders.
“Carey is really in command and it might be called mutiny to do anything to stop him.”
“But supposing he allows Wingate to go to that other ship.
“Well, if Wingate goes we’ll be well rid of him.”
“Of course that is true, but still—”
Fred did not finish for just then Asa Carey came up.
“I am going to visit that other steamer,” he said, to the chief engineer. “I shall take that man Wingate along, and Bossermann is going, too. You can remain right here until I get back.”
Norton nodded, but said nothing. The mate looked at Fred as if to say more, but then apparently changed his mind and hurried away. Soon a small bo
at was over the side and this was manned by the mate, Bossermann, Wingate and a sailor named Ulligan, a fellow noted for his laziness and untrustworthiness. Without delay the small boat set out for the Josephine.
“I don’t like this at all,” said Fred. “Those fellows mean mischief as sure as you are born!”
“I dink da vos hatch owid somedings mid dot Merrick,” said Hans.
“Perhaps they are plotting to gain possession of this yacht,” was Dora’s comment. “They may bring over a crowd to take possession and make us prisoners!”
“If they try any game like that we’ll fight,” answered Fred.
“Dat’s right!” cried Aleck. “We’ll fight, an’ fight mighty hard, too!”
“If only the Rovers were here,” sighed Dora. “I am sure they would know exactly what to do.”
“They may be having their own troubles on land,” said Mrs. Stanhope. “Sid Merrick is a very bad man and will do all in his power to get that treasure in his possession.”
CHAPTER XXIX
THE HUNT FOR THE TREASURE
With the Rainbow steaming away from Horseshoe Bay, the Rovers and those with them on shore felt that a crisis had been reached. If it was true that Carey, Bossermann and Wingate contemplated joining Sid Merrick there was no telling what the enemy might not accomplish next.
“I have never liked Carey,” observed Captain Barforth. “But I did not imagine he would take matters in his own hands in this fashion. I did not think he had the backbone.”
“It’s the thought of the treasure has done it,” answered Anderson Rover. “Many a man’s head is turned because of gold.”
Those on the shore watched the steam yacht round the eastern point of the isle. Each heart sank as the vessel disappeared from view.
“Well, we can do nothing at present, but hope for the best,” observed the captain. “We cannot think of chasing them in the rowboats.”
“We might tramp across the isle and see where they go to,” suggested Tom. “The Josephine must be over there somewhere.”
“Yes, we can do that,” answered Mr. Rover. “But it will be a rough journey.”
“I have a better idea,” came from Dick. “Father has his spyglass with him. Why not ascend that hill back of where the treasure cave is and then get up in the highest tree there? A fellow ought to be able to see all around from that height.”
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