CHAPTER III.

THE RESCUE.

For a full minute after the captain's words no one spoke. Then Bob, who was gripping the rail tightly with both hands, said: "But they must have taken to the boats. We can pick them up, can't we?"

"We can try," his uncle assured him.

"Turn on the searchlight, Pat," the captain ordered, "and you'd better slow her down to about half speed. We don't want to run any of them down."

Almost instantly a broad beam of light spread itself over the water in front of the boat which was already losing headway as the engineer obeyed the mate's signal.

"Keep her sweeping about and all of you use your eyes," the captain cried. "We don't want to miss them."

For some minutes the Valkyrie forged ahead and it seemed that they must have passed the spot where the steamer had gone down when, suddenly, Jack shouted: "There's one of them, off to the right there."

Just at that moment the mate shifted the searchlight a bit and, by its light, they could see a small boat rising and falling only a few hundred feet away.

"Stand by to throw them a rope," Captain Ole shouted to the sailors who were gathered on the deck below.

"Aye, aye, sir. We see them," was the reply.

First Mate Pat had already changed his course so as to bring the yacht alongside the smaller boat.

"There are only four men in it," Bob said.

"She must have been a freighter," Jack replied.

The men in the boat had stopped rowing and were all ready to catch the rope, which was thrown them a moment later as the engine of the Valkyrie stopped and she swept alongside.

"Easy, now, don't let her bump too hard there," one of the sailors cautioned as they began to carefully pull in on the line.

Although the water was rough, the four men managed to fend off their boat with their oars until it rubbed the side of the larger vessel with scarcely a bump.

"Make the line fast to the bow," one of the sailors ordered as another lowered a rope ladder.

One by one the men mounted the ladder and soon all were on deck.

"How about the rest of your crew?" asked Captain Ole, who had descended from the bridge followed by the others.

"Ay, tank day all got in boat," one of the men replied.

"How many are they?"

"Twelve, mebby two more," one of the others replied.

"And how many boats did you have?"

"Two more."

"Know which way they went?"

"No know. We went first boat."

"Start her up," the captain shouted to the mate and immediately the throb of the engine was resumed. "One of you men take these fellows to the galley and tell Wong to fill them up with soup and hot coffee," he added as he started up the stairs followed by the boys and Mr. Lakewood.

Fifteen minutes later, a second boat was sighted and five more men were taken on board. On being questioned, one of the men said that the other boat, carrying the captain, together with his wife and daughter and two men, had pushed off just after them, but they had almost at once lost sight of it and were unable to say which way they had gone.

"Well, all we can do is to cruise around till we pick them up," Captain Ole declared as he started up the stairway and gave the mate the order to go ahead.

The rain was now falling heavily, and so thick was the weather that even the powerful searchlight was unable to penetrate any great distance.

"Gee, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Jack grumbled after they had made several turns.

"Maybe they've been swamped," Bob suggested.

"Pray God they haven't," Mr. Lakewood said fervently, as he placed a hand on Bob's arm. "There are two women in that boat, you know," he added.

But an hour passed, and no sight of the missing boat had rewarded their search.

"I'm afraid it's no use," Captain Ole said mournfully.

"But we won't give up," Mr. Lakewood declared, a note of fierce determination sounding in his voice.

"Of course not," Captain Ole assured him. "I didn't mean that, but it's been so long that I'm afraid we may be miles away from them."

"But we aren't," Bob shouted. "There they are, Just ahead of us."

Even as he spoke, the others caught sight of the boat wallowing in heavy sea and the captain gave a quick order to the mate to swing her over a point to avoid running her down. But before the course of the vessel could be changed Bob saw one of the men in the boat rise to his feet and at almost the same instant a heavy wave hit her and over she went.

"Quick!" he shouted as he started down the stairs closely followed by Jack.

By the time the boys had reached the after deck, two of the sailors had pulled in one of the boats which had been trailing behind and, in less time than it takes to tell it, the four were in it and were pulling toward the upturned boat now some hundred feet astern. Three men were clinging to the boat and one of them had an arm about a woman, but of the other there was nothing to be seen.

In the heavy sea it was not an easy matter to get them into the boat, but it was soon accomplished.

"There's another woman, isn't there?" Bob shouted as he lifted the woman over the side.

"My little girl," the woman moaned.

"She's lost," the man who had been supporting her cried.

Jack was standing in the stern of the boat and suddenly his quick eye caught a gleam of white some twenty feet behind. It was only a glimpse but it was enough.

"Stand by, Bob!" he shouted as he dove head first into the boiling water.

He struck at an angle and scarcely went beneath the surface, and a few powerful strokes brought him to the place where he judged he had seen the girl, but now there was nothing to be seen. Taking a deep breath and breathing a prayer, he plunged downward. Down and still down he swam, hoping against hope that he might be successful. He realized that, even had it been the girl he had seen, the chances of finding her were very slight, but there was a chance, and he was taking it. Once he opened his eyes and tried to pierce the blackness, but he could not see an inch, so he quickly closed them. Finally he knew that he could go no farther and was about to turn and make for the surface when his hand struck something. It was soft and felt like hair and he knew instantly that he had found her. Getting a firm grasp he kicked out with all his strength and began to fight his way upward.

He had, however, hardly turned when the realization came that his strength was almost gone and his lungs began to pain with a dull ache. But he was not one to yield so long as a breath of life remained and, with his free hand and both feet he struggled with the strength of desperation. The girl felt like a lump of lead dragging him down and he doubted if he was making any progress. Still he would not give up, although now his lungs seemed on the point of bursting. Would he never reach the surface? It seemed to him that he had been climbing for ages. Then suddenly the pain left his lungs, and for an instant a strange feeling of rest stole over him. Then nothing.

"He's coming around."

The words seemed to come from a great distance.

"Keep rolling him."

These words seemed a bit nearer, and he was conscious of a feeling of nausea, also that he was being manhandled in an extremely disagreeable manner. But he was too weak to protest, and the punishment continued.

"There, I reckon the water's all out of him."

He sincerely hoped so, if it meant an end of the treatment.

"Turn him over and work his arms up and down."

That was Bob's voice, and, as he was turned on his back he struggled to open his eyes while a faint smile parted his lips.

"All right, old man. Take it easy," Bob's voice soothed him.

"But, but the girl?" he whispered.

"We got her."

"Alive?"

"We hope so," Bob told him. "No more talking now," he ordered.

Gentle hands picked him up and carried him to his cabin and placed him in his cot, and Bob sat down beside him.

"How do you feel, old man?" he whispered anxiously.

"Punk," Jack smiled faintly.

"Well, it's no wonder, seeing that you swallowed pretty nearly the whole Atlantic Ocean. But you keep still for awhile and you'll be all right."

"But tell me how you got me. I don't remember."

"It was a mighty close squeak, let me tell you. You see, we were watching for you to come up and I was getting terribly worried when one of the fellows made a wild grab over the side of the boat and nearly tipped it over, but he caught hold of your collar and we pulled you in."

"And--and I had hold of the girl?"

"By the hair of her head, yes. Your fingers were locked so tight that we had hard work to pry them loose."

"And--she?"

"I honestly don't know, Jack, whether she'll make the grade or not," Bob replied soberly. "Her mother and father are with her now and are doing all they can, but, of course, it isn't as though we had a doctor on board with a pulmoter. She's pretty far gone, and that's the truth, but she wasn't dead, and while there's life there's hope, you know."

"I--I hope she'll live," Jack whispered. "I--I worked so hard to save her. It doesn't seem as though God would let her die."

"We'll ask Him not to," Bob whispered back as he sank to his knees beside the bunk. "Now you see if you can go to sleep and I'll go see how she is," he added a few minutes later as he rose to his feet.

Out on the deck he met his uncle, who told him that the girl had not as yet recovered consciousness, but they were still hopeful, as her heart was fairly strong. "How's Jack?" he asked.

"He's coming all right. I just told him to go to sleep, and I imagine he's off by this time."

"Best thing for him to do. That was a brave thing he did."

"I'll say it was, but that's Jack," Bob agreed proudly.

"And God was very good to him and to us," Mr. Lakewood added.

"Sure thing."

The boat had been put about and was now racing at top speed for Cape May, and dawn was breaking as Bob and his uncle were talking. The rain had ceased and the wind had fallen to a stiff breeze.

"It's going to clear, I think," Mr. Lakewood declared, pointing toward the east.

Two hours later the cry of "Land, ho!" came from the lookout and in another hour they were tying up at the wharf before the town of Cape May.

"I'll see if I can find a doctor," Mr. Lakewood said to Bob as the gang plank hit the wharf.

"Let me go," Bob insisted and, without waiting for any argument he darted past his uncle and was off before he could make any objection.

He came to a doctor's sign before he had gone four blocks and, the doctor fortunately being at home, it was not more than twenty minutes from the time the boat reached the wharf before he had him on board. It was perhaps thirty minutes later that the doctor came from the cabin where they had taken the girl. He was followed by a woman about forty years of age and her husband, the captain of the steamer which had burned. Bob did not need to ask the verdict. One look at the face of the mother told him that the girl would live.

"She'll pull through all right," the doctor told him, but before he could say anything the woman had thrown her arms about his neck and had planted a firm kiss on his lips.

As she was a pretty woman Bob did not, as he afterward confessed to Jack, object to her mistake, but he blushed as he stammered:

"I--I'm afraid you've made a mistake, Madam."

"Didn't you save my Lucy?" the woman demanded.

"No, Madam."

"Who did, then?"

"It was my brother, Jack," Bob told her.

"And where is he?" she demanded eagerly.

"I think he's asleep just now. You see, he was about all in when we pulled them out, and, while he's sure to be all right, I made him go to sleep about an hour ago."

"You're sure he's all right?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes, mam."

"And I can see him as soon as he wakes up?"

"Certainly, but--er----"

"But what?"

"Why, Jack's a bit bashful, and----"

"And you want to tell me that it would scare him if I kissed him?" she laughed.

"Well, er----"

"Well, I'm going to do it just the same," she insisted and, a few hours later, after Jack waked and declared that he was once more 'all wool and a yard wide,' she kept her word, much to that boy's confusion.

"I don't know how I can ever thank you," she told him as she released him.

"P-p-please don't try," Jack gasped.

"But if it hadn't been for you I wouldn't have any little girl now," she insisted.

"Well, I'm awfully glad that she's going to be all right," Jack told her.

"And if ever we can do anything for you, you well, you know what I mean," the girl's father said as he wrung his hand.

Tears were in the man's eyes and Jack hastened to assure him that he would not hesitate to call on him if ever occasion offered. The girl was taken ashore a few hours later, but not before she had seen Jack and thanked him for herself. She was a very pretty girl, just past sixteen, and the boy flushed to the roots of his hair as he took her hand and told her how glad he was that he had been able to be of service.

"You look as though you were in love," Bob grinned as he came from the cabin.

"You ought to know all about it after the practice you had in Mexico," Jack retorted.

"Well, she is pretty."

"Who is?"

"Why, that girl in there."

"Sure she is. And, for that matter, so's the other one."

"You bet."

By four o'clock they were ready to put to sea again, and the captain was about to give the order to cast off when the first mate, who for some time had been leaning on the rail, and, from time to time, glancing up the street, said:

"Mr. Kelley hasn't returned yet, sir."

"He hasn't? I told him to be on board not later than three o'clock," the captain snapped.

"I know you did, sir."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Why don't you--no, of course you don't. Why should you."

"It's an accident he might have met with," Pat suggested.

"Accident your eye. If he isn't here in ten minutes I'll sail without him," the captain snorted.

Although a man with a soft heart, Captain Ole was a sticker for discipline on board ship, and well Pat knew it. The first mate was no great admirer of the lanky second officer, but he was a generous Irishman and he continued to glance up the street hoping to see his fellow officer each minute. But the minutes slipped past one by one until the ten had gone and still there was no sign of the man.

"Cast off," the captain shouted from the bridge.

"Aye, aye, sir," and a moment later the big hawsers were slipped from the snubbing posts and the Valkyrie, her propeller already turning, slowly slipped forward.

"There he is, sir," Pat shouted as he caught sight of the man running toward the wharf.

"Shall I wait?" the captain asked Mr. Lakewood who was standing by his side.

Mr. Lakewood hesitated for an instant.

"Reckon you'd better," he finally said.

Captain Ole gave the order and the boat slowly lost headway and then backed. Josh was waiting and, as her side brushed the wharf, he jumped on board and she started ahead again.

"Well?" the captain demanded sternly, as the officer stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Sorry I kept you waitin', captain, but I couldn't help it," the mate replied.

"Why couldn't you?"

"I was detained."

"By what?"

"Business."

"You mean you won't tell me?"

"Reckon you'll have ter take my word fer it," he replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, it's lucky you didn't let your business hold you a minute longer or you'd lost your berth," the captain snapped as the mate turned away.

"Josh had been looking on the wine when it was red," Bob told Jack a few minutes later. "Only it was stronger than wine."

"How do you know?"

"I got a whiff of his breath as he passed me after his setto with the captain."

"Then it's no wonder he wouldn't tell him what was the cause of the delay."

"We're going to have trouble with him before this voyage is over," Bob said in a low tone.

"What makes you think so?" Jack asked anxiously.

"Don't know, but I feel it in my bones."

"Then I wish he'd waited a little longer."

"So do I."

"You going to tell uncle about if, the drinking, I mean?"

"You think I ought to?"

"I sure do."

"Then I will."

Bob got a chance to speak to his uncle a few minutes later and told him what he knew.

"I suspected it," Mr. Lakewood said, shaking his head doubtfully. "But don't say anything to anyone else. Most of these seafaring men will take a drink when they get a chance and, unless he's brought some of the stuff on board, he won't get another chance for some time. But I don't like the man for some reason, though I can't just say why."

The weather now was perfect, and the Valkyrie ploughed steadily southward, the boys enjoying every minute of the time. Each night, at ten o'clock, they started up the photoradio machine and ran it for a few minutes but, to their disappointment, they failed to get any reply. Finally they reached Colon, at the entrance to the Panama Canal. They were to lay up there for several hours to refill the oil tanks, and, as soon as they docked, the two boys started for the post office. As they expected, they found letters from home and were much pleased when they learned that the pictures which they had sent by photoradio had come in fine.

"Then it's sure that father has something wrong with his end of it, when it comes to sending," Bob said as they started from the building intent on seeing as much of the place as possible in the few hours. They returned to the boat a half hour before starting time, and the first man they saw as they crossed the gang plank was Josh Kelley, and he looked, as Jack afterward remarked, as though he would enjoy biting a ten penny nail in two.

"What's the matter with his nibs?" Bob asked Pat as soon as they were on deck.

"Faith an' he's sore," Jimmie grinned.

"Someone step on his pet corn?" Jack asked.

"It's not that. He wanted for to go ashore an' the old man wouldn't let him."

"Didn't he kick?"

"I'll say he did, but sure an' it didn't get him inywhere at all. The old man jest told him thot if he went he could take his duds with him an' not come back, an' he didn't say iny mare at all."

It was the first time the boys had seen "The Big Ditch" and they were intensely interested during every moment of the trip through.

"Just think, Jack," Bob said, leaning on the rail and watching the shore line slip slowly past, "if it wasn't for this canal we'd have to go away down round South America. This ditch saves us thousands of miles."

"You talk as though it was dug for your special benefit," Jack laughed.

"Well, I reckon it was dug as much for my benefit as for anyone's," Bob retorted.

"Well, it's sure some job."

"You said it."

It was late in the afternoon when they reached the end of the canal, and the boat was let down to sea level in the big lock.

"And now we're on the Pacific Ocean," Jack declared as the Valkyrie glided out of the lock.

"And it looks its name just now," Bob added.