Brewster's Millions

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  A CATASTROPHE

  "Oh!" was Peggy's only exclamation, and there was a shadow ofdisappointment in her eyes.

  "Come in, Peggy, and I'll read aloud," was Monty's cheerful greeting ashe stood before her.

  "No, I must go," said Peggy, confusedly. "I thought you might benervous about the storm--and--"

  "And you came to let me out?" Monty had never been so happy.

  "Yes, and I don't care what the others say. I thought you weresuffering--" But at that moment the boat gave a lurch which threw heracross the threshold into Monty's arms. They crashed against the wall,and he held her a moment and forgot the storm. When she drew away fromhim she showed him the open door and freedom. She could not speak.

  "Where are the others?" he asked, bracing himself in the doorway.

  "Oh, Monty," she cried, "we must not go to them. They will think me atraitor."

  "Why were you a traitor, Peggy?" he demanded, turning toward hersuddenly.

  "Oh--oh, because it seemed so cruel to keep you locked up through thestorm," she answered, blushing.

  "And there was no other reason?" he persisted.

  "Don't, please don't!" she cried piteously, and he misunderstood heremotion. It was clear that she was merely sorry for him.

  "Never mind, Peggy, it's all right. You stood by me and I'll stand byyou. Come on; we'll face the mob and I'll do the fighting."

  Together they made their way into the presence of the mutineers, whowere crowded into the main cabin.

  "Well, here's a conspiracy," cried Dan DeMille, but there was no angerin his voice. "How did you escape? I was just thinking of unlockingyour door, Monty, but the key seemed to be missing."

  Peggy displayed it triumphantly.

  "By Jove," cried Dan. "This is rank treachery. Who was on guard?"

  A steward rushing through the cabin at this moment in answer to franticcalls from Bragdon furnished an eloquent reply to the question.

  "It was simple," said Monty. "The guards deserted their post and leftthe key behind."

  "Then it is up to me to pay you a thousand dollars."

  "Not at all," protested Monty, taken aback. "I did not escape of my ownaccord. I had help. The money is yours. And now that I am free," headded quietly, "let me say that this boat does not go to Boston."

  "Just what I expected," cried Vanderpool.

  "She's going straight to New York!" declared Monty. The words werehardly uttered when a heavy sea sent him sprawling across the cabin,and he concluded, "or to the bottom."

  "Not so bad as that," said Captain Perry, whose entrance had beensomewhat hastened by the lurch of the boat. "But until this blows overI must keep you below." He laughed, but he saw they were not deceived."The seas are pretty heavy and the decks are being holystoned fornothing, but I wouldn't like to have any of you washed overboard bymistake."

  The hatches were battened down, and it was a sorry company that triedto while away the evening in the main cabin. Monty's chafing about theadvantages of the North Cape over the stormy Atlantic was notcalculated to raise the drooping spirits, and it was very early when heand his shattered guests turned in. There was little sleep on board the"Flitter" that night. Even if it had been easy to forget the danger,the creaking of the ship and the incessant roar of the water wereenough for wakefulness. With each lurch of the boat it seemed moreincredible that it could endure. It was such a mite of a thing to meetso furious an attack. As it rose on the wave to pause in terror on itscrest before sinking shivering into the trough, it made the breath comeshort and the heart stand still. Through the night the fragile littlecraft fought its lonely way, bravely ignoring its own weakness and theinfinite strength of its enemy. To the captain, lashed to the bridge,there were hours of grave anxiety--hours when he feared each wave as itapproached, and wondered what new damage it had done as it receded. Asthe wind increased toward morning he felt a sickening certainty thatthe brave little boat was beaten. Somehow she seemed to lose courage,to waver a bit and almost give tip the fight. He watched her miserablyas the dismal dawn came up out of the sea. Yet it was not until seveno'clock that the crash came, which shook the passengers out of theirberths and filled them with shivering terror. The whirring of thebroken shaft seemed to consume the ship. In every cabin it spoke withterrible vividness of disaster. The clamor of voices and the rush ofmany feet, which followed, meant but one thing. Almost instantly themachinery was stopped--an ominous silence in the midst of the dull roarof the water and the cry of the wind.

  It was a terrified crowd that quickly gathered in the main cabin, butit was a brave one. There were no cries and few tears. They expectedanything and were ready for the worst, but they would not show thewhite feather. It was Mrs. Dan who broke the tension. "I made sure ofmy pearls," she said; "I thought they would be appreciated at thebottom of the sea."

  Brewster came in upon their laughter. "I like your nerve, people," heexclaimed, "you are all right. It won't be so bad now. The wind hasdropped."

  Long afterward when they talked the matter over, DeMille claimed thatthe only thing that bothered him that night was the effort to decidewhether the club of which he and Monty were members would put in themain hallway two black-bordered cards, each bearing a name, or only onewith both names. Mr. Valentine regretted that he had gone on for yearspaying life insurance premiums when now his only relatives were on theboat and would die with him.

  The captain, looking pretty rocky after his twenty-four hour vigil,summoned his chief. "We're in a bad hole, Mr. Brewster," he said whenthey were alone, "and no mistake. A broken shaft and this weather makea pretty poor combination."

  "Is there no chance of making a port for repairs?"

  "I don't see it, sir. It looks like a long pull."

  "We are way off our course, I suppose?" and Monty's coolness wonCaptain Perry's admiration.

  "I can't tell just how much until I get the sun, but this wind is hell.I suspect we've drifted pretty far."

  "Come and get some coffee, captain. While the storm lasts the onlything to do is to cheer up the women and trust to luck."

  "You're the nerviest mate I ever shipped with, Mr. Brewster," and thecaptain's hand gripped Monty's in a way that meant things. It was atribute he appreciated.

  During the day Monty devoted himself to his guests, and at the firstsign of pensiveness he was ready with a jest or a story. But he did itall with a tact that inspired the crowd as a whole with hope, and noone suspected that he himself was not cheerful. For Peggy Gray therewas a special tenderness, and he made up his mind that if things shouldgo wrong he would tell her that he loved her.

  "It could do no harm," he thought to himself, "and I want her to know."

  Toward night the worst was over. The sea had gone down and the hatcheswere opened for a while to admit air, though it was still too rough toventure out. The next morning was bright and clear. When the companygathered on deck the havoc created by the storm was apparent. Two ofthe boats had been completely carried away and the launch was rendereduseless by a large hole in the stern.

  "You don't mean to say that we will drift about until the repairs canbe made?" asked Mrs. Dan in alarm.

  "We are three hundred miles off the course already," explained Monty,"and it will be pretty slow traveling under sail."

  It was decided to make for the Canary Islands, where repairs could bemade and the voyage resumed. But where the wind had raged a few daysbefore, it had now disappeared altogether, and for a week the "Flitter"tossed about absolutely unable to make headway. The first of August hadarrived and Monty himself was beginning to be nervous. With the fatalday not quite two months away, things began to look serious. Over onehundred thousand dollars would remain after he had settled the expensesof the cruise, and he was helplessly drifting in mid-ocean. Even if thenecessary repairs could be made promptly, it would take the "Flitter"fourteen days to sail from the Canaries to New York. Figure as hard ashe could he saw no way out of the unfortunate situation. Two days moreelapsed and stil
l no sign of a breeze. He made sure that September 23dwould find him still drifting and still in possession of one hundredthousand superfluous dollars.

  At the end of ten days the yacht had progressed but two hundred milesand Monty was beginning to plan the rest of his existence on a capitalof $100,000. He had given up all hope of the Sedgwick legacy and wastrying to be resigned to his fate, when a tramp steamer was suddenlysighted. Brewster ordered the man on watch to fly a flag of distress.Then he reported to the captain and told what he had done. With a boundthe captain rushed on deck and tore the flag from the sailor's hand.

  "That was my order," said Monty, nettled at the captain's manner.

  "You want them to get a line on us and claim salvage, do you?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "If they get a line on us in response to that flag they will claim theentire value of the ship as salvage. You want to spend another $200,000on this boat?"

  "I didn't understand," said Monty, sheepishly. "But for God's sake fixit up somehow. Can't they tow us? I'll pay for it."

  Communication was slow, but after an apparently endless amount ofsignaling, the captain finally announced that the freight steamer wasbound for Southampton and would tow the "Flitter" to that point for aprice.

  "Back to Southampton!" groaned Monty. "That means months before we getback to New York."

  "He says he can get us to Southampton in ten days," interrupted thecaptain.

  "I can do it, I can do it," he cried, to the consternation of hisguests, who wondered if his mind were affected. "If he'll land us inSouthampton by the 27th, I'll pay him up to one hundred thousanddollars."