CHAPTER X
TOSSED UP BY THE WAVES
THE light that Steve Rush had seen, the winking, twinkling light camefrom the lighthouse on North Point. The North Point light was arevolving affair, which accounted for its vanishing and then reappearingat stated intervals.
A few hours passed, though they were as seconds to the unconscious boyon the slender raft. At last he began to feel a glow spreading over hisbenumbed body. He moved a little, took a long breath then settled backinto his former stupor. But the warmth continued to spread. Steve felt asense of being on fire. After a while he realized that the support underhim was no longer moving, though he could hear the roar of the waves inhis ears. He found himself dimly wondering why they did not break overhim and drench him and chill him to the marrow.
Steve tried to raise one hand to his head, but the hand was pinioned sothat he could not move it. His curiosity was becoming aroused. Rushopened his eyes. Before him and above him was a rocky, precipitouscoast. Then in a rush of understanding he realized that he was lying onthe rocky shore of the lake coast. Both hands were still under the door,which accounted for his inability to raise one of them a few minutessince.
The sun was beating down hotly, warming the Iron Boy's blood, sending itmore rapidly through his veins.
With a cry of thankfulness Steve Rush got unsteadily to his feet. He wasso stiff that he could hardly stand, though the numbness of a few hourssince was fast passing away.
"I have been carried to the shore and I'm saved!" he shouted. "This isthe most wonderful thing that ever has happened to me. But I wonderwhere I am."
It was early in the morning, that was certain. He judged the hour mustbe about seven o'clock. His watch had stopped at midnight. Turningquickly the lad glanced out over the green waters of the lake thatsparkled in the morning sunlight, a gentle ripple ruffling the surface.Here and there a huge ore carrier was observed, working its way up ordown the lake. Far in the offing thin ribbons of gray smoke told whereother vessels were steaming along.
"I wonder if any of those ships is the 'Wanderer'?" mused the Iron Boy."And I wonder something else, too--I wonder whether I am going to getany breakfast or not. It is useless for me to try to signal a ship inhere. They probably would not come in even if they saw me, as I imaginethis is shoal water all around here. There must be some one living abouthere somewhere. I'll start on a little exploring tour for breakfast."
Steve turned away and began climbing up the rocks. This being his firstpassage over the lakes, he was not at all familiar with the coast andconsequently had no idea where he was.
In the meantime the ship had sailed away. The "Wanderer" had lain tountil the first gray dawn of the morning. A few of the men had beensaved, including two of the sailors in the boat Steve had set out in.All the others in that craft had been lost, as were the greater part ofthe crew of the lost steamer. The men rescued from the life-boat were ofthe opinion that Steve Rush had gone down with the others.
Bob Jarvis said not a word. His face was pale and drawn. He went abouthis duties methodically, speaking to no one, but listening to every wordthat was said about the tragedy.
After cutting wide circles for a full two hours the "Wanderer" was putabout on her interrupted course.
"South south-west one half," announced the skipper in a low tone.
The words meant to all who heard them, that he had abandoned thesearch--that the missing men had been given up for lost. Their nameswould be added to the list of fifty thousand souls who have lost theirlives on the Great Lakes during the last fifty years.
Captain Simms' face was grave. He had taken a great liking to SteveRush. He had lost, as he thought, three men, the first loss of life on aship commanded by him since he had been in the service of the company asa sailing master.
"Mr. Major, you will report the accident and the loss of the men as soonas we reach the St. Clair River," he said.
"Aye, aye, sir."
Captain Simms left the pilot-house, from which point of vantage he hadbeen sweeping the waters of the lake with his glasses, and went down tohis own cabin to turn in for a few hours' sleep.
* * * * *
In the meantime the object of the thoughts of nearly every man on board,Steve Rush, was climbing to the top of the rocks that lined the coast.Reaching there he sought the highest point attainable and looked abouthim.
"I am on an island!" he exclaimed. "From the looks of things I am theonly person here. Well, this _is_ cheerful, but it is much better thanbeing out yonder," he added with a gesture toward the rippling waters ofLake Huron.
Rush decided to investigate his island the next thing he did. So heclimbed down to the beach again and began following the coast line. Ashe went on he found traces indicating that some one had been there.There were chicken bones and the charred embers of a recent fire in onespot. Steve came to the conclusion that fishermen had been on the islandnot long since. If this were so there were hopes that they or some oftheir kind would visit the place again. Steve walked the greater part ofthe day. On one side of the island he saw a large bay. Across a point ofwhat he judged to be the mainland, he could see another bay and beyondthat a cloud in the sky that looked like smoke.
"There must be a large town or a city over yonder, but I don't know whatit is. I do not even know whether I am in the United States or Canada."
All day long the lad tramped. When night came he was hungry, stiff andweak. Had it not been for his splendid constitution and great endurancehe would have given up long before that.
Just before dark he caught sight of a small sailboat slipping easilyalong, headed, he thought, for the larger bay on beyond the narrowpoint of land.
Steve hailed the craft. One man in the stern of the boat stood up andgazed shoreward through a glass. Rush swung his arms and shouted that hewanted to be taken off the island. The man in the stern calmly closedhis glasses and sat down, while the boat held steadily to her course.
Steve sat down, too. He was not so much discouraged as he was angry anddisgusted.
"Why couldn't he have sailed somewhere so I wouldn't have seen him,instead of drifting by so tantalizingly near me?" he cried.
There being no answer to the question, Rush began looking about for aplace to sleep. The best he could do was a spot just under a ledge ofrock. The boy went down to the beach and brought back his life raft, thepiece of a deck house door on which he had floated ashore. This hecarried up to his bedroom under the ledge and stood it against therocks.
"That will do very well, in the absence of something better," he decidedgrinning as broadly as the drawn muscles of his face would permit him todo.
Then Steve crawled under this rude shelter, drawing his coat as closelyabout him as possible and went sound asleep.
Steve was exhausted bodily and mentally, and it was not to be wonderedat considering what he had gone through in the last twelve hours.Besides this he had had nothing to eat since supper on the previous day.
The following morning Rush did not awaken until the sunlight warmed hisbedroom. He crawled out, rubbed his eyes and looked about him.
"Well, if it isn't morning! But maybe it's the next morning; maybe Islept a day and a night."
He had now lost all track of time. Steve sat down to think matters overcalmly. His position was a serious one and he understood that full well.
"If I remain here another day I shall be unable to get away," he mused."Then I shall in all probability starve to death. That won't do. I don'tpropose to give up as long as I have any strength left in me, and Iguess I have a little, even after what I have passed through."
Rush sat studying the narrow stretch of water separating him from theslender neck of land that he had observed the day before.
"It can't be more than three miles across there. If I had had a goodmeal this morning I believe I could swim across to the other shore. Thatlooks to me like the mainland. There is surely something on beyondthere several miles away. I wonder if I dare try to swim it?"
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A little reflection convinced the lad that such an attempt could end butone way--he would drown before he reached the neck of land.
His eyes roved about, after a while resting reflectively on the piece ofdeck-house door that had served his purpose so well after the sinking ofthe steamer. A look of new-found intelligence gradually grew in hiseyes.
"The very thing! Hurrah!" he cried, springing up and dancing about,forgetful for the moment, that he needed all the strength he had left."I swam on the door all night. Surely I can stand a few hours more on itin the bright sunlight. Why didn't I think of it before?"
Rush lost no time in acting upon the suggestion that had come to him. Hegrabbed up the cabin door and began staggering down the rocks with it.The door was heavy and he was weak. Once he stumbled and fell. The doorwent clattering down over the rocks, Steve bringing up in a heap somedistance above it.
"There, I'll bet it's broken. If it is I'm done for."
But the door was not broken. It was tough enough to stand the hard usageto which it had been subjected. Steve was after it with a shout as soonas he saw that it had not been split.
After that he proceeded more carefully; within a few minutes he reachedthe beach with his burden. There the lad paused to think over the bestway to go about his own rescue. He took off his coat slowly, folded andplaced it on the door, then removing his suspenders he tied the coatfast to his raft.
"There, I think that's all I had better take off or I shall get chilledagain."
After a final, sweeping glance at the sea, the lad shoved the raft, orrather one end of it, into the water and sat down on the beach to restand gather courage for the great undertaking before him.
"It beats all what a man will do for the sake of a meal," he grinned. "Imight stay on this island all summer, and have a pretty good time, wereit possible for me to get along without food. But, no; I've got to eator I'll die. Well, here goes."
He shoved the door out into the water, pushing it along ahead of himuntil the water was up to his shoulders. Rush then slid his body up onthe raft and began paddling with his hands and kicking his feet, pushinghimself along, heading around a curve of the island, for the extremenarrow point of land jutting out into the lake.