CHAPTER XX
AN EXCITING RESCUE
WITH him Rush had carried a life ring attached to the end of a rope, theother end of the rope having been, with rare presence of mind, made fastto the rail by him before leaping.
He reached his companion just as Bob's head drooped over and he lostconsciousness. Still, Jarvis kept his grip on the arm of the child. Rushhad to tear the girl's dress in order to wrench Jarvis's grip free ofher. In so doing Steve lost the life ring. It was carried away from himin a twinkling. Now he had two persons on his hands with the seasrolling over him almost mountain high, though the ship, being on thewindward side, protected them somewhat.
"Haul in and cast the ring!" Steve managed to shout, just before he wasjammed choking under a heavy wave.
Rush threw himself on his back with his head toward the ship, one armunder Marie and the other arm supporting Bob, who was making desperateefforts to help himself, though unable to do much in that direction.Then Rush began kicking himself slowly toward the vessel, which hadbeen shifted about and was once more drifting down on them.
"Cast your lines before you get close enough to hit us!" Steve criedwhen he could do so without getting a mouthful of water.
Unfortunately those on deck were not very good shots at this sort oftarget work and their life rings went far wide of the mark. The ropes onall but one of them slipped through the hands of the casters and droppedinto the sea.
"Lubbers!" roared the captain from the pilot-house window.
Steve caught the third ring. Twisting the rope about the body of Mariejust under her arms, he tore the ring loose.
"Haul up, quick!" he shouted, swimming along with the child after havingthrust the life ring over the head of Bob Jarvis. Steve held to the girlso that she should not be thrown against the ship head first, whichwould have seriously injured her at least, and perhaps killed her thenand there. Possibly the little girl was dead already. Rush did not know,but he thought he had detected life when he first grasped her.
"Hurry, hurry!" he cried.
The girl was hauled free of the water, and, limp and lifeless, she wastenderly lifted over the rail. Captain Simms, after hurling some briefdirections at the man at the wheel, dashed from the pilot-house, downthe steps and along the deck to the stern, where Marie lay on the deck.The father lost no time in getting at work on her.
"Save those boys if it costs the ship to do it!" he roared. "Major, useyour wits! Get them out, I tell you. I'll hold you personallyresponsible for their rescue!"
"Rush is hit!" shouted a voice excitedly.
Looking over they saw Steve striking out blindly to where Bob wasfloating away helplessly on the sea. It was plain that Rush had beenstunned by being thrown against the side of the ship. Still, by sheerpluck, he was keeping himself up and swimming, but with evident effort,toward his companion. Bob was in a helpless condition and every secondthe life ring was slipping up and threatening to bob out from under hishead. Were that to happen there was little chance that he would besaved.
Steve tried to shout to them, but his voice would not come. He swallowedenough water in these attempts to drown the ordinary person. His eyeswere so full of water and he was so dazed from the bump he hadsustained, that he could not make out where Jarvis was.
"Port! Port!" roared a voice from the deck.
Steve caught the direction and veered a little to port.
"More port. Can you keep it up?"
Rush did not answer, for he was beyond answering. Only his wonderfulpluck and endurance were keeping him from throwing up his hands andsinking under the surface.
With a final burst of speed he reached his companion. Steve threw outone hand and fastened on the other Iron Boy. As he did so the ringslipped from Jarvis's head and floated away.
Rush realized at once what had happened, and began upbraiding himselffor his carelessness. The knowledge seemed to give him new strength. Hisbody fairly leaped from the water as he took several powerful strokestoward the drowning Bob.
"Wake up!" cried Steve, shaking his companion roughly.
Jarvis mumbled in reply, and tried feebly to help himself, but he wastoo weak and too full of water to accomplish anything.
Steve, by a great effort, twisted his companion about and began swimmingtoward the ship with him.
Shouts and suggestions were hurled at him from the ship, but he did nothear them. The Iron Boy was making the fight of his life. At last, aftermighty struggles, he managed to get near enough to the "Richmond" tocatch a line that was tossed to him. This he quickly made fast aboutJarvis's waist and waved a hand to indicate that the men above were tohaul away.
Steve lay over on his back on the water with a great sigh of relief asthe men began hauling the other boy toward the deck.
"Get a line over there to Rush!" thundered the captain. "Don't you seethe boy is drowning?"
But Steve missed every line that was tossed to him. He was makingpowerful efforts to pull himself together sufficiently to save himself,but he could not do so.
"Take care of the child, Major. Keep pumping the water out of her.She'll be all right in a moment," cried the captain. "Give me a line,quick!"
Before the brave skipper could carry out his purpose of climbing overthe rail preparatory to dropping into the lake, another man swiftlyleaped to the rail and let himself drop feet first. He carried two lineswith him.
"It's Smith, the stoker!" cried a chorus of voices.
It was indeed the stoker, the enemy of the Iron Boys, who had determinedto avenge himself on them for the insults he believed they had heapedupon him.
What sudden revulsion of feeling led the stoker to risk his life to savethat of Steve Rush none ever knew, nor would he ever afterwards discussit. Smith was a powerful fellow, a man who feared nothing and besides,he was a strong swimmer.
He pounced upon Rush as if he were about to do him bodily injury. It wasthe work of but a moment to make fast the line about the boy's body.
"Get him up, and be quick!" yelled the stoker.
A cheer rose from the deck; two men at this time were working over Bob,while the captain, having returned to his daughter, was ministering toher.
Steve was hauled aboard, where he settled down in a heap. The sailorsturned him face downward, and then some one happened to think of thestoker. Smith was keeping himself from being jammed against the side ofthe ship by holding both hands against the side of it and hurling angryimprecations at those on deck who had apparently forgotten hisexistence.
"Smi--Smith--Get him!" muttered Steve.
"Put a ladder over the side! Lash it to the rail and give the man a linewith which to steady himself!" commanded the captain. "Come, come! Haveyou all lost your senses?"
His orders were carried out with a snap, and a moment later the drippingfigure of Smith appeared above the level of the deck.
"You're a fine lot of lubbers," growled the stoker. "You let a man gooverboard and then forget he's there. I ought to throw the bunch of youoverboard."
"Take those boys to their cabins as soon as you get the water out ofthem," ordered Captain Simms.
"No, no; I'm all right," protested Steve, pulling himself together andstaggering away from the men who were thumping him with their closedfists, hoping in that way to bring him back to himself.
The stoker had betaken himself to the fire room to dry off. His face hadonce more regained its surly, hang-dog expression, and he made roughanswers to the few questions that were put to him by his fellow-workersin the stoke-hole.
At last the workers succeeded in shaking most of the water out of BobJarvis. He had swallowed a lot of it and was so weak that he could notstand.
At Steve's suggestion they carried Bob around on the lee side of theafter deck-house. The steward came running out with a bottle of brandy,some of which he sought to pour down between the boy's blue lips.Jarvis thrust the bottle aside, half angrily.
"None--none of that horrible stuff for me! I--I'd rather be full of LakeSuperior water and--and _that'
s_ the limit----"
Steve stooped over, and placing his hands under the other boy's arms,lifted him to his feet.
"Brace up! You're all right now," encouraged Rush.
"Yes. I'm all right, _only_----"
The sailors laughed at this; then they shouted, more from relief fromthe strain under which they had been laboring than because of the humorof Jarvis's reply.
"Want to go in and lie down now?" questioned Steve, barely able to keephis feet.
"No!"
"Then we'll walk and see if we can get our sea legs," proposed Steve,slipping an arm about his companion's waist and starting slowly towardthe stern. The boys could hardly keep their feet, they were still soweak. They staggered from one side of the passage to the other, buttheir iron grit kept them up.
"How is little Marie?" demanded Jarvis, suddenly turning to Rush.
"Come; we will go and see. We were forgetting our duty," muttered Steve,starting for the cabin, where the little girl had been taken.