CHAPTER XIX AN OLD FRIEND JOINS THE PARTY
The party on the hill was surprised at the action of the mestizo as hefairly pounced upon his rifle. But before he could even lift it aclear-cut voice spoke out back of them.
"Keep your hands off of that gun, or I'll drill a few holes into you!"
They turned, to find back of them a little short man in a blue uniformof a sailor, who had crept up on them quietly from the rear. He held arifle in his hand and turned it unwaveringly toward the members of thewatching group.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the professor, after a second ofsilence.
"No meaning at all," chuckled the man, whose uniform proclaimed him amate on a sailing ship. "You fellows march down the hill until mycaptain looks you over."
"Who are you to tell us to march down the hill?" snapped Ned. "This is afree country, in case you don't know it."
"I know it," chuckled the mate. "But this here gun of mine don't knownothing about it! I've tried my best to teach the blooming thing, butit's just naturally ignorant!"
"Who are you?" Don asked.
"Go on down the hill!" commanded the mate, suddenly changing his tone."The captain will answer all questions."
There was nothing to do but to obey, so, in silence the boys and theolder man walked down the hill, leading their mounts. The crowd belowsaw them coming and looked on with marked interest. The captain of theattackers strode to the front. He was a tall old man with a white beardand snow white hair, and at sight of him Don caught his breath.
"What have you here, Harvey?" the captain asked.
"This bunch was lying on their tummies and looking over the hill atyou," answered the mate, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes, we were, Captain Blow," said Don, boldly. "How are you, sir?"
Captain Blow, their old friend from Mystery Island, started at hearinghis name, and looked closely at Don's smiling face. He had been theirstaunch friend at the time they made their summer cruise and capturedthe marine bandits. Recognition dawned on him and he joyously seized theboy's hands.
"Why, by jumping Tunket, if it isn't Don Mercer!" he roared heartily."What in the name of Goshen are you doing out here, boy?"
Don explained briefly that he was staying with the Scotts at their ranchand then looked around at the sullen captives. "What is all this,Captain Blow?" he asked.
"These fellows are one fine bunch of prison birds who are soon going intheir cage!" retorted the captain vigorously. "I'm running a schoonerout here, in the carrying trade now, and this Captain Jake Ryan run offwith two of my men. Last night I chased them but lost 'em in the storm.Early this morning I saw the wreck and sent my mate there ashore tolocate them. When he gave me the signal, from the hill back of where youwere looking, we came ashore. He saw you fellows and thought you werepart of the enemy."
Don then introduced the Scotts and told the captain of their search forJim and Terry. The captain was deeply interested.
"These fellows are part of Sackett's gang," he said. "Maybe they knowsomething." He turned to the scowling Ryan. "Did you have anything to dowith two boys?" he asked.
"No!" said Ryan, promptly.
But one of the men who had been liberated by the coming of Captain Blowspoke up quickly. "Yes he did, Captain Blow! Those two boys came aboardyesterday just before the storm, down at the old tannery. And they arestill aboard the wreck!"
"How do you know they weren't swept overboard?" shouted Jake Ryan.
"You know how I know, you scoundrel!" snapped the sailor, shaking hisfist in Ryan's face. "When you stampeded for the lifeboat I saw thosetwo boys duck down behind some canvas and I told you to put back andmake 'em come off in the lifeboat, but you was so scared you wouldn't goback!"
"It's a lie," Ryan retorted.
"No it isn't. Those boys are still on the ship," said the sailor.
"I guess they decided to stay on the schooner and keep out of the handsof these fellows," decided Captain Blow. "Too bad they didn't come rightalong, and we would have them now. But we'll probably find them outthere."
"That is once Jim and Terry figured their move wrong," grinned Don,greatly relieved at the news concerning his chums.
"Yes, but they thought they were doing the correct thing," put in theprofessor. "Now, what do you propose to do with these men, CaptainBlow?"
Blow turned to his mate. "Harvey, you and the men march these fellowsback to the boats and take 'em to the schooner. I'm going out to thewreck with these men and I'll be back to the ship later. Don't let oneof these rats escape, and we'll take them to prison."
"Aye, aye, sir!" replied Harvey. The crew hustled the captives away overthe top of the hill and then Captain Blow turned to the party offriends.
"Now we'll go out and look that wreck over," he announced. The boat inwhich the crew of the _Galloway_ had reached shore was still lying uponthe sand, and they all climbed in and pushed off, the old captain, Nedand Don taking the oars. It was the first time that the mestizo had everbeen in a boat and he sat gingerly in the bow, holding himself stiffly.
"When did you leave Mystery Island, Captain Blow?" asked Don, as theyrowed out to the wreck.
"Early in the spring," replied the old captain. "When I saw you last Itold you that Mystery Island would soon be a regular summer colony, nowthat the old house and bandits are gone, and sure enough, that is whathappened. Got so full of young men with white pants and slicked downhair and young ladies with tootin' roadsters that my polly and me didn'thave any peace at all. So I came west, got a nice schooner, and am nowrunning between here and Mexico, picking up anything I can get, mostlyfruit. I didn't have any trouble, although I had heard plenty about thisSackett, until a few days ago when this Ryan ran off with two of my men.Kidnapped them in some eating house in San Francisco and I went rightafter them."
"I see," nodded Don. "So Bella, the parrot, is still living?"
"Oh, yup! She's still sayin' 'Bella is a good girl.' Probably she'llstill be saying that after I'm dead and gone."
They had now approached the wreck and the captain made fast the painterof the lifeboat. Climbing aboard was somewhat of a task, as the decksloped dangerously, but by dint of clinging to every support availablethey managed to do so. But a hasty survey of the deck revealed that thetwo boys were not on board.
"Maybe they are in the hold," suggested Ned.
"I doubt that," replied Captain Blow. "That hold must be full of water.You see, these fellows crowded on all canvas to get away from me andthey ran in too close to shore, with the result that they jammed hardand fast aground. The bottom must be stove in plenty and full of water,and the only reason they didn't sink is because they are sort of lyingon a shelf. However, we'll give a look down the companionway."
A look down into the hold of the wrecked schooner proved that CaptainBlow was right in his surmises. The hold was filled with water and itwas manifestly impossible for anyone to have gone down there. Don wasworried.
"You don't suppose they were swept overboard, do you?" he asked,anxiously.
"No," said the captain promptly. "I don't. My sailor says they duckeddown behind something to keep hidden probably with the idea of escapingall by themselves. My idea is that they grabbed a spar or two, swam toshore, and got away that way. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they waseven now heading up the shore toward your ranch, professor."
"I believe you are right, Captain," replied the professor. "Theycertainly wouldn't stay here when there was no necessity for it, andthey probably swam ashore, as you say. I think, therefore, that weshould go ashore and follow up the coast, in the hope of overtakingthem."
"We ought to overtake them," said Ned. "We are mounted and they aren't.No use in wasting any more time around here, is there?"
"No," Captain Blow answered, slipping down the deck. "Let's go back."
On the way to the shore the professor told the captain about thetreasure hunt and he was tremendously interested. Once on shore he spokeabout g
oing back to his boat.
"I wish you the best of luck," he told Don. "By thunder mighty! Iwouldn't mind going with you!"
"Why don't you?" asked Don, quickly. "Can't your mate sail with thesemen to the city and stop for you on the return trip? I feel sure thatthe rest of us would be glad to have you."
"We surely would!" said Ned and his father, together.
"Why, yes, I guess that would do," said the captain slowly. "I'd surelike to go along. Will you give me time to go out and tell Harvey whatto do?"
They assented and the captain signalled for a boat, which took him offto his schooner. He was gone for about fifteen minutes, and when he cameback he had a blanket and some supplies. He joined them and the boat putoff once again for the schooner.
"Harvey is in complete charge," he announced. "He'll stop for me atQuito on the way back. I'm ready to go now."
The mestizo surrendered his horse to the captain, who protestedvigorously, but the mestizo was a far better hand at trotting along thanthe old salt, so they arranged to share the horse, and when it wascooler, to ride it double. Feeling that their best plan was to push onback to the ranch they started off, leaving the deserted wreck farbehind them.