Four Afloat: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Water

  CHAPTER IX--PROVES THAT A STERN CHASE IS NOT ALWAYS A LONG CHASE

  For a moment there was silence in the cockpit of the _Vagabond_. Nelsonand Bob looked serious, Tom somewhat frightened, and Dan as happy as alark. It was Bob who first broke the silence.

  "How fast can one of those tugs travel?" he asked. Nelson shook hishead.

  "It depends on the tug," he answered. "That one looked pretty small, andso I guess her engine isn't very powerful. But even so, it's likely shecan give us a mighty good run."

  "How's our engine running?" asked Bob.

  "Full speed," was the reply. "If it was dark we could lose them easily,but it won't be dark for an hour and a half yet. Well, we'll give them agood chase of it, anyway."

  "Even if they catch us, what can they do?" scoffed Dan. "I'd just liketo see them try to set foot on this boat!"

  "Well, I guess they could do it if they got alongside," answered Nelsondryly. "I noticed about five men on that tug."

  "But they haven't any right to!" protested Tom.

  "I don't believe they'd care much about that," said Bob. "So what we'vegot to do is to keep away from them. Watch for her at the mouth of theharbor."

  They watched in silence. One minute passed, another; then the tug stuckher blunt nose around the sandspit and headed after the _Vagabond_. Shewas a good half mile astern, but from the way in which she was coming itseemed to the boys extremely unlikely that she would stay at thatdistance very long.

  "Gee!" quoth Tom anxiously. "Isn't she humming!"

  "She certainly is," answered Bob. "But, then, so are we, for thatmatter."

  "I'll go down and have a look at the oil cups," said Nelson. "I'd hatelike thunder to have the engine stop at this stage of the game."

  "Gu-gu-gee! If it did!" muttered Tom fearfully.

  "Keep your courage up, Tommy," laughed Dan. "What you need is somethingto eat. So do I, for that matter. But I suppose we can't talk supperyet, eh?"

  "No; let's wait until we see how this thing's coming out," said Bob."Where's the runaway, Nelson?"

  "He's down here," answered Nelson from below. "I've told him what's up,and he says he'll go back to his friend if it's going to get us intotrouble."

  "To the captain? Get out!"

  "Nu-nu-nu-not on your lu-lu-life!" cried Tom.

  "That's the stuff, Tommy," said Dan, clapping him on the back. "The oldguard dies, but never surrenders, eh? Now, look; you go down and see ifyou can't find something we can nibble on--crackers or bread andbutter--will you?"

  "Yes, there's plenty of pilot bread," answered Tom. "Shall I buttersome?"

  "No; let's have it _au natural_, Tommy. That's French and meanssomething, but I don't remember just what. No; pilot bread is betterwithout butter. Scoot along, now; we may have a desperate battle beforeus," with a wink at Bob, "and we must have our bodies fortified.Whatever that is," he added, as Tom went below.

  "I don't see that she's gained any," said Bob presently.

  "No," answered Dan. "Lost, if anything."

  The welcome news was passed below to Nelson, and he came up to see forhimself.

  "That's right," he said. "They've dropped back a little, and I'm mightyglad of it. The fact is, we aren't getting all our speed. There'ssomething wrong somewhere, and I guess it's the gasoline. It wasprobably pretty poor stuff; full of water, I dare say."

  "But there's no fear of the engine stopping, is there?" asked Bob.Nelson shook his head.

  "Not likely; but she's missing a spark now and then, and she may doworse than that. I don't believe we're doing better than ten and a halfmiles."

  "Well, if we can beat her at that," said Dan, "what's the use ofworrying?"

  Tom came up with a dish of pilot bread and a jar of marmalade, and therewas an impromptu feast in the cockpit.

  "How about the kid down there?" asked Dan. "Maybe he's hungry, too."

  "That's so," exclaimed Nelson. "I'll take some of this truck down tohim." When he returned he said: "Glad you thought of it, Dan; the poorduffer's putting that pilot bread away as though he hadn't seen a squaremeal in an age."

  "Maybe he hasn't," said Bob. "I don't believe the grub's very good atthe captain's table."

  "Much the fellow down there would know about the captain's table,"scoffed Dan. "He probably ate in the forecastle."

  "Not if he was cabin boy," returned Bob. "Cabin boys eat at theofficers' mess."

  "Who said he was cabin boy?" asked Dan. "I'll bet he was just a--a sortof apprentice. Why can't we have him up here and hear what the row is?"

  "They might see him from the tug," said Tom, glancing uneasily towardthat boat.

  "What if they do? They know he's here, anyhow. Call him up, Nelson."

  And in a moment he appeared at the steps, glanced about him anxiouslyand diffidently, and stood as though awaiting further instructions. Hewas a small boy, but he looked hard and healthy. His rather thin facewas bronzed by the wind, and the skin on the end of his funny littleupturned nose was peeling off, perhaps from the same cause. He didn'tlook overly clean, but he had rather nice, honest brown eyes and aserious mouth, at one corner of which, just at present, a flake of pilotbread was adhering. He was dressed in a pair of brown trousers, whichwere neither long nor short but which left off a good three inches abovehis shoes, a blue-and-white-striped cotton shirt, guiltless of collar ortie, and a jacket, very much too large for him, of a color once blue andnow a queer brownish purple. His hands were broad, and brown andscarred--not at all pretty to look at--with broken and blackened nails. Onhis touseled brown hair he wore a dirty canvas cap. As the Four observedhim for a moment in silence, he took off his cap, awkwardly andhesitatingly, and clutched it in his hands.

  "What's your name?" asked Bob kindly.

  "Spencer Floyd," was the answer in a husky voice that seemed years tooold for him.

  "Well, Spencer, supposing you sit down there and tell us what thetrouble is," Bob suggested. "Your friend the captain's after us in thetug back there, but I don't believe he'll catch us. What's the troublebetween the captain and you? Let's hear about it."

  The boy climbed up so that he could see the pursuing tug. He watched itfor a moment silently. Then he sat down obediently on the top step andlooked at his cap. Evidently he needed prompting.

  "Wasn't the captain good to you?" asked Dan. Spencer shook his headslowly.

  "He beat me," he muttered finally.

  "Beat you, did he? What for?"

  "'Cause I wanted to go home."

  "Where do you live?" asked Nelson, taking up the role of examiner.

  "Mullen's Cove."

  "Where's that?"

  "Long Island."

  "Oh, Long Island, eh? Folks living?"

  "My mother is," answered the runaway. "My father died three years ago.He was first mate on the _Independence_."

  "Fisherman?"

  "Yes, sir; seiner. She was wrecked on the Banks."

  "Oh!" said Nelson sympathetically. "That was bad, wasn't it?"

  "Yes, sir. He didn't leave much money, but we own our house, and ma sheraises vegetables and sells milk."

  "I see. And where does the captain come in? By the way, what's hisname?"

  "Captain Sauder."

  "Not soft solder, I'll bet," murmured Dan.

  "Is he a relative of yours?" Nelson asked.

  "No, he ain't," was the decided reply. "But he and my father used to betogether on some boat once. And he used to come and see us sometimes.And when father died, he offered to take me and learn me to be a sailor.So ma, she let me go for a year."

  "Did you like it?"

  "No, sir."

  "But you stuck it out?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And then what?"

  "When my time was up with him I told him I was going to leave and gohome. But he said I couldn't. Said I'd signed articles for two years,and if I tried to get away he'd flog me."

  "Did you try?"

  "Yes, sir, about three weeks ago. But he caught me."

  "Did
he flog you?"

  The boy shivered and nodded.

  "Bu-bu-brute!" growled Tom.

  "And you say you never signed anything?"

  "No, sir, I never did. And I ain't heard from my mother for most a year,and--and--" He stopped and sniffed, the tears welling into his eyes.

  "That's too bad!" said Nelson. "But don't you worry. We'll get youashore somewhere, and you can get home."

  "I guess he'll catch me," said the boy hopelessly.

  "Oh, no, he won't! Got any money?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "How much?" Spencer observed his questioner suspiciously for a second.But Nelson's face showed only kindness and sympathy, and the boy's eyesdropped.

  "'Most two dollars," he answered.

  "Well, that's not a great deal, is it? Did you get paid on the ship?"

  "Fifty cents a month."

  "Gee!" exclaimed Dan. "Isn't he the reckless captain!"

  "Well," said Nelson, "I don't pretend to know what the law is in suchcases, but I'm for getting Spencer back to his home. Maybe we'll get introuble about it, though. What do you fellows say?"

  "Trouble be blowed!" said Dan. "If he hasn't got the law on his side, heought to have."

  "That's so," said Bob. "We'll help him along. How about it, Tommy?"

  "If we du-du-du-don't we deserve tu-tu-to be ki-ki-ki-ki----"

  "You're missing sparks, Tommy," warned Nelson.

  "Water in his gasoline," said Dan, with a grin.

  "----to be kicked!" ended Tom explosively and earnestly.

  "And so we do," agreed Nelson. "How's the enemy coming on?"

  "Just about holding her own, I'd say," was Bob's verdict. "What are yourplans, Nel?"

  "Make for Provincetown, over there. We ought to reach it a little afterdark at this rate."

  "Then what?"

  "Put the boy ashore, give him a few dollars, and trust to him to keepout of the way."

  "But look here, Nel. If we land him at Provincetown, he'll have to comeback all around the Cape. That'll take him an age."

  "There's the railroad. Why can't he take a train?"

  "Suppose he does? All Captain Chowder, or whatever his name is, willhave to do is to go down the Cape and head him off."

  "That's so," answered Nelson thoughtfully. "But it seems to me he oughtto be able to hide out for awhile. The captain can't afford to spendmuch time chasing him. What do you say, Spencer? Do you think that if weput you ashore at Provincetown, you could keep out of the captain'sway?"

  Spencer shook his head.

  "He'd get me," he muttered. "He'd say I had deserted, and then they'd belooking out for me along the road."

  "He's right," said Dan. "That's just what would happen. They'd probablytelegraph along the railroad, and he'd be yanked back to the _HenryNellis_ quick-time. That won't do. We've got to think of some otherscheme."

  "I wish I'd started up the coast," said Nelson regretfully. "We mighthave made Plymouth easily, and if we'd got him ashore there he'd havehad the whole State to hide in."

  "Do you suppose the captain will come after him if he gets home?" askedDan.

  "How about that, Spencer?" Nelson questioned. "Do you think the captainwould take you away again?"

  "No, sir," answered the boy, with a decisive shake of his head. "Mawouldn't let him after I'd told her about his beating me."

  "Well, then," said Nelson, "what we've got to do is to get you home.Let's see that chart of the Long-Island coast, Dan. It's down there inthe locker."

  The chart was produced and spread out on Nelson's knees.

  "Now, let's see. Where's Mullen's Cove situated, Spencer?"

  "It's near Mattituck, sir."

  "Mattituck, Mattituck," murmured Nelson. "That has a familiar sound. Letme see, now, where--Oh, here it is! And here's Mullen's Cove, too."

  "May I look at it, sir?" asked Spencer eagerly.

  "Yes; come here. Here it is, see?"

  The boy leaned over Nelson's shoulder and looked for a long whilewithout saying anything. Then, with a sigh----

  "Yes, that's it," he said. "That's where I live--right there." He placeda blackened finger on the chart. "It--it's almost like seeing home, ain'tit?" he asked shyly. Nelson didn't answer, but he folded the chart up ina determined manner and tossed it to Dan.

  "You stay right here with us, Spencer," he said, "and we'll put youashore at Mullen's Cove, if it takes a week to do it. Now I'm going tolook at the engine."

  A moment later he was up again and looking anxiously back across thewater. The sun was sinking, and the long, level rays were tipping thelittle waves with gold. In the hollows purple shadows were floating.Back of them, perhaps a little more than a half mile, the tugboat wasfollowing doggedly in their wake. Nelson glanced at Bob and their eyesmet.

  "She's missing like anything," muttered Nelson ruefully. "It's thatblamed gasoline we bought this afternoon; seems like it was half water.I've done everything I know how, but it doesn't make any difference.She's missing about a third of her explosions. I wish to goodness itwould get dark!"

  "It will be in about half an hour," answered Bob hopefully.

  "I know, but--" He stopped, staring at Bob. The engine had ceasedworking! But in another instant it had started again. With a frown,Nelson went below. Bob glanced back at the tug. Already it seemed tohave gained on them. Dan and Tom were talking to Spencer, and had notnoticed anything. The _Vagabond_ had covered some fourteen miles of thetwenty that lay between Sanstable and Provincetown, and now the "toe ofthe boot," as the tip end of Cape Cod has been fancifully called, laybefore them well defined in the last flare of sunlight. Directly to theeast the curving coast was perhaps a mile nearer to them than was theharbor of Provincetown, but to alter their course would be giving anadvantage to the pursuers, since it would enable them to cut across, andperhaps head off, the _Vagabond_ before port was reached. Bob studiedthe chart before him and saw that, even if they turned eastward, theywould have difficulty in finding a harbor. If the engine would hold out,their best plan was undoubtedly to keep on around the Cape. It wasdoubtful if those on the tug would care to keep up the chase when theysaw that the _Vagabond_ was not putting in at Provincetown; or, ifdarkness came before they reached the end of the Cape, they could headnorthwest and perhaps throw the tugboat off the track. But it alldepended on the engine. Bob leaned down so that his head was inside thehatchway and listened. The sound that reached him was not reassuring.The engine was missing spark after spark, sometimes stopping for secondsat a time. He raised his head and again looked back over the darkeningwater. There was no longer a half mile between the launch and the tug,nor anything like it. Unless something happened, very soon the chase wasas good as over!

  And something did happen, and almost instantly, but not what Bob wouldhave chosen. The engine stopped altogether! Nor, although Bob listenedand waited with anxious ears, did it start up again. Dan and Tom andSpencer looked at Bob and one another with inquiring eyes. The momentspassed. The _Vagabond_ slowly lost headway. Then Nelson's face appearedat the engine-room door.

  "It's all up, I guess," he said quietly. "I'll have to take thevaporizer apart, and that will take some time. And even then I'm notsure that she'll work. Where's the tug?"

  "About a quarter of a mile away, and coming like thunder!" answered Dan.

  "Well, I'll be as quick as I can," said Nelson sadly, "but I guess ourgoose is cooked!"

  He disappeared again, and in the silence that ensued those above couldhear the sound of the wrench as it fell to work. Back of them, comingnearer at every turn of her propeller, raced the tugboat.

  The _Vagabond_ rolled lazily in the little waves.

  Dan began to whistle cheerfully.