CHAPTER XI
THE STORM BREAKS
"Hey, there! Wake up, Holly!"
Mart pounded on his chum's door again, as a sleepy answer came fromwithin. The night mists had been gone for an hour, and the sun wasflooding the lagoon with light and warmth, but Mart was more excitedthan the early hour warranted.
"Hurry up there, Holly!" he urged, pounding again. "Get a move on!Something's happened!"
"What?" sounded the question.
"Never mind till you see it. Get your duds on and get out here."
After thirty seconds more the half-dressed figure of Bob appeared at thedoor. Mart seized him by the arm and jerked him out. Bob stared inwonder, for Mart's strong, determined face was filled with grief andanger.
"What's struck you, Mart?"
"Come along and see."
With which enigmatic response Mart led the way forward and up to thebridge. Two of the Kanakas were on watch, but Mart passed direct to thewireless house, with the wondering Bob close behind.
"Now, look at that," exclaimed Mart, standing by the table and wavinghis hand toward the wireless outfit. "Look at it real close, Holly."
Bob advanced, puzzled. The silence cabinet in which was enclosed thetransmitting apparatus, had been forced open, and even the unmechanicalBob could see at a glance that something had been disarranged, or worse.
"Look at her!" exclaimed Mart bitterly. "Wires out and gone, andeverything busted that would bust--why, they must have gone through herwith an axe! Holly, this wireless was busted a-purpose, and someoneaboard the _Seamew_ did it!"
"Is she badly smashed?" queried Bob, who was startled by the newswithout quite comprehending what it meant.
"I haven't had a chance to look yet. But say, Holly! Don't you see whatit means? There's someone aboard here who wants to cut us off fromconnection with everything--and he didn't know much about wireless,either. The aerials ain't touched. Let's see--"
Mart began to investigate feverishly, but Bob stood transfixed as hefinally realized what this destruction portended. Then, as he gazed downat the kneeling figure of his chum, his face flooded with anger and heturned and went out to the forward end of the bridge. The Kanakas werelolling below in the sun, and Bob woke them sharply.
"Call all hands and send Mr. Smith here."
At the unwonted note of authority in his voice, the Kanakas jumped. Fiveminutes later the whole crew poured up, thronging the foredeck, whileold Jerry came up to the bridge in mild astonishment.
"Come back here," ordered Bob briefly, in reply to his queries, and ledthe old quartermaster hack to the wireless house.
"Now, Jerry," he said, "last night someone broke in there and wentthrough the wireless outfit with an axe. How about it, Mart! Muchdamaged?"
"Clean smashed up, Holly," groaned Mart from his position beside thecabinet, where he was investigating the helix. "Everything's busted.She's ruined."
"Get to work, Jerry," commanded Bob curtly. "You're responsible. Nowfind out who did it--"
"How do you know it was done last night, lads?" inquired Jerry softly."When was you up here last, if I may ask?"
Bob glanced at Mart, who was rising. They found that neither of them hadbeen up since early the previous morning when Mart had sent a messagethrough the Nederland boat. At this Jerry suggested that one of theMalays had possibly stolen up while their prau was waiting alongside forthe captain, the day before, and had stolen what he could find. TheMalays had a fondness for wire, he went on to say.
"Mebbe," said Mart suspiciously. "You get busy and investigate herefirst. I don't take much stock in your suggestions."
With an injured air, Jerry retraced his steps and put the crew through astiff examination, but nothing was brought to light. It finally provedthat the Malay explanation was the most plausible one, simply for lackof other evidence, and although Bob and Mart were both furious, theycould do nothing. Once they were alone in the cabin, however, Martwinked mysteriously at his chum.
"Say, Holly, I was putting up a bluff on you for Jerry's benefit. Thatwireless ain't wrecked, not by a jugfull! Whoever did it was too plumbignorant to do the job right. I can fix her up, but it'll take time.Now, you lay low and let on like she's busted for good. If one o' themen did it, and finds it ain't busted, he's liable to go after ouraerials, which would sure dish things for us, see?"
Bob nodded thoughtfully.
"Good for you, Mart. Well, you wait an' see what happens when dad getsback, that's all I have to say."
He had no chance to say more, indeed, for a trampling of feet on thedeck, and the sound of voices, apprised them that the diving was aboutto commence. They at once set aside all other thoughts, agreed to forgetthe wireless for the time being, and hurried on deck to watchoperations. At Bob's suggestion Mart brought along a couple of thethirty-thirty rifles, in case they should see any further signs of thePirate Shark.
They had already made sure that the Kanakas knew the danger of divinghere in the lagoon, but one and all the brown-skinned men had laughed atthe very name of shark, patting their sheath knives and assuring theboys that they were used to killing sharks as a form of exercise. Sizemade no difference, it appeared, so the boys made no more objections.
Four of the Kanakas had stripped and stood on the gangway landing,holding to lines and weights, while the rest of the crew clustered aboutthe rail and Jerry gave them instructions as to depth and bottom andwhat to look for. Then the men grinned, put their knives between theirteeth, and slipped off into the water.
After a minute they reappeared, merely took breath, and vanished again.This time they were down well over a minute, then shot up to the surfacetogether and piled on to the landing, their brown bodies glistening inthe sun. The boys went down the ladder and joined Jerry in getting thereports of the divers.
These all agreed that the yacht lay directly over an old wreck, whichwas so overgrown that it seemed little more than a huge rock. One of themen had brought up a sliver of wood in proof of the story, however, andat sight of it Jerry nodded, satisfied.
"There she is, lads--eight fathoms down! Mystery o' the sea,lads--mystery o' the sea, and us up above here in the sun!"
The boys kept a sharp lookout for the shark, but he was not to be seen,and the Kanakas declared there was nothing alarming to be seenunderneath the surface. Now it was that Jerry had Dailey and Birch bringdown the diving outfits to the landing, and he briefly ordered theKanakas to don them and go down.
To the surprise of all, the Kanakas refused. They looked with somesuspicion on the heavy boots and copper helmet, declaring that they feltsafer without all these things and were perfectly willing to go down asoften as was wished.
At this Jerry carefully explained that such work would not do, that hewanted the wreck explored, and that it was necessary for a man to bedown for a long period to do this successfully. The Kanakas stillbalked, however, and when Jerry grew furious and ordered one of themflatly to get into the diving dress, Bob interposed.
"None o' that, Jerry. The men are right. If you want someone to go down,pick out one of your own men--Birch or Dailey there."
The Scotch engineer, standing up above, burst out laughing. Birchpromptly denied all interest in the wreck.
"Not me, sir! I ain't no diver, nor shark fighter neither. If anyone'sto go down, let the quartermaster go down, I says!"
"That's right," grinned Mart maliciously. "You climb into one of thesuits, Jerry! Mebbe your old friend the Pirate Shark is waiting for youto show up."
Jerry chuckled and wagged his white head in solemn refusal, while thoseabove made fun of him unrestrainedly. Finally Jerry scratched his headand gazed up at the men lining the rail.
"Dailey," he ordered, "see to gettin' out two o' the boats. Yorke, youan' Birch an' Borden come down to the after cabin. I'll learn ye who'smaster aboard here!"
He chuckled again, and beckoned to the boys to follow, which they did.Dailey ran to the bridge deck with a squad of Kanakas and as Mart wentbelow he heard the davits creaking, a
nd saw one of the boats descendingto the water.
Jerry vouchsafed no explanation of his ordered consultation until thethree men in question had come down to the cabin where he and the boyswaited. Mart detected something strange in the old man's manner, and theinstant the men came down he saw an insolent expression on Birch's facethat he did not understand. He was soon to understand it, however, witha good many other things.
"Now, comrades, what had best be done?" asked Jerry. "These here ladsdon't want us to make the Kanakas go down, and you don't want to go downneither. Our dynamite's gone, so I asks you again, what's to be done?"
Yorke leered with his twisted mouth.
"Take a rope's end to the Kanakas, Shark. Ain't you master aboard here?"
"Aye, that I am, Yorke, but owners is owners."
Jerry chuckled again, which disarmed Bob's anger. Mart was watching thefour men anxiously. Their attitude puzzled him, for the seamen wereundoubtedly insolent, but Jerry seemed to pay no attention; and the oldquartermaster was usually a stickler for sea etiquette.
"Are you sure the Pirate Shark's down there, Jerry?" asked Bob suddenly."Don't you think he's gone out to sea--"
"No, no, lad, he lives down there--eight fathom down, in the wreck, withthe fish all around and us up above."
"He didn't go after the Kanakas," persisted Bob skeptically.
"You're right, lad, he didn't--'cause why, he knowed better, he did!He's waitin' till a diver goes down, lads--a real diver wi' the shoesan' helmet, as can't swim about like the Kanakas. I'll go down myself."
"What!"
The cry of surprise broke from men and boys alike, but Jerry nodded, hisjaw set and his old face showing a sudden angry determination.
"Yes. I'll go down, wi' some kind o' weapon, and I'll--"
"Take that kris of mine!" shouted Bob eagerly.
"Stow your jaw!" The one-eyed Birch turned on them roughly andthreateningly, to Mart's amazement. "Jerry, stop this fooling. What yougoin' to do with these kids, eh?"
"Let them go down," broke in Borden, a malicious expression on hiswrinkled face. "Let 'em go down, Jerry, to the wreck."
"Shut up!" Jerry straightened up. So swiftly had this dialogue passedthat the two boys had hardly realized its import, when the oldquartermaster shook his fist at Birch. "Shut up, I say! Them boys ain'ta-goin' to be hurt, understand? Nor they ain't goin' to hurt us neither;I'll see to that. Borden, you and Yorke go up and lay that engineer inirons in the forehold. Birch, get hold o' Dailey and take a gun to themKanakas till they agree to go down. This here is business, and I'm boss.So step lively."
The men obeyed quickly, for Jerry's gentle face was transformed intofurious energy. The two boys, however, leaped forward with an angry cryas the meaning of his orders broke on them.
"See here," exclaimed Mart, taking the old man by the shoulder andwhirling him around to face them. "What's this mean anyhow?"
"You're crazy with the heat, Jerry," added Bob angrily. "This isn't anypirate--"
Jerry, with unexpected strength, put a hand on each of their chests andflung them back with seeming ease. When they recovered, his blue eyeswere blazing and a revolver showed in his hand.
"Now, lads," he said in his soft, penetrating voice, "I like you, I do,and I'm takin' care o' you. You heard what old Borden said, eh? 'Let 'emgo down to the wreck,' he said, lads, but not me. No, old Jerry likesyou, an' you ain't a-goin' to be hurt."
"Why--why, blame it all, what do you mean?" gasped Mart.
"He's puttin' up a joke on us, Mart," grinned Bob. Jerry chuckled.
"Joke, eh? Look ye here, lads. Up back at the village yonder, the cap'nand Joe Swanson is took care of in a hut. They're safe enough, butthey're took care of. That's why I went ashore first, to see my friends.This here yacht belongs to me, lads, until we get up the treasure out o'the wreck. Then me and the rest, we'll be off all shipshape and Bristolfashion, we will, and no one won't be hurt. Understand that, lads?"
Mart stared. But there was no denying the earnestness of the old man.Then over both boys flashed the whole thing--the three old men plottingat Waikiki, the different snatches of talk they had heard, everythingthat pointed to the same end. Jerry and his comrades had seized the_Seamew_.
"You mean you're a gang of pirates?" asked Bob, paralyzed withastonishment.
"That's it, lads," chuckled Jerry calmly. "You ain't to be hurt solong's you keep quiet, lads. Pirates it is--the fish down below and usup here above, lads. But when we've got the treasure out o' the wreck,we'll set the cap'n free and leave you wi' the ship. Fish tell no tales,lads--fish tell no tales!"
And with that Jerry turned and ascended the companion, revolver in hand.