CHAPTER XII
THE ELEPHANT GUN
The boys sank into chairs, stunned. Their wildest dreams had fallenshort of this terrible reality, and when it finally faced them they werestaggered by it. Captain Hollinger and Swanson prisoners ashore; theyacht in the hands of pirates!
"Mart, it--it's awful!" blurted out Bob, white-faced. "Jerry must havemeant to do this all along! What if dad--"
"Buck up, Holly," said Mart cheeringly, though he felt a terrible dismaywithin him. "Your dad ain't in any danger. Jerry went ashore to arrangewith the natives to hold him, or to keep him out after tigers. He's allright, and Swanson's with him."
"Looks like Swanson wouldn't join 'em," replied Bob dully. "Maybethey'll kill 'em both, Mart."
"Nonsense!" Mart forced himself to brace up, in order to overcome hisfriend's hopeless despair. "Jerry's fixed this whole thing so's to killnobody, Bob. That's easy to see. All he's after is the treasure that hethinks is down there in the wreck. When he gets that, he and the restwill light out with it, that's all. They're not the old kind of pirates.They're bad enough, but they've got too much sense to murder anyone."
Under this sensible view of the situation Bob began to take a morecheerful outlook, for he was more worried about his father than himself.The broken wireless was now explained, and although Mart thought that hecould repair it, that would be out of the question at present. Theyagreed that their best plan would be to accept things quietly, but thatMart should get the wireless in shape at the first opportunity. He knewtheir position, and if he could send out one call for help it wouldundoubtedly be answered, as there were plenty of ships in these waters.
There was a tramping of feet on the deck, with loud shouts, and the boysawoke from their lethargy of despair. It suddenly occurred to Bob thatthey might arm the Kanakas and retake the ship, but upon searching forCaptain Hollinger's rifles, they found all vanished. Beyond a doubt,Jerry and his men had confiscated the weapons and with them could easilyhold the Kanakas in check.
The only weapon remaining was an old elephant gun which Mart found in alocker. It was a brute of a rifle, more like a cannon in appearance, andthere was no ammunition for it; in fact, Bob explained that his fatheronly kept it as a curiosity, and it was quite useless. Mart laid itdown, giving up thoughts of resistance.
"Let's see if they'll let us up on deck, Holly."
"Sure. Jerry ain't afraid of us, Mart. He knows we're helpless."
The discouraged Bob led the way up the companion. They reached the deckwith no opposition, and found Jerry and his mates in completepossession. Up forward, the Kanakas were huddled in an angry buthelpless mass under the rifles of Dailey and Birch, while Borden andYorke were just carrying the body of the Scotch engineer into theforecastle. There was blood on the man's brow and he was heavily ironed,which proved that he had not gone down without resistance.
The boys stood where they were, watching. Jerry had led one of theKanakas to the gangway and was endeavoring to force him to don thediving outfit. But, although the old quartermaster's face was terriblein its rage, with his white hair flying free and his blue eyes flashingfire, the Kanaka stolidly refused, even when Jerry placed his pistolagainst the brown chest of the man.
For a moment the boys thought Jerry would murder him, but Birchintervened with the suggestion that they send down four of the Kanakasagain to see how the wreck lay. To this Jerry assented, as did theKanakas themselves, and Dailey sang out that two praus were coming outof the river toward them.
Jerry at once put Birch in charge of the gangway landing and the fourmen who were diving, and without paying any heed to the boys, assembledhis mates for a brief conference, at the ladder.
"No use tryin' to force the Kanakas," declared Yorke. "I know 'em, SharkSmith, and so do you. They'll never put on that divin' dress, not if weflogged 'em."
"Yorke's right," spoke up Borden. "Send 'em ashore, Jerry. Send 'emashore in the praus, and the engineer with 'em."
"Yes," added Dailey with an oath, and a black look toward the boys. "Andput them two kids ashore, too, Jerry."
"What are you afraid of, mates?" Jerry chuckled and tipped Mart a wink."Them lads stay here, mates--hostages, they are. They can't do us nohurt, and the cap'n won't neither while we hold his son. See? But we'llsend them Kanakas ashore, mates. I'll arrange wi' the Malays to hold thecrowd safe for a couple o' weeks, then we'll be off an' gone to Saigonin the boats, wi' the treasure."
Mart glanced at Bob, and the boys exchanged a sickly grin. The reasonfor old Jerry's clemency now became evident. With Bob in his hands, hewell knew that he was safe from any effort on the part of CaptainHollinger to retake the vessel, even should the captain and Swansonescape.
Upon this the mutineers agreed, and save for the four Kanakas who werenow engaged in diving, the others were summoned aft to the landing andbound securely, one by one. The boys advanced to the rail, and werewatching for the reappearance of the four brown bodies in the water,when Jerry gave a yell and leaped down to the landing in a perfectfrenzy, shaking his fist and cursing, apparently at nothing.
"Good heavens, Bob!" gasped Mart. "Look at the water!"
Gazing down, the boys felt suddenly sick. For up through the water wasrising a red stain, and even as they looked, they saw the figures ofthree men come shooting up in wild fear. The brown bodies leaped for thelanding and dragged themselves up--and as they did so the two boysdistinctly saw a great gray shape, so huge that it appeared monstrous,sweep past underneath the ship.
"By juniper!" exclaimed Bob weakly. "Did you see that, Mart!"
Mart nodded and turned away, unable to speak. He knew only too well thatone of the Kanakas had been caught by the shark, and the giant size ofthe terrible fish was too plainly attested by the panic of the otherKanakas, who were shivering and gray with fright. That red stain and thegiant shadow in the water were destined to remain in the boys' dream formany a day.
The chattering natives were somewhat relieved from their panic when thetwo praus shot alongside the gangway and Jerry held animated conversewith his friend the headman of the village. Their words wereunintelligible, but from Jerry's satisfied air the boys made out thathis plans must have gone well, and that the captain and mate were bythis time prisoners, or safely hunting tiger somewhere in the jungle.
More fruit was brought aboard, and Jerry presented the headman with oneof Captain Hollinger's cherished rifles, to Bob's wrath. After this, thebound Kanakas were taken aboard the two praus, the still unconscious butnot badly hurt engineer was carried down, to join his chief on shorewith the captain and mate, and the praus shoved off.
Thus there were left on board the yacht only the boys, Jerry and hisfour mates, and Ah Sing, the Chinese steward. Ah Sing had gained aglimpse of the proceedings and had promptly barricaded himself in hisquarters, where he took to burning joss sticks in wild panic. As hewould make no answer either to Jerry or the boys, Mart and Bob set towork getting something to eat, for it was getting well on toward noon,and the occupation would at least keep their minds busy.
Although some of the men flung them occasional black looks, the death ofthe Kanaka and that fleeting vision of the giant shark had soberedeveryone tremendously. Not until the men had gathered in themess-saloon--for they were making free with the officers' quarters,though they had touched nothing except the rifles and revolvers--and hadstowed away some of the tinned provisions and hot coffee that the boysprovided, did their spirits seem to rise. Jerry had been remarkablysilent, but he thawed out over the coffee.
"Well, what next?" queried the one-eyed Birch, leaning back in his chairand lighting one of Captain Hollinger's cigars, as did the rest. "Nowwe're rid o' the Kanakas, mates, and the ship's ours, what next, Iasks?"
"Jerry's the cap'n now," grinned Dailey. "How about it, Shark Smith?"
"I'm a-goin' down after that there Pirate Shark," announced Jerry, hismouth grim and set. He seemed to enjoy the consternation of the othershugely. "Now look ye here, mates. We've lost that dynamite. The only wayto g
et at the treasure is to kill that there shark. He's mine, an' I'ma-goin' to kill him, mates. Bob, lad, you'll lend old Jerry that 'erekris, won't you?"
The old man's lack of fear, or rather his stubborn determination to killthe Pirate Shark, was amazing. There was something about thegentle-faced old quartermaster, in spite of his plotting and hisvillainy, which attracted the boys--perhaps it was merely because heprofessed to like them. That he really cared nothing about them, exceptas hostages, they knew very well; he was caring for them in order tosave his own skin.
However, Jerry soon proved that his brains were working as fast and assurely as ever. He listened to the protestations and arguments of theothers unmoved, and at last brought down his fist with decision, untilthe dishes rattled in their skids.
"Mates, and you, lads, look ye here. That shark, I says, has had onegood meal to-day, ain't that so? Well, he's a wise un, he is. He'll knowthat no more divers'll come down after he's gobbled one, so he won'thang around waitin'. He'll mebbe go off to take a stroll, like.
"All I want, mates, is to get inside that there wreck, with that kris inmy hand. Then if he comes at me, why, he can't get at me, d'ye see! Solong as a man's got his back to a wall, wi' solid bottom under him, ashark can't get him. It's when he's goin' down or comin' up that theshark can come along an' tip him over an' cut his lines and end him,mates."
This argument was plausible, and impressed all with its good sense.However, that did not remove the danger. It was highly probable that theshark was still hanging under the shadow of the _Seamew_ waiting formore divers, and Jerry's courage did not alter matters in that respect.
The Kanakas had reported that the bottom was coral rock, and that thewreck seemed to be lying on its side, with gaping openings through thedeck where the masts had been. During the discussion that followedJerry's expressed plan, it was decided that if the ship was indeed anold galleon, she might have lodged on the rocks and split apart underthe action of the currents, which would account for the openings in herdecks. She was so overgrown with marine life, the Kanakas had said, thatlittle could be made out during their short visits below the surface.
"No use talking, mates," declared Jerry obstinately, "I'm a-goin' down,and the sooner the better. Mates, you 'tend the pumps and keep watch forany sign o' that there black fin. If you see it, haul up. Bob, lad, lendme that 'ere kris, will you?"
As Jerry was plainly set upon the undertaking, there was nothing for itbut to assent, which the other men did with bad grace. All tramped outon deck at once, and while Bob departed for the kris, Mart followed tothe landing. As he did so, he noted that while the men still worerevolver belts, they had left their rifles at the head of the ladder.Jerry noticed it also, and paused.
"Yorke," he ordered abruptly, "you stand by wi' one o' them guns, incase I come up wi' the Pirate Shark after me. If you get a shot at him,take it and haul away."
Yorke nodded and remained on deck beside Mart, while the others wentdown the ladder to the landing with Jerry. Here the two diving suits hadbeen laid out that morning, together with the wooden box containing thepumps. The hose and lifelines had already been connected, and all wasprepared for a descent.
As Jerry began getting into the neck of the huge rubber dress, hecautioned the others against pulling him up too fast, for even in eightfathoms there is danger from the sudden lessening of air-pressure shouldthe diver be hauled up rapidly. At this juncture Bob reappeared with hiskris, which was handed down to the men below.
The two boys stood watching, a dozen feet from Yorke, who leanedcarelessly on his rifle. Jerry struggled into the dress by slow degrees,for the sun was burning hot, then got the cuffs clipped tightly abouthis wrists while Dailey and Birch fastened on the heavy corselet. Thesixteen-pound boots came next, and very comical indeed the oldquartermaster looked, with his white hair blowing in the wind and hisblue eyes as eager and lively as those of Bob himself.
Then Borden helped him into the huge copper helmet and screwed it onfast, while Dailey and Birch went to the pumps and began to turn the twohandles. Jerry had not yet closed the front window of the helmet, andnow his voice came for the last time.
"Well, good-bye, mates and lads! Here's for the treasure o' the PirateShark!"
With that he closed his helmet and seized the kris, waved a hand at thepumping men, and calmly stepped off the landing while Borden paid outthe air hose and lifelines. For an instant the two boys stared down atthe flashing shape in the water, then Bob felt a tug at his arm and metthe excited eyes of his chum.
"Go get that old elephant gun," ordered Mart in a whisper. "Quick! Stepsoft!"