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diff --git a/old/69065-h/69065-h.htm b/old/69065-h/69065-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index f07e2ee..0000000 --- a/old/69065-h/69065-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8053 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title> - The isle of dead ships, by Crittenden Marriott—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> - <style> /* <![CDATA[ */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.tiny {width: 10%; margin-left: 45%; margin-right: 45%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquot { - margin-left: 7.5%; - margin-right: 7.5%; -} - -.bbox {border: 2px solid; padding: 1em;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.gap {padding-left: 3.2em;} - -p.drop-cap { - text-indent: -0.35em; -} - -p.drop-cap:first-letter -{ - float: left; - margin: 0em 0.15em 0em 0em; - font-size: 250%; - line-height:0.85em; - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap { - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter -{ - float: none; - margin: 0; - font-size: 100%; -} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xxlarge {font-size: 175%;} -.xlarge {font-size: 150%;} -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.illoright {margin-left: 25em;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold; text-align: center;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -2.5em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .indent {text-indent: 1.5em;} -.poetry .center {text-align: center;} -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - /* ]]> */ </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The isle of dead ships, by Crittenden Marriott</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The isle of dead ships</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Crittenden Marriott</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Frank McKernan</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 28, 2022 [eBook #69065]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLE OF DEAD SHIPS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1>THE ISLE <i>of</i> DEAD SHIPS</h1> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“NO,” HE MURMURED, SADLY. “IT IS NOT LAND. IT IS<br /> -WRECKAGE.”<br /> - -<span class="illoright"><i>Page <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</i></span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p><span class="xlarge">The</span><br /> -<span class="xxlarge">Isle <i>of</i> Dead Ships</span></p> - -<p>By<br /> -<span class="large">CRITTENDEN MARRIOTT</span></p> - -<p><i>With illustrations by</i><br /> -FRANK McKERNAN</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p>Philadelphia & London<br /> -<span class="large">J. B. Lippincott Company</span><br /> -1909</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">Copyright, 1908<br /> -<span class="smcap">By Crittenden Marriott</span><br /> -<br /> -Copyright, 1909<br /> -<span class="smcap">By J. B. Lippincott Company</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Published September, 1909<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company<br /> -The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A.</i></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PROLOGUE</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> is a floating island in the sea -where no explorer has set foot, or, setting -foot, has returned to tell of what -he saw. Lying at our very doors, in the -direct path of every steamer from the -Gulf of Mexico to Europe, it is less known -than is the frozen pole. Encyclopedias -pass over it lightly; atlases dismiss it -with but a slight mention; maps do not -attempt to portray its ever-shifting outlines; -even the Sunday newspapers, so -keen to grasp everything of interest, -ignore it.</p> - -<p>But on the decks of great ships in the -long watches of the night, when the trade-wind -snores through the rigging and the -waves purr about the bows, the sailor -tells strange tales of the spot where -ruined ships, raked derelict from all the -square miles of ocean, form a great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> -island, ever changing, ever wasting, yet -ever lasting; where, in the ballroom of -the Atlantic, draped round with encircling -weed, they drone away their lives, balancing -slowly in a mighty tourbillion to -the rhythm of the Gulf Stream.</p> - -<p>Fanciful? Sailors’ tales? Stories fit -only for the marines? Perhaps! Yet be -not too sure! Jack Tar, slow of speech, -fearful of ridicule, knows more of the -sea than he will tell to the newspapers. -Perhaps more than one has drifted to the -isle of dead ships, and escaped only to be -disbelieved in the maelstroms that await -him in all the seaports of the world.</p> - -<p>Facts are facts, none the less because -passed on only by word of mouth, and -this tale, based on matter gleaned beneath -the tropic stars, may be truer than men -are wont to think. Remember Longfellow’s -words:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Wouldst thou,” thus the steersman answered,</div> -<div class="indent">“Learn the secret of the sea?</div> -<div class="verse">Only those that brave its dangers</div> -<div class="indent">Comprehend its mystery.”</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> - -<p class="ph2">THE<br /> -ISLE <i>of</i> DEAD SHIPS</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">I</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> the prisoner and Officer Jackson, -handcuffed together, came up the gang-plank, -Renfrew, the attorney, standing -on the promenade deck above, turned -from his contemplation of the city of San -Juan as it lay green and white in the -afternoon sun, and bent forward.</p> - -<p>“By George,” he cried, exultingly, -“that’s Frank Howard! He’s caught! -Caught here, of all places in the world!”</p> - -<p>With hands tight gripped on the rail -he watched the two men until they disappeared -below; then, eager to share his -discovery of the ending of a quest that -had extended over two continents, he -turned and hurried along the deck to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> -where two ladies stood leaning against -the taffrail.</p> - -<p>“Yes, my dear,” the elder was saying, -“Porto Rico is pretty enough for any -one. It looked pretty when I came, and -it looks prettier as I go. But when you -say it’s pretty, you exhaust its excellences. -I, for one, shall be glad to see -the last of it. And, considering the errand -that takes you home, I imagine that -you don’t regret leaving, either.”</p> - -<p>“The errand! I don’t understand, -Mrs. Renfrew.”</p> - -<p>“Why! Your—but here comes Philip, -evidently with something on his mind. -Do listen to him patiently, if you can, -my dear. He hasn’t had a jury at his -mercy for a month. Unless somebody -lets him talk, I’m afraid his bottled-up -eloquence will strike in and prove fatal. -Well, Philip!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Renfrew was close at hand.</p> - -<p>“Miss Fairfax! Maria!” he cried. -“Who do you think is on board, a prisoner?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> -Frank Howard! I just saw him -brought over the gang-plank. He escaped -two months ago, and the police have been -looking for him ever since. They must -have just caught him, or I should have -heard of it. Who in the world can I -ask?”</p> - -<p>He gazed around questioningly.</p> - -<p>“Now, Philip, wait a moment. Who is -Frank Howard? and what has the poor -man done?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Renfrew snorted.</p> - -<p>“The poor man, Maria,” he retorted, -“is one of the biggest scoundrels unhung. -As state’s attorney it was my duty to -prosecute him, and I may say that I -have seldom taken more pleasure in any -task. I have spoken to you of the case -often enough, Maria, for you to know -something about it. I should really be -glad if you would take some interest in -your husband’s affairs.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Renfrew clapped her hands.</p> - -<p>“Of course! I remember now,” she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -said, soothingly. “It was only his name -I forgot. Mr. Howard is that swindler -who robbed so many poor people, isn’t -he, Philip?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing of the sort, madam,” thundered -the lawyer. “Frank Howard was -an officer of the United States Navy. -While stationed at this very island of -Porto Rico he secretly married an ignorant -but very beautiful girl, and then deserted -her. She followed him to New -York, and wrote him a letter telling him -where she was. He went to her address -and murdered her—strangled her with -his own hands. He was caught red-handed, -convicted, and would have been -put to death before now if he hadn’t -escaped.</p> - -<p>“I am telling this for your benefit, Miss -Fairfax. There is no use in talking to -Mrs. Renfrew; details of my affairs go -in one of her ears and out the other.”</p> - -<p>“That may not be as uncommon as -you think, Mr. Renfrew,” consoled the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -girl, laughing. “But, as it happens, I am -especially interested in the Howard case. -I am very well acquainted with one of -the officers who was on his ship when -he met the girl.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Renfrew clapped her hands.</p> - -<p>“Oh! of course,” she bubbled. “Of -course! I remember all about it now. It -was Mr. Loving, of course! I had forgotten -that he was on the same ship. -Philip, you didn’t know that Miss Fairfax -was going to marry Lieutenant Loving, -did you?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Renfrew turned his eye-glasses on -the girl, who flushed with mingled anger -and amusement.</p> - -<p>“Are you a seventh daughter of a -seventh daughter, Mrs. Renfrew,” she -inquired, “that you can read the future? -I assure you that I have had no advance -information on the matter. Mr. Loving -hasn’t even asked me yet. But, of course, -if you know——”</p> - -<p>“Good gracious! Isn’t it true? Why,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -I got a paper from New York to-day that -spoke of it as all settled. The paper is -in my state-room now. If you’d like to -see it, we’ll go down. Philip, find out -all you can about Mr. Howard, and tell -us just as soon as you can.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Renfrew nodded.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go and ask the captain,” he -promised, as the two ladies turned away.</p> - -<p>The captain, however, proved not to be -communicative. Not only was he too -busy with the preparations for departure, -but he was nettled because the presence -of the convict on board had become -known. Convicts are not welcome passengers -on ships, like the Queen, whose -chief office is to carry presumably timid -pleasure passengers, and their presence -is always carefully concealed.</p> - -<p>“I know nothing at all about it, Mr. -Renfrew,” he asserted, gruffly. “You -had better ask the purser.”</p> - -<p>The purser was no more pleased at the -inquiry than his chief had been, but he -hid his vexation better.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>“Yes,” he admitted, with apparent -readiness, “Mr. Howard is on board. He -was caught here last week. He was up -at a village called Lagonitas——”</p> - -<p>“That’s where his wife lived—the one -he murdered.”</p> - -<p>“Is it? I didn’t know. Well, they -caught him. He surrendered quietly—didn’t -try to fight or run. He hadn’t -anywhere to run to, you know.”</p> - -<p>“And where is he confined?”</p> - -<p>“Amidships—in one of the second-class -cabins. We have plenty vacant this -trip. Officer Jackson is with him, where -he can keep close watch. You tell your -ladies not to be uneasy. He can’t possibly -get out. Jackson has got a hundred -weight of iron, more or less, on him.”</p> - -<p>“Jackson, is it? I thought I recognized -him. One of those bulldog fellows that -never lets go. I’m interested in Howard -because it was I who conducted the prosecution -at his trial.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! Is that so? It must have been -exciting. He confessed, didn’t he?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>“Confessed? Not he! Took the stand -as brazen as you please, and swore he -had never seen the woman before he went -to her room that day in response to a -letter and found her dead. It was nothing -less than barefaced impudence, you -know. The proof against him was simply -overwhelming.”</p> - -<p>“He denied having married her, -then?”</p> - -<p>“He denied everything. Swore it was -a case of mistaken identity. I demolished -that quickly enough. Dozens of people -had seen him up at Lagonitas with the -girl. We even sent for the minister who -performed the marriage ceremony, but -he never arrived—lost at sea on the way -to New York. But there was plenty of -proof, anyway. The jury found him -guilty without leaving their seats.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">II</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> Dorothy Fairfax came on deck -again the sun was dropping fast toward -the horizon. A gusty breeze was blowing -and the steamer was pitching slightly in -the short, choppy seas that characterize -West Indian waters. Movement had become -unpleasant to those inclined to seasickness -and this, combined with the comparative -lightness of the passenger list, -caused the deck of the Queen to be nearly -deserted.</p> - -<p>Dorothy was glad of it. She wanted -solitude in order to think in peace, and -there was seldom solitude for her when -young men—or old men, for that matter—were -near. They seemed to gravitate -naturally to her side.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Renfrew’s words, and especially -the paragraph in the New York paper, -were troubling her. She could see the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -words now, published under a San Juan -date-line:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Miss Dorothy Fairfax, daughter of the multimillionaire -railroader, John Fairfax, will sail next -week for New York to order her trousseau for her -coming marriage with Lieutenant Loving, U. S. N. -Mr. Fairfax, who is financing the railroad here, will -follow in about three weeks.”</p> -</div> - -<p>That was all; the whole thing taken for -granted! Evidently the writer had supposed -that the engagement had been -already announced, or he would either -have made some inquiry or—supposing -that he was determined to publish—would -have “spread” himself on the subject. -Miss Fairfax had been written up enough -to know that her engagement would be -worth at least a column to the society -editors of the New York papers. Yes, -she concluded, the item must have emanated -from some chance correspondent -who had picked up a stray bit of -gossip.</p> - -<p>She had known Mr. Loving for two -years or more, and had liked him. Three<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -months before, at the close of the Howard -trial, she had become convinced that he -intended to ask her to marry him, and -she had slipped away to join her father -in Porto Rico in order to gain time to -think before deciding on her answer. And -here she was, returning home, no more -resolved than when she had left.</p> - -<p>It was odd that her ship should also -bear Lieutenant Howard, of whom Mr. -Loving had been so fond, standing by -him all through his trial when everybody -else fell away. She had had a glimpse -of Mr. Howard once, and vaguely recalled -him, wondering what combination of desperate -circumstances could have brought -a man like him to the commission of such -a crime.</p> - -<p>The judge, she remembered, in sentencing -him to death had declared that no -mercy should be shown to one who, with -everything to keep him in the straight -path, had deliberately gone wrong.</p> - -<p>The soft pad of footsteps on the deck<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -roused her from her musings, and she -turned to see the purser drawing near.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Good evening, Miss Fairfax!” -he ventured. “We missed you at tea. -Feeling the motion a bit? It is a little -rough, ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>Miss Fairfax did not like the purser, -but she found it difficult to snub any one. -Therefore she answered the man pleasantly, -though not with any especial enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>“Why! no, Mr. Sprigg. I don’t consider -this rough; I’m rather a good sailor, -you know. I simply wasn’t hungry at -tea-time.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Sprigg came closer.</p> - -<p>“By the way, Miss Fairfax,” he insinuated. -“You know Lieutenant Howard -is on board. If you’d like to have -a peep at him, just say the word and -I’ll manage. Oh!” he added, hastily, -as a slight frown marred Miss Fairfax’s -pretty brows, “I know you must be interested -in his case. He’s a friend of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -Lieutenant Loving, and I read the notice -in the paper to-day, you know.”</p> - -<p>The look the girl gave him drove the -smirk in haste from his face.</p> - -<p>“The notice in the paper was entirely -without foundation, Mr. Sprigg,” she declared, -coldly. “As for seeing Mr. -Howard, I’m afraid my tastes do not run -in that direction. Besides, he probably -would not like to be stared at. He was -a gentleman once, you know.”</p> - -<p>She turned impatiently away and -looked eastward. Then she uttered an -exclamation.</p> - -<p>“Why! Whatever’s happened to the -water?” she cried.</p> - -<p>The question was not surprising. In -the last hour the sea had changed. From -a smiling playfellow, lightly buffeting the -ship, it had grown cold and sullen. The -sparkles had died from the waves, giving -place to a metallic lustre. Long, slow -undulations swelled out of the southeast, -chasing each other sluggishly up in the -wake of the ship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>It did not need a sailor’s eye to tell -that something was brewing. Miss Fairfax -shivered slightly and drew her light -wrap closer around her.</p> - -<p>“Makes you feel cold, don’t it?” asked -Mr. Sprigg cheerfully. “Lord bless you, -that’s nothing to the way you’ll feel before -it’s over. Funny the weather bureau -didn’t give us any storm warnings before -we sailed.”</p> - -<p>The weather bureau had, but the warnings -had been thrown away, unposted, by -a sapient native official of San Juan, who -considered the efforts of the Americans -to foretell the weather to be immoral.</p> - -<p>“Will there be any danger?”</p> - -<p>“Danger? Naw! Not a bit of it. If -you stay below, you won’t even know that -there’s been anything doing. Even if we -run into a hurricane, which ain’t likely, -we’ll be just as safe as if we were ashore. -The Queen don’t need to worry about -anything short of an island or a derelict.”</p> - -<p>“A derelict?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>“Sure. A ship that has been abandoned -at sea for some reason or other, -but that ain’t been broken up or sunk. -Derelicts are real terrors, all right.”</p> - -<p>“Some of ’em float high; they ain’t so -bad, because you can usually see ’em in -time to dodge, and because they ain’t -likely to be solid enough to do you much -damage even if you do run into them. -But some of ’em float low—just awash—and -they’re just— Well, they’re mighty -bad. They ain’t really ships any more; -they’re solid bulks of wood.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose they are all destroyed -sooner or later?”</p> - -<p>The little purser unconsciously struck -an attitude. “A good deal later, sometimes,” -he qualified. “Derelicts have -been known to float for three years in -the Atlantic, and to travel for thousands -of miles. Generally, however, in the -North Atlantic, they either break up in a -storm within a few months, or else they -drift into the Sargasso Sea and stay -there till they sink.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>“The Sargasso Sea? Where is that? -I suppose I used to know when I went -to school, but I’ve forgotten.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Sprigg waved his hand toward the -east and north. “Yonder,” he generalized -vaguely. “We are on the western -edge of it now. See the weed floating in -the water there? Farther north and east -it gets thicker until it collects into a solid -mass that stretches five hundred miles in -every direction.</p> - -<p>“Nobody knows just what it looks like -in the middle, for nobody has ever been -there; or, rather, nobody has ever been -there and come back to tell about it. Old -sailors say that there’s thousands of derelicts -collected there.”</p> - -<p>“The Gulf Stream encircles the whole -ocean in a mighty whirlpool, you know, -and sooner or later everything floating in -the North Atlantic is caught in it. They -may be carried away up to the North -Pole, but they’re bound to come south -again with the icebergs and back into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -main stream, and some day they get into -the west-wind drift and are carried down -the Canary current, until the north equatorial -current catches them, and sweeps -them into the sea over yonder.”</p> - -<p>“For four hundred years and more—ever -since Columbus—derelicts must have -been gathering there. Millions of them -must have sunk, but thousands must have -been washed into the center. Once there, -they must float for a long time. There -are storms there, of course, but they’re -only wind-storms—there can’t be any -waves; the weed is too thick.”</p> - -<p>“I guess there are ships still afloat -there that were built hundreds of years -ago. Maybe Columbus’s lost caravels are -there; maybe people are imprisoned -there! Gee! but it’s fascinating.”</p> - -<p>Miss Fairfax stared at the little man -in amazement. He was the last person -she would ever have suspected of imagination -or romance; and here he was, with -flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, declaiming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -away like one inspired. Most -men can talk well on some one subject, -and this subject was Mr. Sprigg’s own. -For years he had been reading and talking -and thinking about it.</p> - -<p>Miss Fairfax rose from her steamer-chair -and looked around her, then paused, -awestruck. Down in the southeast a mass -of black clouds darkened the day as they -spread. Puffs of wind ran before them, -each carrying sheets of spray torn from -the tops of the waves; one stronger than -the rest dashed its burden into Miss Fairfax’s -face with little stinging cuts. The -cry of the stewards, “All passengers below!” -was not needed to tell her that the -deck was rapidly becoming no place for -women.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">III</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">An</span> hour later the deck had grown dangerous, -even for men. The Queen drove -diagonally through the waves, rolling far -to right and to left; and at each roll a -miniature torrent swept aboard her, hammered -on her tightly-fastened doors, and -passed, cataract-wise, back into the deep. -Scarcely could the officers, high on the -bridge, clinging to stanchions and shielded -by strong sheets of canvas, keep their -footing. Overhead hooted the gale.</p> - -<p>It grew dark. To the gloom of the -storm had been added the blackness of -the night. Literally, no man could see his -hand before his face; even the white foam -that broke upon the decks or against the -sides passed invisibly.</p> - -<p>Still, the ship drove on, held relentlessly -to her course. For it was necessary -to pass the western line of the weed-bound<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -sea before turning to the north; -and, until this was done, the Queen could -not turn tail to the storm.</p> - -<p>Toward morning Captain Bostwick -struggled to the chart-house and, for the -twentieth time, bent over the sheet, figuring -and measuring. Then, with careful -precision, he punched a dot in the surface -and drew a long breath.</p> - -<p>“We are all right now,” he announced. -“We can bear away north with safety. -Nothing can harm us, unless——”</p> - -<p>He opened the last chart of the Hydrographic -Office and noted some lines drawn -in red. His brow grew anxious again -and he drew his breath.</p> - -<p>“Confound that derelict!” he muttered. -“Allowing for drift, she should -be close to this very spot. If we should -strike her——”</p> - -<p>The sentence was never finished. With -a shivering shock like that of a railroad -train in a head-on collision, the Queen -stopped dead, hurling the captain violently -over the rail to the deck below.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>The first officer was clutching the rope -of the siren when the crash came. The -slight support it afforded before it gave -way saved him from following his commander, -and at the same time sent a -raucous warning through the ship to close -the collision bulkheads.</p> - -<p>As he clung desperately to the rail, the -Queen rose in the air and came down with -another crash; then went forward over -something that grated and tore at her -hull as she passed. But her bows were -buried in the waves, while her screw -lashed the air madly.</p> - -<p>Had not the involuntary warning of -the siren sounded, and had it not been -obeyed instantly, the Queen would have -plunged in that heart-breaking moment to -the bottom. As it was, her shrift seemed -short.</p> - -<p>The force of her impact on the lumber-laden, -water-logged derelict had shattered -her bows, and only the forward -bulkhead, strained, split, gaping in a hundred -seams where the rivets had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -wrenched loose, kept out the sea. A -hurried inspection showed that even that -frail protection would probably not long -suffice.</p> - -<p>“It’s only an hour to dawn,” gasped -the first officer. “If she can last till -then——”</p> - -<p>She lasted, but dawn showed a desperate -state of affairs. The Queen had -swung round, until her submerged bow -pointed to windward and her high stern, -catching the gale, plunged dully northward. -The seas, rushing up from the -southeast, broke on the shelving deck -like rollers on a beach, and sent the salt -spume writhing up the planks and into -the deck state-rooms.</p> - -<p>The engine and all the forward part of -the ship were drowned, but the great dining-saloon -and the staircase leading to -the social hall above were still comparatively -dry. In the latter and on the deck -just outside of it the passengers were -huddled. The captain had disappeared,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -licked away by the first tongue of sea -that had followed the collision.</p> - -<p>With the earliest streak of light the -first officer decided to take to the boats. -Only three remained, and these had -already been fitted out with provisions.</p> - -<p>As the crew and passengers filed into -the first, Officer Jackson, who had several -times come on deck, only to wander restlessly -below again, once more plunged -down into the darkness.</p> - -<p>Rapidly yet cautiously he lowered himself -down the sloping passageway, clutching -at the jambs of empty state-rooms to -keep himself from sliding down against -the bulkhead, on the other side of which -the sea muttered angrily. At last he -gained the door he sought, and clung to -it while he fitted a key into the lock.</p> - -<p>The electric lights had gone out when -the engine stopped, and not a thing could -be seen in the blackness, but a stir within -told that the room was tenanted. Some -one was there, staring toward the door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>Jackson lost no time.</p> - -<p>“Here you!” he blustered, in a voice -into which there crept a quiver in spite -of him. “Last call! The ship’s sinking -and they’re taking to the boats. You gotter -decide mighty quick if you’re going -to come. Just gimme your parole and -I’ll turn you loose to fight for your life.”</p> - -<p>A voice answered promptly:</p> - -<p>“I’ll give no parole. I’d a deal sooner -drown here than hang on shore. You can -do just as you please about releasing -me. It’s a matter of indifference to me.”</p> - -<p>The officer tried to protest.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want your death on my shoulders, -Mr. Howard,” he muttered. “Don’t -put me to it.”</p> - -<p>Howard laughed sardonically.</p> - -<p>“What the devil do I care about your -shoulders?” he demanded. “Turn me -loose, quick, or get out. Your company -isn’t exhilarating, my good Jackson.”</p> - -<p>Both men had raised their voices so as -to be heard above the boom of the storm. -As Howard ceased, there came an impact<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -heavier than before, followed by faint, -despairing shrieks.</p> - -<p>With an oath, Jackson felt his way to -the voice and bent over the berth in which -his prisoner was lying. “Curse you!” he -snarled. “For two cents I’d take you at -your word and let you drown. But I -can’t. Here!”</p> - -<p>The clink of a key and the rattle of -metal told that the handcuffs fell away.</p> - -<p>“You’re loose now,” continued the officer. -“But, by Heaven, if you try to escape, -I’ll see that you don’t miss the death -you say is welcome. Come on.”</p> - -<p>Howard swung his legs over the edge -of the berth.</p> - -<p>“That’s fair,” he said. “Go ahead. -I’ll follow.”</p> - -<p>Hastily, Jackson led the way up the -slanting passage to the topsy-turvy stairway, -and so to the deck. A single glance -about him and he turned on the other in -fury. “Curse you,” he roared, “you’ve -drowned us both with your infernal palavering!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>The decks were deserted; not a human -being remained on them. Tossing on the -waves, just visible in the glowing light, -were two of the ship’s boats, crowded -with passengers. The nearest was already -a hundred yards away, and rapidly -increasing its distance. The guard stared -at it hungrily.</p> - -<p>“There goes our last chance!” he muttered.</p> - -<p>Howard eyed the tiny craft dispassionately.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I don’t know,” he said. “If that -boat was your best chance, it was a slim -one. Never mind, Jackson; take comfort -from me. Nobody doomed to hang was -ever drowned. I’ll send you home to -your wife and babies yet—I suppose you -have a wife and babies; people like you -always do.”</p> - -<p>“Here! Don’t you take my wife’s -name on your lips!”</p> - -<p>“Look! I thought so.”</p> - -<p>The boat, poised for an instant on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -crest of a great wave, suddenly lunged -forward, raced madly down a watery -slope, and thrust its nose deep into an -opposite swelling wave. It did not come -up. Long did the two men on the steamer -watch, but nothing, living or dead, appeared -amid the heaving waves.</p> - -<p>At last Howard’s tense features relaxed.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he remarked, carelessly. -“That’s a mark to my credit, anyhow. -I’ve saved your life, Jackson. Please see -that you do me no discredit in the ten -minutes that you will retain it.”</p> - -<p>The other glared at him stupidly.</p> - -<p>“Susan didn’t want me to come,” he -mumbled. “She said I’d never come -back——”</p> - -<p>His voice died away into incoherent -murmurs.</p> - -<p>Howard looked at the man, and his lip -curled contemptuously. He said nothing, -however, but turned in silence toward -where the boat had sunk.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>The next instant he started and -glanced swiftly around him. His eyes -fell on a life-preserver lodged in the -broken doorway by the last wave that had -retreated from his feet. He snatched it -up and buckled it round him; then fastened -one end of a rope beneath his arms -and thrust the other into the hands of the -stupefied officer.</p> - -<p>“There! Wake up, man!” he ordered. -“Wake up and stand by!”</p> - -<p>Jackson stared at him. “Where? -What? How?” he mumbled.</p> - -<p>“Wake up, man! Don’t you see it’s a -woman?”</p> - -<p>As he saw the returning intelligence -dawn in Jackson’s eyes, Howard slipped -to the toppling brink of the bulwarks and -stood watching for the next heave of the -sea. As it came, with a white rag sopping -foolishly on its crest, he waved his hand -to the other.</p> - -<p>“Give my love to Susan!” he cried, and -plunged downward.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>Chaos! The sea into which he dived -was without form and void. Like a grain -of corn in a popper, he was tossed hither -and thither, twisted, wrenched at—all -sense of direction stripped from him.</p> - -<p>There was not one chance in a thousand -that he would reach the woman; -not one in a million that he could give her -the least help if he did reach her; the -very attempt became preposterous the -moment he touched the water. Only -blind chance could avail.</p> - -<p>The incredible happened. His arm, -striking out, caught the girl fairly round -the waist and fastened there. He did not -try to get back to the ship; he made no -reasoned effort at all; reason was impossible -in that turmoil.</p> - -<p>He struggled, no doubt, but the struggle -was unconscious—a mere automatic -battle for life. But he clung to the woman, -gasping, with oblivion pressing hard -upon his reeling brain.</p> - -<p>Something seemed to grasp him around<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -the waist and drag him backward, and -unconsciously he tightened his arm on -the waist he held, meeting the wrench -as the sea withdrew its support.</p> - -<p>Crash! Something had struck him -cruelly, but struck realization back into -his brain. Before he could act, the sea -swelled around him again; but when it -withdrew once more, he knew what had -happened. Jackson was dragging him -back to the wreck, and he had struck -against its side or on its submerged deck.</p> - -<p>It was the deck! By favor of Providence -it was the deck! Aided by the -drag of the rope, the last wave washed -Howard and his prize almost to the feet -of the police officer, who braced himself -to withstand the backtow as the water -retreated; then reached down and dragged -both up to momentary safety.</p> - -<p>Howard opened his eyes for one instant.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you I would have a drier -death on shore?” he gasped before unconsciousness -claimed him.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">IV</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Consciousness</span> came slowly back to -Frank Howard. He raised his head, but -otherwise lay still, painfully reconstructing -the world around him. So tightly -was he wedged between a broken ventilator -and a skylight coamings that it -was only with considerable difficulty that -he finally managed to lift himself to a -sitting position and stare dizzily around.</p> - -<p>He was alone on the deck, which had -become much steeper than he remembered -it in the gray dawn. Evidently another -bulkhead forward had given way, allowing -another compartment to become filled -with water and causing the bow of the -steamer to sink deeper.</p> - -<p>In compensation the stern had risen -somewhat higher, so that the waves broke -against the deck, but no longer rushed -violently up it. The sea, too, had gone<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -down, curbed perhaps by the thick mantle -of yellow weed that floated all about.</p> - -<p>With much difficulty he scrambled to -his feet, clinging desperately the while -to the ventilator.</p> - -<p>“Steady! Steady!” he muttered. “If -I tobogganed down into that water I -shouldn’t get up again in a hurry.” He -held out his hand and noted its tremulousness. -“By Jove! I’m weak as a -cat.”</p> - -<p>Rapidly his brain grew clearer. Ship -and sea and sky ceased their momentary -whirlings and settled into their proper -places. He looked up at the zenith, to -which the sun, though still veiled, had indubitably -climbed.</p> - -<p>“Six hours at least,” he soliloquized. -“Heavens, I must have been pounded -hard to lie unconscious for that long! If -the old tub has floated six hours she may -float indefinitely. But——”</p> - -<p>He stared curiously around him. As -far as his eye could reach stretched the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -yellow gulf-weed, blanketing the blue of -the sea. So thick was it that it held the -Queen comparatively stationary, despite -the strong breeze that pressed against -her.</p> - -<p>Howard uttered a cry of dismay.</p> - -<p>“The Sargasso Sea,” he groaned. -“We’re inside it—far inside it. Great -Scott!” His brain reeled again. “Where -the deuce is Jackson?” he muttered -irritably. “And where’s that woman?”</p> - -<p>Pat to the moment, Jackson thrust his -head out of the doorway of the social hall. -His dark face was pallid now, and he -glared around him wildly. When he saw -Howard standing, his expression brightened.</p> - -<p>“So you’re alive,” he rumbled, surlily. -“It takes a devil of a lot to kill some -people.”</p> - -<p>Howard stared at the man curiously. -It was hardly the way he had expected -to be greeted.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he answered, slowly, “it takes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -a good deal—sometimes. It didn’t take -much for those poor devils in that boat -you wanted to go in. Where’s the girl?”</p> - -<p>Jackson jerked his hand over his right -shoulder.</p> - -<p>“She’s in there,” he responded. Then -he hesitated for an instant. “It was a -brave thing you did,” he finished, grudgingly.</p> - -<p>Howard shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Merely a choice of deaths,” he answered. -“I expected the ship to sink -any minute, and, personally, I preferred -to die fighting. How is she?”</p> - -<p>“She’s breathing, but that’s all. She -hasn’t moved since I got her aboard.”</p> - -<p>“No wonder. She really hasn’t any -right to be alive after what she went -through. Have you done anything for -her?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know what to do. I took her -into the social hall and laid her on the -sofa and got some whiskey for her, but I -couldn’t get her to take it, and she looked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -so horrible and——” He paused, evidently -shaken.</p> - -<p>Howard stretched up his hand.</p> - -<p>“I must see her,” he declared. “I’m -pretty shaky still, but if you’ll give me a -lift I’ll try to scramble up beside you and -then we’ll see what we can do.” He took -the hand that Jackson offered. “Now -brace yourself,” he warned. “All set?”</p> - -<p>Jackson nodded, and Howard, after an -experimental tug or two, put forth all his -strength and drew himself up to the -other’s side.</p> - -<p>“That’s good,” he remarked. “I -guess we’re both worth a dozen dead men -yet. By the way, how did you get the -girl up here?”</p> - -<p>Jackson showed more animation than -he had yet done.</p> - -<p>“The deck wasn’t so steep when I -moved her,” he explained. “It tilted -worse just as I got her inside. I thought -at first we were going down, but we -didn’t.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>Howard stepped inside the social hall—which -had never before so belied its -name—and looked around him. After -the bright light of the deck, the room -seemed dark, and for a moment he could -see nothing. Then he caught a glimpse -of something lying on the big athwartship -sofa, and scrambled over to it.</p> - -<p>A girl lay there in a crumpled heap. -In her rich golden brown hair alone was -any touch of color. Her eyes were closed -and her lips blue. Her cheeks were so -bloodless that it seemed impossible that -she still lived.</p> - -<p>Once she might have been pretty—even -beautiful—but the sea had robbed her of -all charm, leaving only the pitifulness of -youth and womanhood. Howard drew a -long breath as he looked at her, and a -sudden rage rose within him. She should -not die! He had torn her from the sea. -She should not die!</p> - -<p>Fragmentary ideas as to the proper -thing to do came back to him. He bent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -down, chafing her wrists and temples; -and then, raising her head, touched Jackson’s -bottle to her lips. A long, shuddering -sigh shook the girl’s body, and -Howard saw a pair of brown eyes open -and stare up at him; then close wearily. -Again he raised her head. “Drink,” he -commanded, as he poured the spirit between -her parted lips.</p> - -<p>As the strangling liquor went down, -the eyes flashed open again, and the girl -shook from head to foot with a coughing—so -violent and so prolonged that -Howard feared that he had overdone his -task.</p> - -<p>But it soon passed, leaving her conscious.</p> - -<p>For a moment she lay still, vaguely -puzzling over her situation. Then recollection -returned with a jerk, and she sat -up.</p> - -<p>“I remember,” she gasped. “Oh, that -dreadful wave! To see it come down, -down, down—— Where am I?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>“You’re back on the Queen. It’s all -right. Try to keep cool. You’ll be better -in a moment.”</p> - -<p>The wonder grew in the girl’s eyes. -“The Queen!” she murmured. “The—Queen! -How did I get back?”</p> - -<p>“The waves washed you back and we -managed to pull you on board. You had -better rest a while. You have been unconscious -a long time.”</p> - -<p>The girl looked from one to the other.</p> - -<p>“Thank you! Thank you both,” she -murmured. “I can’t find words now, but—the -others! Were any of them——?” -Her lips moved, but no sound followed.</p> - -<p>Howard bowed his head, but he answered -unflinchingly—better the clean, -sharp cut of certainty than dragging -suspense.</p> - -<p>“You were the only one in your boat -who was saved,” he answered quietly. -“I know nothing of the other boats.”</p> - -<p>The girl covered her face with her -hands. “Oh, poor people!” she moaned.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -“Poor, poor people!” Then she dashed -the tears from her eyes and dragged herself -to her feet, holding fast to the back -of the sofa.</p> - -<p>“I am Miss Dorothy Fairfax,” she -said, with a pretty access of dignity. -“And you?” Her eye traveled from one -man to the other.</p> - -<p>If Howard hesitated, it was for so -short a time that it passed unobserved.</p> - -<p>“This is Detective Jackson, of the New -York police,” he answered steadily, “and -I am Frank Howard, his prisoner.”</p> - -<p>“Frank Howard! Not—not——”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“My God!” For the first time in her -life, Dorothy Fairfax fainted dead away.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">V</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> Dorothy fell Howard caught her in -his arms and laid her upon the sofa. -Then he faced Jackson.</p> - -<p>“Nice thing, this!” he remarked, grimly. -“A very nice thing, considering the -state of affairs. No!” he interjected, as -he saw Jackson’s eyes wander to the girl. -“Don’t worry about her just now. She’s -exhausted, anyway, and she’ll sleep it -off and be all the better when she rouses. -Meanwhile, there’s work for us. We all -need food, and it’s imperative that we -should find some at once. Come.”</p> - -<p>The angle of the ship’s deck made examination -both difficult and dangerous; -but when, by the exercise of care, it had -been safely carried out, it was evident that -the voyagers need not fear either starvation -or thirst for a long time to come. -The store-rooms of the Queen were above,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -though only just above, the new waterline, -and in them there was food for -months to come.</p> - -<p>It was good food, too, intended for the -consumption of passengers who paid -well. In addition to canned goods, of -which the stock was large and varied, -there was a quantity of ice and fresh -meat, fresh vegetables, flour, biscuits, -sauces, breakfast foods, and so forth, to -say nothing of wines, liquors, and -tobacco.</p> - -<p>With water the ship was equally well -supplied. Not only was the saloon scuttle-butt -full, but, after some search, -Howard found two large tanks whose -contents had not even been touched. In -the pantry, just forward of the saloon, -was a refrigerator with cooked food -enough for two or three days.</p> - -<p>All these things were not found in an -instant. As it chanced, the pantry came -last; and the moment the cooked food was -discovered, further investigation was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -promptly suspended and preparations -made to comfort the inner man. A plentiful -supply was quickly transferred to -the big saloon-table, where it was held -in place by the fiddles, which had been -put on the night before at dinner and -had not been removed.</p> - -<p>Leaving Jackson to brew the coffee, an -art in which he asserted that he was proficient, -Howard went to see after Miss -Fairfax.</p> - -<p>As he had expected, he found her sleeping, -her swoon having quietly passed into -slumber. A little color had come back to -her cheeks and to her lips, and her breathing -was regular.</p> - -<p>For several moments he stood looking -down at her, noting the sweep of her long -lashes on her cheeks, the delicate penciling -of her eyebrows, and the pure curve -of her parted lips. She was of his own -class in life and—— He checked his -thoughts shortly.</p> - -<p>From this girl and all connected with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -her he had been cut off by his trial and -his sentence. Had it not been for the -storm and the wreck, he would never have -spoken to one of her kind again.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he realized that her eyes were -open and that she was regarding him -curiously. The next instant she blushed -furiously and struggled to her feet. Howard -did not offer to help her; he did not -dare to.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she begged. “Please forgive -me.”</p> - -<p>Howard mumbled something indistinct. -He was too much surprised to speak -clearly. Miss Fairfax, however, did not -accept his presumably polite disclaimer.</p> - -<p>“No, but really,” she reiterated, “I -owe you an apology. It was very silly of -me to faint. I was exhausted, and the -discovery——”</p> - -<p>“The discovery that you were alone at -sea with a detective and a convicted murderer -appalled you—as well it might. Do -not blame yourself, Miss Fairfax, and do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -not think that I am sensitive. No man -can go through an experience such as -mine and fail to have his cuticle thickened. -Give yourself no uneasiness about -me.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy began to reply, when suddenly -the dinner-gong rang out imperatively.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” she gasped.</p> - -<p>Howard smiled. “That’s Jackson,” he -explained, “and he’s hungry. Will you -come to dinner?”</p> - -<p>But Dorothy did not come to dinner at -once. When she did, ten minutes later, -after a visit to her state-room, which -luckily was far aft and consequently -above water, Howard noted with amused -surprise that in those few minutes she -had managed to bind up her tangled hair -and change her dress for another. She -glanced at the table as she approached -and flushed at Jackson’s glum looks.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she cried. “Why did you wait? -I told you not to.” She slipped into her -seat. “I’m so hungry!” she sighed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>The hot coffee and the abundant meal -lightened the spirits of the trio in spite -of the predicament in which they found -themselves. With a ship, albeit a crippled -one, under their feet and with plenty of -food and water at hand, it was not in -human nature to despair, especially as -the sea had gone down so much that it -no longer threatened them.</p> - -<p>To both Jackson and Miss Fairfax the -worst seemed to be over; in a day or two -some one would pick them up, they -thought, and all would be well. Howard -alone, wiser in the ways of the sea, -doubted. He listened to the others’ hopeful -prognostications, but said little.</p> - -<p>“I must study the situation before I -can say anything,” was as far as he -would commit himself, even in answer to -a direct question.</p> - -<p>When they had finished their meal, -Dorothy rose.</p> - -<p>“I’ll clear away these dishes,” she announced. -“I’m sure you two have more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -important things to attend to. Later, -when Mr. Howard has studied the situation, -as he wishes, we will hold a council -of war.”</p> - -<p>Howard bowed and went on deck. His -first glance assured him that his worst -fears were true. The Queen was evidently -far within the Sargasso Sea, and under -the impulse of a strong breeze from the -west was steadily driving eastward, into -ever-thickening fields of weeds.</p> - -<p>Wreckage was floating here and there, -mute evidence of disasters that had occurred, -perhaps close at hand, perhaps -thousands of miles away. The passages -of open water that had trellised the sea -an hour before had disappeared, and with -them had gone whatever faint hope Howard -might have had of rescue.</p> - -<p>No skipper would venture into that -tangle; no boat could move through it; -almost it seemed that one could walk -on it; yet Howard knew that any one -trusting to that deceptive firmness would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> -drown, and drown without even a chance -to swim. The weeds would coil round -him, soft, slimy, but strong, and drag him -down.</p> - -<p>Like all who have sailed these waters, -Howard had heard many tales of the -great Sargasso Sea, and had whiled away -many an hour listening to the sailors’ -yarns of the haven of dead ships buried -far within those tangled confines—a haven -in the middle of the ocean, a haven -without a harbor, a haven where the -ships, dropping to pieces at last by slow -decay, must sink for two miles or more -before they reached the floor of the -ocean.</p> - -<p>And into this haven the Queen was -drifting, slowly but surely. Nothing but -sinking could prevent her from moving -onward till she reached the innermost -haven.</p> - -<p>What would it be like? he wondered. -Would the wrecks really be crowded together -so that one could pass from one to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> -the other? That there had been plenty -of them borne in to make a very continent -of ships he did not doubt, but had -they floated long enough to accumulate to -any great extent?</p> - -<p>The sailors declared that the sea was -as large as Europe; that the weed was -impenetrable over an area larger than -France; that there might well be an area -of massed wreckage two or three hundred -miles in diameter. But these were -sailors’ tales. Would they prove true?</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>Howard turned around. Dorothy and -Jackson had come up behind him and -were staring curiously over the weedy -sea. “Well?” reiterated the latter.</p> - -<p>Howard hesitated.</p> - -<p>“I fear it is not well,” he answered at -last. “Our chances of escape for the -present seem practically nil.”</p> - -<p>Miss Fairfax paled, but Jackson -flushed darkly.</p> - -<p>“What are you givin’ us?” he demanded,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -roughly. “The ship ain’t going -to sink, is she?”</p> - -<p>“No. That is not the danger. Look -around you.” He waved his hand to the -weed-strewn horizon.</p> - -<p>Jackson looked again. “Well! What -of it?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“This! You see how thick the weed is—thicker -even than it was an hour ago. -I’ve sailed these seas long enough to -know what that means. It means that we -have been blown a long way inside the -Sargasso Sea.”</p> - -<p>“No ships come here; sailing ships -would lose nearly all their speed, and -steamers would lose all of it, for their -screws would soon be hopelessly fouled. -No vessel will come to rescue us. If we -are ever to leave the Queen, it must be -by our own efforts.”</p> - -<p>“What can we do?” asked Dorothy, -quietly.</p> - -<p>“That is it exactly. What <i>can</i> we do? -Frankly, I don’t see that we can do anything<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -at present. We have no boats, and -nothing but a boat, and a sharp-edged one -at that, could make any way through this -morass. And every minute we are getting -deeper in. The current below catches -our sunken bow, and the wind above -catches our uplifted stern, and both sweep -us eastward—toward the center of the -weed. If we took to a raft we would move -much more slowly—but we would starve -much more quickly—and our chances of -being picked up would not be improved.”</p> - -<p>“But what will become of us?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. It seems likely that -we will be swept into the center of the -sea, where there are supposed to be thousands -of derelicts, the combings of the -North Atlantic for four hundred years—I -say ‘supposed’ because nobody has ever -seen them, but there isn’t much doubt -about it.”</p> - -<p>Jackson laughed scornfully.</p> - -<p>“What are you givin’ us?” he demanded -incredulously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>Dorothy turned to him.</p> - -<p>“It’s all true,” she corroborated, with -a catch in her voice. “Only yesterday -Mr. Sprigg told me about it. He was -wishing for a chance to explore the place, -poor fellow. And now——” She broke -off and turned to Howard. “Isn’t there -any chance at all of our being picked -up?” she asked.</p> - -<p>Howard shook his head.</p> - -<p>“None, I fear,” he answered, gently. -“I am sorry, Miss Fairfax, more sorry -than I can say; but I fear we shall be on -this wreck or on another for weeks and -months to come. So far as I can see now -we can do nothing till we reach the central -wreckage. There we may find a boat -or the tools to build one—ours are far -under water—or some other way to -escape.”</p> - -<p>“It will be desperately hard to wait; -to drift deeper and deeper into this tangle -day after day, hoping that things will -change when they come to the worst; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -it’s all we can do. Meanwhile we can -thank God that we have food, drink, and -comfortable shelter, and we are on our -way to see what no one has ever seen before -and returned to tell it. Let’s make -the best of it.”</p> - -<p>“The best of it!” Jackson’s face -was flushed and his eyes distended. -“The best of it!” he vociferated. “By -Heaven, it’s well for you to yap! You’re -all right here. You’re safe from the -electric chair here. You can afford to -wait and wait. But how about us? How -about me? How about my wife and -children?”</p> - -<p>“It’s hard,” Howard assented. “It’s -bitter hard, but——”</p> - -<p>“Bah! You’re lying to us! You’re a -sailor and can get us out of this, if you -will. You don’t want to get out. You -hope that you’ll get a chance to escape, -but, by Heaven, you shan’t! I’ll kill you -first! By God, I will!”</p> - -<p>“It’s your duty to do so!” Howard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -spoke quietly, but a spot of red glowed -on each cheek. “It is your duty to kill -me rather than let me escape. But it is -not your duty to insult me. I permit no -man to do that, and I warn you not to -repeat your offense.</p> - -<p>“For the rest, Miss Fairfax, there is -some reason in what this man says. The -catastrophe which has brought death to -so many, and suffering, both past and -future, to you, has saved me. I am safe -from the electric chair. Anywhere else -in the wide world I would have to shrink -from every casual glance; would have to -lie in answer to every wanton question. -But no extradition runs to the heart of -the Sargasso Sea. So it might seem -natural that I should wish to stay here. -In so far, our excitable friend is right. -But I give you my word of honor, not as -a jailbird, but as the gentleman I once -was, that I am even more anxious to get -out of here than yourself. I have still a -task to do in the world; my view is not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -entirely bounded by the electric chair. -If any faintest chance offers for us to -escape, be sure that I will seize it. But -I am helpless until we reach the central -wrecks and see what aid they have to -offer. Then I will do what a man may.”</p> - -<p>“I do not promise to go on to New -York with Jackson, but I do promise to -get you and him safely out of this place, -if it is within my power to do so—and -I believe it will be. Say that you believe -me.”</p> - -<p>It was impossible not to believe this -clear-eyed, straight-spoken gentleman, -convicted murderer though he were. -Dorothy held out her hand.</p> - -<p>“I believe you,” she said, “and I trust -you.”</p> - -<p>Howard looked at the hand doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“That is not nominated in the bond,” -he suggested.</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll put it in,” returned the -girl. “As for what you have done in the -past—I have forgotten it. We will all -forget it—till then.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>“So be it—till then!”</p> - -<p>The hands of the two met. But Jackson, -standing aside, grunted scornfully.</p> - -<p>“I’ll not forget it,” he growled. “Not -for a single minute; not till I get you to -New York. I’ve known your smooth-spoken -sort before.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">VI</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Two</span> weeks passed without change in -the situation, except that their end saw -the Queen still deeper in the tangle. The -breeze from the west had continued, but -day by day had grown fainter, until at -last it barely cooled the faces of the -weary passengers. Day by day, too, the -weed and the wreckage in the tangle grew -thicker. Here and there floated broken -spars, fragments of shattered deck-houses, -moss-grown planks, Jacob’s-ladders, -and all the fugitive spoil of the sea. -Broken boats, bottom upward; rafts with -tumbled fragments of canvas screening -perhaps some terrible burden; a red -buoy wrenched from some coast harbor; -a bottle with a little flag bobbing above -it—these appeared, grew nearer, and -dropped astern, sometimes just out of -reach of the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>Several times abandoned ships appeared; -one with a patch of sail gave -Jackson some agonizing alternations of -hope and despair before its final nearness -forced him to admit that it, like their own -vessel, was a derelict, bound for the port -of dead ships. None of this wreckage, -however, kept pace with the Queen. The -tallest caught the wind and the deepest -caught the current, but the Queen caught -both, and moved ahead accordingly.</p> - -<p>The marvel of it all affected the voyagers -according to their several natures. -Jackson took it hardest. Used to the roar -of New York and to the electric contagion -of great crowds, and without resources -within himself, the comparative -solitude and the uncertainty drove him -frantic. Had he been alone, he would -never have lived so long; despair would -have robbed him of his wits altogether -and have driven him to end it all by a -plunge over the side. Even as it was, his -state caused his companions grave alarm.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -Howard took care never to let him be -very long out of his sight by day. Fortunately, -he slept like a log at night, and -Howard was able to lock him in his room -late and release him early without his -ever discovering that he had been confined.</p> - -<p>This state of affairs, however, could -not continue. Day by day the detective -grew more and more surly, until Howard -began to long for the open conflict that -was sure to come. Had they two been -alone together, he would have speedily -brought affairs to a crisis, but the misery -of Dorothy’s position should anything -happen to himself made him hold off, -hoping that Jackson’s mood might pass. -The worst of it all was the man had a -revolver—the only one on board.</p> - -<p>For the rest, Howard seemed to be not -at all troubled. In fact, so far as Jackson -knew, the situation worried him not at all. -Only Dorothy, who, light-footed, had once -come upon him unheard and found him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -on his knees with bowed head and shaking -shoulders, suspected that his lightheartedness -was assumed. On that occasion -she had stolen away as silently as -she had come.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, Howard, though -wild to get back to the task of which he -had spoken to the others, was yet not -anxious to go to execution. Moreover, -the wonder of the situation appealed to -him mightily, and he tried to be content -to grasp the hours as they came, and not -to worry over the future. After he had -thoroughly explored the reachable portions -of the vessel and had worked out -their position as well as it was possible -with such makeshift instruments as he -could devise, he had devoted himself to -the study of the myriad life that swarmed -among the weeds. A scoop, trailed overboard -for a few minutes, invariably -brought aboard hundreds of living forms.</p> - -<p>Something of a naturalist already, he -took delight in studying the sea creatures,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -and in noting the marvellous protective -resemblances by which they hid from foes -or crept upon enemies, themselves similarly -equipped.</p> - -<p>In this study he was enthusiastically -joined by Dorothy. No past record of -crime could prevent the intimacy that -sprang up between these two, so like in -tastes and training, thus thrown upon -each other for human companionship. -Again and again Dorothy told herself -that she ought to shrink from Howard -and confine their intercourse to the needs -of bare civility, and, accordingly, for a -time she would devote herself to Jackson -and let Howard go. But Jackson, blameless -police officer as he was, had no resources -within himself to long content an -educated girl like Dorothy, and soon she -would drift back to Howard’s side—much, -it must be owned, to Jackson’s -relief.</p> - -<p>Curiously enough, the girl was not unhappy. -The situation, as yet, was too -novel for that. The fact that she could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -see no possible means for rescue did not -greatly trouble her. With the natural resilience -of youth, she threw off her anxiety; -with the natural trust of woman in -man, she was content to leave everything -to Howard, and to put implicit faith in -his promise, vague and unsubstantial -though it was, to do what he could to -save her. This was the more surprising -as he had as yet had no chance to prove -himself capable. Nevertheless, Dorothy -threw all responsibility on his shoulders -and concerned herself no more about the -outcome. If sometimes uneasy questions -assailed her, she drove them away. There -was nothing to do but to trust him. After -she had attended to the meals—a duty -which she insisted upon taking on herself -after the first day—she would join him -at his nets, and together they would pass -away the hours. They grew very friendly -in those days, especially in the long -silences of sympathetic understanding -that ever bind heart to heart.</p> - -<p>One day, the fifteenth since the storm,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -after one of these silences, Dorothy -turned to the man impulsively. “Mr. -Howard,” she exploded. “You say you -are not thin-skinned. Won’t you tell me -something about your case?”</p> - -<p>Howard flushed. “To what end, Miss -Fairfax?” he asked quietly. “I can say -that I am innocent, of course; but that is -what every convict in the land says. I -could not convince the jury. Is it not -better that I keep silence till I can get the -proof?”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless, tell me.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly; if you really wish it.” -Howard’s tones were coolly impersonal. -“On May 8 of last year, I received a -letter in a woman’s writing. It was short -and I remember every word of it. ‘Dear -Frank,’ it said, ‘I am here. Come to see -me at once. Dolores.’ Then followed the -address. Perhaps I was foolish to go, but -I did go—to a cheap lodging-house, where -the landlady told me to ‘go right up’ to -the third floor and knock on the door<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -marked 8. The door was ajar, however, -and as I got no answer to my knock, I -pushed it open and looked in. A woman’s -body was lying on the floor. Again I was -foolish. I should have summoned aid at -once. Instead, I went in, and stooped -over the body. Immediately I saw that -the woman was dead; strangled apparently. -As I rose to call for help, the -landlady appeared at the door. Probably -the inference she drew was justified; at -any rate, she tried to blackmail me, and -when I refused to submit she shrieked -and summoned assistance. She declared -that she had seen me choking the woman, -and I was arrested. Later it developed -that some one passing under my name -had married the girl—for she was nothing -more—in a little village near San -Juan at the very time my ship was stationed -there.”</p> - -<p>“That, of course, furnished the motive -for the crime. I had, so it was charged, -married the girl and deserted her. Later,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -when she followed me to New York, I had -sought her out and murdered her. There -were plenty of people to swear to the -marriage and to send in affidavits identifying -my photograph as that of the -bridegroom—though, as it seems, none of -them had seen very much of him. Only -the minister who performed the ceremony -was doubtful, and him my lawyers -arranged to bring to New York. He -started, but his ship was wrecked and he -was drowned on the way. All I could -say was that I had never seen the girl -until I looked on her dead body, and that -went for little.”</p> - -<p>“Evidently, the girl thought that she -had married Frank Howard. Perhaps she -did marry a Frank Howard; the name is -not uncommon. Perhaps she married -some one deliberately masquerading under -my name. I do not know. At all -events, the case was complete against me, -and the jury found me guilty without -leaving their seats. I escaped and went<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -to Porto Rico to look for evidence, but -I was captured before I could find it. -That is all, Miss Fairfax. I cannot blame -you if you agree with the jury.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t——”</p> - -<p>The sentence was never finished. -Jackson, who for two hours had been -standing by the rail, staring northward, -suddenly whirled around and came -toward the two, pistol in hand.</p> - -<p>“Put your fists up,” he ordered Howard -tensely. “Up! Quick! Hang you!”</p> - -<p>Taken by surprise, Howard could do -nothing but obey.</p> - -<p>Jackson laughed madly. “You’ve run -things just about long enough,” he grated. -“We’ve been driftin’ in this wreck for -two weeks now and I’m dog tired of it. -I ain’t no sailor, but I know when a man’s -givin’ me the double cross, and you’re -doin’ it. You’ve got to get us out of -this.”</p> - -<p>Howard’s face grew dark. “Kindly -specify?” he said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>The other glared at him. “Don’t you -try to bluff me with your big words,” he -shouted. “I won’t have it. You’ve been -lettin’ on that you wanted to get us out -of this and all the time you’ve been lettin’ -us drift deeper in. You don’t want us to -get away at all, for all your smooth talk.”</p> - -<p>“I told you that I was helpless until -we reached the central mass of wrecks -and——”</p> - -<p>“Yah! You and your mass of wrecks! -I ain’t no come-on. You can’t work no -con game on me. I never took no stock -in those fairy tales, but I thought I’d let -you play your game out. Now I’m tired -of it, and it’s up to you to do something -quick!”</p> - -<p>Howard shrugged his shoulders. -“With pleasure,” he agreed, “if you’ll -kindly tell me what to do.”</p> - -<p>“How do I know? I ain’t no sailor. -You are! And you’re going straight -back to your state-room and stay there till -you study out some plan to get us out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> -of this. You belong in quod, anyway, -and you’re going to stay there—with the -bracelets on, too, until you get us out of -this. March, now.”</p> - -<p>But Howard shook his head. “I’ll -never wear irons again,” he declared. -“Never! You’re armed and I’m not. -You can kill me, but you can’t jail me. -Make up your mind to that. As for the -central mass of wrecks, it must exist; it’s -impossible that it should not exist. The -only question is as to the area it covers. -If you can—— By Jove!”</p> - -<p>His eyes left the detective’s face and -travelled into space. “Fool,” he cried, -“look yonder.”</p> - -<p>Jackson laughed scornfully. “Not good -enough,” he cried. “You can’t fool——”</p> - -<p>But Dorothy broke in. “Land! Land!” -she cried.</p> - -<p>In spite of himself the detective looked -around. Through the haze before them -loomed what seemed to be the bulk of an -island, set with lofty tiers and dark<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -beaches on which white houses gleamed -in the setting sun. So real it seemed that -the happy tears streamed from Dorothy’s -eyes. “Oh!” she sobbed, “it’s land! -land! land!”</p> - -<p>Howard’s voice came to her from afar -off. “No,” he murmured, sadly. “It is -not land. It is wreckage. We have -reached our destination.”</p> - -<p>Moved by a slight breeze, the haze -shredded away and there, on the waters -before them, stretching away to right and -to left, lay an interminable mass of -wrecks of every shape and description, -banked together so thickly that they -seemed to touch—and did touch—each -other. Dead! all of them. Some newly -dead; others long dead; but all unburied, -waiting in the haven of dead ships for the -long-deferred end. The trees were not -trees, but masts hung with ravelled cordage; -the beaches were the black hulls of -ships; and the white houses were deck-houses -or patches of canvas.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>For a moment no one spoke. Dorothy -stood staring, every muscle tense, while -the tears dripped slowly from her distended -eyes. Jackson’s mouth fell open; his -pistol hand fell nerveless to his side. For -the first time he realized the situation.</p> - -<p>As they gazed, the sun with tropic suddenness -dropped below the horizon and -hid the scene.</p> - -<p>Howard’s voice broke the silence. -“Now,” he encouraged, “we can get to -work.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">VII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was late that night before the voyagers -dropped into uneasy slumber. The -wonder of their situation, suddenly -brought home to them, had roused them -all to unusual volubility. In the excitement -consequent on the discovery of the -massed wrecks even Jackson forgot his -suspicions, and the three talked together -freely. Howard had promised that they -should join the wrecks, and they had done -so. Now he would have a chance to keep -his other promise to get them out; in the -first flush of arrival they did not doubt -that he would do so.</p> - -<p>But Jackson, at least, changed his -opinion the next morning when he came -on deck and viewed the scene before him.</p> - -<p>During the night the Queen, drawn by -the same natural attraction that holds the -planets in their sphere and brings floating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -chips together in a basin, had taken -its place with the dead ships. Under her -counter lay a water-logged schooner; beside -her rubbed a dismasted sailing-ship; -over her submerged bow hung a tramp -steamer, whose blackened masts, bare of -cordage, gave evidence of the flames that -had ravaged her. Beyond, stretched a -mass of wreckage, ship pressing upon -ship, in an endless iteration of ruin. Only -to the west the view was open, and there -stretched the weed in slimy convolutions.</p> - -<p>Over all screamed the sea-birds.</p> - -<p>Each of these countless wrecks had -once sailed the sea, new and strong, and -each had come here at last to slumber -peacefully until the deep should open and -receive it. No more would they ride out -the hurricane or take with frolic welcome -the buffetings of the waves; no more -would they visit the great ports of men -and groan beneath the heavy cargoes -placed upon them. Their days of turmoil -were over. Here, in this quiet haven, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -the great calm of the tropics, with only -the faintest breezes to whisper into their -ears tales of the open sea, and with the -birds to nest in their deserted rigging, -they dreamed their old age away.</p> - -<p>To Dorothy the sight was solemn, but -not sad; to Howard it was amazing; to -Jackson it was maddening.</p> - -<p>Less than ever did he believe that he -was hopelessly trapped far out on the -ocean; more than ever was he convinced -that Howard was deceiving him for his -own ends. He saw the ships rocking -gently on the swells, noted white patches -of sails showing here and there, heard the -cries of the gulls, and told himself afresh -that he could easily walk ashore if he only -knew how; and when a flock of parrots -lighted in the rigging and demanded -crackers, and a monkey poised on the -end of a near-by mast and gibbered, he -was convinced beyond peradventure that -Howard had lied to them and was only -watching his chance to desert them. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -did not even listen to that officer when he -explained that both birds and beasts must -have drifted in on wrecks and had probably -thriven.</p> - -<p>“The birds will feed on the roaches on -the old rattle-trap wrecks,” he explained, -“and the monkeys will live on the birds’ -eggs. Perhaps, too, both catch shell-fish -in the weeds.”</p> - -<p>Breakfast was a silent meal. Dorothy -was awed and frightened by the sight of -the wrecks, and Jackson was glum. In -vain Howard strove to rouse them. -Finally he gave up and finished his breakfast -in silence. Then he pushed away his -plate.</p> - -<p>“Listen to me, please,” he said coldly. -“We have arrived at our destination and -must now take steps to help ourselves. -Two things are necessary: first, to explore -the ships around us; second, not to -get lost. Make no mistake; the danger of -this last is very great. These ships will -not look the same as we leave them and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -as we return to them; where we climb -down a ship’s side in going away, we must -climb up it in coming back, and <i>vice -versa</i>. Often this may be difficult; sometimes -it may be impossible. Yet, if we -try to vary our route, we may lose ourselves; -and once lost the chances are a -thousand to one against our ever finding -our way back to the Queen again. Not -that we shall stay by the Queen long; -probably we shall soon find some ship -better suited for a base of operations. -But we must remember that this continent -of ships is a desert except around -its edges. New wrecks arriving will -bring food and water, but a few hundred -yards inside the borders neither can remain. -It may seem to you that it would -be easy to get back to the border again, -but I assure you that it would not be. -Without a compass, we would not know -which way to go, and might easily be -plunging deeper and deeper into the -mass.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>He paused, waiting for comment, but -none was made. He was leader, however -grudgingly so, and it was for him to map -out their course of action. No one -dreamed of disputing it—Jackson, no less -than Dorothy, realized his helplessness -and his ignorance.</p> - -<p>“I beg you, therefore, to be very careful,” -resumed Howard, seeing that the -others waited. “I am particularly insistent, -because we must explore first of all. -To-day the danger is not great, because -we are not likely to get far away, -but we might as well start right. First, -we must run up all the signal-flags we can -find; they will be conspicuous for a long -ways off. Next, we must light a fire in -the galley range; its smoke will be visible -still farther away. Third, we must never -go out of sight of our base—the Queen, -at present—under any circumstances; -when we climb to each new ship we must -look back and make sure that we can still -see the flags or the smoke. Fourth, we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -must each carry a hatchet and mark our -way just as a woodman blazes a path -through a forest; the hatchet will come in -handy, anyhow. Later, if we do not find -what we want, we can shift our base to -some other vessel along the ‘coast,’ and -explore farther with that as a new center. -Do I make myself clear?”</p> - -<p>Dorothy nodded. “Shall we all go together?” -she asked.</p> - -<p>Howard shook his head. “No, I think -not,” he answered gently. “I hope you -will be willing to stay here for the present -and keep the galley fire alight; I’ll -show you how to make it smoke. Jackson -and I will do the exploring for to-day, -anyway. He can go to the north along -the coast, and I will go to the south, -and——”</p> - -<p>“Not much!” The policeman was -shaking his head doggedly. “Not much, -you don’t. I don’t leave you out of my -sight. I’ve got my orders from headquarters -and——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>Howard stifled an exclamation. “Very -well,” he said coldly. “As you please! -Perhaps it is better anyway. Two can -do things that one could not. Come! -Let’s get ready.”</p> - -<p>“But——” Dorothy looked very dubious.</p> - -<p>Howard turned to her. “I know what -you would say, Miss Fairfax. You would -like to go, of course. But, believe me, it -is best not. Moving about these wrecks -will be difficult and even dangerous for -any one hampered by skirts. You would -be exhausted very soon. Besides, we may -meet unpleasant sights. Later, when we -know our ground better, we will take you -for a sight-seeing tour. You will be perfectly -safe on the Queen. You are not -afraid to be left alone, are you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! No! It will be lonely, of course, -but isn’t there some way that I can signal -to you if anything should happen?”</p> - -<p>Howard considered a while; then -plunged down into the vitals of the Queen,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> -returning shortly with a double armful of -straw dug from a hogshead once filled -with crockery.</p> - -<p>“There,” he said, dropping it at the -entrance of the galley. “If anything happens, -wet some of that and put it on the -fire; it will make a thick black smoke. By -alternately closing and opening the draft, -you can let it go up and cut it off altogether. -We’ll watch for it.”</p> - -<p>Howard and Jackson climbed down the -Jacob’s-ladder that still swung at the -Queen’s counter, and dropped lightly to -the deck of the water-logged schooner -that lay there. Of this, nothing but a -few inches of the deck and the stumps -of the masts were above water; whatever -deck-houses there might have been had -been carried away, together with the entire -rail. Consequently there was nothing -to investigate, nothing that could help -the castaways in their efforts to escape, -and the two men crossed over her with -merely a glance, using her as a bridge to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -reach a ship floating high in the water -just beyond.</p> - -<p>The second vessel had a gangway -lowered down her side, evidently to help -her passengers to reach the boats. Her -masts were gone, but otherwise she -seemed intact.</p> - -<p>“Crew and passengers taken off by -another ship,” explained Howard, “probably -in fair weather after a storm. Most -likely another storm was brewing and the -crew expected their own vessel to sink.”</p> - -<p>A rapid search showed that the ship -had nothing of value to offer. Her boats -were gone; her compasses, charts, chronometers, -and sextants all were gone. Some -tools remained, but were so rusted as to -be of little value. Howard soon led the -way to her taffrail, whence he could -clutch the shrouds of a full-rigged ship -which had evidently been in a collision.</p> - -<p>As he stepped on the deck of this craft, -there was a scurry of feet, and a dozen -huge rats bolted across the deck and disappeared -under the poop.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>“Confound the brutes,” he muttered. -“I hate them! Wonder what they have -been eating.”</p> - -<p>The answer was not far to seek. Close -beside the davits of the quarter-boat lay -two skeletons; one with a smooth, round -hole drilled through the fleshless skull, -the other with a broken backbone. Howard -looked at them and nodded.</p> - -<p>“Probably the crew made a rush for -the boats,” he suggested. “Somebody—one -of the officers, I suppose—tried to -stop them. He shot one, but the others -ran over him and broke his back. Then -came the rats. Well, it was a man’s -death. If you can find a couple of bags, -Jackson, we will commit the bones to -the sea.”</p> - -<p>From the ship the two men descended -to a steamer, much down by the stern, -with a gaping hole in her port counter, -where something must have driven deep -into her vitals. From this they climbed -upon a small yacht, floating just awash.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -(“Held up by water-tight compartments,” -explained Howard.) Thence they -passed to another vessel, and to another, -and another, each bearing mute record -to the manner of its ruin.</p> - -<p>But on none did the explorers find what -they sought. The boats were invariably -gone; the tools were always rusty; the -compasses had all been snatched from -the binnacle and from the cabin; the -charts had mostly been torn from the -racks and tables, often so roughly that -the thumb-tacks that had held their corners -were left in the board, each holding -a triangular scrap of torn paper. In the -few instances where any did remain, they -were rotten with mildew, and charted regions -far distant from the Sargasso Sea.</p> - -<p>It was noon when Howard gave the -word to return to the Queen. “Don’t be -downcast, Jackson,” he consoled. “What -we have found to-day is only what we -had to expect. The boats would, of -course, be taken, even if everything else<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -was left. The compasses, and charts, and -sextants, and so on, would naturally be -taken next, for those who went in the -boats would need them to shape their -course. The tools and engines would -have almost invariably been left exposed -to the weather and would be badly rusted. -It would have been by mere chance had -we found what we wanted on the very -first day. At least we have learned that -there is plenty of food and water and -clothing and coal to be had for the taking. -To-morrow we will search in -another direction. Now, let’s go home.”</p> - -<p>But return was not so easy as the two -men expected. As Howard had foretold, -there was an important difference between -climbing up and climbing down, and -this difference was accentuated by the -fact that in leaving the Queen they had -chosen the easiest route. When they -could have gone from one ship to any -one of two or three others, they had -naturally moved to the one that appeared -the least difficult of access.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>Taking the route in reverse, this small -detail of choice often meant that they -must return to the one that was the -most difficult to board.</p> - -<p>To this expected obstacle was added -another that was unexpected. In more -than one instance they found that their -morning route, as shown by their blazed -marks, was absolutely impracticable. -The ships had moved, slightly perhaps, -but yet enough to bar their passage, ten -feet of water being often as impassable -as ten hundred. Howard struck his brow -with his hand when he realized this.</p> - -<p>“I was a fool not to foresee this!” he -exclaimed. “Of course, these ships are -not absolutely stationary. Even far inside -they must be somewhat subject to -currents and to winds, and must move -slightly, while here, on the outskirts, they -must move considerably. As a matter of -fact, the whole mass must be swinging -around and around in a vast circle, moved -by the same current that brought them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -here in the first place. Well, we must -simply abandon our blazes, and go home -by the flags and the smoke.”</p> - -<p>Jackson peered into the distance. “I -can’t see no flags,” he objected.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you? I can, but they are undoubtedly -hard to make out in this mass -of frayed cordage and flapping streamers. -However, we can see the smoke clearly -enough, and must set our course by it.”</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the first accident of -the day occurred. In stepping from one -ship to another, Jackson missed his footing, -caught wildly at a ratline, which -broke in his grasp, and shot downward -with a yell into the water.</p> - -<p>By the time he had risen to the surface, -Howard, who had been a little in -advance, was back, peering down at him.</p> - -<p>“Can you climb out?” he demanded. -“No! I guess you can’t without help. -Hook your fingers into that port-hole—there, -just behind you. That’s right! -Can you hang on for a while? It may<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -take some time to find a rope sound -enough to bear your weight.”</p> - -<p>Jackson clawed the weed from off his -face. “Yes! I can hang on all right,” -he returned, savagely. Evidently his involuntary -bath had ruffled his temper. -“I can swim, too,” he added.</p> - -<p>Howard disappeared, and the policeman settled -himself to wait. He had -learned to swim in the North River, and -had no difficulty in keeping afloat, even -without the adventitious aid of the bull’s-eye -in the steamer’s side just above him. -If he had fallen in almost anywhere else -he could have gotten out himself, but, as -it chanced, this particular bit of water -was shut in by the sides of three ships, -none of which offered a foothold by which -to climb. The bull’s-eye by which he -hung was the only orifice that broke the -smoothness of the overhanging sides.</p> - -<p>Time passed, however, and Howard did -not return, and a vague uneasiness began -to work in the policeman’s mind.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -There were ropes everywhere. Surely, it -did not take so long to find one. He -called, but received no answer. Could -Howard have lost the place? Or could -some accident have befallen him? Or, -could—good God! Did the man mean to -leave him to drown?</p> - -<p>The suggestion, once offered, would not -down. It was, he told himself, the very -thing to be expected. With him out of -the way, Howard would be freed from -the shadow of the gallows. He alone—except -Miss Fairfax, and what was a -girl’s life—he alone knew that Howard -had survived the wreck of the Queen. -With him dead, Howard—supposing that -he could regain dry land—could live out -his life in safety. And what was a policeman’s -life to one whose hands were already -stained with the blood of his own -wife?</p> - -<p>Jackson drew a long breath as conviction -forced itself upon him. It was characteristic -of the man that he did not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -whimper. He had been dealing with -criminals for twenty years, and conceded -them the right to fight for their own hand. -He had always declared that he would -take his dose when it came without doing -the baby act; and, by George, he would -keep his word.</p> - -<p>Hope had vanished when Howard reappeared. -In his hand was a boat’s -tackle, which he proceeded to hitch to a -davit that projected over Jackson’s head. -But, instead of dropping down the other -end, he quietly seated himself on the bulwarks -and stared thoughtfully at the man -below.</p> - -<p>“Well, Jackson,” he remarked, deliberately, -“our positions seem to be reversed.”</p> - -<p>The policeman scowled. “Damn you, -yes,” he responded, truculently.</p> - -<p>An expression of admiration floated -over Howard’s face. “By Jove, Jackson!” -he cried. “You’re all right. I -didn’t think you had the nerve to speak<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -up like that under the circumstances. -‘What dam of lances brought you forth -to jest at the dawn with death?’ That’s -from Kipling, Jackson, if you do not -recognize it.”</p> - -<p>“G’wan. If you’re goin’ to murder -me, do it. You’ve had experience, all -right.”</p> - -<p>“Fie! fie! Jackson! Call things by -their proper names. This wouldn’t be -any murder. But, there”—Howard’s -voice grew stern—“enough of this. I see -you realize the situation. All I have to -do is to leave you where you are, and -to-morrow I will be a free man. But I -am not going to do it; I am going to pull -you up in a minute. But I want you to -realize that I have deliberately put aside -the best chance possible to free myself -from your surveillance, and I want you -to cease dogging my footsteps and watching -me everywhere I go. I don’t ask you -to let me escape or anything like that, but -I do ask you to act on my suggestions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -without any talk of not letting me out of -your sight. Our escape from this wreckage -may any day depend on your prompt -obedience, and I want you to obey. In return, -I reiterate my assertion—which you -did not believe—that I am even more -anxious than you are to get back to dry -land; and in addition I promise you, on -the word of an officer and a gentleman, -that if I do get back, you and Miss Fairfax -shall go, too. I will not desert you, -even though I know you will arrest me the -moment you have force enough at hand -to do it. Now, put your foot in the hook -on this block, and I’ll haul you up.”</p> - -<p>Jackson caught the block that Howard -dropped, and put his foot in it mechanically. -He was a slow thinker, and Howard’s -words bewildered him for the -moment; later he would realize their import. -Anyhow, now was the time to act; -the time to think would come later. So -he grasped the rope and waited while his -former prisoner hoisted him up to the -deck.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>Once there he turned to Howard and -opened his mouth. But that individual -checked him with a smile.</p> - -<p>“After a while! After a while!” he -counselled. “Let’s get back to the Queen -now. Where’s that smoke?”</p> - -<p>He turned and gazed around the horizon; -then he started.</p> - -<p>“Something’s wrong on the Queen,” -he cried. “Miss Fairfax is signalling for -us!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">VIII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> the two men left Dorothy alone -in the Queen, she was not uneasy, although -she did not welcome being alone -in that desolate place. She had so grown -to depend on Howard’s companionship, -and to take comfort even in Jackson’s -bear-like presence about the ship, that she -felt a queer sinking at heart when they -left her. Still, she realized that it was -necessary that some one who understood -thoroughly what was wanted should explore, -and she knew that Howard was the -only one possessed of that information. -If Jackson felt it his duty to go along, -she would not for worlds ask him to stay -with her, although she was entirely convinced -that Howard would not desert -them. She had accepted without reservation -Howard’s story of the crime for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -which he had been tried, and she put implicit -trust in him.</p> - -<p>The fire in the galley was burning well -when the two men left, and Dorothy decided -to postpone her dishwashing and -tidying up, and to remain on deck and -watch their progress. Several times before -the tangled masts and hulls, torn -canvas, and frayed cordage hid them from -her view, Howard turned to wave his -hand to her and shake his head in token -that the search had as yet brought them -nothing. When they disappeared at last -behind a big, high-floating steamer, she -went below to attend to her duties, which -included the preparation of what she told -herself should be an extra fine dinner, in -celebration of the completion of the first -stage of their journey.</p> - -<p>Time passed rapidly in accompaniment -to the cheerful clink of the pans and the -rattle of the dishes with which she set -the table. At last she paused and looked -at her watch.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>“Twelve o’clock,” she murmured. “He -ought to be coming back now.” It was -noticeable that she said “he,” not -“they.” “I’ll go on deck and look.”</p> - -<p>She started up the companionway, -then paused, as a faint shout was borne -to her ears. “There they are now,” she -thought, happily. “I wonder what they -have found.” She hurried up the stairway.</p> - -<p>The call was repeated as she went, -and was unmistakable now. “Ahoy, the -ship!” it came again and again.</p> - -<p>Dorothy stopped short. “That’s not -Mr. Howard’s voice—nor Mr. Jackson’s,” -she gasped. “Who——”</p> - -<p>Cautiously she peered from the door -and looked around anxiously. Two unknown -sailors were standing on the -deck of the fire-blackened steamer that -lay across the bows of the Queen. As -she stared, one of them hailed again. -“Ahoy, the steamer!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s first feeling was one of delight.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -There were people then in this -place of desolation, and people, to Dorothy, -meant civilization and all that it -connotes—including facilities of communication -with the world. She was -about to answer the hail when something -made her hesitate. It might be all right, -but she was alone. She turned, and, -slipping back to the galley fire, rapidly -thrust into it an armful of wet straw. -An exclamation outside, faintly heard, -showed that the smoke had changed accordingly. -Twice she repeated the signal -with an interval between; then warned -by the thump of feet on the deck overhead, -she thrust in a last armful and -hurried toward the companionway.</p> - -<p>As she reached its top, the sailors appeared -at the door. Dorothy bowed.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, gentlemen!” she cried. -The men started back with one accord; -their hands flew to their caps and pulled -them from their heads. One seemed too -amazed for speech, but the other was -somewhat bolder.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>“Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am,” he -stammered. “I—we—Bill an’ me hailed, -but—I hopes you’re well, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy smiled. “Yes! I’m well,” -she returned, “and very glad to see you. -Tell me, do you live here?”</p> - -<p>“On this ship, ma’am? No, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, I know you don’t live on this -ship, for we have just drifted in on it. -I mean here.”</p> - -<p>She waved her hand comprehensively.</p> - -<p>Bill had recovered somewhat by now. -“No, ma’am,” he declared positively. -“Joe and me live in little old New York. -But we’ve been here ten years!”</p> - -<p>“Ten years!” Dorothy’s cheeks paled. -“Ten years! Oh! can’t you get away? -Don’t tell me you can’t get away!”</p> - -<p>“No, ma’am, we can’t get away. We’d -go like a shot if we could. You see, -ma’am, nothing but wrecks ever come in -here, and there ain’t no way of getting -out.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you build a boat?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>“We might, ma’am, but how could we -get it through the weed. Nobody ever -has. Everybody who’s ever come in here -is here yet.”</p> - -<p>“Everybody! How many are there of -you?”</p> - -<p>“Twenty-two—not countin’ the women -and the child.”</p> - -<p>“Women! Are there women here? -I’m so glad! Oh! poor creatures! Have -they—But, there! Come up here and -sit down. We drifted in here only yesterday—three -of us. The men have gone -to explore, but they will be back soon. -While we are waiting for them, you must -tell me all about everything.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy led the way aft, reaching the -taffrail just in time to see Howard and -Jackson speeding toward her over the -wrecks. She waved her hand at them; -assured of their safety she felt more -secure.</p> - -<p>“There comes the rest of our party,” -she explained.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>The story told by Bill and Joe over the -dinner-table was long and involved with -many interruptions and many repetitions. -According to them, there had always -been people living on the assembled -wreckage. The one of their number who -had been there longest—for twenty-five -years—knew personally others before -him who had been there for as long again, -and declared that these in turn knew of -still others who had been there before -them. It seemed very probable that the -colony—if such a name could be applied -to it—had existed for centuries.</p> - -<p>The people, like the ships, had always -come and never gone; once on the wrecks, -they had stayed there till they died. -Several of those now there had been born -on the wrecks, and had lived there all -their lives. Fresh wrecks brought them -food, water, clothing, and many luxuries, -and if these failed, there were abundant -rain, birds’ eggs, and fish to fall back -upon. Mostly sailors, trained to handiness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span> -the castaways had developed many -lines of industry, and, on the whole, -lived very contentedly.</p> - -<p>“Some of us is willing to live here always,” -said Joe, “an’ some ain’t—especially -at first. But, Lord love ye, they -comes round to it after a while, seein’ -they’ve got to.”</p> - -<p>The castaways, it seemed, had developed -a sort of government, under a -former ship captain named Peter Forbes, -whose ascendency rested partly on the -fact that his strength enabled him to -overcome everyone who contested the -leadership with him, and partly on his -native ability. Under his rule, stores -were collected from the newly arrived -ships and carried, sometimes from miles -away, to what may be called the village—the -central point where the castaways -lived. A patrol—Joe and Bill, at present—was -maintained, which made regular -trips for fifty miles in each direction, -investigating such new wrecks as might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -come in. The patrol only went as far as -fifty miles in order to pick up any new -arrivals, it being impracticable to transport -stores more than a few miles over -the ragged surface of the wreckage, even -by swinging them on an aerial trolley -from mast to mast.</p> - -<p>Forbes divided up the work, and saw -that each individual did his share. He -also acted as a fount of justice, settling -disputes in a rough-and-ready fashion, -and, on occasion, dealing out punishments, -more or less severe, for infractions -of the rules he had laid down. Altogether, -he seemed such an exceptional -sort of man that Howard could not understand -why he had made no effort to -escape to shore.</p> - -<p>Bill tried to make things clear. “You -see, sir,” he explained, “it’s like this: -This here weed stretches out for two hundred -miles and more. We’d first have -to build a boat, and then cut our way -through it inch by inch. We couldn’t get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -grub or water enough in the boat to last -us till we got out. An’ if we did get out, -where’d we be? At sea without a compass -or nothin’! We all wanted to try at first, -but Forbes, he explains things to us so -plain that we sees how impossible it is. -Two or three times coves have tried to -get out, but they allus got stuck in the -weed, an’ mighty glad they was to get -back to where there was plenty to eat -and drink.”</p> - -<p>Howard nodded. “I see the difficulty,” -he conceded. “But have you no instruments? -Of course there are not likely to -be many, but I should think you would -have found a few in all these years.”</p> - -<p>Joe hesitated. “The cap’n allers looks -out for them things,” he declared at last. -“Nobody knows how to use ’em but -him.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! I see.”</p> - -<p>To himself Howard added that it was -tolerably evident that Forbes was not -over-anxious to escape; probably he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -agreed with Cæsar that he “would rather -be first in a little Iberian village than -second in Rome”; and, contented with his -little realm and sway, threw his influence -against any attempt of the others to deplete -it. Howard felt that he and Forbes -might come to a clash later on.</p> - -<p>Dorothy changed the subject by asking -about the women. There were two, it appeared, -one old and one young. The older -one, of whom the sailors spoke affectionately -as Mother Joyce, was nearly sixty -years old; she and her husband had been -on the wrecks for fifteen years. The -younger had been there only two years; -she had been a widow, but had married -one Gallegher, Forbes’s right-hand man, -some time before. The only child in the -community was hers.</p> - -<p>“So you marry here, just as you do -elsewhere?” interjected Dorothy, lightly, -at this point. “Who performs the ceremonies?”</p> - -<p>Joe hesitated. “Cap’n Forbes used to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -up to last year,” he answered at last. -“Then Mr. Willoughby floated in on a -wreck. He’s a regular gospel sharp, an’ -he’s done it since.”</p> - -<p>“Gallegher ain’t pretty,” continued -Joe, thoughtfully. “An’ I guess Mrs. -Strother that was wasn’t over-anxious to -marry him. But women is awful skearce -here, and they generally gits married -right off.” He paused and looked from -Dorothy to Howard. “Your wife, sir?” -he questioned.</p> - -<p>Dorothy flushed hotly, but Howard did -not seem to notice it.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said. “This is Miss Fairfax. -I am Lieutenant Howard, of the navy. -This is Mr. Jackson, of the New York -police force.”</p> - -<p>The men ducked their heads awkwardly. -“We did have another lady here,” -remarked Bill, abstractedly. “She was -the cap’n’s wife, but she died a month or -two ago. The cap’n is mighty anxious to -marry again—mighty anxious.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>“Ah! indeed.” Howard rose from the -table. “Come,” he continued, “let’s go -on deck. I want you to point out something -to me!”</p> - -<p>As Dorothy led the way, followed by -Bill and Joe, Howard turned to Jackson, -who had been listening to the sailors in -dazed silence.</p> - -<p>“If you want to get away from here, -Jackson,” he counselled hurriedly, “for -God’s sake keep quiet about me. If you -don’t, Forbes is likely to keep us here -for the rest of our lives. The chances are -he will try to do it anyway.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">IX</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Shortly</span> after dinner the entire party -set out for the village, which was, it -seemed, only half a mile away, and would -have been reached by Jackson and Howard -had they chanced to go in the right -direction.</p> - -<p>Bill and Joe knew all the easiest routes -across the wreckage, and led the newcomers -by one, which, though not quite -direct, yet involved the minimum of effort -on Dorothy’s part. Nevertheless, progress -was necessarily slow, and it took -nearly an hour to go the so-called half -mile.</p> - -<p>When the village was sighted, it was -evident that considerable pains had been -taken to make it comfortable. A score of -modern vessels, mostly steamers, of -about the same phase of flotation had been -pulled into place and so bound together<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> -as to constitute a solid mass. Over what -had once been the interstices between -them, planking had been laid, making it -possible to go anywhere about the place -without difficulty. Awnings, spread from -mast to mast, gave promise of cool shade.</p> - -<p>“The cap’n fixed this up about a year -after he came,” explained Bill to Howard. -“Before then we just pigged -around any which-a-ways. But he says -that what with new ships drifting in continual, -we’re gettin’ too far from the -coast and we’ll have to move soon. Yonder -he is, sir.”</p> - -<p>As Bill spoke, a tall, thickset man came -hurriedly on deck, ran to the edge of the -platform, cast a quick glance at the newcomers -as they scrambled over the wreckage -toward him, and then turned and beat -a rapid tattoo on a ship’s bell that hung -close at hand.</p> - -<p>“That’s the signal that something’s -doing,” explained Joe.</p> - -<p>The village awoke to life. Half a dozen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> -hatchways gave out figures in every style -of costume, and when the newcomers -reached the deck, practically the entire -population was waiting to welcome them.</p> - -<p>Forbes was first, the rest holding back -respectfully to give him precedence.</p> - -<p>“Welcome! Welcome!” he called, holding -out both hands. “Seldom indeed has -any one been so welcome. And a special -welcome to you, fair lady,” he added, as -he bent low over Dorothy’s slender -fingers. Then he turned to the villagers -behind him. “Come, all of you,” he commanded. -“Come and make our new -friends feel at home.”</p> - -<p>They came, all of them, crowding round -the newcomers with a babble of greetings -and questionings as to the world from -which they had been so long cut off. So -rapid was the fire of interrogation, and -so multifarious the questions, that they -fairly swept Jackson off his feet, and left -the other two in little better case.</p> - -<p>When the hubbub was at its height,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> -there came, from behind the rest, a -hearty, bustling sort of a voice. “Arrah! -arrah! boys,” it pleaded. “Don’t you -see you’re crowding the young lady? -Make room for old Mother Joyce. How -are you, me darlint? It’s terrible glad -I am to see you; gladder than you are to -see any of us, I’ll venture. There! deary! -don’t cry. It’s all right.”</p> - -<p>The old woman’s voice dropped to a -soothing note. For Dorothy, all the experiences -of the past two weeks coming -on her afresh at sight of a woman’s face, -had broken down completely, and was -sobbing on Mother Joyce’s ample bosom.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she wailed, “I didn’t know how -awful it has been until I saw you. All -these dead ships——” Her voice died -away.</p> - -<p>“I know! I know! It was fifteen years -agone that I—but I remimber. There, -mavourneen, be aisy. Come along down -to Mother Joyce’s cabin and have your -cry out.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>She took Dorothy down a hatchway -some distance from the babbling throng, -into a cool and airy cabin.</p> - -<p>“Sit down wid yees,” she commanded. -“Sit down with Mother Joyce and wape -it all out. I understand, dear heart; I -understand.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s curiosity soon mastered her -tears, and before long the two women -were exchanging confidences like old -friends. Belonging to two different -social worlds, elsewhere they would never -have known each other. But adventure -makes strange companions.</p> - -<p>After a while Joe tapped at the door.</p> - -<p>“Cap’n Forbes says, Mother Joyce,” -he explained, “as how he hopes you an’ -the young lady will take supper with -him.”</p> - -<p>Mother Joyce looked at Dorothy, who -responded promptly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be glad to do so, of course,” she -answered.</p> - -<p>“All right, Joe. We’ll come.” Then,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> -as the sailor’s footsteps died away, the -old lady turned to Dorothy. “My dear,” -she essayed diffidently. “It’s cautioning -you a bit I must be. It’s a bad state of -things for a pretty young woman like -yourself we’re after having here, so it is. -Will you be goin’ to marry that young -man who saved your life and who’s been -so kind to you ever since the wreck?”</p> - -<p>Dorothy sat up very straight, and her -cheeks flamed.</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I am not,” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>Mother Joyce looked more troubled than -ever. “It’s not for idle curiosity I’m -asking,” she continued, “but because—— -Are you quite certain you don’t want to -marry him? It’s good and true he looks -and—maybe it’s not another chance you’ll -be getting.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s cheeks still burned, but uneasiness -tugged at her heart-strings. -Clearly there was something behind the -old woman’s words—something of grave -import, too. Joe and Bill had also hinted -something she did not quite understand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>“Marriage between me and Mr. Howard -is entirely out of the question,” she -replied quietly. “There are reasons that -I can’t go into now. But I wish you would -tell me exactly what the trouble is, dear -Mother Joyce; for I am sure there is -something dreadfully wrong.”</p> - -<p>Mother Joyce studied the girl for a -moment.</p> - -<p>“Faith and I will,” she acquiesced. -“Maybe it’s all right it is—if you’re certain -you don’t want to marry that young -man of yours. The trouble is the plentiful -lack of females we have here in the -sea. You haven’t seen Prudence Gallegher -yet. She’s the one other woman -here. She drifted in alone and half crazy -on the ship Swan two years ago. Her -husband and everybody else had been -drowned. In the two years she’s been -here she’s been married four times.”</p> - -<p>“Four times! How horrible! How -could she——”</p> - -<p>“It’s no choice she had. There were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> -twenty odd men here and only two women -besides her. It’s not much about men in -the rough you’ll be knowing, I think. -Prudence had to make her choice and -make it quick. She <i>had</i> to, or—well, she -did the best she could, and she married -two days after she got here. Six months -later the poor creature was a widow—her -husband killed by a block fallin’ from -aloft and knocking his brains out. The -morning after she married again. She -had to, you’ll understand. Six or eight -months afterward her second husband -disappeared, and Cap’n Forbes declared -it’s dead he must be, and that she must -many once more. So marry she did. -Three months ago Mr. Gallegher’s wife -died—Mr. Gallegher is the mate—and -within a week Prudence was a widow -once more. It was a big snake that Captain -Forbes keeps as a pet that did the -worruk that time; it got loose and -crushed poor Strother to death. The very -next day Prudence was forced to marry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> -Gallegher—and her with a two-months’-old -baby. Captain Forbes, you’ll understand, -had a wife of his own all this time, -but she died a week ago, and it’s myself -that’s looking for somethin’ to happen to -Gallegher any day.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy gasped. “You mean——” -she cried.</p> - -<p>“I mane that Cap’n Forbes wants a -wife mighty bad, and that Gallegher -wants even worse to find one for him. I -mane that you’d better be considerin’ -whether you’d rather marry your young -man—or Cap’n Forbes.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy listened with strained attention. -This thing was too horrible to be -true. That she, Dorothy Fairfax, ran the -slightest danger of being forced to marry -anybody was simply unthinkable. Mother -Joyce was exaggerating. This Prudence -Gallegher must be a weak sort of a -woman—not one by whom to measure -herself.</p> - -<p>She turned to Mrs. Joyce. “Have—have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -<i>you</i> been married more than once?” -she asked.</p> - -<p>A grim look banished the kindly lines -from Mother Joyce’s face. “Only once, -mavourneen,” she answered. “I gave -them all to understand long ago that if -they did away with Tim, it’s follow him I -would—after I had killed all of them I -could. And they belaved me. Besides, -it’s an old woman I am—not a pretty -young colleen like you. You’d better be -after takin’ my advice; marry your young -man quick if you want him and stay on -your own ship till he can get you away -from here.”</p> - -<p>“But they all say we can’t get away.”</p> - -<p>“Arrah! Go way wid you! Tell me -twinty men can’t get away from anywhere -if it’s any sinse they’ve got. Cap’n -Forbes could have got us ashore long ago -if he’d been wantin’ to. It’s talk he does -about gittin’ stuck in the weed! What’s -a lot of weed? You can cut through it, -can’t you? Faith, the rale trouble is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -Cap’n Forbes ain’t wantin’ to go, an’ -he’s the only wan here with any seafarin’ -since and any git up and git about him—unless -your young man is after havin’ -some.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Howard said we could get away -if we could get a boat and compass -and——”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Sure, you’ll have to be havin’ a -boat and some instruments to guide her, -an’ it’s none so aisy to foind boats here. -It’s me own opinion that the cap’n has -destroyed all he found, so it is. As for -compasses and such like, sure the cap’n -has thim right enough locked away in his -storehouse, even though he kapes them -mighty secret. He don’t want to go himself -and, be the same token, he don’t want -any wan else to go. He moightn’t be such -a big man if he was ashore, so he -moightn’t! But you and your friends can -get away—if Cap’n Forbes don’t prevent.”</p> - -<p>Freed from the restraint of Dorothy’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -presence, the conversation on deck had -grown even more animated than before. -Howard and Jackson could scarcely answer -one question before half a dozen -more were plumped at them. Evidently, -thirst for news of the world had not died -out in the members of the colony.</p> - -<p>Howard noticed, however, that Forbes -himself soon drew aside from the rest and -engaged in earnest talk with Joe and Bill, -evidently questioning them in regard to -the Queen and her passengers, and that -later he devoted himself particularly to -drawing out Jackson. Finally he came -toward Howard.</p> - -<p>“I guess your throat’s pretty dry, Mr. -Howard,” he said, “and if you’ll come -down to my cabin, I’ll see if I can’t find -something to irrigate it with.”</p> - -<p>Howard willingly accepted the invitation. -From all he had heard it was obvious -to him that this puppet king had -resolutely set his face against any member -of his colony leaving the wreck-pack,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -and it was highly necessary to discover -whether he would go so far as to oppose -any attempts of the newcomers in that -direction. If a contest was to come, the -sooner Howard knew it, the better.</p> - -<p>Forbes led the way to his cabin and -pushed forward a chair.</p> - -<p>“Choose your own poison, Mr. Howard,” -he offered hospitably, indicating a -sideboard loaded with bottles. “We have -pretty nearly everything there is. A -single steamer last month brought us -more than we could drink in a lifetime. -What I have here doesn’t represent half -her selection. There is beer in the ice-box -over in that corner, if you prefer it.”</p> - -<p>Upon Howard’s accepting the beer, his -host set half a dozen bottles on the table, -adding one of whiskey for himself.</p> - -<p>“Bourbon is good enough for me,” he -observed. “I sample the fancy drinks -once in a while, but always come back to -the straight stuff. I’m surprised that you -don’t also. You are a naval officer, aren’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> -you? I hope you are better up in other -details of your profession.”</p> - -<p>Howard laughed. “Hard drinking -isn’t exactly compulsory in the service,” -he observed, lightly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no offense! I was only joking, of -course. I suppose you have specialists in -that line as well as in others. From what -I read in the papers that drift in to us -here, I take it that everything is being -specialized nowadays. What’s your particular -line—navigating, engineering, -submarining?”</p> - -<p>Howard laughed again. “This is an -age of specialization, all right, captain,” -he returned, “but it hasn’t struck the -navy yet. Quite the contrary! Only a -year or two ago, Congress wiped out all -special lines and insisted that all officers -should know everything. Perhaps it was -right, but——”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t think so. Well, it’s a -good thing to know all about your own -job if you can. I suppose, however, you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -can’t help specializing more or less. For -instance, you must have special men who -manage your submarines.”</p> - -<p>“Not exactly. Still, only a few men -have had any experience in that line yet. -The boats are too new and too few to give -everybody a chance yet. Personally, I -have been lucky enough to have had a -good deal of experience with them, but -comparatively few others have as yet.”</p> - -<p>Forbes threw himself back in his chair -with a look of intense satisfaction on his -face. “That’s good,” he said heartily. -“Humph! By the way, Howard, this -party of yours is a curiously mixed one.”</p> - -<p>“You think so?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s evident on the face of it!— Have -a cigarette?— A navy officer, a -New York policeman, and a girl; that’s -odd enough, isn’t it? Not that sailors -and girls are antipathetic—quite the contrary—but -where does the policeman -come in? I don’t quite place him in the -picture.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>Howard lighted his cigarette with a -steady hand. “I believe he had been to -Porto Rico to bring a convict back to -New York,” he returned.</p> - -<p>“A convict. Humph! Too bad he -didn’t bring him here. ‘There’s never a -law of God or man runs in the Sargasso -Sea.’ I’m up in the modern poets, you’ll -observe, Howard. We have no extradition -here. Well, as I was saying, Neptune -makes some queer bed-fellows, especially -here. Who is the lady, by the -way?”</p> - -<p>“Miss Dorothy Fairfax, daughter of -Colonel John Fairfax, a millionaire railroad -man who has been building lines in -Porto Rico of late. His daughter was on -her way home after visiting him on the -island.”</p> - -<p>Forbes’s eyes glittered. “Colonel John -Fairfax’s daughter, eh! I was reading -an article in the paper about him the other -day that said he owned about half the -railroads in the United States. His<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -daughter will be quite a catch for a poor -man. Eh, Howard!”</p> - -<p>Howard made a slight movement. “I -would rather not discuss Miss Fairfax, -captain,” he returned, quietly. “When -and how can we get away from here?”</p> - -<p>Forbes held his glass to the light and -squinted at it. “Well, Howard,” he remarked -reflectively. “I’ve been kind of -expecting you to ask me that. In fact, -I brought you down here to give you a -chance to ask me. The truth is, you can’t -get away at all unless you come to terms -with me.”</p> - -<p>“What are your terms?”</p> - -<p>“Well—I’ll come to that after a while. -Look here, Howard, I’ve been here ten -years and I never was so comfortable in -my life before. I’ve lived easy and slept -soft, and never had a minute’s worry -about grocery bills or taxes, or any of the -other plagues of civilization. And my -men have been in the same case. They’ve -had just work enough to keep them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -healthy, and just drink enough to keep -them happy. If they were out of this, -they’d either be working like dogs or -drunk—also like dogs. Why in thunder -should either they or I want to go back -to that old damnable life?”</p> - -<p>“No reason at all, captain, if you’re -content here.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the devil of it. I’m not content. -I’m just fool enough to ache to get -back. But I don’t want to go back empty-handed. -I don’t want to go back poor. -I want to go back rich, with influential -connections, social relations, and all the -rest of it.”</p> - -<p>Howard smiled. “You’re not the only -one who wants all that, captain,” he observed. -“There are others.”</p> - -<p>“So I suppose. But the difference between -them and me is that since you got -here I’ve got all this right in my fist. -This morning it was far away; now it is -close at hand. As I said, I’ve been here -for ten years. In that time I have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -over about five thousand wrecks, old and -new. Nearly every one of them has had -money on her. Some have had very large -sums. Large or small, I have collected -them all. It makes a great fortune for -one; it is enough for two; but it isn’t a -hill of beans among a score.”</p> - -<p>“I am beginning to see.”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t take this money away secretly -by boat—it’s too bulky. I couldn’t -take it openly without sharing it with a -dozen others—and it would need about a -dozen to cut a way through this damnable -weed. I’ve been ready to go for six -months, but I didn’t see my way. Now -I do.”</p> - -<p>“Well.”</p> - -<p>“Recently I found a safe, quick, and -easy way for a man with the right technical -knowledge to get away from here -with two or three people—and my money. -But I didn’t have the technical knowledge. -Of all the ships that have floated in with -libraries on them, not one has had a book<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -that told me what to do. Now you have -come especially trained in the very line I -want. Can you guess what my terms are -now?”</p> - -<p>“Humph! Perhaps. What is your -way?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about that now. It’s all -right, and that’s enough. I’m telling you -a good deal, because I want your help, -but I’m not giving myself away altogether. -But about those terms. If you’ll -help me get ashore with my money, I’ll -give you a hundred thousand dollars.”</p> - -<p>Howard lay back in his chair and stared -at his host thoughtfully. The conversation -had proceeded far otherwise from -what he had expected. The man whose -opposition to his leaving he had feared, -was actually asking his aid. Yet this assistance -was asked not slavishly, but as -if the asker could compel it if he liked, -but preferred to request. Howard felt -that he must choose his words warily.</p> - -<p>“Such a question is hardly worth asking,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> -captain,” he returned. “Of course, -I shall be glad to accept. I take it for -granted that my friends are included in -your invitation!”</p> - -<p>“Your friends!” Forbes burst into a -roar of laughter. “Your friends! That’s -good! That’s very good! One of your -friends—Mr. Jackson—I intend to leave -behind as a special favor to you.”</p> - -<p>For an instant Howard saw red. Then -the fit passed, and he answered quietly, -“You astonish me, captain.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, I don’t! Look here, I’m on -to you, Howard. You are the convict that -Jackson went to Porto Rico for. You are -now supposed to be dead. Leave Jackson -here, and you can change your name -and live anywhere in the world you like -in perfect safety.”</p> - -<p>“And Miss Fairfax?” Howard almost -choked as he uttered the words, but the -necessity of dissembling was strong upon -him.</p> - -<p>“Miss Fairfax will go with us—as my -wife!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>“What!”</p> - -<p>“Sit down, Howard, and keep your -shirt on. What’s the use of getting -worked up. I know I’m not exactly in -Miss Fairfax’s line, but she won’t be the -only woman who has married out of her -class. I’ll make good with her father, -all right.”</p> - -<p>“You think you can get Miss Fairfax -to marry you?”</p> - -<p>In spite of himself the scorn that Howard -tried to hide showed in his voice. -Forbes did not notice it.</p> - -<p>“She can’t help herself,” he declared. -“I’ve got her dead to rights. Besides, -I’ve got the law—our law—on my side. -You don’t suppose ordinary rules govern -here, do you? Not much! The sexes are -too frightfully disproportionate. Counting -your party, there are just twenty-four -men and only three women here. The -coming of a new woman has always been -the signal for trouble. Bad blood, -quarrels, and murders have followed inevitably. -So we made a law some years<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> -ago that every woman must marry within -twenty-four hours after her arrival. -Under that law I intend to marry Miss -Fairfax. What have you to say about -it?”</p> - -<p>With the last word Captain Forbes -put his elbows on the table and leaned -forward, staring into Howard’s face. -Huge, shaggy, and evidently immensely -powerful, he towered menacingly above -the smaller naval officer.</p> - -<p>Howard wanted to say a good deal, but -forbore. Clearly Forbes took him for -an ordinary scoundrel who had his price -like other scoundrels. If he was to help -Dorothy, the obvious thing was to appear -to fall in with the plan until opportunity -offered to defeat it, or until action could -no longer be deferred. That is, he must -gain time, and the only way to gain time -was to dissimulate.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe I have anything to say -about it just now, captain,” he returned, -mildly, “except that I think you could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -make a better bargain with Colonel Fairfax -if you merely returned his daughter -to him safely. She’ll hate you forever, -you know.”</p> - -<p>Forbes’s brows relaxed. “Not much -she won’t,” he returned. “She’ll come to -time, all right, and mighty soon, too. I -know how to handle the sex. She’ll be -too proud to confess the truth, and she’ll -praise me up to the skies. You’ll see! -Besides, I don’t want the old man’s -money; I’ll have enough of my own. I -want his social help. Well! is it a bargain?”</p> - -<p>Howard hesitated. “I must think -about it for a while, captain,” he returned.</p> - -<p>“What do you want to think about? -Oh! I guess I see! You’ve got an idea -of marrying the girl yourself, I reckon. -Humph! Son-in-law saves girl, and rich -daddy saves son-in-law. I don’t blame -you, but I guess I’ll just have to queer -that game once for all. Gallegher!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>The last word came like a pistol-shot. -Howard leaped to his feet, only to find -three armed men standing behind him.</p> - -<p>Forbes threw himself back in his chair -and laughed.</p> - -<p>“Stung!” he remarked lightly. “You -might as well go quietly, Howard. -There’s no use of committing suicide, you -know. We won’t hurt you—you’re too -valuable. And we’ll turn you loose—after -the ceremony.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">X</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">For</span> one moment, as the men closed in -on him, Howard struggled with a furious -desire to wrest a cutlass from one of -them, and with it exact terms from the -others. The odds, though great, were not -necessarily overwhelming, and victory -would mean much. Had he stood on equal -terms before the law, he would have -risked everything in an immediate fight.</p> - -<p>But he did not stand even. Against him -as a convict fighting for freedom, Forbes -could throw the entire population of his -colony; even Jackson might join in the -unequal odds. The result of a struggle -on that basis must be inevitable; Dorothy -would lose her only defender. Later, -when the time came, if it did come, to -shift the fight to the defense of womanhood, -he would have a better cause and -might win allies. So he surrendered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>“Take him to the Chester,” ordered -Forbes, “and lock him up. Give him -anything he wants to make him comfortable, -and see after his meals. If he makes -any trouble, put him in irons. Off with -you.”</p> - -<p>Sick at heart, Howard marched away -between his captors. The way led to the -edge of the wide platform that constituted -the village, down a gang-plank, -and away for some distance across the -wrecks. Finally it led through a rent in -the side of a big iron steamer, and up to -what had evidently once been the captain’s -cabin. Into this he was thrust.</p> - -<p>Gallegher paused, with his hand on the -lock. “You heard what the cap’n said,” -he growled. “You behave yourself and -nobody’ll hurt you. And, remember, -there ain’t a mite of use tryin’ to escape, -because there ain’t nowhere to escape to.”</p> - -<p>The door slammed and Howard was -left to his own reflections.</p> - -<p>His first act was, of course, to inspect<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -his prison. It was not uncomfortable. -Large, airy, and well furnished, it had -evidently been selected because all its -sides were of iron, three of them being -formed by the sides of the vessel, and the -fourth by one of her bulkheads. Numerous -port-holes admitted air and light, but -were too small for a man’s body to pass -through them. A skylight overhead had -been closed with heavy timbers. Altogether -it was a strong place.</p> - -<p>Before he had had much more than -time enough to familiarize himself with -his surroundings, the key grated in the -lock, and one of his captors entered with -a tray, which he placed on a table built -around the mizzenmast of the ship.</p> - -<p>“Here’s your dinner, sor,” he announced.</p> - -<p>Howard came over and sat down. As -he did so, his eyes fell on some curious-looking -mechanism which the man had -pushed aside in making room for the -tray. A question sprang to his lips, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -he choked it back as the other bent suddenly -forward.</p> - -<p>“I heard of what you said to Bill and -Joe, sor,” he breathed. “Is it true that -you could get away from here if you had -the chance, sor?”</p> - -<p>“True? Of course it’s true. Give me -a boat, two or three men, and a compass, -and I’d start away at an hour’s notice. -I wonder that you men don’t see that.”</p> - -<p>“And will you take me and Kathleen -with you when you go, sor? Kathleen’s -my wife—Joyce they call her, sor, -though its nather chick nor child we’re -after having, sor.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take anybody. But I’ve got to -be free in order to prepare——”</p> - -<p>“Whist! That’ll be all right, sor. -Kape a stiff upper lip and everything -will come right. The young lady and -you have friends here, sor. I don’t dare -to stop now, but it’s back again I’ll be -later on.”</p> - -<p>Howard made no effort to detain the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -man. He was in a fever of impatience -to examine the instruments on the table, -and the moment he heard the key turn -in the lock, he pushed aside his dinner -and began to finger them.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t possible,” he muttered. “It -isn’t possible! Forbes would know better. -But, by George, he doesn’t. It’s true! -It’s true! <i>He’s locked me up with a wireless -outfit.</i> If it’s only in working order.” -He pressed the key and a rumble and a -crash gave answer. “It is! It is!” he -exulted. “By Heaven! It is!”</p> - -<p>“Now to raise somebody before Forbes -finds me out,” he continued. “If the -wireless only sent as silently as it received, -it would be all right. But—well! -maybe no one will notice. It’s pretty -noisy here! Anyhow, there’s nothing to -do but try.”</p> - -<p>He placed his finger on the key. “Let’s -see!” he soliloquized. “The naval station -at Guantanamo is nearest, but I don’t -know its call. I’ll have to try C Q D—the -emergency signal.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>Again and again he pressed the key, -and again and again the apparatus -roared, sending the cry for help broadcast -over the sea. No interruption came. -The village was some distance away, and -the noise passed unheard or unheeded. -“C Q D! C Q D!” he called.</p> - -<p>At last the answer came, faint but distinct, -whispering in through the microphone -on his head. “Hello! Hello! -Hello!” it sounded. “Who’s this?”</p> - -<p>“Survivor of the wrecked steamer -Queen, now on board an unknown steamer -in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. Is -this Guantanamo?”</p> - -<p>Sharply the answer came: “Yes. What -did you say? Survivors of the Queen? -Good Heavens, you were given up for -lost. How many are you?”</p> - -<p>“Three! Miss Fairfax—”</p> - -<p>“Great Scott! Colonel Fairfax has -been wild. Who else?”</p> - -<p>“Police Officer Jackson!”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>“And Frank Howard.”</p> - -<p>“What! The murderer?”</p> - -<p>“No. The convict. This is he talking.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Beg pardon! Didn’t mean to -hurt your feelings. Where did you say -you were?”</p> - -<p>“We drifted into the Sargasso Sea on -the Queen, and brought up finally against -the wreck-pack in the middle. Then we -changed to another ship. It’s a long -story. You’d better note it down carefully. -I may be cut off any minute.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’ll note it down all right. Go -ahead. But first about the others on the -Queen. Two boats got to port all right. -How about the third?”</p> - -<p>“Capsized! All lost except Miss Fairfax, -who was washed back to the Queen, -and pulled aboard by Jackson and Howard, -who had been left there by accident. -Now listen. This is urgent. We are in -great danger here, and need aid at the -first possible moment——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>“In danger? What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Listen, and I’ll tell you.”</p> - -<p>Hurriedly, but concisely, Howard narrated -their adventures, describing the -wreck-pack and its queer colony, and -pointing out the danger to which Miss -Fairfax was subjected. Toward the end -of the story, Guantanamo evidently became -restless, for he broke in.</p> - -<p>“Say!” he clicked, disgustedly. “Do -you expect me to believe all that?”</p> - -<p>“Surely. Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Because it’s nonsense. Say, friend, -you are wasted at sea. You ought to be -a New York yellow-journal reporter. -Now, who the devil are you, really?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve told you.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve told me a pack of lies—begging -your pardon. I’d got into a pretty -fix if I reported this nonsense; now, -wouldn’t I?”</p> - -<p>“You’ll get into a worse one if you -don’t. For God’s sake, man, don’t be a -skeptical fool. As I’ve told you, I’m a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> -prisoner, and am only able to talk to you -because this man Forbes apparently -knows nothing of the wireless. My jail -may be changed any minute, and I may -never get another chance. This thing is -very serious. There are about twenty-five -people hopelessly confined here on -these wrecks, and aid should be sent them -at once.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! You mean to tell me that -people have been living there for years -and years, and nobody has ever found it -out?”</p> - -<p>“Lots of people have found it out, -but nobody has ever gone back to tell. -If you never heard of the wreck-pack, -ask any old sailor, and he’ll tell you of -it—though he’s never seen it or known -any one who has. Why shouldn’t there -be people on it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, suppose there are. How can -we help you?”</p> - -<p>“A ship can get to us if it tries hard -enough. The weed can be cut through,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> -though with difficulty. A sort of steam-saw -projecting over the bow will do the -work. The propeller will have to be -screened to prevent fouling. Perhaps a -paddle-wheel steamer would get along -best. When it is once in, it should skirt -the edge of the wreckage till it finds us. -The latitude and longitude I have given -you are only approximate. I have no -proper instruments.”</p> - -<p>“Who shall I notify?”</p> - -<p>“Notify Colonel Fairfax, first of all. -This Forbes may keep his threat and -marry Miss Fairfax by force, or he may -not. He shall not if I can help it. But -I’m a prisoner and helpless just at present, -though I have made at least one -friend and hope for some others. Anyway, -Colonel Fairfax will want to rescue -his daughter. Then notify the government; -there must be ships at Guantanamo -now that could start for here very -soon. Then notify the newspapers; if -no one else will help us, they will. Notify<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> -anybody and everybody you like. Stop! -Somebody’s coming. Keep out till I call -you again.”</p> - -<p>It was only the Irishman who came to -take away the tray. He must have heard -the rumbling of the wireless, for only a -deaf man could have failed to do so, but -he asked no questions about it, though he -looked sharply at the instruments that -Howard had thrust aside.</p> - -<p>Howard in fact gave him little chance, -plying him with questions as to Forbes’s -probable course of action. After he had -gone, Howard talked with Guantanamo -until late in the night.</p> - -<p>The next morning the man came again. -“Can you foight, sor?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Fighting is my trade, Joyce. Why?”</p> - -<p>“Well, sor, the captain’s going to -marry the young lady at four o’clock the -day, unless somebody stops him. And -the only way to stop him is to foight him. -It’s a big man an’ a bad man he is, sor. -Are ye game for it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>Howard smiled. “Oh! yes. I’m game,” -he declared.</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll get ye out in good time. -Tare and ’oun’s, but it’ll be a grand -foight entoirely.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XI</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> accepting Captain Forbes’s invitation -to supper Dorothy had taken it for -granted that the other two survivors of -the Queen were included, and was somewhat -startled to find that they were not.</p> - -<p>“Gallegher insisted on your friends -eating with him,” explained Forbes, with -a smile. “He declared that I might have -the best, but that I shouldn’t hog everything, -and I had to give in.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy accepted the explanation, but -her heart beat anxiously. Nor was her -anxiety lessened by Captain Forbes’s attitude. -Had she not been warned of his -probable designs, she might have passed -over his behavior as merely the would-be -gallantry of an uncultivated man, and -even then would have found it sufficiently -offensive. But, in view of all she had been -told, its import quickly became portentous.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -Between extravagant compliments, -often so pointed as to cause her considerable -embarrassment, Forbes sandwiched -encomiums of the life on the wreckage, -for support of which he appealed to -Mother Joyce, declaring that Dorothy -would soon submit to the inevitable, and -settle down to remain there for life. All -suggestions as to the possibility of escape -he pushed aside.</p> - -<p>“Our known history of life here goes -back for more than fifty years,” he declared, -“and in that time nobody has escaped. -Nobody ever will. It’s impossible. -You will fight against the idea for -awhile, and then settle down to enjoy -yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Enjoy myself!”</p> - -<p>“Why not? We have everything here -that any one needs—all the necessaries, -and far more of the luxuries than any -except a very few favored people enjoy -anywhere. We have a storehouse full of -everything that delights a woman, and if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -it was destroyed to-morrow, we could -easily fill it again. Duplicates of all its -contents will drift in to us again sooner -or later on some ship. Ask what you will, -and it will be my delight to lay it at your -feet.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy tried to smile. “Very well, -then,” she particularized, “just give me a -telegraph-office.”</p> - -<p>“With pleasure. We have a complete -outfit. I’m sorry to say, though, that the -wires are not strung yet.”</p> - -<p>“Then give me a boat and a—compass, -isn’t it, that we need?”</p> - -<p>“Those are about the only things we -cannot furnish, Miss Fairfax. When -sailors are forced to leave their ships, -they invariably take the boats and the -compasses with them. But why do you -wish to leave us? It will be our constant -study to make you happy. You shall have -the best of everything, and your lightest -wish shall be law.”</p> - -<p>“My only wish is to get back to dry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> -land. If my wish is law, help me to do -so.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot! And I would not if I could. -I have waited long for a woman as fair -and sweet as you to drift in to me, and -now that you have come, I will not give -you up lightly. The wrecks and their -contents are ours by right of salvage. -You, too, are salvage—and the fairest salvage -I have ever known.”</p> - -<p>This was forcing the game with a vengeance. -Dorothy’s lip quivered, and she -cast a frightened glance at Mother Joyce. -But that lady was eating her supper -stolidly, and made no sign. Evidently, -for the moment at least, she intended to -let Dorothy play her own hand.</p> - -<p>Forbes continued: “No, you are here -for life, Miss Fairfax. I regret it for -your sake, but I rejoice in it for my own. -You are here for life, and you must make -up your mind to it, choose a husband, and -settle down.”</p> - -<p>“I shall never marry.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>“You must consider a moment. There -are twenty-two of us men here and only -two women. Under such circumstances, -how can we afford to permit any woman -to remain single. We used to do it years -ago, when the disproportion was not quite -so great, and what was the result? Decimation -of our numbers, no less! The -men quarreled and fought and murdered -each other, exactly as wild beasts do, all -for the sake of one woman. Well do I -remember the last time this happened! -In a week five men had been killed, and -bad blood stirred up that did not subside -for years. We could not chance a repetition -of this sort of thing, and we made -a law that every woman who arrived here -must marry within twenty-four hours. -She could choose any one she liked, but -choose she must.”</p> - -<p>“But no such rule can apply to me.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? You are a lady, of course, -and far above the level of nine-tenths of -the men here. But there is the remaining<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -tenth to choose from. Of course, -none of us are worthy of you, but—we -will make good husbands.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy tried to laugh the words away, -but could not. She told herself that all -this was some horrible dream from which -she would presently awake, but all the -while she knew it was terribly real. The -toils were closing round her fast. Her -thoughts flew to Howard. He, she felt, -would save her, if man could; but he was -one, and Forbes and his followers were -many. If it came to a struggle the result -would be inevitable. What could she do? -What <i>could</i> she do?</p> - -<p>Forbes was watching her keenly. “You -realize the situation now?” he continued. -“For our own welfare we cannot permit -you to remain single. You could not get -away, and we would not permit you to do -so if you could. You must marry—in -twenty-four hours. And since you must -marry, let me advise you to choose one -who can provide for you—and there is no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> -one here who can do that so well as I. I -won’t talk about love—that is for boys, -and I am a man; but if you will marry -me, you shall be queen here. Come! -what do you say?”</p> - -<p>Dorothy pushed back her chair and -rose. “I say that this is utterly preposterous. -I will not marry any one on compulsion. -Certainly I will not marry you. -I wish you good day, Captain Forbes.”</p> - -<p>She turned toward the door, but Forbes -stepped before her.</p> - -<p>“One moment, Miss Fairfax,” he said. -“I know how you feel, and I do not wish -to turn you against me by undue persistency. -If you want to go now, go! But -think over what I have said. I believe -that you will come to see that it is the best -thing you can possibly do. Talk it over -with your friends, I think they will advise -you to consent. At all events, you have -twenty-four hours—till four o’clock to-morrow, -to get used to the idea. Take -my advice and wait calmly till then.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>Dorothy bowed haughtily. “Very -well,” she returned. “I will wait. Now, -will you kindly summon my friends. I -wish to return to my ship.”</p> - -<p>Forbes’ lips curved in a cruel smile. -“<i>Your</i> ship, Miss Fairfax,” he echoed. -“You have no ship. You and your companions -abandoned the Queen of your -own accord, and by the law of the sea -she and everything on her became the -property of any one who salvaged her. -My men have taken possession of everything, -including your abandoned trunks—which -are now mine. You have no place -to lay your head, and nothing in the world -except what you have on your person. -However, I am not unkind. For twenty-four -hours I will give you food and shelter. -At the end of that time—well, we -will see. Now you may go with Mother -Joyce, who will care for you. And think -over my proposition.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dorothy’s</span> hours of grace passed all too -quickly. The girl’s natural impulse was -to turn at once to Howard for aid, and -when the moments sped by without bringing -him, she turned to Mrs. Joyce and -learned of his imprisonment.</p> - -<p>“But don’t you be worryin’ about that, -miss,” said the kindly Irishwoman. “It’s -safe and sound he is. The cap’n is just -kapin’ him locked up till after the wedding.”</p> - -<p>“There’ll be no wedding,” flashed Dorothy.</p> - -<p>“An’ why not? It’s worse you might -do, my dear. All men are cantankerous, -but Cap’n Forbes ain’t a bad sort, if you -take him the right way; an’ he’ll make a -good husband—the best here, anyway. -An’ you’ve got to remember that while -a smart man might get out of here, if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -he was free, even the smartest man—let -alone a woman—couldn’t if the cap’n -didn’t want him to; and sure it is the -cap’n don’t want you to go. I know it’s -hard, but I don’t see but what it’s the -best thing you can do—seein’ you -wouldn’t marry your friend, Mr. Howard, -under any circumstances.” And -Mother Joyce glanced quizzically into -Dorothy’s face.</p> - -<p>The girl blushed; then hid her face. -“Oh! Mrs. Joyce,” she sobbed. “I—he—things -were different when I said that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! indade! Now, were they? You -nad’n’t say any more, miss. A nod’s as -good as a wink to a blind horse. It’s a -fine, upstandin’ young fellow he is, and I -don’t blame you. Joyce and I’ll do what -we can for you and him. And you’ll not -be lavin’ us behind when you sail away?”</p> - -<p>“Leave you! Never!”</p> - -<p>Fortunate it was that this understanding -had been reached so quickly, for little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -further opportunity for talk was offered -later. All that evening and all the next -morning the members of the community -visited Dorothy, one by one, each with -tales to tell of the pleasures of life in the -Sea and with praises of Captain Forbes. -Not one seemed disposed to help the girl.</p> - -<p>Even Mr. Willoughby, the minister, -could give her little comfort. When she -appealed to him directly to help her, he -squirmed uncomfortably.</p> - -<p>“Captain Forbes is a man of wrath,” -he mumbled; “hard to resist. My sacred -calling is of little import in his eyes. If -you decide to refuse him, I trust I shall -find strength to offer you such support as -I may. But you must remember that I -am only one—and a man of peace besides.”</p> - -<p>Clearly there was little hope to be -placed in the minister. But Dorothy -made one more appeal.</p> - -<p>“You could refuse to perform the ceremony,” -she suggested, tearfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>“And so I shall,” promised Mr. Willoughby. -“If I must,” he added, with -quickly following repentance. “But to -what end? Captain Forbes is a sea-captain, -and as such can perform marriages -at sea. Whether he can marry himself -is doubtful. But I know him; he will -settle the doubt in his own favor and -marry you willy-nilly. I—I really think -that you had best submit. Since you have -to stay here, you cannot occupy a better -place than as Captain Forbes’s wife.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t have to stay. I won’t -stay. Mr. Howard promised——” She -stopped and bit her lip. “I see you cannot -help me, Mr. Willoughby,” she finished. -“Good morning.”</p> - -<p>The minister sneaked away, and Prudence -Gallegher crept in, weak, ill, and -frightened, to add her mite to the weight -that was crushing Dorothy’s heart.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, glancing -fearfully behind her from time to time. -“Oh, I’m so sorry. But—but hadn’t you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> -better marry Cap’n Forbes? Nobody -will dare to hurt him, and—and—you -won’t be handed on from one to another -as I was.”</p> - -<p>This sort of thing, kept up almost without -cessation for twenty-four hours, drove -Dorothy almost to distraction. As four -o’clock drew near, her condition grew -pitiful. In vain she looked for a means -of escape. If any had offered she would -have taken it instantly, facing without -hesitation the terrors of the foodless desert -in the heart of the wreckage. But -none did offer. Always she was surrounded -by jailers. She could see no -hope anywhere—nothing to do but resist -till the last, and then—— What then? -What should she do then? What could -she do? One weak girl beset by a score -of men. Her brain reeled at the thought.</p> - -<p>Eight bells rang out, and Joe appeared -at the door.</p> - -<p>“Cap’n Forbes says as how will you -an’ Mother Joyce please step on deck, -miss,” he petitioned.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XIII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> deck had been decorated as for a -gala occasion. Bright-colored flags were -twined everywhere under the cool, airy -awnings; canaries, in gilded cages, hung -about, each carolling at the top of its -tiny throat; the members of the colony -were all standing about, each dressed in -garments which, though perhaps lacking -somewhat in taste and style, at least left -nothing to be desired in the way of color -or ornament. The scene, though odd, was -undoubtedly bright and cheerful.</p> - -<p>Mother Joyce led Dorothy to a slightly -raised platform, in front of which were -ranged chairs, in which, at her approach, -the sailors hurriedly seated themselves. -Dorothy looked eagerly among them for a -sight of Howard, and her last hope vanished -when she knew he was not there.</p> - -<p>As she stepped upon the platform,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span> -Forbes came up from below. Clean -shaven, and well and correctly dressed, -he furnished a strong contrast to the -others with their motley attire.</p> - -<p>He bowed courteously to Dorothy, and -greeted her as though their relations -were of the pleasantest. “Please sit -down for a moment,” he concluded, and -turned away without waiting to see -whether the invitation was accepted.</p> - -<p>“Men,” he said, stepping to the edge -of the platform and looking them over, -“by our laws every unmarried woman -coming into this community must, within -twenty-four hours, choose a husband from -those who come forward to offer themselves. -The one she chooses must defend -his right against all others, and, if conquered, -must give way to his conqueror. -So she will wed the best man, and all -smoldering quarrels that might disrupt -our community will be avoided.”</p> - -<p>He paused a moment and then went on:</p> - -<p>“As you all know, Miss Fairfax joined<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> -us yesterday. She is so far above all -of us in beauty, grace, and culture that -it is presumptuous for any of us to aspire -to her hand. Yet, the law is the law, and -we must all bow to it. So I call on all -candidates for her hand to speak out that -she may choose. I offer, for one. Who -else comes forward?”</p> - -<p>He stopped and looked around inquiringly, -but no one moved. Evidently all -knew what was planned, and had no wish -to interpose. Even if not awed by his -ascendency, his significant assertion that -the favored suitor must defend his right -against all comers was enough to give -them pause. For Forbes was six feet -high, broad and strong in proportion.</p> - -<p>After a moment, seeing that no one -spoke, Forbes turned to Dorothy. “It -seems, fair lady,” he began, “that I am -the only suitor for your hand. I beg you -to believe, however, that this is rather -from the desire of my men not to oppose -the dearest hope of their captain, whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span> -they so love, than from any lack of appreciation -of your charms. But it comes -to the same thing. I am the only candidate. -Does it please you to accept -me?”</p> - -<p>Dorothy rose and faced him. “Sir,” -she said, with a break in her voice. “I -am only a girl, alone, unprotected, far -from all her friends. I beg you, I implore -you, to be merciful. Do not do this thing. -Let me go.”</p> - -<p>Forbes shook his head. “Your presence -here, single, must cause strife,” he -began, “and——”</p> - -<p>“Then let me go away. Let me wander -away by myself. You nor your men shall -ever see me again. I will lose myself in -the wreckage, and——”</p> - -<p>“You are salvage, and I cannot surrender -you.”</p> - -<p>“Think! Think! My father is rich—a -multimillionaire. In his name I promise -you a million dollars if you will spare -me and get me back to him. Think! A -million dollars.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>“Even if I would, it is impossible. We -are all alike helpless here.”</p> - -<p>“You will not spare me?”</p> - -<p>“I love you too much to do so.”</p> - -<p>With a quick movement Dorothy -pushed by him and faced the others. -“Men,” she cried, “will you let this thing -be done? Will you let me be forced into -marriage with a man I loathe. For God’s -sake have pity on me, and say to this man -that he shall not do this thing.”</p> - -<p>The men shifted uneasily in their seats, -but no one spoke. Dorothy’s eyes -flashed.</p> - -<p>“Cowards!” she cried. “Is there not -one of you who dares face this man. -Come! I offer you a bargain. If any -man will save me, to him will I give myself -in all wifely humility. Any man! -<i>Any</i> man! Speak! What! Does no one -speak? Am I so poor a prize?”</p> - -<p>“I speak!”</p> - -<p>Absorbed in the scene, no one had noted -Howard’s approach, but at the sound of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -his voice all faced him. His sea-stained -clothes were torn, and there was a fleck -of blood on his lip, but his glance was -high.</p> - -<p>“I speak,” he repeated. “Not for the -prize, but for the honor of womanhood.” -He turned to Forbes, who had flushed -furiously at his appearance. “Ah! you -craven,” he flared. “You thought you -had me safe while you worked your coward -will. Look better to your shackles -next time.”</p> - -<p>Three or four of the men had risen and -were closing in on Howard, but Forbes -waved them back. “Since you are here,” -he remarked, nonchalantly, “do I understand -that you offer as a candidate for -the lady’s hand? If not, you have no -standing.”</p> - -<p>“I offer for anything that will save -this lady from your insults.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! So you <i>do</i> offer. That is well. -That is in line with the very object of -this ceremony and shows the wisdom of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span> -our laws. You and I will fight this out -and bury all ill-feeling—in your grave. -Kindly choose some one as second, and -let’s get to work.”</p> - -<p>Howard looked around him. “I’ll take -my companion, Jackson,” he decided. “I -suppose you’ve got him locked up somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“Bring him,” ordered Forbes, calmly. -He turned to Howard and began to take -off his coat. “Get ready,” he ordered.</p> - -<p>“You’ll give me fair play?”</p> - -<p>“Surely. And marry you to the lady—if -you win.”</p> - -<p>In the revulsion of feeling consequent -on the appearance of her champion, Dorothy’s -limbs had given way, and she would -have fallen had not Mother Joyce caught -her and helped her to a chair, where she -leaned back, white and dazed. When -she recovered enough to note what was -going on, Howard and Forbes, stripped -to the waist, stood facing each other before -her, the latter towering, giant-like, -above his smaller adversary.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>With a cry she sought to struggle up, -but Mother Joyce restrained her. “Don’t -interfere,” she whispered. “It’s your -only chance.”</p> - -<p>“But he’ll kill him.”</p> - -<p>The older woman seemed to have no -difficulty in assigning the confused pronouns -correctly. “I’m not so sure,” she -muttered consolingly. “I fancy the captain -has his work cut out for him. Anyhow, -it’s for you to kape still.”</p> - -<p>Jackson’s eyes had lighted up when he -had reached Howard’s side and understood -what game was on. “It’s many a -fight I had in the ring myself before I -went on the force,” he whispered, with -something very nearly approaching enthusiasm. -“It’s a big fellow he is. Can -you do him?”</p> - -<p>Howard smiled grimly. “I’ve got to,” -he answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, take the tip from me and tire -him out. He’s too big to rush, and if he -hits you square once, he’ll knock you out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span> -of the ring. Sprint all you can. Get him -mad. He’s got a wicked temper, if I -know anything of men; and when he -loses it, he’ll forget to guard, and you -can slug him.”</p> - -<p>Under other circumstances Howard -would have smiled at the detective’s unaccustomed -volubility, but at the moment -he had other things to think about. With -a nod to show that he understood, he -stepped forward to face his adversary.</p> - -<p>The disproportion between the two men -was very marked. Howard was not a -small man, but Forbes was several inches -taller, and at least forty pounds heavier. -His corded arms looked capable of felling -an ox. On the other hand, he was twenty -years older, and presumably, slower in -his movements than the naval officer, who -was in the prime of the late twenties.</p> - -<p>Forbes wasted no time in preliminaries. -Evidently he meant to show his -power by crushing his adversary without -delay. The moment that Howard faced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -him he sprang forward and launched a -right-hand swing that would have ended -the fight then and there had it connected -with Howard’s body. But it did not connect. -Howard sprang back, just out of -reach, and returned a half-arm jolt that -brought the big man up standing.</p> - -<p>“Ugh!” he exclaimed, stepping back. -Then he grinned viciously. “You know -something, do you,” he half soliloquized. -“So much the better. There’ll be some -sport in it.”</p> - -<p>He rushed in again, striking furiously.</p> - -<p>Howard gave ground slowly under the -attack, dodging when he could, parrying -as he might, every nerve alert to save -himself from being crushed by the sheer -weight of his adversary. In vain Forbes -tried to beat down his guard. Dorothy’s -frightened face was ever before his eyes, -and he fought on breathless, but unharmed, -until the first fury of the attack -had spent itself; until the passing moments -told him that the struggle would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span> -not be so uneven as it had seemed. Exultation -swelled in him when at last he could -stand steady and give back blow for blow.</p> - -<p>Gradually his opponent’s mood changed. -From coolness to anger; from anger to -baffled fury. Howard watched the -changes as they mirrored themselves in -the other’s face. And when, with the -recklessness of utter rage, Forbes dropped -his guard and threw all his weight -into one smashing blow, Howard ducked -beneath it, swung his right with deadly -force against the bull neck and beat the -devil’s tattoo on the thick ribs before -him.</p> - -<p>Then the round ended.</p> - -<p>But Howard knew that there was still -plenty of fight in the big man. He had -shaken him, but had accomplished nothing -more. Indeed, the fury of the attack -in the second round was little less than -that of the first, and Howard again had -to give ground. Had Forbes been able -to regain his temper as he had regained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span> -his strength, there would still have been -little doubt as to the result.</p> - -<p>But this the captain could not do. So -often had he fought and won in the past, -so invariably had his bull strength served -him well, that he could not believe that he -had at last met one who could withstand -him. Wild with rage, he spent himself -against the impenetrable defense of the -naval officer until the second round ended -with the odds of the fight in favor of the -latter.</p> - -<p>So plain was this that Gallegher urged -treachery, only to be repelled; not yet -would Forbes admit the possibility of defeat. -“Naw! I’ll kill him myself,” he -muttered hoarsely, as, red-eyed, he stumbled -forward once more to the attack.</p> - -<p>Howard met him with changed tactics. -Jackson’s trained eye had read the signs, -and he had counselled the officer wisely. -“Rush him,” he had said. “Rush him. -He’s all in. Don’t give him time to get -his second wind. Rush him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>And Howard obeyed, drawing on some -fount of nervous energy for a fury of -attack almost as violent as Forbes’s had -been. The fighting rage was on him at -last, and bubbled over in words.</p> - -<p>“So you’ll persecute a helpless woman, -will you,” he jeered, as he handed a -jolt on the captain’s cheek. “How -do you like to face a man? Oh! never -mind that eye; you’ve got one left. Don’t -worry about your nose; it’ll straighten -out again. Here’s one for your solar -plexus. Why don’t you guard better? -And here’s the end of the show.”</p> - -<p>With every ounce of his weight behind -it, he drove his left against the point of -the captain’s chin, and that individual -went down like a pole-axed ox and lay -still.</p> - -<p>As he fell Gallegher sprang forward, -belaying-pin in hand, but shrank back -again as Jackson shoved his revolver into -his face.</p> - -<p>“Hold hard!” cried the policeman. -“Fair play, ain’t it, mates?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>For an instant the situation hung in -the wind as the sailors hesitated. Then -Joyce sang out:</p> - -<p>“Fair play!” he cried. “The cap’n -said he should have fair play. And hurrah -for Lootenant Howard, says I.”</p> - -<p>Sailors are like children; a straw will -turn them. With one accord they burst -into a cheer. “It was a good fight,” they -cried. “The lieutenant’s won the girl -fair.”</p> - -<p>While they had hesitated Howard had -acted. He was under no illusions as to -the permanency of their mood, and, even -as they cheered him, he turned to -Dorothy.</p> - -<p>“Quick!” he whispered. “Don’t lose -a moment. Come, Jackson! Get Miss -Fairfax out of this and back to the Queen. -I’ll cover your retreat.”</p> - -<p>But escape was not to be so easy. As -Howard turned to face the sailors, Forbes -struggled to his feet. His face was gray -with rage and his words came thick.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>“You’ve won,” he gritted. “You’ve -won. Take your prize.” Then his eyes -fell on Dorothy and Jackson, now close -to the edge of the deck. “Stop those -two!” he yelled. “By Heaven, no one -shall say Peter Forbes does not play fair. -She’s chosen you, you infernal convict, -and marry you she shall, here and now.”</p> - -<p>Howard faced him. “I refuse,” he declared. -“Miss Fairfax owes me nothing. -I give her back her promise.”</p> - -<p>“You do! Then she shall marry me. -Me or you! The captain or the jailbird. -We’ll have a wedding before we part.”</p> - -<p>The man’s face was a mass of cuts and -bruises, and his words came gaspingly; -but there was no doubt that he was in -earnest, and none that he had the men -behind him.</p> - -<p>Fickle as the wind, they veered back to -his side. “A wedding. Let’s have a wedding!” -they cried.</p> - -<p>Howard looked despairingly around, -then darted to the mainmast, caught up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> -a handspike, and swung Dorothy behind -him. The fight would be hopeless, but it -was for her!</p> - -<p>“Come on,” he challenged.</p> - -<p>Grimly the men drew near, but before -a blow could be struck, Dorothy’s voice -rang out.</p> - -<p>“Wait!” she cried. Then she turned -to Howard. “If you will have me, I will -marry you,” she murmured, gently.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XIV</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Night</span> was falling fast as Howard and -Dorothy, with Jackson close behind, made -their way slowly back to the Queen over -the tangled wreckage, following the trail -blazed by Howard two days before. The -Joyces had promised to join them later.</p> - -<p>Except for necessary help and caution -about the road, the three walked and -climbed for the most part in silence, each -immersed in thought. Only once did Dorothy -speak.</p> - -<p>“Captain Forbes said that his men had -taken possession of the Queen and were -removing her stores,” she warned. “Do -you think he was telling the truth?”</p> - -<p>Howard shook his head. “Probably -not,” he answered. “But we shall see.”</p> - -<p>The Queen came in view at last, and -each of the three thrilled at sight of her -familiar form. Wrecked, ruined, half-sunken,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -nevertheless she stood to all three -as a home and place of refuge, however -insecure. Glad as they had been to leave -her, they were far gladder to return and -find her untouched. For Forbes had been -lying.</p> - -<p>With the touch of the deck beneath -their feet, a feeling of embarrassment -descended on the three. On the way over -they had been silent because they were -thinking; now they were silent because of -the strange new relation in which they -stood to each other. Even Jackson was conscious -of it, and stammered and hesitated -when he tried to speak; while Dorothy’s -flushed cheeks and quivering lips showed -that the nerves which had so well sustained -her while necessity lasted, were on -the verge of giving way.</p> - -<p>Fortunately supper had to be prepared -and served and eaten, and these familiar -tasks relieved the tension somewhat. -Even then no one dared to speak of what -had occurred, though no one thought of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span> -anything else. The thing lay too close to -their hearts to be lightly or easily -broached. At last Jackson, with glances -at his two companions, threw down his -knife and fork and slouched out of the -saloon without a word.</p> - -<p>Left alone, the girl and the man looked -at each other, she with trembling lips and -lovely, frightened eyes, and he with an -infinite compassion in his face.</p> - -<p>“You want to say something to me?” -he questioned, gently. “Say it. Don’t -be afraid. You will find that I can understand.”</p> - -<p>Tears welled in Dorothy’s eyes. “To-day,” -she murmured, brokenly, “I made -a bargain. I saw myself trapped, driven -into marriage with a man whom I loathed—oh, -God only knows how I had come to -loathe him! Anything was better than he—anything! -So I made my offer. I -would be a loyal wife to any man who -would save me from Captain Forbes. You -answered.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>“I answered.”</p> - -<p>“You are a much smaller man than -Captain Forbes. No one would have -thought you a match for him, least of all -himself. He meant to kill you. There -was murder in his eye. You must have -seen it. Yet you faced him. Why did -you do it?”</p> - -<p>Howard shrugged his shoulders. “You -make too much of the affair,” he said, -lightly. “The man was strong, but he -was past his first youth and moved slowly. -After the first two minutes I had no -fear of the result. But you ask me why -I came forward. What else could any -gentleman do—and, in spite of my trial -and conviction, I trust I am still a gentleman. -I came forward because I had to.”</p> - -<p>“Then you did not fight for the poor -prize I offered?”</p> - -<p>Howard smiled. “Assuredly not,” he -answered. “Why, you yourself saw that -I was ready to fight again a moment later -to avoid taking it!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>“But you took it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—I took it.”</p> - -<p>“And now I ask you to give it up -again. I—I—Mr. Howard, I have heard -of you for two years. You have been -painted very black in my eyes. I have -known you two weeks, and they have reversed -the picture. I should not have -looked for generosity in the man I once -thought you to be, but I beg it from the -man I have found you to be. I am your -wife. I have promised before God to be -loyal, loving, and obedient to you. I -made that promise with my eyes open, -and if you ask it I shall try to keep it. I -am not of those who take their marriage -vows lightly. I am your wife and I am -wholly at your mercy. But—but—you do -not love me nor I you. We are mere -acquaintances. Do not—oh, it is hard for -me to say this. Have pity on me. Hold -me, not as your wife, as I must hold myself, -but as only a poor girl in distress, -and—see, I kneel to you——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>Howard caught her hands and drew her -to her feet again. “Poor little girl,” he -murmured gently. “So that is what is -troubling you! Do not fear. You are -my wife—yes. But it is a tie that can -easily be sundered when once we get back -to dry land. A marriage like this is no -marriage without the after-consent of the -parties. Any court in the land would dissolve -it—or, more likely, declare it null -and void from the beginning. Do not -fear. You are quite safe with me.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s breath came fast, but she did -not speak. She tottered and put her hand -out for support. Howard guided her to -a chair.</p> - -<p>“Sit quietly for a moment,” he ordered -gently. “I must see Jackson about something, -but I will soon be back and help you -to your state-room. You must be worn -out.”</p> - -<p>With the last word he turned and went -up the companionway, more to give the -girl time to recover herself than because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -of any desire to see Jackson. As he -reached the top of the stairs his foot -struck something, and he stooped and -picked up a pistol wrapped round with -a half-sheet of paper.</p> - -<p>Wonderingly he took it to the lamp. -He read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I know where Forbes keeps his rifles. Mrs. Joyce -is going to get some of them for us. I’m going back -to help. I leave my pistol in case I don’t get back. -Anyhow, I guess you’d rather be alone to-night.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Jackson.</span></p> - -<p>P.S.—That was a great match.—J.</p> -</div> - -<p>Howard laughed bitterly. Then he -turned and descended the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Jackson has gone on an errand to -Mrs. Joyce,” he said. “He left his pistol -for you. After what has happened, he -thinks, and I think, that you had better -be armed. If any man—if <i>any</i> man molests -you do not hesitate to use it. I believe -you told me once that you were -rather a good shot.”</p> - -<p>It had been no part of Howard’s intention -to spend the night upon the Queen.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -He had no faith in Forbes’s protestations -of fair play, and felt certain that he -would hear from that individual very -shortly and in unpleasant fashion. Although -he scarcely expected any attack -that night, doubting Forbes’s ability to -bring his men to the fighting point so -speedily, he intended to take no chances, -and to seek sleeping quarters on some -near-by vessel. But Dorothy’s fear of -himself and her very evident nearness -to collapse, taken with Jackson’s unexpected -departure, had knocked his plans -completely on the head.</p> - -<p>After Dorothy had retired, he sat up -for some time considering the situation. -He was terribly sore and wearied from -the heart-breaking struggle of the afternoon, -which had been nothing like so easy -as he had portrayed it to Dorothy. Coming -on top of the anxiety of his confinement, -in ignorance of what was happening -to the girl he had promised to restore -to her home, it had nearly worn him out.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -The question that presented itself to him -was whether he should trust to his belief -in Forbes’s inability to resume the struggle -so quickly, and take his much-needed -rest so as to be ready for the probable -stress of the morrow, or whether he -should remain on watch all night and -thereby be less efficient the next day, supposing -the contest were put off till then.</p> - -<p>Doubts and difficulties lay in each alternative, -but he finally decided to sleep -while he could, trusting to his life-long -ability to awake fully and instantly at -the slightest unaccustomed sound. He did -not believe that Forbes and his men could -steal upon him without waking him; and, -in any event, he could not hope, alone -and unarmed, to keep them off the ship.</p> - -<p>So, after stringing several ropes across -the gangway in the deepest shadows of -the Queen’s deck, he slipped into his -state-room, just across the corridor from -Dorothy’s, and lay down, fully dressed, -with an axe—his sole weapon, since he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> -had given Dorothy Jackson’s pistol—close -beside him. In an instant he was -fast asleep.</p> - -<p>He was aroused several hours later by -a sound whose cause he had no difficulty -in interpreting. Somebody had tripped -over one of the ropes he had stretched, -and had fallen. Instantly he was on his -feet, axe in hand, and was cautiously -opening his door. Stillness now reigned, -but Howard had no doubt that murder -was stalking close at hand.</p> - -<p>With infinite precaution he stole from -the room, noted that Dorothy’s door was -still fast, and slipped like a shadow along -the corridor. It took him half an hour -to gain the other deck, scarcely fifty feet -from where he had slept. But when he -had done so, he was certain that no foes -lurked in his rear.</p> - -<p>The moon loomed huge in the cloudless -sky as he peered from the door of the -social hall. Before him the deck stretched -away, silvery-white except where criss-crossed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -by the black shadows cast by the -stanchions that supported the half-furled -awnings, and by the narrow border of -shadow cast by the awnings themselves.</p> - -<p>Slowly he crept out into the black border -and made his way forward, eager to -front the danger, whatever it might be.</p> - -<p>But all was still save for a very faint, -rustling sound impossible to locate—a -sound like dry leaves whisking through a -November night; a sound that made Howard’s -hair stir upon his head. At two -o’clock in the morning courage is rare, -and never perfect.</p> - -<p>Still Howard crept on until he reached -a spot where a broken boat-davit was -twisted across a stanchion. By this he -paused and stood listening.</p> - -<p>Then, without warning, the attack came. -From the cross-beam overhead something -fell upon him with cruel force—something -heavy, crushing, deadly; some live -thing that wrapped him round and round.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_186.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">THE END COULD NOT BE LONG DEFERRED; YET THE MAN<br /> -FOUGHT ON.</p> - -<p>With a half-strangled shriek of terror<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -he caught himself back against the crossed -davit and the stanchion, just in time to -involve them in the coiling horror. His -right arm, instinctly thrown aloft, -grasped vainly at the throat of a huge -serpent whose darting head cut fantastic -silhouettes against the Milky Way, while -its body tightened swiftly about his -middle.</p> - -<p>Had it not been for the iron rods that -shielded him, Howard’s first cry would -have been his last. To the great snake -the resistance of a man’s body was as -nothing. One unhampered constriction -of its mighty coils would have crushed an -ox. But the davit and the stanchion -stood firm; not for nothing had they been -planned to withstand the assaults of the -sea. They held firm, while Howard, with -starting eyeballs and slowly crushing -chest, strove to beat back the forked death -that flicked about his face.</p> - -<p>The end could not be long deferred; -yet the man fought on, as living things<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -will fight for life—life so common, life so -cheap, yet so desperately clung to. He -fought and shrieked until the ever-tightening -constriction stopped the inflation of -his lungs; till the roaring in his ears -swelled to thunder; till the driven blood -burst from his ears and nostrils.</p> - -<p>Then came a flash and a louder roar; -the gleaming eyes that confronted him -grew suddenly dull; the great coils relaxed -and fell away; dimly he saw Dorothy’s -face; her gown white in the moonlight; -the smoking pistol in her hand.</p> - -<p>Then girl and snake and moon and sky -blended in one common blur of blackness. -For the first time in his life Frank Howard -fainted.</p> - -<p>When he came to, he was lying on the -deck, with his head in Dorothy’s lap. On -his face her tears dropped slowly, one by -one. As, dazed, he lay still for an instant, -he heard her pray:</p> - -<p>“Oh, God! God!” she sobbed, “give -him back to me! Give my darling back -to me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>A mad throb of exultation crossed -through Howard’s veins to be followed -by a quicker revulsion. “Not yet, oh, -God!” he implored in his turn silently. -“Not until——”</p> - -<p>He opened his eyes and looked up into -hers.</p> - -<p>The moonlight was white and bright as -day, and for one moment each looked deep -into the other’s heart.</p> - -<p>“Thank God! Oh, thank God!” sobbed -the girl. “You’re alive! Alive! Alive!”</p> - -<p>Howard tried to smile. “Thanks to -you,” he answered. “It was the bravest -act I have ever known. I don’t see how——”</p> - -<p>But Dorothy threw up her hand. -“Please! Please, don’t speak of it!” she -implored. “I can’t bear it. I can’t bear -it.”</p> - -<p>Howard struggled to his feet. He -longed to take her in his arms and comfort -her, but honor held him back. Perhaps -she loved him—yes, but she was -overwrought. He could not take advantage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -of her emotion—nor of her position. -Later, when she was restored to her -friends—the light died from his eyes as -he remembered his own doom.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” he said softly. “It is -all that I can say. Thank you.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s bosom heaved. “No,” she -said, “it is not all. You said more while -you were unconscious. You were about -to say more an instant ago. Then you -stopped. Why?”</p> - -<p>“I—I——”</p> - -<p>“I could read your heart in your eyes. -Say what you had in it. Say it! Say it!”</p> - -<p>“I am not worthy. I am——”</p> - -<p>“Hush! Not that! You are not guilty. -You could not be guilty. You! so brave, -so tender, so sacrificing! You! to murder -a woman. It is not true. Since the day -I first met you I have never believed it. -Since you told me the story, I have -wanted no other testimony. Now, will -you say what was in your heart a moment -ago?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>“I cannot. I——”</p> - -<p>“Listen. To-night I said that we were -mere acquaintances. I said I did not love -you. I lied! I do love you. With all my -heart and soul I love you.”</p> - -<p>“Dorothy!”</p> - -<p>“Frank! Husband!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XV</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Despite</span> the nerve and body-racking experiences -of the day before, Howard -was up and on deck the next morning at -the first peep of day, straining his eyes -for sight of Jackson and the Joyces.</p> - -<p>The need for instant action was strong -upon him. He did not doubt that Forbes -had sent the snake upon him, just as -(judging from Mother Joyce’s tale to -Dorothy) he had before sent it against -one of Prudence Gallegher’s ill-fated husbands, -and he only wondered that the -doughty captain had not followed up the -attack.</p> - -<p>“I suppose the fellow didn’t know how -devilish near he came to succeeding,” he -muttered to himself grimly. “But he’ll -bring his men next time, and we must -fight or get out of his reach in a hurry. -If Jackson and the others were only -here!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>But neither Jackson nor the Joyces -were there. Strain his eyes as he might, -Howard could see no moving figures anywhere -on the wreck-pack, and, with an -anxious sigh, he turned away to inspect -the scene of the last night’s encounter.</p> - -<p>Half submerged in the weed at the foot -of the sloping deck he made out the great -body of the snake, terrible even in death, -and shuddered as he thought of what -would inevitably have been his fate had -Dorothy been less courageous or the iron -stanchions been less honestly wrought; -these last, bent almost double, gave mute -but effective evidence of the mighty power -of the reptile.</p> - -<p>Wishing to save Dorothy, as far as he -could, from all reminders of the contest, -Howard lowered himself to the water’s -edge and poked the snake down beneath -the weed; then he climbed back to the taffrail -and again searched the horizon for -sight of Jackson.</p> - -<p>This time his quest was successful. Approaching<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -over the wreckage, quite near -at hand, were four figures. As they drew -nearer he recognized Jackson, the minister -who had married him the day before, -Mother Joyce, and his jailer of the day -before. Each of the men carried several -rifles over his shoulder, and was girt -about with belts of cartridges. Mother -Joyce bore a less and indeterminable -weight.</p> - -<p>At Howard’s call, Dorothy came on -deck to greet the newcomers. Rosy and -smiling, with head erect and sparkling -eyes, she looked little like the woebegone -maiden who had answered Forbes’s call -the day before.</p> - -<p>Mother Joyce’s sharp eyes quickly -spied the difference. “Holy mither! -What’s this?” she cried. “And was it -you, miss, that didn’t want to marry at -all, at all? And was it you that was so -sure that you and Mr. Howard could niver -be anything to each other? Faith, look -at the bright eyes and the blushing cheeks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span> -of her! Sure, Tim, man, it carries me -back forty years, so it does!” With a -fond look she turned to the man beside -her.</p> - -<p>“Thrue for you, Kathleen, darlint,” he -replied. “The top of the mornin’ to you, -ma’am, and may you live a million years -and have a hundred——”</p> - -<p>“Arrah! Be still with your foolishness, -Tim. Sure, you make the young lady -blush.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Jackson was explaining -matters to Howard. He had, he said, -circled round to the other side of the -village and lurked there for several -hours, waiting his chance. Then he had -slipped up on the deck and run directly -into Mother Joyce, who promptly whisked -him below. “Cap’n Forbes’s big snake -had got away, and he had gone after it,” -continued the policeman, “and——”</p> - -<p>Howard held up his hand. “It won’t -get away again,” he interjected. “It -came here.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>“Here?”</p> - -<p>Howard nodded. “Yes, it came here,” -he repeated. “Came here and attacked -me. It was a very intelligent snake—from -Forbes’s standpoint. It would -have killed me, beyond a doubt, but for -Miss Fair—but for my wife. She shot -it with your pistol, Jackson. But we -haven’t time to talk about it now,” he -concluded with some impatience. “Go on -with your story.”</p> - -<p>Jackson, however, had little more to -tell. In Forbes’s absence, it seems, he -and the others had had no difficulty in -getting at the rifles and ammunition. -Further, under Mother Joyce’s direction, -he had broken open the captain’s private -storeroom and procured a compass, sextant, -and a chronometer, which Mother -Joyce had declared would enable them to -navigate a boat as soon as they found -one. “An’,” concluded Jackson, “I -think we’d better be findin’ it soon, for -Gallegher has gotten out a Gatling gun,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span> -and is making every preparation to do -us up for fair.”</p> - -<p>“I expected something of the sort,” -said Howard, nodding. “We shall be -ready to leave the Queen the moment we -have had breakfast. So, now, if you’ll -come below——”</p> - -<p>At the breakfast-table Howard unfolded -his plan.</p> - -<p>“None of us want to fight if we can -help it,” he declared. “We haven’t anything -to gain by it, and everything to lose. -And we don’t want to stay near here. -From all I can learn, Forbes has destroyed -all the boats within fifty miles or -so, and we must go at least that far away -to have any chance of finding one. Now, -what I propose is this: We will leave -now in a few minutes, but instead of going -north along the coast, which is what -Forbes will expect us to do, we will go -east straight into the pack, make a detour -around the village, and come back to the -coast to the south. By this means I think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> -we will outwit him, and can make our -preparations in peace. Without a compass, -I might have hesitated to go into -the depths of the pack, but since Mother -Joyce has brought us one, we can afford -to risk it. As there will probably be nothing -to eat there, we must take food and -water enough to carry us through. I have -already made up three bundles of these, -and it will take only a few moments to -prepare three more. Then we can be -off.”</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the party left the -Queen forever. Dorothy’s eyes were -streaming wet as she looked at the vessel -for the last time.</p> - -<p>“Frank! Frank!” she murmured. -“We’ve been happy on her, after all. -Shall we be equally happy elsewhere? I—I -would be glad to stay here with you -if— Oh! I know it’s impossible, of course. -We must go back to the world and clear -your name. Yes, we will! We must! God -is good. I have confidence in His justice.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span> -He would not have let me love you so -much if He didn’t mean to clear you.”</p> - -<p>Hand in hand the two followed the -others, already well ahead, plunging -straight into the wreck-pack. Howard -drew a long breath when they were well -away without having seen any sign of -Forbes or his companions. Unfortunately, -though he saw no one, he did not go -unseen. As the little party vanished -among the tangle of masts and sails, a -man rose from behind a deckhouse, where -he had been lurking, and peered after it -till certain of its course, then he set off -for the village as fast as he could go.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XVI</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is one thing to lay a course even in -the open sea, and it is quite another to -follow it. Wind, waves, and currents often -drive a vessel from the way she wishes -to go; and all of these had acted on the -wreck-path, seemingly conspiring to -make difficult the line of progress that -Howard had mapped out. Again and -again he had to make long detours to pass -some insurmountable wreck that lay -across his path, and finally he had to turn -aside from it altogether to skirt a narrow -but impassable channel of weed-grown -water that corkscrewed unexpectedly -across his path.</p> - -<p>“It’s that hurricane we had a month -agone,” explained Joyce. “It isn’t often -they come here, but when they do, faith -it’s the foine mix-up they make! I moind -one of thim ten years agone! It split<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> -the pack for miles back, and filled the -hole up again with wrecks that would -have made the fortune of a dime-museum -man, so they would. The most of them -were fair rotten with age, and sank as -soon as they began to rub up against the -strong new ships. The last storm wasn’t -so bad, and, belike, it only split the pack -here and there.”</p> - -<p>Howard nodded. The explanation -seemed very probable, as in no other way -could he account for the open channel in -the midst of the vessel-wrecks. Mere mutual -attraction ought to have closed it -up years before. It made him anxious, -for the channel had already led him a -mile deeper into the pack than he had -intended to go, and still showed no signs -of ending.</p> - -<p>It might go on even to the heart of the -wreckage, where lay the ancient ships on -which all food had rotted away centuries -before. If a former storm had opened up -a channel that far, so might a later one.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>That the cases were parallel was soon -exhibited with startling proof. For some -moments Howard had been noticing a -great grey hull, banded with tarnished -gold, that loomed across the pack two or -three ships ahead. As he drew nearer, -he saw, with wonder, its strange architecture. -Huge, round-bellied, with castle-like -structures reared at stem and stern, -it rose about the other wrecks, tier above -tier, with lines of frowning ports from -which protruded the mouths of old fashioned -cannon. No such ship had sailed -the ocean for years—not since the days -when Spain was in her glory and her rich -fleets bore the riches of America to fill -her already overflowing coffers. It must -have lain screened in the heart of the -ship-continent for at least two centuries, -to be at last spewed forth in time to meet -the curious gaze of an alien race.</p> - -<p>From the topgallant poop of a modern -sailing-ship, Howard studied it curiously, -while behind him the rest of the party -looked on with amazement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span>“Sure, and that’s the very spirit and -image of them I was spakin’ about,” remarked -Joyce, triumphantly. “An’ what -sort of a ship do you suppose she is, -sor?”</p> - -<p>“She’s a Spanish galleon, beyond -doubt,” rejoined Howard. “She’s the -very type of those old treasure-ships. -And there are more of the same kind behind -her. Look!”</p> - -<p>Along the open channel, far away to -the sunset, stretched a file of ancient vessels, -now in single file, now in double. -Not all were galleons, but all plainly belonged -to dead and gone ages. While the -others of their kind had long ago perished -from human sight, here, in this lost corner -of the world, these had lingered on, slowly -decaying, like the once mighty nation -that sent them forth. Howard stared at -them in wondering amaze.</p> - -<p>But Joyce recalled him to himself. -“Did you say treasure, sor?” he insinuated.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>Howard laughed. “Oh, yes,” he answered, -indifferently. “She’s a treasure-ship, -all right, though that isn’t to say -that she has treasure aboard. Still, it’s -not unlikely. There may be a million -apiece for all of us on her—if we could -only carry it away. Hold on! Where -are you going?”</p> - -<p>Joyce was already climbing through -one of the open ports of the galleon, but -at Howard’s call he paused. “Sure, an’ -I’m going to look after that million,” he -returned, defiantly.</p> - -<p>Howard hesitated. Then he noticed a -restless movement of the missionary and -eager glances by the two women and -laughed. “Go ahead and look for it,” he -said. “But be careful. Remember the -ship must be rotten through and through; -I doubt whether her decks will bear your -weight.”</p> - -<p>Joyce disappeared, but a moment later -stuck his head out of the port again. -“She’s better nor she looks, sor,” he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span> -averred. “The planks are rotten, but I -think they’ll hold. Perhaps your good -lady would like to come aboard.”</p> - -<p>Howard glanced at Dorothy.</p> - -<p>“His good lady certainly would,” she -smiled back. A moment later all stood -on one of the galleon’s many decks.</p> - -<p>Joyce was right. The deck, though -rotted, seemed to be reasonably sound, -and the stairway leading upward did not -give way when Jackson mounted it. As -he was the heaviest in the party, the rest -felt safe in following him.</p> - -<p>Once on the upper deck, the cause of -the ship’s plight was evident. All about -her, tumbled in inextricable confusion, -lay the bones of men mingled with the -rust-eaten remains of guns and pikes and -sabres. In some places, doubtless where -the nameless fight had raged most fiercely, -the skeletons were heaped high upon -each other. Flesh and clothing alike had -long since disappeared, but parts of belts -and buckles and fragments of the tinsel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> -of war remained to tell of the bitterness -of the fight.</p> - -<p>“Probably the work of buccaneers,” -explained Howard. “They did not hesitate -to attack ten times their number, and -often won by the very fury of their assault. -Evidently they did this time. -Joyce, I’m afraid your million went to -make a pirate holiday centuries ago.”</p> - -<p>“Bad cess to thim, whoiver they were. -But where would it be, sor, if it was on -board?”</p> - -<p>“I really don’t know. And yet—the -hold under the captain’s cabin, aft there, -would be a likely place. Suppose you -look there.”</p> - -<p>Joyce and Jackson hurried away, and -soon the sound of dull hammering and -the tear of rending wood came to the ears -of the others, followed a moment later -by a series of triumphant yells. Then -Joyce appeared, fairly mad with excitement.</p> - -<p>“Hurroush! Hurroush!” he screamed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -“We’ve found it! We’ve found it! Tons -and tons of solid gold! Kathleen, <i>mavourneen</i>, -we’re rich—we’re rich! We’ll -go back to Galway and buy the little place -beyant the hill, and——”</p> - -<p>“Whist! Whist! Tim, man! An’ will -you first be tellin’ me how you’re going -to get yerself away, let alone your tons -of gold?”</p> - -<p>So absorbed was the party in the discovery -of the gold that they forgot everything -else—the danger from Forbes, the -utter uselessness of the treasure, the -necessity of crossing the channel and -making their way to the southern coast. -Even Dorothy, used to wealth as she was, -caught the infection, and babbled away as -excitedly as a child.</p> - -<p>Howard was the first to recover his -poise and to plan for the future. It was, -he knew, utterly hopeless to try to tear -Joyce and Jackson, or even the missionary -away from the galleon until their excitement -had spent itself. Indeed, he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> -himself felt positively ill at thought of -abandoning the gold, unavoidable as such -action undoubtedly was. By rough calculation, -he estimated that there were -twelve tons of the treasure, worth about -six million dollars, under their very feet, -free for them to carry away, and yet as -utterly unavailable as so much sand. Indeed, -in so far as unwillingness to leave -it should delay movements of the party, -it was a positive detriment.</p> - -<p>He turned and looked at the others. -Joyce, Jackson, the missionary, and even -Mother Joyce, were working as they had -never worked before, taking from the -hold the golden bars, each a load for a -strong man, and staggering on deck -with them in their arms. In vain, Howard -tried to check them; they only -glared at him, cursed, and hurried back -for another load. Joyce and his wife, -too old for such labor, soon had to give -way, crying like children as they did so; -but the others toiled on, hot, black with -the grime of ages, half ill from the smells<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> -of the shut, musty hold. Their muscles -cracked; their backs ached; the sweat -streamed down their faces, but still they -kept on.</p> - -<p>Sick at heart, Howard turned from the -scene and wandered to the side of the -galleon, where he stood, looking east, -hoping the end of the zigzag channel -might be somewhere in sight. In vain! -As far as his eyes could serve, it stretched -away.</p> - -<p>Disappointed, his glance dropped to -the open water of the channel close at -hand, and he stood transfixed. Close beside -the galleon, moored strongly fore -and aft, lay a slender, queer-shaped boat -about sixty feet long. It needed not the -trained knowledge of the naval officer to -tell that it was a submarine.</p> - -<p>Intensely modern in its lines, it was as -much out of place in that ancient company -as would be a rifle in the hands of -Cæsar’s legionaries. Howard’s mouth -fairly dropped open as he gazed at it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span>But in a moment understanding came. -This was the means of escape that Forbes -had spoken of: safe, quick, and easy for -one with the necessary technical knowledge; -the gold on the galleon was part -of the fortune that he wanted to get home -in safety. No wonder he had been eager -to enlist Howard’s aid; and he could have -had it—had it all, if he had not presumed -on his power to grasp the girl, too! Now -he would lose all.</p> - -<p>Dorothy had tired of the gold and was -standing on the deck, looking wonderingly -around. Howard called her, and together -they descended to the lower deck -of the galleon, and, slipping out through -a port opposite to that by which they had -entered, stepped easily out upon the deck -of the submarine, which floated high in -the water. With trembling fingers, Howard -pushed back the bolts that held the -manhole cover in place, lifted it off, and -peered into the darkness of the interior. -“I’ll be back in a moment,” he promised,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -glancing up at Dorothy as he swung himself -downward.</p> - -<p>Soon he was back again with radiant -features. “She’s in perfect condition, so -far as I can tell without starting the engines,” -he announced, “and I guess they -are all right. She’s almost the latest type -in submarines—gas-engine for running at -the surface, and an electric motor for -use below. Her oil-tanks are full, and -she has an extra supply in glass jars and -plenty of other necessary stores. Unless -there’s something wrong about her that -I can’t see, she’ll get us all to land without -the least difficulty.”</p> - -<p>“Where did she come from?”</p> - -<p>“Straight from heaven, I guess. At -least, I can’t imagine how else she got -into the sea. No, stop! I believe— Yes, -by George, that’s it. Maybe you remember -that a Spanish cruiser was lost at sea -two or three years ago—disappeared in -a big storm and was never heard of -again? If I remember rightly, she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -a submarine on board. This may be it. -Yes! See! Here’s its name—Tiburon; -that’s Spanish for Seashark. That -cruiser must have drifted in here with -it on board.”</p> - -<p>“But where is she? How did this boat -get here—to this very place?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but I can guess. Forbes -must have brought it here. He threw out -hints about such a boat the first time I -talked with him. Yes, he must have -brought it here. How he managed it I -don’t know, and I don’t much care. The -boat is ours now by that same law of salvage -by which he claimed the Queen and -her contents. What’s sauce for the goose -will do for the gander. But think how -marvellous it is that we should have come -here, straight as a homingbird—to here! -the exact place where he had left his gold -and his boat. And, yet, after all, it is -not quite so marvellous as it seems, since -he could hardly have kept her anywhere -except up this channel, and we have been -following the line of it for miles.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span>“Can we get away on her?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly! All of us, and more, too, -if necessary.”</p> - -<p>“But how will we get through the -weed?”</p> - -<p>“We won’t go through it. We’ll go -under it. The weed isn’t thick, you know—only -a few feet at most; it grows on -top of the water, which is two miles deep -here, and we’ll simply dive under it.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy shuddered. “Go under the -water, you mean?” she questioned. “Oh! -Frank, is it safe?”</p> - -<p>“Safe? Surely! I have been down -many a time in boats much like this. Of -course—I won’t deceive you—accidents -are always possible, but there is really -little risk, if the machinery works well. -And we can’t tell about that till we try. -Don’t be afraid, dear. God has been too -good to us to let it all come to naught -now.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid, Frank. I’m not afraid -anywhere with you, my king of men.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span>Howard had something to say to this, -but it is scarcely worth setting down; -lovers’ confidences seldom are. By and -by he started up. “I’m afraid we’re as -mad one way as those people on the galleon -are in another,” he smiled. “I’m -wasting valuable time that should be used -in getting you out of this before Forbes -finds us. He’s sure to be looking up this -place very soon.”</p> - -<p>A thought struck Dorothy. “Oh, those -poor people!” she exclaimed. “Can’t you -take some of their gold for them, Frank? -A little money will mean so much to the -Joyces. They are too old to go to work -again, and——”</p> - -<p>“It would come in rather handy with -me, too. But I don’t see— By George! -Yes, I think I do! Let’s look.” He dived -down again into the body of the submarine -and soon reappeared, his face -radiant.</p> - -<p>“There is about five tons of detachable -lead ballast in the bottom,” he cried,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -joyously. “We can take it out, and put -gold in its place—two million dollars’ -worth. If you will wait here. I’ll go and -tell the others. Maybe they are tired enough -to listen to reason now.”</p> - -<p>They were! Howard found them all -sitting glumly on the deck of the galleon, -glaring despairingly at the great pile of -gold bars they had extracted from the -hold. One by one they had dropped their -loads and sank down where they stood, -when, with increasing weariness, the situation -had at last dawned upon them. -When Howard approached, they did not -heed him further than to cast savage -glances in his direction. Then they returned -to contemplation of the gold.</p> - -<p>Howard understood the situation without -words. “You oughtn’t to have -worked so hard,” he observed, in a matter-of-fact -tone. “You, especially, Joyce. -And you, Mrs. Joyce. You’ll feel this -to-morrow. But now that you have gotten -all the gold up here, I’m glad to tell<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span> -you that I’ve got a boat outside that will -carry us, and just about this much gold -besides—say a third of a million for each -of us. The rest, I’m afraid, we’ll have -to abandon.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_216.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">IT TOOK ONLY ABOUT TWO HOURS TO DUMP THE LEAD OUT OF<br /> -THE SUBMARINE AND REPLACE IT WITH THE GOLD.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XVII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Five</span> tons of gold, worth about three -million dollars, is not near so hard to -move as five tons of coal, for instance, -especially when it is put in seventy-five -pound bars and there is plenty of tackle -handy. It took Jackson, Joyce, and Willoughby -only about two hours to dump -the lead out of the submarine and replace -it with the gold—surely the richest ballast -the world ever saw.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Howard, after stationing -Dorothy and Mother Joyce in elevated -positions where they could watch for the -possible approach of Forbes and his men, -had set to work to get the submarine into -order, oiling the machinery, testing the -engines and all the various pumps and -motors, and finally starting the gas-engine, -which discharged the double duty -of driving the boat while on the surface,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -and of charging the electric accumulators -for use below. All this took time, -and was not finished until after the last -bar of gold had been stored away in -place.</p> - -<p>Then Howard called the others around -him. “Before we start,” he said, “I -have something to tell you. Until now -I have kept it to myself, because I did -not want to rouse any false hopes. Joyce, -did you ever hear of wireless telegraphy?”</p> - -<p>Joyce scratched his head. “And what’s -that, sor?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Telegraphy without the aid of wires. -I didn’t suppose any of you here had ever -heard of it, else Captain Forbes would -certainly not have shut me in the operating-room -of a steamer that had a full -outfit in perfect working order. During -the time I was confined there I was in -constant communication with the naval -station at Guantanamo. I told them of -our plight, and I will venture to say that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -the papers of the country are ringing -with the story of the Sargasso Sea colony -and with our personal adventures. Toward -the end—just before Joyce set me -free—I got into communication with your -father, Dorothy. He was wild with delight -to know that you were alive and -was about to start to rescue you. In -fact, half a dozen vessels are probably -now making an effort to break a way -through the weed to aid us. If we can -get back to the coast and wait, we are -tolerably sure to be taken off sooner or -later. Now, the question is whether we -shall wait or not?”</p> - -<p>Joyce and his wife had listened in -dazed silence. “Do you mane, sor,” demanded -the former, “that you can talk -through the air with those quare instruments -in that little room?”</p> - -<p>“That’s it exactly, Joyce. I can, and -I did. But let me get back to the point. -I could give our friends only a very -doubtful approximation of our latitude<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -and longitude, so that it may take them a -long time to find us, if they ever do. Not -hearing further from us, they may conclude -that the whole thing is a fake and -give up the search. They will certainly -have a long and tedious battle with the -weed. Altogether, if they get anywhere -near the right spot in less than a month -it will be most surprising. Certainly -they will not in less than two weeks. Now, -what can we do during the interval? If -we decide to wait for them, we must run -down the coast and establish a camp -somewhere—as far from the village as -we can get. Perhaps I can find another -wireless outfit and get into communication -with Guantanamo again. Certainly, -we can find food and shelter, and all we -will have to do will be to wait—supposing -that Forbes doesn’t find us, which he -will move heaven and earth to do when -he finds we have his gold and his boat.</p> - -<p>“That is one alternative open to us. -The other, of course, is to dive under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -the weed and start for home at once. If -we meet one of the searching steamers, -all right; if we don’t, we can get to port -under our own power. There is a risk -about such an attempt, of course, but I -don’t think it’s a very great one. Now, -this is the situation: what shall we do?”</p> - -<p>Howard paused, and the others looked -at each other doubtfully. Finally, Mr. -Willoughby cleared his throat. “I confess,” -he observed hesitatingly, “that I -fear the depths of the sea. I should much -prefer to remain on top of it and go home -in a steamer. May we not run down -this—er—river on the surface and talk -it over as we go?”</p> - -<p>“Surely. That’s good sense. We’ll do -it. Joyce, suppose you run up on the -galleon and take a last look for Captain -Forbes. Meanwhile, everybody else get -aboard. Hurry, Joyce!”</p> - -<p>Joyce hurried. In five minutes he came -racing back as fast as his legs would -carry him. “The cap’n’s comin’,” he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> -cried. “Coming with his whole force. -He isn’t three ships away.”</p> - -<p>Howard smiled grimly. “Just too -late,” he exclaimed. “On board with -you, Joyce! Quick! Off we go!” With -the word, he cast loose the last mooring, -and the Seashark moved slowly away.</p> - -<p>As, with gathering headway she -rounded the galleon’s high-decked poop, -she came in view of a dozen or more -armed men, who were rapidly clambering -over the wrecks, and who burst into -excited babble as they spied the little vessel. -An instant later Forbes appeared.</p> - -<p>“Curse you!” he shrieked. “I’ll get -you yet.” He threw his rifle to his -shoulder and fired, his men following suit -with a scattering volley.</p> - -<p>But at the first sign of hostilities, -Howard, who was alone on deck, dropped -nimbly down inside the body of the Seashark, -and remained, steering by aid of -the camera lucida put there for the purpose, -until a curve in the channel sheltered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -the little vessel from the bullets -that had pattered harmlessly around her.</p> - -<p>For an hour the Seashark dropped -swiftly down the slowly widening channel -between ever-changing banks of massed -ships. In that hour she passed in review -the shipping of more than two centuries. -Squat-bellied, round-bowed Dutchmen, -high-pooped Spaniards, clippers that had -made the American flag famous, frigates -shot-torn and shattered in the American -Civil War, deep-water ships still bearing -the indelible imprint of the Chinese trade, -steamers old and new—one by one they -passed in a progression constantly growing -more and more modern. Howard, -alone in the conning-tower, glanced at -them with wonder; never before had they -so impressed him. Until then, nearness -had obscured the vastness of the ruin, -and only now had the full meaning of it -all been hammered into his mind.</p> - -<p>But he resolutely threw off the spell, -and concentrated his entire attention on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -the navigation of his little vessel. It was -very necessary. The channel, being newly -formed, was reasonably clear of weed, -but it was impossible to guess how soon -its character might change. The smallest -patch of vegetation might foul the screw -of the Seashark, or might conceal a -water-logged spar, floating just awash, -that would rip a plate from her bow and -send her to the bottom, ending at once -the lives of the castaways and their -dreams of fortune. In some ways it -would be safer beneath the water; yet -Howard knew that every turn of the gas-engines -was aiding to store up power in -the electric accumulators, on which alone -they must depend when the time came to -dive. He did not dare to go below an instant -sooner than he must.</p> - -<p>After an hour the channel opened more -rapidly, and the weed began to thicken, -showing that the edge of the wreck-pack -was near. Soon the accumulation grew -so thick that it was no longer safe to push<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span> -through it. Howard glanced at the indicators -that measured the power accumulated. -“Enough to run us three and -a half hours,” he murmured, “or perhaps -four. At eight knots, that means about -twenty-five miles of distance. Twenty-five -miles! Humph! I guess it’s safe.”</p> - -<p>He brought the boat to a stop, and -spoke to those in the semi-darkness below.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he queried, “have you decided? -Is it go ahead, or land and wait?”</p> - -<p>No one answered, and in the stillness -he heard up-channel the far-off chug-chug -of a boat rapidly driven. “Humph!” he -exclaimed, bending down again. “Forbes -seems to have been well supplied with -boats. He’s after us in a steam-launch. -That settles the question definitely. -We’ve got to dive. If any one wants to -take a last look at this marvellous place, -now is the time.”</p> - -<p>No one spoke.</p> - -<p>Howard laughed. “What!” he exclaimed. -“Nobody? Joyce, don’t you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -want to see the last of your old home?”</p> - -<p>Joyce shook his head. “Faith,” he -answered, “I’ve seen enough of it to do -me for the rest of my life.”</p> - -<p>“Jackson?”</p> - -<p>“New York’s good enough for me.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Willoughby?”</p> - -<p>The missionary looked up. “Man! -Man!” he cried. “How can you think -of such things when we are about to -plunge into uttermost peril of our lives? -Rather, let us pray.”</p> - -<p>“Pray by all means, Mr. Willoughby. -More things are wrought by prayer than -this world dreams of, you know. Dorothy, -don’t you want to look?”</p> - -<p>But Dorothy, too, shook her head. “No, -Frank,” she answered. “I never want -to see the horrible place again.”</p> - -<p>“Then down we go. Here comes -Forbes, by the way.”</p> - -<p>Around a curve, up-channel, appeared -a steam-launch, still far off, but rapidly -approaching. Howard stood up and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span> -waved his hand sarcastically; then, with -rapid motions, snapped on the manhole -cover, cut off the gas-engine, and threw -on the electric starting-lever. Then, as -the little vessel started forward, he turned -the diving-rudder downward.</p> - -<p>Instantly the Seashark slid gracefully -down beneath the ripples. From her -little turret sprang out a sword of white -light that pierced the water before her, -while within a score of tiny bulbs illumined -the darkness. Down she went; -down, down, till the gage at Howard’s -hand showed that a depth of fifty feet -had been attained; then slowly he shifted -the diving rudders until the boat held -steadily to her depth, the rudders just -balancing her tendency to rise to the surface. -“All set,” he called down cheerily, -but without moving his gaze from the -front. “Nothing to do now but go ahead. -Make yourselves comfortable. We won’t -come to the surface for three hours, and -perhaps longer.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span>No one answered. The experience, utterly -new to them all, was sufficiently -terrifying to destroy the desire for conversation. -Shut up in this tiny shell -which might any moment prove their -tomb, fifty feet below the surface of the -ocean, driving forward blindly into the -unknown, it would have taken one braver—or -more callous—than any there to -make merry. Howard, used as he was -to submarine work, might have cheered -them up, had he not been compelled to -give all his attention to driving the vessel.</p> - -<p>For the dangers, though not what the -rest vaguely conceived, were by no -means imaginary. Let the Seashark rise -a few feet above the level at which she -ran, and she might easily smash herself -against a more than ordinarily deeply -sunken wreck. Let her plunge too deeply, -and the increased pressure of the -water might force its way in at some -weak spot, and crush her like an egg-shell.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -Let her power give out too soon, -at a spot where she could not come to -the surface to run her gas-engine, and -so replenish her accumulators, and they -would all perish miserably. On Howard -rested all the responsibility, and he had -no time to give to anything else.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XVIII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span>, two, three hours slid by, and, at -last, Howard, his eyes fixed on the gage of -the accumulators, saw that the power was -getting low, and began to watch anxiously -for some gleam of light that, striking -down through the water, might show a -break in the mantle of weed overhead. In -vain! Everywhere blackness ruled. Several -times he slowed down and turned off -the headlight, hoping that, with its effulgence -removed, he might see the longed-for -gap. After each attempt he went -back to driving the Seashark along at -her maximum eight miles an hour.</p> - -<p>This could not last forever. Rapidly -his anxiety grew. The Seashark had -been beneath the water for four hours, -and his accumulators were nearly bare. -To try to break through the weed was -dangerous, but not more so than to remain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -below until all the power was gone. -At all risks they must reach the surface.</p> - -<p>For a scant ten minutes longer Howard -held on, now very close beneath the -mantle of weed, then stopped altogether, -and waited for the reserve buoyancy of -the Seashark to carry her upward.</p> - -<p>Slowly she rose again, and then into -the weed. Howard could see its slimy -fronds through the thick glass of the conning-tower. -Slowly and more slowly it -seemed to brush downward as the Seashark -worked herself upward. Slowly -and more slowly until all motion ceased, -leaving the vessel still far below the surface.</p> - -<p>With a shrug of his shoulders, Howard -pulled a lever, and in quick response -came the throb of the pumps beneath him -as with powerful strokes they drove out -the water-ballast and made the Seashark -lighter.</p> - -<p>Under this new impulse she rose once -more, little by little, until at last the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span> -pumps sucked dry and motion ceased -once more. Howard, peering upward, -saw the light faintly gleaming through -the interstices of the weed. The surface -could be scarcely a yard overhead.</p> - -<p>“Only a yard.” Howard muttered the -words bitterly. “Only a yard! Might as -well be a thousand!” Gently he started -the propeller; half a dozen revolutions he -knew would hopelessly foul it; but little -difference that would make if the Seashark -could work her way upward by its -aid. Now forward, now backward he -drove it, with his heart in his mouth.</p> - -<p>Not for long, for the drag on the shaft -soon warned him that to go on would -shatter the machinery and, even if they -reached the surface, leave them helpless -far within the bounds of the weedy sea. -With a sudden impulse he stopped the -engine, and waited to see whether time -might not do what machinery had failed -to accomplish.</p> - -<p>Half an hour passed, and the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span> -frond of weed that had lain across his -view at its beginning still held its place. -The Seashark was stationary.</p> - -<p>One desperate recourse remained, and -Howard prepared to take it. He swung -down into the cabin where sat the rest of -the party forlornly waiting. Long before -they had realized that something -was desperately wrong; but none of -them, except perhaps the missionary, -were of the weak-kneed type, and none -had moved to question Howard, even during -the age-long interval when he had sat -in silence.</p> - -<p>Howard looked at them one by one, his -eyes lingering fondly on Dorothy’s -flower-like face. “Friends all,” he said, -quietly, “our situation is most serious. -I knew when we dived that in about four -hours we must come to the surface to run -our gas-engine and recharge our electric -batteries. I hoped and believed that in -four hours we would come to a place -where there were breaks in the weed, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span> -where it was so thin that we could rise -through it. Neither has turned out to be -true. There are no breaks, and the weed -is so thick that it holds us down. I have -expelled all the water-ballast, and the -Seashark is now very buoyant; yet it -cannot rise to the surface. We are -scarcely a foot below it, but we can rise -no higher.</p> - -<p>“The explanation is evident. The Seashark -is nearly fifty feet long. Probably -she intercepted a score of cables of weed -as she rose. No doubt there is now a -whaleback of sargassum standing above -the water just over her. Its weight must -be very great—too great for even our increased -buoyancy to lift farther; while -the cables across us prevent the weed -from slipping off. The only way to get -to the surface—that is to say, the only -way to save all our lives, is to cut away -the cables that hold us down.”</p> - -<p>Howard ceased speaking, but no one -moved. With the failing power, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -electric lights had grown perceptibly dimmer, -and the <i>voyageurs</i> could barely see -each other’s faces. Soon, it was evident, -the lights would go out altogether.</p> - -<p>“Obviously,” Howard resumed, “we -cannot cut the cables from inside the -ship. They can only be reached from the -outside by some one who will leave the -boat.</p> - -<p>“Fortunately, this last is not difficult. -On the open sea it is even easy. The -Seashark is a torpedo boat, fitted to discharge -torpedoes under water. Time and -again the crew of an injured submarine -have escaped—all but one—by getting into -the torpedo tube and being fired out -by a moderate charge of compressed air. -Here in the weed it will be more difficult, -of course, but not especially dangerous. -So”—the speaker paused and looked -around him—“so if one of you will come -and touch me off, I’ll see what I can do -toward cutting those confounded cables.”</p> - -<p>As Howard’s voice died away, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> -electric lights went suddenly out, and a -gasp of sheer horror ran through the tiny -cabin. For a moment no one spoke; then -Dorothy groped her way through the -blackness to Howard’s side.</p> - -<p>“Not you! not you, my husband!” she -murmured. “Not you. Let me go.”</p> - -<p>Howard laughed gently as he caressed -the unseen face. “Not likely, dear,” he -answered.</p> - -<p>The strident voice of the missionary -broke through the gloom. “And if you -are drowned in the attempt, what will -the rest of us do?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“If I fail, another must try. But I -won’t fail.”</p> - -<p>“Even if that other succeed, what good -will it do us? No one but you can run -this boat, and we would only exchange -death down here for death on the surface. -No, Mr. Howard, you must not go. I -will go.”</p> - -<p>“You.”</p> - -<p>“Yes! I.” If the missionary smiled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> -bitterly, no one saw it in the darkness. -“Oh! I know you all think I am a coward, -and perhaps I am. Certainly, I -did not dare to oppose Captain Forbes, -nor to—— But never mind. I can swim -like a fish almost. It is my one manly -accomplishment. I can get through the -weed if any man can—and if I fail, you -will have lost nothing. Come! show me -what to do.”</p> - -<p>Howard groped his way to the missionary, -and wrung his hand. “I beg -your pardon. Mr. Willoughby,” he said, -simply, “I misunderstood you. I accept -your offer. Come.”</p> - -<p>“Wait a moment.” Dorothy’s soft -voice sounded. “I want to thank you, -Mr. Willoughby, and tell you that I never -thought hard of you about Captain -Forbes. He was a terrible man. Can—can -I do anything in—in case you don’t -come back?” Her voice trailed sobbingly -off.</p> - -<p>“Nothing. I haven’t a chick or a child<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span> -in the world, and—God bless you, my -dear.” With a last pressure of her hand -he turned away. “Come, Mr. Howard,” -he commanded.</p> - -<p>In Cimmerian gloom the two men felt -their way to the torpedo port. “Better -take off all your clothes,” counselled Howard. -“The least thing may serve to hold -you in the weed. Strap this knife tightly -to your arm so you will be sure not to -lose it. Carry this smaller one between -your teeth. Don’t lose your head; if you -get entangled, keep cool and cut yourself -free. When you get to the surface look -for the lump of weed above us; it will be -conspicuous enough. Cut first at one end -of the boat, and then at the other, so that -we can rise on an even keel. Now, if you -are ready, climb in head-first.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The ten minutes that elapsed after -Howard had “fired off” the missionary -were the longest that any of the party had -ever known. Beneath the water, beneath<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -the weed, in darkness so intense that it -positively weighed, each waited in silence -the results of the venture on which, in all -human probability, depended his or her -chance for life. For if Mr. Willoughby, -comparatively small, agile, and a good -swimmer, could not get through the interlacing -weed, the chances were that -none of the others could do so.</p> - -<p>Bearing Mr. Willoughby’s clothes, -Howard had groped his way back to the -conning-tower, and to Dorothy’s side, and -had found her on her knees. “Oh! -Frank! Frank!” she sobbed. “Let us -pray for him. Frank! Frank!” Howard -sank beside her, and no more fervent -petition than his was ever wafted to the -throne of grace.</p> - -<p>Slowly the minutes ticked themselves -away. Then, just as hope seemed gone, -the Seashark gave a sudden lurch, and a -gasp of relief arose. It required no expert -to tell her passengers that something -was happening above the water—a something -that could have but one cause.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span>Howard explained it: “Mr. Willoughby -has cut one of the cables that are holding -us down—there goes another—and -another.” A faint light showed through -the grass-filled peep-holes of the conning-tower; -promise of the glorious burst to -come. “We are rising. We are tearing -free.”</p> - -<p>Rapidly the light grew, until a tiny -beam from the westering sun shot -straight through a window, and danced -gaily about as the Seashark rocked to -and fro on the smooth surface. At sight -of it the women sobbed aloud. What the -men did in the darkness can only be -guessed.</p> - -<p>Rapidly Howard threw back the cover -of the manhole, and let the blessed air of -heaven in. Instantly Mr. Willoughby’s -head appeared. “Have you got my -clothes there?” he demanded in a stage -whisper.</p> - -<p>With a snicker of relief, Howard -passed up the clothes and, when the missionary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> -was properly arrayed, called all -the rest to come on deck.</p> - -<p>The Seashark was floating in the familiar -ocean of weed. No open water was -in sight; if any was near it was not visible -from a point so low in the water. -Wreckage floated here and there; not a -hundred yards away was the hulk of a -dismasted water-logged lumber schooner, -and a little farther off were the tangled -spars of a huge ship.</p> - -<p>Howard looked around him and shook -his head. “It’s farther to clear water -than I had thought,” he told Dorothy. -“Not that it matters. We’ll be out to-morrow -morning.” He turned to the -rest. “Joyce! if you and Jackson will -cut away the weed from around our propeller, -I’ll do the rest. Mr. Willoughby -will give you his knives. By the way, -don’t lay them down on the water, or -they’ll be a mile or so deep when we -want them again.”</p> - -<p>Joyce turned to Willoughby, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -blushed. “I—I’m afraid that’s just what -I did do, Mr. Howard,” he explained, confusedly. -“Anyway, I’ve lost one of the -two you gave me.”</p> - -<p>“No matter, sir, I’ve got another,” interjected -Joyce, as he and Jackson turned -to their allotted task.</p> - -<p>Left to himself, Howard threw the -screw-shaft out of connection, and turned -the full power of the gas-engine to recharging -the electric accumulators. When -all was running smoothly, he turned to -the rest.</p> - -<p>“It will be several hours, at best, before -we can start, and I think, on the -whole, we had better not do so until toward -daylight, so as to be sure of plenty -of light when we come up again. If you -girls will get supper ready, we might as -well dine.”</p> - -<p>Dinner—or supper—began light-heartedly -enough on the part of most of the -party. Civilization seemed very near, -and the spirits of the majority were high<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -accordingly. Only Howard, to whom rescue -meant something very different from -what it did to the others, and Dorothy, -who grieved in sympathy with him, were -silent and distrait. Toward the end of -the meal, Jackson, who had been unwontedly -talkative, suddenly awoke to the -realization that the time was rapidly approaching -when he must again become -the jailer of the man who had saved his -life and his happiness. Under this incubus -he suddenly shut up.</p> - -<p>The other three did not understand -Howard’s situation. For some reason -Forbes, it seemed, had not told his information -(or suspicions), about the -naval officer, and his single reference to -them, at the time of the wedding, had -passed over the heads of both the Joyces -and of Mr. Willoughby. So they chattered -on light-heartedly enough, until the meal -was over, and Howard dismissed them to -sleep.</p> - -<p>A little later that night, when all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -rest were sleeping, worn out by the excitement -and arduous labors of the day, -Dorothy slipped up on deck, where Howard -was watching the dials of his accumulators -as they slowly crept toward the -maximum.</p> - -<p>There was no moon, but the phosphorescence -of the weed filled the air with -a weird witch-light, in which the Seashark -and floating wreckage bulked black. -So strong was the gleam that Howard -could see the dark circles under Dorothy’s -eyes as she sank down by his side.</p> - -<p>“There, there! sweetheart,” he whispered, -gently. “You ought to be getting -your beauty sleep. We’ll probably be -picked up to-morrow, and you must look -your best.”</p> - -<p>But Dorothy refused to heed the badinage. -“Oh! Frank, Frank,” she murmured, -miserably. “I don’t want to be -picked up. Can’t—can’t we put the rest -ashore somewhere, and slip away—just -you and I. When I think of what will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -happen—— Oh, Frank, I can’t bear it!”</p> - -<p>Howard drew her toward him, and -tilted up her face until he could look -down into her troubled eyes. “Don’t be -afraid, dear,” he murmured, “everything -is going to come out right. It will take -a little time perhaps, but it will all come -right in the end. The Providence that -has watched over us and brought us -through so much will not fail us now.”</p> - -<p>“But—but—to have you in prison, even -for a day! Oh, Frank, I can’t bear it! -You have saved Mr. Jackson’s life, rescued -him, made him rich—surely he will -not be cruel enough to——”</p> - -<p>“Hush! Hush! dear. Jackson must do -his duty. I wouldn’t have him fail in -it on my account for the world. Besides, -I must surrender in order to prove my -innocence. Before, I did not have the -money to send to Porto Rico for witnesses; -now I have. There must be plenty -of people down there who have seen the -real husband of that poor Dolores Montoro.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> -Money will bring them to New -York. Once they see me they will know -that I am not he—even though they may -have identified my photograph. I ran -away before only because I knew of no -other way to reach them. Now that I -have another way, I must take it.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy was thoughtful for a moment. -Then she nodded slowly. “You are right, -Frank,” she murmured. “You always -are. It will break my heart, but—it is -the only way. I see that. It isn’t only -your liberty I want; your honor must be -cleared as well.”</p> - -<p>“There’s my brave girl!”</p> - -<p>Soon Dorothy spoke again. “Frank,” -she said, “tell me! How did you escape -from prison? I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>Howard hesitated. Then: “I can’t tell -you very much about it, dear. But this -I will say: An officer on my last ship—one, -too, for whom I am ashamed to say -I had never cared much—stood my friend -all through the trial, and at the end aided -me to get away. He——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span>“It was Mr. Loving! I know it was -Mr. Loving!”</p> - -<p>“Hush! Even the sea-weed has ears. -You must never say anything about it, or -it would get him into terrible trouble. -Yes, it was Loving. Do you know him?”</p> - -<p>Dorothy twisted and untwisted her -fingers. “Yes,” she murmured, “I -know him. It—it was on his account that -I went to Porto Rico.”</p> - -<p>“On his account?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He—he wanted to marry me, -and father wanted me to accept him, and -I couldn’t. I couldn’t! I knew you must -exist somewhere, Frank—you—the only -man in the world for me—and I ran away -from New York to avoid him. You are -not angry, are you, Frank?”</p> - -<p>“Angry! At what? But I’m afraid -I’ve made a terrible botch of things; -saddled a convict husband on you, and -robbed my best friend of his bride.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy raised her hand to his lips. -“Hush! dear,” she said. “I wouldn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span> -exchange my husband for any man in -the wide world; and as for Mr. Loving—well, -he couldn’t be robbed of what he -never had, and never could have had.”</p> - -<p>The note of the engines suddenly -changed, and Howard, bending over, -glanced at the accumulator dial. “The -battery is fully charged, dear,” he said, -as he shut off the engine. “And it is -certainly time to rest.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">XIX</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> before dawn Howard was astir. -Possessing in an eminent degree the not -very rare faculty of being able to awake -at any hour desired, he had set his mental -alarm-clock for four o’clock, and, in spite -of his fatigue, had awakened within fifteen -minutes of that time.</p> - -<p>Without disturbing any of the others, -who lay stretched in more or less uneasy -postures on the comfortless floor of the -Seashark, he made his way first to the -conning-tower for a last examination of -the fixtures there; then to the deck, where -a brief inspection showed that the propeller -was still clear; and, at last, to the -pilot’s seat, where, taking his place, he -pulled the lever that let the water into -the ballast tanks.</p> - -<p>Swiftly the tanks filled, and silently -and smoothly the Seashark sank down<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -through the water. For a time the weed -scraped against her sides, but soon this -ceased, and the electric beam showed only -black water before the tiny windows of -her conning-tower. When fifty feet -of depth was registered on the gage, -Howard turned on the power and, gathering -way, the Seashark drove along beneath -the sea.</p> - -<p>Three hours later, when the weary -sleepers began to stir, he was still at -his post, tirelessly staring before him. As -the day waxed, a faint light, interspersed -with occasional stronger beams, filtered -down from above, giving token that the -canopy of weed had grown thin, and was -broken here and there by channels of -open water. Soon it would be safe to -go to the surface.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, with terrifying swiftness, -came a sound and a shock that shook the -Seashark from stem to stern. Simultaneously -the black hull of a great ship -showed across the path, not a hundred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span> -feet away. There was no time to stop; -no time to check the speed; scarcely time -to deflect the course. But quicker than -thought, quicker than lightning, automatically, -Howard’s trained brain and -hand met the danger.</p> - -<p>The horizontal rudders sent the Seashark -diving down, down, down, in a -desperate endeavor to pass beneath the -obstruction—down till Howard saw clear -water in front of him.</p> - -<p>Under the keel of the ship sped the Seashark, -still diving desperately. For one -agonizing instant she touched, scraped, -shrieked; then tore free.</p> - -<p>But the danger was not passed; though, -with reversed rudders, the Seashark -strove to beat her way upward. A -glance at the dials showed that the depth -was increasing—not diminishing; a -glance behind showed that the black hull -was ominously close. The slant of the -Seashark grew steeper, steeper; almost -it stood on end. The rumble of falling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> -objects came from below, followed by -startled shrieks, as the sleepers, rudely -awakened, slid in a tangled heap to the -after-end of the boat. Howard clung -wildly to the steering-wheel to save himself -from being hurled down upon the -rest. As he clung, confused, not understanding, -the tiny vessel was shaken like -a rat in a dog’s jaws. Her machinery -began to tear loose from its bed. Mere -peas in a pod, her passengers tumbled -right and left as willed by the mighty -power that grasped them.</p> - -<p>After turmoil peace. Howard pulled -his dazed wits together to the realization -that the Seashark was lying quiescent on -the surface of the water, though by no -means on an even keel. Her engines had -stopped, and her lights were out. Only -a faint glimmer through the windows of -the conning-tower illumined the scene of -wreckage around him. Wild with anxiety, -he lowered himself into the blackness -of the sleeping room, and called -Dorothy’s name.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>“Here I am, Frank,” came the answer.</p> - -<p>Howard groped his way toward the -sound. “Are you hurt?” he asked in -trembling accents.</p> - -<p>“No! I think not—certainly not seriously.” -The girl’s tones were broken, -but brave as ever.</p> - -<p>“The rest of you? Is everybody alive? -Answer as I call. Joyce?”</p> - -<p>“I’m alive, sor, and so is Kathleen.”</p> - -<p>“Jackson?”</p> - -<p>“Here.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Willoughby?”</p> - -<p>“I, too, have escaped.”</p> - -<p>Howard drew a long breath. “Thank -God! We seem to have our lives, at any -rate.”</p> - -<p>“What was it, sor?”</p> - -<p>“I’m not certain. But I think a wreck -must have chosen the very moment of -our passage to sink, and must have drawn -us down into her vortex. We escaped -at last, and are now at the surface. But -I fear our machinery is ruined. I’ll -open the manhole.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span>Turning, Howard clambered back to his -perch, and tried to push back the bolts. -They were badly jammed, and it took him -some time to loosen them; but at last -they gave way, and he shoved back the -cover and thrust out his head.</p> - -<p>The Seashark was rolling gently on -smooth weed-clear water. A quarter of -a mile away lay a white cruiser, and not -a hundred yards distant was a boat -rapidly approaching.</p> - -<p>Howard rubbed his eyes. “Ahoy, the -boat,” he called.</p> - -<p>The officer in charge gasped. “Way -enough,” he ordered. “Ahoy, the submarine. -Where in heaven did you come -from?”</p> - -<p>“From mighty near the other place,” -answered Howard grimly. “Did you torpedo -that wreck?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what we did. We’re destroying -derelicts, and hunting for a party of -castaways from the Queen. Do you know -anything about them?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_254.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“THIS IS, OR, RATHER, WAS—MISS FAIRFAX,” HE EXPLAINED.<br /> -“AND YOU——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span>Howard nodded affirmatively in answer -to the officer’s question. “Yes,” he answered. -“We are the castaways—we and -three others who escaped with us in this -submarine from the little king of the Sargasso -Sea. I suppose you know the story -that I sent by wireless?”</p> - -<p>The boat scraped along. “Know it! I -should say so,” exclaimed the startled -officer. “The whole country knows it. I -suppose you are——”</p> - -<p>“Frank Howard. Come, Dorothy,” -Howard climbed to the deck, and helped -the girl to follow him. “This is, or, -rather, was—Miss Fairfax,” he explained. -“And you——”</p> - -<p>The officer suppressed a whistle of -admiration at sight of Dorothy’s flower-like -face. “I’m McCully!” he answered, -as he stood up and took off his cap. “I -say! This is awfully lucky. Colonel -Fairfax will be wild with delight.”</p> - -<p>“My father! Where is he?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span>“On board the Duluth, yonder. The -navy department ordered us to look for -you, and he came along. There are a -dozen searching for you.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s head swam. The month of -stress was over, and the revulsion of feeling -was too great not to affect her. Tears -started to her eyes as she turned to Howard. -“Oh! Frank!” she cried. “Father -is here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He’s here, sure,” interjected -Mr. McCully, “and if you’ll get into this -boat we’ll take you to him in a jiffy.”</p> - -<p>Dorothy looked at Howard inquiringly, -and he nodded. “Yes, you’d better go,” -he assented. “You and Mrs. Joyce and -Willoughby, perhaps. The rest of us -will stay here for the present. Mr. McCully, -will you kindly ask your captain -if he cannot come alongside us? The Seashark, -though damaged by your torpedo, -is still valuable, and, besides, we have -about two million dollars in gold bars on -board of her.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span>The lieutenant looked his astonishment. -What manner of man was this who carried -two millions of gold about in a submarine. -“Two millions?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Yes! We found an old Spanish galleon -with five or six millions on her, and -brought away all we could. Look! -There’s another boat coming. Is that -your father on her, Dorothy? And—why, -yes, it’s Loving, too, isn’t it? How -frightfully ill he is looking.”</p> - -<p>Another boat was close at hand. Dorothy -looked at her, and clasped her hands -with excitement. “Oh! It is!” she cried. -“Father! Father! Don’t you know me?”</p> - -<p>The gray-bearded civilian stood up. -“Dorothy! Dorothy!” he trumpeted. “Is -it you! Is it really you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Yes!” As the boat touched the -Seashark, the girl fairly sprang into her -father’s arms. “Oh! father! father!” -she cried. “How good it is to see you.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Lieutenant McCully had -turned to Howard and the others, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span> -had now climbed up on the deck. “The -Duluth is moving,” he explained. “Captain -Morehouse probably intends to come -alongside without being asked. Hadn’t -you all better get into this boat, and let -my men fasten your manhole down? The -waves from the Duluth might swamp her, -you know.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. If you’ll be so kind. But -first let me present my fellow travelers.”</p> - -<p>In a few moments the Seashark was -made safe against swamping, and her -former passengers were about to enter -the cutter, when Dorothy called to Howard: -“Frank, dear, I want you.”</p> - -<p>Everybody started. Not one there was -ignorant of Howard’s record, and the -use of his Christian name by the girl was -somewhat surprising.</p> - -<p>“Frank, dear!” cried the girl, alive -with excitement. “This is my father. -Father, this is Lieutenant Frank Howard, -who saved me from death and from -worse than death. See, I wear his ring.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span>She held up her hand, and, at the sight -of the plain gold band, Colonel Fairfax’s -outstretched hand dropped heavily to his -side. “A wedding ring,” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Yes, father. I am not Dorothy Fairfax -any more. I am Dorothy Howard -now. Mr. Willoughby married us day before -yesterday.”</p> - -<p>All Colonel Fairfax’s coolness; all the -aplomb that had made him a master of -men; all his traditional self-possession -dropped from him, and he stood stammering -like any schoolboy.</p> - -<p>Dorothy’s eyes sparkled. “It’s all -right, father,” she declared. “Frank -married me to save me from that horrible -Forbes. He didn’t want to do so because -of that ridiculous accusation against him, -but he couldn’t help it. I insisted on it. -Shake hands with him. You and I are -going to find the real murderer, and clear -his name.”</p> - -<p>“But—but—Mr. Loving——”</p> - -<p>Loving, his face pale, but with a forced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -smile on his lips, struck in. “Hallo, Howard, -old man,” he said, holding out his -hand. “I was just waiting my chance to -speak to you. Frank Howard is all right, -colonel,” he continued earnestly, turning -to the elder man. “I’ve told you so before, -you know.”</p> - -<p>Colonel Fairfax had recovered his -poise somewhat. “Well,” he said, “this -isn’t the time or place to talk about it, -though it is the time to thank you, Mr. -Howard, for saving my girl’s life. It -nearly killed me when I lost her. Come, -let’s get on board—Good Heavens! -Loving! What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>Loving’s face had grown white as -death, and his distended eyes seemed -popping from their sockets. Following -his gaze, the others saw Mr. Willoughby -picking his way along the Seashark toward -them.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Mr. Howard,” he said, holding -out his hand to Loving, “I’m glad to see -you here, for, of course, it means that you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> -must have cleared yourself of that terrible -charge. Quite a coincidence having -another of the same name in our little -party, isn’t it? I had meant to speak to -him about you, but we have been in such -a turmoil that I haven’t had the chance.”</p> - -<p>The changing expressions in the faces -of his listeners suddenly caught the good -man’s attention. “Why! What is the -matter?” he explained. “I—I hope I -don’t—— Surely you have cleared yourself -of that charge, Mr. Howard?”</p> - -<p>Loving’s dry lips moved, but no sound -came. The other men, too, were stricken -dumb. Only Dorothy found breath.</p> - -<p>“This gentleman is Mr. Loving, Mr. -Willoughby,” she gasped. “Why do you -call him Howard?”</p> - -<p>The missionary turned a bewildered -face to the girl. “I don’t understand,” -he stammered. “I knew this gentleman -as Mr. Howard in Porto Rico, where I -married him to Dolores Montoro. Later -she followed him to New York, and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span> -was reported to have murdered her. I -was coming to testify when I was -wrecked, and——”</p> - -<p>Loving burst suddenly into a fit of jarring -laughter. “You needn’t say any -more, Mr. Willoughby,” he cackled. -“You’ve put the noose around my neck -all right. Yes, I did it, I did it. I married -that she-devil under your name, Howard, -and when she followed me to New York -I killed her. I didn’t mean to get you -into it, but you got a letter she intended -for me, and butted in just in time to get -accused. You’ll bear me witness that I -tried to save you; and I would have done -it, too, if those fools in Porto Rico hadn’t -identified your photograph as the man -who married Dolores. All smooth-faced -men in uniform look alike to them, I suppose. -Well, it’s all up now, and I’m glad -of it. Maybe you won’t believe me, but -I haven’t had a happy moment since you -were arrested. I’m not so bad as you -think; that woman was a fiend and—but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span> -there’s the ship. I’ll go on board and -write out a formal confession.”</p> - -<p>Unseen, the Duluth had approached -and, as she ran smoothly alongside, Loving -caught a Jacob’s-ladder swinging -from a boom, and ran up it to the deck.</p> - -<p>Before any one could follow, the -Duluth swung past, and, when a moment -later her reversed screw brought her to -a halt, the sound of a pistol-shot in her -ward-room told that Loving had signed -his confession with his blood.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">EPILOGUE</h2> -</div> - -<p>The Sargasso Sea will soon be robbed -of half its terrors. The Seashark Wrecking -Company, with Howard at its head, -and all his party as share-holders, has -been formed to recover the great wealth -still existing on the derelicts in the sea. -It has opened communication with the -wreck-pack by a paddle-wheel steamer -that is expected to maintain a reasonably -clear channel through the weed. The -company is projecting a series of relief -stations, and will keep up a constant -patrol all round the wreck-pack. The expense, -of course, will be enormous, but -there is no doubt that the enterprise will -meet it and will pay an enormous profit -besides, even if not a single other treasure-ship -is found.</p> - -<p>A message just received by wireless -from the sea says that the first steamer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span> -of the company is about to start back to -New York with a tremendously valuable -cargo of salvage. It adds that Forbes -and all his men have begged for passage, -and that it will be granted them. The -money left on the galleon, which Forbes -was forced to divide, has made them all -comparatively rich, and they are anxious -to get back to civilization to spend their -money. Their departure leaves Howard -and his friends with an undisputed title -to the salvage of the Isle of Dead Ships.</p> - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1"><span class="u"><i>DELIGHTFULLY FASCINATING</i></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p><span class="xxlarge"><b>The<br /> -Princess Dehra</b></span></p> - -<p><span class="large"><b>By JOHN REED SCOTT</b></span></p> -</div></div> - -<p class="center">In which we meet again the characters of his dashing success, -“<i>The Colonel of the Red Huzzars</i>” (Eleven editions).</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="drop-cap">MR. SCOTT displays uncommon dramatic skill -in the handling of his characters—the same, -by the way, as those who were met in his -“Colonel of the Red Huzzars.” It is a continuation -of that former dashing romance of an American army -officer who turns out to have royal blood in his -veins which eventually wins for him a throne and -enthrones him in the heart of a charming princess; -mystery, intrigue, plot, and counterplot, all are -here, and the reader will find his attention held until -the very last page, when loyalty and the wit of a -woman triumph in the face of even “the Book of -Laws” and a clever rascal.</p> - -<p>“Here is a new story to set the pulses tingling.”—<i>Philadelphia Press.</i></p> - -<p>“Since Hope’s ‘Prisoner of Zenda,’ nothing better has been -done than this new story by the author of ‘The Colonel of the -Red Huzzars.’”—<i>Cincinnati Enquirer.</i></p> - -<p>“There are situations involving the principal characters -which are ingenious in conception and cleverly woven into the -story by essential and natural sequence, and at these situations -the reader feels a desire to continue the story, even if the house -be burning. He has produced a story that is interesting and -exciting without being overdrawn.”—<i>Boston Evening Transcript.</i></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Four Full-Page Illustrations in Color by Clarence F. Underwood. -12 mo. Decorated Cloth, $1.50.</i></p> -</div></div> - -<p class="ph1"><span class="large">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS <span class="gap"> PHILADELPHIA</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1"><i>THE DASHING NOVEL</i></p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p><span class="xxlarge"><b>THE<br /> - -COLONEL<br /> - -OF THE<br /> - -RED HUZZARS</b></span></p> -</div></div> - -<p class="ph1">By<br /> -JOHN REED SCOTT</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Stirring adventures, courtly intrigue, and fencing both -of sword and wit, fill the pages of this story. The plot is -built upon a wager between Major Dalberg, U. S. A., and -a friend that within a certain time both would be dining -with the king and dancing with the princess royal of Valeria. -Strangely enough, Dalberg proves to be of the blood -royal of Valeria, is reinstated into his ancestral rights, and -when matters are about to reach a climax, the pretender -steps in, and there ensues an encounter between American -pluck and unscrupulous cleverness.</p> - -<p>“There’s not a dull page in it.”—<i>The Index, Pittsburg.</i></p> - -<p>“A slap-dashing vacation-day romance.”—<i>Evening Sun, New York.</i></p> - -<p>“So naïvely fresh in its handling, so plausible through its naturalness, -that it comes like a mountain breeze across the far-spreading desert of -similar romances.”—<i>Gazette-Times, Pittsburg.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><b>Illustrations in Colors by CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD</b></p> - -<p class="center"><b>12mo. Decorated cloth, $1.50</b></p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="ph1">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY Philadelphia</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">BEAU BROCADE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><span class="large"><i>By BARONESS ORCZY</i></span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Author of “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “I Will Repay,” etc.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>A captivating romance of love and chivalry—the -adventures of a charming highwayman of the days -of the English Pretender.</p> - -<p>“Faith and courage make the story of ‘Beau -Brocade’ a very interesting one. The hero is delightfully -fascinating—bubbling over with exuberance of youth; -nothing is a hardship for him. He reminds one of Dumas’s -famous D’Artagnan, and most especially in his fighting -escapades. Gloriously dramatic is the fight in the forge, -when, by his prowess, Beau Brocade holds at bay a lot of -redcoats, escaping on his steed ‘Jack O’Lantern.’”—<i>N. Y. American Book Review Contest.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is so well told, so full of life and action, -that one never loses interest from start to finish.”—<i>Pittsburgh Dispatch.</i></p> - -<p>“Let no one begin reading this tale late in the evening, -for there is no stopping-place till the end, and the end -is worth reaching.”—<i>The Congregationalist, Boston.</i></p> - -<p>“The illustrations in color are unusually attractive.”—<i>Chicago Tribune.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="center">FOUR FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY -CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD.</p> - -<p class="center">12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="ph1"><span class="large">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS <span class="gap"> PHILADELPHIA</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">When Kings Go Forth<br /> -to Battle</p> -</div> - -<p class="ph1">By WILLIAM WALLACE WHITELOCK</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Author of “The Literary Guillotine,” etc.</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>A small German principality is the seat of -exciting warfare. An unscrupulous king and a conniving -“minister of interior improvements” find -their match in two invincible Americans who keep -the secret of a young prince’s hiding-place, and with -characteristic American energy join in a revolutionary -plot to unseat the reigning monarch and place the -prince upon the throne.</p> - -<p>“A story that grasps our interest with its first -chapter and causes us to follow breathlessly until the -climax.”—<i>Baltimore Sun.</i></p> - -<p>“The prettily tinted illustrations by Frank H. -Desch are particularly praiseworthy.”—<i>Philadelphia Press.</i></p> - -<p>“Told with energy and color, and it is well worth -reading.”—<i>San Francisco Argonaut.</i></p> - -<p>“Some excellent illustrations in color add to the -beauty of the volume.”—<i>Nashville American.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -THREE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY<br /> -FRANK H. DESCH. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="ph1"><span class="large">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS :: :: :: PHILADELPHIA</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">THE SMUGGLER</p> -</div> - -<p class="ph1">By ELLA MIDDLETON TYBOUT</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Author of “The Wife of the Secretary of State” and “Poketown People.”</i></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>This is not, as the title might suggest, a tale of -daring deeds on the deep, but a blithesome story of the -adventures of three American girls while spending -their summer vacation on a Canadian island. They -become involved in a series of strange happenings by -a band of clever smugglers who pose as their friends, -using them as a blind in their smuggling operations. -There is a pretty love story interwoven with mystery, -adventure, and humor, that holds the reader’s interest -from cover to cover.</p> - -<p>“The characters are mightily convincing, and the rapid-action -plot makes the most indifferent reader ‘sit up’ until he has -devoured the last word.”—<i>Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va.</i></p> - -<p>“A happy blending of Stocktonesque humor and Anna -Katherine Green mystery.”—<i>New York Globe.</i></p> - -<p>“A brightly written story for those who like light and agreeable -fiction that is free from coarseness.”—<i>Boston Budget and Beacon.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED IN COLOR BY HOWARD EVERETT SMITH.<br /> -12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="ph1"><span class="large">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS <span class="gap"> PHILADELPHIA</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">The Affair at Pine Court</p> -</div> - -<p class="ph1">By NELSON RUST GILBERT</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>A truly American novel of love and mystery, taking -place at the Adirondack lodge of a New York -millionaire. It is a story of living people set against -a background of October-painted forests, azure lakes, -and limpid trout-streams.</p> - -<p>The reader lives through such exciting days in the -depths of this great forest, with characters so well -drawn and so intensely human as to seem alive. The -arrival of a German count gives direction and impetus -to incipient love affairs. He arouses the greed of -the humble natives by exhibiting the wonderful -“Lens of the Gau” in the presence of his host’s -butler. These envious enemies of the rich pleasure-seekers -at the court put the house in a stage of siege, -during which each guest displays his or her real character. -The many incidents of the forest war are told -with admirable skill, and a happily ending love affair -keeps the reader’s attention taut and eager.</p> - -<p>“A tale of mystery, crisply and briskly told.”—<i>Leader, Cleveland.</i></p> - -<p>“An unusual story in which the author has pictured real men, -who ring true in the time of danger.”—<i>Buffalo Express.</i></p> - -<p>“A book whose plot is well conceived and wrought out, whose -craftsmanship is excellent, and whose ability to hold the interest to -the last page is undisputed.”—<i>The Interior, Chicago.</i></p> - -<p>“A book to be read not only for its strong human interest, but -for its true picture of life in the Adirondacks.”—<i>Argonaut, San Francisco.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="center">THREE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR<br /> -BY FRANK H. DESCH.</p> - -<p class="center">12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> -<p class="ph1"><span class="large">J. B. 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