Otis James
A Runaway Brig: or, An Accidental Cruise
CHAPTER XIV.
A BARGAIN
It surely seemed as if those who had been carried away by the Bonita were to have their cup of trouble filled to the brim. Running ashore on a pleasant night when there was every reason to believe they were near a home port was looked upon as a great disaster at the time; but now it dwindled into a trifle before the dangers which menaced.
There could no longer be a question but that the strangers were ripe for any mischief, even at the expense of a drawn battle, and Joe was inclined to believe they might vanquish his party.
"They're hard tickets, and were most likely marooned here because of their misdeeds," he muttered to himself as he lounged on deck to ascertain if the enemy had made any change of position. "It'll take some mighty neat work to get us out of this scrape, for we can't risk a fight, and it's a question whether Bob can be held in check."
The men yet remained forward, where, in the shadow of the forecastle, they could have the benefit of the light land breeze, and were apparently indifferent as to what move the rightful crew of the brig might make.
Joe stood on the quarter-dock nearly half an hour trying in vain to decide upon some plan which would at least promise success, and then he went below, looking, as in fact he felt, his lack of hope in the final result.
"It's pretty near high water," he said to Bob, who was making one more search of the cabin with the idea that it might yet be possible to find weapons, "and the question is, are we going to lose this tide without making an effort to launch the brig?"
"What can we do?" the old sailor asked impatiently. "It don't stand to reason that them villains would be any more decent if she was afloat than they are now!"
"And before many days there'll come an easterly wind which will drive her up on the sand beyond all chance of ever being launched again!"
"That's jes' what is makin' me almost wild!" Bob cried as he turned and faced the engineer, "She oughter be floated between now an' to-morrow night; but it can't be done!"
"Why not?" Joe asked calmly. "I've been turning matters over in my mind, and don't see the slightest chance of ever being able to drive those men ashore. Wouldn't it be better to join forces rather than lose the brig entirely and be dependent upon sighting some vessel to take us off the key?"
The old sailor looked up as if astonished that such a proposition should be made; but before the angry reply, which was trembling on his lips, could be spoken, Joe said gently:
"Think the whole matter over before you say anything, and take plenty of time, for we don't want to make another mistake."
Bob looked at the speaker angrily for a moment, and then seating himself at the table with his head in his hands, he remained silent so long that the boys, who were watching him intently, believed he had fallen asleep.
"What's your plan?" he finally asked.
"It isn't what can be called a plan, but, according to my way of thinking, the only course left for us to pursue. We've got to make some kind of a trade with those villains in order to get away from this place, and the sooner it's done the better."
"Go out an' see what they'll agree to!" Bob said hoarsely. "I'll stand by any bargain you think half-fair."
Joe did not wait for further conversation. He was eager to take advantage of the tide, and no time was to be lost.
"Look here, Jim," the old sailor said, when the engineer had left the cabin, "if Joe makes a trade with them scoundrels, as I reckon he will, something must be done to prevent you boys from bein' kicked 'round, for we can't have a fight every hour. While the brig is aground you'd best stay on board the tug, so's to be out of the way. When the grub is ready shove it on the table, an' then all three clear out, leavin' us to wait on ourselves. That'll ease things up a little."
While Bob was thus planning to save the boys from brutal treatment, Joe had lost no time in finishing his very disagreeable task.
When he went forward the men did not pay the slightest attention to his movements, but continued their conversation as if whatever he might do was no concern of theirs. It was not until he halted directly in front of the party that the red-nosed man so much as raised his eyes.
"See here," Joe begun, as if to speak was distasteful; "we've got to come to some agreement, for splitting-up now, when the brig's aground, isn't much better than child's play."
"That's my idee, to a dot!" he of the red nose replied with a leer; "but it ain't us what's makin' the row! We've got rights, no matter if you did bring us aboard; an' what's more, we're goin' to have 'em!"
"We won't discuss that part of it," Joe said curtly. "You know as well as I do that if there'd been two or three more in our party you wouldn't have said a word about rights; but since it's your intention to take unfair advantage of those who tried to relieve suffering, we'll let the matter drop. None of us will gain anything if the brig goes to pieces, and it's for the interest of all hands to have her launched; therefore I've come to make a bargain."
"Well, out with it!" the man said coarsely, as Joe ceased speaking.
"I propose that we turn to, as if nothing had happened, each one swearing to do his utmost toward carrying the brig to the nearest American port, and there the whole matter can, as indeed it must, be submitted to the court for settlement. On your part you agree not to molest the boys in any way, and they are to do nothing but the cooking. We will recognize what I think are your unjust claims until the case is legally settled. No property is to be taken from the vessel, and, so far as possible, everything must remain as we found it."
"An' it has taken you all this time to fix up that agreement, eh?" the man asked, with a boisterous laugh. "I don't see but it amounts to jes' what we wanted at first. Look here, Mister Engineer, you an' Bob have got an idee that we ain't on the square, an' it's a big mistake. When we found you needed our help to work the brig into port, an' couldn't do it alone, we said it was only fair play for us to share in whatever salvage might be made. Now we'll agree to your bargain, 'cause it's nothin' more nor less than what I proposed, an' the sooner we get to work on that hawser the better, 'cause it's about flood-tide."
Joe realized this fact fully, and he went quickly aft for Bob, explaining to him in the fewest possible words the result of his interview.
"I hate to knuckle down to them scoundrels; but I s'pose it can't be helped," the old sailor said as he arose to his feet. "Keep out of the way, boys, so there won't be any chance for more abuse."
To have seen the party five minutes after Bob went forward, one would not fancy there had been any hard feelings among them. The strangers set about the work with a will, recognizing the old sailor as being in command, and with apparently no other thought than such us was for the benefit of all.
The tide had ceased rising, it being that time known as "slack water," when the capstan-bars were brought into use, and every member of the party exerted all his strength in the effort.
Once, twice, three times the men leaped against the stout bars without making any perceptible change in the brig's position, and Joe began to fancy it would have been as well if he had not humbled himself by making a trade with the strangers.
"Buckle down to it once more," Bob shouted. "It lacked almost an hour of bein' high water when she struck, an' there can't be so very much sand under her bow. Break down once more!"
No one hung back. The red-nosed man appeared to have the strength of a giant, and as he hove at the handles it seemed as if the wood or iron must surely give way under the enormous strain.
"Grind her down!" he yelled, and when one more determined effort had been made there was a decided movement. The bars were started fully a quarter of a turn, and Bob shouted:
"Now's the time, my hearties! Heave around once, an' we're clear of this blessed key!"
Then every man hove down on the bars as the Mexican held turn, and inch by inch the heavy hawser came inboard until the winch revolved readily as the Bonita glided out into deeper water, until she lay clear of the shoal, swinging to the grip of the cable over her stern.
"Hurrah!" Bob shouted, and the others joined in the cheers, causing the boys to come from the galley to learn the reason for such an uproar.
"It's a matter of gettin' that anchor home, an' then when the wind springs up ag'in we can leave this sand-heap behind us," the red-nosed man said in a tone of satisfaction, as he wiped the perspiration from his face before following the example of the others, who had flung themselves at full length in the shadow of the forecastle.
"What about the Sea Bird, Bob?" Joe asked when he had regained his breath sufficiently to talk. "I hate to leave the little craft to the mercy of wind and wave."
"Why don't you swing this hawser right aboard of her?" the red-nosed man proposed. "The owners may think she's worth comin' after, an' she'll lay here comfortable enough, unless it blows a full gale from the east."
The tug was still made fast to the brig, having came off the shoal at the same time, and, save for the huge patch of canvas over her bow, looking as staunch as when first launched.
"That's just what we will do; an' it'll save heavin' up the heavy anchor!" Joe cried. "The Bonita can lay alongside as well as if she was moored, and it won't take us so long to get under way when the wind does come."
As soon as the party had recovered somewhat from the fatigue of straining at the winch, the hawser was shifted to the forward bitt on the Sea Bird, and both crafts gradually swung around until they were headed for the open sea.
"We'll have a breeze before morning," the thin man remarked, "for one has sprung up every night since we landed, an' it's safe to calculate on leavin' about midnight."
"After we've had somethin' to eat we'll make ready for it," Bob said as he went toward the galley, for it was fully an hour past noon and the appetites of all were decidedly sharpened.
The amateur cook had everything ready, and the three boys carried the food below without being molested by those whom they quite naturally looked upon as enemies.
CHAPTER XV.
AN UNWARRANTED SEARCH
Bob gave an expressive look to the boys when the repast had been placed on the table, and all three understood that he meant for them to leave the cabin rather than run any chance of another encounter with the men.
A quarrel just now, however trivial the cause, might lead to very serious consequences, because the guests were unscrupulous and stronger than the Bonita's crew; therefore this precaution of the old sailor's was a wise one. Jim and Harry not only realized the fact, but they were more than eager to be beyond the reach of these quarrelsome strangers, whose blows were bestowed without provocation, and they went into the galley, closely followed by Walter.
"I've sailed along of some pretty tough customers," Jim said with the air of one who has had many and varied experiences, as he seated himself on an empty keg just outside the galley door, "but I never run across anybody like them duffers. They're worse'n old Mose Pearson, an' folks used to say he was the ugliest skipper that ever hove a mackerel-line."
"They act as if the brig belonged to them, and we were the ones who had been taken off the key," Harry said bitterly. "I wish Bob never'd allowed them aboard!"
"So do I!" And Jim spoke very emphatically. "There'll be a heap of trouble before we get rid of that crowd, or else I don't know anything about sich fellers. If they put on many more airs us three will have to sleep aboard of the tug, where we won't run the risk of bein' knocked down."
"We can stand a good deal if they help us get the brig into port," Walter said with a sigh. "I'm willing to be thumped every day for a week if I can get home once more."
"Most any of us would;" and Jim again put on his air of exceeding wisdom; "but the trouble is we can't count on goin' where we want to while they are aboard. I wouldn't be much 'stonished to hear that red-nosed man order all hands, 'cept his own crowd, ashore any minute. I'll be satisfied if, when the next fight comes, Bob hits him one crack hard enough to send more'n a thousand stars dancin' before his eyes. A good thump is the only thing that'll make him walk straight!"
The others would have been equally delighted at such a lesson; but there was not time to say so, for just at this moment Joe called for coffee, and Harry ran below with a fresh supply, after which the boys set about cleaning up the galley preparatory to getting their own dinner.
In the cabin, matters were progressing so favorably that a stranger would hardly have supposed the party had been upon the verge of an open rupture but a few hours previous. The thin man was particularly affable, and seemed to be thinking of no other subject save that of sailing the brig to the nearest American port in the shortest space of time.
"If you're no navigator, how do you calculate it'll be possible to make the trip?" he asked of Bob, during the course of the meal.
"It'll have to be done by dead reckonin', of course," the old sailor replied in as near an approach to a friendly tone as he could command, for the recent trouble was yet too fresh in mind to admit of his feeling thoroughly at ease. "It don't matter what port we make, an' as it's all plain sailin' after we're clear of the bank, the job oughter be done without much trouble."
"The most important question is, When can we start?" the Mexican said with an odd laugh. "I've had so much of this key lately that I'd like to see it a dozen miles astern just now."
"I fancy we're all of the same mind," said Joe, who seemed to think it necessary he should say something, if only to show he harbored no resentment. "We shan't have long to wait, I hope."
By this time the engineer and Bob had finished the meal, while the others seemed to have hardly begun. It was as if they had some purpose in remaining a long time at the table; but yet one could not have seen in their manner anything to arouse suspicion.
The old sailor and Joe arose from the table and went up the companion-way ladder as the former said:
"It's too hot to stay below any longer than a feller is obliged to, an' I reckon you can get on as well without us."
The thin man replied that there was no reason why one should suffer discomfort because others were slow, and by the time he had finished speaking Bob and Joe were on deck, looking with satisfaction at the result of their labors.
"We shan't be hanging round the Bahama banks much longer, my hearty," the old sailor said gleefully. "Now that the brig has deep water under her keel once more, it's only a question of wind."
"I don't suppose it would pay to hang on here until the tug could be repaired?" Joe added half inquiringly, as he went forward where the shadow of the forecastle afforded a most refreshing shelter.
"Indeed it wouldn't," and Bob spoke very decidedly. "In the first place we must get this craft off our hands without loss of time; an' then, ag'in, the sooner we've said good-by to them new shipmates the safer I'll feel. They ain't to be trusted any further'n you can see 'em; but we've got to mess with the crowd till the brig's in port."
Joe looked toward the steamer wistfully. He had suffered so many hardships and been exposed to such great danger in her that it would be almost like parting with an old friend to leave the little craft to rot at her moorings, or be blown ashore when the next gale should come from the east.
While these two were cheering themselves with the belief that in a few hours at the longest the brig would be under way again, those in the cabin were proceeding to make themselves thoroughly at home.
Bob and Joe had no sooner gone on deck than the red-nosed man said, in a whisper:
"Now, Dave, you stay here, where it'll be easy to see if any of them fools come this way, an' I'll make quick work of the search. If the brig's papers are to be found we shall run no risk in taking her anywhere, an' we'll soon set ourselves up for gentlemen."
"Unless somebody overhauls us for that little job down in the channel," the thin man added gloomily.
"Don't be a fool!" was the savage reply. "How is anyone to know we had a finger in that pie? Even if it should come out, we won't be in this part of the world much longer. We can put in to Key West, hire a full crew, and an hour afterwards sail for any port we like best. Come on, Pedro."
The Mexican had already risen from the table, and was noiselessly making his way aft to the room on the starboard side which would naturally have been occupied by the Bonita's rightful captain.
The red-nosed man made haste to overtake him, as if doubtful of his friend's honesty, and the two entered the apartment at the same moment.
Up to this time no one had disturbed the watch which hung at the head of the berth. The boys and Bob believed that every article on board should be delivered up to the authorities; but these men had no such scruples.
He with the red nose clutched it eagerly, almost overturning the other in his efforts to reach the time-piece first, and against this confiscation the Mexican protested angrily.
"Don't be a fool! I've only taken charge of it for all hands. We're to whack up fair on everything!"
"Then why didn't you let it hang on the wall?"
"Because that fool of a Bob might have stowed it away before we've had a chance to take possession. Now, don't stop to chin, but help me hunt over these papers."
The Mexican looked much as if he distrusted the softly-spoken words; but he made no further protest, and together the two men began to overhaul the contents of the desk.
To find that for which they sought was not a difficult task. It was only necessary to examine half a dozen papers before the documents were discovered, and the red-nosed man said grimly, as he put them in his pocket:
"I reckon we've got things pretty near as we want 'em. We're the masters now, an' there'll be mighty little talk made about rights. Come along; if we're not on deck soon them Miss Nancys may suspect somethin', an' we want to keep their eyes closed two or three hours longer."
"But ain't we goin' to search the other rooms?"
"What's the use? There'll be plenty of time to-morrow, when we're alone."
The worthy Pedro was not content to wait. The loss of the watch, for he seemed to consider it such, troubled him, and he was eager to put something in his own pocket.
When he who was evidently the leader of the party walked toward Dave to acquaint him with the pleasing fact that the search had been successful, Pedro darted from one room to another, and the studs and sleeve-buttons, which the boys had noted, did not escape his eager gaze.
"These shall not be taken charge of for all hands," he whispered half to himself, and the articles had but just been secreted when Dave came to the door.
"Do you want to spoil everything by loafin' 'round here?" he asked angrily. "These kind of chances don't come every day, an' if our plans are upset owin' to such nonsense I'll split you like a mackerel with your own knife!"
That the Mexican was a rank coward could be told by the pallor which came over his yellow face as these words were spoken, and with a muttered but inaudible reply he followed Dave to the companion-way ladder.
"Now what are we to do?" the thin man asked when the three were ready to go on deck; and the leader of the villains replied readily:
"Nothin' yet awhile. Some chance will turn up before we're under way; but if it don't, the matter must be settled at night while they're below. It won't be a hard job, for they can't stay on deck together all the time, and when the crowd is separated it'll be like child's play. Don't act as if anything was in the wind, but be sweet as molasses till the flies are where we want 'em!"
Then the three men ascended the ladder, and from the benign expression on their faces the most suspicious would hardly have fancied they had been plotting to murder those who befriended them in a time of need.
