  Cliff, on board the stranded Senorita, with Sam and Jim and the naval patrol sailor, Jack, knew nothing of the exciting events that had just occurred. Nor did he guess that an escaping white boat full of desperate men was laying its course to pass his station. Tom’s effort to destroy the carbureter had drawn the attention of the crew to the engineer’s repeated assertions that the leaky old carbureter was wasting gas, and that they ought to be sure they had enough to run the channel and escape. “But where can we get any more?” said Senor Ortiga. “On the wrecked Senorita, of course,” snapped his brother. “Her tanks are almost full.” “But with the cutter coming, how can we stop for gas?” demanded Tew. “Easy,” said a sailor, and revealed a plan. Of all that Cliff was ignorant. He, with Sam, Jim and the sailor, had stood watch-and-watch through the night and up into the day. But nothing had altered the monotony. But excitement was coming, and coming fast! Nicky and Tom had been unceremoniously roped and flung into the open cockpit aft of the engine compartment. The cockpit was a low step higher than the cabin flooring, but its coaming and sides were so high that all the two chums could see was the sky and, when they ran close to an islet, the tops of the trees where these grew near the water. The cutter had been delayed for a moment to pick up Mr. Neale and Brownie, who had rowed with all their might and had sighted the cutter in time to hail her and to be taken aboard. Lieutenant Sommerlee wanted Brownie, a good shot, and Mr. Neale would be able to play a part if hand-to-hand fighting came about. He sent Brownie forward and bade him scan the water closely as they put full speed on to chase the Libertad, long since passed out of view beyond the first island of the archipelago. “I suspect they will try to do something to delay us,” the lieutenant said. “They may drop something in the channel, for there is one place where it is very narrow and quite shallow, and almost any large object—an anchor, sticking up on the coral, would crush our bow planks at the speed we’re making.” Brownie kept a sharp watch, and soon discovered, as they approached the narrowest and shallower part of the channel, something dark on the bottom. “Cliff and Jack and the colored men will stop them I hope,” said the commander as they slowed and drew near to the submerged danger. “They will, if they can do it,” Brownie said. He dropped over the bow and discovered that his commander had foreseen exactly what had been done; the Libertad’s anchor had been cut loose, and, with some spare engine parts, had been flung from the white boat’s stern into the channel with the hope that the cutter would run onto them and be entirely disabled, before they were noticed. While the damage was averted, it took time to lift the heavy metal under the water, and to displace it. Meanwhile Cliff sat on the slanting deck of the Senorita, with Jack and Sam, while Jim hung close above them on the top of the cabin, his eyes fixed on the distances of the channel. “What will you do if they come in daylight?” Cliff looked up at him to ask. “Shoot at the waterline and let the water in,” said Jack. “But they’ll shoot back,” objected Cliff. “That’s the chance we have to take,” Jack answered. “We might load up the signal cannon with some slugs, or something,” suggested Jim. He had begged Cliff’s pardon for his part in the tying-up and other maltreatment aboard the Senorita; Jim was not a bad being at heart; he had been employed by Senor Ortiga and Mr. Coleson and had only done their bidding, with no animosity or cruelty in his actions. Cliff had readily forgiven him. Jim, thus made happy, was just as determined to help the side of right and justice as he had been, before, to earn his pay honestly, as he saw honesty and his duty to his employers. “The cannon wouldn’t carry the slugs any distance,” said Sam. “But they’d have to pass within three feet of us,” said Jim. He pointed overside to the channel, where the deep water was at the side of the wrecked vessel. “This boat ran onto coral because her tiller rope broke, remember! There’s plenty of water, and they can pass us, but they’ll have to steer close.” Cliff nodded. “If you fellows won’t think I’m bossy,” he said, modestly, “and if Jack won’t be mad and think I want to be the leader, I’d like to say something.” “Go ahead,” said Jack. “Always open to good ideas, buddy!” Cliff expounded a plan: his first idea was that to fire at the vessel, if she ever came, would bring about firing in response. If they could in some way lure some of the hi-jackers onto the Senorita, without their own numbers being endangered, several of them might board the other boat and destroy her steering gear, or even capture her. Jack liked the plan better than he did his own. “I’m for it,” he said. “If you can get them to stop—if they come out at all, and if they get past the cutter, which I don’t see how they can!” “Jim, they know, is on board,” Cliff said. “My plan would be for Sam, and you, Jack, and me, to hide behind the cabin where they couldn’t see us, and have Jim hail them, if they come close enough and slow up enough to let him jump aboard—and they might not. But if they didn’t, Jim could be up forward on the cabin, and keep their attention on that end of the boat, and when they come abreast maybe one or more of us could run around the after end of the cabin and jump aboard.” “Pretty wild chance,” commented Sam. “But it’s better than risking our necks standing up to be shot at—we’d have at least the chance of surprising them, and if we got aboard——” “There’s a rocket!” cried Jack. “And another—” They all scrambled onto the cabin and stared toward the distant coast. Three puffs of smoke hung in the air, low over the trees. “Nicky’s signal—or the cutter’s,” Cliff cried. “Be ready for—for anything!” The wait was tedious. Their nerves were taunt and their voices when they spoke briefly were rather shrill and shaky. They did not know what was happening or what might happen. Would they be called on, really, to try to stop a band of hi-jackers? It seemed very easy when they discussed it in calm security; but with those signals shredding into nothing in the air, the reality and seriousness of their position came home to them all. The time seemed endless, but finally Jim, alone on the cabin roof, whispered down, without moving enough to disclose the fact to his oncoming adversaries, “here she comes—El Libertad—and a-hummin’.” “How many on her? Who can you see?” asked Cliff, tensely. The white craft came ahead at her full speed. After a brief wait Jim answered Cliff. “I see my old boss, Senor Ortiga,” he said, “and Marse Coleson! And some other men—why, it’s the men who used to be in business with my boss, only they turned hi-jackers. Yes, sar, there’s Don Ortiga, the brother—and Tew—and all o’ them, the very ones we sent you to with that message in the can.” “I know,” said Cliff. “Never mind, now—hail them, aren’t they near enough?” Being under the cabin wall for concealment he was not able to see. “Now they are,” said Jim softly and sent a hail across the water. “Take me off, stop and take me off—Master Coleson, it’s Jim!” he shouted. There was no answer. The white boat, as he reported in low tones, between hails, was slowing up, and coming closer, losing way—stopping. Jim, to carry out his part, sprang down from the cabin. Cliff, Sam and Jack crouched; they were no longer able to tell what was happening, but they knew that Jim would call out “Bless you for saving me!” if he got aboard and then they could act quickly, knowing that the boat would be opposite their end of the cabin. Instead, another voice came, loud and clear. “We’ll see about taking you off; we’re stopping! We need gas.” “How’d you get gas?” asked Jim, from the deck rail. “You ain’t got no way to pump it from one tank to the other!” “Yes we have,” called the voice. Cliff thought it sounded like Tew. “We got a hose rigged to our bilge pump, and we’ll pump with that.” The white boat scraped along the Senorita’s tilted side, and men swarmed over onto her deck; the crouching three heard their boots scrabble, thud and clump about. They were forward, and Jim had run along the forward end of the craft to continue his talk. The after end of the Senorita was, therefore, beyond the after rail of the shorter boat. Cliff inched his way around the aft side of the cabin until he could peer forward, taking a big chance, but feeling that he must see. Jack, and Sam, creeping close behind him, waited in suspense. Cliff took a swift peep and ducked back. “They’re stretching a hose to the Senorita’s forward tank,” he breathed. “There are some men on the Senorita, and—let me look again!” He protruded his head again, and then he thought he heard a low whistle. Cliff turned, looking down toward the stern of the white vessel. There, trussed up like two turkeys, in the cockpit of the Libertad, lay Tom and Nicky, the latter grinning a little sheepishly. Cliff turned to his companions. His voice came in swift, whispered words. Jack nodded. “We’ll do it!” he answered, hoarsely. “Inch as close as you can and we’ll be behind you. You take the cockpit, and free your chums. I’ll race forward, shooting, call Jim to help, and try to prevent the others from getting off our wreck. Sam, you shoot—in the air, in the water—anywhere; but shoot, load again and shoot—holler and try to scare them if you can’t hit them!” “All right,” said Sam. Cliff inched along the deck. He was in plain view, now, from forward on the Senorita, or from the Libertad. But the trio in the cabin of the latter vessel were deep in conversation, and the men were busy with the hose. “Start your bilge pump!” called a sailor. Tew, on the white boat, bent and engaged a clutch; there was a heavy grind of gearing and the slow pulsation of a pump. “Now!” whispered Cliff, and dashed for the rail. “Look out—we’re caught!” yelled a man, on guard atop the Senorita’s cabin, watching for the cutter. He fired at Cliff, but Sam, reaching a black arm over the cabin studding, yanked his leg, threw him off balance, and spoiled aim. Shooting, yelling, Jack charged up narrow deck, Sam at his heels. Cliff leaped and landed beside Nicky! |
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