CHAPTER XXI
CAVASA ISLAND AT LAST
Phil and Roger heard the conversation between Dave and the old sailor, and it worried them so much that they hurried below, to learn what might be going on.
"We must shift that part of the cargo first," came from the ship's carpenter. "Then, I think, I can do something, but I am not sure."
Captain Marshall at once ordered the cargo shifted as desired. This did not please the supercargo, but the master of the vessel paid no attention to Van Blott's objections.
"It is a question of keeping the ship afloat, Mr. Van Blott," said he, coldly. "If necessary, I'll have the whole cargo heaved overboard."
"But, sir" commenced the supercargo.
"I can't talk about it now. My duty is to save the ship. Do you want to go to the bottom of the ocean?" And Captain Marshall spoke in such a decided way that Jasper Van Blott sneaked off and said no more for the time being.
A portion of the crew came below, and not without difficulty a number of heavy boxes and casks were shifted. Then the ship's carpenter and an assistant went to work to tighten up the seams, through which the water of the ocean was spurting furiously. It was a difficult and dangerous task, and it lasted the best part of three hours. But, at last, the workers got the better of the elements, and then the water went down steadily in the ship's well, as the men at the pumps continued their labors.
"Will the ship pull through?" asked Phil, of the captain.
"Yes, my lad, I think we are safe now—unless the blow makes us open some more seams."
After the repairs below had been made and the alarm had passed, Captain Marshall called the first mate to his side.
"I thought you said those seams were all right when we were at the dock at San Francisco," he began.
"They looked all right," mumbled Paul Shepley.
"You couldn't have examined them very closely."
"I did."
"Humph! After this I had better look to things myself," was the captain's comment, and he moved away.
A little later the supercargo and the first mate met in the waist. The storm was now dying down rapidly, and it looked as if the sun would soon break through the clouds.
"Well, I see you had another run-in with the old man," remarked Van Blott.
"So did you."
"You mean about the cargo?"
"Of course."
"Well, I didn't want him to nose around too much," and the supercargo grinned.
"Afraid he might run across some of that private stuff?"
"Hush! Somebody might hear you, Shepley. What was your row about?"
"He laid the opening of the seams on my shoulders said I didn't inspect things properly at San Francisco."
"He seems to be getting harder than ever on us."
"That's it, and I am done, after this trip," growled the first mate.
"So am I—if I can make my little pile."
"That's what I mean. Van Blott, we must do it, too."
"I expect to, but it isn't going to be so easy as we thought. The owner of the ship has sent his son to watch me, and he and those other lads are rather clever."
"Pooh! you are not afraid of those boys, are you?"
"It isn't that. I'm afraid they'll discover something and take the news to the old man."
Here the talk had to come to an end, and the two men separated, promising to meet in the even ing. That they had some scheme they wished to work, there could not be the slightest doubt.
By nightfall the storm was at an end, and the sun set in a perfect blaze of glory. Of the gale only a stiff breeze remained, and Captain Marshall lost no time in setting his sails as before. All the loose seams had been mended and the Stormy Petrel now took in no more water than was usual with her, and is usual with ordinary sea-going craft.
"I am glad that is over," remarked Phil, the next day, after a fair night's sleep.
"So am I, and I never want to experience another such storm," came from Roger.
"How do you both feel?" asked Dave.
"My seasickness is gone, thank goodness," answered Phil.
"Ditto here," said the senator's son. "Dave, you are a lucky dog, to keep so well," he added, a bit enviously.
"Perhaps it will be my turn next time, Roger."
After that the Stormy Petrel continued on her course for many days with but little out of the ordinary happening. Once or twice the boys had some sharp words with the first mate, and Phil had a "tiff" with the supercargo, but nothing like an open quarrel ensued. Yet the flames were smoldering, ready to break out at the first opportunity.
"Those two men hate us worse than poison," said Dave, one day. "I can see it plainly."
"That supercargo has it in for me," replied Phil. "I wish I could let my father know just how he is acting. He'd soon lose his situation."
They were now near the equator, and the weather was very warm, and would have been unendurably hot, had it not been for the constant breeze that was blowing. Nobody cared to do much in such an atmosphere, and the three boys were content to sit around or loll in hammocks suspended in shady portions of the deck. The broiling sun started the tar from the seams, and the odor therefrom was almost overpowering.
"I wish we had an ice-making machine on board," said Roger, as he fanned himself. They had taken ice along, but the supply was running low, and he could not get quite as much as he desired.
"Never mind, we'll have a run ashore soon," said Dave. "That will be something of a change."
He had in mind the stop at Christmas Island, a small body of land belonging to England and lying in the Pacific, close to the equator. The island was sighted the next day, and they made a landing and roamed around for three hours, while some fresh water and other things were taken on board. Then, by nightfall, the bow of the Stormy Petrel was once more headed for the southwestward.
"Now we are in southern seas," cried Dave, one day, after the equator had been left behind. "I suppose we'll begin to sight some of the numerous islands before long."
"I shan't mind sighting the islands, but I don't want to run on some hidden reef," returned Roger. "The charts show a great number of reefs in this portion of the ocean."
Once more the days slipped by. It was fearfully hot, and the boys did not move, excepting when it was absolutely necessary. Occasionally they would sit at the bow and Billy Dill would tell them stories of the sea and of sights in foreign lands. He now said that he felt as of old.
"I was born for the sea," he observed. "It was a mistake for me to travel all the way across land to Oakdale, an' I reckon I got punished fer it."
"I am sorry you suffered, but I am glad I had the chance to meet you," answered Dave. "It may mean a great deal to me, you know."
"Thet's true, Dave. But take my advice an' don't depend upon it too much. I'd hate awfully to see ye disapp'inted."
"Yes—but I wish we were at Cavasa Island," said the country boy, wistfully.
The nearer the ship drew to the island men tioned, the more anxious did he become, although he did his best to conceal his feelings. But Phil and Roger understood.
"I sincerely hope Dave isn't disappointed," said the senator's son, when he and Phil chanced to be alone. "Think of coming such a distance as this on a wild-goose chase!"
"Well, it was the only thing to do," answered the son of the bark owner. "You and I would have done the same."
"I don't doubt it. But, look at it from every point of view, it is an odd situation. I only hope this Dunston Porter is still at Cavasa Island, or in that vicinity."
At last came the day when Captain Marshall called the boys to him and said they might sight Cavasa Island inside of the next twenty-four hours.
"You'll know the island at a glance," said he. "Approaching it from this side, it looks exactly like a long loaf of bread with a hump in the middle. The hump is the old volcano. The town at which we are to stop is located at the western extremity of the island. There is where the real shipping is done. There is a town at the eastern end, but the harbor is poor, and most of the inhabitants are natives."
"And what of the people where we are to stop?" asked Dave.
"About one-half are natives and the others a mixture of Americans and Europeans. The harbor there is a very good one indeed, and that is why it is so popular."
As they neared Cavasa Island, both the super cargo and the first mate appeared to grow more than ordinarily anxious, and talked together by the half-hour. Dave noticed this and so did the others.
"They have something in mind," said the country boy to Phil. "You'll surely have to be on guard when the cargo for Tolao is taken ashore."
The next day the boys kept on the lookout, having borrowed Captain Marshall's best glass. About noon Roger uttered a loud cry:
"I see something! It must be the island!"
"Let me look!" exclaimed Dave, and took the glass. "Yes, it is Cavasa Island!" he went on, "for it looks exactly as the captain said."
Inside of an hour they could see Cavasa Island quite plainly, and by nightfall they were ready to enter the harbor. But this was not to be accomplished in the dark, and so they had to remain outside until daybreak, impatient as Dave was to get ashore.
"What an odd collection of ships!" said Phil, as the Stormy Petrel made her way into the harbor. "They must have come from all parts of the world!" And this remark was largely true.
It had been arranged that Dave and Billy Dill should go ashore at the first opportunity, and Roger was to go with them.
"I am sorry I can't go," said Phil, to Dave. "But, you understand how it is," and he jerked his thumb in the direction of the supercargo, who was writing in one of his books.
"Yes, I understand, Phil," answered Dave. "I hope you don't have any trouble."
The shipping of Tolao was very much huddled together, and the boys had to depend upon Billy Dill to pilot them to the main thoroughfare of the town. The old sailor declared that the place had changed but little since his last visit, and said he would take them directly to the hotel at which Dunston Porter had been in the habit of stopping.
"All right," said Dave. "You can't get there any too quick for me," and they walked on, with the heart of the country boy beating as it had seldom beat before. To him, his whole future seemed to rest upon what he might learn in the next few hours.