CHAPTER XII.
SIGNS OF TROUBLE.
Bob was decidedly disturbed by this desire of the men to be taken fromthe key. If the story they told was true, he had every reason to expectfrom the first that such would be their request; and yet, now that hebegan to discern their true character, it was with considerable surprisehe learned that they wished to link their fortunes with his, at least tothe extent of leaving the island.
"I don't want sich as them around," he muttered as he left the cabin andwent forward to where Joe was sitting in the shade of the jib with hischin in his hands, trying to devise some simple plan for pulling thebrig into deep water.
"There's no way it can be done except by setting the sheet anchor thirtyor forty fathoms toward the mouth of the harbor and working down to itby sheer expenditure of muscle."
"Never mind that just now," Bob replied gloomily, "for there's anotherquestion to be settled. What do you s'pose that crowd in the cabinwant?"
"I reckon they're counting on our taking them away," Joe repliedlaughingly. "Most any fellow who had been marooned on this key wouldlike to leave."
"But I don't believe their yarn about bein' left behind, unless theywere up to some mischief an' the captain didn't know what else to dowith 'em."
"They ain't very pleasant-looking customers, for a fact; but yet theymay be honest sailors."
"I don't take any stock in it, or they'd never carry sail as they do.The red-nosed fellow was heavin' plates at Harry when I went below, an'they tried to make me believe the boy had been givin' 'em impudence. Nowthey promise to do full work if we'll take them with us."
"And I reckon that's just about what you'll have to do, Bob. It would becruel to leave them here; and, besides, we shall need the whole crowdbefore the Bonita can be floated. If I could repair the tug in anyreasonable length of time, it would be another matter; but since thatcan't be done, on account of the damage to the steam-chest, there's agood deal of heavy work ahead."
"Then your advice is to tell 'em they can stay aboard," Bob saidmoodily.
"I don't see what else you can do, more especially since it might beawkward if they should conclude to remain whether we wanted them ornot."
Bob was silent several moments, and then he said impatiently:
"I reckon you're right; but it goes mightily agin the grain to take sichcattle as them along. Howsomever, 'what can't be cured must beendured;' but I'll have my weather-eye liftin' all the time, so they'dbetter keep out of mischief. The sooner we get an anchor over thebetter, an' I'll call 'em, so's they can give us a sample of theirwork."
He was spared the labor of going below again, for just at that momentthe three men came on deck, and at once made their way forward.
"I hope you ain't goin' to refuse us a chance to give you a lift," thered-nosed man said in a whining tone; and Bob replied, without so muchas looking at his guests:
"Joe thinks we haven't got the right to say no; an', besides, we shallneed a pretty big force to work the brig off the sand. S'posin' you takehold an' help us lay out an anchor astern?"
"All right! You boss the job an' we'll stand by for every pound ofstrength we've got."
Since there was no possibility of using the tug, it would be necessaryto set about the task as Joe had said, and Bob explained to theapparently willing workers exactly how it was to be performed.
"We've got to lay out the sheet-anchor, backin' it if the holdin'-groundain't good," he said, addressing his conversation to the strangers, butlooking directly at Joe. "She plumped on here pretty strong, I'll allow;but it wasn't more'n half-tide when we struck, an' she oughter be workedoff in two or three floods. One of you get the boat around, an' I reckonit won't take very long to make ready for the job."
The yawl was staunch enough to stand up under the weight of thestream-anchor, and while the Mexican was pulling her to the port bow,Bob rove a tackle on the yard-arm by which to raise the heavy mass ofmetal.
Seeing that some important work was in progress the three boys came toassist; but the old sailor quickly dispensed with their services.
"Stay aft, lads. There's force enough here for this job, an' by 'tendin'to the grub I reckon you'll be doin' your full share."
Neither of the boys objected to this plan. They had good reason todislike the strangers, and were not desirous of coming in any closercontact with them than was absolutely necessary.
By the aid of the tackle the five men soon had the anchor in the boatwith a manilla hawser, one end of which was made fast to the winch,coiled on top.
Then the red-nosed man and Bob pulled the yawl straight away from thebrig's stern, while the Mexican hove the fakes overboard as the distancewas widened. This portion of the task was slow and wearisome, for theweight of the hawser caused the boat to hang despite the vigorousefforts at the oars; but the desired position was finally gained, andafter a great deal of tugging and straining the anchor was dropped.
Joe had two or three turns of the cable around the winch, and all handsbegan heaving on the bars until the stout rope was fairly taut, afterwhich a sloper was put to it, and the laborers sat down in the shadefor a breathing spell.
The work was now completed until the tide should rise; and then, if thebrig could not be pulled off, it would be necessary to break out some ofthe cargo in order to lighten her.
The most captious could have found no fault with the new members of thecrew while this portion of the task was being performed. They pulled andhauled with a will, making no effort to shirk any particularly severeduty, and striving earnestly to finish the job in the least possiblespace of time.
When the heavy anchor was laid-out astern Joe congratulated himself onthis addition to their number, and said to Bob, as they were stretchedout on the deck while the strangers had gone toward the scuttle-butt:
"It seems as if our taking them aboard was a big piece of luck. I'lladmit that they are not over and above pleasant-looking; but think ofthe difference in the work. With no one but the boys to help us, you andI would have been all day setting the anchor. Now we've got a good crewof five, and there's no question about our being able to sail the brig."
"You're right, Joe," Bob said thoughtfully; "an' I s'pose I'm a reg'larold woman. The way they acted at first riled me so much that I couldn'tsee any good in 'em; but we'd be in a mighty tight place, now the tug isdisabled, if they wasn't here."
Then the two discussed matters relative to hauling the brig from herbed of sand, and gave no heed to the strangers, who were amidshipsconversing in low tones, as if fearful of being overheard.
Their consultation was evidently satisfactory to all concerned, for thered-nosed man said, as the question under discussion was brought to aclose:
"She'll come away in a couple of tides at the longest. As near as I canmake out she only hangs from the waist up, and if the anchor holds, fiveof us ought to yank her off without much trouble. We must be ready tocarry out our plans at a moment's notice."
Then the men separated to walk about the after part of the brig in anapparently aimless manner; but all three met in the cabin a few momentslater, much to the discomfort of Walter, who was clearing off the tableand putting things to rights generally.
It seemed as if the strangers had not counted on finding any one below,for they looked at each other questioningly a moment, and then the thinman asked:
"Why don't you go into the galley, where you belong?"
"Because it's my turn to clear up the cabin," Walter replied as hecontinued his work. "Harry is washing the dishes and Jim's cookingdinner."
The boy had no fear of violence since Bob interrupted the scene at thebreakfast-table; and, besides, he was engaged in necessary work;therefore after answering the question he paid no further attention tothe men, save that he noticed the Mexican walking to and fro, peepinginto such of the state-rooms as were open.
"Well, you needn't stay any longer," the thin man said gruffly. "Ifyou're goin' to live aboard ship the first thing to learn is that you'vegot no business aft,
when any one else is here, except while waiting onthe table."
"I can't go till the work is done," Walter replied innocently, as hecontinued the task with no change of manner save to move more quickly.
"What do you mean by answering in that manner?" the red-nosed man askedangrily as he seized the boy by the collar and dragged him toward thecompanion-way. "If you don't know your place it's time somebody gave youa few lessons."
Walter was both surprised and alarmed by this sudden attack. It had notoccurred to him that he was doing anything wrong by remaining; but thegrip on his neck was so strong, and seemingly vicious, that it wascertain some terrible punishment would follow, and he screamed loudlyfor Harry.
Up to this moment it is hardly probable that the man had any idea ofdoing more than eject him from the cabin, because he did not wish toarouse Bob's anger again; but Walter's screams made him furious, and heboxed the boy's ears half a dozen times with no gentle force.
Matters were in this condition when the other boys came running aft, andone glance was sufficient to call forth all their anger.
"Hi! Bob!" Jim yelled, and Harry rushed boldly into the cabin as hecried:
"If you touch him again I'll knock you down!"
Having been summoned from his labors so suddenly, he had not stoppedeven to lay aside the coffee-pot he was cleaning, and this now served asa weapon. Raising it above his head he ran forward to strike Walter'sassailant; but he had hardly taken half a dozen steps when a blow fromthe red-nosed man felled him senseless to the floor.
Quickly as all this happened, Bob answered Jim's shrill appeal beforeanother move could be made, and Harry had but just fallen when the oldsailor leaped below.
"What mischief are you scoundrels up to now?" he cried angrily as heassumed a position of defense after pulling Walter from the man's grasp."It seems to me you're playin' a pretty high hand for sailors who havebeen saved from starvin'!"
"So far we've minded our own business and done all the work we could,"he with the red nose said firmly; "but because you've helped us off thekey there's no reason why we should take all the airs these cubs chooseto put on. After you've heard their story an' cooled down a bit we'lltalk with you, but not before!"
Then with a swagger which was probably intended as a show of dignity theman went on deck, followed by his companions, just as Joe came below tosee if his services were required.