CHAPTER XXVI.
BOLD THIEVES.
The old sailor remained on duty until the day began to break. The lossof the yawl troubled him more than he cared to say, and this, togetherwith the possibility that she might have been taken during his watch,drove all desire for sleep from his eyes.
When the yellow shafts of light shot up from the eastern sky to heraldthe approach of dawn he awakened his companions, and while the boys wentinto the galley to commence the labors of the day, he and Joe stood onthe forward-bitt, eagerly scanning the surrounding shore for some signsof the boat.
In this they were not to be disappointed, for as the shadows retreatedthe yawl stood revealed on the beach at the point where the Sea Bird'screw emerged from the thicket when staggering under the weight of thepirates' gold, and standing near, as if examining their stolen prize,were the three men.
"There's one good thing about it," Bob said grimly. "By losin' our boatwe shall get rid of Mr. Red-nose and his friends, an' I ain't sure butwe'll be sellin' 'em reasonably cheap."
Joe was so enraged by the sight that he could make no reply, and the oldsailor continued half to himself:
"It won't be sich a terrible job, after they've gone, to build a raftthat'll carry us ashore, an' p'rhaps the outcome of it'll be our savin'the steamer."
The watchers had not long to wait before it became apparent that theparty on shore did not intend to delay their departure.
All three busied themselves with bringing bundles and boxes from thethicket after the survey of the boat was ended, and in less than half anhour the little craft had a full load.
A light breeze came from the west, and after stepping on board it wasonly necessary to row the yawl a short distance from the shore when thesail filled, causing her to glide slowly toward the open sea.
Bob and Joe watched these maneuvers in silence without heeding Jim'sannouncement that breakfast was ready, and much to the astonishment ofboth, the sail was brailed up when the boat reached a point nearlyopposite the steamer.
"I'll be blowed if they haven't got the nerve to speak us!" the oldsailor exclaimed; and almost at the same moment the red-nosed manshouted, as he raised his hat in mock politeness:
"We're sorry to leave you here aground, and without a tender; but youdidn't feel like makin' any friendly talk to us yesterday mornin', sowe had to help ourselves. I had an idee we'd get the best end of thetrade if it come to bein' disagreeable!"
"Don't worry about us!" Bob shouted angrily. "We're glad to get rid ofyou at any price; but my advice is that you give Nassau a pretty wideberth!"
"We should be ungrateful if we did not heed the counsel of those whohave rigged the boat for us in such a satisfactory manner!" the Mexicanreplied with a laugh; and then the sheet was hauled aft once more andthe little craft laid on such a course as would bring her close past thesoutherly point of the harbor.
Bob and Joe remained silent and motionless until the thieves were shutout from view by the land, and then the former said, with an attempt tospeak cheerfully:
"That ends 'em, so far as we are concerned, an' its best not to think ofthe scoundrels ag'in. We've either got to take up our quarters on theisland or rig some plan for floatin' the steamer, an' I reckon that'lloccupy pretty much all our time. Let's get breakfast, an' then decidewhat's to be done."
There was no necessity for spending many moments on deliberations whenthe morning meal had been eaten, for whatever might be done, the firststep was to establish communication with the shore, and this Joeproposed to do when he came on deck again.
The thieving crew were nowhere in sight, as would have been the casehad they sailed in almost any other than a southerly direction, and itseemed probable that the yawl had been headed toward Nassau despite thedanger the men would incur of being arrested.
"I only hope they'll fool around in the vicinity until that schoonercomes back and captures every one!" Joe said in anything rather than afriendly tone, after taking a deliberate survey of such portion of theocean as could be seen from the tug; and then he added abruptly, as ifdetermined to put all unpleasant thoughts far from his mind, "Now, whatabout getting on shore, Bob?"
"We must rig up some kind of a raft, I reckon, an' then stretch one ofthe heavin' lines so's she can be pulled back and forth without too muchwork."
"Jim, you and Harry overhaul the lines," Joe said as he began toundress; "and while Bob is building the raft I'll swim ashore."
"Don't do it!" the old sailor cried, warningly. "There are too manysharks around these keys to make swimmin' very safe sport!"
"We sha'n't be likely to find them in such shoal water. The boys canstay near the bow, and with all hands on the lookout I don't fancythere'll be much danger," Joe replied carelessly, as he knotted aroundhis waist the line Jim brought.
Then without more ado he leaped overboard; and so shallow was the coveat this point that hardly a dozen strokes were necessary before his feettouched the bottom, and he waded ashore to where a mangrove grew nearthe edge of the bank.
Around this he fastened the rope, and then returned to the steamer,saying, as he stepped on board:
"The Sea Bird crawled pretty well up on the shoal before the anchorcaught."
"Yes," Bob replied sadly; "she's got so much sand under her nose thatI'm afraid she'll stay here, unless--which ain't at all likely--somesteamer puts in. I was reckonin' on usin' timbers from the bulk-head fora raft; but seein's how there ain't much trouble in gettin' ashore it'llbe best for the boys to make one out of tree-trunks while you keep towork on the engine."
"Are you countin' on livin' ashore?" Jim asked, anxiously.
"We may be glad to, lad, if another gale springs up. We'll be ready toabandon the little steamer if the worst comes; but all hands are to worktryin' to float her jes' the same as if we believed it could be done."
The boys were not loath to be on the land once more. They undressed withalacrity, after bringing from below the axes and hatchets, and withtheir clothes packed in an empty cask from out of which one of the headshad been taken, they leaped overboard like a party of frogs.
"Cut about twenty medium-sized trees, and drag them to the beach aftertrimming off the branches!" Joe shouted as they landed.
The boys dressed quickly, for the swarms of mosquitoes rendered clothesvery necessary, and at once set about the task of chopping, selectingsuch mangroves and palms as grew nearest the shore, in order to avoid,so far as possible, the labor of hauling them through the thickunderbrush.
Then Bob and Joe began their portion of the labor. Although the oldsailor believed the tug to be immovably fixed upon the sand, he did notpropose to neglect anything which would tend to extricate her. Of courseit was possible something might occur to better her condition; and insuch an improbable event it was necessary she should be in workingorder. Besides, as he said to Joe, "it was as well to have a job on handto occupy their attention as to idle the time away on the key."
By noon the boys had collected sufficient materials for the raft, andBob swam ashore to assist in building it.
Using ropes and vines instead of nails, which were very precious justthen, quite a serviceable raft was put together, and on it, by the aidof the rope Joe had stretched ashore, all hands pulled themselves out tothe steamer.
The boys went into the galley to prepare dinner, and after it had beeneaten the weary crew indulged in a long siesta, for the heat was almostoverpowering.
There was no thought of standing watch, now their enemies had left theisland, and everybody gave himself up to the desire for slumber whichmade his eyelids heavy. No one was sleeping very soundly, and Bob hadonly fallen into a doze, when a report as loud as would have beencaused by the discharge of a musket rang out on the still air, causingboys and men to leap to their feet in alarm.
"What was it?" Joe asked, as he gazed around in bewilderment, butwithout seeing any living thing either on the sea or land.
"I'm blest if I know!" Bob replied, in a tone of perplexity. "It soundedclose aboard; but h
ow can----Say, is there anything below which couldexplode?"
"Not when there's no steam on."
The old sailor stood staring at the shore in silence, evidentlyseriously disturbed, and the three boys gathered around him in alarm.They had experienced so much which was both mysterious and terriblesince the morning of the sail in the Sally Walker, that to them everyunusual sound or movement meant further disaster, and Bob's palpablefear caused something very like horror to come upon them.
Joe had mechanically started forward, and before reaching thepilot-house he shouted, to the intense relief of all:
"We were more scared than hurt this time! It was only the heaving-line.It has parted, and in doing so made the noise; but I don't understandhow there could be so much strain."
Bob glanced ashore quickly, assured himself that one end of the rope wasstill made fast to the tree, and then cried triumphantly as he pointedastern:
"There's where the strain came from! The sun has been dryin' the hawsertill it pulled the tug back far enough to break the line! That shows howmuch can be done by tryin'! The Sea Bird is ready to come off the shoalif we help her a bit; so turn to, lads, an' work for all you're worthtill she's in deep water once more!"
The slackened hawser, which a short time previous had been so taut, toldthat Bob's explanation was the correct one, and there was no necessityto urge either the boys or Joe any further. To have a chance of savingthe little steamer after all had firmly believed she was helplesslystranded aroused every member of the crew as nothing else, save theactual arrival of friends, could have done.