CHAPTER VII
IN THE DANGER ZONE
Harry was awakened the next morning by the clanking of heavy chains,rumbling of iron trucks, banging of doors, creaking of cordage, and thehoarse shouts of men. Above the unusual din the voice of the captainrose deep and resonant. Harry sat up in his bunk in wonderment. Theusually quiet and methodical ship seemed to have in an instant beentransformed into what to the ear might easily resemble an iron foundry.The noise also aroused Bert and Mason.
"What's our friend the buccaneer up to now?" queried Mason, rubbing hissleepy eyes.
"The sooner we get on deck, the quicker we shall find out," answeredHarry, jumping from his bunk and beginning to dress hurriedly.
"Sounds to me suspiciously like a pirate chief and his blood-thirstycrew preparing to board an unsuspecting ship," said the irrepressibleMidget, as he poked his head into his shirt. "Shouldn't be a bitsurprised when we get on deck to find a lot of evil-faced men armed tothe teeth--you know pirates are always evil-faced. By the way, did youever know how the expression 'armed to the teeth' originated? Well, yousee, after a pirate has stuck his belt full of pistols and cutlasses,and has both hands full of guns, he just chucks a dirk in his mouth andthen, of course, he is armed to the teeth. Singular how you fellows arealways drawing on my fund of general information. One dollar, please."
"Stop your nonsense, Midget," said Harry. "Remember what CaptainDynamite said last night. We are in the zone of danger to-day."
The noise had now somewhat subsided, and by the time the boys weredressed the usual quiet pervaded the ship.
Harry stepped from their stateroom into the main cabin and was surprisedto see the captain sitting quietly at the table with his back turned tohim. His elbows were resting on the table and his face was in his hands.He was looking intently at some object in front of him. He did not moveas Harry approached, and the boy could see that he was gazing at aportrait.
"Good morning, sir," said Harry, stopping at a respectful distance."Have we struck the danger zone, yet?"
"Danger--danger?"
The captain almost shrieked the words as he leaped to his feet, andclasping the portrait to his breast as if to protect it, turned fiercelyon the boy.
"O, it's you," he said quickly, on recognizing Harry. Then he passed hishand over his eyes as if returning from a trance.
"I was with her when you spoke," he said softly, "and then the thoughtof danger drives me mad. See----"
The captain held out the photograph for the boy's inspection. It was thepicture of a beautiful young woman of Spanish type, with dark hair andeyes.
"This time I take her home as my bride. She has promised it. I have lefther too long at the mercy of Weyler's bloodhounds. But Gomez will seethat no harm comes to my Juanita. He has promised. The general haspromised, and soon--very soon, I shall take her away--away from thisdanger zone."
The big man seemed dreaming again as his eyes rested with an expressionas soft as a woman's on the fair face of the girl. Then with thatcharacteristic shake of his huge body he placed the portrait carefullyin an inner pocket, next his heart, and turned again to Harry with hisdare-devil laugh on his lips.
"Ha, ha! Danger zone? Oh, sure, we are in it. But we are ready for 'em,my boy. All's in shipshape for friend or foe. We've set a smiling faceto the fore, my lad, but a broad laugh would uncover some moighty sharpteeth." At this moment the mate hurriedly entered the cabin and saluted.
"What is it, Suarez?" asked the captain, quickly.
"Smoke off the starboard bow, sir."
"Can you make her out?"
"Not yet, sir."
"Call me when you can."
The mate saluted again and retired. The captain turned away from Harryunceremoniously, and Bert and Mason having joined him, the boys went ondeck. There was no change apparent that would have accounted for thestrange noises that had awakened them, except that the hatches were nowfastened down with heavy iron bars and the little forward hatch whereHarry had made his first tour of inspection was guarded by two men, whostood with folded arms on either side. There were now two men on lookoutaft as well as forward. They paced slowly to and fro, their eyes fixedastern. Amidships, on both the starboard and port sides, a man walkedbackward and forward over a space of about fifteen feet, always closelyscanning the sea on either side. Off the starboard bow could be seen athin thread of smoke that rose almost perpendicularly in the still air.
The boys had never before seen so many men on deck at the same time.Not a word was spoken as the lookouts fore and aft passed and repassedeach other. On the bridge both mates were on duty.
"Say, where do you suppose all these dummies sprang from, anyway?" askedMason, as he surveyed the scene in astonishment. "I wonder if there areany more where they came from?"
"Let's go down and interview our friend Sambo," said Harry. "He has beengrowing communicative lately. Yesterday he deigned to say 'Yas, sah.'Maybe we can coax something more out of him."
When they reached the galley, to the boys' great surprise, the negropoked his head out over the half door and grinning broadly, said:
"Mornin', sahs."
"Why, Sambo," said Bert, in astonishment, "where did you find yourtongue?"
"Always pick it up again in danger zone, sah."
"There goes that danger zone again," said Mason, in disgust. "I don'tbelieve there is any danger between here and the equator, Sambo."
"Name not Sambo, sah. George Washington Jenks, New York, U. S. A., atyo' service, gents."
Finding the negro in such an unusual mood the boys grouped themselvesabout the door intending to draw the man out if possible, and learnwhat they could that might serve to confirm their suspicions as to thepurpose of their cruise. As Harry stepped up to the door and brought theman's entire body into view, he noticed with amazement that he wore acartridge belt and pistol holster from which the butt of a revolverpeeped.
"Why, George, what are you carrying a pistol for this morning. Afraidthe crew will mutiny?"
"Always carry gun in danger zone, sah," replied the negro, grinningstill more.
"The whole ship has gone crazy over the danger zone," said Bert.
"Yas, sah," said George Washington. "May have mix-up bime-by," and hejerked his thumb over his starboard shoulder.
"Mix-up with the captain?"
"Humph. George Wash'n Jenks not such a blame fool's that. Mix-up withsteamer coming up to starboard. May be, may be not. Not such a mucher atguessing."
"Is that why you are carrying a pistol; because a steamer is coming up?"
"Always carry gun in danger zone, sah," and again the negro grinnedtantalizingly.
"George Washington Jenks, New York, U. S. A., I have a nice, green onedollar bill saved from a watery grave," said Harry, "and if you willtell us what the danger zone is, you can have it."
As Harry spoke he pulled a bill out of his pocket and displayed ittemptingly before the negro. George Washington Jenks looked at itcovetously out of the corner of his eye. Then he shook his head proudly.
"Better go ask Cap'n Dynamite. Might be he need the money. George WashJenks don't."
"I guess you are true blue, Wash," laughed Harry, as he put the moneyback in his pocket.
"You pretty good guesser, sah. Not such a mucher myself."
The boys, convinced that they could gain no information from the negro,and realizing the uselessness of attempting to question any others ofthe crew, strolled aft again. It seemed to Harry that the thread ofsmoke had grown a little thicker. The captain opened his door andstepped out on deck, glass in hand. He signalled to Suarez, who came aftat his bidding.
"Can you make her out yet, Suarez?"
"Not yet, captain, but she is headed to cross our bow and should be hullup in a few minutes."
For five minutes both men stood with their glasses trained on the smoke.Finally Suarez dropped his to his side with the air of a man who haslearned what he wished to know.
"Yes?" said the captain, interrogatively.
&n
bsp; "It's the little one we dodged last time."
"The _Belair_. So I thought. Change the course two points to starboard.We will go astern unless she gets curious and I suppose she will. Yes,see, she is heading up for us. Hold your course; it would be folly tochange it now. If we can't bluff it through, why we can--well, do thenext best thing, Suarez, eh--call her hand."
Dynamite threw back his head and laughed heartily.
"Everything is in readiness for the call, sir," said the mate, gravely.
"Very well, Suarez; tell Battersea to notify the men below to stand by."
The boys looked at one another in mute wonder. Then there were other menbelow, and for what? Harry's mind reverted to that forward compartmentso well stocked with munitions of war.
"Bert," he whispered, "I guess they were right about that danger zone,and although I'm not 'such a mucher' at guessing, as our friend Jenks ofNew York, says, maybe we'll have that mix-up."
For nearly an hour the quiet routine aboard the _Mariella_ continued.The captain slowly paced the after deck, now and then scanning theoncoming stranger through his glasses. There was an air of suppressedexcitement in the silence. By this time the other steamer was clearlydiscernible with the naked eye, and the boys could see that she was asmall gunboat flying a foreign flag, which they guessed to be Spanish.She had two large guns mounted forward, and a number of rapid fire gunsaft and amidships.
She was a tiny craft for a fighter and apparently had once been apleasure yacht; but she looked saucy and dangerous as she came on towardthem. As Harry looked along the quiet decks of the staid and sober_Mariella_ he could not help comparing her to a big dignifiedNewfoundland dog with a snapping terrier perking boldly up to her.
They could now distinguish the forms of men on the gunboat's decks.
"Come over here to the starboard rail, boys," said the captain, suddenlyturning to them. "You may help to carry out more successfully the littlefarce we are about to attempt. Show yourselves as much as possible andact as if you were curiously interested in our friend, the gunboat, asno doubt you are."
At this moment a black-bearded little man, who had been struttingpompously on the bridge of the gunboat, raised a megaphone to his lipsand a volley of foreign words, perfectly unintelligible to the boys,was shot out into the atmosphere.
In a moment the captain sent back a reply to what had evidently been ademand for a description of his ship.
"The _Mariella_, Boston for San Juan, Porto Rico; general merchandiseand three passengers returning from school."
"That's us," whispered Mason. "Look important now. This is as good asplaying charades. Can you guess the word, Hal?"
For a few minutes those on the deck of the gunboat seemed to bediscussing the reply. The little man on the bridge gesticulatedviolently as he apparently argued with a subordinate officer. Finally heput his marine glasses to his eyes again and for fully a minute Harryfelt that he was studying them and Captain Dynamite, who stood facinghim, his big form looming up to its full height, while a smile playedaround the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly the little man danced up and down like a jumping jack, shot hisarms in the air and waved them wildly. Then he seized the megaphone andaimed it at the captain's head. This time the boys could understand thewords that he poured out, for he spoke in broken English.
"Ah, ah," he shouted, "I know you now, you el Capitaine Dynamite, elfilibust, el buccaneer, el pirate. Surrend--surrend in Queen's name."
The little man's words had an electrical effect on the captain. Thesmile faded away and his mouth became a set, straight line. In a momenthe was all action.
"Go ahead full speed, Suarez," he shouted. "All hands to quarters."
In a moment his orders were transmitted from mouth to mouth and asquickly the quiet decks became transformed. Men in a seemingly endlessstream rushed up through the forward hatch from below and scatteredabout the decks with soldier-like regularity, each taking, without theleast confusion, a station to which he had apparently been assigned.Every man was armed with sword, pistol, and rifle, and almost before theboys had recovered from the first gasp of astonishment, the bulwarkswere lined with rows of fully armed, determined looking men, who stoodsilently at their posts awaiting further orders.
George Washington Jenks stepped out of his galley, his black, shiningface as usual on a broad grin. He looked aft at the boys, pointed to thegunboat and chuckled.
"George Wash Jenks is not such a bad guesser after all," said Harry."Mix-up has arrived all right."
"Say, but Hal, do you think there is going to be any real fighting?"asked Bert. All of the boys were intensely excited and nervous fromtheir unusual surroundings.
"It looks a heap like it."
"And here we are right in the middle of it without as much as a hat pinto do business with," moaned Mason.
The captain, who had darted into his cabin a moment before, now emergedwith a cartridge belt buckled around his flannel coat and two armypistols at his sides. He carried three other pistols in his hands.
"Here, boys," he said, as he approached them and handed one to each;"these are for protection only. Do you know how to use them?"
"Only give us something to shoot at and we will show you," piped theMidget.
"Well, if you have to shoot, there are your marks," was the reply, as hepointed to the gunboat.
In the meantime equal activity had been displayed on the Spaniard. Herdecks swarmed with men, and over the still water was borne a jargon ofunintelligible orders.
Suddenly there came a sharp command from the little man on the bridge.Dynamite understood it and raised his hand as if to warn the boys back.There was a puff of smoke at the gunboat's bow and then a loud report.
A solid shot whistled across the bows of the _Mariella_ and ricochettedover the water into the distance.
"Crowd on all steam, Suarez," shouted the captain, shaking his fist atthe gunboat. "We will first try the wise man's course and run away, butif we cannot shake off that little terrier, we'll have to show ourteeth."
Then turning to the Spaniard again he put his megaphone to his lips andshouted to the little commander, who still capered and gesticulated onthe bridge:
"Yes, I _am_ el Capitaine Dynamite. Come on and take me if you can.Viva, Cuba Libre."