CHAPTER X.
THE PROFESSOR IS KIDNAPPED.
The faces of all grew grave. A leak at sea is a serious menace. Thepoint at which the water was entering the Southern Cross was soonfound to be through a sprained plank a little below the water line.Captain Hazzard ordered canvas weighted and dropped overboard aroundthe leak so that the pressure of water would hold it there. Thecarpenter's gang then set to work to calk the hole temporarily.
In the meantime the Brutus had put back, blowing her whistleinquiringly.
"Send them a wireless message telling them what has happened," thecommander ordered Frank, who hastened to obey.
The captain of the Brutus ordered out his boat as soon as Frank'smessage had been conveyed to him and came aboard the Southern Cross.He agreed, after a consultation with Captain Hazzard, that it would benecessary to put in somewhere to refit.
"We are now off the mouth of the Santa Cruz river in Patagonia," saidCaptain Barrington, "it is a good place to lie to. I was there once ona passenger steamer that met with an accident. We can shift the cargoto the stern till we have raised the bow of the Southern Cross, andthen we can patch up her prow easily," he said.
All agreed that this was a good plan. There was only one objection,and that was the so-called giants of Patagonia, who are hostile to allstrangers. In view of the large force of men on board the two ships,however, and the numerous weapons carried, it was agreed that therewas not much to be feared from the Patagonians.
The broken steel hawser was at once detached and a new one put inplace and the two vessels headed for the shore, about one hundred andfifty miles distant. They arrived off the mouth of the Santa Cruzriver the next day and the boys, who had been up before dawn in theiranxiety to get their first glimpse of "The Land of the Giants," wererather disappointed to see stretched before them a dreary lookingcoast with a few bare hills rising a short distance inland. There wereno trees or grass ashore, but a sort of dull-colored bush grewabundantly.
"I thought the giants lived in dense forests," said Billy,disgustedly; "this place is a desert."
"It was a fortunate accident though that brought us to this shore,"said a voice behind them and Professor Sandburr's bony, spectacledface was thrust forward. "I would not have missed it for a great deal.I would like to capture a specimen of a Patagonian alive and take himhome in a cage. The Patagonian dog-flea, too, I understand, is verycurious."
The boys all laughed at this, but the professor was perfectly serious.There is no doubt that he would have liked to have done so and cagedup a Patagonian where he could have studied him at his leisure.
The Brutus, with leadsmen stationed in her bows to test the depth ofthe water, proceeded cautiously up the river and finally came toanchor with her tow behind her about two miles from its mouth. Thework of shifting some of the cargo of the Southern Cross to the sternso as to elevate her bow, was begun at once; as time was an importantconsideration. Soon all was declared ready for the carpenters to startwork and they were lowered on stages over the side and at once beganto rectify the trouble. Some of them worked from a boat secured to thebow.
"Do you think you can persuade the captain to let us go ashore withyou?" asked Frank of the professor, who was busy at once getting outall his paraphernalia in anticipation of going on what Billy called "abug hunt."
"Certainly," declared the scientist confidently, "come along. I shouldlike above all things to have you boys go ashore with me. Besides, Imay teach you all to become faunal naturalists."
The delighted boys followed the old man to Captain Hazzard's cabin,but, to their disappointment, he forbade the expedition peremptorily.
"The Patagonians are dangerous savages," he said, "and I will notassume the responsibility of allowing you to risk your lives."
Nor did any persuasion of which the boys or the professor could makehave any effect in causing the commander to change his mind. He wasfirm as adamant and reluctantly the boys made their way forward andwatched the carpenters fix the leak, and when that palled they werecompelled to fall back on fishing for an amusement.
The professor joined ardently in this sport despite his disappointmentat not being allowed to go ashore. He managed to fix up a net attachedto an iron ring with which he scooped up all kinds of queer fish outof the river, many of which were so ugly as to be repulsive to theboys. But the professor seemed to be delighted with them all.
"Ah, there, my beautiful 'Piscatorius Animata Catfisio,'" he wouldsay, as he seized a struggling sea monster with a firm grip andplunged it into one of his tin tanks. "I'll dissect you to-night. Youare the finest specimen of your kind I have ever seen."
The boys were suddenly interrupted in their fishing by blood-curdlingyells from the old scientist. Looking up in alarm they saw him dancingabout on the deck holding his arm as if in great pain, while in frontof him on the deck a queer-looking, flat fish with a long barbed tailflopped about, its great goggle eyes projecting hideously.
Frank ran forward to pick up the creature and throw it overboard, butas he grasped it he experienced a shock that knocked him head overheels. As he fell backward he collided with the professor and the twosprawled on the deck with the professor howling louder than ever.
"No wonder they're hurt," shouted Ben Stubbs, coming up with a longboat-hook, "that's an electric ray."
"An electric what?" asked Billy.
"An electric ray. They carry enough electricity in them to run a smalllamp, and when they wish they can give you a powerful shock. They killtheir prey that way."
"Ouch--," exclaimed the professor, who had by this time got up, "theray nearly killed me. Let me look at the brute so that I'll know oneof them again."
"Why don't you put him in your collection?" asked Frank with a smile,although his arm still hurt him where the electric ray had shocked it.
"I want no such fish as that round me, sir," said the professorindignantly, and ordered Ben to throw the creature overboard with hisboat-hook.
After supper that night the boys hung about the decks till bedtime.The hours passed slowly and they amused themselves by watching themoonlit shores and speculating on the whereabouts of the Patagonians.
Suddenly Billy seized Frank's arm.
"Look," he exclaimed, pointing to a low ridge that stood out blacklyin the moonlight.
Behind the low eminence Frank could distinctly see a head cautiouslymoving about, seemingly reconnoitering the two ships. In a few secondsit vanished as the apparent spy retreated behind the ridge.
"That must have been a Patagonian," said Frank.
"Just think, they are so near to us and we cannot go ashore," sighedthe professor, who was one of the group. "I wonder if they have anydogs with them?"
"I have a good mind to go, anyway," said the old man, suddenly, "Iwould like to write a paper on the habits of the Patagonians and howcan I if I don't study them at first hand?"
"What if they chopped your head off?" asked Billy.
"They would not do that," rejoined the scientist, with a superiorsmile. "I have a friend who lived with them for a time and then wrotea book about them. According to him Captain Hazzard is wrong; they arenot hostile, but, on the contrary, are friendly to white men."
"Then you think that Captain Hazzard doesn't know much about them?"asked Billy.
"I did not say that," replied the professor; "but he may be mistakenjust like I was about the electric ray, which I thought was a SouthAtlantic skate. Just the same, I mean to find out for myself," he wenton. "To-night when everyone is asleep but the man on duty, I am goingto watch my opportunity and go ashore in the boat the carpenters leftat the bow this afternoon. There are ropes hanging from the prow downwhich I can climb."
Soon after this the boys determined to turn in and, naturally, theprofessor's decision occupied a great deal of their conversation.
"Do you think we ought to tell the captain about what ProfessorSandburr means to do?" asked Frank of the others.
"I don't think so," said Billy. "He is much older than we ar
e anddoubtless he knows what he is about. At the same time, though, I thinkwe should watch and if he gets into trouble should try and help himout of it."
"Very well, then we will all be out on deck at midnight," said Frank,"and if we find that the professor is really serious in his intentionto go ashore in the boat we will try and stop him. If he stillpersists we shall have to tell the captain."
The others agreed that the course that Frank recommended was the bestone, and they all decided to adopt his plan.
But the boys were heavy sleepers and besides were tired out when theysought their bunks, so that when Frank, who was the first to wake,opened his eyes it was past one in the morning. With a start the boyjumped out of bed and hastily called the others.
"We may not be too late yet," he said, as he hastily slipped intotrousers, shirt and slippers.
But the boys WERE too late. When they reached the bow they could seeby peering over that the boat had gone and that the professor hadpenetrated alone into the country of the Patagonians.
Suddenly there came a shot from the shore and a loud cry of:
"Help!"
"It's the professor!" exclaimed Frank; "he's in serious trouble thistime."