CHAPTER IX.
A QUEER ACCIDENT.
It was no time for words. Almost before any of them realized just whathad happened, the savage creature that had taken refuge from theflames on their frail craft, launched its yellow body at them in agreat leap. But the brute miscalculated its spring this time.
With a howl of dismay it shot beyond its mark and fell into the sea.
"Quick, boys, get your knives ready," shouted Ben, "we've got afighting chance now."
Hastily the boys, though they felt skeptical as to the effectivenessof these small weapons against such a formidable enemy, got out theirhunting knives. But they were not destined to use them.
The howl of dismay which the panther had uttered as it found itselfplunged into the water was quickly changed to a shrill scream ofterror from its huge throat. At the same instant a number oftriangular fins dashed through the water toward it.
"Sharks!" shouted Harry.
Attracted by the number of animals that had taken to the water toescape the fire the creatures had gathered in great numbers about theisland and were devouring the fugitives right and left. Fully a dozenof the monsters rushed at the panther which, formidable as it was onland, was, like most of the cat tribe, at a great disadvantage in thewater.
It could make no resistance but a few feeble snaps to the avalanche ofsharks that rushed at it, and a few seconds after the onslaught thewater was crimsoned with the blood of the panther and the boys weresafe from that peril. But the sharks now offered almost as great adanger as had the land monster.
Made furious by the taste of so much food they cruised alongside therickety raft gazing with their little eyes at its occupants tillshudders ran through them. The boys tried to scare them away byflourishing the branches used as oars, but this, while it scared themat first, soon lost its effect on the sea-tigers, who seemeddetermined to keep alongside the raft, evidently hoping that sooner orlater they would get a meal.
All the afternoon the boys took turns paddling with their branches andby this means, and impelled also by one of the ocean currents thatabound in this latitude, the smoking island gradually drew further andfurther away. But the sharks still cruised alongside and now and againone bolder than the others would turn partly on his back and nose upagainst the raft, showing his cruel, saw-like teeth and monstrousmouth as he did so.
"I don't wonder they call them sea-tigers," said Frank, "more terriblelooking monsters I never saw."
The tropic night soon closed and darkness shut down with greatrapidity. Far off the boys could see the red glare cast by the flamingisland.
"That's queer," exclaimed Frank suddenly. He had been regarding theisland intensely for some time.
"What's queer?" demanded Billy.
"Why, do you see that long wavering ray of light shooting up near theisland," he cried, pointing in that direction, "what can it be?"
The others looked and to their amazement, as soon as Ben's eyes fellon the strange ray of white light, the old sailor began dancing a sortof jig to the imminent danger of his tumbling in among the sharks.
"Hurray! hurray!" he shouted, "douse my topsails and keel-haul mymain-jibboom, if that ain't the best sight I've seen for a long time."
"Have you gone crazy?" asked Harry.
"Not much, my boy," shouted the old tar, "that queer light--as youcall it--yonder is a ship's searchlight. The Southern Cross like asnot."
"She must have seen the smoke from the burning island and sailed inthat direction," exclaimed Frank.
"How can we attract their attention?" cried Billy.
"Easy enough," said Ben, pulling off his shirt, "this is a good shirt,but I'd rather have my life than a whole trunk full of shirts. Now forsome matches and we'll make a night signal."
The matches were soon produced and the old sailor set fire to thegarment. It flared up brightly and made a fine illumination, but asthe flare died out there was nothing about the movement of thesearchlight to indicate that the signal had been seen.
"We must try again," said Ben.
It was Harry's turn to sacrifice a shirt this time, and he lost notime in ripping it off. As Frank prepared to light it, however, anunfortunate--or even disastrous--accident occurred.
The waterproof box of matches slipped from his fingers in hisexcitement, and before any of them could recover it, it was overboard.The rush of a great body through the water at the same instant toldthem that one of the watchful sharks had swallowed it.
"I wish they'd burn his insides out," cried Billy.
"Everybody search their pockets for a match," commanded Frank. Aprolonged scrutiny resulted in yielding just one match. It came fromBen's pocket.
Frank lit it with great care. For one terrible moment, as they allhung breathless over it, it seemed as if it was going out. It finallycaught, however, and flared up bravely.
"Now the shirt," cried Frank.
It was thrust into his hands and he waved the blazing garment abovehis head till the flames streaked out in the night.
This time a cheer went up from the castaways on the raft.
Their signal had been seen.
At least so it appeared, for the searchlight, which had been sweepingabout near the island, suddenly shot its long finger of light in theirdirection. As the vessel bearing it neared them a bright glowenveloped the figures on the raft, who were alternately hugging eachother and shaking hands over the prospect of their speedy deliverance.
A few minutes later all doubt was dissolved. The approaching vesselwas the Southern Cross, and the adventurers were soon answering toexcited hails from her bridge. To lower a boat and get them on boardonce more did not take long, and it was not till late that night that,the story of their perils having been told and retold at least twentytimes, they managed to get to their old bunks.
Never had the mattresses seemed so soft or the sheets so comfortableas they did to the tired boys. Their heads had hardly touched thepillows before they were off in dreamland--a region in which, on thatnight at least, fires, panthers and sharks raged in inextricableconfusion.
Before they retired they heard from the lips of Captain Hazzard thepuzzle their disappearance from the ship had proved. The SouthernCross, it appeared, on the day following her collision with thefloating island, had cruised in the vicinity in the hope of findingsome trace of the castaways. Her search was kept up until hope hadbeen about abandoned. The sight of the glare of the blazing islandhad, however, determined her commander to ascertain its cause, withthe result that while her searchlight was centered on the strangephenomenon the boys' tiny fire signal had been seen by a lookout inthe crow's nest and the ship at once headed for the little point oflight.
For his part the commander was much interested in hearing of thefloating island. It cleared up what had been a great mystery, namely,the nature of the obstruction they had struck, and proved interestingfrom a scientific point of view. Captain Hazzard told the boys thatthese great tracts of land were, as Ben had said, not uncommon off themouth of the Amazon, but that it was rarely one ever got so far out tosea.
Two weeks later, after an uneventful voyage through tropic waters,during which the boys had had the interesting experience of crossingthe equator, and had been initiated by being ducked in a huge canvaspool full of salt water placed on the fore deck, the Southern Crosssteamed into the harbor of Monte Video, where she was to meet herconsort, the Brutus, which vessel was to tow her down into the polarregions.
A few interesting days were spent in Monte Video and the boys sentmany letters home and Captain Hazzard forwarded his log books and dataas obtained up to date. Professor Sandburr spent his time among thenatives collecting memoranda about their habits while the boys roamedat their leisure about the city. They saw a bull fight, a spectaclethat speedily disgusted them, and witnessed the driving into thestock-yards of a huge herd of cattle rounded up by wild andsavage-looking gauchos on wiry ponies.
One day, while they were walking through a back street leading to somehandsome buildings, they
heard terrible cries coming from a small hutin unmistakably American tones.
"Come on, let's see what is the matter?" shouted Frank.
Followed by Billy and Harry, the lad ran toward the mud hut from whichthe cries had issued. As they neared it a terrible-looking figuredashed out. Its white duck suit was streaming with red and the samecolor was daubed all over its face and head.
"Oh, boys, save me!" it cried as it ran towards the three lads.
"Why, it's Professor Sandburr!" exclaimed Harry, gazing at thecrimson-daubed figure; "whatever is the matter?"
"Oh-oh-oh-oh," howled the professor, dancing about, "it's a woman inthat hut. She threw some stinging stuff all over me."
"Why, it's chile con-carne!" exclaimed Frank, examining the red stuffthat daubed the unfortunate professor from head to foot; "goodgracious, what a scare you gave us; we thought you had been attackedwith knives and terribly cut."
There was a trough of water near by and to it the boys conducted theprofessor, who was half-blinded by the stinging Spanish dish, which isa sort of pepper stew. It took a long time to clean him, during whichquite a crowd gathered and laughed and jeered, but at last they hadthe luckless scientist looking more presentable.
"Now tell us what happened?" asked Frank, as they started back towardthe city in a hired "volante," or native carriage, that had beenpassing, by good luck, as they finished their cleaning process.
"Well, my dear boys, it's an outrage. I will see the mayor or thepresident about it, or whoever is in charge of those things in thisland. I saw a fine looking specimen of a hopping sand-toad going intothat house and I dashed in after it with my net extended. As soon as Irushed in I upset a sort of baby carriage that stood by the door. Twochildren, who were in it, started howling in a terrible manner. I knowa little Spanish and I tried to explain, but before I could do so themother threw a whole pot of that hot stuff over me and called me akidnapper, a robber, a thief. Upon my word I think I may be consideredlucky that she didn't shoot me."
"I think you may, indeed," agreed the boys, who could hardly keep fromlaughing at the comical sight the professor presented with his headcocked on one side and all daubed with the traces of his "hot bath."
Early the next day the Brutus passed a steel hawser to the SouthernCross and the two vessels proceeded out of the harbor of Monte Video.
"Well, we're really off for the pole at last," exclaimed Frank, as theshores grew dim behind them and the long ocean swell made itself felt.
"Yes," rejoined the professor, who was busy getting specimens ofjelly-fish in a bucket he lowered overboard by a line. "I wonder whatsort of creatures I can catch in the ice there. I don't care so muchabout the pole, but I do want to get a 'Pollywoginisius Polaris.'"
"Whatever is that?" asked Frank.
"It's a sort of large pollywog with fur on it like seal," replied theprofessor gravely.
"A sort of fur overcoat," suggested Billy, nudging Frankmischievously.
"Exactly," said the professor gravely; "if you see one will you catchit for me?"
"I certainly will," replied Billy gravely.
For several days the Brutus and the vessel she was towing kept on downthe coast. At last one morning the captain announced that they wereoff the coast of Patagonia, where the famous giant tribes ofaborigines and a kind of ostrich are to be found. The professor wasgreatly excited at this and begged to have the ships stopped and beallowed to go ashore.
"I am afraid that will be impossible," rejoined Captain Hazzard; "wemust get into the Polar regions before the winter sets in, and if wedelay we shall not be able to do so. No, we must keep on, I amafraid."
The Brutus was making good speed at the moment, and her tow wascutting obediently through the water after her. Sail had been set onall the masts, as there was a favoring breeze. Suddenly there came ajarring shock that threw everybody from their feet. The tow-lineparted under the strain with a report like that of a gun.
"We have struck something," shouted the captain.
"A sunken wreck, probably," said the professor, who did not seem atall disturbed.
"Is there any danger?" asked Billy with rather a white face.
"We cannot tell yet till the ship has been examined," replied thecaptain. He gave orders to sound the well and sent some men forward toexamine the vessel's bow.
Soon the ship's carpenter and Ben Stubbs came hurrying aft with scaredfaces.
"What is it?" demanded the captain, "are we seriously damaged?"
"We have sprung a leak forward and the water is pouring in," was thealarming reply.