CHAPTER XXI.
UNEXPECTED HELP.
"They're coming, Ned!" whispered Jack, in a hoarse tone.
"But that sound surely came from seaward, Jack?" expostulated the other.
"I know it did, and must have been the sneeze of a man at that," repliedthe second scout. "But what of it, Ned? We must remember they've gotother boats besides our canoes, and it might be possible for them to rowaround from the mouth of the Harricanaw to this place."
"Yes, possibly," said Ned, "but hardly probable in so short a time. Butlike you, I believe it was a man who sneezed, and that he was out thereon the water. Look again, and see if you can pick up a boat moving,Jack."
For a full minute the pair stood and strained their eyes to the utmost,gazing minutely over the rolling waters, from the place where the whitefoam could be seen, far out to sea. Ned even noted which way the nightbreeze held, and in that quarter he kept his eyes glued the longesttime, as though instinct told him the mysterious sound must have beencarried on the wings of the wind.
There were all those twinkling riding-lights on the vessels composingthe fleet of whaling or sealing craft, which had come to obtain such astrange reputation for appearing and vanishing so wonderfully. Perhaps,as Ned observed them again, he unconsciously connected the sneeze withtheir presence; but then this thought quickly gave way to the other. Itwas more natural that they should expect those men of the fake mine tobe afloat near by, endeavoring to find some vulnerable part of thestranded wreck, where they could deliver a successful attack.
"I see it, Ned!" suddenly said Jack, triumphantly.
"Show me!" observed the patrol leader, quickly moving his head so thatit came alongside that of his chum, whose hand was extended, with thequivering forefinger pointing almost in a line with the nearest of allthe vessels.
"There, watch when the wave rises again, and you'll--there, did you getit, Ned?"
"Yes, and as you say, it was a boat with several men in the same,"replied the other scout, hastily; "and more than that, they seem to beheading straight for this old wreck. You see, they're coming down thecoast, and as like as not, they've rowed all the way from the river."
"Could they do it on the bay?" asked Jack, dubiously.
"I don't see any reason against it, if they happen to have strong enoughmuscles, and know how to manage a boat on the big waves," Ned went on tosay.
"But hadn't we better tell the rest?" asked Jack. "If we're going to geta side wipe, it might be as well for all of us to be ready to meet therascals when they try to get aboard from their boat."
"Yes, let two stay to watch the break in the stern--the Cree and Frankmight handle that end of the business--bring the rest here with you,Jack. I'll try and keep tabs of the boat, while you're gone."
"Be back in a jiffy, Ned," and with that Jack shot away.
He could not have taken much time to tell the others what they werewanted for, because he quickly appeared again at Ned's elbow, bringingJimmy, Teddy and Francois along with him.
"What's the matter, Ned?" asked the first named, as he looked all abouthim, evidently half expecting that he would see the head of a "boarder"rising into view over the gunwale of the wreck.
"Jack discovered a boat coming in, and we think it must hold several ofour enemies," the other told them. "Look where I point and you'll see itrising on the next roller."
Immediately exclamations of astonishment announced that the others hadsighted the alarming spectacle.
"They're expecting to take us by surprise, because we'd never think ofstanding guard along that side of the old tub," Jimmy declared as hisopinion.
"It wasn't such a bad scheme, either," added Teddy. "Only for that mansneezing when he shouldn't, neither of you two might have discovered theboat."
"That's as true as anything you ever said, old man," assented Jack, whonever wanted to claim honors he had not fairly won. "But you know it'sthe old Black Bear and Wolf luck.
"We're always running slap up against the greatest things ever heardof."
"And first chance I find," muttered Teddy, "I'm going to get transferredfrom the old Eagle into one of the other patrols. Whoever heard of anEagle having any special luck? That's because they went and named theirpatrol after a bald-headed old pirate, who loves to rob the hard workingfish-hawk of his dinner, time in and time out."
Nobody was paying any particular attention to Teddy's lament, however,and so he started in to take a second and more particular look at thedancing object that could be seen one moment, as it rose on a wave, andthen vanishing from view again.
"Can you all make it out?" asked Jack.
Even Francois said there was no difficulty now; while Jimmy, as if toprove that his sight was good, went on to say:
"It seems to be a pretty hefty boat, too, fellers?"
"Yes, that's what I thought," Jack answered him.
"And I reckon you noticed that only two men are in the same; that is, apair handling the oars; and, if there are any others, they must be lyingflat on their backs in the bottom of the old thing. Which gives me asmart little idea, Ned."
"Glad to hear you say so, Jimmy; and if you don't mind we'll all listento what you've got ailing you," the patrol leader told him.
"Why, it's just like this, you see," continued the other, pleasedbeyond words to find himself in the limelight, for that bit of luck didnot come the way of Jimmy often enough to suit him. "There are just twoof the fellers, that's right, and when they step up on deck, where itslopes near the water-line, why, we'll jump them like a toad hops over amushroom. Before they know what's struck 'em, they'll be our prisoners,see?"
"Yes, but what good will they be to us, Jimmy; you don't lay out to eatthem, I hope?" demanded Teddy, unable to grasp a thing that had not yetbeen fully explained.
"Shucks! don't you see--when we've got 'em tied up good and tight, why,what's to hinder the whole bunch of us stepping into their bully boat,and go slidin' off as slick as you please, heading for the nearestvessel at anchor out yonder?"
Jimmy put this question boldly, as though he realized that he had strucka chord that was bound to evoke the highest praise from his mates. Andhe was right, for Ned slapped him heartily on the back, Jack wrung hishand, while Teddy, who had lost his breath in amazement, at leastmanaged to stroke his sleeve affectionately.
"A great scheme, I give you my word, it is, Jimmy; and one that does youcredit," said Ned. "If only we can carry it out, we've got the biggestchance for escaping that could ever come our way. It all depends onwhether they really mean to try and board the wreck. We're not so deadsure of that yet, you know."
The spirits of the others, buoyed up so suddenly by the prospect of aspeedy release from their predicament, underwent a drop. It was asthough the temperature had fallen from blood heat to freezing.
"Oh! but we were all certain they meant to try and board us a minuteago, Ned; and let's see if they are still on the same course," withwhich Jack, as well as the others sought to again catch a fleeting sightof the oncoming boat.
It was not the easiest thing in the world to glimpse such a duskylooking object in such uncertain light, and with the waves rising andfalling. But it happened that while they had been talking, Francoismanaged to keep his eye fixed on the boat, and so he was able to pointit out to them.
"Oh! joy, she is still heading right for us!" said Jimmy, who had feltthe slump worse than any of the others, because of the fact that theidea was his own.
What he said was true, and all of them could see that the two men in theboat were pulling hard to come along with the sweep of the sea.
"Better get ready to lay the trap, hadn't we?" asked Jack, nervously.
"Oh! that will be easy enough when we make sure of where they expect toboard," the patrol leader told him; but, at the same time, he knew fullwell that the boat would naturally have to swing around to the shelteredside of the wreck, before those in it could hope to pull in.
All of them watched, with their hearts beating like trip-hammers, soexcite
d had the sudden hope made them.
The seconds seemed to pass on leaden wings to Jimmy. Several times hemoved uneasily, and Ned could hear the sigh that welled up from thedepths of his heart. This happened when, to his excited fancy, theoncoming boat seemed to remain motionless on the swelling wave for abrief period. Possibly at such times the rowers ceased their labors, forthe purpose of scrutinizing the dark hulk, which they were thenapproaching, as though to make sure that they would find all well.
Each time, however, they started to rowing again, and as they drewnearer to the shore, of course, they had to put more strength into theirstrokes, because of the suction of the eddies that surged around the bowof the derelict, standing at this time of nearly full tide, well in thewater.
When they changed their course, so as to swing around to leeward of thewreck, Ned considered that it was time he and his comrades crept alongin the shelter of the bulwark, and made ready to receive the uninvitedguests.
First of all, they must allow them to come aboard, and also secure theboat. Any premature action was bound to ruin the whole affair. If one ofthe men got away, or the boat was set adrift, it would avail theprisoners of the hulk nothing. They wanted a means for leaving thehostile land, and the mere capture of these two men, who evidentlyintended to take them by surprise, would not satisfy them at all.
So Ned and his mates made themselves as small as they could, crouchingthere in the gloom of the night. They could hear the splash of thewaves beating against the other side of the old vessel, and theseconstant sounds served to hide all else in the way of noise. When theboat collided with the planking of the wreck, they only knew of itsarrival through the slight quiver that was conveyed to their alertsenses.
And now they saw one of the dark figures clambering hurriedly over thebroken bulwarks. Strange to say, he did not seem to be at all particularas to what he was doing. There was no skulking movement, no crouching,and looking about, such as one would expect to observe under thecircumstances. Ned noted this with surprise. He even began to entertainserious doubts concerning the absolute truth of the theory he hadpreviously formed regarding the identity of the two men. Surely, if theybelonged to the force that had once before been repulsed when trying toboard the wreck, they would know of the presence of the scouts there,and do everything within their power not to let the defenders know oftheir secret coming.
"All right, Captain Bill!" they heard the man who had jumped aboard say;and that too was a strange thing; had they believed the wreck to beutterly abandoned, these mysterious parties could not have acted in amore singular manner.
Now the second man was climbing over, in which act he was assisted bythe one who had come first, and who seemed to be a more agile chap.
At least the boat was secure, for Ned could see that the first visitorwas engaged in fastening the painter to a cleat that chanced to be nearby, and which he seemed to find in a remarkably able manner, as thoughhe might be quite familiar from past associations with the lay of thingsaboard that hulk.
Ned had his little hand-electric torch ready, and when he believed thatthe proper instant had come for action, he suddenly pressed the buttonthat caused a flash to dazzle the eyes of the men.
"Surrender! Don't try to make a single move, or you'll be shot down.We've got you covered by our guns, so throw up your hands, both of you!"was what he exclaimed, and at the same instant, the others stood up withleveled rifles.
It was evidently a complete surprise for the invading force. Theyelevated both hands as ordered, mechanically perhaps, for at the sametime they were uttering exclamations of bewilderment and wonder.
"Make sure of the boat, Jimmy!" said Ned, with an eye to their greatneed; and only too gladly did the other scout jump forward to where therope had been passed around that cleat under the rail.
"Who are you, anyway, and what d'ye mean by holding us up this way?"finally asked the older of the two prisoners; and now that he found timeto look closer, Ned was himself amazed to discover that both of them hadthe appearance of seafaring men, in regards to garments and bronzedfaces.
"I'm going to ask you that same question," he managed to say. "Who areyou, and what do you want coming ashore in the night to board thiswreck?"
The men turned and looked at each other.
"What d'ye think of that, now, Captain Bill?" asked the younger man. "Meto be asked that, as has lived and cruised aboard this old whaler_Comet_ for six years and more, till she was wrecked in the ice lastseason, and they carried me away, out o' my head from exposure? Ain't Igot a right aboard here, if anybody has? 'Twas only lately that Ilearned she was ashore 'stead of bein' at the bottom of Hudson Bay; andas I had some valuable papers hid in a bulkhead that I thought was lostto me for good and all, why, I got Captain Bill, whose mate I am thistrip, to come ashore along with me, so's to see if they be here still.We knowed there was a wild crowd prospectin' for copper up around theseparts, and didn't dare try to land in daylight. There was other reasonsbesides. But now we've told you who and what we are, s'pose you turnaround and enlighten us. Seems like I seen them sort o' suits afore now,on the Boy Scouts o' Swamsscot, where I hail from in New England. Be youmembers of the same organization, boys?"
For a minute almost, none of the three lads could find his breath toanswer. The astonishing truth actually stunned them. They saw libertyand safety looming up within their reach. There was no longer any doubtconcerning their chances for leaving this inhospitable land, andcarrying the answer which would mean so much to Mr. Bosworth and thosecapitalists associated with him.
It was Jimmy who recovered first, and his ringing cheer that wentpealing forth over the heaving waters of Hudson Bay.