CHAPTER 22 _CAPTAIN BARKER'S COURAGE_
Never did a fire seem to spread so rapidly. In less than three minutes,as those aboard the _River Queen_ watched in helpless horror, the_Florence_ became a mass of flames from stem to stern. Terrifiedpassengers jammed the gangplank as they tried to crowd ashore. Some ofthem leaped from the excursion boat's high railings to the dock below.
"Her mooring lines are ablaze!" Captain Barker shouted a moment later.
"And the freight sheds are catching afire," Penny added, observing atelltale line of flame starting from the flimsy wooden buildings alongthe wharf, directly back of the dock where the _Florence_ had moored.
The blazing sheds worried Captain Barker far less than the fact that themooring lines had caught fire. If the _Florence_ should be cut loose fromthe dock, helpless women and children would be carried out onto the riverin a flaming inferno.
"Why don't the fire boats get here!" Sally murmured nervously. "Oh, thisis going to be a dreadful disaster if something isn't done to save thosehelpless people!"
At the bridge leading to the pilot house, Captain Barker stood tenselywatching, his hand on the signal ropes.
"There go the mooring lines!" he shouted. "The current should bring herthis way!"
As the _Florence_ slowly drifted away from the blazing wharf, men andwomen began to leap over the railings into the dark waters.
"Man the lifeboats!" Captain Barker ordered his crew tersely. "I'm goingto try to get a tow line on 'er!" He signaled the engine room, and the_River Queen_ began to back rapidly toward the flaming excursion boat.
Penny and Sally ran to help launch the lifeboats. With the _River Queen_desperately short handed, they would be needed to handle oars. A fireman,an engineer, Captain Barker and a helmsman must remain at their posts,which left only three sailors to pick up passengers.
Leaping into the first boat launched, the girls rowed into the path ofthe blazing vessel. In its bright glow against the sky, they could seepanic-stricken passengers running about the decks. An increasing numberwere leaping into the water, and many could not swim.
Ignoring the cries of those who had life belts or were swimming strongly,they rapidly picked up survivors. To pull children aboard was acomparatively easy task. But many of the women were heavy, and thecombined strength of the girls barely was sufficient to get them into theboat without upsetting.
Finally the lifeboat was filled beyond capacity, and they turned to landtheir cargo aboard the _Queen_. Only then did they see what CaptainBarker intended to do.
His men had succeeded in making a line fast to the _Florence's_ stern. Bythis time the excursion boat was a flaming inferno, with only a fewpassengers, the captain, and crew remaining aboard.
"Pop's going to tow the _Florence_ downstream away from the freightsheds!" Sally cried. "Some of those buildings are filled with warmaterials awaiting shipment--coal, oil and I don't know what all! If afire once gets going there, nothing will stop it!"
Working feverishly, the girls unloaded their passengers and went back formore. Motorboats had set out from shore, and they too aided in the rescuework. Some of the survivors were taken to land, and others were putaboard the _Queen_.
Aided by a sailor they had picked up, the girls worked until they nolonger could see bobbing heads in the swirling waters.
"We've done all we can," Sally gasped, as they helped the last of thepassengers aboard the _Queen_. "The captain and most of his men will stayon the _Florence_ as long as they are able."
Though exhausted by their work, the girls did what they could for thoseaboard. Sally distributed all the blankets she could find, and Pennyhelped a sailor revive two women who were unconscious from havingswallowed too much water.
Suddenly there came a loud report like the crack of a pistol.
The tow line to the _Florence_ had parted! Once more the excursion boat,now a roaring furnace, was adrift in mid-stream.
In an instant it was apparent to Penny what would happen. Thecross-current was strong, and in a minute or two would carry the burningvessel into the wharves and sheds. When the boat struck, flying sparkswould ignite the dry wood for a considerable distance, and soon theentire waterfront would be ablaze.
Though outwardly calm, Captain Barker was beset as he appraised thesituation. It would not be possible to get another tow line onto the_Florence_ for already her decks had become untenable for the crew. Theblazing vessel was drifting rapidly.
"We could ram her," he muttered. "She might be nosed out into the channelagain, and headed away from the freight docks."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Sally asked anxiously. "We have at leastfifty passengers aboard. In this high wind, the _Queen_ would be almostcertain to catch fire."
"There's nothing else to do," Captain Barker decided grimly, signalingthe engine room. "The _Florence_ is drifting fast, and before the fireboats can get here, half the waterfront will be ablaze. Have thepassengers wet down the decks and stand by with buckets!"
Penny and Sally worked feverishly carrying out orders. The deck hose wasattached, and buckets were brought from below and filled with water. Allsurvivors who were able to help, cooperated to the fullest extent,helping wet down the decks and assisting women and children to the sternof the ferryboat.
Captain Barker had given an order for the _Queen_ to move full speedahead.
In a moment the two boats made jarring contact. Penny was thrown from herfeet. Scrambling up, she saw that blazing timbers from the _Florence_ hadcrashed directly onto the _River Queen's_ deck. Sparks were fallingeverywhere. The ferryboat had caught fire in a dozen places.
Seizing a bucket of water, she doused out the flames nearest her. Heatfrom the _Florence_ was intense, and many of the men who had volunteeredto help, began to retreat.
Penny and Sally stuck at their post, knowing that the lives of alldepended upon extinguishing the flames quickly. Crew members of the_Florence_ worked beside them with quiet, determined efficiency.
In the midst of the excitement, the final boatload of picked-up survivorshad to be taken aboard. Captain Jamison, one of the last to leave the_Florence_, collapsed as he reached the deck. Severely burned, he wascarried below to receive first-aid treatment.
Undaunted, Captain Barker shouted terse orders, goading the men togreater activity when the flames showed signs of getting beyond control.After the first contact with the Florence, only occasional sparks ignitedthe _Queen's_ decks, but the heat was terrific. Women and children becamehysterical, fearful that the ferryboat would become a flaming torch.
"The worst is over now," Sally sighed as she and Penny refilled waterbuckets. "Pop knows what he's doing. He's saved the waterfront."
"But this ferryboat?"
"It still may go up in smoke, but I don't think so," Sally repliedcalmly. "Pop is heading so that the wind will carry the flames away fromus. He'll beach the _Florence_ on Horseshoe Shoal and let the wreck burnto the water's edge."
For the next fifteen minutes, there was no lessening of worry aboard the_River Queen_. The ferryboat clung grimly to the blazing excursion boat,losing contact at times, then picking her up again, and pushing on towardthe shoal.
Fire fighting activities aboard the ferryboat became better organized;the passengers, observing that Captain Barker knew what he was about,became calm and easily managed. By the time fire boats arrived to spraythe _Florence_ with streams of pressured water, the situation was well inhand.
Collapsing on the deck from sheer exhaustion, Penny and Sally gazedtoward the warehouses and docks on the opposite shore. Only one fire ofany size was visible there.
"The fire boats will quickly put it out," Sally said confidently. "But Ihate to think what would have happened if the wind and current had driventhe _Florence_ along those wharves."
Penny wiped her cheek and saw that her hand was covered with black soot.Sally too was a sight. She had ripped the hem from her skirt, her hairwas an
untidy mess, everything about her was pungent with smoke.
"Where were we when all this excitement started?" Penny asked presently."If my memory serves me correctly, we had sent out a police call forClaude Harper and his pals to be arrested. It all seems vague in my mind,as if it occurred a million years ago."
"Why, I had forgotten too!" Sally gasped. "I hope the police went thereand caught those men before they made a get-away."
Scrambling to their feet, the girls moved to the starboard side of the_Queen_, which permitted a view of the Harper house far upriver. Theywere startled and dismayed to see tongues of flame shooting from awindow.
"That place has caught on fire too!" Sally exclaimed, then correctedherself. "But sparks from the _Florence_ never could have been carried sofar!"
"The house has been set afire on purpose!" Penny cried. "Oh, Sally, don'tyou see? It's a trick to destroy all the evidence hidden there! TheHarpers intend to skip town tonight, and they're taking advantage of thisfire to make it appear that destruction of the house is accidental!"