CHAPTER IX.
ADRIFT IN THE STORM.
Dick and Carl were dumfounded at sight of the _Grampus_ appearingsuddenly amid the waves and with Captain Nemo, Jr., in the conningtower heaving a rope at Matt. Their surprise wore away swiftly anddelight took its place. Matt was saved, and they were soon to join himon the submarine.
"Hoop-a-la!" carolled the Dutch boy as the whaleboat put back to thesteamer. "I peen gladder as I can dell dot ve're going to leaf dot_Sanda Maria_. I vould like to ged pedder acquaindet mit Miss Harris, Ibed you, aber I dradder got mit der _Grambus_."
"That there's the craft we heerd about on the waterfront in NewOrleans," said one of the sailors.
"Easy enough," said the other over his oar, "but how does she chance tobe bobbin' in our wake? Looks like she was a-follerin' us."
There were many excited questions from the passengers as the boat washeld alongside by one of the davit ropes and a sea ladder was droppedover. Sixty and his daughter, alone of all those aboard, showed littleinterest in the submarine.
The sailors in the boat called out to the officer on the deck that Dickand Carl were to be returned to the submarine, and the officer, with alook at the threatening sky, grumbled at the delay.
"One of the lads is enough to get their luggage," he called down. "Youshell-backs come up here and tell me all about it."
The slap of the waves and the noise made by the rising wind renderedtalking difficult. Carl went for the luggage, the sailors climbed tothe deck, and Dick remained in the boat to keep her fended from thesteamer's side with an oar.
While Carl was in the stateroom collecting the traps the officer hungover the rail with others of the crew and some of the passengers,studying the sky and apparently in doubt as to whether he should letthe boat put back to the submarine.
Presently he went away, and before he got back Carl had appeared andbegun tossing the luggage, piece by piece, into the bobbing whaleboat.Dick deftly caught and stowed the traps as they came down to him.
"Vy don'd you ged indo der poat?" asked Carl, of the two sailors, whowere standing near.
"The fust orficer told us ter wait," replied one.
"Vy iss dot?"
"I don't think he reckons it's safe to go back ter the submarine."
"Ach, du lieber!" grunted Carl disgustedly. "Der itee oof sailormansbeing afraidt oof a leedle bit oof a vind! I peen a lubber meinseluf,aber I don'd vas afraidt!"
With that he lowered himself onto the shaking sea ladder and starteddownward. When Carl stepped off the ladder he came within one ofstepping into the sea. Dick grabbed him, however, and heaved him overthe gunwale and to a midship thwart by main force.
"Hi, there!" shouted the officer, coming back and leaning over therail. "You can't go--it's not safe. We're going to catch it good andplenty in a minute."
"Bosh!" shouted Dick. "We can make it all right if you hurry."
Although Dick spoke confidently, for he was eager to join Matt on the_Grampus_ even if it was necessary to take a chance or two, yet hispracticed eye told him that fierce weather was imminent.
"Hook on the falls!" roared the officer. "Quick on it, or----"
At that moment, with a terrific shriek and a wild splash and splatter,the squall broke. The whaleboat was under the lee of the steamer, butthe larger vessel shifted her position so that the heavy wind caughtthe whaleboat and jerked her away. The fastenings parted, and in atwinkling the boat had shot off from the steamer on the crest of a hugewave. A mist of rain and spindrift closed in between and the _SantaMaria_ was shut out from the boys' view.
"The oars!" yelled Dick, floundering to a thwart and shipping the oarwith which he had been keeping the boat from the steamer's side.
The boat was prancing like a festive broncho, now standing almoststraight up in the air, and now dropping with dizzy abruptness, rollingat a hair-raising angle and shipping buckets of water. Carl had beenhaving his hands full keeping himself from going overboard, but hemanaged to brace his feet and get busy with one of the oars.
Under Dick's direction the boat was brought with the wind and steadied.
"Led's ged on der supmarine!" yelled Carl.
"No use trying that," Dick shouted over his shoulder.
"Den, py shinks, led's ged pack on der shdeamer! I don'd like dispopping around ofer der ocean. I feel like I was in some shoot derchutes."
"Can't do that, either. We've got to do our best to keep afloat--andthat's going to be hard enough. Strike me lucky, but fate has played itlow down on us."
"Meppy der shdeamer vill come afder us."
"Don't you ever think it! They'd rather lose the whaleboat than huntfor us in this weather. Anyhow, they'd stand about as much chance offinding us as they would of locating a needle in a haystack. We'rein for it, mate. Take a piece of that rope and lash yourself to thethwart."
Dick hauled in a trailing line and slashed off a section with hissheath knife. It was difficult hanging on to an oar with one hand whilethey used the other to tie themselves, but they managed to accomplishthe feat.
"Subbose der poat sinks?" howled Carl. "Den ve vas tied und ve sink mither."
"She can't sink! There's an air chamber in each end."
"Vat oof she shouldt durn over mit herseluf?"
"We've got to keep her from doing that."
"Ach, himmelblitzen! Dis iss der vorst fix vat I was afer in. Der landtiss goot enough for me. Der more vat I see of der ocean, der more vatI like der solid eart'. Now, oof ve----"
Carl, at that moment, was deluged by a wave. He strangled, coughed andspluttered, and if he had not been bound to the thwart would surelyhave gone by the board.
"Let me have your oar," roared Dick. "Take your cap, and bale!"
"How I vas going to dip all der gulf oudt oof dis poat mit my cap?"answered Carl. "I mighdt shust as vell drow der Mississippi Rifer oferNew Orleans mit a t'imble."
"Bale, I tell you!" whooped Dick, grabbing the oar away from Carl andshipping it opposite his own position.
Carl dipped frantically into the water, but his efforts were of littleavail.
"I'll have to make a sea anchor," announced Dick.
"How you make dot? You vould haf to haf a placksmith shop, und----"
"Take the oars."
Dick swung the oars back and Carl laid hold of them. There was a mastand a furled sail in the bottom of the boat. With infinite difficulty,Dick got the mast over the side and made it fast to the stern by twentyfeet of cable.
This weight, dragging behind, served to steady the lightly-weightedboat and rendered it easier for the boys to keep her clear of theswamping waves.
After that, Dick again took the oars and Carl continued his baling withmore success.
"Id vas gedding vorse insteadt oof pedder," cried Carl, "der gale, Imean."
"That's a fact, matey," answered Dick, "but we're making better weatherof it."
"Oof ve keep der poat on dop oof der vater ondil der shtorm iss ofer,ve vill be like some shipwrecked fellers und vill shdarve to deat'."
"We'll not starve to death. We can put up the sail and get to thenearest land. We're not such a long way from land, Carl, and this galeis blowing us toward the southern part of Florida."
"Oof ve hit Florida too kevick, den ve ged pusted oop."
"It will be a day or two before we get there."
"Vat ve eat in der meandime?"
"If you thought more of your life and less of your stomach, mate, you'dbe better off."
"Vone means der odder. Und vat ve going to do for some vater to trink?Der ocean iss full mit salt."
"There's always a breaker of fresh water aboard these boats on thesteamers."
"Den you t'ink, Tick, dere iss some shances for us?"
"Sure, I do! We're doing finely now!"
"Ach, finely! Mit der vater coming down from oferheadt, und oop frompelow, und der vind almost plowing us oudt oof der poat. Yah, ve vas inpooty fine shape, I bed you!"
Night fell, a hideous night, black as Erebus, with
howling wavesbelow and shrieking tempest overhead. The boys, nearly dropping fromexhaustion, did their feeble best with the oars. They had no time fortalk, and needed all their strength for their trying labor.
Minutes dragged like hours, and hours seemed like eternity.
How long a time passed, neither of the boys had any idea. All theycould do was to work blindly and doggedly on and trust to luck.
"Py shinks," panted Carl, throwing down his oar, "I vas diret enough totie und I can't do nodding more. Oof I'm to feed der fishes, pedder idvas now as some odder dime."
"You're not going to feed the fishes," answered Dick. "Buck up, matey.The gale is slowly blowing itself out. It was only a squall, anyhow."
"I don'd like skvalls! Dey're too sutten. Anyvay, I don'd vork no more.I can't. My pack iss proke und my hants iss plistered. I vould schustas soon tie as keep id oop. Vat a plackness eferyvere! Der sea shpooksiss oudt und yelling like anyt'ing. Oof I vas shdrong enough I vouldged shcared, aber I ain'd aple efen to do dot. I----"
Just at that moment Carl showed that he was strong enough, at allevents, to give a startled yell. He was interrupted by a grindingcrash, so terrific that it flung him from the thwart, tearing him loosefrom the lashings.
The boat had come to a halt, and was filling and turning over.
Carl had no idea what had happened and it was too dark for him to seeanything. After his first frenzied cry, he gave himself up, beingpositive that he and Dick, in spite of their plucky fight, were boundfor the bottom.