CHAPTER XI
GASTON GIDDINGS MAKES TROUBLE
THE second pair of bullets passed overhead, though close enough fortheir whistling song to be heard.
In a jiffy there was a mad scramble to get away from the bridge. CaptainTom Halstead and Third Officer Costigan had that place to themselves.
"Throw the wheel over three points to the starboard! Hold to a coursethree points off the present one," called Halstead, sharply.
"You men answer with your revolvers," was Mr. Jephson's order.
"Our revolvers wouldn't carry that far, sir," objected one of the deputymarshals.
"I know it, but let those scoundrels discover that we have firearmstoo," retorted the district attorney's assistant.
So the futile revolver shots flashed out. In answer a rifle bulletcarried away the hat of one of the deputies.
"That's confounded close shooting," coolly uttered the unhatted one,running down the deck after his head gear.
Another shot flew by close to the searchlight.
"That's the mark the scoundrels are aiming at," muttered the youngskipper, angrily. "Turn off the current, Mr. Costigan, and I'll unshipthe light."
This done, the big reflector and the bulb behind it were taken down tothe pilot house by one of the sailors.
"You confounded pirates!" roared the district attorney, shaking his fistin the direction of the "Victor."
"That _was_ actual piracy, wasn't it?" questioned Mr. Baldwin.
"Nothing else!" retorted the assistant, angrily, as he came down aft toplace the wheel house between himself and that other craft. "If we everget that captain and crew on shore we'll make 'em smart in a trial forpiracy!"
Having veered off the course of direct pursuit, Captain Halstead was nowsteering ahead, meaning to run parallel with the "Victor." He kept halfa mile away, but, even had the other craft lowered its running lights,the starlight was bright enough to enable the bridge officer to keep the"Victor" in sight.
"Try to keep just this distance, Mr. Costigan," directed Tom Halstead.
"Aye, aye, sir."
Tom then descended to the deck, where he sauntered up to the excitedgroup.
"What's your guess, Halstead, as to the meaning of those shots?"questioned Mr. Baldwin.
"Well, of course," replied Tom, slowly, "the master of that other yachtwould be glad to see our searchlight smashed. That was one reason forthe firing."
"And another?"
"Why, I imagine, sir, those people want us to know that they carryrifles. They want to show us the folly of thinking we can pursue andboard them."
"This pursuit should really have been undertaken by a naval vessel orrevenue cutter," said Mr. Jephson, rather disgustedly. "One shot fromthe bowgun of an armed vessel would bring that yacht lying to in ajiffy."
"Humph!" grunted the practical Mr. Baldwin. "There isn't a cutter orgunboat in San Francisco waters fast enough to overtake either of theseboats."
"I don't understand, sir," put in Halstead, quietly, "why you haven'thad a wireless telegraph apparatus installed aboard this yacht. Why,even the little fifty-five foot boat that Dawson and I own has awireless installation."
"What would you do with one, if you had it on board now?" asked Mr.Baldwin.
"Do?" repeated Halstead. "Why, we could signal in all directions. Theremay be some fast cruiser or torpedo boat destroyer, out of our sight,yet within reach by wireless. If we could pick up one such vessel now,we could soon end this chase, and without bloodshed. Even any foreignwar vessel would answer, for all war vessels have the right to overhauland capture pirates. Any warship of any nation in the world would act,now, on a request from Mr. Jephson, who represents the United States.And such help may be not twenty miles off, but we have no wireless withwhich to find out."
"As we haven't a wireless installation," pursued Mr. Baldwin, "what arewe going to do now, Mr. Jephson?"
"I trust you'll continue to keep that other yacht in sight," replied theassistant district attorney. "We may yet meet a warship or a revenuecutter."
"Any kind of a vessel we meet may have a few rifles on board that wecould borrow or buy," suggested Captain Tom.
"Anyway," decided Mr. Baldwin, "we'll keep that pirate craft right insight if we can, and as long as we can. We'll trust for something toturn up that will throw luck in our way."
The "Victor" which was of some ten feet greater length than the"Panther," looked like a boat which, despite her speed, was built tocarry a good deal of coal.
Yet, through the next few hours that followed, no attempt was made bythose handling the steam craft to get her best speed out of her. Itlooked as though her sailing master and engineer meant to save somecoal, now that the "Panther" had caught up and could keep up. Bothvessels continued at a speed of some sixteen miles per hour.
Mr. Baldwin and his guests remained on deck. So did young Halstead, whohad decided that he must now do with but little sleep while the chasecontinued in its present phase.
"Any sharp little sea-trick might enable the other fellows to slip awayfrom us," he declared to the owner. "Every man on board ought to help inthe good work on hand."
At about eleven o'clock the young skipper left Mr. Costigan on thebridge, and went below, though he did not turn in.
Nor had any of the passengers sought their berths. All of Mr. Baldwin'sfriends were on deck. Young Gaston Giddings, however, paced nervously,apart from the rest.
"He's fretting over his folly in keeping Rollings in such an importantpost, and giving the rascal the chance to run away with all that money,I suppose," thought the young skipper.
Somehow, Tom could not help watching Giddings a good deal. It was thenervous hitch in the young man's gait that first caught Halstead's eye.Presently the young captain of the "Panther" strolled slowly by GastonGiddings.
"Confound it, what a queer, restless look there is in the fellow'seyes," thought Tom, uneasy, though he could hardly have explained why.
After that Halstead watched the young bank president even more closely,though he took pains to hide the scrutiny.
A request from Mr. Jephson called the cabin party over to the port railto watch the "Victor." The instant the last of his companions had goneforward, and had passed around the pilot house, Giddings, after a swiftlook about him, stole into the dining saloon.
Tom Halstead, ostensibly lounging behind one of the life-boats, saw thismove.
"Now, what's he up to?" muttered Tom. "Mischief, judging by his queerantics. We've mischief enough to deal with, without having it take placeright on board our own boat!"
Halstead stole forward in time to see Giddings darting down thestaircase into the main cabin.
"I'll just get down where I can watch this," muttered Tom. Concealednear the foot of the staircase, he saw Giddings, with some sort of asmall tool, prying the lock of Dr. Gray's medicine case open.
"Oho!" muttered Halstead, as he saw young Mr. Giddings abstract asmall, screw-capped vial. "There's morphine in that doctor's outfit, andGiddings has guessed it!"
Tossing the medicine case back into the doctor's stateroom, GastonGiddings stole up the after-companionway to the deck aft.
"With all our other troubles aboard, I don't believe we want anymorphine maniacs here!" muttered Tom Halstead, excitedly.
Giddings, quivering with eagerness, trembling with aggravatednervousness, leaned against the stern rail, glancing out over the wateras he drew the screw-capped vial from his pocket.
Just as he started to remove the cap from the bottle, a hand shot aroundhim from the rear.
The young skipper of the "Panther" snatched the vial, remarking coolly:
"Mr. Giddings, you don't need that stuff, and no one on board wants youto have it."
With a swift movement, Halstead dropped the vial into one of hispockets.
"You confounded thief!" hissed Gaston Giddings.
Swift as a flash, in his rage, the young man sprang at the youthfulskipper of the yacht.
"You'll give that back to
me, or go overboard!" snarled the victim ofthe drug habit.
"If you get it, it'll be after I'm overboard," snapped back Tom.
In another instant Giddings's fingers were wrapped in a tight holdabout Tom's throat. The drug maniac seemed possessed, for the instant,of the strength of half a dozen men.
The young skipper himself was no weakling, but now he had his handsfull.
Even had he been so minded, he could not have called for help. Backwardand forward the pair struggled for a few seconds. Then the young skipperfound himself growing weaker for lack of air.
With a triumphant snarl Gaston Giddings forced his antagonist to thestern rail. Still Tom Halstead fought furiously, silently, with thattight grip at his throat making his brain reel. He realized that GastonGiddings was winning the victory!