CHAPTER XXVIII
THE ABANDONED SCHOONER
"Look," cried Teddy suddenly, pointing at right angles to the coursethey were pursuing.
"What is it?" came from his companions.
"It's a shark," cried Teddy excitedly. "Perhaps it's the mate of the onewe caught the other day. Have you your harpoon along, Lester?"
"No," replied Lester, as he, with the others, watched the ominous blackfin just showing above the surface; "and I haven't the shark hook,either. It's just as well anyway, because we can't afford the timeto-day to look after that fellow."
"I suppose you're right," sighed Teddy, reluctantly abandoning his idea,"but I sure would like to add to my collection of shark's teeth."
"Wait till we find the chest, and you'll have money enough to buy ashark and keep him as a pet," suggested Bill.
"And feed him out of your hand," grinned Ross.
As they drew near the shore, the wreck of the abandoned schooner cameclearly into view. It was a dismal spectacle. There was nothing visibleabove the main deck, not even stumps. The masts had been snapped closeto their butts, showing the terrific fury of the gale that had severedthem almost as neatly as though done by a razor. There were severalyawning rents in the side through which the water poured and retreated.It was evident that the hold must be entirely flooded. The bow wasdeeply imbedded in the sand, and there was only a slight perceptiblemotion of the stern, as it swayed and lifted in obedience to the surgeof the waves.
The ship seemed at a casual glance to be about eighty feet in length.The beam was comparatively narrow, and the long graceful lines fallingaway from the bow showed that she had been built for speed. She was ofthe greyhound type, and this fact only emphasized her present forlorncondition.
Despite the dilapidated condition of the lower part of the hull, theupper part and the deck itself seemed to be fairly solid.
"Good timber in that old boat," muttered Lester, as they came close, "orshe'd have broken up into kindling wood long ago."
"How are you going to get aboard?" asked Bill.
"By way of the stern, I guess," Lester replied, as he measureddistances. "Of course it would be easier to get over the bow, but we'dhave to go pretty close inshore for that, and I don't know just how deepit is there. I don't want to take any chances with the _Ariel_."
Fred shortened sail, and they ran in cautiously under the stern. Theplanks were weatherbeaten, but there were still some vestiges of painton the upper part, and the boys could clearly make out the name of theunfortunate boat to have been the _Albatross_.
"Poor old _Albatross_," murmured Fred. "Her wings are broken, sureenough."
"She'll never fly again," added Bill.
They put the fenders over the side to avoid scraping, and Lester tosseda coil of rope over a butt that rose at the end of the stern. He heldthe ends, while Teddy shinned up like a monkey and fastened it moresecurely. Then Fred and Bill went up, while Lester stayed below to lookafter the safety of his craft.
"Aren't you fellows coming along?" asked Fred, looking down over thestern.
"I guess not," replied Lester. "I've seen lots of wrecks in my time, andI want to make sure that the _Ariel_ doesn't make another."
"How about you, Ross?" inquired Teddy.
"I'll stay and keep Lester company," Ross answered, as he brought the_Sleuth_ a little closer. "You can tell us what you see, whichcan't be much, I suppose, after all this time."
After a little more friendly urging, the others acquiesced in thearrangement and went forward, cautiously testing each plank before theyset their feet down, for fear it might give way under them.
A certain feeling of eeriness settled down upon them. Living men,hearty, boisterous, vigorous men, full of the joy of life, had troddenthese planks when the vessel was in her prime and winging her way overthe seas as swiftly as the gull whose name she bore. Now the hungrywaves had swallowed them, and the subdued chanting of the water alongher side might well be their requiem.
Instinctively the boys drew closer together, and their voices loweredalmost to a whisper.
"Makes you feel kind of creepy, doesn't it?" remarked Bill.
"It sure does," answered Teddy. "I shouldn't care to sleep here overnight."
"You wouldn't do much sleeping," affirmed Fred. "You'd be expectingevery minute to see something standing at the foot of your bed."
But these first fancies could not long endure in the flood of sunlightthat beat upon the schooner, and the boys soon recovered their normalconfidence. They went through the captain's cabin and two others thathad evidently been set apart for the mates. Except one or two soddenmattresses and a huddled bunch of mouldy bed coverings, there wasnothing of the slightest value. Whatever there had been at the time ofthe wreck had either been washed overboard or taken possession of by theauthorities, shortly after the wreck occurred.
"Nothing more to see here," declared Bill, after a brief look around. "Iguess we'd better join the other fellows now. Lester'll be anxious toget going."
"Right-o," acceded Fred. "Let's get a move on."
But something, he did not know what, moved Teddy to stay a littlelonger.
"You fellows go back and unfasten the rope," he suggested, "and I'll bewith you in a minute."
They went slowly back to the stern and started to untie the rope,bantering meanwhile with Lester and Ross, who were getting restive.
Teddy ran forward toward the bow and looked into the gloomy depths ofthe forecastle. He could see that the floor was solid, but it was someinches deep in water. He hesitated only a moment and then leaped lightlydown.
Three minutes later, Fred and Bill were startled to see Teddy runningtoward them, his face as white as chalk and his eyes blazing withexcitement.
"What's the matter?" they cried in alarm, leaping to their feet.
Teddy tried to speak, but for a moment no words came.
"The m-m-map!" he stuttered at last. "It's in the f-forecastle!"
"The map?" repeated Bill blankly.
A light sprang into Fred's eyes.
"Do you mean the map that the sailor carved?" he demanded, clutching hisbrother's arm with a force like a vise.
Teddy nodded, still a prey to his tremendous agitation.
"But how can it be?" asked Fred wildly. "This isn't the _Ranger_."
"How do you know it isn't?" cried Bill, catching the contagion. "Hername was changed, you remember."
"What are you fellows chinning about up there?" demanded Lester, with atouch of impatience in his voice.
"Lester!" called Fred. "Scrape the paint off the name on the sternthere, and see if you can make out anything underneath."
Lester took out his claspknife and scraped vigorously.
"There has been something else there," he announced after a moment, "butI can't fully make it out. I can see a couple of R's----"
"That's it," shouted Fred jubilantly. "It's the old _Ranger_. Comeaboard, you fellows. Lively, now. Don't mind about the boats. They'resafe enough for a few minutes."
A moment more, and those on board were joined by Ross and Lester, asbreathless and excited as themselves, for the meaning of Teddy'sdiscovery had dawned upon them.
They all raced to the forecastle and tumbled in pell mell.