CHAPTER VIII
A NARROW ESCAPE
"Here, come back! You can't go past here!"
"But I've got to go! I tell you I must go! It's important!"
The first speaker was one of the ship's officers, and the other wasTom Swift, who, accompanied by his chum, was trying to get past arope that had been hastily stretched in front of the hold where thesmoke was rolling up in ever-thickening clouds.
"It's important that you stay where you are," insisted the officer."Look here young man, do you want to start a panic? You know whatthat is on board ship. Keep cool, we'll get the fire out all right."
"I am cool," responded Tom, and, though he did look a bit excited,he was calm enough to know what he was doing.
"Then keep back!" insisted the officer.
A crowd was gathering and there were ominous whispers sent back andforth. Some hysterical women were beginning to scream, and therewere anxious looks on all faces.
"I tell you it's important that I go down there," insisted Tom. "Iwant to get a box--"
"We'll look after the baggage of the passengers," declared theofficer. "You don't need to worry, young man."
"But I tell you I do!" and Tom's voice was loud now. "It isn't somuch on my account, as--" and then, stepping quickly to the side ofthe officer he whispered something.
"What!" cried the officer. "You don't tell me? That was a risk! Iguess I'll have to help you get it out. Here, Mr. Simm," he calledto one of the mates, "stand guard here. I'm going down into the holdwith this young man."
"Shall I come?" cried Ned.
"No, you go stay with Mr. Damon and Eradicate," answered Tom. "Tellthem everything is all right. And for cats' sake keep Rad cool.Don't let him get excited and start a panic. I'll be back in aminute."
With that Tom and the officer disappeared from view, and Ned, afterwondering what it was all about, hastened to reassure Mr. Damon andthe colored man that there was no danger, though from the manner inwhich Tom had acted his chum was convinced that something was wrong.
Meanwhile our hero, accompanied by the officer, was groping his waythrough the thick smoke in the compartment. The officer had switchedon the electric lights, and they shone with a yellow haze throughthe clouds of choking vapor.
"Can you see it?" asked the officer anxiously.
"I had it put where I could easily get at it," answered Tom with acough, for some of the smoke had got down his throat. "I had an ideaI might need it in a hurry. Here it is!" and he pointed to a largebox, marked with his initials in red paint. "Give me a hand andwe'll get it out."
"Yes, and send it on deck. See, there's the fire!" and the officerpointed to where a glow could be seen amid some bales of cotton. "Itwill be slow burning, that's one good thing, and by turning steaminto this compartment we can soon put it out."
"It's pretty close to my box," commented Tom, "but there isn't asmuch danger as I thought."
It did not take him and the officer long to move the box away fromits proximity to the fire, for the case was not heavy, though it wasof good size, and then the officer having called up an order to someof his fellow seamen on deck, a rope was let down, and the boxhoisted up.
"Whew! That was a narrow escape!" exclaimed Tom as he saw his casego up on deck. "I suppose I shouldn't have had that stored here. Butthere were so many things to think of that I forgot."
"Yes, it was a risk," commented the officer. "But what are you goingto do with that sort of stuff, anyhow?"
"I may need it when we get among the wild tribes of South AmericanIndians," answered Tom non-commitally. "I'm much obliged for yourhelp."
"Oh, that's nothing. Anything to save the ship."
At that moment there were confused cries, and a series of shouts andcommands up on deck.
"We'd better hurry out of here," said the officer.
"Why?"
"The captain has just ordered steam turned in here. I hope thereisn't anything of yours that will be damaged by it."
"No, everything else is in waterproof coverings. Come on, we'llclimb out."
They hurried from the compartment and, a little later clouds ofquenching steam were poured in from a hose run from the boiler room.The hatch was battened down, and then the smoke ceased to come up.
"The danger is practically over," the captain assured the frightenedpassengers. "The fire will be all out by morning. You may go to yourstaterooms in perfect safety."
Some did, and others, disbelieving, hung around the hatch-cover,sniffing and peering to discover traces of smoke. But the sailorshad done their work well, and a stranger would not have known that afire was in the hold.
The captain had spoken truly, and in the morning the fire wascompletely out, a few charred bales of cotton being the only thingsdamaged. They were hauled up and dumped into the sea, while Tom,making a hasty inspection of his other goods placed in thatcompartment saw, to his relief, that beyond one case of trinkets,designed for barter with the natives, nothing had been damaged, andeven the trinkets could be used on a pinch.
"But what was in that box?" asked Ned, that night as they got readyto retire, the excitement having calmed down.
"Hush! Not so loud," cautioned Tom, for Mr. Damon was in the nextstateroom, while Eradicate had one across the corridor. "I'll tellyou, Ned, but don't breathe a word of it to Rad or Mr. Damon. Theymight not intend to give it away, but I'm afraid they would, if theyknew, and I depend on the things in that box to give the nativegiants the surprise of their lives in case we--well, in case we cometo close quarters."
"Close quarters?"
"Yes, have a fight, you know, or in case they get so fond of us thatthey won't hear of letting us go--in other words if they make uscaptives."
"Great Scott, Tom! You don't think they'll do that, do you?"
"No telling, but if they do, Ned, I've got some things in that boxthat will make them wish they hadn't. It's got--" and Tom leanedforward and whispered, as though he feared even the walls wouldhear.
"Good!" cried his chum! "That's the stuff! No wonder you thought theship might be damaged if the fire got to that!"
It seemed that the slight fire was about all the excitement destinedto take place aboard the Calaban, for, after the blaze was soeffectually quenched, the ship slipped along through the calm seas,and it was actually an effort to kill time on the part of thepassengers. As they progressed further south the weather became moreand more warm, until, as they approached the equator, every one puton the lightest garments obtainable.
"Crossing the line," was the signal for the usual "stunts" among thesailors. "Neptune" came aboard, with his usual sea-green whiskersmade from long rope ends, and with his trident much in evidence; andthere was plenty of horseplay which the passengers very muchenjoyed.
Then, as the tropical region was left behind, the weather becamemore bearable. There were one or two storms, but they were of noconsequence and the steamer weathered them easily.
Tom and his friends had several talks with the "Reverend JosiahBlinderpool," as the pretended clergyman still called himself. Buthe did not obtrude his company on them, and though he asked manyquestions as to where Tom and his party were going, the younginventor, with his usual caution in talking to strangers, ratherevaded them.
"Hang it all! He's as close-mouthed as a clam," complained "Mr.Blinderpool" to himself one day, after an attempt to worm somethingfrom Tom, "I'll just have to stick close to him and his chum to geta line on where they're heading for. And I must find out, or Waydellwill think I'm throwing the game."
As for Tom and the others, they gave the seeming clergyman littlethought--that is until one day when something happened. Ned had beendown in the engine room, having had permission to inspect thewonderful machinery, and, on his way back he passed the smokingcabin. He was rather surprised to see Mr. Blinderpool in there,puffing on a big black cigar, and with him were some men whom Nedrecognized as personages who had vainly endeavored to get a numberof passengers into a card game with them. And, unless Ned's eyesdeceived him,
the seeming clergyman was about to indulge in a gamehimself.
"That's mighty queer," mused Ned. "Guess I'll tell Tom about this. Inever saw a minister play cards in public before, and this Mr.Blinderpool has been trying to get thick with Tom, of late. Maybehe's a gambler in disguise."
Filled with this thought Ned hastened off to warn his chum.