Arthur M. Winfield

“ The rush was so unexpected that each youth dropped his light and put up his hands to protect himself.
"Get out! Let me alone!" spluttered Sam.
"Whoop!" roared Tom. "Confound the bats anyway! Get along and let us alone!"
Lying on the flooring the torches soon went out, and in their efforts to protect themselves from the bats the boys rushed blindly down the passageway. Then of a sudden both slipped on the wet rocks, slid a distance of several yards, and went down and down, landing into a well-like opening with a loud splash! ”

“ Hurrah!"
"They look as if they were having a row with Baxter and the mate," came from old Jerry.
A row certainly was in progress, and as they came closer they heard Tom talking.
"Yes, Lesher, I want to know all about this quarrel with my brother Dick. I am sure he was not in the wrong."
"See here, I know my own business," the mate growled. "You shut up and leave me alone."
"We won't leave you alone," came from Sam. "We want to know the truth."
"Yes, tell us the truth, Lesher," said Captain Blossom sternly.
"All against me, aint you?"
"We want the truth," answered Tom. ”

“ I have told them what you proposed to do, and they don't intend to stand it."
"Didn't I tell you we'd get square?" put in Dan Baxter, his evil face glowing with triumph. "We have all that is on board, and we mean to keep everything."
"This is mutiny!" stormed Captain Blossom.
"Call it what you please," answered Lesher recklessly. "I reckon I and the boys know what we are doing!"
"That's right!" cried the half-drunken sailors. "Hurrah for Cap'n Lesher. He's a man after our own hearts!"
"Supposing I demand to be let on board?" went on Captain Blossom. ”

“ With the ship burnt up, and all the tools gone, it would be no easy matter to build even the roughest kind of a raft."
"What do you think about some of us rowing over to what is left of the wreck?" asked Sam.
"I was thinking of that. But, if we do that, we had better wait until to-morrow morning. You can't see much in the dark."
"If I thought anybody was dying for the want of aid, I'd go over," said Tom. "We all know what brutes Lesher and Baxter are. They wouldn't hesitate to go off and leave some of the others to die where they had fallen." ”

“ Ten minutes later it was pouring in torrents, and the rain continued to keep coming down as if there was to be no end of it.
"Boys, aren't you most drowned?" asked Nellie, peeping out of the cabin door.
"No, but you'll be if you come out here," called back Tom.
"We can't stand up and we can't sit still," came from Grace. ”

“ The storm took our mast, and blew us out to sea," answered Dick. "We owe you something for picking us up."
"You're welcome for what I've done," answered Captain Fairleigh. "Come with me, and I'll try to get you some dry clothing. I can trick out the men folks, and the young ladies will have to see my wife, who happens to be with me on this trip."
"What steamer is this?" asked Tom.
"The Tacoma, lad."
"Are you bound for San Francisco?" questioned Sam.
"No, we are bound for Honolulu, on the Hawaiian Islands."
"Honolulu!" burst out the others. ”

“ We'll be regular Robinson Crusoes," answered Tom. "Why, I can tell you it will be jolly, when we get used to it."
"Where will we build our huts?" asked Sam.
"We can build them here, if we wish," replied Dick. "But I rather favor the side fronting the other islands."
"Yes, that's the best side," said Captain Jerry. "If we build here, a strong storm may knock our huts flat. That side is more sheltered and, consequently, safer. Besides, there is more fruit there, and I'm sure better fishing in the bay, and that's what counts, too." ”

“ All slept soundly and it was not until ten o'clock, when the sun was struggling through the clouds, that Tom arose, to find the others still slumbering.
"I'll let them sleep," he said to himself. "They need it and there is no need for them to get up."
Stretching himself, he walked quietly from the hut and down to the beach. His first thought was to try to collect some wood, more or less dry, and start a fire.
Gazing across the bay to one of the other islands, he saw a sight which filled him with astonishment. There, on the beach of the island, lay the wreck of the Golden Wave. ”

“ When Dora, Nellie, and Grace heard of the new arrangement that had been made they were highly pleased.
"I didn't want to see you do the work of a common sailor," said Dora to Dick.
"Oh, it wouldn't kill me," he returned lightly. "Even as it is, I'll give a hand if it is necessary."
"It's a wonder Captain Blossom took to your offer so quickly."
"He loves money, that's why, Dora. He would rather have that two hundred dollars than our services," and with this remark Dick hit the nail squarely on the head. ”

“ As if we weren't in the habit of taking care of ourselves."
"Sam is joking," came from Dick Rover. "Still we might get lost here as well as in New York or any other large city."
"Boston is the place to get lost in," said Tom Rover. "Got streets that curve in all directions. But let us go on. Where is the hotel?"
"I'm sure I don't know," came from Sam Rover.
"Cab! carriage! coupé!" bawled a cabman standing near. "Take you anywhere you want to go, gents."
"How much to take the three of us to the Oakland House?"
"Take you there for a dollar, trunks and all." ”

“ Half an hour later the sun came up, like a great ball of fire from a bath in the ocean, capping the high waves with gold. As the light spread around them, Dick stood up on a seat and gazed eagerly in all directions.
"What do you see?" demanded the others.
"Nothing," he answered, with a sinking heart; "nothing but water on all sides of us." ”

“ With these flaring brightly they entered the opening, the flooring of which was of rock and tolerably smooth.
"We could live in this cave, if it wasn't that the opening to it is in the gully," said Sam as they advanced.
"There may be another opening at the other end," said Tom. "It is certainly quite long."
They had advanced fully a hundred feet, and now found themselves in a chamber forty or fifty feet square. The ceiling was arched and so high that they could not touch it without jumping up.
"This is as good as a house," said Tom, "See how dry the flooring is. ”

“ He was a close man, and his first mate, Jack Lesher, was no better.
"If you haven't any money, you'll have to work your passage," he growled. "I can't afford to carry you to Australia for nothing."
"Then let us off at some port in the Hawaiian Islands," said Tom.
"Can't do it, I told you," retorted Captain Blossom angrily. "And you'll either work while you are on board or starve."
"My, what a Tarter!" whispered Sam.
"Well, we'll work," said Dick. "But you must not force the young ladies to do any thing."
"I'm a sailor and will do my full share," said old Jerry. ”

“ SAM AND THE SHARK
"The Golden Wave looks like an old friend," said Sam as they paddled across the smooth waters of the bay.
"Her coming here is the finest thing that could have happened," answered his brother. "I didn't want to say anything before, but if she hadn't come what would we have done for clothing and for eating? We couldn't live on fish all the time, and one can do mighty little hunting without a gun."
"We would have had to set traps, Tom, and dig pitfalls for larger game. ”

“ I am not afraid," said the bully. "These men are all my friends, and we know exactly what we are doing."
"Do you expect to remain on the wreck?" asked the captain, after a moment of silence.
"That is our business," answered Lesher.
"I think you will find that you are making a great mistake, men, to follow Lesher when you ought to follow me. I have always treated you fairly, and——"
"Hi! none of that!" roared the mate. "We won't listen to it."
"The men shall listen, if they will. I——"
"Say another word and I'll fire!" cried the mate, and pointed his pistol at Captain Blossom's head. ”

“ Then he got mad and so did Jerry Tolman, and both refused to come back in the boat with Baxter and me."
"I'll wager you started to boss things," said Sam. "Dick doesn't raise a row without just cause."
"Good for Sam," murmured Dick.
"Your brother was entirely to blame," grunted the mate. He was still far from sober.
"Jack Lesher, you tell what is not so," said Dick loudly, and joined the group, followed by, old Jerry.
Had a bombshell exploded, Lesher and Baxter would not have been more astonished. They stared at the newcomers as if they were ghosts. ”

“ We know they've got the best of it—having the ship's stores—but we don't care for that. They are a drunken, good-for-nothing crowd, and we are done with them."
"All right, men, I think we can trust you," said Captain Blossom. "It's a pity that Hackenhaven was lost overboard and eat up by the sharks. We could rather have spared Lesher."
"Or Dan Baxter," observed Tom.
"With three gone they have but eight men left on the wreck," said Sam. "And we now number seven men and three ladies. If we stand our ground, I can't see as we have much to fear from them." ”

“ Dick stood on a seat, and, as the boat rode to the top of a wave, took a look around.
"An island!" he cried. "Dead ahead!"
"Hurrah! We are saved!" ejaculated Sam.
"What is the matter?" questioned Dora, rousing up, followed by the other girls.
"There is an island ahead."
"We must be careful how we approach the shore, lads," cautioned Jerry. "If we strike the rocks, it may cost us our lives. Perhaps we had better hold off until daylight." ”

“ The girl had taken Captain Blossom's spyglass and was looking across the bay in the direction of the wreck.
"There are men on board of the Golden Wave" she announced. "I can see them quite plainly."
"Men on board of the wreck!" cried Dick. "Are you sure, Dora?"
"Look for yourself, Dick."
The youth did so and saw that Dora was right. Half a dozen figures could be seen walking to and fro.
"Who are they?" asked Tom. "Lesher and his crowd?"
"That I can't make out," answered Dick, and handed over the glass to his brother. ”

“ He himself was more frightened than he cared to admit. "They have been known to carry a man off in their arms and bite him to death."
"Thanks, but I want no gorillas around me," declared Sam.
They waited several minutes before advancing again. But the gorilla had disappeared, nor did it show itself again during that trip on the island.
Half an hour brought them in sight of the sea shore once more. They were gazing at the sea when Tom happened to glance back, and on the hill behind them saw four goats standing in a bunch, looking at them in astonishment. ”

“ Lesher ate but little, but eagerly tossed off the glass of liquor Dick allowed him.
"Give me one more," he pleaded, but Dick was firm, and the mate stalked away muttering under his breath.
Before Dick entered the rowboat he called Jerry aside, and handed the old sailor a pistol.
"We had better go armed," he said. "Keep your eyes open, for they may try to play us a foul trick. And don't let Lesher talk you into obeying him. He has no authority whatever over you." ”

“ If you have any fault to find tell the captain, or tell me."
"Well, I'll go to the captain, not you," retorted Dick.
"All right," growled the first mate. "But just remember you can't boss things when I'm around."
When Captain Blossom understood the situation he was thoroughly angry.
"Baxter certainly ought to be in prison," he said. "I'll clap him in the brig and feed him on bread and water for three days and see how he likes that."
"He ought not to be left at large," said Dora, with a shudder. "He may try to murder some body next." ”

“ Lesher turned to the bully: "Baxter, join me in a glass of rum for luck."
"Thanks, I will," answered Dan Baxter, who did not particularly want the liquor, but did not dream of offending the mate.
Lesher produced a bottle he had brought away from the wreck, prepared two glasses of rum, and drank with great relish. Then he threw himself into a chair at the rude dining-table.
"I am the master here, and I want everybody to know it!" he exclaimed, banging his fist savagely.
"There is dinner," said Grace, and brought it in. "You can help yourself." ”

“ THE DEFENSE OF THE CAVE—SAVED!
"He has fainted, poor fellow!" said Dick, as he bent over the unconscious form of Bostwick.
"We ought to git back to the house at once!" put in old Jerry. "We must warn the cap'n and the others of what Lesher and his crowd intend to do."
"That is true, but we can't leave this poor chap here. He might die for the want of care," came from Tom. ”

“ We are all armed and ready to fire!"
At these words the sailors halted for a moment.
"Say, cap'n, why did you set the ship afire?" asked an unsteady voice.
"We had nothing to do with that," answered Captain Blossom. "We were all over on this island when the blaze started."
"It's a lie!" came in the voice of Lesher.
"Of course it's a lie," added Dan Baxter. "They did their best to burn every one of us up."
"It is the truth," cried Dick. "Now stand back, or we shall fire on you."
"Come on!" yelled Lesher, and fired a pistol at those near the mouth of the cave. ”

“ Sam, in the meantime, cut away some cordage with a hatchet which was handy.
It was truly a perilous moment, and it looked as if the mighty waves would swamp the Old Glory before the wreckage could be cleared away. ”