Edward Stratemeyer

“ Captain Hannock's foul plot had been put into execution. What would the end be?
I was almost stunned by my discovery. I paced up and down my cell like a madman, but all to no purpose.
"Hurry up, men!" I heard Captain Hannock exclaim. "Don't be an hour in doing five minute's work! Use your strength!"
"Ay! ay! sir! No time to lose, that's a fact."
And the crew of the Spitfire hurried their preparations even more than before.
"Never mind your things, boys, save your lives. We may have an explosion, and then it will be too late." ”

“ It was some time ere I could recover and call out to the cabin boy:
"What is it, Phil? Where are you?"
"Here I am," he cried, close beside me; and an instant later his hand touched my body.
"What happened?" I repeated.
"I don't know," he replied. "Either something struck the boat, or else we hit a rock."
"I don't think we are near enough to shore to strike a rock," I rejoined.
"Well, what was it then?"
"I don't know, and what's more I'm not going to try to find out just at present. Where is the raft?"
"I guess the Hasty has gone to the bottom. I can't see her anywhere around." ”

“ At last I got my wind, and then cried out at the top of my voice,
"Help! Stop the boat! Help!"
No one paid the slightest attention.
"Pull away, boys," I heard Captain Hannock call out; and an instant later the jolly-boat had left the schooner's side!
In vain I repeated my cry. If the master of the Spitfire heard me, he gave no heed, and as for the sailors, they were too busy doing their duty to give me a thought.
Deserted! Left to fight for life amidst the flames! ”

“ Captain Hannock's reference to rats put me in mind of cats; and drawing in my breath, I let off the most unearthly cat cry that has ever passed my lips, a cry that astonished even myself.
Both of the men tumbled back in great haste. Then the captain set up a laugh.
"It's a cat!" he cried. "Some old strayaway from the docks, I suppose."
"Must be a mighty large one," returned Lowell. "Hold the light up till I catch her."
"Nonsense! Suppose I want to get bit and die of hydrophoby?" exclaimed the captain. "Let her stay where she is. She can feed on the rats or starve to death." ”

“ I heard Lowell shout.
"Where is the fire?" burst from half a dozen throats in chorus.
"In the hold—it is one mass of flames!"
"Can't we put it out?" questioned one of the sailors.
"No, the fire has gained too much headway for that."
"But we might try."
"It won't do, I tell you. We must get out a boat and leave the schooner. Ten minutes more and it will be too late."
"What, as bad as that!" came back with a groan. "Can't we save her nohow?"
"No, I tell you, idiot! I've been on board a burning vessel before. Man the jolly-boat, and lose no time!" ”

“ Lowell left the cabin at once. I wondered what the skipper of the Spitfire intended to do next. Was he going to flog me?
I was not prepared for what was to follow. In a moment Lowell returned with a quantity of stout rope.
"Now bind him well from head to foot," said the captain.
"No, you don't!" I cried.
"Yes, we do, my hearty," returned Lowell, and Captain Hannock shook the belaying pin in my face.
"Stand still, unless you want your head split open," he commanded. "I'll have you to understand your days of fooling are over. You've discovered our secret, but it sha'n't do you any good." ”

“ All the plans the lawyer and myself had laid were now useless. He was left behind and I was on board little better than a prisoner. Bitterly I regretted not having taken the chances of getting ashore without being observed. Of what use now was all my information against Captain Hannock and his confederates? In an hour we would be far out at sea, and then the chances of doing anything to save myself would be small indeed.
Suddenly the idea of jumping overboard and swimming ashore entered my mind. We could not be far from the dock, and anything was better than to stay aboard the doomed Spitfire. ”

“ On one occasion I knew him to invest several thousand dollars in a raft from Maine, although whether it paid or not I never found out.
I had always believed my uncle straightforward and honest, but now, since receiving the letter from England, my confidence in him was shaken. He had not treated me rightly, and this being so, who knew where his wrongdoing ended?
"It don't make a bit of difference if he is the president's son," replied Lowell savagely. "I won't allow any boy to square up to me. And besides, Felix Stillwell is no great friend of mine." ”

“ Not to be caught in this manner I sprang aside, and retreated rapidly towards the stern of the schooner. I did not know anything about the vessel, and finally found myself near the cabin, and face to face with Captain Hannock.
"Here, what's the row about?" he demanded.
"I want Lowell to give up the money and letters he took from me," I replied; and a moment later the boatswain came up.
"He won't mind orders, captain," he exclaimed.
"You've got to mind orders while you're on board, Foster."
"Well, perhaps I will if I'm treated fairly," I replied.
"You'll be treated fair enough, never fear. ”

“ The captain of the Spitfire had left nothing undone to make the loss of the schooner appear purely accidental.
"Here is the key," said Phil, producing it. "Let me take them off."
In a moment he had the handcuffs loose, and I slipped them off.
"They should be on Captain Hannock," I remarked, as we hurried on deck.
"Indeed they should," replied the cabin boy, though he did not fully understand me. "I was dead tired, and went to sleep on the pantry floor, and no one came near me to wake me up. I suppose the old man would just as soon see me dead as alive." ”

“ At one of the slips stood a ferry-boat just preparing to leave for Brooklyn.
The sight of the boat gave me a sudden thought. I dashed into the ferry-house, paid the ferry fare, and in a moment was on board, just as the boat left the slip.
It had been a long and hard run, but at last I was safe from being followed. Once in Brooklyn there would be a hundred places for me to go in case of necessity.
Wiping the perspiration from my face, I made my way to the forward deck. But few people were on board, and quite undisturbed, I leaned against the railing to review the situation. ”

“ Phil was fully as much dismayed as I was. Alone on the broad Atlantic and not a drop to drink!
"We can't live without water," he cried.
"I know that. It is worse than being without food."
"Ten times over. Where has the water gone?"
We examined the cask carefully. At the bottom was a bunghole in which a bung had been placed; but either the riding of the raft or the shock had loosened the bung, and it had dropped out and allowed the water to run away to the last drop.
"We are done for now!" groaned Phil. "We can't stand it twenty-four hours without something to drink." ”

“ I raised the trap and crawled up into the forecastle. No one was there, and I sneaked to the deck.
As I had surmised, the dock was not over a quarter of a mile away, if indeed it was as far. I was a fair swimmer, and without hesitation I ran to the rail with the full intention of jumping overboard.
"Hi, you rascal, come back! Stop him, somebody!"
It was Captain Hannock's voice, and it made me run faster than ever. I gained the rail, and in another moment would have been over.
"Hi, Crocker! Why don't you stop the lad!" ”

“ Luke has never before been to sea, and when he is carried off on the "Spitfire" his real experiences on the briny ocean, set up in juxtaposition to what he had imagined a life on the "rolling deep" to be, make reading which I trust every lad who has a "hankering" after a sailor's life may digest with profit. Luke concludes that a life on land is good enough for him, and I feel certain that a majority of our readers will agree with him.
Of Luke's overbearing cousin and his dishonest uncle much might be said which Luke leaves untold. ”

“ I hate to do it, but it's the only way to manage you."
"Perhaps it won't be an easy matter to send me to prison."
"I have proof enough, never fear."
"I don't think so; and let me say, if you disgrace me by an arrest, I will make it as hot for you as I can."
"You are an angel, I must say."
"I don't pretend to be an angel. I'm nothing but an everyday boy, and I've got a temper just as well as any one. I've always tried to do my duty, both to you and to others, and I can't see why you should suspect me any more than Gus or one of your partners, or—or yourself." ”

“ Not a boat was in sight.
"See anything?" asked Phil.
"Nothing but water and sky," was the reply. "We must shift for ourselves and no mistake."
Luckily for us the planks we had lashed together were of sufficient buoyancy to cause the doors above them to ride clear of the waves, so we were comparatively free from the wash of the sea, although occasionally a wave broke over the flooring.
"We will lash the cask fast," said I, "and then fasten the box of provisions on top of it."
"That's a good idea," replied the cabin boy. "If the water strikes the food it won't be of much account." ”

“ I returned, calmly.
"Say, Captain, didn't that uncle of his send him along to set the Spitfire on fire?" went on the sailor, suggestively.
"Why, of course he did!" burst out Captain Hannock, caught by the idea. "How else would he happen to be on board?"
I must confess I was rather taken back by this cool assertion.
I was about to reply, when Mr. Ranson caught me by the arm and shook his head.
"Don't waste time talking to him," said the lawyer. "He will do and say what he can to get free, but it will not avail him—he will only twist himself up."
"Will I?" sneered Captain Hannock. ”

“ I hopped out of my bunk and rubbed my eyes.
"Time to get on deck, unless you want Lowell after you with the rope's end again."
"I don't think Lowell will trouble me much again," I replied, as I began to dress. "If he does I'll do what I can to defend myself."
"I like your grit. It does my heart good to see a boy stand up to a man like him."
"At the bottom I think he is a coward," I said. "Most all brutes are."
When I came on deck the sun was shining brightly. Captain Hannock was up, and he appeared quite a different man from what he had been the day before. ”

“ Captain Hannock shook his head.
"It won't do," he said. "We want her to sink in deep water where the insurance people can't find her. You must remember that a good part of the cargo is bogus, and if that was ever found out we wouldn't get a penny."
"How far do you calculate to sail?" asked Lowell.
"I've been thinking I'd better wait till we're about three days out from Cape Cod. We can sail a little north of the regular track, and so have things all our own way."
"Don't go too far," said Crocker. "Remember we've got to get back. Money won't do us any good if we lose our lives on the ocean." ”

“ I walked forward, but my mind was in a whirl. Never before had I been so completely taken in. Surely this was escaping from the law with a vengeance!
"Who owns this boat?" I asked, as we reached the forecastle.
"Captain Hannock. She's just as good a two-masted schooner as sails, is the Spitfire; so you have no reason to complain."
"Where are we bound?"
"On an eight months' cruise, up the Down East coast, and then to England."
An eight months' cruise! What a time to stay on shipboard! But perhaps I might escape before the end of the period.
"What's the first landing?"
"New Bedford." ”

“ I ran up the stairs at once. At the head I met Mrs. Stillwell.
"Where are you going?" she asked coldly.
"To see Uncle Felix."
"Well, I guess you are not!"
"Gus says he asked for me."
"I don't care. You shall not see the poor man."
"Excuse me, madam, but I will," I replied, and brushed past her and on to the door of my uncle's room.
She caught me by the arm.
"You just march downstairs!" she cried.
"Is that Luke?" came a feeble voice from within.
"Yes, Uncle Felix," I hastened to reply.
"Let him come in, dear; I must see him."
With a very bad grace Mrs. Stillwell allowed me to enter. ”