Ralph Henry Barbour

“ As he listened to Captain Grummitt, Dave began to see new interest in the lost Hatteras, and he would have liked to kick himself for not pumping his ancient mariner more.
"I think some fine day we shall have to go treasure-hunting, Dave," Tempest said with a quiet smile.
"If ever we get the chance," agreed Dave, cheerfully, as though a little trip to the neighborhood of Christmas Island was as simple as a jaunt on a trolley-car. ”

“ Full tilt, it went at a net near which the boy and his companion were waiting in breathless suspense. The net came away from its moorings, as Jim had intended it to, with one or more of the porker's legs hopelessly entangled in the meshes; and there ascended heavenwards a squealing the like of which had probably never been heard on the island. Over and over the pig rolled, struggling frantically to free itself. Both Dave and Tempest were rushing towards it, with clubs upraised, when confusion was added to the situation by another pig bolting into a second net. ”

“ Dave stooped and took one of the small bars in his hand with a curious thrill.
"You don't suppose it's just—just lead or something like that?" he asked anxiously. "It's frightfully heavy!"
"It would be," answered Tempest, striving to keep the excitement from his voice. "It's platinum all right, and it's worth a fortune, Dave."
"A fortune!" repeated the boy, gazing down in awe at the serried rows of silvery bars. "Yes, it must be, for it's worth more than a hundred dollars an ounce. Tempest, we—we're rich!"
"You are," said Tempest. ”

“ Jim, with a native's cunning in the chase, devised various methods of catching birds as a change for their food, but their best sport was the hunting of pigs. The little wild animals were by no means easy to catch, and this was only done occasionally, neither Dave nor Tempest liking the idea of killing them. Excepting the creatures with gorgeous plumage which still made strident noises when any one approached them, the birds were remarkably tame, no doubt because the hand of man had never been raised against them. ”

“ Though neither Tempest nor Dave knew it, the day they laid the keel of the Mud Turtle the crew of the Manihiki were being landed at Melbourne, their plans having gone somewhat astray. They had covered half the distance to Fiji laboriously by tacking against adverse winds most of the time, and had reduced their ration of water by half, as their supply of that precious liquid was getting perilously low, when a steamer nearly ran them down in the middle of the night, the only lamp on the long-boat having been broken. ”

“ At last, with a creak, the lid was lifted, and Dave and Tempest stared at the contents of the box, fascinated.
Lying neatly stacked in rows were bars and bars of silvery-white metal which, in spite of their long burial in the sand, shone as brightly as when placed there years before by the man who had mined and molded them. ”

“ A BROKEN HAWSER It was during his stay on the Mary Ellen that Dave first learned, under the personal supervision of Captain Grummitt, who spent most of his time on the bridge, the art of taking a trick at the wheel. And during those watches in the little, boxlike wheel-house the boy also learned many other things appertaining to the ways of ships, for Captain Grummitt took a great interest in the lad. The time was not far distant, moreover, when Dave was to be thankful for such lore as he gathered from the portly old sea-dog.
Life on the tug was by no means devoid of its adventurous side. ”

“ Now, in a flash, it seemed different.
"Tell me what Washington Island has got to do with it?" Dave asked, with a serious light in his grey eyes.
"Only this—that if we get off there, we shall be within something like three hundred miles of the spot where your old mariner says the bones of the Hatteras are sticking up out of the sand," Tempest replied. "Even three hundred miles is a mighty long distance, in a way, but it's better than three thousand, and it looks to me as though Old Man Opportunity was going out of his way to knock at your door a second time. ”

“ Captain Grummitt scratched his head vigorously, an action which always seemed to assist his memory.
"Blow me if that was n't the boat there was a reward offered for," he said at length, his mind leaping back over the years. "But I don't just recall if ever she was found."
"Never," said Tempest. "There is n't a man living to-day can say for a fact what happened to her or to any one on board, except perhaps Dave, and what he knows does n't amount to much, but it's curious." ”

“ Most all farms in Australia will give a man a square meal and some sort of place to sleep in in return for a few hours' help, but the sundowner is foxy. When he sees a farm on the horizon he lies down and basks till evening. Then, just when it's getting dark and too late for him to be put to anything useful in the fields, he rolls up for free board and lodging."
"Talking of somewhere to sleep," Dave said, "can you tell me where we are likely to spend the night?"
Tempest laughed. ”

“ Why?"
"Then it only takes a day or two to go from Fanning Island to Christmas Island in a bark in a fair wind?" said Dave.
"It depends how long you waste on the way picking up that treasure," replied Captain Hallard, with a twinkle in his eye. "Don't you worry, my lad. Hard dollars don't come like that. You're just as likely to bump up in Broadway against a solid chunk of gold so big that it holds up the traffic as anybody is to rescue a fortune that's been lost in the sea for years." ”

“ They had been in Sydney a week, and Dave and Tempest were walking along the wharves when the boy happened to notice an extremely fat man attempting the somewhat perilous feat of walking across a very narrow gangway to a steam tug. The gangway consisted merely of a plank, which had never been intended for traffic. The wind was blowing in violent gusts, and the plank wobbled in alarming fashion when the fat man reached the middle of it. ”

“ You see, there's a powerful difference between leaving it all these years in the main street of Sydney and leaving it stranded on a little island where nobody in their sane senses would think of poking their noses. There's islands there that don't have a human being on them once in a hundred years or more, and then, as likely as not, they might not happen to spot a half-buried wreck. ”

“ As the men stepped ashore, a flock of birds with gorgeous plumage flew up from the bushes, uttering strident calls of indignation at the intrusion.
"It's quite clear there's nobody at home on this island," Tempest said. "I don't expect those birds have ever seen a human being before. Well, Dave, we 're all going to play a little game of Robinson Crusoe, so cheer up. How would you like to spend the next ten years here?" It was characteristic of Bruce Tempest that he was not in the least perturbed by being marooned. ”

“ Captain Peters and Bruce Tempest discussed the point at great length, but were unable to come to any conclusion except that the ancestors of the hogs must have landed there from some wreck.
"What does it matter, anyway?" said Tempest, smiling. "We 're all fond of roast pork whether we know its history or not."
The twentieth day after the Manihiki ran on the rocks saw the end of her. One of those savage storms that come down so suddenly near the equator burst over the island. Black clouds appeared as if by magic, and long streamers of lightning lit up the boiling ocean. ”

“ If we don't find anything, then we will chuck it."
Again they plied the shovels vigorously, until nothing remained within the bare walls of the rudely constructed cabin.
"That settles it," commented Tempest, at last. "Now are you satisfied, Dave?"
"I suppose so," said the boy ruefully, straightening his back and resting on his shovel. "There's nothing more to be done, is there?"
"No, I'm afraid this is the finish. Not even the message in a bottle to lure us on."
"But," Dave exclaimed, with a touch of impatience, "what the dickens can the man have done with the platinum? ”

“ Tempest said, shouldering the parcel. "I don't mind having a lazy time now and again when I 've earned it, but no man breathing shall call me a sundowner."
"What's that," asked Dave, trudging along.
"A sundowner, my son, is a peculiar breed of creature that would as soon fondle a rattlesnake as do a day's work. He is born tired and never gets over it. He faints right away at the sight of a pick or shovel; and if he should happen to do an honest day's labor, he talks about it for years afterward. He has reduced the art of dodging work to a science. ”

“ Captain Phelps, recognizing the grey-whiskered skipper of the liner, waved his hand.
"Want a tow?" he called out laughingly.
"Not to-day, thanks," replied the skipper of the liner. "You 're a bit too fast for us. Where 're you bound?"
"China to Japan with hot water," replied Captain Phelps, as the little Neptune waddled out of earshot.
Dave and Tempest had only signed on the tramp for the trip as far as Sydney, and the boy was sorry when the run was drawing to a finish, for the Neptune was a comfortable ship, as tramps go, and the weather had been almost perfect. ”

“ There certainly was a prominent hill there, which might have been cast up by volcanic action, but from where they lay it bore no resemblance to either a camel or any other animal.
Dave spoke of that fact in disappointed tones.
"Shucks! What of it?" said Tempest encouragingly. "You don't know where the lagoon is yet, if there is one there. Probably you can't see the resemblance except from that side. Patience, sonny. It is early yet to give up hope. Wait till we get closer in and then we will make a little trip right round the place on the look-out for zoological specimens like camels." ”

“ Dave hardly dared close his eyes lest he should sleep too long. Before it was light he slipped on his clothes. The stairs creaked as he walked down them in his stocking-feet, with his shoes in one hand and the suitcase in the other. He dreaded waking either his father or Aunt Martha, and yet had to fight with a desire to say good-by to them. He had to bite his lips hard and a lump came into his throat when he passed his father's door. ”

“ From one window of his home in Brooklyn the boy could obtain a panoramic view of the ceaseless traffic in the harbor to and from New York—big, stately mail-boats with tugs puffing fussily at their side; mysterious, bird-like sailing-ships with crowded canvas ”