A Runaway Brig: or, An Accidental Cruise

"What is it?" Jim cried excitedly as he gazed at the black object, but made no move toward taking it from the recess where it had so long remained hidden.

"It's something valuable, or it wouldn't have been put away like that. P'rhaps a pirate has left it for safe-keeping, and couldn't get back after it," Harry suggested.

"He couldn't have been any very great shakes of a pirate if that's all he had to hide!" Jim said with a tone of contempt for the possibly blood-thirsty owner of the package which he now lifted from its wooden case.

The boys gathered close around; but the most minute examination failed to reveal anything more valuable than a mass of tar.

"There must be something inside!" Walter cried excitedly, "for no one would have taken so much trouble to put such stuff away. Cut it open!"

Jim was soon chopping at the black mass with his pocket-knife, and but a few strokes were necessary to show that the tar simply covered a cunningly-plaited net-work of stout cord fashioned somewhat like an envelope.

"Be careful when you stick the knife through!" Harry cried warningly. "There must be something precious inside, sure!"

Jim did not intend to run any risk of ruining the contents by a hasty stroke. After scraping the tar off sufficiently to expose the cords straight across both ends, he cut them carefully apart until the envelope was divided like an open wallet, exposing to view two thin sheets of wood.

"It's nothing but paper!" Walter exclaimed in a tone of most intense disappointment as Jim separated this inner covering, showing what appeared to be the attempt of some amateur to draw a diagram on a soiled piece of stout paper.

At the top of the sheet, which was yellow and time-worn, were two lines, as follows:

XLI. fathoms N. N. E. from this timber to palmetto tree.

XII. fathoms S. E. by E. to coral-head.

This information, if such it could be called, was jotted down in fanciful letters instead of writing, and immediately beneath it appeared the rude drawing of a hut, a crooked tree, and a rock or piece of coral. From one to the other arrows were placed to mark the probable direction as given above, while below was what looked like a representation of an island or key.

Then was written, in angular penmanship, the following:

We solemnly swear not to disturb the treasure buried by us this day, except in the presence of all the owners, or after receiving proof that one or more are dead.

(Signed)

BARTH MEADOWS.

His

PEDRO X GONZALES.

mark.

E. BONN.

His

JOSEF X HARTTMAN.

mark.

For several moments after Harry ceased reading this singular document the boys stood staring at the faded characters in silence, and then Jim exclaimed:

"I'll bet them was pirates what wrote that, an' if we could only make out what it means there'd be a big pile of gold found. Let's go on board an' show it to Bob!"

The mere suggestion that they had the clew to a buried treasure was sufficient to throw all three into a perfect fever of excitement, and after carefully gathering up the coverings they started at full speed for the shore, shouting to each other, as they ran, the most improbable theories concerning the ancient document and its signers until the key resounded with their cries.

"Perhaps the men who ran away with the brig belong to the same gang who hid the paper," Walter suggested in a tremulous tone, glancing behind him every few moments, as if fancying they might be pursued.

"That couldn't be," Harry replied, panting because of the rapid pace, "unless they've taken the gold with them."

For an instant the boys' joy decreased very materially, and then grew strong once more as Jim said, confidently:

"If they had we'd seen somethin' of it; but them duffers didn't have any baggage when they come aboard. The Bonita wouldn't 'a' left the cove so quick if the men had known about this. I tell you, fellers, it was lucky for us that they stole the brig!"

Then, as if unable longer to act like rational beings, the explorers burst into loud, incoherent shouts, which sadly lessened their speed because of the extra amount of breath required to continue the outcries.

It was this uproar which Joe heard, and he and Bob were wholly at a loss to understand what had happened as the yawl, with her noisy crew, approached the tug.

CHAPTER XIX.

AN UNEXPECTED VISIT

It was fully ten minutes after the excited boys arrived at the Sea Bird before Bob and Joe could understand the meaning of the document which Harry waved so triumphantly above his head, or learn where and how it had been found. Each one insisted on telling the story at the same time, and the result was that nothing could be distinctly heard until Bob shouted:

"Hold up, lads! Give yourselves time to elect a president who can do the talkin', an' then p'rhaps me an' Joe'll find out whether you've seen the Bonita or discovered a bridge that leads to New York!"

"Let Harry tell the story while Walt an' me bail the yawl. Her seams haven't swelled enough yet to prevent her from takin' in water;" and Jim went forward resolving not to say another word until the matter was fully explained; but before Harry had well begun the recital both he and Walter were assisting in the conversation.

Bob and Joe did finally succeed in learning all the particulars regarding the finding of the manuscript, and then their excitement equaled that of the boys.

"There ain't any question but what the lads have lighted on the secret of a pirate's treasure," the old sailor said in a positive tone, and looking around at his companions as if challenging either of them to contradict him. "Years ago these keys used to be a great place for 'em to sneak in an' out of, an' it stands to reason this would 'a' been jes' the kind of a harbor they'd try to make, 'cause there's water enough here to float a good-sized craft."

"But it's a big question as to whether we can find it;" and Joe examined the document carefully once more. "It has been a good while since this was written, and perhaps both the tree and the coral rock have disappeared."

"It won't take very long to learn that, matey," Bob replied in a tone so cheery that it would have been difficult to believe he had felt so angry and despondent a few hours previous. "There's a good compass in the pilot-house, an' with it an' your tape-measure we'll be able to lay out the course to a hair."

"Do you mean to knock off work for the sake of going treasure-hunting?" Joe asked in mild surprise.

"Why not? Two or three days won't make much difference to us when the repairs are a question of weeks, an' there's no great danger of an easterly gale at this time of year."

It did not require any lengthy or able argument to convince Joe that he would be warranted in ceasing his work as machinist to become a treasure-seeker, for he was fully as eager as Bob to test the truth of the apparent statement contained in the document.

Half an hour after the boys came on board all hands were ready for a return to the key. The compass had been placed in the stern-sheets of the yawl; Joe carried the measuring-tape in his pocket, and all was in readiness for the start, when the old sailor suggested that one of the Sea Bird's anchors be dropped.

"I ain't afraid of her slippin' the Bonita's hawser," he said; "but it'll be a good idea to prevent her from swinging round into shoal water."

Anything, no matter how much labor it might involve, which would guard against a loss or further disablement of their second and only remaining craft should be attended to, and all hands assisted in the work. The tug's smallest anchor was let go with the cable made fast to the stern bitt, and unless a violent storm should arise she would lay to her moorings as safely as if in a dry-dock.

Bob looked once more to the stopper on the bow hawser, as if the idea of leaving the little steamer even for so short a time made him uneasy regarding her safety; and then, when, about to step over the rail into the yawl, he involuntarily glanced seaward.

"Well, if that don't take all the wind outer my sails!" he exclaimed, pointing with one hand toward the open ocean as he shaded his eyes with the other. "An hour ago I'd 'a' been glad to see sich a sight as that; but with the paper the boys found I've kinder lost all hankerin' for a chance to leave this key."

The remainder of the party were already on board the yawl, and it was some seconds before the full meaning of his words could be understood. It was Harry who first caught a glimpse of that which attracted the old sailor's attention, and he cried, as he clambered over the steamer's rail:

"It's a vessel! Father has sent some one to look for us, and now we can go home!"

"I reckon you're wrong there, lad," Bob said as his companions gathered around him, all gazing intently at a small schooner which was creeping slowly toward the key from the southeast, evidently heading directly for the cove. "That craft hasn't got American sailors on board by considerable. She looks like a fisherman – most likely comin' here for turtles. Whatever she is, we must put off goin' ashore for a spell."

Joe quickly brought the compass from the yawl, that no evidences of their intended visit ashore should be seen, and said, as he took up his tools once more:

"We'd better keep right on about our work, for in case they are coming here it may look suspicious to see us loafing when the steamer is so nearly a wreck."

But for the document found by the boys Joe would not have had such a thought. Now, however, the possibility that there might be a large amount of treasure secreted on the key made him over-cautious and distrustful.

Bob returned to the cabin, for the "curse of wealth" had also begun to make itself felt on him, and the three boys watched the approach of the stranger, but far less eagerly than would have been the case a few hours previous.

Slowly the schooner drew nearer, still heading directly for the cove, and shortening sail only when she was inside the outer point of land.

"Come on deck, Bob," Joe said in a low tone. "She's got just about way enough on to fetch us, and there's no question but that she's coming to anchor close alongside."

Bob emerged from the companion-way as the schooner swung around to her cable, and a man who was standing near the wheel shouted:

"Steamer ahoy!"

"Halloo!" Bob replied.

"What's the matter? Are you in distress?"

"Not exactly; we've been at the wrong end of a collision, an' put in here to patch up a little."

"Have you been ashore yet?"

"Do you suppose they know we found the paper?" Walter whispered in alarm as Bob hesitated before saying:

"Three of the crew landed this morning to look for water."

"Did you see any men there?"

"If you mean a Mexican, a thin feller, an' one with a red nose, we've seen more'n we wanted!" and by the tone of Bob's voice it could be easily understood that he was growing very angry.

"That's the crowd we're looking for!" the man on the schooner said excitedly. "On what part of the key are they?"

"You'll find 'em somewhere between here an' the coast of the United States. We had the brig Bonita in tow when we came to anchor, an' by lockin' us below on the tug they stole her!"

The man conversed with those near him for a moment, and then resumed the conversation by asking:

"When did that happen?"

"About two hours before sunset yesterday afternoon. Do you know anything of the scoundrels?"

"Considerable that ain't to their credit. They shipped at Nassau on a trading-vessel, and tried to get up a mutiny in order to seize the craft. The captain marooned them here, and we shouldn't have troubled our heads about such a lot if it had not been learned that they murdered two turtle-fishers in the North-west Channel three weeks ago simply for the small amount of money the men received from sale of the cargo. It looks now as if the villains had given us the slip."

"I ain't so sure of that," Bob replied after some thought. "The brig is a decently heavy sailer, an' there hasn't been wind enough to take her very far away. The chances are they're loafin' 'round the Bank now."

As may be supposed, the crew of the Sea Bird were astonished at learning the true character of those whom they would have befriended. That the men were scoundrels there had been good proof; but to learn they were murderers as well, shocked all hands.

"It's a good thing we didn't sail on the Bonita," Walter said in a whisper. "If they'd kill two fishermen for a little money, I'm sure there wouldn't have been much hesitation about butchering us before we arrived in port, so they could claim the brig."

"All that appears unfortunate is not ill-luck," Joe added; and then the captain of the schooner shouted:

"We'll give them a chase, anyhow. Tell us the full particulars concerning the brig, and if we don't succeed in catching the murderers it will be easy to send the information to every port they're likely to enter. By that means they'll be prevented from enjoying the stolen property very long. Come aboard, where we can talk without such a waste of wind!"

"Let's all hands go," Bob suggested; and in a few moments the crew of the Sea Bird were on the schooner – Harry telling the story of how he, Walter and Jim were carried away by the Bonita; Bob relating the particulars of the Trade Wind's loss, and Joe giving an account of the collision.

"It's kind of a mixed up affair," the captain said, rubbing his nose vigorously, as if to quicken memory, "and I reckon it'll be safer to take down all the names, so's there'll be no mistake."

"I'll write out the whole thing for you," Harry proposed, and the captain appeared to be relieved by the proposition.

"I ain't got much of a fist for writin'," he replied half-apologetically, "an' it'll save me a deal of time." Then, as Harry began what of necessity would be quite a lengthy narrative, he asked Bob: "Is there anything we can do for you? Have you stores enough for a decently long voyage?"

"I reckon we have everything needful except coal, an' we'll have to run into Nassau for that. If you'll give me the course it'll be a big help, seein's how I ain't very much of a navigator."

This the captain was not only willing but pleased to do. He even went so far as to draw on a piece of brown paper a rude chart of the North-east Providence Channel, and the self imposed task was hardly completed when Harry brought his written story to an end.

CHAPTER XX.

TREASURE-SEEKERS

The crew of the schooner obtained the fullest particulars regarding the brig, the direction of the wind when she was gotten under way, and such other information as might be of benefit to them, for the chase was to be continued to the American coast, if necessary.

"We can send for the legal papers in case the murderers have reached the United States," the captain of the schooner said; "and with such proof as we have got concerning their crime there is little doubt but that the Government will grant an extradition."

"If you should catch them, make a claim in our name for salvage on the brig," Joe said. "We brought her through a gale in which she would have been dismasted if not totally wrecked, and as she was stolen from an anchorage our rights in the matter should be respected."

"That's about the size of it, Joe," Bob added, approvingly. "If there's any fairness in law we oughter get a right tidy lot of money outer the old hooker."

"I'll attend to the business for you, my hearties; an' what's more, them villains shall be made to answer for a cold-blooded murder if we have to keep the chase up six months. Now I allow we should get under way, for a good sailin' breeze mustn't be lost. We'll see you in Nassau, I reckon, for if things work favorably we'll be home again in a week at the latest."

This was a decided hint for the visitors to take their departure, and a few moments later they were rowing toward the Sea Bird as the schooner glided swiftly out of the little cove.

"Well, lads," Bob said, after they had watched the rapidly receding craft until her hull was shut out from view by the point of land, "now that they're off there's nothin' to prevent us from findin' out if what was writ down on that paper means anything. Get the compass. We'll take an ax an' the fire-shovel as well, for most likely there'll be a job at diggin' before it'll be possible to tell whether we're on a wild-goose chase or not."

The boys were eager to follow up the clew given by the document found at the ruined hut, and in a very short space of time everything was ready once more for a visit to the key.

It was now past noon, for the schooner had been in the harbor two or three hours; but in the excitement of hunting for treasure no one thought of eating. The heat was intense even where the sea-breeze had full range, and among the underbrush it would be almost stifling; but this discomfort was unheeded in the newborn thirst for gold.

With Bob and Joe at the oars the yawl glided over the glassy waters very swiftly, and when she was pulled up on the sand beyond reach of the tide the old sailor said, as he raised the compass:

"Lead the way, lads, an' make the course pretty nigh direct, for we don't want to cruise 'round any more'n is necessary. Joe, you take the shovel an' ax, so's the leaders can travel light."

By following up their own trail, which was distinctly marked in the underbrush, the boys had no difficulty in going directly to the ruined hut, stopping only once on the way to quench their thirst at the spring.

"This is the place, an' there's the hole in the timber where we found the paper," Harry said, as he laid his hand on the crumbling joist. "What puzzles me is to know from which side of it we're to measure forty-one fathoms."

"There can't be much of a mistake if we're to travel nor'-nor'-east," and Bob placed the compass on that portion of the shattered timber which yet remained in the sand. "It'll be a decently hard job to walk in a straight line, though, an' if we should happen to get an inch or so out of the way at the start it would throw the whole course askew."

"A few feet wouldn't matter a great deal while we've got the palmetto to guide us," Joe suggested.

"We have, if it's standin' yet; but this 'ere document was fixed up a good while ago, my hearty, an' the tree they took their bearin's from may have been blowed down a dozen times since then."

"I don't believe that could have happened more than once," Harry said, laughingly, "unless palmettoes are different from other trees."

"Well," Bob replied, gravely, "once would be enough to knock us out of reckoning, an' instead of standin' here in the hot sun chatterin' like a lot of parrots we'd better find the true course."

To lay out a straight line through the woods with nothing but a compass as guide is by no means a simple task, and of this the old sailor was well aware. He set about the work methodically, heeding not the time spent providing the result arrived at was correct, and in doing this the assistance of all was necessary.

With the compass placed squarely over the end of the post Bob sighted across it, directing Jim, who had moved off at a distance of half a dozen yards, until he was in the desired position. Then the compass was carried forward to this point, and as Joe trimmed away the branches or hewed down trees which obstructed the view, Harry walked ahead according to the old sailor's orders.

Walter made the third point in the observation; and thus the line was continued by the one in the rear going forward when the distance had been measured, until forty-one fathoms, or two hundred and forty-six feet, had been covered.

"Here we are!" Joe cried as the final living peg was in position; "and there's nothing that looks like a palmetto anywhere near. Are you sure the course is true?"

"I know it can't be half a fathom out of the way," Bob said as he wiped the perspiration from his face and gazed around in perplexity. "This is what comes of takin' a bearin' that's likely to be knocked outer line."

"If the tree isn't where it ought to be must we give up the search?" Walter asked as a look of disappointment came over his face.

"We won't cry quits quite so soon as this," Bob replied quickly. "Joe, drive a stake where Harry stands, so we can find the spot ag'in, an' then get ready to start on the other course."

When this had been done Bob brought the compass forward once more, and Joe struck out southeast by east – a direction which caused them to return almost over the same course, the stake standing at the point of an acute angle.

This second course was but little more than one-quarter the distance of the first; but the underbrush was more tangled, which made the labor of clearing a path proportionately greater, and it was nearly night-fall when Joe shouted, as he pressed on in advance:

"There's no need of squinting across that compass-box any longer, for here's the coral-head as plain as the nose on a man's face!"

Without thinking that by leaving their positions all this last portion of the work might have to be repeated, the boys rushed forward eagerly despite Bob's warning shouts; and thus deserted by his assistants, the old sailor could do no less than join the others, who were standing around what looked like a dull-white rock of the same form as that so rudely pictured on the time-stained paper.

"I reckon we've struck it!" he said with a long-drawn sigh of relief; "but there's likely to be a big lot of diggin', an' it's gettin' late. My idee is that we'd better knock off now, an' come back in the mornin'."

Joe was of the same opinion, and the two men began to gather up their belongings preparatory to a return to the steamer.

The boys were decidedly disappointed. Even though all were very hungry, they would have preferred to settle the question then and there regardless of the amount of time that might be necessary; but as their views on the subject were not asked for, there was no other course open save to follow the leaders.

The coral-head lay nearer the water's edge than did the hut, and after blazing two or three trees and ascertaining the bearings of the supposed treasure, the line of march was taken up.

The sun had been below the horizon fully a quarter of an hour when they stepped on board the Sea Bird, and not until then did the boys realize how tired they were. The exertion even of cooking supper seemed too great; but it was a task which must be performed, and all hands aided in it, thus bringing the meal to a much earlier close than if Jim had officiated at the stove alone.

It is safe to say that none of the steamer's crew were troubled with wakefulness five minutes after retiring, and Bob himself was wrapped in slumber when the sun came up out of the sea. His eyes were opened at a reasonably early hour, however, and when a hurried breakfast had been eaten the party set out for the spot where all believed a pirate's treasure would be found.

To retrace their steps by the course laid out on the previous evening was not a difficult matter, for the trail through the tangled underbrush would have showed the way even without the compass, and before two hours of this new day were spent the little party stood once more around the coral-head.

Owing to the fact that they had but one shovel the work of digging progressed slowly, and it was soon discovered that the task would require considerable time. The coral was of great size, very much larger at the base than the top, and imbedded in the sand to the depth of at least four feet.

"We must spell each other every five minutes," Bob said, as he set the example by taking the tool from Joe's hands. "In that way we shall get along faster, because the one who's diggin' will always be fresh."

Each of the party, including the boys, had taken his turn at the shovel half a dozen times when the huge mass of coral was finally uncovered, and then came the question of removing it entirely.

To this end Joe cut three poles, to be used as levers, and with the most intense excitement depicted on every countenance the treasure-seekers set about this last portion of the task.

The second attempt was successful. The coral was rolled up on the sand until it could be toppled over, and then, as Bob scraped the earth away from where it had rested so long, an oblong sheet of metal – apparently copper – was exposed to view.