"Count on me to hold "em in check," said Jimmy, with a touch of his old boastfulness. "I"m Leander at the Bridge, or Leonidas holding that pa.s.s at Thermopylae. I"m here like a rock and can"t be budged. Oh! you mutts down there, I"m sorry for the feller that tries to run the gauntlet of my fire; because my finger"s on the trigger all the while, and just itchin" to press harder."
Thinking to make sure about that rope, on which it now seemed so much might depend, the patrol leader pa.s.sed on down the slanting deck of the stranded old hulk.
He met some one coming from the other end of the wreck; and it turned out to be Frank, who, on finding out that he had run upon Ned, took hold of his sleeve.
"Come down here with me," he said, "I want you to see something."
Curious to know what the other scout meant, Ned readily accompanied him; but in pa.s.sing the place where Jack and Jimmy had met with their adventure, he made sure that the rope was still where the former had tossed it after drawing it up.
"There, what d"ye think of that?" asked Frank.
He was pointing out toward the great bay, as he said this; and, looking, Ned discovered that the last of the sea fog and mist had cleared away, leaving the air as clear as a bell. Far away over the water he saw several strange lights. They seemed to rise and fall in a mysterious fashion; and yet Ned knew that there was nothing at all queer about this.
"The phantom fleet at anchor!" said Frank, and it was hard to tell from his manner whether he meant all his words implied or not.
"Yes," said Ned, soberly, "whatever those vessels are, they might help us out of this sc.r.a.pe, if only we could get in communication with them,"
and he stood there for some time, staring reflectively out toward the twinkling lights on the swelling sea.
CHAPTER XXI.
UNEXPECTED HELP.
"They"re coming, Ned!" whispered Jack, in a hoa.r.s.e tone.
"But that sound surely came from seaward, Jack?" expostulated the other.
"I know it did, and must have been the sneeze of a man at that," replied the second scout. "But what of it, Ned? We must remember they"ve got other boats besides our canoes, and it might be possible for them to row around from the mouth of the Harricanaw to this place."
"Yes, possibly," said Ned, "but hardly probable in so short a time. But like you, I believe it was a man who sneezed, and that he was out there on the water. Look again, and see if you can pick up a boat moving, Jack."
For a full minute the pair stood and strained their eyes to the utmost, gazing minutely over the rolling waters, from the place where the white foam could be seen, far out to sea. Ned even noted which way the night breeze held, and in that quarter he kept his eyes glued the longest time, as though instinct told him the mysterious sound must have been carried on the wings of the wind.
There were all those twinkling riding-lights on the vessels composing the fleet of whaling or sealing craft, which had come to obtain such a strange reputation for appearing and vanishing so wonderfully. Perhaps, as Ned observed them again, he unconsciously connected the sneeze with their presence; but then this thought quickly gave way to the other. It was more natural that they should expect those men of the fake mine to be afloat near by, endeavoring to find some vulnerable part of the stranded wreck, where they could deliver a successful attack.
"I see it, Ned!" suddenly said Jack, triumphantly.
"Show me!" observed the patrol leader, quickly moving his head so that it came alongside that of his chum, whose hand was extended, with the quivering forefinger pointing almost in a line with the nearest of all the vessels.
"There, watch when the wave rises again, and you"ll--there, did you get it, Ned?"
"Yes, and as you say, it was a boat with several men in the same,"
replied the other scout, hastily; "and more than that, they seem to be heading straight for this old wreck. You see, they"re coming down the coast, and as like as not, they"ve rowed all the way from the river."
"Could they do it on the bay?" asked Jack, dubiously.
"I don"t see any reason against it, if they happen to have strong enough muscles, and know how to manage a boat on the big waves," Ned went on to say.
"But hadn"t we better tell the rest?" asked Jack. "If we"re going to get a side wipe, it might be as well for all of us to be ready to meet the rascals when they try to get aboard from their boat."
"Yes, let two stay to watch the break in the stern--the Cree and Frank might handle that end of the business--bring the rest here with you, Jack. I"ll try and keep tabs of the boat, while you"re gone."
"Be back in a jiffy, Ned," and with that Jack shot away.
He could not have taken much time to tell the others what they were wanted for, because he quickly appeared again at Ned"s elbow, bringing Jimmy, Teddy and Francois along with him.
"What"s the matter, Ned?" asked the first named, as he looked all about him, evidently half expecting that he would see the head of a "boarder"
rising into view over the gunwale of the wreck.
"Jack discovered a boat coming in, and we think it must hold several of our enemies," the other told them. "Look where I point and you"ll see it rising on the next roller."
Immediately exclamations of astonishment announced that the others had sighted the alarming spectacle.
"They"re expecting to take us by surprise, because we"d never think of standing guard along that side of the old tub," Jimmy declared as his opinion.
"It wasn"t such a bad scheme, either," added Teddy. "Only for that man sneezing when he shouldn"t, neither of you two might have discovered the boat."
"That"s as true as anything you ever said, old man," a.s.sented Jack, who never wanted to claim honors he had not fairly won. "But you know it"s the old Black Bear and Wolf luck.
"We"re always running slap up against the greatest things ever heard of."
"And first chance I find," muttered Teddy, "I"m going to get transferred from the old Eagle into one of the other patrols. Whoever heard of an Eagle having any special luck? That"s because they went and named their patrol after a bald-headed old pirate, who loves to rob the hard working fish-hawk of his dinner, time in and time out."
n.o.body was paying any particular attention to Teddy"s lament, however, and so he started in to take a second and more particular look at the dancing object that could be seen one moment, as it rose on a wave, and then vanishing from view again.
"Can you all make it out?" asked Jack.
Even Francois said there was no difficulty now; while Jimmy, as if to prove that his sight was good, went on to say:
"It seems to be a pretty hefty boat, too, fellers?"
"Yes, that"s what I thought," Jack answered him.
"And I reckon you noticed that only two men are in the same; that is, a pair handling the oars; and, if there are any others, they must be lying flat on their backs in the bottom of the old thing. Which gives me a smart little idea, Ned."
"Glad to hear you say so, Jimmy; and if you don"t mind we"ll all listen to what you"ve got ailing you," the patrol leader told him.
"Why, it"s just like this, you see," continued the other, pleased beyond words to find himself in the limelight, for that bit of luck did not come the way of Jimmy often enough to suit him. "There are just two of the fellers, that"s right, and when they step up on deck, where it slopes near the water-line, why, we"ll jump them like a toad hops over a mushroom. Before they know what"s struck "em, they"ll be our prisoners, see?"
"Yes, but what good will they be to us, Jimmy; you don"t lay out to eat them, I hope?" demanded Teddy, unable to grasp a thing that had not yet been fully explained.
"Shucks! don"t you see--when we"ve got "em tied up good and tight, why, what"s to hinder the whole bunch of us stepping into their bully boat, and go slidin" off as slick as you please, heading for the nearest vessel at anchor out yonder?"
Jimmy put this question boldly, as though he realized that he had struck a chord that was bound to evoke the highest praise from his mates. And he was right, for Ned slapped him heartily on the back, Jack wrung his hand, while Teddy, who had lost his breath in amazement, at least managed to stroke his sleeve affectionately.