"Snakes and monkeys!" murmured Andy. "I should say it was a lively cargo! How in blazes are we going to save him? I don"t want fifteen feet of anaconda or boa constrictor aboard us!"
"We"ve got to do something for him," decided Frank with a grim tightening of his lips. "Stand by, I"m going to head up in to the wind. Then we"ll lower the small boat and see what we can do."
CHAPTER VIII
ANDY IS CAUGHT
The lighter had been slowly moving ahead, but not under the influence of her sail, for the main sheet was free and the piece of canvas was idly flapping in the wind. Consequently the boys had no difficulty in coming up to her in their boat. Now they were ready to lower the small craft they carried slung on davits at the stern. This was a new addition to the _Gull_, put in place since the rescue of Paul Gale, for the brothers thought they might need it if they chanced to sight the wreck of the motor boat. Now it was likely to come in useful.
"Lower your sail," called Andy to Frank. "Then we can leave the _Gull_ to drift while we pull over and see what"s up."
The canvas came down on the run, and then Frank a.s.sisted his brother in lowering the small boat.
"Hurry! Hurry!" begged the man on the mast of the lighter. "One big gray-bearded monkey is getting ready to shin up after me, and there"s a twenty-foot snake wiggling this way from the after hatch. Hurry!"
Andy paused in the operation of lowering the boat.
"Say, we"re going to be up against it ourselves if we board that lighter," he said to Frank.
"I know it, but I don"t intend to board her until I get those creatures out of our way."
"But how you going to do it?" his brother wanted to know.
"I"ll make some plan after we row over and talk to the man. It"s queer how he happened to have such a cargo, and how they got loose. Lower away."
The little craft took the water easily and was soon riding under the stern of the _Gull_. Frank and Andy slid down the rope falls, after tossing two pairs of oars into the boat, and unhooked the blocks, leaving them dangling to be used on their return to hoist the boat up to the davits again.
"We"re coming!" yelled Frank, in answer to another frantic appeal for aid. "How many of them are there?"
"About a million snakes and ten thousand monkeys!" was the frightened reply. "Come on! I can"t hang here much longer."
"Where did they come from?" demanded Andy, when he and his brother were near the side of the lighter.
"I got a job of transfering them from a ship that"s just in from South America, to a dock up near Seabright way," answered the man.
"How"d they get loose?" Frank wanted to know.
"Hanged if I know," was the reply. "I was sailing along easy like, when all of a sudden I felt something on my leg. It was sort of squeezin" me, and when I looked down I saw a big snake crawling up. I gave one yell and scudded across the deck. Then I saw a monkey making faces at me from the hatchway. The long tailed beasts must have broken out of their cages, and then the monkeys let the snakes loose. I climbed up here, and here I am."
"Are they savage?" asked Andy.
"Say, for the love of lobsters don"t ask so many questions!" begged the man. "Get aboard here and drive the critters away so I can come down.
One of the monkeys cast off the main sheet and spilled the wind out of the sail."
"It"s a good thing he did, or we couldn"t have come up to you," called Frank. "We"ll see what we can do. Where are the cages?"
"Down in the hold. The steamer captain, when I took the beasts, told me to keep "em below, and I did, but I didn"t think they"d get loose so I didn"t have the hatch covers on."
"Well, it"s easier than I thought," went on Frank. "Wait a minute and we"ll be back."
He started to row their boat toward the _Gull_.
"Oh, don"t leave me!" wailed the man.
"I"m not going to," shouted back the elder Racer boy.
"What are you going to do?" asked his brother.
"Go back and get some grub, and my revolver with blank cartridges in it."
"What"s that for?"
"You"ll see."
The brothers were soon aboard their own sailing craft again, and Frank quickly secured the weapon, directing Andy to pack in a bag all the spare food on board, for the boys usually kept a supply in a small galley, in case they were ever becalmed over night.
"Here"s some crackers, some cans of peaches, some peanuts and a lot of stale pop corn b.a.l.l.s," announced Andy.
"That"ll do. Get a dish, and bring along the can opener," ordered Frank. "I guess that will do."
"Oh, I"m on to your game now," said Andy.
"I"ll want some condensed milk, too," went on the older boy. "Got any?"
"Yes, here"s a couple of cans."
"Good, bring "em along and another dish. Now I guess we"re ready."
They were soon at the side of the lighter again with their odd collection.
"Where is the safest place to come aboard?" asked Frank of the man, who was still up the mast.
"Right amidships," he answered. "There"s not a snake or monkey near there now, and it"s right by the open hatch."
"Good!" answered Frank. "That"ll do. Make our boat fast, Andy, and follow me. Bring the grub."
His brother obeyed, and soon the two lads were aboard the lighter.
They saw a group of monkeys aft, chattering and wrestling among themselves, whether in play or anger was not evident. Forward were several large snakes contentedly sunning themselves on deck. There did not seem to be so much danger as the man had said, though doubtless if the monkeys were really aroused they might injure some one, as several were very large specimens.
"Quick now!" called Frank to Andy. "Help me spread out this grub near the open hatch. Open the cans of peaches and pour them over the crackers in the dish. Do the same with the condensed milk, only put that in a separate dish. It"s lucky the snakes are forward, they"ll get a whiff of it there."
Soon there was an array of food about the open hatch. So far the monkeys had paid no attention to the boys, for the brothers had worked silently, the man on the mast watching them curiously, but still afraid to come down.
"Now I guess we"re ready," announced Frank. "Come over here, Andy, and we"ll hide under this pile of canvas."
With his revolver in readiness, Frank led the way, followed by his brother. When they were both concealed from view Frank reached out his hand, and tossed several crackers toward the group of monkeys. There was a movement among them, and the chattering broke out doubly loud.