For two hours after the departure of the captain and Trendon there were dull times on the quarter-deck of the _Wolverine_. Then the surgeon came back to them.
"Billy was right," he said.
"But he didn"t tell us anything," cried Ives. "He didn"t clear up the mystery."
"That"s what," said Trendon. "One thing Billy said," he added, waxing unusually prolix for him, "was truer than maybe he knew."
"Thanks," murmured the ensign. "What was that?"
"You said "Not a living being aboard." Exact words, hey?"
"Well, what of it?" exclaimed the ensign excitedly. "You don"t mean you found dead----?"
"Keep your temperature down, my boy. No. You were exactly right. Not a living being aboard."
"Thanks for nothing," retorted the ensign.
"Neither human nor other," pursued Trendon.
"What!"
"Food scattered around the galley. Crumbs on the mess table. Ever see a wooden ship without c.o.c.kroaches?"
"Never particularly investigated the matter."
"Don"t believe such a thing exists," said Ives.
"Not a c.o.c.kroach on the _Laughing La.s.s_. Ever know of an old hooker that wasn"t overrun with rats?"
"No; nor anyone else. Not above water."
"Found a dozen dead rats. No sound or sign of a live one on the _Laughing La.s.s_. No rats, no mice. No bugs. Gentlemen, the _Laughing La.s.s_ is a charnel ship."
"No wonder Billy"s tender nerves went wrong." said Ives, with irrepressible flippancy. "She"s probably haunted by c.o.c.kroach wraiths."
"He"ll have a chance to see," said Trendon. "Captain"s going to put him in charge."
"By way of apology, then," said Barnett. "That"s pretty square."
"Captain Parkinson wishes to see you in his cabin, Mr. Edwards," said an orderly, coming in.
"A pleasant voyage, Captain Billy," said Ives. "Sing out if the goblins git yer."
Fifteen minutes later Ensign Edwards, with a quartermaster, Timmins, the bo"s"n"s mate, and a crew, was heading a straight course toward his first command, with instructions to "keep company and watch for signals"; and intention to break into the bra.s.s-bound chest and ferret out what clue lay there, if it took dynamite. As he boarded, Barnett and Trendon, with both of whom the lad was a favourite, came to a sinister conclusion.
"It"s poison, I suppose," said the first officer.
"And a mighty subtle sort," agreed Trendon. "Don"t like the looks of it."
He shook a solemn head. "Don"t like it for a d.a.m.n."
IV
THE SECOND PRIZE CREW
In semi-tropic Pacific weather the unexpected so seldom happens as to be a negligible quant.i.ty. The _Wolverine_ met with it on June 5th. From some unaccountable source in that realm of the heaven-scouring trades came a heavy mist. Possibly volcanic action, deranging by its electric and gaseous outpourings the normal course of the winds, had given birth to it. Be that as it may, it swept down upon the cruiser, thickening as it approached, until presently it had spread a curtain between the warship and its charge. The wind died. Until after fall of night the _Wolverine_ moved slowly, bellowing for the schooner, but got no reply. Once they thought they heard a distant shout of response, but there was no repet.i.tion.
"Probably doesn"t carry any fog horn," said Carter bitterly, voicing a general uneasiness.
"No log; compa.s.s crazy; without fog signal; I don"t like that craft.
Barnett ought to have been ordered to blow the d.a.m.ned thing up, as a peril to the high seas."
"We"ll pick her up in the morning, surely," said Forsythe. "This can"t last for ever."
Nor did it last long. An hour before midnight a pounding shower fell, lashing the sea into phosph.o.r.escent whiteness. It ceased, and with the growl of a leaping animal a squall furiously beset the ship. Soon the great steel body was plunging and heaving in the billows. It was a gloomy company about the wardroom table. Upon each and all hung an oppression of spirit. Captain Parkinson came from his cabin and went on deck.
Const.i.tutionally he was a nervous and pessimistic man with a fixed belief in the conspiracy of events, banded for the undoing of him and his. Blind or dubious conditions racked his soul, but real danger found him not only prepared, but even eager. Now his face was a picture of foreboding.
"Parky looks as if Davy Jones was pulling on his string," observed the flippant Ives to his neighbour.
"Worrying about the schooner. Hope Billy Edwards saw or heard or felt that squall coming," replied Forsythe, giving expression to the anxiety that all felt.
"He"s a good sailor man," said Ives, "and that"s a staunch little schooner, by the way she handled herself."
"Oh, it will be all right," said Carter confidently. "The wind"s moderating now."
"But there"s no telling how far out of the course this may have blown him."
Barnett came down, dripping.
"Anything new?" asked Dr. Trendon.
The navigating officer shook his head.
"Nothing. But the captain"s in a state of mind," he said.
"What"s wrong with him?"
"The schooner. Seems possessed with the notion that there"s something wrong with her."
"Aren"t you feeling a little that way yourself?" said Forsythe. "I am.
I"ll take a look around before I turn in."
He left behind him a silent crowd. His return was prompt and swift.
"Come on deck," he said.