THE NEW DECK HAND
Having said so much, Peter Slade seemed more inclined to talk, one reason being that he wanted to get at the bottom of the mystery which had brought Tad Sobber and his uncle to that part of the globe. Tad had hinted of great wealth, and of getting the best of the Rovers and some other people, but had not gone into any details.
Peter said he had come to Na.s.sau to join his mother, who was stopping there for her health. His father was coming on later, and then the family was going across the ocean.
"I know there is something up between your crowd and the Merrick crowd," said the youth. "You are both after something, ain"t you?"
"Yes," answered Tom.
"What?"
"I can"t tell you that, Slade. It"s something quite valuable, though."
"Well, I guess Sobber"s uncle will get ahead of you."
"Perhaps so. What is the name of the tramp steamer he is looking for?"
"The _Josephine_."
"Was she to be here?"
"They hoped she would be."
"Were they going to hire her?" asked Sam.
"I suppose so."
"Then Merrick had money."
"Yes, he had some, and that Spaniard had some, too."
A little more conversation followed, and then the Rover boys asked Slade where he was going to stop, and said they might see him later.
"This is mighty interesting," remarked Tom, as he and his brother hurried to their hotel. "We must tell father of this without delay."
But Mr. Rover could not be found until that evening, when the party came back from the visit to the flower gardens. He listened with deep interest to what was said, and then went off on a hunt for Sid Merrick and the tramp steamer _Josephine_ without delay.
Nothing was discovered that night, but a little before noon of the day following they learned that a tramp steamer had appeared in the harbor, taken several persons on board, and then steamed away again.
"Can you tell me the name of that craft?" asked Anderson Rover of the man who gave him this information.
"She was the _Josephine_, sir, of Charleston, Captain Sackwell."
"Was she loaded?"
"I think not, sir."
"How many persons got aboard?"
"Five or six."
"One of them a young fellow?"
"Yes, sir, and one was a fellow who was very dark."
Mr. Rover knew that Doranez was very dark, and he rightfully surmised that the party had been made up of Merrick, Tad, Doranez, Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley.
"This is certainly a serious turn of affairs," said he to his sons.
"While we have been losing time in Philadelphia and elsewhere, Sid Merrick has gone to work, gotten somebody to let him have this tramp steamer, and now, in company with Doranez, is off to locate Treasure Isle and the treasure. It looks to me as if it might be a race between us after all."
"Yes, and the worst of it is that we are laid up for repairs," said d.i.c.k, with almost a groan in his voice.
"How long must we remain here?" asked Sam. "Can"t they hurry the job somehow?"
"Let us offer "em more money to hurry," suggested Tom.
The suggestion to offer more money was carried out, and the ship builders promised to have the _Rainbow_ fit for sailing by the following afternoon. The paint on the new work would not be dry, but that would not matter.
On the morning of the day they were to sail a man applied to Captain Barforth for a position. He said he had been a fireman on an ocean liner, but had lost three fingers in some machinery and been discharged.
"I am hard up," he pleaded. "I"ll work for almost anything."
The captain was kind-hearted, and as the _Rainbow_ could use another deck hand he told the man to bring his luggage aboard, which the fellow did. The newcomer"s name was Walt Wingate, and he did his best to make friends with everybody on board. He had a low, musical voice, and was frequently whistling popular airs.
"He"s an odd one," said d.i.c.k, after noticing the new deck hand several times. "He seems real nice and yet----"
"You don"t like him," finished Sam.
"That"s it, Sam."
"Neither do I, and I can"t tell why."
"Well, he hasn"t anything to do with us. If he"s a good man I"m glad the captain gave him a job. It"s tough luck to lose your fingers, especially if you must work for a living."
By five o"clock the steam yacht had left the harbor of Na.s.sau and was standing out to sea once more. The course was again southward, around the western extremity of Cuba. During the following days they pa.s.sed numerous islands and keys, as they are called, but generally at such a distance that the sh.o.r.es could be seen but faintly.
To make sure of what he was doing, Anderson Rover held several consultations with Captain Barforth, and Bahama Bill was closely questioned regarding the location of Treasure Isle. The old tar stuck to the story he had told so often, and went over numerous maps with the commander of the steam yacht.
"He has the location pretty well fixed in his head--unless the whole thing is a fairy tale," was Captain Barforth"s comment.
While one of these talks was going on, d.i.c.k, who was on deck, chanced to go below in a hurry. As he pa.s.sed down the companionway he encountered Walt Wingate, who had been listening at the cabin doorway.
"Hullo, what do you want?" demanded d.i.c.k, for the man"s face had a guilty look on it.
"Why--er--my handkerchief blew down here and I came down to get it,"
answered the new deck hand, and pointed to the cloth in question sticking out of his pocket.