CHAPTER VI.

THE LAST RESORT.

Mr. Emery and the sailing master had decided that the yacht should be kept at full speed, headed for the nearest land, until the water which was being pumped into the hold drowned the fires in the furnaces, when recourse must necessarily be had to the boats.

There could no longer be any question but that the entire forward portion of the hold was a mass of flames which it would not be possible to hold in check very much longer.

By this time all on board understood that the yacht was to be abandoned, and, with the exception of those in the engine-room and at the pumps, every one gazed as if fascinated at the clouds of smoke arising from near the bow. Already were tiny curls coming from between the deck planks, and Teddy heard Mr. Walters say in a low tone to Neal's father:

"I am afraid the flames will burst through before the furnaces are flooded. It is too late to cut another hole in the deck, and by an hour at the latest we must take to the boats."

"Have the crew been told off?"

"I will attend to that now."

Then the sailing master announced to each man the boat to which he was assigned, and during the next hour hardly a word was spoken. Teddy and Neal conversed now and then in whispers, as if not daring to make a noise, and the sailors worked in grim silence.

Nothing save the clank of the pumps and the throbbing of the screw could be heard.

When the hour had passed it was no longer possible to force water into the hold. The heat was so great that the hose burned as fast as it could be pushed through the aperture, and long tongues of flame were appearing around the edges of the hatch.

All hands, including the boys, were formed in line, and water sent below in buckets for twenty minutes more, when the word was given to slacken speed.

The lower deck had burst through, and there was no more than time for Jake and his assistants to clamber up the ladders before the flames had complete possession of the yacht from the bow to the engine-room companion-way.

There was no time to be lost in lowering the boats, and the men were forced to leap in regardless of the previous assignment, for once the fire burst the bonds which had confined it so long it swept aft with almost incredible rapidity.

Teddy and Neal, bewildered by the flames which actually burned their flesh as they stood by the rail while the sailors let go the falls, had only thought of reaching the craft in which their property was stowed, and Jake followed; but as the little tenders were allowed to drop astern beyond reach of the intense heat the boys discovered that Mr. Emery was not with them.

He had charge of one boat; Mr. Walters commanded another; Jake was held responsible for the safety of the third, and the last was handled by the mate.

"Shall we come with you, father?" Teddy shouted.

"I don't think it will be advisable to make any change now, and you are as safe in one boat as another."

"I'll answer for them," Jake cried cheerily, and the sailing master added:

"Jake can handle a small boat better than any one here, therefore you need not fear an accident will result through carelessness."

"How am I to steer?" the engineer asked.

"Due west. The boats must remain together, and in each one is a lantern to be hung up during the night to lessen the chances of being separated. Two men in every craft are to be kept at the oars all the time, and, in order to make the work light, they should be relieved hourly. The indications are that the weather will hold clear; it is only a couple of hundred miles to the Cuban coast, and we are not likely to be cooped up in these cockle shells very long."

As he ceased speaking Mr. Walters gave the word for the oarsmen to begin the work which it was supposed would be continued without intermission until all were in a place of safety, and the boats were pulled about a mile from the burning steamer, when, as if by common consent, they were brought to a standstill to watch the destruction of the Sea Dream.

The jaunty little craft was moving through the water slowly, enveloped in flames from bow to stern, and the boys gazed at her with a feeling of sadness which did not arise solely from the fact of their present peril. It seemed to them as if she could understand that those who should have saved her had fled when her need of assistance was greatest, and she was creeping slowly away to die alone.

"The poor thing can't swim much longer," Jake said, as if speaking to himself. "The boiler will explode—"

Even as he spoke a black cloud of smoke shot up from amidships, followed by a shower of fiery fragments, some of which struck in the immediate vicinity of the boats, and then the glare of the conflagration suddenly vanished as the Sea Dream sank beneath the waves.

It would have been strange indeed if each member of the little party had not experienced a feeling of sorrow and desolation at this moment.

The yacht which, a few hours previous, had appeared so stanch, was no longer afloat, and their only hope of reaching land was in the tiny boats which could hardly be expected to live in an ordinary sailing breeze.

The tears were very near Teddy's and Neal's eyelids, and Jake's voice was quite the reverse of steady as he gave the word for the men to resume work at the oars.

Night was close at hand. The sun had already set, and the short-lived twilight cast a sinister grayish hue over the waters. Mr. Walters' boat had the lantern raised at the bow on the end of an oar where it swung gently to and fro, and in a few moments all the others could be distinguished by the same signal.

During such time as they had been waiting to witness the end of the Sea Dream the little crafts had drifted farther apart, until the one in charge of Neal's father was nearly half a mile away, and the sailing master could be heard shouting for them to be brought nearer together.

"We shall probably have a breeze to-night," he cried when Jake's boat approached within easy hailing distance, "and if it should come you must rig up something to serve as a sail, for your only chance of keeping afloat will be to run before it. You have a compass, and remember that land is to be found to the westward."

"Ay, ay," the engineer replied, as he looked around in vain for some sign of the wind, and then he added in a low tone to the boys:

"I allow Mr. Walters is off in his reckonin' this time, for there isn't a breath of air stirring now."

"We may get it later," Neal said apprehensively, and Jake muttered to himself; but yet so loud that Teddy could hear him:

"It'll be tough on us if it comes out of the wrong quarter."

In ten minutes from the time the word had been given to bring the boats into closer order the mantle of night had fully fallen, and the location of the other crafts could only be told by the tiny, swaying lights, or the hum of voices.

Jake's boat was loaded less deeply than the remainder of the little fleet. In addition to himself and the two boys, there were but three sailors on board, and the stock of provisions was correspondingly small. As a natural consequence she rode higher out of the water, and although built on the same model as the others, the engineer insisted she was by far the fastest sailing craft.

An hour had not elapsed before it was possible to test her quality in this respect.

The breeze which Mr. Walters predicted came up from the east, and as its first influence was felt Jake shouted in a tone of relief:

"We're in luck this time, lads. Here's what will shove us along in the right direction, an' we can count on striking land without too much work. Lash a couple of coats to the oars, an' set them up close by the forward thwart; you'll find a chance there to make 'em fast."

This apology for a sail was soon gotten in place, and, small as was the surface presented to the wind, the little boat surged ahead, rippling the water musically under her bow.

Jake held the rudder lines, the boys sitting either side of him on the bottom of the boat where they could stretch out at full length in case they felt inclined to sleep, and after they had listened to the swish of the sea under the stern for some time Neal asked as he raised his head to look over the side:

"Where are the others?"

"Considerable distance astern. I knew this one could show them her heels."

"But the orders were that we must not separate," Neal exclaimed in alarm.

"That is true; but how can we help ourselves just now? We can't shorten sail, because there would be nothing left, and we're bound to run ahead of the waves, small as they are, or be swamped."

"But suppose we never see them again?"

"Don't worry about that; we're all headin' in the same direction, an' have only got to wait till they overtake us after land is sighted."

Although Jake spoke in a positive tone Teddy and Neal were far from feeling comfortable in mind; but, as he had said, nothing different could be done, and each tried to hide his fears from the other.

The weight of the wind increased as the night advanced, and by the words of caution which the sailors uttered from time to time, the boys knew that those who should best understand such matters were anxious regarding the outcome of this night run.

Now and then a small quantity of water would dash over the side; but it was quickly bailed out, and, as one of the men said, "did more good than harm, for it gave them something to do."

Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, Neal and Teddy fell asleep before midnight, therefore they were unconscious of the fight which their companions were making for life. It was necessary the frail craft should be kept dead before the wind; otherwise she would have been swamped by the following waves, which were now running dangerously high, and the skill of the helmsman was all that prevented her from destruction.

Not for a single moment during the hours of darkness was it safe to relax the vigilance, and the constant strain on one's nerves was more fatiguing than the real labor.

Just as the day was breaking Neal awoke, and then he aroused Teddy by asking Jake:

"Can you see the other boats?"

"Not yet; but some of them may be in sight at sunrise. It isn't possible their lights would show up more than a mile off."

"Isn't the sea running very high?" Teddy asked timidly as he attempted to stand erect; but Jake grasped him by the shoulder as he said quickly:

"It isn't safe to move around very much. Lie quiet until the wind dies away a bit; we've got more'n we want, and the boat must be kept trimmed mighty carefully or there'll be trouble."

It was only necessary for the boys to watch their companions in order to learn the dangers which beset them, and, clasping each other's hands, they waited in anxious suspense for the rising of the sun to learn if the remainder of the party was near.