The Rover Boys on the Ocean Part 42

In the meantime Martin Harris procured several pails of water and a long-handled swab and with these did what he could to extinguish the fire on the sails. Several of the others joined in, and inside of ten minutes all danger of a conflagration was past.

"That's the worst yet!" growled the old sailor, as he surveyed the mainsail, which had two holes in it each is large as a barrel. "I'd like to wring the neck of the fellow as did it, yes I would," and he shook his head determinedly.

"That's the end of that light," said Sergeant Brown. "What are you going to do next?"

"I think I can get that searchlight to work," put in d.i.c.k. "But will it be of any use? They may start to shooting again."

"We've got to have some kind of a light, even if it's only a tallow candle," grumbled Harris.

"If we haven't got a light some coastwise steamer may run us down."

He set to work to rig up a temporary light, and in the meantime d.i.c.k returned to the cabin to experiment with the electric light.

He found Sam on the couch, bathing his leg with oil to take away the sting of the b.u.m.

"How is it, Sam--hurt much?"

"I suppose it might be worse," was the younger brother's reply.

"I wonder who fired that shot?"

"One of the Baxters, more than likely. They are a cold-blooded pair."

"One or more of us might have been killed if we had been directly behind the lights."

"That is true. I don't suppose Arnold Baxter would care much if we were. He was father's enemy, you must remember, and he said he hated all of us."

Sam resumed his bathing and d.i.c.k turned to the cabin table, upon which the battery and other portions of the searchlight rested.

d.i.c.k had always been greatly interested in electricity and therefore the parts of the battery before him were not hard for him to understand.

But there was one trouble with the battery which did not reach his eye as he turned it around and started it up. That was that a portion of the insulation of a main wire was worn off.

As he turned on the current there was a flash and the light blazed up almost as bright as day.

"That's fine!" cried Sam. "We'll be able to see the _Flyaway_ a long distance off now."

"Well, I only hope when we put this up it won't be knocked out like the other lights were."

"Of course we'll have to run that risk."

In a minute more d.i.c.k started to carry the searchlight to the deck.

He had turned off the light proper, consequently the way to the companionway was rather dark.

He had almost reached the top of the steps when Sam heard a scream, saw a flash of fire, and then d.i.c.k came tumbling to the cabin floor in a heap, with the battery and light beside him.

"My gracious, he's been shocked!" burst out the youngest Rover; and, forgetting all about his burn, ran to his brother's a.s.sistance.

"What's that noise?" came from the deck.

"d.i.c.k's been shocked by the searchlight!" cried Sam. "Come down here, somebody, and let us see what we can do for him."

"Shocked, is it!" cried Sergeant Brown. "If that's the case, look out that somebody else don't catch it."

Tom came tumbling down, followed by both police officers, and d.i.c.k was picked up and deposited on the couch. Then Sam kicked the searchlight and batteries into a corner.

"They can stay there for all I care," said he.

"They are too dangerous, unless, a chap knows just how to handle them."

d.i.c.k lay with his eyes wide open, but unable to move. Tom bent down and announced that his heart was still beating.

But little in the way of restoratives were at hand, and the most they could do was to rub the youth's body in an attempt to restore the circulation.

"Oh, I hope he isn't permanently injured!" cried Tom. "If he should turn out a cripple it would be awful!"

"That's so," answered Sam. "Poor d.i.c.k! He's as bad off as if those rascals had shot him."

Slowly d.i.c.k came to his senses. But he was very weak, and soon he discovered that he was powerless to move his left arm.

"It's all numb," he announced. "It feels as if it was dead."

"Let me shake it for you," said Tom, and both brothers went to work, but with small success. The arm hung down as limp as a rag, and the left leg was nearly as badly off, although d.i.c.k said he could feel a slight sensation in it, like so many needles sticking him.

"You see, I've been afraid of that battery right along," said Martin Harris. "The professor got shocked once, and he limped around for a long while after."

"But he got over it at last, didn't he?" questioned Tom eagerly.

"I can't say about that. He went off, and I haven't seen him since," was the unsatisfactory reply.

The injuries to d.i.c.k and to Sam had somewhat dampened Tom's ardor, and he wondered what they had best do next, and spoke to the police officers about it.

"I don't know of anything but to turn back to sh.o.r.e," said Sergeant Brown. "We've lost them in the dark, and that is all there is to it. If we go ash.o.r.e we can send out an alarm, and as soon as the _Flyaway_ is spotted, somebody will go out and arrest everybody on board--I mean everybody but the young lady, of course."

"But they may come ash.o.r.e in the dark."

"And they may do that even if we stay out here--and then they'll have more of an advantage than ever. No, I think the best thing we can do is to turn back to the coast and make the safest landing we can find."

When d.i.c.k heard of this, however, he shook his head. "Don't go back yet," he pleaded. "See if you can't make out the _Flyaway_ somewhere. She won't dare to sail very far without a light."

"I don't go for giving up just yet," put in Martin Harris. "As the lad says, she'll show a light very soon now--for there is a coastwise steamer a-coming," and he pointed in the direction of Sandy Hook.

He was right, and soon the many lights from the big steam vessel could be plainly seen. She was heading almost directly for them, but presently steered to the eastward.

"She must be almost in the track of the _Flyaway_," went on Martin Harris. "Just wait and see if I ain't right."

They waited and watched eagerly, and thus five minutes pa.s.sed.

Then from a distance they saw a light flash up.