The Rover Boys on Land and Sea Part 42

"Oh, Lesher wanted to be leader, you could see that right off,"

declared Tom. "And Baxter will do anything to make it disagreeable for us boys," he continued.

"Well, there is one satisfaction," said Nellie. "We haven't Baxter with us."

"If only a s.h.i.+p would stop here and take us away!" sighed Dora. To her it seemed like an age since they had landed on the seven islands.

"After this we must keep a regular guard," announced d.i.c.k. "Unless we do that, somebody may play us foul when we least expect it."

Slowly the day wore away. By the aid of the spygla.s.s they could see the sailors still on the deck of the wreck. n.o.body appeared to go ash.o.r.e.

That night it fell to Sam's lot to be on guard from nine to ten o'clock. The camp-fire was left burning brightly, and the youngest Rover sat near it on a log, a gun in his lap.

"No wild beast shall surprise me," he told himself, and kept his eyes on the jungle back of the house.

His time for guard duty had almost come to an end when a noise down on the beach attracted his attention. By the faint light he made out a raft, which had just come in, bearing the figures of two sailors.

"Stop!" he called out. "Do not come closer at your peril!"

"Don't shoot!" called back one of the sailors. "Don't shoot! We mean no harm."

Sam had backed up toward the house, and now he called to those within.

He was soon joined by Captain Blossom, d.i.c.k, and several of the others.

"Who is it?" asked the captain, as he came forth, pistol in hand.

"Two of the sailors from the wreck, I think."

"Don't shoot us, captain," called one of the men. "We are unarmed and want to talk with you."

"They are Gibson and Marny," said Captain Blossom. "They were generally pretty good sort of fellows. I reckon we have nothing to fear from them."

"Are you alone?" called out d.i.c.k.

"Yes."

"Then come up to the fire. But mind, no treachery."

"We don't wonder at your being on guard," said the sailor named Gibson, a tall, thin Yankee. "The others treated you like so many dogs."

"We have deserted Lesher," put in Marny. "We came over here on the raft to see if you wouldn't take us in."

"Were you alone?" asked Captain Blossom.

"No, we had Hackenhaven with us. But he fell overboard just after we left the wreck, and the sharks caught him," answered Gibson, with a bitter shake of his face.

"What did Lesher say to your leaving?" asked Tom.

"He didn't know it until after we were a hundred yards or more from the wreck. You see, he and the others were drinking in the cabin, so we got away without much trouble," answered Marny. "They might have shot at us, but it was too dark for them. We had a hard pull to get over here, and when poor Hackenhaven was gobbled up both of us felt bad, I can tell you."

It was now seen that both sailors were almost exhausted, and Captain Blossom allowed them to rest, while d.i.c.k prepared a pot of coffee.

While they were drinking, Gibson told them the particulars of how the mate had made himself leader of the sailors now left on the wreck.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE BURNING OF THE WRECK

"When Lesher and Baxter got back to where they left us they were very bitter against you," began Gibson. "They told us that you had tried to make them work like n.i.g.g.e.rs, fixing up this house. They said that they wanted to come right back and bring us here, but you wouldn't let them go until the house was finished."

"Which is not true, as all of us here know," said Captain Blossom.

"Lesher also said that you were angry at us for leaving the s.h.i.+p before the rest, and that you had said you would have us all tried for mutiny the first chance you got. Baxter said the same, and also told us that you were going to dump all the rum and other liquor into the ocean, so that the mate and none of the others could get a drop of it while they stayed on the islands."

"I didn't say that, but I did say that Lesher Shouldn't have all he wanted," replied the captain.

"This sort of talk made most of the sailors wild," went on Gibson.

"Then Lesher made a speech to them, and they voted to stick by him through thick and thin and not let you rule them. He promised them all the liquor they wanted, and told them that if they stuck by him the whole lot could swear in court that they had found the wreck deserted, so that they could get whatever was coming in the way of salvage. Then he handed around some liquor he had brought along, and some pistols, and most of them said they would stick to him, as I said before."

"What about going directly to the wreck?" asked Tom.

"That was Baxter's idea, and it wasn't thought of until we were on our way to this spot. Baxter said that if we captured the s.h.i.+p we would have you at our mercy, for sooner or later your provisions would run out, and you'd be begging for something to eat."

"The scoundrel!" cried d.i.c.k. "So he thought to starve us into submission, eh? Well, he shan't do it."

"I said I didn't think it would be fair on the young ladies," continued Gibson. "But he told me he'd take care of the girls after he had brought you to your knees."

"He'll never take care of me!" cried Dora.

"Nor me!" came from Nellie.

"I'd rather die than leave this place in Dan Baxter's company," added Grace.

"Captain, I want you to understand that Gibson and I didn't agree to what they wanted to do," came from Marny. "But we were overruled, and we had to hold our tongues for fear of being knocked down or shot."

"Do you want to join our crowd?" asked d.i.c.k bluntly.

"We do, and if you'll take us in we'll promise to stand by you to the end, no matter what comes. We know they've got the best of it--having the s.h.i.+p's stores--but we don't care for that. They are a drunken, good-for-nothing crowd, and we are done with them."

"All right, men, I think we can trust you," said Captain Blossom.

"It's a pity that Hackenhaven was lost overboard and eat up by the sharks. We could rather have spared Lesher."

"Or Dan Baxter," observed Tom.

"With three gone they have but eight men left on the wreck," said Sam. "And we now number seven men and three ladies. If we stand our ground, I can't see as we have much to fear from them."

"It will be all right so long as they keep their distance," said Captain Blossom. "But if they come over here in a body when they are half full of drink, there is sure to be a row and probably some shooting. Still, we needn't try to meet trouble halfway."