At the Fall of Port Arthur/Chapter 19
CHAPTER XIX
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE ENEMY
As soon as Peterson and Shamhaven threw the blocks of wood overboard they darted for the companionway of the schooner and crept noiselessly down to the cabin.
The apartment was deserted, and the swinging lamp over the center table was turned low. On the table rested several charts which Captain Ponsberry had been consulting before joining Tom Grandon on deck.
It was Larry's watch below and he was improving the time by taking a much-needed nap. He lay on the berth in his stateroom, with the door wide open to admit the fresh air.
"Make no noise!" whispered Shamhaven. "If we are discovered the jig is up with us."
"Russell is here, yes?" came from Peterson.
"Sh-sh! Yes—over in yonder stateroom."
They closed the door leading to the companionway and then tiptoed their way to where Larry lay.
"More than likely he keeps his money belt under his pillow when he sleeps," said Shamhaven. "Wait till I find out."
He shoved his hand under the headrest with caution and presently his fingers came into contact with a strip of leather and chamois. He pulled on it gently, but it refused to budge.
"Lift his head a little," he said, and Peterson started to do as requested. But the movement, gentle as it was, caused Larry to open his eyes.
"Wha—what are you doing here?" stammered the young second mate, when, waiting for no more words, Peterson clapped a dirty hand over his mouth.
"Keep still, you! If you no keep still I hit you good, yes!"
"Confound the luck," muttered Shamhaven. "I didn't want him to know what we were up to."
Larry began to struggle and with an effort threw aside the hand over his mouth.
"Le—let up!" he spluttered. "I want you Help!"
"Shut up!" cried Shamhaven, fiercely, and struck him a swinging blow in the temple. Another blow from Peterson followed, and then, with flashing lights darting through his brain, Larry lost consciousness.
Both men bent over him to see if he would move. When he lay as still as if dead they looked at each other with satisfaction.
"He won't bother us any more—at least, not for awhile," was Shamhaven's comment.
"Quick, de money belt!" came from Peterson, and as he raised up Larry's head, Shamhaven secured it and stowed it away in the bosom of his shirt. "You no keep him!" he went on, in alarm, showing that he did not trust his companion in crime.
"We'll divide up afterwards," said Shamhaven, briefly. "Now to locate the captain's little pile."
Both tiptoed their way into Captain Ponsberry's stateroom. Here there was a small safe, with the door closed.
"A safe, eh?" said Shamhaven. "Wonder if we can open it?"
He knelt down and tried to work the combination lock. The safe was old and out of order and the captain had had the combination lock made as simple as possible in consequence. Soon there came a click, followed by another, and the bolts shot back.
"Luck is with us!" cried Shamhaven.
"Dare is de leetle pag," came from Peterson, and reaching into the safe he drew the article forth. There was a slip string at the top which he pulled apart.
"Gold!" he cried. "See—dirty—forty bieces of gold!" And then he shut the bag again, and placed it into his own shirt bosom.
"Remember, half of that is mine," came sharply from Shamhaven. He fancied there might be more in the bag than in the money belt.
"Yes,—an' haf de money-pelt money ist mine, yes," returned Peterson.
"Right you are, Peterson. Now to get away from the ship."
"Let us lock Russell in de stateroom first."
"A good idea!"
The door was closed and locked. Larry still lay unconscious and there was no telling how soon he would come to his senses.
They heard the tramping on the deck and the departure of the small boat. Now those in the boat came back and the search for the missing men came to an end.
With the slyness of a pair of cats, the evildoers crept up the companionway once more. Nobody was in sight, and they crawled rather than walked to the rail of the schooner. Both were good swimmers and not afraid to trust themselves to reach some other shipping in the harbor. Yet as an extra precaution each provided himself with a life-preserver.
"Are you ready, Peterson?"
"Yes."
"Then over we go."
A small rope was handy, and lowering this, each slid along it into the waters of the harbor. Then they struck out swiftly but silently; and in a few minutes the fog and darkness hid them completely from view.
It was the best part of an hour before Larry returned to his senses. His head ached as if ready to split open and for several minutes he could not remember where he was or what had occurred.
"Oh, my head!" he groaned. "Oh!" And he turned over and tried to sit up, with the result that he pitched out on the floor of the stateroom. This aroused him and he got up as quickly as he could.
"Those rascals attacked me!" he muttered. "They struck me over the head! I remember now! Oh, how my head spins, just as if I was in a merry-go-round! I wonder"
He dropped on the berth and snatched away the pillow. One glance was sufficient to show him how he had been robbed.
"That's why they attacked me!" he cried. "Wonder where they are now? Perhaps they ran away from the ship!"
Leaping up again he stepped to the door, and finding it locked, began to pound away lustily, at the same time yelling at the top of his lungs. In a few minutes this brought down Captain Ponsberry, followed by Luke, who had been told to come along, the captain fearing that something had gone wrong.
"What's up here?" demanded Captain Ponsberry as he flung open the door.
"Where are they?" came the counter-question from Larry.
"They? Who?"
"Peterson and Shamhaven?"
"Gone—slid away in the fog."
"They have robbed me! "
"You don't say!" ejaculated the master of the Columbia. "You are sure?" he went on.
"Yes. My money belt is gone. They came while I was asleep, and when I woke up both hit me,—and I don't know what happened after that. I just came to my senses and found myself locked in."
"The villains!" burst in Luke. "Those chaps ought to be swung up to a yardarm!"
The captain listened to Larry's story and then was prompted to take a look around the other staterooms. As a result he speedily discovered that the safe had been tampered with and that his own money was gone.
"They are worse rascals than I thought them," said Captain Ponsberry, bitterly. "I am sorry that I did not make an example of them from the start."
There was a good deal of speculation concerning what had become of Shamhaven and Peterson, and another search was instituted, lasting until the following day, but not a single trace of the evildoers could be found.
"Well, I am out the whole of my savings," said Larry to Luke.
"It's a shame, lad," replied the Yankee tar. "But if you need ready cash don't fail to draw on me. As long as I have a shot in the locker half on it is yours."
"Thank you, Luke; I know you'd say that. You're the proper kind of a friend to have."
"Avast, Larry, with your compliments. Wouldn't you do the same fer me?"
"Indeed I would!"
"Then it ain't worth talkin' about. Jest the same, I hope we run into them rascals some day; don't you?"
"I do. But more than likely they'll give the Columbia and us a wide berth after this," returned Larry.