Chapter TWENTY-EIGHT

Upon the shattered decks of the cruiser Farragut order had scarcely been established out of the chaos that followed the explosion when the sun descended below the western horizon. Two minutes later complete darkness enshrouded the torn bows of the cruiser in a pall of obscurity, obliterating from view the effects of the violent explosion.

Order reigned, but it was a tradition-enforced order that existed on the surface of subdued but intense excitement. The men were at their stations, all standing at attention, awaiting with ill-concealed anxiety the next command that would move them into welcome action. Through the mind of every one there passed disturbing thoughts. None knew which comrade had perished in the catastrophe, and none dared voice the fears which the darkness intensified.

So close was the damaged cruiser to the shores of Patrocinio Island that Captain Moore did not dare to show a light. He feared the terrific report which followed the explosion had betrayed his presence, and might seriously endanger him should the pirate come out at daybreak. The darkness that now engulfed them made the task of ascertaining the extent of the damage almost impossible.

In the short time that intervened between the explosion and the sun’s descent the cruiser’s bows had presented a picture of torn and twisted steel, which in some places had been stripped into metal ribbons, and in others had been torn into crumpled sheets. How far the crippled stem of the warship had been rent asunder it was impossible to say owing to the darkness. That it had been seriously damaged was emphasized by the complete flooding of the forward compartment. The cruiser was also badly down by the head, which gave a considerable slant to the decks. That was the condition which confronted Captain Moore when the bo’s’n came upon the bridge the second time to make his report.

“How’s it look?” asked the captain curtly.

“Number three is holding tight, sir,” replied the bo’s’n. “The pumps are working on number two. I think she will hold up, sir. We’ve got her under control now, sir, I think.”

“Good!” exclaimed the captain. “Keep at your soundings and let me know what they show.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” answered the bo’s’n, as he went about his task.

Then the captain turned to an officer beside him and issued a number of commands calculated to take care of the desperate situation. He ordered the crew away from their “abandon ship” stations and set them to work at various tasks that were necessary under the circumstances.

As soon as it had been ascertained that the ship was not in any immediate danger of sinking, the surgeon obtained a detail of men and superintended them while they carefully placed the unconscious form of Arthur Ingleton on a stretcher and carried him below to the sick bay, where he was placed on a cot. There the surgeon made a more thorough examination of the injured man and took the necessary steps to restore him to consciousness. Redmond, who had helped in removing the stricken man from the bows of the ship to the sick bay, was waiting for the surgeon to complete his examination. As soon as it was over he asked anxiously:

“How is he, doctor?”

“Well, he is in a more serious condition than I thought at first,” was the reply.

“Then there’s no chance of his recovering in time to go ashore with me, eh!” inquired Redmond.

“Good God, no,” answered the surgeon, “it will probably be three weeks or a month before he recovers under the most favorable circumstances. If he has suffered internal injuries it will take much longer. Everything depends upon that.”

Redmond said nothing further, but in his heart he was glad that Ingleton would not be able to go with him, although of course he was deeply sorry that his injuries had proved to be so serious. As soon as he had definitely assured himself that there was no chance of the former secretary’s immediate recovery, Redmond went forward.

Captain Moore was still on the bridge, receiving reports and giving orders for the tasks that would help in keeping the damaged vessel afloat. Redmond waited for his opportunity, then went up and asked:

“How does it look, captain, is there any chance of my going ashore tonight?”

“Yes,” replied the commander, “we’ll take care of you pretty soon now. We’ve got the situation under control, but I think we’re pretty badly damaged. As soon as I have found out just where we stand I’ll make arrangements to put you ashore. How is Mr. Ingleton?”

“He’s in pretty bad shape. The doctor says there isn’t any possibility of his getting out of bed for a few weeks. Under the circumstances I think it will be the wisest thing for me to go ashore and look after Miss Ingleton as soon as you can arrange to get me there. While you are completing your emergency measures I’ll get my own stuff ready.”

“Alright,” replied the captain.

Redmond went down to his cabin in the after quarters of the cruiser and packed up the few belongings he had gathered to take ashore with him. For half an hour afterwards Captain Moore directed the work of investigation and superintended the emergency measures taken to keep the cruiser afloat until she could again reach port. This was a most vital problem because the nearest port at which repairs could be made was Honolulu, more than fifteen hundred miles away. It meant that any temporary measures had to be relied upon to hold up the cruiser until she was able to cover that vast distance at the snail’s pace of about four knots an hour. It would be impossible for the war-vessel with its damaged bows to go any faster than that.

As soon as he had satisfied himself that everything possible had been done under the circumstances, Captain Moore summoned Redmond to the bridge again.

“Everything’s ready for you now,” said the captain as Redmond came up to the bridge, “we are going to put you ashore right away. Owing to this confounded explosion we will not be able to stay here and stand by you. I am going to advise Captain Smith at Honolulu by wireless and ask him to send another cruiser here. It will take the other fellow at least three days to get here, even if he is ready to start off immediately after Captain Smith gets my wireless. I doubt, however, whether there is a cruiser available, and even if there is it will probably be a couple of days before he can get away. That would make it four days before the other cruiser could get here under most favorable circumstances.”

“I’ll have to make the best I can of the situation,” said Redmond.

While this conversation was going on, a detail of the crew had launched one of the steam pinnaces and had attached one of the ship’s gigs to it as a tow. As soon as this had been done, the officer who had been in charge of the detail came on to the bridge and, saluting, said to the Captain:

“All’s ready, sir.”

Captain Moore turned to Redmond and, seizing his hand in a hearty grip, said:

“Well, good bye, Redmond, and good luck. I’m sorry this mine has put me out of business, because I wanted to be in at the finish, but I guess I’m out o’ luck.”

“Good bye, Captain,” replied Redmond. “Somehow I have an idea that you will be in at the finish all right. You were there at the beginning and I have a suspicion you will be here again.”

“Well, I hope you’re right,” laughed the captain.

Redmond then followed the officer to the accommodation ladder on the side of the cruiser. The two men got into the steam launch, and the officer gave the word to “shove off.”

On the short run to the beach the officer said to Redmond:

“When we get to the cove my men will give you a hand in putting the boat ashore. I guess you don’t want it any further inshore than is necessary. How do you propose to launch it from the beach in case of necessity.”

“Well, if you can spare the time,” said Redmond, “you can come ashore with me and look the place over for the most suitable spot to hide the boat. I never thought of any launching arrangement before. Have you by any chance got any wooden rollers in the launch that I could use under the keel of the boat?”

“Yes, I thought of that,” replied the officer, “and I put a few of them aboard the launch. You can have them, that’s what I brought them for, but even so it will be a pretty stiff job for you to push the boat into the sea anyway, especially if anybody is after you.”

“If anybody were after me,” said Redmond, “I wouldn’t attempt to launch it. I would take a chance of remaining on the island and fighting the pirate from the bushes. I’m armed now and have got a better chance against him. Under any circumstances Miss Ingleton will be able to give me a hand. She is a pretty strong young woman.”

The trip in the launch to the little bay was made very slowly because of the intense darkness. With extreme care the officer in charge felt his way, then maneuvred his craft under the direction of Redmond until it pulled up alongside a ledge of rock that jutted out into the sea. This made an ideal platform upon which to land, as its surface was just above the gun’les of the launch. Redmond and the officer jumped out, and the latter instructed three of his men to row the small gig to the beach, pull it ashore and wait for them there.

While the men were doing this, Redmond and his companion walked near the beach where the boat could be hidden in the brush. The beach was of a gravel nature which extended inshore for two or three hundred yards in an irregular line. Back of this the tropical vegetation was extremely thick and was interspersed with banana plants and cocoanut palms.

After a considerable search the two men succeeded in locating what they thought was an excellent place to hide the boat. Then they went down to the beach where the men had dragged the boat ashore and gave a hand in pulling it over the ground to the place where they had selected its hiding place. There they carefully placed it in the bushes, after which they removed with care all traces of the boat’s passage over the beach.

“Well, I guess we’ll go back now,” said the officer, “is there anything else we can do to help you?”

“No,” replied Redmond.

“Alright, we’ll get along then. I wish you the best of luck, old man, and I can tell you we are all sorry that we won’t be able to stand by you. We were all set to have a go at that dirty son-of-a-gun the pirate, but we’re out o’ luck, that’s all. Good bye--good luck!”