The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet. Kenneth Ward

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СКАЧАТЬ pointed to the boats below, but this did not quiet her. Taking advantage of the moment when both hands were free, Ralph, by a terrific effort, pushed her across the railing, and, with a loud shriek, she shot downward.

      Ralph looked around, and caught a momentary sight of his parents in the boat below. Mrs. Elton was calling for Alfred. Ralph nodded his head and tried to crawl back up the inclined deck, but it was useless. An arm then appeared through the door opening, then a head, and he knew it must be Alfred.

      "Can't you help me up?" shouted Ralph.

      Alfred disengaged himself and extended his body down along the deck. This enabled Ralph to seize hold of his legs and draw himself up into the doorway.

      Once there he saw the trouble that Alfred had to contend with. Lying half-way up the stairs was a poor cripple, half dead with fright, and the little girl, not much better. Laboriously, he had assisted, first one and then the other, and was about exhausted when Ralph came to the rescue.

      CHAPTER III

      PRISONERS ON BOARD OF A SUBMARINE

      The captain was still on deck, together with the first officer, both of them being at that time on the upper side of the vessel. They made the most careful examination of the staterooms and searched every corner to be sure that no one lingered behind. Coming forward they witnessed the struggles of the boys with the cripple and the girl, but the ship was now too far over on its side to permit them to render assistance.

      The cripple was soon brought to the door, and, without ceremony, pushed down the incline. The little girl followed, but before the boys could reach the railing the poor cripple slipped over the railing and disappeared. The boys held the child aloft for a moment, and then dropped her into the waves.

      "Jump as far as you can!" shouted the captain.

      Ralph placed a foot on the railing, and, looking back at Alfred, said: "Here goes! Come on!"

      Both boys landed at almost the same time. The little girl was aroused by the cold water, and was wildly floundering about, but the cripple lay upon the surface of the water, with face upturned, limp and still. They glanced about; where were the boats? They could not be far away.

      "I am afraid he's done for," said Alfred, as he glanced toward the cripple.

      "Well, we might as well stay near him; he might be all right," replied Ralph.

      "Move away from the ship quickly," said a voice in the water, not far away.

      It was the captain. He was the last one to dive, after he had seen every passenger safely off the ship.

      "We have no time to lose; take care of yourselves; I will help the little girl," he continued, as he threw the child on his back, and began to strike out.

      The sea had been calm up to this time, but no sooner had the captain ceased speaking than a tremendous wave almost engulfed them; they seemed to be carried up, and then were forced down by a giant swell. Another wave followed and then another, until, finally, the oscillations of the waves seemed to be growing less and less.

      "Where is the ship?" cried Alfred.

      "She's gone down; that's what made the waves," said the captain.

      The cripple's hand was raised up, and his eyes began to roll.

      "This fellow's all right, after all," said Ralph. "I'll help him. I wonder where the boats are?"

      The sun, which was going down while all this had been taking place, had now disappeared, and there was that gray, lead-like appearance on the waves that comes just before twilight.

      "Keep up your courage, boys; we shall soon have plenty of boats looking for us," said the captain.

      Within less than a minute thereafter two boats could be seen bobbing up and down not far away, heading straight for those in the water. Ralph was the first one caught by the strong arm of a seaman, and then the little girl, now fully recovered from her fright, received the care of a woman in the boat.

      Alfred assisted the cripple into the other boat, and the captain ordered all the passengers transferred to the boat which had just come up.

      The boys then noticed that only three seamen remained, together with the captain and first officer.

      "You may remain with us," said the captain, addressing Ralph and Alfred.

      This was, indeed, a compliment to them, which was appreciated.

      "I know father, mother and auntie are all right," said Alfred. "Do you think they saw us get off?" he added anxiously.

      "They were standing by when you jumped, but when the ship made the last lurch, just before she went down the seamen knew that they must pull away to avoid being sucked under. It might have been too dark for them actually to have seen you get away, at the distance they were from the ship, but I don't think they will expect to see us before morning."

      "Why, do you intend to stay here all night?" asked Ralph.

      "No, but each boat crew has had instructions to make for the nearest port, as rapidly as possible," replied the captain.

      "Where are we now?" asked Alfred.

      "In the Bay of Biscay, about one hundred and fifty miles from the nearest land," answered the captain.

      "How long will it take us to reach land?" asked Ralph.

      "Possibly two days, or more; that depends on the weather and the conditions in the bay. This is the most turbulent body of water anywhere on the Atlantic coast line, but it has been remarkably smooth during the past twenty-four hours," answered the captain.

      "What is the name of the place that we are heading for?" asked Ralph.

      "St. Nazaire; a French town at the mouth of the river Loire," was the reply.

      It was now quite dark, and a haze prevented the occupants of the boat from making any observation of the stars, hence the sailing, or rather, the rowing, had to be conducted by compass entirely, the order being given by the captain to steer east by north, a term which indicates that the course was exactly two points north of a line running due east and west.

      Three miles an hour at the outside, would be considered good speed. Sails would have been useless without a wind, and there was not the slightest breeze, but about midnight there was an apparent rocking in the little boat that indicated a wind. Occasionally, there would be a jerk, as the boat would be thrown from one side to the other. The captain was awake and alert, but the boys were lying in the bottom of the vessel near the stern.

      It was a trying, weary night, and when the sun arose the sea was one panorama of short, choppy waves. The seamen were tired with rowing, and it was evident that no great effort was being made to hurry the boat along.

      "It does seem to me that the sun is coming up on the wrong side this morning," remarked Alfred, as they were partaking of the food prepared and stowed in the boat's lockers.

      "I imagine you are turned around somewhat," replied the captain. "The wind is now coming from the east, and you see the sun almost ahead of us. We are being carried west faster than the rowers can take us eastward, hence we are practically standing still, or rather going back, and they are now merely holding the boat so as to give us steerage way and prevent us from going into the troughs between the waves."

      "Have СКАЧАТЬ