Читать книгу The Untamed American Spirit: Historical Novels & Western Adventures - Emerson Hough - Страница 37

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It was a night of anxiety and expectation on the Bennington, and, as the cutter swung at anchor north of the bold and dangerous point of Ugak Island, every one on board was astir at early dawn.

“Boat on the larboard bow, sir!” reported an ensign, soon after Captain Stephens was known to be awake in his cabin.

“What boat is it?” inquired the latter, eagerly, throwing open the dead-light of his room and gazing out along the shore.

“It’s our boat, sir, with Lieutenant Cummings.”

“Any passengers aboard?”

“I’m afraid not, sir.”

The captain slammed shut the dead-light and turned moodily to his desk. He did not seem to enjoy the breakfast which one of the cook’s men presently brought to him.

“Tell Lieutenant Cummings to report as soon as he comes aboard,” he commanded.

Lieutenant Cummings, however, far from being discouraged, was much elated when he appeared, smiling, at the captain’s door.

“They slept at the village, sir,” he said. “Five persons in all. Everybody’s gone from the village but one or two old people, and these report that the boys came in there for water and to see what news they could get. They had a young native boy with them and a full-grown Aleut. They put him in irons — ”

“Put him in irons!” roared Captain Stephens. “God bless my soul! Those young rascals will be sending out to look after us before long! Sailors! — and they’ve got a man in irons!”

“They say the Aleut was afraid to go to town,” resumed the lieutenant, “and tried to escape. They halted him and kept him under guard all night. The five of them left yesterday about noon, and as they were seen not far from the mouth of the bay toward evening, they’re very likely camped not far around the point yonder, sir.”

“Get under way!” ordered Captain Stephens. “I’ve got a little professional pride about this thing, and I don’t want those youngsters to beat the Bennington into port! Full speed ahead!”

Half an hour later the Bennington poked her nose around the next bold promontory of the east coast of Kadiak. One more broad bay lay before them.

Tossing up and down on the waves, half-way or more across, was a small, dark object!

The eyes of the old Aleut were first to discover this, and he began to shout and gesticulate as several pairs of glasses were turned upon it. Old Captain Stephens broke out in a string of nautical ejaculations, which need not be printed in full. “Look at that!” he cried. “Talk about sailors! See ’em go! They wouldn’t reef a point if they could — and I guess they can’t, for they seem to have a board or something for a sail. And they’ve got leeboards down. They’ve got two oars out for steering-gear. By the great horn spoon! Cummings, crack on more steam or they’ll beat us to New York! Why, dash my eyes, Hazlett, you old woman, didn’t I tell you you couldn’t lose those boys?”

The gentleman whom he addressed smiled rather crookedly but could find no speech.

The whistle of the Bennington roared out three times in salute. At once the distant dory came about and laid a long tack to intercept the course of the cutter. In a few minutes she was within hailing distance. The crew of the Bennington were along the rail, and without orders they greeted the young sailors with a cheer.

“By gad!” said Captain Stephens, turning away. “It’s worth a couple of months of Uncle Sam’s time to see a thing like that. There’s where we get our men! Safe? Humph!”

Rob, John, and Jesse, all ragged and bare-headed, stood up in the pitching dory, calling out and waving their hands. First they passed up their prisoner, and an instant later they were on board and in the middle of excited greetings. These over, they hurriedly explained the events covering the strange situations which have been recounted in our earlier pages. Meantime, Skookie was standing silently and stolidly at the side of his father, who made no such great excitement over him. The boys now introduced him, with the highest praise for his faithfulness and a plea that something be done for his reward.

“So far as that is concerned,” said Mr. Hazlett, “every decent native concerned in this shall have more than justice done to him. I’ll put the boy into the Mission School at Wood Island, if he likes, and he shall have all the clothes he needs, and something besides. It’s lucky for this bunch of natives that we don’t put them all in jail. How about this man they tell me you’ve been keeping prisoner?” continued Uncle Dick.

“Please, sir,” said Rob, earnestly, “don’t be hard with him. I’m not sure that we understand all about the way these natives think. He tried to get away from us, and we tied him up because we needed him as a pilot. We didn’t know the way back to town, you see, because when we came down the coast it was all in a fog and we couldn’t see anything.”

“Rather risky pilot, from what I hear,” commented Uncle Dick.

“I believe he was more scared than anything else,” went on Rob. “He never really made us any trouble, and he did a lot of work for us for which we have promised him pay. We’ve got to keep our word to all these people, you know. But, if you please, we’d rather pay money to them than to give up our rifles; and we’d like Jesse’s rifle back.”

“That will be easy,” said Uncle Dick. “All these people will count themselves fortunate. But what a lot of them we’ll have to ship back down the coast to Old Harbor — I suppose we’ll have to charter a schooner for that!”

“I say, Uncle Dick,” broke in John, eagerly, “if you send a schooner down, couldn’t we boys go along with her?”

Uncle Dick looked at him quizzically for a moment.

“You could not!” he answered, briefly.