"What on earth or sea," said the irrepressible Tom, voicing the inmost thought of every mind, "could have driven a company of men to abandon a ship in such perfect condition as this schooner is?" and again all stood silent in a last effort to solve the problem.

"Well," said Mr. Collins, "we have made a most thorough search and nothing can be gained by remaining here longer." So, only waiting to procure the ship's log that he had laid upon the table, he led the way to the deck. With a last look about them, in the vain hope of finding some living creature, they clambered into the boat and rowed back to the _Fearless_.

On the way over, everyone was too oppressed for further conversation, but as they neared the _Fearless_ their faces brightened; and as they stood once more upon her decks, with the eager people crowding about them, it seemed good, after the desolation they had witnessed, to be on board a live ship once more.

"This is surely a most wonderful and mysterious thing," said the captain, after listening to their report. "What could have driven them to such a desperate measure as abandoning a ship in sound condition and so well provisioned? Was it mutiny?"

"No, sir," and the mate shook his head. "I thought of that and we searched the ship for any signs of a struggle or bloodshed; but there was no evidence of fighting nor a drop of blood anywhere."

"Was there, perhaps, a leak?" again suggested the captain.

"Not that we could find," d.i.c.k answered. "The ship seemed as tight and safe as could be. We are sure there is no leak."

"What do you think about it?" asked Captain Manning, turning to a very grave and thoughtful gentleman standing near. This was Captain Grant who the day before had so n.o.bly stood by his ill-fated ship and to whose rescue and that of his unfortunate pa.s.sengers the _Fearless_ had come with not a minute to spare. Captain Manning had found him very congenial, and in the few hours since he had come on board the two gentlemen had become firm friends. At Captain Manning's question he turned to him cordially and answered with a smile:

"Well, as far as the crew are concerned, it might have been superst.i.tion, fear of ghosts perhaps. This unreasoning fear has driven more than one crew bodily from their ship."

"If that was the cause," ventured Bert, "is it not possible that their panic may leave them, and that they may return?"

"It is possible," agreed Captain Manning, smiling, "and we will cruise about as soon as I can make preparation. We may be able to overtake them or perhaps meet them returning."

"Was her cargo a valuable one?" asked one of Captain Grant's pa.s.sengers.

"Yes, quite," was the response, "but not so valuable as it would have been if she had been homeward instead of outward bound. The log shows her to be of Canadian construction and bound from Vancouver to China with a cargo of dried fish, skins, and lumber. If she had been returning she would have been freighted, as you know, with rich silks and tea and rice, of more value than the cargo she carried from British Columbia."

"Shall you attempt to return her to her owners?" asked Mr. Collins. "A schooner like the _Aurora_ would mean a large salvage."

"It certainly would," replied the captain, "and, if we had found her earlier in the voyage, I should have towed her back. But now I cannot afford the time, and I hardly know what to do. She ought not to be left drifting; she is right in the track of steamships, and so is a menace.

Wilson," he said, turning to Bert, "try to raise a United States vessel and give her the location of the derelict."

It took two hours before Bert succeeded, but at last he reached the cruiser _Cormorant_ and received thanks for the information and a.s.surance that the matter would be attended to at once.

By this time all was ready and the _Fearless_ began to cruise in ever-widening circles around the _Aurora_. With and without gla.s.ses all scanned the sea in every direction for signs of a boat. Once the call of the lookout drew all eyes to a dark object which, at that distance, looked as if it might be a yawl, and every heart beat faster with the hope that at last the mystery of the _Aurora_ might be solved. But, alas, it was found to be only a piece of broken mast, discarded from some ship.

For several hours they cruised about, filled with eager hope which gradually faded as the hours went by. At last, Captain Manning gave the order, and the _Fearless_ again came about to her course.

Everyone turned disappointedly from the rail as the quest was abandoned, and it seemed to the four young fellows that the _Fearless_ swung slowly and reluctantly, as if she disliked to leave her sister ship to such an uncertain fate.

The good ship gathered speed, and as they stood at the rail, Ralph thoughtfully said, "I wonder if the mystery of that deserted ship will ever be made clear."

"Well," said Bert, "when we return we can ascertain if she lived to reach port."

"Yes," grumbled Tom. "But unless some of the crew had returned before the government ship reached her the mystery would be as profound as ever. And," he added, sinking disgustedly into his steamer chair, and stretching himself out lazily, "I do hate mysteries."

CHAPTER XI

THE TIGER AT BAY

One day, about mid-afternoon, Bert was going through his duties in a more or less mechanical fashion, for the day had been warm, and he had been on duty since early morning. For several days past, practically no news of any interest had come in over the invisible aerial pathways, and as he had said to d.i.c.k only a short time before, "everything was deader than a door nail."

Suddenly, however, the sounder began to click in a most unusual fashion.

The clicks were very erratic, quick, and short, and to Bert's experienced ear it was apparent that the person sending the message was in a state of great excitement. He hastily adjusted the clamp that held the receiver to his ear, and at the first few words of the message his heart leapt with excitement.

"Tiger broken loose," came the message, in uneven spurts and dashes, "three of crew dead or dying--am shut up in wireless room--beast is sniffing at door--help us if you can--" and then followed, lat.i.tude and longitude of the unlucky vessel.

Bert's hand leaped to the sender, and the powerful spark went crashing out from the wires. "Will come at once--keep up courage," he sent, and then s.n.a.t.c.hed the apparatus off his head and rushed in mad haste to the deck. Captain Manning was below deck, and Bert communicated the message he had just received to the commanding officer at the time.

"Good heavens," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the first officer, "there's only one thing for us to do, and that's to go to their aid just as fast as this old tub will take us."

This was no sooner said than done, and in a few minutes the course of the vessel was changed, and she was headed in the direction of the distressed animal ship, for there could be little doubt that such was the nature of the cargo she had on board. It is not such an uncommon thing for a wild animal to break loose during a voyage, but generally it is recaptured with little trouble. Occasionally, however, an especially ferocious animal will escape, and at the very outset kill or maim the men especially employed to take care of them. Once let this happen, and the crew has little chance against such an enemy. Nothing much more terrible could be imagined than such a situation, and such was the plight in which the crew of the animal ship found themselves. They had made several vain attempts to trap the big tiger, but at each attempt one of their number had been caught and killed by the ferocious beast, until in a panic they had retreated to the forecastle, taking with them the first mate, who had been seriously injured by the murderous claws of the tiger as they were trying to cast a noose around his neck. Left without management, their ship was at the mercy of wind and wave, with no living creature on deck save the big cat. He had vainly tried to break into the men's quarters, and failing in that, had laid siege to the cabin of the wireless operator. The door of this was fragile, however, and although the desperate man within had piled every article of furniture in the room against the door, there could be little doubt that it was but a matter of time when the maddened tiger would make use of his vast strength and burst in the frail barrier.

Such was the situation on board when, as a last resource, the devoted operator sent out the call for help that Bert had heard. The knowledge that help was at least on the way gave heart to the imprisoned and almost despairing man, and he waited for the rescuing ship to arrive with all the fort.i.tude he could muster.

Meanwhile, on Bert's ship, Captain Manning had been summoned to the bridge, and had immediately ordered full steam ahead. The ship quivered and groaned as the steam rushed at high pressure into the cylinders, causing the great propellers to turn as though they had been but toys.

Great clouds of black smoke poured from the funnel, and the ship forged ahead at a greater speed than her crew had ever supposed her capable of making.

Fast as was their progress, however, it seemed but a crawl to the anxious group gathered on the bridge, and Bert went below to send an encouraging message to the unfortunate operator on the other ship.

Crash! crash! and the powerful current crackled and flashed from the wires.

"Keep up courage," was the message Bert sent, "keep up courage, and we will get help to you soon. Are about ten knots from you now."

For a few minutes there was no reply, and, when the receiver finally clicked, Bert could hardly catch the answer, so faint was it.

"The dynamo has stopped," it read, "and batteries are almost exhausted.

Heard shouting from the crew's quarters a short time ago, and think the tiger is probably trying to break in there. A--few minutes--more--" but here the sounder ceased, and Bert, in spite of his frantic efforts, was unable to get another word, good or bad. Finally, giving the attempt up as hopeless, he made his way to the bridge, where Captain Manning and the first officer were absorbed over a chart.

"We can't be very far from them now, sir," the latter was saying. "At the rate this old boat's going now we ought to sight them pretty soon, don't you think so, sir?"

"We surely should," replied the captain. "But I wonder if Wilson has heard any more from them. As long as--ah, here you are, eh, Mr. Wilson?

What's the latest news from the distressed vessel?"

"Pretty bad, sir," said Bert. "The crew seems to have become panic-stricken, including the engine-room force, and they've allowed the dynamo to stop. The wireless man didn't have enough current left from the batteries to finish the message he was sending. He did say, though, that the tiger was raising a rumpus up forward, and trying to break into the men's quarters. I can only hope, sir, that we will not arrive too late."

"I hope so, indeed," responded Captain Manning, gloomily, "but even if we get there before the beast has gotten at them, we'll have our work cut out for us. We have no adequate weapons on board, and we can't hope to cope with a foe like that barehanded."

"That's very true," said the first officer, scratching his head. "I rather had a feeling that all we had to do was to get there and kill the tiger, but I must confess I hadn't figured out how. However," he added, "I've got a brace of pistols in my cabin, and I suppose you have, too, haven't you, sir?" addressing the captain.

"Oh, of course I have them," said the captain, impatiently, "but they're not much good in an affair of this kind. What we need is a big game rifle, and that's something we haven't got. However, I imagine we'll hit on some plan after we get there. Set your wits to work, Mr. Wilson, and see if you can't figure out a scheme. You have always struck me as being pretty ingenious."

"Well, I'll do my best, you may be sure of that, sir," replied Bert, "but meanwhile, I guess I'd better go below and see if by any chance they have got their wireless working again."

"Aye, aye," said the captain, "see what you can do, and I'll see that you are informed when we get near the vessel."