Chapter 28

THE ABANDONED SCHOONER

"Look," cried Teddy suddenly, pointing at right angles to the course they were pursuing.

"What is it?" came from his companions.

"It's a shark," cried Teddy excitedly. "Perhaps it's the mate of the one we caught the other day. Have you your harpoon along, Lester?"

"No," replied Lester, as he, with the others, watched the ominous black fin just showing above the surface; "and I haven't the shark hook, either. It's just as well anyway, because we can't afford the time to-day to look after that fellow."

"I suppose you're right," sighed Teddy, reluctantly abandoning his idea, "but I sure would like to add to my collection of shark's teeth."

"Wait till we find the chest, and you'll have money enough to buy a shark and keep him as a pet," suggested Bill.

"And feed him out of your hand," grinned Ross.

As they drew near the shore, the wreck of the abandoned schooner came clearly into view. It was a dismal spectacle. There was nothing visible above the main deck, not even stumps. The masts had been snapped close to their butts, showing the terrific fury of the gale that had severed them almost as neatly as though done by a razor. There were several yawning rents in the side through which the water poured and retreated. It was evident that the hold must be entirely flooded. The bow was deeply imbedded in the sand, and there was only a slight perceptible motion of the stern, as it swayed and lifted in obedience to the surge of the waves.

The ship seemed at a casual glance to be about eighty feet in length. The beam was comparatively narrow, and the long graceful lines falling away from the bow showed that she had been built for speed. She was of the greyhound type, and this fact only emphasized her present forlorn condition.

Despite the dilapidated condition of the lower part of the hull, the upper part and the deck itself seemed to be fairly solid.

"Good timber in that old boat," muttered Lester, as they came close, "or she'd have broken up into kindling wood long ago."

"How are you going to get aboard?" asked Bill.

"By way of the stern, I guess," Lester replied, as he measured distances. "Of course it would be easier to get over the bow, but we'd have to go pretty close inshore for that, and I don't know just how deep it is there. I don't want to take any chances with the _Ariel_."

Fred shortened sail, and they ran in cautiously under the stern. The planks were weatherbeaten, but there were still some vestiges of paint on the upper part, and the boys could clearly make out the name of the unfortunate boat to have been the _Albatross_.

"Poor old _Albatross_," murmured Fred. "Her wings are broken, sure enough."

"She'll never fly again," added Bill.

They put the fenders over the side to avoid scraping, and Lester tossed a coil of rope over a butt that rose at the end of the stern. He held the ends, while Teddy shinned up like a monkey and fastened it more securely. Then Fred and Bill went up, while Lester stayed below to look after the safety of his craft.

"Aren't you fellows coming along?" asked Fred, looking down over the stern.

"I guess not," replied Lester. "I've seen lots of wrecks in my time, and I want to make sure that the _Ariel_ doesn't make another."

"How about you, Ross?" inquired Teddy.

"I'll stay and keep Lester company," Ross answered, as he brought the _Sleuth_ a little closer. "You can tell us what you see, which can't be much, I suppose, after all this time."

After a little more friendly urging, the others acquiesced in the arrangement and went forward, cautiously testing each plank before they set their feet down, for fear it might give way under them.

A certain feeling of eeriness settled down upon them. Living men, hearty, boisterous, vigorous men, full of the joy of life, had trodden these planks when the vessel was in her prime and winging her way over the seas as swiftly as the gull whose name she bore. Now the hungry waves had swallowed them, and the subdued chanting of the water along her side might well be their requiem.

Instinctively the boys drew closer together, and their voices lowered almost to a whisper.

"Makes you feel kind of creepy, doesn't it?" remarked Bill.

"It sure does," answered Teddy. "I shouldn't care to sleep here over night."

"You wouldn't do much sleeping," affirmed Fred. "You'd be expecting every minute to see something standing at the foot of your bed."

But these first fancies could not long endure in the flood of sunlight that beat upon the schooner, and the boys soon recovered their normal confidence. They went through the captain's cabin and two others that had evidently been set apart for the mates. Except one or two sodden mattresses and a huddled bunch of mouldy bed coverings, there was nothing of the slightest value. Whatever there had been at the time of the wreck had either been washed overboard or taken possession of by the authorities, shortly after the wreck occurred.

"Nothing more to see here," declared Bill, after a brief look around. "I guess we'd better join the other fellows now. Lester'll be anxious to get going."

"Right-o," acceded Fred. "Let's get a move on."

But something, he did not know what, moved Teddy to stay a little longer.

"You fellows go back and unfasten the rope," he suggested, "and I'll be with you in a minute."

They went slowly back to the stern and started to untie the rope, bantering meanwhile with Lester and Ross, who were getting restive.

Teddy ran forward toward the bow and looked into the gloomy depths of the forecastle. He could see that the floor was solid, but it was some inches deep in water. He hesitated only a moment and then leaped lightly down.

Three minutes later, Fred and Bill were startled to see Teddy running toward them, his face as white as chalk and his eyes blazing with excitement.

"What's the matter?" they cried in alarm, leaping to their feet.

Teddy tried to speak, but for a moment no words came.

"The m-m-map!" he stuttered at last. "It's in the f-forecastle!"

"The map?" repeated Bill blankly.

A light sprang into Fred's eyes.

"Do you mean the map that the sailor carved?" he demanded, clutching his brother's arm with a force like a vise.

Teddy nodded, still a prey to his tremendous agitation.

"But how can it be?" asked Fred wildly. "This isn't the _Ranger_."

"How do you know it isn't?" cried Bill, catching the contagion. "Her name was changed, you remember."

"What are you fellows chinning about up there?" demanded Lester, with a touch of impatience in his voice.

"Lester!" called Fred. "Scrape the paint off the name on the stern there, and see if you can make out anything underneath."

Lester took out his claspknife and scraped vigorously.

"There has been something else there," he announced after a moment, "but I can't fully make it out. I can see a couple of R's----"

"That's it," shouted Fred jubilantly. "It's the old _Ranger_. Come aboard, you fellows. Lively, now. Don't mind about the boats. They're safe enough for a few minutes."

A moment more, and those on board were joined by Ross and Lester, as breathless and excited as themselves, for the meaning of Teddy's discovery had dawned upon them.

They all raced to the forecastle and tumbled in pell mell.