At the Fall of Port Arthur/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X
SOMETHING ABOUT WAR AND FIGHTING SHIPS
"It's going to strike the ship!"
"It will cut us to pieces!"
"Throw the schooner over on the other tack!"
These and several other cries rang out on the deck of the Columbia. All felt their hearts come up into their throats as the roaring, swirling mass of water came closer and closer, until the spray drenched them completely. The ocean was churned into a white foam and the wind seemed to suck and blow in all directions at once.
But, just as it looked as if the schooner would be buried beneath a veritable mountain of water, the waterspout took another curve and slid away, along the side of the ship and off the stern. The man at the wheel came close to being carried overboard by the deluge he received and the Columbia bobbed up and down like a cork. But in another moment the waterspout was an eighth of a mile distant.
"What a—a narrow escape," faltered Larry, when he felt able to speak. "I thought we were bound for the bottom sure!"
"Thet's the closest I ever was to any water-spout," came from Luke, as he wiped his wet brow. "Reckon we can thank Providence we ain't in Davy Jones' locker this minit!"
Captain Ponsberry did not say much, but kept his eyes fixed on the waterspout, which was making fantastic curves across the bosom of the Pacific. At times it was close by and then it would go half a mile or more away. It was a fascinating scene, full of dread, and gave more than one onlooker a chill down his backbone.
"I wish it would go away completely," went on Larry.
But this was not to be. The waterspout kept within sight for a good half-hour, although it did not come near them again. At last it grew less and less, off to the southwestward, and finally vanished altogether. The glass was used in that direction, but nothing save a clear horizon could be located.
"We are clear of it at last," said Captain Ponsberry, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Waterspouts are mighty dangerous things," said Grandon, after the scare was over. "When I was on board of the brig Ben Franklin we ran into a spout off the coast of Brazil, and it knocked off the bow and the forward rail and nearly sank us."
"I met one once, off the coast of Cuba," said the captain. "That went ashore and tore up the trees like so many weeds for a hundred feet around. A waterspout is nothing to be fooled with, I can tell you."
On the day following the appearance of the waterspout the weather changed. There was a slight storm and then a stiff breeze sprang up which was cheering to all on board. Every stitch of canvas on the Columbia was spread and the schooner bowled along right merrily.
"I'd like to know how this war is going on, and how Ben and Gilbert are faring," said Larry to Captain Ponsberry. "A whole lot may have happened since we left Manila."
"Well, you'll probably get word from your brother when you reach Nagasaki, lad; and we'll get word from Captain Pennington, too."
"I hope neither of them has been wounded."
"So do I; but when one goes to the front he has got to put up with the fortunes of war. Being a soldier of fortune, as it is called, is no baby business."
"Do you suppose the Japs are continuing to bombard Port Arthur?"
"More than likely if the place hasn't fallen into their hands. They want to make sure of their footing in lower Manchuria, and they can never do that so long as the Russians hold a single seaport down there."
"I suppose Russia has a pretty good-sized navy as well as an army?"
"Yes, Larry, one of the largest navies in the world. But their fighting ships are no better than the ships of Japan. You see, the Japanese navy is not near as old as the navy of Russia. Almost all of the ships are of the up-to-date types. Most of them have been built since the war between Japan and China in 1894 and 1895."
"That would make them only about ten years old."
"Exactly, and I've been told that some of the ships in the Russian navy are twenty and thirty years old. More than this, all of the Japanese guns are of the latest pattern—just as they are on our new warships."
"I'd like to go aboard of a Japanese warship," cried the young second mate, enthusiastically.
"Want to see if it's as good as it was aboard of the Olympia, eh?"
"Yes, sir. Of course the Olympia was old, especially alongside of the Brooklyn, on which my brother Walter served in Cuban waters, but even so she was a bang-up fighting machine. If she hadn't been she wouldn't have done her share in sinking that Spanish fleet in Manila Bay."
"Well, you may have a chance to go aboard of a Japanese ship while we stop at Nagasaki. There must be a number of them at that port, coaling up and taking war supplies aboard."
"How long do you think it will be before we reach that port? "
"That will depend entirely upon the wind, as you know. If we get just what we need we may reach there inside of four or five days," answered Captain Ponsberry.
As Peterson and Shamhaven were now behaving themselves they were allowed to come out of the brig and do some work on the deck every morning and afternoon. Both begged the captain to forgive them, but the master of the Columbia would promise nothing.
"You went into this with your eyes wide open," he said. "Now you can line up and take your medicine."
Semmel was exceedingly bitter at not being allowed his liberty for at least a few hours a day and said he would denounce the captain at the first opportunity. But Captain Ponsberry soon cut him short.
"You keep a civil tongue in your head," he said, sternly. "Unless you do, I'll put you down on hard-tack and water." And thereupon Semmel became sullenly silent.
Towards evening of the day upon which Larry had the conversation about warships with Captain Ponsberry a Chinese junk, heavily laden with grasscovered boxes, was passed. Nobody on board could speak English, so the hail that was sent over the water brought no results.
"We are getting closer to the coast shipping," said the master of the Columbia. "I suppose we'll meet quite a few vessels from now on."
During the night an unexpected gale came up and the schooner was blown far out of her course. The gale came from the westward, so the vessel was blown to the east.
"This will make the trip a day or two longer," grumbled Grandon, after the gale had spent itself.
"Yes, but as we didn't lose a spar or a rag of canvas we can be thankful that it is no worse," responded Larry, who was always ready to look on the bright side.
The gale subsided after a blow of twenty-four hours and then the bow of the Columbia was once more set towards her destination. Only a few knots had been covered when the lookout reported a vessel in sight.
"It's a steamer!" cried Larry, for the smoke from the craft's funnels was plainly to be seen.
"Maybe she's a warship," returned Tom Grandon, who was beside him. "If so, I hope she's a Japanese."
The steamer was coming along at a good rate of speed and soon they made her out to be a British vessel. She was a "tramp," that is, a vessel going from port to port, picking up whatever cargo can be found.
"Ahoy, there!" cried Captain Ponsberry, as the tramp slowed up. "What ship is that?"
"The Lord Duffield," was the answer. "What ship is that?"
"The Columbia."
"Where are you bound?"
"For Nagasaki. And you?"
"For Hong-Kong."
A little more talk followed, and the captain of the Lord Duffield vouchsafed the information that he had sighted a Russian warship the day before.
"A warship!" murmured Larry.
"Which way was she bound?" asked Captain Ponsberry, anxiously.
"I can't tell you. She stopped us and asked a few questions and then slipped away in the darkness."
"What warship was she?"
"The Pocastra, from Vladivostok. I think she used to be in the merchant service and was built over for the navy."
The captain of the British steamer could give no further information, and so resumed his course, and the master of the Columbia did likewise.
"Ain't very nice news, is it?" said Tom Grandon.
"It's very unpleasant news," returned Captain Ponsberry, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"What can we do, Tom? Trust to luck that we get into Nagasaki harbor, or some other port, in safety."
"We'll have to keep a sharp lookout for anything that looks like a warship, unless, of course, she flies a Japanese flag."
Word was passed around to those who could be trusted, and all day long one of the mates and a foremast hand were kept on the lookout, taking turns at looking through the best glass the schooner possessed.
"This is almost as exciting as being in a war," said Larry, when he was on duty with Luke. "Don't you know how we looked for the Spanish ships?"
"Yes, lad; but if we sight a Russian warship it will be small fighting we'll do, to my way of thinking."
"Oh, we won't be able to fight at all. We'll simply have to rely on our wits to keep us out of being gobbled up as a prize of war," responded the young second mate.