CHAPTER VI
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
"We will be devoured!"
"Swim for the ship, boys!"
"See, he is coming this way!"
"Save me, somebody! Save me!"
Such were some of the cries which rang out as the sailors swam, terror-stricken, in one direction or another.
In the meantime the shark came on rapidly. He was a big creature, with a cruel-looking mouth and teeth that were equally ugly.
At first he turned toward one of the sailors, who was swimming for the ship.
But a rope was thrown to the tar, and this he grasped and was hauled on board with all rapidity.
Then the shark turned for another of the sailors.
But this fellow was making for the small boat, and soon he was on board and safe for the time being.
Then the shark turned swiftly and came for Dave.
The youth dove at once, remembering that a shark can attack under water only with difficulty.
But the boy could not remain under the surface forever, and at last he had to come up, this time somewhat closer to the Swallow.
But the shark saw him and turned again to attack the young diver.
It was a critical moment, and Dave was about to give himself up for lost when a shot rang out, followed by another.
Amos Fearless had been in the cabin when the shout of "Shark!" was raised.
Knowing at once the peril of the situation, he had caught a gun from the cabin wall and lost no time in hurrying to the deck.
The shark was still ten feet away from Dave when Mr. Fearless fired.
The first bullet struck the monster in the side, doing little damage.
But the shark turned his head to learn what had hit him and in a twinkle Amos Fearless discharged the weapon a second time.
This time the bullet struck the shark squarely in the eye and entered the marine creature's brain.
Up leaped the shark, clear above the water, to fall with a shock that sounded like the report of a cannon.
The water flew in all directions, drenching all who stood at the rail of the Swallow taking in the appalling situation.
In its death agonies the shark hurled itself against the ship, lifting its tail clear to the rail and wrecking a portion of the woodwork.
Then it turned and dove for the small boat.
The sailor on board had just time enough to leap out and dive, when the marine creature struck it with all force, smashing the rowboat to atoms.
But that was the last act of the shark. In a minute more it was dead, and floated on the bosom of the ocean close to the ship.
A line was thrown to Dave and the sailors, and all were hauled on board.
"My boy! My boy!" murmured Amos Fearless. "What a narrow escape for you!"
"You saved my life, father!" replied Dave. He could scarcely speak, but the grip he gave his parent's hand meant a good deal.
Some of the sailors wanted to bring the shark's remains on board, to get the teeth, and Captain Broadbeam consented, and later on, the scientists on the Swallow prepared the skeleton for mounting, to be sent to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.
It remained very warm, and Captain Broadbeam looked constantly for a storm.
"Almost all ships catch 'em in these latitudes," he remarked to Dave. "This may be a long time a-coming, but it will pay up for lost time when it does come."
In this surmise Captain Broadbeam was correct.
Two days later, while the sun was shining brightly, there appeared a cloud to the southwest, scarcely bigger than a man's hand.
But the cloud grew larger with great rapidity, until it covered half the sky, and the sunlight was shut out and soon all became as dark, almost, as night. The wind began to blow and soon the waves were running higher and higher.
"We must run into the teeth of the storm," said the captain, and gave orders to change the course.
Presently it began to rain, and then followed lightning and thunder which were almost incessant.
"Never saw anything to match it," declared Dave, as he put on his oilskins and joined his father on the stern deck. "This beats those we had off Long Island all to pieces!"
"Right you are, Dave," answered Amos Fearless. "Take good care that you are not swept overboard."
The storm increased in violence until the Swallow was heaving and pitching as never before. At one moment she would be riding on the top of a very mountain of water, at the next she would be going down and down into a tremendous hollow that looked as if it would swallow up the stanch ship forever.
Captain Broadbeam surveyed the storm with anxiety, for he realized that it was unusually severe, and threatened the very existence of his craft.
The lightning played all around the metalwork of the ship, and the roar of the thunder was deafening.
"You had better go below," said the captain to Dave and his father. "You can do nothing on deck."
"Yes, we will go below," answered Amos Fearless. "Come, my son," and he led the way down into the cabin.
All of the ports and doors had been closed, and the air was stifling in the shut-up apartment, but of this there was no use to complain.
All crockery, glassware, and other loose objects had long since been secured, or they would have been flung in every direction.
Dave sat down in a chair screwed to the floor, and did his best to keep his seat.
At one moment he felt like pitching forward, at the next he seemed about to turn a back somersault.
The electric light burned dimly, for the electricity in the air had affected the circuit.
"We can be thankful when we are out of this," observed Mr. Fearless, as he, too, clung to a chair. "I never dreamed it could blow so hard and keep it up. In our eastern storms there is generally a lull every few minutes."
"I wonder if the Raven is in this, father?"
"There is no telling. This storm-center may be but a few miles in diameter."
"I am almost tempted to wish the Raven at the bottom of the ocean."
"That wouldn't be right, Dave."
"I know. But supposing they get ahead of us and the Hankers scoop in the Washington fortune?"
"Then we will have to pocket our loss and make the best of it."
"But our claim is better than theirs."
"Morally, yes. But you must remember that legally the fortune will belong to whoever finds it, for it was abandoned at sea many years ago."
"I suppose that is so."
"For my part, Dave, I believe that neither of us will have an easy job to obtain the fortune. It is going to be a great task to even reach the sunken wreck."
"Oh, I know that. But the diving bell will help us."
"It will help a great deal. But you must remember the wreck may be turned over, or buried almost out of sight in the mud of the ocean bottom. In that case we'll have a lot of work to do before any of us can get into the ship and even locate the lost treasure."
"Never mind, father, the amount to be gained will be well worth all the trouble we will take to gain it."
"To be sure, for such a vast sum isn't picked up more than once in a lifetime, even at the best. We can be certain—Heavens! what's that?"
Amos Fearless broke off short, and with good reason.
A fearful shock had come, as a bolt of lightning struck the forward works of the Swallow.
Then followed a strange hissing as the lightning played over the electric wires of the ship.
A blinding flash entered the cabin, followed by a crack as of a pistol, and Dave, half stunned, saw his father pitch forward across the table like one dead!