Aroused from his slumber, Randy was inclined to cry out in alarm. But with his brother’s hand over his mouth he made but little noise, and this was drowned out by the whistling of the wind which kept increasing steadily.
“Wa-what did you say?” stammered Randy.
His twin repeated his words and pointed out where Leif Olesen was in earnest conversation with two Norwegian sailors, one named Larsen and the other Smader.
“You think they’re up to some trick?” whispered Randy.
“I certainly do! Let’s catch as much of their talk as we can.”
Such a suggestion was easily made but by no means easy to carry out, for the wind made much noise as it whistled through the rigging of the yacht and the rolling and pitching of the vessel made it necessary for the twins to hold fast to whatever was near them to keep from pitching headlong and taking the deck chairs with them.
Fortunately the backs of the three men were towards the lads, so they were not discovered. The men continued to talk earnestly, only raising their voices when the noises around them compelled them to do so.
As said before, most of the conversation was in Norwegian. Yet all of the men had been in the United States a number of years and they occasionally said a few words in English, and to these the youths listened with close attention.
“They’re talking about the treasure, all right enough,” whispered Randy. “But, for the matter of that, I suppose everybody on the yacht has mentioned that subject many times since we started on the expedition. I suppose they’re all expecting extra wages if we find anything of real value.”
“Just before I woke you, Randy, Olesen said something to the other men about ‘We want our share, don’t we?’ That’s why I woke you up. I tell you that man has got something up his sleeve.”
Presently as the wind increased and it was evident that a storm was coming up, the three men moved away, and soon after that the boys saw Leif Olesen go down the companionway, evidently bent on retiring.
“Hello! what are you fellows doing on deck?”
The greeting came from Nat Brooks. The mate had been called up by the man in charge of the wheel, he having given orders to that effect should the blow increase.
“It was too hot below for us,” answered Randy. “We thought we’d come up and cool off a bit.”
“Well, you be careful you don’t blow overboard.”
“Looks like a storm to me,” put in Andy.
“Yes, I think we’re going to be up against some dirty weather,” answered the mate. “However, I think the Firefly will pull through all right enough. She’s one of the most substantial craft I ever sailed on.”
The boys remained on deck a half hour longer and then, growing more sleepy than ever, went below and turned in. By this time the storm was on the yacht and from the southward came streaks of lightning followed by long rolls of thunder.
“Gee, how the thunder does roll on the ocean!” was Randy’s remark, as his head hit the pillow.
“I don’t care, let it thunder. I’m going to sleep,” answered his twin. “The air is changing and it’s much cooler.”
“It’s only the wind. I don’t believe the thermometer has dropped one point.”
Fred and Jack had managed to go to sleep. But less than half an hour after the twins retired a second time all of the boys were wide awake, and with good reason.
The Firefly was pitching and tossing in the teeth of what seemed to be little short of a hurricane. Jack all but rolled to the floor and had all he could do to stand upright. Then came a crash on the partition separating the stateroom occupied by himself and Fred from that used by the twins, and this was followed immediately by a yell from Randy and a burst of laughter from Andy.
“Something went wrong in there, that’s sure!” cried Fred. “Let’s get a few clothes on and see how bad this storm is getting.”
The boys donned their sneakers and also their trousers and coats, and then Jack and Fred went to join their cousins. They found Randy sitting on a stationary stool rubbing his elbow and Andy sitting on the lower berth laughing at him.
“Randy has been trying to do circus stunts,” explained the twin’s brother. “He got out of the top berth because he couldn’t sleep any more, and then he crawled back to find his cap that I had thrown up when we went to bed. Just then the yacht gave an extra heavy lurch and he slid right off the top berth and went kerbang into the partition.”
“Yes, and I almost went through the woodwork,” came ruefully from Randy. “Hit right on my elbow, too! Gee, I’ll bet it’s black and blue!”
“Well, be glad it wasn’t your head,” said Fred, who could readily see that Randy was not much hurt. What really did hurt the twin was the fact that his brother was laughing at him, for an instant later he grabbed up a pillow and hurled this at Andy’s head, following it an instant later with a shoe.
“Hi! Hi! Stop the bombardment!” cried Andy, in mock terror. “Don’t you know the war is over and nothing is left of it but the debts? Stop, I say!” and he dodged behind Jack.
“Listen! We’ve got something to tell you,” said Randy suddenly and thereupon he and his twin related what they had heard when they had gone on deck to get the air.
“Well, there may be something in that,” said Jack slowly.
“And on the other hand we may be doing Olesen an injury,” put in Fred. “I don’t think I’d find fault with him until I had more evidence.”
“Then you don’t think you’d speak to Captain Corning about this?” asked Andy. “He’s really the head of the expedition, you know.”
“Oh, I think we’d better wait, Andy,” said Jack. “We’ll keep our eyes wide open and see what that head diver and his friends do.”
Conversation now became more difficult for the boys had all they could do to keep on their feet as the Firefly pitched and tossed in the height of the storm. Everything that was loose in the staterooms was either flying around or otherwise already on the floor.
“I’m going up and take a look around,” declared Jack.
When the boys went out into the cabin they encountered Captain Corning who was also going on deck. Ordinarily the captain would not have shown himself, having every confidence in his mate. But the yacht was new to the commander, just as it was also new to his first officer, and the captain thought it the better part of wisdom to inspect the Firefly and see how the craft was standing up to the storm.
“If you young men go on deck, let me warn you to be careful,” said the commander of the yacht. “I don’t want any of you to be blown overboard.”
“We’ve been in storms before, Captain, and we’ll take care of ourselves,” answered Jack.
When the boys got on deck they found it almost impossible to keep their feet. The wind was blowing wildly first in one direction and then in another. The waves seemed mountainous and occasionally one would break over the bow of the steam yacht, sending the spray flying in all directions.
“Free shower bath, and then some!” was the way Andy expressed himself. “We’ll either have to go below again or put on oilskins.”
The storm lasted until an hour after the time when the sun should have come up, and during that time sleep was out of the question. But around nine o’clock the clouds began to break and two hours later the wind died down and by noon the sun was shining as fiercely as ever on a sea that still showed many whitecaps.
“Well, we’re out of that, and I’m glad of it,” said Fred, as the lads went down to dinner. “Now we can eat in comfort and after that I’m going to have a good snooze.”
The remainder of that day and also the next passed without special incident. The steam yacht was now getting well down the coast and it would not be long before they would be in the vicinity of the West Indies.
Among the sailors Jack had noticed a tall, lean individual, named Patnak. This fellow was of Norwegian birth, but told the oldest Rover boy that he had been in and around the United States since he was twelve years old. He was thoroughly Americanized, and although he could speak Norwegian he had little or nothing to do with the two sailors who had become friendly with Olesen and Amend.
Jack rather liked Jake Patnak and felt he could trust this Norwegian who, although he was all of thirty years old, acted very much like an overgrown boy. He told Patnak of some of the adventures he and his cousins had had, not only in the West Indies but also in the oil fields and on Sunset Trail, and thereupon Patnak became quite confidential.
“Every year I tell myself that I’m going to leave the sea and try to make my fortune on land,” said the sailor, his blue eyes full of earnestness. “Once I started for those oil fields that you just mentioned, but after I was ashore for three months the itch for the ocean again got me, and inside of three days I had gone back to Baltimore and signed up for a cruise to Cape Town, Africa.”
“Well, every one to his taste,” answered Jack. “You can’t hire some men to go on the water.”
“I know that. When I was on land I met two Norwegians who had come over to this country when I did. They were experts at laying parquet floors. Why, those fellows wouldn’t even go down to Coney Island for a swim, they hated the water so,” and Jake Patnak laughed.
“You seem to be more like an American than a Norwegian,” remarked Jack.
“I’m a full-fledged citizen and I vote whenever I have the chance to do so,” answered the sailor, a bit proudly. “I have very little desire to visit the old country. I love the sea and love to take trips upon it, both short and long. But if I ever settle down on land it will surely be in the United States.”
“Is Leif Olesen a citizen?” questioned Jack, just for the purpose of bringing the conversation around to the deep-sea diver.
“No. He has never taken out papers, so he says; and he doesn’t intend to. And his helper, Nick Amend, isn’t a citizen either.”
“What about these other Norwegians on the yacht? Do you know anything about them—I mean the fellows who were on the Firefly when Captain Corning chartered her?”
“I don’t know much about those fellows. You see, I came aboard with the cap’n and Mr. Brooks. I sailed with them on two other trips, and I liked ’em so well that I told the cap’n and the mate both that I’d stick to ’em as long as they wanted me.”
“Well, I’m glad to know that, Patnak,” and Jack’s face showed his satisfaction. “You know, on a trip like this we want all our friends to stand by us,” and Jack looked at the sailor suggestively.
“Yes, Mr. Rover, I understand that.” Thus speaking Patnak drew a step closer. “You and the cap’n can depend on me, no matter what happens.”
Jack could readily see that the sailor had more in his mind than his words conveyed. He looked at Patnak sharply.
“Do you think anything is going to happen?” he questioned. “I mean anything out of the ordinary?”
“Who can tell?” Jake Patnak shrugged his lean shoulders. “If we’re not successful, then, of course, everything will go along all right.”
“But if we are successful——”
Jake Patnak stretched himself, filled his lungs with air, and blew his breath out vociferously.
“If we were successful that would be another story, Mr. Rover, especially if the treasure found was a large one. Gold and silver and jewelry and precious gems are a great temptation to some people, you know.”
Here the conversation was interrupted by the approach of two other sailors, one of whom told Patnak that he was wanted by the mate. Then all of the sailors went off, leaving Jack in a thoughtful mood.