Chapter XVII
On to Cuba
When the storm came at dawn on the thirtieth of June, it awakened Linda first. As the rain descended upon the slickers that covered the girls, and upon their faces, Dot merely buried her head sleepily under the raincoat, but Linda sat bolt upright on the bed of leaves.
The wind was howling about the lonely island, and the rain was pouring down in sheets. The blackness of it all was terrifying, yet she knew that she must get up.
"Dot!" she whispered, hoarsely. "Wake up!"
Her companion opened her eyes sleepily as she pushed the slicker aside.
"Yes… Why Linda, it's – pouring!"
"It certainly is." Linda was slipping on her shoes and her knickers over her pajamas. "We've got to rescue the boat."
"Why?"
"Because water mustn't get into the gasoline. And because the tide might come up high enough to wash the boat out to sea."
"O.K.," replied Dot, now quite wide awake. "I'm with you, Linda – in just a second."
Holding on to each other's hands, they made their way with difficulty down to the beach where the boat had been left, and together they dragged it back and covered it with one of the slickers.
Panting from the effort, they dropped back on the sand and sat down, not bothering about the rain that was descending relentlessly upon them, soaking them to the skin.
"We might as well use the other slicker as a roof for ourselves," suggested Dot, as she got to her feet again. "We can hang it over some bushes, and crawl under it."
"That's an idea!" approved Linda. "I was wondering how one raincoat could keep us both dry."
"It won't keep us dry – we're wet now. But it will protect us from the worst force of this cloud-burst."
They went back to their camping site and arranged the slicker as best they could – carefully putting the bag of money and the box of tools under it, before they crawled in themselves. The bushes were wet, and so was the ground, but the girls were saved the discomfort of having the rain actually pour in their faces.
They watched the storm for some time, hoping that it would soon abate, and finally, becoming drowsy, they fell asleep again, with their feet sticking out under the covering.
Cramped by the awkward position, they awakened in a couple of hours. Daylight had arrived – but not sunlight. It was still raining steadily and dismally.
"Don't you suppose we can go today?" asked Dot.
"Maybe later on," replied Linda, cheerfully. "There's one thing good about this, Dot. We can get a drink."
"How heavenly!" exclaimed the other, sitting up. "But how do we manage it? We won't get much by just opening our mouths!"
"Get up carefully. I'm sure there's a lot of water lodging on the top of this slicker. Wait – get the thermos bottles out of the tool-box first. We'll use the cups, and then stand them up to catch the rain as it falls."
Linda's surmise was correct; there was so much water on the slicker that it was in danger of collapsing any moment. They dipped their cups into the pool and drank eagerly. How good it tasted to their parched throats!
"There must be more down on the boat's cover," suggested Dot. "Let's get it, and pour it into our thermos bottles."
When they had carried out this idea, they set the bottles firmly in the sand, and crept back under cover.
"Shall we eat?" asked Dot, after watching the rain for some minutes in silence.
"Let's wait a while – till noon, if we can. We have only those two oranges and a half a dozen crackers. It'll be something to look forward to."
"There's still some tea and sugar – and one can of milk," the other reminded her. "You know we didn't use them, because we couldn't afford the water. Now it'll be different."
"I'd forgotten all about that!" exclaimed Linda, smiling. "Let's have tea and one cracker for lunch, and save the oranges for supper."
"But how can we ever hope to build a fire in this rain? We'd never find any dry sticks – and if we made one under here, we'd be smoked out."
"I hadn't thought of that. But we can make cold tea. If we leave the leaves in the water long enough, they'll flavor it – anyway, that's what I read in an ad one time."
"You think of everything, Linda! It's no wonder you've gotten out of a dozen disasters that would have killed an ordinary girl!"
"Now Dot!" protested the other girl, modestly. "Just so long as we get out of this one, I'll be satisfied."
To help pass the tediousness of the long gloomy day, the girls took a brisk walk encircling the entire island. Soaked as they were before they started, they decided it would be foolish to stop because of the rain. The sight of the ocean, wild and angry as it was because of the storm, aroused their wonder and admiration, and rewarded them for their wet excursion. In vain they squinted through the spyglasses for a glimpse of the autogiro, but even the island on which it had been left by Susie was obliterated from their vision.
It was no wonder, therefore, that they did not see the plane which brought Sergeant Worth and the two pilots to that other island. All unaware that Ladybug had flown home that afternoon, the girls finally settled down after dark to try to sleep under their improvised roof.
When they awakened the following morning, they were disappointed not to see the sun. It was still raining, but no longer in torrents; the storm had slackened to a monotonous drizzle.
"We better go," said Linda, as they breakfasted on tea and two crackers apiece. "I can keep the engine pretty well covered up. And this rain may keep up for days."
"I shouldn't care to keep up this reducing diet for days," observed Dot. "If we were only too fat, Linda, how we would welcome such a chance to starve ourselves!"
"Yes… If – Oh, Dot, don't you wish we had a thick steak now – smothered in mushrooms – "
"With creamed potatoes and fresh peas – "
"Fruit salad and cheese wafers – "
"Meringues, salted nuts, and coffee!"
Both girls suddenly laughed out loud.
"Anyway, we can both have our drinks of water," concluded Dot. "And they say thirst is worse than hunger."
"We'll fill both thermos bottles before we push off," said Linda. "But I'm counting on reaching the Ladybug before noon, and then we ought to get to the Georgia coast by two o'clock."
"Where we eat that dinner!" added Dot.
Carrying their belongings, they walked down to the beach in their rain-soaked clothing, and pushed the boat out towards the water. The ocean was still so high and so rough that Linda hesitated a moment.
"Do you think we can make it?" asked Dot, noticing the expression of doubt on her companion's face.
"Yes, I think so. That island didn't look far, yesterday."
"That's true. But I can't see it now, Linda. Suppose the storm had washed the Ladybug away – or even the whole island?"
Linda shuddered, realizing that there was that possibility. She took the glasses from her pocket, and peered through them in the direction she remembered the island to be.
"I can't see a thing but ocean," she stated. "The waves are so high. But let's go in that direction anyway. It must be there."
She turned to the motor-boat and attempted to start the engine, but for some minutes she labored in vain, for the engine refused to catch. Was everything in the world against them, Dot silently wondered, as she watched Linda repeat her efforts with infinite patience.
At last, however, there was a sputter, and the motor started. The girls pushed the boat into the water and climbed into it.
It would have been great sport riding the waves, had it not been for the grave danger attached. This was no sporting contest, with a life-guard in readiness to rescue them if anything went wrong! It was a race between life and death.
The wind had died down, however, and the sea was gradually growing calmer. Up and down the little boat bobbed, now in the trough of a wave, seemingly under a mountain of water – now rising again to a height that made the girls think of a scenic-railway at a pleasure park. Dot screamed with excitement, but Linda's lips were set in a firm line of determination, her attention riveted on the engine.
By some miracle, it seemed to the girls, the little boat forged triumphantly ahead, with its motor running smoothly. A feeling of confidence was gradually taking the place of fear, and Dot strained her eyes for the island that was their goal. Half an hour later she spotted it, and almost upset the boat in her joy.
"There it is, Linda!" she cried, excitedly. "Oh, Linda, we're saved! We're – " She stopped suddenly, hardly able to believe her eyes. The autogiro was gone!
"What's the matter, Dot?" asked Linda, unable to understand the abrupt end of her chum's rejoicing. "Anything wrong!"
"Yes… The Ladybug's gone!"
"What? Oh, it can't be!" Linda's voice was hoarse with terror. "Look again, Dot – you have the glasses."
Dot squinted her eyes, but was rewarded by no trace of the plane.
"You take a look, Linda," she suggested. "Maybe you can see better."
The other girl eagerly caught the glasses which her companion tossed, and with trembling fingers held them to her eyes. The island was in plain sight now, but it was a ghastly fact that the autogiro had completely disappeared.
Linda continued to gaze at the barren spot, her eyes fixed and staring, as if she were looking at death itself. Then, dropping the glasses into her lap, she seemed to be thinking intently.
"It's true, Dot," she said, in an expressionless tone. "Yet that must be the right island… Something has happened… I don't know whether the wind could have lifted the Ladybug – or whether that gangster came back for it… In any case, there's only one thing for us to do."
"Yes?" faltered Dot, biting her lips to keep back the tears. She must not fail Linda now, in her darkest hour.
"Turn the boat around, and make for the shore. We mustn't waste another drop of gasoline. It – won't last forever."
"Shall we go back to our island – if we can find it?" asked Dot, as she turned the wheel.
"No, we'll go straight west… Or is that the west? Oh, if we only had a compass, or the sun to guide us… But that must be the right direction."
Linda was speaking bravely, trying to keep her voice normal, and her companion took heart from her manner. The boat went forward in the opposite direction, presumably towards the coast.
Half an hour passed in silence, each girl intent upon her task. Linda took out her extra can of gasoline and filled the tank. Once Dot drank some water from the thermos bottle and reminded Linda of hers. All the while they continued to keep a sharp look-out for the coast.
Another hour passed, and the girls' hunger began to assault them. The rain continued to fall, and weariness stole over them both. They were too weak and too tired to talk.
At last Linda broke the silence by asking Dot to take another good look for the coast through the glasses. She did not add that it was vital this time, that the gasoline was running very low. On a rough sea like this, oars would be out of the question, even if the girls had been as strong as boys.
"I can't see anything but water," was the reply.
But just at that moment Linda saw something that held her speechless with terror. The boat was springing a leak! Water appeared to be pouring in by the bucket-full!
As the significance of this catastrophe dawned upon Linda, her throat grew dry and parched; the words with which she meant to tell Dot choked her so that she could not speak. How, oh how could she possibly inform her brave chum of what was literally their death sentence!
It was Dot, however, who spoke instead. Rather, she cried out hysterically,
"Linda, I see a boat! A steam-boat! Coming towards us!"
"Where?" gasped the other girl, her heart beating wildly between hope and fear.
"Right ahead! Look! You can see her without the glasses now!"
Linda shot a swift glance at the approaching boat, then looked again at the floor, where the water was fast deepening. Would the rescue come in time? And would the boat stop at their signal of distress?
Wild with excitement, both girls raised their arms and waved desperately at the approaching craft, until it was only fifty yards away. Then they both shouted with a power and volume that they would not have believed they possessed.
The oncoming boat decreased its speed until it was almost beside the girls' sinking craft. To their overwhelming joy and relief, they saw that it was stopping. A man appeared on the deck, and called to them in a pleasant voice.
"In trouble, girls?"
"Our boat's sinking!" shouted Linda to Dot's amazement, for the latter was still unaware of the immediate tragedy that was threatening them. "Can you take us aboard?"
"Sure!" he replied. "Wait till I get a rope ladder."
While he was gone, Linda pointed to the water in the boat, which by this time Dot had seen, and signaled to the other girl to say nothing of their experiences to this man, until they learned more about him. Linda's recent association with criminals had made her exceedingly wary.
"Pull up closer," instructed the man, as he returned with the ladder. "Now, can you climb?"
"Easily!" Dot assured him. "We're in knickers, anyhow."
"May we throw our stuff on board first?" inquired Linda, picking up the bag which contained, besides their few possessions, all the bank's money.
"Sure! Anything breakable in it?"
"Only a couple of mirrors," returned Dot, who had regained her cheerfulness with amazing speed. "And we're not afraid of bad luck," she added.
A moment later the girls climbed to safety, and pressed their rescuer's hand in gratitude. It seemed like a miracle to them both, and the old seaman was like an angel from heaven.
"How soon will we get to the coast?" asked Linda eagerly.
The man shook his head.
"We can't go to the coast," he replied. "We're headed for Cuba."
"But we must get back as soon as possible," pleaded Linda, beginning to wonder whether she was about to be kidnapped again.
"You were headed for the open ocean," the seaman informed her, to both girls' consternation. "And that's where we have to go. I can't stop at the United States… I'm awfully sorry…"
Chapter XVIII
Luck for Ted and Louise
Linda and Dot stood still on the deck of the old boat, grasping the rail with their hands, and looking intently at their rescuer. He was a typical old seaman, with tanned, roughened face, a gray beard, and kindly blue eyes.
"That was a narrow escape," he remarked. "What do you girls mean by going out on a rough sea like this, in a shell like you had?"
"We couldn't help it," Linda replied. "And we thought the boat was safe. We didn't know it was going to spring a leak… Would it take very long to run us to the coast, Mr. – Captain – ?"
"Smallweed," supplied the man. "And everybody calls me 'Cap'n'."
"Well, would it, Captain Smallweed?" repeated Linda, amused at the name. He ought to be at home on the island they had just come from, she thought – there were so many "small weeds" growing there!
"Too long fer me to stop," he replied, to the girls' dismay. "I got to get back to my family, in Havana." His blue eyes twinkled. "Why? What have you girls got in that bag, that's so important to deliver in a hurry?"
"You think we're boot-leggers!" laughed Dot. "Don't you, Captain?"
"I wouldn't be surprised at anything," he answered, smiling. "I've seen just as nice lookin' girls as you – "
"I'm afraid we're not very nice looking," sighed Linda, surveying their drenched, bedraggled clothing. "But we're really not boot-leggers… We want to get back so that we can telephone to our families. They probably think that storm was the end of us."
"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't go off my course. Like to, if I had the time – "
"Well, if you can't, you can't – that's all there is to it," said Linda, philosophically. "We're glad to be alive at all, and I don't suppose a couple of days will make any difference."
"How long do you think it will take you to get to Cuba?" put in Dot anxiously. There was no use fussing, of course, but she could not forget that her mother and father would be frantic by this time.
"I'm reckonin' on dockin' at Havana the fourth of July. This is only the first, but these are stormy seas, and we have to expect delays… Now come on inside, out o' this drizzle. You girls are drenched – I'll have to give you the only cabin I got. To get yourselves dry in."
Stooping over, he picked up Linda's tool-box, and finding it heavy, eyed it suspiciously.
"You girls gangsters?" he asked, unexpectedly. "Got any guns on you?"
Both girls felt themselves growing red at this accusation, yet they could not deny it wholly.
"That box has the tools in it which I used to fix up the engine of the motor-boat," Linda finally explained. "And you can take our word that we're not gangsters."
But they were exceedingly nervous as they followed the Captain to the cabin where there were two bunks, one on top of the other. Suppose he should decide to search them – and find not only the two revolvers, but all that money besides! He would never believe their story!
"When you get dry, I'll take you over the whole boat," he said. "I carry tobacco up the coast every couple of months. Used to have a sail-boat – that was the real thing! But this little lady's speedy – and better in a storm like we just had."
"How can we ever thank you enough, Captain Smallweed?" cried Dot, suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for their safety. "Our fathers will send you a handsome reward when we get back home."
"Never mind that," smiled the man. "I've got a girl of my own – she's married now – but she's still a kid to me, and I know how I'd want her treated… Now, you can bolt this door if you want to, so there won't be any danger of either of the two other fellows aboard coming in accidentally – and you can get yourselves dry."
"There's – there's just one thing, Captain," stammered Linda. "We're dreadfully hungry. Could we have a piece of bread, or anything to eat?"
"You poor kids!" he exclaimed, in a fatherly tone. "Come on down to the kitchen, and you can help yourselves."
Though the food he provided was not the steak dinner they had been dreaming about on the island, it tasted good to those two starved girls. Captain Smallweed made tea for them, and brought out bread and smoked sausages, and Linda and Dot ate every crumb of the repast.
"We were marooned on an island during that storm," Linda explained. "And we have had nothing but a couple of oranges and a few crackers for two days."
"Well, you'll get a good supper," the Captain promised them. "That's why I'm not givin' you more now. I'll knock on your door about eight o'clock, if you ain't awake before then. That's when we usually eat."
When the girls were finally alone in their cabin, they gazed first at their bag of money, then at each other, and suddenly started to laugh. It was such a ridiculous situation. During those lonely days of exile on the island they had pictured their return so differently. It would be a grand occasion, with exciting telephone calls to their families, a marvelous dinner at a hotel, perhaps a radio broadcast of their safe landing! Instead of all that, here they were, stowed away in a shabby boat, suspected of crime, and feasting on stale bread and hot dogs for their banquet! Worst of all there would be three weary days of waiting before informing the world of their safety! Yet they were thankful indeed that they had been rescued at all, and by a man as kind-hearted as the old sea captain.
"I don't really think he'll bother any more about that bag," said Linda, as she took off her wet shoes. "If only we can get it back to Jacksonville safely, from Cuba! If we only had the Ladybug!"
"It's a mystery where she could have vanished to," observed Dot. "But I suppose that is a small thing, compared to saving our lives."
"You'll never go anywhere with me again," sighed Linda. "Dot!" she exclaimed abruptly, "I'd forgotten all about my job!"
"I hadn't forgotten I was to start back North today," remarked the other girl. "Jim Valier was going to motor over and meet me at the station when my train came in."
"Poor Jim!" sighed Linda, little thinking that the young man had no intention of doing that. "He'll have a good wait. But Jim can always sleep, on any occasion."
"I guess he won't expect me… We must be reported as missing by now – in all the newspapers."
"Of course. I'd forgotten…"
The girls wrapped themselves in blankets and slept the rest of the afternoon, to waken in time to see the sun, which had appeared at last, just setting over the sea. Their clothing was still damp and disheveled, but they put it on and went up on deck to hunt their benefactor.
"We want you to let us cook," announced Dot, as she spied him. "We insist on making ourselves useful."
The man smiled pleasantly.
"All right," he agreed. "You can – tomorrow. But supper's ready now. Come on down."
They followed the Captain into the kitchen, where another man was placing a dish of potatoes on the wooden table, which did not boast of a cover.
"Meet Steve, ladies," her said – "my friend the pilot."
The girls nodded, and Dot asked, with anxiety, "But who's guiding the boat now, while Mr. Steve eats his supper?"
Both men laughed at her concern.
"There's another one besides us. He takes his turn, and so do I. We never all three eat or sleep at the same time."
It was a merry meal, though an exceedingly greasy one of fried potatoes and underdone bacon. The coffee, too, was none too good – for it was weak and muddy-looking. Nevertheless, both girls praised the supper extravagantly, for it tasted good to them, but they inwardly resolved to show the men the next day how food ought to be cooked.
The next two days passed pleasantly enough, for the girls were able to busy themselves with the meals, and the men's appreciation was plenty of reward for their efforts. In their off hours they relaxed by watching the ocean and scanning the sky for airplanes, the make of which Linda could often guess. Sometimes they played checkers with each other, or with Captain Smallweed, to the latter's delight. But never again was the suspicious-looking tool-box mentioned, until Linda herself handed it over to Steve, saying that she did not want to bother to take it to Havana.
By the time July third arrived, their boat was well out of the range of the yacht that was cruising in search of them, and on July fourth – the day that Jim Valier spotted the overturned motor-boat early in the morning – Captain Smallweed docked safely at Cuba.
"Where do you girls want to go now?" asked the Captain, as the party stepped ashore. "Want to come along home with me, and meet the wife? She can rig you up in some decent clothes."
"Thank you very much," replied Linda, "but we want to get to a telephone as soon as possible, so that we can get in touch with our families. So if you would just get us a taxi, and send us to the best hotel in Havana – "
"In those rigs?" inquired the other, in amazement. "Everybody will stare at you! They dress well in Cuba, you know."
"Oh, we're past caring about appearances," laughed Linda. "So stop that taxi for us, will you please, Captain?.. And thank you a thousand times for all you have done for us."
"You'll hear from our fathers soon," added Dot, as she too shook hands with the old man.
Cautiously protecting the bag, into which Linda had stuffed the revolvers under the money, the girls taxied to the best hotel in the city. The driver eyed them suspiciously, and the clerk at the desk stared at them as if they were hoboes. But he condescended to assign them a room when they showed evidence of paying in advance.
"We want a long-distance wire first of all," announced Linda. "We'd like to telephone from our rooms – "
She stopped abruptly, for two slender arms were suddenly thrust about her neck, and kisses were being pressed violently upon her lips and cheeks. Louise Mackay stood behind them! Louise, with her husband, both in flyers' suits.
Try as she could, the girl could not utter a word. The tears ran down her cheeks, and she continued to kiss first Linda and then Dot in the wildest ecstasy.
"I can't believe it!" she said at last. "Is it really, truly you, Linda darling?"
"What's left of us," replied Linda, laughing. "Did you ever see two such sights as we are?"
"I never saw anyone or anything in my life that looked half so good to me!" returned Louise, fervently. She stepped back and laid her hand on her husband's arm, for so far Ted had not had a chance to say anything, or be included in the welcome. "Tell me it's true, Ted – that I'm not dreaming!" she urged. "I simply can't believe it."
"It's the best, the truest thing in the world," the young man assured her.
"We were positive you were dead," Louise explained. "We had so much evidence to prove it – the empty island where you were marooned, the overturned motor-boat that Jim Valier spotted early this morning – "
"Jim Valier!" repeated Dot, in amazement. "Where would Jim see our old boat?"
"Jim and Ralph and your two fathers are on a yacht, searching for you. They broadcast by radio any news they get. And Ted and I have flown to every island anywhere near the coast. We finished searching them all, so we landed here this morning, just for a rest."
"Then you have a plane!" cried Linda, in delight. "You can take us back to Florida! I'd so hate to get into another boat – I simply loathe the sight of them."
"Do tell us what happened to you," urged Ted. "I don't understand how we missed you everywhere."
"It's a pretty long story," replied Dot. "I think we better phone our families first. They must be almost crazy."
"They are," agreed Ted. "You go up in your room and phone them while I go to a radio station and broadcast the news."
"And I'll tell you what I'll do in the meanwhile," offered Louise. "I'll go out and buy you some decent clothing!"