"Topping!" exclaimed Mostyn. "Keep your foot on that pad of canvas. Don't press too hard or the whole gadget1 may carry away."
Reefing was a difficult matter, for the boat was driving heavily and the canvas was as stiff as a board. Mostyn dared not risk lowering the sail. The little craft had to carry way to prevent her broaching-to and being swamped. It seemed incredible that in the short space of five or six minutes the hitherto calm sea should have worked up into a cauldron of crested2 waves and flying spindrift.
In the contest with the elements Mostyn temporized3. Putting the helm up slightly and easing off the sheet, he released the pressure on the canvas sufficiently4 to enable Mahmed and the two lascars to take in a couple of reefs. At the same time the boat was travelling fast but was well under control.
"Let's hope it won't blow any harder," thought Peter. "She won't stand much more wind, and she'd break her back if she had to ride to a sea-anchor."
One of the lascars came aft and reported that the reefing operation was complete. Peter put the helm down to bring the boat back on her course, when, with a report of a six-pounder quick-firing gun, the tightly stretched canvas parted. Cloth after cloth was rent in rapid succession until the severed5 sail streamed banner-wise before the howling wind.
Somewhat to Mostyn's surprise and satisfaction the boat showed no inclination7 to broach-to. Possibly the fluttering canvas offered sufficient resistance to the wind to enable her to answer to the helm.
The next task was to set the jib as a trysail. It was almost useless to expect the lascars to do that. Their knowledge of boat-sailing was very elementary, having been gained in handling their native craft, and occasionally the ship's boats under regulation rig and in charge of their British officers.
Ordering Mahmed to take Miss Baird's place at the leaking patch, Peter handed the tiller over to the girl. There was no need to caution her as to what was to be done. She knew perfectly8 well that safety depended upon her ability to keep the boat's stern end on to the following seas.
Mostyn had no fears on that score. He knew the girl's capability9 in that direction by this time. Thanking his lucky stars that he was not dependent upon the indifferent seamanship of the lascars, he went for'ard with the jib which Preston had to relinquish11 as a covering.
In almost total darkness Peter found the head and tack12 of the sail. Fortunately the split mainsail was still held by the luff ropes, thus enabling him to gather in the fiercely flogging fragments and secure the lower block of the main halliards.
To the latter he bent13 the head of the jib. It was now a fairly easy matter to hoist14 the diminutive15 triangle of canvas and sheet it home.
"She'll do," he exclaimed, as he relieved Olive at the helm.
The girl nodded in reply. She was too breathless to speak. Her brief struggle with the strongly kicking tiller had required all the strength at her command. There was, she discovered, a vast difference between the long tiller of a well-balanced sailing dingy16 on the sheltered waters of the Hamoaze, and the short "stick" of a heavy ship's boat on the storm-tossed Indian Ocean.
Through the long hours till morning the boat ran before the storm. Never was day more welcome. At dawn the wind piped down and the sea moderated. The boat had made a fair amount of water, not only through the leaking patch, but over the gunwale, and, in order to keep the leak under, one of the lascars had to keep his hand down on the canvas stopper while the other plied17 the baler. This they had to do turn and turn about throughout the night, and by dawn they were both pretty well done up.
By nine o'clock, when the sun had gathered considerable strength, the wind had practically died away, and the sea had resumed a smooth aspect save for a long, regular swell18. Only a few ragged19 wisps of canvas and the now almost idle and ridiculously inadequate20 trysail remained as a reminder21 of the night of peril22.
In vain Mostyn looked for signs of land. Nothing was in sight save sea and sky. To make matters worse, the boat, which in that light breeze would have made about three knots under her mainsail, was now barely carrying steerage way. At that rate she might take weeks to fetch land—if she ever did so at all.
Breakfast over—it was a more substantial meal than their previous ones in the boat—Mostyn set the lascars to work to rig up jury canvas. The damaged mizzen-sail, that had served as a tent, was pressed into service, together with the tarpaulin23. These were "bonnetted" together, bent to the gaff, and sent aloft as a square sail, with the result that the boat's speed increased perceptibly. Yet there was still a great difference between her normal rate and that under the jury canvas.
Smoking a cigarette after the meal, Peter let his thoughts run riot. He wondered what his parents were doing; whether they had had by this time any report of the West Barbican. If so, were they mourning him as dead?
"Rather rough luck on them," soliloquized the youthful optimist24; "but won't they be surprised when I roll up again?"
Then his thoughts went to the Brocklington steel contract. He wondered whether the Kilba Protectorate officials had sent to Bulonga for the consignment25. It seemed to him rather an idiotic26 thing to do, to have the stuff dumped down in that out-of-the-way hole, when the West Barbican might, with equal facility, have delivered it at Pangawani. Perhaps, after all, it was for the best. The stuff might have gone down in the ship, in which case Captain Mostyn would be a ruined man.
The mysterious loss of the West Barbican had been a source of frequent perplexity to Peter. He was thinking about it now, trying to put forward a satisfactory theory as to the cause of the explosion. As far as he was aware there were no explosives on board, a consignment of gelignite, for use on the Rand, having been landed at Durban.
His reveries were interrupted by one of the lascars shouting: "Sail on port bow, sahib!"
Peter sat up. The foot of the improvised27 square sail intercepted28 the view for'ard. It was not until he made his way to the bows and stood upon the mast thwart29 that he saw the craft which the lascar had indicated.
She was still a long way off, only her canvas and the upper portions of her hull30 showing above the sky line. At that distance it was impossible, without the aid of a telescope or binoculars31 (neither of which was on the boat), to distinguish her rig or in which direction she was heading. As she was a sailing craft, and, taking for granted that she carried the same wind as the boat, the chances were that she would soon disappear from sight.
Nevertheless Mostyn meant to leave nothing undone32 that might attract the stranger's attention. Rockets were fired in the hope that the loud detonation33 might be audible at that distance. The light they gave out would be unseen in the terrific glare of the sun.
At Preston's suggestion strips of canvas were soaked in lamp oil and set alight at the end of the boat-hook. These flares34 gave out a dense35 smoke that rose to an immense height in the now still and sultry air.
For the best part of half an hour these signals were repeated at frequent intervals36. Then, to everyone's disappointment, the strange sail faded from view.
"It's not to be wondered at," remarked Preston. "You know what a look-out at sea is like; and, in any case, they don't keep a fellow on watch to see what's coming up astern."
"They ought to," declared Olive.
The Acting37 Chief was sitting up, his back supported by some spare oilskins folded over the after thwart.
At the girl's retort he winked38 solemnly with the eye that was not covered with bandages.
"Do we?" he asked. "Look astern now."
To the surprise of everyone else in the boat a large sailing craft was bowling39 along dead in their wake. She was now a little less than a mile away, and had evidently been attracted by the signals made to the craft that had so recently been sighted in vain.
"A rum sort of packet, by Jove!" exclaimed Peter.
"A dhow, my sweet youth," explained Preston. "'Tisn't often you find 'em so far south, but you'll see shoals of them up along the coast from Mozambique and Zanzibar right up to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf40. Clumsy-looking hookers, but they can shift."
It was Mostyn's first sight of an Arab dhow. He had seen plenty of Chinese junks in Shanghai whilst he was on the Pacific trade. This craft reminded him of them, only its rig was more in accord with Western ideas. End-on it was impossible to see that the masts raked at different angles, but the well-drawing lateen sails and the "bone in her teeth" indicated that she was a swift craft ably managed. Even in the light air she was moving at about six knots.
The Wireless41 Officer leant forward and whispered in Preston's ear.
"S'pose she's all jonnick, old man?" he asked.
"Sure," replied the Acting Chief. "The slave-dhow and the gun-runner are as dead as the dodo in these parts. Probably she's a trader from Reunion, blown out of her course by the late hurricane. Nothing to worry about, old son."
"Right-o!" rejoined Mostyn, and ordered the lascars to lower the sail and to stand by with the painter.
By this time the dhow, which was coming up "hand over fist", was about a cable's length astern. From the boat it was impossible to see the helmsman of the overtaking craft, owing to the foot of the lateen sail, but in her low bows could be discovered three Arabs intently looking in the direction of the now motionless little craft.
Presently a high-pitched voice called out an order. The hitherto listless Arabs for'ard sprang into activity. With a smartness that would have evoked42 admiration43 from the most exacting44 seaman10, the lateen yards were lowered and squared fore6 and aft, while the dhow, still carrying way, ranged alongside the West Barbican's boat.
"Any port in a storm," thought Peter, as the lascar for'ard threw the painter into the hands of one of the Arab crew. "I wonder what we're in for now?"
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1
gadget
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| n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿 | |
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2
crested
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| adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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3
temporized
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| v.敷衍( temporize的过去式和过去分词 )；拖延；顺应时势；暂时同意 | |
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4
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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5
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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6
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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7
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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8
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
capability
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| n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
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10
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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11
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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12
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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13
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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14
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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15
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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16
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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17
plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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18
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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19
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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20
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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21
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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22
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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23
tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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24
optimist
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| n.乐观的人，乐观主义者 | |
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25
consignment
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| n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物 | |
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26
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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27
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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28
intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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29
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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30
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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31
binoculars
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| n.双筒望远镜 | |
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32
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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33
detonation
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| n.爆炸；巨响 | |
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34
flares
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| n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开 | |
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35
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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36
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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37
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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38
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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39
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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40
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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41
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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42
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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43
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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44
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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