Part 5 (1/2)

”I hung it up on the switchboard lamp bracket,” said Tom.

”Well, it isn't there now,” declared Jack.

”What's that isn't there now?” asked Arnold at that moment climbing the companion-way from the cabin.

”Tom's horseshoe,” Jack replied. ”He says he hung it on the lamp over the switchboard and now it's gone.”

”Oh, that,” scorned Arnold. ”That was just a little bit of a mule shoe.

That wasn't a real full-sized horse shoe.”

”All right, Smarty,” bridled Tom. ”Just tell us where you threw it overboard and we'll make you go dive for it.”

”It was swinging around and making so much noise I took it down and hung it on the bracket there by the compa.s.s,” replied Arnold pointing to the missing article hung over the place indicated.

”Good night,” cried Jack. ”Here we've been trying to steer a compa.s.s course in a thick fog all the way from Mobile with that thing there! No wonder we've been hoodooed.”

”Why, what's the matter?” innocently inquired Arnold.

Jack's answer was to take the horseshoe from its resting place and make as if to fling it overboard. He restrained himself, however, and turning to Arnold said quietly:

”Look here, young man, you evidently do not know how sensitive a thing the compa.s.s is. But if you had done a thing like that on some vessels they would have thrown you overboard. You have rendered the compa.s.s useless and we have been steering by a crazy instrument. Your horseshoe hanging there has deflected the needle to such an extent that we cannot even guess where we have been going.”

”I'm sorry,” contritely answered Arnold, ”but I didn't understand it that way. I won't do that again, that's sure.”

”Thanks, awfully,” scornfully answered Tom. ”Maybe now you'll agree that the thing is bigger than you imagined at first.”

”You're right,” was Arnold's reply. ”A little thing can be mighty big in some cases. I'll remember this for a long time.”

”Boys, I believe the fog is thinning out somewhat,” announced Harry.

”Maybe the old horseshoe is bringing us luck after all.”

”I believe you're more than half right,” responded Jack.

”We'd better be on the lookout for breakers and things inside as well as outside,” declared Tom. ”Remember what that Carlos de Sneakodorus Madero did to us when our backs were turned.”

”Sure enough, we ought to set a guard on this fellow,” agreed Harry.

”I'll volunteer to go and 'red up' the cabin as the Dutchman says, and incidentally keep an eye on his royal joblots.”

The boy descended to the cabin and in furtherance of his design walked to a locker and extracted an automatic pistol which he placed in a convenient pocket. He then busied himself about the place in small tasks that always kept him within sight of the rescued man.

No effort was made by the stranger to engage the boy in conversation, however, and he worked away undisturbed. Occasionally the bulldog would enter and after sniffing suspiciously at the prostrate figure of the rescued man would emit a low growl of disapproval and retreat. He was not disposed to be friendly.

On one of his trips to the forward cabin Harry noticed the clothes belonging to the newcomer lying on the floor where they had been dropped when he had been put into the berth. Thinking to care for them by straightening and drying them, the boy picked up the first garment in the pile. It was a vest and as he raised it a collection of small articles fell from the pocket to the floor.

Among the contents was a metal match box which fell and slid across the floor, striking, on the locker as it dropped.

”Well, that's too bad. The gentleman will have wet matches, I guess,”

thought the boy. ”I'd better empty those wet ones out and give him some dry ones against his waking and needing some.”