The Boy Traders; Or, The Sportsman's Club Among the Boers

“Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”

The captain of the Stranger looked toward the companion-ladder, up which his nephew had just disappeared, and motioned to Frank to close the door.

“That is the fourth time I have seen you look at that barometer during the last half hour,” continued Frank.

“Yes, and I find it lower every time I look at it,” answered the old sailor. “It is coming; trotting right along, too.”

“What is coming? Another tornado?”

“No, a regular old-fashioned cyclone.”

“I declare, it don’t seem to me that the schooner can stand much more pounding,” said Frank, drawing a long breath.

“Oh, she is good for a dozen battles like the one she has just passed through,” continued Uncle Dick, encouragingly. “Give me a tight craft, a good crew, and plenty of elbow-room, and I would much rather be afloat during a storm than on shore. There are no trees, chimneys, or roofs to fall on us here.”

“But we haven’t plenty of elbow-room,” said Frank, somewhat anxiously. “The islands are scattered around here thicker than huckleberry bushes in a New England pasture, and they are all surrounded with coral reefs, too.”

“I know it; but it is our business to keep clear of the coral reefs. Now, let me see how much you know. Where’s the schooner?”

Frank, who now occupied his old position as sailing-master of the vessel, took a chart from Uncle Dick’s desk, and pointed out the position of their little craft, which he had marked with a red lead-pencil after taking his observation at noon.

“Very good,” said Uncle Dick. “Which side of the equator are we?”

“South,” answered Frank.

“How many motions have cyclones?”

“Two; rotary and progressive.”

“Which way do they revolve in the Southern hemisphere?”

“In the same direction that the sun appears to move.”

“Correct. Now, suppose that while you were in command of the Tycoon, you had found out that there was a cyclone coming—”

“I’m afraid I shouldn’t have found it out,” interrupted Frank, “for I don’t know what the signs are.”

“But we will suppose that you knew all about it. After you have seen one or two, you will know how to tell when they are coming. We will suppose, now, that a cyclone comes up, and that the wind blows strongly from the northwest. Which way from you is the centre of the storm?”

“Southwest.”

“And which way is it coming?”

“Toward the southeast.”

“Then if you bore away to the southwest you would escape, of course?”

“No, sir; I should probably insure my destruction, for I should sail straight into the vortex. A northeasterly course would soon take me out of danger.”

“Yes, you would get out of danger that way, but how soon I don’t know. The paths of some of these hurricanes are a thousand miles broad. You’ll do, however, and you are a very good boy to learn your lesson so well.”

“Shall I go to the head?” asked Frank, with a laugh.

The last time we saw the members of the Sportsman’s Club, they had just found Frank Nelson after a long separation from him. Their vessel was lying in the harbor of Honolulu; Captain Barclay, the wounded commander of the whaler, had been taken to a hospital on shore; his ship, the Tycoon, had passed through the hands of the American consul, who placed a new captain aboard of her with orders to take her to the States, where she belonged; and for the first time in long weeks the Club were free from excitement, and had leisure to sit down and calmly talk over the adventures that had befallen them, and the exploits they had performed since leaving home.

They had many things to converse about, as we know, and some of their number had reason to feel elated over what they had done. Walter had been a hero for once in his life, for had he not been captured by robbers, who believed him to be somebody else, been confined in Potter’s ranche, and held as a hostage for the chief of the band who was a prisoner in the fort? That was the worst predicament that Walter had ever been in, and it was no wonder that there was a warm place in his heart for Dick Lewis and Bob Kelly, the men who had rescued him from his perilous situation.

Archie Winters was also a hero, for he had lassoed and ridden the wild horse which had so long defied all efforts to capture him, and would in all probability have given him, in a few days more, into the possession of his lawful owner, Colonel Gaylord, had not he and his two friends, Fred and Eugene, unfortunately stumbled upon Zack and Silas, the trappers who robbed the emigrant. One thing made Archie hug himself with delight every time he thought of the various exciting incidents that happened while he remained in the trappers’ company, and that was, that Zack and Silas did not get the million dollars after all. He laughed outright when he remembered how astounded and enraged they were to find that the box, which they supposed was filled with nuggets and gold-dust, contained nothing but a small brass machine something like the works of a clock. Archie wondered what had become of the hospitable Pike, and whether or not he had succeeded in putting his machine together again, and running his quartz mill with it.

But while the members of the Club gave to Walter and Archie all the credit which their adventures and achievements demanded, they were unanimous in according the lion’s share of praise to Frank Nelson, who had brought himself safely out of a predicament, the like of which the boys had never heard of before. It seemed almost impossible that one who had been “shanghaied” and thrust into the forecastle of a whale-ship to do duty as a common sailor, should, in so short a time and by sheer force of character, have worked his way to the quarter-deck, and into a position for which only men of years and experience are thought to be qualified. But they had abundant evidence that such was the fact. There was a witness in the person of the trapper, who was kidnapped at the same time, and who had escaped in a manner so remarkable that even Uncle Dick, who had seen a world of marvellous things, said the same feat could not be performed again under like circumstances. Besides, the boys had seen Frank on the Tycoon’s quarter-deck, had heard him give orders that were promptly obeyed, had messed with him in his cabin, and he had brought them safely into the harbor of Honolulu, beating the swift little Stranger out of sight on the way.

As for Frank himself, he was very well satisfied with what he had done, and often declared that an adventure which, at first, threatened to terminate in something serious, had had a most agreeable ending. His forced sojourn on the Tycoon and all the incidents that had happened during that time—the sight of the first whale he ever struck coming up on a breach close in front of his boat, and looming up in the air like a church steeple; the excessive fatigue that followed the long hours spent in cutting in and trying out; the sleepless nights; the days and weeks of suspense he had endured; the race and the desperate battle under a broiling sun he had had in Mr. Gale’s boat on the day Captain Barclay deserted him; the fight with the natives at the Mangrove Islands, and the rescue of the prisoners—all these things would have seemed like a dream to Frank now, had it not been for the large callous spots on the palms of his hands, which had been brought there by handling heavy oars and by constant pulling at tarred ropes. The sight of these recalled very forcibly to his mind the days and nights of toil which sometimes tested his strength and endurance so severely that he hardly expected to live through them. Nothing could have tempted him to submit to the same trials again, but now that they were all over and he was safe among friends once more, he would not have sold his experience at any price.

The Stranger remained at the Sandwich Islands three weeks, and during that time the boys saw everything of interest there was to be seen. Eugene, who was impatient to get ashore to see how the “savages” lived, was quite astonished when his brother informed him that the natives were considered to be the most generally educated people in the world; that there was scarcely a man, woman, or child of suitable age among them who could not read and write; that they had contributed a goodly sum of money to the Sanitary Commission during our late war; that they had sent a good many men to serve in our army and navy; and that among them were a brigadier-general, a major, and several officers of lower grade. Eugene could hardly believe it; but when he got ashore and saw the fine hotel erected by the government at a cost of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, the prison, hospital, churches, and school-houses, he was obliged to confess that he was among civilized people. Frank and Archie were equally astonished at the familiar appearance of things, and told their Southern friends that if they could imagine how Honolulu would look without the bananas, palm, and tamarind trees, they could tell exactly how the majority of New England villages looked.

The first Sunday the Club spent ashore they went to the seaman’s chapel to hear Father Damon preach to the sailors; and the next day they hired horses, a pack-mule, and guides for a ride around the island. This was a great relief to them, especially to Dick and Bob, for it gave them a taste of the frontier life to which they had so long been accustomed. They were all glad to find themselves on horseback once more; so they journeyed very leisurely, and the ride, which could easily have been accomplished in four days, consumed the best part of eight.

Having explored Oahu pretty thoroughly, the Club returned on board the Stranger, which set sail for Hilo in the island of Hawaii, which place they reached after a rough passage of four days. At Hilo—the town has been devastated by a tidal wave since the Club visited it—they had their first view of a sport for which the natives of these islands are so famous—swimming with the surf-board. It was a fine, not to say a thrilling sight to see a party of men, some of whom were lying, others kneeling, and still others standing erect upon boards which seemed scarcely large enough to support their weight, shooting towards the beach with almost railroad speed, closely followed by a huge comber that seemed every instant to be on the point of overwhelming them. The grace and skill exhibited by the swimmers made the feat appear very easy of accomplishment, and after watching the bathers for a few minutes, Eugene declared that he could do it as well as anybody, and dared Archie to get a board somewhere and go into the water with him.

“Find a board yourself, and see if I am afraid to follow where you dare lead,” was Archie’s prompt reply; and to show that he meant what he said, he pulled off his jacket and threw it on the sand.

“Now, Archie,” remonstrated Frank, “I wouldn’t undertake anything I was certain to make a failure of, if I were you. You can’t get beyond the surf to save your life.”

“I’d like to know if I can’t duck my head and let a billow pass over me as well as anybody?”