Pluck and Luck #139: Jack Wright and His Deep Sea Monitor — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Tle schooner at that time was out of sight down the coast, behind a projection of the land, and not another vessel was in vicw. _ Moreover, the savages had disappeared in among the trees. Fritz and Tim socn joined the young inventor, and they slipped down the anchor cable into ten feet of water and walked ashore. | The portable rowboat lay high and dry upon the beach. Without pausing the three divers divested themselves of their weights, and boldly proceeded toward the dense shrub- bery where the Caribs had disappeared, and easily found the trail they had made. It led Jack and his triends across the island toward the rocks, which lined that side, and they presently saw the na- tives among them. The professor lay upon the ground in a narrow defile be- tween the rocks, and the Caribs were heaping brush and shrubs, dried up by the sun, around him in a great mass. “Look!” shouted Jack. “They inténd to burn him to death! ” “Wot vhen [I knows dot!” said Fritz, savagely. Besides their rifles and pistols our friends were armed with small hand-grenades, loaded with slugs and horrorite—Jack’s patent explosive—and as soon as the savages saw them com- ing they set up a fearful chorus of yells, and began to fire upon them. “Give it to them, boys!” shouted Jack, energetically. fhey flung the bombs among the Caribs, and, striking the ground, the missiles burst with a roar of thunder, dealing de- struction to every one and everything in the way of the flying fragments. With their souls sic with terror the yelling horde scat- tered. Many of them were blown to pieces, but those who remained fled up on the rocky heights ‘over the rift wherein lay the pro- tessor, and from the top seat down shower after shower of - weapons. One of them had set fire to the fagots piled around the professor, and as Jack saw the smoke begin to pour up in dense clouds, he rushed forward, got into the rift, and began to scatter the embers right and left. es No sooner had the Caribs upon the rocks seen what he was doing than several of them began to roll a rock toward the edge of the rift to send it crashing down upon Jack and Hopkins. xi. “Belay thar!” roared Tim, excitedly. “Look aloft, Jack! Thunderation, lad, they’re a-goin’ ter smash yer flat!” - “Shood ’em! Shood ’em!” Fritz bellowed, leveling his rifle. They both fired at the designing Caribs, and the moment the se? explosive bullets struck the men they were aimed at they burst inside of them. ae Again and again Fritz and Tim fired from their repeating rifles, but no sooner did one man fall at the rolling bowlder, when another took his place. Jack had not been idle in the meantime, however, for as "soon as he reached the side of Hopkins he cut the professor’s bonds and dragged him out of the rift just as the rock came - erashing down. 3 Se Se the savages had not had so far to roll the rock both would have perished; as it was, particles of the bowlder broke off as _ it came flying down, striking the sidés of the rift and merci- lessly pelting Jack and Hopkins. Beit Hastening to get away from beneath their enemies, they - joined Tim and Fritz, and the four opened fire upon the Caribs as and drove them back cut of sight, leaving several behind Wounded and dead. | { ue x, “Ate you hurt, Hopkins?” demanded the boy, in a breathless \y > ner > v 4 2) te ; f ty Gee eee ee fades oy FR Seen a Ria | 3 ‘ anaes JACK WRIGHT “AND ‘HIS DEEP SBA MONITOR, |of the island to the beach, where they had left the Sea Ser-— ‘the suri; + Me yee Ce Fear we i a et ee ea % ; pe * “Only shaken up a bit—nothing to speak of, dear boy,” was the professor’s reply. : te “Then away with you all to the monitor!” iP Further fighting was useless now, as they knew in which s direction to look for the sunken treasure, and they had Hop- — : kins rescued, | as Ceasing hostilities, therefore, they hastened across the end pent anchored. iatae But the monitor was gone! ct Cries of alarm and surprise escaped the lips of the quartette, and Jack pointed out at the sea, and cried in dismay: “is “See there! The pirate has got her!” : The Black Hawk was sailing away to the northward with the . monitor in tow, for our friends had scarcely gone to the res- NS cue of Hopkins when Blackbeard’s vessel came around the end © of the island and swooped down upon the deserted Sea Ser- pent. f j 5 A, blank silence of several minutes followed their startling : 3 discovery, and they might have given away to their despair — es had Jack not said: | a “Don’t give in, boys—there’s a chance for us yet.” Be “How?” eagerly asked Tim, stumping up and down ex- 4 citedly. : “Don’t you see how light the breeze is?” see “Ay, ay, lad.” ee “Haven’t we got the rowboat left to pursue the pirate?” “SS “Hoop-la!” yelled Fritz, delightedly. “Gief me an oar an vonet! ” a “Set the boat afloat! ’ There are the oars lying upon, theiiaas beach. \In this light wind we can easily overhaul the moni- tor, and as we have got plenty of ammunition left for our nat weapons we can give that pirate a hot tussle for the boat! — Lively now, boys; lively!” They set to work with a will, and, getting the metallic boat | afloat beyond the breakers, they all got in, and Tim and Fritz ¢ rowed Sites the pirate. and yet the ie strong, experienced oarsmen soon closed ae a the gap between the ship and themselves, and the pirate saw them, ; e The remainder of the savages came trooping down to the ~ shore as they put off in the boat, shouting, gesticulating and firing spears and arrows after them, some even plunging into but they did no harm to our friends, and the boat ee sped out of their range presently. wee Within an hour the rowhoat was within a cable’s length ae of the monitor, and the pirate sent a dozen of his ruffianly - crew on board of the monitor armed with various weapons to. ae repel our friends. | | e ie In the meantime, a gun was trained to bear upon the rows boat from the deck of the Black Hawk, and just as our friends were upon the point of catching up with the monitor, it was Pe: fired. « A tremendous report, a blinding belch of fire and onde followed, and with a howl the ball came ae straight toward the boat. poe It struck—there was a crash—a cry from the four friends— © the boat’s bow went to pieces, flying in all directiens, and then there resounded a hoarse cry of exultation from the we: robbers. ig : Flung from the smashed boat-in all directions, Jack and era friends disappeared for a moment beneath the waves, and not — a thing remained upon the surface to mark the spot where our , friends had been rowing in safety a few moments before. = The pirates cheered their huge, hulking, black-bearded cap-_ iain, who had fired the disastrous shot, and, gathering head- way in the freshening breeze, the Black Hawk sayly soe along, Gtaseine the pauline monitor with it. ite GOMIIiGcROOKS 4 = * oe =