A Man to His Mate Read online

  CHAPTER V

  RAINEY SCORES

  With it went a figure. Rainey caught sight of a ghastly face, a mouththat shouted vainly for help in the pandemonium, and was instantlystoppered with strangling brine, pop-eyes appealing in awful fright asSandy was washed away in the cascade. The halyards were held on the pinwith a turn and twist that Rainey swiftly loosened, lifting the coilfree, making a fast loop, and thrusting head and arms through it as heflung himself after the roustabout.

  Even as he dived he heard the bellow of Lund, knowing instinctively theperil of the schooner by its actions, though ignorant of the accident.

  "Back that jib! Back it, blast yore eyes! Ba-ck--"

  Then Rainey was clubbing his way through the race of water to where heglimpsed an upflung arm. Sandy was in oilskins and sea-boots, he hadhardly a chance to save himself, however expert. And it flashed overRainey's mind that, like many sailors, the lad had boasted that he couldnot swim. His boots would pull him under as soon as the force of thewaves, that were tossing him from crest to crest, should be suspended.Rainey himself was borne on their thrust, clogged by his own equipment,linked to life only by the halyard coil.

  A great bulk wallowed just before him, the helpless body of the bowheadwhale, the killers darting in a mad melee for its head. Then a figurewas literally hurled upon the slippery mass of the mammal, its graybelly plain in the welter, a living raft against which the waves brokeand tossed their spray.

  Clawing frantically, Sandy clutched at the base of the enormous pectoralfin, clinging with maniacal strength, mad with fear. Striking out tolittle purpose, save to help buoy himself, blinded by the flying scudand broken crests, Rainey felt himself upreared, swept impotently on andslammed against the slimy hulk, just close enough to Sandy to grasp himby the collar, as the whale, stung by a killer's tearing at its oilytongue, flailed with its fin and the two of them slid down its body,deep under water.

  Rainey fought against the suffocation and the fierce desire to gasp andrelieve his tortured lungs. The lad's weight seemed to be carrying himdown as if he was a thing of lead, but Rainey would not relax his grip.He could not. He had centered all his energy upon the desire to saveSandy, and his nerve centers were still tense to that last consciousdemand.

  There came a swift, painful constriction of his chest that his failingsenses interpreted only as the end of things. Then his head came outinto the blessed air and he gulped what he could, though half of it waswater.

  The _Karluk_ was into the wind and they were in what little lee therewas, dragging aft at the end of the halyards, being fetched in towardthe rail by the mighty tugs of Lund, a weird sight to Rainey's smartingeyes as he caught sight of the giant, with red hair uncovered, his beardwhipping in the wind, his black glasses still in place, making some sortof a blessed monster out of him.

  Rainey had his left fist welded to the line, his right was set inSandy's collar, and Sandy's death clutch had twined itself into Rainey'soilskins, though the lad was limp, and his face, seen through the wateryfilm that streamed over it, set and white.

  A dozen arms shot down to grasp him. He felt the iron grip of Lund uponhis left forearm, almost wrenching his arm from its socket as he wasinhauled, caught at by body and legs and deposited on the deck of theschooner, that almost instantly commenced to go about upon its formercourse. Again he heard the bellow of the blind giant, as if it had beena continuation of the order shouted as he had gone overboard.

  "Ba-ack that jib to win'ard! Ba-ck it, you swabs!"

  The _Karluk_ came about more smartly this time, swinging on the upheavalof a wave and rushing off with ever-increasing speed. Lund bent overhim, asking him with a note that Rainey, for all his exhaustion,interpreted as one of real anxiety:

  "How is it with you, matey? Did ye git lunged up?"

  Rainey managed to shake his head and, with Lund's boughlike arm forsupport, got to his feet, winded, shaken, aching from his pounding andthe crash against the whale.

  "Good man!" cried Lund, thwacking him on the shoulder and holding him upas Rainey nearly collapsed under the friendly accolade.

  Sandy was lying face down, one hunter kneeling across him, kneading hisribs to bellows action, lifting his upper body in time to the pressure,while another worked his slack arms up and down.

  "I tank he's gone," said Hansen. "Swallowed a tubful."

  "That was splendid, Mr. Rainey! Wonderful! It was brave of you!"

  Peggy Simms stood before Rainey, clinging to the mainstays, a differentgirl to the one that he had known. Her red lips were apart, showing theclean shine of her teeth, above her glowing cheeks her gray eyessparkled with friendly admiration, one slender wet hand was held outeagerly toward him.

  "Why," said Rainey, in that embarrassment that comes when one knows hehas done well, yet instinctively seeks to disclaim honors, "any onewould have done that. I happened to be the only one to see it."

  "I'm not so sure of that," replied the girl, and Rainey thought her lipcurled contemptuously as she glanced toward Carlsen at the wheel. YetCarlsen, he fancied, had full excuse for not having made the attempt,busied as he had been adding needed strength to the wheel.

  "Oh, it was not what he did, or failed to do," said the girl, and thistime there was no mistaking the fact that she emphasized her voice withcontempt and made sure that it would carry to Carlsen. "He said itwasn't worth while."

  Her eyes flashed and then she made a visible effort to control herself."But it was very brave of you, and I want to ask your pardon," sheconcluded, with the crimson of her cheeks flooding all her face beforeshe turned away, and made abruptly for the companion.

  A little bewildered, the touch of her slim but strong fingers stillsensible to his own, Rainey went to the wheel.

  "Shall I take it over, Mr. Carlsen?" he asked. "It's my watch."

  Carlsen surveyed him coolly. Either he pretended not to have heard thegirl's innuendo or it failed to get under his skin.

  "You'd better get into some dry togs, Rainey," he said. "And I'llprescribe a stiff jorum of grog-hot. Take your time about it." Rainey,conscious of a wrenched feeling in his side, a growing nausea andweakness, thanked him and took the advice. Half an hour later, save fora general soreness, he felt too vigorous to stay below, and went on deckagain. Sandy had been taken forward. He encountered the hunter, Deming,and asked after the roustabout.

  "Born to be hanged," answered the hunter with more friendliness than hehad ever exhibited. "They pumped it out of him, and got his own pump toworkin'. He'll be as fit as a fiddle presently. Asking for you."

  "I'll see him soon," said Rainey, and again offered relief to Carlsen,which the doctor this time accepted.

  "Miss Simms misunderstood me, Rainey," he said easily. "My intent was,that Sandy could never stay on top in those seas, and that it was idleto send a valuable man after a lout who was as good as dead. If ithadn't been for the whale you'd never have landed him. And the killersgot the whale," he added, with his cynical grin.

  So he had overheard. Rainey wondered whether the girl would accept theamended statement if it was offered. At its best interpretation it wascallous.

  When Hansen took over the watch Rainey went below to Sandy. Lund haddisappeared, but he found the giant in the triangular forecastle bySandy's bunk.

  "That you, Rainey?" Lund asked as he heard the other's tread. Then hedropped his voice to a whisper:

  "The lad's grateful. Make the most of it. If he wants to spillennything, git all of it."

  But Sandy seemed able to do nothing but grin sheepishly. He was halfdrunk with the steaming potion that had been forced down him.

  "I'll see you later, Mister Rainey," he finally stammered out. "See youlater, sir. You--I--"

  Lund suddenly nudged Rainey in the ribs.

  "Never mind now," he whispered.

  A sailor had come into the forecastle with an extra blanket for Sandy,contributed from the hunters' mess.

  "That's all right, Sandy," said Rainey. "Better try to get some sleep."

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bsp; The roustabout had already dropped off. The seaman touched his temple inan old-fashioned salute.

  "That was a smart job you did, sir," he said to Rainey.

  The latter went aft with Lund through the hunters' quarters. They wereseated under the swinging lamp which had been lit in the gloom of thegale, playing poker, as usual. But all laid down their cards as Raineyappeared.

  "Good work, sir!" said one of them, and the rest chimed in withexpressions that warmed Rainey's heart. He felt that he had won his wayinto their good-will. They were human, after all, he thought.

  "Glad to have you drop in an' gam a bit with us, or take a hand in agame, sir," added Deming.

  Rainey escaped, a trifle embarrassed, and passed through the alley thatwent by the cook's domain into the main cabin. Tamada was at work, butturned a gleam of slanting eyes toward Rainey as they passed the opendoor. The main cabin was empty.

  "Come into my room," suggested Lund. "I want to talk with you."

  He stuffed his pipe and proffered a drink before he spoke.

  "Best day's work you've done in a long while, matey," he said quietly."Take Deming's offer up, an' mix in with them hunters. An' pump thetkid, Sandy. Pump him dry. He'll know almost as much as Tamada, an' he'llcome through with it easier."

  "Just what are you afraid of?" asked Rainey.

  "Son," said Lund simply, "I'm afraid of nothing. But they're primed forsomethin', under Carlsen. We'll be makin' Unalaska ter-morrer or thenext day. Here's hopin' it's the next. An' we've got to know what toexpect. Did you know that the skipper has had another bad spell?"

  "No. When?"

  "Jest a few minnits ago. Cryin' for Carlsen like a kid for its nurse an'bottle. The doc's with him now. An' I'm beginnin' to have a hunch what'swrong with him. Here's somethin' for you to chew on: Inside offorty-eight hours there's goin' to be an upset aboard this hooker an'it's up to me an' you to see we come out on top. If not--"

  He spread out his arms with the great, gorilla-like hands at the end ofthem, in a gesture that supplanted words. Beyond any doubt Lund expectedtrouble. And Rainey, for the first time, began to sense it as somethingapproaching, sinister, almost tangible.

  "You drop in on the hunters an' have a little game of poker ter-night,"said Lund emphatically.

  "I haven't got much money with me," said Rainey.

  "Money, hell!" mocked Lund. "They don't play for money. They play forshares in the gold. They've got the big amount fixed at a million, eachshare worth ten thousand. 'Cordin' to the way things stand at present,you've got forty thousand dollars' worth in chips to gamble with. Put itup to 'em that way. I figger they'll accept it. If they don't, wal,we've learned something. An' don't forget to git next to Sandy."

  A good deal of this was enigmatical to Rainey, but there was nomistaking Lund's tremendous seriousness and, duly impressed, Raineypromised to carry out his suggestions.

  As he crossed the main cabin to go to his own room, Carlsen came out ofthe skipper's. He did not see Rainey at first and was humming a littleair under his breath as he slipped a small article into his pocket. Hisface held a sneer. Then he saw Rainey, and it changed to a mask thatrevealed nothing. His tune stopped.

  "I hear the captain's sick again," said Rainey. "Not serious, I hope."

  Carlsen stood there gazing at him with his look of a sphinx, his eyeshalf-closed, the scoffing light showing faintly.

  "Serious? I'm afraid it is serious this time, Rainey. Yes," he endedslowly. "I am inclined to think it is really serious." He turned awayand rapped at the door of the girl's stateroom. In answer to a low replyhe turned the handle and went in, leaving Rainey alone.