In the Depths of the Dark Continent; or, The Vengeance of Van Vincent, Page 3

  CHAPTER III.

  CARRIED TO SEA.

  When Van Vincent returned to consciousness he felt so stiff and sorethat he was scarcely able to hold up his head.

  His throat and tongue were dry and parched, and he was so badly dazedthat it took him several minutes to recollect what had happened.

  As it gradually came to him he opened his eyes, expecting to findhimself in the hallway where he had lost his senses.

  But imagine the boy's surprise when he beheld a dirty lantern swingingback and forth from the ceiling of a seven-by-nine room.

  Then it occurred to Van that the building he was in appeared to bemoving in a violent manner.

  He rose to a sitting posture and found himself in a narrow bunk, insteadof being upon the floor, as he expected.

  "I must have been moved," he muttered. "Doc Clancy must certainly havehad a hand in this. I wonder where I am, anyhow? This looks like a bunkon a ship. Great heavens! can it be possible that I have been druggedand shipped to sea?"

  The thought no sooner struck our hero than he glanced at his clothes.

  An exclamation of dismay escaped his lips.

  His neat-fitting business suit had been removed and a dirty outfit, suchas seamen wear, substituted in place of it.

  Van no longer had any doubt as to his being aboard a ship.

  He now saw plainly what caused the rocking motion.

  But, instead of giving way to a fit of despair, as most boys of his agewould have done in like circumstances, he calmly clambered from the bunkand proceeded to examine the costume he wore.

  Unbuttoning a greasy, blue pea jacket, he found, to his great joy, thathe still wore his own vest.

  But on placing his hand in the inner pocket of the garment he found hispocket-book to be missing.

  "I have been robbed and kidnaped!" he muttered in a tone of greatvehemence; "and Doc Clancy is at the bottom of it--of that I am sure.But never mind! Though this vessel takes me to the very ends of theearth, I will yet get on the track of the villain who murdered my uncle,and then woe to him!"

  Van uttered the last part of his thoughts in a rather loud voice, and hehad scarcely done so when a gruff tone the other side of the partitionsang out:

  "What's ther matter there, ye cussed landlubber? Have ye come to yersenses yet?"

  "Hello!" returned Van. "Who are you? Come in here; I would like to talkto you."

  "All right, youngster; I'll obleege ye!"

  The next moment a portion of the partition was removed and arough-looking man came through.

  Van assumed an air of boldness.

  "Sit down," said he, "and tell me where I am."

  "Well, you are a cool un!" observed the man. "But since ye have askedme, I'll tell you. Young man, you are on board ther _Mary Newman_, whichare a tradin' schooner, bound for ther African coast. We are now jistoutside of Sandy Hook, an' blowin' along afore a stiff breeze."

  "Who brought me here?" questioned our hero, not affecting the least bitof surprise.

  "I don't know, my boy. I suppose ther captain was short of hands, andcollared ye while ye were drunk. Sich things are often done, yer know."

  "Do you believe that is the way I came to be here?"

  "Can't say whether I do or not, youngster. I am ther mate of thervessel, an' I never asks ther captain anything about his privatebusiness. All that I knows is that you an' a feller a little older thanyou are were brought aboard together in a drunken state, an' I took itfor granted that you were chums, an' had either shipped of yer ownaccord, or else been collared while ye were sleepin' off ther loads yehad on."

  "What sort of a looking chap was it who came aboard with me?" asked Van.

  "He is a rather homely feller, with a big, red beard, but is a goodsailor, though."

  "Well," resumed our hero, after a pause, "I suppose I will have to makethe best of it, but I tell you plainly that I have been robbed andkidnaped."

  "If that is so, young man, take my advice, an' say nothin' about itwhile ye are on board ther _Mary Newman_," returned the man, with a lookthat told plainly that he meant well toward the boy.

  "I'll take your advice, sir," returned Van, promptly. "I suppose I willbe used fairly well as long as I do the best I can, and attend to myduties aboard the ship?"

  "Ye will if I have got anything ter say about it. Boy, put her there.I've taken a likin' ter ye. My name are Lank Edwards, an' as long as yestick ter me I'll be your friend, even if everybody else on board goesback on ye!"

  "Thank you for those words, Mr. Edwards," said Van, shaking the mate bythe hand.

  "Now, my boy, ye had better lay down for an hour or so, an' by that timeit'll be daylight. I'll go an' report to ther captain that ye aregittin' along all right, an' ain't kickin' 'cause ye are goin' ter seain his vessel."

  With these words the mate crawled through the aperture in the partition,and carefully closed it after him.

  When he had gone Van sat down on the edge of his bunk to think over hissituation.

  He was very much disappointed over what had befallen him, but somethingseemed to whisper in his ear that things would come out all right in theend, so he resolved to say nothing and make the best of it.

  In about an hour and a half he noticed a faint gray light stealingthrough the grating overhead, and he knew that morning had arrived.

  A few minutes later he heard some one in the adjoining room, and, almostimmediately after, the sliding door in the partition opened.

  Van saw the kindly face of the mate looking in at him, and he hailed itwith a sigh of relief.

  "It's all right, young feller; ther captain has put ye under my charge.Come on out of yer prison, an' take breakfast with me. After that youwill have ter take up yer quarters in ther forecastle."

  Glad enough to leave the dingy place, Van crawled through the hole, andfound himself in a portion of the ship's cabin.

  The mate showed him where the water was, and the boy took a good wash.

  After this he felt much better.

  A few minutes later the cook entered with a steaming breakfast, thesight of which made Van's mouth water.

  He had not realized that he was hungry until now, and he ate as only ahungry mortal can.

  Van's first meal aboard the _Mary Newman_ was his best, as he found outafterward.

  The table the captain and mates ate from was far different from that ofthe forecastle.

  When breakfast was over the mate conducted our hero to the forecastle,and pointed out his bunk to him.

  From that moment the rough part of Van Vincent's life began.

  The crew, for the most part, were a grimy, villainous-looking set.

  But Van was built of the sort of material that never flinches, and hetook things as they came in a philosophical way.

  Almost the first person he saw when he went on watch for the first timewas a sailor with a heavy red beard that nearly concealed his face.

  Van at once judged this to be the person who came aboard the vessel insuch a mysterious manner, and when he got the opportunity, he broachedthe subject to him.

  The sailor acknowledged such to be the case, but evaded all thequestions the boy put to him.

  Van sized him up pretty well, and made up his mind that the fellow was avillain of the first water.

  About an hour after his brief conversation with the red-whiskeredsailor, Van saw him coiling a length of rope.

  To catch on to the way it was done so neatly, he watched him keenly.

  Suddenly Van gave a start.

  He noticed that the man was minus a thumb, and that, too, from his righthand.

  He thought of Doc Clancy, his uncle's murderer, but said nothing.

  What if this man was the scoundrel in disguise?