Tom Fairfield at Sea; or, The Wreck of the Silver Star Read online

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  HE WAS THE LAST ONE IN, AND ARRANGED TO CUT A SINGLEROPE THAT HELD THE BOAT FAST.]

  Tom Fairfield at Sea

  Or

  The Wreck of the _Silver Star_

  BY

  ALLEN CHAPMAN

  AUTHOR OF "TOM FAIRFIELD'S SCHOOLDAYS," "TOM FAIRFIELD IN CAMP," "THE DAREWELL CHUMS SERIES," "THE BOYS OF PLUCK SERIES," ETC.

  ILLUSTRATED

  NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY PUBLISHERS

  BOOKS FOR BOYS

  BY ALLEN CHAPMAN

  =TOM FAIRFIELD SERIES=

  12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

  TOM FAIRFIELD'S SCHOOLDAYS Or, The Chums of Elmwood Hall

  TOM FAIRFIELD AT SEA Or, The Wreck of the _Silver Star_

  TOM FAIRFIELD IN CAMP Or, The Secret of the Old Mill

  TOM FAIRFIELD'S PLUCK AND LUCK Or, Working to Clear His Name

  =THE DAREWELL CHUMS SERIES=

  12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

  THE DAREWELL CHUMS THE DAREWELL CHUMS IN THE CITY THE DAREWELL CHUMS IN THE WOODS THE DAREWELL CHUMS ON A CRUISE THE DAREWELL CHUMS IN A WINTER CAMP

  =BOYS OF PLUCK SERIES=

  12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

  THE YOUNG EXPRESS AGENT TWO BOY PUBLISHERS MAIL ORDER FRANK A BUSINESS BOY'S PLUCK THE YOUNG LAND AGENT

  CUPPLES & LEON CO. PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK

  Copyrighted 1913, by

  CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

  TOM FAIRFIELD AT SEA

  Printed in U. S. A.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE I. STARTLING NEWS 1 II. TOM TO THE RESCUE 12 III. A MYSTERIOUS PASSENGER 20 IV. A PUZZLED CAPTAIN 28 V. THE WATERSPOUT 37 VI. SEEN IN THE GLASS 46 VII. THE STORM 52 VIII. A BLOW IN THE DARK 61 IX. TOM GOES OVERBOARD 69 X. THE DERELICT 76 XI. ANOTHER PASSENGER 86 XII. A MUTUAL SURPRISE 95 XIII. UNDER SAIL 105 XIV. DREARY DAYS 111 XV. MAKING A BOAT 120 XVI. WIND AND WAVE TOSSED 129 XVII. A HAND IN THE NIGHT 137 XVIII. TREACHERY 144 XIX. OFF IN THE BOAT 152 XX. DAYS OF SUFFERING 162 XXI. "SAIL HO!" 171 XXII. NEWS OF THE MISSING 179 XXIII. OFF TO THE ISLAND 188 XXIV. THE CASTAWAYS 194 XXV. HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION 202

  TOM FAIRFIELD AT SEA

  CHAPTER I

  STARTLING NEWS

  "Where to now, Jack?"

  "Oh, I just thought I'd run into town and see what's going on, Tom.Want to come along?"

  "I'd like to--but this Latin--"

  "Oh, bother the Latin!" and Jack Fitch, the chum and roommate of TomFairfield, snatched the book from the scarcely resisting grasp of hisfriend. "Come along. You're up well enough. Besides, we haven't thatold tyrant Skeel to deal with now in the classics."

  "That's so. Guess I will go. Think it'll be safe?"

  "As safe as running the guard ever is, Tommy my boy," and Jack assumeda wise air. "Probably there'll be some of the proctor's scouts out, butif we can't fool 'em, after we've put in nearly a year at Elmwood Hall,I wouldn't give much for our ability."

  "Right you are, Jack! Shall we tip off some of the others? Bert Wilsonwould like to come along, I know."

  "All right, I'll give him the high sign. Shall we take the humanquestion box?"

  "Who, Georgie Abbot? Might as well. He isn't as bad as he used to be,though he's bad enough. Four will be just about right. Got anythingspecial on, the reason you want to go to town?"

  "No. But there's a good musical comedy there, I hear."

  "How's the weather? Is it raining yet?"

  "Clear as a bell," reported Jack, as he poked his head out of thewindow of their room. "Now I'll take a look to see if the coast isclear, and get Bert and George while you put your collar on," forTom, to be at more ease while he was studying, had adopted a sort ofnegligee costume.

  Gliding out into the hall, Jack knocked cautiously at the door of theadjoining room, giving a certain signal.

  "Well?" whispered a voice at the keyhole.

  "Come on into town, Bert," whispered Jack in return, for caution wasnecessary, since it was past the hour for the Freshmen to go about asthey pleased, to each other's rooms, and long past the time when theymight leave their dormitory without permission.

  "What's up?" asked Bert, as he opened his door a crack.

  "Tom Fairfield and I are going to take in a show. I'll get George, andwe'll have some fun. Cut down through the basement when you're ready,and we'll meet just outside the boiler room. Our studious janitor won'tgive us away."

  "No, old Demy Miller will be so busy over his Latin or Greek, trying tobe the king pin among studious janitors, that he won't even see us. Goget 'Why.' I'll be on hand in a minute."

  Jack glided to a room on the other side of his own and his chum's, andrepeated the tapping signal.

  "Well?" queried George Abbot, otherwise 'Why.'

  "Come on to town?"

  "What for? Who's going? What are we going to do? Is it safe?"

  "Say, if you fire any more questions at me," whispered Jack hoarsely,"I know one lad who _won't_ be going, and that's you, Why! Now hush upand come along. Tom, Bert and I are going to cut in."

  "All right, I'll be with you directly."

  Jack glided back into his own apartment, and only just in time toescape the keen eyes of a patroling monitor. But he did get insidesafely, and breathlessly.

  "What's up?" asked Tom.

  "Denton-is-out-there. But I-guess he won't stay-long."

  Cautious observations through the keyhole proclaimed this for a facta little later, and soon Tom and Jack were tiptoeing down to thebasement. There they met George and Bert, and the four were soon ontheir way to town, cutting across the campus in such a direction as toconceal their movements.

  It was rather a cool evening toward the close of March, and there hadbeen a drizzling rain all day. Now it had cleared, coming off cold,and Jack, realizing this had felt a restlessness that could not besatisfied unless he was doing something--something forbidden, by allpreference.

  Tom, Jack, and a number of their intimate friends were approaching theclose of their Freshman year at Elmwood Hall. They had gone through thesports of the fall--football and the like, the Christmas vacation hadcome and gone, and now the Easter holiday was approaching.

  When that was over the spring term would open--the closing term at theschool--and Tom would soon be in line as a Sophomore. But much was tohappen before he could count himself a second-year student.

  "Think anyone will catch us?" asked George Abbot, who never could seemto stop asking questions.

  "What if they do, you old interrogation point?" inquired Tom.

  "Nothing, only I don't want to be expelled just when the Freshman yearis so nearly over."

  "Don't worry. Just trust to me," spoke Jack. "I'm running this outfit,and we're not going to be caught."

  "There's someone now--just ahead of us!" suddenly exclaimed Bert,drawing back. The others instinctively paused.

  "No danger!" called Tom, who was a little in advance of his chums."It's our friend Bennington."

  "Hello, Tom Fairfield!" greeted a voice out of the darkness. "Whitheraway?"

  "In
to town on a lark. Want to come along?"

  "Thanks, no. Remember I'm a grave and reverend Senior, and not a giddyFreshman like yourself. I have a reputation to maintain, and I can'tafford to take any chances with my graduation in prospect. I'd like tothough. I'll see that you get in safely, however, in case there's anydanger."

  "Thanks," called our hero, Tom, as he and his chums passed on, whileBruce Bennington, a Senior whom Tom had aided in a peculiar way duringthe former term, headed toward Elmwood Hall.

  "He's a great chap," commented Bert.

  "He sure is," agreed Jack. "And he's a heap sight different than he wasbefore Tom found the forged note that Skeel held over him."

  "I'm glad I was able to help him," said Tom. "Come on, now, fellows,sprint for it. I think I hear a car coming."

  They broke into a run, and a little later had boarded an electricvehicle that ran near the preparatory school, and into the town ofElmwood proper.

  "Look who's here," spoke Jack to Tom in a low voice, as they took theirseats, and he nodded toward the far corner of the car.

  "Who?" asked Tom, and then he added: "Oh, Sam Heller."

  "And Nick Johnson is with him," went on Jack.

  "Well, I guess they won't make any trouble for us," said Tom, for thetwo lads had been, and still were, his enemies.

  "Unless they squeal on us," suggested Bert Wilson.

  "They're just as much in the fire as we are," protested Jack.

  "They may have gotten permission to go to town," came from George Abbot.

  "Not much!" asserted Tom. "They cut for it the same as we did, and theywon't say anything."

  Sam Heller and his crony glanced over at our friends, but said nothing,and the car continued on its way. Soon it was in town, and Tom and hischums hurried to a theatre that the school boys patronized. They were alittle late to see the start of the performance, but they did not mindthat.

  "Say, this is great!" exclaimed Bert as one "turn" after another wasgone through with behind the footlights.

  "Here comes a sleight-of-hand performer," remarked Jack. "I always liketo see them, even though I know they fake every trick."

  "Say! did you see that!" exclaimed George, as the man apparently pickedcards out of mere air. "How does he do it?"

  "Foolish question number eight hundred and forty-seven!" exclaimed Tomin a whisper. "If you ask three more you've reached your limit, and outyou go!"

  George subsided, and with the others watched the play, which was a sortof musical comedy, with vaudeville interspersed. The performance wasover all too soon, and the boys started back toward school, after around of sodas in a drug store.

  "Well, we'll soon be going home for the Easter vacation, and then thebaseball season will open, when we get back," spoke Jack. "Say, Tom,are you going to keep your promise, and spend Easter week with me?"

  "Well, I don't know, Jack. You see dad and mother wrote to me to godown in the country, and visit an old aunt of mine whom I haven't seenfor ages. I don't see how I can make it to go to your place, much asI'd like it."

  "Are your folks still in Australia?" asked Bert.

  "No, they've left there," explained Tom. "They went there to look upsome property a relative left to my father. They've been gone a longwhile now--at least it seems so to me, though the time has passedquickly enough while I've been here at Elmwood Hall.

  "But I got a letter the other day, from dad, saying that the propertymatter was all settled satisfactorily, and that they had started forhome."

  "Are they coming by way of Europe, as they planned?" asked Jack."Cracky! Wouldn't I like to see Europe, though!"

  "No, they've changed their ideas," replied Tom. "Dad and mother boththought they'd like a long voyage, so they took a large sailing vesselin the Australian trade that is to land them at San Francisco. MaybeI'll go meet them if I can arrange it."

  "Coming on a sailing vessel; eh?" remarked Bert. "There aren't manydeep sea sailing ships any more."

  "No, and that's one reason why dad wrote that he was taking the tripthis way. He always has been fond of sailing and he thought he mightnot get another chance. So he and mother are on board the _Kangaroo_,somewhere out on the vasty deep at this moment--and I wish I was withthem!"

  Tom's voice was a trifle husky, for he was a bit homesick for hisparents, in spite of the good times he had had at Elmwood Hall.

  Jack Fitch was looking over an evening paper he had purchased from anewsboy on coming out of the theatre.

  "Anything interesting?" asked Bert.

  "Not much. I was just glancing at the sporting page. I guess we'll--"

  Jack suddenly paused, and stared intently at a certain item on theprinted sheet. Then he asked in a curious voice:

  "What did you say was the name of the ship your people were sailing in,Tom?"

  "The _Kangaroo_. Why?"

  "Oh, er--nothing. I--say--New York is going to have a crackerjackbaseball team this spring, if their manager gets all the players he'safter!" and Jack tried suddenly to change the subject.

  Tom Fairfield reached over and took the paper from his chum's hand.Jack tried to hold it back.

  "Why did you ask that question--about the name of the ship my fatherand mother are in?" asked our hero, and there was a catch in his voice,and his face was white. "Why did you? You saw something! Show it tome!" he demanded.

  "No, it--it wasn't anything!" protested Jack. "Just a rumor. Youshouldn't bother about it. Those things are never true--at least it'snot confirmed--and--Oh I say Tom, it isn't really anything!"

  "Let me see it!" cried Tom hoarsely, amid a silence in the car as itsped along. "You're trying to hold something back from me, Jack. Is the_Kangaroo_ wrecked?"

  "No, nothing like that!" he answered eagerly. "There, if you've got tosee it!" and he pointed to a cable dispatch in the paper.

  With staring eyes Tom read:

  "Sydney, N. S. W., March 25.--The steamer _Bristol_, which reached this port to-day reports passing at sea, a week ago, in lat. S. 21:14:38, long. 179:47:16, wreckage from some large sailing vessel. Part of a lifeboat picked up bore the letters '_ngaroo_.' It is surmised that it belonged to the large sailing ship _Kangaroo_ which left this port for San Francisco last week with a mixed cargo, and several passengers. Captain Ward, of the _Bristol_, reports encountering heavy weather before sighting the wreckage. He cruised about in the vicinity for half a day, but saw no signs of life, and no trace of the vessel. The underwriters have posted the _Kangaroo_."

  Tom read this once, and then over again. Then he stared at the paper,his face white and his hands trembling.

  "Maybe it isn't true," suggested Jack gently. "And, even if there was awreck, maybe your folks were saved. Maybe they changed their minds atthe last minute and didn't sail. I wouldn't worry if I were you."

  "I--I can't help it," whispered Tom. "Dad and mother are--missing! Thisis bad news--bad news!"

  Jack put his arm around his chum.