Breaking Away; or, The Fortunes of a Student

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXI.

  IN WHICH ERNEST CONTINUES TO ACT AS PILOT OF THE STEAMER.

  When I reached the deck of the Adieno I met the person who was incharge of the steamer. It was the lame man who had disputed my rightto the Splash in the morning, and to whom we had given two dollars. Helooked astonished at the sudden movement of the students, but heoffered no resistance; and, without waiting to hear what he had tosay, I ran up the ladder to the wheel-house, leaving Tom Rush tosettle all questions in dispute with him.

  My heart bounded with excitement as we carried out our desperateenterprise, and I gave Henry Vallington credit for more daring andcourage than I had ever supposed him to possess. He seemed to me justthen to be a general indeed, and to be better fitted to fight his waythrough an enemy's country than to become a parson.

  "Back her!" I shouted, almost beside myself with excitement, as I sawMr. Parasyte and his heavily-laden followers rushing down to the pier.

  My words were repeated by the boys on the forward deck, and Vallingtonhastened to the engine-room. I heard the hissing steam as it rushedthrough the cylinders, and without knowing what was going to happennext,--whether or not the boiler would explode, and the deck be tornup beneath me,--I waited in feverish anxiety for the result. Then Iheard the splash of the wheels; the crank turned, rumbled, and jarredon its centre, but went over, and continued to turn. The Adieno moved,and the motion sent a thrill through my whole being. It was fortunatefor us that she lay at the pier in such a position as to require nospecial skill in handling her. The open lake was astern of her, withclear sailing for two miles.

  I was not a steamboat man; I had never even steered any craft with awheel, and I did not feel at all at home. But I had often been up anddown the lake in this very steamer, and being of an inquiring mind, Ihad carefully watched the steersman. It had always looked easy enoughto me, and I always believed I could do it as well as anybody else. Itried to keep cool, and I think I looked cool to others; but I wasextremely nervous. I did not exactly know which way to turn the wheel.

  When I found there were no obstructions astern of the steamer, Ibrought the flagstaff on the bow into range with the end of thepier,--or rather I found them in range,--and with these to guide me, Isoon learned by experience which way to turn the wheel; and the momentI got the hang of the thing, I had confidence enough to offer myservices to pilot any steamer all over the lake. The paddles keptslapping the water, and the boat continued to back until she was aquarter of a mile from the land, when I thought it was time to comeabout, and go forward instead of backward. There were two bell-pullson the wheel-frame, and at a venture I pulled one of them. I did notknow whether Vallington understood the bells or not; but there wasonly one thing to be done in this instance, and he did it--he stoppedthe machinery.

  After pausing a moment for the steamer to lose her sternway, I rangthe other bell, intending to have her go ahead; but the engineer didnot heed my summons. A moment afterwards Vallington appeared on theforward deck, wiping from his brow the perspiration, which indicatedthat the engine-room was a hot place, or that his mental struggleswere very severe.

  "What was that last bell for?" he asked, hailing me in thewheel-house.

  "To go ahead," I replied.

  "You haven't got the hang of the bells, commodore," said he, with asmile; "but come down, and we will talk the matter over, and find outwhat we are going to do."

  I went down to the forward deck, quite as anxious as any one else toknow what was to be done, for it seemed to me that we had "drawn anelephant" as a prize. When I reached the deck, Vallington was writingwith his pencil, and handed me the paper as I joined him.

  "Here are your directions, Mr. Pilot," said he.

  "I know the lake, but I never had any experience in a steamer," Ireplied, in self-defence, as I read the paper, on which was written:--

  _"One bell--ahead, slowly.

  Two bells--stop.

  Three bells--back.

  Four bells--ahead, full speed."_

  "There are two bell-pulls in the wheel-house," I added.

  "You pulled the right one the first time; the other is for the men toshift the chain-box," he replied. "Now, fellows, what shall we do? isthe next question."

  Nobody seemed to know what we were to do; and all were quite willingto leave the question with our bold general.

  "Where is the lame man who had charge of the steamer?" he asked.

  "I have fixed him," answered Tom Rush, with a significant smile.

  "How have you fixed him?"

  "I told him we should throw him overboard if he didn't keep quiet,and gave him three dollars I picked up among the fellows."

  Tom was fit to be a member of the diplomatic corps--bully and bribe inthe same breath! Probably the lame man, who was only a deck hand,employed but for that day, was not disposed to make any very activeopposition to our plans. At any rate, he sat on the chain-box ascontented as though everything was going on regularly on board of theboat. Mr. Parasyte had pressed all hands into his service, even to thecaptain and engineer, in bringing off the provisions and tents. Isuppose that it never occurred to the principal, or to the officers ofthe boat, that a crowd of boys would attempt such a desperateenterprise as the capture of the Adieno, or they would have taken someprecautions to avoid such an event. It is not strange that they didnot think of such a thing, for if it had been proposed to mebeforehand, I should as soon have thought of carrying off the islandas the steamer.

  Mr. Parasyte, the captain, and engineer stood on the edge of the pier.The principal looked astonished and overwhelmed; the captain wasgesticulating violently to us; and the rest of the party looked likeso many statues. There was no remedy for their misfortune; they had noboat, and could do nothing. Mr. Parasyte now had the same pleasantprospect which he had spread out before us--that of staying on PineIsland without food till some one came to his assistance. We hoped heenjoyed it; and in the mean time we turned our attention to our ownimmediate future.

  "Fellows, I am afraid we have got into a bad scrape," said Vallington,again wiping his heated brow; and we could not help seeing that he didnot feel just right in view of what he had done.

  "All right; we will take our chances," replied one of the students;and this was the prevailing sentiment.

  "Although I think we were right in the beginning, I am afraid we areoverdoing the matter. But what could we do?" continued our general,with energy. "We couldn't stay on that island and be starved out. Wepaid for the provisions with our own money, and they had no right totake them from us."

  "No!" shouted the boys, indignantly.

  "Now we have the steamer; what shall we do with her?"

  "Let us go on a cruise," suggested Fred Mason.

  "I did not take possession of the boat with the intention of makingany use of her only to get away from the island while it was possibleto do so," replied Vallington.

  "O, let's have some fun in her, now we have got her," added Mason.

  "We are drifting over to Cannondale pretty rapidly, general," Iinterposed. "We must go ahead, or we shall run ashore."

  "I don't exactly know what to do, or where to go," continued ourperplexed leader.

  "We must go ahead now, and settle that question by and by," I added.

  "Can you steer her, commodore?" he asked.

  "Certainly I can. I understand the wheel now, and I know all about thelake. If you can manage the engine, I can take care of the steering."

  "My brother is an engineer on a Hudson River boat, and I have spentmany a day with him in the engine-room. I think I understand theengine pretty well," he replied.

  "Let us go ahead then," said one of the impatient fellows.

  "We will start her again, commodore; and I wish you would take her tosome place where we can lie to, and decide upon our future course."

  "I will do so, general; but I don't think it will hurt those on theisland to wait a while," I answered.

  "Very well; we will go where you pilot us, commodore," addedVallington
, as he returned to the engine-room.

  Three of the students were sent down into the fire-room, after beinginstructed in their duty by the general, who was careful to tell themnot to put too much wood in the furnaces. By this time the Splash hadcome alongside, and was made fast to the stern. I invited Bob Hale andTom Rush to occupy the wheel-house with me, and I took my place at thespokes.

  "What are we going to do?" asked Bob, who had not been present at theconference on the forward deck.

  "That is not decided," replied Tom. "We are going to lie tosomewhere, and talk the matter over."

  "I don't know about this steaming it on the lake," added Bob, shakinghis head. "Suppose the boat should burst her boiler--where should webe?"

  "No danger of that; Vallington knows all about engines, and thecommodore knows how to steer," said Tom, lightly.

  I struck one bell, after looking at the paper which Vallington hadgiven me, to make sure that I was right. In response to my signal, thewheels began to turn, and the Adieno went "ahead slowly." I soonbrought her to bear on the helm, and finding I had the boat underperfect control, I ventured to strike the four bells, which indicatedthat she was to "go ahead, full speed."

  The steam was rather low in the boilers, and "full speed" I found wasnot very rapid. The boat steered easily, and minded her helm sopromptly, that I soon became quite fascinated with my occupation.There was something very exhilarating in the fact that I was directingthe course of what to me was an immense craft; and every time I movedthe wheel, and saw the bow veer in obedience to her helm, it affordedme a thrill of delight, and I wholly forgot the enormity of theenterprise in which our party were engaged. I was so pleased with myemployment that I came very near devoting my life to the business ofpiloting a steamboat.

  I steered the Adieno to the northward, until she had passed clear ofPine Island, when I put her head to the west, intending to run for acouple of islands six miles down the lake, called "The Sisters."