CHAPTER XXIII
THE DOOMED VESSEL
"You say there's a wreck?" cried Blake.
"Yes, we just made her out through the glass. She's driving on the rocksfast. The current is setting inshore and the wind is helping it."
"Where is she?" asked Joe.
"Right down there," answered the life guard. "But she'll come up fartherthis way," and he pointed down toward the rocks opposite which the boyshad first surprised the wreckers at work.
"I've got to give the alarm," went on the life saver. "We need all thehelp we can get. We're short-handed, anyhow, and two of our men werehurt early this morning trying to launch the surf-boat."
"Can't you get some of the fishermen from around here?" asked Joe.
"That's what I came for."
"And we'll help, too!" cried Blake, bracing himself by leaning againstthe wind, which seemed to grow stronger every minute.
"Sure we will," added Joe. "Can you see the vessel?" he asked, peeringeagerly into the spume and spray.
"Maybe she's drifted far enough up by now," went on the coast guard, ashe looked intently in the direction he had pointed. "Yes," he cried amoment later, "I can catch glimpses of her at times, when the waves godown a bit. See! There she is now!"
Looking in the direction the guard pointed, Blake and Joe caught aglimpse of a distant black object rising and falling at the mercy of thewind and waves. It was the hull of a vessel, and when Blake used theglass the guard handed him a moment later, he could see the jaggedstumps of broken masts.
"She's in a bad way," remarked the lad, gravely.
"Indeed she is," assented the life saver.
"I wonder if my father is in any such storm as this, on his way toChina?" mused Joe, as he, too, looked through the binoculars.
"It's a bad storm--and a big one, too," said the guard. "But I musthurry on and give the alarm to the fishermen. The ship will strike soon,and we want to send a line aboard if we can."
"Wait!" cried Blake, as the man started off. "We'll tell the fishermen.You can go back to the station. We'll come to help as soon as we can,and bring all the men we can find."
"Good!" shouted the man. "It'll take some time to get the apparatus inshape, and we'll have to drag it up the beach from the station, to aboutthe place where she'll come on the rocks. Go ahead, give the alarm, andI'll go back. Whew! But this is a fierce storm!"
"Come on!" cried Blake to his chum, and they raced toward the littlefishing hamlet.
"Say!" shouted Joe. "I've got an idea!"
"What is it?"
"The wreck--it'll come close on shore, the guard says; why not make somemoving pictures of it? They'll be just what Mr. Hadley wants."
"That's it!" yelled Blake. "You've struck it. Go on and tell Mr.Ringold, Mr. Hadley and the others, and I'll get the fishermen. Thenwe'll go down the beach until we meet the life savers. It's a greatchance, Joe!"
The lads separated, one to arouse the fishermen, most of whom were intheir shacks, for it was out of the question to lift the nets in thetremendous seas that were running.
"Come on!" cried Blake, as he saw old Abe Haskill come out to look atthe weather. "Wreck--ship coming ashore. The coast guards need help!"
"Aye, aye, lad. We're with you!" cried the sturdy old man. "I'll getthe boys. A wreck; eh? Pity the poor sailors that come ashore in such ablow!"
Having given the alarm, Blake turned back to join his chum and theothers of the theatrical colony.
"We may need all three cameras," he reasoned; "it is such a good chancewe don't want to risk it on one film."
Blake found Mr. Hadley and his chum, with the theatrical manager and themale members of the company, ready to set out. Joe had his own camera,while Mr. Hadley was getting the largest one in readiness.
"Let's take the automatic, too," suggested Joe. "We can start it goingand not have to worry about it."
"All right," agreed Blake.
"Say, this is the very chance we wanted!" cried Mr. Ringold. "Think ofit! A regular wreck, right at our doors!"
"Oh, but the poor sailors!" exclaimed Miss Shay. "I do hope they may besaved!"
"Of course they can!" cried C. C. Piper. "We'll all help. Never fear;we'll save them!"
His tone and manner, to say nothing of his words, were in such contrastto his usual demeanor that everyone looked at his or her neighbor insurprise.
"Don't give up!" went on the comedian, cheerfully. "We'll help the lifeguards--we'll do anything. We'll save those sailors!"
"Well, get on to Gloomy; would you!" exclaimed Joe, in a low voice, tohis chum. "That is the best ever! It's the first time he hasn'tpredicted a calamity."
"And just when anyone else would," added Blake. "For it sure is going tobe hard work to save anyone from a vessel that comes ashore in such astorm as this," and he looked toward the tumbling billows in view fromthe windows.
Films were threaded into the moving picture cameras, the mechanism wastested, and then the whole company, even to the ladies, set forth.
"I hope the wreck gets near enough so we can get some good pictures ofit," said Mr. Ringold.
"It'll have to come pretty well in shore, or the breeches buoy ropewon't reach," said Mr. Hadley. "I guess we can get some good pictures."
"It's good it doesn't rain," went on the theatrical man; "though I thinkit's going to, soon. We'll have to get up on some elevation to avoid thespray."
Down the beach they made their way, to be joined presently by the bandof sturdy fishermen.
"There she is!" cried old Abe, as he pointed out to sea. "There she is,blowing and drifting in fast. And right toward the Dolphin Rocks,too--the worst place on the beach!" They all gazed toward the doomedvessel, that was now much nearer shore. Blake even thought he coulddescry figures on deck, clinging to the stumps of masts.
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast Page 23
