The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes | Page 5

out of the darkness.
"Dick's overboard," answered Tom.
"No!" A groan of genuine regret came from Aleck Pop. "How it dun happen?"
"We must have struck a lumber raft and the shock knocked him over," answered Sam. "Oh, Tom, what shall we do?"
"I'll try another rocket, Sam--I don't know of anything else."
It took fully a minute to obtain another rocket, and some red fire as well. The red fire made quite an illumination, in spite of the storm.
"I don't see nuffin," said Pop.
"Nor I," added Tom. "The raft has disappeared."
As the light died out all set up a loud shout. But only the howling wind answered them. And now Sam noticed that the lifeline was drifting idly at the stern, and there was nothing to do but to haul it in again.
The hours which followed were full of agony to Tom and Sam, and the warm-hearted colored man was scarcely less affected.
"What if Dick is drowned?" whispered the youngest Rover. "Father will never forgive us for coming on this trip."
"Let us hope for the best," was his brother's answer. "Dick has been in a tight fix before. He'll come out all right, if he has any show at all."
"Nobuddy kin lib in sech a storm as dis!" put in Pop. "Why, it's 'most as bad as dat dar hurricane we 'perienced in Africa. Jest see how it's beginnin' to rain."
Pop was right; so far the rain had held off for the most part, but now it came down steadily and soon turned into little short of a deluge. All were speedily soaked to the skin, but this was a discomfort to which, under the circumstances, no one paid attention.
The Swallow heaved and pitched, and fearful that Sam would be lost overboard, Tom told him he had better go below again.
"You can do nothing up here," he said. "If anything turns up, I'll call you."
"But you must be careful," pleaded Sam. "If I were you, I'd tie myself to the wheel," and this is what Tom did.
Slowly the night wore away, and with the coming of morning the storm abated somewhat, although the waves still lashed angrily around the Swallow. With the first streak of dawn all were on deck, watching anxiously for some sign of the lumber raft or of Dick.
"Nothing in sight!" groaned Sam, and he was right. The raft had disappeared completely, and all around them was a dreary waste of water, with a cloudy sky overhead.
Feeling that he must do something, Aleck Pop prepared a breakfast of broiled fish and hot coffee, but, when summoned to the repast, both of the Rovers shook their heads.
"I couldn't eat a mouthful," sighed Sam. "It would choke me."
"We must find Dick first, Aleck," said Tom. "Go ahead yourself and have breakfast. Don't mind us."
"'Deed, I aint no hungrier dan youse is," replied the colored man soberly. "But youse had bettah drink sum ob dat coffee, or youse might cotch a chill." And he made each sip some of the beverage, bringing it on deck for that purpose.
At half-past seven Tom espied a cloud of smoke on the horizon. "I think it's a lake steamer," he said to his brother, and he proved to be right. It was a freighter known as the Captain Rallow, running between Detroit and Buffalo. Soon the steamer came closer and they hailed her.
"Seen anything of a lumber wreck, with some men on it?" questioned Tom eagerly.
"Haven't seen any wreck," was the answer, from the captain of the freighter. "Whose raft was it?"
"I don't know. The raft hit us in the darkness and a young man on our yacht was knocked overboard. We lit some red fire and saw two people on the raft, which seemed to be going to pieces."
This news interested the owner of the freight steamer greatly, since he had a brother who was in the business of rafting lumber, and he asked Tom to give him the particulars of the affair.
"We can't give you any particulars. We were taken completely by surprise, and it was too dark to see much," said Tom. Nevertheless he and Sam told what they could, to which the freight captain listened with close attention.
"I'll keep my eye open for the raft," said the latter. "And if I see anything of your brother I'll certainly take him on board."
"Where are you bound?"
"I am going to stop at Cleveland first. Then I go straight through to Buffalo."
A few words more passed, and then the captain of the freight steamer gave the signal to go ahead.
The stopping of her engines had caused the steamer to drift quite close to the Swallow, and as she swung around those on the yacht caught a good view of the freighter's stern deck.
There were a small number of passengers on board, and as Sam looked them over