Bert Wilson, Wireless Operator
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“Oh, I’m off duty for a few days, now. I’m glad of it, for, although I like nothing better than taking down messages and sending them out, it’s good to have a few days to explore this country that the doctor has recommended so highly. It sure does look promising.”
By this time the Fearless had weighed anchor and the boats were being let down to convey the passengers to the shore. All around the ship were the queer little craft of the natives, the occupants on the alert to catch the first bit of money thrown to them. They had not long to wait, for soon small pieces of coin were being showered down. As each piece fell into the water, the little brown-skinned native boys would dive in after it and catch it, with a deftness born of long experience, before it reached the bottom. In spite of the boys’ declared intentions not to waste their “hard-earned and carefully-hoarded cash,” a few pieces of that very same cash went to increase the spoils of one especially active and dextrous young native. No matter how hard they tried to be prudent or how emphatically they declared that “this would surely be the last bit of money that that little rascal would get out of them,” another coin would find its way into the eager hands of the little dark-skinned tempter. There was a very strong bond of fellowship between this small native diving for money way off in the islands of the Pacific and the strong, sturdy college boys who had fought so gallantly on the diamond for the glory of Alma Mater. It was the call of the expert to the expert, the admiration of one who has “done things” for the accomplishments of another.
However, the boys were not very sorry when they reached the shore where they were beyond temptation. Tom voiced the general sentiment when he said, “Gee, if we hadn’t touched land just as we did, I’d have had to telegraph home to Dad for more money. They nearly broke me.”
While they were waiting for Ralph, who had stayed behind to see that the “Gray Ghost” got over safely on the raft rigged up for the purpose, the comrades took a look around them. And there was enough to occupy their attention for an hour just in the country in the immediate neighborhood of the harbor. All around them swarmed the natives, big, powerful, good-natured people, all with a smile of welcome on their dark faces. Everywhere was bustle and life and activity.
“I always thought that Hawaii was a slow sort of place,” Dick said, “but it seems that I was mistaken. This crowd rivals the business crush on Fifth Avenue.”
“It does that,” said Bert. “But just take a glance at this scenery, my friends. Did you ever see anything on Fifth Avenue that looked like that?”
“Well, hardly. But it’s the town that takes my eye. Look at those quaint houses and the big white building – I suppose it must be a hotel – towering over them. And isn’t that a picture, that avenue with the double border of palm trees? We must explore that first thing when we get the ‘Gray Ghost.’ Say, I’m glad I came.”
“So am I,” said Tom. “If it hadn’t been for you, Bert, we shouldn’t any of us be here. Prof. Gilbert didn’t know what a public benefactor he was when he nominated you for the telegraphy job. Say, isn’t that the car coming over now?” he asked, pointing to a great raft that was heading slowly for the dock.
“It looks like it,” Bert replied. “Make believe it won’t seem good to be in a car again. I’m anxious to get my belongings up to one of the hotels, too.”
“Yes, I’m glad we decided to stay in a hotel for the few days we are going to spend here. It will be good to be able to eat our breakfast on shore for a little while instead of on the briny deep,” said Tom, who had not been altogether free from occasional pangs of sea-sickness during the voyage.
By this time the raft had landed the car and the other luggage. Ralph was beside his favorite, looking it over from one end to the other to see that everything was intact, while a crowd of curious little urchins watched his every action. In a moment our three fellows had joined him and were busily engaged in trying to remedy an imaginary fault. They finally gave this up as a hopeless task as the car was in absolutely perfect condition.
“I guess there’s nothing very much the matter with the old car, eh, fellows?” said Ralph with the pride of possession in his voice. “I shouldn’t wonder if she could show the natives something of the art of racing and hill-climbing. I bet she is just as anxious as we are to try her speed on that palm avenue there.”
“Don’t let’s waste any time then,” Dick suggested. “What’s the matter with piling our luggage into the car and going right over to the hotel? By the way,” he added, as a second thought, “what hotel are we going to?”
“Why, Dad told me that if we wanted to get off the ship at Hawaii that the best place to put up at would be the Seaside House,” said Ralph. “He thinks that we can have more fun at a small place than we could at one of the swell hotels.”
“I agree with him there,” said Bert, “but do you know the way?”
“You just watch me,” said Ralph. “If I don’t get you to the Seaside in ten minutes I give you leave to hand me whatever you think I deserve in the way of punishment. Come on, jump in, and the little ‘Gray Ghost’ will have you and your baggage at your destination before you know it.”
So Tom and Dick jumped into the tonneau with the luggage, while Bert took his seat beside Ralph. Once more they were flying over the road with the wind whistling in their ears to the tune of the throbbing motor. Many nights they had dreamed of it and many days they had talked of it, but to really be there, to feel the mighty power of that great man-made monster, to feel the exhilarated blood come tingling into their faces with the excitement of the race, ah, that was heaven indeed.
But all delightful things must come to an end sometime and so, in the very midst of their enjoyment the speed of the great car slackened and they drew up before a building that looked like an overgrown cottage with a sign in front, announcing to all whom it might concern that this was the “Seaside House.” It all looked very comfortable and homelike, and even as they stopped the host advanced to give them welcome.
It took the boys a very short time to explain that they had just come in on the Fearless and only wanted accommodations for a very few days. In less time than it takes to tell the machine was taken around to the garage and the boys had been shown up to two very comfortably furnished rooms.
“Doctor Hamilton expects to stay here, too,” Ralph volunteered when they had finished exploring their small domain, “but he won’t be able to get here until late this evening. I promised to take the car around for him at the dock about nine o’clock. I suppose all you fellows will go with me, won’t you?”
“Surest thing you know,” Bert agreed. “I’m glad that he’s going to be with us for he knows a lot about the country and he’ll go with us on all our expeditions. The Doctor’s a jolly good sort.”
“He sure is that,” said Tom, and so, in the course of time the Doctor arrived and was given the room next to the boys. Just before they went to sleep that night Bert called into Ralph, “Say, Ralph, what do you love best in the world?” and the answer came in three words, “The Gray Ghost.”
Next morning bright and early the boys, the Doctor and the “Gray Ghost” started for a visit to Halemaumau, the fire-pit of the crater, Kilauea. The day was ideal for such a trip and the party started off in high spirits. They rode for miles through the most beautiful country they had ever seen until, at last, they came to the foot of the great crater. Only a very few minutes more and they stood within a few yards of the edge of that wonder of wonders, the fire-pit of Kilauea. It is impossible to describe the grandeur of that roaring, surging sea of fire, the tongues of flame lapping one upon another like raging demons in terrific conflict. It is the greatest wonder of Nature ever given to man to witness.
For a few seconds the boys could only stand in amazement that such a thing could be. “If anybody had told me,” said Bert, almost whispering in his excitement, “a few months ago that I would be standing here at the edge of the largest living crater in the world, I would have thought that either I was crazy or that they were. I never could forget that sight if I lived forever.”
“It sure is about the slickest little bit of Nature that I ever came across,” Tom agreed. “If all the scenery is like this we ought to spend four years here instead of a measly four days. I’m beginning to be as much interested in this place as the Doctor is.”
“The more you see of it the more you will love it,” the Doctor prophesied. “If you would like to we can take a ride across the island to-morrow. It will be about a day’s journey, but I can show you a great many points of interest as we go along. What do you say?”
The boys fell in with the plan very readily, and so it was decided that the next morning they would start early. With great reluctance and many backward glances they finally tore themselves away from Halemaumau and turned the “Gray Ghost” toward home. During the ride they could talk of nothing else than the wonder and the magnificent beauty of “The House of Everlasting Fire.”
Mile upon mile they rode with the sun filtering through the trees in little golden patches on the road before them, with the caress of the soft breeze upon their faces and the song of the birds in their ears.
“I don’t wonder that you think Hawaii’s about the nicest place on earth, Doctor,” Bert said after a few minutes of silence. “I’m almost beginning to agree with you.”
And again the Doctor answered, “The more you see of it the more you will love it.”
CHAPTER VI
The “Gray Ghost”
The next morning after an early breakfast the “Gray Ghost” was brought around in front of the “Seaside” and the boys began to look her over to make sure that she was in condition for the day’s trip. They found that everything was all right, so they began loading her with baskets of delicious eatables that the host had prepared for them. In a very short time all was ready and Tom, Dick and Ralph piled in the tonneau, while the Doctor took his seat beside Bert, who was to drive that day. There had been some discussion that morning as to whether Bert or Ralph were to run the machine. Bert claimed that as it was Ralph’s car it was his right and prerogative to drive. But Ralph wouldn’t listen to such an argument for a minute. For wasn’t Bert his guest and wasn’t he there to give his guest a good time, especially as he, Ralph, had driven the car the day before? So after a time it had been settled and Bert reluctantly took the wheel.
But the reluctance didn’t last long, for, when he found himself guiding the great car over the road, the old feeling of exultation took possession of him and the old wild desire to put on full speed came surging over him. But Bert was never one to give way to impulse when caution told him it would be unwise, so he held his desire and, incidentally, his machine well in check.
“You said last night that you would tell us about the hunt for sharks, Doctor Hamilton,” Dick reminded him. “Won’t you tell us about them, now?”
“Why, yes, if you would like to hear about it,” the Doctor consented. “These seas, as you probably know, are full of sharks, and therefore are very dangerous. The natives of Hawaii are not the people to be terrorized, however, by any animal on land or sea. So, after careful consideration, they decided that, as long as they couldn’t hope to exterminate the pests, the only thing for them to do was to learn how to defend themselves against them. So, when a man wanted to go out into the deep, shark-infested waters he would take with him a handy little dagger. Then, instead of swimming for home and safety at the first sign of a shark, he would wait boldly for the creature to come near enough for a hand-to-hand (or, rather, a fin-to-hand) conflict.”
“Say, a man would have to have some nerve to wait calmly while one of those cute, harmless little animals came prancing up playfully to be petted,” Tom broke in. “I’d rather be excused.”
“It does take an immense amount of courage to brave a shark, but I shouldn’t wonder if there were thousands of people in the world who are at this moment making greater sacrifices, performing deeds that call for more real fortitude and courage than these shark hunters ever dreamed of. Only, you see we don’t know of those cases. However, that’s neither here nor there. Well, to get back to my story, when the shark nears the man he turns on his back to grab him. Then comes the crucial moment. Before the shark has a chance to accomplish his purpose, the native deftly buries the dagger up to the hilt in the shark’s throat.”
“Yes, but suppose the shark nabbed the hunter before he had a chance to use his weapon,” Ralph suggested.
“It is very probable in that case that the hunter would hunt no more sharks,” the Doctor laughed. “However, that very rarely happens these days, for the Hawaiians are trained to hunt as soon as they leave the cradle, and are experts at the age of nine or ten.”
“I wouldn’t mind trying it myself,” Bert declared, for, to him danger and excitement were the very breath of life, “only I’d like to practice up for a few years before I hung out my sign.”
“Well, they went on killing the sharks by means of a dagger for some time,” the Doctor went on, “but one day some bright young native discovered what seemed to him to be a much more interesting and, at the same time, just as sure a way of killing the shark. So one day he called all his relatives and friends together and told them to watch his new method. They all noticed that, instead of the usual dagger, this youth carried in his hand a pointed stick. ‘What good will a sharp stick do?’ they all asked one another. ‘He surely cannot mean to kill the shark with such a weapon,’ and they tried to persuade him not to try anything so foolish. However, he was not to be persuaded, so he started out with his stick to fight the shark. He had not gone very far before his eagerly watching friends on the shore saw a fin rise above the water and knew that the shark was near. With breathless interest they watched the coming conflict. Nearer and nearer came the shark until it was only a very few yards from the daring hunter. Then in a flash it was on its back and bearing down on its prey. With the speed of lightning our hero reached down the shark’s throat and wedged the pointed stick right across it so that the shark couldn’t close his wicked, gaping mouth. Of course, not being able to shut his mouth he drowned there in his native element. There is an instance of the irony of fate, isn’t it?”
“It surely is,” Dick answered. “But, Doctor, is that really so or is it only a story?”
“It’s the truth. The shark hunters use both methods, the dagger and the sharp stick, but the stick is the favorite.”
So the morning was passed in interesting tale and pleasant conversation, and they were all amazed when the Doctor informed them that it was half-past twelve. Soon afterward they came to a cozy little inn with the sign “Welcome” over the door painted in great gold letters on a black background. At this hospitable place they stopped for lunch.
When this most important function of the day was satisfactorily accomplished, they went for a stroll on the beach, as they had about half an hour to look around them before it was necessary to start on their way once more.
This part of the beach was perfectly protected from the unwelcome visits of the sharks by the large coral reefs, and the boys were surprised to see the number of people that were enjoying their afternoon dip.
“Look at those fellows over there riding in on the breakers,” Tom cried, pointing to a group of boys that looked as if they might be Americans. “Will you please tell me what they think they have on their feet?”
“They look like snow shoes,” Bert said, “but I never knew that you could use skees on the water.”
“They are really nothing more nor less than snow shoes, but you see over here they have no snow to use them on, so they make them do for the water,” said the Doctor.
“It’s a great stunt,” said Dick. “I wish we had brought our bathing suits along, we could take a try at it ourselves.”
“If bathing suits are all you want,” Ralph broke in, “I can soon get you them. This morning I thought we might want them, so, at the last minute, I ran back to get mine. While I was there I discovered your suits all tied together with a strap, so I brought them along, too. They are under the seat in the tonneau.”
“Bully for you, old fellow,” said Dick. “You have a head on your shoulders, which is more than I can say for myself.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Now we can try our skill at skeeing on the water. But, by the way, where will we get the skees?”
“They are not really skees; they’re only pieces of wood pointed at one end,” the Doctor explained, “and I think you will be able to get all you want up at the inn.”
“But you will come with us, too, won’t you?” Bert asked. “It won’t be half as much fun if you don’t.”
“No, I don’t think that I’ll go in with you to-day. I brought a little work along, and I thought that if I got a minute I would try to do some of it. You will only have a little while to stay anyway, so go ahead and enjoy yourselves while you may. I’ll tell you when time is up. I’ll go with you as far as the house. You needn’t be afraid that I’ll forget.”
So, in a few minutes the boys were on the beach once more, ready to try their luck on the skees. They watched the group of fellows that had at first caught their attention until they thought that they knew pretty well what to do. When they fancied they could safely venture they waded out until the water was about to their waists. Then, resting the long board on the water, they tried their best to mount it, as they had seen the other fellows do. But they would just get the board placed nicely with its point toward the shore, when a wave would come along and carry it out from under their feet.
They had very nearly given it up in despair when one of the fellows from the other group came over and spoke to them.
“Is this your first try at the surf boards?” he asked, and they knew from the very tone of his voice that he was what they had thought him, an American. “We saw you were having trouble, and we thought you wouldn’t mind if we gave you a few pointers. It’s hard to do at first, but when you once catch on it’s a cinch.”
“We would be very much obliged if you would show us how to manage them,” Bert replied. “I thought that I had tried pretty nearly every kind of water trick, but this is a new one on me.”
“Yes, we can’t seem to get the hang of it,” Tom added. “How do you stay on the thing when you once get there?”
So our boys and the others soon became very well acquainted, and it wasn’t very long before they were doing as well as the strangers. All too soon they saw the Doctor coming down the beach toward them, and they knew that the time was up. They bade good-bye to their new found friends and hurried up to the inn to get ready for the rest of the journey. For the whole afternoon they rode through scenes of the most striking beauty and grandeur.
They went through the historic valley of Nuuanu, where the great battle was waged by Kamehameha the Great, sometimes called the Napoleon of the Pacific. They followed the scene of that terrible struggle until they came to the precipice over which the Oahu army of more than three thousand men had been forced to a swift death on the rocks below.
When they reached the hotel at which they had expected to stay for the night, they found a telegram waiting for them. Doctor Hamilton opened it and read, “Come at once. Ship sails to-morrow morning, nine o’clock.”
“That means,” said the Doctor, “that we will have to start for the Fearless as soon as we can get a bite to eat.”
So start they did, and it took hard riding nearly the whole night to get them to the ship in time. After they had settled with the landlord of the Seaside House and had hustled their belongings into the car, they started for the dock and found that they were just in the nick of time.
As Bert turned from his companions toward the operating room to take down any last messages that Hawaii might want to send, he said with a sigh, “I’m sorry that we had to leave sooner than we expected, but as long as we had to – say, fellows, wasn’t that ride great?”
CHAPTER VII
A Swim for Life
It was a hot day, even for the tropics, and everybody felt the heat intensely. Awnings had been stretched over the deck, and under their inviting shade the passengers tried to find relief from the burning sun, but with little success. A slight accident to the machinery had caused the ship to heave to, so that they were deprived of the artificial breeze caused by the vessel’s motion. The oppressive heat rivaled anything the boys had ever felt, and for once even their effervescent spirits flagged. They lolled about the deck in listless attitudes, and were even too hot to cut up the usual “monkeyshines” that gave the passengers many a hearty laugh. Dick looked longingly at the green, cool-appearing water, that heaved slowly and rhythmically, like some vast monster asleep.
“Make out it wouldn’t feel good to dive in there, and have a good, long swim,” he exclaimed, in a wistful voice. “Just think of wallowing around in that cool ocean, and feeling as though you weren’t about to melt and become a grease spot at any moment. Gee, I’d give anything I own to be able to jump in right now.”
“Go ahead,” grinned Bert, “only don’t be surprised if we fish you out minus a leg or two. Those two sharks that have been following the ship for the last week would welcome you as a very agreeable addition to their bill of fare.”
“Yes,” chimed in Ralph, “and that’s not the only thing, either. I’ve felt sorry for those poor old sharks for quite a while. Here they follow our ship around for a week, hoping that somebody will fall overboard and furnish them a square meal, and then everybody disappoints them. I call it pretty mean conduct.”
“That’s my idea exactly,” agreed Bert, “and I think it would only be doing the gentlemanly thing for Dick to volunteer. You won’t disappoint your friends on a little point like that, will you, Dick?”
“No, certainly not,” responded Dick, scornfully. “Just ring the dinner bell, so that the sharks will be sure not to miss me, and I’ll jump in any time you say. Nothing I can think of would give me greater pleasure.”
“Well, on second thought,” laughed Bert, “I think we’d better save you a little while, and fatten you up. I’m afraid you haven’t got fat enough on you at present to give entire satisfaction. We might as well do this thing up right, you know.”
“O, sure, anything to oblige,” grunted Dick. “Just dispose of me any way you think best. Naturally, the subject has little interest for me.”
“Aw, you’re selfish, Dick, that’s what’s the matter with you,” said Ralph. “I’d be willing to bet any money that you’re thinking more of yourself than you are of those two poor, hungry fish. Gee, I’m glad I’m not like that.”
“All right, then,” responded Dick, quickly, “as long as you feel that way, and I don’t, why don’t you serve yourself up to the suffering sharks? Besides, you’re fatter than I am.”
Apparently Ralph could think of no satisfactory answer to this profound remark and so changed the subject.
“Well,” he exclaimed, “all this doesn’t get us any nearer to a good swim. I wish this were one of the steamships I was on not long since.”
“Why, how was that?” inquired Bert.
“Well, on that ship they had a regular swimming tank on board. Of course, it wasn’t a very big one, but it was plenty large enough to give a person a good swim. Gee, I used to just about live in that tank on a day like this.”
“I suppose that was what you might call a tank steamer, wasn’t it?” said Bert, and his remark raised a general laugh.
But now an elderly man among the passengers, who up to now had listened to the boys’ conversation with a smile on his face, but had not spoken, said, “Why don’t you ask the captain to rig up the swimming nets? I’m sure he would be willing to do it for you, if you asked him in the right way.”
“Swimming nets!” exclaimed Dick, “what’s a swimming net?”
“Why, it’s simply a sort of a cage that they rig up alongside the ship, and anybody that wants to can swim to their heart’s content inside it. The net keeps sharks out, and makes it safe.”