The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea Part 32

"How did the fire happen?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of the captain, when she got the chance.

"One of the electric light wires broke and set fire to some oily rags,"

answered Captain Crane. "Then some empty wooden boxes began to blaze.

There was nothing in them--all the food having been taken out--but the wood made quite a fire and a lot of smoke.

"Mr. Chase, who was on deck steering, smelled the smoke and saw the little blaze down in a storeroom. He called me and I called Mr. Dent. We hoped we could get the fire out before you folks knew about it. But I guess we didn't," said the captain.

"I smelled smoke, and it woke me up," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Then I called my husband and we all came on deck."

"That was the right thing to do," Captain Crane said. "And it was also good to put on the life preservers," for even Flossie and Freddie had done this. "Always get ready for the worst," the captain went on, "and then if you don't have to take to the small boats so much the better.

But the fire will soon be out."

"Can I see the fire engine?" asked Freddie. "I haven't seen a fire engine for a long while." At his home he was always interested in this, but, luckily, Lakeport had few fires.

"It isn't exactly a fire engine," said Cousin Jasper to the little fellow. "It's just a big pump that forms part of one of the motors. I guess you can see how it works, for the fire is so nearly out now that we won't need much more water on it."

So the Bobbseys took off their life preservers, which are not very comfortable things to wear, and stayed on deck, watching the flames die out and the smoke drift away. The _Swallow_ had been slowed down while the captain and the others were fighting the fire.

"Everything is all right now," said Cousin Jasper, and he took Freddie to the motor room to show him the pump, while Captain Crane still played the hose on the last dying embers.

The fire only burned up the oil-soaked rags and some empty boxes, not doing any damage to the motor boat, except a little scorching. The smoke made part of the _Swallow_ black, but this could be painted over.

"And very lucky for us it was no worse," said Mr. Bobbsey, when they were ready to go back to their staterooms.

Freddie stayed and watched the pump as long as they would let him. It could be fastened to one of the motors and it pumped water from the ocean itself on the blaze.

"It's better than having a regular fire engine on land," said Freddie, telling Flossie about it afterward, "'cause in the ocean you can take all the water you like and n.o.body minds it. When I grow up I'm going to be a fireman on the ocean, and have lots of water."

"You'll have to have a boat so you can go on the ocean," said the little girl.

"Well, I like a boat, too," went on Freddie. "You can run the boat, Flossie, and I'll run the pump fire engine."

"All right," agreed little Flossie. "That's what we'll do."

After making sure that the last spark was out, Captain Crane shut off the water. The Bobbseys went back to bed, but neither the father nor the mother of the twins slept well the rest of the night. They were too busy thinking what might have happened if the fire had not been seen in time and plenty of water sprayed on it to put it out.

"Though there would not have been much danger," Captain Crane said at the breakfast table, where they all gathered the next morning. "We could all have gotten off in the two boats, and we could have rowed to some island. The sea was smooth."

"Where would we get anything to eat?" asked Nan.

"Oh, we'd put that in the boats before we left the s.h.i.+p," said the captain. "And we'd take water, too. But still I'm glad we didn't have to do that."

And the Bobbseys were glad, too.

Part of the day was spent in getting out of the storeroom the burned pieces of boxes. These were thrown overboard. Then one of the crew painted over the scorched places, and, by night, except for the smell of smoke and paint, one would hardly have known where the fire had been.

The weather was bright and sunny after leaving Palm Island, and the twins sat about the deck and looked across the deep, blue sea for a sight of the other island, where, it was hoped, the boy Jack would be found.

"I wonder what he's doing now," remarked Bert, as he and Nan were talking about the lost one, while Flossie and Freddie were listening to a story their mother was telling.

"Maybe he's walking up and down the beach looking for us to come,"

suggested Nan.

"How could he look for us when he doesn't know we're coming?" asked Bert.

"Well, maybe he _hopes_ some boat will come for him," went on Nan. "And he must know that Cousin Jasper wouldn't go away and leave him all alone."

"Yes, I guess that's so," agreed Bert. "It must be pretty lonesome, all by himself on an island."

"But maybe somebody else is with him, or maybe he's been taken away,"

went on Nan. "Anyhow we'll soon know."

"How shall we?" asked Bert.

"'Cause Captain Crane said we'd be at the island to-morrow if we didn't have a storm, or if nothing happened."

On and on went the _Swallow_. When dinner time came there was served some of the turtle soup from the big crawler that had pulled on Flossie's dress. There was also fish, but Freddie did not catch any more.

Cousin Jasper and Mr. Bobbsey fished off the side of the motor boat and caught some large ones, which the cook cleaned and got ready for the table.

"Going to sea is very nice," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "You don't have to send to the store for anything to eat, and when you are hungry all you have to do is to drop your hook overboard and catch a fish."

It was about noon of the next day when Bert, who was standing in the bow, or front part of the vessel, said to his father:

"I see something like a black speck out there," and he pointed. "Maybe it's another boat."

Mr. Bobbsey looked and said:

"I think more likely that is an island. Perhaps it is the very one we are sailing for--the one where Cousin Jasper left Jack."

He called to Captain Crane, who brought a powerful telescope, and through that the men looked at the speck Bert had first seen.

"It's land all right," said Captain Crane. In about an hour they were so near the island that its shape could easily be made out, even without a gla.s.s. Then Cousin Jasper said:

"That's it all right. Now to go ash.o.r.e and find that poor boy!"

On raced the _Swallow_, and soon she dropped anchor in a little bay like the one at Palm Island. In a small boat the Bobbseys and others were rowed to the sh.o.r.e.

"Oh, look at the orange trees!" cried Nan, as she saw some in a grove near the beach.

"Are they real oranges, Captain?" asked the younger girl twin.

"Yes. And it looks as though some one had an orange grove here at one time, not so very long ago, though it hasn't been kept up."

"Is this Orange Island?" asked Bert.

"Well, we can call it that," said Cousin Jasper. "In fact it never had a name, as far as I know. We'll call it Orange Island now."