a glorious sunrise broke across the ocean, lifting the island peaks to the north into a sheen of purple-rose and gold. dennis wakened to it—he had gone to sleep stretched out upon a blanket on the quarter-deck—with a thrill of sheer delight in the golden splendour overhead; then he realized that the steward was calling him, and he leaped up.
the pelican with her canvas all housed, had been but little influenced by the breeze from the north-west. she had made leeway, drifting a couple of miles from her late anchorage; having no glasses at hand, dennis could not tell whether the jap ship still lay by the island or not.
"there's a boat tacking down to us, sir!" rang out the steward's voice from forward.
dennis glimpsed her at once, and saw that she must be a fishing-boat—a sturdy, bluff little craft which seemed to carry but two people, as he looked, he saw her brown canvas flutter down; she was coming from the north-east, and when her canvas was stowed she headed directly for the pelican.
"got a motor, eh?" reflected dennis.
he swung down the companion way and located the binoculars of the skipper. with these he returned to the deck. caring less about the fishing-boat than about conditions at the island, he picked up the latter point first; the steward had joined him and stood waiting for disclosures.
there was no ship in sight, much to the surprise of dennis. nor could he make out any sign of life upon the rocky crags of the island itself. about a mile distant from the brigantine he located a boat floating bottom-side up. it was a whaleboat, and as it swung around with the seas dennis made out the figure two painted at its bows.
"that's the boat mr. leman took last night, blime if it ain't!" ejaculated the steward, upon learning its number from dennis. "nothin' else in sight sir?"
"no—hold on!" dennis caught something adrift toward the north end of the island. "by thunder, there's another boat—she seems to be standing out this way. there's someone aboard her; they're getting up a sail. seems to be only two or three of them——"
"that fishin boat is 'eading this w'y, sir," broke in the steward. "shall i pass 'er?"
"by all means," responded dennis, and turned his glasses toward the craft.
amazement thrilled within him—amazement, and startled unbelief. one figure aboard her was huddled over the engine amidships and could not be discerned; but in the stern, wonder of wonders, sat florence!
there could be no mistake about it. she was heavily wrapped in fur robes, but dennis saw her face sharply and distinctly—her pale eager features, her brown eyes fastened upon the whaler, her fur-gloved hand upon the tiller of the boat. with a wild yell of delight tom dennis leaped up, waving his arms, and he saw florence wave back response.
"it's my wife, steward—hurrah!" dennis ran forward to aid the cockney. "she must have come all the way from unalaska in that boat! here, get your line ready by the diver's ladder in the waist; it'll be an easy climb there. great glory, what a surprise!"
"yes, sir," returned the steward, adding: "and werry lucky hit is, sir, as she didn't get 'ere larst night!"
"you bet," said dennis devoutly. "thank heaven for the fog—it must have prevented their trying to make the island!"
as the fishing craft drew in toward the whaler, dennis recognized the man at her engine—it was the same grizzled fisherman whom he had hired to pick up jerry. the fisherman shut off his engine and came in to the bow to receive the line which the steward flung; the boat drew in beside the drifting pelican. florence, rising stiffly, was aided to the ladder by her bronzed helper, and a moment later dennis held her in his arms.
"what on earth!" he exclaimed, as she broke into mingled tears and laughter. "what brought you here, dearest?"
"you, tom!" she exclaimed. "jerry told us that they meant to send you down in a diving-suit and—and—oh, i'm glad we're not too late! captain nickers has been a darling, tom——"
dennis shook hands with the fisherman, who grinned and eyed the ship.
"looks kind o' fussed up, don't she?" said nickers. "where's everybody?"
florence glanced around quickly. "oh! where are they, tom? quick, you must get away——"
"take it easy," said dennis, and pointed to the whaleboat standing down the wind toward them. "where they are, i don't know! lots of things have happened. so you came all this way to give me warning?"
"you bet," said nickers. "say, dennis, if i had a wife like you have—by gum, i'd give a million dollars! that run over here ain't no cinch for a lady, let me tell you; but she stood watch an' watch with me like an old hand—well, she's a wonder!"
"we had to," florence laughed, flushing under the ardent words of grizzled old nickers. "i was terribly afraid for you, tom, and there was no one else we could get—but tell us, what's happened?"
dennis glanced at the approaching boat and saw that she would not reach them for ten minutes. so, dispatching the steward to make ready some coffee, he gave florence and nickers a brief outline of the situation, making light of his own peril.
"where the japs are," he concluded, "i've not the faintest idea. and i can't figure out what happened last night—where pontifex and the others went. i don't believe he blew up the jap ship, for i can't see any signs of wreckings except mr. leman's boat. well, here's this boat coming in. what's that in her stern, nickers?"
having dropped his glasses in the excitement of getting florence aboard dennis could make out only that the approaching whaleboat was manned by three kanakas of the pelican's crew, but in her stern was a queer shapeless mass that looked strangely terrible. across the thwarts forward lay two silent brown figures, inanimate and evidently dead. it was manifest that from this boat there was nothing to fear.
"why, tom!" florence caught dennis' arm, a wild thrill in her voice. "in the stern—it's mrs. pontifex."
one of the kanakas stepped forward across the dead bodies of his two comrades and bawled for a line as the boat's sail whipped down. nickers flung another rope, and the whaleboat came in beside the fishing craft. then, for the first time, mrs. pontifex stirred—and dennis saw that her head was swathed in bandages.
the kanakas, frightened and trembling at the appearance of dennis whom they had thought dead, came aboard aiding the missus. their story was a ghastly one. at the first flame of blazing oil, they had opened fire upon the jap vessel, obeying orders previously given them by the missus. but their firing had ceased with the explosion; it had stunned them. they had wakened to find two of their number dead—and the missus blind.
all that night they had lain rocking to the swells after vainly trying to find the pelican. the jap ship had gone. they had heard men swimming out to her from shore, and had caught the sound of oars; then her motor had started. it was very plain that the japs had been thoroughly frightened, and after picking up their men ashore had turned and run for it.
florence, meantime, had aided the groaning mrs. pontifex to get below.
to his queries, dennis could elicit no response from the kanakas regarding mr. leman or pontifex. they had landed at dawn, but had found the island deserted. seeing the pelican to leeward; they had set out to join her, passing on the way the floating whaleboat. they identified it beyond question as mr. leman's boat.
the steward came up with pannikins of coffee during the talk, and now broke into the discussion.
"beg pardon, sir," he said to dennis, "but i think as i know what 'appened, sir."
"you do? then out with it!"
"like this, sir. the skipper, e' myde 'is own fusee for that 'ere bomb, and i seen 'im a-myking of it. 'e rolled it wet, sir, but 'e myde it in the hafternoon, sir, and before 'e come to use it larst night, the bloody fussee 'ad dried out, sir. so when 'e lighted it, why, it wasn't no fusee at all, but a regular train o' powder, sir——"
dennis turned away, sickened by the thought of what must have happened. the explosion must have taken place almost instantly—no wonder mr. leman's boat was floating bottom upward! pontifex and ericksen and corny and the others—all gone!
"well," said nickers phlegmatically, sipping his hot coffee, "all i got to say, looks like old pontifex got what he was fixing to give other folks. hey?"
dennis nodded and left the spot. getting coffee and biscuits from the steward, he went to the after companion way; but at the top of the ladder he encountered florence coming up alone.
"i'll take this to mrs. pontifex——"
"no use, tom," florence stopped him, her face very pale. "poor thing, she can't eat yet; tom, she broke down in my arms—oh, i can't talk of it! the poor woman——"
dennis forced a draught of coffee upon her, and florence swallowed the hot liquid. it sent a glow of colour into her pale cheeks.
"so she's broken, eh?" mused dennis. "poor thing—one can't help but feel sorry for her, florence, and yet in a way she deserved all that has happened. look here, what are we going to do? about ourselves, i mean, and this ship, and the salvage."
he briefly explained what must have happened to pontifex and mr. leman, glossing over the event as much as possible. but florence seemed not to hear. she stood at the rail, gazing out at the purple peaks to the north for a long while. suddenly she turned back to him, a faint smile upon her lips.
"tom, the first thing will be to straighten everything out at unalaska! before i left, i told the authorities everything. they're trying to get the revenue cutter, but we shan't need her now, of course.
"we can charter this ship from mrs. pontifex—it'll give the poor woman some money to go on—for a share in the proceeds of the salvage. then we can come back and clear up everything in father's old ship——"
"agreed." dennis turned. "oh, cap'n nickers! think we can take this craft into unalaska with what hands we have?"
"reckon we can," floated back the voice of the grizzled fisherman. "i got a master's ticket, and if i can't lay a course there's something wrong with the gov'ment!"
dennis looked eagerly to florence. "we'll make him skipper—eh? and we'll give him a share in the profits, too——"
her arms crept about his shoulders. "oh, tom—we'll do everything, won't we? but you'll never leave me behind again."
"not much!" dennis pressed his lips to hers, and laughed softly.
