The Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific

“It’s all like a dream to me so far,” said Jerushah Jukes, as they made their way back through the cave and past the “haunted” waterfall. “Broom sent me up here with a guard of his men. The tribe appeared to be friendly to him and agreed to keep me prisoner as long as he wished. But my poor crew? What has become of them?”

“That we do not know yet,” said Mr. Jukes, “but we will talk later. I want to put all the distance I can between this tribe and our party as soon as we can. Those women will give the alarm although they dared not make an active protest.”

But as they emerged from the cave they met with a rude shock. A party of warriors with frizzed hair and war-paint daubing their bodies barred the way.

At first the tribesmen stood motionless with astonishment at the sight of a party of white men emerging from their secret cave. But the next instant they broke into a savage volley of shouts and yells and raised their spears and cruel-looking war clubs.

“We have come too late, my poor brother,” groaned Mr. Jukes. But suddenly Salloo raised his voice. He spoke in tones of loud authority. The spears and clubs were lowered. He turned to Mr. Jukes and in a quick low voice said:

“Give me um map. Quick, our lives depend on him.”

The millionaire lost no time in producing ‘Bully’ Broom’s map. The most be-frizzed of the natives pored over it for several minutes. Then one of them said in fair English:

“You come from Chief Broom; all right, you may go. He tell us to keep white man till he send for him. You show Broom’s map. He all right. Goo’ bye,” and the warriors went on.

Thus by the clever Malay’s strategy he had told the warriors, who had returned unexpectedly, that the white men had been sent by ‘Bully’ Broom, – they were saved from disaster. But the tribesmen had demanded proof of Salloo’s story and, in the nick of time, he had luckily thought of the map which satisfied their suspicions at once, for Broom was the only white man, except the prisoner, who had ever visited the secret cave.

The return to the camp was made without incident and Jack, on reaching it, at once rigged up his wireless apparatus and flashed to the Sea Gypsy the glad news of the rescue of the millionaire’s brother. But, a few minutes later, he, in his turn, was receiving good tidings. Broom had returned to Bomobori and was arrested while he was recruiting a crew to make a dash into the jungle and intercept the Jukes’ party. He was apprehended while rowing ashore from a native craft.

As the officers of the law seized him, he was seen to throw something into the water. One of the native oarsmen instantly dived after the object and succeeded in grabbing it before it reached the bottom. It proved to be the great pearl, “The Tear of the Sea.” And there was yet more intelligence of a kind to hearten them after all their tribulations in the wild jungles of New Guinea.

The first officer of the Sea Gypsy, having received news of a mysterious schooner anchored in a cove up the coast, resolved to do a little amateur detective work. He found that she was none other than the famous South Sea Lass. Securing the co-operation of the authorities, the vessel was raided one night and her small crew easily overpowered. Then cries were heard from below and on the removal of the hatches the crew of the Centurion, or what remained of them – for five had died from privation – were discovered. They had refused to join Broom’s band and he was afraid to let them loose, so they had been confined in the almost unlivable hold ever since their capture. Since Broom’s arrest, the Australian authorities had cabled that he was wanted there for piracy and other crimes and he had been sent to Melbourne on a mail steamer. It may be added here that British justice was dealt out with a heavy hand to the ruffian and his many victims were fully avenged. His crew was tried and sentenced in Bomobori and all received heavy terms of imprisonment. Thus were the South Seas rid of one of the chief of their many freebooters.

The long march back to Bomobori was made without anything of particular interest occurring and one morning they stood on a rise overlooking the harbor. There lay the Sea Gypsy with the dear old Stars and Stripes flying, and the ship dressed in gay bunting; for by wireless Jack had notified those on board of the time of their arrival. A few hours more and they were among their friends again with their strange experiences behind them.

As there was no reason for staying in Bomobori, except to take on board the survivors of the Centurion’s crew, the Sea Gypsy steamed out of the harbor the next day, being saluted as she went, a compliment which she returned with her rapid-fire gun. Watching them from the wharf were two figures. One a tall agile Malay, who, with tears in his eyes, watched the yacht till she was hull-down on the horizon. It was Salloo. He had been well rewarded for his services which indeed, as Mr. Jukes said, were beyond price; but, as he watched the departure of his white friends, his thoughts were only with them and not with what were, to him, the riches of a lifetime.

The other watcher turned away with a sneer, jingling the money Mr. Jukes had left him in his pockets:

“So I’ve got to stick round this hole till I can get a steamer home,” grumbled Donald Judson, for, as our readers will have guessed, it was he. “If it hadn’t been for those boys I might have gone home in comfort on the yacht. Well, maybe some day I’ll get even with them.”

On the voyage home a stop was made at the Pamatou Islands; the glad news of the rescue had already been wirelessed home, and there was no great hurry except Mr. Jukes’ desire to get back to his business affairs after a romantic adventure he would never forget. As the Sea Gypsy dropped anchor in the well-known harbor, a fleet of canoes dashed out to welcome her, among them you may be sure those of Anai and his friend, who wept tears of joy at seeing their white “chums” once more. Mr. Jukes, his speculative instinct once more in the ascendent, bought a large quantity of pearls on which he subsequently realized a good profit.

“But we must hurry home,” he said one day. “My business will be going to rack and ruin without me and besides I’ve run out of dyspepsia pills. I only hope I didn’t ruin my digestion in the jungle.”

And here the adventures of the Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific must be brought to a close, except that it might be mentioned that pretty Helen Dennis, whose father’s ship was in port on the return of the Sea Gypsy, now wears a very pretty locket, set with South Sea pearls – the gift of Jack Ready. And so, till we meet them in the next volume of this series, we will wish the lads and their friends good-bye.

THE END