Mysterious Signal (23 page)

Carrying pumps, deckhands ran to help. Racing against time, they threw open more hatches, dropped the long stem of the pumps through the hole. With one person on either side of a pump, they stood like men bowing to one another. Pushing up, down, up, down, they tried to keep the hold from filling up.

As the
Christina
drew close to the
James Mason
, Captain Suiter spoke into the tube. Moments later the engineer cut the
Christina’
s speed. Careful not to dislodge the other boat from the rock, Captain Suiter called down again. “Slowly, gently.”

As the
Christina
came alongside, her crew threw out lines. The other crew caught and secured them. With the boats tied side by side, the bow of the
James Mason
lay alongside the stern of the
Christina
. Moving as with one thought, the
Christina
’s crew boarded the
James Mason
. Passing donnage from one ship to the other, they carried extra pumps to hatches, working alongside the other crew.

From the hold came another cry, “More mattresses!”

Libby sprang into action. Leaping down the steps from the pilothouse, she raced to her room. Flinging open the door, she pulled the mattress off her bed and dragged it across the hurricane deck.

“Watch out below!” she cried, then threw the mattress over the railing onto the deck of the other ship.

Again and again Libby ran into staterooms. Each time she threw a mattress onto the other boat, it vanished down a hatch. On her seventh or eighth trip to the side of the
James Mason
, Libby stopped dead in her tracks.
Something changed
.

For an instant she stood there, wondering what it was. The moment she knew, the fear she had felt disappeared, replaced by terror.

Forgetting the mattresses, Libby raced up the steps to the pilothouse. “Pa!” she cried. “The flag! The wind has shifted! It’s coming from the northwest!”

It took only one look at the men in the pilothouse to know they had seen the same thing. Held by the point of the rock midship, the
James Mason
had already started to turn.

“If it comes off the rock, water will pour in like a flood!” Pa said.

Her panic growing, Libby peered down at the other boat. Men in the hold had felt the shift. Like gophers fleeing a hole, they scrambled from the hatches.

“We’ve got to keep that boat from drifting free!” Pa exclaimed. “If she drifts free, she’ll sink us both!”

Leaning forward into the tube, Captain Suiter called down to the engineer. “I’ll give you a rapid series of orders. Answer as quickly as you can.”

His commands strong and clear, the pilot spoke without hesitation. “Come ahead easy on the starboard wheel. Come back easy on the port. Stop your starboard wheel. Stop your port wheel. Come back now strong on the port wheel.”

With each order the boat responded. At last Captain Norstad said, “I think you got her under control. She’s not swinging now.”

Captain Suiter spoke into the tube. “Hold her steady.”

Stepping to the window, Captain Norstad ordered his crew back down the hatch. Just then Libby noticed Caleb working with the men on the pumps.

“Get every male passenger working,” Captain Norstad ordered. “Take every mattress you need from our rooms.”

With new energy the pumpers moved up, down, up, down, trying to keep the boat from sinking. Then as Jordan took the place of a deckhand, Libby saw beyond him.

At the bow of the
James Mason
stood a young woman with a three- or four-year-old boy in her arms. In the wind her hair streamed away from her face. Seeing the panic in the woman’s eyes, Libby felt a warning deep within.

She heard
, Libby thought.
She heard someone say the boat will sink. Someone that scared will do most anything
.

Racing out of the pilothouse, Libby leaped down the steps. From one deck to the next she flew. On the main deck, she tore past Peter and Samson, then heard them follow her through the cargo space. As Libby reached the stern of the
Christina
, the woman teetered on the bow of the
James Mason
. Clinging to her child, she jumped into the water.

In the next instant Libby kicked off her shoes.

“I’ll help you,” Peter said. “I can swim!”

“No!” Libby exclaimed, then shook her head. “If I have trouble, get Caleb.” Libby signed his name, then the signal for help.

With a running leap she jumped off the deck. As she surfaced Libby heard a splash from behind.
Samson!

Libby knew he would grab her arm.
Just so he doesn’t think he has to rescue me
.

Straight for the woman Libby swam. By the time Libby reached her, the woman had come back up, thrashing the water with one arm. Moments later she and her boy disappeared beneath the surface again.

Diving down, Libby grabbed the youngster from the
woman’s arms, then fought her way up. As she surfaced, Samson was there. When Libby held out the child, the dog’s soft mouth closed around the boy’s arm. Carefully the dog held the child’s head above water.

Moments later the woman came back up. For one instant Libby saw the terror in the woman’s eyes. Desperate now, she swung her arm toward Libby’s head.

Libby ducked, missing most of the blow. Dropping below the surface again, she stayed underwater to swim up behind the woman. In the next instant Libby brought her arm across the woman’s chest and pulled her up to the surface. Still thrashing, the woman thought only of getting free.

“Stop it!” Libby ordered. “Let me help you!”

Instead, the woman pushed back a leg and kicked Libby. Treading water, Libby backed away but kept her grip. Soon she wondered how long she could hold on.

“Help!” Libby cried out. “Help!” The fear within her growing, she wondered if anyone would hear.

Still fighting, the woman twisted again.
She’ll drown us both
, Libby thought.
I can’t hang on!
Unwilling to give up, Libby clung to the woman with her last breath of strength.

Then Libby heard a splash in the water. Moments later she felt a hand reach out. A hand that stopped the woman’s thrashing.

“Take Samson’s tail,” a voice said. Turning her head, Libby saw that it was Caleb.

Together they all swam for the
Christina
. At the stern, people reached out, finally seeing their need in all of the confusion.

Crew members knelt down, helping the woman and child
on board. Still panting, Libby hung on to the edge of the boat. Then it was her turn to receive help. Safe on deck at last, she sank down and leaned back against a large crate.

When Samson shook his body, water flew in all directions. His thick coat dripping, he nuzzled Libby’s arm, then lay down beside her. Before long Caleb dropped down next to them.

By the time Libby caught her breath, men had stopped the flow of water into the
James Mason
. Deckhands still manned the pumps, but they had been able to nail boards across the mattresses to hold them in place.

When Captain Jenks boarded the
Christina
, Libby and Caleb hurried forward to listen. With a new look of humility, the captain of the
James Mason
asked Pa for a tow to the head of the rapids.

“Well—” Pa seemed to think about it. But Libby had no doubt what his final answer would be.

“You’re a lot of extra weight for us to carry,” Pa said, “and I’m in a hurry to get to Galena. In fact, I have no choice but to be there by four o’clock tomorrow.”

“The people need to get ashore,” Captain Jenks said.

“Yes, the people,” Pa answered. “You should have thought about them in the first place. You could have lost a boat full of people. And perhaps you should take on a rapids pilot next time.”

“Oh, I will,” Captain Jenks answered, as though he had never considered any other option.

“If that’s a promise—” Libby’s father left the sentence hanging.

“It’s a promise,” the captain said.

“Then perhaps we can pour on extra steam,” Pa replied.

“Perhaps we can tow you in. But have you noticed how much time we’ve lost?”

Pa tipped his head toward the west where the sun had dropped behind the trees. “You’ll have to wait till first light tomorrow. No matter how much I want to get to Galena, it’s not safe going through the rest of the rapids after sundown.”

When Captain Jenks returned to his boat, Libby and Caleb went back to the
Christina
’s stern. As they sat down again, Libby realized that Caleb hadn’t spoken a word since coming out of the water.

“Are they all right?” Libby asked about the woman and child they had rescued.

“Gran is taking care of them,” Caleb said. “As soon as the woman settles down, they’ll be okay.”

When he said no more, Libby knew there was something really wrong. “What’s bothering you?” she asked.

Caleb finally looked her in the eyes. “Libby, you scared me to death!” he exclaimed. “I was working on the
James Mason
. If I hadn’t walked forward to their bow just then, I wouldn’t have seen you at all.”

Libby swallowed hard. She hated to admit how scared she’d been herself. Right now the woman’s thrashing in the water was still too real.

But then Libby remembered Caleb’s words after she was dragged to the police station.
“Don’t you ever get upset?”
she had asked him.
“Only if it’s worth it,”
Caleb told her with a self-satisfied grin.
“Just once,”
Libby had hissed,
“I would like to see you get nervous and upset and throw up.”

Now her voice was as innocent as she knew how to make it. “I really scared you?” She offered Caleb the smile she practiced
on the boys in Chicago. “Was it worth getting upset?”

But Caleb ignored her teasing. “The first thing I saw was that woman hitting you across the head. You went under, and I didn’t know if you’d ever come up again.”

Caleb cleared his throat. “I thought I’d never get there in time. That I’d never find you in the water.”

In that instant Libby turned serious. “Thanks, Caleb. I needed your help.”

Caleb met her gaze. “And I care about what happens to you.”

“I’m glad,” Libby said softly. “You really care?”

“I really do.”

“Good,” Libby said aloud, but inside she felt much more.

“In fact,” he said, “you’re important to me.”

“You think so?” This time it was Libby who could not look him in the eyes.

“You’re a special person, Libby.”

“I am?” More than once she had wondered what Caleb thought of her. He was so independent that it was hard to tell.

“You’re almost as special as Samson.”

Now Libby had no problem looking at Caleb. But Caleb kept on.

“When you dive off a boat to rescue someone, you need to ask for help.”

“I did,” Libby answered calmly, but her heart was still racing. Asking for help was a rule Pa taught her long ago. “I told Peter to get you.”

“Peter? He didn’t say a word. In fact, I haven’t seen him at all.”

“Uh-oh!” Libby said. “Where is he?”

“When did you see him last?”

“Just before I jumped in. I said, ‘If I have trouble, get Caleb.’ Then I remembered to sign your name. He didn’t find you?”

Caleb looked worried now. “I was manning the pumps. The last you talked with Peter, he was standing on the edge of the deck? On the stern?”

“Right there.” Libby pointed at the boards. “And Samson was right next to him.” Just looking at the water that was growing darker by the moment made Libby feel sick.

Then her stomach turned over. “Last night Peter was afraid. He asked if he could have Samson with him. And Samson left him to follow me into the water!”

“Did you see anyone else?” Caleb asked.

“Like Dexter?” Libby shook her head. Then, like a bolt of lightning, her thoughts streaked out. “Dexter? Do you think—Oh no, Caleb! Not even Dexter would—”

“It would just take one push.”

Libby stared at Caleb. “One push. And we would never know. No one could prove a thing!”

As the horror of it struck her, Libby moaned. “Oh, Caleb!”

Filled with terror, Libby jumped to her feet. “Peter!” she shouted without thinking. “Peter, where are you?”

CHAPTER 19