Signal in the Dark Page 8

  CHAPTER 7 _MAN OVERBOARD!_

  Penny and Ben ran to the edge of the dock, peering into the dark, oilywaters. On the deck of the _Snark_ there was a murmur of voices, thensilence.

  Casting a quick glance upward, Penny was angered to see that the men whohad been standing there had vanished into a cabin or companionway.Obviously, they had no intention of trying to aid the unfortunate man.

  "There he is!" Ben exclaimed, suddenly catching another glimpse of thebobbing head. "About done in too!"

  Kicking off his shoes and stripping off his coat, the reporter dived fromthe dock. He struck the water with an awkward splash, but Penny wasrelieved to see that he really could swim well. He struck out for thedrowning man, but before he could reach him, the fellow slipped quietlybeneath the surface.

  Close by were two barges lashed together, and the current would take abody in that direction. Ben jack-knifed and went down into the inkywaters in a surface dive. Unable to find the man, he came up, filled hislungs in a noisy gulp, and went down again. He was under such a long timethat Penny became frantic with anxiety.

  She decided to turn in an alarm for the city rescue squad. But before shecould act, Ben surfaced again, and this time she saw that he held theother man by the hair.

  As Ben slowly towed the fellow toward the dock, Penny realized that shemust find some way to get them both out of the river. She could expect nohelp from anyone aboard the _Snark_. Gazing upward again, she thought shesaw a man watching her from the vessel's bow, but as her gaze focusedupon him, he retreated into deeper shadow, beyond view.

  No guards were anywhere near, and the entire waterfront seemed deserted.Penny's eyes fastened upon a rope which hung loosely over a dock post. Itwas long enough to serve her purpose, and finding it unattached, shehurled one end toward Ben.

  He caught it on the second try and made a loop fast about the body of theman he towed. Penny then pulled them both to the dock.

  "You can't haul us up," Ben instructed from below. "Just hold on, and Ithink I can get out of here by myself."

  He swam off in the darkness and was lost to view. Penny clung desperatelyto the rope, knowing that if she relaxed for an instant, the man, alreadyhalf drowned, would submerge for good. Her arms began to ache. It seemedto her she could not hold on another instant.

  Then Ben, his clothes plastered to his thin body, came running across theplanks.

  Without a word he seized the rope, and together they raised the man tothe dock. In the darkness Penny saw only that he was slender, and incivilian clothes.

  Stretching him out on the dock boards, they prepared to give artificialresuscitation. But it was unnecessary. For at the first pressure on hisback, the man rolled over and muttered: "Cut it out. I'm okay."

  Then he lay still, exhausted, but breathing evenly.

  "You were lucky to get him, Ben," Penny said as she knelt beside thestranger. "If the current had carried him beneath those barges, he neverwould have been taken out alive."

  "I had to dive deep," Ben admitted. "Found him plastered right againstthe side of the first barge. Yeah, I was lucky, and so is he."

  The man stirred again, and sat up. Penny tried to support him, but hemoved away, revealing that he wanted no help.

  "Who pushed you overboard?" Ben asked.

  The man stared at him and did not answer.

  Observing that Ben was shivering from cold, and that the stranger too wasseverely chilled, Penny proposed calling either the rescue squad or anambulance.

  "Not on your life," muttered the rescued man, trying to get up. "I'mokay, and I'm getting out of here."

  With Ben's help, he managed to struggle to his feet, but they buckledunder him when he tried to walk.

  The man looked surprised.

  "We'll have to call the rescue squad," Penny decided firmly.

  "I have a better idea," Ben supplied. "We can take him to my shack."

  Penny thought that the man should have hospital treatment. However, hesided with Ben, insisting he could walk to the nearby shack.

  "I'm okay," he repeated again. "All I need is some dry clothes."

  Supported on either side, the man managed to walk to the shack. Benunlatched the door and hastily lighting an oil lamp, helped the fellow tothe bed where he collapsed.

  "Ben, I think we should have a doctor--" Penny began again, but Bensilenced her with a quick look.

  Drawing her to the door he whispered: "Let him have his way. He's notbadly off, and he has reason for not wanting anyone to know whathappened. If we call the rescue squad or a doctor, he'll have to answerto a lot of questions."

  "There are some things I'd like to know myself."

  "We'll get the answers if we're patient. Now stay outside for a minute ortwo until I can get his clothes changed, and into dry ones myself."

  Penny stepped outside the shack. A chill wind blew from the direction ofthe river, but with its freshness was blended the disagreeable odor offactory smoke, fish houses and dumpings of refuse.

  "Poor Ben!" she thought. "He never should be living in such a place asthis! No matter what he's done, he deserves another chance."

  Exactly what she believed about the reporter, Penny could not have said.His courageous act had aroused her deep admiration. On the other hand,she was aware that his story regarding Jason Cordell might have beenhighly colored to cover his own shortcomings.

  Within a few minutes Ben opened the door to let her in again. Thestranger had been put to bed in a pair of the reporter's pajamas whichwere much too small for him. In the dim light from the oil lamp, she sawthat he had a large, square-shaped face, with a tiny scar above his righteye. It was not a pleasant face. Gazing at him, Penny felt a tiny chillpass over her.

  Ben also had changed his clothes. He busied himself starting a fire inthe rusty old stove, and once he had a feeble blaze, hung up all thegarments to dry.

  The room was so barren that Penny tried not to give an appearance ofnoticing. There was only a table, one chair, the sagging bed, and a shelfwith a few cracked dishes.

  "I'll get along with him all right," Ben said, obviously expecting Pennyto leave.

  She refused to take the hint. Instead she said: "This man will eitherhave to go to a hospital or stay here all night. He's in no condition towalk anywhere."

  "He can have my bed tonight," Ben said. "I'll manage."

  The stranger's intent eyes fastened first upon Penny and then Ben. Butnot a word of gratitude did he speak.

  "You'll need more blankets and food," Penny said, thinking aloud. "I canget them from Mrs. Weems."

  "Please don't bother," Ben said stiffly. "We'll get along."

  Though rebuffed, Penny went over to the bedside. Instantly she saw abruise on the stranger's forehead and a sizeable swollen place.

  "Why, he must have struck his head!" she exclaimed, then correctedherself. "But he didn't strike anything that we saw. Ben, he must havebeen slugged while aboard the _Snark_!"

  The stranger turned so that he looked directly into the girl's clear blueeyes. "Nuts!" he said emphatically.

  "Our guest doesn't seem to care to discuss the little affair," Bencommented dryly. "I wonder why? He escaped drowning by only a fewbreaths."

  "Listen," said the stranger, hitching up on an elbow. "You fished me outof the water, but that don't give you no right to put me through thethird degree. My business is my business--see!"

  "Who are you?" demanded Penny.

  She thought he would refuse to answer, but after a moment he said curtly:"James Webster."

  Both Penny and Ben were certain that the man had given a fictitious name.

  "You work aboard the _Snark_?" Ben resumed the questioning.

  "No."

  "Then what were you doing there?"

  "And why were you pushed overboard?" Penny demanded as the man failed toanswer the first question.

  "I wasn't pushed," he said sullenly.

  "T
hen how did you get into the water?" Penny pursued the subjectruthlessly.

  "I tripped and fell."

  Penny and Ben looked at each other, and the latter shrugged, indicatingthat it would do no good to question the man. Determined to keep thetruth from them, he would tell only lies.

  "You can't expect us to believe that," Penny said coldly. "We happened tosee you when you went overboard. There was a scuffle. Then the men whothrew you in, disappeared. For the life of me, I can't see why you wouldwish to protect them."

  "There are a lot of things you can't see, sister," he retorted. "Now willyou go away, and let me sleep?"

  "Better go," Ben urged in a low tone. "Anyone as savage as this egg,doesn't need a doctor. I'll let him stay here tonight, then send him onhis way tomorrow morning."

  "You really think that is best?"

  "Yes, I do, Penny. We could call the police, but how far would we get?This bird would deny he was pushed off the boat, and we would look silly.We couldn't prove a thing."

  "I suppose you're right," Penny sighed. "Well, I hope everything goeswell tonight."

  Moving to the door, she paused there, for some reason reluctant to leave.

  "I'll take you home," Ben offered.

  "No, stay here," Penny said firmly. "I'm not afraid to go alone. I onlyhope you get along all right with your guest."

  Ben followed her outside the shack.

  "Don't worry," he said, once beyond hearing of the stranger. "This fellowis a tough hombre, but I know how to handle him. If he tries to getrough, I'll heave him out."

  "I never saw such ingratitude, Ben. After you risked your life to savehim--"

  "He's just a dock rat," the reporter said carelessly.

  "Even so, why should he refuse to answer questions?"

  "Obviously, he's mixed up in some mess and doesn't dare talk, Penny. I'vealways had my suspicions about the _Snark_ and her owners."

  "What do you mean, Ben?"

  Before the reporter could answer, there came a thumping from inside theshack. Welcoming the interruption, Ben turned quickly to re-enter.

  "Can't tell you now," he said hurriedly. "We'll talk some other time. Solong, and don't worry about anything."

  Firmly, he closed the door.

  Penny stood there a moment until satisfied that there was no furtherdisturbance inside the shack. Then with a puzzled shake of her head, shecrossed the vacant lot to the docks.

  "Those men aboard the _Snark_ should be arrested," she thoughtindignantly. "I wish I could learn more about them."

  She stood for a moment lost in deep reflection. Then with suddendecision, she turned and walked toward the _Snark_.