The young fisherman was not averse to what was little less than sport, and if he did spend considerably more time in the water than was absolutely necessary, no one could say any had really been wasted.
When the raft was in working order once more Harry and Walter clambered on board, and soon the shores of the harbor resounded with the blows of their axes. Owing to the scarcity of tools it was only possible for two to work at a time, consequently each had a certain number of minutes in which to rest.
It was after they had been on shore about two hours that Walter, during his idle moments, wandered out from the thicket to see if there had by chance been any change in the steamer's position, and he had not left his companions more than five minutes when they heard him shout:
"Come here, fellows, and see if you can tell what Joe is doing. It looks to me as if there was a big lot of smoke from the galley."
Not thinking it possible there could be anything wrong on the steamer, neither Jim nor Harry obeyed the summons very quickly, and when five minutes more had elapsed they were yet in the thicket.
"Harry! I'm sure there's some trouble aboard!" he shouted, and this time it was the tone rather than the words which caused them to move quickly.
On arriving where a view of the steamer could be had, Joe and Bob were seen working industriously under the awning; but a thick, black smoke was flowing out of the companion-way. The light breeze carried it shoreward; consequently the laborers, from whom it was hidden by the deck-house, were wholly ignorant of what seemed to Walter very alarming.
It did not require many seconds for Jim to make up his mind as to the cause of this unusual vapor, and his face grew pale as he cried sharply:
"The steamer is on fire! Hurry up an' get aboard!" Then as he ran at full speed along the shore he shouted loudly, "Bob! Bob! Fire! Fire!"
These cries were heard by the workmen before the boys gained the raft, and on glancing shoreward the tell-tale smoke was seen.
In an instant both men were forward, and, after stopping only the merest fraction of time to investigate matters, Bob began to draw up water with the deck-bucket, thus giving full confirmation to the fears of those on the raft, who were pulling desperately toward the steamer.
Both men were working with the utmost speed, dashing water into the companion-way, and causing the smoke to rise in yet denser volumes. Only once did either speak, and then when Bob shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Hurry on, lads; we'll need all hands at this job if the steamer is to be saved!"
This injunction was unnecessary, for the boys were making every effort to propel the raft at the swiftest possible rate of speed. The water boiled around the forward timbers as if a strong current was setting down toward them, and there was every danger that in their haste the frail craft would be forced asunder.
Long though the time occupied in the passage appeared to be when so much might depend upon an early arrival, it was really not more than five minutes from the time the boys left the shore until they were on deck searching for some article in which water could be carried.
With the exception of the two buckets used by Bob and Joe, everything of the kind was in the galley, and after a hurried, frantic search of the cabin and engine-room, the boys went forward empty-handed.
"There isn't so much as a dipper here!" Jim screamed.
"An' it's jes' as well," Bob replied hoarsely, as a volume of flame burst from the companion-way. "Nothin' less than a fire-engine would do any good now. It's time we saved what'll be needed ashore. Knock off, Joe, an' we'll load the raft."
The engineer was not willing to give up the struggle so easily. He worked like a fury, dashing water on the roaring, leaping flames, which were already sending out long streams on the tar-covered seams; and not until the fire had full possession of the forward portion did he cease his more than useless labors to assist the others.
Meanwhile Bob and the boys had been throwing bedding, tools, and every article within reach, on the raft. It was not until after they had been thus engaged several moments that any one thought of the treasure in the hold, and then Jim cried more frantically than before:
"The gold! The gold! We must get that out!"
