“All right, then,” replied the other. “Better not loaf about after whales, though. Two or three subs about and you’re easy game hove-to. Good luck!”
A moment later, the destroyer was tearing towards the west, and by the time the Hector’s yards were squared and she was once more on her course, a mere smudge on the horizon was all that marked the little craft which had arrived on the scene in the nick of time.
CHAPTER V
STRANGE VISITORS
Four days after their exciting experience with the U-boat the boys saw the hazy blue mountains of the Azores looming above the horizon, and all through the day they watched with intense interest as the beautiful panorama of the islands was spread before them. But the winds were light and baffling in the lee of the land, and it was daylight the next morning when, at last, the bark dropped anchor in the harbor of Fayal. Here, Captain Edwards was to take on fresh vegetables and fruits, and he hoped also to obtain additional men, for while he had enough for ordinary whaling it was his intention to land parties on several of the far southern islands and to have enough to insure a large catch of sea elephants and a full cargo of oil as quickly as possible, in order that he might return to New Bedford while the high price of oil still prevailed.
As the bark was to be in port several days, the two boys had a splendid opportunity to see the town and the island, and as soon as the port formalities were over, they were pulled ashore in one of the boats with Cap’n Pem accompanying them.
It took some little time for Tom and Jim to become accustomed to the feeling of solid ground under their feet once more, and both were highly amused at the strange sensations they underwent as they walked up the quaint, old street leading from the quay. After many days of constantly pitching and rolling decks, which had become so familiar to them that they seemed perfectly natural and steady, the two boys were surprised to find that the street appeared to roll and toss, and they staggered along like drunken men. Cap’n Pem remarked that they had not got their “land legs” yet and he vowed that many a time, after a long voyage, he had been deathly “land-sick” when he first went ashore.
The picturesque town, with its old world buildings, narrow, steep streets, jutting balconies and brilliant color, fascinated the boys who had never before been away from the States, and they grew wildly excited over the feathery, waving palms, the luscious tropical fruits and the many strange sights which greeted them at every turn. Cap’n Pem, who had visited the islands many times, showed them all the sights about the town and took them on a long jaunt through the lovely island with its neatly kept fruit orchards and gardens, its lofty green mountains, its tumbling cataracts and its rich valleys. Then, at last, the time came to leave, and with a dozen more men added to the crew and with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, live poultry and sheep and with every available cask filled with fresh, spring water, the Hector’s anchor was weighed, the great white sails were spread and the bark quickly dropped Fayal astern.
Heeling to the fresh trade wind, with every sail set, with a smother of foam sweeping past her lee rail and a turquoise wake stretching far astern, the gallant old ship plunged southward, burying her staunch, bluff bows to the catheads in the blue sea, shaking tons of water from her streaming decks as she lifted to the long Atlantic rollers; every sheet, brace and sail straining and her taut rigging humming like harp strings.
“Like ter see one o’ them derned submarines cotch us now!” chuckled old Pem, as the boys, fascinated by the sight, gazed alternately at the great pyramids of canvas and the swiftly passing foam to leeward.
“What’s she making!” asked Tom.