The lads were all too tired to do much talking, and having once gotten into some other underwear, they hung their own garments up to dry. Then, one after another, they lay down to get what rest they could.
At the end of a couple of hours Jack aroused himself, and, as his cousins were all sleeping soundly, he went outside to see how matters were going with the old sailor. He was just moving forward on the deck when he saw a dark shadow slinking along in the starlight.
The discovery filled him with alarm, and he stood stock still. Then the shadow took shape, and in another moment he saw that the object was a tiger!
CHAPTER XIX
AN ENCOUNTER WITH A TIGER
For the moment Jack’s heart seemed to stop beating. The tiger looked to be young but powerful, and had evidently broken from his cage in a search for food. He was sniffing his way along the deck, pausing every second or two to gaze around suspiciously.
The young major had one of the pistols with him, and he wondered if that weapon would be powerful enough to slay the beast. He knew that a tiger is usually hunted with a heavy rifle.
The beast continued to slink along in the semi-darkness, and now Jack saw that he was headed for the pilot house, where Ira Small sat nodding over the wheel. Evidently the beast had scented the sailor and was wondering if he could bring down his prey. Having had only a small portion of food, Jack fancied the tiger might take a desperate chance in an endeavor to satisfy the cravings of his stomach.
“Hi, there, Small!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “Look out for yourself!”