Radio Boys in the Secret Service; Or, Cast Away on an Iceberg

by J. W. Duffield

As soon as those on the boat deck observed what was going on below, there was a general rush down to the main deck. Guy, Watson and Glennon aided in lowering the rafts and were among the last to seek refuge themselves on one of the floating platforms.

So far as they were able to determine, no lives were lost in this final abandonment of the sinking vessel. All, apparently, wore life jackets and even those who ordinarily were unable to swim had little difficulty in making their way to the rafts and climbing aboard. Then, as rapidly as possible, the escaping passengers and members of the crew rowed away from the doomed Herculanea in order not to be sucked down with her when she plunged to the bottom of the ocean.

The raft on which Guy and his two friends made their escape was less than 100 hundred feet away from the ship when another boiler explosion settled the question as to how much longer she would be afloat. The men with the oars in their hands strained every muscle in their bodies and limbs and succeeded in more than doubling this distance, when the great liner plunged nose down out of sight. Even then the strength of the oarsmen was not sufficient to stem the backward pull of the cataclysmic current, and they were dragged almost to the very spot where the ship sank. But although the raft was rocked violently, no damage was done, except the tipping off of two passengers, who were soon taken aboard again, none the worse for their ducking, if we except violent chills and chattering teeth.

Following the disappearance of the Herculanea beneath the surface of the sea, more attention was given by the occupants of the rafts to their surroundings. No doubt there had been only casual observation of the proximity of the great iceberg on the part of anybody as long as the ship remained afloat. Now it was the principal object of interest for all.

Guy told himself that he had never dreamed that there could be so mighty a mass of ice between the arctic and antarctic circles. Naturally the sight of this frigid monster, in the gloom of the starlit night, tended further to depress his spirits and caused him to give way for a time to the most wretched forebodings, and it was only after an inward struggle that he was able to overcome them.

A majority of those on the raft on which Guy and his friends had sought refuge decided that it was better not to row away from the place where the liner went down because of the expected arrival of one or more rescue ships in a few hours. Some of the men were disposed to grumble a little at this inactivity, but Watson, who soon assumed the role of leader by virtue of his readiness of ideas, suggested that they take turns at the oars and propel the craft around in a circle near the iceberg. As everybody was wet and cold, all were eager to put their hands to the oars, so that there was no lack of helpers in this aimless occupation. Even the half dozen women on the raft took their turns at the circular rowing.

This raft was one of the larger that had been carried by the Herculanea and supported some twenty-five passengers. The material and construction were of a kind generally approved for life saving emergencies of this kind. The buoys were long metal cylinders, cone shaped at each end, like a sharpened pencil. Over these was a large platform or deck, made of many slats of light wood, laid side by side an inch or two apart and bound together with steel cross rods.

In spite of the fact that they were in no immediate danger of drowning, the shipwrecked occupants of this and all the other rafts from the Herculanea were anything but confident of safety for themselves in their condition and surroundings. They were all wet to the skin, and the atmosphere and the water into which many of them had plunged when leaving the steamer were almost as cold as ice. It seemed scarcely possible that the constitutions of the most hardy could withstand such exposure many hours. Moreover, the sea was by no means calm. A considerable swell of the ocean drenched them repeatedly so that there was little likelihood of any amelioration of their discomfort by the drying of their clothes in the smart wind that blew.

“It seems to me that the wind is getting stronger and the waves heavier,” remarked one of the women, nervously addressing Guy, who clung to some of the slats of their raft near her.

“We can’t hang onto this raft if the sea gets much rougher,” declared another woman.