As the hours passed the lad became very hungry and thirsty, and so intense became his thirst he was almost inclined to cry out and ask for water, although the act might hasten his end. But as it turned out he was not altogether deserted by the fates.
It is an old saying that it is better to be born lucky than rich, and it would seem that some men and boys exemplify the old saw. Ike appeared to be one of these, for just at the moment when he thought he could stand the craving for a drink no longer a thin ray of light shot down into the darkness, and the next instant something struck against his head. He reached up and grasped a bottle, and attached to the bottle was a piece of bread.
“I have a friend at court,” was the lad’s declaration, as he realized that some one had taken pity on him and had lowered the bottle and sandwich surreptitiously.
Ike was a hopeful little fellow and he muttered:
“This means something—it means that it is not ‘all up’ with me after all. I am going to get out of this scrape, and then, by ginger, some one will wish they had been wiped out in a cyclone.”
Our hero ate and drank, and crawling away from his stake as far as he could he hid the bottle with the remark:
“I do not know just when I may have a visitor. I’ll be on my guard and not get my friend into trouble.”
Having satisfied his hunger the boy went to sleep, and slept very peacefully. He was waiting for night, and when he awoke he thought that night must be just closing in if not actually shadowed down upon the earth and the sea. He lay for a long time and finally concluded he would investigate. He had little difficulty in freeing himself, and he crept up the steps to the hatch cover and was able to move it just a little. He peeped out and saw it was night—a dark, rainy night—and after peeping awhile he gently moved the hatch aside and crawled on deck. All his movements were as cautious as a Pawnee Indian scout’s. He did not restore the hatch cover, but just lay on his back and took observations.
He learned that his conclusions had been correct. He was on a schooner, and, as he discerned, a rickety old affair at that. A little while he lay and considered. He could see the man at the wheel, and there was not another person on deck—not even a lookout. The night was calm and a light rain was falling, but there was no fog. The lights were all set and it was evident the ship’s crew believed there was no danger, and thus violated one of the first laws of navigation. Well, those laws are often violated, and in thousands of cases the violators have paid the penalty with their lives, while many possibly may have escaped and thus their violations never became known.
As Ike lay on the damp deck he thought over his plan and revised it. He managed to secure a few articles lying around. These he slowly and patiently dragged over to the hatch and managed to lower them one at a time. Then he descended carefully, removed his clothing, and rigged up a perfect dummy of himself. He had the knack of doing so. He adjusted the chain to his dummy, which he put in a sleeping attitude, and then he laughed and muttered: