as the officer of the deck advanced to obey the command a cry came from overhead. all eyes were turned in that direction.
in the excitement nanny had been temporarily forgotten. the little lad had ran up the rigging to the foretop, then seeing that his friend was in trouble, he descended midway to the deck.
there he paused, and when clif was ordered under arrest he made an exclamation of consternation.
the executive officer was angry. he believed the corporal’s story, and the very idea of such a gross breach of discipline was too much for his temper.
“come down, sir!” he roared, shaking his spyglass at poor nanny. “come down at once or it will be the worse for you.”
a cadet first class man named blakely, the captain of the academy football team, involuntarily leaped into the rigging, thinking the pursuit of the fugitive was desired by lieutenant watson.
the latter’s stern voice and blakely’s action proved the last straw, and nanny fled upward again in dismay.
the rigging swayed under his hurrying feet and several times he came dangerously near falling. but fear lent confidence, and he gained the top without mishap.
lieutenant watson watched his progress with mingled amazement and rage. in all his experience he had never known a cadet to run aloft to escape punishment.
“the boy is crazy,” he muttered.
“shall we send several men after him, sir?” asked the officer of the deck.
before a reply could be given the commander of the monongahela, who had been in his cabin, walked forward attracted by the commotion.
“what is the matter?” he asked, glancing at the cadets.
“a little trouble between cadet corporal sharpe and two new fourth class men, sir,” replied lieutenant watson, saluting. “cadets faraday and gote attacked cadet corporal sharpe and struck him while he was in pursuit of his duty.”
“what’s that?” exclaimed the captain, severely. “striking a superior officer is a grave offense.”
turning upon clif, he added:
“young man, it seems that you intend to keep yourself before the public. it was all right for you to create disturbances at the academy and be kidnaped, but when you assault a superior officer, you go too far. your time as a cadet will be short if you persist in such actions.”
clif attempted to speak, but he was cut short with a gesture.
“where is the other culprit?” asked the captain, addressing lieutenant watson.
the latter pointed aloft.
“he fled to escape punishment, sir.”
“what?”
“he’s in the foretop.”
“have him brought down at once and placed under arrest. i’ll court-martial both for this breach of discipline,” thundered the monongahela’s commander.
at a signal from the executive officer, four nimble first class men sprang into rigging and began to run aloft.
the crowd around the spot had increased until it numbered almost the entire crew. all the officers off duty[pg 54] had left the wardroom and steerage, and many comments were made.
“never seen anything like it in all my experience,” exclaimed the navigator.
“think he’s temporarily insane, doctor?” the paymaster asked, gazing curiously aloft.
“maybe a touch of sunstroke,” was the surgeon’s cautious reply.
he stepped over to the captain said something in a low voice.
clif, who was standing a few feet away, between the master-at-arms and the ship’s corporal, heard the commander reply, incredulously:
“nonsense, sir. it’s simply a spirit of deviltry. he thinks he can do as he pleases. he must be taught a lesson.”
clif glanced aloft, where, indeed, all eyes were turned, and saw that the four cadets had almost reached the top.
suddenly nanny’s face, strained and eager, appeared over the edge of the wide top. he gave the pursuing cadets one rapid glance, then he scrambled into the rigging leading above and started to ascend.
“stop! come down out of that,” bellowed the executive officer, waving his spyglass.
the fugitive’s feet slipped and he was seen to sway outward. a frantic clutch at a stay saved him, however, and he continued upward.
“he will fall as sure as fate,” cried the paymaster, hoarsely.
again nanny slipped, and again did he regain his foothold. but it was evident his lack of experience would bring him into serious peril, and the spectators watched his uncertain progress with bated breath.
“he’ll never reach the crosstrees,” said lieutenant watson. “he is crazy. he will—— oh! i thought he was gone then.”
“mr. blakely, don’t follow any farther,” he shouted. “come back to the top.”
the senior cadet and his three companions halted instantly and slowly descended. nanny quickly observed their change of action, and halted, swinging nervously from the ratlines.
a sigh of relief went up.
“proper move,” muttered the surgeon. “should have stopped them before. guess i’ll try a trip to the top and see if i can coax him down.”
he made the suggestion at once, and the commander gave prompt consent. it was a ticklish task for his unaccustomed feet, but he finally arrived within speaking distance of the young fugitive.
the two held a very brief conversation, then the surgeon returned to the deck. his face wore a queer expression.
“that boy is no more crazy than i am,” he reported. “but he’s simply scared out of his wits. he declares he won’t come down until a certain cadet is sent up to him.”
“who, in heaven’s name?” demanded the captain.
“mr. clif faraday.”
“why does he wish to see him?”
the surgeon shook his head.
“i don’t know, sir,” he replied. “he insists on it. possibly it would be a good idea to humor him.”
“i’d like to humor his back with a rope’s end!” exclaimed the captain. “this is the most ridiculous experience i ever had. fancy a cadet skipping aloft and defying the whole ship’s company. it is simply outrageous. mr. faraday!”
“yes, sir.”
clif stepped forward and saluted respectfully. he appeared calm, but a gleam in his eyes indicated that he labored under some excitement.
“run aloft and persuade that silly boy to come down,” ordered the captain, gruffly. “tell him we won’t hang him to the yardarm to-day. and just add that he is making a fool of himself and that it will have a bad effect on his future record.”
clif saluted again and sprang into the shrouds. as he passed cadet corporal sharpe he gave that youth a look that spoke volumes.
“he’s the cause of all this trouble,” muttered clif, as he nimbly ascended the rigging. “if any harm comes to poor nanny i’ll square accounts with him as sure as fate.”
it did not take him long to reach the foretop. climbing through the lubber’s hole, he stood up and looked aloft. nanny was midway to the crosstrees.
his face was rather pale, and the hands grasping the ratlines trembled perceptibly. it was evident that he was still badly frightened. clif motioned him to come down to the top.
“drop down here, nanny,” he said, kindly. “everything is all right. just descend carefully, and i’ll help you to the deck.”
“oh, clif, i’m afraid,” was the piteous reply. “i—i—struck an officer, and they’ll send me to prison.”
“nonsense, chum. we are both in trouble on account of that ‘plebe deviler,’ sharpe, but they can’t do much to us. i expect we will be court-martialed, but we’ve plenty of witnesses on our side. come down, that’s a good boy.”
“you are not fooling me?”
clif laughed encouragingly.
“that’s a nice thing to say,” he replied. “i am ashamed of you.”
nanny smiled also, and prepared to descend. he cautiously lowered one foot and then started to follow with the other. as he did so he stepped, swayed outward, and after one frantic grasp at the rigging, fell down, down from the dizzy height.
a cry of horror came from the spectators.
“he will be killed!”
“heavens! what a fall!”
then came a sickening splash as nanny’s body,bounding from the rigging, struck the water and disappeared beneath the surface.
several cadets, among them trolley, joy and toggles, sprang to the top of the hammock netting, but before they could leap overboard after the little plebe a figure was seen to cleave the air from above.
amid the echoes of the second splash a shout went up in a regular torrent of voices:
“it’s faraday!”
