“help, ned! help!” roared herc.
but ned had all he could do to help himself right then. like so many ants swarming upon and attacking an interloper in their domains, the little brown men had swarmed upon him, also. the brawny arms of the dreadnought boy flung them off right and left, and as they fell back in the crowd they knocked over more of the clustering people like balls in a bowling alley.
“hurray! a king-pin!” cried ned, as down went five or six of the japs in a heap.
but before the words were fairly out of his mouth, more of the men leaped upon him from behind. by a quick movement, ned fell backwards, crushing the breath out of his surprised opponents. he was up again in a jiffy, only to[241] find that he was still assailed by uncountable numbers. they swarmed like flies round a honey-pot, and do what he would, the boy could not shake them off.
a short way from him he saw herc being borne down, and then saw him struggle to his feet again.
“whoop! huroo!” yelled herc suddenly.
around the corner had come a string of ’rickshaws, each containing two jolly tars.
“manhattans, ahoy!” bawled herc.
“ahoy, mates!” shouted the sailors in the foremost ’rickshaw, and then, as they saw who it was, they set up a yet louder yell.
“come on, ship-mates! to the rescue! hurray for red-head!”
“hurry up!” shouted herc.
the jap ’rickshaw pullers dropped their shafts and ran for their lives. they had no desire to get mixed up in a mêlée. out of the odd rigs in which they had been enjoying a sight-seeing[242] spin, the sailors came jumping. many of them were from the manhattan, and several were from other ships. but both dreadnought boys were general favorites and in a jiffy the japs were parting right and left as the american seamen waded in to the rescue of their ship-mates.
five minutes after the arrival of the men-o’war’s-men not a jap was to be seen, and the two boys were explaining how they had come to get into trouble.
“red-head, as usual,” laughed a tar from the manhattan. “strong, you ought to leave him tied up some place when you come ashore.”
“i like that! haven’t i the right to take a bite to eat when i see an old wooden idol letting good grub go to waste?” expostulated herc.
“when you’re in rome, do as the romans do,” put in another sailor,—the one whom the sailors nick-named “ben franklin.” “in some parts of the island your appetite might have been gone for good after your escapade, master red-head.”
[243]
“how is that?” sputtered herc.
ben franklin made an expressive gesture, signifying that herc might have lost his head for his prank.
“woof!” exclaimed ned’s chum, “that would have been a fine dessert. come on, ship-mates, i’m going back to the ship and sleep in the magazine. it’s safer than it is ashore.”
“for you it is, anyhow,” chuckled a tar. “but hullo, mates, where are all the ’rickshaw men? they’ve all gone.”
“scared away, i reckon,” laughed another, a man off the idaho. “tell you what we’ll do, we’ll be our own ’rickshaw pullers.”
“hooray!” cried the men; and amidst a great to-do and lots of laughter the blue-jackets placed themselves between the shafts, the fortunate riders (whose turn at pulling was to come later on) shouting with glee.
“get up there!” roared ben franklin at herc, and off the red-headed youth darted at top speed.
[244]
“whoa! whoa!” bawled the philosophic sailor, “not so fast! take in sail, mate! shorten sail! rocks ahead!”
the warning came too late. one wheel of the ’rickshaw struck a rock at the edge of a little bridge and ben franklin, amidst the roars of the tars, went sky-rocketing into space over the rail of the bridge. he landed in a lot of soft mud and injured nothing but his dignity.
“you’re a horse that needs breaking,” he said to herc, as he took his seat once more in the ’rickshaw; and, despite all herc’s pleadings, he was compelled to pull the mud-stained ben all through the streets of yokahama as a punishment for his skylarking.
the ’rickshaws were left at the ’rickshaw stand near the docks where it was certain that their owners would reclaim them. then the liberty parties embarked and were towed back to their ships by the various steamers.
so ended a stay in yokahama, not a quarter of the details of which we have had space to describe.[245] the fleet there, as everywhere, met unbounded enthusiasm and entertainment, and thousands of post cards and photographs were sent home to the united states by the jackies. a big naval parade and a review of the fleet by the local dignitaries served still further to impress upon the far east uncle sam’s place and dignity as a sea-power.
many weeks now passed uneventfully. the fleet stopped at melbourne and sidney, the two chief places on the island continent of australia. but at neither of these towns did the boys go ashore, as there were others to take their turns at shore leave. however, from what they heard they judged that the two cities named did not differ materially from any progressive, modern american community, so that they were not so disappointed as they would have been in strange lands among foreign-speaking peoples.
ahead of them lay egypt and a planned trip to the pyramids and the sphinx, and the wonders of gibraltar with a side excursion into spain.[246] all this helped to enliven their anticipations and made them regret all the less that their liberty was curtailed at the australian cities.
through the indian ocean, across the blisteringly hot red sea, the fleet had made its way, and now it was on what the jackies called the “home stretch.” one blazingly hot afternoon the long line of battleships swung into the gulf of suez on its way to the mediterranean. speed was reduced to four knots in accordance with the rules of the canal which they were approaching. the sailors fretted as the great ships crept along, seeming barely to move. on each side extended the glittering, barren desert. occasionally a cavalcade of camel men passed. that was about all that relieved the monotony. but just the same, ned was impressed. all about them lay a wonderful region famed in song and story.
“herc, do you know that the holy land lies almost within reach of the guns of this ship?” asked ned, as the two lads leaned over the side of the shaded forecastle drinking in a slight[247] breeze which had sprung up at sun-down. but even the wind was more like the blast from an oven door than a cooling zephyr, after its passage over the blazing sands of the desert.
“is that so?” inquired herc rather listlessly.
“yes, palestine, damascus and jerusalem are all within range.”
“how about jericho?” inquired herc.
“i don’t know about that.”
“i’ve been told to go there so often that if it’s handy i’d like to make the trip,” grinned herc.
“we are going to anchor at suez.”
“well?”
“there is a line there that connects with cairo. from the latter city we can go to visit the great pyramids. several of the men are going. i have talked to them about it. i guess shore leave will be extended to-morrow, and we may get as many as three days off, as the ships are going to coal.”
“that’s a good time to get away from them,” said herc; “it is like living in a black snow storm.”
[248]
“yonder is suez, lads, over the port bow,” said a master’s-mate who was passing.
the boys scampered over and beheld a picture that they never forgot. against the blazing red and gold of the evening sky, the dome and minarets of the ancient city stood out blackly like fret-work cut out of ebony. the mellow sound of bells and gongs calling to evening prayer could be heard and combined to make the picture a memorable one.
the ships came to anchor as dusk fell, and lights began to twinkle ashore. strange-looking pirogues and other native boats began to dart about among the steel leviathans like so many fire-flies. sounds of drums and weird oriental music floated off the shore to the ships. now and then would be heard the wailing cry of some worshiper high in a minaret. this mingled with laughter and tinkling sounds of stringed instruments in the boats that glided about in the harbor, their occupants intent on seeing the wonderful fighting ships of the great western nation.
[249]
the bugles that commanded “hammocks up!” disturbed the peaceful scene rudely.
“come, herc, time to turn in,” reminded ned.
“oh, bother the bugle, i could stand here all night. it beats coney island.”
“is that the best comparison you can find? come on. we must be out early to-morrow and get ashore in the first boats.”
reluctantly both boys turned away, as did hundreds of their ship-mates. before long there was silence in the ship and aboard all the other grim fighting-craft. then, like a benison, the sweet, low notes of “taps” echoed mournfully through the anchored fleet.
all lights but anchor lights disappeared instantly. darkness enshrouded the sleeping fleet. only on deck the regular footsteps of the sentries and the cry of the watch as the bell struck the hours, broke the silence that brooded above the desert and the desert sea.
