CHAPTER XVII

The Ghost Ship

'·'No use!" shouted Captain Harkness, as Joe tried desperately to head the tuna out to sea again. "I'll have to start the engine and pull her away, or we'll pile up on the reef. Chet, get ready to cut that line!"

"Please . . . not yet!" Joe gritted his teeth. Though the rod was bent almost double, and the strain on the line was terrific, he felt sure he was gaining the upper hand in forcing the tuna away from the dangerous spot. Slowly the boat turned. Inch by inch, Joe won the contest. Then, with a rush, the tuna was away again, but this time running for open water. The captain gave a shout of triumph.

The big fish took them far out to sea, but after another hour it gave up the struggle and at last surfaced. Joe reeled in foot after foot of line. There

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was a last wild flurry from the tuna as the boat closed in. Its huge tail lashed the water into froth. The launch spun around in a circle. Frank reached down and grabbed the leader, hanging on while Captain Harkness stood ready to strike with the gaff. The tuna rolled on its side, about forty feet from the boat. Joe, Frank and the captain together finally conquered the monstrous fish and swung a rope around its tail.

> "Weighs four hundred pounds if he weighs an ounce," said the captain. "After we tow him back to Bayport we'll have him put on display."

Mr. McClintock rubbed his hands and capered about in a great state of excitement. He regarded the tuna as his own personal property and seemed to be under the impression that he had caught it himself.

"Most exciting afternoon I've ever had in my life!" he declared.

Captain Harkness swung the wheel over. "We'd better start for home right away. We won't make as good speed towing four hundred pounds of tuna behind us, and I want to get to Bayport before dark."

The fight with the giant fish had taken more than two hours! The boat had gone only a short distance when suddenly the engine coughed, sputtered, picked up again, gave a convulsive gasp and died. The fishermen stared at each other in consternation.

142 The Phantom Freighter

"Sounds as if we're out of gas," ventured Frank.

"Can't be!" roared Captain Harkness. "I filled the tank to the brim before we left the wharf."

He tinkered with the engine, spun the flywheel. Then he thrust a rod into the tank. It came out dry. The man was dumfounded.

"No gas!" he muttered. "I don't understand it. There was enough gas in that tank to take us halfway across the Atlantic and back again."

Captain Harkness was a man given to occasional exaggeration. Nevertheless, the boys realized his surprise was genuine.

"Do you think somebody may have tampered with it, Captain?" asked Frank.

"Could be. I was away from the boat for about half an hour. But I don't know why anybody would be mean enough to do that," he returned slowly. "Most of the men around the fishing wharves know it's a serious thing to run out of gas when you're out in open water."

Mr. McClintock nervously asked the man what he planned to do about the situation. Captain Harkness replied that there was little he could do except wait for help. Fortunately, they were not far out at sea and would signal the first ship they saw for help.

Long minutes passed. Sunset flooded the water with orange and crimson light. Twilight changed to darkness. There had been no sign of a ship. Captain Harkness tested his flashlight and began to

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signal with it. No response. Nervously he remarked they were drifting toward Barmet Shoals.

"I don't like it," he said.

They sat in the dark and waited, thankful that the sea was calm. No one spoke. Chet curled up and went to sleep. Presently Frank's sharp eyes detected a faint, moving glimmer.

"I think I see lights!" he said excitedly.

They stared into the gloom. A distant flicker of red and green. Then across the water they could hear a dull, throbbing sound.

"Sounds like a freighter. Off our starboard," said Captain Harkness.

The lights bore steadily toward them. The sound of the ship's engines became louder and louder. The fishing captain flashed signals.

Suddenly the ship's lights vanished. The motors became silent.

"Strange!" muttered Frank.

Captain Harkness gave a hoarse cry. "We're too near Barmet Shoals. I knew it," he moaned. "There's no ship there at all. It's the phantom freighter! There never was any ship!"

The Hardy boys were not superstitious. They had seen the lights and heard the engines. Somewhere out there in the darkness was a ship. But why had the lights vanished? Why had she silenced her engines?

Frank persuaded the captain to flash another SOS

144 The Phantom Freighter

signal. They shouted, raising as much noise as they could. Biff Hooper's lusty bellow could be heard for miles. But there was no answering shout or flash.

The night had been cloudy. Now the moon appeared from behind a ragged cloud bank. It cast a pale radiance across the water. And in this weird light they saw a huge black hulk silhouetted against the sky not a hundred yards from them!

"Ahoy there!" shouted Frank.

"Ahoy!" squeaked Mr. McClintock.

But there was no answer from the ship.

"Maybe it's not the same one we heard," suggested Frank practically. "Maybe this is a deserted ship."

"If we could get our boat closer we might be able to climb aboard it," suggested Mr. McClintock.

"I'll swim over," offered Joe.

"You couldn't climb a sheer steel hull," said the captain.

A cloud came over the moon again and the big dark shape was lost to view. Frank and Joe were filled with keen excitement. As soon as morning dawned, they planned to find a way to board the mysterious ship.

That night the marooned fishermen took turns keeping watch and sleeping. Frank and Joe were both wide awake, however, when the first gray light of dawn lit up the sky. They stared off starboard over the ocean.

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The freighter had vanished!

Frank grabbed Mr. McClintock's binoculars and raced first aft, then stern, gazing through the glasses north, east, south and west. There was no ship of any kind in sight.

"Funny how that freighter could have got away without our hearing her," said Joe, who had followed his brother. "There wasn't a sound all night of a ship's engines starting."

Frank, too, was puzzled. "Maybe it was a derelict after all," he said. "But I was sure I saw lights on it. Do you suppose she got caught in a crosscurrent and drifted off?"

Captain Harkness, who had been dozing on the aft deck, came to with a start and cried out:

"Derelict nothing! Crosscurrent nothing! No real ship could have got away. That was the ghost ship! The phantom freighter! Now do you believe me?"