



Produced by Dianna Adair, Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford,
Dave Morgan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
at http://www.pgdp.net









The Iron Boys on the
Ore Boats

OR

Roughing It on the Great Lakes

By

JAMES R. MEARS

Author of The Iron Boys in the Mines, The Iron Boys as Foremen,
The Iron Boys in the Steel Mills, etc.

Illustrated

PHILADELPHIA
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY


COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
HOWARD E. ALTEMUS

  Illustration: Both Boys Were Hurled Forward




CONTENTS


CHAPTER                                   PAGE

      I. TO THE INLAND SEAS                  7

     II. THE IRON BOYS AS CARGO             20

    III. A SURPRISED SKIPPER                31

     IV. THE BOYS STAND THE TEST            42

      V. TROUBLE IN THE STOKE HOLE          54

     VI. THE FIRST STEP UPWARD              63

    VII. THE IRON BOYS ON DECK              70

   VIII. THE CRASH IN THE FOG               82

     IX. A TRAGEDY OF THE LAKES             93

      X. TOSSED UP BY THE WAVES            104

     XI. BY PLUCK ALONE                    113

    XII. ON THE ROAD TO CONNEAUT           122

   XIII. IN THE GRIP OF A GIANT SHELL      129

    XIV. STEVE SAVES THE CAPTAIN           135

     XV. AT THE WHEEL                      151

    XVI. THROUGH THE ROCKY CUT             163

   XVII. THE BLOW IN THE DARK              172

  XVIII. VISITORS ON THE "RICHMOND"        181

    XIX. IN THE GRIP OF THE WAVES          190

     XX. AN EXCITING RESCUE                202

    XXI. A NEW HAND AT THE WHEEL           210

   XXII. LEADING A LIVELY CHASE            219

  XXIII. THE WIRELESS MESSAGE              223

   XXIV. CONCLUSION                        245




The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats




CHAPTER I

TO THE INLAND SEAS


"WHAT are we to do?"

"The first duty of an inspector is to inspect, I should say," answered
Steve Rush, with a soft laugh, in answer to his companion's question.

Bob Jarvis made a wry face.

"You think you are very smart this morning, seeing that you have been
complimented by the president of the mining company," grumbled Jarvis.
"I don't know whether I like this new job or not. We were making pretty
good money in the mines and we were bosses at that. Are we going to do
any bossing when we get on the lakes?"

"I think not. We shall be ordinary seamen. Somebody else will do the
bossing in this instance and we shall be the victims. Mr. Carrhart will
tell us all about it in a minute. He is arranging for our work now. It
will be a great change, and while we shall be working pretty hard we
shall be adding to our store of knowledge, Bob. We are lucky to possess
so fully the confidence of our superiors. Let's try to show that we are
worthy of their confidence in our new places."

"When do we start?"

"I don't know. Mr. Carrhart is looking that matter up now."

The lads were sitting in the private office of the president of the
mining company, whither they had been summoned from their work at the
mines. Mr. Carrhart, the president, stepped briskly into the office at
that juncture.

"Well, lads, I have arranged for your transportation."

"May I ask on what ship we are to sail, sir?" questioned Steve.

"The 'Wanderer.' She is not one of our newest ships, but she is a
staunch old vessel with about as many conveniences as are to be found on
the newer and more modern boats. I sometimes think we are getting
further away from what a ship should be--but then, I am not a sailor. I
am not supposed to know anything about ships," laughed the president.

"When do we sail?"

"Some time to-night. The 'Wanderer' is not yet in. She passed the Soo
nearly forty hours ago and should dock some time this afternoon. She is
coming up light this time, for a change."

"How long does it take to load the ship with ore?" asked Steve, his
active mind already in search of knowledge along the line of their new
calling.

"Eight hours or so."

"That is quick time," nodded Jarvis.

"It strikes me as being a long time," remarked Rush.

"That is the point exactly," agreed Mr. Carrhart. "If you boys can find
a way to shorten the loading time you will have served your purpose
well. That is exactly why we are sending you out on this inspecting
tour--that is, it is one of the reasons. We want to know where we can
save money and time in the shipment of ores to the furnaces."

"But, sir, we know nothing about this branch of the business," protested
Steve. "Are there not others better qualified than ourselves?"

"They think they are," answered the president reflectively. "We have
tried them out. Most of them are wedded to old methods. What we want is
new methods as well as new blood. Besides, you lads have expressed
yourselves as being anxious to learn everything about the mining and
steel business. I am taking you at your word. You are thoroughly posted
on the mining end. I do not believe you could be much more so were you
to spend three years more underground. The shipment of the ore is the
next step. You have followed the ore down from the mines to the shipping
point, here in Duluth. Now I am going to have you spend a few months on
the Great Lakes."

"That will be a fine experience, sir."

"I think so."

"Is the purpose of our going to sea on the lakes known, or is it not to
be known to any one outside of ourselves?"

"Certainly not. The mission might fail of its purposes were such to be
the case. To all intents and appearances, you two boys will be plain,
everyday sailors. You will find many hardships in the life of a Great
Lakes sailor, but then, if I know you, I do not believe you will mind
these very much," added Mr. Carrhart, with an indulgent smile.

"We certainly shall not," answered Rush, with emphasis. "The harder the
work the better it seems to agree with me."

"But not with me," retorted Jarvis.

The president laughed.

"That doesn't agree with what the reports show. For industry and
attention to duty you are a close second to your friend Rush. I
presume, Rush, that we shall be losing you one of these days?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"You will wish to go on to the mills, eh?"

Steve thought briefly.

"Yes, sir; that is our ambition."

"I thought so. You may depend upon me to use my influence to further
your ambition, though I shall very much dislike to lose you."

"You are very kind, sir."

"What I hoped you would do was to remain with the mining end of our
business, where one of these days you would rise to the grade of general
superintendent. Perhaps after you have had your experiences at the other
end of the line, you will decide to come back. If I am still president
of the mining company you will be well taken care of, should you
return."

"Thank you, sir; perhaps we shall be back sooner than you think."

"And now for the subject at issue. Here is a letter to the master of the
'Wanderer,' Captain Simms, stating that you are to be taken on board his
ship as seamen. He does not know that it is your first cruise, but I
have an idea that he will learn the truth soon enough."

There was a grim smile on the face of the president.

"You will find Captain Simms a gruff old seadog. He is one of our
oldest and most trustworthy masters, and after you come to know him I am
sure you will like him very much. You have a fairly clear idea of what
is expected of you by the company. You boys are both keen and
resourceful and I expect a great deal from you. I know that you will see
all there is to be seen, and no doubt will see some things that have
been overlooked by older heads than yours."

"Have you any further directions to give before we leave you, sir?"
inquired Steve.

"None whatever. I wish you success, which I am sure you will have. You
need not go to the ore docks until this evening, unless you wish to, as
you probably will have some things to do in town."

After bidding the president good-bye, the boys took their leave. It
seemed only a few weeks since Steve Rush had first entered the office of
the president of the mining company looking for a job. The same office
boy with whom he had had trouble at the start of his career was on guard
at the door, but Steve had grown away from him. Steve, who with his
companion, Bob Jarvis, will be recognized at once as one of the Iron
Boys, was tall for his age and muscular. His manner of life had done
much for his physical well-being, and he was not the same boy who had
fought his way into the president's office, the account of which is set
forth in "THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES."

It was there that Steve Rush and Bob Jarvis first became friends, after
they had met and fought a battle in a lonely drift in the Cousin Jack
Iron Mine; it was there that both lads proved their heroism by saving
the president and several other officials of the company, when the
entire company was threatened with death from a burning bag of dynamite.

It was in the Cousin Jack Mine that Steve and his newly found friend saw
the need of and invented a new tram railroad system, by which the mining
company was saved many thousands of dollars a year.

Again in "THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN," was told how the lads proved
themselves by saving the powder magazine from blowing up while the mine
was burning and the flames were creeping toward the deadly explosives.
It will be recalled that it was mainly through the heroic efforts of the
Iron Boys that the Red Rock Mine was saved from almost total
destruction, and that through their further efforts many lives were
undoubtedly saved. From then on they continued to distinguish
themselves, playing a conspicuous part in the great strike, in the end
exposing and unmasking a wicked and unscrupulous man who was leading
the miners on to commit deeds of violence.

They were the same boys who were now starting out on a new career for
the same company. In this instance the lads were to become sailors on
the inland seas, known as the Great Lakes. The lads were taking up this
new calling for the twofold purpose of learning still another branch of
the great corporation's business and they fondly hoped their work would
prove of importance to their employers.

The office of the president was located in Duluth, many miles from the
Iron Range where the boys had been working for the last two years.

Their first act after leaving the offices was to make their way down to
the water front to the ship canal, leading from the harbor out to Lake
Superior. Steve pointed out the aeerial bridge to his companion. This was
a car carried through the air suspended from a giant truss over the
river, by which passengers were transferred across to Superior on the
other side. Bob had never seen this wonder before and was deeply
interested in it. To Steve Rush it was of particular interest, for he
had acquired no slight knowledge of engineering during his experience in
the mines up on the range.

Boats were moving in and out, huge lake freighters, ore boats and
passenger ships, for the lake traffic was in full cry now. After
strolling about for a time, Steve took his companion home with him, and
the rest of the afternoon was spent with Steve's mother. Supper
finished, the lads decided that they would get down to the ore docks, as
the ship would likely be in by that time.

Darkness had set in when they reached the docks. These docks, as those
who have had the misfortune to have to make their way over them are
aware, consist of tiers upon tiers of trestle. Over the tops, high in
the air, ore trains rumble in by day and by night, discharging their
cargoes of red ore into huge hoppers, from which the ore is loaded into
the boats, or Great Lakes ore carriers, as they are called.

Neither boy had ever been out on one of these trestles before, and the
task looked to be rather formidable.

"How are we going to do it?" demanded Bob, surveying the great structure
apprehensively.

"I guess the only way will be to keep going until we get somewhere or
fall off. I don't see the ship, but we shall see it when we get to the
top of the trestle."

Both boys narrowly missed being run down by an ore train as it was
shunted out on the trestle. The lads were in a dangerous place, but
they did not feel at all disturbed about it. Men were flitting about in
the dim light of half a dozen electric globes distributed along the top
of the trestle that loomed all of seventy-five feet above the water.

"There's a ship down there," cried Steve.

"Yes, and there's one on the other side," answered Bob. "Why, there are
ships at all of the docks along here. Are you sure we have hit the right
dock?"

"I am not sure of anything, except that we are likely to break our necks
if we don't look sharp," answered Rush, with a laugh. "We will ask the
first man we meet where the 'Wanderer' is. There comes some one now."

Rush hailed the man, a foreigner. The latter neither answered nor paid
the slightest attention to the question put to him.

"Thank you," murmured Rush.

"Mighty sociable lot of men up here," jeered Bob. "But then I suppose
they have to keep their minds on their work or fall off the trestle. I
prefer to work underground. In the mines, there's no danger of falling
down."

Ore was being shot down through the chutes into boats on each side of
the great trestle. There was the roar as of a great cataract as the red
dirt went hurtling down into the hold of the ships many feet below.

"Let's get down on one of the other levels, Steve. Then we'll drift over
to the heading at the other end."

"Anybody'd think you were down in a mine. These aren't levels; they are
tiers. You remind me of one of our miners who came down here to Duluth.
He went to a hotel, and in telling some of the boys about it, he said:
'We got in a swell cage with looking glasses all around the inside. The
cage tender jerked us up to the sixteenth level. We went along this till
we came to a crosscut; then they led us into a swell drift an' we struck
the heading and sat down.' What do you think of that?"

"That sounds like a lumber-jack more than it does a miner. He must have
had a sky parlor. I wonder what hotel he got into."

Suddenly a great shouting was set up far below where the boys were
standing, and further on toward the end of the trestle.

"Now what's the matter?" wondered Steve. Two long blasts of a
steamship's whistle sounded.

"There goes a ship. They're pulling out. I'll bet that's the
'Wanderer,'" shouted Bob.

"If if is, she will pull out without us. No, it can't be the 'Wanderer,'
for she did not come in until after sundown and it is not possible that
the ship could be loaded by this time. We'll simply have to find our
way down through the trestle somewhere and locate our ship. If we knew
which side the boat lay it would be easier for us. Can you see which
boat is leaving, Bob?"

"I think it is a boat from one of the other piers. I don't see anything
going away near us."

"Suppose we move out toward the end. Then we shall be able to see where
we are and what we are doing."

"And fall off?"

"Certainly not. We will walk along by the side of the track. There is a
railing here. No danger at all of falling."

The boys had their suit cases in their hands. They carried little
baggage, having been informed that there was no room on board for trunks
or luggage. Besides, the lads needed few clothes outside of several
suits of underwear.

As they stepped along, walking side by side, Steve pointed up at a
bright star.

"I wonder if we had better lay our course by that one----Grab me,
Bob--I'm falling!" suddenly cried Steve Rush.

Jarvis stretched out a quick hand, fastening upon Steve's collar. But
the movement threw Jarvis off his balance. He, too, toppled forward.

Rush had stepped into an open chute through which the red ore was
roaring down into the hold of the ship seventy-five feet below them.
Steve struggled valiantly to prevent himself from going in, and Bob
tried his best to keep from going in after.

"Let go, Bob; you'll go in, too!"

The warning came too late. Steve shot out of sight, leaving a fragment
of his coat collar in the hand of his companion. Then Bob went in, head
first.

Neither lad uttered a cry. They were not of the crying kind, and even
had they uttered a shout their voices would have been drowned in the
roar of the ore thundering into the hold of the big ship awaiting it
down in the slip.




CHAPTER II

THE IRON BOYS AS CARGO


THROUGH some fortunate twist of his body, Jarvis righted himself while
going through the big hopper into which the ore was shooting. He landed
feet first at the bottom of the hopper.

In the meantime Steve Rush, with a few seconds' start of his companion,
had gone on down through the hopper. He hit the long wooden ore chutes
that led down into the ship; he struck the chute with a heavy bump and
then went on at a speed that took his breath away. Steve was in a
sitting posture. Jarvis followed him at the same rate of speed, lying
flat on his back.

There was ore on all sides of them; in fact, they were riding on the
swift-moving ore; all about them was darkness, and even had there been
lights it is doubtful if the Iron Boys would have seen them, because of
the speed at which they were traveling.

Steve's mind was working with its usual rapidity. Had he known exactly
what awaited them below he might have been able to plan with more
certainty. He did reason, however, that they would probably have to pass
through a small opening when they reached the bottom of the chute. In
this he was wrong, though right across the chute where it entered the
ship was a heavy iron brace dividing the chute in half, which was placed
there to give the ship more rigidity.

"Lie flat!" shouted Rush, with quick instinct, himself dropping on his
back. He did not know whether Bob were following him or not. Jarvis was,
but he was in no need of the admonition to lie flat. He was as flat as
it was possible for him to be and he could not have straightened up had
it been to save his life.

Jarvis was close enough, however, to hear the warning cry. He opened his
mouth to answer, getting it full of red ore as a result. The ore got
down in his throat, sending him into a paroxysm of choking, sneezing and
growling that was lost in the noise about him.

Suddenly Steve felt himself shooting through space. He realized, in that
instant, that he had left the chute. A few seconds more and he struck
heavily on his feet, bounded into the air, then plunged forward head
first.

The lad landed on his stomach, slipped down a conical pile of ore to the
bottom, his head striking the side of the ship, doubling him up and
leaving him stunned and unconscious.

Jarvis, who was not far behind him, went through very much the same
experience, save that he turned a somersault when he left the chute,
landing flat on his back on the pile of ore. His feet drove against the
side of the ship with the force of a battering-ram, backed by the full
weight of the lad's body. The effect was nearly the same as it had been
in the case of Rush. Bob was stunned. He, too, lay still, after curling
up against the vessel's side.

"Hey, what's that?" a voice had shouted as the boys disappeared through
the hatches.

"What's what?"

"I thought I saw something besides ore go through the chute in number
seven hatch."

"You're seeing things!"

"Maybe I am."

"Close number seven hatch!" shouted the second mate, and the two deck
hands, after the chute had been hoisted a little above the deck, slid
the heavy hatch cover into place. All the ore that was needed had gone
in through that hatch. The ship was nearly loaded. All that was now
required was a few car-loads at the ends to trim the ship properly,
after which she would be ready to sail.

Within the next ten minutes the rest of the ore had been shipped. With
loud crashings, interspersed with hoarse shouts, harshly-uttered
commands and an occasional toot of warning from the ship's whistle, the
hatch-covers were put in place and the ship made ready for her journey
down the Great Lakes.

There followed a moment of inactivity; then came a blast of the whistle
fully a minute in duration. It was the signal that the ship was about to
back out of her slip, warning all other craft to keep clear.

The propeller began to churn the waters of the harbor and the ore
carrier, with its cargo of ten thousand tons of iron ore, backed slowly
out into the stream.

Bob Jarvis rolled over until he was practically standing on his head and
shoulders. He toppled over on his back with a jolt that woke him up. The
lad gave a kick and some one grunted.

"Hey, there, take your foot out of my stomach, whoever you are. Is that
you, Bob?"

"I--I don't know. Hello, Steve, that you?"

"I guess it's both of us. Ugh! My mouth is so full of ore that I can
hard--hardly talk."

"I've got a dark red taste in my own mouth. I've swallowed enough ore to
make a steel rail. Do you know where we are?"

"We have fallen into the hold of a ship, and we are lucky that we are
not dead."

"Maybe we are and don't know it," jeered Jarvis, pulling himself up. He
tried to get to his feet, but the ore slipped from under him, leaving
him at the bottom against the side of the vessel again.

"Quit it!" shouted Steve. "Are you trying to bury me?"

The latter was on his feet too, brushing the dirt from mouth, eyes, nose
and ears. Bob had sent a quantity of it sliding down the chute.

"I can't help it. What's the matter with you? What do you think about
this business?"

"I don't think, I know. We are in a nice fix."

"Think so?"

"I told you I didn't think," retorted Steve in a tone of slight
irritation.

"Glad you admit it."

"We have been dumped into the hold of an ore vessel. I don't know
whether or not there is any way to get out, and it is sure that the
hatches will not be opened again until the vessel reaches her
destination."

"How long will that be?"

"That depends upon where they are going. If they are bound for any of
the Lake Erie ports I should imagine it would take a week or more."

Bob groaned.

"I'm going to yell."

"Yell, if you can. I've too much ore in my mouth to make much of a
noise."

Jarvis raised his voice in a shout. It did not seem to attract any
attention. The lad shouted again and again. By this time the ship was
trembling from stem to stern under the jar of the propeller that was
beating the water at many hundred revolutions a minute.

"Nobody on this ship, I guess," muttered Bob. "Come, suggest something.
You've always got something to say," urged Jarvis.

"I was about to say that you might as well save your breath. No one can
hear us through the thick decks; in fact, I presume every one has turned
in except those on watch forward, and the engine room crews at the rear
end of the ship."

"Then I am going to lie down and go to sleep," declared Jarvis.

"Don't do anything of the sort. The ore is likely to slide down and bury
you. The less disturbance we make here the better it will be for us."

"Why didn't you think of that before we fell in? I suppose we are pretty
deep down in the ship, aren't we?"

"About as close to the bottom as we can get without drowning. We will
keep as quiet as possible until we can plan some way of helping
ourselves out of this predicament."

Bob grunted unintelligibly. For some time after this the Iron Boys
leaned against the side of the ship, Steve trying to plan some way out
of the difficulty, Bob growling inwardly over the hard luck that had
befallen them.

All at once the ship gave a quick, sudden lurch. Jarvis lost his
balance, falling over on his face. The ore came down in a deluge,
covering him from head to feet before he had sufficient time to scramble
out of the way. Steve, bracing himself against the side of the ship,
stooped over and helped his companion to his feet.

"The old tub's going to tip over," gasped Jarvis. "What's the matter
with her?"

"Nothing is wrong. We have gotten out of the ship canal and into the
open water of Lake Superior. There must be considerable sea. Don't you
hear the waves smashing against the sides of the ship?"

"It isn't what I hear, but what I feel," answered Bob faintly. "I feel
queer. My head's spinning like a top. Is yours?"

"No; I can't say that it is. Are you getting seasick?"

"How do I know? I have never been seasick. How does it feel to be that
way?"

"I have heard that when people are seasick they don't care very much
whether they live or die."

"Then--then--I wish I could die right here, if it would make me forget
that awful goneness under my belt. Ugh!"

Bob settled down against the side of the ship, moaning.

"Don't be a baby. Get up and be a man."

"I--I don't want to be a man. I--I'd rather be a wooden image, then I
wouldn't care what happened. In case the ship went down I could float
and----"

Bob's words were lost in an anguished moan. Steve felt far from
comfortable, but he set his teeth and made a resolve not to give up.

"The sea is coming up, Bob," announced Rush after a long period of
silence.

"The--the sea----? It's my opinion that something else will be coming up
soon if things don't stop moving around the way--the way they are doing
now."

Steve laughed.

"Remember, Bob, that we are not likely to get anything in our stomachs
for some days. Be careful."

Bob groaned.

"If I ever get anything solid under my feet I'll take it out of you for
that! That's a mean trick to play on a fellow when he's in the shape I'm
in at this minute. How long do you suppose the noise outside will keep
up?"

"I don't know. Probably all the way down Superior."

"And how far is that?"

"Let me see. I think Mr. Carrhart said the trip to the--the Soo took
thirty-six hours."

"Help!" muttered Jarvis faintly.

"Now, I want you to brace up. Come on, get up. If you don't I'll