What happened then came so quickly that it fairly took Ned off his feet, so to speak.
The hawk-eyed man gave a shout. Then he uttered some quick exclamations in German in a loud tone. In a flash every man in the room but the men-o’-war’s-men was upon his feet. From the front office the walrus-faced proprietor came lumbering heavily in. In his hand was a big revolver. The swindler uttered what appeared to be a signal, and _en masse_ the stokers and long-shore loafers made a rush for Ned as he stood with his back against the wall and Childs by his side.
“Stand back, you fellows!” cried Ned in a firm, ringing voice. “I’m armed with the authority of the United States Navy. The man who lays hands on me answers to the Government. Understand that?”
Seemingly they did, for the mob of brutalized, hard-bitten characters checked its forward dash and wavered. But Schmidt, the walrus-faced German, rallied his ranks of rowdies.
“Don’t let dot young naval pup gedt oudt of here!” he cried. “He’s a spy! He’s looking for deserters! If you ledt him gedt oudt, a lot of you be catched undt shofed back in der nafy brigs.”
It was a shrewd move. As Schmidt well knew, most of the habitués of his place were men whose names figured on the list of deserters sought by the Federal authorities. Like an avalanche the hesitating line rallied and swept down on Ned.
“Childs, are you with me?” cried Ned, as he saw.
“Y-y-yes,” stammered the young sailor, but Ned saw that he couldn’t place much dependence upon his ally.
The Dreadnought Boy met the onslaught with a vigor that astonished Schmidt’s cohorts. Before his fists, which shot out into the massed faces like piston-rods, many a tough loafer and stoker went down. Childs, though, was borne to the ground at the first rush. His defense was half-hearted at best and he made little attempt to resist, deeming it a hopeless contest.
Ned did not dare to lower his defenses long enough to give the sharp blast on his whistle that he knew would summon aid from the outside. But pursing his lips as he drove blows right and left with flail-like force, he contrived to send out a shrill call without the aid of his bos’un’s pipe.
In the uproar the sound was unheard outside. In fact, it is doubtful if even the shrill summons of the whistle could have been heard beyond the front office, closed as the doors were. But the sound was interpreted as some kind of a signal by Schmidt’s crowd and for an instant they hesitated. It was Ned’s chance. He jerked Childs, who was cowering and helpless, to his feet.