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diff --git a/21714.txt b/21714.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f77740 --- /dev/null +++ b/21714.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11144 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Eric, by R.M. Ballantyne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Red Eric + +Author: R.M. Ballantyne + +Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21714] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED ERIC *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +THE RED ERIC, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE TALE BEGINS WITH THE ENGAGING OF A "TAIL"--AND THE CAPTAIN DELIVERS +HIS OPINIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. + +Captain Dunning stood with his back to the fireplace in the back-parlour +of a temperance coffee-house in a certain town on the eastern seaboard +of America. + +The name of that town is unimportant, and, for reasons with which the +reader has nothing to do, we do not mean to disclose it. + +Captain Dunning, besides being the owner and commander of a South Sea +whale-ship, was the owner of a large burly body, a pair of broad +shoulders, a pair of immense red whiskers that met under his chin, a +short, red little nose, a large firm mouth, and a pair of light-blue +eyes, which, according to their owner's mood, could flash like those of +a tiger or twinkle sweetly like the eyes of a laughing child. But his +eyes seldom flashed; they more frequently twinkled, for the captain was +the very soul of kindliness and good-humour. Yet he was abrupt and +sharp in his manner, so that superficial observers sometimes said he was +hasty. + +Captain Dunning was, so to speak, a sample of three primary colours-- +red, blue, and yellow--a walking fragment, as it were, of the rainbow. +His hair and face, especially the nose, were red; his eyes, coat, and +pantaloons were blue, and his waistcoat was yellow. + +At the time we introduce him to the reader he was standing, as we have +said, with his back to the fireplace, although there was no fire, the +weather being mild, and with his hands in his breeches pockets. Having +worked with the said hands for many long years before the mast, until he +had at last worked himself _behind_ the mast, in other words, on to the +quarterdeck and into possession of his own ship, the worthy captain +conceived that he had earned the right to give his hands a long rest; +accordingly he stowed them away in his pockets and kept them there at +all times, save when necessity compelled him to draw them forth. + +"Very odd," remarked Captain Dunning, looking at his black straw hat +which lay on the table before him, as if the remark were addressed to +it--"very odd if, having swallowed the cow, I should now be compelled to +worry at the tail." + +As the black straw hat made no reply, the captain looked up at the +ceiling, but not meeting with any response from that quarter, he looked +out at the window and encountered the gaze of a seaman flattening his +nose on a pane of glass, and looking in. + +The captain smiled. "Ah! here's a tail at last," he said, as the seaman +disappeared, and in another moment reappeared at the door with his hat +in his hand. + +It may be necessary, perhaps, to explain that Captain Dunning had just +succeeded in engaging a first-rate crew for his next whaling voyage +(which was the "cow" he professed to have swallowed), with the exception +of a cook (which was the "tail," at which he feared he might be +compelled to worry). + +"You're a cook, are you?" he asked, as the man entered and nodded. + +"Yes, sir," answered the "tail," pulling his forelock. + +"And an uncommonly ill-favoured rascally-looking cook you are," thought +the captain; but he did not say so, for he was not utterly regardless of +men's feelings. He merely said, "Ah!" and then followed it up with the +abrupt question-- + +"Do you drink?" + +"Yes, sir, and smoke too," replied the "tail," in some surprise. + +"Very good; then you can go," said the captain, shortly. + +"Eh!" exclaimed the man: + +"You can go," repeated the captain. "You won't suit. My ship is a +temperance ship, and all the hands are teetotalers. I have found from +experience that men work better, and speak better, and in every way act +better, on tea and coffee than on spirits. I don't object to their +smoking; but I don't allow drinkin' aboard my ship; so you won't do, my +man. Good-morning." + +The "tail" gazed at the captain in mute amazement. + +"Ah! you may look," observed the captain, replying to the gaze; "but you +may also mark my words, if you will. I've not sailed the ocean for +thirty years for nothing. I've seen men in hot seas and in cold--on +grog, and on tea--and _I_ know that coffee and tea carry men through the +hardest work better than grog. I also know that there's a set o' men in +this world who look upon teetotalers as very soft chaps--old wives, in +fact. Very good," (here the captain waxed emphatic, and struck his fist +on the table.) "Now look here, young man, _I'm_ an old wife, and my +ship's manned by similar old ladies; so you won't suit." + +To this the seaman made no reply, but feeling doubtless, as he regarded +the masculine specimen before him, that he would be quite out of his +element among such a crew of females, he thrust a quid of tobacco into +his cheek, put on his hat, turned on his heel and left the room, +shutting the door after him with a bang. + +He had scarcely left when a tap at the door announced a second visitor. + +"Hum! Another `tail,' I suppose. Come in." + +If the new-comer _was_ a "tail," he was decidedly a long one, being six +feet three in his stockings at the very least. + +"You wants a cook, I b'lieve?" said the man, pulling off his hat. + +"I do. Are you one?" + +"Yes, I jist guess I am. Bin a cook for fifteen year." + +"Been to sea as a cook?" inquired the captain. + +"I jist have. Once to the South Seas, twice to the North, an' once +round the world. Cook all the time. I've roasted, and stewed, and +grilled, and fried, and biled, right round the 'arth, I have." + +Being apparently satisfied with the man's account of himself, Captain +Dunning put to him the question--"Do you drink?" + +"Ay, like a fish; for I drinks nothin' but water, I don't. Bin born and +raised in the State of Maine, d'ye see, an' never tasted a drop all my +life." + +"Very good," said the captain, who plumed himself on being a clever +physiognomist, and had already formed a good opinion of the man. "Do +you ever swear?" + +"Never, but when I can't help it." + +"And when's that?" + +"When I'm fit to bu'st." + +"Then," replied the captain, "you must learn to bu'st without swearin', +'cause I don't allow it aboard my ship." + +The man evidently regarded his questioner as a very extraordinary and +eccentric individual; but he merely replied, "I'll try;" and after a +little further conversation an agreement was come to; the man was sent +away with orders to repair on board immediately, as everything was in +readiness to "up anchor and away next morning." + +Having thus satisfactorily and effectually disposed of the "tail," +Captain Dunning put on his hat very much on the back of his head, knit +his brows, and pursed his lips firmly, as if he had still some important +duty to perform; then, quitting the hotel, he traversed the streets of +the town with rapid strides. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +IMPORTANT PERSONAGES ARE INTRODUCED TO THE READER--THE CAPTAIN MAKES +INSANE RESOLUTIONS, FIGHTS A BATTLE, AND CONQUERS. + +In the centre of the town whose name we have declined to communicate, +there stood a house--a small house--so small that it might have been +more appropriately, perhaps, styled a cottage. This house had a +yellow-painted face, with a green door in the middle, which might have +been regarded as its nose, and a window on each side thereof, which +might have been considered its eyes. Its nose was, as we have said, +painted green, and its eyes had green Venetian eyelids, which were half +shut at the moment Captain Dunning walked up to it as if it were calmly +contemplating that seaman's general appearance. + +There was a small garden in front of the house, surrounded on three +sides by a low fence. Captain Dunning pushed open the little gate, +walked up to the nose of the house, and hit it several severe blows with +his knuckles. The result was that the nose opened, and a servant-girl +appeared in the gap. + +"Is your mistress at home?" inquired the captain. + +"Guess she is--both of 'em!" replied the girl. + +"Tell both of 'em I'm here, then," said the captain, stepping into the +little parlour without further ceremony; "and is my little girl in?" + +"Yes, she's in." + +"Then send her here too, an' look alive, lass." So saying, Captain +Dunning sat down on the sofa, and began to beat the floor with his right +foot somewhat impatiently. + +In another second a merry little voice was heard in the passage, the +door burst open, a fair-haired girl of about ten years of age sprang +into the room, and immediately commenced to strangle her father in a +series of violent embraces. + +"Why, Ailie, my darling, one would think you had not seen me for fifty +years at least," said the captain, holding his daughter at arm's-length, +in order the more satisfactorily to see her. + +"It's a whole week, papa, since you last came to see me," replied the +little one, striving to get at her father's neck again, "and I'm sure it +seems to me like a hundred years at least." + +As the child said this she threw her little arms round her father, and +kissed his large, weather-beaten visage all over--eyes, mouth, nose, +chin, whiskers, and, in fact, every attainable spot. She did it so +vigorously, too, that an observer would have been justified in expecting +that her soft, delicate cheeks would be lacerated by the rough contact; +but they were not. The result was a heightening of the colour, nothing +more. Having concluded this operation, she laid her cheek on the +captain's and endeavoured to clasp her hands at the back of his neck, +but this was no easy matter. The captain's neck was a remarkably thick +one, and the garments about that region were voluminous; however, by +dint of determination, she got the small fingers intertwined, and then +gave him a squeeze that ought to have choked him, but it didn't: many a +strong man had tried that in his day, and had failed signally. + +"You'll stay a long time with me before you go away to sea again, won't +you, dear papa?" asked the child earnestly, after she had given up the +futile effort to strangle him. + +"How like!" murmured the captain, as if to himself, and totally +unmindful of the question, while he parted the fair curls and kissed +Ailie's forehead. + +"Like what, papa?" + +"Like your mother--your beloved mother," replied the captain, in a low, +sad voice. + +The child became instantly grave, and she looked up in her father's face +with an expression of awe, while he dropped his eyes on the floor. + +Poor Alice had never known a mother's love. Her mother died when she +was a few weeks old, and she had been confided to the care of two maiden +aunts--excellent ladies, both of them; good beyond expression; correct +almost to a fault; but prim, starched, and extremely self-possessed and +judicious, so much so that they were injudicious enough to repress some +of the best impulses of their natures, under the impression that a +certain amount of dignified formality was essential to good breeding and +good morals in every relation of life. + +Dear, good, starched Misses Dunning! if they had had their way, boys +would have played cricket and football with polite urbanity, and girls +would have kissed their playmates with gentle solemnity. They did their +best to subdue little Alice, but that was impossible. The child _would_ +rush about the house at all unexpected and often inopportune seasons, +like a furiously insane kitten and she _would_ disarrange their collars +too violently every evening when she bade them good-night. + +Alice was intensely sympathetic. It was quite enough for her to see any +one in tears, to cause her to open up the flood-gates of her eyes and +weep--she knew not and she cared not why. She threw her arms round her +father's neck again, and hugged him, while bright tears trickled like +diamonds from her eyes. No diamonds are half so precious or so +difficult to obtain as tears of genuine sympathy! + +"How would you like to go with me to the whale-fishery?" inquired +Captain Dunning, somewhat abruptly as he disengaged the child's arms and +set her on his knee. + +The tears stopped in an instant, as Alice leaped, with the happy +facility of childhood, totally out of one idea and thoroughly into +another. + +"Oh, I should like it _so_ much!" + +"And how much is `so' much, Ailie?" inquired the captain. + +Ailie pursed her mouth, and looked at her father earnestly, while she +seemed to struggle to give utterance to some fleeting idea. + +"Think," she said quickly, "think something good _as much as ever you +can_. Have you thought?" + +"Yes," answered the captain, smiling. + +"Then," continued Ailie, "its twenty thousand million times as much as +that, and a great deal more!" + +The laugh with which Captain Dunning received this curious explanation +of how much his little daughter wished to go with him to the +whale-fishery, was interrupted by the entrance of his sisters, whose +sense of propriety induced them to keep all visitors waiting at least a +quarter of an hour before they appeared, lest they should be charged +with unbecoming precipitancy. + +"Here you are, lassies; how are ye?" cried the captain as he rose and +kissed each lady on the cheek heartily. + +The sisters did not remonstrate. They knew that their brother was past +hope in this respect, and they loved him, so they suffered it meekly. + +Having admitted that they were well--as well, at least, as could be +expected, considering the cataract of "trials" that perpetually +descended upon their devoted heads--they sat down as primly as if their +visitor were a perfect stranger, and entered into a somewhat lengthened +conversation as to the intended voyage, commencing, of course, with the +weather. + +"And now," said the captain, rubbing the crown of his straw hat in a +circular manner, as if it were a beaver, "I'm coming to the point." + +Both ladies exclaimed, "What point, George?" simultaneously, and +regarded the captain with a look of anxious surprise. + +"_The_ point," replied the captain, "about which I've come here to-day. +It ain't a point o' the compass; nevertheless, I've been steerin' it in +my mind's eye for a considerable time past. The fact is" (here the +captain hesitated), "I--I've made up my mind to take my little Alice +along with me this voyage." + +The Misses Dunning wore unusually tall caps, and their countenances were +by nature uncommonly long, but the length to which they grew on hearing +this announcement was something preternaturally awful. + +"Take Ailie to sea!" exclaimed Miss Martha Dunning, in horror. + +"To fish for whales!" added Miss Jane Dunning, in consternation. + +"Brother, you're mad!" they exclaimed together, after a breathless +pause; "and you'll do nothing of the kind," they added firmly. + +Now, the manner in which the Misses Dunning received this intelligence +greatly relieved their eccentric brother. He had fully anticipated, and +very much dreaded, that they would at once burst into tears, and being a +tender-hearted man he knew that he could not resist that without a hard +struggle. A flood of woman's tears, he was wont to say, was the only +sort of salt water storm he hadn't the heart to face. But abrupt +opposition was a species of challenge which the captain always accepted +at once--off-hand. No human power could force him to any course of +action. + +In this latter quality Captain Dunning was neither eccentric nor +singular. + +"I'm sorry you don't like my proposal, my dear sisters," said he; "but +I'm resolved." + +"You won't!" said Martha. + +"You shan't!" cried Jane. + +"I _will_!" replied the captain. + +There was a pause here of considerable length, during which the captain +observed that Martha's nostrils began to twitch nervously. Jane, +observing the fact, became similarly affected. To the captain's +practised eye these symptoms were as good as a barometer. He knew that +the storm was coming, and took in all sail at once (mentally) to be +ready for it. + +It came! Martha and Jane Dunning were for once driven from the shelter +of their wonted propriety--they burst simultaneously into tears, and +buried their respective faces in their respective pocket-handkerchiefs, +which were immaculately clean and had to be hastily unfolded for the +purpose. + +"Now, now, my dear girls," cried the captain, starting up and patting +their shoulders, while poor little Ailie clasped her hands, sat down on +a footstool, looked up in their faces--or, rather, at the backs of the +hands which covered their faces--and wept quietly. + +"It's very cruel, George--indeed it is," sobbed Martha; "you know how we +love her." + +"Very true," remarked the obdurate captain; "but you _don't_ know how +_I_ love her, and how sad it makes me to see so little of her, and to +think that she may be learning to forget me--or, at least," added the +captain, correcting himself as Ailie looked at him reproachfully through +her tears--"at least to do without me. I can't bear the thought. She's +all I have left to me, and--" + +"Brother," interrupted Martha, looking hastily up, "did you ever before +hear of such a thing as taking a little girl on a voyage to the +whale-fishing?" + +"No, never," replied the captain; "what has that got to do with it?" + +Both ladies held up their hands and looked aghast. The idea of any man +venturing to do what no one ever thought of doing before was so utterly +subversive of all their ideas of propriety--such a desperate piece of +profane originality--that they remained speechless. + +"George," said Martha, drying her eyes, and speaking in tones of deep +solemnity, "did you ever read _Robinson Crusoe_?" + +"Yes, I did, when I was a boy; an' that wasn't yesterday." + +"And did you," continued the lady in the same sepulchral tone, "did you +note how that man--that beacon, if I may use the expression, set up as a +warning to deter all wilful boys and men from reckless, and wicked, and +wandering, and obstreperous courses--did you note, I say, how that man, +that beacon, was shipwrecked, and spent a dreary existence on an +uninhabited and dreadful island, in company with a low, dissolute, +black, unclothed companion called Friday?" + +"Yes," answered the captain, seeing that she paused for a reply. + +"And all," continued Martha, "in consequence of his resolutely and +obstinately, and wilfully and wickedly going to sea?" + +"Well, it couldn't have happened if he hadn't gone to sea, no doubt." + +"Then," argued Martha, "will you, can you, George, contemplate the +possibility of your only daughter coming to the same dreadful end?" + +George, not exactly seeing the connection, rubbed his nose with his +forefinger, and replied--"Certainly not." + +"Then you are bound," continued Martha, in triumph, "by all that is +upright and honourable, by all the laws of humanity and _propriety_, to +give up this wild intention--and you _must_!" + +"There!" cried Miss Jane emphatically, as if the argument were +unanswerable--as indeed it was, being incomprehensible. + +The last words were unfortunate. They merely riveted the captain's +determination. + +"You talk a great deal of nonsense, Martha," he said, rising to depart. +"I've fixed to take her, so the sooner you make up your minds to it the +better." + +The sisters knew their brother's character too well to waste more time +in vain efforts; but Martha took him by the arm, and said +earnestly--"Will you promise me, my dear George, that when she comes +back from this voyage, you will never take her on another?" + +"Yes, dear sister," replied the captain, somewhat melted, "I promise +that." + +Without another word Martha sat down and held out her arms to Ailie, who +incontinently rushed into them. Propriety fled for the nonce, +discomfited. Miss Martha's curls were disarranged beyond repair, and +Miss Martha's collar was crushed to such an extent that the very +laundress who had washed and starched and ironed it would have utterly +failed to recognise it. Miss Jane looked on at these improprieties in +perfect indifference--nay, when, after her sister had had enough, the +child was handed over to her, she submitted to the same violent +treatment without a murmur. For once Nature was allowed to have her +way, and all three had a good hearty satisfactory cry; in the midst of +which Captain Dunning left them, and, proceeding on board his ship, +hastened the preparations for his voyage to the Southern Seas. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE TEA-PARTY--ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF A MINOR KIND--GLYNN PROCTOR +GETS INTO TROUBLE. + +On the evening of the day in which the foregoing scenes were enacted, +the Misses Dunning prepared a repast for their brother and one or two of +his officers, who were to spend the last evening in port there, and +discuss various important and unimportant matters in a sort of +semi-convivio-business way. + +An event of this kind was always of the deepest interest and productive +of the most intense anxiety to the amiable though starched sisters; +first, because it was of rare occurrence; and second, because they were +never quite certain that it would pass without some unhappy accident, +such as the upsetting of a tea-cup or a kettle, or the scalding of the +cat, not to mention visitors' legs. They seemed to regard a tea-party +in the light of a firearm--a species of blunderbuss--a thing which, it +was to be hoped, would "go off well"; and, certainly, if loading the +table until it groaned had anything to do with the manner of its "going +off," there was every prospect of its doing so with pre-eminent success +upon that occasion. + +But besides the anxieties inseparable from the details of the pending +festivities, the Misses Dunning were overwhelmed and weighed down with +additional duties consequent upon their brother's sudden and unexpected +determination. Little Ailie had to be got ready for sea by the +following morning! It was absolute and utter insanity! No one save a +madman or a sea-captain could have conceived such a thing, much less +have carried it into effect tyrannically. + +The Misses Dunning could not attempt any piece of duty or work +separately. They always acted together, when possible; and might, in +fact, without much inconvenience, have been born Siamese twins. +Whatever Martha did, Jane attempted to do or to mend; wherever Jane +went, Martha followed. Not, by any means, that one thought she could +improve upon the work of the other; their conduct was simply the result +of a desire to assist each other mutually. When Martha spoke, Jane +echoed or corroborated; and when Jane spoke, Martha repeated her +sentences word for word in a scarcely audible whisper--not after the +other had finished, but during the course of the remarks. + +With such dispositions and propensities, it is not a matter to be +wondered at that the good ladies, while arranging the tea-table, should +suddenly remember some forgotten article of Ailie's wardrobe, and rush +simultaneously into the child's bedroom to rectify the omission; or, +when thus engaged, be filled with horror at the thought of having left +the buttered toast too near the fire in the parlour. + +"It is really quite perplexing," said Martha, sitting down with a sigh, +and regarding the tea-table with a critical gaze; "quite perplexing. +I'm sure I don't know how I shall bear it. It is too bad of George-- +darling Ailie--(dear me, Jane, how crookedly you have placed the urn)-- +it is really too bad." + +"Too bad, indeed; yes, isn't it?" echoed Jane, in reference to the +captain's conduct, while she assisted Martha, who had risen to readjust +the urn. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Martha, with a look of horror. + +"What?" cried Jane, who looked and felt equally horrified, although she +knew not yet the cause. + +"The eggs!" + +"The eggs?" + +"Yes, the eggs. You know every one of the last dozen we got was bad, +and we've forgot to send for more," said Martha. + +"For more; so we have!" cried Jane; and both ladies rushed into the +kitchen, gave simultaneous and hurried orders to the servant-girl, and +sent her out of the house impressed with an undefined feeling that life +or death depended on the instant procuring of two dozen fresh eggs. + +It may be as well to remark here, that the Misses Dunning, although +stiff, and starched, and formal, had the power of speeding nimbly from +room to room, when alone and when occasion required, without in the +least degree losing any of their stiffness or formality, so that we do +not use the terms "rush," "rushed," or "rushing" inappropriately. +Nevertheless, it may also be remarked that they never acted in a rapid +or impulsive way in company, however small in numbers or unceremonious +in character the company might be--always excepting the servant-girl and +the cat, to whose company, from long habit, they had become used, and +therefore indifferent. + +The sisters were on their knees, stuffing various articles into a large +trunk, and Ailie was looking on, by way of helping, with very red and +swollen eyes, and the girl was still absent in quest of eggs, when a +succession of sounding blows were administered to the green door, and a +number of gruff voices were heard conversing without. + +"_There_!" cried Martha and Jane, with bitter emphasis, looking in each +other's faces as if to say, "We knew it. Before that girl was sent away +for these eggs, we each separately and privately prophesied that they +would arrive, and that we should have to open the door. And you see, so +it has happened, and we are not ready!" + +But there was no time for remark. The case was desperate. Both sisters +felt it to be so, and acted accordingly, while Ailie, having been +forbidden to open the door, sat down on her trunk, and looked on in +surprise. They sprang up, washed their hands simultaneously in the same +basin, with the same piece of soap broken in two; dried them with the +same towel, darted to the mirror, put on two identically similar clean +tall caps, leaped down-stairs, opened the door with slow dignity of +demeanour, and received their visitors in the hall with a calmness and +urbanity of manner that contrasted rather strangely with their flushed +countenances and heaving bosoms. + +"Hallo! Ailie!" exclaimed the captain, as his daughter pulled down his +head to be kissed. "Why, you take a fellow all aback, like a white +squall. Are you ready, my pet? Kit stowed and anchor tripped? Come +this way, and let us talk about it. Dear me, Martha, you and Jane--look +as if you had been running a race, eh? Here are my messmates come to +talk a bit with you. My sisters, Martha and Jane--Dr Hopley." (Dr +Hopley bowed politely.) "My first mate, Mr Millons" (Mr Millons also +bowed, somewhat loosely); "and Rokens--Tim Rokens, my chief harpooner." +(Mr Rokens pulled his forelock, and threw back his left leg, apparently +to counterbalance the bend in his body.) "He didn't want to come; said +he warn't accustomed to ladies' society; but I told him you warn't +ladies--a--I don't mean that--not ladies o' the high-flyin' fashionable +sort, that give themselves airs, you know. Come along, Ailie." + +While the captain ran on in this strain, hung up his hat, kissed Ailie, +and ran his fingers through his shaggy locks, the Misses Dunning +performed a mingled bow and courtsey to each guest as his name was +mentioned, and shook hands with him, after which the whole party entered +the parlour, where the cat was discovered enjoying a preliminary meal of +its own at one of the pats of butter. A united shriek from Martha +and Jane, a nautical howl from the guests, and a rolled-up +pocket-handkerchief from Rokens sent that animal from the table as if it +had received a galvanic shock. + +"I ax yer parding, ladies," said Mr Rokens, whose aim had been so +perfect that his handkerchief not only accelerated the flight of the +cat, but carried away the violated pat of butter along with it. "I ax +yer parding, but them brutes is sich thieves--I could roast 'em alive, +so I could." + +The harpooner unrolled his handkerchief, and picking the pat of butter +from its folds with his fingers, threw it into the fire. Thereafter he +smoothed down his hair, and seated himself on the extreme edge of a +chair, as near the door as possible. Not that he had any intention +whatever of taking to flight, but he deemed that position to be more +suited to his condition than any other. + +In a few minutes the servant-girl returned with the eggs. While she is +engaged in boiling them, we shall introduce Captain Dunning's friends +and messmates to the reader. + +Dr Hopley was a surgeon, and a particular friend of the captain's. He +was an American by birth, but had travelled so much about the world that +he had ceased to "guess" and "calculate," and to speak through his nose. +He was a man about forty, tall, big-boned, and muscular, though not +fat; and besides being a gentlemanly man, was a good-natured, quiet +creature, and a clever enough fellow besides, but he preferred to laugh +at and enjoy the jokes and witticisms of others rather than to +perpetrate any himself. Dr Hopley was intensely fond of travelling, +and being possessed of a small independence, he indulged his passion to +the utmost. He had agreed to go with Captain Dunning as the ship's +doctor, simply for the sake of seeing the whale-fishery of the South +Seas, having already, in a similar capacity, encountered the dangers of +the North. + +Dr Hopley had few weaknesses. His chief one was an extravagant belief +in phrenology. We would not be understood to imply that phrenology is +extravagant; but we assert that the doctor's belief in it was +extravagant, assigning, as he did, to every real and ideal facility of +the human mind "a local habitation and a name" in the cranium, with a +corresponding depression or elevation of the surface to mark its +whereabouts. In other respects he was a commonplace sort of a man. + +Mr Millons, the first mate, was a short, hale, thick-set man, without +any particularly strong points of character. He was about thirty-five, +and possessed a superabundance of fair hair and whiskers, with a large, +broad chin, a firm mouth, rather fierce-looking eyes, and a hasty, but +by no means a bad temper. He was a trustworthy, matter-of-fact seaman, +and a good officer, but not bright intellectually. Like most men of his +class, his look implied that he did not under-estimate his own +importance, and his tones were those of a man accustomed to command. + +Tim Rokens was an old salt; a bluff, strong, cast-iron man, of about +forty-five years of age, who had been at sea since he was a little boy, +and would not have consented to live on dry land, though he had been +"offered command of a seaport town all to himself," as he was wont to +affirm emphatically. His visage was scarred and knotty, as if it had +been long used to being pelted by storms--as indeed it had. There was a +scar over his left eye and down his cheek, which had been caused by a +slash from the cutlass of a pirate in the China Seas; but although it +added to the rugged effect of his countenance, it did not detract from +the frank, kindly expression that invariably rested there. Tim Rokens +had never been caught out of temper in his life. Men were wont say he +had no temper to lose. Whether this was true or no, we cannot presume +to say, but certainly he never lost it. He was the best and boldest +harpooner in Captain Dunning's ship, and a sententious deliverer of his +private opinion on all occasions whatsoever. When we say that he wore a +rough blue pilot-cloth suit, and had a large black beard, with a +sprinkling of silver hairs in it, we have completed his portrait. + +"What's come of Glynn?" inquired Captain Dunning, as he accepted a large +cup of smoking tea with one hand, and with the other handed a plate of +buttered toast to Dr Hopley, who sat next him. + +"I really cannot imagine," replied Miss Martha. + +"No, cannot imagine," whispered Miss Jane. + +"He promised to come, and to be punctual," continued Miss Martha +("Punctual," whispered Miss J), "but something seems to have detained +him. Perhaps--" + +Here Miss Martha was brought to an abrupt pause by observing that Mr +Rokens was about to commence to eat his egg with a teaspoon. + +"Allow me, Mr Rokens," she said, handing that individual an ivory +eggspoon. + +"Oh, cer'nly, ma'am. By all means," replied Rokens, taking the spoon +and handing it to Miss Jane, under the impression that it was intended +for her. + +"I beg pardon, it is for yourself, Mr Rokens," said Martha and Jane +together. + +"Thank'ee, ma'am," replied Rokens, growing red, as he began to perceive +he was a little "off his course" somehow. "I've no occasion for _two_, +an' this one suits me oncommon." + +"Ah! you prefer big spoons to little ones, my man, don't you?" said +Captain Dunning, coming to the rescue. "Let him alone, Martha, he's +used to take care of himself. Doctor, can you tell me now, which is the +easiest of digestion--a hard egg or a soft one?" + +Thus appealed to, Dr Hopley paused a moment and frowned at the teapot, +as though he were about to tax his brain to the utmost in the solution +of an abstruse question in medical science. + +"Well now," he replied, stirring his tea gently, and speaking with much +deliberation, "that depends very much upon circumstances. Some +digestions can manage a hard egg best, others find a soft one more +tractable. And then the state of the stomach at the time of eating has +to be taken into account. I should say now, that my little friend +Ailie, here, to judge from the rosy colour of her cheeks, could manage +hard or soft eggs equally well; couldn't you, eh?" + +Ailie laughed, as she replied, "I'm sure I don't know, Doctor Hopley; +but I _like_ soft ones best." + +To this, Captain Dunning said, "Of course you do, my sensible little +pet;" although it would be difficult to show wherein lay the sensibility +of the preference, and then added--"There's Rokens, now; wouldn't you, +doctor--judging from his rosy, not to say purple cheeks--conclude that +he wasn't able to manage even two eggs of any kind?" + +"Wot, _me_!" exclaimed Mr Rokens, looking up in surprise, as indeed he +well might, having just concluded his fourth, and being about to +commence his fifth egg, to the no small anxiety of Martha and Jane, into +whose limited and innocent minds the possibility of such a feat had +never entered. "Wot, _me_! Why, capting, if they was biled as hard as +the head of a marline-spike--" + +The expanding grin on the captain's face, and a sudden laugh from the +mate, apprised the bold harpooner at this point of his reply that the +captain was jesting, so he felt a little confused, and sought relief by +devoting himself assiduously to egg Number 5. + +It fared ill with Tim Rokens that evening that he had rashly entered +into ladies' society, for he was a nervous man in refined company, +though cool and firm as a grounded iceberg when in the society of his +messmates, or when towing with the speed of a steamboat in the wake of a +sperm-whale. + +Egg Number 5 proved to be a bad one. Worse than that, egg Number 5 +happened to belong to that peculiar class of bad eggs which "go off" +with a little crack when hit with a spoon, and sputter their unsavoury +contents around them. Thus it happened, that when Mr Rokens, feeling +confused, and seeking relief in attention to the business then in hand, +hit egg Number 5 a smart blow on the top, a large portion of its +contents spurted over the fair white tablecloth, a small portion fell on +Mr Rokens' vest, and a minute yellow globule thereof alighted on the +fair Martha's hand, eliciting from that lady a scream, and as a matter +of course, an echo from Jane in the shape of a screamlet. + +Mr Rokens flushed a deep Indian-red, and his nose assumed a warm blue +colour instantly. + +"Oh! ma'am, I ax yer parding." + +"Pray don't mention it--a mere accident. I'm so sorry you have got a +bad--Oh!" + +The little scream with which Miss Martha interrupted her remark was +caused by Mr Rokens (who had just observed the little yellow globule +above referred to) seizing her hand, and wiping away the speck with the +identical handkerchief that had floored the cat and swept away the pat +of butter. Immediately thereafter, feeling heated, he wiped the +perspiration from his forehead, and unwittingly transferred the spot +thereto in the form of a yellow streak, whereat Ailie and the first mate +burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Even Miss Martha smiled, +although she rather objected to jesting, as being a dangerous amusement, +and never laughed at the weaknesses or misfortunes of others, however +ludicrous they might be, when she could help it. + +"How can you, brother?" she said, reproachfully, shaking her head at the +captain, who was winking at the doctor with one eye in a most +obstreperous manner. "Do try another egg, Mr Rokens; the others, I am +sure, are fresh. I cannot imagine how a bad one came to be amongst +them." + +"Ah, try another, my lad," echoed the captain. "Pass 'em up this way, +Mr Millons." + +"By no manner o' means; I'll eat this 'un!" replied the harpooner, +commencing to eat the bad egg with apparent relish. "I like 'em this +way--better than nothin', anyhow. Bless ye, marm, ye've no notion wot +sort o' things I've lived on aboard ship--" + +Rokens came to an abrupt pause in consequence of the servant-girl, at a +sign from her mistresses (for she always received duplicate orders), +seizing his plate and carrying it off bodily. It was immediately +replaced by a clean one and a fresh egg. While Rokens somewhat +nervously tapped the head of Number 6, Miss Martha, in order to divert +attention from him, asked Mr Millons if sea-fare was always salt junk +and hard biscuit? + +"Oh, no, madam," answered the first mate. "We've sometimes salt pork, +and vegetables now and agin; and pea-soup, and plum-duff--" + +"Plum-duff, Ailie," interrupted the captain, in order to explain, "is +just a puddin' with few plums and fewer spices in it. Something like a +white-painted cannon-shot, with brown spots on it here and there." + +"Is it good?" inquired Ailie. + +"Oh, ain't it!" remarked Mr Rokens, who had just concluded Number 6, +and felt his self-possession somewhat restored. "Yes, miss, it is; but +it ain't equal to whale's-brain fritters, it ain't; them's first-chop." + +"Have whales got brains?" inquired Miss Martha, in surprise. + +"Brains!" echoed Miss Jane, in amazement. + +"Yes, madam, they 'ave," answered the first mate, who had hitherto +maintained silence, but having finished tea was now ready for any amount +of talk; "and what's more remarkable still, they've got several barrels +of oil in their skulls besides." + +"Dear me!" exclaimed the sisters. + +"Yes, ladies, capital oil it is, too; fetches a 'igher price hin the +markit than the other sort." + +"By the bye, Millons, didn't you once fall into a whale's skull, and get +nearly drowned in oil?" inquired the doctor. + +"I did," answered the first mate, with the air of a man who regarded +such an event as a mere trifle, that, upon consideration, might almost +be considered as rather a pleasant incident than otherwise in one's +history. + +"Nearly drowned in oil!" exclaimed the sisters, while Ailie opened her +eyes in amazement, and Mr Rokens became alarmingly purple in the face +with suppressed chuckling. + +"It's true," remarked Rokens, in a hoarse whisper to Miss Martha, +putting his hand up to his mouth, the better to convey the sound to her +ears; "I seed him tumble in, and helped to haul him out." + +"Let's have the story, Millons," cried the captain, pushing forward his +cup to be replenished; "It's so long since I heard it, that I've almost +forgotten it. Another cup o' tea, Martha, my dear--not quite so strong +as the last, and three times as sweet. I'll drink `Success to the cup +that cheers, but don't inebriate.' Go ahead, Millons." + +Nothing rejoiced the heart of Mr Millons more than being asked to tell +a story. Like most men who are excessively addicted to the habit, his +stories were usually very long and very dry; but he had a bluff +good-natured way of telling them, that rendered his yarns endurable on +shore, and positively desirable at sea. Fortunately for the reader, the +story he was now requested to relate was not a long one. + +"It ain't quite a _story_," he began--and in beginning he cleared his +throat with emphasis, thrust his thumbs into the arm-holes of his vest, +and tilted his chair on its hind-legs--"it ain't quite a story; it's a +hanecdote, a sort of hincident, so to speak, and this is 'ow it +'appened:-- + +"Many years ago, w'en I was a very young man, or a big boy, I was on a +voyage to the South Seas after whales. Tim Rokens was my messmate then, +and has bin so almost ever since, off, and on." (Mr Rokens nodded +assent to this statement.) "Well, we came up with a big whale, and fixed +an iron cleverly in him at the first throw--" + +"An iron?" inquired Miss Martha, to whose mind flat and Italian irons +naturally occurred. + +"Yes, madam, an iron; we call the 'arpoons irons. Well, away went the +fish, like all alive! not down, but straight for'ard, takin' out the +line at a rate that nearly set the boat on fire, and away we went along +with it. It _was_ a chase, that. For six hours, off and on, we stuck +to that whale, and pitched into 'im with 'arpoons and lances; but he +seemed to have the lives of a cat--nothin' would kill 'im. At last the +'arpooner gave him a thrust in the life, an' up went the blood and +water, and the fish went into the flurries, and came nigh capsizin' the +boat with its tail as it lashed the water into foam. At last it gave +in, and we had a four hours' pull after that, to tow the carcase to the +ship, for there wasn't a cat's-paw of wind on the water. + +"W'en we came alongside, we got out the tackles, and before beginning to +flense (that means, ma'am, to strip off the blubber), we cut a hole in +the top o' the skull to get out the oil that was there; for you must +know that the sperm-whale has got a sort of 'ollow or big cavern in its +'ead, w'ich is full o' the best oil, quite pure, that don't need to be +cleared, but is all ready to be baled out and stowed away in casks. +Well, w'en the 'ole was cut in its skull I went down on my knees on the +edge of it to peep in, when my knees they slipped on the blubber, and in +I went 'ead-foremost, souse into the whale's skull, and began to swim +for life in the oil. + +"Of course I began to roar for 'elp like a bull, and Rokens there, 'oo +'appened to be near, 'e let down the hend of a rope, but my 'ands was so +slippy with oil I couldn't ketch 'old of it; so 'e 'auls it up agin, and +lets down a rope with a 'ook at the hend, and I got 'old of this and +stuck it into the waistband o' my trousers, and gave the word, `'Eave +away, my 'earties;' and sure enough so they did, and pulled me out in a +trice. And that's 'ow it was; and I lost a suit o' clo's, for nothing +on 'arth would take the oil out, and I didn't need to use pomatum for +six months after." + +"No more you did," cried Rokens, who had listened to the narrative with +suppressed delight; "no more you did. I never see sich a glazed rat as +you wos when you comed out o' that hole, in all my life; an' he wos jist +like a eel; it wos all we could do to keep 'old on 'im, marm, he was so +slippery." + +While the captain was laughing at the incident, and Rokens was narrating +some of the minute details in the half-unwilling yet half-willing ears +of the sisters, the door opened, and a young man entered hastily and +apologised for being late. + +"The fact is, Miss Dunning, had I not promised faithfully to come, I +should not have made my appearance at all to-night." + +"Why, Glynn, what has kept you, lad?" interrupted the captain. "I +thought you were a man of your word." + +"Ay, that's the question, capting," said Rokens, who evidently regarded +the new arrival with no favourable feelings; "it's always the way with +them _gentlemen_ sailors till they're got into blue water and brought to +their bearin's." + +Mr Rokens had wisdom enough to give forth the last part of his speech +in a muttered tone, for the youth was evidently a favourite with the +captain, as was shown by the hearty manner in which he shook him by the +hand. + +"Messmates, this is Glynn Proctor, a friend o' mine," said Captain +Dunning, in explanation: "he is going with us this voyage _before_ the +mast, so you'll have to make the most of him as an equal to-night, for I +intend to keep him in his proper place when afloat. He chooses to go as +an ordinary seaman, against my advice, the scamp; so I'll make him keep +his head as low as the rest when aboard. You'll to keep your time +better, too, than you have done to-night, lad," continued the captain, +giving his young friend a slap on the shoulder. "What has detained you, +eh?" + +"Necessity, captain," replied the youth, with a smile, as he sat down to +table with an off-hand easy air that savoured of recklessness; "and I am +prepared to state, upon oath if need be, that necessity is not `the +mother of invention.' If she had been, she would have enabled me to +invent a way of escape from my persecutors in time to keep my promise to +Miss Dunning." + +"Persecutors, Glynn!" exclaimed Martha; "to whom do you refer?" + +"To the police of this good city." + +"Police!" echoed the captain, regarding his young friend seriously, +while the doctor and the first mate and Tim Rokens listened in some +surprise. + +"Why, the fact is," said Glynn, "that I have just escaped from the hands +of the police, and if it had not been that I was obliged to make a very +wide detour, in order to reach this house without being observed, I +should have been here long ago." + +"Boy, boy, your hasty disposition will bring you into serious trouble +one of these days," said the captain, shaking his head. "What mischief +have you been about?" + +"Ay, there you go--it's my usual fate," cried Glynn, laughing. "If I +chance to get into a scrape, you never think of inquiring whether it was +my fault or my misfortune. This time, however, it _was_ my misfortune, +and if Miss Dunning will oblige me with a cup of tea, I'll explain how +it happened. + +"Little more than two hours ago I left the ship to come here to tea, as +I had promised to do. Nikel Sling, the long-legged cook you engaged +this morning, went ashore with me. As we walked up the street together, +I observed a big porter passing along with a heavy deal plank on his +shoulder. The street was somewhat narrow and crowded at that part, and +Sling had turned to look in at a shop-window just as the big fellow came +up. The man shouted to my shipmate to get out o' the way, but the noise +in the street prevented him from hearing. Before I could turn to touch +the cook's arm, the fellow uttered an oath and ran the end of the plank +against his head. Poor Sling was down in an instant. Before I well +knew what I was about, I hit the porter between the eyes and down he +went with a clatter, and the plank above him. In a moment three +policemen had me by the collar. I tried to explain, but they wouldn't +listen. As I was being hurried away to the lock-up, it flashed across +me that I should not only lose my tea and your pleasant society this +evening, but be prevented from sailing to-morrow, so I gave a sudden +twist, tripped up the man on my left, overturned the one on my right, +and bolted." + +"They ran well, the rascals, and shouted like maniacs, but I got the +start of 'em, dived down one street, up another, into a by-lane, over a +back-garden wall, in at the back-door of a house and out at the front, +took a round of two or three miles, and came in here from the west; and +whatever other objections there may be to the whole proceeding, I cannot +say that it has spoiled my appetite." + +"And so, sir," said Captain Dunning, "you call this your `misfortune?'" + +"Surely, captain," said Glynn, putting down his cup and looking up in +some surprise--"surely, you cannot blame me for punishing the rascal who +behaved so brutally, without the slightest provocation, to my shipmate!" + +"Hear, hear!" cried Rokens involuntarily. + +"I do blame you, lad," replied the captain seriously. "In the first +place, you had no right to take the law into your own hands. In the +second place, your knocking down the man did no good whatever to your +shipmate; and in the third place, you've got yourself and me and the +ship into a very unsatisfactory scrape." + +Rokens' face, which had hitherto expressed approval of Glynn's conduct, +began to elongate as the captain went on in this strain; and the youth's +recklessness of manner altogether disappeared as inquired, "How so, +captain? I have escaped, as you see; and poor Sling, of course, was not +to blame, so he'll be all safe aboard, and well, I hope, by this time." + +"There you're mistaken, boy. They will have secured Sling and made him +tell the name of his ship, and also the name of his pugnacious comrade." + +"And do you think he'd be so mean as to tell?" asked Glynn indignantly. + +"You forget that the _first_ act in this nice little melodrama was the +knocking down of Sling, so that he could not know what happened after, +and the police would not be so soft as to tell him _why_ they wanted +such information until after they had got it." + +Poor Glynn looked aghast, and Rokens was overwhelmed. + +"It seems to me, I'd better go and see about this," said Millons, rising +and buttoning his coat with the air of a man who had business to +transact and meant to transact it. + +"Right, Millons," answered the captain. "I'm sorry to break up our +evening so soon, but we must get this man aboard by hook or crook as +speedily as possible. You had better go too, doctor. Rokens and I will +take care of this young scamp, who must be made a nigger of in order to +be got on board, for his face, once seen by these sharp limbs of +justice, is not likely soon to be forgotten." + +Glynn Proctor was indeed a youth whose personal appearance was +calculated to make a lasting impression on most people. He was about +eighteen years of age, but a strong, well-developed muscular frame, a +firm mouth, a large chin, and an eagle eye, gave him the appearance of +being much older. He was above the middle height, but not tall, and the +great breadth of his shoulders and depth of his chest made him appear +shorter than he really was. His hair was of that beautiful hue called +nut-brown, and curled close round his well-shaped head. He was a model +of strength and activity. + +Glynn Proctor had many faults. He was hasty and reckless. He was +unsteady, too, and preferred a roving idle life to a busy one; but he +had redeeming qualities. He was bold and generous. Above all, he was +unselfish, and therefore speedily became a favourite with all who knew +him. Glynn's history is briefly told. He was an Englishman. His +father and mother had died when he was a child, and left him in charge +of an uncle, who emigrated to America shortly after his brother's death. +The uncle was a good man, after a fashion, but he was austere and +unlovable. Glynn didn't like him; so when he attained the age of +thirteen, he quietly told him that he meant to bid him good-bye, and go +seek his fortune in the world. The uncle as quietly told Glynn that he +was quite right, and the sooner he went the better. So Glynn went, and +never saw his uncle again, for the old man died while he was abroad. + +Glynn travelled far and encountered many vicissitudes of fortune in his +early wanderings; but he was never long without occupation, because men +liked his looks, and took him on trial without much persuasion. To say +truth, Glynn never took the trouble to persuade them. When his services +were declined, he was wont to turn on his heel and walk away without a +word of reply; and not unfrequently he was called back and employed. He +could turn his hand to almost anything, but when he tired of it, he +threw it up and sought other work elsewhere. + +In the course of his peregrinations, he came to reside in the city in +which our story finds him. Here he had become a compositor in the +office of a daily newspaper, and, happening to be introduced to the +Misses Dunning, soon became a favourite with them, and a constant +visitor at their house. Thus he became acquainted with their brother. +Becoming disgusted with the constant work and late hours of the +printing-office, he resolved to join Captain Dunning's ship, and take a +voyage to southern seas as an ordinary seaman. Glynn and little Alice +Dunning were great friends, and it was a matter of extreme delight to +both of them that they were to sail together on this their first voyage. + +Having been made a nigger of--that is, having had his face and hands +blackened in order to avoid detection--Glynn sallied forth with the +captain and Rokens to return to their ship, the _Red Eric_, which lay in +the harbour, not ten minutes' walk from the house. + +They passed the police on the wharf without creating suspicion, and +reached the vessel. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE ESCAPE. + +"Well, Millons, what news?" inquired the captain, as he stepped on deck. + +"Bad news, sir, I fear" replied the first mate. "I found, on coming +aboard, that no one knew anything about Sling, so I went ashore at once +and 'urried up to the hospital, w'ere, sure enough, I found 'im lyin' +with his 'ead bandaged, and lookin' as if 'e were about gone. They +asked me if I knew what ship 'e belonged to, as the police wanted to +know. So I told 'em I knew well enough, but I wasn't going to tell if +it would get the poor fellow into a scrape. + +"`Why don't you ask himself?' says I. + +"They told me 'e was past speaking, so I tried to make 'im understand, +but 'e only mumbled in reply. W'en I was about to go 'e seemed to +mumble very 'ard, so I put down my ear to listen, and 'e w'ispered quite +distinct tho' very low--`All right, my 'eartie. I'm too cute for 'em by +a long way; go aboard an' say nothin'.' So I came away, and I've scarce +been five minutes aboard before you arrived. My own opinion is, that +'e's crazed, and don't know what 'e's sayin'." + +"Oh!" ejaculated Captain Dunning. "He said that, did he? Then _my_ +opinion is, that he's not so crazed as you think. Tell the watch, Mr +Millons, to keep a sharp look-out." + +So saying, Captain Dunning descended to the cabin, and Rokens to the +forecastle (in sea phraseology the "fok-sail"), while Glynn Proctor +procured a basin and a piece of soap, and proceeded to rub the coat of +charcoal off his face and hands. + +Half-an-hour had not elapsed when the watch on deck heard a loud splash +near the wharf, as if some one had fallen into the water. Immediately +after, a confused sound of voices and rapid footsteps was heard in the +street that opened out upon the quay, and in a few seconds the end of +the wharf was crowded with men who shouted to each other, and were seen +in the dim starlight to move rapidly about as if in search of something. + +"Wot can it be?" said Tim Rokens in a low voice, to a seaman who leaned +on the ship's bulwarks close to him. + +"Deserter, mayhap," suggested the man. + +While Rokens pondered the suggestion, a light plash was heard close to +the ship's side, and a voice said, in a hoarse whisper, "Heave us a +rope, will ye. Look alive, now. Guess I'll go under in two minits if +ye don't." + +"Oho!" exclaimed Rokens, in a low, impressive voice, as he threw over +the end of a rope, and, with the aid of the other members of the watch, +hauled Nikel Sling up the side, and landed him dripping and panting on +the deck. + +"W'y--Sling! what on airth--?" exclaimed one of the men. + +"It's lucky--I am--on airth--" panted the tall cook, seating himself on +the breech of one of the main-deck carronades, and wringing the water +from his garments. "An' it's well I'm not at the bottom o' this 'ere +'arbour." + +"But where did ye come from, an' why are they arter ye, lad?" inquired +Rokens. + +"W'y? 'cause they don't want to part with me, and I've gi'n them the +slip, I guess." + +When Nikel Sling had recovered himself so as to talk connectedly, he +explained to his wondering shipmates how that, after being floored in +the street, he had been carried up to the hospital, and on recovering +his senses, found Mr Millons standing by the bedside, conversing with +the young surgeons. The first words of their conversation showed him +that something was wrong, so, with remarkable self-possession, he +resolved to counterfeit partial delirium, by which means he contrived to +give the first mate a hint that all was right, and declined, without +creating suspicion, to give any intelligible answers as to who he was or +where he had come from. + +The blow on his head caused him considerable pain, but his mind was +relieved by one of the young surgeons, who remarked to another, in going +round the wards, that the "skull of that long chap wasn't fractured +after all, and he had no doubt he would be dismissed cured in a day or +two." So the cook lay quiet until it was dark. + +When the house-surgeon had paid his last visit, and the nurses had gone +their rounds in the accident-ward, and no sound disturbed the quiet of +the dimly-lighted apartment save the heavy fitful breathing and +occasional moans and restless motions of the sufferers, Nikel Sling +raised himself on his elbow, and glanced stealthily round on the rows of +pain-worn and haggard countenances around him. It was a solemn sight to +look upon, especially at that silent hour of the night. There were men +there with almost every species of painful wound and fracture. Some had +been long there, wasting away from day to day, and now lay quiet, though +suffering, from sheer exhaustion. Others there were who had been +carried in that day, and fidgeted impatiently in their unreduced +strength, yet nervously in their agony; or, in some cases, where the +fear of death was on them, clasped their hands and prayed in whispers +for mercy to Him whose name perhaps they had almost never used before +except for the purpose of taking it in vain. + +But such sights had little or no effect on the cook, who had rubbed hard +against the world's roughest sides too long to be easily affected by the +sight of human suffering, especially when exhibited in men. He paused +long enough to note that the nurses were out of the way or dozing, and +then slipping out of bed, he stalked across the room like a ghost, and +made for the outer gateway of the hospital. He knew the way, having +once before been a temporary inmate of the place. He reached the gate +undiscovered, tripped up the porter's heels, opened the wicket, and fled +towards the harbour, followed by the porter and a knot of chance +passers-by. The pursuers swelled into a crowd as he neared the harbour. + +Besides being long-limbed, Nikel Sling was nimble. He distanced his +pursuers easily, and, as we have seen, swam off and reached his ship +almost as soon as they gained the end of the wharf. + +The above narration was made much more abruptly and shortly than we have +presented it, for oars were soon heard in the water, and it behoved the +poor hunted cook to secrete himself in case they should take a fancy to +search the vessel. Just as the boat came within a few yards of the ship +he hastily went below. + +"Boat ahoy!" shouted Tim Rokens; "wot boat's that?" + +The men lay on their oars. + +"Have you a madman on board your ship?" inquired the gatekeeper of the +hospital, whose wrath at the unceremonious treatment he had received had +not yet cooled down. + +"No," answered Rokens, laying his arms on the bulwarks, and looking down +at his questioner with a sly leer; "no, we ha'n't, but you've got a +madman aboord that boat." + +"Who's that?" inquired the warder, who did not at first understand the +sarcasm. + +"Why, yourself, to be sure," replied Rokens, "an' the sooner you takes +yourself off, an' comes to an anchor in a loo-natick asylum, the better +for all parties consarned." + +"No, but I'm in earnest, my man--" + +"_As_ far as that goes," interrupted the imperturbable Rokens, "so am +I." + +"The man," continued the gatekeeper, "has run out of the hospital with a +smashed head, I calc'late, stark starin' mad, and gone off the end o' +the w'arf into the water--" + +"You don't mean it!" shouted Rokens, starting with affected surprise. +"Now you _are_ a fine fellow, ain't you, to be talkin' here an' wastin' +time while a poor feller-mortal is bein' drownded, or has gone and +swummed off to sea--p'r'aps without chart, compass, or rudder! Hallo, +lads! tumble up there! Man overboard! tumble up, tumble up!" + +In less than three minutes half-a-dozen men sprang up the hatchway, +hauled up the gig which swung astern, tumbled into it, and began to pull +wildly about the harbour in search of the drowning man. The shouts and +commotion roused the crews of the nearest vessels, and ere long quite a +fleet of boats joined in the search. + +"Wos he a big or a little feller?" inquired Rokens, panting from his +exertions, as he swept up to the boat containing the hospital warder, +round which several of the other boats began to congregate. + +"A big fellow, I guess, with legs like steeples. He was sloping when +they floored him. A thief, I expect he must ha' bin." + +"A thief!" echoed Rokens, in disgust; "why didn't ye say, so at first? +If he's a thief, he's born to be hanged, so he's safe and snug aboard +his ship long ago, I'll be bound. Good-night t'ye, friend, and better +luck next time." + +A loud laugh greeted the ears of the discomfited warder as the crews of +the boats dipped their oars in the water and pulled towards, their +respective ships. + +Next morning, about daybreak, little Alice Dunning came on board her +father's ship, accompanied by her two aunts, who, for once, became +utterly and publicly regardless of appearances and contemptuous of all +propriety, as they sobbed on the child's neck and positively refused to +be comforted. + +Just as the sun rose, and edged the horizon with a gleam of liquid fire, +the _Red Eric_ spread her sails and stood out to sea. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +DAY DREAMS AND ADVENTURES AMONG THE CLOUDS--A CHASE, A BATTLE, AND A +VICTORY. + +Early morning on the ocean! There is poetry in the idea; there is music +in the very sound. As there is nothing new under the sun, probably a +song exists with this or a similar title; if not, we now recommend it +earnestly to musicians. + +Ailie Dunning sat on the bulwarks of the _Red Eric_, holding on tightly +by the mizzen-shrouds, and gazing in open-eyed, open-mouthed, +inexpressible delight upon the bright calm sea. She was far, far out +upon the bosom of the Atlantic now. Sea-sickness--which during the +first part of the voyage, had changed the warm pink of her pretty face +into every imaginable shade of green--was gone, and the hue of health +could not now be banished even by the rudest storm. In short, she had +become a thorough sailor, and took special delight in turning her face +to windward during the wild storm, and drinking-in the howling blast as +she held on by the rigid shrouds, and laughed at the dashing spray--for +little Ailie was not easily frightened. Martha and Jane Dunning had +made it their first care to implant in the heart of their charge a +knowledge of our Saviour's love, and especially of His tenderness +towards, and watchful care over, the lambs of His flock. Besides this, +little Ailie was naturally of a trustful disposition. She had implicit +confidence in the strength and wisdom of her father, and it never +entered into her imagination to dream that it was possible for any evil +to befall the ship which _he_ commanded. + +But, although Ailie delighted in the storm, she infinitely preferred the +tranquil beauty and rest of a "great calm," especially at the hour just +before sunrise, when the freshness, brightness, and lightness of the +young day harmonised peculiarly with her elastic spirit. It was at this +hour that we find her alone upon the bulwarks of the _Red Eric_. + +There was a deep, solemn stillness around, that irresistibly and +powerfully conveyed to her mind the idea of rest. The long, gentle +undulation of the deep did not in the least detract from this idea. So +perfect was the calm, that several masses of clouds in the sky, which +shone with the richest saffron light, were mirrored in all their rich +details as if in a glass. The faintest possible idea of a line alone +indicated, in one direction, where the water terminated and the sky +began. A warm golden haze suffused the whole atmosphere, and softened +the intensity of the deep-blue vault above. + +There was, indeed, little variety of object to gaze upon--only the water +and the sky. But what a world of delight did not Ailie find in that +vast sky and that pure ocean, that reminded her of the sea of glass +before the great white throne, of which she had so often read in +Revelation. The towering masses of clouds were so rich and thick, that +she almost fancied them to be mountains and valleys, rocks and plains of +golden snow. Nay, she looked so long and so ardently at the rolling +mountain heights in the sky above, and their magical counterparts in the +sky below, that she soon, as it were, _thought herself into_ Fairyland, +and began a regular journey of adventures therein. + +Such a scene at such an hour is a source of gladsome, peaceful delight +to the breast of man in every stage of life; but it is a source of +unalloyed, bounding, exhilarating, romantic, unspeakable joy only in the +years of childhood, when the mind looks hopefully forward, and before it +has begun--as, alas! it must begin, sooner or later--to gaze regretfully +back. + +How long Ailie would have sat in motionless delight it is difficult to +say. The man at the wheel having nothing to do, had forsaken his post, +and was leaning over the stern, either lost in reverie, or in a vain +effort to penetrate with his vision the blue abyss to the bottom. The +members of the watch on deck were either similarly engaged or had stowed +themselves away to sleep in quiet corners among blocks and cordage. No +one seemed inclined to move or speak, and she would probably have sat +there immovable for hours to come, had not a hand fallen gently on her +shoulder, and by the magic of its simple contact scattered the bright +dreams of Fairyland as the finger-touch destroys the splendour of the +soap-bubble. + +"Oh! Glynn," exclaimed Ailie, looking round and heaving a deep sigh; +"I've been away--far, far away--you can't believe how far." + +"Away, Ailie! Where have you been?" asked Glynn, patting the child's +head as he leaned over the gunwale beside her. + +"In Fairyland. Up in the clouds yonder. Out and in, and up and down. +Oh, you've no idea. Just look." She pointed eagerly to an immense +towering cloud that rose like a conspicuous landmark in the centre of +the landscape of the airy world above. "Do you see that mountain?" + +"Yes, Ailie; the one in the middle, you mean, don't you? Yes, well?" + +"Well," continued the child, eagerly and hurriedly, as if she feared to +lose the thread of memory that formed the warp and woof of the delicate +fabric she had been engaged in weaving; "well, I began there; I went in +behind it, and I met a fairy--not really, you know, but I tried to think +I met one, so I began to speak to her, and then I made her speak to me, +and her voice was so small and soft and sweet. She had on silver wings, +and a star--a bright star in her forehead--and she carried a wand with a +star on the top of it too. So I asked her to take me to see her +kingdom, and I made her say she would--and, do you know, Glynn, I really +felt at last as if she didn't wait for me to tell her what to say, but +just went straight on, answering my questions, and putting questions to +me in return. Wasn't it funny? + +"Well, we went on, and on, and on--the fairy and me--up one beautiful +mountain of snow and down another, talking all the time so pleasantly, +until we came to a great dark cave; so I made up my mind to make a lion +come out of it; but the fairy said, `No, let it be a bear;' and +immediately a great bear came out. Wasn't it strange? It really seemed +as if the fairy had become real, and could do things of her own accord." + +The child paused at this point, and looking with an expression of awe +into her companion's face, said--"Do you think, Glynn, that people can +_think_ so hard that fairies _really_ come to them?" + +Glynn looked perplexed. + +"No, Ailie, I suspect they can't--not because we can't think hard +enough, but because there are no fairies to come." + +"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry!" replied the child sadly. + +"Why?" inquired Glynn. + +"Because I love them _so_ much--of course, I mean the good ones. I +don't like the bad ones--though they're very useful, because they're +nice to kill, and punish, and make examples of, and all that, when the +good ones catch them." + +"So they are," said the youth, smiling. "I never thought of that +before. But go on with your ramble in the clouds." + +"Well," began Ailie; "but where was I?" + +"Just going to be introduced to a bear." + +"Oh yes; well--the bear walked slowly away, and then the fairy called +out an elephant, and after that a 'noceros--" + +"A 'noceros!" interrupted Glynn; "what's that?" + +"Oh, you know very well. A beast with a thick skin hanging in folds, +and a horn on its nose--" + +"Ah, a _rhi_noceros--I see. Well, go on, Ailie." + +"Then the fairy told a camel to appear, and after that a monkey, and +then a hippopotamus, and they all came out one after another, and some +of them went away, and others began to fight. But the strangest thing +of all was, that every one of them was _so_ like the pictures of wild +beasts that are hanging in my room at home! The elephant, too, I +noticed, had his trunk broken exactly the same way as my toy elephant's +one was. Wasn't it odd?" + +"It was rather odd," replied Glynn; "but where did you go after that?" + +"Oh, then we went on, and on again, until we came to--" + +"It's your turn at the wheel, lad, ain't it?" inquired Mr Millons, +coming up at that moment, and putting an abrupt termination to the walk +in Fairyland. + +"It is, sir," answered Glynn, springing quickly to the wheel, and +relieving the man who had been engaged in penetrating the ocean's +depths. + +The mate walked forward; the released sailor went below, and Ailie was +again left to her solitary meditations;--for she was enough of a sailor +now, in heart, to know that she ought not to talk too much to the +steersman, even though the weather should be calm and there was no call +for his undivided attention to the duties of his post. + +While Nature was thus, as it were, asleep, and the watch on deck were +more than half in the same condition, there was one individual in the +ship whose faculties were in active play, whose "steam," as he himself +would have remarked, "was up." This was the worthy cook, Nikel Sling, +whose duties called him to his post at the galley-fire at an early hour +each day. + +We have often thought that a cook's life must be one of constant +self-denial and exasperation of spirit. Besides the innumerable +anxieties in reference to such important matters as boiling over and +over-boiling, being done to a turn, or over-done, or singed or burned, +or capsized, he has the diurnal misery of being the first human being in +his little circle of life, to turn out of a morning, and must therefore +experience the discomfort--the peculiar discomfort--of finding things as +_they were left_ the night before. Any one who does not know what that +discomfort is, has only to rise an hour before the servants of a +household, whether at sea or on shore, to find out. Cook, too, has +generally, if not always, to light the fire; and that, especially in +frosty weather, is not agreeable. Moreover, cook roasts _himself_ to +such an extent, and at meal-times, in nine cases out of ten, gets into +such physical and mental perturbation, that he cannot possibly +appreciate the luxuries he has been occupied all the day in concocting. +Add to this, that he spends all the morning in preparing breakfast; all +the forenoon in preparing dinner; all the afternoon in preparing tea and +supper, and all the evening in clearing up, and perhaps all the night in +dreaming of the meals of the following day, and mentally preparing +breakfast, and we think that we have clearly proved the truth of the +proposition with which we started--namely, that a cook's life must be +one of constant self-denial and exasperation of spirit. + +But this is by the way, and was merely suggested by the fact that, while +all other creatures were enjoying either partial or complete repose, +Nikel Sling was washing out pots and pans and kettles, and handling +murderous-looking knives and two-pronged tormentors with a demoniacal +activity that was quite appalling. + +Beside him, on a little stool close to the galley-fire, sat Tim Rokens-- +not that Mr Rokens was cold--far from it. He was, to judge from +appearances, much hotter than was agreeable. But Tim had come there and +sat down to light his pipe, and being rather phlegmatic when not +actively employed, he preferred to be partially roasted for a few +minutes to getting up again. + +"We ought," remarked Tim Rokens, puffing at a little black pipe which +seemed inclined to be obstinate, "we ought to be gittin' among the fish +by this time. Many's the one I've seed in them 'ere seas." + +"I rather guess we should," replied the cook, pausing the midst of his +toils and wiping the perspiration from his forehead with an immense +bundle of greasy oakum. "But I've seed us keep dodgin' about for weeks, +I have, later in the year than this, without clappin' eyes on a fin. +What sort o' baccy d'ye smoke, Rokens?" + +"Dun know. Got it from a Spanish smuggler for an old clasp-knife. +Why?" + +"Cause it smells like rotten straw, an' won't improve the victuals. +Guess you'd better take yourself off, old chap." + +"Wot a cross-grained crittur ye are," said Rokens, as he rose to depart. + +At that moment there was heard a cry that sent the blood tingling to the +extremities of every one on board the _Red Eric_. + +"Thar she blows! thar she blows!" shouted the man in the crow's-nest. + +The crow's-nest is a sort of cask, or nest, fixed at the top of the +mainmast of whale-ships, in which a man is stationed all day during the +time the ships are on the fishing-ground, to look out for whales; and +the cry, "Thar she blows," announced the fact that the look-out had +observed a whale rise to the surface and blow a spout of steamy water +into the air. + +No conceivable event--unless perhaps the blowing-up of the ship itself-- +could have more effectually and instantaneously dissipated the deep +tranquillity to which we have more than once referred. Had an electric +shock been communicated through the ship to each individual, the crew +could not have been made to leap more vigorously and simultaneously. +Many days before, they had begun to expect to see whales. Every one was +therefore on the _qui vive_, so that when the well-known signal rang out +like a startling peal in the midst of the universal stillness, every +heart in the ship leaped in unison. + +Had an observant man been seated at the time in the forecastle, he would +have noticed that from out of the ten or fifteen hammocks that swung +from the beams, there suddenly darted ten or fifteen pairs of legs which +rose to the perpendicular position in order to obtain leverage to "fetch +way." Instantly thereafter the said legs descended, and where the feet +had been, ten or fifteen heads appeared. Next moment the men were +"tumbling up" the fore-hatch to the deck, where the watch had already +sprung to the boat-tackles. + +"Where away?" sang out Captain Dunning who was among the first on deck. + +"Off the weather bow, sir, three points." + +"How far?" + +"About two miles. Thar she blows!" + +"Call all hands," shouted the captain. + +"Starboard watch, ahoy!" roared the mate, in that curious hoarse voice +peculiar to boatswains of men-of-war. "Tumble up, lads, tumble up! +Whale in sight! Bear a hand, my hearties!" + +The summons was almost unnecessary. The "starboard watch" was--with the +exception of one or two uncommonly heavy sleepers--already on deck +pulling on its ducks and buckling its belts. + +"Thar she breaches, thar she blows!" again came from the crow's-nest in +the voice of a Stentor. + +"Well done, Dick Barnes, you're the first to raise the oil," remarked +one of the men, implying by the remark that the said Dick was fortunate +enough to be the first to sight a whale. + +"Where away now?" roared the captain, who was in a state of intense +excitement. + +"A mile an' a half to leeward, sir." + +"Clear away the boats," shouted the captain. + +"Masthead, ahoy! D'ye see that whale now?" + +"Ay, ay, sir. Thar she blows!" + +"Bear a hand, my hearties," cried the captain, as the men sprang to the +boats which were swinging at the davits. "Get your tubs in! Clear your +falls! Look alive, lads! Stand-by to lower! All ready?" + +"All ready, sir." + +"Thar she blows!" came again from the masthead with redoubled energy. +"Sperm-whales, sir; there's a school of 'em." + +"A _school_ of them!" whispered Ailie, who had left her post at the +mizzen-shrouds, and now stood by her father's side, looking on at the +sudden hubbub in unspeakable amazement. "Do whales go to school?" she +said, laughing. + +"Out of the road, Ailie, my pet," cried her father hastily. "You'll get +knocked over. Lower away, lads, lower away!" + +Down went the starboard, larboard, and waist-boats as if the falls had +been cut, and almost before you could wink the men literally tumbled +over the side into them, took their places, and seized their oars. + +"Here, Glynn, come with me, and I'll show you a thing or two," said the +captain. "Jump in, lad; look sharp." + +Glynn instantly followed his commander into the starboard boat, and took +the aft oar. Tim Rokens, being the harpooner of that boat, sat at the +bow oar with his harpoons and lances beside him, and the whale-line +coiled in a tub in the boat's head. The captain steered. + +And now commenced a race that taxed the boats' crews to the utmost; for +it is always a matter keenly contested by the different crews, who shall +fix the first harpoon in the whale. The larboard boat was steered by +Mr Millons, the first mate; the waist-boat by Mr Markham, the second +mate--the latter an active man of about five-and-twenty, whose size and +physical strength were herculean, and whose disposition was somewhat +morose and gloomy. + +"Now, lads, give way! That's it! that's the way. Bend your backs, now! +_do_ bend your backs," cried the captain, as the three boats sprang from +the ship's side and made towards the nearest whale, with the white foam +curling at their bow. + +Several more whales appeared in sight spouting in all directions, and +the men were wild with excitement. + +"That's it! Go it lads!" shouted Mr Millons, as the waist-boat began +to creep ahead. "Lay it on! give way! What d'ye say, boys; shall we +beat 'em?" + +Captain Dunning stood in the stern-sheets of the starboard boat, almost +dancing with excitement as he heard these words of encouragement. + +"Give way, boys!" he cried. "They can't do it! That whale's ours--so +it is. Only bend your backs! A steady pull! Pull like steam-tugs! +That's it! Bend the oars! Double 'em up! Smash 'em in bits, _do_!" + +Without quite going the length of the captain's last piece of advice, +the men did their work nobly. They bent their strong backs with a will, +and strained their sinewy arms to the utmost. Glynn, in particular, to +whom the work was new, and therefore peculiarly exciting and +interesting, almost tore the rowlocks out of the boat in his efforts to +urge it on, and had the oar not been made of the toughest ash, there is +no doubt that he would have obeyed the captain's orders literally and +have smashed it in bits. + +On they flew like racehorses. Now one boat gained an inch on the +others, then it lost ground again as the crew of another put forth +additional energy, and the three danced over the glassy sea as if the +inanimate planks had been suddenly endued with life, and inspired with +the spirit that stirred the men. + +A large sperm-whale lay about a quarter of a mile ahead, rolling lazily +in the trough of the sea. Towards this the starboard boat now pulled +with incredible speed, leaving the other two gradually astern. A number +of whales rose in various directions. They had got into the midst of a +shoal, or school of them, as the whale-men term it; and as several of +these were nearer the other boats than the first whale was, they +diverged towards them. + +"There go flukes," cried Rokens, as the whale raised its huge tail in +the air and "sounded"--in other words, dived. For a few minutes the men +lay on their oars, uncertain in what direction the whale would come up +again; but their doubts were speedily removed by its rising within a few +yards of the boat. + +"Now, Rokens," cried the captain; "now for it; give him the iron. Give +way, lads; spring, boys. Softly now, softly." + +In another instant the boat's bow was on the whale's head, and Rokens +buried a harpoon deep in its side. + +"Stern all!" thundered the captain. + +The men obeyed, and the boat was backed off the whale just in time to +escape the blow of its tremendous flukes as it dived into the sea, the +blue depths of which were instantly dyed red with the blood that flowed +in torrents from the wound. + +Down it went, carrying out the line at a rate that caused the chocks +through which it passed to smoke. In a few minutes the line ceased to +run out, and the whale returned to the surface. It had scarcely showed +its nose, when the slack of the line was hauled in, and a second harpoon +was fixed in its body. + +Infuriated with pain, the mighty fish gave vent to a roar like a bull, +rolled half over, and lashed the sea with his flukes, till, all round +for many yards, it was churned into red slimy foam. Then he turned +round, and dashed off with the speed of a locomotive engine, tearing the +boat through the waves behind it, the water curling up like a white wall +round the bows. + +"She won't stand that long," muttered Glynn Proctor, as he rested on his +oar, and looked over his shoulder at the straining line. + +"That she will, boy," said the captain; "and more than that, if need be. +You'll not be long of havin' a chance of greasin' your fingers, I'll +warrant." + +In a few minutes the speed began to slacken, and after a time they were +able to haul in on the line. When the whale again came to the surface, +a third harpoon was cleverly struck into it, and a spout of blood from +its blow-hole showed that it was mortally wounded. In throwing the +harpoon, Tim Rokens slipped his foot, and went down like a stone +head-foremost into the sea. He came up again like a cork, and just as +the boat flew past fortunately caught hold of Glynn Proctor's hand. It +was well that the grasp was a firm one, for the strain on their two arms +was awful. In another minute Tim was in his place, ready with his lance +to finish off the whale at its next rise. + +Up it came again, foaming, breaching, and plunging from wave to wave, +flinging torrents of blood and spray into the air. At one moment he +reared his blunt gigantic head high above the sea; the next he buried +his vast and quivering carcase deep in the gory brine, carrying down +with him a perfect whirlpool of red foam. Then he rose again and made +straight for the boat. Had he known his own power, he might have soon +terminated the battle, and come off the victor, but fortunately he did +not. Tim Rokens received his blunt nose on the point of his lance, and +drove him back with mingled fury and terror. Another advance was made, +and a successful lance-thrust delivered. + +"That's into his life," cried the captain. + +"So it is," replied Rokens. + +And so it was. A vital part had been struck. For some minutes the huge +leviathan lashed and rolled and tossed in the trembling waves in his +agony, while he spouted up gallons of blood with every throe; then he +rolled over on his back, and lay extended a lifeless mass upon the +waters. + +"Now, lads; three cheers for our first whale. Hip! hip! hip!--" + +The cheer that followed was given with all the energy and gusto inspired +by a first victory, and it was repeated again and again, and over again, +before the men felt themselves sufficiently relieved to commence the +somewhat severe and tedious labour of towing the carcase to the ship. + +It was a hard pull, for the whale had led them a long chase, and as the +calm continued, those left aboard could not approach to meet the boats. +The exhausted men were cheered, however, on getting aboard late that +night, to find that the other boats had been equally successful, each of +them having captured a sperm-whale. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +DISAGREEABLE CHANGES--SAGACIOUS CONVERSATIONS, AND A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. + +A striking and by no means a pleasant change took place in the general +appearance of the _Red Eric_ immediately after the successful chase +detailed in the last chapter. + +Before the arrival of the whales the decks had been beautifully clean +and white, for Captain Dunning was proud of his ship, and fond of +cleanliness and order. A few hours after the said arrival the decks +were smeared with grease, oil, and blood, and everything from stem to +stern became from that day filthy and dirty. + +This was a sad change to poor Ailie, who had not imagined it possible +that so sudden and disagreeable an alteration could take place. But +there was no help for it; the duties of the fishery in which they were +engaged required that the whales should not only be caught, but cut up, +boiled down to oil, and stowed away in the hold in casks. + +If the scene was changed for the worse a few hours after the cutting-up +operations were begun, it became infinitely more so when the _try-works_ +were set going, and the melting-fires were lighted, and huge volumes of +smoke begrimed the masts, and sails, and rigging. It was vain to think +of clearing up; had they attempted that, the men would have been +over-tasked without any good being accomplished. There was only one +course open to those who didn't like it, and that was--to "grin and bear +it." + +"Cutting out" and "trying in" are the terms used by whale-men to denote +the processes of cutting off the flesh or "blubber" from the whale's +carcase, and reducing it to oil. + +At an early hour on the following morning the first of these operations +was commenced. + +Ailie went about the decks, looking on with mingled wonder, interest, +and disgust. She stepped about gingerly, as if afraid of coming in +contact with slimy objects, and with her nose and mouth screwed up after +the fashion of those who are obliged to endure bad smells. The +expression of her face under the circumstances was amusing. + +As for the men, they went about their work with relish, and total +indifference as to consequences. + +When the largest whale had been hauled alongside, ropes were attached to +his head and tail, and the former was secured near the stern of the +ship, while the latter was lashed to the bow; the cutting-tackle was +then attached. This consisted of an arrangement of pulleys depending +from the main-top, with a large blubber-hook at the end thereof. The +cutting was commenced at the neck, and the hook attached; then the men +hove on the windlass, and while the cutting was continued in a spiral +direction round the whale's body, the tackle raised the mass of flesh +until it reached the fixed blocks above. This mass, when it could be +hauled up no higher, was then cut off, and stowed away under the name of +a "blanket-piece." It weighed upwards of a ton. The hook being lowered +and again attached, the process was continued until the whole was cut +off. Afterwards, the head was severed from the body and hoisted on +board, in order that the oil contained in the hollow of it might be +baled out. + +From the head of the first whale ten barrels of oil were obtained. The +blubber yielded about eighty barrels. + +When the "cutting out" was completed, and the remnants of bone and flesh +were left to the sharks which swarmed round the vessel, revelling in +their unusually rich banquet, the process of "trying in" commenced. +"Trying in" is the term applied to the melting of the fat and the +stowing of it away in barrels in the form of oil; and an uncommonly +dirty process it is. The large "blanket-pieces" were cut into smaller +portions, and put into the try-pots, which were kept in constant +operation. At night the ship had all the appearance of a vessel on +fire, and the scene on deck was particularly striking and unearthly. + +One night several of the men were grouped on and around the windlass, +chatting, singing, and "spinning yarns." Ailie Dunning stood near them, +lost in wonder and admiration; for the ears and eyes of the child were +assailed in a manner never before experienced or dreamed of even in the +most romantic mood of cloud-wandering. + +It was a very dark night, darker than usual, and not a breath of wind +ruffled the sea, which was like a sheet of undulating glass--for, be it +remembered, there is no such thing at any time as absolute stillness in +the ocean. At all times, even in the profoundest calm, the long, slow, +gentle swell rises and sinks with unceasing regularity, like the bosom +of a man in deep slumber. + +Dense clouds of black smoke and occasional lurid sheets of flame rose +from the try-works, which were situated between the foremast and the +main-hatch. The tops of the masts were lost in the curling smoke, and +the black waves of the sea gleamed and flashed in the red light all +round the ship. One man stood in front of the melting-pot, pitching in +pieces of blubber with a two-pronged pitchfork. Two comrades stood by +the pots, stirring up their contents, and throwing their figures into +wild uncouth attitudes, while the fire glared in their greasy faces, and +converted the front of their entire persons into deep vermilion. + +The oil was hissing in the try-pots; the rough weather-beaten faces of +the men on the windlass were smeared, and their dirty-white ducks +saturated, with oil. The decks were blood-stained; huge masses of flesh +and blubber lay scattered about; sparks flew upwards in splendid showers +as the men raked up the fires; the decks, bulwarks, railings, try-works, +and windlass were covered with oil and slime, and glistening in the red +glare. It was a terrible, murderous-looking scene, and filled Ailie's +mind with mingled feelings of wonder, disgust, and awe, as she leaned on +a comparatively clean spot near the foremast, listening to the men and +gazing at the rolling smoke and flames. + +"Ain't it beautiful?" said a short, fat little seaman named Gurney, who +sat swinging his legs on the end of the windlass, and pointed, as he +spoke, with the head of his pipe to a more than usually brilliant burst +of sparks and flame that issued that moment from the works. + +"Beautiful!" exclaimed a long-limbed, shambling fellow named Jim +Scroggles, "why, that ain't the word at all. Now, I calls it +splendiferous." + +Scroggles looked round at his comrades, as if to appeal to their +judgment as to the fitness of the word, but not receiving any +encouragement, he thrust down the glowing tobacco in his pipe with the +end of his little finger, and reiterated the word "splendiferous" with +marked emphasis. + +"Did ye ever see that word in Johnson?" inquired Gurney. + +"Who's Johnson?" said Scroggles, contemptuously. + +"Wot, don't ye know who Johnson is?" cried Gurney, in surprise. + +"In course I don't; how should I?" retorted Scroggles. "There's ever so +many Johnsons in the world; which on 'em all do you mean?" + +"Why, I mean Johnson wot wrote the diksh'nary--the great lexikragofer." + +"Oh, it's _him_ you mean, is it? In course I've knowed him ever since I +wos at school." + +A general laugh interrupted the speaker. + +"At school!" cried Nickel Sling, who approached the group at that moment +with a carving knife in his hand--he seldom went anywhere without an +instrument of office in his hand--"At school! Wal now, that beats +creation. If ye wos, I'm sartin ye only larned to forgit all ye orter +to have remembered. I'd take a bet now, ye wosn't at school as long as +I've been settin' on this here windlass." + +"Yer about right, Sling, it 'ud be unpossible for me to be as _long_ as +you anywhere, 'cause everybody knows I'm only five fut two, whereas +you're six fut four!" + +"Hear, hear!" shouted Dick Barnes--a man with a huge black beard, who +the reader may perhaps remember was the first to "raise the oil." +"It'll be long before you make another joke like that, Gurney. Come, +now, give us a song, Gurney, do; there's the cap'n's darter standin' by +the foremast, a-waitin' to hear ye. Give us `Long, long ago.'" + +"Ah! that's it, give us a song," cried the men. "Come, there's a good +fellow." + +"Well, it's so long ago since I sung that song, shipmates," replied +Gurney, "that I've bin and forgot it; but Tim Rokens knows it; where's +Rokens?" + +"He's in the watch below." + +In sea parlance, the men whose turn it is to take rest after their long +watch on deck are somewhat facetiously said to belong to the "watch +below." + +"Ah! that's a pity; so we can't have that 'ere partickler song. But +I'll give ye another, if ye don't object." + +"No, no. All right; go ahead, Gurney! Is there a chorus to it?" + +"Ay, in course there is. Wot's a song without a chorus? Wot's +plum-duff without the plums? Wot's a ship without a 'elm? It's my +opinion, shipmates, that a song without a chorus is no better than it +should be. It's wus nor nothin'. It puts them wot listens in the blues +an' the man wot sings into the stews--an' sarve him right. I wouldn't, +no, I wouldn't give the fag-end o' nothin' mixed in bucket o' salt water +for a song without a chorus--that's flat; so here goes." + +Having delivered himself of these opinions in an extremely vigorous +manner, and announced the fact that he was about to begin, Gurney +cleared his throat and drew a number of violent puffs from his pipe in +quick succession, in order to kindle that instrument into a glow which +would last through the first verse and the commencement of the chorus. +This he knew was sufficient, for the men, when once fairly started on +the chorus, would infallibly go on to the end with or without his +assistance, and would therefore afford him time for a few restorative +whiffs. + +"It hain't got no name, lads." + +"Never mind, Gurney--all right--fire away." + + "Oh, I once know'd a man as hadn't got a nose, + An' this is how he come to hadn't-- + One cold winter night he went and got it froze-- + By the pain he was well-nigh madden'd. + (_Chorus_.) Well-nigh madden'd, + By the pain he was well-nigh madden'd. + + "Next day it swoll up as big as my head, + An' it turn'd like a piece of putty; + It kivered up his mouth, oh, yes, so it did, + So he could not smoke his cutty. + (_Chorus_.) Smoke his cutty, + So he could not smoke his cutty. + + "Next day it grew black, and the next day blue, + An' tough as a junk of leather; + (Oh! he yelled, so he did, fit to pierce ye through)-- + An' then it fell off altogether! + (_Chorus_.) Fell off altogether, + An' then it fell off altogether! + + "But the morial is wot you've now got to hear, + An' it's good--as sure as a gun; + An' you'll never forget it, my messmates dear, + For this song it hain't got none! + (_Chorus_.) Hain't got none, + For this song it hain't got none!" + +The applause that followed this song was most enthusiastic, and +evidently gratifying to Gurney, who assumed a modest deprecatory air as +he proceeded to light his pipe, which had been allowed to go out at the +third verse, the performer having become so engrossed in his subject as +to have forgotten the interlude of puffs at that point. + +"Well sung, Gurney. Who made it?" inquired Phil Briant, an Irishman, +who, besides being a jack-of-all-trades and an able-bodied seaman, was +at that time acting-assistant to the cook and steward, the latter--a +half Spaniard and half negro, of Californian extraction--being unwell. + +"I'm bound not to tell," replied Gurney, with a conscious air. + +"Ah, then, yer right, my boy, for it's below the average entirely." + +"Come, Phil, none o' yer chaff," cried Dick Barnes, "that song desarves +somethin' arter it. Suppose now, Phil, that you wos to go below and +fetch the bread-kid." + +"Couldn't do it," replied Phil, looking solemn, "on no account wotiver." + +"Oh, nonsense, why not?" + +"'Cause its unpossible. Why, if I did, sure that surly compound o' all +sorts o' human blood would pitch into me with the carvin'-knife." + +"Who? Tarquin?" cried Dick Barnes, naming the steward. + +"Ay, sure enough that same--Tarquin's his name, an it's kuriously +befittin' the haythen, for of all the cross-grained mixtures o' buffalo, +bear, bandicoot, and crackadile I iver seed, he's out o' sight--" + +"Did I hear any one mention my name?" inquired the steward himself who +came aft at that moment. He was a wild Spanish-like fellow, with a +handsome-enough figure, and a swart countenance that might have been +good-looking but for the thickish lips and nose and the bad temper that +marked it. Since getting into the tropics, the sailors had modified +their costumes considerably, and as each man had in some particular +allowed himself a slight play of fancy, their appearance, when grouped +together, was varied and picturesque. Most of them wore no shoes, and +the caps of some were, to say the least, peculiar. Tarquin wore a +broad-brimmed straw hat, with a conical crown, and a red silk sash tied +round his waist. + +"Yes, Tarquin," replied Barnes, "we _wos_ engaged in makin' +free-an'-easy remarks on you; and Phil Briant there gave us to +understand that you wouldn't let us have the bread--kid up. Now, it's +my opinion you ain't goin' to be so hard on us as that; you will let us +have it up to comfort our hearts on this fine night, won't you?" + +The steward, whose green visage showed that he was too ill to enter into +a dispute at that time, turned on his heel and walked aft, remarking +that they might eat the bottom out o' the ship, for all he cared. + +"There now, you misbemannered Patlander, go and get it, or we'll throw +you overboard," cried Scroggles, twisting his long limbs awkwardly as he +shifted his position on the windlass. + +"Now, then, shipmates, don't go for to ax it," said Briant, remaining +immovable. "Don't I know wot's best for ye? Let me spaake to ye now. +Did any of ye iver study midsin?" + +"No!" cried several with a laugh. + +"Sure I thought not," continued Phil, with a patronising air, "or ye'd +niver ask for the bread--kid out o' saisin. Now I was in the medical +way meself wance--ay, ye may laugh, but it's thrue--I wos 'prentice to a +'pothecary, an' I've mixed up more midsins than would pisen the whole +popilation of owld Ireland--barrin' the praists, av coorse. And didn't +I hear the convarse o' all the doctors in the place? And wasn't the +word always--`Be rigglar with yer mails--don't ait, avic, more nor three +times a day, and not too much, now. Be sparin'.'" + +"Hah! ye long-winded grampus," interrupted Dick Barnes, impatiently. +"An' warn't the doctors right? Three times a day for sick folk, and six +times--or more--for them wot's well." + +"Hear, hear!" cried the others, while two of them seized Briant by the +neck, and thrust him forcibly towards the after-hatch. "Bring up the +kid, now; an' if ye come without it, look out for squalls." + +"Och! worse luck," sighed the misused assistant, as he disappeared. + +In a few minutes Phil returned with the kid, which was a species of tray +filled with broken sea-biscuit, which, when afloat, goes by the name of +"bread." + +This was eagerly seized, for the appetites of sailors are always sharp, +except immediately after meals. A quantity of the broken biscuit was +put into a strainer, and fried in whale-oil, and the men sat round the +kid to enjoy their luxurious feast, and relate their adventures--all of +which were more or less marvellous, and many of them undoubtedly true. + +The more one travels in this world of ours, and the more one reads of +the adventures of travellers upon whose narratives we can place implicit +confidence, the more we find that men do not now require, as they did of +old, to draw upon their imaginations for marvellous tales of wild, +romantic adventure, in days gone by, travellers were few; foreign lands +were almost unknown. Not many books were written; and of the few that +were, very few were believed. In the present day men of undoubted +truthfulness have roamed far and wide over the whole world, their books +are numbered by hundreds, and much that was related by ancient +travellers, but not believed, has now been fully corroborated. More +than that, it is now known that men have every where received, as true, +statements which modern discovery has proved to be false, and on the +other hand they have often refused to believe what is now ascertained to +be literally true. + +We would suggest, in passing, that a lesson might be learned from this +fact--namely, that we ought to receive a statement in regard to a +foreign land, not according to the probability or the improbability of +the statement itself, but according to the credibility of him who makes +it. Ailie Dunning had a trustful disposition; she acted on neither of +the above principles. She believed all she heard, poor thing, and +therefore had a head pretty well stored with mingled fact and nonsense. + +While the men were engaged with their meal, Dr Hopley came on deck and +found her leaning over the stern, looking down at the waves which shone +with sparkling phosphorescent light. An almost imperceptible breeze had +sprung up, and the way made by the vessel as she passed through the +water was indicated by a stream of what appeared lambent blue flame. + +"Looking at the fish, Ailie, as usual?" said the doctor as he came up. +"What are they saying to you to-night?" + +"I'm not looking at the fish," answered Ailie; "I'm looking at the +fire--no, not the fire; papa said it wasn't fire, but it's so like it, I +can scarcely call it anything else. What _is_ it, doctor?" + +"It is called phosphorescence," replied the doctor, leaning over the +bulwarks, and looking down at the fiery serpent that seemed as if it +clung to the ship's rudder. "But I dare say you don't know what that +means. You know what fire-flies and glow-worms are?" + +"Oh! yes; I've often caught them." + +"Well, there are immense numbers of very small and very thin jelly-like +creatures in the sea, so thin and so transparent that they can scarcely +be observed in the water. These Medusae, as they are called, possess +the power of emitting light similar to that of the fire-fly. In short, +Ailie, they are the fire-flies and glow-worms of the ocean." + +The child listened with wonder, and for some minutes remained silent. +Before she could again speak, there occurred one of those incidents +which are generally spoken of as "most unexpected" and sudden, but +which, nevertheless, are the result of natural causes, and might have +been prevented by means of a little care. + +The wind, as we have said, was light, so light that it did not distend +the sails; the boom of the spanker-sail hung over the stern, and the +spanker-braces lay slack along the seat on which Ailie and the doctor +knelt. A little gust of wind came: it was not strong--a mere puff; but +the man at the wheel was not attending to his duty: the puff, light as +it was, caused the spanker to jibe--that is to fly over from one side of +the ship to the other--the heavy boom passed close over the steersman's +head as he cried, "Look out!" The braces tautened, and in so doing they +hurled Dr Hopley violently to the deck, and tossed Ailie Dunning over +the bulwarks into the sea. + +It happened at that moment that Glynn Proctor chanced to step on deck. + +"Hallo! what's wrong?" cried the youth, springing forward, catching the +doctor by the coat, as he was about to spring overboard, and pulling him +violently back, under the impression that he was deranged. + +The doctor pointed to the sea, and, with a look of horror, gasped the +word "Ailie." + +In an instant Glynn released his hold, plunged over the stern of the +ship, and disappeared in the waves. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +THE RESCUE--PREPARATIONS FOR A STORM. + +It is impossible to convey by means of words an adequate idea of the +terrible excitement and uproar that ensued on board the _Red Eric_ after +the events narrated in the last chapter. From those on deck who +witnessed the accident there arose a cry so sharp, that it brought the +whole crew from below in an instant. But there was no confusion. The +men were well trained. Each individual knew his post, and whale-men are +accustomed to a sudden and hasty summons. The peculiarity of the +present one, it is true, told every man in an instant that something was +wrong, but each mechanically sprang to his post, while one or two +shouted to ascertain what had happened, or to explain. + +But the moment Captain Dunning's voice was heard there was perfect +silence. + +"Clear away the starboard-quarter-boat," he cried, in a deep, firm tone. + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +"Stand-by the falls--lower away!" + +There was no occasion to urge the sailors; they sprang to the work with +the fervid celerity of men who knew that life or death depended on their +speed. In less time than it takes to relate, the boat was leaping over +the long ocean swell, as it had never yet done in chase of the whale, +and, in a few seconds, passed out of the little circle of light caused +by the fires and into the gloom that surrounded the ship. + +The wind had been gradually increasing during all these proceedings, and +although no time had been lost, and the vessel had been immediately +brought up into the wind, Ailie and Glynn were left struggling in the +dark sea a long way behind ere the quarter-boat could be lowered; and +now that it was fairly afloat, there was still the danger of its failing +to hit the right direction of the objects of which it was in search. + +After leaping over the stern, Glynn Proctor, the moment he rose to the +surface, gave a quick glance at the ship, to make sure of her exact +position, and then struck out in a straight line astern, for he knew +that wherever Ailie fell, there she would remain struggling until she +sank. Glynn was a fast and powerful swimmer. He struck out with +desperate energy, and in a few minutes the ship was out of sight behind +him. Then he paused suddenly, and letting his feet sink until he +attained an upright position, trod the water and raised himself +breast-high above the surface, at the same time listening intently, for +he began to fear that he might have overshot his mark. No sound met his +straining ear save the sighing of the breeze and the ripple of the water +as it lapped against his chest. It was too dark to see more than a few +yards in any direction. + +Glynn knew that each moment lost rendered his chance of saving the child +terribly slight. He shouted "Ailie!" in a loud, agonising cry, and swam +forward again with redoubled energy, continuing the cry from time to +time, and raising himself occasionally to look round him. The +excitement of his mind, and the intensity with which it was bent on the +one great object, rendered him at first almost unobservant of the flight +of time. But suddenly the thought burst upon him that fully ten minutes +or a quarter of an hour had elapsed since Ailie fell overboard, and that +no one who could not swim could exist for half that time in deep water. +He shrieked with agony at the thought, and, fancying that he must have +passed the child, he turned round and swam desperately towards the point +where he supposed the ship lay. Then he thought, "What if I have turned +just as I was coming up with her?" So he turned about again, but as the +hopelessness of his efforts once more occurred to him, he lost all +presence of mind, and began to shout furiously, and to strike out wildly +in all directions. + +In the midst of his mad struggles his hand struck an object floating +near him. Instantly he felt his arm convulsively grasped, and the next +moment he was seized round the neck in a gripe so violent that it almost +choked him. He sank at once, and the instinct of self-preservation +restored his presence of mind. With a powerful effort he tore Ailie +from her grasp, and quickly raised himself to the surface, where he swam +gently with his left hand, and held the struggling child at arm's-length +with his right. + +The joy caused by the knowledge that she had still life to struggle +infused new energy into Glynn's well-nigh exhausted frame, and he +assumed as calm and cheerful a tone as was possible under the +circumstances when he exclaimed--"Ailie, Ailie, don't struggle, dear, +I'll save you _if you keep quiet_." + +Ailie was quiet in a moment. She felt in the terror of her young heart +an almost irresistible desire to clutch at Glynn's neck; but the +well-known voice reassured her, and her natural tendency to place blind, +implicit confidence in others, served her in this hour of need, for she +obeyed his injunctions at once. + +"Now, dear," said Glynn, with nervous rapidity, "don't grasp me, else we +shall sink. Trust me. _I'll never let you go_. Will you trust me?" + +Ailie gazed wildly at her deliverer through her wet and tangled tresses, +and with great difficulty gasped the word "Yes," while she clenched the +garments on her labouring bosom with her little hands, as if to show her +determination to do as she was bid. + +Glynn at once drew her towards him and rested her head on his shoulder. +The child gave vent to a deep, broken sigh of relief, and threw her +right arm round his neck, but the single word "Ailie," uttered in a +remonstrative tone, caused her to draw it quickly back and again grasp +her breast. + +All this time Glynn had been supporting himself by that process +well-known to swimmers as "treading water," and had been so intent upon +his purpose of securing the child, that he failed to observe the light +of a lantern gleaming in the far distance on the sea, as the boat went +ploughing hither and thither, the men almost breaking the oars in their +desperate haste, and the captain standing in the stern-sheets, pale as +death, holding the light high over his head, and gazing with a look of +unutterable agony into the surrounding gloom. + +Glynn now saw the distant light, and exerting his voice to the utmost, +gave vent to a prolonged cry. Ailie looked up in her companion's face +while he listened intently. The moving light became stationary for a +moment, and a faint reply floated back to them over the waves. Again +Glynn raised his voice to the utmost, and the cheer that came back told +him that he had been heard. + +But the very feeling of relief at the prospect of immediate deliverance +had well-nigh proved fatal to them both; for Glynn experienced a sudden +relaxation of his whole system, and he felt as if he could not support +himself and his burden a minute longer. + +"Ailie," he said faintly but quickly, "we shall be saved if you obey at +_once_; if not, we shall be drowned. Lay your two hands on my breast, +and let yourself sink _down to the very lips_." + +Glynn turned on his back as he spoke, spread out his arms and legs to +their full extent, let his head fall back, until it sank, leaving only +his lips, nose, and chin above water, and lay as motionless as if he had +been dead. And now came poor Ailie's severest trial. When she allowed +herself to sink, and felt the water rising about her ears, and lipping +round her mouth, terror again seized upon her; but she felt Glynn's +breast heaving under her hands, so she raised her eyes to heaven and +prayed silently to Him who is the only true deliverer from dangers. Her +self-possession was restored, and soon she observed the boat bearing +down on the spot, and heard the men as they shouted to attract +attention. + +Ailie tried to reply, but her tiny voice was gone, and her soul was +filled with horror as she saw the boat about to pass on. In her agony +she began to struggle. This roused Glynn, who had rested sufficiently +to have recovered a slight degree of strength. He immediately raised +his head, and uttered a wild cry as he grasped Ailie again with his arm. + +The rowers paused; the light of the lantern gleamed over the sea, and +fell upon the spray tossed up by Glynn. Next moment the boat swept up +to them--and they were saved. + +The scene that followed baffles all description. Captain Dunning fell +on his knees beside Ailie, who was too much exhausted to speak, and +thanked God, in the name of Jesus Christ, again and again for her +deliverance. A few of the men shouted; others laughed hysterically; and +some wept freely as they crowded round their shipmate, who, although +able to sit up, could not speak except in disjointed sentences. Glynn, +however, recovered quickly, and even tried to warm himself by pulling an +oar before they regained the ship, but Ailie remained in a state of +partial stupor, and was finally carried on board and down into the +cabin, and put between warm blankets by her father and Dr Hopley. + +Meanwhile, Glynn was hurried forward, and dragged down into the +forecastle by the whole crew, who seemed unable to contain themselves +for joy, and expressed their feelings in ways that would have been +deemed rather absurd on ordinary occasions. + +"Change yer clo's, avic, at wance," cried Phil Briant, who was the most +officious and violent in his offers of assistance to Glynn. "Och! but +it's wet ye are, darlin'. Give me a howld." + +This last request had reference to the right leg of Glynn's trousers, +which happened to be blue cloth of a rather thin quality, and which +therefore clung to his limbs with such tenacity that it was a matter of +the utmost difficulty to get them off. + +"That's your sort, Phil--a long pull, and a strong pull, and a pull all +together," cried Dick Barnes, hurrying forward, with a bundle of +garments in his arms. "Here's dry clo's for him." + +"Have a care, Phil," shouted Gurney, who stood behind Glynn and held him +by the shoulders; "it'll give way." + +"Niver a taste," replied the reckless Irishman. But the result proved +that Gurney was right, for the words had scarce escaped his lips when +the garment parted at the knee, and Phil Briant went crashing back among +a heap of tin pannikins, pewter plates, blocks, and cordage. A burst of +laughter followed, of course, but the men's spirits were too much roused +to be satisfied with this, so they converted the laugh into a howl, and +prolonged it into a cheer; as if their comrade had successfully +performed a difficult and praiseworthy deed. + +"Hold on, lads," cried Glynn. "I'm used up, I can't stand it." + +"Here you are," shouted Nickel Sling, pushing the men violently aside, +and holding a steaming tumbler of hot brandy-and-water under Glynn's +nose. "Down with it; that's the stuff to get up the steam fit to bust +yer biler, I calc'late." + +The men looked on for a moment in silence, while Glynn drank, as if they +expected some remarkable chemical change to take place in his +constitution. + +"Och! ain't it swate?" inquired Phil Briant, who, having gathered +himself up, now stood rubbing his shoulder with the fragment of the +riven garment. "Av I wasn't a taytotaler, it's meself would like some +of that same." + +In a few minutes our hero was divested of his wet garments, rubbed +perfectly dry by his kind messmates, and clad in dry costume, after +which he felt almost as well as if nothing unusual had happened to him. +The men meanwhile cut their jokes at him or at each other as they stood +round and watched, assisted, or retarded the process. As for Tim +Rokens, who had been in the boat and witnessed the rescue, he stood +gazing steadfastly at Glynn without uttering a word, keeping his thumbs +the while hooked in the arm-holes of his vest, and his legs very much +apart. By degrees--as he thought on what had passed, and the narrow +escape poor little Ailie had had, and the captain's tears, things he had +never seen the captain shed before and had not believed the captain to +have possessed--as he pondered these things, we say, his knotty visage +began to work, and his cast-iron chin began to quiver, and his shaggy +brows contracted, and his nose, besides becoming purple, began to twist, +as if it were an independent member of his face, and he came, in short, +to that climax which is familiarly expressed by the words "bursting into +tears." + +But if anybody thinks the act, on the part of Tim Rokens, bore the +smallest resemblance to the generally received idea of that sorrowful +affection, "anybody," we take leave to tell him, is very much mistaken. +The bold harpooner did it thus--he suddenly unhooked his right hand from +the arm-hole of his vest, and gave his right thigh a slap which produced +a crack that would have made a small pistol envious; then he uttered a +succession of ferocious roars, that might have quite well indicated +pain, or grief, or madness, or a drunken cheer, and, un-hooking the left +hand, he doubled himself up, and thrust both knuckles into his eyes. +The knuckles were wet when he pulled them out of his eyes, but he dried +them on his pantaloons, bolted up the hatchway, and rushing up to the +man at the wheel, demanded in a voice of thunder--"How's 'er head?" + +"Sou'-sou'-east-and-by-east," replied the man, in some surprise. + +"Sou'-sou'-east-and-by-east!" repeated Mr Rokens, in a savage growl of +authority, as if he were nothing less than the admiral of the Channel +Fleet. "That's two points and a half off yer course, sir. Luff, luff, +you--you--" + +At this point Tim Rokens turned on his heel, and began to walk up and +down the deck as calmly as if nothing whatever had occurred to disturb +his equanimity. + +"The captain wants Glynn Proctor," said the second mate, looking down +the fore-hatch. + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered Glynn, ascending, and going aft. + +"Ailie wants to see you, Glynn, my boy," said Captain Dunning, as the +former entered the cabin; "and I want to speak to you myself--to thank +you Glynn. Ah, lad! you can't know what a father's heart feels when--Go +to her, boy." He grasped the youth's hand, and gave it a squeeze that +revealed infinitely more of his feelings than could have been done by +words. + +Glynn returned the squeeze, and opening the door of Ailie's private +cabin, entered and sat down beside her crib. + +"Oh, Glynn, I want to speak to you; I want to thank you. I love you so +much for jumping into the sea after me," began the child, eagerly, and +raising herself on one elbow while she held out her hand. + +"Ailie," interrupted Glynn, taking her hand, and holding up his finger +to impose silence, "you obeyed me _in_ the water, and now I insist on +your obedience _out_ of the water. If you don't, I'll leave you. +You're still too weak to toss about and speak loud in this way. Lie +down, my pet." + +Glynn kissed her forehead, and forced her gently back on the pillow. + +"Well, I'll be good, but don't leave me yet, Glynn. I'm much better. +Indeed, I feel quite strong. Oh! it was good of you--" + +"There you go again." + +"I love you," said Ailie. + +"I've no objection to that," replied Glynn, "but don't excite yourself. +But tell me, Ailie, how was it that you managed to keep afloat so long? +The more I think of it the more I am filled with amazement, and, in +fact, I'm half inclined to think that God worked a miracle in order to +save you." + +"I don't know," said Ailie, looking very grave and earnest, as she +always did when our Maker's name happened to be mentioned. "Does God +work miracles still?" + +"Men say not," replied Glynn. + +"I'm sure I don't quite understand what a miracle is," continued Ailie, +"although Aunt Martha and Aunt Jane have often tried to explain it to +me. Is floating on your back a miracle?" + +"No," said Glynn, laughing; "it isn't." + +"Well, that's the way I was saved. You know, ever since I can remember, +I have bathed with Aunt Martha and Aunt Jane, and they taught me how to +float--and it's so nice, you can't think how nice it is--and I can do it +so easily now, that I never get frightened. But, oh!--when I was tossed +over the side of the ship into the sea I _was_ frightened just. I don't +think I _ever_ got such a fright. And I splashed about for some time, +and swallowed some water, but I got upon my back somehow. I can't tell +how it was, for I was too frightened to try to do anything. But when I +found myself floating as I used to do long ago, I felt my fear go away a +little, and I shut my eyes and prayed, and then it went away altogether; +and I felt quite sure you would come to save me, and you _did_ come, +Glynn, and I know it was God who sent you. But I became a good deal +frightened again when I thought of the sharks, and--" + +"Now, Ailie, stop!" said Glynn. "You're forgetting your promise, and +exciting yourself again." + +"So she is, and I must order you out, Master Glynn," said the doctor, +opening the door, and entering at that moment. + +Glynn rose, patted the child's head, and nodded cheerfully as he left +the little cabin. + +The captain caught him as he passed, and began to reiterate his thanks, +when their conversation was interrupted by the voice of Mr Millons, who +put his head in at the skylight and said--"Squall coming, sir, I think." + +"So, so," cried the captain, running upon deck. "I've been looking for +it. Call all hands, Mr Millons, and take in sail--every rag, except +the storm-trysails." + +Glynn hurried forward, and in a few minutes every man was at his post. +The sails were furled, and every preparation made for a severe squall; +for Captain Dunning knew that that part of the coast of Africa off which +the _Red Eric_ was then sailing was subject to sudden squalls, which, +though usually of short duration, were sometimes terrific in their +violence. + +"Is everything snug, Mr Millons?" + +"All snug, sir." + +"Then let the men stand-by till it's over." + +The night had grown intensely dark, but away on the starboard-quarter +the heavens appeared of an ebony blackness that was quite appalling. +This appearance, that rose on the sky like a shroud of crape, quickly +spread upwards until it reached the zenith. Then a few gleams of light +seemed to illuminate it very faintly, and a distant hissing noise was +heard. + +A dead calm surrounded the ship, which lay like a log on the water, and +the crew, knowing that nothing more could be done in the way of +preparation, awaited the bursting of the storm with uneasy feelings. In +a few minutes its distant roar was heard,--like muttered thunder. On it +came, with a steady continuous roar, as if chaos were about to be +restored, and the crashing wreck of elements were being hurled in mad +fury against the yet unshattered portions of creation. Another second, +and the ship was on her beam-ends, and the sea and sky were white as +milk as the wind tore up the waves and beat them flat, and whirled away +broad sheets of driving foam. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE STORM, AND ITS RESULTS. + +Although the _Red Eric_ was thrown on her beam-ends, or nearly so, by +the excessive violence of the squall, the preparations to meet it had +been so well made that she righted again almost immediately, and now +flew before the wind under bare poles with a velocity that was +absolutely terrific. + +Ailie had been nearly thrown out of her berth when the ship lay over, +and now when she listened to the water hissing and gurgling past the +little port that lighted her cabin, and felt the staggering of the +vessel, as burst after burst of the hurricane almost tore the masts out +of her, she lay trembling with anxiety and debating with herself whether +or not she ought to rise and go on deck. + +Captain Dunning well knew that his child would be naturally filled with +fear, for this was the first severe squall she had ever experienced, so, +as he could not quit the deck himself, he called Glynn Proctor to him +and sent him down with a message. + +"Well, Ailie," said Glynn, cheerfully, as he opened the door and peeped +in; "how d'ye get on, dear? The captain has sent me to say that the +worst o' this blast is over, and you've nothing to fear." + +"I am glad to hear that, Glynn," replied the child, holding out her +hand, while a smile lighted up her face and smoothed out the lines of +anxiety from her brow. "Come and sit by me, Glynn, and tell me what +like it is. I wish so much that I had been on deck. Was it grand, +Glynn?" + +"It was uncommonly grand; it was even terrible--but I cannot sit with +you more than a minute, else my shipmates will say that I'm skulking." + +"Skulking, Glynn! What is that?" + +"Why, it's--it's shirking work, you know," said Glynn, somewhat puzzled. + +Ailie laughed. "But you forget that I don't know what `shirking' means. +You must explain that too." + +"How terribly green you are, Ailie." + +"No! am I?" exclaimed the child in some surprise. "What _can_ have done +it? I'm not sick." + +Glynn laughed outright at this, and then proceeded to explain the +meaning of the slang phraseology he had used. "Green, you must know, +means ignorant," he began. + +"How funny! I wonder why." + +"Well, I don't know exactly. Perhaps it's because when a fellow's asked +to answer questions he don't understand, he's apt to turn either blue +with rage or yellow with fear--or both; and that, you know, would make +him green. I've heard it said that it implies a comparison of men to +plants--very young ones, you know, that are just up, just born, as it +were, and have not had much experience of life, are green of course--but +I like my own definition best." + +It may perhaps be scarcely necessary to remark that our hero was by no +means singular in this little preference of his own definition to that +of any one else! + +"Well, and what does skulking mean, and shirking work?" persisted Ailie. + +"It means hiding so as to escape duty, my little catechist; but--" + +"Hallo! Glynn, Glynn Proctor," roared the first mate from the +deck--"where's that fellow? Skulking, I'll be bound. Lay aloft there +and shake out the foretopsail. Look alive." + +"Ay, ay, sir," was the ready response as the men sprang to obey. + +"There, you have it now, Ailie, explained and illustrated," cried Glynn, +starting up. "Here I am, at this minute in a snug, dry berth chatting +to you, and in half a minute more I'll be out on the end o' the foreyard +holding on for bare life, with the wind fit to tear off my jacket and +blow my ducks into ribbons, and the rain and spray dashing all over me +fit to blot me out altogether. There's a pretty little idea to turn +over in your mind, Ailie, while I'm away." + +Glynn closed the door at the last word, and, as he had prophesied, was, +within half a minute, in the unenviable position above referred to. + +The force of the squall was already broken, and the men were busy +setting close-reefed topsails, but the rain that followed the squall bid +fair to "blot them out," as Glynn said, altogether. It came down, not +in drops, but in masses, which were caught up by the fierce gale and +mingled with the spray, and hurled about and on with such violent +confusion, that it seemed as though the whole creation were converted +into wind and water, and had engaged in a war of extermination, the +central turmoil of which was the _Red Eric_. + +But the good ship held on nobly. Although not a fast sailer she was an +excellent sea-boat, and danced on the billows like a sea-mew. The +squall, however, was not over. Before the topsails had been set many +minutes it burst on them again with redoubled fury, and the main-topsail +was instantly blown into ribbons. Glynn and his comrades were once more +ordered aloft to furl the remaining sails, but before this could be done +the foretopmast was carried away, and in falling it tore away the +jib-boom also. At the same moment a tremendous sea came rolling on +astern; in the uncertain light it looked like a dark moving mountain +that was about to fall on them. + +"Luff, luff a little--steady!" roared the captain, who saw the summit of +the wave toppling over the stern, and who fully appreciated the danger +of being "pooped," which means having a wave launched upon the +quarterdeck. + +"Steady it is," replied the steersman. + +"Look out!" shouted the captain and several of the men, simultaneously. + +Every one seized hold of whatever firm object chanced to be within +reach; next moment the black billow fell like an avalanche on the poop, +and rushing along the decks, swept the waist-boat and all the loose +spars into the sea. The ship staggered under the shock, and it seemed +to every one on deck that she must inevitably founder; but in a few +seconds she recovered, the water gushed from the scuppers and sides in +cataracts, and once more they drove swiftly before the gale. + +In about twenty minutes the wind moderated, and while some of the men +went aloft to clear away the wreck of the topsails and make all snug, +others went below to put on dry garments. + +"That was a narrow escape, Mr Millons," remarked the captain, as he +stood by the starboard-rails. + +"It was, sir," replied the mate. "It's a good job too, sir, that none +o' the 'ands were washed overboard." + +"It is, indeed, Mr Millons; we've reason to be thankful for that; but +I'm sorry to see that we've lost our waist-boat." + +"We've lost our spare sticks, sir," said the mate, with a lugubrious +face, while he wrung the brine out of his hair; "and I fear we've +nothink left fit to make a noo foretopmast or a jib-boom." + +"True, Mr Millons; we shall have to run to the nearest port on the +African coast to refit; luckily we are not very far from it. Meanwhile, +tell Mr Markham to try the well; it is possible that we may have sprung +a leak in all this straining, and see that the wreck of the foretopmast +is cleared away. I shall go below and consult the chart; if any change +in the weather takes place, call me at once." + +"Yes, sir," answered the mate, as he placed his hand to windward of his +mouth, in order to give full force to the terrific tones in which he +proceeded to issue his captain's commands. + +Captain Dunning went below, and looking into Ailie's berth, nodded his +wet head several times, and smiled with his damp visage benignly--which +acts, however well meant and kindly they might be, were, under the +circumstances, quite unnecessary, seeing that the child was sound +asleep. The captain then dried his head and face with a towel about as +rough as the mainsail of a seventy-four, and with a violence that would +have rubbed the paint off the figurehead of the _Red Eric_. Then he sat +down to his chart, and having pondered over it for some minutes, he went +to the foot of the companion-ladder and roared up--"Lay the course +nor'-nor'-east-and-by-nor'-half-nor', Mr Millons." + +To which Mr Millons replied in an ordinary tone, "Ay, ay, sir," and +then roared--"Lay her head nor'-nor'-east-and-by-nor'-half-nor'," in an +unnecessarily loud and terribly fierce tone of voice to the steersman, +as if that individual were in the habit of neglecting to obey orders, +and required to be perpetually threatened in what may be called a tone +of implication. + +The steersman answered in what, to a landsman, would have +sounded as a rather amiable and forgiving tone of +voice--"Nor'-nor'-east-and-by-nor'-half-nor' it is, sir;" and thereupon +the direction of the ship's head was changed, and the _Red Eric_, +according to Tim Rokens, "bowled along" with a stiff breeze on the +quarter, at the rate of ten knots, for the west coast of Africa. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +RAMBLES ON SHORE, AND STRANGE THINGS AND CEREMONIES WITNESSED THERE. + +Variety is charming. No one laying claim to the smallest amount of that +very uncommon attribute, common-sense, will venture to question the +truth of that statement. Variety is so charming that men and women, +boys and girls, are always, all of them, hunting after it. To speak +still more emphatically on this subject, we venture to affirm that it is +an absolute necessity of animal nature. Were any positive and +short-sighted individual to deny this position, and sit down during the +remainder of his life in a chair and look straight before him, in order +to prove that he could live without variety, he would seek it in change +of position. If he did not do that, he would seek it in change of +thought. If he did not do _that_, he would die! + +Fully appreciating this great principle of our nature, and desiring to +be charmed with a little variety, Tim Rokens and Phil Briant presented +themselves before Captain Dunning one morning about a week after the +storm, and asked leave to go ashore. The reader may at first think the +men were mad, but he will change his opinion when we tell him that four +days after the storm in question the _Red Eric_ had anchored in the +harbour formed by the mouth of one of the rivers on the African coast, +where white men trade with the natives for bar-wood and ivory, and where +they also carry on that horrible traffic in negroes, the existence of +which is a foul disgrace to humanity. + +"Go ashore!" echoed Captain Dunning. "Why, if you all go on at this +rate, we'll never get ready for sea. However, you may go, but don't +wander too far into the interior, and look out for elephants and wild +men o' the woods, boys--keep about the settlements." + +"Ay, ay, sir, and thank'ee," replied the two men, touching their caps as +they retired. + +"Please, sir, I want to go too," said Glynn Proctor, approaching the +captain. + +"What! more wanting to go ashore?" + +"Yes, and so do I," cried Ailie, running forward and clasping her +father's rough hand; "I did enjoy myself _so_ much yesterday, that I +must go on shore again to-day, and I must go with Glynn. He'll take +such famous care of me; now _won't_ you let me go, papa?" + +"Upon my word, this looks like preconcerted mutiny. However, I don't +mind if I do let you go, but have a care, Glynn, that you don't lose +sight of her for a moment, and keep to the shore and the settlements. +I've no notion of allowing her to be swallowed by an alligator, or +trampled on by an elephant, or run away with by a gorilla." + +"Never fear, sir. You may trust me; I'll take good care of her." + +With a shout of delight the child ran down to the cabin to put on her +bonnet, and quickly reappeared, carrying in her hand a basket which she +purposed to fill with a valuable collection of plants, minerals and +insects. These she meant to preserve and carry home as a surprise to +aunts Martha and Jane, both of whom were passionately fond of +mineralogy, delighted in botany, luxuriated in entomology, doted on +conchology, and raved about geology--all of which sciences they studied +superficially, and specimens of which they collected and labelled +beautifully, and stowed away carefully in a little cabinet, which they +termed (not jocularly, but seriously) their "Bureau of Omnology." + +It was a magnificent tropical morning when the boat left the side of the +_Red Eric_ and landed Glynn and Ailie, Tim Rokens and Phil Briant on the +wharf that ran out from the yellow beach of the harbour in which their +vessel lay. The sun had just risen. The air was cool (comparatively) +and motionless, so that the ocean lay spread out like a pure mirror, and +revealed its treasures and mysteries to a depth of many fathoms. The +sky was intensely blue and the sun intensely bright, while the +atmosphere was laden with the delightful perfume of the woods--a perfume +that is sweet and pleasant to those long used to it, how much more +enchanting to nostrils rendered delicately sensitive by long exposure to +the scentless gales of ocean? + +One of the sailors who had shown symptoms of weakness in the chest +during the voyage, had begged to be discharged and left ashore at this +place. He could ill be spared, but as he was fit for nothing, the +captain agreed to his request, and resolved to procure a negro to act as +cook's assistant in the place of Phil Briant, who was too useful a man +to remain in so subordinate a capacity. The sick man was therefore sent +on shore in charge of Tim Rokens. + +On landing they were met by a Portuguese slave-dealer, an American +trader, a dozen or two partially-clothed negroes, and a large concourse +of utterly naked little negro children, who proved to demonstration that +they were of the same nature and spirit with white children, despite the +colour of their skins, by taking intense delight in all the amusements +practised by the fair-skinned juveniles of more northern lands--namely +scampering after each other, running and yelling, indulging in mischief, +spluttering in the waters, rolling on the sand, staring at the +strangers, making impudent remarks, and punching each other's heads. + +If the youth of America ever wish to prove that they are of a distinct +race from the sable sons of Africa, their only chance is to become +paragons of perfection, and give up _all_ their wicked ways. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Ailie, half amused, half frightened, as Glynn lifted her +out of the boat; "oh! how funny! Don't they look so _very_ like as if +they were all painted black?" + +"Good-day to you, gentlemen," cried the trader, as he approached the +landing. "Got your foretop damaged, I see. Plenty of sticks here to +mend it. Be glad to assist you in any way I can. Was away in the woods +when you arrived, else I'd have come to offer sooner." + +The trader, who was a tall, sallow man in a blue cotton shirt, sailor's +trousers, and a broad-brimmed straw hat, addressed himself to Glynn, +whose gentlemanly manner led him to believe he was in command of the +party. + +"Thank you," replied Glynn, "we've got a little damage--lost a good +boat, too; but we'll soon repair the mast. We have come ashore just +now, however, mainly for a stroll." + +"Ay," put in Phil Briant, who was amusing the black children--and +greatly delighting himself by nodding and smiling ferociously at them, +with a view to making a favourable impression on the natives of this new +country. "Ay, sir, an' sure we've comed to land a sick shipmate who +wants to see the doctor uncommon. Have ye sich an article in these +parts?" + +"No, not exactly," replied the trader, "but I do a little in that way +myself; perhaps I may manage to cure him if he comes up to my house." + +"We wants a nigger too," said Rokens, who, while the others were +talking, was extremely busy filling his pipe. + +At this remark the trader looked knowing. + +"Oh!" he said, "that's your game, is it? There's your man there; I've +nothing to do with such wares." + +He pointed to the Portuguese slave-dealer as he spoke. + +Seeing himself thus referred to, the slave-dealer came forward, hat in +hand, and made a polite bow. He was a man of extremely forbidding +aspect. A long dark visage, which terminated in a black peaked beard, +and was surmounted by a tall-crowned broad-brimmed straw hat, stood on +the top of a long, raw-boned, thin, sinewy, shrivelled, but powerful +frame, that had battled with and defeated all the fevers and other +diseases peculiar to the equatorial regions of Africa. He wore a short +light-coloured cotton jacket and pantaloons--the latter much too short +for his limbs, but the deficiency was more than made up by a pair of +Wellington boots. His natural look was a scowl. His assumed smile of +politeness was so unnatural, that Tim Rokens thought, as he gazed at +him, he would have preferred greatly to have been frowned at by him. +Even Ailie, who did not naturally think ill of any one, shrank back as +he approached and grasped Glynn's hand more firmly than usual. + +"Goot morning, gentl'm'n. You was vish for git nigger, I suppose." + +"Well, we wos," replied Tim, with a faint touch of sarcasm in his tone. +"Can _you_ get un for us?" + +"Yees, sare, as many you please," replied the slave-dealer, with a wink +that an ogre might have envied. "Have great many ob 'em stay vid me +always." + +"Ah! then, they must be fond o' bad company," remarked Briant, in an +undertone, "to live along wid such a alligator." + +"Well, then," said Tim Rokens, who had completed the filling of his +pipe, and was now in the full enjoyment of it; "let's see the feller, +an' I'll strike a bargain with him, if he seems a likely chap." + +"You will have strike de bargin vid _me_," said the dealer. "I vill +charge you ver' leetle, suppose you take full cargo." + +The whole party, who were ignorant of the man's profession, started at +this remark, and looked at the dealer in surprise. + +"Wot!" exclaimed Tim Rokens, withdrawing his pipe from his lips; "do you +_sell_ niggers?" + +"Yees, to be surely," replied the man, with a peculiarly saturnine +smile. + +"A slave-dealer?" exclaimed Briant, clenching his fists. + +"Even so, sare." + +At this Briant uttered a shout, and throwing forward his clenched fists +in a defiant attitude, exclaimed between his set teeth-- + +"Arrah! come on!" + +Most men have peculiarities. Phil Briant had many; but his most +striking peculiarity, and that which led him frequently into extremely +awkward positions, was a firm belief that his special calling--in an +amateur point of view--was the redressing of wrongs--not wrongs of a +particular class, or wrongs of an excessively glaring and offensive +nature, but _all_ wrongs whatsoever. It mattered not to Phil whether +the wrong had to be righted by force of argument or force of arms. He +considered himself an accomplished practitioner in both lines of +business--and in regard to the latter his estimate of his powers was not +very much too high, for he was a broad-shouldered, deep-chested, +long-armed fellow, and had acquired a scientific knowledge of boxing +under a celebrated bruiser at the expense of a few hard-earned +shillings, an occasional bottle of poteen, and many a severe thrashing. + +Justice to Phil's amiability of character requires, however, that we +should state that he never sought to terminate an argument with his +fists unless he was invited to do so, and even then he invariably gave +his rash challenger fair warning, and offered to let him retreat if so +disposed. But when injustice met his eye, or when he happened to see +cruelty practised by the strong against the weak, his blood fired at +once, and he only deigned the short emphatic remark--"Come on," +sometimes preceded by "Arrah!" sometimes not. Generally speaking, he +accepted his own challenge, and _went_ on forthwith. + +Of all the iniquities that draw forth the groans of humanity on this sad +earth, slavery, in the opinion of Phil Briant, was the worst. He had +never come in contact with it, not having been in the Southern States of +America. He knew from hearsay that the coast of Africa was its +fountain, but he had forgotten the fact, and in the novelty of the scene +before him, it did not at first occur to him that he was actually face +to face with a "live slave-dealer." + +"Let me go!" roared the Irishman, as he struggled in the iron grip of +Tim Rokens; and the not less powerful grasp of Glynn Proctor. "Och! let +me go! _Doo_, darlints. I'll only give him wan--jist _wan_! Let me +go, will ye?" + +"Not if I can help it," said Glynn, tightening his grasp. + +"Wot a cross helephant it is," muttered Rokens, as he thrust his hand +into his comrade's neckcloth and quietly began to choke him as he +dragged him away towards the residence of the trader, who was an amused +as well as surprised spectator of this unexpected ebullition of passion. + +At length Phil Briant allowed himself to be forced away from the beach +where the slave-dealer stood with his arms crossed on his breast, and a +sarcastic smile playing on his thin lips. Had that Portuguese +trafficker in human flesh known how quickly Briant could have doubled +the size of his long nose and shut up both his eyes, he would probably +have modified the expression of his countenance; but he didn't know it, +so he looked after the party until they had entered the dwelling of the +trader, and then sauntered up towards the woods, which in this place +came down to within a few yards of the beach. + +The settlement was a mere collection of rudely-constructed native huts, +built of bamboos and roofed with a thatch of palm-leaves. In the midst +of it stood a pretty white-painted cottage with green-edged windows and +doors, and a verandah in front. This was the dwelling of the trader; +and alongside of it, under the same roof, was the store, in which were +kept the guns, beads, powder and shot, etcetera, etcetera, which he +exchanged with the natives of the interior for elephants' tusks and +bar-wood, from which latter a beautiful dye is obtained; also ebony, +indiarubber, and other products of the country. + +Here the trader entertained Tim Rokens and Phil Briant with stories of +the slave-trade; and here we shall leave them while we follow Glynn and +Ailie, who went off together to ramble along the shore of the calm sea. + +They had not gone far when specimens of the strange creatures that dwell +in these lands presented themselves to their astonished gaze. There +were birds innumerable on the shore, on the surface of the ocean, and in +the woods. The air was alive with them; many being similar to the birds +they had been familiar with from infancy, while others were new and +strange. + +To her immense delight Ailie saw many living specimens of the +bird-of-paradise, the graceful plumes of which she had frequently beheld +on very high and important festal occasions, nodding on the heads of +Aunt Martha and Aunt Jane. But the prettiest of all the birds she saw +there was a small creature with a breast so red and bright, that it +seemed, as it flew about, like a little ball of fire. There were many +of them flying about near a steep bank, in holes of which they built +their nests. She observed that they fed upon flies which they caught +while skimming through the air, and afterwards learned that they were +called bee-eaters. + +"Oh! look!" exclaimed Ailie in that tone of voice which indicated that a +surprising discovery had been made. Ailie was impulsive, and the +_tones_ in which she exclaimed "Oh!" were so varied, emphatic, and +distinct, that those who knew her well could tell exactly the state of +her mind on hearing the exclamation. At present, her "Oh!" indicated +surprise mingled with alarm. + +"Eh! what, where?" cried Glynn, throwing forward his musket--for he had +taken the precaution to carry one with him, not knowing what he might +meet with on such a coast. + +"The snake! look--oh!" + +At that moment a huge black snake, about ten feet long, showed itself in +the grass. Glynn took aim at once, but the piece, being an old +flint-lock, missed fire. Before he could again take aim the +loathsome-looking reptile had glided into the underwood, which in most +places was so overgrown with the rank and gigantic vegetation of the +tropics as to be quite impenetrable. + +"Ha! he's gone, Ailie!" cried Glynn, in a tone of disappointment, as he +put fresh priming into the pan of his piece. "We must be careful in +walking here, it seems. This wretched old musket! Lucky for us that +our lives did not depend on it. I wonder if it was a poisonous +serpent?" + +"Perhaps it was," said Ailie, with a look of deep solemnity, as she took +her companion's left hand, and trotted along by his side. "Are not all +serpents poisonous?" + +"Oh dear, no. Why, there are some kinds that are quite harmless. But +as I don't know which are and which are not, we must look upon all as +enemies until we become more knowing." + +Presently they came to the mouth of a river--one of those sluggish +streams on the African coast, which suggest the idea of malaria and the +whole family of low fevers. It glided through a mangrove swamp, where +the tree seemed to be standing on their roots, which served the purpose +of stilts to keep them out of the mud. The river was oily, and +sluggish, and hot-looking, and its mud-banks were slimy and liquid, so +that it was not easy to say whether the water of the river was mud, or +the mud on the bank was water. It was a place that made one +involuntarily think of creeping monsters, and crawling objects, and +slimy things! + +"Look! oh! oh! such a darling pet!" exclaimed Ailie, as they stood near +the banks of this river wondering what monster would first cleave the +muddy waters, and raise its hideous head. She pointed to the bough of a +dead tree near which they stood, and on which sat the "darling pet" +referred to. It was a very small monkey with white whiskers; a dumpy +little thing, that looked at them with an expression of surprise quite +equal in intensity to their own. + +Seeing that it was discovered, the "darling pet" opened its little +mouth, and uttered a succession of "Ohs!" that rendered Ailie's +exclamations quite insignificant by comparison. They were sharp and +short, and rapidly uttered, while, at the same time, two rows of most +formidable teeth were bared, along with the gums that held them. + +At this Ailie and her companion burst into a fit of irrepressible +laughter, whereupon the "darling pet" put itself into such a passion-- +grinned, and coughed, and gasped, and shook the tree, and writhed, and +glared, to such an extent that Glynn said he thought it would burst, and +Ailie agreed that it was very likely. Finding that this terrible +display of fury had no effect on the strangers, the "darling pet" gave +utterance to a farewell shriek of passion, and, bounding nimbly into the +woods, disappeared. + +"Oh, _what_ a funny beast," said Ailie, sitting down on a stone, and +drying her eyes, which had filled with tears from excessive laughter. + +"Indeed it was," said Glynn. "It's my opinion that a monkey is the +funniest beast in the world." + +"No, Glynn; a kitten's funnier," said Ailie, with a degree of emphasis +that showed she had considered the subject well, and had fully made up +her mind in regard to it long ago. "I think a kitten's the _very_ +funniest beast in all the whole world." + +"Well, perhaps it is," said Glynn thoughtfully. + +"Did you ever see _three_ kittens together?" asked Ailie. + +"No; I don't think I ever did. I doubt if I have seen even two +together. Why?" + +"Oh! because they are so very, very funny. Sit down beside me, and I'll +tell you about three kittens I once had. They were very little--at +least they were little before they got big." + +Glynn laughed. + +"Oh, you know what I mean. They were able to play when they were very +little, you know." + +"Yes, yes, I understand. Go on." + +"Well, two were grey, and one was white and grey, but most of it was +white; and when they went to play, one always hid itself to watch, and +then the other two began, and came up to each other with little jumps, +and their backs up and tails curved, and hair all on end, glaring at +each other, and pretending that they were so angry. Do you know, Glynn, +I really believe they sometimes forgot it was pretence, and actually +became angry. But the fun was, that, when the two were just going to +fly at each other, the third one, who had been watching, used to dart +out and give them _such_ a fright--a _real_ fright, you know--which made +them jump, oh! three times their own height up into the air, and they +came down again with a _fuff_ that put the third one in a fright too; so +that they all scattered away from each other as if they had gone quite +mad. What's that?" + +"It's a fish, I think," said Glynn, rising and going towards the river, +to look at the object that had attracted his companion's attention. +"It's a shark, I do believe." + +In a few seconds the creature came so close that they could see it quite +distinctly; and on a more careful inspection, they observed that the +mouth of the river was full of these ravenous monsters. Soon after they +saw monsters of a still more ferocious aspect; for while they were +watching the sharks, two crocodiles put up their snouts, and crawled +sluggishly out of the water upon a mud-bank, where they lay down, +apparently with the intention of taking a nap in the sunshine. They +were too far off, however, to be well seen. + +"Isn't it strange, Glynn, that there are such ugly beasts in the world?" +said Ailie. "I wonder why God made them?" + +"So do I," said Glynn, looking at the child's thoughtful face in some +surprise. "I suppose they must be of some sort of use." + +"Oh! yes, _of course_ they are," rejoined Ailie quickly. "Aunt Martha +and Aunt Jane used to tell me that every creature was made by God for +some good purpose; and when I came to the crocodile in my book, they +said it was certainly of use too, though they did not know what. I +remember it very well, because I was _so_ surprised to hear that Aunt +Martha and Aunt Jane did not know _everything_." + +"No doubt Aunt Martha and Aunt Jane were right," said Glynn, with a +smile. "I confess, however, that crocodiles seem to me to be of no +other use than to kill and eat up everything that comes within the reach +of their terrible jaws. But, indeed, now I think of it, the very same +may be said of man, for _he_ kills and eats up at least everything that +he _wants_ to put into his jaws." + +"So he does," said Ailie; "isn't it funny?" + +"Isn't what funny?" asked Glynn. + +"That we should be no better than crocodiles--at least, I mean about +eating." + +"You forget, Ailie, we cook our food." + +"Oh! so we do. I did not remember to think of that. That's a great +difference, indeed." + +Leaving Glynn and his little charge to philosophise on the resemblance +between men and crocodiles, we shall now return to Tim Rokens and Phil +Briant, whom we left in the trader's cottage. + +The irate Irishman had been calmed down by reason and expostulation, and +had again been roused to great indignation several times since we left +him, by the account of things connected with the slave-trade, given him +by the trader, who, although he had no interest in it himself, did not +feel very much aggrieved by the sufferings he witnessed around him. + +"You don't mane to tell me, now, that _whalers_ comes in here for +slaves, do ye?" said Briant, placing his two fists on his two knees, and +thrusting his head towards the trader, who admitted that he meant to say +that; and that he meant, moreover, to add, that the thing was by no +means of rare occurrence--that whaling ships occasionally ran into that +very port on their way south, shipped a cargo of negroes, sold them at +the nearest slave-buying port they could make on the American coast, and +then proceeded on their voyage, no one being a whit the wiser. + +"You don't mean it?" remarked Tim Rokens, crossing his legs and devoting +himself to his pipe, with the air of a man who mourned the depravity of +his species, but did not feel called upon to disturb his equanimity very +much because of it. + +Phil Briant clenched his teeth, and glared. + +"Indeed I do mean it," reiterated the trader. "Would you believe it, +there was one whaler put in here, and what does he do but go and invite +a lot o' free blacks aboard to have a blow-out; and no sooner did he get +them down into the hold then he shut down the hatches, sailed away, and +sold 'em every one." + +"Ah! morther, couldn't I burst?" groaned Phil; "an' ov coorse they left +a lot o' fatherless children and widders behind 'em." + +"They did; but all the widders are married again, and most of the +children are grown up." + +Briant looked as if he did not feel quite sure whether he ought to +regard this as a comforting piece of information or the reverse, and +wisely remained silent. + +"And now you must excuse me if I leave you to ramble about alone for +some time, as I have business to transact; meanwhile I'll introduce you +to a nigger who will show you about the place, and one who, if I mistake +not, will gladly accompany you to sea as steward's assistant." + +The trader opened a door which led to the back part of his premises, and +shouted to a stout negro who was sawing wood there, and who came forward +with alacrity. + +"Ho! Neepeelootambo, go take these gentlemen round about the village, +and let them see all that is to be seen." + +"Yes, massa." + +"And they've got something to say to you about going to sea--would you +like to go?" + +The negro grinned, and as his mouth was of the largest possible size, it +is not exaggeration to say that the grin extended from ear to ear, but +he made no other reply. + +"Well, please yourself. You're a free man--you may do as you choose." + +Neepeelootambo, who was almost naked, having only a small piece of cloth +wrapped round his waist and loins, grinned again, displaying a double +row of teeth worthy of a shark in so doing, and led his new friends from +the house. + +"Now," said Tim Rokens, turning to the negro, and pointing along the +shore, "we'll go along this way and jaw the matter over. Business +first, and pleasure, if ye can get it, arterwards--them's my notions, +Nip--Nip--Nippi--what's your name?" + +"Coo Tumble, I think," suggested Briant. + +"Ay, Nippiloo Bumble--wot a jaw-breaker! so git along, old boy." + +The negro, who was by no means an "old boy," but a stalwart man in the +prime of life, stepped out, and as they walked along, both Rokens and +Briant did their best to persuade him to ship on board the _Red Eric_, +but without success. They were somewhat surprised as well as chagrined, +having been led to expect that the man would consent at once. But no +alluring pictures of the delights of seafaring life, or the pleasures +and excitements of the whale-fishery, had the least effect on their +sable companion. Even sundry shrewd hints, thrown out by Phil Briant, +that "the steward had always command o' the wittles, and that his +assistant would only have to help himself when convanient," failed to +move him. + +"Well, Nippi-Boo-Tumble," cried Tim Rokens, who in his disappointment +unceremoniously contracted his name, "it's my opinion--private opinion, +mark'ee--that you're a ass, an' you'll come for to repent of it." + +"Troth, Nippi-Bumble, he's about right," added Briant coaxingly. "Come +now, avic, wot's the raisin ye won't go? Sure we ain't blackguards +enough to ax ye to come for to be sold; it's all fair and above board. +Why won't ye, now?" + +The negro stopped, and turning towards them, drew himself proudly up; +then, as if a sudden thought had occurred to him, he advanced a step and +held up his forefinger to impose silence. + +"You no tell what I go to say? at least, not for one, two day." + +"Niver a word, honour bright," said Phil, in a confidential tone, while +Rokens expressed the same sentiment by means of an emphatic wink and +nod. + +"You mus' know," said the negro, earnestly, "me expec's to be made a +king!" + +"A wot?" exclaimed both his companions in the same breath, and very much +in the same tone. + +"A king." + +"Wot?" said Rokens; "d'ye mean, a ruler of this here country?" + +Neepeelootambo nodded his head so violently that it was a marvel it +remained on his shoulders. + +"Yis. Ho! ho! ho! 'xpec's to be a king." + +"And when are ye to be crowned, Bumble?" inquired Briant, rather +sceptically, as they resumed their walk. + +"Oh, me no say me _goin'_ to be king; me only _'xpec's_ dat." + +"Werry good," returned Rokens; "but wot makes ye for to expect it?" + +"Aha! Me berry clebber fellow--know most ebbery ting. Me hab doo'd +good service to dis here country. Me can fight like one leopard, and me +hab kill great few elephant and gorilla. Not much mans here hab shoot +de gorilla, him sich terriferick beast; 'bove five foot six tall, and +bigger round de breast dan you or me--dat is a great true fact. Also, +me can spok Englis'." + +"An' so you expec's they're goin' to make you a king for all that?" + +"Yis, dat is fat me 'xpec's, for our old king be just dead; but dey +nebber tell who dey going to make king till dey do it. I not more sure +ob it dan the nigger dat walk dare before you." + +Neepeelootambo pointed as he spoke to a negro who certainly had a more +kingly aspect than any native they had yet seen. He was a perfect +giant, considerably above six feet high, and broad in proportion. He +wore no clothing on the upper part of his person, but his legs were +encased in a pair of old canvas trousers, which had been made for a man +of ordinary stature, so that his huge bony ankles were largely exposed +to view. + +Just as Phil and Rokens stopped to take a good look at him before +passing on, a terrific yell issued from the bushes, and instantly after, +a negro ran towards the black giant and administered to him a severe +kick on the thigh, following it up with a cuff on the side of the head, +at the same time howling something in the native tongue, which our +friends of course did not understand. This man was immediately followed +by three other blacks, one of whom pulled the giant's hair, the other +pulled his nose, and the third spat in his face! + +It is needless to remark that the sailors witnessed this unprovoked +assault with unutterable amazement. But the most remarkable part of it +was, that the fellow, instead of knocking all his assailants down, as he +might have done without much trouble, quietly submitted to the +indignities heaped upon him; nay, he even smiled upon his tormentors, +who increased in numbers every minute, running out from among the bushes +and surrounding the unoffending man, and uttering wild shouts as they +maltreated him. + +"Wot's he bin doin'?" inquired Rokens, turning to his black companion. +But Rokens received no answer, for Neepeelootambo was looking on at the +scene with an expression so utterly woe-begone and miserable that one +would imagine he was himself suffering the rough usage he witnessed. + +"Arrah! ye don't appear to be chairful," said Briant, laughing, as he +looked in the negro's face. "This is a quare counthrie, an' no +mistake;--it seems to be always blowin' a gale o' surprises. Wot's +wrong wid ye, Bumble?" + +The negro groaned. + +"Sure that may be a civil answer, but it's not o' much use. Hallo! what +air they doin' wid the poor cratur now?" + +As he spoke the crowd seized the black giant by the arms and neck and +hair, and dragged him away towards the village, leaving our friends in +solitude. + +"A very purty little scene," remarked Phil Briant when they were out of +sight; "very purty indade, av we only knowed wot it's all about." + +If the surprise of the two sailors was great at what they had just +witnessed, it was increased tenfold by the subsequent behaviour of their +negro companion. + +That eccentric individual suddenly checked his groans, gave vent to a +long, deep sigh, and assuming a resigned expression of countenance, rose +up and said--"Ho! It all ober now, massa." + +"I do believe," remarked Rokens, looking gravely at his shipmate, "that +the feller's had an attack of the mollygrumbles, an's got better all of +a suddint." + +"No, massa, dat not it. But me willin' to go wid you now to de sea." + +"Eh? willin' to go? Why, Nippi-Too-Cumble, wot a rum customer you are, +to be sure!" + +"Yis, massa," rejoined the negro. "Me not goin' to be king now, anyhow; +so it ob no use stoppin' here. Me go to sea." + +"Not goin' to be king? How d'ye know that?" + +"'Cause dat oder nigger, him be made king in a berry short time. You +mus' know, dat w'en dey make wan king in dis here place, de peeple +choose de man; but dey not let him know. He may guess if him please-- +like me--but p'raps him guess wrong--like me! Ho! ho! Den arter dey +fix on de man, dey run at him and kick him, as you hab seen dem do, and +spit on him, and trow mud ober him, tellin' him all de time, `You no +king yet, you black rascal; you soon be king, and den you may put your +foots on our necks and do w'at you like, but not yit; take dat, you +tief!' An' so dey 'buse him for a littel time. Den dey take him +straight away to de palace and crown him, an', oh! arter dat dey become +very purlite to him. Him know dat well 'nuff, and so him not be angry +just now. Ah! me did 'xpec, to hab bin kick and spitted on dis berry +day!" + +Poor Neepeelootambo uttered the last words in such a deeply touching +tone, and seemed to be so much cast down at the thought that his chance +of being "kicked and spitted upon" had passed away for ever, that Phil +Briant burst into a hearty fit of laughter, and Tim Rokens exhibited +symptoms of internal risibility, though his outward physiognomy remained +unchanged. + +"Och! Bumble, you'll be the death o' me," cried Briant. "An' are they +a-crownin' of him now?" + +"Yis, massa. Dat what dey go for to do jist now." + +"Troth, then, I'll go an' inspict the coronation. Come along, Bumble, +me darlint, and show us the way." + +In a few minutes Neepeelootambo conducted his new friends into a large +rudely-constructed hut, which was open on three sides and thatched with +palm-leaves. This was the palace before referred to by him. Here they +found a large concourse of negroes, whose main object at that time +seemed to be the creation of noise; for besides yelling and hooting, +they beat a variety of native drums, some of which consisted of bits of +board, and others of old tin and copper kettles. Forcing their way +through the noisy throng they reached the inside of the hut, into which +they found that Ailie Dunning and Glynn Proctor had pushed their way +before them. Giving them a nod of recognition, they sat down on a mat +by their side to watch the proceedings, which by this time were nearly +concluded. + +The new king--who was about to fill the throne rendered vacant by the +recent death of the old king of that region--was seated on an elevated +stool looking very dignified, despite the rough ordeal through which he +had just passed. When the noise above referred to had calmed down, an +old grey-headed negro rose and made a speech in the language of the +country, after which he advanced and crowned the new king, who had +already been invested in a long scarlet coat covered with tarnished gold +lace, and cut in the form peculiar to the last century. The crown +consisted of an ordinary black silk hat, considerably the worse for +wear. It looked familiar and commonplace enough in the eyes of their +white visitors; but, being the only specimen of the article in the +district, it was regarded by the negroes with peculiar admiration, and +deemed worthy to decorate the brows of royalty. + +Having had this novel crown placed on the top of his woolly pate, which +was much too large for it, the new king hit it an emphatic blow on the +top, partly with a view to force it on, and partly, no doubt, with the +design of impressing his new subjects with the fact that he was now +their rightful sovereign, and that he meant thenceforth to exercise all +the authority, and avail himself of all the privileges that his high +position conferred on him. He then rose and made a pretty long speech, +which was frequently applauded, and which terminated amid a most +uproarious demonstration of loyalty on the part of the people. + +If you wish to gladden the heart of a black man, reader, get him into +the midst of an appalling noise. The negro's delight is to shout, and +laugh, and yell, and beat tin kettles with iron spoons. The greater the +noise, the more he enjoys himself. Great guns and musketry, gongs and +brass bands, kettledrums and smashing crockery, crashing +railway-engines, blending their utmost whistles with the shrieks of a +thousand pigs being killed, all going at once, full blast, and as near +to him as possible, is a species of Elysium to the sable son of Africa. +On their occasions of rejoicing, negroes procure and produce as much +noise as is possible, so that the white visitors were soon glad to seek +shelter, and find relief to their ears, on board ship. + +But even there the sounds of rejoicing reached them, and long after the +curtain of night had enshrouded land and sea, the hideous din of royal +festivities came swelling out with the soft warm breeze that fanned +Ailie's cheek as she stood on the quarterdeck of the _Red Eric_, +watching the wild antics of the naked savages as they danced round their +bright fires, and holding her father's hand tightly as she related the +day's adventures, and told of the monkeys, crocodiles, and other strange +creatures she had seen in the mangrove-swamps and on the mud-banks of +the slimy river. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +AN INLAND JOURNEY--SLEEPING IN THE WOODS--WILD BEASTS EVERYWHERE--SAD +FATE OF A GAZELLE. + +The damage sustained by the _Red Eric_ during the storm was found to be +more severe than was at first supposed. Part of her false keel had been +torn away by a sunken rock, over which the vessel had passed, and +scraped so lightly that no one on board was aware of the fact, yet with +sufficient force to cause the damage to which we have referred. A +slight leak was also discovered, and the injury to the top of the +foremast was neither so easily nor so quickly repaired as had been +anticipated. + +It thus happened that the vessel was detained on this part of the +African coast for nearly a couple of weeks, during which time Ailie had +frequent opportunities of going on shore, sometimes in charge of Glynn, +sometimes with Tim Rokens, and occasionally with her father. + +During these little excursions the child lived in a world of romance. +Not only were the animals, and plants, and objects of every kind with +which she came in contact, entirely new to her, except in so far as she +had made their acquaintance in pictures, but she invested everything in +the roseate hue peculiar to her own romantic mind. True, she saw many +things that caused her a good deal of pain, and she heard a few stories +about the terrible cruelty of the negroes to each other, which made her +shudder, but unpleasant thoughts did not dwell long on her mind; she +soon forgot the little annoyances or frights she experienced, and +revelled in the enjoyment of the beautiful sights and sweet perfumes +which more than counterbalanced the bad odours and ugly things that came +across her path. + +Ailie's mind was a very inquiring one, and often and long did she ponder +the things she saw, and wonder why God made some so very ugly and some +so very pretty, and to what use He intended them to be put. Of course, +in such speculative inquiries, she was frequently very much puzzled, as +also were the companions to whom she propounded the questions from time +to time, but she had been trained to _believe_ that everything that was +made by God was good, whether she understood it or not, and she noticed +particularly, and made an involuntary memorandum of the fact in her own +mind, that ugly things were very few in number, while beautiful objects +were absolutely innumerable. + +The trader, who rendered good assistance to Captain Dunning in the +repair of his ship, frequently overheard Ailie wishing "so much" that +she might be allowed to go far into the wild woods, and one day +suggested to the captain that, as the ship would have to remain a week +or more in port, he would be glad to take a party an excursion up the +river in his canoe, and show them a little of forest life, saying at the +same time that the little girl might go too, for they were not likely to +encounter any danger which might not be easily guarded against. + +At first the captain shook his head, remembering the stories that were +afloat regarding the wild beasts of those regions. But, on second +thoughts, he agreed to allow a well-armed party to accompany the trader; +the more so that he was urged thereto very strongly by Dr Hopley, who, +being a naturalist, was anxious to procure specimens of the creatures +and plants in the interior, and being a phrenologist, was desirous of +examining what Glynn termed the "bumpological developments of the negro +skull." + +On still further considering the matter, Captain Dunning determined to +leave the first mate in charge of the ship, head the exploring party +himself, and take Ailie along with him. + +To say that Ailie was delighted, would be to understate the fact very +much. She was wild with joy, and went about all the day, after her +father's decision was announced, making every species of insane +preparation for the canoe voyage, clasping her hands, and exclaiming, +"Oh! _what_ fun!" while her bright eyes sparkled to such an extent that +the sailors fairly laughed in her face when they looked at her. + +Preparations were soon made. The party consisted of the captain and his +little child, Glynn Proctor (of course), Dr Hopley, Tim Rokens, Phil +Briant, Jim Scroggles, the trader, and Neepeelootambo, which last had +been by that time regularly domesticated on board, and was now known by +the name of King Bumble, which name, being as good as his own, and more +pronounceable, we shall adopt from this time forward. + +The very morning after the proposal was made, the above party embarked +in the trader's canoe; and plying their paddles with the energy of men +bent on what is vulgarly termed "going the whole hog," they quickly +found themselves out of sight of their natural element, the ocean, and +surrounded by the wild, rich, luxuriant vegetation of equatorial Africa. + +"Now," remarked Tim Rokens, as they ceased paddling, and ran the canoe +under the shade of a broad palm-tree that overhung the river, in order +to take a short rest and a smoke after a steady paddle of some +miles--"Now this is wot I calls glorious, so it is! Ain't it? Pass the +'baccy this way." + +This double remark was made to King Bumble, who passed the tobacco-pouch +to his friend, after helping himself, and admitted that it was +"mugnifercent." + +"Here have I bin a-sittin' in this here canoe," continued Rokens, "for +more nor two hours, an' to my sartin knowledge I've seed with my two +eyes twelve sharks (for I counted 'em every one) at the mouth of the +river, and two crocodiles, and the snout of a hopplepittimus; is that +wot ye calls it?" + +Rokens addressed his question to the captain, but Phil Briant, who had +just succeeded in getting his pipe to draw beautifully, answered +instead. + +"Och! no," said he; "that's not the way to pronounce it at all, at all. +It's a huppi-puppi-puttimus." + +"I dun know," said Rokens, shaking his head gravely; "it appears to me +there's too many huppi puppies in that word." + +This debate caused Ailie infinite amusement, for she experienced +considerable difficulty herself in pronouncing that name, and had a very +truthful picture of the hippopotamus hanging at that moment in her room +at home. + +"Isn't Tim Rokens very funny, papa?" she remarked in a whisper, looking +up in her father's face. + +"Hush! my pet, and look yonder. There is something funnier, if I +mistake not." + +He pointed, as he spoke, to a ripple in the water on the opposite side +of the river, close under a bank which was clothed with rank, +broad-leaved, and sedgy vegetation. In a few seconds a large crocodile +put up its head, not farther off than twenty yards from the canoe, which +apparently it did not see, and opening its tremendous jaws, afforded the +travellers a splendid view of its teeth and throat. Briant afterwards +asserted that he could see down its throat, and could _almost_ tell what +it had had for dinner! + +"Plaze, sir, may I shoot him?" cried Briant, seizing his loaded musket, +and looking towards the captain for permission. + +"It's of no use while in that position," remarked the trader, who +regarded the hideous-looking monster with the calm unconcern of a man +accustomed to such sights. + +"You may try;" said the captain with a grin. Almost before the words +had left his lips, Phil took a rapid aim and fired. At the same +identical moment the crocodile shut his jaws with a snap, as if he had +an intuitive perception that something uneatable was coming. The bullet +consequently hit his forehead, off which it glanced as if it had struck +a plate of cast-iron. The reptile gave a wabble, expressive of lazy +surprise, and sank slowly back into the slimy water. + +The shot startled more than one huge creature, for immediately +afterwards they heard several flops in the water near them, but the tall +sedges prevented their seeing what animals they were. A whole troop of +monkeys, too, went shrieking away into the woods, showing that those +nimble creatures had been watching all their movements, although, until +that moment, they had taken good care to keep themselves out of sight. + +"Never fire at a crocodile's head," said the trader, as the party +resumed their paddles, and continued their ascent of the stream; "you +might as well fire at a stone wall. It's as hard as iron. The only +place that's sure to kill it just behind the foreleg. The niggers +always spear them there." + +"What do they spear them for?" asked Dr Hopley. + +"They eat 'em," replied the trader; "and the meat's not so bad after you +get used to it." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Glynn Proctor; "I should fancy the great difficulty is +to get used to it." + +"If you ever chance to go for a week without tasting fresh meat," +replied the trader quietly, "you'll not find it so difficult as you +think." + +That night the travellers encamped in the woods, and a wild charmingly +romantic scene their night bivouac was--so thought Ailie, and so, too, +would you have thought, reader, had you been there. King Bumble managed +to kindle three enormous fires, for the triple purpose of keeping the +party warm--for it was cold at night--of scaring away wild beasts, and +of cooking their supper. These fires he fed at intervals during the +whole night with huge logs, and the way in which he made the sparks fly +up in among the strange big leaves of the tropical trees and parasitical +plants overhead, was quite equal, if not superior, to a display of +regular fireworks. + +Then Bumble and Glynn built a little platform of logs, on which they +strewed leaves and grass, and over which they spread a curtain or canopy +of broad leaves and boughs. This was Ailie's couch. It stood in the +full blaze of the centre fire, and commanded a view of all that was +going on in every part of the little camp; and when Ailie lay down on it +after a good supper, and was covered up with a blanket, and further +covered over with a sort of gauze netting to protect her from the +mosquitoes, which were very numerous--when all this was done, we say, +and when, in addition to this, she lay and witnessed the jovial laughter +and enjoyment of His Majesty King Bumble, as he sat at the big fire +smoking his pipe, and the supreme happiness of Phil Briant, and the +placid joy of Tim Rokens, and the exuberant delight of Glynn, and the +semi-scientific enjoyment of Dr Hopley as he examined a collection of +rare plants; and the quiet comfort of the trader, and the awkward, +shambling, loose-jointed pleasure of long Jim Scroggles; and the beaming +felicity of her own dear father; who sat not far from her, and turned +occasionally in the midst of the conversation to give her a nod--she +felt in her heart that then and there she had fairly reached the very +happiest moment in all her life. + +Ailie gazed in dreamy delight until she suddenly and unaccountably saw +at least six fires, and fully half-a-dozen Bumbles, and eight or nine +Glynns, and no end of fathers, and thousands of trees, and millions of +sparks, all jumbled together in one vast complicated and magnificent +pyrotechnic display; and then she fell asleep. + +It is a curious fact, and one for which it is not easy to account, that +however happy you may be when you go to sleep out in the wild woods, you +invariably awake in the morning in possession of a very small amount of +happiness indeed. Probably it is because one in such circumstances is +usually called upon to turn out before he has had enough sleep; perhaps +it may be that the fires have burnt low or gone out altogether, and the +gloom of a forest before sunrise is not calculated to elevate the +spirits. Be this as it may, it is a fact that when Ailie was awakened +on the following morning about daybreak, and told to get up, she felt +sulky--positively and unmistakably sulky. + +We do not say that she looked sulky or acted sulkily--far from it; but +she felt sulky, and that was a very uncomfortable state of things. We +dwell a little on this point because we do not wish to mislead our young +readers into the belief that life in the wild woods is _all_ delightful +together. There are shadows as well as lights there--some of them, +alas! so deep that we would not like even to refer to them while writing +in a sportive vein. + +But it is also a fact, that when Ailie was fairly up and once more in +the canoe, and when the sun began to flood the landscape with his golden +light and turn the water into liquid fire, her temporary feelings of +discomfort passed away, and her sensation of intense enjoyment returned. + +The scenery through which they passed on the second day was somewhat +varied. They emerged early in the day upon the bosom of a large lake +which looked almost like the ocean. Here there were immense flocks of +water-fowl, and among them that strange, ungainly bird, the pelican. +Here, too, there were actually hundreds of crocodiles. The lake was +full of little mud islands, and on all of them these hideous and +gigantic reptiles were seen basking lazily in the sun. + +Several shots were fired at them, but although the balls hit, they did +not penetrate their thick hides, until at last one took effect in the +soft part close behind the foreleg. The shot was fired by the trader, +and it killed the animal instantly. It could not have been less than +twenty feet long, but before they could secure it the carcass sank in +deep water. + +"What a pity!" remarked Glynn, as the eddies circled round the spot +where it had gone down. + +"Ah, so it is!" replied the doctor; "but he would have been rather large +to preserve and carry home as a specimen." + +"I ax yer parding, sir," said Tim Rokens, addressing Dr Hopley; "but +I'm curious to know if crocodiles has got phrenoligy?" + +"No doubt of it," replied the doctor, laughing. "Crocodiles have +brains, and brains when exercised must be enlarged and developed, +especially in the organs that are most used, hence corresponding +development must take place in the skull." + +"I should think, doctor," remarked the captain, who was somewhat +sceptical, "that their bumps of combativeness must be very large." + +"Probably they are," continued the doctor; "something like my friend +Phil Briant here. I would venture to guess, now, that his organ of +combativeness is well-developed--let me see." + +The doctor, who sat close beside the Irishman, caused him to pull in his +paddle and submit his head for inspection. + +"Ah! then, don't operate on me, doctor dear! I've a mortial fear o' +operations iver since me owld grandmother's pig got its foreleg took off +at the hip-jint." + +"Hold your tongue, Paddy. Now the bump lies here--just under--eh! why, +you haven't got so much as--what!" + +"Plaize, I think it's lost in fat, sur," remarked Briant, in a plaintive +tone, as if he expected to be reprimanded for not having brought his +bump of combativeness along with him. + +"Well," resumed the doctor, passing his fingers through Briant's matted +locks, "I suppose you're not so combative as we had fancied--" + +"Thrue for you," interrupted Phil. + +"But, strange enough, I find your organ of veneration is very large, +_very_ large indeed; singularly so for a man of your character; but I +cannot feel it easily, you have such a quantity of hair." + +"Which is it, doctor dear?" inquired Phil. + +"This one I am pressing now." + +"Arrah! don't press so hard, plaze, it's hurtin' me ye are. Shure +that's the place where I run me head slap up agin the spanker-boom four +days ago. Av _that's_ me bump o' vineration, it wos three times as big +an' twice as hard yisterday--it wos, indade." + +Interruptions in this world of uncertainty are not uncommon, and in the +African wilds they are peculiarly frequent. The interruption which +occurred on the present occasion to Dr Hopley's reply was, we need +scarcely remark, exceedingly opportune. It came in the form of a +hippopotamus, which rose so close to the boat that Ailie got a severe +start, and Tim Rokens made a blow at its head with his paddle. It did +not seem to notice the boat, but after blowing a quantity of water from +its nostrils, and opening its horrible mouth as if it were yawning, it +slowly sank again into the flood. + +"Wot an 'orrible crittur!" exclaimed Jim Scroggles, in amazement at the +sight. + +"The howdacious willain!" remarked Rokens. + +"Is that another on ahead?" said Glynn, pointing to an object floating +on the water about a hundred yards up the river: for they had passed the +lake, and were now ascending another stream. "D'ye see it, Ailie? +Look!" + +The object sank as he spoke, and Ailie looked round just in time to see +the tail of a crocodile flop the water and follow its owner to the +depths below. + +"Oh! oh!" exclaimed Ailie, with one of those peculiar intonations that +told Glynn she saw something very beautiful, and that induced the +remainder of the crew to rest on their paddles, and turn their eyes in +the direction indicated. + +They did not require to ask what she saw, for the child's finger +directed their eyes to a spot on the bank of the river, where, under the +shadow of a spreading bush with gigantic leaves, stood a lovely little +gazelle. The graceful creature had trotted down to the stream to drink, +and did not observe the canoe, which had been on the point of rounding a +bank that jutted out into the river where its progress was checked. The +gazelle paused a moment, looked round to satisfy itself that no enemy +was near, and then put its lips to the water. + +Alas! for the timid little thing! There were enemies near it and round +it in all directions. There were leopards and serpents of the largest +size in the woods, and man upon the river--although on this occasion it +chanced that most of the men who gazed in admiration at its pretty form +were friends. But its worst enemy, a crocodile, was lurking close under +the mud-bank at its feet. + +Scarcely had its parched lips reached the stream when a black snout +darted from the water, and the next instant the gazelle was struggling +in the crocodile's jaws. A cry of horror burst from the men in the +boat, and every man seized a musket; but before an aim could be taken +the struggle was over; the monster had dived with its prey, and nothing +but a few streaks of red foam floated on the troubled water. + +Ailie did not move. She stood with her hands tightly clasped and her +eyes starting almost out of their sockets. At last her feelings found +vent. She threw her arms round her father's neck, and burying her face +in his bosom, burst into a passionate flood of tears. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +NATIVE DOINGS, AND A CRUEL MURDER--JIM SCROGGLES SEES WONDERS, AND HAS A +TERRIBLE ADVENTURE. + +It took two whole days and nights to restore Ailie to her wonted +cheerful state of mind, after she had witnessed the death of the +gazelle. But although she sang and laughed, and enjoyed herself as much +as ever, she experienced the presence of a new and strange feeling, that +ever after that day, tinged her thoughts and influenced her words and +actions. + +The child had for the first time in her life experienced one of those +rude shocks--one of those rough contacts with the stern realities of +life which tend to deepen and intensify our feelings. The mind does not +always grow by slow, imperceptible degrees, although it usually does so. +There are periods in the career of every one when the mind takes, as it +were, a sharp run and makes a sudden and stupendous jump out of one +region of thought into another in which there are things new as well as +old. + +The present was such an occasion to little Ailie Dunning. She had +indeed seen bloody work before, in the cutting-up of a whale. But +although she had been told it often enough, she did not _realise_ that +whales have feelings and affections like other creatures. Besides, she +had not witnessed the actual killing of the whale; and if she had, it +would probably have made little impression on her beyond that of +temporary excitement--not even that, perhaps, had her father been by her +side. But she _sympathised_ with the gazelle. It was small, and +beautiful, and lovable. Her heart had swelled the moment she saw it, +and she had felt a longing desire to run up to it and throw her arms +round its soft neck, so that, when she saw it suddenly struggling and +crushed in the tremendous jaws of the horrible crocodile, every tender +feeling in her breast was lacerated; every fibre of her heart trembled +with a conflicting gush of the tenderest pity and the fiercest rage. +From that day forward new thoughts began to occupy her mind, and old +ideas presented themselves in different aspects. + +We would not have the reader suppose, for a moment, that Ailie became an +utterly changed creature. To an unobservant eye--such as that of Jim +Scroggles, for instance--she was the same in all respects a few days +after as she had been a few hours before the event. But new elements +had been implanted in her breast, or rather, seeds which had hitherto +lain dormant were now caused to burst forth into plants by the All-wise +Author of her being. She now _felt_ for the first time--she could not +tell why--that enjoyment was _not_ the chief good in life. + +Of course she did not argue or think out all this clearly and +methodically to herself. Her mind, on most things, material as well as +immaterial, was very much what may be termed a jumble; but undoubtedly +the above processes of reasoning and feeling, or something like them, +were the result to Ailie of the violent death of that little gazelle. + +The very next day after this sad event the travellers came to a native +village, at which they stayed a night, in order to rest and procure +fresh provisions. The trader was well-known at this village, but the +natives, all of whom were black, of course, and nearly naked, had never +seen a little white girl before, so that their interest in and wonder at +Ailie were quite amusing to witness. They crowded round her, laughing +and exclaiming and gesticulating in a most remarkable manner, and taking +special notice of her light-brown glossy hair, which seemed to fill them +with unbounded astonishment and admiration; as well it might, for they +had never before seen any other hair except the coarse curly wool on +their own pates, and the long lank hair of the trader, which happened to +be coarse and black. + +The child was at first annoyed by the attentions paid her, but at last +she became interested in the sooty little naked children that thronged +round her, and allowed them to handle her as much as they pleased, until +her father led her to the residence of the chief or king of the tribe. +Here she was well treated, and she began quite to like the people who +were so kind to her and her friends. But she chanced to overhear a +conversation between the doctor and Tim Rokens, which caused her +afterwards to shrink from the negroes with horror. + +She was sitting on a bank picking wild-flowers some hours after the +arrival of her party, and teaching several black children how to make +necklaces of them, when the doctor and Rokens happened to sit down +together at the other side of a bush which concealed her from their +view. Tim was evidently excited, for the tones of his voice were loud +and emphatic. + +"Yes," he said, in reply to some questions put to him by the doctor; +"yes, I seed 'em do it, not ten minutes agone, with my own two eyes. +Oh! but I would like to have 'em up in a row--every black villain in the +place--an' a cutlass in my hand, an'--an' wouldn't I whip off their +heads? No, I wouldn't; oh, no, by no means wotiver." + +There was something unusually fierce in Rokens' voice that alarmed +Ailie. + +"I was jist takin' a turn," continued the sailor, "down by the creek +yonder, when I heerd a great yellin' goin' on, and saw the trader in the +middle of a crowd o' black fellows, a-shakin' his fists; so I made sail, +of course, to lend a hand if he'd got into trouble. He was scoldin' +away in the native lingo, as if he'd bin a born nigger. + +"`Wot's all to do?' says I. + +"`They're goin' to kill a little boy,' says he, quite fierce like, +`'cause they took it into their heads he's bewitched.' + +"An' sayin' that, he sot to agin in the other lingo, but the king came +up an' told him that the boy had to be killed 'cause he had a devil in +him, and had gone and betwitched a number o' other people; an' before he +had done speakin', up comes two fellers, draggin' the poor little boy +between them. The king axed him if he wos betwitched, and the little +chap--from sheer fright, I do believe--said he wos. Of coorse I +couldn't understand 'em, but the trader explained it all arter. Well, +no sooner had he said that, than they all gave a yell, and rushed upon +the poor boy with their knives, and cut him to pieces. It's as sure as +I'm sittin' here," cried Rokens, savagely, as his wrath rose again at +the bare recital of the terrible deed he had witnessed. "I would ha' +knocked out the king's brains there and then, but the trader caught my +hand, and said, in a great fright, that if I did, it would not only cost +me my life, but likely the whole party; so that cooled me, and I come +away; an' I'm goin' to ax the captin wot we shud do." + +"We can do nothing," said the doctor sadly. "Even suppose we were +strong enough to punish them, what good would it do? We can't change +their natures. They are superstitious, and are firmly persuaded they +did right in killing that poor boy." + +The doctor pondered for a few seconds, and then added, in a low voice, +as if he were weighing the meaning of what he said: "Clergymen would +tell us that nothing can deliver them from this bondage save a knowledge +of the true God and of His Son Jesus Christ; that the Bible might be the +means of curing them, if Bibles were only sent, and ministers to preach +the gospel." + +"Then why ain't Bibles sent to 'em at once?" asked Rokens, in a tone of +great indignation, supposing that the doctor was expressing his own +opinion on the subject. "Is there nobody to look arter these matters in +Christian lands?" + +"Oh, yes, there are many Bible Societies, and both Bibles and +missionaries have been sent to this country; but it's a large one, and +the societies tell us their funds are limited." + +"Then why don't they git more funds?" continued Rokens, in the same +indignant tone, as his mind still dwelt upon the miseries and wickedness +that he had seen, and that _might_ be prevented; "why don't they git +more funds, and send out heaps o' Bibles, an' no end o' missionaries?" + +"Tim Rokens," said the doctor, looking earnestly into his companion's +face, "if I were one of the missionaries, I might ask you how much money +_you_ ever gave to enable societies to send Bibles and missionaries to +foreign lands?" + +Tim Rokens was for once in his life completely taken aback. He was by +nature a stolid man, and not easily put out. He was a shrewd man, too, +and did not often commit himself. When he did, he was wont to laugh at +himself, and so neutralise the laugh raised against him. But here was a +question that was too serious for laughter, and yet one which he could +not answer without being self-condemned. He looked gravely in the +doctor's face for two minutes without speaking; then he heaved a deep +sigh, and said slowly, and with a pause between each word-- + +"Doctor Hopley--I--never--gave--a--rap--in--all--my--life." + +"So then, my man," said the doctor, smiling, "you're scarcely entitled +to be indignant with others." + +"Wot you remark, doctor, is true; I--am--not." + +Having thus fully and emphatically condemned himself, and along with +himself all mankind who are in a similar category, Tim Rokens relapsed +into silence, deliberately drew forth his pipe, filled it, lit it, and +began to smoke. + +None of the party of travellers slept well that night, except perhaps +the trader, who was accustomed to the ways of the negroes, and King +Bumble, who had been born and bred in the midst of cruelties. Most of +them dreamed of savage orgies, and massacres of innocent children, so +that when daybreak summoned them to resume their journey, they arose and +embarked with alacrity, glad to get away from the spot. + +During that day and the next they saw a great number of crocodiles and +hippopotami, besides strange birds and plants innumerable. The doctor +filled his botanical-box to bursting. Ailie filled her flower-basket to +overflowing. Glynn hit a crocodile on the back with a bullet, and +received a lazy stare from the ugly creature in return, as it waddled +slowly down the bank on which it had been lying, and plumped into the +river. The captain assisted Ailie to pluck flowers when they landed, +which they did from time to time, and helped to arrange and pack them +when they returned to the canoe. Tim Rokens did nothing particularly +worthy of record; but he gave utterance to an immense number of +sententious and wise remarks, which were listened to by Bumble with deep +respect, for that sable gentleman had taken a great fancy for the bold +harpooner, and treasured up all his sayings in his heart. + +Phil Briant distinguished himself by shooting an immense serpent, which +the doctor, who cut off and retained its head, pronounced to be an +anaconda. It was full twenty feet long; and part of the body was cut +up, roasted, and eaten by Bumble and the trader, though the others +turned from it with loathing. + +"It be more cleaner dan one pig, anyhow," remarked Bumble, on observing +the disgust of his white friends; "an' you no objic' to eat dat." + +"Clainer than a pig, ye spalpeen!" cried Phil Briant; "that only shows +yer benighted haithen ignerance. Sure I lived in the same cabin wid a +pig for many a year--not not to mintion a large family o' cocks and +hens--an' a clainer baste than that pig didn't stop in that cabin." + +"That doesn't say much for your own cleanliness, or that of your +family," remarked Glynn. + +"Och! ye've bin to school, no doubt, haven't ye?" retorted Phil. + +"I have," replied Glynn. + +"Shure I thought so. It's there ye must have larned to be so oncommon +cliver. Don't you iver be persuaded for to go to school, Bumble, if ye +iver git the chance. It's a mighty lot o' taichin' they'd give ye, but +niver a taste o' edication. Tin to wan, they'd cram ye till ye turned +white i' the face, an' that wouldn't suit yer complexion, ye know, King +Bumble, be no manes." + +As for the trader, he acted interpreter when the party fell in with +negroes, and explained everything that puzzled them, and told them +anecdotes without end about the natives and the wild creatures, and the +traffic of the regions through which they passed. In short, he made +himself generally useful and agreeable. + +But the man who distinguished himself most on that trip was Jim +Scroggles. That lanky individual one day took it into his wise head to +go off on a short ramble into the woods alone. He had been warned by +the trader, along with the rest of the party, not to venture on such a +dangerous thing; but being an absent man the warning had not reached his +intellect although it had fallen on his ear. The party were on shore +cooking dinner when he went off, without arms of any kind, and without +telling whither he was bound. Indeed, he had no defined intentions in +his own mind. He merely felt inclined for a ramble, and so went away, +intending to be back in half-an-hour or less. + +But Jim Scroggles had long legs and loved locomotion. Moreover, the +woods were exceedingly beautiful and fragrant, and comparatively cool: +for it happened to be the coolest season of the year in that sultry +region, else the party of Europeans could not have ventured to travel +there at all. + +Wandering along beneath the shade of palm-trees and large-leaved shrubs +and other tropical productions, with his hands in his breeches pockets, +and whistling a variety of popular airs, which must have not a little +astonished the monkeys and birds and other creatures--such of them, at +least, as had any taste for or knowledge of music--Jim Scroggles +penetrated much farther into the wilds than he had any intention of +doing. There is no saying how far, in his absence of mind, he might +have wandered, had he not been caught and very uncomfortably entangled +in a mesh-work of wild vines and thorny plants that barred his further +progress. + +Jim had encountered several such before in his walk, but had forced his +way through without more serious damage than a rent or two in his shirt +and pantaloons, and several severe scratches to his hands and face; but +Scroggles had lived a hard life from infancy, and did not mind +scratches. Now, however, he could not advance a step, and it was only +by much patient labour and by the free use of his clasp-knife, that he +succeeded at length in releasing himself. He left a large portion of +one of the legs of his trousers and several bits of skin on the bushes, +as a memorial of his visit to that spot. + +Jim's mind was awoken to the perception of three facts--namely, that he +had made himself late for dinner; that he would be the means of +detaining his party; and that he had lost himself. + +Here was a pretty business! Being a man of slow thought and much +deliberation, he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree, and looking up, +as men usually do when soliloquising, exclaimed-- + +"My eye, here's a go! Wot is to be done?" + +A very small monkey, with an uncommonly wrinkled and melancholy cast of +visage, which chanced to be seated on a branch hard by, peering down at +the lost mariner, replied-- + +"O! o-o-o, O! o-o!" as much as to say, "Ah, my boy, that's just the +question." + +Jim Scroggles shook his head, partly as a rebuke to the impertinent +little monkey and partly as an indication of the hopelessness of his +being able to return a satisfactory answer to his own question. + +At last he started up, exclaiming, "Wotever comes on it, there's no use +o' sitting here," and walked straight forward at a brisk pace. Then he +suddenly stopped, shook his head again, and said, "If I goes on like +this, an' it shud turn out to be the wrong course arter all--wot'll come +on't?" + +Being as unable to answer this question as the former, he thrust both +hands into his pockets, looked at the ground and began to whistle. When +he looked up again he ceased whistling very abruptly, and turned deadly +pale--perhaps we should say yellow. And no wonder, for there, straight +before him, not more than twenty yards off, stood a creature which, to +his ignorant eyes, appeared to be a fiend incarnate, but which was in +reality a large-sized and very ancient sheego monkey. + +It stood in an upright position like a man, and was above four feet +high. It had a bald head, grey whiskers, and an intensely black +wrinkled face, and, at the moment Jim Scroggles' eyes encountered it, +that face was working itself into such a variety of remarkable and +hideous contortions that no description, however graphic, could convey a +correct notion of it to the reader's mind. Seen behind the bars of an +iron cage it might, perhaps, have been laughable; but witnessed as it +was, in the depths of a lonely forest, it was appalling. + +Jim Scroggles' knees began to shake. He was fascinated with horror. +The huge ape was equally fascinated with terror. It worked its wrinkled +visage more violently than ever. Jim trembled all over. In another +second the sheego displayed not only all its teeth--and they were +tremendous--but all its gums, and they were fearful to behold, besides +being scarlet. Roused to the utmost pitch of fear, the sheego uttered a +shriek that rang through the forest like a death-yell. This was the +culminating point. Jim Scroggles turned and fled as fast as his long +and trembling legs could carry him. + +The sheego, at the same instant, was smitten with an identically similar +impulse. It turned, uttered another yell, and fled in the opposite +direction; and thus the two ran until they were both out of breath. +What became of the monkey we cannot tell; but Jim Scroggles ran at +headlong speed straight before him, crashing through brake and bush, in +the full belief that the sheego was in hot pursuit, until he came to a +mangrove swamp; here his speed was checked somewhat, for the trees grew +in a curious fashion that merits special notice. + +Instead of rising out of the ground, the mangroves rose out of a sea of +mud, and the roots stood up in a somewhat arched form, supporting their +stem, as it were, on the top of a bridge. Thus, had the ground beneath +been solid, a man might have walked _under_ the roots. In order to +cross the swamp, Jim Scroggles had to leap from root to root--a feat +which, although difficult, he would have attempted without hesitation. +But Jim was agitated at that particular moment. His step was uncertain +at a time when the utmost coolness was necessary. At one point the leap +from one root to the next was too great for him. He turned his eye +quickly to one side to seek a nearer stem; in doing so he encountered +the gaze of a serpent. It was not a large one, probably about ten feet +long, but he knew it to be one whose bite was deadly. In the surprise +and fear of the moment he took the long leap, came short of the root by +about six inches, and alighted up to the waist in the soft mud. + +Almost involuntarily he cast his eyes behind him, and saw neither sheego +nor serpent. He breathed more freely, and essayed to extricate himself +from his unpleasant position. Stretching out his hands to the root +above his head, he found that it was beyond his reach. The sudden fear +that this produced caused him to make a violent struggle, and in his +next effort he succeeded in catching a twig; it supported him, for a +moment, then broke, and he fell back again into the mud. Each +successive struggle only sank him deeper. As the thick adhesive +semi-liquid clung to his lower limbs and rose slowly on his chest, the +wretched man uttered a loud cry of despair. He felt that he was brought +suddenly face to face with death in its most awful form. The mud was +soon up to his arm-pits. As the hopelessness of his condition forced +itself upon him, he began to shout for help until the dark woods +resounded with his cries; but no help came, and the cold drops of sweat +stood upon his brow as he shrieked aloud in agony, and prayed for mercy. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +JIM SCROGGLES RESCUED, AND GLYNN AND AILIE LOST--A CAPTURE, UPSET, +CHASE, ESCAPE, AND HAPPY RETURN. + +The merciful manner in which God sends deliverance at the eleventh hour +has been so often experienced and recognised, that it has originated the +well-known proverb, "Man's extremity is God's opportunity;" and this +proverb is true not only in reference to man's soul, but often, also, in +regard to his temporal affairs. + +While the wretched sailor was uttering cries for help, which grew +feebler every moment as he sank deeper and deeper into what now he +believed should be his grave, his comrades were hastening forward to his +rescue. + +Alarmed at his prolonged absence, they had armed themselves, and set out +in search of him, headed by the trader and led by the negro, who tracked +his steps with that unerring certainty which seems peculiar to all +savages. The shrieks uttered by their poor comrade soon reached their +ears, and after some little difficulty, owing to the cries becoming +faint, and at last inaudible, they discovered the swamp where he lay, +and revived his hope and energy by their shouts. They found him nearly +up to the neck in mud, and the little of him that still remained above +ground was scarcely recognisable. + +It cost them nearly an hour, with the aid of poles, and ropes +extemporised out of their garments, to drag Jim from his perilous +position and place him on solid ground; and after they had accomplished +this, it took more than an hour longer to clean him and get him +recruited sufficiently to accompany them to the spot where they had left +the canoe. + +The poor man was deeply moved; and when he fully realised the fact that +he was saved, he wept like a child, and then thanked God fervently for +his deliverance. As the night was approaching, and the canoe, with +Ailie in it, had been left in charge only of Glynn Proctor, Jim's +recovery was expedited as much as possible, and as soon as he could walk +they turned to retrace their steps. + +Man knows not what a day or an hour will bring forth. For many years +one may be permitted to move on "the even tenor of his way," without +anything of momentous import occurring to mark the passage of his little +span of time as it sweeps him onward to eternity. At another period of +life, events, it may be of the most startling and abidingly impressive +nature, are crowded into a few months or weeks, or even days. So it was +now with our travellers on the African river. When they reached the +spot where they had dined, no one replied to their shouts. The canoe, +Glynn, and the child were gone. + +On making this terrible discovery the whole party were filled with +indescribable consternation, and ran wildly hither and thither, up and +down the banks of the river, shouting the names of Glynn Proctor and +Ailie, until the woods rang again. Captain Dunning was almost mad with +anxiety and horror. His imagination pictured his child in every +conceivable danger. He thought of her as drowned in the river and +devoured by crocodiles; as carried away by the natives into hopeless +captivity; or, perhaps, killed by wild beasts in the forest. When +several hours had elapsed, and still no sign of the missing ones could +be discovered, he fell down exhausted on the river's bank, and groaned +aloud in his despair. + +But Ailie was not lost. The Heavenly Father in whom she trusted still +watched over and cared for her, and Glynn Proctor's stout right arm was +still by her side to protect her. + +About half-an-hour after the party had gone off in search of their lost +companion, a large canoe, full of negroes, came sweeping down the river. +Glynn and Ailie hid themselves in the bushes, and lay perfectly still, +hoping they might be passed by. But they forgot that the blue smoke of +their fire curled up through the foliage and revealed their presence at +once. On observing the smoke, the savages gave a shout, and, running +their canoe close in to the bank, leaped ashore and began to scamper +through the wood like baboons. + +Only a few minutes passed before they discovered the two hiders, whom +they surrounded and gazed upon in the utmost possible amazement, +shouting the while with delight, as if they had discovered a couple of +new species of monkey. Glynn was by nature a reckless and hasty youth. +He felt the power of a young giant within him, and his first impulse was +to leap upon the newcomers, and knock them down right and left. +Fortunately, for Ailie's sake as well as his own, he had wisdom enough +to know that though he had possessed the power of ten giants, he could +not hope, singly, to overcome twenty negroes, all of whom were strong, +active, and lithe as panthers. He therefore assumed a good-humoured +free-and-easy air, and allowed himself and Ailie to be looked at and +handled without ceremony. + +The savages were evidently not ill-disposed towards the wanderers. They +laughed a great deal, and spoke to each other rapidly in what, to Glynn, +was of course an unknown tongue. One who appeared to be the chief of +the party passed his long black fingers through Ailie's glossy curls +with evident surprise and delight. He then advanced to Glynn, and said +something like-- + +"Holli--boobo--gaddle--bump--um--peepi--daddle--dumps." + +To which Glynn replied very naturally, "I don't understand you." + +Of course he did not. And he might have known well enough that the +negro could not understand _him_. But he deemed it wiser to make a +reply of some kind, however unintelligible, than to stand like a post +and say nothing. + +Again the negro spoke, and again Glynn made the same reply; whereupon +the black fellow turned round to his comrades and looked at them, and +they, in reply to the look, burst again into an immoderate fit of +laughter, and cut a variety of capers, the very simplest of which would +have made the fortune of any merry-andrew in the civilised world, had he +been able to execute it. This was all very well, no doubt, and +exceedingly amusing, not to say surprising; but it became quite a +different matter when, after satisfying their curiosity, these dark +gentlemen coolly collected the property of the white men, stowed it away +in the small canoe, and made signs to Glynn and Ailie to enter. + +Glynn showed a decided objection to obey, on which two stout fellows +seized him by the shoulders, and pointed sternly to the canoe, as much +as to say, "Hobbi-doddle-hoogum-toly-whack," which, being interpreted +(no doubt) meant, "If you don't go quietly, we'll force you." + +Again the young sailor's spirit leaped up. He clenched his fists, his +brow flushed crimson, and, in another instant, whatever might have been +the consequence, the two negroes would certainly have lain recumbent on +the sward, had it not suddenly occurred to Glynn that he might, by +appearing to submit, win the confidence of his captors, and, at the +first night-encampment, quietly make his escape with Ailie in his arms! + +Glynn was at that romantic age when young men have a tendency to think +themselves capable of doing almost anything, with or without ordinary +facilities, and in the face of any amount of adverse circumstance. He +therefore stepped willingly and even cheerfully into the canoe, in which +his and his comrades' baggage had been already stowed, and, seating +himself in the stern, took up the steering-paddle. He was ordered to +quit that post, however, in favour of a powerful negro, and made to sit +in the bow and paddle there. Ailie was placed with great care in the +centre of the canoe among a heap of soft leopard-skins; for the savages +evidently regarded her as something worth preserving--a rare and +beautiful specimen, perhaps, of the white monkey! + +This done, they leaped into their large canoe, and, attaching the +smaller one to it by means of a rope, paddled out from the bank, and +descended the stream. + +"Oh! Glynn," exclaimed Ailie, in a whisper--for she felt that things +were beginning to look serious--"what _are_ we to do?" + +"Indeed, my pet, I don't know," replied Glynn, looking round and +encountering the gaze of the negro in the stern, at whom he frowned +darkly, and received a savage grin by way of reply. + +"I would like _so_ much to say something to you," continued Ailie, "but +I'm afraid _he_ will know what I say." + +"Never fear, Ailie; he's as deaf as a post to our language. Out with +it." + +"Could you not," she said, in a half-whisper, "cut the rope, and then +paddle away back while _they_ are paddling down the river?" + +Glynn laughed in spite of himself at this proposal. + +"And what, my pretty one," he said, "what should we do with the fellow +in the stern? Besides, the rascals in front might take it into their +heads to paddle after us, you know, and what then?" + +"I'm sure I don't know," said Ailie, beginning to cry. + +"Now, don't cry, my darling," said Glynn, looking over his shoulder with +much concern. "I'll manage to get you out of this scrape somehow--now +see if I don't." + +The youth spoke so confidently, that the child felt somehow comforted, +so drying her eyes she lay back among the leopard-skins, where, giving +vent to an occasional sob, she speedily fell fast asleep. + +They continued to advance thus in silence for nearly an hour, crossed a +small lake, and again entered the river. After descending this some +time, the attention of the whole party was attracted to a group of +hippopotami, gambolling in the mud-banks and in the river a short +distance ahead. At any other time Glynn would have been interested in +the sight of these uncouth monsters, but he had seen so many within the +last few days that he was becoming comparatively indifferent to them, +and at that moment he was too much filled with anxiety to take any +notice of them. The creatures themselves, however, did not seem to be +so utterly indifferent to the strangers. They continued their gambols +until the canoes were quite near, and then they dived. Now, +hippopotami, as we have before hinted, are clumsy and stupid creatures, +so much so that they occasionally run against and upset boats and +canoes, quite unintentionally. Knowing this, the natives in the large +canoe kept a sharp look-out in order to steer clear of them. + +They had almost succeeded in passing the place, when a huge fellow, like +a sugar-punchean, rose close to the small canoe, and grazed it with his +tail. Apparently he considered this an attack made upon him by the +boat, for he wheeled round in a rage, and swam violently towards it. +The negro and Glynn sprang to their feet on the instant, and the former +raised his paddle to deal the creature a blow on the head. Before he +could do so, Glynn leaped lightly over Ailie, who had just awakened, +caught the savage by the ankles, and tossed him overboard. He fell with +a heavy splash just in front of the cavernous jaws of the hippopotamus! +In fact, he had narrowly escaped falling head-first into the creature's +open throat. + +The nearness of the animal at the time was probably the means of saving +the negro's life, for it did not observe where he had vanished to, as he +sank under its chin, and was pushed by its forelegs right under its +body. In its effort to lay hold of the negro, the hippopotamus made a +partial dive, and thus passed the small canoe. When it again rose to +the surface the large canoe met its eye. At this it rushed, drove its +hammer-like skull through the light material of which it was made, and +then seizing the broken ends in its strong jaws upset the canoe, and +began to rend it to pieces in its fury. + +Before this occurred, the crew had leaped into the water, and were now +swimming madly to the shore. At the same moment Glynn cut the line that +fastened the two canoes together, and seizing his paddle, urged his +craft up the river as fast as possible. But his single arm could not +drive it with much speed against the stream, and before he had advanced +a dozen yards, one of the natives overtook him and several more followed +close behind. Glynn allowed the first one to come near, and then gave +him a tremendous blow on the head with the edge of the paddle. + +The young sailor was not in a gentle frame of mind at that time, by any +means. The blow was given with a will, and would probably have +fractured the skull of a white man; but that of a negro is proverbially +thick. The fellow was only stunned, and fell back among his comrades, +who judiciously considering that such treatment was not agreeable and +ought not to be courted, put about, and made for the shore. + +Glynn now kept his canoe well over to the left side of the stream while +the savages ran along the right bank, yelling ferociously and +occasionally attempting to swim towards him, but without success. He +was somewhat relieved, and sent them a shout of defiance, which was +returned, of course with interest. Still he felt that his chance of +escape was poor. He was becoming exhausted by the constant and violent +exertion that was necessary in order to make head against the stream. +The savages knew this, and bided their time. + +As he continued to labour slowly up, Glynn came to the mouth of a small +stream which joined the river. He knew not where it might lead to, but +feeling that he could not hold out much longer, he turned into it, +without any very definite idea as to what he would attempt next. The +stream was sluggish. He advanced more easily, and after a few strokes +of the paddle doubled round a point and was hid from the eyes of the +negroes, who immediately set up a yell and plunged into the river, +intending to swim over; but fortunately it was much too rapid in the +middle, and they were compelled to return. We say fortunately, because, +had they succeeded in crossing, they would have found Glynn in the +bushes of the point behind which he had disappeared, in a very exhausted +state, though prepared to fight to the last with all the energy of +despair. + +As it was, he had the extreme satisfaction of seeing his enemies, after +regaining the right bank, set off at a quick run down the river. He now +remembered having seen a place about two miles further down that looked +like a ford, and he at once concluded his pursuers had set off to that +point, and would speedily return and easily recapture him in the narrow +little stream into which he had pushed. To cross the large river was +impossible--the canoe would have been swamped in the rapid. But what +was to hinder him from paddling close in along the side, and perhaps +reach the lake while the negroes were looking for him up the small +stream? + +He put this plan into execution at once; and Ailie took a paddle in her +small hands and did her utmost to help him. It wasn't much, poor thing; +but to hear the way in which Glynn encouraged her and spoke of her +efforts, one would have supposed she had been as useful as a full-grown +man! After a couple of hours' hard work, they emerged upon the lake, +and here Glynn felt that he was pretty safe, because, in the still +water, no man could swim nearly as fast as he could paddle. Besides, it +was now getting dark, so he pushed out towards a rocky islet on which +there were only a few small bushes, resolved to take a short rest there, +and then continue his flight under cover of the darkness. + +While Glynn carried ashore some biscuit, which was the only thing in the +boat they could eat without cooking, Ailie broke off some branches from +the low bushes that covered the little rocky islet, and spread them out +on a flat rock for a couch; this done, she stood on the top of a large +stone and gazed round upon the calm surface of the beautiful lake, in +the dark depths of which the stars twinkled as if there were another sky +down there. + +"Now, Ailie," said Glynn, "come along and have supper. It's not a very +tempting one, but we must content ourselves with hard fare and a hard +bed to-night, as I dare not light a fire lest the negroes should observe +it and catch us." + +"I'm sorry for that," replied the child; "for a fire is _so_ nice and +cheery; and it helps to keep off the wild beasts, too, doesn't it?" + +"Well, it does; but there are no wild beasts on such a small rock as +this, and the sides are luckily too steep for crocodiles to crawl up." + +"Shall we sleep here till morning?" asked Ailie, munching her hard +biscuit and drinking her tin pannikinful of cold water with great +relish, for she was very hungry. + +"Oh, no!" replied Glynn. "We must be up and away in an hour at +farthest. So, as I see you're about done with your luxurious supper, I +propose that you lie down to rest." + +Ailie was only too glad to accede to this proposal. She lay down on the +branches, and after Glynn had covered her with a blanket, he stretched +himself on a leopard-skin beside her, and both of them fell asleep in +five minutes. The mosquitoes were very savage that night, but the +sleepers were too much fatigued to mind their vicious attacks. + +Glynn slept two hours, and then he wakened with a start, as most persons +do when they have arranged, before going to sleep, to rise at a certain +hour. He rose softly, carried the provisions back to the canoe, and in +his sleepy condition almost stepped upon the head of a huge crocodile, +which, ignorant of their presence, had landed its head on the islet in +order to have a snooze. Then he roused Ailie, and led her, more than +half asleep, down to the beach, and lifted her into the canoe, after +which he pushed off, and paddled briskly over the still waters of the +star-lit lake. Ailie merely yawned during all these proceedings; said, +"Dear me! is it time to--yeaow! oh, I'm _so_ sleepy;" mumbled something +about papa wondering what had become of Jim Scroggles, and about her +being convinced that--"yeaow!--the ship must have lost itself among the +whales and monkeys;" and then, dropping her head on the leopard-skins +with a deep sigh of comfort, she returned to the land of Nod. + +Glynn Proctor worked so well that it was still early in the morning and +quite dark when he arrived at the encampment where they had been made +prisoners. His heart beat audibly as he approached the dark +landing-place, and observed no sign of his comrades. The moment the bow +of the canoe touched the shore, he sprang over the side, and, without +disturbing the little sleeper, drew it gently up the bank, and fastened +the bow-rope to a tree; then he hurried to the spot where they had slept +and found all the fires out except one, of which a few dull embers still +remained; but no comrade was visible. + +It is a felicitous arrangement of our organs of sense, that where one +organ fails to convey to our inward man information regarding the +outward world, another often steps in to supply its place, and perform +the needful duty. We have said that Glynn Proctor saw nothing of his +comrades,--although he gazed earnestly all round the camp--for the very +good reason that it was almost pitch-dark; but although his eyes were +useless, his ears were uncommonly acute, and through their +instrumentality he became cognisant of a sound. It might have been +distant thunder, but was too continuous and regular for that. It might +have been the distant rumbling of heavy wagons or artillery over a paved +road; but there were neither wagons nor roads in those African wilds. +It might have been the prolonged choking of an alligator--it might, in +fact, have been _anything_ in a region like that, where _everything_, +almost, was curious, and new, and strange, and wild, and unaccountable; +and the listener was beginning to entertain the most uncomfortable ideas +of what it probably was, when a gasp and a peculiar snort apprised him +that it was a human snore!--at least, if not a human snore, it was that +of some living creature which indulged to a very extravagant degree in +that curious and altogether objectionable practice. + +Stepping cautiously forward on tip-toe, Glynn searched among the leaves +all round the fire, following the direction of the sounds, but nothing +was to be found; and he experienced a slight feeling of supernatural +dread creeping over him, when a peculiarly loud metallic snore sounded +clear above his head. Looking up, he beheld by the dull red light of +the almost extinct fire, the form of Phil Briant, half-seated, +half-reclining, on the branch of a tree not ten feet from the ground, +and clasping another branch tightly with both arms. + +At that moment, Ailie, who had awakened, ran up, and caught Glynn by the +hand. + +"Hallo! Briant!" exclaimed Glynn. + +A very loud snore was the reply. + +"Briant! Phil Briant, I say; hallo! Phil!" shouted Glynn. + +"Arrah! howld yer noise will ye," muttered the still sleeping +man--"sno--o--o--o--re!" + +"A fall! a fall!--all hands ahoy! tumble up there, tumble up!" shouted +Glynn, in the nautical tones which he well knew would have their effect +upon his comrade. + +He was right. They had more than their usual effect on him. The +instant he heard them, Phil Briant shouted--"Ay, ay, sir!" and, throwing +his legs over the side of what he supposed to be his hammock, he came +down bodily on what he supposed to be the deck with a whack that caused +him to utter an involuntary but tremendous howl. + +"Oh! och! oh! murther! oh whirra!" he cried, as he lay half-stunned. +"Oh, it's kilt I am entirely--dead as mutton at last, an' no mistake. +Sure I might have knowd it--och! worse luck! Didn't yer poor owld +mother tell ye, Phil, that ye'd come to a bad end--she did--" + +"Are ye badly hurt?" said Glynn, stooping over his friend in real alarm. + +At the sound of his voice Briant ceased his wails, rose into a sitting +posture, shaded his eyes with his hand (a most unnecessary proceeding +under the circumstances), and stared at him. + +"It's me, Phil; all right, and Ailie. We've escaped, and got safe back +again." + +"It's jokin' ye are," said Briant, with the imbecile smile of a man who +only half believes what he actually sees. "I'm draimin', that's it. Go +away, avic, an' don't be botherin' me." + +"It's quite true, though, I assure you, my boy. I've managed to give +the niggers the slip; and here's Ailie, too, all safe, and ready to +convince you of the fact." + +Phil Briant looked at one and then at the other in unbounded amazement +for a few seconds, after which he gave a short laugh as if of pity for +his own weakness, and his face assumed a mild aspect as he said softly, +"It's all a draim, av coorse it is!" He even turned away his eyes for a +moment in order to give the vision time to dissipate. But on looking +round again, there it was, as palpable as ever. Faith in the fidelity +of his own eyesight returned in a moment, and Phil Briant, forgetting +his bodily pains, sprang to his feet with a roar of joy, seized Ailie in +his arms and kissed her, embraced Glynn Proctor with a squeeze like that +of a loving bear, and then began to dance an Irish jig, quite regardless +of the fact that the greater part of it was performed in the fire, the +embers of which he sent flying in all directions like a display of +fireworks. He cheered, too, now and then like a maniac--"Oh, happy day! +I've found ye, have I? after all me trouble, too! Hooray! an' wan +chair more for luck. Av me sowl only don't lape clane out o' me body, +it's meself'll be thankful! But, sure--I'm forgittin'--" + +Briant paused suddenly in the midst of his uproarious dance, and seized +a burning stick, which he attempted to blow into a flame with intense +vehemence of action. Having succeeded, he darted towards an open space +a few yards off, in the centre of which lay a large pile of dry sticks. +To these he applied the lighted brand, and the next instant a glare of +ruddy flame leaped upwards, and sent a shower of sparks high above the +forest trees into the sky. He then returned, panting a good deal, but +much composed, and said--"Now, darlints, come an' help me to gather the +bits o' stick; somebody's bin scatterin' them all over the place, they +have, bad luck to them! an' then ye'll sit down and talk a bit, an' tell +me all about it." + +"But what's the fire for?" asked Ailie. + +"Ay, ye may say that," added Glynn; "we don't need such a huge bonfire +as that to cook our supper with." + +"Och! be aisy, do. It'll do its work; small doubt o' that. The cap'n, +poor man, ye know, is a'most deranged, an' they're every one o' them off +at this good minute scourin' the woods lookin' for ye. O, then, it's +sore hearts we've had this day! An' wan was sent wan way, an' wan +another, an' the cap'n his-self he wint up the river, and, before he +goes, he says to me, says he, `Briant, you'll stop here and watch the +camp, for maybe they'll come wanderin' back to it, av they've bin and +lost theirselves; an' mind ye don't lave it or go to slape. An' if they +do come, or ye hear any news o' them, jist you light up a great fire, +an' I'll be on the look-out, an' we'll all on us come back as fast as we +can.' Now, that's the truth, an' the whole truth, an' nothin' but the +truth, as the judge said to the witness when he swore at him." + +This was a comforting piece of information to Glynn and Ailie, so, +without further delay, they assisted their overjoyed comrade to collect +the scattered embers of the fire and boil the kettle. In this work they +were all the more energetic that the pangs of hunger were beginning to +remind them of the frugal and scanty nature of their last meal. + +The bonfire did its work effectually. From all parts of the forest to +which they had wandered, the party came, dropping in one by one to +congratulate the lost and found pair. Last of all came Captain Dunning +and Tim Rokens, for the harpooner had vowed he would "stick to the cap'n +through thick and thin." Tim kept his word faithfully. Through thick +tangled brakes and thin mud-swamps did he follow his wretched commander +that night until he could scarcely stand for fatigue, or keep his eyes +open for sleep; and when the captain rushed into the camp at last, and +clasped his sobbing child to his heart, Tim Rokens rushed in along with +him, halted beside him, thrust his hands into his pockets, and looked +on, while his eyes blinked with irresistible drowsiness, and his +mud-bespattered visage beamed with excessive joy. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +PHILOSOPHICAL REMARKS ON "LIFE"--A MONKEY SHOT AND A MONKEY FOUND--JACKO +DESCRIBED. + +"Such is life!" There is deep meaning in that expression, though it is +generally applied in a bantering manner to life in all its phases, under +all its peculiar and diversified circumstances. Taking a particular +view of things in general, we may say of life that it is composed of +diverse and miscellaneous materials--the grave and the gay; the sad and +the comic; the extraordinary and the commonplace; the flat and the +piquant; the heavy and the light; the religious and the profane; the +bright and the dark; the shadow and the sunshine. All these, and a +great deal more, similar as well as dissimilar, enter into the +composition of what we familiarly term life. + +These elements, too, are not arranged according to order, at least, +order that is perceptible to our feeble human understandings. That +there does exist both order and harmony is undeniable; but we cannot see +it. The elements appear to be miscellaneously intermingled--to be +accidentally thrown together; yet, while looking at them in detail there +seems to us a good deal of unreasonable and chaotic jumble, in regarding +them as a whole, or as a series of wholes, it becomes apparent that +there is a certain harmony of arrangement that may be termed +kaleidoscopically beautiful; and when, in the course of events, we are +called to the contemplation of something grand or lovely, followed +rather abruptly by something curiously contemptible or absurd, we are +tempted to give utterance to the thoughts that are too complicated and +deep for rapid analysis, in the curt expression "Such is life." + +The physician invites his friends to a social _reunion_. He chats and +laughs at the passing jest, or takes part in the music--the glee, or the +comic song. A servant whispers in his ear. Ten minutes elapse, and he +is standing by the bed of death. He watches the flickering flame; he +endeavours to relieve the agonised frame; he wipes the cold sweat from +the pale brow, and moistens the dry lips, or pours words of true, +earnest, tender comfort into the ears of the bereaved. The contrast +here is very violent and sudden. We have chosen, perhaps, the most +striking instance of the kind that is afforded in the experience of men; +yet such, in a greater or less degree, is life, in the case of every one +born into this wonderful world of ours, and such, undoubtedly, it was +intended to be. "There is a time for all things." We were made capable +of laughing and crying; therefore, these being sinless indulgences in +the abstract, we _ought_ to laugh and cry. And one of our great aims in +life should be to get our hearts and affections so trained that we shall +laugh and cry at the right time. It may be well to remark, in passing, +that we should avoid, if possible, doing both at once. + +Now, such being life, we consider that we shall be doing no violence to +the harmonies of life if we suddenly, and without further preface, +transport the reader into the middle of next day, and a considerable +distance down the river up which we have for some time been travelling. + +Here he (or she) will find Ailie and her father, and the whole party in +fact, floating calmly and pleasantly down the stream in their canoe. + +"Now, this is wot I do enjoy," said Rokens, laying down his paddle and +wiping the perspiration from his brow; "it's the pleasantest sort o' +thing I've known since I went to sea." + +To judge from the profuse perspiration that flowed from his brow, and +from the excessive redness of his face, one would suppose that Rokens' +experience of "pleasant sort o' things" had not hitherto been either +extensive or deep. But the man meant what he said, and a well-known +proverb clears up the mystery--"What's one man's meat is another's +poison!" Hard work, violent physical exertion, and excessive heat were +Rokens' delight, and, whatever may be the opinion of flabby-muscled, +flat individuals, there can be no reasonable doubt that Rokens meant it, +when he added, emphatically, "It's fuss-rate; tip-top; A1 on Lloyd's, +that's a fact!" + +Phil Briant, on hearing this, laid down his paddle, also wiped his +forehead with the sleeve of his coat, and exclaimed--"Ditto, says I." + +Whereupon Glynn laughed, and Jim Scroggles grunted (this being _his_ +method of laughing), and the captain shook his head, and said-- + +"P'r'aps it is, my lads, a pleasant sort o' thing, but the sooner we're +out of it the better. I've no notion of a country where the natives +murder poor little boys in cold blood, and carry off your goods and +chattels at a moment's notice." + +The captain looked at Ailie as he spoke, thereby implying that she was +part of the "goods and chattels" referred to. + +"Shure it's a fact; an' without sayin' by yer lave, too," added Briant, +who had a happy facility of changing his opinion on the shortest notice +to accommodate himself to circumstances. + +"Oh, the monkey!" screamed Ailie. + +Now as Ailie screamed this just as Briant ceased to speak, and, +moreover, pointed, or appeared to point, straight into that individual's +face, it was natural to suppose that the child was becoming somewhat +personal--the more so that Briant's visage, when wrinkled up and tanned +by the glare of a tropical sun, was not unlike to that of a large +baboon. But every one knew that Ailie was a gentle, well-behaved +creature--except, perhaps, when she was seized with one of her gleeful +fits that bordered sometimes upon mischief--so that instead of supposing +that she had made a personal attack on the unoffending Irishman, the +boat's crew instantly directed their eyes close past Briant's face and +into the recesses of the wood beyond, where they saw a sight that filled +them with surprise. + +A large-leaved tree of the palm species overhung the banks of the river +and formed a support to a wild vine and several bright-flowering +parasitical plants that drooped in graceful luxuriance from its branches +and swept the stream, which at that place was dark, smooth, and deep. +On the top of this tree, in among the branches, sat a monkey--at least +so Ailie called it; but the term ape or baboon would have been more +appropriate, for the creature was a very large one, and, if the +expression of its countenance indicated in any degree the feelings of +its heart, also a very fierce one--an exceedingly ferocious one indeed. +This monkey's face was as black as coal, and its two deep-seated eyes +were, if possible, blacker than coal. Its head was bald, but the rest +of its body was plentifully covered with hair. + +Now this monkey was evidently caught--taken by surprise--for instead of +trying to escape as the canoe approached, it sat there chattering and +exhibiting its teeth to a degree that was quite fiendish, not to say-- +under the circumstances--unnecessary. As the canoe dropped slowly down +the river, it became obvious that this monkey had a baby, for a very +small and delicate creature was seen clinging round the big one's waist +with its little hands grasping tightly the long hair on the mother's +sides, its arms being much too short to encircle her body. Ailie's +heart leapt with an emotion of tender delight as she observed that the +baby monkey's face was white and sweet-looking; yes, we might even go +the length of saying that, for a monkey, it was actually pretty. But it +had a subdued, sorrowful look that was really touching to behold. It +seemed as though that infantine monkey had, in the course of its brief +career, been subjected to every species of affliction, to every +imaginable kind of heart-crushing sorrow, and had remained deeply meek +and humble under it all. Only for one brief instant did a different +expression cross its melancholy face. That was when it first caught +sight of the canoe. Then it exposed its very small teeth and gums after +the fashion of its mother; but repentance seemed to follow instantly, +for the sad look, mixed with a dash of timidity, resumed its place, and +it buried its face in its mother's bosom. + +At that moment there was a loud report. A bullet whistled through the +air and struck the old monkey in the breast. We are glad to say, for +the credit of our sailors, that a howl of indignation immediately +followed, and more than one fist was raised to smite the trader who had +fired the shot. But Captain Dunning called the men to order in a +peremptory voice, while every eye was turned towards the tree to observe +the effect of the shot. As for Ailie, she sat breathless with horror at +the cruelty of the act. + +The old monkey gave vent to a loud yell, clutched her breast with her +hands, sprang wildly into the air, and fell to the ground. Her leap was +so violent that the young one was shaken off and fell some distance from +its poor mother, which groaned once or twice and then died. The baby +seemed unhurt. Gathering itself nimbly up, it ran away from the men who +had now landed, but who stood still, by the captain's orders, to watch +its motions. Looking round, it observed its mother's form lying on the +ground, and at once ran towards it and buried its little face in her +breast, at which sight Ailie began to cry quietly. In a few seconds the +little monkey got up and gently pawed the old one; then, on receiving no +sign of recognition, it uttered a faint wail, something like +"Wee-wee-wee-wee-oo!" and again hid its face in the breast of its dead +parent. + +"Ah! the poor cratur," said Briant, in a tone of voice that betrayed his +emotion. "O, why did ye kill her?" + +"Me ketch 'im?" said Bumble, looking inquiringly at the captain. + +"Oh, do!" answered Ailie, with a sob. + +The negro deemed this permission sufficient, for he instantly sprang +forward, and throwing a piece of net over the little monkey, secured it. + +Now the way in which that baby monkey struggled and kicked and shrieked, +when it found itself a prisoner, was perfectly wonderful to see! It +seemed as if the strength of fifty little monkeys had been compressed +into its diminutive body, and King Bumble had to exert all his strength +in order to hold the creature while he carried it into the canoe. Once +safely there and in the middle of the stream, it was let loose. The +first thing it did on being set free was to give a shriek of triumph, +for monkeys, like men, when at last _allowed_ to do that which they have +long struggled in vain to accomplish, usually take credit for the +achievement of their own success. + +Its next impulse was to look round at the faces of the men in search of +its mother; but the poor mother was now lying dead covered with a cloth +in the bottom of the canoe, so the little monkey turned from one to +another with disappointment in its glance and then uttered a low wail of +sorrow. Glynn Proctor affirmed positively that it looked twice at Phil +Briant and even made a motion towards him; but we rather suspect that +Glynn was jesting. Certain it is, however, that it looked long and +earnestly at Ailie, and there is little doubt that, young though it was, +it was able to distinguish something in her tender gaze of affection and +pity that proved attractive. It did not, however, accept her invitation +to go to her, although given in the most persuasive tones of her silver +voice, and when any of the men tried to pat its head, it displayed such +a row of sharp little teeth and made such a fierce demonstration of its +intention to bite, that they felt constrained to leave it alone. At +last Ailie held her hand towards it and said-- + +"Won't it come to me, dear, sweet pet? _Do_ come; I'll be as kind to +you almost as your poor mother." The monkey looked at the child, but +said nothing. + +"Come, monkey, dear puggy, _do_ come," repeated Ailie, in a still more +insinuating voice. + +The monkey still declined to "come," but it looked very earnestly at the +child, and trembled a good deal, and said, "Oo-oo-wee; oo-oo-wee!" + +As Ailie did not quite understand this, she said, "Poor thing!" and +again held out her hand. + +"Try it with a small taste o' mate," suggested Briant. + +"Right," said the captain. "Hand me the biscuit-bag, Glynn. There, +now, Ailie, try it with that." + +Ailie took the piece of biscuit offered to her by her father, and held +it out to the monkey, who advanced with nervous caution, and very +slowly, scratching its side the while. Putting out its very small hand, +it touched the biscuit, then drew back the hand suddenly, and made a +variety of sounds, accompanied by several peculiar contortions of +visage, all of which seemed to say, "Don't hurt me, now; _don't_ deceive +me, pray." Again it put forth its hand, and took the biscuit, and ate +it in a very great hurry indeed; that is to say, it stuffed it into the +bags in its cheeks. + +Ailie gave it a bit more biscuit, which it received graciously, and +devoured voraciously; whereupon she put forth her hand, and sought to +pat the little creature on the head. The attempt was successful. With +many slight grins, as though to say, "Take care, now, else I'll bite," +the small monkey allowed Ailie to pat its head and stroke its back. +Then it permitted her to take hold of its hand, and draw it towards her. +In a few minutes it showed evident symptoms of a desire to be patted +again, and at length it drew timidly towards the child, and took hold of +her hand in both of its delicate pink paws. Ailie felt quite tenderly +towards the creature, and stroked its head again, whereupon it seemed +suddenly to cast aside all fear. It leaped upon her knee, put its +slender arms as far round her neck as possible, said "Oo-oo-wee!" +several times in a very sad tone of voice, and laid its head upon her +bosom. + +This was too much for poor Ailie; she thought of the dead mother of this +infant monkey, and wept as she stroked its hairy little head and +shoulders. From that time forward the monkey adopted Ailie as its +mother, and Ailie adopted the monkey as her child. + +Now the behaviour of that monkey during the remainder of that voyage was +wonderful. Oh, you know, it was altogether preposterous, to say the +very least of it. Affection, which displayed itself in a desire to +conciliate the favour of every one, was ingrained in its bones; while +deception, which was evinced in a constant effort to appear to be intent +upon one thing, when it was really bent upon another, was incorporated +with its marrow! + +At first it was at war with every one, excepting, of course, Ailie, its +adopted mother; but soon it became accustomed to the men, and in the +course of a few days would go to any one who called it. Phil Briant was +a particular favourite; so was Rokens, with whose black beard it played +in evident delight, running its slender fingers through it, +disentangling the knots and the matted portions which the owner of the +beard had never yet been able to disentangle in a satisfactory way for +himself; and otherwise acting the part of a barber and hairdresser to +that bold mariner, much to his amusement, and greatly to the delight and +admiration of the whole party. + +To say that that small monkey had a face, would be to assert what was +unquestionably true, but what, also, was very far short of the whole +truth. No one ever could make up his mind exactly as to how many faces +it had. If you looked at it at any particular time, and then shut your +eyes and opened them a moment after, that monkey, as far as expression +went, had another and a totally different face. Repeat the operation, +and it had a third face; continue the process, and it had a fourth face; +and so on, until you lost count altogether of its multitudinous faces. +Now it was grave and pensive; anon it was blazing with amazement; again +it bristled with indignation; then it glared with anger, and presently +it was all serene--blended love and wrinkles. Of all these varied +expressions, that of commingled surprise and indignation was the most +amusing, because these emotions had the effect of not only opening its +eyes and its mouth to the form of three excessively round O's, but also +raised a small tuft of hair just above its forehead into a bristling +position, and threw its brow into an innumerable series of wrinkles. +This complex expression was of frequent occurrence, for its feelings +were tender and sensitive, so that it lived in the firm belief that its +new friends (always excepting Ailie) constantly wished to insult it; and +was afflicted with a chronic state of surprise at the cruelty, and of +indignation at the injustice, of men who could wantonly injure the +feelings of so young, and especially so small a monkey. + +When the men called it, it used to walk up to them with calm, deliberate +condescension in its air; when Ailie held out her hand, it ran on its +two legs, and being eager in its affections, it held out its arms in +order to be caught up. As to food, that monkey was not particular. It +seemed to be omnivorous. Certain it is that it never refused anything, +but more than once it was observed quietly to throw away things that it +did not relish. Once, in an unguarded moment, it accepted and chewed a +small piece of tobacco; after which it made a variety of entirely new +faces, and became very sick indeed--so sick that its adopted mother +began to fear she was about to lose her child; but after vomiting a good +deal, and moaning piteously for several days, it gradually recovered, +and from that time entertained an unquenchable hatred for tobacco, and +for the man who had given it to him, who happened to be Jim Scroggles. + +Ailie, being of a romantic temperament, named her monkey Albertino, but +the sailors called him Jacko, and their name ultimately became the +well-known one of the little foundling, for Ailie was not obstinate; so, +seeing that the sailors did not or could not remember Albertino, she +soon gave in, and styled her pet Jacko to the end of the chapter, with +which piece of information we shall conclude _this_ chapter. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +RENCONTRE WITH SLAVE-TRADERS--ON BOARD AGAIN--A START, A MISFORTUNE, A +GHOST STORY, A MISTAKE, AND AN INVITATION TO DINNER. + +On the evening of the second day after the capture of Jacko, as the +canoe was descending the river and drawing near to the sea-coast, much +to the delight of everyone--for the heat of the interior had begun to +grow unbearable--a ship's boat was observed moored to the wharf near the +slave-station which they had passed on the way up. At first it was +supposed to be one of the boats of the _Red Eric_, but on a nearer +approach this proved to be an erroneous opinion. + +"Wot can it be a-doin' of here?" inquired Tim Rokens, in an abstracted +tone of voice, as if he put the question to himself, and therefore did +not expect an answer. + +"No doubt it's a slaver's boat," replied the trader; "they often come up +here for cargoes of niggers." + +"Och! the blackguards!" exclaimed Phil Briant, all his blood rising at +the mere mention of the horrible traffic; "couldn't we land, capting, +and give them a lickin'? I'll engage meself to put six at laste o' the +spalpeens on their beam-ends." + +"No, Phil, we shan't land for that purpose; but we'll land for some +gunpowder an' a barrel or two of plantains; so give way, lads." + +In another moment the bow of the canoe slid upon the mud-bank of the +river close to the slaver's boat, which was watched by a couple of the +most villainous-looking men that ever took part in that disgraceful +traffic. They were evidently Portuguese sailors, and the scowl of their +bronzed faces, when they saw the canoe approach the landing-place, +showed that they had no desire to enter into amicable converse with the +strangers. + +At this moment the attention of the travellers was drawn to a gang of +slaves who approached the wharf, chained together by the neck, and +guarded by the crew of the Portuguese boat. Ailie looked on with a +feeling of dread that induced her to cling to her father's hand, while +the men stood with folded arms, compressed lips, and knitted brows. + +On the voyage up they had landed at this station, and had seen the +slaves in their places of confinement. The poor creatures were +apparently happy at that time, and seemed totally indifferent to their +sad fate; but their aspect was very different now. They were being +hurried away, they knew not whither, by strangers whom they had been +taught to believe were monsters of cruelty besides being cannibals, and +who had purchased them for the purpose of killing them and eating their +bodies. The wild, terrified looks of the men, and the subdued looks and +trembling gait of the women showed that they expected no mercy at the +hands of their captors. + +They hung back a little as they drew near to the boat, whereupon one of +their conductors, who seemed to be in command of the party, uttered a +fierce exclamation in Portuguese, and struck several of the men and +women indiscriminately severe blows with his fists. In a few minutes +they were all placed in the boat, and the crew had partly embarked, when +Phil Briant, unable to restrain himself, muttered between his teeth to +the Portuguese commander as he passed-- + +"Ye imp o' darkness, av I only had ye in the ring for tshwo minits--jist +tshwo--ah thin, wouldn't I polish ye off." + +"Fat you say, sare?" cried the man, turning fiercely towards Briant, and +swearing at him in bad English. + +"Say, is it? Oh, then _there's_ a translation for ye, that's understood +in all lingos." + +Phil shook his clenched fist as close as possible to the nose of the +Portuguese commander without actually coming into contact with that +hooked and prominent organ. + +The man started back and drew his knife, at the same time calling to +several of his men, who advanced with their drawn knives. + +"Ho!" cried Briant, and a jovial smile overspread his rough countenance +as he sprang to a clear spot of ground and rolled up both sleeves of his +shirt to the shoulders, thereby displaying a pair of arms that might, at +a rapid glance, have been mistaken for a pair of legs--"that's yer game, +is it? won't I stave in yer planks! won't I shiver yer timbers, and +knock out yer daylights, bless yer purty faces! I didn't think ye had +it in ye; come on darlints--toothpicks and all--as many as ye like; the +more the better--wan at a time, or all at wance, it don't matter, not +the laste, be no manes!" + +While Briant gave utterance to these liberal invitations, he performed a +species of revolving dance, and flourished his enormous fists in so +ludicrous a manner, that despite the serious nature of the fray the two +parties were likely to be speedily engaged in, his comrades could not +restrain their laughter. + +"Go it, Pat!" cried one. + +"True blue!" shouted another. + +"Silence!" cried Captain Dunning, in a voice that enforced obedience. +"Get into the canoe, Briant." + +"Och! capting," exclaimed the wrathful Irishman, reproachfully, "sure ye +wouldn't spile the fun?" + +"Go to the canoe, sir." + +"Ah! capting dear, jist wan round!" + +"Go to the canoe, I say." + +"I'll do it all in four minits an' wan quarter, av ye'll only shut yer +eyes," pleaded Phil. + +"Obey orders, will you?" cried the captain, in a voice there was no +mistaking. + +Briant indignantly thrust his fists into his breeches pockets, and +rolled slowly down towards the canoe, as--to use one of his own +favourite expressions--sulky as a bear with a broken head. + +Meanwhile the captain stepped up to the Portuguese sailors and told them +to mind their own business, and let _honest_ men alone; adding, that if +they did not take his advice, he would first give them a licking and +then pitch them all into the river. + +This last remark caused Briant to prick up his ears and withdraw his +fists from their inglorious retirement, in the fond hope that there +might still be work for them to do; but on observing that the +Portuguese, acting on the principle that discretion is the better part +of valour, had taken the advice and were returning to their own boat, he +relapsed into the sulks, and seated himself doggedly in his place in the +canoe. + +During all this little scene, which was enacted much more rapidly than +it had been described, master Jacko, having escaped from the canoe, had +been seated near the edge of the wharf, looking on, apparently, with +deep interest. Just as the Portuguese turned away to embark in their +boat, Ailie's eye alighted on her pet; at the same moment the foot of +the Portuguese commander alighted on her pet's tail. Now the tails of +all animals seem to be peculiarly sensitive. Jacko's certainly was so, +for he instantly uttered a shriek of agony, which was as quickly +responded to by its adopted mother in a scream of alarm as she sprang +forward to the rescue. When one unintentionally treads on the tail of +any animal and thereby evokes a yell, he is apt to start and trip--in +nine cases out of ten he does trip. The Portuguese commander tripped +upon this occasion. In staggering out of the monkey's way he well-nigh +tumbled over Ailie, and in seeking to avoid her, he tumbled over the +edge of the wharf into the river. + +The difference between the appearance of this redoubtable slave-buying +hero before and after his involuntary immersion was so remarkable and +great that his most intimate friend would have failed to recognise him. +He went down into the slimy liquid an ill-favoured Portuguese, clad in +white duck; he came up a worse-favoured monstrosity, clothed in mud! +Even his own rascally comrades grinned at him for a moment, but their +grins changed into a scowl of anger when they heard the peals of +laughter that burst from the throats of their enemies. As for Briant, +he absolutely hugged himself with delight. + +"Och! ye've got it, ye have," he exclaimed, at intervals. "Happy day! +who'd ha' thought it? to see him tumbled in the mud after all by purty +little Ailie and Jacko. Come here to me Jacko, owld coon. Oh, ye swate +cratur!" + +Briant seized the monkey, and squeezed it to his breast, and kissed it-- +yes, he actually kissed its nose in the height of his glee, and +continued to utter incoherent exclamations, and to perpetrate +incongruous absurdities, until long after they had descended the river +and left the muddy Portuguese and his comrades far behind them. + +Towards evening the party were once more safe and sound on board the +_Red Eric_, where they found everything repaired, and the ship in a fit +state to proceed to sea immediately. + +His Majesty King Bumble was introduced to the steward, then to the cook, +and then to the caboose. Master Jacko was introduced to the ship's crew +and to his quarters, which consisted of a small box filled with straw, +and was lashed near the foot of the mizzen-mast. These introductions +having been made, the men who had accompanied their commander on his +late excursion into the interior, went forward and regaled their +messmates for hours with anecdotes of their travels in the wilds of +Africa. + +It is well-known, and generally acknowledged, that all sublunary things, +pleasant as well as unpleasant, must come to an end. In the course of +two days more the sojourn of the crew of the _Red Eric_ on the coast of +Africa came to a termination. Having taken in supplies of fresh +provisions, the anchor was weighed, and the ship stood out to sea with +the first of the ebb tide. It was near sunset when the sails were +hoisted and filled by a gentle land breeze, and the captain had just +promised Ailie that he would show her blue water again by breakfast-time +next morning, when a slight tremor passed through the vessel's hull, +causing the captain to shout, with a degree of vigour that startled +everyone on board, "All hands ahoy! lower away the boats, Mr Millons, +we're hard and fast aground on a mud-bank!" + +The boats were lowered away with all speed, and the sails dewed up +instantly, but the _Red Eric_ remained as immovable as the bank on which +she had run aground; there was, therefore, no recourse but to wait +patiently for the rising tide to float her off again. Fortunately the +bank was soft and the wind light, else it might have gone ill with the +good ship. + +There is scarcely any conceivable condition so favourable to quiet +confidential conversation and story-telling as the one in which the men +of the whale-ship now found themselves. The night was calm and dark, +but beautiful, for a host of stars sparkled in the sable sky, and +twinkled up from the depths of the dark ocean. The land breeze had +fallen, and there was scarcely any sound to break the surrounding +stillness except the lipping water as it kissed the black hull of the +ship. A dim, scarce perceptible light rendered every object on board +mysterious and unaccountably large. + +"Wot a night for a ghost story," observed Jim Scroggles, who stood with +a group of the men, who were seated on and around the windlass. + +"I don't b'lieve in ghosts," said Dick Barnes stoutly, in a tone of +voice that rendered the veracity of his assertion, to say the least of +it, doubtful. + +"Nother do I," remarked Nikel Sling, who had just concluded his culinary +operations for the day, and sought to employ his brief interval of +relaxation in social intercourse with his fellows. Being engaged in +ministering to the animal wants of his comrades all day, he felt himself +entitled to enjoy a little of the "feast of reason and the flow of soul" +at night: + +"No more duv I," added Phil Briant firmly, at the same time hitting his +thigh a slap with his open hand that caused all round him to start. + +"You don't, don't you?" said Tim Rokens, addressing the company +generally, and looking round gravely, while he pushed the glowing +tobacco into his pipe with the point of a marline-spike. + +To this there was a chorus of "Noes," but a close observer would have +noticed that nearly the whole conversation was carried on in low tones, +and that many a glance was cast behind, as if these bold sceptics more +than half expected all the ghosts that did happen to exist to seize them +then and there and carry them off as a punishment for their unbelief. + +Tim Rokens drew a few whiffs of his pipe, and looked round gravely +before he again spoke; then he put the following momentous question, +with the air of a man who knew he could overturn his adversary whatever +his reply should be-- + +"An' why don't ye b'lieve in 'em?" + +We cannot say positively that Tim Rokens put the question to Jim +Scroggles, but it is certain that Jim Scroggles accepted the question as +addressed to him, and answered in reply-- + +"'Cause why? I never seed a ghost, an' nobody never seed a ghost, an' I +don't b'lieve in what I can't see." + +Jim said this as if he thought the position incontestable. Tim regarded +him with a prolonged stare, but for some time said nothing. At last he +emitted several strong puffs of smoke, and said-- + +"Young man, did you ever _see_ your own mind?" + +"No, in course not." + +"Did anybody else ever see it?" + +"Cer'nly not." + +"Then of course you don't believe in it!" added Rokens, while a slight +smile curled his upper lip. + +The men chuckled a good deal at Jim's confusion, while he in vain +attempted to explain that the two ideas were not parallel by any means. +At this juncture, Phil Briant came to the rescue. + +"Ah now, git out," said he. "I agree with Jim intirely; an' Tim Rokens +isn't quite so cliver as he thinks. Now look here, lads, here's how it +stands, 'xactly. Jim says he never seed his own mind--very good; and he +says as how nobody else niver seed it nother; well, and wot then? Don't +you observe it's 'cause he han't got none at all to see? He han't got +even the ghost of one, so how could ye expect anybody to see it?" + +"Oh, hold yer noise, Paddy," exclaimed Dick Barnes, "an' let's have a +ghost story from Tim Rokens. He b'lieves in ghosts, anyhow, an' could +give us a yarn about 'em, I knows, if he likes. Come along now, Tim, +like a good fellow." + +"Ay, that's it," cried Briant; "give us a stiff 'un now. Don't be +afeard to skear us, old boy." + +"Oh, I can give ye a yarn about ghosts, cer'nly," said Tim Rokens, +looking into the bowl of his pipe in order to make sure that it was +sufficiently charged to last out the story. "I'll tell ye of a ghost I +once seed and knocked down." + +"Knocked down!" cried Nikel Sling in surprise; "why, I allers thought as +how ghosts was spirits, an' couldn't be knocked down or cotched +neither." + +"Not at all," replied Rokens; "ghosts is made of all sorts o' things-- +brass, and iron, and linen, and buntin', and timber; it wos a brass +ghost the feller that I'm goin' to tell ye about--" + +"I say, Sling," interrupted Briant, "av ghosts wos spirits, as you +thought they wos, would they be allowed into the State of Maine?" + +"Oh, Phil, shut up, do! Now then, Tim, fire away." + +"Well, then," began Rokens, with great deliberation, "it was on a +Vednesday night as it happened. I had bin out at supper with a friend +that night, and we'd had a glass or two o' grog; for ye see, lads, it +was some years ago, afore I tuk to temp'rance. I had a long way to go +over a great dark moor afore I could git to the place where I lodged, so +I clapped on all sail to git over the moor, seein' the moon would go +down soon; but it wouldn't do: the moon set when I wos in the very +middle of the moor, and as the road wasn't over good, I wos in a state +o' confumble lest I should lose it altogether. I looks round in all +directions, but I couldn't see nothin'--cause why? there wasn't nothin' +to be seen. It was 'orrid dark, I can tell ye. Jist one or two stars +a-shinin', like half-a-dozen farden dips in a great church; they only +made darkness wisible. I began to feel all over a cur'ous sort o' +peculiar unaccountableness, which it ain't easy to explain, but is most +oncommon disagreeable to feel. It wos very still, too--desperate still. +The beatin' o' my own heart sounded quite loud, and I heer'd the +tickin' o' my watch goin' like the click of a church clock. Oh, it was +awful!" + +At this point in the story the men crept closer together, and listened +with intense earnestness. + +"Suddently," continued Rokens--"for things in sich circumstances always +comes suddently--suddently I seed somethin' black jump up right ahead o' +me." + +Here Rokens paused. + +"Wot was it?" inquired Gurney, in a solemn whisper. + +"It was," resumed Rokens slowly, "the stump of a old tree." + +"Oh, I thought it had been the ghost," said Gurney, somewhat relieved, +for that fat little Jack-tar fully believed in apparitions, and always +listened to a ghost story in fear and trembling. + +"No it wasn't the ghost; it was the stump of a tree. Well, I set sail +again, an' presently I sees a great white thing risin' up ahead o' me." + +"Hah! _that_ was it," whispered Gurney. + +"No, that wasn't it," retorted Rokens; "that was a hinn, a white-painted +hinn, as stood by the roadside, and right glad wos I to see it, I can +tell ye, shipmates, for I wos gittin' tired as well as frightened. I +soon roused the landlord by kickin' at the door till it nearly comed off +its hinges; and arter gettin' another glass o' grog, I axed the landlord +to show me my bunk, as I wanted to turn in. + +"It was a queer old house that hinn wos. A great ramblin' place, with +no end o' staircases and passages. A dreadful gloomy sort o' place. No +one lived in it except the landlord, a dark-faced surly fellow as one +would like to kick out of his own door, and his wife, who wos little +better than his-self. They also had a hostler, but he slept with the +cattle in a hout-house. + +"`Ye won't be fear'd,' says the landlord, as he hove ahead through the +long passages holdin' the candle high above his head to show the way, +`to sleep in the far end o' the house. It's the old bit; the new bit's +undergoin' repairs. You'll find it comfortable enough, though it's +raither gusty, bein' old, ye see; but the weather ain't cold, so ye +won't mind it.' + +"`Oh! niver a bit,' says I, quite bold like; `I don't care a rap for +nothin'. There ain't no ghosts, is there?' + +"`Well, I'm not sure; many travellers wot has stayed here has said to me +they've seed 'em, particklerly in the old part o' the buildin', but they +seems to be quite harmless, and never hurts any one as lets 'em alone. +I never seed 'em myself, an' there's cer'nly not more nor half-a-dozen +on 'em--hallo!--' + +"At that moment, shipmates, a strong gust o' cold air came rushin' down +the passage we was in, and blow'd out the candle. `Ah! it's gone out,' +said the landlord; `just wait here a moment, and I'll light it;' and +with that he shuffled off, and left me in the blackest and most thickest +darkness I ever wos in in all my life. I didn't dare to move, for I +didn't know the channels, d'ye see, and might ha' run myself aground or +against the rocks in no time. The wind came moanin' down the passage; +as if all the six ghosts the landlord mentioned, and a dozen or two o' +their friends besides, was a-dyin' of stommick-complaint. I'm not easy +frightened, lads, but my knees did feel as if the bones in 'em had +turned to water, and my hair began to git up on end, for I felt it +risin'. Suddenly I saw somethin' comin' along the passage towards me--" + +"That's the ghost, _now_," interrupted Gurney, in a tremulous whisper. + +Rokens paused, and regarded his fat shipmate with a look of contemptuous +pity; then turning to the others, he said-- + +"It wos _the landlord_, a-comin' back with the candle. He begged pardon +for leavin' me in the dark so long, and led the way to a room at the far +end o' the passage. It was a big, old-fashioned room, with a +treemendius high ceiling, and no furniture, 'cept one chair, one small +table, and a low camp-bed in a corner. `Here's your room,' says the +landlord; `it's well-aired. I may as well mention that the latch of the +door ain't just the thing. It sometimes blows open with a bang, but +when you know it may happen, you can be on the look-out for it, you +know, and so you'll not be taken by surprise. Good-night.' With that +the fellow set the candle down on the small table at the bedside, and +left me to my cogitations. I heerd his footsteps echoin' as he went +clankin' along the passages; then they died away, an' I was alone. + +"Now, I tell ye wot it is, shipmates; I've bin in miny a fix, but I +niver wos in sich a fix as that. The room was empty and big; so big +that the candle could only light up about a quarter of it, leavin' the +rest in gloom. There was one or two old picturs on the walls; one on +'em a portrait of a old admiral, with a blue coat and brass buttons and +white veskit. It hung just opposite the fut o' my bunk, an' I could +hardly make it out, but I saw that the admiral kep his eye on me +wheriver I turned or moved about the room, an' twice or thrice, if not +more, I saw him wink with his weather eye. Yes, he winked as plain as I +do myself. Says I to myself, says I, `Tim Rokens, you're a British tar, +an' a whaler, an' a harpooner; so, Tim, my boy, don't you go for to be a +babby.' + +"With that I smoked a pipe, and took off my clo's, and tumbled in, and +feeling a little bolder by this time, I blew out the candle. In gittin' +into bed I knocked over the snuffers, w'ich fell with an awful clatter, +and my heart lep' into my mouth as I lep' under the blankets, and +kivered up my head. Howsever, I was uncommon tired, so before my head +was well on the pillow, I went off to sleep. + +"How long I slep' I can't go for to say, but w'en I wakened it wos +pitch-dark. I could only just make out the winder by the pale starlight +that shone through it, but the moment I set my two eyes on it, wot does +I see? I seed a sight that made the hair on my head stand on end, and +my flesh creep up like a muffin. It was a--" + +"A ghost!" whispered Gurney, while his eyes almost started out of his +head. + +Before Tim Rokens could reply, something fell with a heavy flop from the +yard over their heads right in among the men, and vanished with a +shriek. It was Jacko, who, in his nocturnal rambles in the rigging, had +been shaken off the yard on which he was perched, by a sudden lurch of +the vessel as the tide began to move her about. At any time such an +event would have been startling, but at such a time as this it was +horrifying. The men recoiled with sharp cries of terror, and then burst +into laughter as they observed what it was that had fallen amongst them. +But the laughter was subdued, and by no means hearty. + +"I'll be the death o' that brute yet," said Gurney, wiping the +perspiration from his forehead; "but go on, Rokens; what was it you +saw?" + +"It _was_ the ghost," replied Rokens, as the men gathered round him +again--"a long, thin ghost, standin' at my bedside. The light was so +dim that I couldn't well make it out, but I saw that it was white, or +pale-like, and that it had on a pointed cap, like the cap o' an old +witch. I thought I should ha' died outright, and I lay for full five +minits tremblin' like a leaf and starin' full in its face. At last I +started up in despair, not knowin' well wot to do; and the moment I did +so the ghost disappeared. + +"I thought this was very odd, but you may be sure I didn't find fault +with it; so after lookin' all round very careful to make quite sure that +it was gone, I lay down again on my back. Well, would ye b'lieve it, +shipmates, at that same moment up starts the ghost again as bold as +iver? And up starts I in a fright; but the moment I was up the ghost +was gone. `Now, Tim Rokens,' says I to myself, always keepin' my eye on +the spot where I'd last seed the ghost, `this _is_ queer; this is quite +remarkable. You're dreamin', my lad, an' the sooner ye put a stop to +that 'ere sort o' dreamin' the better.' + +"Havin' said this, I tried to feel reckless, and lay down again, and up +started the ghost again with its long thin white body, an' the pointed +cap on its head. I noticed, too, that it wore its cap a little on one +side quite jaunty like. So, wheniver I sot up that 'ere ghost +disappeared, and wheniver I lay down it bolted up again close beside me. +At last I lost my temper, and I shouts out quite loud, `Shiver my +timbers,' says I, `ghost or no ghost, I'll knock in your daylights if ye +carry on like that any longer;' and with that I up fist and let drive +straight out at the spot where its bread-basket should ha' bin. Down it +went, that ghost did, with a clatter that made the old room echo like an +empty church. I guv it a rap, I did, sich as it hadn't had since it was +born--if ghosts be born at all--an' my knuckles paid for it, too, for +they was skinned all up; then I lay down tremblin', and then, I dun know +how it was, I went to sleep. + +"Next mornin' I got up to look for the ghost, and, sure enough, I found +his _remains_! His pale body lay in a far corner o' the room doubled up +and smashed to bits, and his pointed cap lay in another corner almost +flat. That ghost," concluded Rokens, with slow emphasis--"that ghost +was the _candle_, it wos!" + +"The candle!" exclaimed several of the men in surprise. + +"Yes, the candle, and brass candlestick with the stinguisher a-top o't. +Ye see, lads, the candle stood close to the side o' my bed on the table, +an' when I woke up and I saw it there, it seemed to me like a big thing +in the middle o' the room, instead o' a little thing close to my nose; +an' when I sot up in my bed, of coorse I looked right over the top of it +and saw nothin'; an' when I lay down, of coorse it rose up in the very +same place. An', let me tell you, shipmates," added Tim, in conclusion, +with the air of a philosopher, "_all_ ghosts is o' the same sort. +They're most of 'em made o' wood or brass, or some sich stuff, as I've +good cause to remimber, for I had to pay the price o' that 'ere ghost +before I left that there hinn on the lonesome moor, and for the washin' +of the blankets, too, as wos all kivered with blood nixt mornin' from my +smashed knuckles. There's a morial contained in most things, lads, if +ye only try for to find it out; an' the morial of my story is this-- +don't ye go for to b'lieve that everything ye don't 'xactly understand +is a ghost until ye've got to know more about it." + +While Tim Rokens was thus recounting his ghostly experiences, and +moralising thereon, for the benefit of his comrades, the silent tide was +stealthily creeping up the sides of the _Red Eric_, and placing her +gradually on an even keel. At the same time a British man-of-war was +creeping down upon that innocent vessel with the murderous intention of +blowing her out of the water, if possible. + +In order to explain this latter fact, we must remind the reader of the +boat and crew of the Portuguese slaver which was encountered by the +party of excursionists on their trip down the river. The vessel to +which that boat belonged had been for several weeks previous creeping +about off the coast, watching her opportunity to ship a cargo of slaves, +and at the same time to avoid falling into the hands of a British +cruiser which was stationed on the African coast to prevent the +villainous traffic. The Portuguese ship, which was very similar in size +and shape to the _Red Eric_, had hitherto managed to elude the cruiser, +and had succeeded in taking a number of slaves on board ere she was +discovered. The cruiser gave chase to her on the same afternoon as that +on which the _Red Eric_ grounded on the mud-bank off the mouth of the +river. Darkness, however, favoured the slaver, and when the land breeze +failed, she was lost sight of in the intricacies of the navigation at +that part of the coast. + +Towards morning, while it was yet dark, the _Red Eric_ floated, and +Captain Dunning, who had paced the deck all night with a somewhat +impatient tread, called to the mate--"Now, Mr Millons, man the boats, +and let some of the hands stand-by to trim the sails to the first puff +of wind." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered the mate, as he sprang to obey. + +Now it is a curious fact, that at that identical moment the captain of +the cruiser addressed his first lieutenant in precisely the same words, +for he had caught a glimpse of the whaler's topmasts against the dark +sky, and mistook them, very naturally, for those of the slaver. In a +few seconds the man-of-war was in full pursuit. + +"I say, Dr Hopley," remarked Captain Dunning, as he gazed intently into +the gloom astern, "did you not hear voices? and, as I live, there's a +large ship bearing right down on us!" + +"It must be a slaver," replied the doctor; "probably the one that owned +the boat we saw up the river." + +"Ship on the larboard bow!" shouted the look-out on the forecastle. + +"Hallo! ships ahead and astern!" remarked the captain, in surprise. +"There seems to be a `school' of 'em in these waters." + +At this moment the oars of the boats belonging to the ship astern were +heard distinctly, and a light puff of wind at the same time bulged out +the sails of the _Red Eric_, which instantly forged ahead. + +"Ship ahoy!" shouted a voice from the boats astern in a tone of +authority; "heave-to, you rascal, or I'll sink you!" + +Captain Dunning turned to the doctor with a look of intense surprise. + +"Why, doctor, that's the usual hail of a pirate, or something like it. +What it can be doing here is past my comprehension. I would as soon +expect to find a whale in a wash-tub as a black flag in these waters! +Port, port a little" (turning to the steersman)--"steady--so. We must +run for it, anyhow, for we're in no fightin' trim. The best answer to +give to such a hail is silence." + +Contrary to expectation the boats did not again hail, but in a few +minutes the dark hull of the British cruiser became indistinctly visible +as it slipped swiftly through the water before the freshening breeze, +and neared the comparatively slow-going whaler rapidly. Soon it came +within easy range, and while Captain Dunning looked over the taffrail +with a troubled countenance, trying to make her out, the same voice came +hoarsely down on the night breeze issuing the same peremptory command. + +"Turn up the hands, Mr Millons, and serve out pistols and cutlasses. +Get the carronades on the forecastle and quarterdeck loaded, Mr +Markham, and look alive; we must show the enemy a bold front, whoever he +is." + +As the captain issued these orders, the darkness was for an instant +illuminated by a bright flash; the roar of a cannon reverberated over +the sea; a round-shot whistled through the rigging of the _Red Eric_, +and the next instant the foretopsail-yard came rattling down upon the +deck. + +Immediately after, the cruiser ranged up alongside, and the order to +heave-to was repeated with a threat that was calculated to cause the +hair of a man of peace to stand on end. The effect on Captain Dunning +was to induce him to give the order-- + +"Point the guns there, lads, and aim high; I don't like to draw first +blood--even of a pirate." + +"Ship ahoy! Who are you, and where from?" inquired Captain Dunning, +through the speaking-trumpet. + +"Her British Majesty's frigate _Firebrand_. If you don't heave-to, sir, +instantly, I'll give you a broadside. Who are you, and where bound?" + +"Whew!" whistled Captain Dunning, to vent his feelings of surprise ere +he replied, "The _Red Eric_, South Sea whaler, outward bound." + +Having given this piece of information, he ordered the topsails to be +backed, and the ship was hove-to. Meanwhile a boat was lowered from the +cruiser, and the captain thereof speedily leaped upon the whaler's +quarterdeck. + +The explanation that followed was not by any means calculated to allay +the irritation of the British captain. He had made quite sure that the +_Red Eric_ was the slaver of which he was in search, and the discovery +of his mistake induced him to make several rather severe remarks in +reference to the crew of the _Red Eric_ generally and her commander in +particular. + +"Why didn't you heave-to when I ordered you," he said, "and so save all +this trouble and worry?" + +"Because," replied Captain Dunning drily, "I'm not in the habit of +obeying orders until I know that he who gives 'em has a right to do so. +But 'tis a pity to waste time talking about such trifles when the craft +you are in search of is not very far away at this moment." + +"What mean you, sir?" inquired the captain of the cruiser quickly. + +"I mean that yonder vessel, scarcely visible now on the lee bow, is the +slaver, in all likelihood." + +The captain gave but one hasty glance in the direction pointed to by +Captain Dunning, and next moment he was over the side of the ship, and +the boat was flying swiftly towards his vessel. The rapid orders given +on board the cruiser soon after, showed that her commander was eagerly +in pursuit of the strange vessel ahead, and the flash and report of a +couple of guns proved that he was again giving orders in his somewhat +peremptory style. + +When daylight appeared, Captain Dunning was still on deck, and Glynn +Proctor stood by the wheel. The post of the latter, however, was a +sinecure, as the wind had again fallen. When the sun rose it revealed +the three vessels lying becalmed within a short distance of each other +and several miles off shore. + +"So, so," exclaimed the captain, taking the glass and examining the +other vessels. "I see it's all up with the slaver. Serves him right; +don't it, Glynn?" + +"It does," replied Glynn emphatically. "I hope they will all be hanged. +Isn't that the usual way of serving these fellows out?" + +"Well, not exactly, lad. They don't go quite that length--more's the +pity; if they did, there would be less slave-trading; but the rascals +will lose both ship and cargo." + +"I wonder," said Glynn, "how they can afford to carry on the trade when +they lose so many ships as I am told they do every year." + +"You wouldn't wonder, boy, if you knew the enormous prices got for +slaves. Why, the profits on one cargo, safely delivered, will more than +cover the loss of several vessels and cargoes. You may depend on't they +would not carry it on if it did not pay." + +"Humph!" ejaculated Glynn, giving the wheel a savage turn, as if to +express his thorough disapprobation of the slave-trade, and his extreme +disgust at not being able, by the strength of his own right arm, at once +to repress it. "And who's to pay for our foretopsail-yard?" he +inquired, abruptly, as if desirous of changing the subject. + +"Ourselves, I fear," replied the captain. "We must take it +philosophically, and comfort ourselves with the fact that it _is_ the +foretopsail-yard, and not the bowsprit or the mainmast, that was carried +away. It's not likely the captain of the cruiser will pay for it, at +any rate." + +Captain Dunning was wrong. That same morning he received a polite note +from the commander of the said cruiser, requesting the pleasure of his +company to dinner, in the event of the calm continuing, and assuring him +that the carpenter and the sail-maker of the man-of-war should be sent +on board his ship after breakfast to repair damages. Captain Dunning, +therefore, like an honest, straightforward man as he was, admitted that +he had been hasty in his judgment, and stated to Glynn Proctor, +emphatically, that the commander of the _Firebrand_ was "a trump." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +NEW SCENES--A FIGHT PREVENTED BY A WHALE--A STORM--BLOWN OFF THE +YARDARM--WRECK OF THE "RED ERIC". + +Five weeks passed away, and really, when one comes to consider the +matter, it is surprising what a variety of events may be compressed into +five weeks; what an amount of space may be passed over, what an immense +change of scene and circumstance may be experienced in that +comparatively short period of time. + +Men and women who remain quietly at home do not, perhaps, fully realise +this fact. Five weeks to them does not usually seem either very long or +very short. But let those quiet ones travel; let them rush away +headlong, by the aid of wind and steam, to the distant and wonderful +parts of this wonderful world of ours, and, ten to one, they will +afterwards tell you that the most wonderful discovery they had made +during their travels, is the fact that a miniature lifetime (apparently) +can be compressed into five weeks. + +Five weeks passed away, and in the course of that time the +foretopsail-yard of the _Red Eric_ had been repaired; the _Red Eric_ +herself had passed from equatorial into southern seas; Alice Dunning had +become very sea-sick, which caused her to look uncommonly green in the +face, and had got well again, which caused her to become fresh and rosy +as the early morning; Jacko had thoroughly established his reputation as +the most arrant and accomplished thief that ever went to sea: King +Bumble had been maligned and abused again and again, and over again, +despite his protestations of innocence, by grim-faced Tarquin, the +steward, for having done the deeds which were afterwards discovered to +have been committed by Jacko; fat little Gurney had sung innumerable +songs of his own composing, in which he was ably supported by Glynn +Proctor; Dr Hopley had examined, phrenologically, all the heads on +board, with the exception of that of Tarquin, who would not submit to +the operation on any account, and had shot, and skinned, and stuffed a +variety of curious sea-birds, and caught a number of remarkable +sea-fish, and had microscopically examined--to the immense interest of +Ailie, and consequently of the captain--a great many surprising +animalcules, called _Medusae_, which possessed the most watery and the +thinnest possible bodies, yet which had the power of emitting a +beautiful phosphoric light at night, so as to cause the whole ocean +sometimes to glow as if with liquid fire; Phil Briant had cracked more +jokes, good, bad, and indifferent, than would serve to fill a whole +volume of closely-printed pages, and had told more stories than would be +believed by most people; Tim Rokens and the other harpooners had, with +the assistance of the various boats' crews, slain and captured several +large whales, and Nikel Sling had prepared, and assisted to consume, as +many breakfasts, dinners, and suppers as there are days in the period of +time above referred to;--in short, those five weeks, which we thus +dismiss in five minutes, might, if enlarged upon, be expanded into +material to fill five volumes such as this, which would probably take +about five years to write--another reason for cutting this matter short. +All this shows how much may be compressed into little space, how much +may be done and seen in little time, and, therefore, how much value men +ought to attach to little things. + +Five weeks passed away, as we have already remarked, and at the end of +that time the _Red Eric_ found herself, one beautiful sunny afternoon, +becalmed on the breast of the wide ocean with a strange vessel, also a +whaler, a few miles distant from her, and a couple of sperm-whales +sporting playfully about midway between the two ships. Jim Scroggles on +that particular afternoon found himself in the crow's-nest at the +masthead, roaring "Thar she blows!" with a degree of energy so appalling +that one was almost tempted to believe that that long-legged individual +had made up his mind to compress his life into one grand but brief +minute, and totally exhaust his powers of soul and body in the +reiterated vociferation of that one faculty of the sperm-whale. +Allowance must be made for Jim, seeing that this was the first time he +had been fortunate enough to "raise the oil" since he became a whaler. + +The usual scene of bustle and excitement immediately ensued. The men +sprang to their appointed places in a moment; the tubs, harpoons, +etcetera, were got ready, and in a few minutes the three boats were +leaping over the smooth swell towards the fish. + +While this was taking place on board the _Red Eric_, a precisely similar +scene occurred on board the other whale-ship, and a race now ensued +between the boats of the two ships, for each knew well that the first +boat that harpooned either of the whales claimed it. + +"Give way, my lads," whispered Captain Dunning eagerly, as he watched +the other boats; "we shall be first--we shall be first; only bend your +backs." + +The men needed not to be urged; they were quite as anxious as their +commander to win the races and bent their backs, as he expressed it, +until the oars seemed about to break. Glynn sat on the after thwart, +and did good service on this occasion. + +It soon became evident that the affair would be decided by the boats of +the two captains, both of which took the lead of the others, but as they +were advancing in opposite directions it was difficult to tell which was +the fleeter of the two. When the excitement of the race was at its +height the whales went down, and the men lay on their oars to wait until +they should rise again. They lay in anxious suspense for about a +minute, when the crew of Captain Dunning's boat was startled by the +sudden apparition of a waterspout close to them, by which they were +completely drenched. It was immediately followed by the appearance of +the huge blunt head of one of the whales, which rose like an enormous +rock out of the sea close to the starboard-quarter. + +The sight was received with a loud shout, and Tim Rokens leaped up and +grasped a harpoon, but the whale sheered off. A spare harpoon lay on +the stern-sheets close to Glynn, who dropped his oar and seized it. +Almost without knowing what he was about, he hurled it with tremendous +force at the monster's neck, into which it penetrated deeply. The +harpoon fortunately happened to be attached to a large buoy, called by +whalers a drogue, which was jerked out of the boat like a cannon-shot as +the whale went down, carrying harpoon and drogue along with it. + +"Well done, lad," cried the captain, in great delight, "you've made a +noble beginning! Now, lads, pull gently ahead, she won't go far with +such an ornament as that dangling at her neck. A capital dart! couldn't +have done it half so well myself, even in my young days!" + +Glynn felt somewhat elated at this unexpected piece of success; to do +him justice, however, he took it modestly. In a few minutes the whale +rose, but it had changed its course while under water, and now appeared +close to the leading boat of the other ship. + +By the laws of the whale-fishery, no boat of one vessel has a right to +touch a whale that has been struck by the boat of another vessel, so +long as the harpoon holds fast and the rope remains unbroken, or so long +as the float to which the harpoon is connected remains attached. +Nevertheless, in defiance of this well-known law, the boat belonging to +the captain of the strange ship gave chase, and succeeded in making fast +to the whale. + +To describe the indignation of Captain Dunning and his men on witnessing +this act is impossible. The former roared rather than shouted, "Give +way, lads!" and the latter bent their backs as if they meant to pull the +boat bodily out of the water, and up into the atmosphere. Meanwhile all +the other boats were in hot pursuit of the second whale, which had led +them a considerable distance away from the first. + +"What do you mean by striking that fish?" shouted Captain Dunning, when, +after a hard pull, he came up with the boat, the crew of which had just +succeeded in thrusting a lance deep into a mortal part of the huge +animal, which soon after rolled over, and lay extended on the waves. + +"What right have you to ask?" replied the captain of the strange ship, +an ill-favoured, powerful man, whose countenance was sufficient to +condemn him in any society, save that of ruffians. "Don't you see your +drogue has broke loose?" + +"I see nothing of the sort. It's fast at this moment; so you'll be good +enough to cut loose and take yourself off as fast as you please." + +To this the other made no reply, but, turning to his men, said: "Make +fast there, lads; signal the other boats, and pull away for the ship; +look sharp, you lubbers." + +"Och! captain dear," muttered Phil Briant, baring both arms up to the +shoulders, "only give the word; _do_, now!" + +Captain Dunning, who was already boiling with rage, needed no +encouragement to make an immediate attack on the stranger, neither did +his men require an order; they plunged their oars into the water, ran +right into the other boat, sprang to their feet, seized lances, +harpoons, and knives, and in another moment would have been engaged in a +deadly struggle had not an unforeseen event occurred to prevent the +fray. This was the partial recovery of the whale, which, apparently +resolved to make one final struggle for life, turned over and over, +lashed the sea into foam, and churned it up with the blood which spouted +in thick streams from its numerous wounds. + +Both boats were in imminent danger, and the men sprang to their oars in +order to pull out of the range of the monster's dying struggles. In +this effort the strange boat was successful, but that of Captain Dunning +fared ill. A heavy blow from the whale's tail broke it in two, and +hurled it into the air, whence the crew descended, amid a mass of +harpoons, lances, oars, and cordage, into the blood-stained water. + +The fish sheered away for some distance, dragging the other boat along +with it, and then rolled over quite dead. Fortunately not one of the +crew of the capsized boat was hurt. All of them succeeded in reaching +and clinging to the shattered hull of their boat; but there they were +destined to remain a considerable time, as the boat of the stranger, +having secured the dead fish, proceeded leisurely to tow it towards +their ship, without paying the slightest attention to the shouts of +their late enemies. + +A change had now come over the face of the sky. Clouds began to gather +on the horizon, and a few light puffs of air swept over the sea, which +enabled the strange vessel to bear down on her boat, and take the whale +in tow. It also enabled the _Red Eric_ to beat up, but more slowly, +towards the spot where their disabled boat lay, and rescue their +comrades from their awkward position. It was some time before the boats +were all gathered together. When this was accomplished the night had +set in and the stranger had made off with her ill-gotten prize, the +other whale having sounded, and the chase being abandoned. + +"Now, of all the disgustin' things that ever happened to me, this is the +worst," remarked Captain Dunning, in a very sulky tone of voice, as he +descended to the cabin to change his garments, Ailie having preceded him +in order to lay out dry clothes. + +"Oh! my darling papa, what a fright I got," she exclaimed, running up +and hugging him, wet as he was, for the seventh time, despite his +efforts to keep her off. "I was looking through the spy-glass at the +time it happened, and when I saw you all thrown into the air I cried-- +oh! I can't tell you how I cried." + +"You don't need to tell me, Ailie, my pet, for your red, swelled-up eyes +speak for themselves. But go, you puss, and change your own frock. +You've made it as wet as my coat, nearly; besides, I can't undress, you +know, while you stand there." + +Ailie said, "I'm so very, very thankful," and then giving her father one +concluding hug, which completely saturated the frock, went to her own +cabin. + +Meanwhile the crew of the captain's boat were busy in the forecastle +stripping off their wet garments, and relating their adventures to the +men of the other boats, who, until they reached the ship, had been +utterly ignorant of what had passed. + +It is curious that Tim Rokens should open the conversation with much the +same sentiment, if not exactly the same phrase, as that expressed by the +captain. + +"Now boys," said he, slapping his wet limbs, "I'll tell ye wot it is, of +all the aggrawations as has happened to me in my life, this is out o' +sight the wust. To think o' losin' that there whale, the very biggest I +ever saw--" + +"Ah! Rokens, man," interrupted Glynn, as he pulled off his jacket, "the +loss is greater to me than to you, for that was my _first_ whale!" + +"True, boy," replied the harpooner, in a tone of evidently genuine +sympathy; "I feel for ye. I knows how I should ha' taken on if it had +happened to me. But cheer up, lad; you know the old proverb, `There's +as good fish in the sea as ever came out o't.' You'll be the death o' +many sich yet, I'll bet my best iron." + +"Sure, the wust of it all is, that we don't know who was the big thief +as got that fish away with him," said Phil Briant, with a rueful +countenance. + +"Don't we, though!" cried Gurney, who had been in the mate's boat; "I +axed one o' the men o' the stranger's boats--for we run up close +alongside durin' the chase--and he told me as how she was the +_Termagant_ of New York; so we can be down on 'em yet, if we live long +enough." + +"Humph!" observed Rokens; "and d'ye suppose he'd give ye the right +name?" + +"He'd no reason to do otherwise. He didn't know of the dispute between +the other boats." + +"There's truth in that," remarked Glynn, as he prepared to go on deck; +"but it may be a year or more before we foregather. No, I give up all +claim to my first fish from this date." + +"All hands ahoy!" shouted the mate; "tumble up there! Reef topsails! +Look alive!" + +The men ran hastily on deck, completing their buttoning and belting as +they went, and found that something very like a storm was brewing. As +yet the breeze was moderate, and the sea not very high, but the night +was pitchy dark, and a hot oppressive atmosphere boded no improvement in +the weather. + +"Lay out there, some of you, and close reef the topsails," cried the +mate, as the men ran to their several posts. + +The ship was running at the time under a comparatively small amount of +canvas; for, as their object was merely to cruise about in those seas in +search of whales, and they had no particular course to steer, it was +usual to run at night under easy sail, and sometimes to lay-to. It was +fortunate that such was the case on the present occasion; for it +happened that the storm which was about to burst on them came with +appalling suddenness and fury. The wind tore up the sea as if it had +been a mass of white feathers, and scattered it high in air. The +mizzen-topsail was blown to ribbons, and it seemed as if the other sails +were about to share the same fate. The ship flew from billow to billow, +after recovering from the first rude shock, as if she were but a dark +cloud on the sea, and the spray flew high over her masts, drenching the +men on the topsail-yards while they laboured to reef the sails. + +"We shall have to take down these t'gallant-masts, Mr Millons," said +the captain, as he stood by the weather-bulwarks holding on to a +belaying-pin to prevent his being washed away. + +"Shall I give the order, sir?" inquired the first mate. + +"You may," replied the captain. + +Just as the mate turned to obey, a shriek was heard high above the +whistling of the fierce wind. + +"Did you hear that?" said the captain anxiously. + +"I did," replied the mate. "I fear--I trust--" + +The remainder of the sentence was either suppressed, or the howling of +the wind prevented its being heard. + +Just then a flash of lightning lit up the scene, and a terrific crash of +thunder seemed to rend the sky. The flash was momentary, but it served +to reveal the men on the yards distinctly. They had succeeded in +close-reefing the topsails, and were hurrying down the rigging. + +The mate came close to the captain's side and said, "Did you see, sir, +the way them men on the mainyard were scramblin' down?" + +The captain had not time to reply ere a shout, "Man overboard!" was +heard faintly in the midst of the storm, and in another instant some of +the men rushed aft with frantic haste, shouting that one of their number +had been blown off the yard into the sea. + +"Down your helm," roared the captain; "stand-by to lower away the +boats." + +The usual prompt "Ay, ay, sir," was given, but before the men could +reach their places a heavy sea struck the vessel amidships, poured +several tons of water on the decks, and washed all the loose gear +overboard. + +"Let her away," cried the captain quickly. + +The steersman obeyed; the ship fell off, and again bounded on her mad +course like a wild horse set free. + +"It's of no use, sir," said the mate, as the captain leaped towards the +wheel, which the other had already gained; "no boat could live in that +sea for a moment. The poor fellow's gone by this time. He must be more +than half-a-mile astern already." + +"I know it," returned the captain, in a deep sad voice. "Get these +masts down, Mr Millons, and see that everything is made fast. Who is +it, did you say?" + +"The men can't tell, sir; one of 'em told me 'e thinks it was young +Boswell. It was too dark to see 'is face, but 'is figure was that of a +stout young fellow." + +"A stout young fellow," muttered the captain, as the mate hurried +forward. "Can it have been Glynn?" His heart sank within him at the +thought, and he would have given worlds at that moment, had he possessed +them, to have heard the voice of our hero, whom, almost unwittingly, he +had begun to love with all the affection of a father. While he stood +gazing up at the rigging, attempting to pierce the thick darkness, he +felt his sleeve plucked, and, looking down, observed Ailie at his side. + +"My child," he cried, grasping her by the arm convulsively, "_you_ here! +How came you to leave your cabin, dear? Go down, go down; you don't +know the danger you run. Stay--I will help you. If one of those seas +comes on board it would carry you overboard like a fleck of foam." + +"I didn't know there was much danger, papa. Glynn told me there +wasn't," she replied, as her father sprang with her to the +companion-ladder. + +"How? when? where, child? Did Glynn speak to you within the last ten +minutes?" + +"Yes; he looked down the hatch just as I was coming up, and told me not +to be afraid, and said I must go below, and not think of coming on deck; +but I heard a shriek, papa, and feared something had happened, so I came +to ask what it was. I hope no one is hurt." + +"My darling Ailie," replied the captain, in an agitated voice, "go down +to your berth, and pray for us just now. There is not _much_ danger; +but in all times of danger, whether great or slight, we should pray to +Our Father in Heaven, for we never know what a day or an hour may bring +forth. I will speak to you about everything to-morrow; to-night I must +be on deck." + +He kissed her forehead, pushed her gently into the cabin, shut the door, +and, coming on deck, fastened the companion-hatch firmly down. + +In a short time the ship was prepared to face the worst. The topsails +were close-reefed; the topgallant-masts sent down on deck; the spanker +and jib were furled, and, soon after, the mainsail and foresail were +also furled. The boats were taken in and secured on deck, and the ship +went a little more easily through the raging sea; but as the violence of +the gale increased, sail had to be further reduced, and at +last everything was taken in except the main spencer and +foretopmast-staysail. + +"I wouldn't mind this much," said the captain, as he and the first mate +stood close to the binnacle, "if I only knew our exact position. But +we've not had an observation for several days, and I don't feel sure of +our whereabouts. There are some nasty coral reefs in these seas. Did +you find out who the poor fellow is yet?" + +"It's young Boswell, I fear, Mr Markham is mustering the men just now, +sir." + +As he spoke, the second mate came aft and confirmed their fears. The +man who had thus been summoned in a moment, without warning, into the +presence of his Maker, had been a quiet, modest youth, and a favourite +with every one on board. At any other time his death would have been +deeply felt; but in the midst of that terrible storm the men had no time +to think. Indeed, they could not realise the fact that their shipmate +was really gone. + +"Mr Markham," said the captain, as the second mate turned away, "send a +hand in to the chains to heave the lead. I don't feel at all easy in my +mind, so near these shoals as we must be just now." + +While the order was being obeyed the storm became fiercer and more +furious. Bright gleams of lightning flashed repeatedly across the sky, +lighting up the scene as if with brightest moonlight, and revealing the +horrid turmoil of the raging sea in which the ship now laboured heavily. +The rapidity with which the thunder followed the lightning showed how +near to them was the dangerous and subtle fluid; and the crashing, +bursting reports that shook the ship from stem to stern gave the +impression that mountains were being dashed to atoms against each other +in the air. + +All the sails still exposed to the fury of the gale were blown to +shreds; the foretopmast and the jib-boom were carried away along with +them and the _Red Eric_ was driven at last before the wind under bare +poles. The crew remained firm in the midst of this awful scene; each +man stood at his post, holding on by any fixed object that chanced to be +within his reach, and held himself ready to spring to obey every order. +No voice could be heard in the midst of the howling winds, the lashing +sea, and the rending sky. Commands were given by signs as well as +possible, during the flashes of lightning; but little or nothing +remained to be done. Captain Dunning had done all that a man thoroughly +acquainted with his duties could accomplish to put his ship in the best +condition to do battle with the storm, and he now felt that the issue +remained in the hands of Him who formed the warring elements, and whose +will alone could check their angry strife. + +During one of the vivid flashes of lightning the captain observed Glynn +Proctor standing near the starboard gangway, and, waiting for the next +flash, he made a signal to him to come to the spot where he stood. +Glynn understood it, and in a few seconds was at his commander's side. + +"Glynn," my boy, said the latter, "you won't be wanted on deck for some +time. There's little to be done now. Go down and see what Ailie's +about, poor thing. She'll need a little comfort. Say I sent you." + +Without other reply than a nod of the head, Glynn sprang to the +companion-hatch, followed by the captain, who undid the fastenings to +let him down and refastened them immediately, for the sea was washing +over the stern continually. + +Glynn found the child on her knees in the cabin with her face buried in +the cushions of one of the sofas. He sat down beside her and waited +until she should have finished her prayer; but as she did not move for +some time he laid his hand gently on her shoulder. She looked up with a +happy smile on her face. + +"Oh, Glynn, is that you? I'm so glad," she said, rising, and sitting +down beside him. + +"Your father sent me down to comfort you, my pet," said Glynn, taking +her hand in his and drawing her towards him. + +"I have got comfort already," replied the child; "I'm so very happy, +now." + +"How so, Ailie? who has been with you?" + +"God has been with me. You told me, Glynn, that there wasn't much +danger, but I felt sure that there was. Oh! I never heard such +terrible noises, and this dreadful tossing is worse than ever I felt +it--a great deal. So I went down on my knees and prayed that God, for +Christ's sake would save us. I felt very frightened, Glynn. You can't +think how my heart beat every time the thunder burst over us. But +suddenly--I don't know how it was--the words I used to read at home so +often with my dear aunts came into my mind; you know them, Glynn, `Call +upon Me in the time of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt +glorify Me.' I don't know where I read them. I forget the place in the +Bible now; but when I thought of them I felt much less frightened. Do +you think it was the Holy Spirit who put them into my mind? My aunts +used to tell me that all my _good_ thoughts were given to me by the Holy +Spirit. Then I remembered the words of Jesus, `I will never leave thee +nor forsake thee,' and I felt so happy after that. It was just before +you came down. I _think_ we shall not be lost. God would not make me +feel so happy if we were going to be lost, would He?" + +"I think not, Ailie," replied Glynn, whose conscience reproached him for +his ignorance of the passages in God's word referred to by his +companion, and who felt that he was receiving rather than administering +comfort. "When I came down I did not very well know how I should +comfort you, for this is certainly the most tremendous gale I ever saw, +but somehow I feel as if we were in less danger now. I wish I knew more +of the Bible, Ailie. I'm ashamed to say I seldom look at it." + +"Oh, that's a pity, isn't it, Glynn?" said Ailie, with earnest concern +expressed in her countenance, for she regarded her companion's ignorance +as a great misfortune; it never occurred to her that it was a sin. "But +it's very easy to learn it," she added with an eager look. "If you come +to me here every day we can read it together. I would like to have you +hear me say it off, and then I would hear you." + +Before he could reply the vessel received a tremendous shock which +caused her to quiver from stem to stern. + +"She must have been struck by lightning," cried Glynn, starting up and +hurrying towards the door. Ailie's frightened look returned for a few +minutes, but she did not tremble as she had done before. + +Just as Glynn reached the top of the ladder the hatch was opened and the +captain thrust in his head. + +"Glynn, my boy," said he, in a quick, firm tone, "we are ashore. +Perhaps we shall go to pieces in a few minutes. God knows. May He in +His mercy spare us. You cannot do much on deck. Ailie must be looked +after till I come down for her. Glynn, _I depend upon you_." + +These words were uttered hurriedly, and the hatch was shut immediately +after. It is impossible to describe accurately the conflicting feelings +that agitated the breast of the young sailor as he descended again to +the cabin. He felt gratified at the trust placed in him by the captain, +and his love for the little girl would at any time have made the post of +protector to her an agreeable one; but the idea that the ship had struck +the rocks, and that his shipmates on deck were struggling perhaps for +their lives while he was sitting idly in the cabin, was most trying and +distressing to one of his ardent and energetic temperament. He was not, +however, kept long in suspense. + +Scarcely had he regained the cabin when the ship again struck with +terrific violence, and he knew by the rending crash overhead that one or +more of the masts had gone over the side. The ship at the same moment +slewed round and was thrown on her beam-ends. So quickly did this occur +that Glynn had barely time to seize Ailie in his arms and save her from +being dashed against the bulkhead. + +The vessel rose again on the next wave, and was hurled on the rocks with +such violence that every one on board expected her to go to pieces +immediately. At the same time the cabin windows were dashed in, and the +cabin itself was flooded with water. Glynn was washed twice across the +cabin and thrown violently against the ship's sides, but he succeeded in +keeping a firm hold of his little charge and in protecting her from +injury. + +"Hallo, Glynn!" shouted the captain, as he opened the companion-hatch, +"come on deck, quick! bring her with you!" + +Glynn hurried up and placed the child in her father's arms. + +The scene that presented itself to him on gaining the deck was indeed +appalling. The first grey streak of dawn faintly lighted up the sky, +just affording sufficient light to exhibit the complete wreck of +everything on deck, and the black froth-capped tumult of the surrounding +billows. The rocks on which they had struck could not be discerned in +the gloom, but the white breakers ahead showed too clearly where they +were. The three masts had gone over the side one after another, leaving +only the stumps of each standing. Everything above board--boats, +binnacle, and part of the bulwarks--had been washed away. The crew were +clinging to the belaying-pins and to such parts of the wreck as seemed +likely to hold together longest. It seemed to poor Ailie, as she clung +to her father's neck that she had been transported to some far-distant +and dreadful scene, for scarcely a single familiar object remained by +which her ocean home, the _Red Eric_, could be recognised. + +But Ailie had neither desire nor opportunity to remark on this +tremendous change. Every successive billow raised the doomed vessel, +and let her fall with heavy violence on the rocks. Her stout frame +trembled under each shock, as if she were endued with life, and shrank +affrighted from her impending fate; and it was as much as the captain +could do to maintain his hold of the weather-bulwarks and of Ailie at +the same time. Indeed, he could not have done it at all had not Glynn +stood by and assisted him to the best of his ability. + +"It won't last long, lad," said the captain, as a larger wave than usual +lifted the shattered hull and dashed it down on the rocks, washing the +deck from stern to stem, and for a few seconds burying the whole crew +under water. "May the Almighty have mercy on us; no ship can stand this +long." + +"Perhaps the tide is falling," suggested Glynn, in an encouraging voice, +"and I think I see something like a shore ahead. It will be daylight in +half-an-hour or less." + +The captain shook his head. "There's little or no tide here to rise or +fall, I fear. Before half-an-hour we shall--" + +He did not finish the sentence, but looking at Ailie with a gaze of +agony, he pressed her more closely to his breast. + +"I think we shall be saved," whispered the child, twining her arms more +closely round her father's neck, and laying her wet cheek against his. + +Just then Tim Rokens crept aft, and said that he saw a low sandy island +ahead, and a rocky point jutting out from it close to the bows of the +ship. He suggested that a rope might be got ashore when it became a +little lighter. + +Phil Briant came aft to make the same suggestion, not knowing that +Rokens had preceded him. In fact, the men had been consulting as to the +possibility of accomplishing this object, but when they looked at the +fearful breakers that boiled in white foam between the ship's bow and +the rocky point, their hearts failed them, and no one was found to +volunteer for the dangerous service. + +"Is any one inclined to try it?" inquired the captain. "There's niver a +wan of us but 'ud try it, cap'en, _if you gives the order_," answered +Briant. + +The captain hesitated. He felt disinclined to order any man to expose +himself to such imminent danger; yet the safety of the whole crew might +depend on a rope being connected with the shore. Before he could make +up his mind, Glynn, who saw what was passing in his mind, +exclaimed--"I'll do it, captain;" and instantly quitting his position, +hurried forward as fast as circumstances would permit. + +The task which Glynn had undertaken to perform turned out to be more +dangerous and difficult than at first he had anticipated. When he stood +at the lee bow, fastening a small cord round his waist, and looking at +the turmoil of water into which he was about to plunge, his heart +well-nigh failed him, and he felt a sensation of regret that he had +undertaken what seemed now an impossibility. He did not wonder that the +men had one and all shrunk from the attempt. But he had made up his +mind to do it. Moreover, he had _said_ he would do it, and feeling that +he imperilled his life in a good cause, he set his face as a flint to +the accomplishment of his purpose. + +Well was it for Glynn Proctor that day that in early boyhood he had +learned to swim, and had become so expert in the water as to be able to +beat all his young companions! + +He noticed, on looking narrowly at the foaming surge through which he +must pass in order to gain the rocky point, that many of the submerged +rocks showed their tops above the flood, like black spots, when each +wave retired. To escape these seemed impossible--to strike one of them +he knew would be almost certain death. + +"Don't try it, boy," said several of the men, as they saw Glynn hesitate +when about to spring, and turn an anxious gaze in all directions; "it's +into death ye'll jump, if ye do." + +Glynn did not reply; indeed, he did not hear the remark, for at that +moment his whole attention was riveted on a ledge of submerged rock, +which ever and anon showed itself, like the edge of a knife, extending +between the ship and the point. Along the edge of this the retiring +waves broke in such a manner as to form what appeared to be dead +water-tossed, indeed, and foam-clad, but not apparently in progressive +motion. Glynn made up his mind in an instant, and just as the first +mate came forward with an order from the captain that he was on no +account to make the rash attempt, he sprang with his utmost force off +the ship's side and sank in the raging sea. + +Words cannot describe the intense feeling of suspense with which the men +on the lee bow gazed at the noble-hearted boy as he rose and buffeted +with the angry billows. Every man held his breath, and those who had +charge of the line stood nervously ready to haul him back at a moment's +notice. + +On first rising to the surface he beat the waves as if bewildered, and +while some of the men cried, "He's struck a rock," others shouted to +haul him in; but in another second he got his eyes cleared of spray, and +seeing the ship's hull towering above his head, he turned his back on it +and made for the shore. At first he went rapidly through the surge, for +his arm was strong and his young heart was brave; but a receding wave +caught him and hurled him some distance out of his course--tossing him +over and over as if he had been a cork. Again he recovered himself, and +gaining the water beside the ledge, he made several powerful and rapid +strokes, which carried him within a few yards of the point. + +"He's safe," said Rokens eagerly. + +"No; he's missed it!" cried the second mate, who, with Gurney and Dick +Barnes, payed out the rope. + +Glynn had indeed almost caught hold of the farthest-out ledge of the +point when he was drawn back into the surge, and this time dashed +against a rock and partially stunned. The men had already begun to haul +in on the rope when he recovered, and making a last effort, gained the +rocks, up which he clambered slowly. When beyond the reach of the waves +he fell down as if he had fainted. + +This, however, was not the case; he was merely exhausted, as well as +confused, by the blows he had received on the rocks, and lay for a few +seconds quite still in order to recover strength, during which period of +inaction he thanked God earnestly for his deliverance, and prayed +fervently that he might be made the means of saving his companions in +danger. + +After a minute or two he rose, unfastened the line from his waist, and +began to haul it ashore. To the other end of the small line the men in +the ship attached a thick cable, the end of which was soon pulled up, +and made fast to a large rock. + +Tim Rokens was now ordered to proceed to the shore by means of the rope +in order to test it. After this a sort of swing was constructed, with a +noose which was passed round the cable. To this a small line was +fastened, and passed to the shore. On this swinging-seat Ailie was +seated, and hauled to the rocks, Tim Rokens "shinning" along the cable +at the same time to guard her from accident. Then the men began to +land, and thus, one by one, the crew of the _Red Eric_ reached the shore +in safety; and when all had landed, Captain Dunning, standing in the +midst of his men, lifted up his voice in thanksgiving to God for their +deliverance. + +But when daylight came the full extent of their forlorn situation was +revealed. The ship was a complete wreck; the boats were all gone, and +they found that the island on which they had been cast was only a few +square yards in extent--a mere sandbank, utterly destitute of shrub or +tree, and raised only a few feet above the level of the ocean. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +THE SANDBANK--THE WRECKED CREW MAKE THE BEST OF BAD CIRCUMSTANCES. + +It will scarcely surprise the reader to be told that, after the first +emotions of thankfulness for deliverance from what had appeared to the +shipwrecked mariners to be inevitable death, a feeling amounting almost +to despair took possession of the whole party for a time. + +The sandbank was so low that in stormy weather it was almost submerged. +It was a solitary coral reef in the midst of the boundless sea. Not a +tree or bush grew upon it, and except at the point where the ship had +struck, there was scarcely a rock large enough to afford shelter to a +single man. Without provisions, without sufficient shelter, without the +means of escape, and _almost_ without the hope of deliverance, it seemed +to them that nothing awaited them but the slow, lingering pains and +horrors of death by starvation. + +As those facts forced themselves more and more powerfully home to the +apprehension of the crew,--while they cowered for shelter from the storm +under the lee of the rocky point, they gave expression to their feelings +in different ways. Some sat down in dogged silence to await their fate; +others fell on their knees and cried aloud to God for mercy; while a few +kept up their own spirits and those of their companions by affecting a +cheerfulness which, however, in some cages, was a little forced. Ailie +lay shivering in her father's arms, for she was drenched with salt water +and very cold. Her eyes were closed, and she was very pale from +exposure and exhaustion, but her lips moved as if in prayer. + +Captain Dunning looked anxiously at Dr Hopley, who crouched beside +them, and gazed earnestly in the child's face while he felt her pulse. + +"It's almost too much for her, I fear," said the captain, in a +hesitating, husky voice. + +The doctor did not answer for a minute or two, then he said, as if +muttering to himself rather than replying to the captain's remark, "If +we could only get her into dry clothes, or had a fire, or even a little +brandy, but--" He did not finish the sentence, and the captain's heart +sank within him, and his weather-beaten face grew pale as he thought of +the possibility of losing his darling child. + +Glynn had been watching the doctor with intense eagerness, and with a +terrible feeling of dread fluttering about his heart. When he heard the +last remark he leaped up and cried--"If brandy is all you want you shall +soon have it." And running down to the edge of the water, he plunged in +and grasped the cable, intending to clamber into the ship, which had by +this time been driven higher on the rocks, and did not suffer so much +from the violence of the breakers. At the same instant Phil Briant +sprang to his feet, rushed down after him, and before he had got a yard +from the shore, seized him by the collar, and dragged him out of the sea +high and dry on the land. + +Glynn was so exasperated at this unceremonious and at the moment +unaccountable treatment, that he leaped up, and in the heat of the +moment prepared to deal the Irishman a blow that would very probably +have brought the experiences of the "ring" to his remembrance; but +Briant effectually checked him by putting both his own hands into his +pockets, thrusting forward his face as if to invite the blow, and +exclaiming-- + +"Och! now, hit fair, Glynn, darlint; put it right in betwane me two +eyes!" + +Glynn laughed hysterically, in spite of himself. + +"What mean you by stopping me?" he asked somewhat sternly. + +"Shure, I mane that I'll go for the grog meself. Ye've done more nor +yer share o' the work this mornin', an' it's but fair to give a poor +fellow a chance. More be token, ye mustn't think that nobody can't do +nothin' but yeself. It's Phil Briant that'll shin up a rope with any +white man in the world, or out of it." + +"You're right, Phil," said Rokens, who had come to separate the +combatants. "Go aboord, my lad, an' I'll engage to hold this here young +alligator fast till ye come back." + +"You don't need to hold me, Tim," retorted Glynn, with a smile; "but +don't be long about it, Phil. You know where the brandy is kept--look +alive." + +Briant accomplished his mission successfully, and, despite the furious +waves, brought the brandy on shore in safety. As he emerged like a +caricature of old Neptune dripping from the sea, it was observed that he +held a bundle in his powerful grasp. It was also strapped to his +shoulders. + +"Why, what have you got there?" inquired the doctor, as he staggered +under the shelter of the rocks. + +"Arrah! give a dhrop to the child, an' don't be wastin' yer breath," +replied Briant, as he undid the bundle. "Sure I've brought a few +trifles for her outside as well as her in." And he revealed to the glad +father a bundle of warm habiliments which he had collected in Ailie's +cabin, and kept dry by wrapping them in several layers of tarpaulin. + +"God bless you, my man," said the captain, grasping the thoughtful +Irishman by the hand. "Now, Ailie, my darling pet, look up, and swallow +a drop o' this. Here's a capital rig-out o' dry clothes too." + +A few sips of brandy soon restored the circulation which had well-nigh +been arrested, and when she had been clothed in the dry garments, Ailie +felt comparatively comfortable, and expressed her thanks to Phil Briant +with tears in her eyes. + +A calm often succeeds a storm somewhat suddenly, especially in southern +latitudes. Soon after daybreak the wind moderated, and before noon it +ceased entirely, though the sea kept breaking in huge rolling billows on +the sandbank for many hours afterwards. The sun, too, came out hot and +brilliant, shedding a warm radiance over the little sea-girt spot as +well as over the hearts of the crew. + +Human nature exhibits wonderful and sudden changes. Men spring from the +depths of despair to the very summit, of light-hearted hope, and very +frequently, too, without a very obvious cause to account for the violent +change. Before the day after the storm was far advanced, every one on +the sandbank seemed to be as joyous as though there was no danger of +starvation whatever. There was, however, sufficient to produce the +change in the altered aspect of affairs. For one thing, the warm sun +began to make them feel comfortable--and really it is wonderful how +ready men are to shut their eyes to the actual state of existing things +if they can only enjoy a little present comfort. Then the ship was +driven so high up on the rocks as to be almost beyond the reach of the +waves, and she had not been dashed to pieces, as had at first been +deemed inevitable, so that the stores and provisions in her might be +secured, and the party be thus enabled to subsist on their ocean prison +until set free by some passing ship. + +Under the happy influence of these improved circumstances every one went +about the work of rendering their island home more comfortable, in good, +almost in gleeful spirits. Phil Briant indulged in jests which a few +hours ago would have been deemed profane, and Gurney actually +volunteered the song of the "man wot got his nose froze;" but every one +declined to listen to it, on the plea that it reminded them too forcibly +of the cold of the early morning. Even the saturnine steward, Tarquin, +looked less ferocious than usual, and King Bumble became so loquacious +that he was ordered more than once to hold his tongue and to "shut up." + +The work they had to do was indeed of no light nature. They had to +travel to and fro between the ship and the rocks on the rope-cable, a +somewhat laborious achievement, in order to bring ashore such things as +they absolutely required. A quantity of biscuit, tea, coffee, and sugar +were landed without receiving much damage, then a line was fastened to a +cask of salt beef, and this, with a few more provisions, was drawn +ashore the first day, and placed under the shelter of the largest rock +on the point. On the following day it was resolved that a raft should +be constructed, and everything that could in any way prove useful be +brought to the sandbank and secured. For Captain Dunning well knew that +another storm might arise as quickly as the former had done, and +although the ship at present lay in comparatively quiet water, the huge +billows that would be dashed against her in such circumstances would be +certain to break her up and scatter her cargo on the breast of the +all-devouring sea. + +In the midst of all this activity and bustle there sat one useless and +silent, but exceedingly grave and uncommonly attentive spectator, +namely, Jacko the monkey. That sly and sagacious individual, seeing +that no one intended to look after him, had during the whole of the +recent storm wisely looked after himself. He had ensconced himself in a +snug and comparatively sheltered corner under the afterpart of the +weather-bulwarks. But when he saw the men one by one leaving the ship, +and proceeding to the shore by means of the rope, he began to evince an +anxiety as to his own fate which had in it something absolutely human. +Jacko was the last man, so to speak, to leave the _Red Eric_. Captain +Dunning, resolving, with the true spirit of a brave commander; to +reserve that honour to himself, had seen the last man, he thought, out +of the ship, and was two-thirds of the distance along the rope on his +way to land, when Jim Scroggles, who was _always_ either in or out of +the way at the most inopportune moments, came rushing up from below, +whither he had gone to secure a favourite brass _finger-ring_, and +scrambled over the side. + +It would be difficult to say whether Jim's head, or feet, or legs, or +knees, or arms went over the side first,--they all got over somehow, +nobody knew how--and in the getting over his hat flew off and was lost +for ever. + +Seeing this, and feeling, no doubt, the momentous truth of that +well-known adage "Now or never," Master Jacko uttered a shriek, bounded +from his position of fancied security, and seized Jim Scroggles firmly +by the hair, resolved apparently to live or perish along with him. As +to simply clambering along that cable to the shore. Jacko would have +thought no more of it than of eating his dinner. Had he felt so +disposed he could have walked along it, or hopped along it, or thrown +somersaults along it. But to proceed along it while it was at one +moment thirty feet above the sea, rigid as a bar of iron, and the next +moment several feet under the mad turmoil of the raging billows--this it +was that filled his little bosom with inexpressible horror, and induced +him to cling with a tight embrace to the hair of the head of his +bitterest enemy! + +Having gained the shore, Jacko immediately took up his abode in the +warmest spot on that desolate sandbank, which was the centre of the mass +of cowering and shivering men who sought shelter under the lee of the +rocks, where he was all but squeezed to death, but where he felt +comparatively warm, nevertheless. When the sun came out he perched +himself in a warm nook of the rock near to Ailie, and dried himself, +after which, as we have already hinted, he superintended the discharging +of the cargo and the arrangements made for a prolonged residence on the +sandbank. + +"Och! but yer a queer cratur," remarked Briant, as he passed, chucking +the monkey under the chin. + +"Oo-oo-oo-ee-o!" replied Jacko. + +"Very thrue, no doubt--but I haven't time to spake to ye jist yet, lad," +replied Briant, with a laugh, as he ran down to the beach and seized a +barrel which had just been hauled to the water's edge. + +"What are you going to do with the wood, papa?" asked Ailie. + +The captain had seized an axe at the moment, and began vigorously to cut +up a rough plank which had been driven ashore by the waves. + +"I'm going to make a fire, my pet, to warm your cold toes." + +"But my toes are not cold, papa; you've no idea how comfortable I am." + +Ailie did indeed look comfortable at that moment, for she was lying on a +bed of dry sand, with a thick blanket spread over her. + +"Well, then, it will do to warm Jacko's toes, if yours don't want it; +and besides, we all want a cup of tea after our exertions. The first +step towards that end, you know, is to make a fire." + +So saying, the captain piled up dry wood in front of the place where +Ailie lay, and in a short time had a capital fire blazing, and a large +tin kettle full of fresh water boiling thereon. + +It may be as well to remark here that the water had been brought in a +small keg from the ship, for not a single drop of fresh water was found +on the sandbank after the most careful search. Fortunately, however, +the water-tanks of the _Red Eric_ still contained a large supply. + +During the course of that evening _a_ sort of shed or tent was +constructed out of canvas and a few boards placed against the rock. +This formed a comparatively comfortable shelter, and one end of it was +partitioned off for Ailie's special use. No one was permitted to pass +the curtain that hung before the entrance to this little boudoir, except +the captain, who claimed a right to do what he pleased, and Glynn, who +was frequently invited to enter in order to assist its fair occupant in +her multifarious arrangements, and Jacko, who could not be kept out by +any means that had yet been hit upon, except by killing him; but as +Ailie objected to this, he was suffered to take up his abode there, and, +to do him justice, he behaved very well while domiciled in that place. + +It is curious to note how speedily little children, and men too, +sometimes, contrive to forget the unpleasant or the sad, or, it may be, +the dangerous circumstances in which they may chance to be placed, while +engaged in the minute details incident to their peculiar position. +Ailie went about arranging her little nest under the rock with as much +zeal and cheerful interest as if she were "playing at houses" in her own +room at home. She decided that one corner was peculiarly suited for her +bed, because there was a small rounded rock in it which looked like a +pillow; so Glynn was directed to spread the tarpaulin and the blankets +there. Another corner exhibited a crevice in the rock, which seemed so +suitable for a kennel for Jacko that the arrangement was agreed to on +the spot. We say agreed to, because Ailie suggested everything to +Glynn, and Glynn always agreed to everything that Ailie suggested, and +stood by with a hammer and nails and a few pieces of plank in his hands +ready to fulfil her bidding, no matter what it should be. So Jacko was +sent for to be introduced to his new abode, but Jacko was not to be +found, for the very good reason that he had taken possession of the +identical crevice some time before, and at that moment was enjoying a +comfortable nap in its inmost recess. Then Ailie caused Glynn to put up +a little shelf just over her head, which he did with considerable +difficulty, because it turned out that nails could not easily be driven +into the solid rock. After that a small cave at the foot of the +apartment was cleaned out and Ailie's box placed there. All this and +sundry other pieces of work were executed by the young sailor and his +little friend with an amount of cheerful pleasantry that showed they +had, in the engrossing interest of their pursuit, totally forgotten the +fact that they were cast away on a sandbank on which were neither food +nor water, nor wood, except what was to be found in the wrecked ship, +and around which for thousands of miles rolled the great billows of the +restless sea. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +LIFE ON THE SANDBANK--AILIE TAKES POSSESSION OF FAIRYLAND--GLYNN AND +BUMBLE ASTONISH THE LITTLE FISHES. + +In order that the reader may form a just conception of the sandbank on +which the crew of the _Red Eric_ had been wrecked, we shall describe it +somewhat carefully. + +It lay in the Southern Ocean, a little to the west of the longitude of +the Cape of Good Hope, and somewhere between 2000 and 3000 miles to the +south of it. As has been already remarked, the bank at its highest +point was little more than a few feet above the level of the ocean, the +waves of which in stormy weather almost, and the spray of which +altogether, swept over it. In length it was barely fifty yards, and in +breadth about forty. Being part of a coral reef, the surface of it was +composed of the beautiful white sand that is formed from coral by the +dashing waves. At one end of the bank--that on which the ship had +struck--the reef rose into a ridge of rock, which stood a few feet +higher than the level of the sand, and stretched out into the sea about +twenty yards, with its points projecting here and there above water. On +the centre of the bank at its highest point one or two very small blades +of green substance were afterwards discovered. So few were they, +however, and so delicate, that we feel justified in describing the spot +as being utterly destitute of verdure. Ailie counted those green blades +many a time after they were discovered. There were exactly thirty-five +of them; twenty-six were, comparatively speaking, large; seven were of +medium size, and two were extremely small--so small and thin that Ailie +wondered they did not die of sheer delicacy of constitution on such a +barren spot. The greater part of the surface of the bank was covered +with the fine sand already referred to, but there were one or two spots +which were covered with variously-sized pebbles, and an immense number +of beautiful small shells. + +On such a small and barren spot one would think there was little or +nothing to admire. But this was not the case. Those persons whose +thoughts are seldom allowed to fix attentively on any subject, are apt +to fall into the mistake of supposing that in this world there are a +great many absolutely uninteresting things. Many things are, indeed, +uninteresting to individuals, but there does not exist a single thing +which has not a certain amount of interest to one or another cast of +mind, and which will not afford food for contemplation, and matter +fitted to call forth our admiration for its great and good Creator. + +We know a valley so beautiful that it has been for generations past, and +will probably be for generations to come, the annual resort of hundreds +of admiring travellers. The valley cannot be seen until you are almost +in it. The country immediately around it is no way remarkable; it is +even tame. Many people would exclaim at first sight in reference to it, +"How uninteresting." + +It requires a close view, a minute inspection, to discover the beauties +that lie hidden there. + +So was it with our sandbank. Ailie's first thoughts were, "Oh! how +dreary; how desolate!" and in some respects she was right; but she dwelt +there long enough to discover things that charmed her eye and her +imagination, and caused her sometimes to feel as if she had been +transported to the realms of Fairyland. + +We do not say, observe, that the crew of the _Red Eric_ were ever +blessed with such dreams. Jim Scroggles, for instance, had no eye for +the minute beauties or wonders of creation. Jim, according to his own +assertion, could see about as far through a millstone as most men. He +could apostrophise his eye, on certain occasions, and tell it--as though +its own power of vision were an insufficient medium of information--that +"that _wos_ a stunnin' iceberg;" or that "that _wos_ a gale and a half, +fit to tear the masts out o' the ship a'most." But for any less +majestic object in nature, Jim Scroggles had nothing to say either to +his eye, or his nose, or his shipmates. + +As was Jim Scroggles, so were most of the other men. Hence they +grumbled a good deal at their luckless condition. But upon the whole +they were pretty cheerful--especially at meal-times--and, considering +their circumstances, they behaved very well. + +Glynn Proctor was a notable exception to the prevailing rule of +indifference to small things. By nature he was of a superior stamp of +mind to his comrades; besides, he had been better educated; and more +than all, he was at that time under the influence of Ailie Dunning. She +admired what she admired; he liked what she liked; he looked with +interest at the things which she examined. Had Ailie sat down beside +the stock of an old anchor and looked attentively at it, Glynn would +have sat down and stared at it too, in the firm belief that there was +something there worth looking at! Glynn laughed aloud sometimes at +himself, to think how deeply interested he had become in the child, for +up to that time he had rather avoided than courted the society of +children; and he used to say to Ailie that the sailors would begin to +call her his little sweetheart, if he spent so much of his time with +her; to which Ailie would reply by asking what a sweetheart was; whereat +Glynn would laugh immoderately; whereupon Ailie would tell him not to be +stupid, but to come and play with her! + +All the sailors, even including the taciturn Tarquin, had a tender +feeling of regard for the little girl who shared their fortunes at that +time, but with the exception of Glynn, none were capable of sympathising +with her in her pursuits. Tim Rokens, her father, and Dr Hopley did to +some extent, but these three had their minds too deeply filled with +anxiety about their critical position to pay her much attention, beyond +the kindest concern for her physical wants. King Bumble, too, we beg +his pardon, showed considerable interest in her. The sable assistant of +Nikel Sling shone conspicuous at this trying time, for his activity, +good-humour, and endurance, and in connection with Phil Briant, Gurney, +and Jacko, kept up the spirits of the shipwrecked men wonderfully. + +Close under the rocks, on the side farthest removed from the spot where +the rude tent was pitched, there was a little bay or creek, not more +than twenty yards in diameter, which Ailie appropriated and called +Fairyland! It was an uncommonly small spot, but it was exceedingly +beautiful and interesting. The rocks, although small, were so broken +and fantastically formed, that when Ailie crept close in amongst them, +and so placed herself that the view of the sandbank was entirely shut +out, and nothing was to be seen but little pools of crystal water and +rocklets, with their margin of dazzling white sand, and the wreck of the +ship in the distance, with the deep blue sea beyond, she quite forgot +where she actually was, and began to wander in the most enchanting +daydreams. But when, as often happened, there came towering thick +masses of snowy clouds, like mountain peaks and battlements in the +bright blue sky, her delight was so great that she could find no words +to express it. + +At such times--sometimes with Glynn by her side, sometimes alone--she +would sit in a sunny nook, or in a shady nook if she felt too warm, and +invite innumerable hosts of fairies to come and conduct her through +interminable tracts of pure-white cloud region, and order such +unheard-of wild creatures (each usually wanting a tail, or a leg, or an +ear) to come out of the dark caves, that had they been all collected in +one garden for exhibition to the public, that zoological garden would +have been deemed, out of sight, the greatest of all the wonders of the +world! + +When a little wearied with those aerial journeys she would return to +"Fairyland," and, leaning over the brinks of the pools, peer down into +their beautiful depths for hours at a time. + +Ailie's property of Fairyland had gardens, too, of the richest possible +kind, full of flowers of the most lovely and brilliant hues. But the +flowers were scentless, and, alas! she could not pluck them, for those +gardens were all under water; they grew at the bottom of the sea! + +Yes, reader, if the land was barren on that ocean islet, the pools there +made up for it by presenting to view the most luxuriant marine +vegetation. There were forests of branching coral of varied hues; there +were masses of fan-shaped sponges; there were groves of green and red +sea-weeds; and beds of red, and white, and orange, and striped creatures +that stuck to the rocks, besides little fish with bright coloured backs +that played there as if they really enjoyed living always under water-- +which is not easy for us, you know, to realise! And above all, the +medium of water between Ailie and these things was so pure and pellucid +when no breeze fanned the surface, that it was difficult to believe, +unless you touched it, there was any water there at all. + +While Ailie thus spent her time, or at least her leisure time, for she +was by no means an idler in that busy little isle, the men were actively +engaged each day in transporting provisions from the _Red Eric_ to the +sandbank, and in making them as secure as circumstances would admit of. +For this purpose a raft had been constructed, and several trips a day +were made to and from the wreck, so that in the course of a few days a +considerable stock of provisions was accumulated on the bank. This was +covered with tarpaulin, and heavy casks of salt junk were placed on the +corners and edges to keep it down. + +"I'll tell ye wot it is, messmates," remarked Gurney, one day, as they +sat down round their wood fire to dine in front of their tent, "we're +purvisioned for six months at least, an' if the weather only keeps fine +I've no objection to remain wotiver." + +"Maybe," said Briant, "ye'll have to remain that time whether ye object +or not." + +"By no means, Paddy," retorted Gurney; "I could swum off to sea and be +drownded if I liked." + +"No ye couldn't, avic," said Briant. + +"Why not?" demanded Gurney. + +"'Cause ye haven't the pluck," replied Phil. + +"I'll pluck the nose off yer face," said Gurney, in affected anger. + +"No ye won't," cried Phil, "'cause av ye do I'll spile the soup by +heavin' it all over ye." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Gurney, with a look of horror, "listen to him, +messmates, he calls it `_soup_'--the nasty kettle o' dirty water! Well, +well, it's lucky we hain't got nothin' better to compare it with." + +"But, I say, lads," interposed Jim Scroggles, seriously, "wot'll we do +if it comes on to blow a gale and blows away all our purvisions?" + +"Ay, boys," cried Dick Barnes, "that 'ere's the question, as Hamlet +remarked to his grandfather's ghost; wot is to come on us supposin' it +comes on to blow sich a snorin' gale as'll blow the whole sandbank away, +carryin' us and our prog overboard along with it?" + +"Wot's that there soup made of?" demanded Tim Rokens. + +"Salt junk and peas," replied Nikel Sling. + +"Ah! I thought there was somethin' else in it," said Tim, carelessly, +"for it seems to perdooce oncommon bad jokes in them wot eats of it." + +"Now, Tim, don't you go for to be sorcostic, but tell us a story." + +"Me tell a story? No, no, lads; there's Glynn Proctor, he's the boy for +you. Where is he?" + +"He's aboard the wreck just now. The cap'n sent him for charts and +quadrants, and suchlike cooriosities. Come, Gurney, tell you one if Tim +won't. How wos it, now, that you so mistook yer trade as to come for to +go to sea?" + +"I can't very well tell ye," answered Gurney, who, having finished +dinner, had lit his pipe, and was now extended at full length on the +sand, leaning on one arm. "Ye see, lads, I've had more or less to do +with the sea, I have, since ever I comed into this remarkable world--not +that I ever, to my knowledge, knew one less coorous, for I never was up +in the stars; no more, I s'pose, was ever any o' you. I was born at +sea, d'ye see? I don't 'xactly know how I comed for to be born there, +but I wos told that I wos, and if them as told me spoke truth, I s'pose +I wos. I was washed overboard in gales three times before I comed for +to know myself at all. When I first came alive, so to speak, to my own +certain knowledge, I wos a-sitting on the top of a hen-coop aboard an +East Indiaman, roarin' like a mad bull as had lost his senses; 'cause +why? the hens wos puttin' their heads through the bars o' the coops, and +pickin' at the calves o' my legs as fierce as if they'd suddenly turned +cannibals, and rather liked it. From that time I began a life o' +misery. My life before that had bin pretty much the same, it seems, but +I didn't know it, so it didn't matter. D'ye know, lads, when ye don't +know a thing it's all the same as if it didn't exist, an' so, in coorse, +it don't matter." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the first mate, who came up at the moment, "'ave hany o' +you fellows got a note-book in which we may record that horacular and +truly valuable hobserwation?" + +No one happening to possess a note-book, Gurney was allowed to proceed +with his account of himself. + +"Ships has bin my houses all along up to this here date. I don't +believe, lads as ever I wos above two months ashore at a time all the +coorse of my life, an' mostly not as long as that. The smell o' tar and +the taste o' salt water wos the fust things I iver comed across--'xcept +the Line, I comed across that jist about the time I wos born, so I'm +told--and the smell o' tar and taste o' salt water's wot I've bin used +to most o' my life, and moreover, wot I likes best. One old gentleman +as took a fancy to me w'en I wos a boy, said to me, one fine day, w'en I +chanced to be ashore visitin' my mother--says he, `My boy, would ye like +to go with me and live in the country, and be a gardner?' `Wot,' says +I, `keep a garding, and plant taters, and hoe flowers an' cabidges?' +`Yes,' says he, `at least, somethin' o' that sort.' `No, thankee,' says +I; `I b'long to the sea, I do; I wouldn't leave that 'ere no more nor I +would quit my first love if I had one. I'm a sailor, I am, out and out, +through and through--true blue, and no mistake, an' no one need go for +to try to cause me for to forsake my purfession, and live on shore like +a turnip'--that's wot I says to that old gen'lemen. Yes, lads, I've +roamed the wide ocean, as the song says, far an' near. I've bin +tattooed by the New Zealanders, and I've danced with the Hottentots, and +ate puppy dogs with the Chinese, and fished whales in the North Seas, +and run among the ice near the South Pole, and fowt with pirates, and +done service on boord of men-o'-war and merchantmen, and junks, and +bumboats; but I never," concluded Gurney, looking round with a sigh, "I +never came for to be located on a sandbank in the middle of the ocean." + +"No more did any on us," added Rokens, "Moreover, if we're not picked up +soon by a ship o' some sort, we're not likely to be located here long, +for we can't live on salt junk for ever; we shall all die o' the +scurvy." + +There was just enough of possible and probable truth in the last remark +to induce a feeling of sadness among the men for a few minutes, but this +was quickly put to flight by the extraordinary movements of Phil Briant. +That worthy had left the group round the fire, and had wandered out to +the extreme end of the rocky point, where he sat down to indulge, +possibly in sad, or mayhap hopeful reflections. He was observed to +start suddenly up, and gaze into the sea eagerly for a few seconds; then +he cut a caper, slapped his thigh, and ran hastily towards the tent. + +"What now? where away, Phil?" cried one of the men. + +Briant answered not, but speedily reappeared at the opening of the tent +door with a fishing-line and hook. Hastening to the point of rock, he +opened a small species of shell-fish that he found there, wherewith he +baited his hook, and then cast it into the sea. In a few minutes he +felt a twitch, which caused him to return a remarkably vigorous twitch, +as it were in reply. + +The fish and the sailor for some minutes acted somewhat the part of +electricians in a telegraph office; when the fish twitched, Briant +twitched; when the fish pulled and paused, Briant pulled and paused, and +when the fish held on hard, Briant pulled hard, and finally pulled him +ashore, and a very nice plump rock-codling he was. There were plenty of +them, so in a short time there was no lack of fresh fish, and Rokens' +fear that they would have to live on salt junk was not realised. + +Fishing for rock-codlings now became one of the chief recreations of the +men while not engaged in bringing various necessaries from the wreck. +But for many days at first they found their hands fully occupied in +making their new abode habitable, in enlarging and improving the tent, +which soon by degrees came to merit the name of a hut, and in inventing +various ingenious contrivances for the improvement of their condition. +It was not until a couple of weeks had passed that time began to hang +heavy on their hands and fishing became a general amusement. + +They all fished, except Jacko. Even Ailie tried it once or twice, but +she did not like it and soon gave it up. As for Jacko, he contented +himself with fishing with his hands, in a sly way, among the provision +casks, at which occupation he was quite an adept; and many a nice +tit-bit did he fish up and secrete in his private apartment for future +use. Like many a human thief, Jacko was at last compelled to leave the +greater part of his ill-gotten and hoarded gains behind him. + +One day Glynn and Ailie sat by the margin of a deep pool in Fairyland, +gazing down into its clear depths. The sun's rays penetrated to the +very bottom, revealing a thousand beauties in form and colour that +called forth from Ailie the most extravagant expressions of admiration. +She wound up one of those eloquent bursts by saying-- + +"Oh, Glynn, how very, _very_ much I do wish I could go down there and +play with the dear, exquisite, darling little fishes!" + +"You'd surprise them, I suspect," said Glynn. "It's rather too deep a +pool to play in unless you were a mermaid." + +"How deep is it, Glynn?" + +"'Bout ten feet, I think." + +"So much? It does not look like it. What a very pretty bit of coral I +see over there, close to the white rock; do you see it? It is bright +pink. Oh, I would like _so_ much to have it." + +"Would you?" cried Glynn, jumping up and throwing off his jacket; "then +here goes for it." + +So saying he clasped his hands above his head, and bending forward, +plunged into the pool and went straight at the piece of pink coral, +head-foremost, like an arrow! + +Glynn was lightly clad. His costume consisted simply of a pair of white +canvas trousers and a blue striped shirt, with a silk kerchief round his +neck, so that his movements in the water were little, if at all, impeded +by his clothes. At the instant he plunged into the water King Bumble +happened to approach, and while Ailie stood, petrified with fear as she +saw Glynn struggling violently at the bottom of the pool, her sable +companion stood looking down with a grin from ear to ear that displayed +every one of his white teeth. + +"Don't be 'fraid, Missie Ally," said the negro; "him's know wot him's +doin', ho yis!" + +Before Ailie could reply, Glynn was on the surface spluttering and +brushing the hair from his forehead with one hand, while with the other +he hugged to his breast the piece of pink coral. + +"Here--it--ha!--is. My breath--oh--is a'most gone--Ailie--catch hold!" +cried he, as he held out the coveted piece of rock to the child, and +scrambled out of the pool. + +"Oh, thank you, Glynn; but why did you go down so quick and stay so +long? I got _such_ a fright." + +"You bin pay your 'spects to de fishes," said Bumble, with a grin. + +"Yes, I have, Bumble, and they say that if you stare at them any longer +with your great goggle eyes they'll all go mad with horror and die right +off. Have you caught any codlings, Bumble?" + +"Yis, me hab, an' me hab come for to make a preeposol to Missie Ally." + +"A what, Bumble?" + +"A preeposol--a digestion." + +"I suppose you mean a suggestion, eh?" + +"Yis, dat the berry ting." + +"Well, out with it." + +"Dis am it. Me ketch rock-coddles; well, me put 'em in bucket ob water +an' bring 'em to you, Missie Ally, an' you put 'em into dat pool and +tame 'em, an' hab great fun with 'em. Eeh! wot you tink?" + +"Oh, it will be _so_ nice. How good of you to think about it, Bumble; +do get them as quick as you can." + +Bumble looked grave and hesitated. + +"Why, what's wrong?" inquired Glynn. + +"Oh, noting. Me only tink me not take the trouble to put 'em into dat +pool where de fishes speak so imperently ob me. Stop, me will go an' +ask if dey sorry for wot dey hab say." + +So saying the negro uttered a shout, sprang straight up into the air, +doubled his head down and his heels up, and cleft the water like a +knife. Glynn uttered a cry something between a yell and a laugh, and +sprang after him, falling flat on the water and dashing the whole pool +into foam, and there the two wallowed about like two porpoises, to the +unbounded delight of Ailie, who stood on the brink laughing until the +tears ran down her cheeks, and to the unutterable horror, no doubt, of +the little fish. + +The rock-codlings were soon caught and transferred to the pool, in +which, after that, neither Glynn nor Bumble were suffered to dive or +swim, and Ailie succeeded, by means of regularly feeding them, in making +the little fish less afraid of her than they were at first. + +But while Ailie and Glynn were thus amusing themselves and trying to +make the time pass as pleasantly as possible, Captain Dunning was +oppressed with the most anxious forebodings. They had now been several +weeks on the sandbank. The weather had, during that time, been steadily +fine and calm, and their provisions were still abundant, but he knew +that this could not last. Moreover, he found on consulting his charts +that he was far out of the usual course of ships, and that deliverance +could only be expected in the shape of a chance vessel. + +Oppressed with these thoughts, which, however, he carefully concealed +from every one except Tim Rokens and the doctor, the captain used to go +on the point of rocks every day and sit there for hours, gazing out +wistfully over the sea. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +MATTERS GROW WORSE AND WORSE--THE MUTINY--COMMENCEMENT OF BOAT-BUILDING, +AND THREATENING STORMS. + +One afternoon, about three weeks after the _Red Eric_ had been wrecked +on the sandbank, Captain Dunning went out on the point of rocks, and +took up his accustomed position there. Habit had now caused him to go +to the point with as much regularity as a sentinel. But on the present +occasion anxiety was more deeply marked on his countenance than usual, +for dark, threatening clouds were seen accumulating on the horizon, an +unnatural stillness prevailed in the hot atmosphere and on the glassy +sea, and everything gave indication of an approaching storm. + +While he sat on a low rock, with his elbows on his knees, and his chin +resting in his hands, he felt a light touch on his shoulder, and looking +round, found Ailie standing by his side. Catching her in his arms, he +pressed her fervently to his heart, and for the first time spoke to her +in discouraging tones. + +"My own darling," said he, parting the hair from her forehead, and +gazing at the child with an expression of the deepest sadness, "I fear +we shall _never_ quit this dreary spot." + +Ailie looked timidly in her father's face, for his agitated manner, more +than his words, alarmed her. + +"Won't we leave it, dear papa," said she, "to go up yonder?" and she +pointed to a gathering mass of clouds overhead, which, although heavy +with dark shadows, had still a few bright, sunny points of resemblance +to the fairy realms in which she delighted to wander in her daydreams. + +The captain made no reply; but, shutting his eyes, and drawing Ailie +close to his side, he uttered a long and fervent prayer to God for +deliverance, if He should see fit, or for grace to endure with Christian +resignation and fortitude whatever He pleased to send upon them. + +When he concluded, and again looked up, Dr Hopley was standing beside +them, with his head bowed upon his breast. + +"I fear, doctor," said the captain, "that I have broken my resolution +not to alarm my dear Ailie by word or look. Yet why should I conceal +from her the danger of our position? Her prayers for help ought to +ascend, as well as ours, to Him who alone can deliver us from evil at +any time, but who makes us to _feel_, as well as _know_, the fact at +such times as these." + +"But I am not afraid, papa," said Ailie quickly. "I'm never afraid when +you are by me; and I've known we were in danger all along, for I've +heard everybody talking about it often and often, and I've _always_ +prayed for deliverance, and surely it must come; for has not Jesus said +if we ask anything in His name He will give it to us?" + +"True, darling; but He means only such things as will do us good." + +"Of course, papa, if I asked for a bad thing, I would not expect Him to +give me that." + +"Deliverance from death," said the doctor, "is a good thing, yet we +cannot be sure that God will grant our prayer for that." + +"There are worse things than death, doctor," replied the captain; "it +may be sometimes better for men to die than to live. It seems to me +that we ought to use the words, `if it please the Lord,' more frequently +than we do in prayer. Deliverance from sin needs no such `if,' but +deliverance from death does." + +At this point the conversation was interrupted by Tim Rokens, who came +up to the captain, and said respectfully-- + +"If ye please, sir, it 'ud be as well if ye wos to speak to the men; +there's somethin' like mutiny a-goin' on, I fear." + +"Mutiny! why, what about?" + +"It's about the spirits. Some on 'em says as how they wants to enjoy +theirselves here as much as they can, for they won't have much chance o' +doin' so ashore any more. It's my belief that fellow Tarquin's at the +bottom o't." + +"There's not much spirits aboard the wreck to fight about," said the +captain, somewhat bitterly, as they all rose, and hurried towards the +hut. "I only brought a supply for medicine; but it must not be touched, +however little there is." + +When the captain came up, he found the space in front of their rude +dwelling a scene of contention and angry dispute that bade fair to end +in a fight. Tarquin was standing before the first mate, with his knife +drawn, and using violent language and gesticulations towards him, while +the latter stood by the raft, grasping a handspike, with which he +threatened to knock the steward down if he set foot on it. The men were +grouped round them, some with looks that implied a desire to side with +Tarquin, while others muttered "Shame!" + +"Shame!" cried Tarquin, looking fiercely round on his shipmates, "who +cried shame? We're pretty sure all on us to be starved to death on this +reef; and it's my opinion, that since we haven't got to live long, we +should try to enjoy ourselves as much as we can. There's not much +spirits aboard, more's the pity; but what there is I shall have. So +again I say, who cried `Shame?'" + +"I did," said Glynn Proctor, stepping quickly forward; "and I invite all +who think with me to back me up." + +"Here ye are, me boy," said Phil Briant, starting forward, and baring +his brawny arms, as was his invariable custom in such circumstances. +"It's meself as'll stick by ye, lad, av the whole crew should go with +that half-caste crokidile." + +Gurney and Dick Barnes immediately sided with Glynn also, but Jim +Scroggles and Nikel Sling, and, to the surprise of every one, Markham, +the second mate, sided with the steward. As the opposing parties +glanced at each other, Glynn observed that, although his side was +superior in numbers, some of the largest and most powerful men of the +crew were among his opponents, and he felt that a conflict between such +men must inevitably be serious. Matters had almost come to a crisis +when Dr Hopley and the captain approached the scene of action. The +latter saw at a glance the state of affairs, and stepping up to the +steward, ordered him at once into the hut. + +Tarquin seemed to waver for a moment under the stern gaze of his +commander; but he suddenly swore a terrible oath, and said that he would +not obey. + +"You're no longer in command of us," he said gruffly, "now that you have +lost your ship. Every man may do what he pleases." + +"May he?" replied the captain; "then it pleases me to do that!" and, +launching out his clenched right hand with all his might, he hit the +steward therewith right between the eyes. + +Tarquin went down as if he had been shot, and lay stunned and at full +length upon the sand. + +"Now, my lads," cried the captain, turning towards the men, "what he +said just now is so far right. Having lost my ship, I am no longer +entitled to command you; but my command does not cease unless a majority +of you choose that it should. Tarquin has taken upon himself to decide +the question, without asking your opinion, which amounts to mutiny, and +mutiny, under the circumstances in which we are placed, requires to be +promptly dealt with. I feel it right to say this, because I am a man of +peace, as you well know, and do not approve of a too ready appeal to the +fists for the settlement of a dispute." + +"Ah, then, more's the pity!" interrupted Briant, "for ye use them +oncommon well." + +A suppressed laugh followed this remark. + +"Silence, men, this is no time for jesting. One of our shipmates has, +not long since, been taken suddenly from us; it may be that we shall all +of us be called into the presence of our Maker before many days pass +over us. We have much to do that will require to be done promptly and +well, if we would hope to be delivered at all, and the question must be +decided _now_ whether I am to command you, or every one is to do what he +pleases." + +"I votes for Cap'en Dunning," exclaimed Gurney. + +"So does I," cried Jim Scroggles; who, being somewhat weather-cockish in +his nature, turned always with wonderful facility to the winning side. + +"Three cheers for the cap'en," cried Dick Barnes, suiting the action to +the word. + +Almost every voice joined in the vociferous cheer with which this +proposal was received. + +"An' wan more for Miss Ailie," shouted Phil Briant. + +Even Jacko lent his voice to the tremendous cheer that followed, for +Briant in his energy chanced to tread on that creature's unfortunate +tail, which always seemed to be in his own way as well as in that of +every one else, and the shriek that he uttered rang high above the +laughter into which the cheer degenerated, as some one cried, "Ah, Pat, +trust you, my boy, for rememberin' the ladies!" + +Order having been thus happily restored, and Captain Dunning having +announced that the late attempt at mutiny should thenceforth be buried +in total oblivion, a council was called, in order to consider seriously +their present circumstances, and to devise, if possible, some means of +escape. + +"My lads," said the captain, when they were all assembled, "I've been +ponderin' over matters ever since we were cast away on this bank, an' +I've at last come to the conclusion that our only chance of gettin' away +is to build a small boat and fit her out for a long voyage. I need not +tell you that this chance is a poor one--well-nigh a forlorn hope. Had +it been better I would have spoken before now, and began the work +sooner; but I have lived from day to day in the hope of a ship heaving +in sight. This is a vain hope. We are far out of the usual track of +all ships here. None come this way, except such as may chance to be +blown out of their course, as we were; and even if one did come within +sight, it's ten chances to one that we should fail to attract attention +on such a low bank as this. + +"I've had several reliable observations of late, and I find that we are +upwards of two thousand miles from the nearest known land, which is the +Cape of Good Hope. I propose, therefore, that we should strip off as +much of the planking of the wreck as will suit our purpose, get the +carpenter's chest landed, and commence work at once. Now, what say you? +If anyone has a better plan to suggest, I'll be only to glad to adopt +it, for such a voyage in so slim a craft as we can build here will be +one necessarily replete with danger." + +"I'll tell ye wot it is, cap'en," said Tim Rokens, rising up, taking off +his cap, and clearing his throat, as if he were about to make a studied +oration. "We've not none on us got no suggestions to make wotsomdiver. +You've only got to give the word and we'll go to work; an' the sooner +you does so the better, for it's my b'lief we'll have a gale afore long +that'll pretty well stop work altogether as long as it lasts." + +The indications in the sky gave such ample testimony to the justness of +Rokens' observations that no more time was wasted in discussion. Dick +Barnes, who acted the part of ship's carpenter when not otherwise +engaged, went out to the wreck on the raft, with a party of men under +command of Mr Millons, to fetch planking and the necessary material for +the construction of a boat, while the remainder of the crew, under the +captain's superintendence, prepared a place near Fairyland for laying +the keel. + +This spot was selected partly on account of the convenient formation of +the shore for the launching of the boat when finished, and partly +because that would be the lee side of the rocky point when the coming +storm should burst. For the latter reason the hut was removed to +Fairyland, and poor Ailie had the mortification in a few hours of seeing +her little paradise converted into an unsightly wreck of confusion. +Alas! how often this is the case in human affairs of greater moment; +showing the folly of setting our hearts on the things of earth. It +seems at first sight a hard passage, that, in the Word of God. "What?" +the enthusiastic but thoughtless are ready to exclaim, "not love the +world! the bright, beautiful world that was made by God to be enjoyed? +Not love our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives? not give our +warmest affections to all these?" Truly, ye hasty ones, if you would +but earnestly consider it, you would find that God not only permits, but +requires us to love all that is good and beautiful here, as much as we +will, as much as we can; but we ought to love Himself _more_. If this +be our happy condition, then our hearts are not "set on the world"; on +the contrary, they are set free to love the world and all that is +lovable in it--of which there is very, very much--more, probably than +the best of men suppose. Else, wherefore does the Father love it and +care for it so tenderly? + +But Ailie had not set her heart on her possessions on the sandbank. She +felt deep regret for a time, it is true, and in feeling thus she +indulged a right and natural impulse, but that impulse did not lead to +the sin of murmuring. Her sorrow soon passed away, and she found +herself as cheerful and happy afterwards in preparing for her long, long +voyage as ever she had been in watching the gambols of her fish, or in +admiring the lovely hues of the weeds and coral rocks in the limpid +pools of Fairyland. + +It was a fortunate circumstance that Captain Dunning set about the +preparations for building the boat that afternoon, for the storm burst +upon them sooner than had been expected, and long before all the +requisite stores and materials had been rafted from the wreck. + +The most important things, however, had been procured--such as the +carpenter's chest, a large quantity of planking, oakum, and cordage, and +several pieces of sail cloth, with the requisite thread and needles for +making boat sails. Still, much was wanting when the increasing violence +of the wind compelled them to leave off work. + +Some of the men were now ordered to set about securing such materials as +had been collected, while others busied themselves in fixing ropes to +the hut and rolling huge masses of coral rock against its fragile walls +to steady it. + +"Av ye plaze, sir," said Briant to the Captain, wiping his forehead as +he approached with a lump of tarry canvas which he used in default of a +better pocket-handkerchief, "av ye plaze, sir, wot'll I do now?" + +"Do something useful, lad, whatever you do," said the captain, looking +up from the hole which he was busily engaged in digging for the +reception of a post to steady the hut. "There's lots of work; you can +please yourself as to choice." + +"Then I comed fur to suggist that the purvisions and things a-top o' the +sandbank isn't quite so safe as they might be." + +"True, Briant; I was just thinking of that as you came up. Go and see +you make a tight job of it. Get Rokens to help you." + +Briant hurried off, and calling his friend, walked with him to the top +of the sandbank, leaning heavily against the gale, and staggering as +they went. The blast now whistled so that they could scarcely hear each +other talk. + +"We'll be blowed right into the sea," shouted Tim, as the two reached a +pile of casks and cases. + +"Sure, that's me own belaif entirely," roared his companion. + +"What d'ye say to dig a hole and stick the things in it?" yelled Rokens. + +"We're not fit," screamed Phil. + +"Let's try," shrieked the other. + +To this Briant replied by falling on his knees on the lee side of the +goods, and digging with his hands in the sand most furiously. Tim +Rokens followed his example, and the two worked like a couple of +sea-moles (if such creatures exist) until a hole capable of holding +several casks was formed. Into this they stowed all the biscuit casks +and a few other articles, and covered them up with sand. The remainder +they covered with tarpaulin, and threw sand and stones above it until +the heap was almost buried out of sight. This accomplished, they +staggered back to the hut as fast as they could. + +Here they found everything snugly secured, and as the rocks effectually +sheltered the spot from the gale, with the exception of an occasional +eddying blast that drove the sand in their faces, they felt +comparatively comfortable. Lighting their pipes, they sat down among +their comrades to await the termination of the storm. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +THE STORM. + +A storm in almost all circumstances is a grand and solemnising sight, +one that forces man to feel his own weakness and his Maker's might and +majesty. But a storm at sea in southern latitudes, where the winds are +let loose with a degree of violence that is seldom or never experienced +in the temperate zones, is so terrific that no words can be found to +convey an adequate idea of its appalling ferocity. + +The storm that at this time burst upon the little sandbank on which the +shipwrecked crew had found shelter, was one of the most furious, +perhaps, that ever swept the seas. The wind shrieked as if it were +endued with life, tore up the surface of the groaning deep into masses +and shreds of foam, which it whirled aloft in mad fury, and then +dissipated into a thin blinding mist that filled the whole atmosphere, +so that one could scarcely see a couple of yards beyond the spot on +which he stood. The hurricane seemed to have reached its highest point +soon after sunset that night, and a ray of light from the moon struggled +ever and anon through the black hurtling clouds, as if to reveal to the +cowering seamen the extreme peril of their situation. The great ocean +was lashed into a wide sheet of foam, and the presence of the little +isle in the midst of that swirling waste of water was indicated merely +by a slight circle of foam that seemed whiter than the rest of the sea. + +The men sat silently in their frail hut, listening to the howling blast +without. A feeling of awe crept over the whole party, and the most +careless and the lightest of heart among the crew of the _Red Eric_ +ceased to utter his passing jest, and became deeply solemnised as the +roar of the breakers filled his ear, and reminded him that a thin ledge +of rock alone preserved him from instant destruction. + +"The wind has shifted a point," said the captain, who had just risen and +opened a chink of the rude door of the hut in order to look out. "I see +that the keel of the boat is all fast and the planking beside it. The +coral rock shelters it just now; but if the wind goes on shifting I fear +it will stand a poor chance." + +"We'd better go out and give it a hextra fastening," suggested Mr +Millons. + +"Not yet. There's no use of exposing any of the men to the risk of +being blown away. The wind may keep steady, in which case I've no fear +for it." + +"I dun know," said Rokens, who sat beside Ailie, close to the embers of +their fire, with a glowing cinder from which he re-lighted his pipe for +at least the twentieth time that night. "You never can tell wot's +a-goin' to turn up. I'll go out, cap'en, if ye like, and see that all's +fast." + +"Perhaps you're right, Tim; you may make a bolt across to it, and heave +another rock or two on the planking if it seems to require it." + +The seaman rose, and putting aside his pipe, threw off his coat, partly +in order that he might present as small a surface to the wind as +possible, and partly that he might have a dry garment to put on when he +returned. As he opened the little door of the hut a rude gust of wind +burst in, filling the apartment with spray, and scattering the embers of +the fire. + +"I feared as much," said the captain, as he and the men started up to +gather together the pieces of glowing charcoal; "that shows the wind's +shifted another point; if it goes round two points more it'll smash our +boat to pieces. Look sharp, Tim." + +"Lean well against the wind, me boy," cried Briant, in a warning voice. + +Thus admonished, Rokens issued forth, and dashed across the open space +that separated the hut from the low ledge of coral rock behind which the +keel of the intended boat and its planking were sheltered. A very few +minutes sufficed to show Tim that all was fast, and to enable him to +place a few additional pieces of rock above the heap in order to keep it +down. Then he prepared to dart back again to the hut, from the doorway +of which his proceedings, were watched by the captain and as many of the +men as could crowd round it. + +Just as the harpooner sprang from the shelter of the rock the blast +burst upon the bank with redoubled fury, as if it actually were a +sentient being, and wished to catch the sailor in its rude grasp and +whirl him away. Rokens bent his stout frame against it with all his +might, and stood his ground for a few seconds like a noble tree on some +exposed mountain side that has weathered the gales of centuries. Then +he staggered, threw his arms wildly in the air, and a moment after was +swept from the spot and lost to view in the driving spray that flew over +the island. + +The thing was so instantaneous that the horrified onlookers could +scarcely credit the evidence of their eyes, and they stood aghast for a +moment or two ere their feelings found vent in a cry of alarm. Next +instant Captain Dunning felt himself rudely pushed aside, and Briant +leaped through the doorway, shouting, as he dashed out-- + +"If Tim Rokens goes, it's Phil Briant as'll go along with him." + +The enthusiastic Irishman was immediately lost to view, and Glynn +Proctor was about to follow, when the captain seized him by the collar, +dragged him back, and shut the door violently. + +"Keep back, lads," he cried, "no one must leave the hut. If these two +men cannot save themselves by means of their own strong muscles, no +human power can save them." + +Glynn, and indeed all of the men, felt this remark to be true, so they +sat down round the fire, and looked in each other's faces with the +expression of men who half believed they must be dreaming. Little was +said during the next ten or fifteen minutes; indeed, it was difficult to +make their voices heard, owing to the noise of the wind and dashing +waves. The captain stood at the door, looking out from time to time +with feelings of the deepest anxiety, each moment expecting to see the +two sailors struggling back towards the hut; but they did not return. +Soon the gale increased to such a degree that every one felt, although +no one would acknowledge it even to himself, that there was now no hope +of their comrades ever returning. + +The wind shifted another point; and now their lost shipmates were for a +time forgotten in the anxieties of their own critical position, for +their rocky ledge formed only a partial shelter, and every now and then +the hut was shaken with a blast so terrible that it threatened to come +down about their ears. + +"Don't you think our house will fall, dear papa?" inquired Ailie, as a +gust more furious than any that had hitherto passed swept round the +rocks, and shook the hut as if it had been made of pasteboard. + +"God knows, my darling; we are in His hands." + +Ailie tried to comfort herself with the thought that her Heavenly Father +was indeed the ruler of the storm, and could prevent it from doing them +harm if He pleased; but as gust after gust dashed against the frail +building, and almost shook it down, while the loud rattling of the +boards which composed it almost stunned her, an irresistible feeling of +alarm crept over her, despite her utmost efforts to control herself. + +The captain now ordered the men to go out and see that the fastenings to +windward and the supports to leeward of the hut remained firm, and to +add more of them if possible. He set the example by throwing off his +coat and leading the way. + +This duty was by no means so difficult or dangerous as that which had +been previously performed by Rokens, for it must be remembered the hut +as yet was only exposed to partial gusts of eddying wind, not to the +full violence of the storm. It involved a thorough wetting, however, to +all who went. In ten minutes the men re-entered, and put on their dry +coats, but as no one knew how soon he might again be called upon to +expose himself, none thought of changing his other garments. + +"Now, Ailie, my pet," said Captain Dunning, sitting down beside his +child on the sandy floor of the hut, "we've done all we can. If the +wind remains as it is our house will stand." + +"But have you not seen Rokens or Briant?" inquired Ailie with an anxious +face, while the tears rolled over her cheeks. + +The captain shook his head, but made no reply, and the men looked +earnestly at each other, as if each sought to gather a ray of hope from +the countenance of his friend. While they sat thus, a terrible blast +shook the hut to its foundation. Again and again it came with +ever-increasing violence, and then it burst on them with a continuous +roar like prolonged thunder. + +"Look out," cried the captain, instinctively clasping Ailie in his arms, +while the men sprang to their feet. The stout corner-posts bent over +before the immense pressure, and the second mate placed his shoulder +against one of those on the windward side of the hut, while Dick Barnes +and Nikel Sling did the same to the other. + +"It's all up with us," cried Tarquin, as part of the roof blew off, and +a deluge of water and spray burst in upon them, extinguishing the fire +and leaving them in total darkness. At that moment Ailie felt herself +seized round the waist by a pair of tiny arms, and putting down her +hand, she felt that Jacko was clinging to her with a tight but trembling +grasp. + +Even in that hour of danger, the child experienced a sensation of +pleasure at the mere thought that there was one living creature there +which looked up to and clung to her for protection; and although she +knew full well that if the stout arm of her father which encircled her +were removed, her own strength, in their present circumstances, could +not have availed to protect herself, yet she felt a gush of renewed +strength and courage at her heart when the poor little monkey put its +trembling arms around her. + +"Lay your shoulders to the weather-wall, lads," cried the captain, as +another rush of wind bore down in the devoted hut. + +The men obeyed, but their united strength availed nothing against the +mighty power that raged without. The wind, as the captain had feared, +went round another point, and they were now exposed to the unbroken +force of the hurricane. For a few minutes the stout corner-posts of the +hut held up, then they began to rend and crack. + +"Bear down with the blast to the lee of the rocks, lads," cried the +captain; "it's your only chance; don't try to face it." + +Almost before the words left his lips the posts snapped with a loud +crash; the hut was actually lifted off the ground by the wind, and swept +completely away, while most of the men were thrown violently to the +ground by the wreck as it passed over their heads. The captain fell +like the rest, but he retained his grasp of Ailie, and succeeded in +rising, and as the gale carried him away with irresistible fury he bore +firmly down to his right, and gained the eddy caused by the rocks which +until now had sheltered the hut. He was safe; but he did not feel +secure until he had staggered towards the most sheltered part, and +placed his child in a cleft of the rock. + +Here he found Gurney and Tarquin before him, and soon after Glynn came +staggering in, along with one or two others. In less than three minutes +after the hut had been blown away, all the men were collected in the +cleft, where they crouched down to avoid the pelting, pitiless spray +that dashed over their heads. + +It is difficult to conceive a more desperate position than that in which +they were now placed, yet there and at that moment a thrill of joy +passed through the hearts of most, if not all of them, for they heard a +shout which was recognised to be the voice of Tim Rokens. It came from +the rocks a few yards to their right, and almost ere it had died away, +Rokens himself staggered into the sheltering cleft of rock, accompanied +by Phil Briant. + +Some of the men who had faced the dangers to which they had been exposed +with firm nerves and unblanched cheeks, now grew pale, and trembled +violently, for they actually believed that the spirits of their lost +shipmates had come to haunt them. But these superstitious fears were +soon put to flight by the hearty voice of the harpooner, who shook +himself like a great Newfoundland dog as he came up, and exclaimed-- + +"Why, wot on airth has brought ye all here?" + +"I think we may say, what has brought _you_ here?" replied the captain, +as he grasped them each by the hand and shook them with as much energy +as if he had not met them for ten years past. + +"It's aisy to tell that," said Briant, as he crouched down in the midst +of the group; "Tim and me wos blow'd right across the bank, an' we +should no doubt ha' bin blow'd right into the sea, but Tim went full +split agin one o' the casks o' salt junk, and I went slap agin _him_, +and we lay for a moment all but dead. Then we crep' in the lee o' the +cask, an' lay there till a lull came, when we clapped on all sail, an' +made for the shelter o' the rocks, an' shure we got there niver a taste +too soon, for it came on to blow the next minit, fit to blow the eyelids +off yer face, it did." + +"It's a fact," added Rokens. "Moreover, we tried to git round to the +hut, but as we wos twice nearly blowed away w'en we tried for to double +the point, we 'greed to stay where we wos till the back o' the gale +should be broke. But, now, let's hear wot's happened." + +"The hut's gone," said Gurney, in reply. "Blowed clean over our heads +to--I dun know where." + +"Blowed away?" cried Rokens and Briant, in consternation. + +"Not a stick left," replied the captain. + +"An' the boat?" inquired Briant. + +"It's gone too, I fancy; but we can't be sure." + +"Then it's all up, boys," observed Briant; "for nearly every morsel o' +the prog that wos on the top o' the bank is washed away." + +This piece of news fell like a thunderbolt on the men, and no one spoke +for some minutes. At last the captain said-- + +"Well, lads, we must do the best we can. Thank God, we are still alive; +so let us see whether we can't make our present quarters more +comfortable." + +Setting his men the example, Captain Dunning began to collect the few +boards, and bits of canvas that chanced to have been left on that side +of the rocky ledge when the hut was removed to the other side, and with +these materials a very partial and insufficient shelter was put up. But +the space thus inclosed was so small that they were all obliged to +huddle together in a mass. Those farthest from the rock were not +altogether protected from the spray that flew over their heads, while +those nearest to it were crushed and incommoded by their companions. + +Thus they passed that eventful night and all the following day, during +which the storm raged with such fury that no one dared venture out to +ascertain how much, if any, of their provisions and stores were left to +them. + +During the second night, a perceptible decrease in the violence of the +gale took place, and before morning it ceased altogether. The sun rose +in unclouded splendour, sending its bright and warm beams up into the +clear blue sky and down upon the ocean, which glittered vividly as it +still swelled and trembled with agitation. All was serene and calm in +the sky, while below the only sound that broke upon the ear was the deep +and regular dash of the great breakers that fell upon the shores of the +islet, and encircled it with a fringe of purest white. + +On issuing from their confined uneasy nest in the cleft of the rock, +part of the shipwrecked crew hastened anxiously to the top of the bank +to see how much of their valuable store of food was left, while others +ran to the spot in Fairyland where the keel of the new boat had been +laid. The latter party found to their joy that all was safe, everything +having been well secured; but a terrible sight met the eyes of the other +men. Not a vestige of all their store remained! The summit of the +sandbank was as smooth as on the day they landed there. Casks, boxes, +barrels--all were gone; everything had been swept away into the sea! + +Almost instinctively the men turned their eyes towards the reef on which +the _Red Eric_ had grounded, each man feeling that in the wrecked vessel +all his hope now remained. It, too, was gone! The spot on which it had +lain was now washed by the waves, and a few broken planks and spars on +the beach were all that remained to remind them of their ocean home! + +The men looked at each other with deep despondency expressed in their +countenances. They were haggard and worn from exposure, anxiety, and +want of rest; and as they stood there in their wet, torn garments, they +looked the very picture of despair. + +"There's one chance for us yet, lads," exclaimed Tim Rokens, looking +carefully round the spot on which they stood. + +"What's that?" exclaimed several of the men eagerly, catching at their +comrade's words as drowning men are said to catch at straws. + +"Briant an' me buried some o' the things, by good luck, when we were +sent to make all snug here, an' I'm of opinion they'll be here yet, if +we could only find the place. Let me see." + +Rokens glanced round at the rocks beside which their hut had found +shelter, and at the reef where the ship had been wrecked, in order to +find the "bearin's o' the spot," as he expressed it. Then walking a few +yards to one side, he struck his foot on the sand and said, "It should +be hereabouts." + +The blow of his heel returned a peculiar hollow sound, very unlike that +produced by stamping on the mere sand. + +"Shure ye've hit the very spot, ye have," cried Briant, falling on his +knees beside the place; and scraping up the sand with both hands. "It +sounds uncommon like a bread-cask. Here it is. Hurrah! boys, lind a +hand, will ye. There now, heave away; but trate it tinderly! Shure +it's the only friend we've got in the wide world." + +"You're all wrong, Phil," cried Gurney, who almost at the same moment +began to scrape another hole close by. "It's not our only one; here's +another friend o' the same family. Bear a hand, lads!" + +"And here's another!" cried Ailie, with a little scream of delight, as +she observed the rim of a small keg just peeping out above the sand. + +"Well done, Ailie," cried Glynn, as he ran to the spot and quickly dug +up the keg in question, which, however, proved to be full of nails, to +Ailie's great disappointment, for she expected it to have turned out a +keg of biscuits. + +"How many casks did you bury?" inquired the captain. + +"It's meself can't tell," replied Briant; "d'ye know, Tim?" + +"Three, I think; but we was in sich a hurry that I ain't sartin +exactly." + +"Well, then, boys, look here!" continued the captain, drawing a pretty +large circle on the sand, "set to work like a band of moles an' dig up +every inch o' that till you come to the water." + +"That's your sort," cried Rokens, plunging elbow-deep into the sand at +once. + +"Arrah! then, here's at ye; a fair field an' no favour at any price," +shouted Briant, baring his arms, straddling his legs, and sending a +shower of sand behind him that almost overwhelmed Gurney, before that +stout little individual could get out of the way. + +The spirits of the men were farther rejoiced by the coming up of the +other party, bearing the good news that the keel of the boat was safe, +as well as all her planking and the carpenter's tools, which fortunately +happened to have been secured in a sheltered spot. From the depths of +despair they were all suddenly raised to renewed and sanguine hope, so +that they wrought with the energy of gold-diggers, and soon their toil +was rewarded by the discovery of that which, in their circumstances, +they would not have exchanged for all the golden nuggets that ever were +or will be dug up from the prolific mines of Australia, California, or +British Columbia, namely, three casks of biscuit, a small keg of wine, a +cask of fresh water, a roll of tobacco, and a barrel of salt junk. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +PREPARATIONS FOR A LONG VOYAGE--BRIANT PROVES THAT GHOSTS CAN DRINK-- +JACKO ASTONISHES HIS FRIENDS, AND SADDENS HIS ADOPTED MOTHER. + +"Wot _I_ say is one thing; wot _you_ say is another--so it is. I dun +know w'ich is right, or w'ich is wrong--no more do you. P'raps you is, +p'raps I is; anywise we can't both on us be right or both on us be +wrong--that's a comfort, if it's nothin' else. Wot _you_ say is--that +it's morally imposs'ble for a crew sich as us to travel over two +thousand miles of ocean on three casks o' biscuit and a barrel o' salt +junk. Wot _I_ say is--that we can, an', moreover, that morals has +nothin' to do with it wotsomediver. Now, wot then?" + +Tim Rokens paused and looked at Gurney, to whom his remarks were +addressed, as if he expected an answer. That rotund little seaman did +not, however, appear to be thoroughly prepared to reply to "wot then," +for he remained silent, but looked at his comrade as though to say, +"I'll be happy to learn wisdom from your sagacious lips." + +"Wot then?" repeated Tim Rokens, assaulting his knee with his clenched +fist in a peculiarly emphatic manner; "I'll tell ye wot then, as you may +be right and I may be right, an' nother on us can be both right or +wrong, I say as how that we don't know nothin' about it." + +Gurney looked as if he did not quite approve of so summary a method of +solving such a knotty question, but observing from the expression of +Rokens' countenance that, though he had paused, that philosopher had not +yet concluded, he remained silent. + +"An', furthermore," continued Tim, "it's my opinion--seein' that we're +both on us in such a state o' cumblebofubulation, an' don't know +nothin'--we'd better go an' ax the cap'en, who does." + +"_You_ may save yourselves the trouble," observed Glynn Proctor, who at +that moment came up and sat down on the rocks beside them, with a piece +of the salt junk that formed an element in the question at issue, in his +hand-- + +"I've just heard the captain give his opinion on that subject, and he +says that the boat can be got ready in a week or less, and that, with +strict economy, the provisions we have will last us long enough to +enable us to make the Cape, supposing we have good weather and fair +winds. That's _his_ opinion." + +"I told ye so," said Tim Rokens. + +"You did nothin' o' the sort," retorted Gurney. + +"Well, if ye come fur to be oncommon strick in the use o' your lingo, I +did _not_ 'xactly tell ye so, but I _thought_ so, w'ich is all the +same." + +"It ain't all the same," replied Gurney, whose temper seemed to have +been a little soured by the prospects before him, "and you don't need to +go for to be talkin' there like a great Solon as you are." + +"Wot's a Solon?" inquired Tim. + +"Solon was a man as thought his-self a great feelosopher, but he worn't, +he wor an ass." + +"If I'm like Solon," retorted Rokens, "you're like a Solon-goose, w'ich +is an animal as _don't_ think itself an ass, 'cause its too great a one +to know it." + +Having thus floored his adversary, the philosophic mariner turned to +Glynn and said-- + +"In course we can't expect to be on full allowance." + +"Of course not, old boy; the captain remarked, just as I left him, that +we'd have to be content with short allowance--very short allowance +indeed." + +Gurney sighed deeply. + +"How much?" inquired Tim. + +"About three ounces of biscuit, one ounce of salt junk, and a quarter of +a pint of water per day." + +Gurney groaned aloud. + +"You, of all men," said Glynn, "have least reason to complain, Gurney, +for you've got fat enough on your own proper person to last you a week +at least!" + +"Ay, a fortnight, or more," added Rokens; "an' even then ye'd scarcely +be redooced to a decent size." + +"Ah, but," pleaded Gurney, "you scarecrow creatures don't know how +horrid sore the process o' comin' down is. An' one gets so cold, too. +It's just like taking off yer clo's." + +"Sarves ye right for puttin' on so many," said Rokens, as he rose to +resume work, which he and Gurney had left off three-quarters of an hour +before, in order to enjoy a quiet, philosophical _tete-a-tete_ during +dinner. + +"It's a bad business, that of the planking not being sufficient to deck +or even half-deck the boat," observed Glynn, as they went together +towards the place where the new boat was being built. + +"It is," replied Rokens; "but it's a good thing that we've got plenty of +canvas to spare. It won't make an overly strong deck, to be sure; but +it's better than nothin'." + +"A heavy sea would burst it in no time," remarked Gurney. + +"We must hope to escape heavy seas, then," said Glynn, as they parted, +and went to their several occupations. + +The boat that was now building with the most urgent despatch, had a keel +of exactly twenty-three feet long, and her breadth, at the widest part, +was seven feet. She was being as well and firmly put together as the +materials at their command would admit of, and, as far as the work had +yet proceeded, she bid fair to become an excellent boat, capable of +containing the whole crew, and their small quantity of provisions. This +last was diminishing so rapidly, that Captain Dunning resolved to put +all hands at once on short allowance. Notwithstanding this, the men +worked hard and hopefully; for, as each plank and nail was added to +their little bark, they felt as if they were a step nearer home. The +captain and the doctor, however, and one or two of the older men, could +not banish from their minds the fact that the voyage they were about to +undertake was of the most perilous nature, and one which, in any other +than the hopeless circumstances in which they were placed at that time, +would have been regarded as the most desperate of forlorn hopes. + +For fourteen souls to be tossed about on the wide and stormy sea, during +many weeks, it might be months, in a small open boat, crowded together +and cramped, without sufficient covering, and on short allowance of +food, was indeed a dreary prospect, even for the men--how much more so +for the delicate child who shared their trials and sufferings? Captain +Dunning's heart sank within him when he thought of it; but he knew how +great an influence the conduct and bearing of a commander has, in such +circumstances, on his men; so he strove to show a smiling, cheerful +countenance, though oftentimes he carried a sad and anxious heart in his +bosom. To the doctor and Tim Rokens alone did he reveal his inmost +thoughts, because he knew that he could trust them, and felt that he +needed their advice and sympathy. + +The work progressed so rapidly, that in a few days more the boat +approached completion, and preparations were being made in earnest for +finally quitting the little isle on which they had found a home for so +many days. + +It was observed by the captain that as the work of boat-building drew to +a close, Glynn Proctor continued to labour long after the others had +retired to rest, wearied with the toils of the day--toils which they +were not now so well able to bear as heretofore, on account of the +slight want of vigour caused by being compelled to live on half +allowance. + +One evening the captain went down to the building yard in Fairyland, and +said to Glynn-- + +"Hallo, my boy! at it yet? Why, what are you making? A dog-kennel, +eh?" + +"No; not exactly that," replied Glynn, laughing. "You'll hardly guess." + +"I would say it was a house for Jacko, only it seems much too big." + +"It's just possible that Jacko may have a share in it," said Glynn; "but +it's not for him." + +"Who, then? Not for yourself, surely!" + +"It's for Ailie," cried Glynn gleefully. "Don't you think it will be +required?" he added, looking up, as if he half feared the captain would +not permit his contrivance to be used. + +"Well, I believe it will, my boy. I had intended to get some sort of +covering for my dear Ailie put up in the stern-sheets; but I did not +think of absolutely making a box for her." + +"Ah, you'll find it will be a capital thing at nights. I know she could +never stand the exposure, and canvas don't keep out the rain well; so I +thought of rigging up a large box, into which she can creep. I'll make +air-holes in the roof that will let in air, but not water; and I'll +caulk the seams with oakum, so as to keep it quite dry inside." + +"Thank you, my boy, it's very kind of you to take so much thought for my +poor child. Yet she deserves it, Glynn, and we can't be too careful of +her." + +The captain patted the youth on the shoulder, and, leaving him to +continue his work, went to see Gurney, who had been ailing a little +during the last few days. Brandy, in small quantities, had been +prescribed by the doctor, and, fortunately, two bottles of that spirit +had been swept from the wreck. Being their whole stock, Captain Dunning +had stowed it carefully away in what he deemed a secret and secure +place; but it turned out that some member of the crew was not so strict +in his principles of temperance as could be desired; for, on going to +the spot to procure the required medicine, it was found that one of the +bottles was gone. + +This discovery caused the captain much anxiety and sorrow, for, besides +inflicting on them the loss of a most valuable medicine, it proved that +there was a thief in their little society. + +What was to be done? To pass it over in silence would have shown +weakness, which, especially in the circumstances in which they were at +that time placed, might have led at last to open mutiny. To discover +the thief was impossible. The captain's mind was soon made up. He +summoned every one of the party before him, and, after stating the +discovery he had made, he said-- + +"Now, lads, I'm not going to charge any of you with having done this +thing, but I cannot let it pass without warning you that if I discover +any of you being guilty of such practices in future, I'll have the man +tied up and give him three dozen with a rope's-end. You know I have +never resorted, as many captains are in the habit of doing, to corporal +punishment. I don't like it. I've sailed in command of ships for many +years, and have never found it needful; but now, more than ever, strict +discipline must be maintained; and I tell you, once for all, that I mean +to maintain it _at any cost_." + +This speech was received in silence. All perceived the justice of it, +yet some felt that, until the thief should be discovered, they +themselves would lie under suspicion. A few there were, indeed, whose +well-known and long-established characters raised them above suspicion, +but there were others who knew that their character had not yet been +established on so firm a basis, and they felt that until the matter +should be cleared up, their honesty would be, mentally at least, called +in question by their companions. + +With the exception of the disposition to mutiny related in a previous +chapter, this was the first cloud that had risen to interrupt the +harmony of the shipwrecked sailors, and as they returned to their work, +sundry suggestions and remarks were made in reference to the possibility +of discovering the delinquent. + +"I didn't think it wos poss'ble," said Rokens. "I thought as how there +wasn't a man in the ship as could ha' done sich a low, mean thing as +that." + +"No more did I," said Dick Barnes. + +"Wall, boys," observed Nikel Sling emphatically, "I guess as how that I +don't believe it yet." + +"Arrah! D'ye think the bottle o' brandy stole his-self?" inquired +Briant. + +"I ain't a-goin' fur to say that; but a ghost might ha' done it, p'raps, +a-purpose to get us into a scrape." + +There was a slight laugh at this, and from that moment the other men +suspected that Sling was the culprit. The mere fact of his being the +first to charge the crime upon any one else--even a ghost--caused them, +in spite of themselves, to come to this conclusion. They did not, +however, by word or look, show what was passing in their minds, for the +Yankee was a favourite with his comrades, and each felt unwilling that +his suspicion should prove to be correct. + +"I don't agree with you," said Tarquin, who feared that suspicion might +attach to himself, seeing that he had been the ringleader in the recent +mutiny; "I don't believe that ghosts drink." + +"Och! that's all ye know!" cried Phil Briant. "Av ye'd only lived a +month or two in Owld Ireland, ye'd have seen raison to change yer mind, +ye would. Sure I've seed a ghost the worse o' liquor meself." + +"Oh! Phil, wot a stunner!" cried Gurney. + +"It's as true as me name's Phil Briant--more's the pity. Did I niver +tell ye o' the Widdy Morgan, as had a ghost come to see her frequently?" + +"No, never--let's hear it." + +"Stop that noise with yer hammer, then, Tim Rokens, jist for five +minutes, and I'll tell it ye." + +The men ceased work for a few minutes while their comrade spoke as +follows-- + +"It's not a long story, boys, but it's long enough to prove that ghosts +drink. + +"Ye must know that wance upon a time there wos a widdy as lived in a +small town in the county o' Clare, in Owld Ireland, an' oh! but that was +the place for drinkin' and fightin'. It wos there that I learned to use +me sippers; and it wos there, too, that I learned to give up drinkin', +for I comed for to see what a mighty dale o' harm it did to my poor +countrymen. The sexton o' the place was the only man as niver wint near +the grog-shop, and no wan iver seed him overtook with drink, but it was +a quare thing that no wan could rightly understand why he used to +_smell_ o' drink very bad sometimes. There wos a young widdy in that +town, o' the name o' Morgan, as kep' a cow, an' owned a small cabin, an' +a patch o' tater-ground about the size o' the starn sheets of our owld +long-boat. She wos a great deal run after, wos this widdy--not that the +young lads had an eye to the cow, or the cabin, or the tater-estate, by +no manes--but she wos greatly admired, she wos. I admired her meself, +and wint to see her pretty fraquent. Well, wan evenin' I wint to see +her, an' says I, `Mrs Morgan, did ye iver hear the bit song called the +Widdy Machree?' `Sure I niver did,' says she. `Would ye like to hear +it, darlint?' says I. So she says she would, an' I gave it to her right +off; an' when I'd done, says I, `Now, Widdy Morgan, ochone! will ye take +_me_?' But she shook her head, and looked melancholy. `Ye ain't +a-goin' to take spasms?' said I, for I got frightened at her looks. +`No,' says she; `but there's a sacret about me; an' I like ye too well, +Phil, to decaive ye; if ye only know'd the sacret, ye wouldn't have me +at any price.' + +"`Wouldn't I?' says I; `try me, cushla, and see av I won't.' + +"`Phil Briant,' says she, awful solemn like, `I'm haunted.' + +"`Haunted!' says I; `'av coorse ye are, bliss yer purty face; don't I +know that ivery boy in the parish is after ye?' + +"`It's not that I mane. It's a ghost as haunts me. It haunts me cabin, +and me cow, and me tater-estate; an' it drinks.' + +"`Now, darlint,' says I, `everybody knows yer aisy frightened about +ghosts. I don't belave in one meself, an' I don't mind 'em a farden +dip; but av all the ghosts in Ireland haunted ye, I'd niver give ye up.' + +"`Will ye come an' see it this night?' says she. + +"`Av coorse I will,' says I. An' that same night I wint to her cabin, +and she let me in, and put a candle on the table, an' hid me behind a +great clock, in a corner jist close by the cupboard, where the +brandy-bottle lived. Then she lay down on her bed with her clo's on, +and pulled the coverlid over her, and pretinded to go to slape. In less +nor half-an-hour I hears a fut on the doorstep; then a tap at the door, +which opened, it seemed to me, of its own accord, and in walks the +ghost, sure enough! It was covered all over from head to fut in a white +sheet, and I seed by the way it walked that it wos the worse of drink. +I wos in a mortal fright, ye may be sure, an' me knees shuk to that +extint ye might have heard them rattle. The ghost walks straight up to +the cupboard, takes out the brandy-bottle, and fills out a whole tumbler +quite full, and drinks it off; it did, the baste, ivery dhrop. I seed +it with me two eyes, as sure as I'm a-standin' here. It came into the +house drunk, an' it wint out drunker nor it came in." + +"Is that all?" exclaimed several of Briant's auditors. + +"All! av coorse it is. Wot more would ye have? Didn't I say that I'd +tell ye a story as would prove to ye that ghosts drink, more especially +Irish ghosts? To be sure it turned out afterwards that the ghost was +the sexton o' the parish as took advantage o' the poor widdy's fears; +but I can tell ye, boys, that ghost niver came back after the widdy +became Mrs Briant." + +"Oh! then ye married the widder, did ye?" said Jim Scroggles. + +"I did; an' she's alive and hearty this day av she's not--" + +Briant was interrupted by a sudden roar of laughter from the men, who at +that moment caught sight of Jacko, the small monkey, in a condition of +mind and body that, to say the least of it, did him no credit. We are +sorry to be compelled to state that Jacko was evidently and undoubtedly +tipsy. Gurney said he was "as drunk as a fiddler." + +We cannot take upon ourself to say whether he was or was not as drunk as +that. We are rather inclined to think that fiddlers, as a class, are +maligned, and that they are no worse than their neighbours in this +respect, perhaps not so bad. Certainly, if any fiddler really deserves +the imputation, it must be a violoncello player, because he is, properly +speaking, a base-fiddler. + +Be this, however, as it may, Jacko was unmistakably drunk--in a maudlin +state of intoxication--drunker, probably, than ever a monkey was before +or since. He appeared, as he came slowly staggering forward to the +place where the men were at work on the boat, to have just wakened out +of his first drunken sleep, for his eyes were blinking like the orbs of +an owl in the sunshine, and in his walk he placed his right foot where +his left should have gone, and his left foot where his right should have +gone, occasionally making a little run forward to save himself from +tumbling on his nose, and then pulling suddenly up, and throwing up his +arms in order to avoid falling on his back. Sometimes he halted +altogether,--and swayed to and fro, gazing, meanwhile, pensively at the +ground, as if he were wondering why it had taken to rolling and +earthquaking in that preposterous manner; or were thinking on the +bald-headed mother he had left behind him in the African wilderness. +When the loud laugh of the men saluted his ears, Jacko looked up as +quickly and steadily as he could, and grinned a ghastly smile--or +something like it--as if to say, "What are you laughing at, villains?" + +It is commonly observed that, among men, the ruling passion comes out +strongly when they are under the influence of strong drink. So it is +with monkeys. Jacko's ruling passion was thieving; but having, at that +time, no particular inducement to steal, he indulged his next ruling +passion--that of affection--by holding out both arms, and staggering +towards Phil Briant to be taken up. + +A renewed burst of laughter greeted this movement. "It knows ye, Phil," +cried Jim Scroggles. + +"Ah! then, so it should, for it's meself as is good to it. Come to its +uncle, then. O good luck to yer purty little yaller face. So it wos +you stole the brandy, wos it? Musha! but ye might have know'd ye +belonged to a timp'rance ship, so ye might." + +Jacko spread his arms on Briant's broad chest--they were too short to go +round his neck--laid his head thereon, and sighed. Perhaps he felt +penitent on account of his wickedness; but it is more probable that he +felt uneasy in body rather than in mind. + +"I say, Briant," cried Gurney. + +"That's me," answered the other. + +"If you are Jacko's self-appointed uncle, and Miss Ailie is his adopted +mother, wot relation is Miss Ailie to you?" + +"You never does nothin' right, Gurney," interposed Nikel Sling; "you +can't even preepound a pruposition. Here's how you oughter to ha' put +it. If Phil Briant be Jacko's uncle, and Miss Ailie his adopted +mother--all three bein' related in a sorter way by bein' shipmates, an' +all on us together bein' closely connected in vartue of our bein' +messmates--wot relation is Gurney to a donkey?" + +"That's a puzzler," said Gurney, affecting to consider the question +deeply. + +"Here's a puzzler wot'll beat it, though," observed Tim Rokens; "suppose +we all go on talkin' stuff till doomsday, w'en'll the boat be finished?" + +"That's true," cried Dick Barnes, resuming work with redoubled energy; +"take that young thief to his mother, Phil, and tell her to rope's-end +him. I'm right glad to find, though, that he _is_ the thief arter all, +and not one o' us." + +On examination being made, it was found that the broken and empty +brandy-bottle lay on the floor of the monkey's nest, and it was +conjectured, from the position in which it was discovered, that that +dissipated little creature, having broken off the neck in order to get +at the brandy, had used the body of the bottle as a pillow whereon to +lay its drunken little head. Luckily for its own sake, it had spilt the +greater part of the liquid, with which everything in its private +residence was saturated and perfumed. + +On having ocular demonstration of the depravity of her pet, Ailie at +first wept, then, on beholding its eccentric movements, she laughed in +spite of herself. + +After that, she wept again, and spoke to it reproachfully, but failed to +make the slightest impression on its hardened little heart. Then she +put it to bed, and wrapped it up carefully in its sailcloth blanket. + +With this piece of unmerited kindness Jacko seemed touched, for he said, +"Oo-oo--oo-oo--ooee-ee!" once or twice in a peculiarly soft and +penitential tone, after which he dropped into a calm, untroubled +slumber. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +THE BOAT FINISHED--FAREWELL TO FAIRYLAND--ONCE MORE AT SEA. + +At last the boat was finished. It had two masts and two lug-sails, and +pulled eight oars. There was just sufficient room in it to enable the +men to move about freely, but it required a little management to enable +them to stow themselves away when they went to sleep, and had they +possessed the proper quantity of provisions for their contemplated +voyage, there is no doubt that they would have found themselves +considerably cramped. The boat was named the _Maid of the Isle_, in +memory of the sandbank on which she had been built, and although in her +general outline and details she was rather a clumsy craft, she was +serviceable and strongly put together. + +Had she been decked, or even half-decked, the voyage which now began +would not have been so desperate an undertaking; but having been only +covered in part with a frail tarpaulin, she was not at all fitted to +face the terrible storms that sometimes sweep the southern seas. Each +man, as he gazed at her, felt that his chance of ultimate escape was +very small indeed. Still, the men had now been so long contemplating +the voyage and preparing for it, and they had become so accustomed to +risk their lives upon the sea, that they set out upon this voyage at +last in cheerful spirits, and even jested about the anticipated dangers +and trials which they knew full well awaited them. + +It was a lovely morning, that on which the wrecked crew of the whaler +bade adieu to "Fairyland," as the islet had been named by Ailie--a name +that was highly, though laughingly, approved of by the men. The ocean +and sky presented that mysterious co-mingling of their gorgeous elements +that irresistibly call forth the wonder and admiration of even the most +unromantic and matter-of-fact men. It was one of Ailie's peculiarly +beloved skies. You could not, without much consideration, have decided +as to where was the exact line at which the glassy ocean met the clear +sky, and it was almost impossible to tell, when gazing at the horizon, +which were the real clouds and which the reflections. + +The bright blue vault above was laden with clouds of the most gorgeous +description, in which all the shades of pearly-grey and yellow were +mingled and contrasted. They rose up, pile upon pile, in stupendous +majesty, like the very battlements of heaven, while their images, clear +and distinct almost as themselves, rolled down and down into the watery +depths, until the islet--the only well-defined and solid object in the +scene--appeared to float in their midst. The rising sun shot throughout +the vast immensity of space, and its warm rays were interrupted, and +broken, and caught, and absorbed, and reflected in so many magical ways, +that it was impossible to trace any of the outlines for more than a few +seconds, ere the eye was lost in the confusion of bright lights and deep +shadows that were mingled and mellowed together by the softer lights and +shades of every degree of depth and tint into splendid harmony. + +In the midst of this scene Captain Dunning stood, with Ailie by his +side, and surrounded by his men, on the shores of the little island. +Everything was now in readiness to set sail. The boat was laden, and in +the water, and the men stood ready to leap in and push off. + +"My lads," said the captain, earnestly, "we're about to quit this morsel +of sandbank on which it pleased the Almighty to cast our ship, and on +which, thanks be to Him, we have found a pretty safe shelter for so +long. I feel a sort o' regret almost at leavin' it now. But the time +has come for us to begin our voyage towards the Cape, and I need +scarcely repeat what you all know well enough--that our undertakin' is +no child's play. We shall need all our bodily and our mental powers to +carry us through. Our labour must be constant, and our food is not +sufficient, so that we must go on shorter allowance from this day. I +gave you half rations while ye were buildin' the boat, because we had to +get her finished and launched as fast as we could, but now we can't +afford to eat so much. I made a careful inspection of our provisions +last night, and I find that by allowing every man four ounces a day, we +can spin it out. We may fall in with islands, perhaps, but I know of +none in these seas--there are none put down on the charts--and we may +get hold of a fish now and then, but we must not count on these chances. +Now it must be plain to all of you that our only chance of getting on +well together in circumstances that will try our tempers, no doubt, and +rouse our selfishness, is to resolve firmly before starting--each man +for himself--that we will lay restraint on ourselves and try to help +each other as much as we can." + +There was a ready murmur of assent to this proposal; then the captain +continued:-- + +"Now, lads, one word more. Our best efforts, let us exert ourselves +ever so much, cannot be crowned with success unless before setting out, +we ask the special favour and blessing of Him who, we are told in the +Bible, holds the waters of the ocean in the hollow of His hand. If He +helps us, we shall be saved; if He does not help us, we shall perish. +We will therefore offer up a prayer now, in the name of our blessed +Redeemer, that we may be delivered from every danger, and be brought at +last in peace and comfort to our homes." + +Captain Dunning then clasped his hands together, and while the men +around him reverently bowed their heads, he offered up a short and +simple, but earnest prayer to God. + +From that day forward they continued the habit of offering up prayer +together once a day, and soon afterwards the captain began the practice +of reading a chapter aloud daily out of Ailie's Bible. The result of +this was that not only were the more violent spirits among them +restrained, under frequent and sore privations and temptations, but all +the party were often much comforted and filled with hope at times when +they were by their sufferings well-nigh driven to despair. + +"I'm sorry to leave Fairyland, papa," said Ailie sadly, as the men +shoved the _Maid of the Isle_ into deep water and pulled out to sea. + +"So am I, dear," replied the captain sitting down beside his daughter in +the stern-sheets of the boat, and taking the tiller; "I had no idea I +could have come to like such a barren bit of sand so well." + +There was a long pause after this remark. Every eye in the boat was +turned with a sad expression on the bright-yellow sandbank as they rowed +away, and the men dipped their oars lightly into the calm waters, as if +they were loth to leave their late home. + +Any spot of earth that has been for some time the theatre of +heart-stirring events, such as rouse men's strong emotions, and on which +happy and hopeful as well as wretched days have been spent, will so +entwine itself with the affections of men that they will cling to it and +love it, more or less powerfully, no matter how barren may be the spot +or how dreary its general aspect. The sandbank had been the cause, no +doubt, of the wreck of the _Red Eric_, but it had also been the means, +under God, of saving the crew and affording them shelter during many +succeeding weeks--weeks of deep anxiety, but also of healthful, hopeful, +energetic toil, in which, if there were many things to create annoyance +or fear, there had also been not a few things to cause thankfulness, +delight, and amusement. + +Unknown to themselves, these rough sailors and the tender child had +become attached to the spot, and it was only now that they were about to +leave it for ever that they became aware of the fact. The circumscribed +and limited range on which their thoughts and vision had been bent for +the last few weeks, had rendered each individual as familiar with every +inch of the bank as if he had dwelt there for years. + +Ailie gazed at the low rocks that overhung the crystal pool in +Fairyland, until the blinding tears filled her eyes, and she felt all +the deep regret that is experienced by the little child when it is +forcibly torn from an old and favourite toy--regret that is not in the +least degree mitigated by the fact that the said toy is but a sorry +affair, a doll, perchance, with a smashed head, eyes thrust out, and +nose flattened on its face or rubbed away altogether--it matters not; +the long and happy hours and days spent in the companionship of that +battered little mass of wood or wax rush on the infant memory like a +dear delightful dream, and it weeps on separation as if its heart would +break. + +Each man in the boat's crew experienced more or less of the same +feeling, and commented, according to his nature, either silently or +audibly, on each familiar object as he gazed upon it for the last time. + +"There's the spot where we built the hut when we first landed, Ailie," +said Glynn, who pulled the aft oar; "d'ye see it?--just coming into +view; look! There it will be shut out again in a moment by the rock +beside the coral-pool." + +"I see it!" exclaimed Ailie eagerly, as she brushed away the tears from +her eyes. + +"There's the rock, too, where we used to make our fire," said the +captain, pointing it out. "It doesn't look like itself from this point +of view." + +"Ah!" sighed Phil Briant, "an' it wos at the fut o' that, too, where we +used to bile the kittle night an' mornin'. Sure it's many a swait bit +and pipe I had beside ye." + +"Is that a bit o' the wreck?" inquired Tim Rokens, pointing to the low +rocky point with the eagerness of a man who had made an unexpected +discovery. + +"No," replied Mr Millons, shading his eyes with his hands, and gazing +at the object in question, "it's himpossible. I searched every bit o' +the bank for a plank before we came hoff, an' couldn't find a morsel as +big as my 'and. W'at say you, doctor?" + +"I think with you," answered Dr Hopley; "but here's the telescope, +which will soon settle the question." + +While the doctor adjusted the glass, Rokens muttered that "He wos sure +it wos a bit o' the wreck," and that "there wos a bit o' rock as nobody +couldn't easy git a t'other side of to look, and that that wos it, and +the bit of wreck was there," and much to the same effect. + +"So it is," exclaimed the doctor. + +"Lay on your oars, lads, a moment," said the captain, taking the glass +and applying it to his eye. + +The men obeyed gladly, for they experienced an unaccountable +disinclination to row away from the island. Perhaps the feeling was +caused in part by the idea that when they took their last look at it, it +might possibly be their _last_ sight of land. + +"It's a small piece of the foretopmast crosstrees," observed the +captain, shutting up the telescope and resuming his seat. + +"Shall we go back an' pick it up, sir?" asked Dick Barnes gravely, +giving vent to the desires of his heart, without perceiving at the +moment the absurdity of the question. + +"Why, what would you do with it, Dick?" replied the captain, smiling. + +"Sure, ye couldn't ait it!" interposed Briant; "but afther all, there's +no sayin'. Maybe Nikel Sling could make a tasty dish out of it stewed +in oakum and tar." + +"It wouldn't be purlite to take such a tit-bit from the mermaids," +observed Gurney, as the oars were once more dipped reluctantly, in the +water. + +The men smiled at the jest, for in the monotony of sea life every +species of pleasantry, however poor, is swallowed with greater or less +avidity; but the smile did not last long. They were in no jesting +humour at that time, and no one replied to the passing joke. + +Soon after this a soft gentle breeze sprang up. It came direct from +Fairyland, as if the mermaids referred to by Gurney had been touched by +the kindly feelings harboured in the sailors' bosoms towards their +islet, and had wafted towards them a last farewell. The oars were +shipped immediately and the sails hoisted, and, to the satisfaction of +all on board, the _Maid of the Isle_ gave indications of being a swift +sailer, for, although the puff of wind was scarcely sufficient to ruffle +the glassy surface of the sea, she glided through the water under its +influence a good deal faster than she had done with the oars. + +"That's good!" remarked the captain, watching the ripples as they passed +astern; "with fair winds, and not too much of 'em, we shall get on +bravely; so cheer up, my lassie," he added, patting Ailie on the head, +"and let us begin our voyage in good spirits, and with hopeful, trusting +hearts." + +"Look at Fairyland," said Ailie, clasping her father's hand, and +pointing towards the horizon. + +At the moment she spoke, an opening in the great white clouds let a ray +of light fall on the sandbank, which had now passed almost beyond the +range of vision. The effect was to illumine its yellow shore and cause +it to shine out for a few seconds like a golden speck on the horizon. +No one had ceased to gaze at it from the time the boat put forth; but +this sudden change caused every one to start up, and fix their eyes on +it with renewed interest and intensity. "Shall we ever see land again?" +passed, in one form or another, through the minds of all. The clouds +swept slowly on the golden point melted away, and the shipwrecked +mariners felt that their little boat was now all the world to them in +the midst of that mighty world of waters. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +REDUCED ALLOWANCE OF FOOD--JACKO TEACHES BRIANT A USEFUL LESSON. + +The first few days of the voyage of the _Maid of the Isle_ were bright +and favourable. The wind, though light, was fair, and so steady that +the men were only twice obliged to have recourse to their oars. The +boat behaved admirably. Once, during these first days, the wind +freshened into a pretty stiff breeze, and a somewhat boisterous sea +arose, so that she was tested in another of her sailing qualities, and +was found to be an excellent sea-boat. Very little water was shipped, +and that little was taken in rather through the awkwardness of King +Bumble, who steered, than through the fault of the boat. + +Captain Dunning had taken care that there should be a large supply of +tin and wooden scoops, for baling out the water that might be shipped in +rough weather, as he foresaw that on the promptness with which this duty +was performed, might sometimes depend the safety of the boat and crew. + +There was one thing that proved a matter of much regret to the crew, and +that was the want of a fowling-piece, or firearm of any kind. Had they +possessed a gun, however old and bad, with ammunition for it, they would +have been certain, at some period of their voyage, to shoot a few +sea-birds, with which they expected to fall in on approaching the land, +even although many days distant from it. But having nothing of the +kind, their hope of adding to their slender stock of provisions was very +small indeed. Fortunately, they had one or two fishing-lines, but in +the deep water, over which for many days they had to sail, fishing was +out of the question. + +This matter of the provisions was a source of constant anxiety to +Captain Dunning. He had calculated the amount of their stores to an +ounce, and ascertained that at a certain rate of distribution they would +barely serve for the voyage, and this without making any allowance for +interruptions or detentions. He knew the exact distance to be passed +over, namely, 2322 miles in a straight line, and he had ascertained the +sailing and rowing powers of the boat and crew; thus he was enabled to +arrive at a pretty correct idea of the probable duration of the voyage, +supposing that all should go well. But in the event of strong contrary +winds arising, no fresh supplies of fish or fowl being obtained, or +sickness breaking out among the men, he knew either that they must +starve altogether, or that he must at once, before it was too late, +still farther reduce the scanty allowance of food and drink to each man. + +The captain sat at the helm one fine evening, about a week after their +departure from Fairyland, brooding deeply over this subject. The boat +was running before a light breeze, at the rate of about four or five +knots, and the men, who had been obliged to row a good part of that day, +were sitting or reclining on the thwarts, or leaning over the gunwale, +watching the ripples as they glided by, and enjoying the rest from +labour; for now that they had been for some time on reduced allowance of +food, they felt less able for work than they used to be, and often began +to look forward with intense longing to seasons of repose. Ailie was +sitting near the entrance of her little sleeping apartment--which the +men denominated a kennel--and master Jacko was seated on the top of it, +scratching his sides and enjoying the sunshine. + +"My lads," said the captain, breaking a silence which had lasted a +considerable time, "I'm afraid I shall have to reduce our allowance +still farther." + +This remark was received by Gurney and Phil Briant with a suppressed +groan--by the other men in silence. + +"You see," continued the captain, "it won't do to count upon chances, +which may or may not turn out to be poor. We can, by fixing our +allowance per man at a lower rate, make quite certain of our food +lasting us until we reach the Cape, even if we should experience a +little detention; but if we go on at the present rate, we are equally +certain that it will fail us just at the last." + +"We're sartain to fall in with birds before we near the land," murmured +Gurney, with a rueful expression of countenance. + +"We are certain of nothing," replied the captain; "but even suppose we +were, how are we to get hold of them?" + +"That's true," observed Briant, who solaced himself with his pipe in the +absence of a sufficiency of food. "Sea-birds, no more nor land-birds, +ain't given to pluckin' and roastin' themselves, and flyin' down +people's throats ready cooked." + +"Besides," resumed the captain, "the plan I propose, although it will +entail a little more present self-denial, will, humanly speaking, ensure +our getting through the voyage with life in us even at the worst, and if +we _are_ so lucky as to catch fish or procure birds in any way, why we +shall fare sumptuously." + +Here Tim Rokens, to whom the men instinctively looked, upon all matters +of perplexity, removed his pipe from his lips, and said-- + +"Wot Cap'en Dunnin' says is true. If we take his plan, why, we'll +starve in a reg'lar way, little by little, and p'raps spin out till we +git to the Cape; w'ereas, if we take the other plan, we'll keep a little +fatter on the first part of the voyage, mayhap, but we'll arrive at the +end of it as dead as mutton, every man on us." + +This view of the question seemed so just to the men, and so full of +incontrovertible wisdom, that it was received with something like a +murmur of applause. + +"You're a true philosopher, Rokens. Now Doctor Hopley, I must beg you +to give us your opinion, as a medical man, on this knotty subject," said +the captain, smiling. "Do you think that we can continue to exist if +our daily allowance is reduced one-fourth?" + +The doctor replied, "Let me see," and putting his finger on his +forehead, frowned portentously, affecting to give the subject the most +intense consideration. He happened to look at Jacko when he frowned, +and that pugnacious individual, happening at the same instant to look at +the doctor, and supposing that the frown was a distinct challenge to +fight, first raised his eyebrows to the top of his head in amazement, +then pulled them down over his flashing orbs in deep indignation, and +displayed all his teeth, as well as an extent of gums that was really +frightful to behold! + +"Oh! Jacko, bad thing," said Ailie, in a reproachful tone, pulling the +monkey towards her. + +Taking no notice of these warlike indications, the doctor, after a few +minutes' thought, looked up and said-- + +"I have no doubt whatever that we can stand it. Most of us are in +pretty good condition still, and have some fat to spare. Fat persons +can endure reduced allowance of food much better and longer than those +who are lean. There's Gurney, now, for instance, he could afford to +have his share even still further curtailed." + +This remark was received with a grin of delighted approval by the men +and with a groan by Gurney, who rubbed his stomach gently, as if that +region were assailed with pains at the bare thought of such injustice. + +"Troth, if that's true what ye say, doctor, I hope ye'll see it to be +yer duty to give wot ye cut off Gurney's share to me," remarked Briant, +"for its nothing but a bag o' bones that I am this minute." + +"Oh! oh! wot a wopper," cried Jim Scroggles, whose lean and lanky person +seemed ill adapted to exist upon light fare. + +"Well," observed the captain, "the doctor and I shall make a careful +calculation and let you know the result by supper-time, when the new +system shall be commenced. What think you, Ailie, my pet, will you be +able to stand it?" + +"Oh yes, papa, I don't care how much you reduce my allowance." + +"What! don't you feel hungry?" + +"No, not a bit." + +"Not ready for supper?" + +"Not anxious for it, at any rate." + +"Och! I wish I wos you," murmured Briant, with a deep sigh. "I think I +could ait the foresail, av it wos only well biled with the laste +possible taste o' pig's fat." + +By supper-time the captain announced the future daily allowance, and +served it out. + +Each man received a piece of salt junk--that is, salt beef--weighing +exactly one ounce; also two ounces of broken biscuit; a small piece of +tobacco, and a quarter of a pint of water. Although the supply of the +latter was small, there was every probability of a fresh supply being +obtained when it chanced to rain, so that little anxiety was felt at +first in regard to it; but the other portions of each man's allowance +were weighed with scrupulous exactness, in a pair of scales which were +constructed by Tim Rokens out of a piece of wood--a leaden musket-ball +doing service as a weight. + +Ailie received an equal portion with the others, but Jacko was doomed to +drag out his existence on a very minute quantity of biscuit and water. +He utterly refused to eat salt junk, and would not have been permitted +to use tobacco even had he been so inclined, which he was not. + +Although they were thus reduced to a small allowance of food--a smaller +quantity than was sufficient to sustain life for any lengthened period-- +no one in the slightest degree grudged Jacko his small portion. All the +men entertained a friendly feeling to the little monkey, partly because +it was Ailie's pet, and partly because it afforded them great amusement +at times by its odd antics. + +As for Jacko himself, he seemed to thrive on short allowance, and never +exhibited any unseemly haste or anxiety at meal-times. It was observed, +however, that he kept an uncommonly sharp eye on all that passed around +him, as if he felt that his circumstances were at that time peculiar and +worthy of being noted. In particular he knew to a nicety what happened +to each atom of food, from the time of its distribution among the men to +the moment of its disappearance within their hungry jaws, and if any +poor fellow chanced to lay his morsel down and neglect it for the tenth +part of an instant, it vanished like a shot, and immediately thereafter +Jacko was observed to present an unusually serene and innocent aspect, +and to become suddenly afflicted, with a swelling in the pouch under his +cheek. + +One day the men received a lesson in carefulness which they did not soon +forget. + +Breakfast had been served out, and Phil Briant was about to finish his +last mouthful of biscuit--he had not had many mouthfuls to try his +masticating powers, poor fellow--when he paused suddenly, and gazing at +the cherished morsel addressed it thus-- + +"Shure, it's a purty bit, ye are! Av there wos only wan or two more o' +yer family here, it's meself as 'ud like to be made beknown to them. +I'll not ait ye yit. I'll look at ye for a little." + +In pursuance of this luxurious plan, Briant laid the morsel of biscuit +on the thwart of the boat before him, and, taking out his pipe, began to +fill it leisurely, keeping his eye all the time on the last bite. Just +then Mr Markham, who pulled the bow oar, called out-- + +"I say, Briant, hand me my tobacco-pouch, it's beside you on the th'ort, +close under the gun'le." + +"Is it?" said Briant, stretching out his hand to the place indicated, +but keeping his eye fixed all the time on the piece of biscuit. "Ah, +here it is; ketch it." + +For one instant Briant looked at the second mate in order to throw the +pouch with precision. That instant was sufficient for the exercise of +Jacko's dishonest propensities. The pouch was yet in its passage +through the air when a tremendous roar from Tim Rokens apprised the +unhappy Irishman of his misfortune. He did not require to be told to +"look out!" although more than one voice gave him that piece of advice. +An intuitive perception of irreparable loss flashed across his soul, +and, with the speed of light, his eye was again on the thwart before +him--but not on the morsel of biscuit. At that same instant Jacko sat +down beside Ailie with his usual serene aspect and swelled cheek! + +"Och, ye bottle imp!" yelled the bereaved one, "don't I know ye?" and +seizing a tin pannikin, in his wrath, he threw it at the small monkey's +head with a force that would, had it been well directed, have smashed +that small head effectually. + +Jacko made a quick and graceful nod, and the pannikin, just missing +Ailie, went over the side into the sea, where it sank and was lost for +ever, to the regret of all, for they could ill afford to lose it. + +"Ye've got it, ye have, but ye shan't ait it," growled Briant through +his teeth, as he sprang over the seat towards the monkey. + +Jacko bounded like a piece of indiarubber on to Gurney's head; next +moment he was clinging to the edge of the mainsail, and the next he was +comfortably seated on the top of the mast, where he proceeded calmly and +leisurely to "ait" the biscuit in the face of its exasperated and +rightful owner. + +"Oh,--Briant!" exclaimed Ailie, who was half frightened, half amused at +the sudden convulsion caused by her favourite's bad conduct, "don't be +vexed; see, here is a little bit of my biscuit; I don't want it--really +I don't." + +Briant, who stood aghast and overwhelmed by his loss and by the +consummate impudence of the small monkey, felt rebuked by this offer. +Bursting into a loud laugh, he said, as he resumed his seat and the +filling of his pipe-- + +"Sure I'd rather ait me own hat, Miss Ailie, an' it's be no means a good +wan--without sarce, too, not even a blot o' mustard--than take the +morsel out o' yer purty mouth. I wos more nor half jokin', dear, an' I +ax yer parding for puttin' ye in sich a fright." + +"Expensive jokin'," growled Tarquin, "if ye throw a pannikin overboard +every time you take to it." + +"Kape your tongue quiet," said Briant, reddening, for he felt somewhat +humbled at having given way to his anger so easily, and was nettled at +the remark, coming as it did, in a sneering spirit, from a man for whom +he had no particular liking. + +"Never mind, Briant," interposed the captain quickly, with a +good-humoured laugh; "I feel for you, lad. Had it been myself I fear I +should have been even more exasperated. I would not sell a crumb of my +portion just now for a guinea." + +"Neither would I," added the doctor, "for a thousand guineas." + +"I'll tell ye wot it is, lads," remarked Tim Rokens; "I wish I only had +a crumb to sell." + +"Now, Rokens, don't be greedy," cried Gurney. + +"Greedy!" echoed Tim. + +"Ay, greedy; has any o' you lads got a dickshunairy to lend him? Come, +Jim Scroggles, you can tell him what it means--you've been to school, I +believe, hain't you?" + +Rokens shook his head gravely. + +"No, lad, I'm not greedy, but I'm ready for wittles. I won't go fur to +deny that. Now, let me ax ye a question. Wot--supposin' ye had the +chance--would ye give, at this good min'it, for a biled leg o' mutton?" + +"With or without capers-sauce?" inquired Gurney. + +"W'ichever _you_ please." + +"Och! we wouldn't need capers-sarse," interposed Briant; "av we only had +the mutton, I'd cut enough o' capers meself to do for the sarce, I +would." + +"It matters little what you'd give," cried Glynn, "for we can't get it +at any price just now. Don't you think, captain, that we might have our +breakfast to-night? It would save time in the morning, you know." + +There was a general laugh at this proposal, yet there was a strong +feeling in the minds of some that if it were consistent with their rules +to have breakfast served out then and there, they would gladly have +consented to go without it next morning. + +Thus, with laugh and jest, and good-natured repartee, did these men bear +the pangs of hunger for many days. They were often silent during long +intervals, and sometimes they became talkative and sprightly, but it was +observed that, whether they conversed earnestly or jestingly, their +converse ran, for the most part, on eating and drinking, and in their +uneasy slumbers, during the intervals between the hours of work and +watching, they almost invariably dreamed of food. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +PROGRESS OF THE LONG VOYAGE--STORY-TELLING AND JOURNALISING. + +Many weeks passed away, but the _Maid of the Isle_ still held on her +course over the boundless ocean. + +Day after day came and went, the sun rose in the east morning after +morning, ran its appointed course, and sank, night after night, on the +western horizon, but little else occurred to vary the monotony of that +long, long voyage. When the sun rose, its bright rays leapt from the +bosom of the ocean; when it set, the same bosom of the great deep +received its descending beams. No land, no sail appeared to the anxious +gazers in that little boat, which seemed to move across, yet never to +reach the boundaries of that mighty circle of water and sky, in the +midst of which they lay enchained, as if by some wicked enchanter's +spell. + +Breezes blew steadily at times and urged them swiftly on towards the +circumference, but it fled as fast as they approached. Then it fell +calm, and the weary men resumed their oars, and with heavy hearts and +weakened arms tugged at the boat which seemed to have turned into a mass +of lead. At such times a dead silence was maintained, for the work, +which once would have been to them but child's play, had now become +severe and heavy labour. Still they did not murmur. Even the +cross-grained Tarquin became subdued in spirit by the influence of the +calm endurance and good-humour of his comrades. But the calms seldom +lasted long. The winds, which happily continued favourable, again +ruffled the surface of the sea, and sometimes blew so briskly as to +oblige them to take in a reef or two in their sails. The oars were +gladly drawn in, and the spirits of the men rose as the little boat bent +over to the blast, lost her leaden qualities, and danced upon the +broad-backed billows, like a cork. There was no rain during all this +time; little or no stormy weather; and, but for their constant exposure +to the hot sun by day and the cold chills by night, the time might have +been said to pass even pleasantly, despite the want of a sufficiency of +food. Thus day after day and night after night flew by, and week after +week came and went, and still the _Maid of the Isle_ held on her course +over the boundless ocean. + +During all that time the one and a quarter ounces of salt junk and +biscuit and the eighth of a pint of water were weighed and measured out +to each man, three times a day, with scrupulous care and exactness, lest +a drop or a crumb of the food that was more precious than diamonds +should be lost. The men had all become accustomed to short allowance +now, and experienced no greater inconvenience than a feeling of +lassitude, which feeling increased daily, but by such imperceptible +degrees that they were scarcely conscious of it, and were only +occasionally made aware of the great reduction of their strength when +they attempted to lift any article which, in the days of their full +vigour, they could have tossed into the air, but which they could +scarcely move now. When, however, the fair breeze enabled them to glide +along under sail, and they lay enjoying complete rest, they experienced +no unwonted sensations of weakness; their spirits rose, as the spirits +of sailors always will rise when the waves are rippling at the bow and a +white track forming in the wake; and they spent the time--when not +asleep--in cheerful conversation and in the spinning of long yarns. +They did not sing, however, as might have been expected--they were too +weak for that--they called the feeling "lazy," some said they "couldn't +be bothered" to sing. No one seemed willing to admit that his strength +was in reality abated. + +In story-telling the captain, the doctor, and Glynn shone conspicuous. +And when all was going smoothly and well, the anecdotes, histories, and +romances related by these three were listened to with such intense +interest and delight by the whole crew, that one would have thought they +were enjoying a pleasure trip, and had no cause whatever for anxiety. +Gurney, too, and Briant, and Nikel Sling came out frequently in the +story-telling line, and were the means of causing many and many an hour +to pass quickly and pleasantly by, which would otherwise have hung +heavily on the hands of all. + +Ailie Dunning was an engrossed and delighted listener at all times. She +drank in every species of story with an avidity that was quite amusing. +It seemed also to have been infectious, for even Jacko used to sit hour +after hour looking steadily at each successive speaker, with a +countenance so full of bright intelligence, and grave surpassing wisdom, +as to lead one to the belief that he not only understood all that was +said, but turned it over in his mind, and drew from it ideas and +conclusions far more bright and philosophical than could have been drawn +therefrom by any human being, however wise or ingenious. + +He grinned, too, did Jacko, with an intensity and frequency that induced +the sailors at first to call him a clever dog, in the belief that his +perception of the ludicrous was very strong indeed; but as his grins +were observed to occur quite as frequently at the pathetic and the grave +as at the comical parts of the stories, they changed their minds, and +said he was a "codger"--in which remark they were undoubtedly safe, +seeing that it committed them to nothing very specific. + +Captain Dunning's stories were, more properly speaking, histories, and +were very much relished, for he possessed a natural power of relating +what he knew in an interesting manner and with a peculiarly pleasant +tone of voice. Every one who has considered the subject at all must +have observed what a powerful influence there lies in the mere manner +and tone of a speaker. The captain's voice was so rich, so mellow, and +capable of such varied modulation, that the men listened with pleasure +to the words which rolled from his lips, as one would listen to a sweet +song. He became so deeply interested, too, in the subject about which +he happened to be speaking, that his auditors could not help becoming +interested also. He had no powers of eloquence, neither was he gifted +with an unusually bright fancy. But he was fluent in speech, and his +words, though not chosen, were usually appropriate. The captain had no +powers of invention whatever. He used to say, when asked to tell a +story, that he "might as well try to play the fiddle with a handspike." +But this was no misfortune, for he had read much, and his memory was +good, and supplied him with an endless flow of small-talk on almost +every subject that usually falls under the observation of sea-captains, +and on many subjects besides, about which most sea-captains, or +land-captains, or any other captains whatsoever, are almost totally +ignorant. + +Captain Dunning could tell of adventures in the whale-fishery, gone +through either by himself or by friends, that would have made your two +eyes stare out of their two sockets until they looked like saucers (to +use a common but not very correct simile). He could tell the exact +latitude and longitude of almost every important and prominent part of +the globe, and give the distance, pretty nearly, of any one place (on a +large scale) from any other place. He could give the heights of all the +chief mountains in the world to within a few feet, and could calculate, +by merely looking at its current and depth, how many cubic feet of water +any river delivered to the sea per minute. Length, breadth, and +thickness, height, depth, and density, were subjects in which he +revelled, and with which he played as a juggler does with golden balls; +and so great were his powers of numerical calculation, that the sailors +often declared they believed he could work out any calculation backwards +without the use of logarithms! He was constantly instituting +comparisons that were by no means what the proverb terms "odious," but +which were often very astonishing, and in all his stories so many +curious and peculiar facts were introduced, that, as we have already +said, they were very much relished indeed. + +Not less relished, however, were Glynn Proctor's astounding and purely +imaginative tales. After the men's minds had been chained intently on +one of the captain's semi-philosophical anecdotes, they turned with +infinite zest to one of Glynn's outrageous flights. Glynn had not read +much in his short life, and his memory was nothing to boast of, but his +imagination was quite gigantic. He could invent almost anything; and +the curious part of it was, that he could do it out of nothing, if need +be. He never took time to consider what he should say. When called on +for a story he began at once, and it flowed from him like a flood of +sparkling water from a fountain in fairy realms. Up in the clouds; high +in the blue ether; down in the coral caves; deep in the ocean waves; out +on the mountain heaths; far in the rocky glens, or away in the wild +woods green--it was all one to Glynn; he leaped away in an instant, with +a long train of adventurers at his heels--male and female, little and +big, old and young, pretty and plain, grave and gay. And didn't they go +through adventures that would have made the hair of mortals not only +stand on end, but fly out by the roots altogether? Didn't he make them +talk, as mortals never talked before; and sing as mortals never dreamed +of? And, oh! didn't he just make them stew, and roast, and boil joints +of savoury meat, and bake pies, and tarts, and puddings, such as Soyer +in his wildest culinary dreams never imagined, and such as caused the +mouths of the crew of the _Maid of the Isle_ to water, until they were +constrained, poor fellows, to tell him to "clap a stopper upon that," +and hold his tongue, for they "couldn't stand it!" + +Phil Briant and Gurney dealt in the purely comic line. They remarked-- +generally in an undertone--that they left poetry and prose to Glynn and +the captain; and it was as well they did, for their talents certainly +did not lie in either of these directions. They came out strong after +meals, when the weather was fine, and formed a species of light and +agreeable interlude to the more weighty efforts of the captain and the +brilliant sallies of Glynn. + +Gurney dealt in _experiences_ chiefly, and usually endeavoured by +asseveration and iteration to impress his hearers with the truth of +facts said to have been experienced by himself, which, if true, would +certainly have consigned him to a premature grave long ago. Briant, on +the other hand, dealt largely in ghost stories, which he did not vouch +for the truth of, but permitted his hearers to judge of for themselves-- +a permission which they would doubtless have taken for themselves at any +rate. + +But tales and stories occupied, after all, only a small portion of the +men's time during that long voyage. Often, very often, they were too +much exhausted to talk or even to listen, and when not obliged to labour +at the oars they tried to sleep; but "Nature's sweet restorer" did not +always come at the first invitation, as was his wont in other days, and +too frequently they were obliged to resume work unrefreshed. Their +hands became hard and horny in the palms at last, like a man's heel, and +their backs and arms ached from constant work. + +Ailie kept in good health, but she, too, began to grow weak from want of +proper nourishment. She slept better than the men, for the comfortable +sleeping-box that Glynn had constructed for her sheltered her from the +heat, wet, and cold, to which the former were constantly exposed. She +amused herself, when not listening to stories or asleep, by playing with +her favourite, and she spent a good deal of time in reading her Bible-- +sometimes to herself, at other times, in a low tone, to her father as he +sat at the helm. And many a time did she see a meaning in passages +which, in happier times, had passed meaningless before her eyes, and +often did she find sweet comfort in words that she had read with +comparative indifference in former days. + +It is in the time of trial, trouble, and sorrow that the Bible proves to +be a friend indeed. Happy the Christian who, when dark clouds overwhelm +his soul, has a memory well stored with the comforting passages of the +Word of God. + +But Ailie had another occupation which filled up much of her leisure, +and proved to be a source of deep and engrossing interest at the time. +This was the keeping of a journal of the voyage. On the last trip made +to the wreck of the _Red Eric_, just before the great storm that +completed the destruction of that ship, the captain had brought away in +his pocket a couple of note-books. One of these he kept to himself to +jot down the chief incidents of the intended voyage; the other he gave +to Ailie, along with a blacklead pencil. Being fond of trying to write, +she amused herself for hours together in jotting down her thoughts about +the various incidents of the voyage, great and small; and being a very +good drawer for her age, she executed many fanciful and elaborate +sketches, among which were innumerable portraits of Jacko and several +caricatures of the men. This journal, as it advanced, became a source +of much interest and amusement to every one in the boat; and when, in an +hour of the utmost peril, it, along with many other things, was lost, +the men, after the danger was past, felt the loss severely. + +Thus they spent their time--now pleasantly, now sadly--sometimes +becoming cheerful and hopeful, at other times sinking almost into a +state of despair as their little stock of food and water dwindled down, +while the _Maid of the Isle_ still held on her apparently endless course +over the great wide sea. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +THE CALM AND THE STORM--A SERIOUS LOSS AND GREAT GAIN--BIRD-CATCHING +EXTRAORDINARY--SAVED AT LAST. + +One day a deep death-like calm settled down upon the ocean. For some +days before, the winds had been light and uncertain, and the air had +been excessively warm. The captain cast uneasy glances around him from +time to time, and looked with a sadder countenance than usual on the +haggard faces of the men as they laboured slowly and silently at the +oars. + +"I don't know what this will turn to, doctor," he said, in a low tone; +"I don't like the look of it." + +The doctor, who was perusing Ailie's journal at the moment, looked up +and shook his head. + +"It seems to me, captain, that whatever happens, matters cannot be made +much worse." + +"You are wrong, doctor," replied the captain quietly; "we have still +much to be thankful for." + +"Did you not tell me a few minutes ago that the water was almost done?" + +The doctor said this in a whisper, for the men had not yet been made +aware of the fact. + +"Yes, I did; but it is not _quite_ done; that is matter for +thankfulness." + +"Oh, according to that principle," observed the doctor, somewhat +testily, "you may say we have cause to be thankful for _everything_, bad +as well as good." + +"So we have! so we have! If everything good were taken from us, and +nothing left us but our lives, we would have reason to be thankful for +that--thankful that we were still above ground, still in the land of +hope, with salvation to our immortal souls through Jesus Christ freely +offered for our acceptance." + +The doctor made no reply. He thought the captain a little weak in the +matter of religion. If religion is false, his opinion of the captain no +doubt, was right, but if true, surely the weakness lay all the other +way. + +That morning the captain's voice in prayer was more earnest, if +possible, than usual, and he put up a special petition for _water_, +which was observed by the men with feelings of great anxiety, and +responded to with a deep amen. After morning worship the scales were +brought, and the captain proceeded to weigh out the scanty meal, while +the men watched his every motion with an almost wolfish glare, that told +eloquently of the prolonged sufferings they had endured. Even poor +Ailie's gentle face now wore a sharp, anxious expression when food was +being served out, and she accepted her small portion with a nervous +haste that was deeply painful and touching to witness. She little knew, +poor child, that that portion of bread and meat and water, small though +it was, was larger than that issued to the men, being increased by a +small quantity deducted from the captain's own allowance and an equal +amount from that of Glynn. The latter had noticed the captain's habit +of regularly calling off the child's attention during the distribution +of each meal, for the purpose of thus increasing her portion at the +expense of his own, and in a whispering conversation held soon after he +insisted that a little of his allowance should also be transferred to +her. At first the captain firmly refused, but Glynn said that if he did +not accede to his wish he would hand over the whole of his portion in +future to the monkey, let the result be what it might! As Glynn never +threatened without a full and firm resolve to carry out his threats, the +captain was compelled to give in. + +When the water came to be served out that morning the captain paused, +and looking round at the anxious eyes that were riveted upon him, said-- + +"My lads, it has pleased the Almighty to lay His hand still heavier on +us. May He who has said that He will not suffer men to be tempted above +what they are able to bear, give us strength to stand it. Our water is +almost done. We must be content with a quarter of our usual allowance." + +This information was received in deep silence--perhaps it was the +silence of despair, for the quantity hitherto served out had been barely +sufficient to moisten their parched throats, and they _knew_ that they +could not exist long on the reduced allowance. + +Jacko came with the rest as usual for his share, and held out his little +hand for the tin cup in which his few drops of water were wont to be +handed to him. The captain hesitated and looked at the men; then he +poured out a few drops of the precious liquid. For the first time a +murmur of disapproval was heard. + +"It's only a brute beast; the monkey must die before _us_," said a voice +which was so hollow and changed that it could scarcely be recognised as +that of Tarquin, the steward. + +No one else said a word. The captain did not even look up to see who +had spoken. He felt the justice as well as the harshness of the remark, +and poured the water back into the jar. + +Jacko seems puzzled at first, and held out his hand again; then he +looked round on the men with that expression of unutterable woe which is +peculiar to some species of the monkey tribe. He seemed to feel that +something serious was about to happen to him. Looking up in the sad +face of his young mistress, he uttered a very gentle and plaintive +"oo-oo-ee!" + +Ailie burst into a passionate flood of tears, and in the impulse of the +moment handed her own cup, which she had not tasted, to Jacko, who +drained it in a twinkling--before the captain could snatch it from his +hands. + +Having emptied it, Jacko went forward as he had been taught to do, and +handed back the cup with quite a pleased expression of countenance--for +he was easily satisfied, poor thing! + +"You should not have done that, my darling," said the captain, as he +gave Ailie another portion. + +"Dear papa, I couldn't help it," sobbed the child; "indeed I couldn't-- +and you need not give me any. I can do without it to-day." + +"Can you? But you shan't," exclaimed Glynn, with a degree of energy +that would have made every one laugh in happier times. + +"No, no, my own pet," replied the captain. "You shan't want it. Here, +you _must_ drink it, come." + +From that day Jacko received his allowance regularly as long as a drop +of water was left, and no one again murmured against it. When it was +finished he had to suffer with the rest. + +The calm which had set in proved to be of longer duration than usual, +and the sufferings of the crew of the little boat became extreme. On +the third day after its commencement the last drop of water was served +out. It amounted to a couple of teaspoonfuls per man each meal, of +which there were three a day. During the continuance of the calm, the +sun shone in an almost cloudless sky and beat down upon the heads of the +men until it drove them nearly mad. They all looked like living +skeletons, and their eyes glared from their sunken sockets with a dry +fiery lustre that was absolutely terrible to behold. Had each one in +that boat possessed millions of gold he would have given all, gladly, +for one drop of fresh water; but, alas! nothing could purchase water +there. Ailie thought upon the man who, in the Bible, is described as +looking up to heaven from the depths of hell and crying for one drop of +water to cool his tongue, and she fancied that she could now realise his +agony. The captain looked up into the hot sky, but no blessed cloud +appeared there to raise the shadow of a hope. He looked down at the +sea, and it seemed to mock him with its clear blue depths, which looked +so sweet and pleasant. He realised the full significance of that +couplet in Coleridge's _Ancient Mariner_-- + + "Water, water, everywhere, + But not a drop to drink." + +and, drawing Ailie to his breast, he laid his cheek upon hers and +groaned aloud. + +"We shall soon be taken away, dear papa!" she said--and she tried to +weep, but the tears that came unbidden and so easily at other times to +her bright blue eyes refused to flow now. + +The men had one by one ceased to ply their useless oars, and the captain +did not take notice of it, for he felt that unless God sent relief in +some almost miraculous way, their continuing to row would be of no +avail. It would only increase their agony without advancing them more +than a few miles on the long, long voyage that he knew still lay before +them. + +"O God, grant us a breeze!" cried Mr Millons, in a deep, tremulous tone +breaking a silence that had continued for some hours. + +"Messmates," said Tim Rokens, who for some time had leaned with both +elbows on his oar and his face buried in his hands, "wot d'ye say to a +bath? I do believe it 'ud do us good." + +"P'haps it would," replied King Bumble; but he did not move, and the +other men made no reply, while Rokens again sank forward. + +Gurney and Tarquin had tried to relieve their thirst the day before by +drinking sea-water, but their inflamed and swollen throats and lips now +showed that the relief sought had not been obtained. + +"It's time for supper," said the captain, raising his head suddenly, and +laying Ailie down, for she had fallen into a lethargic slumber; "fetch +me the bread and meat can." + +Dick Barnes obeyed reluctantly, and the usual small allowance of salt +junk was weighed out, but there were no eager glances now. Most of the +crew refused to touch food--one or two tried to eat a morsel of biscuit +without success. + +"I'll try a swim," cried Glynn, suddenly starting up with the intention +of leaping overboard. But his strength was more exhausted than he had +fancied, for he only fell against the side of the boat. It was as well +that he failed. Had he succeeded in getting into the water he could not +have clambered in again, and it is doubtful whether his comrades had +sufficient strength left to have dragged him in. + +"Try it this way, lad," said Tim Rokens, taking up a bucket, and dipping +it over the side. "P'raps it'll do as well." + +He raised the bucket with some difficulty and poured its contents over +Glynn's head. + +"Thank God!" said Glynn, with a deep, long-drawn sigh. "Do it again, +Tim, do it again. That's it,--again, again! No, stop; forgive my +selfishness; here, give me the bucket, I'll do it to you now." + +Tim Rokens was quickly drenched from head to foot, and felt great and +instantaneous relief. In a few minutes every one in the boat, Jacko +included, was subjected to this species of cold bath, and their spirits +rose at once. Some of them even began to eat their food, and Briant +actually attempted to perpetrate a joke, which Gurney seconded promptly, +but they failed to make one, even a bad one, between them. + +Although the cold bathing seemed good for them at first, it soon proved +to be hurtful. Sitting and lying constantly night and day in saturated +clothes had the effect of rendering their skins painfully sensitive, and +a feverish feeling was often alternated with cold shivering fits, so +they were fain to give it up. Still they had found some slight relief, +and they bore their sufferings with calm resignation--a state of mind +which was fostered, if not induced, by the blessed words of comfort and +hope which the captain read to them from the Bible as frequently as his +strength would permit, and to which they listened with intense, +all-absorbing interest. + +It is ever thus with men. When death approaches, in almost all +instances, we are ready--ay, anxious--to listen with the deepest +interest to God's message of salvation through His Son, and to welcome +and long for the influences of the Holy Spirit. Oh! how happy should we +be in life and in death, did we only give heartfelt interest to our +souls' affairs _before_ the days of sorrow and death arrive. + +On the fifth morning after the water had been exhausted the sun arose in +the midst of dark clouds. The men could scarcely believe their eyes. +They shouted and, in their weakness, laughed for joy. + +The blessing was not long delayed. Thick vapours veiled the red sun +soon after it emerged from the sea, then a few drops of rain fell. +Blessed drops! How the men caught at them! How they spread out oiled +cloths and tarpaulins and garments to gather them! How they grudged to +see them falling around the boat into the sea, and being lost to them +for ever. But the blessing was soon sent liberally. The heavens above +grew black, and the rain came down in thick heavy showers. The +tarpaulins were quickly filled, and the men lay with their lips to the +sweet pools, drinking-in new life, and dipping their heads and hands in +the cool liquid when they could drink no more. Their thirst was slaked +at last, and they were happy. All their past sufferings were forgotten +in that great hour of relief, and they looked, and laughed, and spoke to +each other like men who were saved from death. As they stripped off +their garments and washed the encrusted salt from their shrunken limbs, +all of them doubtless felt, and some of them audibly expressed, +gratitude to the "Giver of every good and perfect gift." + +So glad were they, and so absorbed in their occupation, that they +thought not of and cared not for the fact that a great storm was about +to break upon them. It came upon them almost before they were aware, +and before the sails could be taken in the boat was almost upset. + +"Stand-by to lower the sails!" shouted the captain, who was the first to +see their danger. + +The old familiar command issued with something of the old familiar voice +and energy caused every one to leap to his post, if not with the agility +of former times, at least with all the good will. + +"Let go!" + +The halyards were loosed, and the sails came tumbling down; at the same +moment the squall burst on them. The _Maid of the Isle_ bent over so +quickly that every one expected she would upset; the blue water curled +in over the edge of the gunwale, and the foam burst from her bows at the +rude shock. Then she hissed through the water as she answered the helm, +righted quickly, and went tearing away before the wind at a speed that +she had not known for many days. It was a narrow escape. The boat was +nearly filled with water, and, worst of all, the provision can, along +with Ailie's sleeping-box, were washed overboard and lost. + +It was of no use attempting to recover them. All the energies of the +crew were required to bale out the water and keep the boat afloat, and +during the whole storm some of them were constantly employed in baling. +For three days it blew a perfect hurricane, and during all that time the +men had nothing whatever to eat; but they did not suffer so much as +might be supposed. The gnawing pangs of hunger do not usually last +beyond a few days when men are starving. After that they merely feel +ever-increasing weakness. During the fall of the rain they had taken +care to fill their jars, so that they had now a good supply of water. + +After the first burst of the squall had passed, the tarpaulins were +spread over the boat, and under one of these, near the stern, Ailie was +placed, and was comparatively sheltered and comfortable. Besides +forming a shelter for the men while they slept, these tarpaulins threw +off the waves that frequently broke over the boat, and more than once +bid fair to sink her altogether. These arose in enormous billows, and +the gale was so violent that only the smallest corner of the foresail +could be raised--even that was almost sufficient to tear away the mast. + +At length the gale blew itself out, and gradually decreased to a +moderate breeze, before which the sails were shaken out, and on the +fourth morning after it broke they found themselves sweeping quickly +over the waves on their homeward way, but without a morsel of food, and +thoroughly exhausted in body and in mind. + +On that morning, however, they passed a piece of floating seaweed, a +sure indication of their approach to land. Captain Dunning pointed it +out to Ailie and the crew with a cheering remark that they would +probably soon get to the end of their voyage; but he did not feel much +hope; for, without food, they could not exist above a few days more at +the furthest--perhaps not so long. That same evening, several small +sea-birds came towards the boat, and flew inquiringly round it, as if +they wondered what it could be doing there, so far away from the haunts +of men. These birds were evidently unaccustomed to man, for they +exhibited little fear. They came so near to the boat that one of them +was at length caught. It was the negro who succeeded in knocking it on +the head with a boat-hook as it flew past. + +Great was the praise bestowed on King Bumble for this meritorious deed, +and loud were the praises bestowed on the bird itself, which was +carefully divided into equal portions (and a small portion for Jacko), +and eaten raw. Not a morsel of it was lost--claws, beak, blood, bones, +and feathers--all were eaten up. In order to prevent dispute or +jealousy, the captain made Ailie turn her back on the bird when thus +divided, and pointing to the different portions, he said-- + +"Who shall have this?" Whoever was named by Ailie had to be content +with what thus fell to his share. + +"Ah, but ye wos always an onlucky dog!" exclaimed Briant, to whom fell +the head and claws. + +"Ye've no reason to grumble," replied Gurney; "ye've got all the brains +to yerself, and no one needs them more." + +The catching of this bird was the saving of the crew, and it afforded +them a good deal of mirth in the dividing of it. The heart and a small +part of the breast fell to Ailie--which every one remarked was +singularly appropriate; part of a leg and the tail fell to King Bumble; +and the lungs and stomach became the property of Jim Scroggles, +whereupon Briant remarked that he would "think as much almost o' _that_ +stomach as he had iver done of his own!" But there was much of sadness +mingled with their mirth, for they felt that the repast was a peculiarly +light one, and they had scarcely strength left to laugh or jest. + +Next morning they knocked down another bird, and in the evening they got +two more. The day after that they captured an albatross, which +furnished them at last with an ample supply of fresh food. + +It was Mr Markham, the second mate, who first saw the great bird +looming in the distance, as it sailed over the sea towards them. + +"Let's try to fish for him," said the doctor. "I've heard of sea-birds +being caught in that way before now." + +"Fish for it!" exclaimed Ailie in surprise. + +"Ay, with hook and line, Ailie." + +"I've seen it done often," said the captain. "Hand me the line, Bumble, +and a bit o' that bird we got yesterday. Now for it." + +By the time the hook was baited, the albatross had approached near to +the boat, and hovered around it with that curiosity which seems to be a +characteristic feature of all sea-birds. It was an enormous creature; +but Ailie, when she saw it in the air, could not have believed it +possible that it was so large as it was afterwards found to be on being +measured. + +"Here, Glynn, catch hold of the line," said the captain, as he threw the +hook overboard, and allowed it to trail astern; "you are the strongest +man amongst us now, I think; starvation don't seem to tell so much on +your young flesh and bones as on ours!" + +"No; it seems to agree with his constitution," remarked Gurney. + +"It's me that wouldn't give much for his flesh," observed Briant; "but +his skin and bones would fetch a good price in the leather and rag +market." + +While his messmates were thus freely remarking on his personal +appearance--which, to say truth, was dreadfully haggard--Glynn was +holding the end of the line, and watching the motions of the albatross +with intense interest. + +"He won't take it," observed the captain. + +"Me tink him will," said Bumble. + +"No go," remarked Nikel Sling sadly. + +"That was near," said the first mate eagerly, as the bird made a bold +swoop down towards the bait, which was skipping over the surface of the +water. + +"No, he's off," cried Mr Markham in despair. + +"Cotched! or I'm a Dutchman!" shouted. Gurney. + +"No!" cried Jim Scroggles. + +"Yes!" screamed Ailie. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Tim Rokens and Tarquin in a breath. + +Dick Barnes, and the doctor, and the captain, and, in short, everybody, +echoed the last sentiment, and repeated it again and again with delight +as they saw the gigantic bird once again swoop down upon the bait and +seize it. + +Glynn gave a jerk, the hook caught in its tongue, and the albatross +began to tug, and swoop, and whirl madly in its effort to escape. + +Now, to talk of any ordinary bird swooping, and fluttering, and tugging, +does not sound very tremendous; but, reader, had you witnessed the +manner in which that enormous albatross conducted itself, you wouldn't +have stared with amazement--oh, no! You wouldn't have gone home with +your mouth as wide open as your eyes, and have given a gasping account +of what you had seen--by no means! You wouldn't have talked of +feathered steam-engines, or of fabled rocs, or of winged elephants in +the air--certainly not! + +Glynn's arms jerked as if he were holding on to the sheet of a shifting +mainsail of a seventy-four. + +"Bear a hand," he cried, "else I'll be torn to bits." + +Several hands grasped the line in a moment. + +"My! wot a wopper," exclaimed Tim Rokens. + +"Och! don't he pull? Wot a fortin he'd make av he'd only set his-self +up as a tug-boat in the Thames!" + +"If only we had him at the oar for a week," added Gurney. + +"Hoich! doctor, have ye strength to set disjointed limbs?" + +"Have a care, lads," cried the captain, in some anxiety; "give him more +play, the line won't stand it. Time enough to jest after we've got +him." + +The bird was now swooping, and waving, and beating its great wings so +close to the boat that they began to entertain some apprehension lest +any of the crew should be disabled by a stroke from them before the bird +could be secured. Glynn, therefore, left the management of the line to +others, and, taking up an oar, tried to strike it. But he failed in +several attempts. + +"Wait till we haul him nearer, boy," said the captain. "Now, then!" + +Glynn struck again, and succeeded in hitting it a slight blow. At the +same instant the albatross swept over the boat, and almost knocked the +doctor overboard. As it brushed past, King Bumble, who was gifted with +the agility of a monkey, leaped up, caught it round the neck, and the +next moment the two were rolling together in the bottom of the boat. + +The creature was soon strangled, and a mighty cheer greeted this +momentous victory. + +We are not aware that albatross flesh is generally considered very +desirable food, but we are certain that starving men are particularly +glad to get it, and that the supply now obtained by the wrecked mariners +was the means of preserving their lives until they reached the land, +which they did ten days afterwards, having thus accomplished a voyage of +above two thousand miles over the ocean in an open boat in the course of +eight weeks, and on an amount of food that was barely sufficient for one +or two weeks' ordinary consumption. + +Great commiseration was expressed for them by the people at the Cape, +who vied with each other in providing for their wants, and in showing +them kindness. + +Ailie and her father were carried off bodily by a stout old merchant, +with a broad kind face, and a hearty, boisterous manner, and lodged in +his elegant villa during their stay in that quarter of the world, which +was protracted some time in order that they might recruit the wasted +strength of the party ere they commenced their voyage home in a vessel +belonging to the same stout, broad-faced, and vociferous merchant. + +Meanwhile, several other ships departed for America, and by one of these +Captain Dunning wrote to his sisters Martha and Jane. The captain never +wrote to Martha or to Jane separately--he always wrote to them +conjointly as "Martha Jane Dunning." + +The captain was a peculiar letter-writer. Those who may feel curious to +know more about this matter are referred for further information to the +next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +HOME, SWEET HOME--THE CAPTAIN TAKES HIS SISTERS BY SURPRISE--A +MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. + +It is a fact which we cannot deny, however much we may feel disposed to +marvel at it, that laughter and weeping, at one and the same time, are +compatible. The most resolute sceptic on this point would have been +convinced of the truth of it had he been introduced into the Misses +Martha and Jane Dunning's parlour on the beautiful summer morning in +which the remarkable events we are about to relate occurred. + +On the morning in question, a letter-carrier walked up to the cottage +with the yellow-painted face, and with the green door, so like a nose in +the middle; and the window on each side thereof, so like its eyes; and +the green Venetian blinds, that served so admirably for eyelids, +attached thereto--all of which stood, and beamed, and luxuriated, and +vegetated, and grew old in the centre of the town on the eastern +seaboard of America, whose name (for strictly private reasons) we have +firmly declined, and do still positively refuse to communicate. + +Having walked up to the cottage, the letter-carrier hit it a severe +smash on its green nose, as good Captain Dunning had done many, many +months before. The result now, as then, was the opening thereof by a +servant-girl--the servant-girl of old. The letter-carrier was a +taciturn man; he said nothing, but handed in the letter, and went his +way. The servant-girl was a morose damsel; she said nothing, but took +the letter, shut the door, and laid it (the letter, not the door) on the +breakfast-table, and went her way--which way was the way of all flesh, +fish, and fowl--namely, the kitchen, where breakfast was being prepared. + +Soon after the arrival of the letter Miss Jane Dunning--having put on an +immaculately clean white collar and a spotlessly beautiful white cap +with pink ribbons, which looked, if possible, taller than usual-- +descended to the breakfast-parlour. Her eye instantly fell on the +letter, and she exclaimed--"Oh!" at the full pitch of her voice. +Indeed, did not respect for the good lady forbid, we would say that she +_yelled_ "Oh!" + +Instantly, as if by magic, a faint "oh!" came down-stairs like an echo, +from the region of Miss Martha Dunning's bedroom, and was followed up by +a "What is it?" so loud that the most unimaginative person could not +have failed to perceive that the elder sister had opened her door and +put her head over the banisters. + +"What is it?" repeated Miss Martha. + +"A letter!" answered Miss Jane. + +"Who from?" (in eager surprise, from above.) + +"Brother George!" (in eager delight, from below.) + +Miss Jane had not come to this knowledge because of having read the +letter, for it still lay on the table unopened, but because she could +not read it at all! One of Captain Dunning's peculiarities was that he +wrote an execrably bad and illegible hand. His English was good, his +spelling pretty fair, considering the absurd nature of the orthography +of his native tongue, and his sense was excellent, but the whole was +usually shrouded in hieroglyphical mystery. Miss Jane could only read +the opening "My dearest Sisters," and the concluding "George Dunning," +nothing more. But Miss Martha could, by the exercise of some rare +power, spell out her brother's hand, though not without much difficulty. + +"I'm coming," shouted Miss Martha. + +"Be quick!" screamed Miss Jane. + +In a few seconds Miss Martha entered the room with her cap and collar, +though faultlessly clean and stiff, put on very much awry. + +"Give it me! Where is it?" + +Miss Jane pointed to the letter, still remaining transfixed to the spot +where her eye had first met it, as if it were some dangerous animal +which would bite if she touched it. + +Miss Martha snatched it up, tore it open, and flopped down on the sofa. +Miss Jane snatched up an imaginary letter, tore it open (in +imagination), and flopping down beside her sister, looked over her +shoulder, apparently to make believe to herself that she read it along +with her. Thus they read and commented on the captain's letter in +concert. + +"`Table Bay'--dear me! what a funny bay that must be--`My dearest +Sisters'--the darling fellow, he always begins that way, don't he, Jane +dear?" + +"Bless him! he does, Martha dear." + +"`We've been all'--I can't make this word out, can you, dear?" + +"No, love." + +"`We've been all-worked!' No, it can't be that. Stay, `We've been all +_wrecked_!'" + +Here Martha laid down the letter with a look of horror, and Jane, with a +face of ashy paleness, exclaimed, "Then they're lost!" + +"But no," cried Martha, "George could not have written to us from +Tablecloth Bay had he been lost." + +"Neither he could!" exclaimed Jane, eagerly. + +Under the influence of the revulsion of feeling this caused, Martha +burst into tears and Jane into laughter. Immediately after, Jane wept +and Martha laughed; then they both laughed and cried together, after +which they felt for their pocket-handkerchiefs, and discovered that in +their haste they had forgotten them; so they had to call the +servant-girl and send her up-stairs for them; and when the handkerchiefs +were brought, they had to be unfolded before the sisters could dry their +eyes. + +When they had done so, and were somewhat composed, they went on with the +reading of the letter. + +"`We've been all wrecked'--Dreadful--`and the poor _Red Angel_'"--"Oh! +it can't be that, Martha dear!" + +"Indeed, it looks very like it, Jane darling. Oh! I see; it's +_Eric_--`and the poor _Red Eric_ has been patched,' or--`pitched on a +rock and smashed to sticks and stivers'--Dear me! what can that be? I +know what `sticks' are, but I can't imagine what `stivers' mean. Can +you, Jane?" + +"Haven't the remotest idea; perhaps Johnson, or Walker, or Webster may-- +yes, Webster is sure to." + +"Oh! never mind just now, dear Jane, we can look it up +afterwards--`stivers--sticks and stivers'--something very dreadful, I +fear. `But we're all safe and well now'--I'm _so_ thankful!--`and we've +been stumped'--No `starved nearly to death, too. My poor Ailie was +thinner than ever I saw her before'--This is horrible, dear Jane." + +"Dreadful, darling Martha." + +"`But she's milk and butter'--It can't be that--`milk and'--oh!--`much +better now.'" + +At this point Martha laid down the letter, and the two sisters wept for +a few seconds in silence. + +"Darling Ailie!" said Martha, drying her eyes, "how thin she must have +been!" + +"Ah! yes, and no one to take in her frocks." + +"`We'll be home in less than no time,'" continued Martha, reading, "`so +you may get ready for us. Glynn will have tremendous long yarns to spin +to you when we come back, and so will Ailie. She has seen a Lotofun +since we left you'--Bless me! what _can_ that be, Jane?" + +"Very likely some terrible sea monster, Martha; how thankful we ought to +be that it did not eat her!--`seen a Lotofun'--strange!--`a Lot--o''-- +Oh!--`_lot o' fun_!'--that's it! how stupid of me!--`and my dear pet has +been such an ass'--Eh! for shame, brother." + +"Don't you think, dear, Martha, that there's some more of that word on +the next line?" + +"So there is, I'm _so_ stupid--`istance'--It's not rightly divided +though--`as-sistance and a comfort to me.' I knew it couldn't be ass." + +"So did I. Ailie an ass! precious child!" + +"`Now, good-bye t'ye, my dear lassies,' + +"`Ever your affectionate brother,' + +"(Dear Fellow!) + +"`GEORGE DUNNING.'" + +Now it chanced that the ship which conveyed the above letter across the +Atlantic was a slow sailer and was much delayed by contrary winds. And +it also chanced--for odd coincidences do happen occasionally in human +affairs--that the vessel in which Captain Dunning with Ailie and his +crew embarked some weeks later was a fast-sailing ship, and was blown +across the sea with strong favouring gales. Hence it fell out that the +first vessel entered port on Sunday night, and the second cast anchor in +the same port on Monday morning. + +The green-painted door, therefore, of the yellow-faced cottage, had +scarcely recovered from the assault of the letter-carrier, when it was +again struck violently by the impatient Captain Dunning. + +Miss Martha, who had just concluded and refolded the letter, screamed +"Oh!" and leaped up. + +Miss Jane did the same, with this difference, that she leaped up before +screaming "Oh!" instead of after doing so. Then both ladies, hearing +voices outside, rushed towards the door of the parlour with the +intention of flying to their rooms and there carefully arranging their +tall white caps and clean white collars, and keeping the early visitor, +whoever he or she might be, waiting fully a quarter of an hour or twenty +minutes, before they should descend, stiffly, starchly, and +ceremoniously, to receive him--or her. + +These intentions were frustrated by the servant-girl, who opened the +green-painted door and let in the captain, who rushed into the parlour +and rudely kissed his speechless sisters. + +"Can it be?" gasped Martha. + +Jane had meant to gasp "Impossible!" but seeing Ailie at that moment +bound into Martha's arms, she changed her intention, uttered a loud +scream instead, and fell down flat upon the floor under the impression +that she had fainted. Finding, however, that this was not the case, she +got up again quickly--ignorant of the fact that the tall cap had come +off altogether in the fall--and stood before her sister weeping, and +laughing, and wringing her hands, and waiting for her turn. + +But it did not seem likely to come soon, for Martha continued to hug +Ailie, whom she had raised entirely from the ground, with passionate +fervour. Seeing this, and feeling that to wait was impossible, Jane +darted forward, threw her arms round Ailie--including Martha, as an +unavoidable consequence--and pressed the child's back to her throbbing +bosom. + +Between the two poor Ailie was nearly suffocated. Indeed, she was +compelled to scream, not because she wished to, but because Martha and +Jane squeezed a scream out of her. The scream acted on the former as a +reproof. She resigned Ailie to Jane, flung herself recklessly on the +sofa, and kicked. + +Meanwhile, Captain Dunning stood looking on, rubbing his hands,-- +slapping his thighs, and blowing his nose. The servant-girl also stood +looking on doing nothing--her face was a perfect blaze of amazement. + +"Girl," said the captain, turning suddenly towards her, "is breakfast +ready?" + +"Yes," gasped the girl. + +"Then fetch it." + +The girl did not move. + +"D'ye hear?" cried the captain. + +"Ye-es." + +"Then look alive." + +The captain followed this up with a roar and such an indescribably +ferocious demonstration that the girl fled in terror to the culinary +regions, where she found the cat breakfasting on a pat of butter. The +girl yelled, and flung first a saucepan, and after that the lid of a +teapot, at the thief. She failed, of course, in this effort to commit +murder, and the cat vanished. + +Breakfast was brought, but, excepting in the captain's case, breakfast +was not eaten. What between questioning, and crying, and hysterical +laughing, and replying, and gasping, explaining, misunderstanding, +exclaiming, and choking, the other members of the party that breakfasted +that morning in the yellow cottage with the much-abused green door, did +little else than upset tea-cups and cream-pots, and sputter eggs about, +and otherwise make a mess of the once immaculate tablecloth. + +"Oh, Aunt Martha!" exclaimed Ailie, in the midst of a short pause in the +storm, "I'm _so_ very, very, _very_ glad to be home!" + +The child said this with intense fervour. No one but he who has been +long, long away from the home of his childhood, and had come back after +having despaired of ever seeing it again, can imagine with what deep +fervour she said it, and then burst into tears. + +Aunt Jane at that moment was venturing to swallow her first mouthful of +tea, so she gulped and choked, and Aunt Martha spent the next five +minutes in violently beating the poor creature's back, as if she deemed +choking a serious offence which merited severe punishment. As for the +captain, that unfeeling monster went on grinning from ear to ear, and +eating a heavy breakfast, as if nothing had happened. But a close +observer might have noticed a curious process going on at the starboard +side of his weather-beaten nose. + +In one of his many desperate encounters with whales, Captain Dunning had +had the end of a harpoon thrust accidentally into the prominent member +of his face just above the bridge. A permanent little hole was the +result, and on the morning of which we write, a drop of water got into +that hole continually, and when it rolled out--which it did about once +every two minutes--and fell into the captain's tea-cup, it was speedily +replaced by another drop, which trickled into the depths of that small +cavern on the starboard side of the captain's nose. We don't pretend to +account for that curious phenomenon. We merely record the fact. + +While the breakfast party were yet in this April mood, a knock was heard +at the outer door. + +"Visitors!" said Martha, with a look that would have led a stranger to +suppose that she held visitors in much the same estimation as +tax-gatherers. + +"How awkward!" exclaimed Aunt Jane. + +"Send 'em away, girl," cried the captain. "We're all engaged. Can't +see any one to-day." + +In a moment the servant-girl returned. + +"He says he _must_ see you." + +"See who?" cried the captain. + +"See _you_, sir." + +"Must he; then he shan't. Tell him that." + +"Please, sir, he says he won't go away." + +"Won't he?" + +As he said this the captain set his teeth, clenched his fists, and +darted out of the room. + +"Oh! George! Stop him! do stop him. He's _so_ violent! He'll do +something dreadful!" said Aunt Martha. + +"Will no one call out murder?" groaned Aunt Jane, with a shudder. + +As no one, however, ventured to check Captain Dunning, he reached the +door, and confronted a rough, big, burly sailor, who stood outside with +a free-and-easy expression of countenance, and his hands in his trousers +pockets. + +"Why don't you go away when you're told, eh?" shouted the captain. + +"'Cause I won't," answered the man coolly. + +The captain stepped close up, but the sailor stood his ground and +grinned. + +"Now, my lad, if you don't up anchor and make sail right away, I'll +knock in your daylights." + +"No, you won't do nothin' o' the kind, old gen'lem'n; but you'll +double-reef your temper, and listen to wot I've got to say; for it's +very partikler, an' won't keep long without spilin'." + +"What have you got to say, then?" said the captain, becoming interested, +but still feeling nettled at the interruption. + +"Can't tell you here." + +"Why not?" + +"Never mind; but put on your sky-scraper, and come down with me to the +grog-shop wot I frequents, and I'll tell ye." + +"I'll do nothing of the sort; be off," cried the captain, preparing to +slam the door. + +"Oh! it's all the same to me, in coorse, but I rather think if ye know'd +that it's 'bout the _Termagant_, and that 'ere whale wot--but it don't +matter. Good-mornin'." + +"Stay," cried the captain, as the last words fell on his ears. + +"Have you really anything to say to me about that ship?" + +"In coorse I has." + +"Won't you come in and say it here?" + +"Not by no means. You must come down to the grog-shop with _me_." + +"Well, I'll go." + +So saying the captain ran back to the parlour; said, in hurried tones, +that he had to go out on matters of importance, but would be back to +dine at five, and putting on his hat, left the cottage in company with +the strange sailor. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +CAPTAIN DUNNING ASTONISHES THE STRANGER--SURPRISING NEWS, AND DESPERATE +RESOLVES. + +Still keeping his hands in his pockets and the free-and-easy expression +on his countenance, the sailor swaggered through the streets of the town +with Captain Dunning at his side, until he arrived at a very dirty +little street, near the harbour, the chief characteristics of which were +noise, compound smells, and little shops with sea-stores hung out in +front. At the farther end of this street the sailor paused before a +small public-house. + +"Here we are," said he; "this is the place w'ere I puts up w'en I'm +ashore--w'ich ain't often--that's a fact. After you, sir." + +The captain hesitated. + +"You ain't afraid, air you?" asked the sailor, in an incredulous tone. + +"No, I'm not, my man; but I have an objection to enter a public-house, +unless I cannot help it. Have you had a glass this morning?" + +The sailor looked puzzled, as if he did not see very clearly what the +question had to do with the captain's difficulty. + +"Well, for the matter o' that, I've had three glasses this mornin'." + +"Then I suppose you have no objection to try a glass of my favourite +tipple, have you?" + +The man smiled, and wiping his mouth with the cuff of his jacket, as if +he expected the captain was, then and there, about to hand him a glass +of the tipple referred to, said-- + +"No objection wotsomediver." + +"Then follow me; I'll take you to the place where _I_ put up sometimes +when I'm ashore. It's not far off." + +Five minutes sufficed to transport them from the dirty little street +near the harbour to the back-parlour of the identical coffee-house in +which the captain was first introduced to the reader. Here, having +whispered something to the waiter, he proceeded to question his +companion on the mysterious business for which he had brought him there. + +"Couldn't we have the tipple first?" suggested the sailor. + +"It will be here directly. Have you breakfasted?" + +"'Xceptin' the three glasses I told ye of--no." + +Well, now, what have you to tell me about the _Termagant_? You have +already said that you are one of her crew, and that you were in the boat +that day when we had a row about the whale. What more can you tell me? + +The sailor sat down on a chair, stretched out his legs quite straight, +and very wide apart, and thrust his hands, if possible, deeper into his +pockets than they even were thrust before--so deep, in fact, as to +suggest the idea that there were no pockets there at all--merely holes. +Then he looked at Captain Dunning with a peculiarly sly expression of +countenance and winked. + +"Well, that's not much. Anything more?" inquired the captain. + +"Ho, yes; lots more. The _Termagant's_ in this yere port--at--this-- +yere--moment." + +The latter part of this was said in a hoarse emphatic whisper, and the +man raising up both legs to a horizontal position, let them fall so that +his heels came with a crash upon the wooden floor. + +"Is she?" cried the captain, with lively interest; "and her captain?" + +"He's--yere--too!" + +Captain Dunning took one or two hasty strides across the floor, as if he +were pacing his own quarterdeck--then stopped suddenly and said-- + +"Can you get hold of any more of that boat's crew?" + +"I can do nothin' more wotiver, nor say nothin' more wotsomediver, till +I've tasted that 'ere tipple of yourn." + +The captain rang the bell, and the waiter entered with ham and eggs, +buttered toast, and hot coffee for two. + +The sailor opened his eyes to their utmost possible width, and made an +effort to thrust his hands still deeper into his unfathomable trousers +pockets; then he sat bolt upright, and gathering his legs as close under +his chair as possible, clasped his knees with his hands, hugged himself, +and grinned from ear to ear. After sitting a second or two in that +position, he jumped up, and going forward to the table, took up the +plate of ham and eggs, as if to make sure that it was a reality, and +smelt it. + +"Is _this_ your favourite tipple?" he said, on being quite satisfied of +the reality of what he saw. + +"Coffee is my favourite drink," replied the captain, laughing. "I never +take anything stronger." + +"Ho! you're a to-teetler?" + +"I am. Now, my man, as you have not yet had breakfast, and as you +interrupted me in the middle of mine, suppose we sit down and discuss +the matter of the whale over this." + +"Well, this is the rummiest way of offerin' to give a fellow a glass as +I ever did come across since I was a tadpole, as sure as my name's Dick +Jones," remarked the sailor, sitting down opposite the captain, and +turning up the cuffs of his coat. + +Having filled his mouth to its utmost possible extent, the astonished +seaman proceeded, at one and the same time, to masticate and to relate +all that he knew in regard to the _Termagant_. + +He said that not only was that vessel in port at that time, but that the +same men were still aboard; that the captain--Dixon by name--was still +in command, and that the whale which had been seized from the crew of +the _Red Eric_ had been sold along with the rest of the cargo. He +related; moreover, how that he and his comrades had been very +ill-treated by Captain Dixon during the voyage, and that he (Captain D) +was, in the opinion of himself and his shipmates, the greatest +blackguard afloat, and had made them so miserable by his brutality and +tyranny, that they all hoped they might never meet with his like again-- +not to mention the hopes and wishes of a very unfeeling nature which +they one and all expressed in regard to that captain's future career. +Besides all this, he stated that he (Dick Jones) had recognised Captain +Dunning when he landed that morning, and had followed him to the cottage +with the yellow face and the green door; after which he had taken a turn +of half-an-hour or so up and down the street to think what he ought to +do, and had at last resolved to tell all that he knew, and offer to +stand witness against his captain, which he was then and there prepared +to do, at that time or at any future period, wherever he (Captain +Dunning) liked, and whenever he pleased, and that there was an end of +the whole matter, and that was a fact. + +Having unburdened his mind, and eaten all the ham, and eggs, and toast, +and drunk all the coffee, and asked for more and got it, Dick Jones +proceeded to make himself supremely happy by filling his pipe and +lighting it. + +"I'll take him to law," said Captain Dunning firmly, smiting the table +with his fist. + +"I know'd a feller," said Jones, "wot always said, w'en he heard a +feller say that, `You'll come for to wish that ye hadn't;' but I think +ye're right, cap'en; for it's a clear case, clear as daylight; an' we'll +all swear to a'most anything as'll go fur to prove it." + +"But are you sure your messmates are as willing as you are to witness +against the captain?" + +"Sure? In coorse I is--sartin sure. Didn't he lamp two on 'em with a +rope's-end once till they wos fit to bust, and all for nothin' but +skylarkin'? They'll all go in the same boat with me, 'cept perhaps the +cook, who is named Baldwin. He's a cross-grained critter, an'll stan' +by the cap'en through thick an thin, an' so will the carpenter--Box they +call him--he's dead agin us; but that's all." + +"Then I'll do it at once," cried Captain Dunning, rising and putting on +his hat firmly, as a man does when he has made a great resolve, which he +more than half suspects will get him into a world of difficulties and +trouble. + +"I s'pose I may set here till ye come back?" inquired Dick Jones, who +now wore a dim mysterious aspect, in consequence of the cloud of smoke +in which he had enveloped himself. + +"You may sit there till they turn you out; but come and take breakfast +with me at the same hour to-morrow, will ye?" + +"Won't I?" + +"Then good-day." + +So saying, the captain left the coffee-house, and hurried to his +sisters' cottage, where he rightly conjectured he should find Glynn +Proctor. Without telling his sisters the result of the interview with +the "rude seaman," he took Glynn's arm and sallied forth in search of +Tim Rokens and Mr Millons, both of whom they discovered enjoying their +pipes, after a hearty breakfast, in a small, unpretending, but excellent +and comfortable "sailors' home," in the dirty little street before +referred to. + +The greater part of the crew of the late _Red Eric_ (now "sticks and +stivers") were found in the same place, engaged in much the same +occupation, and to these, in solemn conclave assembled, Captain Dunning +announced his intention of opening a law-suit against the captain of the +_Termagant_ for the unlawful appropriation of the whale harpooned by +Glynn. The men highly approved of what they called a "shore-going +scrimmage," and advised the captain to go and have the captain and crew +of the _Termagant_ "put in limbo right off." + +Thus advised and encouraged, Captain Dunning went to a lawyer, who, +after hearing the case, stated it as his opinion that it was a good one, +and forthwith set about taking the needful preliminary steps to +commencing the action. + +Thereafter Captain Dunning walked rapidly home, wiping his hot brow as +he went, and entering the parlour of the cottage--the yellow-faced +cottage--flung himself on the sofa with a reckless air, and said, "I've +done it!" + +"Horror!" cried Aunt Martha. + +"Misery!" gasped Aunt Jane, who happened to be fondling Ailie at the +time of her brother's entrance. + +"Is he dead?" + +"_Quite_ dead?" added Martha. + +"Is _who_ dead?" inquired the captain, in surprise. + +"The man--the rude sailor!" + +"Dead! No." + +"You said just now that you had done it." + +"So I have. I've done the deed. I've gone to law." + +Had the captain said that he had gone to "sticks and stivers," his +sisters could not have been more startled and horrified. They dreaded +the law, and hated it with a great and intense hatred, and not without +reason; for their father had been ruined in a law-suit, and his father +had broken the law, in some political manner they could never clearly +understand, and had been condemned by the law to perpetual banishment. + +"Will it do you much harm, dear, papa?" inquired Ailie, in great +concern. + +"Harm? Of course not. I hope it'll do me, and you too, a great deal of +good." + +"I'm _so_ glad to hear that; for I've heard people say that when you +once go into it you never get out of it again." + +"So have I," said Aunt Martha, with a deep sigh. + +"And so have I," added Aunt Jane, with a deeper sigh, "and I believe +it's true." + +"It's false!" cried the captain, laughing, "and you are all silly geese; +the law is--" + +"A bright and glorious institution! A desirable investment for the +talents of able men! A machine for justice usually--injustice +occasionally--and, like all other good things, often misused, abused, +and spoken against!" said Glynn Proctor, at that moment entering the +room, and throwing his hat on one chair, and himself on another. "I've +had enough of the sea, captain, and have come to resign my situation, +and beg for dinner." + +"You shall have it immediately, dear Glynn," said Martha, whose heart +warmed at the sight of one who had been so kind to her little niece. + +"Nay, I'm in no hurry," said Glynn, quickly; "I did but jest, dear +madam, as Shakespeare has it. Perhaps it was Milton who said it; one +can't be sure; but whenever a truly grand remark escapes you, you're +safe to clap it down to Shakespeare." + +At this point the servant-girl announced dinner. At the same instant a +heavy foot was heard in the passage, and Tim Rokens announced himself, +saying that he had just seen the captain's lawyer, and had been sent to +say that he wished to see Captain Dunning in the course of the evening. + +"Then let him go on wishing till I'm ready to go to him. Meanwhile do +you come and dine with us, Rokens, my lad." + +Rokens looked awkward, and shuffled a little with his feet, and shook +his head. + +"Why, what's the matter, man?" + +Rokens looked as if he wished to speak, but hesitated. + +"If ye please, cap'en, I'd raither not, axin' the ladies' parding. I'd +like a word with you in the passage." + +"By all means," replied the captain, going out of the room with the +sailor. "Now, what's wrong?" + +"My flippers, cap'en," said Rokens, thrusting out his hard, thick, +enormous hands, which were stained all over with sundry streaks of tar, +and were very red as well as extremely clumsy to look at--"I've bin an' +washed 'em with hot water and rubbed 'em with grease till I a'most took +the skin off, but they won't come clean, and I'm not fit to sit down +with ladies." + +To this speech the captain replied by seizing Tim Rokens by the collar +and dragging him fairly into the parlour. + +"Here's a man," cried the captain enthusiastically, presenting him to +Martha, "who's sailed with me for nigh thirty years, and is the best +harpooner I ever had, and has stuck to me through thick and thin, in +fair weather and foul, in heat and cold, and was kinder to Ailie during +the last voyage than all the other men put together, exceptin' Glynn, +and who tells me his hands are covered with tar, and that he can't wash +'em clean nohow, and isn't fit to dine with ladies; so you will oblige +me, Martha, by ordering him to leave the house." + +"I will, brother, with pleasure. I order you, Mr Rokens, to leave this +house _at your peril_! And I invite you to partake of our dinner, which +is now on the table in the next room." + +Saying this, Aunt Martha grasped one of the great tar-stained "flippers" +in both of her own delicate hands, and shook it with a degree of vigour +that Tim Rokens afterwards said he could not have believed possible had +he not felt it. + +Seeing this, Aunt Jane turned aside and blew her nose violently. Tim +Rokens attempted to make a bow, failed, and grinned. The captain +cried--"Now, then, heave ahead!" Glynn, in the exuberance of his +spirits, uttered a miniature cheer. Ailie gave vent to a laugh, that +sounded as sweet as a good song; and the whole party adjourned to the +dining-room, where the servant-girl was found in the sulks because +dinner was getting rapidly cold, and the cat was found:-- + + "Prowling round the festal board + On thievish deeds intent." + +[See Milton's _Paradise Regained_, latest edition.] + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +THE LAW-SUIT--THE BATTLE, AND THE VICTORY. + +The great case of Dunning _versus_ Dixon came on at last. + +On that day Captain Dunning was in a fever; Glynn Proctor was in a +fever; Tim Rokens was in a fever; the Misses Dunning were in two +separate fevers--everybody, in fact, on the Dunning side of the case was +in a fever of nervous anxiety and mental confusion. As witnesses in the +case, they had been precognosced to such an extent by the lawyers that +their intellects were almost overturned. On being told that he was to +be precognosced. Tim Rokens said stoutly, "He'd like to see the man as +'ud do it"; under the impression that that was the legal term for being +kicked, or otherwise maltreated; and on being informed that the word +signified merely an examination as to the extent of his knowledge of the +facts of the case, he said quietly, "Fire away!" Before they had done +firing away, the gallant harpooner was so confused that he began to +regard the whole case as already hopeless. + +The other men were much in the same condition; but in a private meeting +held among themselves the day before the trial, Rokens made the +following speech, which comforted them not a little. + +"Messmates and shipmates," said Tim, "I'll tell ye wot it is. I'm no +lawyer--that's a fact--but I'm a man; an' wot's a man?--it ain't a +bundle o' flesh an' bones on two legs, with a turnip a-top o't, is it?" + +"Be no manes," murmured Briant, with an approving nod. + +"Cer'nly not," remarked Dick Barnes. "I second that motion." + +"Good," continued Rokens. "Then, bein' a man, I've got brains enough to +see that, if we don't want to contredick one another, we must stick to +the truth." + +"You don't suppose I'd go fur to tell lies, do you?" said Tarquin +quickly. + +"In coorse not. But what I mean to say is, that we must stick to what +we _knows_ to be the truth, and not be goin' for to guess at it, or +_think_ that we knows it, and then swear to it as if we wos certain +sure." + +"Hear! hear!" from the assembled company. + +"In fact," observed Glynn, "let what we say be absolutely true, and say +just as little as we can. That's how to manage a good case." + +"An', be all manes," added Briant, "don't let any of ye try for to +improve matters be volunteerin' yer opinion. Volunteerin' opinions is +stuff. Volunteerin' is altogether a bad look-out. I know'd a feller, I +did--a strappin' young feller he was, too, more betoken--as volunteered +himself to death, he did. To be sure, his wos a case o' volunteerin' +into the Louth Militia, and he wos shot, he wos, in a pop'lar riot, as +the noosepapers said--a scrimmage, I calls it--so don't let any o' us be +goin' for to volunteer opinions w'en nobody axes 'em--no, nor wants +'em." + +Briant looked so pointedly at Gurney while delivering this advice that +that obese individual felt constrained to look indignant, and inquire +whether "them 'ere imperent remarks wos meant for him." To which Briant +replied that "they wos meant for him, as well as for ivery man then +present." Whereupon Gurney started up and shook his fist across the +table at Briant, and Briant made a face at Gurney, at which the +assembled company of mariners laughed, and immediately thereafter the +meeting was broken up. + +Next day the trial came on, and as the case was expected to be more than +usually interesting, the house was filled to overflowing long before the +hour. + +The trial lasted all that day, and all the next, and a great part of the +third, but we do not purpose going into it in detail. The way in which +Mr Rasp (Captain Dunning's counsel) and Mr Tooth (Captain Dixon's +counsel) badgered, browbeat, and utterly bamboozled the witnesses on +both sides, and totally puzzled the jury, can only be understood by +those who have frequented courts of law, but could not be fully or +adequately described in less than six hundred pages. + +In the course of the trial the resolutions come to by the crew of the +_Red Eric_, that they would tell _nothing_ but the truth, and carefully +refrain from touching on what they were not quite sure of, proved to be +of the greatest advantage to the pursuer's case. We feel constrained +here to turn aside for one moment to advise the general adoption of that +course of conduct in all the serious affairs of life. + +The evidence of Tim Rokens was clear and to the point. The whale had +been first struck by Glynn with a harpoon, to which a drogue was +attached; it had been followed up by the crew of the _Red Eric_ and also +by the crew of the _Termagant_. The boats of the latter over-took the +fish first, fixed a harpoon in it, and lanced it mortally. The drogue +and harpoon of the _Red Eric_ were still attached to the whale when this +was done, so that, according to the laws of the fishery, the crew of the +_Termagant_ had no right to touch the whale--it was a "fast" fish. If +the drogue had become detached the fish would have been free, and both +crews would have been entitled to chase and capture it if they were +able. Angry words and threats had passed between the crews of the +opposing boats, but the whale put a stop to that by smashing the boat of +the _Red Eric_ with its tail, whereupon the boat of the _Termagant_ made +off with the fish (which died almost immediately after), and left the +crew of the boat belonging to the _Red Eric_ struggling in the water. + +Such was the substance of the evidence of the harpooner, and neither +cross-examination nor re-cross-examination by Mr Tooth, the counsel for +the defendant, could induce Tim Rokens to modify, alter, omit, or +contradict one iota of what he had said. + +It must not be supposed, however, that all of the men gave their +evidence so clearly or so well. The captain did, though he was somewhat +nervous, and the doctor did, and Glynn did. But that of Nikel Sling was +unsatisfactory, in consequence of his being unable to repress his +natural tendency to exaggeration. Tarquin also did harm; for, in his +spite against the crew of the _Termagant_, he made statements which were +not true, and his credit as a witness was therefore totally destroyed. + +Last of all came Jim Scroggles, who, after being solemnly sworn, deposed +that he was between thirty-five and thirty-six years of age, on hearing +which Gurney said "Oh!" with peculiar emphasis, and the people laughed, +and the judge cried "Silence," and the examination went on. After some +time Mr Tooth rose to cross-question Jim Scroggles, who happened to be +a nervous man in public, and was gradually getting confused and angry. + +"Now, my man, please to be particular in your replies," said Mr Tooth, +pushing up his spectacles on his forehead, thrusting his hands into his +trousers pockets, and staring very hard at Jim. "You said that you +pulled the second oar from the bow on the day in which the whale was +killed." + +"Yes." + +"Are you quite sure of that? Was it not the _third_ oar, now?" + +"Yes or no," interrupted Mr Tooth. + +"It's so long since--" + +"Yes or no," repeated Mr Tooth. + +"Yes," roared Scroggles, forgetting at the moment, in his confusion and +indignation at not being allowed to speak, in what manner the question +had been put. + +"Yes," echoed Mr Tooth, addressing the judge, but looking at the jury. +"You will observe, gentlemen. Would your lordship be so good as to note +that? This witness, on that very particular occasion, when every point +in the circumstances must naturally have been impressed deeply on the +memories of all present, appears to have been so confused as not to know +which oar of the boat he pulled. So, my man" (turning to the witness), +"it appears evident that either you are now mis-stating the facts of the +case or were then incapable of judging of them." + +Jim Scroggles felt inclined to leap out of the witness-box, and knocked +the teeth of Mr Tooth down his throat! But he repressed the +inclination, and that gentleman went on to say-- + +"When the boat of the _Red Eric_ came up to the whale was the drogue +still attached to it?" + +"In coorse it was. Didn't ye hear me say that three or--" + +"Be so good as to answer my questions simply, and do not make +unnecessary remarks, sir. Was the drogue attached when the boat came +up? Yes or no?" + +"Yes." + +"How do you know?" + +"'Cause I seed it." + +"You are quite sure that you saw it?" + +"In coorse!--leastwise, Tim Rokens seed it, and all the men in the boat +seed it, and said so to me afterwards--w'ich is the same thing, though I +can't 'xactly say I seed it myself, 'cause I was looking hard at the men +in the enemy's boat, and considerin' which on 'em I should give a dab in +the nose to first w'en we come along side of 'em." + +"Oh, then you did _not_ see the drogue attached to the whale?" said Mr +Tooth, with a glance at the jury; "and you were so taken up with the +anticipated fight, I suppose, that you scarcely gave your attention to +the whale at all! Were the other men in your boat in a similarly +unobservant condition?" + +"Eh?" exclaimed Scroggles. + +"Were the other men as eager for the fight as you were?" + +"I s'pose they wos; you'd better ax 'em. _I_ dun know." + +"No, I don't suppose you do, considering the state of mind you appear to +have been in at the time. Do you know which part of the whale struck +your boat? Was it the head?" + +"No; it was the tail." + +"Are you quite sure of that?" + +"Ho, yes, quite sartin, for I've got a knot on my head this day where +the tip of its flukes came down on me." + +"You're quite sure of that? Might it not have been the part of the fish +near the tail, now, that struck you, or the fin just under the tail?" + +"No; I'm quite sartin sure it warn't _that_." + +"How are you so sure it wasn't that?" + +"Because whales hain't got no fins just under their tails!" replied +Scroggles, with a broad grin. + +There was another loud laugh at this, and Mr Tooth looked a little put +out, and the judge cried "Silence" again, and threatened to clear the +court. + +After a few more questions Jim Scroggles was permitted to retire, which +he did oppressed with a feeling that his evidence had done the case +little good, if not some harm, yet rather elated than otherwise at the +success of his last hit. + +That evening Captain Dunning supped with Ailie and his sisters in low +spirits. Glynn and the doctor and Tim Rokens and the two mates, Millons +and Markham, supped with him, also in low spirits; and King Bumble acted +the part of waiter, for that sable monarch had expressed an earnest +desire to become Captain Dunning's servant, and the captain had agreed +to "take him on," at least for a time. King Bumble was also in low +spirits; and, as a natural consequence, so were Aunts Martha and Jane +and little Ailie. It seemed utterly incomprehensible to the males of +the party, how so good a case as this should come to wear such an +unpromising aspect. + +"The fact is," said the captain, at the conclusion of a prolonged +discussion, "I don't believe we'll gain it." + +"Neither do I," said the doctor, helping himself to a large quantity of +salad, as if that were the only comfort now left to him, and he meant to +make the most of it before giving way to total despair. + +"I knew it," observed Aunt Martha firmly. "I always said the law was a +wicked institution." + +"It's a great shame!" said Aunt Jane indignantly; "but what could we +expect? It treats every one ill." + +"Won't it treat Captain Dixon well, if he wins, aunt?" inquired Ailie. + +"Dear child, what can you possibly know about law?" said Aunt Martha. + +"Would you like a little more tart?" asked Aunt Jane. + +"Bravo! Ailie," cried Glynn, "that's a fair question. I back it up." + +"How much do you claim for damages, George?" inquired Aunt Martha, +changing the subject. + +("Question!" whispered Glynn.) + +"Two thousand pounds," answered the captain. + +"What!" exclaimed the aunts, in a simultaneous burst of amazement. "All +for _one_ fish?" + +"Ay, it was a big one, you see, and Dick Jones, one of the men of the +_Termagant_, told me it was sold for that. It's a profitable fishing, +when one doesn't lose one's ship. What do you say to go with me and +Ailie on our next trip, sisters? You might use up all your silk and +worsted thread and crooked pins." + +"What nonsense you talk, George; but I suppose you really do use pretty +large hooks and lines when you fish for whales?" + +Aunt Martha addressed the latter part of her remark to Tim Rokens, who +seemed immensely tickled by the captain's pleasantry. + +"Hooks and lines, ma'am!" cried Rokens, regarding his hostess with a +look of puzzled surprise. + +"To be sure we do," interrupted Glynn; "we use anchors baited with live +crocodiles--sometimes elephants, when we can't get crocodiles. But +hippopotamuses do best." + +"Oh! Glynn!" cried Ailie, laughing, "how can you?" + +"It all depends on the drogue," remarked the doctor. "I'm surprised to +find how few of the men can state with absolute certainty that they saw +the drogue attached to the whale when the boat came up to it. It all +hinges upon that." + +"Yes," observed Mr Millons, "the 'ole case 'inges on that, because that +proves it was a fast fish." + +"Dear me, Mr Millons," said Aunt Martha, smiling, "I have heard of fast +young men, but I never heard of a fast fish before." + +"Didn't you, ma'am?" exclaimed the first mate, looking up in surprise, +for that matter-of-fact seamen seldom recognised a joke at first sight. + +Aunt Martha, who very rarely ventured on the perpetration of a joke, +blushed, and turning somewhat hastily to Mr Markham, asked if he would +"take another cup of tea." Seeing that there was no tea on the table, +she substituted "another slice of ham," and laughed. Thereupon the +whole company laughed, and from that moment their spirits began to rise. +They began to discuss the more favourable points of the evidence led +that day, and when they retired at a late hour to rest, their hopes had +again become sanguine. + +Next morning the examination of the witnesses for the defendant came on. +There were more of them than Dick Jones had expected; for the crew of +the _Termagant_ happened to be partly made up of very bad men, who were +easily bribed by their captain to give evidence in his favour. But it +soon became evident that they had not previously determined, as Captain +Dunning's men had done, to stick to the simple truth. They not only +contradicted each other but each contradicted himself more than once; +and it amazed them all, more than they could tell, to find how easily +Mr Rasp turned their thoughts outside in, and caused them to prove +conclusively that they were telling falsehoods. + +After the case had been summed up by the judge, the jury retired to +consult, but they only remained five minutes away, and then came back +with a verdict in favour of the pursuers. + +"Who's the `pursooers?'" inquired Gurney, when this was announced to him +by Nikel Sling. "Ain't we all pursooers? Wasn't we all pursooing the +whale together?" + +"Oh, you grampus!" cried Nikel, laughing. "Don't ye know that _we_ is +the purshooers, 'cause why? We're purshooin' the cap'en and crew of the +_Termagant_ at law, and means to purshoo 'em too, I guess, till they +stumps up for that air whale. And they is the defendants, 'cause +they're s'posed to defend themselves to the last gasp; but it ain't o' +no manner o' use." + +Nikel Sling was right. Captain Dixon _was_ pursued until he paid back +the value of his ill-gotten whale, and was forcibly reminded by this +episode in his career, that "honesty is the best policy" after all. +Thus Captain Dunning found himself suddenly put in possession of a sum +of two thousand pounds. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +THE CONCLUSION. + +The trouble, and worry, and annoyance that the sum of 2000 pounds gave +to Captain Dunning is past all belief. That worthy man, knowing that +Glynn Proctor had scarcely a penny in the world, not even his "kit" (as +sailors name their sea-chests), which had been lost in the wreck of the +_Red Eric_, and that the boy was about to be cast upon the world again +an almost friendless wanderer--knowing all this, we say, Captain Dunning +insisted that as Glynn had been the first to strike the whale, and as no +one else had had anything to do with its capture, he (Glynn) was justly +entitled to the money. + +Glynn firmly declined to admit the justice of this view of the case; he +had been paid his wages; that was all he had any right to claim; so he +positively refused to take the money. But the captain was more than his +match. He insisted so powerfully, and argued so logically, that Glynn +at last consented, on condition that 500 pounds of it should be +distributed among his shipmates. This compromise was agreed to, and +thus Glynn came into possession of what appeared in his eyes a fortune +of 1500 pounds. + +"Now, what am I to do with it? that is the question." + +Glynn propounded this knotty question one evening, about three weeks +after the trial, to his friends of the yellow cottage with the +green-painted door. + +"Put it in the bank," suggested Aunt Martha. + +"Yes, and live on the interest," added Aunt Jane. + +"Or invest in the whale-fishery," said Captain Dunning, emitting a +voluminous cloud of tobacco-smoke, as if to suggest the idea that the +investment would probably end in something similar to that. (The +captain was a peculiarly favoured individual; he was privileged to smoke +in the Misses Dunning's parlour.) + +"Oh! I'll tell you what to do, Glynn," cried Ailie, clapping her hands; +"it would be _so_ nice. Buy a cottage with it--a nice, pretty, +white-painted cottage, beside a wood, with a little river in front of +it, and a small lake with a boat on it not far off, and a far, far view +from the windows of fields, and villages, and churches, and cattle, and +sheep, and--" + +"Hurrah! Ailie, go it, my lass!" interrupted Glynn; "and horses, and +ponies, and carts, and cats, and blackbirds, and cocks and hens, and +ploughmen, and milkmaids, and beggars, all in the foreground; and +coaches, and railroads, and steamboats, and palaces, and canals, in the +middle distance; with a glorious background of the mighty sea glittering +for ever under the blazing beams of a perpetually setting sun, mingled +with the pale rays of an eternally rising moon, and laden with small +craft, and whale-ships, and seaweed, and fish, and bumboats, and +men-of-war!" + +"Oh, how nice!" cried Ailie, screaming with delight. + +"Go ahead, lad, never give in!" said the captain; whose pipe during this +glowing description had been keeping up what seemed like a miniature +sea-fight. "You've forgot the main point." + +"What's that?" inquired Glynn. + +"Why, a palace for Jacko close beside it, with a portrait of Jacko over +the drawing-room fireplace, and a marble bust of Jacko in the four +corners of every room." + +"So I did; I forgot that," replied Glynn. + +"Dear Jacko!" said Ailie, laughing heartily, and holding out her hand. + +The monkey, which had become domesticated in the house, leaped nimbly +upon her knee, and looked up in her face. + +"Oh! Ailie dear, do put it down!" cried Aunt Jane, shuddering. + +"How can you?" said Aunt Martha; "dirty beast!" Of course Aunt Martha +applied the latter part of her remark to the monkey, not to the child. + +"I'll never be able to bear it," remarked Aunt Jane. + +"And it will never come to agree with the cat," observed Aunt Martha. + +Ailie patted her favourite on the cheek and told it to go away, adding, +that it was a dear pet--whereupon that small monkey retired modestly to +a corner near the sideboard. It chanced to be the corner nearest to the +sugar-basin, which had been left out by accident; but Jacko didn't know +that, of course--at least, if he did, he did not say so. It is +probable, however, that he found it out in course of time; for an hour +or two afterwards the distinct marks of ten very minute fingers were +visible therein, a discovery which Aunt Martha made with a scream, and +Aunt Jane announced with a shriek--which caused Jacko to retire +precipitately. + +"But really," said Glynn, "jesting apart, I must take to something on +shore, for although I like the sea very well, I find that I like the +land better." + +"Well, since you wish to be in earnest about it," said Captain Dunning, +"I'll tell you what has been passing in my mind of late. I'm getting to +be an oldish young man now, you see, and am rather tired of the sea +myself, so I also think of giving it up. I have now laid by about five +thousand pounds, and with this I think of purchasing a farm. I learnt +something of farming before I took to the sea, so that I am not quite so +green on such matters as you might suppose, though I confess I'm rather +rusty and behind the age; but that won't much matter in a fine country +like this, and I can get a good steward to take command and steer the +ship until I have brushed up a bit in shore-goin' navigation. There is +a farm which is just the very thing for me not more than twenty miles +from this town, with a cottage on it and a view _somewhat_ like the one +you and Ailie described a few minutes ago, though not _quite_ so grand. +But there's one great and insuperable objection to my taking it." + +"What is that?" inquired Aunt Martha, who, with her sister, expressed in +their looks unbounded surprise at the words of their brother, whom they +regarded as so thoroughly and indissolubly connected with the sea that +they would probably have been less surprised had he announced it to be +his intention to become a fish and thenceforward dwell in a coral cave. + +"I have not enough of money wherewith to buy and stock it." + +"_What_ a pity!" said Ailie, whose hopes had been rising with +extraordinary rapidity, and were thus quenched at once. + +Glynn leaped up and smote his thigh with his right hand, and exclaimed +in a triumphant manner--"That's the very ticket!" + +"What's the very ticket?" inquired the captain. + +"I'll lend you _my_ money," said Glynn. + +"Ay, boy, that's just the point I was comin' to. A thousand pounds will +do. Now, if you lend me that sum, I'm willin' to take you into +partnership, and we'll buy the place and farm it together. I think +we'll pull well in the same boat, for I think you like me well enough, +and I'm sure I like you, and I know Ailie don't object to either of us; +and after I'm gone, Glynn, you can work the farm for Ailie and give her +her share. What say you?" + +"Done," exclaimed Glynn, springing up and seizing the captain's hand. +"I'll be your son and you'll be my father, and Ailie will be my sister-- +and _won't_ we be jolly, just!" + +Ailie laughed, and so did the two aunts, but the captain made no reply. +He merely smoked with a violence that was quite appalling, and nodding +his head, winked at Glynn, as if to say--"That's it, exactly!" + +The compact thus half-jestingly entered into was afterwards thoroughly +ratified and carried into effect. The cottage was named the Red Eric, +and the property was named the Whale Brae, after an ancestral estate +which, it was supposed, had, at some remote period, belonged to the +Dunning family in Scotland. The title was not inappropriate, for it +occupied the side of a rising ground, which, as a feature in the +landscape, looked very like a whale, "only," as Glynn said, "not quite +so big," which was an outrageous falsehood, for it was a great deal +bigger! A small wooden palace was built for Jacko, and many a portrait +was taken of him by Glynn, in charcoal, on many an outhouse wall, to the +immense delight of Ailie. As to having busts of him placed in the +corners of every room, Glynn remarked that that was quite unnecessary, +for Jacko _almost_ "bu'st" himself in every possible way, at every +conceivable time, in every imaginable place, whenever he could +conveniently collect enough of food to do so--which was not often, for +Jacko, though small, was of an elastic as well as an amiable +disposition. + +Tim Rokens stuck to his old commander to the last. He said he had +sailed with him the better part of his life, in the same ships, had +weathered the same storms, and chased the same fish, and now that the +captain had made up his mind to lay up in port, he meant to cast anchor +beside him. So the bold harpooner became a species of overseer and +jack-of-all-trades on the property. Phil Briant set up as a carpenter +in the village close by, took to himself a wife (his first wife having +died), and became Tim Rokens' boon companion and bosom friend. As for +the rest of the crew of the _Red Eric_, they went their several ways, +got into separate ships, and were never again re-assembled together; but +nearly all of them came at separate times, in the course of years, to +visit their old captain and shipmates in the Red Eric at Whale Brae. + +In course of time Ailie grew up into such a sweet, pretty, modest, +loveable woman, that the very sight of her did one's heart good. Love +was the ruling power in Ailie's heart--love to her God and Saviour and +to all His creatures. She was not perfect. Who is? She had faults, +plenty of them. Who has not? But her loving nature covered up +everything with a golden veil so beautiful, that no one saw her faults, +or, if they did, would not believe them to be faults at all. + +Glynn, also, grew up and became a _man_. Observe, reader, we don't mean +to say that he became a thing with long legs, and broad shoulders, and +whiskers. Glynn became a real man; an out-and-out man; a being who +realised the fact that he had been made and born into the world for the +purpose of doing that world good, and leaving it better than he found +it. He did not think that to strut, and smoke cigars, and talk loud or +big, and commence most of his sentences with "Aw! 'pon my soul!" was the +summit of true greatness. Neither did he, flying in disgust to the +opposite extreme, speak like a misanthrope, and look like a bear, or +dress like a savage. He came to know the truth of the proverb, that +"there is a time for all things," and following up the idea suggested by +those words, he came to perceive that there is a place for all things-- +that place being the human heart, when in a true and healthy condition +in all its parts, out of which, in their proper time, some of those "all +things" ought to be ever ready to flow. Hence Glynn could weep with the +sorrowful and laugh with the gay. He could wear a red or a blue flannel +shirt, and pull an oar (ay, the best oar) at a rowing match, or he could +read the Bible and pray with a bedridden old woman. Had Glynn Proctor +been a naval commander, he might have sunk, destroyed, or captured +fleets. Had he been a soldier, he might have stormed and taken cities; +being neither, he was a greater man than either, for he could "_rule his +own spirit_." If you are tempted, dear reader, to think that an easy +matter, just try it. Make the effort. The first time you chance to be +in a towering rage (which I trust, however, may never be), try to keep +your tongue silent, and, most difficult of all, try at that moment to +pray, and see whether your opinion as to your power over your own spirit +be not changed. + +Such were Glynn and Ailie. "So they married, of course," you remark. +Well, reader, and why not? Nothing could be more natural. Glynn felt, +and said, too, that nothing was nearer his heart. And Ailie admitted-- +after being told by Glynn that she must be his wife, for he wanted to +have her, and was determined to have her whether she would or not--that +her heart was in similar proximity to the idea of marriage. Captain +Dunning did not object--it would have been odd if he had objected to the +fulfilment of his chief earthly desire. Tim Rokens did not groan when +he heard of the proposal--by no means; on the contrary, he roared, and +laughed, and shouted with delight, and went straight off to tell Phil +Briant, who roared a duet with him, and they both agreed that it "wos +the most gloriously nat'ral thing they ever did know since they wos +launched upon the sea of time!" + +So Glynn Proctor and Ailie Dunning were married, and lived long, and +happily, and usefully at Whale Brae. Captain Dunning lived with them +until he was so old that Ailie's eldest daughter (also named Ailie) had +to lead him from his bedroom each morning to breakfast, and light his +pipe for him when he had finished. And Ailie the second performed her +duties well, and made the old man happy--happier than he could find +words to express--for Ailie the second was like her mother in all +things, and greater praise than that could not possibly be awarded to +her. + +The affairs of the cottage with the yellow face and the green door were +kept in good order for many years by one of Ailie the second's little +sisters--Martha by name; and there was much traffic and intercourse +between that ancient building and the Red Eric, as long as the two aunts +lived, which was a very long time indeed. Its green door was, during +that time, almost battered off its hinges by successive juvenile members +of the Proctor family. And truly deep and heartfelt was the mourning at +Whale Brae when the amiable sisters were taken away at last. + +As for Tim Rokens, that ancient mariner became the idol of the young +Proctors, as they successively came to be old enough to know his worth. +The number of ships and boats he made for the boys among them was +absolutely fabulous. Equal, perhaps, to about a twentieth part of the +number of pipes of tobacco he smoked during his residence there, and +about double the number of stories told them by Phil Briant during the +same period. + +King Bumble lived with the family until his woolly head became as white +as his face was black; and Jacko--poor little Jacko--lived so long, that +he became big, but he did not become less amiable, or less addicted to +thieving. He turned grey at last and became as blind as a bat, and +finally crawled about the house, enfeebled by old age, and wrapped in a +flannel dressing-gown. + +Sorrows and joys are the lot of all; they chase each other across the +sky of human life like cloud and sunshine on an April day. Captain +Dunning and his descendants were not exempt from the pains, and toils, +and griefs of life, but they met them in the right spirit, and diffused +so sweet an influence around their dwelling that the neighbours used to +say--and say truly--of the family at the Red Eric, that they were always +good-humoured and happy--as happy as the day was long. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Eric, by R.M. 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