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diff --git a/old/62329-h/62329-h.htm b/old/62329-h/62329-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 32dbadc..0000000 --- a/old/62329-h/62329-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11206 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> -<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mate of the Good Ship York, by William Clark Russell</title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - - p { margin-top: .75em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .75em; - } - - p.bold {text-align: center; font-weight: bold;} - p.bold2 {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 150%;} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; - } - h1 span, h2 span { display: block; text-align: center; } - #id1 { font-size: smaller } - - - hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; - } - - hr.tb { - width: 15%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 42.5%; - margin-right: 42.5%; - clear: both; - } - - body{margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - - table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: right;} - - .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - text-indent: 0px; - } /* page numbers */ - - .center {text-align: center;} - .smaller {font-size: smaller;} - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - .mynote { background-color: #DDE; color: black; padding: .5em; margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%; } /* colored box for notes at beginning of file */ - .space-above {margin-top: 3em;} - .left {text-align: left;} - - /* Poetry */ - .poem { - margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; - text-align: left; - } - - .poem br {display: none;} - - .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - - - h1.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Mate of the Good Ship York, by William -Clark Russell, Illustrated by W. H. Dunton</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world 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 <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The Mate of the Good Ship York</p> -<p> Or, The Ship's Adventure</p> -<p>Author: William Clark Russell</p> -<p>Release Date: June 5, 2020 [eBook #62329]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MATE OF THE GOOD SHIP YORK***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by Martin Pettit<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/mateofgoodshipyo00russiala"> - https://archive.org/details/mateofgoodshipyo00russiala</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">THE MATE OF THE GOOD SHIP YORK</p> - -<p class="bold">OR, THE SHIP'S ADVENTURE</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i004.jpg" alt="HARDY FREQUENTLY TURNED TO LOOK AT THE YORK" /></div> - -<p class="bold">"HARDY FREQUENTLY TURNED TO LOOK AT THE <i>YORK</i>." (<i>See <a href="#Page_261">Page 261</a></i>)</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="Title Page" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> - -<h1>THE MATE OF THE<br /> GOOD SHIP YORK</h1> - -<p class="bold">Or, The Ship's Adventure</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">By</p> - -<p class="bold2">W. Clark Russell</p> - -<p class="bold">Author of "The Wreck of the Gros-<br />venor," -"Marooned," "A Marriage<br />at Sea," "My Danish Sweetheart," etc.</p> - -<p class="bold">With a frontispiece by</p> - -<p class="bold2"><span class="smcap">W. H. Dunton</span></p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/logo.jpg" alt="logo" /></div> - -<p class="bold2 space-above"><i>Boston</i>: L. C. PAGE &<br />COMPANY, <i>Publishers</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Copyright, 1900</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">By S. S. McClure Company</span><br /> -——<br /><i>Copyright, 1902</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">By L. C. Page & Company</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">(INCORPORATED)</span><br />——<br /><i>All rights reserved</i></p> - -<p class="center space-above">Eighth Impression, April, 1907</p> - -<p class="center space-above">Colonial Press<br /> -Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.<br /> -Boston, Mass., U. S. A.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Contents</h2> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER</span></td> - <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>I. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Julia Armstrong</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>II. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Bax's Farm</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>III. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The East India Dock Road</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IV. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The "Glamis Castle"</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>V. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Captain Layard</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VI. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Ship's Lookout</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The French Mate</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VIII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Lost!</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IX. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Indiaman's Boat</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>X. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Captain and the Girl</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XI. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Captain's Birthday</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Julia Calls "Johnny!"</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">They Meet</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIV. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Hard Weather</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XV. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Aboard Again</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVI. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Practical Seamanship</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Boat-Full</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVIII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Hail, Columbia!</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_313">313</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIX. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Camilla of the Sea</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_333">333</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">The Mate of the Good Ship York</p> - -<p class="bold">Or, the Ship's Adventure</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">JULIA ARMSTRONG</span></h2> - -<p>A house with a wall, which would be blank but for a door and two -steps, stands in a very pretty lane. The habitable aspect of the house -is on the other side, and commands a wide prospect of sloping fields -and river and green sweeps soaring into eminences thickly clothed -with trees. A brass plate upon this lonely door bears the simple -inscription, "Dr. Hardy."</p> - -<p>The lane runs down to a bridge, and the flowing river carries the -eye along a scene of English beauty: the bending trees sip the water's -surface; the bright meadow stretches from the bank, and is tender and -gay with the tints and movement of cattle; lofty trees sentinel the -lane, and in the early summer the notes of the thrush and the blackbird -are clear and sweet.</p> - -<p>One autumn evening, at about seven o'clock, the door bearing -Doctor Hardy's plate was pulled open, and a young fellow, with -something nautical in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> lurch and dress, stepped into the road, -and began to fill his pipe. Immediately behind him appeared another -figure—he was a thin, pale, gentlemanly-looking man, and his -white hair was parted down the middle. He gazed with a great deal of -kindness, not unmingled with the shadow of sorrow, at the young fellow -who was filling his pipe, and said:</p> - -<p>"You have a pleasant evening for your walk."</p> - -<p>"I am sorry to leave this place," said the young man. "There is -nothing like this to be met on the open ocean." And whilst he pulled -out a matchbox his eyes went away to the green, evening-clad hills, -which showed between the trees in a sweep of sky-line pure as the rim -of a coloured lens; and now two or three of the stars which shine upon -our country, and which we all know and love, were trembling in the dark -blue of the coming shadow.</p> - -<p>The young man lighted his pipe with several hard sucks not wanting -in emotion.</p> - -<p>"God bless you, father," said he. "I shall be turning up and finding -all well within twelve months, I hope."</p> - -<p>"God bless you, my dear son, and I pray that he may continue to -watch over you," said the white-haired old gentleman in a shaking -voice.</p> - -<p>The young man started to walk with his face set toward the hill. -Doctor Hardy stood in the doorway watching him until he had disappeared -round the bend. He then stepped back and closed the door upon -himself.</p> - -<p>It would not be dark for a little while, and even when the dusk came -up over the hills a piece of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> moon would float up with it. The water -flowing in the valley lay in short lines and sweet curves in a moist -dim rose. A clock was striking; a wagon was rumbling in a weak note of -thunder past some low-lying hedge that skirted a road. The young fellow -stepped out leisurely with his pipe hanging at his teeth; he was going -away to London and was walking to the station, and was without even -a stick. He was square, robust, a nautical type of young man, clean -shaven, of a cheerful cast of face, but with something singular in -the expression of his eyes owing to the upper lids being mere streaks -and scarcely visible, and the coloured matter black and brilliant, so -that when he stared at you his look would have been fierce but for -the qualifying expression of the rest of his face. He walked with a -slight roll of the sea in his gait, and if you had noticed him at all -you might have supposed him a sailor. Yet a man need not be a sailor -to look like one. I have met nautical-looking men who would not be -sailors for the value of the cargoes of twenty voyages. On the other -hand, I have met sailors who, had they called themselves greengrocers' -assistants or tailors' cutters, would have been believed.</p> - -<p>This young fellow, smoking his pipe and walking along through the -fine autumn-gathering evening, was the only son of the white-haired -gentleman who had just withdrawn into his house. He had been to sea -since he was fourteen years of age, and his name was George Hardy, and -he was now chief mate of the <i>York</i>, an Australian clipper, twelve -hundred and fifty tons burthen, then lying in the East India Docks. He -was going to join her, and why he was without baggage was because he -had sent his chest aboard in advance.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> <p>Formerly the -railway station stood not very far distant from Doctor Hardy's house; -but all about here was unimportant—it was more a district than -a place. Hardy's patients, for instance, were scattered over miles, -and, like the plums in a sailor's pudding, the houses were scarcely -within hail of one another. The railway company, two years before this -date, removed the station seven miles higher up the line, to the great -consternation of the unfortunate man who had purchased the "Fox Railway -Inn," then conveniently seated within a short walk of the station. -Figure his horror when one morning he saw men with pickaxes uprooting -the platform. The "Fox Inn" was left as desolate as Noah's Ark on Mount -Ararat, and it needed three men to go through the bankruptcy court -before matters began to look a little brighter for this unfortunate -tavern.</p> - -<p>There was plenty of time, and Hardy did not walk very fast. He -enjoyed the sweets of the country, all the aromas of the darkling land -which came along in the faint, cold, evening air. When a sailor arrives -from a long voyage he makes up his mind to button the flaps of his ears -to his head, and to steer a straight course for the deepest inshore -recess. He does not do so because he usually brings up at the nearest -grog-shop on his arrival, or makes his way to the boarding-house -where he was robbed and stripped when he was last in the place, and -in a short time he is away at sea again with no clothes but what he -stands up in, and no bed but the bundle of hay or straw which he -flings, with curses deep as the sea and dark as the ship's hold, down -the hatch under which he sleeps. But it is an illustration of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -his hatred of salt water that he should resolve to bury himself deep -inshore when he lands.</p> - -<p>George Hardy did not belong to the class who live in boarding-houses -and wear knives on their hips. He was the son of a gentleman, he was a -man of taste and feeling which his seafaring life had heightened and -enlarged; he had the eye of an artist and the spirit of a poet, and was -too good for a calling that does not require these qualities.</p> - -<p>The road for about four miles was very lonely. One little cottage -on the right stood in an orchard and grounds which sloped to a hedge -almost three-quarters of a mile down. He met nobody; once or twice a -squirrel ran across the pale dust; the birds had gone to bed, there was -no song; the sun had sunk, and the evening had deepened into the first -of the night.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, some distance ahead of him on the left, Hardy spied what -was undoubtedly a human figure. It lay in a dry, shallow ditch with the -upper part of its body a little raised, resting upon the bank under -the hedge. As he approached he saw that it was a woman, and then that -it was a girl in a straw hat with nothing near her in the shape of -bag, bundle, or dog. She must be some wearied wayfarer who had seated -herself and fallen asleep. But he did not believe this, either; on -the contrary, when he was close to the figure he imagined it to be a -corpse.</p> - -<p>He put his pipe in his pocket, and stood looking at her. There was -light enough to see by, but not very distinctly. He stooped and peered, -and then started and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"By Jove, it's Julia Armstrong! What's come to her?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> -<p>He looked up and down the road; not a soul was in sight. He felt her -ungloved hands—they were cold. Her straw hat was tilted on her -head, which rested not on the brim of her hat but on her hair, that was -dressed in a mass behind and pillowed her. Her eyes were not closed, -and if she was not dead she was in a swoon. He got beside her and -lifted her head, all the while wondering what she was doing—dead -or in a faint—in this ditch. He then pulled out a small flask of -brandy diluted with water, and as her pure white teeth lay a little -apart he managed to pour a dram into her mouth. He chafed her hands, -and in a sort of way caressed her by holding her to him. He also put -her hat straight, and wetting his handkerchief with a little brandy and -water he damped her brow, now taking notice that she was not dead by -sundry tokens of life of a most elusive and subtle character, whereof -her breathing was not one, for he could not detect a stir of air on the -back of his hand betwixt her lips, nor the faintest heave of her pretty -breast.</p> - -<p>She was Julia Armstrong, and, strange to say, an old love of -his—I mean, he had lost his heart to her a little time before -he went to sea, when he was scarcely more than a schoolboy. Then he -went to sea, and when he came home she had gone somewhere on a visit, -and so of the next voyage; but when he returned from his fourth trip -round the world he met her, and found the old beautiful charm again in -her; but in a week she left to occupy some post as a governess thirty -miles away, and when they met again it was here by this roadside.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> <p>What had captivated the young fellow with this -girl who lay unconscious in the fold of his arm? She had a pleasant, -interesting face, beheld even through the death pallor that lay upon -it; but she was not beautiful or even pretty. Her hair was abundant -and fair, inclining, as you might even judge by that light, to auburn. -But it was not her face nor hair, it was her figure that had excited -admiration into passion in the young sailor. Her shape and involuntary -poses were saucy and perfect beyond expression. She always carried her -hat on one side of her head—"cock-billed," as the sailors call -it; she had a trick of planting her hands on her hips; her limbs were -beautifully shaped, and her short skirts exposed as much or little -of them as her figure required. No dancer of exquisite art could -have played her legs as this girl did, yet all her movements were -involuntary and unconscious, and therein lay the sweetness, for had -a hint of study been visible in her motions the whole maidenly and -fairy-like illusion would have hardened into acting.</p> - -<p>Young Hardy had thought of the Vivandière, of the Fille-du-Regiment, -when he looked at her. He could not have told you why. Was it the -sauciness, that was not wanton, of the repose of her hands upon her -hips? the unconsciously crossed leg when standing? the cock-billed hat, -or tam-o'-shanter, that made you feel the need of music? the fixed gaze -that was not staring but pensive? the sudden change of attitude that -was like the cloud shadow upon a rose on which the sun had rested? What -had all this to do with the Vivandière? But Hardy had got the word and -the idea into his head, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> when he thought of her at sea 'twas as -though she was walking with a regiment with a little barrel of cordial -waters upon her back.</p> - -<p>Again he looked up the road and then down the road; he could hear -a cart in a lane that ran parallel, but nobody was visible. He was -beginning to wonder what he was to do—whether he had the physical -strength to carry this fine girl in his arms four miles, that is, to -his father's house—when she sighed, stirred like an awakening -sleeper, sighed again, and opened a pair of gray eyes full upon his -face.</p> - -<p>"Do you know me?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Where am I?" she answered, and with a sudden effort she raised -her form out of his arm, but in a moment fell back again in sheer -weakness.</p> - -<p>"Don't you remember your old friend George Hardy?" he said.</p> - -<p>She looked at him with that sort of intentness which you will -sometimes see in a baby's eyes, and her lips drooped into a scarcely -perceptible smile.</p> - -<p>"What am I doing here?" she asked, and she gazed round her, deeply -puzzled.</p> - -<p>He gave her a little more brandy, which she certainly stood in need -of, and looking at her without speaking, he waited until more mind came -into her face; and now she made an effort to rise.</p> - -<p>"Keep still until you have come right to," said he. "I wish some old -cart would come along to give us a lift to my father's."</p> - -<p>"Your father's?"</p> - -<p>"Doctor Hardy," he answered. "About an hour's walk away."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I know," she exclaimed. "If a cart came I would not go."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> <p>"My dear Miss Armstrong, what are you doing -here?" exclaimed young Hardy. "All alone in a dead faint in a ditch! -Were you returning home?" And again he looked a little way up and down, -thinking to see a handbag or a parcel, but her hands were as empty as -his.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to London," she said. "What time is it?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to London, too," said he; "but neither of us will catch -the train we want. Do you mean to walk to London?"</p> - -<p>She shook her head, and put her hand in her pocket as though seeking -her purse. What she sought was evidently there.</p> - -<p>Now her faculties had come together, but it was clear she must sit a -little longer before attempting to rise; so they sat side by side with -their feet in the dry ditch, and their backs against the hedge.</p> - -<p>"Why are you going to London?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"I'm leaving home for good," she answered.</p> - -<p>"Where's your luggage?"</p> - -<p>"I have none," she replied.</p> - -<p>"Are you running away from home?" he inquired, beginning to see a -little into this matter.</p> - -<p>"I have no home, and I am leaving my father's house of my own -accord," she replied, animated by a little faint passion. "I could -endure the life no longer—I am the wretchedest girl in the world. -Oh, how his wife has treated me! <i>You</i> once met her."</p> - -<p>She struggled with her heart, and some tears ran down her face.</p> - -<p>It is true that Hardy had met this stepmother—this second Mrs. -Armstrong—and he had then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> gathered that the lady and Miss Julia -did not lead the lives of angels in each other's company. In short, -he had heard that Mrs. Armstrong, by her drink, by her language, and -conduct in general, had made a very hell of Captain, or Commander, -Armstrong's home for his daughter. The captain was retired, was poor, -and Mrs. Armstrong had brought him a hundred a year, which was a -godsend. He took life very easily, drank his whisky, smoked his pipe, -and was welcome at several houses in the neighbourhood, where at one -he would get billiards, at another a rubber, at a third a gossip in -which he related his China experiences; and the whisky bottle always -kept him company, though his kindest friend could never say that in all -his time he had seen him drunk once. Doctor Hardy was on good terms -with him, but spoke with strong dislike of Mrs. Armstrong, and of -her treatment of her daughter, that was driving her into seeking and -taking situations, some of a menial sort, and that threatened before -long to break her heart or to send her to the bad, as 'tis called. But -with domestic troubles of this sort people do not choose to concern -themselves, except in exaggerating them in talk by scandalous hints and -opinions.</p> - -<p>"I must wait for something to pass that will help me to carry you to -my father's house," said Hardy, looking anxiously at the girl whom he -could not fail to see was weak and exhausted.</p> - -<p>"I have already declined," she answered. "I will not return a single -yard in that hateful direction. I shall feel stronger presently. Is -there not another train later on?"</p> - -<p>"Not to London."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> <p>"I must not miss this," she -exclaimed, struggling to rise.</p> - -<p>"Look here," said he, keeping her down by gentle pressure of the -hand, "I am going to London and we will go together, but we shall have -to wait until to-morrow. Will not that suit? If you are in a desperate -hurry you can leave early to-morrow. Do you know Bax's farm?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I do," she answered, turning her face up the road.</p> - -<p>"Bax shall give you a bedroom," said he, "since you refuse to return -with me to my father. A good supper and a good night's rest are the -doctoring you stand in need of. I find you in a dead faint in a ditch, -and so you come under my care, and I am answerable for you. We are old -friends."</p> - -<p>She faintly smiled and looked at him.</p> - -<p>"You will do exactly what I ask, and at Bax's farm we shall have -leisure for a little talk."</p> - -<p>She bowed her head, and he saw that she cried again.</p> - -<p>They spied a man at the bottom of the hill coming up. The girl -started, and said, "I am quite strong enough to stand and walk," and -she stood up, one of the most beautiful figures amongst women, with a -sweet ingenuous sauciness which was the flavouring grace of her happy -hours, distinguishable still, even in this time of misery and illness. -The man coming along was a common labourer, but she did not choose that -any one should see her sitting in a ditch.</p> - -<p>They walked slowly up the road. She leaned upon his arm and -occasionally stopped to rest, and their talk until they arrived -at the farm was not much;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> indeed she said little more than that -she had been making up her mind for some weeks to leave her father's -house for ever and to sail to a colony, where she would be willing to -accept the lowest menial office so long as she was independent, and -received the respect that was due to her as a lady. She had left her -home that day in the afternoon, meaning to walk to the station and take -the train to London, whence she intended to write to her father to -forward her clothes in the box which stood ready corded in her bedroom. -When she had walked some distance—it might be five miles—a -sudden faintness seized her, and she sat down under a hedge to rest. -She then must have fainted, and knew no more until she returned to -consciousness, and found herself resting against Hardy.</p> - -<p>This talk brought them to Bax's farm.</p> - -<p>It was not a farm, though it was called so. Bax sold milk and garden -produce and eggs, and the countryside called his house a farm. It had -two gables and a thatched roof, small latticed windows, and a door -that opened direct into the sitting-room. In the summer the house was -enchanting with its flowers and shrubbery and the climbing green stuff -about it, and then the concert of the woods thrilled in the trees -beyond, and the air was full of sweet smells.</p> - -<p>Bax was a man of about sixty, immensely stout behind and in front, -with a face that seemed powdered with pale, scissors-shorn whisker, -and small eyes which had drowned their lustre in beer. He stood in -the doorway in his shirt-sleeves smoking a pipe, and was not at all -surprised when the couple passed through the gate and approached -the porch. He merely pulled out his pipe, and said:</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> -<p>"Good evening, Mr. Hardy; good evening, Miss Armstrong. Come for a -bit of a sit down? Will y' 'ave chairs here? or the sitting-room's at -your sarvice."</p> - -<p>"How d'ye do, Mr. Bax?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Good evening, Mr. Bax," said Miss Armstrong, in a faint voice.</p> - -<p>"Take us into your sitting-room," said Hardy; and they entered the -door and were in the sitting-room at once—a cosy little room, -hung with portraits of Bax and his dead wife and daughter, decorated -with a small mantel-glass in fly-gauze, and hospitable with a round -table on one leg and three claws, the top beautified by a knitted -cover.</p> - -<p>Julia sank into a little armchair. Bax was beginning to gaze at -her earnestly; he knew her perfectly well, knew her father also, who -frequently looked in for a drink; also he knew Hardy perfectly well, -likewise his father, who attended him when he was attacked by gout.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Bax," said Hardy, putting his cap down upon the table, "we have -come to occupy your house this night."</p> - -<p>"Joost been married, have yer?" asked Bax, slipping his pipe into -his waistcoat pocket.</p> - -<p>"No," answered Hardy, gravely; "Miss Armstrong is leaving her home -for good. If you don't guess why, I'll tell you presently."</p> - -<p>Bax looked knowing; he looked more knowing an instant later when -a fine Persian kitten ran up his back and curled its tail upon his -shoulder, for then two pairs of eyes were fastened upon Hardy, the -kitten, being no beer drinker, gazing more steadfastly than the -other.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> <p>"Have you a bedroom that you can place at Miss -Armstrong's disposal?"</p> - -<p>"Is there no later train?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"We would not take it if there were," replied Hardy.</p> - -<p>Of course Bax, having lost his wife, must consult his daughter, -and when he had opened a door and shouted a little for Mary Ann -there arrived a woman who looked old enough to be Bax's mother. Her -face seemed to be dredged by time; the <i>arcus senilis</i> was more -defined in her than in Bax; she looked seventy years old, and was but -thirty-eight.</p> - -<p>She curtseyed to the visitors, and then, after pursing her lips and -knitting her brow, she replied to her father that Miss Armstrong could -have the spare room over the sitting-room.</p> - -<p>"Can I have a bedroom?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>Bax mused, looking at his daughter, and then said, "Not unless you -sleeps along with me."</p> - -<p>"With you?" laughed Hardy, looking at his stomach. "How much of you -lies in bed all at once? That'll do for me," said he, and he jerked his -head at a wide hair-sofa.</p> - -<p>The father, the kitten, and the daughter looked a little strangely -at Hardy and Julia Armstrong, as though before proceeding they wanted -to see things in a clearer light. Hardy understanding this, spoke out -with the bluntness of a sailor.</p> - -<p>"Look here, Bax," said he, "I'm going to London to join my ship. -I was bound away to-night, but on the road I fell in with this young -lady, who lay in a swoon."</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear, poor thing!" groaned Miss Bax.</p> - -<p>"She came to, and I brought her here after <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>learning that she was -leaving her home for good on account of the barbarous behaviour of her -stepmother—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know, I know," interrupted Miss Bax.</p> - -<p>"She was walking to catch the train I was bound by; she is not in -a fit state to travel, Bax. <i>You</i> can see that, ma'am; therefore she -shall sup under this comfortable old roof, and take the rest she needs -in the room you offer her. Her train leaves at ten in the morning, and -we will take it."</p> - -<p>The kitten purred as it fretted Bax's cheek. Bax said, "It's all -right, Mr. Hardy, and you shall be made comfortable. What 'ull you 'ave -for supper?"</p> - -<p>What would be better than some cold ham and a dish of eggs and -bacon, a dish of sausages in mashed potato, and the half of a beautiful -apple tart, along with a jug of real cream? And for drink there was -some first-class ale kept by Bax for Bax himself, for he held no -license, and his dealings were secret, and if he took money it was a -gift for a kindness.</p> - -<p>"Will you come up-stairs and see your room, Miss Armstrong, before I -goes about and gets your supper for you?" exclaimed Miss Bax.</p> - -<p>"Have you got no baggage?" inquired old Bax, jerking the kitten on -to the table.</p> - -<p>"It will follow me to London," said Miss Armstrong, and she rose and -went up-stairs with Miss Bax.</p> - -<p>Hardy sat down upon the sofa, and Bax went to work to lay the cloth. -There was plenty of room at that little table for two. Bax had been -a gardener in a great family, and had often helped the coachman, the -footman, and the butler to wait. He possessed some good old-fashioned -table apparel, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> before Miss Armstrong returned the room -looked bright and hospitable with the light of an oil lamp reflected in -cutlery, glass, and cruet-stand.</p> - -<p>Julia entered, and Bax walked out. She went and sat beside Hardy, -and the lovely Persian kitten sprang into her lap. Her hair was as -beautiful as her figure, and her gray eyes were full of heart and -meaning. You could not have called her pretty, yet you were sensible of -a charm in her face that had nothing to do with the shape of her nose -or the character of her mouth.</p> - -<p>"Do you feel better?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Much; I never thought to find myself stopping a night here. Of -course, I have been the means of your losing your train?"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow will do just as well," he answered. "Where did you mean -to sleep when you got to London to-night?"</p> - -<p>"I should have found a room," she answered.</p> - -<p>"Will they send on your luggage if you write for it?"</p> - -<p>"Father will," she replied. "Yes, he will do that, but he will not -write to ask me to return. He does not care what becomes of me. He -never cared what I did when I left his house to fill a situation."</p> - -<p>Her nostrils enlarged, her eyes looked angry. A little blood visited -her pale cheek. Hardy's memory pictured her father: a middle-sized man -with pale, weak eyes, a chuckling laugh like the gurgle of liquor, -much reference to his ships and to naval things in general, a large -Micawber-like indifference to his existing circumstances, and a quality -of talkativeness about outside matters, such as the queen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> the -trouble at Pekin, the discovery of the North Pole, which would make you -think that he did not know what home worries were.</p> - -<p>"Bax," said Hardy, "may covertly send along to let them know you are -here."</p> - -<p>"What of that?" she exclaimed. "If they were to send twenty men they -would have to drag me to move me. I would not set foot in that house -again if my stepmother lay dead in the gutter opposite the door. It is -my father's fault."</p> - -<p>She bit her lip, stroked the kitten, and said, "Oh, it is hard upon -a girl to have a bad father—a weak, selfish, foolish father."</p> - -<p>Here Bax came again with a tumbler full of autumn flowers. He placed -them in the middle of the table and went out, looking nowhere, as if -he walked in his sleep; but whilst the door lay open they heard the -spitting of the frying-pan.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do when you get to London?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"I mean to find a situation on board a ship," she answered.</p> - -<p>"What situation do you expect to find?"</p> - -<p>"I shall try to get a post as stewardess, or as an attendant upon -a sick person. I cannot pay my passage out even in the steerage, -therefore I must work."</p> - -<p>"Now, Miss Armstrong," said Hardy, stroking the kitten's head on -her lap, "it is impossible for me to be rude to you because I want to -be, and mean to be, your friend." She looked at him swiftly, and her -eyes drooped. "Do not misjudge any questions I may put to you. How much -money have you got?"</p> - -<p>"Seven pounds, twelve shillings, and—" she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -drew out a little purse, opened it, counted some coppers, and added, -"fourpence."</p> - -<p>"What is that money going to do for you in London?" said Hardy, -after a pause of pity.</p> - -<p>"It will support me," she answered, "until I have obtained a -situation on board a ship."</p> - -<p>"Situations for girls on board ships are very few," said he. "What -part of the world do you want to sail for?"</p> - -<p>"Anywhere, anywhere," she replied. "But it must be to some place -where I can get a living."</p> - -<p>"It would not do to sail for China," he exclaimed. "India doesn't -provide much for people whose wants are yours. It must be the Great -Pacific colonies. Aren't there agents and institutions which help young -girls to get away across the sea? This we will inquire into when we -arrive in London."</p> - -<p>She looked at him gratefully, and was about to speak, but was -interrupted by Miss Bax, who staggered in with a tray load.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">BAX'S FARM</span></h2> - -<p>George Hardy and Miss Julia Armstrong sat down to supper at the -little round table; Bax lurked as if he would wait; Hardy said they -could manage very well without him, and the pair fell to. The window -was open, and all the rich, decaying perfumes of the autumn evening -floated into the atmosphere, and sweetened it with the incense of the -night.</p> - -<p>Hardy looked at his companion, and felt again the delight he used to -take in the contemplation of her shape. The same old suggestion was in -her—that of the Vivandière. But why? He could not have explained, -and neither can I. Every movement was full of beauty and piquancy, and -she wore her hair parted a little on one side.</p> - -<p>"Is your bedroom comfortable?" asked Hardy.</p> - -<p>"A sweet, old-fashioned little room," she said, "and the bed's a -four-poster. It has curtain rings, and if I tremble in bed they will -rattle, and I shall think it the death-tick, which I hate to hear. Will -that sofa make a comfortable bed for you?"</p> - -<p>"You are asking a sailor that question," he answered. "I would be -glad to carry it to sea with me, and sleep all around the world in -it. Have you written a farewell letter to your father?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> -<p>"No; I have left him as a spirit might, in utter silence. His wife -will not let him trouble himself. When the time comes for locking up -the bolt will be shot, and he will fill his pipe and fill his glass, -and say to his wife that he is afraid there is some truth in the -story that Mr. Gubbins was telling him about Miss Cornflower and the -Congregational minister. That is the sort of interest he will take in -my not turning up."</p> - -<p>She frowned, and put down her knife and fork, and seemed as if she -did not mean to go on eating. Hardy poured out a glass of frothing -ale. It was a fine sparkling ale, better than champagne, and looked an -elegant drink, fit for red lips in the thin glass it brimmed with foam. -She took it and drank.</p> - -<p>"It is hard for any girl to be in want," said Hardy; "but there is -no distress to equal that of the lady who is in poverty. What, in God's -name, can she do? She is not wanted in the kitchen, and if I were she I -would rather sell matches than be a governess."</p> - -<p>"It is the well-to-do lady who makes it hard for the poor lady," -exclaimed the girl. "Two years ago I got a situation as nurse to attend -an aged sick woman—she was eighty. She lived with a lady. You -would think this person would have known how to treat the daughter of -an officer in the navy, who was too poor to maintain her as a lady. Mr. -Hardy, she used to call me Armstrong, as though I was her housemaid. -I had my meals separate. When they went away for a change I was not -good enough to sit in the carriage; they made me sit on the box, -and the coachman, in the genial manner of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> the mews, asked me if I -was the new maid, and if my name was Jemima. When we arrived the lady -told me I must not sit with them if company came, as my presence might -be objected to. I went to my bedroom, and kept in it till I was called -out, and then returned to it."</p> - -<p>"It is time you cleared out," said Hardy. "The soft hearts seem to -be found at sea nowadays; at all events, they are not so scarce there -as fresh eggs," said he, helping himself. "Your intentions are to get -abroad and seek a berth abroad. I should like to read the map of them. -You have saved seven pounds odd, and you arrive in London at night, and -you don't know where to go. Next day you ask your way—where? To -the docks; but what docks? London, Millwall, East India, West India, -and so on. You enter a forest without a compass. Now what are you going -to do?"</p> - -<p>"I meant to go on board ship after ship," she answered, with spirit, -"and ask anybody I saw if there was a berth for me on board."</p> - -<p>"Did you ever see a large full-rigged ship in all your life?" he -inquired, smiling.</p> - -<p>"Never," she replied, emphatically.</p> - -<p>"Go to the docks, and you'll see hundreds, and there won't be one -that wants you."</p> - -<p>"What is the name of your ship?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"The <i>York</i>."</p> - -<p>"Where is she going to?"</p> - -<p>"She is bound to Australia."</p> - -<p>"Is there no place for me in that ship?" she said. She looked at -him piteously, though her natural grace of coquetry broke through all -the same, with the planting of her hands upon her hips, and the way -she side-dropped her head at him.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> <p>"We carry no -stewardess, no females, no passengers," he answered. "The captain is a -stranger to me. No, my ship is of no use to you," he continued, after -a pause. "You must call with me upon some shipping people. There may -be a vacancy for a stewardess. But suppose the ship is sailing for -India?"</p> - -<p>She gazed at him a little vacantly.</p> - -<p>"We shall find some means of getting abroad," he went on, running -a note of cheerfulness into his voice, for he thought by the look in -the girl's eyes that she was beginning to bend on signals of distress, -which would be hoisted in a pearly downpour presently. "At all events, -you can't be worse off than you are, and somebody says that when you -are at the bottom of the wheel the next revolution must hoist you."</p> - -<p>They talked in this strain until they had supped, then Hardy, not -seeing a bell, opened the door and shouted to Miss Bax to clear away. -When the door was opened they could hear voices in the back room -beyond, and a gush of Cavendish tobacco smoke came in. Some friends of -Bax had called in a casual way by the back entrance, across the fields, -which meant several drinks, clouds of tobacco, and all the gossip of -the social sphere which Bax and his friends adorned. When Miss Bax had -cleared the table she placed a bottle of whisky upon it at the request -of Hardy, also cold water and glasses. She then said there was no hurry -to go to bed. Father did not go to bed until eleven, and she left them -with a smile as though they were a young married couple spending their -honeymoon in Bax's farm, instead of one of them being an honest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> -generous-hearted young sailor intent on doing his dead best to rescue -a young English lady from bitter privation, and perhaps from miserable -disgrace; and the other of them being a broken-hearted girl hurrying -from a home of tyranny and drink, a home of one base nature, and of -one spiritless one (which is likewise a baseness), with a future as -dark as the night that lay outside, in whose funeral tapestries her -imagination alone could have beheld the stirrings of the life that was -to give her content and liberty, in whose impenetrable depths she found -no more than a minute gleam of light from Hardy's strange and chanceful -encounter with her while she lay in a swoon deep as death.</p> - -<p>With her consent the sailor lighted a pipe. The girl sat in a chair -opposite to him, her head a little on one side, hands on her hips, all -in the old, fascinating, coquettish, incommunicable way. Outside the -night lay in a thin gloom, and they saw the stars shining above the -trees. The hush of the sleeping land was in the air. You heard nothing -but the silver tinkling of a natural fall of water that ran down the -hillside, and fell purely in a stone bowl for men, horses, and dogs to -drink.</p> - -<p>"You are a plucky girl," said Hardy; "but I think you are attempting -more than you understand. You talk, for instance, of going to the -workhouse. You are the last girl in the world to go to the workhouse. -Think of dying in a workhouse," he continued, whilst she watched him -without smiling. "Creatures bend over your bed, and say, 'Isn't she -gone yet?' That's the sympathy of the workhouse."</p> - -<p>"I want to get out of England, abroad, and be independent," said -Julia.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> <p>He looked at an old clock upon the mantelpiece. -The hour was about eight. He asked her if she would have some whisky -and water, and on her declining, he mixed a draught for himself, then -went to the door and called to Bax, leaving the girl to wonder what he -meant to do. The farmer arrived.</p> - -<p>"Bax," said the sailor, "you have given us a capital supper."</p> - -<p>"I'm much obliged to you, sir," answered Bax.</p> - -<p>"This is an excellent whisky," continued Hardy, "and I drink your -health"—here he sipped—"and the health of your worthy -daughter"—here he sipped again—"in your very hospitable -gift."</p> - -<p>Bax grinned, and said, "We make no charge. You're my guests, and -you're welcome."</p> - -<p>"Bax," said Hardy, "haven't you a spring cart?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," answered Bax.</p> - -<p>"Got a horse?"</p> - -<p>"Got a pretty little mare."</p> - -<p>"Will you drive me over to Captain Armstrong's as soon as possible -to fetch this young lady's luggage?"</p> - -<p>Julia started in her chair, and said, "Don't trouble, Mr. Hardy. -My father will send the box on to me when he gets my address in -London."</p> - -<p>"How d'ye know he will?" inquired Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" murmured Bax.</p> - -<p>"Suppose the stepmother declines to let the box go?" said Hardy. -"Now you'll want all the clothes you've got and can get, Miss -Armstrong, if you mean to colonise. Bax, bear a hand, my lad; clap your -mare to the cart, and report when you're ready."</p> - -<p>He spoke as if he was on the quarter-deck of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> a -ship and making the sailors jump for their lives, and Bax went out, -saying, "I'll not be ten minutes."</p> - -<p>"How good you are to me!" exclaimed Julia, gathering the side of her -pocket-handkerchief unconsciously, and looking at him with eyes that -seemed to tremble with emotion. "What should I have done had you not -found me? I might have died under that hedge."</p> - -<p>"Let me see," said Hardy; "how far off from here does your father -live?"</p> - -<p>She reflected and answered, "Quite six miles."</p> - -<p>"Well, we shall be back with your box before ten. Don't sit up; you -want all the rest you can get. To-morrow will be full of business."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" cried Julia, "I hope there will be no trouble. Father -may—He won't like you to know that I have run away. He may insist -upon returning with you, or coming here."</p> - -<p>"If he is at home he may, and we'll give him a lift with -pleasure."</p> - -<p>"I should refuse to meet him," cried the girl, standing up in a -sudden passion of indignation. "He has seen me suffer and has looked -on. If he comes here it is not for me, but for <i>that</i>," and she pointed -to the bottle of whisky.</p> - -<p>"You shall have your box of clothes, anyhow," said Hardy, smoking -coolly and looking at the girl; and three minutes after he had said -this Miss Bax came in, and reported that "father and the cart was at -the gate."</p> - -<p>"Don't let Miss Armstrong sit up," said Hardy. "Do those chaps back -talk very loud?"</p> - -<p>"When they arguefy," answered Miss Bax.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> "They're wrangling over -the age of the queen now."</p> - -<p>"Well, when Miss Armstrong goes to bed silence them," said Hardy, -"for I want the lady to sleep well. We shall meet at breakfast," said -he, turning to Julia and taking her hand.</p> - -<p>"I shall wait up for you. How could I sleep?" she replied.</p> - -<p>He smiled, but answered nothing, filled and relighted his pipe, and -walked out.</p> - -<p>The drive was pleasant, down-hill. The road stretched before them -like satin with the dust of it, and many spacious groups of trees -lifted their motionless shapes against the sky-line of the tall -land and the stars twinkling above it. Specks of light in houses -reposed like glow worms in the deep shades of the valley and up the -acclivities, but the river streamed in blackness, and the lamps of a -small town past the railway station were lost behind the bend.</p> - -<p>Hardy stared at his father's house as they drove past, always in -darkness on this side, but he knew there would be lights in the windows -which overlooked the grounds that sank toward the river.</p> - -<p>The house Captain Armstrong lived in was two miles further on round -the corner, and made one of about a dozen little villas and cottages, -including a church and a public-house. It was a very small cottage, -thatched; but its sun-bright windows, its handsome door and brass -knocker—the taste, in short of the man who had built it in years -gone by—made it very fit for the occupation of a gentleman. It -was sunk deep in a broad piece of garden land, and the apple-trees, -whose boughs were laden, scented the still night air refreshingly.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> <p>"Here we be," said Bax, drawing up, and the -sailor sprang off the cart, and walked down the path to the door with -the brass knocker.</p> - -<p>He hammered briskly, and tugged at a metal knob which shivered a -little bell into ecstasies of alarm. A small dog barked shrilly with -terror and hate, and in a minute the door was opened by a servant, past -whom the small dog fled, and tried to marry his teeth in Hardy's right -boot. A kick rushed the little beast back into the passage, and Hardy -said to the servant, "I have called for Miss Armstrong's trunk."</p> - -<p>"Oh, indeed," she said, looking behind her.</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed," he exclaimed. "I'm in a hurry. I've six miles to go. -Is Captain Armstrong in?"</p> - -<p>"No," was the answer, and as the servant spoke a door on the right -of the passage was thrown open, and the figure of a stout woman stood -between Hardy and the flame of the oil-float which illuminated the -passage at the extremity.</p> - -<p>"Who is it? and what does he want?" said the stout figure, -approaching by two or three paces.</p> - -<p>"I am Mr. Hardy, son of your husband's doctor," was the reply, "and -I have called for Miss Armstrong's trunk. It stands ready corded in her -bedroom, and I am in a hurry."</p> - -<p>"Where is Miss Armstrong going?" said the stout figure, who was -indeed Mrs. Armstrong.</p> - -<p>"To the ends of the earth to escape <i>you</i>," he answered. "Bax," he -roared, "fling your reins over the gate-post, and come and lend me a -hand to ship the box in your cart."</p> - -<p>"The box shall not leave this house without Captain Armstrong's -permission," said Mrs. Armstrong,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> who, poor as the -light was, you could see carried a great deal of colour in her face -of a streaky or venous nature; her eyes were small, and gazed with -rapid winks as though they snapped at you as you snap the hammer of -a revolver; her bust was immense; her black hair was smoothed like -streaks of paint down her cheeks and round her ears, and she wore a cap -with something in it that nodded, giving more significance to her words -than they needed.</p> - -<p>"Where is Captain Armstrong?" said the sailor.</p> - -<p>"Out," was the reply.</p> - -<p>"He'll not care whether I take it or leave it." He could not bring -himself to speak even civilly to her. "Whilst you fetch him we'll -tranship it, and the captain can get in and argue the point whilst -we drive away. Come along, Bax. Sally, show us the road to the young -lady's bedroom."</p> - -<p>"Maria," exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong, cold and bitter, "go and knock on -Constable Rogers's door, and tell him to come here at once."</p> - -<p>"Shall I fetch the master also?" said Maria, quivering in her figure -in the hot anticipation of rushing out.</p> - -<p>"No, the walk is too long. I want you back, and the constable."</p> - -<p>The girl shot up the walk.</p> - -<p>"Bax," said Hardy, "come along. We'll easily find the room."</p> - -<p>Bax hung in the wind.</p> - -<p>"What's the constable a-going to say?" he muttered. "Won't it be -breaking in if we enters without the missis's leave?"</p> - -<p>Hardy looked at him, and then stepped to the foot of the -staircase.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> <p>"You dare not go up-stairs, -sir!" said Mrs. Armstrong, in a voice that trembled.</p> - -<p>Hardy mounted.</p> - -<p>"The constable shall lock you up," shrieked the enraged woman.</p> - -<p>"Coom down, coom down, Mr. Hardy," sang out Bax. "The constable'll -make it right."</p> - -<p>Hardy pulled out a box of wax matches and struck one. The landing -was in darkness, and he wanted to see. He guessed the girl's bedroom -by intuition, opened the door, and saw the trunk—a small -one—seized the handle, and dragged it to the head of the -staircase. It was lighter than a sea chest, and with a heave he settled -it on his shoulder, and went creaking down-stairs.</p> - -<p>"I defy you to take that box out of my house without my leave," -yelled Mrs. Armstrong.</p> - -<p>Hardy seemed cool, but his spirits were in a blaze. He regarded the -sending for a constable as an atrocious act of insolence, and he walked -past the woman, not in the smallest degree caring whether he plunged -the corner of the box into her head or not. She took care, however, to -give him a wide berth, and he passed through the house door, whilst -the little dog barked furiously at a safe distance at the end of the -passage.</p> - -<p>"Give me a hand with this," said he to Bax. "This is no business -of the constable. The box belongs to a young lady who wants it, and I -intend that she shall have it."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Hardy," answered Bax, "I'd rather not meddle with the box -till the constable cooms; he'll be 'ere in a minute. He allus -smokes his pipe by his fireside at this hour. If it should be the -wrong box—"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> <p>"It's the right box," exclaimed -Hardy, standing with the trunk on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"I'd rather wait for Rogers to make it all right," said Bax.</p> - -<p>Hardy sent a sea blessing at his head, and without another word -walked rapidly to the cart, threw the box in, took the reins off the -gate, sprang on to the seat, and drove off.</p> - -<p>"Stop, sir; stop, for God's sake!" shouted Bax, beginning to run. -But he was too fat to run. He was blowing hard when he gained the -road, and stood staring after his cart. Hardy whipped the mare into a -gallop, and gained the farm in half the time that Bax would have taken -to measure the ground. He drew up at the gate, secured the horse by -the reins, and, shouldering the trunk, marched to the door, and was -admitted by Miss Bax.</p> - -<p>"Where's father?" was her first cry.</p> - -<p>"I left him enjoying a yarn with Mrs. Armstrong," answered Hardy, -thrusting with the trunk into the room, where Julia was still sitting -just as he had left her. "There are your clothes, Miss Armstrong," said -the sailor, lowering the box on to the floor.</p> - -<p>"Father's come to no 'urt, I hope?" said Miss Bax, addressing Miss -Armstrong.</p> - -<p>Hardy related exactly the story of his repulse by the insolent -stepmother, his bringing the box down-stairs alone, Bax's fear of the -law, and so forth.</p> - -<p>"And now," said he, "as you've not gone to bed, Miss Armstrong, -I'll sit down and keep you company, and smoke one more pipe, and wait -for the constable."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> <p>"Well, if father's all right," -said Miss Bax, "he'll be here with the constable, and soon, I hope; but -it's all up-hill, and his wind don't favour him. I've got help at the -back, and will put the mare up," and thus speaking she passed out, and -left the young couple alone.</p> - -<p>"So she actually sent for a constable!" exclaimed Julia, whilst -Hardy filled his pipe, and looked at the grog bottle on the table. -"Could you imagine a more horrible woman?"</p> - -<p>"Here are the goods anyhow," said Hardy, striking a match. "It's -your box, of course—I mean, I've made no mistake, I hope."</p> - -<p>"Certainly it is my box," she exclaimed, slightly flushing and -poising her hands on her hips, and dropping her head at him in a -posture that brightened his eyes with delight, "and all I possess in -this wide world is in it."</p> - -<p>"I would not like to be the constable if he touches it or is -even insolent over it," said Hardy, stretching backwards his broad -shoulders, with a glance at himself in the little fly-protected mirror. -He then poured out some whisky and water, and sat down near Julia.</p> - -<p>"She did not express any astonishment at my leaving home?" said the -girl.</p> - -<p>"The dog did most of the talk," he answered, "and made for my -choicest corn," and he looked at his boot, which exhibited the indent -of the beast's teeth. "How your father could have—"</p> - -<p>"Was she drunk?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"I dare say she was. Some people get drunk without showing it. Miss -Armstrong, I am no longer surprised that you should run away."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> <p>She smiled, but with mingled sadness and -bitterness, and said, "If my father comes in with Bax and the -constable, I shall walk out, and I beg you to give me your protection, -Mr. Hardy, and to save me from seeing him."</p> - -<p>Hardy bowed, but made no answer. He was a man of careless thoughts -and many heedless views in all sorts of directions, a sailor, in short, -whose horizon was salt and limited, yet he could not help feeling -shocked at the extravagance of fear and dislike which the half-pay -captain had by bitter neglect and a Christless marriage excited in -the breast of a girl who seemed a true-hearted, heroic young woman, -beautiful of figure, and with a face of romantic interest.</p> - -<p>"Can the constable do anything if he comes?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes," answered the sailor, "he can walk out. In what law book -is it written that a man may not possess his own? That is yours," said -he, pointing to the trunk, "and if Constable Rogers touches it we'll -have him before the magistrates, of whom, by the way, my father is -one."</p> - -<p>He looked at her very thoughtfully, and she looked at him till -her gray eyes drooped to her lap. The Persian kitten had left the -room, and she had nothing to toy with but her handkerchief. Now, by -the expression of Hardy's face, you could have said that he fastened -his eyes upon her, not out of feeling, nor out of the sense of -being alone with her, nor of the enjoyment of the spectacle of her -matchless figure, but because he was maturing thoughts concerning -her well-being. He had certainly a most honest face, and you tasted -the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>manliness of his nature in each utterance and in every -smile.</p> - -<p>"I want to talk to you," said he, "about our arrival in London. I -must get you close to the docks. I'll put you in the way of making a -few inquiries whilst I am busy on board my ship; meanwhile I shall be -asking questions."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Mr. Hardy, what should I have done had I not met you?" she -cried, in an irrepressible outburst of gratitude, and again he saw -tears in her eyes, for she had lived hard and had fared hard for some -years now, and kindness easily broke her down, as one long divorced -from home will melt on her return to the sound of the music that her -mother loved and sang to her.</p> - -<p>"Do you know London?" said the sailor.</p> - -<p>"I was never in London," she answered.</p> - -<p>"Have you ever seen a ship?"</p> - -<p>"I came home in a ship from India," she replied, "but I was too -young to remember the vessel."</p> - -<p>"You will not like the East End of London," said Hardy. "I don't -know why sailors should make the places they live in dirty, yet it is -true that after leaving Whitechapel the closer you draw to the docks, -the grimier life looks. Jack has spent his money, you see, and is -going away tipsy and ragged, and what he leaves behind him is anything -but sweet, and they serve him as though he were a Yahoo. Look at his -lodging-house and his boarding-house, at the dens in which he revolves -to the ghastly notes of a black fiddler, with objects fit only to be -lectured upon, or for the show of a Barnum. Take his line of railway, -the Blackwall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> line; the farmers wouldn't send their swine to market in -the carriages, and so the sailor travels in them."</p> - -<p>"How long have you been at sea, Mr. Hardy?"</p> - -<p>"I went to sea when I was fourteen years old, and I am now -twenty-six."</p> - -<p>"In twelve years you have become a mate?"</p> - -<p>"Chief mate," he said.</p> - -<p>"Oh," she exclaimed, "what would I give if you carried a stewardess, -and your captain would consent to take me!"</p> - -<p>"I wish it could be contrived," said he, in his plain, straight way, -"but owners never ship people they don't want. Even if I had influence, -an objection would be raised that you were the only woman on board."</p> - -<p>"But I have read," she exclaimed, "that a captain takes his wife to -sea, and she may be the only woman in the ship."</p> - -<p>"Ay, but she's the captain's wife," he answered, with a smile, "and -if she were a shipload of females she couldn't be more."</p> - -<p>They then began to talk of London and the East End, of a convenient -part to take a lodging in, how it was certain that she must obtain -a berth somewhere or somehow before Hardy sailed; and whilst they -conversed the door opened, and Bax entered, purple with exercise and -beer.</p> - -<p>"Well," said he, breathing comfortably, as though he had refreshed -himself before entering with rest and ale, "that was a fine trick of -yourn, Mr. Hardy."</p> - -<p>"Never mind about that, Bax," exclaimed the young sailor, -cutting him short in his peremptory quarter-deck way. "Where's -the constable?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> <p>"He bain't cooming," answered -Bax. "He knows the difference between climbing up a hill and climbing -into bed."</p> - -<p>"Sit down, Bax, and take some whisky," said Hardy, both he and Julia -laughing; and after waiting for the farmer to mingle some whisky and -water and pull a chair, he said, "Tell us what passed, Bax."</p> - -<p>"Well," began Bax, "it was just after you'd trotted out of sight, -with me hallering, being afraid of the law I was, when oop cooms the -maid 'long with Constable Rogers. 'Oh, Mr. Rogers,' sings out Mrs. -Armstrong, who was standin' in her door, 'the doctor's son's been 'ere -in Farmer Bax's cart, and busted into this house, and gone off with my -stepdarter's troonk agin my commands.' 'Where's your stepdarter?' said -the constable, not speaking overcivil—blamed if I thinks he likes -the woman, and he didn't love her the better for routing of him out. -'I don't know,' answered Mrs. Armstrong. 'Yes, you do,' says I. 'She's -opp stopping in my house along with the gent as fetched her luggage.' -'What do you want me to do?' says Rogers. 'Your duty,' answers Mrs. -Armstrong, 'twixt a snap of her teeth that was like cocking a goon at -him. 'What do constables usually do when they're called in to houses -which have been busted into and goods taken, otherwise stolen, agin -orders?' Here Bax laughed slowly, as though recollecting something -in this passage of words which he could not communicate, but which, -nevertheless, he could enjoy. 'But there was no busting in here that -I can see,' says Rogers, looking at me; 'you knocked and rung, didn't -you?' 'Why, yes, of course we did,' says I,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> 'and the gent spoke -the lady as civil as though she had been a maid of hanner or the -queen herself.' 'Oh, what a liar, what a beast you must be!' says -Mrs. Armstrong, screaming like. 'He forces his way oop-stairs, Mr. -Constable, and brings down the box on his shoulder, me standing at the -foot of the steps, and telling him not to touch it.' 'Was he sent by -the party as the box belongs to?' asks the constable. 'Certainly he -was, Mr. Rogers,' says I. 'They're going away to-morrow by the early -train, and she naturally wanted her box to take with her.' 'There's -nothing for me 'ere to interfere with that I can see,' says Rogers, -drawing himself up, and puttin' on the face of a judge delivering a -vardick. 'The lady has a right to her own. Your door was knocked on -civilly, and the gent she asked to bring it away did so, and there's -northen for me to meddle with;' and with that, without saying good -night, he turns his back, and walks into the road, me at his side, and -she hallering arter him that he didn't do his duty, and she'd lodge a -complaint agin him, and 'ave the place cleared of a stoopid old fool. -'She's like my cat when he begins to talk to Springett's cat over the -wall,' says Mr. Rogers. 'I wish the young lady well out of it, I do. -Good-night, Mr. Bax.' So I sets off 'ome, and that's just what all -'appened."</p> - -<p>Julia, though she had laughed and often smiled, now sat looking -subdued with grief and disgrace. It was horrible to the feelings -of a lady to possess such a stepmother as the wretch who owned the -little dog that bit, and horrible also to hear her represented and -dramatised in the language of Bax in the presence of the man who, -as God had willed it, seemed the only friend she possessed in this -wide world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Nevertheless, they continued talking until eleven -o'clock, by which hour Bax had grown too maudlin for human -companionship.</p> - -<p>Julia went to bed, and Bax rolled through the door to the back -premises to send his daughter to the young sailor. All that he -requested was a rug, a blanket, and a pillow, and then when the house -was locked up, and Miss Bax had bid him goodnight, he turned down the -lamp, snugged himself on the sofa, and lay listening to Miss Julia's -restless pacing overhead. There was sleeplessness in her walk; but the -delicate tramp of her tireless feet ceased at last. He thought of her -in her loneliness, and pity moved his heart, and he vowed that he would -see her in safety, buoyed by a full promise of independence in the -future, before he left England.</p> - -<p>The window stood open a little way, and all night-sounds were clear. -The stream babbled in the road, and its voice was like the syllabling -of the perfumes stealing darkling down into the valley. He heard the -distant hooting of owls like the crying of idiot boys, one seeking the -other, and the thin thunder of the distant railway was a night-sound, -together with the shuddering of the dry autumn leaves upon the boughs -as though the trees shivered to the chill of the passing moan of air. -And then Hardy fell asleep.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">THE EAST INDIA DOCK ROAD</span></h2> - -<p>At about two o'clock on the following day a cab of the old type, -with rattling windows, straw as though fresh from the tramp of swine, a -wheezing cabman, encumbered with capes, shawls, and rugs, with nothing -but a drunken nose glowing under the sallow brim of a rain-bronzed -hat—this old cab, with a corded trunk hopping on top of it -betwixt the iron fencing, drew up at a house in the East India Dock -Road.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hardy, the gentleman whom we left asleep on the sofa in Bax's -farm, got out, leaving Miss Julia Armstrong sitting in a cab, and -knocked on the door, which was opened in a few moments by a little -woman in the clothes of a widow, clean and neat in person, with a -wistful eye which softened her face into a look of kindness.</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you, Mr. Hardy," she immediately said. "I got your -letter, sir. Your room's quite ready."</p> - -<p>"Well, I can't say I'm glad to see <i>you</i>, Mrs. Brierley, because you -know what seeing you means to me. Did your husband love the stowing -job, and the hauling out through the gates, with a crowd of drunken -Dagos on the fok'sle, and the dockmaster<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> bursting blood-vessels -in expostulations to the mud pilot?"</p> - -<p>She seemed to smile, but her attention was elsewhere. She had caught -sight of Julia in the cab, and was dodging Mr. Hardy, who stood right -in the way, to get a better sight of her.</p> - -<p>"I want a lodging for that young lady you are trying to see," said -Hardy. "Now say at once that you have a very comfortable bedroom for -her in this house."</p> - -<p>"You don't tell me that you are married, sir?" exclaimed Mrs. -Brierley, putting this question just as she might put her eye to a -keyhole before answering.</p> - -<p>"No, nor keeping company with her, as you people call it," he -replied. "It is a romantic story, and you shall hear the whole -of it, provided that you can accommodate her with a bedroom, -otherwise—mum!"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Hardy," said the widow, with some earnestness, "you've long -used this house. You knew my poor husband. My struggle has been to keep -it a thoroughly respectable home for them who patronise me, and you'll -not take it amiss, sir, I'm sure, if I ask you, is she a lady you can -recommend on your honour as a sailor man?"</p> - -<p>"I swear, Mrs. Brierley," exclaimed Hardy, with great feeling, "that -she is a pure, charming, heart-broken lady, the daughter of a naval -officer, whose sword was once at the service of his country."</p> - -<p>"Then, sir, I have a very comfortable bedroom," answered the widow. -"How long will she be wanting it for?"</p> - -<p>"She shall engage it by the week," he answered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> and -walked to the door of the cab. "Tumble down, my lad, off that perch of -yours," he shouted to the cabman, who seemed to have fallen asleep, -"and carry that trunk into the house."</p> - -<p>Both pavements were filled with people, walking the everlasting walk -of the London streets. Numbers had the appearance of seamen, some of -them lurched in liquor; there were numerous black and chocolate faces, -here and there a turban; grimy women flitted past in old shawls and -rakishly-perched bonnets; roistering young wenches flaunted past with -feathers in their hats, with cheeks deeply coloured, with yellow brows -adorned with jet-like love-locks; and chill as it was, children went by -with naked feet, and the shuddering flesh of their backs showed through -their rags, filthy-eyed, hatless, and all the glory they had trailed -from their God had died out in the atmosphere of fog, which added bulk -to the thunderous omnibus, and made the fleet hansom a shadow down the -road.</p> - -<p>"The landlady," said Hardy, putting his head into the cab, "has -a comfortable bedroom at your disposal. We cannot do better. She is -a thoroughly respectable woman, the widow of a master-mariner, who -commanded brigs, and so on."</p> - -<p>He opened the door, and Julia jumped out, and they went together -into the narrow passage with the cabman and the trunk following -them.</p> - -<p>The landlady, curtseying her greeting to Julia, admitted them into -her own private room, which was, in short, the front parlour. The -cabman was paid, and went away looking at the shillings in the palm of -his hand. In a very short time it was settled that Julia was to have -the use of this parlour for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> her meals, and there would be no extra -charge. The only other lodgers in the house were a sea captain and his -wife.</p> - -<p>The parlour was worth a pause and a look round. No apartment was -ever more nautically equipped. The very clock was a dial fitted into -the mainsail of a brass ship; the candlesticks on the mantelpiece -represented mermaids; the walls were embellished with pictures of ships -and those carvings which sailors delight in: ships on a wind, half -their ghastly white canvas showing against the board, and the water -very sloppy and fearfully blue; there were models of ships, and an old -galleon in ivory stood under glass on a table in the window. A boy's -heart would have beat high in this room. It was full of curiosities; -artful carvings by whalemen, out of the bone or teeth of the mammoth of -the sea; queer findings along shore under the Southern Cross, weapons -of cannibals, heathenish jars, earthen vessels which had been the -sepulchres of the remains of broiled whites.</p> - -<p>After a little talk Mrs. Brierley took Julia up-stairs to her -bedroom. Hardy, who had often before viewed the curiosities, wandered -again round the room, but his mind was musing over other things, and -soon he came to a stand at the window. The lookout was gloomy and -grimy; opposite were a tobacconist, a house in which a stevedore lived, -two lodging-houses, a pastry-cook, and a public-house. There was a -great deal of mud in the road, the sky hung down sallow and dingy, -and so close that the crooked black smoke, working out of a hundred -shapes of chimney-pots, seemed to pierce it and vanish. A change -indeed from the autumn glories<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> of the country which the couple were -newly from, where the hillsides, still thick with the leaves of the -summer, were gashed with the red fires of the coming ruining winter; -where the clear pale blue sky sank with its faint splendour of sunshine -to the sharp, dark, terrace-like heights, which in their red breaks -and scars of autumn overlooked the valley and the sheltered houses, -and the quiet breast of river floating under the arch of the reflected -bridge.</p> - -<p>A man, thought Hardy, accepts a large obligation when he undertakes -to look after a girl. But what a beautiful figure she has, and her -face appeals to me. I cannot meet her eyes without feeling that I am -in love with her. Shall I be able to get her a berth before I sail? If -I cannot, ought I to leave her alone in London with about seven pounds -ten in her pocket?</p> - -<p>His brow contracted, and he hissed a tune through his teeth whilst -he pondered. That thoughtless devil, her father, he mused, never -came near Bax's farm. What is it to him that his daughter has bolted -from her brutal home, and gone away with a young fellow who, for all -the beggar cares, may leave her behind him in London in shame and -destitution? 'Tis rather a tight corner, though. And he would have -gone on meditating but for being interrupted by the entrance of Julia, -followed in a respectful way by the widow.</p> - -<p>"It is a very nice bedroom," said Julia. "I shall be very -comfortable whilst I am here."</p> - -<p>"I suppose you have told Mrs. Brierley all about it," exclaimed -Hardy, whilst Julia seated herself, posturing her head with her -unconscious, inimitable grace, as she glanced round the sights -of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> room, and resting her hands on her hips and crossing her -feet, to the undoubted admiration of the widow, who had on her entrance -admired her beautiful figure.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir, yes," said the widow; "and I'm truly sorry for the young -lady, but don't doubt she'll find a berth, and do well where she's -going."</p> - -<p>"Miss Armstrong," said Hardy, "I'm not due at the docks until -to-morrow, and then I shall put in for an afternoon off. This afternoon -we shall spend without troubling ourselves about anything. We are -human, and must eat, just as every night we must put ourselves away in -a frame of iron or wooden pillars, covered with blankets and sheets, -and sleep, or else we go mad and die. There is a decent eating-house -not far from here; we will go there and dine. You'll have tea ready for -us, Mrs. Brierley, by six; and if the evening hangs, which it will, we -will look in at a music-hall and purchase a shilling's-worth of pure -vulgarity, which to me, when perfectly unaffected, is more humourous -and more artistically refined than much of the genteel comedy of the -West End theatres."</p> - -<p>Julia laughed, and looked at the widow, who said, "I don't visit -the halls myself. They've got one good singer at Whitechapel, I hear. -He comes in dressed as a coster, and brings a donkey with him which he -sings about, and they say it's so affecting that even strong sailors -cry."</p> - -<p>"If he sang of the donkey's breakfast Jack would cry more," said -Hardy, and saying he would return in a minute, went to his bedroom for -a wash down and a brush up, leaving the widow explaining to Julia that -the term <i>donkey's breakfast</i> signified the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> bundle of straw which -sailors who are reckless of their money ashore carry on board ship with -them as a bed.</p> - -<p>Whilst he was going up-stairs a man dressed in blue serge, smoking -a curly meerschaum pipe, came out of a bedroom and passed into an -apartment that had been converted into a sitting-room. They glanced at -each other, and Hardy went up another flight to his bedroom. Here he -stayed a few minutes. His carpet-bag had arrived before him, and in it -were a change of apparel, two or three shirts, brush and comb, and the -like. The rest of his duds were in his sea-chest, which had been sent -to the docks. He smartened himself up and looked a manly young fellow. -The light of the sea was in his eye, and the freshness of its breath -was in his cheery expression, and the colour of his cheek was warm with -the sun-glow.</p> - -<p>"Are you ready?" said he to Julia; and they went out, attended to -the door by the widow, who appeared to have taken a liking to Miss -Armstrong; but no one with a woman's heart in her could have heard the -girl's story without being moved.</p> - -<p>Hardy paused on the doorstep to say to Mrs. Brierley, "Is the man -in blue serge, who smokes a meerschaum, the captain who's lodging with -you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"What ship does he command?"</p> - -<p>"The <i>Glamis Castle</i>."</p> - -<p>"I know her," exclaimed Hardy; "a fine Indiaman. What the deuce does -a swell like him do in these lodgings? He should put up at a hotel."</p> - -<p>"His home's at Penge," answered the widow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> "and two or three weeks -before he sails he always comes and stops with me, and brings his wife. -Aren't my lodgings good enough for the captain of an Indiaman?"</p> - -<p>"They are good enough for the owner of an Indiaman. They are good -enough for a German prince," said Hardy, in his pleasantest manner. -"Should I bring this lady here if they were not of the highest?" And -nodding to her he stepped on to the pavement, and Julia walked by his -side.</p> - -<p>He was free in his comments upon the nastiness of the East End of -London, and by his abuse of the mud and the shops, and the quality of -the passing folks, he implied an apology for introducing Miss Armstrong -into such a neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>"It's sweeter to me than Bodley," she said, referring to the place -she came from. "What is the good of fine houses and broad streets and -handsome carriages to a girl who has no money, who has but one friend, -from whom she must be shortly separated for ever, perhaps, and whose -most ambitious dream <i>dare</i> not go beyond finding a cabin as emigrant -or stewardess aboard a ship, and the berth of a servant, or, which is -worse, a nursery governess when she arrives?"</p> - -<p>They walked for awhile in silence; but the silence was in their -mouths, not in the street. One of the music-murdering organs of -those days was playing at the street corner they were approaching. -Huge wagons were grinding thunder into the solid earth. There was -a fight over the way—two Italians were going for each other. -A crowd of dirty women were dancing round them, encouraging them -by the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>stimulating plaudits of the stews. An optician, with a -row of chronometers in his window, stood upon his doorstep howling, -"Police!" They turned the corner, and the notes of the organ died away -behind them, and after a little walking they arrived at an eating-house -with big windows, and a sheet of paper stuck upon the glass with red -wafers, telling what was to be eaten inside.</p> - -<p>Hardy and Julia walked in. It was a long room with tables, separated -one from another by brass rails and baize curtains, and nettings for -receiving headgear. About a dozen people were in it—some of them -neighbouring tradesmen, some of them obviously captains and mates. With -a few of the men were women, who were evidently wives or sweethearts; -in fact, the prices charged kept the place sweet.</p> - -<p>Hardy and Miss Armstrong sat down side by side at an empty table. -A waiter arrived, looking hard at the lady, and the sailor gave his -orders. He guessed the girl was hungry; he knew that <i>he</i> was, and -if he could not have spent a sovereign when ten shillings would have -handsomely sufficed, he would have been no true salt. It is worth -saying here that all the money our friend had was about two hundred -pounds, and he had come to London with twenty sovereigns in his pocket, -and a chequebook. As he was an only child he would inherit his father's -leavings; but what would they amount to? A country practitioner who -dispensed his own physic, and was glad to get three-and-sixpence a -visit! A country practitioner with thirteen hundred pounds in bad debts -on his books, and a horse, gig, and boy to keep! Still, whatever the -doctor left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> would be George Hardy's, who did not value the prospect -beyond the worth of the furniture, and had begun to save a little on -his own account, with some light dream of amassing enough to enable him -to purchase shares in a ship, which he would command.</p> - -<p>He ordered a good dinner from the bill of fare, and asked the waiter -if the champagne of the establishment was real wine or chemicals. The -waiter named a good brand, and swore there was nothing in the market to -equal it. It was nine shillings a bottle.</p> - -<p>"I never drink champagne," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"But I do," exclaimed Hardy. "Bear a hand, waiter. We've been -fasting since eight this morning."</p> - -<p>The waiter sidled away.</p> - -<p>"Champagne is the best of all drinks for young ladies," said Hardy; -"and it helps the spirits of chief mates who are bound away on long -voyages. What shall we do when we've dined?"</p> - -<p>"I should like to see the docks," said the girl.</p> - -<p>"Not to-day," exclaimed Hardy, pursing his mouth into an expression -of disgust. "Let us hug the land as long as we can; besides, it will be -drawing on to four o'clock before we've dined, and the docks and the -ships in it will be invisible."</p> - -<p>As he spoke these words the man whom he had caught a sight of in -his lodgings smoking a meerschaum pipe came into the dining-rooms -with a lady, whom you at once guessed was his wife. They looked right -and left, and took a table exactly opposite that occupied by Hardy -and Miss Armstrong. The man who had been represented by Mrs. Brierley -as the commander of an East <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>Indiaman, named the <i>Glamis Castle</i>, was -short and square, with a strong, red beard, and shorn upper lip; his -eyebrows were reddish and habitually knitted, as though from long years -of steadfast staring into the eyes of the wind. His eyes were dark and -sharp in their glances; his brow was square as his form, and delicately -browned by the sun. The lady was a homely-looking woman, in a bonnet -and velvet mantle. She began to pull off her gloves, and her companion, -after bawling "Waiter," in a quarter-deck roar, gazed fixedly at Hardy, -who gazed back.</p> - -<p>All the time the man was giving his orders to the waiter, with -occasional references to the lady, he kept his eyes bent on Hardy, who -muttered to Julia, "I believe I know that man." The moment he had done -with the waiter he rose, and stepped over to Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Is your name George Hardy?" said he, with a slight glance at the -girl.</p> - -<p>"Yes," answered Hardy, "and now that I've got the bearings of you, I -don't need to ask if your name is James Smedley."</p> - -<p>They clasped hands.</p> - -<p>"Let me introduce you," said Hardy, "to Miss Julia Armstrong, -daughter of Commander Armstrong, late of the Royal Navy. Captain -Smedley, of the <i>Glamis Castle</i>, Miss Armstrong."</p> - -<p>"How did you know that?" asked Smedley, exchanging a bow with -the girl, whose peculiar grace of form, whose charm of movement, -whose face, romantic and pleading, with the gifts of nature and the -passions of her heart, his swift eye was observing with pleasure and -curiosity.</p> - -<p>"I am stopping in the house you're lodging in,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -answered Hardy, "and Mrs. Brierley told me who you were. Are you going -to dine here?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Is that your wife?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Bring her across, Smedley, and we'll make a dinner party."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Smedley had been bobbing to catch a view of Miss Armstrong, -and the bugles in her bonnet twinkled like fireflies as she swayed her -head.</p> - -<p>"Miss Armstrong's story," continued Hardy, "is so moving that Mrs. -Smedley will be grieved to the depths of her kindly heart when she -hears it."</p> - -<p>Julia looked down, and Captain Smedley studied her for a few -moments, then wheeled abruptly, and stepped over to his wife. After -a brief confab they both came to Hardy's table, and Mrs. Smedley was -introduced to Miss Armstrong and her companion.</p> - -<p>"Do you sail with your husband?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"No," answered Mrs. Smedley, who seemed struck by the girl. "The -owners won't let the captains carry their wives with them."</p> - -<p>"A ship," said Julia, "should never be so safe as when a captain's -wife is on board, because of course <i>her</i> presence would make the -commander doubly vigilant and anxious."</p> - -<p>"Haw, haw!" laughed Smedley.</p> - -<p>The fish which had been ordered was now placed upon the table, and -on both sides they began to eat. The waiter uncorked the champagne, -and Hardy told him to fill the glasses opposite. This was resisted by -Mrs. Smedley, a homely woman, who declared that for her part she loved -nothing better than bitter beer. Again her husband "Haw-haw'd," and -said they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> would see Hardy's champagne through, and then he would -order another bottle. He believed it was not usual in polite society to -drink champagne with fish; but it was all one to him. Champagne went -down the same way, whether its messmate was fish or flesh.</p> - -<p>"Are you leaving England?" inquired Mrs. Smedley, addressing Julia, -at whom she continued to look hard, though not in the least rudely, as -if she found a good deal in the girl that was infinitely beyond the -range of her speculations.</p> - -<p>"I am endeavouring to leave it," answered Julia, looking at her with -her head a little on one side.</p> - -<p>"May I tell them your story?" said Hardy, "for we shall want our -friend's influence," he added, with a nod at his old shipmate.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, tell them," exclaimed Julia, a little passionately; -"it will account for my being in the East India Dock Road," and her -face relaxed as she looked at Mrs. Smedley, who smiled upon her in a -motherly way.</p> - -<p>Hardy in his blunt, sailorly fashion began. He did not spare -Captain Armstrong, neither did he spare Julia's stepmother. He warmed -up, and put the girl's case in forcible terms. Asked what a young -English lady was to do who was, to all intents and purposes, expelled -from her father's roof by the brutality of a drunken stepmother, he -related some of her experiences in nursing and in seeking independence -in other ways, just as she had related them to him. He spoke of his -finding her unconscious by the wayside, and how he was determined to -take this poor, friendless young lady by the hand, and help her to -the utmost stretch of his ability to find a home, a refuge across the -seas.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p> <p>"Don't cry, my dear," said Mrs. Smedley. "I -have known more cases than yours. It is very hard—and to be -motherless—but you cannot allow your heart to be broken by a bad -woman; and I think you are acting wisely in resolving to go abroad."</p> - -<p>Julia put her handkerchief into her lap, and closed her knife -and fork. Hardy poured some champagne into her glass, and bade her -drink.</p> - -<p>"What's the lady's idea of going abroad?" said Captain Smedley, -whose face exhibited no more signs of feeling than had it been a rump -steak.</p> - -<p>"She has no money, and wants to work her passage out as a -stewardess," replied Hardy.</p> - -<p>"And when she arrives?" said Captain Smedley.</p> - -<p>"She is bound to find something to do," answered Hardy. "The -colonies are yearning for young English ladies."</p> - -<p>"Young English domestics, you mean," said Captain Smedley. "What -is the good of ladies? What is the good of gentlemen in lands where -labour, and labour only, is wanted?"</p> - -<p>"Why would not you go out as an emigrant, Miss Armstrong?" said Mrs. -Smedley. "Of course," she added, "I presume you have Australia in your -mind?"</p> - -<p>"I would go out as anything as long as I could get out," answered -Julia.</p> - -<p>"Take my advice and don't talk of emigration," said Captain Smedley. -"You will be miserably fed and miserably berthed. You will have a -matron and a surgeon over you, and the discipline will make you wish -yourself overboard. Your associates will be mean and dirty wretches, -who would have qualified for transportation could they have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> made -sure of the sentence. Your ship will be ill-found. They talk of the -emigrants marrying on their arrival. Yes, but what is a young lady like -you going to say to such suitors as offer? You wouldn't like to marry a -convict? You wouldn't like to settle down with a hairdresser in a back -street? Don't you go out in an emigrant ship, Miss Armstrong."</p> - -<p>"It is all very fine talking about <i>don't</i>," said Hardy, "but what -we want is <i>do</i>. Miss Armstrong wishes to leave England for good. She -pockets her pride, and is willing to work. She has no money, and I must -secure her a berth somehow before I sail, because I am not going to -leave her alone in London, where she's friendless; and friendlessness -in London where all is opulence and misery, like the front and the -back of the moon—one shining, one ice-cold as death, and -black—is heart-breaking, and for many, Smedley, the invitation of -the dark waters of the Thames has been welcome."</p> - -<p>"My God! you're just the same—always sky high," said Smedley; -and he drank some champagne out of the bottle he had ordered. "When -you were a midshipman under me you were talking like that, and you're -talking it still."</p> - -<p>"Surely a man can put his hand in the tar-bucket without blacking -his whole body," said Hardy, looking at Mrs. Smedley, whose face was in -sympathy with his speech. "When I'm ashore I talk like a gentleman. One -can't be always cussing and swearing; and oh! says you"—and his -fine, dark keen eyes showed there was laughter in him—"Give me -Jack Muck, nothing short of Jack Muck. Hitch up, turn your quid, pull -your greasy forelock, mind that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> you're boozed. Oh, Lord! Smedley, -ha'n't you had enough of it?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Armstrong," said Smedley, rolling his eyes slowly from Hardy -to the girl, "why do you want to go to Australia? Why don't you go to -India?"</p> - -<p>"India," muttered Hardy, "what's she going to do in India?"</p> - -<p>"No, but I tell you what," said Smedley, with emphasis, "such a -young lady as that may do before she gets out there."</p> - -<p>Julia gazed at him inquiringly, and Mrs. Smedley turned her head to -watch his face.</p> - -<p>"Don't you know, Miss Armstrong," continued Smedley, "that there is -no marriage market in the world to equal an East Indiaman?"</p> - -<p>Julia flushed a little, but did not speak.</p> - -<p>"She takes out young people," went on the commander of the <i>Glamis -Castle</i>, "called Griffins. They are young men with a glass in their -eye and susceptible hearts behind their waistcoats. They also take out -planters, merchants, gentlemen going to join houses—"</p> - -<p>"And ladies," interrupted Hardy. "Ladies in plenty."</p> - -<p>"You know nothing about it," said Captain Smedley. "A few ladies, -most of them married. Now," he continued, "such a young lady as Miss -Armstrong, no matter what position she fills on board, stands a -first-rate chance of finding a husband before her arrival in India. -Your emigrant ship is not going to provide any chance of the sort."</p> - -<p>"I do not think of marriage," said Julia, who after colouring had -turned rather paler than usual,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> but she spoke calmly and even with -sweetness, as though grateful for the interest these strangers were -taking in her.</p> - -<p>"Oh," cried Captain Smedley, with warmth, "but you <i>must</i> think of -marriage. It is a condition of every woman's life. It is thought of -from about the age of twelve until it happens, and nothing else is -thought of. All the milliners and dressmakers contribute to the dream. -It is the one idea in the darlings' heads, and of course it is a wrong -one."</p> - -<p>"What will Miss Armstrong think of such stuff and nonsense?" said -Mrs. Smedley.</p> - -<p>"What's a girl to do when she gets to India if she isn't married?" -asked Hardy.</p> - -<p>"They want governesses and nursemaids, I dare say," replied the -captain. "Let her call upon the missionary. I took out the Bishop of -Calcutta last voyage. He's a dear old chap, and many a yarn we spun -together. I'll venture to say that a letter of introduction to him from -me will ensure this young lady a berth."</p> - -<p>Hardy, putting his elbow on the table, rested his cheek in the palm -of his hand, and looked at Miss Armstrong musingly. Nobody spoke until -Hardy started, and turning to Smedley, said, "Can you give her a berth -on board your ship?"</p> - -<p>"I am thinking of it," was the answer.</p> - -<p>Julia looked almost startled, and exclaimed to Hardy, "We should be -going different ways."</p> - -<p>Smedley and his wife exchanged glances.</p> - -<p>"I must see you safe on board bound to somewhere," answered Hardy, -softly. "I am bound to Melbourne; afterward to a New Zealand port. -Your ship will be bound to Calcutta. These places are different -ways, and India is the same thing."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> <p>She looked down -upon the table in silence. The other three saw how it was with her, -poor girl, and how impossible it was, and Hardy then felt <i>this</i> with a -sort of yearning of the heart that was as bad as sorrow.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IV.</span> <span class="smaller">THE "GLAMIS CASTLE"</span></h2> - -<p>It was nearly half-past four when Hardy and the others rose from -the dinner-table. Not that they had been eating all this time. They -had prolonged their sitting over coffee and in talk, and there was no -obligation to go so as to make way for others, because the hour was -neither lunch nor dinner time, and scarce more than two or three tables -were occupied.</p> - -<p>Nothing had been settled when they stood up and the ladies began -to put on their gloves. It was dark: the dining-rooms were lighted -up, and in the street the fog, though not dense, was wet as rain; the -lamplighters were running along the curbstones, and in a chemist's shop -a little way down the green and red waters in the big glass vases dully -glimmered like the side-lights of a ship, heading a straight course for -the dining-rooms.</p> - -<p>"This is just the sort of evening," said Smedley, "in which to visit -a friend's grave at some churchyard hereabouts. On evenings of this -sort drunken men fall into holes full of water near the docks. The -spirit of the Isle of Dogs stalks abroad this evening; you can see him -in the sky and taste him in the wind. What shall we do?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> -<p>"I told Mrs. Brierley to get some tea ready by six," said Hardy. -"This is not an evening to walk about in, and now I vote, Miss -Armstrong, that we do not go to a music-hall to-night. I am for lying -snug in harbour; are you?"</p> - -<p>"I did not care about the idea of the music-hall when you suggested -it," she said.</p> - -<p>"They are vulgar places, unfit for ladies, particularly in these -parts," exclaimed Mrs. Smedley.</p> - -<p>"The cleverest performances I've ever seen I've witnessed in -music-halls," remarked the captain, "and I never want to hear better -singing than I've heard at them. Sometimes a cad, who has no respect -for his own sex, who has no respect for himself as a man, and not -the faintest sense in the world of what is due to women, comes on -in evening dress, a white shirt blazing with studs, and a tall hat, -which he is perpetually shifting upon his head: and this fiend sings -a song full of <i>double entendres</i>, and he sings in greasy notes with -a lickerish eye; and, strangely enough, I have never yet seen any man -rise from amongst the audience, climb over the orchestra, and kick the -animal round and round the stage into the development of a fresh sort -of music and another kind of words. Otherwise, if you want talent, go -to the music-halls."</p> - -<p>"Shall we go to our lodgings and spend the evening there?" said Mrs. -Smedley.</p> - -<p>"Yes, and drink tea with us," exclaimed Hardy; "and before -bedtime, Smedley, we shall have settled the business of Miss Julia -Armstrong."</p> - -<p>Captain Smedley gave his arm to his wife, and Hardy gave his arm -to Miss Armstrong, and out they went, walking briskly so as not to -get damp,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> and in a short time they arrived at Mrs. Brierley's -lodging-house.</p> - -<p>The widow had not expected them home so soon, but she speedily -lighted the gas in the romantically equipped parlour, which she had -placed at the disposal of Hardy and Julia. The ladies went to their -rooms to remove their outdoor clothes, and presently they were all -seated in the widow's parlour of curiosities.</p> - -<p>"Where did old Brierley get all these things from?" said Captain -Smedley, looking round him. "Did he reckon to start a museum before the -notion of a lodging-house entered his head? Man and boy, I've followed -the sea thirty years, and the only curiosity I've got in all that time -was my wife."</p> - -<p>"I feel the compliment," exclaimed Mrs. Smedley.</p> - -<p>"A curiosity," continued the captain, "because she is all goodness, -loyalty, and affection."</p> - -<p>And he got up and kissed her, and sitting again continued his -eulogy, which was a sign that he had dined well and felt comfortable. -The ladies did not object to tobacco, and the two sailors filled their -pipes, Smedley observing that he smoked so many cigars at sea that he -didn't give a curse even for a prime Havana, though at the high cost of -seven for sixpence, when he was ashore.</p> - -<p>"Don't you think, Miss Armstrong," said he, "that I've put the case -for the East Indies strongly enough to justify you in listening to my -advice not to go out to the colonies as an emigrant?"</p> - -<p>"I am sure," observed Mrs. Smedley, "you stand a better chance of -marrying in your own sphere. There are plenty of officers in India -in want of wives, and I need not say—" She interrupted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -herself, but acted the compliment she intended by glancing -significantly at the girl's charming figure, and letting her eye repose -for a moment or two on her face and fine hair. "It will be quickly -known that you are the daughter of a naval officer."</p> - -<p>"I do not think of marriage," said Julia, clasping her hands.</p> - -<p>"I like your idea, Smedley, of a letter to the Bishop of Calcutta," -exclaimed Hardy. "But how is Miss Armstrong to get out? Could you find -her a berth aboard of you or in one of your ships?"</p> - -<p>"Well, it's like this with us," answered Smedley; "we have six -ships, and every ship carries a stewardess. Three are away, and the -others, I know, are provided with stewardesses. The practice is for -a person who wants the position to call at the offices, and if her -qualifications are all right her name is put down, and she awaits her -chance. Miss Armstrong might have to wait a long time, and she doesn't -want to do so."</p> - -<p>Julia shook her head slowly, and Mrs. Smedley said:</p> - -<p>"How can she wait, Jim? She has no money, and no friend when Mr. -Hardy sails."</p> - -<p>"Are you anything of a nurse?" inquired the captain.</p> - -<p>"I have nursed old ladies, but not children," answered Julia. "But I -have had some experience in the sick-room."</p> - -<p>There was a pause. Smedley filled his pipe thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>"Have <i>you</i> a stewardess?" asked Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Yes," replied Smedley, "she has been in the ship four voyages."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> <p>"What's the pay?" asked Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Four pounds a month."</p> - -<p>"Does she sign the ship's articles?"</p> - -<p>"All the same as if she were an A.B.," replied Smedley.</p> - -<p>There was another pause, during which the captain lighted his -pipe.</p> - -<p>"I can promise nothing," said he, looking at his wife as though -he was trying to gratify her instead of helping the girl; "but I'll -see to-morrow if some berth as second or assistant stewardess can be -contrived. I shall see Mrs. Lambert—that is the stewardess's -name, and I don't doubt that I can get the office to recognise the need -of assistance, as I understand we shall be a full ship with a good many -children."</p> - -<p>"You are a real friend," exclaimed Hardy. "It is more than I dared -expect from you," and he turned to witness the effect of the kindly -captain's words upon the girl; but her expression was as one who -gazes at a cheerless prospect. Observing that Hardy watched her, she -exclaimed, in a low voice, "I can but thank you, Captain Smedley," and -she bowed her head, leaving it bowed.</p> - -<p>There was not much more to be said upon the subject after this; -indeed it was easily seen that the girl's heart was with Hardy, and as -he was sailing for Australia she wanted to go there too, which perhaps -was not idle in her, because it was impossible for her to realise that -he could not marry her, even if he loved her, which she had no right to -imagine, as he could not support her ashore, nor as a mate, nor even -perhaps as a captain, take her to sea with him. But things are felt and -understood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> which may not be expressed, and a little before Mrs. -Brierley and the maid came in with the tea-tray and the cakes it was -arranged that Hardy should accompany Miss Armstrong on board the -<i>Glamis Castle</i>, which lay not far from the <i>York</i>, when Captain -Smedley hoped to be able to tell her that he had managed to find a -berth for her aboard his ship.</p> - -<p>"It will save a vast deal of anxiety and of time, and it will rescue -you from the horrors of the emigrant ship," said Hardy to Julia, who -smiled faintly and looked as though the least expression of sympathy -would compel her into a passion of tears.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Brierley spread a liberal tea upon the table, but not much -appetite attended it. The subject of the assistant stewardess was -dropped, and Mrs. Smedley listened with attention, and Julia with -fictitious interest, to the conversation that was almost entirely -carried on by Hardy and his friend. They had been shipmates, as we have -heard—Hardy as midshipman, Smedley as third mate, both occupying -the midshipmen's quarters in days when Blackwall Liners used to sail -with twelve or fourteen reefers in buttons and badges, who had sole -charge of the mizzen-mast, the poop or quarter-deck, the quarter-boats -and the gig. John Company's flag was then flying, but they had not -served in that employ. They afterward came together, Smedley as -chief mate and Hardy as third, in a vessel called the <i>Asia</i>, a ship -with long skysail poles, a stem nearly as up and down as a cutter's, -black as night, half the length of her aft sparkling with round -ports. They talked of this ship and of her wonderful passages;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> how -her captain would carry fore, main, and topgallant stu'nsails, and pass -by ships which thought they were cracking on with a topgallantsail set -over a single reefed topsail.</p> - -<p>Sailors who have been shipmates love this sort of memories, and it -is like watching the coil of the sea—one blue ridge dissolving in -the base of another, with the laughter and the thunder of heaving and -racing brine—to hear them.</p> - -<p>Thus they passed the evening, with the help of a little whisky and -plenty of tobacco, and Julia, sitting beside Mrs. Smedley, told her -story over again, but fully, and Mrs. Smedley talked of her son, who -was a young curate of whom she was very proud, not only because of his -social importance, but because of his eloquence: she declared that -he preached a better sermon, young as he was, than any minister of -the gospel in the whole diocese, and the interest Julia took in this -matter, though the poor girl was thinking all the time of Hardy and the -East Indiaman, charmed Mrs. Smedley.</p> - -<p>The East India docks are among the oldest on the Thames. They embody -many chapters of the maritime history of this country. They are of -extraordinary interest to any one who knows the story of the ocean, -and of the might and majesty of England as the Queen of the Sea. Their -soup-coloured waters have reflected many different forms and types of -ships, from the emblazoned, glazed, and castellated stern of the East -Indiaman to the long, black, yellow-funnelled, three-masted steamer -whose straight stem shears through it from Gravesend to New York in -less time than it took the Indiaman to beat down Channel. The produce -of many lands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> litters the quays and fills the sheds. The steam winch -rattles, the giant arm of crane swings its tons, the stevedore shouts -in the depths, and the mate yells at the hatchway. The tall masts rise -into the air, lifting their topmost yards into the yellow obscurity -up there; figures dangle on the foot ropes, or jockey the yard-arms. -The house bunting of a score of firms makes a festival to the eye, and -alongside is the barge, whose slender company do not pay the dues, and -whose language is beyond the dreams of Houndsditch.</p> - -<p>It was Wednesday afternoon, about three o'clock, and the docks were -full of the animation of the coming and going, and the loading and -the discharging ships. The air trembled with hoarse voices, with the -passage of locomotives and wagons, with the rattle of steam machinery, -with the hissing of escaping vapour. It was the Isle of Dogs, and the -afternoon was somewhat foggy. In one basin lay a number of fine ships, -nearly all sailing ships, for there were very few funnels to be seen -in those days, and along the edge of the wall of this basin two people -were walking—Hardy and Julia Armstrong. They were two of a great -many other persons, who were labourers, sailors, and so forth; and as -they walked slowly, for the road was obstructed by goods and machinery -as well as by toilers, lumpers, and loafers, Hardy, pointing to a ship -lying on the other side of the basin, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"That's the <i>York</i>."</p> - -<p>Julia stopped to look at her. She was not in trim to be seen to -advantage; her sails were not bent, her running gear was not rove, -but all saving her royal yards were aloft, and her model, though -light and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> showing the green sheathing, was visible in such -perfection of run, in such elegance of elliptic stern, in such swelling -beauty and fining grace of schooner cut-water and flaring bow, as could -be matched only by those lovely creations of the ship-builders' art, -the Aberdeen clippers.</p> - -<p>"She is a beautiful vessel," exclaimed Julia. "I wish you commanded -her."</p> - -<p>"So do I," answered Hardy, running a critical eye over the ship.</p> - -<p>"Do you like the captain?"</p> - -<p>"I know his name," answered Hardy, "but I've not yet met him. He -replaced a gray-haired man who was a philanthropist, and held notions -and opinions which are not appreciated by ship-owners. He was kind to -his men, and owners cannot die worth millions if kindness to crews -is tolerated. A sailor to his mind was a man and not a dog, which -astonished the ship-owners, whose views are otherwise. If the food was -bad he went on broaching till he came to something sweet, and this was -an enormity. He would go into the fok'sle and attend upon a sick man, -and help him so far as kindness and the medicine-chest could. His crew -would have gone on sailing round the world with him for ever. Such men -are not fit to command merchant sailors," he added, sarcastically, "and -so he is discharged, and probably will not find another ship, and God -knows what he will do, for at his age what <i>can</i> he do?"</p> - -<p>They continued their walk until they arrived at the corner of -the dock. A large full-rigged ship lay there. Her house flag was -cream-white with a black cross in it; a delicate space of bunting that -trembled under the golden ball of truck, for this vessel had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -short royal-mastheads, and when the yards were hoisted they sat like a -frigate's under the eyes of the rigging.</p> - -<p>Hardy caused Julia to stop, whilst they yet commanded a view of -the ship's stern and the whole length of the decks from the poop to -the topgallant forecastle. She was undoubtedly a very beautiful ship, -probably the handsomest at that time of them all in the London Docks. -Her stern's embellishment would have done justice to the imagination of -the Dutch shipwrights of the seventeenth century. Dull as the day was, -this <i>Glamis Castle</i>, without sunlight to reflect, without the sparkle -of water to kindle stars and to flash prisms, was lustrous as though -self-luminous with window and gilt and gorgeous quarter-galleries, and -upon the sloping ebony of her counter, before it glowed into the yellow -metal of her brand-new sheathing, were the long white letters of her -name and her port, and these letters you could read in the water that -floated stagnant about her rudder and run. Her main-deck and waist -were full of business; her quarter-deck winch rattled its pawls with -the noise of a hearse trotted by tipsy men from the graveyard gate; -the crane was sinking costly burdens into the wide, black yawn of the -main-hatch; riggers were aloft; preparations for the long voyage round -the Cape to Calcutta were being pushed forward, as the newspapers -would say; but, saving the mate, with one foot upon the coaming of the -main-hatch, watching the slow descent of cargo into the depths, and -saving the figure of Captain Smedley, sitting on the fore-skylight of -the poop with an end of cigar in his month, there was then no man upon -that ship who would have a hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> in the navigation of her, from the -wide breast of river flowing beyond, to that other distant breast of -river revolting with black corpses and their ships' companies of plumed -scavengers.</p> - -<p>"There's Smedley!" exclaimed Hardy, and Julia looked at the captain -sitting on the skylight. "If he ships you," he continued, "you will be -sailing away in a noble craft," and he began to talk to himself: "What -a hoist of maintopsail! How splendidly stayed her spars are! She'll -show cloths enough to get knots from the waft of a sea-mew's wing!"</p> - -<p>They walked on till they came abreast of Smedley, and then Hardy -hailed him.</p> - -<p>"Come aboard, I'm waiting for you," sang out Smedley, with a -flourish of his fingers at the peak of his cap. Hardy took the girl's -hand, and they crossed a short platform of planks stretched between -the edge of the wall and the ship's bulwarks, and descending two -or three steps gained the main-deck, whence they made their way to -the poop by the port ladder. Before they ascended this ladder Hardy -stopped Julia to look at and admire the cuddy front. It was a true -Dutch picture of its kind. It resembled the front of a house with its -door and three brass-protected, red-curtained windows of a side, and -a projecting wing of cabin on either hand, so that the front was a -pleasant recess with its roof of poop-deck over it. But the romance -of this fancy of cuddy front—perished for ever to this and all -future generations—lay in the carving that lavishly embellished -it: a fantastic mixture of anchors and flags with masts in full sail -peering between, and human figures with wings blowing horns.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> There -was uniformity in all this variety, and the complicate picture in the -dark colours of teak was fraught with meaning to the interpreting -eye.</p> - -<p>The sailor and the girl went on to the poop, a fine stretch of -plank, but not quite so white as it would be presently, when it had -been tickled by the holystone, and when the ivory spaces of it would -take the sun-shed impression of the rigging like rulings in indigo, -clear of the velvet-violet shadow of the awning.</p> - -<p>"Well, here we are," exclaimed Captain Smedley, rising from the -skylight and speaking with that bluntness which many admired in his -speech, thinking it sailorly, just as people will inhale doubtful -odours from an inner harbour and relish them as "ozone." "What do you -think of the ship, Hardy?"</p> - -<p>But though he spoke to Hardy, he kept his eye on Miss Armstrong, -and was undoubtedly admiring her, particularly her figure, and the -fascinating cock of her head with its tilted hat.</p> - -<p>"She's the finest ship I ever saw," answered Hardy, with real -enthusiasm. "What a marvellous stern! what a delightful cuddy -front!"</p> - -<p>"Meant to astonish the natives," said Smedley. "They have settled -the choice of more than one coloured nob, and left the other passenger -ships nowhere."</p> - -<p>"Well, and what news, Smedley?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I think it may be managed," answered Captain Smedley, sending -his fragment of cigar overboard with a jerk of his arm. "My wife is -below: let's go down to her."</p> - -<p>They descended into what was then called the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> -cuddy by way of the companion steps, and this interior was worthy its -wonderful front. Narrow slips of looking-glass upon the walls of it, -and between each slip was a picture representing some Indian scene. The -effect was brilliant and novel; determination to delight the Oriental -eye was visible in the grotesque figuration of the three lamps hanging -over the table. A Japanese artist, delirious with opium, might have -imagined the extraordinary shapes which supported the globes. All was -luxury and originality. Aft on either hand and athwart-ships were -cabins, but the main accommodation was to be sought in the steerage, -which was gained by a wide staircase, conducting through a hatchway in -the fore end of the cuddy.</p> - -<p>Whilst Julia and Hardy were gazing about them Mrs. Smedley came out -of the starboard cabin under the wheel.</p> - -<p>"I am trying to make my husband's cabin comfortable for him," -said she, with her homely, motherly smile, after greetings had been -exchanged. "I hope he will soon make his last voyage. Captain Franklin, -a friend of ours, was seventeen years at sea in command, and in all -that time he and his wife calculated that they had only spent one -year and three months in each other's company. It is worse than being -widowed."</p> - -<p>"Much worse," said Captain Smedley, "because you can't get married -again. The beggar's always coming home."</p> - -<p>"Let us sit down," said Mrs. Smedley. "Miss Armstrong, come and -sit beside me here. I am afraid we sha'n't be able to offer you any -refreshments, but Jim when he came along said something about dining at -the Brunswick Hotel."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> <p>"Captain Smedley's full of -original ideas," exclaimed Hardy as they seated themselves at the -table. "What a different scene, Mrs. Smedley, this interior will submit -a few weeks hence," he continued. "I see the gallant captain yonder at -the head there, a row of ladies and gentlemen ranged down the table -from either hand of him. The table smokes with good cheer, elaborately -served; through a window yonder you see an ayah cuddling a baby and -swaying to the heave of the ship. How the sails swell to the heavens -through that skylight!" and here he cast his eyes aloft, and then -looking at Miss Julia, he said, "And where will you be?"</p> - -<p>"Well, you may take it as good as settled," said Captain Smedley, -"and let my wife get all the thanks," he added, not particularly -referring to Julia in his speech.</p> - -<p>"You are very good," said Hardy, glancing at Julia, who was -certainly not smiling. "How shall we consider it as good as -settled?"</p> - -<p>"You've got to thank my wife, she's taken a great interest in the -young lady," said Smedley.</p> - -<p>Julia meeting Mrs. Smedley's eyes gave her a grave bow, full of the -unconscious coquetry of her natural postures.</p> - -<p>"It's settled in this way," continued Smedley. "I saw Mrs. Lambert -this morning, and it is arranged that Miss Armstrong sails as her -assistant. Old Perkins, one of the chiefs, who was at the office, said -that he couldn't see the need; freights were low, and the ship was -sailed without regard to expense." Here the captain winked at Hardy. "I -told him the lady was a good nurse and accustomed to children,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> and -that the stewardess needed help. So, Miss Armstrong, you will sign on, -and you will have me for a captain. Do you like the idea?"</p> - -<p>"I thank you a thousand times for your kindness," answered Julia. -"This is a beautiful ship, and I am sure you will see that I am not -unhappy. But—but shall I find employment in Calcutta? Am I not -almost sure of finding employment in Australia?" and she looked with a -wistfulness that was almost love at Hardy.</p> - -<p>"You certainly will find employment in Australia, and most certainly -a husband," said Smedley, who took the girl's hesitation very -good-humouredly. "But I fear your employment will be menial, and the -washing-tub, and the cooking range don't suit the likes of you."</p> - -<p>"It is very true," said Mrs. Smedley.</p> - -<p>Hardy listened with his eyes fixed on the deck. His heart had noted -the girl's wistful look, and it was beating a little fast in some -confusion of thought to his interpretation of her eyes.</p> - -<p>"A husband," continued Smedley, "will certainly be forthcoming, but -like the range and the tub, he won't suit the likes of you, though -stress of circumstances make you his wife. Now it's all tip-top -gentility in India, with a real chance of a first-class sort, aboard my -ship, this side of Calcutta."</p> - -<p>"Oh! it's marriage you are always thinking of, Captain Smedley," -cried Julia, clasping her hands, and looking at him in her fascinating -way.</p> - -<p>The captain glanced at his wife as if the conversation was growing -personal.</p> - -<p>"Pray remember this, Miss Armstrong," said Mrs. Smedley, "if you -are on the ship's articles you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> belong to the ship, and if you cannot -obtain employment in the months during which the vessel will be lying -in the Calcutta River, you can return in her, by which time Mr. Hardy -may have arrived, and then you can try Australia."</p> - -<p>"That's a new idea, and a splendid one," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>Julia's face brightened. "<i>Will</i> you let me return in her, captain?" -she asked.</p> - -<p>"Certainly, if you don't run away, as is customary with many who -sign the ship's articles," he answered. "But you don't go out to come -back; a major-general may fall in love with you on your arrival, and -then you'll be coming on board to ask for my blessing." He added with a -little movement of impatience, "Is it settled?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and we thank you again and again," exclaimed Hardy.</p> - -<p>"You'll sleep in the stewardess's cabin," said Captain Smedley. -"Let's go below and have a look at it. By the way," he added, "I may as -well say at once that your pay will be thirty shillings a month."</p> - -<p>Miss Armstrong blushed, and bowed, and smiled.</p> - -<p>"Not enough, when it's all taken up, for a new gown, Jim," said Mrs. -Smedley. "Where's the cabin, lovey?"</p> - -<p>They all went down the broad steps, conducting to what was then -called the steerage, in which the first-class cabin passengers were -berthed, though in these days the word steerage is wholly associated -with third-class people and German Jews, who quarrel over packs -of greasy cards. The ship had plenty of beam, and the steerage -was spacious for a vessel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> of her burden. The cabins ran well -forward, and there was plenty of them. The central deck would be -carpeted when the ship was ready for sea. Handsome bunks, washstands, -chest of drawers, and other furniture, made every cabin resemble a snug -little bedroom, and the port-holes were large, with plenty of room for -the passage of the thrilling and soothing gush of blue breeze, when the -flying-fish should be starting from the metalled fore-foot in flights -of pearly light, and when the sun should hang in a roasting eye over -the foretopgallant yard-arm. The stewardess's berth was small but -cosy: two fore-and-aft bunks, the same conveniences as in the other -cabins—and this was to be Julia's bedroom.</p> - -<p>She lingered a little looking around her, and the others paused to -humour her.</p> - -<p>Then said Captain Smedley, "I am hungry. Let us go and get something -to eat at the Brunswick Hotel."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER V.</span> <span class="smaller">CAPTAIN LAYARD</span></h2> - -<p>A little later than three weeks from the date on which our friends -had dined together at the Brunswick Hotel, in the East India Docks, a -fine, full-rigged ship was sailing slowly in rhythmic lifts and falls, -as full of sweet grace as the cadence and movement of lovely music, -through the dark blue evening waters of the Atlantic, about two hundred -miles to the southward of the Chops, and the autumn glory of the fast -westering sun clothed her.</p> - -<p>She was the well-known clipper ship <i>York</i>, bound to Melbourne -and to another port, and she had followed, after four days, another -beautiful vessel which we have inspected—I mean the <i>Glamis -Castle</i>, bound, as the <i>York</i> was bound, for the Cape parallels, where -their liquid paths would diverge, one going away east for Cape Leeuwin, -and the other shifting her helm for the Indian Ocean.</p> - -<p>The <i>York</i> had made a noble passage down the Channel, driven by a -black, salt, shrieking, easterly breeze that grew into half a gale, -with soft, dark clouds smouldering as they flew. The Channel sea had -the look of flint, and to each foaming <i>scend</i> the ship drove in a -curtsey of fury, as though to the thrust of some mighty hand. She -stormed along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> under two topgallantsails and single reefs and swelling -fore-course, and a swinging wing or two of jib and staysail until she -was out of soundings in a passage that had the swiftness of steam, -as steam then was; and then the strong breeze fined down, the wind -shifted into the northwest, and behold this clipper of spacious pinions -breaking the dark blue heave at her bows into scintillant lines like -the meteor's thread of light, with every curve of cloth at the leaches, -from head-earing to clew, of a faint pink with the light in the -west.</p> - -<p>The officer of the watch stood on the weather-side of the -quarter-deck with his eyes fixed upon a distant sail, close hauled and -reaching westwards; but it was evident by the expression of his eyes -that his attention was not with <i>her</i>. A single figure at the wheel -grasped the spokes with an occasional movement, and sometimes a glance -at the card of the compass, and sometimes a look at the canvas aloft, -which, swelling out and sinking in, breathed like the breasts of human -beings. The flush deck ran with a fair, white sweep into the "eyes," -and you guessed by the neatness everywhere visible that the vessel -owned a smart chief mate.</p> - -<p>The anchors had been stowed. It was the first dog-watch, and a -few of the crew were idling on the forecastle. Presently up through -the companionway, whose steps led into the cabin where the captain -and the two mates lived, rose a little boy of about eight years of -age, dressed as a navy sailor, and his bright gold curls shone to the -setting sun past the round cap which was perched on the back of his -head. He was a beautiful little boy of the purest English type; no arch -Irish eye was ever of a darker<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> blue than his. A drum—not a -child's toy, but a real drum, though a small one—was slung by -a lanyard round his neck, and he clutched the two sticks, whilst he -looked at the officer of the watch with a smile of his red lips, -disclosing a row of little milk-white teeth, and said:</p> - -<p>"Mr. Hardy, may I play my drum?"</p> - -<p>"Why, yes, Johnny, of course you may," answered Hardy, "and if -you'll beat a smart tattoo the breeze will freshen, for we are wanting -legs, Johnny."</p> - -<p>"May I go on the forecastle and beat it?" said Johnny. "The man who -has the whistle will play it whilst I beat."</p> - -<p>"Hurrah for 'The Girl I Left Behind Me,'" said Hardy. "Go forward, -little sonny, and beat the music out of the sails, and mind how you -go."</p> - -<p>Just when the little boy was about to run along the decks -an immense, magnificent Newfoundland dog sprang through the -companion-hatch as though it had missed the little fellow below. -The dog instantly saw the boy, and they sped forward together, the -beautiful animal often bounding to the height of the boy's head in its -delight in his company. The men on the forecastle all looked at them -as they came, and those who walked stood still to watch them coming. -The instant the dog was forward it swept its sagacious, beaming eyes, -fuller of intelligence than many which look out of human faces, round -the ocean line, and when it saw the sail to windward it set up a deep -baying bark, a very organ note, grand in tone as the solemn stroke -of a great bell, which, translated, as clearly signified, "Sail ho!" -as the setting of the sun denotes the coming of night.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> -<p>"Where away, Sailor?" shouted Hardy from the quarter-deck, and the -seamen laughed out, whilst the dog, after one glance aft, pointed his -noble head in the direction of the ship, and lifting up his nose to -heaven barked deeply twice, which was his English for <i>starboard</i>. The -seamen laughed loudly again.</p> - -<p>Johnny beat a roll on the drum, and the sailors gathered round him, -and others came springing up through the forescuttle, which is the -name of the little hatch through which you drop into the forecastle -or living room of the crew. The boy beat that drum marvellously well; -he made it rattle as though a regiment marched behind him, and the -sails on high rattled in echo as though several phantom drummers were -stationed in various parts of the rigging.</p> - -<p>The dog lay down and watched the boy, and a few of the seamen, one -after another, went up to it and stroked its head.</p> - -<p>"Where's the man that's got the whistle?" said Johnny, ceasing to -beat.</p> - -<p>"Where's Dicky Andrews?" shouted a man, and another, going to the -scuttle, cried down, "Below there! tumble up, Dicky, and bring your -whistle with you; you're wanted on deck."</p> - -<p>In a few moments a young ordinary seaman rose through the hatch: -he was slightly curved in the back without being humped, and carried -the face of the hunchback, the corners of his mouth being puckered -into a dry aspect of advanced years, such as may often be observed in -people who are afflicted with spinal complaints. He was red-haired, -and his little eyes were full of humour and as lively as laughter -itself, and he wore the togs of the merchant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> Jack—dungaree -for breeches, an old striped shirt, a dirty flannel jacket, and a cap -without a peak.</p> - -<p>"All right, Master Johnny," said he, pulling a fife out of his -pocket. "What shall it be, sir?"</p> - -<p>"What shall it be, my lads?" asked Johnny, looking round with his -sweet, delightful smile and arch-blue eyes at the weather-stained faces -of the men, one of whom was a negro, another a Dane, brown as coffee, -two others Dagos, with frizzled hair and silver hoops in their ears; -and these this boy of eight had called "My lads."</p> - -<p>"Give us 'The British Grenadiers,'" said a seaman.</p> - -<p>"A dog before a soldier," exclaimed the voice of an Irishman. "Give -us 'St. Patrick's Day in the Morning,' me dear."</p> - -<p>"Hurrah for 'St. Patrick's Day'!" shouted several voices; and Dicky, -putting his fife to his lips, started the most inspiriting air that -ever mortal genius composed. The drum rattled, the sticks throbbed in -the little fists; Dicky began to caper as he played; nearly all the -ship's company were assembled on the forecastle, and many began to -leap about and spring with delight to the music; the dog rose, and in -a stately way ran or waltzed amongst the caper-cutters. That fore-deck -then was a wonderfully animated picture. The arch of the fore-course, -sleepily swelling and sinking, yielded a good sight of the scene to the -quarter-deck. The setting sun painted it into a canvas almost gorgeous -with the streaks of purple fire in the tarry shrouds and backstays, -and in the climbing lines of the well-greased masts; and in the flush -on the breasts of the sails, and in the red stars it kindled in all -that mirrored it.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> <p>The fife and drum kept company -superbly, and the fine Irish air seemed to thrill through the ship, and -to echo up aloft like some new spring or spirit of life. The cocks in -the coops abaft the galley chimed in with a constant defying crowing, -about as melodious as the noise of a broken-winded barrel organ. The -pigs under the long-boat grunted in sympathy with sounds which reminded -them of the trough and the haystack and the near village.</p> - -<p>Whilst all this harmless sailors' pleasure was going forward on the -ship's forecastle the captain of the vessel came out of the cabin, -and when he stepped upon the deck he stood a moment with his hand -resting upon the companion-hood, looking forward, and listening to the -music.</p> - -<p>He was a man of about forty-five to fifty years of age, and his -name was William Layard. He scarcely wore the appearance of a sailor. -The lower portion of his face was hidden in hair, which was of a dark -brown, streaked with gray, and his hair was long. His nose was a fine, -well-bred aquiline, his brow square, his eyebrows shaggy, and his dark -eyes burnt with brightness in the shadow cast by their eaves. He wore -a soft black hat, which sat securely upon his head, and was clothed in -a monkey-jacket and blue cloth trousers. No discerning eye but would -have dwelt a little upon him in speculation. His face showed marks of -breeding, but there was something else in him, too, that would have -detained the gaze—a faint, an almost elusive, expression of -triumph, of an inward exaltation, which was almost dissembled, and -subtly revealed in the mouth that so delicately diffused it that only -a keen eye would have witnessed it.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> <p>Hardy was making -the voyage with him for the first time, and though they had been -together for some days, whilst they had frequently conversed in the -docks, he did not understand him, he had not got in any way near to -him. But, as a gentleman himself, he felt the presence of the gentleman -in Captain Layard, and had picked up from his own lips that he had been -educated at one of the great public schools, had begun the sea life in -the Royal Navy as midshipman, but, for some reason, left unexplained, -had quitted the white for the red flag, and had been in command five -years, after serving, of course, as second and third mate, always -trading to the Australian and New Zealand ports in ships like the -<i>York</i>, which did not carry passengers. Hardy had also gathered that he -was a widower, who had married a woman of good birth, the Honourable -Miss ——, no need to name her, by whom he had the little boy -Johnny, who was the darling of his heart, and who had regularly gone -with him to sea, since his wife's death, in the last four voyages to -the Pacific. Our friend Hardy had also made another discovery: that -the captain, even before the start, showed a disposition to treat -him as a companion rather than as a mate. This was so unusual in sea -captains—it is still unusual—that Hardy's speculations as -to Captain Layard's character were considerably sharpened by it.</p> - -<p>The drum and fife ceased on a sudden. The sailors stood about, hot -and amused, and the dog with its tongue out looked eagerly from one -face to another. The ship was still: there was no slopping fall of -water alongside to disturb the calm respirations of the canvas; the -captain, with his hand upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> the companion-hood, continued to gaze -forward, and Hardy, standing at the mizzen-rigging, watched him askant. -Then, through the serenity of the breathing, sun-flushed air, all the -way from forward, nearly the whole length of the ship, came the clear -high note of little Johnny's voice:</p> - -<p>"Dicky, play 'Sally come up,'" and Dicky, rendered zealous by the -captain's presence on deck, instantly put his fife to his lips. The -drum rattled, the sails reëchoed the jolly air, the feet of the men -began to shake, the dog raced and waltzed in stately measures as -before, the whole forecastle was again in motion, and the ship, with -her taut rigging vibrant with the shrilling of the fife and the roll -of the drum, floated onwards over the long, languid undulations of the -deep, which were scarlet westwards with the splendour of the dying day -that was crumbling toward the sea line in masses of burning light.</p> - -<p>Captain Layard stepped across the deck to Mr. Hardy.</p> - -<p>"That boy plays the drum with a professional hand," said he. "He got -the art himself, for nobody taught him. It is a good drum—good -enough for soldiers to march to."</p> - -<p>"I never heard better drumming, sir," answered Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Where did Sailor learn to waltz?" said the captain, and he watched -the dog. "How quickly Johnny has made friends with the crew."</p> - -<p>"Any crew of Englishmen would cherish and pet him, and perish -for such a beautiful, manly little fellow," exclaimed Hardy, with -enthusiasm and admiration in his voice.</p> - -<p>"He's always kept my crews contented," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> Captain Layard, smiling. -"Several men have sailed with me every voyage ever since I took Johnny -to sea, learning that he was coming again."</p> - -<p>He looked at the sail to windward that leaned like a black feather -in the crimson air, then glanced over the ship's side to judge her -pace, and stood for some time near Hardy listening to the music and -watching the men dancing. He said, with an abruptness that again -surprised Hardy as it had before even startled him during the run down -Channel:</p> - -<p>"Have you ever studied the nervous system?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir," answered Hardy.</p> - -<p>"A man is formed of two sides," continued the captain, "and each -side has a nervous system of its own. They are independent, and strange -things happen in consequence. I remember when I was chief mate of a -ship called the <i>Tartar</i> that I stood aft close to the man at the -wheel, who exclaimed on a sudden, 'I don't know what's wrong with -me, but there's two meanings a-going on in my head.' 'What's that?' -I asked. 'This here side,' said he, lifting his right hand from the -spoke, and putting it to his forehead, 'is a-talking one sense, which -ain't sense, because t'other side's talking in a different way,' and -here he touched his left brow, 'and all's confusion,' and then he began -to mutter to himself. I thought he was ill, and calling another man -to the relief, sent him forward and followed with some brandy, which -put his head to rights. I spoke of this matter to a doctor when I got -ashore, and he explained the dual system of nerves, and told me that -overworked brains would occasionally chatter inconsequentially in each -lobe."</p> - -<p>"How shall a man act when his brain comes to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> a -misunderstanding in that fashion?" asked Hardy, gazing with critical -interest at the captain's refined but singular face.</p> - -<p>"<i>I</i> take brandy," replied Captain Layard, sending a glance aloft, -then at the distant sail, then at his little son, who continued to beat -in accompaniment to "Sally come up," whilst the sailors sprang about in -glowing glee, and the scarlet in the west deepened into a rusty red.</p> - -<p>"Do you suffer from attacks of the kind, sir?" inquired Hardy.</p> - -<p>"To tell you the truth," responded the captain, with a peculiar -smile, keeping his gaze fastened on the forecastle, "I had one just -now. The left side grew importunate in nonsense; the right side was all -right, and quite understood that things were wrong. The trouble was -preceded by a curious beating of the heart in the ear. It sounded as -though a wooden leg was hollowly tramping round the galleries of the -brain—thump, thump, thump! It was like the noise of a wooden leg -coming into a theatre when some actress of genius has stilled the house -into breathlessness by her witchery."</p> - -<p>"This man is mad," thought Hardy. "He would never converse with me -in this fashion if his head wasn't in two."</p> - -<p>The drum and fife ceased. Johnny, seeing his father, came running -aft, and the Newfoundland trotted by his side. It was four bells, -and the sun vanished as the metal chimes trembled away to sea; the -breeze slightly freshened on a sudden, a sound of foam arose like the -song of a full champagne glass held to the ear; delicate streaks of -white flashed about the ocean breast in the twilight like some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> milky -wings of sea birds; the ship strained a little aloft and hardened her -breasts, and stars of the east shone upon the dark brow of the soaring -night.</p> - -<p>The breeze blew with a little edge, but it was still the -dog-watches, and the sailors, though abruptly deprived of the drum in -which they delighted, started on another dance to Dicky's merry and -excellent whistling.</p> - -<p>"Father, Sailor likes dancing," said Johnny.</p> - -<p>"All sailors like it," answered the captain, stooping to press his -lips to the child's forehead. "Cut below now, my darling, you and the -drum, and put it away and wait for me. I sha'n't be long, and then -we'll go to supper."</p> - -<p>The boy, with the obedience of a man-of-war's man, saluted Hardy -with a flourish of his little fist to his golden curls, ran to the -companionway, and vanished, and the noble Newfoundland vanished with -him.</p> - -<p>"There is no weather in the glass," said the captain. "If this -breeze freshens we shall make up for lost time. You'll not spare her, -Mr. Hardy."</p> - -<p>"No, sir."</p> - -<p>"Those are my orders to the second mate. I want to maintain the -reputation of this ship; the freighters love her. I have no fancy for -steam, but you can <i>time</i> it, and so tacks and sheets are bound to go; -but I'll make a bold fight for old tradition," he cried in a curious -tone of enthusiasm, "and what we can't carry we'll drag."</p> - -<p>The second mate had come on deck at four bells, and was pacing -to leeward in the deeper shade that dyed the atmosphere there -when the freshening of the breeze heeled the ship. There was -nothing <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>particularly noticeable in this man, of whom a fair sight -could be caught as he passed through the area of light diffused by the -cabin lamp, which was burning in brilliance under the skylight. He was -pale-faced and fat of cheek, very light eyes, lashes like white silk, -yellow hair, and great ears which stood out in eager bearing as though -they sought to catch everything which was said. He was dressed in blue -serge and a cap, and this was his first voyage in the ship. So the -captain and the two mates were sailing the <i>York</i> for the first time in -their lives.</p> - -<p>It was Hardy's watch below; he crossed to the second mate, gave -him the course and so forth, and descended into the cabin. Little -Johnny without his drum was sitting on a locker talking to Sailor, who -was looking lovingly up into his face, and often the bright-haired -little chap glanced at the cabin servant, who was preparing the table -for supper. The <i>York</i> had been built to carry cargo; she was not a -passenger ship, though at a pinch accommodation might have been found -for three or four persons, friends of the owners, say, or people -to whom the next ship sailing with immediate despatch might be a -supreme need. In this age they would probably equip such a vessel -with a deck-house for the master and mates. Her cabin was small -and comfortable, very plain, with a seawardly look that suggested -sturdiness, a very different cabin from the luxurious interior of the -<i>Glamis Castle</i>! A few berths stood aft, and these were occupied by the -master and mates, and one was a pantry.</p> - -<p>Hardy stopped to speak to Johnny.</p> - -<p>"You play your drum splendidly," said he. "But what's the good -of a drum if you're going to be a sailor, sonny?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> -<p>"I'll play the drum when the bo'sun plays his whistle," answered -Johnny, manfully. "And it will make the sailors quicker in running up -aloft."</p> - -<p>"So it will," answered Hardy, laughing heartily, for the image -submitted by the boy's words tickled his fancy—a bo'sun piping -"All hands!" down the forescuttle, and the captain at the break -of the poop beating thunder out of a drum to hurry the men to the -reef-tackles!</p> - -<p>He lingered a little to talk to the boy, for it charmed him to look -into the sweet handsome face with its arch eyes; 'twas as gladdening to -his heart as the song of a bird or the scent of a nosegay, and somehow -the child always put tender thoughts of Julia Armstrong into his head -by the sheer charm of his smile. He caressed the Newfoundland whilst -he talked to the little lad, and then went to his cabin to change his -coat and brush his hair for supper, musing over much, but particularly -over his last talk with the captain, who never before in the Channel -or after had spoken so oddly or looked so strangely. "If the man <i>is</i> -off his head," he thought, "my responsibilities will be enormous," for -he perfectly understood the position that command confers upon the -shipmaster; he was God Almighty aboard; mad or not mad, his orders must -be obeyed; he could steer the ship to the devil and clap the mates -in irons for interfering, and unless the crew mutinied—which -few crews durst do, knowing how heavily the law presses upon seamen, -even though they are able to justify their actions—they must go -on obeying the master's commands, though the fires of hell should be -visible right ahead past the horizon.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> <p>Thus Hardy mused -whilst he changed his coat and brushed his hair, and he also thought of -Julia Armstrong, and wondered how she was faring, and what progress her -ship had made.</p> - -<p>The <i>Glamis Castle</i> had hauled out of dock five days before the -<i>York</i> sailed. She had slept upon the silent stream of the Thames one -night, and early next morning was taken in tow by a tug, which released -her off Dungeness; then with the stateliness of a frigate she broke -into a sunshine of canvas, and, if the wind had prospered her, she -should be some five hundred miles ahead of the <i>York</i>. But it was sail, -not steam, and short of the report of a passing ship, no man could have -safely conjectured her situation. But one trick of seamanship Smedley -possessed: he never admitted the existence of a foul wind; he never -sweated his yards fore and aft; he was no lover of the bowline, nor of -the shivering leach. It was always "full and bye" with him, though he -was points off, and thus he made a fair breeze of every head-wind, for -his slants to leeward of his course gave him two feet of sailing to -the one he would have got out of a taut, shuddering luff, and he never -looked over the quarter for leeway.</p> - -<p>At half-past six Hardy stepped out of his berth and found supper -ready, and the captain sitting at the head of the table with little -Johnny on his right. You will consider it early for supper, but at -sea the last meal is always called supper, and after this they eat no -more in the cabin. There was plenty, and it was good of its kind: ham, -cold fowl, cold sausage, salt beef, biscuit, cheese, and salt butter. -A decanter of rum glowed deep and rich within<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> reach of the captain's -arm. A large globe lamp sparkled brightly overhead, and the scene was a -sea-picture of hospitality and comfort, sweetened into a tender human -character by the presence of the boy who sat on the right hand of his -father. Sailor, the great dog, lay beside the captain on the deck. He -was too dignified to beg; too well trained to expect. He knew his time -would come, and lay patient in the nobility of his shape.</p> - -<p>Hardy sat at the foot of the table. It was the custom in this ship -for the captain and mate to eat together, and when the mate was done -he relieved the deck till the second officer had finished. The captain -gave the little boy a slice of cold chicken and a white biscuit, and -filled his glass with water. The swing trays swayed softly as pendulums -to the delicate heave of the evening waters, the bulkheads creaked, -the rudder jarred as the swell rolled, and you could hear faintly the -jump of the wheel chains to the sharp but swiftly arrested shear of the -tiller.</p> - -<p>The captain with his cap off disclosed a lofty but receding brow, -rounding with something of the curve of the egg-shell at the temples, -and his long hair and the growth about his cheeks and chin made him -look more like a poet than a salted skipper. Hardy had taken notice -that he stared at the man he talked to, which is contrary to the notion -that the insane have a wandering eye. But that Captain Layard was not -absolutely right in his mind the young sailor was convinced, as he sat -at the foot of the table cutting himself a plate of beef and ham.</p> - -<p>"Captain Pearson made poor passages on the whole, I've understood," -said Captain Layard, referring to the commander he had replaced. -"He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> was a very cautious man, furled his royals every second -dog-watch, and would snug his ship down to the first hint in the glass -to save calling all hands."</p> - -<p>"I was told he was loved by his crew, sir," answered Hardy. "And he -seems to have been the most humane commander that ever sailed out of -the port of London."</p> - -<p>"Well, it is right that sailors should be treated as men," said -Layard, staring at Hardy; "but most of them are fools, they are -children, they don't or can't understand things." He put down his knife -and fork, drew out a handkerchief and wiped the palms of his hands, -then poured a wine-glass of rum into a tumbler, and filling the glass -with water swallowed the ruddy draught.</p> - -<p>"Some more biscuit, father," said the child.</p> - -<p>An expression of tenderness, even like that which might spring from -a mother's heart, softened the captain's singular and striking face as -he looked at the boy whilst he gave him a biscuit. He stared again at -Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Sailors," said he, "don't see things from a right point of view. -There was a seaman who wanted a Blackwall cap to wear at the wheel. -To make it he cut up his go-ashore breeches, and to trim and bind the -edges he cut up a new Dungaree jumper. The cap cost him a pound, but he -believed he had got it for nothing because he had made it himself."</p> - -<p>Whilst Hardy was laughing, for the captain told this story in a -dry manner, and with a twinkle of eye that certainly did not hint at -insanity, a voice was heard in the companionway:</p> - -<p>"There's a heavy fog rolled down upon us, sir, and it's as thick -as cheese to the ship's sides."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> <p>It was the voice -of Mr. Candy, the second mate, and a moment after his step could be -heard in the plank overhead as he walked to the bulwark rail.</p> - -<p>The captain sprang up and went on deck; Hardy continued to eat his -supper, and talked to the little boy. It was his watch below, and -he was too old a shell to quit the meal until all hands should be -summoned, which a quiet fog, however dense, topped by a reassuring -barometer, was not very likely to occasion.</p> - -<p>The fog, nevertheless, had rolled down quickly through the gloom of -the early night on the gust of the black breeze, still nor'west. Black -it was. Nothing was visible of the ship but a few spokes of light, -like the arrested darting of meteoric fibres spiking from the glass on -the skylight in a fiery arch. When the darkness of the night dyes the -darkness of fog then the universal blackness is so deep that you might -think the solid globe had vanished, and that you hung in the centre of -space, death-dark and silent, moonless and starless, chaotic with dumb -masses of the deep electric dye.</p> - -<p>This night the fancy would have been easily inspired by the hush -upon the sea, for the sails floated stirless; there was not wind -enough to brush the salt curve into the expiring hiss of foam, and the -invisible swell so lightly swayed the eclipsed fabric that only now and -again did you catch the sad note of the sea, sobbing along the bends, -and hiddenly passing away into the short wake in sighs and tones of -weeping.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Candy!" called the captain.</p> - -<p>"Sir!" came the answer out of the soft invisibility in which the -bulwarks abreast were buried.</p> - -<p>They came together in the spokes of radiance about the skylight.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> <p>"Clew up all three royals and furl them. Let -go all three topgallant halliards; the sails may hang. Haul up the -mainsail; brail in the mizzen, and down flying and outer jibs, topmast -and topgallant staysails, but leave the sails unfurled. See that your -side-lights are burning brightly, and bend your sharpest ear over the -water for a noise. Was anything in sight before this smother rolled -down?"</p> - -<p>"I saw nothing, sir. It was a bit thick before the fog came along, -and then it came in a wall."</p> - -<p>The captain went to the side to look over and mark the ship's pace, -and the second mate began to sing out. One watch sufficed. There was -little to do but let go with the drag of the downhauls; and the clews -of the great mainsail rose to the slings to the sound of a few ocean -yelps and a "<i>Chiliman</i>" chorus. The men were not to be seen until they -ran up against you. They felt for the ropes, and their footfalls were -like the pattering of dead leaves on a pavement to a sudden air of -wind, strangely threading with the shore-going sound the squeak of the -sheave, the rasp of rope, and the soft scraping of parrel descending -the greased topgallant heights. The side-lights were reported as -burning bravely.</p> - -<p>The ship now had little more than steerage way, and the captain, -after looking into the compass, and after repeating his instructions to -the second mate to keep his best ear seawards and on either bow, said -he would send the dog on deck, and returned to the cabin.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VI.</span> <span class="smaller">THE SHIP'S LOOKOUT</span></h2> - -<p>Captain Layard entered the cabin and called to the dog, which -instantly sprang up.</p> - -<p>"Sailor, go on deck and keep a lookout," said he, and in a breath -the Newfoundland rushed up the companion-steps and vanished.</p> - -<p>"He hasn't had his supper yet, father," exclaimed the little boy.</p> - -<p>"I will send it forward to him," answered the captain, seating -himself in the chair he had vacated, and helping himself to a piece of -chicken.</p> - -<p>Hardy had risen when Layard entered, but seeing the captain sit he -resumed his place. His watch would come round at eight o'clock. There -would be little time for sleep if he withdrew to his berth. He had -supped well, had drunk a glass of grog, had enjoyed his chat with the -little boy, whose charming face and sweet, ingenuous, yet manly prattle -delighted him; he was comfortable, and the captain inspired no feeling -of restraint nor sense of intrusion, so he sat on.</p> - -<p>"The fog is as thick as mud in a wine-glass," exclaimed Captain -Layard. "Some go fast and some go slow through these smothers. The fast -man holds that a ship is under more immediate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> control when -travelling; I am a slow man when I can't see. In fact," he continued, -with a look of exaltation, with a smile of profound self-complacency, -"I claim to know my business. There is no man afloat who is going to -teach me what to do when a thing is to be done, and done properly."</p> - -<p>"If all ships would heave to," said Hardy, witnessing the captain's -mind in the expression which subtly interpreted it, "then it would be -the right thing in a fog to stop your engines, or back your topsail. -But it's the other fellow you can't see that makes the fear." He -immediately added, "Your dog is extraordinarily sagacious, sir."</p> - -<p>"It amused me to train him," replied the captain, smoothing Johnny's -little hand as it lay upon the table. "There is no fog-horn which -equals the screams of an irritated sow. A sow once saved me from a -collision by causing a dog, in an invisible ship close aboard on the -starboard bow, to bark. That put the idea into my head. Sailor has the -voice of a trombone, and he didn't need much training either; he is now -perched between the knight-heads with more searching eyes and clearer -ears than the whole ship's company could put together if they made -their heads into one."</p> - -<p>Hardy laughed.</p> - -<p>"Don't forget Sailor's supper, father," said Johnny.</p> - -<p>"I'll not forget," answered the captain.</p> - -<p>As he spoke the words the man who waited on the cabin came down the -steps.</p> - -<p>"Is it still very thick?" asked the captain.</p> - -<p>"Blinding, sir," was the answer.</p> - -<p>"Get the dog's supper, and take it to him on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> -fok'sle," said Captain Layard. "See that he has water; it may be an -all-night job for him. Pearson was a very humane man," he went on, -addressing Hardy. "I might guess that by the medicine-chest he's left -me. I overhauled it before we sailed, and wondered at the quantity of -sleeping and death stuffs it contained. I found out that in one of his -passages home from Calcutta several men died of cholera, and he was -at his wits' ends for drugs. Ships bound to India should always carry -a surgeon; they would—they must, if there are passengers. But -glauber salts are good things for Jack: 'tis an all-round physic, as -good for smallpox as for indigestion." He laughed somewhat heartily, -and continued, "Pearson's men might have died to a man, for his -medicine-chest showed badly like the end of a long voyage. Fortunately -half of them took it into their heads to live, and they got the ship -home. After this Pearson never went to sea without plenty of drink for -cholera. He's left some doctor's handbook on the diseases of sailors, -and there's a volume on poisons full of pencil marks. His humanity was -unwearying, but he got the sack all the same. Johnny, my darling, it's -time for bed. Come along, my lamb."</p> - -<p>He took the boy by the hand, and they went into the captain's cabin, -the child crying as his father opened the door, "Good night, Mr. -Hardy."</p> - -<p>It was half-past seven; Hardy went into his berth to smoke a pipe -before relieving the deck. The captain's cabin glowed with the soft -illumination of an oil lamp screwed to a bulkhead, and swinging in its -bracket to the heave. It was a fine large cabin, equipped with a table -covered with green baize on which were writing materials, nautical -instruments,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> and such things; a fore-and-aft bunk for the captain, -and a brass cot at the foot of the bunk, safely secured to the deck, -for Johnny. It was comfortable with a carpet, chairs, a short sofa, a -chest of drawers, and washstand. Close beside Johnny's cot on the deck -was the boy's drum.</p> - -<p>The captain began to undress the little fellow, who talked to him -of Mr. Hardy; he said he wished Mr. Hardy could sleep with them. No -mother ever used a tenderer hand in putting her child to bed than did -this strange sea-captain, mad or not mad. His eyes were tender, twice -he kissed the boy's fair brow; he seemed reluctant to make an end of -this undressing, as though he loved to have his hands upon the child, -to have his face close to him.</p> - -<p>"Now your prayers, Johnny," said he. And the boy knelt by his cot, -and in words he had learnt from his father, prayed that his mother -would look down and watch over them both, and that God would bless his -father and himself.</p> - -<p>The captain stood by in devout posture, and whispered the words -which the child uttered, then hoisted the little fellow into bed, -covered him up, and kissed him.</p> - -<p>"Mayn't Mr. Hardy come and see me in bed?" said the child.</p> - -<p>"Ay," answered the captain, and he stepped to the door, and called -the chief officer by name.</p> - -<p>Hardy instantly came out, leaving his pipe behind him.</p> - -<p>"Come and see my boy in bed," said the captain.</p> - -<p>Hardy, not knowing that this was due to the child and not to the -father, was secretly astonished, for though he had always lived -on very good terms with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> the captains he had sailed with, -he had never met any commander who treated him just as though they -occupied the same platform.</p> - -<p>He followed him into his cabin, and the boy with his bright hair on -the pillow smiled a greeting.</p> - -<p>"It is a beautiful bed, Johnny," said the mate, stepping close to -the cot, and looking at him with the affection which such a child as -this will excite in a sailor's heart at sea, moved by thoughts of -home and of the fair land he has left, of his own childhood perhaps, -and visited by that mute sense of solitude, peril, and the holy and -brooding presence of the Great Spirit, which is the impulse of the -deep, and understood by those to whom the ocean, eternal and boundless -in the constant recession of its horizon, is an interpretable face. He -turned to the captain and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"If your boy ever dreams, sir, it is of the angels who guard his -bed."</p> - -<p>He kissed the little chap, and was going.</p> - -<p>"A moment, Mr. Hardy," exclaimed the captain, who did not seem to -have caught or noticed what the mate said. "This is an example of old -Pearson's forethought and humanity."</p> - -<p>He stepped, followed by Hardy, to a corner of the cabin, in which -stood a small mahogany chest, and lifted the lid. This lid was -furnished with scissors, syringes, and the like, and the contents of -the chest consisted of a number of stoppered green bottles, as well as -sticking-plaster, lint, and surgical instruments. The captain, pointing -to the bottles as he spoke, said:</p> - -<p>"This is laudanum; this is labelled morphia; this is atropine -for the ulcerated eye; this is chlorodyne.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> Here are drugs enough -to start a man as a chemist. This is a book," said he, half lifting a -thin volume from a pocket and letting it slip back, "that tells you how -to make use of all this stuff; ay, even the right dose of Glauber's -salt is given."</p> - -<p>"I hope there's no chance of Master Johnny handling those bottles, -sir?" said the mate, who, though he gazed with curiosity at this -revelation of the open lid, was not inattentive to the expression of -the commander's face, which was one of superiority, as though he had -appropriated and was triumphing in the merits of the kind foresight -which were certainly not his but Pearson's.</p> - -<p>"You will never look into this chest, Johnny?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"His mother was the very soul of honour," exclaimed Captain -Layard, "and that child cannot but be the spirit of truth and honesty -itself."</p> - -<p>He shut the lid and added, "Where, I wonder, does the human soul -come from? The father cannot give his, or a portion of his, to the -child, nor can the mother, for that might involve the forfeiture of -their title to immortality. The great poet must be right; the soul -which informs a child, which spiritualises it in the womb and at its -birth, must come from God, who is its Home. What a wonderful thought! -What a revelation it has been to me! What an assurance and promise!"</p> - -<p>He stood gazing steadfastly at Hardy, who, saying, a little -uneasily, "These are matters quite beyond me, sir," again made for -the door, through which he passed in silence, the captain standing -motionless, his hands clasped before him, and his eyes seeming to see -something beyond the bulkhead, upon which he had fastened them.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> <p>At eight o'clock Hardy's watch came round. He -went on deck in a very thoughtful state, and the deep dye of that -tremendous void of black vapour was very well qualified to darken his -mood into the hue of the crow—a bird deemed portentous in ancient -seafaring. He stood in the spokes of lamp-sheen about the skylight and -called to Mr. Candy, who came upon him suddenly out of some part of the -deck like a man walking through a glass in a dark room. He exchanged -a few sentences with this second mate, but they wholly concerned -the business of the ship. Candy was not a person to take into one's -confidence; his silver-white lash shaded a pale eye that marked one -of those souls which, as you cannot make up your mind about them, -you resolve to distrust; otherwise Hardy, in defiance of all law of -discipline, and even of sea-breeding, would, in the humour of anxiety -that then possessed him, have been glad to hear Mr. Candy's opinion of -the commander.</p> - -<p>The second mate went below to bed after reporting that he had -visited the forecastle, and found the Newfoundland awake and vigilant, -also that two hands paced the forward-deck as lookouts.</p> - -<p>The air of wind was still northwest; it breathed with just weight -enough to steady the topsails and the foresail. As the ship leaned -with the languid heave of the sea, the sails hanging from the yards on -the caps, and the festooned clews of the invisible mainsail, flapped -in strokes of the pinions of mammoth birds winging betwixt the masts. -The lap of the brine against the bows, which were slowly breaking -the hidden waters, saddened the blindness of the night with a note -of supernatural pain and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> grief. The ship was moving slowly, -and, as before, nothing of her was distinguishable but the dim lustre -smoking in hurrying streams and wreaths of vapour about the skylight -and about the binnacle-stand.</p> - -<p>It was damp, depressing, heart-subduing. The philosophy of the -mariner, which is one of endurance, and of that species of submission -which is attended with sea blessings and the profanities of the -ocean-parlour, breaks down in the fog. Here is the helplessness, here -is the sealed eye, the spiriting of groping anxiety, which is a sort -of anguish. It is not his ship or himself that he fears; the emotions -bred by fog are ahead or abeam, and it need not be steam, for a dirty -little brig or schooner, with her half-dozen of a crew shouting their -consternation under the foretopmast stay, has been known to smite and -sink an ocean palace full of light, of superb machinery, of saloon -tables glowing with fruit and plate, and populous with diners.</p> - -<p>The deck was not to be comfortably measured in a quarter-deck walk, -in blackness so dense that if you swerved by so much as two degrees of -angle of foot you thumped your breast against the bulwarks. Hardy laid -hold of the wet weather vang on the quarter and fell into reflection, -for loneliness breeds thought, and no man is more lonely than the -officer of the watch on board a merchantman. His mind went again to -Julia Armstrong, but it had found an unsettling fascination in Captain -Layard, and it quickly returned to him. He could not doubt that he -was a little mad; his ideas were strange, yet his speculations showed -thought and culture. He was insane to one to whom he talked freely, -but to his crew, to whom he would not and did not talk, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> -must be the commonplace "old man" of the quarter-deck, and in this way -Hardy feared he might prove dangerous even to tragedy.</p> - -<p>The ship's bell was hung in the wake of the galley, and a little -clock, illuminated by a bull's-eye lamp, was hung up under a penthouse -on a timber erection just before it. A lookout man would walk to the -clock to see the time, and at ten he struck "four bells," at which hour -it was as black and thick as ever after its first coming; the light -breeze blew, and the ship swayed softly through the void.</p> - -<p>Hardy made his way forward to see to the dog. He struck between two -men who were walking the deck, and one muttered, "What cheer?"</p> - -<p>"By God, my lads," said Hardy, "you'll not find out what a wolf's -had for dinner by squinting down his throat!"</p> - -<p>There was a faint haze about the forescuttle: it came up into the -inky thickness from the forecastle lamp. It was a slight relief, and -even a rest for the eye, but the shadow forward was deeper than it was -aft, for up there in the void was the raven thundercloud of foresail -and foretopsail, and further forward yet, like ebon waterspouts soaring -from sea to topmast head, were the midnight dyes of the jib and -staysail.</p> - -<p>Hardy found the night-lights burning brightly, and going toward -the heel of the bowsprit he touched the Newfoundland lookout with his -foot. He patted the invisible, shaggy head, and passed his arm around -its neck, and pressed the creature's long wet jaw to his breast, a -token of love and encouragement which the dog acknowledged by a grunt -or two of happiness.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> <p>"Keep a bright lookout, -Sailor," said Hardy, patting the shaggy, invisible head again, and -knowing there were two human lookouts somewhere about, he called, and -they answered out of the black blankness to leeward. Well, he could not -tell them to keep their eyes skinned, for the sight of man and even of -dog lay dead upon that forecastle, but he directed them to listen with -all their might, to go often to the head-rail and strain their ears, -and they answered, "Ay, ay, sir."</p> - -<p>Very plainly on this forecastle did you hear the sulky sob of the -sea like something large and timid, gasping to the rude shock of the -stem. The ocean hissed a little here and there, but the light wind -could not give life enough to the glance of the curl of sea to strike -through it to the eye, even though one looked straight down over the -rail.</p> - -<p>Hardy slowly made his way aft, and on approaching the binnacle -discerned the captain standing in the faint sheen close to the -helmsman.</p> - -<p>"I never remember a thicker fog," said the captain, and he asked -questions about the lookout, the dog, and the side-lights. Then walking -out of the binnacle haze he struck the bulwarks almost abreast, and -Hardy followed and stood alongside.</p> - -<p>"Whenever I am in this sort of thing," said Captain Layard, "I think -of the blind. It is terrible to wake of a bright morning to the eternal -darkness of one's life. I should fear the presence of visions in that -everlasting gloom. It would be haunted with phantoms, and as thick-set -with wild, grotesque, horrible, brassy faces as the human eye when -morphia closes the lid."</p> - -<p>"My father is, as you know, sir, a doctor," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -Hardy, "and I've heard him speak of the blind. He declares they are -less to be pitied than the stone deaf." The captain pshaw'd. "He would -say," continued Hardy, "contrast the faces of the two afflictions. They -both force the mind's eye more deeply inwards, but in the one there -is the pain of attention ever strained and a baffled, helpless look, -whilst the other is mild and restful as though it had found peace in -its communes with God."</p> - -<p>"Your father may be a very clever man," said Captain Layard, "but -I have no faith in doctors. I have never met a doctor who did me any -good, and I have been ill in my time, believe me. They let my wife -die."</p> - -<p>He paused as if in some passage of deep emotion. In this interval -Hardy thought to himself what an extraordinary conversation for the -quarter-deck of a ship, close upon midnight, in a dense fog!</p> - -<p>Some hanging fold of canvas flapped aloft. In a voice as changed as -though he was acting, the captain exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"That's the speech of a sail that asks to be furled. The glass is -high, and there's no foul weather anywhere. If the breeze freshens by -ever so little, or if this light air draws ahead, call me, sir."</p> - -<p>There was positive refreshment in this plain speech of the sea to -Hardy, who on replying to the captain found that he had gone, and in -the steaming faintness hovering in the companion just caught a sight of -his head disappearing.</p> - -<p>Eleven bells had been struck, and Hardy was beginning to think that -it would be eight bells soon, which must signify shelter, freedom from -the dwarfish drench of the vapour, as fine but as penetrating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> -as rain in Lilliput, a warm blanket, half a pipe, and then oblivion -for an off-shore spell of nearly four hours, when on a sudden the dog -barked. The tones were deep and constant, and to the first roll of -those organ notes the loose wet canvas beat the masts aloft in a sudden -heave of the whole fabric, and an element of alarm and even of fearful -expectation entered the black void and thickened it, and seemed to -close it round about till the smoking colour of light on forecastle -and quarter-deck dimmed into the preternatural faintness of the salt -sea glow when it shudders a fathom deep under some smooth tropic -surface.</p> - -<p>The dog continued to bark, and there was an importunate vehemence -in his notes, a bounding pulse of urgency as though the noble creature -with instincts superior to man's knew that a matter of life or death -was concerned in his sentinel bugling. Voices sounded forward, you -heard a hurry of feet; again the ship leaned, and the sails smote -the masts with an alarum sound of metal; and to the accompaniment of -this midnight concert, made ghastly by blackness, by the overwhelming -blindness of fog and by the presence of danger, Hardy rushed forward, -taking his chance of what might be in the road.</p> - -<p>"Jump for a port-fire, one of you," he shouted, sending his cry slap -into a very web of seamen's growling voices, the owners of which were -no more to be seen than the ship's keel. "What is it, Sailor?"</p> - -<p>And now he was alongside the dog, and with his hand on its head -felt in the direction of the creature's muzzle, and found that it was -delivering its notes straight away over the head-rail, about two points -on the weather bow.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> <p>"Wheel, there!" he roared. -"Starboard your helm. Let her go off five points."</p> - -<p>"Starboard it is, sir," came back the answer.</p> - -<p>"See that sheen out to starboard there, sir?" rang out a voice which -sounded clear through the barking of the dog.</p> - -<p>"Hush! Sailor. Down, sir. Hush, my beauty," cried Hardy, and the dog -was instantly silent. "Hark! now."</p> - -<p>A sort of oozing of light, dimly scarlet, wild and weak and wet -as some ghostly star of death hovering over a grave, was visible to -windward, a trifle forward of the fore-rigging. "Hark!" cried Hardy, -and sure enough amid the greasy slopping of water, falling lazily -from the thrust of the ship's bow, they could hear a distant noise of -shouting, of cries reëchoed as from one part of a deck to the other, -with a deeper threading of some throat hoarse in a speaking-trumpet.</p> - -<p>"Is the mate forward?" sang out the voice of the ship's -carpenter.</p> - -<p>"Fire one right away off," shouted Hardy, knowing what the fellow -had got and meant.</p> - -<p>In a few heart-beats a stream of sun-bright fire was pouring -like water from a hose over the bow, but its lightning illumination -touched but a narrow stretch of the dark water. The foresail turned -of a sickly yellow, and the staysail soared wan as the wing of the -albatross in dying moonlight. All above and abaft, and then forward -to the flying-jib boom end, yards and sailcloth lay steeped in the -impenetrable smother, and within the area of the light the fog -drove slowly in a very Milky Way of silver crystals. But the men -could see one another, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> helped by the light Hardy sped aft to -be near the wheel, and there he found Captain Layard.</p> - -<p>"There's a ship off the starboard bow, sir," he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"They'll never see that port fire," answered the commander. "They're -burning flares, or we shouldn't see <i>her</i>. A foreigner, by the row. -How's she heading?"</p> - -<p>That question was answered even as he asked it by the revelation of -a ship. It had the suddenness of a magic-lantern picture flung swiftly. -They saw at the range of a pistol a lurid shape, which they easily -distinguished as a barque with painted ports, a tall poop, and a tall -topgallant forecastle. She was burning flares upon her main-deck and -waist, and the red flames, winding tongues of fire into feathers of -soot-black smoke, jewelled the whole apparition with red-hot stars. -They pierced through the fog like sunlit rubies from glass and brass, -from wet plank and mast, and the grease of spars. She was so close that -she shone out clearly, and made light enough for the people of the -<i>York</i> to see by. Her helm was hard up and she was slowly paying off, -but her flying-jib boom must catch the mizzen-rigging of the Australian -clipper. You heard the splintering of wood aloft, the crash of nearer -timber, broken off carrot-like betwixt a lazy roll of both ships.</p> - -<p>The barque's decks were a sight for the gods. Figures of men could -be seen rushing frantically here and there. They were all shouting; -men on the poop were screeching orders, and nothing but the helm -gave heed; men on the forecastle were roaring and flourishing their -fists. The flames duplicated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> the shadows of the running figures; -painted lines of the rigging upon the planks writhed between the -water-ways, like serpents snaking their attenuated lengths overboard. -Never did any sea light flash up a more startling, a wilder, a more -ghastly tapestry. 'Twas like a painting in flames and ruddy stars upon -the black canvas of the fog, and the hull, with its lines of ports -like the keys of a piano, reeled slowly off on the lift of the brine, -yard-arm to yard-arm, the beating canvas of each red as the powder -flag, and dying out up aloft like the reflection of a burning ship upon -a cloud.</p> - -<p>It was all too breathless for action aboard the <i>York</i>. Before a -brace could be let go, before an order could be yelled, the stranger's -flying-jib boom was crackling and gone, and her topgallantmast, -with its canvas, was plastering the topsail; and then it was almost -channel to channel, and the barque's poop was abreast of the <i>York's</i> -quarter-deck.</p> - -<p>"Great God!" cried Hardy.</p> - -<p>A figure standing near the stranger's mizzen-rigging fell, and -another figure fled aft, but at that instant some back draught -of breeze thickened the crystals of the fog smoking close to the -stranger's taffrail with a dense feathering of the black stench from -the flares; the burning picture vanished out astern, as though to the -fall of a curtain of midnight hue, the sounds of shouting sank, and in -the hush that fell upon the <i>York's</i> deck, nothing was to be heard but -the dreary lamentations of broken water under the bows, and the weeping -noise of eddies under the counter.</p> - -<p>"A close shave!" said Captain Layard, fetching a deep breath. -"She has not hurt us, I think."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> <p>"I saw a man -fall as if stabbed," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Back the topsail! I'll keep the ship hove to till we can see," -exclaimed the captain, whose attention, concentrated by the sudden -blackness into which the ship had floated, was wholly in the -manœuvre he had commanded.</p> - -<p>The order was sung out, the sailors came groping their way aft to -the main-braces, the yards were swung, and the ship was brought to a -stand, lightly rolling her masts with a slap of hidden pinion, which -made you think of some gigantic navy signal-man waving flags.</p> - -<p>"My noble dog has saved my ship," exclaimed the captain. "I am a -remarkable man!" And, to use a Paddyism, Hardy could <i>hear</i> in the -skipper's speech the expression of exaltation which his face did -undoubtedly wear. The skipper whistled, and in a few moments felt -the snout of the fine black creature pressing lovingly against his -thigh.</p> - -<p>"Come along below," said he, passing his hand caressingly along the -invisible feathers of the dog's back, "till I dry you and see how you -look, and we'll take a peep at Johnny." And he and the dog vanished.</p> - -<p>Just at that moment eight bells were struck. It was midnight, and -the starboard watch must tend the ship till four. Whilst the last -chimes were trembling into the damp, depressing, flapping sounds which -clothed the obscured heights, the chief mate was hailed by a man whose -voice proceeded from abreast of the gangway. Hardy stepped to the -companion where the sheen lay, and exclaimed, "I am here." At the same -moment Mr. Candy came out of the companion and joined him. Before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -one could address the other, three figures entered the space of faint -saturated light.</p> - -<p>"Here's a man," said one of them, "that's jumped aboard us off the -barque. He come up to me and asked to see the capt'n."</p> - -<p>"Which is the man?" said Hardy, straining his sight.</p> - -<p>One of them said, "I am, mister. I am French." And then in French he -asked if Hardy spoke that tongue.</p> - -<p>"No," answered Hardy. "Come below into the cabin to the captain."</p> - -<p>And after a few words with Mr. Candy, who heard now for the first -time that they had nearly been run into by a tall French barque, he -went down the cabin steps, followed by the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>In this interior plenty of light was shining, and it was as noontide -after the midnight of the deck. The captain was near the table drying -the dog with a cloth, and talking to him, and praising him as though he -were a man, and the creature's mild and benevolent eyes looked up into -his face, and you read gratitude and affection in the noble brute.</p> - -<p>"Who's that?" said the captain, throwing the cloth down, and looking -with a knitted brow at the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>"He will explain, sir," Hardy answered.</p> - -<p>"Softly," exclaimed the captain, "an angel lies asleep in that -cabin," and with a melodramatic flourish of his arm, he pointed to the -door of his berth.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman looked at Hardy. He was a man of middle height, in a -drill or thin canvas blouse, over which was buttoned at the throat a -rough, old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> jacket, the sleeves hanging loose. He wore blue -trousers patched with black, stuffed into half-boots bronzed by wear -and brine. His black hair curled upon his shoulders, and he held a cap -fashioned out of some sort of skin. His face was a ghastly yellow; his -lips a vivid red; his nose long, lean, and humped, and the black pupils -of his eyes sparkled in the flashes of the swinging lamp amid their -whites, which, by the way, were crimson with drink or gout, or both. It -was a face to peer at you, malevolently, from a time-darkened canvas, -very picturesque, very romantic, but something that you would not like -to think was treading behind you on a lonely road.</p> - -<p>"Who are you?" said the captain, putting his hand upon the head of -the dog, in whose body a sort of rolling noise might have been heard, -not quite a growl, but a note as of suspicion grumbling deep down below -the throat.</p> - -<p>"You speak French, I hope, sar?" said the man.</p> - -<p>"And you speak English!" responded the captain, with a side look and -a grin at Hardy. "It's no business of yours whether I speak French or -not. Start your yarn."</p> - -<p>And the man, clearly understanding what was said, began.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VII.</span> <span class="smaller">THE FRENCH MATE</span></h2> - -<p>I have said that the man, clearly understanding the captain's -meaning, began; but it was not a beginning, nor a middle, nor an end, -that could be set down in black and white in that Frenchman's speech. -It was most barbarous English, yet intelligible when helped along by -the captain's and Hardy's questions. It must be given in plain words to -be readable, and thus spoke that sinister-looking man:</p> - -<p>"My name is Pierre Renaud. I am chief mate of the barque that was -just now nearly running into you. We are from Cape Town to Bordeaux. -That dog threatens my throat."</p> - -<p>The man flashed the poniards of his eyes at the Newfoundland, who -was like an organ with one key going, trembling in its shaggy and -splendid bulk with a low, sulky, dangerous growling.</p> - -<p>"Down!" said the captain, and the animal stretched its fore legs. -"What brings you aboard us?"</p> - -<p>"Fear," replied the man, with a slight shrug and a look of arching -eyebrow at his questioner, and a roll of the eye over him, as though he -saw something singular in his face and manner. "A man loves his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -life and will jump to save it. I thought we should crush our bows in -and founder."</p> - -<p>"You did not stay to help your captain and encourage the men to -preserve your ship," said Captain Layard, dabbing the dog's head to -keep him quiet.</p> - -<p>"The captain fell dead in a fright," responded the Frenchman, with -another shrug, "and I chose to save myself."</p> - -<p>"I saw a man fall," exclaimed Hardy. "Was that you that rushed along -the poop?"</p> - -<p>"How can I answer you?" replied the Frenchman. "We were all -rushing."</p> - -<p>"The captain fell dead!" said Captain Layard, in a musing way. "It's -evident that French sea-captains die easily. When did you strike this -fog?"</p> - -<p>"I cannot say precisely. Some hours since," was the reply. "When we -heard the barking of a dog we knew that a ship was near, and we judged -by the barking that she was approaching. We lighted fires upon the -decks, and when the glare gave us a sight of you the sailors lost their -senses, and ran about shouting and screeching. They were too mad to -obey orders. The captain fell as I ran past him, his hands clasped upon -his heart, and as he had all along complained of the weakness of that -organ, I am certain he died of disease."</p> - -<p>"Your countrymen are not good sailors," said Captain Layard.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman grinned ghastly, and Sailor rumbled afresh with a -stiffening of his level fore legs as though he must rise.</p> - -<p>"If I had been your captain," continued Layard, "I should have -saved my flying-jib boom and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> topgallantmast, and my sailors would -not have rushed about and torn their throats open with the shrieks of -fear—that womanly spirit!"</p> - -<p>His smile was lofty, his self-complacency inexpressible, you guessed -if there had been a mirror at hand he would have admired himself in -it.</p> - -<p>His talk, but not his face, was past the Frenchman's comprehension. -He rolled his eyes upon Hardy, then upon a decanter half-full of rum, -standing upon a swinging tray, timing the pulse of the sea.</p> - -<p>"He asks for a drink, sir," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Give him a tot," replied Captain Layard, "then let the second mate -tell the bo'sun to find him a hole to lie down in. I don't like his -looks."</p> - -<p>He walked abruptly to his berth, followed by the dog, but before he -entered he turned to the animal and exclaimed, "On deck, Sailor, and -keep a lookout till the smother thins," and the Newfoundland sprang up -the steps.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman, with a smile at Hardy, touched his brow. The mate, -without noticing the fellow's gesture, took the decanter of rum from -the swing tray and gave him a glass of grog. As he handed the tumbler -to the man, he said:</p> - -<p>"Was your captain the man who stood near the mizzen-rigging?"</p> - -<p>The Frenchman took a long pull at the glass before answering, and -then said, "Yes."</p> - -<p>"Do you think he fell dead, or was he struck down?" said Hardy, -looking critically at the wild and dangerous face, whose eyes stared -into the Englishman's vision with the fixity of a buried bayonet.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> <p>"He fell dead," was the answer, and down went -the remainder of the grog.</p> - -<p>"I believe I saw a man rush from him aft when he fell," said -Hardy.</p> - -<p>An expression of anger deepened the ugly devil's look of -malevolence, but he held his peace.</p> - -<p>"Your captain is dead and you are here," said Hardy. "Your second -mate will take charge of the barque, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Our second mate was drowned a week after we left the Cape," -answered the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>"What will the crew do?"</p> - -<p>"They will go to hell!"</p> - -<p>"Follow me," said Hardy, and they climbed the companion-steps.</p> - -<p>The wind was sleeping. It was now a dead calm, and the fog steeped -in night was lifting into the sight—conquering blackness off -an ocean that seemed to be boiling upon some furnace of earth miles -deep. Damp draughts of air blew with the rolling of the ship, and the -canvas beat out hollow notes like the blasts of guns heard underground. -The chief mate called the name of Mr. Candy, who stepped out of the -impenetrable profound of the quarter.</p> - -<p>"This man," said Hardy, talking in the skylight sheen, "is mate of -the barque we were foul of just now. Take him forward to the bo'sun and -find him a bed anywhere, and food if he needs it."</p> - -<p>"I don't need it," said the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>"Come along," said Mr. Candy, and they disappeared.</p> - -<p>Hardy paused to listen and peer. There was nothing to see, but he -might have heard a sound of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> weeping all about, as though old -ocean was mourning over its blindness. He then went to bed, but not -to sleep right away. The Frenchman's insolent touching of his brow -had accentuated his own deep suspicion of the captain's sanity, and -very grave, though perplexed, reflection attended his thoughts of -Layard, and the tragically perilous situation of the ship in charge of -a lunatic so subtly mad that no one but his chief officer might have -understanding enough to see how it was with him.</p> - -<p>At eight bells in the middle watch he was aroused by Mr. Candy, and -was on deck in a minute or two, for he was a smart man all around; the -first at the yard-arm in reefing when his duties had carried him there, -the first to spring to the cry, no matter the command, swift in relief, -and for ever on the alert whilst the responsibility of life, cargo, -and fabric was his. The fog was still very thick, but a thin wind had -sprung up out of the east, and the streaming of the waters was like -the shaling of a summer tide upon shingle. The braces had been manned -when this weak air came, and the yards swung to hold the maintopsail -aback; the ship rolled gently under the arrest of her canvas, and there -was nothing to see and nothing to do but let the fog soak into the -spirits.</p> - -<p>"A spare bunk in the forecastle has been found for the French mate," -Candy had said. The fellow had grumbled, muttered that he had been -an officer on board his own vessel, and deserved better usage. Candy -said he was lucky to save his life, and to find a bed in a British -forecastle. The Frenchman growled that he considered himself important -enough to sleep in the cabin.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> <p>"What did you -say to that?" Hardy had asked.</p> - -<p>"I said, 'You be damned!'" Candy replied.</p> - -<p>Not until five bells, half-past six, in Hardy's watch did the fog -show signs of breaking up. It thinned in places, and presently through -the stretching ceiling of it the cold, pale dawn looked down upon the -sea, and made it piebald with granite-coloured spaces. The breeze -then freshened and the fog began to fly. Columns of it moved away -stately like pillars of sand on the desert; it swept in Titan cobwebs -between the masts; it sped like silken veils streaming from viewless -fleeting spirits over the trucks. Wide vistas opened to windward; -large blue eyes, soft with the moistness of their light, floated upon -the trembling eastern brine. The sun darted a pale yellow lance, and -as the captain put his head through the companion-hatch the scene of -deep, saving a blankness in the west, opened around, and it was a -shining morning with a bright sun and a blue sea and an azure sky and a -pleasant breeze of wind.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had the captain's head shown when Hardy, looking seawards -over the quarter, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"There's the barque that fouled us last night, sir. She's got a wift -at her mizzen-peak."</p> - -<p>She could be no other vessel than the barque; the morning light was -strong and she lay within a mile, and you could see that she had lost -her foretopgallantmast and jib-booms. Her maintopsail was aback; she -had clearly hove to after losing her mate and splintering clear of the -ship and the smother. Her backed topsail curved inwards like carved -ivory, her ruddy sheathing flashed its wet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> length to the sun -as the heave rolled her light, tall shape, with its slanting stare of -black ports, upon the wide white line that girdled her.</p> - -<p>"Why is she flying that gamp?" said the captain, taking a telescope -out of the companionway; but before he levelled it at the ship he sent -a glance full of scrutiny aloft to gather if his vessel had been hurt -in the night, which was distinctly professional and sane, and quite -enough to have convinced the Jacks that the "old man" knew the time of -day, even if they suspected that the compass of his mind was wrong by -points.</p> - -<p>The gamp, as he termed the wift, consisted of the French flag -stopped in the middle, that is, bound by a rope yarn into the -appearance of a gamp umbrella. It tumbled at its block, and was a -syllable of sea talk signifying "help!" The skipper whistled to his -dog, which had kept a brave lookout throughout the night without -relief, and which, seated on the heel of the starboard cathead, seemed -to be listening with a grave countenance to the remarks of an ordinary -seaman who was addressing him. The beautiful and dutiful creature came -bounding aft and pawed his master to the shirt-front, rising nearly his -height.</p> - -<p>"You had better lower a boat and go and see what that fellow wants," -said the captain, and he motioned the dog into the cabin and told it to -wait there for breakfast.</p> - -<p>"They're lowering a boat, and mean to come aboard of us," exclaimed -Hardy, whose eyes were on the barque.</p> - -<p>A boat dropped awkwardly from the vessel's tall side, and in -a minute or two the gold of brandished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> oars sparkled upon -the delicate feathering of the water. The men were washing down aboard -the <i>York</i>. In those days they carried a head pump which they rigged, -and the bright water was passed in buckets and sluiced over the planks, -the boatswain standing by and giving the scrubbers heart by his -inspiriting cries, roars, and oaths. It was a common scene of shipboard -life, full of colour, movement, and business.</p> - -<p>Hardy looked along the decks for the French mate, but did not see -him.</p> - -<p>The captain exclaimed, "We'll send the fellow aboard in his boat. A -good riddance. How some faces damn the souls which animate them! You -seldom err in judging of a man by his looks. The expression is formed -by the character. But affliction may deceive you, I allow; a harelip, -for example, or a cock-eye."</p> - -<p>"Shall I pass the word for the Frenchman, sir?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes! oh, yes, rout him out of it!" answered the captain, -smiling with that air of superiority which would have convicted him in -the eyes of a keeper.</p> - -<p>The word was passed, and the Frenchman, with the aspect of a -pirate in a boy's book, rose through the scuttle as the boat came -alongside. The man who had steered her scrambled into the mizzen-chains -and sprang on to the quarter-deck with a salute of French courtesy. -He was close-shaven and dark, habited in loose blue breeches and a -jumper, and looked a good sailor spite his nationality, that was as -marked in gesture and bearing as though branded on his brow.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> <p>"Can I speak to the captain?" said he, looking -from Hardy to the skipper. His broken English was good.</p> - -<p>"Glad you speak my tongue," said the captain. "What do you want?"</p> - -<p>"I have served in American ships and can speak English," answered -the man. "I am brother of the captain of that barque. He was stabbed -last night and is dead. Our second mate, too, is dead. The first mate -is missing. I'll swear he killed my poor brother, and then drowned -himself. We are without a navigator. What are we to do?"</p> - -<p>"You shall have a navigator," exclaimed Captain Layard, and he -looked toward the forecastle, but the Frenchman had disappeared.</p> - -<p>The man bowed and said, "It was a cold-blooded assassination. They -had been quarrelling all the voyage. The villain chose the right -moment, and the sea is easier than the guillotine."</p> - -<p>"I saw your captain fall," said Hardy, "and the man that killed him -is aboard us."</p> - -<p>The fellow started, and so did his eyeballs in their sockets as he -flashed them eagerly and fiercely along the decks where the sailors -were scrubbing, and the boatswain encouraging them with the pleasant -promptings of the British forecastle: "Scrub it out of 'em, my lads. -D'ye want to drown the ship, you sojer? Slap it along the lee-coaming -and be damned to you, Dick! Ain't it as thick as yer eyebrows there? -Hurry up, hurry up with them buckets. Are we a hexcavator with the -steam turned off?"</p> - -<p>"A hand fetch that Frenchman out of the fok'sle and bring him -aft," shouted Hardy.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> <p>"What do you mean to do with -him?" asked the captain.</p> - -<p>"I will call the crew together and consider," answered the man with -a hideously significant glance at the main yard-arm.</p> - -<p>"If you hang him," said the captain, "who'll navigate you?"</p> - -<p>The fellow folded his arms tightly upon his breast and sank his -head, sending a level look of patient hate through his eyelashes toward -the forecastle.</p> - -<p>"What's your rating aboard your ship?" inquired the captain.</p> - -<p>"Boatswain, sir," was the answer, and the man did not turn his head -to say it.</p> - -<p>The dog at this moment came out of the cabin and stood with his fore -feet on the plank at the coaming, staring at his master. He seemed -to plead. The human spirit could not be more eloquent in the gaze; -but the captain did not heed him, for just then the man who had been -sent to fetch the Frenchman was coming aft, shoulder to shoulder with -the Frenchman himself. The men forgot to scrub; the head pump ceased -to gush; the boatswain left off conjuring and damning. All eyes were -turned aft. The silence of a moment fell upon the ship, and nothing -broke it but the low growling of the Newfoundland.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman, fresh from the forecastle, was ghastly pale; his -walk was defiant; when abreast of the main-hatchway he came more -quickly than his companion, who stopped. He walked up close to -the boatswain of the barque and said, in his native tongue:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> <p>"Well!"</p> - -<p>The other dropped his arms; his hands were clenched, his eyes -charged with that deadly cold light of hate which is more dangerous and -fearful than the flame of fury. He spoke slowly in French, and what he -said was this:</p> - -<p>"You did not drown yourself, I see, after assassinating my -brother."</p> - -<p>"You lie in your throat! I sprang to save my life. Your brother is a -live man for me."</p> - -<p>"Liar, and villain, and execrable coward!"</p> - -<p>He stepped to the rail and said to the men, in French of -course—but you shall be told what he said:</p> - -<p>"The assassin is in this ship. He pretends that he sprang for his -life; he killed my brother, our navigator, and would have consigned us, -helpless, to the desolation of the sea."</p> - -<p>He returned, and was followed by a howl of passion from the boat -alongside.</p> - -<p>All in a minute, and just as the man was posting himself again in -dramatic attitude close to the murderer, the huge Newfoundland, with -an indescribable roar of rage, sprang with the whole weight of his -body upon the French mate, and bore him to the deck with a thump of -lead, like the fall of a twelve-pounder ball, and they thought that the -brute's teeth had met in the wretch's throat. Hardy and the captain -made a rush and dragged the animal off the fallen man, and the captain, -grasping the creature by the coat of his neck, hauled him, growling -fiercely, to the companion, and drove him below.</p> - -<p>The man rose; his nose was bleeding, and after he had run the -length of his sleeve along it his face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> looked like a -decapitated head placed on the upright body it had been struck from.</p> - -<p>"I want to swing my yards," said Captain Layard. "I've been hove to -all night through you. Take that man away; I don't parley-vous myself, -and don't follow your talk. He'll navigate you home; he looks a good -navigator." And he smiled with some sense of superiority of meaning, -which made his face fitter for comedy than for the tragedy of this -passage.</p> - -<p>The French boatswain swept his hand with an infuriate motion toward -the rail.</p> - -<p>"If I go with this man he will kill me," said the blood-stained -French mate.</p> - -<p>"Not he. The ship wants a navigator," replied Captain Layard, with a -cheerfulness supremely inconsequential.</p> - -<p>"If you do not come," said the French boatswain, in his native -speech, "I will call the men up, and they will throw you into the -boat."</p> - -<p>"Why can't you speak in English?" said Captain Layard. "He'll -understand you, and we can follow your meaning."</p> - -<p>The French mate turned on his heel and was beginning to walk slowly -forward. As a cat springs when started by a dog, so sprang the barque's -boatswain upon his brother's murderer. With the strength of the fiends -before they were cast out he rushed the bleeding scoundrel to the rail -and yelled to his men. The French mate grasped the mizzen-shrouds -and struggled and kicked in awful silence; but in less than a minute -three stout sailors, out of the four who manned the boat's oars, -swarmed up. Eight enraged hands then tore the French mate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> -from the mizzen-rigging as the sweep of the hurricane uproots a tree. -All in a heap, struggling, wrestling, groaning, they got him past the -after-swifter, and to an order, shrieked through his teeth by the -French boatswain, they hoisted him lengthwise to the rail, and dropped -him into the boat. The French boatswain then made a sort of salaam -bow to the captain and Hardy, and the whole four disappeared in the -twinkling of an eye over the side amid shouts of laughter from the -seamen who had been washing down the decks.</p> - -<p>"Get all sail upon her, Mr. Hardy," said Captain Layard; "but I -shall keep my topsail to the mast for awhile until I see what they mean -to do with that barque."</p> - -<p>The sailors dropped their buckets and scrubbing-brushes, and fell to -howling at the halliards. Topgallant and royal-yards rose, the mainsail -was left to swing with its clews aloft, and the <i>York</i> was now a -full-rigged ship, hove to, but clothed to her trucks, leaning with the -swell as though by swaying she was knitting her frame together for the -start.</p> - -<p>A ship when under sail on the ocean is alive; watch her closely -and you will discover that she has human intelligence in her methods -of helping, and at the same time influencing, the reason that governs -the helm and incarnate walks the quarter-deck or bridge. It was about -a quarter-past seven; the sailors resumed the business of washing -down; the decks sparkled as the brine flashed along the planks, and -the boatswain stimulated this sweetening process by the inspiriting -language of the land of the slush-lamp. The captain stood right aft -watching the receding figure of the barque's fat boat. The placid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -heave of the deep was crisped by the delicate crumbling foam curling -from low, blue brows to the gentle gushing of the pleasant breeze, -like some scene of swelling land enamelled with white flowers; the -blankness to leeward had melted into azure, and it was all blueness and -brightness, and you heard a song that was sweet with its summer note -upon the harp-strings of the lofty spars.</p> - -<p>"What will they do with him?" said the captain, going to the -companion and resting his hand upon it as though in a moment he would -descend.</p> - -<p>"I am wondering, sir," answered Hardy, who stood near. "I should -not like to be in the power of that bo'sun after I had killed his -brother."</p> - -<p>"Death drugs revenge; I would not kill my enemy," said the captain, -putting on one of those incommunicable looks which always alarmed Hardy -with thoughts of the ship's safety. "I would keep my brother's murderer -alive—at sea. There is the middle-watch and the ghastly face -of the moon! Whispers aloft and God's eye in every star! The ghostly -figure should walk the quarter-deck with the assassin, should enter -his berth with him, and sit beside his bunk and watch him. That is the -revenge that kills the soul—the very thought makes me sweat."</p> - -<p>His face changed into an expression of agitation, and with a sudden -hurry he disappeared down the companion-steps.</p> - -<p>Hardy watched the French boat draw alongside the barque. He wondered -that the captain should have left the deck at such a time; it was -another illustration of his insanity, no doubt. "He has gone to see to -little Johnny, perhaps," the mate thought,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> what had happened -having faded in the chaotic muddle of his reason. Here was Captain -Layard, who was determined to make a swift passage, keeping his ship -hove to and going below to talk to his bright-haired boy, to help him -dress maybe, and to muse in lopsided moralising over the medicine -chest.</p> - -<p>He took the glass, and levelled it at the barque, and saw the boat -slowly ascending in spasmodic jerks to the davits. A few men dragged -at the falls, and upon the port quarter of the poop the rest of the -ship's company apparently had assembled, and were clearly discussing -the recapture of the mate with the heat and passion of the French when -excited. They gesticulated, they surged and reeled, and Hardy again -saw one or another of them fling his hand in the direction of the fore -yard-arm.</p> - -<p>He could not see if the mate stood amongst them, and all forward -was vacant deck, pulsating with the shadow of swinging sail. There was -nothing else in sight all away round the girdle of the deep, though -this was a frequented sea; and the two vessels, to a distant eye, might -have seemed abandoned, so aimless was the look they got from the white -cloths incurving to the masts.</p> - -<p>About ten minutes after the boat had been hoisted, Hardy, who -continued to watch the barque through the glass, saw several men -go forward, and shortly after a man got into the fore-rigging, and -crawled aloft and gained the fore-yard. The powerful lenses brought -the barque close, and Hardy easily saw, as he followed the man sliding -to the yard-arm, that he carried a tail-block in his hand. He made -this block fast to the extremity of the yard, and whilst he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> -was doing this another man got into the fore-rigging holding a line, -the end of which he gave to the fellow on the yard, who rove it through -the block, and then came into the fore-rigging grasping the line, and -both men descended to the deck.</p> - -<p>Hardy rushed to the companionway and shouted down the hatch, taking -his chance of the skipper hearing him, "They are going to hang that -mate who killed the captain!"</p> - -<p>A moment or two later up came Captain Layard.</p> - -<p>"What's that you sang out?" he cried. "What's wrong? I'm with -Johnny."</p> - -<p>"Look for yourself, sir," answered Hardy, and he gave the glass to -him. The captain pointed it. Mad or not mad, he knew what a yard-arm -whip was, and what in this case it signified. He saw a crowd of men on -the forecastle; he distinguished the figure of the mate, with his arms -pinioned behind him, standing within a fathom of the rail rounding to -the forecastle break. As he gazed he saw a man bandage the wretch's -eyes with a red handkerchief. The same man next secured the end of the -line to the man's neck, and the captain, with the telescope at his eye, -began to mutter, and Hardy saw that his face had turned a greenish -yellow, but he could not understand what he said, nor clearly perceive, -as did the captain, all that was happening aboard that tragic barque, -with its wift at the gaff-end beating the air like a human arm in -agony.</p> - -<p>In the captain's glass the bulk of the forecastle crowd melted and -could not be seen on the main-deck. One who was left—and the -muttering captain thought that he was the boatswain—held a book -and seemed to be reading from it. The two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> men kept the barque's -victim pinned to the rail; the man who was reading closed his book and -raised his arm straight up, looking toward the main-deck. The two men -sprang back from the murderer, whose figure soared aloft, a ghastly -shape of man flying wingless to the yard-arm.</p> - -<p>"O my God!" cried Hardy, who saw it, and the crew of the <i>York</i>, -watching that picture of short shrift and flying form, groaned and -cursed with British hatred of the sudden execution, made dastardly by -numbers.</p> - -<p>They could see the man rushed to the nape of his neck to the -yard-arm block, then fall, bringing up with a sudden belaying of that -gallows-rope, and the hanging man began to swing like a pendulum of -death midway betwixt the yard-arm and the feathering surface of the -sea.</p> - -<p>"Suppose he didn't do it?" said Captain Layard, letting the -telescope sink and turning his face slowly to Hardy, who thought, -even in that moment of horror and astonishment, that the captain had -spoken nothing saner since the voyage began. "Fill on your topsail," -continued the captain, in a trembling voice, his face distorted by -passions and fancies beyond the penetration of reason. "I wouldn't have -Johnny see that sight; they'll keep him swinging till he has ticked -out the minutes his soul has taken to arrive in hell. Fill on your -topsail, sir. And what'll the beggars do? They'll wait for help to come -along."</p> - -<p>The mate was walking a little way forward, and the captain, with his -back upon the barque, stood muttering to himself. It was a pleasant -breeze, and the ship took the weight of the sunlit gush of blue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> -wind with a buoyant heel, and then she broke the waters at the bow. -In two hours the barque was glimmering like the crest of a sea in the -liquid ether far and far astern. Her topsail was still aback, and -doubtless, as Captain Layard had said, she was waiting for the help -that must soon come along.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VIII.</span> <span class="smaller">LOST!</span></h2> - -<p>And now for another week of this ship's adventure. There is little -to record. As she drove to the south and west the breeze freshened -by strokes, and the foam, white as daylight, seethed with a leeward -roll to the channels, whose plates flashed jewelled fountains from her -side.</p> - -<p>It was noble sailing with a buckling stu'nsail boom, and every -taut weather-shroud and backstay spirited the sea-whitening keel with -sweet, clear songs of rejoicing. All the crew loved little Johnny, and -the great Newfoundland, placid, stately, and benign, was ever at his -side, courting the boy, with looks of love, to play. Always in this -fine weather the sunny-haired lad, in the miniature clothes of the -bluejacket, would of a dog-watch take his drum upon the forecastle, and -roll out a good rattling accompaniment to the cheerful piping of the -whistle. Then the sailors would dance whilst the ship's stem rent the -water into sweat, and the bow-sea rolled away in glory, and the western -heavens grew majestical with sunset.</p> - -<p>And all this time no man spoke a hint as to the captain's state of -mind, because, as I have said, the sailor has no eyes for the human -nature of the quarter-deck until it should become as visible and -demonstrative as a windmill in a wind.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p> <p>This Captain -Layard was <i>not</i>; his moods and motions were of too subtle a sort to be -interpretable by the forecastle gaze, and all the strange unconscious -discoveries of himself he limited to Hardy, scarcely ever speaking to -the second mate unless to give him an order. But even when he talked to -Hardy, no man could have sworn that he was madder than most dreamers -are. It was only, as Hardy thought, that his talk was so cursedly -inconsequential. He reminded him of a diver who if you look to port -comes up to starboard, whose spot of emergence is always somewhere -else.</p> - -<p>One day, at the end of the time just spoken of, the ship was -stretching her length along a wide blue sea enriched with running -knolls, shadowed by themselves into deepest violet, aflash with sudden -meltings of foam which whitened the windward picture, and ran with -smooth curves from the leeward yeast that rushed into the water from -the side.</p> - -<p>The captain was below. It was about ten o'clock in the morning. -There was now a sting in the light of the sun, as he floated upwards in -an almost tropic glory, undimmed by the flight of little clouds which -hinted at the Trade. Our friend the chief mate, Hardy, was walking up -and down the weather-side of the quarter-deck. A sailor stood at the -wheel trim for his trick; he was a British seaman, his easy floating -figure and swift look to windward, aloft, and into the compass bowl put -thoughts into one's head of the time when men like him wore pigtails -down their backs and fired the fury of hell, as the Spaniard said to -Nelson, into the gunports and sides of the audacious enemy.</p> - -<p>There was music on that quarter-deck, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> Johnny, who was -admiral of that ship, the captain being very much under him, had sent -for the whistle, and the sailor had come at once, bringing his music -with him. He was seated upon the skylight, and was piping that cheerful -song, "A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea," all over the ship to the delight -of the watch on deck, who worked the nimbler for it; and Johnny made -martial music of that sea-song with his drum.</p> - -<p>The ship rushed along with festive lifts and falls and triumphant -choruses in her weather-rigging as the swing of the sea brought her -masts to windward, and all was beauty and sunlight, and white phantoms -of little sailing clouds, and swelling canvas yearning to the azure -recess at which the ship, like some goddess of the sea, was pointing -with her spear of jibboom.</p> - -<p>Presently the boy grew tired; the piper went forward, and as the -captain's servant came along Johnny gave him his drum and sticks to -carry below. The great Newfoundland was lying at its length beside the -skylight, and Johnny sat upon him, and lifting his ear talked into -it, and the dog grunted in affectionate reply. But little boys soon -tire of anything save sweets, and Johnny joined Hardy, and they walked -together. The lad had a very inquisitive mind, and was constantly -wanting to know. He began to question Hardy about the ship. What is the -good of that little sail right on top up there? Why didn't they give -each mast one great sail? Wouldn't that save trouble? Couldn't they let -it down, and tie it up, as they did that middle sail there, when the -weather grew nasty? Wouldn't Hardy be glad to get home? How old was he? -Was he glad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> to be so old? Wouldn't he rather be eight? After much -interrogative conversation of this sort he felt tired, and strayed from -Hardy's side and walked about the quarter-deck, looking around him -as though he wished to pick up something which he could throw at the -sea.</p> - -<p>Going right aft, abaft the man at the wheel, his arch, sweet, -wondering eyes were taken by the sight of some Mother Carey's chickens; -also the splendid, dazzling stream of wake that was rushing off in -snake-like undulations attracted him. A stretch of ash-white grating -protected the wheel-chains and the relieving gear. It stood a little -way under the taffrail and was not very high above the deck, and the -tiller worked under it.</p> - -<p>Unnoticed by Hardy, Johnny got upon this grating to watch the -sea-birds, also to obtain a view of the place where that giddy, -boiling, meteoric river of foam began. A sea-bird is a thing of beauty, -which is a joy to a little boy upon whom the shades of the prison-house -have not yet begun to close; and the dazzle of spinning foam hurling -seawards is also a beauty and a wonder and a miracle, as are many other -things in this pleasant world of flowers and valleys and streams; -for I have seen a little child pick a daisy and view it with greater -transport than could even be felt by a beautiful young woman bending -with beaming eyes over the bracelet of diamonds with which her lover -has just clasped her wrist.</p> - -<p>Johnny fell upon his knees and crawled upon the grating to the -taffrail, the flat surface of which he kneeled upon, peering over -and down betwixt the gig and the taffrail to see the place where the -white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> water began under the counter. The poor little fellow -overbalanced himself, and Hardy, whose eye was upon him in that -instant, saw him vanish.</p> - -<p>"O my God!" he shrieked. "Man overboard!" he shouted. "Hard down! -hard down!"</p> - -<p>And whilst the wheel went grinding up to windward, and whilst the -sails aloft were beginning to thunder to the weather sweep of the -rushing bows, Hardy, tearing off his coat and waistcoat and shoes, -leaped from the quarter into the boiling yeast and struck out.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had he shot overboard when the great dog Sailor, springing -up with a swift movement of his head around, leapt like a darting -flame on to the rail from which Hardy had plunged, and jumped. There -was plenty of foam in the sea, and it was almost blinding Hardy, who -swam strongly; but it did not blind the dog, who saw the mate but not -the child, and made for him. A sea swept Hardy to its summit, and he -perceived the child some three or four cables' length distant; a head -of foam rolled over that sun-bright speck and it disappeared, and as -Hardy sank into the trough the dog, that stemmed the brine like some -swiftly-urged boat, caught him by the collar and forced him round in -the direction of the ship, whose main-yards were now aback and one of -whose lee quarter boats was rapidly descending, with the captain on the -grating, waving his arms in frantic and heart-subduing pantomime.</p> - -<p>"Sailor!" roared Hardy, struggling with his whole force to -round the noble creature's head in the direction where he had seen -the bright point vanish. "O God! doggie, dear doggie! Johnny is -overboard, and drowning! Go for him, Sailor! go for him, Sailor!"</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> <p>And buoyed by the magnificent swimmer whose -teeth were in his collar, he stiffened his breast and pointed. But -the Newfoundland, who had not seen Johnny fall, had leapt to save the -life of Hardy, and with bitter, blighting despair in his heart the -gallant young fellow felt the beautiful animal at his side urging him -irresistibly up one slope and down another in the direction of the -ship, with its dreadful figure of human anguish gesticulating and -shouting on the grating.</p> - -<p>The hearts that bent the blades rowed with love of the boy and a -maddening passion to save him. They came to Hardy first and dragged him -and the dog over the gunwale, and a man standing up in the stern-sheets -steered the boat for the place where the little fellow had last been -seen from the deck of the ship. But they rowed in vain. Sodden with -brine, and half blinded by the tears of a manly sailor's heart, the -mate strained his vision over the running seas, and knew, O God! and -knew that Johnny had sunk for ever.</p> - -<p>"Oh, what a pity!" said one of the men.</p> - -<p>"The dog could have saved him," exclaimed another.</p> - -<p>"No, he was gone before the dog could have reached the place," said -Hardy, and he sank upon a thwart and covered his face.</p> - -<p>The Newfoundland laid his massive jaws upon his knee in caress -and in encouragement, knowing he was saved, and loving him as those -majestic creatures love the life they have torn from the grasp of -death. The men, with the lifted blades of their oars sparkling in the -sun, gazed silently around, but Johnny was gone. The tall seas seethed, -and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> boat fell away with their melting heads and rose -buoyant to the height of the next slant, but Johnny was gone, and after -they had lingered half an hour the men, to the command of Hardy, turned -the boat's head toward the ship, and rowed away from that sun-lighted -scene of ocean grave which already the hand of viewless love had strewn -with flowers and garlands of foam.</p> - -<p>Captain Layard was standing with tightly folded arms beside the -skylight when Hardy arrived on board, and approached him, shuddering -with grief and with the exhaustion that attends even a brief spell -of battling with the rolling seas of the ocean. The unhappy father's -face was utterly unintelligible in expression. And still a critical -eye, with good capacity for subtle penetration, would in this time of -sudden and awful bereavement have witnessed in that poor man's face the -dangerous condition of his soul.</p> - -<p>The men who were hoisting the boat pulled with askant looks full of -respect and rough sympathy, and the boat rose in silence, so touched -were the sailors' hearts by this sudden loss of the bright-haired -little darling of the ship. The Newfoundland, shaking a shower from his -coat, came to the captain, seemed to know that grief was in him, and -looked up at him.</p> - -<p>"Where is my little Johnny?" said the captain to Hardy, in a firm, -sharp tone.</p> - -<p>Hardy could not answer him.</p> - -<p>"There is no good in telling me that he's not on board this ship," -said the captain, letting fall his arms and swaying in a strange way -with the leeward and weather rolls of the arrested vessel. "Where -is he hidden?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> <p>He stepped to the companion -and shouted down, "Johnny, Johnny, my darling! Come up with your drum! -The men want music! Come up with your drum, my Johnny!"</p> - -<p>The sailors belayed the falls of the boat and secured her, and -slowly walked forward, never a one of them speaking. The captain went -below, calling "Johnny." Mr. Candy came up to Hardy. Both he and the -watch below had rushed on deck to that dreadful cry at sea of "Man -overboard!" and to that sudden change you feel in a ship when the yards -of the main are swung aback. All the concern that a man with white -eyelashes and pale hair and a skin like a cut of roasted veal can look -was in Candy's face as he said:</p> - -<p>"This blow has turned the captain's head, sir."</p> - -<p>"I cannot speak to you," Hardy answered.</p> - -<p>"Let me fetch you some brandy, sir," said the second mate. Hardy -raised his arm. Candy walked to the quarter and stood staring at the -sea where the child had sunk. The Newfoundland dog was growing uneasy. -You saw by the creature's motion of head and by other signs that he -knew something was wrong. Twice he growled low and walked round the -skylight smelling the planks, then coming to the companionway he -listened and sprang down the steps.</p> - -<p>Hardy stood waiting for the captain. It was not for him to order the -topsail-yard to be swung until the captain spoke. All the seamen were -forward standing in groups waiting for the command, and the boatswain, -in the face of the general grief, could find nothing for them to do -until the quarter-deck started them.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> <p>It filled -Hardy with anguish, though he was only a mate in the British Merchant -Service, the one unrecognised condition of our national life, spite of -the pleading of its heroic traditions and the claims of its English -seamen of to-day, upon the admiration of their country, to think of the -poor, desolate, brain-afflicted father below, seeking in his madness -his beloved little boy. He knew that this man had tenderly loved the -mother of that child and mourned her loss with a sailor's heart, and -that the bright and spirited lad, whom God had summoned, had been his -constant companion since his wife's death, the light of his life, the -flower whose fragrance had sweetened the loneliness of command.</p> - -<p>He stood waiting, soaked to the flesh. Suddenly the captain -appeared.</p> - -<p>"Johnny is not below," he said. "He's somewhere in the ship. When -did you see him last, Mr. Hardy?"</p> - -<p>And still Hardy could not answer him. The Newfoundland had followed -his master, and the whole frame and benign eyes of the noble creature, -to whom and to whose like man denies a soul, yielded preternatural -token of loss and disquiet that was human in eloquence.</p> - -<p>The captain did not seem to heed Hardy's silence and manner. He -looked with great eagerness and a certain wildness along the decks, and -then putting his hand to the side of his mouth, with his face turned -forward, where the men stood watching him, he shouted in an imperious -voice as though he would frighten an answer from the concealed -child:</p> - -<p>"Johnny!—It is strange," said he, in a low voice, turning -and looking at Hardy, "Is he aloft?" And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> he turned his eyes -up and scrutinised the rigging, the tops, the crosstrees, the yards, -stepping to the rail so as to obtain a view past the leaches of the -canvas.</p> - -<p>"Shall I order those yards to be swung, sir, and way got upon the -ship?" said Hardy, speaking with difficulty.</p> - -<p>"I want Johnny," was the captain's answer, and he walked slowly -forward, looking to right and left of him, as though the little lad -must be in hiding somewhere, flat beside a forward coaming or behind a -hencoop, or under the long-boat, for his figure had been small, and he -could have concealed himself within the flakes of the halliards coiled -down upon a pin.</p> - -<p>The men drew back, scattered in a kind of dissolving way, gazed with -sheepish looks of sympathy, one rugged man with damp eyes, for he too -had lost a son beloved with the rough love of a heart unhardened by -salt and toil.</p> - -<p>"Has any man among you," said the captain, bringing his head out of -the galley door—for the child had been a frequent guest of the -cooks of the ships he had sailed in: they would make him jam tarts and -little cakes, and his prattle to the fellows was as cheering to them as -the song of a canary—"has any man among you," he said, "seen my -little boy?"</p> - -<p>"I don't think you'll find him forward, sir," answered the -boatswain. "Jim, jump below and see if he's in the fok'sle."</p> - -<p>The sailors exchanged looks which seemed to suggest that they -thought it kind and wise in the boatswain to humour the captain, whose -mind, to them, appeared a little shaken and made uncertain by the -shock of his loss.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> <p>"No, I'll trust no man's eyes -but mine," exclaimed the captain, with a lofty expression of face, -and, going to the scuttle, which is the little hatch through which the -seamen drop into their parlour, he put his legs over and descended.</p> - -<p>One man only was in this forecastle. He was the young seaman who had -played the whistle whilst Johnny beat the drum. He started up at the -sight of the captain, amazed by a visit that was unparalleled in his -experience or recollection of forecastle story. His face showed marks -of unaffected distress, and indeed this rude but sympathetic heart had -been seated for some minutes prior to the captain's entrance, with -bowed head resting in his wart-toughened palms, thinking of the child -and his sudden death.</p> - -<p>It was a strange, gloomy interior. The swing of the lamp kept the -shadows on the wing, and oilskins and coats swayed upon the ship's wall -to the solemn plunge of the bows, and you heard the roar of the smitten -and recoiling surge in a low thunder, like the sound of a railway -train striking through the soil into a vault. Some bunks went curving -into the gloom past the light which fell through the hatch, and a few -hammocks stretched their pale, bale-like lengths under the upper deck. -Here, too, were sea-chests—a few only—and odds and ends of -sea-boots, and the raffle of the sailor's ocean home.</p> - -<p>"Where's my son? Is he down here?" exclaimed the captain, -haggard, and with something dreadful in his looks in that light, -uttering the words as peremptorily as ever he delivered an order on -the quarter-deck.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> <p>The young fellow gazed aghast -at him in silence.</p> - -<p>The captain, who did not seem to heed whether he was answered -or not, went to the bunks and examined them one by one, knelt and -looked under them, felt the sagged canvas of the hammocks. Oh, it was -pitiful!</p> - -<p>"He's not here," he exclaimed, turning to the young sailor. "Have -you got your whistle handy? Pull it out and pipe. The music will bring -him with his drum."</p> - -<p>The young man went to his bunk and took the whistle from the head of -it. His face was full of awe and wonder; it was a bit of psychology, a -trick or two above all <i>his</i> art of seamanship.</p> - -<p>"What shall I play, sir?" he asked, in a shaking voice, with -a glance up through the scuttle at the men gathered near and -listening.</p> - -<p>"What's his favourite tune?" said the captain.</p> - -<p>The young fellow reflected, and answered, "'Sally come up,' sir. It -runs well with the drum."</p> - -<p>"Play it," said the captain.</p> - -<p>The young fellow put the whistle to his lips and blew. The contrast -between the merry air, shrilling in the forecastle and out through the -hatch into the bright wind, and the captain's half-triumphant face of -expectancy would have melted a heart of steel. The poor man stepped -under the little hatch and shouted up, "On deck there!"</p> - -<p>"Sir," answered the boatswain, showing himself.</p> - -<p>"Can this whistle be heard aft?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"Watch a bit, and report if he's coming."</p> - -<p>The young seaman, who was nearly heartbroken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -with his obligation of playing, continued to pipe, and you beheld a -vision of dancing sailors, and swelling canvas reverberating the rattle -of the drum.</p> - -<p>The captain waited under the hatch, his poor face charged with -ardent expectation. He might have overheard a gruff voice say, "It -oughtn't to be allowed to go on. He'd get all right if he'd go to his -cabin, where it 'ud come to him." But he paid no heed.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the whistling ceased, and the young fellow, flinging his -whistle into his bunk, cried, "It's choking me, sir."</p> - -<p>The captain looked at him, and saying, "Where is Johnny?" climbed -through the hatch and, without a word to the sailors, walked slowly -aft.</p> - -<p>The whole ship seemed to tremble throughout her frame with every -lift and fall, as though like something alive she was now startled by -this strange delay, and the foretopmast studdingsail curved with the -weight of the wind from its boom, and no doubt, in the language of -sailcloth, cursed the maintopsail for stopping its eager drag.</p> - -<p>Hardy stood beside the second mate, to leeward, on the quarter-deck, -and watched the captain coming aft. The great dog in a leap gained his -master's side and marched with him, looking with beautiful sagacity -up into the poor man's face. The captain walked with his eyes fixed -upon the sky, just over the sea-line astern, but if speculation were -in his gaze it was not interpretable; he saw, or seemed to see, -something beyond the blue haze of distance, and thus he watched it, -without speaking to the two mates, or turning his eyes upon them, until -he came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> to the companion-hatch, down whose steps he went, -followed by the dog.</p> - -<p>Noon was near and an observation must be taken. Hardy, whose clothes -were plastered by water upon him, said to Candy:</p> - -<p>"We must get an observation and swing the yards. This blow has -thrown his mind off its balance, and he might not thank us later if we -should go on as though he were responsible."</p> - -<p>"I agree with you, sir," said Candy.</p> - -<p>Hardy called to the boatswain, who came quickly.</p> - -<p>"You know the law of the sea as well as I do," said the mate, "and I -don't want you and the men to believe that I have taken charge of the -ship even for five minutes because I mean to get way upon her."</p> - -<p>"She wants it," said the boatswain, looking forward along the ship -as though she were a horse.</p> - -<p>"I must get an observation," continued Hardy, "and you and the men -will judge that the captain would wish me to do what he himself would -do if his terrible loss had left him capable of doing anything."</p> - -<p>"It don't need reasoning about, sir," said the boatswain.</p> - -<p>"Hands lay aft and swing the maintopsail-yard!" shouted Hardy. "Lee -mainbrace! Mr. Candy, will you step below for your sextant? Kindly -bring mine."</p> - -<p>Candy went below. The men came running aft. But the shadow of death -was upon the ship, bright, boundless, and streaming with the life -of the wind as were heaven and ocean, and the sailors dragged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -the great yards round in silence. The ship heeled over a little more to -the full swell of her canvas, and as Hardy took his sextant from Candy -she was bursting the blue surge into white glory, and the leeward foam -was passing fast and faster.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IX.</span> <span class="smaller">THE INDIAMAN'S BOAT</span></h2> - -<p>The seas were breaking fast and fierce from the bows, and the -wake flashed into the windy distance in a fan-shaped splendour as of -sunshine, and hands were aloft furling the fore and mizzen royals, and -some fore-and-aft canvas was rattling hanks and lacing on their stays -to the drag of down-hauls; the ship was sonorous with the music of the -sea, and by looking over the weather side you could have seen the green -sheathing sweating with foam, storming through the dazzling smother -like a wounded dolphin whose blood is sweet to dolphins; yet this was -but a fragment of the magnificent picture of foaming seas and flying -cloud, with the lofty swelling ship shearing through the heart of the -day in a thunder-storm of prisms and of spray, lovely as the heights of -heaven when some stars are green and some shine like the rose.</p> - -<p>Hardy came on deck. He stood and looked about him, refreshed by a -shift of clothes and by a nip of grog. He had worked out his sights, -and before mounting the steps had stood a minute at the captain's door -listening; he heard the poor man's voice, and judged by its solemn -imploring note that he was praying, but the noise of the sailors -above made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> him hurry, and though it was his watch below he felt -that he was in command, and that the safety of the ship was in his -hands.</p> - -<p>Any seaman will understand this mate's critical and difficult -situation. A captain is not to be lightly deposed; drunken captains -and—unless they grow frantic—mad captains must be obeyed or -endured or it is mutiny, with heavy penalties awaiting the arrival of -the ship; and the mate of a merchantman may, though by conscientious -act, lose power of earning bread for himself and his home unless as a -foremast hand, for the law is hard, and the shipowner harder still.</p> - -<p>"You had better take the mainsail off her, Mr. Candy, and furl the -main-royal," said Hardy. "She has more than she wants."</p> - -<p>The stu'nsail was in and so was the boom, and Hardy gave other -directions, but they need not be repeated because minuteness is -tedious, and the language of the sea cryptic to millions. When Sheridan -was asked how the poetaster described the phœnix, he answered, "Just -as a poulterer would!" The poulterer is not good in art, and the beak, -talons, and all are merits when left out.</p> - -<p>It was about a quarter to one, and the cabin dinner would be -coming aft soon. The cook was busy in his galley, and black smoke was -smothering the bulwarks abreast from the chimney. Hardy paced the -deck watching the seamen at work, Candy superintended the business. -There was plenty for the mate to think of. The grief planted in his -kind heart, by recollection of his hopeless effort to rescue the -poor drowned child, was overwhelmed by thoughts of the captain, his -undoubted madness, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> state of the ship; and then his -mind on a sudden went away to Julia Armstrong; he wondered what would -be her fortune, if luck would attend her in India, if her love for -him—he would not pretend aught else to himself—would hold -her unwilling to remain, that she might return in the vessel and meet -him once more. "In which case," he declared to himself, "I will marry -her and chance it."</p> - -<p>The ship was rushing onward like a shooting star, and the wind -clothed the sails with the thunder of its power; but she was -comfortable and dry. The bright bursts were flung clear of her by the -rush of the breeze, and she took the seas with that perfect grace of -leap and curtsey which sails alone do give.</p> - -<p>As Hardy walked, the cabin servant came up to him and reported -dinner on the table.</p> - -<p>"Have you told the captain?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"Is he at table?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>Hardy went below. The captain was in his accustomed place cutting at -a big meat pie; his brow was knitted, and with the whole strength of -his soul he seemed intent upon this job of cutting the pie. His long -hair and the hair upon his cheeks and chin accentuated the expression -of his pale face, which was one of wildness and of grief so subtle that -it might scarcely be known as grief by the heart that ached with it; -but when he raised his eyes, Hardy saw a darkness upon his vision as -though the shadow of death was on his eyelids.</p> - -<p>"Will you have some of this pie?" said he, quite sanely.</p> - -<p>"Thank you, sir," answered Hardy.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> <p>"We'll shift -for ourselves," said the captain, turning to the attendant. "Bring -whatever else there is in a quarter of an hour."</p> - -<p>The man left the cabin. The captain, with knife and fork poised, -without serving Hardy viewed him intently during a short passage of -silence, and then said:</p> - -<p>"Johnny has strayed away from this ship and he's left his drum -behind him, but," he added, smiling with his heart-moving smile of -superiority, "I shall find him."</p> - -<p>He loaded a plate and thrust it at the length of his arm toward -Hardy, who took it.</p> - -<p>"Are not you eating, sir?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"How's the ship?" was the answer.</p> - -<p>Hardy reported the sail she was under. The question, the -all-important question, whether sights had been taken, was not asked. -The captain took a piece of meat out of the pie and gave it to the -Newfoundland, who sat beside him on the deck.</p> - -<p>"I don't like rich clergymen," he said, abruptly. "The man who -steers his ship to the glowing gates of heaven should be rich in heart -and love. The precious freight is that; let him despise the devil's -cargo. I once said to a wealthy parson, 'Take up your cross and follow -me. D'ye remember it, sir? but you and the like of you give your cross -to the coachman and get inside.'"</p> - -<p>He spoke this in a voice of thunder, and his face was grotesque. -Hardy was eating with difficulty. The chatter of the afflicted brain -is a pain to the hearer, for the sane strokes make the inconsequential -talk as ghastly as the lifelike motions of the electrified corpse.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> <p>From time to time the dog got up and moved about -the cabin sniffing. He was missing Johnny. He would come to Hardy's -side and turn his gentle, affectionate eyes up at the mate's face in -such dumb inquiry as would be holy if it were human; then he would go -to the captain and do the like. The poor man played with some meat out -of the pie, but did not eat. He had been educated at a great public -school and his speech and voice had the culture of breeding, and the -lapses and diversions of the talk that he addressed to Hardy made -his language more pitiful than shocking. He as often spoke wisely as -insanely, but Hardy saw, even whilst he sat, that the loss of his boy -had confirmed in him his lamentable prepossession. He was mad, but in -such fashion that unless he acted visibly the madman's part the crew -would fail to see it.</p> - -<p>The attendant came down with more food for the cabin, and this -the captain did not touch. Presently he abruptly rose and entered -his berth, reappeared with his cap on, and slowly stepped up the -companion-ladder.</p> - -<p>It was Hardy's hope that the poor fellow might give such orders as -would induce the men to suspect him mad, although he felt they would -believe he was only temporarily deranged by the bitter loss which had -left him heart-broken; and yet some heedless or absurd order, some -unintelligible shifting of the course, for example, some needless -setting or reduction of canvas, must act like a surgical operation and -quicken their scent, which would help him to come to a decision as to -the right thing to be done; and whilst he went on munching his dinner -he found himself repeatedly glancing at the telltale compass<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -and listening for the captain's voice. But the ship sped steadily -straight forward, and the captain remained silent though his tread was -audible.</p> - -<p>A little while before the mate had finished his dinner Mr. Candy -came below. This was unusual: in the ordinary movement of discipline he -should have waited to be relieved by Hardy.</p> - -<p>"The captain told me to go and get my dinner, sir," said the second -mate.</p> - -<p>"All right," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>Mr. Candy sat down and began to help himself. Hardy had no -particular fondness for this man: he was the son of a pilot, and one -of those people who add nothing to the dignity of a service which in -its day, in point of breeding, in all art of seamanship, in structure -of vessel, was as good as the Royal Navy. Witness, for example, the -men and ships of John Company; for if no line-of-battle ships flew the -flag of that company, and the flags of the owners of fleets of stately -craft, ships of commerce had been and were still then afloat as lordly -in build, as gracious and commanding in star-searching heights, as the -finest of the frigates of Britannia. But Candy was second mate of the -ship, and to that degree was important.</p> - -<p>"Captain Layard is very down," said Hardy. "It's a cruel bad job. I -loved the little boy, and the dog that loved him too wouldn't let me -save his life."</p> - -<p>"It was plucky of you, sir, to jump overboard," said the second -mate. "All the time the captain walks he looks to port and starboard, -hunting like with his eyes over the sea for the little drummer. -Strange he can't satisfy himself that the younker is drowned, -dead and gone."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> <p>He was feeding heartily, and -spoke in the intervals of chewing.</p> - -<p>"This shock," said Hardy, who saw that the man was not to be talked -to confidentially, "may have a little weakened the poor father's mind -for a time. We'll assume it so for the common preservation; therefore, -in your watch on deck should he give orders which might prove him -thinking more of Johnny than the ship, call me at once."</p> - -<p>"Ay, ay, sir!"</p> - -<p>This said, Hardy went to his berth to smoke a pipe and get some -rest, for he could not know what lay before him, and sleep is precious -at sea.</p> - -<p>At four o'clock Candy aroused him. The captain, he learnt, had been -below an hour. Nothing worth reporting had happened during Candy's -watch. Hardy went on deck, and did not see the captain throughout -the first dog-watch. The breeze was slightly scanting; the main-tack -was boarded and the main-royal loosed and set. Hardy, like a good -many other chief mates, was always for carrying on whenever he was in -charge, and the breeze blew and the girls of the port he was bound -to always hauled with a will at his tow-rope. Besides, there was the -night's detention to be made good, and the clipper was making it good -as she sheared through the coils of the sea, boiling in dim rose to the -westering light. It was like a field of hurdles to a favourite, and she -swept them with a bounding keel, slinging rainbows as she went, and the -surge sang in thunder to the melodies of the rigging.</p> - -<p>Hardy's whole thoughts concerned the captain. He quite remembered -that in the cabin of the stricken father stood a medicine-chest full -of deadly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> poisons. Would he take his life? Full often the demon -of madness goes on beckoning to the ghastly Feature till it springs. -But what could the mate do? It was not within his right to remove the -chest. If he durst act in any way he would lock up the captain at once, -but he had the talk and opinions of a crew of seamen to consider, and -if the captain should be revisited by the same degree of sanity that -had enabled him to navigate the vessel to this point, how would Hardy -stand, supposing—and supposition here involved a very possible -contingency—that the captain, to preserve his own position, -should charge him with the ugliest breach of discipline a merchant -officer could be guilty of?</p> - -<p>He did not meet the captain again till the supper hour. The ship was -then under all plain sail. The west was glowing like a furnace, and -the ocean was calming to the softening of the breeze. The captain came -from his berth into the cabin as Hardy stood beside the table. The meal -was ready, and they sat down. There was a curious look of satisfaction -in the captain's face. The acute eye of Hardy easily saw that some -soothing delusion was in possession of the man. He asked two or three -questions about the ship, and quite sanely said:</p> - -<p>"What did you make the latitude and longitude to be at noon?"</p> - -<p>Hardy answered the question.</p> - -<p>The captain began to eat hungrily, and all the time his face gave -token of an inward content, lifting indeed into the pleasure of assured -expectation; but somehow there were visible in this lunatic web of -emotion threads of cunning clearly perceptible to Hardy, who, perhaps, -as the son of a doctor whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> professional experiences he had often -listened to, was able to see a little deeper than the vision of a plain -seaman could penetrate.</p> - -<p>"There is no doubt, Mr. Hardy," suddenly said the captain, "that I -shall be able to find Johnny."</p> - -<p>"I hope so, sir," answered Hardy, gravely.</p> - -<p>"I have no doubt," exclaimed the captain with a sparkle of -triumphant cunning lighting up his eyes. "I must be patient and wait, -for I've got to hear where he is."</p> - -<p>Hardy was silent.</p> - -<p>"It may come to me in a dream," continued the poor man, "or it may -be revealed to me in a whisper. I believe with Milton that the air -is thronged with millions of spiritual beings. I have in my watches, -when a mate, heard whispers in the dark! I believe in God the Father -Almighty"—and he recited the Apostles' Creed whilst he stroked -the head of his dog, who sat at his side. "It is a glorious confession, -Mr. Hardy. What should make a man more religious than the sea life? -They think us a breed of blasphemers, but to whom is the glory and the -majesty and the power of the Supreme unfolded if not to the sailor? We -behold the birth of the day, and witness the sublimity of the Spirit -in the glittering temples of the east, from which the sun springs, to -reveal the marvel of the ocean and the heavens to the sight of man; and -we witness the death of the day, gorgeous and kingly in its departure, -over which the angels spread a funeral pall sparkling with the diamonds -of the night."</p> - -<p>He pressed his hands to his brow and sighed with that long -tremor in which the broken heart often vents itself.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> <p>The night passed quietly. The breeze yet -slackened and was blowing a gentle wind at midnight. There was a moon -somewhere in the sky, and her light fell upon the dark waters, and -the sight of the small seas, curling in frosted silver through the -radiance, was as beautiful as the picture of the ship stemming softly, -her canvas stirless as carven shields of marble.</p> - -<p>The captain came and went throughout the night, and no man aboard -saving Hardy would have dreamt of holding him mad and irresponsible. -Candy, when his watch was up, had nothing to report but this: that the -skipper would walk the deck fast, abruptly halting at the weather-rail -to stare at the ocean in pauses running into minutes, then crossing to -the lee-rail to stare again in passages of dumb scrutiny. What more -conceivable than that the afflicted man should be full of the memory of -his lost child, and that he should break off in his walk to meditate -upon the mighty grave in whose heart his little one was sleeping?</p> - -<p>Candy thought thus, and so did the helmsman, who would find the men -he talked to about it of his own mind when he was relieved at the wheel -and went forward.</p> - -<p>And so the night passed into the sad light of dawn, which brightened -into the glory of a morning full of sunshine. The breeze had shifted -three points, and the ship was sailing slowly with the yards square and -the weather-clew of the mainsail up.</p> - -<p>Now was to happen the strangest incident in this ship's adventure. -It was Nelson who said that nothing is impossible or improbable in -sea-affairs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> There is no invention of man that can top the grim, the -grotesque, the beautiful, the sublime, or the touching facts which the -great mystery of liquid surface yields to human experience.</p> - -<p>A seaman, who was sitting astride of the starboard foretopsail -yard-arm, busy with marline-spike on some job that the lift needed, -hailed the deck.</p> - -<p>"Where away?" shouted Hardy from the quarter-deck.</p> - -<p>"Right ahead, sir," answered the man, who looked a toy sailor, his -white breeches trembling, and the round of his back sharp-lined against -the blue.</p> - -<p>Hardy fetched the glass, and going to the mizzen-rigging pointed it. -He caught it instantly. It was a boat, how far off it was impossible to -say, for distance, when a small object grows visible, is very difficult -to measure with the eye at sea, but she was plain to the naked sight -of the man on the yard-arm; the telescope brought her close, and Hardy -counted five figures in her, one of whom was standing on the foremost -thwart waving something,—a shirt or a piece of canvas. Her mast -was stepped, but the sail was down, and she lay waiting, vanishing and -reappearing as the shallow hollows ran sucking under her.</p> - -<p>When Hardy dropped the glass he found the captain by his side.</p> - -<p>"What is in sight?" he exclaimed, speaking with something of -breathlessness, as though his heart was tightened.</p> - -<p>"A ship's boat, sir, with five people in her," answered Hardy.</p> - -<p>"I shall find him," exclaimed the captain, and the old look of -superiority to all human intelligence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> and the pathetic -sparkle of cunning with which the diseased brain will often illuminate -the eye, were perceptible to Hardy. "Give me the glass, sir."</p> - -<p>The captain levelled it and was a long time in looking, and all -the time he looked he breathed slow and deep like a man in heavy -slumber.</p> - -<p>"Stand by to back the foretopsail," he exclaimed. "Let a hand -be ready with a line and others to help them aboard, for twice I -have fallen in with people so weakened by distress and famine and -thirst—O God, that awful part of it—that we have lifted -them like babies over the side."</p> - -<p>Presently the boat was close under the bow; the foretopsail was -aback, and the ship, heaving slowly without way, was alongside the -little fabric.</p> - -<p>Her people were four men and a woman. The men were seamen, -apparelled in such clothes as the merchant sailor went clad in. They -staggered a little as they stood up, and one in the bow reeled as he -caught the end of the line. The woman was sitting in the stern-sheets. -She wore a straw hat, the shadow of whose brim darkened her face as a -veil might. She was clothed in a black jacket, and the material of her -dress was dark. Her head was a little sunk, as though she was too weary -to hold it erect.</p> - -<p>The captain, overlaying the rail, stared with bright devouring -eyes into the boat. He did not seem to heed the people in her; he was -looking for something else.</p> - -<p>"Are you able to help the lady aboard?" shouted Hardy.</p> - -<p>"No, sir," answered the man who had caught the line; "we've been -adrift two days."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> <p>His weak voice proclaimed -the truth of his words. At the sound of Hardy's cry the woman in the -stern-sheets lifted her head, and the shadow of the brim of her hat -slipped off her face. Hardy instantly recognised her.</p> - -<p>"Great God!" he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>He was struck motionless by astonishment, but his faculties rallied -in a breath; in a minute he had sprung into the main chains, and a jump -carried him into the boat.</p> - -<p>"O Mr. Hardy!" shrieked the girl, and she tried to rise to clasp -him, but her exhaustion was too great and she could only sob.</p> - -<p>"On deck there!" shouted Hardy, who was usurping all the privileges -of the captain in that moment of tumultuous sensations. "Send down a -chair and bear a hand." And whilst this well-understood order was being -executed—it meant simply a tail-block at the main yard-arm and -a line rove through the block with a cabin-chair secured to the end -of it—and whilst the four nearly spent sailors of the boat were -being helped by the men in the ship, Hardy was talking to Julia.</p> - -<p>"What a meeting! What has happened to your ship?"</p> - -<p>Her lips were pale and a little cracked, her eyes were languid, and -dim with tears, a shadow as of hollowness lay upon each cheek. She -spoke with difficulty.</p> - -<p>"The <i>Glamis Castle</i> was burnt two days ago in the night. We have -been drifting about since then without food or water. Oh, thank God for -this! thank God for this—and to meet <i>you</i>!"</p> - -<p>"Bear a hand, my lads, bear a hand," shouted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -Hardy, whilst the captain with his head showing above the rail stood -staring into the boat. The mate would not tax her with speech; she -might be dying! Some alert seamen were in that clipper, and to the -instincts and humanity of a British sailor no form of distress appeals -more vehemently than the open boat in which they see no breaker, than -the open boat in which men and women may be dying of thirst. Swiftly, -as though the crew of the <i>York</i> were the disciplined and gallant -hearts of the battle-ship, a chair, well secured, sank from the -yard-arm and was seized by Hardy. He lifted the girl on to it, took -a turn round her with a piece of line which had come down with it, -and she soared from his nimble, skilful hands, and vanished from his -sight behind the bulwarks. He gained the deck in a few instants, and -was at the girl's side before the sailors could liberate her from the -chair.</p> - -<p>"She is a dear friend of mine," said he, loudly, that the men might -understand that more was in this thrilling passage than humanity only. -And passing his arm round her waist to support her he helped her to -walk aft.</p> - -<p>The captain's face looked dark with disappointment, and as Hardy -drew close to him he heard him mutter, "They have not brought him, they -have not brought him!"</p> - -<p>"I will take this lady below, sir," said Hardy, speaking rapidly. -"Her ship has been burnt. They have been without food and water -for two or three days," and he passed on with the girl to the -companion-hatch, whilst the captain stood dumbly following them -with his eyes, with the noble Newfoundland standing beside him.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> <p>In silence the two descended the cabin ladder, -and with the tenderness of a lover, which in such men as Hardy has the -sweetness of a woman's love, he placed her upon a locker and poured out -a little water. She drank with the passion of thirst, and asked for -more with her eyes, but Hardy knew better and gave her a biscuit, which -would lightly soothe the craving of the hunger that is often felt after -thirst is assuaged. She bit a little piece of biscuit, and said:</p> - -<p>"Won't you give me a little more water?"</p> - -<p>"Very soon. Eat that biscuit."</p> - -<p>He stepped to the pantry where some brandy was kept, and poured a -tablespoonful in a wine-glass, and this filled up with water he gave -her after she had eaten the biscuit. The stimulant helped her, and even -as he stood watching her with his heart beating fast with this wonder, -this miracle, of almost unparalleled meeting, he witnessed symptoms of -a reviving spirit, of a reanimated body in her face.</p> - -<p>At this moment Captain Layard came down the companion-steps -and approached them with an eager, strained expression. His eyes, -alight with mania—for madness has its expectations and -disappointments—rested with a searching gaze upon the girl.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen him?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"No, sir," answered Hardy, quickly trying to catch Julia's eye, but -she was staring with alarm at the captain, as you would, or I, under -such conditions of inexplicable confrontment. "She is a dear friend of -mine and is ill with the sufferings of an open boat, but her presence -in this ship may mean more than we can dream of now."</p> - -<p>The captain's face changed, his eyes took a fresh illumination -with his smile.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> <p>"See to her, Mr. Hardy, see to -her, and I'll start the ship afresh."</p> - -<p>He left the cabin.</p> - -<p>"May I have another biscuit?" said Julia.</p> - -<p>Hardy handed one and smiled, for he saw again the sweet unconscious -cock of her head, not the less fascinating to him because her eyes were -dim, her cheeks a little hollow, her lips pale.</p> - -<p>"Was that the captain?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes," he answered.</p> - -<p>"What was he asking? Is he right in his mind?"</p> - -<p>"His only son, a little boy, a beautiful bright-haired little boy, -fell overboard and was drowned, and—But we will talk about the -captain and your adventures when you are stronger."</p> - -<p>He mused a moment or two, and then added, "You will take the rest -you need in my cabin, and a berth shall be made ready for you. A good -long sleep will restore you. So come."</p> - -<p>He put his arm through hers and caused her to rise, and indeed she -still needed the support he gave her. He took her to his cabin, and -as she walked she looked about her with growing animation, which is a -cheering sign, and once she exclaimed, "Thank God, I am safe! Thank -God, I have met you! But how wonderful—oh, how wonderful!"</p> - -<p>She sat on his sea-chest whilst he smoothed and prepared the bunk. -It was a little cabin; the bunk was under a port-hole, and plenty of -light came flashing in off the trembling, feathering sea. You might -hear the tramp of feet overhead, and the thump of coils of rope flung -off their pins. There were none of the garnishings which often make -pathetic such interiors as this; when a young officer hangs up the -picture of his wife with their first baby<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> on her knee, neither -of them to be kissed and clasped for months and months, even if God be -merciful to the poor fellow and his ship; no rack full of pipes, no -odds and ends of curios—in short, nothing ornamented the wall -of Hardy's sea-bedroom but a long chart of the English Channel, which -it was his custom to study when he lay in his bunk smoking, to get -absolutely by heart the lights which gem the coast of our island, and -the verdure-crowned terraces over the way.</p> - -<p>When the bunk was prepared he removed her hat and gave her a -hair-brush, and took down a little square of mirror and held it up -before her. He greatly admired the beauty and the abundance of her -hair, which was parted on one side.</p> - -<p>"Nothing so refreshes one as to brush one's hair," said he.</p> - -<p>"How ill I look," she exclaimed. "How could you have recognised me -so instantly?" and she lifted her eyes, full of caress, to his face.</p> - -<p>"Will you be strong enough to get into that bunk unhelped?" he -asked.</p> - -<p>It was a low-seated bunk, and she looked at it and answered, -"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Then I will leave you," said he, and he walked out hurriedly, and -shut the door behind him.</p> - -<p>He went on deck to see how the captain was dealing with his ship -and found the vessel sailing along, with her yards properly swung and -everything right. The boat from which the people had been received -was visible at the tail of the ship's wake. The captain had sent -her adrift, which was sane or not in him, just as you think proper. -The sailors were coiling down and otherwise busy; the four men had -been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> taken into the forecastle, where they were eating and -drinking and yarning to a few of the watch below about the burning of -the Indiaman <i>Glamis Castle</i>. The moment Captain Layard saw Hardy he -called him.</p> - -<p>"Who is the lady?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Miss Julia Armstrong, the daughter of a retired commander in the -Royal Navy," was the reply.</p> - -<p>"Where have you lodged her?"</p> - -<p>"In my cabin for the present, sir, till I receive your orders to get -another one ready for her."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, have that done—have that done," the captain said in -a smooth, perfectly sane voice. "Do you know what she was aboard the -ship?"</p> - -<p>Now Hardy was like the squire in Dickens's exquisite -sketch—"he would not tell a lie for no man!" At the same time he -did not wish Captain Layard should know that Miss Armstrong had shipped -as a second stewardess, so he replied she was going to Calcutta with -a letter of introduction to the bishop of that place. Her father was -poor, and the girl wanted to find something to do in India.</p> - -<p>But the captain was dreaming. One with eyes for such faces as his -could easily see that he was thinking of something else, or did not -understand. He continued to look in silence for a little while at -Hardy, and then the baleful sparkle suddenly brightened his stare, he -folded his arms and said, with an expression of triumphant hope and -conviction:</p> - -<p>"She is fresh from the sea and knows where Johnny is, and she shall -help me to find him!"</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER X.</span> <span class="smaller">THE CAPTAIN AND THE GIRL</span></h2> - -<p>It was six o'clock on the same day in which Julia Armstrong had -been delivered from that horrible sea tragedy, the open boat, by -the miraculous apparition of the <i>York</i>, of all the ships which the -horizons of the deep were then girdling! The chief mate knocked upon -the door of his cabin where the girl lay, and believing he heard her -say "Come in," entered, and found her asleep.</p> - -<p>The reddening sunshine was away to starboard, but the heavens -southeast were glowing, and the girl slept, visible to the eye as the -circle of blue port-hole up which and down which you saw the clear-cut -line of the horizon sliding like a piece of clockwork. He stood looking -at her, for there was love for this girl in the man's heart, and this -encounter was so wonderful that he witnessed the hand of God in it, -and a sentiment of religion sanctified his emotion; otherwise, with -the sailor's respect for the repose of those who sleep—for the -seamen's best blessing upon you is, <i>Lord grant you a good night's -rest, sir!</i>—he would have softly stepped out and left her.</p> - -<p>And this he would have soon done, but as he looked she all at -once opened her gray eyes full upon him, stared a few moments -till intelligence came to her, then started, smiled, and sat up -in the bunk.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> <p>"I've awaked you, I'm afraid," -said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"I'm glad you have. I have slept sweetly and I feel well," she -answered. "Strange that I have not dreamt at all, for I have passed -through a nightmare since the burning of the ship. How marvellous to -see you standing there!"</p> - -<p>"Could you eat a piece of cold fowl and drink some wine?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"You shall sup here, for I want to hear your story. If you are in -the cabin, and the captain comes—"</p> - -<p>He put his head out of the door and hailed the cabin servant, who -was polishing glasses in the pantry. He told him what to get and bring, -and he then caused the girl to get out of her bunk, and cushioned his -sea-chest with his bunk pillow as a seat for her. He smiled as he saw -her fall into the incomparable posture (as he thought it): the head a -little on one side, the hands on the hips, the feet crossed, the whole -figure beautiful now that her jacket was removed, though her dark blue -blouse imperfectly suggested the faultless grace of her breast. Sleep -had faintly tinged her cheek whereon the shadow of suffering had lain; -her eyes had brightened, her lips had reddened, and all the romance -of her face, which was not beautiful nor even pretty, but alluring, -nevertheless, was expressed once more in the flattering evening light, -which suffused with a liquid softness the atmosphere of that little -cabin.</p> - -<p>Until the man knocked at the door with the tray of food and wine, -they talked chiefly of home, of the dry ditch and Bax's farm, of the -East India<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> Dock road and of Captain Smedley, whose escape and -probable safety the girl had mentioned early in this talk. And then -whilst she supped—an early supper, but on the ocean it is the -last meal—she told him the story of a memorable fire at sea.</p> - -<p>There had been many such fires, and they nearly all read like -one. It begins by some rascally sailor broaching a rum cask; or it -is a naked candle in the hand of a fool looking for a brand in the -lazarette; or it is a pipeful of glowing tobacco amongst wool; the -capsizal of a lamp; or it is caused by something which the ocean -sucks down to her ooze and buries there, one secret more. But however -it be, the end is nearly always the same. It was so in this case; -the fire took such a hold there was no dealing with it; a score -may have perished. The girl saw the bowsprit and jib-booms black -with figures of men who had been cut off by the amidship furnace. -Numbers—for she was a full ship with many children, and besides -passengers she was carrying hard upon a hundred soldiers in her -'tween-decks—numbers, I say, got away in the boats, and amongst -them, the last to leave, was the captain; she did not doubt that. She -fell overboard in her terror, and in her recoil right aft from the -smoke and its burning stars, and afterwards found herself in a boat in -the company of five men, one of whom, groaning heavily with internal -injury, died in the night and was dropped over the boat's side.</p> - -<p>She had more to tell him about this shipwreck, but that fire -concerns my story only in so far as it brings this girl again on to -the stage by one of those dramatic and startling methods adopted by -the ocean, whose moods are many.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> <p>"If your -captain is a madman," she said, "what is to happen to this ship?"</p> - -<p>He put his finger to his lips in a gesture of caution and -reticence.</p> - -<p>"We may whisper it to each other," said he, in a low voice, "but the -crew have no knowledge of it, or they may attribute any strangeness in -his manner to the loss of his child, and think it passing. They all -loved the poor little fellow, and so did I."</p> - -<p>And he told her how the boy used to beat his drum in accompaniment -to the sailor's whistle, and related the story of his falling overboard -and the efforts to save him, and the captain's frantic dumb-show and -sudden exhibition of insanity, so that he believed his child was merely -missing, and that something would happen to tell him where he might be -found.</p> - -<p>"How sad!" said the girl. "It would have broken my heart to see it. -And does he still think that he will find his little boy?"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid it's his conviction, the subtle delusion of the diseased -brain," Hardy answered; "but in other matters with him it's like -writing on sand; next tide all's gone. Do not tell him you were a -stewardess. Converse with him as though he were perfectly sane. He is a -gentleman and an educated man. Humour his sorrowful fancy, for it can -hurt no one, and it keeps the poor fellow's heart up."</p> - -<p>"I suppose you are really in charge of the ship?" she said.</p> - -<p>"I am watching her navigation," he answered, "but I tell you I am -at a dead loss because he is the supreme law-giver of the vessel, -and what he orders must be done or it is mutiny. His orders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> -may be dangerous to my judgment, but not to the men's, who take the -course as it's given; and I dare not go amongst them and speak the -truth. He might get better and hear of it, and it would be in his power -to ruin me."</p> - -<p>She sank her head thoughtfully, understanding him. The door was -rapped.</p> - -<p>"Hullo," cried Hardy.</p> - -<p>It was the cabin servant who had come to tell Hardy that the captain -wished to see the lady.</p> - -<p>"Where is he?" inquired the mate.</p> - -<p>"On deck, sir. He'll come below when I report her ready to receive -him."</p> - -<p>"Report her ready," said Hardy, and he and the girl went into the -cabin.</p> - -<p>She seated herself on a cushioned locker, and he stood beside -her.</p> - -<p>"That's your berth," said he, pointing to a door.</p> - -<p>Gratitude and love were in the smile she gave him. The red western -blaze was on the skylight, and reposed on her hair like gold-dust. It -was Hardy's watch below—he was therefore at liberty to be in -the cabin. He caught sight of Candy staring through the skylight, but -the pale-eyed man walked off in a minute, and then the captain came -down.</p> - -<p>He bowed with the courtesy of breeding to the girl. Tradition -has scored so heavily against the merchant shipmaster by virtue of -romantic invention, which largely consists of lies, that I dare say -it is impossible for a landsman to believe that the commander of a -merchant-ship could be anything but a rough, grog-seamed, hoarse-voiced -salt, without grammar for his log-book. The lie stands as everlasting -as the pyramids, and for my part it may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> go on standing, but -it is a lie all the same, and it is my pleasure to paint the truth.</p> - -<p>As the girl returned the bow she saw the great Newfoundland in the -captain's wake, and cried out with a sudden passion of admiration, -"Oh, what a magnificent creature!" The dog made friends with her in an -instant, and by twenty canine tokens expressed delight in the caress of -her hand. No doubt the beautiful and faithful creature appreciated the -sweetening and civilising influence of the lady in that cabin.</p> - -<p>The captain began by putting several sane questions, and she -remembered that she was not to tell him that she had shipped as an -under-stewardess in the <i>Glamis Castle</i>. He knew the vessel, and -listened with a degree of attention, that excited Hardy's surprise, -to her narrative of the fire. He seemed to take a fancy to her, to be -pleased by her presence, and said he hoped she would be comfortable -on board his ship. In the midst of his rational talk he slapped his -forehead and kept his hand pressed to it, and his face changed; a look -of grief that made him almost haggard was visible when he dropped his -hand and gazed at the girl.</p> - -<p>"I miss my son—my little son," he exclaimed, "and I am waiting -for something"—he added, in a broken voice—"to tell me -where I can find him. His drum is by his bed—come and look at -it."</p> - -<p>Awed by the sudden confrontment of hopeless human grief, the girl -rose and followed him, with a glance at Hardy as for courage. The -heave of the deck was gentle; she was stronger, and stepped without -difficulty. The captain entered his cabin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> and closed the door -upon them both, which frightened her, for she easily now saw how it was -with his poor brain, and no one in the company of a madman can ever -dare swear that in the next minute he will continue harmless.</p> - -<p>"That is his drum," said the captain. "That is the little bed he -slept in."</p> - -<p>Hardy outside stood close at the door, listening and prepared.</p> - -<p>"He is my only child," continued the captain, compelling by his own -gaze the girl's attention to a little coat and a little cap, and other -garments of the boy which were hanging upon the bulkhead. "His mother -is dead, and she was my first and my only love. I miss him of a night, -and want him. He has been my constant companion in several voyages, and -the life of the captain of a ship at sea is lonely, and I miss him. -It was my delight to dress him and to listen to his talk. Oh, he is -a clever boy! He can ask questions which the greatest mind could not -answer."</p> - -<p>He sat down on a chair by the table on which were instruments -of navigation, a few books, pen and ink, and the like, and folding -his arms and bowing his head he sobbed dryly without concealment of -features, and the piteous face, bearded, the half-closed eyes, the long -hair under the cap which he had not removed, made the girl feel sick -and faint, as though to some oppressive stroke of personal grief.</p> - -<p>She rallied, for she was a young woman of great spirit, as I have -a right to hold, and remembering what Hardy had said, she exclaimed, -softly:</p> - -<p>"You will find him, Captain Layard."</p> <p><span -class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> <p>At this he looked up at her, started to -his feet, and his face was eager and impassioned with emotion not -communicable, for who can expound the workings of the diseased mind?</p> - -<p>"Tell me," he cried, and she saw what Hardy had also seen—the -baleful sparkle of mania in his eyes, "you're fresh from the sea, and -God may have sent you to me. Tell me!"</p> - -<p>She could not speak. Her consolatory phrase had exhausted -imagination, and her heart refused its sanction to the mate's humane -idea, that it was good to keep up the poor fellow's spirits.</p> - -<p>"Tell me!" he repeated, and he advanced a step and his eyes devoured -her face.</p> - -<p>"God will comfort you and help you," she replied, not knowing what -to say.</p> - -<p>He sighed, and turning his head fastened his eyes upon the little -bed, then looked at her again, this time with his painful expression of -superiority, the air of a man whose soul is exalted by contemplation -of something of heavenly importance divulged to him and to him only, -and wearing this face, he opened the door and she passed out, which was -lucky for Hardy, because had the captain gone first he would have found -the mate standing close and listening.</p> - -<p>The captain remained in his cabin. The others stood by the table, -and the western light, rich and red as a deep-bosomed rose, flowed down -upon them through the open skylight.</p> - -<p>"Poor man! Poor man!" the girl exclaimed. "I fear that what I've -said will create a delusion; he will think I know where his child -is."</p> - -<p>"His moods are like the dog-vane," said Hardy. "I could not hear -what passed."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> <p>She told him. He frowned with -the puzzle of his mind.</p> - -<p>"You can judge now for yourself," said he. "Is it right that a man -like this should command a ship whose safety became doubly precious to -me this morning?"</p> - -<p>She smiled gently, but gravity quickly returned; she could not but -reflect his face of worry and uncertainty. The great dog was lying at -his master's door, and all was silent in the captain's cabin. This, in -the pause, made her say:</p> - -<p>"He may commit suicide."</p> - -<p>"Not whilst he believes his son is alive and to be found," answered -Hardy.</p> - -<p>He walked to the door of her berth, opened it, and she saw that it -was as comfortably equipped as the ship would allow.</p> - -<p>"You shall have a hair-brush and whatever else I possess to give -you," said he. "But how about clothes? I can't dress you."</p> - -<p>"I am saved," she answered, "and that is enough to think of at -present."</p> - -<p>This was a spirited answer for a girl who was talking to the man she -loved, for would not any girl, addressing the man of her heart, grow -pensive to the thought that she had but one gown to wear in the whole -world?</p> - -<p>He felt a certain sense of independency owing to the captain's -state, and considered that he was entitled to act beyond his -rights as a mate. By which I mean that it could not much concern -him if the captain came out and found him talking to the girl, and -generally acting as though he were a passenger instead of an officer -of the ship.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> <p>"Come on deck," said he, "the -air will refresh you."</p> - -<p>And they went up the companion-steps, whilst the Newfoundland -continued to sentinel the captain's door.</p> - -<p>A glorious evening sky, in the west like a city on fire, clouds with -brows glowing into scarlet as they sailed into the splendour abeam, -the ship leaning with the breeze, and the white spume twinkling on the -eastern blue in a trembling heaven-full of the lights of foam. Two sail -were in sight, fairy gleams upon the lens-like edge on the port bow.</p> - -<p>"Oh," cried the girl, with a swift look along the deck, "after an -open boat! and one man groaning and then lying dead in her!"</p> - -<p>They walked slowly to and fro to leeward, leaving Mr. Candy, -who ogled them betwixt his white eyelashes, to pace the weather -quarter-deck in the loneliness of command. The sailors had immediately -seen how things stood. Nothing that happens at sea astonishes a sailor, -unless it is the expected, which is often a real surprise, so full of -disappointments, of leeway, head winds, misreckoning is the life. Here -was the chief mate who had fallen in with a girl whom he knew.</p> - -<p>"They might have kept company ashore," says Bill to Jim. "She was -bound one way and he another. Ain't that sailor fashion?"</p> - -<p>"Ain't she got a figure?" says Jim to Bill. "Wouldn't I like to put -my arm round her waist if Dick and the little 'un was playing. It's -damned hard on us sailor men that no female society's allowed aboard a -ship."</p> - -<p>"There's the figurehead if it's female," says Bill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -"I've known a man so 'ard up that of a dog-watch, when there was plenty -o' light, he'd slide down the dolphin-striker just to talk to the woman -on the stem-head. He'd say it was the next best thing."</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was, for some figureheads in those days were a little -gorgeous. I have seen ladies under the bowsprit with long black hair -and swelling bosoms, bright with golden stars. Their blush was deep, -their lips scarlet, their smile alluring, they were always curtseying, -and the sea in its loving humours flung snow-white nosegays at them.</p> - -<p>But the shadow of the boy's death was still upon the ship, and so -far the captain had treated his men <i>as</i> men, and they were sorry for -him. You may take it that a man is no sailor who ill-treats a sailor, -and despite tradition and the presence of the sea-lawyer, your ship's -company, if they are British, will serve you honestly if their food is -fit even for sailors, and if they are numerous enough to do the work -of one man and half a man added per head, as against the one-man work -which the shore exacts without expecting more.</p> - -<p>As Hardy and the girl walked the deck, whilst the ship sailed along -stately in the beautiful light of that evening, they talked again of -home and then of the country to which they were voyaging. The sail upon -the port bow leaned like tiny jets of red flame, and no star of heaven -could have filled the liquid distance with more grace.</p> - -<p>"It was certainly your destiny to make for Australia," said Hardy, -"and I now say what I thought from the beginning, that your chances lie -there. But we had to find you a berth."</p> - -<p>"Captain Smedley was very kind to me," she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> answered. "He would -sometimes invite me into his cabin and talk to me as pleasantly as -though he had known me all his life. He gave me an introduction to the -Bishop of Calcutta, and begged him to do everything that could be done -for a girl placed as I am. I believe he talked to the passengers about -me, for some were extremely good-natured and sympathetic, and would -apologise for troubling me if I waited upon them."</p> - -<p>"Any griffs aboard?" asked Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Some young officers," she answered, with a half smile upon her -lips, and looking down upon the deck, "but I kept as much to myself as -I could."</p> - -<p>"You'll find plenty of opportunities in Australia," said Hardy. -"There are rich squatters in that country, and you can be driving about -Melbourne and entertaining and doing what you pleased whilst he was a -thousand miles off counting his sheep."</p> - -<p>"Suppose all the rich squatters kept themselves a thousand miles -distant whilst I was in Melbourne, could I return in this ship?"</p> - -<p>She asked this question placidly, but her expression showed that she -did not appreciate this reference to the squatters.</p> - -<p>"You want position and you'll get it."</p> - -<p>"Could I return in this ship?"</p> - -<p>"We'll see," he answered, smiling at her. "A dinner and champagne to -the head of the firm of agents might help us, and nature did not intend -that you should ever plead in vain."</p> - -<p>As he said this the captain came on deck, followed by Sailor. -The Newfoundland, with the critical eye of an old salt, took a view -of the horizon, and in a minute rushed forward on to the forecastle -and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>reported two ships in sight on the port bow by a number -of barks, which made the men, who were lounging about the knight-heads, -laugh heartily. On seeing the captain, the mate touched his cap and -walked right aft on the lee-side, where with folded arms he seemed to -watch the sea, though he kept the captain and Julia in the corner of -his eye.</p> - -<p>The poor man approached the girl, who received him with a smile.</p> - -<p>"Has Mr. Hardy looked after you?" he said, kindly and gently.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, Captain Layard, I am very happy and comfortable, and thank -you over and over again for your goodness. I believe I should have died -by this time in that open boat, and I owe my life to you and this noble -ship."</p> - -<p>"I am very dull and lonely," he said in a musing way, clearly -inattentive to her words. "Those ships yonder break the continuity -of this everlasting circle, but they'll vanish shortly, and the full -desolation of the night will encompass us. It is the night that -I fear—it is the night that I fear!" he continued, almost -whispering, and gazing at her as a man looks at another whose pity and -help his heart is yearning for. "I miss him! If I dream of him I shall -go mad to find it a dream. But you know where he is."</p> - -<p>She hoped to divert his thoughts, and said: "I do not find the -sea desolate, Captain Layard. On fine nights I could stand for -hours looking at the stars; and is desolation on the sea when the -sun is shining? If I were a man I would be a sailor, for, although -it has nearly destroyed me, I have learnt to love the ocean."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> <p>She looked toward Hardy. The dog, having barked -his report of two sail in sight, came trotting aft, and stood beside -his master. The captain looked at him a little while in silence, his -brow contracted in meditation.</p> - -<p>"Which is real?" he asked, placing his foot upon the dog's shadow, -"this or this?" and he put his hand upon the dog.</p> - -<p>Julia, who found a necessity to humour him, answered:</p> - -<p>"Some great thinker has written, 'Shadows we are, and shadows we -pursue.'"</p> - -<p>"How long grows one's shadow in the dying sun!" said Captain Layard, -turning his face—filled with the yearning of grief and charged -with that subtle expression of madness for which no words are to be -found—toward the burning sky; "and soon we are nothing but -shadows. Do you believe in God?" He looked at her suddenly with an -extraordinary gaze of passionate anxiety.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, Captain Layard," replied the girl. "I believe in him now -if ever I did, and I have thanked him."</p> - -<p>His face put on its triumphant look, but he was interrupted in the -irrelevant sentiments he was about to deliver by the approach of the -boatswain.</p> - -<p>Julia crossed the deck to Hardy, glad to escape the pain of such -talk.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" said the captain.</p> - -<p>"The men we picked up," answered the boatswain, "have asked me -to come aft to say they're willing to serve as seamen aboard this -ship."</p> - -<p>"You are a full company," replied the captain, quickly. "I can't -afford to pay and keep more sailors."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> <p>"They're -likely men, sir," said the boatswain, speaking in a softened note of -respectful compassion.</p> - -<p>"They'll expect their wages."</p> - -<p>The boatswain answered he thought that was likely.</p> - -<p>"No," said the captain, "we'll transship them, and send them -home."</p> - -<p>He rounded on his heel, and sat upon the skylight, and gazed at -the dying lights in the west. What could be more sane than this man's -answers to the boatswain? Hardy had overheard them, and perplexity -was deepened in him. Who was going to convince the sailors that their -captain was mad unless he talked to them as he did to him and Julia? -And the captain sat looking at the dimming glory, and did not seem to -remember that he had been conversing with the girl, or to know that she -had left him.</p> - -<p>It was fine weather throughout that night, and the moon shone, -and the heaven of stars swarmed in sparkling hosts toward the grave -of the sun until the pallor of the dawn, like the face of the risen -Christ, put out those fires of the dark; the ship, bathed in the -ice-white radiance, stole phantom-like over the boundless cemetery -of the drowned, the perished sailors whose tombstones were in every -breaking surge. All had been quiet aboard that stealing ship, clad to -her trucks in the raiment of her day. The captain would pass a long -time in his cabin, then appear on deck, and walk it for a little space -self-engrossed; and it seemed to Hardy when his watch came round, -and when the captain showed himself, that the man's isolation and -silence <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>expressed, perhaps, a still dim but growing perception -of the fate of his little boy, in which case the delusion would leave -him, and his mind recover at least the strength it possessed when they -made sail in the English Channel.</p> - -<p>When the sun rose the ocean rolled in mackerel-tinted mounds, and -the ship swayed as she floated onwards at about five knots. Stu'nsails -had been set by order of the captain when he came on deck at dawn, -and, whitening the air on high, the swelling cloths carried the sight -to the heavens, which arched in a miracle of motionless feathers of -cloud, a glorious canopy of delicate plumes, in sweet keeping with the -airy graces of the queenly fabric which proudly bowed upon its mighty -throne.</p> - -<p>A sail was in sight on the starboard bow, and in two hours she would -be abreast. The Newfoundland, coming on deck with the captain when the -light broke, instantly barked its report of her, and now, a little -after eight, Hardy was viewing her through the ship's telescope; for -the sane instructions which had reached him were, that the four men -were to be transferred to the first ship which would receive them.</p> - -<p>The four men were on the forecastle watching the coming vessel; -they were good specimens of the English seaman of those days, sturdy -and whiskered, bronzed in face and bowed in back, with that steady air -which made you know that, like most British sailors, they were to be -trusted beyond all breeds of foreign mariners in the hour of sea peril, -when the ship was grinding out her heart upon the rocks, when the -belching hatches were blackening the air into a storm cloud, when the -blow of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> stranger's bows had riven the side into a gulf, when -the yawn of the started butt was burdening the hold with tons of -ship-drowning brine.</p> - -<p>When the ships were abreast, the stranger proved American, bound -for the River Thames. The beautiful flag of her great country shook -its barred folds at the peak, and you thought of Bishop's Berkeley's -prophetic line, "Westward the course of empire takes its way." Her -yellow sheathing flashed in artillery spoutings as she rolled from the -sun, her canvas with cotton was as white as milk, she was a wonder of -sea architecture, the creation of a people whose sires had launched -that exquisite structure, the Baltimore clipper.</p> - -<p>Captain Layard was now on deck, and Hardy must discover that in -matters of routine he was not going to work with the diseased half -of his head. He hailed the American captain, and they exchanged the -information they asked.</p> - -<p>"What ship is that? Where are you from, and where are you bound -to?"</p> - -<p>And the American wanted to know the Greenwich time by the -chronometers in Captain Layard's cabin.</p> - -<p>Then was shouted across in words as sane as ever sounded from a -quarter-deck the news of the recovery of four men from an open boat, -and would the American captain carry them home? Of course he would, and -within half an hour from the beginning of this rencounter the two ships -had started on their separate courses with colours dipping in cordial -good-byes—the seaman's hand-shake. And these were cousins.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XI.</span> <span class="smaller">THE CAPTAIN'S BIRTHDAY</span></h2> - -<p>Now in this business of transferring the four men Hardy noticed that -the captain made no reference to Miss Armstrong. Another captain would -have asked her if she wished to go home: perhaps, indeed, would have -sent her home without asking her. Was it because Captain Layard knew -she had no home? Hardy hoped it might be that, but suspected it was -not so. This ship wanted no stewardess; the girl was one more to feed, -and owners do not love liberality in their captains. In short, the -mate came to the conclusion that the captain's benevolence in keeping -the girl and giving her a passage to Australia for nothing was due to -hallucination, and the thought was uneasiness itself both for Julia's -sake and the ship's.</p> - -<p>It was the day following the transshipment of the men that he found -an opportunity during the captain's absence to take a turn with the -girl and talk to her. The sun was shining a little hotly, and the -clouds were sailing fast. Each round of swell, as it came under-running -the ship out of the northeast, was ridged and wrinkled with arches of -foam, and the day was alive with the music in the rigging, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> -the speckled wings of sea-birds in the wake, and the smoke-like shadow -of vapour floating through the sunshine on the water.</p> - -<p>After the couple had talked a little, Hardy said:</p> - -<p>"How does the captain treat you?"</p> - -<p>"Very kindly," she answered.</p> - -<p>"I keep an eye upon him," he said, "but it will not do to seem to -hang near when he is talking to you. He might round and become fierce, -for from madness you may expect anything. What is his talk about?"</p> - -<p>"Chiefly his lost child."</p> - -<p>A seaman who was in the main-rigging putting a fresh seizing to a -ratline looked at the girl, and thought deep in himself, Oh, lovey, -what a figure! But what that whiskered heart admired most was the -coquettish cock of her head, the grace of one hand upon her hip, the -charm of her motions as she walked, her posture when she turned aft -or forward on the return that was like a pause in some sweet dancer's -movements. Yes, Jack can keep a bright lookout when a girl heaves in -sight, but the mighty Charles Dickens is right in holding that Jack's -Nan is often the unloveliest of the fair.</p> - -<p>"Does he go on thinking that you know where his child is?" said -Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Yes. It is a fixed delusion, though I cannot humour it—it is -too sad—in spite of your wish."</p> - -<p>"The oddest part to me," said Hardy, "is the reason he shows in his -professional work. He doesn't confound things; the sail he talks of is -the sail it is; he still knows the ropes. The flicker of the leach of a -topgallantsail will set him wanting a small pull on the leebrace."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> <p>"How does he manage with the navigation?" asked -the girl.</p> - -<p>"He works it out as I do. He finds the ship's position to a second. -This may be the effect of habit, but is not custom beaten into rags -by insanity, like the head of an old drum? It's not so in this case, -and the crew mayn't find him out till the pilot boards us, and guess -nothing until they hear that the doctors have locked him up."</p> - -<p>"Then what does his madness signify?" said the girl. "He'll be as -good as the sanest if we arrive safely."</p> - -<p>"Ah, but it's the getting there! It's the what may happen to-morrow, -or to-morrow, or to-morrow, and that is going to make my hair gray, -Miss Armstrong."</p> - -<p>"Call me Julia," she said, looking at him with a sudden light in her -eyes.</p> - -<p>"Why should I take that liberty?" he replied, smiling.</p> - -<p>"Because I should love it," she answered.</p> - -<p>"I'll not call you Julia before him," he exclaimed, with a note of -fondness which brought a charming expression into her face, as the -kisses of a shower freshen the perfume of the rose. "It must be a stiff -Miss Armstrong or I am no mate," and then they fell to talking a little -nonsense.</p> - -<p>A day came, and it was the fifth day dating from the drowning of -the little drummer, and it was a Friday, in all tradition a black -day for the sailor; and nobody, I think, has taken notice that it -was Friday when Nelson, full of instinctive assurance that he would -never return alive, kissed his sleeping child and started to join his -ship for Trafalgar.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> <p>The captain, Miss Armstrong, -and Mr. Hardy sat at breakfast. The ship had made good way; not many -parallels lay between her and the northern verge of the tropics. The -sun poured his light in fire, and the flying-fish sparkled under the -bows.</p> - -<p>The sailors had noticed nothing in the captain to set them growling -suspicion into one another's ears with askant looks aft. If Mr. Candy, -who lived close to the skipper, had taken any sort of altitude of the -poor man's mind, he kept his observation secret; or it might be that he -believed the captain was a little upset by the loss of his child, and -he had not the penetrating sagacity of Hardy.</p> - -<p>The wind had fallen light, and the motions of the ship were as -easy as a swimmer's. Hardy had noticed in the captain's face when -they met that morning an expression of lofty triumph, of sublimated -self-complacency such as a man deranged by conquest and acclamation -might wear as he passes slowly through the huzzaing crowds. He seemed -self-crowned, and might have reminded a better student than Hardy of -one of Nat Lee's heaven-defying stage-kings.</p> - -<p>"To-day is Friday," said the captain, addressing Miss Armstrong, -"and what day do you think it is?"</p> - -<p>Julia thought awhile, for she fancied he meant something in the -almanac.</p> - -<p>"I don't know, captain," she answered.</p> - -<p>"It is my birthday," said the captain, "and Johnny is waiting -somewhere to kiss me."</p> - -<p>Hardy was about to deliver with all the respect of a mate a sentence -of congratulation, but the closing words of the captain silenced -him.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> <p>"I wish you many happy returns of the day," said -Julia.</p> - -<p>"You might like to know how old I am," said the captain, with an -indescribable look at the girl, "but every man should respect the -secret of his birth. Until we come to sixty we like to be thought much -younger, and when we come to eighty we tell lies that our friends -may think us ninety. I have good reason to congratulate myself upon -my birthday. I cannot believe that the Red Ensign ever floated over -a better seaman than I, a man who is both a gentleman and a sailor, -and it has been my privilege," he continued, talking as though he was -making an after-dinner speech, "to have dignified by my behaviour and -breeding a service that in public opinion is in want of dignity."</p> - -<p>Hardy burst into a laugh; he could not help it, but he instantly -apologised by saying that the captain's words made him think of the -first skipper he sailed with, betwixt whose legs, as he stood, you -could have fitted an oval picture, and whose face for beauty might have -been picked out of the harness cask.</p> - -<p>The captain with a slight frown cast his eyes upon the mate, and -said, "Johnny shall be a sailor. His mother would have desired him to -serve the queen at sea, but he shall perpetuate <i>me</i> under the flag I -serve."</p> - -<p>This was followed by a short silence; the others found nothing to -say. It was perhaps one of the saddest illustrations of madness on -record, and it set the listeners' hearts pining to do something that -was denied to their sympathy and distress.</p> - -<p>"The men shall have a holiday," said the captain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -who was scarcely eating. "It is my birthday, and they shall drink my -health at eight bells. You will drink my health, Mr. Hardy, and you, -Miss Armstrong?"</p> - -<p>They answered that they would drink his health with the greatest -pleasure.</p> - -<p>"You and Mr. Candy in rum, Mr. Hardy; you'll drink with the men, -for I like the officers of my ship to be associated with the crew on -festive occasions."</p> - -<p>"I will gladly drink with the men, sir," responded Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Rum is not a fit drink for young ladies," continued the captain, -with a faint smile, "and you, Miss Armstrong, will drink my health in -claret—a wine which shall not hurt you, because 'tis light and -old and nourishing."</p> - -<p>Julia bowed. Hardy was wondering what the men would think, but if -they thought this unusual deviation from sea routine odd, they would -certainly like it and hope for more. It was an exhibition of insane -generosity, of lunatic kindness, and the mate could see nothing else in -it.</p> - -<p>In obedience to the captain's instructions he went on deck, sending -Candy below to his breakfast, and called the boatswain aft.</p> - -<p>"It's the captain's orders," said he, "that the men shall knock off -work all day."</p> - -<p>The boatswain stared. "All day, sir?" he said.</p> - -<p>"It's his birthday," answered Hardy. "And all hands will drink his -health in good Jamaica rum at eight bells, served out on the capstan -head."</p> - -<p>Innumerable wrinkles overran the boatswain's face as grin after grin -rippled about his gale-hardened skin. He looked as if he would like to -say that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> here was a traverse that beat all his going a-fishing. -But the immense pleasure that beamed in his expression was full -assurance of the reception the crew would give the news.</p> - -<p>He walked slowly forward, and the men wondered at his deep and -constant grin. "One of the mate's stories, I reckon," thought Bill, and -Jim also thought that some joke of the mate had started the boatswain -on that smile. When he reached the forecastle the boatswain put his -silver whistle to his lips and blew the shrill music of "All hands!" -and a hundred little birds of the groves and woods seemed to be perched -in song upon the yards and rigging.</p> - -<p>The fellows who were below came tumbling up, startled by that call -in fine weather. In a very little time the whole of the crew had -gathered round their forecastle leader, who, after clearing his throat -and gazing about him with his profound smile, said:</p> - -<p>"Lads, it's the capt'n's birthday, and it's to be a holiday for you -all right away through, with liquor at noon to drink his health in."</p> - -<p>Sailors are usually so badly treated by all variety of shipowners' -sullen deafness to their grievances, that when on rare occasions, -sometimes originating in madness, they are well treated, their -astonishment is a phenomenon of emotion. It seems unnatural, they -think. A beautiful mermaid with a gilded tail and flowing hair of -bronze, with her white revealed charms made entrancing by the soft -blue of the water, could not amaze them more than a skipper's kindness -taking the form of Layard's.</p> - -<p>A brief spell of silence fell upon them as they looked at one -another and at the boatswain.</p> - -<p>"Ain't yer coddin' us?" said a man.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> <p>"Fill your -pipes, and go a-courting," answered the boatswain. "I'm for taking -advantage of it when it comes, which ain't ever too soon or often."</p> - -<p>This convinced the crew, who delivered a loud cheer, and then began -to talk and scatter, all of them feeling a bit aimless, for it wasn't -like going ashore.</p> - -<p>Hardy, who was keeping the deck whilst Candy breakfasted, watched -the proceedings on the forecastle, and wondered if this stroke of the -captain was going to give them any idea of the truth. But why should -it? If they suspected, through this act of kindness, that the boy's -loss had shifted the "old man's" ballast, they would only hope that a -long time would pass before his mental cargo was trimmed afresh. But -in truth they did not know that their captain was insane, and even -Candy, who was below sitting at the table and listening to the skipper -conversing with Miss Armstrong, would not have kissed the Book upon -it.</p> - -<p>Presently Mr. Candy came on deck, but Hardy, whose watch below it -was, thought he would stay a little and talk to Miss Armstrong, and -observe the captain if he should appear. Very soon after Mr. Candy -arrived Julia rose lightly through the companion-hatch. She was now -looking quite well, better indeed than she looked when Hardy first met -her. Again he found himself admiring her faultless figure and the pose -of her head, enchanting through its unconsciousness.</p> - -<p>"Where is the captain?" he asked her.</p> - -<p>"I left him at the table," she replied. "He was not in the cabin -when I came out of my berth."</p> - -<p>"I hope it won't end in his destroying himself,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> -exclaimed Hardy. "There is a great deal of goodness and humanity in -the poor fellow's heart, and it's dreadful to see a man struggling to -conquer his brain's disease. Who can tell what passes in the minds of -such people? But what am I to do? He is Prime Minister aboard this -ship, and those are the people," said he, nodding toward the crew, "who -must turn him out."</p> - -<p>"Have you told them they are to have a holiday?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Don't they look like it?" he replied.</p> - -<p>"How'll they spend it?" she inquired.</p> - -<p>"In loafing and smoking and sleeping. If the captain's liberal with -his grog— Well, the drummer's gone out of their heads—'tis -the way of the sea: a bubble over the side, a broken pipe in a vacant -bunk, and the ship sails on. They may dance and sing songs; and I hope -they will, for God knows the captain is depressing enough, and I like -to see the hornpipe danced."</p> - -<p>Meanwhile where was Captain Layard? He was in his cabin seated close -to the medicine-chest, which stood open, and reading a thin volume all -about poisons, and the quantities to be administered when given for -sickness. His great dog lay beside him. He read with a knitted brow, -and sometimes sank the volume to lift with his right hand some bottle -of poison out of its little square place. He would look at it and then -refer to the book.</p> - -<p>In this singular study, fearful with the menace of the light in -his eyes, tragically portentous with the lifting look of triumph and -the insane smile, he spent about half an hour, and then closing the -lid of the medicine-chest, he stood up and looked at the drum,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -and softly wrung his hands with a heart-moving expression, whose appeal -lay in the soul's perception seeking to pierce in vain the torturing -and bewildering veil of disease; for it is not the immortal soul of man -which is mad in madness, and this belief is God-sent; the soil buries -and resolves to ashes the mania that destroys, and the purified soul is -liberated to await the judgment of God—its Home.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes he stepped into the cabin and called the -attendant, who was handling crockery and glasses in the pantry. The -fellow stepped out.</p> - -<p>"Jump below into the lazarette," said the captain, "and draw a -bucket of rum. I want plenty. This is my birthday, and all hands will -drink my health."</p> - -<p>The man was not at all astonished; he had got the news from the -forecastle. He was a sort of steward, and knew the ropes in the -lazarette. The little hatch was just abaft the captain's chair, and -was opened by an iron ring. The man accepted the captain's orders -literally, disappeared, and returned with a clean, big bucket.</p> - -<p>The lazarette is an after-hold, a compartment of a ship in which in -those times all sorts of commodities used to be stowed, chiefly edible, -and for cabin use. The man lifted the hatch-cover—the hatch was -no more than a man-hole—and by help of the light, which shone -down upon a cask that was almost immediately under, pumped the bucket -nearly full.</p> - -<p>The captain went to the hatch and looked down, and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"Hand it up; I'll help you." He received the bucket and placed -it on the deck, and the man sprang through the hatch and replaced -the cover.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> <p>"Take it into my cabin," said -the captain, "and bring it on deck when I send you for it."</p> - -<p>And this was done, and the man went on deck whilst the captain -entered his berth and closed the door.</p> - -<p>"I have drawed enough to swim ye," said the cabin-attendant to -Bill.</p> - -<p>"'Tain't like being in port, though," answered Bill, whilst Jim and -several others like him grinned at the news of the grog. "When I takes -a drop, I'm for dancin', and where are the gurls?"</p> - -<p>"Ah!" echoed Jim in a sigh born of lobscouse and the livid fat of -diseased pork.</p> - -<p>Finding that the captain did not make his appearance, Hardy kept -the deck with Julia. Again they talked of the old home, the drunken -stepmother, the withering indifference of the retired Commander R. N. -to the loneliness and helplessness of his child, and to her prospects -in life.</p> - -<p>Hardy spoke of it with heat, and the girl's face was often hot with -the passion of memory.</p> - -<p>"What should I have done without you?" she said once and again, -and still again. "But if I cannot find employment in Australia, I -must return in this ship," and she looked at him with the eyes of a -sweetheart.</p> - -<p>"If anything happens to Captain Layard," said he, "no doubt I shall -get command."</p> - -<p>Now, "If anything should happen" is the roundabout of "If he -should die," and people modestly thus speak of death as though it was -anything, as though it was not the <i>only</i> thing that is real, to be -expected without fear of disappointment.</p> - -<p>"I believe he will grow quite mad long before we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -arrive at Melbourne," said Julia; "but even taking him as he is, would -the agents trust him?"</p> - -<p>"You want to come home in this ship, Julia?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"You are the only friend I have in the world," she answered; and -thus they cooed without billing, for Jack was in strength forward, and -the second mate walked the deck to windward, and a sailor stood at the -wheel.</p> - -<p>About a quarter before noon, but not till then, the captain emerged -with his sextant. If he had come up with a face of madness, the sextant -he held would have clothed him with all the sanity he needed in the -sailors' opinion. But his face showed no distinctive marks of the -condition of his mind, the expression was even calm; he seemed as one -who was about to realise the consuming hope of his life; the shadow of -the coming event subdued him. The crew were on deck gathered forward -in all variety of sprawling posture, smoking and talking, with teeth -sharpened by the hard and bitter fare of the sea. Also seven bells -having been struck some time since, they knew that noon and a bumper of -old Jamaica were at hand, and every eye was directed aft.</p> - -<p>Hardy disappeared and returned with his sextant, and Candy fetched -his, and the three men fell to screwing down the sun till its lower -limb was like a wheel upon the ocean line. The captain never spoke, -and Julia studying his face noticed the subdued look and the calmness, -and felt a little despairful, for, poor heart, she was in love, and -wanted the captain to go raving mad that Hardy might get command and -marry her at Melbourne, and bring her home. O God, what joy for a heart -so long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> joyless! A home, a protector, a husband, on whose -breast she could lean with her lips at his ear in softest murmurings of -wifely confidence.</p> - -<p>"Eight bells! Make it the bell eight!" and the four double chimes -rang gladly along the decks and up aloft.</p> - -<p>"Pass the word for the cabin servant," said the captain, speaking -and looking as collectedly as the sanest of skippers might show in that -first command of tacking, "Ready about!"</p> - -<p>The man came aft in a hurry, impelled by the thirsty yearning of -the forecastle mob, and in a couple or three minutes he was standing -at the capstan just abaft the mast with a bucket on the "head," and a -tot measure in his hand. The captain stood close to the man, and the -crew gathered around. The Newfoundland stood at his master's side. Now -was to be seen the most glowing canvas in the panorama which unfolds -this ship's adventure. The picture was alive with its crowd of faces -of seamen watching the lips of their commander, alive with the colour -and diversity of their apparel, with the silent breathing of the white -breast soaring to the height of the fiery streak of bunting, which -trembled in a dog-vane from the main-royal truck. The sea was soft in -caress and note, and Julia thought of the wayside fountain to which -<i>she</i> as well as Hardy had listened in the night, when, in the pause, -she heard the fall of the shower under the bow.</p> - -<p>"My lads," began the captain, and Hardy watched him with strained -attention, believing that the crew would see it, "this is my birthday, -and I am departing from the custom of the sea in making a general -holiday of it."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> <p>He grew pale and paler as he -spoke, but his voice did not falter, and no change was visible in his -expression save that a light as of secret exultation brightened his eye -and accentuated his pallor.</p> - -<p>"I have always tried to make a good master to my men, and to treat -them like men and sailors, and not as dogs which other captains seem to -find them."</p> - -<p>This was attended by a growl of appreciation.</p> - -<p>"So, my lads," continued the captain, "as this is my birthday, one -and all of you, the mates, and the lady last, but not least, shall -drink my health, and the health of the little boy who has left his drum -behind him."</p> - -<p>"May God bless you and him!" said one of the men, for this proved -to be one of those touches of nature which made all those rough hearts -akin.</p> - -<p>"Now serve out—serve out, and handsomely!"</p> - -<p>The boatswain drank first. And again and again and again the measure -was filled until all hands of the sailors, saving the man at the wheel, -had swallowed the fiery draught, many with a smack and a smile of -relish. Then the wheel was relieved, and another bumper was swallowed -with a "Many 'appy returns of the day, sir."</p> - -<p>"Drink," said the captain to the attendant, and the man drained a -full dose.</p> - -<p>"Sweeten the measure for the two mates," said the captain.</p> - -<p>This was quickly done. And then Hardy drank and then Candy, for both -had the throats of the sea, which seem lined with brass when 'tis ten -per cent. above proof. "Your health, sir"—and—"your health, -sir," and the mates took it down.</p> - -<p>"Now, Miss Armstrong, you will drink my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> health," said the -captain, and with the gallantry of an old beau he took her by the hand -and led her into the cabin. She glanced at Hardy with a smile before -she vanished.</p> - -<p>The men scattered as they went forward to get their dinner. The -captain took a wine-glass from a rack, and a bottle from a locker, and -filled the glass with red wine.</p> - -<p>"Drink to me and to the boy I am seeking, and then tell me where he -is," he exclaimed as he extended the glass. She took it, and said with -forced cheerfulness to humour him:</p> - -<p>"Your health, Captain Layard, and many happy returns of this day, -and my heart's gratitude to you for your kindness to me. And God will -some day show you where your child is."</p> - -<p>She drank half the contents of the glass. His eyes sparkled, and his -face was grotesque with the workings of his dreadful exultation.</p> - -<p>"Oh, you must drain it—you must drain it, Miss Armstrong, or -it'll be bad luck and no pledge."</p> - -<p>She drank the glass empty, and put it down upon the table. He gazed -at her with extraordinary intentness as though he listened to hear her -words, then swiftly entered his cabin, closed and bolted the door, and -pulling out a loaded revolver from under the pillow in his bunk, seated -himself, and with the weapon upon his knee in his grasp sat hearkening, -with his eyes fastened upon the door.</p> - -<p>The time slowly passed and still he continued to sit, grasping the -pistol upon his knee, with his eyes of madness fixed upon the door. -His face was now revolting with its look of burning expectation and -triumph. Suddenly a stream of sunshine moved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> slowly, like a spoke -of a softly revolving wheel, over the carpeted deck of the captain's -cabin, and any one might have known by the motions of the ship that -she was not under command. You heard faint, vague sounds of trampling -above, a dim noise as of a sick crowd poisoned by vapour and feebly -struggling to escape, and in the midst of it the captain's door was -struck: the blow was languid and repeated three or four times only, and -no noise attended it.</p> - -<p>The madman sprang from his chair and stood erect with the revolver -half raised from his side, and his eyes sparkled in his face that -was dark with murderous intent. Thus he stood whilst the spoke of -light through the port-hole moved gradually round the cabin until it -vanished, by which time all was silent without. The unhappy man resumed -his seat and former posture, and thus it went for half an hour at -least; then, always grasping his murderous weapon, he walked like one -in the chamber of death, carefully opened the door, and peered out.</p> - -<p>The first sight he witnessed was the figure of the chief mate, -Hardy, stretched at its length and on its side within a pace or two -of the threshold, and upon the locker on the port side of the table, -a cushioned locker as comfortable as a couch, lay the form of Julia -Armstrong; her right arm hung down, and she lay as apparently dead as -Hardy. The captain stepped across the body of the mate and looked with -devouring, sparkling eyes at the girl, while he seemed to listen for -sounds above. Nothing was to be heard save the inner grumbling of the -ship as she swayed helpless in arrest. Now and again the wheel chains -clanked to the blow of the sea upon the rudder.</p> - -<p>The captain went to the girl's side and looked at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -her: her face was placid, pale, ghastly, and her lips a bright red. -Thus exactly did Hardy's face show, and any one experienced in the -symptoms of poisoning by laudanum or morphia would have known that -these two people had been heavily drugged, even perhaps unto death.</p> - -<p>It was the birthday of a madman in search of his drowned child, -and they had drunk his health and the little drummer's. His face took -on an air of hurry and bustle, and, always gripping his revolver, he -stepped nimbly to the companion-steps and mounted them. He raised his -head just above the companion-hood and looked; he saw that the man who -had stood at the wheel was lying motionless beside it. Almost abreast -of the companion was the curved form of Candy, who seemed to have been -doubled up and then reeled into lifelessness. A few prostrate forms -were to be seen forward, in the waist and about the forescuttle. They -lay lifeless in the sleep or death of the drugged draught in which they -had pledged their captain. In the forecastle lay the rest, some on the -deck, some in their bunks, and every face showed as Hardy's and the -girl's, placid, pale, and ghastly, and the lips a bright red. All the -symptoms had been expended, the first pleasurable mental excitement, -then the weariness, the headache, the intolerable weight of limb, the -spinning and sickening giddiness, the drowsiness, the stupor, and now -insensibility or death.</p> - -<p>The captain rose in the hatch to his full height and stepped on -to the deck, followed by the dog, which went to Candy and smelt him, -and then with a low, uneasy growl went to the figure beside the wheel -and sniffed at it. With a dreadful smile of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> hope and rejoicing -the captain thrust the pistol into a side pocket and, going to the -wheel, put the helm hard a-starboard, and secured it by several turns -of the end of the mainbrace.</p> - -<p>This done, always preserving his horrible expression of lofty -exaltation, he took the breaker out of the bow of the port -quarter-boat, filled it from the scuttle-butt, and replaced it. God -knows how he was directed in what he did; the instincts of habit and -knowledge must have governed him. It is certain that he made his -preparations for departure with the sanity of a healthy brain. His dog -closely followed him, and seemed afraid. He then went below into the -pantry and returned with his arms full of food, which he placed in the -stern-sheets along with a tumbler which he pulled out of his pocket. He -moved rapidly and his lips often worked, and he'd flash his gaze along -the decks at that memorable, tragical picture of ship with lifeless -figures upon the planks, with all her white canvas curving inwards, -stirless in the stream of the breeze. She seemed to have been drugged -too, and rolled with a kind of stagger upon the soft folds of the -swell.</p> - -<p>He went below again, the dog at his heels, and, entering his cabin, -took a dog-collar and chain out of a locker and secured the noble -animal to a leg of the table, which was cleated and immovable. When he -had done this he pressed his lips to the dog's head and sobbed dryly -and sighed, for the light in his eyes was too hot a fire for tears. The -dog whined and wagged its tail, and looked a hundred questions with its -gentle eyes.</p> - -<p>"I shall bring him back, I shall bring him back, Sailor!" the -captain muttered to the Newfoundland.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> <p>And all this -time Hardy lay close beside the dog as dead to the eye as any corpse -under the ground.</p> - -<p>The captain went to the side of the girl and picked her up off the -cushioned locker with the ease of a man lifting a child. With her -motionless form in his arms he gained the deck and laid her in the -boat, passing her under the after-thwart, so that her head lay low in -the stern-sheets. He sprang for a colour in the flag-locker and placed -the bunting that was ready rolled under her head. She never sighed, she -never stirred. Not paler nor calmer could her face have shown on the -pillow of death.</p> - -<p>Now the boat was to be lowered, and he went to work thus: he cast -adrift the gripes which had held the boat steady betwixt the davits, -and then he slackened the falls at the bow, belaying the tackle, and -then he slackened the falls at the stern, belaying the tackle; and -so by degrees the boat sank in irregular jerks to the surface of the -water. He sprang on to the bow tackle and descended with the nimbleness -of a monkey, with wonderful swiftness unhooked the blocks, and the boat -was free. Next he stepped the mast upon which the sail lay furled, then -the rudder; then shoved clear and hoisted the small square of lug, and -in a few minutes he was blowing away gently into the boundless blue -distance, looking all about him with a proud but ghastly smile for a -sight of his missing boy, whilst the girl lay like the dead in the -bottom of the boat.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XII.</span> <span class="smaller">JULIA CALLS "JOHNNY!"</span></h2> - -<p>It was about half-past two o'clock in the afternoon and the sun -shone hotly. The breeze was a pleasant wind for that boat, and the -captain put her dead before it and blew onwards into the boundless -distance, squarely seated at the amidship helm, with the white and -placid face of the drugged girl at his feet.</p> - -<p>He would often look at her with a passionate eagerness, and then -direct his brilliant eyes over the sea, and his countenance was now -shocking with its expression of real madness, charged with the ghastly -illumination of his one maniacal belief, that the girl, who was fresh -from the sea when he missed his boy, knew where he was and would take -him to the child, and then they would return to the ship, and once -more the drum would rattle and the whistle awaken the birds in the -rigging.</p> - -<p>Never before in all human tradition of ocean life had fate painted -upon the bosom of the deep a picture more wonderful by virtue of -its secret and tragic meaning. There would be nothing in the mere -scene of a beautiful clipper ship under all plain sail, her canvas -hollowing inwards visibly, to all intents and purposes derelict; there -would be nothing in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> spectacle of a little open boat borne -onwards by the humming heart of its swelling square of canvas, steered -by a lonely figure, the other being hidden. It might be to a distant -eye the flight of a single survivor from a floating pest-house. But it -was the story of the thing which makes it so extraordinary that I who -am writing pause with astonishment, dismayed also by the lack of the -exquisite cunning I need to submit the truth.</p> - -<p>The girl had been drugged with morphia, but in what dose, and in -what doses the men, it is impossible to conjecture. The madman reading -the book of directions may have understood it, but insanity had -rendered memory useless when it came to his mixing the poison with the -liquor and the wine. But she was not dead; he would have found that out -if he had bared her breast and put his ear to the white softness. But -would she die in that sleep which was as death? for I believe it is the -heart's action that fails in such cases, and at any moment her soul -might return to God.</p> - -<p>But he! poor unhappy wretch, if he understood what his mad but most -moving love for his child had impelled him to do, his perception would -not be as ours. His heart burned with desire that she should awake and -tell him in which direction he should steer, for already the ship was a -toy astern, three spires of ice-like radiance dipping to the eye on the -brows of the blue swell as the boat rose and sank, jewelling the water -with two foam-threaded lines of little yeasty bubbles.</p> - -<p>Would she ever awaken? How long would she continue in sleep? To -some a dose of morphia professionally prescribed will yield a long -night's rest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> not wholly unrefreshing, though the drug is obnoxious -to the brain, which in time it murders. Therefore she might sleep into -the early hours of the night.</p> - -<p>But these were not <i>his</i> speculations. His mind was intent on one -object, and he held the boat straight before the wind, waiting for her -to look at him and rise, and point to the spot where his boy was.</p> - -<p>It passed into about an hour before sunset.</p> - -<p>From time to time the captain had laid his hand gently upon the -girl's brow, believing she would open her eyes and speak to him. He was -like a child whose grave or tragic act was beyond his mind's capacity -to understand. He was painfully haggard, and sweat drops were on his -forehead and cheeks, but the dreadful fire was always in his eyes. And -once he stared fixedly over the port bow of the boat as though his poor -brain had shaped the vision of his child: he stared as though he beheld -the phantom, and when it vanished out of the perfidious cell which had -created it he sighed and frowned.</p> - -<p>He took no heed of sensation; thirst and hunger may have been -his, but he never left the helm to drink or eat. At the hour I have -named the westering sun was beginning to empurple the east, and he -was steering toward the point where the evening star would rise. More -than half the moon was hanging in a broken shape of dim pearl over -the boat's bows. All at once the captain's ceaseless stare at the -ocean brought his eyes to an object almost directly ahead. He was a -sailor, and his afflicted reason could not deceive him. Right ahead -and within half an hour's sail—so low seated was the gunwale of -that boat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>—lay a small vessel, partly dismasted and deep -sunk. She was painted black. Her lower masts were white, and both -foresail and mainsail were hanging, but the trysail was stowed.</p> - -<p>"He will be there! he will be there!" cried the captain in a voice -that swept like a shriek from his lips, and as the words left him the -girl, with a long, strange sigh, opened her eyes full upon the wild -nightmare face that was on a line with her head, for he had sprung to -his feet.</p> - -<p>"He is there!" he shouted again.</p> - -<p>Then looking down he saw her watching him, and had he been sane -would have witnessed the awakening reason in her darkening into horror. -She tried to sit up, but her body was heavy as lead.</p> - -<p>"Oh, what is this? Where am I?" she asked, more in a mutter than in -clear speech.</p> - -<p>"He is there!" he cried, pointing with a frantic gesture, "and you -have known it throughout your sleep. Look!" He stooped, put his hands -under her arms and lifted her out of the bottom of the boat into the -stern-sheets, against whose back-board she sank.</p> - -<p>Now morphia gives you but sleep if it does not kill you, and -reason with many is immediately active when slumber is ended; but the -captain's face alone would have sufficed to stimulate the most sluggish -consciousness into clear perception, and without understanding the -reason of it she grasped her situation.</p> - -<p>She was alone in a boat with the mad captain of the <i>York</i>, and -there was nothing in sight save the everlasting circle of the sea -girdling a small broken vessel toward which the boat was running, -for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> captain had his hand upon the yoke, and the little -fabric was dead before it once again.</p> - -<p>Despair laid the ice-cold hand of death upon the poor girl's heart. -What could she do? What would <i>he</i> do?</p> - -<p>As the sun slowly floated down the slope he was glorifying, the moon -brightened her broken face. Julia's lips were dry; her tongue had the -rasp of a cat's upon the roof of her mouth.</p> - -<p>"Is there water here?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes. You shall have water. Put your hand upon this. What -sha'n't you have who have helped me to find him!"</p> - -<p>She extended her hand and held the yoke steady, and he went into the -bows with the glass and filled it from the breaker, all as sensibly as -though he was right in mind; but he stood two or three moments to look -at the vessel they were nearing and talk to her.</p> - -<p>She drank with the thirst of fever, and then perfect realisation -possessing her, a little impulse of hope quickened the beat of her -heart, for she thought to herself, made cool by hope, "There are people -in that ship, and I shall be saved."</p> - -<p>The vessel was a small brig, floating on a cargo of timber. She -showed a tolerable height of side, and judging from her condition she -had started a butt, and the inrush had overmastered the pump, and as -her davits were empty her people had no doubt got away in the boats. -She made a churchyard picture for forlornness, with the broken moon -hanging over her, though daylight still throbbed in folds of cloud in -the deep west.</p> - -<p>Julia saw with a fainting heart that the brig was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> -deserted, and she turned her eyes up to God and asked what should she -do?</p> - -<p>The captain stood in silence, with one hand backward upon the yoke, -his head inclined forward with intent, searching stare.</p> - -<p>"He may be in that brig," at last he said. "What moved then? No, -'twas the swing of the forebrace. And if he is not in that vessel," he -continued, in a voice of cunning, "you who know where he is will tell -me where to steer."</p> - -<p>She brought the whole of her wits together in her resolution to -live, and remembered that she had given some order to this man's -insanity by her system of answering his talk. She exclaimed with all -the tranquillity she could summon:</p> - -<p>"If he is not in that vessel, Captain Layard, you will let me rest -in her for the night, because if you keep me sitting in this open boat -I shall be worn out, or I might die—I am not strong—and -how, then, could I help you to find little Johnny?"</p> - -<p>"Right! You are right," he answered, swiftly; "you shall rest in -that brig if he is not there; but if he is there," changing his voice -into a note of triumph, he added, "we must rejoin the ship, because I -want the men to see him. And I am dying for his company at night, and -for the sound of his drum."</p> - -<p>As he spoke these words the boat was alongside the abandoned -timberman, and with the dexterity of a sailor—for in all -professional work he was as sane as the sanest—he put the helm -down, sprang to let go the halliards of the lug, and secured the boat -by passing her painter through a channel plate.</p> - -<p>This brig had old-fashioned channels, which were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -platforms secured to the ship's side so as to give a wide spread to the -shrouds and backstays. The boat sat close beside the main-channel. With -the resolution of one who works for life the girl seized the lanyards -of the dead-eyes, and with the ease which her graceful figure would -have promised gained the platform of channel, and a minute later the -deck.</p> - -<p>With aberration disciplined by professional habit the captain went -to work, his intentions being perfectly sane, save that he discovered -an extraordinary anxiety and eagerness to get on board the brig. He -knew that he and the girl were to pass the night in the vessel, and so, -with the quick motions of madness and with the strength which madness -often confers, he got the breaker of water into the main-channel, then -placed beside it the stock of provisions he had stowed away aft, and -called to Julia:</p> - -<p>"Do you see him?"</p> - -<p>"Come on deck, and we will look," she answered, for now that she -stood on a solid deck her nerve had returned.</p> - -<p>"Steady this breaker on the rail," he called.</p> - -<p>He handed it on to the rail, and she held it. He then threw the -provisions on to the deck, leapt inboard, and placed the breaker -betwixt a couple of loose planks. The moon was shining brightly, and -its light rippled in lines of lustrous pearl. The heave of the sea was -slow and solemn, the wind was soft and weak, and the west was still -scored with streaks of crimson; but night was at hand, and some stars -were trembling in the east.</p> - -<p>She was one of those little brigs which are among the quaintest -of the marine objects of the port or harbour. Her forward-deck from -the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>main-hatchway was heaped with timber cleverly stowed, -with room for a little caboose and a narrow alley to it from the hatch. -Some of the running rigging lay loose about the decks, and this gave -her a look of confusion. Otherwise, from the appearance of her deck -cargo, it was clear that she had not been hurt by weather. A deck-house -nearly filled the quarter-deck; there was just room on either hand for -a man to walk.</p> - -<p>The captain stood silent for a minute staring about him. He then -muttered:</p> - -<p>"Nothing moves; I see nothing alive. He may be there. Come, for it -will be you to see him first."</p> - -<p>He went to the door of the deck-house, and Julia followed. Two -windows stood on either side the door, and four windows ran down either -wall. But when they entered the moon made so faint a light through the -door and the windows that it was difficult to see. Yet distinctive -features of the interior were visible: a table, three or four chairs, -and a bulkhead abaft, which might screen from the living-room two holes -for the skipper and his mate to sleep in.</p> - -<p>"Call him," whispered the captain, as though he stood in a -dead-house.</p> - -<p>"Johnny!" cried the girl, "come to father if you are here, -Johnny!"</p> - -<p>She had a wonderful spirit to say this. She felt the horrible -mockery of it and the recoil of its ghastly derisiveness upon her -heart, but she knew that Hardy could not be far off, and would seek -her. The passion of life was strong in her, and she judged that her -only chance lay in inspiriting the poor man's dreadful conviction that -she could help him to find his son.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> <p>"Call him -again," said the captain, and again she called.</p> - -<p>He advanced a step, and she saw him in the faint suffusion straining -in a posture of desperate gaze, of desperate hearkening, as though his -teeth were set and the sweat of blood was on his brow, and the palms of -his hands were bloody with the penetration of the finger-nails.</p> - -<p>At that moment she heard a single stroke of a bell. She started with -a cry, with instant rejoicing, for she believed there were men in the -vessel.</p> - -<p>"What was that?" said the captain.</p> - -<p>"A bell!" she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"O God! it may be Johnny!" he shouted, and he rushed through the -open door.</p> - -<p>She quickly followed; she was not a superstitious fool, she was a -girl at sea, and, as a girl might, she supposed that if a bell were -struck upon a ship's deck it was by a man.</p> - -<p>A small bell was hung betwixt the foremast and the foremost end of -the galley or caboose, and immediately under it lay, bottom up, secured -to the deck, a small tub of a boat. It was easy to understand why the -bell should have tolled. It had been struck by some bight of buntline -or clewline in the sway of the brig as she heeled to the fold, and the -sharp return of the bell jerked the tongue against the metal side in a -single stroke.</p> - -<p>But the captain was too mad to understand this, and Julia was a girl -at sea without eyes for bights of running gear. She was startled, nay, -a sudden horror of superstition visited her when following the captain. -She stood near the bell and saw no signs of human creature. She cast -looks of fear all about;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> one, even one, man would protect her -against the horrible yokedom of this passage. The planks had the sheen -of satin in the moonlight, and the power of the satellite sufficed to -fling dark shadows upon the decks, and these shadows moved as the brig -rolled. But she saw no man; and what ghostly hand then had struck that -bell? For the night might go before the swing of the bight of gear -should, by adjustment of the rolling of the vessel, exactly hit the -bell again and make it ring.</p> - -<p>The captain began to call, "Johnny, Johnny, where are you? Come out -of your hiding-place, little sonny. Here's father waiting for you."</p> - -<p>He breathed deep, listening and gazing about him; but no other reply -reached his ear than the sob of water under the bow, the moan of night -wind in the rigging, the sullen slap of canvas against the mast.</p> - -<p>"Do you see him?" the captain asked, and the eyes of madness -sparkled in the moonshine as he turned his gaze upon the girl.</p> - -<p>She answered, huskily, "No, I do not see him. Who struck that -bell?"</p> - -<p>"He did," said the captain. "O God! O everlasting Father! Why does -he hide himself from me?"</p> - -<p>He clasped his hands and raised them and looked up, and in that -posture he muttered as though he prayed, and all the while Julia -was staring about her, faint with fear, and with the sight of that -imploring figure of afflicted manhood; for who had struck the bell? -And did the dead come to life again in phantoms? And was the spirit -of Johnny invisibly present?</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p> <p>Poor Julia!</p> - -<p>"He may come out of his hiding-place if we go aft," said the captain -in his voice of cunning. "Stop!"</p> - -<p>He stepped to the little caboose and entered it.</p> - -<p>"Not here, not here," he groaned as he came out, "but we must have -patience. We will sit and wait. We'll sit and watch the deck, and at -any moment you may see his little figure coming along."</p> - -<p>Weak with fear and superstition, and the horror of her ghastly -situation, she followed the miserable man to the deck-house. He entered -and brought out two chairs, which he placed in front of the door, -and they sat down. It was certain that the man believed the child to -be in this abandoned vessel, and this was assurance to Julia that he -would not compel her to enter the boat and sail away in search of the -boy. The thought inspired some faint hope; she knew that this was no -unfrequented tract of ocean, and that even if Hardy did not seek her, -any hour next day might bring along some ship which she could signal to -by flourishing her handkerchief. But Hardy! She began to think whilst -her dreadful companion sat beside her staring along the moonlighted -deck, and waiting for his boy to come. She fully understood that she -had been drugged; her thoughts went to the medicine-chest; had the -captain poisoned Hardy and the rest of the crew that he might steal -her from the ship? This puzzled her, for if the crew had been drugged -they might have been drugged to death by the irresponsible hand of this -madman, and Hardy would be lost to her for ever, and his ship would not -come to rescue her.</p> - -<p>These were her thoughts "too deep for tears," but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> it -was fortunate that she had slept soundly and well in the boat, for now, -though wearied in bone and faint at heart, she was as sleepless as the -poor, tireless creature beside her. She could not have endured to enter -the deck-house and rest there; she needed the companionship of the moon -and the stars, and the visible surface of the deep blackening out from -either hand the wake of the luminary to its limitless recesses. The -whisper of the wind in the rigging was companionship, but the movements -of the shadows upon the whitened planks were a perpetual fear, for who -had struck the bell? and was the vessel haunted? Her throat was parched -and she asked for water.</p> - -<p>"Certainly; oh, yes. He is long in coming, but when he comes we'll -rejoin the ship," the captain said as he rose, and quite sanely he went -to the breaker, filled the tumbler, and returned with a glassful and a -biscuit.</p> - -<p>There was the courtesy of good breeding in the poor fellow as -he handed her the glass, for the soul that is never mad will shine -through disease, and Captain Layard, who was born a gentleman, proved -a gentleman even when insane. She drank gratefully and ate the -biscuit.</p> - -<p>He took the glass from her and filled it for himself, but did not -eat. Then he returned to his chair, and that dreadful watch on deck -again began. Often he would say:</p> - -<p>"Do you see him? Why should he keep in hiding?"</p> - -<p>And sometimes he would quit his seat and go to the rail, and look -into the sea over the side.</p> - -<p>The water swarmed with fire this night; the chilly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> -sea-glow started in fibres, in clouds like luminous smoke, in coils -like revolving eels, and it is conceivable that the crazed eye which -was bent upon these lights should fashion them into phantasms, into -grotesque shapes, into the crowd of brassy faces which the sealed but -waking vision beholds when the brain is drugged. He would spend twenty -minutes in searching the waters, and then cross to the other side and -spend a quarter of an hour in a like hunt. Always when he returned -to his chair he would mutter to himself, "Why doesn't he come?" -And once he started up with a frantic cry which was frightful with -inarticulateness; he dashed his hand to his forehead and held it there, -with his left arm stiffened out and the fingers curled with the agony -of his mind.</p> - -<p>At that moment the bell was again struck, and now it was Julia who -shrieked. She started up and bent her head forward, thinking to see -the figure that had struck the bell. The captain broke into a wild -laugh.</p> - -<p>"I see him! I see him!" he cried. "O Johnny, I'm your father!" and -he started into a run with his arms outstretched, as if to seize the -phantom he beheld.</p> - -<p>He ran past the bell, and crying, "I am coming, Johnny, I am -coming!" climbed on to the top of the deck load, and in a strange -croaking voice, as though it proceeded from some huge sea-bird sailing -overhead, he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"There you are at last, my Johnny! Father is coming to you!" and -sprang overboard.</p> - -<p>Julia fell upon the deck and lay lifeless in a swoon.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XIII.</span> <span class="smaller">THEY MEET</span></h2> - -<p>It was moonlight on the sea, and the full-rigged ship <i>York</i> lay -with her canvas aback, silently heaving upon the swell. But by the eye -of a sailor a certain moisture would have been visible in the silver -suffusion, and he might hardly have needed to look at the glass to -guess that this calm scene of ocean night would in a few hours show a -changed face. The time was shortly after ten.</p> - -<p>The lamp in the cabin was unlighted, but the moon shone upon the -skylight, and the darkness was whitened by it, and all features of the -interior were visible. Hardy lay stretched upon the cabin deck, and -within an arm's reach of him rested the great Newfoundland dog, secured -by a chain to the leg of the table. The picture was wonderful for its -human stillness: you heard no tramp of foot, no call of voice. The -very sails slept against the masts, and nothing was audible but the -complaint of a bulkhead or some strong fastening as the ship sluggishly -took the run of the fold.</p> - -<p>All of a sudden Hardy opened his eyes, and having opened them -he kept them open, staring with just that look of bewilderment -and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>astonishment which had been in Julia's dawning gaze. -He tried to raise his head and thought it was a cannon-ball, but the -dog had noticed the motion, and instantly alert with joy barked in -deep-throated notes, with endless wagging of the tail.</p> - -<p>This tremendous noise close in his ear was as galvanism to the dead -frog. Hardy sat up and looked at the dog and then looked round him, -and feeling all the sensations of a man drugged with liquor, believed, -without being able to remember, that he had fallen down drunk. This -is the sensation of the man who is fortunate enough to awake from the -stupefaction of laudanum.</p> - -<p>"Good God! What is this?" Hardy muttered, and he squeezed his brow -with his hands as you would wring a swab to drain the wet out of it:</p> - -<p>Then slowly memory began to operate, whilst the dog was straining -to reach him and caress him. "My God!" he thought after a passage of -reflection, "the madman poisoned us when we drank his health!" And -then it all came to him. He rose to his feet, but his legs trembled -and he could hardly stand. "Where is Julia?" and next, "Where is the -captain?"</p> - -<p>The dog began to bark with something of fury, and Hardy with -trembling hands removed the collar from the brute's neck. The noble -animal sprang upon Hardy in affectionate caress and nearly felled -him with its weight, then dashed into the captain's cabin, the door -of which swung ajar, and Hardy followed. He could hardly see, it -was so dark here, and he felt the captain's bunk and wandered round -on staggering legs, feeling. His throat was as hot as the bowl of -a lighted pipe, and it felt the hotter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> when he heard the dog -in the cabin lapping at some water in the dish that was meant for its -use. He went to the swing-tray, where there was water, and drank a full -draught, which greatly helped him both in wits and body, then entered -Julia's cabin and felt the bunk and found she was not there. "What has -he done?" he thought, and with heavy limbs he made his way on deck.</p> - -<p>The light was brilliant enough after the cabin gloom, and he could -see clearly. He stood in the hatch, holding by the companion-hood.</p> - -<p>Abreast of him lay, in convulsed posture, the figure of the second -mate, Candy. He turned his head and saw the shape of a man lying -prostrate beside the wheel. He took note by the aid of the moon that -the wheel was lashed, then his eyes travelled to a pair of empty -davits, and he staggered to them and looked down. He could trace the -black lines of the falls, and saw the blocks as the ship swayed, -kindling fire in the dark water.</p> - -<p>He was a sailor, and at once understood it all. A groan escaped -his lips whilst he thought, "He has gone away in the boat with Julia -to seek his son. How am I to recover her?" And the horror of her -situation—alone in an open boat with a madman—penetrated -his heart, and seemed to petrify him. He could just distinguish two or -three dark figures overhanging the forecastle rail, and a couple of -sailors lay motionless upon the deck a little way abaft the galley.</p> - -<p>The dog had bounded up out of the cabin, and was wandering around -sniffing at one silent figure and another: no doubt he was in quest -of his master. Then it occurred to Hardy to remember that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -grog had been served out at noon. Suppose he had got away at two.</p> - -<p>What sort of breeze was then blowing?</p> - -<p>He reflected and remembered.</p> - -<p>He would sail dead away and right before it, for he had no -destination, and was sure to shape the crow's course. "Grant her four -miles an hour, and this is ten o'clock," he thought, pulling out his -watch and holding it to the moon. "The boat may have covered thirty -miles of sea. They may have been fallen in with and rescued, for Julia -would shriek her story, and the captain might believe that Johnny was -aboard. But how shall I know? How shall I know? I must take it that the -boat is still afloat, and Julia must be saved."</p> - -<p>He considered the direction of the wind, and made up his mind to the -course that must be steered; but now as to the crew. He went to Candy -and, kneeling, shook him, put his hand to his face, put his ear to his -mouth, and easily saw that he was dead. The discovery thrilled through -him like the cut of a sword on the shoulder. He walked to the figure -beside the wheel, and in a little while could not doubt that the man, -too, was dead. It was not because he was a doctor's son that he needed -to be informed of the action of a heavy dose of laudanum, or some -poisonous drug of that sort, upon the movements of a weak heart. But -there were live men forward, and with sluggish motions of his limbs he -went that way.</p> - -<p>He stooped over the two figures abaft the galley, and detected life -in them. He then stepped on to the forecastle, and the first man he -spoke to was the boatswain, who was resting his head in his arm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> -upon the rail. He now saw there were three others near him, and two -were sitting on the coamings of the forescuttle.</p> - -<p>"The captain was mad and has drugged us," said Hardy. "He has taken -the lady with him, and I want to give chase. Where are the rest of the -men?"</p> - -<p>"As the Lord is God," answered the boatswain, "don't my precious -head know it's been drugged. Talk o' Shanghaing! But I never knowed it -from the hand of a skipper nor worse than this."</p> - -<p>"I want to trim sail, and make a start to rescue the lady," said -Hardy.</p> - -<p>"You'll not get the men to move if there was twenty ladies to be -rescooed," responded the boatswain, who spoke as if he was drunk.</p> - -<p>"I ha'n't got strength to lift a sprat to my mouth if I was -starving," said one of the men, who leaned with folded arms as though -at any moment the three of them would sink exhausted to the deck.</p> - -<p>It drove Hardy crazy with a consuming desire to start in chase to -see their helplessness and to feel his own. But what was he to do! Here -were four men, and two sitting on the coamings of the scuttle, and two -alive, though prostrate, near the galley—eight men, and more -perhaps below in the forecastle.</p> - -<p>So he went to the hatch and asked the two men how they felt. They -answered with curses, swearing they'd have hove the captain overboard -before he should ha' poisoned them.</p> - -<p>"He was mad," said Hardy. "I knew it, and wondered you didn't see -it and ask me to act. He has poisoned me and stolen my sweetheart -away to her destruction, but we'll chase the beggar the moment -we are able."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p> <p>They growled out something -and he looked down the scuttle. A sailor had lighted the slush lamp; -some man, perhaps, who was less ill than the others on recovery, or -who had the best sense then about. Hardy descended and stood under the -hatch, looking round him. I would not like to say how many men were -here, because I do not know what the owner of the ship chose to think -her complement. Hardy might have counted eight or ten men, in bunks, -hammocks, or seated on their sea-chests. The faces he saw were ghastly, -as though this ocean-parlour were plague-stricken. He went from one to -another to see if all were alive, and they all proved so. The swing of -the flame flung shadows like contortions on the visible faces. It was -hot down here, and Hardy felt sick with the drug, whose effects were -not yet expended. Some breathed deep: the human respiration threaded -the subdued moan of water.</p> - -<p>"What's been done to us?" said a man sitting on a chest.</p> - -<p>"We've all been drugged by a lunatic who's carried off my -sweetheart," answered Hardy. "There's to be a shift of weather, and the -ship's under all plain sail and aback, and the helm lashed. Any of you -here able to come on deck and swing the yards and take the wheel?"</p> - -<p>The devil a one! So Hardy climbed with leaden limbs through the -square hole and walked slowly aft, and sat down on the skylight.</p> - -<p>The Newfoundland came out of a shadow and lay at his feet. A fair -light, with power of painting jetty strokes that slided upon the -pale planks, flowed from the moon. But the broken orb was hazy, and -the mate's eyes saw the darkness of wind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> gathering in vapour -in the west or thereabouts. So the breeze that had been steady all day -was to harden sooner or later out of its quarter, and the ship under -all plain sail lay aback to it. But Hardy felt too weak to move the -wheel, even if by so doing he could have helped the ship; nor, though -she could have swung to fill her breasts with canvas, which would have -been impossible, he'd have let her lie as she was because, with the -yards trimmed as they stood, he couldn't have shaped a course for the -direction which he believed the madman had taken.</p> - -<p>He sat and thought and waited. It was miserable to see the dead -figure of Candy lying there, and miserable when he turned his head -to see the dead figure of the sailor beside the wheel. What an -unparalleled act! How deep and cunning beyond all credibility, and yet -as true as the misty radiance floating in shimmering folds upon the -dark and silent heave! His brain was every minute clearing, and he -realised more intently as the time slipped by that, if yonder shadow -meant heavy weather, the girl was lost, unless a passing ship had -picked them up; but how would Hardy know?</p> - -<p>In about half an hour one of the figures at the forecastle rail -came slowly aft. He stopped and bent over the two forms lying abaft -the galley. Hardy heard him speak to them, and he could just catch the -murmur of their replies. They had therefore come to, and no doubt would -be sitting up and moving about shortly.</p> - -<p>The figure that had left the forecastle rail came along, and Hardy -saw it was the boatswain. The man went to the body of Candy, and -looking round said, in a hollow voice:</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> <p>"Is he -dead?"</p> - -<p>"Ay, stone dead; and so is yonder," replied Hardy.</p> - -<p>"What took him to do it?" asked the boatswain, coming to Hardy's -side.</p> - -<p>"Why does a madman tear up his clothes?" replied Hardy. "How are -those fellows in the waist there?"</p> - -<p>"They're reviving," answered the boatswain. "He must ha' put plenty -in. Dommed if ever I was treated like this before by the capt'n of a -ship. Tell you what, sir, there's weather comin' along," and he cast -the eye of an experienced sailor up aloft at the canvas and then at the -moon, at which he shook his head.</p> - -<p>Yes, her broken face had taken a glutinous reddish look as though -she was a smear of pink currant jam, and her light was gone out of the -sea. There was no more wind, but it was thickening westwards, and you -might look for a slap of squall any moment, the shriek of the shot of -the storm gun sweeping betwixt shroud and mast, and the ship lay aback -under all plain sail, and there was no longer light of moonshine on her -canvas.</p> - -<p>"Just see if we can't get men enough to brace these yards square," -said Hardy. "We can let go and clew up and wait till the men are strong -enough to stow the canvas; but if we lie like this something may come -to whip the masts out of her."</p> - -<p>But it was a full half-hour before hands enough could be collected, -and they all seemed as though freshly awakened from the crimp's -debauch; their knees shook, their heads lolled, they lifted their arms -as though they were operated upon by slow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> machinery. Yet the -business, in a fashion, was contrived. They clewed up the royals and -topgallantsails, they hauled up the mainsail, they let go some jib -and staysail halliards, and they brailed the mizzen to the mast. The -least dead of the poor fellows took the helm, and the ship with her -head to the eastward, with much flap of canvas aloft, bowed slowly over -the black run of swell. Her pace was very slow because the wind was -light, and all the canvas she showed to it were two topsails and her -forecourse.</p> - -<p>This was as Hardy desired, because the moon was slowly vanishing -like a dimming stain of bloody ooze, and it promised a black night. If -he had held the ship moving under all her wings she would have passed -the boat if she had not run her down, for it was his conviction, heaven -inspired, that the madman had blown away straight before it, and how -prophetically right he was in that we all know, and yet for some hours -it remained very quiet, though black as the inside of a coal sack. -Again this was as Hardy could have prayed for, as this raven serenity -promised security to the boat, and if it lasted till daybreak she might -be in sight.</p> - -<p>The mate and another man placed the two bodies on the quarter-deck -side by side under the bulwarks, clear of the gear, and hid them under -a tarpaulin. It would not have been proper nor decent to have buried -them out of hand, for though Hardy had no doubt that they were dead, he -yet felt that time should be given to prove it; and so the two figures -lay motionless under the tarpaulin.</p> - -<p>The stars and moon went out and it blew very faint with a deepening -of the blackness overhead,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> so that you looked for lightning. -About three o'clock some of the men had come out of the forecastle, -and by Hardy's commands the galley fire was lighted and strong coffee -brewed. This wonderfully refreshed the men, and Hardy then asked them -if they thought they were strong enough to go aloft and furl the -lighter canvas, as he could not tell at what moment heavy weather -might set in. The poor fellows managed it somehow, but were long over -it. Then as many as were equal furled the mainsail, at which hour it -was hard upon daybreak. In the blackness of those small hours it was -impossible to guess the character of the sky, and in which direction -the soot of it was trending. But all of a sudden the wind freshened -with a long, melancholy wail, as though 'twas the spirit of the -night that was dying, the troubled water ran in fitful flashes, and -the ship broke the brine into white foam about her. The mate talked -with the boatswain beside the quarter-deck skylight: they were both -almost recovered, and you could hear reviving life in voices about the -deck.</p> - -<p>"I have no doubt," said Hardy, "that the captain blew away straight -from the ship's side, because you see he had no destination in his -mind."</p> - -<p>"Not onlikely," answered the boatswain.</p> - -<p>"Suppose I'm right," continued Hardy, "then I reckon we're not -abreast of her yet; but if I pass the boat before the light comes and -it proves thick, as I fancy you'll find it, we shall miss her for good, -and I want my sweetheart badly."</p> - -<p>"That's quite natural," said the boatswain. "We're walkin' now and -the breeze freshens, and if you think you are right, sir, in steering -as we go,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> then what d'ye say to hauling up the foresail -and lowering the maintopsail-yard on the cap, and manning the -reef-tackles?"</p> - -<p>"Get it done," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>It was easily done, for it was not a furling job. A bit of sea was -beginning to run; it smacked the ship under the counter, and flooded -the wake with light. Hardy walked up and down the deck, mad with desire -for daybreak. He was steering by a theory of a madman's action, and he -might be wrong, and if he was wrong—but even if he was right, how -would the boat fare in the sea that was now running with a madman at -the yoke, and the full sail and tearing sheet gripped by the hand of -madness?</p> - -<p>These were considerations scarce endurable to the man, and for ever -he was sending searching glances ahead for the ghastly hue of the dawn. -The day broke at last, and it was a day of gloom and mist and a narrow -horizon; the sky was a dome of apparently motionless vapour, and each -surge ere it broke arched in an edge of flint, and the whole surface -was an olive-green decorated by lines of foam.</p> - -<p>As yet there was no great weight in the wind, but the sailor's -eyes saw that more was to be expected. Hardy went to his cabin for -a glass of his own. He slung it over his shoulder, and regaining -the deck sprang aloft to the height of the mizzen-top, from which -altitude, with the glass set firmly against the topmast-rigging, he -searched the sea. As the lenses made the circuit there leapt into the -field of the telescope the apparition of a little brig unmistakenly -derelict, with loose canvas hollowing like a kite against the masts. -He examined her intently, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> then muttering, "They may be aboard -that vessel. It is a chance. The madman may have taken refuge, or -thought his son was there," he threw the strap of the telescope over -his head, and noting the brig's bearing, descended.</p> - -<p>He walked rapidly aft to the compass, and found that the brig was in -sight from the quarter-deck. She bore a little to the west of south. -The Newfoundland, seeing Hardy looking, spied the brig and barked his -report of a sail in sight.</p> - -<p>"Lads!" shouted Hardy, running a little way forward, "there is a -brig on the quarter. We'll see if she can give us any news, although -abandoned. Starboard mainbrace, starboard foretopsail-brace smartly as -possible, my lads. Starboard your helm!"</p> - -<p>And slowly, for the helm was wearily worked and the braces -were dragged by languid hands, the yards came round, and then the -maintopsail was mastheaded, and the ship with the wind right abeam -crushed the flint-like surge into froth, and forged ahead for the -abandoned vessel.</p> - -<p>It was time to make for her if she was to be visited at all, for -the horizon was narrowing and narrowing with the thickness of rain, -and soon within the distance of a mile the brig would have vanished. -Hardy's glass was full of powerful lenses—its magnifying power -was double that of the ship's telescope; when he now put it to his eye -he instantly saw a figure just this side of the brig's main-rigging -waving something white.</p> - -<p>His heart brightened. He looked again. She was a woman, and -alone! The boatswain was coming aft as Hardy looked forward.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> <p>"There's a figure aboard that brig," he shouted. -"It's a woman, and she's waving a handkerchief."</p> - -<p>"She'll be yourn," said the boatswain, and as surprise did not -immediately follow perception, he added, "Well, I'm damned!"</p> - -<p>"Stand by to back the maintopsail!" roared Hardy, who was delirious -with excitement. "Let some hands lay aft and clear away the starboard -quarter-boat ready for lowering. I'd board her if twice this sea was -running. I knew I was right. I knew he'd head straight away. I knew I'd -find her by shaping the madman's course."</p> - -<p>"Suppose it isn't her?" said the boatswain.</p> - -<p>"To hell with your supposings!" yelled Hardy. "In any case it's a -woman, and she must be taken off."</p> - -<p>The men came aft and got ready the boat and stood aft, prepared for -the command to back the maintopsail. Again Hardy levelled the glass. -The girl—for we know who it was—had ceased to flutter her -handkerchief; but the wind, full of wet, bewildered the eye, and the -mate would make no more of it than this: the figure was a woman.</p> - -<p>He headed the <i>York</i> so as to heave to to windward of the brig, and -a little while before the topsail-yard was backed Hardy had seen and -mentally kissed the poor girl's face in the lens, and frantic with joy -was waving his cap to her, whilst she, guessing who it would be that -motioned thus, tossed her handkerchief again and again.</p> - -<p>The ship was brought to a stand, and Hardy shouted, "I am coming to -fetch you."</p> - -<p>She waved her hand. There was an ugly bit of sea between for a boat, -choppy, with deep sucking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> hollows, and plenty of spiteful foam -to whiten over the low gunwales.</p> - -<p>"Who'll volunteer?" said Hardy. "Three will do."</p> - -<p>"Blast me," said one of them, "if I don't feel as I should be in the -road in a boat."</p> - -<p>"<i>You</i>'re likely," said Hardy, pointing to another—"and you, -and you. Three will do, and it shall be two pound a man, which God -knows I wouldn't offer for a deed of duty, only you're lowered by the -captain's drug."</p> - -<p>"Right y' are, sir," said Jim, who got in the boat and was followed -by Tom and Joe.</p> - -<p>The mate sprang into the stern-sheets and shipped the rudder.</p> - -<p>"Lower away handsomely!" he shouted, "and drop the hauling part that -we may overhaul the falls."</p> - -<p>Unfortunately the blocks were without patent clip hooks, and the -moment the boat was water-borne the fore-bottom of her was nearly -wrenched out by her fall into the hollow ere the languid bow oar could -release the block. But it was done, and they got away.</p> - -<p>She nearly filled three times in her passage. The drag of the oars -was not strong enough; they wanted the long and steady sweep of their -old power to rescue the boat from the arch of foam astern. Yet they -managed to get alongside, and with the swift leap of the sailor Hardy -gained the main-chains, and in a minute was standing on the main-deck, -with Julia sobbing in his arms.</p> - -<p>"Where is the captain?" were almost the first words Hardy -addressed to her.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p> <p>"He drowned himself," she -answered, speaking sobbingly with tumult of passion. "He made me sit -there beside him"—she pointed to the deck-house front—"and -watch for the coming of the boy. The bell was struck—it was -strangely struck. He thought it was his child, and he ran forward -and climbed upon those pieces of timber as though his little son was -beckoning, and then he cried out he was coming and sprang overboard, -and I fainted. Oh, since I returned to consciousness what a time it has -been! And yet—and yet I felt you were near and would come."</p> - -<p>As she spoke the wind howled with a sudden note of raving in the -rigging, and deep as the brig was her loose canvas was inswept till -it depressed her by a couple of strakes, and you might have thought -she was settling, and with this sudden blast came on a heavy squall of -rain, which thickened the air till the ship that was on the quarter -loomed a surging and streaming phantom. At the same moment cries were -heard over the side. Hardy rushed to the rail, and what did he see?</p> - -<p>The boat was stove and full! One man had disappeared, and the two -others were floating a fathom or two beyond her locked in each other's -embrace.</p> - -<p>Hardy sprang to the brig's quarter, crying, "O God! O my God!" as he -ran.</p> - -<p>He slipped some bights of running gear off a pin, and yelling "Look -out for the end of this line!" he hove.</p> - -<p>One could not swim, and clung to the other who could, and there -was no virtue in a rope's end though flung by an angel of God to save -them. For one moment the line was close; the desperate heave<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> of -the half-drowned fabric dragged it fathoms out of reach. The pitiless -seas broke over them, and with agony of mind, and a heart almost in -halves, Hardy saw them vanish.</p> - -<p>The girl stood beside him with uplifted arms, frozen by horror into -the marble rigidity of a statue. It was going to blow a gale. The black -scowl of the sky had the menace of storm in its fixity. No yellow -curl of scud, no faintness here or there relieved that grim, austere, -down-look. The day might have been closing, so dusky it was with the -flying sheets of rain and the white haze torn out of the foaming brow -by the rending hand of the wind. The seas swung fast and fierce, and -serpentine pillars of white water leapt on high from the brig's side, -and fled in shrieking clouds of sparkles to leeward.</p> - -<p>"We shall lose the ship," said Hardy, with the coolness of -desperation. "We could not launch that boat," and he pointed to the -small, chubby fabric that lay stowed near the foremast; "and if we -could she would not live a minute. What became of your boat?"</p> - -<p>"I looked for her," she answered, "and saw her floating yonder -in the moonlight. The captain fastened her rope to something and it -slipped."</p> - -<p>"Come out of the wet," said he. "We can do no good here. They'll -keep the ship hove to, and the weather may clear by noon."</p> - -<p>They entered the deck-house, and Hardy began to explore it, -and in the two little cabins aft he found all the information he -required about this abandoned brig. The log-book was dated down to -two days earlier, and the entries were by a hand that spelt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> in -the speech of Newcastle-on-Tyne. She was the <i>Betsy</i>, of Sunderland. -The sea began to flow into her on a sudden to some gape or yarn of -butt-end; you can't tell how it is until you dry-dock them. She would -have gone down in an hour, despite her pump, but for the timber on -which she floated. By the entries it was clear the crew had stuck to -her for two days. Hardy then guessed that, growing weary of waiting -for a ship, they had gone away in the boat. In one cabin he found a -telescope and an old-fashioned quadrant, some wearing apparel, and a -tall hat such as an old skipper might wear, bronzed by weather, and -instantly suggesting to an active imagination a round, purple face, -streaks of white whisker, a chocolate-coloured shawl round the throat, -and a nose of the colour of a bottle of rum in the sun.</p> - -<p>The old fagot was beginning to tumble about, the water foamed on the -deck, and the launch of the surge at the staggering bow would strike a -whole sheet of spume over the forestay, and then it fell in cataractal -thunder. Hardy shut the deck-house door. He was something more than -uneasy. Their alarming situation drove all thought of the wonder of it -out of his head. If it came on harder and a heavy sea ran, would this -old sieve hold together? would the deck-house cling to the deck? What -would they do aboard the <i>York</i>? Candy was dead and she was without a -navigator. The boatswain was a good practical seaman, and in him lay -Hardy's hope. The boatswain was not the man to abandon the mate and -the girl if he could help it. But suppose the ship was blown away so -that when the weather cleared the brig was not in sight, what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> -would, or rather, what <i>could</i>, the boatswain do? He had not the -navigator's art, and might not therefore know how to pick the brig up. -Their condition was frightful; the lazarette was awash; he could not -seek food in flooded timber. He sat down beside the girl.</p> - -<p>"I cannot realise that you are with me," she said.</p> - -<p>Her dress was damp, and raindrops sparkled upon her face and hair. -He drew out his handkerchief, which lay dry in his pocket, and softly -passed it over her face and hair. She was loving him with her eyes. -Never did human passion make the eyes of a woman more beautiful.</p> - -<p>"You must be starving," he said.</p> - -<p>"No, the captain brought some food and water."</p> - -<p>"Tell me where it is," he cried, starting to his feet.</p> - -<p>She told him where the breaker was and the glass, and the parcel -of provisions. He rushed out. The contents of the breaker could not -be hurt by the flying brine and rain; and mercifully the provisions -had been so placed that the breaker and the planks between which the -captain had placed them kept them dry.</p> - -<p>Hardy ran into the deck-house with the food, put the glass in his -pocket, and returned again with the breaker, from which only two or -three drinks had been drawn.</p> - -<p>"Thank God for this!" said he, and he felt almost happy.</p> - -<p>She had but little knowledge of the sea, and could not interpret -their condition to the full of its tragic significance. Her heart -was almost joyous because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> her sweetheart was at her side; -though death was hovering over that reeling fabric, its shadow was not -upon her spirit. She was rescued by the man she loved from the horrors -of loneliness on the wide sea, from imaginations which had been excited -in her by those two mysterious strokes on the bell, and by her horrible -association with a madman. The brig reeled and groaned to the sweep -of the strong wind in the canvas, which was like to stream from the -yards in hairs of cloth if the weather hardened. Again and again Hardy -left the girl's side to step on deck and see how it was. The sky was -a yellowish thickness down to within a mile, out of which the flying -comber flashed, and the scene was a giddy pantomime of racing seas. -This old bucket of brig was taking it gallantly over her bows. Hardy -went forward to see if the only boat survived, and found her sitting -secure, seized to eye-bolts, and ready for turning over and launching -by tackles when the weather permitted.</p> - -<p>This comforted him, and he stepped into the little caboose which -some lee sea might hurl into the scuppers at any moment. Here, to -his great delight, in a drawer he found some twenty or thirty ship's -biscuits, a bottle half-full of rum, and a large piece of boiled pork -on a tin dish; he also found a black-handled knife and fork on a shelf -where stood a row of china plates, one of which he took down.</p> - -<p>With this booty, half pocketed and half in arms, he returned to -the deck-house, at whose door the girl had stood waiting for him, and -spite of the flying brine, and the sickly reel of the half-foundered -brig, and the thunder of the wind aloft, and their own dreadful -situation, the vision of Bax's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> farm rose before his mind's eye as -he saw her standing in that door in the old incomparable posture, the -straw hat slightly cocked, the head a little on one side, the left hand -on the hip.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XIV.</span> <span class="smaller">HARD WEATHER</span></h2> - -<p>Hardy carefully put away the good things he had discovered, and then -made a pork sandwich with biscuits, and poured out a little rum which -he mingled with water, and they both made a meal.</p> - -<p>Had she been alone she would have been dying of fear; her lover was -with her, and the sea had no terrors. They talked as they ate.</p> - -<p>"I foresaw heavy weather," said he, "but not the loss of three men. -We shall lose the ship, I fear; there are no signs of the weather -clearing. My God! how this beast wallows! Why, you'd think the sun had -burst out!"</p> - -<p>For just then the air was whitened by a great sheet of water.</p> - -<p>"If the boat forward is carried away—" He checked himself, -and then continued, "If we lose the <i>York</i> we shall be picked up by -something else. These old north-countrymen are born to live."</p> - -<p>"I am seeing life on the ocean," said Julia, smiling at him.</p> - -<p>"Why, it has come as thick as cockroaches," he answered. "When -you get home you shall write your story, and the critics who take -shipping on a summer day from Putney to Henley will exclaim as one -man, 'What a lie!'"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> <p>"Who rang the bell?" said -Julia. "That question will worry me whilst I live."</p> - -<p>A sea struck the deck-house and blinded the weather-windows. The -sturdy structure quivered. Hardy waited until the water had roared away -overboard, and then said:</p> - -<p>"A bell will strike of itself in a rolling ship. I have heard it. Or -it was hit by a rope. Do you believe in ghosts, Julia?"</p> - -<p>"I don't want to."</p> - -<p>"The stroke was a sudden come-to in the reel of the brig, or a rope -did it," said Hardy, and she tried to look as though she believed -him.</p> - -<p>Thus they talked whilst they sat in the deck-house, for out of -it they would have stood to be washed overboard. The seas poured in -gray-green folds, and the foam rolled about the decks like the cream of -the breaker on shelving sand. She was a stout bucket and strongly knit, -and if all had been well with her she would have sported with this -breeze. Her canvas was setting her to the eastwards broadside on, and -Hardy was glad of it, because he guessed that the <i>York</i> would remain -hove to, and that her drift would not be much greater than the sag of -this half-drowned Geordie.</p> - -<p>But though he looked abroad he never witnessed any signs of -improvement, or even promise of improvement, in the weather. It was not -blowing harder, however, which was a good thing, yet he guessed that -even if the weight of the wind remained as it stood, then, should it -blow all night, a fair daybreak would not reveal the <i>York</i>, in which -case they were shipwrecked, and must either wait to be taken off, or -trust to God's mercy to keep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> the boat in her place forward, that -they might launch her, and seek the succour that would not come. The -deck-house was often hit by the sea, but the blows were rarely hard, -and there was more terror in the thunder of the stroke than in the -possibility of the structure going.</p> - -<p>"I see a scuttle-butt out there," said he once during the course of -the morning.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"A cask for holding fresh water for the men to drink when on -deck."</p> - -<p>He stepped out, got under the rail, and crept to the scuttle-butt -with the foam about his feet. The dipper hung by a sling; he dropped -it through the hole and brought it up full, and tasting it found it -fairly sweet, sweet enough for human necessity. He added security to -the cask by further lashings, and covered the hole to protect the water -from the flying salt, then crept back through the foam to the side -of his sweetheart, first sending the sight of a falcon piercing the -rain-swept obscurity of the quarter in which he guessed the <i>York</i> was -lying hove to. But all was the confusion of the headlong surge, raging -in frequent collision, the stormy stare of motionless vapour, the wink -of the sea-flash within the veil of haze, and the universal groaning of -old ocean when that grim Boatswain, the Gale, whitens her back with the -thongs of his cat.</p> - -<p>About midday they made another meal off pork sandwiches, a godsend -to the poor creatures. As the time went by and the weather held as -before, the sense of shipwreck grew keener and keener in Hardy. Not so -with the girl; compared to what might have been, this wallowing lump of -brig, filled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> with timber, straining afloat, was paradise. But Hardy -did not much relish the notion of having to take to that boat yonder. -He could see that with the yard-arm tackle which he would find she was -to be easily got on to her keel, and hoisted out of it by the little -winch just before the mainmast.</p> - -<p>It might prove a job, for his shipmate was a girl; yet much harder -jobs, girl or no girl, were to be got through at sea. But until the -weather calmed he could not think of the boat, and if the weather -did calm and left the brig afloat, which was very probable, and he -managed to launch the boat, then, bethinking him of Julia and himself -in that small squab fabric, his heart grew cold; because next to the -raft the open boat in mid-ocean is the greatest desperation of the -sailor. Nearly every chapter of its romance is a tragedy. One dies and -is buried, one goes mad and springs overboard to drink of the crystal -fountain which is gushing in the sweet valley just there. Another is -hollow-eyed with famine, and the gaunt cheeks work with the movement of -the jaw upon the piece of lead or the die of boot-leather, which helps -the saliva. Hardy knew it all, had tasted some of it, and he could not -think of Julia and that little open boat and the flawless horizon, more -pitiless to the wrecked mariner than the cordon of soldiers to the -famished city, without feeling his heart turn cold.</p> - -<p>And now happened something which I fear the reader will think more -incredible than any other incident in this volume.</p> - -<p>After talking a little while together, these two people rose from -their chairs and knelt down in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> prayer. Hardy believed in God and -in the mercy of God, and so did Julia, and he asked God in the simple -language of the plain English seaman's heart to protect them and be -with them, and he thanked him for the mercy he had already vouchsafed; -and depend upon it no British sailor will consider this an unnatural -act on the part of Hardy, because always the proudest heart of oak in -the hour of triumph, the most depressed heart of oak in the hour of -trial, has been accustomed to look up to God and thank or beseech him, -for it is he who shares the loneliness of the seaman on the wide, wide -sea.</p> - -<p>But let me assure the reader, also, that lovers do not make love in -shipwreck as they do under the awning of the passenger liner, or in the -bower of roses ashore. Death is too near to allow passion to expend -itself in the form made familiar by the novel. Their talk often went to -Captain Layard and the amazing cunning he had exhibited in inventing -the trap they had all fallen into.</p> - -<p>"I believe," said Hardy, "only two are dead on board. He had a -book to give them the doses, and his brain was clearly equal to -understanding what it said. But would the rum absorb all the poison? -Would not one man get more than his whack? A few grains more would have -done for us all. The beggar took care not to drink himself, and none of -us thought of asking him to."</p> - -<p>"How did you feel when you awoke?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Much as you did, I expect," he answered.</p> - -<p>But talking was not very easy in this interior. The water, -sheeting against the deck-house, seethed through speech and -confounded it. There was the thunder of the fallen sea forward, and -the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>incommunicable maledictions of a sodden brig in the -trough filled the gale with bewilderment as it flew. Every fabric -afloat has a voice of her own, and like her sailors, she knows how to -swear when injured.</p> - -<p>In the course of the afternoon Hardy stepped into the after-berths, -but found nothing to reward his search. The papers of an old timberman -are uninteresting; the letters of an auld wife of Sunderland to her -Geordie are sacred, and saving three or four clay pipes and some -tobacco, for which Hardy was grateful, there was little to be seen -worth mentioning. If this gale slackened into moderate weather the -girl should sleep in one of these berths; if not, near the door in the -interior on the best sort of bed he could contrive, because, as he -meant to keep watch and watch himself throughout the night, she would -be close by to rescue if some thunderous surge should discharge the -deck-house from its obligation of sticking. He had searched for candles -and had found none; a few boxes of matches were in a sort of desk fixed -to the bulkhead near the bunk. So he came out of the captain's berth -with an old mattress, and then he brought some wearing apparel, a heavy -coat with big horn buttons, and a pair of north-country breeches, -which, if seized to a stay for fresh air, might fill up and stand out -like the half of a Dutchman in a jump.</p> - -<p>"What's all that for?" said Julia.</p> - -<p>He explained, and she loved him, and thought how good he was.</p> - -<p>Yes, there are even worse conditions of life to a girl than being -shipwrecked with a sailor who is a gentleman, and if the gentleman -informs the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> spirit of a sailor, its impulse is never greater than -when it responds to the appeal of a girl's helplessness.</p> - -<p>He cut up a little tobacco and smoked a pipe. It seemed to bring -him within hail of civilisation, and Julia enjoyed the smell of the -tobacco-smoke immensely, and said it made her think of her father.</p> - -<p>"How would he relish this picture?" said he, referring to their -situation.</p> - -<p>"He would not like to be here, that is all he would think. Will this -brig keep together, do you fancy?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, and I'll tell you what—the gale doesn't harden, -which is a good sign. There was plenty of weather in the moon last -night, but in these parts it is not often long-lived."</p> - -<p>"Is not a tremendous sea running?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes, from the Ramsgate or Margate Sands point of view. You must go -to about fifty-eight south, right off the Horn, and get amongst the -ice to know what a tremendous sea is like. They come like the cliffs -of Dover at you, and the deck is up and down, whilst the keel sweeps -up the acclivity. It is splendid and frightful. I was hove to for a -fortnight down there; we couldn't drive clear of the ice, and we had -about four hours of daylight to see by. All the devils in hell raved in -our rigging as we sat upright a breathless instant on the amazing peak -we had climbed. No, Julia, this is not a tremendous sea, and the brig -will hang together and outweather twenty such."</p> - -<p>The vessel, however, was acting as though she considered it a -tremendous sea. Had she been dismasted or a steamer her behaviour could -not have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> been worse. Her sails a little steadied her, but her -rollings and motions and plungings and heavings were sickening and -insufferable, because she was nearly full of water. She had no buoyancy -and the seas made a rock of her, and often sprang in green sheets right -over her—a wet and yelling game of leap-frog.</p> - -<p>Late in the afternoon, when it was almost dark, one of these seas -filled the caboose and swept it to leeward, where it lay stranded. The -outcry of hurled ironmongery, of crashing china, of skipping knives and -forks, pot, kettles, and pans, along with the noise of the splintering -caboose, was enough to make Hardy think that the brig was scattering -under their feet. The girl grasped his hand when that sea came and the -galley went; she thought it was all over with them. Hardy kept his -thoughts to himself: his real anxiety was in the boat, which might be -washed overboard or dashed into staves, and in the deck-house, which -was their only shelter.</p> - -<p>Happily the old bucket had taken up her position on her own account, -and it was chiefly the bows and amidships which got the drenches; it -was seldom that the deck-house was struck by a sea whose weight was a -menace.</p> - -<p>"It is miserable to be without light at sea," said Hardy, "on a -black night in heavy weather. But there is no lamp here and none in -the berths, and if there was where should I find oil? We must face it -through, Julia, and you must sleep."</p> - -<p>"I have had more sleep than I want," replied Julia. "I shall not -mind the darkness if the bell isn't struck."</p> - -<p>"It may be struck by a rope, by nothing else.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> If -a ghost, how could an essence grasp substance? How could something you -could walk through lift a knife or try and pull down a lamp-post?"</p> - -<p>"I sha'n't like it if I hear it," she replied. "Oh, how dreadful to -think of him washing about under us! Wretched man! You should have seen -the unearthly expression of his face whilst he sat staring forward, -waiting for the little drummer to appear."</p> - -<p>"The great poet is true," said Hardy, who had fingered a few -volumes in his day, albeit he was a sailor in the Merchant Service of -England.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> - <span class="i0">"'For shapes which come not at an earthly call</span> - <span class="i0">Will not depart when mortal voices bid;</span> - <span class="i0">Lords of the visionary eye whose lid,</span> - <span class="i0">Once raised, remains aghast and will not fall.'"</span> -</div></div> - -<p>"Those words are true of that poor dead man," said Julia. "Aghast! -you should have seen him when he turned up his eyes to God and -prayed."</p> - -<p>The afternoon closed into early evening, and it was as black as a -wolf's throat at the hour of sundown. Through the windows you could see -the light of the foam, sudden pallid glares, rushes of dim phosphoric -gleams which merely made the darkness visible. The brig was a drunken -vision, and the yells of her rigging might be likened to the screams of -a tipsy slut who is being thrashed by her man in a thunder-storm.</p> - -<p>The two sweethearts ate some biscuit, and Julia held a lighted -match whilst Hardy mixed some rum and water for them both. They drank -out of the same glass, and neither of them apologised. Then Hardy -felt and wound up his watch, for he wanted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> time, though he -couldn't see it then except by striking a match. They sat together and -I dare say he put his arm round her waist, and possibly she supported -her head upon his shoulder after removing her hat.</p> - -<p>It was a ticklish sitting-ground and they sometimes slided, which -was a very good reason why Hardy should hold her by the waist, and why -Julia should cling lovingly with her head. And in this posture they -entered the night and passed perhaps a couple of hours, so that when -Hardy struck a match he found the time nine.</p> - -<p>He made for the mattress, felt and found it, and the north-country -apparel which was to form the bedclothes. He then lurched back to -Julia, who did not want to lie down, but he was her lord in resolution -and her love consented.</p> - -<p>Always groping, for despite the sea-flash it was inside here -of a midnight blackness, he pillowed her head with a garment of -north-country measurement, and then carefully covering her to the neck -with the skipper's coat, he pressed his lips to the brow of the girl -who was to be his wife, and who was therefore sacred to him, and bade -her sleep and leave him to watch and nod and watch.</p> - -<p>And now all that followed was sickening, sloppy, howling, reeling, -foaming hours of darkness, with nothing in them but the drunken vision -of brig, and the noisy rage of her straining heart. But at half-past -three o'clock by Hardy's watch the weather was undoubtedly moderating; -by five it was blowing a little fresh; by six it was daylight and -the wind northeast, a pleasant breeze, and the green sea rolled in -foamless swells, cutting the wake of the sun,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> which shone brightly -out of every blue lagoon 'twixt the clouds.</p> - -<p>The girl was up and sitting at the table. She had slept a little, -but that little was sound and good. Hardy brought the telescope out -of the berth: it was a poor glass, but you could see more through it -than with the naked eye. The brig was rolling ponderously on the swell, -whose heave was sometimes too sudden for her, and she would stagger -with a scream of white water from her side. Her canvas was blowing out, -and the sodden old cask may have had some way on her.</p> - -<p>Hardy stepped out and looked for the <i>York</i>. Had he looked for St. -Paul's Cathedral he could not have seen less of it. The ship was not in -sight and he fetched a deep breath, for either her crew had abandoned -him and Julia to what sailors would know might prove a terrible death, -or the ship's drift had been faster than he had allowed for.</p> - -<p>"She's not in sight," he shouted to Julia, then sprang into the -main-shrouds, put his telescope over the rim of the top, and got into -the top.</p> - -<p>She was not in sight from the top and he crawled as high as the -cross-trees, and she was not in sight from that elevation. Nothing was -in sight but the horizon, which wound eel-like to the flashing clasp of -the sun upon it.</p> - -<p>He regained the deck and put the telescope down and sat beside -Julia.</p> - -<p>"What shall we do?" she said, when he had given her the news.</p> - -<p>"We will breakfast," he answered.</p> - -<p>And forthwith he made biscuit sandwiches of the pork, of which there -still remained a good lump, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> godsend. There was nothing much to -elate him in the sight of the boat still safely lashed to the deck; he -feared the open boat in mid-ocean with few provisions, little water, -and an everlasting menace of weather, for blow it will if it does not -blow now, and what sort of a time would they have had afloat in that -boat last night?</p> - -<p>Julia dredged her lover's face with her eyes but could not make out -what was passing in his mind, because he himself did not know what was -passing there.</p> - -<p>"We must husband our stores," said he, "and wait for something to -sight us."</p> - -<p>Saying which he rose and stepped up a little ladder on to the -top of the deck-house, directed by sailorly instincts to what he -wanted, and there it was securely lashed to the iron stanchions of -the low rail—a flag-locker. He opened it and took out the Red -Ensign and carried it right aft, and bent it union down to the peak -signal-halliards and hoisted it half-mast high, a signal of deep -distress and death. Its rippling noise was pleasant, but the look of it -was ghastly with its dumb appeal to a pitiless sea.</p> - -<p>Julia stood beside him and sank her clear gaze far into the recesses -of the ocean, and saw the sea line working and nothing more.</p> - -<p>"Let's go and see if the galley has betrayed any secrets of food," -said he.</p> - -<p>The sluggish roll of the brig was no hindrance to feet accustomed -to the bounding deck. They found the galley murdered; it was split and -shivered, but the coppers to the stroke of the sea that slung them had -spewed out a big lump of beef and a bolster of duff—the sailors' -pudding—composed of dark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> flour and slush with here and there -a currant, but not always. Hardy pounced upon the food as the adjutant -lights upon the floating Hindoo.</p> - -<p>"They left their dinner behind them," he said. "Good God! what a -noble haul. Here is enough for a week with care."</p> - -<p>"Is it cooked?"</p> - -<p>He answered this question by pulling out his knife and cutting off a -piece of the meat. Another half-hour would have cooked it, but it was -eatable to human necessity.</p> - -<p>He stowed this provender away in the deck-house and filled the -breaker from the scuttle-butt, then went with Julia to look at the -bell.</p> - -<p>"You did not hear it last night," he said.</p> - -<p>"No," she answered.</p> - -<p>"It shall not trouble you again," said he, and he unhooked it, and -threw it down.</p> - -<p>"But who struck it?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"He'll not strike it again," he answered.</p> - -<p>He peeped through the forescuttle and saw nothing but the gleam of -black water washing below.</p> - -<p>"The rats don't like this sort of thing," said he. "Can you pull -upon a rope, Julia?"</p> - -<p>"I am as strong as you," she answered.</p> - -<p>He smiled with a glance at her beautiful figure, and said:</p> - -<p>"Turn to, then, and lend me a hand to shorten sail."</p> - -<p>Between them they manned the necessary buntlines and clewlines, and -Julia dragged as handsomely as her sweetheart.</p> - -<p>"Give us a song, George, for time," she said, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> he -started "Chillyman," which sea-air Julia had caught from hearing it on -board the <i>Glamis Castle</i>, and her voice threaded his like the notes of -a flute.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> - <span class="i0">"Randy dandy, heigh-ho!</span> - <span class="i0">Chillyman!</span> - <span class="i0">Pull for a shilling, heigh-ho!</span> - <span class="i0">Chillyman!"<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>In fact, you may put any words you like to these sea-tunes, and the -sailors will pull the better if you damn the eyes of the quarter-deck -in rhyme.</p> - -<p>Hardy next thoroughly overhauled the brig, so far as perception of -her condition was possible. He could not see why she should not hold -together through twenty such gales as roared over her last night. He -stood with Julia looking at their only boat, beside which there lay, -as though placed by some angel of mercy, a watch-tackle. The sight -of that watch-tackle sank him into contemplation, and Julia gazed at -him whilst he thought. How weary were the motions of the brig upon -that sulky sweep of swell! Yet the fine figure of the girl swayed to -it with the graceful ease of a figurehead curtseying at the bow. She -was shipwrecked, she was in a dreadful situation of peril, this time -to-morrow she might be floating in the sea a corpse, and yet never -on board the Indiaman, on board the <i>York</i>, or at home had she felt -happier. She was loving him passionately and he was always with her, -and she could not but be happy.</p> - -<p>Presently he said:</p> - -<p>"I will tell you how it can be done when it needs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> -to be done. She is a small boat and not heavy, and you and I will cant -her on to her bilge with handspikes, then I'll hook that watch-tackle -to a strop round the foremost thwart and take the hauling part to the -winch, and rouse her along to abreast of the gangway. That gangway -there unships, and we sit low upon the sea, and we'll tumble the boat -through the gangway overboard, smack-fashion. If she proves too heavy -we'll rig out a spar"—here he cast his eyes round—"with the -watch-tackle made fast to her, and the winch will do the rest. Yes, -that is my scheme if it should come to it. Meanwhile let us be patient -and keep a lookout for ships."</p> - -<p>But the imprisonment on board this abandoned hull of Mr. George -Hardy and Miss Julia Armstrong was to continue until the dawn of three -days, counting from Hardy's time of finding the girl. All this while -it was very fine weather, and of a night they would sit on top of the -deck-house whilst Hardy smoked and Julia prattled. They watched the sea -lights which glittered upon the black breast of the ocean; they watched -the flight of the meteor. They talked of the stars, which nowhere -wheel in so much splendour as over the sea, and of the great Spirit -who controls their flight. Morally they were the least shipwrecked of -people. They were happy in each other's company; if either one had been -alone it might have proved madness to him or to her, but the voice -of love, the presence of love even in the gloom of calamity, made a -light of their own which was as inspiriting as the hope that springs -eternal. It was not strange that no ships ever showed a white rag of -canvas, a coil of sooty smoke upon the horizon in any point of the -compass, because the brig<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> sat low and her "dip" would be -small, and a ship may be within the compass of a boat-race and yet not -be seen. Hardy often went aloft and searched the waters; he did not -lose heart, because he felt sure that something must heave in sight -sooner or later, and meanwhile with great care the food they had would -last them a week or perhaps longer, and there was fresh water for a -fortnight or perhaps longer; for I am telling you what I have heard, -and like the tramp in Dickens's sketch, my squire "would not tell a lie -for no man."</p> - -<p>Hardy was also sure that the brig would hold together, and being -of the careless nature of the sailor, though provident, willing, and -sober, he would not allow his spirits to be depressed, and he had eyes -enough in his head to see that Julia regarded their perilous condition -as something in the way of an outing—to be enjoyed. She was a -fine girl and we are never weary of admiring her. I have told you that -she was not pretty, but her face, what with the cock of her head, -the hand on the hip, the speaking appeal of her eyes, carried such a -character of romance that it not only interested you at once, when she -looked at you full and fastened her eyes upon yours with her slight -smile, it made you even think her pretty, and certainly the truest -beauty of a woman's face comes into it from her mind.</p> - -<p>Then broke the dawn of the third day, and Hardy, who had been -sleeping since three, awoke and stepped out of the deck-house, -and with the brig's telescope in hand climbed the few steps and -searched the sea. It was again a fine morning; the heavens were lofty -with their freckling of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>stationary small cloud; the wind was a -light breeze a little to the north of east; and the sea, which streamed -in thin lifts, sparkled to the caress of a hand that could make it roar -when it thought fit.</p> - -<p>Suddenly into the lenses of the glass there entered a full-rigged -ship, showing nothing but three single-reefed topsails and a foresail -and the trembling line of her hull a little above the horizon. "A -full-rigged ship under that sail in this weather!" thought Hardy. "By -heaven, it must be the <i>York</i>, and if so she is abandoned!"</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a -href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Sailors' word -for "cheerly men."</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XV.</span> <span class="smaller">ABOARD AGAIN</span></h2> - -<p>The sun was floating over the horizon, and the pink of his glory was -melting into the flash of silver, as the wake of the <i>York</i> streamed -in a short white gleam upon the sea. The light breeze was still to -the north of east, and thither it had hung for hours past. Hardy and -Julia stood at the brig's rail watching the ship that was distinct and -lifting in the ocean's recess.</p> - -<p>"Is it possible that she's the <i>York</i>?" said Julia.</p> - -<p>He answered with the telescope at his eye:</p> - -<p>"Don't I know her! She's under single reefs. Her spanker is furled, -and her head sails keep her off, as though she were under control. -Perhaps she is, but I don't think so. She would head directly for us -if she had anything alive on board, because I can hold the line of her -rail in this glass, and if I can see her, she can see me."</p> - -<p>"What will you do?"</p> - -<p>"I will wait a little longer and see if she is manned. If her crew -have deserted her, I will launch that boat, and board her before she -drifts out of sight."</p> - -<p>"Will you be able to catch her?"</p> - -<p>"Catch her! Can you row?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> <p>"Try me," she -answered, with the proud look a girl will put on when she feels she is -of importance.</p> - -<p>"She is drifting at about two, and we will make that boat buzz -three, and perhaps more. But if she is manned, she will come alongside, -and our getting aboard will be easy. But she is not manned, I am sure," -said Hardy. "Pipe to breakfast, Julia."</p> - -<p>This time they made beef sandwiches of biscuit, and they were -swallowed without the accompanying forecastle growl. Indeed, -considering it was meant for sailors' use, the beef was not very bad, -and as it was pickled to the heart, a little cooking had gone a long -way to make it almost food for the human stomach. The bottle of rum -was half full and they drank a little of the liquor, largely diluted -with water. To refresh himself Hardy went to the head, where he knew he -would find a pump which stood clear of the deck load. He picked up a -bucket, carried it to the pump and filled it with sparkling brine, and -purified his face with the cold salt-sweetness of the water and wrung -his hands in it, and felt that his beard was growing, for shipwreck -does not stop the growth of hair, as we see when a haggard crew steps -ashore out of a life-boat.</p> - -<p>And all the time he kept his eyes fastened on the <i>York</i>, as he -knew her to be. When he went aft he found Julia sitting on a chair on -top of the deck-house. He mounted the steps and sat beside her with -the telescope, for he had made up his mind to wait a little before -launching the boat.</p> - -<p>"What makes you know that she's the <i>York</i>?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Twenty points, and you must have served two years before the mast -to understand them if I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> explained. She is the <i>York</i>, my -love, and with God's eye watching us we shall be aboard her and safe -before sunset."</p> - -<p>"Hurrah!" cried Julia, and she picked up his hand and kissed it.</p> - -<p>It was a thing to be settled in about an hour, and in that hour -Hardy discovered that she was not under control by her coming to -windward and her falling off; and when she came to windward she hung so -long that Hardy thought it time to turn to. And now began a process of -which the description shall not weary you.</p> - -<p>First he unshipped the gangway and fetched some capstan bars for -rollers; he then passed his knife through the boat's lashings, took -the watch-tackle and secured it to a fore-shroud abreast of the boat, -overhauled the tackle to hook the block on the boat's gunwale, then -he and Julia clapped on to the hauling part of the tackle and easily -roused the little wagon on to her bilge. She was not very much heavier -than a smack's boat; her oars were lashed under the thwarts, and her -rudder had been on a thwart and now lay in her. They tried to run her -along the deck, but though they started her the toil must prove too -great for the girl who would be plying an oar shortly. So he carried -the block of the watch-tackle as far forward as its length would allow -him and made a strop with a piece of gear round the thwart, to which he -hooked the other block, bent a line on to the hauling part and carried -it to the winch, giving Julia the job of hauling the slack in as he -wound.</p> - -<p>He wound lustily, for he was fighting for life and time and he -was a very strong man, and had entirely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> rid himself of all -the evil effects of the drug, as the girl had. So they brought the -boat abreast of the gangway; he had muscle enough to lift her bow -whilst Julia placed a skid, in the shape of a capstan bar, under her -forefoot; he made other skids of the capstan bars, and laying hold of -her gunwales on either side, the two brave hearts, with the boat's nose -pointing to the sea, ran the fabric, secured by a painter hitched to a -main shroud, clean through the gangway, and she fell with a squash, and -floated like an empty bottle with never a drop of water in her.</p> - -<p>This done, Hardy, who was making haste, for the <i>York</i> was keeping a -rap-full and forging into the stream of sunshine, though always coming -for the brig, seized a line, and watching his chance sprang into the -boat, secured the line to her after-thwart, leapt aboard, and brought -the boat broadside to the gangway.</p> - -<p>The roll of the brig was very sullen and slow, and the swell of the -sea sometimes hove the boat flush with the brig's waterway.</p> - -<p>"You must jump into her, Julia," said Hardy, "and for God's sake -don't go overboard. To provide against that, see here."</p> - -<p>He took an end of main-royal-halliards and hitched it round her -waist, and overhauled some slack which he grasped.</p> - -<p>"Pull up your clothes," said he, "and free your legs and aim for the -bottom of the boat, and jump when I sing out."</p> - -<p>The little squab structure came floating up, and Hardy brought her -in by a tug of the after-rope as she was coming.</p> - -<p>"Jump!" he shouted.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p> <p>And that girl, whose heart was -of British oak, holding her clothes to her knees, sprang, and in a few -breaths was sitting on a thwart and liberating herself from the rope, -whilst she smiled up at her lover.</p> - -<p>"Now, Julia," said he, "I am going to send you down the provisions -and water. Stand by to receive them, but keep seated."</p> - -<p>He handed the telescope to her, then fetched the breaker, which she -received as it lay in that instant of heaving swell on the rim of the -gunwale, and she rolled it to the thwart, then to the stern-sheets, -taking the glass from Hardy at the next heave. He made one parcel of -the provisions and hove them into the boat, then casting the painter -adrift he jumped into the boat, let go the remaining line that held -her, cut loose the oars, shipped the thole-pins, leaving the rudder -unshipped, and made Julia the bow oar.</p> - -<p>Could she row? Very well indeed; but the oars were a little -heavy and she did not attempt to feather; in fact, she rowed like a -smacksman, lifting the blade with its streaming glory of water on high, -but the dip and thrust of it was that of a stout schoolboy, and between -them they made the boat buzz, Hardy, with larger power of oar, keeping -her straight for the <i>York</i>.</p> - -<p>"Don't tire yourself," said he; "rest when you like. She'll not -outrun us."</p> - -<p>"What a wonderful thing to happen!" said Julia, whose face was -whitening with the ardour of her toil.</p> - -<p>She looked at nothing but her oar, and was certainly not going -to be tired this side the <i>York</i>.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> <p>"At sea, where -all is wonderful, nothing is wonderful," said Hardy. "Any sailor would -easily see how this has come about. But don't waste your breath in -talking: let us row."</p> - -<p>It was a strange and curious picture: a man and a girl in a little -open boat, pulling away for a ship that was rounding into the wind as -though she knew they were approaching, whilst astern receded the figure -of the brig, a melancholy sight, despite the gun-flashes of sunshine -which burst from her side at every roll; her hanging canvas flapped a -mournful farewell to the rowers, who took no heed of the poor thing's -tender and, for a north-countryman, graceful salutation of good-bye. -But, then, she had been a stage of maniacal horrors, of death, of -the lonely little ghost that struck the bell, of shipwreck with its -stalking shadows of famine, thirst, and the calenture that invites you -to die.</p> - -<p>Hardy frequently turned to look at the <i>York</i> so as to keep a true -course, and this time saw that she was involved in the wind, and was -waiting for him to come aboard to tell her what to do. They had four -miles to measure, and as they pulled with the spirit of shipwreck in -their pulse they were within hail of her in an hour.</p> - -<p>No man showed himself; she was abandoned. But suddenly on the -forecastle rail appeared the fore-paws and magnificent head of a great -Newfoundland dog. He barked deep and long.</p> - -<p>"Poor Sailor," said Hardy; "I had forgotten him."</p> - -<p>"How inhuman to leave him," said Julia, panting.</p> - -<p>"A few more strokes, sweetheart," shouted Hardy, "and we are -free. What a noble girl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> you are! What a good wife you will -make a sailor!"</p> - -<p>"I will make you a good wife, never fear," she answered, joyous in -despite distress of breath.</p> - -<p>The ship's head was slowly paying off as the boat's stem struck the -side. Hardy secured the painter and jumped into the mizzen-chains.</p> - -<p>"Hold out your hands," he exclaimed, "and jump when the boat lifts," -and to the lift and to his fearless, muscular haul she sprang, and was -alongside of him.</p> - -<p>He grasped her by the arm, passed her round the rigging, and helped -her over the bulwark rail. The dog was barking in fury of joy. When -they gained the deck he sprang upon the girl in love and delight and -nearly knocked her down.</p> - -<p>"Get him some water and biscuit whilst I look about me," said -Hardy.</p> - -<p>He had long ago known by the help of the telescope that the ship -was abandoned because two pairs of davits were empty, and with the -perception of a sailor he understood that the crew had transferred -themselves to another ship in one boat, whereas if they had abandoned -the ship on their own account, which was improbable, they would have -gone away in three companies, and the davits would have been like -gibbets, since the after-boat had been used by the captain when he -stole the girl.</p> - -<p>The wheel was not lashed, and was constantly playing in swift -revolution to starboard and port and back again. Hardy judged that -the dog had been left by the men because the faithful creature would -not quit the ship which had been his master's home, and the men, who -would have had very little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> time, did not choose that their flesh -should be torn by using violence. Yet it was cruel of them to leave -him, for they would know that the noble creature would soon need water -and food, and perish as lamentably as a famine-stricken sailor on a -raft.</p> - -<p>He saw that the figures of Mr. Candy and the man at the wheel, which -had been concealed by a tarpaulin, were gone; they had of course been -buried. Julia looked after the dog, that was lapping water thankfully -as she filled a bowl from the galley with fresh water out of the -scuttle-butt. Hardy slowly went forward, carefully gazing about him.</p> - -<p>No man lay dead on the deck; he dropped into the forecastle and -found it empty of human life, so that the captain's birthday had killed -but two men, which was surely wonderful, for he had commanded a power -that could have murdered a thousand.</p> - -<p>Why was not this fine ship taken possession of by the people who had -received her crew? I will tell you at once, for the story came out on -the men's arrival. Her drift had been swifter, with the helping hand of -the surge, than Hardy could have imagined or allowed for, and in the -morning of the gale she was close aboard a French brig that was hove to -sitting deep in the sea. They hailed her and were answered. They stated -they were without a navigator and they didn't know what to do. The -French captain spoke English, and said he would receive them if they -came aboard in their own boat and land them at Marseilles, the port -he was bound to. The weather was then moderating, and after calling a -council the boatswain, giving the mate and the girl up as lost, swiftly -decided, with the heedlessness of seamen, to abandon the <i>York</i>, and -with great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> difficulty the sailors gained the deck of the brig, -leaving their clothes behind them. Very shortly afterward the French -captain braced his yards round and shaped a course for Marseilles, -leaving nothing alive on board the <i>York</i> but the dog.</p> - -<p>This is the true story of the ship's adventure, and whoever -questions it is no sailor.</p> - -<p>Hardy left the forecastle and stood awhile on deck near the hatch, -gazing aloft. In this moment he was fired by a resolution which would -have inspired no other heart than that of a true British sailor. He -determined that he and the girl and the dog should save this fine ship -without help, and carry her to England, and entitle them to a reward -which should prove a living to them whilst they endured. His face, -which was as manly as Tom Bowline's, was irradiated by the glory of -this resolution as he gazed aloft, smiling. It was possible—and -being possible it was to be done. But it needed doing by two hearts -of oak and the dog as a lookout, and great anxiety would accompany -the discharge of this splendid duty, much sleeplessness and ceaseless -urging of the spirit. But the eye of God would dwell lovingly upon -their toil and peril; he felt that and raised his cap to the thought, -and he said to himself, in the language of Nelson, "When we cannot do -all we wish, we must do as well as we can!"</p> - -<p>He walked aft and joined the girl.</p> - -<p>"Julia," he said, "I have formed the resolution of my life, and if I -can fulfil it we shall be rich, though that will not make us happy."</p> - -<p>"What is it?" she asked, looking a little frightened, with her -head slightly drooped to the shoulder, and her left hand, white -as foam, reposing like a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> coronet upon the Newfoundland's head. -Indeed, what with the mad captain, drugs, and ghosts she was in such a -condition of mind that she was easily alarmed by any divergence from -the commonplace.</p> - -<p>"This is a valuable ship," he answered. "I know her cargo, for I -helped to stow it. She has a beautiful hull, and is perfectly sound -aloft. In addition to her cargo she carries a little treasure of -jewelry consigned to Melbourne—Colonials love jewelry. I dare -say it is worth ten thousand pounds. It is in a safe in the captain's -cabin. I should say that the value of this ship and cargo is between -sixty thousand and seventy thousand pounds, perhaps more. Julia, you -and I and the dog will carry her home. We shall be richly rewarded -by the owners and the underwriters—in fact, it is a matter of -salvage to be assessed if my terms are disputed."</p> - -<p>She grasped him by both hands, her eyes were on fire, her cheeks -were burning, the spirit of delight and resolution filled her romantic -face with the light of conquest and realisation.</p> - -<p>"Is it to be done?" she said.</p> - -<p>"It is done," he answered. "We don't talk of failure. But let us -make ourselves comfortable whilst the weather is fine."</p> - -<p>"How heavenly!" she sighed. "You will teach me to steer, George."</p> - -<p>"I will teach you everything that is proper for a young woman to -know," he answered.</p> - -<p>He took her to his heart and pressed his lips to hers, which -was like signing articles: that lip pressure was the seal of their -agreement to serve each other loyally, and to eat the food on board -without growling.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p> <p>The first thing they did was -to go below. Here was the cabin just as they had left it; there was the -chair in which Captain Layard had sat and talked metaphysics, yonder -was the locker on which the drugged girl had slept, and they stood -on the deck where Hardy had lifted his cannon-ball of a head, whilst -his bewildered soul groped slowly into his brains. They went into the -captain's cabin and saw the drum and the drumsticks and the little -bedstead.</p> - -<p>"What a fantasy of the sea!" said Hardy. "It is beyond me. It is -like a vision, sensible to perception and unreal to it. Will our story -be credited?"</p> - -<p>"Who cares?" answered the girl. "Is that the safe, George?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and I'll look for the key by and by. The jewelry's there."</p> - -<p>The safe was small and secured on a massive timber shelf, but though -small it was large enough to contain the Koh-i-noor, and to hold buried -the wealth and jewels of a rajah.</p> - -<p>Hardy cast a keen look around him, saw that the table held the -necessary machinery of navigation, carefully wound up the chronometers, -which had not stopped, then went into his own cabin whilst the girl -entered hers. When they presently met they sought for food and found -plenty in the pantry; here were ham and tongue, palatable stuff in -tins, white biscuits, and pots of jam.</p> - -<p>They sat down and ate, and the Newfoundland sat beside them, -triumphant in this familiar company of man and woman, and Julia, who -loved him, saw that he made a good breakfast.</p> - -<p>"How are we to manage it, George?" she asked.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p> <p>"It will require some scheming," he answered, -"but we must not accept help, because if we do our salvage share will -shrink out of all proportion to our merits. Can you steer in the -least?"</p> - -<p>"I can steer a boat, but not a ship," Julia answered.</p> - -<p>"I will teach you; you will get the art in a very few lessons."</p> - -<p>"One lesson will do if I have the strength."</p> - -<p>"Oh," he answered, with a loving glance at her, "you are one of -those English girls whose shapes of beauty are wire-rigged. Wire is -stronger than hemp, though it looks delicate. What your strength can't -do I have arms for."</p> - -<p>"So you have," she replied; "you are the manliest sailor that ever -was."</p> - -<p>"Let us change the subject," he replied, with a little colour of -pleasure in his face, for a compliment from your sweetheart is next to -a kiss. "We are fortunate in finding the ship under very easy sail. -We'll get some more fore-and-aft canvas upon her, for it is easily -hauled down, but I shall leave the square canvas that is furled to rest -as it is. I'll bring her to her course at noon when I find out where we -are. You will light the galley fire, as we shall want a hot drink. But -we need little cooking, for if we boil a good lump of beef, that, with -the food in the pantry, will last you and me and the dog five hundred -miles of sea."</p> - -<p>"Are we near England?"</p> - -<p>"Not very, I think, but I shall know presently exactly how near we -are."</p> - -<p>"How shall we get rest, George? We must sleep or die, or -worse, go mad."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> <p>"Aye," he answered, -thoughtfully; "you see things rightly, but we must not make sleep a -difficulty."</p> - -<p>"The rest seems quite easy," she said, joyously; "and I shall learn -to steer in one lesson."</p> - -<p>They left the table and went on deck, followed by the dog, who -growled softly and often in a sort of undertalk with himself. There is -a great nature in a Newfoundland, and you often wonder whilst you look -into his soft, affectionate eyes what his thoughts are.</p> - -<p>It was a glowing scene of forenoon ocean. The ripple ran with the -laughter of the summer in its voice. The endless procession of humps -of swell, as though old ocean was perpetually shrugging his shoulders -over spiteful memories, brought the flaming banners of the sun out of -the east, and swept them westwards in knightly array of fiery plume -and foam-crested summit. Four miles off wallowed the poor little brig, -tearfully flapping her pocket-handkerchief to the naked horizon, and by -mute and pathetic gesture coaxing nothing into being to help her. Many -soft, white clouds floated westwards, and Hardy noticed that the glass -was high and those clouds meant nothing but vapour.</p> - -<p>What a noble ship to be in charge of, to virtually be the owner -of, to rescue from the toils of the sea, to witness in security in -some harbour of England, flying high the commercial flag of the Empire -in token of British supremacy, even in the hour of peril, when the -Foreigner would consider all was lost!</p> - -<p>"It is not yet twelve o'clock," said Hardy, "and we will light -the galley fire."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p> <p>They walked forward and -entered the sea kitchen. Plenty of chopped wood lay stacked. The ship's -cook had been a man of foresight, and anticipated labour by putting -an axe into the ordinary seaman's hand; also near the wood stood two -buckets of coal and a little heap on the deck. There was plenty of coal -in the fore-peak for a voyage to Australia. Hardy had matches, which -are curiosities at sea in a forecastle, for you light your pipe at the -galley fire with rope yarns or shavings, and the slush lamp is kindled -by the binnacle or side-light. But aft there are usually matches, -because the cabin is the home of elegance, refinement, and luxury, -and the captain must have matches, for he cannot light his cigar at -the sailors' fire. Hardy first explored the coppers; they were empty. -He filled them from the scuttle-butt; why should he use salt water -when there was plenty of fresh at hand? Fresh water would cleanse the -mahogany beef of something of its brine, and perhaps soften it into -complacent recognition of human digestion.</p> - -<p>Then the fire was lighted; he could not find the key of the harness -cask, so he fetched a weapon from the carpenter's chest, and the -staples yielded to his blow with the shriek of lacerated wood. There -was plenty of beef and pork in the cask, buried in the horrible crystal -in which lurks the demon of scurvy; he turned the pieces over, and -selecting the fattest and least ill-looking lump, dropped it into the -copper for boiling when the water should begin.</p> - -<p>This work, easily recited, cost time. Before he touched a brace -or put the ship to her course he must find out where she was. The -last entries in the log-book were in his handwriting, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> -related the story of the captain's birthday, how he kept it, and his -disappearance with a young lady passenger named Julia Armstrong. The -latitude was then—N. and the longitude—W. But the drifting -ship had measured miles, and her captain must know where he was. This -he would find out in about an hour.</p> - -<p>The sow under the long-boat was dead. To get rid of it before the -carcass stank he stropped it and clapped the watch-tackle on it, and -together they hauled the little mountain of what might have proved -tooth-alluring crackling and white fresh fat, always sweet at sea, -through the open gangway overboard. It fell without a prayer, and the -fish that nosed it that day dined well.</p> - -<p>Some of the poultry in the hen-coops were dead; a few lived, and -craved with fluttering red pennons for drink and grain. Of course Hardy -knew "the ropes" of this ship and could lay his hand on anything he -wanted. He filled the little troughs with fresh water, and no one but -a beholder could have figured the profound gratitude with which the -varying row of bills was lifted to heaven. He helped them to grain, -and they filled their crops with all ardency of pecking. He cleared -the hen-coop of its plumed corpses, and so they sweetened the ship -forthwith.</p> - -<p>It was about time that Hardy fetched his sextant: the soaring sun -excited his impatience; he desired that the ship should be sending -his sweetheart and himself home, and the ceaseless waving of those -pocket-handkerchiefs just over the horizon teased him with their -impertinence, and as a token of distress when the morning was fair and -their hearts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> high and hopeful. His reckoning found the ship's -position within a mile or two of her place when he had left her to -succour his darling.</p> - -<p>"I have it now," said he, "and we must trim sail for home."</p> - -<p>"Oh, how beautiful!" cried Julia, and the dog barked in recognition -of the girl's triumphant note.</p> - -<p>The ship was on the port tack and must be wore to the north. Hardy -put the helm hard up and secured it, then let go the fore, main, and -mizzen-braces, and the yards, as the ship obeyed her rudder, swung a -little of themselves. With the starboard-braces let go Hardy and Julia -did not find it difficult to swing the yards. The wind would be almost -abeam when the ship was homeward bound, and there were the winch and -the capstan to brace the yards well forward if the wind drew ahead.</p> - -<p>"Sing out, George!" cried Julia. And they brought the fore and -foretopsail-yard, with fore-tack and sheet all gone, round, to their -chanty of "Chillyman."</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> - <span class="i0">"Randy dandy, heigho!</span> - <span class="i0">Chillyman!</span> - <span class="i0">Pull for a shilling, heigho!</span> - <span class="i0">Chillyman!</span> - <span class="i0">Young and willing, heigho!</span> - <span class="i0">Sweet and killing ole bo',</span> - <span class="i0">Dandy, heigho!</span> - <span class="i0">Chillyman!"</span> -</div></div> - -<p>The Newfoundland looked on and grumbled because he had no hands. -They got the main and the mizzen-yards round to the same song with some -laughter, because Hardy put a few words of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>sweetness into his -invention as he sang, and the girl's voice was rich with appreciation -as the flute of her lips swept the carol of her delight into his manly -tones.</p> - -<p>Then they saw to the fore-tack and sheet and to the jib-sheets, and -the ship floated away steadily round in graceful salutations to the -dejected handkerchiefs on the quarter. Hardy cast the wheel adrift and -told the girl to hold it whilst he steadied the yards by hauling as -taut as his pair of hands could the weather-braces of the fore and main -and the lee-braces of the mizzen.</p> - -<p>This done he stood beside Julia to teach her how to steer.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XVI.</span> <span class="smaller">PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP</span></h2> - -<p>He is a lucky sailor to whom is granted the opportunity of teaching -a girl with a romantic face and a beautiful figure the art of steering -a full-rigged ship. Though the sailor is often in the company of ladies -at sea, he is kept very severely forward, whilst the ladies are kept -very severely aft; and if they formed a seraglio imprisoned on soft -couches and fanned by eunuchs, behind walls ten feet thick, Jack at sea -could not know less of the ladies at sea.</p> - -<p>Hardy's job was therefore a delightful one, and the more delightful -because the ship was now homeward bound, and the morning was fair and -the sea courteous and graceful in caress.</p> - -<p>"Do you see that black mark on the white under the glass?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," answered the girl.</p> - -<p>"It is called the lubber's mark: it is the business of the helmsman -to keep a point of the compass aiming at it; that point is the ship's -course. Do you observe that the point that is levelled at the lubber's -mark is north-by-east?"</p> - -<p>"If you call it so I shall remember it," answered the girl.</p> - -<p>"The lubber's point," Hardy continued, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>"represents an -imaginary line ruled straight from the stern into the very eyes of the -ship, where the bowsprit and jib-booms point the road. If, then, I tell -you to keep that point called north-by-east pointing as steadily as the -swing of the ship's head will permit to the lubber's mark, then I am -asking you to steer the ship in the direction I wish her to go."</p> - -<p>She frowned a little in contemplation at the compass card, and said, -"I believe I understand you."</p> - -<p>"I will teach you to box the compass presently," Hardy went on. -"You will easily get the names, and will not be at a loss if I should -say the course is northeast or nor'-nor'east, and so on. And now see -here: the action of a ship's wheel exactly reverses the action of a -boat's tiller. Look under that grating; that is the tiller, and when -you revolve the wheel the chains which drag the tiller sweep the rudder -on one side or the other, so that when I tell you to put your helm -a-starboard you revolve your wheel to the left, which will bring the -rudder over to the left; and when I say port your helm you revolve your -wheel to the right, which carries your rudder over to the right. If you -steered by the tiller, then to the order of starboard your helm, you -would put your tiller to the right. Do you understand?"</p> - -<p>The machinery of the compass, the wheel, the tiller, and its chains -girdling the barrel, was all before her, and she would have been a -blockhead if she had not grasped the simple matter speedily—but -you, madam, who are a lady and read this, may be puzzled; possibly you -are not, but if you are I do not wonder.</p> - -<p>"Now," he said, "I want the ship to be off her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> -course: mark what I do; she shall be a little to leeward of her -course."</p> - -<p>He put the helm by a few spokes over, and the binnacle card revolved -two points from its course as the ship's head rounded away with the -wind.</p> - -<p>"Now," said Hardy, "I bring her again to her course: observe what I -do: we call this putting the helm down."</p> - -<p>He brought her to her course and arrested her at it, and the girl -cried, eagerly, "Yes, yes, I see. Let me hold the wheel, George."</p> - -<p>She grasped the spokes, a swelling, beautiful, conquering figure, a -delight to the eye, a triumph of British girlhood, one of those women -who are the mothers of the gallant and glorious sons that man the -signal-halliards of our country.</p> - -<p>"Now bring the ship to windward of her course," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"I do not understand you," she answered, reproachfully.</p> - -<p>"Make that bowsprit yonder point <i>there</i>," he exclaimed, and he -indicated with outstretched hand a part of the horizon to windward of -the bow.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you speak more plainly? I can do it."</p> - -<p>She revolved the wheel by three or four spokes, and hailed with eyes -of transport and conquest the response of the compass card.</p> - -<p>"Do you understand?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"My dear," she answered, "I can steer your ship perfectly."</p> - -<p>"Not yet," he said, "but you are not far off."</p> - -<p>Thus proceeded this pleasant tuition, and for half an hour -Hardy stood beside the wheel teaching his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> sweetheart how to -steer. The Newfoundland sat alongside of them and seemed to listen, -for his loving eyes were often on Hardy's face whilst he spoke. He -tried the girl again and again, and at the end of half an hour she -was expressing keen appreciation of his delightful lecture by dutiful -movement of the wheel. But, indeed, the ship did not need much steering -that fine day. Had the helm been lashed it is probable that, braced as -the yards lay, and pulling in steadfast accord as the sails were, the -ship would have made a tranquil passage of an hour with no other check -to the dull kicks of the rudder than a rope's end.</p> - -<p>He left the girl to steer whilst he tautened here and there a brace -with the watch-tackle; then entered the galley, saw to the fire, the -coppers, and their contents. He was accepting an enormous obligation; -could he discharge it? He felt the heart of a dozen men in his pulse, -and he knew that if God did not smite her with sickness the spirit of -his heroic girl would make her the match of any man, able-bodied or -ordinary; so, though the <i>York</i> might be undermanned, her crew of a man -and a girl, with a dog for a lookout, would carry her home.</p> - -<p>The weather was so fine that he did not mean to make a job of -seamanship. He did not intend to keep a lookout for ships unless it -was to escape collision, because no ship that hove in sight, however -willing, should be allowed to help him. The <i>York</i> was to be his own -and the girl's fortune, and, much as he respected the sailor, no man -afloat would be permitted to share in this estate.</p> - -<p>He stood a minute on the forecastle to admire the beautiful -fabric, and to pity the powerlessness which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> held imprisoned the -cloths whose lustrous spaces would have climbed to the trucks in bright -breasts yearning for home. Afar trembled the pocket-handkerchiefs of -the sodden brig. The naked vision could no longer distinguish their -appeal. She broke the continuity of the girdle, that was all, and she -hovered on the skirts of the deep like a gibbet beheld afar. Hardy went -right aft to the wheel; it was in the afternoon, and the speed of the -ship was about four miles an hour.</p> - -<p>"We will make ourselves happy," said he. "This is yachting, and if -you strain the imagination of your eyes you shall see close aboard the -white terraces of the Isle of Wight."</p> - -<p>She laughed and answered, "We shall be off that island some day."</p> - -<p>"No fear," he replied. "Don't suppose I mean to sail her up -channel. Plymouth is our port, and as we sha'n't be able to let go the -anchor, I'll seize a blue shirt to the fore-lift and that 'ull bring a -man-o'-war's boat alongside."</p> - -<p>"Why?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Because it is the merchant seaman's signal that he wants to join -the white ensign, and the naval officer is always greedy for men."</p> - -<p>But this was spoken many years ago. The signal of the blue shirt -has been hauled down and buried with many other customs under the thin -white wake of the metal battleship.</p> - -<p>"Why do you want a naval boat; would not any other boat do?" asked -Julia.</p> - -<p>"No; the Royal Navy claims no salvage and gets none. Any other -boat would make a claim for assistance, and I mean that our cake -shall be whole."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p> <p>He brought two chairs out of -the cabin, gave one to Julia and took one himself, with his hand on a -spoke. Their faithful friend the dog lay in the westering sun beside -them; and now they talked of what they should do in the night, and came -to terms about the discipline of the crew whilst the ship kept the -sea.</p> - -<p>"I shall be on deck as much as I can," said he. "I must sleep on -deck; I do not choose to lie without shelter during my watch below. -I'll bring a hen-coop aft, thoroughly cleanse it, and put a mattress -into it after knocking away the rails. That's a good idea!"</p> - -<p>"Excellent!" she exclaimed; "and clear out another hen-coop for me. -How romantic to sleep in a hen-coop!" and she laughed softly, looking -lovingly at him.</p> - -<p>"If I should crow in my sleep whilst you're at the wheel you'll know -that I am being hen-pecked."</p> - -<p>"Can't we put Sailor to some use?" she asked.</p> - -<p>The animal lifted his head to the sound of his name, and all was -intelligence in his soft, pathetic eyes.</p> - -<p>"You shall sleep on a mattress at the foot of the companion-steps, -where you will be sheltered. I have an idea. Are you strong enough -to bring your mattress out of your berth and place it on deck with a -pillow?"</p> - -<p>"Chaw!" she answered, with a shrug. "I have lifted an old woman out -of bed. What do you want me to do?"</p> - -<p>"Spread your mattress on the port side of the steps, get a pillow, -and stretch yourself upon it, and sing out when you're ready."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> <p>She instantly rose and descended; the dog was -about to follow her.</p> - -<p>"Lie down, Sailor!" and the dog obeyed.</p> - -<p>In a few moments the clear voice sounded, "On deck there!"</p> - -<p>"Hallo!"</p> - -<p>"All ready, George."</p> - -<p>"Shut your eyes and seem asleep. Sailor!" The dog immediately stood -up with an inquiring look, ears slightly lifted. "Fetch her, Sailor! -fetch her!"</p> - -<p>The dog trembled, and looked with a sort of passion about him.</p> - -<p>"Fetch her, Sailor! fetch her!" shouted Hardy, pointing down the -hatch.</p> - -<p>The noble creature sprang down the steps. In a moment Julia began to -scream.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" he heard her say; "he is tearing my dress, George."</p> - -<p>"Come up with him; it is all right," he bellowed. And up came the -girl with her skirt in the mouth of the dog, who tried to get in front -of her to drag her as though they were both in the sea and awash; but -she filled the way and the Newfoundland could not jam past her.</p> - -<p>The dog held on till she was seated; he had not torn her dress, -and the sweethearts fell into a fit of immoderate laughter, whilst -the dog by pantomime of tail and motion exhibited every mark of -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>"What a wonderful animal!" said Julia.</p> - -<p>"That breed is cleverer than we are," answered Hardy, "and as -humane as angels. He understood me; it was like bidding him jump -overboard after you."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span></p> <p>"But what is your object, -George?"</p> - -<p>"I might want you, and if you are in a sound sleep and a breeze is -blowing in low thunder over the companion-way, I might yelp myself into -the disease of laryngitis without awakening you. The dog rests beside -me and is at hand to call you."</p> - -<p>"You are very clever, George. The more I see of you the cleverer -you become. Dear old Sailor! must he lie beside you on deck -unsheltered?"</p> - -<p>"I shall lash an empty cask to the grating; there is plenty of -sailcloth forward, and he shall have a kennel. Take the wheel, Julia; -there is something to be done before the night falls. The breeze -freshens too; hurrah, see how straight the white race flies astern of -her! Under such canvas too! Keep her steady and don't be afraid."</p> - -<p>"Afraid!" she answered with a glance at him, which made him feel as -if he was married.</p> - -<p>He walked forward, laughing, trusting his girl as though she had -been an able seaman. A great deal of confusion followed when he caught -a few hens out of one coop and thrust them into the other. Such -heartrending screams of despair, and two cocks and five or six hens in -the other coop strained their throats in clamorous sympathy, and you -could have sworn that the whole crowd of them, cocks and all, had just -laid eggs. When the hen-coop was clear he passed his knife through the -lashings, fetched an axe, swept the bars out of their fixings to the -accompaniment of the orchestra in the other hen-coop, drew a bucket of -water, and with a scrubbing brush thoroughly cleansed the dirty thing, -which had the width of a trunk, though much longer.</p> - -<p>He found it was heavy to drag, being a somewhat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> -solid structure, so he called the Newfoundland to him and harnessed -him to the coop by the watch-tackle. The dog tugged with the vigour -of a man, Hardy shoved, and the hen-coop rushed along the deck right -aft, whilst Julia with tears of laughter in her eyes kept the speeding -ship to her course as though she had done nothing but steer ever since -she could stand. But there was more yet to be done, and the sun was -setting. He took the cooked meat out of the coppers and placed the -steaming mass on a dish until it should grow cold.</p> - -<p>Suddenly his ear was taken by a strange noise of hissing over the -side; it was something more than the sheeting of the ship through the -soft whiteness she made. It was like a continuous snarl threading the -blowing off of steam.</p> - -<p>He looked over the rail and saw the boat they had come aboard in -from the brig rushing with comet-like velocity close alongside, like -a little child swept to her home by the enraged mother that had lost -her.</p> - -<p>He debated a minute, and then said to himself, "She is of no use, -neither she, nor the fresh water, nor the grub that is in her."</p> - -<p>He was making his way into the channels to cast the painter -adrift.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going?" shrieked Julia at the wheel. He explained.</p> - -<p>"If I see you in the water behind me I shall jump after you," she -cried, with a look of alarm and real anxiety.</p> - -<p>"Can't I drop into a ship's chains without going overboard?" -he answered, and disappeared, and a short scream at the wheel -attended his going.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p> <p>The boat was easily released, -and to the great joy of Julia the manly face of her sailor was once -more visible. They both watched the boat as she receded.</p> - -<p>"She'll be fallen in with," said Hardy, "and some skipper will log -her and make a fearful mystery of her. Every tragic possibility of -shipwreck is in her. She is the issue of fire, collision, the leak, the -meteor-cloven craft—"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" interrupted Julia.</p> - -<p>"The ship's off her course," said Hardy. "That's quite right. Three -spokes did it. Now look how fair the compass course points to the -lubber's mark."</p> - -<p>"What's a meteor-cloven ship?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I never heard of a big ship having been sunk by a meteor," he -answered; "but I have been told of a great stone dropping out of the -sky with the meteoric flash of a fallen star plump through the hatchway -of a schooner and down through her: the sailors took to the pumps and -then to the boats. That's what I mean."</p> - -<p>And now he must prepare a bed for himself and the dog. He could not -find an empty barrel, but just against the windlass the cook or the -cabin servant had placed for firewood perhaps, or for other reasons, a -big empty case, which might have contained wine or commodities of some -sort. This placed on its side would do, and as it was too heavy for him -to carry, and too rough for him to shove, he harnessed the Newfoundland -to it as to the coop, and Sailor, helped by Hardy, ran the case close -against the wheel.</p> - -<p>"The ship is sailing very fast," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"A little over five knots, perhaps," answered Hardy. "We wants -legs, my love. Blow, blow, my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> sweet breeze." And he sang to himself -whilst he got the box on to its side and secured it to the grating.</p> - -<p>"Now for your bed, Sailor, and then we'll go to supper."</p> - -<p>He reflected, and remembered that there was straw in the fore-peak -for the use of the old sow that had been and was gone—recollect -that he had been mate of this ship, and knew exactly where to look -for what he wanted. He dropped into the fore-peak, which was like -descending into a hell of smells and the mutter of troubled water, and -reappeared with his arms full of straw, transforming Julia's wistful -face into beaming pleasure, for his briefest disappearance struck a -sort of horror to her heart.</p> - -<p>Thus was the Newfoundland housed, and before making up his own bed -in the hen-coop the sweethearts went to supper.</p> - -<p>The girl had been standing some time at the wheel. It was proper -she should be relieved, so Hardy grasped the spokes whilst Julia went -below, followed by the dog, to fetch something to eat. She arrived -with wine, biscuits, jam, and tinned meats. You will remember that she -had been an under-stewardess, and was used to waiting upon people. But -that was not all: she had nursed old ladies, had for a very lean wage -indeed washed, dressed, and walked out with children; in fact, she long -afterward told Hardy that, always having emigration in her mind, she -had worked at a laundry for some weeks. In point of service, therefore, -she was well equipped for life, and Hardy saw in her the helpful -woman, the wise and devoted wife, beautiful in figure and, now that -she was happy, most engaging in face.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p> <p>The three -of the ship's company ate their supper, and two of them talked and -watched the sunset. The further north you go the greater is the glory -of the sun's departure; yet yonder was a magnificent scene of golden -pavilions hung with tapestries of deep blue ether; the flight of the -eastern cloud was like incense pouring from the evening star, unrisen -or invisible: the vapour fled on the wings of the wind to enrich the -light in the west by duplication of scarlet splendour, and the ship -blew steadily along controlled by the hand of Hardy, who was sometimes -fed by Julia.</p> - -<p>All about was the soft, sweet noise of creaming seas; the brig -astern had vanished into airy nothing, and the <i>York</i> sailed a kingdom -of her own.</p> - -<p>"Will there be a moon?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"Between nine and ten," he answered. "A slice of moon. We can do -without her. There is light in starshine, and we can do without that -also. I must light the binnacle lamp and get the side-lights over. I -thank God that this wind promises steadiness. Yet it may shift, and -then I shall want the dog to awake you whilst I see what a single pair -of arms can do with the braces."</p> - -<p>"Do you think I shall not hear you if you shout?" said she.</p> - -<p>"I'll not chance it," he answered.</p> - -<p>"Do you believe we shall carry this ship home?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I'll not hope, for hoping is bragging, but we'll try, Julia. A -man cannot add a cubit to his mother's gift of stature by standing on -stilts; but we'll try, Julia."</p> - -<p>"Who can do more?" she asked.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> <p>"Hold this -wheel while I light the lamps."</p> - -<p>He set about this job and speedily despatched it, knowing exactly -where to lay his hands upon everything he wanted, then brought his -mattress up along with the rug and jammed it into his hen-coop, and -lay down. It was rather a tight fit with the mattress, but it gave him -the length he wanted, and if he did not start in his sleep he need not -knock his head against the ceiling. He carefully secured the hen-coop -to belaying pins.</p> - -<p>"That'll provide," said he, "against being taken aback."</p> - -<p>He then went below and lighted the cabin lamp, and saw to Julia's -bed by readjustment of the mattress clear of the draughts circling down -the companionway. He fetched covering for her, and it was for her to -make herself comfortable when the time came.</p> - -<p>By this hour it was dark; there was no light upon the deep save the -musket-like wink of the sea flash. But the stars swarmed in brilliant -processions betwixt the clouds over the mastheads, and their subtle -light was in the air, and you saw things dimly. The Newfoundland was -asleep in his kennel beside the wheel. Julia, who had come aboard -with nothing on but the clothes she stood in, fetched the captain's -cloak from the captain's cabin. It was a long coat with a warm cape, -and I call it a cloak because it wasn't a great-coat. It clothed her -to her little feet, and she sat as warm in it as in the embrace of -eiderdown.</p> - -<p>"How shall we manage to keep watch?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I shall keep the deck till twelve," he answered;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> -"I have a watch, and there is the binnacle light which from time to -time will want trimming. Sailor will call you at twelve—see now -his use? And I'll trim the lights, and lie close beside you there for -a couple of hours, for I can do with very little sleep, and the more -sleep you can get the better, because you will keep strong and will -be able to steer in the day whilst I take an off-shore spell in my -coop."</p> - -<p>"If I felt I could sleep, I would go and lie down at once," she -answered; "but I love to sit and talk with you. What time is it, -George?"</p> - -<p>"Nearly half-past eight," he answered, putting his watch to the -binnacle.</p> - -<p>"Grant me till nine, I may then be sleepy. But I feel as if that -sleep of drug was going to suffice me a year."</p> - -<p>"Oh, my heart, am not I rejoiced that you should be with me!" he -exclaimed, in a soft and melodious note of love. "Think if that madman -had missed the brig and sailed on!"</p> - -<p>She shuddered and answered, "I dare not think." Then after a pause -she said, "Suppose a steamer came in sight, wouldn't she tow us -home?"</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't give her the chance."</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"She would demand salvage, and get it."</p> - -<p>"It is shameful," she exclaimed, "that a ship should be paid for -helping a ship in distress."</p> - -<p>"The shipowner knows no shame," answered Hardy, "and neither does -his dumb confederate, the underwriter. One builds a jerry ship to sink, -and the other pins a policy on to the villain's back that he may sleep -whether his ship goes down or not."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p> <p>It was strange -to look along the decks and witness no figure of man. No shape of -seaman was on the forecastle to extinguish a thousand stars as the -jib-booms rose pointing to the sky; no shadow of man stirred in the -waist or the main-deck. The mighty loneliness of the deep was in this -ship from the wheel to where the forecastle rails clasped hands above -the figure-head. But sentience was in her and she knew it, and nobly -confessed the spirit of control by the glad, direct and cleaving shear -of her stem.</p> - -<p>Happy is the sailor who can sit beside his sweetheart on board -ship on a fine night and discourse of love and other matters without -dread of the eye of the master-mariner. This couple talked of the safe -arrival of the ship. They would buy a little cottage; they would not -go to sea any more. It is always a cottage well inshore that is the -sailor's dream. It was our glorious Nelson's for many years; witness -his letters to his wife, whom he loved before the traitress wound her -brilliant coils round the hero's heart, and numbed the loyalty of its -pulse to one who had cherished him in sickness and was his dearest one -when the shadow of his life was yet short in the sun of his glory.</p> - -<p>The dust of the shooting star glittered on high; the steady voice -of the night wind filled the shrouds with the melodies of invisible -spirits; the white wake gleamed astern like the dusty highway which is -the road to home; the softly plunging bows awoke the minstrelsy of the -surge. It was night upon the Atlantic, and no twinkle of side-lamp was -to be seen upon the sea line.</p> - -<p>At nine by Hardy's watch, Julia kissed her sweetheart's lips and -held him by the hand a little.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p> <p>"Good night, -good night," she said; "I will say a prayer before I sleep."</p> - -<p>"Never forget that," answered Hardy. "Be sure it is He that hath -made us and not we ourselves. Pray to him and bless him and thank him, -and his love will be with us."</p> - -<p>Is this the common talk of the sea? Do Smollett and Marryat make -their heroes converse like this? Thrust your hands into your ribs, ye -ribald crew, and laugh with godless merriment at this presentment of a -sailor who was a gentleman, who feared God, to whom the helplessness of -his companion was no appeal to the heart that loved her, respected her, -and desired that she should be true to herself and to him.</p> - -<p>He was alone at the wheel, and now she was gone to rest and the dog -was asleep he was alone in the ship, but he could keep a lookout as -well as the dog, and the dog would not be called upon to serve until -the girl was alone at the wheel whilst her lover slept.</p> - -<p>Many thoughts were this fine young sailor's; he was full of hope -and courage, and often bent his mind to shrewd contemplation of -contingency—the shift of the breeze, the head wind, the gale, -and other gay humours and tragic scowls of the life. But the winch -was four men, and the watch-tackle a little company of hands, and he -did not despair. Sometimes he meditated on the port he should make; -if it came to the worst, then, when in the English Channel, he would -shape a course for Ramsgate Harbour and run her on the mud, and no -man must be suffered to board her, for the money of the safety<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> of -the ship was to be his and hers, and that was the settled resolution of -his soul.</p> - -<p>When twelve o'clock came round he did not wish to sleep; he would -have chosen rather that Julia should have slumbered until dawn. But the -refreshment of rest was an imperious demand with which he must comply -for his own and for the sake of the girl, the safety of their noble -companion, the safety of the ship and her cargo. He thought he would -try Julia by calling, and he shouted four or five times, but, as he -had foreseen, the sweep of the wind broke his voice to pieces in the -companionway, and her ears were blocked with sleep.</p> - -<p>The dog started up and came to his side at the outcry of the -man. "Fetch her, Sailor! fetch her!" he cried, pointing to the -companion-hatch.</p> - -<p>The Newfoundland barked and seemed to wonder.</p> - -<p>"Fetch her, Sailor! fetch her!" he roared again, still pointing.</p> - -<p>This time the dog understood. He sprang to the ladder and vanished, -and a moment later Julia's cries were piercing. But it was merely the -noise of terror such as would be excited in a girl awakened from a -sound sleep by the resolute drag of a dog's teeth. She understood the -thing in a minute, patted the dog, who was dragging her by her skirt to -the ladder, snatched up her hat and the captain's cloak, and arrived -on deck with the dog, whose tail timed the wag of the stars over the -mastheads.</p> - -<p>"Have you slept?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Too well," she answered. "I screamed because Sailor broke in upon a -nightmare and fitted it."</p> - -<p>"Will you be able to hold the wheel?"</p> - -<p>"I'll try. What is the time?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p> <p>"After -midnight—nearly one bell," he answered.</p> - -<p>She stood at the wheel, and her firm grasp was full of promise of -control.</p> - -<p>"Is that the course?" she inquired, looking into the compass.</p> - -<p>"Yes, and keep her to it as best you can by the starshine whilst I -trim the lamp."</p> - -<p>"What is our pace, dear?"</p> - -<p>"Six and a half at least," he answered.</p> - -<p>He made haste to trim the lamp and saw to the side-lights, and his -spirits were high and his hope more exalted yet when he saw how well -the girl steered. A big ship for a girl to control! And all the sweet -archness of her incomparable posture was unconsciously expressed to -her lover as he flashed the light over her before adjusting it for the -illumination of the card.</p> - -<p>"Now for a little supper," said he, "then I shall lie down."</p> - -<p>He fetched some food and wine, and ate himself whilst he helped -Julia to eat; the dog was remembered; and all the while he kept his -eyes fixed in critical attention upon the girl's handling of the -wheel.</p> - -<p>"Sailor, go forward and keep a lookout, sir," he exclaimed, and this -was an order which, as you know, the dog understood, and was accustomed -to obey. He had supped and was thankful, and, faithful to his duty as -Tom Bowline, the brave Newfoundland trotted forward to the forecastle, -and took up a position of lookout betwixt the knight-heads.</p> - -<p>"Here is my watch, Julia," said Hardy. "Call me at half-past -two—but sooner, at the instant of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> need, if your arm -should weary or the breeze shift and drive you off your course. I am a -sailor and used to keeping my ears open in sleep. I am close beside you -there, and your first cry will bring me out like a cork to the drag of -a corkscrew."</p> - -<p>"I will call you at half-past two," she answered. "She is as easy -to steer as a boat. Look how steady the course swings at the mark -there!"</p> - -<p>He paused and gazed round him. The white cloud was speeding swiftly -across the stars, and the ship hummed with the wind as the thrill of -its ebon lines of gear, of shroud and stay and back-stay, shook its -transport into the plank. The glass was steady—he had seen to -that when he went below for the midnight supper; and there was no sign -of worse, or changeful, or other weather within or on the verge of the -mighty liquid sweep, whose heart was the ship, carrying onwards always -the illimitable girdle on which she floated, the central figure of the -night.</p> - -<p>Hardy got into the hen-coop—a tight fit; but in it he was well -sheltered, for the coop was under the lee of the weather-bulwark. He -drew an old coat he had brought up over him, pillowed his head on the -rolled-up flag he had thrown into the hen-coop, and in a minute was -asleep.</p> - -<p>A sailor's sleep is sound, and sacred as the slumber of death to -his messmates and shipmates as they mutter softly round about him -and tread the upper plank with airy feet that all shall be hushed -in the forecastle—hushed unless it be the crying of the wind -or the sullen thunder of the bow-sea, or the cries of the watch on -high furling or reefing to the trumpet commands of the quarter-deck. -Nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> in all ocean romance is comparable to this picture of a -full-rigged ship in command of a girl who is alone at the wheel whilst -her lover sleeps, whilst a dog on the forecastle-head watches the ocean -line with faithful eye for the sparkle of light, for the dim sheen of -canvas, for the stream of smoke spangled with the stars of the furnace, -that shall make him bark in barks as truthful of indication as the -strokes of the tongue upon the ship's bell.</p> - -<p>The wind held a sweet, true breeze as Hardy had foreseen, whilst -that brave little heart kept the ship's course steady to the lubber's -point. She was not tired, sleep had refreshed her; standing was -no trial; she was warmly draped, and felt a sort of glory in this -occupation of sea-throne, which enabled her to do her duty and to hold -her sweetheart in tranquil and most necessary repose. She was quick in -intelligence, and the sea was small and its weight was of the summer; -and she found a woman's delight in her power of governing, for the ship -answered to her white hand with a courtier-like grace; she felt to be -queen of the lordly fabric, and her spell at the wheel was a triumph of -British girlhood.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XVII.</span> <span class="smaller">THE BOAT-FULL</span></h2> - -<p>It was hard upon half-past two in the morning. The breeze had -been blowing steadily throughout, and the white pace of the ship was -more than six knots in the hour. Julia put her hand into her pocket -and pulled out Hardy's watch and saw what o'clock it was; the stars -flashed over the mastheads with each floating reel of the buoyant, -girl-controlled fabric; the silver dust of the speeding star vanishing -in a length of fainting light scored the deep midnight blue between -the clouds; the voice of the ocean rejoicing in the swinging dance of -the breeze filled the air with sounds of the cataract, the foam of the -waterfall, the wrangle of the freshet with the sea.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, far forward past the shadowy arch of the fore-course, you -heard the deep bay of a great dog. A ship was in sight!</p> - -<p>"O God!" cried Julia at the wheel, interpreting the deep-noted -thunder of the great creature, "What am I to do?"</p> - -<p>But such a bark as Sailor could deliver was not to sound unheeded -in the sleeping ear of a seaman. Hardy started, rolled out of his -hen-coop, and was by Julia's side in a few pulses.</p> - -<p>"I see her," he shouted, and seizing the wheel he put it -hard a-port.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> <p>Then on the port bow loomed -an ashen apparition with one red light, like the hideous stare of a -drunkard, visible in the stagger of the bows. It was a full-rigged -ship, clothed to her trucks with white canvas, about a mile and a half -distant. She was standing to the southward and westward, and the red -eye of the <i>York</i> was upon her; there would have been no collision, but -Sailor's voice was timely. Hardy brought the ship to her course again, -and the stranger was on the bow, sliding like a churchyard phantom over -the glimmering tombstones of the deep.</p> - -<p>"She is an American," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"How do you know?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"She is clothed in cotton, that is why I know. What a noble lookout -is Sailor. Didn't you see her?"</p> - -<p>"I see her now, but not before now," she answered.</p> - -<p>"Brave dog," cried Hardy.</p> - -<p>He called to him and the Newfoundland came rushing aft, with many -tokens visible in the starshine of the emotion of satisfaction which -good dogs feel when they have done their duty.</p> - -<p>"You are wearied out, Julia," said Hardy. "Do you feel as stiff with -standing as a shroud of wire-rigging?"</p> - -<p>"It is half-past two," answered the girl. "Here is your watch, -George. Lie down, dearest, and I will stand here for another hour; I am -not tired."</p> - -<p>"Hold the wheel whilst I trim this light," was his answer. -When this was done he said, "Now to bed, my lass."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span></p> <p>She heard command in his voice, and answered, "I -should love to lie in your hen-coop."</p> - -<p>"Take off your hat and get into it. 'Tis snug enough. Pull the -jacket over you, and sleep—sleep—sleep; and then you will -be able to thank Mary Queen who sent the sleep that slid into your -soul. But first go below and get a little wine and food."</p> - -<p>She was as obedient as a good sailor, refreshed herself in the cabin -where the lamp was burning, and returned with a glass of rum and water -and a biscuit.</p> - -<p>"And my pipe," said he. And he told her where to find the pipe and -the tobacco.</p> - -<p>Before she got into the hen-coop he said to her:</p> - -<p>"I wish I could teach the dog to steer; but that is impossible. But -I tell you what—when those yards need trimming I shall want some -one to hold on to the slack, and by all that's good Sailor shall do -it."</p> - -<p>"Why doesn't God enable such a creature as this to speak as we do?" -said Julia. "It has the mind—why should it lack the voice, when -even the filthiest cannibal may use his tongue?"</p> - -<p>"Get you to bed, Julia."</p> - -<p>She crept into the hen-coop, wrapped her clothes about her legs, -pulled the sailor's coat over her, and lay watching her lover.</p> - -<p>Hardy stood at the wheel with a pipe in his mouth, and the dog slept -in his kennel alongside. It was not for long that Julia was allowed to -sleep. When it was a quarter before four, when the darkness that grows -deeper before the dawn dwelt like a sable vapour upon the face of the -sea, when the flash of the star was fast in its westward sweep, and the -red scar of moon looked dully down like a piece of broken glass thick -stained, through which the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>crimson splendour above drains and -oozes, the wind shifted suddenly three points; 'twas then almost -abeam.</p> - -<p>He called to the girl. Her awakening found her astounded by her -situation. Was she in a coffin? He called again, and the saint-like -voice of love brought her from her sepulchre of hen-coop with an eager -cry of, "I am wide awake. What is it?"</p> - -<p>"The wind has shifted, Julia. Do you know what I mean?"</p> - -<p>"The wind has changed."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you are awake. Take hold of this wheel."</p> - -<p>She grasped the spokes. The dog would be of no use then; all Hardy -could do was to slacken away the weather-braces and haul taut the -lee-braces as well as a single pair of British arms could. He clapped -on the watch-tackle here and there, and made the best job possible -under the circumstances; but he was bothered by the want of somebody -to hold on to the slack. However, by belaying the watch-tackle and -then belaying the brace he in a one-man fashion managed it, and when -he returned to the wheel the ship slipped to her course again with her -shortened canvas rap-full, and a wake like a mill-race.</p> - -<p>"Hurrah!" cried Hardy, with a slap of his thigh; "storm along, old -Stormy! Whilst she creaks she holds! I'll teach that dog this morning -to pull a rope. He has teeth and sense and some sailors have neither, -because their teeth are worn out by chewing salt junk, and the crimp -drugs their brains till the skull is like a rotten nut, full of -dust."</p> - -<p>"It is my turn at the wheel," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"Just you go and turn in," he answered. "Here's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> -the skipper and there's the bed. I shall take an off-shore spell -sometime to-day. Rest till breakfast-time, and then you shall light the -galley fire, and boil some coffee."</p> - -<p>She crept into the hen-coop after holding the binnacle lamp to his -pipe, and the ship moved in the glimmering shadow through the hour of -darkness with slightly restless yards at every solemn plunge, for, like -the figure of a beautiful woman, she was the fairer in grace and the -easier in carriage when moulded by the fingers of art.</p> - -<p>Sunrise is beautiful at sea on a fine morning; the sky ripples with -silver and rose, and the sea uplifts its fountain note of rejoicing -as that great imperial mystery of the heavens, the sun, floats off -the verge of the deep. The dawn found Hardy at the wheel and the girl -asleep in the hen-coop. He did not curiously seek for a ship in sight, -for he did not stand in need of help, and would reject it if offered. A -sail was twinkling like a peak of iceberg right abeam to starboard, and -Hardy looked at her, and thought of twenty other things. The breeze had -slackened slightly; it was still a pleasant summer breast of sea, and -the ship's speed was four. All plain sail might have given her seven, -and the wings of the stunsail from topgallant yard-arm to swinging-boom -end might have helped her into eight. No matter! She was homeward -bound, and there was no growler in her ship's company if it was not the -dog.</p> - -<p>When Julia came out of her strange little bedroom she arose like -Arethusa in Shelley's poem: rosy and fire-eyed, sweet with the -refreshment of slumber, and sweeter perhaps to a man's eye because -she was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> unadorned. She pressed her lips to her sweetheart's -cheek.</p> - -<p>"Let me take the wheel," said she, "while you rest."</p> - -<p>"Can you light a fire?" he answered.</p> - -<p>She looked at him with reproachful wonder.</p> - -<p>"What cannot I do? What has not poverty made me do?"</p> - -<p>"Will you light the galley fire?" said he, "and fill a kettle out of -that scuttle-butt, boil some water, and give us a hot drink of coffee? -Poor old Crummie is dead and gone, but her spirit survives in tins, and -I believe there is some preserved milk in the cabin."</p> - -<p>She did not waste much time in lighting the galley fire. Everything -was at hand. Whilst the kettle was boiling she fetched food from the -cabin, and on top of the dog's kennel made some little display of -tablecloth, cup and saucer, and knife and fork. This disturbed Sailor, -who at once beheld the distant sail and saluted it.</p> - -<p>"You shall be even more useful than that," said Hardy to the dog. -"This morning I will look for the key of the safe and judge of the -value of the contents."</p> - -<p>"It is pleasanter than yachting," exclaimed Julia.</p> - -<p>"We have to cross the Bay," replied Hardy. "It may come on hard from -the east'ard and blow us to Boston."</p> - -<p>"Is it always rough in the Bay of Biscay?" said the girl.</p> - -<p>"I have swept up and down it often in my life," replied Hardy, -"and five times out of ten we were becalmed on it, and thankful for -catspaws. The thunder of the Bay continues to roar loud in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> -song, and alarms the man in the street who talks of taking shipping -south. Let him be hove to off the Horn in fifty-eight degrees south. -Suppose you see if the kettle boils."</p> - -<p>They made an excellent breakfast and so did the dog. Hardy ate and -held the wheel, the ship, as though in love with her people, almost -steered herself. There would come a change; the God-given mood of the -sea is sweet, it is the weather that breaks her heart. As a drunken -husband seizes his pale and pretty wife by the hair, and flogs her -into shrieks and madness, so does the weather serve the ocean. It is -good for the fish who breathe thereby, but bad for the passenger at -whose white, overhanging face the invisible eye of the fish is uplifted -languishingly.</p> - -<p>"Now, Julia," said Hardy, "hold the wheel whilst I teach the dog a -lesson in practical seamanship."</p> - -<p>He stepped to the mizzen-royal halliards and called to the dog, -which followed. He cast the rope off the pin, but kept one turn under -the pin, and said to the dog:</p> - -<p>"Seize it and pull!" holding out the slack.</p> - -<p>The dog with much wagging of tail, as though he reckoned that Hardy -meant some caper-cutting, seized the rope with his teeth. It was now -a job. He wanted the dog to pull at the rope, so that when he swigged -off at the halliards the dog by dragging would keep the slack taut as -though strained by human hands. The intelligence of the Newfoundland -is proverbial and marvellous, but it took Hardy all an hour to make -the noble creature see what it was expected to do. He then did it, and -Julia, whose laugh had been constant throughout the procedure,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> -let go the wheel to clap her hands, whilst Hardy with purple face -swigged off upon the halliards, and the dog, with forward slanting -legs, strained the slack. All three then rested: Hardy steered sitting, -for, as I have told you, a little movement of the spokes sufficed.</p> - -<p>After smoking a pipe whilst Julia looked to the galley -fire—not with a view to cooking, there was plenty to -eat—the sailor yielded the wheel to his sweetheart, and went -below into the captain's cabin to explore the contents of the safe. -First of all, he was to find the key; this proved a hunt, running into -ten minutes; then of course he found the bunch of keys exactly where -he looked last and should have looked at first—in the captain's -desk. The key of the safe was one of a few on a ring. When he opened -the safe he found several large metal boxes like cash-boxes. All -these boxes were to be fitted by the keys on the ring. The first was -flush with magnificent jewelry—bracelets, earrings, rings; and -the flash of the diamond was like the sparkle of the sea under the -sun. The second metal box was filled with gold chains of all sorts -of pattern, some massive, some delicate as twine, of very beautiful -workmanship. In the third box were watches and seals, all gold, of -splendid manufacture, for in those days the watch was handsome, the -mechanism exquisite as the chronometer of to-day, and the gold case was -heavy. The fourth and last box contained curiosities, such as a Jew -dealer with a yellow grin of awe would steal out of some mysterious -hiding-place and show you with something of breathlessness and a -frequent glance to right and left, and sometimes over his shoulder.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span></p> <p>How am I to describe these things? A discoloured -Nelson tall as a thumb, commanding the combined fleets in a cocked hat, -on a large seal on which was graved Trafalgar. A little Napoleon in -dull ivory on a massive gold seal with indistinguishable initials. Very -old rings, very old gold spoons—but this is not an auctioneer's -catalogue. Hardy locked everything up.</p> - -<p>"Julia's and mine," said he, laughing softly; by which he meant the -value of the salvage of the precious fal-lals.</p> - -<p>He restored the ring of keys to the desk at which he glanced with a -reverential eye, for he saw a little packet of letters in faded ink, -and he knew that there too lay in a little circular box small curls of -the hair of the dead—the wife and the little drummer. The captain -had shown them to him, and the hair was the boy's when two years old. -Hardy looked at the drum, at the little bed, at the medicine-chest, -at the little clothes hanging at the bulkhead, and stepped out with -a sigh, thinking in a sort of blind way about the mercy of God, the -sufferings of madness, and the death of little children.</p> - -<p>"Have you found any jewels?" asked Julia, as she stood at the -wheel.</p> - -<p>"More than you could wear, my dear," he answered, "if you were as -many-limbed and many-headed as an Indian god."</p> - -<p>"Are they worth much?"</p> - -<p>"I am not a pawnbroker," he answered; "besides, I have been looking -at the little drum and it has drummed the jewelry out of my head."</p> - -<p>"For whom were the jewels intended?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p> <p>"There is always a market for trash of that sort -in the Colonies," he replied.</p> - -<p>"Why don't you lie down and get some sleep?" she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"I shall keep awake," he answered, "until I have shot the sun, and -then perhaps I may sleep for an hour, weather permitting."</p> - -<p>As he spoke these words he was looking at the sea right abeam, and -held up his hand in a gesture of wonder, which arrested something that -Julia was about to say.</p> - -<p>"Good God!" cried Hardy. "What's going on there?"</p> - -<p>It was about a mile and a half off, and just in that place the sea -was working in a sort of convulsion, coil upon coil of dark blue brine -wound round and round like mighty sea snakes, whose sport was as deadly -as the pursuit of the harpooned dolphin. These amazing throes of brine -upon which the sun was sweetly shining, and from which and to which the -summer breast of ocean breathed in the rejoicing of the early morning, -in a minute or two grew savage with snaps and leaps of foam, with -prong-like upheavals of water, with crested shootings, and the area -whitened to the hue of a star, and the volcanic fury began. The ship -trembled. You heard no thunder of explosion; the roar of the fire under -the ooze was dumb when it penetrated the spacious hall of the sea; but -the raging torment was visible in a sudden mighty upheaval of foaming -water, smokeless but glorious with its cloud of spray.</p> - -<p>A miracle! From up from deepest soundings had been forked the figure -of a drowned fabric, and as a ball plays poised on the feathering of a -fountain so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> floated the form of a small vessel with two lower -masts standing, crowning the summit of that fire-expelled, pyramidal, -and towering volume of foam. Such sights have been witnessed at sea, -for the ocean is the arena of the sublime wonder, the heart-thrilling -miracle; it is the mirror of God, and unlike the land its breast -reflects his lights. The lovers gazed, the dog gazed; the ship seemed -to dwell under her curves of canvas as though she paused to look.</p> - -<p>"How marvellous!" cried Julia.</p> - -<p>Hardy rushed for the glass. He caught the poised object before it -vanished. It was a little ship of old shape, high in stern, sloping -thence to curved head-boards, two masts like stone columns, richly -encrusted with marine growth, and lustrous as the inner shell of the -oyster; the hull was of a blackish green and looked black in the glass -in contrast with the white fury upon whose apex it rolled and swayed -and tumbled. Then it was gone! It vanished in a cannon volley of water. -The sea thereabouts ran boiling, but in a few minutes the curl of the -breeze-blown surge had triumphed over the milky softness, and had the -spectacle been the launch of a dead man in a sailor's shroud you could -not have seen less of it.</p> - -<p>"Was ever such a sight beheld before?" said Julia, with tremulous -breath and enlarged nostrils.</p> - -<p>"'Those who go down to the sea in ships,'" answered Hardy. "Has -not that observation been made once or twice before? I believe I have -been forced to read it a thousand times, for every newspaper and every -book that relates to the sea quotes this Scriptural sentence, and I -am weary of it."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span></p> <p>"I have heard of islands being -thrown up," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"A great deal is thrown up at sea," replied Hardy. "Steady the -wheel, my heart, whilst I ogle the sun."</p> - -<p>It will be admitted that this brace of sweethearts had not been -very fortunate. To be burnt out, open-boated, drugged, kidnapped, -shipwrecked on a derelict with a madman, are experiences of a rather -emphatic sort. Hardy's share had been the share of a man, and bar -the drug he could have gone through twenty fold worse and emerged a -sunburnt, smiling sailor.</p> - -<p>Fate for a little while was now to mask its grim features with a -pleasant leer, and for the next two days of the ship's adventure the -weather was calm, the sea smooth enough for a little yacht, the heavens -bright with a little shading here and there of cloud, and all went well -with the crew. On the morning of the third day Hardy came out of his -coop like a snail from its shell, only a little faster. Julia was at -the wheel, and the dog on the forecastle keeping a lookout.</p> - -<p>"We are in luck," said Hardy, gazing around him. "Fancy only -requiring to trim sail five times in two days."</p> - -<p>"How far off is the abandoned brig, do you think?" asked the -girl.</p> - -<p>"All five hundred miles of salt water, Julia, and a salt mile is -longer than a highway mile."</p> - -<p>They were used to the ship and the ways and methods they had -adopted. Thanks to the blessed weather, they had by alternation secured -the rest that nature demanded. There was plenty to eat and they -ate heartily. The dog was as useful as a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>midshipman; he -understood the meaning of the word slack, and held on to it when -required as though his teeth were in the sleeve of a drowning man. -There was coal in the fore-peak, and Hardy had made the necessary -descent, and the stock in the galley was always plentiful.</p> - -<p>This morning they went about their work as usual. Hardy steered. -Julia lighted the galley fire, and the dog came aft to sit beside the -wheel and wait for breakfast. How did Hardy look? How did Julia look? -Very well indeed, I can assure you. When on board the abandoned brig -the sailor's beard grew, and he had returned somewhat bristling to -the <i>York</i>. But in this ship were his razor, lathering brush, and a -square of glass to make faces in. He was therefore now a clean-shaven -man, and I don't believe there is any girl living who would not have -fallen in love with him. He had choice of clothes, too, which put him -to windward of his sweetheart. But the eye of love should never be -affected by apparel, and when Julia clothed herself for warmth and the -night in the madman's cloak she was still an incomparable figure and -of romantic face. Clothes have very little to do with health; you may -sometimes peep at the goddess through a rent in the coat, and I have -met her in country lanes and crossing meadows in the picturesque garb -of the scarecrow with such cheeks of scarlet, such eyes of light, such -teeth of ivory as might prove the envy and the despair of her ladyship -travelling, like the suds of a washerwoman's tub, in carriage and pair -to a princely festival.</p> - -<p>In fact, Julia was sparkling to the caressing hand of this new -life. The health of the sea was hers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> the love of the -sailor was hers, content and hope were hers. Do not these things wait -upon appetite and help digestion? Do not they irradiate slumber with -entrancing visions? If the girl soiled her hands by lighting the galley -fire, she knew where to find the head pump and the galley clout or a -towel from aft to dry her fingers.</p> - -<p>Whilst they were eating their breakfast this morning the dog sprang -on the grating abaft the wheel and barked its lookout to the sea to -windward, about two points before the beam.</p> - -<p>"Hold this wheel, Julia!" exclaimed Hardy.</p> - -<p>He sprang for the telescope and levelled it, and the light sweep of -the ship's summer lurch darted a boat with a lugsail into the lens. -He viewed her intently in silence, which Julia did not dare to break -into by heedless, girlish cries of "What is it?" like the distracting -marginal notes of the lady's pencil in the tearful, the hysteric, and -the religious novel. How far distant that boat was off I do not know, -but she lay very clean and clear in the powerful tubes which Hardy was -bringing to bear upon her. Her sail was like a square of satin; the -fabric was painted black; as she rose to the fold you saw the delicate -gush of foam at the bow. Hardy counted eight men in her, and one figure -that was in the bows continuously waved some streaming thing white in -his hands.</p> - -<p>"My God!" cried Hardy, letting fall the glass to his side. "What a -misfortune!"</p> - -<p>"What is it?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"A boat-full of shipwrecked men," he replied, and his face grew -grim as he said it. "They may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> be dying of thirst and famine, and -they must not come aboard."</p> - -<p>"Oh, George!" exclaimed Julia, grasping the thing in an instant.</p> - -<p>"If they came aboard," he continued, speaking swiftly and even -fiercely, "they may seize the ship; in any case their salvage claim -would wreck our hopes. Put the helm up. By God, they shall not board -us!"</p> - -<p>He sprang to the wheel, and the ship sloped away to leeward from her -course, and the bearings of the boat were then abaft the beam. Julia -picked up the glass, and with an easy hand directed it.</p> - -<p>"She is sailing as fast as we," she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"No!" answered Hardy, in a rage.</p> - -<p>"Must they be left to perish?" she cried.</p> - -<p>It was an awful problem for fate to submit to a sailor's mind. -The very thought of thirst, of famine, of suffering incarnate in the -miserable figures of men in an open boat at sea makes faint the heart -of the seaman, and sooner would he expire than not fly to help. But -how stood this ghastly conundrum with Hardy? First, who were the men? -They might be foreigners—Greeks, Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards. -They had knives on their hips, and their hearts would redden with the -spirit of murder when, being on board, they understood that the flag -was the Red Flag of England, and that nothing stood between them and -the ship and a fair-haired English girl, of incomparable figure, but -one man, whose heart beat within the reach of their shortest blade! -No! They must be helped but not received. And how was it to be done? -And meanwhile grew this fear—if the wind slackened, if a calm -fell, they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> would gain the ship with their oars. Hardy was -without a revolver. Captain Layard had taken away his; how could he -resist—how could one man resist the desperate clamber of eight -men infuriate with thirst, famine, and deadlier passions yet if they -were foreigners?</p> - -<p>He pondered deeply, grasping the wheel; the dog upon the grating -watched the boat, a lustrous spot to the naked eye, and Julia gazed in -silence at her sweetheart.</p> - -<p>"Come and hold the wheel," said he.</p> - -<p>Still in silence witnessing distress but resolution in his face, -she seized the spokes, and he went to work to help that open boat. -There were, as you know, two boats in the davits, and a gig, called the -captain's gig, hung by davits over the stern. Rushing to the foremost -boat, Hardy seized the empty breaker out of its bows and ran with it to -the scuttle-butt, and, swiftly as he could, filled it. He then replaced -the breaker in the boat's bows. He next sped down the companion-ladder, -filled a tin basket with bottles of beer and two bottles of rum, -returned on deck with this basket, and placed it in the boat. He then -fetched some tinned food, a quantity of ship's biscuit and an uncooked -ham, which would be good eating to starving men. They were eight, and -he made calculations for a week's supply with care. He threw a pannikin -into the boat. He breathed hard and fast, and his face was coloured -with blood, and the sweat drained from his hair to his eyebrows; for he -was mad to succour and mad to escape, and all the while he worked he -never spoke a word to the girl.</p> - -<p>It would have been an impossible task but for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> -steady flow of the sea, and the gentle yielding of the ship to the -caressing sway of the fold. But it fell out as it was, and Hardy did -it whilst Julia steered, and the ship blew softly onwards, whilst the -white spot abaft the beam, watched by the dog, gleamed like a meteor -whose foam would be a little disc when near. He freed the boat of its -gripes by his knife, a sharp blade, then, just as Layard had before -him, he lowered the boat by easing away first the bow, then the after -falls, until she was water-borne, when, with a sailor's activity, he -passed his knife through the tackles, and the ropes fell into the -boat. She was liberated! and whilst he filled his lungs, distressed in -breath, so ardent and energetic had been his toil, the boat was astern, -then in the ship's wake, and Julia could see her by looking over the -taffrail.</p> - -<p>"They'll come up with it," said Hardy, going to the girl's side, -"and their overhauling her will widen our distance."</p> - -<p>"It was the only way to feed them," Julia answered.</p> - -<p>"One way. Have they fresh water enough? Eight men! We may want that -other breaker," said he with a side nod at the remaining quarter-boat. -"They'll be fallen in with—perhaps before sundown."</p> - -<p>He picked up the glass and again scrutinised the boat. She leapt -into the lens within a quarter of a mile. The man in the bows stood -upright, but he was no longer flourishing his wift. They were heading -almost into the ship's wake, and were certain to see the quarter-boat -and understand what she meant. Along the rail the heads of the men -were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> fixed like cannon-balls. Supposing they were -Englishmen. What would they think? Hardy ground his teeth and twice -beat the air with a clenched fist. But supposing they were Dagos. -Supposing—he could not have acted otherwise. Life, love, and hope -were the inspiration of his resolution, and I say he could not have -acted otherwise.</p> - -<p>It was then, happily for him and his sweetheart, that the sea to -windward darkened a little to a pleasant freshening of breeze. The -breasts aloft swelled to the larger breath, but so scantily clothed was -the <i>York</i>, it was absolutely certain that if the breeze scanted the -boat would overhaul the ship, and once those eight men got alongside -the rest might prove—Good night!</p> - -<p>Again Hardy looked at the boat through the telescope, and he cried -out with the tubes at his eye:</p> - -<p>"It's all right, Julia; they're heading dead for the quarter-boat. -Whether they understand or not, it's all right."</p> - -<p>He grasped the wheel and brought the ship to her course and this -greased her heels somewhat, for the yards were trimmed for the course -he was steering and the sails drew bravely. Julia kept the glass to her -eye.</p> - -<p>"They have lowered their sail," she cried. "They are very near the -boat."</p> - -<p>It was all blank to the naked eye, and Hardy searched in vain for -that star whose rise might have proved the malignant star of death and -dishonour to them both. Again the lovers shifted places. Julia held -the wheel whilst Hardy directed the glass at the boat. He watched the -minute manœuvres. It was a little field of Lilliputians, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> -every figure was as clean cut in the lens as the pygmies to the -downward gazing eyes of Gulliver. The two boats came and went behind -and upon the summer swell of the sea, but not so as to baffle the -marine vision. The naked mast rolled and the men showed plain. Thirst -and famine were in their motions, and Hardy sighed and gasped as he -watched. He saw the infuriate gesture that brought the bottle to -the mouth, the impassioned posture as the cracked lips drained the -pannikin. He witnessed avidity, coloured into horror by human need in -the passage of the clenched biscuit or piece of meat to the mouth. It -nearly broke his heart to leave them. If ever a man was inspired by -the compassion, the instincts, and the loyalty of a sailor, it was -Hardy. Yet he thanked God with all his heart that they had plenty, -that the weather promised fair, that they had another and a good boat, -and that in this highway of the sailing ship human help was certain -if calamitous destiny were not first. Hardy's eyes were moist as the -telescope slowly sank from his arm; for let them be Dagos, let them be -Dutchmen, call those men by any name you will, they were shipwrecked -sailors upon a lonely sea, and their appeal to the Red Flag of England -would have been irresistible but for the helpless condition of the -<i>York</i>. Julia saw emotion in her lover's face, and caressed him with -her eyes as though she would soothe him with her love, and never -did she honour him more, nor felt a fuller flow of dumb and inward -gratitude to the Father of all for this lifelong gift of sympathy, -help, and devotion.</p> - -<p>"We shall run them out of reach of the glass," said Hardy.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p> <p>"I can scarcely see them as it is," she -answered.</p> - -<p>"What is their story?" he went on. "It will be told because they -will be saved. Yonder is one of the teachings of the sea. You pass -a piece of wreck; it is encrusted with the jewelry of the ocean; it -is girdled by a silver belt of fish. To one man it is a piece of -wreckage; to another man it is a memorial, lofty, sublime, and awful -as a cathedral, of fire, of explosion, of the beam-ended fabric with -lashed figures in the shrouds, sunk to the foam, and blackening it with -emergence like the iron shape dangling at the finger of a gibbet upon a -wintry moor that foams with snow."</p> - -<p>"Do all sailors talk in this language?" said Julia.</p> - -<p>"Any man who can make himself understood speaks well. I do not love -irony."</p> - -<p>Julia smiled archly.</p> - -<p>"You do not love irony," she said. "Did you ever love another before -you loved me?"</p> - -<p>"A man who uses the sea is shy amongst women," he answered. "We are -accustomed when we see a green eye in thick weather winking off our -port bow to sing these lines:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"'There's not -so much for you to do,<br /></span> <span class="i0">For green to port -keeps clear of you.'<br /></span> </div></div> - -<p>I was never yet in a collision—I mean ashore."</p> - -<p>This pleased her, and she said she would go and look to the galley -fire if Hardy would kindly hold the wheel.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XVIII.</span> <span class="smaller">HAIL, COLUMBIA!</span></h2> - -<p>Luck was still to attend the ship's company of the <i>York</i>—luck -in the shape of weather. The wind took two days to change its mood, -then shifted off the port bow, where Hardy's metaphoric red eye was -winking.</p> - -<p>The man, the dog, the watch-tackle, and the winch were equal to the -sudden confrontment of air, which happened at daybreak when the man and -the dog could see, and when the girl at the wheel could see.</p> - -<p>Of course sail was not trimmed as though the <i>York</i> had been -a frigate, as though you had fifty men for a rope, when the -master-mariner considers himself lucky if he gets twenty-five men for -a full-rigged ship. Trimming sail took time; but it was done. And the -dog stuck like glue to the slack. No need to dwell upon the discipline; -it was now as before, and likely to continue whilst health and strength -endured. The sweethearts used the hen-coop alternately, and it yielded -them all necessary refreshment of slumber; the dog kept a lookout -whilst the girl steered, and still the ship's course was a crow's -flight for the Chops, with some hurdles of parallels before her indeed; -but her march though slow was conquering, and the lovers' spirits -were as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> high as the dog-vane that shook its piece of bunting at -the main-royal masthead.</p> - -<p>When Hardy had trimmed sail this morning he sat beside the girl to -rest a little. The wind was to the westward of north, the sky that way -was pale, but the sun to starboard burnt bright, and lofty ridges of -cloud, very delicate, like the memory of the ripple on the sands of the -coast, moved stealthily northwest, which signified sundry currents of -air of no moment, if below all gushes the favouring breeze.</p> - -<p>"We'll breakfast in a few minutes," said Hardy. "I feel as if I have -been swimming ten miles."</p> - -<p>"We are in luck, George," answered Julia.</p> - -<p>"What is the luck of the sailor?" said he. "I have heard of one -lucky sailor. He went to a sale and bought a feather-bed. Jack in a -feather-bed! He turned in and his starboard bunion was worried by -something hard. He ripped the cover and found a bag containing one -hundred and forty-two Queen Anne guineas. He started a public-house and -died worth eight thousand pounds."</p> - -<p>"He was a sailor and deserved it," said Julia. "Why do sailors hate -soldiers?"</p> - -<p>"The historian must answer that. There is a reason, and it is -true. You see, my dear, a sailor will spend his last half-crown upon -his girl, and a soldier will borrow the last half-crown from <i>his</i> -girl."</p> - -<p>"Do soldiers hate sailors?" asked Julia, laughing.</p> - -<p>"They only meet at sea," answered Hardy, "and the motion of a ship -will neutralise prejudice in the man who can't stand it."</p> - -<p>In due course the galley fire was lighted, coffee<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> -was boiled, and the ship's company broke their fast. The breeze hung -steady, the glass spoke hopefully, and Hardy found, after taking -sights, that home was nearer by some hundred miles than it had been -yesterday. It was nine o'clock on the evening of this day. The lights -of heaven winked sparely through an atmosphere that nevertheless was -unthickened by mist. The fresh wind of the noon had slackened much, and -the sound of the fall of the sea off the bow was sloppy, as though the -cook was emptying buckets of stuff over the side, and indeed the noise -was in keeping with the sort of smoking, greasy face of the sea, which -rolled in knolls of soft, black oil speedily out of sight, so general -and closing was the dusk.</p> - -<p>Julia stood at the wheel, and the dog as usual was on the forecastle -head keeping a lookout. The girl could distinctly hear her lover -snoring in his hen-coop. The magic of the ear of love runs melody into -the snore of the sweetheart; to the burdened marital organ the snore is -not the voice of the heavenly chorister. Shakespeare wonders whether we -dream in our sleep of death; Julia might have wondered if we snored. -The binnacle lamp burnt brightly, so did the side-lights. The girl had -been sleeping whilst Hardy steered, and now stood fresh and firm at the -wheel, a very shadow of British girl, snug in the madman's cloak; but -the faint stars knew that her figure was beautiful.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the dog began to bark; its deep note rolled aft in low -thunder. Julia, with her heart slightly fluttering, strained her -eyes to port and then to starboard, believing that the dog was -reporting the side-light or white masthead light of a ship or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> -steamer. But the dog continued to bark, and in the midst of it, -before it awoke Hardy, before she could call to Hardy, a smell, an -overpowering stench, fumes as overwhelming as any that could rise from -the shallow tombs of thousands of plague-stricken wretches—this -subduing and distracting presence was in the air.</p> - -<p>"George! George!" shrieked the girl. But she could not again speak, -for the filth of the breeze compelled her right hand to her mouth and -nostrils, and the brave heart steadied the spoke with her left hand -only.</p> - -<p>In a minute Hardy was beside her. "Phew!" said he, and spat. This -was his comment.</p> - -<p>The dog continued to bark. Its note had that quality of alarm which -makes the sailors spring as for life or death to the affrighting shout -of a single man upon the forecastle.</p> - -<p>"What in hell—" But it might have been the devil himself -who stopped Hardy's mouth then, for even as he spoke the ship struck -something soft, and slided away from it points off her course, so -blubbery was the thing, proper for the "ways" of a launch.</p> - -<p>"It's up the spout this time," said Hardy. "Jump to the side, Julia; -report what you see. There you go, to starboard—to windward, to -windward!"</p> - -<p>He held the wheel, and the girl shrieked, "I can't see for the -smell."</p> - -<p>"Hold your nose and skin your eyes, and tell me what you see."</p> - -<p>"A great deal of fire, and a black mass in the midst of it lined -with foam, and oh, what a horrible smell!"</p> - -<p>She came staggering to her lover's side in revolt of sickened -senses.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span></p> <p>"A dead whale," said Hardy, -whose nose was not entirely fastidious.</p> - -<p>"Hold the wheel, dear," and he sprang to the quarter and saw the -thing; that is, he saw the shadow, it loomed so that it might have been -a little island. The fire of the sea played about it as the reflected -lightning of the hidden storm winks and flashes in the soft indigo of -the ocean recess. The sea caressed this floating dunghill with those -same white, cruel fingers with which it casts the mutilated corpse -ashore.</p> - -<p>"The air sweetens," said Hardy, returning to the wheel. "Go below -for a nip of brandy, and bring me one, dear."</p> - -<p>And he brought the ship to her course. He did not greatly like -the look of the weather. For perhaps an hour and a half he had been -sleeping; this was a good "turn in" for a sailor-man who signs articles -to work for the shipowner for twenty-four hours in the day, a brutal -and inhuman tax upon suffering men, in no other walk of life to be -heard of. Anyhow he could not leave the ship in Julia's charge with -those dimly winking stars growing sparer yet, with increasing moisture -on the wing of the wind like the early breath of a wet squall.</p> - -<p>"I don't expect the wind to shift," said he, "but it's bound to come -on harder presently. Get you into that hen-coop and rest your limbs if -not your brain. I expect I shall be wanting you before midnight."</p> - -<p>She obeyed him as though she had been a sailor or a dog, and -dissolved into the black void of the hen-coop. You could not see -the faintest glimmer of her face, nor the dimmest outline of her -shape. The Newfoundland had come aft and berthed itself. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> -animal knew that when Hardy was at the wheel it was its watch below.</p> - -<p>Now the ship was under such small canvas that her cloths were not -more than she could stand up with if it blew half a gale from abeam -or abaft the beam. Those were the days of single topsails, and in all -three topsails a single reef had been tied by the survivors of the crew -in the heavy night before they left for the Frenchman. It would then -come perhaps to a drag upon a staysail down-haul and to letting go -the outer jib-halliards, leaving the unfurled sail to convulse itself -into bulbs and bellies of canvas upon the jibboom. Certainly Hardy -single-handed could not lay out upon the jibboom and furl a big jib: he -did not mean to try.</p> - -<p>As he expected, the wind freshened, but without the shift of a -quarter of a point. The ship raced nobly through the gloom: she blew -white steam from the nostrils of her bows; the white water to leeward -widened with her pace and flashed with the emerald and diamond of the -sea glow into the long, the streaming, the joyous homeward-bound wake. -There was no more dead leviathan in the air; it was full of the salt -sweetness of Swinburne's rushing sea verse. But the stars were gone; -there was no light upon the sea but the light of its foam. The ship -was plunging, the seas raced her in black curls, and burst with a -pallor of dawn from her side, and onward she swept, bowing and rolling -to the music of the bagpipes in her rigging, controlled by a single -hand—a fearless and a valiant hand—the hand of a British -sailor.</p> - -<p>However, he made up his mind to "crack on" in a sort of way, and the -meaning of "cracking on" at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> sea is the carrying in bad weather -of more canvas than the judicious would approve. I have known an old -skipper to furl his fore and mizzen-royal and stow his flying jib every -second dog-watch in dead calm or catspaw. The ladies reckoned him a -safe man, and he made the voyage from the Thames to Sydney Bay in four -months. Hardy had the instincts of a mate, and was always for carrying -on; but he had not much confidence in staysail and jib-sheets, and at -half-past eleven, seven bells of the first watch, somewhat benumbed -with his grip of the spokes, he resolved to shorten canvas, and shouted -to his girl. She came out of the coop like a figure from a clock.</p> - -<p>"Is it a storm?" said she in his ear.</p> - -<p>"Let's thank God," he answered, "like the sailor in the song, that -there are no chimney-pots in the air. I wonder if I can trust you with -this wheel? It doesn't kick very much, and I sha'n't be long."</p> - -<p>"You don't want to turn in, then?"</p> - -<p>"Love ye, no," he answered. "Get a good hold of these spokes, and -I'll stand by."</p> - -<p>He watched her, conceiving that if the ship was off her course now -and again it would not signify a brass farthing. The wheel-chains are -a good purchase upon the tiller, and Julia's arms were strong and -determined with the labour she had been put to, whether ashore or at -sea. Young women cannot pull ropes on board ship, or lift old ladies -out of bed on dry land, without adding strength to the muscles of their -arms and determination to the clutch of their fingers.</p> - -<p>Hardy stood close beside Julia ready for that kick of the helm -which, whilst he had stood at the wheel,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> had on three or -four occasions started him out of a mood of musing. Twice came the -kick—the blow of the surge against the rudder, but the girl held -on and the ship swept on, and with every freshening of the black roar -aloft the words of the Yankee poet came into Hardy's head:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> - <span class="i0">"Then suddenly there burst a yell</span> - <span class="i0">That would have shock'd and stagger'd hell."</span> -</div></div> - -<p>"You'll do," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>He called the dog and they went forward. There is no good in talking -of jiggers, down-hauls, sheets, halliards, winches, and such things to -landsmen. Enough, then, if it be said that by first letting go and then -by hauling down, Hardy, helped by the dog and the jigger—which -is another word for the watch-tackle—succeeded in easing the -ship of two or three pinions of staysails and jib. The jigger manned -the down-haul stoutly, and the dog stuck like glue to all slack he was -asked to concern himself with. The sails were left to flap and slat -and thunder. What could Hardy do? If the canvas went to pieces they -must carry the ship home without it; if it held, there were the dog, -the jigger, and the man to rehoist it. A mate's ear does not love the -noise of slatting canvas, and Hardy as he stood in the bows guessed -with something of helpless disgust that the jib-boom was buckling a -bit. The foretopmast staysail and the inner jib were roaring like a -thunder-storm, and a living gale swept out of the iron curve of the -bolt-rope of the fore-course.</p> - -<p>It was white water often to the figure-head, the midnight -magnificence and wrath of foam, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> stormy bellowing of -the recoiling and shattered sea. Heavenly Father! to think of this -rushing, shadowy structure, this clipper fabric, whose stern was out of -sight in darkness from the bows, controlled by a girl!</p> - -<p>Hardy ran aft to take the wheel, and the dutiful dog trotted beside -him. How did that night pass? In simple alternations of coop and -wheel.</p> - -<p>It was not to be a long night; the business of the half-gale did -not begin until eight bells of the first watch, and it was nearly two -bells before Hardy had made an end with his staysails and jib. It was -not perhaps in those days so extremely necessary as it is in these -to keep a bright lookout for ships' lights, simply because the steam -vessel was comparatively few, and the sailing ship was not greatly -accustomed to interpret her presence by the red and green wink. The -flourish of the lamp hastily plucked out of the binnacle was deemed as -good a flare as an empty flaming tar-barrel, and, indeed, it sometimes -sufficed. Collision in the days of timber was not collision in the days -of steel. Colliding ships ground away each other's channels amidst -the benedictions of the forecastle and the poop, and the spluttering -expostulations of crackling spars on high. Now 'tis touch and sink, -so ingenious and preserving is the water-tight bulkhead, so grand -in assurance of the salvation of precious life is the keel-up boat, -secured beyond all release of knife or tool to the skid. Everything is -riveted, and everything goes, and it takes half a dozen gunboats to -sink a wooden wreck maliciously floating in the track of the supreme -expression of the modern shipwright's art.</p> - -<p>The break of day found Hardy at the wheel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> But he had slept -since he was last heard of, and Julia had stood her trick, kick or -no kick, whilst Sailor kept watch on the forecastle head. The wind -had greatly fallen, the sea had greatly fallen, and the complexion of -fine weather was in the dawn. With the rising of the sun the weather -promised beauty and splendour: blue seas far as the eye could reach -breaking in foam, masses of sailing cloud in the sky like vast puffs -of vapour from the funnel of a locomotive; and right astern, a film of -pearl in the windy blue, hung a sail.</p> - -<p>It was not seen for some time by Hardy, nor by the dog that -slumbered in its kennel; but when Julia came out of her coop to the -summons of the sun, she instantly saw the sail and called and pointed; -and whilst she held the wheel the dog sprang on to the taffrail and -barked, and Hardy fetched the glass.</p> - -<p>A cloud of canvas coming up astern hand over hand. Topsails, -topgallantsails, royals, and skysails; the wind fresh off the beam; a -topgallant-stunsail yearning from its boom end: the beautiful vision, a -leaning light with the blue sea in foam betwixt it and the <i>York</i>, and -beyond, the immeasurable heavens sloping past the working rim of the -deep.</p> - -<p>"A Yankee," said Hardy, putting down the glass. "Skysails—why -not moonsails, and angels' footstools? D'ye know that you can sometimes -stop a ship by cracking on? I've hove the log and found her doing ten: -thought to get more out of her; set royals and topmast-stunsails: hove -the log and found her doing nine. Why? Because a ship isn't built to -sail on her side."</p> - -<p>The galley fire was lighted; coffee was boiled; the sun shone -brightly, and the ship astern was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> coming up fast. -Whilst Julia held the wheel, Hardy mastheaded the red flag of our -country at the gaff end, and there it streamed, meteoric, as in the -song.</p> - -<p>"It is like being in the Docks to see it," cried Julia.</p> - -<p>"It is like feeling that there are no bally Dutchmen in the world!" -answered Hardy.</p> - -<p>They breakfasted in a manner afore-described, and often watched the -ship astern. She was a black spot under a white cloud.</p> - -<p>"Undoubtedly a Yankee," said Hardy, with his mouth full of white -biscuit. "She'll wonder at us, and what will she do?"</p> - -<p>"They must not help us," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"Fancy her sailors sparkling with the jewels in the safe, fancy -her skipper and mates singing out orders with heavy gold chains round -their necks, and diamond earrings in their Yankee lobes! I do love the -Yankee captain; he stands at the break of the poop and watches his mate -kicking a man's brains out of his skull, and he yells out, 'Heave him -over the side whilst he's breathing.' It is all sweetness and light -aboard the Yankeeman. Some of these days the great Republic will awaken -to recognition of the claims of her merchant sailors. The immortal Dana -did his best, which was noble and lasting. But oh, the crimes, the -cruelties, the murders which make the Yankee ship of trade a bitterer -hell for men than the hell of the monk's invention!"</p> - -<p>But a stern chase is a long chase, albeit you are under single-reef -topsails and fore-course only, whilst t'other heaps your wake with -skysails and stunsails. It was half-past nine before the ship -astern was on the <i>York's</i> quarter; a black barque with an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> -almost straight stem, taking the seas under her swelling heights with -the springs and leaps of a deer chased by the hound.</p> - -<p>Her colour, if it flew, was invisible as yet, but her nationality -was as certain as a goatee. Jonathan was at the helm and Jonathan was -at the prow, and Hardy easily guessed that the condition of the <i>York</i> -flying the flag of a rich relation was puzzling the intelligence of the -gentleman whose legs are represented as clothed with the bunting of -Stripes and Stars. Yes, Jonathan was puzzled, and like Paul Pry meant -to intrude, whilst hoping that he didn't.</p> - -<p>On a sudden she clewed up skysails, royals, and topgallantsails, -boom-ended her studdingsails, and came surging with little more than -the speed of the <i>York</i> on to the clipper's quarter within easy hail. -A man stood on the rail holding on by the mizzen-rigging. No flag flew -at the gaff end, but the word Yankee was writ in letters as big as the -barque herself. The figure grasped an old-fashioned weapon for the -conveyance of sound—a speaking-trumpet; he put it to his lips, -and whilst a small crowd of men on the barque's forecastle, attired -in dungaree and vary-coloured headgear, gazed at the <i>York</i> with the -steadfast stare of sheep at a barking dog in a field, the man with the -trumpet delivered his mind thus:</p> - -<p>"Ho, the ship ahoy! What ship are you?"</p> - -<p>Hardy, with one hand to his mouth, Julia meanwhile steering, roared -back:</p> - -<p>"The <i>York</i>, of London; bound to London."</p> - -<p>This was all he said. He did not inquire the barque's name; it -was no business of his to know it. But she was forging ahead, and -the name under the counter in long white letters grew visible: -<i>Columbia</i>—Boston.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></p> <p>"Where's your -crew?" shouted the man with the trumpet.</p> - -<p>"On deck," was the answer.</p> - -<p>A man standing by the figure on the rail took the speaking-trumpet -and replaced it by a telescope, which the figure levelled at Julia.</p> - -<p>"He's admiring you," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"I dare say the crew on that forecastle are laughing," she -exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"Sailors are too well fed to laugh easily," replied Hardy. "Oily -men, fat men, rich men, seldom laugh."</p> - -<p>All between the two speeding vessels was the rush of the white -surge, and the ships seemed to salute each other like acquaintances as -they bowed in stately rolls and sang the song of the shrouds one to the -other, for it is all singing at sea—singing or singing out.</p> - -<p>Suddenly when the barque had drawn on to the weather-bow of the -<i>York</i> she was luffed up into the wind, and the weather-half of her -loftier canvas was aback.</p> - -<p>"They mean to visit us," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Not to stay, I hope," said Julia, anxiously.</p> - -<p>In a few moments some figures broke from the barque's forecastle -crowd and ran aft, and a white boat of a whaling pattern, sharpened -stem and stern, sank from its davits with six men in her, and the man -who had given the telescope to the figure on the rail steered the -boat.</p> - -<p>Hardy put his helm down and shook the wind out of his small canvas, -and presently the boat was hooked on alongside, and an American -sailor—a chief mate—clambered over the rail on to the -deck of the <i>York</i>.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span></p> <p>It is bad taste to imitate -accents, or oddities of phrase, or nasal deliverances. This Yankee mate -then shall speak as our first cousin does.</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say," said he, touching his cap as he approached -Hardy and Julia, "that you and this lady"—he bowed to -her—"are your ship's company?"</p> - -<p>"No," answered Hardy. "We have that dog: he is worth ten foreigners, -and we have a watch-tackle and a winch."</p> - -<p>"And you are carrying this ship to London alone?"</p> - -<p>"Ay."</p> - -<p>The Yankee mate looked a little stupefied, glanced along the deck, -then up at the Red Ensign, then at the girl who stood beneath it.</p> - -<p>"Where are you from?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"See here," said Hardy; "I intend to spin my own yarn when I get -ashore, and I do not mean that it shall either be diminished or -exaggerated by report. This lady and I propose to carry this ship home -alone, and that flag flies in vain if we fail."</p> - -<p>"Well, I am surprised," said the mate of the barque. "It must be -very uncomfortable. Your outer jib is slatting, and your staysails want -stowing. Can we help you?"</p> - -<p>"I am very much obliged," replied Hardy, "but before you call your -men aboard this lady will kindly bring from the cabin a bottle of grog -and glasses, that we may drink to the good voyage of the <i>Columbia</i> and -to the increasing greatness of your magnificent country."</p> - -<p>"I am willing," answered the mate, and as Julia disappeared he -exclaimed, "Is she your wife, sir?"</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></p> <p>"No; she is -my sweetheart; she is the daughter of a retired commander in our Royal -Navy, and if God suffers us to reach home she will be my wife."</p> - -<p>"She is a very fine young woman," said the mate.</p> - -<p>"She has a splendid spirit," answered Hardy, "and she is a very fine -young woman as you say."</p> - -<p>Julia knew the ways of the under-stewardess, and was quickly on -deck again with a tray of glasses, cold water, and a bottle of brandy. -She mixed the spirits, each man saying "when," and took a little drop -herself, just enough to be sincere with in her good wishes. The Yankee -mate did not seem to greatly trouble himself that the figure on the -barque—undoubtedly the skipper—should keep the telescope -bearing upon them. With one hand on the spoke Hardy, with the other -hand, held aloft the glass of grog, and said:</p> - -<p>"Here's to your beautiful barque, and to the noble country from -which she hails!"</p> - -<p>He drank and so did Julia, and the mate before drinking said:</p> - -<p>"Here's to the Red Flag of Old England, and to the fine girls who -steer ships under it!"</p> - -<p>Julia laughed merrily, and thought the mate better looking now than -she had at first believed. He was a little sallow, a little long-faced, -and on the whole what the Americans call slab-sided; but he had the -eyes of an honest man and the looks of a good sailor, and if his name -were inscribed on the dome of St. Paul's nothing better could be said -of it.</p> - -<p>"My captain will be getting impatient," said the mate. "He'll wonder -that you don't take assistance."</p> - -<p>"If your men will hoist that canvas for me," answered Hardy, -"I shall ask no more help."</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span></p> <p>"What a -beautiful dog is that!" said the Yankee mate, hanging in the wind, -so much did he relish this novel rencounter and brief association in -mid-Atlantic with a young lady of incomparable figure. "I would be the -happiest man in America if I owned that dog."</p> - -<p>"All America would not purchase him," answered Hardy; "his name -is Sailor, and he has the spirit of Nelson. He helps me and the -watch-tackle to brace up, keeps a lookout like a madman in search of -the philosopher's stone, never gets drunk, and always says his prayers -before he turns in. Will you have another drop of brandy?"</p> - -<p>"No more, sir, I thank you."</p> - -<p>Saying which the mate went to the side and hailed the boat. Hardy -kept the <i>York</i> in the wind and the barque was already in the wind, and -neither vessel therefore had any way to speak of. The boat, well fended -off, slobbered alongside, chucked and dived, spat and hissed like a -kitten sporting with its mother. To the cry of the mate four men sprang -into the chains, and were on deck with the activity of Britons boarding -a Frenchman. Fine-looking fellows they were, three of them Englishmen -who had been forced by Great Britain's love of foreign labour to -earn their bread under the Stripes and Stars. They stared about them -with sheepish grins because a woman was hard by. Had the girl been a -British skipper their smileless faces would have grown as long as wet -hammocks.</p> - -<p>"Fill a drink for them, Julia," said Hardy.</p> - -<p>Another glass was fetched, four glasses brimmed, and with a -"Well, here's luck, sir," down went the doses through throats to -which the aroma of cognac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> was as strange a bliss as heaven to a -newly arrived soul.</p> - -<p>"Shall we make more sail for you?" said the mate.</p> - -<p>"Not a cloth, thank ye," answered Hardy at the wheel.</p> - -<p>So the mate and the men went forward and hoisted the outer jib -and scientifically belayed the sheet, then lay aft, and did likewise -with the staysails, hauled taut the braces, and generally made things -snugger than they had found them. The dog went with them and watched -their conduct with admiration.</p> - -<p>"Well," said the mate, approaching Hardy with an outstretched hand, -"we have done all you wish us to do, and I am sorry you won't let us do -more. We will report you."</p> - -<p>"I hope you won't," answered Hardy; "the owners will send out a tug -in search of us, and then it's good night to my salvage."</p> - -<p>"I twig," responded the mate, with a grave smile. "Yes, it shall -be made apparent to the Old Man," meaning his captain, for at sea the -captain would be called Old Man by the sailors if he were a beardless -youth of twenty-two.</p> - -<p>He shook hands with Hardy, and their grasp was cordial. He shook -hands with Julia, and admired her and praised her with a look. Then -the five tumbled over the side like rats from a sinking ship, gained -the boat, and went away with a smoking stem to the barque. Julia -stepped to the rail to watch, and when the men saw her they cheered; -three times they cheered, and the mate in the stern-sheets lifted his -cap and cheered whilst Julia<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> flourished her hand. There is much -good-fellowship at sea, and English-speaking sailors are as brothers -when they meet.</p> - -<p>"Those men do not look as though they were starved and kicked," said -Julia, returning to Hardy.</p> - -<p>"If every ship kicked and starved her sailors there would be no -ships afloat," replied Hardy. "All the same, there is much starvation -and kicking at sea."</p> - -<p>"How beautiful that ship looks!" said Julia; "I never saw a vessel's -canvas shine so brightly. How delicate are the shadows at the edges! -A sailing ship owes its life to the wind, and all the spirit of the -sea is in her. Steamers are full of coals and ashes, they blacken the -air with disgusting smoke, their life is compulsion, they are driven -by a wheel or a screw. The sailing ship floats on wings like the -sea-bird."</p> - -<p>"All is compulsion," exclaimed Hardy, watching the keen-ended boat -as she foamed sweeping with a lightning flash of wet oars to the sun, -to the mother she belonged to; "compulsion hurled the universe into -being, and everything is driven by it. I do not like to be compelled to -be born or to die. I do not like to be compelled to carry a hump or to -grow bald or hideous with age. But I am compelled into these enormities -and there's no getting away from it. You must hold this wheel whilst I -dip our flag when they get their boat to the tackles."</p> - -<p>This did not take long to happen. The sweethearts watched the white -boat rising out of the water, and when the little fabric was hanging at -its davits the American flag soared heavenward, streaming to the gaff -end.</p> - -<p>"Hold the wheel," said Hardy, and Julia grasped the spokes.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span></p> <p>He sprang to the signal-halliards and lowered -the flag, just as you pull off your hat when you say good-bye. The -American colour sank in graceful beauty and soared again, and again -sank the Red Ensign to be again gaff-ended, and thrice did these two -vessels salute each other and then belayed their halliards, leaving -their banners flying.</p> - -<p>A faint cheer came from the American vessel, and Hardy sprang into -the mizzen-rigging and flourished his cap. Then the Yankee fell off -and filled a rap-full; her wake throbbed in pulses of foam under her -counter, fountain-bursts of sparkling stars of brine flashed off her -bows, every stitch of canvas was mastheaded, and away she went with -yearning stunsail, a leaning vision of transcendent beauty—a -spirit now, for she hath long since departed from the waters which she -walked, and remains but a memory to the old.</p> - -<p>Hardy went to the wheel, put his helm a little up, and the <i>York</i> -started again for home under steady curves of canvas.</p> - -<p>For two days after this the ship's company of three had their hands -full. It came on to blow a strong breeze right ahead: they managed -to brace up, and went staggering away to the west and north. It was -impossible for so slender a company to put the ship about; neither -could Hardy wear her, for who was to square and then brace round the -yards to the hard-over helm? Every wind then must be a fair wind for -that ship; she must splutter through it as best she could, and all that -the two brave hearts could pray for was that it should never blow so -hard as to dismast them or burst the canvas into rags.</p> - -<p>Julia was now a practised as well as a fearless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> -helmswoman, and Hardy was able to get the sleep he needed; she too -enjoyed plenty of intervals. In those two days it did not blow fiercer -than a two-reef breeze, and Hardy eased the ship by keeping her a -little away. For it mattered nothing to him or Julia if the passage -home extended into months so long as they got home at last.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XIX.</span> <span class="smaller">THE CAMILLA OF THE SEA</span></h2> - -<p>Within ten weeks of the date of the sailing of the clipper ship -<i>York</i> from the River Thames the vessel was about two hundred miles to -the westward of the coast of Portugal. It was a leaden day. The ocean -was breathing deeply after a long conflict with the gale. The swell -ran in sullen masses, lifting with the lazy sickness of oil, but the -breeze was light and scarcely creased the moving knolls, and the shadow -of cloud hung like tapestry in a darkened chamber, low down in ragged -skirts upon the winding line of the sea.</p> - -<p>The ship looked wrecked aloft. All her spars were standing -indeed, but her mizzentopsail hung in rags, and the bolt ropes made -a skeleton of the fabric aft. The foresail was split in halves, and -with each weary roll gaped like a cut in an india-rubber ball when -pressed. Rags of the outer jib fluttered from lacing or hanks. The -maintopgallantsail had been blown loose and had gone to pieces, and was -shaking from the yard in lengths like Irish pennants in the rigging. -The ship was rolling drearily, and the channels would often slap white -thunder out of the sulky brow of the swell, and she groaned greatly -throughout her length and made some dim sound of lamentation aloft.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p> <p>Hardy stood alone at the wheel. He was fresh -from a long and desperate fight with the sea, and you read the -character of the struggle in his face. His beard was a week old: in -the hollows under his eyes lay a little whiteness, the encrustation of -salt; this gave him the ghastly look of the life-boat man who steps -ashore after standing two nights and a day by a stranded ship with -frozen figures in her shrouds. His hair was a little long, and this -gave a something of wildness to his aspect. His looks were haggard, -his eyes wanting in their usual lustre, his lips were pale; he looked -worn. For ten days he and Julia had been fighting a gale of wind. In -ten days they had managed to obtain but two or three hours sleep in a -day of twenty-four hours. But happily for them it never blew so hard -but that they could keep their course shaped for the English Channel. -It never blew so hard that a ship well manned would have needed to -heave to. It came in roaring weight upon the quarter, and one midnight -the mizzentopsail burst in a blast of cannon, and shortly after the -maintopgallantsail was blown into shreds out of the gaskets, and next -morning, in the screaming fury of a bleaching squall, the outer jib -flew into pennons from the stay, and the veil of the fore-course was -rent asunder. But the reefed maintopsail, the foretopmast-staysail, -and the inner jib were as faithful to their duty as Tom Bowline in -the song, and the ship rushed on in foam to the figurehead, whitening -acres of the sea abaft her, passing a brig hove to in the haze; passed -by a ship that would not stay to speak; passed by a Fruiter schooner -from the Western Islands, whose spring over the surge was the glance -of the albatross, whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> envanishment in the haze ahead, into -which the <i>York</i> was for ever rushing, was the extinction of a meteor -in a cloud.</p> - -<p>And now the gale was gone the sea would shortly smooth its panting -breast; it was the early forenoon. Hardy called the dog, but he did not -exert the powerful voice that was familiar to Julia.</p> - -<p>The Newfoundland came out of its kennel and looked up in -affectionate expectation at the sailor.</p> - -<p>"Go below and bring her up!" said Hardy, pointing, and the dog -perfectly understanding disappeared down the companionway.</p> - -<p>His hands were almost raw with grasping the spokes. His arms were -almost lifeless with their long resistance to the mulish tug of the -wheel-chains in response to the kick of the rudder. His feet ached with -standing, knots seemed to have been tied in the muscles of his legs; -but in the gauntness of his looks was visible the spirit of a noble -heart, and there was no better or more fearless sailor in the world -than that grim, unshorn figure that stood alone at the helm of that -reeling ship.</p> - -<p>You will think it strange that a man, a woman, and a dog should -have brought a big, full-rigged ship in safety down to the present -hour through some thunderous Atlantic parallels. Yet this ship's -adventure is not so strange to me as the mysterious good fortune -of the ocean-tramp of to-day that washes through the Bay of Biscay -without her funnel, and quietly discharges her cargo without any one -feeling one penny the worse. Take, for instance, the second mate of an -ocean-tramp. He walks the bridge; there are three foreign seamen in his -watch, one of whom steers the ship, whilst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> the other two paint -her. By secret compulsion, well understood by the owner and the captain -of the ship, the second mate quits the bridge and helps the two sailors -to paint the ship. Who looks after the ship whilst the person in charge -of her paints? The ship herself.</p> - -<p>Or the same second mate may be on the bridge in the first watch; -the foreign sailor at the wheel has been labouring almost continuously -at deck-work through the greater portion of the day. The second mate -for convenience has set the ship's course by a star. Suddenly he finds -the star sliding slowly abeam. He rushes to the wheel and beholds the -helmsman standing erect, and asleep. The second mate shakes the fellow -furiously, and shouts, "Hard a-starboard!" and the sleepy foreigner, -who scarcely understands the commands of the helm in English, tries to -port by every spoke until he is stopped by the second mate's boot.</p> - -<p>Is not the voyage of our every-day ocean-tramp more wonderful in -the unrevealed conditions of the life of the staggering tank than this -story of a full-rigged ship worked by an English seaman, an English -girl, a Newfoundland dog, a watch-tackle, and a winch? I served for -eight years at sea as a sailor, and I venture to say that the tramp is -far more wonderful than this ship.</p> - -<p>Sailor knew his business, and in a few minutes Julia arrived on -deck. She looked ill and worn. Her straw hat was beginning to show -like the end of a long voyage; her dress would have made an ill -figure of her in Piccadilly. But you saw all that was necessary of -spirit and resolution in her eyes.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span></p> <p>"Julia," said -Hardy, "the pumps suck with me. I feel worn out. I can't stand at this -wheel any longer, and there would be no good in your attempting to hold -it. I'll secure the helm, and the ship must take her chance. It'll be a -dead calm before long, and we have come to a moment when a great deal -must be left to fortune. Look yonder!"</p> - -<p>He pointed on the quarter where streaks of fine weather were -expanding and lifting, lines and spaces of silver blue irradiating the -ragged gloom of the firmament which was moving ponderously and slowly -northwest.</p> - -<p>"You will find it cold," continued Hardy. "Go and wrap yourself up -in the captain's cloak whilst I secure the wheel."</p> - -<p>Before he had secured the helm the girl returned apparelled as -commanded, for to her his word was law. He then sank down in a chair -near the wheel with his chin upon his breast, and the girl went forward -to boil a kettle of water.</p> - -<p>She remained forward until some hot coffee was ready, and when she -came aft with it she found her sweetheart sound asleep. It is not -love that disturbs the sleeping sailor. It is love that watches and -shields the repose of love, as the guardian angel the slumber of the -baby. Julia looked at Hardy. How gaunt and hollow! How grim and bristly -with the week's growth! Yet how peaceful in sleep, how manly in look, -how dear to her; oh, how dear to her by loyal devotion, by beautiful -honour, by self-respect, by his fear and his love of God!</p> - -<p>She sat on the deck beside him and drank a little coffee, and -the dog lay at her feet. The helm was paralysed by the rope which -secured the wheel, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> the ship was slowly knocked by the -head into the hollow of the swell; the topsail was aback, and the ship -lay rolling quietly on the quieting folds with streamers of canvas -swaying from the yard and from the stay.</p> - -<p>Julia continued to sit by her sleeping lover's side for more than -half an hour, leaving him once only to see to the galley fire. When -again she arose to attend to the fire the dog stood up and shook -himself and sprang upon the taffrail to take a look around, and before -Julia had stepped ten paces the noble animal was sounding in deep tones -his report of a ship in sight.</p> - -<p>The noise awoke Hardy, who started and stood up, and Julia stayed -where she was to look at the sea.</p> - -<p>Nearly right abeam, in the midst of the lifting bright weather -whose suffusion of radiance was over the mastheads, was visible the -feathering of a steamer's smoke.</p> - -<p>"It is something coming our way," said Hardy to Julia, and he took -the glass, and pointed it.</p> - -<p>His hands trembled, and he steadied the tubes by grasping the -vang of the gaff with them. After a long look—Julia was at his -side—he said:</p> - -<p>"She rises fast. By her square yards I take her to be a man-of-war. -If she is British she will be the help I have sometimes prayed for."</p> - -<p>He put down the glass, bent on the Red Ensign Jack down, and ran it -aloft.</p> - -<p>"I will get you some hot coffee," said Julia. "Do you feel rested a -little?"</p> - -<p>"I am good for an eight hours' spell," he replied, but he did -not look so.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p> <p>She went forward, and he -watched the approaching steamer, and the dog watched her also. When the -girl returned with a pannikin of hot coffee Hardy had more news to give -her. He first drank, then lighted a pipe, and he told her that the ship -abeam, whose paddle-wheels had by this time slapped her hull into clear -view, was undoubtedly a British man-of-war, and to judge by her course -she was either from the Cape de Verde or direct from Rio, or some port -on the eastern coast of South America.</p> - -<p>"How do you know she is British?" asked Julia.</p> - -<p>"By every token of yards squared by lifts and braces, by white bunt, -and something white at the gaff end."</p> - -<p>"Can you distinguish her flag?"</p> - -<p>"It is a speck of light, but I know what it means."</p> - -<p>"Will you accept help from her?" inquired Julia.</p> - -<p>"Of course I will," he answered. "The Admiralty do not claim -salvage, or they so hedge about the claim as to make the claimant's -case prohibitory."</p> - -<p>"How will she help us?" said the girl.</p> - -<p>"Either by towing or sending men. But I doubt if she will tow," -answered Hardy. "She may not have enough coal. She may be in a hurry to -get home. The sailor is always in a hurry—God help him—and -often when he gets home he finds the canary dead in the cage."</p> - -<p>"We have no canary to greet us with its corpse," said Julia.</p> - -<p>She picked up the glass, and inspected the approaching vessel. -And so the time was whiled away until the steamer was close on the -<i>York's</i> quarter, her paddle-wheels ceased to revolve, and now -all about her could easily be understood without the glass.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span></p> <p>She was one of that class of naval steamers -which still survive (in aspect at least), at the date of the -composition of this story, in the Royal Yacht, familiar in the Solent. -She had a square stern, embellished with gilded mouldings and sparkling -with windows. She had yellow paddle-boxes, a tall black hull with a -few square gunports of a side. She was a barque, though they tried to -make her look like a ship by fixing square yards without canvas on her -mizzenmast and fidded topmast, which was a brigantine's mainmast with -its crosstrees. For a full-rigged ship must have fidded topmast and -fidded topgallantmast and royalmast, and if she has not these you may -call her what you like but she is not a ship.</p> - -<p>The steamer was H.M.S. <i>Magicienne</i>, bound from Rio to Devonport, -having halted at the Cape de Verde for coal. She was full of men, as -the Navy ship usually is. Here and there she was spotted by the red -coat of a marine. She sparkled to the risen fine weather, and the sea -was now blue to both the ships, though northwest it breathed in leaden -shadow. She dipped her visible wheel in foam. The colour of her country -trembled in handkerchief-size at her gaff end, and her pennon streamed -in a line of silk. An officer stood upon the paddle-box and hailed the -<i>York</i>. Hardy thought he could answer, and tried to do so, but found -that his voice would not carry. Indeed he had been overburdened, and -every function was bowed and humped.</p> - -<p>To make himself understood he shook his head and pointed to -his mouth, and flew the signal of "No voice" by pantomime. The -trill of a whistle could be heard. In a few moments—moments -are <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>minutes, minutes are hours on board the ship of war with -hundreds of a crew, as compared with the moments, minutes, and hours -aboard a ship of trade with thirty of a crew—a boat-full of men -with something glittering in the stern-sheets sank to the water at -the steamer's side, and, as though but one oar was wielded at either -gunwale, the boat came with flashful iteration of feathered blade, -a pulse of sparkling locomotion each side of her, and the something -that glittered astern beside the coxswain enlarged swiftly into the -proportions of a midshipman twenty years old.</p> - -<p>He gained the deck with the scrambling bounds of a kangaroo as he -sprang from the rail saluting the ship with some convulsion of thumb -near the bottom button of his waistcoat. His freckled face was well -bred; his looks had the ardency of the youthful British sailor. You -felt that here was a young man, perhaps an honourable, perhaps a lord, -who at the call of duty would do his "bit," and do it well.</p> - -<p>He stared hard at the girl whilst he walked slap up to Hardy.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with this ship?" said he, and his accost made -Hardy feel as though he were a north-country Geordie skipper with an -auld wife in the companion-hatch darning his stockings.</p> - -<p>"I am stumpended with work," said Hardy, "and must sit, or I shall -fall." And he sat down.</p> - -<p>"You look like the end of a long voyage," said the midshipman.</p> - -<p>"And you look as if the roast beef of Old England smokes in the -gunroom," answered Hardy.</p> - -<p>"So help me God, then," cried the midshipman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> -with heat, "nothing has fed us since Rio but salt horse. Where's your -crew?" and he looked at the girl without greatly admiring her, for -Julia was very draggled and broken about the hat, and dejected about -the hair and white and worn, and she knew she was all this with a -girl's distress.</p> - -<p>"The crew are before you," replied Hardy, languidly pointing at the -dog.</p> - -<p>"What do you want?" said the midshipman, directing his eyes -aloft.</p> - -<p>"The help of the nation represented by your ship of state," answered -Hardy.</p> - -<p>The midshipman, who was a gentleman, perceived that the grim, -unshorn, labour-wearied man on the chair was a gentleman, whatever -might be his rating aboard a merchantman, and his manner changed.</p> - -<p>"You are in a very odd situation," said he. "What a magnificent dog! -What is your story, that I may return and report it to the captain?"</p> - -<p>It took Hardy ten minutes to relate the ship's adventure, and the -midshipman listened to it with parted lips, just as his face would -overhang a thrilling novel which is true with all those touches that -make the world akin.</p> - -<p>"Well," said he when Hardy had finished, "I always thought going -into the Navy was going to sea, but that's the real flag of adventure," -he added, with a glance at the inverted ensign. "You want help and -deserve it, and I'll go to the ship, and report."</p> - -<p>He touched his cap with a look of pitying admiration at Julia. It -was not the admiration of a man for a pretty face, but for the heart of -a lioness.</p> - -<p>The boat left the <i>York</i> and Hardy continued to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> -sit, and Julia stood beside him. It was fine weather above the -fore-royal truck, and the gloom was thinning in the northwest. Where -the brightness had broken the sea was darkening its blue; a breeze was -coming up that way, and it would prove a homeward bound breeze to the -<i>York</i>, with a sparkling sun to dry her and to cheer her.</p> - -<p>"I do not think that midshipman greatly respects the Merchant -Service," said Julia.</p> - -<p>"Midshipmen occasionally condescend to us," answered Hardy, "but the -majority of naval officers have good sense, and wherever there is good -sense our flag is respected, because the naval officer has read history -and sometimes contributes to it."</p> - -<p>The girl looked at the steamer and the boat that was foaming to her -to its dazzling line of oars.</p> - -<p>"It is a fine service!" said Hardy, taking the steamer in from -streaming pennon to the dip of the red-tongued wheel. "I might just as -easily have been there as here. One is the butterfly rich with the wing -of the peacock tail; the other is the plain white butterfly"—he -looked afloat—"that blows like a piece of paper about the summer -garden. But deprive them of their wings and you'll find their bodies -very much alike."</p> - -<p>"What are they going to do?" said Julia.</p> - -<p>"We shall soon find out," answered Hardy. "British men-of-war are -not accustomed to keep people long waiting to find out."</p> - -<p>Though the ships lay at a fair seaworthy distance from each other, -men and matters were visible to the naked eye aboard either.</p> - -<p>Hardy saw the midshipman conversing with the commander on the -bridge. He did not choose to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> level a glass, it might be deemed -impertinent, but he saw the commander lift a binocular to his eyes -in evident wonder; certainly the gallant officer had never heard a -stranger story of the sea. Officialism could not neutralise curiosity, -and the man, the girl, and the dog being within easy reach of the -sight helped by the magnifying lens, the commander watched whilst the -midshipman talked.</p> - -<p>What was to happen was to be speedily understood. The pipe shrilled -and trilled, kits and hammocks were flung into the cutter, and in a -few minutes the large boat containing twenty-one men and a warrant -officer came alongside. Twelve men climbed out of her into the ship, -first throwing up to a few who had preceded them their sea wardrobes -and bedding. They were followed by the warrant officer—the -man-o'-war's boatswain. His ruddy face flamed betwixt two red whiskers; -his small, sharp blue eyes shot a bayonet glance in twenty directions -in two seconds. He and his men had come to stay, and the cutter -laboured to her sea mother to the stroke of five oars controlled by a -helmsman.</p> - -<p>"I'm the bo'sun of her Majesty's ship <i>Magicienne</i>," said the -flaming seaman, coming up to Hardy with a salute. "My orders are to -help you to carry this ship home."</p> - -<p>"It is very good of your captain," said Hardy, deeply moved, and -smiling with an expression that accentuated the weariness of his soul, -and that also emphasised the manly nature of his character, which -instantly won the recognition of the boatswain because he was a sailor -in the presence of a sailor.</p> - -<p>"Do I understand your discipline? I give my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> orders through you. -Your men would not accept my command."</p> - -<p>"Quite right, sir," answered the boatswain, cheerfully, "and if you -will turn me to at once I will turn them men to immediately after. But -I beg you won't overtire yourself, sir. And the lady has helped you! -And that's a beautiful dog of yourn. A small ship's company, sir; and, -begging your pardon, you and the lady both look as if a good night's -rest would do you good."</p> - -<p>"What is your name?" said Hardy.</p> - -<p>"Harper, sir."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Harper, will you kindly see that the men make themselves -comfortable in the forecastle? You will then bend fresh sails and make -all sail. I will show you where everything you want is to be found."</p> - -<p>He sat as he spoke, and the boatswain, touching his cap, went -amongst his men and executed Hardy's orders.</p> - -<p>The two lovers watched the steamer. A man-o'-war, even when she -carries paddle-boxes, is always a gracious object. Yonder ship's rails -were embellished with a snow-white line of hammocks, and snow-white -lines of furled canvas brightened the yards with a gleaming streak of -sunshine. The full philosophy of spit and polish was to be found in -that steamer. It spoke in the flash of brass; it lurked in the gleam -of glass; it was visible in many colours in paint work. Every rope was -hauled taut; the yards were unerringly square. The boat rose without -a song, the wheels revolved, the foam of a harpooned whale fell in -dazzling masses from under the sponsons, and the splendour of the -yeast under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> the square counter flamed like the rising day-star in -the windows of the stern.</p> - -<p>Hardy staggered to the signal halliards; his motions were -seen—he could not salute with the distress signal. With somewhat -shaking hands, therefore, he unbent and rebent the Red Ensign and -hoisted it and dipped, and the courtesy found its response in the -graceful sinking and heavenward soaring of the White Flag of our -country.</p> - -<p>Before the sailors came out of the forecastle, the queen's ship was -on a line with the <i>York's</i> port cathead, merrily slapping her way to -England.</p> - -<p>Mr. Harper came aft. His salute was respectful, his manner -sympathetic.</p> - -<p>"If you will tell me where the spare sails are kept, sir, I will see -to everything, that you and the lady may go below and take the rest you -stand in need of."</p> - -<p>Hardy told him all that was necessary, thanking him also, whilst -Julia looked at the fifteen men that were gathered forward and admired -their well-fed appearance, trim attire, manly shapes, and the whiskers -of those who wore them. The discipline of a ship of state was in their -postures, different from the longshore, lounging attitude of Jack Muck -when waiting, and yet some of the best of those men had been Jack Mucks -in their day; one had even been mate of a ship, and the look he sent -aloft was charged with recognition of familiar conditions.</p> - -<p>"Well, Mr. Harper," said Hardy, "I will leave the ship to you. There -are plenty of provisions and there is plenty of fresh water, and there -is rum for you to serve out as you think proper."</p> - -<p>Saying this, he took Julia by the arm, conducted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> -her to the companion, and followed her into the cabin.</p> - -<p>And now occurred another extraordinary incident in this ship's -adventure. It had indeed once occurred visibly before, but it will -not be credited in this age of the religious novel. When Hardy was -in the cabin he put his cap upon the table, and going to a cushioned -locker knelt beside it. Julia immediately approached him and likewise -knelt, shoulders touching. When they had thanked God—and -it was meet that they should thank him for their very merciful -deliverance—they ate some food, drank some wine, and went to -their cabins.</p> - -<p>The sleep of the wearied mariner is profound, and the sleep of -the toil-worn girl at sea is likewise profound. Hardy was the first -to awake. Through the little port-hole or scuttle in the ship's side -he witnessed the scarlet of the dying afternoon; he also observed -the creaming curl of the breaking sea streaming swiftly past. In the -plank with his feet he felt the buoyancy of sea-borne motion, the -floating lift, the floating reel of a fabric winging over the deep. He -shaved himself, and emerged a clean, a manly though a pallid sailor, -still something gaunt but with eyes brightened by sleep, and with an -expression gallant with hope and with victory.</p> - -<p>He looked round for Julia. She was still in her cabin, and he -would not awaken her. At the foot of the companion-steps lay the -Newfoundland; Hardy knelt beside the noble creature and put his cheek -to the wet muzzle, and the dog groaned in pleasure and gratitude. Then -they went on deck together.</p> - -<p>It was a strange, new, surprising sight to Hardy and perhaps to the -dog: a British man-of-war's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> man stood at the wheel of the ship; -up and down the quarter-deck stumped the stout figure of Mr. Harper in -all pomp of commanding strut. It was the first dog-watch, and some of -the sailors were walking about the forecastle smoking pipes, and some -of them, also smoking pipes, lurked about the galley door. A fresh -breeze was sweeping down upon the quarter. The ship was under full -sail from main-royal to flying jib, from mizzen-royal to spanker. The -weather-clew of the mainsail was up, and—what was that yonder, -right ahead? By heaven! the <i>Magicienne</i> slapping along at ten and -pouring incense of soot to the very extremity of the visible universe, -and the <i>York</i> was doing twelve and overhauling her with foam to the -figurehead, with derisive laughter aloft, with all graceful scorn of -the wind-swept structure in every leap, that brought closer yet to the -eye the laborious ploughing of the paddles.</p> - -<p>Hardy and Mr. Harper touched their caps to each other.</p> - -<p>"This is business, sir," said the boatswain, "and this ship is going -to point a moral to that there steamer!"</p> - -<p>Hardy sent a critical gaze aloft. Everything was set to a hair and -rounded firm as a boiler full of steam. Everything was doing the work -of a boiler and more than the work of a boiler, as witness yonder -sky-blackening fabric, like panting Time, toiling to elude the Camilla -of the sea.</p> - -<p>"Your captain has sent me some good men," said Hardy. "It did not -take you long, I reckon, to bend new canvas."</p> - -<p>The boatswain smiled loftily betwixt his red whiskers.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span></p> <p>"It isn't all New Navy yet, sir," he answered; -"but it's coming."</p> - -<p>He sighed like a risen porpoise.</p> - -<p>"There'll be no call for sailors when it's to be nothing but that, -with pole-masts and so built"—he was pointing as he spoke to the -steamer—"that a dock-master might fitly sing out to the skipper, -Which end of you is coming in?"</p> - -<p>He suddenly drew himself up as though on drill, and Julia stepped -out of the companion-hatch. Sleep had touched her cheeks with a -delicate bloom. She had refreshed herself with soap and water; her -abundant hair was gracefully dressed; with the cunning fingers of a -woman she had somehow, I do not know how, effaced in effect at least -from her attire the soiling and creasing influence of hard weather upon -the single robe. She had managed to warp her hat to its old bearings, -and it sat cocked in its old coquettish pride upon her head. Her gaze -was full of rapture as she looked at the ship, the straining sweep of -white water over the side, the easy, manly figure of the man at the -wheel, the <i>Magicienne</i>, which if this breeze lasted the ship must -presently shift her helm to pass.</p> - -<p>"What do you think of this?" said Hardy to her.</p> - -<p>"Is it a dream, Mr. Harper?" said the girl. "Shall Mr. Hardy and I -awaken to find ourselves on board an abandoned wreck?"</p> - -<p>"Call it a dream, mum," answered the boatswain, "and when you awake -it will be England!"</p> - -<p class="space-above">This story of the ship's adventure is told. Because what you wish -and expect is bound to happen when safety and home are to be reached -and realised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> by a noble, well-found clipper ship in charge of two -sailors of the manliest character, and manned by fifteen splendid -examples of the man-of-war's men of the Navy of that age.</p> - -<p>The merciful eye of God was upon this ship, for certainly the -strength of our courageous couple had been expended in a long strife -with the gale, and the dog, and the watch-tackle, and the winch without -human help would have been of no use. Hardy would have been forced -to take the first assistance that offered. It came to him in the -triumphant spirit which informs the whole of this couple's adventures. -Our sailor yearned for an estate for himself and for the girl that -was to be his wife. He richly deserved the reward he desired. Had any -ship but a man-of-war assisted him to get home the salvage claimed -would have diminished his proportion to a sum which at the present -rate of interest would not have yielded him the value of the pension -of the retired naval bluejacket. The British man-of-war demands no -salvage, and this is but just, because her very existence depends upon -the safety of the British merchantman. If you extinguish the Merchant -Service, you extinguish the need for a Navy and you extinguish the -nation herself, because we are surrounded by the ocean, we are fed by -the merchant sailor, and the bluejacket is paid to protect him whilst -he brings us the daily bread for which we pray every Sunday in church, -and sometimes more often than every Sunday.</p> - -<p>I have never heard of a single instance in which the Admiralty -have claimed salvage for services rendered to a British merchantman. -Possibly they may have sent in a claim for the value of stores -expended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> in the salvage services. In the case of a successful -salvage it has sometimes happened that the owners of the ship have -by permission of the Admiralty presented a service of plate for the -officers' mess, or they have made personal gifts to the officers and -a dinner or supper ashore to the crew. Thus it will be gathered that -Hardy reaped the harvest he had sown and held in view; and having said -this no more need be asked, for the hand that has penned these lines -has no cunning as a reporter of the Marriage Service.</p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br /> -Obvious typographic errors have been corrected.<br /></p></div> - - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MATE OF THE GOOD SHIP YORK***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 62329-h.htm or 62329-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/3/2/62329">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/3/2/62329</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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