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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5df11e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62419 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62419) diff --git a/old/62419-0.txt b/old/62419-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ab03c6d..0000000 --- a/old/62419-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4718 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Heart of Oak, vol. 3, by William Clark Russell - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Heart of Oak, vol. 3 - A Three-Stranded Yarn - -Author: William Clark Russell - -Release Date: June 18, 2020 [eBook #62419] -[Most recently updated: April 16, 2021] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 *** - - - - -+-------------------------------------------------+ -|Transcriber's note: | -| | -|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | -| | -+-------------------------------------------------+ - - -NEW BOOKS AT EVERY LIBRARY. - - -SONS OF BELIAL. By WILLIAM WESTALL. 2 vols. - -LILITH. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 1 vol. - -THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIMENT. By MRS. HUNGERFORD. 3 vols. - -THE IMPRESSIONS OF AUREOLE. 1 vol. - -DAGONET ABROAD. By GEORGE R. SIMS. 1 vol. - -CLARENCE. By BRET HARTE. 1 vol. - -OTHELLO'S OCCUPATION. By MARY ANDERSON. 1 vol. - -HONOUR OF THIEVES. By C. J. CUTCLIFFE HYNE. 1 vol. - -THE MACDONALD LASS. By SARAH TYTLER. 1 vol. - -THE PRINCE OF BALKISTAN. By ALLEN UPWARD. 1 vol. - -THE KING IN YELLOW. By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. 1 vol. - - -LONDON: CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY. - - - - -HEART OF OAK - -VOL. III. - - - - -PRINTED BY -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE -LONDON - - - - -HEART OF OAK - -A THREE-STRANDED YARN - - -BY - -W. CLARK RUSSELL - -AUTHOR OF -'THE WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR' 'THE PHANTOM DEATH' -'THE CONVICT SHIP' ETC. - - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -IN THREE VOLUMES--VOL. III. - - -LONDON -CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY -1895 - - - - -CONTENTS - -OF - -THE THIRD VOLUME - -CHAPTER PAGE - XX. STARTLING NEWS 1 - - XXI. MR. MOORE SAILS 27 - - XXII. THE PHOTOGRAPHS 50 - - XXIII. THE SHIP SEEN ON THE ICE 76 - - XXIV. THE BRIG 'ALBATROSS' 100 - - XXV. AT SEA AGAIN 128 - - XXVI. THE ICE 159 - - XXVII. CORONATION ISLAND 185 - -XXVIII. MR. MOORE ENDS HIS STORY 217 - - - - -HEART OF OAK - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -STARTLING NEWS - - -Sir Mortimer received the news of the loss of the ship whilst he was in -Paris. He had sent his foreign address to the office in the Minories, -always hoping to hear from, or of, his daughter, and Mr. Butcher wrote -to him, unknown to me, and perhaps to Mr. Hobbs. - -He at once came to London: he arrived in the afternoon. The bank was -closed and he drove to my rooms, where he found me. He was very pale -and looked ill, but whether he had disciplined his mind during his -journey, or was a person of more fortitude than I had imagined, his -behaviour was almost calm compared to what I had expected to find it on -our first meeting. - -'When we surrendered her,' were almost his first words after holding me -by the hand and struggling as though with his tears, 'I had a feeling -we should never again meet. I ought not to have permitted her to take -so long a voyage. She was too delicate, her health was too poor, she -was too used to have comforts'--he could not proceed for some moments. -He then said, 'She was my only child. I am now alone in the world,' -and, casting himself into a chair, he hid his face and gave way. - -'I will not believe there is no hope,' I exclaimed, and, sitting down -beside him, I repeated all that I had gathered from my talk with the -boatswain Wall, with whom I had conversed for above a couple of hours -on the previous day, having brought him to the bank by a letter and -taken him into a private room, where, with my father, I had closely -questioned him, getting all that his experiences as an old seaman could -reveal of the chances a shipwrecked company had in those seas where -Marie had been abandoned. - -Sir Mortimer listened to me with passionate interest, dwelling upon -every syllable, catching me up if he did not clearly understand. -Sometimes his eyes brightened, as with a little struggle of hope, but -often he shook his head. - -'Consider,' he exclaimed, 'the "Lady Emma" was dismasted July 2.' (I -had all necessary notes of dates and the like in my note-book.) 'The -crew left her on the fourth. This is October 5; you cannot believe that -the helpless hull has continued to float in such frightful seas as run -off Cape Horn all this while.' - -'I don't say so. I don't dream it. God forbid, indeed; for that would -put an end to all chance of our ever seeing Marie again. But may we -not believe that she was fallen in with long ago?' - -'Why have we not heard? There has been time!' - -'No. Suppose the vessel that rescued them was proceeding to Australia. -We might need another three months to hear.' - -'Oh, but think!' he exclaimed, 'a dismasted hull, utterly helpless; the -horrors and perils of ice close to, a wild sea continually running--she -has not the strength to meet such sufferings; they will have broken her -poor heart. Oh! Archie, she has been taken! She is dead! We shall never -see her again.' - -He had made up his mind to this, and I daresay his comparative calmness -rose from his resolution to accept the worst at once. Though he knew -little or nothing about the sea, he could not listen to my version -of Wall's story without regarding the wreck of the 'Lady Emma' as -hopelessly complete as any in the maritime records. He said that the -mere circumstance of the 'Planter' cruising and finding nothing was of -itself a death-blow to hope. - -'And what is there to hope for?' he exclaimed, rising and moving about -the room with something of feebleness. 'We are to wait; but for what? -This sort of waiting in grief breaks down the intellect--the mourner -goes mad. In my youth I knew a woman whose only son had been drowned -in a shipwreck. She would not believe it; she hoped on; and ten years -after his death saw her on the beach with her eyes fixed upon the sea, -gazing, with a joyous welcoming face, at the apparition of her child -whom, in her craziness, she beheld approaching her in a boat. Oh no!' -he cried with a sudden, most moving, passionate wringing of his hands, -'Marie has perished; she is lost to us! Why did not the good God hinder -me from sending her away? They told me that nothing could save her life -but a voyage, and I, who would have given my life for her, despatched -her to her death!' - -I could not bear this, for I, too, was heartbroken. I grasped him by -the hands, and then he became silent, after looking in my face. - -But still, as I have said, his behaviour throughout this meeting with -me, even when the first horror and shock of the news was renewed to -us both by this our first meeting, was calmer than I had expected. He -stayed in London that night, and next day accompanied me to the City, -where he had an interview with Mr. Butcher. We then drove to a street -out of the West India Dock Road, where Wall lodged. - -The substance of Mr. Butcher's talk was that ships homeward bound from -the Australias frequently touched the latitude the hull had been left -in; there was, therefore, reason to hope that Captain Burke and the -ladies had been rescued by one of the many vessels which every year -were navigating those seas. He said he had spoken to several captains -of experience on the subject, also two or three underwriters of long -standing, and on the whole their opinion was, Burke and his companions -would be preserved. - -Wall had nothing to add--no further conjectures to offer. He went -very fully into the story of the dismasting of the vessel and her -abandonment, and answered with intelligence the questions Sir Mortimer -put to him about Marie, how she looked, if she had picked up, if he -(Wall) considered she was strong enough to outlive the horrors and -sufferings of her situation, supposing the hull to be encountered -within a reasonable time--say a week--from the date of the men's -quitting her. - -Sir Mortimer went to his home by the seaside next day. I promised to -visit him on the following Saturday, but fretting had done its work--I -was too ill to travel. I was ceaselessly haunted by the vision of -the hull, white with snow, brilliant with ice, clouded with the foam -of beating seas, wearily rolling with my dear one, with my Marie, -_alone_ in her. Somehow I could not think of her as associated with the -Burkes. She was the one, the solitary, figure in the gloomy interior of -that tempest-tossed fabric, as I witnessed the vision awake and in my -dreams. I was aware that Mrs. Burke had been a most devoted servant, a -faithful and honest nurse and friend to Marie, but I had got it into my -head that her husband had lost his reason, which would drain his wife's -sympathies from my sweetheart; and then, again, realising the misery -of a time spent in such a hulk, under such circumstances, I could not -suppose that poor Mrs. Burke would in her distraction take heed of more -outside her husband than the doom that every hour brought closer. - -So the vision of that wreck was always present to the eye of -imagination, waking or sleeping, with one figure only in the maimed -and beaten fabric. - -On the morning of October 20, I went to the bank, having resumed work -there two days before. My father had not arrived. I went into my -private room and sat down with a heart of loathing at sight of a pile -of letters which it would be my business to read and deal with. - -I had hardly broken the first envelope when a clerk entered and said -that a Mr. Norman, an old customer of the bank, wished to see me. I -supposed he had called on business, and after reading the letter I -held, I opened the glass door and bade Mr. Norman step in. - -He was a merchant doing business with Natal and Cape Colony. He at once -said, without offering to sit: - -'I have not called on business, Mr. Moore. I heard of your trouble, -and grieve to find it but too visible in your face. This morning I -received a batch of South African newspapers, and met with an account, -which--I don't know, I'm sure--it may be ill-advised on my part----' He -broke off, and his hand went nervously to his side pocket. - -I looked at him inquiringly, wondering what his Colonial newspaper -account was about. - -'I think,' said he, his hand still nervously twitching at his -breast-pocket, 'that where sorrow is speculative the sooner expectation -is ended, one way or the other, the better. This may signify -nothing'--and now he produced a newspaper--'and yet it may tell -everything.' - -He was proceeding; I extended my arm abruptly, feeling a sickness -at heart, for now imagination leaped to the very height of fear--I -believed I was to read something which would _prove_ that Marie and her -companions had perished. - -But Mr. Norman must needs open the paper himself; and, in order to -find the passage, he required to put on his glasses. The piece of -intelligence in the journal ran thus:-- - -'_Cape Town, August 10. Arrival of the schooner "Emerald." A -strange discovery! Romantic action on the part of the captain!_ The -three-masted schooner "Emerald" arrived yesterday from the west -coast of South America. When in lat. 58° S., long. 48° W., the body -of a female was seen floating upon the water. Its appearance was so -lifelike that, the weather at the time being quiet, the captain ordered -a boat to be lowered, and the body was brought on board. The master -(Goldsmith), on inspecting the corpse, was convinced by its appearance -that it was the remains of the wife of a friend of his. She had been -bound round the Horn to join her husband at Monte Video. Feeling -persuaded of this he caused the body to be placed in a cask of spirits, -with a view to carrying it to Cape Town, his first port of call, that -it might have decent Christian interment; also that the husband should, -if his wife did actually prove to be missing, be able to procure the -exhumation of the corpse for identification. - -'The body is described as that of one who in life must have been -singularly prepossessing and genteel in appearance; the hair is of a -dark amber or gold, the eyes of a light blue or grey, height about -5 ft. 6 in., of a figure that had apparently been full of grace and -beauty. No rings were on the hands. Captain Goldsmith conjectures that -the rings, including the wedding ring, slipped off the fingers through -shrinkage of the flesh by immersion. Owing to the condition of the -body, it has been found impossible to form an opinion as to the length -of time it was in the water; it is judged, however, from the appearance -of the clothes, which were in a fair state of preservation, that the -period could not have exceeded three days. The body was attired in -a thick serge dress, and a warm jacket, trimmed with a rich fur, of -which but a little remained. One garment only was marked: namely, with -the letter O, which Captain Goldsmith believes stands for Ollier, his -friend's name. The remains will be buried to-day. A romantic mystery -nevertheless survives, and it remains to be seen whether Captain -Goldsmith is right in his conjectures as to the identity of the poor -nameless remains of one who in life must have been "exceeding fair," -found floating far south of the stormiest headland in the world.' - -I read this very slowly, and when I had come to the last word I read -it all over again. Mr. Norman's eyes were fixed upon my face. I fell -into deep thought, and was silent for many minutes, with my gaze rooted -upon the paper. I then pulled out my pocket-book, in which I carried -the memoranda I had collected from Mr. Butcher and Wall, and compared -the date of the dismasting of the 'Lady Emma' with the date of the -discovery of the body. The 'Lady Emma' was dismasted July 2, the body -was seen and picked up on July 10; the situation of the 'Lady Emma' -when the crew abandoned her, according to the 'Planter's' log-book, was -lat. 58° 45´ S. and long. 45° 10´ W.; the body was picked up in lat. -58° S. long. 48° W.; the minutes and seconds, if any there were, were -probably omitted in the newspaper report, or Captain Goldsmith may have -given the situation in round numbers. - -Be this as it may, there could be a difference of but a very few miles -between the spot where the body was found, and the spot where the hull -was deserted by the sailors. - -'It is extraordinary!' I exclaimed, fetching a deep breath. - -'I hope it may not prove conclusive news,' said Mr. Norman. 'But if -the body brought to Cape Town be that of the poor young lady, the fact -ought to be known to you if only to spare you from the heart-sickness -of deferred hope.' - -'Dates and places correspond,' I exclaimed. 'The description is true. -She had dark amber hair. Her height might be as it is here stated.' - -'And then there is the letter O,' said Mr. Norman, observing that I -paused. - -'How am I to find out if among the clothes she took were such a dress -and jacket as the body was found clothed in?' - -At this moment my father entered. He immediately observed that I was -deeply agitated, and glanced from me to Mr. Norman. The latter bowed, -then turned to me and, begging me to keep the newspaper, and to command -his services in any direction in which I could render them profitable, -withdrew. - -I handed the paper to my father, who read the account with a face of -astonishment and dismay. - -'Is it credible?' he cried. 'Is it a hoax, d'ee think? Or some story -vamped up, for--for--? But,' he cried, turning his glasses again upon -the paper, 'they name the ship and her captain, they give dates, they -say that the body was to be buried on that day,' looking at the date of -issue. 'Is it conceivable that a body would float, apparelled as this -woman's was?' - -'If the story is no lie, then a body thus apparelled was found -floating,' I answered. - -'You had better send the paper at once to Sir Mortimer,' said my father. - -'I'll run down with it, but first I'll see Mr. Butcher and Wall. How am -I to find out if Marie had a serge dress and that sort of jacket?' I -reflected, and then said, 'Father, I must have the whole day, I cannot -work, I wish to satisfy myself by some inquiries before seeing Sir -Mortimer, and then I may resolve to go to the Cape.' - -He gazed at me with mild astonishment, then put his hand caressingly -on my shoulder, and told me I should go where I pleased and do what I -liked; he advised me, however, not to act precipitately; the Cape was -a long way off! What good could I do there, even supposing the body -brought to Cape Town by the schooner should prove to be Marie?' - -'What good? I must _know_; I must make _sure_! Supposing it is -Marie--but it might be another.' - -'The body is buried.' - -'Yes; but I would get an order for its exhumation. It was buried with a -view to disinterment should the man whose wife was to join him at Monte -Video arrive in Cape Town.' - -I had heard Mrs. Burke talk of some of the shops Marie had completed -her outfit at. Her old nurse had herself attended her in most of -her shopping excursions before the sailing of the ship, and after -exchanging a few further sentences with my father, I left the bank, -called a cab, and was driven to a dressmaker's near Cavendish Square. - -Here, however, I could not learn that Marie had ordered a serge dress; -but on inquiring at a shop in Regent Street, I discovered, with much -pains--they were very busy and very slow--that Miss Otway had, on a day -towards the close of March, purchased a jacket trimmed with fur; the -fur was described; and certainly the 'garment,' as the shopman called -it, corresponded with the brief description of the jacket that had been -found on the body of the woman. - -I could recollect no other shops; but hoped that Sir Mortimer might be -able to tell me if a serge gown had been included in Marie's outfit. -This should have been, and no doubt was, known to Marie's maid. But the -girl, on the departure of Miss Otway, had gone, I had some recollection -of hearing, with a family to Germany. - -In this same day I drove to the offices of Messrs. Butcher and Hobbs, -and had scarcely entered the place when Wall came in, greatly to my -satisfaction, as I particularly desired his opinion. Both partners were -present, and on my showing them the Cape newspaper they called Wall to -us and we thoroughly talked the matter over. To the seaman, who was -somewhat illiterate, I read and re-read the newspaper account. - -'It's wonderful!' he exclaimed. 'Most sartinly it answers to the young -lady. I've heered of females lying afloat like that. 'Taint so long ago -that a woman was picked up alive arter washing about for thirty-six -hours on her back.' - -'But how can the body be Miss Otway's?' said Mr. Butcher, 'if the -master of a schooner recognises it as a Mrs. Ollier's?' - -'The coincidence would be quite too extraordinary,' said Mr. Hobbs. -'Mr. Moore,' he added, with one of his depressing bows, 'it would give -me far more pleasure to take a cheerful view; but consider--the body -of a lady is found floating much about the place where the hull was -abandoned; the description, as I understand, answers to that of Miss -Otway'--he said no more, but buried his hands in his pockets with a -very gloomy shake of the head. - -Mr. Butcher, however, inclined to the belief that the body was the -person's the schooner's skipper took it to be. He wished to believe -Miss Otway alive; he was by no means for despairing; whilst they were -talking of this body, Miss Otway might be actually on her way home. -What did Wall think? - -The honest seaman faltered; he saw that Mr. Butcher wished to cheer me -up, but there could be no doubt he was of Mr. Hobbs's mind. They were -all three agreed, however, that it was a puzzling, most wonderful thing. - -'There's nothen for Mr. Moore to do,' said Wall, who, having been -admitted into this council, considered himself at liberty to talk out, -perhaps thinking he was expected to do so. 'Let him give the lady's -portrait to some respectable man who'll go by steam, afore it's too -late, and view the body and settle it.' - -'To whose satisfaction?' inquired Mr Butcher, looking at me. - -'Not to mine,' I exclaimed. 'I must decide with my own eyes.' - -'In them warmer climates,' said Wall, 'ye've got to bear a hand in jobs -of that sort.' - -Mr. Hobbs admonished the man with a frown. - -'Surely, Mr. Moore,' exclaimed Mr. Butcher, 'you would be able to -identify the young lady by the wearing apparel they removed, and are, -of course, preserving at Cape Town?' - -I told him I had ascertained that morning that a jacket answering to -the one found on the body had been sold to Miss Otway. - -He looked very grave at this, and I saw Mr. Hobbs exchange a glance -with the seaman. Soon after this I thanked them for their sympathy and -patience, and took my leave. I could think of nothing but the story -of the body found at sea, and next morning went by an early train to -the little seaside town where Sir Mortimer lived. As I drove from the -station I passed by the ravine down which Marie and I had gone for -a stroll upon the long, hard platform of sands one afternoon in the -keen grey month that preceded the April she sailed in. It was October -now--six months later; what had happened between? The blue sea ran up -to the sky in a trembling, silken slope streaked with long gleams. I -remembered how Marie had checked me in our walk to look at a passing -sail, and how together we had watched the glimmering white square of -her fade like mist in the evening gloom. Many gulls wheeled over the -water. I saw them flying past the edge of the cliff, and remembered -how Marie had paused and looked up to admire the marvellous grace of -the windward flight of the birds then on the wing--perhaps those I now -caught a glimpse of. An ocean life of many months had stretched before -her, and whilst we walked I had noticed how she was letting the spirit -of the sea sink into her, finding in the coil of the breaker, in the -flight of the birds, in the shadowy distance of the horizon, a meaning -she had never before heeded, only, perhaps, that she might enter with -a little spirit into a scene of life from which I knew her very inmost -soul shrank. - -Sir Mortimer was at home; he was in mourning. The sight of his sombre -figure and ashen countenance, of resigned but settled sorrow, startled -and even shocked me. It was like a confirmation of fear, an assurance -that Marie was dead and that hope must end. My visit was unexpected, -and whilst he welcomed me he held my hand and stood looking at me in a -posture of eager, sorrowful inquiry. - -Presently, when we were seated, I pulled out the paper and pointed -to the story of the discovery. He was a high-bred, fine-looking old -gentleman, and I see him now as he sat holding his glasses to his eyes, -the paper trembling in his hand, and his face slowly taking what the -Scotch call a 'raised' look as he read. He turned, dropping his glasses -and letting the paper sink to his knee, and said in a voice a little -above a whisper: - -'What is this?' - -'What do you think?' - -'You don't believe it was Marie?' he said. - -'If we are to think _that_, she is dead to us!' I exclaimed. 'But if it -was not Marie, whose was the body that was picked up by the schooner -close to the spot where the hull had been abandoned?' - -He stared at me, drew a deep breath, and referred again to the paper. - -'Have you seen that seaman--the boatswain--I forget his name--upon -this?' he asked. - -'Yes; and the two owners. But what can their opinion be worth? How -could their ideas help us, Sir Mortimer? Read the description of that -body, the dark amber hair, the looks which in life must have been those -of a refined----' I faltered, controlled myself, and went on: 'I have -discovered,' and I named the shop where I had obtained the information, -'that Marie's outfit included such another jacket as the body had on. -Can you remember if she took a serge dress with her?' - -'Two or three,' he answered quickly. 'They were of dark blue. Two she -had. A third was added at Mrs. Burke's suggestion. What was the colour -of the dress described here?' - -He looked; but no colour was named. I got up and paced about the room. - -'I have made up my mind,' I exclaimed. 'I will go to the Cape. If it be -Marie--but I must make sure at all costs. The suspense, the waiting, -the not knowing whether she lies dead at Cape Town, whether she has -gone down in the hull, whether she has been rescued, carried to a -distant port, and is lying ill, so that months might elapse before -we should get news of her--all this I could not bear! I am already -half mad with the grief of it. I will go to Cape Town,' I cried, 'and -see with my own eyes, and settle expectation, so far as that body is -concerned, one way or another, for ever.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -MR. MOORE SAILS - - -I think, I will not be sure, that the date on which I returned to -London from this visit to Sir Mortimer was October 26. In the year 1860 -sailing ships bound to the Australias and the East Indies frequently, -many of them regularly, touched at the Cape; small vessels, such -as brigs and barques, also traded to that colony. There was steam -communication, however, then. I believe the first of the steamers of -the Union Steamship Company was despatched three years earlier, namely, -in 1857. - -Be this as it may, since steam was to be got I was resolved to have -nothing to do with what the sailor calls tacks and sheets. A sailing -ship might keep me four months upon the ocean in her struggles with -head winds and failing catspaws. On the other hand, the Cape, by steam, -was to be reached certainly within forty days. But having made up my -mind, I found there was no time to lose, that is, if I resolved on -steam; for, on reaching London, I learnt that the next Union steamer -was the 'Cambrian,' sailing from Southampton on November 6. - -It was this obligation of despatch, perhaps, which hardened me in -my resolution. I meant to sail by the 'Cambrian' and there was no -leisure for hesitation, no time for second thought. Not, indeed, -that I was not passionately resolved; I had been so from the hour of -clearly understanding that I must proceed to the Cape and procure the -exhumation of the body if my mind was to be set at rest one way or -the other. I mean, if I had been obliged to wait a month, say, for a -sailing ship, I might have found myself troubled, my resolution a -little unsettled, by the counsels of friends. - -My father, for example, fully sanctioned my going, but advised me to -consider how it would be with my memory if, when the coffin was opened, -I recognised the body as Marie's. - -I answered I had thought over that, and knew it would prove a terrible -ordeal. But it must be worse with me if I stayed at home, never -stirring to find out if the body that lay in Cape Town cemetery was -indeed that of the girl I loved. - -'Suppose she is drowned,' I reasoned, 'I should not believe it for -months, perhaps years. No man could persuade me she was dead. Time -alone must convince me. But how long should I allow myself? Meanwhile I -must live in expectation. My life would be a torment of suspense. But -by going to the Cape I shall satisfy myself at once.' - -'Yes,' said my father, 'but you will only be able to satisfy yourself -that Marie does not lie buried in Cape Town if, when the grave is -opened, the remains should prove another's.' - -'It will satisfy me to know _that_, at all events,' I exclaimed. - -'Will they let you exhume the body?' - -This staggered me somewhat; but I replied I would take my chance of it. -The corpse had been brought to Cape Town, and there buried with a view -to identification. The case was extraordinary; and when the Colonial -authorities heard my story they would not refuse to let me disinter the -remains. - -Several friends offered like objections. One suggested I should ask -that the clothes should be sent home, and submitted to the inspection -of those from whom Marie bought her outfit; the shopmen would know -their own wares. If they asserted the clothes had been sold by -them--had at any time passed through their hands--there would be -something solid to go upon; I could then sail for the Cape and confirm -by inspection what to most would pass as a foregone conclusion. - -But my answer was, it was not very conceivable that those who held the -clothes would part with them; it was no case of suspected murder, so -as to admit of the introduction of the machinery of the law; moreover, -if I waited, the remains would become unrecognisable. It was already a -question how far the climate would admit of an identification of them. -The body arrived at the Cape August 10; this was the close of October. -December would have come before I landed; and December is the burning -midsummer of South Africa. - -But herein, as in all the rest, I was prepared to take my chance. I -felt a secret reluctance in one direction only. It shocked me even in -imagination to think, if the remains _should_ prove Marie's, of the -memory I must return home with and be haunted by to my death-bed. - -On November 5 I travelled to Southampton, and on the following day -embarked in the steamship 'Cambrian' for Cape Town. I had said good-bye -to my friends in London and went on board alone. Never did passenger -tread a ship's deck with heavier heart than I. The vessel was full of -bustle and confusion; she was taking out a large number of passengers -who, with their friends, filled her fore and aft, overflowing the -saloon, and crowding the raised deck or poop. - -It is at such a time as this, and amid such a crowd as littered the -'Cambrian's' decks, that you learn what real loneliness is. I looked -around me and saw not one face I had ever met before. There was much -surging and elbowing of figures in the gangway, a constant dragging -here and there of baggage, shouts from the ship to the shore, from -the shore to the ship, with stewards dodging and shoving in and out, -officers of the steamer twinkling and flitting in the finery of the -merchant service. - -I contrasted all this noise--threaded by strange groaning rumblings -down in the bowels of the metal keel, as though the giant, steam, lying -imprisoned, was beginning to mutter in his impatience and shake his -chains--with the peace on board the 'Lady Emma' when I mounted her side -with Marie and her father and Mrs. Burke. All was quiet there, the -masts pointed their crossed and knitted heights silent in the breeze -as a tree that sleeps in the dead calm of a summer's night; about -was spread a shining scene of river abounding in life and colour, in -gliding and in stately motion; but the ear was not vexed. - -However, it would not be long before the 'Cambrian' was under way, and, -indeed, whilst I was seeing to my baggage in my berth, and taking a -view of the bedroom I was to sleep in for thirty-five or forty days, I -heard noises and felt a vibration which satisfied me we were about to -start. - -The vessel was something less than nine hundred tons; she was fitted -with a saloon, on either hand of which went a range of sleeping berths, -and the amidships was filled with a long table. She was rigged as a -schooner, with a couple of yards on each mast, and sat with a promise -of swiftness in her posture, her bow being yacht-like and sharp, -dominant, that is, with a good spring, whilst the run of her vanished -in a very pretty mould of stern. - -She would be laughed at now; side by side with the Cape white giantess -of to-day, thrashing from the top of the North Atlantic to the other -bottom of the South Atlantic in a trifle more than a fortnight, how -meanly would she show! even as a pinnace or steam launch in the shadow -of the man-of-war that owns her. No splendour of internal fittings; -nothing rememberable in the form of smoke-room or bath-room. And still -my heart swells with the memory of that little iron steamer, which long -since ceased, save as one of the countless spectres of the deep, the -true and only phantom ships of the sea. - -It was a bleak, dark November day when we started; a strong wind blew, -and the sky was thick and near with rolling snow-clouds. We passed -along Southampton Water in a squall of sleet, and though imagination -was never an inactive quality in me, yet then, more keenly than at any -previous time, was I able to realise the significance of Wall's story -of the dismasted hull, the high foaming seas of the great ocean past -the Horn, the mountains of ice rocking their lofty summits in the smoke -of flying flakes. - -It was blowing fresh in the open, clear of the Isle of Wight; the -little steamer pitched and sprang and made vile weather of the spiteful -snap of that November Channel surge. She drove the most of us to our -berths, and for four days I was a prisoner, stupidly sick and helpless. -Then I stepped forth feeling well again, and making my way on to the -poop found a fine day, a swelling sea, a rattling breeze astern, before -which the vessel, with bladder-like canvas swelling hard from her yards -and black funnel pouring smoke over the bows to the horizon ahead, was -bowling and rolling, with an occasional kick up astern which drove a -shock and vibration of exposed screw through the length of her. - -Abreast on the right was a little ship under full sail braced sharp -up, tearing through the seas; the red flag of England stood like a -board at her mizzen peaks. She was apparently bound home. The water -swept in sheets from her steering stem, and every flash of the white -brine was magically spanned by a rainbow. She was painted black, and -to my land-going eye exactly resembled the 'Lady Emma,' though the -practised nautical glance would doubtless have witnessed plenty that -distinguished her from the other. I watched her with fascinated gaze, -and in deep melancholy, as she swept through the brilliant curls of -sea, clouding her path as she dived and scoring the rolling blue astern -of her with an arrow-like line of light. - -Just such sailing as that had Marie described in the fragment of -journal we had received. She had named the sails, flung with dexterous -pen the very sheen of the lustrous rounds of canvas upon the vision of -the mind, painted the picture of the deck, the dark wet length of plank -gleaming along the sobbing scuppers at every roll, sailors hanging in -the rigging with marling-spikes and coils of small stuff, or stitching -on spaces of canvas in the sun, the mate walking the weather side of -the deck, her own dear self seated under a short awning talking with -her old nurse about the home she was leaving, about the countries -she was to visit. I caught my breath with a spasm and turned from the -beautiful picture. - -We were a great number of passengers for so small a vessel. When -the fine weather came and the people got their stomachs, no more -hospitable scene at meal-time was ever afloat than that saloon of -over thirty years ago. There is plenty of finery at sea in this age; -but the picturesque is almost dead; it flourished then. Much of the -old Indiaman, the old Caper and South Spanier survived in the early -steamer. You found this in colours and fittings, and in rig; for, none -of us yet making cocksure of the cub of the engine-room, a fabric nigh -as spacious and wide as that of the sailing ship was reared to draw -from the wind the help the propeller might refuse. - -This little steamer, too, would go along in an ambling way when it was -fine, like any large ship with the wind on the quarter, taking the wide -heaves of the deep in a procession of curtseys whilst she fanned the -sky with her squares of canvas. I see again the dinner-picture of a -fine afternoon: a row of well-dressed people filling the long table; -the captain bland and watchful at one end; someone trembling in brass -buttons at the other; the claret-coloured light of the setting sun -ripples in polished bulkhead and makes rubies of diamonds on moving -hands; every shadow sways with slow grace, and the large round cabin -windows deepen into dark blue, or glance out in crimson light as the -vessel softly rolls them from sea to sky. - -My place at table was at top, on the captain's right: a seat of -distinction, but a matter of accident so far as I was concerned. The -commander of this steamer, to give the worthy skipper a sounding name, -was a kindly hearted seaman named Strutt, who had used the sea for many -years in sailing ships, and had much to tell about the ocean life. One -of the passengers was a retired shipmaster who, I understood, was -making the voyage to the Cape to seek some waterside berth in South -Africa; he was a Newcastle man and had been bred to the sea in the coal -trade; such was his contempt of steam he could find nothing in his rude -and quaint dialect vigorous enough to dress it in. He sat within three -or four of the captain on the left and they often argued, and their -speech was my diversion. - -I remember one day, shortly before we made the island of Madeira, that -these two men got upon the subject of Polar expeditions. The captain -said that the discovery of the North Pole would be as important to -navigation and science as the discovery of America was to civilisation. -The other replied that the North Pole was of no use to any mortal man. -What was it? An imagination. Nothing you could see, or sit upon, or -lean against. At this a great many people laughed. - -A middle-aged lady sitting at a little distance on my right begged that -the North Pole would not be mentioned; she had lost a promising nephew -in consequence of it. He had sailed in one of the expeditions and had -fallen into a deep hole beside the ship when she lay upon the ice, and, -marvellous to relate, though the body of the poor young man was not -discovered until six weeks afterwards, it was so perfectly fresh, the -face so lifelike, the colour on the cheeks so exactly as in health, -that all wondered he did not speak and smile. - -'There's no perishing in ice,' said the retired shipmaster in a deep -voice, 'once dead, ye keep arle on. Sir John Franklin was to be found. -Nought was wanting but the right sort of men to look for him. He's -somewhere up there still, just as he died, poor chap, hard as a statue, -him and the rest of them, saving those they fed on.' - -'What's the action of salt water on a body?' said an old gentleman -sitting five or six down on the opposite side. - -'It drowns,' replied the retired shipmaster. - -'I don't mean that,' said the other, 'does it preserve as ice does?' - -'No, sir,' answered the shipmaster. 'The sea sarves a drowned sailor as -the crimps sarve the live ones. It strips him, and when he's naked it -tarns to and kicks and beats him till his mother wouldn't know whose -child it was.' - -'Not always,' exclaimed the old gentleman with emphasis. - -The retired shipmaster leaned forward to see him, but made no reply. - -Then the captain, at the head of the table, exclaimed: 'I knew a man -years ago who had penetrated far north in a whaler. They were frozen -up for a spell, hard bound in white ice, with hills to the horizon, -till the season came and they broke adrift, the piece they were on -floated round a point and gave them the sight of a little barque -stranded on a slope, her topmast was standing, sails furled, everything -in its place--she looked as if she had gone ashore the day before. -They boarded her and found by her log and papers she had been in that -situation eight years. But that wasn't it,' said he with a glance down -the double line of listening faces turned his way, one of the most -eagerly attentive of which I observed was the old gentleman's. 'In the -cabin they found five frozen men, they looked to have died without a -groan one after the other, every man in the act of doing something, -none guessing that the forefinger of the grinning king was on his -heart. One sat with a pipe in his hand, another leaned on the table as -though he was meditating, a third lay back in his chair, his eyes on -the skylight as if he heard a noise on deck. That's what cold will do,' -said he. - -Something at this point diverted the conversation, and the subject was -dropped. - -When I left the table I went on deck; the west was still full of -warm splendour, the sea ran heaving in deep blue folds to an horizon -crystalline in the delicate sweep of it against the east, on whose -violet slope--that looked to thrill with the depth of its own hue as -the blue of the calm trembles under the eye--a large star was flashing. - -I lighted a cigar, sunk in thought over the talk about the ice. If the -body should not prove Marie's, then, supposing the hull had got locked, -how long would she be able to support life in the bleak dark cabin? I -had often asked that of myself and of others. I asked it again now, and -whilst my mind ran upon the dinner talk Captain Robson, the old retired -Newcastle shipmaster, stepped up to me. - -They did not allow you to smoke on the poop; I stood in what would -be called the gangway, and Captain Robson came along with a great -meerschaum pipe in his hand, stuffing the bowl with a queer kind of -granulated tobacco which he pulled out of a little sack. - -'This is Zooloo mundungus,' said he with a hoarse, shouting laugh; -'I am learning to like it. They say it is arle a man can get on the -coast yon,' and he hove up three stout chins in a measured nod in the -direction of the sea over the bows. - -'Are you going to take charge of a ship?' said I. - -'I'm going to seek a job,' he answered. - -'Were you long at sea, captain?' - -'Ay, was I? Since I was twelve. D'ee ken,' said he, broadening his -accent for my entertainment, 'that I'm the original laddie of this -yarn: A boy was holding a candle in the North Sea for the skipper -whilst he overhauled his chart. "Eh, sir," says the boy, "if they did -but ken war we was at home!" "If we kenned oursells," says the skipper, -"I'd ne'er heed a dam!"' - -'You seem to know a good deal about the ice,' said I. - -'I knew too much about most things,' he answered, puffing. 'If you was -to turn to and pump out my mind, more'd come up than what the poets -call sparkling brine.' - -He looked to right and left to observe if he was overheard, and I -guessed he was a wag who liked the laughter of many. - -Just then four Italian emigrants began to sing together on the -forecastle; their voices swelled in a pleasing concert; the rude -harmonies of the engine-room, dim and deep, as interpretable as human -voices, so articulate was the metallic clangour, mingled with the music -the singers made without vexing the ear. - -I listened, then looked at Captain Robson, whose round face was staring -deafly seawards. - -'Captain,' said I, 'figure a dismasted hull in sixty degrees of south -latitude and nothing of land nearer than the South Shetlands. When she -was abandoned there was plenty of tall ice on the horizon in points, -on both bows and astern. What's to become of that wreck?' - -'Are ye speaking of the "Lady Emma"?' said he. - -I started and exclaimed, 'Oh, you've heard of her loss?' - -'I've known Jim Hobbs, one of her owners, ever since he was a boy,' he -answered. 'A little while afore I left London I met him at a luncheon -party and we talked that loss o'er. Loss! Well, ye've not to call it -_that_ yet, neither. The skipper and two females remained aboard, Hobbs -told me. The crew was quick in desarting. There was twelve foot of -stump forrard, Hobbs said; they should have given the capt'n a chance. -With less than twelve foot of stump when I was a boy, good prizes have -been blowed under jury canvas into safety. But when steam came in,' -said he, turning to send a gaze of contempt at the funnel, 'the sailor -went out. Let the master of the "Lady Emma" have had a collier crew of -my time aboard, and they'd ha' made no more of the loss of all three -masts--twelve foot of stump and the bowsprit remaining, according to -Hobbs--than a dog of his tail.' - -'What chance do you give the hull?' said I. - -He viewed me with an arch lift of his eyebrows, as though his smile at -the instant were in _them_ only. - -'I'll answer you as I answered Hobbs that same question,' said he, -after discharging a number of puffs; 'she'll be heard of again. I don't -care about the ice. Dismast your ship and she'll wash round an object. -I'm not speaking of a dead-be shore leagues long. Plant an iceberg -close aboard a hulk and she'll wallow clear. It's the height of spar, -the weight of rigging, plenty of surface of stowed sail for the wind -to shoulder, that keeps a vessel helpless in her drift when she's not -under command.' - -'But if she strikes she's gone, masts or no masts.' - -'She'll swim for her life. It's like striking out clear of your -clothes.' - -'You give that hull a chance then, captain?' - -'I give her this chance: first, as to the ice; she's a naked swimmer, -light as a cask, with the wind for a buffer 'twixt her and the ice, -and a backwash of sea which she'll make the most of. And then this: if -a whaler falls in with her and she's sound they'll tow her clear. She -was worth thirty-two thousand pounds, ship and cargo, when she left the -Thames. There's sights of grease, mon, in that money.' - -He ended this talk by giving a loud laugh and walking a little way -forward, where he stood, pipe in hand, listening to a German Jew and -his wife who were singing a duet. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE PHOTOGRAPHS - - -It was three or four days after this conversation with Captain Robson, -a soft, blue glowing afternoon, the sparkling heaves of water lifting -south along the course of the steamer, with a pearly feathering of the -salt foam going straight as the metals of a railway astern where, in -the distant blue air, hung the slowly dissolving shadow of the island -of Madeira quitted by us that morning. - -Many had gone ashore; we were now a thin company aft, the poop and -saloon almost yacht-like with room and comparative privacy. - -The name of the master of the steamer was Captain Strutt. I had been -having a short chat with Captain Robson on the quarter-deck whilst the -skipper of the steamer was on the bridge talking with the first mate; I -went slowly aft and got upon the poop, and whilst I was there, looking -over the side into the exquisitely pure liquid recess of ocean on the -port-beam, with some orange star of sail glowing in it, whilst all -between the burnished swell was working in glassy swathes rich with the -gleams of the splendour in the south-west, Captain Strutt joined me. - -'Robson,' said he, with a face of amusement, 'is a comical old -gentleman. In my boyhood they called that sort of thing a sea-dog. It's -a dying type. The skipper who wears the hat of the London streets and -comes on deck in galoshes when the men are washing down, decays apace. -We should take a long look at Robson, for when he is gone we shall not -easily behold his like again.' - -'His is a dry old mind,' said I, 'tough as sailor's beef, with the -pickle of his experiences.' - -'He was telling me last night, Mr. Moore,' said the captain, 'that -you're interested in the loss of the "Lady Emma."' - -'I have asked him, as a seaman, questions on the subject,' said I. - -'I read the account of her being dismasted in one of the papers,' he -exclaimed. 'It was made a bad job of, I thought, by three people being -left aboard the hull, two of them women. D'ye ever see the "Shipping -Gazette"?' - -'No.' - -'In a number of it a week or two before we sailed, there was a strange -piece quoted out of a Cape paper.' - -'A strange piece?' I exclaimed, scarcely understanding the expression. -'Had it anything to do with the "Lady Emma"?' - -'Why, no,' he answered, leaning upon the rail and looking with a -seaman's level, steady gaze at the orange-coloured sail on the -horizon, talking carelessly, in evident intention to amuse me merely, -'a large three-masted schooner picked up the body of a woman much about -the parts where the hull of the "Lady Emma" was washing about. The -master took it to be the corpse of the wife of a friend of his, and put -it into brine or spirit to preserve it for Christian interment ashore. -A queer item of cargo, little relished by the jacks in the schooner, I -warrant ye! And yet handsomely done, too, on the part of the master, if -you think of it; for suppose one dear to you drowned, what would you -give that the remains should be buried with a memorial atop? That's -always the feeling along-shore, even amongst the humblest; they'll -offer pounds reward for the body. It's sentiment--and only to bury it -in earth after all; as if this,' said he, waving his hand, 'wasn't the -freshest, the most spacious, the most splendid of all cemeteries, every -white curl of sea a tombstone, and God's voice in the wind to keep ye -sleeping and comforted.' - -I listened in silence, but intently. - -'The schooner carried the body to the Cape,' he went on, 'where of -course it was promptly buried after they had photographed the poor -thing.' - -'Did they photograph the body?' I exclaimed. - -He whipped upon me quickly, struck by my tone, no doubt, and eyed me -keenly. He witnessed a change of face, and perhaps a sudden pallor, but -took no further notice, lightly saying: - -'Yes, the body was photographed, and a couple of the pictures are -aboard.' - -'In this steamer?' - -He again looked at me; then, directing his eyes round the poop, said: - -'Do you see that old gentleman sitting in the easy chair near the -skylight?' - -It was the old gentleman who some days previously had asked Captain -Robson at the dinner table what was the action of salt water on a body, -to which the north-country skipper had drily answered, 'It drowns.' - -'Has that man photographs of the body?' I exclaimed, staring at the old -gentleman with nervous tremors running through me, shaking the very -voice in my throat, so sudden and unexpected was this. - -'I can tell you his story; he makes no secret of it,' said the captain. -'His name's Hoskins; he is Mrs. Ollier's father. He is going to the -Cape to make sure that the body's his child by opening the coffin, -if the authorities will permit it. But he's in no doubt; he showed -me the pictures; the master of the schooner, knowing him very well, -sent two by steamer. He says they're the portrait of his girl. She had -been stopping at Santiago with her sister, a married woman there; and -was bound round to Monte Video to join, or await the arrival of, her -husband, who sailed from the Thames in August in command of the ship -"York"--what's there in this?--Mr. Moore, I hope this matter----' - -He began to stutter, and was full of concern, seeing me suddenly lean -against the rail, breathing hard with oppression with a face which I -might guess by my emotions alarmed him. But guessing that my agitation -would speedily take the eye of the many who were walking or sitting -about the deck, I asked, after pausing a minute to recover myself, -if I could be alone with him for a little while, on which he at once -conducted me to the chart room or some sort of interior dedicated to -him as commander, but not a bedroom, furnished with a horsehair couch, -a clock, and the several instruments and conveniences for navigating a -vessel. - -He hooked the door, leaving it a little way open. Without preface I -told him that Miss Marie Otway, only daughter of Sir Mortimer Otway, -was my sweetheart; she had gone a voyage for her health in the 'Lady -Emma'; soon after the news of that ship having been dismasted reached -home, there arrived the extraordinary tale of the body of a woman -having been picked up in the latitude and longitude the hull was in -when abandoned by the crew; the description of the body, I told him, -was that of Miss Otway, and my only motive in making the voyage to the -Cape was to examine the remains, if the exhumation would be permitted. - -He listened with deep interest and a countenance of cordial sympathy. - -'Now, sir,' said he, 'I can understand your motive in questioning old -Captain Robson.' - -'If the body be not Miss Otway I shall want to know what chance she's -had aboard that hull. Robson's an old sailor, and I've drawn a little -hope out of his talk, providing----' - -'Well,' said he, gathering my meaning even from my pause, 'I should -say, sir, that a man would know his own child. Old Mr. Hoskins assured -me, whilst telling his story, with the tears standing in his eyes, that -the portrait sent him was the likeness of Mrs. Ollier, his daughter. -That being so, it's reasonable you should ask questions about the -wreck.' - -'Would Mr. Hoskins show me those portraits, do you think?' - -'Show them? Why, yes, sir. When he hears the story, he'll be glad to be -of use. If you'll stop here, I'll go and manage the matter out of hand -for you.' - -I thanked him and he departed. - -I continued alone for some time with my mind tormented by anxiety and -expectation. Though old Mr. Hoskins declared the portraits to be his -daughter's, yet he might very well be mistaken, too. I waited in dread. -The distress of expectation and suspense was complicated by the fear -that the action of the sea, the convulsion and agony of drowning, had -so wrought as to make a cheat of the face: to the old man it was to be -his child, and to me it was to plead dimly as Marie out of its shrunk, -ghastly looks! How should we decide then? Indeed, none might ever get -to certainly know _who_ it was, and I should go home fancying I had -viewed the face of my beloved in death, and fancying, too, for months -to come, that she had been rescued and, by the many strange crosses of -travel and adventure, detained, but that she was coming and I should -hear. - -Thus I sat, my mind in anguish, starting up sometimes to pace the few -feet of charterhouse deck, then flinging myself down miserable and mad -with thought. - -A canary suddenly sang loudly in a cage under the clock; in every plank -was the pulse of the engines, like a tingling of blood in veins; from -over the side came a note of stealthy hissing, subtly threading the -noises of the deck like someone in a theatre low hissing through the -voices of the actors. - -In about twenty minutes the captain arrived with Mr. Hoskins. He -brought the old gentleman in and hooked the door ajar. - -Mr. Hoskins was a fresh-coloured old man, white bearded, with intensely -black eye brows curling like moustaches over his glittering black -eyes; he was dressed in black. I had observed in him a patient way of -looking, of speaking; his voice was a little tremulous with time--he -was probably sixty-five years of age. - -He held a large envelope which, on entering, he put down on top of his -hat, and making me a bow slowly, he exclaimed, in the broken tones of -his years: - -'It is truly extraordinary, sir, that you and I should be going to the -Cape on the same errand, in the same ship.' - -'Truly indeed,' I answered. 'The captain has told you my story?' and -here I looked at Captain Strutt, who answered 'Yes. Those are the -portraits,' and he pointed to the envelope. - -I glanced at the package as at a sheet or veil which conceals a face -you love which your heart shrinks from beholding in death. - -'She's not your young lady, sir,' said Mr. Hoskins, slowly extending -his arm to take up the envelope. 'She is my daughter. My niece -instantly recognised the likeness.' - -He sighed heavily, seating himself with a slow movement, whilst he put -the envelope upon his knee to draw a spectacle case from his pocket. -Meanwhile he spoke: - -'She was twenty-four years of age and had been married three years. Her -husband took her to Santiago and left her there with her sister. She -was to have joined him at Monte Video--but you have heard, sir, you -have heard?' - -I bowed, trembling with impatience, and still cold at heart, spite of -his words, with the dread that had been mine since I heard of those -photographs. He put on his spectacles, and, laying his hand upon the -envelope upon his knee, looked at me with magnified eyes. - -'It is very wonderful,' said he, 'that your young lady should have been -left in a wreck close to the place where my poor child's body was met -with.' - -Captain Strutt, with a sudden fidget of his whole figure, said, 'Mr. -Hoskins, will you show Mr. Moore the portraits?' - -But the old gentleman must first look at them himself. He pulled them -out and surveyed them with a countenance of mourning, one in either -hand, his underlip working garrulously, and again and again he sighed, -till, lifting my eyes from the portraits to his face, I saw that his -cheeks were wet. Then, but with one of his patient gestures, he put the -pictures together and extended them to me. - -I looked first at one, then at the other; the likenesses were not -Marie. I could allow for the changes caused by drowning, by immersion, -by the month-long action of spirits or brine; and still, with a wild -throb of joy that half choked me, I saw that the likenesses were not -Marie. - -They were two dreadful portraits of one face, dreadful to look upon; -one in profile, the other full, the body manifestingly having been -turned to confront the camera. The whiteness of the face in the -pictures was as shocking a part as any: the cheeks were so sunk you -would have thought she had sucked in her breath, with horrid scorn, -a living woman, when the lens of the instrument was turned upon her. -They had swept her hair off her brow for a clear view of the face; I -supposed it was pale hair by the look of it, but it was not Marie's--it -was not grown low on the forehead as hers was; the eyebrows were not -hers--they were too thick; the ears were too large for Marie's, and, -which convinced me absolutely, the shape of the nose was not my dear -one's; no wasting by the action of rolling water, no shrinkage by long -immersion, whether in brine or spirits, could work any structural -change in the nose. - -I have those dreadful photographs in my mind's eye now, I cannot -express their ghastliness. It was not only the forehead rendered naked -by the manner in which the hair had been swept back by the artist, nor -a more terrible sort of blindness in the droop and rigidity of the -upper lids than anything to be imagined in death's cold glazing of the -balls of vision, nor the meaninglessness in the look of the mouth, -as though it had been some wild man's carving of a grin on an idol, -neither human nor yet of the beast most sickening. The deep and subtle -horror I found in that face was there through fancy of the terrific -ocean solitude it had floated in, the icy surge that had tossed it, the -pitiless stars which had looked down upon it, the roaring blasts of -sleet and hail which had thundered over it. - -I put the pictures together with a shudder and a face contorted by the -pain and imaginations of the sight, and in silence handed them to Mr. -Hoskins. Both men waited for me to speak. I stopped to fetch a few -breaths, then said: - -'This poor girl is not Miss Otway.' - -'She is my daughter!' exclaimed the old man, again holding up the -pictures to view them. 'Oh, my poor child!' - -The canary began to sing loudly; the silencing of it enabled Captain -Strutt to turn his back upon us. It was indeed moving to see that old -man with his wet cheeks and talking inarticulate underlip, looking at -the two portraits. He placed them in his pocket after a minute or two, -then, pulling off his glasses, smiled faintly at me and said: - -'The grief is mine, you see, sir.' - -'And still mine, Mr. Hoskins,' I replied. 'Since that is your child -you certainly know where she is, and therefore what has become of her; -but what can any man tell of Miss Otway? She was dear to me, aye, -even as _she_ was to you,' said I, pointing to the breast of his coat -where the pictures lay. 'We were to have been married--oh, pray think, -sir! the news they brought home, the last news of her, told me of her -as abandoned with two companions in a dismasted hull in the wildest -ocean in the world--amongst the ice--heavenly God!' I cried, springing -to my feet, am I to believe her as that poor girl is--but never to -know--never to be sure that it was so--that it is so?' - -And now I know that the sight of those portraits had wrenched me to -the very soul, by speaking of Marie as she _might_ be. This, with the -reaction; for it was not my sweetheart who lay at Cape Town. I had -felt an instant's joy on the discovery; that was past and it was as -before--black uncertainty troubled and thick with a hundred shapeless -fears and fancies. - -'It's a great pity,' said Captain Strutt bluntly, 'that you didn't know -Mr. Hoskins had those pictures. You could have gone ashore at Madeira -and got home some time before we arrive at the Cape.' - -'Pray what may have convinced you that my poor girl, as described in -the papers, was Miss Otway?' said Mr. Hoskins. - -I gave him all the reasons: the description, tallying feature by -feature, point by point in hair, stature, refinement of features and -the like; the letter O on the garment; the serge dress and fur-trimmed -jacket. The old gentleman lifted his hands and his gaze with one of his -patient gestures and look, now of surprise. - -'It is more than remarkable,' he cried; 'it exceeds belief.' - -'Your daughter was married and therefore wore a wedding ring,' said -Captain Strutt. 'That ring's commonly a tight fit.' - -'It was no doubt as Captain Goldsmith wrote,' said Mr. Hoskins, 'the -water shrivelled the fingers and the ring slipped off.' - -'Miss Otway wore rings,' said I; 'the lady had none. Therefore its -having no rings proves nothing. Plunge your warm living hand into -ice-cold water, and your tightest ring will wonderfully slacken.' - -'True,' said Captain Strutt. 'And still, Mr. Moore, if I was in your -place, I shouldn't rest satisfied with the evidence of those portraits.' - -'Oh, but Mr. Hoskins and I are agreed,' said I. 'He recognises his -child and I know that it is not Miss Otway.' - -'It's my intention to exhume the remains--a sorrowful task--if they'll -grant me permission,' said Mr. Hoskins. 'Since you _must_ now proceed -to the Cape, then, if it would satisfy you to look into the coffin when -it is opened, you will be very welcome, sir.' - -I thanked him, adding, however, that I could not be more satisfied -than I was. And so, after some further conversation, we quitted the -captain's private room. - -I might have supposed this discovery of the body not being Marie--and I -was as convinced of it as though I positively knew she was alive--would -have comforted me, helped something towards the cheering of my spirits; -instead, I seemed in my heart as much depressed as if the portrait of -the dead girl had been hers. This was because, had I known she was -dead, the worst would have been reached. But now I was to make a weary -journey to the Cape to no imaginable purpose. I was to linger there -till a returning steamer sailed, then measure all these leagues of -water afresh, to arrive home as ignorant of her fate as though I had -never set foot out of London. - -During the rest of the passage, which was absolutely uneventful, I -held much aloof from the people; I was too low-spirited to join in -their conversation and amusements; I begged the captain and Mr. Hoskins -to allow my trouble to remain their secret, and they very faithfully -obliged me. Captain Strutt would often pace the deck for half an hour -at my side, and in such quiet walks our talk nearly always concerned -the 'Lady Emma.' He by no means gave me the encouragement I had got -from old Robson; he told me honestly that it was as likely as not the -three had been taken off the wreck, but advised me not to hope too much -in that way after I returned to England, 'because,' said he, 'the news -of such a rescue is bound to come to hand soon; things are not as they -were forty years ago; you have the telegraph and the steamer and the -newspaper. They were wrecked in July,' said he. 'If it was my business, -I'd allow eight months, then, hearing nothing, I'd give them up.' - -He flatly differed from old Robson's notion of the comparative safety -of a dismasted hull amongst icebergs. 'How,' he exclaimed, in a grave -wondering voice, 'could any sailorman talk such stuff? It's like his -prejudice against the North Pole. What's to hinder a dismasted vessel -from being flung against ice, and hammered to pieces? I don't talk to -dispirit you, sir, but my reasoning is, if a loss must be a loss, then -for God's sake let it be made and have done.' - -The 'Cambrian' entered Table Bay, December 13. It was early in the -morning, but the sun was already high, and when I went on deck and -looked around me, I beheld as flashing and noble a scene of blue water -and mountain as this earth has to show. The atmosphere was brimful of -white and even splendour, so that the azure of the sky looked cold in -it. Wonderful to my eyes was the sight of a gale of wind so local in -its fury that freshing confines of the torn water, curved like a line -of beach, this side being smooth and glittering, softly fanned with a -little air out of the west, where the white light was so lustrous that -the leaning sails of the Malay boats flickered in it with a look of -frosted silver. - -Afar, and marvellously clear cut in their hundred miles of distance, -loomed a range of lofty mountains; the fierce wind was blowing out of a -glorious white mist which veiled, with falling and ascending draperies -of vapour, the greater bulk of the tawny mass on the right; but so -marvellously brilliant was the atmosphere through which the gale was -rushing, the sense of distance vanished, the huge steep lifting and -disappearing in its splendour of mist, drew close, I saw the curves -of the cloofs, every wrinkle of broken rock, and patches of the bush, -though it was all miles off and high in air. The white houses spread -like toys of ivory to the base; and the wide waters of the bay, full -of the gleam of the brushing westerly air, and rushing in froth under -the shriek and lash of the gale, where the breast of blue rounded to -the town, were framed by a sparkling snow-white beach, past which the -swelling country showed in reds and greens till the sight died upon the -phantom blue of distant heights. - -There were no docks in those days, nor can I recollect that they had -begun to build the breakwater. We brought up in the splendid weather -outside the thrashing storm, but it seemed we were to be kept aboard -till the south-easter had blown itself out. Many ships, a few very -large and fine, lay straining at their anchors, some within and some -without that spray-white sheet of foul weather. I stood at the rail -looking at a little barque which lay within easy hail of the voice; Mr. -Baynton, chief officer of the 'Cambrian' approached to look at a boat -that lay close under alongside. But his seaman's eye went quickly to -the barque, and turning to me, he said: - -'That's what they call a spouter.' - -'A whaler?' - -'Yes. She looks it, sir. See the boats at her cranes. What sort of -daylight filters through those greasy grimy scuttles in her side, I -wonder? She is an American, and draws decently; three years out by the -looks of her, fresh from parts where its always too hot or always too -cold, and with how many barrels aboard, ha! It's said no seaman thinks -anything of a man as a sailor who's learnt his trade in a greaser. -For my part I look upon 'em with respect and admiration. What Jack of -us all sees the like of their seafaring? Let alone the weather, and -that touches the extremes. What magnificent work in boats! what nerve -and determination! To think of one of those egg-shells,' said he, -nodding at the boats at the whaler's cranes, 'being in tow of a rushing -mountain of stinking black flesh, shooting blood and brine sky high, -every thrash of the tail a Niagara drench of rearing white water--ha!' - -He sucked in his cheeks, blew them out again in a low whistle of -admiration, and walked off. - -I did not land till four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Hoskins, when we -parted, put his card into my hand, with an address at Cape Town upon -it, and begged me to let him know the house I put up at, that he might -communicate in case I should think proper to confirm the revelation of -the photographs by an inspection of the remains. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE SHIP SEEN ON THE ICE - - -I was advised against the two or three bad hotels in Cape Town, and -whilst in the ship had obtained the address of a boarding-house. It was -a comfortable big Dutch-built house, low, without chimneys; it stood -in a garden full of moon-lilies, and many lovely flowers, the fairest -of them scentless. Here I found a colonel from India for his health, a -Dutch couple, and one or two others. From the stoep of this house you -saw the grand mass of Table Mountain, seemingly close to; the shadow -of its noble bulk seemed to fill the heavens and swell with sensible, -usurping presence into the far reaches of the country. I had travelled -in mountainous parts in Europe, but never before witnessed such a -tyrannous domination as this. The colossal ramparts caught up the whole -prospect whilst you looked in a swinging sweep of their length, till -'twas all mountain with the steam-like vapour shredding away from the -boiling whiteness atop, and the houses clustering into the base like -things of life shuddering back into the giant refuge. - -Such were the fantastic notions I got of the thing as I sat, cigar in -mouth, on the stoep of the boarding-house on the first night of my -arrival. The full moon was shining over the bay. I saw through the -trees a space of the silvered waters, with the black figures and lines -of ships anchored in the trembling glow, spotting it with their riding -lights. The breeze was falling in sighs down the steep and troubling -the vegetation into the shedding of some perfume upon the night air; -the tinkling of the crickets spread low, like a noise of fairy bells, -over the land, surging up in the warm, damp breeze and dying. I heard -a band of music in the distance, but the mountain shone upon by the -moon and now radiant at the summit with snow-white mist, looked the -tranquility of its great face into the night, and the peace of its -sublime silence dwelt like a spirit everywhere, to the very height of -the stars, down to the waters trembling under the moon. - -This rest was grateful and exquisitely refreshing after the ceaseless -motions of the ship and the senseless chatter of the engine-room. And -yet, though I was but just arrived, I now, after my first meal ashore -for many days, sat alone, considering what I should do. - -I had learnt at table there were ships in the bay homeward bound, -also I was aware and had been long aware that I must wait a month -for the next Union steamer to England. I could not, however, bring -myself to endure the prospect of _sailing_ home. The voyage by steam -had already proved unendurably long; and now I might take shipping -under a topsail, make a passage of two months to the line, lie in a -month-long trance upon the burnished swathes of the molten silver swell -of the Doldrums, then wish myself dead in six weeks of tempest to the -Scillies, with a long flounder up Channel to round off all. - -Therefore, on this the first night of my arrival at Cape Town, I -resolved to return by steam, taking anything in that way which might -come from the Indies, or, failing that, then the monthly Union steamer. - -The colonel came out of the house with a long cheroot in his mouth, and -sat down by my side. He was a man with bland manners, and a sarcastic -voice. He talked contemptuously of Cape Town and its people, and cursed -the indisposition that had driven him into such a barbarous hole, -where you were distempered by bad cooks, poisoned by dreadful smells, -maddened by the horns of the coloured costermongers. I was in no temper -to hear him and was glad when he got up and strolled off. - -Here was I, thousands of miles from home--for what purpose? I was no -nearer to Marie! Would she ever be heard of? Was she alive? I looked up -at the full moon and asked of God if its splendour rested anywhere upon -her. - -But then--but then--and my heart ached again as I reflected; it was -in July that her ship was dismasted and last heard of, and this was -December, almost the middle of it--five whole months! And the hard part -was that I should have to live through another interminable period of -expectation before reaching home, where alone I must hope to get news. -Why, even whilst I sat there, with the two Atlantics between England -and me, she might have arrived, or they might have got news that she -was coming, and thus was I sure to go on thinking and hoping until I -returned--when they would tell me they had heard nothing! - -My thoughts went but seldom and lightly to the body of the girl who -was resting in her grave somewhere past those trees yonder. _She_ was -not Marie. I'd look upon her if the coffin was lifted and Hoskins -invited me; but _she_ was not Marie! The wonder and pity of her to my -mind now that I had seen the photographs lay in the coincidence of her -discovery, and in the ghastly vision of her floating figure--so young -and fair as she had been--a fancy of ocean loneliness I could somehow -realise better _here_ than at sea, maybe because of the height the -lofty shadow of the mountain sent the stars to, its blotting presence -widening the scene of heaven by exciting imagination of the magnitude -of the hidden slope going over and past it to Agulhas and to where the -ice was. - -After this, for two or three days, I went about alone, struggling with -a mood of depression that discoloured everything I beheld. It robbed -all grace of freshness from the beauty and the splendour of the sights -which lay about me. My favourite haunt was the waterside, where I'd -stand watching the Atlantic comber form, huge and polished, out of the -silken swell, arching and rushing onwards in a sparkling bravery of -foam and sunlight; but my thoughts were always with Marie, and again -and again I'd catch myself sighing as I brought my eyes away from the -remote blue distance pass Robben Island. - -It was on the fourth day of my arrival, in the afternoon, that -strolling slowly under the shade of an umbrella from that part of the -waterside close to where the docks now are, I met the colonel who -lodged with me in the boarding-house. He turned from gazing at the bay -under the sharp of his hand, and approached me. - -'Were you ever aboard a whaler?' he asked. - -'Never,' I answered. - -'That ship yonder's a whaler,' said he pointing. - -'Yes, I know,' I replied. 'I had a good look at her from the side of -the steamer--we lay within a biscuit-toss.' - -'I went aboard of her this morning,' said he, causing me to stop by -halting and looking towards the vessel as though he would have me -observe her whilst he talked. 'She is well worth a visit. Half of -her crew are Kanakas, and the remainder Yankees, and a wild, queer, -hairy lot they are. The captain's a Quaker, a strange, tall, formal -fellow, buttoned up, lean and yellow, and thee's and thou's you; most -unlike a seaman of any I ever saw. He was very civil though, mighty -communicative. I sat an hour in his little cabin and 'twas as good as -going awhaling to hear him. Such an array of harpoons and lances, decks -dark with the mess of blubber boiling--'trying out' the captain called -it. If you want to agreeably pass an hour and forget that you're in a -land of smells and noise, visit her.' - -I answered it was probable I would do so. - -'Not that she's a nosegay,' said he, with a short, sarcastic laugh, -'but there's nothing Malay in the odour, nothing Dutch. The captain -related an odd incident that happened whilst he was off the Horn, a bit -south of it I think.' - -Here he stepped out and I strolled by his side, pricking my ears, for -there was a magic in the name of Cape Horn that never failed to arrest -my attention. - -'She'd been fishing in the South Seas and finding no quarry was coming -into this ocean. She was running before a strong gale of wind off--I -forget the name of the island; it lies south of the Horn. The land, -coated with ice, stretched along their starboard beam; the captain had -no notion he was so close in. He was looking at the land through his -telescope when, in a sudden flaw that thinned the weather out into -a momentary brilliance, he caught sight of a large dismasted ship -upright on her keel upon a huge projection of ice that fell sheer to -the wash of the surf. He reckons the height of cliff on which that hull -was poised about thirty feet. How devilish odd! You can figure ships in -many situations, but how in ghosts are they going to cradle themselves -on an elevation of thirty or forty feet?' - -When he said this I stopped dead; a fancy then, at that instant, -flashed into me in pang after pang as though every drop of blood in my -veins was living fire. It brought me to a stand just as if I had been -paralysed, or struck by lightning. - -Presently looking at him and rather gasping than speaking, I said: - -'A dismasted ship, was it? On an island south of the Horn, did he say? -Why, my God, I wonder--I wonder----' - -'What's the matter? What's there in this to---- I hope I---- Catch hold -of my arm!' exclaimed the colonel, staring at me with astonishment. -'What's it--sunstroke? Not under your umbrella?' - -And he directed his aquiline nose and keen blue eyes right up into the -sky; then put his arm through mine, and we walked slowly, he meanwhile -surveying me askant with every mark of amazement. - -After going a little way, during which I thought I should be unable to -command my tongue or collect my wits, so heart-staggering had been that -leap of fancy in me, I said: - -'You have given me an extraordinary piece of news. I am deeply -interested in a ship that was abandoned in a dismasted state in the -neighbourhood of the Horn.' - -'By gad! then,' said he, halting me with a violent, nervous pull at my -arm, 'you had better go aboard and get a description at first hand, for -the whaler's here to refresh only; she's been in the bay a fortnight -and sails to-morrow.' - -Without exchanging a word I walked, almost ran, to the waterside. - -A number of boats lay rippling close in to the beach. A couple of Malay -or Africander boatmen seeing me coming jumped into one of the little -craft, and in a few minutes I was being rowed in the direction of the -whaler. - -It was about half-past four o'clock in the afternoon; the light of -the high South African midsummer sun fell on the water in a blaze -that made one think of a sky-wide bolt of flame; the scorching heat -steamed to the face off the surface in tingling red-hot needles; there -was not a breath of air; along the polished surface, breathing with -the swell of the sea, slipped the small thunder of the distant surf. -We drew close to the whaler and I read her name upon her counter 'Sea -Queen, Nantucket.' Her sides were blistered and honeycombed with heat -and conflict; her cabin scuttles or windows, in a row of three above -her green sheathing, stared in their dirt blearedly across the water, -like the eyes of a blind man; a number of seamen of several dyes of -complexion and queerly attired overhung the bulwark rails. - -She was a little ship of about four hundred tons and looked to be -dropping to pieces with use, so deeply was she seamed, so ill were her -masts stayed, so rusty and pale was her rigging, so worn and ragged the -complexion and suggestion of the canvas heaped clumsily and negligently -bound. When the boat was alongside I looked up at a copper-coloured -face covered with black prickles of hair, and asked if the captain was -aboard. - -'Ay,' was the answer. - -'I wish to see him on very particular business,' said I. - -The man stared stupidly and lounged off. - -'You gittee on board, boss,' said one of the boatmen. 'You hab welcome -allee same as other gents,' - -I took the man's advice, and putting my foot on to the shelf or -projection of main channels, sprang and gained the deck in a jump from -the bulwark rail. - -There were probably twenty men lounging forward in every imaginable -posture, smoking and talking; they were black and yellow and some were -of the white man's bronze, long-haired, beards goat-shaped, the figure -of them striking, with grass hats, dungaree trousers, brown shanks, -and shirts of several dyes exposing their furry breasts. They took no -notice of me whatever. The decks were dark with dirt: insufferably -heaped up with caboose, boats, casks, pumps, and some midship -arrangement for boiling blubber. A smell of greese hung cold and nasty -in the atmosphere. - -I faced aft, and was moving that way when a tall figure rose through -the deck from under a sort of wooden hood which yawned at the wheel. I -instantly guessed him the captain by the colonel's description; he was -lean and hollow, with high cheek bones and a clean shaven face, yellow -as any of his men forward, buttoned up in an old frock coat, and he -wore a grey wideawake, the brim turned down. His eye came to me without -any expression of interest; I judged by his manner his ship had been -much visited. - -I went straight up to him, and lifting my cap asked him if he was the -master of this barque. - -'I am,' he replied, with the usual American drawl. - -'I have come off,' said I, 'to speak with you on a matter of the -deepest interest to myself. I just now met a gentleman who told me that -south of the Horn you sighted a large hull, high and dry upon the ice. -Last July a ship named the "Lady Emma" was dismasted and abandoned by -her crew who left three people aboard: the men quitted her much about -the spot where you sighted the wreck. One of the people remaining in -her was Captain Burke, her commander; the others were his wife and -a young lady named Miss Otway. I was engaged to be married to that -young lady, sir, and came here, having arrived from England on the -thirteenth, believing that a body which had been found at sea and -brought to Cape Town was Miss Otway's. It is not so. The remains are -not hers. God knows but that, if the hull you sighted be the "Lady -Emma," the three may be living--aboard--in a hopeless state! Will you -tell me all you can recollect of her appearance and situation?' - -In speaking I had insensibly worked myself up, and ended with my voice -broken by agitation. He looked me steadily in the face, and when I had -ended, after a minute's silence, said: - -'Friend, follow me into the cabin, and I'll tell thee all I know.' - -He led me down a narrow staircase with a little brown, gloomy interior, -whose equipment, glorious as was the day outside, was barely revealed -by the light that struggled through the frame of dirty glass overhead. -The shaft of mizzenmast pierced the deck and was ringed by a number of -polished harpoons which glanced in the gloom with the blue gleam of the -razor. A squab square table was set in the midst of this cabin, and on -either hand it was a locker, rugged and jagged, as though generations -of whalemen had cut up plug tobacco upon the lid. - -The captain told me to sit down, and with a stride or two of his long -legs vanished inside a small berth abaft the mizzenmast. He reappeared, -holding a volume which proved to be his log-book: this he placed upon -the table and sat down in front of it. - -'What might thy name be?' he asked whilst he turned the leaves of the -book. - -'Mr. Moore,' I answered. - -He fastened his eyes on the page, and after reading awhile, said: - -'We sighted the ship on the ice on the morning of October 13. It had -been blowing a hard gale all through the night, but it slackened down -airly in the morning and we put her before it; but so high a sea was -running that had I seen that thar hull full of men I could have done -nothing for them.' He ran his finger along the page and continued: 'The -latitude in which that wreck lies is 60° and the longitude--I'm giving -it thee by thy Greenwich time--will be 45° 28´ W.' - -I pulled out my note-book and entered these figures. - -'Though,' he went on, 'she looks to be lying on ice, it's land that -cradles her. It's what's marked down as Coronation Island, and's the -westermost of the South Orkneys. She lies plain in sight of the sea, -onless the ice since then has come together and blocked her out.' - -'Did you get a good view of her?' - -'Ho, yes; I had her clear for ten minutes, watching for smoke for a -signal; and I then gave the glass to the mate, who likewise looked till -the run of the land hid her.' - -'Will you describe her as you remember her?' - -'Ho, yes. She was black, a lump of a ship she looked; wal, I daresay -all seven hundred tons. What was the burthen of thy vessel, Mr. Moore?' - -'Six hundred,' I answered. - -'Ho, wal, we was a good ways off, and that thar hull might as wal be -six as seven hundred tons.' - -'Was she clean dismasted?' - -'Clean?--wal, my mate arterwards said there was a stump of foremast -standing. I didn't observe it.' - -'But it must be the ship--the "Lady Emma" herself!' I cried, almost -shouting in my excitement. 'When her masts went over the side, twelve -feet of the foremast remained.' - -He nodded gravely; but his long, hollow, yellow face reflected nothing -of my emotion, no more than had he been a sheep. - -'Did you see nothing whatever to hint at there being life on board?' I -exclaimed. - -'Nothin',' he answered; 'she hung betwixt thirty and forty foot high -above the wash of the sea, on a big ledge of ice, with the white cliffs -going up behind her. Haow she so perched herself beats all my going -a-fishing; onless the ice jerked her up into it, for when them bergs -are took with convulsions their tricks are queerer than their shapes by -su'thin', and that's a fact.' - -'You saw nothing to hint at life on board?' I repeated. - -He shook his head with solemn emphasis. - -'Your mate saw nothing?' - -Again he wagged his head. - -'Captain, tell me--you are an old hand--could people support life in -that craft as she lies there, supposing her to have been stranded -since July last?' - -'No, I reckon.' - -'But would not the people on seeing your ship pass have made a smoke, -have shown some signal, that you could report life as helpless there -since you could not rescue it?' - -'Wal,' he answered, 'supposing folks aboard, thee's not to reckon -they'd be always keeping a look-out. It's mighty cold down thar, an' -they'll be mostly sitting under hatches, an' if they've been thar since -July, as thee says, they'll have growed a little tired, I guess, by -this here time of watching for su'thin' to happen.' - -'Is she accessible?' - -'Haow?' - -'Is she to be got at by the people of a ship sighting her, or sent to -her?' - -'There was a mighty biling of water all along under where she was,' he -answered. 'Thee'd need a quiet day; but quiet days are to be had, bar -the swell. Folks have landed afore and they'll land again. Ho, yes! If -thy friends are locked up in that thar hull, they're to be got out of -her.' - -'Suppose her there since July; will you believe she has been boarded -and the people released?' - -'Why,' he answered, 'if she's been lying fair and square, clear in -sight as she now is, since that month thee names, it's more'n likely -the folks are out of her. But no vessel was ever put by herself in the -situation of that craft. I reckon she's been worked up into it arter -having lain ice-locked, which may sinnify that for months she's been -hid, so that for all we're to know that thar hull may have been the -first that passed close in with the island since the ice broke away and -exposed her.' - -I listened with a feverish passion of attention, devouring every -syllable his drawling tongue dropped. - -'Have you a chart of that island?' I asked. - -He nodded gravely and stood up. - -'I'm temperance aft, here,' said he. 'I can offer thee nothing stronger -than lemonade.' - -I was too violently agitated to thank him decently, and stuttering out -an awkward acknowledgment, begged him again to let me see the chart of -the island. He took the log-book with him to his berth, and returning, -spread before me a chart representing a considerable expanse of the -seas off the Horn. My sight was now used to the gloom; when he put his -finger upon the place where he had seen the wreck I bent close, and -observed that he indicated an indent in the tracing marked Palmer's Bay. - -I entered this in my note-book and asked if he would sell the chart. -He couldn't spare it, he said, but added I might easily furnish myself -with what I wanted in that way at Cape Town. - -My spirits were in such a tumult, my heart beat so wildly, the pulses -of my head throbbed so, there was so much feverish confusion of mind -and brain, I could scarcely rally my wits to the task of further -questioning him; I seemed, indeed, scarcely able to understand him. I -cannot express my amazement, the emotions that swelled my heart. 'Twas -as sure as that I lived that the hull seen by this man was the 'Lady -Emma,' and even whilst I bent over the chart, whilst I lifted up my -eyes to look at him, the thought of the measureless distance at which -the wreck lay, of Marie perhaps being at this very time alive in her; -then the imagination of her having been rescued long since, then the -fancy of the hull as a huge coffin in which my dear one lay frozen -and dead; all this, I say, worked in me like a madness; I was beside -myself, and I pored upon the chart panting, the sweat streaming from my -brows, my hands cold as stone. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE BRIG 'ALBATROSS' - - -I remained, nevertheless, in the cabin of the whaler until the captain -grew impatient and showed signs of wishing to be rid of me, on which I -thanked him, shook hands, and was rowed ashore. - -I drove to the boarding-house and there found the following letter-- - - - 'Mowbray: December 17, 1860. - - 'Mr. Hoskins' compliments to Mr. Moore. He has obtained leave to - open the grave and will, with Mr. Moore's permission, call for him - in a closed carriage at five o'clock to-morrow afternoon.' - - -This gave a new turn to my thoughts. My first humour was to decline -the invitation. It was not Marie who lay in that grave, and I did -not like the thought of the memory the sight would create. But after -reflecting awhile, I resolved to attend, a glance would give sinews to -the confirmation of the pictures. Sir Mortimer would also wish that I -should take every measure to satisfy myself as to the identity of the -remains. - -Having written an answer, I went downstairs and sent it to the post by -a servant, by which hour dinner was ready and I took my place. Five -of us were at table, including the lady of the house, who carved. The -colonel sitting opposite me almost immediately asked what news I had -got of the ship seen on the ice. I had made up my mind to talk, partly -because it did me good to do so, partly because I never could tell what -hints and news might follow upon free speech. - -I answered that the dismasted hull the captain of the whaler had seen -was the 'Lady Emma.' - -'Does he think there are people locked up in her?' cried the colonel -with excitement. - -A Dutch gentleman (I will call him Pollak) who sat next him inquired -with civil curiosity what we were talking about. On which I put down -my knife and fork and plainly related the story of the voyage of Marie -Otway for her health, the dismasting of the ship, her abandonment by -the sailors, the reason of my visiting the Cape, and I told him how I -knew by the photographs that the body which had been brought to Cape -Town was not Marie's; but I said nothing about the opening of her -grave; I judged that Mr. Hoskins would not be pleased to find a gaping -crowd in the cemetery at such a time. - -They listened to me with deep attention. All saving the colonel had -heard of the arrival of the schooner with the body; indeed--which -was extraordinary--the Dutch gentleman was one of a few who had been -present when the remains were taken out of the cask. I had passed -several hours a day since my arrival in this man's company, and now -learnt for the first time that he had seen the body. - -It was no season, however, for questioning him, and the conversation of -the table went to the wreck seen by the captain of the whaler. - -All could have observed in my manner that I was deeply stirred; I could -scarcely eat; I felt thirst only. The colonel talked fluently, but not -serviceably; but I listened with kindness, for I was grateful to him -for the accident of this astonishing discovery. - -After dinner I went on to the stoep to breathe the fresh air and smoke -and think; I hoped that the others, remarking the state of my mind, -would leave me alone; they did so; the colonel, the Dutch gentleman, -and two others, who arrived after dinner, drinking coffee at a table at -the other end of the verandah. Their conversation flowed in a low hum, -but that it concerned the topic we talked over at dinner I knew by the -occasional looks one or another directed my way. - -At last the Dutch gentleman, Mr. Pollak, came from his party and, -pulling a chair to my side, seated himself. He said, speaking with an -excellent English accent: - -'I have thought as I saw the body you would wish me to describe it. It -was not to be spoken of at table.' - -'The photographs were ghastly pictures,' said I. - -'Ach, Gott!' he cried, with such a roll of his eyes under the -lids as made them balls of porcelain. 'But how should anyone--the -handsomest--appear who was five weeks in spirits after having been -drowned and lifted out of the sea? And still her hair was long and -fair, and fine, and there was a shadow of beauty in the mask of her -face--all saw it. It breathed like a perfume from a dead flower.' - -'She was not Miss Otway,' said I. - -He described every feature, and I continued to shake my head. - -'No, no,' said I, 'she is not Miss Otway. The girl I want is in that -ship on the ice; yet--is she there?' - -'Well, it must be found out,' said he. - -'I shall go about it to-morrow.' - -'Mr. Moore,' said he, after a short silence, 'you are a stranger in -Cape Town. I have many friends. If I can be useful, you will, I beg, -command me.' - -I thanked him and said I had brought a few letters of introduction, -but, conceiving the purpose of my visit ended when I viewed the -photographs, I had called nowhere. I slightly referred to my position -in London--that is, as a partner in my father's bank--and added that -the manager of a South African bank, whose headquarters were in Cape -Town, had been a senior clerk in my father's office, but that I had not -visited him. - -'Would not the British admiral who is at St. Simon's Town,' said he, -'send out a ship of war to search for the wreck?' - -I replied quickly, 'No, I must go myself,' and added, 'You may not have -had experience in the ways of British officials.' - -He smiled and answered. 'The admiral might give you leave to go in the -ship he sent.' - -'I can tell you exactly how it would be,' said I. 'I go to the admiral -and the admiral demands the log-book of the whaler. The whaler has -sailed, the admiral requires full particulars of the wreck before -despatching one of his ships to a perilous part of the world; full -particulars can be obtained only in London. By the time the British -admiral sees his way the hull, when sought, has disappeared.' - -He smiled again, stroking his chin. - -'When I left the whaler,' said I, finding it eased my heart to talk, -and pleased with his plain sympathy, 'I had formed a resolution. It -may be, sir, that you are able to help me in it.' - -He bowed. - -'I intend at once--that is, to-morrow, if to-morrow will provide me -with the opportunity--to hire a vessel and sail for Coronation Island -as promptly as she can be equipped and victualled.' - -'Ah,' he exclaimed, 'that looks like business. It will be expensive----' - -I interrupted him with an exclamation. - -'Yes,' he exclaimed, a little ruefully, 'that should not be thought -of; it will be a marvellous, noble thing to save the life of your -young lady and her companions. How can I help, now?--let me see. I am -acquainted with most of the leading merchants here; I believe that my -friend Mr. Vanderbyl is expecting a consignment from our Australian -port. Perhaps the vessel has arrived. I will inquire. If it is the same -brig that was here last spring she will be the very boat for you. Her -name is the "Albatross." Did you observe a brig painted white amongst -the shipping when you went on board the whaler?' - -'I did not.' - -'If she comes with the same captain and can be hired, he will be your -man; Captain Christopher Cliffe, a little clever, honest, sober sailor. -I know him very well. He was second mate of a ship I sailed to England -in. Well, I will inquire and see what is to be done, and you also will -inquire. But the "Albatross" is your ship, sir--a clipper. She slides -like a knife through the sea, and should put you abreast of the hull as -quickly as steam.' - -'But she is not yet arrived.' - -'She is due.' - -'She will need time to discharge her cargo?' - -'If she is in the Bay,' said he, 'she should be able to sail with you -in a fortnight, and that is as quick as gold itself shall let you be in -this climate.' - -I was excited by his praise of the brig, and, standing up, I asked him -to accompany me to the waterside, and search the Bay with his sight for -her. But he had an engagement, so I stepped forth alone, there still -remaining a long evening of daylight. - -I made my way to the same place I had embarked from that afternoon, -and looking at the scene of Bay which glowed like the sky with the -evening splendour, stretching out from my feet, and brimming into gold -trembling into purple to the white beach abreast, which ran in a curve -flashing like light against the lip of the brine, I counted no less -than twenty-two ships riding to their anchors: vessels of all rigs and -of several nationalities, and, as though heaven were on my side in this -time of trial and grief, I saw what I guessed was the vessel I was -here to look for. She lay, curiously enough, immediately astern of -the whaler--a milk-white figure, slightly swaying on the satin-smooth -heave, with wet green gleams trembling along her as she lifted her -metal sheathing. - -I said to a coloured waterman who stood near, pointing to the brig: - -'What brig is that, do you know?' - -He answered immediately, 'De "Albatross," boss!' - -'Ha!' - -'From Sydney, boss.' - -'When did she arrive?' - -'Two yastardays, boss.' - -But it was not wonderful she should have escaped my observation; in -going and coming from the whaler I had thought of nothing but what I -was to hear and what I had heard; and earlier my sight, often as it -wandered to the shipping, never paused to distinguish. - -I saw no more of my Dutch friend till next morning, when, at eleven -o'clock, whilst I was making ready to drive into the town and inquire -about the brig 'Albatross,' a servant knocked on the door, and said Mr. -Pollak was below with another and wished to see me. I at once descended. - -His companion was a little man, almost a dwarf; his nose was as long -as Punch's, his mouth much like that puppet's, wide and thin, with -the look of a smirk in the curl of the lips at either extremity; he -wore little slips of grey whiskers; his eyes were deep sunk, grey and -kindly, and he blinked them with a nervous fury when he dodged a sort -of sea-bow on Mr. Pollak introducing him. He was almost bald, and was -perhaps fifty-five years of age, much curved in the back, his shanks -slightly arching out. Mr. Pollak called him Captain Christopher Cliffe, -and introduced him as master and part-owner of the brig 'Albatross.' - -'I know,' said the worthy Dutchman, 'that time is precious to you. I -am glad we have found you in. I cannot stay. But I will leave Captain -Cliffe behind me to talk with you.' - -And picking up his hat he nodded and went out. - -I asked the little man if Mr. Pollak had told him my story. - -'Enough,' he answered, 'to make me understand there is reason to hurry.' - -'The whaler "Sea Queen,"' said I, 'lying just ahead of you----' - -'She sailed this morning,' he interrupted. - -'She sighted a hull high and dry on the ice of Coronation Island, -New Orkneys,' said I, pulling out my note-book to give him the date. -'That hull, when she was made a raft of by the loss of her masts, was -abandoned by the crew in latitude 58° 45´ south, longitude 45° 10´ -west. Three people were left in her--one of them a young lady, dearer -to me than my heart's blood. The "Lady Emma" is as surely the hull -that was seen by the Yankee as that you who hear me are alive.' - -'You think to find the people still locked up in her?' said he, -blinking and snapping his lips with many convulsive grimaces. - -'I mean to find that out. Is your brig for hire?' - -'Ay.' - -'When will she be ready?' - -'I hope to have the remaining cargo out of her by Monday next; she's -then at your service.' - -'Have you a crew?' - -'I'll get a good 'un when you're ready, sir.' - -'What's the tonnage of the vessel?' - -'One hundred and seventy register.' - -'What'll be the cost?' - -'Thirty shillings per ton a month, we finding everything, or fifteen -shillings per ton a month and you finding everything.' - -I put down the figures, and said, 'How long is it going to take the -brig to arrive off the island?' - -He talked a little to himself, blinking and grimacing absurdly, and -replied, 'Call it a month.' - -'I should like to see the brig, Captain Cliffe.' - -'At once, if you will, sir.' - -I sent for a cab and we drove to the waterside. He talked freely when -he was out of the house and driving. I found something very honest and -diverting in this little man's looks and manner of speech. He had an -amazingly brisk and nimble mind, I thought; I got at that in a very -little while. He went behind my questions, fetched a number of new -possibilities for hope to feed on out of the scheme of the search, and -heartened me vastly by his clear view and statement of my wishes and -plans--that is, he said that the hull sighted by the whaler was beyond -all question the wreck of the 'Lady Emma'; everything tallied--colour -of sides, situation, time, down to the very stump of foremast. Then, -since three were abandoned in her, why shouldn't they still be aboard? -Of course it was my duty, he said, to sail right away. Who wouldn't, to -deliver his young lady out of such a scene of horror? But humanity was -in it too. The hull was to be searched for and overhauled, and I was -quite right in reckoning that if I left that job to the British Admiral -the hulk would have disappeared, or the people inside have perished -into statues of ice, before the official mind had settled what to do. - -'Not unlikely,' said he as we drove along, 'the parties have been taken -out; sealers and whalers are constantly moving about those waters; but -we aren't to think of that. If they're gone, so much the better, for -then they're safe elsewhere; but it's your business to consider that -they're still there and to fetch 'em.' - -Thus we talked, and as we rowed to the brig we continued to chat, he -entering very fully into the cost and character of the equipment we -should require, the time we should occupy, supposing them alive in -the hull, whether we returned with them to the Cape or headed for the -nearest South American port. - -My spirits rose under the influence of this man's conversation. His -practical mind put everything so clearly that in imagination, even -whilst we made for the brig, I had realised my hopes--I had rescued -Marie and her companions--we were proceeding home! - -The brig did not show so milk-white when close to as from the beach; -rusty blood-like stains lay dried in scars under the bolt heads -and other metal projections, but her figure gained in beauty when -approached. I am no sailor, but when I ran my eye over her moulded -shape, observed her keen entry, the swan-like curve of her run lifting -to an elliptical stern, with a swell of white side that made me think -of a polished heave of sea, I would have wagered there were few swifter -vessels of her rig and tonnage then afloat. A lighter or something of -that sort was alongside receiving cargo; a man in a cloth cap and half -Wellington boots was perched on the rail close to where the cargo was -going over the side; he made notes with a pencil in a little book; -three or four coloured men were winding at a winch. I had caught, -whilst in the boat, the clinking noise of the pawls slipping over the -sheet-calm water in a sort of music that wanted but the accompaniment -of a hurricane lung or two to furnish out a fine ocean concert. The man -on the rail touched his cap when we gained the deck. - -'That's my mate, Mr. Bland,' said Captain Cliffe. 'He's a good seaman. -I can recommend him.' - -I sent a glance of curiosity at the sailor, guessing if I hired this -brig he would go with us; he had the face of a sheep, dark eyes set far -back close against his ears, a thick black beard, and a weather-tanned -skin, filled with the holes of small-pox. An ugly man indeed! Yet -you saw honesty and intelligence like a light of good humour in the -expression of him. - -Captain Cliffe took me round the decks of the little craft first of -all. I had no eye for points of marine equipment, yet noticed a smart -little galley with red tiles on the floor, a seat athwartships, and a -small array of saucepans, kettles, and the like, all very clean. The -windlass looked small, so roomy was the forecastle. The captain then -took me aft to the companion, which was painted green, trotting by my -side, of the height of a boy, from time to time looking up into my face -to observe if I was pleased. - -I halted in the companion and asked how many boats he carried; he -answered two, and pointed to a long-boat stowed near the galley, -this side of it, and then to the water astern, where a small boat was -floating. - -'We ought,' said I, 'to go well provided with boats of an exact form -and strength for passing through the breach of the sea. The waves -break heavily under the hull, the whaling captain said, and we must be -prepared for a high surf the whole length of the coast.' - -'You're quite right, sir,' said the little man. 'But if we come to -terms you've only got to commission me, and whatever's needful I'll -see to. For instance, there's a height of ice cliff, and grappling -irons 'll be wanted. And we should carry a few lengths of rope ladder. -It isn't as though we had to find her. We _know_ she's high and dry. -Make the worst of it and call it fifty feet above the wash. That's -sure unless the ice had shifted her. And we've got to be provided with -machinery for entering.' - -Thus speaking he descended and I followed. - -The companion steps were almost up and down; on the right, at the -bottom of the ladder, was a sleeping berth, a sort of cupboard with -a sliding door like a smacksman's bedroom; on the left was the main -cabin, a larger interior than I expected to see. It was well lighted -by a frame of windows overhead and round scuttles in the walls, and -furnished with a table, locker seats, and a few camp stools. Forward -was a brightly polished brass fireplace. Three small berths were -bulkheaded off this living room, one of which the captain told me was -a sail and boatswain's locker, and the other a bread and store locker; -'but we can clear 'em out,' said he, 'when they come to be wanted.' - -I was satisfied, and then and there resolved to hire this brig and sail -quickly for that far-off ice-clad island. I sat down on one of the -lockers and asked the captain to take pen and paper, and we talked -about what would be required, making notes, and reckoning up the -expenses till I bethought me of my engagement with Mr. Hoskins. And -with reluctance and a hearty handshake took my leave. - -I was rowed ashore, and on the way to the boarding-house called at -the bank whose manager had been my father's clerk. He was astonished -and delighted to see me; he had known me, indeed, ever since I was an -Eton schoolboy. I had no time on this occasion to enter fully into the -cause of my being at the Cape; my immediate purpose was served when he -assured me that I was welcome to draw upon the bank to the amount I -wanted. - -At five o'clock Mr. Hoskins drove up to the boarding-house, and we at -once started for the cemetery. He was alone in a closed carriage, and -was dressed in mourning as deep as man's apparel will express grief. -I, too, had been careful to clothe myself in black. I had not seen -Mr. Hoskins since the arrival of the 'Cambrian,' and his voice and -presence carried me on board again, renewed the quiet incidents of -the passage, and returned me in imagination to Southampton on that -memorable day of my departure. He was pale and melancholy, and his -spirits seemed depressed with thought of the distressing ceremony we -were bent upon. - -'I am sorry now,' said he as he drove along, 'that I solicited -permission to inspect the remains. The photographs were perfectly -convincing, and still I felt it--I feel it--my duty to make as sure -as opportunity admits. Captain Oilier will expect me to tell him all -that it was in my power to learn. Nor, perhaps, should I feel perfectly -satisfied to erect the monument I intend for my poor child without -looking into her coffin to see that it is she herself who will be under -it.' - -I answered that this melancholy undertaking was even less needful to me -than to him; but that, like himself, I saw the necessity of confirming -my own opinion by every possible testimony, for the peace of my own -heart as well as for the satisfaction of Miss Otway's father. - -We then talked of my chances of finding Marie in the hull upon the -island, and I told him how I had hired the brig 'Albatross' and -intended myself to sail in her as soon as she discharged her cargo -and was ready for sea, which I hoped would be about the close of the -following week. - -I saw little of the scenery we were driven by; we passed a number of -gigantic aloes on the roadside; the hard-blue mountains, towering into -the heavens with keenly cut skylines, with great spaces of their sides -lustrous with the trembling and delicate foliage of the silver tree, -wound with us as we wound, or shadowed us as we drove; they were an -eternal presence, like the cloudless blue over them. - -Whilst Mr. Hoskins was telling me how he contrived to obtain an order -for the exhumation of the remains, we arrived at the cemetery where we -alighted, and my companion conducted me to the grave whose situation -he was exactly acquainted with. A number of persons were beside the -grave, two were sextons armed with mattocks, or spades, the others were -strangers and remained so to me; but one, I believe, was a medical man, -and another a government official. They raised their hats to us, and -after the exchange of a few commonplace greetings, decorously attuned, -the diggers went to work. - -The body had lain in this grave since August--four months. The heat -thrilled in a sort of surging wave that closed upon the respiration -with a sense of suffocation whilst we stood watching the diggers. I -shuddered at the idea of looking. I had come to Cape Town conceiving -that this body was Marie's, I now knew it was not hers; nevertheless, -I guessed that the aspect of the dead face, at rest and out of sight -under the cleaving spades, must become a memory that would be -inseparably associated with Marie's image, whether I was to behold her -again or not, and my spirits shrunk as I stood watching. - -The soil was red, and the diggers turned it cheerily. Mr. Hoskins -talked in a low tone apart with one of the strangers; that man was -probably an undertaker or connected with the firm of buriers. Many rich -strange flowers and plants glowed like jewels or glanced like snow upon -or about the graves round about; it was a big tract of ground, all the -sculptures, and monuments of several sorts showing at a distance sharp -as carvings in ivory through the hot rare blue atmosphere. - -The group of us were the only living occupants of that field of -sleepers. Doubtless the order had gone forth for all to be excluded -till the coffin had been reburied. They came to it at last; it was -raised with some trouble, a plain black box, and placed upon the edge -of the grave, and without an instant's loss of time the person with -whom Mr. Hoskins had been conversing, unscrewed the lid--and we looked. - -I had expected to behold something that was to shock the sight, and -create a memory of pain and disgust; instead, there lay before us, -her head pillowed, her arms peacefully crossed, the form of a young -woman whose face, through chymic changes explicable only by the pen -of science, had filled and freshened in complexion to an aspect -easily supportable by the most nervous or sensitive eye. The flesh -was discoloured; in the pictures it had shown as an ulcerous ghastly -white; but here, in this coffin, the face was far more defined and -distinguishable in lineament, I may even add in expression, than in the -photographs. I could almost understand my Dutch friend's reference to a -shadow of beauty lurking in this dead mask of countenance. The hair was -very fair, and beautifully abundant, but it was not the hair of Marie, -the hands were not Marie's. Now that I looked upon her I observed that -she resembled Marie to a less degree even than the pictures expressed -the likeness. I shook my head and drew back a pace, covering my face, -the sight was pitiful--I could not bear to look beyond a moment or two. -I thought of that form in the loneliness of the ocean off the Horn, -and then again I was agitated by a violent reaction in my spirits; for -though I had been certain it would not prove Marie, yet I knew not -what I was to behold either, what tragic, heart-subduing surprise that -coffin might have in store for me, and I shrunk back, shaking my head -and hiding my face. - -Mr. Hoskins viewed the remains in silence, then sobbed, and I looked -at him. Our eyes met across the coffin, and exclaiming, 'It is my -daughter, Mr. Moore! It is Charlotte; the wife of Captain Henry -Ollier,' he sank upon his knees and folded his hands in prayer beside -his child. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -AT SEA AGAIN - - -I had arrived at Cape Town on December 13, and on the 26th of the same -month the colonial brig 'Albatross' lay in Table Bay, waiting for me to -go aboard in order to sail. This was surely what the shipowners would -call 'prompt despatch'! - -On the morning of the 26th I said good-bye to my friends in the -boarding-house and drove to one of the jetties where Captain Cliffe -awaited me. I was accompanied by the colonel and Mr. Pollak. A -considerable crowd had assembled to see me embark; the story had leaked -out; it was in the papers that I had come to the Cape to identify the -body brought from sea by the 'Emerald,' and that, being satisfied it -was not that of the girl I was in search of, I was going to the New -Orkneys in the hope of finding her locked up in a wreck described as -corresponding in every material detail with the hull of the 'Lady Emma.' - -It was an extraordinary romance; Mr. Pollak had assured me that -all Cape Town was talking about it. For the first time in my life -I was made to understand the inconvenience and discomfort of -publicity. A number of ladies were in the crowd, and they thrust most -unceremoniously forward to catch sight of me. When I got into the boat -the crowd good-naturedly cheered; I did not feel easy till the oars -were dipping and the boat under way, for the crowd was bringing others, -and as we rowed from the jetty I saw some men and women running towards -the water. - -Mr. Pollak and the colonel went on board with me. It was a rich glowing -day, a number of white steam-like clouds were circling above Cape -Town, but low over the water, brushing it into a wide sheet of rippling -blue splendour, a hot fresh breeze was blowing; it swept straight down -the Bay, with a brassy light in the air that made you think of the wind -as coloured by the yellow glares of the sandy land it had travelled -across. - -Mr. Pollak had on several occasions visited the brig; the colonel -had not before viewed her close; he was greatly pleased and hummed a -tune approvingly as he accompanied me about the decks. One detail of -furniture, his own suggestion, he lingered over; it was a bright brass -cannon mounted on the quarter-deck. - -'He'll do for you!' he exclaimed, slapping the breech of the piece. -'That should fetch an echo loud enough to awaken the dead.' - -A little further aft stood a mortar, with its round mouth gaping at the -sky. - -'What's that for?' asked the colonel. 'Isn't the gun noisy enough to -alarm 'em if they're aboard?' - -'It is my idea,' said Mr. Pollak. 'Suppose it should be impossible to -scale the slope and reach the ship; _here_ is an engine that will throw -you a ball and line which anyone on board may catch and pull ladders up -by.' - -'Good!' exclaimed the colonel. - -We then examined the two fresh boats which Captain Cliffe had -purchased on my behalf; they were large, strong, handsome whale-boats, -strengthened by iron beams or girders under the thwarts; and made -lifeboats of by a quantity of cork fenders carefully laced or otherwise -seamed along the sides. - -'These,' said I, 'together with rope ladders hooked for scaling, and -grappling irons, form my machinery.' - -'It is all you will need,' said Mr. Pollak, 'and I am sure everyone -must pray that God will bless and prosper your noble voyage.' - -I took the worthy Dutchman's hand and thanked him with a silent grip. - -At that moment the windlass began to clank; immediately a hoarse voice -bawled out a song whose burthen was caught and flung in thunder into -the air by the seven or eight hearts who bowed and rose at the windlass -handles. - -'Come, Mr. Pollak; come, colonel,' I exclaimed; 'there's time for a -bumper.' - -I called to the captain to send aft the lad who was to wait upon us in -the cabin, and descended with my friends. A magnum of champagne was -opened, and we filled and drank to the voyage. I obliged Captain Cliffe -to come down and drink. He cried through the skylight that he durst not -leave the deck for above three minutes; I told him to come, and the two -gentlemen toasted the little man, who delivered, with several grimaces, -a brief sailorly speech, full of hope, then rushed on deck. - -I bade Mr. Pollak good-bye with a full heart. The colonel followed him -into the boat, which put off, and then hung by on her oars to watch us. -At this time the anchor was off the ground, and the crew were making -sail on the brig, whose bowsprit, with a white pinion of jib swelling -from it, was rounding, finger-like, in a slow, pointing way for the -open; the sheep-faced mate stood on the forecastle shouting orders; -a sailor was at the wheel; Captain Cliffe crossed the deck from left -to right, looking up and around, moving swiftly, a doll of a man, -grimacing and blinking at every pause in his nimble trot. - -Some of the ships round about had got our tale, I fancy, or at least -the scent of our errand; since from most of them we were watched by -many heads above the rail. Presently the brig's stern was to the wind, -her topsails filled, the lighter sails glanced wing-shaped to the -yard-arms to the drag of the gear; I waved my hat from the quarter -to my two friends, and they flourished a last farewell. My voyage, -strange as any that had ever been undertaken in this world, was begun! - -We were the only ship at that time leaving the Bay, and I think our -lonely going must have given a certain majesty and nobleness to the -figure of the vessel in the eyes of those who watched us, with the -significance of her dangerous, surprising, romantic mission going along -with her. I don't know what my own sensations were: I was sensible -perhaps of a little triumph of spirits at this getting away so quickly, -and then there was the feeling that I was in action, that no time was -being lost; and yet there was a heaviness at my heart too, the chill of -doubt, a frosty dread that the errand would prove profitless, and that -if God suffered me to return home it must be as a mourner for Marie. - -But we were sailing through a wide, shining scene of commanding beauty, -lofty and gloriously coloured, and the influence of it, I don't doubt, -rescued me from the dark mood imagination might have raised. The breeze -blew hot, but the sweetness of flowers and fruit was in it, and the -scent of the land was brisk with the salt of the sea. In a very little -while the seamen had clothed the brig from the main-royal yard to the -waterways, and as she floated onwards, _now_ slightly curtseying to a -small breathing of swell, the mountains went with her, and the ships -astern closed into clusters past the tail of our mirror-bright line of -wake. The mountains towered on our left; Cape Town vanished, and we -softly drove with a noise of fountains on either hand past rich curves -of shore on whose margin the huge Atlantic comber formed and fell in -snowstorms with white houses beyond the foam like models in ivory -shining amid the greenery. - -And all the time we were alone! _This_ was the wonderful feature of our -departure. I could not see the smallest boat in motion. The water was -like a great lonely lake, and the silence on the face of the mountains -was in the wind, in a presence that seemed to _compel_ isolation for -us, hushing all life off the face of the bay down to where the ships -were lying too far off to trouble the sense of solitude. - -The crew were now occupied in coiling away the rigging and clearing up -the decks, and I had an opportunity of viewing them. All were white -men; there were eight, together with a cook and a boy to wait upon -us aft, making with captain and mate twelve of a company, which was -plenty. Cliffe had told me he would not ship a certificated second -mate; the man who went as boatswain would relieve the mate and stand -a watch. That man was a wiry, middle-aged seaman; he wore a spread of -grey whisker scissors-trimmed, close to his face, and dark eager eyes -which he rolled quickly as a monkey; he sang out briskly, and sprang -about the decks. Little Captain Cliffe, observing that I watched the -man, came and stood beside me and spoke up softly to my ear: - -'I engaged that chap because of his knowledge of the ice. He told me he -was seven years whaling in the Pacific and Southern oceans. He is the -most wonderful jumper I ever heard of.' - -'So old as he is?' - -'Forty-five or thereabouts. Men of that sort soon lose the reckoning of -their birth. I don't allow their mothers ever enter 'em. They're always -the age that suits 'em to be. But look what a life it is, sir! the iron -it will put into a young 'un's hair! the kinks it'll run into a young -'un's back! All the hard life and the bad food works out through a -man's pores after a few years, bows him down, and hardens in his face -with a crust of years. He's a marvellous jumper that, sir. Tell ye what -he did--and it astonished me--there was a horse and trap standing -close beside where we were talking. He turns on a sudden and sings out, -"Captain, did yer ever see this done?" and putting his feet together -and clenching his fists he bent his knees, let go of the ground like -and shot as a bolt, clearing the horse till you could see half the -length of his own legs of blue sky 'twixt his feet and the animal's -back.' - -He gazed up at me, blinking and grinning, and added, 'I allow, should -it come to any awkward climbing jobs, we'll find that covey handy.' - -I lingered a little to watch the brig and the coast. The swell was -coming straight out of the wide sea, but the breeze still followed -fiery and splendid with the light of that land; the little ship bowed -softly; the long heave under the bows did not stop her; she floated -with erect spars, her yards square, the canvas breathing like human -breasts as her bowsprit rose and fell; yet a glance astern showed me -she was already whitening the water. - -At every look, the high land, purple and hard in that noontide -brilliance, yielded new features. It was towering now on to Hont Bay, -with a trend which made a mighty shoulder of it as it sounded towards -Simon's Town and the Cape of Good Hope: the towering terraces were on -our port quarter with Robben Island to starboard, and ahead was the -glittering breast of the Atlantic with the sea-line hard-carved against -the faint silvery blue. I looked for a sail, but nothing broke that -measureless run of horizon; the junction of air and water had a wild -loveliness, indescribable, thanks perhaps to the violet of the brine -that washed the light azure; though the fear and mystery of beauty I -found in it then doubtless came of the thought of what lay hidden from -me hundreds of leagues deep beyond that slope of airy silver. Had we -been a ship of ancient explorers the field of ocean could not have -shown more barren than my eyes, exploring its recesses under the sharp -of my hand, found it. - -Some seamen came aft to spread an awning. They eyed me askew; of course -they knew the brig's mission, and perhaps thought me a little mad; -but it would be all one to them; there is worse to be suffered at sea -than a cruise off the Horn in the midsummer of this side on such wages -as they had signed for, in a tight well-built brig. In fact, they -rolled about their work with a sort of rollicking carriage that made -one reckon they had entered upon the voyage with jolly hearts as on a -yachting jaunt, secure from all danger and dirt of cargo; only it was -as likely they'd come on board a little merry with Jack's custom of -farewell. - -I now went below to see to my berth and arrange my traps; but came to a -halt at the cabin table, to lean upon it and think. This interior was -wholly unlike the 'Lady Emma's'; yet the skylight, the lockers, and -several trifling details of cabin furniture brought to my recollection -that day in the Thames when I had said good-bye to Marie in her cabin, -alone. What had been her sufferings since? If she was in the hull she -had been imprisoned at this date for five months, and by the time we -got to her six! For six months she would have been locked up in a -motionless hulk, high perched upon a savage island, heavily faced with -ice, with a thunder of surf far down for ever in her ear, and always -the same white, desolate, fierce prospect of frozen cliffs and rolling -ocean. Would it not have killed her? I clasped my hands in the torment -of the thought. Should I be making this voyage to a remote ice-girt -island merely to enter the wreck and behold the remains of my Marie as -I had looked into that coffin in Cape Town beholding another? - -I passed into my own berth, a small but comfortable box, and after -busying myself for half an hour, during which I had recalled my mind -to something of its former composure, I re-entered the cabin and found -the table laid for dinner. The little sea parlour looked cheerful with -this hospitable setting. The heel of a windsail buzzed in the skylight. -There had happened a little shift of wind whilst I was below, for the -brig leaned over and I heard a smart hissing--the seething of foam -sliding past; it was as cooling a noise as the sound of a hard shower -of rain on a dusty August day at home. - -I stepped on deck to take a look; the land was melting into a vast roll -of shadow astern and on the port quarter, filming down to the Cape end; -the breeze hung steady, only it came fresher, more fiery and sparkling -out here in the wide ocean, we had changed our course by two or three -points, bringing it somewhat abaft the beam; I saw no cloud, nothing -but a glad race of flashing bright blue seas ridging from an horizon -that rose into a dome of untarnished blue in the midst of which was -the sun, making a dazzling plain of a great surface of water in the -north. - -Captain Cliffe came to the compass-stand whilst I stood looking at the -card; I felt his little blinking eyes were upon me when my sight went -to the hollow canvas, and to the sea-smoke that from time to time blew -away in little puffs from off the lee bow when the brig stooped with a -sheering plunge shouldering a knoll of the blue brine into a long roar -of foam. - -'This is good sailing,' said I. - -'It beats steam anyhow,' said he, turning to look at the race of wake -astern. - -'What's the speed?' - -'Nine,' he answered with a convulsive grimace of triumph, 'and I -understand they never could get more than seven out of the steamer you -came out in.' - -The mate walked in the gangway; I saw but one man forward. The captain -told me the crew were at dinner. But whilst I stood first one man and -then another came up through a little hole in the fore part of the -brig, and in a few minutes half a dozen of them were sprawling and -lounging in the shadows the canvas made upon the forecastle, smoking, -but scarcely speaking for heat and loathing of movement. - -I could not forbear a smile when I reflected that to all intents -and purposes I was veritably the owner of this white brig sweeping -south-west, and the master of those people yonder. What would my -prosaic friends of the City think of such an adventure as this I was -upon? But put Marie by my side, or bid me know for a God's-truth that -she was safe, and I'd have sworn there was nothing in this wide world -of delights comparable with such sailing as this. Sickness had been -cured by the 'Cambrian.' The heave of the deck, the slant of the hull, -the feel of the speeding of the fabric of white cloud through the -sun-bright gushing of wind were as a buoyancy of spirits; you did not -heed them, yet they worked like wine in the blood. I wanted but peace -at my heart, the tranquility of conviction, to have tasted a perfect -happiness in this glorious Cape noon of flashing ocean, of rushing brig -and wind filled with the music of the strands. - -My reverie was disturbed--for Cliffe stood silent by my side--by the -sight of the boy coming along with the cabin dinner, and presently the -captain and I were seated at table. - -This was my first meal aboard, and I often laugh silently when memory -returns me the image of my little skipper sitting behind a roast fowl, -blinking and stretching his lips at it, then rising and lurching over -it, being too short to carve it sitting. He saw amusement in my face, -for on beginning to eat he said he often lamented that he had come -in at the tail end of his family when nearly all the height had been -served out. He was the last born, and arrived when not very many -inches were left. He had a brother six foot high, and his mother was -a big woman. He told me that he once dined with a company of people -when the Queen's health was proposed and everyone stood. His neighbour -requested him to stand up as the Queen's health was being drunk. He -answered he _was_ up. These were the sort of mortifications, he said, -to which little men were subjected. - -After a bit, talking always as I now did on the subject of the 'Lady -Emma' and our chances of finding Miss Otway alive in the wreck, I asked -if the boatswain of the brig--that jumping seaman who had been whaling -seven years--had ever sighted the New Orkneys? - -'I didn't think of asking,' he answered, 'but I'll soon find out, sir.' - -'Would you object to his coming here?' - -'This is your ship, Mr. Moore.' - -'I'd like to ask him some questions.' - -He at once told the boy who waited on us to send Bodkin aft. In a -few minutes the man came; by this time we had dined, but the captain -lingered to hear what this boatswain had to say before he went on deck -to send the mate to his dinner. - -'I've been telling this gentleman,' said the captain, leaning his -little figure against a stanchion and discharging a whole broadside of -grimaces at Bodkin, who stood staring at us and around him, astonished -at the summons, 'that you've been a-whaling seven years in the Pacific -and Southern Ocean.' - -Here Bodkin lifted his hand to his forehead in the seaman's salute to -me. - -'Know anything of the New Orkneys?' said the captain with nervous -abruptness like the briskness of a bird. - -'Well, sir, bin off 'em again and again.' - -'Sit down,' said I. 'Boy, give Mr. Bodkin a glass of sherry.' - -Bodkin put down his cap and sat; he had evidently been called from -some heavy work, and his face and hairy arms bare to the elbows, and -his well-baked throat naked to the iron-grey hairs upon his chest, -shone with sweat. He took the glass and tipped down the wine. - -I then said, 'Do you know that we're sailing to the New Orkneys?' - -'Oh, yes. I signed for that run.' - -'Is our errand known to you?' - -'It's to search for a wreck, ain't it, sir?' - -'A wreck with live people in it,' said Captain Cliffe. 'I made that -clear, didn't I?' - -'Then I hope we shan't find 'em,' said Bodkin. - -'What!' shouted Cliffe with a hideous face. - -'For their own sakes. Who'd lock a dog up there?' said the man, running -the length of his wet bare arm along his streaming forehead ''Tain't -imagined here, with the pitch 'twixt the seams like suet, and the -paint-work blistering into scabs. I've been off the larger of them -islands five times. Yer wouldn't know 'em from icebergs, 'cept for here -and there a piece of naked black rock showing where ice hadn't formed -or snow couldn't keep a hold of.' - -'Could a boat land?' I exclaimed, scarcely bearing to hear him when he -talked like that. - -'Why yes, sir. This time of the year--watching a smooth--'tain't always -what they calls weather down there; but it's b---- cold.' - -'Were ye ever ashore on them islands?' inquired the captain. - -'No, sir.' - -'Did your ship send a boat ashore?' I asked. - -'The last time I was off them rocks a boat was sent and she came back -again; they was nearly capsized, and that was all they did.' - -'Describe the land,' said I. - -His recollection, however, was not very clear. He talked of tall -ice cliffs and of a huge dim mountain far inland; and of peaks and -projections showing and disappearing amidst storms of snow. - -'Is there much ice about the island?' said I. - -'Plenty,' he answered. 'The biggest berg I ever see in all my life was -close in with that land, third time I wur off it.' - -'Suppose the hull of a ship was on a ledge of ice, thirty or forty -feet above the wash of the sea; she was lying plain in sight of the -ocean'--I named the date on which the skipper of the whaler 'Sea Queen' -had passed her--'would you expect to find her still exposed, lying in -full view?' - -He looked at me with a working mind, his words being too few to help -him quickly; then said, turning his eyes upon the captain: - -'All things considered, I allow it's more'n likely she'd be smothered -up.' - -'What's to smother her?' cried Captain Cliffe. - -'The congregating of bergs,' answered the other. - -'Is that all ye know of ice?' exclaimed the little man. 'Haven't you -heard that ice fetches away from the main and works north this time o' -year?' - -'I'm asked a question,' said the man with a note of sullenness in his -voice, 'and I'm expected, I suppose, for to speak the truth, being sent -for. All I know is there's nothen so shifting as ice, and therefore -nothen so smothering.' - -'But the hull's ashore on an island,' I exclaimed. - -'That's not going to stop the ice from a-blocking of her out,' he -answered. - -'I'm afraid you won't get much encouragement out of this man,' said -Captain Cliffe, turning and grimacing at me. - -'Yer see, sir,' said Bodkin, directing a languishing look at the -decanter of sherry in the hands of the boy as he went to the pantry, -''tain't only the chance of that there hull being hobscurified by the -congregating of ice right in front of her; she lies under slifts which -are constantly a-going to pieces and tumbling down in thundering lumps.' - -'Then,' said I, 'I take it, Mr. Bodkin, that you, who have had plenty -of experience of the ice down south, give me little reason to hope that -we shall find the wreck whole or the people abandoned in her alive?' - -He rolled his monkey eyes briskly at this, fretting first one cropped -grey whisker and then the other with the palm of his hand. - -'I allow,' he answered after a silence, during which little Captain -Cliffe viewed him as sternly as his nervous distorting affection -permitted, 'that your chance is as good as any chance at sea hever can -be. But I don't mind saying,' he added, standing up, catching hold of -his cap and revolving it, 'that our number is agin your luck.' - -'What's that?' exclaimed the captain. - -'Let the gent count us. There's thirteen souls.' - -'Go forward,' said the captain, 'and get on with your work.' - -The man, with a civil flourish of his hand to his brow, left the cabin. - -'There's no fool like Jack fool,' said Captain Cliffe. - -I confess, however, that when I reckoned up to myself the number -of people on board and made No. 13, I felt a little uneasy. I said -nothing to the captain, but the thing weighed upon me. It was perfectly -natural that at such a time I should be superstitious; certainly a -good omen would have heartened me: why, then, should not so unlucky a -circumstance as that of thirteen forming the number of us in the brig -prove depressing? I was so weak in this way that I had serious thoughts -of ordering Cliffe to tranship one of the men at the first chance that -offered. Also, the boatswain Bodkin's description of the island, his -talk of the cliffs, of ice-splitting and thundering down in blocks, -worried me by exciting new apprehensions. I was sorry I had sent for -the man. I had come from the deck to my dinner in tolerably good -spirits, and when I returned on deck I felt as melancholy as ever I had -been in my gloomiest hour aboard the 'Cambrian.' - -The mood lasted for the remainder of the day, so that, spite of -the noble sailing breeze, this, my first start in search of Marie, -seemed as inauspicious as though the scheme had failed in the first -breath of it. But after a long chat with Cliffe in the evening I grew -cheerfuller. The sun was sinking in splendour: the dark blue sea ran in -frothing lines; the brig was sailing swiftly, heeling down and smoking -onwards as though, like something living, she blew the breath of life -in steam from the nostrils of her hawsepipes as she fled. Every hour of -such progress shortened the term of expectation; all might yet be well; -I could not but reflect that, until the worst was known, the best might -most rationally be hoped for. I had come to Cape Town thinking to find -my sweetheart dead; it was not she that lay there. Though we should -board the wreck and find nobody in her, still I should have a right to -believe that the three had been rescued, and perhaps at that very time -were at home in safety. - -Thus I reasoned with myself after my talk with Cliffe in the evening -and was somewhat easier at heart, which indeed in this whistling -evening, merry with progress, spacious with the splendour of the -setting sun, and the distance of the eastern seaboard faintly flushed, -might have been at rest but for the gloom of the silly superstition of -thirteen! - -About this time, a little before it fell dark, whilst looking towards -the forecastle where most of the crew were smoking and talking, I saw a -man come out of the hatch, hugging something to his breast. The sailors -jumped up and pressed around him. Hands were outstretched to what the -fellow held, and I heard some laughter. Cliffe was below. The mate -Bland was walking near me abreast of the skylight. He bawled out: - -'What have you there, my lads?' - -On which the boatswain Bodkin, snatching the object from the hold of -the man, held it high, shouting: - -'Here's good luck to the brig "Albatross;" and now there's fourteen all -told.' - -I started, and saw it was a cat he held. It was black as coal. - -'Bring it here,' I cried. - -He came, the others grinning as they stood in a huddle looking aft. It -was a young cat, and it mewed as the man approached with it. Cliffe -came on deck at that moment. - -'Where was it found?' I asked, stroking the thing as it lay mewing in -Bodkin's hands. - -'In one of the men's hammocks, sir.' - -'It's a cat!' exclaimed Cliffe with a grimace. 'Who brought it aboard?' - -'No man owns to it,' responded Bodkin. - -'But who would bring it aboard if it wasn't its own legs, Mr. Moore?' -said Cliffe, turning to me. 'D'ye know I'd ask for no better stroke of -luck in all my seafaring days than this same beast's presence,' and he -advanced his little hand and tickled the cat's head. - -'There's fourteen of us now, sir,' said Bodkin, with a darting roll of -his eyes. - -'Fourteen and a stroke of luck besides, eh?' said I with a foolish -laugh of good spirits spite of myself. - -'Go and give it something to eat and see that it don't jump -overboard,' said Captain Cliffe; and whilst the boatswain walked -forward handling the cat tenderly enough and talking to it, the little -skipper with a snap of his eyes and a voice of conviction exclaimed: -'That cat's squared the yards, Mr. Moore. We shall find the wreck, sir, -and do your business.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE ICE - - -On the morning of January 29, 1861, Captain Cliffe at dinner told me -that our position by dead reckoning--he had not been able to obtain an -observation for two days--was latitude 58° 30´ S., longitude 45° W. I -pulled out my note-book on hearing this and started violently. - -'Good God, Cliffe!' cried I, 'do you know that we are within a mile or -two of the place where the "Lady Emma" was abandoned by her crew?' - -'Is that so?' said the little man after a pause, closing his knife and -fork. 'But it's true all the same: I'll back my runs for the last two -days, log-reckoned as they are, right, longitude and latitude, within -ten mile.' - -It was bitterly cold, and when I had come below so dense a fog overhung -the sea that the main-yard was out of sight from the wheel. The brig -was lying hove to under small canvas, a large smooth Cape Horn swell -was running out of the sallow thickness, and the little vessel was -rolling horribly, falling into the hollows and swinging to the summits, -now on her beam ends, now on a level keel, now with a dip forward that -seemed to make her all stern, now with a drop aft that shook the cabin -with a hollow roar, every motion being so abrupt, and exaggerated, that -it was almost impossible to walk, to stand, even to eat, the plate -flying from your hand, whilst the boy waited with a broken head through -a fall down the companion ladder. - -We had passed several icebergs on the previous day, during a very thick -morning and afternoon, when the sky had been dark with driving cloud, -and the strong wind white with snow, and throughout the night a sharp -look-out had been kept for ice; but since daybreak it had been as dense -as it was now with an awful silence all round: nothing had once broken -the amazing, oppressive stillness upon that sea, sallow as the fog, -labouring in volumes of brine soundlessly, saving a strange, fierce -noise of blowing heard close upon the bow, though nothing was to be -seen there. Cliffe said it was a whale, and I might have guessed that -by the sight of the boatswain Bodkin springing with an amazing jump -into the fore-shrouds, and leaning away from the ratline he grasped -with pricked ears, staring as out of love for his old sport into the -choking wool the breathless air was filled with. - -I was as anxious and restless on account of the ice as any man aboard, -though I was no sailor: Cliffe had said it didn't follow, though a -hurricane blew, that the smother would clear. I knew that ice must be -about: for still we had headed south after passing many bergs, and if -wind came and gave us a drift without clearing the ocean for us, we -might be foul of an ice mountain ere the mass of it was fairly shaped -to the sight within toss of a man's cap. - -But I forgot our situation for awhile when Cliffe told me where we were -and I looked into my note-book. Deep love, deep grief, consecrated to -my heart this scene and place of silent hills of water. Here the 'Lady -Emma' had been abandoned; here, if the horizon had been visible, then, -within the compass of it Marie had been left with her two companions in -a dismasted hull amid such floating ice as during the past few days I -had gazed at with fear and amazement: from this point the three in that -mere raft of ship had drifted--the vessel on to the ice of Coronation -Island; that, undoubtedly, she had been seen, described, reported, -but her inmates--had they been taken out of her? Or were they frozen -corpses in her? Or were they living, within reach of a day or two's -sail from the place of ocean Cliffe had found us in that day? - -A fire glowed in the little brass grate. The cabin was snug and warm -enough with the companion doors closed; but I speedily grew restless -after Cliffe had gone on deck. I asked the mate when he came down to -dinner how the weather looked. - -'Thick as muck, sir.' - -'Any signs of wind, Bland?' - -'None. But there's no trusting the next minute.' - -'Any ice near us, think you?' - -'The boatswain's been a snuffling and says he can hear the noise of the -beating of water. Nary man else do, though. Them whalemen are so clever -they can thread needles with their toes. They can smell grease in a -field of grass.' - -Here he began to munch, and I let him eat. - -I put on a thick coat and went on deck. The brig's arrest on the -smoke-thickened water, when one thought that if it would but clear and -the sun flood the south with the sparkling splendour of the South Afric -parallels from the mastheads of the brig the loom of the huge dim hill -past the cliff where the hull was lying might be seen--this, I say, was -maddening. I never could have imagined so dense a fog out of London. It -was thick as soup, of a sort of dirty yellow, as though charged with -the soot of a city of factories. The dripping wet of it froze as it -gathered, and our shrouds were swollen with the glazing, as much of the -brig as could be seen was beautiful and novel with fantasies of ice. -The topsail clapped in the blankness overhead like shells exploding -there: but you could not see it. That was the only noise saving an -occasional long sobbing wash of water when the brig heeled straining -from the yearning send of the swell. - -I held by a backstay, Cliffe standing beside me, and rolled my eyes -around the sallow blindness, till all of a moment I heard a very faint -moan like the noise of a sea running into a cave: it sounded afar, and -yet not far either, as though something stood between the cause of it -and us. - -Cliffe heard nothing, though he grimaced in the direction I indicated, -and dropped his head on his shoulder to hearken. - -About this time the mate came up from his dinner. I asked him to -listen, suspecting that the noise I had heard was the sound of sea upon -ice. After a pretty good spell of silence the three of us listening -with all our might, Bland said: - -'Sometimes if ice is near and can't be smelt or seen, it may be heard. -If you fire off this gun,' said he, putting his hand upon the brass -piece, 'and ice is by, it'll answer.' - -'Try it,' said I. - -He promptly went below and returned with the necessary ammunition; -where our powder was kept I never inquired. He and Cliffe loaded the -gun, the skipper snapping grimace after grimace with nervous excitement. - -'Are you all ready?' said I. - -Bland said 'Yes,' and then shouted to the men forward to stand by to -listen for an echo and note its bearings. The forms of the seamen -loomed in mere smudges in the fog as they lurched to the rolling -bulwarks to hearken. - -'Fire!' cried I. - -The piece blazed and thundered, lighting up the fog like a volcanic -upheaval with a wild crimson glare as though it was the night itself -the powder flashed against. But stunning as the roar was, it was not so -deafening but that I, for one, caught an echo stinging back through the -thickness on the starboard hand like a slap of tall becalmed topsail -against a mast. - -'Hear it?' shouted a voice forward. - -'We were answered yonder,' I cried, pointing. - -'Ship ahoy!' at that instant came in a hoarse but clear, thin, far -voice out of the blankness on the port bow. - -'Good God, we are hailed!' cried Cliffe. 'Bland, answer. Your lungs -have got more carrying power than mine.' - -'Hallo!' shouted Bland, going to the side in a spring, and sending his -voice in the direction of the hail in a deep, roaring, melancholy note. - -'What ship's that?' came back distinct but remote, so wonderful was the -hush, so burnished the swell. We made answer, and then roared Bland: - -'What ship's that?' - -'The "Helen MacGregor" of Hull, twenty months out. What's wrong with -you, that you're firing guns?' - -'All's right with us,' bawled Bland. 'Any ice about, d'ye know?' - -'Not used my eyes since daybreak,' echoed the far, thin, hoarse voice. - -It was strange to hear it, to look into the thickness and see nothing, -to know that a ship was there, and listen to a man talking on her! But -conversation all that way off was not to be kept up long. - -After remaining twenty minutes on deck I felt the cold so severely that -I returned to the cabin. After I had been below about half an hour the -brig heeled sharply on a slant of swell without recovery as before, -whence I guessed it had come on to blow suddenly. In fact, I might have -known it by the noise of feet overhead and the gushing and hissing of -water in motion, shouldered off in foam. I wrapped myself up and went -on deck and found the brig lying down close hauled under the canvas she -had been brought-to with early in the morning--a reefed maintopsail -and foresail; she was looking up for a tall, black, full-rigged ship -that was lying with her topsail to the mast on the weather bow as -though waiting for us. - -The scene of ocean was wonderfully grand at this hour: it was not -blowing hard, yet the wind out of the heads off the ridges it made, -and the swell was rolling now in furrows of foam. The fog was broken -up and sailing off in compact masses with the wide white-lived heave -of sea gleaming and glancing through the foundations of vapour, till -you looked to see the stuff rock as though afloat. Lanes and openings -stretched in all directions, and I did not know where to direct my eyes -first, so noble, wild, and startling was the picture of that tall black -ship showing in a wide, clear space, her canvas waving in squares of -light in the framing of the sallow smother, whilst on the starboard -quarter hung a stately incomparable spectacle of iceberg, a giant mass, -the height vaster to the imagination because the fog showed you bits -of it only--in one place marble white cliffs staring through a passage -of vapour, a little further on, a gray pinnacle piercing the stuff -which streamed off it like torn rag. And now I could hear, but faintly, -the noise of the sea breaking along its base. - -We had passed a good deal of ice during the week; but this was the -place where the 'Lady Emma' was abandoned; that white vapour-clothed -mountain took a significance none other had. I thought of it as ice -that had been seen by Marie's own eyes. It was as a revelation, too, -of the savage, forbidding, tremendous scene of desolation the brig was -bound to, with myself in her, dreaming, hoping, praying to Almighty God -I should find my sweetheart in the hull alive. - -Many large white and grey birds flew out of the vapour into the -openings; they glanced against the marble-like abrupt and vanished. In -the midst of a wide flaw right abeam to port, another tall berg was -floating. It, too, was a sight of terror and awful beauty, with a look -as of frozen foam about the brows of it where the fog was flying, the -vapour whitening out to the shadow of the ice as though moon-smitten, -whilst low down on the right arched a piece of marvellous architecture, -like a Titanic Gothic doorway, through which every swell of the sea -flashed, bursting into a terrible fury and dazzling brightness of foam. - -I looked on in silence, keeping the shelter of the companion, whilst -the brig under her little show of cloths broke her way to windward, -helped by the tall black ship whose drift was towards us. After some -waiting we were within hailing distance. She was just such another -whaler as the 'Sea Queen,' but bigger by a couple of hundred tons, worn -and weedy, rolling dark decks at us with a glimpse of a black-roofed -galley and smoking chimney. She was rich with ice device: fathoms of -thick crystal hung from her tops, catheads, bowsprit and quarters; a -dull light sank down her glass-like rigging as she swayed. A crowd -of men viewed us over her rail, and a man stood awaiting us beside -the mizzen rigging, an arm wrapping a backstay, and his figure like a -bear's with fur to his heels. - -'What southing are you from?' shouted Cliffe, who, dwarf as he was to -the sight, had something bugle-like in the clear, small penetrating -note of his throat's delivery. - -'Sixty-one, sighting Elephant Island. Nothing to the south'ard of it,' -shouted back the man in the bear-like coat. - -'Been off the South Orkneys?' cried Cliffe. - -'Just caught a sight of the north-west point of Coronation Island? -'Twas blowing hard, and the weather coming on thick,' answered the -other. - -The two vessels rolled at a distance apart not wider than a wide -street: each man's voice rang through the wind in distinct syllables -spite of the splashing and groaning sounds and the howling and -whistling aloft when the brig's spars sheared to windward on the slope -of the sea. When I heard the whaleman speak of Coronation Island, I -thought my heart had stopped. I wanted to speak, but could not. - -'How was the ice?' bawled Cliffe. - -'Plentiful to the south'ard and west'ard.' - -'How was the ice about the New Orkneys?' - -'More'n ye'll want if you're bound there,' was the answer. - -'D'ye know that land?' - -'Ay' was the answer that was accompanied by a significant ironical -flourish of the arm. - -'Where's a man's chance of getting ashore?' - -The whaleman seemed to address another, probably the mate, who stood a -little distance from him. - -'There's some landing-places on the south side,' he presently called. -'There's shelter there from the westerly winds. But you must see to -your ship, for the ice is plentiful and dangerous.' - -'The wreck lies on the north side of the island,' I called to Cliffe. - -'Is there no landing on the north of the island?' shouted the little -fellow. - -The other answered, but the words were lost in a sudden blast or squall -of wind which blew betwixt our masts in a shriek like a locomotive's. -A moment later I saw the skipper of the whaler, as I presumed the -bear-coated man to be, motioning to his crew and heard him, but -faintly, shouting; thereupon the ship's topsail-yard was swung: the man -brandished his fist in a farewell to us, and whilst we still lay as -though hove, with the weather leech-rope of our band of topsail shaking -at every smoking plunge of the brig's head, the ship heeled over, and -gathering way, broke the seas off her lee bow with glaring heaps, and -melted into a swollen smudge in the heart of a body of vapour when our -crew were trimming sail for the course to the New Orkneys. - -The rolling ocean, sallow still, was thick in many places with fog. We -saw now that ice lay all about us. There was scarce an opening in the -vaporous folds that was not filled with a berg near or distant, a dull, -pale, motionless mass; the vast island that had been off our starboard -quarter when the wind broke up the thickness, we had now brought on to -our port bow, and were slowly passing; its loom was more like a blue -shadow of land in the dull yellow light of that Antarctic afternoon, -summer as it was, than ice: yet it was a vast berg stretching west -and east: its westermost point was nearest and hung like a mass of -foreland, wild with the vapour that flew smoking off its face and -points, and with the leap of the surf at its base in lofty columns of -foam, whose heads the wind swept off in clouds. - -I stood beside Cliffe under the shelter of a large square of canvas -in the main rigging: oilskinned figures watched on the forecastle; we -drove very slowly; the running rigging had been seen to and carefully -coiled down ready for instant handling should a sudden cry from the -forecastle compel a shift of helm. I saw many birds flying in the -hollow seas, and turning to mark the bearings of a small berg which had -come and gone and come again on the starboard bow, I observed slowly -swinging past about a half-acre of the giant kelp of this part of the -world, a huge seaweed, glancing black in the whiteness of the froth, -and hissing like shingle as the salt shot through it. - -'Now that we are under way again,' I exclaimed, 'I am realising that -the end of this cruise is at hand.' - -'Were it all clear water and fine weather,' answered the little man, -'we should be off the island by noon to-morrow.' - -'What distance do you reckon it?' - -'Eighty miles.' - -'That ship we have just spoken makes me believe the hull has been -sighted again and again.' - -'Why, perhaps so,' he answered, 'but not of necessity.' - -'She was off the island, close enough to see the rocks.' - -'And who's to say that she's not the first that's been off that land -this six months--close in with the coast, I mean? Depend upon it, -Mr. Moore,' he went on with his face full of earnestness betwixt his -grimaces, 'you're doing the right thing for your own peace of mind, and -in the cause of humanity....' - -'Oh, it goes higher than humanity, man, higher than humanity,' I -interrupted. - -'In finding out for yourself,' he continued, 'whether the hull's the -wreck of the "Lady Emma," and whether the captain, and his wife, and -your young lady are still aboard----' - -'By heaven, yes, then!' I exclaimed; 'Only to think of her as _being_ -on board, and perishing there for the want of my coming to her help! -Whether she's there or not, Cliffe, it was the right thing to do, as -you say, and even in that thought I find a sort of comfort. Shall you -heave-to when it comes on dark?' - -'I'm for shoving on, sir, but we'll take no risks.' - -'None, though the job of heaving the land into view should fill another -month.' - -And still expectation and excitement so worked in me, I felt ill with -the conflict. I was up and down ceaselessly till the dusk blackened -the scene out. The cold drove me below, restlessness forced me above -again. It was always the same picture, the rolling and plunging figure -of the brig, gleaming with barbs, and spears, and motionless pennons -of ice: the glare of her band of topsail dingy against the ice beyond -as she swung it through the howling sweep of wind: the quick dazzle -of froth recoiling in thunder from the thrust of the bows: the large -grey swell coursed by the breaking surge, and to right and left, and -ahead and astern, the shadows and clear shapes of ice, some with brows -in the flying scud, some table-like and flashing like sunlight as the -seas charged them and burst, one showing a hatchet-like edge till our -rolling brig, opened it into a coast of marble that vanished in a haze -of mist and spray. - -Happily, after it had been dark about an hour, the brig still blowing -forward under reefed topsail and foresail, whilst I sat in the cabin -warming myself, drinking some hot brandy and water, but always with -ears straining to catch a cry on deck, Cliffe came below, and gave me -the good news of a shift of wind into the north-west, with a scanting -of it, and a plenty of starlight, and the Southern Cross looking almost -upright. - -'What does that signify?' said I. - -'Nothing,' he answered with a cheerful grimace. 'Except, that as the -Southern Cross is upright at midnight on one day only in the year, the -sight of it almost on end now is interesting.' - -'When is it actually upright?' - -'On March 26.' - -'D'ye know, Cliffe,' said I, getting up, meaning to take a look round, -'that it's comforted me sometimes to think of that symbol of God -overhanging these waters. It should be a sight to freshen a man's faith -in a time of distress.' - -'Strange to find it hung up down here where they're all heathens,' said -Cliffe. - -'Much ice?' - -'No more than there was, sir.' - -I went on deck. The dusk of the night was hard and clear, and I -observed a keen blue in the trembling gleam of many of the stars. But -though there was no wet in the air, I had never felt the cold so -bitter as on this night. The sight of the nearer of the ice mountains -in the gloom under the light of the stars was marvellously fine and -awful; some shone with a light of their own; it was the snow upon them, -I suppose, that made that sheen. I noticed, however, that though the -sea was covered with these faint and pallid masses, there was plenty of -sea-room in the lanes and highways they made. A startling and alarming -part was the crackling and crashing noises which came from them, and -shortly before I was driven below by the cold, an island on the port -quarter, wan as a cloud touched by a corner of moon, vanished; it may -have shown in another shape by daylight; it had overset and perhaps -rose flat and invisible in that light. But the spectacle was wonderful: -it made a deep impression on me. Cliffe who saw it bid me listen, and -sure enough after a little there came slanting through the wind such a -prodigious noise of hissing and seething that, but for knowing what -made it, you would have looked in its direction for the foaming waters -of a sudden gale. - -There was to be little rest for the crew that night. Cliffe informed me -the men had been told that all hands would have to stand by throughout -the dark hours, ready to jump to the first call if the brig was to -remain a brig. A seaman was stationed on each bow: a third aloft on the -foreyard: the mate and the boatswain were to relieve each other every -two hours in keeping a look-out on the forecastle. A man was stationed -aft ready in a breath to help at the helm. The galley fire was kept -burning all night, and hot coffee, and at longer intervals small drams -of rum, were served out to the crew. - -The chief peril lay in the smaller blocks of ice floating on the water; -they were hard to see before they were dangerously close to; and yet, -comparatively small as they were, any one of them was big enough to -knock a hole in the brig's bottom, and founder her out of hand. - -Right through the night we held on. At first the cries of 'Ice ahead,' -'Ice on the port bow,' 'Starboard your helm,' and the like, alarmed me; -but I presently got used to them, nor indeed were they so frequent as -to be terrifying; once only, that is, in my hearing, was a cry raised -as for life or death in a sudden passion or panic; then it was an -immense flat ragged-edged piece of ice under the bow; a swift turn of -the helm sent the brig clear, giving us a sight of the stuff alongside, -and the brave little ship ploughed her way onwards. - -Happily, it was midsummer, and the night comparatively short. The dawn -was fair and rosy, and the sun rose upon a dark blue sea, frothing far -as the eye could pierce, and magnificent with ice. I cannot express -the gorgeous scene of colour that sunrise called into being. In all -directions the ice lay in a hundred shapes, some of the islands -sparkling like prisms; I beheld floating cities of porcelain, enormous -shapes in alabaster, figures of marble, monstrous and grotesque as -those huge forms of rock which stand in a congregation of Titans at the -base of some of the precipitous heights of Table Bay. - -But though there was plenty of ice in the south, there was an abundance -of room too for our passage; the mate came down from the fore royal -yard with a telescope slung on his back and said he saw no barrier; he -thought, but would not then swear, he could make out a faint shadow -of land. If he was right, then the mountain that centres Coronation -Island was in sight! The breeze was fresh out of the north-west, with -a high following sea, and soon after the sun was risen and Cliffe had -taken a long look round, he ordered sail to be made. The foretopsail -was loosed, reefs shaken out, and cloths piled upon the little vessel -to the topgallant yards; _then_, like something alive and released, the -little ship fled southwards. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -CORONATION ISLAND - - -But it was not till next day that we had the land in view, and then -it was ten o'clock on February morning, making it a few days above a -month since we had sailed out of Table Bay. As on the previous day, -so on this, the sun shone brightly, with even some comfort of warmth -in its light. Many great clouds of a milk-white softness were sailing -into the east; the wind was fresh out of the west, but though the -sea ran briskly, with a shrewd vapour of salt in the shrill fling of -the frothing curls, it was not a hollow sea; it rolled the brig in -stately measures, but she was now under small sail, the ice being very -plentiful and the sea crowded with bergs of all sizes, whilst right -ahead were tall cliffs of ice backed by a blue shadow of mountain -rising into a silver faintness where the eternal snows upon it sparkled -and died out from the sight in the deep blue. - -I was beside myself with excitement and wretched with distress of -expectation, dread, and hope. That height of white cliff right ahead, -broken in the foreground by pale floating islands, its face discoloured -in places as though the ice that masked the rock had broken from the -black and savage rampart, was Coronation Island, and on the port bow, -looming distant but immense, were the mountains of Laurie Island. - -Our anchors were at the cathead, ready for letting go in case of sudden -need; the men hung about on the look-out for ice, ready in an instant -to trim sail. We were sailing towards the island through an avenue of -bergs: clear water sparkled from the thrust of our stem to the very -wash of the distant surf, with no other obstructions than here and -there a lump of the crystal stuff lifting sullenly with the swell, -flashing gloriously, and so proclaiming itself to the sight when the -sunbeam smote the foam that poured off it. - -A chart of the islands lay upon the skylight, and every few minutes I -would be dropping the telescope to look at the chart, to gather from -the tracing the point of coast we were heading for. The whaleman had -said that the wreck lay on a ledge in Palmer's Bay, and Cliffe and -I were agreed that that large indent was between the two towering -shadows, to the right of the taller peak that soared a thousand feet -higher than Table Mountain. - -The icebergs obstructed the view. The line of coast was studded with -them: yet every moment I was sinking my sight through the lenses into -each opening betwixt the bergs. The brig's progress under her small -canvas was about four knots and a half; I'd glanced for a moment at -some stately frozen pile majestically rocking and slowly veering by, -then put my eye to the glass afresh. My very soul was now loathing the -sight of the ice. The largest of the islands was no longer an object -of splendour and sublimity, but of horror and heart-weariness, charged -with a spirit of desolation that subdued me to a sort of numbness of -mind if I looked long: it seemed to stonefy the very principle of life -in me, as though there was a horrid magic in its bald white stare to -look a man into craziness, and emptiness, and into its own frozen -lifelessness. - -But now, as we approached, the features of the land began to steal -out into a brilliant keenness wherever there was space for them to -show betwixt the floating ice, and on a sudden, whilst I was looking -through the glass, the motion of the brig slided a seaborne hill away -to the left, and exposed a front of cliff that lay with a shadow upon -it as though it was a sort of ravine, at the foot of which, though I -instantly guessed it would lift to some height above the sea as we got -nearer, lay a black speck. I looked again, and cried out wild with -excitement: - -'Cliffe, I have the hull! I have the hull!' - -The little man came headlong to my side, and put his grimacing face to -the telescope. - -'Yes! I see it, I have it!' he shouted. 'Just as reported--high above -the wash--fair in the heart of the Bay. It'll be all plain sailing now. -Lor, but there ought to be no difficulty in boarding her.' - -He returned the glass to me: I levelled it afresh at the instant that -the corner of a big heap of berg floated right into the field of vision. - -It needed another hour of careful sailing to expose the hull anew: then -through the glass I saw her clearly. She lay, a large black hulk of -ship, upon a projection of ice that was at least thirty feet above the -sea. I made out her bowsprit, and the stump of her foremast. The cliffs -soared sheer and abrupt at the back of her to a great height. Even at -that distance it was not hard to guess that, after having stranded, she -had been lifted by some earthquake dislocation of ice into the posture -she rested in. Suppose the sea clear, she must have been visible to -passing ships for leagues. - -The seamen were congregated in the bows, leaning over the rail, Bodkin -amongst them pointing eagerly. The mate roared to them to keep a bright -look-out, they then scattered, but the sight of that wreck had brought -them heedlessly together as one man. Cliffe's glass was not a powerful -one, yet the hull in the lens lay within half a mile, and I saw her -plainly. She had her head towards the cliffs, and sat very nearly upon -a level keel. A great portion of her starboard bulwarks were gone. She -was a mass of ice under her stern: looked to be fixed there to her bed -of white pillars. The sun shot sparkles into her as we advanced, and -still she showed black, as though the ice that coated her was as glass. -Nothing moved: I strained my vision till my brain reeled and the object -swung in the glass and was eclipsed: Cliffe looked, he saw no smoke nor -signs of life any more than I. - -'If there's anyone alive aboard her,' said he, 'now's our time for -letting them know we're here.' - -'Right,' I answered, speaking with my teeth almost set; 'do what you -will, Cliffe; do what is for the best.' - -He called to Bland and a man, and they fetched a number of blank -charges for the cannon. The little skipper left the gun to the mate's -handling, himself taking charge of the brig, which needed exquisite -watching and management, so crowded was the water here with loose ice. - -'Let fly fast as you can load, Mr. Bland,' said the captain; 'fire six -rounds.' - -As he spoke came a cry from the forecastle: 'Lie close under the port -bow, sir!' - -Thus was it, thus had it been, saving that now the pack stuff had -thickened perilously. - -The gun was fired; it made a noble thunder, and roared in dying echoes -from near ice crag to ice crag. Again it was fired, yet again; all this -while the brig was rolling forwards with her helm going up and down to -the cries from the forecastle and to the gestures of the little captain. - -I stood at a backstay with a levelled glass steadied against it, and -in the moment of the third explosion I saw smoke rise feathering from -the deck of the hull; still watching, my breath so thick and difficult -it was as though a hand was upon my throat, I marked that the smoke -thickened; but I could not see the red of the flame, nor the figure of -the person feeding it. I daresay I was as white as any corpse when I -stepped over to the captain and, putting the glass into his hand, said: -'There is life there.' - -'There's smoke arising from that wreck,' shouted someone forward. - -'We're here for _some_ purpose, then, anyway,' cried Cliffe with -a small oath, letting fall the glass to his side with the most -extravagant grimace I had ever beheld in him. - -One saw the smoke easily now with the naked eye; it rose black against -the whiteness past it, curled featherwise, and blew scattering against -the face of the cliff. I levelled the glass again and saw the figure of -a man walking toward the stump of the foremast; I watched him; in a few -moments a square of colour rose to the summit of the mutilated spar, -where it blew steadily; it was a large English ensign, Jack down. - -Bland let fly a fourth gun. - -'Stop it!' roared Cliffe, 'we are seen! Hoist the ensign and dip it -thrice.' - -The colour soared to the trysail gaff end; it blew out large on the -bight of the halliards when it was dipped, and was easily within the -observation of the man on the hull. When I looked through the glass -once more I saw a second figure; it was upon the hull's quarter, where -the rail or bulwarks rose to a height that hindered me from perceiving -how it was clad. I asked Cliffe to look; he steadied the glass, and -answered with a snap of his whole face, and a voice high-pitched with -delight: - -'As God's my hope, Mr. Moore, it's a woman!' - -The glass so shook in my hands that I could not use it; I took a few -turns, then looked again. The figure watched us from the same place, -but I could not tell whether it was a man or a woman. If it was a -woman, then it might be Mrs. Burke. I wanted three figures to make -_sure_ of Marie; I saw but two; where was the third? - -I strained my sight at the telescope with a heart of fever, half -strangled by conflicting passions. - -The figure that had hoisted the colour went to the side of the other, -and they both stood watching, nothing visible of them above their -waists. It was blowing a fresh breeze, and before this time Cliffe had -taken in certain canvas; I think the brig was under topsails only, the -foresail hauled up and hanging in its gear; the vessel drove slowly -with an occasional crackling noise of ice along her sides when she -sheared through some thin sludge stuff you could not see till you -were in it; fortunately the drift ice that had threatened a thick -surface just now had loosened here and tossed scattered; as we advanced -moreover, we found that the icebergs which had looked to sit close in -with the coast rode with a good offing; the sea was covered with these -floating islands off that part of the island marked Foul Point; the -eastern horizon was also like a terrace of ice, but the face of the -cliffs from Foul Point down to where the land rounded into Lewthwaite -Strait was fairly open. - -All this while the sun shone brightly and with warmth. The sea streamed -in a glorious dye of violet; we rolled slowly onwards till we were -within about three-quarters of a mile of the coast and right abreast of -the wreck. The helm was then put down; the main topsail laid aback; the -gun again fired, and the ensign dipped. It was now about noon. - -By this time I had made out that one of the figures was a woman; I saw -but two persons. Who the woman was I could not tell, fierce as had -been the struggle of my vision to resolve the glimmer of her face into -lineaments. - -When the brig had been brought to a stand, Cliffe called a council. -We had ample sea room. The nearest floating ice lay about a quarter -of a mile distant on the port quarter; the smaller blocks were not -numerous, nor was there weight of sea to make them dangerous. All along -the base of the ice-clad cliffs the water was pouring in a thunder of -boiling surf; it was not the breakers but the great breathing swell -of this mighty ocean which worked all that noise and fury along the -cliffs' foot. The white brine sometimes shot twenty feet high, though -it blew but a moderate fresh breeze, and the surge ran small. - -Cliffe, myself, Bland, and the boatswain Bodkin came together at the -companion hatch to consider. We had swept with the glass the line of -coast from the beach under the hull to as far as we could see on the -right, and beheld nothing but lofty coils of frothing combers raging -in surf; there was no chance for a boat anywhere _that_ way. The left -presented a like scene, saving that there was a point in Palmer's Bay -that, cruising eastwards, shut out the view of perhaps a quarter of a -mile of the water it enclosed. Upon that point our eyes were fastened. - -'We must lower a boat,' said Cliffe, 'and find out how the land lies -past that arm of land.' - -'It's the only sheltered bit along the whole boiling, I allow,' said -Bland. - -Bodkin, putting down the telescope, exclaimed: - -'She lies about forty feet high above the wash. The ice is broke and -irregular from the water to where she sits, and I reckon a man might -walk upon it if there's a landing-place round the point. But I won't -swear to it till I'm close in. Ice is deceitful stuff. Capt'n, there'll -be nothen to say till we've taken a look round. 'Tis certain there's to -be no getting at the hull from the bottom of the height she rests on, -even if the boat could land there.' - -'Then lower away, Mr. Bland, as quickly as possible, and be off and -back with a report, that we may make up our minds what to do before it -falls dark.' - -Whilst some hands were getting one of the whale-boats over, others were -busy with the deep-sea lead: but we were away, pulling for the shore, -before they sounded. I went in the boat, taking the telescope with me. -She was a five-oared boat; Bodkin pulled stroke; one of our smartest -seamen was in the bows. The fellows bent their backs, and the buoyant -little craft, swift of model with the whale-hunter's lines, flashed -over the blue ridges; often I sought to bring the glass to bear upon -the two figures watching us; to no purpose. The mate would not let me -stand up, and I put down the telescope in despair. - -'That vessel,' said the mate, 'never berthed herself like that. She's -been chucked right up by the ice, and 'twas sudden too, bet yer heart, -Bodkin.' - -The picture grew amazing as we advanced. The cliffs behind the hull -rose to about two hundred feet; I call them cliffs, they were a solid, -precipitous, rugged face of ice, how deeply sheathing the black rock -of the island no man could tell: the whole stretch of land resembled a -gigantic iceberg. The hull lay upon a huge block, the top about forty -feet high; it projected in a wide ledge, then fell sheer. You might -know it had been snapped from some parent monster by the smooth side it -showed to the sea, so clean cut to the eye, it might have been done by -the chisel and hammer of a giant big as the blue shadow of mountains -beyond. - -My eyes were fixed on the wreck, and on the figures standing at her -bulwark rail. Now again I tried to bring the telescope to bear: the -jumping of the boat made the effort useless. All in a minute one of -the figures sprang on to the bulwark; flourished his arms, and then -motioned frantically towards the part of the bay concealed by the curve -of the ice. - -'Hail him, in God's name!' I cried. 'Try him with your voice, Mr. -Bland.' - -The mate stood up and roared, the full volume of his lungs trumpeting -into the inshore wind like a soldier's call, the sweep and lift of the -whale-boat to the summit of a large swell helping. - -'How many are there of you?' - -'Two,' came back the answer, dull through the roar of the surf but -distinguishable. - -'Who is the other?' - -The men were now resting on their oars, the boat sinking and lifting in -the sea that was great and hollow for so small a fabric; we were within -a pistol-shot of the base of the cliff on which the hull sat, but so -high perched was the craft, so bewrapped the two people, I could not -make out their faces. The man held up his hand as though he had not -heard. - -The mate roared again, 'Who is the other?' - -'A young lady.' - -'Is it Miss Otway?' - -He brandished an assent, and his figure stiffened in a posture of -amazement. - -'Is that her alongside of you?' - -Again the figure flourished an affirmative. - -'Then here's Mr. Moore come to take her home,' thundered the mate. - -When he said _that_, Marie--for it was she--leaned forward: she was -motionless whilst you might have counted twenty; she then stretched -out her arms. I pulled off my hat and flourished it, that she might -know me among the crowd we made in that boat, then lifted up my hands -to her. But even had my voice possessed Bland's carrying power I could -not have called. There, high above, upon the rail of the wreck, flanked -by towering walls of ice, stood, with arms outstretched in appeal to -me, the figure of my beloved. I had thought to find her dead--she was -there; I had thought to find her lying in an African grave--and there, -on that high-poised wreck she stood in silent appeal. For weeks and -weeks I had been mourning for her, asking of God that I might behold -her, seeing her in my dreams, a frozen corpse upon the deck of that -hull there: and now she stood up yonder, alive, full in sight. - -The boiling of the surf ran a maddening noise of thunder round the bay. -But one saw what the man, whoever he might be, had frantically pointed -to. The water was smooth from the end of the point to away round for -some hundreds of paces. The sea could not get at the frozen beach -there: it flashed at the point, and recoiled in clouds. - -'Put me ashore,' I exclaimed, 'I can climb those crags. Look how they -wind to the ledge: Bodkin will help me. I must go on board that wreck.' - -'Sit down, I beg, sir,' exclaimed the mate, catching me by the arm as I -toppled half-delirious. 'Tumbling overboard's an easy job. Your eyes -deceive you; you could no more climb those rocks than jump ashore from -where you sit. What d'ye say, Bodkin?' - -The man had already and quickly made up his mind. He glanced at the -fall of crags of headlong abruptness in places, huge and nodding, yet -so blending in their whiteness with the whiteness they stood out on -as to cheat the unpractised eye with an appearance of easy road-way, -and answered firmly, 'There's no mortal legs and arms as is a-going to -carry a man to the wreck by them rocks.' - -'Why did the man motion to that landing-place?' I said. - -The mate turned his sheep-eyed face round the bay, and answered, 'He -didn't know who we were. He was afraid that boiling,' said he, pointing -to the surf, 'would drive us away.' - -'How is the wreck to be entered?' I asked, looking up and waving my -hat, and then again stretching forth my arms. - -'It's a sailor's job. Have no fear. We'll get 'em out of that,' -answered the mate, and standing up he hailed the man. The other -flourished his arm. 'We're here to take you off,' bellowed Bland, 'and -we'll do it. Don't take any notice of our leaving you. It won't be for -long. D'ye hear me?' - -'Ay, ay!' came the answer, feebly through the ceaseless thunder. - -It tore my heart to look up at the wreck, as we pulled away, and -see Marie there, sundered from me by that curse of roaring foam, -inaccessible, to be come at only by patience, naval skill, efforts -which might have to be again and again repeated, always perilous. -I cannot express how marvellously strange this ice-ramparted bay -looked, with that wreck cradled on high, like a huge model in glass, -tinted black, smoke lifting still cloudily from her deck, and the red -inverted flag streaming like a square of fire against the marble white -beyond. Many large pieces of ice floated in this sweep of water: but -they showed plain, and the boat went securely. One piece was almost a -berg: a miniature island. Here and there the sea broke over it. It was -almost in the middle of the bay, and exactly abreast of the wreck. I -observed that Mr. Bland ran his eye curiously over it as we pulled past. - -Who was the man on the hull that had answered us? He was not Captain -Burke. My sight had not distinguished his face, yet I should have known -him by his voice had he been Burke. Three had been left, so Wall the -boatswain reported: Burke and his wife, and Miss Otway; I saw but two. -The man had said there were two only: one was Marie: where were the -others, and who was that stranger? - -We arrived alongside the brig, and with little difficulty I got aboard. -The pull had occupied so short a while there had been scarce time to -talk: but in any case the hurry and wildness of my spirits, my deep -agitation, amazement and delight, mingled with dark wonder and jealous -alarm, must have held me mute. - -Cliffe impatiently awaited us: Bland and Bodkin came on board, leaving -the men in the boat. Bland immediately said: - -'We must get them out with a cradle. There's no other way.' - -'No landing, then, round that point there?' said Cliffe. - -'Ay, sir, but the rocks are not to be climbed by anything wanting hoofs -and horns.' - -'Who are they?' - -'One's the young lady,' said the mate. - -Cliffe spun round and stretched his hand to me. - -'I do congratulate you,' he cried, convulsing his countenance. 'It's a -noble errand nobly rounded off. Hurrah!' and in a sudden ecstasy he -pulled off his hat and whirled it three or four times over his head. He -then cried, 'But two only? The third ain't dead, I hope?' - -'Captain Burke and his wife are not there,' said I. - -He grimaced at me, and said, 'Who's the man, then? But asking questions -won't get them out of it. What d'ye propose?' - -As he spoke he whipped out his watch: as it lay in his hand I saw the -hour; the time was two, we had therefore a long afternoon of daylight -before us. - -'We must take the mortar in the boat and communicate with it,' answered -Bland. 'There's a big piece of ice to anchor the boat to,' said he, -pointing to the lump I had observed him look at. 'We shall want a -cradle.' - -'A cask 'll answer,' said Cliffe. - -'Better have both boats in the water,' said Bland. - -They exchanged further remarks to this effect, but I was no sailor -and could not follow them. No time, however, was lost. In less than -half-an-hour both boats were alongside, rising and falling singly -under the lee of the brig. In one boat was the mortar, with a complete -apparatus of gear and cradle for connection with the wreck. The cradle -consisted of a large cask cleverly slung, and so contrived as to -slide along a line when the rope attached to it was pulled. We were -nobly favoured by the weather. The send of the swell was as steady as -the tick of a clock: the seas ran short and small, with a rich sunny -feathering of foam that made a wonder of the ice, so tropic was it with -the blue overhead where floated a few large white clouds of a coppery -effulgence of swollen breast. - -We got away by a quarter to three, one boat in tow of the other; the -wind and seas helped us, and we quickly entered the bay. We were of the -same number as before, and the same people. We drove with lifted oars -to the former talking place, and Bland hailed the man, and, with his -loudest roar, told him we were going to fire the end of a line to the -wreck and send him a tackle by it for a cradle. Did he understand? - -The man responded with a peculiar flourish of his arm, and Bland -instantly said to me, 'He is a sailor.' - -I had no eyes save for Marie. She had showed on a sudden at the rail -on the quarter as we entered the bay, and stood as still as a statue -watching us. Before Bland hailed I kissed my hand and flourished my hat -to her, and extended my arms; and she then stretched her hands, lifting -them immediately afterwards. - -The surf held us several hundreds of feet away from the beach: the -hull stood about forty feet above; no cry I was capable of could have -reached her through the noise of the trembling combers; but the wind, -however, was brilliant, and Marie's form stood clear cut against the -white background; nevertheless, I could not distinguish her features. - -The boat, with the other in tow, now pulled for the lee of the large -mass of ice that lay floating abreast of the wreck. The water swung -foamless and quiet under the shelter of this block. A couple of men -jumped out, and between them carried an anchor to some near crevice, in -which they half sank it. Thus were the boats solidly secured. - -The mortar was then loaded: I saw the man on the wreck turn as though -addressing Marie, who immediately withdrew and disappeared. When all -was ready, Bland with many wild gestures and flourishes signalled to -the man to stand by. Our seamen were deeply interested and greatly -excited, particularly Bodkin, who had the handling of the mortar. - -'Fire!' roared Bland. - -The uncouth piece exploded in flame and smoke. Coil after coil of the -heap of small stuff of the thickness of lead-line standing beside it -flew off into the air. - -'He has it!' bawled a man. - -'Pay out now, pay out!' cried Bland. 'Light out handsomely, my lads. It -may come as too much dead weight for one man, which'll be a bad job if -winch is froze.' - -'It's for his life, and _that's_ a three-manpower, aye, though yare -should be just out of horspital too,' exclaimed a seaman. - -'Pay out. Ease him all you can, lads,' shouted the mate. - -The man had got hold of the end of the line, and was dragging it -inboard hand over hand, bringing to him as he hauled the end of a stout -rope, to which a little block was attached with a line rove through -it. This was the gear the mate was calling upon the seamen to pay out -handsomely. He was but one man to three, and the tackle and rope must -needs grow heavier and heavier as its smoking steaming up-curving -bight lengthened. I watched almost breathless; if the man's strength -failed before his end of the rope came to his hand what should we do? -We could not assist. Now indeed I saw it would be impossible for any -one of us to scale those rugged crystal boulders and cavernous ruins of -ice which yet from the level of the water painted a practicable ascent -from the sheltered curve of the bay where the sea was silent. - -Foot by foot the sailors veered out the gear, and hand over hand, with -admirable endurance and patient courage, the man on the wreck hauled -the stuff in: till on a sudden one of our men called out, 'The lady's -helping,' and I caught a glimpse of Marie past the man, dragging as he -dragged. - -'It's all right!' after a long pause, exclaimed Bland, letting out his -words in the note of a deep-chested sigh of relief, and a hearty cheer -sprang from the lips of the seamen. - -'He knows what to do. He's a sailor!' cried Bodkin. - -He had vanished behind the bulwarks, but quickly reappeared signalling -to us with a flourish, whilst Marie stood as before, motionless, -watching. - -'Now get it taut, for God's sake!' cried the mate. 'In with the slack.' - -The men toiled on, and dragged till the bight of the rope was clear of -the water: the gear then described a curve from the stump of fore-mast -to the boat. - -'Now clap on the watch tackle.' - -A machinery of blocks and lines was applied to the rope, which tautened -to the strain till the mate cried 'Belay! If we don't mind our eye we -shall start the wreck!' - -Then swiftly, but without hurry or confusion, the empty cask was got -over the bow and slung to a bowling or traveller. - -'Haul out!' cried the mate, and nimbly, with quick steady pulls, the -cask was run up the rope. It travelled smoothly. The man sprang on to -the bulwark rail and received it, and, putting his hand on the edge of -it, jumped in. - -'By thunder, no, then! The lady first, or you stop there!' groaned the -mate, his face suddenly dark with disgust and temper, and the others -looked along the rope to the cask with frowns eloquent of curses. But -in a moment the man got out, and I said, 'He was testing it.' - -We now saw him, in the sharp white light the air was brimful of, help -Marie on to the rail: he put his hands under her arms, and carefully -sank her into the cask; then, pulling off his cap, flourished a signal -of 'all's ready' to us. Instantly, one end of the line was slackened -away whilst the other end was hauled upon, and the cask travelled -towards us. - -'Stand by to lift the lady out,' bawled the mate, whilst the cask was -still coming. 'Into the bows two of you. Mr. Moore, you'll keep your -seat, I beg sir, till the lady's in the boat.' - -The cask came sliding to the drag of the line down to the very stern -of the boat: there it was water-borne, and began to roll and leap with -the boat: but strong hands were ready, and in a minute Marie was lifted -over the gunwale, brought right aft, and seated beside me. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -MR. MOORE ENDS HIS STORY - - -I took her by the hands and looked her in the face, and brought her -to my heart, and a sob shook me as I kissed her. For some moments she -merely pronounced my name, straining from my grasp to look at me. -There was something wild in the light of her soft eyes then. Maybe the -passions and sensations which in a sudden surprise of meeting would -have forced us into transports had abated; we had long both known that -we were near to each other, she that I had come to rescue her, I that -she was alive on that wreck up there. But for all that, and as long -as they were bringing the man from the wreck, it remained a sort of -unreality, a mission too marvellous to have been fulfilled, a hope -too daring, too defiant of death itself and all the terrors of this -barbarous, savage scene, to have been humanly possible. - -A wonder, too, lay in her beauty and healthful looks. My imaginations -of her state, now as lying in her coffin at Cape Town, now as dead -of the cold in that same wreck we had brought her from, had coloured -to me a ghastly portrait of my memory of her; or, even when figuring -her alive in the hull, I conceived her bloodless, gaunt, sunk-eyed, a -sad, heart-sickening spectre of herself. Instead I found her fairer, -healthier, plumper by a hundredfold than she had shown when she left -England. She was dressed in furs: her hat was a turban of sealskin; her -hair was a little wild, but its dishevelment was a grace. - -When at last I began to speak to her, it was in mere ejaculation, a -babble of joy and devotion--that I should have got her;--that I should -be holding her after months of fearing and of believing that she was -dead; that God should have directed me through thousands of leagues -of sea to this lonely scene of ice; and so on, and so on; whilst her -speech was little more than exclamation too. For, put yourself in our -place and judge how it would go with your heart, and tongue, till use -had softened amazement and incredulity, sobering the flow of feeling -into a gentle language of passion and pleasure. - -Meanwhile they were bringing the man to the boat. The cask travelled -safely to the bows: he sprang out with the assistance of a man's hand, -and then stood on a thwart looking about him for a minute with a face -of ecstasy. - -Now it was I grew a bit rational, and said to Marie: - -'Who is he?' - -'Mr. Selby. His conduct has been noble. Oh, Archie, his manly treatment -of me, his patient care, the encouragement, the encouragement!' - -'Jump on to the ice there, two of you, and get that anchor,' sung out -Mr. Bland. - -'Where's Captain Burke?' I said. - -'He was drowned months ago--months ago.' - -'And his wife?' - -'I found her frozen to death and dragged her into the ship's kitchen -and watched beside her, and then I was alone in that wreck in a heavy, -rolling ocean for a week till he came,' and she looked towards Selby, -'sent by God, for without him--alone up there--oh, think, Archie!' - -As she said this she put her hands together and her face whitened like -the ice; her eyes rolled their pupils out of sight, and with a little -moan she fainted. - -I held and pillowed her, groping for and finding a flask of brandy in -my pockets. She continued in a dead faint until, the anchor having been -got, the boats were clear of the bay close in with the brig. - -Selby sat in the bows. I never addressed him: I could think of nothing -but the lifeless figure I clasped. She came to just as we drew -alongside the vessel, and my gratitude, when she fetched a breath, and -opened her eyes, was scarcely less than that I had felt when I knew -she was on board the wreck. In truth, so fixed was her trance, I had -believed her dead. - -She was helped over the side by Cliffe and others. The brig showed a -low side when the gangway was unshipped, and Marie was handed on deck -easily and without risk. I followed. She was very weak, yet could walk -leaning on my arm, and thus supporting her I took her into the cabin. -Then it was I strained her to my heart again, kissing her, blessing -her, thanking God for suffering me to discover and rescue her. - -It would be idle to set down what now passed between us in this -first half-hour of our being alone. Our hurry of speech, the tender -interruption of caresses was as a printed page broken into sentences -without sequence. Looks will give continuity to meaning when the tongue -is still, but how to describe those passages of eloquent silence? - -We had both of us a thousand things to ask and answer, and often we'd -break off to gaze at each other, scarce realising even yet that we -were together, and that the end of my heaven-directed quest was come. -By the time we had settled down into sober talk, sitting hand in hand -in front of the glowing brass stove, whilst the boy in obedience to my -orders was preparing the table for dinner, it was about five o'clock; -they had got way upon the brig; she was heeling over, and I guessed -that Cliffe was pressing her, getting every inch of northing that was -to be clawed out of the bow surge whilst it was daylight. The afternoon -was glowing with more than tropic splendour; indeed, never had I -observed such mellow richness of glory under the line, or north or -south of 23° as I had noticed in this Antarctic sunshine whilst in the -bay. But however delivered--whispered at times--sometimes interrupted -by tears, by sudden impassioned embraces, as though nothing even now -could be true but the presence and reality of the long months of her -imprisonment; but however brokenly uttered, I say her story was known, -and her relation persuaded me that in the person of Mr. Selby lived -one of the finest characters that ever graced the manliest of all the -callings. My love, my joy--though my spirits seemed to know no other -passions whilst I held her and looked at her--did not extinguish in me -for long whilst we conversed the cold dark dread that lurked in the -thought of her having been locked up with Selby for months. But whilst -I listened the jealous fear, the gloomy dislike for the extraordinary -association vanished. My heart grew hot with admiration and gratitude. -She told me of her joy at the sight of him, when, after being alone -for a week in the dismasted hull of the 'Lady Emma' with no other -companion on board than the dead body of Mrs. Burke, she groped her way -from her berth to the cabin and found him lying asleep on a locker. She -told me how he had comforted her and raised her spirits by every hope -that a sailor could invent. She instanced many fine subtle, delicate -traits of conduct; I was impressed by the refinement and native -exquisite breeding of the man whilst I listened to her. I witnessed -the gentleman, the nobleman of nature's own handiwork, in all she told -me of him. Without his inspiring companionship her spirits would have -sunk, her heart must have broken. He fetched and carried, cooked, and -toiled for her comfort; he devised a dozen schemes to divert her. Every -day he promised that a ship would come to take them off. He never lost -heart. Often he would sing with a sailor's notion of brightening her -melancholy. - -No one intruded upon us, saving the boy; but our talk was not to be -overheard by him, sitting as we did close together beside the fire. And -all the while I was admiring the improved sweetness of her looks, the -plumpness of her cheeks and throat, the firmer, clearer tones of her -voice, and what shone to my sight as a soft gay light of health in her -eyes. - -'Is it the ice,' said I, 'that has worked this miracle of change in -you? Or were you looking even better than you now do before your -shipwreck?' - -'I cannot tell how I look,' she answered. 'What I have suffered I know.' - -She talked of the Burkes, and wept when she spoke of her old nurse. She -said she believed Captain Burke committed suicide; his end was sudden; -he did not need to go upon the bowsprit to hang up the lantern--a -height of foremast stood; he went on a dangerous errand, she thought, -meaning to die, and his getting his wife to accompany him into the -bows might have signified no more than lunatic cunning. - -Whilst we conversed the boy came down and asked if he should put dinner -upon the table. We had forgotten time in talking and I jumped up and -took Marie to my berth, which was to be resigned to her. I then went on -deck to make Mr. Selby's acquaintance and to bring him into the cabin -to dinner. - -The wind was on the beam, a steady pouring breeze, and the heeling brig -was washing onwards, but warily and under little canvas; I had been -misled by the angle of the deck. The ice rode lofty and glaring about -us on all sides in huge groups; and masses of the stuff littered the -ocean directly in our path; the utmost vigilance was needful. - -I stood a moment in the companion-way, looking at the island we were -leaving astern. It was already some miles distant, and the wreck -invisible. The far inland mountain hung solemn and sublime in the blue -air with the majestic loneliness of it. You thought of it as lifting -its height at the extreme end of the world, and the melting of its -shimmering peak into the silver azure was such a blending as made the -shadow seem as high as the heavens themselves. - -Cliffe stood in earnest talk with Selby. I regarded the man awhile -before he saw me. He was dressed in the plain clothes of his calling; -doubtless he made good his wants out of Captain Burke's wardrobe; he -was rather short and very broad-shouldered; his hair was black, and of -a true cast-away man's length, falling and curling in plenty down upon -his back as though it had been a woman's; he was of a sallow complexion -and newly bearded as though used to shave when all was well. - -When I went to him with my hands outstretched, he faced me with a -smile, and then it was I saw a wonderful spirit of goodness and -kindness in his countenance. I had never before witnessed a man's -nature so plainly pictured in his looks. I will not admit that I was -prejudiced in his favour by what Marie had told me and found a soul -of candour and good humour where perhaps I should otherwise have seen -nothing but an average sailorly countenance. No matter what the causes -which should have brought this man and me acquainted; let me have met -him how, when, where you will, one glance would have persuaded me that -he was a heart of oak. You saw a manly simplicity and gentleness in -every line. His eyes looked at you full, yet gently, with a charming, -winning frankness; his smile was a grace, there was something sweet in -it: and yet he was by no means good looking. His face was overcharged -by the length of its aquiline nose. His mouth, too, was out of -proportion, his eyes were something too deep set and close together to -please; nevertheless when he turned, smiling to receive me, I found a -beauty in his looks that was far above all gift of flesh. - -I held him by both hands, but in what terms I thanked him for his -goodness to Miss Otway I'll not set down, because they must needs look -cold and insufficient, when in reality the tribute lay in that part -that cannot be communicated on paper, I mean in the tone of voice, the -expression of countenance, the clinging pressure of the hands. - -He said, 'It's been a bad time for her, sir. The beginning was the -hardest. That week when she was alone, washing about here, much where -we now are, in the winter time when it was nearly all night, and nobody -else aboard but the corpse of Mrs. Burke, would have killed a lady of -less spirit.' - -I broke in by asking him to step below with me. Cliffe said he would -remain on deck and watch the brig. I took notice that as in making -for the island, so now, a keen look-out was being kept. Hands were -stationed in the bows and on the foreyard; the rigging lay ready for -instant use. Two men were at the wheel. - -Selby stopped and looked at the island astern. The whole soul of the -man seemed to rush into his face as he gazed, colouring it with memory -and a passion of gratitude and pathetic joy. He breathed deep and said. -'Thank God, I've seen the end of it! Seven months is it, sir? The -sufferings of the sea will make a year of a week. It seems as long as a -lifetime.' - -He sighed again, or rather fetched a breath as of relief and ease of -heart, and followed me into the cabin. - -Whilst we waited for Marie, he explained how it came about that the -hull was shelved forty feet above the wash. - -He said when she first took the ice she was beaten a considerable -distance by blow upon blow of foamless swell, rolling into the shelter -out of the heavy weather beyond; she lay on her bilge. He could not -express the misery they suffered from the angle her posture sloped -her into; till, early one night, a noise of thunder roared through -the cabin as though the whole island was splitting to pieces; shock -followed shock. These volcanic throes went on for hours. He expected -every moment that the hull would be crushed to powder. Sometimes they -felt the fabric under their feet swept upwards. It was pitch dark on -deck; nothing was to be seen; but the uproar of splitting ice was at -moments deafening. He said he could compare it to nothing but to being -in a boat betwixt two line-of-battle ships when they were firing their -whole broadside artillery at each other. - -It might have been about four o'clock when the hellish commotion ceased -as abruptly as it had commenced; at this hour the hull was, as she had -been for some time, resting on an almost level keel. At break of day -he went on deck, and was amazed to find the sea lying open, but at a -considerable distance below; the great ice peninsula whose bay had been -the salvation of the hull had broken away and become a majestic island, -nodding stately upon a high sea about a quarter of a mile distant. The -wreck rested upon a wide ledge with a sheer fall of ice, smooth as -though chiselled, to the wash of the surf. How it had befallen he could -not tell. Perception had lain entirely in sensation and bearing. - -When Marie came out of her berth I was struck afresh by her improved -looks. I turned to Selby and said: - -'This lady sailed for her health. Such distresses, such trials of mind -and body as she has suffered, should pinch the face as fire wastes wax, -and she looks so much better that her father will scarcely know her!' - -'I told Mr. Moore,' she said, 'that I don't know how I may look, but -that I am alive and with him again,' said she, stealing her hand into -mine, 'is wholly owing to you.' Then raising her voice, heated into -a higher clearness by emotion, she exclaimed, 'In the presence and -hearing of my betrothed, I thank you with my heart of hearts for all -your goodness to me, for your hundred acts of noble unselfishness, for -the splendid courage and faith which supported us both through the -awful time that is now ended.' - -He bowed to her in silence. - -'Mr. Selby,' said I, grasping him by the hand, then putting my other -upon his, and so holding him, 'Miss Otway has spoken her gratitude; my -own I have already attempted to express. The profession of the sea has -produced some splendid characters; but it seems to me that you are one -of the finest compliments that nature ever paid to your calling.' - -'I thank you for your kind words, sir,' he said, with colour and -embarrassment, 'and for yours, Miss Otway. I felt very sorry for you -when I found you alone on that dismasted hulk, and I swore to myself I -would so act that, come what might, if you were spared, you should be -able to say of me, He was a man.' - -I could have hugged him! - -We seated ourselves and all our talk ran upon the hull, and upon my own -adventures. I particularly noticed Selby's respectful manner to Marie. -_That_ was as satisfying to every instinct within me as though I had -shared their imprisonment. It was not a thing he just put on; it sat -with the unconscious ease of an old and fixed habit. I heard it in his -voice, I marked it in his manner of attention when she spoke; in twenty -subtle ways it was expressed as something abiding; it was, in short, -the man's, the seaman's, and the gentleman's recognition of her claims -as a woman and of her station; I knew it had been with him from the -beginning, and I loved him from that moment with a heart unshadowed by -the faintest anxiety or misgiving. - -I asked him how they had managed for food. - -'The hold was full of good things, sir,' he answered. 'We did not stint -ourselves, Miss Otway,' said he, smiling. - -'Mr. Selby cooks charmingly,' said Marie. 'I shall never forget the -delicious dishes of broth you used to make for me.' - -'The ship's cargo,' said he, 'consisted of a quantity of articles of -potted food with drink enough in stout, brandy, and whiskey to fill the -half of London with uproar and murder.' - -'We had biscuits as big as bricks,' said Marie. 'I used to make bread -and milk with them.' - -'Milk!' I ejaculated. - -'Preserved milk, sir,' said Selby. 'I found some hundredweights of the -stuff.' - -'But your fuel?' said I. - -'There was about twelve ton of coal in the forepeak when we got on the -ice,' he answered. 'I never reckoned upon a long stay, the young lady -was to be kept warm, and I was a bit extravagant at the start. Then -as the days passed and nothing came along, I began to stint, with the -result that I've left about half the stock behind.' - -'Did nothing heave in sight?' - -'Oh, yes, sir; but never close in. I must have consumed half the cargo -of theatrical scenery, and pounds worth of patent fuel and India-rubber -in burning flares at night and making smokes by day. I reckon the smoke -was taken for something in the volcanic line. For a long time the ice -hid us from the sea. The island whose rupture threw us aloft drifted -away and gave us a clear view for a bit, but others came cruising along -with the stream of the tide, if it was not the wind that brought them, -and one moored itself right abreast--grounded, I allow--it stuck so -long. - -'The whaler that reported you,' said I, 'was close in enough to get a -good sight of the wreck.' - -'I did not see her,' he answered. 'I must have been below when she -passed.' - -'It was cruelly cold, Archie,' said Marie. 'Weeks would pass without my -going on deck. Oh, how I loathed the sight of those cliffs of ice! And -then the ceaseless boiling of the surf.' - -'I caulked the cabin into a middling warm living room,' said Selby, -'yet the cold would creep through. Water that had been boiled and left -to stand on the table within the sphere of the heat of the stove, as I -could have sworn, would take a mask of ice. I cleared the cabin to give -Miss Otway walking room. The exercise helped her. It gave her a little -spirit as well as warmth. I didn't care to see her sit drooping hour -after hour beside that little stove.' - -'At such times you sang?' said I. - -'Well, coming below after taking a look round, and seeing her like -that, I'd tune up my pipes, certainly,' he answered. 'It was unpleasant -to have to keep on answering her question with a "No, there's nothing -in sight."' - -Thus ran our talk, and again and again whilst we conversed, I'd see -Marie stealing looks around her of delight and amazement, and often -when our gaze met, an expression of solemn joy would light up her face. -For months she had lived in the cabin of a motionless ship; now the -life of the ocean was in the fabric, whose deck her foot rested on. She -was as one who had been called from the grave to renew life, and love, -and health. It was a miracle, and I saw the marvelling of her spirit in -her eyes whenever she looked at me. - -'I'll go and take a look round,' said Selby. 'I hope Captain Cliffe -will make me useful.' - -He rose, respectfully bowed to us, and went on deck. - -I drew Marie to the stove and sat beside her. From time to time as -we talked, we heard the sharp warning cries of the look-out men on -deck re-echoed by Cliffe and the mate aft, accompanied sometimes by -a hurried tread of feet when the braces were handled. But we were -together, too happy, too much engrossed, to heed what passed above. -Through the hum of our talk--our continuous talk--for how much had -we to tell each other?--ran the shrill sound of salt water seething; -the boy came below to take some dinner on deck to Captain Cliffe. He -then cleared the table, and Marie and I were alone again. The sunshine -blazed red upon the skylight, faded slowly, the glass grew grey, then -blackened, and a star flashed in a cabin window as a reel of the brier -brought the bright spark with a leap into the orifice. - -'I remember,' Marie said, 'when I found Mrs. Burke lying dead on -the deck of the hull, that I fell upon my knees in the agony of my -distress and terror, and cried out that I was alone, asking what -I should do--what I should do? And now I am with you,' she cried, -throwing her arms round my neck and sobbing slightly. 'But what a time -has lain between!' - - * * * * * - -At this point Mr. Moore ends his narrative; he doubtless considered -that the interest of _his_ strand of the story ceased at the rescue of -his sweetheart. - -It had been arranged that the brig should return to the Cape of Good -Hope, whatever might be the issue of her search; the little vessel, -with ceaseless vigilance, was navigated clear of the ice into open -waters, and under warmer skies, and thanks to strong westerly winds -which chased her day after day, she anchored in Table Bay in a little -more than three weeks from the hour of hoisting in her boats and making -sail from Coronation Island. The lovers' reception at Cape Town was a -memorable incident, and is still talked of by old people there. They -stayed until Miss Otway had provided herself with a wardrobe, then -embarked in a Union steamer and safely arrived at Southampton on the -morning of May 1, 1861. - -Mr. Selby was presented by Sir Mortimer Otway and the banking firm of -Moore, Son & Duncan, with an interest in a ship of thirteen hundred -and forty tons, amounting to half her value, and four months after his -arrival in England, he sailed in command of her on her second voyage to -Bombay. - - -THE END - - -PRINTED BY -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE -LONDON - - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 *** - -***** This file should be named 62419-0.txt or 62419-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/4/1/62419/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -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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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="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Heart of Oak, vol. 3<br /> -A Three-Stranded Yarn</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: William Clark Russell</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 18, 2020 [eBook #62419]<br /> -[Most recently updated: April 16, 2021]</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 ***</div> - -<div class ="mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br /> -Obvious typographic errors have been corrected.<br /></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="Title page" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/newbooks.jpg" alt="New books" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p class="bold2">HEART OF OAK</p> - -<p class="bold">VOL. III.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="center">PRINTED BY<br />SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br />LONDON</p> - -<hr /> - -<h1>HEART OF OAK</h1> - -<p class="bold">A THREE-STRANDED YARN</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">BY</p> - -<p class="bold2">W. CLARK RUSSELL</p> - -<p class="bold">AUTHOR OF<br />'THE WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR' 'THE PHANTOM DEATH'<br /> -'THE CONVICT SHIP' ETC.</p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/dec1.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div> - -<p class="bold space-above">IN THREE VOLUMES—VOL. III.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">LONDON<br />CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY<br />1895</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<p class="bold">OF</p> - -<p class="bold2">THE THIRD VOLUME</p> - -<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>XX. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Startling News</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXI. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Mr. Moore sails</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Photographs</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXIII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Ship seen on the Ice</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXIV. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Brig 'Albatross'</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXV. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">At Sea again</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXVI. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Ice</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXVII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Coronation Island</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XXVIII. </td> - <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Mr. Moore ends his Story</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">HEART OF OAK</p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XX</span> <span class="smaller">STARTLING NEWS</span></h2> - -<p>Sir Mortimer received the news of the loss of the ship whilst he was in -Paris. He had sent his foreign address to the office in the Minories, -always hoping to hear from, or of, his daughter, and Mr. Butcher wrote -to him, unknown to me, and perhaps to Mr. Hobbs.</p> - -<p>He at once came to London: he arrived in the afternoon. The bank was -closed and he drove to my rooms, where he found me. He was very pale -and looked ill, but whether he had disciplined his mind during his -journey, or was a person of more fortitude than I had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> imagined, his -behaviour was almost calm compared to what I had expected to find it on -our first meeting.</p> - -<p>'When we surrendered her,' were almost his first words after holding me -by the hand and struggling as though with his tears, 'I had a feeling -we should never again meet. I ought not to have permitted her to take -so long a voyage. She was too delicate, her health was too poor, she -was too used to have comforts'—he could not proceed for some moments. -He then said, 'She was my only child. I am now alone in the world,' -and, casting himself into a chair, he hid his face and gave way.</p> - -<p>'I will not believe there is no hope,' I exclaimed, and, sitting down -beside him, I repeated all that I had gathered from my talk with the -boatswain Wall, with whom I had conversed for above a couple of hours -on the previous day, having brought him to the bank by a letter and -taken him into a private<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> room, where, with my father, I had closely -questioned him, getting all that his experiences as an old seaman could -reveal of the chances a shipwrecked company had in those seas where -Marie had been abandoned.</p> - -<p>Sir Mortimer listened to me with passionate interest, dwelling upon -every syllable, catching me up if he did not clearly understand. -Sometimes his eyes brightened, as with a little struggle of hope, but -often he shook his head.</p> - -<p>'Consider,' he exclaimed, 'the "Lady Emma" was dismasted July 2.' (I -had all necessary notes of dates and the like in my note-book.) 'The -crew left her on the fourth. This is October 5; you cannot believe that -the helpless hull has continued to float in such frightful seas as run -off Cape Horn all this while.'</p> - -<p>'I don't say so. I don't dream it. God forbid, indeed; for that would -put an end to all chance of our ever seeing Marie again.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> But may we -not believe that she was fallen in with long ago?'</p> - -<p>'Why have we not heard? There has been time!'</p> - -<p>'No. Suppose the vessel that rescued them was proceeding to Australia. -We might need another three months to hear.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, but think!' he exclaimed, 'a dismasted hull, utterly helpless; the -horrors and perils of ice close to, a wild sea continually running—she -has not the strength to meet such sufferings; they will have broken her -poor heart. Oh! Archie, she has been taken! She is dead! We shall never -see her again.'</p> - -<p>He had made up his mind to this, and I daresay his comparative calmness -rose from his resolution to accept the worst at once. Though he knew -little or nothing about the sea, he could not listen to my version -of Wall's story without regarding the wreck of the 'Lady Emma' as -hopelessly complete as any in the maritime records. He said that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -mere circumstance of the 'Planter' cruising and finding nothing was of -itself a death-blow to hope.</p> - -<p>'And what is there to hope for?' he exclaimed, rising and moving about -the room with something of feebleness. 'We are to wait; but for what? -This sort of waiting in grief breaks down the intellect—the mourner -goes mad. In my youth I knew a woman whose only son had been drowned -in a shipwreck. She would not believe it; she hoped on; and ten years -after his death saw her on the beach with her eyes fixed upon the sea, -gazing, with a joyous welcoming face, at the apparition of her child -whom, in her craziness, she beheld approaching her in a boat. Oh no!' -he cried with a sudden, most moving, passionate wringing of his hands, -'Marie has perished; she is lost to us! Why did not the good God hinder -me from sending her away? They told me that nothing could save her life -but a voyage, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> I, who would have given my life for her, despatched -her to her death!'</p> - -<p>I could not bear this, for I, too, was heartbroken. I grasped him by -the hands, and then he became silent, after looking in my face.</p> - -<p>But still, as I have said, his behaviour throughout this meeting with -me, even when the first horror and shock of the news was renewed to -us both by this our first meeting, was calmer than I had expected. He -stayed in London that night, and next day accompanied me to the City, -where he had an interview with Mr. Butcher. We then drove to a street -out of the West India Dock Road, where Wall lodged.</p> - -<p>The substance of Mr. Butcher's talk was that ships homeward bound from -the Australias frequently touched the latitude the hull had been left -in; there was, therefore, reason to hope that Captain Burke and the -ladies had been rescued by one of the many vessels<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> which every year -were navigating those seas. He said he had spoken to several captains -of experience on the subject, also two or three underwriters of long -standing, and on the whole their opinion was, Burke and his companions -would be preserved.</p> - -<p>Wall had nothing to add—no further conjectures to offer. He went -very fully into the story of the dismasting of the vessel and her -abandonment, and answered with intelligence the questions Sir Mortimer -put to him about Marie, how she looked, if she had picked up, if he -(Wall) considered she was strong enough to outlive the horrors and -sufferings of her situation, supposing the hull to be encountered -within a reasonable time—say a week—from the date of the men's -quitting her.</p> - -<p>Sir Mortimer went to his home by the seaside next day. I promised to -visit him on the following Saturday, but fretting had done its work—I -was too ill to travel. I was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>ceaselessly haunted by the vision of -the hull, white with snow, brilliant with ice, clouded with the foam -of beating seas, wearily rolling with my dear one, with my Marie, -<i>alone</i> in her. Somehow I could not think of her as associated with the -Burkes. She was the one, the solitary, figure in the gloomy interior of -that tempest-tossed fabric, as I witnessed the vision awake and in my -dreams. I was aware that Mrs. Burke had been a most devoted servant, a -faithful and honest nurse and friend to Marie, but I had got it into my -head that her husband had lost his reason, which would drain his wife's -sympathies from my sweetheart; and then, again, realising the misery -of a time spent in such a hulk, under such circumstances, I could not -suppose that poor Mrs. Burke would in her distraction take heed of more -outside her husband than the doom that every hour brought closer.</p> - -<p>So the vision of that wreck was always present to the eye of -imagination, waking or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> sleeping, with one figure only in the maimed -and beaten fabric.</p> - -<p>On the morning of October 20, I went to the bank, having resumed work -there two days before. My father had not arrived. I went into my -private room and sat down with a heart of loathing at sight of a pile -of letters which it would be my business to read and deal with.</p> - -<p>I had hardly broken the first envelope when a clerk entered and said -that a Mr. Norman, an old customer of the bank, wished to see me. I -supposed he had called on business, and after reading the letter I -held, I opened the glass door and bade Mr. Norman step in.</p> - -<p>He was a merchant doing business with Natal and Cape Colony. He at once -said, without offering to sit:</p> - -<p>'I have not called on business, Mr. Moore. I heard of your trouble, -and grieve to find it but too visible in your face. This morning I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -received a batch of South African newspapers, and met with an account, -which—I don't know, I'm sure—it may be ill-advised on my part——' He -broke off, and his hand went nervously to his side pocket.</p> - -<p>I looked at him inquiringly, wondering what his Colonial newspaper -account was about.</p> - -<p>'I think,' said he, his hand still nervously twitching at his -breast-pocket, 'that where sorrow is speculative the sooner expectation -is ended, one way or the other, the better. This may signify -nothing'—and now he produced a newspaper—'and yet it may tell -everything.'</p> - -<p>He was proceeding; I extended my arm abruptly, feeling a sickness -at heart, for now imagination leaped to the very height of fear—I -believed I was to read something which would <i>prove</i> that Marie and her -companions had perished.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Norman must needs open the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> paper himself; and, in order to -find the passage, he required to put on his glasses. The piece of -intelligence in the journal ran thus:—</p> - -<p>'<i>Cape Town, August 10. Arrival of the schooner "Emerald." A -strange discovery! Romantic action on the part of the captain!</i> The -three-masted schooner "Emerald" arrived yesterday from the west -coast of South America. When in lat. 58° S., long. 48° W., the body -of a female was seen floating upon the water. Its appearance was so -lifelike that, the weather at the time being quiet, the captain ordered -a boat to be lowered, and the body was brought on board. The master -(Goldsmith), on inspecting the corpse, was convinced by its appearance -that it was the remains of the wife of a friend of his. She had been -bound round the Horn to join her husband at Monte Video. Feeling -persuaded of this he caused the body to be placed in a cask of spirits, -with a view to carrying it to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> Cape Town, his first port of call, that -it might have decent Christian interment; also that the husband should, -if his wife did actually prove to be missing, be able to procure the -exhumation of the corpse for identification.</p> - -<p>'The body is described as that of one who in life must have been -singularly prepossessing and genteel in appearance; the hair is of a -dark amber or gold, the eyes of a light blue or grey, height about -5 ft. 6 in., of a figure that had apparently been full of grace and -beauty. No rings were on the hands. Captain Goldsmith conjectures that -the rings, including the wedding ring, slipped off the fingers through -shrinkage of the flesh by immersion. Owing to the condition of the -body, it has been found impossible to form an opinion as to the length -of time it was in the water; it is judged, however, from the appearance -of the clothes, which were in a fair state of preservation, that the -period could not have exceeded three days. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> body was attired in -a thick serge dress, and a warm jacket, trimmed with a rich fur, of -which but a little remained. One garment only was marked: namely, with -the letter O, which Captain Goldsmith believes stands for Ollier, his -friend's name. The remains will be buried to-day. A romantic mystery -nevertheless survives, and it remains to be seen whether Captain -Goldsmith is right in his conjectures as to the identity of the poor -nameless remains of one who in life must have been "exceeding fair," -found floating far south of the stormiest headland in the world.'</p> - -<p>I read this very slowly, and when I had come to the last word I read -it all over again. Mr. Norman's eyes were fixed upon my face. I fell -into deep thought, and was silent for many minutes, with my gaze rooted -upon the paper. I then pulled out my pocket-book, in which I carried -the memoranda I had collected from Mr. Butcher and Wall, and compared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -the date of the dismasting of the 'Lady Emma' with the date of the -discovery of the body. The 'Lady Emma' was dismasted July 2, the body -was seen and picked up on July 10; the situation of the 'Lady Emma' -when the crew abandoned her, according to the 'Planter's' log-book, was -lat. 58° 45´ S. and long. 45° 10´ W.; the body was picked up in lat. -58° S. long. 48° W.; the minutes and seconds, if any there were, were -probably omitted in the newspaper report, or Captain Goldsmith may have -given the situation in round numbers.</p> - -<p>Be this as it may, there could be a difference of but a very few miles -between the spot where the body was found, and the spot where the hull -was deserted by the sailors.</p> - -<p>'It is extraordinary!' I exclaimed, fetching a deep breath.</p> - -<p>'I hope it may not prove conclusive news,' said Mr. Norman. 'But if -the body brought to Cape Town be that of the poor young lady, the fact -ought to be known to you if only to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> spare you from the heart-sickness -of deferred hope.'</p> - -<p>'Dates and places correspond,' I exclaimed. 'The description is true. -She had dark amber hair. Her height might be as it is here stated.'</p> - -<p>'And then there is the letter O,' said Mr. Norman, observing that I -paused.</p> - -<p>'How am I to find out if among the clothes she took were such a dress -and jacket as the body was found clothed in?'</p> - -<p>At this moment my father entered. He immediately observed that I was -deeply agitated, and glanced from me to Mr. Norman. The latter bowed, -then turned to me and, begging me to keep the newspaper, and to command -his services in any direction in which I could render them profitable, -withdrew.</p> - -<p>I handed the paper to my father, who read the account with a face of -astonishment and dismay.</p> - -<p>'Is it credible?' he cried. 'Is it a hoax, d'ee think? Or some story -vamped up, for—for—? <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>But,' he cried, turning his glasses again upon -the paper, 'they name the ship and her captain, they give dates, they -say that the body was to be buried on that day,' looking at the date of -issue. 'Is it conceivable that a body would float, apparelled as this -woman's was?'</p> - -<p>'If the story is no lie, then a body thus apparelled was found -floating,' I answered.</p> - -<p>'You had better send the paper at once to Sir Mortimer,' said my father.</p> - -<p>'I'll run down with it, but first I'll see Mr. Butcher and Wall. How am -I to find out if Marie had a serge dress and that sort of jacket?' I -reflected, and then said, 'Father, I must have the whole day, I cannot -work, I wish to satisfy myself by some inquiries before seeing Sir -Mortimer, and then I may resolve to go to the Cape.'</p> - -<p>He gazed at me with mild astonishment, then put his hand caressingly -on my shoulder, and told me I should go where I pleased and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> do what I -liked; he advised me, however, not to act precipitately; the Cape was -a long way off! What good could I do there, even supposing the body -brought to Cape Town by the schooner should prove to be Marie?'</p> - -<p>'What good? I must <i>know</i>; I must make <i>sure</i>! Supposing it is -Marie—but it might be another.'</p> - -<p>'The body is buried.'</p> - -<p>'Yes; but I would get an order for its exhumation. It was buried with a -view to disinterment should the man whose wife was to join him at Monte -Video arrive in Cape Town.'</p> - -<p>I had heard Mrs. Burke talk of some of the shops Marie had completed -her outfit at. Her old nurse had herself attended her in most of -her shopping excursions before the sailing of the ship, and after -exchanging a few further sentences with my father, I left the bank, -called a cab, and was driven to a dressmaker's near Cavendish Square. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p>Here, however, I could not learn that Marie had ordered a serge dress; -but on inquiring at a shop in Regent Street, I discovered, with much -pains—they were very busy and very slow—that Miss Otway had, on a day -towards the close of March, purchased a jacket trimmed with fur; the -fur was described; and certainly the 'garment,' as the shopman called -it, corresponded with the brief description of the jacket that had been -found on the body of the woman.</p> - -<p>I could recollect no other shops; but hoped that Sir Mortimer might be -able to tell me if a serge gown had been included in Marie's outfit. -This should have been, and no doubt was, known to Marie's maid. But the -girl, on the departure of Miss Otway, had gone, I had some recollection -of hearing, with a family to Germany.</p> - -<p>In this same day I drove to the offices of Messrs. Butcher and Hobbs, -and had scarcely entered the place when Wall came in, greatly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> to my -satisfaction, as I particularly desired his opinion. Both partners were -present, and on my showing them the Cape newspaper they called Wall to -us and we thoroughly talked the matter over. To the seaman, who was -somewhat illiterate, I read and re-read the newspaper account.</p> - -<p>'It's wonderful!' he exclaimed. 'Most sartinly it answers to the young -lady. I've heered of females lying afloat like that. 'Taint so long ago -that a woman was picked up alive arter washing about for thirty-six -hours on her back.'</p> - -<p>'But how can the body be Miss Otway's?' said Mr. Butcher, 'if the -master of a schooner recognises it as a Mrs. Ollier's?'</p> - -<p>'The coincidence would be quite too extraordinary,' said Mr. Hobbs. -'Mr. Moore,' he added, with one of his depressing bows, 'it would give -me far more pleasure to take a cheerful view; but consider—the body -of a lady is found floating much about the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> where the hull was -abandoned; the description, as I understand, answers to that of Miss -Otway'—he said no more, but buried his hands in his pockets with a -very gloomy shake of the head.</p> - -<p>Mr. Butcher, however, inclined to the belief that the body was the -person's the schooner's skipper took it to be. He wished to believe -Miss Otway alive; he was by no means for despairing; whilst they were -talking of this body, Miss Otway might be actually on her way home. -What did Wall think?</p> - -<p>The honest seaman faltered; he saw that Mr. Butcher wished to cheer me -up, but there could be no doubt he was of Mr. Hobbs's mind. They were -all three agreed, however, that it was a puzzling, most wonderful thing.</p> - -<p>'There's nothen for Mr. Moore to do,' said Wall, who, having been -admitted into this council, considered himself at liberty to talk out, -perhaps thinking he was expected to do so. 'Let him give the lady's -portrait to some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> respectable man who'll go by steam, afore it's too -late, and view the body and settle it.'</p> - -<p>'To whose satisfaction?' inquired Mr Butcher, looking at me.</p> - -<p>'Not to mine,' I exclaimed. 'I must decide with my own eyes.'</p> - -<p>'In them warmer climates,' said Wall, 'ye've got to bear a hand in jobs -of that sort.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Hobbs admonished the man with a frown.</p> - -<p>'Surely, Mr. Moore,' exclaimed Mr. Butcher, 'you would be able to -identify the young lady by the wearing apparel they removed, and are, -of course, preserving at Cape Town?'</p> - -<p>I told him I had ascertained that morning that a jacket answering to -the one found on the body had been sold to Miss Otway.</p> - -<p>He looked very grave at this, and I saw Mr. Hobbs exchange a glance -with the seaman. Soon after this I thanked them for their sympathy and -patience, and took my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> leave. I could think of nothing but the story -of the body found at sea, and next morning went by an early train to -the little seaside town where Sir Mortimer lived. As I drove from the -station I passed by the ravine down which Marie and I had gone for -a stroll upon the long, hard platform of sands one afternoon in the -keen grey month that preceded the April she sailed in. It was October -now—six months later; what had happened between? The blue sea ran up -to the sky in a trembling, silken slope streaked with long gleams. I -remembered how Marie had checked me in our walk to look at a passing -sail, and how together we had watched the glimmering white square of -her fade like mist in the evening gloom. Many gulls wheeled over the -water. I saw them flying past the edge of the cliff, and remembered -how Marie had paused and looked up to admire the marvellous grace of -the windward flight of the birds then on the wing—perhaps those I now -caught a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> glimpse of. An ocean life of many months had stretched before -her, and whilst we walked I had noticed how she was letting the spirit -of the sea sink into her, finding in the coil of the breaker, in the -flight of the birds, in the shadowy distance of the horizon, a meaning -she had never before heeded, only, perhaps, that she might enter with -a little spirit into a scene of life from which I knew her very inmost -soul shrank.</p> - -<p>Sir Mortimer was at home; he was in mourning. The sight of his sombre -figure and ashen countenance, of resigned but settled sorrow, startled -and even shocked me. It was like a confirmation of fear, an assurance -that Marie was dead and that hope must end. My visit was unexpected, -and whilst he welcomed me he held my hand and stood looking at me in a -posture of eager, sorrowful inquiry.</p> - -<p>Presently, when we were seated, I pulled out the paper and pointed -to the story of the discovery. He was a high-bred, fine-looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> old -gentleman, and I see him now as he sat holding his glasses to his eyes, -the paper trembling in his hand, and his face slowly taking what the -Scotch call a 'raised' look as he read. He turned, dropping his glasses -and letting the paper sink to his knee, and said in a voice a little -above a whisper:</p> - -<p>'What is this?'</p> - -<p>'What do you think?'</p> - -<p>'You don't believe it was Marie?' he said.</p> - -<p>'If we are to think <i>that</i>, she is dead to us!' I exclaimed. 'But if it -was not Marie, whose was the body that was picked up by the schooner -close to the spot where the hull had been abandoned?'</p> - -<p>He stared at me, drew a deep breath, and referred again to the paper.</p> - -<p>'Have you seen that seaman—the boatswain—I forget his name—upon -this?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'Yes; and the two owners. But what can their opinion be worth? How -could their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> ideas help us, Sir Mortimer? Read the description of that -body, the dark amber hair, the looks which in life must have been those -of a refined——' I faltered, controlled myself, and went on: 'I have -discovered,' and I named the shop where I had obtained the information, -'that Marie's outfit included such another jacket as the body had on. -Can you remember if she took a serge dress with her?'</p> - -<p>'Two or three,' he answered quickly. 'They were of dark blue. Two she -had. A third was added at Mrs. Burke's suggestion. What was the colour -of the dress described here?'</p> - -<p>He looked; but no colour was named. I got up and paced about the room.</p> - -<p>'I have made up my mind,' I exclaimed. 'I will go to the Cape. If it be -Marie—but I must make sure at all costs. The suspense, the waiting, -the not knowing whether she lies dead at Cape Town, whether she has -gone down in the hull, whether she has been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> rescued, carried to a -distant port, and is lying ill, so that months might elapse before -we should get news of her—all this I could not bear! I am already -half mad with the grief of it. I will go to Cape Town,' I cried, 'and -see with my own eyes, and settle expectation, so far as that body is -concerned, one way or another, for ever.'</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXI</span> <span class="smaller">MR. MOORE SAILS</span></h2> - -<p>I think, I will not be sure, that the date on which I returned to -London from this visit to Sir Mortimer was October 26. In the year 1860 -sailing ships bound to the Australias and the East Indies frequently, -many of them regularly, touched at the Cape; small vessels, such -as brigs and barques, also traded to that colony. There was steam -communication, however, then. I believe the first of the steamers of -the Union Steamship Company was despatched three years earlier, namely, -in 1857.</p> - -<p>Be this as it may, since steam was to be got I was resolved to have -nothing to do with what the sailor calls tacks and sheets. A <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>sailing -ship might keep me four months upon the ocean in her struggles with -head winds and failing catspaws. On the other hand, the Cape, by steam, -was to be reached certainly within forty days. But having made up my -mind, I found there was no time to lose, that is, if I resolved on -steam; for, on reaching London, I learnt that the next Union steamer -was the 'Cambrian,' sailing from Southampton on November 6.</p> - -<p>It was this obligation of despatch, perhaps, which hardened me in -my resolution. I meant to sail by the 'Cambrian' and there was no -leisure for hesitation, no time for second thought. Not, indeed, -that I was not passionately resolved; I had been so from the hour of -clearly understanding that I must proceed to the Cape and procure the -exhumation of the body if my mind was to be set at rest one way or -the other. I mean, if I had been obliged to wait a month, say, for a -sailing ship, I might have found myself troubled, my <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>resolution a -little unsettled, by the counsels of friends.</p> - -<p>My father, for example, fully sanctioned my going, but advised me to -consider how it would be with my memory if, when the coffin was opened, -I recognised the body as Marie's.</p> - -<p>I answered I had thought over that, and knew it would prove a terrible -ordeal. But it must be worse with me if I stayed at home, never -stirring to find out if the body that lay in Cape Town cemetery was -indeed that of the girl I loved.</p> - -<p>'Suppose she is drowned,' I reasoned, 'I should not believe it for -months, perhaps years. No man could persuade me she was dead. Time -alone must convince me. But how long should I allow myself? Meanwhile I -must live in expectation. My life would be a torment of suspense. But -by going to the Cape I shall satisfy myself at once.'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' said my father, 'but you will only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> be able to satisfy yourself -that Marie does not lie buried in Cape Town if, when the grave is -opened, the remains should prove another's.'</p> - -<p>'It will satisfy me to know <i>that</i>, at all events,' I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>'Will they let you exhume the body?'</p> - -<p>This staggered me somewhat; but I replied I would take my chance of it. -The corpse had been brought to Cape Town, and there buried with a view -to identification. The case was extraordinary; and when the Colonial -authorities heard my story they would not refuse to let me disinter the -remains.</p> - -<p>Several friends offered like objections. One suggested I should ask -that the clothes should be sent home, and submitted to the inspection -of those from whom Marie bought her outfit; the shopmen would know -their own wares. If they asserted the clothes had been sold by -them—had at any time passed through their hands—there would be -something solid to go upon; I could then sail for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> Cape and confirm -by inspection what to most would pass as a foregone conclusion.</p> - -<p>But my answer was, it was not very conceivable that those who held the -clothes would part with them; it was no case of suspected murder, so -as to admit of the introduction of the machinery of the law; moreover, -if I waited, the remains would become unrecognisable. It was already a -question how far the climate would admit of an identification of them. -The body arrived at the Cape August 10; this was the close of October. -December would have come before I landed; and December is the burning -midsummer of South Africa.</p> - -<p>But herein, as in all the rest, I was prepared to take my chance. I -felt a secret reluctance in one direction only. It shocked me even in -imagination to think, if the remains <i>should</i> prove Marie's, of the -memory I must return home with and be haunted by to my death-bed. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> - -<p>On November 5 I travelled to Southampton, and on the following day -embarked in the steamship 'Cambrian' for Cape Town. I had said good-bye -to my friends in London and went on board alone. Never did passenger -tread a ship's deck with heavier heart than I. The vessel was full of -bustle and confusion; she was taking out a large number of passengers -who, with their friends, filled her fore and aft, overflowing the -saloon, and crowding the raised deck or poop.</p> - -<p>It is at such a time as this, and amid such a crowd as littered the -'Cambrian's' decks, that you learn what real loneliness is. I looked -around me and saw not one face I had ever met before. There was much -surging and elbowing of figures in the gangway, a constant dragging -here and there of baggage, shouts from the ship to the shore, from -the shore to the ship, with stewards dodging and shoving in and out, -officers of the steamer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> twinkling and flitting in the finery of the -merchant service.</p> - -<p>I contrasted all this noise—threaded by strange groaning rumblings -down in the bowels of the metal keel, as though the giant, steam, lying -imprisoned, was beginning to mutter in his impatience and shake his -chains—with the peace on board the 'Lady Emma' when I mounted her side -with Marie and her father and Mrs. Burke. All was quiet there, the -masts pointed their crossed and knitted heights silent in the breeze -as a tree that sleeps in the dead calm of a summer's night; about -was spread a shining scene of river abounding in life and colour, in -gliding and in stately motion; but the ear was not vexed.</p> - -<p>However, it would not be long before the 'Cambrian' was under way, and, -indeed, whilst I was seeing to my baggage in my berth, and taking a -view of the bedroom I was to sleep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> in for thirty-five or forty days, I -heard noises and felt a vibration which satisfied me we were about to -start.</p> - -<p>The vessel was something less than nine hundred tons; she was fitted -with a saloon, on either hand of which went a range of sleeping berths, -and the amidships was filled with a long table. She was rigged as a -schooner, with a couple of yards on each mast, and sat with a promise -of swiftness in her posture, her bow being yacht-like and sharp, -dominant, that is, with a good spring, whilst the run of her vanished -in a very pretty mould of stern.</p> - -<p>She would be laughed at now; side by side with the Cape white giantess -of to-day, thrashing from the top of the North Atlantic to the other -bottom of the South Atlantic in a trifle more than a fortnight, how -meanly would she show! even as a pinnace or steam launch in the shadow -of the man-of-war that owns her. No splendour of internal fittings;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> -nothing rememberable in the form of smoke-room or bath-room. And still -my heart swells with the memory of that little iron steamer, which long -since ceased, save as one of the countless spectres of the deep, the -true and only phantom ships of the sea.</p> - -<p>It was a bleak, dark November day when we started; a strong wind blew, -and the sky was thick and near with rolling snow-clouds. We passed -along Southampton Water in a squall of sleet, and though imagination -was never an inactive quality in me, yet then, more keenly than at any -previous time, was I able to realise the significance of Wall's story -of the dismasted hull, the high foaming seas of the great ocean past -the Horn, the mountains of ice rocking their lofty summits in the smoke -of flying flakes.</p> - -<p>It was blowing fresh in the open, clear of the Isle of Wight; the -little steamer pitched and sprang and made vile weather of the spiteful -snap of that November Channel surge.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> She drove the most of us to our -berths, and for four days I was a prisoner, stupidly sick and helpless. -Then I stepped forth feeling well again, and making my way on to the -poop found a fine day, a swelling sea, a rattling breeze astern, before -which the vessel, with bladder-like canvas swelling hard from her yards -and black funnel pouring smoke over the bows to the horizon ahead, was -bowling and rolling, with an occasional kick up astern which drove a -shock and vibration of exposed screw through the length of her.</p> - -<p>Abreast on the right was a little ship under full sail braced sharp -up, tearing through the seas; the red flag of England stood like a -board at her mizzen peaks. She was apparently bound home. The water -swept in sheets from her steering stem, and every flash of the white -brine was magically spanned by a rainbow. She was painted black, and -to my land-going eye exactly resembled the 'Lady Emma,' though the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -practised nautical glance would doubtless have witnessed plenty that -distinguished her from the other. I watched her with fascinated gaze, -and in deep melancholy, as she swept through the brilliant curls of -sea, clouding her path as she dived and scoring the rolling blue astern -of her with an arrow-like line of light.</p> - -<p>Just such sailing as that had Marie described in the fragment of -journal we had received. She had named the sails, flung with dexterous -pen the very sheen of the lustrous rounds of canvas upon the vision of -the mind, painted the picture of the deck, the dark wet length of plank -gleaming along the sobbing scuppers at every roll, sailors hanging in -the rigging with marling-spikes and coils of small stuff, or stitching -on spaces of canvas in the sun, the mate walking the weather side of -the deck, her own dear self seated under a short awning talking with -her old nurse about the home she was leaving, about the countries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -she was to visit. I caught my breath with a spasm and turned from the -beautiful picture.</p> - -<p>We were a great number of passengers for so small a vessel. When -the fine weather came and the people got their stomachs, no more -hospitable scene at meal-time was ever afloat than that saloon of -over thirty years ago. There is plenty of finery at sea in this age; -but the picturesque is almost dead; it flourished then. Much of the -old Indiaman, the old Caper and South Spanier survived in the early -steamer. You found this in colours and fittings, and in rig; for, none -of us yet making cocksure of the cub of the engine-room, a fabric nigh -as spacious and wide as that of the sailing ship was reared to draw -from the wind the help the propeller might refuse.</p> - -<p>This little steamer, too, would go along in an ambling way when it was -fine, like any large ship with the wind on the quarter, taking the wide -heaves of the deep in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> procession of curtseys whilst she fanned the -sky with her squares of canvas. I see again the dinner-picture of a -fine afternoon: a row of well-dressed people filling the long table; -the captain bland and watchful at one end; someone trembling in brass -buttons at the other; the claret-coloured light of the setting sun -ripples in polished bulkhead and makes rubies of diamonds on moving -hands; every shadow sways with slow grace, and the large round cabin -windows deepen into dark blue, or glance out in crimson light as the -vessel softly rolls them from sea to sky.</p> - -<p>My place at table was at top, on the captain's right: a seat of -distinction, but a matter of accident so far as I was concerned. The -commander of this steamer, to give the worthy skipper a sounding name, -was a kindly hearted seaman named Strutt, who had used the sea for many -years in sailing ships, and had much to tell about the ocean life. One -of the passengers was a retired shipmaster<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> who, I understood, was -making the voyage to the Cape to seek some waterside berth in South -Africa; he was a Newcastle man and had been bred to the sea in the coal -trade; such was his contempt of steam he could find nothing in his rude -and quaint dialect vigorous enough to dress it in. He sat within three -or four of the captain on the left and they often argued, and their -speech was my diversion.</p> - -<p>I remember one day, shortly before we made the island of Madeira, that -these two men got upon the subject of Polar expeditions. The captain -said that the discovery of the North Pole would be as important to -navigation and science as the discovery of America was to civilisation. -The other replied that the North Pole was of no use to any mortal man. -What was it? An imagination. Nothing you could see, or sit upon, or -lean against. At this a great many people laughed. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> - -<p>A middle-aged lady sitting at a little distance on my right begged that -the North Pole would not be mentioned; she had lost a promising nephew -in consequence of it. He had sailed in one of the expeditions and had -fallen into a deep hole beside the ship when she lay upon the ice, and, -marvellous to relate, though the body of the poor young man was not -discovered until six weeks afterwards, it was so perfectly fresh, the -face so lifelike, the colour on the cheeks so exactly as in health, -that all wondered he did not speak and smile.</p> - -<p>'There's no perishing in ice,' said the retired shipmaster in a deep -voice, 'once dead, ye keep arle on. Sir John Franklin was to be found. -Nought was wanting but the right sort of men to look for him. He's -somewhere up there still, just as he died, poor chap, hard as a statue, -him and the rest of them, saving those they fed on.'</p> - -<p>'What's the action of salt water on a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> body?' said an old gentleman -sitting five or six down on the opposite side.</p> - -<p>'It drowns,' replied the retired shipmaster.</p> - -<p>'I don't mean that,' said the other, 'does it preserve as ice does?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir,' answered the shipmaster. 'The sea sarves a drowned sailor as -the crimps sarve the live ones. It strips him, and when he's naked it -tarns to and kicks and beats him till his mother wouldn't know whose -child it was.'</p> - -<p>'Not always,' exclaimed the old gentleman with emphasis.</p> - -<p>The retired shipmaster leaned forward to see him, but made no reply.</p> - -<p>Then the captain, at the head of the table, exclaimed: 'I knew a man -years ago who had penetrated far north in a whaler. They were frozen -up for a spell, hard bound in white ice, with hills to the horizon, -till the season came and they broke adrift, the piece they were on -floated round a point and gave<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> them the sight of a little barque -stranded on a slope, her topmast was standing, sails furled, everything -in its place—she looked as if she had gone ashore the day before. -They boarded her and found by her log and papers she had been in that -situation eight years. But that wasn't it,' said he with a glance down -the double line of listening faces turned his way, one of the most -eagerly attentive of which I observed was the old gentleman's. 'In the -cabin they found five frozen men, they looked to have died without a -groan one after the other, every man in the act of doing something, -none guessing that the forefinger of the grinning king was on his -heart. One sat with a pipe in his hand, another leaned on the table as -though he was meditating, a third lay back in his chair, his eyes on -the skylight as if he heard a noise on deck. That's what cold will do,' -said he.</p> - -<p>Something at this point diverted the conversation, and the subject was -dropped. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> - -<p>When I left the table I went on deck; the west was still full of -warm splendour, the sea ran heaving in deep blue folds to an horizon -crystalline in the delicate sweep of it against the east, on whose -violet slope—that looked to thrill with the depth of its own hue as -the blue of the calm trembles under the eye—a large star was flashing.</p> - -<p>I lighted a cigar, sunk in thought over the talk about the ice. If the -body should not prove Marie's, then, supposing the hull had got locked, -how long would she be able to support life in the bleak dark cabin? I -had often asked that of myself and of others. I asked it again now, and -whilst my mind ran upon the dinner talk Captain Robson, the old retired -Newcastle shipmaster, stepped up to me.</p> - -<p>They did not allow you to smoke on the poop; I stood in what would -be called the gangway, and Captain Robson came along with a great -meerschaum pipe in his hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> stuffing the bowl with a queer kind of -granulated tobacco which he pulled out of a little sack.</p> - -<p>'This is Zooloo mundungus,' said he with a hoarse, shouting laugh; -'I am learning to like it. They say it is arle a man can get on the -coast yon,' and he hove up three stout chins in a measured nod in the -direction of the sea over the bows.</p> - -<p>'Are you going to take charge of a ship?' said I.</p> - -<p>'I'm going to seek a job,' he answered.</p> - -<p>'Were you long at sea, captain?'</p> - -<p>'Ay, was I? Since I was twelve. D'ee ken,' said he, broadening his -accent for my entertainment, 'that I'm the original laddie of this -yarn: A boy was holding a candle in the North Sea for the skipper -whilst he overhauled his chart. "Eh, sir," says the boy, "if they did -but ken war we was at home!" "If we kenned oursells," says the skipper, -"I'd ne'er heed a dam!"' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> - -<p>'You seem to know a good deal about the ice,' said I.</p> - -<p>'I knew too much about most things,' he answered, puffing. 'If you was -to turn to and pump out my mind, more'd come up than what the poets -call sparkling brine.'</p> - -<p>He looked to right and left to observe if he was overheard, and I -guessed he was a wag who liked the laughter of many.</p> - -<p>Just then four Italian emigrants began to sing together on the -forecastle; their voices swelled in a pleasing concert; the rude -harmonies of the engine-room, dim and deep, as interpretable as human -voices, so articulate was the metallic clangour, mingled with the music -the singers made without vexing the ear.</p> - -<p>I listened, then looked at Captain Robson, whose round face was staring -deafly seawards.</p> - -<p>'Captain,' said I, 'figure a dismasted hull in sixty degrees of south -latitude and nothing of land nearer than the South Shetlands. When she -was abandoned there was plenty of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> tall ice on the horizon in points, -on both bows and astern. What's to become of that wreck?'</p> - -<p>'Are ye speaking of the "Lady Emma"?' said he.</p> - -<p>I started and exclaimed, 'Oh, you've heard of her loss?'</p> - -<p>'I've known Jim Hobbs, one of her owners, ever since he was a boy,' he -answered. 'A little while afore I left London I met him at a luncheon -party and we talked that loss o'er. Loss! Well, ye've not to call it -<i>that</i> yet, neither. The skipper and two females remained aboard, Hobbs -told me. The crew was quick in desarting. There was twelve foot of -stump forrard, Hobbs said; they should have given the capt'n a chance. -With less than twelve foot of stump when I was a boy, good prizes have -been blowed under jury canvas into safety. But when steam came in,' -said he, turning to send a gaze of contempt at the funnel, 'the sailor -went out. Let the master of the "Lady Emma" have had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> a collier crew of -my time aboard, and they'd ha' made no more of the loss of all three -masts—twelve foot of stump and the bowsprit remaining, according to -Hobbs—than a dog of his tail.'</p> - -<p>'What chance do you give the hull?' said I.</p> - -<p>He viewed me with an arch lift of his eyebrows, as though his smile at -the instant were in <i>them</i> only.</p> - -<p>'I'll answer you as I answered Hobbs that same question,' said he, -after discharging a number of puffs; 'she'll be heard of again. I don't -care about the ice. Dismast your ship and she'll wash round an object. -I'm not speaking of a dead-be shore leagues long. Plant an iceberg -close aboard a hulk and she'll wallow clear. It's the height of spar, -the weight of rigging, plenty of surface of stowed sail for the wind -to shoulder, that keeps a vessel helpless in her drift when she's not -under command.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> - -<p>'But if she strikes she's gone, masts or no masts.'</p> - -<p>'She'll swim for her life. It's like striking out clear of your -clothes.'</p> - -<p>'You give that hull a chance then, captain?'</p> - -<p>'I give her this chance: first, as to the ice; she's a naked swimmer, -light as a cask, with the wind for a buffer 'twixt her and the ice, -and a backwash of sea which she'll make the most of. And then this: if -a whaler falls in with her and she's sound they'll tow her clear. She -was worth thirty-two thousand pounds, ship and cargo, when she left the -Thames. There's sights of grease, mon, in that money.'</p> - -<p>He ended this talk by giving a loud laugh and walking a little way -forward, where he stood, pipe in hand, listening to a German Jew and -his wife who were singing a duet.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXII</span> <span class="smaller">THE PHOTOGRAPHS</span></h2> - -<p>It was three or four days after this conversation with Captain Robson, -a soft, blue glowing afternoon, the sparkling heaves of water lifting -south along the course of the steamer, with a pearly feathering of the -salt foam going straight as the metals of a railway astern where, in -the distant blue air, hung the slowly dissolving shadow of the island -of Madeira quitted by us that morning.</p> - -<p>Many had gone ashore; we were now a thin company aft, the poop and -saloon almost yacht-like with room and comparative privacy.</p> - -<p>The name of the master of the steamer was Captain Strutt. I had been -having a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> short chat with Captain Robson on the quarter-deck whilst the -skipper of the steamer was on the bridge talking with the first mate; I -went slowly aft and got upon the poop, and whilst I was there, looking -over the side into the exquisitely pure liquid recess of ocean on the -port-beam, with some orange star of sail glowing in it, whilst all -between the burnished swell was working in glassy swathes rich with the -gleams of the splendour in the south-west, Captain Strutt joined me.</p> - -<p>'Robson,' said he, with a face of amusement, 'is a comical old -gentleman. In my boyhood they called that sort of thing a sea-dog. It's -a dying type. The skipper who wears the hat of the London streets and -comes on deck in galoshes when the men are washing down, decays apace. -We should take a long look at Robson, for when he is gone we shall not -easily behold his like again.'</p> - -<p>'His is a dry old mind,' said I, 'tough as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> sailor's beef, with the -pickle of his experiences.'</p> - -<p>'He was telling me last night, Mr. Moore,' said the captain, 'that -you're interested in the loss of the "Lady Emma."'</p> - -<p>'I have asked him, as a seaman, questions on the subject,' said I.</p> - -<p>'I read the account of her being dismasted in one of the papers,' he -exclaimed. 'It was made a bad job of, I thought, by three people being -left aboard the hull, two of them women. D'ye ever see the "Shipping -Gazette"?'</p> - -<p>'No.'</p> - -<p>'In a number of it a week or two before we sailed, there was a strange -piece quoted out of a Cape paper.'</p> - -<p>'A strange piece?' I exclaimed, scarcely understanding the expression. -'Had it anything to do with the "Lady Emma"?'</p> - -<p>'Why, no,' he answered, leaning upon the rail and looking with a -seaman's level, steady<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> gaze at the orange-coloured sail on the -horizon, talking carelessly, in evident intention to amuse me merely, -'a large three-masted schooner picked up the body of a woman much about -the parts where the hull of the "Lady Emma" was washing about. The -master took it to be the corpse of the wife of a friend of his, and put -it into brine or spirit to preserve it for Christian interment ashore. -A queer item of cargo, little relished by the jacks in the schooner, I -warrant ye! And yet handsomely done, too, on the part of the master, if -you think of it; for suppose one dear to you drowned, what would you -give that the remains should be buried with a memorial atop? That's -always the feeling along-shore, even amongst the humblest; they'll -offer pounds reward for the body. It's sentiment—and only to bury it -in earth after all; as if this,' said he, waving his hand, 'wasn't the -freshest, the most spacious, the most splendid of all cemeteries, every -white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> curl of sea a tombstone, and God's voice in the wind to keep ye -sleeping and comforted.'</p> - -<p>I listened in silence, but intently.</p> - -<p>'The schooner carried the body to the Cape,' he went on, 'where of -course it was promptly buried after they had photographed the poor -thing.'</p> - -<p>'Did they photograph the body?' I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>He whipped upon me quickly, struck by my tone, no doubt, and eyed me -keenly. He witnessed a change of face, and perhaps a sudden pallor, but -took no further notice, lightly saying:</p> - -<p>'Yes, the body was photographed, and a couple of the pictures are -aboard.'</p> - -<p>'In this steamer?'</p> - -<p>He again looked at me; then, directing his eyes round the poop, said:</p> - -<p>'Do you see that old gentleman sitting in the easy chair near the -skylight?'</p> - -<p>It was the old gentleman who some days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> previously had asked Captain -Robson at the dinner table what was the action of salt water on a body, -to which the north-country skipper had drily answered, 'It drowns.'</p> - -<p>'Has that man photographs of the body?' I exclaimed, staring at the old -gentleman with nervous tremors running through me, shaking the very -voice in my throat, so sudden and unexpected was this.</p> - -<p>'I can tell you his story; he makes no secret of it,' said the captain. -'His name's Hoskins; he is Mrs. Ollier's father. He is going to the -Cape to make sure that the body's his child by opening the coffin, -if the authorities will permit it. But he's in no doubt; he showed -me the pictures; the master of the schooner, knowing him very well, -sent two by steamer. He says they're the portrait of his girl. She had -been stopping at Santiago with her sister, a married woman there; and -was bound round to Monte Video to join, or await the arrival of,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> her -husband, who sailed from the Thames in August in command of the ship -"York"—what's there in this?—Mr. Moore, I hope this matter——'</p> - -<p>He began to stutter, and was full of concern, seeing me suddenly lean -against the rail, breathing hard with oppression with a face which I -might guess by my emotions alarmed him. But guessing that my agitation -would speedily take the eye of the many who were walking or sitting -about the deck, I asked, after pausing a minute to recover myself, -if I could be alone with him for a little while, on which he at once -conducted me to the chart room or some sort of interior dedicated to -him as commander, but not a bedroom, furnished with a horsehair couch, -a clock, and the several instruments and conveniences for navigating a -vessel.</p> - -<p>He hooked the door, leaving it a little way open. Without preface I -told him that Miss Marie Otway, only daughter of Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> Mortimer Otway, -was my sweetheart; she had gone a voyage for her health in the 'Lady -Emma'; soon after the news of that ship having been dismasted reached -home, there arrived the extraordinary tale of the body of a woman -having been picked up in the latitude and longitude the hull was in -when abandoned by the crew; the description of the body, I told him, -was that of Miss Otway, and my only motive in making the voyage to the -Cape was to examine the remains, if the exhumation would be permitted.</p> - -<p>He listened with deep interest and a countenance of cordial sympathy.</p> - -<p>'Now, sir,' said he, 'I can understand your motive in questioning old -Captain Robson.'</p> - -<p>'If the body be not Miss Otway I shall want to know what chance she's -had aboard that hull. Robson's an old sailor, and I've drawn a little -hope out of his talk, providing——'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said he, gathering my meaning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> even from my pause, 'I should -say, sir, that a man would know his own child. Old Mr. Hoskins assured -me, whilst telling his story, with the tears standing in his eyes, that -the portrait sent him was the likeness of Mrs. Ollier, his daughter. -That being so, it's reasonable you should ask questions about the -wreck.'</p> - -<p>'Would Mr. Hoskins show me those portraits, do you think?'</p> - -<p>'Show them? Why, yes, sir. When he hears the story, he'll be glad to be -of use. If you'll stop here, I'll go and manage the matter out of hand -for you.'</p> - -<p>I thanked him and he departed.</p> - -<p>I continued alone for some time with my mind tormented by anxiety and -expectation. Though old Mr. Hoskins declared the portraits to be his -daughter's, yet he might very well be mistaken, too. I waited in dread. -The distress of expectation and suspense was complicated by the fear -that the action of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> sea, the convulsion and agony of drowning, had -so wrought as to make a cheat of the face: to the old man it was to be -his child, and to me it was to plead dimly as Marie out of its shrunk, -ghastly looks! How should we decide then? Indeed, none might ever get -to certainly know <i>who</i> it was, and I should go home fancying I had -viewed the face of my beloved in death, and fancying, too, for months -to come, that she had been rescued and, by the many strange crosses of -travel and adventure, detained, but that she was coming and I should -hear.</p> - -<p>Thus I sat, my mind in anguish, starting up sometimes to pace the few -feet of charterhouse deck, then flinging myself down miserable and mad -with thought.</p> - -<p>A canary suddenly sang loudly in a cage under the clock; in every plank -was the pulse of the engines, like a tingling of blood in veins; from -over the side came a note of stealthy hissing, subtly threading the -noises<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> of the deck like someone in a theatre low hissing through the -voices of the actors.</p> - -<p>In about twenty minutes the captain arrived with Mr. Hoskins. He -brought the old gentleman in and hooked the door ajar.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hoskins was a fresh-coloured old man, white bearded, with intensely -black eye brows curling like moustaches over his glittering black -eyes; he was dressed in black. I had observed in him a patient way of -looking, of speaking; his voice was a little tremulous with time—he -was probably sixty-five years of age.</p> - -<p>He held a large envelope which, on entering, he put down on top of his -hat, and making me a bow slowly, he exclaimed, in the broken tones of -his years:</p> - -<p>'It is truly extraordinary, sir, that you and I should be going to the -Cape on the same errand, in the same ship.'</p> - -<p>'Truly indeed,' I answered. 'The captain has told you my story?' and -here I looked at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> Captain Strutt, who answered 'Yes. Those are the -portraits,' and he pointed to the envelope.</p> - -<p>I glanced at the package as at a sheet or veil which conceals a face -you love which your heart shrinks from beholding in death.</p> - -<p>'She's not your young lady, sir,' said Mr. Hoskins, slowly extending -his arm to take up the envelope. 'She is my daughter. My niece -instantly recognised the likeness.'</p> - -<p>He sighed heavily, seating himself with a slow movement, whilst he put -the envelope upon his knee to draw a spectacle case from his pocket. -Meanwhile he spoke:</p> - -<p>'She was twenty-four years of age and had been married three years. Her -husband took her to Santiago and left her there with her sister. She -was to have joined him at Monte Video—but you have heard, sir, you -have heard?'</p> - -<p>I bowed, trembling with impatience, and still cold at heart, spite of -his words, with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> dread that had been mine since I heard of those -photographs. He put on his spectacles, and, laying his hand upon the -envelope upon his knee, looked at me with magnified eyes.</p> - -<p>'It is very wonderful,' said he, 'that your young lady should have been -left in a wreck close to the place where my poor child's body was met -with.'</p> - -<p>Captain Strutt, with a sudden fidget of his whole figure, said, 'Mr. -Hoskins, will you show Mr. Moore the portraits?'</p> - -<p>But the old gentleman must first look at them himself. He pulled them -out and surveyed them with a countenance of mourning, one in either -hand, his underlip working garrulously, and again and again he sighed, -till, lifting my eyes from the portraits to his face, I saw that his -cheeks were wet. Then, but with one of his patient gestures, he put the -pictures together and extended them to me.</p> - -<p>I looked first at one, then at the other; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> likenesses were not -Marie. I could allow for the changes caused by drowning, by immersion, -by the month-long action of spirits or brine; and still, with a wild -throb of joy that half choked me, I saw that the likenesses were not -Marie.</p> - -<p>They were two dreadful portraits of one face, dreadful to look upon; -one in profile, the other full, the body manifestingly having been -turned to confront the camera. The whiteness of the face in the -pictures was as shocking a part as any: the cheeks were so sunk you -would have thought she had sucked in her breath, with horrid scorn, -a living woman, when the lens of the instrument was turned upon her. -They had swept her hair off her brow for a clear view of the face; I -supposed it was pale hair by the look of it, but it was not Marie's—it -was not grown low on the forehead as hers was; the eyebrows were not -hers—they were too thick; the ears were too large for Marie's, and, -which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>convinced me absolutely, the shape of the nose was not my dear -one's; no wasting by the action of rolling water, no shrinkage by long -immersion, whether in brine or spirits, could work any structural -change in the nose.</p> - -<p>I have those dreadful photographs in my mind's eye now, I cannot -express their ghastliness. It was not only the forehead rendered naked -by the manner in which the hair had been swept back by the artist, nor -a more terrible sort of blindness in the droop and rigidity of the -upper lids than anything to be imagined in death's cold glazing of the -balls of vision, nor the meaninglessness in the look of the mouth, -as though it had been some wild man's carving of a grin on an idol, -neither human nor yet of the beast most sickening. The deep and subtle -horror I found in that face was there through fancy of the terrific -ocean solitude it had floated in, the icy surge that had tossed it, the -pitiless stars which had looked down upon it, the roaring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> blasts of -sleet and hail which had thundered over it.</p> - -<p>I put the pictures together with a shudder and a face contorted by the -pain and imaginations of the sight, and in silence handed them to Mr. -Hoskins. Both men waited for me to speak. I stopped to fetch a few -breaths, then said:</p> - -<p>'This poor girl is not Miss Otway.'</p> - -<p>'She is my daughter!' exclaimed the old man, again holding up the -pictures to view them. 'Oh, my poor child!'</p> - -<p>The canary began to sing loudly; the silencing of it enabled Captain -Strutt to turn his back upon us. It was indeed moving to see that old -man with his wet cheeks and talking inarticulate underlip, looking at -the two portraits. He placed them in his pocket after a minute or two, -then, pulling off his glasses, smiled faintly at me and said:</p> - -<p>'The grief is mine, you see, sir.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> - -<p>'And still mine, Mr. Hoskins,' I replied. 'Since that is your child -you certainly know where she is, and therefore what has become of her; -but what can any man tell of Miss Otway? She was dear to me, aye, -even as <i>she</i> was to you,' said I, pointing to the breast of his coat -where the pictures lay. 'We were to have been married—oh, pray think, -sir! the news they brought home, the last news of her, told me of her -as abandoned with two companions in a dismasted hull in the wildest -ocean in the world—amongst the ice—heavenly God!' I cried, springing -to my feet, am I to believe her as that poor girl is—but never to -know—never to be sure that it was so—that it is so?'</p> - -<p>And now I know that the sight of those portraits had wrenched me to -the very soul, by speaking of Marie as she <i>might</i> be. This, with the -reaction; for it was not my sweetheart who lay at Cape Town. I had -felt an instant's joy on the discovery; that was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> past and it was as -before—black uncertainty troubled and thick with a hundred shapeless -fears and fancies.</p> - -<p>'It's a great pity,' said Captain Strutt bluntly, 'that you didn't know -Mr. Hoskins had those pictures. You could have gone ashore at Madeira -and got home some time before we arrive at the Cape.'</p> - -<p>'Pray what may have convinced you that my poor girl, as described in -the papers, was Miss Otway?' said Mr. Hoskins.</p> - -<p>I gave him all the reasons: the description, tallying feature by -feature, point by point in hair, stature, refinement of features and -the like; the letter O on the garment; the serge dress and fur-trimmed -jacket. The old gentleman lifted his hands and his gaze with one of his -patient gestures and look, now of surprise.</p> - -<p>'It is more than remarkable,' he cried; 'it exceeds belief.'</p> - -<p>'Your daughter was married and therefore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> wore a wedding ring,' said -Captain Strutt. 'That ring's commonly a tight fit.'</p> - -<p>'It was no doubt as Captain Goldsmith wrote,' said Mr. Hoskins, 'the -water shrivelled the fingers and the ring slipped off.'</p> - -<p>'Miss Otway wore rings,' said I; 'the lady had none. Therefore its -having no rings proves nothing. Plunge your warm living hand into -ice-cold water, and your tightest ring will wonderfully slacken.'</p> - -<p>'True,' said Captain Strutt. 'And still, Mr. Moore, if I was in your -place, I shouldn't rest satisfied with the evidence of those portraits.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, but Mr. Hoskins and I are agreed,' said I. 'He recognises his -child and I know that it is not Miss Otway.'</p> - -<p>'It's my intention to exhume the remains—a sorrowful task—if they'll -grant me permission,' said Mr. Hoskins. 'Since you <i>must</i> now proceed -to the Cape, then, if it would satisfy you to look into the coffin when -it is opened, you will be very welcome, sir.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> - -<p>I thanked him, adding, however, that I could not be more satisfied -than I was. And so, after some further conversation, we quitted the -captain's private room.</p> - -<p>I might have supposed this discovery of the body not being Marie—and I -was as convinced of it as though I positively knew she was alive—would -have comforted me, helped something towards the cheering of my spirits; -instead, I seemed in my heart as much depressed as if the portrait of -the dead girl had been hers. This was because, had I known she was -dead, the worst would have been reached. But now I was to make a weary -journey to the Cape to no imaginable purpose. I was to linger there -till a returning steamer sailed, then measure all these leagues of -water afresh, to arrive home as ignorant of her fate as though I had -never set foot out of London.</p> - -<p>During the rest of the passage, which was absolutely uneventful, I -held much aloof<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> from the people; I was too low-spirited to join in -their conversation and amusements; I begged the captain and Mr. Hoskins -to allow my trouble to remain their secret, and they very faithfully -obliged me. Captain Strutt would often pace the deck for half an hour -at my side, and in such quiet walks our talk nearly always concerned -the 'Lady Emma.' He by no means gave me the encouragement I had got -from old Robson; he told me honestly that it was as likely as not the -three had been taken off the wreck, but advised me not to hope too much -in that way after I returned to England, 'because,' said he, 'the news -of such a rescue is bound to come to hand soon; things are not as they -were forty years ago; you have the telegraph and the steamer and the -newspaper. They were wrecked in July,' said he. 'If it was my business, -I'd allow eight months, then, hearing nothing, I'd give them up.'</p> - -<p>He flatly differed from old Robson's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> notion of the comparative safety -of a dismasted hull amongst icebergs. 'How,' he exclaimed, in a grave -wondering voice, 'could any sailorman talk such stuff? It's like his -prejudice against the North Pole. What's to hinder a dismasted vessel -from being flung against ice, and hammered to pieces? I don't talk to -dispirit you, sir, but my reasoning is, if a loss must be a loss, then -for God's sake let it be made and have done.'</p> - -<p>The 'Cambrian' entered Table Bay, December 13. It was early in the -morning, but the sun was already high, and when I went on deck and -looked around me, I beheld as flashing and noble a scene of blue water -and mountain as this earth has to show. The atmosphere was brimful of -white and even splendour, so that the azure of the sky looked cold in -it. Wonderful to my eyes was the sight of a gale of wind so local in -its fury that freshing confines of the torn water, curved like a line -of beach, this side being smooth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> and glittering, softly fanned with a -little air out of the west, where the white light was so lustrous that -the leaning sails of the Malay boats flickered in it with a look of -frosted silver.</p> - -<p>Afar, and marvellously clear cut in their hundred miles of distance, -loomed a range of lofty mountains; the fierce wind was blowing out of a -glorious white mist which veiled, with falling and ascending draperies -of vapour, the greater bulk of the tawny mass on the right; but so -marvellously brilliant was the atmosphere through which the gale was -rushing, the sense of distance vanished, the huge steep lifting and -disappearing in its splendour of mist, drew close, I saw the curves -of the cloofs, every wrinkle of broken rock, and patches of the bush, -though it was all miles off and high in air. The white houses spread -like toys of ivory to the base; and the wide waters of the bay, full -of the gleam of the brushing westerly air, and rushing in froth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> under -the shriek and lash of the gale, where the breast of blue rounded to -the town, were framed by a sparkling snow-white beach, past which the -swelling country showed in reds and greens till the sight died upon the -phantom blue of distant heights.</p> - -<p>There were no docks in those days, nor can I recollect that they had -begun to build the breakwater. We brought up in the splendid weather -outside the thrashing storm, but it seemed we were to be kept aboard -till the south-easter had blown itself out. Many ships, a few very -large and fine, lay straining at their anchors, some within and some -without that spray-white sheet of foul weather. I stood at the rail -looking at a little barque which lay within easy hail of the voice; Mr. -Baynton, chief officer of the 'Cambrian' approached to look at a boat -that lay close under alongside. But his seaman's eye went quickly to -the barque, and turning to me, he said: </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> - -<p>'That's what they call a spouter.'</p> - -<p>'A whaler?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. She looks it, sir. See the boats at her cranes. What sort of -daylight filters through those greasy grimy scuttles in her side, I -wonder? She is an American, and draws decently; three years out by the -looks of her, fresh from parts where its always too hot or always too -cold, and with how many barrels aboard, ha! It's said no seaman thinks -anything of a man as a sailor who's learnt his trade in a greaser. -For my part I look upon 'em with respect and admiration. What Jack of -us all sees the like of their seafaring? Let alone the weather, and -that touches the extremes. What magnificent work in boats! what nerve -and determination! To think of one of those egg-shells,' said he, -nodding at the boats at the whaler's cranes, 'being in tow of a rushing -mountain of stinking black flesh, shooting blood and brine sky high, -every thrash of the tail a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> Niagara drench of rearing white water—ha!'</p> - -<p>He sucked in his cheeks, blew them out again in a low whistle of -admiration, and walked off.</p> - -<p>I did not land till four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Hoskins, when we -parted, put his card into my hand, with an address at Cape Town upon -it, and begged me to let him know the house I put up at, that he might -communicate in case I should think proper to confirm the revelation of -the photographs by an inspection of the remains.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXIII</span> <span class="smaller">THE SHIP SEEN ON THE ICE</span></h2> - -<p>I was advised against the two or three bad hotels in Cape Town, and -whilst in the ship had obtained the address of a boarding-house. It was -a comfortable big Dutch-built house, low, without chimneys; it stood -in a garden full of moon-lilies, and many lovely flowers, the fairest -of them scentless. Here I found a colonel from India for his health, a -Dutch couple, and one or two others. From the stoep of this house you -saw the grand mass of Table Mountain, seemingly close to; the shadow -of its noble bulk seemed to fill the heavens and swell with sensible, -usurping presence into the far reaches of the country. I had travelled -in mountainous parts in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> Europe, but never before witnessed such a -tyrannous domination as this. The colossal ramparts caught up the whole -prospect whilst you looked in a swinging sweep of their length, till -'twas all mountain with the steam-like vapour shredding away from the -boiling whiteness atop, and the houses clustering into the base like -things of life shuddering back into the giant refuge.</p> - -<p>Such were the fantastic notions I got of the thing as I sat, cigar in -mouth, on the stoep of the boarding-house on the first night of my -arrival. The full moon was shining over the bay. I saw through the -trees a space of the silvered waters, with the black figures and lines -of ships anchored in the trembling glow, spotting it with their riding -lights. The breeze was falling in sighs down the steep and troubling -the vegetation into the shedding of some perfume upon the night air; -the tinkling of the crickets spread low, like a noise of fairy bells, -over the land, surging up in the warm, damp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> breeze and dying. I heard -a band of music in the distance, but the mountain shone upon by the -moon and now radiant at the summit with snow-white mist, looked the -tranquility of its great face into the night, and the peace of its -sublime silence dwelt like a spirit everywhere, to the very height of -the stars, down to the waters trembling under the moon.</p> - -<p>This rest was grateful and exquisitely refreshing after the ceaseless -motions of the ship and the senseless chatter of the engine-room. And -yet, though I was but just arrived, I now, after my first meal ashore -for many days, sat alone, considering what I should do.</p> - -<p>I had learnt at table there were ships in the bay homeward bound, -also I was aware and had been long aware that I must wait a month -for the next Union steamer to England. I could not, however, bring -myself to endure the prospect of <i>sailing</i> home. The voyage by steam -had already proved unendurably long; and now I might take shipping -under a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>topsail, make a passage of two months to the line, lie in a -month-long trance upon the burnished swathes of the molten silver swell -of the Doldrums, then wish myself dead in six weeks of tempest to the -Scillies, with a long flounder up Channel to round off all.</p> - -<p>Therefore, on this the first night of my arrival at Cape Town, I -resolved to return by steam, taking anything in that way which might -come from the Indies, or, failing that, then the monthly Union steamer.</p> - -<p>The colonel came out of the house with a long cheroot in his mouth, and -sat down by my side. He was a man with bland manners, and a sarcastic -voice. He talked contemptuously of Cape Town and its people, and cursed -the indisposition that had driven him into such a barbarous hole, -where you were distempered by bad cooks, poisoned by dreadful smells, -maddened by the horns of the coloured costermongers. I was in no temper -to hear him and was glad when he got up and strolled off. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> - -<p>Here was I, thousands of miles from home—for what purpose? I was no -nearer to Marie! Would she ever be heard of? Was she alive? I looked up -at the full moon and asked of God if its splendour rested anywhere upon -her.</p> - -<p>But then—but then—and my heart ached again as I reflected; it was -in July that her ship was dismasted and last heard of, and this was -December, almost the middle of it—five whole months! And the hard part -was that I should have to live through another interminable period of -expectation before reaching home, where alone I must hope to get news. -Why, even whilst I sat there, with the two Atlantics between England -and me, she might have arrived, or they might have got news that she -was coming, and thus was I sure to go on thinking and hoping until I -returned—when they would tell me they had heard nothing!</p> - -<p>My thoughts went but seldom and lightly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> to the body of the girl who -was resting in her grave somewhere past those trees yonder. <i>She</i> was -not Marie. I'd look upon her if the coffin was lifted and Hoskins -invited me; but <i>she</i> was not Marie! The wonder and pity of her to my -mind now that I had seen the photographs lay in the coincidence of her -discovery, and in the ghastly vision of her floating figure—so young -and fair as she had been—a fancy of ocean loneliness I could somehow -realise better <i>here</i> than at sea, maybe because of the height the -lofty shadow of the mountain sent the stars to, its blotting presence -widening the scene of heaven by exciting imagination of the magnitude -of the hidden slope going over and past it to Agulhas and to where the -ice was.</p> - -<p>After this, for two or three days, I went about alone, struggling with -a mood of depression that discoloured everything I beheld. It robbed -all grace of freshness from the beauty and the splendour of the sights<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -which lay about me. My favourite haunt was the waterside, where I'd -stand watching the Atlantic comber form, huge and polished, out of the -silken swell, arching and rushing onwards in a sparkling bravery of -foam and sunlight; but my thoughts were always with Marie, and again -and again I'd catch myself sighing as I brought my eyes away from the -remote blue distance pass Robben Island.</p> - -<p>It was on the fourth day of my arrival, in the afternoon, that -strolling slowly under the shade of an umbrella from that part of the -waterside close to where the docks now are, I met the colonel who -lodged with me in the boarding-house. He turned from gazing at the bay -under the sharp of his hand, and approached me.</p> - -<p>'Were you ever aboard a whaler?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'Never,' I answered.</p> - -<p>'That ship yonder's a whaler,' said he pointing. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, I know,' I replied. 'I had a good look at her from the side of -the steamer—we lay within a biscuit-toss.'</p> - -<p>'I went aboard of her this morning,' said he, causing me to stop by -halting and looking towards the vessel as though he would have me -observe her whilst he talked. 'She is well worth a visit. Half of -her crew are Kanakas, and the remainder Yankees, and a wild, queer, -hairy lot they are. The captain's a Quaker, a strange, tall, formal -fellow, buttoned up, lean and yellow, and thee's and thou's you; most -unlike a seaman of any I ever saw. He was very civil though, mighty -communicative. I sat an hour in his little cabin and 'twas as good as -going awhaling to hear him. Such an array of harpoons and lances, decks -dark with the mess of blubber boiling—'trying out' the captain called -it. If you want to agreeably pass an hour and forget that you're in a -land of smells and noise, visit her.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> - -<p>I answered it was probable I would do so.</p> - -<p>'Not that she's a nosegay,' said he, with a short, sarcastic laugh, -'but there's nothing Malay in the odour, nothing Dutch. The captain -related an odd incident that happened whilst he was off the Horn, a bit -south of it I think.'</p> - -<p>Here he stepped out and I strolled by his side, pricking my ears, for -there was a magic in the name of Cape Horn that never failed to arrest -my attention.</p> - -<p>'She'd been fishing in the South Seas and finding no quarry was coming -into this ocean. She was running before a strong gale of wind off—I -forget the name of the island; it lies south of the Horn. The land, -coated with ice, stretched along their starboard beam; the captain had -no notion he was so close in. He was looking at the land through his -telescope when, in a sudden flaw that thinned the weather out into -a momentary brilliance, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> caught sight of a large dismasted ship -upright on her keel upon a huge projection of ice that fell sheer to -the wash of the surf. He reckons the height of cliff on which that hull -was poised about thirty feet. How devilish odd! You can figure ships in -many situations, but how in ghosts are they going to cradle themselves -on an elevation of thirty or forty feet?'</p> - -<p>When he said this I stopped dead; a fancy then, at that instant, -flashed into me in pang after pang as though every drop of blood in my -veins was living fire. It brought me to a stand just as if I had been -paralysed, or struck by lightning.</p> - -<p>Presently looking at him and rather gasping than speaking, I said:</p> - -<p>'A dismasted ship, was it? On an island south of the Horn, did he say? -Why, my God, I wonder—I wonder——'</p> - -<p>'What's the matter? What's there in this to—— I hope I—— Catch hold -of my arm!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> exclaimed the colonel, staring at me with astonishment. -'What's it—sunstroke? Not under your umbrella?'</p> - -<p>And he directed his aquiline nose and keen blue eyes right up into the -sky; then put his arm through mine, and we walked slowly, he meanwhile -surveying me askant with every mark of amazement.</p> - -<p>After going a little way, during which I thought I should be unable to -command my tongue or collect my wits, so heart-staggering had been that -leap of fancy in me, I said:</p> - -<p>'You have given me an extraordinary piece of news. I am deeply -interested in a ship that was abandoned in a dismasted state in the -neighbourhood of the Horn.'</p> - -<p>'By gad! then,' said he, halting me with a violent, nervous pull at my -arm, 'you had better go aboard and get a description at first hand, for -the whaler's here to refresh only; she's been in the bay a fortnight -and sails to-morrow.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - -<p>Without exchanging a word I walked, almost ran, to the waterside.</p> - -<p>A number of boats lay rippling close in to the beach. A couple of Malay -or Africander boatmen seeing me coming jumped into one of the little -craft, and in a few minutes I was being rowed in the direction of the -whaler.</p> - -<p>It was about half-past four o'clock in the afternoon; the light of -the high South African midsummer sun fell on the water in a blaze -that made one think of a sky-wide bolt of flame; the scorching heat -steamed to the face off the surface in tingling red-hot needles; there -was not a breath of air; along the polished surface, breathing with -the swell of the sea, slipped the small thunder of the distant surf. -We drew close to the whaler and I read her name upon her counter 'Sea -Queen, Nantucket.' Her sides were blistered and honeycombed with heat -and conflict; her cabin scuttles or windows, in a row of three above -her green sheathing, stared in their dirt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> blearedly across the water, -like the eyes of a blind man; a number of seamen of several dyes of -complexion and queerly attired overhung the bulwark rails.</p> - -<p>She was a little ship of about four hundred tons and looked to be -dropping to pieces with use, so deeply was she seamed, so ill were her -masts stayed, so rusty and pale was her rigging, so worn and ragged the -complexion and suggestion of the canvas heaped clumsily and negligently -bound. When the boat was alongside I looked up at a copper-coloured -face covered with black prickles of hair, and asked if the captain was -aboard.</p> - -<p>'Ay,' was the answer.</p> - -<p>'I wish to see him on very particular business,' said I.</p> - -<p>The man stared stupidly and lounged off.</p> - -<p>'You gittee on board, boss,' said one of the boatmen. 'You hab welcome -allee same as other gents,'</p> - -<p>I took the man's advice, and putting my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> foot on to the shelf or -projection of main channels, sprang and gained the deck in a jump from -the bulwark rail.</p> - -<p>There were probably twenty men lounging forward in every imaginable -posture, smoking and talking; they were black and yellow and some were -of the white man's bronze, long-haired, beards goat-shaped, the figure -of them striking, with grass hats, dungaree trousers, brown shanks, -and shirts of several dyes exposing their furry breasts. They took no -notice of me whatever. The decks were dark with dirt: insufferably -heaped up with caboose, boats, casks, pumps, and some midship -arrangement for boiling blubber. A smell of greese hung cold and nasty -in the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>I faced aft, and was moving that way when a tall figure rose through -the deck from under a sort of wooden hood which yawned at the wheel. I -instantly guessed him the captain by the colonel's description; he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> -lean and hollow, with high cheek bones and a clean shaven face, yellow -as any of his men forward, buttoned up in an old frock coat, and he -wore a grey wideawake, the brim turned down. His eye came to me without -any expression of interest; I judged by his manner his ship had been -much visited.</p> - -<p>I went straight up to him, and lifting my cap asked him if he was the -master of this barque.</p> - -<p>'I am,' he replied, with the usual American drawl.</p> - -<p>'I have come off,' said I, 'to speak with you on a matter of the -deepest interest to myself. I just now met a gentleman who told me that -south of the Horn you sighted a large hull, high and dry upon the ice. -Last July a ship named the "Lady Emma" was dismasted and abandoned by -her crew who left three people aboard: the men quitted her much about -the spot where you sighted the wreck. One of the people remaining in -her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> was Captain Burke, her commander; the others were his wife and -a young lady named Miss Otway. I was engaged to be married to that -young lady, sir, and came here, having arrived from England on the -thirteenth, believing that a body which had been found at sea and -brought to Cape Town was Miss Otway's. It is not so. The remains are -not hers. God knows but that, if the hull you sighted be the "Lady -Emma," the three may be living—aboard—in a hopeless state! Will you -tell me all you can recollect of her appearance and situation?'</p> - -<p>In speaking I had insensibly worked myself up, and ended with my voice -broken by agitation. He looked me steadily in the face, and when I had -ended, after a minute's silence, said:</p> - -<p>'Friend, follow me into the cabin, and I'll tell thee all I know.'</p> - -<p>He led me down a narrow staircase with a little brown, gloomy interior, -whose <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>equipment, glorious as was the day outside, was barely revealed -by the light that struggled through the frame of dirty glass overhead. -The shaft of mizzenmast pierced the deck and was ringed by a number of -polished harpoons which glanced in the gloom with the blue gleam of the -razor. A squab square table was set in the midst of this cabin, and on -either hand it was a locker, rugged and jagged, as though generations -of whalemen had cut up plug tobacco upon the lid.</p> - -<p>The captain told me to sit down, and with a stride or two of his long -legs vanished inside a small berth abaft the mizzenmast. He reappeared, -holding a volume which proved to be his log-book: this he placed upon -the table and sat down in front of it.</p> - -<p>'What might thy name be?' he asked whilst he turned the leaves of the -book.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Moore,' I answered.</p> - -<p>He fastened his eyes on the page, and after reading awhile, said: </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> - -<p>'We sighted the ship on the ice on the morning of October 13. It had -been blowing a hard gale all through the night, but it slackened down -airly in the morning and we put her before it; but so high a sea was -running that had I seen that thar hull full of men I could have done -nothing for them.' He ran his finger along the page and continued: 'The -latitude in which that wreck lies is 60° and the longitude—I'm giving -it thee by thy Greenwich time—will be 45° 28´ W.'</p> - -<p>I pulled out my note-book and entered these figures.</p> - -<p>'Though,' he went on, 'she looks to be lying on ice, it's land that -cradles her. It's what's marked down as Coronation Island, and's the -westermost of the South Orkneys. She lies plain in sight of the sea, -onless the ice since then has come together and blocked her out.'</p> - -<p>'Did you get a good view of her?'</p> - -<p>'Ho, yes; I had her clear for ten minutes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> watching for smoke for a -signal; and I then gave the glass to the mate, who likewise looked till -the run of the land hid her.'</p> - -<p>'Will you describe her as you remember her?'</p> - -<p>'Ho, yes. She was black, a lump of a ship she looked; wal, I daresay -all seven hundred tons. What was the burthen of thy vessel, Mr. Moore?'</p> - -<p>'Six hundred,' I answered.</p> - -<p>'Ho, wal, we was a good ways off, and that thar hull might as wal be -six as seven hundred tons.'</p> - -<p>'Was she clean dismasted?'</p> - -<p>'Clean?—wal, my mate arterwards said there was a stump of foremast -standing. I didn't observe it.'</p> - -<p>'But it must be the ship—the "Lady Emma" herself!' I cried, almost -shouting in my excitement. 'When her masts went over the side, twelve -feet of the foremast remained.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> - -<p>He nodded gravely; but his long, hollow, yellow face reflected nothing -of my emotion, no more than had he been a sheep.</p> - -<p>'Did you see nothing whatever to hint at there being life on board?' I -exclaimed.</p> - -<p>'Nothin',' he answered; 'she hung betwixt thirty and forty foot high -above the wash of the sea, on a big ledge of ice, with the white cliffs -going up behind her. Haow she so perched herself beats all my going -a-fishing; onless the ice jerked her up into it, for when them bergs -are took with convulsions their tricks are queerer than their shapes by -su'thin', and that's a fact.'</p> - -<p>'You saw nothing to hint at life on board?' I repeated.</p> - -<p>He shook his head with solemn emphasis.</p> - -<p>'Your mate saw nothing?'</p> - -<p>Again he wagged his head.</p> - -<p>'Captain, tell me—you are an old hand—could people support life in -that craft as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> she lies there, supposing her to have been stranded -since July last?'</p> - -<p>'No, I reckon.'</p> - -<p>'But would not the people on seeing your ship pass have made a smoke, -have shown some signal, that you could report life as helpless there -since you could not rescue it?'</p> - -<p>'Wal,' he answered, 'supposing folks aboard, thee's not to reckon -they'd be always keeping a look-out. It's mighty cold down thar, an' -they'll be mostly sitting under hatches, an' if they've been thar since -July, as thee says, they'll have growed a little tired, I guess, by -this here time of watching for su'thin' to happen.'</p> - -<p>'Is she accessible?'</p> - -<p>'Haow?'</p> - -<p>'Is she to be got at by the people of a ship sighting her, or sent to -her?'</p> - -<p>'There was a mighty biling of water all along under where she was,' he -answered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> 'Thee'd need a quiet day; but quiet days are to be had, bar -the swell. Folks have landed afore and they'll land again. Ho, yes! If -thy friends are locked up in that thar hull, they're to be got out of -her.'</p> - -<p>'Suppose her there since July; will you believe she has been boarded -and the people released?'</p> - -<p>'Why,' he answered, 'if she's been lying fair and square, clear in -sight as she now is, since that month thee names, it's more'n likely -the folks are out of her. But no vessel was ever put by herself in the -situation of that craft. I reckon she's been worked up into it arter -having lain ice-locked, which may sinnify that for months she's been -hid, so that for all we're to know that thar hull may have been the -first that passed close in with the island since the ice broke away and -exposed her.'</p> - -<p>I listened with a feverish passion of attention, devouring every -syllable his drawling tongue dropped. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Have you a chart of that island?' I asked.</p> - -<p>He nodded gravely and stood up.</p> - -<p>'I'm temperance aft, here,' said he. 'I can offer thee nothing stronger -than lemonade.'</p> - -<p>I was too violently agitated to thank him decently, and stuttering out -an awkward acknowledgment, begged him again to let me see the chart of -the island. He took the log-book with him to his berth, and returning, -spread before me a chart representing a considerable expanse of the -seas off the Horn. My sight was now used to the gloom; when he put his -finger upon the place where he had seen the wreck I bent close, and -observed that he indicated an indent in the tracing marked Palmer's Bay.</p> - -<p>I entered this in my note-book and asked if he would sell the chart. -He couldn't spare it, he said, but added I might easily furnish myself -with what I wanted in that way at Cape Town. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - -<p>My spirits were in such a tumult, my heart beat so wildly, the pulses -of my head throbbed so, there was so much feverish confusion of mind -and brain, I could scarcely rally my wits to the task of further -questioning him; I seemed, indeed, scarcely able to understand him. I -cannot express my amazement, the emotions that swelled my heart. 'Twas -as sure as that I lived that the hull seen by this man was the 'Lady -Emma,' and even whilst I bent over the chart, whilst I lifted up my -eyes to look at him, the thought of the measureless distance at which -the wreck lay, of Marie perhaps being at this very time alive in her; -then the imagination of her having been rescued long since, then the -fancy of the hull as a huge coffin in which my dear one lay frozen -and dead; all this, I say, worked in me like a madness; I was beside -myself, and I pored upon the chart panting, the sweat streaming from my -brows, my hands cold as stone.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXIV</span> <span class="smaller">THE BRIG 'ALBATROSS'</span></h2> - -<p>I remained, nevertheless, in the cabin of the whaler until the captain -grew impatient and showed signs of wishing to be rid of me, on which I -thanked him, shook hands, and was rowed ashore.</p> - -<p>I drove to the boarding-house and there found the following letter—</p> - -<blockquote><p class="right">'Mowbray: December 17, 1860.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Hoskins' compliments to Mr. Moore. He has obtained leave to -open the grave and will, with Mr. Moore's permission, call for him -in a closed carriage at five o'clock to-morrow afternoon.'</p></blockquote> - -<p>This gave a new turn to my thoughts. My first humour was to decline -the invitation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> It was not Marie who lay in that grave, and I did -not like the thought of the memory the sight would create. But after -reflecting awhile, I resolved to attend, a glance would give sinews to -the confirmation of the pictures. Sir Mortimer would also wish that I -should take every measure to satisfy myself as to the identity of the -remains.</p> - -<p>Having written an answer, I went downstairs and sent it to the post by -a servant, by which hour dinner was ready and I took my place. Five -of us were at table, including the lady of the house, who carved. The -colonel sitting opposite me almost immediately asked what news I had -got of the ship seen on the ice. I had made up my mind to talk, partly -because it did me good to do so, partly because I never could tell what -hints and news might follow upon free speech.</p> - -<p>I answered that the dismasted hull the captain of the whaler had seen -was the 'Lady Emma.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Does he think there are people locked up in her?' cried the colonel -with excitement.</p> - -<p>A Dutch gentleman (I will call him Pollak) who sat next him inquired -with civil curiosity what we were talking about. On which I put down -my knife and fork and plainly related the story of the voyage of Marie -Otway for her health, the dismasting of the ship, her abandonment by -the sailors, the reason of my visiting the Cape, and I told him how I -knew by the photographs that the body which had been brought to Cape -Town was not Marie's; but I said nothing about the opening of her -grave; I judged that Mr. Hoskins would not be pleased to find a gaping -crowd in the cemetery at such a time.</p> - -<p>They listened to me with deep attention. All saving the colonel had -heard of the arrival of the schooner with the body; indeed—which -was extraordinary—the Dutch gentleman was one of a few who had been -present when the remains were taken out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> the cask. I had passed -several hours a day since my arrival in this man's company, and now -learnt for the first time that he had seen the body.</p> - -<p>It was no season, however, for questioning him, and the conversation of -the table went to the wreck seen by the captain of the whaler.</p> - -<p>All could have observed in my manner that I was deeply stirred; I could -scarcely eat; I felt thirst only. The colonel talked fluently, but not -serviceably; but I listened with kindness, for I was grateful to him -for the accident of this astonishing discovery.</p> - -<p>After dinner I went on to the stoep to breathe the fresh air and smoke -and think; I hoped that the others, remarking the state of my mind, -would leave me alone; they did so; the colonel, the Dutch gentleman, -and two others, who arrived after dinner, drinking coffee at a table at -the other end of the verandah. Their conversation flowed in a low hum, -but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> that it concerned the topic we talked over at dinner I knew by the -occasional looks one or another directed my way.</p> - -<p>At last the Dutch gentleman, Mr. Pollak, came from his party and, -pulling a chair to my side, seated himself. He said, speaking with an -excellent English accent:</p> - -<p>'I have thought as I saw the body you would wish me to describe it. It -was not to be spoken of at table.'</p> - -<p>'The photographs were ghastly pictures,' said I.</p> - -<p>'Ach, Gott!' he cried, with such a roll of his eyes under the -lids as made them balls of porcelain. 'But how should anyone—the -handsomest—appear who was five weeks in spirits after having been -drowned and lifted out of the sea? And still her hair was long and -fair, and fine, and there was a shadow of beauty in the mask of her -face—all saw it. It breathed like a perfume from a dead flower.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - -<p>'She was not Miss Otway,' said I.</p> - -<p>He described every feature, and I continued to shake my head.</p> - -<p>'No, no,' said I, 'she is not Miss Otway. The girl I want is in that -ship on the ice; yet—is she there?'</p> - -<p>'Well, it must be found out,' said he.</p> - -<p>'I shall go about it to-morrow.'</p> - -<p>'Mr. Moore,' said he, after a short silence, 'you are a stranger in -Cape Town. I have many friends. If I can be useful, you will, I beg, -command me.'</p> - -<p>I thanked him and said I had brought a few letters of introduction, -but, conceiving the purpose of my visit ended when I viewed the -photographs, I had called nowhere. I slightly referred to my position -in London—that is, as a partner in my father's bank—and added that -the manager of a South African bank, whose headquarters were in Cape -Town, had been a senior clerk in my father's office, but that I had not -visited him. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Would not the British admiral who is at St. Simon's Town,' said he, -'send out a ship of war to search for the wreck?'</p> - -<p>I replied quickly, 'No, I must go myself,' and added, 'You may not have -had experience in the ways of British officials.'</p> - -<p>He smiled and answered. 'The admiral might give you leave to go in the -ship he sent.'</p> - -<p>'I can tell you exactly how it would be,' said I. 'I go to the admiral -and the admiral demands the log-book of the whaler. The whaler has -sailed, the admiral requires full particulars of the wreck before -despatching one of his ships to a perilous part of the world; full -particulars can be obtained only in London. By the time the British -admiral sees his way the hull, when sought, has disappeared.'</p> - -<p>He smiled again, stroking his chin.</p> - -<p>'When I left the whaler,' said I, finding it eased my heart to talk, -and pleased with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> his plain sympathy, 'I had formed a resolution. It -may be, sir, that you are able to help me in it.'</p> - -<p>He bowed.</p> - -<p>'I intend at once—that is, to-morrow, if to-morrow will provide me -with the opportunity—to hire a vessel and sail for Coronation Island -as promptly as she can be equipped and victualled.'</p> - -<p>'Ah,' he exclaimed, 'that looks like business. It will be expensive——'</p> - -<p>I interrupted him with an exclamation.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he exclaimed, a little ruefully, 'that should not be thought -of; it will be a marvellous, noble thing to save the life of your -young lady and her companions. How can I help, now?—let me see. I am -acquainted with most of the leading merchants here; I believe that my -friend Mr. Vanderbyl is expecting a consignment from our Australian -port. Perhaps the vessel has arrived. I will inquire. If it is the same -brig that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> was here last spring she will be the very boat for you. Her -name is the "Albatross." Did you observe a brig painted white amongst -the shipping when you went on board the whaler?'</p> - -<p>'I did not.'</p> - -<p>'If she comes with the same captain and can be hired, he will be your -man; Captain Christopher Cliffe, a little clever, honest, sober sailor. -I know him very well. He was second mate of a ship I sailed to England -in. Well, I will inquire and see what is to be done, and you also will -inquire. But the "Albatross" is your ship, sir—a clipper. She slides -like a knife through the sea, and should put you abreast of the hull as -quickly as steam.'</p> - -<p>'But she is not yet arrived.'</p> - -<p>'She is due.'</p> - -<p>'She will need time to discharge her cargo?'</p> - -<p>'If she is in the Bay,' said he, 'she should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> be able to sail with you -in a fortnight, and that is as quick as gold itself shall let you be in -this climate.'</p> - -<p>I was excited by his praise of the brig, and, standing up, I asked him -to accompany me to the waterside, and search the Bay with his sight for -her. But he had an engagement, so I stepped forth alone, there still -remaining a long evening of daylight.</p> - -<p>I made my way to the same place I had embarked from that afternoon, -and looking at the scene of Bay which glowed like the sky with the -evening splendour, stretching out from my feet, and brimming into gold -trembling into purple to the white beach abreast, which ran in a curve -flashing like light against the lip of the brine, I counted no less -than twenty-two ships riding to their anchors: vessels of all rigs and -of several nationalities, and, as though heaven were on my side in this -time of trial and grief, I saw what I guessed was the vessel I was -here to look for.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> She lay, curiously enough, immediately astern of -the whaler—a milk-white figure, slightly swaying on the satin-smooth -heave, with wet green gleams trembling along her as she lifted her -metal sheathing.</p> - -<p>I said to a coloured waterman who stood near, pointing to the brig:</p> - -<p>'What brig is that, do you know?'</p> - -<p>He answered immediately, 'De "Albatross," boss!'</p> - -<p>'Ha!'</p> - -<p>'From Sydney, boss.'</p> - -<p>'When did she arrive?'</p> - -<p>'Two yastardays, boss.'</p> - -<p>But it was not wonderful she should have escaped my observation; in -going and coming from the whaler I had thought of nothing but what I -was to hear and what I had heard; and earlier my sight, often as it -wandered to the shipping, never paused to distinguish.</p> - -<p>I saw no more of my Dutch friend till next morning, when, at eleven -o'clock, whilst I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> was making ready to drive into the town and inquire -about the brig 'Albatross,' a servant knocked on the door, and said Mr. -Pollak was below with another and wished to see me. I at once descended.</p> - -<p>His companion was a little man, almost a dwarf; his nose was as long -as Punch's, his mouth much like that puppet's, wide and thin, with -the look of a smirk in the curl of the lips at either extremity; he -wore little slips of grey whiskers; his eyes were deep sunk, grey and -kindly, and he blinked them with a nervous fury when he dodged a sort -of sea-bow on Mr. Pollak introducing him. He was almost bald, and was -perhaps fifty-five years of age, much curved in the back, his shanks -slightly arching out. Mr. Pollak called him Captain Christopher Cliffe, -and introduced him as master and part-owner of the brig 'Albatross.'</p> - -<p>'I know,' said the worthy Dutchman, 'that time is precious to you. I -am glad we have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> found you in. I cannot stay. But I will leave Captain -Cliffe behind me to talk with you.'</p> - -<p>And picking up his hat he nodded and went out.</p> - -<p>I asked the little man if Mr. Pollak had told him my story.</p> - -<p>'Enough,' he answered, 'to make me understand there is reason to hurry.'</p> - -<p>'The whaler "Sea Queen,"' said I, 'lying just ahead of you——'</p> - -<p>'She sailed this morning,' he interrupted.</p> - -<p>'She sighted a hull high and dry on the ice of Coronation Island, -New Orkneys,' said I, pulling out my note-book to give him the date. -'That hull, when she was made a raft of by the loss of her masts, was -abandoned by the crew in latitude 58° 45´ south, longitude 45° 10´ -west. Three people were left in her—one of them a young lady, dearer -to me than my heart's blood. The "Lady Emma" is as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> surely the hull -that was seen by the Yankee as that you who hear me are alive.'</p> - -<p>'You think to find the people still locked up in her?' said he, -blinking and snapping his lips with many convulsive grimaces.</p> - -<p>'I mean to find that out. Is your brig for hire?'</p> - -<p>'Ay.'</p> - -<p>'When will she be ready?'</p> - -<p>'I hope to have the remaining cargo out of her by Monday next; she's -then at your service.'</p> - -<p>'Have you a crew?'</p> - -<p>'I'll get a good 'un when you're ready, sir.'</p> - -<p>'What's the tonnage of the vessel?'</p> - -<p>'One hundred and seventy register.'</p> - -<p>'What'll be the cost?'</p> - -<p>'Thirty shillings per ton a month, we finding everything, or fifteen -shillings per ton a month and you finding everything.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> - -<p>I put down the figures, and said, 'How long is it going to take the -brig to arrive off the island?'</p> - -<p>He talked a little to himself, blinking and grimacing absurdly, and -replied, 'Call it a month.'</p> - -<p>'I should like to see the brig, Captain Cliffe.'</p> - -<p>'At once, if you will, sir.'</p> - -<p>I sent for a cab and we drove to the waterside. He talked freely when -he was out of the house and driving. I found something very honest and -diverting in this little man's looks and manner of speech. He had an -amazingly brisk and nimble mind, I thought; I got at that in a very -little while. He went behind my questions, fetched a number of new -possibilities for hope to feed on out of the scheme of the search, and -heartened me vastly by his clear view and statement of my wishes and -plans—that is, he said that the hull sighted by the whaler was beyond -all question<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> the wreck of the 'Lady Emma'; everything tallied—colour -of sides, situation, time, down to the very stump of foremast. Then, -since three were abandoned in her, why shouldn't they still be aboard? -Of course it was my duty, he said, to sail right away. Who wouldn't, to -deliver his young lady out of such a scene of horror? But humanity was -in it too. The hull was to be searched for and overhauled, and I was -quite right in reckoning that if I left that job to the British Admiral -the hulk would have disappeared, or the people inside have perished -into statues of ice, before the official mind had settled what to do.</p> - -<p>'Not unlikely,' said he as we drove along, 'the parties have been taken -out; sealers and whalers are constantly moving about those waters; but -we aren't to think of that. If they're gone, so much the better, for -then they're safe elsewhere; but it's your business to consider that -they're still there and to fetch 'em.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thus we talked, and as we rowed to the brig we continued to chat, he -entering very fully into the cost and character of the equipment we -should require, the time we should occupy, supposing them alive in -the hull, whether we returned with them to the Cape or headed for the -nearest South American port.</p> - -<p>My spirits rose under the influence of this man's conversation. His -practical mind put everything so clearly that in imagination, even -whilst we made for the brig, I had realised my hopes—I had rescued -Marie and her companions—we were proceeding home!</p> - -<p>The brig did not show so milk-white when close to as from the beach; -rusty blood-like stains lay dried in scars under the bolt heads -and other metal projections, but her figure gained in beauty when -approached. I am no sailor, but when I ran my eye over her moulded -shape, observed her keen entry, the swan-like curve of her run lifting -to an elliptical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> stern, with a swell of white side that made me think -of a polished heave of sea, I would have wagered there were few swifter -vessels of her rig and tonnage then afloat. A lighter or something of -that sort was alongside receiving cargo; a man in a cloth cap and half -Wellington boots was perched on the rail close to where the cargo was -going over the side; he made notes with a pencil in a little book; -three or four coloured men were winding at a winch. I had caught, -whilst in the boat, the clinking noise of the pawls slipping over the -sheet-calm water in a sort of music that wanted but the accompaniment -of a hurricane lung or two to furnish out a fine ocean concert. The man -on the rail touched his cap when we gained the deck.</p> - -<p>'That's my mate, Mr. Bland,' said Captain Cliffe. 'He's a good seaman. -I can recommend him.'</p> - -<p>I sent a glance of curiosity at the sailor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> guessing if I hired this -brig he would go with us; he had the face of a sheep, dark eyes set far -back close against his ears, a thick black beard, and a weather-tanned -skin, filled with the holes of small-pox. An ugly man indeed! Yet -you saw honesty and intelligence like a light of good humour in the -expression of him.</p> - -<p>Captain Cliffe took me round the decks of the little craft first of -all. I had no eye for points of marine equipment, yet noticed a smart -little galley with red tiles on the floor, a seat athwartships, and a -small array of saucepans, kettles, and the like, all very clean. The -windlass looked small, so roomy was the forecastle. The captain then -took me aft to the companion, which was painted green, trotting by my -side, of the height of a boy, from time to time looking up into my face -to observe if I was pleased.</p> - -<p>I halted in the companion and asked how many boats he carried; he -answered two, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> pointed to a long-boat stowed near the galley, -this side of it, and then to the water astern, where a small boat was -floating.</p> - -<p>'We ought,' said I, 'to go well provided with boats of an exact form -and strength for passing through the breach of the sea. The waves -break heavily under the hull, the whaling captain said, and we must be -prepared for a high surf the whole length of the coast.'</p> - -<p>'You're quite right, sir,' said the little man. 'But if we come to -terms you've only got to commission me, and whatever's needful I'll -see to. For instance, there's a height of ice cliff, and grappling -irons 'll be wanted. And we should carry a few lengths of rope ladder. -It isn't as though we had to find her. We <i>know</i> she's high and dry. -Make the worst of it and call it fifty feet above the wash. That's -sure unless the ice had shifted her. And we've got to be provided with -machinery for entering.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thus speaking he descended and I followed.</p> - -<p>The companion steps were almost up and down; on the right, at the -bottom of the ladder, was a sleeping berth, a sort of cupboard with -a sliding door like a smacksman's bedroom; on the left was the main -cabin, a larger interior than I expected to see. It was well lighted -by a frame of windows overhead and round scuttles in the walls, and -furnished with a table, locker seats, and a few camp stools. Forward -was a brightly polished brass fireplace. Three small berths were -bulkheaded off this living room, one of which the captain told me was -a sail and boatswain's locker, and the other a bread and store locker; -'but we can clear 'em out,' said he, 'when they come to be wanted.'</p> - -<p>I was satisfied, and then and there resolved to hire this brig and sail -quickly for that far-off ice-clad island. I sat down on one of the -lockers and asked the captain to take pen and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> paper, and we talked -about what would be required, making notes, and reckoning up the -expenses till I bethought me of my engagement with Mr. Hoskins. And -with reluctance and a hearty handshake took my leave.</p> - -<p>I was rowed ashore, and on the way to the boarding-house called at -the bank whose manager had been my father's clerk. He was astonished -and delighted to see me; he had known me, indeed, ever since I was an -Eton schoolboy. I had no time on this occasion to enter fully into the -cause of my being at the Cape; my immediate purpose was served when he -assured me that I was welcome to draw upon the bank to the amount I -wanted.</p> - -<p>At five o'clock Mr. Hoskins drove up to the boarding-house, and we at -once started for the cemetery. He was alone in a closed carriage, and -was dressed in mourning as deep as man's apparel will express grief. -I, too, had been careful to clothe myself in black. I had not seen -Mr. Hoskins since the arrival of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> 'Cambrian,' and his voice and -presence carried me on board again, renewed the quiet incidents of -the passage, and returned me in imagination to Southampton on that -memorable day of my departure. He was pale and melancholy, and his -spirits seemed depressed with thought of the distressing ceremony we -were bent upon.</p> - -<p>'I am sorry now,' said he as he drove along, 'that I solicited -permission to inspect the remains. The photographs were perfectly -convincing, and still I felt it—I feel it—my duty to make as sure -as opportunity admits. Captain Oilier will expect me to tell him all -that it was in my power to learn. Nor, perhaps, should I feel perfectly -satisfied to erect the monument I intend for my poor child without -looking into her coffin to see that it is she herself who will be under -it.'</p> - -<p>I answered that this melancholy undertaking was even less needful to me -than to him; but that, like himself, I saw the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>necessity of confirming -my own opinion by every possible testimony, for the peace of my own -heart as well as for the satisfaction of Miss Otway's father.</p> - -<p>We then talked of my chances of finding Marie in the hull upon the -island, and I told him how I had hired the brig 'Albatross' and -intended myself to sail in her as soon as she discharged her cargo -and was ready for sea, which I hoped would be about the close of the -following week.</p> - -<p>I saw little of the scenery we were driven by; we passed a number of -gigantic aloes on the roadside; the hard-blue mountains, towering into -the heavens with keenly cut skylines, with great spaces of their sides -lustrous with the trembling and delicate foliage of the silver tree, -wound with us as we wound, or shadowed us as we drove; they were an -eternal presence, like the cloudless blue over them.</p> - -<p>Whilst Mr. Hoskins was telling me how he contrived to obtain an order -for the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>exhumation of the remains, we arrived at the cemetery where we -alighted, and my companion conducted me to the grave whose situation -he was exactly acquainted with. A number of persons were beside the -grave, two were sextons armed with mattocks, or spades, the others were -strangers and remained so to me; but one, I believe, was a medical man, -and another a government official. They raised their hats to us, and -after the exchange of a few commonplace greetings, decorously attuned, -the diggers went to work.</p> - -<p>The body had lain in this grave since August—four months. The heat -thrilled in a sort of surging wave that closed upon the respiration -with a sense of suffocation whilst we stood watching the diggers. I -shuddered at the idea of looking. I had come to Cape Town conceiving -that this body was Marie's, I now knew it was not hers; nevertheless, -I guessed that the aspect of the dead face, at rest and out of sight -under the cleaving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> spades, must become a memory that would be -inseparably associated with Marie's image, whether I was to behold her -again or not, and my spirits shrunk as I stood watching.</p> - -<p>The soil was red, and the diggers turned it cheerily. Mr. Hoskins -talked in a low tone apart with one of the strangers; that man was -probably an undertaker or connected with the firm of buriers. Many rich -strange flowers and plants glowed like jewels or glanced like snow upon -or about the graves round about; it was a big tract of ground, all the -sculptures, and monuments of several sorts showing at a distance sharp -as carvings in ivory through the hot rare blue atmosphere.</p> - -<p>The group of us were the only living occupants of that field of -sleepers. Doubtless the order had gone forth for all to be excluded -till the coffin had been reburied. They came to it at last; it was -raised with some trouble, a plain black box, and placed upon the edge -of the grave, and without an instant's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> loss of time the person with -whom Mr. Hoskins had been conversing, unscrewed the lid—and we looked.</p> - -<p>I had expected to behold something that was to shock the sight, and -create a memory of pain and disgust; instead, there lay before us, -her head pillowed, her arms peacefully crossed, the form of a young -woman whose face, through chymic changes explicable only by the pen -of science, had filled and freshened in complexion to an aspect -easily supportable by the most nervous or sensitive eye. The flesh -was discoloured; in the pictures it had shown as an ulcerous ghastly -white; but here, in this coffin, the face was far more defined and -distinguishable in lineament, I may even add in expression, than in the -photographs. I could almost understand my Dutch friend's reference to a -shadow of beauty lurking in this dead mask of countenance. The hair was -very fair, and beautifully abundant, but it was not the hair of Marie, -the hands were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> not Marie's. Now that I looked upon her I observed that -she resembled Marie to a less degree even than the pictures expressed -the likeness. I shook my head and drew back a pace, covering my face, -the sight was pitiful—I could not bear to look beyond a moment or two. -I thought of that form in the loneliness of the ocean off the Horn, -and then again I was agitated by a violent reaction in my spirits; for -though I had been certain it would not prove Marie, yet I knew not -what I was to behold either, what tragic, heart-subduing surprise that -coffin might have in store for me, and I shrunk back, shaking my head -and hiding my face.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hoskins viewed the remains in silence, then sobbed, and I looked -at him. Our eyes met across the coffin, and exclaiming, 'It is my -daughter, Mr. Moore! It is Charlotte; the wife of Captain Henry -Ollier,' he sank upon his knees and folded his hands in prayer beside -his child.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXV</span> <span class="smaller">AT SEA AGAIN</span></h2> - -<p>I had arrived at Cape Town on December 13, and on the 26th of the same -month the colonial brig 'Albatross' lay in Table Bay, waiting for me to -go aboard in order to sail. This was surely what the shipowners would -call 'prompt despatch'!</p> - -<p>On the morning of the 26th I said good-bye to my friends in the -boarding-house and drove to one of the jetties where Captain Cliffe -awaited me. I was accompanied by the colonel and Mr. Pollak. A -considerable crowd had assembled to see me embark; the story had leaked -out; it was in the papers that I had come to the Cape to identify the -body brought from sea by the 'Emerald,' and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> that, being satisfied it -was not that of the girl I was in search of, I was going to the New -Orkneys in the hope of finding her locked up in a wreck described as -corresponding in every material detail with the hull of the 'Lady Emma.'</p> - -<p>It was an extraordinary romance; Mr. Pollak had assured me that -all Cape Town was talking about it. For the first time in my life -I was made to understand the inconvenience and discomfort of -publicity. A number of ladies were in the crowd, and they thrust most -unceremoniously forward to catch sight of me. When I got into the boat -the crowd good-naturedly cheered; I did not feel easy till the oars -were dipping and the boat under way, for the crowd was bringing others, -and as we rowed from the jetty I saw some men and women running towards -the water.</p> - -<p>Mr. Pollak and the colonel went on board with me. It was a rich glowing -day, a number of white steam-like clouds were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> circling above Cape -Town, but low over the water, brushing it into a wide sheet of rippling -blue splendour, a hot fresh breeze was blowing; it swept straight down -the Bay, with a brassy light in the air that made you think of the wind -as coloured by the yellow glares of the sandy land it had travelled -across.</p> - -<p>Mr. Pollak had on several occasions visited the brig; the colonel -had not before viewed her close; he was greatly pleased and hummed a -tune approvingly as he accompanied me about the decks. One detail of -furniture, his own suggestion, he lingered over; it was a bright brass -cannon mounted on the quarter-deck.</p> - -<p>'He'll do for you!' he exclaimed, slapping the breech of the piece. -'That should fetch an echo loud enough to awaken the dead.'</p> - -<p>A little further aft stood a mortar, with its round mouth gaping at the -sky.</p> - -<p>'What's that for?' asked the colonel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> 'Isn't the gun noisy enough to -alarm 'em if they're aboard?'</p> - -<p>'It is my idea,' said Mr. Pollak. 'Suppose it should be impossible to -scale the slope and reach the ship; <i>here</i> is an engine that will throw -you a ball and line which anyone on board may catch and pull ladders up -by.'</p> - -<p>'Good!' exclaimed the colonel.</p> - -<p>We then examined the two fresh boats which Captain Cliffe had -purchased on my behalf; they were large, strong, handsome whale-boats, -strengthened by iron beams or girders under the thwarts; and made -lifeboats of by a quantity of cork fenders carefully laced or otherwise -seamed along the sides.</p> - -<p>'These,' said I, 'together with rope ladders hooked for scaling, and -grappling irons, form my machinery.'</p> - -<p>'It is all you will need,' said Mr. Pollak, 'and I am sure everyone -must pray that God will bless and prosper your noble voyage.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - -<p>I took the worthy Dutchman's hand and thanked him with a silent grip.</p> - -<p>At that moment the windlass began to clank; immediately a hoarse voice -bawled out a song whose burthen was caught and flung in thunder into -the air by the seven or eight hearts who bowed and rose at the windlass -handles.</p> - -<p>'Come, Mr. Pollak; come, colonel,' I exclaimed; 'there's time for a -bumper.'</p> - -<p>I called to the captain to send aft the lad who was to wait upon us in -the cabin, and descended with my friends. A magnum of champagne was -opened, and we filled and drank to the voyage. I obliged Captain Cliffe -to come down and drink. He cried through the skylight that he durst not -leave the deck for above three minutes; I told him to come, and the two -gentlemen toasted the little man, who delivered, with several grimaces, -a brief sailorly speech, full of hope, then rushed on deck.</p> - -<p>I bade Mr. Pollak good-bye with a full<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> heart. The colonel followed him -into the boat, which put off, and then hung by on her oars to watch us. -At this time the anchor was off the ground, and the crew were making -sail on the brig, whose bowsprit, with a white pinion of jib swelling -from it, was rounding, finger-like, in a slow, pointing way for the -open; the sheep-faced mate stood on the forecastle shouting orders; -a sailor was at the wheel; Captain Cliffe crossed the deck from left -to right, looking up and around, moving swiftly, a doll of a man, -grimacing and blinking at every pause in his nimble trot.</p> - -<p>Some of the ships round about had got our tale, I fancy, or at least -the scent of our errand; since from most of them we were watched by -many heads above the rail. Presently the brig's stern was to the wind, -her topsails filled, the lighter sails glanced wing-shaped to the -yard-arms to the drag of the gear; I waved my hat from the quarter -to my two friends, and they flourished a last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> farewell. My voyage, -strange as any that had ever been undertaken in this world, was begun!</p> - -<p>We were the only ship at that time leaving the Bay, and I think our -lonely going must have given a certain majesty and nobleness to the -figure of the vessel in the eyes of those who watched us, with the -significance of her dangerous, surprising, romantic mission going along -with her. I don't know what my own sensations were: I was sensible -perhaps of a little triumph of spirits at this getting away so quickly, -and then there was the feeling that I was in action, that no time was -being lost; and yet there was a heaviness at my heart too, the chill of -doubt, a frosty dread that the errand would prove profitless, and that -if God suffered me to return home it must be as a mourner for Marie.</p> - -<p>But we were sailing through a wide, shining scene of commanding beauty, -lofty and gloriously coloured, and the influence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> it, I don't doubt, -rescued me from the dark mood imagination might have raised. The breeze -blew hot, but the sweetness of flowers and fruit was in it, and the -scent of the land was brisk with the salt of the sea. In a very little -while the seamen had clothed the brig from the main-royal yard to the -waterways, and as she floated onwards, <i>now</i> slightly curtseying to a -small breathing of swell, the mountains went with her, and the ships -astern closed into clusters past the tail of our mirror-bright line of -wake. The mountains towered on our left; Cape Town vanished, and we -softly drove with a noise of fountains on either hand past rich curves -of shore on whose margin the huge Atlantic comber formed and fell in -snowstorms with white houses beyond the foam like models in ivory -shining amid the greenery.</p> - -<p>And all the time we were alone! <i>This</i> was the wonderful feature of our -departure. I could not see the smallest boat in motion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> The water was -like a great lonely lake, and the silence on the face of the mountains -was in the wind, in a presence that seemed to <i>compel</i> isolation for -us, hushing all life off the face of the bay down to where the ships -were lying too far off to trouble the sense of solitude.</p> - -<p>The crew were now occupied in coiling away the rigging and clearing up -the decks, and I had an opportunity of viewing them. All were white -men; there were eight, together with a cook and a boy to wait upon -us aft, making with captain and mate twelve of a company, which was -plenty. Cliffe had told me he would not ship a certificated second -mate; the man who went as boatswain would relieve the mate and stand -a watch. That man was a wiry, middle-aged seaman; he wore a spread of -grey whisker scissors-trimmed, close to his face, and dark eager eyes -which he rolled quickly as a monkey; he sang out briskly, and sprang<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> -about the decks. Little Captain Cliffe, observing that I watched the -man, came and stood beside me and spoke up softly to my ear:</p> - -<p>'I engaged that chap because of his knowledge of the ice. He told me he -was seven years whaling in the Pacific and Southern oceans. He is the -most wonderful jumper I ever heard of.'</p> - -<p>'So old as he is?'</p> - -<p>'Forty-five or thereabouts. Men of that sort soon lose the reckoning of -their birth. I don't allow their mothers ever enter 'em. They're always -the age that suits 'em to be. But look what a life it is, sir! the iron -it will put into a young 'un's hair! the kinks it'll run into a young -'un's back! All the hard life and the bad food works out through a -man's pores after a few years, bows him down, and hardens in his face -with a crust of years. He's a marvellous jumper that, sir. Tell ye what -he did—and it astonished me—there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> was a horse and trap standing -close beside where we were talking. He turns on a sudden and sings out, -"Captain, did yer ever see this done?" and putting his feet together -and clenching his fists he bent his knees, let go of the ground like -and shot as a bolt, clearing the horse till you could see half the -length of his own legs of blue sky 'twixt his feet and the animal's -back.'</p> - -<p>He gazed up at me, blinking and grinning, and added, 'I allow, should -it come to any awkward climbing jobs, we'll find that covey handy.'</p> - -<p>I lingered a little to watch the brig and the coast. The swell was -coming straight out of the wide sea, but the breeze still followed -fiery and splendid with the light of that land; the little ship bowed -softly; the long heave under the bows did not stop her; she floated -with erect spars, her yards square, the canvas breathing like human -breasts as her bowsprit rose and fell; yet a glance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> astern showed me -she was already whitening the water.</p> - -<p>At every look, the high land, purple and hard in that noontide -brilliance, yielded new features. It was towering now on to Hont Bay, -with a trend which made a mighty shoulder of it as it sounded towards -Simon's Town and the Cape of Good Hope: the towering terraces were on -our port quarter with Robben Island to starboard, and ahead was the -glittering breast of the Atlantic with the sea-line hard-carved against -the faint silvery blue. I looked for a sail, but nothing broke that -measureless run of horizon; the junction of air and water had a wild -loveliness, indescribable, thanks perhaps to the violet of the brine -that washed the light azure; though the fear and mystery of beauty I -found in it then doubtless came of the thought of what lay hidden from -me hundreds of leagues deep beyond that slope of airy silver. Had we -been a ship of ancient explorers the field<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> of ocean could not have -shown more barren than my eyes, exploring its recesses under the sharp -of my hand, found it.</p> - -<p>Some seamen came aft to spread an awning. They eyed me askew; of course -they knew the brig's mission, and perhaps thought me a little mad; -but it would be all one to them; there is worse to be suffered at sea -than a cruise off the Horn in the midsummer of this side on such wages -as they had signed for, in a tight well-built brig. In fact, they -rolled about their work with a sort of rollicking carriage that made -one reckon they had entered upon the voyage with jolly hearts as on a -yachting jaunt, secure from all danger and dirt of cargo; only it was -as likely they'd come on board a little merry with Jack's custom of -farewell.</p> - -<p>I now went below to see to my berth and arrange my traps; but came to a -halt at the cabin table, to lean upon it and think. This interior was -wholly unlike the 'Lady Emma's';<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> yet the skylight, the lockers, and -several trifling details of cabin furniture brought to my recollection -that day in the Thames when I had said good-bye to Marie in her cabin, -alone. What had been her sufferings since? If she was in the hull she -had been imprisoned at this date for five months, and by the time we -got to her six! For six months she would have been locked up in a -motionless hulk, high perched upon a savage island, heavily faced with -ice, with a thunder of surf far down for ever in her ear, and always -the same white, desolate, fierce prospect of frozen cliffs and rolling -ocean. Would it not have killed her? I clasped my hands in the torment -of the thought. Should I be making this voyage to a remote ice-girt -island merely to enter the wreck and behold the remains of my Marie as -I had looked into that coffin in Cape Town beholding another?</p> - -<p>I passed into my own berth, a small but comfortable box, and after -busying myself for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> half an hour, during which I had recalled my mind -to something of its former composure, I re-entered the cabin and found -the table laid for dinner. The little sea parlour looked cheerful with -this hospitable setting. The heel of a windsail buzzed in the skylight. -There had happened a little shift of wind whilst I was below, for the -brig leaned over and I heard a smart hissing—the seething of foam -sliding past; it was as cooling a noise as the sound of a hard shower -of rain on a dusty August day at home.</p> - -<p>I stepped on deck to take a look; the land was melting into a vast roll -of shadow astern and on the port quarter, filming down to the Cape end; -the breeze hung steady, only it came fresher, more fiery and sparkling -out here in the wide ocean, we had changed our course by two or three -points, bringing it somewhat abaft the beam; I saw no cloud, nothing -but a glad race of flashing bright blue seas ridging from an horizon -that rose into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> dome of untarnished blue in the midst of which was -the sun, making a dazzling plain of a great surface of water in the -north.</p> - -<p>Captain Cliffe came to the compass-stand whilst I stood looking at the -card; I felt his little blinking eyes were upon me when my sight went -to the hollow canvas, and to the sea-smoke that from time to time blew -away in little puffs from off the lee bow when the brig stooped with a -sheering plunge shouldering a knoll of the blue brine into a long roar -of foam.</p> - -<p>'This is good sailing,' said I.</p> - -<p>'It beats steam anyhow,' said he, turning to look at the race of wake -astern.</p> - -<p>'What's the speed?'</p> - -<p>'Nine,' he answered with a convulsive grimace of triumph, 'and I -understand they never could get more than seven out of the steamer you -came out in.'</p> - -<p>The mate walked in the gangway; I saw but one man forward. The captain -told me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> the crew were at dinner. But whilst I stood first one man and -then another came up through a little hole in the fore part of the -brig, and in a few minutes half a dozen of them were sprawling and -lounging in the shadows the canvas made upon the forecastle, smoking, -but scarcely speaking for heat and loathing of movement.</p> - -<p>I could not forbear a smile when I reflected that to all intents -and purposes I was veritably the owner of this white brig sweeping -south-west, and the master of those people yonder. What would my -prosaic friends of the City think of such an adventure as this I was -upon? But put Marie by my side, or bid me know for a God's-truth that -she was safe, and I'd have sworn there was nothing in this wide world -of delights comparable with such sailing as this. Sickness had been -cured by the 'Cambrian.' The heave of the deck, the slant of the hull, -the feel of the speeding of the fabric of white cloud through the -sun-bright <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>gushing of wind were as a buoyancy of spirits; you did not -heed them, yet they worked like wine in the blood. I wanted but peace -at my heart, the tranquility of conviction, to have tasted a perfect -happiness in this glorious Cape noon of flashing ocean, of rushing brig -and wind filled with the music of the strands.</p> - -<p>My reverie was disturbed—for Cliffe stood silent by my side—by the -sight of the boy coming along with the cabin dinner, and presently the -captain and I were seated at table.</p> - -<p>This was my first meal aboard, and I often laugh silently when memory -returns me the image of my little skipper sitting behind a roast fowl, -blinking and stretching his lips at it, then rising and lurching over -it, being too short to carve it sitting. He saw amusement in my face, -for on beginning to eat he said he often lamented that he had come -in at the tail end of his family when nearly all the height had been -served out. He was the last born,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> and arrived when not very many -inches were left. He had a brother six foot high, and his mother was -a big woman. He told me that he once dined with a company of people -when the Queen's health was proposed and everyone stood. His neighbour -requested him to stand up as the Queen's health was being drunk. He -answered he <i>was</i> up. These were the sort of mortifications, he said, -to which little men were subjected.</p> - -<p>After a bit, talking always as I now did on the subject of the 'Lady -Emma' and our chances of finding Miss Otway alive in the wreck, I asked -if the boatswain of the brig—that jumping seaman who had been whaling -seven years—had ever sighted the New Orkneys?</p> - -<p>'I didn't think of asking,' he answered, 'but I'll soon find out, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Would you object to his coming here?'</p> - -<p>'This is your ship, Mr. Moore.'</p> - -<p>'I'd like to ask him some questions.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> - -<p>He at once told the boy who waited on us to send Bodkin aft. In a -few minutes the man came; by this time we had dined, but the captain -lingered to hear what this boatswain had to say before he went on deck -to send the mate to his dinner.</p> - -<p>'I've been telling this gentleman,' said the captain, leaning his -little figure against a stanchion and discharging a whole broadside of -grimaces at Bodkin, who stood staring at us and around him, astonished -at the summons, 'that you've been a-whaling seven years in the Pacific -and Southern Ocean.'</p> - -<p>Here Bodkin lifted his hand to his forehead in the seaman's salute to -me.</p> - -<p>'Know anything of the New Orkneys?' said the captain with nervous -abruptness like the briskness of a bird.</p> - -<p>'Well, sir, bin off 'em again and again.'</p> - -<p>'Sit down,' said I. 'Boy, give Mr. Bodkin a glass of sherry.'</p> - -<p>Bodkin put down his cap and sat; he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> evidently been called from -some heavy work, and his face and hairy arms bare to the elbows, and -his well-baked throat naked to the iron-grey hairs upon his chest, -shone with sweat. He took the glass and tipped down the wine.</p> - -<p>I then said, 'Do you know that we're sailing to the New Orkneys?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes. I signed for that run.'</p> - -<p>'Is our errand known to you?'</p> - -<p>'It's to search for a wreck, ain't it, sir?'</p> - -<p>'A wreck with live people in it,' said Captain Cliffe. 'I made that -clear, didn't I?'</p> - -<p>'Then I hope we shan't find 'em,' said Bodkin.</p> - -<p>'What!' shouted Cliffe with a hideous face.</p> - -<p>'For their own sakes. Who'd lock a dog up there?' said the man, running -the length of his wet bare arm along his streaming forehead ''Tain't -imagined here, with the pitch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> 'twixt the seams like suet, and the -paint-work blistering into scabs. I've been off the larger of them -islands five times. Yer wouldn't know 'em from icebergs, 'cept for here -and there a piece of naked black rock showing where ice hadn't formed -or snow couldn't keep a hold of.'</p> - -<p>'Could a boat land?' I exclaimed, scarcely bearing to hear him when he -talked like that.</p> - -<p>'Why yes, sir. This time of the year—watching a smooth—'tain't always -what they calls weather down there; but it's b—— cold.'</p> - -<p>'Were ye ever ashore on them islands?' inquired the captain.</p> - -<p>'No, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Did your ship send a boat ashore?' I asked.</p> - -<p>'The last time I was off them rocks a boat was sent and she came back -again; they was nearly capsized, and that was all they did.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Describe the land,' said I.</p> - -<p>His recollection, however, was not very clear. He talked of tall -ice cliffs and of a huge dim mountain far inland; and of peaks and -projections showing and disappearing amidst storms of snow.</p> - -<p>'Is there much ice about the island?' said I.</p> - -<p>'Plenty,' he answered. 'The biggest berg I ever see in all my life was -close in with that land, third time I wur off it.'</p> - -<p>'Suppose the hull of a ship was on a ledge of ice, thirty or forty -feet above the wash of the sea; she was lying plain in sight of the -ocean'—I named the date on which the skipper of the whaler 'Sea Queen' -had passed her—'would you expect to find her still exposed, lying in -full view?'</p> - -<p>He looked at me with a working mind, his words being too few to help -him quickly; then said, turning his eyes upon the captain: </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p> - -<p>'All things considered, I allow it's more'n likely she'd be smothered -up.'</p> - -<p>'What's to smother her?' cried Captain Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'The congregating of bergs,' answered the other.</p> - -<p>'Is that all ye know of ice?' exclaimed the little man. 'Haven't you -heard that ice fetches away from the main and works north this time o' -year?'</p> - -<p>'I'm asked a question,' said the man with a note of sullenness in his -voice, 'and I'm expected, I suppose, for to speak the truth, being sent -for. All I know is there's nothen so shifting as ice, and therefore -nothen so smothering.'</p> - -<p>'But the hull's ashore on an island,' I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>'That's not going to stop the ice from a-blocking of her out,' he -answered.</p> - -<p>'I'm afraid you won't get much <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>encouragement out of this man,' said -Captain Cliffe, turning and grimacing at me.</p> - -<p>'Yer see, sir,' said Bodkin, directing a languishing look at the -decanter of sherry in the hands of the boy as he went to the pantry, -''tain't only the chance of that there hull being hobscurified by the -congregating of ice right in front of her; she lies under slifts which -are constantly a-going to pieces and tumbling down in thundering lumps.'</p> - -<p>'Then,' said I, 'I take it, Mr. Bodkin, that you, who have had plenty -of experience of the ice down south, give me little reason to hope that -we shall find the wreck whole or the people abandoned in her alive?'</p> - -<p>He rolled his monkey eyes briskly at this, fretting first one cropped -grey whisker and then the other with the palm of his hand.</p> - -<p>'I allow,' he answered after a silence, during which little Captain -Cliffe viewed him as sternly as his nervous distorting affection -permitted, 'that your chance is as good as any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> chance at sea hever can -be. But I don't mind saying,' he added, standing up, catching hold of -his cap and revolving it, 'that our number is agin your luck.'</p> - -<p>'What's that?' exclaimed the captain.</p> - -<p>'Let the gent count us. There's thirteen souls.'</p> - -<p>'Go forward,' said the captain, 'and get on with your work.'</p> - -<p>The man, with a civil flourish of his hand to his brow, left the cabin.</p> - -<p>'There's no fool like Jack fool,' said Captain Cliffe.</p> - -<p>I confess, however, that when I reckoned up to myself the number -of people on board and made No. 13, I felt a little uneasy. I said -nothing to the captain, but the thing weighed upon me. It was perfectly -natural that at such a time I should be superstitious; certainly a -good omen would have heartened me: why, then, should not so unlucky a -circumstance as that of thirteen forming the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> number of us in the brig -prove depressing? I was so weak in this way that I had serious thoughts -of ordering Cliffe to tranship one of the men at the first chance that -offered. Also, the boatswain Bodkin's description of the island, his -talk of the cliffs, of ice-splitting and thundering down in blocks, -worried me by exciting new apprehensions. I was sorry I had sent for -the man. I had come from the deck to my dinner in tolerably good -spirits, and when I returned on deck I felt as melancholy as ever I had -been in my gloomiest hour aboard the 'Cambrian.'</p> - -<p>The mood lasted for the remainder of the day, so that, spite of -the noble sailing breeze, this, my first start in search of Marie, -seemed as inauspicious as though the scheme had failed in the first -breath of it. But after a long chat with Cliffe in the evening I grew -cheerfuller. The sun was sinking in splendour: the dark blue sea ran in -frothing lines; the brig was sailing swiftly, heeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> down and smoking -onwards as though, like something living, she blew the breath of life -in steam from the nostrils of her hawsepipes as she fled. Every hour of -such progress shortened the term of expectation; all might yet be well; -I could not but reflect that, until the worst was known, the best might -most rationally be hoped for. I had come to Cape Town thinking to find -my sweetheart dead; it was not she that lay there. Though we should -board the wreck and find nobody in her, still I should have a right to -believe that the three had been rescued, and perhaps at that very time -were at home in safety.</p> - -<p>Thus I reasoned with myself after my talk with Cliffe in the evening -and was somewhat easier at heart, which indeed in this whistling -evening, merry with progress, spacious with the splendour of the -setting sun, and the distance of the eastern seaboard faintly flushed, -might have been at rest but for the gloom of the silly superstition of -thirteen! </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> - -<p>About this time, a little before it fell dark, whilst looking towards -the forecastle where most of the crew were smoking and talking, I saw a -man come out of the hatch, hugging something to his breast. The sailors -jumped up and pressed around him. Hands were outstretched to what the -fellow held, and I heard some laughter. Cliffe was below. The mate -Bland was walking near me abreast of the skylight. He bawled out:</p> - -<p>'What have you there, my lads?'</p> - -<p>On which the boatswain Bodkin, snatching the object from the hold of -the man, held it high, shouting:</p> - -<p>'Here's good luck to the brig "Albatross;" and now there's fourteen all -told.'</p> - -<p>I started, and saw it was a cat he held. It was black as coal.</p> - -<p>'Bring it here,' I cried.</p> - -<p>He came, the others grinning as they stood in a huddle looking aft. It -was a young cat, and it mewed as the man <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>approached with it. Cliffe -came on deck at that moment.</p> - -<p>'Where was it found?' I asked, stroking the thing as it lay mewing in -Bodkin's hands.</p> - -<p>'In one of the men's hammocks, sir.'</p> - -<p>'It's a cat!' exclaimed Cliffe with a grimace. 'Who brought it aboard?'</p> - -<p>'No man owns to it,' responded Bodkin.</p> - -<p>'But who would bring it aboard if it wasn't its own legs, Mr. Moore?' -said Cliffe, turning to me. 'D'ye know I'd ask for no better stroke of -luck in all my seafaring days than this same beast's presence,' and he -advanced his little hand and tickled the cat's head.</p> - -<p>'There's fourteen of us now, sir,' said Bodkin, with a darting roll of -his eyes.</p> - -<p>'Fourteen and a stroke of luck besides, eh?' said I with a foolish -laugh of good spirits spite of myself.</p> - -<p>'Go and give it something to eat and see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> that it don't jump -overboard,' said Captain Cliffe; and whilst the boatswain walked -forward handling the cat tenderly enough and talking to it, the little -skipper with a snap of his eyes and a voice of conviction exclaimed: -'That cat's squared the yards, Mr. Moore. We shall find the wreck, sir, -and do your business.'</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXVI</span> <span class="smaller">THE ICE</span></h2> - -<p>On the morning of January 29, 1861, Captain Cliffe at dinner told me -that our position by dead reckoning—he had not been able to obtain an -observation for two days—was latitude 58° 30´ S., longitude 45° W. I -pulled out my note-book on hearing this and started violently.</p> - -<p>'Good God, Cliffe!' cried I, 'do you know that we are within a mile or -two of the place where the "Lady Emma" was abandoned by her crew?'</p> - -<p>'Is that so?' said the little man after a pause, closing his knife and -fork. 'But it's true all the same: I'll back my runs for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> last two -days, log-reckoned as they are, right, longitude and latitude, within -ten mile.'</p> - -<p>It was bitterly cold, and when I had come below so dense a fog overhung -the sea that the main-yard was out of sight from the wheel. The brig -was lying hove to under small canvas, a large smooth Cape Horn swell -was running out of the sallow thickness, and the little vessel was -rolling horribly, falling into the hollows and swinging to the summits, -now on her beam ends, now on a level keel, now with a dip forward that -seemed to make her all stern, now with a drop aft that shook the cabin -with a hollow roar, every motion being so abrupt, and exaggerated, that -it was almost impossible to walk, to stand, even to eat, the plate -flying from your hand, whilst the boy waited with a broken head through -a fall down the companion ladder.</p> - -<p>We had passed several icebergs on the previous day, during a very thick -morning and afternoon, when the sky had been dark with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> driving cloud, -and the strong wind white with snow, and throughout the night a sharp -look-out had been kept for ice; but since daybreak it had been as dense -as it was now with an awful silence all round: nothing had once broken -the amazing, oppressive stillness upon that sea, sallow as the fog, -labouring in volumes of brine soundlessly, saving a strange, fierce -noise of blowing heard close upon the bow, though nothing was to be -seen there. Cliffe said it was a whale, and I might have guessed that -by the sight of the boatswain Bodkin springing with an amazing jump -into the fore-shrouds, and leaning away from the ratline he grasped -with pricked ears, staring as out of love for his old sport into the -choking wool the breathless air was filled with.</p> - -<p>I was as anxious and restless on account of the ice as any man aboard, -though I was no sailor: Cliffe had said it didn't follow, though a -hurricane blew, that the smother would clear. I knew that ice must be -about: for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> still we had headed south after passing many bergs, and if -wind came and gave us a drift without clearing the ocean for us, we -might be foul of an ice mountain ere the mass of it was fairly shaped -to the sight within toss of a man's cap.</p> - -<p>But I forgot our situation for awhile when Cliffe told me where we were -and I looked into my note-book. Deep love, deep grief, consecrated to -my heart this scene and place of silent hills of water. Here the 'Lady -Emma' had been abandoned; here, if the horizon had been visible, then, -within the compass of it Marie had been left with her two companions in -a dismasted hull amid such floating ice as during the past few days I -had gazed at with fear and amazement: from this point the three in that -mere raft of ship had drifted—the vessel on to the ice of Coronation -Island; that, undoubtedly, she had been seen, described, reported, -but her inmates—had they been taken out of her? Or were they frozen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -corpses in her? Or were they living, within reach of a day or two's -sail from the place of ocean Cliffe had found us in that day?</p> - -<p>A fire glowed in the little brass grate. The cabin was snug and warm -enough with the companion doors closed; but I speedily grew restless -after Cliffe had gone on deck. I asked the mate when he came down to -dinner how the weather looked.</p> - -<p>'Thick as muck, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Any signs of wind, Bland?'</p> - -<p>'None. But there's no trusting the next minute.'</p> - -<p>'Any ice near us, think you?'</p> - -<p>'The boatswain's been a snuffling and says he can hear the noise of the -beating of water. Nary man else do, though. Them whalemen are so clever -they can thread needles with their toes. They can smell grease in a -field of grass.'</p> - -<p>Here he began to munch, and I let him eat. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> - -<p>I put on a thick coat and went on deck. The brig's arrest on the -smoke-thickened water, when one thought that if it would but clear and -the sun flood the south with the sparkling splendour of the South Afric -parallels from the mastheads of the brig the loom of the huge dim hill -past the cliff where the hull was lying might be seen—this, I say, was -maddening. I never could have imagined so dense a fog out of London. It -was thick as soup, of a sort of dirty yellow, as though charged with -the soot of a city of factories. The dripping wet of it froze as it -gathered, and our shrouds were swollen with the glazing, as much of the -brig as could be seen was beautiful and novel with fantasies of ice. -The topsail clapped in the blankness overhead like shells exploding -there: but you could not see it. That was the only noise saving an -occasional long sobbing wash of water when the brig heeled straining -from the yearning send of the swell. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> - -<p>I held by a backstay, Cliffe standing beside me, and rolled my eyes -around the sallow blindness, till all of a moment I heard a very faint -moan like the noise of a sea running into a cave: it sounded afar, and -yet not far either, as though something stood between the cause of it -and us.</p> - -<p>Cliffe heard nothing, though he grimaced in the direction I indicated, -and dropped his head on his shoulder to hearken.</p> - -<p>About this time the mate came up from his dinner. I asked him to -listen, suspecting that the noise I had heard was the sound of sea upon -ice. After a pretty good spell of silence the three of us listening -with all our might, Bland said:</p> - -<p>'Sometimes if ice is near and can't be smelt or seen, it may be heard. -If you fire off this gun,' said he, putting his hand upon the brass -piece, 'and ice is by, it'll answer.'</p> - -<p>'Try it,' said I.</p> - -<p>He promptly went below and returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> with the necessary ammunition; -where our powder was kept I never inquired. He and Cliffe loaded the -gun, the skipper snapping grimace after grimace with nervous excitement.</p> - -<p>'Are you all ready?' said I.</p> - -<p>Bland said 'Yes,' and then shouted to the men forward to stand by to -listen for an echo and note its bearings. The forms of the seamen -loomed in mere smudges in the fog as they lurched to the rolling -bulwarks to hearken.</p> - -<p>'Fire!' cried I.</p> - -<p>The piece blazed and thundered, lighting up the fog like a volcanic -upheaval with a wild crimson glare as though it was the night itself -the powder flashed against. But stunning as the roar was, it was not so -deafening but that I, for one, caught an echo stinging back through the -thickness on the starboard hand like a slap of tall becalmed topsail -against a mast. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Hear it?' shouted a voice forward.</p> - -<p>'We were answered yonder,' I cried, pointing.</p> - -<p>'Ship ahoy!' at that instant came in a hoarse but clear, thin, far -voice out of the blankness on the port bow.</p> - -<p>'Good God, we are hailed!' cried Cliffe. 'Bland, answer. Your lungs -have got more carrying power than mine.'</p> - -<p>'Hallo!' shouted Bland, going to the side in a spring, and sending his -voice in the direction of the hail in a deep, roaring, melancholy note.</p> - -<p>'What ship's that?' came back distinct but remote, so wonderful was the -hush, so burnished the swell. We made answer, and then roared Bland:</p> - -<p>'What ship's that?'</p> - -<p>'The "Helen MacGregor" of Hull, twenty months out. What's wrong with -you, that you're firing guns?' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> - -<p>'All's right with us,' bawled Bland. 'Any ice about, d'ye know?'</p> - -<p>'Not used my eyes since daybreak,' echoed the far, thin, hoarse voice.</p> - -<p>It was strange to hear it, to look into the thickness and see nothing, -to know that a ship was there, and listen to a man talking on her! But -conversation all that way off was not to be kept up long.</p> - -<p>After remaining twenty minutes on deck I felt the cold so severely that -I returned to the cabin. After I had been below about half an hour the -brig heeled sharply on a slant of swell without recovery as before, -whence I guessed it had come on to blow suddenly. In fact, I might have -known it by the noise of feet overhead and the gushing and hissing of -water in motion, shouldered off in foam. I wrapped myself up and went -on deck and found the brig lying down close hauled under the canvas she -had been brought-to with early in the morning—a reefed maintopsail -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> foresail; she was looking up for a tall, black, full-rigged ship -that was lying with her topsail to the mast on the weather bow as -though waiting for us.</p> - -<p>The scene of ocean was wonderfully grand at this hour: it was not -blowing hard, yet the wind out of the heads off the ridges it made, -and the swell was rolling now in furrows of foam. The fog was broken -up and sailing off in compact masses with the wide white-lived heave -of sea gleaming and glancing through the foundations of vapour, till -you looked to see the stuff rock as though afloat. Lanes and openings -stretched in all directions, and I did not know where to direct my eyes -first, so noble, wild, and startling was the picture of that tall black -ship showing in a wide, clear space, her canvas waving in squares of -light in the framing of the sallow smother, whilst on the starboard -quarter hung a stately incomparable spectacle of iceberg, a giant mass, -the height<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> vaster to the imagination because the fog showed you bits -of it only—in one place marble white cliffs staring through a passage -of vapour, a little further on, a gray pinnacle piercing the stuff -which streamed off it like torn rag. And now I could hear, but faintly, -the noise of the sea breaking along its base.</p> - -<p>We had passed a good deal of ice during the week; but this was the -place where the 'Lady Emma' was abandoned; that white vapour-clothed -mountain took a significance none other had. I thought of it as ice -that had been seen by Marie's own eyes. It was as a revelation, too, -of the savage, forbidding, tremendous scene of desolation the brig was -bound to, with myself in her, dreaming, hoping, praying to Almighty God -I should find my sweetheart in the hull alive.</p> - -<p>Many large white and grey birds flew out of the vapour into the -openings; they glanced against the marble-like abrupt and vanished. In -the midst of a wide flaw right abeam to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> port, another tall berg was -floating. It, too, was a sight of terror and awful beauty, with a look -as of frozen foam about the brows of it where the fog was flying, the -vapour whitening out to the shadow of the ice as though moon-smitten, -whilst low down on the right arched a piece of marvellous architecture, -like a Titanic Gothic doorway, through which every swell of the sea -flashed, bursting into a terrible fury and dazzling brightness of foam.</p> - -<p>I looked on in silence, keeping the shelter of the companion, whilst -the brig under her little show of cloths broke her way to windward, -helped by the tall black ship whose drift was towards us. After some -waiting we were within hailing distance. She was just such another -whaler as the 'Sea Queen,' but bigger by a couple of hundred tons, worn -and weedy, rolling dark decks at us with a glimpse of a black-roofed -galley and smoking chimney. She was rich with ice device: fathoms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -thick crystal hung from her tops, catheads, bowsprit and quarters; a -dull light sank down her glass-like rigging as she swayed. A crowd -of men viewed us over her rail, and a man stood awaiting us beside -the mizzen rigging, an arm wrapping a backstay, and his figure like a -bear's with fur to his heels.</p> - -<p>'What southing are you from?' shouted Cliffe, who, dwarf as he was to -the sight, had something bugle-like in the clear, small penetrating -note of his throat's delivery.</p> - -<p>'Sixty-one, sighting Elephant Island. Nothing to the south'ard of it,' -shouted back the man in the bear-like coat.</p> - -<p>'Been off the South Orkneys?' cried Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Just caught a sight of the north-west point of Coronation Island? -'Twas blowing hard, and the weather coming on thick,' answered the -other.</p> - -<p>The two vessels rolled at a distance apart not wider than a wide -street: each man's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> voice rang through the wind in distinct syllables -spite of the splashing and groaning sounds and the howling and -whistling aloft when the brig's spars sheared to windward on the slope -of the sea. When I heard the whaleman speak of Coronation Island, I -thought my heart had stopped. I wanted to speak, but could not.</p> - -<p>'How was the ice?' bawled Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Plentiful to the south'ard and west'ard.'</p> - -<p>'How was the ice about the New Orkneys?'</p> - -<p>'More'n ye'll want if you're bound there,' was the answer.</p> - -<p>'D'ye know that land?'</p> - -<p>'Ay' was the answer that was accompanied by a significant ironical -flourish of the arm.</p> - -<p>'Where's a man's chance of getting ashore?'</p> - -<p>The whaleman seemed to address another, probably the mate, who stood a -little distance from him. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> - -<p>'There's some landing-places on the south side,' he presently called. -'There's shelter there from the westerly winds. But you must see to -your ship, for the ice is plentiful and dangerous.'</p> - -<p>'The wreck lies on the north side of the island,' I called to Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Is there no landing on the north of the island?' shouted the little -fellow.</p> - -<p>The other answered, but the words were lost in a sudden blast or squall -of wind which blew betwixt our masts in a shriek like a locomotive's. -A moment later I saw the skipper of the whaler, as I presumed the -bear-coated man to be, motioning to his crew and heard him, but -faintly, shouting; thereupon the ship's topsail-yard was swung: the man -brandished his fist in a farewell to us, and whilst we still lay as -though hove, with the weather leech-rope of our band of topsail shaking -at every smoking plunge of the brig's head, the ship heeled over, and -gathering way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> broke the seas off her lee bow with glaring heaps, and -melted into a swollen smudge in the heart of a body of vapour when our -crew were trimming sail for the course to the New Orkneys.</p> - -<p>The rolling ocean, sallow still, was thick in many places with fog. We -saw now that ice lay all about us. There was scarce an opening in the -vaporous folds that was not filled with a berg near or distant, a dull, -pale, motionless mass; the vast island that had been off our starboard -quarter when the wind broke up the thickness, we had now brought on to -our port bow, and were slowly passing; its loom was more like a blue -shadow of land in the dull yellow light of that Antarctic afternoon, -summer as it was, than ice: yet it was a vast berg stretching west -and east: its westermost point was nearest and hung like a mass of -foreland, wild with the vapour that flew smoking off its face and -points, and with the leap of the surf at its base in lofty columns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> of -foam, whose heads the wind swept off in clouds.</p> - -<p>I stood beside Cliffe under the shelter of a large square of canvas -in the main rigging: oilskinned figures watched on the forecastle; we -drove very slowly; the running rigging had been seen to and carefully -coiled down ready for instant handling should a sudden cry from the -forecastle compel a shift of helm. I saw many birds flying in the -hollow seas, and turning to mark the bearings of a small berg which had -come and gone and come again on the starboard bow, I observed slowly -swinging past about a half-acre of the giant kelp of this part of the -world, a huge seaweed, glancing black in the whiteness of the froth, -and hissing like shingle as the salt shot through it.</p> - -<p>'Now that we are under way again,' I exclaimed, 'I am realising that -the end of this cruise is at hand.'</p> - -<p>'Were it all clear water and fine weather,'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> answered the little man, -'we should be off the island by noon to-morrow.'</p> - -<p>'What distance do you reckon it?'</p> - -<p>'Eighty miles.'</p> - -<p>'That ship we have just spoken makes me believe the hull has been -sighted again and again.'</p> - -<p>'Why, perhaps so,' he answered, 'but not of necessity.'</p> - -<p>'She was off the island, close enough to see the rocks.'</p> - -<p>'And who's to say that she's not the first that's been off that land -this six months—close in with the coast, I mean? Depend upon it, -Mr. Moore,' he went on with his face full of earnestness betwixt his -grimaces, 'you're doing the right thing for your own peace of mind, and -in the cause of humanity....'</p> - -<p>'Oh, it goes higher than humanity, man, higher than humanity,' I -interrupted.</p> - -<p>'In finding out for yourself,' he continued, 'whether the hull's the -wreck of the "Lady<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> Emma," and whether the captain, and his wife, and -your young lady are still aboard——'</p> - -<p>'By heaven, yes, then!' I exclaimed; 'Only to think of her as <i>being</i> -on board, and perishing there for the want of my coming to her help! -Whether she's there or not, Cliffe, it was the right thing to do, as -you say, and even in that thought I find a sort of comfort. Shall you -heave-to when it comes on dark?'</p> - -<p>'I'm for shoving on, sir, but we'll take no risks.'</p> - -<p>'None, though the job of heaving the land into view should fill another -month.'</p> - -<p>And still expectation and excitement so worked in me, I felt ill with -the conflict. I was up and down ceaselessly till the dusk blackened -the scene out. The cold drove me below, restlessness forced me above -again. It was always the same picture, the rolling and plunging figure -of the brig, gleaming with barbs, and spears, and motionless pennons -of ice: the glare of her band of topsail dingy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> against the ice beyond -as she swung it through the howling sweep of wind: the quick dazzle -of froth recoiling in thunder from the thrust of the bows: the large -grey swell coursed by the breaking surge, and to right and left, and -ahead and astern, the shadows and clear shapes of ice, some with brows -in the flying scud, some table-like and flashing like sunlight as the -seas charged them and burst, one showing a hatchet-like edge till our -rolling brig, opened it into a coast of marble that vanished in a haze -of mist and spray.</p> - -<p>Happily, after it had been dark about an hour, the brig still blowing -forward under reefed topsail and foresail, whilst I sat in the cabin -warming myself, drinking some hot brandy and water, but always with -ears straining to catch a cry on deck, Cliffe came below, and gave me -the good news of a shift of wind into the north-west, with a scanting -of it, and a plenty of starlight, and the Southern Cross looking almost -upright. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> - -<p>'What does that signify?' said I.</p> - -<p>'Nothing,' he answered with a cheerful grimace. 'Except, that as the -Southern Cross is upright at midnight on one day only in the year, the -sight of it almost on end now is interesting.'</p> - -<p>'When is it actually upright?'</p> - -<p>'On March 26.'</p> - -<p>'D'ye know, Cliffe,' said I, getting up, meaning to take a look round, -'that it's comforted me sometimes to think of that symbol of God -overhanging these waters. It should be a sight to freshen a man's faith -in a time of distress.'</p> - -<p>'Strange to find it hung up down here where they're all heathens,' said -Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Much ice?'</p> - -<p>'No more than there was, sir.'</p> - -<p>I went on deck. The dusk of the night was hard and clear, and I -observed a keen blue in the trembling gleam of many of the stars. But -though there was no wet in the air, I had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> never felt the cold so -bitter as on this night. The sight of the nearer of the ice mountains -in the gloom under the light of the stars was marvellously fine and -awful; some shone with a light of their own; it was the snow upon them, -I suppose, that made that sheen. I noticed, however, that though the -sea was covered with these faint and pallid masses, there was plenty of -sea-room in the lanes and highways they made. A startling and alarming -part was the crackling and crashing noises which came from them, and -shortly before I was driven below by the cold, an island on the port -quarter, wan as a cloud touched by a corner of moon, vanished; it may -have shown in another shape by daylight; it had overset and perhaps -rose flat and invisible in that light. But the spectacle was wonderful: -it made a deep impression on me. Cliffe who saw it bid me listen, and -sure enough after a little there came slanting through the wind such a -prodigious noise of hissing and seething that, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> for knowing what -made it, you would have looked in its direction for the foaming waters -of a sudden gale.</p> - -<p>There was to be little rest for the crew that night. Cliffe informed me -the men had been told that all hands would have to stand by throughout -the dark hours, ready to jump to the first call if the brig was to -remain a brig. A seaman was stationed on each bow: a third aloft on the -foreyard: the mate and the boatswain were to relieve each other every -two hours in keeping a look-out on the forecastle. A man was stationed -aft ready in a breath to help at the helm. The galley fire was kept -burning all night, and hot coffee, and at longer intervals small drams -of rum, were served out to the crew.</p> - -<p>The chief peril lay in the smaller blocks of ice floating on the water; -they were hard to see before they were dangerously close to; and yet, -comparatively small as they were, any one of them was big enough to -knock a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> hole in the brig's bottom, and founder her out of hand.</p> - -<p>Right through the night we held on. At first the cries of 'Ice ahead,' -'Ice on the port bow,' 'Starboard your helm,' and the like, alarmed me; -but I presently got used to them, nor indeed were they so frequent as -to be terrifying; once only, that is, in my hearing, was a cry raised -as for life or death in a sudden passion or panic; then it was an -immense flat ragged-edged piece of ice under the bow; a swift turn of -the helm sent the brig clear, giving us a sight of the stuff alongside, -and the brave little ship ploughed her way onwards.</p> - -<p>Happily, it was midsummer, and the night comparatively short. The dawn -was fair and rosy, and the sun rose upon a dark blue sea, frothing far -as the eye could pierce, and magnificent with ice. I cannot express -the gorgeous scene of colour that sunrise called into being. In all -directions the ice lay in a hundred shapes, some of the islands -sparkling like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> prisms; I beheld floating cities of porcelain, enormous -shapes in alabaster, figures of marble, monstrous and grotesque as -those huge forms of rock which stand in a congregation of Titans at the -base of some of the precipitous heights of Table Bay.</p> - -<p>But though there was plenty of ice in the south, there was an abundance -of room too for our passage; the mate came down from the fore royal -yard with a telescope slung on his back and said he saw no barrier; he -thought, but would not then swear, he could make out a faint shadow -of land. If he was right, then the mountain that centres Coronation -Island was in sight! The breeze was fresh out of the north-west, with -a high following sea, and soon after the sun was risen and Cliffe had -taken a long look round, he ordered sail to be made. The foretopsail -was loosed, reefs shaken out, and cloths piled upon the little vessel -to the topgallant yards; <i>then</i>, like something alive and released, the -little ship fled southwards.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXVII</span> <span class="smaller">CORONATION ISLAND</span></h2> - -<p>But it was not till next day that we had the land in view, and then -it was ten o'clock on February morning, making it a few days above a -month since we had sailed out of Table Bay. As on the previous day, -so on this, the sun shone brightly, with even some comfort of warmth -in its light. Many great clouds of a milk-white softness were sailing -into the east; the wind was fresh out of the west, but though the -sea ran briskly, with a shrewd vapour of salt in the shrill fling of -the frothing curls, it was not a hollow sea; it rolled the brig in -stately measures, but she was now under small sail, the ice being very -plentiful and the sea crowded with bergs of all sizes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> whilst right -ahead were tall cliffs of ice backed by a blue shadow of mountain -rising into a silver faintness where the eternal snows upon it sparkled -and died out from the sight in the deep blue.</p> - -<p>I was beside myself with excitement and wretched with distress of -expectation, dread, and hope. That height of white cliff right ahead, -broken in the foreground by pale floating islands, its face discoloured -in places as though the ice that masked the rock had broken from the -black and savage rampart, was Coronation Island, and on the port bow, -looming distant but immense, were the mountains of Laurie Island.</p> - -<p>Our anchors were at the cathead, ready for letting go in case of sudden -need; the men hung about on the look-out for ice, ready in an instant -to trim sail. We were sailing towards the island through an avenue of -bergs: clear water sparkled from the thrust of our stem to the very -wash of the distant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> surf, with no other obstructions than here and -there a lump of the crystal stuff lifting sullenly with the swell, -flashing gloriously, and so proclaiming itself to the sight when the -sunbeam smote the foam that poured off it.</p> - -<p>A chart of the islands lay upon the skylight, and every few minutes I -would be dropping the telescope to look at the chart, to gather from -the tracing the point of coast we were heading for. The whaleman had -said that the wreck lay on a ledge in Palmer's Bay, and Cliffe and -I were agreed that that large indent was between the two towering -shadows, to the right of the taller peak that soared a thousand feet -higher than Table Mountain.</p> - -<p>The icebergs obstructed the view. The line of coast was studded with -them: yet every moment I was sinking my sight through the lenses into -each opening betwixt the bergs. The brig's progress under her small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> -canvas was about four knots and a half; I'd glanced for a moment at -some stately frozen pile majestically rocking and slowly veering by, -then put my eye to the glass afresh. My very soul was now loathing the -sight of the ice. The largest of the islands was no longer an object -of splendour and sublimity, but of horror and heart-weariness, charged -with a spirit of desolation that subdued me to a sort of numbness of -mind if I looked long: it seemed to stonefy the very principle of life -in me, as though there was a horrid magic in its bald white stare to -look a man into craziness, and emptiness, and into its own frozen -lifelessness.</p> - -<p>But now, as we approached, the features of the land began to steal -out into a brilliant keenness wherever there was space for them to -show betwixt the floating ice, and on a sudden, whilst I was looking -through the glass, the motion of the brig slided a seaborne hill away -to the left, and exposed a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> front of cliff that lay with a shadow upon -it as though it was a sort of ravine, at the foot of which, though I -instantly guessed it would lift to some height above the sea as we got -nearer, lay a black speck. I looked again, and cried out wild with -excitement:</p> - -<p>'Cliffe, I have the hull! I have the hull!'</p> - -<p>The little man came headlong to my side, and put his grimacing face to -the telescope.</p> - -<p>'Yes! I see it, I have it!' he shouted. 'Just as reported—high above -the wash—fair in the heart of the Bay. It'll be all plain sailing now. -Lor, but there ought to be no difficulty in boarding her.'</p> - -<p>He returned the glass to me: I levelled it afresh at the instant that -the corner of a big heap of berg floated right into the field of vision.</p> - -<p>It needed another hour of careful sailing to expose the hull anew: then -through the glass I saw her clearly. She lay, a large black hulk of -ship, upon a projection of ice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> that was at least thirty feet above the -sea. I made out her bowsprit, and the stump of her foremast. The cliffs -soared sheer and abrupt at the back of her to a great height. Even at -that distance it was not hard to guess that, after having stranded, she -had been lifted by some earthquake dislocation of ice into the posture -she rested in. Suppose the sea clear, she must have been visible to -passing ships for leagues.</p> - -<p>The seamen were congregated in the bows, leaning over the rail, Bodkin -amongst them pointing eagerly. The mate roared to them to keep a bright -look-out, they then scattered, but the sight of that wreck had brought -them heedlessly together as one man. Cliffe's glass was not a powerful -one, yet the hull in the lens lay within half a mile, and I saw her -plainly. She had her head towards the cliffs, and sat very nearly upon -a level keel. A great portion of her starboard bulwarks were gone. She -was a mass of ice under her stern:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> looked to be fixed there to her bed -of white pillars. The sun shot sparkles into her as we advanced, and -still she showed black, as though the ice that coated her was as glass. -Nothing moved: I strained my vision till my brain reeled and the object -swung in the glass and was eclipsed: Cliffe looked, he saw no smoke nor -signs of life any more than I.</p> - -<p>'If there's anyone alive aboard her,' said he, 'now's our time for -letting them know we're here.'</p> - -<p>'Right,' I answered, speaking with my teeth almost set; 'do what you -will, Cliffe; do what is for the best.'</p> - -<p>He called to Bland and a man, and they fetched a number of blank -charges for the cannon. The little skipper left the gun to the mate's -handling, himself taking charge of the brig, which needed exquisite -watching and management, so crowded was the water here with loose ice. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Let fly fast as you can load, Mr. Bland,' said the captain; 'fire six -rounds.'</p> - -<p>As he spoke came a cry from the forecastle: 'Lie close under the port -bow, sir!'</p> - -<p>Thus was it, thus had it been, saving that now the pack stuff had -thickened perilously.</p> - -<p>The gun was fired; it made a noble thunder, and roared in dying echoes -from near ice crag to ice crag. Again it was fired, yet again; all this -while the brig was rolling forwards with her helm going up and down to -the cries from the forecastle and to the gestures of the little captain.</p> - -<p>I stood at a backstay with a levelled glass steadied against it, and -in the moment of the third explosion I saw smoke rise feathering from -the deck of the hull; still watching, my breath so thick and difficult -it was as though a hand was upon my throat, I marked that the smoke -thickened; but I could not see the red of the flame, nor the figure of -the person feeding it. I daresay I was as white as any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> corpse when I -stepped over to the captain and, putting the glass into his hand, said: -'There is life there.'</p> - -<p>'There's smoke arising from that wreck,' shouted someone forward.</p> - -<p>'We're here for <i>some</i> purpose, then, anyway,' cried Cliffe with -a small oath, letting fall the glass to his side with the most -extravagant grimace I had ever beheld in him.</p> - -<p>One saw the smoke easily now with the naked eye; it rose black against -the whiteness past it, curled featherwise, and blew scattering against -the face of the cliff. I levelled the glass again and saw the figure of -a man walking toward the stump of the foremast; I watched him; in a few -moments a square of colour rose to the summit of the mutilated spar, -where it blew steadily; it was a large English ensign, Jack down.</p> - -<p>Bland let fly a fourth gun.</p> - -<p>'Stop it!' roared Cliffe, 'we are seen! Hoist the ensign and dip it -thrice.' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> - -<p>The colour soared to the trysail gaff end; it blew out large on the -bight of the halliards when it was dipped, and was easily within the -observation of the man on the hull. When I looked through the glass -once more I saw a second figure; it was upon the hull's quarter, where -the rail or bulwarks rose to a height that hindered me from perceiving -how it was clad. I asked Cliffe to look; he steadied the glass, and -answered with a snap of his whole face, and a voice high-pitched with -delight:</p> - -<p>'As God's my hope, Mr. Moore, it's a woman!'</p> - -<p>The glass so shook in my hands that I could not use it; I took a few -turns, then looked again. The figure watched us from the same place, -but I could not tell whether it was a man or a woman. If it was a -woman, then it might be Mrs. Burke. I wanted three figures to make -<i>sure</i> of Marie; I saw but two; where was the third?</p> - -<p>I strained my sight at the telescope with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> heart of fever, half -strangled by conflicting passions.</p> - -<p>The figure that had hoisted the colour went to the side of the other, -and they both stood watching, nothing visible of them above their -waists. It was blowing a fresh breeze, and before this time Cliffe had -taken in certain canvas; I think the brig was under topsails only, the -foresail hauled up and hanging in its gear; the vessel drove slowly -with an occasional crackling noise of ice along her sides when she -sheared through some thin sludge stuff you could not see till you -were in it; fortunately the drift ice that had threatened a thick -surface just now had loosened here and tossed scattered; as we advanced -moreover, we found that the icebergs which had looked to sit close in -with the coast rode with a good offing; the sea was covered with these -floating islands off that part of the island marked Foul Point; the -eastern horizon was also like a terrace of ice, but the face of the -cliffs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> from Foul Point down to where the land rounded into Lewthwaite -Strait was fairly open.</p> - -<p>All this while the sun shone brightly and with warmth. The sea streamed -in a glorious dye of violet; we rolled slowly onwards till we were -within about three-quarters of a mile of the coast and right abreast of -the wreck. The helm was then put down; the main topsail laid aback; the -gun again fired, and the ensign dipped. It was now about noon.</p> - -<p>By this time I had made out that one of the figures was a woman; I saw -but two persons. Who the woman was I could not tell, fierce as had -been the struggle of my vision to resolve the glimmer of her face into -lineaments.</p> - -<p>When the brig had been brought to a stand, Cliffe called a council. -We had ample sea room. The nearest floating ice lay about a quarter -of a mile distant on the port<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> quarter; the smaller blocks were not -numerous, nor was there weight of sea to make them dangerous. All along -the base of the ice-clad cliffs the water was pouring in a thunder of -boiling surf; it was not the breakers but the great breathing swell -of this mighty ocean which worked all that noise and fury along the -cliffs' foot. The white brine sometimes shot twenty feet high, though -it blew but a moderate fresh breeze, and the surge ran small.</p> - -<p>Cliffe, myself, Bland, and the boatswain Bodkin came together at the -companion hatch to consider. We had swept with the glass the line of -coast from the beach under the hull to as far as we could see on the -right, and beheld nothing but lofty coils of frothing combers raging -in surf; there was no chance for a boat anywhere <i>that</i> way. The left -presented a like scene, saving that there was a point in Palmer's Bay -that, cruising eastwards, shut out the view of perhaps a quarter of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -mile of the water it enclosed. Upon that point our eyes were fastened.</p> - -<p>'We must lower a boat,' said Cliffe, 'and find out how the land lies -past that arm of land.'</p> - -<p>'It's the only sheltered bit along the whole boiling, I allow,' said -Bland.</p> - -<p>Bodkin, putting down the telescope, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>'She lies about forty feet high above the wash. The ice is broke and -irregular from the water to where she sits, and I reckon a man might -walk upon it if there's a landing-place round the point. But I won't -swear to it till I'm close in. Ice is deceitful stuff. Capt'n, there'll -be nothen to say till we've taken a look round. 'Tis certain there's to -be no getting at the hull from the bottom of the height she rests on, -even if the boat could land there.'</p> - -<p>'Then lower away, Mr. Bland, as quickly as possible, and be off and -back with a report,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> that we may make up our minds what to do before it -falls dark.'</p> - -<p>Whilst some hands were getting one of the whale-boats over, others were -busy with the deep-sea lead: but we were away, pulling for the shore, -before they sounded. I went in the boat, taking the telescope with me. -She was a five-oared boat; Bodkin pulled stroke; one of our smartest -seamen was in the bows. The fellows bent their backs, and the buoyant -little craft, swift of model with the whale-hunter's lines, flashed -over the blue ridges; often I sought to bring the glass to bear upon -the two figures watching us; to no purpose. The mate would not let me -stand up, and I put down the telescope in despair.</p> - -<p>'That vessel,' said the mate, 'never berthed herself like that. She's -been chucked right up by the ice, and 'twas sudden too, bet yer heart, -Bodkin.'</p> - -<p>The picture grew amazing as we advanced. The cliffs behind the hull -rose to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> about two hundred feet; I call them cliffs, they were a solid, -precipitous, rugged face of ice, how deeply sheathing the black rock -of the island no man could tell: the whole stretch of land resembled a -gigantic iceberg. The hull lay upon a huge block, the top about forty -feet high; it projected in a wide ledge, then fell sheer. You might -know it had been snapped from some parent monster by the smooth side it -showed to the sea, so clean cut to the eye, it might have been done by -the chisel and hammer of a giant big as the blue shadow of mountains -beyond.</p> - -<p>My eyes were fixed on the wreck, and on the figures standing at her -bulwark rail. Now again I tried to bring the telescope to bear: the -jumping of the boat made the effort useless. All in a minute one of -the figures sprang on to the bulwark; flourished his arms, and then -motioned frantically towards the part of the bay concealed by the curve -of the ice. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Hail him, in God's name!' I cried. 'Try him with your voice, Mr. -Bland.'</p> - -<p>The mate stood up and roared, the full volume of his lungs trumpeting -into the inshore wind like a soldier's call, the sweep and lift of the -whale-boat to the summit of a large swell helping.</p> - -<p>'How many are there of you?'</p> - -<p>'Two,' came back the answer, dull through the roar of the surf but -distinguishable.</p> - -<p>'Who is the other?'</p> - -<p>The men were now resting on their oars, the boat sinking and lifting in -the sea that was great and hollow for so small a fabric; we were within -a pistol-shot of the base of the cliff on which the hull sat, but so -high perched was the craft, so bewrapped the two people, I could not -make out their faces. The man held up his hand as though he had not -heard.</p> - -<p>The mate roared again, 'Who is the other?' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> - -<p>'A young lady.'</p> - -<p>'Is it Miss Otway?'</p> - -<p>He brandished an assent, and his figure stiffened in a posture of -amazement.</p> - -<p>'Is that her alongside of you?'</p> - -<p>Again the figure flourished an affirmative.</p> - -<p>'Then here's Mr. Moore come to take her home,' thundered the mate.</p> - -<p>When he said <i>that</i>, Marie—for it was she—leaned forward: she was -motionless whilst you might have counted twenty; she then stretched -out her arms. I pulled off my hat and flourished it, that she might -know me among the crowd we made in that boat, then lifted up my hands -to her. But even had my voice possessed Bland's carrying power I could -not have called. There, high above, upon the rail of the wreck, flanked -by towering walls of ice, stood, with arms outstretched in appeal to -me, the figure of my beloved. I had thought to find her dead—she was -there;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> I had thought to find her lying in an African grave—and there, -on that high-poised wreck she stood in silent appeal. For weeks and -weeks I had been mourning for her, asking of God that I might behold -her, seeing her in my dreams, a frozen corpse upon the deck of that -hull there: and now she stood up yonder, alive, full in sight.</p> - -<p>The boiling of the surf ran a maddening noise of thunder round the bay. -But one saw what the man, whoever he might be, had frantically pointed -to. The water was smooth from the end of the point to away round for -some hundreds of paces. The sea could not get at the frozen beach -there: it flashed at the point, and recoiled in clouds.</p> - -<p>'Put me ashore,' I exclaimed, 'I can climb those crags. Look how they -wind to the ledge: Bodkin will help me. I must go on board that wreck.'</p> - -<p>'Sit down, I beg, sir,' exclaimed the mate, catching me by the arm as I -toppled half-delirious. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>'Tumbling overboard's an easy job. Your eyes -deceive you; you could no more climb those rocks than jump ashore from -where you sit. What d'ye say, Bodkin?'</p> - -<p>The man had already and quickly made up his mind. He glanced at the -fall of crags of headlong abruptness in places, huge and nodding, yet -so blending in their whiteness with the whiteness they stood out on -as to cheat the unpractised eye with an appearance of easy road-way, -and answered firmly, 'There's no mortal legs and arms as is a-going to -carry a man to the wreck by them rocks.'</p> - -<p>'Why did the man motion to that landing-place?' I said.</p> - -<p>The mate turned his sheep-eyed face round the bay, and answered, 'He -didn't know who we were. He was afraid that boiling,' said he, pointing -to the surf, 'would drive us away.'</p> - -<p>'How is the wreck to be entered?' I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> asked, looking up and waving my -hat, and then again stretching forth my arms.</p> - -<p>'It's a sailor's job. Have no fear. We'll get 'em out of that,' -answered the mate, and standing up he hailed the man. The other -flourished his arm. 'We're here to take you off,' bellowed Bland, 'and -we'll do it. Don't take any notice of our leaving you. It won't be for -long. D'ye hear me?'</p> - -<p>'Ay, ay!' came the answer, feebly through the ceaseless thunder.</p> - -<p>It tore my heart to look up at the wreck, as we pulled away, and -see Marie there, sundered from me by that curse of roaring foam, -inaccessible, to be come at only by patience, naval skill, efforts -which might have to be again and again repeated, always perilous. -I cannot express how marvellously strange this ice-ramparted bay -looked, with that wreck cradled on high, like a huge model in glass, -tinted black, smoke lifting still cloudily from her deck, and the red -inverted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> flag streaming like a square of fire against the marble white -beyond. Many large pieces of ice floated in this sweep of water: but -they showed plain, and the boat went securely. One piece was almost a -berg: a miniature island. Here and there the sea broke over it. It was -almost in the middle of the bay, and exactly abreast of the wreck. I -observed that Mr. Bland ran his eye curiously over it as we pulled past.</p> - -<p>Who was the man on the hull that had answered us? He was not Captain -Burke. My sight had not distinguished his face, yet I should have known -him by his voice had he been Burke. Three had been left, so Wall the -boatswain reported: Burke and his wife, and Miss Otway; I saw but two. -The man had said there were two only: one was Marie: where were the -others, and who was that stranger?</p> - -<p>We arrived alongside the brig, and with little difficulty I got aboard. -The pull had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> occupied so short a while there had been scarce time to -talk: but in any case the hurry and wildness of my spirits, my deep -agitation, amazement and delight, mingled with dark wonder and jealous -alarm, must have held me mute.</p> - -<p>Cliffe impatiently awaited us: Bland and Bodkin came on board, leaving -the men in the boat. Bland immediately said:</p> - -<p>'We must get them out with a cradle. There's no other way.'</p> - -<p>'No landing, then, round that point there?' said Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Ay, sir, but the rocks are not to be climbed by anything wanting hoofs -and horns.'</p> - -<p>'Who are they?'</p> - -<p>'One's the young lady,' said the mate.</p> - -<p>Cliffe spun round and stretched his hand to me.</p> - -<p>'I do congratulate you,' he cried, convulsing his countenance. 'It's a -noble<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> errand nobly rounded off. Hurrah!' and in a sudden ecstasy he -pulled off his hat and whirled it three or four times over his head. He -then cried, 'But two only? The third ain't dead, I hope?'</p> - -<p>'Captain Burke and his wife are not there,' said I.</p> - -<p>He grimaced at me, and said, 'Who's the man, then? But asking questions -won't get them out of it. What d'ye propose?'</p> - -<p>As he spoke he whipped out his watch: as it lay in his hand I saw the -hour; the time was two, we had therefore a long afternoon of daylight -before us.</p> - -<p>'We must take the mortar in the boat and communicate with it,' answered -Bland. 'There's a big piece of ice to anchor the boat to,' said he, -pointing to the lump I had observed him look at. 'We shall want a -cradle.'</p> - -<p>'A cask 'll answer,' said Cliffe.</p> - -<p>'Better have both boats in the water,' said Bland. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> - -<p>They exchanged further remarks to this effect, but I was no sailor -and could not follow them. No time, however, was lost. In less than -half-an-hour both boats were alongside, rising and falling singly -under the lee of the brig. In one boat was the mortar, with a complete -apparatus of gear and cradle for connection with the wreck. The cradle -consisted of a large cask cleverly slung, and so contrived as to -slide along a line when the rope attached to it was pulled. We were -nobly favoured by the weather. The send of the swell was as steady as -the tick of a clock: the seas ran short and small, with a rich sunny -feathering of foam that made a wonder of the ice, so tropic was it with -the blue overhead where floated a few large white clouds of a coppery -effulgence of swollen breast.</p> - -<p>We got away by a quarter to three, one boat in tow of the other; the -wind and seas helped us, and we quickly entered the bay. We were of the -same number as before, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> the same people. We drove with lifted oars -to the former talking place, and Bland hailed the man, and, with his -loudest roar, told him we were going to fire the end of a line to the -wreck and send him a tackle by it for a cradle. Did he understand?</p> - -<p>The man responded with a peculiar flourish of his arm, and Bland -instantly said to me, 'He is a sailor.'</p> - -<p>I had no eyes save for Marie. She had showed on a sudden at the rail -on the quarter as we entered the bay, and stood as still as a statue -watching us. Before Bland hailed I kissed my hand and flourished my hat -to her, and extended my arms; and she then stretched her hands, lifting -them immediately afterwards.</p> - -<p>The surf held us several hundreds of feet away from the beach: the -hull stood about forty feet above; no cry I was capable of could have -reached her through the noise of the trembling combers; but the wind, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>however, was brilliant, and Marie's form stood clear cut against the -white background; nevertheless, I could not distinguish her features.</p> - -<p>The boat, with the other in tow, now pulled for the lee of the large -mass of ice that lay floating abreast of the wreck. The water swung -foamless and quiet under the shelter of this block. A couple of men -jumped out, and between them carried an anchor to some near crevice, in -which they half sank it. Thus were the boats solidly secured.</p> - -<p>The mortar was then loaded: I saw the man on the wreck turn as though -addressing Marie, who immediately withdrew and disappeared. When all -was ready, Bland with many wild gestures and flourishes signalled to -the man to stand by. Our seamen were deeply interested and greatly -excited, particularly Bodkin, who had the handling of the mortar.</p> - -<p>'Fire!' roared Bland.</p> - -<p>The uncouth piece exploded in flame and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> smoke. Coil after coil of the -heap of small stuff of the thickness of lead-line standing beside it -flew off into the air.</p> - -<p>'He has it!' bawled a man.</p> - -<p>'Pay out now, pay out!' cried Bland. 'Light out handsomely, my lads. It -may come as too much dead weight for one man, which'll be a bad job if -winch is froze.'</p> - -<p>'It's for his life, and <i>that's</i> a three-manpower, aye, though yare -should be just out of horspital too,' exclaimed a seaman.</p> - -<p>'Pay out. Ease him all you can, lads,' shouted the mate.</p> - -<p>The man had got hold of the end of the line, and was dragging it -inboard hand over hand, bringing to him as he hauled the end of a stout -rope, to which a little block was attached with a line rove through -it. This was the gear the mate was calling upon the seamen to pay out -handsomely. He was but one man to three, and the tackle and rope must -needs grow heavier and heavier as its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> smoking steaming up-curving -bight lengthened. I watched almost breathless; if the man's strength -failed before his end of the rope came to his hand what should we do? -We could not assist. Now indeed I saw it would be impossible for any -one of us to scale those rugged crystal boulders and cavernous ruins of -ice which yet from the level of the water painted a practicable ascent -from the sheltered curve of the bay where the sea was silent.</p> - -<p>Foot by foot the sailors veered out the gear, and hand over hand, with -admirable endurance and patient courage, the man on the wreck hauled -the stuff in: till on a sudden one of our men called out, 'The lady's -helping,' and I caught a glimpse of Marie past the man, dragging as he -dragged.</p> - -<p>'It's all right!' after a long pause, exclaimed Bland, letting out his -words in the note of a deep-chested sigh of relief, and a hearty cheer -sprang from the lips of the seamen. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> - -<p>'He knows what to do. He's a sailor!' cried Bodkin.</p> - -<p>He had vanished behind the bulwarks, but quickly reappeared signalling -to us with a flourish, whilst Marie stood as before, motionless, -watching.</p> - -<p>'Now get it taut, for God's sake!' cried the mate. 'In with the slack.'</p> - -<p>The men toiled on, and dragged till the bight of the rope was clear of -the water: the gear then described a curve from the stump of fore-mast -to the boat.</p> - -<p>'Now clap on the watch tackle.'</p> - -<p>A machinery of blocks and lines was applied to the rope, which tautened -to the strain till the mate cried 'Belay! If we don't mind our eye we -shall start the wreck!'</p> - -<p>Then swiftly, but without hurry or confusion, the empty cask was got -over the bow and slung to a bowling or traveller.</p> - -<p>'Haul out!' cried the mate, and nimbly, with quick steady pulls, the -cask was run up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> the rope. It travelled smoothly. The man sprang on to -the bulwark rail and received it, and, putting his hand on the edge of -it, jumped in.</p> - -<p>'By thunder, no, then! The lady first, or you stop there!' groaned the -mate, his face suddenly dark with disgust and temper, and the others -looked along the rope to the cask with frowns eloquent of curses. But -in a moment the man got out, and I said, 'He was testing it.'</p> - -<p>We now saw him, in the sharp white light the air was brimful of, help -Marie on to the rail: he put his hands under her arms, and carefully -sank her into the cask; then, pulling off his cap, flourished a signal -of 'all's ready' to us. Instantly, one end of the line was slackened -away whilst the other end was hauled upon, and the cask travelled -towards us.</p> - -<p>'Stand by to lift the lady out,' bawled the mate, whilst the cask was -still coming. 'Into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> the bows two of you. Mr. Moore, you'll keep your -seat, I beg sir, till the lady's in the boat.'</p> - -<p>The cask came sliding to the drag of the line down to the very stern -of the boat: there it was water-borne, and began to roll and leap with -the boat: but strong hands were ready, and in a minute Marie was lifted -over the gunwale, brought right aft, and seated beside me.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XXVIII</span> <span class="smaller">MR. MOORE ENDS HIS STORY</span></h2> - -<p>I took her by the hands and looked her in the face, and brought her -to my heart, and a sob shook me as I kissed her. For some moments she -merely pronounced my name, straining from my grasp to look at me. -There was something wild in the light of her soft eyes then. Maybe the -passions and sensations which in a sudden surprise of meeting would -have forced us into transports had abated; we had long both known that -we were near to each other, she that I had come to rescue her, I that -she was alive on that wreck up there. But for all that, and as long -as they were bringing the man from the wreck, it remained a sort of -unreality, a mission too marvellous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> to have been fulfilled, a hope -too daring, too defiant of death itself and all the terrors of this -barbarous, savage scene, to have been humanly possible.</p> - -<p>A wonder, too, lay in her beauty and healthful looks. My imaginations -of her state, now as lying in her coffin at Cape Town, now as dead -of the cold in that same wreck we had brought her from, had coloured -to me a ghastly portrait of my memory of her; or, even when figuring -her alive in the hull, I conceived her bloodless, gaunt, sunk-eyed, a -sad, heart-sickening spectre of herself. Instead I found her fairer, -healthier, plumper by a hundredfold than she had shown when she left -England. She was dressed in furs: her hat was a turban of sealskin; her -hair was a little wild, but its dishevelment was a grace.</p> - -<p>When at last I began to speak to her, it was in mere ejaculation, a -babble of joy and devotion—that I should have got her;—that I should -be holding her after months of fearing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> and of believing that she was -dead; that God should have directed me through thousands of leagues -of sea to this lonely scene of ice; and so on, and so on; whilst her -speech was little more than exclamation too. For, put yourself in our -place and judge how it would go with your heart, and tongue, till use -had softened amazement and incredulity, sobering the flow of feeling -into a gentle language of passion and pleasure.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile they were bringing the man to the boat. The cask travelled -safely to the bows: he sprang out with the assistance of a man's hand, -and then stood on a thwart looking about him for a minute with a face -of ecstasy.</p> - -<p>Now it was I grew a bit rational, and said to Marie:</p> - -<p>'Who is he?'</p> - -<p>'Mr. Selby. His conduct has been noble. Oh, Archie, his manly treatment -of me, his patient care, the encouragement, the encouragement!' </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Jump on to the ice there, two of you, and get that anchor,' sung out -Mr. Bland.</p> - -<p>'Where's Captain Burke?' I said.</p> - -<p>'He was drowned months ago—months ago.'</p> - -<p>'And his wife?'</p> - -<p>'I found her frozen to death and dragged her into the ship's kitchen -and watched beside her, and then I was alone in that wreck in a heavy, -rolling ocean for a week till he came,' and she looked towards Selby, -'sent by God, for without him—alone up there—oh, think, Archie!'</p> - -<p>As she said this she put her hands together and her face whitened like -the ice; her eyes rolled their pupils out of sight, and with a little -moan she fainted.</p> - -<p>I held and pillowed her, groping for and finding a flask of brandy in -my pockets. She continued in a dead faint until, the anchor having been -got, the boats were clear of the bay close in with the brig. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> - -<p>Selby sat in the bows. I never addressed him: I could think of nothing -but the lifeless figure I clasped. She came to just as we drew -alongside the vessel, and my gratitude, when she fetched a breath, and -opened her eyes, was scarcely less than that I had felt when I knew -she was on board the wreck. In truth, so fixed was her trance, I had -believed her dead.</p> - -<p>She was helped over the side by Cliffe and others. The brig showed a -low side when the gangway was unshipped, and Marie was handed on deck -easily and without risk. I followed. She was very weak, yet could walk -leaning on my arm, and thus supporting her I took her into the cabin. -Then it was I strained her to my heart again, kissing her, blessing -her, thanking God for suffering me to discover and rescue her.</p> - -<p>It would be idle to set down what now passed between us in this -first half-hour of our being alone. Our hurry of speech, the tender<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -interruption of caresses was as a printed page broken into sentences -without sequence. Looks will give continuity to meaning when the tongue -is still, but how to describe those passages of eloquent silence?</p> - -<p>We had both of us a thousand things to ask and answer, and often we'd -break off to gaze at each other, scarce realising even yet that we -were together, and that the end of my heaven-directed quest was come. -By the time we had settled down into sober talk, sitting hand in hand -in front of the glowing brass stove, whilst the boy in obedience to my -orders was preparing the table for dinner, it was about five o'clock; -they had got way upon the brig; she was heeling over, and I guessed -that Cliffe was pressing her, getting every inch of northing that was -to be clawed out of the bow surge whilst it was daylight. The afternoon -was glowing with more than tropic splendour; indeed, never had I -observed such mellow richness of glory under the line,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> or north or -south of 23° as I had noticed in this Antarctic sunshine whilst in the -bay. But however delivered—whispered at times—sometimes interrupted -by tears, by sudden impassioned embraces, as though nothing even now -could be true but the presence and reality of the long months of her -imprisonment; but however brokenly uttered, I say her story was known, -and her relation persuaded me that in the person of Mr. Selby lived -one of the finest characters that ever graced the manliest of all the -callings. My love, my joy—though my spirits seemed to know no other -passions whilst I held her and looked at her—did not extinguish in me -for long whilst we conversed the cold dark dread that lurked in the -thought of her having been locked up with Selby for months. But whilst -I listened the jealous fear, the gloomy dislike for the extraordinary -association vanished. My heart grew hot with admiration and gratitude. -She told me of her joy at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> the sight of him, when, after being alone -for a week in the dismasted hull of the 'Lady Emma' with no other -companion on board than the dead body of Mrs. Burke, she groped her way -from her berth to the cabin and found him lying asleep on a locker. She -told me how he had comforted her and raised her spirits by every hope -that a sailor could invent. She instanced many fine subtle, delicate -traits of conduct; I was impressed by the refinement and native -exquisite breeding of the man whilst I listened to her. I witnessed -the gentleman, the nobleman of nature's own handiwork, in all she told -me of him. Without his inspiring companionship her spirits would have -sunk, her heart must have broken. He fetched and carried, cooked, and -toiled for her comfort; he devised a dozen schemes to divert her. Every -day he promised that a ship would come to take them off. He never lost -heart. Often he would sing with a sailor's notion of brightening her -melancholy. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> - -<p>No one intruded upon us, saving the boy; but our talk was not to be -overheard by him, sitting as we did close together beside the fire. And -all the while I was admiring the improved sweetness of her looks, the -plumpness of her cheeks and throat, the firmer, clearer tones of her -voice, and what shone to my sight as a soft gay light of health in her -eyes.</p> - -<p>'Is it the ice,' said I, 'that has worked this miracle of change in -you? Or were you looking even better than you now do before your -shipwreck?'</p> - -<p>'I cannot tell how I look,' she answered. 'What I have suffered I know.'</p> - -<p>She talked of the Burkes, and wept when she spoke of her old nurse. She -said she believed Captain Burke committed suicide; his end was sudden; -he did not need to go upon the bowsprit to hang up the lantern—a -height of foremast stood; he went on a dangerous errand, she thought, -meaning to die, and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> getting his wife to accompany him into the -bows might have signified no more than lunatic cunning.</p> - -<p>Whilst we conversed the boy came down and asked if he should put dinner -upon the table. We had forgotten time in talking and I jumped up and -took Marie to my berth, which was to be resigned to her. I then went on -deck to make Mr. Selby's acquaintance and to bring him into the cabin -to dinner.</p> - -<p>The wind was on the beam, a steady pouring breeze, and the heeling brig -was washing onwards, but warily and under little canvas; I had been -misled by the angle of the deck. The ice rode lofty and glaring about -us on all sides in huge groups; and masses of the stuff littered the -ocean directly in our path; the utmost vigilance was needful.</p> - -<p>I stood a moment in the companion-way, looking at the island we were -leaving astern. It was already some miles distant, and the wreck -invisible. The far inland mountain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> hung solemn and sublime in the blue -air with the majestic loneliness of it. You thought of it as lifting -its height at the extreme end of the world, and the melting of its -shimmering peak into the silver azure was such a blending as made the -shadow seem as high as the heavens themselves.</p> - -<p>Cliffe stood in earnest talk with Selby. I regarded the man awhile -before he saw me. He was dressed in the plain clothes of his calling; -doubtless he made good his wants out of Captain Burke's wardrobe; he -was rather short and very broad-shouldered; his hair was black, and of -a true cast-away man's length, falling and curling in plenty down upon -his back as though it had been a woman's; he was of a sallow complexion -and newly bearded as though used to shave when all was well.</p> - -<p>When I went to him with my hands outstretched, he faced me with a -smile, and then it was I saw a wonderful spirit of goodness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> and -kindness in his countenance. I had never before witnessed a man's -nature so plainly pictured in his looks. I will not admit that I was -prejudiced in his favour by what Marie had told me and found a soul -of candour and good humour where perhaps I should otherwise have seen -nothing but an average sailorly countenance. No matter what the causes -which should have brought this man and me acquainted; let me have met -him how, when, where you will, one glance would have persuaded me that -he was a heart of oak. You saw a manly simplicity and gentleness in -every line. His eyes looked at you full, yet gently, with a charming, -winning frankness; his smile was a grace, there was something sweet in -it: and yet he was by no means good looking. His face was overcharged -by the length of its aquiline nose. His mouth, too, was out of -proportion, his eyes were something too deep set and close together to -please; nevertheless when he turned, smiling to receive me, I found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> a -beauty in his looks that was far above all gift of flesh.</p> - -<p>I held him by both hands, but in what terms I thanked him for his -goodness to Miss Otway I'll not set down, because they must needs look -cold and insufficient, when in reality the tribute lay in that part -that cannot be communicated on paper, I mean in the tone of voice, the -expression of countenance, the clinging pressure of the hands.</p> - -<p>He said, 'It's been a bad time for her, sir. The beginning was the -hardest. That week when she was alone, washing about here, much where -we now are, in the winter time when it was nearly all night, and nobody -else aboard but the corpse of Mrs. Burke, would have killed a lady of -less spirit.'</p> - -<p>I broke in by asking him to step below with me. Cliffe said he would -remain on deck and watch the brig. I took notice that as in making -for the island, so now, a keen look-out was being kept. Hands were -stationed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> bows and on the foreyard; the rigging lay ready for -instant use. Two men were at the wheel.</p> - -<p>Selby stopped and looked at the island astern. The whole soul of the -man seemed to rush into his face as he gazed, colouring it with memory -and a passion of gratitude and pathetic joy. He breathed deep and said. -'Thank God, I've seen the end of it! Seven months is it, sir? The -sufferings of the sea will make a year of a week. It seems as long as a -lifetime.'</p> - -<p>He sighed again, or rather fetched a breath as of relief and ease of -heart, and followed me into the cabin.</p> - -<p>Whilst we waited for Marie, he explained how it came about that the -hull was shelved forty feet above the wash.</p> - -<p>He said when she first took the ice she was beaten a considerable -distance by blow upon blow of foamless swell, rolling into the shelter -out of the heavy weather beyond; she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> lay on her bilge. He could not -express the misery they suffered from the angle her posture sloped -her into; till, early one night, a noise of thunder roared through -the cabin as though the whole island was splitting to pieces; shock -followed shock. These volcanic throes went on for hours. He expected -every moment that the hull would be crushed to powder. Sometimes they -felt the fabric under their feet swept upwards. It was pitch dark on -deck; nothing was to be seen; but the uproar of splitting ice was at -moments deafening. He said he could compare it to nothing but to being -in a boat betwixt two line-of-battle ships when they were firing their -whole broadside artillery at each other.</p> - -<p>It might have been about four o'clock when the hellish commotion ceased -as abruptly as it had commenced; at this hour the hull was, as she had -been for some time, resting on an almost level keel. At break of day -he went on deck, and was amazed to find the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> sea lying open, but at a -considerable distance below; the great ice peninsula whose bay had been -the salvation of the hull had broken away and become a majestic island, -nodding stately upon a high sea about a quarter of a mile distant. The -wreck rested upon a wide ledge with a sheer fall of ice, smooth as -though chiselled, to the wash of the surf. How it had befallen he could -not tell. Perception had lain entirely in sensation and bearing.</p> - -<p>When Marie came out of her berth I was struck afresh by her improved -looks. I turned to Selby and said:</p> - -<p>'This lady sailed for her health. Such distresses, such trials of mind -and body as she has suffered, should pinch the face as fire wastes wax, -and she looks so much better that her father will scarcely know her!'</p> - -<p>'I told Mr. Moore,' she said, 'that I don't know how I may look, but -that I am alive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> and with him again,' said she, stealing her hand into -mine, 'is wholly owing to you.' Then raising her voice, heated into -a higher clearness by emotion, she exclaimed, 'In the presence and -hearing of my betrothed, I thank you with my heart of hearts for all -your goodness to me, for your hundred acts of noble unselfishness, for -the splendid courage and faith which supported us both through the -awful time that is now ended.'</p> - -<p>He bowed to her in silence.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Selby,' said I, grasping him by the hand, then putting my other -upon his, and so holding him, 'Miss Otway has spoken her gratitude; my -own I have already attempted to express. The profession of the sea has -produced some splendid characters; but it seems to me that you are one -of the finest compliments that nature ever paid to your calling.'</p> - -<p>'I thank you for your kind words, sir,' he said, with colour and -embarrassment, 'and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> for yours, Miss Otway. I felt very sorry for you -when I found you alone on that dismasted hulk, and I swore to myself I -would so act that, come what might, if you were spared, you should be -able to say of me, He was a man.'</p> - -<p>I could have hugged him!</p> - -<p>We seated ourselves and all our talk ran upon the hull, and upon my own -adventures. I particularly noticed Selby's respectful manner to Marie. -<i>That</i> was as satisfying to every instinct within me as though I had -shared their imprisonment. It was not a thing he just put on; it sat -with the unconscious ease of an old and fixed habit. I heard it in his -voice, I marked it in his manner of attention when she spoke; in twenty -subtle ways it was expressed as something abiding; it was, in short, -the man's, the seaman's, and the gentleman's recognition of her claims -as a woman and of her station; I knew it had been with him from the -beginning, and I loved him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> from that moment with a heart unshadowed by -the faintest anxiety or misgiving.</p> - -<p>I asked him how they had managed for food.</p> - -<p>'The hold was full of good things, sir,' he answered. 'We did not stint -ourselves, Miss Otway,' said he, smiling.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Selby cooks charmingly,' said Marie. 'I shall never forget the -delicious dishes of broth you used to make for me.'</p> - -<p>'The ship's cargo,' said he, 'consisted of a quantity of articles of -potted food with drink enough in stout, brandy, and whiskey to fill the -half of London with uproar and murder.'</p> - -<p>'We had biscuits as big as bricks,' said Marie. 'I used to make bread -and milk with them.'</p> - -<p>'Milk!' I ejaculated.</p> - -<p>'Preserved milk, sir,' said Selby. 'I found some hundredweights of the -stuff.'</p> - -<p>'But your fuel?' said I. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> - -<p>'There was about twelve ton of coal in the forepeak when we got on the -ice,' he answered. 'I never reckoned upon a long stay, the young lady -was to be kept warm, and I was a bit extravagant at the start. Then -as the days passed and nothing came along, I began to stint, with the -result that I've left about half the stock behind.'</p> - -<p>'Did nothing heave in sight?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, sir; but never close in. I must have consumed half the cargo -of theatrical scenery, and pounds worth of patent fuel and India-rubber -in burning flares at night and making smokes by day. I reckon the smoke -was taken for something in the volcanic line. For a long time the ice -hid us from the sea. The island whose rupture threw us aloft drifted -away and gave us a clear view for a bit, but others came cruising along -with the stream of the tide, if it was not the wind that brought them, -and one moored itself right abreast—grounded, I allow—it stuck so -long. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> - -<p>'The whaler that reported you,' said I, 'was close in enough to get a -good sight of the wreck.'</p> - -<p>'I did not see her,' he answered. 'I must have been below when she -passed.'</p> - -<p>'It was cruelly cold, Archie,' said Marie. 'Weeks would pass without my -going on deck. Oh, how I loathed the sight of those cliffs of ice! And -then the ceaseless boiling of the surf.'</p> - -<p>'I caulked the cabin into a middling warm living room,' said Selby, -'yet the cold would creep through. Water that had been boiled and left -to stand on the table within the sphere of the heat of the stove, as I -could have sworn, would take a mask of ice. I cleared the cabin to give -Miss Otway walking room. The exercise helped her. It gave her a little -spirit as well as warmth. I didn't care to see her sit drooping hour -after hour beside that little stove.'</p> - -<p>'At such times you sang?' said I. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well, coming below after taking a look round, and seeing her like -that, I'd tune up my pipes, certainly,' he answered. 'It was unpleasant -to have to keep on answering her question with a "No, there's nothing -in sight."'</p> - -<p>Thus ran our talk, and again and again whilst we conversed, I'd see -Marie stealing looks around her of delight and amazement, and often -when our gaze met, an expression of solemn joy would light up her face. -For months she had lived in the cabin of a motionless ship; now the -life of the ocean was in the fabric, whose deck her foot rested on. She -was as one who had been called from the grave to renew life, and love, -and health. It was a miracle, and I saw the marvelling of her spirit in -her eyes whenever she looked at me.</p> - -<p>'I'll go and take a look round,' said Selby. 'I hope Captain Cliffe -will make me useful.'</p> - -<p>He rose, respectfully bowed to us, and went on deck. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> - -<p>I drew Marie to the stove and sat beside her. From time to time as -we talked, we heard the sharp warning cries of the look-out men on -deck re-echoed by Cliffe and the mate aft, accompanied sometimes by -a hurried tread of feet when the braces were handled. But we were -together, too happy, too much engrossed, to heed what passed above. -Through the hum of our talk—our continuous talk—for how much had -we to tell each other?—ran the shrill sound of salt water seething; -the boy came below to take some dinner on deck to Captain Cliffe. He -then cleared the table, and Marie and I were alone again. The sunshine -blazed red upon the skylight, faded slowly, the glass grew grey, then -blackened, and a star flashed in a cabin window as a reel of the brier -brought the bright spark with a leap into the orifice.</p> - -<p>'I remember,' Marie said, 'when I found Mrs. Burke lying dead on -the deck of the hull, that I fell upon my knees in the agony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> of my -distress and terror, and cried out that I was alone, asking what -I should do—what I should do? And now I am with you,' she cried, -throwing her arms round my neck and sobbing slightly. 'But what a time -has lain between!'</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * *</p> - -<p>At this point Mr. Moore ends his narrative; he doubtless considered -that the interest of <i>his</i> strand of the story ceased at the rescue of -his sweetheart.</p> - -<p>It had been arranged that the brig should return to the Cape of Good -Hope, whatever might be the issue of her search; the little vessel, -with ceaseless vigilance, was navigated clear of the ice into open -waters, and under warmer skies, and thanks to strong westerly winds -which chased her day after day, she anchored in Table Bay in a little -more than three weeks from the hour of hoisting in her boats and making -sail from Coronation Island. The lovers' reception at Cape Town was a -memorable incident, and is still talked of by old people there. They -stayed until Miss Otway had provided herself with a wardrobe, then -embarked in a Union steamer and safely arrived at Southampton on the -morning of May 1, 1861. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Selby was presented by Sir Mortimer Otway and the banking firm of -Moore, Son & Duncan, with an interest in a ship of thirteen hundred -and forty tons, amounting to half her value, and four months after his -arrival in England, he sailed in command of her on her second voyage to -Bombay.</p> - -<p class="center space-above">THE END</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center space-above">PRINTED BY<br />SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br />LONDON</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/dec2.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div> - -<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 ***</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 62419-h.htm or 62419-h.zip</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/4/1/62419/</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Heart of Oak, vol. 3 - A Three-Stranded Yarn - -Author: William Clark Russell - -Release Date: June 18, 2020 [EBook #62419] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -+-------------------------------------------------+ -|Transcriber's note: | -| | -|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | -| | -+-------------------------------------------------+ - - -NEW BOOKS AT EVERY LIBRARY. - - -SONS OF BELIAL. By WILLIAM WESTALL. 2 vols. - -LILITH. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 1 vol. - -THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIMENT. By MRS. HUNGERFORD. 3 vols. - -THE IMPRESSIONS OF AUREOLE. 1 vol. - -DAGONET ABROAD. By GEORGE R. SIMS. 1 vol. - -CLARENCE. By BRET HARTE. 1 vol. - -OTHELLO'S OCCUPATION. By MARY ANDERSON. 1 vol. - -HONOUR OF THIEVES. By C. J. CUTCLIFFE HYNE. 1 vol. - -THE MACDONALD LASS. By SARAH TYTLER. 1 vol. - -THE PRINCE OF BALKISTAN. By ALLEN UPWARD. 1 vol. - -THE KING IN YELLOW. By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. 1 vol. - - -LONDON: CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY. - - - - -HEART OF OAK - -VOL. III. - - - - -PRINTED BY -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE -LONDON - - - - -HEART OF OAK - -A THREE-STRANDED YARN - - -BY - -W. CLARK RUSSELL - -AUTHOR OF -'THE WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR' 'THE PHANTOM DEATH' -'THE CONVICT SHIP' ETC. - - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - -IN THREE VOLUMES--VOL. III. - - -LONDON -CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY -1895 - - - - -CONTENTS - -OF - -THE THIRD VOLUME - -CHAPTER PAGE - XX. STARTLING NEWS 1 - - XXI. MR. MOORE SAILS 27 - - XXII. THE PHOTOGRAPHS 50 - - XXIII. THE SHIP SEEN ON THE ICE 76 - - XXIV. THE BRIG 'ALBATROSS' 100 - - XXV. AT SEA AGAIN 128 - - XXVI. THE ICE 159 - - XXVII. CORONATION ISLAND 185 - -XXVIII. MR. MOORE ENDS HIS STORY 217 - - - - -HEART OF OAK - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -STARTLING NEWS - - -Sir Mortimer received the news of the loss of the ship whilst he was in -Paris. He had sent his foreign address to the office in the Minories, -always hoping to hear from, or of, his daughter, and Mr. Butcher wrote -to him, unknown to me, and perhaps to Mr. Hobbs. - -He at once came to London: he arrived in the afternoon. The bank was -closed and he drove to my rooms, where he found me. He was very pale -and looked ill, but whether he had disciplined his mind during his -journey, or was a person of more fortitude than I had imagined, his -behaviour was almost calm compared to what I had expected to find it on -our first meeting. - -'When we surrendered her,' were almost his first words after holding me -by the hand and struggling as though with his tears, 'I had a feeling -we should never again meet. I ought not to have permitted her to take -so long a voyage. She was too delicate, her health was too poor, she -was too used to have comforts'--he could not proceed for some moments. -He then said, 'She was my only child. I am now alone in the world,' -and, casting himself into a chair, he hid his face and gave way. - -'I will not believe there is no hope,' I exclaimed, and, sitting down -beside him, I repeated all that I had gathered from my talk with the -boatswain Wall, with whom I had conversed for above a couple of hours -on the previous day, having brought him to the bank by a letter and -taken him into a private room, where, with my father, I had closely -questioned him, getting all that his experiences as an old seaman could -reveal of the chances a shipwrecked company had in those seas where -Marie had been abandoned. - -Sir Mortimer listened to me with passionate interest, dwelling upon -every syllable, catching me up if he did not clearly understand. -Sometimes his eyes brightened, as with a little struggle of hope, but -often he shook his head. - -'Consider,' he exclaimed, 'the "Lady Emma" was dismasted July 2.' (I -had all necessary notes of dates and the like in my note-book.) 'The -crew left her on the fourth. This is October 5; you cannot believe that -the helpless hull has continued to float in such frightful seas as run -off Cape Horn all this while.' - -'I don't say so. I don't dream it. God forbid, indeed; for that would -put an end to all chance of our ever seeing Marie again. But may we -not believe that she was fallen in with long ago?' - -'Why have we not heard? There has been time!' - -'No. Suppose the vessel that rescued them was proceeding to Australia. -We might need another three months to hear.' - -'Oh, but think!' he exclaimed, 'a dismasted hull, utterly helpless; the -horrors and perils of ice close to, a wild sea continually running--she -has not the strength to meet such sufferings; they will have broken her -poor heart. Oh! Archie, she has been taken! She is dead! We shall never -see her again.' - -He had made up his mind to this, and I daresay his comparative calmness -rose from his resolution to accept the worst at once. Though he knew -little or nothing about the sea, he could not listen to my version -of Wall's story without regarding the wreck of the 'Lady Emma' as -hopelessly complete as any in the maritime records. He said that the -mere circumstance of the 'Planter' cruising and finding nothing was of -itself a death-blow to hope. - -'And what is there to hope for?' he exclaimed, rising and moving about -the room with something of feebleness. 'We are to wait; but for what? -This sort of waiting in grief breaks down the intellect--the mourner -goes mad. In my youth I knew a woman whose only son had been drowned -in a shipwreck. She would not believe it; she hoped on; and ten years -after his death saw her on the beach with her eyes fixed upon the sea, -gazing, with a joyous welcoming face, at the apparition of her child -whom, in her craziness, she beheld approaching her in a boat. Oh no!' -he cried with a sudden, most moving, passionate wringing of his hands, -'Marie has perished; she is lost to us! Why did not the good God hinder -me from sending her away? They told me that nothing could save her life -but a voyage, and I, who would have given my life for her, despatched -her to her death!' - -I could not bear this, for I, too, was heartbroken. I grasped him by -the hands, and then he became silent, after looking in my face. - -But still, as I have said, his behaviour throughout this meeting with -me, even when the first horror and shock of the news was renewed to -us both by this our first meeting, was calmer than I had expected. He -stayed in London that night, and next day accompanied me to the City, -where he had an interview with Mr. Butcher. We then drove to a street -out of the West India Dock Road, where Wall lodged. - -The substance of Mr. Butcher's talk was that ships homeward bound from -the Australias frequently touched the latitude the hull had been left -in; there was, therefore, reason to hope that Captain Burke and the -ladies had been rescued by one of the many vessels which every year -were navigating those seas. He said he had spoken to several captains -of experience on the subject, also two or three underwriters of long -standing, and on the whole their opinion was, Burke and his companions -would be preserved. - -Wall had nothing to add--no further conjectures to offer. He went -very fully into the story of the dismasting of the vessel and her -abandonment, and answered with intelligence the questions Sir Mortimer -put to him about Marie, how she looked, if she had picked up, if he -(Wall) considered she was strong enough to outlive the horrors and -sufferings of her situation, supposing the hull to be encountered -within a reasonable time--say a week--from the date of the men's -quitting her. - -Sir Mortimer went to his home by the seaside next day. I promised to -visit him on the following Saturday, but fretting had done its work--I -was too ill to travel. I was ceaselessly haunted by the vision of -the hull, white with snow, brilliant with ice, clouded with the foam -of beating seas, wearily rolling with my dear one, with my Marie, -_alone_ in her. Somehow I could not think of her as associated with the -Burkes. She was the one, the solitary, figure in the gloomy interior of -that tempest-tossed fabric, as I witnessed the vision awake and in my -dreams. I was aware that Mrs. Burke had been a most devoted servant, a -faithful and honest nurse and friend to Marie, but I had got it into my -head that her husband had lost his reason, which would drain his wife's -sympathies from my sweetheart; and then, again, realising the misery -of a time spent in such a hulk, under such circumstances, I could not -suppose that poor Mrs. Burke would in her distraction take heed of more -outside her husband than the doom that every hour brought closer. - -So the vision of that wreck was always present to the eye of -imagination, waking or sleeping, with one figure only in the maimed -and beaten fabric. - -On the morning of October 20, I went to the bank, having resumed work -there two days before. My father had not arrived. I went into my -private room and sat down with a heart of loathing at sight of a pile -of letters which it would be my business to read and deal with. - -I had hardly broken the first envelope when a clerk entered and said -that a Mr. Norman, an old customer of the bank, wished to see me. I -supposed he had called on business, and after reading the letter I -held, I opened the glass door and bade Mr. Norman step in. - -He was a merchant doing business with Natal and Cape Colony. He at once -said, without offering to sit: - -'I have not called on business, Mr. Moore. I heard of your trouble, -and grieve to find it but too visible in your face. This morning I -received a batch of South African newspapers, and met with an account, -which--I don't know, I'm sure--it may be ill-advised on my part----' He -broke off, and his hand went nervously to his side pocket. - -I looked at him inquiringly, wondering what his Colonial newspaper -account was about. - -'I think,' said he, his hand still nervously twitching at his -breast-pocket, 'that where sorrow is speculative the sooner expectation -is ended, one way or the other, the better. This may signify -nothing'--and now he produced a newspaper--'and yet it may tell -everything.' - -He was proceeding; I extended my arm abruptly, feeling a sickness -at heart, for now imagination leaped to the very height of fear--I -believed I was to read something which would _prove_ that Marie and her -companions had perished. - -But Mr. Norman must needs open the paper himself; and, in order to -find the passage, he required to put on his glasses. The piece of -intelligence in the journal ran thus:-- - -'_Cape Town, August 10. Arrival of the schooner "Emerald." A -strange discovery! Romantic action on the part of the captain!_ The -three-masted schooner "Emerald" arrived yesterday from the west -coast of South America. When in lat. 58° S., long. 48° W., the body -of a female was seen floating upon the water. Its appearance was so -lifelike that, the weather at the time being quiet, the captain ordered -a boat to be lowered, and the body was brought on board. The master -(Goldsmith), on inspecting the corpse, was convinced by its appearance -that it was the remains of the wife of a friend of his. She had been -bound round the Horn to join her husband at Monte Video. Feeling -persuaded of this he caused the body to be placed in a cask of spirits, -with a view to carrying it to Cape Town, his first port of call, that -it might have decent Christian interment; also that the husband should, -if his wife did actually prove to be missing, be able to procure the -exhumation of the corpse for identification. - -'The body is described as that of one who in life must have been -singularly prepossessing and genteel in appearance; the hair is of a -dark amber or gold, the eyes of a light blue or grey, height about -5 ft. 6 in., of a figure that had apparently been full of grace and -beauty. No rings were on the hands. Captain Goldsmith conjectures that -the rings, including the wedding ring, slipped off the fingers through -shrinkage of the flesh by immersion. Owing to the condition of the -body, it has been found impossible to form an opinion as to the length -of time it was in the water; it is judged, however, from the appearance -of the clothes, which were in a fair state of preservation, that the -period could not have exceeded three days. The body was attired in -a thick serge dress, and a warm jacket, trimmed with a rich fur, of -which but a little remained. One garment only was marked: namely, with -the letter O, which Captain Goldsmith believes stands for Ollier, his -friend's name. The remains will be buried to-day. A romantic mystery -nevertheless survives, and it remains to be seen whether Captain -Goldsmith is right in his conjectures as to the identity of the poor -nameless remains of one who in life must have been "exceeding fair," -found floating far south of the stormiest headland in the world.' - -I read this very slowly, and when I had come to the last word I read -it all over again. Mr. Norman's eyes were fixed upon my face. I fell -into deep thought, and was silent for many minutes, with my gaze rooted -upon the paper. I then pulled out my pocket-book, in which I carried -the memoranda I had collected from Mr. Butcher and Wall, and compared -the date of the dismasting of the 'Lady Emma' with the date of the -discovery of the body. The 'Lady Emma' was dismasted July 2, the body -was seen and picked up on July 10; the situation of the 'Lady Emma' -when the crew abandoned her, according to the 'Planter's' log-book, was -lat. 58° 45´ S. and long. 45° 10´ W.; the body was picked up in lat. -58° S. long. 48° W.; the minutes and seconds, if any there were, were -probably omitted in the newspaper report, or Captain Goldsmith may have -given the situation in round numbers. - -Be this as it may, there could be a difference of but a very few miles -between the spot where the body was found, and the spot where the hull -was deserted by the sailors. - -'It is extraordinary!' I exclaimed, fetching a deep breath. - -'I hope it may not prove conclusive news,' said Mr. Norman. 'But if -the body brought to Cape Town be that of the poor young lady, the fact -ought to be known to you if only to spare you from the heart-sickness -of deferred hope.' - -'Dates and places correspond,' I exclaimed. 'The description is true. -She had dark amber hair. Her height might be as it is here stated.' - -'And then there is the letter O,' said Mr. Norman, observing that I -paused. - -'How am I to find out if among the clothes she took were such a dress -and jacket as the body was found clothed in?' - -At this moment my father entered. He immediately observed that I was -deeply agitated, and glanced from me to Mr. Norman. The latter bowed, -then turned to me and, begging me to keep the newspaper, and to command -his services in any direction in which I could render them profitable, -withdrew. - -I handed the paper to my father, who read the account with a face of -astonishment and dismay. - -'Is it credible?' he cried. 'Is it a hoax, d'ee think? Or some story -vamped up, for--for--? But,' he cried, turning his glasses again upon -the paper, 'they name the ship and her captain, they give dates, they -say that the body was to be buried on that day,' looking at the date of -issue. 'Is it conceivable that a body would float, apparelled as this -woman's was?' - -'If the story is no lie, then a body thus apparelled was found -floating,' I answered. - -'You had better send the paper at once to Sir Mortimer,' said my father. - -'I'll run down with it, but first I'll see Mr. Butcher and Wall. How am -I to find out if Marie had a serge dress and that sort of jacket?' I -reflected, and then said, 'Father, I must have the whole day, I cannot -work, I wish to satisfy myself by some inquiries before seeing Sir -Mortimer, and then I may resolve to go to the Cape.' - -He gazed at me with mild astonishment, then put his hand caressingly -on my shoulder, and told me I should go where I pleased and do what I -liked; he advised me, however, not to act precipitately; the Cape was -a long way off! What good could I do there, even supposing the body -brought to Cape Town by the schooner should prove to be Marie?' - -'What good? I must _know_; I must make _sure_! Supposing it is -Marie--but it might be another.' - -'The body is buried.' - -'Yes; but I would get an order for its exhumation. It was buried with a -view to disinterment should the man whose wife was to join him at Monte -Video arrive in Cape Town.' - -I had heard Mrs. Burke talk of some of the shops Marie had completed -her outfit at. Her old nurse had herself attended her in most of -her shopping excursions before the sailing of the ship, and after -exchanging a few further sentences with my father, I left the bank, -called a cab, and was driven to a dressmaker's near Cavendish Square. - -Here, however, I could not learn that Marie had ordered a serge dress; -but on inquiring at a shop in Regent Street, I discovered, with much -pains--they were very busy and very slow--that Miss Otway had, on a day -towards the close of March, purchased a jacket trimmed with fur; the -fur was described; and certainly the 'garment,' as the shopman called -it, corresponded with the brief description of the jacket that had been -found on the body of the woman. - -I could recollect no other shops; but hoped that Sir Mortimer might be -able to tell me if a serge gown had been included in Marie's outfit. -This should have been, and no doubt was, known to Marie's maid. But the -girl, on the departure of Miss Otway, had gone, I had some recollection -of hearing, with a family to Germany. - -In this same day I drove to the offices of Messrs. Butcher and Hobbs, -and had scarcely entered the place when Wall came in, greatly to my -satisfaction, as I particularly desired his opinion. Both partners were -present, and on my showing them the Cape newspaper they called Wall to -us and we thoroughly talked the matter over. To the seaman, who was -somewhat illiterate, I read and re-read the newspaper account. - -'It's wonderful!' he exclaimed. 'Most sartinly it answers to the young -lady. I've heered of females lying afloat like that. 'Taint so long ago -that a woman was picked up alive arter washing about for thirty-six -hours on her back.' - -'But how can the body be Miss Otway's?' said Mr. Butcher, 'if the -master of a schooner recognises it as a Mrs. Ollier's?' - -'The coincidence would be quite too extraordinary,' said Mr. Hobbs. -'Mr. Moore,' he added, with one of his depressing bows, 'it would give -me far more pleasure to take a cheerful view; but consider--the body -of a lady is found floating much about the place where the hull was -abandoned; the description, as I understand, answers to that of Miss -Otway'--he said no more, but buried his hands in his pockets with a -very gloomy shake of the head. - -Mr. Butcher, however, inclined to the belief that the body was the -person's the schooner's skipper took it to be. He wished to believe -Miss Otway alive; he was by no means for despairing; whilst they were -talking of this body, Miss Otway might be actually on her way home. -What did Wall think? - -The honest seaman faltered; he saw that Mr. Butcher wished to cheer me -up, but there could be no doubt he was of Mr. Hobbs's mind. They were -all three agreed, however, that it was a puzzling, most wonderful thing. - -'There's nothen for Mr. Moore to do,' said Wall, who, having been -admitted into this council, considered himself at liberty to talk out, -perhaps thinking he was expected to do so. 'Let him give the lady's -portrait to some respectable man who'll go by steam, afore it's too -late, and view the body and settle it.' - -'To whose satisfaction?' inquired Mr Butcher, looking at me. - -'Not to mine,' I exclaimed. 'I must decide with my own eyes.' - -'In them warmer climates,' said Wall, 'ye've got to bear a hand in jobs -of that sort.' - -Mr. Hobbs admonished the man with a frown. - -'Surely, Mr. Moore,' exclaimed Mr. Butcher, 'you would be able to -identify the young lady by the wearing apparel they removed, and are, -of course, preserving at Cape Town?' - -I told him I had ascertained that morning that a jacket answering to -the one found on the body had been sold to Miss Otway. - -He looked very grave at this, and I saw Mr. Hobbs exchange a glance -with the seaman. Soon after this I thanked them for their sympathy and -patience, and took my leave. I could think of nothing but the story -of the body found at sea, and next morning went by an early train to -the little seaside town where Sir Mortimer lived. As I drove from the -station I passed by the ravine down which Marie and I had gone for -a stroll upon the long, hard platform of sands one afternoon in the -keen grey month that preceded the April she sailed in. It was October -now--six months later; what had happened between? The blue sea ran up -to the sky in a trembling, silken slope streaked with long gleams. I -remembered how Marie had checked me in our walk to look at a passing -sail, and how together we had watched the glimmering white square of -her fade like mist in the evening gloom. Many gulls wheeled over the -water. I saw them flying past the edge of the cliff, and remembered -how Marie had paused and looked up to admire the marvellous grace of -the windward flight of the birds then on the wing--perhaps those I now -caught a glimpse of. An ocean life of many months had stretched before -her, and whilst we walked I had noticed how she was letting the spirit -of the sea sink into her, finding in the coil of the breaker, in the -flight of the birds, in the shadowy distance of the horizon, a meaning -she had never before heeded, only, perhaps, that she might enter with -a little spirit into a scene of life from which I knew her very inmost -soul shrank. - -Sir Mortimer was at home; he was in mourning. The sight of his sombre -figure and ashen countenance, of resigned but settled sorrow, startled -and even shocked me. It was like a confirmation of fear, an assurance -that Marie was dead and that hope must end. My visit was unexpected, -and whilst he welcomed me he held my hand and stood looking at me in a -posture of eager, sorrowful inquiry. - -Presently, when we were seated, I pulled out the paper and pointed -to the story of the discovery. He was a high-bred, fine-looking old -gentleman, and I see him now as he sat holding his glasses to his eyes, -the paper trembling in his hand, and his face slowly taking what the -Scotch call a 'raised' look as he read. He turned, dropping his glasses -and letting the paper sink to his knee, and said in a voice a little -above a whisper: - -'What is this?' - -'What do you think?' - -'You don't believe it was Marie?' he said. - -'If we are to think _that_, she is dead to us!' I exclaimed. 'But if it -was not Marie, whose was the body that was picked up by the schooner -close to the spot where the hull had been abandoned?' - -He stared at me, drew a deep breath, and referred again to the paper. - -'Have you seen that seaman--the boatswain--I forget his name--upon -this?' he asked. - -'Yes; and the two owners. But what can their opinion be worth? How -could their ideas help us, Sir Mortimer? Read the description of that -body, the dark amber hair, the looks which in life must have been those -of a refined----' I faltered, controlled myself, and went on: 'I have -discovered,' and I named the shop where I had obtained the information, -'that Marie's outfit included such another jacket as the body had on. -Can you remember if she took a serge dress with her?' - -'Two or three,' he answered quickly. 'They were of dark blue. Two she -had. A third was added at Mrs. Burke's suggestion. What was the colour -of the dress described here?' - -He looked; but no colour was named. I got up and paced about the room. - -'I have made up my mind,' I exclaimed. 'I will go to the Cape. If it be -Marie--but I must make sure at all costs. The suspense, the waiting, -the not knowing whether she lies dead at Cape Town, whether she has -gone down in the hull, whether she has been rescued, carried to a -distant port, and is lying ill, so that months might elapse before -we should get news of her--all this I could not bear! I am already -half mad with the grief of it. I will go to Cape Town,' I cried, 'and -see with my own eyes, and settle expectation, so far as that body is -concerned, one way or another, for ever.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -MR. MOORE SAILS - - -I think, I will not be sure, that the date on which I returned to -London from this visit to Sir Mortimer was October 26. In the year 1860 -sailing ships bound to the Australias and the East Indies frequently, -many of them regularly, touched at the Cape; small vessels, such -as brigs and barques, also traded to that colony. There was steam -communication, however, then. I believe the first of the steamers of -the Union Steamship Company was despatched three years earlier, namely, -in 1857. - -Be this as it may, since steam was to be got I was resolved to have -nothing to do with what the sailor calls tacks and sheets. A sailing -ship might keep me four months upon the ocean in her struggles with -head winds and failing catspaws. On the other hand, the Cape, by steam, -was to be reached certainly within forty days. But having made up my -mind, I found there was no time to lose, that is, if I resolved on -steam; for, on reaching London, I learnt that the next Union steamer -was the 'Cambrian,' sailing from Southampton on November 6. - -It was this obligation of despatch, perhaps, which hardened me in -my resolution. I meant to sail by the 'Cambrian' and there was no -leisure for hesitation, no time for second thought. Not, indeed, -that I was not passionately resolved; I had been so from the hour of -clearly understanding that I must proceed to the Cape and procure the -exhumation of the body if my mind was to be set at rest one way or -the other. I mean, if I had been obliged to wait a month, say, for a -sailing ship, I might have found myself troubled, my resolution a -little unsettled, by the counsels of friends. - -My father, for example, fully sanctioned my going, but advised me to -consider how it would be with my memory if, when the coffin was opened, -I recognised the body as Marie's. - -I answered I had thought over that, and knew it would prove a terrible -ordeal. But it must be worse with me if I stayed at home, never -stirring to find out if the body that lay in Cape Town cemetery was -indeed that of the girl I loved. - -'Suppose she is drowned,' I reasoned, 'I should not believe it for -months, perhaps years. No man could persuade me she was dead. Time -alone must convince me. But how long should I allow myself? Meanwhile I -must live in expectation. My life would be a torment of suspense. But -by going to the Cape I shall satisfy myself at once.' - -'Yes,' said my father, 'but you will only be able to satisfy yourself -that Marie does not lie buried in Cape Town if, when the grave is -opened, the remains should prove another's.' - -'It will satisfy me to know _that_, at all events,' I exclaimed. - -'Will they let you exhume the body?' - -This staggered me somewhat; but I replied I would take my chance of it. -The corpse had been brought to Cape Town, and there buried with a view -to identification. The case was extraordinary; and when the Colonial -authorities heard my story they would not refuse to let me disinter the -remains. - -Several friends offered like objections. One suggested I should ask -that the clothes should be sent home, and submitted to the inspection -of those from whom Marie bought her outfit; the shopmen would know -their own wares. If they asserted the clothes had been sold by -them--had at any time passed through their hands--there would be -something solid to go upon; I could then sail for the Cape and confirm -by inspection what to most would pass as a foregone conclusion. - -But my answer was, it was not very conceivable that those who held the -clothes would part with them; it was no case of suspected murder, so -as to admit of the introduction of the machinery of the law; moreover, -if I waited, the remains would become unrecognisable. It was already a -question how far the climate would admit of an identification of them. -The body arrived at the Cape August 10; this was the close of October. -December would have come before I landed; and December is the burning -midsummer of South Africa. - -But herein, as in all the rest, I was prepared to take my chance. I -felt a secret reluctance in one direction only. It shocked me even in -imagination to think, if the remains _should_ prove Marie's, of the -memory I must return home with and be haunted by to my death-bed. - -On November 5 I travelled to Southampton, and on the following day -embarked in the steamship 'Cambrian' for Cape Town. I had said good-bye -to my friends in London and went on board alone. Never did passenger -tread a ship's deck with heavier heart than I. The vessel was full of -bustle and confusion; she was taking out a large number of passengers -who, with their friends, filled her fore and aft, overflowing the -saloon, and crowding the raised deck or poop. - -It is at such a time as this, and amid such a crowd as littered the -'Cambrian's' decks, that you learn what real loneliness is. I looked -around me and saw not one face I had ever met before. There was much -surging and elbowing of figures in the gangway, a constant dragging -here and there of baggage, shouts from the ship to the shore, from -the shore to the ship, with stewards dodging and shoving in and out, -officers of the steamer twinkling and flitting in the finery of the -merchant service. - -I contrasted all this noise--threaded by strange groaning rumblings -down in the bowels of the metal keel, as though the giant, steam, lying -imprisoned, was beginning to mutter in his impatience and shake his -chains--with the peace on board the 'Lady Emma' when I mounted her side -with Marie and her father and Mrs. Burke. All was quiet there, the -masts pointed their crossed and knitted heights silent in the breeze -as a tree that sleeps in the dead calm of a summer's night; about -was spread a shining scene of river abounding in life and colour, in -gliding and in stately motion; but the ear was not vexed. - -However, it would not be long before the 'Cambrian' was under way, and, -indeed, whilst I was seeing to my baggage in my berth, and taking a -view of the bedroom I was to sleep in for thirty-five or forty days, I -heard noises and felt a vibration which satisfied me we were about to -start. - -The vessel was something less than nine hundred tons; she was fitted -with a saloon, on either hand of which went a range of sleeping berths, -and the amidships was filled with a long table. She was rigged as a -schooner, with a couple of yards on each mast, and sat with a promise -of swiftness in her posture, her bow being yacht-like and sharp, -dominant, that is, with a good spring, whilst the run of her vanished -in a very pretty mould of stern. - -She would be laughed at now; side by side with the Cape white giantess -of to-day, thrashing from the top of the North Atlantic to the other -bottom of the South Atlantic in a trifle more than a fortnight, how -meanly would she show! even as a pinnace or steam launch in the shadow -of the man-of-war that owns her. No splendour of internal fittings; -nothing rememberable in the form of smoke-room or bath-room. And still -my heart swells with the memory of that little iron steamer, which long -since ceased, save as one of the countless spectres of the deep, the -true and only phantom ships of the sea. - -It was a bleak, dark November day when we started; a strong wind blew, -and the sky was thick and near with rolling snow-clouds. We passed -along Southampton Water in a squall of sleet, and though imagination -was never an inactive quality in me, yet then, more keenly than at any -previous time, was I able to realise the significance of Wall's story -of the dismasted hull, the high foaming seas of the great ocean past -the Horn, the mountains of ice rocking their lofty summits in the smoke -of flying flakes. - -It was blowing fresh in the open, clear of the Isle of Wight; the -little steamer pitched and sprang and made vile weather of the spiteful -snap of that November Channel surge. She drove the most of us to our -berths, and for four days I was a prisoner, stupidly sick and helpless. -Then I stepped forth feeling well again, and making my way on to the -poop found a fine day, a swelling sea, a rattling breeze astern, before -which the vessel, with bladder-like canvas swelling hard from her yards -and black funnel pouring smoke over the bows to the horizon ahead, was -bowling and rolling, with an occasional kick up astern which drove a -shock and vibration of exposed screw through the length of her. - -Abreast on the right was a little ship under full sail braced sharp -up, tearing through the seas; the red flag of England stood like a -board at her mizzen peaks. She was apparently bound home. The water -swept in sheets from her steering stem, and every flash of the white -brine was magically spanned by a rainbow. She was painted black, and -to my land-going eye exactly resembled the 'Lady Emma,' though the -practised nautical glance would doubtless have witnessed plenty that -distinguished her from the other. I watched her with fascinated gaze, -and in deep melancholy, as she swept through the brilliant curls of -sea, clouding her path as she dived and scoring the rolling blue astern -of her with an arrow-like line of light. - -Just such sailing as that had Marie described in the fragment of -journal we had received. She had named the sails, flung with dexterous -pen the very sheen of the lustrous rounds of canvas upon the vision of -the mind, painted the picture of the deck, the dark wet length of plank -gleaming along the sobbing scuppers at every roll, sailors hanging in -the rigging with marling-spikes and coils of small stuff, or stitching -on spaces of canvas in the sun, the mate walking the weather side of -the deck, her own dear self seated under a short awning talking with -her old nurse about the home she was leaving, about the countries -she was to visit. I caught my breath with a spasm and turned from the -beautiful picture. - -We were a great number of passengers for so small a vessel. When -the fine weather came and the people got their stomachs, no more -hospitable scene at meal-time was ever afloat than that saloon of -over thirty years ago. There is plenty of finery at sea in this age; -but the picturesque is almost dead; it flourished then. Much of the -old Indiaman, the old Caper and South Spanier survived in the early -steamer. You found this in colours and fittings, and in rig; for, none -of us yet making cocksure of the cub of the engine-room, a fabric nigh -as spacious and wide as that of the sailing ship was reared to draw -from the wind the help the propeller might refuse. - -This little steamer, too, would go along in an ambling way when it was -fine, like any large ship with the wind on the quarter, taking the wide -heaves of the deep in a procession of curtseys whilst she fanned the -sky with her squares of canvas. I see again the dinner-picture of a -fine afternoon: a row of well-dressed people filling the long table; -the captain bland and watchful at one end; someone trembling in brass -buttons at the other; the claret-coloured light of the setting sun -ripples in polished bulkhead and makes rubies of diamonds on moving -hands; every shadow sways with slow grace, and the large round cabin -windows deepen into dark blue, or glance out in crimson light as the -vessel softly rolls them from sea to sky. - -My place at table was at top, on the captain's right: a seat of -distinction, but a matter of accident so far as I was concerned. The -commander of this steamer, to give the worthy skipper a sounding name, -was a kindly hearted seaman named Strutt, who had used the sea for many -years in sailing ships, and had much to tell about the ocean life. One -of the passengers was a retired shipmaster who, I understood, was -making the voyage to the Cape to seek some waterside berth in South -Africa; he was a Newcastle man and had been bred to the sea in the coal -trade; such was his contempt of steam he could find nothing in his rude -and quaint dialect vigorous enough to dress it in. He sat within three -or four of the captain on the left and they often argued, and their -speech was my diversion. - -I remember one day, shortly before we made the island of Madeira, that -these two men got upon the subject of Polar expeditions. The captain -said that the discovery of the North Pole would be as important to -navigation and science as the discovery of America was to civilisation. -The other replied that the North Pole was of no use to any mortal man. -What was it? An imagination. Nothing you could see, or sit upon, or -lean against. At this a great many people laughed. - -A middle-aged lady sitting at a little distance on my right begged that -the North Pole would not be mentioned; she had lost a promising nephew -in consequence of it. He had sailed in one of the expeditions and had -fallen into a deep hole beside the ship when she lay upon the ice, and, -marvellous to relate, though the body of the poor young man was not -discovered until six weeks afterwards, it was so perfectly fresh, the -face so lifelike, the colour on the cheeks so exactly as in health, -that all wondered he did not speak and smile. - -'There's no perishing in ice,' said the retired shipmaster in a deep -voice, 'once dead, ye keep arle on. Sir John Franklin was to be found. -Nought was wanting but the right sort of men to look for him. He's -somewhere up there still, just as he died, poor chap, hard as a statue, -him and the rest of them, saving those they fed on.' - -'What's the action of salt water on a body?' said an old gentleman -sitting five or six down on the opposite side. - -'It drowns,' replied the retired shipmaster. - -'I don't mean that,' said the other, 'does it preserve as ice does?' - -'No, sir,' answered the shipmaster. 'The sea sarves a drowned sailor as -the crimps sarve the live ones. It strips him, and when he's naked it -tarns to and kicks and beats him till his mother wouldn't know whose -child it was.' - -'Not always,' exclaimed the old gentleman with emphasis. - -The retired shipmaster leaned forward to see him, but made no reply. - -Then the captain, at the head of the table, exclaimed: 'I knew a man -years ago who had penetrated far north in a whaler. They were frozen -up for a spell, hard bound in white ice, with hills to the horizon, -till the season came and they broke adrift, the piece they were on -floated round a point and gave them the sight of a little barque -stranded on a slope, her topmast was standing, sails furled, everything -in its place--she looked as if she had gone ashore the day before. -They boarded her and found by her log and papers she had been in that -situation eight years. But that wasn't it,' said he with a glance down -the double line of listening faces turned his way, one of the most -eagerly attentive of which I observed was the old gentleman's. 'In the -cabin they found five frozen men, they looked to have died without a -groan one after the other, every man in the act of doing something, -none guessing that the forefinger of the grinning king was on his -heart. One sat with a pipe in his hand, another leaned on the table as -though he was meditating, a third lay back in his chair, his eyes on -the skylight as if he heard a noise on deck. That's what cold will do,' -said he. - -Something at this point diverted the conversation, and the subject was -dropped. - -When I left the table I went on deck; the west was still full of -warm splendour, the sea ran heaving in deep blue folds to an horizon -crystalline in the delicate sweep of it against the east, on whose -violet slope--that looked to thrill with the depth of its own hue as -the blue of the calm trembles under the eye--a large star was flashing. - -I lighted a cigar, sunk in thought over the talk about the ice. If the -body should not prove Marie's, then, supposing the hull had got locked, -how long would she be able to support life in the bleak dark cabin? I -had often asked that of myself and of others. I asked it again now, and -whilst my mind ran upon the dinner talk Captain Robson, the old retired -Newcastle shipmaster, stepped up to me. - -They did not allow you to smoke on the poop; I stood in what would -be called the gangway, and Captain Robson came along with a great -meerschaum pipe in his hand, stuffing the bowl with a queer kind of -granulated tobacco which he pulled out of a little sack. - -'This is Zooloo mundungus,' said he with a hoarse, shouting laugh; -'I am learning to like it. They say it is arle a man can get on the -coast yon,' and he hove up three stout chins in a measured nod in the -direction of the sea over the bows. - -'Are you going to take charge of a ship?' said I. - -'I'm going to seek a job,' he answered. - -'Were you long at sea, captain?' - -'Ay, was I? Since I was twelve. D'ee ken,' said he, broadening his -accent for my entertainment, 'that I'm the original laddie of this -yarn: A boy was holding a candle in the North Sea for the skipper -whilst he overhauled his chart. "Eh, sir," says the boy, "if they did -but ken war we was at home!" "If we kenned oursells," says the skipper, -"I'd ne'er heed a dam!"' - -'You seem to know a good deal about the ice,' said I. - -'I knew too much about most things,' he answered, puffing. 'If you was -to turn to and pump out my mind, more'd come up than what the poets -call sparkling brine.' - -He looked to right and left to observe if he was overheard, and I -guessed he was a wag who liked the laughter of many. - -Just then four Italian emigrants began to sing together on the -forecastle; their voices swelled in a pleasing concert; the rude -harmonies of the engine-room, dim and deep, as interpretable as human -voices, so articulate was the metallic clangour, mingled with the music -the singers made without vexing the ear. - -I listened, then looked at Captain Robson, whose round face was staring -deafly seawards. - -'Captain,' said I, 'figure a dismasted hull in sixty degrees of south -latitude and nothing of land nearer than the South Shetlands. When she -was abandoned there was plenty of tall ice on the horizon in points, -on both bows and astern. What's to become of that wreck?' - -'Are ye speaking of the "Lady Emma"?' said he. - -I started and exclaimed, 'Oh, you've heard of her loss?' - -'I've known Jim Hobbs, one of her owners, ever since he was a boy,' he -answered. 'A little while afore I left London I met him at a luncheon -party and we talked that loss o'er. Loss! Well, ye've not to call it -_that_ yet, neither. The skipper and two females remained aboard, Hobbs -told me. The crew was quick in desarting. There was twelve foot of -stump forrard, Hobbs said; they should have given the capt'n a chance. -With less than twelve foot of stump when I was a boy, good prizes have -been blowed under jury canvas into safety. But when steam came in,' -said he, turning to send a gaze of contempt at the funnel, 'the sailor -went out. Let the master of the "Lady Emma" have had a collier crew of -my time aboard, and they'd ha' made no more of the loss of all three -masts--twelve foot of stump and the bowsprit remaining, according to -Hobbs--than a dog of his tail.' - -'What chance do you give the hull?' said I. - -He viewed me with an arch lift of his eyebrows, as though his smile at -the instant were in _them_ only. - -'I'll answer you as I answered Hobbs that same question,' said he, -after discharging a number of puffs; 'she'll be heard of again. I don't -care about the ice. Dismast your ship and she'll wash round an object. -I'm not speaking of a dead-be shore leagues long. Plant an iceberg -close aboard a hulk and she'll wallow clear. It's the height of spar, -the weight of rigging, plenty of surface of stowed sail for the wind -to shoulder, that keeps a vessel helpless in her drift when she's not -under command.' - -'But if she strikes she's gone, masts or no masts.' - -'She'll swim for her life. It's like striking out clear of your -clothes.' - -'You give that hull a chance then, captain?' - -'I give her this chance: first, as to the ice; she's a naked swimmer, -light as a cask, with the wind for a buffer 'twixt her and the ice, -and a backwash of sea which she'll make the most of. And then this: if -a whaler falls in with her and she's sound they'll tow her clear. She -was worth thirty-two thousand pounds, ship and cargo, when she left the -Thames. There's sights of grease, mon, in that money.' - -He ended this talk by giving a loud laugh and walking a little way -forward, where he stood, pipe in hand, listening to a German Jew and -his wife who were singing a duet. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE PHOTOGRAPHS - - -It was three or four days after this conversation with Captain Robson, -a soft, blue glowing afternoon, the sparkling heaves of water lifting -south along the course of the steamer, with a pearly feathering of the -salt foam going straight as the metals of a railway astern where, in -the distant blue air, hung the slowly dissolving shadow of the island -of Madeira quitted by us that morning. - -Many had gone ashore; we were now a thin company aft, the poop and -saloon almost yacht-like with room and comparative privacy. - -The name of the master of the steamer was Captain Strutt. I had been -having a short chat with Captain Robson on the quarter-deck whilst the -skipper of the steamer was on the bridge talking with the first mate; I -went slowly aft and got upon the poop, and whilst I was there, looking -over the side into the exquisitely pure liquid recess of ocean on the -port-beam, with some orange star of sail glowing in it, whilst all -between the burnished swell was working in glassy swathes rich with the -gleams of the splendour in the south-west, Captain Strutt joined me. - -'Robson,' said he, with a face of amusement, 'is a comical old -gentleman. In my boyhood they called that sort of thing a sea-dog. It's -a dying type. The skipper who wears the hat of the London streets and -comes on deck in galoshes when the men are washing down, decays apace. -We should take a long look at Robson, for when he is gone we shall not -easily behold his like again.' - -'His is a dry old mind,' said I, 'tough as sailor's beef, with the -pickle of his experiences.' - -'He was telling me last night, Mr. Moore,' said the captain, 'that -you're interested in the loss of the "Lady Emma."' - -'I have asked him, as a seaman, questions on the subject,' said I. - -'I read the account of her being dismasted in one of the papers,' he -exclaimed. 'It was made a bad job of, I thought, by three people being -left aboard the hull, two of them women. D'ye ever see the "Shipping -Gazette"?' - -'No.' - -'In a number of it a week or two before we sailed, there was a strange -piece quoted out of a Cape paper.' - -'A strange piece?' I exclaimed, scarcely understanding the expression. -'Had it anything to do with the "Lady Emma"?' - -'Why, no,' he answered, leaning upon the rail and looking with a -seaman's level, steady gaze at the orange-coloured sail on the -horizon, talking carelessly, in evident intention to amuse me merely, -'a large three-masted schooner picked up the body of a woman much about -the parts where the hull of the "Lady Emma" was washing about. The -master took it to be the corpse of the wife of a friend of his, and put -it into brine or spirit to preserve it for Christian interment ashore. -A queer item of cargo, little relished by the jacks in the schooner, I -warrant ye! And yet handsomely done, too, on the part of the master, if -you think of it; for suppose one dear to you drowned, what would you -give that the remains should be buried with a memorial atop? That's -always the feeling along-shore, even amongst the humblest; they'll -offer pounds reward for the body. It's sentiment--and only to bury it -in earth after all; as if this,' said he, waving his hand, 'wasn't the -freshest, the most spacious, the most splendid of all cemeteries, every -white curl of sea a tombstone, and God's voice in the wind to keep ye -sleeping and comforted.' - -I listened in silence, but intently. - -'The schooner carried the body to the Cape,' he went on, 'where of -course it was promptly buried after they had photographed the poor -thing.' - -'Did they photograph the body?' I exclaimed. - -He whipped upon me quickly, struck by my tone, no doubt, and eyed me -keenly. He witnessed a change of face, and perhaps a sudden pallor, but -took no further notice, lightly saying: - -'Yes, the body was photographed, and a couple of the pictures are -aboard.' - -'In this steamer?' - -He again looked at me; then, directing his eyes round the poop, said: - -'Do you see that old gentleman sitting in the easy chair near the -skylight?' - -It was the old gentleman who some days previously had asked Captain -Robson at the dinner table what was the action of salt water on a body, -to which the north-country skipper had drily answered, 'It drowns.' - -'Has that man photographs of the body?' I exclaimed, staring at the old -gentleman with nervous tremors running through me, shaking the very -voice in my throat, so sudden and unexpected was this. - -'I can tell you his story; he makes no secret of it,' said the captain. -'His name's Hoskins; he is Mrs. Ollier's father. He is going to the -Cape to make sure that the body's his child by opening the coffin, -if the authorities will permit it. But he's in no doubt; he showed -me the pictures; the master of the schooner, knowing him very well, -sent two by steamer. He says they're the portrait of his girl. She had -been stopping at Santiago with her sister, a married woman there; and -was bound round to Monte Video to join, or await the arrival of, her -husband, who sailed from the Thames in August in command of the ship -"York"--what's there in this?--Mr. Moore, I hope this matter----' - -He began to stutter, and was full of concern, seeing me suddenly lean -against the rail, breathing hard with oppression with a face which I -might guess by my emotions alarmed him. But guessing that my agitation -would speedily take the eye of the many who were walking or sitting -about the deck, I asked, after pausing a minute to recover myself, -if I could be alone with him for a little while, on which he at once -conducted me to the chart room or some sort of interior dedicated to -him as commander, but not a bedroom, furnished with a horsehair couch, -a clock, and the several instruments and conveniences for navigating a -vessel. - -He hooked the door, leaving it a little way open. Without preface I -told him that Miss Marie Otway, only daughter of Sir Mortimer Otway, -was my sweetheart; she had gone a voyage for her health in the 'Lady -Emma'; soon after the news of that ship having been dismasted reached -home, there arrived the extraordinary tale of the body of a woman -having been picked up in the latitude and longitude the hull was in -when abandoned by the crew; the description of the body, I told him, -was that of Miss Otway, and my only motive in making the voyage to the -Cape was to examine the remains, if the exhumation would be permitted. - -He listened with deep interest and a countenance of cordial sympathy. - -'Now, sir,' said he, 'I can understand your motive in questioning old -Captain Robson.' - -'If the body be not Miss Otway I shall want to know what chance she's -had aboard that hull. Robson's an old sailor, and I've drawn a little -hope out of his talk, providing----' - -'Well,' said he, gathering my meaning even from my pause, 'I should -say, sir, that a man would know his own child. Old Mr. Hoskins assured -me, whilst telling his story, with the tears standing in his eyes, that -the portrait sent him was the likeness of Mrs. Ollier, his daughter. -That being so, it's reasonable you should ask questions about the -wreck.' - -'Would Mr. Hoskins show me those portraits, do you think?' - -'Show them? Why, yes, sir. When he hears the story, he'll be glad to be -of use. If you'll stop here, I'll go and manage the matter out of hand -for you.' - -I thanked him and he departed. - -I continued alone for some time with my mind tormented by anxiety and -expectation. Though old Mr. Hoskins declared the portraits to be his -daughter's, yet he might very well be mistaken, too. I waited in dread. -The distress of expectation and suspense was complicated by the fear -that the action of the sea, the convulsion and agony of drowning, had -so wrought as to make a cheat of the face: to the old man it was to be -his child, and to me it was to plead dimly as Marie out of its shrunk, -ghastly looks! How should we decide then? Indeed, none might ever get -to certainly know _who_ it was, and I should go home fancying I had -viewed the face of my beloved in death, and fancying, too, for months -to come, that she had been rescued and, by the many strange crosses of -travel and adventure, detained, but that she was coming and I should -hear. - -Thus I sat, my mind in anguish, starting up sometimes to pace the few -feet of charterhouse deck, then flinging myself down miserable and mad -with thought. - -A canary suddenly sang loudly in a cage under the clock; in every plank -was the pulse of the engines, like a tingling of blood in veins; from -over the side came a note of stealthy hissing, subtly threading the -noises of the deck like someone in a theatre low hissing through the -voices of the actors. - -In about twenty minutes the captain arrived with Mr. Hoskins. He -brought the old gentleman in and hooked the door ajar. - -Mr. Hoskins was a fresh-coloured old man, white bearded, with intensely -black eye brows curling like moustaches over his glittering black -eyes; he was dressed in black. I had observed in him a patient way of -looking, of speaking; his voice was a little tremulous with time--he -was probably sixty-five years of age. - -He held a large envelope which, on entering, he put down on top of his -hat, and making me a bow slowly, he exclaimed, in the broken tones of -his years: - -'It is truly extraordinary, sir, that you and I should be going to the -Cape on the same errand, in the same ship.' - -'Truly indeed,' I answered. 'The captain has told you my story?' and -here I looked at Captain Strutt, who answered 'Yes. Those are the -portraits,' and he pointed to the envelope. - -I glanced at the package as at a sheet or veil which conceals a face -you love which your heart shrinks from beholding in death. - -'She's not your young lady, sir,' said Mr. Hoskins, slowly extending -his arm to take up the envelope. 'She is my daughter. My niece -instantly recognised the likeness.' - -He sighed heavily, seating himself with a slow movement, whilst he put -the envelope upon his knee to draw a spectacle case from his pocket. -Meanwhile he spoke: - -'She was twenty-four years of age and had been married three years. Her -husband took her to Santiago and left her there with her sister. She -was to have joined him at Monte Video--but you have heard, sir, you -have heard?' - -I bowed, trembling with impatience, and still cold at heart, spite of -his words, with the dread that had been mine since I heard of those -photographs. He put on his spectacles, and, laying his hand upon the -envelope upon his knee, looked at me with magnified eyes. - -'It is very wonderful,' said he, 'that your young lady should have been -left in a wreck close to the place where my poor child's body was met -with.' - -Captain Strutt, with a sudden fidget of his whole figure, said, 'Mr. -Hoskins, will you show Mr. Moore the portraits?' - -But the old gentleman must first look at them himself. He pulled them -out and surveyed them with a countenance of mourning, one in either -hand, his underlip working garrulously, and again and again he sighed, -till, lifting my eyes from the portraits to his face, I saw that his -cheeks were wet. Then, but with one of his patient gestures, he put the -pictures together and extended them to me. - -I looked first at one, then at the other; the likenesses were not -Marie. I could allow for the changes caused by drowning, by immersion, -by the month-long action of spirits or brine; and still, with a wild -throb of joy that half choked me, I saw that the likenesses were not -Marie. - -They were two dreadful portraits of one face, dreadful to look upon; -one in profile, the other full, the body manifestingly having been -turned to confront the camera. The whiteness of the face in the -pictures was as shocking a part as any: the cheeks were so sunk you -would have thought she had sucked in her breath, with horrid scorn, -a living woman, when the lens of the instrument was turned upon her. -They had swept her hair off her brow for a clear view of the face; I -supposed it was pale hair by the look of it, but it was not Marie's--it -was not grown low on the forehead as hers was; the eyebrows were not -hers--they were too thick; the ears were too large for Marie's, and, -which convinced me absolutely, the shape of the nose was not my dear -one's; no wasting by the action of rolling water, no shrinkage by long -immersion, whether in brine or spirits, could work any structural -change in the nose. - -I have those dreadful photographs in my mind's eye now, I cannot -express their ghastliness. It was not only the forehead rendered naked -by the manner in which the hair had been swept back by the artist, nor -a more terrible sort of blindness in the droop and rigidity of the -upper lids than anything to be imagined in death's cold glazing of the -balls of vision, nor the meaninglessness in the look of the mouth, -as though it had been some wild man's carving of a grin on an idol, -neither human nor yet of the beast most sickening. The deep and subtle -horror I found in that face was there through fancy of the terrific -ocean solitude it had floated in, the icy surge that had tossed it, the -pitiless stars which had looked down upon it, the roaring blasts of -sleet and hail which had thundered over it. - -I put the pictures together with a shudder and a face contorted by the -pain and imaginations of the sight, and in silence handed them to Mr. -Hoskins. Both men waited for me to speak. I stopped to fetch a few -breaths, then said: - -'This poor girl is not Miss Otway.' - -'She is my daughter!' exclaimed the old man, again holding up the -pictures to view them. 'Oh, my poor child!' - -The canary began to sing loudly; the silencing of it enabled Captain -Strutt to turn his back upon us. It was indeed moving to see that old -man with his wet cheeks and talking inarticulate underlip, looking at -the two portraits. He placed them in his pocket after a minute or two, -then, pulling off his glasses, smiled faintly at me and said: - -'The grief is mine, you see, sir.' - -'And still mine, Mr. Hoskins,' I replied. 'Since that is your child -you certainly know where she is, and therefore what has become of her; -but what can any man tell of Miss Otway? She was dear to me, aye, -even as _she_ was to you,' said I, pointing to the breast of his coat -where the pictures lay. 'We were to have been married--oh, pray think, -sir! the news they brought home, the last news of her, told me of her -as abandoned with two companions in a dismasted hull in the wildest -ocean in the world--amongst the ice--heavenly God!' I cried, springing -to my feet, am I to believe her as that poor girl is--but never to -know--never to be sure that it was so--that it is so?' - -And now I know that the sight of those portraits had wrenched me to -the very soul, by speaking of Marie as she _might_ be. This, with the -reaction; for it was not my sweetheart who lay at Cape Town. I had -felt an instant's joy on the discovery; that was past and it was as -before--black uncertainty troubled and thick with a hundred shapeless -fears and fancies. - -'It's a great pity,' said Captain Strutt bluntly, 'that you didn't know -Mr. Hoskins had those pictures. You could have gone ashore at Madeira -and got home some time before we arrive at the Cape.' - -'Pray what may have convinced you that my poor girl, as described in -the papers, was Miss Otway?' said Mr. Hoskins. - -I gave him all the reasons: the description, tallying feature by -feature, point by point in hair, stature, refinement of features and -the like; the letter O on the garment; the serge dress and fur-trimmed -jacket. The old gentleman lifted his hands and his gaze with one of his -patient gestures and look, now of surprise. - -'It is more than remarkable,' he cried; 'it exceeds belief.' - -'Your daughter was married and therefore wore a wedding ring,' said -Captain Strutt. 'That ring's commonly a tight fit.' - -'It was no doubt as Captain Goldsmith wrote,' said Mr. Hoskins, 'the -water shrivelled the fingers and the ring slipped off.' - -'Miss Otway wore rings,' said I; 'the lady had none. Therefore its -having no rings proves nothing. Plunge your warm living hand into -ice-cold water, and your tightest ring will wonderfully slacken.' - -'True,' said Captain Strutt. 'And still, Mr. Moore, if I was in your -place, I shouldn't rest satisfied with the evidence of those portraits.' - -'Oh, but Mr. Hoskins and I are agreed,' said I. 'He recognises his -child and I know that it is not Miss Otway.' - -'It's my intention to exhume the remains--a sorrowful task--if they'll -grant me permission,' said Mr. Hoskins. 'Since you _must_ now proceed -to the Cape, then, if it would satisfy you to look into the coffin when -it is opened, you will be very welcome, sir.' - -I thanked him, adding, however, that I could not be more satisfied -than I was. And so, after some further conversation, we quitted the -captain's private room. - -I might have supposed this discovery of the body not being Marie--and I -was as convinced of it as though I positively knew she was alive--would -have comforted me, helped something towards the cheering of my spirits; -instead, I seemed in my heart as much depressed as if the portrait of -the dead girl had been hers. This was because, had I known she was -dead, the worst would have been reached. But now I was to make a weary -journey to the Cape to no imaginable purpose. I was to linger there -till a returning steamer sailed, then measure all these leagues of -water afresh, to arrive home as ignorant of her fate as though I had -never set foot out of London. - -During the rest of the passage, which was absolutely uneventful, I -held much aloof from the people; I was too low-spirited to join in -their conversation and amusements; I begged the captain and Mr. Hoskins -to allow my trouble to remain their secret, and they very faithfully -obliged me. Captain Strutt would often pace the deck for half an hour -at my side, and in such quiet walks our talk nearly always concerned -the 'Lady Emma.' He by no means gave me the encouragement I had got -from old Robson; he told me honestly that it was as likely as not the -three had been taken off the wreck, but advised me not to hope too much -in that way after I returned to England, 'because,' said he, 'the news -of such a rescue is bound to come to hand soon; things are not as they -were forty years ago; you have the telegraph and the steamer and the -newspaper. They were wrecked in July,' said he. 'If it was my business, -I'd allow eight months, then, hearing nothing, I'd give them up.' - -He flatly differed from old Robson's notion of the comparative safety -of a dismasted hull amongst icebergs. 'How,' he exclaimed, in a grave -wondering voice, 'could any sailorman talk such stuff? It's like his -prejudice against the North Pole. What's to hinder a dismasted vessel -from being flung against ice, and hammered to pieces? I don't talk to -dispirit you, sir, but my reasoning is, if a loss must be a loss, then -for God's sake let it be made and have done.' - -The 'Cambrian' entered Table Bay, December 13. It was early in the -morning, but the sun was already high, and when I went on deck and -looked around me, I beheld as flashing and noble a scene of blue water -and mountain as this earth has to show. The atmosphere was brimful of -white and even splendour, so that the azure of the sky looked cold in -it. Wonderful to my eyes was the sight of a gale of wind so local in -its fury that freshing confines of the torn water, curved like a line -of beach, this side being smooth and glittering, softly fanned with a -little air out of the west, where the white light was so lustrous that -the leaning sails of the Malay boats flickered in it with a look of -frosted silver. - -Afar, and marvellously clear cut in their hundred miles of distance, -loomed a range of lofty mountains; the fierce wind was blowing out of a -glorious white mist which veiled, with falling and ascending draperies -of vapour, the greater bulk of the tawny mass on the right; but so -marvellously brilliant was the atmosphere through which the gale was -rushing, the sense of distance vanished, the huge steep lifting and -disappearing in its splendour of mist, drew close, I saw the curves -of the cloofs, every wrinkle of broken rock, and patches of the bush, -though it was all miles off and high in air. The white houses spread -like toys of ivory to the base; and the wide waters of the bay, full -of the gleam of the brushing westerly air, and rushing in froth under -the shriek and lash of the gale, where the breast of blue rounded to -the town, were framed by a sparkling snow-white beach, past which the -swelling country showed in reds and greens till the sight died upon the -phantom blue of distant heights. - -There were no docks in those days, nor can I recollect that they had -begun to build the breakwater. We brought up in the splendid weather -outside the thrashing storm, but it seemed we were to be kept aboard -till the south-easter had blown itself out. Many ships, a few very -large and fine, lay straining at their anchors, some within and some -without that spray-white sheet of foul weather. I stood at the rail -looking at a little barque which lay within easy hail of the voice; Mr. -Baynton, chief officer of the 'Cambrian' approached to look at a boat -that lay close under alongside. But his seaman's eye went quickly to -the barque, and turning to me, he said: - -'That's what they call a spouter.' - -'A whaler?' - -'Yes. She looks it, sir. See the boats at her cranes. What sort of -daylight filters through those greasy grimy scuttles in her side, I -wonder? She is an American, and draws decently; three years out by the -looks of her, fresh from parts where its always too hot or always too -cold, and with how many barrels aboard, ha! It's said no seaman thinks -anything of a man as a sailor who's learnt his trade in a greaser. -For my part I look upon 'em with respect and admiration. What Jack of -us all sees the like of their seafaring? Let alone the weather, and -that touches the extremes. What magnificent work in boats! what nerve -and determination! To think of one of those egg-shells,' said he, -nodding at the boats at the whaler's cranes, 'being in tow of a rushing -mountain of stinking black flesh, shooting blood and brine sky high, -every thrash of the tail a Niagara drench of rearing white water--ha!' - -He sucked in his cheeks, blew them out again in a low whistle of -admiration, and walked off. - -I did not land till four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Hoskins, when we -parted, put his card into my hand, with an address at Cape Town upon -it, and begged me to let him know the house I put up at, that he might -communicate in case I should think proper to confirm the revelation of -the photographs by an inspection of the remains. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE SHIP SEEN ON THE ICE - - -I was advised against the two or three bad hotels in Cape Town, and -whilst in the ship had obtained the address of a boarding-house. It was -a comfortable big Dutch-built house, low, without chimneys; it stood -in a garden full of moon-lilies, and many lovely flowers, the fairest -of them scentless. Here I found a colonel from India for his health, a -Dutch couple, and one or two others. From the stoep of this house you -saw the grand mass of Table Mountain, seemingly close to; the shadow -of its noble bulk seemed to fill the heavens and swell with sensible, -usurping presence into the far reaches of the country. I had travelled -in mountainous parts in Europe, but never before witnessed such a -tyrannous domination as this. The colossal ramparts caught up the whole -prospect whilst you looked in a swinging sweep of their length, till -'twas all mountain with the steam-like vapour shredding away from the -boiling whiteness atop, and the houses clustering into the base like -things of life shuddering back into the giant refuge. - -Such were the fantastic notions I got of the thing as I sat, cigar in -mouth, on the stoep of the boarding-house on the first night of my -arrival. The full moon was shining over the bay. I saw through the -trees a space of the silvered waters, with the black figures and lines -of ships anchored in the trembling glow, spotting it with their riding -lights. The breeze was falling in sighs down the steep and troubling -the vegetation into the shedding of some perfume upon the night air; -the tinkling of the crickets spread low, like a noise of fairy bells, -over the land, surging up in the warm, damp breeze and dying. I heard -a band of music in the distance, but the mountain shone upon by the -moon and now radiant at the summit with snow-white mist, looked the -tranquility of its great face into the night, and the peace of its -sublime silence dwelt like a spirit everywhere, to the very height of -the stars, down to the waters trembling under the moon. - -This rest was grateful and exquisitely refreshing after the ceaseless -motions of the ship and the senseless chatter of the engine-room. And -yet, though I was but just arrived, I now, after my first meal ashore -for many days, sat alone, considering what I should do. - -I had learnt at table there were ships in the bay homeward bound, -also I was aware and had been long aware that I must wait a month -for the next Union steamer to England. I could not, however, bring -myself to endure the prospect of _sailing_ home. The voyage by steam -had already proved unendurably long; and now I might take shipping -under a topsail, make a passage of two months to the line, lie in a -month-long trance upon the burnished swathes of the molten silver swell -of the Doldrums, then wish myself dead in six weeks of tempest to the -Scillies, with a long flounder up Channel to round off all. - -Therefore, on this the first night of my arrival at Cape Town, I -resolved to return by steam, taking anything in that way which might -come from the Indies, or, failing that, then the monthly Union steamer. - -The colonel came out of the house with a long cheroot in his mouth, and -sat down by my side. He was a man with bland manners, and a sarcastic -voice. He talked contemptuously of Cape Town and its people, and cursed -the indisposition that had driven him into such a barbarous hole, -where you were distempered by bad cooks, poisoned by dreadful smells, -maddened by the horns of the coloured costermongers. I was in no temper -to hear him and was glad when he got up and strolled off. - -Here was I, thousands of miles from home--for what purpose? I was no -nearer to Marie! Would she ever be heard of? Was she alive? I looked up -at the full moon and asked of God if its splendour rested anywhere upon -her. - -But then--but then--and my heart ached again as I reflected; it was -in July that her ship was dismasted and last heard of, and this was -December, almost the middle of it--five whole months! And the hard part -was that I should have to live through another interminable period of -expectation before reaching home, where alone I must hope to get news. -Why, even whilst I sat there, with the two Atlantics between England -and me, she might have arrived, or they might have got news that she -was coming, and thus was I sure to go on thinking and hoping until I -returned--when they would tell me they had heard nothing! - -My thoughts went but seldom and lightly to the body of the girl who -was resting in her grave somewhere past those trees yonder. _She_ was -not Marie. I'd look upon her if the coffin was lifted and Hoskins -invited me; but _she_ was not Marie! The wonder and pity of her to my -mind now that I had seen the photographs lay in the coincidence of her -discovery, and in the ghastly vision of her floating figure--so young -and fair as she had been--a fancy of ocean loneliness I could somehow -realise better _here_ than at sea, maybe because of the height the -lofty shadow of the mountain sent the stars to, its blotting presence -widening the scene of heaven by exciting imagination of the magnitude -of the hidden slope going over and past it to Agulhas and to where the -ice was. - -After this, for two or three days, I went about alone, struggling with -a mood of depression that discoloured everything I beheld. It robbed -all grace of freshness from the beauty and the splendour of the sights -which lay about me. My favourite haunt was the waterside, where I'd -stand watching the Atlantic comber form, huge and polished, out of the -silken swell, arching and rushing onwards in a sparkling bravery of -foam and sunlight; but my thoughts were always with Marie, and again -and again I'd catch myself sighing as I brought my eyes away from the -remote blue distance pass Robben Island. - -It was on the fourth day of my arrival, in the afternoon, that -strolling slowly under the shade of an umbrella from that part of the -waterside close to where the docks now are, I met the colonel who -lodged with me in the boarding-house. He turned from gazing at the bay -under the sharp of his hand, and approached me. - -'Were you ever aboard a whaler?' he asked. - -'Never,' I answered. - -'That ship yonder's a whaler,' said he pointing. - -'Yes, I know,' I replied. 'I had a good look at her from the side of -the steamer--we lay within a biscuit-toss.' - -'I went aboard of her this morning,' said he, causing me to stop by -halting and looking towards the vessel as though he would have me -observe her whilst he talked. 'She is well worth a visit. Half of -her crew are Kanakas, and the remainder Yankees, and a wild, queer, -hairy lot they are. The captain's a Quaker, a strange, tall, formal -fellow, buttoned up, lean and yellow, and thee's and thou's you; most -unlike a seaman of any I ever saw. He was very civil though, mighty -communicative. I sat an hour in his little cabin and 'twas as good as -going awhaling to hear him. Such an array of harpoons and lances, decks -dark with the mess of blubber boiling--'trying out' the captain called -it. If you want to agreeably pass an hour and forget that you're in a -land of smells and noise, visit her.' - -I answered it was probable I would do so. - -'Not that she's a nosegay,' said he, with a short, sarcastic laugh, -'but there's nothing Malay in the odour, nothing Dutch. The captain -related an odd incident that happened whilst he was off the Horn, a bit -south of it I think.' - -Here he stepped out and I strolled by his side, pricking my ears, for -there was a magic in the name of Cape Horn that never failed to arrest -my attention. - -'She'd been fishing in the South Seas and finding no quarry was coming -into this ocean. She was running before a strong gale of wind off--I -forget the name of the island; it lies south of the Horn. The land, -coated with ice, stretched along their starboard beam; the captain had -no notion he was so close in. He was looking at the land through his -telescope when, in a sudden flaw that thinned the weather out into -a momentary brilliance, he caught sight of a large dismasted ship -upright on her keel upon a huge projection of ice that fell sheer to -the wash of the surf. He reckons the height of cliff on which that hull -was poised about thirty feet. How devilish odd! You can figure ships in -many situations, but how in ghosts are they going to cradle themselves -on an elevation of thirty or forty feet?' - -When he said this I stopped dead; a fancy then, at that instant, -flashed into me in pang after pang as though every drop of blood in my -veins was living fire. It brought me to a stand just as if I had been -paralysed, or struck by lightning. - -Presently looking at him and rather gasping than speaking, I said: - -'A dismasted ship, was it? On an island south of the Horn, did he say? -Why, my God, I wonder--I wonder----' - -'What's the matter? What's there in this to---- I hope I---- Catch hold -of my arm!' exclaimed the colonel, staring at me with astonishment. -'What's it--sunstroke? Not under your umbrella?' - -And he directed his aquiline nose and keen blue eyes right up into the -sky; then put his arm through mine, and we walked slowly, he meanwhile -surveying me askant with every mark of amazement. - -After going a little way, during which I thought I should be unable to -command my tongue or collect my wits, so heart-staggering had been that -leap of fancy in me, I said: - -'You have given me an extraordinary piece of news. I am deeply -interested in a ship that was abandoned in a dismasted state in the -neighbourhood of the Horn.' - -'By gad! then,' said he, halting me with a violent, nervous pull at my -arm, 'you had better go aboard and get a description at first hand, for -the whaler's here to refresh only; she's been in the bay a fortnight -and sails to-morrow.' - -Without exchanging a word I walked, almost ran, to the waterside. - -A number of boats lay rippling close in to the beach. A couple of Malay -or Africander boatmen seeing me coming jumped into one of the little -craft, and in a few minutes I was being rowed in the direction of the -whaler. - -It was about half-past four o'clock in the afternoon; the light of -the high South African midsummer sun fell on the water in a blaze -that made one think of a sky-wide bolt of flame; the scorching heat -steamed to the face off the surface in tingling red-hot needles; there -was not a breath of air; along the polished surface, breathing with -the swell of the sea, slipped the small thunder of the distant surf. -We drew close to the whaler and I read her name upon her counter 'Sea -Queen, Nantucket.' Her sides were blistered and honeycombed with heat -and conflict; her cabin scuttles or windows, in a row of three above -her green sheathing, stared in their dirt blearedly across the water, -like the eyes of a blind man; a number of seamen of several dyes of -complexion and queerly attired overhung the bulwark rails. - -She was a little ship of about four hundred tons and looked to be -dropping to pieces with use, so deeply was she seamed, so ill were her -masts stayed, so rusty and pale was her rigging, so worn and ragged the -complexion and suggestion of the canvas heaped clumsily and negligently -bound. When the boat was alongside I looked up at a copper-coloured -face covered with black prickles of hair, and asked if the captain was -aboard. - -'Ay,' was the answer. - -'I wish to see him on very particular business,' said I. - -The man stared stupidly and lounged off. - -'You gittee on board, boss,' said one of the boatmen. 'You hab welcome -allee same as other gents,' - -I took the man's advice, and putting my foot on to the shelf or -projection of main channels, sprang and gained the deck in a jump from -the bulwark rail. - -There were probably twenty men lounging forward in every imaginable -posture, smoking and talking; they were black and yellow and some were -of the white man's bronze, long-haired, beards goat-shaped, the figure -of them striking, with grass hats, dungaree trousers, brown shanks, -and shirts of several dyes exposing their furry breasts. They took no -notice of me whatever. The decks were dark with dirt: insufferably -heaped up with caboose, boats, casks, pumps, and some midship -arrangement for boiling blubber. A smell of greese hung cold and nasty -in the atmosphere. - -I faced aft, and was moving that way when a tall figure rose through -the deck from under a sort of wooden hood which yawned at the wheel. I -instantly guessed him the captain by the colonel's description; he was -lean and hollow, with high cheek bones and a clean shaven face, yellow -as any of his men forward, buttoned up in an old frock coat, and he -wore a grey wideawake, the brim turned down. His eye came to me without -any expression of interest; I judged by his manner his ship had been -much visited. - -I went straight up to him, and lifting my cap asked him if he was the -master of this barque. - -'I am,' he replied, with the usual American drawl. - -'I have come off,' said I, 'to speak with you on a matter of the -deepest interest to myself. I just now met a gentleman who told me that -south of the Horn you sighted a large hull, high and dry upon the ice. -Last July a ship named the "Lady Emma" was dismasted and abandoned by -her crew who left three people aboard: the men quitted her much about -the spot where you sighted the wreck. One of the people remaining in -her was Captain Burke, her commander; the others were his wife and -a young lady named Miss Otway. I was engaged to be married to that -young lady, sir, and came here, having arrived from England on the -thirteenth, believing that a body which had been found at sea and -brought to Cape Town was Miss Otway's. It is not so. The remains are -not hers. God knows but that, if the hull you sighted be the "Lady -Emma," the three may be living--aboard--in a hopeless state! Will you -tell me all you can recollect of her appearance and situation?' - -In speaking I had insensibly worked myself up, and ended with my voice -broken by agitation. He looked me steadily in the face, and when I had -ended, after a minute's silence, said: - -'Friend, follow me into the cabin, and I'll tell thee all I know.' - -He led me down a narrow staircase with a little brown, gloomy interior, -whose equipment, glorious as was the day outside, was barely revealed -by the light that struggled through the frame of dirty glass overhead. -The shaft of mizzenmast pierced the deck and was ringed by a number of -polished harpoons which glanced in the gloom with the blue gleam of the -razor. A squab square table was set in the midst of this cabin, and on -either hand it was a locker, rugged and jagged, as though generations -of whalemen had cut up plug tobacco upon the lid. - -The captain told me to sit down, and with a stride or two of his long -legs vanished inside a small berth abaft the mizzenmast. He reappeared, -holding a volume which proved to be his log-book: this he placed upon -the table and sat down in front of it. - -'What might thy name be?' he asked whilst he turned the leaves of the -book. - -'Mr. Moore,' I answered. - -He fastened his eyes on the page, and after reading awhile, said: - -'We sighted the ship on the ice on the morning of October 13. It had -been blowing a hard gale all through the night, but it slackened down -airly in the morning and we put her before it; but so high a sea was -running that had I seen that thar hull full of men I could have done -nothing for them.' He ran his finger along the page and continued: 'The -latitude in which that wreck lies is 60° and the longitude--I'm giving -it thee by thy Greenwich time--will be 45° 28´ W.' - -I pulled out my note-book and entered these figures. - -'Though,' he went on, 'she looks to be lying on ice, it's land that -cradles her. It's what's marked down as Coronation Island, and's the -westermost of the South Orkneys. She lies plain in sight of the sea, -onless the ice since then has come together and blocked her out.' - -'Did you get a good view of her?' - -'Ho, yes; I had her clear for ten minutes, watching for smoke for a -signal; and I then gave the glass to the mate, who likewise looked till -the run of the land hid her.' - -'Will you describe her as you remember her?' - -'Ho, yes. She was black, a lump of a ship she looked; wal, I daresay -all seven hundred tons. What was the burthen of thy vessel, Mr. Moore?' - -'Six hundred,' I answered. - -'Ho, wal, we was a good ways off, and that thar hull might as wal be -six as seven hundred tons.' - -'Was she clean dismasted?' - -'Clean?--wal, my mate arterwards said there was a stump of foremast -standing. I didn't observe it.' - -'But it must be the ship--the "Lady Emma" herself!' I cried, almost -shouting in my excitement. 'When her masts went over the side, twelve -feet of the foremast remained.' - -He nodded gravely; but his long, hollow, yellow face reflected nothing -of my emotion, no more than had he been a sheep. - -'Did you see nothing whatever to hint at there being life on board?' I -exclaimed. - -'Nothin',' he answered; 'she hung betwixt thirty and forty foot high -above the wash of the sea, on a big ledge of ice, with the white cliffs -going up behind her. Haow she so perched herself beats all my going -a-fishing; onless the ice jerked her up into it, for when them bergs -are took with convulsions their tricks are queerer than their shapes by -su'thin', and that's a fact.' - -'You saw nothing to hint at life on board?' I repeated. - -He shook his head with solemn emphasis. - -'Your mate saw nothing?' - -Again he wagged his head. - -'Captain, tell me--you are an old hand--could people support life in -that craft as she lies there, supposing her to have been stranded -since July last?' - -'No, I reckon.' - -'But would not the people on seeing your ship pass have made a smoke, -have shown some signal, that you could report life as helpless there -since you could not rescue it?' - -'Wal,' he answered, 'supposing folks aboard, thee's not to reckon -they'd be always keeping a look-out. It's mighty cold down thar, an' -they'll be mostly sitting under hatches, an' if they've been thar since -July, as thee says, they'll have growed a little tired, I guess, by -this here time of watching for su'thin' to happen.' - -'Is she accessible?' - -'Haow?' - -'Is she to be got at by the people of a ship sighting her, or sent to -her?' - -'There was a mighty biling of water all along under where she was,' he -answered. 'Thee'd need a quiet day; but quiet days are to be had, bar -the swell. Folks have landed afore and they'll land again. Ho, yes! If -thy friends are locked up in that thar hull, they're to be got out of -her.' - -'Suppose her there since July; will you believe she has been boarded -and the people released?' - -'Why,' he answered, 'if she's been lying fair and square, clear in -sight as she now is, since that month thee names, it's more'n likely -the folks are out of her. But no vessel was ever put by herself in the -situation of that craft. I reckon she's been worked up into it arter -having lain ice-locked, which may sinnify that for months she's been -hid, so that for all we're to know that thar hull may have been the -first that passed close in with the island since the ice broke away and -exposed her.' - -I listened with a feverish passion of attention, devouring every -syllable his drawling tongue dropped. - -'Have you a chart of that island?' I asked. - -He nodded gravely and stood up. - -'I'm temperance aft, here,' said he. 'I can offer thee nothing stronger -than lemonade.' - -I was too violently agitated to thank him decently, and stuttering out -an awkward acknowledgment, begged him again to let me see the chart of -the island. He took the log-book with him to his berth, and returning, -spread before me a chart representing a considerable expanse of the -seas off the Horn. My sight was now used to the gloom; when he put his -finger upon the place where he had seen the wreck I bent close, and -observed that he indicated an indent in the tracing marked Palmer's Bay. - -I entered this in my note-book and asked if he would sell the chart. -He couldn't spare it, he said, but added I might easily furnish myself -with what I wanted in that way at Cape Town. - -My spirits were in such a tumult, my heart beat so wildly, the pulses -of my head throbbed so, there was so much feverish confusion of mind -and brain, I could scarcely rally my wits to the task of further -questioning him; I seemed, indeed, scarcely able to understand him. I -cannot express my amazement, the emotions that swelled my heart. 'Twas -as sure as that I lived that the hull seen by this man was the 'Lady -Emma,' and even whilst I bent over the chart, whilst I lifted up my -eyes to look at him, the thought of the measureless distance at which -the wreck lay, of Marie perhaps being at this very time alive in her; -then the imagination of her having been rescued long since, then the -fancy of the hull as a huge coffin in which my dear one lay frozen -and dead; all this, I say, worked in me like a madness; I was beside -myself, and I pored upon the chart panting, the sweat streaming from my -brows, my hands cold as stone. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE BRIG 'ALBATROSS' - - -I remained, nevertheless, in the cabin of the whaler until the captain -grew impatient and showed signs of wishing to be rid of me, on which I -thanked him, shook hands, and was rowed ashore. - -I drove to the boarding-house and there found the following letter-- - - - 'Mowbray: December 17, 1860. - - 'Mr. Hoskins' compliments to Mr. Moore. He has obtained leave to - open the grave and will, with Mr. Moore's permission, call for him - in a closed carriage at five o'clock to-morrow afternoon.' - - -This gave a new turn to my thoughts. My first humour was to decline -the invitation. It was not Marie who lay in that grave, and I did -not like the thought of the memory the sight would create. But after -reflecting awhile, I resolved to attend, a glance would give sinews to -the confirmation of the pictures. Sir Mortimer would also wish that I -should take every measure to satisfy myself as to the identity of the -remains. - -Having written an answer, I went downstairs and sent it to the post by -a servant, by which hour dinner was ready and I took my place. Five -of us were at table, including the lady of the house, who carved. The -colonel sitting opposite me almost immediately asked what news I had -got of the ship seen on the ice. I had made up my mind to talk, partly -because it did me good to do so, partly because I never could tell what -hints and news might follow upon free speech. - -I answered that the dismasted hull the captain of the whaler had seen -was the 'Lady Emma.' - -'Does he think there are people locked up in her?' cried the colonel -with excitement. - -A Dutch gentleman (I will call him Pollak) who sat next him inquired -with civil curiosity what we were talking about. On which I put down -my knife and fork and plainly related the story of the voyage of Marie -Otway for her health, the dismasting of the ship, her abandonment by -the sailors, the reason of my visiting the Cape, and I told him how I -knew by the photographs that the body which had been brought to Cape -Town was not Marie's; but I said nothing about the opening of her -grave; I judged that Mr. Hoskins would not be pleased to find a gaping -crowd in the cemetery at such a time. - -They listened to me with deep attention. All saving the colonel had -heard of the arrival of the schooner with the body; indeed--which -was extraordinary--the Dutch gentleman was one of a few who had been -present when the remains were taken out of the cask. I had passed -several hours a day since my arrival in this man's company, and now -learnt for the first time that he had seen the body. - -It was no season, however, for questioning him, and the conversation of -the table went to the wreck seen by the captain of the whaler. - -All could have observed in my manner that I was deeply stirred; I could -scarcely eat; I felt thirst only. The colonel talked fluently, but not -serviceably; but I listened with kindness, for I was grateful to him -for the accident of this astonishing discovery. - -After dinner I went on to the stoep to breathe the fresh air and smoke -and think; I hoped that the others, remarking the state of my mind, -would leave me alone; they did so; the colonel, the Dutch gentleman, -and two others, who arrived after dinner, drinking coffee at a table at -the other end of the verandah. Their conversation flowed in a low hum, -but that it concerned the topic we talked over at dinner I knew by the -occasional looks one or another directed my way. - -At last the Dutch gentleman, Mr. Pollak, came from his party and, -pulling a chair to my side, seated himself. He said, speaking with an -excellent English accent: - -'I have thought as I saw the body you would wish me to describe it. It -was not to be spoken of at table.' - -'The photographs were ghastly pictures,' said I. - -'Ach, Gott!' he cried, with such a roll of his eyes under the -lids as made them balls of porcelain. 'But how should anyone--the -handsomest--appear who was five weeks in spirits after having been -drowned and lifted out of the sea? And still her hair was long and -fair, and fine, and there was a shadow of beauty in the mask of her -face--all saw it. It breathed like a perfume from a dead flower.' - -'She was not Miss Otway,' said I. - -He described every feature, and I continued to shake my head. - -'No, no,' said I, 'she is not Miss Otway. The girl I want is in that -ship on the ice; yet--is she there?' - -'Well, it must be found out,' said he. - -'I shall go about it to-morrow.' - -'Mr. Moore,' said he, after a short silence, 'you are a stranger in -Cape Town. I have many friends. If I can be useful, you will, I beg, -command me.' - -I thanked him and said I had brought a few letters of introduction, -but, conceiving the purpose of my visit ended when I viewed the -photographs, I had called nowhere. I slightly referred to my position -in London--that is, as a partner in my father's bank--and added that -the manager of a South African bank, whose headquarters were in Cape -Town, had been a senior clerk in my father's office, but that I had not -visited him. - -'Would not the British admiral who is at St. Simon's Town,' said he, -'send out a ship of war to search for the wreck?' - -I replied quickly, 'No, I must go myself,' and added, 'You may not have -had experience in the ways of British officials.' - -He smiled and answered. 'The admiral might give you leave to go in the -ship he sent.' - -'I can tell you exactly how it would be,' said I. 'I go to the admiral -and the admiral demands the log-book of the whaler. The whaler has -sailed, the admiral requires full particulars of the wreck before -despatching one of his ships to a perilous part of the world; full -particulars can be obtained only in London. By the time the British -admiral sees his way the hull, when sought, has disappeared.' - -He smiled again, stroking his chin. - -'When I left the whaler,' said I, finding it eased my heart to talk, -and pleased with his plain sympathy, 'I had formed a resolution. It -may be, sir, that you are able to help me in it.' - -He bowed. - -'I intend at once--that is, to-morrow, if to-morrow will provide me -with the opportunity--to hire a vessel and sail for Coronation Island -as promptly as she can be equipped and victualled.' - -'Ah,' he exclaimed, 'that looks like business. It will be expensive----' - -I interrupted him with an exclamation. - -'Yes,' he exclaimed, a little ruefully, 'that should not be thought -of; it will be a marvellous, noble thing to save the life of your -young lady and her companions. How can I help, now?--let me see. I am -acquainted with most of the leading merchants here; I believe that my -friend Mr. Vanderbyl is expecting a consignment from our Australian -port. Perhaps the vessel has arrived. I will inquire. If it is the same -brig that was here last spring she will be the very boat for you. Her -name is the "Albatross." Did you observe a brig painted white amongst -the shipping when you went on board the whaler?' - -'I did not.' - -'If she comes with the same captain and can be hired, he will be your -man; Captain Christopher Cliffe, a little clever, honest, sober sailor. -I know him very well. He was second mate of a ship I sailed to England -in. Well, I will inquire and see what is to be done, and you also will -inquire. But the "Albatross" is your ship, sir--a clipper. She slides -like a knife through the sea, and should put you abreast of the hull as -quickly as steam.' - -'But she is not yet arrived.' - -'She is due.' - -'She will need time to discharge her cargo?' - -'If she is in the Bay,' said he, 'she should be able to sail with you -in a fortnight, and that is as quick as gold itself shall let you be in -this climate.' - -I was excited by his praise of the brig, and, standing up, I asked him -to accompany me to the waterside, and search the Bay with his sight for -her. But he had an engagement, so I stepped forth alone, there still -remaining a long evening of daylight. - -I made my way to the same place I had embarked from that afternoon, -and looking at the scene of Bay which glowed like the sky with the -evening splendour, stretching out from my feet, and brimming into gold -trembling into purple to the white beach abreast, which ran in a curve -flashing like light against the lip of the brine, I counted no less -than twenty-two ships riding to their anchors: vessels of all rigs and -of several nationalities, and, as though heaven were on my side in this -time of trial and grief, I saw what I guessed was the vessel I was -here to look for. She lay, curiously enough, immediately astern of -the whaler--a milk-white figure, slightly swaying on the satin-smooth -heave, with wet green gleams trembling along her as she lifted her -metal sheathing. - -I said to a coloured waterman who stood near, pointing to the brig: - -'What brig is that, do you know?' - -He answered immediately, 'De "Albatross," boss!' - -'Ha!' - -'From Sydney, boss.' - -'When did she arrive?' - -'Two yastardays, boss.' - -But it was not wonderful she should have escaped my observation; in -going and coming from the whaler I had thought of nothing but what I -was to hear and what I had heard; and earlier my sight, often as it -wandered to the shipping, never paused to distinguish. - -I saw no more of my Dutch friend till next morning, when, at eleven -o'clock, whilst I was making ready to drive into the town and inquire -about the brig 'Albatross,' a servant knocked on the door, and said Mr. -Pollak was below with another and wished to see me. I at once descended. - -His companion was a little man, almost a dwarf; his nose was as long -as Punch's, his mouth much like that puppet's, wide and thin, with -the look of a smirk in the curl of the lips at either extremity; he -wore little slips of grey whiskers; his eyes were deep sunk, grey and -kindly, and he blinked them with a nervous fury when he dodged a sort -of sea-bow on Mr. Pollak introducing him. He was almost bald, and was -perhaps fifty-five years of age, much curved in the back, his shanks -slightly arching out. Mr. Pollak called him Captain Christopher Cliffe, -and introduced him as master and part-owner of the brig 'Albatross.' - -'I know,' said the worthy Dutchman, 'that time is precious to you. I -am glad we have found you in. I cannot stay. But I will leave Captain -Cliffe behind me to talk with you.' - -And picking up his hat he nodded and went out. - -I asked the little man if Mr. Pollak had told him my story. - -'Enough,' he answered, 'to make me understand there is reason to hurry.' - -'The whaler "Sea Queen,"' said I, 'lying just ahead of you----' - -'She sailed this morning,' he interrupted. - -'She sighted a hull high and dry on the ice of Coronation Island, -New Orkneys,' said I, pulling out my note-book to give him the date. -'That hull, when she was made a raft of by the loss of her masts, was -abandoned by the crew in latitude 58° 45´ south, longitude 45° 10´ -west. Three people were left in her--one of them a young lady, dearer -to me than my heart's blood. The "Lady Emma" is as surely the hull -that was seen by the Yankee as that you who hear me are alive.' - -'You think to find the people still locked up in her?' said he, -blinking and snapping his lips with many convulsive grimaces. - -'I mean to find that out. Is your brig for hire?' - -'Ay.' - -'When will she be ready?' - -'I hope to have the remaining cargo out of her by Monday next; she's -then at your service.' - -'Have you a crew?' - -'I'll get a good 'un when you're ready, sir.' - -'What's the tonnage of the vessel?' - -'One hundred and seventy register.' - -'What'll be the cost?' - -'Thirty shillings per ton a month, we finding everything, or fifteen -shillings per ton a month and you finding everything.' - -I put down the figures, and said, 'How long is it going to take the -brig to arrive off the island?' - -He talked a little to himself, blinking and grimacing absurdly, and -replied, 'Call it a month.' - -'I should like to see the brig, Captain Cliffe.' - -'At once, if you will, sir.' - -I sent for a cab and we drove to the waterside. He talked freely when -he was out of the house and driving. I found something very honest and -diverting in this little man's looks and manner of speech. He had an -amazingly brisk and nimble mind, I thought; I got at that in a very -little while. He went behind my questions, fetched a number of new -possibilities for hope to feed on out of the scheme of the search, and -heartened me vastly by his clear view and statement of my wishes and -plans--that is, he said that the hull sighted by the whaler was beyond -all question the wreck of the 'Lady Emma'; everything tallied--colour -of sides, situation, time, down to the very stump of foremast. Then, -since three were abandoned in her, why shouldn't they still be aboard? -Of course it was my duty, he said, to sail right away. Who wouldn't, to -deliver his young lady out of such a scene of horror? But humanity was -in it too. The hull was to be searched for and overhauled, and I was -quite right in reckoning that if I left that job to the British Admiral -the hulk would have disappeared, or the people inside have perished -into statues of ice, before the official mind had settled what to do. - -'Not unlikely,' said he as we drove along, 'the parties have been taken -out; sealers and whalers are constantly moving about those waters; but -we aren't to think of that. If they're gone, so much the better, for -then they're safe elsewhere; but it's your business to consider that -they're still there and to fetch 'em.' - -Thus we talked, and as we rowed to the brig we continued to chat, he -entering very fully into the cost and character of the equipment we -should require, the time we should occupy, supposing them alive in -the hull, whether we returned with them to the Cape or headed for the -nearest South American port. - -My spirits rose under the influence of this man's conversation. His -practical mind put everything so clearly that in imagination, even -whilst we made for the brig, I had realised my hopes--I had rescued -Marie and her companions--we were proceeding home! - -The brig did not show so milk-white when close to as from the beach; -rusty blood-like stains lay dried in scars under the bolt heads -and other metal projections, but her figure gained in beauty when -approached. I am no sailor, but when I ran my eye over her moulded -shape, observed her keen entry, the swan-like curve of her run lifting -to an elliptical stern, with a swell of white side that made me think -of a polished heave of sea, I would have wagered there were few swifter -vessels of her rig and tonnage then afloat. A lighter or something of -that sort was alongside receiving cargo; a man in a cloth cap and half -Wellington boots was perched on the rail close to where the cargo was -going over the side; he made notes with a pencil in a little book; -three or four coloured men were winding at a winch. I had caught, -whilst in the boat, the clinking noise of the pawls slipping over the -sheet-calm water in a sort of music that wanted but the accompaniment -of a hurricane lung or two to furnish out a fine ocean concert. The man -on the rail touched his cap when we gained the deck. - -'That's my mate, Mr. Bland,' said Captain Cliffe. 'He's a good seaman. -I can recommend him.' - -I sent a glance of curiosity at the sailor, guessing if I hired this -brig he would go with us; he had the face of a sheep, dark eyes set far -back close against his ears, a thick black beard, and a weather-tanned -skin, filled with the holes of small-pox. An ugly man indeed! Yet -you saw honesty and intelligence like a light of good humour in the -expression of him. - -Captain Cliffe took me round the decks of the little craft first of -all. I had no eye for points of marine equipment, yet noticed a smart -little galley with red tiles on the floor, a seat athwartships, and a -small array of saucepans, kettles, and the like, all very clean. The -windlass looked small, so roomy was the forecastle. The captain then -took me aft to the companion, which was painted green, trotting by my -side, of the height of a boy, from time to time looking up into my face -to observe if I was pleased. - -I halted in the companion and asked how many boats he carried; he -answered two, and pointed to a long-boat stowed near the galley, -this side of it, and then to the water astern, where a small boat was -floating. - -'We ought,' said I, 'to go well provided with boats of an exact form -and strength for passing through the breach of the sea. The waves -break heavily under the hull, the whaling captain said, and we must be -prepared for a high surf the whole length of the coast.' - -'You're quite right, sir,' said the little man. 'But if we come to -terms you've only got to commission me, and whatever's needful I'll -see to. For instance, there's a height of ice cliff, and grappling -irons 'll be wanted. And we should carry a few lengths of rope ladder. -It isn't as though we had to find her. We _know_ she's high and dry. -Make the worst of it and call it fifty feet above the wash. That's -sure unless the ice had shifted her. And we've got to be provided with -machinery for entering.' - -Thus speaking he descended and I followed. - -The companion steps were almost up and down; on the right, at the -bottom of the ladder, was a sleeping berth, a sort of cupboard with -a sliding door like a smacksman's bedroom; on the left was the main -cabin, a larger interior than I expected to see. It was well lighted -by a frame of windows overhead and round scuttles in the walls, and -furnished with a table, locker seats, and a few camp stools. Forward -was a brightly polished brass fireplace. Three small berths were -bulkheaded off this living room, one of which the captain told me was -a sail and boatswain's locker, and the other a bread and store locker; -'but we can clear 'em out,' said he, 'when they come to be wanted.' - -I was satisfied, and then and there resolved to hire this brig and sail -quickly for that far-off ice-clad island. I sat down on one of the -lockers and asked the captain to take pen and paper, and we talked -about what would be required, making notes, and reckoning up the -expenses till I bethought me of my engagement with Mr. Hoskins. And -with reluctance and a hearty handshake took my leave. - -I was rowed ashore, and on the way to the boarding-house called at -the bank whose manager had been my father's clerk. He was astonished -and delighted to see me; he had known me, indeed, ever since I was an -Eton schoolboy. I had no time on this occasion to enter fully into the -cause of my being at the Cape; my immediate purpose was served when he -assured me that I was welcome to draw upon the bank to the amount I -wanted. - -At five o'clock Mr. Hoskins drove up to the boarding-house, and we at -once started for the cemetery. He was alone in a closed carriage, and -was dressed in mourning as deep as man's apparel will express grief. -I, too, had been careful to clothe myself in black. I had not seen -Mr. Hoskins since the arrival of the 'Cambrian,' and his voice and -presence carried me on board again, renewed the quiet incidents of -the passage, and returned me in imagination to Southampton on that -memorable day of my departure. He was pale and melancholy, and his -spirits seemed depressed with thought of the distressing ceremony we -were bent upon. - -'I am sorry now,' said he as he drove along, 'that I solicited -permission to inspect the remains. The photographs were perfectly -convincing, and still I felt it--I feel it--my duty to make as sure -as opportunity admits. Captain Oilier will expect me to tell him all -that it was in my power to learn. Nor, perhaps, should I feel perfectly -satisfied to erect the monument I intend for my poor child without -looking into her coffin to see that it is she herself who will be under -it.' - -I answered that this melancholy undertaking was even less needful to me -than to him; but that, like himself, I saw the necessity of confirming -my own opinion by every possible testimony, for the peace of my own -heart as well as for the satisfaction of Miss Otway's father. - -We then talked of my chances of finding Marie in the hull upon the -island, and I told him how I had hired the brig 'Albatross' and -intended myself to sail in her as soon as she discharged her cargo -and was ready for sea, which I hoped would be about the close of the -following week. - -I saw little of the scenery we were driven by; we passed a number of -gigantic aloes on the roadside; the hard-blue mountains, towering into -the heavens with keenly cut skylines, with great spaces of their sides -lustrous with the trembling and delicate foliage of the silver tree, -wound with us as we wound, or shadowed us as we drove; they were an -eternal presence, like the cloudless blue over them. - -Whilst Mr. Hoskins was telling me how he contrived to obtain an order -for the exhumation of the remains, we arrived at the cemetery where we -alighted, and my companion conducted me to the grave whose situation -he was exactly acquainted with. A number of persons were beside the -grave, two were sextons armed with mattocks, or spades, the others were -strangers and remained so to me; but one, I believe, was a medical man, -and another a government official. They raised their hats to us, and -after the exchange of a few commonplace greetings, decorously attuned, -the diggers went to work. - -The body had lain in this grave since August--four months. The heat -thrilled in a sort of surging wave that closed upon the respiration -with a sense of suffocation whilst we stood watching the diggers. I -shuddered at the idea of looking. I had come to Cape Town conceiving -that this body was Marie's, I now knew it was not hers; nevertheless, -I guessed that the aspect of the dead face, at rest and out of sight -under the cleaving spades, must become a memory that would be -inseparably associated with Marie's image, whether I was to behold her -again or not, and my spirits shrunk as I stood watching. - -The soil was red, and the diggers turned it cheerily. Mr. Hoskins -talked in a low tone apart with one of the strangers; that man was -probably an undertaker or connected with the firm of buriers. Many rich -strange flowers and plants glowed like jewels or glanced like snow upon -or about the graves round about; it was a big tract of ground, all the -sculptures, and monuments of several sorts showing at a distance sharp -as carvings in ivory through the hot rare blue atmosphere. - -The group of us were the only living occupants of that field of -sleepers. Doubtless the order had gone forth for all to be excluded -till the coffin had been reburied. They came to it at last; it was -raised with some trouble, a plain black box, and placed upon the edge -of the grave, and without an instant's loss of time the person with -whom Mr. Hoskins had been conversing, unscrewed the lid--and we looked. - -I had expected to behold something that was to shock the sight, and -create a memory of pain and disgust; instead, there lay before us, -her head pillowed, her arms peacefully crossed, the form of a young -woman whose face, through chymic changes explicable only by the pen -of science, had filled and freshened in complexion to an aspect -easily supportable by the most nervous or sensitive eye. The flesh -was discoloured; in the pictures it had shown as an ulcerous ghastly -white; but here, in this coffin, the face was far more defined and -distinguishable in lineament, I may even add in expression, than in the -photographs. I could almost understand my Dutch friend's reference to a -shadow of beauty lurking in this dead mask of countenance. The hair was -very fair, and beautifully abundant, but it was not the hair of Marie, -the hands were not Marie's. Now that I looked upon her I observed that -she resembled Marie to a less degree even than the pictures expressed -the likeness. I shook my head and drew back a pace, covering my face, -the sight was pitiful--I could not bear to look beyond a moment or two. -I thought of that form in the loneliness of the ocean off the Horn, -and then again I was agitated by a violent reaction in my spirits; for -though I had been certain it would not prove Marie, yet I knew not -what I was to behold either, what tragic, heart-subduing surprise that -coffin might have in store for me, and I shrunk back, shaking my head -and hiding my face. - -Mr. Hoskins viewed the remains in silence, then sobbed, and I looked -at him. Our eyes met across the coffin, and exclaiming, 'It is my -daughter, Mr. Moore! It is Charlotte; the wife of Captain Henry -Ollier,' he sank upon his knees and folded his hands in prayer beside -his child. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -AT SEA AGAIN - - -I had arrived at Cape Town on December 13, and on the 26th of the same -month the colonial brig 'Albatross' lay in Table Bay, waiting for me to -go aboard in order to sail. This was surely what the shipowners would -call 'prompt despatch'! - -On the morning of the 26th I said good-bye to my friends in the -boarding-house and drove to one of the jetties where Captain Cliffe -awaited me. I was accompanied by the colonel and Mr. Pollak. A -considerable crowd had assembled to see me embark; the story had leaked -out; it was in the papers that I had come to the Cape to identify the -body brought from sea by the 'Emerald,' and that, being satisfied it -was not that of the girl I was in search of, I was going to the New -Orkneys in the hope of finding her locked up in a wreck described as -corresponding in every material detail with the hull of the 'Lady Emma.' - -It was an extraordinary romance; Mr. Pollak had assured me that -all Cape Town was talking about it. For the first time in my life -I was made to understand the inconvenience and discomfort of -publicity. A number of ladies were in the crowd, and they thrust most -unceremoniously forward to catch sight of me. When I got into the boat -the crowd good-naturedly cheered; I did not feel easy till the oars -were dipping and the boat under way, for the crowd was bringing others, -and as we rowed from the jetty I saw some men and women running towards -the water. - -Mr. Pollak and the colonel went on board with me. It was a rich glowing -day, a number of white steam-like clouds were circling above Cape -Town, but low over the water, brushing it into a wide sheet of rippling -blue splendour, a hot fresh breeze was blowing; it swept straight down -the Bay, with a brassy light in the air that made you think of the wind -as coloured by the yellow glares of the sandy land it had travelled -across. - -Mr. Pollak had on several occasions visited the brig; the colonel -had not before viewed her close; he was greatly pleased and hummed a -tune approvingly as he accompanied me about the decks. One detail of -furniture, his own suggestion, he lingered over; it was a bright brass -cannon mounted on the quarter-deck. - -'He'll do for you!' he exclaimed, slapping the breech of the piece. -'That should fetch an echo loud enough to awaken the dead.' - -A little further aft stood a mortar, with its round mouth gaping at the -sky. - -'What's that for?' asked the colonel. 'Isn't the gun noisy enough to -alarm 'em if they're aboard?' - -'It is my idea,' said Mr. Pollak. 'Suppose it should be impossible to -scale the slope and reach the ship; _here_ is an engine that will throw -you a ball and line which anyone on board may catch and pull ladders up -by.' - -'Good!' exclaimed the colonel. - -We then examined the two fresh boats which Captain Cliffe had -purchased on my behalf; they were large, strong, handsome whale-boats, -strengthened by iron beams or girders under the thwarts; and made -lifeboats of by a quantity of cork fenders carefully laced or otherwise -seamed along the sides. - -'These,' said I, 'together with rope ladders hooked for scaling, and -grappling irons, form my machinery.' - -'It is all you will need,' said Mr. Pollak, 'and I am sure everyone -must pray that God will bless and prosper your noble voyage.' - -I took the worthy Dutchman's hand and thanked him with a silent grip. - -At that moment the windlass began to clank; immediately a hoarse voice -bawled out a song whose burthen was caught and flung in thunder into -the air by the seven or eight hearts who bowed and rose at the windlass -handles. - -'Come, Mr. Pollak; come, colonel,' I exclaimed; 'there's time for a -bumper.' - -I called to the captain to send aft the lad who was to wait upon us in -the cabin, and descended with my friends. A magnum of champagne was -opened, and we filled and drank to the voyage. I obliged Captain Cliffe -to come down and drink. He cried through the skylight that he durst not -leave the deck for above three minutes; I told him to come, and the two -gentlemen toasted the little man, who delivered, with several grimaces, -a brief sailorly speech, full of hope, then rushed on deck. - -I bade Mr. Pollak good-bye with a full heart. The colonel followed him -into the boat, which put off, and then hung by on her oars to watch us. -At this time the anchor was off the ground, and the crew were making -sail on the brig, whose bowsprit, with a white pinion of jib swelling -from it, was rounding, finger-like, in a slow, pointing way for the -open; the sheep-faced mate stood on the forecastle shouting orders; -a sailor was at the wheel; Captain Cliffe crossed the deck from left -to right, looking up and around, moving swiftly, a doll of a man, -grimacing and blinking at every pause in his nimble trot. - -Some of the ships round about had got our tale, I fancy, or at least -the scent of our errand; since from most of them we were watched by -many heads above the rail. Presently the brig's stern was to the wind, -her topsails filled, the lighter sails glanced wing-shaped to the -yard-arms to the drag of the gear; I waved my hat from the quarter -to my two friends, and they flourished a last farewell. My voyage, -strange as any that had ever been undertaken in this world, was begun! - -We were the only ship at that time leaving the Bay, and I think our -lonely going must have given a certain majesty and nobleness to the -figure of the vessel in the eyes of those who watched us, with the -significance of her dangerous, surprising, romantic mission going along -with her. I don't know what my own sensations were: I was sensible -perhaps of a little triumph of spirits at this getting away so quickly, -and then there was the feeling that I was in action, that no time was -being lost; and yet there was a heaviness at my heart too, the chill of -doubt, a frosty dread that the errand would prove profitless, and that -if God suffered me to return home it must be as a mourner for Marie. - -But we were sailing through a wide, shining scene of commanding beauty, -lofty and gloriously coloured, and the influence of it, I don't doubt, -rescued me from the dark mood imagination might have raised. The breeze -blew hot, but the sweetness of flowers and fruit was in it, and the -scent of the land was brisk with the salt of the sea. In a very little -while the seamen had clothed the brig from the main-royal yard to the -waterways, and as she floated onwards, _now_ slightly curtseying to a -small breathing of swell, the mountains went with her, and the ships -astern closed into clusters past the tail of our mirror-bright line of -wake. The mountains towered on our left; Cape Town vanished, and we -softly drove with a noise of fountains on either hand past rich curves -of shore on whose margin the huge Atlantic comber formed and fell in -snowstorms with white houses beyond the foam like models in ivory -shining amid the greenery. - -And all the time we were alone! _This_ was the wonderful feature of our -departure. I could not see the smallest boat in motion. The water was -like a great lonely lake, and the silence on the face of the mountains -was in the wind, in a presence that seemed to _compel_ isolation for -us, hushing all life off the face of the bay down to where the ships -were lying too far off to trouble the sense of solitude. - -The crew were now occupied in coiling away the rigging and clearing up -the decks, and I had an opportunity of viewing them. All were white -men; there were eight, together with a cook and a boy to wait upon -us aft, making with captain and mate twelve of a company, which was -plenty. Cliffe had told me he would not ship a certificated second -mate; the man who went as boatswain would relieve the mate and stand -a watch. That man was a wiry, middle-aged seaman; he wore a spread of -grey whisker scissors-trimmed, close to his face, and dark eager eyes -which he rolled quickly as a monkey; he sang out briskly, and sprang -about the decks. Little Captain Cliffe, observing that I watched the -man, came and stood beside me and spoke up softly to my ear: - -'I engaged that chap because of his knowledge of the ice. He told me he -was seven years whaling in the Pacific and Southern oceans. He is the -most wonderful jumper I ever heard of.' - -'So old as he is?' - -'Forty-five or thereabouts. Men of that sort soon lose the reckoning of -their birth. I don't allow their mothers ever enter 'em. They're always -the age that suits 'em to be. But look what a life it is, sir! the iron -it will put into a young 'un's hair! the kinks it'll run into a young -'un's back! All the hard life and the bad food works out through a -man's pores after a few years, bows him down, and hardens in his face -with a crust of years. He's a marvellous jumper that, sir. Tell ye what -he did--and it astonished me--there was a horse and trap standing -close beside where we were talking. He turns on a sudden and sings out, -"Captain, did yer ever see this done?" and putting his feet together -and clenching his fists he bent his knees, let go of the ground like -and shot as a bolt, clearing the horse till you could see half the -length of his own legs of blue sky 'twixt his feet and the animal's -back.' - -He gazed up at me, blinking and grinning, and added, 'I allow, should -it come to any awkward climbing jobs, we'll find that covey handy.' - -I lingered a little to watch the brig and the coast. The swell was -coming straight out of the wide sea, but the breeze still followed -fiery and splendid with the light of that land; the little ship bowed -softly; the long heave under the bows did not stop her; she floated -with erect spars, her yards square, the canvas breathing like human -breasts as her bowsprit rose and fell; yet a glance astern showed me -she was already whitening the water. - -At every look, the high land, purple and hard in that noontide -brilliance, yielded new features. It was towering now on to Hont Bay, -with a trend which made a mighty shoulder of it as it sounded towards -Simon's Town and the Cape of Good Hope: the towering terraces were on -our port quarter with Robben Island to starboard, and ahead was the -glittering breast of the Atlantic with the sea-line hard-carved against -the faint silvery blue. I looked for a sail, but nothing broke that -measureless run of horizon; the junction of air and water had a wild -loveliness, indescribable, thanks perhaps to the violet of the brine -that washed the light azure; though the fear and mystery of beauty I -found in it then doubtless came of the thought of what lay hidden from -me hundreds of leagues deep beyond that slope of airy silver. Had we -been a ship of ancient explorers the field of ocean could not have -shown more barren than my eyes, exploring its recesses under the sharp -of my hand, found it. - -Some seamen came aft to spread an awning. They eyed me askew; of course -they knew the brig's mission, and perhaps thought me a little mad; -but it would be all one to them; there is worse to be suffered at sea -than a cruise off the Horn in the midsummer of this side on such wages -as they had signed for, in a tight well-built brig. In fact, they -rolled about their work with a sort of rollicking carriage that made -one reckon they had entered upon the voyage with jolly hearts as on a -yachting jaunt, secure from all danger and dirt of cargo; only it was -as likely they'd come on board a little merry with Jack's custom of -farewell. - -I now went below to see to my berth and arrange my traps; but came to a -halt at the cabin table, to lean upon it and think. This interior was -wholly unlike the 'Lady Emma's'; yet the skylight, the lockers, and -several trifling details of cabin furniture brought to my recollection -that day in the Thames when I had said good-bye to Marie in her cabin, -alone. What had been her sufferings since? If she was in the hull she -had been imprisoned at this date for five months, and by the time we -got to her six! For six months she would have been locked up in a -motionless hulk, high perched upon a savage island, heavily faced with -ice, with a thunder of surf far down for ever in her ear, and always -the same white, desolate, fierce prospect of frozen cliffs and rolling -ocean. Would it not have killed her? I clasped my hands in the torment -of the thought. Should I be making this voyage to a remote ice-girt -island merely to enter the wreck and behold the remains of my Marie as -I had looked into that coffin in Cape Town beholding another? - -I passed into my own berth, a small but comfortable box, and after -busying myself for half an hour, during which I had recalled my mind -to something of its former composure, I re-entered the cabin and found -the table laid for dinner. The little sea parlour looked cheerful with -this hospitable setting. The heel of a windsail buzzed in the skylight. -There had happened a little shift of wind whilst I was below, for the -brig leaned over and I heard a smart hissing--the seething of foam -sliding past; it was as cooling a noise as the sound of a hard shower -of rain on a dusty August day at home. - -I stepped on deck to take a look; the land was melting into a vast roll -of shadow astern and on the port quarter, filming down to the Cape end; -the breeze hung steady, only it came fresher, more fiery and sparkling -out here in the wide ocean, we had changed our course by two or three -points, bringing it somewhat abaft the beam; I saw no cloud, nothing -but a glad race of flashing bright blue seas ridging from an horizon -that rose into a dome of untarnished blue in the midst of which was -the sun, making a dazzling plain of a great surface of water in the -north. - -Captain Cliffe came to the compass-stand whilst I stood looking at the -card; I felt his little blinking eyes were upon me when my sight went -to the hollow canvas, and to the sea-smoke that from time to time blew -away in little puffs from off the lee bow when the brig stooped with a -sheering plunge shouldering a knoll of the blue brine into a long roar -of foam. - -'This is good sailing,' said I. - -'It beats steam anyhow,' said he, turning to look at the race of wake -astern. - -'What's the speed?' - -'Nine,' he answered with a convulsive grimace of triumph, 'and I -understand they never could get more than seven out of the steamer you -came out in.' - -The mate walked in the gangway; I saw but one man forward. The captain -told me the crew were at dinner. But whilst I stood first one man and -then another came up through a little hole in the fore part of the -brig, and in a few minutes half a dozen of them were sprawling and -lounging in the shadows the canvas made upon the forecastle, smoking, -but scarcely speaking for heat and loathing of movement. - -I could not forbear a smile when I reflected that to all intents -and purposes I was veritably the owner of this white brig sweeping -south-west, and the master of those people yonder. What would my -prosaic friends of the City think of such an adventure as this I was -upon? But put Marie by my side, or bid me know for a God's-truth that -she was safe, and I'd have sworn there was nothing in this wide world -of delights comparable with such sailing as this. Sickness had been -cured by the 'Cambrian.' The heave of the deck, the slant of the hull, -the feel of the speeding of the fabric of white cloud through the -sun-bright gushing of wind were as a buoyancy of spirits; you did not -heed them, yet they worked like wine in the blood. I wanted but peace -at my heart, the tranquility of conviction, to have tasted a perfect -happiness in this glorious Cape noon of flashing ocean, of rushing brig -and wind filled with the music of the strands. - -My reverie was disturbed--for Cliffe stood silent by my side--by the -sight of the boy coming along with the cabin dinner, and presently the -captain and I were seated at table. - -This was my first meal aboard, and I often laugh silently when memory -returns me the image of my little skipper sitting behind a roast fowl, -blinking and stretching his lips at it, then rising and lurching over -it, being too short to carve it sitting. He saw amusement in my face, -for on beginning to eat he said he often lamented that he had come -in at the tail end of his family when nearly all the height had been -served out. He was the last born, and arrived when not very many -inches were left. He had a brother six foot high, and his mother was -a big woman. He told me that he once dined with a company of people -when the Queen's health was proposed and everyone stood. His neighbour -requested him to stand up as the Queen's health was being drunk. He -answered he _was_ up. These were the sort of mortifications, he said, -to which little men were subjected. - -After a bit, talking always as I now did on the subject of the 'Lady -Emma' and our chances of finding Miss Otway alive in the wreck, I asked -if the boatswain of the brig--that jumping seaman who had been whaling -seven years--had ever sighted the New Orkneys? - -'I didn't think of asking,' he answered, 'but I'll soon find out, sir.' - -'Would you object to his coming here?' - -'This is your ship, Mr. Moore.' - -'I'd like to ask him some questions.' - -He at once told the boy who waited on us to send Bodkin aft. In a -few minutes the man came; by this time we had dined, but the captain -lingered to hear what this boatswain had to say before he went on deck -to send the mate to his dinner. - -'I've been telling this gentleman,' said the captain, leaning his -little figure against a stanchion and discharging a whole broadside of -grimaces at Bodkin, who stood staring at us and around him, astonished -at the summons, 'that you've been a-whaling seven years in the Pacific -and Southern Ocean.' - -Here Bodkin lifted his hand to his forehead in the seaman's salute to -me. - -'Know anything of the New Orkneys?' said the captain with nervous -abruptness like the briskness of a bird. - -'Well, sir, bin off 'em again and again.' - -'Sit down,' said I. 'Boy, give Mr. Bodkin a glass of sherry.' - -Bodkin put down his cap and sat; he had evidently been called from -some heavy work, and his face and hairy arms bare to the elbows, and -his well-baked throat naked to the iron-grey hairs upon his chest, -shone with sweat. He took the glass and tipped down the wine. - -I then said, 'Do you know that we're sailing to the New Orkneys?' - -'Oh, yes. I signed for that run.' - -'Is our errand known to you?' - -'It's to search for a wreck, ain't it, sir?' - -'A wreck with live people in it,' said Captain Cliffe. 'I made that -clear, didn't I?' - -'Then I hope we shan't find 'em,' said Bodkin. - -'What!' shouted Cliffe with a hideous face. - -'For their own sakes. Who'd lock a dog up there?' said the man, running -the length of his wet bare arm along his streaming forehead ''Tain't -imagined here, with the pitch 'twixt the seams like suet, and the -paint-work blistering into scabs. I've been off the larger of them -islands five times. Yer wouldn't know 'em from icebergs, 'cept for here -and there a piece of naked black rock showing where ice hadn't formed -or snow couldn't keep a hold of.' - -'Could a boat land?' I exclaimed, scarcely bearing to hear him when he -talked like that. - -'Why yes, sir. This time of the year--watching a smooth--'tain't always -what they calls weather down there; but it's b---- cold.' - -'Were ye ever ashore on them islands?' inquired the captain. - -'No, sir.' - -'Did your ship send a boat ashore?' I asked. - -'The last time I was off them rocks a boat was sent and she came back -again; they was nearly capsized, and that was all they did.' - -'Describe the land,' said I. - -His recollection, however, was not very clear. He talked of tall -ice cliffs and of a huge dim mountain far inland; and of peaks and -projections showing and disappearing amidst storms of snow. - -'Is there much ice about the island?' said I. - -'Plenty,' he answered. 'The biggest berg I ever see in all my life was -close in with that land, third time I wur off it.' - -'Suppose the hull of a ship was on a ledge of ice, thirty or forty -feet above the wash of the sea; she was lying plain in sight of the -ocean'--I named the date on which the skipper of the whaler 'Sea Queen' -had passed her--'would you expect to find her still exposed, lying in -full view?' - -He looked at me with a working mind, his words being too few to help -him quickly; then said, turning his eyes upon the captain: - -'All things considered, I allow it's more'n likely she'd be smothered -up.' - -'What's to smother her?' cried Captain Cliffe. - -'The congregating of bergs,' answered the other. - -'Is that all ye know of ice?' exclaimed the little man. 'Haven't you -heard that ice fetches away from the main and works north this time o' -year?' - -'I'm asked a question,' said the man with a note of sullenness in his -voice, 'and I'm expected, I suppose, for to speak the truth, being sent -for. All I know is there's nothen so shifting as ice, and therefore -nothen so smothering.' - -'But the hull's ashore on an island,' I exclaimed. - -'That's not going to stop the ice from a-blocking of her out,' he -answered. - -'I'm afraid you won't get much encouragement out of this man,' said -Captain Cliffe, turning and grimacing at me. - -'Yer see, sir,' said Bodkin, directing a languishing look at the -decanter of sherry in the hands of the boy as he went to the pantry, -''tain't only the chance of that there hull being hobscurified by the -congregating of ice right in front of her; she lies under slifts which -are constantly a-going to pieces and tumbling down in thundering lumps.' - -'Then,' said I, 'I take it, Mr. Bodkin, that you, who have had plenty -of experience of the ice down south, give me little reason to hope that -we shall find the wreck whole or the people abandoned in her alive?' - -He rolled his monkey eyes briskly at this, fretting first one cropped -grey whisker and then the other with the palm of his hand. - -'I allow,' he answered after a silence, during which little Captain -Cliffe viewed him as sternly as his nervous distorting affection -permitted, 'that your chance is as good as any chance at sea hever can -be. But I don't mind saying,' he added, standing up, catching hold of -his cap and revolving it, 'that our number is agin your luck.' - -'What's that?' exclaimed the captain. - -'Let the gent count us. There's thirteen souls.' - -'Go forward,' said the captain, 'and get on with your work.' - -The man, with a civil flourish of his hand to his brow, left the cabin. - -'There's no fool like Jack fool,' said Captain Cliffe. - -I confess, however, that when I reckoned up to myself the number -of people on board and made No. 13, I felt a little uneasy. I said -nothing to the captain, but the thing weighed upon me. It was perfectly -natural that at such a time I should be superstitious; certainly a -good omen would have heartened me: why, then, should not so unlucky a -circumstance as that of thirteen forming the number of us in the brig -prove depressing? I was so weak in this way that I had serious thoughts -of ordering Cliffe to tranship one of the men at the first chance that -offered. Also, the boatswain Bodkin's description of the island, his -talk of the cliffs, of ice-splitting and thundering down in blocks, -worried me by exciting new apprehensions. I was sorry I had sent for -the man. I had come from the deck to my dinner in tolerably good -spirits, and when I returned on deck I felt as melancholy as ever I had -been in my gloomiest hour aboard the 'Cambrian.' - -The mood lasted for the remainder of the day, so that, spite of -the noble sailing breeze, this, my first start in search of Marie, -seemed as inauspicious as though the scheme had failed in the first -breath of it. But after a long chat with Cliffe in the evening I grew -cheerfuller. The sun was sinking in splendour: the dark blue sea ran in -frothing lines; the brig was sailing swiftly, heeling down and smoking -onwards as though, like something living, she blew the breath of life -in steam from the nostrils of her hawsepipes as she fled. Every hour of -such progress shortened the term of expectation; all might yet be well; -I could not but reflect that, until the worst was known, the best might -most rationally be hoped for. I had come to Cape Town thinking to find -my sweetheart dead; it was not she that lay there. Though we should -board the wreck and find nobody in her, still I should have a right to -believe that the three had been rescued, and perhaps at that very time -were at home in safety. - -Thus I reasoned with myself after my talk with Cliffe in the evening -and was somewhat easier at heart, which indeed in this whistling -evening, merry with progress, spacious with the splendour of the -setting sun, and the distance of the eastern seaboard faintly flushed, -might have been at rest but for the gloom of the silly superstition of -thirteen! - -About this time, a little before it fell dark, whilst looking towards -the forecastle where most of the crew were smoking and talking, I saw a -man come out of the hatch, hugging something to his breast. The sailors -jumped up and pressed around him. Hands were outstretched to what the -fellow held, and I heard some laughter. Cliffe was below. The mate -Bland was walking near me abreast of the skylight. He bawled out: - -'What have you there, my lads?' - -On which the boatswain Bodkin, snatching the object from the hold of -the man, held it high, shouting: - -'Here's good luck to the brig "Albatross;" and now there's fourteen all -told.' - -I started, and saw it was a cat he held. It was black as coal. - -'Bring it here,' I cried. - -He came, the others grinning as they stood in a huddle looking aft. It -was a young cat, and it mewed as the man approached with it. Cliffe -came on deck at that moment. - -'Where was it found?' I asked, stroking the thing as it lay mewing in -Bodkin's hands. - -'In one of the men's hammocks, sir.' - -'It's a cat!' exclaimed Cliffe with a grimace. 'Who brought it aboard?' - -'No man owns to it,' responded Bodkin. - -'But who would bring it aboard if it wasn't its own legs, Mr. Moore?' -said Cliffe, turning to me. 'D'ye know I'd ask for no better stroke of -luck in all my seafaring days than this same beast's presence,' and he -advanced his little hand and tickled the cat's head. - -'There's fourteen of us now, sir,' said Bodkin, with a darting roll of -his eyes. - -'Fourteen and a stroke of luck besides, eh?' said I with a foolish -laugh of good spirits spite of myself. - -'Go and give it something to eat and see that it don't jump -overboard,' said Captain Cliffe; and whilst the boatswain walked -forward handling the cat tenderly enough and talking to it, the little -skipper with a snap of his eyes and a voice of conviction exclaimed: -'That cat's squared the yards, Mr. Moore. We shall find the wreck, sir, -and do your business.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE ICE - - -On the morning of January 29, 1861, Captain Cliffe at dinner told me -that our position by dead reckoning--he had not been able to obtain an -observation for two days--was latitude 58° 30´ S., longitude 45° W. I -pulled out my note-book on hearing this and started violently. - -'Good God, Cliffe!' cried I, 'do you know that we are within a mile or -two of the place where the "Lady Emma" was abandoned by her crew?' - -'Is that so?' said the little man after a pause, closing his knife and -fork. 'But it's true all the same: I'll back my runs for the last two -days, log-reckoned as they are, right, longitude and latitude, within -ten mile.' - -It was bitterly cold, and when I had come below so dense a fog overhung -the sea that the main-yard was out of sight from the wheel. The brig -was lying hove to under small canvas, a large smooth Cape Horn swell -was running out of the sallow thickness, and the little vessel was -rolling horribly, falling into the hollows and swinging to the summits, -now on her beam ends, now on a level keel, now with a dip forward that -seemed to make her all stern, now with a drop aft that shook the cabin -with a hollow roar, every motion being so abrupt, and exaggerated, that -it was almost impossible to walk, to stand, even to eat, the plate -flying from your hand, whilst the boy waited with a broken head through -a fall down the companion ladder. - -We had passed several icebergs on the previous day, during a very thick -morning and afternoon, when the sky had been dark with driving cloud, -and the strong wind white with snow, and throughout the night a sharp -look-out had been kept for ice; but since daybreak it had been as dense -as it was now with an awful silence all round: nothing had once broken -the amazing, oppressive stillness upon that sea, sallow as the fog, -labouring in volumes of brine soundlessly, saving a strange, fierce -noise of blowing heard close upon the bow, though nothing was to be -seen there. Cliffe said it was a whale, and I might have guessed that -by the sight of the boatswain Bodkin springing with an amazing jump -into the fore-shrouds, and leaning away from the ratline he grasped -with pricked ears, staring as out of love for his old sport into the -choking wool the breathless air was filled with. - -I was as anxious and restless on account of the ice as any man aboard, -though I was no sailor: Cliffe had said it didn't follow, though a -hurricane blew, that the smother would clear. I knew that ice must be -about: for still we had headed south after passing many bergs, and if -wind came and gave us a drift without clearing the ocean for us, we -might be foul of an ice mountain ere the mass of it was fairly shaped -to the sight within toss of a man's cap. - -But I forgot our situation for awhile when Cliffe told me where we were -and I looked into my note-book. Deep love, deep grief, consecrated to -my heart this scene and place of silent hills of water. Here the 'Lady -Emma' had been abandoned; here, if the horizon had been visible, then, -within the compass of it Marie had been left with her two companions in -a dismasted hull amid such floating ice as during the past few days I -had gazed at with fear and amazement: from this point the three in that -mere raft of ship had drifted--the vessel on to the ice of Coronation -Island; that, undoubtedly, she had been seen, described, reported, -but her inmates--had they been taken out of her? Or were they frozen -corpses in her? Or were they living, within reach of a day or two's -sail from the place of ocean Cliffe had found us in that day? - -A fire glowed in the little brass grate. The cabin was snug and warm -enough with the companion doors closed; but I speedily grew restless -after Cliffe had gone on deck. I asked the mate when he came down to -dinner how the weather looked. - -'Thick as muck, sir.' - -'Any signs of wind, Bland?' - -'None. But there's no trusting the next minute.' - -'Any ice near us, think you?' - -'The boatswain's been a snuffling and says he can hear the noise of the -beating of water. Nary man else do, though. Them whalemen are so clever -they can thread needles with their toes. They can smell grease in a -field of grass.' - -Here he began to munch, and I let him eat. - -I put on a thick coat and went on deck. The brig's arrest on the -smoke-thickened water, when one thought that if it would but clear and -the sun flood the south with the sparkling splendour of the South Afric -parallels from the mastheads of the brig the loom of the huge dim hill -past the cliff where the hull was lying might be seen--this, I say, was -maddening. I never could have imagined so dense a fog out of London. It -was thick as soup, of a sort of dirty yellow, as though charged with -the soot of a city of factories. The dripping wet of it froze as it -gathered, and our shrouds were swollen with the glazing, as much of the -brig as could be seen was beautiful and novel with fantasies of ice. -The topsail clapped in the blankness overhead like shells exploding -there: but you could not see it. That was the only noise saving an -occasional long sobbing wash of water when the brig heeled straining -from the yearning send of the swell. - -I held by a backstay, Cliffe standing beside me, and rolled my eyes -around the sallow blindness, till all of a moment I heard a very faint -moan like the noise of a sea running into a cave: it sounded afar, and -yet not far either, as though something stood between the cause of it -and us. - -Cliffe heard nothing, though he grimaced in the direction I indicated, -and dropped his head on his shoulder to hearken. - -About this time the mate came up from his dinner. I asked him to -listen, suspecting that the noise I had heard was the sound of sea upon -ice. After a pretty good spell of silence the three of us listening -with all our might, Bland said: - -'Sometimes if ice is near and can't be smelt or seen, it may be heard. -If you fire off this gun,' said he, putting his hand upon the brass -piece, 'and ice is by, it'll answer.' - -'Try it,' said I. - -He promptly went below and returned with the necessary ammunition; -where our powder was kept I never inquired. He and Cliffe loaded the -gun, the skipper snapping grimace after grimace with nervous excitement. - -'Are you all ready?' said I. - -Bland said 'Yes,' and then shouted to the men forward to stand by to -listen for an echo and note its bearings. The forms of the seamen -loomed in mere smudges in the fog as they lurched to the rolling -bulwarks to hearken. - -'Fire!' cried I. - -The piece blazed and thundered, lighting up the fog like a volcanic -upheaval with a wild crimson glare as though it was the night itself -the powder flashed against. But stunning as the roar was, it was not so -deafening but that I, for one, caught an echo stinging back through the -thickness on the starboard hand like a slap of tall becalmed topsail -against a mast. - -'Hear it?' shouted a voice forward. - -'We were answered yonder,' I cried, pointing. - -'Ship ahoy!' at that instant came in a hoarse but clear, thin, far -voice out of the blankness on the port bow. - -'Good God, we are hailed!' cried Cliffe. 'Bland, answer. Your lungs -have got more carrying power than mine.' - -'Hallo!' shouted Bland, going to the side in a spring, and sending his -voice in the direction of the hail in a deep, roaring, melancholy note. - -'What ship's that?' came back distinct but remote, so wonderful was the -hush, so burnished the swell. We made answer, and then roared Bland: - -'What ship's that?' - -'The "Helen MacGregor" of Hull, twenty months out. What's wrong with -you, that you're firing guns?' - -'All's right with us,' bawled Bland. 'Any ice about, d'ye know?' - -'Not used my eyes since daybreak,' echoed the far, thin, hoarse voice. - -It was strange to hear it, to look into the thickness and see nothing, -to know that a ship was there, and listen to a man talking on her! But -conversation all that way off was not to be kept up long. - -After remaining twenty minutes on deck I felt the cold so severely that -I returned to the cabin. After I had been below about half an hour the -brig heeled sharply on a slant of swell without recovery as before, -whence I guessed it had come on to blow suddenly. In fact, I might have -known it by the noise of feet overhead and the gushing and hissing of -water in motion, shouldered off in foam. I wrapped myself up and went -on deck and found the brig lying down close hauled under the canvas she -had been brought-to with early in the morning--a reefed maintopsail -and foresail; she was looking up for a tall, black, full-rigged ship -that was lying with her topsail to the mast on the weather bow as -though waiting for us. - -The scene of ocean was wonderfully grand at this hour: it was not -blowing hard, yet the wind out of the heads off the ridges it made, -and the swell was rolling now in furrows of foam. The fog was broken -up and sailing off in compact masses with the wide white-lived heave -of sea gleaming and glancing through the foundations of vapour, till -you looked to see the stuff rock as though afloat. Lanes and openings -stretched in all directions, and I did not know where to direct my eyes -first, so noble, wild, and startling was the picture of that tall black -ship showing in a wide, clear space, her canvas waving in squares of -light in the framing of the sallow smother, whilst on the starboard -quarter hung a stately incomparable spectacle of iceberg, a giant mass, -the height vaster to the imagination because the fog showed you bits -of it only--in one place marble white cliffs staring through a passage -of vapour, a little further on, a gray pinnacle piercing the stuff -which streamed off it like torn rag. And now I could hear, but faintly, -the noise of the sea breaking along its base. - -We had passed a good deal of ice during the week; but this was the -place where the 'Lady Emma' was abandoned; that white vapour-clothed -mountain took a significance none other had. I thought of it as ice -that had been seen by Marie's own eyes. It was as a revelation, too, -of the savage, forbidding, tremendous scene of desolation the brig was -bound to, with myself in her, dreaming, hoping, praying to Almighty God -I should find my sweetheart in the hull alive. - -Many large white and grey birds flew out of the vapour into the -openings; they glanced against the marble-like abrupt and vanished. In -the midst of a wide flaw right abeam to port, another tall berg was -floating. It, too, was a sight of terror and awful beauty, with a look -as of frozen foam about the brows of it where the fog was flying, the -vapour whitening out to the shadow of the ice as though moon-smitten, -whilst low down on the right arched a piece of marvellous architecture, -like a Titanic Gothic doorway, through which every swell of the sea -flashed, bursting into a terrible fury and dazzling brightness of foam. - -I looked on in silence, keeping the shelter of the companion, whilst -the brig under her little show of cloths broke her way to windward, -helped by the tall black ship whose drift was towards us. After some -waiting we were within hailing distance. She was just such another -whaler as the 'Sea Queen,' but bigger by a couple of hundred tons, worn -and weedy, rolling dark decks at us with a glimpse of a black-roofed -galley and smoking chimney. She was rich with ice device: fathoms of -thick crystal hung from her tops, catheads, bowsprit and quarters; a -dull light sank down her glass-like rigging as she swayed. A crowd -of men viewed us over her rail, and a man stood awaiting us beside -the mizzen rigging, an arm wrapping a backstay, and his figure like a -bear's with fur to his heels. - -'What southing are you from?' shouted Cliffe, who, dwarf as he was to -the sight, had something bugle-like in the clear, small penetrating -note of his throat's delivery. - -'Sixty-one, sighting Elephant Island. Nothing to the south'ard of it,' -shouted back the man in the bear-like coat. - -'Been off the South Orkneys?' cried Cliffe. - -'Just caught a sight of the north-west point of Coronation Island? -'Twas blowing hard, and the weather coming on thick,' answered the -other. - -The two vessels rolled at a distance apart not wider than a wide -street: each man's voice rang through the wind in distinct syllables -spite of the splashing and groaning sounds and the howling and -whistling aloft when the brig's spars sheared to windward on the slope -of the sea. When I heard the whaleman speak of Coronation Island, I -thought my heart had stopped. I wanted to speak, but could not. - -'How was the ice?' bawled Cliffe. - -'Plentiful to the south'ard and west'ard.' - -'How was the ice about the New Orkneys?' - -'More'n ye'll want if you're bound there,' was the answer. - -'D'ye know that land?' - -'Ay' was the answer that was accompanied by a significant ironical -flourish of the arm. - -'Where's a man's chance of getting ashore?' - -The whaleman seemed to address another, probably the mate, who stood a -little distance from him. - -'There's some landing-places on the south side,' he presently called. -'There's shelter there from the westerly winds. But you must see to -your ship, for the ice is plentiful and dangerous.' - -'The wreck lies on the north side of the island,' I called to Cliffe. - -'Is there no landing on the north of the island?' shouted the little -fellow. - -The other answered, but the words were lost in a sudden blast or squall -of wind which blew betwixt our masts in a shriek like a locomotive's. -A moment later I saw the skipper of the whaler, as I presumed the -bear-coated man to be, motioning to his crew and heard him, but -faintly, shouting; thereupon the ship's topsail-yard was swung: the man -brandished his fist in a farewell to us, and whilst we still lay as -though hove, with the weather leech-rope of our band of topsail shaking -at every smoking plunge of the brig's head, the ship heeled over, and -gathering way, broke the seas off her lee bow with glaring heaps, and -melted into a swollen smudge in the heart of a body of vapour when our -crew were trimming sail for the course to the New Orkneys. - -The rolling ocean, sallow still, was thick in many places with fog. We -saw now that ice lay all about us. There was scarce an opening in the -vaporous folds that was not filled with a berg near or distant, a dull, -pale, motionless mass; the vast island that had been off our starboard -quarter when the wind broke up the thickness, we had now brought on to -our port bow, and were slowly passing; its loom was more like a blue -shadow of land in the dull yellow light of that Antarctic afternoon, -summer as it was, than ice: yet it was a vast berg stretching west -and east: its westermost point was nearest and hung like a mass of -foreland, wild with the vapour that flew smoking off its face and -points, and with the leap of the surf at its base in lofty columns of -foam, whose heads the wind swept off in clouds. - -I stood beside Cliffe under the shelter of a large square of canvas -in the main rigging: oilskinned figures watched on the forecastle; we -drove very slowly; the running rigging had been seen to and carefully -coiled down ready for instant handling should a sudden cry from the -forecastle compel a shift of helm. I saw many birds flying in the -hollow seas, and turning to mark the bearings of a small berg which had -come and gone and come again on the starboard bow, I observed slowly -swinging past about a half-acre of the giant kelp of this part of the -world, a huge seaweed, glancing black in the whiteness of the froth, -and hissing like shingle as the salt shot through it. - -'Now that we are under way again,' I exclaimed, 'I am realising that -the end of this cruise is at hand.' - -'Were it all clear water and fine weather,' answered the little man, -'we should be off the island by noon to-morrow.' - -'What distance do you reckon it?' - -'Eighty miles.' - -'That ship we have just spoken makes me believe the hull has been -sighted again and again.' - -'Why, perhaps so,' he answered, 'but not of necessity.' - -'She was off the island, close enough to see the rocks.' - -'And who's to say that she's not the first that's been off that land -this six months--close in with the coast, I mean? Depend upon it, -Mr. Moore,' he went on with his face full of earnestness betwixt his -grimaces, 'you're doing the right thing for your own peace of mind, and -in the cause of humanity....' - -'Oh, it goes higher than humanity, man, higher than humanity,' I -interrupted. - -'In finding out for yourself,' he continued, 'whether the hull's the -wreck of the "Lady Emma," and whether the captain, and his wife, and -your young lady are still aboard----' - -'By heaven, yes, then!' I exclaimed; 'Only to think of her as _being_ -on board, and perishing there for the want of my coming to her help! -Whether she's there or not, Cliffe, it was the right thing to do, as -you say, and even in that thought I find a sort of comfort. Shall you -heave-to when it comes on dark?' - -'I'm for shoving on, sir, but we'll take no risks.' - -'None, though the job of heaving the land into view should fill another -month.' - -And still expectation and excitement so worked in me, I felt ill with -the conflict. I was up and down ceaselessly till the dusk blackened -the scene out. The cold drove me below, restlessness forced me above -again. It was always the same picture, the rolling and plunging figure -of the brig, gleaming with barbs, and spears, and motionless pennons -of ice: the glare of her band of topsail dingy against the ice beyond -as she swung it through the howling sweep of wind: the quick dazzle -of froth recoiling in thunder from the thrust of the bows: the large -grey swell coursed by the breaking surge, and to right and left, and -ahead and astern, the shadows and clear shapes of ice, some with brows -in the flying scud, some table-like and flashing like sunlight as the -seas charged them and burst, one showing a hatchet-like edge till our -rolling brig, opened it into a coast of marble that vanished in a haze -of mist and spray. - -Happily, after it had been dark about an hour, the brig still blowing -forward under reefed topsail and foresail, whilst I sat in the cabin -warming myself, drinking some hot brandy and water, but always with -ears straining to catch a cry on deck, Cliffe came below, and gave me -the good news of a shift of wind into the north-west, with a scanting -of it, and a plenty of starlight, and the Southern Cross looking almost -upright. - -'What does that signify?' said I. - -'Nothing,' he answered with a cheerful grimace. 'Except, that as the -Southern Cross is upright at midnight on one day only in the year, the -sight of it almost on end now is interesting.' - -'When is it actually upright?' - -'On March 26.' - -'D'ye know, Cliffe,' said I, getting up, meaning to take a look round, -'that it's comforted me sometimes to think of that symbol of God -overhanging these waters. It should be a sight to freshen a man's faith -in a time of distress.' - -'Strange to find it hung up down here where they're all heathens,' said -Cliffe. - -'Much ice?' - -'No more than there was, sir.' - -I went on deck. The dusk of the night was hard and clear, and I -observed a keen blue in the trembling gleam of many of the stars. But -though there was no wet in the air, I had never felt the cold so -bitter as on this night. The sight of the nearer of the ice mountains -in the gloom under the light of the stars was marvellously fine and -awful; some shone with a light of their own; it was the snow upon them, -I suppose, that made that sheen. I noticed, however, that though the -sea was covered with these faint and pallid masses, there was plenty of -sea-room in the lanes and highways they made. A startling and alarming -part was the crackling and crashing noises which came from them, and -shortly before I was driven below by the cold, an island on the port -quarter, wan as a cloud touched by a corner of moon, vanished; it may -have shown in another shape by daylight; it had overset and perhaps -rose flat and invisible in that light. But the spectacle was wonderful: -it made a deep impression on me. Cliffe who saw it bid me listen, and -sure enough after a little there came slanting through the wind such a -prodigious noise of hissing and seething that, but for knowing what -made it, you would have looked in its direction for the foaming waters -of a sudden gale. - -There was to be little rest for the crew that night. Cliffe informed me -the men had been told that all hands would have to stand by throughout -the dark hours, ready to jump to the first call if the brig was to -remain a brig. A seaman was stationed on each bow: a third aloft on the -foreyard: the mate and the boatswain were to relieve each other every -two hours in keeping a look-out on the forecastle. A man was stationed -aft ready in a breath to help at the helm. The galley fire was kept -burning all night, and hot coffee, and at longer intervals small drams -of rum, were served out to the crew. - -The chief peril lay in the smaller blocks of ice floating on the water; -they were hard to see before they were dangerously close to; and yet, -comparatively small as they were, any one of them was big enough to -knock a hole in the brig's bottom, and founder her out of hand. - -Right through the night we held on. At first the cries of 'Ice ahead,' -'Ice on the port bow,' 'Starboard your helm,' and the like, alarmed me; -but I presently got used to them, nor indeed were they so frequent as -to be terrifying; once only, that is, in my hearing, was a cry raised -as for life or death in a sudden passion or panic; then it was an -immense flat ragged-edged piece of ice under the bow; a swift turn of -the helm sent the brig clear, giving us a sight of the stuff alongside, -and the brave little ship ploughed her way onwards. - -Happily, it was midsummer, and the night comparatively short. The dawn -was fair and rosy, and the sun rose upon a dark blue sea, frothing far -as the eye could pierce, and magnificent with ice. I cannot express -the gorgeous scene of colour that sunrise called into being. In all -directions the ice lay in a hundred shapes, some of the islands -sparkling like prisms; I beheld floating cities of porcelain, enormous -shapes in alabaster, figures of marble, monstrous and grotesque as -those huge forms of rock which stand in a congregation of Titans at the -base of some of the precipitous heights of Table Bay. - -But though there was plenty of ice in the south, there was an abundance -of room too for our passage; the mate came down from the fore royal -yard with a telescope slung on his back and said he saw no barrier; he -thought, but would not then swear, he could make out a faint shadow -of land. If he was right, then the mountain that centres Coronation -Island was in sight! The breeze was fresh out of the north-west, with -a high following sea, and soon after the sun was risen and Cliffe had -taken a long look round, he ordered sail to be made. The foretopsail -was loosed, reefs shaken out, and cloths piled upon the little vessel -to the topgallant yards; _then_, like something alive and released, the -little ship fled southwards. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -CORONATION ISLAND - - -But it was not till next day that we had the land in view, and then -it was ten o'clock on February morning, making it a few days above a -month since we had sailed out of Table Bay. As on the previous day, -so on this, the sun shone brightly, with even some comfort of warmth -in its light. Many great clouds of a milk-white softness were sailing -into the east; the wind was fresh out of the west, but though the -sea ran briskly, with a shrewd vapour of salt in the shrill fling of -the frothing curls, it was not a hollow sea; it rolled the brig in -stately measures, but she was now under small sail, the ice being very -plentiful and the sea crowded with bergs of all sizes, whilst right -ahead were tall cliffs of ice backed by a blue shadow of mountain -rising into a silver faintness where the eternal snows upon it sparkled -and died out from the sight in the deep blue. - -I was beside myself with excitement and wretched with distress of -expectation, dread, and hope. That height of white cliff right ahead, -broken in the foreground by pale floating islands, its face discoloured -in places as though the ice that masked the rock had broken from the -black and savage rampart, was Coronation Island, and on the port bow, -looming distant but immense, were the mountains of Laurie Island. - -Our anchors were at the cathead, ready for letting go in case of sudden -need; the men hung about on the look-out for ice, ready in an instant -to trim sail. We were sailing towards the island through an avenue of -bergs: clear water sparkled from the thrust of our stem to the very -wash of the distant surf, with no other obstructions than here and -there a lump of the crystal stuff lifting sullenly with the swell, -flashing gloriously, and so proclaiming itself to the sight when the -sunbeam smote the foam that poured off it. - -A chart of the islands lay upon the skylight, and every few minutes I -would be dropping the telescope to look at the chart, to gather from -the tracing the point of coast we were heading for. The whaleman had -said that the wreck lay on a ledge in Palmer's Bay, and Cliffe and -I were agreed that that large indent was between the two towering -shadows, to the right of the taller peak that soared a thousand feet -higher than Table Mountain. - -The icebergs obstructed the view. The line of coast was studded with -them: yet every moment I was sinking my sight through the lenses into -each opening betwixt the bergs. The brig's progress under her small -canvas was about four knots and a half; I'd glanced for a moment at -some stately frozen pile majestically rocking and slowly veering by, -then put my eye to the glass afresh. My very soul was now loathing the -sight of the ice. The largest of the islands was no longer an object -of splendour and sublimity, but of horror and heart-weariness, charged -with a spirit of desolation that subdued me to a sort of numbness of -mind if I looked long: it seemed to stonefy the very principle of life -in me, as though there was a horrid magic in its bald white stare to -look a man into craziness, and emptiness, and into its own frozen -lifelessness. - -But now, as we approached, the features of the land began to steal -out into a brilliant keenness wherever there was space for them to -show betwixt the floating ice, and on a sudden, whilst I was looking -through the glass, the motion of the brig slided a seaborne hill away -to the left, and exposed a front of cliff that lay with a shadow upon -it as though it was a sort of ravine, at the foot of which, though I -instantly guessed it would lift to some height above the sea as we got -nearer, lay a black speck. I looked again, and cried out wild with -excitement: - -'Cliffe, I have the hull! I have the hull!' - -The little man came headlong to my side, and put his grimacing face to -the telescope. - -'Yes! I see it, I have it!' he shouted. 'Just as reported--high above -the wash--fair in the heart of the Bay. It'll be all plain sailing now. -Lor, but there ought to be no difficulty in boarding her.' - -He returned the glass to me: I levelled it afresh at the instant that -the corner of a big heap of berg floated right into the field of vision. - -It needed another hour of careful sailing to expose the hull anew: then -through the glass I saw her clearly. She lay, a large black hulk of -ship, upon a projection of ice that was at least thirty feet above the -sea. I made out her bowsprit, and the stump of her foremast. The cliffs -soared sheer and abrupt at the back of her to a great height. Even at -that distance it was not hard to guess that, after having stranded, she -had been lifted by some earthquake dislocation of ice into the posture -she rested in. Suppose the sea clear, she must have been visible to -passing ships for leagues. - -The seamen were congregated in the bows, leaning over the rail, Bodkin -amongst them pointing eagerly. The mate roared to them to keep a bright -look-out, they then scattered, but the sight of that wreck had brought -them heedlessly together as one man. Cliffe's glass was not a powerful -one, yet the hull in the lens lay within half a mile, and I saw her -plainly. She had her head towards the cliffs, and sat very nearly upon -a level keel. A great portion of her starboard bulwarks were gone. She -was a mass of ice under her stern: looked to be fixed there to her bed -of white pillars. The sun shot sparkles into her as we advanced, and -still she showed black, as though the ice that coated her was as glass. -Nothing moved: I strained my vision till my brain reeled and the object -swung in the glass and was eclipsed: Cliffe looked, he saw no smoke nor -signs of life any more than I. - -'If there's anyone alive aboard her,' said he, 'now's our time for -letting them know we're here.' - -'Right,' I answered, speaking with my teeth almost set; 'do what you -will, Cliffe; do what is for the best.' - -He called to Bland and a man, and they fetched a number of blank -charges for the cannon. The little skipper left the gun to the mate's -handling, himself taking charge of the brig, which needed exquisite -watching and management, so crowded was the water here with loose ice. - -'Let fly fast as you can load, Mr. Bland,' said the captain; 'fire six -rounds.' - -As he spoke came a cry from the forecastle: 'Lie close under the port -bow, sir!' - -Thus was it, thus had it been, saving that now the pack stuff had -thickened perilously. - -The gun was fired; it made a noble thunder, and roared in dying echoes -from near ice crag to ice crag. Again it was fired, yet again; all this -while the brig was rolling forwards with her helm going up and down to -the cries from the forecastle and to the gestures of the little captain. - -I stood at a backstay with a levelled glass steadied against it, and -in the moment of the third explosion I saw smoke rise feathering from -the deck of the hull; still watching, my breath so thick and difficult -it was as though a hand was upon my throat, I marked that the smoke -thickened; but I could not see the red of the flame, nor the figure of -the person feeding it. I daresay I was as white as any corpse when I -stepped over to the captain and, putting the glass into his hand, said: -'There is life there.' - -'There's smoke arising from that wreck,' shouted someone forward. - -'We're here for _some_ purpose, then, anyway,' cried Cliffe with -a small oath, letting fall the glass to his side with the most -extravagant grimace I had ever beheld in him. - -One saw the smoke easily now with the naked eye; it rose black against -the whiteness past it, curled featherwise, and blew scattering against -the face of the cliff. I levelled the glass again and saw the figure of -a man walking toward the stump of the foremast; I watched him; in a few -moments a square of colour rose to the summit of the mutilated spar, -where it blew steadily; it was a large English ensign, Jack down. - -Bland let fly a fourth gun. - -'Stop it!' roared Cliffe, 'we are seen! Hoist the ensign and dip it -thrice.' - -The colour soared to the trysail gaff end; it blew out large on the -bight of the halliards when it was dipped, and was easily within the -observation of the man on the hull. When I looked through the glass -once more I saw a second figure; it was upon the hull's quarter, where -the rail or bulwarks rose to a height that hindered me from perceiving -how it was clad. I asked Cliffe to look; he steadied the glass, and -answered with a snap of his whole face, and a voice high-pitched with -delight: - -'As God's my hope, Mr. Moore, it's a woman!' - -The glass so shook in my hands that I could not use it; I took a few -turns, then looked again. The figure watched us from the same place, -but I could not tell whether it was a man or a woman. If it was a -woman, then it might be Mrs. Burke. I wanted three figures to make -_sure_ of Marie; I saw but two; where was the third? - -I strained my sight at the telescope with a heart of fever, half -strangled by conflicting passions. - -The figure that had hoisted the colour went to the side of the other, -and they both stood watching, nothing visible of them above their -waists. It was blowing a fresh breeze, and before this time Cliffe had -taken in certain canvas; I think the brig was under topsails only, the -foresail hauled up and hanging in its gear; the vessel drove slowly -with an occasional crackling noise of ice along her sides when she -sheared through some thin sludge stuff you could not see till you -were in it; fortunately the drift ice that had threatened a thick -surface just now had loosened here and tossed scattered; as we advanced -moreover, we found that the icebergs which had looked to sit close in -with the coast rode with a good offing; the sea was covered with these -floating islands off that part of the island marked Foul Point; the -eastern horizon was also like a terrace of ice, but the face of the -cliffs from Foul Point down to where the land rounded into Lewthwaite -Strait was fairly open. - -All this while the sun shone brightly and with warmth. The sea streamed -in a glorious dye of violet; we rolled slowly onwards till we were -within about three-quarters of a mile of the coast and right abreast of -the wreck. The helm was then put down; the main topsail laid aback; the -gun again fired, and the ensign dipped. It was now about noon. - -By this time I had made out that one of the figures was a woman; I saw -but two persons. Who the woman was I could not tell, fierce as had -been the struggle of my vision to resolve the glimmer of her face into -lineaments. - -When the brig had been brought to a stand, Cliffe called a council. -We had ample sea room. The nearest floating ice lay about a quarter -of a mile distant on the port quarter; the smaller blocks were not -numerous, nor was there weight of sea to make them dangerous. All along -the base of the ice-clad ships the water was pouring in a thunder of -boiling surf; it was not the breakers but the great breathing swell -of this mighty ocean which worked all that noise and fury along the -cliffs' foot. The white brine sometimes shot twenty feet high, though -it blew but a moderate fresh breeze, and the surge ran small. - -Cliffe, myself, Bland, and the boatswain Bodkin came together at the -companion hatch to consider. We had swept with the glass the line of -coast from the beach under the hull to as far as we could see on the -right, and beheld nothing but lofty coils of frothing combers raging -in surf; there was no chance for a boat anywhere _that_ way. The left -presented a like scene, saving that there was a point in Palmer's Bay -that, cruising eastwards, shut out the view of perhaps a quarter of a -mile of the water it enclosed. Upon that point our eyes were fastened. - -'We must lower a boat,' said Cliffe, 'and find out how the land lies -past that arm of land.' - -'It's the only sheltered bit along the whole boiling, I allow,' said -Bland. - -Bodkin, putting down the telescope, exclaimed: - -'She lies about forty feet high above the wash. The ice is broke and -irregular from the water to where she sits, and I reckon a man might -walk upon it if there's a landing-place round the point. But I won't -swear to it till I'm close in. Ice is deceitful stuff. Capt'n, there'll -be nothen to say till we've taken a look round. 'Tis certain there's to -be no getting at the hull from the bottom of the height she rests on, -even if the boat could land there.' - -'Then lower away, Mr. Bland, as quickly as possible, and be off and -back with a report, that we may make up our minds what to do before it -falls dark.' - -Whilst some hands were getting one of the whale-boats over, others were -busy with the deep-sea lead: but we were away, pulling for the shore, -before they sounded. I went in the boat, taking the telescope with me. -She was a five-oared boat; Bodkin pulled stroke; one of our smartest -seamen was in the bows. The fellows bent their backs, and the buoyant -little craft, swift of model with the whale-hunter's lines, flashed -over the blue ridges; often I sought to bring the glass to bear upon -the two figures watching us; to no purpose. The mate would not let me -stand up, and I put down the telescope in despair. - -'That vessel,' said the mate, 'never berthed herself like that. She's -been chucked right up by the ice, and 'twas sudden too, bet yer heart, -Bodkin.' - -The picture grew amazing as we advanced. The cliffs behind the hull -rose to about two hundred feet; I call them cliffs, they were a solid, -precipitous, rugged face of ice, how deeply sheathing the black rock -of the island no man could tell: the whole stretch of land resembled a -gigantic iceberg. The hull lay upon a huge block, the top about forty -feet high; it projected in a wide ledge, then fell sheer. You might -know it had been snapped from some parent monster by the smooth side it -showed to the sea, so clean cut to the eye, it might have been done by -the chisel and hammer of a giant big as the blue shadow of mountains -beyond. - -My eyes were fixed on the wreck, and on the figures standing at her -bulwark rail. Now again I tried to bring the telescope to bear: the -jumping of the boat made the effort useless. All in a minute one of -the figures sprang on to the bulwark; flourished his arms, and then -motioned frantically towards the part of the bay concealed by the curve -of the ice. - -'Hail him, in God's name!' I cried. 'Try him with your voice, Mr. -Bland.' - -The mate stood up and roared, the full volume of his lungs trumpeting -into the inshore wind like a soldier's call, the sweep and lift of the -whale-boat to the summit of a large swell helping. - -'How many are there of you?' - -'Two,' came back the answer, dull through the roar of the surf but -distinguishable. - -'Who is the other?' - -The men were now resting on their oars, the boat sinking and lifting in -the sea that was great and hollow for so small a fabric; we were within -a pistol-shot of the base of the cliff on which the hull sat, but so -high perched was the craft, so bewrapped the two people, I could not -make out their faces. The man held up his hand as though he had not -heard. - -The mate roared again, 'Who is the other?' - -'A young lady.' - -'Is it Miss Otway?' - -He brandished an assent, and his figure stiffened in a posture of -amazement. - -'Is that her alongside of you?' - -Again the figure flourished an affirmative. - -'Then here's Mr. Moore come to take her home,' thundered the mate. - -When he said _that_, Marie--for it was she--leaned forward: she was -motionless whilst you might have counted twenty; she then stretched -out her arms. I pulled off my hat and flourished it, that she might -know me among the crowd we made in that boat, then lifted up my hands -to her. But even had my voice possessed Bland's carrying power I could -not have called. There, high above, upon the rail of the wreck, flanked -by towering walls of ice, stood, with arms outstretched in appeal to -me, the figure of my beloved. I had thought to find her dead--she was -there; I had thought to find her lying in an African grave--and there, -on that high-poised wreck she stood in silent appeal. For weeks and -weeks I had been mourning for her, asking of God that I might behold -her, seeing her in my dreams, a frozen corpse upon the deck of that -hull there: and now she stood up yonder, alive, full in sight. - -The boiling of the surf ran a maddening noise of thunder round the bay. -But one saw what the man, whoever he might be, had frantically pointed -to. The water was smooth from the end of the point to away round for -some hundreds of paces. The sea could not get at the frozen beach -there: it flashed at the point, and recoiled in clouds. - -'Put me ashore,' I exclaimed, 'I can climb those crags. Look how they -wind to the ledge: Bodkin will help me. I must go on board that wreck.' - -'Sit down, I beg, sir,' exclaimed the mate, catching me by the arm as I -toppled half-delirious. 'Tumbling overboard's an easy job. Your eyes -deceive you; you could no more climb those rocks than jump ashore from -where you sit. What d'ye say, Bodkin?' - -The man had already and quickly made up his mind. He glanced at the -fall of crags of headlong abruptness in places, huge and nodding, yet -so blending in their whiteness with the whiteness they stood out on -as to cheat the unpractised eye with an appearance of easy road-way, -and answered firmly, 'There's no mortal legs and arms as is a-going to -carry a man to the wreck by them rocks.' - -'Why did the man motion to that landing-place?' I said. - -The mate turned his sheep-eyed face round the bay, and answered, 'He -didn't know who we were. He was afraid that boiling,' said he, pointing -to the surf, 'would drive us away.' - -'How is the wreck to be entered?' I asked, looking up and waving my -hat, and then again stretching forth my arms. - -'It's a sailor's job. Have no fear. We'll get 'em out of that,' -answered the mate, and standing up he hailed the man. The other -flourished his arm. 'We're here to take you off,' bellowed Bland, 'and -we'll do it. Don't take any notice of our leaving you. It won't be for -long. D'ye hear me?' - -'Ay, ay!' came the answer, feebly through the ceaseless thunder. - -It tore my heart to look up at the wreck, as we pulled away, and -see Marie there, sundered from me by that curse of roaring foam, -inaccessible, to be come at only by patience, naval skill, efforts -which might have to be again and again repeated, always perilous. -I cannot express how marvellously strange this ice-ramparted bay -looked, with that wreck cradled on high, like a huge model in glass, -tinted black, smoke lifting still cloudily from her deck, and the red -inverted flag streaming like a square of fire against the marble white -beyond. Many large pieces of ice floated in this sweep of water: but -they showed plain, and the boat went securely. One piece was almost a -berg: a miniature island. Here and there the sea broke over it. It was -almost in the middle of the bay, and exactly abreast of the wreck. I -observed that Mr. Bland ran his eye curiously over it as we pulled past. - -Who was the man on the hull that had answered us? He was not Captain -Burke. My sight had not distinguished his face, yet I should have known -him by his voice had he been Burke. Three had been left, so Wall the -boatswain reported: Burke and his wife, and Miss Otway; I saw but two. -The man had said there were two only: one was Marie: where were the -others, and who was that stranger? - -We arrived alongside the brig, and with little difficulty I got aboard. -The pull had occupied so short a while there had been scarce time to -talk: but in any case the hurry and wildness of my spirits, my deep -agitation, amazement and delight, mingled with dark wonder and jealous -alarm, must have held me mute. - -Cliffe impatiently awaited us: Bland and Bodkin came on board, leaving -the men in the boat. Bland immediately said: - -'We must get them out with a cradle. There's no other way.' - -'No landing, then, round that point there?' said Cliffe. - -'Ay, sir, but the rocks are not to be climbed by anything wanting hoofs -and horns.' - -'Who are they?' - -'One's the young lady,' said the mate. - -Cliffe spun round and stretched his hand to me. - -'I do congratulate you,' he cried, convulsing his countenance. 'It's a -noble errand nobly rounded off. Hurrah!' and in a sudden ecstasy he -pulled off his hat and whirled it three or four times over his head. He -then cried, 'But two only? The third ain't dead, I hope?' - -'Captain Burke and his wife are not there,' said I. - -He grimaced at me, and said, 'Who's the man, then? But asking questions -won't get them out of it. What d'ye propose?' - -As he spoke he whipped out his watch: as it lay in his hand I saw the -hour; the time was two, we had therefore a long afternoon of daylight -before us. - -'We must take the mortar in the boat and communicate with it,' answered -Bland. 'There's a big piece of ice to anchor the boat to,' said he, -pointing to the lump I had observed him look at. 'We shall want a -cradle.' - -'A cask 'll answer,' said Cliffe. - -'Better have both boats in the water,' said Bland. - -They exchanged further remarks to this effect, but I was no sailor -and could not follow them. No time, however, was lost. In less than -half-an-hour both boats were alongside, rising and falling singly -under the lee of the brig. In one boat was the mortar, with a complete -apparatus of gear and cradle for connection with the wreck. The cradle -consisted of a large cask cleverly slung, and so contrived as to -slide along a line when the rope attached to it was pulled. We were -nobly favoured by the weather. The send of the swell was as steady as -the tick of a clock: the seas ran short and small, with a rich sunny -feathering of foam that made a wonder of the ice, so tropic was it with -the blue overhead where floated a few large white clouds of a coppery -effulgence of swollen breast. - -We got away by a quarter to three, one boat in tow of the other; the -wind and seas helped us, and we quickly entered the bay. We were of the -same number as before, and the same people. We drove with lifted oars -to the former talking place, and Bland hailed the man, and, with his -loudest roar, told him we were going to fire the end of a line to the -wreck and send him a tackle by it for a cradle. Did he understand? - -The man responded with a peculiar flourish of his arm, and Bland -instantly said to me, 'He is a sailor.' - -I had no eyes save for Marie. She had showed on a sudden at the rail -on the quarter as we entered the bay, and stood as still as a statue -watching us. Before Bland hailed I kissed my hand and flourished my hat -to her, and extended my arms; and she then stretched her hands, lifting -them immediately afterwards. - -The surf held us several hundreds of feet away from the beach: the -hull stood about forty feet above; no cry I was capable of could have -reached her through the noise of the trembling combers; but the wind, -however, was brilliant, and Marie's form stood clear cut against the -white background; nevertheless, I could not distinguish her features. - -The boat, with the other in tow, now pulled for the lee of the large -mass of ice that lay floating abreast of the wreck. The water swung -foamless and quiet under the shelter of this block. A couple of men -jumped out, and between them carried an anchor to some near crevice, in -which they half sank it. Thus were the boats solidly secured. - -The mortar was then loaded: I saw the man on the wreck turn as though -addressing Marie, who immediately withdrew and disappeared. When all -was ready, Bland with many wild gestures and flourishes signalled to -the man to stand by. Our seamen were deeply interested and greatly -excited, particularly Bodkin, who had the handling of the mortar. - -'Fire!' roared Bland. - -The uncouth piece exploded in flame and smoke. Coil after coil of the -heap of small stuff of the thickness of lead-line standing beside it -flew off into the air. - -'He has it!' bawled a man. - -'Pay out now, pay out!' cried Bland. 'Light out handsomely, my lads. It -may come as too much dead weight for one man, which'll be a bad job if -winch is froze.' - -'It's for his life, and _that's_ a three-manpower, aye, though yare -should be just out of horspital too,' exclaimed a seaman. - -'Pay out. Ease him all you can, lads,' shouted the mate. - -The man had got hold of the end of the line, and was dragging it -inboard hand over hand, bringing to him as he hauled the end of a stout -rope, to which a little block was attached with a line rove through -it. This was the gear the mate was calling upon the seamen to pay out -handsomely. He was but one man to three, and the tackle and rope must -needs grow heavier and heavier as its smoking steaming up-curving -bight lengthened. I watched almost breathless; if the man's strength -failed before his end of the rope came to his hand what should we do? -We could not assist. Now indeed I saw it would be impossible for any -one of us to scale those rugged crystal boulders and cavernous ruins of -ice which yet from the level of the water painted a practicable ascent -from the sheltered curve of the bay where the sea was silent. - -Foot by foot the sailors veered out the gear, and hand over hand, with -admirable endurance and patient courage, the man on the wreck hauled -the stuff in: till on a sudden one of our men called out, 'The lady's -helping,' and I caught a glimpse of Marie past the man, dragging as he -dragged. - -'It's all right!' after a long pause, exclaimed Bland, letting out his -words in the note of a deep-chested sigh of relief, and a hearty cheer -sprang from the lips of the seamen. - -'He knows what to do. He's a sailor!' cried Bodkin. - -He had vanished behind the bulwarks, but quickly reappeared signalling -to us with a flourish, whilst Marie stood as before, motionless, -watching. - -'Now get it taut, for God's sake!' cried the mate. 'In with the slack.' - -The men toiled on, and dragged till the bight of the rope was clear of -the water: the gear then described a curve from the stump of fore-mast -to the boat. - -'Now clap on the watch tackle.' - -A machinery of blocks and lines was applied to the rope, which tautened -to the strain till the mate cried 'Belay! If we don't mind our eye we -shall start the wreck!' - -Then swiftly, but without hurry or confusion, the empty cask was got -over the bow and slung to a bowling or traveller. - -'Haul out!' cried the mate, and nimbly, with quick steady pulls, the -cask was run up the rope. It travelled smoothly. The man sprang on to -the bulwark rail and received it, and, putting his hand on the edge of -it, jumped in. - -'By thunder, no, then! The lady first, or you stop there!' groaned the -mate, his face suddenly dark with disgust and temper, and the others -looked along the rope to the cask with frowns eloquent of curses. But -in a moment the man got out, and I said, 'He was testing it.' - -We now saw him, in the sharp white light the air was brimful of, help -Marie on to the rail: he put his hands under her arms, and carefully -sank her into the cask; then, pulling off his cap, flourished a signal -of 'all's ready' to us. Instantly, one end of the line was slackened -away whilst the other end was hauled upon, and the cask travelled -towards us. - -'Stand by to lift the lady out,' bawled the mate, whilst the cask was -still coming. 'Into the bows two of you. Mr. Moore, you'll keep your -seat, I beg sir, till the lady's in the boat.' - -The cask came sliding to the drag of the line down to the very stern -of the boat: there it was water-borne, and began to roll and leap with -the boat: but strong hands were ready, and in a minute Marie was lifted -over the gunwale, brought right aft, and seated beside me. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -MR. MOORE ENDS HIS STORY - - -I took her by the hands and looked her in the face, and brought her -to my heart, and a sob shook me as I kissed her. For some moments she -merely pronounced my name, straining from my grasp to look at me. -There was something wild in the light of her soft eyes then. Maybe the -passions and sensations which in a sudden surprise of meeting would -have forced us into transports had abated; we had long both known that -we were near to each other, she that I had come to rescue her, I that -she was alive on that wreck up there. But for all that, and as long -as they were bringing the man from the wreck, it remained a sort of -unreality, a mission too marvellous to have been fulfilled, a hope -too daring, too defiant of death itself and all the terrors of this -barbarous, savage scene, to have been humanly possible. - -A wonder, too, lay in her beauty and healthful looks. My imaginations -of her state, now as lying in her coffin at Cape Town, now as dead -of the cold in that same wreck we had brought her from, had coloured -to me a ghastly portrait of my memory of her; or, even when figuring -her alive in the hull, I conceived her bloodless, gaunt, sunk-eyed, a -sad, heart-sickening spectre of herself. Instead I found her fairer, -healthier, plumper by a hundredfold than she had shown when she left -England. She was dressed in furs: her hat was a turban of sealskin; her -hair was a little wild, but its dishevelment was a grace. - -When at last I began to speak to her, it was in mere ejaculation, a -babble of joy and devotion--that I should have got her;--that I should -be holding her after months of fearing and of believing that she was -dead; that God should have directed me through thousands of leagues -of sea to this lonely scene of ice; and so on, and so on; whilst her -speech was little more than exclamation too. For, put yourself in our -place and judge how it would go with your heart, and tongue, till use -had softened amazement and incredulity, sobering the flow of feeling -into a gentle language of passion and pleasure. - -Meanwhile they were bringing the man to the boat. The cask travelled -safely to the bows: he sprang out with the assistance of a man's hand, -and then stood on a thwart looking about him for a minute with a face -of ecstasy. - -Now it was I grew a bit rational, and said to Marie: - -'Who is he?' - -'Mr. Selby. His conduct has been noble. Oh, Archie, his manly treatment -of me, his patient care, the encouragement, the encouragement!' - -'Jump on to the ice there, two of you, and get that anchor,' sung out -Mr. Bland. - -'Where's Captain Burke?' I said. - -'He was drowned months ago--months ago.' - -'And his wife?' - -'I found her frozen to death and dragged her into the ship's kitchen -and watched beside her, and then I was alone in that wreck in a heavy, -rolling ocean for a week till he came,' and she looked towards Selby, -'sent by God, for without him--alone up there--oh, think, Archie!' - -As she said this she put her hands together and her face whitened like -the ice; her eyes rolled their pupils out of sight, and with a little -moan she fainted. - -I held and pillowed her, groping for and finding a flask of brandy in -my pockets. She continued in a dead faint until, the anchor having been -got, the boats were clear of the bay close in with the brig. - -Selby sat in the bows. I never addressed him: I could think of nothing -but the lifeless figure I clasped. She came to just as we drew -alongside the vessel, and my gratitude, when she fetched a breath, and -opened her eyes, was scarcely less than that I had felt when I knew -she was on board the wreck. In truth, so fixed was her trance, I had -believed her dead. - -She was helped over the side by Cliffe and others. The brig showed a -low side when the gangway was unshipped, and Marie was handed on deck -easily and without risk. I followed. She was very weak, yet could walk -leaning on my arm, and thus supporting her I took her into the cabin. -Then it was I strained her to my heart again, kissing her, blessing -her, thanking God for suffering me to discover and rescue her. - -It would be idle to set down what now passed between us in this -first half-hour of our being alone. Our hurry of speech, the tender -interruption of caresses was as a printed page broken into sentences -without sequence. Looks will give continuity to meaning when the tongue -is still, but how to describe those passages of eloquent silence? - -We had both of us a thousand things to ask and answer, and often we'd -break off to gaze at each other, scarce realising even yet that we -were together, and that the end of my heaven-directed quest was come. -By the time we had settled down into sober talk, sitting hand in hand -in front of the glowing brass stove, whilst the boy in obedience to my -orders was preparing the table for dinner, it was about five o'clock; -they had got way upon the brig; she was heeling over, and I guessed -that Cliffe was pressing her, getting every inch of northing that was -to be clawed out of the bow surge whilst it was daylight. The afternoon -was glowing with more than tropic splendour; indeed, never had I -observed such mellow richness of glory under the line, or north or -south of 23° as I had noticed in this Antarctic sunshine whilst in the -bay. But however delivered--whispered at times--sometimes interrupted -by tears, by sudden impassioned embraces, as though nothing even now -could be true but the presence and reality of the long months of her -imprisonment; but however brokenly uttered, I say her story was known, -and her relation persuaded me that in the person of Mr. Selby lived -one of the finest characters that ever graced the manliest of all the -callings. My love, my joy--though my spirits seemed to know no other -passions whilst I held her and looked at her--did not extinguish in me -for long whilst we conversed the cold dark dread that lurked in the -thought of her having been locked up with Selby for months. But whilst -I listened the jealous fear, the gloomy dislike for the extraordinary -association vanished. My heart grew hot with admiration and gratitude. -She told me of her joy at the sight of him, when, after being alone -for a week in the dismasted hull of the 'Lady Emma' with no other -companion on board than the dead body of Mrs. Burke, she groped her way -from her berth to the cabin and found him lying asleep on a locker. She -told me how he had comforted her and raised her spirits by every hope -that a sailor could invent. She instanced many fine subtle, delicate -traits of conduct; I was impressed by the refinement and native -exquisite breeding of the man whilst I listened to her. I witnessed -the gentleman, the nobleman of nature's own handiwork, in all she told -me of him. Without his inspiring companionship her spirits would have -sunk, her heart must have broken. He fetched and carried, cooked, and -toiled for her comfort; he devised a dozen schemes to divert her. Every -day he promised that a ship would come to take them off. He never lost -heart. Often he would sing with a sailor's notion of brightening her -melancholy. - -No one intruded upon us, saving the boy; but our talk was not to be -overheard by him, sitting as we did close together beside the fire. And -all the while I was admiring the improved sweetness of her looks, the -plumpness of her cheeks and throat, the firmer, clearer tones of her -voice, and what shone to my sight as a soft gay light of health in her -eyes. - -'Is it the ice,' said I, 'that has worked this miracle of change in -you? Or were you looking even better than you now do before your -shipwreck?' - -'I cannot tell how I look,' she answered. 'What I have suffered I know.' - -She talked of the Burkes, and wept when she spoke of her old nurse. She -said she believed Captain Burke committed suicide; his end was sudden; -he did not need to go upon the bowsprit to hang up the lantern--a -height of foremast stood; he went on a dangerous errand, she thought, -meaning to die, and his getting his wife to accompany him into the -bows might have signified no more than lunatic cunning. - -Whilst we conversed the boy came down and asked if he should put dinner -upon the table. We had forgotten time in talking and I jumped up and -took Marie to my berth, which was to be resigned to her. I then went on -deck to make Mr. Selby's acquaintance and to bring him into the cabin -to dinner. - -The wind was on the beam, a steady pouring breeze, and the heeling brig -was washing onwards, but warily and under little canvas; I had been -misled by the angle of the deck. The ice rode lofty and glaring about -us on all sides in huge groups; and masses of the stuff littered the -ocean directly in our path; the utmost vigilance was needful. - -I stood a moment in the companion-way, looking at the island we were -leaving astern. It was already some miles distant, and the wreck -invisible. The far inland mountain hung solemn and sublime in the blue -air with the majestic loneliness of it. You thought of it as lifting -its height at the extreme end of the world, and the melting of its -shimmering peak into the silver azure was such a blending as made the -shadow seem as high as the heavens themselves. - -Cliffe stood in earnest talk with Selby. I regarded the man awhile -before he saw me. He was dressed in the plain clothes of his calling; -doubtless he made good his wants out of Captain Burke's wardrobe; he -was rather short and very broad-shouldered; his hair was black, and of -a true cast-away man's length, falling and curling in plenty down upon -his back as though it had been a woman's; he was of a sallow complexion -and newly bearded as though used to shave when all was well. - -When I went to him with my hands outstretched, he faced me with a -smile, and then it was I saw a wonderful spirit of goodness and -kindness in his countenance. I had never before witnessed a man's -nature so plainly pictured in his looks. I will not admit that I was -prejudiced in his favour by what Marie had told me and found a soul -of candour and good humour where perhaps I should otherwise have seen -nothing but an average sailorly countenance. No matter what the causes -which should have brought this man and me acquainted; let me have met -him how, when, where you will, one glance would have persuaded me that -he was a heart of oak. You saw a manly simplicity and gentleness in -every line. His eyes looked at you full, yet gently, with a charming, -winning frankness; his smile was a grace, there was something sweet in -it: and yet he was by no means good looking. His face was overcharged -by the length of its aquiline nose. His mouth, too, was out of -proportion, his eyes were something too deep set and close together to -please; nevertheless when he turned, smiling to receive me, I found a -beauty in his looks that was far above all gift of flesh. - -I held him by both hands, but in what terms I thanked him for his -goodness to Miss Otway I'll not set down, because they must needs look -cold and insufficient, when in reality the tribute lay in that part -that cannot be communicated on paper, I mean in the tone of voice, the -expression of countenance, the clinging pressure of the hands. - -He said, 'It's been a bad time for her, sir. The beginning was the -hardest. That week when she was alone, washing about here, much where -we now are, in the winter time when it was nearly all night, and nobody -else aboard but the corpse of Mrs. Burke, would have killed a lady of -less spirit.' - -I broke in by asking him to step below with me. Cliffe said he would -remain on deck and watch the brig. I took notice that as in making -for the island, so now, a keen look-out was being kept. Hands were -stationed in the bows and on the foreyard; the rigging lay ready for -instant use. Two men were at the wheel. - -Selby stopped and looked at the island astern. The whole soul of the -man seemed to rush into his face as he gazed, colouring it with memory -and a passion of gratitude and pathetic joy. He breathed deep and said. -'Thank God, I've seen the end of it! Seven months is it, sir? The -sufferings of the sea will make a year of a week. It seems as long as a -lifetime.' - -He sighed again, or rather fetched a breath as of relief and ease of -heart, and followed me into the cabin. - -Whilst we waited for Marie, he explained how it came about that the -hull was shelved forty feet above the wash. - -He said when she first took the ice she was beaten a considerable -distance by blow upon blow of foamless swell, rolling into the shelter -out of the heavy weather beyond; she lay on her bilge. He could not -express the misery they suffered from the angle her posture sloped -her into; till, early one night, a noise of thunder roared through -the cabin as though the whole island was splitting to pieces; shock -followed shock. These volcanic throes went on for hours. He expected -every moment that the hull would be crushed to powder. Sometimes they -felt the fabric under their feet swept upwards. It was pitch dark on -deck; nothing was to be seen; but the uproar of splitting ice was at -moments deafening. He said he could compare it to nothing but to being -in a boat betwixt two line-of-battle ships when they were firing their -whole broadside artillery at each other. - -It might have been about four o'clock when the hellish commotion ceased -as abruptly as it had commenced; at this hour the hull was, as she had -been for some time, resting on an almost level keel. At break of day -he went on deck, and was amazed to find the sea lying open, but at a -considerable distance below; the great ice peninsula whose bay had been -the salvation of the hull had broken away and become a majestic island, -nodding stately upon a high sea about a quarter of a mile distant. The -wreck rested upon a wide ledge with a sheer fall of ice, smooth as -though chiselled, to the wash of the surf. How it had befallen he could -not tell. Perception had lain entirely in sensation and bearing. - -When Marie came out of her berth I was struck afresh by her improved -looks. I turned to Selby and said: - -'This lady sailed for her health. Such distresses, such trials of mind -and body as she has suffered, should pinch the face as fire wastes wax, -and she looks so much better that her father will scarcely know her!' - -'I told Mr. Moore,' she said, 'that I don't know how I may look, but -that I am alive and with him again,' said she, stealing her hand into -mine, 'is wholly owing to you.' Then raising her voice, heated into -a higher clearness by emotion, she exclaimed, 'In the presence and -hearing of my betrothed, I thank you with my heart of hearts for all -your goodness to me, for your hundred acts of noble unselfishness, for -the splendid courage and faith which supported us both through the -awful time that is now ended.' - -He bowed to her in silence. - -'Mr. Selby,' said I, grasping him by the hand, then putting my other -upon his, and so holding him, 'Miss Otway has spoken her gratitude; my -own I have already attempted to express. The profession of the sea has -produced some splendid characters; but it seems to me that you are one -of the finest compliments that nature ever paid to your calling.' - -'I thank you for your kind words, sir,' he said, with colour and -embarrassment, 'and for yours, Miss Otway. I felt very sorry for you -when I found you alone on that dismasted hulk, and I swore to myself I -would so act that, come what might, if you were spared, you should be -able to say of me, He was a man.' - -I could have hugged him! - -We seated ourselves and all our talk ran upon the hull, and upon my own -adventures. I particularly noticed Selby's respectful manner to Marie. -_That_ was as satisfying to every instinct within me as though I had -shared their imprisonment. It was not a thing he just put on; it sat -with the unconscious ease of an old and fixed habit. I heard it in his -voice, I marked it in his manner of attention when she spoke; in twenty -subtle ways it was expressed as something abiding; it was, in short, -the man's, the seaman's, and the gentleman's recognition of her claims -as a woman and of her station; I knew it had been with him from the -beginning, and I loved him from that moment with a heart unshadowed by -the faintest anxiety or misgiving. - -I asked him how they had managed for food. - -'The hold was full of good things, sir,' he answered. 'We did not stint -ourselves, Miss Otway,' said he, smiling. - -'Mr. Selby cooks charmingly,' said Marie. 'I shall never forget the -delicious dishes of broth you used to make for me.' - -'The ship's cargo,' said he, 'consisted of a quantity of articles of -potted food with drink enough in stout, brandy, and whiskey to fill the -half of London with uproar and murder.' - -'We had biscuits as big as bricks,' said Marie. 'I used to make bread -and milk with them.' - -'Milk!' I ejaculated. - -'Preserved milk, sir,' said Selby. 'I found some hundredweights of the -stuff.' - -'But your fuel?' said I. - -'There was about twelve ton of coal in the forepeak when we got on the -ice,' he answered. 'I never reckoned upon a long stay, the young lady -was to be kept warm, and I was a bit extravagant at the start. Then -as the days passed and nothing came along, I began to stint, with the -result that I've left about half the stock behind.' - -'Did nothing heave in sight?' - -'Oh, yes, sir; but never close in. I must have consumed half the cargo -of theatrical scenery, and pounds worth of patent fuel and India-rubber -in burning flares at night and making smokes by day. I reckon the smoke -was taken for something in the volcanic line. For a long time the ice -hid us from the sea. The island whose rupture threw us aloft drifted -away and gave us a clear view for a bit, but others came cruising along -with the stream of the tide, if it was not the wind that brought them, -and one moored itself right abreast--grounded, I allow--it stuck so -long. - -'The whaler that reported you,' said I, 'was close in enough to get a -good sight of the wreck.' - -'I did not see her,' he answered. 'I must have been below when she -passed.' - -'It was cruelly cold, Archie,' said Marie. 'Weeks would pass without my -going on deck. Oh, how I loathed the sight of those cliffs of ice! And -then the ceaseless boiling of the surf.' - -'I caulked the cabin into a middling warm living room,' said Selby, -'yet the cold would creep through. Water that had been boiled and left -to stand on the table within the sphere of the heat of the stove, as I -could have sworn, would take a mask of ice. I cleared the cabin to give -Miss Otway walking room. The exercise helped her. It gave her a little -spirit as well as warmth. I didn't care to see her sit drooping hour -after hour beside that little stove.' - -'At such times you sang?' said I. - -'Well, coming below after taking a look round, and seeing her like -that, I'd tune up my pipes, certainly,' he answered. 'It was unpleasant -to have to keep on answering her question with a "No, there's nothing -in sight."' - -Thus ran our talk, and again and again whilst we conversed, I'd see -Marie stealing looks around her of delight and amazement, and often -when our gaze met, an expression of solemn joy would light up her face. -For months she had lived in the cabin of a motionless ship; now the -life of the ocean was in the fabric, whose deck her foot rested on. She -was as one who had been called from the grave to renew life, and love, -and health. It was a miracle, and I saw the marvelling of her spirit in -her eyes whenever she looked at me. - -'I'll go and take a look round,' said Selby. 'I hope Captain Cliffe -will make me useful.' - -He rose, respectfully bowed to us, and went on deck. - -I drew Marie to the stove and sat beside her. From time to time as -we talked, we heard the sharp warning cries of the look-out men on -deck re-echoed by Cliffe and the mate aft, accompanied sometimes by -a hurried tread of feet when the braces were handled. But we were -together, too happy, too much engrossed, to heed what passed above. -Through the hum of our talk--our continuous talk--for how much had -we to tell each other?--ran the shrill sound of salt water seething; -the boy came below to take some dinner on deck to Captain Cliffe. He -then cleared the table, and Marie and I were alone again. The sunshine -blazed red upon the skylight, faded slowly, the glass grew grey, then -blackened, and a star flashed in a cabin window as a reel of the brier -brought the bright spark with a leap into the orifice. - -'I remember,' Marie said, 'when I found Mrs. Burke lying dead on -the deck of the hull, that I fell upon my knees in the agony of my -distress and terror, and cried out that I was alone, asking what -I should do--what I should do? And now I am with you,' she cried, -throwing her arms round my neck and sobbing slightly. 'But what a time -has lain between!' - - * * * * * - -At this point Mr. Moore ends his narrative; he doubtless considered -that the interest of _his_ strand of the story ceased at the rescue of -his sweetheart. - -It had been arranged that the brig should return to the Cape of Good -Hope, whatever might be the issue of her search; the little vessel, -with ceaseless vigilance, was navigated clear of the ice into open -waters, and under warmer skies, and thanks to strong westerly winds -which chased her day after day, she anchored in Table Bay in a little -more than three weeks from the hour of hoisting in her boats and making -sail from Coronation Island. The lovers' reception at Cape Town was a -memorable incident, and is still talked of by old people there. They -stayed until Miss Otway had provided herself with a wardrobe, then -embarked in a Union steamer and safely arrived at Southampton on the -morning of May 1, 1861. - -Mr. Selby was presented by Sir Mortimer Otway and the banking firm of -Moore, Son & Duncan, with an interest in a ship of thirteen hundred -and forty tons, amounting to half her value, and four months after his -arrival in England, he sailed in command of her on her second voyage to -Bombay. - - -THE END - - -PRINTED BY -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE -LONDON - - -[Illustration: Decoration] - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Heart of Oak, vol. 3, by William Clark Russell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART OF OAK, VOL. 3 *** - -***** This file should be named 62419-8.txt or 62419-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/4/1/62419/ - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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