[illustration: young america abroad by oliver optic outward bound boston lee & shepard.] * * * * * outward bound; or, young america afloat. a story of travel and adventure. by william t. adams (_oliver optic_). boston: lee and shepard. . * * * * * entered according to act of congress, in the year , by william t. adams, in the clerk's office of the district court of the district of massachusetts. * * * * * to george webster terrill _this volume_ is respectfully dedicated. * * * * * young america abroad. by oliver optic. a library of travel and adventure in foreign lands. first and second series; six volumes in each series. mo. illustrated. _first series_. i. _outward bound,_ or, young america afloat. ii. _shamrock and thistle_; or, young america in ireland and scotland. iii _red cross_; or, young america in england and wales. iv. _dikes and ditches_; or, young america in holland and belgium. v. _palace and cottage_; or, young america in france and switzerland. vi. _down the rhine_; or, young america in germany. _second series_. i. _up the baltic_; or, young america in denmark and sweden. ii. _northern lands_; or, young america in prussia and russia. iii. _vine and olive_; or, young america in spain and portugal. iv. _sunny shores_; or, young america in italy and austria. v. _cross and crescent_; or, young america in greece and turkey. vi. _isles of the sea_; or, young america homeward bound. * * * * * preface. outward bound is the first volume of "a library of travel and adventure in foreign lands," and contains the voyage of the academy ship "young america" across the atlantic. the origin and progress of this aquatic institution are incidentally developed, and the plan is respectfully submitted to the consideration of those who are interested in the education and moral training of the class of young men who are the characters in the scenes described in this work. besides a full description of the routine and discipline of the ship, as an educational and reformatory institution, the volume contains a rather free _exposé_ of the follies and frailties of youth, but their vices are revealed to suggest the remedy. the story includes the experience of the officers and crew of the young america, eighty-seven in number, though, of course, only a few of them can appear as prominent actors. as the ship has a little world, with all the elements of good and evil, within her wooden walls, the story of the individual will necessarily be interwoven with that of the mass; and the history of "the chain league," in the present volume, of which shuffles is the hero, will, it is hoped, convey an instructive lesson to young men who are disposed to rebel against reasonable discipline and authority. in the succeeding volumes of this series, the adventures, travels, and "sight-seeing," as well as the individual and collective experience of the juvenile crew of the academy ship, will be narrated. they will visit the principal ports of europe, as well as penetrate to the interior; but they will always be american boys, wherever they are. the author hopes that the volumes of the series will not only be instructive as a description of foreign lands, and interesting as a record of juvenile exploits, but that they will convey correct views of moral and social duties, and stimulate the young reader to their faithful performance. harrison square, mass., november , . * * * * * contents. chapter page i. the idea suggested ii. the young america iii. the ensign at the peak. iv. officers and seamen. v. our fellows. vi. the fourth of july. vii. heaving the log. viii. outward bound. ix. the watch bill. x. making a chain. xi. the gamblers in no. . xii. the root of all evil. xiii. piping to mischief. xiv. all hands, reef topsails! xv. after the gale. xvi. the wreck of the sylvia xvii. peas and beans xviii. the result of the ballot xix. man overboard! xx. the end of the chain league * * * * * outward bound. outward bound; or, young america afloat * * * * * chapter i. the idea suggested. "there are no such peaches this side of new jersey; and you can't get them, for love or money, at the stores. all we have to do is, to fill our pockets, and keep our mouths closed--till the peaches are ripe enough to eat," said robert shuffles, the older and the larger of two boys, who had just climbed over the high fence that surrounded the fine garden of mr. lowington. "what will baird say if he finds it out?" replied isaac monroe, his companion. "baird," the gentleman thus irreverently alluded to, was the principal of the brockway academy, of which shuffles and monroe were pupils in the boarding department. "what will he say when he finds out that the king of the tonga islands picks his teeth with a pitchfork?" added shuffles, contemptuously. "i don't intend that he shall find it out? and he won't, unless you tell him." "of course, i shall not tell him." "come along, then? it is nearly dark, and no one will see us." shuffles led the way down the gravelled walk, till he came to a brook, on the bank of which stood the peach tree whose rich fruit had tempted the young gentlemen to invade the territory of mr. lowington with intent to plunder. "there they are," said the chief of the young marauders, as he paused behind a clump of quince bushes, and pointed at the coveted fruit. "there's no discount on them, and they are worth coming after." "hark!" whispered monroe. "i heard a noise." "what was it?" "i don't know. i'm afraid we shall be caught." "no danger; no one can see us from the house." "but i'm sure there's some one near. i heard something." "nonsense! it was only a dagger of the mind, such as baird talks about," answered shuffles, as he crawled towards the peach tree. "come, monroe, be quick, and fill your pockets." this peach tree was a choice variety, in whose cultivation the owner had been making an elaborate experiment. mr. lowington had watched it and nursed it with the most assiduous care, and now it bore about a dozen remarkably large and beautiful peaches. they were not quite ripe enough to be gathered, but shuffles was confident that they would "mellow" in his trunk as well as on the tree. the experiment of the cultivator had been a success, and he had already prepared, with much care and labor, a paper explanatory of the process, which he intended to read before the pomological society, exhibiting the fruit as the evidence of the practicability of his method. to mr. lowington, therefore, the peaches had a value far beyond their intrinsic worth. shuffles gathered a couple of the peaches, and urged his companion to use all possible haste in stripping the tree of its rich burden. "hallo, there! what are you about?" shouted some one, who hastened to make his presence known to the plunderers. monroe began to retreat. "hold on!" interposed shuffles. "it's no one but harry martyn." "he can tell of us just as well as anybody else." "if he does, he will catch it." "what are you doing?" demanded harry martyn,--who was a nephew of mr. lowington, and lived with him,--as he crossed the rustic bridge that spanned the brook. "don't you see what i'm doing?" replied shuffles, with an impudent coolness which confounded harry. "stop that, shuffles!" cried harry, indignantly. "my uncle wouldn't take ten dollars apiece for those peaches." "that's more than he'll get for them," added shuffles, as he reached up and gathered another peach. "stop that, i tell you!" said harry, angrily, as he stepped up, in a menacing attitude, before the reckless marauder. "shut up, harry! you know me, and when i get all these peaches, i've got something to say to you." shuffles was about to gather another of the peaches, when harry, his indignation overcoming his prudence, grasped his arm, and pulled him away from the tree. "what do you mean, harry martyn?" exclaimed shuffles, apparently astonished at the temerity of the youth. "i can't stop to lick you now; but i'll do it within twenty-four hours." "well, don't you touch those peaches, then." "yes, i will touch them. i intend to have the whole of them; and if you say a word to your uncle or any one else about it, i'll pulverize that head of yours." "no, you won't! you shall not have those peaches, anyhow," replied the resolute little fellow, who was no match, physically, for shuffles. "if you open your mouth----" "hallo! uncle robert! help, help! thieves in the garden!" shouted harry, who certainly had no defect of the lungs. "take that, you little monkey!" said shuffles, angrily, as he struck the little fellow a heavy blow on the side of the head with his fist, which knocked him down. "i'll fix you the next, time i see you." shuffles consulted his discretion rather than his valor, now that the alarm had been given, and retreated towards the place where he had entered garden. "what's the matter, harry?" asked mr. lowington, as he rushed over the bridge, followed by the gardener and his assistants, just as harry was picking himself up and rubbing his head. "they were stealing your peaches, and i tried to stop them," replied harry. "they have taken some of them now." mr. lowington glanced at the favorite tree, and his brow lowered with anger and vexation. his paper before the "pomological" could be illustrated by only nine peaches, instead of thirteen. "who stole them, harry?" demanded the disappointed fruit-grower. the nephew hesitated a moment, and the question was repeated with more sternness. "robert shuffles; isaac monroe was with him, but he didn't take any of the peaches." "what is the matter with your head, harry?" asked his uncle, when he observed him rubbing the place where the blow had fallen. "shuffles struck me and knocked me down, when i called out for you." "did he? where is he now?" "he and monroe ran up the walk to the back of the garden." "that boy shall be taken care of," continued mr. lowington, as he walked up the path towards the point where the marauders had entered. "the academy is fast becoming a nuisance to the neighborhood, because there is neither order nor discipline among the students." the thieves had escaped, and as it would be useless to follow them, mr. lowington went back to the house; but he was too much annoyed at the loss of his splendid peaches, which were to figure so prominently before the "pomological," to permit the matter to drop without further notice. "did he hurt you much, harry?" asked mr. lowington as they entered the house. "not much, sir, though he gave me a pretty hard crack," answered harry. "did you see them when they came into the garden?" "no, sir? i was fixing my water-wheel in the brook, when i heard them at the tree. i went up, and tried to prevent shuffles from taking the peaches. i caught hold of him, and pulled him away. he said he couldn't stop to lick me then, but he'd do it within twenty-four hours. then he hit me when i called for help." "the young scoundrel! that boy is worse than a pestilence in any neighborhood. mr. baird seems to have no control over him." suddenly, and without any apparent reason, mr. lowington's compressed lips and contracted brow relaxed, and his face wore its usual expression of dignified serenity. harry could not understand the cause of this sudden change; but his uncle's anger had passed away. the fact was, that mr. lowington happened to think, while his indignation prompted him to resort to the severest punishment for shuffles, that he himself had been just such a boy as the plunderer of his cherished fruit. at the age of fifteen he had been the pest of the town in which he resided. his father was a very wealthy man, and resorted to many expedients to cure the boy of his vicious propensities. young lowington had a taste for the sea, and his father finally procured a midshipman's warrant for him to enter the navy. the strict discipline of a ship of war proved to be the "one thing needful" for the reformation of the wild youth; and he not only became a steady young man, but a hard student and an accomplished officer. the navy made a man of him, as it has of hundreds of the sons of rich men, demoralized by idleness and the absence of a reasonable ambition. when mr. lowington was thirty years old, his father died, leaving to each of his three children a quarter of a million; and he had resigned his position in the navy, in order to take care of his property, and to lead a more domestic life with his wife and daughter than the discipline of the service would permit. he had taken up his residence in brockway, the early home of his wife. it was a large town on the sea shore, only a few miles from the metropolis of new england, thus combining all the advantages of a home in the city and in the country. for several years he had been happy in his peaceful retirement. but not wealth, nor even integrity and piety, can bar the door of the lofty mansion against the destroyer of the race. his wife died of an hereditary disease, which gave no indication of its presence till she had passed her thirtieth year. two years later, his daughter, just blooming into maturity, followed her mother down to the silent tomb, stricken in her freshness and beauty by the same insidious malady. the husband and father was left desolate. his purest and fondest hopes were blighted; but, while he was submissive to the will of the father, who doeth all things well, he became gloomy and sad. he was not seen to smile for a year after the death of his daughter, and it was three years before he had recovered even the outward semblance of his former cheerfulness. he was rich, but alone in the world. he continued to reside in the home which was endeared to him by the memories of his loved and lost ones. when his wife's sister died in poverty, leaving two children, he had taken them to his home, and had become a father to them. harry martyn was a good boy, and josephine martyn was a good girl; but they were not his own children. there was something wanting--an aching void which they could not fill, though mr. lowington was to them all that could be asked or expected of a parent. mr. lowington busied himself in various studies and experiments; but life had ceased to be what it was before the death of his wife and daughter. he wanted more mental occupation; he felt the need of greater activity, and he was tempted to return to the navy, even after his absence of ten years from the service; but this step, for many reasons, was not practicable. at the time when his garden was invaded by the vandal students from the brockway academy, he was still thinking what he could do to save himself from the inglorious life of ease he was leading, and, at the same time, serve his country and his race. shuffles had robbed his garden of some of his choicest fruit; had struck his nephew a severe blow on the head, and threatened to inflict still greater chastisement upon him in the future. mr. lowington was justly indignant; and his own peace and the peace of the neighborhood demanded that the author of the mischief should be punished, especially as he was an old transgressor. it was absolutely necessary that something should be done, and the retired naval officer was in the right frame of mind to do it. just then, when he was wrought up to the highest pitch of indignation, his anger vanished. shuffles at sixteen was the counterpart of himself at fifteen. this was certainly no reason why the hand of justice should be stayed. mr. lowington did not intend to stay it, though the thought of his own juvenile depravity modified his view, and appeased his wrath. he put on his hat and left the house. he walked over to the academy, and being shown to the office of the principal, he informed him of the depredations committed in his garden. "who did it, mr. lowington?" demanded the principal, with proper indignation in his tones and his looks. "shuffles." "i need not have asked. that boy gives me more trouble than all the others put together," added mr. baird, with an anxious expression. "and yet what can i do with him?" "expel him," replied mr. lowington, laconically. "i don't like to do that." "why not?" "it would be an injury to me." "why so?" "it would offend his father, who is a person of wealth and influence. when shuffles came to brockway ten other boys came with him. he was expelled from another institution, which so incensed his father that he induced the parents of ten others to take their sons out, and send them to me. if i expel shuffles, i shall lose about a dozen of my students, and i can't afford to do that." "but must the neighborhood suffer from his depredations?" "i will talk with the boy; i will keep him in his room for a week." "i'm afraid the boy needs severer measures. if this were the first, or even the third time, i would, not say so much." "my dear sir, what can i do?" "the boy needs strict discipline. if i were still in the navy, and had him aboard my ship, i could make a man of him." "i don't think anything can be done." "something must be done, mr. baird. my garden shall not be robbed with impunity." "i will do what i can, mr. lowington." but the owner of the stolen fruit was by this time satisfied that nothing would be done. the principal of the brockway academy had not force nor influence enough to control such a boy as shuffles. mr. lowington took his leave, determined to apply to another tribunal for the correction of the evil. that night the peach thieves were arrested, and put in the lock-up. the next day they were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine and costs, which mr. baird promptly paid. within a week mr. lowington's stable was burned to the ground. shuffles was seen near the building just before the fire broke out; but it could not be proved that he was the incendiary, though no one doubted the fact. he was arrested, but discharged on the examination. "you see how it is, mr. lowington," said the principal of the academy, as the two gentlemen met after the examination. "it would have been better for you if you had not prosecuted the boy for stealing the peaches." "i don't think so," replied mr. lowington. "i must do my duty, without regard to consequences; and you will pardon me if i say you ought to do the same." "if i expel the boy he would burn the house over my head." "then you think he burned my stable?" "i don't know; it cannot be proved that he did." "i have no doubt of the fact. i have no ill will against the boy. i only desire to protect myself and my neighbors from his depredations." "i think you were very unfortunate in the method you adopted, mr. lowington," replied the principal of the academy. "it has reacted upon yourself." "shall this boy steal my fruit and burn my buildings with impunity?" added mr. lowington, with considerable warmth. "certainly not." "i applied to you for redress, mr. baird." "i told you i would talk with the boy." "such a reprobate as that needs something more than talk." "what would you do with him, sir?" demanded mr. baird, earnestly. "i hardly know. i should certainly have expelled him; but that, while it protects the academy, does not benefit the boy." "it would only harden the boy." "very likely; and his remaining will harden a dozen more by his influence. mr. baird, i shall be obliged to take my nephew out of your institution," added mr. lowington, seriously. "take him out?" "i must, indeed." "why so?" asked mr. baird, who was touched in a very tender place. "because i am not willing to keep him under the influence of such an example as this shuffles sets for his companions. as the matter now stands, the young rascal has more influence in the academy than you have. you cannot manage him, and you dare not expel him. the boy knows this, and he will not leave his advantage unused." "i hope you won't take harry out of the school," said mr. baird. "i must." "others may do the same." "i cannot help it; with my view of the matter, they can hardly do otherwise." "but you see, sir, what the effect of this step must be." "mr. baird, i must be frank with you. you have declined to expel shuffles, while you know that his influence is bad. you asked me what you should do? and i told you. now, you prefer to retain shuffles, but you must lose others. permit me to say that you should do your duty without regard to consequences." "i cannot afford to lose my scholars." "your position is a difficult one. i grant, mr. baird; but without discipline you can do nothing for yourself or the boys." mr. lowington went home, harry was taken from the academy, and a dozen parents and guardians followed the example of the advocate for discipline. mr. baird was in despair. the institution was falling to pieces for the want of discipline. the principal had not the nerve to enforce order, even with the limited means within his reach. he went to see mr. lowington and begged him to assist in stemming the tide which was setting against the brockway academy. the retired naval officer became deeply interested in the subject of school discipline in general, especially in its connection with the education of rich men's sons given to insubordination. he pitied poor mr. baird in his perplexities, for he was a good man and an excellent teacher. in the mean time shuffles grew worse instead of better. finding that he could have his own way, that the principal was no match for him, his influence for evil was stronger than mr. baird's for good. the worthy schoolmaster had finally resolved to expel his troublesome student, when mr. lowington one day surprised him by offering to buy out the academy at a price far exceeding its value. he gladly accepted the offer as the best solution of the problem, and the naval officer became principal of the brockway academy. mr. lowington did not expel the refractory pupil at once. he waited for an overt act; but shuffles found the anaconda of authority tightening upon him. he attempted to vindicate himself before his fellow-students by setting fire to a haystack on the marsh, belonging to the new principal. a searching investigation followed, and shuffles was convicted. mr. lowington wrote to the boy's father, announcing his expulsion. mr. shuffles went to brockway full of wrath, and threatened the new head of the institution with the loss of a large number of his scholars if he disgraced his son by expelling him. if the boy had done wrong,--and he supposed he had,--let him be talked to; let him be confined to his room for a day or two; but he must not be expelled; it was a disgrace to the boy. the principal was as firm as a rock, and mr. shuffles was calm when he found that threats were unavailing. mr. lowington pointed out to his visitor the perils which lay in the path of his son. mr. shuffles began to be reasonable, and dined with the principal. a long and earnest consideration of the whole matter took place over the dessert. the fiat of expulsion was revoked, and young shuffles was turned over to the ex-naval officer, with full power to discipline him as he thought best. mr. lowington had converted the father, and he hoped he should be able to convert the son. after dinner, mr. shuffles went down the bay with his host in the yacht. on the way they passed the school ship massachusetts, to which boys are sentenced by the courts for crime and vagrancy, and on board of which they are disciplined and educated. mr. lowington explained the institution to his guest. "an excellent idea," said mr. shuffles. "it is just the place for your son," replied mr. lowington. "but it is for criminals." "very true." "robert is not a criminal." "if he is not now, he soon will be, if he continues in his present course. if i had him on shipboard, i could make a man of him." "then i wish you had him on shipboard." "perhaps i may yet," replied the principal, with a smile. "i did not purchase the academy with the intention of becoming a pedagogue, in the ordinary sense of the word. i have no intention of remaining in it." "i hope you will." "i have been thinking of fitting up a vessel like the school ship, that rich men's sons may have the benefit of such an institution without the necessity of committing a crime. i could do more for the boys in a month on board ship than i could in a year at brockway." this was the first mention which mr. lowington made of his plan, though he had been considering it for several weeks. mr. shuffles hoped that this idea of a nautical academy would be reduced to practice; for he now felt that it was just what his son needed. the project was discussed during the rest of the trip. the history of the scheme, from its inception, need not be followed in detail. many persons were consulted in regard to it; there were plenty to approve, and plenty to disapprove; but in october the keel of a four hundred ton ship was laid down. the object of this marine institution was thoroughly explained, and before the ship was ready for launching there were applications for every berth on board of her. the idea was exceedingly popular among the boys, all of whom were anxious to be students on board, especially as it was already hinted that the ship would visit europe. to parents it held out for their sons all the benefits of a sea voyage, with few of its disadvantages. it would furnish healthy exercise and a vigorous constitution to its pupils. in march of the following year the ship was at anchor in brockway harbor, ready to receive her juvenile crew. chapter ii. the young america. with mr. lowington, the academy ship, which was the name he usually applied to the idea he had matured, and thus far carried into effect, was not a speculation; he did not intend to see how much money could be made by the scheme. it was an experiment in the education of rich men's sons, for only rich men could pay for scholarships in such an expensive institution. the brockway academy was to be continued, under the management of a board of trustees. an accomplished teacher had been selected by mr. lowington, and the school, under its present administration, was in a highly prosperous condition. only ten of its pupils had been transferred to the academy ship, for it required no little nerve on the part of parents to send their sons to school on the broad ocean, to battle with the elements, to endure the storms of the atlantic, and to undergo the hardships which tender mothers supposed to be inseparably connected with a life on shipboard. for six months mr. lowington had studied upon his plan, and it was hardly matured when the new ship came to anchor in brockway harbor. during this period he had visited the principal cities of the northern states, those of the southern section being closed against his operations by the war of the rebellion then raging at the height of its fury. he had interested his friends in his bold enterprise, and boys with, whom the experiment was to be inaugurated were gathered from all parts of the country. the securing of the requisite number of pupils was the first success, and what he had regarded as the most difficult part of the enterprise. more than half of them had been obtained before it was deemed prudent to lay the keel of the ship. the details of the plan had been carefully considered during the winter, and when the ship was moored at brockway, the organization of the school, its rules and regulations had all been written out. the boys began to arrive about the first of march, and by the first of april all of them, eighty-seven in number, were on board. mr. lowington was naturally very anxious for the success of his experiment, and for months he had labored with unceasing diligence in perfecting his plan, and carrying it into operation. in this occupation he had found the activity he needed; and he may not be blamed for believing, all the time, that he was laboring for his country and his race. if it has been inferred from what has been said of mr. lowington, of his domestic afflictions, and of his views on the subject of discipline, that he was an austere, cold, and unsympathizing man, a wrong impression has been conveyed. the boys of the brockway academy, when they came to know him, loved him as much as they respected him. he was not the man needlessly to abridge the harmless enjoyment of youth, or to repress its innocent hilarity. he watched the sports of the students with interest and pleasure, and encouraged them by all the means in his power. he was fond of humor, enjoyed a harmless joke, and had a keen appreciation of juvenile wit. he was a good companion for the boys, and when they understood him, he was always welcome to the play-ground. the new ship had been duly christened young america at the launching, by miss josey martyn--a name which was rapturously applauded by the boys. she was one hundred and eighteen feet in length, and of about four hundred tons burden. she had been built as strong as wood, iron, and copper could make her. for a ship, she was small, which permitted her to be light sparred, so that her juvenile crew could handle her with the more ease. she had a flush deck; that is, it was unbroken from stem to stern. there was no cabin, poop, camboose, or other house on deck, and the eye had a clean range over the whole length of her. there was a skylight between the fore and the main mast, and another between the main and mizzen masts, to afford light and air to the apartments below. there were three openings in the deck by which entrance could be obtained to the interior of the ship: the fore hatch, the main hatch, and the companion-way, the two former being used by the crew, and the latter by the officers. the between-decks, which is the space included between the upper and the lower deck, was fitted up for the accommodation of the officers and crew. descending by the companion-way--which in the young america extended athwartships--on the right, at the foot of the stairs, was the officers' cabin, occupying the part of the ship nearest to the stern. this apartment was twenty-eight feet long, by fifteen in breadth at the widest part, with four state rooms on each side. the mizzen mast passed up through the middle of it. this cabin was richly but plainly fitted up, and was furnished well enough for a drawing-room on shore. it was for the use of the juvenile officers of the ship, fifteen in number, who were to hold their positions as rewards of merit. the captain had a room to himself, while each of the other apartments was to accommodate two officers. on the left of the companion-way, descending the stairs, was the "old folks' cabin," as it was called by the students. it was in the locality corresponding to that occupied by the ward room of a man-of-war. though the after cabin is the place of honor on board a ship, mr. lowington had selected the ward room for himself and the teachers, in preference to the after cabin, because it was next to the steerage, which was occupied by the larger portion of the pupils, and because the form of the ship did not contract the dimensions of the state rooms. this cabin was twenty-two feet long and fifteen feet wide, with no waste room, as in the after cabin, caused by the rounding in of the ship's counter. on the sides were five state rooms, besides a pantry for the steward, and a dispensary for the surgeon. the forward room on the starboard side was occupied by mr. lowington alone; the next on the same side by the chaplain and doctor; and each of the three on the port side by two of the teachers. this cabin was elegantly finished and furnished, and the professors were delighted with its cheerful and pleasant aspect. from the main cabin, as that of the "faculty" was called, were two doors, opening into the steerage, fifty-two feet in length by fifteen feet in width of clear space between the berths, which diminished to nine feet abreast of the foremast. this apartment was eight feet high, and was lighted in part by a large skylight midway between the fore and main mast, and partly by bull's eyes in the side of the ship. there were seventy-two berths, placed in twelve rooms, opening from passage-ways, which extended athwartships from the main steerage, and were lighted by the bull's eyes. there were no doors to these dormitories, each of which contained six berths, in two tiers of three each. it was intended that the six boys occupying one of these rooms should form a mess. between the gangways, or passages, were mess tables, which could be swung up against the partition when not in use. the steerage was neatly and tastefully fitted up, and furnished, though not so elegantly as the cabins. it was to be the school room, as well as the parlor and dining room of the boys, and it would compare favorably with such apartments in well-ordered academies on shore. there was plenty of shelves, pouches, and lockers, under the lower berths, and beneath the bull's eyes at the head of the main gangways, for clothing and books, and each boy had a place for every article which regulations allowed him to possess. forward of the foremast there were two large state rooms; that on the starboard side having four berths, for the boatswain, carpenter, sailmaker, and head steward; and the one on the port side with six, for the two cooks and the four under stewards, all of whom were men skilful and experienced in their several departments. forward of these was the kitchen, from which opened the lamp room, a triangular closet in the bow of the ship. mr. lowington had taken the idea of locating the cooking apartment in the extreme forward part of the vessel from the victoria and albert, the steam yacht of the queen of england. the hold beneath the berth deck contained the water tanks, bread room, chain lockers, and a multitude of store rooms for provisions, clothing, and supplies of every description needed on board during a long voyage. the young america was to be officered and manned by the students. they were to work the ship, to make and take in sail, to reef, steer, and wash down decks, as well as study and recite their lessons. they were to go aloft, stand watch, man the capstan, pull the boats; in short, to do everything required of seamen on board a ship. mr. lowington was to lure them into the belief, while they were hauling tacks and sheets, halyards and braces, that they were not at work, but at play. the labor required of them was an essential element in the plan, by which the boys were to obtain, the necessary physical exercise, and the discipline they so much needed. by the first of april the last of the students had reported to the principal on board, and the professors, as the boys insisted upon calling them, had taken possession of their state rooms. though some of the pupils had been on board nearly a month, the organization of the ship had not been commenced; but classes had been formed in some of the studies, by the teachers, and the pupils recited every day. the boatswain had instructed the boys in rowing, and some temporary regulations had been adopted for the eating and sleeping departments. but not a boy had been allowed to go aloft, and nothing more than ordinary school discipline had been attempted. the boys, as boys always are, were impatient at this delay. they wanted to be bounding over the ocean--to be on their way to some foreign port. they were anxious to work, to climb the rigging, and stand at the wheel. as yet they knew very little of the purposes of the principal, and had but a faint perception of the life they were to lead in the academy ship. it was understood that the officers were to be selected for their merit, and that the ship, some time or other, was to cross the ocean; but beyond this, all was darkness and uncertainty. "to-morrow will be the first day of april," said george wilton, as he walked the deck of the young america with richard carnes, a dignified young gentleman of seventeen. "mr. lowington said we should go to work on that day." "if he said so, then of course we shall go to work," replied carnes. "i'm tired of waiting," added wilton. "i think this is a stupid kind of life. we are not even tied to a bell rope here." "you will get discipline enough as soon as the crew are organized." "i suppose we shall. do you think we shall go to sea to-morrow?" "go to sea to-morrow!" exclaimed carnes. "shuffles said so." "how can we go to sea to-morrow? the crew don't know the mainmast from a handspike. they couldn't do anything with the ship now; they don't know the ropes." "you do, carnes." "well, i know something about a ship," replied the dignified young gentleman, who had made one voyage up the mediterranean with his uncle. "i was pretty sure we should get out into blue water by to-morrow." "nonsense!" "shuffles said so." "he is mistaken." "what are we going to do?" "i don't know? i'm content to wait till orders come." "i don't want to wait any longer," added wilton. "what are you talking about, fellows?" asked shuffles, joining them, as they walked forward. "didn't you say we were going to sea to-morrow, shuffles?" asked wilton. "of course we are." "who says so?" demanded carnes. "all the fellows say so." "it can't be true." "why not? we are not going to stay here forever." "in my opinion, we shall stay here some weeks, if not some months," added carnes. "what for?" "to pursue our studies, in the first place, and to learn our duty as seamen, in the second." "i don't believe i shall stay here a great while longer," said shuffles, with evident disgust. "there's no fun lying here." "you can't help yourself," added wilton. "perhaps i can't, but i can try," said shuffles, as he glanced towards the shore. "all hands ahoy!" shouted peaks, the boatswain, as his shrill whistle rang through the ship. the boys had been taught the meaning of this call, and they gathered in the waist, eager to know what was to be required of them. mr. lowington stood on the raised hatch over the main scuttle, where all the students could see him. it was evident that he had some announcement to make, especially as the following day had been assigned for organizing the ship's company. the boys were silent, and their faces betrayed the curiosity which they felt. "young gentleman," the principal began, "this ship will go into commission to-morrow." "don't know what you mean, sir," said paul kendall as mr. lowington paused to observe the effect of his announcement. "i did not suppose that many of you would understand the expression. in the navy, a ship is said to go into commission when the captain takes his place on board, and the crew are organized for duty. when this takes place, the ensign is hoisted. to-morrow, at twelve o'clock, we shall display the colors at the peak. with us, going into commission will only mean the organization of our school. from that time, we shall observe the discipline of a man-of-war, so far as the ship and crew are concerned." "shall we go to sea then?" asked wilton. "i think not," replied mr. lowington, laughing. "we shall not leave the harbor till every officer and seaman knows his duty. you shall have enough to do to-morrow, young gentlemen." "when shall we be able to go to sea?" "i don't know. there are many ropes in the ship, and you have a great deal to learn before i shall be willing to trust you with the anchor at the cat-head." "what is the cat-head, sir?" asked kendall "do you wish to go to sea without knowing what the cat-head is?" replied the principal. "you shall know in due time. to-morrow we shall select the officers, fifteen in number, who are to occupy the after cabin." this announcement created a decided sensation among the eighty-seven boys gathered in the waist, for the subject had been full of interest to them. the after cabin had thus far been a sealed book; the door was locked, and they had not even seen the inside of the apartment. they were curious to visit this cabin, and to know who were to occupy it. "after the organization of the school, it is my intention to give these offices to those who obtain the highest number of merit marks, which will be given for good conduct, good lessons, and progress in seamanship. the best boy, who is at the same time the best scholar and the best seaman, shall be captain. we have no marks now by which to make the selection, and i intend to have you elect him the first time, reserving to myself the right to veto your choice if it is obviously an improper one." as mr. lowington uttered this last remark, he glanced, perhaps unconsciously, at shuffles, who stood directly in front of him. "young gentlemen, the ballot will take place to-morrow morning, at nine o'clock. i have given you this notice, that you may be able to consider the matter and, if you choose, to make nominations for the several offices," continued the principal. "what are the offices, sir?" "the first and most important one, of course, is the captain. the others are four lieutenants, four masters, two pursers, and four midshipmen." "what are they to do?" asked kendall. "i will not explain their duties now; it would require too much time. i mentioned them in the order of their importance. now, young gentlemen, you should select your candidates for these offices by merit, not by favor. i am aware that a few of you have been to sea, but probably none of you are competent to handle a ship; and your choice should be based mainly on good character and good conduct. i hope i shall be able to approve the choice you may make. you are dismissed now." "three cheers for the principal!" shouted one of the boys. "silence, young gentleman! let me say now, that no expressions of approbation or disapprobation are to be allowed." the boys separated into groups, and immediately gave their attention to the important subject suggested to them by mr. lowington. it must be acknowledged that violent symptoms of "log-rolling" began to be exhibited. there were fifty, if not eighty-seven young men who wished to be captain, and sit at the head of the table in the after cabin. some of them went down into the steerage, and in five minutes there was a confused jabbering in every part of the ship. "for whom shall you vote, wilton?" asked shuffles in a group of half a dozen which had gathered around one of the mess tables. "i don't know? whom do you go for?" replied wilton. "i rather think i shall go for bob shuffles. in my opinion, he is the best fellow on board," replied the owner of that name. "that's modest," laughed wilton. "do you know of any fellow that would make a better captain than i should?" "you don't know the first thing about a ship." "what odds does that make? i can learn as fast as anybody else." "do you expect every fellow to vote for himself?" asked howe, another of the group. "of course i don't; i expect them to vote for me," answered shuffles, with great good-nature. "you are rather cheeky, shuffles." "what's the use of mincing the matter? here we are, half a dozen of the best fellows in the ship. we can't all be captain; but one of us can be just as well as not." "that's so," added howe, approvingly. "but who shall that one be?" "i am the one, without a doubt," said shuffles. "i don't see it," interposed monroe, shaking his head; and he was the young gentleman who had assisted the aspirant for the captaincy to rob mr. lowington's favorite peach tree. "what have you got to say about it, ike monroe? do you expect us to go for you?" "i didn't say so." "that's what you meant." "i've just as much right to the place as you have, bob shuffles." "do you think you could make the fellows stand round as i can? but hold on; fellows, don't let us fight about it. we are just the best six fellows on board, and if we have a mind to do so, we can have this thing all our own way," continued shuffles. "i don't see how," said philip sanborn. "don't you know how the politicians manage these things?" "i don't." "i'll tell you, then." "but the principal said we must go according to merit, and elect the fellows who were the best fitted for the offices," interposed howe. "exactly so; that's just what we are going to do. i'm going to be captain; can you tell me of any better fellow for the place?" demanded shuffles, who, putting aside the jesting manner in which he had commenced the discussion, now assumed an earnest and impudent tone. "didn't you hear what lowington said when he wound up his speech?" asked wilton. "what?" "about vetoing our choice if it was not a proper one." "what of it?" asked shuffles, innocently. "don't you think he would veto you?" "me! not he! lowington knows that i'm smart; i was too smart for him once, and he knows it. he won't veto me. we have been the best of friends lately." "i don't believe he'll have a chance to veto you," said wilton. "what do you mean?" "i don't believe you will be elected." "i know i shall, if we manage it right. let us look at it," continued shuffles, as he took a pencil from his pocket. "got a piece of paper?" monroe gave him a piece of paper, and the wire-puller began to make his calculations. "eighty-seven votes," said he, writing the number on the paper. "necessary to a choice, forty-four. here are six votes to start with." "for whom?" asked monroe. "for me, for captain, first, and for each of the others for whatever place he wants; say for wilton for first lieutenant; howe for second, sanborn for third, monroe for fourth, and adler for first master. what do you say to that, fellows?" as with the political "slate," there was some difference of opinion in regard to the minor officers, even after shuffles' claim to the captaincy had been conceded but this disposition of the spoils was finally agreed to. "now we want thirty-eight more votes," shuffles proceeded. "just so; and you might as well attempt to jump over the main royal yard as to get them," added adler, who, having been assigned to the office lowest in rank, was least satisfied with the "slate." "hold on; we haven't done yet. there are nine more offices. now we will pick out some good fellow that will work for us, for each of these places; then we will promise him six votes if he will go our ticket, and do what he can for us." "that will give us only fifteen votes," said adler. "i think that will be doing very well to start with. then you five fellows can electioneer for me, and i'll do the same for you." "i think we have made one mistake," added sanborn. "most of the fellows will go for carnes for captain. he is an old salt, and has more influence than any other student in the ship. we ought to offer him some place." "make him purser, if you like," said shuffles, contemptuously. "that won't go down. make him first lieutenant." "and shove me out?" demanded wilton, indignantly. "i don't see it!" "nor i," added shuffles. "i won't vote for carnes, any how. he's a snob and a flunky." it was useless to resist the fiat of the chief wire-puller; the ticket remained as it had been originally prepared; and the young gentlemen proceeded to distribute the rest of the offices. chapter iii. the ensign at the peak. the students on board of the young america were between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. by the regulations, no boy under fourteen or over seventeen could be admitted, and they averaged about fifteen. they had, therefore, reached the years of discretion. among them were a great many who were disposed to be wild boys, and not a few who had found it difficult to remain in similar institutions on shore. they were not criminal or depraved, but simply wild; with a tendency to break through reasonable restraint; with a taste for mad pranks, and a contempt for authority. of this class, who were a trial and a torment to the teachers of the ordinary high schools and academies, the larger proportion would have scorned to steal, or commit any wanton outrage upon the persons or property of others. there were many high-minded, noble-hearted young men, who could not tamely submit to authority, and were prone to insubordination, and who only needed the right kind of discipline to make them earnest and faithful men and useful citizens. there were few, if any, dunces or blockheads among them, for a life on shipboard had no attractions for such boys. they were, almost without an exception, wide-awake, bold, daring fellows, who had a taste for stirring events; fellows who wanted to climb the rocky mountains, visit the north pole, and explore the mammoth cave. they were full of fun and mischief and it would have been easy at any time to get up a party among them to march the principal's cow into the parlor of the academy; to climb to the belfry on a winter's night, and fill the inverted bell with water, where it would freeze solid before morning; or to convey the occupants of the hen-coop to the recitation room. it was mr. lowington's task to repress the mischief in these boys, to keep them occupied with work and play, and to develop their moral and mental capacities. he had doubtless taken a heavy load upon himself but he felt that he was to labor for his race and his country. at least one half of his students were too wild to attend the ordinary public or private schools, or to profit by them if admitted. with such material, his work could not be a sinecure. but he had a taste for it, and he gave his whole heart and soul to the performance of his duties. when the students were gathered on board the young america, they were mostly strangers to him, though he had communicated personally or by letter with the parents of all of them. he had read and listened to the stories of their pranks and peccadilloes, but when they came together, he hardly knew one from another, and was not prejudiced against any individual by the terrible accounts of him related by parents, guardians, or teachers. he purposed to give them the opportunity to select their own officers at first, in order to win a more cheerful obedience from them, and because the students knew each other better than he knew them. after the announcement of the principal that the voting would commence on the following morning, nothing else was talked of on board. the qualifications of various members of the school were discussed by groups of excited voters; and we must do them the justice to say that most of them considered the matter unselfishly and with a single eye to the public good. perhaps it is a little remarkable that not a single student, outside of the little group of wire-pullers that gathered in the steerage, thought of shuffles for the position of captain; and the "log-rollers" were likely to have up-hill work in electing themselves to the six principal offices. but they went to work, and labored very diligently till bed-time in carrying their point. while none thought of shuffles in connection with the highest position, many mentioned the dignified young gentleman, who had made one voyage up the mediterranean--richard carnes. he had been on board a fortnight, and had won and retained the respect of all his companions. before the little band of wire-pullers in the steerage had made up the "slate" to suit their minds, the crowd on deck had agreed upon richard carnes for captain, and were busy in discussing the qualifications of others for the subordinate offices, when the log-rollers separated, and went to work upon their mission. "how are you going to vote for captain, kendall?" said wilton, stopping up to the young gentleman who had proposed so many questions to the principal, and who had been so honest in confessing his ignorance of nautical matters. "for carnes, of course." "humph! i wouldn't vote for him," sneered the wire-puller. "why not?" "he's too stiff; he'll put on airs, and be a tyrant over us." "no, he won't." "you see if he don't. i say, kendall, are you up for any office?" continued wilton, with a certain appearance of slyness which the straightforward young gentleman did not exactly like. "am i?" "yes, you. wouldn't you like a room in the after cabin?" "perhaps i would," answered kendall, thoughtfully; and the place was certainly very inviting to him. "they say the after cabin is a perfect little palace." "i dare say it is." "you can just as well go in there, if you like." "i don't see how that can be. i don't think i'm fit to be an officer. i am from cincinnati, and i never saw a ship till i came east three weeks ago." "none of the fellows know anything about a ship. all of us will have to learn." "carnes knows all about one." "no, he don't. he made one voyage, and knows just enough to talk salt. he's a good fellow enough, but he isn't fit for captain. if you want to be an officer, kendall, and have a berth in the after cabin, you can, just as well as not." "well, i would like such a place; i can't deny it; but i don't think the fellows will go for me." "they will, if you say so." "if i say so! i'm not going to ask them to vote for me," replied kendall, warmly; for he was no politician and had a vein of modesty in his composition. "you needn't say a word to any one. if you will go for our ticket, it will be all right. half a dozen of us have talked this matter over, and we have concluded that you would be the best fellow for second master." "have you?" asked kendall, who could not help being gratified to learn that even half a dozen of his companions had thought him worthy to be an officer of so high a rank as second master. "i'm very much obliged to you." "all you have to do, is to go for our ticket." "what do you mean by your ticket?" demanded kendall, who was rather confused by the technical terms of the wire-puller. wilton explained that his little party had selected a candidate for each of the offices; and if all the fellows agreed to it, there would be fifteen votes for their ticket, to begin with. "well, what is your ticket?" demanded kendall, impatiently. "if they are all good fellows, i will go for them. of course you mean to vote for carnes for captain." "not exactly," replied wilton, with evident disgust. "we shall put up a better fellow than he is for captain." "why, all the boys are going for him," added kendall, astonished to find there were any who did not believe in carnes. "no, they are not." "i thought they were." "he will not be elected, and you need not throw your vote away upon him, because, if you don't want a place in the after cabin, there are plenty of fellows who do," added the wire-puller, with apparent indifference. "but i do want it." "then all you have to do, is to go for our ticket." "i think carnes will make the best captain." "very well; if you think so, you have a right to your own opinion. i haven't any mortgage on it." "whom are you going to run for captain?" "it's no use to talk any more about it, if you are going for carnes," replied wilton, as he turned to move away. the wire-puller was playing a part. paul kendall was a noble little fellow, and was already a great favorite on board, not only with the boys, but with the principal and the professors. wilton knew that he had a great deal of influence, and it was important to secure him for their ticket. if he could tell others that kendall was going for their men, it would induce many to join their party. the "favorite," though he was an honest, noble-hearted fellow, was still human, and a berth in the after cabin was a strong temptation to him. "i'm not going to say i'll vote for a fellow till i know who he is," added kendall. "if he's the right person, perhaps i'll go for him, though i wanted to see carnes captain." "carnes can't be elected, i tell you. we are going against him." "whom are you going for, then?" "for bob shuffles," replied wilton, desperately, for he did not wish to mention his candidate till he had won the assent of his companion. "shuffles!" exclaimed kendall, with something like horror mingled with his astonishment; "i shall not go for him, anyhow." "why not?" "i don't think he is the right person for the place." "i do; he's a first-rate fellow--none of your milk and water chaps, that swallow camels and strain at gnats." kendall had some decided objections to shuffles, and he positively refused to vote for him, even to obtain the coveted position in the after cabin. wilton argued the matter with much skill and cunning; but his logic and his eloquence were both wasted. "well, if you won't go for shuffles, you must be content with your place in the steerage," added wilton. "i won't go for him, any how," said kendall, firmly. "you are making a mistake." "i don't think so. i'm bound to vote for the best fellow, and i'm sure shuffles isn't the right one." "see here, kendall; don't say a word to the others that i spoke to you of this little matter. i thought you would go with us, or i shouldn't have said anything to you." "not say anything? why not?" "because it will be better to keep still." "i shall not do anything of the kind. you have got up a plan to defeat carnes, by giving the offices to fellows who will vote against him. you wish me to keep still, while you carry out your plan. i can see through a cord of wood, when there's a hole big enough." "i mentioned this thing to you in confidence." "you didn't say a word about confidence; and i didn't promise to keep still. i won't keep still. i think it is a mean trick to buy up the votes of the fellows, and i'll blow the whole thing higher than a kite." "you'll catch it if you do," said wilton, in a threatening tone. "catch what?" demanded kendall, with a very pretty exhibition of dignity. "bob shuffles will give it to you." "give what to me?" "give you the biggest licking you ever had in your life," answered wilton, angrily, "you are so stupid, you can't understand anything." "i think i can understand the licking, when if comes. that's a game that two can play at." "what do you mean, you little bantam? do you think you can whip bob shuffles?" "i had no idea of whipping him; and i have no idea of his whipping me, either." kendall was spunky. wilton could make nothing of him by threats or persuasion; and he turned away from him to seek a more promising field of labor. kendall took off his cap, scratched his head as he reflected upon the event which had just transpired, and made up his mind that it was an insult to an independent elector to attempt to buy his vote with the paltry consideration of an office. he was sorry that he had been even tempted by the proposition of the wire-pullers, and thankful that his sense of honor and decency had prompted him to decline it when asked to vote for an improper person. true to his promise, he made all haste to expose the conspiracy, as he regarded it, against carnes. when the students turned in that night, the wire-pullers had found a sufficient number of candidates for all the offices on the terms set forth in the compact, each of whom had promised to use his influence for the entire ticket. shuffles had made a very pretty calculation, to the effect that each of the fifteen candidates could influence at least two votes besides his own for the ticket, which would inevitably elect it. but during all this time paul kendall had been laboring like a trojan for carnes, and had induced his friends to do the same. at nine-o'clock in the morning, the polls were opened for the election of officers. a box was placed on the fife-rail, at the mainmast, in which the ballots were deposited, under the inspection of professor mapps. "have all the students voted?" called the professor, when the voting was suspended. "if so, i declare the poll closed." it was a moment of intense excitement on the spar deck of the young america when mr. lowington stood up on the hatch to announce the vote. there was a pleasant smile upon his face, which indicated that it would not be his painful duty to veto the choice of the independent electors. "young gentlemen, your balloting appears to have been conducted with entire fairness," said he, "and i will proceed to declare the result. whole number of votes, eighty-seven; necessary to a choice, forty-four. paul kendall has five; charles gordon has seven; robert shuffles has twenty-two; richard carnes has fifty-three, and is elected captain of the young america for the succeeding three months." the party who had worked and voted for carnes applauded the result most lustily, and gave three cheers for the new captain, which, on this exciting occasion, were not objected to by the principal. shuffles's jaw dropped down, and his lip quivered with angry emotion. "that little whipper-snapper of a kendall did that," said wilton, in a low tone, to the disappointed candidate. "i was afraid of this when i saw him blowing about the deck." "i'll settle it with him when i get a good chance," growled shuffles, as he went to the rail and looked over into the water, in order to conceal his disappointment and chagrin. "young gentlemen will bring in their votes for first lieutenant," said professor mapps, as he placed the box on the fife-rail again. the boys marched around the mainmast, and deposited their ballots for the second officer, as they had done before. the friends of shuffles rallied again, hoping that something might yet come of the compact they had made with him, and gave him their votes for first lieutenant, though, in his chagrin, he declared that he would not accept the position. fortunately for him, he was not called upon to do so; for charles gordon was elected by a very large majority. as the election proceeded, it became evident that there was no office for shuffles. paul kendall was elected fourth lieutenant and the announcement of the vote was greeted by even more hearty applause than had been bestowed upon the captain. at the conclusion of the balloting, shuffles found that not a single one of the wire-pullers, or of the candidates nominated by them, had been elected. the attempt to bribe the independent voters, by giving them office, had been a signal failure; and it is to be hoped that young america, when fully developed, will stick to his principles. "captain richard carnes," said mr. lowington, as he stepped upon the hatch, after the voting had been concluded. the young gentleman thus addressed came forward, blushing beneath the honors which had been bestowed upon him. the principal took his hand. "captain carnes, i congratulate you upon your election to the highest office in the gift of your companions; and i congratulate your fellow-students also upon having so good a young man to handle the ship. you have been modest, and they have been wise. i congratulate you both. young gentlemen, i am satisfied that your captain will be just, courteous, and gentlemanly, in his relations with you; and i hope you will yield a willing and cheerful obedience to his orders, and to those of all your superiors. let me say that this business is not a farce; it is not mere boys' play; for as soon as the officers and crew are fully trained and instructed, all ship duty will be carried on without assistance from me or others. when necessary, i shall advise the captain what to do, but i shall not do it myself; neither shall i needlessly interfere with the discipline of the ship. "this is the last time an election of officers will be permitted, for it is liable to many objections, not the least of which are the bribery and corruption by which some have attempted to obtain office." mr. lowington looked at shuffles, as though he knew all about the method to which he had resorted to secure an election; but we are quite sure that paul kendall had never lisped a word of it to him, or to any of the instructors. "on the first day of july, young gentlemen, all the offices will be vacant; and they will be awarded strictly in accordance with the marks you may obtain. there will be no veto upon the result of the merit roll. these places, therefore, are open to all. we have no aristocracy on board. every student in the ship is a candidate for the captaincy. now, if the officers elect will follow me to the after cabin, i will install them into their new positions; after which i will proceed to organize the crew." the door of the after cabin, which had hitherto been a mystery to all the boys, was unlocked by the head steward, and mr. lowington, followed by the officers, entered. the students on deck were ordered forward, and were not even permitted to look down the companion-way, for the principal intended to keep the after cabin exclusively for the officers; and no one not entitled to admission was to be allowed to cross its threshold. he believed that this mystery, and this rigid adherence to the division line between officers and crew, would promote the discipline of the ship, and enhance the value of the offices--the prizes for good conduct, and general fidelity to duty. "captain carnes, this is your state room," continued mr. lowington, opening the door of the room farthest forward on the starboard side. "as the commander of the ship you are entitled to an apartment by yourself." "thank you, sir," replied the captain, as he stepped into the room. "you will find on the hooks your uniform as captain. there are three suits, from which you will select one that fits you." captain carnes entered and closed the door. if he did not feel like a king, he ought to have felt so. mr. lowington then gave the next room to the first and second lieutenants, who were to occupy it together; and they were also directed to clothe themselves in the uniforms deposited there for their use. the third state room was given to the third and fourth lieutenants, and the fourth to the first and second midshipmen. the forward room of the port side was assigned to the first and second masters; the next to the third and fourth; the third to the two pursers, and the last to the third and fourth midshipmen. in a short time the officers came out of their rooms clothed in their uniforms, which consisted of a blue frock coat, with brass buttons, and blue pants. the cap was of the same material, with a gold band around it. thus far the uniforms were all alike; but there were distinguishing insignia to indicate the rank of each. all the officers had shoulder-straps, by which their positions were designated. the captain had two anchors; the first lieutenant had one anchor, with four stars, one above, one below, and one on each side; the second lieutenant had the anchor with three stars--none above; the third lieutenant, one star on each side of the anchor; and the fourth lieutenant one star below the anchor. the captain also wore five narrow gold bands on each of his coat sleeves; the first lieutenant four, and so on, the fourth wearing but one band. the shoulder-straps of the masters contained no anchor; only the stars, one for each grade, the first master having four stars; the fourth only one. the rank of the pursers was indicated by the outline of a parallelogram for the second, and two of the same figure, one within the other, for the first. the straps of the midshipmen contained gilt numbers, from one to four, designating their grade. the officers presented a very elegant and dashing appearance in their new uniform; and if some of them did not feel a little vain, it was because they were less human than boys usually are. "what are we to do, sir?" asked kendall of the principal, after the uniforms had been duly criticised. "nothing, at present." "nothing! why, i feel like a counterfeit gold dollar, in this rig, when i know no more about a ship than i do about the inside of the moon." "you will learn in due time. you will go on deck now, young gentlemen; and remember that, as officers, you are not to be familiar with the crew while you are on duty." "can't we speak to them?" asked kendall, who was not disposed to be so exclusive as naval discipline required him to be. "not while you are on duty, except when it is necessary to do so. we will now assign the berths in the steerage to the crew." as the boys came on board, they had taken the berths as they pleased. shuffles had selected a room, and invited his "cronies" to occupy the bunks it contained with him. the berths were now to be distributed by lot. professor mapps had provided seventy-two slips of paper, on each of which he had written a number. the boys were mustered into line, and drew out these numbers from the package. as each student drew his slip, the purser wrote down his name in a book, with the number he had drawn. in the steerage, each berth had its own number, which was also applied to a locker, and a seat at one of the mess tables. when the drawing was completed each student had his berth, his clothes locker, and his seat at meals. many of them were extremely dissatisfied when they found that they had been separated from their "cronies;" but the principal was firm, and would not allow a single change to be made. by this time it was twelve o'clock, and boatswain peaks piped all hands to muster. the ensign was hoisted, and saluted with three cheers, in which all hands, young and old, joined. when this ceremony was finished, the crew were piped to dinner, and the officers went to their cabin, where the steward had set the table for them for the first time. they dined like lords, though upon the same fare as their companions in the steerage. chapter iv. officers and seamen. after dinner the organization of the crew was continued. all hands were "piped to muster," and by this time most of those who had been disaffected at the drawing of berths had recovered their natural equanimity, and all were intensely interested in the arrangement of the details. none of the boys knew what was coming, and their curiosity kept them in a continuous state of excitement. "all who have drawn even numbers will take the starboard side of the ship," said mr. lowington from his perch on the hatch. "all who have drawn odd numbers will take the port side." "this is the starboard side, my lads," added mr. fluxion, the instructor in mathematics--who, like the principal, had been a naval officer,--as he pointed to the right, looking forward. some had already forgotten their numbers, and there was considerable confusion before the order could be obeyed. "young gentlemen, the books will be opened to-day; and a student who forgets his number again will lose a mark," said mr. lowington. "are they all in their places, mr. fluxion?" "they are, sir," replied the instructor, who had just counted them. "young gentlemen, you are thus divided into two equal parts--the starboard and the port watches. now form a straight line, toe the crack, and call your numbers in order, beginning with the starboard watch." the boys eagerly followed this direction, though some assistance was required from the instructors in repressing their superfluous enthusiasm. "very well," continued mr. lowington, when the students were formed in two lines. "every boy in the starboard watch whose number is divisible by four, step forward one pace. number three in the port watch, do the same. mr. mapps, oblige me by seeing that every alternate boy in the line steps forward." "the line is formed, sir," replied the instructor, when he had carried out the direction of the principal. "each watch is now divided into two parts--the first and second parts, as they will be called. now, young gentlemen, the clothing will be distributed, and each student will put on his uniform at once." the four lines were then marched down into the steerage, each under the charge of an instructor, to a particular locality, where the head steward and his assistants had deposited the clothing for each watch and quarter watch. the uniform consisted of blue seaman's pants and a heavy flannel shirt or frock, such as is worn in the united states navy. to each student the following articles were served out:-- pea-jacket. blue cloth jacket. pair blue cloth pants. pair blue satinet pants. blue cap. straw hat, of coarse, sewed straw. panama hat, bound. knit woollen shirts. pair knit woollen drawers. white frocks. pair white duck pants. pair socks. pair shoes. black silk neck-handkerchiefs. these articles were given to the boys, and they were required to put on the every-day uniform; after which they were directed to arrange the rest of the clothing in the lockers belonging to them. the contractor who had furnished the goods was present with four tailors, to attend to the fitting of the clothes, which were all numbered according to the size. in a short time the students began to come out of their rooms, clothed in their new rig. they looked intensely "salt," and there was no end to the jokes and smart things that were said on this interesting occasion. even shuffles hardly knew himself in his new dress. the frock had a broad rolling collar, in each corner of which was worked an anchor in white. the black silk neck-handkerchief was worn under the collar, and not many of the boys had acquired the art of tying the regular sailor's knot. boatswain peaks not only stood up as a model for them, but he adjusted the "neck gear" for many of them. bitts, the carpenter, and leech, the sailmaker, who were also old sailors, cheerfully rendered a valet's assistance to such as needed help. agreeably to the directions of mr. lowington, the shore suits of the students were done up in bundles, each marked with the owner's name, and the head steward took them to mr. lowington's house for storage. rigged out in their "sea togs," the students began to feel salt, as well as to look salt. some of them tried to imitate the rolling gait of the boatswain when they walked, and some of them began to exhibit an alarming tendency to indulge in sea slang. "there, my hearty, you look like a sailor now," said peaks, when he had rolled over the collar and tied the square knot in the handkerchief of wilton. "shiver my timbers, but i feel like one," laughed the embryo seaman. "what's that, young gentleman?" demanded mr. lowington, who happened to be within hearing; "what did you say?" "i said i felt like a sailor, sir." "what was the expression you used?" "i only said shiver my timbers, sir." "you stole that expression from a yellow-covered novel. did you ever hear mr. peaks, who has been a sailor all his lifetime, use such language?" "i'll be bound he never did," added peaks. "no, sir. i don't know that i ever did." "some sailors do use such expressions; but it is gross affectation for these young gentlemen, who never saw a blue wave, to indulge in them. if you please, wilton, you will not use such language. it is simply ridiculous. mr. peaks, you will pipe all hands to muster again." the shrill whistle of the boatswain sounded through the ship, and the boys tumbled up the ladders, eager to learn what was to be done next. as they formed in lines, they presented a novel and picturesque appearance in their jaunty uniform. most of them had already learned to wear their caps canted over on one side, and not a few of them, perhaps as much from necessity as because it was a sailor's habit, hitched up their trousers, and thrust their hands deep down into the side pockets. the students were again formed in watches and quarter watches, each of which classes and sub-classes was indicated on the uniforms. all the starboard watch wore a small silver star on the right arm, above the elbow, and the port watch the same emblem on the left arm. the first part of each watch had a figure , under the star, and the second part a figure in the same position. the rest of the day was spent in the organization for ship's duty, which was far from completed when the sun went down. the next day every boy was kept so busy that he had no time to grumble. the instructors attended to the lessons in the steerage with one watch, while the other was on deck acquiring seamanship. in the course of the month, as the boys learned their duties, and the capabilities of each were ascertained, they were assigned to their stations in the various evolutions required in working the vessel. boatswain peaks had taught the boys, a few at a time, how to set a sail, reef and furl it. they had been gradually accustomed to going aloft, until the giddy height of the main royal did not appall them, and they could lay out on the yards without thinking of the empty space beneath them. by the first of june, all the petty officers had been appointed, and every student had his station billet. when the order was given to unmoor ship, to make sail, or to furl the sails, every one knew where to go and what to do. the station billets were cards on which the various evolutions of the ship had been printed in a column on the left, while the particular duty of the owner of the card was written against it. the card was kept by the student, and he was expected to learn its contents so that he could take his place without stopping to consult it, when an order was given. here is a specimen of the cards:-- +---------------------------------------------------------+ |port watch, no , william foster, | |second part. _captain of the forecastle._ | +----------------------+----------------------------------+ |reefing. |head bowlines. | |tacking or wearing. |forecastle. let go head bowlines. | | | let go and shorten in foretack | | | and belay it. | |getting under way. |head bowlines. downhauls and | | | head-sheets. | |anchoring. |head bowlines, sheets and tacks. | | | downhauls. | |loosing sails. |foretopmast staysail. | |furling. |head bowlines and downhauls, | | | staysail. | |mooring and unmooring.|forecastle. | |boat. |professor's barge, stroke-oar. | |mess. |no. . | +----------------------+----------------------------------+ the crew had been in training a month before an attempt was made to set more than one sail at once; but by this time the officers knew the orders, having practised every day since the organization. the petty officers had been appointed, and had, to some extent, become familiar with their duties. the boys still continued to wonder when the young america would go on a cruise, for they were very anxious to see the blue water, and to roll on the great waves of the atlantic; but they were so constantly occupied with ship's duty and their studies, that the time did not hang heavily on their hands. two months of constant practice had made tolerable seamen of them, and the discipline of the ship went on regularly. the young officers, as mr. lowington had promised, began to conduct the evolutions and give the orders. on the st day of june, after breakfast, the students were thrown into a fever of excitement by an unusual order, and they ventured to hope that the ship was to leave her moorings. "mr. gordon, you will pipe all hands to muster," said captain carnes to the first lieutenant. "pass the word for the boatswain," added gordon to one of the midshipmen, who stood near him. this call was answered, not by peaks, who no longer performed the duties of boatswain, but by one of the students, who had been appointed to this position. "pipe all hands to muster, boatswain," said the first lieutenant, as the petty officer touched his cap to him. "all hands on deck, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, as he piped the call. this was an unusual order for that time of day, the forenoon being appropriated to study for each watch in turn; and those who were below hastened on deck to ascertain what was to be done. "all hands, stations for loosing sail!" piped the boatswain, when ordered to do so by gordon. the first lieutenant was in charge of the ship, under the direction of the captain. the second lieutenant stood on the forecastle, where he was attended by the boatswain. the third lieutenant was in the waist, and the fourth on the quarter deck, near the mizzenmast. these were the stations of the officers whenever all hands were called. mr. lowington and the instructors stood near the companion-way, watching with interest this first attempt to make sail all over the ship. "lay aloft, sail-loosers!" shouted gordon; and his order was repeated by the officers at their several stations. the little tars who belonged on the topsail and top-gallant yards sprang up the rigging like so many cats, excited beyond measure by the scene of activity around them. "lower yardmen in the chains!" continued gordon and his order was passed, along by the officers. "aloft, lower yardmen!" in a moment the crew were in their places; the studding-sail booms were triced up with the usual system, so that the sails could be reached. "lay out!" continued the first lieutenant; and the boys walked out on the foot-ropes to their stations on the yards. "loose!" the ropes by which the sails were secured to the yards were removed at this order, and the topmen held the sails in their places. "all ready on the forecastle, sir," reported foster, who was captain of that part of the ship. "all ready in the foretop." "all ready in the maintop." "all ready in the mizzentop," reported the several captains of the tops, in their proper order. these reports were passed to the first lieutenant in charge of the deck, by his subordinates. "let fall!" shouted gordon, highly excited; and the sails dropped from the yard. "overhaul your rigging aloft! man sheets and halyards! sheets home, and hoist away!" these orders were passed from mouth to mouth among the officers, and return reports made, according to the strict discipline of the navy. they were promptly executed by the crew, though of course not without some blunders; and the young america was covered with her cloud of canvas. mr. lowington commended the officers and crew for the promptness and skill they had displayed in their first concerted attempt at making sail. he then directed captain carnes to furl. both evolutions were then repeated, until a proficiency satisfactory for one day was attained. "not going to sea, after all," said shuffles, when the crew were dismissed from muster. "no," replied wilton. "i'm tired of lying here, and if we don't go to sea soon, i shall take myself off." "i'm with you." "i thought we were going to have some fun on board, but we don't do anything but study and shake out topsails." "do you know how you stand on marks, wilton?" asked shuffles. "no; not very high, though." "don't you think you shall get into the cabin next term?" "i know i shall not. i haven't tried for anything." "on the first of next month, you know, new officers will be appointed, and i suppose the crew will be messed over again." "i don't care, i'm getting tired of this thing, i had a better time at the academy before we came on board." "there isn't much chance for any sport. hardly a fellow has been allowed to go on shore since we joined the ship." "well get up a mutiny, if things don't improve." "i was thinking of that very thing myself," said shuffles, in a low tone. "a mutiny!" exclaimed wilton, who had used the word in jest. "just for fum, you know," laughed shuffles. "you don't mean any such thing?" "not yet, of course." "do you at any time?" "we want something more exciting than this kind of a life. here we are, kept down and treated like common sailors. we have to touch our caps and make our manners to dick carnes and the rest of the flunkies in the after cabin. my father pays as much for me as dick carnes' father does for him, and i don't think it is fair that he should live in the cabin and i in the steerage." "if you get marks enough, you can have a berth in the cabin," replied wilton. "marks! confound the marks! i'm not a baby. do you think a fellow seventeen years old is going to be put up or put down by marks?" said shuffles. "i thought you had been working for a place in the cabin." "so i have, but i don't expect to get it. i never studied so hard in my life, and i believe i haven't had a bad mark since i came on board, lowington thinks i have reformed," laughed shuffles. "and so i have." "what do you want to get up a mutiny for, then?" "i shall not, if i get a decent position; if i don't, i'm going in for some fun." "but do you really think of getting up a mutiny?" asked wilton, curiously. "i was thinking the other day what a fine thing it would be if our fellows had the ship all to themselves." "what could we do with her?" "go on a cruise in her." "we couldn't handle her; there is hardly a fellow on board that knows anything about navigation." "of course, i don't mean to do anything yet a while; not this year, perhaps. one of these days, if we stay on board, we shall know all about a ship. fifteen or twenty of the fellows are studying navigation. we are going to europe some time or other. when we do, we can take the ship, and go it on our own hook." "i don't believe you mean anything of the kind, bob shuffles." "i've been thinking about it, anyhow. we can lock lowington and the rest of the old folks into their cabin while they are at dinner; and there are enough of us to handle peaks and bitts." "i think you are crazy, shuffles." "we should have a high old time if we could get possession of the ship. we wont say a word about it yet." "i think you had better not." "we might go round cape horn into the pacific, and have a splendid time among the beautiful islands of the south sea." "of course all the fellows wouldn't join you." "we could put those ashore somewhere who did not agree with us." "you know the penalty of mutiny on the high seas." "bah!" said shuffles, contemptuously. "it would be nothing but it lark. no one would think of hanging us, or even sending us to prison for it. my father is rich enough to get me out of any scrape." "so is mine; but i don't think it would be quite safe to go into a mutiny." "not yet, my dear fellow. you can think it over." "but i'm tired of this kind of a life. i liked it first rate in the beginning. do you think lowington really intends to go to sea with the ship?" "i know he does." "if he don't go pretty soon, i shall run away, and go to sea in earnest." "don't say a word about the mutiny at present, wilton. by and by, if things go right, or if they don't go right, we may want to take some stock in such an enterprise." "i don't see it yet, but of course i shall keep still." it is doubtful whether even so daring a young man as shuffles, who had the temerity to do almost anything, seriously contemplated getting up a mutiny. very likely his untamed and vicious imagination had revelled in such an enterprise; had pictured the delights of the rover's life at sea; but a boy of ordinary common sense could hardly think of engaging in such a mad scheme. the last week of june, with which month ended the first school term on board of the young america, was devoted to examinations and reviews in all the studies for which extra marks were given. on the last day the instructors made up the merit lists, and on the morning of the st of july all hands were mustered, and the result declared. most of the officers, all of whom had studied with unremitting diligence in order to retain their positions, were reinstated in their offices. the third lieutenant, however, fell out, having failed in his reviews, and to the astonishment of all, robert shuffles was found to be entitled to the place. the first and second lieutenants exchanged ranks, and paul kendall fell to the position of second master. three of the tenants of the after cabin were compelled to move into the steerage, and three of the crew were transferred to the officers' quarters. many were disappointed, and perhaps some were disheartened, for the competition had been a severe struggle; and as much depended upon natural ability as upon energy and perseverance. but the young america was a world by herself. she had all the elements of society within her wooden walls, and success and failure there followed the same rules as in the great world of which she was an epitome. after the officers had been duly installed in their positions, the petty offices were given to those having the highest number of marks among the crew. it was certainly democratic for the late third lieutenant to become captain of the foretop, and for a second master to become coxswain of the professors' barge; but these young gentlemen, though disappointed, submitted with a good grace to their misfortune. the student having the highest number of marks among the crew was allowed to have the first choice of berths in the steerage; the one having the next highest number had the second choice, and so on, until all the numbers had been appropriated. at the conclusion of the reorganization, mr. lowington made a speech, "comforting the mourners," and reminding all the students that, on the st of october, there would be another distribution of the places of honor. he hoped those who had failed to attain what they aspired to reach would not be discouraged, for, after all, they had been gaining knowledge, and thus the real end of the school had been reached. "how about the mutiny?" said wilton to the new third lieutenant, when both were off duty in the evening. "it won't pay just now," replied shuffles, with great good humor. "i suppose not," sneered wilton, who had not even won a petty office. "what would lowington say if he knew the third lieutenant talked of getting up a mutiny on board?" "what would he say?" repeated shuffles, who was as much surprised at the high rank he had gained as his companion had been. "yes; what would he say if i should tell him of it?" "he would say you were a mean pup for telling tales out of school; at least, he ought to say so, and i think he would. lowington is a pretty good fellow, after all." "no doubt he is, now you are third lieutenant." "you needn't snuff at it, wilton. if you want a place, why don't you sail in, and get one. just look out for your marks; that's all you have to do." "marks! i thought a fellow seventeen years old was not to be put up or put down by marks," said wilton, bitterly. "that depends somewhat upon whether you get in or out," laughed shuffles. "i suppose you and paul kendall will be fast friends now," added the discontented student. "kendall behaves very well, and has treated me first rate since i went into the cabin." "i suppose if i want to run away, you will stop me now." "if you are going to do that, you musn't tell me of it, now i'm an officer," replied shuffles, as he turned on his heel, and walked aft. wilton was disgusted, and felt that he had lost his best friend, now that shuffles had worked his way into the cabin. chapter v. our fellows. "i would like leave of absence for to-morrow, mr. pelham," said wilton, as he touched his cap to the first lieutenant of the young america, on the day before the fourth of july. "i am sorry to inform you, wilton, that no leave of absence will be granted to-morrow," replied pelham in accordance with the instructions given him by the captain, who, in turn, had received his orders from the principal. "no leave!" exclaimed wilton, his jaw dropping down. "such are the orders." "i have always been in the habit of celebrating the fourth of july," replied wilton. "are we to stay on board the ship, and mope all day?" "i presume the day will be celebrated on board in a proper manner," added the first lieutenant. "on board! what can a fellow do here? we might as well go to bed, and sleep off the day." "no words are necessary, wilton," replied pelham as he turned and walked away. "that's a good one!" added wilton, to the group of boys who had come with him to the mainmast, to request the same favor, if the spokesman was permitted to go on shore and celebrate the day. "not to celebrate!" exclaimed monroe, with something like horror in his tones and looks. "work on the fourth of july!" chimed in adler. "i won't stand it, for one!" said wilton. "nor i, for another," added monroe. so said half a dozen others. "well, what are you going to do about it?" demanded adler. "here we are, and we can't get ashore." "perhaps we can," said wilton, as he led the way to a retired part of the deck, where they could talk without being overheard. "did any one ever hear of such a thing as keeping the fellows on board on the fourth of july? why, every little greek in the city yonder has his liberty on that day; and we are to be cooped up here like a parcel of sick chickens! i suppose we shall have to recite history and french, and shake out topsails, as usual." "it's outrageous. i don't believe the fellows will stand it," added adler, who did not know how bad the case was, until it had been rehearsed by wilton, who, in the absence of shuffles, had become the leader of a certain clique on board, given to taking opposite views. "but i don't see what we can do," said monroe. "we will do something. i won't stand it. if i stay on board the ship to-morrow, it will be as a prisoner," answered wilton. "it's a hard case; but what can we do about it?" asked sanborn. "suppose we go to lowington, and state the case to him," suggested adler. "what's the use of that? of course the first lieutenant spoke by the card. he had his orders to say what he did, and i'm sure they came from lowington." "there can be no doubt of that; but it would be better to have it from him." "i'm willing to ask lowington for the day, if the fellows want me to do so; but it won't do any more good than it would to bark at the mainmast," continued wilton. "i have an idea in my head, if the fellows will stand by me," he added, in a lower tone, as he looked over the rail at the swinging boom, to which the boats in constant use were made fast. "what is it?" asked monroe, eagerly. "keep shady, for a while. how many fellows can we muster?" "i don't know." "well, don't stir the matter yet. here comes lowington and we will talk to him first. come, fellows, let's make a dive at him." wilton, attended by his companions, walked up to the principal, as he was going forward. touching his cap respectfully, as the discipline of the ship required, he opened the case. "mr. lowington, some of the students would like to go on shore to-morrow, to celebrate the fourth. can't we have liberty?" "you know the rule; you should apply to the first lieutenant for leave of absence," replied mr. lowington. "we have, sir, and been refused." "then there is nothing more to be said. the first lieutenant speaks with authority." "i beg your pardon, sir, but are we to stay on board all day to-morrow?" "that is certainly the arrangement, wilton." "some of us would like to celebrate the day, sir, and we think it is rather hard to be obliged to do duty on the fourth of july." "i intend to have the day celebrated in a proper manner. i have made preparations for a gala day on board." "if you please, sir, we would rather go on shore." "i am very sorry, for your sake, that i shall be unable to reverse the answer of the first lieutenant. if i permit one or a dozen to go ashore, i cannot refuse any, and all must go. i think the boys will be satisfied with the arrangements i have made for the day." "i never was kept in school on the fourth of july before, sir," growled wilton. "then this will be a new event in your experience," answered mr. lowington, coldly, as he turned from the petitioners, and went forward. there were a great many wild boys on board of the young america, and it was morally impossible for the whole crew to attend the celebration in the city, without more or less of them getting into a scrape. they had been kept on board for two months, and not allowed to go on shore, except under the supervision of one of the instructors; and to let any considerable number of them loose on such a day as the fourth of july, would only be courting trouble, for they would be all the more disorderly after the long period of restraint. mr. lowington did not willingly deprive the boys of any innocent gratification. he had faithfully considered the matter of celebrating the day, and taken the advice of the instructors on the subject. it had been proposed to procure a band of music, and visit the city in a body, under the usual discipline; but there were many difficulties attending such a plan. the boys were all the sons of rich men, and most of them were abundantly supplied with pocket money. as it would be impossible to prevent the escape of some of them from the procession, in the crowded streets, it was feared that their money would prove to be "the root of all evil." the project had finally been abandoned; and, as a substitute, a programme for a celebration on board had been arranged, for there the students would be entirely under the control of the instructors, who would check all excesses. it was anticipated that a few discontented spirits would grumble, but no rebellion was expected. wilton and his companions were dissatisfied, and disposed to be rash. they felt that they had been harshly and cruelly denied a reasonable privilege. the subject of celebrating the fourth had been under consideration for a long time among the boys, and it had been generally believed that all hands would be permitted to go on shore, with perfect liberty, on that day; and many of them had already arranged their plans for the occasion. "well, what do you think now?" said wilton, as mr. lowington walked forward. "i think it's too bad," replied adler. "it is meaner than dirt to make us stay on board on the fourth of july." "but i don't see how we are going to help ourselves," added monroe, looking at wilton for a solution of this difficult problem. "i do." "how?" "keep still; don't say a word here," continued wilton. "scatter, now, and i will be on the top-gallant forecastle in a few minutes." wilton strolled about the deck a short time, and then went to the place of meeting, where he was soon joined by the rest of the discontented pupils. "how many fellows can we muster?" asked he, when his associates in mischief had again gathered around him. "i know at least a dozen, who are up to anything," replied monroe; "but some of them are in the other watch. what are you going to do?" "i'll tell you: there are the professors' barge and the third cutter at the swinging boom. we will drop into them when the instructors go down to supper, and make for the shore. all the rest of the boats are at the davits; and before they can get them into the water, we shall be out of their reach. what do you think of that for a plan!" "i think it is a first-rate one. but hadn't we better wait till the instructors turn in?" suggested adler. "no; the boats will all be hoisted up to the davits at sunset. we must do it while the professors are at supper, or not at all. we want eight oars for the barge, and six for the third cutter; that makes fourteen fellows. can we raise as many as that?" "yes, i think we can; we will try, at any rate." "but you must look out, or some fellow will blow the whole thing," added wilton. "mind whom you speak to." the trustworthiness of the various students was canvassed, and it was decided what ones should be invited to join the enterprise. the discontented boys separated, and went to work with great caution to obtain the needed recruits. unfortunately, in such a crowd of young men, there are always enough to engage in any mischievous plot, and it is quite likely that twice as many as were wanted could have been obtained to man the boats in the runaway expedition. wilton missed shuffles very much in arranging the details of the present enterprise. while at the brockway academy, they had plotted mischief so often that each seemed to be necessary to the other. but shuffles had reformed; he was now third lieutenant of the ship, and it was not safe to suggest a conspiracy to him, for he would attempt to gain favor with the principal by exposing or defeating it. yet shuffles was so bold in thought, and so daring in execution, that wilton could hardly abandon the hope of obtaining his assistance; besides, the third lieutenant would be officer of the deck when the professors went to supper, and might wink at their departure in the boats, if he did not actually help them off. "would you say anything to shuffles?" asked wilton, still in doubt, of monroe, as they happened to meet again in the waist. "to shuffles!" exclaimed monroe, in an energetic whisper. "i mean so." "certainly not. i should as soon think of speaking to lowington himself." "but shuffles may join us. he is always in for a good time." "why, you ninny, he is third lieutenant of the ship." "no matter if he is. i think shuffles would like to join us." "nonsense! he has been in office only three days, and it would break him. he would be degraded to the steerage," replied monroe, who could not help thinking that wilton was beside himself in proposing such a thing, and that the enterprise was doomed to failure in such incompetent hands. "if he won't join us, perhaps he will help us off. he is officer of the deck, you know, in the second dog watch." "i know he is; but don't you open your mouth to him. if you do, i'll back out at once." "back out?" "yes, back out. i believe you are crazy. why don't you go to captain carnes, and done with it?" said monroe, with energy. "i haven't any hold on carnes, and i have on shuffles." "what do you mean?" asked the prudent conspirator, curiously. "if shuffles won't join us, he won't blow on us, you may depend upon that. he wouldn't dare to do it. i could break him before sundown, if i chose," said wilton, with conscious power. "that alters the case." "of course, i shouldn't think of saying anything to him, if i did not know what i was talking about. i have him where the hair is short, and he knows it, as well as i do." "what is it, wilton?" "no matter what it is. when a thing is told me in confidence, i keep it to myself; but if he turns traitor to his cronies, he must look out for breakers. he knows what it is." "well, if you can get him, he will be a first-rate fellow to have." "i think i can get him. here he comes; you keep out of the way, and i will see how deep the water is." monroe went forward to find a student to whom he had been deputed to speak in the interest of the enterprise leaving wilton to grapple with the old lion of mischief, whose teeth, however, seemed to have been worn out in the cause. "what's up, wilton?" demanded the third lieutenant who was now off duty, and therefore allowed to speak to the crew, though it was a privilege of which the officers seldom availed themselves. "who said anything was up?" asked wilton. "you look as though you meant something. what were you and ike monroe talking about just now?" continued shuffles. "about me, i'll be bound, for you kept looking at me, as though you meant something." "what makes you think so? have you heard anything?" asked wilton, fearful that the plot had leaked out. "not a word? i only judged by your looks." "i suppose if anything was up, you wouldn't have anything to do with it now." "most decidedly, i should not. i like my present position too well to fall out of it. i'm going to be captain next term, if i can fetch it any way in the world." "you mean to be a flunky, just like the rest of them. you are not the same fellow you used to be." "yes, i am." "you are getting too big for your boots." "you wrong me, wilton. i'm just as good a fellow as i ever was. i think i'm the best fellow in the ship, and for that reason i want to be captain. i'm ahead of carnes so far on marks this month." "well, if you want to be the head flunky, i hope you'll get it. we are not going ashore to-morrow, they say," added wilton, changing the topic to get nearer to the business of the hour. "so pelham told me." "are you willing to stay on board and study, and do ship's duty, on the fourth of july?" "we are going to celebrate." "how?" "i'm sure i don't know." "we shall celebrate to-morrow just as we do every day--as close prisoners on board the ship. i, for one, don't like it, and i won't stand it." "won't you?" laughed shuffles. "when i say i won't, i mean so." "o, you do--do you?" "you better believe i do," added wilton, shaking his head resolutely. "what are you going to do?" "i'm going ashore, by hook or by crook." "better not get into any scrape." "you say that as one of the flunkies." "well, you had better not say anything to me, for i shall have to do my duty as an officer. don't say anything to me, and then i shall not know anything about it." "humph!" sneered wilton, not pleased with this non-committal policy. "i don't want to do anything mean with any of our fellows; so don't say a word to me. i shall do my duty as an officer, as i promised to do when i was made third lieutenant." "do you mean to say you will stop me, shuffles, if you see me going?" demanded wilton. "i do mean so; i promised faithfully to do my duty as an officer, and i shall do it." "see here, bob shuffles; you needn't talk to me in that manner. i knew the ship's cable from a pint of milk, and you can't come the flunky over me." "i'm going to do just as you would do if you were in my place. i won't hear a word about any of your plans." "but will you interfere with them?" "if it is my duty to do so, i shall. i intend to obey orders; and if i have the deck, i shall keep things straight, whatever happens." "lowington don't know you as well as i do." "no matter if he don't; he shall have no fault to find with me this term, if i can help it." "it's no use for me to mince the matter with you, bob shuffles. we understand each other too well for that. something's up." shuffles turned on his heel, and was about to walk away. "hold on a minute, shuffles," continued wilton. "i won't tell you what's up, but i'll tell you this; if you interfere with what i do, or with what the fellows with me do, i'll tell lowington about the mutiny--i will, as sure as your name is bob shuffles. do you understand me?" "well, i do; and it seems to me that sounds very much like a threat." "call it what you like. if you turn traitor to our fellows, you must stand the racket of it. you are not a saint just yet, and those that live in glass houses musn't throw stones." "i believe i haven't played false to any of our fellows. if i don't choose to get into any scrape with them, i have a right to keep out. that's all i've got to say." "but what are you going to do, shuffles? our fellows will want to know." "i'm going to do my duty," replied the third lieutenant as he walked away, regardless of the efforts of his companion to detain him. shuffles was experiencing the truth of the old maxim, that honesty is the best policy. it is to be regretted that his present devotion to duty had no higher incentive than mere policy; but it may be hoped of those who do their duty from low motives, that they may gather inspiration even from their politic fidelity to obey its behests from higher motives. the third lieutenant of the young america intended to keep the promise he had made in accepting his office, simply because it would pay best. wilton and his confederates had no difficulty in making up the required number of discontents and malcontents before six o'clock, which was the time fixed for carrying out the enterprise they had planned. some of the recruits joined because they anticipated a good time in the city in celebrating the fourth, and others from a mere love of mischief and excitement. the details of the scheme had been carefully elaborated by monroe and wilton, after the ranks of the conspirators were full. having learned a valuable lesson from the daily discipline of the ship, the mischief was certainly well planned. each boy was assigned to a particular position in the boats, and knew on what thwart he was to sit, and which oar he was to pull. wilton and monroe, as the master spirits of the enterprise were to run out first on the swinging boom, and slide down the painters, each into the boat he was to command. the others were to follow in the same way, descending from the boom, for it was not considered prudent to run the boats up to the gangway, where some enthusiastic officer might easily interfere with the plan, which was to depend for its success upon the celerity of its execution. when four bells struck, the professors went down to their evening meal, as usual, and the boatswain piped the port watch to supper, the starboard watch having taken theirs at three bells, or half past five. wilton gave a low whistle, when shuffles, officer of the deck, was abaft the mizzenmast, with his back to the runaways who had gathered in the waist, and were waiting for the signal. "be lively, fellows," said the leader of the enterprise, as he sprang over the rail, and ran out on the boom, followed by monroe. the others, in the order in which they had been instructed, did the same. about half of them were on the boom, when the movement was reported to the officer of the deck by the midshipman on duty in the waist. shuffles rushed forward, now understanding, for the first time, the intentions of wilton; and true to the inspiration of fidelity, he set about defeating the object of "our fellows." the studding-sail boom, to which the boats were fastened, was supported by a topping-lift from above, and kept in position, at right angles with the side of the ship, by guys extending forward and aft. "stand by that fore guy!" shouted shuffles, as he sprang upon the rail. "cast off!" "lively, fellows!" said wilton, when he saw that the third lieutenant intended to swing in the boom to the ship's side. "stand by the after guy of the studding-sail boom!" continued shuffles, with becoming energy. both his orders were promptly obeyed; but seeing that his movement would be too late, he rushed to the topping-lift, and cast it off, causing the swinging boom to drop into the water, just as the last boy was about to slide down into the professors' boat. of course the luckless fellow went into the water; but he was promptly picked up by his companions in mischief. "if i'm caught, bob shuffles, you look out for breakers!" cried wilton, as the third lieutenant appeared at the gangway again. the tide was coming in, and the boats swung so far abaft the boom that it had fallen clear of them when it dropped into the water. wilton and monroe were prompt to avail themselves of their present success, and the boys sat in the boats, with their oars up, ready to pull as soon as the order was given. "let fall!" said wilton; and the eight oars of the professors' barge dropped into the water, and the rowers placed them in readiness for the first stroke. monroe, in the third cutter, followed the example of his principal, and was hardly a second behind him. "give way!" added wilton. "give way!" repeated monroe; and the two boats gathered way and darted off towards the nearest point of the shore. thus far the enterprise of "our fellows" was entirely successful, and shuffles stood on the gangway, chagrined at the defeat which had attended his efforts to prevent the escape of the runaways. "stand by to clear away the first cutter!" shouted he, suddenly and with energy, as he made his way to the davits, where the boat indicated was suspended. "cast off the gripes, and man the falls!" he continued when the watch were collected at the scene of action. "mr. kendall, you will inform the captain what has happened." within three minutes, the first cutter was in the water, for the crew had been frequently exercised in the evolution of lowering boats, and performed it with remarkable facility for boys. before the first cutter touched the water, the captain, the principal, and all the professors, came on deck. mr. lowington was entirely cool, though everybody else appeared to be intensely excited. the crew of the first cutter were piped away, and at the principal's suggestion, the third lieutenant was sent off in the boat to prevent the landing of the rebellious pupils. "up oars! let fall! give way!" said shuffles, in the boat, delivering his orders in rapid succession; and the first cutter darted off in chase of the runaways. chapter vi. the fourth of july. the first cutter was manned by her regular crew, who had been trained with the utmost care to pull together, while wilton, in the professors' barge, which was of the same size, had some very indifferent oarsmen. the runaways had made up their force of such material as they could obtain, and though all were somewhat accustomed to rowing, they had not been drilled to work together; they were not the unit of power in pulling a boat. shuffles, therefore, had a manifest advantage, and he was determined to bring back the fugitives. the second cutter, in charge of paul kendall, was cleared away, and, with mr. lowington and mr. fluxion on board, left the ship to take part in the pursuit. the chase promised to be an exciting one, for wilton and monroe were straining every nerve to reach the shore before they were overtaken. they were making for the nearest land, and having just the number of hands required to pull the boat, each of them was obliged to use an oar himself. they had no coxswains, and wilton, at the bow oar of the professors' barge, could not see what was ahead, though he kept the pursuing boats in full view. the nearest land, not more than half a mile from the ship, was a point covered with salt marsh, above which was a cove, whose opening was about ten rods in width. wilton was making for the point below the cove, but his calculations were made without judgment or discretion. if he reached the land, his party would be obliged to walk a mile in order to get round the cove, on a narrow strip of marsh, where they might be intercepted. but the fatal defect in his plan of operations was a failure to consider the depth of water between the ship and the point. the flow of the tide from the cove, while it kept a clear channel through the entrance, had formed a bar off the tongue of land on the seaward side of it, which was bare at half tide, and was now just covered. wilton was pulling for this bar, with all the strength of his crew. shuffles was prompt to observe the mistake of his late crony, and just as prompt to profit by it. the first cutter was gaining rapidly on the chase; but shuffles, as she reached the border of the main channel, ordered his coxswain to keep the boat's head towards the entrance of the cove. "we shall never catch them on this tack," said the coxswain of the cutter, who knew nothing about the bar. "i think we shall," replied the third lieutenant, confidently. "we are not going towards the point." "that's very true, and the professors' barge will not go much farther in that direction. pull steady, my lads; don't hurry yourselves. there is plenty of time." the coxswain thought his superior officer was taking the matter very coolly, and knowing of the intimacy which had formerly subsisted between shuffles and wilton, he was ready to conclude that the third lieutenant was willing to permit the escape of "our fellows." while he was putting this construction on the conduct of his superior, the professors' barge "took the ground," and stuck fast. "they're aground, mr. shuffles," said the coxswain. "there's just where i expected them to be," answered shuffles, quietly. "shall i run towards them?" "no; keep her as she is. there isn't more than a foot of water anywhere between them and the point." the third cutter, being a smaller boat than the professors' barge, did not touch the bar as soon as her consort; but monroe saw that his craft could not land her party on the point at that stage of the tide, and he ordered his crew first to lay on their oars, and then to back water. wilton's boat was aground at the bow, and when he had sent part of his crew aft, she was easily pushed off the bar. by this delay he had lost the chance of landing at the point, and his only alternative was to pull up to the cove; but in doing so, it would be impossible to avoid the first cutter, which had now secured a position off the mouth of the little bay. "stand by to lay on your oars," said the coxswain of the first cutter, as directed by the lieutenant in command. "oars!" the crew ceased rowing, and laying on their oars, waited the next movement of the runaways. in the mean time the second cutter was well away from the ship, and mr. lowington, promptly comprehending the intentions of the third lieutenant, directed the officer in command to pull towards the boats on the bar, keeping well to seaward, in order to prevent them from escaping in that direction. wilton realized that he was cornered, and hoping that shuffles would not be over-zealous in the discharge of his duty, directed his course towards the opening of the cove. a few strokes brought him within hailing distance of the first cutter. "no use, wilton," said shuffles, laughing. "you may as well pull for the ship. it's all up with you." but the leader of the runaways, instead of heeding this good advice, attempted to push by astern of the first cutter. "stern, all! give way!" shouted shuffles, sharply. "coxswain, stand by with your stern line!" it was generally understood that the third lieutenant of the young america was a fighting character, and that he could whip any officer or seaman in the ship, though his prowess had not been practically demonstrated. shuffles took the stern line himself, instead of intrusting the duty to the coxswain. he intended to grapple the bow of the professors' barge, and make fast to it with the rope; but the cutter did not gather way enough in season to do this. as she backed, she fouled the oars of the barge, and shuffles secured a firm hold of her stern. "what are you doing, bob shuffles?" demanded wilton, angry, when he saw that his late crony was fully in earnest. the third lieutenant made no reply; but passing his rope through a ring in the stern of the barge, he made it fast, and then pushed the cutter off from her. when the line had run out about a fathom, he secured the end he held in his hand to the after thwart of his own boat. thus the first cutter and the barge were lashed together, stern to stern. "cast off that rope!" shouted wilton to the stroke oarsman in the barge. "don't you touch it, my lad," interposed shuffles, when the boy attempted to obey the order of his leader. "if you attempt it, you will purchase a sore head." [illustration: the escape from the ship. page .] the third lieutenant had picked up a boat-hook, and stood ready to rap any of the barge's crew who might attempt to cast off the line by which the boats were fastened together. no one was disposed to cross the purposes of so formidable a person as shuffles, and the stroke oarsman did not obey the order of wilton. it would not be safe to do so. "now, wilton, what do you say?" demanded shuffles, a smile of triumph playing upon his face, which was very aggravating to the leader of the runaways. "will you go back to the ship, or not?" "no, of course i won't," replied the discomfited chief of the malcontents. "you had better, my dear fellow. there comes mr. lowington." "i didn't think this of you, bob shuffles," said wilton, reproachfully. "i told you i should do my duty; and i shall, to the end. if you will return, all right; if not, i shall take you back." "no, you won't." "i think i will," added the third lieutenant, quietly. "stand by to give way!" he continued, to the coxswain. "two can play at that game," said wilton, as he gave the same order to his crew. "give way!" shouted the coxswain of the first cutter, with energy. "give way!" repeated wilton, in the barge. the rope straightened, shuffles stood up in the stern-sheets of the cutter, to prevent the line from being cast off, and the contest began, to ascertain which should drag the other. it was rather ludicrous, in spite of the serious question of discipline involved in the affair, and the boys in the cutter were intensely amused, as well as excited. both crews struggled with all their might, and each leader urged his followers to renewed exertions. the discipline of the first cutter was on the point of carrying the contest in favor of law and order, when monroe, seeing that his friend was nearly worsted, backed the third cutter up to the bow of the barge, and took her painter on board, which he made fast at the stern. resuming his oar, he ordered his crew to give way together. then law and order appealed to be at a discount, for the eight oarsmen in the first cutter were not a match, even in the cause of discipline, against the fourteen in the barge and third cutter. shuffles did not give it up, notwithstanding the great odds against him. letting out the stern line far enough to allow space for a new manoeuvre, he directed the starboard oarsmen to lay on their oars, while those on the port side pulled the boat round. then all gave way together, and the barge was dragged round sideways, until her oars fouled with those of monroe's boat. at this stage of the exciting proceedings the second cutter came up with the principal. mr. fluxion sat in the stern-sheets, shaking his sides with laughter at the singular contest which was going on; but mr. lowington, though evidently amused, maintained his gravity, and was as dignified as usual. the appearance of the principal ended the struggle. a glance from him was quite sufficient to take all the stiffening out of the runaways, and even wilton, though he talked valiantly behind mr. lowington's back, and neglected even to give him the simple title of "mister," had not the courage to resist the strong arm of his authority. as the second cutter backed up to the barge, the principal stepped on board of her, and took a seat in the stern-sheets. "young gentlemen, you will return to the ship," said mr. lowington, sternly, as he took the tiller-ropes in his hands. "give way!" the malcontents had no thought of further resistance. the presence of the principal was sufficient to overcome all insubordination; they did not dare to disobey him. mechanically they bent to their oars, and without a word pulled back to the ship. mr. fluxion, by direction of mr. lowington, had taken his place in monroe's boat, and followed the barge, the two cutters bringing up the rear. this was the first instance of flagrant insubordination which had occurred since the organization of the ship's company, and the students were not a little anxious to learn how it would be treated. it was singular that shuffles, who on shore had always been the ringleader in enterprises of mischief, had been the means of defeating the scheme of the runaways. the boats were hoisted up at the davits, and the boatswain was ordered to pipe all hands on deck. the principal looked calm, but stern, as he took the position on the hatch which he usually occupied when he addressed the students. "wilton and monroe," said he. the culprits came forward, hanging their heads with shame. "i learn that you are the ringleaders in this movement. is it so?" "i suppose we are," replied wilton. "who proposed the plan?" "wilton first spoke to me about it," answered monroe. "and you induced the others to join you?" "yes, sir." "as the ringleaders, wilton and monroe will lose twenty marks each, and remain in their mess rooms to-morrow. the other twelve lose ten marks each," continued mr. lowington. "young gentlemen, those who have engaged in this scheme are not to be trusted. i have nothing further to say." the crew were dismissed, and all the students were disposed to laugh at the mildness of the punishment, compared with the enormity of the offence. "mr. shuffles," said the principal, as he stepped down from the hatch, "i am very much obliged to you for the zeal and energy which you have exhibited in the discharge of your duty. not only was your disposition to do your duty highly commendable, but your plans displayed skill and forethought." "thank you, sir," replied the third lieutenant; "i am very glad to have pleased you." mr. lowington bowed, and descended to the cabin to finish his supper, which had been interrupted by the event described. what the professors said about the affair was not known to the boys; but shuffles was warmly praised for the moderate but skilful measures he had used in the capture of the rebels. at sundown, a shore boat came alongside with an abundant supply of fireworks, which had been ordered by mr. lowington. they were hoisted on board, and deposited in a safe place. at the usual hour, the boys turned in to dream of the good time which these squibs and crackers suggested to them--all but monroe and wilton, who had something else to think about. the latter was disappointed and surly, while the former congratulated himself upon getting out of the scrape so easily. wilton was very angry with shuffles, who might have permitted him to land, if he had been so disposed; and he determined to take what he considered an ample vengeance upon the traitor. as soon as he had an opportunity to speak to mr. lowington, he intended to tell him all about the plan for a mutiny, and he was fully satisfied that shuffles would be sent in disgrace from his pleasant position in the after cabin, to take up his abode in the steerage again. on the morning of the ever-glorious fourth, all hands were mustered on the deck of the young america at four o'clock. crackers were served out, and for two hours there was a tremendous racket from stern to stern, among the younger boys. at six o'clock, the port watch were piped to breakfast, and all the crackers having been burned, the decks were swept, and everything put in perfect order, by the starboard watch. a band of music, engaged for the day, came off, and the enlivening strains of the national airs sounded through the ship. at seven o'clock, when all hands had breakfasted, an hour earlier than usual, the crew were piped to muster, wondering, as they always did, what was going to be done. "all hands, up anchor ahoy!" shouted the boatswain prompted by the first lieutenant; but this order was so common in the every-day practice of the crew, that no one supposed it had any unusual significance; and some of the boys even began to grumble at being compelled to go through the routine of ship's work on the fourth of july. "bring to on the cable, and unbitt!" continued the officer in command. "ship the capstan bars, and swifter them! heave in the cable to a short stay!" these orders were duly executed, under the direction of the various officers at their stations. "avast heaving!" called the first master. "anchor apeak, sir," he reported to the first lieutenant. "pawl the capstan, stopper the cable, and unship the bars!" added the executive officers, all of which was done, and duly reported. "stations for loosing topsails!" which were shaken out by the ordinary routine, sheeted home, and hoisted up. "forecastlemen, loose the head sails! after-guard, clear away the spanker! man the capstan bars, ship and swifter them! heave around!" this last was a manoeuvre which the crew had never before been called upon to perform; and the order sent a thrill of delight to all hearts. the cable had often been heaved to a short stay, that is, so that it run nearly up and down; but that was as far as they had ever before been permitted to proceed. now, with the anchor apeak, they were ordered to the capstan again, and they realized that the young america was actually going to sea. the command kindled an enthusiasm which glowed on every face. the ship was going out of the harbor, and the evil doers in the mess rooms below were to be pitied. "anchor aweigh, sir," reported the excited boatswain who, however, had to be prompted in this instance by peaks, for it had never been in that position before since it first hooked the mud in brockway harbor. "anchor aweigh, sir," repeated the second lieutenant. "man the jib and flying-jib halyards!" said the first lieutenant. "anchor's at the bow, sir," said the boatswain, which report went through the same channels as before, till it reached the executive officer. "hoist away on the jib and flying-jib halyards! avast heaving! pawl the capstan! stopper the cable! cat and fish the anchor!" shouted the first lieutenant. "port the helm!" the young america was clear of the ground. the fore topsail, which had been trimmed to the fresh breeze, was full, and the ship began to gather headway. two seamen had been placed at the wheel, under the charge of the quartermaster. the boys had often "made believe" do these things, but now they were real. the vessel was actually moving through the water, and they could hardly contain themselves, so exhilarating was the scene. "steady!" said the first lieutenant, when the ship had come up to her intended course. "steady, sir," repeated the quartermaster in charge of the helm. "stand by to set the spanker," added the first lieutenant. "man the outhaul! cast off the brails, and loose the vangs!" the after-guard, which is the portion of the ship's company stationed on the quarter-deck, or abaft the mizzenmast, obeyed this order, and stood ready to set the spanker, which is the aftermost sail. "walk away with the outhaul!" and the after-guard ran off with the rope, which drew the sail out into its place on the gaff. "stand by the spanker sheet--let it out!" "you must attend to your main and mizzen topsails mr. pelham," said the principal, in a low tone. "man the fore and main braces!" said the executive officer; and the young seamen sprang to their stations. "let go and haul!" the main and the mizzen topsails were thus trimmed, so that they took the wind. "that was very well done, captain carnes, though your crew need more practice. they are very much excited," said mr. lowington. "i don't wonder, sir; i think none of them knew we were going out of the harbor," replied the captain. "i am glad they enjoy it," added the principal, "though i should not have left the anchorage, except as a substitute for the fourth of july celebration." "they will like this much better than going to the city." "i have no doubt on that point; and last evening, when those students wished to run away, i was tempted to punish their disobedience by letting them go. the wind is pretty fresh, captain carnes, but i think you may set the top-gallant sails." the captain gave the order to the first lieutenant. "aloft, sail-loosers of the top-gallant sails!" shouted mr. pelham; and the eager young salts dashed up the rigging. "lay out! loose! let fall! man your sheets and halyards! sheets home, and hoist away!" the addition of the top-gallant sails was sensibly felt by the young america; and, "taking a bone in her teeth," she careened over, and dashed away merrily on her course. the band played hail, columbia, and as the ship passed the fort, the crew mounted the rigging and gave three cheers. the excitement on board was immense, and never was independence day more thoroughly and enthusiastically enjoyed. the officers and crew were at the height of felicity, as the gallant little ship bowled over the waves, threading her way through the channels between the numerous islands of the bay. "can't we put on any more sail, mr. lowington?" asked captain carnes, as he met the principal on the quarter-deck. "not at present. we are making very good progress now." "the boys want to see all sail on her." "the wind is blowing half a gale now," added mr. lowington, with a smile. "i think we shall be able to give them quite enough of it when we get out into blue water. i'm afraid you will lose half your crew before noon!" "lose them?" "by seasickness, i mean." "do you think they will be sick, sir?" "i have no doubt of it. many of them never saw the ocean before, and never looked upon a ship till they came on board of the young america. i don't think it would be prudent to put on all sail, until we know what force we are to have to handle the ship." "they don't look like being seasick at present." "wait till we get out into the heavy sea," laughed the principal, as he went forward. at eight bells the ship was abreast of the last island, and she began to pitch and roll a little, though the motion was hardly perceptible, until she was well off from the land. professor paradyme was the first victim of seasickness, and the boys all laughed when they saw the woe-begone expression on the face of the learned man; but some of those who laughed the loudest were the first to be taken by the ridiculous malady. the young america pitched and rolled heavily as she receded from the land, and nothing more was said by the students about putting on more sail. the spray broke over the bow, and washed the decks; but most of the boys enjoyed the scene as they had never enjoyed anything before. "what are you doing here, sir?" demanded mr. lowington, as he went forward, and discovered wilton skulking under the lee of the foremast. "you were told to stay in your mess room, sir!" "i couldn't, sir," whined the culprit. "you could, and you will." "i was seasick, sir." "i can't help it; you must stay in your mess room," added the principal, sternly. "if you please, sir, i will obey orders if you will let me stay on deck," said wilton, humbly. "no; return to your room?" and wilton was compelled to obey. it was a very severe punishment to him and monroe to be obliged to stay in the steerage during the first trip of the young america. chapter vii. heaving the log. the young america, under topsails and top-gallant sails, was making about ten knots an hour. after passing the last island in the bay, she was headed to the south-east, which brought the wind over the starboard quarter. the ship was of the clipper class, though not as sharp as many of this model. it was found that her sailing ability was excellent, and mr. lowington and mr. fluxion expressed much satisfaction at her performance, both in respect of speed and weatherly qualities. when the ship left her moorings, the principal had not decided where to go, or how long to remain at sea, intending to be governed by the circumstances of the hour. it had never been his purpose to keep her at one anchorage, but to go from port to port, remaining a few days or a few weeks at each, as the discipline of the ship and the progress of the boys in their studies suggested. there were many elements of seamanship which could not be effectively practised while the ship lay at anchor, such as heaving the log, sounding and steering, though the boys had been carefully instructed in the theory of these operations. the instructor in mathematics, the boatswain, the carpenter, and the sailmaker, all of whom were good seamen, were in great demand as soon as the ship was under way; but when she had sea-room enough, the helm was handed over to the boys, under the charge of a juvenile quartermaster. peaks stood by, and gave the necessary directions, till the students were able to do the work themselves. "now, my lads, we will heave the log," said the boatswain, when the ship was well out from the land. "we know how to do that," replied smith, one of the quartermasters. "i dare say you do, young gentlemen; but in my opinion, you can't do it. you know how to write a psalm, but i don't believe you could write one," added peaks. "you have to learn how to do these things by the feeling, so that they will do themselves, so to speak. after-guard, stand by to haul in the log-line. here, quartermaster, you will hold the glass, and the officer of the deck will throw the chip." "we know all about it, mr. peaks," repeated smith. "i know you do; but you can't tell within five knots how fast the ship is going," laughed the boatswain. "let's do it right a few times, and then you can be trusted." the quartermaster took the glass, and gordon, then officer of the watch, the chip, which he cast into the water over the stern of the ship. "turn!" said he, when the stray line had run out. now, smith, at this particular moment, was watching a vessel over the quarter, and he did not instantly turn the glass, as he should have done; but peaks said nothing. "up!" cried the quartermaster, when the sand had all run through the glass. gordon stopped the reel from which the line was running out, and noted the mark. "seven knots," said he. "not right," replied the boatswain, sharply. "this ship is going nine or ten knots an hour, and any man who has snuffed salt water for six months could guess nearer than you make it. now try it once again, and if you don't hit nearer than that next time, you may as well throw the reel overboard, and hire a yankee to guess the rate of sailing." "i thought we knew all about it," added smith. "i think you do, young gentlemen; but you were star-gazing when you ought to have been all attention. the line ran out two or three knots before you turned the glass." gordon took the chip again. it was a thin piece of board, in the form of a quarter circle. the round side was loaded with just lead enough to make it float upright in the water. the log-line was fastened to the chip, just us a boy loops a kite, two strings being attached at each end of the circular side, while the one at the angle is tied to a peg, which is inserted in a hole, just hard enough to keep it in place, while there is no extra strain on the board, but which can be drawn out with a smart pull. when the log-line has run out as far as desired, there would be some difficulty in hauling in the chip while it was upright in the water; but a sudden jerk draws the peg at the angle, and permits the board to lie flat, in which position the water offers the least resistance to its passage. the half-minute glass used on board the young america, held by the quartermaster, was like an hour glass, and contained just sand enough to pass through the hole in the neck in thirty seconds. the log-line was one hundred and fifty fathoms in length, and was wound on a reel, which turned very easily, so that the resistance of the chip to the water would unwind it. the log-line is divided into certain spaces called knots, the length of each of which is the same fractional part of a mile that a half minute is of an hour. if there be sixty-one hundred and twenty feet in a nautical mile, or the sixtieth part of a degree of a great circle, which is not far from accurate, and the ship be going ten knots an hour, she will run sixty-one thousand two hundred feet in an hour. if the chip were thrown overboard at eight o'clock, and the line were long enough, the ship would have run out sixty-one thousand two hundred feet, or ten miles, at nine o'clock, or in one hour. in one minute she would run one sixtieth of sixty-one thousand two hundred feet, which is ten hundred and twenty feet; in half a minute, five hundred and ten feet. the half-minute glass is the measure of time generally used in heaving the log. while the sand is dropping through, the line runs out five hundred and ten feet, the ship going ten knots an hour being the basis of the calculation. one knot, therefore, will be fifty-one feet. if the line pays out five hundred and ten feet in thirty seconds, by the glass, the ship is going ten knots an hour. if it pays out four hundred and eight feet in half a minute, or eight hundred and sixteen feet in a minute, she will pay out a mile in as many minutes as eight hundred and sixteen feet is contained in sixty-one hundred and twenty feet, which is seven and a half minutes. then the ship goes a mile in seven and a half minutes, or eight miles an hour. a knot on the log-line is therefore invariably fifty-one feet; and the number of knots of the line run out in half a minute indicates also the ship's speed per hour, for fifty-one feet is the same part of a nautical mile that half a minute is of an hour. the calculations are given without allowances, merely to show the principle; and both the glass and the line are modified in practice. on board the young america, ten fathoms were allowed for "stray line;" this length of line being permitted to run out before the measuring commenced, in order to get the chip clear of thee eddies in the wake of the ship. the ten fathoms were indicated by a white rag, drawn through the line; and when the officer paying out comes to this mark, he orders the quartermaster to turn the glass, and the operation actually begins. at every fifty-one feet (or forty-seven and six tenths, making the allowances) there is a mark--a bit of leather, or two or more knots. the instant the sands have all run through the glass, the quartermaster says, "up," and the officer notes the mark to which the line has run out. half and quarter knots are indicated on the line. "now, quartermaster, mind your eye. when the officer of the deck says, 'turn,' you repeat the word after him, to show that you are alive," continued peaks. "ready!" said gordon. "ready!" replied smith. the lieutenant threw the chip into the water, and when the stray line had run off, he gave the word to turn the glass. "turn!" repeated smith. gordon eased off the log-line, so that nothing should prevent it from running easily. "up!" shouted smith; and gordon stopped the line. "very well," added peaks. "what's the mark?" "ten and a quarter," replied the officer. "that sounds more like it. i knew this ship was going more than seven knots. you see, young gentlemen, you can't catch flies and tend the log-line at the same time. now, you may try it over again." the experiment was repeated, with the same result. other officers and seamen were called to the quarter-deck, and the training in heaving the log continued, until a reasonable degree of proficiency was attained. "land ho!" cried the lookout on the top-gallant forecastle, at about eleven o'clock in the forenoon. "where away?" called the officer of the deck. "dead ahead, sir." "what is that land, mr. lowington?" asked paul kendall. "don't you know?" "i'm sure i don't." "then you should study your map more. look at the compass, and tell me how she heads." "south-east, sir," replied paul, after looking into the binnacle. "now, what land lies south-east of brockway harbor?" asked the principal. "cape cod, i think." "you are right; then that must be cape cod." "is it, really?" "certainly it is," laughed mr. lowington. "have you no faith in your map?" "i didn't think we could be anywhere near cape cod. i thought it was farther off," added paul, who seemed to be amazed to think they had actually crossed massachusetts bay. "the land you see is race point, which is about forty miles from the entrance to the bay, at the head of which brockway is located. we have been making about ten knots an hour, and our calculations seem to be very accurate. by one o'clock we shall come to anchor in provincetown harbor." this prediction was fully verified, and the young america was moored off the town. those who had been seasick recovered as soon as the motion of the ship ceased; and when everything aloft and on deck had been made snug, the crew were piped to dinner. in the afternoon, part of the students were permitted to go on shore; the band played, and several boat-races took place, very much to the delight of the people on shore, as well as those on board. at six o'clock the ship was opened for the reception of visitors, who came off in large numbers to inspect the vessel. after dark there was a brilliant display of fireworks, and the young america blazed with blue-lights and roman candles, set off by boys on the cross-trees, and at the yard-arms. at ten the festivities closed, and all was still in the steerage and on deck. the next morning, the ship got under way, and stood out of the harbor, bound for brockway again. she had a light breeze, and a smooth time, and the boys had the satisfaction of seeing every rag of canvas spread, including studding-sails alow and aloft; but it was not till after dark that the ship came to anchor at her former moorings. wilton and monroe were released from confinement in the morning, and permitted to go on deck. whatever their shipmates might have said, they felt that they had been severely punished, especially as they had failed in their runaway expedition. wilton did not feel any more kindly towards shuffles when he was released than when he had been ordered to his room. he felt that his late crony had been a traitor, and he was unable to take any higher view of the circumstances. "wilton," said mr. lowington, when he met the runaway on deck, the day after the fourth, "i told you that you had made a mistake. do you believe it yet?" "i suppose i do, sir." "you suppose you do! don't you know?" "yes, sir, i think i did make a mistake," replied wilton, who found it very hard to acknowledge the fact. "i do not refer to your punishment, when i allude to the consequences of your misdeed, for that was very light. you have fallen very low in the estimation of your superiors." "do you mean mr. shuffles, sir?" "i did not mean the officers exclusively, though i believe they have a proper respect for the discipline of the ship." "i don't think shuffles need to say anything." "he hasn't said anything." "he is worse than i am." "shuffles has done very well, and merits the approbation of the principal and the instructors." "they don't know him as well as i do," growled wilton. "they probably know him better. your remarks do not exhibit a proper spirit towards an officer. he defeated your plan to escape, but he did no more than his duty. he would have been blamed, perhaps punished, if he had done any less." "i don't find any fault with him for doing his duty, but i don't like to be snubbed by one who is worse than i am. if you knew what i know, sir, you would turn him out of the after cabin." "then it is fortunate for him that i don't know what you know," replied mr. lowington, sternly. "if you wish to injure him in my estimation, you will not succeed." "he is going to get up a mutiny one of these days. he told me all about it," continued wilton, desperately, when he found that the principal was in no mood to listen to his backbiting. "that will do, wilton? i don't wish to hear anything more about that matter. your testimony against shuffles, under present circumstances, is not worth the breath you use in uttering it." "i thought it was my duty to tell you, if any one was trying to get up a mutiny." "you did not think so; you are telling me this story to revenge yourself against the third lieutenant for his fidelity. whether there is, or is not, any truth in what you say, i shall take no notice of it." "it is all true, sir. he did speak to me about getting up a mutiny, locking up the professors, taking the ship, and going round cape horn; and he will not deny it." "he will have no opportunity to deny it to me, for i shall not mention the subject to him. go to your duty, and remember that you have injured yourself more than shuffles by this course." wilton hung his head, and went forward, cheated of his revenge, and disconcerted by the rebuke he had received. mr. lowington was quite willing to believe that shuffles had talked about a mutiny, while he was in the steerage, but there was at least no present danger of an extravagant scheme being put into operation. he understood shuffles perfectly; he knew that his high office and his ambition were his only incentives to fidelity in the discharge of his duty; but he had fairly won his position, and he was willing to let him stand or fall by his own merits. he was not a young man of high moral principle, as paul kendall, and gordon, and carnes were; but the discipline of the ship was certainly doing wonders for him, though it might ultimately fail of its ends. the ship came to anchor, the band was sent on shore, and the fourth of july holidays were ended. on the following morning the studies were resumed, and everything on board went on as usual. a few days later, the ship went on a cruise to the eastward, spending a week in each of the principal ports on the coast. the students soon became so accustomed to the motion of the ship, that none of them were seasick and the recitations were regularly heard, whether the young america was in port or at sea. when the cold weather came, stoves were put up in the cabins and in the steerage, and the routine of the ship was not disturbed; but mr. lowington dreaded the ice and snow, and the severe weather of mid-winter, and in november, the young america started on a cruise to the southward, and in the latter part of december she was in chesapeake bay. in march she returned to brockway. by this time the crew were all thorough seamen, and had made excellent progress in their studies. mr. lowington was entirely satisfied with the success of his experiment, and was resolved to persevere in it. the boys were in splendid discipline, and there had not been a case of serious illness on board during the year. besides the six hours of study and recitation required of the pupils per day, they were all trained in gymnastics by dr. winstock, the surgeon, who had a system of his own, and was an enthusiast on the subject. this exercise, with the ordinary ship's duty, kept them in excellent physical condition; and while their brown faces and rosy cheeks indicated a healthy state of the body, their forms were finely developed, and their muscles scientifically trained. greek and latin, german and french, with the ordinary english branches pursued in high schools and academies, were taught on board, and the instructors were satisfied that the boys accomplished twice as much as was ordinarily done in similar institutions on shore, and without injury to the students. everything was done by rule, and nothing was left to the whims and caprices of teachers and scholars. just so much study was done every day, and no more. there was no sitting up nights; there were no balls and parties, theatres and concerts, to interfere with the work; no late suppers of escalloped oysters and lobster salads to be eaten. boys who had bad habits were watched, and injurious tendencies corrected. but the students enjoyed their life on shipboard. as the vessel went from port to port, new scenes were opened to them. those who could be trusted were allowed to go on shore in their off-time; and as all their privileges depended upon their good conduct, they were very careful to do their duty, both as students and as seamen, cheerfully and faithfully. the young america dropped her anchor in brockway harbor on the th of march, on her return from her southern cruise. the first term of the second year was to commence on the st of april, and it was understood that the ship would sail for europe on the last day of march. the vessel needed some repairs, and all the students were allowed a furlough of twenty days to visit their homes. several of the larger boys, including carnes, had obtained places in the navy, and were not to return. two or three were to enter college in the summer, and a few were to go into mercantile houses; but these vacancies would be more than filled by the applicants who had been waiting months for an opportunity to join the ship. after the departure of the students, the young america was docked, and the necessary repairs made upon her. she was thoroughly cleansed and painted, and came out as good as new. before the return of the boys, her provisions, water, and stores, were taken on board, and all the preparations made for a foreign voyage. on the th of the month she was anchored again at her old moorings, and in the course of the next two days all the instructors and pupils were in their places. there were eleven new boys. "young gentlemen," said mr. lowington, as he mounted his usual rostrum, "i am happy to see you again, and to welcome you on board. our experience during the coming season will be much more interesting and exciting than that of the last year. we shall proceed immediately to europe, and all who are worthy of the privilege will have an opportunity to visit the principal cities of europe--london, paris, naples, st. petersburg. we shall go up the baltic and up the mediterranean, in this or a subsequent cruise, and i can safely promise you, not only an interesting, but a profitable trip. in a circular i have informed your parents and guardians of my purposes, and you are shipped this time for a foreign voyage, with their consent and approval." this speech caused no little excitement among the boys, who anticipated a great deal from the summer voyage. it was no small thing to visit london, paris, and st. petersburg, and not many boys obtain such an opportunity. "but, young gentlemen, i believe in discipline and progress, as most of you know. i expect every student to do his whole duty; and i wish to tell you now, that misconduct, and failures at recitation, will bring heavy disappointments upon you. if you do nothing for yourselves, you need expect nothing from me. for example, when the ship is going up the thames, if any one of you, or any number of you, should be guilty of flagrant misconduct, or gross neglect of your studies, you will see no more of the city of london than you can see from the cross-trees, for you shall not put a foot on shore." "rather steep," whispered one of the new comers. "that's so, but he means it," replied an old student. "we shall be at sea, out of sight of land, for twenty or thirty days," continued mr. lowington. "we shall encounter storms and bad weather, such as none of you have ever seen; for in going from port to port, last season, we were enabled to avoid all severe weather. we shall go to sea now with no harbor before us till we reach the other side of the atlantic, and we must take whatever comes. but the ship is as strong as a ship can be built, and with good management she would stand any gale that ever blew. good management includes good discipline, and every officer and seaman must be faithful in the discharge of his duty, for the safety of the ship and all on board of her will depend upon the fidelity of each individual. "young gentlemen, there are eleven new scholars: they must take the vacant berths after the ship's company is organized on the old plan. the offices will be given out and the berths drawn by the merit roll for january, february, and a portion of march--only about nine weeks of term time." shuffles, who stood near the principal, looked very much disconcerted when this announcement was made, and whispered to paul kendall that it was not fair to distribute the offices by last year's record. while the young america was lying at anchor in chesapeake bay, in december, shuffles, then second lieutenant, had received a letter from his mother, in which she had informed him that his family would visit europe in the following spring, and that he would leave the ship, and form one of the party. this information had caused him to relax his efforts as a student, and he had fallen very low in rank. this was the reason why the proposed distribution of offices was not fair. when shuffles went home on his furlough of twenty days, he had behaved so badly that his father refused to have him form one of the party in the trip abroad, and compelled him to return to the ship for another year of wholesome discipline under mr. lowington. angry and indignant, shuffles did return and the announcement that the offices were to be distributed by the merit roll did not add to his equanimity. "i will now read the record of marks," said the principal, "and announce the officers for the next term." the boys were silent and anxious; for places in the after cabin were more highly valued than ever, now that the young america was going to europe. chapter viii. outward bound. mr. lowington read the merit roll, announcing the officers as he proceeded. the occupants of the after cabin, who were appointed for the succeeding three months, during which time the ship crossed the atlantic, and visited various european ports, were as follows:-- charles gordon, _captain._ joseph haven, _first lieutenant._ paul kendall, _second "_ samuel goodwin, _third "_ augustus pelham, _fourth "_ william foster, _first master._ henry martyn, _second "_ thomas ellis, _third "_ joseph leavitt, _fourth "_ joseph o. rogers, _first purser._ edward murray, _second "_ george w. terrill, _first midshipman._ john humphreys, _second "_ mark robinson, _third "_ andrew groom, _fourth "_ the students mentioned in the list made the required promise to behave themselves like gentlemen, and faithfully discharge the duties of their several offices, and were duly installed in their new positions in the after cabin. most of them had been officers before, but all of them were higher in rank than at any former period. richard carnes had been captain four terms, for no one could get ahead of him. the new captain had been first lieutenant, during the preceding year, three terms out of four, and was certainly the best qualified student on board for the command. he was a young man of high moral aims, with much dignity of character and energy of purpose. the officers went to the after cabin, put on their uniforms, and assumed their proper places. the choice of berths in the steerage proceeded as usual, according to the merit roll, and the petty offices were given to the highest in rank. the new boys took the unoccupied berths by lot. the organization of the ship was now completed, and the students were directed to put their berths and lockers in order. the remainder of the day was fully occupied in preparing for the voyage. great quantities of ice and fresh provisions were taken on board, and packed away in the store rooms of the hold, and all was bustle and confusion. on thursday morning the ship was put in order again. the vessel had been duly cleared at the custom house, and every article required for the voyage had been received. the boys were ordered to put on their best suits, and at nine o'clock a steamer came off, having on board a large number of the parents and friends of the students. the forenoon was given up to this interesting occasion. it was a beautiful day, with a gentle breeze from the westward, and at twelve o'clock, all hands were mustered on deck for religious services, to be performed by the chaplain, in the presence of the friends of the pupils. mr. lowington was a religious man, and the position of the rev. mr. agneau, as chaplain on board, was by no means a sinecure. services had always been held twice a day on sunday. at five minutes before eight in the morning, and at the same time in the evening, prayers were said on deck, or in the steerage, in the presence of the entire ship's company. on the point of leaving the shores of the united states, it seemed highly appropriate to invoke the blessing of god on the voyage and the voyagers, and the principal had directed that the service should be conducted in the presence of the parents and friends. the prayer and the remarks of the chaplain were very solemn and impressive, and even the roughest of the students were moved by them. at the conclusion of the religious service, mr. lowington addressed the visitors, explaining the details of his plan more fully than he had done in his circulars, and saying what he could to inspire the parents with confidence in regard to the safety of their sons. it need not be said that there were many tears shed on this occasion. at the close of the speech a collation was served to the visitors, in the cabins and steerage, after which another hour was allowed for social intercourse; and then the ship was cleared, the visitors going on board the steamer again, which was to accompany the young america below the lighthouse. the boys were sent below to change their clothes again. "all hands, up anchor, ahoy!" piped the boatswain; and the crew sprang to their stations with more than usual alacrity. this was a greater event than they had ever known before. the anchor, which was now to be hauled up, was not to be dropped again for about a month, and then in foreign waters. they were going out upon the waste of the ocean, to be driven and tossed by the storms of the atlantic. they were bidding farewell to their native land, not again to look upon its shores for many months. they were boys, and they were deeply impressed by the fact. the capstan was manned, and the cable hove up to a short stay. the topsails and top-gallant sails were set; then the anchor was hauled up to the hawse-hole, catted and fished. the young america moved; she wore round, and her long voyage was commenced. the courses and the royals were set, and she moved majestically down the bay. the steamer kept close by her, and salutations by shouts, cheers, and the waving of handkerchiefs, were continually interchanged, till the ship was several miles outside of the lower light. the steamer whistled several times, to indicate that she was about to return. all hands were then ordered into the rigging of the ship; and cheer after cheer was given by the boys, and acknowledged by cheers on the part of the gentlemen, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. the steamer came about; the moment of parting had come, and she was headed towards the city. some of the students wept then; for, whatever charms there were in the voyage before them, the ties of home and friends were still strong. as long as the steamer could be seen, signals continued to pass between her and the ship. "captain gordon, has the first master given the quartermaster the course yet?" asked mr. lowington, when the steamer had disappeared among the islands of the bay. "no, sir; but mr. fluxion told him to make it east-north-east." "very well; but the masters should do this duty," added mr. lowington, as he directed the instructor in mathematics to require the masters, to whom belonged the navigation of the ship, to indicate the course. william foster was called, and sent into the after cabin with his associates, to obtain the necessary sailing directions. the masters had been furnished with a supply of charts, which they had studied daily, as they were instructed in the theory of laying down the ship's course. foster unrolled the large chart of the north atlantic ocean upon the dinner table, and with parallel ruler, pencil, and compasses, proceeded to perform his duty. "we want to go just south of cape sable," said he, placing his pencil point on that part of the chart. "how far south of it?" asked harry martyn. "say twenty nautical miles." the first master dotted the point twenty miles south of cape sable, which is the southern point of nova scotia, and also the ship's position, with his pencil. he then placed one edge of the parallel ruler on both of these points, thus connecting them with a straight line. a parallel ruler consists of two smaller rulers, each an inch in width and a foot in length, connected together by two flat pieces of brass, riveted into each ruler, acting as a kind of hinge. the parts, when separated, are always parallel to each other. foster placed the edge of the ruler on the two points made with the pencil, one indicating the ship's present position, the other the position she was to obtain after sailing two or three days. putting the fingers of his left hand on the brass knob of the ruler, by which the parts are moved, he pressed down and held its upper half, joining the two points, firmly in its place. with the fingers of the right hand he moved the lower half down, which, in its turn, he kept firmly in place, while he slipped the upper half over the paper, thus preserving the direction between the points. by this process the parallel ruler could be moved all over the chart without losing the course from one point to the other. on every chart there are one or more diagrams of the compass, with lines diverging from a centre, representing all the points. the parallel ruler is worked over the chart to one of these diagrams, where the direction to which it has been set nearly or exactly coincides with one of the lines representing a point of the compass. the first master of the young america worked the ruler down to a diagram, and found that it coincided with the line indicating east by north; or one point north of east. "that's the course," said thomas ellis, the third master--"east by north." "i think not," added foster. "if we steer that course, we should go forty or fifty miles south of cape sable, and thus run much farther than we need. what is the variation?" "about twelve degrees west," replied martyn. the compass does not indicate the true north in all parts of the earth, the needle varying in the north atlantic ocean from thirty degrees east to nearly thirty degrees west. there is an imaginary line, extending in a north-westerly direction, through a point in the vicinity of cape lookout, called the magnetic meridian, on which there is no variation. east of this line the needle varies to the westward; and west of the line, to the eastward. these variations of the compass are marked on the chart, in different latitudes and longitudes, though they need to be occasionally corrected by observations, for they change slightly from year to year. "variation of twelve degrees,"[ ] repeated foster, verifying the statement by an examination of the chart. that is equal to about one point, which, carried to the westward from east by north, will give the course east-north-east. [footnote : these calculations are merely approximate, being intended only to illustrate the principle.] the process was repeated, and the same result being obtained, the first master reported the course to mr. fluxion, who had made the calculation himself, in the professors' cabin. "quartermaster, make the course east-north-east," said the first master, when his work had been duly approved by the instructor. "east-north-east, sir!" replied the quartermaster, who was conning the wheel--that is, he was watching the compass, and seeing that the two wheelmen kept the ship on her course. there were two other compasses on deck, one on the quarter-deck, and another forward of the mainmast which the officers on duty were required frequently to consult, in order that any negligence in one place might be discovered in another. the after cabin and the professors' cabin were also provided with "tell-tales," which are inverted compasses, suspended under the skylights, by which the officers and instructors below could observe the ship's course. the log indicated that the ship was making six knots an hour, the rate being ascertained every two hours, and entered on the log-slate, to be used in making up the "dead reckoning." the young america had taken her "departure," that is, left the last land to be seen, at half past three o'clock. at four, when the log was heaved, she had made three miles; at six, fifteen miles; at eight, the wind diminishing and the log indicating but four knots, only eight miles were to be added for the two hours' run, making twenty-three miles in all. the first sea day would end at twelve o'clock on the morrow, when the log-slate would indicate the total of nautical miles the ship had run after taking her departure. this is called her dead reckoning, which may be measured off on the chart, and should carry the vessel to the point indicated by the observations for latitude and longitude. the wind was very light, and studding-sails were set alow and aloft. the ship only made her six knots as she pitched gently in the long swell of the ocean. the boys were still nominally under the order of "all hands on deck," but there was nothing for them to do, with the exception of the wheelmen, and they were gazing at the receding land behind them. they were taking their last view of the shores of their native land. doubtless some of them were inclined to be sentimental, but most of them were thinking of the pleasant sights they were to see, and the exciting scenes in which they were to engage on the other side of the rolling ocean, and were as jolly as though earth had no sorrows for them. the principal and the professors were pacing the quarter-deck, and doubtless some of them were wondering whether boys like the crew of the young america could be induced to study and recite their lessons amid the excitement of crossing the atlantic, and the din of the great commercial cities of the old world. the teachers were energetic men, and they were hopeful, at least, especially as study and discipline were the principal elements of the voyage, and each pupil's privileges were to depend upon his diligence and his good behavior. it would be almost impossible for a boy who wanted to go to paris while the ship was lying at havre, so far to neglect his duties as to forfeit the privilege of going. as these gentlemen have not been formally introduced, the "faculty" of the ship is here presented:-- robert lowington, _principal_. rev. thomas agneau, _chaplain_. dr. edward b. winstock, _surgeon_. instructors. john paradyme, a.m., _greek and latin_. richard modelle, _reading and grammar_. charles c. mapps, a.m., _geography and history_. james e. fluxion, _mathematics_. abraham carboy, m.d., _chemistry and nat. phil._ adolph badois, _french and german_. these gentlemen were all highly accomplished teachers in their several departments, as the progress of the students during the preceding year fully proved. they were interested in their work, and in sympathy with the boys, as well as with the principal. it was a very quiet time on board, and the crew were collected in little groups, generally talking of the sights they were to see. in the waist were shuffles, monroe, and wilton, all feuds among them having been healed. they appeared to be the best of friends, and it looked ominous for the discipline of the ship to see them reunited. shuffles was powerful for good or evil, as he chose, and mr. lowington regretted that he had fallen from his high position, fearing that the self-respect which had sustained him as an officer would desert him as a seaman, and permit him to fall into excesses. shuffles was more dissatisfied and discontented than he had ever been before. he had desired to make the tour of europe with his father, and he was sorely disappointed when denied this privilege; for with the family he would be free from restraint, and free from hard study. when he lost his rank as an officer, he became desperate and reckless. to live in the steerage and do seaman's duty for three months, after he had enjoyed the luxuries of authority, and of a state-room in the after cabin, were intolerable. after the cabin offices had been distributed, he told monroe that he intended to run away that night; but he had found no opportunity to do so; and it was unfortunate for his shipmates that he did not. "this isn't bad--is it, shuffles?" said wilton, as the ship slowly ploughed her way through the billows. "i think it is. i had made up my mouth to cross the ocean in a steamer, and live high in london and paris," replied shuffles. "i don't relish this thing, now." "why not?" asked wilton. "i don't feel at home here." "i do." "because you never were anywhere else. i ought to be captain of this ship." "well, you can be, if you have a mind to work for it," added monroe. "work for it! that's played out. i must stay in the steerage three months, at any rate; and that while the burden of the fun is going on. if we were going to lie in harbor, or cruise along the coast, i would go in for my old place." "but carnes is out of the way now, and your chance is better this year than it was last," suggested monroe. "i know that, but i can't think of straining every nerve for three months, two of them while we are going from port to port in europe. when we go ashore at queenstown, i shall have to wear a short jacket, instead of the frock coat of an officer; and i think the jacket would look better on some younger fellow." "what are you going to do, shuffles?" asked wilton. "i'd rather be a king among hogs, than a hog among kings." "what do you mean by that?" "no matter; there's time enough to talk over these things." "do you mean a mutiny?" laughed wilton. "haven't you forgotten that?" "no." "i wonder what lowington would say, if he knew i had proposed such a thing," added shuffles, thoughtfully. "he did know it, at the time you captured the runaways, for i told him." "did you?" demanded shuffles, his brow contracting with anger. "i told you i would tell him, and i did," answered wilton. "you were a traitor to our fellows, and got us into a scrape." "i was an officer then." "no matter for that. do you suppose, if i were an officer, i would throw myself in your way when you were up to anything?" "i don't know whether you would or not; but i wouldn't blow on you, if you had told me anything in confidence. what did lowington say?" "nothing; he wouldn't take any notice of what i said." "that was sensible on his part. one thing is certain, wilton: you can't be trusted." "you mustn't make me mad, then." "i will keep things to myself hereafter," growled shuffles. "don't be savage. you served me a mean trick, and i paid you off for it; so we are square." "we will keep square then, and not open any new accounts." "but you will want me when anything is up," laughed wilton. "what would you do without me in getting up a mutiny?" "who said anything about a mutiny?" "i know you are thinking over something, and you don't mean to submit to the discipline of the ship, if you can help it." "well, i can't help it." "there goes the boatswain's whistle, piping to muster," said monroe. "confound the boatswain's whistle!" growled shuffles. "i don't like the idea of running every time he pipes." very much to the surprise of his companions, shuffles, his irritation increased by the conduct of wilton, took no notice of the call, and went forward, instead of aft. his companions, more wise and prudent, walked up to the hatch, which mr. lowington had just mounted. "groom, tell shuffles to come aft," said the principal to one of the midshipmen. the officer obeyed the order; shuffles flatly refused to go aft. mr. lowington descended from his rostrum and went forward to enforce obedience. this event created a profound sensation among the students. "shuffles," said mr lowington, sternly. "sir," replied the malcontent, in a surly tone. "the boatswain piped the crew to muster." "i heard him." "you did not obey the call. i sent for you, and you refused to come." "i don't think i ought to obey the boatswain's call." "may i ask why not?" "i've been an officer three terms, and i should be now if we had had fair play," growled shuffles. "i am not disposed to argue this point in your present frame of mind. i order you to go aft." "and i won't go!" replied shuffles, impudently. "mr. peaks," said the principal, calling the senior boatswain. "here, sir," replied peaks, touching his hat to the principal. "mr. leech," added mr. lowington. "here, sir." "walk this young gentleman aft." "let me alone!" cried shuffles, as peaks placed his hand upon him. "gently, my sweet lamb," said the boatswain, with affected tenderness. "take your hands off me!" roared the mutinous pupil, as he struggled to release himself from the grasp of the stalwart seaman. peaks took him by the collar with one hand, and held his wrist with the other, on one side, while leech did the same on the other side. "walk him aft," repeated the principal. "mr. fluxion, may i trouble you to bring up the irons?" continued mr. lowington, when the boatswain and carpenter had "walked" the rebel aft, in spite of his struggling and kicking. "irons!" gasped shuffles, as he heard the request of the principal. he trembled with rage as he uttered the word. the irons seemed to pierce his soul. probably he did not think that the son of a wealthy gentleman would be compelled to submit to such an indignity as being put in irons. mr. fluxion came on deck with a pair of handcuffs. it was the first time they had been seen, and no student even knew there were any on board. the discipline of the ship had been as gentle as it was firm, and this was the first time such instruments were necessary. "mr. peaks, put the irons on him!" said mr. lowington, his usual dignity unruffled by angry emotions. "don't put them on me!" cried shuffles, making an effort to disengage himself from the grasp of his captors. "put them on at once!" added the principal. "you shall not put them on me! i will die first!" roared the rebel. it was easier to talk than to do, in the hands of two sturdy sailors, one of whom had used the cat in the navy, when its use was tolerated. shuffles did not die, and he was ironed, in spite of his struggles and his protest. chapter ix. the watch-bill. shuffles struggled with the irons and with the stout men who held him until he had exhausted himself; and then, because his frame, rather than his spirit, was worn down, he was quiet. it was the first case of severe discipline that had occurred on board, and it created a tremendous sensation among the students. mr. lowington stood with folded arms, watching the vain struggles of the culprit, until he was reduced to a state of comparative calmness. he looked sad, rather than angry, and his dignity was not impaired by the assault upon his authority. "shuffles, i am sorry to see one who has been an officer of the ship reduced to your condition; but discipline must and shall be maintained," said the principal. "we are on the high seas now, and disobedience is dangerous. you led me to believe that you had reformed your life and conduct." "it isn't my fault," replied shuffles, angrily. "you had better not reply to me in that tone," added mr. lowington, mildly. "yes, i will!" "mr. topliffe," continued the principal. "here, sir," replied the head steward. "you will have the brig cleared out for use." "yes, sir;" and the head steward went below to obey the order. there was not a boy on board who knew what the "brig" was, though the establishment had existed in the steerage from the time when the boys first went on board the ship. it had never before been required for use, and mr. lowington had carefully veiled every disagreeable feature of discipline, until it was necessary to exhibit it. the brig was the prison of the ship--the lock-up. it was located under and abaft the main ladder, in the steerage, being an apartment five feet in length by three feet in width. the partitions which enclosed it were composed of upright planks, eight inches in width, with spaces between them for the admission of light and air. the brig had been used as a store room for bedding by the stewards, and the students never suspected, till shuffles' case came up, that it was not built for a closet. mr. topliffe and his assistants removed the blankets and comforters from this lock-up, and prepared it for the reception of the refractory pupil. when the room was ready he went on deck, and reported the fact to the principal. "shuffles, our discipline has always been of the mildest character," said mr. lowington, breaking the impressive silence which reigned on deck. "i regret to be compelled to resort to force in any form; even now i would avoid it." "you needn't, on my account," replied shuffles, shaking his head. "you have done your worst already." "mr. peaks, take him below, lock him up in the brig, and bring the key to me." the manacled rebel made another effort to resist, but the stout sailors easily handled him, and bore him down into the steerage. he was thrust into the brig, ironed as he was, and the door locked upon him. shuffles glanced at the interior of the prison, and broke out into a contemptuous laugh. he then commenced kicking the pales of the partition? but he might as well have attempted to break through the deck beneath. "shuffles," said peaks, in a low tone, when he had locked the door, "be a man. you act like a spoiled child now." "i have been insulted, and abused," replied shuffles, fiercely. "no, you haven't. aboard almost any ship, you would have got a knock on the head with a handspike before this time. don't make a fool of yourself. you are only making yourself ridiculous now--'pon my word as an old sailor, you are." "i'll have satisfaction." "no, you won't, unless you break your own head. i want to advise you, as a friend, not to make a fool of yourself. i'm sorry for you, my lad." "don't talk to me." "i can forgive you for disobeying orders, but i can't forgive you for being a fool. now, keep quiet, and be a man." the well-meant effort of the boatswain to pacify the culprit was a failure, and peaks, going on deck, delivered the key of the brig to mr. lowington. shuffles kicked against the partition till he was tired of the exercise. "young gentlemen, to-day we enter upon a new experience on shipboard," said the principal, without making any further allusion to shuffles. "our short trips last season were so timed that we kept no regular night watches, and, with two or three exceptions, the ship was at anchor when you slept. of course that is not practicable on a long voyage, and you must all do duty by night as well as by day. "this has been a difficult matter to arrange, for you are all too young to be deprived of your regular sleep, though in heavy weather i am afraid you will lose your rest to some extent. at eight o'clock this evening the starboard watch will be on duty. we have four times as many hands on board the young america as are usually employed in merchant ships, so that a quarter watch will be able to handle the ship on all ordinary occasions. we shall, therefore, keep a quarter watch on ship's duty at all times through the twenty-four hours. "during the night, including the time from eight in the evening until eight in the morning, each quarter watch will be on duty two hours, and then off six hours; and each hand will obtain six consecutive hours' sleep every night. at eight this evening, the first part of the starboard watch will have the ship in charge, and all others may turn in and sleep. at ten, the second part of the starboard watch will be called, without disturbing any others. at twelve, the first part of the port watch will be summoned; at two, the second part; and so on till eight in the morning. "the first part of the starboard watch, which turned in at ten, will sleep till four, giving them six hours of rest all together, and they may turn in again at six o'clock, when relieved by the second part, and sleep till half past seven, which is breakfast time for those off duty. "during the daytime, from eight in the morning till eight in the evening, the same routine will be observed to-morrow, at eight in the morning, the first part of the port watch will take charge of the ship till ten; the second part will be off duty, and the time will be their own, to use as they think proper. at ten, the second part will be in charge, and the first will have their own time till twelve. all the starboard watch, during these four hours, will study and recite. in the afternoon the same course will be pursued with the other watch. do you understand it?" "yes, sir," replied the boys. "by this arrangement you will average three hours of duty every night. to-night the port watch will be on deck two hours, and the starboard watch, whose turn will come twice, four hours; but to-morrow night the operation will be reversed, and the port will have the deck four hours, and the starboard but two. two copies of the watch bill will be posted in the steerage, and one in the after cabin. young gentlemen, i recommend you to study it, until you are perfectly familiar with its requirements." "how is it with the officers, mr. lowington?" asked paul kendall, who was generally the spokesman for his companions. "the officers are divided into watches in precisely the same manner as the crew. to the starboard watch belong the first and third lieutenant, the second and fourth master, and the first and third midshipman, which makes one officer of each grade for each quarter watch," replied mr. lowington. "their off-time and study-time correspond with those of the crew." it is quite possible that the officers and crew of the young america understood the complicated arrangement of the principal. if they did not, they could refer to the posted document; and, as we cannot deprive our readers of this privilege, we insert in full, the watch bill. first day. _first watch, from till p.m._ from till . st lieut., d master, st mid. first part of the starboard watch. from till . d lieut., th master, d mid. second part of the starboard watch. _mid watch, from till a.m._ from till . d lieut., st master, d mid. first part of the port watch. from till . th lieut., d master, th mid. second part of the port watch. _morning watch, from till a.m._ from till . st lieut., d master, st mid. first part of the starboard watch. from till . d lieut., th master, d mid. second part of the starboard watch. _forenoon watch, from till a.m._ from till . d lieut., st master, d mid. first part of the port watch. second part of port watch off duty. all the starboard watch study and recite till . from till . th lieut., d master, th mid. second part of port watch. first part of port watch off duty. _afternoon watch, from till p.m._ from till . st lieut., d master, st mid. first part of starboard watch. second part of the starboard watch off duty. all the port watch study and recite till . from till . d lieut., th master, d mid. second part of the starboard watch. first part of the starboard watch off duty. _first dog watch, from till p.m._ from till . d lieut., st master, d mid. first part of the port watch. second part of the port watch off duty. all the starboard watch study and recite till . from till . th lieut., d master, th mid. second part of the port watch. first part of the port watch off duty. _second dog watch, from till p.m._ from till . st lieut., d master, st mid. first part of the starboard watch. second part of the starboard watch off duty. all the port watch study and recite till . from till . d lieut., th master, d mid. second part of the starboard watch. first part of the starboard watch off duty. _breakfast._ port watch, - / o'clock. starboard watch, o'clock. _dinner._ starboard watch, - / o'clock. port watch, o'clock. _supper._ starboard watch, - / o'clock. port watch, o'clock. the watch bill for the second day was the same, with the exception of the names of the watches and quarter watches. the entire programme was reversed by the operation of the dog watches, which substituted "port" for "starboard," and "starboard" for "port," in the next day's routine. when the boys were permitted to go below, they rushed to the watch bills, and studied them faithfully, till they fully understood the programme. each student ascertained his duty for the night, and his off-time and study-hours for the next day, which were included in the first day's bill. "i go on at twelve o'clock," said paul kendall, in the after cabin, when he had examined the bill. "and i go on deck at eight o'clock," added joseph haven, the first lieutenant. "i shall have a chance to sleep from ten till four in the morning, and an hour and a half, from six till half past seven." "i shall have my watch below from two till breakfast time. i don't think we need wear ourselves out under this arrangement." "no; i thought we should be obliged to take four hours of duty at a time on deck." "how will it be when we have rough weather?" asked paul. "i don't know; i suppose we must take our chances then." "what do you think of shuffles' case?" added paul. "he will get the worst of it." "i'm sorry for him. he behaved first rate last year, though they say he used to be a hard fellow." "what's the use of a fellow doing as he has done?" said haven, with palpable disgust. "he can't make anything by it." "of course he can't." "i would rather have him in the cabin than in the steerage, for he will not obey orders; and when he is ugly, he is a perfect tiger. i wonder what mr. lowington is going to do with him. there is no such thing as expelling a fellow in this institution now. if he means to be cross-grained, he can keep us in hot water all the time." the officers were too much excited by the fact that the ship was outward bound to remain long in the cabin, and they returned to the deck to watch the progress of the vessel. at eight o'clock the young america was out of sight of land, though it would have been too dark to see it ten miles distant. the quartermaster, at the helm, struck eight bells, which were repeated on the forecastle. "all the first part of the starboard watch, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, for it was now time to commence the programme of regular sea duty. the first lieutenant took his place, as officer of the deck, near the helm; the second master on the forecastle and the third midshipman in the waist. the first part of the starboard watch were stationed in various parts of the deck. of the four quartermasters, one was attached to each quarter watch. the wheel was given to two hands for the first hour, and two were placed on the top-gallant forecastle, to act as the lookout men, to be relieved after one hour's service. the rest of the boys were required to keep awake, but no special duty was assigned to them. there were hands enough on deck to "tack ship," or to take in the sails, one or two at a time. though the ship was nominally in the hands and under the direction of her juvenile officers, who performed all the duties required in working her, yet they were closely watched by the principal, who, if there was anything wrong, informed the captain of the fact. the commander kept no watch, but he was responsible for every manoeuvre, and for the regular routine of duty. mr. lowington seldom spoke to any other officer in regard to ship's duty or the navigation. when the watch was set, at eight bells, most of the boys who were off duty went into the steerage. some of them turned in; but the novelty of the occasion was too great to permit them to sleep. they collected in groups, to talk over the prospects of the voyage, and the duties required of them, as indicated by the watch bill. shuffles sat on a stool in the brig, still nursing his wrath. when his supper was carried to him by the steward, his irons had been taken off. he refused to eat, and the food was removed. as he was now quiet, the irons were not replaced. the prisoner was far from penitent for his offence. mr. agneau, the chaplain, was very much concerned about the prisoner. he was shocked by his disobedience, and pained to find that one who had done so well could do so ill. the case had been fully considered in the professors' cabin; and mr. lowington declared that shuffles should stay in the brig till he had repented of his folly, and promised obedience for the future. the chaplain was a tender-hearted man, and he thought that some gentle words might touch the feelings of the prisoner, and bring him to a sense of duty. with the principal's permission, therefore, he paid a visit to shuffles in the evening. "i am very sorry to find you here, shuffles," said mr. agneau, when he had locked the door behind him. "has lowington sent you to torment me?" demanded the prisoner. "mr. lowington, you mean," added the chaplain, gently. "no, i mean lowington. when a man has abused and insulted me, i can't stop to put a handle to his name." "i regret to find you in such an unhappy frame of mind, my young friend. i came here of my own accord, to do what i might to help you." "did you, indeed!" sneered shuffles. "that was my only object." "was it? well, if you want to help me, you will induce lowington to let me out of this crib, apologize for what he has done, and give me my place in the after cabin." "that is plainly impossible," replied the astonished chaplain. "then you can't do anything for me; and i think i can take care of myself." "i entreat you, my young friend, to consider the error of your ways." "there is no error in my ways, mr. agneau." "you are unreasonable." "no, i'm not. i only want what is fair and right." "was it right for you, shuffles, to refuse obedience to the principal, when he told you to go aft?" "i have always obeyed all proper orders; and under the circumstances, i think it was right for me to refuse." "you fill me with amazement!" exclaimed the chaplain. "you know it was not fair to give out the offices by last year's marks," protested shuffles. "on the contrary, i think it was entirely fair." "i haven't anything more to say if it was," replied shuffles, in surly tones. the chaplain, finding the prisoner was not in a proper frame of mind for edifying conversation, left him, and returned to the professors' cabin. the boys had been forbidden to go near the brig, or to speak to the prisoner; and thus far no one had exhibited any disposition to disregard the order. many of them, as they passed near the brig, glanced curiously at him. after the departure of the chaplain, wilton sat down on a stool near the lock-up. "how are you. shuffles?" said he, in a low tone. "come here, wilton--will you?" replied the prisoner. "i can't; we are not allowed to speak to you." "what do you care for that? no one can see you." "what do you want?" "i want to talk with you." "i shall be punished if i'm caught." "you won't be caught. how are our fellows now?" "first rate," replied wilton, walking up and down the berth deck, rising and looking as though nothing was going on. "you know what we were talking about just before the row," added shuffles, drawing his stool up to the palings. "you said you wouldn't trust me," answered wilton, still pacing the deck in front of the brig. "you told lowington about something he had no business to know; but i forgive you, wilton." "you are very willing to forgive me, now you are in a tight place." "it was mean of you to do it, wilton; you can't deny that. lowington was on the best of terms with me when i was in the after cabin, and i might have told him a hundred things about you." "didn't you tell him anything?" "not a word." "well, you are a good fellow, and i always thought you were. i couldn't see why you turned traitor to us when we intended to spend the fourth of july on shore." "i was obliged to do what i did. if i hadn't, i should have been turned out of my office." "perhaps you were right, shuffles, and we won't say anything more about the past," replied wilton, who was too willing to be on good terms with the powerful malcontent, even while he was a prisoner and in disgrace. "wilton, i am going to be captain of this ship within ten days," said shuffles, in a whisper. "now you may go and tell lowington of that." "of course i shall not tell him," added wilton, indignantly. "i told you merely to show you that i had full confidence in you--that's all. you can betray me if you wish to do so." "i don't wish to do anything of the kind. of course we shall always go together, as we did before you were an officer." "i shall be an officer again soon." "what's the use of talking about such a thing?" "i shall." "do you mean to get up the mutiny?" "i do. i feel more like it now than i ever did before," replied shuffles; and his low tones came from between his closed teeth. "it's no use to think of such a thing. it's too wild." "no matter if it is; it shall be carried out." "the fellows won't go in for it; they won't dare to do it." "yes, they will. i know them better than you do, wilton. it isn't quite time yet; but in three or four days they will be ready for anything." "you can't bring them up to what you mean." "yes, i can." "what do you expect to do, locked up in that place?" demanded wilton, incredulously. "when i get ready to go out of this place, i shall go. i needn't stay here any longer than i please." "do you really mean to get up a mutiny?" "hush! don't call it by that name." "what shall i call it?" "call it making a chain." "i don't understand you," answered wilton, puzzled by the expression. "i know what i'm about, and i have got more friends in the ship than lowington has. and i know exactly how to manage the whole thing," added shuffles, confidently. "but the fellows are all perfectly satisfied with their condition. they wish to go to europe, and are pleased with the prospect before them." "perhaps they are; and they shall all go to europe, and travel about without being tied to lowington's coat-tails. i shall come out of this place to-morrow, and we will work the thing up." "i'm in for a time with any good fellow; but i don't think we can make this thing go," said wilton. "hush! don't say another word. there comes an officer." one bell, indicating half past eight in the evening, struck on deck. it was the duty of the master and midshipman on deck, alternately, to pass through the steerage every half hour during the watch, to see that there was no disorder, and that the lights were all secure, so as to avoid any danger from fire. henry martyn, the second master, performed this office on the present occasion. he descended the main ladder, and wilton, who expected the visit when he heard the stroke of the bell, retreated to his mess room, and threw himself into his berth. harry walked around the steerage, and glanced into the gangways, from which the rooms opened. "harry," said shuffles, in a low tone, as the master was about to return to the deck. "did you speak to me?" asked harry, stepping up to the bars of the cage. "i did. will you oblige me by telling the chaplain that i would like to see him?" added the prisoner. "i will;" and harry knocked at the door of the professors' cabin. chapter x. making a chain. the chaplain was too glad of an opportunity to converse with the prisoner to refuse his request, and he hastened to the brig, hoping to find shuffles in a better state of mind than when he had visited him before. mr. agneau entered the lock-up, and was securing the door behind him, when the prisoner spoke. "you needn't lock it, sir; i will not attempt to escape," said he. "i sent for you to apologize for my rudeness." "indeed! then i am very glad to see you," replied the delighted chaplain. "i have been sorely grieved at your misconduct, and i would fain have brought you to see the error of your ways." "i see it now, sir," replied shuffles, with apparent penitence. "i'm afraid i am a great deal worse than you think i am, sir." "it is of no consequence what i think, shuffles, if you are conscious of the wrong you have done," added the worthy chaplain. "you behaved exceedingly well last year, and it almost broke my heart to see you relapsing into your former evil habits." "i am grateful to you for the interest you have taken in me, and i assure you i have often been encouraged to do well by your kind words," continued the penitent, with due humility. "i have done wrong, and i don't deserve to be forgiven." "'he that humbleth himself shall be exalted,'" said mr. agneau, gratified at the great change which had apparently been wrought in the prisoner. "if you are really sorry for your offence, mr. lowington, i doubt not, will pardon you, and restore you to favor again." "i don't deserve it, sir. since you left me, i have been thinking of my past life. i dare not tell you how bad i have been." "you need not tell me. it is not necessary that you should confess your errors to me. there is one who knows them, and if you are sincerely repentant he will pity and forgive you." "i think i should feel better if i told some one of my misdeeds." "perhaps you would; that is for you to judge. i will speak to mr. lowington about you to-night. what shall i say to him?" "i hardly know. i deserve to be punished. i have done wrong, and am willing to suffer for it." the tender-hearted chaplain thought that shuffles was in a beautiful state of mind, and he desired to have him released at once, that he might converse with him on great themes under more favorable circumstances; but shuffles still detained him. "i'm afraid i have ruined myself on board this ship," continued shuffles, persisting in his self-humiliation. "if you manfully acknowledge your fault, you will be freely and generously forgiven." "mr. lowington hates me now, after what i have done." "o, far from it!" exclaimed the chaplain. "it will be a greater satisfaction to him than to you to forgive you. you are no longer of the opinion that you were unfairly used in the distribution of the offices, i suppose." "mr. agneau, i was beside myself when i resisted the principal. i should not have done it if i had been in my right mind." "you were very angry." "i was--i was not myself." "anger often makes men crazy." "you don't understand me, mr. agneau." "indeed, i do. you mean that you deluded yourself into the belief that you had been wronged, and that you ought not to obey the orders of your officers, and of the principal. the force that was used made you so angry that you did not know what you were about," added the sympathizing chaplain. "in one word, mr. agneau, i had been drinking," said shuffles, with something like desperation in his manner, as he bent his head, and covered his face with his hands. "drinking!" gasped the chaplain, filled with horror at the confession. "i told you i was worse than you thought i was," moaned shuffles. "is it possible!" "it is true, sir; i say it with shame." "are you in the habit of taking intoxicating drinks?" asked the chaplain, confounded beyond measure at this complication of the difficulty. "i am not in the habit of it, because i can't get liquor all the time. my father has wine on his table, and i always was allowed to drink one glass." "can it be!" ejaculated the chaplain. "a youth of seventeen----" "i'm eighteen now, sir." "a youth of eighteen in the habit of taking wine!" groaned mr. agneau. "i drank a great deal more than my father knew of while i was at home." "i am amazed!" "i knew you would be, sir; but i have told you the truth now." "but where did you get your liquor to-day?" "it was wine, sir." "where did you get it?" "i brought two bottles on board with me when i reported for duty yesterday." "this is terrible, shuffles! do you know what an awful habit you are contracting, my dear young friend?" "i never thought much about it till to-night. it has got me into such a scrape this time, that i don't believe i shall ever drink any more." "as you respect yourself, as you hope for peace in this world, and peace in the next, never put the cup to your lips again. 'wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' did you drink the two bottles?" "no, sir; only part of one bottle," replied shuffles, with commendable promptness. "where is the rest of it?" "under my berth-sack." "are you willing i should take possession of it, and hand it to mr. lowington?" "i will agree to anything which you think is right." "then i will take the wine and throw it overboard." "just as you think best, sir. you will find the two bottles in my berth, no. , gangway d,--the forward one on the starboard side." "i hope you will never touch the wine-cup again." "i will not--till next time," added shuffles, as the chaplain moved towards the door of the brig. "'look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder,'" continued the chaplain, as he passed out of the lock-up. mr. agneau went to the prisoner's berth, and found the two bottles of wine. they were a sufficient explanation of the remarkable conduct of shuffles. the youth had "drank wine, and was drunken," otherwise he would not have been guilty of such flagrant disobedience. though in his own estimation the excuse was worse than the original fault, yet it was an explanation; and if the root of the evil could be removed, the evil itself would cease to exist. the wine could be thrown overboard, and as no more could be obtained during the voyage, the good conduct of the young tippler would be insured, at least till the ship reached queenstown, which was the port to which she was bound. with the two bottles in his hands, the chaplain returned to the professors' cabin. mr. lowington was on deck. he did not deem it prudent to leave the ship in the hands of the students, at first, without any supervision, and it was arranged that the principal, mr. fluxion, and mr. peake, the boatswain, should take turns in observing the course and management of the vessel. mr. agneau carried the prize he had captured on deck, and informed mr. lowington what had just transpired in the brig. "i knew the boy drank wine when he was at home," replied the principal; "and if he is ruined, his father must blame himself." "but it is really shocking!" exclaimed the chaplain as he tossed one of the bottles of wine over the rail. "how can a parent permit his son to drink wine, when he knows that more men are killed by intemperance than by war and pestilence? i am amazed!" "so am i, mr. agneau." "the boy is hardly to blame for his conduct, since he contracted this vicious habit under the eye of his father." "the discipline of the ship must be preserved." "certainly, mr. lowington." "and the boy is just as much to blame for his act of disobedience as though it had been done in his sober senses." "but you can afford to pardon him, under the circumstances." "i will do that when he is willing to make a proper acknowledgment of his offence in the presence of the ship's company, before whom the act was committed." "he is quite ready to do so now." "if he will say as much as that to me, he shall be released at once." "he will, sir." "it is very strange to me that i noticed nothing peculiar in the boy's speech or manner at the time," added the principal. "he certainly did not seem to be intoxicated." "probably he had taken just enough to inflame his evil passions, without affecting his manner," suggested the chaplain. "i did not even discover the odor of wine upon him." "perhaps you did not go near enough to him. if you please, mr. lowington, we will go down and see him; and you can judge for yourself whether or not it is prudent to release him." "i will." "thank you, sir. i feel a deep interest in the young man, and i hope he may yet be saved." when mr. agneau left the brig, after his second visit, wilton, who was very anxious to know what shuffles meant by "making a chain," came out of his mess room. he had been watching the chaplain, and wondering what the prisoner could have to say to him. "what's up, shuffles?" asked wilton, when mr. agneau had left the steerage. "i've been smoothing him down," laughed shuffles, with an audible chuckle. "i have concluded not to stay in here any longer." "what do you mean?" "i'm coming out pretty soon, though it has cost me a bottle and a half of old sherry to get out," laughed shuffles. "i don't know what you mean." "i told the parson that i was drunk when i disobeyed orders, and that i was very sorry for it, and wouldn't get drunk any more." "did you tell him that?" "i did; i assured him i was the worst fellow in the whole world, and ought to be hung, drawn, and quartered for my wickedness; and he swallowed it as a codfish does a clam." "and you gave him all the wine?" "no, i didn't; i gave him one full bottle, and what was left in the one from which we drank this afternoon. i have two more." "we were going to have a good time with that wine." "i have enough left." "where is it?" "in my locker." "they may find it." "no, they won't; i will put it in some other place before inspection day. there is plenty of wine in the medical stores. it was a good joke for the parson to suppose i was drunk." "perhaps you were," suggested wilton. "i felt good; but i was as sober as i am now." "the drink i took went into my head, and i felt as though i was going up in a ballon." "that was because you are not used to the article. it waked me up a little, but i knew what i was about." "i think you were a confounded fool to do what you did." "wilton, i'm not going to live in the steerage--you may take my word for it. i've been an officer too long to come down to that. if we don't succeed in making a chain, i shall quit the concern the first time i put my foot on shore in ireland." "what do you mean by making a chain?" asked wilton, eagerly. "a chain is strong." "well; what of it?" "it is composed of many links. can't you understand that?" "hush up! some one is coming," said wilton, as he walked away from the brig. "here! who is that?" demanded mr. lowington, as he saw wilton moving away from the lock-up. "no. , sir--wilton," replied he. "i was just going on deck to find you, sir." "to find me?" asked the principal. "yes, sir. shuffles called me when i was passing, and wished me to tell you he wanted to see you very much. i was just going after you, sir." "if there is any blame, sir, it rests on me," interposed shuffles, through the bars of his prison. mr. lowington unlocked the door of the brig, and entered, followed by mr. agneau, leaving wilton to congratulate himself on the result of the lies he had uttered. "i am told you wish to see me, shuffles," said the principal. "yes, sir; i wish to say that i am extremely sorry for what i have done." "i thought you were crazy when you refused to obey; and now i find you were." "i had been drinking, sir, i confess." "mr. agneau has told me your story; it is not necessary to repeat it now. to-morrow i shall require you to acknowledge your error at muster, and promise obedience in the future. are you willing to do so?" "i am, sir." "you are discharged from confinement then, and will at once return to your duty," replied mr. lowington, upon whom shuffles did not venture to intrude his extremely penitential story. "to which watch do you belong?" "to the port watch, first part, sir." "it will be on deck during the first half of the mid watch, from twelve till two," added the principal, as he came out of the brig. mr. lowington made no parade of what he had done. he never subjected any student to unnecessary humiliation. he indulged in no reproaches, and preached no sermons. he went on deck, intending to leave the culprit to the influence of the better thoughts which he hoped and believed had been kindled in his mind by the events of the day. mr. agneau remained a moment to give a final admonition to the penitent, as he regarded him, and then went to his cabin. "are you going to turn in, shuffles?" asked wilton. "not yet. are there any of our fellows below?" "plenty of them." "our fellows" was a term applied to that portion of the crew who were understood to be ready for any scrape which might be suggested. shuffles had coined the expression himself, while at the brockway academy, and introduced it on board the ship. without concealment or palliation, they were bad boys. by the discipline of the ship they were kept in good order, and compelled to perform their duties. as in every community of men or boys, where persons of kindred tastes find each other out, the bad boys in the young america had discovered those of like tendencies, and a bond of sympathy and association had been established among them. they knew and were known of each other. on the other hand, it is equally true, that there was a bond of sympathy and association among the good boys, as there is among good men. if a good man wishes to establish a daily prayer meeting, he does not apply to the intemperate, the profane swearers, and the sabbath breakers of his neighborhood for help; there is a magnetism among men which leads him to the right persons. if a bad man intends to get up a mob, a raffle, or a carousal, he does not seek assistance among those who go to church every sunday, and refrain from evil practices, either from principle or policy. he makes no mistakes of this kind. in every community, perhaps one fourth of the whole number are positively good, and one fourth positively bad, while the remaining two fourths are more or less good or more or less bad, floating undecided between the two poles of the moral magnet, sometimes drawn one way, and sometimes the other. the young america was a world in herself, and the moral composition of her people was similar to that of communities on a larger scale. she had all the elements of good and evil on board. one fourth of the students were doubtless high-minded, moral young men, having fixed principles, and being willing to make great sacrifices rather than do wrong. as good behavior, as well as proficiency in the studies, was an element of success in the ship, a large proportion of the positively good boys were in the after cabin. another fourth of the students were reckless and unprincipled, with no respect for authority, except so far as it was purchased by fear of punishment or hope of reward. occasionally one of this class worked his way into the cabin by superior natural ability, and a spasmodic attempt to better his condition on board. the rest of the ship's company belonged to the indefinite, undecided class, floating more or less distant from the positive elements of good or evil. they were not bad boys, for, with proper influences, they could be, and were, kept from evil ways. they were not good boys on principle, for they could be led away in paths of error. "our fellows" were the positively bad boys of the floating academy; and they existed in no greater proportion in the ship's company than in the communities of the great world. to this class belonged shuffles, wilton, monroe, and others. to the positively good boys belonged gordon, kendall, martyn, and others--not all of them in the after cabin, by any means. shuffles and wilton walked forward to find some of these kindred spirits. they seemed to know just where to look for them, for they turned in at gangway d. over each of the six passages from which the mess rooms opened, a lantern was suspended, besides four more in the middle of the steerage. it was light enough, therefore, in the rooms for their occupants to read coarse print. in the lower berths of mess room no. lay two students, while another sat on a stool between them. their occupation was sufficient evidence that they belonged to "our fellows," for they were shaking props for money, on a stool between the bunks. as shuffles and wilton approached, they picked up the props and the stakes, and drew back into their beds. "it's shuffles," said philip sanborn. "how did you get out?" "worked out," replied shuffles, gayly. "you don't mean to say you broke jail?" "no; that would have been too much trouble. there was an easier way, and i took that." "how was it?" "why, i soft-sawdered the parson, and he soft-sawdered lowington." "it's all right; go ahead with the game," said lynch, as he produced the props again. sanborn placed the money on the stool, consisting of two quarters in fractional currency. lynch shook the props, and dropped them on the stool. "a nick!" exclaimed he, snatching the money. "i'll go you a half now." "half it is," replied sanborn, as he placed the requisite sum on the money the other laid down. lynch rattled the props, and threw them down again. "a browner!" cried he, intensely excited, as he seized the money with eager hand. "don't talk so loud, you fool!" added sanborn. "the fellows are asleep above us, and you will wake them up. i'll go you a half again." "half it is!" replied lynch, in a whisper, as he shook again. "an out!" said sanborn, picking up the money. "three bells! dry up!" interposed wilton. "one of the officers of the deck will be down in a minute." the young gamblers put away the implements, and drew back into their berths until the inspecting officer had looked into the room. when the master had gone on deck again, the play was resumed, and shuffles and wilton watched it with deep interest. gambling was a new thing on board the young america. it had not been practised at all in the preceding year, having been introduced by shuffles and monroe, who had visited a prop saloon in the city where they resided, during their late furlough. each of them had brought a set of props on board, with which they intended to amuse themselves during the voyage. as yet, the practice was confined to a few of "our fellows;" but the crew in the steerage were certainly in very great danger of being carried away by the passion for gaming, for it was spreading rapidly. the prop-shaking was carried on in the mess rooms, while the students were off duty. shuffles had played with half a dozen boys the night before; sanborn and lynch had been engaged in the game since the first watch was set, and another party had been employed in the same manner in another room. all of the boys were supplied with money in considerable sums, generally in sovereigns and half sovereigns, for use when they reached europe. it was changing hands now, though no one had as yet been particularly lucky. "have a game, shuffles?" said lynch, when sanborn declared that he had no money left but gold. "no," replied shuffles, "i shall not play any more." "why not?" "i haven't time; and i don't want to become too fond of it." "haven't time!" exclaimed lynch. "no; i've got a big job on my hands." "what's that?" "making a chain." "making a what?" "making a chain." "a watch chain?" "i think it will be a watch chain; but i'll tell you about it when we are alone. do you understand?" "no, i don't." "keep still then." shuffles turned in, and the others followed his example. he did not sleep, if they did, for his soul was full of rage and malice. he was studying up the means of revenge; and he had matured a project, so foolhardy that it was ridiculous, and his mind was fully occupied with it. at twelve o'clock he was called to take his place with the first part of the port watch on deck. belonging to each quarter watch, there were five petty officers, four of whom were to call the portion of the crew who were to relieve those on duty. shuffles was called by one of these. the wind was freshening when he went on deck, and the ship was going rapidly through the water. at the last heaving of the log she was making eleven knots, with her studding sails still set. mr. fluxion came on deck at eight bells. wilton, sanborn, and adler were in the watch with shuffles, and the malcontent lost not a moment in pushing forward the scheme he had matured. fortunately or unfortunately, he was placed on the lookout with wilton, and the solitude of the top-gallant forecastle afforded them a good opportunity for the conference. chapter xi. the gamblers in no. . "it's coming on to blow," said wilton, as the lookouts took their stations on the top-gallant forecastle. "i don't think it will blow much; it is only freshening a little," replied shuffles. "now, what about the mutiny?" demanded wilton, impatiently, after he had become more accustomed to the dash of the sea under the bows of the ship. "don't call it by that name," replied shuffles, earnestly. "never use that word again." "that's what you mean--isn't it? you might as well call things by their right names." "it's an ugly word, and if any one should happen to hear it, their attention would be attracted at once. we musn't get in the habit of using it." "i don't know what you are going to do yet," added wilton. "it's a big job; but i mean to put it through, even if i am sure of failure." "what's the use of doing that? do you want to get the fellows into a scrape for nothing?" "there will be no failure, wilton; you may depend upon that. there will be a row on board within a day or two, and, if i mistake not, nearly all the fellows will be so mad that they will want to join us." "what row?" "do you know the reason why i wouldn't shake props this evening?" "i'm sure i don't." "lowington has found out what is going on in the rooms." "he hasn't, though!" "yes, he has." "how do you know?" "what odds does it make how i know?" answered shuffles, impatiently, for wilton was much too inquisitive to suit his purposes. "i talked with the chaplain half an hour to-night. when he went to my berth after the wine, i rather think he heard the rattle of the props. at any rate the whole thing will be broken up to-morrow or next day." "i don't see how that will make a row. not more than a dozen fellows have played any; and they won't think of making a row about that." "you see!" added shuffles, confidently. "ugh!" exclaimed wilton, as a cloud of spray dashed over the bow, and drenched the lookout; but they wore their pea-jackets, and such an occurrence was to be expected at sea. "stand by to take in studding sails!" shouted paul kendall, who was the officer of the deck; and the order was repeated by his subordinates in the waist and on the forecastle. "we must go," said wilton; and they descended from their position. the wind had continued to freshen, until the ship labored somewhat under her heavy press of canvas. it was the policy of the principal to go as easily and comfortably as possible, and he had directed mr. fluxion, if the wind continued to increase, to have the sail reduced, though neither the safety of the ship nor of the spars absolutely required such a step. the quarter watch on deck was sufficient to perform this labor. "lay aloft, foretopmen!" said the second lieutenant; and those of the watch who had their stations in the fore rigging sprang up the shrouds. "stand by the halyard of the top-gallant studding sails! man the tacks and sheets!" "all ready, sir," reported the second midshipman, who was in the foretop, superintending the operation. "lower on the halyards! ease off the tacks, and haul on the sheet!" the two top-gallant studding-sails were thus brought into the top, where they were made up. the fore-topmast and the lower studding sails were taken in by a similar routine, and the young america then moved along less furiously through the water. "now about the chain," said wilton, when the lookouts had returned to their stations. "let me see; where did i leave off?" replied shuffles. "you said there was to be a row; which i don't believe." "i may be mistaken about that; if i am, the job will be all the more difficult. lowington has got us out to sea now, and, in my opinion, he means to shake us up. he is a tyrant at heart, and he will carry it with a high hand. i hate the man!" added shuffles, with savage earnestness. "you may, but the fellows don't generally." "they will as soon as he begins to put the twisters on them. you won't hear him say, 'if you please, young gentlemen,' now that we are in blue water. you know how savage he was with me." "well, but you were disobedient. you told him, up and down, you wouldn't do what he ordered you to do." "no matter for that. you had a chance to see the spirit of the man. he was a perfect demon. he put me in irons!" exclaimed shuffles, still groaning under this indignity. "i have been insulted and outraged, and i will teach him that bob shuffles is not to be treated in that manner! i will be revenged upon him, if it costs me my life." "the fellows won't go into any such desperate game as that," replied wilton, cautiously. "but there will be fun in the thing," added the malcontent, softening his tone. "we shall have the ship all to ourselves. we needn't trouble ourselves anything about latin and greek, and trigonometry and algebra. we shall go in for a good time generally." "it is all moonshine; it can't be done. what's the use of talking about such a thing?" said wilton. "it can be done, and it shall be," replied shuffles, stamping his foot on the deck. "how?" "i am not quite ready to tell you yet." "very well; i don't want to know anything more about it," answered the timid conspirator, who was almost disgusted at the foolhardiness of the plan. "i can get along without you," added shuffles, with assumed indifference. "i would rather have you do so." "all right; but you will want to come in when we have got along a little farther." "perhaps i shall; if i do, i suppose the door will be open to me." "it may be open; but perhaps you can't walk into the cabin then." "why not?" "do you suppose the fellows who do the burden of the work are going to be shut out of the cabin? if you join at the eleventh hour, you will have to be what you are now--a foremast hand." "what can i be if i join now?" "second or third officer." "who will be first." "i can't mention his name yet. he belongs in the cabin now." "you don't mean so!" said wilton, astonished to learn that his bold companion expected to find friends among the present officers of the ship. "i know what i'm about," replied shuffles, confidently. with this information wilton thought more favorably of the mad enterprise. if it was to be a winning game, he wished to have a part in it; if a losing one, he desired to avoid it. there was something in the decided manner of the chief conspirator which made an impression upon this doubting mind. "i don't want to go in till i know more about it," said he, after walking two or three times across the top-gallant forecastle. "you can't know anything more about it until you have been toggled," replied shuffles. "toggled?" repeated the sceptic, curiously. "this thing is to be well managed, wilton. we shall not use any hard words, that outsiders can understand; and if any of them happen to hear anything that don't concern them, they will not know what it means. will you join, or not?" "i will," replied wilton, desperately. the strange words which shuffles used, and the confidence he manifested in the success of his project, carried the hesitating lookout man. he was fascinated by the "clap-trap" which the leader of "our fellows" had adopted to help along his scheme, for it promised to afford no little excitement during the voyage. "now you talk like a man, wilton," replied shuffles. "you shall be a member of the league at once." "what's the league?" "the chain league." "upon my word, shuffles, you have been reading yellow-covered novels to some purpose." "i didn't get this idea from a novel. i invented it myself." "the chain league!" repeated wilton, who was pleased with the title of the conspirators. "it will be called simply 'the chain.' i am the first member, and you are the second; or you will be when you have been toggled." "toggled again!" laughed wilton. "what do you mean?" "initiated." "go ahead, then." "repeat after me." "go on," replied wilton, deeply interested in the proceeding, even while he was amused at its formality. "_i am a link of the chain_." "i am a link of the chain," repeated wilton. "_i will obey my superior officers_." "i will obey my superior officers." "_and i will reveal none of its secrets_." "and i will reveal none of its secrets." "_this i promise_----" "this i promise----" "_on penalty of falling overboard accidentally_." "on penalty of what?" demanded wilton, both puzzled and terrified by the mysterious words. "repeat the words after me. on penalty," said shuffles, sternly. "i know what the words are, but i'll be hanged if i will repeat them. 'falling overboard accidentally!' what does that mean?" "it means that, if you betray the secrets of the chain, you might fall overboard accidentally, some day." "that is, you would push me over when no one was looking," added wilton, involuntarily retreating from the conspirator, whom, for the moment, he regarded as a very dangerous companion. "that's what the words mean," replied shuffles, coolly. "have i been toggled?" demanded wilton. "no; you didn't repeat all the words." "then you needn't toggle me any more. i've got enough of this thing." "all right; just as you say. but i can tell you this, my dear fellow? if you should whisper the first word of what has passed between us to-night, you might fall overboard," continued shuffles, sharply, as he laid his hand on his companion's shoulder. wilton grasped the sheet of the fore-topmast staysail which was the nearest rope to him, and held on as though he was then in imminent danger of "falling overboard accidentally." "i won't say a word," protested he, vehemently; for he did not know but that shuffles was wicked enough to push him into the sea. "wilton, you are a fool!" added the disappointed conspirator, with deep disgust. "why didn't you say what i told you?" "i don't want to be bound in any such way as that," replied the terrified student. "don't you see it is only a form?" "no, i don't; or if it is, i don't want anything to do with such forms. you won't get any fellows to be toggled in that way." "yes, i shall? i shall get plenty of them. they are not babies, like you." "i'm not a baby." "yes, you are--a great calf! what are you afraid of?" "i'm not afraid; i didn't think you meant to have any murder in your chain." "i don't; no fellow will think of such a thing as betraying one of the secrets." "then what's the use of having such a penalty?" "it will prevent any fellow from opening his mouth when he ought to keep it shut." "i don't want anything to do with a concern that means murder. i'm not any better than i should be, but i'm too good for that." "suit yourself; but remember, if you should happen to say a word, you will fall overboard accidentally, some night when you are on the lookout, or out on the yard-arm." "two bells," said wilton, greatly relieved to hear them, for he did not like to stand any longer on the top-gallant forecastle, where there was no railing, with such a dangerous fellow as shuffles proved to be. two other members of the watch were sent forward to take their places. wilton and shuffles went down and mingled with their shipmates, who were talking about what they should do and what they should see in ireland, where the ship would first make a harbor. wilton breathed easier, and the topic was a more agreeable one than the dark and terrible matter which had been under discussion on the top-gallant forecastle. shuffles was disappointed by the scruples of his generally unscrupulous companion. he regarded the machinery of the plot, the clap-trap of the secret league, as decidedly attractive; and he depended largely upon it to influence his companions. though he claimed that his plan was original, it was suggested by a secret political organization in europe, of which he had read in a pamphlet; and the idea had doubtless been modified by his more extensive readings in the department of fiction, in which midnight juntos laid out robbery, treason, and murder; venetian tales in which bravos, assassins, and decayed princes in disguise largely figured; in which mysterious passwords opened mysterious dungeons beneath ruined castles; in which bravo met bravo, and knew him by some mysterious sign, or cabalistic word. shuffles had a taste for these things, and out of his lively imagination he had coined a similar association to be recruited from the crew of the young america, which was to redress fancied wrongs, and even take the ship out of the hands of the principal. he could think of nothing but this brilliant enterprise; and while his shipmates were talking of the future, and indulging in the old salts' vocation of "spinning yarns," he was busy maturing the details of "the chain league." he did not, for reasons best known to himself attempt to make any more proselytes that night. the ship continued to go along easily on her course till morning. it was a clear night, and though the wind was fresh, the sea was not rough, and the young america behaved very handsomely. the programme for the watches was carried out to the letter, but on the first night out, the boys were too much excited by the novelty of the situation to be able to sleep much. at eight bells in the morning, after the port watch had breakfasted, all the students off duty attended prayers. then the starboard watch had their morning meal, after which all hands were piped to muster. mr. lowington mounted the hatch, and it was understood that the case of discipline which had come up the day before was to be settled now. "shuffles!" called the principal. the culprit came forward. "are you still of the same mind as when i saw you last evening?" continued mr. lowington. "i am, sir," replied shuffles, with a becoming exhibition of meekness. "you will step upon the hatch, then." shuffles took position by the side of the principal. "you will repeat after me," added mr. lowington. the culprit was startled at these words, and began to suspect that wilton had betrayed him in spite of his fear of falling overboard accidentally. it looked just then as though the principal intended to "toggle" him. "i acknowledge that i have done wrong," mr. lowington continued. shuffles repeated the words, happy to find that he was not to take the obligation of "the chain league." "and i will hereafter endeavor to do my duty faithfully." the promise was repeated with the lips, but of course it had no meaning, and did not reach the heart. "that is all, shuffles," added the principal.--"young gentlemen, you are dismissed from muster." this was certainly a very mild atonement for the grave offence which shuffles had committed, and the lenity of the principal was generally commented upon by the boys. the starboard watch was piped below to study and recite, while the port watch were to be off and on during the forenoon. the first part now had the deck, while the second was off duty, and the boys belonging to it were permitted to remain on deck or to spend their time in the mess rooms. they were not allowed to linger in the steerage where the recitations were going on, but might pass directly through on their way to their apartments. at ten o'clock the first part of the port watch was relieved, and the second part went on duty. shuffles and wilton were at liberty now, but there appeared to be a coldness between them, and wilton sought another companion for his leisure hours. sanborn and adler belonged to his part of the watch, and he soon joined them. "there isn't much difference between being off duty and being on," said adler, as they seated themselves on the main hatch. "there will be a difference when we have to make and take in sail every half hour. we had a big job taking in the studding sails last night." "they don't drive the ship," added sanborn. "i suppose if we were a merchantman, they would crack on all the sail she would carry." "she goes along beautifully," said wilton. "she was only making five knots the last time the log was heaved." "and the sea is as smooth as a mill-pond. we shall not get to queenstown for two months at this rate." "stand by to set studding sails!" shouted pelham, the officer of the deck. "i wondered why they didn't do that before," said sanborn. the fore and main studding sails were set, two at a time, by the part of the watch on duty, the wind still being well aft. "what shall we do?" asked wilton, with a long yawn, after they had watched the operation of setting the studding sails for a time. "this is stupid business, and i'm getting sleepy." "let us go below," suggested sanborn. "what for? the professors won't let you speak out loud while the recitations are going on," added adler. "we don't want to speak out loud. what do you say to shaking a little?" continued wilton. "i'm with you," replied wilton. "can either of you change me a half sovereign?" neither of them could, but they were willing to take wilton's due bills, till his indebtedness amounted to ten shillings. the boys had already begun to talk the language of sterling currency, and many of them were supplied with english silver coins as well as gold. the three boys went down at the fore hatch, and removing their caps as they entered the steerage, walked silently to gangway d, from which they went into mess room no. , which had thus far been the headquarters of the gamblers. seating themselves on the stools, they used one of the beds as a table, and in a few moments were deeply absorbed in the exciting game. they spoke in whispers, and were careful not to rattle the props too loudly. after they had played a few moments, shuffles came in. they invited him to join them in the play, but he declined, and soon left the mess room, returning to the deck. in the waist he met paul kendall, who was the officer of his watch, and, like him, was off duty. they had generally been on good terms while in the after cabin together, for then shuffles was on his best behavior. "how do things go on in the after cabin now, kendall--i beg your pardon--mr. kendall?" said shuffles, in his most gentlemanly tones. "about as usual, mr. shuffles," replied paul. "i am not a 'mister' now," laughed shuffles. "well, it's all the same to me. i am sorry you are not with us now." "so am i," added shuffles. "i did not expect to be on board this year, or i should have been there now." "you can be, next term, if you like." "this thing yesterday has ruined all my prospects." "that was rather bad. i never was so sorry for anything in my life before," answered paul, warmly. "you and i were always good friends after we got well acquainted, though i did vote for another at the election a year ago." "you did what you thought was right, and i don't blame you for that. i always did my duty when i was an officer." "that you did, shuffles; and we always agreed first rate. isn't it a little strange that i have not lived in the steerage since the ship's company were organized?" "that's because you were always a good boy, and a smart scholar. i think you would not like it." "if it wasn't for losing my rank, i should like to try it," replied paul. "i should like to get better acquainted with the fellows." "you wouldn't like them in the steerage. you would see a great many things there which you never see in the cabin; a great many things which mr. lowington and the professors know nothing about." "why, what do you mean, shuffles?" demanded paul, astonished at this revelation. "i ought not to say anything about it; but i believe these things will break up the academy ship one of these days, for the boys are growing worse instead of better in her, and their folks will find it out sooner or later." "you surprise me!" exclaimed paul, sadly, for he held the honor of the ship and her crew as the apple of his eye. "if there is anything wrong there, you ought to make it known." "i suppose i ought; but you know i'm not a tell-tale." "you have told me, and i'm an officer." "well, i blundered into saying what i have. what you said about going into the steerage made me let it out. i am sorry i said anything." "you have raised my curiosity." "i will tell you; or rather i will put you in the way of seeing for yourself, if you will not mention my name in connection with the matter, even to mr. lowington, and certainly not to any one else." "i will not, shuffles." "the fellows are gambling in the steerage at this very moment," added shuffles, in a low tone. "don't betray me." "i will not. gambling!" exclaimed paul, with natural horror. "you will find them in no. ," continued shuffles, walking away, and leaving the astonished officer to wonder how boys could gamble. chapter xii. the root of all evil. paul kendall, who had not occupied a berth in the steerage since the first organization of the ship, was greatly surprised and grieved to learn that some of the crew were addicted to vicious practices. gambling was an enormous offence, and he was not quite willing to believe that such a terrible evil had obtained a foothold in the ship. he could hardly conceive of such a thing as boys engaging in games of chance; only the vilest of men, in his estimation, would do so. shuffles had told him so, apparently without malice or design, and there was no reason to doubt the truth of his statement, especially as he had given the particulars by which it could be verified. the second lieutenant went down into the steerage. classes were reciting to the professors, and studying their lessons at the mess tables. there was certainly no appearance of evil, for the place was still, and no sound of angry altercation or ribald jest, which his fancy connected with the vice of gambling, saluted his ears. he cautiously entered gangway d, and paused where he could hear what was said in mess room no. . "i'm five shillings into your half sovereign," said one of the gamblers; and then paul distinctly heard the rattling of the props. "there's the half sovereign," added another, whose voice the officer recognized as that of wilton. "you own five shillings in it, and i own five shillings." "that's so," replied sanborn, who appeared to be the lucky one. "let us shake for the coin," added wilton. "it's my throw." "that's rather steep." "we get along faster--that's all. if i throw a nick, or a browner, it's mine; if an out, it's yours." "i am agreed--throw away," replied sanborn, without perceiving that the one who held the props had two chances to his one. the props rattled, and dropped on the bed. "a browner!" exclaimed wilton, thereby winning all he had lost at one throw. "hush! don't talk so loud," interposed adler. "you'll have the profs down upon us." "i'll go you another five shillings on one throw," said sanborn, chagrined at his loss. "put down your money." the reckless young gambler put two half crowns, or five shillings, upon the bed, and wilton shook again. "a nick!" said he, seizing the two half crowns. "try it again," demanded sanborn. paul kendall was filled with horror as he listened to this conversation. when he had heard enough to satisfy him that the speakers were actually gambling, he hastened to inform mr. lowington of the fact. paul was an officer of the ship, and this was so plainly his duty that he could not avoid it, disagreeable as it was to give testimony against his shipmates. it seemed to him that the ship could not float much longer if such iniquity were carried on within her walls of wood; she must be purged of such enormities, or some fearful retribution would overtake her. there was no malice or revenge in the bosom of the second lieutenant; he was acting solely and unselfishly for the good of the institution and the students. he went on deck again. shuffles was still there, and they met in the waist. "you told me the truth," said paul. "you did not think i was joking about so serious a matter--did you?" replied shuffles. "no; but i hoped you might be mistaken." "how could i be mistaken, when i have seen, at one time and another, a dozen fellows engaged in gambling? of course such things as these will ruin the boys, and bring the ship into disrepute." "you are right. my father, for one, wouldn't let me stay on board a single day, if he knew any of the boys were gamblers." "it can be easily stopped, now you know about it," added shuffles. "perhaps it can. i will inform mr. lowington at once." "remember, if you please, what i said, mr. kendall. i am willing to do a good thing for the ship; but you know how much i should have to suffer, if it were known that i gave the information. i didn't mean to blow on my shipmates; but you and i have been so intimate in the after cabin, that i spoke before i was aware what i was about," continued shuffles. "i shall not willingly betray you." "willingly! what do you mean by that?" demanded the conspirator, startled by the words of the officer. "suppose mr. lowington should ask me where i obtained my information," suggested paul. "didn't you see for yourself in no. ?" "he might ask what led me to examine the matter so particularly. but, shuffles, i will tell him honestly that i do not wish to inform him who gave me the hint; and i am quite sure he will not press the matter, when he finds that the facts are correct." "don't mention my name on any account," added shuffles. "it was mean of me to say anything; but the ship was going to ruin, and i'm rather glad i spoke, though i didn't intend to do so." "i will make it all right, shuffles," replied paul, as he descended the cabin steps. mr. lowington was in the main cabin, and the second lieutenant knocked at the door. he was readily admitted, and invited to take a seat, for the principal was as polite to the young gentlemen as though they had been his equals in age and rank. "i would like to speak with you alone, if you please, sir," paul began, glancing at the cabin steward, who was at work in the pantry. "come into my state room," said the principal, leading the way. "i hope your business does not relate to the discipline of the ship," continued mr. lowington, when they were seated, and the door of the room was closed. "if it does, you should have applied to the captain." "this is a peculiar case, sir, and i obtained my information while off duty," replied paul, with some embarrassment; for he had thought of communicating his startling discovery to captain gordon, and had only been deterred from doing so by the fear of betraying shuffles. "i will hear what you have to say." "there is something very bad going on in the steerage," said paul, seriously. "indeed! what is it?" asked the principal, full of interest and anxiety. "gambling, sir." "gambling!" repeated mr. lowington, his brow contracting. paul made no reply; and he expected to be asked how he had obtained the startling information. "are you quite sure of what you say, mr. kendall?" "yes, sir, i am. in mess room no. , there are three or four students now engaged in gambling. i stood at the door long enough to find out what they were doing." "this is serious, mr. kendall." "if you have any doubt about the fact, sir, i hope you will take measures to satisfy yourself at once, for i think the students are still there." "i will, mr. kendall; remain in this cabin, if you please, until my return," added the principal, as he moved towards the door. "you must be careful when you approach them, sir, for the gamblers are very sly." mr. lowington passed from the professors' cabin into the steerage, and proceeding to the entrance of no. , he paused to listen. he heard the whispered conversation about the stakes, and "nicks," "browners" and "outs." the gamblers were by this time highly excited by the game, and had not only become imprudent, but absolutely reckless, so intense was the fascination of their employment. suddenly, but with a light step, he entered the mess room. wilton sat in the berth, while his companions occupied stools outside and their heads were close together. mr. lowington took adler by the collar of his frock with one hand, and sanborn with the other, just as wilton had thrown the props upon the bed. with a vigorous jerk, he tossed them back upon the floor, so as to obtain a full view of the stakes and the gambling implements. the culprits were astounded at this sudden descent upon them; but before they could comprehend the situation fully, the principal turned upon his heel, and left the room without a word of astonishment or censure. "we're in for it now," said wilton, as his companions picked themselves up from the floor, and gazed at each other with a sheepish look. "that's so," replied sanborn. "we shall catch it," added adler. "we shall find out how the inside of the brig looks, in my opinion," continued wilton. "i was a fool to play here, right in the steerage. shuffles told me that lowington smelt a mice, and would make a row about this thing." "shuffles told you so!" exclaimed adler. "how did he know?" "i don't know? i believe the parson told him last night, when he was in the brig." "why didn't you say so then?" demanded sanborn. "you have got us into a pretty scrape! that is the reason why shuffles wouldn't play himself." "yes, he said it was; but i didn't believe lowington knew anything about it; i don't see how he could. he walked in here as straight as though he had been sent for, and knew just where to go," said wilton. "of course he did: you say shuffles told you lowington knew all about it; and i suppose he has been on the watch to find some fellows at it so as to make an example of them." "that's the whole of it. we might as well throw the props overboard now." mr. lowington returned to the cabin, where he had left paul kendall. he was sadly disturbed by the discovery he had made, for he had no suspicion before that any of his pupils had made so much progress in vice. he knew what a terrible evil gambling was among men; that it was the forerunner of dissipation and crime; and he felt the responsibility which rested upon him as a guardian and instructor of youth. "mr. kendall, your information was correct; and i commend the zeal you have displayed in bringing this fearful evil to light. how happened you to discover it?" "i had a hint from a source which i would rather not mention," replied the second lieutenant, with some embarrassment. "indeed!" "yes, sir; one of the students, who berths in the steerage, happened accidentally to let it out." paul said "accidentally," because he believed that shuffles had been betrayed into the revelation by their former intimacy. "and he does not wish to be regarded as an informer," added the principal. "no, sir; after he had excited my curiosity, he told me where i could find the gamblers at play." "i understand his position, precisely," said mr. lowington; "and i will not ask his name. the information proves to be painfully correct, and there appears to have been no malice in giving it." "no, sir; i don't think there was: indeed, i know there was not," added paul, when he considered that wilton and the other gamblers were shuffles' intimate companions. "this is a very serious matter, mr. kendall," repeated the principal, thoughtfully. "i think it is, sir; that is the reason why i came to you, instead of going to the captain." "perhaps it is better that you did so, on the whole," replied mr. lowington. "it has enabled me to see the evil for myself. have you any views in regard to what should be done, mr. kendall?" the principal often asked the opinion of the officers concerning similar matters under discussion, perhaps in order to teach them self-respect, rather than with the expectation of obtaining valuable suggestions from them. "i think there should be stricter discipline in the mess rooms, sir," replied paul, blushing to have his opinion asked. "the fellows----" "the students, you mean," interposed the principal. "excuse me, sir," added paul, blushing deeper than before at this gentle rebuke. the boys had a language of their own, which was not tolerated by the faculty when it ran into coarseness and slang. "what were you about to say, mr. kendall?" continued the principal, smiling at the confusion of the young officer. "the students can now do anything they like in the mess rooms. they have plenty of money, and if they want to gamble, they can. they were playing last night when the first part of the starboard watch were on duty." "you are right, mr. kendall," said mr. lowington "the students must be looked after in their rooms. has there ever been any gambling among the officers in the after cabin?" "i never saw any, or heard of any. i don't think there has been." "i hope not; but we must grapple with this question in earnest," added the principal, as he led the way out of the state room into the main cabin. the chaplain and the doctor were there, and mr. lowington wished to take their advice upon the serious matter before him; and before he permitted the second lieutenant to retire, he stated the case to them. "gambling!" groaned the chaplain. "i detected them in the act myself," added mr. lowington. "you may retire, mr. kendall." "why, this is awful!" "boys will do almost anything that men will," said dr. winstock, the surgeon. "drinking and gambling!" ejaculated the chaplain. "what are we coming to?" "i fear there are other vices of which we know nothing yet," added the doctor. "why, i'm afraid the academy ship will prove to be a failure, after all," sighed mr. agneau. "not at all," argued dr. winstock. "we are in position here to treat these evils properly. there are no fond mothers and indulgent fathers to spoil the boys, when the discipline becomes sharp." "what can we do?" demanded the chaplain. "moral and religious influences seem to have no effect." "have faith in your own medicines, mr. agneau," said the doctor. "i have full faith in the medicine, dr. winstock; but i fear i have not done my duty faithfully." "you need not reproach yourself, mr. agneau. you have been earnest in your work," interposed the principal. "in a large community of young men, all these vices and evils will appear. it was to meet them that the keel of this ship was laid, and our institution organized. i expect to find vice, and even crime, among the boys. they that be sick need a physician, not they that be whole. these boys certainly behave better on board the ship than they did on shore at the various academies they attended. pelham, who is now fourth lieutenant, and has been first, was one of the hardest boys in the school to which he belonged in new york. he has given us no trouble here, though he has been a little sulky since he fell from his former rank. shuffles, who, in the brockway academy, was the worst boy i ever knew, without exception, behaved himself astonishingly well for a whole year. i am sorry to see that he has begun the second year badly." "o, his is a very hopeful case!" said mr. agneau. "he is penitent for his folly, and i never saw so great a change in an individual as he exhibited on my second visit to him last evening." "i hope he will not disappoint you. i only mentioned him to show what a benefit the ship had been to him; for if it keeps him out of trouble even a single year, it is so far a blessing to him, to say nothing of his intellectual progress, which has been more than satisfactory. the fact that there are gambling, and drinking and other vices on board, does not diminish my faith in the institution." "it certainly ought not to do so," added dr. winstock, who was not so sanguine a reformer as the chaplain and was willing to wait till the medicine had time to produce an effect. "here is an evil: we must meet it, and we needn't stop to groan over it. what's to be done? that's the question." "the officer of the watch must be required to visit every room during the first watch at least," said the principal. "but those who are disposed to gamble will find abundant opportunities to do so," suggested the doctor. "a couple of them up in the maintop, or even in the cross-trees, could shake props, 'odd or even,' and play other games of chance, without being seen. i don't think you have hit the nail on the head yet, mr. lowington." "the utmost vigilance we can use will not entirely prevent evil. we depend upon moral influences, as well as discipline, for the prevention and cure of vice and error," added the principal. "i'm afraid a lecture on gambling wouldn't do much, good while the means of play were still in the hands of the students. it would influence some; but others are not to be influenced in any way: a strong arm alone will meet their case." "we can take the props from them," said mr. lowington. "you must go a step farther than that; you must search the berths and lockers for cards, dice, or other gambling implements. even then you will not have struck at the root of the evil." "what is the root of the evil?" asked the principal. "money, sir!" replied the doctor, with unusual energy. "that is said to be the root of all evil," added mr. lowington, with a smile. "among boys, money does more injury than we can comprehend. a college friend of mine was wholly spoiled by his allowance of money. his purse was always full, which made him the prey of dissolute persons. he always had the means of gratifying his appetites, and is now a sot, if he is living. he began to drink, gamble, and dissipate generally, before he entered college: he was expelled in a year. without money, as a boy, he would have been saved from a score of temptations. every boy on board this ship has a pocket full of sovereigns for his european expenses. they are all young nabobs, and if you ever let them go ashore, you will have your hands full, mr. lowington. they will drink beer and wine, visit bad places, gamble and carouse. while they have plenty of money, you can hardly prevent them from being a nuisance to you and to themselves." "there is a great deal of force in what you say, dr. winstock." "money will be the root of all evil to these boys, most emphatically. those who are disposed to gamble will do so while they have money." "the inference to be drawn from your remarks is, that the students should not have pocket money." "most decidedly that is my opinion. if i had a son, i wouldn't allow him a penny of pocket money." "that would be rather hard," said the chaplain. "i know it, but it would be the best thing in the world for the boy. i don't mean to say that i would never permit him to have money; but he should have no stated allowance; and when he had a dollar, i should want to know how it was to be expended." "this question of money allowances has been under serious consideration with me." "you can't handle the boys in europe with money in their pockets. a regiment of soldiers could not keep them straight." "i think you are right, doctor. i am tempted to take their money from them." "do it, by all means!" exclaimed dr. winstock. the chaplain regarded the measure as rather high-handed. he thought it would belittle the boys, and deprive them of some portion of their self-respect. the instructors came into the cabin at seven bells, and their opinions were taken. four of the six were in favor of taking all money from the boys. mr. lowington had already reached this view of the case, and it was resolved to take the important step at once, as the best means of effectually putting a stop to the practice of gambling. mr. fluxion had been unable to attend this conference for more than a few moments, for he was the instructor in mathematics, which included navigation, and he was compelled to superintend the observations, which were made with separate instruments by himself and by the two masters of the forenoon watch. the position of the ship was found, and marked on the chart, and the "dead reckoning" compared with the result obtained by calculation. at one bell in the afternoon watch, all hands were piped to muster, and the gamblers readily understood that this call was for their especial benefit. "wilton," said mr. lowington, from his usual position. the culprit came forward. "with whom were you gambling in mess room no. , this forenoon?" asked the principal. wilton looked up at the stern dispenser of discipline. if he did not know, it was not his business to tell. "answer me." "i don't know." "you are telling a falsehood." "i don't remember their names now," said wilton. "you do remember them; and for each falsehood you utter you shall suffer an additional penalty." "i'm not a tell-tale, sir," answered wilton, doggedly. "i don't want to tell who they were." "very well; why didn't you say that at first? i have some respect for the student who dislikes to betray even his companions in error; none at all for a liar. adler and sanborn," added the principal; and the two gamblers stepped up to the hatch. "young gentlemen, you are charged with gambling. have you anything to say?" "nothing sir," they all replied. "wilton, how much money have you lost at play?" "none, sir." "how much have you made?" "ten shillings--half a sovereign." "from whom did you win it?" "from sanborn." "return it to him." wilton obeyed. adler had won about a dollar from sanborn, which he was also compelled to restore. mr. lowington was satisfied that others had gained or lost by gambling, but as he did not know who the other gamblers were, he did not attempt to have the ill-gotten money restored; for he never made himself ridiculous to the students by endeavoring to do what could not be done. mr. lowington then made a very judicious address upon the evil of gambling, pointing out its dangerous fascination, and the terrible consequences which sooner or later overtook its victims. he illustrated his remarks by examples drawn from real life. the chaplain followed him, detailing the career of a young man whom he had attended in prison, and who had been utterly ruined by the habit of gaming, contracted before he was of age. these addresses seemed to produce a deep impression on the boys, and one would have judged by their looks that they all regarded the dangerous practice with well-grounded horror. mr. lowington took the stand again, and followed with another address upon "the root of all evil;" adding that, having money in their possession, they would be tempted to gamble. "now, young gentlemen, i propose that you all deliver your funds to me, taking my receipt for whatever amount you deliver to me. when you have any real need of money, apply to me, and i will restore it," added mr. lowington. "take our money from us!" exclaimed several; and it was evident that the proposition was creating a tremendous sensation among the students. chapter xiii. piping to mischief. after the offensive announcement that the students were to deliver up their money to the principal, and take his receipt for it, the crew were dismissed from muster, after being informed that the business of receiving the funds would be immediately commenced in the steerage. the three gamblers were not punished, except by the mortification of the exposure, even by the loss of their marks, though wilton was confined in the brig one hour for each falsehood he had uttered. mr. lowington knew that at least a dozen of the boys were guilty of gambling; and as the matter now came up for the first time, he did not deem it expedient to punish those who had been discovered hoping that the preventive measures he had adopted would effectually suppress the evil. many of the students regarded the taking of their money as an indignity. only a few of them, comparatively, had engaged in gambling, though many of the occupants of the steerage knew of the existence of the practice on board the ship. they were willing to believe, and did believe, after the impressive addresses to which they had listened, that games of chance were a perilous amusement, but they were not quite willing to acknowledge the justice of mr. lowington's measures. most of the officers, and many of the crew, cheerfully complied with the new regulation. they handed their money to the pursers, and received a receipt for the amount, signed by the principal. others emptied the contents of their exchequer sullenly, and under protest; while not a few openly grumbled in the presence of mr. lowington. some of "our fellows" attempted to keep back a portion of their funds, and perhaps a few succeeded, though the tact of the principal exposed the deceit in several instances. whatever may be thought of the justice or the expediency of depriving the students of their money, it was evidently an exceedingly unpopular step. in the second dog watch, when shuffles and paul kendall were off duty, they happened to meet in the waist; and the exciting topic of the day came up for discussion, as it had in every little group that collected that afternoon. shuffles had accomplished his purpose; he had accomplished far more than he intended. he had expected nothing more than a general onslaught upon gambling, followed by increased stringency in the regulations, and a closer watch over the students in their rooms, which would produce sufficient irritation among the boys to suit his purposes. now the crew, and even some of the officers, were in a ferment of indignation, and ripe for a demonstration of any kind. "the business is done," said paul kendall, as he met the conspirator. "i'm afraid it's overdone," answered shuffles, seriously, though he was actually in a state of exultation over the effect which had been produced by the new regulation. "i hope not. i did not mention your name to the principal in connection with the matter," added paul. "didn't he ask you?" "he did? but when i stated the case to him, and told him the person who had given me the information had let it out accidentally, and did not wish to be known, he asked no more questions." "thank you, mr. kendall. this last measure is so unpopular that i should have been cast out like an unclean bird, if it were known that i gave the hint." "no one shall know anything about it from me, shuffles. you did a good thing for the ship, and for every fellow in it." "they wouldn't be willing to believe that just now," said shuffles, laughing. "perhaps not? but it is a fact, none the less." "i didn't think mr. lowington would go it quite so strong. if i had, i shouldn't have told you what i did." "why, are you not satisfied with what has been done?" asked kendall, with some astonishment. "no, i am not. i am glad enough to see the gambling stopped, but i don't think the principal had any more right to take my money away from me than he had to take my head off," replied shuffles, earnestly. "don't you think it will be better for the fellows to be without money than with it?" "perhaps it will; i don't know about that. your neighbor might be a better man if he were poor than if he were rich: does that make it that you have any right to take his property from him?" "i don't think it does," replied paul. "the state of massachusetts, for instance, or the state of ohio, makes laws against games of chance. why not make a law, if a man gambles, that all his money shall be taken from him?" "the state has no right to make such a law, i suppose." "but the principal goes a long reach beyond that. he takes every man's money away from him, whether he is accused of gambling or not. do you think he had any right to do that?" "he hasn't made any law; but if you want law, i'll give you some!" laughed paul, who was disposed to treat the subject very good-naturedly, especially as there was so much loose indignation floating about the decks. "i don't mean law alone, but justice," added shuffles. "i call it high-handed injustice to take the fellows' money away from them." "let me give you a little law, then," persisted paul. "how old are you, shuffles?" "eighteen." "good! you are an infant." "in law, i am." "suppose your uncle, or somebody else, should die to-day, and leave you fifty thousand dollars: wouldn't you have a good time with it?" "i should, as soon as i got hold of it, you had better believe," replied shuffles. "as soon as you got hold of it!" exclaimed paul. "i suppose i should have a guardian till i became of age." "who would appoint your guardian?" "the court, i believe." "exactly so! the law! what, take your money away from you, or not let you touch it!" "that's law, certainly." "well, wouldn't the law have just as much right to take off a fellow's head, as to take his money?" demanded paul, triumphantly. "mr. lowington is not our guardian." "yes, he is, for the time being; and i hold that he has just as much right to take your money from you as your father would have." "i don't see it; i don't believe it. the money was given us by our fathers to spend in europe when we get there." "mr. lowington is to pay all our expenses on shore, by the terms of the contract. besides, the regulations of the academy ship, to which all the parents assented, require that the control of the boys shall be wholly given up to the principal. it's a plain case, shuffles." mr. lowington and his policy had an able and zealous defender in the person of paul kendall, who, by his arguments, as well as his influence, had already reconciled several of the students to the new regulation. "if i were willing to grant the right of the principal to take the fellows' money from them--which i am not--i think it is treating them like babies to do so. it is punishing the innocent with the guilty." "mr. lowington said, in so many words, that the measure was not intended as a punishment; that it was purely a matter of discipline, intended to meet certain evils which must appear when we landed in europe, as well as to prevent gambling." paul certainly had the best of the argument; but shuffles was not convinced, because he did not wish to be convinced. at eight bells, when the first part of the port watch went on duty, the wind had shifted from west to north; the studding-sails had been taken in, the spanker, main spencer, and all the staysails had been set, and the ship, close-hauled, was barely laying her course. the wind was fresh, and she was heeled over on the starboard side, so that her decks formed a pretty steep inclined plane. under these circumstances, it required a great deal of skill and watchfulness on the part of the wheelmen to keep the sails full, and at the same time to lay the course. as the ship's head met the heavy seas, a great deal of spray was dashed on deck, and the position of the lookout-men on the top-gallant forecastle was not as comfortable as if the weather had been warmer. there was no dodging; every student was obliged to stand at his post, wet or dry, blow high or blow low. wilton had been discharged from confinement in the brig, where mr. agneau had visited him, giving him good advice and religious instruction, as he did to all who were punished in any manner, and was now with his watch on deck. the new regulation was particularly odious to "our fellows," and wilton regarded himself as a martyr to the popular cause, forgetting that he had been punished for the lies he had told. he and twenty others were forward to say they "wouldn't stand it;" and the indignation seemed to be increasing rather than subsiding. "well, wilton, how do you like the inside of the brig?" asked shuffles, when they met in the maintop, having been sent aloft to clear away the bowline bridle on the main-topsail. "i like it well enough," replied wilton. "i wasn't going to blow on the fellows; i would stay in there a month first." "did you give up your money?" "of course i did; i couldn't help myself." "how do you like the new regulation?" "i don't like it any better than the rest of the fellows do," answered wilton, in surly tones. "i won't stand it, either." "o, i guess you will," laughed shuffles. "i told you lowington was a tyrant, but you wouldn't believe me." "yes, i would; and i did." "the fellows will find out what he is before they are many days older." "i think they have found out now, i say, shuffles, was this the row you spoke about last night?" "yes; only there's more of it than i expected." "how did you know anything about it beforehand?" "i have a way of finding out these things," replied the artful conspirator, mysteriously. "i have one or two friends at court." "is paul kendall one of them?" "no; he is a simpleton. he don't know which side his bread is buttered. if lowington takes snuff, kendall sneezes." "i have seen you talking with him two or three times to-day." "i was only pumping him." "well, there is a jolly row on board now, anyhow," added wilton, as he prepared to descend over the cat-harpings. "hold on; don't let's go on deck yet," interposed shuffles. "i want to know what our fellows are going to do." "they will call us down, if we stop here." "when they do, we will go down, then," replied shuffles, as he seated himself in the top, with his legs through the lubber's-hole. "what are our fellows going to do? do they mean to stand this thing?" "they can't help themselves; they are mad enough to do anything; but what's the use?" added wilton, as he seated himself by the side of his companion. "don't you think they will join the league now?" "they would join anything that would give them their rights. i'll join now; but i don't want to be toggled in such a way as you said last night." "then you can't be toggled at all." "i haven't any idea of falling overboard accidentally. i'd rather lose my money than do that." "it's nothing but a form, wilton. between you and me, it's only a bugbear, intended to work upon the nerves and the imagination. of course we shouldn't help any fellow overboard; no one would dare to do any such thing." "i don't like the sound of the thing." "if you really mean to expose the secrets which are intrusted to you, i advise you not to join." "i don't mean any such thing," added wilton, indignantly. "if you didn't, you wouldn't be afraid of the penalty." "toggle me, then; and see what i mean." "i don't want you to go in if you don't believe in it." "but i do believe in it; so go ahead." shuffles pronounced the ridiculous obligation again, and wilton repeated it after him. "now you are toggled," said the leader. "what are we going to do?" "bring in the rest of our fellows; that is the first job. in my opinion we can get over fifty of them now." "i don't know about that," answered wilton, doubtfully. "i'm very sure we can. if we get enough to take the ship, we can have all the rest as soon as we have done the job." "take the ship!" exclaimed wilton, appalled at the idea. "that's what we mean." "i don't believe you can do it," replied the doubtful "link in the chain." "it's the easiest thing in the world. the affair will come off at supper time, when the professors are all in their cabin. all we have to do is to clap the hatch on the after companion-way, and secure the doors leading from the main cabin into the steerage. then we have them, and they can't help themselves." "but the boatswain, carpenter, and sailmaker will be loose." "no, they won't. at the right time, we will pass the word for them, and say that lowington wants to see them in the main cabin. as soon as they go below we will put the hatch on." "the cooks and stewards will still be at large." "we can lock them up in the kitchen. if they make trouble, i have a revolver," whispered shuffles. "a revolver! i won't have anything to do with it if you are going to use pistols," said the alarmed confederate. "it's only to look at; there will be no occasion to use it," answered shuffles, soothingly. "there will be twelve men, besides the stewards, locked up in the main cabin." "that's so." "how long do you suppose it would take them to break down the bulkhead between the cabin and the steerage, or to climb up through the skylight?" "if they attempt anything of that kind, we can show them the revolver; that will quiet them." "you might frighten the parson in that way; but do you suppose men like mr. lowington, mr. fluxion, and peaks, who have been in the navy so long, will be afraid of a pistol?" "they won't want to be shot, if they have been in the navy all their lives." "then you mean to shoot them?" "they will think we do, and it will be all the same." "i don't know about this business. i'm afraid the pistol might go off, and hurt somebody." "i suppose you could raise objections all night," added shuffles, contemptuously. "i'm not going to have any man tyrannize over me, wilton. i suppose if lowington wants to pull every fellow's teeth out, you won't object." "i'm as much opposed to his tyranny as you are, and i will do anything that is reasonable; but i want to know whether the water is hot or cold before i put my fingers into it. what's the use of blundering into an enterprise, and making a failure of it?" "i have no idea of making a failure of it. did you ever know me to make a failure of anything that i attempted?" "yes, i have." "what?" "you failed to get elected captain when we first came aboard of the ship." "that was only because we had just come on board? the fellows didn't know me, and i didn't know them. we are better acquainted now, and i am just as sure of success as though we had already won it," added shuffles, confidently. "i don't believe in making failures." "i don't believe there is more than one chance in ten for you to succeed," continued the sceptic. "there isn't more than one chance in ten for us to fail. you are a bird of evil omen. you have no faith in anything; and if you are going to croak like this, i don't want you in the chain," added shuffles, petulantly. "i'm in for it, already; and when i can see my way clearly, i shall be as strong as you are." "then don't croak any more. we must go to work while the fever is on the fellows, and make up----" "in the maintop, ahoy!" shouted the master, from the waist. "on deck!" replied shuffles. "lay down from aloft!" "yes, sir." the conspirators descended, after shuffles had admonished his shaky companion to be discreet. "what are you doing in the top so long?" demanded foster, the first master, as the truants reached the sheer-pole. "watching the sea, sir," replied shuffles. "it looks fine from the top." "when you have done what you are sent aloft for, it is your duty to come down and report it," added the officer. shuffles made no reply, as he probably would have done if he had not had a heavy operation on his hands, which prevented him from indulging in any side quarrels. except the wheelmen and the lookout, the watch on deck was divided into little groups, who were quartered in the most comfortable places they could find, telling stones, or discussing the exciting topic of the day. "shuffles, some of our fellows want to see you and wilton," said adler, as the first master went below, to inspect the steerage, at two bells. "what's up?" demanded the conspirator. "don't say anything," added the messenger, as he led the way to the steerage skylight, under the lee of which sanborn and grimme had stowed themselves away, out of the reach of the stream that was flowing along the water-ways, and of the spray which was dashing over the weather bows. the party from aloft, with the messenger, increased the group to five, which was the total number of "our fellows" that could be mustered in the first part of the port watch. "what's up?" demanded shuffles, when he had seated himself by the skylight. "we intend to pipe to mischief, to-night, shuffles and we want some help from you," said sanborn, in reply. "we have been robbed of our money, and we are going to have satisfaction, somehow or other," added grimme, in explanation. "we are not going to stand this sort of thing. we must teach lowington and the professors that they can't put our noses to the grindstone." "exactly so!" exclaimed shuffles. "and you intend to put them there yourselves. in other words, you mean to get into some scrape, and be punished for it, as i was." "no, we don't. we are going to work man-of-war style. old peaks told us how to do it, when we were on watch last night," replied grimme. "peaks?" "yes, he spun us a yarn about man-of-war life, and told us how the men serve out the officers when they don't behave themselves." "peaks told you this--did he?" demanded shuffles. "of course he didn't mean to have us do anything of the kind." "well, how did he tell you to serve out the officers?" "make them uncomfortable; keep them in a hornet's nest all the time." "how? how?" asked shuffles, impatiently. "why, if the unpopular officer went forward, a belaying pin was sure to drop on his head or his feet; a tar can or a paint pot would be upset on his back; or, if he went below, a cannon ball was liable to roll out of a shot case upon him. of course no one ever knew the author of this mischief." "do you propose to play off any of these tricks on lowington?" demanded shuffles. "we have got a rod in pickle for him," replied grimme, chuckling. "what is it?" "we intend to give him a dose of kerosene oil, to begin with," laughed sanborn. "one of the stewards left his oil can on the fore scuttle ladder, after the hatch was put on to keep the spray out, and i took possession of it," added grimme, hardly able to keep his mirth within the limits of prudence. "what are you going to do with it?" asked shuffles. "we are going to give lowington the contents of the can, and then throw it overboard." "indeed! who is the fellow that has boldness enough to do this thing?" "i have; and i have volunteered to do the job," answered grimme, with a degree of assurance which astonished even shuffles. "you dare not do it!" "i dare, and i will, if the fellows will stand by me. lowington is sitting at the table in the professors' cabin, right under the skylight, reading. one section of the skylight is open, and you can see him, as plain as day. it's as dark as a pocket on deck, and the officers can't see you twenty feet off. all i have to do is to pop the oil through the opening, and get out of the way." "what then?" "why, he will come on deck, and try to find out who did it; but he can't." "perhaps he can." "no, he can't; only half a dozen of the fellows will know anything about it, and of course they won't let on." "suppose he don't find out. what good will this trick do?" "the second part of the port watch must follow up the game. lowington will come on deck at eight bells, and monroe, in the starboard watch, will give him another dose." "what will that be?" "slush the first step of the ladder at the after companion-way, and let him tumble down stairs," chuckled grimme. "then lynch will give him some more," said adler. "well, you may break his neck when he tumbles down the ladder. i'll have nothing to do with any of those tricks," added shuffles, decidedly. "if you want to pipe to mischief, i'm with you, but in no such way as that. those are little, mean, dirty tricks." "but they will keep him in hot water all the time, and he will get sick of being a tyrant over the fellows in less than a week. there are twenty things we might do to annoy him, which would help to bring him to his senses. for instance, when the steward carries the coffee into the professors' cabin, one fellow might engage his attention, while another drops a lump of salt, a handful of pepper, or a piece of tobacco into the urn." "i don't want to hear any more of such low-lived tricks," interposed the magnificent conspirator. "if you want to pipe to mischief, let us do it like men." "what would you do? fifty of the fellows, at least, will go into anything to punish lowington for his tyranny." "join the chain, then," said shuffles, in a whisper, and with a suitable parade of mystery. "the what?" "the chain." the object of the league was duly explained; and before the second part of the port watch came on deck, three new members had been "toggled." greatly to the satisfaction of shuffles, and to the astonishment of wilton, they did not hesitate at the penalty of the obligation, and seemed to be entirely willing to "fall overboard accidentally" if they failed to make strong and faithful "links in the chain." chapter xiv. all hands, reef topsails! augustus pelham, the fourth lieutenant of the young america, was almost the only malcontent among the officers; the only one who persistently declined to be reconciled to the new regulation. others objected to it; others criticised it, and even regarded the act as tyrannical; but the good offices of paul kendall, who argued the question with them, as he did with shuffles, had in a measure conciliated them, and they were at least disposed to submit gracefully to the order. but pelham was not of this number he was above the average age, and, like the chief conspirator on board, expecting to leave the ship at the end of the first year, had not exerted himself to the extent of his ability. he had been first lieutenant and had now fallen to fourth. he was older than the captain, and it galled him to be subject to one younger than himself. he was dissatisfied with his rank, and this had a tendency to make him a grumbler. it needed only an appearance of tyranny or injustice to array him in spirit against the authorities of the ship. shuffles knew his state of mind, and was prepared to take advantage of it, hoping through him to gain other discontented spirits in the cabin. when the first part of the port watch was relieved, the "chain" consisted of five links, and the conspirators were well satisfied with the present success of the enterprise. each of the new members of the league was commissioned to obtain a recruit, whose name was given to him, and he was required to report upon the case, to shuffles, before eight bells in the afternoon watch. as a measure of precaution, it was required that no meetings should be held; that not more than three members should assemble for business at any one time. the utmost care and circumspection were urged, and it was agreed that not a word should be said in the steerage, where it was possible for any of the professors to overhear it. the second part of the port watch, with pelham as officer of the deck, went on duty at ten o'clock. the wind had been freshening for the last two hours, and it was now necessary to reduce sail. the royals were first taken in, and then the top-gallant sails. "we can't lay this course, sir," said burchmore, the quartermaster, who was conning the helm. "the wind is hauling to the eastward." "make the course east by north then," replied pelham, without taking the trouble to consult the captain or mr. fluxion, both of whom were on deck. "the wind is north-north-east, sir," reported the quartermaster, a short time afterwards. "keep her east then." at six bells the wind was north-east, and coming heavier and heavier every moment. the ship was headed east-south-east, and it was evident that she still had on more sail than she could easily carry. "what's the course, mr. pelham?" asked captain gordon. "east-south-east, sir," replied pelham. "the course given out was east-north-east." "i have changed it three times within the last hour," answered the fourth lieutenant, in rather surly tones. "by whose order?" demanded the captain. "by no one's order, sir." "you know the regulation for the officer of the deck. he is not permitted to alter the course of the ship, unless to avoid some sudden danger, without informing the captain." "i had to alter the course, or have the topsails thrown aback," replied pelham. "very likely it was proper to alter the course; but it was also proper to inform me, especially when i was on deck." "very well, captain gordon. i will not alter the course again without your order," added the fourth lieutenant, stiffly. "the regulation is not mine, mr. pelham," continued the captain, sternly. as the wind increased, sail was reduced to topsails and courses, jib and spanker; but at seven bells even these were found to be too much for her. "captain gordon, it is coming heavier," said mr. fluxion. "i think it will be necessary to reef." "i was thinking of that, sir. the wind is north-east, and blowing a gale." "you had better call all hands, and do it at once." "mr. pelham, you will call all hands to reef topsails!" "all hands, sir?" "certainly, mr. pelham; that was my order," replied the captain, more sharply than usual, for there was something in the manner of the officer of the deck which he did not like, and he found it necessary to maintain the dignity of his position. pelham touched his cap; he felt the weight of authority upon him heavier than ever before. until recently he had always performed his duty cheerfully, and was considered a first-rate officer. since the new regulation had been put in force, and he had been compelled to deliver up ten sovereigns in his possession he had been rather disagreeable. in the cabin he had used some language reflecting upon the principal, and he was now regarded as a malcontent by the captain, and by those who still sustained the discipline of the ship. "morrison," called he, as he went forward to the waist. "here, sir," replied the boatswain, who belonged in this quarter watch; and there was a boatswain's mate in each of the others. "call all hands to reef topsails." the shrill pipe of the boatswain's whistle soon rang above the howling winds, which now sounded gloomily through the rigging. the call was repeated in the steerage, and at the door of the after cabin, where it could be heard by the officers, for no one on board is exempted when all hands are called. this was the first taste of the hardships of a seaman's life to which the students had been invited. it is not pleasant, to say the least, to be turned out of a warm bed in a gale, when the wind comes cold and furious, laden with the spray of the ocean, and be sent aloft in the rigging of the ship, when she is rolling and pitching, jumping and jerking, in the mad waves. but there is no excuse at such a time, and nothing but positive physical disability can exempt officer or seaman from duty. it was the first time the boys had seen a gale at sea, and though it was not yet what would be called a strong gale, it was sufficiently terrific to produce a deep impression upon them. the ship was still close-hauled, under topsails and courses, with jib and spanker. the wind came in heavy blasts, and when they struck the sails, the young america heeled over, until her lee yard-arm seemed to be dipping the waves. huge billows came roaring down from the windward, crowned with white foam, and presenting an awful aspect in the night, striking the ship, lifting her bow high in the air, and breaking over the rail, pouring tons of water on the deck. before the whole crew had been called, every opening in the deck had been secured, and the plank guards placed over the glass in the skylights. life lines had been stretched along the decks, and the swinging ports, through which the water that came over the rail escaped, were crossed with whale line by peaks, to prevent any unlucky boy from being washed through, if he happened to be thrown off his feet by a rush of water to the scuppers. the scene was wild and startling; it was even terrible to those who had never seen anything of the kind before, though the old sailors regarded it quite as a matter of course. peaks had never been known to be so jolly and excited since he came on board. he was full of jokes and witty sayings; he seemed to be in his element now, and all his powers of body and mind were in the keenest state of excitement. the students were disposed to look upon it as a rough time, and doubtless some of them thought the ship was in great peril. not a few of them pretended to enjoy the scene, and talked amazingly salt, as though they had been used to this kind of thing all their lives. mr. lowington came on deck, when all hands were called; and though, to his experienced eye, there was no danger while the ship was well managed, he was exceedingly anxious, for it was a time when accidents were prone to happen, and the loss of a boy at such an hour, would endanger the success of his great experiment. on deck, the students could not get overboard without the grossest carelessness; but it was perilous to send them aloft in the gloom of the howling tempest. he had hoped that he might be permitted to meet the onslaught of the first gale the ship encountered in the daytime; but as the "clerk of the weather" otherwise ordained it, he was compelled to make the best of the circumstances. before the manoeuvre of reefing, in the gale, was begun, mr. fluxion was sent forward. bitts was placed in the fore rigging, peaks in the main, and leach in the mizzen, to see that the young tars did not needlessly expose themselves, and that they used all proper precautions to avoid an accident. all the officers were at their stations. "man the topsail clewlines, and buntlines, and the weather topsail braces," shouted haven, the first lieutenant who always handled the ship when all hands were called. "stand by the lee braces, bowlines, and halyards." the clewlines are ropes fastened to the corners of the topsail, passing through blocks on the topsail yard, and leading down to the deck through the lubber's hole. they are used in hauling the corners of the sail up when they are to be reefed or furled. the buntlines are two ropes attached to cringles, or eyes, in the bottom of the sail, which are used for hauling up the middle, or bunt, of the topsail. the braces are the ropes secured to the ends of the yards, leading down to the deck, directly, or to a mast first, and thence below, by which the yards and the sails attached to them are hauled round so as to take the wind. they are distinguished by the terms "weather" and "lee," the former being those on the side from which the wind comes, the latter on the opposite side. they also have their specific names, as the "weather fore-top-gallant brace," the "lee main brace." the bowlines are ropes attached to the leeches of square sails to draw the edge forward, so that they may take the wind better. they are fastened to the bridles, which are loops like those of a kite, two or three of them extending from the side of the sail. the halyards are the ropes by which any sail is hoisted. for square sails they are secured to the yards, which, with the exception of the lower one on each mast slide up and down. "clear away the bowlines," said the first lieutenant when all hands were reported ready for the manoeuvre which had been ordered. at this command the bowlines on the topsails and courses were unfastened. "all clear, sir," reported the officers from their stations. "round in the weather braces, ease off the lee braces!" was the next order. "settle away the topsail halyards! clew down!" to round in the weather braces was simply to haul them up as the lee braces were slacked, so that the yard was squared. as the command was executed, the sail was "spilled," or the wind thrown out of it. "haul out the reef tackles! haul up the buntlines!" continued the executive officer. to reef a sail is to tie up a portion of it, so as to present less surface of canvas to the force of the wind. topsails are reefed in the upper part; a portion of the sail nearest to the yard from which it is suspended being rolled up and secured by strings to the yard. fore and aft sails, like the spanker, the fore and main spencers, or the mainsail of a schooner, are reefed at the foot, the lower part being tied down to the boom. the topsails of the young america had three reef bands, or strips of canvas sewed crosswise over them, in which were the reef points, or strings by which the sail is tied up when reefed. when the first or highest row of reef points was used, the sail was single reefed; when the second was used, it was double reefed; and when the third row was used, it was close reefed. on each side of the sail, at the end of each reef band, was a cringle, or eye, in which the reef pendent was fastened. the reef tackle consists of a rope passing from the eye, at the end of the reef band, through a block at the extremity of the yard, thence to the mast, and down to the deck. hauling on this rope draws the required portion of the sail up to the yard in readiness to be reefed. the reef tackles were hauled out, and the buntlines hauled up to bring the sail where it could be easily handled. when the sail is to be reefed, the seamen have to a "lay out" on the yards, and tie up the sail. to enable them to do this with safety, there are horses, or foot-ropes, extending from the slings, or middle of the spar, to the yard-arms. this rope hangs below the yard, the middle parts being supported by stirrups. when a man is to "lay out," he throws his breast across the yard with his feet on the horse. the man at the "weather earing," or eye for the reef pendent, has to sit astride the yard, and pull the sail towards him. the foot-rope sometimes slips through the eyes in the stirrups when only one hand goes out upon it, which does, or may, place him in a dangerous position. during the preceding day, when the barometer indicated a change of weather, mr. lowington had sent the old boatswain aloft to "mouse the horses," in anticipation of the manoeuvre which the boys were now compelled to perform at midnight, in a gale of wind. mousing the horses was merely fastening the foot-ropes to the eyes of the stirrups, so that they could not slip through, and thus throw the entire slack of the horse under one boy, by which he sank down so low that his neck was even with the spar. at the foot of each mast there is a contrivance for securing ropes, called the fife-rail. it is full of belaying pins, to which are secured the sheets, halyards, buntlines, clewlines, lifts, braces, reef tackle, and other ropes leading down from aloft. looking at the mast, it seems to be surrounded by a perfect wilderness of ropes, without order or arrangement, whose uses no ordinary mortal could comprehend. there were other ropes leading down from aloft, which were fastened at the sheer-poles and under the rail. now, it is necessary that every sailor should be able to put his hand on the right rope in the darkest night; and when the order to haul out the buntlines was given in the gloom and the gale, those to whom this duty was assigned could have closed their eyes and found the right lines. "aloft, topman!" continued the first lieutenant, when the topsails were in readiness for reefing. at this order thirty of the young tars ran up the shrouds, over the cat-harpings, and up the rigging, till they reached the fore, main, and mizzen topsail yards. twelve of them were stationed on the main, ten on the fore, and eight on the mizzen topsail yard. the first, second, and third midshipmen were aloft to superintend the work, and when the studding-sail booms had been triced up, they gave the order to lay out, and take two reefs. when the hands were at their stations on the yard, the first lieutenant ordered the quartermaster to "luff up;" that is, to put the helm down so as to throw the ship up into the wind and spill the sail, or get the wind out of it, that the young tars might handle it with the more ease. the boys had been frequently trained in the manoeuvre which they were now executing under trying circumstances, and all of them knew their duty. if any one trembled as the mast swayed over when the ship rolled, he was afraid to mention the fact, or to exhibit any signs of alarm. perhaps most of them would have been willing to acknowledge that it was rather "ticklish" business to lay out on a topsail yard at midnight in a gale of wind; and if their anxious mothers could have seen the boys at that moment, some of them might have fainted, and all wished them in a safer place. the boom tricing-lines were manned again, and the studding-sail booms restored to their places. "lay down from aloft!" shouted haven, when the midshipman in charge aloft had reported the work done; and he was obliged to roar at the top of his lungs through the speaking trumpet, in order to be heard above the piping of the gale and the dashing of the sea. "man the topsail halyards! stand by the braces." "all ready, sir," reported the fourth lieutenant, after the others. "hoist away the topsails!" the hands on deck walked away with the halyards, until the topsails were hauled up to a taut leech. the same operation was repeated on the fore and main course; the yards were trimmed; the bowlines attached and hauled out, and then the ship was under double-reefed topsails and courses. "boatswain, pipe down!" said the executive officer when the work was done. but the crew did not care to pipe down, just then. this was the first time they had ever seen a gale at sea, and there was something grand and sublime in the heaving ocean, and the wild winds that danced madly over the white-crested waves. it was now after midnight, eight bells having struck before the courses were reefed, and the first part of the starboard watch were to have the deck. mr. lowington insisted that all others should go below and turn in, assuring them that they would see enough of the gale in the morning, or as soon as their quarter watches were called. the principal and mr. fluxion were earnest in their commendation of the behavior of the young america. she was not only a stiff and weatherly ship, but she behaved most admirably, keeping well up to the wind, and minding her helm. the four boys at the wheel handled it with perfect ease. the ship did not labor in the gale as she had before the sails were reefed; and though she jumped, plunged, and rolled, making a terrific roar as she went along, everything was ship-shape about her, and the boys soon became accustomed to the exciting scene. she was making but little headway, but she still kept within three points of her general course. mr. lowington remained on deck the rest of the night, anxiously watching the ship and her crew in the trying experience of the hour. augustus pelham, the discontented lieutenant, went below when his quarter watch was relieved. the little incident, before all hands were called, between himself and the captain, had disturbed him more than he would have been willing to acknowledge. he thought it was harsh of the captain to say anything to him, though he had broken one of the rules of the ship; and he regarded the gentle reproof he had received as a very great indignity. he went to his state room. the ship was rolling fearfully, and he could not stand up without holding on at the front of his berth. goodwin, the third lieutenant who was his room-mate, had already turned in; but it was impossible for him to sleep. pelham took a match from his pocket and lighted the lamp, which swung on gimbals in the room. "what are you doing, pelham?" demanded goodwin "it is against the rule to light a lamp after ten o'clock." "i know it; but i'm not going to blunder round here, and have my brains knocked out in the dark," growled pelham. "put the light out; you will get into trouble," remonstrated his room-mate. "i won't do it." "what are you going to do?" "go to sleep, goodwin, and don't bother me." "what's the matter, pelham? what ails you? i never knew you to think of breaking one of the rules before." "i should like to break them all, as moses did the ten commandments. i have been insulted." "who insulted you?" "the captain." "gordon?" asked goodwin, in astonishment "yes." "i never knew him to do such a thing as that. i think you didn't understand him; or he must have been excited by the gale." "it was before it came on to blow very hard," replied pelham, seating himself on a stool, and bracing his feet against the front of the berth to prevent being thrown down. "what did he do?" "he snubbed me, told me i knew the rule, and was as overbearing as though i had been his servant, instead of an officer of the ship." "but what did you do? he wouldn't have done anything of the kind if you hadn't given him some provocation." "i told the quartermaster, when the wind was heading off the ship, to alter the course." "didn't you tell the captain beforehand?" "not i." "then i don't blame him for snubbing you. what's the use of being captain if the officers don't obey you?" "if he had anything to say to me, he might have been a little more gentle about it." pelham neglected to say that he was not particularly gentle himself. "put that light out, pelham, for my sake, if not for your own," said goodwin, when he found that his companion was too much out of sorts to be reasonable. "neither for yours nor my own will i put it out," replied pelham, as he took a cigar from its hiding-place, under the lower berth. "what are you going to do, pelham?" demanded goodwin, filled with astonishment, as he observed the conduct of his fellow-officer. "i'm going to have a smoke." "but you know that smoking is positively prohibited either on ship or shore." "i haven't had a smoke since vacation," replied pelham, as he lighted the cigar. "see here, pelham; i won't stand this!" exclaimed the third lieutenant, rising up in his bed, in which act he was nearly pitched out of his berth by a heavy roll of the ship. "the companion-way is closed." "that's the very reason why i'm going to smoke," replied the malcontent, coolly. "but i shall be stifled here." "can't help it." "i can," retorted goodwin, as he leaped out on the floor. "what are you going to do?" "i am going to inform mr. lowington what you are doing." "are you such a fellow as that?" asked pelham, indignantly. "i am, if you are such a fellow as to attempt to stifle me with cigar smoke in my own room. it would make me as sick as a horse in five minutes." "seasick, you mean," sneered pelham. "i'm going to have my smoke, if there is a row about it." goodwin put on his pea-jacket, and left the room. chapter xv. after the gale. one of the most singular traits observable in the character of some boys is the willingness, and even the desire, under certain circumstances, to get into trouble. a young gentleman, feeling that he has been slighted, or his merit overlooked, permits himself to fall into a mental condition in which he feels no responsibility for his conduct; in which he recklessly breaks through all regulations, places himself in an attitude of opposition to constituted authority, and seems to court the heaviest penalty which can be inflicted upon him for disobedience, impudence, and rebellion. the fourth lieutenant of the young america had worked himself up to this disagreeable pitch. he was not only disposed to assume an attitude of opposition to the principal, who had made the obnoxious regulation which was the immediate cause of his rebellious condition, but to all who supported his authority, or willingly submitted to it. smoking was a high crime on board the young america--not in the relation of the practice to the ship, but to the student. it was condemned, not simply because it would be offensive in the cabins and steerage, and on deck, but because it was a bad habit for a boy to acquire. the adult forward officers, the cooks and the stewards, were allowed to smoke on the forecastle at certain prescribed hours; but it was a punishable offence for a student to smoke at any time or in any place, whether on board or on shore. goodwin was indignant at the conduct of his room-mate, for the third lieutenant was not only opposed to smoking on principle, but the fumes of tobacco were intensely offensive to him; and there was no doubt that, in the confined space of the state room, insufficiently ventilated, while all the openings in the deck were closed during the gale, the smoke would make him "as sick as a horse." he was a noble-minded, manly youth, and had all a boy's detestation for tattling and tale-bearing. he did not like to go on deck and inform the principal of the conduct of pelham, but he could not submit to the indignity cast upon him. he went out into the cabin, and threw himself upon the cushioned divan, under the stern ports of the ship. this would have been a very satisfactory place to sleep under ordinary circumstances; but goodwin had hardly secured a comfortable position, before the heavy rolling and pitching of the vessel tumbled him off, and he measured his length on the cabin floor--a very undignified situation for a third lieutenant. he picked himself up in the darkness, and tried it again, but with no better success than before. he had fully intended to go on deck and inform the principal of the misconduct of pelham, which had driven him from his room; but he shrank from the task. what goodwin was attempting to do on the divan many of the officers were striving to do in their berths, though with better success than attended his efforts. it was not an easy matter to stay in the berths; and this done, the situation was far from comfortable. avoiding the rude fall on the one side, the occupant was rolled over against the partition on the other side. sleep, in anything more than "cat naps," was utterly impracticable, for as soon as the tired officer began to lose himself in slumber, he was thumped violently against the pine boards, or was roused by the fear of being tumbled out of his berth. mr. lowington comprehended the situation of the students, and when the topsails and courses had been reefed, he called up all the stewards, and sent them through the after cabin and steerage, to ascertain the condition of the boys, and to give them the benefit of certain expedients known to old voyagers for such occasions. jacobs, the steward of the after cabin, entered to perform his duty. he had no light, not even a lantern; for fire is so terrible a calamity at sea, that every lamp was extinguished by the stewards at ten o'clock, and no light was allowed, except in the binnacle, without the special permission of the principal even the captain could not allow a lamp to be lighted after hours. jacobs went to all the state rooms on the port side first, and pulled up the berth sacks above the front of the bunks, so as to form a kind of wall, to keep the occupant from rolling out. a bundle of clothing was placed on the inside of the berth, and the body was thus wedged in, so as to afford some relief to the unstable form. pelham's room was the second one on the starboard side, and jacobs came to it at last, in his humane mission. he opened the door, and started back with unfeigned astonishment to see the lamp lighted, and the fourth lieutenant puffing his cigar as leisurely as the violent motion of the ship would permit. "contrary to regulation, sir," said jacobs, respectfully as he touched his cap to the reckless officer. "take yourself off, jacobs," replied pelham, coarsely and rudely. "yes, sir." jacobs did take himself off, and hastened on deck to inform mr. lowington of the conduct of the infatuated officer. the principal immediately presented himself. pelham had fully believed, in his self-willed obstinacy, that he could look mr. lowington full in the face, and impudently defy him. he found that he was mistaken. the experience of shuffles in the hands of the boatswain and carpenter would intrude itself upon him, and he quailed when the principal opened the door and gazed sternly into his face. "smoking, mr. pelham?" "yes, sir," replied the rebel, with an attempt to be cool and impudent, which, however, was a signal failure. "you will put out that cigar, and throw it away." "i will; i've smoked enough," answered pelham. "your light is burning, contrary to regulation." "the ship rolls so, i should break my neck without one," replied pelham, sourly. "that is a weak plea for a sailor to make. mr. pelham, i confess my surprise to find one who has done so well engaged in acts of disobedience." the reckless officer could make no reply; if the reproof had been given in presence of others, he would probably have retorted, prompted by a false, foolish pride to "keep even" with the principal. "for smoking, you will lose ten marks; for lighting your lamp, ten more," added the principal. "you might as well send me into the steerage at once," answered pelham. "if either offence is repeated, that will be done. you will put out your light at once." the fourth lieutenant obeyed the order because he did not dare to disobey it; the fear of the muscular boatswain, the irons, and the brig, rather than that of immediate degradation to the steerage, operating upon his mind. the principal went on deck; pelham turned in, and was soon followed, without a word of comment on the events which had just transpired, by goodwin. the night wore away, the gale increasing in fury, and the rain pouring in torrents. it was a true taste of a seaman's life to those who were on deck. at daybreak all hands were called again, to put the third reef in the topsails. at eight bells the courses were furled. the gale continued to increase in power during the forenoon, and by noon a tremendous sea had been stirred up. the ship rolled almost down to her beam ends, and the crests of the waves seemed to be above the level of the main yard. in the popular exaggerated language, "the waves ran mountain high," which means from twenty to forty feet; perhaps, on this occasion, twenty-five feet from the trough of the sea to the crest of the billow. even this is a great height to be tossed up and down on the water; and to the boys of the young america the effect was grand, if not terrific. the deck was constantly flooded with water; additional life-lines had been stretched across from rail to rail, and every precaution taken to insure the safety of the crew. study and recitation were impossible, and nothing was attempted of this kind. the storm was now what could justly be called a heavy gale, and it was no longer practicable to lay a course. before eight bells in the forenoon watch, the royal and top-gallant yards had been sent down, and the ship was laid to under a close-reefed main-topsail, which the nautical gentlemen on board regarded as the best for the peculiar conditions which the young america presented. when a ship is laying to, no attention is paid to anything but the safety of the vessel, the only object being to keep her head up to the sea. in the gale, the young america lay with her port bow to the wind, her hull being at an angle of forty-five degrees, with a line indicating the direction of the wind. her topsail yard was braced so that it pointed directly to the north-east--the quarter from which the gale blew. the helm was put a-lee just enough to keep her in the position indicated. she made little or no headway, but rather drifted with the waves. the young tars had a hard forenoon's work; and what was done was accomplished with triple the labor required in an ordinary sea. all hands were on duty during the first part of the day, though there were intervals of rest, such as they were, while the boys had to hold on with both hands, and there was no stable abiding-place for the body. the ship rolled so fiercely that no cooking could be done, and the only refreshments were coffee and "hard tack." "this is a regular muzzler, pelham," said shuffles, in the afternoon, as they were holding on at the life-lines in the waist. "that's a fact; and i've got about enough of this thing." "there isn't much fun in it," replied shuffles, who had been watching for this opportunity to advance the interests of the "chain." "no, not a bit." "it's better for you officers, who don't have to lay out on the yards when they jump under you like a mad horse, than for us." "i suppose i shall have a chance to try it next term." "why so?" "i lost twenty marks last night. i got mad, lighted the lamp, and smoked a cigar in my state room." "will the loss of the twenty marks throw you over?" "yes? i'm a goner!" added pelham, with a smile. "what made you mad?" "the captain snubbed me; then lowington came the magnificent over me. a single slip throws a fellow here." a single slip in the great world throws a man or woman; and young men and young women should be taught that "single slips" are not to be tolerated. more children are spoiled by weak indulgence than by over-severe discipline. but a boy had a better chance to recover from the effects of his errors in the young america, than men and women have in the community. by gradual approaches, shuffles informed the fourth lieutenant of the object of the "chain," which pelham promptly agreed to join, declaring that it was just the thing to suit his case. he was in a rebellious frame of mind; and though he could not feel that the enterprise would be a complete success, it would afford him an opportunity to annoy and punish the principal for his degrading and tyrannical regulation, as the recreant officer chose to regard it. by the exercise of some tact, the conspirators found a convenient place under the top-gallant forecastle to consider the project. pelham was duly "toggled," and offered no objection to the penalty; indeed, he only laughed at it. "suppose we get possession of the ship--what then?" asked pelham. "we will go on a cruise. i understand that she has provisions for a six months' voyage on board. i'm in favor of going round cape horn, and having a good time among the islands of the south sea." pelham laughed outright at this splendid scheme. "round cape horn!" exclaimed he. "yes? why not? we should be up with the cape by the first of june; rather a bad time, i know, but this ship would make good weather of it, and i don't believe we should see anything worse than this." "what will you do with the principal and the professors?" asked pelham, lightly. "we can run up within ten or fifteen miles of cape sable, give them one of the boats, and let them go on shore." "perhaps they won't go." "we have ten fellows already in the chain, who are seventeen years old. if we get half the crew, we can handle the other half, and the professors with them." "all right! i'm with you, whether you succeed or not. i'm not going to be ground under lowington's feet, and be snubbed by such fellows as gordon. if i want to smoke a cigar, i'm going to do it." "or take a glass of wine," suggested shuffles. "if there is any on board." "there is, plenty of it. i'll make you a present of a bottle, if you wish it." "thank you. suppose we get the ship, shuffles, who are to be the officers?" asked pelham. "we shall have good fellows for officers. you will be one, of course." "i suppose i am higher in rank now than any fellow who has joined the chain." "yes, that's a fact; but we are not going to mind who are officers now, or who have been before. we intend to take the best fellows--those who have done the most work in making the chain." "whether they are competent or not," added pelham. "all the fellows know how to work a ship now, except the green hands that came aboard this year." "this is rather an important matter. shuffles, for everything depends upon the officers. for instance, who will be captain?" asked pelham, with assumed indifference. "i shall, of course," replied shuffles, with becoming modesty. "that's a settled matter, i suppose." "yes; without a doubt it is." "i may not agree to that," suggested the new convert. "you have already agreed to it. you have promised to obey your superiors." "but who are my superiors?" "i am one of them." "who appointed you?" "i appointed myself. i got up the chain." "i think i have just as much right to that place as you have. shuffles." "i don't see it! do you expect me to get up this thing, and then take a subordinate position?" demanded shuffles, indignantly. "let the members choose the captain; that's the proper way." "perhaps they will choose neither one of us." "very well; i will agree to serve under any fellow who is fairly elected." "when shall he be chosen?" asked shuffles, who was so sure of a majority that he was disposed to adopt the suggestion. "when we have thirty links, say." "i will agree to it." the conspirators separated, each to obtain recruits as fast as he could. during the latter part of the day, the gale began to subside, and at sunset its force was broken, but the sea still ran fearfully high. the fore course was shaken out, and the ship filled away again, plunging madly into the savage waves. on sunday morning, the gale had entirely subsided; but the wind still came from the same quarter, and the weather was cloudy. the sea had abated its fury, though the billows still rolled high, and the ship had an ugly motion. during the night, the reefs had been turned out of the topsails; the jib, flying-jib, and spanker had been set, and the young america was making a course east-south-east. "sail ho!" shouted one of the crew on the top-gallant forecastle, after the forenoon watch was set. "where away?" demanded the officer of the deck. "over the lee bow, sir," was the report which came through the officers on duty. the report created a sensation, as it always does when a sail is seen; for one who has not spent days and weeks on the broad expanse of waters, can form only an inadequate idea of the companionship which those in one ship feel for those in another, even while they are miles apart. though the crew of the young america had been shut out from society only about three days, they had already begun to realize this craving for association--this desire to see other people and be conscious of their existence. after the severe gale through which they had just passed, this sentiment was stronger than it would have been under other circumstances. the ocean had been lashed into unwonted fury by the mad winds. a fierce gale had been raging for full twenty-four hours, and the tempest was suggestive of what the sailor dreads most--shipwreck, with its long train of disaster--suffering, privation, and death. it was hardly possible that such a terrible storm had swept the sea without carrying down some vessels with precious freights of human life. the young america had safely ridden out the gale, for all that human art could do to make her safe and strong had been done without regard to expense. no niggardly owners had built her of poor and insufficient material, or sent her to sea weakly manned and with incompetent officers. the ship was heavily manned; eighteen or twenty men would have been deemed a sufficient crew to work her; and though her force consisted of boys, they would average more than two thirds of the muscle and skill of able-bodied seamen. there were other ships abroad on the vast ocean, which could not compare with her in strength and appointments, and which had not one third of her working power on board. no ship can absolutely defy the elements, and there is no such thing as absolute safety in a voyage across the ocean; but there is far less peril than people who have had no experience generally suppose. the cunard steamers have been running more than a quarter of a century, with the loss of only one ship, and no lives in that one--a triumphant result achieved by strong ships, with competent men to manage them. poorly built ships, short manned, with officers unfit for their positions, constitute the harvest of destruction on the ocean. mr. lowington believed that the students of the academy ship would be as safe on board the young america as they would on shore. he had taken a great deal of pains to demonstrate his theory to parents, and though he often failed, he often succeeded. the young america had just passed through one of the severest gales of the year, and in cruising for the next three years, she would hardly encounter a more terrific storm. she had safely weathered it; the boys had behaved splendidly, and not one of them had been lost, or even injured, by the trying exposure. the principal's theory was thus far vindicated. the starboard watch piped to breakfast, when the sail was discovered, too far off to make her out. the boys all manifested a deep interest in the distant wanderer on the tempestuous sea, mingled with a desire to know how the stranger had weathered the gale. many of them went up the shrouds into the tops, and the spy-glasses were in great demand. "do you make her out, captain gordon?" asked mr. fluxion, as he came up from his breakfast, and discovered the commander watching the stranger through the glass. "yes, sir; i can just make her out now. her foremast and mainmast have gone by the board, and she has the ensign, union down, hoisted at her mizzen," replied the captain, with no little excitement in his manner. "indeed!" exclaimed the teacher of mathematics, as he took the glass. "you are right, captain gordon, and you had better keep her away." "shall i speak to mr. lowington first, sir?" asked the captain. "i think there is no need of it in the present instance. there can be no doubt what he will do when a ship is in distress." "mr. kendall, keep her away two points," said the captain to the officer of the deck. "what is the ship's course now?" "east-south-east, sir," replied the second lieutenant, who had the deck. "make it south-east." "south-east, sir," repeated kendall. "quartermaster keep her away two points," he added to the petty officer conning the wheel. "two points, sir," said bennington, the quartermaster "make the course south-east." "south-east, sir." after all these repetitions it was not likely that any mistake would occur; and the discipline of the ship required every officer and seaman who received a material order, especially in regard to the helm or the course, to repeat it, and thus make sure that it was not misunderstood. it was sunday; and no study was required, or work performed, except the necessary ship's duty. morning prayers had been said, as usual, and there was to be divine service in the steerage, forenoon and afternoon, for all who could possibly attend; and this rule excepted none but the watch on deck. by this system, the quarter watch on duty in the forenoon, attended in the afternoon; those who were absent at morning prayers were always present at the evening devotions; and blow high or blow low, the brief matin and vesper service were never omitted, for young men in the midst of the sublimity and the terrors of the ocean could least afford to be without the daily thought of god, "who plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm." every man and boy in the ship was watching the speck on the watery waste, which the glass had revealed to be a dismasted, and perhaps sinking ship. the incident created an intense interest, and was calculated to bring out the finer feelings of the students. they were full of sympathy for her people, and the cultivation of noble and unselfish sentiments, which the occasion had already called forth, and was likely to call forth in a still greater degree, was worth the voyage over the ocean; for there are impressions to be awakened by such a scene which can be garnered in no other field. chapter xvi. the wreck of the sylvia. the people in the dismasted ship had discovered the young america, as it appeared from the efforts they were using to attract her attention. the booming of a gun was occasionally heard from her, but she was yet too far off to be distinctly seen. on the forecastle of the academy ship were two brass guns, four-pounders, intended solely for use in making signals. they had never been fired, even on the fourth of july, for mr. lowington would not encourage their use among the boys. on the present occasion he ordered peaks, the boatswain, to fire twice, to assure the ship in distress that her signals were heard. the top-gallant sails were set, and the speed of the ship increased as much as possible; but the heavy sea was not favorable to rapid progress through the water. at four bells, when all hands but the second part of the port watch were piped to attend divine service in the steerage, the young america was about four miles distant from the dismasted vessel. she was rolling and pitching heavily, and not making more than two or three knots an hour. notwithstanding the impatience of the crew, and their desire to be on deck, where they could see the wreck, the service on that sunday forenoon was especially impressive. mr. agneau prayed earnestly for those who were suffering by the perils of the sea, and that those who should draw near unto them in the hour of their danger, might be filled with the love of god and of man, which would inspire them to be faithful to the duties of the occasion. when the service was ended the students went on deck again. the wreck could now be distinctly seen. it was a ship of five or six hundred tons, rolling helplessly in the trough of the sea. she was apparently water-logged, if not just ready to go down. as the young america approached her, her people were seen to be laboring at the pumps, and to be baling her out with buckets. it was evident from the appearance of the wreck, that it had been kept afloat only by the severest exertion on the part of the crew. "mr. peaks, you will see that the boats are in order for use," said mr. lowington. "we shall lower the barge and the gig." "the barge and the gig, sir," replied the boatswain. "captain gordon," continued the principal, "two of your best officers must be detailed for the boats." "i will send mr. kendall in the barge, sir." "very well; he is entirely reliable. whom will you send in the gig?" "i am sorry shuffles is not an officer now, for he was one of the best we had for such service," added the captain. "shuffles is out of the question," replied mr. lowington. "mr. haven, then, in the gig." "the sea is very heavy, and the boats must be handled with skill and prudence." "the crews have been practised in heavy seas, though in nothing like this." the barge and the gig--called so by courtesy--were the two largest boats belonging to the ship, and pulled eight oars each. they were light and strong, and had been built with especial reference to the use for which they were intended. they were life-boats, and before the ship sailed, they had been rigged with life-lines and floats. if they were upset in a heavy sea, the crews could save themselves by clinging to the rope, buoyed up by the floats. the young america stood up towards the wreck, intending to pass under her stern as near as it was prudent to lay, the head of the dismasted ship being to the north-west. "boatswain, pipe all hands to muster," said the captain, prompted by mr. lowington, as the ship approached the wreck. "all hands on deck, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, piping the call. the first lieutenant took the trumpet from the officer of the deck, and the crew, all of whom were on deck when the call was sounded, sprang to their muster stations. "all hands, take in courses," said the executive officer; and those who were stationed at the tacks and sheets, clew-garnets and buntlines, prepared to do their duty when the boatswain piped the call. "man the fore and main clew-garnets and buntlines!" shouted the first lieutenant. "stand by tacks and sheets!" the fore and main sail, being the lowest square sails, are called the courses. there is no corresponding sail on the mizzenmast. the ropes by which the lower corners of these sails are hauled up for furling are the clew-garnets--the same that are designated clewlines on the topsails. the tacks and sheets are the ropes by which the courses are hauled down, and kept in place, the tack being on the windward side, and the sheet on the leeward. "all ready, sir," reported the lieutenants forward. "haul taut! let go tacks and sheets! haul up!" these orders being promptly obeyed, the courses were hauled up, and the ship was under topsails and top-gallant sails, jib, flying-jib, and spanker. "ship, ahoy!" shouted the first lieutenant through his trumpet, as the young america rolled slowly along under the stern of the wreck. "ship, ahoy!" replied a voice from the deck of the wreck. "we are in a sinking condition! will you take us off?" "ay, ay!" cried haven, with right good will. "you will heave to the ship, mr. haven," said the captain, when she had passed a short distance beyond the wreck. "man the jib and flying-jib halyards and down-hauls," said the first lieutenant. "all ready forward, sir," replied the second lieutenant, on the forecastle. "stand by the maintop bowline! cast off! man the main braces!" "let go the jib and flying-jib halyards! haul down!" and the jibs were taken in. "slack off the lee braces! haul on the weather braces!" the main-topsail and top-gallant were thus thrown aback, and the young america was hove to, in order to enable her people to perform their humane mission. "stand by to lower the barge and gig!" continued haven. "mr. haven, you will board the wreck in the gig," said captain gordon. "yes, sir," replied he, touching his cap, and handing the trumpet to the second lieutenant. "mr. kendall, you will take charge of the barge," added the captain. "the barge, sir," answered kendall, passing the trumpet to goodwin, the third lieutenant, who, during the absence of his superiors, was to discharge the duty of the executive officer. the boats were cleared away, and every preparation made for lowering them into the water. this was a difficult and dangerous manoeuvre in the heavy sea which was running at the time. the professors' barge, which was secured at the davits on the weather side of the ship, was to be lowered with her crew on board, and they took their places on the thwarts, with their hands to the oars in readiness for action. the principal had requested mr. fluxion to go in the barge and mr. peaks in the gig, not to command the boats, but to give the officers such suggestions as the emergency of the occasion might require. "all ready, sir," reported ward, the coxswain of the barge, when the oarsmen were in their places. "stand by the after tackle, ward," said haven. "bowman, attend to the fore tackle." at a favorable moment, when a great wave was sinking down by the ship's side, the order was given to lower away, and in an instant the barge struck the water. ward cast off the after tackle, and the bowman did the same with the forward tackle. at the moment the order to lower was given, as the wave sank down, the ship rolled to windward, and the boat struck the water some eight feet from the vessel's side. "up oars!" said the coxswain, with energy. "lively, ward," added the first lieutenant. "let fall!" continued the coxswain, as a billow lifted the boat, so that those on board could see the ship's deck. "give way together!" the barge, tossed like a feather on the high seas, gathered headway, and moved off towards the wreck. the lowering of the barge had been so successful that the same method was adopted with the gig; but as she was under the lee of the ship, there was less difficulty in getting her off. she pulled round the ship's bow, and having made less stern way in starting both boats came up under the counter of the wreck at about the same time. when the barge and gig reached the ship, a line was thrown to each of them over the quarter, which the bowman caught, and made fast to the ring. "where is the captain of the ship?" demanded mr. haven. "here," shouted that officer. "how many have you aboard?" "eighteen!" "you must slide down on a rope over the stern; we can't go alongside," continued the first lieutenant. "ay, ay, sir!" responded the captain of the ship. "i have two women and two children on board." "you must lower them in slings," added haven, prompted by mr. fluxion. [illustration: the wreck of the sylvia. page .] the people on board the wreck went to work, and one of the women was lowered into each boat at the same time. a long loop was made in the end of the rope, and the woman sat down in the bight of it, holding on to the line with her hands. at a moment when the sea favored the movement, the boats were hauled up close to the ship's stern, the passenger caught by two of the crew, and hauled on board. a boy and a girl were let down in the same manner. the captain, mates, and seamen came down the rope hand over hand. each boat now had nine passengers, who were stowed in the stern sheets and on the bottom. the ropes from the ship were cast off, and the oarsmen were ordered to give way. the barge and the gig rose and fell, now leaping up on the huge billows, and then plunging down deep into the trough of the sea; but they had been well trimmed, and though the comb of the sea occasionally broke into them, drenching the boys with spray, the return to the young america was safely effected. "how happens it that you are all boys?" asked the captain of the wrecked ship, who was in paul kendall's boat. "that's the academy ship," replied the second lieutenant. "the what?" exclaimed the captain. "it is the young america. she is a school ship." "o, ay!" there was no disposition to talk much in the boats. the officers and crews were fully employed in keeping the barge and gig right side up in the tremendous sea, and though all hands were filled with curiosity to know the particulars of the wreck, all questions were wisely deferred until they were on the deck of the ship. when the gig came up under the counter of the young america, a line was thrown down to the bowman who made it fast to the ring. the passengers were then taken aboard in slings rigged on the spanker-boom, which was swung over the lee quarter for the purpose. part of the boat's crew were taken on board in the same way, and then the gig was hoisted up to the davits with the rest in her. before the barge was allowed to come up under the counter, the officer of the deck wore ship, so as to bring the port quarter, on which the boat was to be suspended, on the lee side. her passengers were taken on deck as those from the gig had been, and she was hoisted up. "mr. kendall, i congratulate you upon the success of your labors," said mr. lowington, when the second lieutenant reached the deck. "you have handled your boat exceedingly well, and you deserve a great deal of credit." "that's a fact, sir," added boatswain peaks, touching his cap. "i hardly spoke a word to him, and i've seen many a boat worse handled in a sea." paul blushed at the praise bestowed upon him, but he was proud and happy to have done his duty faithfully on this important occasion. the same commendation was given to the first lieutenant, after the barge had been hauled up to the davits, and the order given for the ship to fill away again. the women and children were conducted to the professors' cabin as soon as they came on board, and the seamen were taken into the steerage. all of them were exhausted by the anxiety and the hardships they had endured, and as soon as their safety was insured, they sank almost helpless under the pressure of their physical weakness. "this is a school ship, i'm told," said captain greely, the master of the shipwrecked vessel, who had also been invited to the main cabin. "yes, sir; we call it the academy ship, and we have eighty-seven young gentlemen on board," replied mr. lowington. "they are smart boys, sir. i never saw boats better handled than those which brought us off from the ship," added captain greely, warmly. "your voyage has come to an unfortunate conclusion," said mr. lowington. "yes, sir; i have lost my ship, but i thank god my wife and children are safe," answered the weather-beaten seaman, as he glanced at one of the women while the great tears flowed down his sun-browned cheeks. "poor children!" sighed mr. agneau, as he patted the little girl on the head; and his own eyes were dim with the tears he shed for others' woes. captain greely told his story very briefly. his ship was the sylvia, thirty days out of liverpool, bound to new york. she had encountered a heavy gale a week before, in which she had badly sprung her mainmast. finding it impossible to lay her to under the foresail, they had been compelled to set the main-topsail, reefed; but even this was too much for the weak mast, and it had gone by the board, carrying the second mate and five men with it. the sylvia was old, and the captain acknowledged that she was hardly sea-worthy. she became unmanageable, and the foremast had been cut away to ease off the strain upon her. her seams opened, and she was making more water than could be controlled with the pumps. for eighteen hours, all hands, even including the two women, had labored incessantly at the pumps and the buckets, to keep the ship afloat. they were utterly worn out when they discovered the young america, were on the point of abandoning their efforts in despair, and taking to the boats, in which most of them would probably have perished. after the boats started from the young america, mr. lowington had ordered the cooks to prepare a meal for the people from the wreck; and as soon as they came on board, coffee and tea, beefsteaks, fried potatoes, and hot biscuit were in readiness for them. tables were spread in the main cabin and in the steerage, and the exhausted guests, providentially sent to this bountiful board, were cordially invited to partake. they had eaten nothing but hard bread since the gale came on, and they were in condition to appreciate the substantial fare set before them. by the forethought of captain greely, the clothing of the women and children had been thrown into one of the boats. the bundle was opened, and its contents dried at the galley fire. the doctor and the chaplain gave up their state room to the captain, his wife and children, while mr. lowington extended a similar courtesy to the other woman, who was mrs. greely's sister. mr. fluxion was the first to offer his berth to the mate of the sylvia, which was reluctantly accepted; and all the professors were zealous to sacrifice their own comfort to the wants of the wrecked visitors. in the steerage, every boy, without an exception, wanted to give up his berth to one of the seamen from the sylvia; but the privilege was claimed by the adult forward officers, the cooks, and stewards. the principal was finally obliged to decide between them: and for obvious reasons, he directed that the guests should occupy the quarters of the men, rather than of the boys. the people from the sylvia needed rest and nourishment more than anything else. they were warmed, and fed, and dried, and then permitted to sleep off the fatigues of their severe exertion. at three o'clock, though they had slept but an hour or two, most of the shipwrecked people appeared at divine service, for this was a privilege which they had long been denied, and it would be strange, at such a time, if the hearts of those who had been saved from the angry flood were not overflowing with gratitude to god for his mercy to them. mr. agneau, whose sensitive nature had been keenly touched by the events of the day, made a proper use of the occasion, delivering a very effective address to the students and to the shipwrecked voyagers, who formed his little congregation. the next morning the wind came up fresh and warm from the southward, knocking down the heavy sea, and giving a delightful day to those on board the ship. the passengers appeared on deck, and were greatly interested in the young america and her juvenile crew. captain greely's son and daughter were little lions, of the first class, among the boys. all hands vied with each other in their efforts to do something for the guests of the ship, and it really seemed as though the era of good feeling had dawned upon them. even shuffles and pelham forgot, for a time, the interests of the chain league, and joined with others in petting the children of the wreck, and in laboring for the happiness of the involuntary guests. on this day, observations for latitude and longitude were obtained, and at noon the ship was found to be in latitude °, ', " n.; longitude °, ', " w. the position of the ship was marked on the chart by the masters, in council assembled, and the calculations made for the course. bowditch's navigator, an indispensable work to the seaman, was consulted frequently both for the rules and the nautical tables it contains. the course, after allowing for the variation of the compass, was found to be north-east by east, which, agreeing with the calculations of mr. fluxion, was given out to the quartermaster conning the wheel. the wind continued to blow fresh from the south and south-west during the rest of the day and the succeeding night; and the log-slate showed ten and eleven knots until midnight, when the wind hauled round to the westward, and soon came strong from that quarter. at noon on tuesday, april , the young america had made two hundred and forty-four miles during the preceding twenty-four hours, which was the best run she had had during the voyage. on the afternoon of this day, a ship, bound to the westward, was seen, and captain greely expressed a desire to be put on board of her, with his family, as he did not wish to return to the point from which he had just come. the young america bore down upon the sail, and spoke her at sundown. her captain was willing to take the shipwrecked voyagers on board his ship, which was bound to new york, and they were transferred in the barge and gig. captain greely and his party were very grateful for the attentions they had received; and the little boy and girl almost rebelled at the idea of leaving their new and partial friends. as the two ships were filling away, after the transfer of the passengers, the seamen of the new york ship, having learned what the young america was, gave three cheers, and dipped her ensign in compliment to her. all the young tars were immediately ordered into the rigging by captain gordon, and "three times three" were most lustily given. the american flag at her peak was lowered three times, in reply to the salute of the stranger. as the academy ship stood off on her course, the two children of captain greely were seen, on the poop-deck of the other vessel, waving their handkerchiefs; and they continued to do so as long as they could be seen. the departure of the guests had a saddening effect upon the crew of the young america, as they missed the children and the ladies very much; for, during their presence on board, the ship had assumed quite a domestic aspect, and all the idlers on deck found pleasing companions in the little boy and girl. the limits of this volume do not permit a full detail of the entire voyage across the ocean. enough has been given to show the discipline of the ship, and the daily life of the boys on board of her. for the next ten days the weather was generally favorable, and she laid her course all the time. some days she made two hundred miles, and others less than one hundred. on the sixteenth day from her departure, she was in latitude °, ', " n.; longitude °, ', " w.; course, e. by n. in going from cape race, the southern point of newfoundland, to cape clear, the southern point of ireland, the young america did not lay a straight course, as it would appear when drawn on a map or chart. la rochelle, on the western coast of france, and cape race are nearly on the same parallel of latitude, and the former is exactly east of the latter. but the parallel on which both points lie would not be the shortest line between them. a great circle, extending entirely around the earth in the broadest part, going through both, would not coincide with the parallel, but would run to the north of it a considerable distance at a point half way between the two places, the separation diminishing each way till the great circle crosses the parallel at cape race and la rochelle. the shortest course between the two points, therefore, would be the arc of the great circle lying between them. a skilful navigator would find and follow this track. this is called great circle sailing. the young america followed a great circle from cape race to cape clear. off the former point, her course was two points north of east; off the latter, it was half a point south of east. on her twentieth day out she sailed due east. after the excitement of the wreck and the departure of the passengers, shuffles and his confederates resumed their operations in the chain league, assisted somewhat by a case of discipline which occurred at this time. when the ship was sixteen days out the chain consisted of thirty-one links, in the cabalistic language of the conspirators, and shuffles was in favor of striking the blow. chapter xvii. peas and beans. the business of the chain had been managed with extreme caution by the conspirators, and more than one third of the crew had been initiated without the knowledge of the principal and professors, or of the officers and seamen who were not members. pelham and shuffles ordered the affairs of the league, and no "link" was allowed to approach an outsider for the purpose of inducing him to join without the consent of one of these worthies. as the scheme progressed, various modifications had been made in the plan to adapt it to circumstances, the principal of which was the choice of two "shackles," who should be deemed the officers of the league until a regular election had taken place. by this invention, shuffles and pelham had been enabled to compromise their differences, for they assumed the newly-created offices, and labored as equals in the bad cause. each endeavored to make as many new "links" as possible, for already the conspirators consisted of two factions, one of which favored the election of shuffles, and the other that of pelham, to the captaincy. each, in a measure, controlled his own recruits, and was reasonably sure of their votes when the election should be ordered. these young gentlemen were not only plotting to take the ship, but to "take in" each other. while both worked for the league as a whole, each worked for himself as an individual. shuffles was much more thorough than his rival in the making of his converts. he told them the whole story, and taught them to look full in the face the extreme peril of the undertaking. he did not conceal anything from them. on the other hand, pelham merely represented the project as a means of redressing the grievances of the officers and crew; of having their money restored to them, and abolishing certain portions of the regulations which pressed hard upon those who were disposed to be unruly. though the number of "links" in the "chain" has been mentioned, it was not known to either of the rivals. each knew his own peculiar followers, but he did not know how many the other could muster. though there were signs and passwords by which the members could know each other, there were no means by which any one could precisely sum up the whole number of "links." shuffles could count thirteen including his rival, while pelham could number nineteen without his coequal in authority. the former believed the list to consist of about twenty four, while the latter estimated it above thirty. with them it was a struggle for an office, as well as to redress their fancied wrongs, and they mutually deceived each other in order to obtain the advantage. "how many do you suppose we can muster now?" asked shuffles, on the evening of the eighteenth day out, as they met in the waist, when both were off duty. "about twenty," replied pelham. "there are more than that." "perhaps there are." "but it is time to stretch the chain," added shuffles, in a whisper. "not yet." "if we are ever going to do anything, we must begin soon. we have so many members now that the danger of exposure increases every day." "we can't do anything here. besides, i am not in favor of having the time or the manner of accomplishing the work talked about among the members. i believe in one-man power in an affair of this sort. there should be one head, who should plan and command; all the rest should obey. if every step in the thing must be discussed and agreed upon, we shall never do anything. one fellow will want it done in one way, and another in some other way." "i think you are more than half right," replied shuffles, who was confident that he should be the person chosen to arrange the plans and issue the commands. "i know i am wholly right," added pelham, who was equally confident that he should enjoy the undivided sway of the league. "if you are chosen captain i will cheerfully obey your orders. i go a step farther: whoever is elected captain should appoint his own officers." "i will agree to that also," replied the complaisant shuffles. "very well, then; the understanding is, that when one of us is elected captain, he shall appoint his own officers, and do all the planning and all the commanding," answered pelham. "exactly so; we are now in about longitude thirty-one, and cork harbor is in longitude eight, according to bowditch, for i was looking the matter up in the steerage to-day. we have to make about twenty-three degrees more. a degree of longitude, in latitude fifty-one, is thirty-seven and three quarters miles, which would make it eight hundred and sixty-eight miles more to run in order to reach queenstown. you see i am posted," said shuffles. "i see you are. by the way, had you noticed that queenstown is not in the navigator, or on the older maps?" added pelham. "yes; the place was called the cove of cork until , when, in honor of her majesty's visit to the town, the name was changed to queenstown." "all right," said pelham. it need not be supposed that the distance to queenstown and the change in the name of that place had anything to do with the league. the fact was, that mr. fluxion had passed near the conspirators, and had paused a moment in the waist to glance up at the fore-top-gallant sail, which was not in good trim; and the conversation had been changed to suit the occasion. in talking of the affairs of the "chain," it was required that one of the party should look forward, and the other aft, if there were two of them; and that the third, if there were three, should stand back to the nearest rail. it was further required that the conversation should not take place in a situation where it would be possible for any one to overhear them. the lee side of the waist,--the midshipman of the watch always being on the weather side,--the top-gallant forecastle, and the tops were the favorite resorts of the conspirators. if any one approached, the parties in conversation were instantly to change the topic, as shuffles had done. "i think it is about time for the election to take place," continued shuffles, when mr. fluxion had gone aft. "whenever you are ready, i am," replied pelham. "i am ready now." "so am i." "very well; it shall come off to-morrow, say." "to-morrow it is, then." "but how shall it be conducted?" asked shuffles. "that will not be an easy matter. i think, however we can hit upon some plan for having it fairly done." "of course the matter lies between you and me," added shuffles. "to be sure." "i suppose both of us are ready to abide the issue, whatever it may be," said shuffles, who was not a little fearful that his powerful rival would refuse to acknowledge him when he was chosen, as he confidently expected to be. "i pledge you my word and honor, that i will obey you in all things if you are fairly elected captain," replied pelham, who was equally sure of being chosen himself. "fairly? who is to decide whether it is fairly done or not?" demanded shuffles, unwilling to leave a loop-hole through which his companion could crawl out of the bargain. "when we have agreed upon the means of electing the captain, the choice shall be final." "good! you and i shall have no difficulty!" exclaimed shuffles, rather astonished to find his rival so easily managed, as he regarded it. "we will make it a little more binding, if you choose," suggested pelham, who, the reader has already been assured by the figures given, was completely outwitting the author and inventor of the chain league. "with all my heart!" "we will toggle each other on this special question if you like." "the stronger we make the bond the better," said shuffles. "repeat after me." "not here, shuffles. there is a steamer on our weather bow. let's go up into the mizzentop, and have a look at her with a night glass." mr. haven, the first lieutenant, who was in charge of the deck, permitted them to go aloft with the glass, for the officers were empowered to grant small favors. on reaching the top, they glanced at the steamer, and then resumed the conversation which had been suspended on deck, it being too dark for the officers below to see what they were doing. "now go ahead," said pelham. "repeat after me." "all right." "i promise, without any reservation, to acknowledge shuffles as captain, if he is chosen, and faithfully to obey his orders, on penalty of falling overboard accidentally." pelham repeated these words, and then "toggled" his rival in the same manner. "now we understand each other perfectly, and there will be no chance of dragging the anchor," said shuffles, satisfied that his sway would be undisputed. "let me say, in addition to this, that if i should happen to be chosen, i shall make you my first officer, pelham." "and i will make you my first officer, if i should happen to be chosen," replied the obliging pelham. "of course i don't expect to be chosen; you have had the swing of this affair, and you will have all the advantage." "no, i think not; you are an officer now, and you have more influence than i have," added the modest shuffles. if both had been laboring for the organization of the league on the same terms, shuffles would certainly have the better chance of an election; but pelham had been taking in members on false pretences, merely representing to those whom he approached that the league was an association having for its object the redress of their grievances. to only a few had he mentioned the fact that a regular mutiny was contemplated; that the ship was to be taken out of the hands of the principal, and an independent cruise commenced. he was afraid the whole truth would be more than some of them could bear; and perhaps he had so little faith in the extreme measures to be carried out by the league, that he was unwilling even to mention them. those who serve the evil one can neither trust each other nor trust their master. the only real confidence in each other which can exist among men or boys must be based on moral and religious principle. the man who pays his debts, or who performs his obligations to his fellow-men, for his reputation's sake, rather than from devotion to pure principle, will fail of his duty when he can conceal his infidelity, or when his reputation will not suffer from his acts. a man or a boy without principle is not to be trusted out of the line of his own interest. while shuffles and pelham were pledging themselves to a kind of romantic fidelity, they were plotting each against the other, each being satisfied that he had the advantage of the other. "now, i'm afraid the election will give us some trouble," continued shuffles. "it will not be an easy matter to conduct it fairly--not that any fellow means to cheat, but it must be conducted with so much secrecy that we can't superintend the ballot properly." "i know there is all that difficulty, but i have thought of a method which i believe will give us a fair election," replied pelham. "have you? so have i." "well, what is your plan? if it is better than mine, i am willing to adopt it." "i was thinking, as you and i are the only candidates that each of us might be represented by one side of the ship. you shall be port, and i will be starboard then every link in the chain shall hand his vote, on which shall be written the single word port or starboard either to you or me; and if there are more port than starboard, you will be captain; if more starboard than port, i shall be captain! how does that idea strike you?" "pretty well; but the fellows have all got to write their votes, and others will want to know what it means. it will set outsiders to thinking, and i don't believe the plan is quite safe." "well, what is your method?" asked shuffles, who was willing to acknowledge the force of his rival's objections. "perhaps my plan is as open to objection as yours," answered pelham; "but it will require no writing. each of us shall get a handful of beans and a handful of peas. we can easily obtain them when the store rooms are opened. you shall be beans, and i will be peas." "how are you, peas?" said shuffles, laughing at the idea. "how are you, beans?" added pelham. "go on with your soup." "we will give to every fellow belonging to the chain one pea and one bean." "i understand the plan now; but where are the fellows to deposit their vegetable ballots?" "we can have a receiver; appoint some good fellow for the purpose--say, greenway, the captain of the forecastle; or tom ellis, the third master." "tom ellis! does he belong?" "of course he does," laughed pelham, who realized that he had been a little too fast in betraying the strength of his faction. "i wouldn't appoint an officer." "well, you mention some fellow," said the politic pelham. "say wilton." "mention another." "lynch." "no; try again." "grossbeck." "very well; i will agree to him." "but he might make some mistake." "if he does, it will be in your favor, i suppose; for you nominated him, and, of course, he will give you the benefit of any doubt," replied pelham. "i want a fellow who will do it fairly. i don't wish to get in by any mistake," said shuffles, magnanimously. "neither do i? and i don't think there will be any mistakes." "there is a chance for a great many. the fellows may get mixed between beans and peas. when they come to vote, there will be some who don't know beans," laughed shuffles. "well, if they don't, they will know peas, which will do just as well," replied pelham. "it would not be pleasant for me to have them know peas, when they ought to know beans." "we will give them p.p. as a clew to the whole thing." "p.p.? that means p's, i suppose." "it means that, and more. p. for pelham, and p. for peas. if they get one right, they can't very well get the other wrong." "that's true," answered shuffles, silenced, rather than convinced, by the tactics of his fellow-conspirator. it was settled that he who knew peas must certainly "know beans." "when shall the fellows vote?" asked shuffles. "after dinner to-morrow afternoon. every fellow will be off duty an hour in the first or second dog watch," replied pelham, who seemed to have an answer ready for every question. "the polls shall be kept open till eight o'clock. the peas and beans shall be distributed before eight bells in the forenoon watch, so that every fellow will be ready to vote." "where will grossbeck stand when he receives the ballots?" "he won't stand anywhere in particular. we will see him together, and give him his instructions. i think it will be better for him to walk about the ship, and let the fellows hand him the votes on the sly, which he must put in his pocket. he shall count them in the presence of both of us." "suppose he should lose some of them?" suggested shuffles. "if he does, he is as likely to lose peas as beans." "i don't want to be chosen in any such manner as by the loss of the votes." "i can't see that there is any more danger of his losing them than there is of his losing his head. i see you are not entirely satisfied with the plan." "to tell you the truth, pelham, i am not. there is, at least, a chance for mistakes." "i'm willing to do anything you like, that will make the election a fairer one." "i have it!" exclaimed shuffles. "we can give each fellow two peas and two beans, and let him vote twice." "what good will that do?" "i'll tell you. we want another receiver; then let each fellow vote twice, giving a pea or a bean to both of the receivers. if the two results don't agree, it shall not be an election." "that's a first-rate idea, shuffles, and i go in for it with all my might," replied pelham, with so much warmth that his companion was put in the best of humor. "who shall be the other receiver?" "name some one," said shuffles, generously conceding the nomination to his confederate. "perth." "no." shuffles objected because pelham had done so when he had mentioned two names. "richton." "once more." "mckeon." "right. mckeon is an honest, careful fellow," added shuffles. "now i think there can be no mistake." the minor details of the election were carefully arranged, and the boys went below again. they gave satisfactory replies to the first lieutenant, who questioned them in regard to the steamer they had gone aloft to examine. pelham thought she was a "cunarder," but shuffles was confident she belonged to the inman line; and it is quite certain neither of them had any opinion whatever in regard to her, except that she was going west; for the red light on her port side was visible. on the following day, grossbeck and mckeon, the receivers who had been appointed, were waited upon, separately, by the two "shackles." they accepted the important trust which was confided to them, and each was duly and solemnly admonished of the necessity of entire fairness. they were informed that any discrepancy in the number of ballots in the hands of the two receivers would cause the vote to be rejected; and they individually promised to be both faithful and careful. the beans and the peas were readily obtained, and were distributed among the members of the league, with the necessary secrecy. some of the independent voters needed a little persuasion to induce them to vote, when informed that the choice was between the "shackles" only; but they yielded the point, and entered heartily into the excitement of the event; for, secret as were the proceedings, they were attended with no little exhilaration of feeling. the voting commenced in the afternoon watch. the second part of the starboard watch, being off duty, gave in their peas and beans first. the receivers, without even knowing all the members of the league, took whatever was handed to them "on the sly," and looked as careless and indifferent as though nothing was going on. the only responsibility that rested upon them, besides the general duty of carefulness and fidelity, was to see that no one voted twice. "vote early and vote often" was not countenanced; and one receiver acted as a check upon the other. the election progressed so secretly that no occasion for suspicion was given; and though the ballots were deposited under the eyes of the principal and the professors they saw nothing, and had not the remotest idea that anything wrong was in progress. in the last half of the first dog watch, shuffles began to be excited. he was too much of a politician to be idle while any voting was going on? and so far as his duty would permit, he had watched the receivers since the balloting commenced. he had seen seven or eight vote of whose membership in the chain he had no previous knowledge. he saw that pelham had made more initiates than he had been willing to acknowledge, apparently concealing the facts for the purpose of favoring his own election. he observed that all the officers of his rival's quarter watch voted, and he was almost certain that he had been defeated. shuffles was angry and indignant when he discovered the treacherous shrewdness of his fellow-conspirator; but he had solemnly promised to abide the result of the election, and he could not recede from his position without a violation of the "honor among thieves" which is said to exist. the poll would not be closed for half an hour; and as he had been cheated he deemed it quite right to restore the equilibrium by a resort to the same policy. "wilton, i have been cheated," said he, angrily, as he met his old crony in the waist. "how do you know you have?" "i know it. i will explain by and by. something must be done. i am beaten as sure as you live." "well, i can't help it if you are. you and pelham have fixed things to suit yourselves, and now you must fight it out between you," replied wilton, as he turned on his heel, and left the mighty mischief-maker alone and disconcerted. "where do all these beans come from?" said paul kendall, as he noticed the rejected ballots of the pelhamites, which they had not even taken the trouble to throw over the rail. "it's a new game the fellows are playing," replied shuffles, with apparent indifference, as he walked aft with the second lieutenant. "what's that?" asked paul, curiously. "it's called 'don't know beans,'" answered shuffles in deep thought. "the fellows have a good deal of sport out of it in the off-time." "'don't know beans!' i never heard of such a game before. tell me about it." "you see grossbeck and mckeon?" "yes." "well, they are the _butts,_ as we call them. all the fellows in our watch have some beans," added shuffles, taking a handful of them from his pocket. "what do they do with them?" "you try it yourself. take two of these beans." paul took them. "now you must give one to grossbeck, and the other to mckeon, without letting any fellow see you do it. if any fellow does see you give it to either of them, he will say, in a low tone, 'don't know beans,' and then the butt must drop it on deck. when the even bell strikes, grossbeck and mckeon must count their beans. the one who has the most must appoint the next two bean-pots, or butts; and the one who has the smaller number must pick up all the beans that have been dropped on the deck. there is fun in it; though, perhaps, you wouldn't think so." "i will try it, at any rate." paul did try it, and succeeded, as all others did, in giving the beans to the receivers without any one uttering the warning words. he was rather pleased with the game, so suddenly invented, and the two officers of his watch were induced to try the experiment. then blackburn, endicott, and bennington were supplied with beans by shuffles, who instructed his auditors that not a word must be said about the matter to the "butts," or to any one in the waist. the last three were as successful as the first three. then thompson and cartwright were equally fortunate. finally, captain gordon's attention was attracted, and he descended so far from his dignity as to deposit the beans. shuffles was satisfied. he had procured nine votes, and he was confident that he had thus defeated his rival. as a matter of precaution, he directed mckeon to pick up the beans scattered in the waist; and the "outsiders" who had cast the nine votes believed that he was the unlucky butt, who had been beaten in the game. "the captain and half the officers voted," whispered grossbeck at four bells. "certainly; that's all right. you and mckeon will meet pelham and me in the waist at eight bells," replied shuffles, as he went below. chapter xviii. the result of the ballot. the first part of the port watch went on duty at eight o'clock, when the secret poll for the choice of a captain, under the new order of events, was closed. shuffles was in this watch, but as neither his "trick at the wheel" nor his turn on the lookout came within the first hour, he had an opportunity to attend to the important business of the league. pelham and the two receivers of votes belonged in the second part of the port watch, and there was nothing to prevent them from attending the conference which shuffles had appointed. while shuffles had been teaching the "outsiders" the game of "don't know beans," pelham, as officer of the deck, remained abaft the mizzenmast, and had failed to notice what was taking place in the waist. the officers who were off duty, and who had unconsciously voted for shuffles, said nothing to those in charge of the ship. in accordance with the requirements of man-of-war discipline, the weather side of the deck was given up to the captain and the officers on duty, while all the idlers were required to keep on the lee side. captain gordon was a privileged person. on the weather side, even the denizens of the after cabin did not presume to address him on any question not connected with the discipline of the ship. when he went over to the lee side, it was understood that he was simply a student, and even an ordinary seaman might speak to him when he walked forward. shuffles had explained the game to the outsiders on the lee side, out of the hearing of the officer of the deck; and pelham, entirely satisfied that he was already elected, did not trouble himself about the matter. if "don't know beans" was not much of a game, it was better than nothing, and shuffles soon found that there was danger of his little scheme being exposed. during the second dog watch, at supper time, and as other opportunities were presented, he told wilton, monroe, adler, and others, that the second lieutenant, seeing so many beans on the deck, wished to know where they came from, and that, to deceive him and the rest of the officers, he had invented the game which he described, and wished them to play while off duty on deck. "our fellows" thought this was a good joke, and the new pastime was soon understood throughout the ship, and "butts" were appointed in each quarter watch to play it the next day. "the fellows have all voted, i suppose," said pelham when the party had obtained a good position for the conference. "the time is out, whether they have or not," replied grossbeck. "all we have to do now is to count the votes," added shuffles, impatiently, for he was afraid his little trick would be exposed before the result of the ballot was obtained. "well, let us have it counted at once," said pelham, who, having no doubt of the result, had no thought of offering any objection to the fairness of the election. "we can't count the votes here," suggested mckeon. "some one would see us, and want to know what we were doing." "i can't leave the deck; i'm on duty," replied shuffles. "let the receivers count it themselves." "we ought to see them do it." "that is not necessary. they don't know how many votes they have." "i'm sure i don't," said grossbeck. "neither do i," added mckeon. "i'll tell you how we can manage it, without exciting the attention of any one." "i will agree to anything that is fair," replied shuffles. "grossbeck shall go forward, and mckeon aft as far as the mainmast, so that each cannot know what the other is about. they can count the votes separately without being seen." "i don't see how we can," said mckeon. "can you tell a pea from a bean by the feeling?" "of course we can." "where did you put the votes, grossbeck?" asked pelham. "in my trousers' pocket." "so did i," added mckeon. "both of you have on your pea-jackets now, and there is a pocket on each side of them. take out all the peas first, and put them in the right-hand pocket of your pea-jacket; then all the beans, and put them in the left-hand pocket; then count each." "some fellow may see us counting them," said grossbeck. "you must take care of that," answered pelham. "if they do, it will not make much difference. some of the fellows were careless, and threw their beans on the deck." "did they?" laughed pelham? "i suppose they had no use for them." "the second lieutenant saw them, and wanted to know what they meant," added shuffles. "whew!" exclaimed pelham. "i made it all right, though i was obliged to invent a new game to throw him off the track." "good!" said pelham. "but we must go on with the counting. when you have found the number of peas and of beans, you will write the result on a piece of paper, each of you. mckeon, you will hand your paper to shuffles, and, grossbeck, you will hand yours to me. that's fair--isn't it?" "certainly," replied shuffles. "then we will put the two papers together; if they agree, the election is made; if they do not agree, we must do it all over again," continued pelham. "all right," added shuffles. the two receivers were sent away to count the votes. as one went forward, and the other aft, and the two "shackles" stood between, no communication whatever could pass from one to the other. it was now quite dark, and most of those off duty had turned in, for the students had become so well accustomed to sea life that they could sleep whenever their presence was not required on deck. "i hope this thing will be settled now once for all," said pelham, who feared that some mistake might defeat his hopes. "so do i," replied shuffles, who was disturbed by the same dread. "have you any idea what the result will be?" asked pelham, who, in spite of the mutual "toggling," and the mutual assurances of good faith, had some doubts whether his rival would be willing to accept the result. "well, i don't know," replied shuffles, cautiously, and with the same want of confidence which disturbed his companion. "there is no knowing who will be governor till after election." "of course not, but you might have some idea of the way the thing is going?" "i might, but what's the use of talking when we shall know all about it in ten or fifteen minutes?" "of course you have some hopes." "to be sure i have; and i suppose you have, too." "certainly i have; if i hadn't, i should have given the thing up without the trouble and risk of a ballot," replied pelham. "we both expect it, and it follows that one of us must be disappointed." "you know the bond." "i do." "here is my hand, shuffles. i pledge myself over again to abide the result of the vote, whether it is for me or against me," continued pelham, extending his hand. "and here is my hand, pelham, with the same pledge, honor bright," replied shuffles, as he took the offered hand. "i am tolerably confident of the result," added pelham. "i am quite confident that i shall be chosen," replied shuffles. "don't be too certain, my dear fellow," laughed the fourth lieutenant. "i have taken in a great many recruits." "i'm glad you have--the more the better. i have also taken in a good many. pelham, do you know this is very shaky business?" "shaky?" "yes--between you and me, i mean. if either of us should back down, the whole thing would fall to the ground." "back down!" exclaimed pelham. "why, after what has passed between us, i consider it impossible that either of us should back down. i am pledged; so are you; and if either of us should back down, i hope he will--fall overboard accidentally." "so do i," replied shuffles, heartily. "my dear fellow, if you should back out, i should be mad enough to help you over the rail, some dark evening, if i had a good chance." "i don't believe i should feel any better-natured if you should break your agreement. one of us is doomed to disappointment. we have tried to make this thing as fair as possible." "certainly we have, and it will be as fair as anything can be. i am entirely satisfied with the voting." "are you?" "of course i am." shuffles was very glad of this acknowledgment in advance of the reception of the result. "but, after all, pelham," said he, "there may be an appearance of unfairness in the voting, after the result is declared." "there may be; but each of us is pledged not to claim anything on account of such an appearance. if the figures of the two receivers agree, that is the end of the whole thing, and you or i will be the captain." "that's so; but here comes mckeon," replied shuffles, as the receiver gave him the paper on which the result of the votes he had received was written. it was too dark to see it, and the rivals waited, in great excitement of mind, for the appearance of grossbeck. he came, and his paper was handed to pelham. the conditions of the agreement had now all been complied with, and the two papers were to be placed side by side, where both of the candidates could see them at the same instant. it was necessary, in the darkness, to obtain the use of a light for a moment and they decided to wait till the midshipman on duty in the waist went into the steerage to make the half-hourly inspection. when one bell struck, the officer left his post, and the conspirators walked up to the binnacle in the waist. by raising one of the slides in the side of the machine, the lamp which threw its light on the face of the compass would enable them to examine the papers. "hold your paper by the side of mine," said pelham as he placed the important document in a position to receive the light from the binnacle when the slide should be moved. "open it," replied shuffles, nervously, as he complied with the direction of his rival. pelham raised the slide, and the contents of the papers were read by both. peas,........ beans,........ the results given in by the two receivers were the same, and by the terms of the bond, it was an election. "shut the slide," said shuffles. "who opened that binnacle?" demanded the first master, walking aft from his station on the forecastle. "i did, sir," replied shuffles, unwilling to permit the fourth lieutenant to answer the question. "we were looking at some figures i had made." the master, finding that the fourth lieutenant was one of the party gathered around the binnacle, said no more, and returned to his place. "are you satisfied, pelham?" asked shuffles, in the softest of tones. "i don't understand it," answered the disappointed candidate. "don't you? well, you will remember that neither of us was to raise any question about the fairness of the ballot." "i don't say a word about its fairness; i only said i did not understand it," answered pelham, in surly tones. "i don't understand it any better than you do; but the point just now is, whether you acknowledge me as captain, or not." "of course i do. when i pledge myself to do a thing, i always do it, i hail you as captain." "all right," added shuffles. "then nothing more need be said. you have kept your bond like a gentleman and i now appoint you my first officer, as i promised to do." "thank you," replied pelham, in a sneering tone. "what's the matter, my dear fellow? are you not satisfied?" demanded shuffles. "entirely satisfied with the result;" but he talked like one who was anything but satisfied. "it was a fair thing--wasn't it?" "i suppose it was; i don't know." "you speak as though you were not satisfied, pelham." "i am not disposed to grumble. i only say that i don't understand it." "what don't you understand?" asked shuffles, sharply. "the election was conducted on a plan furnished by yourself; the receivers were of your own choice; the results agree; and i can't see, for the life of me, that there is any chance to find fault." "i don't find fault. the result perplexes me, because i can't see through it." "what do you mean by that?" "i don't see where your twenty-two votes came from." "and i don't see where your nineteen came from," retorted the successful candidate. "the whole number of votes was forty-one," added pelham, who was quite sure there was something wrong. "the long and short of it is, that there are more fellows on board that 'know beans,' than you thought there were," laughed shuffles. "can you tell me where the forty-one votes came from, shuffles?" demanded pelham. "came from the fellows, of course." "it's no use to snuff at it, my dear fellow. i do not purpose to set aside the election. i acknowledge you as captain. can i do any more?" "you can't; but you seem disposed to do something more." "i merely wish to inquire into this thing, and find out how we stand. had you any idea that forty-one fellows belonged to the chain?" "i had not," replied shuffles, honestly. "i was never more surprised in my life, than when i saw tom ellis and andy groom vote." "that was all right. both of them joined." "i can tell you what took me all aback," interposed mckeon, who, with grossbeck, had been walking back and forth in the waist. "no matter what took you all aback," added shuffles sharply. "the question is settled; what's the use of raking up every thing that may seem to be strange?" "what was it that took you aback, mckeon?" demanded pelham. "it was when the captain voted," replied the receiver. "the captain!" exclaimed pelham. "yes." "do you mean captain gordon, mckeon?" asked pelham, with intense surprise. "of course i do."' "all the officers of the first part of the port watch voted," added grossbeck. "they did!" exclaimed pelham. "well, was it any stranger that the officers of the first part of the port watch voted, than it was that those of the second part did so?" inquired shuffles, with earnestness. "i think it was," replied pelham, decidedly. "paul kendall was one of them," said mckeon. "paul kendall! does any fellow suppose he has joined the chain?" demanded the defeated candidate. "why not?" "and captain gordon?" "why not?" "how did the captain vote?" asked pelham. "no matter how he voted," said shuffles, indignantly "i protest against this raking up of matters which are already settled." "he voted beans," replied mckeon, who, it is hardly necessary to add, was a pelham man. "then he is one of your friends, shuffles," continued pelham, who was beginning to understand how his rival had been elected. "i don't claim him." "did you take the captain into the chain, shuffles?" "i won't answer," replied the captain elect. "if captain gordon and paul kendall are members, i would like to know it. i am first officer of the ship under the new order of things, and if i command gordon to do anything, i mean that he shall obey me." "of course you will give him no orders till we are in possession of the ship," added shuffles, not a little alarmed. "well, as gordon and kendall are members of the chain--of course they are, or they wouldn't have voted--we can talk over the matter freely with them," said pelham, chuckling. "if you make the signs, and they make them, of course you can," replied shuffles. "no member can speak to another about the business of the chain until both of them have proved that they belong, by giving the required signals." "shuffles, do you suppose captain gordon knows the signs?" "how should i know? i never tried him. i don't know why he shouldn't make them as well as tom ellis." "tom ellis is all right. i vouch for him, for i admitted him myself. who will vouch for the captain? who took him in?" "i don't know." "i don't; but if anybody has admitted him, and not given him the signs, he ought to be instructed in them. of course he must have been admitted, or he would not have voted," added pelham, sarcastically. "i have nothing more to say about this matter," replied shuffles, disgusted with the cavils of his first officer. "nor i; but i shall satisfy myself whether the captain is a member or not," said pelham, decidedly. "well, you must be very cautious what you do." "certainly i shall. i will give him the first sign; if he don't answer it, i shall conclude he is not a member; or, if he is, that he has not been properly instructed." "better not say anything to him," said shuffles. "why not? he voted, and it must be all right." "don't you say a word to him, unless he proves that he is a member." "i think he has proved that already by voting." "you know our rule." "i do; it requires me to satisfy myself that the person to whom i speak is a member. i am entirely satisfied now that the captain and paul kendall belong; they would not have voted if they had not belonged." this was a "clincher," and even shuffles had not wit enough to escape the conclusion of the dogmatic reasoner. the captain elect of the league knew very well that nine persons who were not members had voted--that he had secured his election by a gross fraud. he was afraid that pelham, disappointed by his defeat, would do something to compromise the enterprise; but his own treachery had placed him in such a position that he could say nothing without exposing himself. "of course it's all right," added pelham, "i find we have plenty of friends in the after cabin. as soon as you have any orders to give, captain shuffles, i am in a position to execute them to the best advantage." "when i am ready, i will give them to you." "it will be an easy matter now to obtain possession of the ship; in fact, all you have to do is to order captain gordon to turn the command over to you. he has been 'toggled,' and must obey his superiors--of course he has been toggled; he couldn't have voted if he hadn't been." shuffles was terribly exercised by the repeated flings of his disconcerted rival. he was already satisfied that the enterprise had come to an end, unless pelham could be quieted; and he was about to propose a new ballot, when he was ordered by the quartermaster on duty to take his trick at the wheel. "what does all this mean?" demanded pelham of the receivers, when the captain-elect had gone to his duty. "i only know that the captain and all the officers of the first part of the port watch voted, and other fellows who would no more join this thing than they would jump overboard," replied mckeon. "how could they vote--how could the captain vote--without understanding the whole thing?" demanded pelham, perplexed at the inconsistency of the facts. "i think i know something about it," added grossbeck. "what do you know?" "haven't you heard of the new game?" "what new game?" "'don't know beans.'" "shuffles said something about it, but i did not comprehend his meaning." grossbeck explained the game, whose history had been circulated among "our fellows." "and this game was played while the voting was going on?" said pelham, who began to see the trick which his rival had put upon him. "i didn't know anything about it till supper time," answered grossbeck. "i see it all," continued pelham. "the receivers were the 'butts,' and about a dozen fellows voted for shuffles, including gordon and kendall, supposing they were simply playing 'don't know beans.'" it did not require a great deal of penetration on the part of the fourth lieutenant to comprehend the trick of his rival. he was indignant and angry, and all the more so because he had been outwitted, even while he was attempting to outwit his unscrupulous competitor. the next day, the quarter watches off duty played "don't know beans" to their satisfaction. it was found, when everybody was watching the "butts," that very few could deposit their beans without detection. a few hours' trial of the new pastime convinced all except "our fellows" that it was a senseless game, and it was speedily abandoned. on the nineteenth day of the voyage, the young america encountered another gale, but it was not nearly so severe as the one through which she had passed when off cape sable. the ship ran for twelve hours under close-reefed topsails; but as the gale came from the south-west, she laid her course during the whole of it, and behaved herself to the entire satisfaction of all on board. on the following day, the wind had hauled round to the north-west, and the sea subsided, so that the ship went along very comfortably. notwithstanding his doubts of the good faith of pelham, who, however, nominally adhered to the terms of the compact, shuffles arranged his plans for the capture of the ship. he had decided to defer the grand strike until the ship had come up with cape clear, so that the faculty, and all the students who would not take a part in the enterprise, might be put on shore immediately. in the course of three days, the land would probably be sighted. the rising was to take place in pelham's watch, the officers of which were members of the league. all the details had been carefully arranged, and trusty "links" appointed to perform the heavy work. as soon as the "old folks" had been locked up in the cabin, and the new captain had taken the command, the ship was to be headed for the shore. the great event was to come off at six o'clock in the afternoon of the twenty-third or twenty-fifth day. the ship would be near the coast for at least a part of two days. if she was within six hours' sail of the land on the twenty-third day out, when pelham would have the second part of the first dog watch, the rising was to take place then; if not, it was to be deferred till the twenty-fifth day, when the watches were again favorable. shuffles communicated with his discontented first officer as often as he could, and unfolded his plans without reserve. pelham listened, and, still professing his willingness to obey his superior officer, promised to do all that was required of him. "in your watch, pelham, you will see that the helm is in the hands of some of our fellows," said shuffles. "certainly," replied pelham, with more indifference than suited the enthusiastic chief of the enterprise "by the way, captain shuffles, have you laid out any work for captain gordon to do?" "what's the use of talking to me about him now that we are on the very point of accomplishing our purpose?" demanded shuffles, with deep disgust. "you can't deny that gordon is an able fellow, and, as a good commander, of course you intend to give him some important position," chuckled pelham. "have you appointed the rest of your officers yet?" "to be sure i have." "have you given gordon anything?" "no!" growled shuffles. "no? why, do you think the present captain of the ship will be content to go into the steerage under the new arrangement?" "he may go into the steerage or go overboard," answered the chief, angrily. "accidentally, you mean." "pelham, if you intend to be a traitor, say so." "i! my dear fellow, i don't mean anything of the kind. i am as true as the pole star." "have you spoken to the captain about our affairs?" "not a word." "have you tried him by the signs?" "i have, and he made no sign," laughed pelham, who was not much enamoured of the cabalistic clap-trap of the chain. "then, of course, he is not a member." "he must be; he voted," replied pelham, maliciously. "how many more times will you say that?" "perhaps fifty; perhaps a hundred," answered the fourth lieutenant, coolly. "i shall say it until you are willing to acknowledge the trick you put upon me." "what trick?" "o, i know all about it! didn't you tell kendall, the captain, and seven or eight others, how to play 'don't know beans'?" "if i did, it was to cheat them when they wanted to know what the beans meant." "you saw that the fellows threw away the beans, instead of voting for you with them, and you invented your game to make the thing come out right. no matter, shuffles; i am bound by the compact we made, but i shall persist in regarding gordon, kendall foster, and others as members. as you made them vote, you are responsible for them. that's all." "don't let us quarrel about it, my dear fellow," said shuffles, in soft, insinuating tones. "by no means." "we will have a new election," suggested the chief. "if we should, i'm afraid all the fellows would want to play 'don't know beans.'" "you shall conduct it any way you please." "if i did, you would say i cheated you. i agreed to abide by the election, and i shall do so. the fact is, shuffles, you and i are too smart to play in the same game. i shall stick to the bond. when you order me to do anything, i shall do it," replied pelham as he turned on his heel and walked off. he retreated into the after cabin, where shuffles could not follow him. at the cabin table, studying his french lesson, sat paul kendall. chapter xix. man overboard! "do you know how to play 'don't know beans'?" asked pelham, as he seated himself by the side of the second lieutenant. "yes; i know how to play it, but it's a stupid game. shuffles told me how." "did he, indeed?" "there was some fun in it the first time i tried it; but the second time was enough to satisfy me. i don't think there is any sense in it." "of course there isn't, kendall," laughed pelham. "it was no game at all." "what are you laughing at?" "you were sold on that game," added the conspirator indulging in more laughter than the occasion seemed to require. "how was i sold? i don't see anything so very funny about it." "i do." "tell me about it; if there is any joke i think i shall enjoy it. you say i was sold." "you were; and so was i." "well, what was it?" asked paul, impatiently. "when you gave those fellows the beans that day, you were voting!" "voting! voting for what, or whom?" exclaimed the second lieutenant. "for shuffles." "did my vote count?" "to be sure it did; and he was elected to a certain position by your vote and those of seven or eight others who did not understand the trick," replied pelham laughing all the time. "what was the position? i don't understand what you are talking about, and therefore i can't appreciate the joke." "i'll tell you, kendall; but you must keep still about it for the present." "it looks to me, on the face of it, like a dishonest trick. it seems that shuffles lied to us when he made us believe that we were playing a game. i like a joke well enough, but i don't believe in a fellow's lying for the sake of any fun." "you are right, kendall. it was not only a dishonest trick, but it was a mean one." "what was the position?" repeated paul. "some of the fellows are going to make mr. lowington a present of a silver pitcher as soon as we get to some port where we can obtain one." "why didn't you tell of it?" demanded paul. "i should like to join in the presentation, for i don't think there is a fellow on board who likes mr. lowington better than i do." "yes; but, you see, there's something peculiar about this thing. the contribution is to be confined to those fellows who have been disciplined in one way or another. a good many of us, you know, were mad when mr. lowington took our money away; we are satisfied now that he was right. we made him feel rather uncomfortable by our looks and actions, and some of us were positively impudent to him. we purpose to show that our feelings are all right." "precisely so!" replied paul, with enthusiasm. "that's splendid! mr. lowington will appreciate the gift when he sees the names of the subscribers." "certainly he will." "but you have no money," laughed the second lieutenant. "we have put our names down for ten shillings apiece--about thirty of us. when we get into port, we shall tell mr. lowington that we wish to present a silver pitcher to a gentleman on board, in token of our appreciation of his kindness, &c., and ask him for half a sovereign each from our funds." "he will wish to know who the gentleman is." "we can ask to be excused from telling him." "i can manage that part of the business for you. each of the fellows shall give me an order on the principal for ten shillings, to be paid to dr. winstock, who will buy the pitcher for you, if you like. he is acquainted in cork. i will give all the orders to the doctor, and he will get the present without saying a word to mr. lowington until after the presentation. then he will have no chance to object, on the suspicion that the gift is intended for him--don't you see?" paul kendall entered into the project with a degree of enthusiasm which was rather embarrassing to the conspirator. "the fellows have been very secret about the thing," added pelham. "they must have been, or i should have heard something about it," replied paul, innocently. "no one but ourselves has known a thing about it till now. they have formed a kind of secret society, and know each other by certain signs." "but what was the voting for?" "for orator of the day." "for the fellow who is to present the pitcher and make the speech?" added paul. "yes." "and shuffles was chosen?" "yes, by a trick." "you mean that no one but subscribers ought to have voted?" "precisely so." "it was a mean trick." "it was a sort of practical joke upon me, i suppose" "i don't believe in practical jokes which need a lie to carry them through." "well, shuffles has the position, unless some of you fellows will help me out. i wanted to make the speech, and without the nine votes which you and other outsiders put in, i should have been chosen." "what can we do?" "i have a right to consider all the fellows that voted as members of the society. the fact of their voting makes them members." "i don't know anything about that." "it's clear enough to me, and in a talk i had with shuffles just now, he didn't pretend to deny the correctness of my position." "if he agrees, it must be all right," laughed paul. "if you had understood the matter, for whom should you have voted?" "i don't know? but after the trick shuffles played off upon you, i should not vote for him." "very well; then you can change your vote." "how shall i change it?" "go to shuffles; and the other eight fellows who voted in the dark must do the same." "what shall i say to him?" "you must go to him as a member of the society, and salute him as such." "i don't know how." "i'll tell you. when you meet him, scratch the tip end of your nose with the nail of your second finger on the right hand; in this manner," continued pelham giving the first sign. "that's it--is it?" said paul, as he imitated the action of pelham. "yes; that's right he will reply by taking the lower part of his left ear between the thumb and first finger of the left hand--so," added pelham. "i have it," answered paul, as he made the motions. "then you will scratch your chin with the thumb nail of the left hand, and he will reply by blowing his nose." "let's see if i can do all that," laughed paul, very much amused at the mystic indications of membership in the secret association. he made the signs to pelham, who replied to them, several times, until he was perfect in his part. "all right. i will remember them," said paul. "but you haven't got the whole of it yet. when you have made the signs, and he has answered them, he will say, '_is_ that so?' with strong emphasis on the first word." "_is_ that so?" repeated paul. "then you will reply, '_that_ is so,' with the stress on _that_." "_that_ is so," added paul. "then you must place yourself so as to look directly forward or aft. if you look forward, he must look aft." "i understand you." "now i want to know who the other fellows were that played 'don't know beans' that day." "captain gordon was one." "will you post him up in what i have told you?" "i will, and the other fellows who voted for shuffles, if you say so." "thank you. i wish you would. let them all tell him they desire to change their votes; but have them do it one at a time." paul kendall promised to do what was required of him; and in the course of the following forenoon he initiated "the outsiders who had voted for shuffles" in the secret machinery of the supposed society, but in fact of the chain league. being off duty during the second part of the afternoon watch, he encountered shuffles in the lee side of the waist. "well, shuffles, we are almost up with the coast of ireland," said paul, as he scratched the tip of his nose with the second finger of his right hand, agreeably to the instructions given him by pelham. "yes; and i suppose by saturday, if the wind holds fair, we shall be off cape clear," replied the captain-elect, as he took the lower part of his left ear between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand. shuffles did not suppose that the second lieutenant was a member of the league, and pledged to assist in the capture of the ship; but as he had made the sign, probably accidentally, he replied to it. "there is a prospect of fair weather for some days to come," continued paul, as he scratched his chin with his left hand, which was the second step towards a recognition in the "chain." shuffles was duly and properly astonished at this exhibition of intelligence on the part of the officer; and it was now quite certain that paul had joined the league, or that he had obtained its tremendous secrets. "i hope it will be good weather now during the rest of the passage," added the captain-elect, as he took his handkerchief from his breast pocket and blew his nose, for he was determined to satisfy himself whether or not the second lieutenant was a member of the league. "_is_ that so?" demanded shuffles. "_that_ is so," answered paul. shuffles was almost overwhelmed with astonishment to find that one who was a model of fidelity and propriety had actually joined the chain. "shuffles, i voted for you the other day," added paul. "i know you did." "i wish to change my vote." "change it!" exclaimed shuffles. "yes? i voted in the dark. i wish now to vote for the other candidate." "for whom?" "for pelham, of course." "you are too late." "i think, under the circumstances, that my vote ought to be counted on the other side, even if it reverses the result," said paul, earnestly. "why do you wish to vote for pelham?" demanded shuffles, rather because he had nothing else to say than because he was interested in the anticipated reply. "i don't think it was quite fair for you to obtain my vote as you did." "no matter for that. do you think pelham would make a better captain than i should?" "a better what?" "do you think he will command the ship any better than i shall." "command the ship!" repeated paul, bewildered by this extraordinary question. "i wasn't aware that either of you were to command the ship." shuffles, in his turn, was confounded when he found that the second lieutenant was a member of the "chain" without any knowledge of its objects. though he had used all the precautions required by the league, a hint had unwittingly been given to paul, whose simple integrity rendered him the most dangerous person on board to the interests of such an institution as the chain. "mr. kendall, may i ask what you now suppose you were voting for?" asked shuffles, with easy assurance. "for the orator of the day, of course," replied paul, who was too free from wiles or arts to make any use of the advantage gained. indeed, he was so true himself that he was not suspicious of others; and he did not even perceive that he had obtained an advantage. "exactly so," added shuffles; "for orator of the day? but we don't speak the idea out loud, or call it by its proper name." "what did you mean by commanding the ship, shuffles?" laughed kendall. "i meant orator of the day. we keep this thing to ourselves," added shuffles, who had no idea what was meant by his companion. "of course; i understand all about that," said paul, knowingly. "i don't think i had any right to vote; and in my opinion the trick you played on pelham was decidedly wrong." "it was merely a joke," answered shuffles. "but do you intend to use the advantage you gained by this trick?" "certainly not." "i'm very glad of that." "it was only for the fun of the thing," added shuffles at a venture. "it may have been funny; but i don't think it was honest." "i didn't intend to make any use of it," continued shuffles. "what did mr. pelham say to you, mr. kendall?" "he told me all about it," replied paul. "did he, indeed?" "he said that you, by causing me to vote, had made me a member." "just so." shuffles did not dare to say much, though it was evident, from the words and the manner of the second lieutenant, that pelham had not yet betrayed the real object of the chain. if he had, the captain elect was satisfied he would have been in irons, confined in the brig, before that time. "i told mr. pelham i fully approved the purpose, and would help him out with it." "what purpose?" asked shuffles, anxious to know what paul meant. "why, don't you know?" "of course i do; but i wish to know precisely what mr. pelham told you." "he will tell you himself," laughed paul, as he walked aft, in order to afford the other "outsiders" who had voted an opportunity to communicate with shuffles, for he perceived that they were waiting their turns. as the second lieutenant went aft, the captain went forward on the lee side of the deck. "shuffles!" called captain gordon, as the chief conspirator was going forward. the captain elect turned and walked towards the commander, and touched his cap with becoming respect. "what do you think of the weather?" demanded captain gordon, scratching the tip of his nose. paul had instructed the "outsiders" to talk about the weather while they went through with the mystic routine of the signs. "i think we shall have good weather," replied shuffles, who, though he was confounded and amazed to be saluted from this quarter with the language of the "chain," dared not refuse to give the signs, after he had done so with the second lieutenant. "i wish to change my vote? for i don't think it was fairly given before," said the captain, when he had gone through all the forms of the recognition. "certainly, captain gordon, if you desire to do so." fortunately for shuffles, the captain did not prolong the conversation; for others were waiting an opportunity to make themselves known to the conspirator. one after another, they saluted shuffles in the waist, inquiring about the weather, and making the requisite signs. the captain elect was filled with indignation and rage against pelham, who had played off this trick upon him; but he was compelled to meet all who came, and go through the signs with them, while the "outsiders," scattered about the deck, stood watching the motions with intense delight. he would fain have fled, but he could not leave the deck; and he was afraid that any impatience, or a refusal to answer the signs, would involve him in a worse difficulty. at last the nine illegal voters had "made themselves known," and having requested that their votes might be changed, shuffles was released from torture. he was both alarmed and indignant. he had not been able to ascertain what was meant by "the orator of the day;" and he began to fear that pelham had exposed the whole, or a part, of the real purposes of the league. he was enraged that he had revealed anything. even the captain and the second lieutenant had made all the signs, and they could not have done so without the assistance of a traitor. "it's all up with us, wilton," said shuffles, as they met near the foremast. "what is?" "pelham has blowed the whole thing." "no!" exclaimed wilton, almost paralyzed by the information. "he has. the captain and several of the officers made all the signs to me just now. we shall spend our time in the brig for the next month." "did pelham do it?" "yes." "that was mean," added wilton, his face pale with terror. "he will fall overboard accidentally some day," added shuffles, shaking his head. "don't do that, shuffles," protested the frightened confederate. "i will, if i get a chance." "you will only make the matter ten times worse than it is." monroe joined them, and was informed of the desperate situation of the league. "it's all your fault, shuffles," said monroe, indignantly "i don't blame pelham." "you don't! he has told a dozen outsiders how to make the signs, and let them into the secrets of the chain, for all i know." "if he has, we may thank you for it, shuffles. you cheated him, and played a mean trick upon him," replied monroe. "i wouldn't have stood it if i had been he." "pelham is a traitor, and you are another." "no matter what he is, or what i am. you got all those fellows to vote for you, and cheated him out of the place that belonged to him." "did you think i was going to have him captain, after i had got up the chain, and done all the work?" "you agreed to leave it out to the fellows who should be captain. they voted, and you cheated," added monroe. "i've had enough of the chain; and if any fellow makes the signs again, i shall not notice them." "humph! it's a pretty time to talk so, after the whole thing is let out." "well, i will face the music, and get out of it the best way i can. i was a fool to join the chain." "so was i," said wilton. there was no difficulty in arriving at such a conclusion after the affair had been exposed; and the sentiments of wilton and monroe were, or would soon be, the sentiments of all the members of the league. shuffles realized the truth of the old adage, that rats desert a sinking ship, and he began to feel lonely in his guilt and his fear of exposure. but he could not forgive pelham for his perfidy, forgetting that each had been treacherous to the other. in the first dog watch on that day, while shuffles' heart was still rankling with hatred towards the alleged traitor, the rivals met in the waist, which was common ground to officers off duty and seamen. "i want to see you, pelham," said shuffles, in a low tone. "well, you do see me--don't you?" laughed pelham who, feeling that he was now even with his rival, was in excellent humor. "things are going wrong with us." "o, no; i think not." "will you meet me on the top-gallant forecastle, where we shall not be disturbed?" asked shuffles. "that is not exactly the place for an officer." "you are off duty, and you can go where you please." "what do you want of me?" "i want to have an understanding." "i suppose you think we have too many members--don't you?" asked pelham, lightly. "the more the better." "i'll meet you there." shuffles went to the place designated at once, where he was soon followed by the fourth lieutenant. "well, shuffles, what is it?" demanded pelham, as, with one hand on the sheet of the fore-topmast staysail, he looked over the bow at the bone in the teeth of the ship. "what is it? don't you know what it is?" replied shuffles, angrily. "upon my life, i don't know." "you have been a traitor," exclaimed shuffles, with savage earnestness. "o! have i?" "you know you have." "perhaps you would be willing to tell me wherein i have been a traitor," added pelham, laughing; for he was enjoying the scene he had witnessed in the waist, when, one after another, the "outsiders" had made the signs to his rival. "you have betrayed the secrets of the chain." "have i?" "didn't you give the signs to paul kendall, the captain, and half a dozen others?" "but, my dear fellow, they are members," replied pelham, chuckling. "they are not? and you know they are not." "but, shuffles, just consider that all of them voted for you." "i don't care for that." "i do. you recognized them as members first, and i couldn't do less than you did." "you are a traitor!" said shuffles, red in the face with passion; and the word hissed through his closed teeth. "well, just as you like: we won't quarrel about the meaning of words," replied pelham, gayly; for he enjoyed the discomfiture of his rival, and felt that shuffles deserved all he got, for the foul play of which he had been guilty on the ballot. "you pledged yourself to be honest, and stand by the vote, fair or foul." "very true, my dear fellow? and i do so. give me your orders, and i will obey them." "but you have exposed the whole thing," retorted shuffles. "what can we do now, when kendall and the captain know all about it?" "they don't know any more than the law allows. besides, they are members. didn't they vote for you? didn't they know beans?" continued pelham, in the most tantalizing of tones. "do you mean to insult me?" demanded shuffles, unable to control his rage. "not i. i respect you too much. you are the captain--that is to be--of the ship," laughed pelham. "the captain, the second lieutenant, and all the flunkies, voted for you? and, of course, i couldn't be so deficient in politeness as to insult one who----" at that moment pelham removed his hand from the sheet, and shuffles, irritated beyond control at the badinage of his companion, gave him a sudden push, and the fourth lieutenant went down into the surges, under the bow of the ship. as pelham disappeared beneath the waves, shuffles was appalled at his own act; for even he had not sunk so low as to contemplate murder. the deed was not premeditated. it was done on the spur of angry excitement, which dethroned his reason. the chief conspirator had so often and so lightly used the language of the league, about "falling overboard accidentally," that he had become familiar with the idea; and, perhaps, the deed seemed less terrible to him than it really was. when the act was done, on the impulse of the moment, he realized his own situation, and that of his victim. he would have given anything at that instant, as he looked down upon the dark waves, to have recalled the deed; but it was too late. self-reproach and terror overwhelmed him. "man overboard!" he shouted with desperation, as he threw off his pea-jacket, and dived, head foremost, from the forecastle into the sea. his first impulse had been to do a foul deed; his next, to undo it. shuffles was a powerful swimmer. the ocean was his element. he struck the water hardly an instant after pelham; and the ship, which was under all sail, making nine knots, hurried on her course, leaving the rivals to buffet the waves unaided. "man overboard!" cried officers and seamen, on all parts of the ship's deck. "hard down the helm, quartermaster! let go the life-buoys!" shouted kendall, who was the officer of the deck. "hard down, sir. buoy overboard," replied bennington the quartermaster at the helm. "clear away the third cutter!" added kendall. the orders were rapidly given for backing the main-topsail, while the courses were clewed up; but the ship went on a considerable distance before her headway could be arrested. when pelham went down into the water, he had been injured by the fall; and though he struck out to save himself, it was not with his usual skill and vigor; for, like his companion in the water, he was a good swimmer. shuffles had struck the waves in proper attitude, and was in condition to exert all his powers when he came to the surface. he swam towards pelham, intent upon rendering him the assistance he might require. "do you mean to drown me?" gasped pelham, who supposed his rival had followed him overboard for the purpose of completing his work. "i mean to save you, pelham," replied shuffles. "can you swim?" "i'm hurt." "give me your hand, and i will support you." shuffles took the offered hand of pelham, who was able to swim a little, and supported him till they could reach the life-buoy, which had been dropped from the stern of the ship when the alarming cry was given. "where are you hurt?" asked shuffles, as soon as they had grasped the buoy. "my stomach struck the water," replied pelham, faintly. the third cutter had been lowered into the water as soon as the ship's headway was stopped, and was now within a few yards of the buoy. "will you forgive me, pelham? i was beside myself," said shuffles, when his companion had recovered breath after his exertions. "you have saved me, shuffles. i should have gone down without you." "will you forgive me?" pleaded the penitent. "i did not mean to injure you." "never mind it; we won't say a word about it," answered pelham, as the boat came up. they were assisted into the cutter, and the oarsmen pulled back to the ship. when the party reached the deck, a cheer burst from a portion of the crew; but wilton, monroe, and a few others, believing that pelham had "fallen overboard accidentally," were appalled at the probable consequences of the event. pelham was assisted to the after cabin, where dr. winstock immediately attended him. he was not seriously injured; and the next day he was able to be on deck, and do duty. "how was that?" asked wilton, when shuffles had changed his clothes, and warmed himself at the stove, as they met in the waist. shuffles looked sad and solemn. he made no reply. "did he fall overboard accidentally?" demanded wilton. "don't ask me." "you jumped in after him, and saved him, they say," added wilton; "so, i suppose, it was really an accident." shuffles still made no reply. chapter xx. the end of the chain league. the fact that shuffles had plunged into the sea, and labored so effectively for the rescue of the fourth lieutenant, blinded the eyes of "our fellows," who, knowing the penalty of treachery to the "chain," might otherwise have suspected that he had "fallen overboard accidentally," or, in other words, that he had been pushed into the water by his unscrupulous rival. wilton, monroe, and adler, had discussed the matter, and reached the conclusion that pelham had been knocked over by the shaking of the staysail sheet, or that he had really fallen accidentally. they had been appalled and horrified by the event; and those who were disgusted with the league were not disposed to betray its secrets; for it was possible, though not probable, that the mishap which had befallen pelham was an incident in the history of the "chain." when a wicked man or a wicked boy exceeds his average wickedness, the excess sometimes produces a moral reaction. a person who tipples moderately may have the drunkard's fate vividly foreshadowed to him by getting absolutely drunk himself, and thus be induced to abandon a dangerous practice. that loathsome disease, small pox, sometimes leaves the patient better than it finds him; and through, and on account of, the vilest sin may come the sinner's reformation. shuffles had exceeded himself in wickedness; and the fact that his foul design was not even suspected by any other person than his intended victim did not diminish his self-reproaches. he shuddered when he thought of the remorse which must have gnawed his soul during the rest of his lifetime if pelham had been drowned. he would have been a murderer; and while so many knew the penalty of treachery to the league, he could hardly have escaped suspicion and detection. a reaction had been produced in his mind; but it was not a healthy movement of the moral nature. it was not so much the awful crime he had impulsively committed, as the terrible consequences which would have followed, that caused him to shrink from it. it was an awful crime, and his nature revolted at it. he could not have done it without the impulse of an insane passion; but it was dreadful because it would have shut him out from society; because it would have placed the mark of cain upon him; because the dungeon and the gallows were beyond it,--rather than because it was the sacrifice of a human life, of one created in the image of god. shuffles was in a state of terror, as one who has just escaped from an awful gulf that yawned before him. he was not sincerely penitent, as one who feels the enormity of his offence. he was not prepared to acknowledge his sin before god, whose law he had outraged. when pelham came on deck, on the day after the exciting event, he greeted shuffles with his accustomed suavity, and seemed not to bear any malice in his heart against the author of his misfortune. officers and seamen as well as the principal and the professors, congratulated him upon his escape from the peril which had menaced him; and all commended shuffles for his prompt and noble efforts in rescuing him. pelham dissented from none of their conclusions, and was as generous in his praise of the deliverer as the occasion required. shuffles was rather astonished to find himself a lion on board, and at being specially thanked by mr. lowington for his humane exertions in saving a shipmate. he was so warmly and so generously commended that he almost reached the conclusion himself that he had done a good thing. he was not satisfied with himself. he was in the power of pelham, who, by a word, could change the current of popular sentiment and arraign him for the gravest of crimes. if the fourth lieutenant spoke, shuffles realized that he should be shunned and despised, as well as hated and feared, by all on board the ship. it was quite natural, therefore, for him to desire a better understanding with pelham. the league had fallen into contempt, at least for the present. even "our fellows" would not have spirit enough to strike the blow; besides, the terrible gulf from which shuffles had just escaped was too vivid in his mind to permit him to place himself on the brink of another. so far the reaction was salutary. "when may i see you, mr. pelham?" said shuffles as they came together in the waist. "we will visit the top-gallant forecastle again, and see if we can understand how i happened to fall overboard for really i'm not in the habit of doing such things," replied pelham, with a smile. they walked forward together, and mounted the ladder to the place indicated. "shuffles, i never paid much attention to the snapper of the toggle before, and never supposed it meant anything in particular," continued pelham, as he placed himself in the position he had occupied before he went over the bow. "am i in any danger now?" "no, pelham, no!" replied shuffles, earnestly. "you provoked me so by your cool taunts that i pushed you over before i thought what i was about." "did you really mean to drown me?" "upon my soul, i did not. if you knew how i felt when i saw you strike the water, and realized what i had done, you would forgive me." "i have done that already, shuffles." "i would have given my own life for yours at that instant, pelham." "you saved me, after all, shuffles. when i went over, i either hit the side of the ship, or struck my stomach on the water, for all the breath seemed to be knocked out of me. i hardly knew what i was about in the water till i saw you. at first i supposed you had jumped overboard to finish your job." "you wronged me; i would have saved you, if i had been sure of perishing myself." "you did save me, and i am willing to let that act offset the other." "i'm grateful to you for this, pelham. you treat me better than i deserve." "never mind it now; we will call it square," replied pelham, lightly. "how about the chain, shuffles? we shall be in sight of land by to-morrow." "we can't do anything now." "why not?" "how can we? after what has happened, i will not reproach you for what you did. you know how you provoked me. you have exposed the whole affair to the officers." "not a bit of it." "no." "certainly not. did you ever know augustus pelham to violate his obligations?" demanded pelham with dignity. "never before; but the captain, the second lieutenant and seven others, who would no more join the league than they would steal your pocket-book, went through all the signs with me." "they all voted too," laughed pelham. "i am willing to confess that i played off a mean trick upon you." "and i have only made myself even with you. i have not betrayed a single secret of the chain to any one not posted--except the signs. if i had, of course you and i would both have been in the brig before this time." "i was puzzled to find nothing was said," added shuffles. "no one knows anything. the chain is as perfect as ever. give me your orders, and i will carry them out." "the fellows have backed out now." "then, of course, we must do the same. i doubt whether we could have carried the thing out." "no matter whether we could or not; we must drop it for the present. the fellows all suppose they are caught now, and expect every moment to be hauled up to the mast for an investigation." "they are all safe; at least we can purchase their safety for ten shillings apiece," laughed pelham. "purchase it!" exclaimed shuffles, mystified by the language of his companion. "just so--purchase it," added pelham; and he proceeded to inform his late rival of the trick he had invented in retaliation for the one shuffles had put upon him. "it was tit for tat," said shuffles. "i told nothing which would harm either of us, for i am just as deep in the mud as you are in the mire." "that's true. we must hang together." "i hope not," replied pelham, laughing. "we have got into this scrape, and we must get out of it." "suppose the captain or the second lieutenant should make the signs to one of our fellows, and he should tell what we were going to do." "i told all my recruits not to answer any signs now, whoever made them." "i did the same, when i found the captain knew them." "then we are safe; but the silver pitcher must be forthcoming." "the fellows will all be glad enough to get out of this scrape by paying ten shillings." "very well; then every one of them must sign an order on mr. lowington for ten shillings, payable to dr. winstock," added pelham. "they will do it. are you sure nothing has leaked out?" "very sure; there would have been a tremendous commotion before this time, if our real object had been even suspected." "no doubt of that." "after all, shuffles, do you really think we intended to take the ship?" "i did; i know that." "i don't believe i did," said the fourth lieutenant. "nothing seemed exactly real to me, until i went overboard." "it was more real to me then than ever before," replied shuffles. "what shall we do with the chain now?" "nothing; we may want to use it again, some time. let every fellow keep still. when the principal gets his silver pitcher, which the doctor will procure as soon as he can go up to cork, he will think the members of the chain are the best fellows on board." "i think you have sold the whole of us, pelham," continued shuffles, with a sheepish smile. "here's the end of the chain----" "yes, and we may be thankful that it isn't the end of a rope instead of a chain," laughed pelham. "the penalty of mutiny is death." "i have had no fear of that; it would have been regarded only as a lark. but it is really amusing to think where we have come out," added shuffles. "we formed the 'chain' because lowington was tyrannical; most of the fellows joined it because he took their money from them." "precisely so." "and we are going to end it by giving lowington a silver pitcher, in token of our respect and esteem!" "in other words, shuffles, we have played this game, and whipped out each other, without any help from the principal. it was mean business--i really think so; and while we were trying to overreach each other, the game slipped through our fingers. i am really grateful when i think what an awful scrape we have avoided." "perhaps you are right," replied shuffles, thoughtfully; "but there was fun in the scheme." "there might have been, if we had succeeded; but it would have been anything but fun if we had failed. some of us would have found quarters in the brig, and we should not have been allowed to go on shore when we reached queenstown." "a fellow won't want to go on shore without any money," growled shuffles, who was not wholly cured of his discontent. "since i went overboard i have been thinking a great deal of this matter. i have come to the conclusion that mr. lowington is not the worst man in the world." "he is harsh and tyrannical." "i don't think he ought to have taken our money from us; but i judge him from all his acts, not by one alone." pelham seemed to have turned over a new leaf, and to be sincerely sorry for his attitude of rebellion. shuffles was not to be convinced; he was to be overwhelmed in another manner. the rivals separated, with their differences removed and with full confidence in each other. pelham wrote thirty-one orders on the principal for ten shillings each, in favor of the surgeon, during his off-time on that day, which were to be signed and handed to paul kendall. as opportunity occurred, the "situation" was explained to the members of the league; and though many of them growled at the idea of giving a present to mr. lowington for taking their money from them, not one of them refused to sign the orders; none of them dared to refuse. in due time dr. winstock had possession of all these little drafts, amounting in the aggregate to fifteen pounds, ten shillings, which would purchase quite a respectable piece of plate. paul kendall was the happiest student on board, for the presentation heralded the era of good feeling. the league was virtually dead for the present, if not forever. the inherent evil of the organization, with the bickerings and bad passions of its members, had killed it--the turtle had swallowed his own head. the weather continued fine; the routine of ship's duty and the studies went on without interruption. on the twenty-fourth day out, at three bells in the afternoon watch, a tremendous excitement was created on board. "land on the port bow!" shouted one of the crew, who had been stationed on the fore yard-arm as a lookout. all on deck sprang into the rigging, to get a sight of the welcome shore. it looked like a fog bank in the distance; there was really nothing to be seen, but the fact that the ship was in sight of land was enough to create an excitement among the boys. at three bells, in the first dog watch, the land was distinctly visible. it was the island of dursey, and was now seen on the beam, while other land appeared in sight ahead. it was sunday, and all hands were at liberty to enjoy this first view of the new continent. the boys thought the land looked just like that they had last seen on the shore of the western continent, and perhaps some of them were disappointed because everything looked so natural. the officers and crew were impatient to make their destined port; but the wind subsided as the sun went down on that quiet sabbath day on the ocean. the ship hardly made twenty miles before daylight in the morning. at eight o'clock, on monday, when paul kendall had the deck, the young america was off fastnet rock, and not more than half a mile from it. it is about ten miles from cape clear, and is a solitary rock rising out of the sea, on which a lighthouse is located. the water around it was covered with small boats engaged in fishing. the port watch were all on deck, and the scene was full of interest to them. the people whom they saw belonged to another continent than that in which they lived. all was new and strange to them, and all were interested in observing the distant shore, and the objects near the ship. at one bell in the afternoon watch, when the young america was off gally head, all hands were piped to muster. mr. lowington, on taking the rostrum, said that he had received a petition signed by a majority of the officers and crew. "a petition to go ashore, i suppose," said shuffles to pelham. "i think not," laughed the fourth lieutenant, who appeared to know what was coming. "young gentlemen," continued the principal, whose face wore an unusually pleasant smile, "a few days since you were all filled with admiration at the noble conduct of one of your number, who saved the life of another at the peril of his own." "want to go ashore, shuffles?" whispered pelham. shuffles was too much confused to make any reply; he did not know whether he was to be praised or blamed. "i have received a petition, requesting me to appoint robert shuffles second lieutenant of the ship, in place of paul kendall, resigned," added mr. lowington. shuffles was overwhelmed with astonishment, and a large proportion of the students received the announcement with hearty applause. "young gentlemen, i have only to say that the petition is granted. i ought to add, however, that no officer will lose his rank, except mr. kendall, who, at his own desire, will take the vacant number in the steerage, now belonging to robert shuffles, promoted. i take great pleasure in granting this petition, because the request is honorable to you, and shows a proper appreciation of the noble conduct of your shipmate. but let me add, that you should divide your admiration between the one who rescued his friend from death, and him who voluntarily resigned his honorable position in the after cabin, in order to make a place in which merit could be acknowledged and rewarded. nothing but a matter of life and death could have induced me to vary the discipline of the ship. young gentlemen, you are dismissed from muster." "three cheers for paul kendall!" shouted one of the boys. they were given. "three cheers for robert shuffles!" added paul; and they were given. "mr. shuffles will repair to the after cabin, where he will be qualified, and take his position at once." "mr. lowington, i must decline mr. kendall's generous offer," interposed shuffles, who was actually choking with emotion. "this matter has been well considered, shuffles," replied the principal; "and as it is the desire of a large majority of your shipmates that you should accept the position, i think you had better do so." "there isn't a student in the ship who desires it so much as i do," added paul, with generous enthusiasm "you know i told you i would like to be in the steerage, for i have always been an officer." "allow me till to-night, if you please, to consider it, mr. lowington," replied shuffles, as he grasped the hand of paul. "certainly, if you desire it." shuffles was overwhelmed by the magnanimity of paul and the kindness of the principal. at that moment he would have given everything to be such a young man as the second lieutenant; to be as good and true, as free from evil thoughts and evil purposes, as he was. a light had dawned upon the rebel and the plotter which he had never seen before. goodness and truth had vindicated themselves, and overwhelmed the guilty one. "mr. shuffles, i congratulate you on your promotion," said the chaplain, extending his hand. "i cannot accept it, sir," replied the repentant malcontent "i would like to speak with you alone, mr. agneau." the chaplain took him to his state room in the main cabin? and there, shuffles, conquered and subdued by the kindness of his friends, confessed the terrible crime he had committed--that he had pushed pelham overboard. the chaplain was confounded at this confession, but still more so when the self-convicted conspirator revealed all the secrets of "the chain." shuffles mentioned no names; he took all the guilt upon himself. "i am astonished, my dear young friend," said the chaplain. "is it possible the life you saved was imperilled by your own violent passions?" "it is true, sir," replied shuffles, hardly able to control his feelings. "then i think you had better not accept the promotion that has been offered to you." "i will not; i would jump overboard first. i am willing to be punished; i deserve it." "shuffles, you have almost atoned for your errors by confessing them; and your courageous conduct, after you had pushed pelham into the sea, proves that you sincerely repented that act. shall i tell mr. lowington what you have said?" "yes, sir; let him know me as i am; let him despise me as i deserve," replied shuffles, wiping away a genuine tear of repentance. mr. agneau talked to the penitent for two hours; and finally he prayed with him and for him. if never before, the moral condition of the culprit was now hopeful, and the chaplain labored earnestly and faithfully to give him right views of his relations to god and his fellow-beings. "paul," said shuffles, when he met his generous and self-sacrificing friend in the waist, after the conference in the state room, "i am the meanest and vilest fellow on board." "no, you are not!" exclaimed paul. "i would give the world to be like you." "no, no! you wrong yourself, and overdo me." "i have confessed all to the chaplain, and you will soon know me as i am, paul. i will not take your place in the cabin. your kindness and generosity have overcome me. you have convinced me that doing right is always the best way." paul did not know what to make of this remarkable confession; but, after supper, all hands were piped to muster again, the ship being off kinsale head, nearly becalmed. the chaplain had informed the principal of the substance of shuffles' confession. mr. lowington laughed at "the chain league," the signs and the passwords, and regarded the mutiny as a matter of little consequence. he did not believe that shuffles or his followers, had really intended to take the ship. the project was too monstrous to be credible. the fact that the conspirator had attempted the life of his companion was a grave matter, and it was treated as such. mr. agneau was entirely confident of the sincerity of the culprit's repentance. shuffles had refused to take the proffered promotion, which was abundant evidence that he was in earnest. the penitent was sent for, and repeated his confession to the principal. he did not ask to be exempted from punishment; but he did ask to be forgiven. he was forgiven; but when the crew were piped to muster all the particulars of the intended mutiny were exposed to the astonished "outsiders." paul understood it now. mr. lowington ridiculed the mutiny; but he spoke very seriously of the consequences of insubordination. "young gentlemen, shuffles has not mentioned the name of a single student in connection with this silly conspiracy; he has asked to be excused from doing so. i grant his request, and i hope that all who have engaged in the affair are as sincerely sorry for their connection with it as he is. under the circumstances, shuffles will not be promoted. young gentlemen, you are dismissed." "shuffles was a good fellow to keep us in the dark," whispered sanborn to wilton. "keep still," replied wilton. "we are lucky to get out of the scrape on any terms." so thought all of them; and it was certainly magnanimous on the part of the chief conspirator to be willing to assume all the guilt, and suffer all the punishment. there was enough of good in shuffles to save him from the evil of his nature. "paul, there is one more thing i must tell you," said shuffles, that evening, while the ship lay becalmed off kinsale. "you remember when i told you about the gambling in the steerage?" "i do." "i was deceiving you then. i only exposed the fellows in order to make trouble. i knew that the students would be closely watched, and the rules more strictly enforced, which would make them mad." "what did you want to make them mad for?" "so that they would join the league." "well, you did a good thing for the ship and for the fellows, if your motives were not good," replied paul. "it was good out of evil, any way." "i don't think half so many fellows would have joined if mr. lowington hadn't taken their money from them." "have you seen any gambling since?" "not a bit of it, paul." "i am glad to know that." "one thing more; you know all the members of the league, paul." "i?" "yes? you have their names on the orders, for ten shillings each." "so i have; but we will make a general affair of the presentation, and that will cover up the whole of them." "thank you, paul. you despise me as much as i like and respect you." "i don't despise you, shuffles. you have done wrong, but i respect you for undoing the evil you had meditated. we are all weak and erring, and we can't afford to despise any one. on the contrary i like you," replied paul, giving shuffles his hand. "you treat me better than i deserve, paul; but if you are my friend, i shall be all the better for it; and i hope you will not be worse." the end of the conspiracy had been reached. before the ship came to anchor in the cove, every boy on board had drawn his order on the principal for ten shillings, and the members of the league were veiled beneath the mass of names. at sunrise, on tuesday morning, the ship had a gentle breeze; and at three bells in the forenoon watch, she was off roches point, with the union jack at the foremast-head, as a signal for a pilot. on this exciting occasion, the studies and recitations were suspended to enable all the students to see the shores, and enjoy the scene. the pilot made his appearance, gave mr. lowington the latest cork papers, and took charge of the ship. the honest irishman was not a little surprised to find the vessel manned "wid nothing in the wide wurld but by's;" but he found they were good seamen. the young america ran into the beautiful bay through the narrow opening, with carlisle fort on the starboard and camden fort on the port hand. the students were intensely excited by the near view of the land, of the odd little steamers that: went whisking about, and the distant view of queenstown, on the slope of the hill at the head of the bay. they were in europe now. "all hands to bring ship to anchor!" said the first lieutenant, when the ship was approaching the town. the light sails were furled, the port anchor cleared away, and every preparation made for the mooring then the orders to let go the topsail sheets, clew up the topsails, and haul down the jib, were given. "port the helm! stand clear of the cable! let go the port anchor!" the cable rattled through the hawse-hole, the anchor went to the bottom, the young america swung round, and her voyage across the ocean was happily terminated. three rousing cheers were given in honor of the auspicious event, and when the sails had been furled, the crew were piped to dinner. and here, at the close of the voyage, we leave the young america, with her officers and crew wiser and better, we trust, than when they sailed from the shores of their native country. they were now to enter upon a new life in foreign lands; and what they saw and what they did, on sea and shore, during the following weeks, will be related in "shamrock and thistle, or _young america in ireland and scotland_!" the end the pirate island a story of the south pacific by harry collingwood ________________________________________________________________________ a very exciting story. it starts with a severe gale on the essex coast of england. a rescue is effected, as a result of which one of the local fishermen generously adopts an orphan boy they find on the sinking ship. years later a number of young people set out on a return voyage by sea to australia. on the return voyage there is a disastrous fire on board their ship, the galatea, as a result of which they and the crew take to the boats. they are rescued by a vessel that turns out to be a pirate ship, the captain of which takes them to his island, where he has a number of ships of various kinds that he has captured. discovering that one of his prisoners has designed and built his own fast-sailing yacht, the pirate commands the people to build him a new fast ship, which they set about doing, and succeed in doing so. just as the ship is completed two of the party find, in a well-written episode, that there is a major reef of gold on the island. however they press on with plans to escape, which involves making off with the new fast ship they have just completed. just as they are departing there is an earthquake, leading to a volcanic eruption in the island. this results in the death of their pursuers. putting two and two together it is realised that one of the people in this story, who had originally been the boy adopted at the very start of the book, is the lost child of the uncle of another of the passengers. the uncle has been miserable ever since the loss of his wife and child, though he did not know from what ship, and where, they had been lost. there is a perfectly good reason for this. needless to say, it all ends happily, with various marriages, and with the intention of getting back to the pirate island, to see if it has survived the eruption, and if so, if the gold can be mined. it makes a very good audiobook, that is very gripping, especially at the point where the original discovery of the gold is made. ________________________________________________________________________ the pirate island a story of the south pacific by harry collingwood a story of the south pacific. chapter one. the wreck on the "gunfleet." it was emphatically "a dirty night." the barometer had been slowly but persistently falling during the two previous days; the dawn had been red and threatening, with a strong breeze from s.e.; and as the short dreary november day waxed and waned this strong breeze had steadily increased in strength until by nightfall it had become a regular "november gale," with frequent squalls of arrowy rain and sleet, which, impelled by the furious gusts, smote and stung like hail, and cleared the streets almost as effectually as a volley of musketry would have done. it was not fit for a dog to be out of doors. so said ned anger as he entered the snug bar-parlour of the "anchor" at brightlingsea, and drawing a chair close up to the blazing fire of wreck-wood which roared up the ample chimney, flung himself heavily down thereon to await the arrival of the "pint" which he had ordered as he passed the bar. "and yet there's a many poor souls as _has_ to be out in it, and as _is_ out in it," returned the buxom hostess, entering at the moment with the aforesaid pint upon a small tray. "it's to be hoped as none of 'em won't meet their deaths out there among the sands this fearful night," she added, as ned took the glass from her, and deposited his "tuppence" in the tray in payment therefor. a sympathetic murmur of concurrence went round the room in response to this philanthropic wish, accompanied in some instances by doubtful shakes of the head. "ay, ay, we all hope that," remarked dick bird--"dicky bird" was the name which had been playfully bestowed upon him by his chums, and by which he was generally known--"we all hopes that; but i, for one, feels uncommon duberous about it. there's hardly a capful of wind as blows but what some poor unfort'nate craft leaves her bones out there,"--with a jerk of the thumb over his shoulder to seaward,--"and mostly with every wreck there's _some_ lives lost. i say, mates, i s'pose there's somebody on the look-out?" "ay, ay," responded old bill maskell from his favourite corner under the tall old-fashioned clock-case, "bob's gone across the creek and up to the tower, as usual. the boy _will_ go; always says as how it's his _duty_ to go up there and keep a look-out in bad weather; so, as his eyes is as sharp as needles, and since one is as good as a hundred for that sort of work, i thought i'd just look in here for a hour or two, so's to be on the spot if in case any of us should be wanted." "i've often wondered how it is that it _always_ falls to bob's lot to go upon the look-out in bad weather. how is it?" asked an individual in semi-nautical costume at the far end of the room, whose bearing and manner conveyed the impression that he regarded himself, as indeed he was, somewhat of an intruder. he was a ship-chandler's shopman, with an ambition to be mistaken for a genuine "salt," and had not been many months in the place. "well, you see, mister, the way of it is just this," explained old maskell, who considered the question as addressed more especially to him: "bob was took off a wrack on the maplin when he was a mere babby, the only one saved; found him wrapped up warm and snug in one of the bunks on the weather side of the cabin with the water surging up to within three inches of him; so ever since he's been old enough to understand he've always insisted as it was his duty, by way of returning thanks, like, to take the look-out when a wrack may be expected. and, don't you make no mistake, there ain't an eye so sharp as his for a signal-rocket in the whole place, see's 'em almost afore they be fired-- he do." "and did you ever try to find his relatives?" asked the shopman. "well, no; i can't say as we did, exactly," answered old bill, "'cause you see we didn't rightly know how to set to work at the job. the ship as he was took off of was a passenger-ship, the _lightning_ of london, and, as i said afore, he was the only one saved. there were nobody else as we could axe any questions of, and, the ship hailing from london, there was no telling _where_ his friends might have come from. there was r.l. marked on his little clothes, and that was all. so we was obliged to content ourselves with having that fact tacked on to the yarn of the wrack in all the papers, in the hope that some of his friends or relations might get to see it. but, bless yer heart! we ain't heard nothing from nobody about him, never a word; so i just adopted him, as the sayin' is, and called him robert legerton, arter a old shipmate of mine that's been drowned this many a year, poor chap." "and how long is it since the wreck happened?" inquired the shopman. "well, let me see," said old bill. "blest if i can rightly tell," he continued, after a moment or two of reflection. "i've got it wrote down in the family bible at home, but i can't just rightly recollect at this moment. it's somewheres about fourteen or fifteen years ago this winter, though." "fourteen year next month," spoke up another of the company, decidedly. "it was the same gale as my poor brother joe was drowned in." "right you are, tom," returned bill. "i remember it _was_ that same gale now, and that's fourteen year agone. and the women as took charge of poor little bob when we brought him ashore reckoned as he was about two year old or thereaway; they told his age by his teeth--same as you would tell a horse's age, you know, mister." "ay! that was a terrible winter for wrecks, that was," remarked jack willis, a fine stalwart young fellow of some five-and-twenty. "it was my first year at sea. i'd been bound apprentice to the skipper of a collier brig called the _nancy_, sailing out of harwich. the skipper's name was daniell, `long tom dan'ell' they used to call him because of his size. he was so tall that he couldn't stand upright in his cabin, and he'd been going to sea for so many years that he'd got to be regular round-shouldered. i don't believe that man ever knowed what it was to be ill in his life; he used to be awful proud of his good health, poor chap! he's dead now--drowned--jumped overboard in a gale of wind a'ter a man as fell off the fore-topsail-yard while they was reefing; and, good swimmer as he was, they was both lost. now, he _was_ a swimmer if you like. you talk about young bob being a good swimmer, but i'm blessed if i think he could hold a candle to this here long tom dan'ell as i'm talking about. why, i recollect once when we was lyin' wind-bound in yarmouth roads--" at this point the narrator was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door and the hurried entry of a tall and somewhat slender fair-haired lad clad in oilskin jumper, leggings, and "sou'-wester" hat, which glistened in the gaslight; while, as he stood in the doorway for a moment, dazzled by the abrupt transition from darkness to light, the water trickled off him and speedily formed a little pool at his feet on the well sanded floor. this new-comer was bob legerton, the hero of my story. "well, bob, what's the news?" was the general exclamation, as the assembled party rose with one accord to their feet. "rockets going up from the `middle' and the `gunfleet,'" panted the lad, as he wiped the moisture from his eyes with the back of his hand. "all right," responded old bill. then drawing himself up to his full height and casting a scrutinising glance round the room, he exclaimed-- "now, mates, how many of yer's ready to go out?" "why, _all_ of us in course, dad," replied jack willis. "'twas mostly in expectation of bein' wanted that we comed down here to-night. and we've all got our oilskins, so you've only got to pick your crew and let's be off." a general murmur of assent followed this speech, and the men forthwith ranged themselves along the sides of the room so as to give bill a clear view of each individual and facilitate a rapid choice. "then i'll take you, jack; and you, dick; and you; and you; and you;" quickly selecting a strong crew of the stoutest and most resolute men in the party. the chosen ones lost no time in donning their oilskin garments, a task in which they were cheerfully assisted by the others; and while they were so engaged the hostess issued from the bar with tumblers of smoking hot grog, one of which she handed to each of the adventurers, saying-- "there, boys, drink that off before you go out into the cold and the wet; it'll do none of you any harm, i'm sure, on a night like this, and on such an errand as yours. and you, bill, if you save anybody and decide to bring 'em into brightlingsea, send up a signal-rocket as soon as you think we can see it over the land, and i'll have hot water and blankets all ready for the poor souls against they come ashore." "ay, ay, mother; i will," replied old bill. "only hope we may be lucky enough to get out to 'em in time; the wind's dead in our teeth all the way. now, lads, if ye're all ready let's be off. thank'ee, mother, for the grog." the men filed out, bill leading, and took their way down to the beach, a very few yards distant, the dim flickering light of a lantern being exhibited from the water-side for a moment as they issued into the open air. "there's bob waitin' with the boat; what a chap he is!" ejaculated one of the men as the light was seen. "i say, bill, you won't take bob, will you, on an errand like this here?" "oh, ay," responded bill. "he'll want to go; and i promised him he should next time as we was called out. he's a fine handy lad, and old enough to take care of himself by this time. besides, it's time he began to take his share of the rough work." reaching the water's edge they found bob standing there with the painter of a boat in his hand, the boat itself being partially grounded on the beach. they quickly tumbled in over the gunwale; bob then placed his shoulder against the stem-head, and with a powerful "shove," drove the boat stern-foremost into the stream, springing in over the bows and stowing himself away in the eyes of the boat as she floated. it appeared intensely dark outside when the members of the expedition first issued from the hospitable portal of the "anchor;" but there was a moon, although she was completely hidden by the dense canopy of fast- flying clouds which overspread the heavens; and the faint light which struggled through this thick veil of vapour soon revealed a small fleet of fishing smacks at anchor in the middle of the creek. toward one of these craft the boat was headed, and in a very few minutes the party were scrambling over the low bulwarks of the _seamew_--bill maskell's property, and the pride of the port. the boat was at once dragged in on deck and secured, and then, without hurry or confusion of any kind, but in an incredibly short time, the smack was unmoored and got under weigh, a faint cheer from the shore following her as she wound her way down the creek between the other craft, and, hauling close to the wind, headed toward the open sea. in a very few minutes the gallant little _seamew_ had passed clear of the low point upon which stands the martello tower which had been bob's place of look-out, and then she felt the full fury of the gale and the full strength of the raging sea. even under the mere shred of sail--a balance-reefed main-sail and storm jib--which she dared to show, the little vessel was buried to her gunwale, while the sea poured in a continuous cataract over her bows, across her deck, and out again to leeward, rendering it necessary for her crew to crouch low on the deck to windward under the partial shelter of her low bulwarks, and to lash themselves there. it was indeed a terrible night. the thermometer registered only a degree or two above freezing-point; and the howling blast, loaded with spindrift and scud-water, seemed to pierce the adventurers to their very marrow, while, notwithstanding the care with which they were wrapped up, the continuous pouring of the sea over them soon wet them to the skin. but the serious discomfort to which they had voluntarily exposed themselves, so far from damping their ardour only increased it. as the veteran bill, standing there at the tiller exposed to the full fury of the tempest, with the tiller-ropes pulling and jerking at his hands until they threatened to cut into the bone, felt his wet clothing clinging to his skin, and his sea-boots gradually filling with water, he pictured to himself a group of poor terror-stricken wretches clinging despairingly to a shattered wreck out there upon the cruel sands, with the merciless sea tugging at them fiercely, and the wind chilling the blood within their veins until, perchance, their benumbed limbs growing powerless, their hold would relax and they would be swept away; and as the dismal scene rose before his mental vision he tautened up the tiller-ropes a trifle, the smack's head fell off perhaps half a point, and the wind striking more fully upon the straining canvas, she went surging out to seaward like a startled steed, her hull half buried in a whirling chaos of flying foam. old bill, the leader of this desperate expedition, was a fisherman in winter and a yachtsman in summer, as indeed were most of the crew of the _seamew_ on this eventful night. many a hard-fought match had bill sailed in, and more than one flying fifty had he proudly steered, a winner, past the flag-ship; but his companions agreed, as they crouched shivering under the bulwarks, that he never handled a craft better or more boldly than he did the _seamew_ on that night. one good stretch to the eastward, until the "middle" light bore well upon their weather quarter, and the helm was put down; the smack tacked handsomely, though she shipped a sea and filled her deck to the gunwale in the operation, and then away she rushed on the other tack, with the light bearing well upon the lee bow. in less than an hour from the time of starting the light ship was reached; and as the smack, luffing into the wind, shaved close under the vessel's stern with all her canvas ashiver, bill's stentorian voice pealed out-- "_middle_, ahoy! where a way's the wrack?" "about a mile and half to the nor'ard, on the weather side of the gunfleet. fancy she must have broke up, can't make her out now. wish ye good luck," was the reply. "thank'ee," roared back bill. "ease up main and jib-sheets, boys, and stand clear for a jibe." round swept the little _seamew_, and in another moment, with the wind on her starboard quarter, she was darting almost with the speed of her namesake, along the weather edge of the shoal, upon her errand of mercy. all eyes were now keenly directed ahead and on the lee bow, anxiously watching for some indication of the whereabouts of the wreck, and in a few minutes the welcome cry was simultaneously raised by three or four of the watchers, "there she is!" "ay, there she is; sure enough!" responded old bill from his post at the tiller, he having like the rest caught a momentary glimpse under the foot of the main-sail of a shapeless object which had revealed itself for a single instant in the midst of the whirl of boiling breakers, only to be lost sight of again as the leaping waves hurled themselves once more furiously down upon their helpless prey. as the smack rapidly approached the scene of the disaster the wreck was made out to be that of a large ship, with only the stump of her main- mast standing. she was already fast settling down in the sand, the forepart of the hull being completely submerged, while the sea swept incessantly over the stern, which, with its full poop, formed the sole refuge of the hapless crew. "now, boys," remarked old bill when they had approached closely enough to perceive the desperate situation of those on the wreck. "now, boys, whatever we're going to do has got to be done smart; the tide's rising fast, and in another hour there won't be enough of yon ship left to light a fire wi'. are yer all ready wi' the anchor?" "ay, ay; all ready," was the prompt response. the helm was put down, and the smack plunged round head to wind, her sails flapping furiously as the wind was spilled out of them. there was no need for orders; the men all knew exactly what to do, and did it precisely at the right moment. jib and main-sail were hauled down and secured in less time than it takes to describe it; and then, as the little vessel lost her "way," the heavy anchor--carried expressly for occasions like the present--was let go, and the cable veered cautiously out so that the full strain might not be brought to bear upon it too suddenly. old bill, meanwhile, stood aft by the taffrail with the lead- line in his hand, anxiously noting the shoaling water as the smack drifted sternward toward the wreck. "hold on, for'ard," he shouted at last, when the little _seamew_ had driven so far in upon the sand that there was little more than a foot of water beneath her keel when she sank into the trough of the sea. "now lay aft here, all hands, and let's see if we can get a rope aboard of 'em." the smack was now fairly among the breakers, which came thundering down upon the shoal with indescribable fury, boiling and foaming and tumbling round the little vessel in a perfect chaos of confusion, and falling on board her in such vast volumes that had everything not been securely battened down beforehand she must inevitably have been swamped in a few minutes. as for her crew, every man of them worked with the end of a line firmly lashed round his waist, so that in the extremely likely event of his being washed overboard his comrades might have the means of hauling him on board again. nor wore these the only dangers to which the adventurers were exposed. there was the possibility that the cable, stout as it was, might part at any moment, and in such a case their fate would be sealed, for nothing could then prevent the smack from being dashed to pieces on the sands. yet all these dangers were cheerfully faced by these men from a pure desire to serve their fellow-creatures, and without the slightest hope of reward, for they knew at the very outset that there would not be much hope of salvage, with a vessel on the sands in such a terrible gale. the wreck was now directly astern of the smack, and only about one hundred feet distant, so that she could be distinctly seen, as it fortunately happened that the sky had been steadily clearing for the last quarter of an hour, allowing the moon to peep out unobscured now and then through an occasional break in the clouds. by the increasing light the smack's crew were not only enabled to note the exact position of the wreck, but they could also see that a considerable number of people were clustered upon the poop of the half-submerged hull, some of them being women and children. the poor souls were all watching with the most intense anxiety the movements of those on board the smack, and if anything had been needed to stimulate the exertions of her crew it would have been abundantly found in the sight of those poor helpless mothers and their little ones clinging there to the shattered wreck in the bitter winter midnight, exposed to the full fury of the pitiless storm. a light heaving-line was quickly cleared away, and one end bent to a rope becket securely spliced to a small keg, which was then thrown overboard and allowed to drift down toward the wreck, the line being veered freely away at the same time. the crew of the wreck, anxiously watching the motions of those on board the smack, at once comprehended the object of this manoeuvre, and, as the keg drifted down toward them, made ready to secure it. but the set of the tide, the wash of the sea, or some other unexplained circumstance caused it to deviate so far from its intended course that it passed at a considerable distance astern of the wreck, notwithstanding the utmost endeavours of those on board to secure it; in consequence of which it had to be hauled on board the smack again, and thus valuable time was lost. the smack's helm was at once shifted, and the tide, aided by the wind, gave her so strong a sheer in the required direction that it was hoped a repetition of the mischance would be impossible. the keg was again thrown overboard, the line once more veered away. buoyantly it drifted down toward the wreck, now buried in the hissing foam-crest of a mighty breaker, and anon riding lightly in the liquid valley behind it. all eyes were intently fixed upon it, impatiently watching its slow and somewhat erratic movements, when the smack seemed to leap suddenly skyward, rearing up like a startled courser, and heeling violently over on her beam-ends at the same moment; there was a terrific thud forward, accompanied by a violent crashing sound, and the _seamew's_ crew had barely time to grasp the cleat or belaying-pin nearest at hand when a foaming deluge of water hissed and swirled past and over them, the breaker of which it formed a part sweeping from under the smack down toward the wreck in an unbroken wall of green water, capped with a white and ominously curling crest. the roller broke just as it reached the wreck, expending its full force upon her already shattered hull; the black mass was seen to heel almost completely over in the midst of the wildly tossing foam, there was a dull report, almost like that of a gun, a piercing shriek, which rose clearly above the howling of the gale and the babel of the maddened waters, and when the wreck again became visible it was seen that she had broken in two amidships, the bow lying bottom-upward some sixty feet farther in upon the sand, while the stern, which retained its former position, had been robbed of nearly half its living freight. and, to make matters worse, the floating keg had once more missed its mark. this repeated failure was disheartening. the tide was rising rapidly; every minute was worth a human life, and it began to look as though, in spite of all effort, the poor souls clinging to the wreck would be swept into eternity before the _seamew's_ crew could effect a communication with them. "let's have one more try, boys," exhorted old bill; "and if we misses her this time we shall have to shift our ground and trust to our own anchor and chain to hold us until we can get 'em off." risky work that would be, as each man there told himself; but none thought of expressing such a sentiment aloud, preferring to take the risk rather than abandon those poor souls to their fate. the line and keg were rapidly hauled on board the smack once more, and bill was standing aft by the taffrail watching for a favourable moment at which to make another cast, when bob exclaimed excitedly-- "'vast heavin', father; 'taint no use tryin' that dodge any more--we're too far to leeward. cast off the line and take a turn with it round my waist; i'm goin' to try to swim it. i know i can do it, dad; and it's the only way as we can do any good." the old man stared aghast at the lad for a moment, then he glanced at the mad swirl of broken water astern, then back once more to bob, who, in the meantime, was rapidly divesting himself of his clothing. "god bless ye, boy, for the thought," he at length ejaculated; "god bless ye, but it ain't possible. even if the water was _warm_ the breaking seas 'd smother ye; but bitter cold as 'tis you wouldn't swim a dozen yards. no, no, bob, my lad, put on your duds again; we must try sum'at else." but bob had by this time disencumbered himself of everything save a woollen under-shirt and drawers; and now, instead of doing his adopted father's bidding, he rapidly cast off the line from the keg, and, making a bowline in the end, passed it over one shoulder and underneath the other arm. the next instant he had poised himself lightly upon the taffrail of the wildly tossing smack, and, a mighty breaker sweeping by, with comparatively smooth water behind it, without a moment's hesitation thence plunged head-foremost into the icy sea. the broken water leaped and tossed wildly, as if in exultation, over the spot where the brave lad had disappeared; while all hands--both those on board the smack and the people on the wreck--waited breathlessly for his reappearance on the surface. an endless time it seemed to all; and but for the rapid passage of the thin light line out over the smack's taffrail, indicating that bob was swimming swiftly under water, old bill maskell would have dreaded some dreadful mishap to his _protege_; but at last a small round dark object appeared in bold relief in the midst of a sheet of foam, which gleamed dazzling white in the clear cold light of the moon. it was bob's head. "there he is!" was the exultant exclamation of every one of the smack's crew, and then they sent forth upon the wings of the gale a ringing cheer, in which those upon the wreck faintly joined. "now, boys," exclaimed old bill, "clear away this here line behind me, some of yer; and look out another nice light handy one to bend on to it in case we wants it." the old man himself stood on the taffrail, paying out the line and attentively watching every heave of the plunging smack, so that bob might not be checked in the smallest degree in his perilous passage, nor, on the other hand, be hampered by having a superabundance of line paid out behind him for the tide to act upon and drag hint away to leeward. the distance from the smack to the wreck was but short, a mere hundred feet or so, but with the heavy surf to contend against and the line sagging and swaying in the sea behind him, it taxed bob's energies to their utmost limit to make any progress at all. indeed, it appeared to him that, instead of progressing, he was, like the keg, drifting helplessly to leeward with the tide. the cold water, too, chilled him to the very marrow and seemed to completely paralyse his energies, while the relentless surf foamed over his head almost without intermission, so that he had the utmost difficulty in getting his breath. nevertheless he fought gallantly on until, after what seemed to be an eternity of frightful exertion, he reached the side of the wreck, and grasped the rope which its occupants flung to him. he was too completely exhausted, however, to mount the side at that moment; and while he clung to the rope, regaining his breath and his strength, a mighty roller came sweeping down upon the sands, burying the smack for the moment as it rushed passed her, and then surging forward with upreared threatening crest toward the wreck. there was a warning cry from those on board the wreck, as they saw this terrible wall of water rushing down upon them, and each seized with desperate grip whatever came nearest to hand, clinging thereto with the tenacity of despair. bob heard the cry, saw the danger, and had just time to struggle clear of the wreck and pass under her stern when the breaker burst upon them. blinded, stunned, and breathless, he felt himself whirled helplessly hither and thither, while a load like that of a mountain seemed to rest upon him and press him down. at last he emerged again, considerably to leeward of the wreck, but with the rope which they had thrown him still in his hands. as he gasped for breath and shook the salt water out of his eyes, something swayed against him beneath the surface--something which he knew instantly must be a human body. in a second he had it in his grasp, and, dragging it above water, found it to be the body of a child, apparently about two years old. at the same moment a powerful strain came upon the line which he held in his hand, and he had only time to take, by a rapid movement, two or three turns of it round his arm when those on the wreck began to haul him on board. in less time than it takes to tell of it, he was dragged inboard, and lay panting and exhausted upon the steeply inclined deck of the wreck, with a curious crowd of haggard-eyed anxious men and women gathered round him. a man dressed in a fine white linen shirt and blue serge trousers (he was the master of the ship, and had given his remaining garments to shield the poor shivering, frightened children) was in the act of kneeling down by bob's side, apparently intending to question him, when a piercing shriek was heard, and a woman darted forward with the cry "my child! my child!" and seized the body which bob had brought on board and still held in his arms. this incident created a diversion; and bob speedily recovering the use of his faculties, and rapidly explaining the intentions of those on board the smack, a strong hawser was soon stretched from the _seamew_ to the wreck, a "bo'sun's chair" slung thereto; and the transport of the shipwrecked crew and passengers at once commenced. the journey, though short, was fraught with the utmost peril; for it being impossible to keep the hawser strained taut, the poor unfortunate wretches had to be dragged through rather than over the surf; and when all was ready the women, who were of course to go first, found their courage fail them. in vain were they remonstrated with; in vain were they reminded that every second as it flew bore mayhap a human life into eternity with it; the sight of the wild surf into which the hawser momentarily plunged completely unnerved them, and they one and all declared that, rather than face the terrible risk, they would die where they were. at last bob, who knew as well as, if not better than, anyone on board the importance of celerity, whispered a word or two in the captain's ear. the latter nodded approvingly; and bob at once got into the "chair," some of the ship's crew rapidly but securely lashing him there, in obedience to their captain's order. when all was ready the skipper, approaching the terrified group of women, took one of their children tenderly in his arms, and, before the unhappy mother could realise what was about to take place, handed it to bob. the signal was instantly given to those on board the smack, who hauled swiftly upon the hauling-line; bob went swaying off the gunwale, with his precious charge encircled safely in his arms, and in another moment was buried in a mountain of broken water which rushed foaming past. only to reappear instantly afterwards, however; and in a very brief space of time he and his charge had safely reached the smack. the little one was handed over to the rough but tender-hearted fishermen; but bob, seeing that he could be useful there, at once returned to the wreck. there was now no further difficulty with the women. the mother whose child had already made the adventurous passage was frantic to rejoin her baby, and eagerly placed herself in the chair as soon as bob vacated it. she, too, accomplished the journey in safety; and then the others, taking courage once more from her example, quietly took their turn, some carrying their children with them, while others preferred to confide their darlings to bob, or to one of the seamen, for the dreadful passage through the wintry sea. the women once safe, the men made short work of it; and in little over two hours twenty-five souls--the survivors of a company of passengers and crew numbering in all forty-two--were safely transferred to the _seamew_, which, slipping her cable, at once bore away with her precious freight for brightlingsea. chapter two. the "betsy jane." once fairly out of the breakers the fishermen--at great risk to their little craft--opened the companion leading down into the _seamew's_ tiny after-cabin, and the poor souls from the wreck were conveyed below, out of the reach of the bitter blast and the incessant showers of icy spray. bob and two or three others of the smack's crew also went below and busied themselves in lighting a fire, routing out such blankets and wraps of various kinds as happened to be on board, and in other ways doing what they could to ameliorate the deplorable condition of their guests. fortunately the wind, dead against them on the way out, was fair for the homeward run, and the _seamew_ rushed through the water at a rate which caused "dicky" bird to exclaim-- "blest if the little huzzy don't seem to know as they poor innercent babbies' lives depends on their gettin' into mother salmon's hands and atween her hot blankets within the next hour! just see how she's smoking through it." very soon the "middle" lightship was reached, and as the smack swept past old bill shouted to the light-keepers the joyful news of the rescue. a few minutes afterwards three rockets were sent up at short intervals from the smack, as an intimation to "mother" salmon that her good services were required; and in due time the gallant little smack found her way back to her moorings in the creek. the anchor was scarcely let go when three or four boats dashed alongside, and "well, bill, old man, what luck?" was the general question. "five-and-twenty, thank god, men, women, and children," responded old bill. "did ye catch sight of our rockets, boys!" "ay, ay; never fear. and `mother' ashore there, she's never turned-in at all this blessed night. said as she was _sure_ you'd bring somebody in; and a rare rousing fire she's got roaring up the chimbley, and blankets, no end; all the beds made up and warmed, and everything ready, down to a rattlin' good hot supper; so let's have these poor souls up on deck (you've got 'em below, i s'pose), and get 'em ashore; they must be pretty nigh froze to death, i should think." at bill's cheery summons the survivors from the wreck staggered to the smack's deck--their cramped and frozen limbs scarcely able to sustain them--and the bewildered glances which they cast round them at the scarcely ruffled waters of the creek glancing in the clear frosty moonlight, with the fishing smacks and other small craft riding cosily at anchor on either side, the straggling village of brightlingsea within a stone's throw--a tiny light still twinkling here and there in the cottage windows, and a perfect blaze of ruddy light streaming from the windows of the "anchor," and flooding the road with its cheerful radiance--the bewildered glances with which they regarded this scene, i say, showed that even now they were scarcely able to realise the fact of their deliverance. but they were not left very long in doubt about it. as they emerged with slow and painful steps from the smack's tiny companion, strong arms seized them, all enwrapped in blankets as they were, and quickly but tenderly passed them over the side into the small boats which had come off from the shore for them. then, as each boat received its complement, "shove off" was the word; the bending oars churned the water into miniature whirlpools, and with a dozen powerful strokes the boat was sent half her length high and dry upon the shore. then strong arms once more raised the sufferers, and quickly bore them within the wide- open portal of the hospitable "anchor," where "mother" salmon waited to receive them. "eh, goodness sakes alive!" she exclaimed, as the first man appeared within the flood of light which streamed from the "anchor" windows. "you, sam; you don't mean to say as there's women amongst 'em." "ah! that there is, mother," panted sam, "and children--poor little helpless babbies, some on 'em, too." the quick warm tears of womanly sympathy instantly flashed into the worthy woman's eyes; but she was not one prone to much indulgence in sentiment, particularly at a time like the present; so instead of lifting up her hands and giving expression to her pity in words, she faced sharply round upon the maids who were crowding forward, with the curiosity of their sex, to catch a first glimpse of the strangers, and exclaimed-- "now then, you idle huzzies, what d'ye mean by blocking up the passage so that a body can get neither in nor out? d'ye want these poor souls to be _quite_ froze to death before you lets 'em in? you, em'ly, be off to number and run the warmin' pan through the bed, and give the fire a good stir. emma, do wake up, child, and take a couple of buckets of hot water up to number , and put 'em in the bath. run, mary jane, for your life, and see if the fire in number is burning properly; and you, susan, be off and turn down all the beds." the maids rushed off to their several duties like startled deer, while the mistress turned to sam and directed him to convey his burden to number , herself leading the way. a number of women, the mothers and wives of the fishermen, had gathered at the "anchor" as soon as it was known that the smack had gone out to a wreck, in order that they might be at hand to render any assistance which might be required. they were all collected in the bar-parlour; and two of them now rose, in obedience to "mother" salmon's summons, and following her upstairs, took over from sam their patient; and, shutting the door, lost not a moment in applying such restoratives and adopting such measures as their experience taught them would be most likely to prove beneficial. the rest of the survivors speedily followed; the women and children being promptly conveyed to the rooms already prepared for them; but the men, for the most part, proved to be very little the worse for their exposure, seeming to need for their restoration a good hot supper more than anything else; and this contingency also having by "mother" salmon's experience and foresight been provided for, the rescued and their rescuers were soon seated together at the same table busily engaged in the endeavour to restore their exhausted energies. one man only of the entire party seemed unable to do justice to the meal spread before him, and this was the master of the wrecked ship. he seated himself indeed at the table, and made an effort to eat and drink, but his thoughts were evidently elsewhere. he could not settle comfortably down to his meal, but kept gliding softly out of the room, to glide as softly back again after an absence of a few minutes, when he would abstractedly swallow a mouthful or two, and then glide out once more. at length, after a somewhat longer absence than before, he returned to the room in which the meal was being discussed, the look of care and anxiety on his face replaced by an expression of almost overwhelming joy, and, walking up to bob, somewhat astonished that individual by exclaiming-- "young man, let me without further delay tender you and your brave comrades my most hearty thanks for the rescue of my passengers, my crew, and myself from a situation of deadly peril, a rescue which was only effected at very great hazard to yourselves, and which was successfully accomplished mainly--i am sure your comrades will join me in saying-- through _your_ indomitable courage and perseverance. the debt which i owe you is one that it will be quite impossible for me ever to repay; i can merely acknowledge it and testify to the overwhelming nature of my obligation, for to your gallant behaviour, under god, i owe not only the deliverance of twenty-five human lives from a watery grave, but also the safety of my wife and only child--all, in fact, that i have left to me to make life worth living. as i have said, it will be quite impossible for me ever to cancel so heavy a debt; but what i _can_ do i _will_. your conduct shall be so represented in the proper quarter as to secure for you all the honour which such noble service demands; and, for the rest, i hope you will always remember that captain staunton--that is my name--will deem no service that you may require of him too great to be promptly rendered. and what i say to you especially, i say also to all your gallant comrades, who will, i hope, accept the grateful thanks which i now tender to them." poor bob blushed like a girl at these warm outspoken praises, and stammered some deprecatory remarks, which, however, were drowned by the more vigorous disclaimers of the rest of the fishermen and their somewhat noisy applause of the shipwrecked captain's manly speech; in the midst of which commotion "mother" salmon entered to enjoin strict silence and to announce the gratifying intelligence that all the women and children were doing well, including the skipper's little daughter, the apparently lifeless body of whom bob had recovered when first he boarded the wreck. a low murmur of satisfaction greeted this announcement, and then all hands fell to once more upon their supper, which was soon afterwards concluded, when old bill and his mates, shaking hands heartily all round, retired to seek the rest which they had so well-earned, while the shipwrecked men were disposed of as well as circumstances would allow in the few remaining unappropriated bed- rooms of the hospitable "anchor." by noon next day the shipwrecked party had all so far recovered that they were able to set out on the journey to their several homes. captain staunton sought out old bill and arranged with him respecting the salvage of the wrecked ship's cargo, after which he handed the veteran fisherman, as remuneration for services already rendered, a draft upon the owners of the _diadem_, which more than satisfied the smack's crew for all their perils and exertions of the previous night. he then left for london to perform the unpleasant duty of reporting to his owners the loss of their ship, mentioning, before he left, the probability of his speedy return to personally superintend the salvage operations. in bidding adieu to bob, who happened to be present while the final arrangements with old bill were being made, captain staunton remarked to him-- "i have been thinking a great deal about you, my lad. you are a fine gallant young fellow, and it seems to me it would be a very great pity for you to waste your life in pursuit of the arduous and unprofitable occupation of fishing. what say you? would you like to take to the sea as a profession? if so, let me know. i owe you a very heavy debt, as i have already said, and nothing would afford me greater pleasure than to repay you, as far as possible, by personally undertaking your training, and afterwards using what little interest i possess to advance you in your career. think the matter over, and consult with your father upon it"--he was not then aware of poor bob's peculiar position--"and let me know your decision when i return. now, once more, good-bye for the present." the weather having moderated by the next day, the _seamew's_ crew commenced salvage operations at the wreck, and for more than a week all hands were so busy, early and late, that bob had literally no time to think about, much less to consult with old bill respecting, captain staunton's proposal. on the third day the chief mate of the _diadem_ appeared at brightlingsea, having been sent down by the owners to superintend the work at the wreck. he announced that he had been sent instead of captain staunton, in consequence of the appointment of the latter by his owners to the command of a fine new ship then loading in the london docks for australia. it appeared that captain staunton stood so high in the estimation of his employers, and possessed such a thoroughly- established reputation for skill and sobriety that, notwithstanding his recent misfortune, there had been no hesitation about employing him again. a few days later a letter came from the captain himself to bob confirming this intelligence, and stating that he had then a vacancy for his young friend if he chose to fill it. bob, however, as has already been remarked, was at the time too busy to give the matter proper consideration, so he wrote back saying as much, and hinting that perhaps on the return of the ship to england he might be glad to have a repetition of the offer. to this letter a reply soon came, announcing the immediate departure of the ship, and containing a specific offer to receive bob on board in the capacity of apprentice on her next voyage. the idea of taking to the sea as a profession was so thoroughly novel to bob that he had at first some little difficulty in realising all that it meant. hitherto he had had no other intention or ambition than to potter about in a fishing smack with old bill, living a hard life, earning a precarious subsistence, and possibly, if exceptionally fortunate, at some period in the far-distant future, attaining to the ownership of a smack himself. but a month or two later on, when all had been saved that it was possible to save from the wreck, and when nothing remained of the once fine ship but a few shattered timbers embedded in the sand, and showing at low water like the fragment of a skeleton of some leviathan; when bob found time to fully discuss the matter with old bill maskell and his mates, these worthies painted the advantages of a regular seaman's life over those of the mere fisherman in such glowing colours, and dwelt so enthusiastically upon the prospects which would surely open out before our hero under the patronage of a man like captain staunton, that bob soon made up his mind to accept the captain's offer and join him on his return to england. having once come to this decision the lad was all impatience for the time to arrive when he might embark upon his career. as it is with most lads, so it was with him, the prospect of a complete change in his mode of life was full of pleasurable excitement; and perhaps it was only natural that, now he had decided to forsake it, the monotonous humdrum fisher's life became almost unbearably irksome to him. old bill maskell was not slow to observe this, and with the unselfishness which was so eminently characteristic of him, though he loved the lad as his own soul, he decided to shorten for him as far as possible the weary time of waiting, and send him away at once. accordingly, on the first opportunity that presented itself, he remarked to bob-- "i say, boy, i've been turnin' matters over in my mind a bit, and it seems to me as a v'yage or two in a coaster 'd do you a power o' good afore you ships aboard a `south-spainer.' you're as handy a lad as a man need wish to be shipmates with, aboard a fore-and-aft-rigged craft; but you ought to know some'at about square-rigged vessels too afore you sails foreign. now, what d'ye say to a trip or two in a collier brig, just to larn the ropes like, eh?" note: "south-spainer"--a term frequently employed by seamen to designate a foreign-going ship, especially one sailing to southern waters.--h.c. life on board a collier is not, as a rule, a condition of unalloyed felicity; but bob was happily, or unhappily, ignorant of this; the suggestion conveyed to his mind only the idea of _change_, and his face lighted joyfully up at his benefactor's proposition, to which he at once eagerly assented. bob's slender wardrobe was accordingly at once overhauled and put into a condition of thorough repair; bill, meantime, employing himself laboriously in an effort to ascertain, through the medium of a voluminous correspondence, the whereabouts of an old friend of his--last heard of by the said bill as in command of a collier brig--with a view to the securing for bob a berth as "ordinary seaman" under a "skipper" of whom bill knew something, and who could be trusted to treat the lad well. old bill's labours were at length rewarded with success, "captain"--as he loved to be styled--turnbull's address in london being definitely ascertained, together with the gratifying intelligence that he still retained the command of the _betsy jane_. matters having progressed thus far satisfactorily, old bill's next business was to write to "captain" turnbull, asking him if he could receive bob on board; and in about a month's time a favourable answer was received, naming a day upon which bob was to run up to london and sign articles. bob's departure from brightlingsea was regarded by his numerous friends in the village quite in the light of an event; and when the morning came, and with it the market-cart which was to convey him and his belongings, together with old bill, to colchester, where they were to take train to london, nearly all the fishermen in the place, to say nothing of their wives and little ones, turned out to say farewell. the journey was accomplished in safety and without adventure; and shortly after noon bill and bob found themselves threading their way through the narrow crowded streets to the "captain's" address, somewhere in the neighbourhood of wapping. on reaching the house the gallant skipper was found to be at home, in the act of partaking, together with his wife and family, of the mid-day meal, which on that occasion happened to be composed of "pickled pork and taturs." old bill and bob were gruffly but cordially invited to join the family circle, which they did; bob making a thoroughly hearty meal, quite unmoved by the coquettish endeavours of miss turnbull, a stout, good-tempered, but not particularly beautiful damsel of some seventeen summers, to attract the attention and excite the admiration of "pa's handsome new sailor." "captain" turnbull proved to be a very stout but not very tall man, with a somewhat vacant expression of feature, and a singular habit of looking fixedly and in apparent amazement for a full minute at anyone who happened to address him. these, with a slow ponderous movement of body, a fixed belief in his own infallibility, and an equally firm belief in the unsurpassed perfections of the _betsy jane_, were his chief characteristics; and as he is destined to figure for a very brief period only in the pages of the present history, we need not analyse him any further. after dinner had been duly discussed, together with a glass of grog--so far at least as the "captain," his wife, and old bill were concerned-- our two friends were invited by the proud commander to pay a visit of inspection to the _betsy jane_. that venerable craft proved to be lying in the stream, the outside vessel of a number of similar craft moored in a tier, head and stern, to great slimy buoys, laid down as permanent moorings in the river. a wherry was engaged by the skipper, for which old bill paid when the time of settlement arrived, the "captain" being apparently unconscious of the fact that payment was necessary, and the three proceeded on board. the brig turned out to be about as bad a specimen of her class as could well be met with--old, rotten, leaky, and dirty beyond all power of description. nevertheless her skipper waxed so astonishingly eloquent when he began to speak her praises, that the idea never seemed to occur to either bill or bob that to venture to sea in her would be simply tempting providence, and it was consequently soon arranged that our hero was to sign articles, nominally as an ordinary seaman, but, in consideration of his ignorance of square-rigged craft, to receive only the pay of a boy. this point being settled the party returned to the shore, old bill and bob going for a saunter through some of the principal streets, to enjoy the cheap but rare luxury, to simple country people like themselves, of a look into the shop windows, with the understanding that they were to accept the hospitality of the turnbull mansion until the time for sailing should arrive on the morrow. bob wished very much to visit one of the theatres that evening--a theatre being a place of entertainment which up to that time he had never had an opportunity of entering; but old bill, anxious to cultivate, on bob's behalf, the goodwill of the _betsy jane's_ commander, thought it would be wiser to spend the evening with that worthy. this arrangement was accordingly carried out, the "best parlour" being thrown open by mrs turnbull for the occasion. miss turnbull and miss jemima turnbull contributed in turn their share toward the evening's entertainment by singing "hearts of oak," "the bay of biscay," "then farewell my trim-built wherry," and other songs of a similar character, to a somewhat uncertain accompaniment upon a discordant jangling old piano--the chief merit of which was that a large proportion of its notes were dumb. their gallant father meanwhile sipped his grog and puffed away at his "church-warden" in a high-backed uncomfortable-looking chair in a corner near the fire, utterly sunk, apparently, in a fit of the most profound abstraction, from which he would occasionally start without the slightest warning, and in a most alarming manner, to bellow out--generally at the wrong time and to the wrong tune--something which his guests were expected to regard as a chorus. the chorus ended he would again sink, like a stone, as abruptly back into his inner consciousness as he had emerged from it. so passed the evening, without the slightest pretence at conversation, though both bill and bob made several determined efforts to start a topic; and so, as music, even of the kind performed by the misses turnbull, palls after a time, about eleven p.m. old bill hinted at fatigue from the unusual exertions of the day, proposed retirement, and, with bob, was shown to the room wherein was located the "shakedown" offered them by the hospitable skipper. the "shakedown" proved to be in reality two fair- sized beds, which would have been very comfortable had they been much cleaner than they were, and our two friends enjoyed a very fair night's rest. bob duly signed articles on the following morning, and then, in company with his shipmates, proceeded on board the _betsy jane_. captain turnbull put in an appearance about an hour afterwards, when the order was given to unmoor ship, and the brig began to drop down the river with the tide. toward evening a fine fair wind sprang up, and the _betsy jane_, being only in ballast, then began to travel at a rate which threw her commander into an indescribable state of ecstasy. the voyage was accomplished without the occurrence of any incident worth recording, and in something like a week from the date of sailing from london, bob found himself at shields, with the brig under a coal-drop loading again for the thames. some half a dozen similarly uneventful voyages to the tyne and back to london were made by bob in the _betsy jane_. the life of a seaman on board a collier is usually of a very monotonous character, without a single attractive feature in it--unless, maybe, that it admits of frequent short sojourns at home--and bob's period of service under captain turnbull might have been dismissed with the mere mention of the circumstance, but for the incident which terminated that service. it occurred on the sixth voyage which bob had made in the _betsy jane_. the brig had sailed from the tyne, loaded with coals for london as usual, with a westerly wind, which, however, shortly afterwards backed to s.s.w., with a rapidly falling barometer. the appearance of the weather grew very threatening, which, coupled with the facts that the craft was old, weak, and a notoriously poor sailer with the wind anywhere but on her quarter, seemed to suggest, as the most prudent course under the circumstances, a return to the port they had just left. the mate, after many uneasy glances to windward, turned to his superior officer, who was sitting by the companion placidly smoking, and proposed this. the skipper slowly withdrew his pipe from his mouth, and, after regarding his mate for some moments, as though that individual were a perfect stranger who had suddenly and unaccountably made his appearance on board, ejaculated-- "why?" "well, i'm afeard we're goin' to have a very dirty night on it," was the reply. "umph!" was the captain's only commentary, after which he resumed his pipe, and seemed inclined to doze. meanwhile the wind, which had hitherto been of the strength of a fair working breeze, rapidly increased in force, with occasional sharp squalls preceded by heavy showers of rain, while the threatening aspect of the weather grew _every_ moment more unmistakable. the brig was under topgallant-sails, tearing and thrashing through the short choppy sea in a way which sent the spray flying continuously in dense clouds in over her bluff bows, until her decks were mid-leg deep in water, and her stumpy topgallant-masts where whipping about aloft to such an extent that they threatened momentarily to snap off short at the caps. it was not considered etiquette on board the _betsy jane_ for the mate to issue an order while the captain had the watch, as was the case on the present occasion; but seeing a heavy squall approaching he now waived etiquette for the nonce and shouted-- "stand by your to'gallan' halliards! let go and clew up! haul down the jib." "eh!" said the skipper, deliberately removing his pipe from his mouth, and looking around him in the greatest apparent astonishment. down rushed the squall, howling and whistling through the rigging, careening the brig until the water spouted up through her scuppers, and causing the gear aloft to crack and surge ominously. "let fly the tops'l halliards, fore and main!" yelled the mate. the men leapt to their posts, the ropes rattled through the blocks, the yards slid down the top-masts until they rested on the caps, and with a terrific thrashing and fluttering of canvas the brig rose to a more upright position, saving her spars by a mere hair's-breadth. captain turnbull rose slowly to his feet, and, advancing to where the mate stood near the main-rigging, tapped that individual softly on the shoulder with his pipe-stem. the mate turned round. captain turnbull looked fixedly at him for some moments as though he thought he recognised him, but was not quite sure, and then observed-- "i say, are you the cap'n of this ship?" "no, sir," replied the mate. "very well, then," retorted the skipper, "don't you do it agen." then to the crew, all of whom were by this time on deck, "bowse down yer reef-tackles and double-reef the taups'ls, then stow the mains'l." "don't you think we'd better run back to the tyne, afore we drops too far to leeward to fetch it?" inquired the mate. the captain looked at him in his characteristic fashion for a full minute; inquired, "are _you_ the cap'n of this ship?" and then, without waiting for a reply, replaced his pipe between his lips, staggered back to his seat, and contemplatively resumed his smoking. the fact is that captain turnbull was actually pondering upon the advisability of putting back when the mate unluckily suggested the adoption of such a course. dull and inert as was the skipper of the _betsy jane_, he was by no means an unskilled seaman. the fact that he had safely navigated the crazy old craft to and fro between the thames and the tyne, in fair weather and foul, for so many years, was sufficient evidence of this. he had duly marked the portentous aspect of the weather, and was debating within himself the question whether he should put back, or whether he should keep on and take his chance of weathering the gale, as he had already weathered many others. unfortunately his mind was, like himself, rather heavy and slow in action, and he had not nearly completed the process of "making it up" when the mate offered his suggestion. _that_ settled the question at once. the "captain" was as obstinate and unmanageable a man as ever breathed, and it was only necessary for some one to suggest a course and he would at once adopt a line of action in direct opposition to it. hence his resolve to remain at sea in the present instance. having finally committed himself to this course, however, he braced himself together for the coming conflict with the elements, and when the watch below was called at eight bells all hands were put to the task of placing the ship under thoroughly snug canvas before the relieved watch was permitted to go below. the brig was normally in so leaky a condition that she regularly required pumping out every two hours when under canvas, a task which in ordinary weather usually occupied some ten minutes. if the weather was stormy it took somewhat longer to make the pumps suck, and, accordingly, no one was very much surprised when, on the watch going to the pumps just before eight bells, an honest quarter of an hour was consumed in freeing the old craft from the water which had drained in here and there during the last two hours. their task at length accomplished the men in the skipper's watch, of whom bob was one, lost no time in tumbling into their berths "all standing," where they soon forgot their wet and miserable condition in profound sleep. captain turnbull, contrary to his usual custom, at the conclusion of his watch retired from the deck only to change his wet garments and envelop himself in a suit of very old and very leaky oilskins, when he resumed once more his favourite seat by the companion, stolidly resolved to watch the gale out, let it last as long as it might. note: "all standing" in this case means without removing any of their clothing. a _gale_ in good truth it had by this time become; the wind howling furiously through the brig's rigging, and threatening momentarily to blow her old worn and patched canvas out of the bolt-ropes. the dull leaden-coloured ragged clouds raced tumultuously athwart the moonlit sky; now veiling the scene in deep and gloomy shadow as they swept across the moon's disc, and anon opening out for an instant to flood the brig, the sea, and themselves in the glory of the silver rays. the caps of the waves, torn off by the wind, filled the air with a dense salt rain, which every now and then gleamed up astern with all the magical beauty of the lunar rainbow; but though the scene would doubtless have ravished the soul of an artist by its weird splendour, it is probable that such an individual would have wished for a more comfortable view- point than the deck of the _betsy jane_. that craft was now rolling and pitching heavily in the short choppy sea, smothering herself with spray everywhere forward of the fore-mast, filling her decks with water, which _swished_ and surged restlessly about and in over the men's boot-tops with every motion of the vessel, and straining herself until the noise of her creaking timbers and bulkheads rivalled the shriek of the gale. at four bells the _betsy jane_ gave the watch just half an hour of steady work to pump her out. this task at length ended, the men, wet and tired, sought such partial shelter as was afforded by the lee of the longboat where she stood over the main hatch, the lee side of the galley, or peradventure the interior of the same, and there enjoyed such forgetfulness of their discomfort as could be obtained in a weazel-like surreptitious sleep--with one eye open, on watch for the possible approach of the skipper or mate. all of them, that is, except one, who called himself the look-out. this man, well cased in oilskin, stationed himself at the bowsprit-end--which being just beyond the reach of the spray from the bows, was possibly as dry a place as there was throughout the ship, excepting, perhaps, her cabin--and sitting astride the spar and wedging his back firmly in between the two parts of the double fore-stay, found himself so comfortably situated that in less than five minutes he was sound asleep. captain turnbull, meanwhile, occupied his favourite seat near the companion, and smoked contemplatively, while the mate staggered fore and aft from the main-mast to the taffrail, on the weather side of the deck, it being his watch. suddenly the mate stopped short in his walk, and the skipper ejaculated "umph!" the attention of both had at the same moment been arrested by something peculiar in the motion of the brig. "sound the pumps," observed the skipper, apparently addressing the moon, which at that moment gleamed brightly forth from behind a heavy cloud. the mate took the sounding-rod, and, first of all drying it and the line carefully, dropped it down the pump-well. hauling it up again, he took it aft to the binnacle, the somewhat feeble light from which showed that the entire rod and a portion of the line was wet. "more'n three feet water in th' hold!" exclaimed the mate. "call the hands," remarked captain turnbull, directing his voice down the companion as though he were speaking to some one in the cabin. the crew soon mustered at the pumps, and manned them both, relieving each other every ten minutes. after three-quarters of an hour of vigorous pumping there was as little sign of the pumps sucking as at the commencement. they were then again sounded, with the result that the crew appeared to have gained something like three inches upon the leak. the men accordingly resumed pumping, in a half-hearted sort of way, however, which seemed to say that they had no very great hope of freeing the ship. another hour passed, and the pumps were again sounded. "three foot ten! the leak gains on us!" proclaimed the mate in a low voice, as he and the skipper bent together over the rod at the binnacle- lamp. shortly afterwards the wheel was relieved; the man who had been steering taking at the pumps the place of the one who had relieved him. a hurried consultation immediately took place amongst the men; and presently one of them walked aft to where the skipper was seated, and remarked-- "the chaps is sayin', skipper, as how they thinks the best thing we can do is to `up stick' and run for the nearest port." the skipper looked inquiringly at the man for so long a time that the fellow grew quite disconcerted; after which he shook his head hopelessly, as though he had been addressed in some strange and utterly unintelligible language, and, withdrawing his pipe from his mouth, pointed solemnly in the direction of the pumps. the man took the hint and retired. the mate, who had witnessed this curious interview, then passed over to the lee side of the deck, and steadying himself by the companion, bent down and said in a low voice to his superior-- "after all, cap'n, tom's about right; the old barkie 'll go down under our feet unless we can get her in somewheres pretty soon." captain turnbull, with his hands resting on his knees, and his extinguished pipe placed bowl downwards between his teeth, regarded his mate with the blank astonishment we may imagine in one who believes he at last actually sees a genuine ghost, and finally gasped in sepulchral tones-- "are you the cap'n of this ship?" the mate knew that, after this, there was nothing more to be said, so he walked forward to the pumps, and, by voice and example, strove to animate the men to more earnest efforts. another hour passed. the pumps were again sounded; and now it became evident that the leak was rapidly gaining. the general opinion of the men was that the labouring of the brig in the short sea had strained her so seriously as to open more or less all her seams, or that a butt had started. they pumped away for another hour; and then, feeling pretty well fagged out, and finding on trial that the leak gained upon them with increased rapidity, they left the pumps, and began to clear away the boats. the mate made a strong effort to persuade them to return to their duty, but, being himself by that time convinced of the impossibility of saving the ship, he was unsuccessful. seeing this, he, too, retired below, and hastily bundling together his own traps and those of the skipper, brought them on deck and placed them in the stern- sheets of the longboat. the men had by this time brought their bags and chests on deck; and finding that the brig had meanwhile settled so deep in the water that her deck was awash, they lost no time in getting their belongings, as well as a bag or two of bread and a couple of breakers of water, into the boat. the _betsy jane_ was then hove-to; and as she was rolling far too heavily to render it possible to hoist the boat out, the men proceeded to knock the brig's bulwarks away on the lee side, with the intention of launching her off the deck. this task they at last accomplished, aided materially therein by the sea, which by this time was washing heavily across the deck. the crew then passed into her one by one--bob among the rest--and made their final preparations for leaving the devoted brig. seeing that all was ready the mate then went up to the skipper, who still maintained his position on his favourite seat, and said-- "come, skipper, we're only waitin' for you, and by all appearances we mustn't wait very long neither." captain turnbull raised his head like one awakened from a deep sleep, glanced vacantly round the deserted decks, pulled strongly two or three times at his long-extinguished pipe, and then two tears welled slowly up into his eyes, and, overflowing the lids, rolled one down either cheek. then he rose quietly to his feet and, with possibly the only approach to dignity which his actions had ever assumed, pointed to the boat and said-- "_i'm_ cap'n of this ship. you go fust." the mate needed no second bidding. he sprang to the ship's side and stepped thence into the boat, taking his place at the tiller. captain turnbull, with his usual deliberation, followed. he was no sooner in the boat than the anxious crew shoved off, and, bending to their oars, rowed as rapidly as possible away from their dangerous proximity to the sinking brig. the short summer night was past, day had long since broken; and though the gale still blew strongly, the clouds had dispersed, and away to the eastward the sky was ablaze with the opal and delicate rose tints which immediately precede the reappearance of the sun. a few minutes later long arrowy shafts of light shot upward into the clear blue sky, and then a broad golden disc rose slowly above the wave-crests and tipped them with liquid fire. the refulgent beams flashed upon the labouring hull and grimy canvas of the brig, as she lay wallowing in the trough of the sea a quarter of a mile away, transmuting her spars and rigging into bars and threads of purest gleaming gold, and changing her for the moment into an object of dream-like beauty. the men with one accord ceased rowing to gaze upon their late home as she now glittered before their eyes in such unfamiliar aspect; and, as they did so, her bows rose high into the air, dripping with liquid gold, then sank down again slowly--slowly--lower and lower still, until, with a long graceful sliding movement, she plunged finally beneath the wave. "there goes the old hooker to davy jones' locker, sparklin' like a di'mond--god bless her! good-bye, old lass--good-bye!" shouted the men; and then, as she vanished from their sight, they gave three hearty cheers to her memory. at the same time captain turnbull rose in the stern-sheets of the boat, and facing round in the direction of the sinking brig, solemnly lifted from his head the old fur cap which crowned his somewhat scanty locks. he saw that her last moment was at hand, and his lips quivered convulsively for an instant; then in accents of powerful emotion he burst forth into the following oration:-- "`then fare thee well, my old _betty jane_, farewell for ever and a day; i'm bound down the river in an old steamboat, so pull and haul, oh! pull and haul away.' "good-bye, old ship! a handsomer craft, a purtier sea-boat, or a smarter wessel under canvas--whether upon a taut bowline or goin' free-- never cleared out o' the port of london. for a matter of nigh upon forty year you've carried me, man and boy, back'ards and for'ards in safety and comfort over these here seas; and now, like a jade, you goes and founders, a desartin' of me in my old age. arter a lifetime spent upon the heavin' buzzum of the stormy ocean--`where the winds do blow, do blow'--you're bound to-day to y'ur last moorin's in old davy's locker. well, then, good-bye, _betsy jane_, my beauty; dear you are to me as the child of a man's age; may y'ur old timbers find a soft and easy restin' place in their last berth? and if it warn't for the old 'oman and the lasses ashore there, i'd as lief go down with thee as be where i am." then, as the brig disappeared, he replaced the fur cap upon his head, brushed his knotty hand impatiently across his eyes, flung his pipe bitterly into the sea, and sadly resumed his seat. a minute afterwards he looked intently skyward and exclaimed, "give way, boys, and keep her dead afore it! _i'm_ cap'n of this boat." the men, awe-stricken by the extraordinary display of deep feeling and quaint rugged eloquence which had just been wrung from their hitherto phlegmatic and taciturn skipper, stretched to their oars in dead silence, mechanically keeping the boat stern on to the sea, and so regulating her speed as to avoid the mischance of being pooped or overrun by the pursuing surges. about mid-day--by which time the gale had broken--they sighted a schooner bound for the thames, the master of which received them and their traps on board. four days afterwards they landed in london; and upon receiving their wages up to the day of the _betsy jane's_ loss, dispersed to their several homes. chapter three. "hurrah, my lads! we're outward-bound!" bob returned to brightlingsea just in the nick of time; for on the day following his arrival home, a letter reached him from captain staunton announcing that gentleman's presence once more in england, and not only so, but that his ship had already discharged her inward cargo, and was loading again for australia. he repeated his former offer, and added that he thought it would be a good plan for bob to join at once, as he might prove of some assistance to the chief mate in receiving and taking account of their very miscellaneous cargo. bob and old bill consulted together, and finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing to delay the departure of the former, as his entire outfit could easily be procured in london. bob accordingly replied to captain staunton's note, naming the day but one following as that on which he would join; and on that day he duly put in an appearance. bill, as on the occasion when bob joined the _betsy jane_, accompanied the lad to london. the ship was lying in the london dock; and the first business of our two friends was to secure quarters for themselves, which they did in a comfortable enough boarding-house close to the dock-gates. they dined, and then sallied forth to take a look at the _galatea_, which they found about half-way down the dock. she was a noble craft of sixteen hundred tons register, built of iron, with iron masts and yards, wire rigging, and all the most recent appliances for economising work and ensuring the safety of her passengers and crew. she was a beautiful model, and looked a regular racer all over. her crew were comfortably berthed in a roomy house on deck forward, the fore part of which was devoted to the seamen, while the after part was occupied by the inferior officers. captain staunton and the chief mate had their quarters in light, spacious, nicely fitted cabins, one on each side of the foot of the saloon staircase; while the apprentices were berthed in a small deck-house just abaft the main-mast. the saloon was a splendid apartment, very elaborately fitted up in ornamental woods of several kinds, and with a great deal of carving and gilding about it. the upholstering of the saloon was of a kind seldom seen afloat except in yachts or the finest atlantic liners; the stern-windows even being fitted with delicate lace curtains, draped over silken hangings. eight berths, four on each side of the ship, afforded accommodation for sixteen passengers. these were located just outside the saloon, and the space between them formed a passage leading from the foot of the staircase to the saloon doors. bill and bob had to find out all these things for themselves, the mate, at the moment of their arrival on board, being the only person present belonging to the ship, and he was so busy receiving cargo that he could scarcely find time to speak to them. on being told who they were, he simply said to bob-- "all right, young 'un; captain staunton has told me all about you, and i'm very glad to see you. but i haven't time even to be civil just now, so just take a look round the ship by yourselves, will you? i expect the skipper aboard before long, and _he'll_ do the honours." in about half an hour afterwards captain staunton made his appearance, and, hearing that bill and bob were down below aft somewhere, at once joined them in the saloon. he shook them both most heartily by the hand, and, in a few well-chosen words, expressed the gratification he felt at renewing his acquaintance with them, and at the prospect of having bob with him. "i have spoken to my owners concerning you," he said to bob, "and have obtained their permission to receive you on board as an apprentice. you will dress in uniform, and berth with the other apprentices in the after house; your duties will be light, and it will be my pride as well as my pleasure to do everything in my power to make a gentleman as well as a thorough seaman of you, and so fit you in due time to occupy such a position as the one i now hold, if not a still better one." he suggested that bob should sign his indentures on the following day, and then proposed that they should go at once, in a body, to see about our hero's uniform and outfit, the whole of which, in spite of all protestation, he insisted on himself presenting to the lad. on the following day bob signed his indentures as proposed, and joined the ship, assisting the chief mate to receive and take account of the cargo. four days of this work completed the loading of the vessel and the taking in of her stores; and a week from the day on which bob first saw her, the _galatea_ hauled out of dock and proceeded in charge of the chief mate down the river as far as gravesend, where her captain and passengers joined her. it is now time to say a descriptive word or two concerning the various persons with whom our friend bob was for some time to be so intimately associated. captain staunton, as the head and chief of the little community, is entitled to the first place on the list. he was a tall, handsome man, in the very prime of life, being about thirty-five or forty years of age. his features were finely moulded, the lines about the firmly closed mouth indicating great decision and fixity of purpose, while the clear steadfast grey eyes beamed forth an assurance of the kindly and genial disposition of their owner. light auburn hair, in short-cut but thickly clustering curls, crowned his shapely head, and a closely cut beard and moustache shaded the lower part of his deeply bronzed face. for the rest, his broad massive shoulders indicated unmistakably the possession of great strength; whilst his waist, slim almost as that of a woman, his lean muscular lower limbs, and his quick springy step, told of great bodily activity. his disposition was exactly what one would, from a study of his externals, judge it to be--frank, generous, genial, kindly, and sympathetic to his friends, but a fearless and formidable foe to any who might be so ill-advised as to constitute themselves his enemies. mr bowles, the first mate--or "chief officer" as he preferred rather to be termed, thinking this title sounded more dignified than the other-- was a big, burly, loud-voiced individual; a thorough seaman, a strict disciplinarian, and possessed of a general disposition to "stand no nonsense" from _anybody_, but particularly from the seamen, who, as a class, were regarded by him with an eye of great suspicion. he was, however, scrupulously just and straightforward in his dealings with all men, and, if a seaman proved himself to be capable and willing, he had nothing to fear from "bill bowles," as this individual was in his more genial moods wont to style himself; if, however, on the other hand, a man proved lazy, or incapable of executing the duties he had undertaken to perform, let him "look out for squalls." the second mate was in every way a marked contrast to the "chief." he was a tall thin sallow-complexioned man, with straight black hair, thick eyebrows, and thin feeble-looking whiskers, the latter very lank and ragged, as he seemed never to trim them. his eyes were believed to be black, but no one seemed to be at all certain about this, as he would never look any man long enough in the face to allow the question to be decided. his glances were of a shifting stealthy description, and his face habitually wore a morose dissatisfied expression, with a dash of malice thrown in, which made those who were brought into contact with him eager to get away from him again as speedily as might be. it need scarcely be said that, with these characteristics, he soon made himself universally unpopular. this was his first voyage under captain staunton. his name was carter, and it was understood that he was distantly related to one of the members of the firm owning the _galatea_. the third mate was a young fellow named dashwood, formerly an apprentice. he had been out of his time rather more than a year, and the present was his second voyage with captain staunton. he was a smart young fellow, anxious to get on in his profession, and very good- natured. there were three other apprentices, or "midshipmen" as they called themselves--ralph neville, john keene, and little ned edwards, the latter being bob's junior by a year, while the others were his elders respectively by three years and one year. it is not necessary to minutely describe these youths, as they are destined to perform only a very unimportant part in this narrative. then there were the passengers, of whom the ship took out her full complement. first among these must be placed mrs staunton, the captain's wife; though she could scarcely be called a passenger since she paid no fare, the owners allowing their captains the privilege of taking their wives to sea with them. that the captain should have his wife with him was regarded indeed by the owners as a decided advantage, for, in the first place, she could conveniently act the part of chaperone to young and unprotected lady-passengers when there were any; and, in the next, they were justly of opinion that the captain would take extra care of the ship if she held a being so dear to him as his wife. mrs staunton was considerably younger than her husband, being (if one may venture to disclose such a secret) about twenty-eight years of age. she was a very beautiful woman, rather above medium height, of a very amiable and affectionate disposition, and in all respects a worthy mate to her noble-hearted husband. she always went to sea with captain staunton, and made his private cabin a very palace of elegance and comfort for him. their little daughter may, now three years old, the same little creature who had been so happily saved by bob from a watery grave on the night of the wreck on the gunfleet, was also on board. there were three other lady-passengers, all unmarried, on board on the present occasion. the elder of the three, a miss butler, was a lady "of a certain age," with a quiet subdued manner, and nothing remarkable about her, either in character or appearance. the two others were cousins, both of them being young and very pretty. the younger of the twain, blanche lascelles, was making the voyage on the recommendation of her physician, her health having been somewhat delicate of late. "there are no very alarming symptoms at present, my dear madam," was the doctor's assurance to blanche's mother; "and a good long sea-voyage, say out to australia and back, will be more beneficial than a whole pharmacopoeia of drugs." in accordance with which opinion blanche's passage had been taken out and home on board the _galatea_; and her fair self especially confided to the care and protection of captain and mrs staunton. this young lady was eighteen years of age, fair-haired, blue-eyed, _petite_, very merry and light-hearted, and altogether exceedingly attractive and lovable. her cousin, violet dudley, aged twenty-two, was a tall and stately brunette, with a wealth of dark sheeny chestnut hair, almost black in the shade, magnificent dark eyes, which flashed scornfully or melted into tenderness according to the mood of that imperious beauty, their owner, and a figure the ideal perfection and grace of which are rarely to be met with out of the sculptor's marble. the rich healthy colour of her cheeks and full ripe lips, and the brilliant sparkle of her glorious eyes showed that it was not for health's sake she had undertaken the voyage. she was on board the _galatea_ in order that her cousin blanche might have the benefit of her companionship, and also because a favourable occasion now presented itself for her to visit some friends in sydney, whither the _galatea_ was bound. the rest of the passengers, thirteen in number, were gentlemen. of these it will be necessary to describe three only, namely, mr forester dale, mr fortescue, and mr brook. messrs. dale and fortescue were partners, being contractors in a rather large way; and mr brook was their general manager and right-hand man. the trio were now going out to australia on business connected with a large job about to be undertaken in that colony, for which they were anxious to secure the contract. mr dale, or mr forester dale as he preferred to be styled, was a somewhat querulous individual, with an unhappy knack of looking at the dark side of everything. add to this the fact that he entertained a very exalted idea of his own (imaginary) excellences, and believed himself to be almost, if not quite, infallible, and it will be seen that he was not likely to prove a very desirable travelling companion. rex fortescue, on the other hand, was so thoroughly good-tempered that it had grown to be a tradition among the employes of the firm that it was impossible to "put him out." he was never known to lose his temper, even under the most exasperating circumstances; he took the worries of life easily, and would seriously inconvenience himself to help others. he was as energetic and industrious as he was good-natured; work was his recreation, and it was notorious that to his energy it was chiefly due that the firm of which he was a member had attained its eminence. his senior partner characteristically took all the credit to himself, and had gradually brought himself to believe that in establishing the business he had seriously impaired his own health; but everybody else who knew anything about them knew also that the junior partner was the life and soul of the business. rex was not what would be termed a handsome man by any means, but his frank pleasant good-tempered face proved far more permanently attractive than mere physical beauty without these embellishments could ever hope to be. mr brook differed from both his employers--where indeed will you meet with two men exactly alike? of the two, however, he most nearly approximated to the senior partner, inasmuch as that, like that gentleman, he entertained a very high opinion of his own abilities, stood greatly upon his dignity, and was childishly jealous of any preference shown for others before himself. unlike mr dale, however, he was a man of limited education; he had read much, but his reading had been almost wholly superficial; he possessed, upon an infinite variety of subjects, that little knowledge which is a dangerous thing. there was consequently no topic of conversation upon which he had not something oracular to say; he was wont to maintain his own opinion with a very considerable amount of heat, and so obstinate was he that it was quite impossible to convince him that he was ever in the wrong. he was essentially a vulgar man; but, as might naturally be supposed from what has already been said, he regarded himself as a polished gentleman, and in his efforts to act up to his ideal of this character he often used words of whose meaning he had but a very imperfect idea, and always in the wrong place. his chief redeeming points were that he was thoroughly master of his business, honest as the day, and did not object to "rough it" when occasion required. the characteristics of this trio came prominently into view when they, with the rest of the passengers, boarded the ship at gravesend and proceeded to take possession of their cabins. the bulk of the passengers' luggage had been shipped in dock, and passed down into the after-hold upon the top of the cargo, in order that it might be out of the way but easily come-at-able if required during the voyage; each one, however, as he or she came up the ship's side and stepped in on deck, bore in his or her hand one or more bundles of wraps, deck-chairs, and other _impedimenta_. the first to make his appearance was mr forester dale; he was not ashamed to take precedence even of the ladies. he walked straight aft, glancing neither to the right nor to the left, ascended the half-dozen steps leading up to the top of the monkey-poop, and at once dived down the saloon-companion. arrived at the bottom of the staircase he stood there, blocking up the way, and began to call discontentedly for the steward to show him his cabin, which that official hastened to do. mr fortescue was among the last to leave the boat which had brought the passengers alongside, and he was closely followed on board by mr brook. on reaching the deck they both paused to glance round them and aloft at the towering symmetrical masts and spars, with their mazy network of rigging. "jolly craft this, isn't she, brook?" remarked rex fortescue genially; "plenty of room, and clean as a new pin, although they're only just out of dock. i think we shall be comfortable here." "oh, yes," assented brook, "we shall be comfortable enough, i don't misdoubt; and as to `roomy,' iron ships always is, that's what they builds 'em of iron for." they then proceeded below, and, like the rest, sought their cabins in order to stow away their luggage. rex fortescue shared a cabin with his senior partner, each cabin containing two sleeping berths. as he entered the one which from the number on its door he knew to be his, he found mr forester dale struggling viciously with a drawer which, in his impatience to open, he had twisted out of position and hopelessly jammed. "oh, i say!" exclaimed rex as he opened the door and noticed how lofty and roomy and how beautifully fitted up was the place, "what jolly cabins!" "jolly!" retorted dale, "i don't see anything jolly about them. i think they're _beastly_ holes; there's not room to swing a cat in 'em." "well, you don't want to swing a cat in them, do you?" inquired rex gravely, firing off the venerable joke at his senior half unconsciously. "i think they are first-rate cabins, considering that they're on board ship; you can't expect to have such rooms here as you have at `the blackthorns.' space is limited afloat, you know." "eight you are, mr fortescue," shouted brook through the bulkhead, his cabin adjoining that of the partners, and conversation, unless pitched in a low tone, being quite audible from one to the other; "i call these cabins _splendid_; moreover than that, look how light and atmospheric they are; why, you wouldn't find lighter or more luxuriant cabins in the _great eastern_ herself." "i wish, brook, you'd shut up and mind your own business," snarled mr dale as in his irritation he wrenched off a drawer-knob; "you're a good deal too ready with your opinions, and i'll thank you to keep 'em to yourself until you're asked for 'em for the future." here rex fortescue interposed, pouring by his tact and good-humour oil upon the troubled waters, and bringing harmony out of discord once more; so that, by the time everything had been packed away in its proper place and the dinner-bell had rung out its welcome peal, peace reigned undisturbed in the handsome saloon of the _galatea_. meanwhile, the passengers having all embarked, the ship at once proceeded down the river in tow, and when the occupants of the saloon rose from the dinner-table and went on deck to enjoy the beauty of the evening they found themselves off sheerness, in the midst of a fleet of ships and steamers of all builds and all nationalities, some outward- bound like themselves, and others entering the river, either under steam, in tow, or under canvas, as the case might be. here came a magnificent steamship, towering high out of the water, at the close of her voyage from india, with sallow-complexioned passengers scattered about her decks fore and aft, muffled up in thick overcoats, and pacing briskly to and fro to stimulate the circulation of the thin blood in their veins, and looking the picture of chilly misery, though the evening was almost oppressively warm. there, on the other side, moved sluggishly along under her old, patched, and coal-grimed canvas a collier brig, with bluff bows, long bowsprit, and short stumpy masts and yards, the counterpart of the _betsy jane_ of glorious memory. abreast of her, and sailing two feet to the collier's one, was a river-barge, loaded down to her gunwale with long gaily painted spreet and tanned canvas which gleamed a rich ruddy brown in the rays of the setting sun. here, again, came a swift excursion steamer, her decks crowded with jovial pleasure-seekers, and a good brass band on the bridge playing "a life on the ocean wave," whilst behind her again appeared a clumsy but picturesque-looking "billy-boy" or galliot from the humber--the _saucy sue_ of goole--with a big brown dog on board, who, excited by the unwonted animation of the scene, rushed madly fore and aft the deck, rearing up on his hind-legs incessantly to look over the bulwarks and bark at all and sundry. then came a large full-rigged ship in tow, her hull painted a dead-black down to the gleaming copper, the upper edge of which showed just above the water-line, with the high flaring bow, short counter, and lofty tapering spars, which needed not the "stars and stripes" fluttering far aloft to proclaim her an american. and behind her, again, came a great five-masted ironclad, gliding with slow and stately motion up the river on her way to chatham. "oh, what a monster of a ship!" exclaimed little blanche lascelles as the ironclad approached near enough to the _galatea_ to enable those on board to realise her vast proportions. "yes," said brook, who was standing close by, evidently anxious for an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the ladies. "yes, that's the _black prince_; i know her well. fine ship, ain't she?" "i think you are mistaken, sir, as to the name of that ironclad," remarked captain staunton, who was on the poop within ear-shot. "the _black prince_ has only _three_ masts, and she has a raking stem, not a ram." "oh, no; i'm not mistaken," said the individual addressed. "wait 'til we see her name; you'll find i'm right." another minute or so and the great ship swept close past them, her white ensign drooping from the peak and her pennant streaming out from her main-royal mast-head like a fiery gleam in the sunset glow, the look-out men on her forecastle and the officers on her bridge dwarfed to pigmies by comparison with the huge structure which bore them. as soon as she was fairly past the word _agincourt_ flashed from her stern in golden letters so large that they could be easily read without the aid of a telescope. captain staunton glanced, with an amused twinkle in his eye, at his over-confident passenger, as much as to say, "what do you think of that?" brook looked just a trifle confused for a moment; then his brow cleared, and he replied to the captain's look by remarking in his usual easy confident tone-- "oh, ah, yes; it's all right. she's been altered, and had her name changed; i remember reading about it somewhere." "good heavens!" exclaimed the skipper _sotto voce_ to the chief mate who was standing next him; "why, before the voyage is over the man will be telling us that the _galatea_ is her own longboat lengthened and raised upon." at : p.m. the hands were mustered, when the chief and second officers proceeded to pick the watches. bob, to his great satisfaction, found himself included in the chief officer's watch, with ralph neville for a companion. they were told off, with two able and two ordinary seamen, for duty on the mizzen-mast; the two lads being also required to keep the time and strike the bell, in spells of two hours each. by seven bells in the first watch ( : p.m.) the _galatea_ was off the north foreland, with a nice little breeze blowing from e.n.e. all hands were then called, the canvas was loosed and set, the tow-rope cast off by the tug and hauled inboard, and the voyage, which was to prove of so eventful a character to those entering upon it, may be said to have fairly commenced. the ship was soon under every stitch of sail that would draw, gliding down through the downs at the rate of about seven knots, and the passengers, most of whom had remained on deck to witness the operation of making sail, then retired to their several berths, where, the night being fine and the water smooth, it is reasonable to suppose they enjoyed a good night's rest. chapter four. the outward voyage. by eight o'clock next morning--at which hour the passengers sat down to breakfast--the _galatea_ was off dungeness, which she rounded with a somewhat freshening breeze, and noon saw her fairly abreast of beachy head. the weather was magnificent; the breeze, whilst fresh enough to waft the good ship through the water at the rate of an honest ten knots in the hour, was not sufficiently strong to raise much sea; the only result, therefore, was a slight leisurely roll, which the passengers found agreeable rather than the reverse, and everybody was consequently in the most exuberant spirits, congratulating themselves and each other on so auspicious a commencement to their voyage. as for bob, he was in the seventh heaven of delight. the noble proportions of the beautiful craft which bore him so gallantly over the summer sea, her spotless cleanliness, the perfect order and method with which the various duties were performed, and the consideration with which he was treated by his superiors, constituted for him a novel experience, in strong contrast to the wet and dirt, the often severe toil, and the rough-and-ready habits of the collier seamen on board the _betsy jane_. from the moment that bob had assumed duty on board the _galatea_ captain staunton had taken pains to make matters pleasant for him; he had spoken freely of the heavy obligation under which he considered that bob had laid him, and had extolled in the most laudatory terms the lad's behaviour during that terrible winter night upon the gunfleet; bob, therefore, found himself the possessor of a reputation which commanded universal admiration and respect in the little community of which he was a member, with the result that he was quite unconsciously accorded a distinction which under other circumstances it would have been vain for him to hope. thus, when our hero found himself, as he frequently did, a guest at the saloon dinner-table (captain staunton following the example of the commanders in the navy by occasionally inviting his officers to dine with him), the passengers almost unanimously received him into their midst with a friendly warmth which they accorded to none of the other subordinates on board, agreeing to regard in him as pleasant eccentricities those frequent lapses in grammar and pronunciation which they would have resented in others as the evidences of a decided inferiority, to be kept at a distance by the coldest and most studied disdain. captain staunton took an early opportunity to speak to bob respecting his unfortunate lack of education and culture. they were alone together in the chart-room at the moment, whither the skipper had called bob, in order that their conversation might be strictly private. "robert," said he--he always addressed bob as "robert" when what he had to say was unconnected with duty--"robert, my boy, i wish to say a word or two to you respecting your education, which, i fear, has been somewhat neglected--as, indeed, might reasonably be expected, seeing how few educational advantages usually fall in the way of a fisher-lad. now, this must be remedied as speedily as possible. i am anxious that you should become not only a first-rate seaman and thorough navigator, but also a polished gentleman, in order that you may be fitted to fill the highest posts attainable in the profession which you have chosen. when i was your age if a man knew enough to enable him to safely navigate his ship from place to place that was about all that was required of him. but times have changed since then; the english have become a nation of travellers; passenger-ships have enormously increased in number, and the man who now commands one is expected, in addition to his other duties, to play the part of a courteous and intelligent host to those who take passage with him. to enable him to perform this portion of his duties satisfactorily a liberal education and polished manners are necessary, and both of these you must acquire, my boy. there is only one way of attaining the possession of these requisites, and that is--study. the intelligent study of books will give you the education; and the study of your fellow-creatures, their speech, habits, and demeanour, will give you polish, by showing you what things to imitate and what to avoid. now, you have an excellent opportunity to commence both these branches of study at once. mr eastlake, the missionary, takes the greatest interest in you, and has offered not only to lend you the necessary books, but also to give you two hours' tuition daily, an offer which i have ventured to thankfully accept on your behalf. and in addition to this you have sixteen passengers to study. some of them are perfect gentlemen, others, i am sorry to say, are anything but that. your own good sense will point out to you what is worthy of imitation and what should be avoided in the manners of those around you, and i think you are sharp and intelligent enough to quickly profit by your observations. keep your eyes and ears open, and your mouth as much as possible shut, just for the present, and i have no doubt you will soon make headway. in addition to the two hours' tuition which mr eastlake has promised you i intend to give you two more; mr eastlake's tuition will be in various branches of useful knowledge, and mine will be in navigation. your studies will be conducted here in the chart-room, and i have very little doubt but that, if you are only half as willing to learn as we are to teach, you will have made a considerable amount of progress by the time that we arrive at sydney; indeed, as far as navigation is concerned, it is by no means an intricate science, and there is no reason why you should not be a skilled navigator by the time that we reach australia." bob had the good sense to fully appreciate the immense value of the advantages thus proffered to him. he was intelligent enough to at once recognise the vast intellectual distance which intervened between himself, a poor, ignorant fisher-lad, and the highly-educated men and women who were to be found among the saloon passengers, as well as the wide difference between his own awkward, embarrassed manner and the quiet, easy, graceful demeanour which distinguished some of the individuals to be seen daily on the poop of the _galatea_. the sense of his inferiority already weighed heavily upon him; the opportunity now offered him of throwing it off was therefore eagerly and gratefully accepted, and he at once plunged _con amore_ into the studies which were marked out for him. mr eastlake--the gentleman who had undertaken to remedy, as far as time permitted, the serious defects in bob's education--was exceptionally well qualified for the task. educated at cambridge, where he had won a double first; naturally studious, a great traveller, endowed with a singularly happy knack of investing the driest subject with quite an absorbing interest, and a perfect master in the art of instructing, he superintended bob's studies so effectively that the lad's progress was little short of marvellous. not content with the two hours of daily tuition which had originally been proposed, mr eastlake frequently joined the lad on the poop or in the waist for the first two or three hours of the first night-watch, when the weather happened to be fine and bob's services were not particularly required, and, promenading fore and aft with his pupil by his side, he was wont to launch into long and interesting disquisitions upon such topics as were best calculated to widen bob's sphere of knowledge and cultivate his intellect. nor was captain staunton any less successful in that portion of bob's studies which he had undertaken to direct. fortunately for our hero his skipper was not one of those men whose acquaintance with navigation consists solely in the blind knowledge that certain calculations if correctly performed will afford certain information; captain staunton had studied nautical astronomy intelligently and thoroughly, he knew the _raison d'etre_ of every calculation in the various astronomical problems connected with the science of navigation, and was therefore in a position to explain clearly and intelligently to his pupil every step which was necessary, as well in the simple as in the more abstruse and difficult calculations. thus admirably circumstanced in the matter of instructors, and aided by his own anxiety to improve, bob made such steady and rapid progress that by the time the ship rounded the cape he could "work a lunar," solve a quadratic equation or any problem in the first two books of euclid, and write an intelligently expressed, correctly spelt, and grammatical letter, in addition to possessing a large store of knowledge on everyday subjects. nor was this all. the majority of the passengers, moved by captain staunton's frequent references to bob's exploit on the gunfleet, had taken quite a fancy to the lad, and conversed so frequently and so freely with him that his _mauvais honte_ gradually disappeared, and he found himself able to mingle with them with an ease and absence of self- consciousness which was as pleasing as it was novel to him. meanwhile the _galatea_ sped rapidly and prosperously on her way. the breeze with which she had started lasted long enough to run her fairly into the north-east trades, and once in them the journey to the line was a short and pleasant one. here a delay of three days occurred, during which the ship had to contend with light baffling winds and calms, interspersed with violent thunder and rain squalls, the latter of which were taken advantage of to fill up the water-tanks. then on again to the southward, braced sharp up on the larboard tack, with the south-east trade-wind blowing fresh enough to keep the royals stowed for the greater part of the time; and then, light easterly breezes, just at the time when they fully expected to fall in with strong westerly winds before which to run down their easting. here occurred their first check, and instead of being thankful that they had been so greatly favoured thus far, everybody of course began forthwith to grumble. the passengers, perhaps, chafed under the delay quite as much as captain staunton, but their outward manifestations of impatience were confined for the most part to dissatisfied glances at the hard cloudless blue sky to windward, as it met their gaze morning after morning when they came on deck, to shrugs of the shoulders whenever the subject happened to be mentioned, and to scornful, sarcastic, or despondent allusions to the proverbial longevity and obstinacy of easterly winds in general. except mr forester dale, and he, i regret to say, made himself a perfect nuisance to everybody on board by his snappishness and irascibility. the weather was "beastly," the ship was "beastly," and his demeanour was such as to suggest to the other passengers the idea that he considered them also to be "beastly," a suggestion which they very promptly resented by sending him to coventry. that his metaphorical seclusion in that ancient city was not of the very strictest kind was entirely due to the fact that his partner, rex fortescue, and the inimitable brook wore on board. rex bore the childish irritability of his senior partner with unparalleled good-humour; his strongest protest being a mere, "shut up, there's a good fellow, and let a man enjoy his book and his weed in peace for once in a while." factotum brook attempted quite a different mode of soothing his superior. he demonstrated--to his own complete satisfaction if not to that of anybody else--that it was a physical impossibility for them to have anything _but_ easterly winds where they were. but, he asserted, there was a good time coming; they had had easterly winds ever since they had started; this, by an unalterable law of nature, had been gradually creating a vacuum away there in the easterly quarter, which vacuum must now necessarily soon become so perfect that, by another unalterable law of nature, the wind would come careering back from the westward with a force sufficient to more than enable them to make up for all lost time. to do captain staunton justice he left no means untried whereby to wile away the time and render less oppressive the monotony of the voyage. he suggested the weekly publication of a newspaper in the saloon, and energetically promoted and encouraged such sports and pastimes as are practicable on board ship; _al fresco_ concerts on the poop, impromptu dances, _tableaux-vivants_, charades, recitations, etcetera, for the evening; and deck-quoits, follow-my-leader, shooting at bottles, fishing, etcetera, during the day. by these means the murmurings and dissatisfaction were nipped in the bud, harmony and good-humour returning and triumphantly maintaining their position for the remainder of the voyage. the newspaper was a great success, every incident in the least out of the common being duly recorded therein. the editor was one o'reilly, an irishman, who enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most successful barristers in new south wales, to which colony he was returning after a short holiday trip "home." the paper was published in manuscript, and consisted of twenty foolscap pages, which o'reilly prided himself upon completely filling at every issue. interesting facts being for the most part very scarce commodities, fiction was freely indulged in, the contributors vieing with each other in the effort to produce humorous advertisements, letters to the editor upon real or imaginary grievances, and startling accounts of purely fictitious occurrences. in the meantime two of the passengers had discovered a species of amusement quite out of the line of the captain's programme, and which caused that worthy seaman no small amount of anxiety and embarrassment. in a word, rex fortescue and violet dudley found in each other's society a solace from the ennui of the voyage which onlookers had every reason to believe was of the most perfect kind. such a condition of things was almost inevitable under the circumstances. there were four ladies on board, and thirteen gentlemen passengers, of whom no less than nine were bachelors. of the four ladies one, mrs staunton, was married and therefore unapproachable. miss butler was an old maid, with a subdued expression and manner ill calculated to arouse any feeling warmer than respectful esteem, so that there remained only blanche and violet, both young, pretty, and agreeable, to act as recipients of all the ardent emotions of the bachelor mind. although the art, science, or pastime-- whichever you will--of love-making has many difficulties to contend with on board ship, in consequence of the lamentable lack of privacy which prevails there, it is doubtful whether it ever flourishes so vigorously anywhere else. even so was it on board the _galatea_; violet and blanche being waited upon hand and foot and followed about the decks from early morn to dewy eve, each by her own phalanx of devoted admirers. these attentions had at first been productive of nothing more serious than amusement to their recipients; but gradually, very gradually, violet dudley had manifested a partiality for the quiet unobtrusive courtesies and attentions of rex fortescue, which partiality at length became so clearly marked that, one after the other, the rest of her admirers retired discomfited, and sought solace for their disappointment in the exciting sport of rifle shooting at empty bottles dropped overboard and allowed to drift astern, or in such other amusements as their tastes led them to favour. blanche, however, still kept her division of admirers in a state of feverish suspense, manifesting no partiality whatever for any one of them above another. indeed she seemed to take greater pleasure in questioning bob about his former career, and in listening to his quaint but graphic descriptions of the curious incidents of fisher-life, than she did in the compliments or conversation of any of her admirers, a circumstance which caused bob to be greatly envied. whilst this was the state of things aft, matters were not all that they should be in the forecastle. the crew were a good enough set of men, and doubtless would have been all right under proper management, but, thanks to the surly and aggravating behaviour of mr carter, the starboard watch, over which he ruled, was in a state of almost open mutiny. and yet so acute was the aggressor that for a long time he gave the men no excuse for legitimate complaint; the utmost that could be said against him being that he was, in the opinion of the men, unduly particular as to the set and trim of the sails, and the superlative cleanliness of everything about the decks. this was all very well during the daytime, but when in the night-watches the men were hustled incessantly about the decks, taking a pull here, there, and everywhere at the halliards, sheets, and braces of the already fully distended and accurately trimmed sails, only to be ordered a few minutes later to ease up the lee braces half an inch and take a pull upon the weather ones; or alternately stowing and setting the "flying kites" or light upper canvas, they could not help seeing that these things were done less from zeal and anxiety to make a quick passage than for the purpose of indulging a spiteful and malicious temper. at length a crisis arrived. the ship was at the time somewhere about the latitude of the cape; stretching to the southward and eastward close-hauled, with a fine steady breeze from east-north-east. it was the second mate's eight hours out that night, and although the weather was beautifully fine, with a clear sky, full moon, and steady breeze, he had been indulging in his usual vagaries throughout the last two hours of the first watch (he never attempted anything out of the common when captain staunton or any of the passengers were on deck, as some of them generally were until midnight), and he began them again within a quarter of an hour of coming on deck at a.m. the royals were set when he took charge of the deck, and these he had separately clewed up and furled, as well as one or two of the smaller stay-sails. he allowed the men just time enough to settle down comfortably, and then ordered the recently stowed sails to be loosed and set again, which was done. a short interval passed, and then he had the royals stowed once more, and finally he ordered them to be loosed and set again. not a man took the slightest notice of the order. "do you hear, there? jump aloft, some of you, and loose the royals," shouted carter, thinking for a moment that he had failed to make himself heard. still there was no response. "you, davis, away aloft and loose the fore-royal. boyd, jump up and loose the main; and you, nichols, up you go and loose the mizzen. look lively now, or i'll rope's-end the last man down from aloft," exclaimed the second mate, his passion rapidly rising as he found himself thus tacitly opposed. as the last words left his lips the watch came aft in a body, pausing just forward of the main-mast. "look 'ee here, mr carter," said boyd, a fine active willing young fellow, stepping a pace or two in front of his messmates, "we thinks as them there r'yals 'll do well enough as they am for the rest of the watch. they was set when we come 'pon deck, and that wouldn't do, you had 'em stowed. then you warn't satisfied with 'em so, and you had 'em set. _that_ wouldn't do, so you had 'em stowed again; and stowed they _will_ be for the rest of the watch, as far as i'm concarned. the night's fine, and the breeze as steady as a breeze can be, and the old barkie 'd carry r'yals and skys'ls too for the matter o' that, but if they was set we should have to stow 'em again five minutes a'terwards; so let 'em be, say i." a low murmur of assent from the rest of the watch gave the second mate to understand that these were their sentiments also upon the subject. the foolish fellow at once allowed his temper to get the mastery of him. "oh! _that's_ what you say, is it, my fine fellows? very good; we'll soon see whether, when i give an order, i am to be obeyed or not," he hissed through his clenched teeth. saying which he stepped hastily to the door of his cabin, which was situated on deck in the after house, entered, and in a few moments reappeared with a revolver in each hand. "_now_," he exclaimed, planting himself midway between the poop and the main-mast, "let me see the man who will dare to disobey me. i'll shoot him like a dog. boyd, go aloft and loose the main-royal," pointing one of the revolvers full at him. "i refuse," exclaimed the seaman. "i demand to be taken before captain--" a flash, a sharp report, and the man staggered backwards and fell to the deck, while a crimson stain appeared and rapidly broadened on the breast of his check shirt. two of his comrades instantly raised the wounded man and bore him forward; the remainder rushed with a shout upon the second mate and disarmed him, though not before he had fired again and sent a bullet through the left arm of one of his assailants. the men were still struggling with the second mate when a figure sprang up through the companion, closely followed by a second, and captain staunton's voice was heard exclaiming-- "good heavens! mr carter, what is the meaning of this? back men; back, for your lives. how dare you raise your hands against one of your officers?" the men had by this time wrenched the pistols out of carter's hands, and they at once fell back and left him as captain staunton and mr bowles advanced to his rescue. the new-comers placed themselves promptly one on each side of the second mate, and then the two parties stood staring somewhat blankly at each other for something like a minute. "well, mr carter," at last exclaimed captain staunton, "have you nothing to say by way of explanation of this extraordinary scene? what does it mean?" "mutiny, sir; that and nothing less," gasped carter, whose passion almost deprived him of speech. "i thank you, sir, and you too, mr bowles, for coming to my rescue; but for that i should have been a dead man by this time." "oh, no, you wouldn't, mr carter," exclaimed one of the men. "we ain't murderers; and we shouldn't ha' touched you if you hadn't touched us first." "that will do," exclaimed captain staunton. "if any of you have anything to say you shall have an opportunity of saying it in due time; at present i wish to hear what mr carter has to say," turning inquiringly once more toward that individual. thus pressed, carter related his version of the story, which was to the effect that the men had refused to obey orders, and had come aft in so menacing a manner that in self-defence he had been compelled to arm himself; and further, that hoping to check the mutiny in the bud, he had shot down the "ringleader." "so that is the explanation of the shots which awoke me," exclaimed captain staunton. "and where is the wounded man?" "in his bunk, sir; bleeding like a stuck pig," replied one of the men, resorting to simile to aid his description, as is the wont of seafaring men generally. "_phew_!" whistled the skipper. "this is serious. run, bowles, and rouse out the doctor at once, if you please." mr bowles sped to the doctor's cabin, and found that individual already "roused out," with an open case of surgical instruments on the table, and a drawer open, from which he was hastily selecting lint, bandages, etcetera; the medico having been awakened by the first pistol-shot, and, like a sensible man, bestirring himself at once in preparation for the repair of damages, without waiting to learn first whether there _were_ any damages to repair or not. "well, bowles," he exclaimed, as the worthy "chief" made his appearance, "you want me, eh? what's the nature of the case?" "a man shot," briefly replied mr bowles. "just so; heard the shots. where is the seat of the injury? don't know? well, never mind, we'll soon find out. let me see--tourniquet-- probe--splints--lint--bandage--um--um--yes; just carry these for me, bowles, there's a good fellow, and lead the way." so saying the worthy man put a quantity of splints, etcetera, into mr bowles' hands, and, gathering up the rest of his chattels, followed the mate to the forecastle, where he at once busied himself in ascertaining the extent of and finally dressing poor boyd's injury. in the meantime captain staunton, assisted by mr bowles, who had speedily rejoined him, had been holding a sort of court of inquiry into the case; and after much skilful interrogation, and the giving of a most patient hearing to the statement of each member of the watch, he had succeeded in arriving at a very near approach to the actual truth of the matter. "this," he said, "is clearly a case wherein both parties have been gravely in fault. i am compelled in justice to admit that you," turning to the members of the watch, "appear to have received great provocation, inasmuch as there can be no doubt that you have been greatly harassed by mr carter's habit of unnecessarily interfering with the disposition of the canvas set on the ship. i have, indeed, myself noticed this, my attention often having been arrested by the sounds of making and shortening sail during the night-watches, when you all doubtless thought me fast asleep in my berth; and i have had it on my mind for some time past to speak to mr carter on the subject; i should have done so long ago but for my great repugnance to interfere with my officers except upon the most urgent grounds. i confess i had no idea that the provocation had been going on for so long a time; the master of a ship, like other mortals, requires sleep; and doubtless many things are said and done whilst he is taking his rest of which he can know nothing unless they are brought to his notice by others. it was therefore manifestly your duty, in justice to me as well as in obedience to the law, to make complaint to me of any grievances of which you may have considered yourselves the victims; and that, instead of doing so, you took it upon yourselves to resent your grievances by refusing obedience to the orders of your officer, constitutes your offence--an offence which, in my opinion, has been sufficiently punished by the wounds inflicted upon two of your number. you have satisfied me that your lapse of duty was in reality a matter strictly between yourselves and the second officer, and in no wise a defiance of my authority, or i suppose i need scarcely say i should not take this lenient view of your conduct. as for you, mr carter," the skipper resumed after a pause, "you have placed me in the very unpleasant position of being compelled to suspend you from duty until the arrival of the ship at sydney. you have proved yourself incompetent to command a watch with that tact and moderation which is so essential to the safety of a ship and the comfort of those on board; and, led away by your heat of temper, you have hastily and unnecessarily resorted to measures of extreme violence, which might, had the men been of a similar temper, have led to a dreadful disaster. you may retire to your cabin, sir. mr bowles, do me the favour to call mr dashwood." young dashwood was found sitting on his chest, dressed and ready for any emergency, the entire occupants of the ship being by this time on the _qui vive_, and he was therefore in the presence of the skipper within a minute of the mention of his name. to him captain staunton at once delegated the command of the starboard watch, saying at the same time a few words expressive of confidence in his prudence and seamanship. "one word more, men," said the skipper, again addressing the watch. "i have suspended mr carter not because i regard you as in the _right_, or as in any way justified in your behaviour, but because he was manifestly _wrong_. i must therefore very earnestly caution you, one and all, against again refusing obedience to any commands issued by your officers. if those commands are such as to constitute a substantial grievance, or if they should by any chance be such as to manifestly imperil the safety of the ship or the lives of any of those on board, i am always to be found, and the matter must at once be referred to me. i shall always be ready to protect you from tyranny or intemperate treatment; but remember from this time forward there must be nothing even remotely resembling insubordination. now, go back to your duty." the men walked quietly away forward, and captain staunton, accompanied by mr bowles, retired below to make an immediate entry of the occurrence in the official log-book. the occupants of the saloon were naturally greatly exercised by the event, which formed the staple of conversation next day. it was interesting to observe the way in which the subject was regarded by the various members of the little community. o'reilly, the editor of the "galatea free press," was wild with excitement at contemplation of the narrow escape they had had from a mutiny and its attendant fight; and he exhibited a curious study of mingled irritation and satisfaction--of irritation that the fight had not come off, and of satisfaction that he had not been compelled to take up arms against any of the forecastle hands, every one of whom he regarded in his free-hearted way as a personal friend, and with every one of whom he was a prime favourite. the ladies, who really understood nothing whatever of the merits of the case, with that unerring instinct which invariably leads them to a right conclusion, sided unanimously with the seamen; while a few of the more timid among the male passengers regarded carter as a sort of hero- martyr, mr dale being especially loud and indiscreet in his denunciations of the recklessness manifested in "encouraging the mutinous rascals in their defiance of authority." "it will end," he dismally prophesied, "in our all being murdered in our beds some night. oh, dear! i wish i had never come to sea." brook and one or two more, though they said little, went about the ship for some few days afterwards in evident perturbation of mind, though, to do them justice, had they been _obliged_ they would have doubtless fought and fought well. rex fortescue, perhaps, took matters the most coolly of any. he not only went himself forward as usual to hear the yarn- spinning and smoke his cigar on the forecastle during the dog-watches, but he also took violet with him (he having noticed long before that the presence of a lady was always sufficient to ensure the strictest decorum on the part of the men); thus showing the crew, as clearly as he could, that he at least had no doubt of their loyalty. carter's suspension from duty removed the only discordant element which had ever revealed itself on board, as far as the crew of the ship were concerned; and thenceforward matters went smoothly enough on board the _galatea_ for the remainder of the passage, which proved to be a rapid one, notwithstanding the delay experienced in rounding the cape. it was also an uneventful one--the foregoing occurrence excepted. nothing further need therefore be said respecting it, than that in good time the ship safely arrived in sydney's noble harbour, and, landing her passengers, began forthwith the humdrum operation of discharging cargo. chapter five. homeward bound. at the date of this story the discharging of a cargo was a much more leisurely operation than it is at the present day; and bob therefore had several opportunities of taking a run ashore and looking round the town and suburbs of sydney. the passengers--such of them, that is, as were residents in or near sydney--had one and all given bob most pressing invitations to visit them whenever he could obtain leave; and on the day but one following the arrival of the ship, a very prettily-worded and pressing little note had come to him from blanche lascelles to say that the friends with whom she and violet were staying at cookstown would be delighted to make his acquaintance; so that bob was never at a loss for a place whither to direct his steps whenever he could get ashore. he consequently managed to see a good deal of the place, and thoroughly enjoyed the seven weeks during which the _galatea_ lay in sydney harbour. the outward cargo discharged, the homeward freight of wool began to come down, and the stevedores were kept busy all day long screwing it into as small a compass as possible in the hold. meanwhile captain staunton was in great tribulation. the gold-fever was then at its height in australia. the precious metal had been discovered some years before, but about a month previous to the arrival of the _galatea_ in sydney, news had come down the country of the discovery of a new auriferous region, the richness and extent of which was said to be something past belief. the result of this rumour was that every idle loafer who arrived in an australian port made it his first business to desert from his ship and start hot-foot for the gold-fields. if the matter had ended here the shipmasters would have had cause to congratulate themselves rather than the reverse, but unfortunately for them it was not so. the gold-fever had stricken _everybody_--merchants even, mechanics, clerks, all in fact but the few cool hands who realised that by remaining in the half-deserted towns they were _sure_ of making that fortune the winning of which at the diggings was problematical; and one consequence of this was that when seamen deserted a ship no one could be found to take their places; and captain staunton could stand on his own poop and count at least fifty vessels whose cargoes were on board, hatches battened down, and everything ready for sea; but there they lay, unable to sail for want of a crew to man them. now the _galatea_ was not in quite so bad a plight as this; for when the last bale of wool had been screwed in and the hatches put on, there still remained in her forecastle eight good men and true--six belonging to the port watch and two to the starboard--who had resisted all the alluring dreams of fortunes to be made in a day at the diggings. the other eight had deserted in a body one sunday, very cleverly eluding the police, whose chief duty it then was to prevent such occurrences. the second mate and the cook were also missing. hence captain staunton's anxiety. on the one hand, he was averse to the extreme step of taking his ship to sea half-manned; and on the other, he was haunted by the constant dread of losing still more of his men if he remained in port until he had made up his complement. at length, however, to his infinite relief, he chanced upon half a dozen men who, in consideration of the payment of fabulous wages, undertook to ship for the homeward passage. they were as lawless and ruffianly- looking a set of fellows as one need ever care to encounter; but, as mr bowles observed, they could at least pull and haul, and once at sea and away from the demoralising influence of the grog-shops, who knew but they might settle down into steady serviceable hands. at all events they would not want for a good example on the part of their shipmates, the remnant of the original crew, for these were without exception thoroughly steady, reliable men, although one of them was boyd, the man who had been shot by mr carter for refusal to obey orders. these men secured, captain staunton resolved to avoid all further risk by sailing at once. it was true that the ship would be still rather short-handed--which was all the more to be regretted inasmuch as she was in light trim and a trifle crank--but he reflected that he might lie in port for the next six months without securing another man; and it therefore seemed to him best under the circumstances to make shift with what he had, and get away to sea forthwith. hasty summonses were accordingly despatched to the few passengers who had taken berths; and these all coming on board next day, the anchor was hove up, and evening saw the _galatea_ standing off the land and heading to the eastward, with every sail set and dragging at her like a cart-horse. the passengers were this time only six in number, namely, blanche and violet, messrs. dale, fortescue, and brook, who had lost the contract which they went out in the hope of securing, entirely through the obstinacy of the head of the firm, and a mr evelin, formerly a captain in the royal engineers, who had thrown up his commission to go gold- digging, and who, thanks to his technical training, supplemented by arduous special study of geology, had been successful to an extraordinary degree, and was now returning home master of a handsome fortune. launcelot, or lance evelin, was a tall handsome man of about thirty- five, with the physique of a hercules, the result of some six months' toil and exposure at the diggings, deeply bronzed, clear cut features, half concealed by a heavy moustache and beard of a golden chestnut hue, clear grey eyes, and wavy hair a shade darker than the beard. he proved an immense acquisition to the ladies, who would otherwise have been almost entirely dependent on rex fortescue for amusement; mr dale being altogether too savage at his recent failure to make an agreeable associate, which indeed he never was, even at the best of times; while brook, willing though he was to do his best, was too pugnacious, ill- bred, and illiterate to be more than just barely tolerated. rex fortescue and violet, it was perfectly clear, were daily sinking deeper into that condition wherein people are conscious of the existence of two individuals only--their two selves--in the whole world; so that poor little blanche would soon have found herself quite out in the cold had not mr evelin taken compassion upon her and devoted himself to her amusement. he knew london well; and, on comparing notes, it soon transpired that he knew several people with whom blanche was also acquainted; so they got on capitally together, especially as lance possessed in an eminent degree the art of making his conversation interesting. later on, too, when he had thawed a little, he would relate story after story of his adventures at the gold-fields, some of which convulsed his companion with laughter, while others made her shudder and nestle unconsciously a little closer to the narrator. but notwithstanding this blanche still found time to chat occasionally with bob. the lad was very fond of steering, indeed he had won the reputation of being the finest helmsman in the ship, and he was always ready to take a "trick" at the wheel during either of the dog-watches, and so give the rightful helmsman a chance to stay "for'ard" and amuse himself with his shipmates; and when this was the case blanche generally used to seat herself in a deck-chair near him, and chatter away upon any topic which came uppermost. she had been thus amusing herself one evening when, as eight bells struck and bob walked forward on being relieved from the wheel, lance evelin, who had been smoking his cigar on the break of the poop, and watching from a distance the "carryings-on" of the men upon the forecastle, sauntered to her side and opened conversation with the remark-- "how singularly exact a repetition of the same features you will observe in some families; doubtless you have often noticed it, miss lascelles? now, there is that fine young fellow legerton, _anyone_ would recognise him as a connection of yours, and i have often been on the point of asking you in what manner you are related to each, other. am i unpardonably inquisitive?" "by no means, mr evelin. it is a question easily answered; i am not aware that we are related in the most remote degree." "you are _not_?" he exclaimed in a tone of the greatest surprise. "i am sure i most earnestly beg your pardon; how very stupid of me to make such a mistake; but the resemblance between you two is so very striking that, although no one has ever said a word to lead me to such a conclusion, i have never doubted, from the moment i came on board, that you must be closely related. i am sure i am quite at a loss for words wherewith to express my apologies." "no apology is necessary, i assure you, mr evelin," returned blanche. "on the contrary, i feel rather flattered by your supposition, for i greatly admire robert's many sterling qualities. and what a bold brave fellow he is too, notwithstanding his quiet unassuming manner. if you feel any curiosity as to his history captain staunton will be only too happy to furnish you with full particulars; he can enlighten you far better than i can, and the story is worth listening to; the manner of their first acquaintance especially is a romance in itself." lance's curiosity was aroused; but, instead of referring to the skipper, he preferred to hear the story from blanche's own pretty lips; and sinking down into a deck-chair beside her he listened with interest to all that the fair girl could tell him respecting bob. "poor fellow!" he remarked when blanche had finished her story, "and he has never been able to find a clue to his parentage! it is very singular; there surely _must_ be relatives of his still in existence somewhere. did the fishermen who saved his life never make any inquiries?" "no, it appears not," answered blanche. "according to robert's own account, though he always speaks with the greatest respect and affection of the old man who adopted him, the people among whom he was thrown are very simple and ignorant of everything outside the pale of their own calling, and it would seem that they really did not know how to set about instituting an inquiry." "well, what you have told me has interested me so much, and the lad himself has made such a favourable impression upon me, that i believe i shall really feel more than half-inclined to undertake the somewhat quixotic task of seeking his relatives myself when we reach england. who knows but that it might be my good fortune to gladden the heart of a father or mother whose life has been embittered for years by the loss of perhaps an only son?" half laughingly remarked lance. "ah! do not jest upon such a subject," exclaimed blanche. "you evidently have not the least idea what a complete blight such a loss may cast upon a parent's life. i have. there is my poor uncle, sir richard, who has never held up his head since he lost his wife and child at sea. my mother has told me that before his terrible bereavement there was not a more genial light-hearted happy man living than uncle dick; but he has never been known to smile since the dreadful news first reached him; and though he has always struggled bravely against his great sorrow, i feel sure he looks forward eagerly to the time when he shall be called away to rejoin his wife and his baby boy." "how very sad!" remarked lance in sympathetic tones. "i am slightly acquainted with sir richard lascelles, that is to say, i have met him once or twice, and i have often wondered what great trouble it could be that seemed to be pressing so heavily upon him. if it would not distress you too much i should like to hear how he met with his terrible loss." "i have no objection to tell you," answered blanche. "it occurred very shortly after i was born. my uncle was then a younger son, with very little expectation of ever succeeding to the baronetcy, for there were two brothers older than himself, and he had a captain's commission in the army. he had married a lady of whom, because she happened to have no money, his father strongly disapproved, and a serious quarrel between father and son was the consequence. "shortly after his marriage my uncle's regiment was ordered off to north america, and uncle dick naturally took his wife with him. the regiment was moved about from place to place, and finally, when my uncle had been married about three years, was broken up into detachments; that which he commanded being sent, in consequence of some trouble with the indians, to an important military outpost at a considerable distance up the ottawa river. "of course it was quite impossible for my aunt to accompany her husband into the wilds, especially as she was then the mother of a son some eighteen months old, and the question which arose was, what was she to do? "it was at first proposed that she should establish herself in montreal until the return of the expedition; but a letter reaching her just at that time stating that her mother's health was failing, it was hastily decided that my aunt should return to england, taking of course her little son with her. "everything had to be done in a great hurry, and my uncle had barely time to pack his wife's boxes and see her safely _en route_ for montreal before he set out with his detachment for the post to which he had been ordered. "my aunt arrived safely at montreal, but failing to find there a ship ready to sail for england, went on to quebec, which she reached just in time to embark for london. she had written to my uncle from montreal, and she wrote again from quebec, the letter reaching her husband's hands as he was on the point of marching out of the fort on a night expedition against a band of hostile indians who had been discovered in the neighbourhood. "an engagement took place, in which my uncle was desperately wounded and narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the indians. his men succeeded, however, in saving him and making good their own retreat into the fort, where poor uncle dick lay hovering for weeks between life and death. after a long and weary struggle his splendid constitution triumphed; and with the return of consciousness came anxious thoughts respecting his wife and child. he remembered the letter which had been handed to him as he marched out upon that ill-starred expedition, the letter which he had never had an opportunity to read, and he made eager inquiries respecting it. it was found in an inner breast-pocket of his uniform coat, but it had been so thoroughly saturated with his own blood, poor fellow, that it was practically undecipherable; by careful soaking and washing he at last succeeded in ascertaining that my aunt and her baby had actually sailed from quebec, but on what date or in what ship it was quite impossible to learn. and that was the last news he ever heard of them." "how very dreadful!" murmured lance. "of course he made every possible inquiry respecting their fate?" "not immediately," answered blanche. "he waited patiently for news of my aunt's arrival in england; but as mail after mail came without bringing him any intelligence he grew uneasy, and finally wrote to his mother-in-law asking an explanation of the unaccountable silence. this letter remained unanswered; but just when his uneasiness had increased to such a pitch that he had determined to apply for leave of absence in order to proceed to england, it was returned to him through the dead- letter office. this decided him at once. he applied for leave and it was refused. he then threw up his commission, and at once proceeded to england; the fearful conviction growing upon him that something dreadful had happened. he stopped at quebec for a fortnight on his way home, making inquiry at all the ship-owners' and brokers' offices in the place, endeavouring to learn the name of the ship in which his wife had been a passenger; but, strange to say, he could gain no trace of them. whether it was that the people of whom he inquired were careless and indifferent, or whether it was that passenger-lists were not at that time regularly kept as they now are, it is of course impossible to say, but it is a fact that he was compelled to leave america without the smallest scrap of information respecting his dear ones beyond that contained in the blood-stained letter. "on his arrival in england he proceeded direct to his mother-in-law's former residence, to find it, as he feared, in the possession of strangers. he then, with considerable difficulty, hunted up the lawyer who had managed mrs percival's (his mother-in-law's) money matters, and learned from him that the old lady had died some seven months before. and in reply to his further inquiries he was informed that his wife and child had never reached mrs percival's home. the old lady had certainly expected them, the lawyer said, but she had never received more than one letter which my uncle had hurriedly written mentioning the fact of their departure for england. "poor uncle dick now found himself completely at a loss; so, as the best plan he could think of, he put the affair into his lawyer's hands, handing him also the blood-stained letter. this letter was soon afterwards intrusted to a chemist, who, in attempting to cleanse it, destroyed it altogether, and thus passed away the only clue which my uncle possessed. it is now rather more than sixteen years since my aunt sailed from quebec, and poor uncle dick has never succeeded in gaining a trace of her fate to this day." "poor fellow!" ejaculated lance, in an absent sort of way. "i'm sure i sincerely pity and sympathise with him. what! going below already? then allow me to conduct you as far as the companion." blanche bade lance good-night at the head of the saloon staircase; he raised his smoking-cap, and then returning sauntered up and down the poop for over an hour, with his hands behind him, and his eyes fixed on the deck, apparently in a brown study. a few days after the narration of blanche's story, lance evelin, noticing bob at the wheel, strolled up to him and asked him for his history. "miss lascelles gave me the outlines of it a night or two ago, and it struck me as so peculiar and interesting that i should like to hear full particulars," he explained, puffing lazily at his cigar meanwhile. "where would you like me to begin, mr evelin?" asked bob. "at the beginning of course, my dear fellow," laughingly answered lance. "i want to know _everything_. do you remember being found on board the wreck?" "sometimes i think i do; and at other times i think it must be only the recollection of a dream which has produced a more than usually strong impression upon me," answered bob. "now and then--perhaps not more than half a dozen times altogether--when i have been lying half asleep and half awake, a confused and indistinct idea presents itself of a ship's cabin seen through a half-opened state-room door, with a lamp swinging violently to and fro; of a woman's face, beautiful as--oh! i cannot describe it; something like miss dudley's, only still more beautiful, if you can imagine such a thing. then the dream, or whatever it is, gets still more confused; i seem to be in cold and wet and darkness, and i fancy i hear a sound like men shouting, mingled with the roar of the wind and the rush of the sea; then--then--i seem to have been kissed-- yes--and the beautiful face seems to be bending over me again, but i am in the light and the warmth once more; and--then it all passes away; and if i try to carry my thoughts back to the first circumstance which i can distinctly remember, i see myself again with other boys, paddling about barefoot on the shore at brightlingsea." "ah!" ejaculated lance, contemplatively. "i have no doubt but that--if the truth could be arrived at, which of course it never can be in this world--this dream, or whatever you like to call it, is the faint recollection which still remains impressed on your memory of some of the incidents connected with the wreck of your ship--what was her name, by the by? the _lightning_, of london! um; that's not a very difficult name to remember, at all events. and the beautiful face of which you spoke--is your impression of it clear enough to enable you to describe it? or, supposing it possible for you to see a picture of the original, do you think you would recognise it?--do you mind my asking these questions? no; that's all right; but if it is in the least painful to you, i will not put them. you see, legerton, i have very little doubt that face was the face of your mother; and i confess i feel a trifle curious to know how far back a man can carry his remembrance of his mother. i cannot remember anything about mine previous to my fourth birthday." "well," answered bob, "i can scarcely remember the face clearly enough to describe it. all i can say about it is that it was very beautiful, with tender loving eyes and dark hair, which i am almost sure must have been worn in curls; but i think that if ever i saw a really good picture of it i should recognise it directly." "you would, eh?" said lance. "very well, now go ahead--if you are not tired of talking--and tell me about the old fellow who found you, and the sort of life you led as a fisherman, and so on; it is all very interesting, i assure you; quite as much so as any of the novels in the saloon book-case." bob accordingly went ahead, his companion occasionally interrupting him with a question; and when the story was finished lance rose and stretched himself, saying as he turned to walk away-- "thank you very much. your story is so interesting that i think i shall make a few notes of it for the benefit of a literary friend of mine; so if you meet with it in print some day you must not be very much surprised." and as bob saw him shortly afterwards, note-book in hand; and as this story actually _is_ in print, it is to be presumed that mr lance evelin really carried out his expressed intention. on the day following this conversation the wind, which had been blowing steadily from the westward for some time, suddenly dropped; and by four bells in the afternoon watch it had fallen to a dead calm; the ship rolling like a log on the heavy swell. not the faintest trace of cloud could be discerned in the stupendous vault which sprang in delicate carnation and primrose tints from the encircling horizon, passing through a multitude of subtle gradations of colour until it became at the zenith a broad expanse of clearest purest deepest blue. the atmosphere was transparent to an almost extraordinary degree, the slow- moving masses of swell rising sharply outlined to the very verge of the horizon, while the mast-heads of a far-distant ship stood out clear and well-defined, like two minute and delicately drawn thin lines on the pale primrose background of the sky. suddenly, however, a curious phenomenon occurred. a subtle but distinct and instantaneous change of colour took place, which made it seem as though the spectators were regarding the scene through tinted glass. all the brilliance and purity and beauty of the various hues had died out. the dazzling ultramarine of the zenith became indigo; the clear transparent hues of the horizon thickened and deepened to a leaden-grey; the sun gleamed aloft pallid and rayless, like a ghost of its former self; and the ocean, black and turbid, heaved restlessly, writhing as if in torture. an intense and unnatural silence, too, seemed suddenly to have fallen upon nature, enwrapping the scene as with a mantle, a silence in which the flap of the canvas, the pattering of the reef- points, the _cheep_ of blocks, and the occasional clank of the rudder- chains, fell upon the ear with a sharpness which was positively painful. the occupants of the _galatea's_ deck glanced from one to another, dismayed; violet dudley's startled whisper to rex fortescue of "what dreadful thing is about to happen?" being but the utterance of the thought which flashed through every brain. captain staunton, turning to mr bowles, who was standing beside him, in low tones requested that trusty officer to keep a look-out for a minute or two; and then hurried down to the saloon to consult his barometer. he returned to the deck in less than a minute, his face wearing a look of anxiety and concern which was very rarely to be seen there. "_the glass has fallen a full inch within the last half-hour_" he muttered, as he rejoined the mate. then in a louder tone of voice he added, "call all hands, mr bowles, if you please, and shorten sail at once. stow everything except the lower fore and main topsails and the fore-topmast stay-sail; i think we are going to have a change of weather." the seamen were as much startled as the occupants of the poop, by the preternatural change in the aspect of the sky; and they sprang to their posts with all the alacrity of men who anticipate a deadly struggle, and believe they may have none too much time for preparation. the work of shortening sail proceeded rapidly but methodically and in an orderly manner--captain staunton had never before in all his experience witnessed anything quite like what was now passing around him, and was oppressed by an undefined foreboding of some terrible catastrophe; but he was too brave a man and too thorough a seaman to allow aught of this to appear in either countenance, voice, or manner; nor would he allow the work to be hurried through with inconsiderate haste; he saw that the men were startled; and it rested with him to steady them, restore their confidence, and so prepare them for the coming struggle, whatever its nature might be. meanwhile, the atmospheric phenomena were momentarily assuming a more and more portentous aspect. the sky deepened in tint from indigo to a purple black; the sun lost its pallid sickly gleam and hung in the sable heavens a lurid blood-red ball until it became obscured by heavy masses of dusky vapour which had gathered imperceptibly in the firmament, and now seemed to be settling slowly down upon the ship's mast-heads, rolling and writhing like huge tortured serpents, meanwhile. the silence--broken though it was by the sounds of preparation on board-- grew even more oppressively intense and death-like than before; and darkness now came to add new terrors to the scene; not the wholesome solemn darkness of nightfall, but a weird unearthly gloom which was neither night nor day, a gloom which descended and encompassed them stealthily and menacingly, contracting the horizon until nothing could be seen further than half a mile from the ship, and which still seemed to be saturated with a pale spectral shimmering light, in the which men looked in each other's eyes like reanimated corpses. the ocean presented an aspect no less appalling; at one moment black as the waters of the styx, and indistinguishable beyond the distance of a cable's length, and anon gleaming into view to the very verge of the horizon, a palpitating sheet of greenish ghastly phosphorescent light. the canvas was stowed, down to the lower fore and main topsail and the fore-topmast stay-sail, and the men were about to hurry down from aloft when captain staunton stopped them. "clew up and stow the lower topsails as well," he shouted; adding in an undertone to mr bowles, "i don't know _what_ to expect; but it threatens to be something terrible; and the less canvas we show to it the better. the stay-sail will be quite as much as we shall want, i expect." the topsails were stowed, and the men came down on deck again, evidently glad to find themselves there once more, and huddling together on the forecastle like frightened sheep. the passengers were clustered together on the poop, standing in a group somewhat apart from the skipper and the mate, awaiting pale and silent the _denouement_. bob, who had been aloft helping to stow the mizen canvas, stepped up to them as he swung himself out of the rigging, and, addressing himself more particularly to violet and blanche, recommended them to go below at once. "these warnings," said he, "are not for nothing. the precautions which captain staunton has taken show clearly enough that he expects something quite out of the common; and the change is likely enough to come upon us suddenly, bringing perhaps some of our top-hamper about our ears; so, if you ladies will be advised, i would recommend you to go below where you will certainly be in much less danger." blanche and violet looked at each other inquiringly. "_i_ shall remain here," said violet, unconsciously tightening her hold upon rex fortescue's arm as she spoke. "whatever happens, i would very much rather be here, where i can see the full extent of the danger, than pent up in a cabin picturing to myself i know not what horrors." blanche expressed the same determination; but mr dale hurried at once to the companion, loudly lamenting that he had ever intrusted his precious self to the `beastly treacherous sea!' his remarks attracted captain staunton's attention to the party; and he at once stepped hurriedly toward them exclaiming, "good heavens, ladies and gentlemen! let me beg you to go below at once; i had no idea you were here. the saloon is the safest place for you all at a time like this; you will be out of harm's way there, while here--" "look out!" shouted mr bowles. "here it comes with a vengeance. take care of yourselves, everybody." the gloom had visibly deepened, until it became difficult for those grouped together on the poop to distinguish each other's features, and a low deep humming sound was now audible, which increased in volume with startling rapidity. "go below all of you, i beg," repeated captain staunton in anxious tones, "and be as quick as you can about it, please. what is the matter, mr dale?" as that individual stood a few steps down the staircase, grasping the handrail on each side, neither descending himself nor allowing anyone else to do so. "my book," exclaimed dale; "i left a book on one of the hen-coops, and--" his further remarks were drowned in the deafening din of the tempest, which at this moment swooped down upon the ship with indescribable fury, striking her full upon her starboard broadside, and hurling her over in an instant on her beam-ends. the group gathered about the companion-way made an instinctive effort to save themselves, rex fortescue flinging his arm about violet dudley's waist and dragging her with him to the mizen-mast, where he hung on desperately to a belaying-pin. brook nimbly scrambled upon the upturned weather side of the companion. evelin, exasperated by mr dale's ill-timed anxiety about his book, had stepped inside the companion-way and down a stair or two to summarily remove the obstructor, and the two were flung together to the bottom of the staircase. blanche, left thus without a protector, clung convulsively for a moment to one of the open doors of the companion; but her strength failing her, she let go and fell backwards with a shriek into the water which foamed hungrily up over the lee rail. bob, who had made a spring for the weather mizen rigging, was just passing a turn or two of a rope round his body when, happening to turn his head, he saw blanche fall. to cast himself adrift and spring headlong after her was the work of an instant, and he succeeded in grasping her dress just in the nick of time, for in another instant the ship would have driven over her, and blanche's fate would have been sealed. as it was, they both had a very narrow escape, for bob in his haste had omitted to take a rope's-end with him, and had consequently no means of returning inboard, or rather, for the lee side of the deck was buried in the water, of regaining a place of safety. in this emergency brook, who was a witness of the scene, acted in a very prompt and creditable manner. the rope, by which bob had been in the act of securing himself, streamed out in the wind in such a way as to come within brook's reach, and by its aid he at once drew himself up to windward, and, climbing out on to the weather side of the ship, dexterously dropped from thence a coiled-up rope's-end, which he had taken off a belaying-pin, directly down upon bob's head. bob at once grasped the rope with his disengaged hand, and with a rapid twist threw two or three turns round his arm, whereupon brook, exerting all his strength, drew his prizes steadily up the steeply inclined deck until they were able to scramble into the place he had vacated upon the companion. chapter six. dismasted. as the hurricane swooped down upon the ship, captain staunton and mr bowles sprang with one accord aft to the helm. it was well that they did so; for when the vessel was thrown upon her beam-ends the wheel flew suddenly and violently round, taking unawares the unfortunate man who was stationed at it and hurling him far over the lee quarter into the sea, where he immediately sank, being probably disabled by a blow from the rapidly revolving spokes. the two officers saw in a moment that the poor fellow was irretrievably lost, so without wasting time in useless efforts to save him they devoted themselves forthwith to the task of preserving the ship. the wheel was put hard up, with the object of getting the craft before the wind; and then the two men stood anxiously watching and awaiting the result. two or three minutes passed, and there still lay the ship prone on her side, with her lee topsail and lower yard-arms dipping in the water, she would _not_ pay off. "bowles," said captain staunton, lashing the wheel as he spoke, "make your way forward; muster the carpenter and one or two of the most reliable men you have, and bring them aft with axes to cut away the mizen-mast; we _must_ get her before it somehow; should it come any stronger she will `turn the turtle' with us. station your men; but do not cut until i hold up my hand." mr bowles nodded his head; and then set out upon his difficult journey, climbing up to windward by the grating upon which the helmsman usually stood, and then working his way along the deck by grasping the bulwarks, which on the poop were only about a foot above the deck. on reaching the wake of the mizen-mast he was compelled to pause in order to help rex fortescue and violet out of their dangerous position, a position of course altogether untenable now that the order had been given to cut away the mast. this, with brook's assistance, he with some difficulty accomplished, landing them safely alongside blanche and bob upon the companion. the slight delay thus incurred threatened to have the most disastrous consequences; for when the chief mate was once more free to proceed upon his errand he became aware that the ship's inclination had sensibly increased, to such an extent indeed that he momentarily expected to feel her rolling bottom-up. glancing aft once more, he caught the eye of captain staunton, who immediately raised his hand. this the mate took to mean an order to cut away the mast with all possible expedition; and whipping out his keen broad-bladed knife he thrust it into brook's hand, and tapping the lanyards of the mizen rigging roared in his ear the one word "cut." then without pausing another instant he proceeded as rapidly as he could forward, much impeded by the continuous blinding shower of spindrift which swept across the vessel, and compelled to cling with all his strength to whatever he laid hold of in his progress, in order to escape being literally blown away. meanwhile brook, who now showed that he was made of far better stuff than anyone had hitherto suspected, began without a moment's delay to vigorously attack the rigid and tightly strained lanyards of the weather mizen rigging, being speedily joined by bob, who turned blanche over to rex fortescue's care the moment he saw that he could be of use. steadily and rapidly they hacked and notched away at the hard rope, working literally for their lives, for it was now no longer possible to doubt that the _galatea_ was slowly but surely capsizing. the upturned side which supported them was becoming every moment more nearly horizontal, the lee yard-arms were steadily burying themselves deeper and deeper in the water, and it became apparent that unless relieved, another minute would see the ship bottom-up. mr bowles, meanwhile, was out of sight forward, hidden by the gloom and the cloud of spindrift. at last one of the lanyards was severed by the keen blade in brook's hand. the others attached to the same shroud immediately began to render through the deadeye, throwing an extra strain upon the lanyards of the other shrouds, one of which immediately parted under bob's knife; then _twang, twang, twang_, one after the other, they rapidly yielded, until, as the last lanyard parted, _crash_ went the mizen-mast short off by the deck and away to leeward, carrying away the saloon skylight as it went. a perceptible shock was felt as the mast went over the side, and every one watched anxiously to see what the effect would be. the disappointment was extreme when it was seen that the relief was not sufficient to enable the ship to recover herself; she still lay down upon her side, and though she now no longer threatened momentarily to capsize, she neither righted nor paid off. the chief mate now reappeared upon the poop, having by this time mustered a gang of men, whom he had left clinging to the main-rigging, thinking it not unlikely the main-mast would also have to go. by the time he reached captain staunton's side the mind of the latter was made up. "it is no good, bowles," he said; "she will do nothing; we must part with the main-mast also. cut it away at once, and let us get her upon an even keel again if we can." mr bowles hurried forward, and as soon as he became visible to the men clustered about the main-rigging he made a sign to them to cut. the axes gleamed in the darkened air, a few rapid strokes were struck upon the lanyards of the rigging, and the main-mast bowed, crashed off at about ten feet from the deck, and was carried by the wind clear of the lee rail into the sea. another shock, almost as if the ship had struck something, accompanied the fall of the main-mast, and then, laboriously at first but finally with an almost sudden jerk, the _galatea_ swung upright, and, paying off at the same time, began to draw through the water, her speed increasing to some seven knots when she got fairly away before the wind, and was relieved of the wreckage towing alongside. the well was sounded, and to everybody's intense relief some six inches only of water was found in the hold. the pumps were rigged, manned, and set to work, and the water was so speedily got rid of as to show that it had penetrated only through some portion of the upper works. the first mad fury of the hurricane was by this time over, but it still blew far too heavily to admit of any other course than running dead before it. the sea, which had hitherto been a level plane of fleecy white foam, now showed symptoms of rising, and the aspect of the sky was still such as to force upon the voyagers the conclusion that they were not yet by any means out of danger. what _could_ be done, however, _was_ done; and the entire crew were set to work, some to get up preventer back-stays and secure the fore-mast, and others to convert the spare spars into jury-masts. the passengers, meanwhile, had made their way down into the saloon directly the ship recovered herself, where they found lance evelin pale, dazed, and barely conscious, bleeding from a very ugly wound in the temple caused by his having fallen heavily against the brass-bound edge of one of the saloon stairs. mrs staunton was doing her best single- handed to staunch the blood and bind up the wound, with little may on her knees beside the patient, sobbing as though her tender child's heart would break, for lance had taken greatly to the sweet little creature, and, grave and quiet though he was in general, was always ready to romp with her or tell her the most marvellous tales. mr dale had retired to his cabin and shut himself in. the new arrivals very promptly afforded their assistance, and in a short time lance was laid carefully in his berth, and packed there with flags, shawls, and other yielding materials in such a way as to prevent the increasing motion of the ship from causing him any avoidable discomfort. dinner that day was a very comfortless meal. by the time that it was served the sea had risen so much as to render the "fiddles" necessary on the cabin table, and even with their aid it was difficult to prevent the viands from being scattered upon the floor. the ship, running before the wind, and with only the fore-mast to steady her, rolled like a hogshead, and the act of dining was therefore quite an acrobatic performance, demanding so much activity of eye and hand as to completely mar the enjoyment of the good things which, in spite of the weather, graced the board. the conversation at table turned naturally upon the disaster which had befallen the ship; the passengers being all curious to know how it would affect them. "i suppose it means another beastly detention," grumbled dale. "the ship can't sail all the way to england with only one mast, can she, captain?" "well, scarcely," replied captain staunton. "the trip home _might_ be made under jury-masts; but it would be a longer and more tedious voyage than any of us would care for, i fancy, and at all events i have no intention of attempting it. our nearest port is otago; but as we are pretty certain to get westerly winds again as soon as this breeze has piped itself out, and as the current would also be against us if we attempted to return to the westward, i shall endeavour to reach valparaiso, where we may hope to restore the poor old barkie's clipped wings." "umph! i thought so," snarled dale. "and how long shall we be detained at that wretched hole?" "it will depend on circumstances," answered captain staunton, "but i think you may reckon on being a month there." "a month!" ejaculated dale, too much disgusted to say another word. "a month!" exclaimed rex fortescue, "jolly! i shall explore the andes and do a little shooting. i daresay evelin will join me--or us rather-- for i suppose you will go as well, won't you, brook?" "oh yes, i'll go, certainly; 'tain't often as i has a holiday, so i may as well take one when i can get it. but what's them handles we're to explore, mr fortescue? mr dale 'll come with us too, i'm sure; he's fond of sleeping in a tent, ain't you, sir?" "_don't_ be such a fool, brook," retorted that worthy. "if ever we get to valparaiso, which i think is very doubtful, i shall go home overland." "i am afraid that before you can do that, mr dale, you or someone else will have to bridge the atlantic," remarked captain staunton, as he leisurely sipped his wine. "i am extremely sorry for the untoward event which has interrupted our voyage, but it was one of those occurrences which no skill or foresight could have prevented, so i think the best thing you can do is to make as light of it as possible. worse things than being dismasted have happened at sea before now, and i, for one, am sincerely thankful that we are still above water instead of beneath it, as seemed more than likely at one time." so saying the skipper rose, and with a bow left the saloon for the deck. the sky still looked wild, but there were occasional momentary breaks in it, through which the lustrous stars of the southern heavens beamed gloriously down for an instant ere they were shut in again by the scurrying clouds; and the sea, which now ran high, afforded a magnificent spectacle as the huge billows raced after the ship, each with its foaming crest a cataract of liquid fire. and as the ship rolled, and the water washed impetuously across her decks, the dark planking gleamed with millions of tiny fairy-like stars, which waxed and waned with every oscillation of the vessel. the fore-mast had by this time been made secure, and, it being too dark to work any longer to advantage, the men were busy re-lashing the spars which had been cast adrift in the process of overhauling and selecting those most suitable for jury-masts. mr bowles, who had hurried up from the saloon after swallowing the merest apology for a dinner, had charge of the deck; and captain staunton joining him, the pair began to discuss the future with its plans and probabilities. two days later saw the _galatea_ making her way to the northward and eastward under a very respectable jury barque-rig, which enabled her to show her fore-topmast stay-sail, reefed fore-sail, and double-reefed fore-topsail on the fore-mast; a main topsail with topgallant-sail over it on the spar which did duty for a main-mast; and a reefed mizen set upon the jib-boom, which had been rigged in, passed aft, and set on end, properly stayed, with its heel stepped down through the hole in the poop from which the mizen-mast had erstwhile sprung. the gale had blown itself out; the sea was rapidly going down; the wind had hauled round from the westward once more; and the ship was slipping along at the rate of some five knots an hour. the minor damages had all been made good, excepting that done to the saloon skylight by the fall of the mizen-mast, and upon this job the carpenter, who was an ambitious man in his own way and not altogether devoid of taste, was taxing his skill to the utmost in an effort to make the new skylight both a stronger and a more handsome piece of work than its predecessor. the barometer was slowly but steadily rising; and everything seemed to point in the direction of fine weather. lucky was it for our voyagers that such was the case. the passengers had by this time got over their recent alarm, and were settling back into their old ways. even the impatient and discontented dale seemed to have got over to a great extent his annoyance at the delay which the loss of the masts involved; and, catching the contagion of the good spirits which animated the rest of the party, was actually betrayed into an effort or two to make himself agreeable that evening at the dinner-table. so amiable was this generally irritable individual that he positively listened with equanimity to the plans which fortescue and evelin--the latter with a broad patch of plaster across his brow-- were discussing relative to a properly organised sporting excursion into the cordilleras--or andes, as they indifferently termed them, much to the perplexity of brook--nor did he allow himself to show any signs of annoyance when the last-named individual sought to ruffle his (dale's) feathers, as he elegantly termed it, by urging him to join the expedition; on the contrary, to the secret but carefully concealed consternation of rex and lance, the prime movers in the matter, mr dale seemed more than half disposed to yield to brook's jesting entreaties that he would make one of the party. it almost seemed as though this intensely selfish and egotistical individual were at last becoming ashamed of his own behaviour and had resolved upon an attempt to improve it. dinner over, the ladies retired to the poop to witness the sunset, rex and lance accompanying them; while dale and brook remained below, lingering over their wine. "oh, how refreshing this cool evening breeze is, after the closeness and heat of the saloon!" exclaimed violet as, leaning on rex fortescue's arm, she gazed astern where the sun was just sinking out of sight beneath the purple horizon, leaving behind him a cloudless sky which glowed in his track with purest gold and rose tints, merging insensibly into a clear ultramarine, deepening in tone as the eye travelled up to the zenith and thence downward toward the eastern quarter where, almost before the upper rim of the sun's golden disc had sunk out of sight, a great star beamed out from the velvety background, glowing with that soft mellow effulgence which seems peculiar to southern skies. "yes," responded rex, "it _is_ cool and decidedly pleasant. do you not think it is almost _too_ cool, however, to be braved without a shawl or wrap of some kind after being cooped up for an hour in that roasting saloon. i cannot think why it should have been so warm this evening; to my mind it was hotter even than when we were crossing the line on the outward voyage." blanche and lance, who were standing near enough to overhear these remarks, were also of opinion that it had been quite uncomfortably warm below, and the two gentlemen, who by this time had arrived at that stage of intimacy with the ladies which seemed to justify them in their own eyes for assuming an occasional dictatorial air toward their fair companions, forthwith insisted on returning below to seek for shawls or wraps of some kind. "phew! it is like walking into a turkish bath to come in here," exclaimed rex, as he passed through the saloon doors; "and what a peculiar smell!" "yes," assented lance. "smells like oil or grease of some kind. i expect the steward has spilled some lamp-oil down in the lazarette, and the heat is causing the odour to rise. i hope it will pass off before we turn-in to-night, for it is decidedly objectionable." "do you know, miss lascelles," said lance, as he settled himself comfortably in a chair by that young lady's side, after carefully enveloping her in a soft fleecy wrap, "i have an idea in connection with that touching story you told me the other night respecting your uncle's loss of his wife and infant son." "have you, indeed?" said blanche. "and pray, what is it, mr evelin?" "simply this," replied lance. "i have an impression--almost a conviction--that your cousin is living, and that i can put my hand upon him when required." "oh, mr evelin! what is this you say?" exclaimed blanche eagerly. "have you, indeed, met with anyone in the course of your wanderings, whose history is such that you believe him to be my dear little long- lost cousin, dick? i do not think you would speak heedlessly or without due consideration upon such a subject; and if your supposition should be correct, and you can furnish a clue to the discovery of my missing relatives, you will give new life to my uncle, and lay us all under such an obligation as we shall never be able to repay." "do not place too much confidence in the idea that it would be quite impossible to repay even such an obligation as the one of which you speak," said lance in a low and meaning tone which somehow caused blanche's cheek to flush and her heart to flutter a little. "you are right in supposing," he continued, "that i would not make such an assertion without due consideration. i have thought much upon the story you confided to me; and, comparing it with another which i have also heard, i am of opinion that i have discovered a clue which is worth following up, if only for the satisfaction of ascertaining whether it be a true or a false one. if true, your poor aunt is without doubt long since dead; but your cousin is still alive, and--there he stands!" pointing to bob, who was in the waist leaning musingly over the lee rail. "where?" asked blanche, looking quite bewildered. "_there_," replied evelin, again pointing to bob. "if my supposition is correct, that lad bob is your cousin, miss lascelles." "impossible!" exclaimed blanche. "oh, mr evelin, tell me:--what has led you to think so?" "i will," answered lance. "but i hope the idea is not very distressing to you. it is true that the lad's present position is--well, not perhaps exactly worthy of the cousin of--" "oh no; do not say that, mr evelin, i beg," interrupted blanche. "i was not thinking of that in the least. if bob indeed prove to be my cousin, i shall certainly not be ashamed of him--quite the contrary; but you took me so completely by surprise. i have ever pictured my lost cousin as a chubby little flaxen-haired baby boy, from always having heard him so spoken of, i suppose; and i had forgotten for the moment that, if alive, he must necessarily have grown into a young man. but let me hear why you have come to think that robert may be my cousin; i am all curiosity and impatience--woman-like, you see--in the presence of a mystery." "well," said lance, "you doubtless remember that on one occasion i remarked upon the striking resemblance he bears to you; and, i might have added, the still more striking resemblance between him and your uncle, sir richard. my somewhat bungling remark, as i at the time considered it, led to your relating to me first the history of your friend bob, and then that of your uncle's loss. as i listened to you, the idea dawned upon me that bob and your lost cousin might possibly be one and the same individual i got the lad to tell me his story, which was naturally somewhat more full and circumstantial than your own sketch; and comparing dates and so on, i have been led to the conclusion that he may indeed prove to be sir richard's son. in the first place, his age, which of course can only be approximately guessed at, is about the same as your cousin's would be, if alive. next, there is the very extraordinary likeness, almost _too_ striking, i think, to be merely accidental; and lastly, the clothes he wore when found, and which are still in existence, i understand, are marked with the initials r.l., which may stand for richard lascelles, the name, as i understood you, which your cousin bore." at this moment captain staunton made his appearance at the head of the saloon staircase, and calling to the chief mate, said-- "mr bowles, pass the word for the carpenter to come aft to the saloon _at once_, if you please. let him look smart." the skipper then disappeared below again; but not before the passengers, who _were_ all by this time on the poop, had had time to observe that his features wore a somewhat anxious expression. the word was passed; and chips, who was on the forecastle smoking his pipe, at once came shambling aft. at the head of the companion-way he encountered the steward, who went up to mr bowles, said a word or two to him in a low tone of voice, and then returned below again. mr bowles nodded; stepped quietly down to the main dock, and put his head inside the door of the deck-house wherein mr dashwood was lodged; and in another moment the second mate came out, followed the chief up to the poop, and took charge of the deck; mr bowles immediately proceeding below. no one but lance appeared to take any particular notice of these movements, so quietly were they executed; and if he suspected that anything was wrong he took care not to show it, but went on chatting with blanche upon the same subject as before. it may be, however, that his thoughts wandered a little from the matter in hand, for once or twice he halted and hesitated somewhat in his speech, and seemed to forget what he was talking about. a quarter of an hour passed away; and then captain staunton, followed by the chief mate, came on deck. they walked as far as the break of the poop together, and then mr bowles gave the word to "pipe all hands aft!" ("there _is_ something amiss," thought lance.) in less than a minute the men were all mustered in the waist of the ship, waiting wonderingly to hear what the skipper had to say, for it was perfectly evident that captain staunton was about to address them. when the men were all assembled the captain turned to the passengers on the poop, and said-- "ladies and gentlemen, have the goodness to come a little nearer me, if you please; what i have to say concerns all hands alike--those in the saloon as well as those in the forecastle." the passengers moved forward as requested, lance taking blanche's hand upon his arm and giving it a little reassuring squeeze as he did so. captain staunton then turned himself so that he could be heard by all, and began-- "my friends, i have called you round me in order to communicate to you all a piece of very momentous intelligence. it is of a somewhat trying nature; and therefore, before i go further, i must ask you to listen to me patiently, to obey orders implicitly, and above all, to preserve coolness and presence of mind. _with_ these, i have not a doubt that we can successfully battle with the difficulty; _without_ them it will be impossible for us to work effectively, and the consequences must necessarily be proportionately grave." he paused a moment; and then, seeing that every one appeared to be perfectly cool and steady, he added-- "i greatly regret to say i have some cause for suspicion that _fire has broken out somewhere below_--steady, now! steady, lads; wait and hear all i have to say--i repeat i have a suspicion that fire may have broken out on board; the temperature of the saloon is unaccountably hot, and there is a strange smell below which may or may not be caused by fire. it is necessary that the matter should be looked into at once; and i ask every one here to lend me their best assistance. in case of my surmise proving correct _keep cool_ and work your hardest, every man of you, and then there is no reason whatever why we should not come easily out of the scrape. mr bowles and mr dashwood will each take charge of his own watch. mr dashwood, get the fire-engine rigged and under weigh. mr bowles, rig the force-pump, get the deck-tubs filled, and arrange your watch in a line along the deck with all the buckets you can muster. gentlemen," turning to the passengers, "be so good as to keep out of the men's way, and hold yourselves in readiness to assist in whatever manner may be required. now lads, go quietly to your posts, and do your duty like englishmen." chapter seven. a fiery ordeal. the chief and second mates had, when named by captain staunton, gone down upon the main deck; and upon the conclusion of the skipper's address they at once marshalled their watches and led them to their proper stations. the third mate, boatswain, sailmaker, cook, steward, and apprentices were embodied with the chief mate's gang, part of whom were told off to work the force-pump which was to feed the tank of the fire-engine, while the remainder were formed into line along the deck to pass buckets to the seat of the fire. the fire-engine, which had luckily been frequently in use at fire-drill, was in perfect order, and the men knowing exactly what to do, it was rigged and ready for action, with tank filled, the hose screwed on and laid along the deck, in a remarkably short time. captain staunton, on seeing that the men were cool and thoroughly under control, had immediately gone below again to rejoin the carpenter, whom he had left busily engaged in seeking the locality of the fire, of the actual existence of which he had no manner of doubt; indeed one had need only to go to the companion and breathe the heated and pungent atmosphere which ascended thence to have resolved any doubt he might have entertained upon the subject. "oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed blanche, turning with white quivering lips to evelin, as the skipper disappeared below; "do you think there really _is_ fire, mr evelin?" "it is quite impossible to say," answered evelin calmly, keeping to himself his own convictions; "but if there is, it cannot have yet gained much hold, and i daresay a half an hour or so of vigorous work with the fire-engine will effectually drown it out. and if it does not; if, looking at the matter in its worst possible light, the fire should after all get the upper hand and drive us out of the ship, the night is fine, and the water smooth enough to enable us easily and comfortably to take to the boats. then the boats themselves are amply sufficient to take everybody without crowding; they are in perfect order and the best equipped boats i have ever seen; so that let what will happen, i think we need not alarm ourselves in the least. "i think, however," he added, the other passengers having gathered round him, "that it could do no possible harm, and might be of advantage, supposing that the worst happens, if you ladies were to go to your berths and make up a package of your warmest clothing, together with any valuables you may have with you, so as to be in perfect readiness to leave the ship, if need be. but take matters quietly, i entreat you; for i sincerely hope it will prove that there is no necessity for any such decided step." the two girls turned away, and went together to the cabin which they jointly occupied. mrs staunton had already followed her husband below; and dale also hurried away, loudly bewailing his ill-luck in ever having embarked on board such an unfortunate vessel. "for heaven's sake follow him, fortescue, and stop his clamour!" exclaimed lance; "he is enough to demoralise an entire regiment, let alone a small ship's company like this." rex nodded, and followed his partner; seizing him by the arm and leading him aft, instead of allowing him to go below as he evidently intended: just then the carpenter came on deck, and advancing to the break of the poop, shouted-- "pass along the hose, boys, and start the engine. there is a spark or two of something smouldering down below, but we'll soon have it out." the men stationed at the engine gave a ringing cheer and, one of them starting an inspiriting _shanty_, began at once to work away at the handles. "well, this here's a pretty go, ain't it?" observed brook, addressing himself to evelin as the two stood together at the break of the poop, watching the men at work. "a most unfortunate circumstance," replied lance. "luckily there are no signs whatever of anything approaching to panic; and if all keep as cool as they are at present, we may hope to get out of this difficulty one way or the other without mishap. _you_ seem tolerably collected, mr brook; so perhaps there may be no harm in telling you that i fear matters are much more serious than they at present appear to be. all day to-day the saloon has appeared to me to be extraordinarily hot; and the presence of fire in the ship now sufficiently accounts for it. and if it has been burning for some time, it may prove to have obtained so strong a hold as to defy mastery. in such a case it behoves each one of us to set an example of quiet self-possession to all the rest. you behaved so nobly the other day during the gale that i think we may depend on you not to fail in that respect." "oh, _i'm_ all right," returned brook. "i don't believe in being put out about any think; i'm ready to help anywheres; and i'd begin at once if i knowed where i could do any good. and if the `governor' (referring presumably to mr dale) makes any fuss, i shall roll 'im up in a blanket like a parcel and take care of 'im myself." a thin vapour of smoke was by this time rising from the companion, accompanied by a strong and quite unmistakable smell of fire; and in a minute or two more captain staunton, in his shirt sleeves, appeared on deck and called forward for more water. "there is rather more of it than we at first thought, lads," he said; "but stick steadily to your work and we'll conquer it yet." the gang at the fire-engine was rapidly relieved; a fresh shanty was struck up; the chain of men with buckets got to work; and the quickened _clank clank_ of the engine handles showed that the crew were still confident and determined. "now is our time," exclaimed lance to brook; "cut in here," as a rather wide gap in the chain of bucket-men revealed itself just at the head of the saloon staircase; and in another moment both were hard at work, with their coats off, passing buckets. another twenty minutes might have elapsed when captain staunton and the carpenter staggered together up the saloon staircase to the deck, gasping for breath, their clothes and skin grimy with smoke, and the perspiration streaming down their faces. "send two fresh hands below, if you please, mr bowles," shouted the skipper; "and you, lads, drop your buckets, and lend a hand here to cut some holes in the deck; the fire is spreading forward, and we must keep it to this end of the ship if possible." two of the most determined of the crew at once stepped forward and volunteered to go below; captain staunton nodded his permission, and led them to the scene of their labours; while the chain of men who had been passing buckets along the deck dropped them, and, under the carpenter's supervision, at once commenced the task of cutting through the deck. the smoke was by this time pouring in volumes up the companion and through the skylight. lance had been too busy to take much notice of this whilst engaged in passing the buckets; but now that a respite came he had time to look about him. he saw the great dun cloud of smoke surging out of the companion and streaming away to leeward; and he saw indistinctly through it at intervals a small group gathered together aft by the weather taffrail. he thought he would join this group for a moment, if only to ascertain whether the girls had succeeded in securing such things as they were most anxious to save; and he sauntered toward them in his usual easy and deliberate manner. as he drew near violet rose and said-- "oh, mr evelin! i am _so_ glad you are come; i was beginning to feel quite anxious about blanche--but where is she; i do not see her with you?" "she is _not_ with me, miss dudley," answered lance; "what led you to suppose she would be?" "not with you! oh, mr evelin, _where_ is she, then? if she is not with you she must still be in her cabin. i stayed there until the smoke was too thick to see or breathe any longer, and then i came on deck. i spoke to her, urging her to come also, and receiving no reply thought she had left without my noticing it; but she is not here anywhere." the latter part of this speech never reached lance's ears, for, upon fully realising that blanche--"his own sweet darling," as he had called her in his inmost thoughts a thousand times--was missing, he darted to the companion-way and plunged down the stairs, three or four at a time, into the blinding pungent suffocating smoke which rushed momentarily in more and more dense volumes up through the opening. on reaching the foot of the staircase, he found that several of the planks had been pulled up to allow the men tending the hose to get below the saloon floor and approach as near as possible to the seat of the fire. so dense was the smoke just here that it was only by the merest chance he escaped falling headlong into the abyss. catching sight, however, of the aperture just in time to spring across it, he did so; and glancing back for an instant on reaching the other side, he saw a broad expanse of glowing white-hot bales of wool, and, dimly through the acrid smoke and steam, the forms of the men who were plying the engine hose. groping his way into the saloon, which was by this time so full of smoke that he could barely distinguish through it a feeble glimmer from the cabin lamp, he made his way in the direction of the state-room appropriated to blanche and violet. the smoke got into his eyes and made them water; into his throat and made him cough violently; into his lungs, producing an overpowering sense of suffocation, and impressing unmistakably upon him the necessity for rapidity and decision of movement. blind, giddy, breathless, he staggered onward, groping for the handle of the state-room door. at length he found it, wrenched the door open, and rapidly felt with hands and feet about the floor and in each berth. no one there. where then could blanche be? she was not on deck, and it was hardly probable she could have fallen overboard. then as he hastily began the search anew his foot kicked against something on the floor, which he at once picked up. it was a boot--a man's boot unmistakably, from its size and weight. this at once satisfied him that in the obscurity he had groped his way into the wrong state-room; and he must prosecute his search further. but he was suffocating. already his brain began to reel; there was a loud humming in his ears; his eyes ached and felt as though they would burst out of their sockets; and he found his strength ebbing away like water. should he at once prosecute his search further? that seemed physically impossible. but if blanche were in that fatal atmosphere she must soon die, if not dead already. and if he left the cabin to obtain a breath of fresh air was he not likely to go astray again, and lose still more precious time? no; the search must be proceeded with _at once_; and, reeling like a drunken man, lance felt for the state-room door, staggered into the saloon, and felt along the bulkhead for the handle of the next door. oh, heavens! what a search that was. his head felt as though it would burst; he gasped for breath, and inhaled nothing but hot pungent smoke; the saloon seemed to be miles instead of yards in length. thank god! at last; the handle is found and turned, and the door flung open. lance, with the conviction that unless he can escape in a very few seconds he will die, gropes wildly round and into the berths. ah! what is this? something coiled-up at the foot of the bottom berth. a human body! a woman! lance grasps it tightly in his arms; stumbles out through the door with it, along the saloon, through the passage. a roaring as of a thousand thunders is in his ears; stars innumerable dance before his eyes; he sees as in a dream the yawning gulf in the floor; a broad glare of fierce white light reels madly to and fro before him; a confused sound of hoarse voices strikes upon his ear; he feels that the end is come--that he is dying; but with a last supreme effort he staggers up the saloon staircase to the deck, turns instinctively to windward out of the smoke, and with his precious burden still tightly clasped in his arms, falls prostrate and senseless to the deck. rex fortescue, who had been present when violet spoke to lance of blanche's absence, and who had witnessed the hasty departure of his friend upon his perilous search, was at the head of the companion, on his way below, having grown anxious at lance's prolonged absence, when the latter reappeared on deck; and assistance having been hastily summoned, the pair who had so nearly met their deaths from suffocation were, with some little difficulty, at length restored to consciousness. meanwhile, it had become apparent to captain staunton that the fire was of a much more serious character than he had anticipated, and that it was every minute assuming more formidable proportions. he therefore at length decided, as a precautionary measure, to get the boats into the water without further delay. he was anxious more particularly about the launch and pinnace, as these boats were stowed over the main hatch and would have to be hoisted out by means of yard-tackles. this would be a long and difficult operation, the ship being under jury-rig; and should the fire attack the heel of the main-mast before these craft were in the water, the two largest and safest boats in the ship might be seriously damaged, if not destroyed, in the process of launching, or perhaps might defy the unaided efforts of the crew to launch them at all. there would be no difficulty about the other boats, as they could be lowered from the davits. the mates were busy superintending and directing the efforts of their respective gangs towards the extinguishing of the fire; captain staunton, therefore, after a moment or two of anxious deliberation, confided to bob the important duty of provisioning and launching the boats, giving him as assistants the cook, steward, and two able seamen, and soliciting also the aid of the male passengers. now it happened that the _galatea's_ boats were somewhat different in character from the boats usually to be found on board ship. captain staunton had, when quite a lad, been compelled, with the rest of the ship's company of which he was then a junior and very unimportant member, to abandon the ship and take to the boats in mid-ocean; and he then learnt a lesson which he never forgot, and formed ideas with respect to the fitting of boats which his nautical friends had been wont to rather sneer at and stigmatise as "queer." but when the _galatea_ was in process of fitting out he had, with some difficulty, succeeded in persuading his owners to allow him to carry out these ideas, and the boats were fitted up almost under his own eye. the chief peculiarity of the boats lay in their keels. these were made a trifle stouter than usual, and of ordinary depth. but they were so shaped and finished that a false keel some eight or nine inches deep could be securely fastened on below in a very few minutes. this was managed by having the true keel bored in some half a dozen places along its length, and the holes "bushed" with copper. the copper bushes projected a quarter of an inch above the upper edge of the keel, and were so finished as to allow of copper caps screwing on over them, thus effectually preventing the flow of water up through the bolt-holes into the interior of the boat. the false keel was made to accurately fit the true keel, and was provided with stout copper bolts coinciding in number and position with the bolt-holes in the true keel. to fix the false keel all that was necessary was to unscrew the caps from the top of the "bushes," apply the false to the true keel, pushing the bolts up through their respective holes, and set them up tight by means of thumb-screws. the whole operation could be performed in a couple of minutes, and the boats were then fit to beat to windward to any extent. as far as the gigs were concerned (with the exception of the whaleboat gig, which was an exquisitely modelled boat, fitted with air-chambers so as to render her self-righting and unsinkable), beyond greater attention than usual to the model of the craft, this was the only difference which captain staunton had thought it necessary to make between the boats of the _galatea_ and those of other ships; but in the cases of the launch and pinnace he had gone a step further, by fitting them with movable decks in sections, which covered in the boats forward and aft and for about a foot wide right along each side. these decks were bolted down and secured with thumb-screws to beams which fitted into sockets under the gunwale; and when the whole was once fixed each section contributed to keep all immovably in place. the decking being but light it was not difficult to fix, and in an hour after the order was given to launch the boats, the launch and pinnace were in the water alongside, and the gigs hanging at the davits ready to lower away at a moment's notice. thanks also to captain staunton's never-ceasing care with regard to the boats, they were all in perfect condition, and not leaky as baskets, as are too many boats when required to be lowered upon an unexpected emergency. the gigs and the launch were regularly half-filled with water every morning before the decks were washed down, and emptied at the conclusion of that ceremony; while the pinnace, which was stowed bottom-up in the launch, was liberally soused with water at the same time. in addition to this the proper complement of oars and rowlocks, the stretchers, boat-hook, mop, baler, anchor, rudder, yoke, and tiller, together with the compass, masts, and sails, were always stowed in the boat to which they belonged, and were carefully overhauled once every week under the skipper's own eye. thus, on the present occasion, there was none of that bewildered running about and searching high and low for the boats' gear; it was all at hand and ready for use whenever it might be wanted; there was nothing therefore to do but to make sure that each boat was amply provisioned. this, the launch and pinnace being safely in the water, was bob's next task, to which he devoted himself coolly but with all alacrity. the boats' water-breakers, which were slung, ready filled, between the fore and after gallows, under two of the gigs (each breaker bearing painted upon it the name of the boat to which it belonged), were cast adrift and passed into their proper boats as they were lowered, and then followed as large a quantity of provisions as could possibly be stowed away without too much encumbering the movements of the occupants. meanwhile the scuppers had all been carefully plugged up, the decks pierced, and all hands set to work with buckets, etcetera, to flood them, and still the fire increased in volume. it was : p.m. by the time that the boats were veered astern, fully equipped, and ready to receive their human freight; and at midnight the main-mast fell, flames at the same time bursting up through the saloon-companion and skylight. upon perceiving this it became evident to captain staunton that it was quite hopeless to further prolong the fight; the crew had been for four hours exerting themselves to their utmost capacity, with the fire gaining steadily upon them the whole time; they were now completely exhausted, and the fire was blazing furiously almost throughout the devoted ship; he therefore considered he had done his full duty and was now quite justified in abandoning the unfortunate _galatea_ to her fiery doom. he accordingly gave orders for the crew to desist from their efforts, to collect their effects, and to muster again upon the quarter- deck with all possible expedition. the men needed no second bidding, they saw that the moments of the good ship were numbered; and, throwing down whatever they happened to have in their hands, they made a rush for the forecastle, and there, in the midst of the already blinding and stifling smoke, proceeded hurriedly to gather together their few belongings. in less than five minutes all hands were collected in the waist, waiting the order to pass over the side. the boats had meanwhile been hauled alongside, and the ladies, with little may, carefully handed into the launch. this, when the attempt came to be made, proved a task of no little difficulty, for the ship's sides were found to be so hot that it was impossible to touch them. however, by the exercise of great caution it was accomplished without mishap; and then the male passengers were ordered down over the side, rex and lance going into the launch with the ladies, while dale and brook were told off to the pinnace. the crew were then sent down; each man as he passed over the rail being told what boat he was to go into. mr bowles was appointed to the command of the pinnace, and mr dashwood was ordered to take charge of the whaleboat gig, with six hands as his crew. the passengers and crew of the _galatea_ were distributed thus:-- the launch, under the command of captain staunton, carried mrs staunton, her little daughter may, violet dudley, blanche lascelles, the bosom friends rex and lance, bob and his three fellow apprentices, and the steward--twelve in all. the pinnace, commanded by mr bowles, had on board mr forester dale, brook, the carpenter, the sailmaker, and two of the seamen, numbering seven all told. the whaleboat gig, the smartest boat of the fleet, was manned, as already stated, by mr dashwood and six picked hands; she was to act as tender to the launch. the second gig, of which the boatswain was given charge, carried the remainder of the crew, five in number, or six including the boatswain. captain staunton was of course the last man to leave the ship, and it was not until the moment had actually arrived for him to do so that the full force of the calamity appeared to burst upon him. up to that moment he had been working harder than any other man on board; and whilst his body had been actively engaged, his mind was no less busy devising expedients for the preservation of the noble ship with the lives and cargo which she carried, and for the safety of all of which he was responsible. but now all that was done with; the ship and cargo were hopelessly lost, and the time had come when they must be abandoned to their fate. it was true that many precious lives were still, as it were, held in his hands; that upon his skill and courage depended to a very large extent their preservation; but that was a matter for the future--the _immediate_ future, no doubt, but at that supreme moment captain staunton seemed unable to think of anything but _the present_-- that terrible present in which he must abandon to the devouring flames the beautiful fabric which had borne them all so gallantly over so many thousand leagues of the pathless ocean, through light and darkness, through sunshine and tempest, battling successfully with the wind and the wave in their most unbridled fury, to succumb helplessly at last under the insidious attack of that terrible enemy _fire_. the last of the crew had passed down over the side and had been received into the boat to which he was appointed; the boats had all (excepting the launch) shoved off from the ship's side and retired to a distance at which the fierce heat of the victorious flames were no longer a discomfort, and it was now high time that the skipper himself should also leave. the flames were roaring and leaping below, above, and around him; the scorching air was surging about him, torrents of sparks were whirling around him, yet he seemed unable to tear himself away. there he stood in the gangway, his head bare, with his cap in his hand, and his eyes roving lingeringly and lovingly fore and aft, and then aloft to the blazing spars and sails. at length the fore-mast was seen to tremble and totter, it wavered for a moment, and then with a crash and in a cloud of fiery sparks plunged hissing over the side, the opposite side, fortunately, to that on which the launch lay. this aroused captain staunton; he gazed about him a single moment longer in a dazed bewildered way, and then, as the ship rolled and the launch rose upon a sea, sprang lightly down into the boat, and in a voice stern with emotion, gave the order to shove off. "oh, papa," cried little may, "i's so glad you's come; i sought you _weren't_ coming;" and the sweet little creature threw her arms lovingly about her father's neck. do not deem him unmanly that he hid his eyes for a moment on his child's shoulder, perchance to pray for her safety in the trials, the troubles, and the dangers which now lay before them. then handing the little one back to her mother, he hailed in a cheery voice the rest of the boats to close round the launch as soon as she had withdrawn to a safe distance. in a few minutes the little fleet lay on their oars close together, at a distance of about a hundred yards from the blazing ship. captain staunton then in a few well-chosen words first thanked all hands for the strenuous efforts they had made to save the ship; and then explained to them his plans for the future. he proposed in the first place, he said, to remain near the _galatea_ as long as she floated; because if any other craft happened to be in their neighbourhood, her crew would be certain to notice the light of the fire and bear down to see what it meant, in which case they would be spared the necessity for a long voyage in the boats. but if no friendly sail appeared within an hour or two of the destruction of their own ship, it was his intention to continue in the boats the course to valparaiso which they had been steering when the fire broke out. by his reckoning they were a trifle over eighteen hundred miles from this port--a long distance, no doubt; but he reminded them that they were in the pacific, and might reasonably hope for moderately fine weather; their boats were all in perfect order, well supplied, and in good sailing trim, instead of being loaded down to the gunwale, as was too often the case when a crew were compelled to abandon their ship; and he believed that, unless some unforeseen circumstance occurred to delay them, they could make the passage in a fortnight. and finally he expressed a hope that all hands would maintain strict discipline and cheerfully obey the orders of their officers, as upon this would to a very great extent depend their ultimate safety. his address was responded to with a ringing cheer; after which the occupants of the various boats subsided into silence and sat watching the burning ship. the _galatea_ was by this time a mass of flame fore and aft. her masts were gone, her decks had fallen in, and her hull above water was in several places red-hot; while as she rolled heavily on the long swell, burying her heated sides gunwale-deep in the water, great clouds of steam rose up like the smoke of a broadside, and hid her momentarily from view. the fire continued to blaze more and more fiercely as it spread among the cargo, until about a couple of hours after the boats had left the ship, when the intense and long-continued heat appeared to cause some rivets to give way, or to destroy some of the iron plates; for a great gap suddenly appeared in the _galatea's_ side, a long strip of plating curling up and shrivelling away like a sheet of paper, and momentarily revealing the white-hot contents of the glowing told; then the water poured in through the orifice; there was a sudden upbursting of a vast cloud of steam accompanied by a mighty hissing sound; the hull appeared to writhe like a living thing in mortal agony; and then--darkness upon the face of the waters. the scorched and distorted shell of iron which had once been as gallant a ship as ever rode the foam was gone from sight for ever. chapter eight. at the mercy of wind and wave. the silence which followed the disappearance of the _galatea_ was broken by a plaintive wail from little may, who sobbed out that she was "oh! so sorry that poor papa's beautiful ship was all burned up." her sorrows, however, were speedily charmed away by the representation made to her by her mother that if the ship had not been burnt they would probably never have thought of going for a delightful sail in the boats, as they now were; and soon afterwards the poor overtired child fell into a deep dreamless sleep in her mother's arms. as everything had been made ready in the launch before she left the ship's side, the ladies had now nothing to do but make themselves thoroughly comfortable for the night on and among the blankets and skin rugs which had been arranged for them in the stern-sheets. a cosy enough little cabin, of necessarily very limited dimensions, was also arranged in the bows of the boat for the gentlemen; and to this, upon captain staunton's assurance that their services would certainly not be needed for at least some hours, rex and lance betook themselves, accompanied by bob and young neville, the former of whom was to keep watch alternately with the skipper. the night now being so far advanced, captain staunton announced to the occupants of the other boats his intention to wait for daylight before making sail; and, the tired crews at once composing themselves to slumber, silence soon fell upon the little fleet of boats which lay there riding lightly over the majestic slowly-heaving swell of the pacific under the solemn starlight. the hours of night passed peacefully away; and the watchers on board the several boats at length saw the velvety darkness in the eastern quarter paling before the approaching day. the stars, which but a short time before had risen into view over the dark rim of the horizon, dwindled into lustreless insignificance and finally disappeared; the sky grew momentarily paler and bluer in tint, the light sweeping imperceptibly higher and wider over the ethereal vault; then suddenly above the eastern horizon appeared a faint delicate rosy flush, followed by a brilliant golden pencilling of the lower edges of a few flecks of cloud invisible before: long shafts of golden light sprang radiating upward from a point below the horizon; and in another moment the upper edge of a great golden disc rose into view, flooding the laughing waves with shimmering radiance, and transforming in a moment the hitherto silent and sombre scene into one of joyousness and life. sea birds hovered screaming high in the air, on the look-out for breakfast; flying-fish sparkled like glittering gems out of the bosom of the heaving deep; dolphins leaped and darted here and there; a school of porpoises rotated lazily past, heading to the westward; and away upon the very verge of the horizon a large school of whales appeared spouting and playing. it was day again. bob at once, in accordance with his instructions, called captain staunton, who had lain down an hour or two before to snatch a little rest. the skipper, who had turned-in "all standing," that is to say, without undressing, soon made his appearance; and, first glancing keenly all round the horizon in the vain hope of discovering a sail, at once hailed the other boats, ordering them to make sail and to proceed upon a north-easterly course, extending themselves in line to the right and left, and to maintain as great a distance apart during the day as would be compatible with an easy interchange of communication by signal; to keep a sharp look-out all day; and to close in again upon the launch at nightfall. the order was promptly obeyed, and in five minutes afterwards the little fleet were dancing gaily along over the low liquid hills of the pacific swell, tossing tiny showers of spray out on each side from their bows, and leaving a long glistening wake of miniature whirlpools behind them. the slight bustle of making sail on the boats, combined with the novelty of their situation, was sufficient to rouse all hands; and a few minutes after the boats were fairly under weigh, the ladies and little may emerged from their quarters in the stern-sheets of the launch. the excitement of the previous night had been completely overcome by the fatigue of preparation to desert the ship, and the lateness of the hour of retirement had secured for these, our heroines, a few hours of sound repose, so that when they made their appearance aft, refreshed by sleep and exhilarated by the pure bracing morning breeze, they looked and felt as little like castaways as one can well imagine. indeed, they appeared more disposed to regard the adventure as a pleasantly exciting escapade than anything else--a state of feeling which the gentlemen of the party were careful to foster and encourage by every means in their power, judging it highly probable that there would be enough and more than enough to damp their high spirits before this singular boat-voyage, just commenced, should be over. on board the launch, the fortunes of which we propose to follow for the present, all was pleasant activity. even the skipper, whose reflections must necessarily have been of a somewhat sombre character, glad to observe such a prevalence of good spirits among his fellow voyagers, resolutely put all disagreeable thoughts behind him, and chimed in with the others, feeling the importance of prolonging to its utmost extent so favourable and pleasant a state of affairs. lance, whose experiences in the australian bush had evidently made him fertile of resource, now rummaged out from among his baggage a diminutive but effective cooking apparatus, the fuel for which was supplied from a goodly jar of spirit stowed away in the eyes of the boat; and, initiating the steward into the peculiarities of its management and explaining to him its capabilities, an appetising breakfast of coffee and fried chops, cut from the carcass of a sheep hastily slaughtered the previous night, was soon served out to the occupants of the boat. fishing-lines were afterwards produced, and, if the sport was meagre and the amount of fish captured but small, the expedient had at least the good effect of providing occupation and amusement for the ladies during the greater part of the day. as the weather continued fine, and there was absolutely nothing to do but to steer the boat upon a given course and keep a bright look-out, captain staunton seized the opportunity to take a good long spell of sleep, not only to make up for that lost on the previous night, but also to lay in a stock, as it were, against the time when probably many long and weary hours would have to be passed without it. lance and rex took the helm in turns throughout the day, while the ladies tended the fishing-lines, chatted with their male companions, or played with little may, as the humour took them. about an hour before sunset a small red flag was hoisted on board the launch as a signal for the other boats to close, the signal being repeated by each boat as soon as it was observed and kept flying until the most distant craft had answered it by bearing up or hauling to the wind as the case might be; and by the time that the stars were fairly out the little fleet was once more sailing along in a close and compact body. so ended the first day in the boats. this pleasant and satisfactory state of affairs lasted for five days, and then came a change. on the afternoon of the fifth day light fleecy vapours began to gather in the sky, growing thicker as the afternoon waned, until by sunset the entire canopy of heaven was veiled by huge masses of dense slate-coloured cloud, which swept heavily across the firmament from the eastward. the aneroid which captain staunton had ordered to be put oh board the launch indicated a considerable decrease of atmospheric pressure, which, coupled with the appearance of the sky, led the skipper to believe that bad weather was at hand; accordingly, when the other boats closed in upon the launch at sundown, word was passed along the line to keep a sharp look-out and to be prepared for any change which might occur. about nine p.m. the wind died almost completely away; and shortly afterwards a few heavy drops of rain fell, speedily followed by a drenching shower. this killed the remaining light air of wind, and the boats lay idly upon the water, their saturated canvas flapping heavily against the masts. but not for long; the sails were speedily lowered down and spread across from gunwale to gunwale to catch the precious moisture, and so heavy was the downpour that in the quarter of an hour during which the shower lasted the voyagers were enabled to almost entirely refill their breakers, the contents of which had by this time very materially diminished. the rain ceased suddenly, and a few minutes afterwards a puff of wind, hot as the breath of a furnace, swept over the boats from the north- east, and passed away, leaving a breathless calm as before. this was repeated twice or thrice; and then with a heavier puff than before a stiff breeze set in from the north-east, breaking off the boats from their course, and necessitating their hauling close upon a wind on the port tack. by midnight the wind had increased so much that it became necessary to reef; the launch and pinnace double-reefing their canvas in order that they might not run away from the other boats. the sea now began to rise rapidly, and when day at length broke it revealed a dismal picture of dark tempestuous sky, leaden-grey ocean, its surface broken up into high, racing, foam-capped seas, and the little fleet of boats tossing wildly upon the angry surges, the launch leading, the pinnace next, and the others so far astern that it took captain staunton quite ten minutes to satisfy himself that they were all still in sight. it was by this time blowing a moderate gale, and appearances seemed to indicate that downright bad weather was not far off; the captain decided, therefore, to heave-to at once, as it would be quite impossible in any other way to keep the little fleet together. the canvas on board the launch was accordingly still further reduced, the jib-sheet hauled over to windward, and the boat left to fight it out as best she could. the pinnace soon afterwards joined company and followed suit, the remainder of the boats doing the same as they came up. as the day wore on the gale increased in strength, the sea rising proportionally and flinging the boats about like corks upon its angry surface. so violent was the motion that it was only with the utmost difficulty the steward succeeded in preparing a hot meal at mid-day, and when evening came our adventurers were obliged to content themselves with what lance laughingly called "a cold collation." the day was indeed a wretched one; there was no temptation whatever to leave such slight shelter as the tiny cabins afforded, for the launch, and indeed all the other boats as well, were constantly enveloped in spray blown from the caps of the seas by the wind, while, cooped up below, it was unpleasantly warm, and the motion of the boat was so violent that her occupants were compelled to wedge themselves firmly in one position to avoid being dashed against their companions. if the day was one of discomfort, the night which followed was infinitely worse. the gale continued steadily to increase; the sea rose to a tremendous height, breaking heavily; the spray flew continuously over the launch in drenching showers; the little craft, under the merest shred of canvas, was careened gunwale-to by the force of the wind every time she rose upon the crest of a sea, and the most watchful care of the skipper, who had stationed himself at the helm, was sometimes insufficient to prevent a more than ordinarily heavy sea from breaking on board. the increasing frequency of these occurrences at length necessitated the maintenance of one hand continually at the baler in order to keep the boat free of water, and in spite of all the ladies were unable to escape a thorough wetting. nor was this the worst mishap. the water rose so high in the interior of the boat on one or two occasions that it got at the provisions, so seriously damaging some of them that there was little hope of their being rendered again fit for consumption. it was a most fortunate circumstance for those in the launch that, thanks to the captain's foresight, she had been fitted with a partial deck, otherwise she must inevitably have been swamped. how it fared with the other boats it was impossible to say; the darkness was too profound to permit of their being seen, if they still remained afloat; but the manner in which the launch suffered caused the skipper to entertain the gravest apprehensions for the rest of the fleet, and he almost dreaded the return of daylight lest it should reveal to him the realisation of his worst fears. it seemed to the occupants of the launch as though that miserable night would never end. the tardy dawn, however, made its appearance at last, reluctantly, as it seemed to those drenched and weary watchers, and the moment that there was light enough to enable him to see distinctly captain staunton staggered to his feet, and steadying himself by grasping the boat's main-mast, took a long anxious look all round the horizon. at first he could distinguish nothing save the wildly rushing foam-capped seas, and the scurrying shreds of cloud which swept rapidly athwart the black and stormy sky; but after some minutes of painfully anxious scrutiny he descried, about three miles away to leeward, a tiny dark object, appearing at intervals against the leaden-grey of the horizon, which his seaman's eye told him was the pinnace. _the remainder of the fleet had disappeared_. it was no more than a realisation of his forebodings; but captain staunton possessed far too feeling a heart not to be powerfully affected by the loss of the two boats and the thirteen brave fellows who manned them. he ran over their names mentally, and recalled that no less than nine of the thirteen had arranged for half their pay to be handed over to their families at home; and he pictured to himself the bitter grief and distress there would be in those nine families when it came to be known that the husband, the father, the bread-winner was gone, overwhelmed and swallowed up by the remorseless ocean which knows _no_ pity, not even for the wife and the helpless children. with a powerful effort the captain dismissed these painful reflections from his mind, and turned his attention to matters nearer home. he had already searchingly scrutinised the aspect of the weather with most unsatisfactory results. as far as his experience went there was every prospect of a continuance--nay more, an increase--of the gale. the sky to windward looked wilder and more threatening than ever; while that the sea was still rising was a fact about which there could be no mistake. he dived into the little cabin or shelter aft, and took a long look at the aneroid, to find that it still manifested a downward tendency. it was evidently hopeless to expect a favourable change in the weather for some hours at least, and to attempt any longer to maintain the boat's position, in the face of an increasing gale, was to expose her and those in her to imminent risk of destruction; he therefore decided to watch his opportunity and seize the first favourable moment for bearing up and running before it. bob and his fellow apprentices, together with lance and rex, were soon summoned, and preparations made for bearing up. it was an anxious moment, for should the boat be caught broadside-on by a breaking sea she would to a dead certainty be turned bottom-up, when nothing could save her occupants. captain staunton stood at the tiller, intently watching the onward rush of the mountainous seas as they came swooping down with upreared threatening crests upon the launch. presently, as the boat fell off a trifle from the wind and the main-sail filled, he gave the order to "let draw the jib-sheet." the weather sheet was let go and the lee one hauled in like lightning, and the boat began to forge ahead. a sea came swooping down upon the little craft, but it was not a dangerous one; the skipper sent the boat manfully at it, and with a wild bound she rose over the crest and plunged into the liquid valley beyond. the next sea was a much more formidable one, but by luffing the boat just in the nick of time she went through and over it, with no worse consequences than the shipping of a dozen or so buckets of water, a mishap to which they were by this time growing quite accustomed, and then there occurred a very decided "smooth." "brail up the main-sail, boys," shouted the skipper cheerily, and in a second it was done; the helm was put up, the boat's head fell off, and away she went with a rush, broadside-on to the sea. with a sickening heave she rose into the air as the next sea lifted her, and this time too a little water came on board, but nothing to speak of; and by the time the next wave caught her, her quarter was fairly turned to it, and she was rushing away before the wind. the fore-sail was then set and the main-sail stowed, and everybody sat down to watch the result. the change was certainly for the better; for though a sea still occasionally broke on board it did so with less violence than before, and most of it now flowed off the deck and overboard again, instead of falling into the body of the boat as before. as soon as the fore-sail was set, captain staunton steered for the pinnace, with the intention of ordering her also to bear up, as well as to inquire whether they had seen either of the other boats. suddenly, bob, who was watching the little speck in the distance which showed against the horizon when both launch and pinnace happened to be on the summit of a wave together, caught sight for a single instant of what appeared to him to be an attempt at a signal made on board the latter. "hillo!" he exclaimed, "what's wrong with the pinnace? they're waving to us, sir." "indeed!" said the skipper in a tone of concern. "are you sure, bob? here, take the tiller for a moment and let me have a look. keep her _dead_ before it." "ay, ay, sir," responded bob, as he changed places with his superior; the latter going forward and steadying himself by the fore-mast as he watched for the reappearance of the pinnace. presently he caught sight of her, and caught sight too, most unmistakably, of a flag--or something doing duty therefor--being very energetically waved on board. "you are right, bob," he sharply exclaimed, "they _are_ signalling us. i fervently hope there is nothing wrong with them. starboard a little; there, steady so. keep her at that as long as you can, and only run her off when it is absolutely necessary in order to avoid a breaking sea." in about twenty minutes the launch had reached the pinnace. as the two boats closed, it was seen that all hands on board her were busy baling; and she appeared to be low in the water. when the launch was near enough for a hail to be heard, mr bowles stood up and, placing his two hands together at his mouth, so as to form an impromptu speaking trumpet, shouted-- "can you make room for us on board the launch, captain staunton? we are stove and sinking." "ay, ay," responded the skipper. "we'll round-to and come alongside." he then sprang aft to the tiller, which he seized, shouting at the same time, "to your stations, lads! in with the fore-sail, smartly now." the sail was speedily taken in; the close-reefed main-sail was set; and the moment that the sheet was hauled aft the helm was jammed hard down and the boat brought to the wind, without wasting a moment to watch for a favourable opportunity. the launch was flying swiftly away from the pinnace, and the latter was sinking; there was therefore no time for watching for opportunities; by the frantic way in which mr bowles resumed his task of baling the instant that he had communicated his momentous tidings captain staunton saw that the danger on board the pinnace was imminent; and the boat was at once rounded-to, shipping in the operation a sea which half-filled her. "man the buckets, every man of you," shouted the skipper as the launch, now close-hauled, began slowly to forge ahead in the direction of the devoted pinnace. the seas broke heavily against the bows of the boat as they swept furiously down upon her; but bob and his comrades baled like madmen, while the skipper handled the little craft like the consummate seaman he was; and between them all, they managed to keep her above water. "drop your bucket, bob, and stand by to heave them a line," presently shouted the captain. bob sprang forward, and seized the end of the long painter which was neatly coiled-up and stopped with a ropeyarn or two. whipping open his knife he quickly severed the stops, and was just arranging the coil in his hand when captain staunton cried sharply-- "heave with a will, bob. there she goes!" bob glanced at the pinnace, now some twenty feet distant, just in time to see a heavy sea break fairly on board the water-logged boat and literally bury her. there was a wild cry from her occupants, as they felt the boat sinking under them, and in another instant they were left struggling for their lives in the furious sea. bob hove the line with all his strength, and with unerring aim into the midst of the little crowd of drowning human beings, and then called for assistance. some of them he saw had seized it; and he at once began to haul in. the other apprentices with lance and rex sprang to his aid, and presently hauled on board brook and one of the seamen. by this time the launch had crept up to the spot where the pinnace had disappeared; and by reaching out their hands those on board were able to seize and drag inboard three more of the drowning men. mr bowles' body, however, was seen floating face downwards some five- and-twenty feet away; and, close to it, mr forester dale struggling desperately, and uttering wild screams which were every moment changed to choking sobs as the pitiless sea broke relentlessly over his head. it was bob who first caught sight of these two; and without an instant's pause or hesitation he sprang headlong from the launch's gunwale, and with a few powerful strokes reached the struggler. mr dale promptly flung both arms and legs round his would-be deliverer, clasping bob like a vice, and pinioning him so completely that he was unable to move hand or foot. the result was that both instantly sank beneath the surface. poor bob thought for a second or two that his last hour was come; and there, in the depths of that wildly-raging sea, he lifted up his whole heart to god in a momentary but earnest prayer for mercy and forgiveness. doubtless that swift prayer was heard, for as it flashed from his heart he felt his companion's grip relaxing, and in another instant he had wrenched himself free and was striking strongly upward, with one hand firmly grasping mr forester dale by the collar of his coat. bob rose to the surface within a few feet of mr bowles' still floating body; and with a violent effort he soon succeeded in reaching it, knowing that, encumbered as he was, he would have to trust the launch to come to him, he could never reach her. as he seized his staunch friend and superior officer by the hair and twisted him over on his back he heard a wild cheer, instantly followed by a cheery shout of "look out for the line, bob!" as the sound reached him the rope came flying over him, striking him sharply in the face. he seized it with his teeth; and then heard the skipper's voice say-- "haul in handsomely now, and take care you don't jerk; he has gripped it with his teeth." a very few seconds afterwards, which, however appeared an age to bob, and he found himself floating alongside the launch, where he was speedily relieved of his two inanimate charges, and finally dragged on board himself, half-drowned, with about ten feet of water in his hold as he expressed it, but full of pluck as ever. the first business claiming attention was of course that of endeavouring to restore consciousness to the inanimate bodies of mr dale and the chief mate; and this was at length achieved. mr dale was the first to come round; and as soon as he was so far recovered as to be able to speak he was stowed away in the men's sleeping berth forward, and made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. he lay there, warmly wrapped up, bemoaning for a time his hard fate in ever having come to sea, but at length the spirits which had been liberally poured down his throat took effect, and he dropped off to sleep. mr bowles' case was somewhat more serious, he having received a violent blow on the head from some of the floating wreckage, just after the foundering of the pinnace. the blow had inflicted a long scalp-wound from which the blood flowed freely; and when he at length revived he seemed quite dazed and light-headed, so that it was impossible to get a coherent reply to any of the questions put to him. he too was at last stowed away forward; and bob, who was somewhat exhausted by his exertions in the water, and scarcely fit for other work, was detailed to watch by and attend to the two invalids. the launch had in the meantime been once more got before the wind, and was again flying to leeward under jib and fore-sail, the mountain-seas pursuing her and necessitating the utmost watchfulness on the part of the helmsman to prevent her from being broached-to. as soon as the two invalids had been satisfactorily disposed of, the order for breakfast was given; and after a vast amount of trouble the meal, consisting of biscuits, fried rashers of bacon, and hot coffee, was served. the company were indebted to the efforts of rex and lance for the cooking; they having taken counsel together and come to the conclusion that after a night of such great discomfort it was absolutely necessary that the females at least should be served with a good substantial hot meal; and they had accordingly joined forces in the preparation of the same, lance seating himself coolly in the bottom of the boat, with the water washing all round him, and balancing the cooking apparatus carefully on his knees while rex knelt before him enacting the part of chief cook. this meal, unromantic as it may sound to say so, was inexpressibly comforting to those weak women and poor little may, all of them having passed a wretched sleepless night, cooped up in the close confined covered-in space in the stern of the launch, which, for want of a more appropriate name has been termed a cabin, with the water in the bottom of the boat surging up round them and wetting them to the skin as the boat tossed on the angry surges, while the continuous breaking of the seas on board filled their souls with dread that the boat could not possibly outlive the gale much longer. when all hands were fairly settled down to the discussion of breakfast, captain staunton turned to the carpenter, who had established himself close beside the skipper, and said-- "now, chips, let us hear how the mishap came about whereby you lost the pinnace this morning;--but, before you answer me that question, tell me do you know anything about the other boats?" "well, sir," responded chips, "i can't say as i do, rightly. but when day broke this mornin' an' we first missed 'em, mister bowles, he jumped up and took a good look round, and the first thing he made out were the launch away to wind'ard, hove-to. then he had another good look all round, and presently i see him put his hand up to his eyes and stand looking away down to leeward. `do you see anythink, sir?' says i. and he says--still with his hand up shadin' his eyes--`i don't know, chips,' says he, `but i'm most certain,' says he, `that one of them boats is thereaway,' pointin' with his finger away down to leeward. `it's too dark and thick down there to see werry distinctly,' he says, `but every now and then i keeps fancyin' i can see a small dark spot like a boat's sail showin' up in the middle of the haze,' says he. and i don't doubt, sir," continued chips, "but what he _did_ see one of them boats; mr bowles has a eye, as we all knows, sir, what ain't very often deceived." "in which case," remarks the skipper, thinking aloud rather than addressing the carpenter, "there can be no doubt that the officer in charge, finding it impossible to face the gale any longer in safety, bore up like ourselves, only a little earlier. and if one of the boats did so, why not the other? and why should they not both be safely scudding before it at this moment, some ten miles or so ahead of us?" "very true, sir; i don't doubt but it's just as you say, sir," responded the carpenter, who was in some uncertainty as to whether he was expected to reply to the skipper's remark or not. "we will hope so at all events, chips," cheerily returned the skipper. "and now tell me how you managed to get the pinnace stove?" "well, sir, the fact is, it were just the doin' of that miserable creatur, mister dale. our water were gettin' low; and yesterday mr bowles ups and puts us on 'lowance--a pint a day for each man. well, i s'pose it weren't enough for this here mister dale; he got thirsty durin' the night, and made his way to the water-breakers to get a drink on the quiet. and he was that sly over it that nobody noticed him. hows'ever, like the lubber he is--axing your pardon humbly, sir, for speakin' disrespectable of one of your passengers, sir--he lets the dipper slip in between the breakers; and in tryin' to get it out again he managed to cast off the lashin's; two of the breakers struck adrift; and before we could do anything with 'em they had started three of the planks, makin' the boat leak that bad that, as you saw yourself, sir, it were all we could do to keep her above water until you reached us." captain staunton made no comment upon this communication, though it is probable that he thought all the more. the loss of the pinnace was, particularly at this juncture, a most serious misfortune. for at the very time when, in consequence of the bad weather with which she had to contend, it was of the utmost importance that the launch should be in the best possible trim, she was suddenly encumbered with the additional weight of seven extra men, which, with the twelve persons previously on board, raised her complement to nineteen, and caused her to be inconveniently crowded. then these additional seven men had to be fed out of the rapidly diminishing stores belonging to the launch, for not an ounce of anything had been saved from the pinnace. this rendered it imperatively necessary that all hands should at once be put upon a very short allowance of food and water; a hardship trying enough to the men of the party, but doubly so to the women and poor little may. however, no one murmured or offered the slightest objection to the arrangement, when at mid-day captain staunton explained the state of affairs and laid before the party his proposal. except mr dale. that individual, on hearing the proposition, promptly crawled out of his snug shelter, and hastened to remind the skipper that he, the speaker, was an invalid; that his health, already undermined by the privations and exposure which he had been lately called upon to suffer, had been completely broken up, and his nervous system shattered by his recent immersion; that what might be perfectly right and proper treatment for people in a state of robust health--as everybody in the boat, excepting himself, appeared to be--would be followed by the most disastrous consequences if applied to himself; and that, finally, he begged to remind captain staunton that he had duly paid his passage-money, and, ill or well, should expect to be fully supplied with everything necessary for his comfort. captain staunton looked at the objector for some moments in dead silence, being positively stricken dumb with amazement. then in accents of the bitterest scorn he burst out with-- "you despicable wretch! is it actually possible, sir, that you have _no_ sense whatever of shame?--that you are so full of selfishness that there is no room in you for any other feeling? are you forgetful of the fact, mr dale, that it is to your greed and clumsiness we are indebted for the greatly increased hardships of our situation? but for you, sir, the pinnace would probably have been still afloat; yet _you_ are the one who presumes to murmur at the privations of which you are the direct cause. i wish to heaven i had never seen your face; you positively make me feel ashamed of my sex and of my species." "that's all very well," sneeringly retorted this contemptible creature, "but i didn't come to sea to be bullied by you, so i shall withdraw from your exceedingly objectionable neighbourhood; and if ever we reach england i'll make you smart for your barbarous treatment of me, my good fellow." saying which, he slunk away back in no very dignified fashion to the most comfortable spot he could find in the bows of the boat, and rolled himself snugly up once more in the shawls and blankets which the women had eagerly given up for his benefit when he was first fished out of the water. chapter nine. the "albatross." all that day the launch continued to scud before the gale; getting pooped so often that it was the work of two men to keep her free of water. toward evening mr bowles came aft, reporting himself "all ataunto" once more, and ready to resume duty. he still looked pale and haggard, but was as keen and determined as ever; and he demurred so vehemently to captain staunton's suggestion that he would be all the better for a whole night between the blankets that the skipper was at last compelled to give in, which he did with--it must be confessed--a feeling of the greatest relief that he now had so trusty a coadjutor to share the watches with him; for since the springing up of the gale the poor fellow had scarcely closed his eyes. the night shut down "as dark as a wolf's mouth,"--to use the skipper's own metaphor; and the chief mate took the first watch, with bob on the look-out. it must have been somewhere about six bells, or p.m., when the latter was startled by seeing the crest of the sea ahead of him breaking in a cloud of phosphoric foam over some object directly in line with the launch's bow. "keep her away, sir!" he yelled. "starboard, for your life, _starboard_ hard!" up went the boat's helm in an instant; and as she dragged heavily on the steep incline of the wave which had just swept under her, bob saw floating close past a large mass of tangled wreckage, consisting of a ship's lower-mast with the heel of the topmast still in its place, and yards, stays, shrouds, braces, etcetera, attached. dark as was the night there was no difficulty whatever in identifying the character of the wreckage, for it floated in a regular swirl of lambent greenish phosphorescent light. "stand by with the boat-hook, there forward," shouted mr bowles, "and see if you can get hold of a rope's-end. if you can, we will anchor to the wreck; and we shall ride to leeward of it as snug as if we were in the london dock--almost." as he spoke, he skilfully luffed the boat up under the lee of the mass; and bob, with a vigorous sweep or two of the boat-hook, managed to fish up the standing part of the main brace with the block still attached. through this block he rove the end of the launch's painter, and belayed it on board, thus causing her to ride to the wreckage by a sort of slip- line. the other apprentices meanwhile lost no time in taking in and stowing the canvas; and in a few minutes the launch was riding at her floating anchor in perfect safety and in comparative comfort; still tossing wildly, it is true, but no longer shipping a drop of water excepting the spray which blew over her from the seas as they broke on the wreckage. toward noon on the following day the gale broke; and by sunset it had moderated to a strong breeze. on that evening they were blessed with a glimpse of the sun once more, for just before the moment of his setting the canopy of cloud which had hung overhead for so long broke up, leaving great gaps through which the blue sky could be seen, and revealing the glorious luminary upon the verge of the western horizon, surrounded by a magnificent framework of jagged and tattered clouds, the larger masses of which were of a dull purplish hue, with blotches of crimson here and there, and with edges of the purest gold; while the smaller fragments streamed athwart the sky, lavishly painted with the richest tints of the rainbow. they hung on to the wreckage all that night, the wind being still against them; and the next morning lance, suspecting that there might be a few fish congregated about the mass of broken spars, as is frequently the case, roused out the lines and managed to hook over a dozen gaudily marked and curiously shaped fish of decent size, the whole of which were devoured with the greatest gusto that day at dinner, notwithstanding the rather repulsive aspect which some of them presented. that night the wind, which had dwindled away to a gentle breeze, changed, and blew once more from the westward; and the sea having also gone down to a great extent, our adventurers cast off from the wreckage which had so opportunely provided them with a shelter from the fury of the gale, and with whole canvas and flowing sheets stood away once more on a north-easterly course. in addition to the delay which the gale had occasioned them, captain staunton estimated that they had been driven fully five hundred miles directly out of their course; after a very careful inspection therefore of their stock of provisions the skipper was reluctantly compelled to order a further reduction in the daily allowance of food and water served out. and now the sufferings of those on board the launch commenced in grim earnest. the women, especially, as might be expected, soon began to feel their privations acutely. buffeted as they had been by the gale, they were completely exhausted, and needed rest and an abundance of nourishing food rather than to be placed on short commons. they bore their privations, however, with a quiet fortitude which ought to have silenced in shame the querulous complaints and murmurings of mr dale; though it did not. the most distressing part of it all was to hear poor little may staunton piteously crying for water, "'cause i'm so _veddy_ thirsty mama," as the dear child explained. she was not old enough to understand the possibility of a state of things wherein food and drink were scarcities; and her reproachful looks at her father when he was obliged to refuse her request almost broke his heart. not, it must be understood, that she was limited to the same quantity of water as the others. the men--always excepting mr dale--preferred to suffer in a heightened degree the fiery torture of thirst themselves, rather than to see the child suffer; and they quietly arranged among themselves to contribute each as much as he felt he could possibly spare of the now precious liquid, as it was daily served out to them, and to store it up in a bottle which was to be may's exclusive property. and the same in the matter of food. it was wholly in vain that the child's father protested against this sacrifice; they were one and all firm as adamant upon this point; and he, poor man, notwithstanding his anxiety that all should be treated with equal fairness, could not contest their determination with any great strength of will. was she not his own and only child, for whom he would cheerfully have laid down his life; and how could he urge with any strength a point which would have resulted in a dreadful deprivation and a terrible increase of suffering to the winning and helpless little creature? therefore he at last contented himself with pouring the whole of his daily allowance of water into may's bottle, and cheerfully submitted for her innocent sake to endure the tortures of the damned. reader, have _you_ ever experienced the torment of thirst while exposed in an open boat to the blazing rays of the pitiless sun? you have not? then thank god for it, and earnestly pray that you never may; for none can realise or even faintly imagine the intensity of the suffering but those who have borne it. the women, from whom it was of course impossible to conceal the circumstance that may was receiving more than her own share of food and water, were anxious to follow the example of their male companions by also setting apart a portion of their own allowance for the use of the child, but this was at once decidedly vetoed; yet they were not so easily to be deterred from their generous disposition, and many a sip and many a morsel which could ill be spared did the poor little child receive from their sympathetic and loving hands. "after the storm comes the calm," says the proverb, and its truth was fully borne out in the present instance. on the fourth day after casting off from the wreckage the wind began to drop, and by sunset it had fallen so light that the launch had barely steerage-way. this was still another misfortune, for if the calm continued it would seriously delay their progress and thereby protract their sufferings. next to a gale of wind, indeed, a calm and its consequent delay was what they had most to dread, for they were in a part of the ocean little frequented by craft of any description, except a stray whaler now and then, and their only reasonable hope of salvation rested upon the possibility of their being able to reach land before starvation and thirst overcame them. mr bowles had the first watch, and bob was posted at the now all but useless helm. the wind had subsided until it was faint as the breath of a sleeping infant, and the boat's sails flapped gently against the masts as she rode with a scarcely perceptible swinging motion over the long stately slow-moving swell which followed her. the vast blue-black dome of the heavens above was devoid of the faintest trace of cloud, and the countless stars which spangled the immeasurable vault beamed down upon the tiny waif with a soft and mellow splendour which was repeated in the dark bosom of the scarcely ruffled ocean, where the reflected starbeams mingled, far down in its mysterious depths, with occasional faint gleams and flashes of pale greenish phosphorescent light. the thin golden crescent of the young moon hung low down in the velvety darkness of the western sky, and a long thin thread of amber radiance streamed from the horizon beneath her toward the boat, becoming more and more wavering and broken up as it neared her, until within some twenty fathoms of the launch it dwindled away to a mere occasional fluttering gleam. a great and solemn silence prevailed, upon which such slight sounds as the flap of the sails, the pattering of the reef-points, the creak of the rudder, or the stir of some uneasy sleeper broke with almost painful distinctness. mr bowles drew out his watch, and holding it close to his face, discovered that it was a few minutes past midnight. for the previous half-hour he had been sitting on the deck near bob, with his legs dangling into the little cockpit abaft the stern-sheets, and staring in an abstracted fashion astern. as he replaced the watch in his pocket he glanced once more in that direction, but now his look suddenly grew intense and eager. for a full minute he remained thus, then he withdrew from its beckets beneath the seat a long and powerful telescope, which he adjusted and levelled. for another full minute he gazed anxiously through the tube, and then, handing it to bob to hold, he crept silently forward, so as not to disturb the sleeping women, and quietly called the relief watch. "well, mr bowles," said the captain, as he rose to his feet, "what weather have you had? is there any wind at all?" "very little, sir," answered the chief mate, replying to the last question first; "just a cat's-paw from the west'ard bow and then, but nothing worth speaking about; and it's been the same all through the watch. i want you to take a squint through the glass before i turn-in, sir, and to tell me whether i've been dreaming with my eyes open or no." "why, what is it, bowles? do you think you've seen anything?" "well, yes, i do, sir," answered the mate, "but it's so very indistinct in this starlight that i don't care to trust to my own eyes alone." without another word the pair moved aft, and when they were fairly settled in the cockpit mr bowles took the glass from bob and put it into the skipper's hand. he then looked intently astern for perhaps half a minute, when he laid his hand on the skipper's arm and said-- "d'ye see them two stars, sir, about a couple of hand's breadths to the south'ard of the moon? they're about six degrees above the horizon, and the lower one is the southernmost of the two; it has a reddish gleam almost like a ship's port light." "yes," replied the skipper, "i see them. you mean those, do you not?" pointing to them. "ay, ay, sir; them's the two. now look at the horizon, just half-way between 'em, and tell me if you can see anything." the skipper looked long and steadfastly in the desired direction, and at length raised the telescope to his eye. "by jove, bowles, i believe you are right," he at length exclaimed eagerly. "there certainly is a something away there on the horizon, but it is so small and indistinct that i cannot clearly make it out. do you think it is either of the other boats?" "no, sir, i don't," answered bowles. "if it's anything it's a ship's royals. if 'twas one of the boats, she'd be within some five miles of us for us to be able to see her at all, and at that distance her sail would show out sharp and distinct through the glass. _this_ shows, as you say, so indistinctly that it must be much more than that distance away, and therefore i say that if it's anything it's a ship's royals." the skipper took another long steady look through the telescope, and then closing it sharply, said-- "there is undoubtedly _something_ astern of us, bowles, and under the circumstances i think we shall be fully justified in hauling our wind for an hour or two in order to satisfy ourselves as to what it really is." mr bowles fully concurred in this opinion, and the boat was accordingly at once brought to the wind, what little there was of it, on the starboard tack, which brought the object about two points on her weather bow. "if it is indeed a ship, bowles," observed captain staunton when the boat's course had been changed and the mate was preparing to "go below," as he phrased it, "we have dropped in for a rare piece of luck, for, to tell you the plain truth, i had no hope whatever of falling in with a craft of any description about here. she will be a whaler, of course, but she is a long way north of the usual fishing-grounds, isn't she?" "well," returned bowles meditatively, "you can never tell _where_ you may fall in with one of them chaps. they follows the fish, you see; sometimes here, sometimes there; just where they think they'll have the best chance. then, i have heard say that sometimes, if they happen to hit upon a particularly likely spot, such as a small uninhabited island, where there's a chance of good sport, they'll put a boat's crew ashore there with boat, harpoons, lines, a stock of provisions, and two or three hundred empty barrels, just to try their luck, like, for a month or so, and go away on a cruise, coming back for 'em in due time, and often finding 'em with every barrel full. perhaps yon craft is up to something of that sort." "it may be so," returned captain staunton. "indeed in all probability it _is_ so if our eyes have not deceived us. at all events, whatever she is, we are pretty sure of a hearty welcome, and even a not over clean whaler will be a welcome change for all hands, and especially for the ladies, from this boat, particularly now that the provisions are getting low. and i have no doubt i shall be able to make arrangements with the captain to carry us to valparaiso with as little delay as possible." "ay, ay," returned bowles, "i don't expect there'll be much trouble about that. i only hope we shall be able to get alongside her. i wouldn't stand on too long on this tack if i was you, sir. my opinion is that she's coming this way, and if so we ought to tack in good time so as not to let her slip past us to windward or across our bows. good- night, sir!" the night being so fine, and with so little wind, captain staunton took the tiller himself, and ordered the rest of the watch to lie down again; there was nothing to do, he said, and if he required their assistance he would call them. accordingly, in a very short time, he was the only waking individual in the launch, the others were only too glad of the opportunity to forget, as far as possible, their miseries in sleep. it is, of course, scarcely necessary to say that the skipper, as he sat there keeping his lonely watch, fixed his gaze, with scarcely a moment's intermission, on that part of the horizon where the mysterious object had been seen. he allowed a full hour to pass, and then drawing out the glass, applied it to his eye, sweeping the horizon carefully from dead ahead round to windward. he had not to seek far, for when the tube of the telescope pointed to within about three points of the starboard bow a small dark blot swept into the field of view. yes, there it was, quite unmistakably this time, and a single moment's observation of it satisfied the anxious watcher that he saw before him the royals and topgallant-sails of a vessel apparently of no very great size. the fact that the stranger's topgallant-sails had risen above the horizon within the hour since he had last looked at her was conclusive proof to his mind that the craft was standing toward them; that, in fact, they were approaching each other, though at a very low rate of speed, in consequence of the exceedingly light air of wind that was blowing. fully satisfied upon this point he at once put the boat's helm down, and she came slowly and heavily about, the captain easily working the sheets himself. by four bells captain staunton was able to discern with the naked eye the shadowy patch of darkness which the stranger's canvas made on the dusky line of the horizon, and when he called mr bowles at eight bells, or four o'clock in the morning, the patch had become darker, larger, and more clearly defined, and it lay about one point before the weather beam of the launch. the telescope was once more called into requisition, and it now showed not only the royals and topgallant-sails, but also the topsails of the stranger fairly above the horizon. "thank god for that welcome sight!" exclaimed the chief mate, laying down the telescope and reverently lifting his hat from his head. he remained silent a minute or two, and then raising his eyes, allowed his glance to travel all round the horizon and overhead until he had swept the entire expanse of the star-spangled heavens. then, with a sigh of intense relief, he said-- "we're all right, i do verily believe, sir. there's the craft, plain as mud in a wine-glass, bearing right down upon us, or very nearly so. we've only to stand on as we're going and we shall cross her track. there's very little wind, it's true, but the trifle that there is is drawing us together; we're nearing each other every minute, and there's no sign of any change of weather, unless it may happen to be that the present light air will die away altogether with sunrise. i fancy i know what you're thinking of sir; you're half inclined to say, `out oars, and let's get alongside her as soon as possible.' and that's just what i should say if there was any sign of a breeze springing up, but there ain't; she _can't_ run away from us, and therefore what i say is this: the launch is a heavy boat, and we're all hands of us as weak as cats; she's about six miles off now, and it would knock us all up to pull even that short distance, whereas if we go on as we are we shall drop alongside without any trouble by eight bells, or maybe a trifle earlier; and if the wind _should_ die away altogether, it'll be time enough _then_ to see what we can do with the oars." "that's exactly the way i have been arguing with myself ever since you called me, bowles," returned the skipper. "it is true that we are all suffering horribly from thirst, and in that way every moment is of value to us; but on the other hand, everybody except our two selves is now asleep and oblivious, for the time being, of their sufferings: let them sleep on, say i; the toil of tugging at heavy oars, and the excitement of knowing that a sail is at hand would only increase tenfold their sufferings, without helping us forward a very great deal; so i think, with you, that we had better let things remain as they are for another hour or two; we can rouse all hands at any moment, should it seem desirable to do so. now, if you will take the tiller, i will just stretch myself out on the planks here, close at hand; i could not sleep now if the whole world were offered me to do so." saying which, the skipper suited the action to the word; he and the mate continuing their chat, but carefully pitching their voices in so low a tone that the ladies, close at hand, should not be disturbed in their slumbers. by and by the sky began to pale in the eastern quarter; the stars quietly twinkled out, one by one; a bright rosy flush appeared, and then up rolled the glorious sun above the horizon. the wind, light all night, had been imperceptibly dying away; and when the sun rose his bright beams flashed upon a sea whose surface was smooth as oil. the launch lost way altogether, and refused any longer to answer her helm. as for the stranger, there she was, just hull-down; her snowy canvas gleaming in the brilliant morning sunshine, and so clearly defined that every rippling fold in the sails was distinctly visible as they flapped against the mast to the lazy roll of the vessel over the long sleepy swell. "now," said captain staunton, "we'll rouse the steward, make him prepare and serve out a first-rate breakfast to all hands; and then `hey! for a pull to the ship.'" this was accordingly done. the breakfast was prepared, no great matter of a meal was it after all, though the last scrap of provisions and the last drop of water went in its composition; and when it was ready the cramped and hungry voyagers were roused with the good news that a sail was in sight, and the meal placed before them. frugal as it was, it was a sumptuous banquet compared with their late fare; and the poor famished creatures devoured it ravenously, feeling, when it was finished, that they could have disposed of thrice as much. perhaps it was just as well that there was no more; in their condition a moderately full meal even would have proved injurious to them if administered without great caution; but while there was not sufficient to provoke hurtful results there was just enough to put new life into them, and to temporarily endow them with vigour and strength enough for an hour or two's toil at the oars. the meal over, the oars were eagerly manned; and the men dividing themselves into two gangs, and working in short spells of a quarter of an hour each, the launch was headed straight for the stranger, which having now lost steerage-way had swung broadside-on, and showed herself to be a small brig. "i tell you what it is, bowles," said the captain as he sat at the tiller steering during one of his spells of rest from the oars, "we are a great deal further to the westward than i imagined we were. we must be not very far from the outlying islands of that vast archipelago which spreads itself over so many hundreds of leagues of the south pacific. that fellow is no whaler; look at his canvas, no smoke stains from the try-works there: he is a sandal-wood trader, or is after _beche-de-mer_. i am very glad it is so; it will be much more pleasant for the ladies; and if she is a yankee, as a good many of these little traders are, the skipper will probably be glad enough to earn a few dollars by running us all across to the mainland." "to my mind," remarked bowles, "the craft looks rather too trim and neat aloft for a trader. and look at the hoist of her topsails; don't you think there is a man-o'-war-ish appearance about the cut and set of them sails, sir?" "she certainly _does_ look rather taunt in her spars for a merchantman," returned captain staunton. "we shall soon see what she really is, however; for she will be hull-up in another five minutes; and in another half-hour we shall be on board her. ah! they have made us out; there go her colours. take the glass, and see what you can make of them, bowles." the chief mate took the telescope and levelled it at the brig, taking a long and steady look at her. "a ten-gun brig, by the look of her," he presently remarked, with the telescope still at his eye. "anyhow, her bulwarks are pierced; and i can see the muzzles of five bull-dogs grinning through her starboard port-holes. that's the stars and stripes hanging at her peak, as far as i can make out; but it's drooping so dead that i can see nothing but a mingling of red and white, with a small patch of blue next the halliard- block. she's a pretty-looking little thing enough, and her skipper's a thorough seaman, whoever he is. ay, she's a man-o'-war sure enough--up go the courses and down comes the jib, all at once, man-o'-war fashion. and there's clue up royals and t'gallan's'ls--to prevent 'em from beating themselves to pieces against the spars and rigging, _that_ is, for all the canvas she could set wouldn't give her steerage-way, much less cause her to run away from us. she hasn't a pennant aloft, though--wonder how that is? and the hands on board seem to be a rum- looking lot of chaps as ever i set eyes on; no more like man-o'-war's men than we are--not a single jersey or man-o'-war collar among 'em; nor nothing like a uniform aft there. i s'pose they're economical, and want to save their regular rig for harbour service." "well, thank god for his mercy in directing us to her," exclaimed the skipper fervently, as he lifted his cap from his head. "our troubles are all over now, ladies," he continued, turning to the women, who were now eagerly watching the brig. "the craft is small; but she is plenty big enough to carry us all to valparaiso; and, once there, i think we shall have very little difficulty in getting a passage home." half an hour more of toilsome tugging at the oars, and the heavy launch ranged up alongside the brig. "look out for a rope," shouted one of the crew, as he sprang upon the rail with a coil of line in his hand. "heave," shouted bob. the rope was dexterously thrown and caught; the heavy oars were laid in; and as the boat touched the brig's side a man dressed in a suit of white nankeen, his head sheltered by a broad-brimmed panama hat, and his rather handsome sun-browned face half hidden by a thick black beard and moustache, sauntered to the gangway from the position he had occupied abaft the main-rigging, and leaning over the bulwarks remarked-- "morning, straangers. i guess you found it hot work pullin' down to us in that heavy boat. looks to me as though you had had rayther bad times lately." "yes," answered the skipper. "we were burned out of our ship--the _galatea_ of london. we have been in the boat a fortnight to-day; and for the last five days--until this morning, when we consumed the last of our provisions--some of us have never tasted water." "waal, stranger, that's bad news to tell. but i calculate we can soon put you all right. here," he continued, addressing himself to the men who were peering curiously over the bulwarks at the occupants of the boat, "jump down, some of you, and help 'em up over the side." there was a hearty laugh at this order, to the intense surprise of our adventurers; but the skipper of the brig was evidently a man who was not to be trifled with; with two strides he was among the jeering crowd of men with a revolver in each hand. "now, git," he exclaimed, levelling the pistols; and the men waited for no second bidding. in an instant some half a dozen of them sprang into the boat; the brig's gangway was opened, and the boat's crew were somewhat sullenly assisted up the side of the brig and on to her deck. the black-bearded man met them as they came up the side, and held out his hand to captain staunton. "morning, straanger," he repeated. "i'm powerful glad to see you all." "thank you," returned the skipper. "i can assure you we are all at least equally glad to see you, and to find ourselves once more with a deck beneath our feet. what ship is this, may i ask, and by what name shall we call the gentleman who has given us so kind a reception?" "the brig's called the _albatross_; and my name is johnson--at your service." "you are an american cruiser, i presume?" continued captain staunton, looking first at the beautifully kept decks, and then more doubtfully at the gang of desperadoes who crowded round. "sorter," briefly replied the man who had called himself johnson; and the reply seemed for some reason to mightily tickle his crew, most of whom burst into a hearty guffaw. captain staunton glanced round upon them with such stern surprise that the fellows fell back a pace or two; and the skipper of the brig, first darting a furious glance upon his followers, led the way aft to the cabin, saying-- "i sorter waited breakfast when i made out through the glass that you were a shipwrecked crew, calculatin' that prob'ly you'd be glad to find yourselves in front of a good square meal. your crew will have to make themselves at home in the fo'ks'le; and if my lads don't treat 'em properly, why they must just knock 'em down. my people are a trifle orkard to deal with at first, but i guess they'll all pull together first-rate arter a while." chapter ten. captain johnson explains himself. the cabin of the _albatross_ was a much larger apartment than one would have expected to find in a craft of her size. it was about twenty feet long and eighteen feet broad, occupying the entire width of the ship; the state-rooms--of which there were two only--being outside the cabin, at the foot of the companion staircase. the apartment was well lighted and very airy, light and air being admitted not only through the skylight, but also through the stern-ports and dead-lights fitted into the sides of the ship. the fittings were extremely rich, though somewhat out of harmony with each other, conveying to captain staunton's educated eye the idea that they had been collected at odd times from a number of other ships. the rudder-case, for example, was inclosed in a piece of elaborate carved and gilded work representing the trunk and branches of a palm-tree; but it had apparently been found too large, and the sections had accordingly been cut down to make them fit, the result being that the carving did not match at the junctions. the trunk of the tree had also been cut off rather clumsily at the base and fitted badly to the cabin floor, while the branches had been cut through in places where the beams crossed the ceiling, and had been nailed on again in such a way as to make them look as though they had grown through the beams. then again the cushions to the lockers were of different sizes, colours, and materials, some being of velvet and others of horsehair, and every one of them from one to three sizes too large. the sides of the cabin were divided into panels by carved and gilded pilasters, which exhibited in a very marked degree the same incongruity, the eight pilasters in the cabin exhibiting no less than three different patterns. some half a dozen pictures, one or two of which were really valuable paintings, were securely hung in the panels; and the stern-windows were fitted with handsome lace curtains, much too large for the position which they occupied. two very handsome swinging lamps, of different designs, were suspended from the beams; a tell-tale compass and a ship's barometer occupied respectively the fore and after ends of the skylight; and the bulkhead which formed the fore end of the cabin was fitted above the sideboard with racks in which reposed six repeating rifles; the panels which were unoccupied by pictures being filled in with trophies of stars and other fanciful devices formed with pistols, daggers, and cutlasses. such was the apartment to which our adventurers found themselves welcomed; but if the truth must be told, their eyes--notwithstanding their recent meal on board the launch--were chiefly attracted to the cabin table whereon was spread--on a not over clean table-cloth--an abundant display of plate and a substantial yet appetising meal to which their host urged them to do full justice, himself setting a good example. for a short time, and while host and guests were taking the keen edge off their appetites, _very_ little was said. at length, however, captain johnson looked up, and addressing captain staunton, said-- "waal, stranger, as i said before, i'm real glad to see you all; yours are the first friendly faces i've looked upon for many a long day; but i guess i'm considerable troubled what to do with you all. you see our accommodation is sorter limited. there's plenty of room for your men in the fo'ks'le; but here's no less than ten of you, reckonin' the piccaninny--bless her dear purty little face! i wish she'd give me a kiss. four years ago i left just such another on the wharf at new york, kissin' her hand to me and wavin' me good-bye as we cast off our moorin's, and i guess i'll never see her sweet face ag'in." at her mother's suggestion, little may slid down off the locker on which she was perched, and, somewhat reluctantly, went to the man's chair and held up her little mouth for a kiss. johnson at once bent down, and taking her on his knee, gazed long and eagerly into the bright young face uplifted to his own in childish curiosity. then he kissed her eagerly three or four times, stroked her curly head tenderly with his great brown hand, and finally burst out-- "see here, my purty little dearie--if e'er a one of them great rough men on deck there says a bad word to you, or dares to as much as _look_ unkind at you, you tell me, and curse me if--i beg your pardon, strangers, i guess i didn't know just then what i was talking about. run along, little 'un, and get your breakfast." the child at once slid down from his knee, and with some little haste returned to her former place by her mother's side, johnson's gaze following her abstractedly. "you were speaking about the inconvenience to which our appearance seems likely to put you," at length suggested captain staunton. "i guess not, stranger," he retorted, pulling himself together as it were with a jerk. "i was simply p'inting out that our accommodation for passengers is kinder limited; and i'm puzzled to know where i can stow you all away. the inconvenience 'll be yourn, stranger, not mine. there's reasons, you see, why i should keep possession of my own cabin; and there's reasons, too, why the mate should keep possession of his'n. i reckon the best plan 'll be to clear away a place for you down in the after-hold, where you must try and make yourselves as comfortable as you can for the few days you'll be on board. and as for you ladies, i'd sorter advise you to stay below all you can. if you _must_ go on deck at all let it be at night-time, when there ain't so much chance of your bein' seen." "where are you bound, captain?" inquired the skipper. "waal, we are bound now to an island which, as it's not shown on the chart, i've christened `albatross island,' arter the brig. we're goin' there to refit," was the reply. "then i presume you have established a sort of depot there?" interrogated captain staunton. "that's just it; you've hit it exactly, stranger," answered the yankee. "and how long will it take you to refit?" was the next question. "maybe a week; maybe a month. it just depends upon whether the hands are in a working humour or no." captain staunton raised his eyebrows somewhat at this singular answer. after a moment or two of silence he said-- "i presume you would find no difficulty in running us across to--say-- valparaiso, if you were well paid for the service?" "cash down?" captain staunton was about to say "yes," having saved from the burning ship a bag of specie sufficient in amount to convey the entire party home in perfect comfort; but an idea struck him that it would perhaps be better to promise payment _after_ rather than before the performance of the service, so he said-- "well, no, i could not promise that. but i would draw on my owners for the amount of our passage-money, and pay you immediately on our arrival at valparaiso." "waal, i guess i'll have to think it over," remarked johnson. "i must go on deck now, but you kin remain here as long as you like; in fact i reckon you'd better stay here altogether until i can get a place arranged for you below." saying which, he abruptly rose from the table and went on deck. "rather an unique specimen of the genus _yankee_," observed rex, as soon as their host had fairly disappeared. "i hope, captain, you will succeed in persuading him to take us over to the mainland." the skipper was apparently plunged deep in thought, for he made no reply. "does it not strike you, bowles, that there is something rather peculiar about the craft, and her crew?" remarked lance. "these yankees are generally a queer lot," answered the mate nonchalantly; but immediately afterwards he made a sudden and stealthy movement of his fingers to his lips, while the ladies were looking in another direction, throwing at the same time an expression of so much caution and mystery into his glance that lance made no attempt to continue the conversation. shortly afterwards captain staunton rose from his seat at the table, and, touching his chief mate lightly on the shoulder, said-- "come, bowles, let us go on deck and see if we can make terms with this captain johnson. the rest of you had perhaps better follow that gentleman's advice in the meantime and remain here, since he evidently has some motive for expressing the wish." as the two were ascending the companion-ladder the skipper turned and whispered hurriedly to his mate-- "what is your opinion of things in general bowles?" "can't say yet," answered that individual. "looks mighty queer though. she ain't a man-o'-war, that's certain." on reaching the deck they found the after-hatch off, and their host in somewhat hot discussion with the ship's carpenter. "that is quite sufficient," they heard him say, without a trace of the yankee twang in his speech, "you have your orders, and see that they are executed forthwith. in this matter i intend to have my own way." the man muttered something in a sullen undertone, and then turned to go forward, saying he would get his tools and set about the job at once. johnson turned impatiently away from him with an ugly frown upon his brow, which however vanished in an instant upon his finding our two friends at his elbow. "see here, stranger," he said, passing his arm within that of captain staunton, and drawing him toward the hatchway, "i want to show you what i'm going to do. see them beams? waal, i'm going to send some hands down below to trim a few of them bales you see there up level with the tops of the beams; then we'll lay a couple of thicknesses of planking over all, which 'll make a tol'able floor; and then i'm going to have a sail nailed fore and aft to the deck-beams, dividing the space into two, one for the women-folks and one for the men; and another sail hung athwart-ships 'll make all sorter snug and private; and i guess you'll have to make yourselves as comfortable as you can down there. you see the brig's small, and your party's a large one, and--i guess that's the best i can do for you." "thank you," said captain staunton. "as far as we men are concerned, we can manage perfectly well down there; but i'm afraid it will be rather a comfortless berth for the ladies. and yet i do not see very well what else can be done--unless indeed we could come to some arrangement by which you and your chief mate could be induced to surrender the cabin altogether for their use--" "which we can't," johnson broke in sharply. "i tell you, stranger, it ain't to be done. i reckon i was a fool to let you come aboard here at all. it was seein' that little girl of yours that did it," he added, his voice at once softening again, "but i guess there's going to be trouble about it yet, before all's done." "oh, no, i hope not," returned the skipper. "why should there be trouble, or with whom? certainly not with _us_." "waal, i hope not," said johnson. "but i reckon you'll have to do just exactly as i say, strangers, or i tell you i'll not answer for the consequences." "assuredly we will," observed captain staunton. "and as for the inconvenience, we must put up with it as best we can, and i only hope we shall not be compelled to intrude upon your hospitality for any great length of time. indeed you might rid yourself of our presence in a fortnight by running us across to valparaiso; and i think i could make it worth your while to do so." johnson turned away and walked thoughtfully fore and aft, with his chin sunk upon his breast, evidently in painful thought, for some ten minutes; then he rejoined the pair he had left standing at the hatchway, and said-- "see here, strangers; i reckon it's no use to mince matters and go beating about the bush; the thing's got to come out sooner or later, so you may as well know the worst at once. you must give up all notion of going to valparaiso, because the thing ain't to be done. we're a crew of free-traders, rovers--_pirates_, if that term 'll serve to make matters more clear to you; and although we've only been cruising in these waters about six months, i guess we've made things too hot here for us to venture into any port but the one we're bound to. there you'll be put ashore, and i calculate you'll have to make yourselves useful at the depot. there's plenty of work to be done there, and not too many to do it, so you'll be valuable there. i won't keep you on board here, because i can see you'd never work with me or be anything else but an anxiety to me; but _there_ you can't do me any harm. and, take my advice, stranger, don't cut up rough--go slow and sing small when you get there, because my chief mate--who is a greek, and is in charge there--is a powerful short-tempered man, and apt to make things downright uncomfortable for them that don't please him." captain staunton and bowles looked each other in the face for a full minute, too much overcome by consternation and dismay to utter a single word. then the skipper, recovering himself, turned to johnson, who stood by intently watching them, and said: "i thank you, sir, for having come to the point and put our position thus explicitly before us with so little waste of time. happily the evil is not yet irreparable. we can never be anything but a source of anxiety and disquietude to you, as you have already admitted; therefore i trust you will allow us to return to our boat as we came; by which act we shall relieve you of a very great embarrassment, and at the same time give ourselves a chance--a very slight one, it is true--of arriving at the place we are so anxious to reach." "too late, stranger," replied johnson. "here you are, and here you must now stay. look over the side and you will see that your boat is no longer there. she was stove and cast adrift half an hour ago. and even if she had still been alongside, do you think my men would let you go now that you have been aboard of us and seen our strength? i tell you, stranger, that before you could get ten yards from the brig they would bring her broadside to bear upon you and send you all to the bottom, riddled with grape, and i couldn't stop 'em. no; you're here, and i reckon you'll have to stay and make the best of it. you'll find your traps down below there; the lads wanted to overhaul them, but i guess i shamed them out of _that_," drawing half out of his pockets a pair of revolvers as he spoke. "are we to consider ourselves as prisoners then, and to look upon the hold there as our jail?" inquired captain staunton. "that's as _you_ please," retorted johnson. "so long as you keep quiet and don't attempt any tricks you can come on deck as often as you like-- only don't let the women-folks show themselves, or they'll get into trouble, and i--nor you--won't be able to help 'em. tell 'em to stay in the cabin until it's dark to-night, and then when all's quiet, the watch below in their hammocks and the watch on deck `caulking' between the guns, just you muffle 'em up and get 'em down there as quick as ever you can." "and what about the rest of my people--those of them who were sent forward to the forecastle?" inquired captain staunton. "waal," replied johnson, "i felt myself sorter obliged to clap 'em in irons down in the fore-hold. you see you muster a pretty strong party, and though you could never take the brig from us, i didn't know what you might be tempted to _try_, when you found out the truth; and so, just to prevent accidents, i had the irons slipped on to 'em. they'll be well treated, though; and if any of 'em likes to jine us, so much the better--we're uncommon short-handed, one way and another. if they don't like to jine, they'll just be put ashore with you to work at the depot. and, see here, stranger, don't you go for to try on any tricks, either here or ashore, or it'll be awful bad for you. this is a _friendly_ warning, mind; i'd like to make friends with you folks, for, to tell you the solid petrified truth, i ain't got one single friend among all hands. the mate hates me, and would be glad to put me out of the way and step into my shoes, and he's made the men distrust me." "why not retire from them altogether, then?" inquired captain staunton. "because i can't," answered johnson. "i'm an outlaw, and dare not show my face anywhere in the whole civilised world for fear of being recognised and hanged as a pirate." "a decidedly unpleasant position to be in," remarked the skipper. "however, if there is any way in which we can _lawfully_ help you, we will do so; in return for which we shall of course expect to be treated well by you. now, bowles," he continued, turning to his chief mate, "let us talk this matter over, and discuss the manner in which this bad news can best be broken to the others." saying which, with a somewhat cold and formal bow to the pirate, captain staunton linked his arm in that of his chief mate, and walked away. the two promenaded the deck for nearly an hour, "overhauling the concern in all its bearings," as bowles afterwards described it, and they finally came to the conclusion that it would be only fair to let their companions in misfortune know the worst at once, then all could take counsel together, and as "in a multitude of counsellors there is wisdom," some one might possibly hit upon a happy idea whereby they might be enabled to escape from this new strait. they accordingly descended to the cabin, where their reappearance had been anxiously looked for. "well, captain," exclaimed dale upon their entrance, "what news have you for us? have you made arrangements for our conveyance to valparaiso? i hope we are not going to be kept cooped up very long in this wretched little vessel." "we are to leave her sooner than i anticipated," replied captain staunton, "but i regret to say that i have been quite unable to make any arrangements of a satisfactory character. and, as to news, i must ask you to prepare yourselves for the worst--or almost the worst--that you could possibly hear. we are on board _a pirate_, and in the hands of as unscrupulous a set of rascals as one could well encounter." the skipper then proceeded to describe _in extenso_ his interview with the pirate captain, throwing out such ideas as presented themselves to him in the course of his narrative, and winding up by pointing out to them that though the situation was serious enough it was not altogether desperate, the pirate leader being evidently anxious to escape from his present position, and as evidently disposed to look with friendly eyes upon all who might seem to have it in their power to assist him, either directly or indirectly, in the attainment of his purpose. "our first endeavour," he said in conclusion, "must be to impress upon this man that, though we are his prisoners, we are still a power, by reason of our numbers as well as of our superior intelligence and knowledge of the world, and that we can certainly help him if we have the opportunity; and this idea once firmly established in his mind, he will listen to and very possibly fall in with some of our suggestions, all of which, i suppose i need hardly say, must be made with a single eye to our own ultimate escape. our future is beset by difficulties, very few of which we can even anticipate as yet; but i think if each one will only take a hopeful view of the situation, it will be singular indeed if one or another of us does not hit upon a means of escape." by the time that he had finished speaking the brains of his hearers were literally teeming with ideas, all, that is to say, except mr dale, who, with elbows on the table, his head buried in his hands, and his hair all rumpled, abandoned himself to despair and to loud bewailings of the unfortunate combination of circumstances which led to his venturing upon the treacherous ocean. the others, however, knew him thoroughly by this time; and none troubled themselves to take the slightest notice of him except rex fortescue, who exclaimed-- "_do_ shut up, dale, and cease making a fool of yourself. i wonder that you are not ashamed to behave in this unmanly way, especially before ladies, too. if you _can't_ keep quiet, you know, we shall have to put you on deck, where i fancy you would get something worth howling about." this threat had the desired effect; mr dale subsided into silence, and the rest of the party at once, in low cautious tones, began an interchange of ideas which lasted a long time but brought forth no very satisfactory result; the council finding itself at the close of the discussion pretty much where it was at the commencement. at one o'clock a thoroughly substantial dinner was served to them, followed by tea at six in the evening, at both of which meals the pirate captain did the honours with a manifest desire to evince a friendly disposition toward his guests, and about nine p.m. a quiet and unobtrusive removal from the cabin to their new quarters in the after- hold was effected; after which most of the party disposed themselves comfortably upon the bedding which they found had been provided for them, and enjoyed a night of thoroughly sound repose, such as they had been strangers to ever since the destruction of the _galatea_. when our friends awoke on the following morning they became aware, by the motion of the ship and the sound of the water gurgling along her sides, that a breeze had sprung up. most of the gentlemen--all of them, in fact, except dale--went on deck, and, finding the watch busy washing decks, borrowed of them a few buckets with which they gave each other a most hearty and refreshing salt water douche, much to the amusement of the crew. as soon as breakfast was over, lance, with that cool _insouciance_ characteristic of the man who has so often found himself environed by perils that he ceases to think of them, went again on deck, with the intention of mingling freely with the pirate crew, and, if possible, placing himself upon such easy terms with them as would give him an opportunity of acquiring whatever information it might be in their power to give. the first individual he saw on emerging from the hatchway was johnson, the pirate captain, who was leaning moodily over the lee rail abaft the main-rigging, smoking a well-seasoned pipe. "good morning, captain," exclaimed lance genially, as he sauntered up to the man. "what a delightful morning--and how good your tobacco smells! i have not enjoyed the luxury of a pipe for the last fortnight; have you any tobacco to spare?" "help yourself, stranger," answered johnson rather surlily, as he tendered his tobacco-pouch. "thanks," said lance, returning the pouch after he had filled and lighted his pipe. "ah! how good this is," as he took the first whiff or two. "you have a fine breeze after yesterday's calm; and the brig seems quite a traveller in her small way." "in her small way!" exclaimed johnson indignantly; "why, she's a _flyer_, stranger, that's what she is. i reckon you don't know much about ships, or you wouldn't talk like that. i guess you ain't a sailor, are you?" "i am a soldier by profession," answered lance, "but for all that i am not exactly an unmitigated land-lubber; on the contrary i am quite an enthusiastic yachtsman, and i flatter myself that i know a good model when i see one." "and yet you don't take much account of the brig, stranger?" "she seems a good enough little craft of her kind," admitted lance, "and as a mere trader i have no doubt she would answer well enough. but it strikes me that, to gentlemen of your profession, a really fast and powerful vessel is an absolute necessity if you would insure your own safety. in weather like this i daresay you would manage tolerably well; but if a frigate were by any chance to fall in with you in a fresh breeze, or, worse still, in heavy weather, i fear you would find yourselves in a `tight place;' she would have you under her guns in less than an hour." "that's so, stranger; yes, i reckon that's so," conceded johnson with evident reluctance. "there _are_ ships as can outsail us, i know, for we've fallen in with some half a dozen clippers, and we couldn't do nothing with 'em; they just walked away from us. and though i don't calculate that there's ever a frigate afloat as could get alongside them tea-ships if the tea-ships didn't want 'em to, yet i guess there's frigates as _could_ overhaul us in heavy weather. and so you're a yachtsman, eh? then i reckon you know something about quick sailing. how fast, now, do you calculate a yacht would sail in this breeze?" "that depends entirely upon the build and model of the craft. if she were a racing schooner of, say the tonnage of this brig, i daresay her speed under such circumstances as these would be thirteen or perhaps fourteen knots; if, however, she were merely a cruising yacht, such as my own, i do not imagine she would average more than eleven." "eleven knots! jeosh--i say, stranger, how many knots do you reckon we are making just now?" exclaimed johnson. lance looked over the side for a moment, marked a piece of weed floating past, and then answered-- "about eight, i should think; certainly not more." "i guess you're wrong, stranger," returned the pirate skipper with animation, "she's going ten if she's going an inch." "you can easily test it by heaving the log," suggested lance. "aft here, two of you, and heave the log," shouted johnson. two men came sauntering aft, at the call; the line and glass were prepared; and johnson himself made ready to test the speed of the brig. "turn!" he cried to the man who held the glass, as the last of the "stray" passed out over the taffrail. the glass was smartly turned; the reel spun rapidly round; the marks flew through johnson's fingers, and his countenance brightened with exultation. "stop!" the sand had all run out; and johnson grasped the line just before the eighth knot reached his hand. "tarnation! you're right, stranger," he angrily exclaimed. "waal, i swan i made sure she was going ten at the very least." "you skippers very often make that kind of mistake," remarked lance. "or rather, it is not so much a mistake as a self-deception; you would like your ship to have a speed of ten knots in such weather as this, and `the wish is father to the thought.' besides which, having formed an attachment for your ship, you are naturally anxious to give strangers also a favourable impression of her." "that's so, stranger, sure as you're standin' there; you've exactly hit it i knew the craft wan't doin' over eight at the outside; but the way you talked about that yacht of yours sorter put my back up, and i 'lowed i wan't goin' to let you have all the big talk to yourself. about this yacht of yours, colonel; where is she now?" "where i left her, no doubt," answered lance with a smile; "safe and sound on the mud of haslar creek, inside portsmouth harbour." "i suppose, as she's such a flyer, that one of the crack english builders put her together?" inquired johnson. "no, indeed," said lance. "she was built at weymouth by an ordinary shipbuilder, who, for aught i know, had never in his life built a yacht before. i was stationed there at the time, and i designed her myself, and of course superintended her construction." "you don't say. waal, i knew that the soldiers did most everything; but i didn't 'low that they designed yachts!" exclaimed johnson. "neither do we, professionally," admitted lance; "but some of us, of whom i happen to be one, take up the study of naval architecture as an amusement; and those who, like myself, belong to the engineer corps, are to some extent qualified by our technical education to achieve excellence in the art. i can assure you that some of the officers in my corps have turned out exceedingly creditable craft." "waal now, that beats ah," exclaimed johnson. "so you're an engineer, and can design yachts into the bargain! stranger,"--laying his hand impressively on lance's arm--"i'm real glad i took you all aboard. about this schooner of yours--she _is_ a schooner, i reckon!" lance nodded an affirmative. "waal, about this schooner of yours, is she a pretty sea-boat?" "she is as comfortable a vessel as i would ever wish to have under my feet," answered lance with just a slight touch of enthusiasm. "she will face any weather a frigate would dare to look at; and in a gale of wind, such as once caught us in the bay of biscay, is a great deal drier and more comfortable than many frigates would be." "waal now, i call this real interesting," exclaimed johnson with sparkling eyes. "and i s'pose she was tol'able weatherly?" "about the same as other vessels of her class. _all_ yachts, you know, if they are the least worthy the name, go to windward well; it is one of their strong points." "do you think now, colonel, you could recollect enough to design another yacht just like your own schooner?" asked johnson eagerly. "well," said lance, slowly, as he first began to perceive the direction in which johnson's thoughts were tending. "i am by no means sure that i could. however," as a brilliant idea dawned upon him, "i am certain that, with the experience i have gained since i designed the _fleetwing_, i could build one which should excel her in all respects." "waal now, this is what i call a real pleasant conversation," exclaimed johnson, with enthusiasm. "now, see here, colonel, i guess i'll get you to draw out that design right away." "i am sure i shall be very pleased," said lance. "but why do you wish for such a thing? you will surely not venture, after what you have already told us, to visit a civilised port and order a vessel to be built?" "i guess not, stranger. i've three prizes lyin' in harbour not far off, which i kept, thinkin' they might come in useful some day; and we'll break 'em up to build this new craft. you shall superintend the work; and, as you're an engineer, i reckon i'll get you to fortify the harbour also, so's to make things secure in case one of them frigates you was talking about should come along and take a fancy to look inside." "very well," said lance; "i will do what i can, both in the matter of fortifying the harbour and building the new craft, upon the express condition, however, you must understand, that we are all treated well as long as we remain with you; and that you will make an early opportunity to free us as soon as the work is done." "don't you be afraid, stranger," returned johnson. "you do the best you can for me, and i guess i'll do the right thing by you. that's a bargain." "there is just one point which occurs to me," remarked lance. "it is this. to do what you propose we shall require a great deal of assistance. now where are we to find it?" "if it's men you mean, i reckon you'll find plenty of 'em at albatross island. men ain't always to be picked up at sea just when they're wanted," said johnson, "so i've took to keepin' my prisoners alive and landing 'em there, so's i can draw upon 'em when i want to; and i've found that if they won't cut in and take a hand with us exactly to oncet they _gen'lly_ will a little later on, just to escape bein' worked to death ashore." "and what about materials?" persisted lance. "to construct a battery, and to make it serviceable, you know, stone, lime, iron and wood in considerable quantities are required; to say nothing of guns, powder and shot with which to arm the battery when it is finished." "we've got it _all_," exclaimed johnson; "all, that is, exceptin' iron, and that we're very short of. there's stone in the island, and i guess you can make lime from the coral, can't you? and as to the guns and ammunition, why it's only three months ago that we helped ourselves to a whole battery-full belonging to the spaniards away there on the mainland." "well," said lance, "i cannot of course decide exactly how to use your resources to the best advantage until i have seen them and the place. as far, however, as the design of the new ship is concerned, i can set about it at once. i must ask you, however, to release the carpenter and bob, the apprentice, and to allow them to join us aft. the carpenter is a practical man, whose advice and assistance will be most valuable to me; and as for bob, he has been brought up in a district famous for yacht-building, and will be sure to prove helpful to us." "very well, colonel, i reckon you can have 'em," said johnson. "only don't you be persuaded to try any tricks on account of having two extra hands, because if you do, i calculate you'll find us always ready." "all right," laughed lance, "i'll keep your warning and advice in mind. by the by, before i go below, let me suggest that as a few of us are, like myself, smokers, a pound or so of tobacco now and then would be regarded as a delicate attention on your part." "right you are, colonel," answered johnson cordially, "you shall have the terbacker and some cigars too if you like 'em; i guess we've got plenty of both on board." so saying johnson turned upon his heel and dived below for his sextant. chapter eleven. johnson hoodwinks a frigate. left to himself lance sauntered aft, glanced first at the binnacle, then at the sails, and finally essayed a conversation with the helmsman. the man proved at first to be exceedingly surly, suspicious, and taciturn, but lance evelin was a man of consummate tact, and his manner was at once so refined and so genial that there were very few who could for any length of time withstand its fascinating influence. in less than half an hour he had so won upon the man, who was by no means all bad, that everything approaching to reserve had completely vanished, and when johnson came on deck after working out his sights he found the strangely assorted pair conversing as freely together as though they had been old shipmates. lance was very careful to confine his conversation to generalities, and religiously abstained from asking any questions whatever; he quite realised that the party to which he belonged were in a position of great difficulty and danger, their escape from which, if indeed they should ever escape at all, would certainly be a work of time, demanding the utmost caution and patience; and his first endeavour, therefore, was to create a favourable impression rather than to risk suspicion by a too early attempt to acquire information. when johnson saw the two in conversation he at once edged his way aft with the evident intention of ascertaining what they were talking about; but although lance at once noted the movement and made a mental memorandum to the effect that the pirate skipper was clearly a man of suspicious temperament, he gave no outward sign of having observed any such thing, but simply continued the conversation as unrestrainedly as though johnson had not been there. lance remained on deck until dinner-time, which was p.m. on board the _albatross_, when he rejoined his friends below. "well," said he, as he seated himself at the rough deal table which had been knocked together for their accommodation, "i have spent a very pleasant, and, i hope, a very profitable morning on deck." "have you?" remarked captain staunton, "i am glad to hear that. we were beginning to wonder what had become of you. what have you been doing?" "merely ingratiating myself with the skipper and the man whose trick it happened to be at the wheel," answered lance. "and i flatter myself that, for a first attempt, i have managed pretty well. i have been obliged to blow my own trumpet a little, it is true; but by a judicious performance upon that instrument i have succeeded in showing our friend johnson very clearly that it is in our power to be of the greatest possible service to him, and i have secured an order to build a new ship for him, and to fortify the harbour in which she is to be built." "to build a new ship for him!" exclaimed captain staunton. "to fortify his harbour!" ejaculated rex and brook together. "precisely that, gentlemen," continued lance. "i happened accidentally to touch upon rather a sore point with him by disparaging the speed of the brig, which he evidently wished to persuade himself was almost matchless; then i gently insinuated to him that he would be very awkwardly situated if he happened to find himself in the presence of a frigate in heavy weather; and finally i mentioned to him in a casual way the fact that i had designed and built a yacht of my own which could sail round his brig in any weather, and also that i happened to be by profession a military engineer. the results of which are as i have already stated. there is one other result, by the bye, i have secured the release of our friend robert, and also the carpenter. i daresay they will be allowed to join us some time to-day." "well," remarked captain staunton, "that is an advantage certainly; every man we can secure makes us so much the stronger, and perhaps, if we could get one or two more, something might be done in the second night-watch. we might possibly be able to--" "take the brig?" interrupted lance with a laugh. "not to be thought of for a single moment, my dear sir. our friend johnson is far too suspicious a man, and has too much at stake to give us any such opportunity, if watchfulness on his part can prevent it. why, he has already anticipated the possibility of such an attempt on our part, and was good enough to caution me that we should always find him ready." "um!" ejaculated the skipper, meditatively, "that is bad news. we have evidently a difficult man to deal with. i have heard it said, more than once, that the man who can circumvent a yankee can circumvent the father of mischief himself. but about this ship-building and fortification business, do i understand that you regard johnson's plans in that respect as favourable to us? because, if so, i should be very glad if you would explain; i must admit that at present i can scarcely see how we are likely to derive any advantage from it." "well," remarked lance, "you must understand that at present my plans are of the crudest description, they will require a great deal of maturing before they can be put into successful operation, and in this i anticipate that you will all be able to afford me the greatest assistance. roughly, however, my idea is this. we must choose, if possible, for the ship-building-yard a spot which is not only suitable for the purpose, but which will also admit of being effectually defended by the battery which is to be built. we must secure as assistants as many as possible of our own men, and when the ship is built and launched we must contrive somehow to seize and make our escape in her. this plan will, i admit, involve many months' detention here, but it is the only feasible way of escape which has, so far, presented itself to my mind; and my conversation with johnson this morning has convinced me that we have nothing to hope for from him. he is glad to have us, and will possibly be civil to us because of our ability to be of service to him, but i can see that he is an unscrupulous rascal who will freely make promises in order to secure our aid and co-operation, and unhesitatingly break them the moment that his ends are served." they were all busily engaged in the discussion of lance's projects when a hail was heard from aloft. they did not quite catch the words, but the gruff voice of the brig's chief mate ordering the crew to make sail caused them to surmise that a ship had just been sighted. the first impulse of the males in the party was to rush on deck, but captain staunton immediately resumed his seat again and requested the others to do so likewise, pointing out that too eager a curiosity on their parts respecting the movements of the brig would possibly only provoke suspicion and resentment against them in the breasts of the pirates, and that there would be ample opportunity later on for them to see how matters stood. they accordingly resumed the discussion upon which they had been engaged, but were shortly afterwards interrupted by the appearance of johnson's steward, who descended the hatchway-ladder bearing a couple of boxes of cigars and a dozen sticks of excellent tobacco "with the cap'ns compliments." this afforded them an excellent opportunity for going on deck in a thoroughly natural way; those who smoked accordingly cut up a quantity of the tobacco, and, filling their pipes, adjourned to the deck in a body for the purpose of enjoying their post-prandial smoke johnson was standing aft near the man at the wheel, "with one eye aloft and the other in the binnacle." he looked fierce and excited; he took no notice whatever of the party who had just made their appearance on deck, and his features wore so forbidding an expression that it was at once patent to everybody that the best plan just then would be to leave him entirely alone. the first thing which they noticed was that the brig had been kept away off her former course, and was now running to leeward, with the wind on her quarter. the canvas had been rapidly packed upon her, and she was now slipping very fast through the water, with topgallant, topmast, and lower studding-sails set to windward, and all the rest of her canvas, fore and aft as well as square, tugging at her like cart-horses. this, as it afterwards appeared, was her favourite point of sailing. that a sail was in sight was perfectly evident, but nothing could be seen of her from the deck, though the horizon was perfectly clear all round; it was therefore rather difficult at first to ascertain her whereabouts. but it did not long remain so, for in about five minutes the mate came on deck with his sextant in his hand, and suspending the instrument very carefully from his neck by a piece of stout marline, he at once made his way up the main-rigging, and finally settled himself comfortably in the cross-trees, facing aft, and bringing the telescope of the sextant at once to bear upon an object which seemed to lie about a couple of points on the lee quarter. the craft in sight must therefore be _astern_ of the brig, and the mate's movements clearly indicated that she was in chase, and that he was very anxious to ascertain which ship gained upon the other. the instrument, apparently after being carefully adjusted, was removed from the mate's eye and suspended from the cross-trees in such a manner that it should not strike against the mast or any of the rigging with the roll of the ship, and then the observer drew forth a pipe, which he filled and proceeded to smoke with the greatest apparent calmness and contentment. the pipe was at length finished, and then the smoker, with the same deliberation which had characterised his former movements, once more applied the sextant to his eye. "well," shouted johnson, "what news of the stranger aloft there?" "gaining on us, hand over fist," was the reply. "that'll do then; you may as well come down," snarled the pirate skipper. "your staying perched up there, like an owl in an ivy bush, won't help us any; come down and make yourself useful, d'ye hear?" "ay, ay," answered the mate, "i'm coming, boss." and he forthwith proceeded to descend the rigging in a careless nonchalant manner which evidently drove his superior almost to the verge of frenzy. half an hour passed, and then there appeared far away on the horizon, on the brig's lee quarter, a tiny white speck, which steadily though imperceptibly increased in size until the snowy royals of a large ship stood fully revealed. this was about half-past three in the afternoon, at which time the wind showed signs of failing. by half-past four o'clock the stranger had risen her topgallant-sails above the horizon, and it could clearly be seen, even with the unaided eye, that she had royal as well as topgallant studding-sails set, and there could not be a shadow of doubt that she was after the brig. the spirits of our friends rose to such a high pitch of exultation at this agreeable sight that they found it difficult to conceal their delight when johnson, abandoning his post near the helmsman, joined them. "well, strangers," he remarked with a grim smile, "there's a chance for you yet, you see. that's one of them cursed frigates you was talking about this morning, colonel, but she's a tarnation sight smarter'n i gave any of 'em credit for being. i tell you, cap'n, if this had been the forenoon-watch instead of the first dog-watch it would have been all up with this brig. but now i don't feel quite so sorter anxious as i did. i reckon that unless the breeze freshens, which it ain't going to do, it will take that craft till midnight to get alongside of us; and if she can do it then, why she's welcome to the brig and all aboard of her, curse me if she ain't. see them clouds gathering, away there to the nor'ard? that's a thunder-storm working up, but it won't break for some hours yet, i calculate, and them clouds is going to do me a good turn before that. i reckon you'll have to make up your minds to go to albatross island yet, strangers." and he dived below to his cabin, evidently in an easier state of mind than he had enjoyed an hour before. by six o'clock the frigate's topsails had risen more than half their height above the horizon, and when lance, captain staunton, and bowles returned to the deck after the evening meal, the waning light just enabled them to see the stranger's lower yards fairly clear of the water. before they lost sight of her altogether half her courses had risen into view. the night closed down very dark, there being no moon, and the sky was entirely overspread with heavy black murky-looking thunder-clouds which completely hid the stars. the wind, too, had dropped to such an extent that an occasional ominous flap was heard from the canvas aloft, though the brig still slid through the water at the rate of about four knots in the hour. johnson was in high spirits again. he sat aft near the taffrail, attentively watching the frigate through his night-glass long after she had disappeared from the naked eye; and when it at last became difficult to make her out even with the aid of the glass, he would lay it down, rub his eyes, take half a dozen turns along the deck, then pick up the glass again and have another spell at it. finally he turned to the mate, who was standing near him, and tendering the glass, said-- "there, take a look, ben, and tell me if you can pick her out." the mate peered long and attentively through the telescope, moving it very slowly about that part of the horizon where he knew the frigate to be, but without success. "it's no go, boss," he said, "my eyes are pretty good, but they're not good enough to see through such darkness as this." johnson chuckled. "do you think," said he, "it looks any lighter ahead? would our sails show against that cloud-bank in the wake of the fore- mast?" "not they," answered the mate confidently. "why, it's darker, if anything, ahead than it is astern." "that's so," agreed johnson with another chuckle. "now, what," he continued, "what do you think was the last thing the skipper of that frigate did before the darkness closed down?" "well," said the mate, "if he knew his business, i should say he would take our bearings." "and you may take your oath that's exactly what he _did_," returned johnson. "now, take a look round and tell me what you think of the weather." "the weather?" repeated the mate; "why, a child almost could tell what the weather's going to be. we're going to have thunder, which will bring a northerly breeze along with it while it lasts." "capital!" exclaimed johnson. "do you think, now, that the captain of that man-o'-war astern is of the same opinion as you and i are about the weather?" "he's certain to be if he's a seaman," was the reply. "now, once more," proceeded johnson, "supposing you thought of giving the frigate the slip, as we might very easily do this dark night, what course would you steer?" "i should steer to the nor'ard," answered the mate, "so as to be to wind'ard when the change comes." "i knew it," exclaimed johnson delightedly; "i was dead certain of it. now, we're going to give that frigate the slip by steering to the _south'ard_; because her skipper will argue as you do, and when he finds he's lost the run of us, he'll haul up to the nor'ard directly. now, just pass the word for the carpenter to bring along that water-cask i ordered him to rig up this afternoon." the word was passed, and in a minute or two three men came aft bearing what appeared to be a water-cask with a pole passed down through the bung-hole, and right out through the other side, about six feet of the pole projecting on each side of the cask. to one end of this pole was lashed a short light batten, and to the other end the men now proceeded to secure a small pig of iron ballast. this done, the whole was launched overboard from the taffrail, the cask floating bung up, with half the pole and the light batten standing perpendicularly above it like a mast. to the upper end of this batten was lashed an old horn lantern with a lighted candle in it, after which the whole apparatus was suffered to go adrift. "now, in stunsails, and brace sharp up on the port tack," ordered johnson. this was soon done; and the brig now feeling the full strength of what little wind there was, seemed to slip along through the water quite as fast as before. johnson looked away out over the weather quarter to where the beacon- lantern glimmered in the intense darkness. "there," said he; "that'll perhaps help to mislead 'em a bit. they'll take it for our binnacle-light, and'll keep straight on till they run over it. then, finding we've played 'em a trick, they'll haul straight up to the nor'ard, thinking we've gone that way too, and we shall soon be out of sight of one another." johnson kept his gaze intently fixed upon the tiny light as long as it remained visible to the naked eye, and when it could no longer be seen in that fashion he deliberately set himself to watch it through his night-glass. more than an hour had elapsed since the cask had been sent adrift before he manifested any signs of emotion, but at length he began to chuckle audibly-- "now they're nearing it," he murmured, with his eye glued to the tube. "i can see the craft clearly now; they've cast loose the guns and opened the ports; i can see the light of the lanterns shining through 'em. she's creeping up to it pretty fast; but i guess we've walked away from it quite a considerable distance too. there! now they've run aboard of that tarnation old water-barrel; they know what 'tis by this time, and i reckon the skipper of that frigate is ripping and tearing and cussing and going on till the air smells of brimstone for a quarter of a mile all round. ah! just as i expected. they've hauled up to the nor'ard; her stern's towards us, for i can see the lights shining out of her cabin-windows; and now every minute 'll take us further apart. waal, i'm glad i thought of laying for 'em with that old lantern; it'll sorter tell 'em that we're having a good laugh at 'em; won't it, colonel?" turning to our friends and addressing lance in high good-humour. "doubtless you have succeeded in greatly provoking them, if that was your object," replied lance; "but if i were in your place i don't think i should feel quite easy in my mind yet. if that thunder-storm which has been brewing for so long were to break, as it may do at any moment, the flash of the lightning would be certain to reveal your whereabouts to them." "i reckon we'll have to take our chance of that," remarked johnson in a more sober tone; "but let it keep dark half an hour longer, and i don't care how much it lightens after that. ah, tarnation! look at that." this last ejaculation was provoked by the sudden illumination of the northern heavens by a brilliant flash of sheet lightning, which revealed not only every detail of the vast bank of murky clouds which lay heaped up, as it were, upon the horizon, but also distinctly showed the frigate on its very verge, still holding steadily northward, her hull and sails standing out sharply like a block of ebony against the faint bluish gleam of the electric light. another flash soon followed, then another, and another, the flashes following each other with increasing rapidity, to johnson's manifest discomfiture; but, though he was evidently unaware of it, the brig was so far perfectly safe from discovery; for the lightning continued to flash up only in the northern quarter, leaving the remainder of the horizon veiled in impenetrable darkness; so that, though the frigate was distinctly revealed to the brig, the brig was completely hidden from the frigate. the lightning, however, though it had not yet shown the brig's whereabouts, had enabled those on board the frigate to ascertain that she was not ahead of them, as they had supposed, for when the next flash came the man-o'-war was seen nearly broadside-on to the brig, and heading about south-west, her captain having evidently come to the conclusion that the _albatross_, after setting her lure, had doubled back like a hare upon her former course. johnson waited until another flash came, revealing the frigate still upon the same course, and then he gave orders for his vessel to be kept away, steering this time to the southward and eastward, or about at right angles to the course of the frigate. ten minutes later the latter was hull-down. "_now_ we're safe!" ejaculated the pirate skipper delightedly. "clew up and furl everything, lads, and be smart about it, for in another five minutes we'll have the lightning flashing all round us; but under bare poles i guess it'll take sharp eyes to pick us out." "waal, colonel," he remarked to lance, shortly afterwards, "i reckon that was a narrer squeak for us, that was. if i'd been fool enough to go to the nor'ard, they'd have had us for sure. that's a right smart frigate, that is; and i guess she's a yankee. you britishers don't build such smart boats as that. after this i'm bound more'n ever to have that schooner you promised to build for me, for i don't mind owning up that i began to feel skeered a bit when i saw how we was bein' catched up. do you think, now, colonel, you could build a schooner that would have walked away from that frigate?" "oh dear, yes!" answered lance, "i am quite sure i could; only, remember, i must not be interfered with in any way. i cannot have people troubling me with suggestions, or, worse still, insisting upon my grafting their ideas on to my own. the ship must be exclusively my own design, and then i can promise you we will turn out a craft capable, if need be, of running away from the fastest frigate that ever was launched." "all right, colonel; don't you trouble about that," was the reply. "only say what you want, and it shall be done; and if anybody tries to interfere with you, just point 'em out to me, that's all." "very well," returned lance. "then i shall consider that a bargain; and now i will wish you good-night, as i think there will be rain shortly, and i've no particular fancy for a drenching unless it comes in the way of duty." the following morning dawned bright and fair, the thunder-storm of the preceding night having broken and raged furiously for a couple of hours soon after our friends left the deck, and then cleared completely away. when captain staunton went on deck he found a fine breeze blowing once more from the westward, and the brig dashing along at a slashing pace under topgallant-sails, with her nose pointing to the northward. the air was clear and transparent; not a cloud flecked the deep blue of the sky overhead; and a man, who had shinned aloft at johnson's orders as far as the main truck, was just in the act of reporting that there was nothing anywhere in sight. so that any lingering hopes which captain staunton may have entertained as to the possibility of the frigate rediscovering them were speedily dashed to the ground. the fine weather lasted; and three days afterwards, about two o'clock in the afternoon, the look-out aloft reported, "land ho! right ahead!" "what is it like?" hailed johnson from his seat on the skylight. "it's look-out peak, sir; i can make out the shape of it quite well." "that's all right," returned johnson. "stay where you are, and let me know if you see anything like a signal." in a couple of hours more the land was distinctly visible from the deck, the peak spoken of as "look-out peak" appearing first, and then the land on each side of it, rising gradually above the ocean's brim until it lay stretched along the horizon for a length of some half a dozen miles. as they drew in towards the island, our friends (all of whom, excepting the ladies, were on deck) half expected to be sent below in order that they might not become acquainted with the navigation of the harbour-entrance; but this idea did not appear to have presented itself to johnson, who, on the contrary, joined the group, and began chatting with them in what was evidently meant to be understood as an affable manner. when they had approached within a mile of the place, the pirate skipper turned to lance and asked him what he thought of the harbour, and whether he believed he could make it tolerably safe with a dozen guns or so. "harbour!" answered lance, "i see no harbour,--no sign even of one on that part of the coast which we are now approaching. i can distinguish nothing but a rocky shore, against which the surf is breaking heavily enough to dash to pieces the strongest ship that was ever built. perhaps the harbour lies somewhere beyond that low rocky point which forms the western extremity of the island? but if so, why not steer directly for it?" "the entrance to the harbour is exactly in line with our jib-boom-end just now," explained johnson in high good-humour; "but i guess you would never know it unless you was told; would you, colonel?" "that indeed i should not," answered lance; "and even now i scarcely know how to believe you." lance might well say so, for the whole coast-line in front of them presented an apparently unbroken face of rocky cliffs of various heights, from about thirty to two hundred feet, backed by grassy slopes thickly dotted with dense clumps of trees of various kinds, many of which glowed with the most brilliant tints from the flowers with which they were loaded. immediately ahead, where johnson had said the entrance to the harbour lay, a great irregular mass of low jagged rocks projected slightly beyond the general face-line of the cliffs, and behind it was a gap which had the appearance of being caused by the projecting mass of rock having at some remote period broken away and slipped into the sea. the brig, however, continued to stand on boldly, and when she had arrived within about three cables'-lengths of the shore, it became apparent that the large mass of rock ahead, or rather on the lee bow by this time, the brig having luffed a trifle, was entirely detached from the island, leaving a narrow channel of water between it and the cliffs behind it. but it was not until the brig had actually borne away to enter this channel that the entrance to the harbour revealed itself. then indeed it was seen that the cliff behind, instead of preserving an unbroken face, curved inwards in the form of a cove, the eastern and western arms of which consisted of two projecting reefs jutting out toward the mass of rock in front of them, which in its turn now revealed its true shape, which was that of a crescent, the horns of which overlapped the two projecting reefs forming the eastern and western sides of the harbour-entrance, and acted as a perfect natural breakwater, effectually protecting the harbour itself in all weathers. winding her way through the short narrow channel between the rock and the cliffs, the brig hauled sharply round the western point and shot into the cove or harbour itself, which consisted of an irregularly- shaped expanse of water some two hundred acres in extent. at the entrance the rocks on both sides sloped steeply down into the deep blue water; but further in they were fringed along their bases by a beautiful white sandy beach which widened as it approached the bottom of the bay, the land on each side sloping more gradually down to the water, and finally spreading out, where the water ceased, into a broad and lovely valley which stretched inland some three miles, rising gradually as it receded until it became lost among a group of hills which formed the background of the picture. at anchor in the bay were three hulks, no doubt the three prizes spoken of by johnson as destined to be broken up for the building of the new craft; and on the grassy plateau at the bottom of the bay and close to the beach stood two large buildings and some half a dozen smaller ones, all constructed of wood. behind these, a plot of ground, some two acres in extent, was fenced in to form a garden, and a very fruitful one it proved too, if one might judge by the luxuriant growth apparent in its various products. corn of two or three kinds waved on the eastern slopes, half a dozen head of cattle and perhaps a couple of dozen sheep grazed on the opposite side of the valley; cocoa-nuts reared their tall slender stems and waved their feathery branches by hundreds, and behind them again as the ground sloped gently upward it became more and more densely covered with palm, banana, and plantain groves thickly interspersed with various trees, some of considerable size and dense foliage, among which brilliant orchids and gaudy parasites of the gayest hues entwined themselves to the very summits. a light gig shot alongside the brig as her anchor was let go, and a tall swarthy man with the unmistakable classic features of a greek stepped on board. he would have been a strikingly handsome man but for the expression of cunning and cruelty which glittered in his keen black eyes. "well, capitan," said he to johnson as he joined the pirate skipper, "so you have returned once more, and with a full hold, i hope. the people began to think you were gone for good, you have been away so long time." "yes," returned johnson, "back again, alec, like a bad penny; and we've not brought so _very_ much with us, either; but the little we have 'll be useful, i daresay. the brig don't seem to sail so well as she used to, and we fell in with over half a dozen fine craft that we couldn't get near. they just walked away from us like we was at anchor. we've come in now to give the old hooker an overhaul--she wants it badly enough--and then i think i shall try my luck further to the east'ard, away on t'other side of the cape altogether. but if we haven't brought a whole ship-load of plunder, i guess we've brought what's most as good. we picked up boat-load of shipwrecked people, and among 'em there's one--that tall soldier-looking chap over there on the larboard side of the skylight--who says he can fortify the place for us, and build us out of these old hulks a craft that 'll beat anything we're likely to meet, 'cepting perhaps steamers." "_says_!" ejaculated the greek contemptuously. "ay, and he can do it too," remarked johnson. "he's one of them english soldiers who does all the battery-building and fortifying business, and he has a yacht which he designed himself, and which sails so fast that he didn't think the brig's sailing amounted to shucks. i tell you, alec, the way he talked about that yacht jest set me a longing, it did, sure as you're there. now, i'm going to leave 'em here with you when i sail next time. they'll fortify the harbour so's it'll be safe if any of them sneakin' men-o'-war comes pryin' about--and we was as near took by one of 'em a few nights ago--as near as near--and they'll build us a regular flyer of a schooner, on condition that they're properly treated; so as long as the work's about i want you to act amiable to 'em, and after we've got all the help out of 'em that we want, i don't care what comes to 'em. they've got some women with 'em--worst luck--and they seem mighty particular about 'em, so i hope you'll see that the gals don't come to any harm. you see, alec, my boy, we _must_ be civil to 'em if we want 'em to do their best for us; but after they've done their work you can have your own way with the whole lot." the greek (whose name, by the way, was alessandro ralli) listened to his chief in sullen silence, and when johnson had finished speaking beckoned him to follow him down into the cabin. these worthies had been standing during this short conversation just at the foot of the main-mast, and seemed to be either oblivious of or indifferent to the fact that a seaman was just over their heads stowing the driver, and near enough to hear every word that passed. the individual referred to had been taking his time--a good deal of it too-- over his task, but no sooner were the skipper and the greek fairly out of sight down the companion than, with a few dexterous movements, he rapidly passed the last turns of the lashing and slid down on deck. it was our old friend bob. chapter twelve. on albatross island. on the following morning all hands on board the brig were stirring early, and, assisted by a strong party from the shore, first moved the vessel down to the bottom of the bay until she took the ground on a beautiful level sandy bottom, and then began to discharge her. her cargo comprised a most extraordinary collection of heterogeneous articles, including three pianofortes (two of which were in packing- cases, whilst the other had evidently been taken from a ship's cabin), several cases of arms, a large quantity of powder and lead, bales of silk, a few kegs of spanish dollars, fifty ingots of gold and as many of silver; several cases of machinery, a large boiler in sections, an immense quantity of provisions of various kinds, ten brass nine-pounder guns taken out of a spanish ship, several boxes of clothing, and a large quantity of new rope, bolts of canvas, sails--which from their size had evidently never been made for the brig--cases of furniture, etcetera, etcetera. these articles were all landed in boats, and conveyed with more or less difficulty up to one of the large buildings before-mentioned, and there housed. there was great jubilation among the men at the sight of so rich a cargo; ralli, the greek, quite laying aside his former moroseness of manner and exhibiting an almost childish delight at the sight of the bullion and the kegs of dollars. the men worked hard all day, and by sunset more than half the brig's cargo was on shore. it was not difficult, however, to detect that among these men there were a few-- perhaps a dozen--who took no interest in their labour, manifesting very little curiosity as to the nature of the articles which they were handling, and working solely because they had no other choice. these our friends rightly conjectured to be prisoners who had not chosen to cast in their lot with the pirates. early in the day that portion of the party from the _galatea_ in which we are more immediately interested had been conveyed on shore under johnson's own protection, and taken up to one of the smaller buildings which stood on the beach, with the intimation that they were at liberty to occupy it. it was a small two-story building, constructed of wood; the upper floor being reached through a trap-door which was led up to by a wooden step-ladder. this floor, like the one below, consisted of a single room, and was lighted by two windows, one at each end, the two longer walls of the room being fitted with three tiers of bunks similar to those found on board ship. the ground floor was fitted up with a fire-place, shelves all round the room, a rough deal table and two long benches, and had evidently been used as a general living-room. the place was wretchedly dirty, and on being inducted into it the first act of the men was to procure an abundance of soap and water, and set vigorously to work to give it a thorough cleansing. this occupied them all the morning. at noon a bell rang, which was the signal for all hands to knock off work and get their dinner, the messman of each gang going to the galley, a small building near the store, and drawing from the cook a sufficient quantity of food for the party to which he belonged. bob, who with the carpenter had been duly liberated according to promise, cheerfully took upon himself the duties of messman for the party to which he belonged, and presenting himself with the others, he obtained without difficulty the wherewithal to set before our friends a very respectable meal. while they were at dinner, lance tore a leaf out of his pocket-book and jotted down the various articles, such as bedding, crockery, and utensils of various kinds which they required, and on the completion of the list he hurried away with it to johnson, who at once wrote at its foot an order to the storekeeper for the issue of the articles named. these were soon conveyed to the hut, and by sunset they had the place in very tolerable order. now that they were on shore, however, they felt that the time had arrived when a little more privacy could be enjoyed by the ladies of the party; so a few boards were obtained and with them a partition knocked up, dividing the upper room into two equal parts, the half which was approached through the trap-door being devoted to the ladies, while the men obtained access to their sleeping apartment by means of a ladder and the open window, the ladder being drawn up into the room at night. at six o'clock the bell rang again, upon which all hands knocked off work for the day, and after half an hour devoted to cleaning up, etcetera, tea, or supper as most of the men termed it, was served. on this particular evening, however, there was a slight deviation from the usual order of procedure; the messmen being detained at the galley until all were present (instead of being served and despatched in the order of their arrival), when johnson made his appearance on the scene and announced that the kegs of dollars landed that day from the brig would be distributed in the capstan-house that evening at eight o'clock, and that any of the prisoners not yet belonging to the "brotherhood" who chose to present themselves there at that hour, and would sign the "bond of brotherhood," would be entitled to an equal share of the spoil. bob duly mentioned this item of information on his arrival with the viands; and it was at once decided that, as all the pirates would thus be engaged for some time, advantage should be taken of so favourable an opportunity to give the ladies a little fresh air and exercise. they waited until all the pirates appeared to have betaken themselves to the capstan-house, and then sallied out in a body upon an exploring expedition up the valley. it was a lovely night, as light as day, the full moon riding high overhead in an unclouded sky, and so flooding the heavens with her silvery light that only a few stars of the first magnitude were visible. there was very little wind, and a heavy dew was falling; but that, after the hardship of exposure in an open boat, was a trifle so insignificant that it attracted no one's attention. the walk was a most enjoyable one to all, but it was especially delightful to three couples who early paired off together, and in a quiet unostentatious fashion dropped into the rear. captain and mrs staunton had naturally much to say to each other upon matters interesting only to themselves; while as for violet and rex, blanche and lance, this was their first opportunity for an exchange of these sweet nothings in which lovers delight since the eventful evening on which they had been driven out by the flames from the unfortunate _galatea_. tempted by the beauty of the night they strayed a long distance; and when at length they returned to the hut, weary with the unaccustomed exercise, but happier than they had been for a long time, the settlement was wrapped in the silence of repose. on the following morning, immediately after breakfast, johnson presented himself, with the request that lance, captain staunton, and the carpenter would accompany him on a visit to the prizes, for the purpose of deciding which of them should be broken up to build the new schooner. two of these vessels were barques, and one a full-rigged ship. the ship was teak-built, and an unmistakable east-indiaman; while of the barques, one was oak-built and copper-fastened, and the other a soft- wood vessel put together with iron. the oak-built ship was nearly new, the copper which covered her bottom up to the bends had not a wrinkle on its entire surface, and her deck-planking showed no signs of wear; but she was modelled for carrying, rather than for speed; it was therefore decided without much hesitation that she should be the one to be broken up. the next point to be settled was the position of the building-yard. lance had given this matter a great deal of quiet consideration, and had come to the conclusion that for many reasons it would be better to have the yard as far away as possible from the rest of the settlement, one consideration which greatly weighed with him being the possibility that their best chance of escape might be in launching the schooner on the quiet during the night and taking her from the stocks direct to sea. johnson had already made up his mind that the best site for the stocks would be on the sandy beach immediately in front of the capstan-house; and there was a great deal to be said in favour of this, a carpenter's shop being already in existence close to the spot, and all the cordage and tackle of every description being stored in the capstan-house. but this did not at all chime in with lance's plans, so he merely remarked that it would do well enough if no better place could be found, but that the flatness of the ground and the consequent shoal water at that spot would prove serious difficulties in the way of launching; and that it would be advisable before deciding to give the entire shore of the bay a very careful examination. some hours were accordingly spent in this work; and a site was at last fixed upon in a locality thoroughly favourable to lance's secret wishes. this was a small indentation in the harbour-face of the breakwater rock which marked the entrance to the bay. this indentation was about an acre and a half in extent, with a smooth rocky floor sloping down into the water at an inclination of just the right gradient for the launching-ways. it is true it was a long way away from the settlement; but lance's arguments in favour of adopting it were so convincing that johnson was fain to give way, which, he at last did with a very good grace. this matter settled, lance intimated that he should like to devote a little more time to the examination of the rock; as it appeared to him that here was the proper place to construct the battery which was to defend the harbour. they accordingly climbed with great difficulty to the highest point of the rock, which was immediately behind or to seaward of the future shipyard, and which had an elevation of nearly a hundred feet above the sea-level. the top of the rock was very irregular in shape; but lance soon saw that a few charges of powder judiciously placed would give them a nearly circular platform of about sixty feet diameter, which would be ample space for such a battery as he proposed to construct. his first idea had been to evade the construction of this battery altogether if possible; but a little reflection had shown him that a time might come when its existence would be of the utmost importance to themselves, and he therefore decided to go on with the work. he accordingly pointed out to johnson the strength of the position they occupied, the complete command over the harbour-entrance which a battery would have at that point, and the effective defence it would constitute to the new shipyard; and the pirate was speedily convinced of the soundness of lance's views. these points settled, the party returned to the bottom of the bay; and johnson then invited lance to present himself at eight o'clock that evening in the capstan-house, there to submit his plans for the new schooner to a committee of the pirates for approval. the drawings were in fact scarcely ready; but by working hard for the remainder of the day not only were they completed, but the carpenter had also prepared a half-model of the hull by the hour at which the committee was to meet; and, armed with these, lance, captain staunton, and the carpenter duly presented themselves at the capstan-house at eight o'clock. they were met at the door by johnson, who conducted them up a step- ladder into an apartment in the first floor of the building. it was a room about sixty feet long by forty feet broad, and was apparently used as a sort of general assembly-room, being fitted up with rows of benches from the door right up to a platform at the further end. on this platform there stood, upon the present occasion, a large table lighted by a pair of handsome lamps, and surrounded by a dozen chairs, some of which were already occupied when lance and his companions entered. our friends quietly seated themselves, lance on one side of johnson, captain staunton on the other, with the trusty carpenter next him. johnson then ordered the bell to be rung to summon the laggards; and in a few minutes afterwards the entire committee, some eight men in all, had assembled. johnson then rose to address the party. he remarked that they were already aware of the purpose for which they had been summoned, namely to inspect the plans of a new schooner which he proposed to have built; but he had been led to understand that doubts had been expressed in certain quarters (here he glanced at ralli) as to the necessity for such a proceeding; and he had therefore invited them there to meet him in order that he might lay before them his views upon the matter and answer such questions as any of them might wish to put to him. he then cited several unsuccessful chases in which he had engaged, as well as his recent narrow escape from the frigate, as evidence in support of his assertion that not only their profit but their actual safety depended upon their becoming possessed of a much faster vessel than the _albatross_ as speedily as might be; winding up his speech by requesting that each man present would give the committee the benefit of his views on the matter in hand. a somewhat excited debate then ensued, ralli making himself especially conspicuous by his opposition to johnson; but in the end the latter succeeded in carrying his point, and the construction of the vessel was definitely decided upon. lance was then called upon to submit his drawings for inspection; which he forthwith did, explaining at the same time the peculiarities of the design. the vessel he proposed to build was to have a broad shallow hull, with a very deep keel; and her water-lines were simply faultless. there was a considerable difference of opinion as to the desirability of having a vessel of that type; but lance, who was anxious above all things to build a craft which would carry his party safely, comfortably, and speedily home, provided they should be so fortunate as to obtain possession of her, ably combated all adverse criticism, in which he was ably seconded by johnson, who seemed greatly taken with the design, and in the end they had their own way. this important point being settled, the meeting broke up; and on the following morning the first step was taken toward carrying the work into execution. the vessel which had been selected for breaking up was unmoored and brought close in to the shore abreast the capstan-house, where she was anchored. a strong party was then told off for the purpose of loading her, under the joint-superintendence of lance, johnson, captain staunton, and the carpenter of the _galatea_, who went by the name of "kit," short for christopher. lance requisitioned the stores of the pirates with the utmost freedom, taking everything he thought likely to be in the least degree useful; and in this way three days were consumed. on the fourth day the hulk was once more unmoored, and, with three boats ahead, towed to the rock at the mouth of the harbour and grounded upon it. the work of landing the stores and materials then commenced; and when these had all been conveyed safely ashore, the erection of workshops, etcetera, was begun. and it was at this period that johnson began to realise for the first time how valuable an acquisition to his band he had gained in the persons of lance, rex, brooke, and kit. the three first were quite in their element when it came to the designing and erecting of the various buildings and of the battery, which was at the same time commenced, whilst kit displayed an amount of intelligence in the carrying out of their instructions which was beyond all praise. johnson chuckled with inward satisfaction and made certain secret resolves; but he said nothing. meanwhile the _albatross_ had been careened, her copper stripped off where necessary, and replaced after caulking the planking underneath; the copper had been scoured all over, down to the very keel, until it shone like gold; the top-sides had been caulked; then the deck; the hull repainted inside and out; and when the buildings at the new dockyard were about being begun, the spars, sails, and rigging of the brig were in process of undergoing a thorough overhaul. it looked very much as though the _albatross_ would be ready for sea in another fortnight at the outside; while lance estimated that, with the strength then at his command, it would be at least a month before the keel of the schooner could possibly be laid. now johnson had set his heart upon seeing this done before he sailed; when therefore he found that it would be impossible unless he strongly augmented lance's working party, he took half the men working upon the brig and turned them over to the dockyard gang, with the result that the work on the brig was retarded while that at the shipyard was expedited so greatly as to ensure the gratification of his wish. so eager was he to hasten on the building of the schooner that he even proposed the abandonment of the old settlement at the bottom of the bay, and the establishment of a new one on the rock itself. this, however, by no means suited lance's views. it would be manifestly impossible to launch and make off with the schooner if they were to be environed by a gang of men every one of whom would be sure to regard the new-comers with more or less of suspicion and distrust; so lance threw out a few mysterious hints about secret passages and hidden chambers beneath the battery and in the heart of the rocks, which for johnson's own individual sake it would be wise to keep from the knowledge of all but those actually engaged in constructing them; and by this means he managed to avert the threatened transfer. the thought occurred to him that possibly the _galatea_ party might be more safe if quartered upon the rock, and thus entirely separated from the pirates; but on reconsidering the question and talking it over with the others the conclusion arrived at was that the rock was an exposed and sterile spot for a habitation, in addition to which it possessed other disadvantages; and that perhaps, for the present, it would be better not to propose it. at length the eventful day arrived on which the ceremony of laying the keel of the new schooner was to be performed. the pieces of timber of which it was to be composed--some of which had already formed part of the keel of the old ship--had all been shaped, the blocks laid in position, and every other preparation fully made; and nothing remained but to lay down the keel-pieces on the blocks placed ready for their reception, and to bolt them together. in the fulness of his delight johnson resolved that the day should be a regular _fete_ day; and accordingly on the morning in question the shipyard was gaily dressed with flags--of more than one nationality-- which were hoisted upon poles hastily set up for the purpose; and all hands, clean shaven, and dressed in their best, prepared to assist in the ceremony. the proceedings were inaugurated by johnson, who, attired in the full uniform of a captain of the american navy, took up a position on one of the keel-blocks, and from thence made an animated address to his followers, in which he rapidly sketched the history of the band from the day on which they had entered upon their present career by taking from their officers the _amazon_ tea clipper, in which they had sailed from china for england, down to the present time. he reminded them of the difficulties and misfortunes with which they had been obliged to contend; how they had unfortunately lost the _amazon_ upon an island some hundreds of miles to the westward of their present position; how they had been compelled to leave the island in open boats; of the sufferings which they subsequently endured; and how by a lucky accident they were finally enabled to obtain possession of the _albatross_. he next dwelt upon the good fortune which had since attended them; the many valuable prizes they had taken; the rich store of booty they had accumulated; and the steady augmentation of the numbers of the brotherhood. then, giving free rein to his fancy, he enlarged upon his plans for the future. what had already been done was, he said, nothing--a simple preliminary effort, a mere trial of strength--compared with what he _would_ do. he would never be satisfied, he informed them, until he could finally lead them all out of that harbour on board a fleet of at least ten well armed, swift, and fully manned ships, in which it would be possible for them to ravage the entire coast of spanish south america, despoiling the rich towns and laughing at all opposition. in this way, he promised them, he would place them in possession of such an unheard-of amount of treasure that every man among them should be worth his millions; after which, by following a plan which he would unfold to them at the proper time, they could quietly disband and settle down for the remainder of their lives, each man on that particular spot of earth which pleased him best, in the peaceful enjoyment of his well-earned gold. and they were assembled there that day, he added in conclusion, to lay the keel of the first of the ten clippers by which this glorious result was to be accomplished. it was an eloquent and masterly speech. johnson was most accurately acquainted with the characters of those who surrounded him; he was making a great bid for the recovery of that popularity which in some unexplained way--but largely through the machinations of alec ralli, he shrewdly suspected--had been steadily slipping away from him; and he believed that the making of such dazzling promises as he had just indulged in was the surest way of winning it back. and if vociferous and tumultuous cheering was to be taken as an indication of success the pirate chief had every cause to be gratified. the enthusiasm was intense. cheer after cheer rent the air; the men shook hands all round and then pressed forward, hustling each other, eager to perform the same ceremony with johnson, vowing as they did so the blindest and most unswerving fidelity to him, and calling down the most frightful imprecations upon all traitors. ralli stood at some little distance in the background, his arms folded across his chest, and a cynical smile wreathing his lips. "ah right," he muttered; "go on and shout yourselves hoarse, you swine! yell, cheer, and swear fidelity until you are out of breath if it pleases you so to do; i like to see and hear it, for what is it after all but froth; you are all in a ferment just now, and it is best that this noisy gas should have its vent; you will soon sober down again, and then--we shall see. as for _you_," he continued, with a furtive scowl at johnson, whose face beamed with gratification, "you have had your day, and, blind bat as you are, you were beginning to see it just for a moment, but this fine speech of yours has thrown you off your guard again. you doubtless think that with a few empty boastful words you have recovered your lost position, but you are mistaken, my good friend, as you will find out when you return from your next cruise--if indeed you ever return at all. well, enjoy your own opinion while you can; rejoice in the ease with which you have re-established yourself; _i_ shall not attempt to undeceive you--at least just now, so i will go and add my plaudits to those of the herd--pah!" and he spat contemptuously on the ground as he moved forward to shake johnson cordially by the hand. order being at length restored, the ceremony of laying the keel was proceeded with. the several pieces were already on the ground, properly shaped, with bolt-holes bored, the bolts fitted, and in short every preparation made for fastening them together; and now, at a word from johnson, a hundred eager hands seized the heavy timbers, and, under lance's superintendence, placed them upon the blocks. the joints were next brought closely together, the bolts inserted, the perfect straightness of the entire length of keel accurately tested, and finally the bolts were all simultaneously driven home and the keel "laid," amidst the deafening cheers of the pirates and the roar of a battery of guns which had been placed temporarily in position to do due honour to the ceremony. the men were then served with an extra allowance of grog, after which they were dismissed to amuse themselves in any way they pleased for the remainder of the day. johnson saw fit to leave the shipyard in the boat which conveyed lance, captain staunton, and the rest of the _galatea_ party back to the settlement at the bottom of the bay, and it was evident during the passage that he was most anxious to make himself agreeable and to leave behind him a favourable impression. at last, when the boat was nearing the beach at which the party intended to land, he said to lance-- "look here, colonel, i've been thinking about them women-folk of yourn; they must find it mighty lonesome here, with nothing much to do; do you think it 'd please 'em if i was to send one of them planners to your diggin's? 'cause, if you do, they shall have one. the cussed things ain't no use to us, and i don't hardly know what i fetched 'em along for." "thank you very much," said lance. "i have no doubt a little music now and then would prove a solace to them; indeed, it would make the evenings much more pleasant for us all, and if you feel disposed to spare us an instrument we shall remember you all the more gratefully." "then you may consider it done," johnson replied, as the boat's keel grated on the beach and the party stepped ashore. "come up to the capstan-house with me, and you can choose which you will have, and i will send it along at once." lance accordingly proceeded to the capstan-house with johnson, while the remainder of the party wended their way straight to the hut, well pleased at what they considered a mark of great consideration on the part of the pirate chief. when lance found himself alone with his companion he thought it would be a favourable opportunity to prefer a request which had been in his mind for several days, but which he had had no previous chance of mentioning. "i am glad," he said, "to have this opportunity of thanking you, captain, in the name of our party, for all you have done for our comfort, under circumstances which i could not fail to perceive have been somewhat trying to you. i now want to ask you to add one favour more, and that is, to supply us with a sufficiency of arms and ammunition to enable us to defend ourselves, if need be, in your absence. whilst you are on the island we feel ourselves to be safe, but i confess i am not altogether without doubts as to the treatment which we may receive at the hands of your greek friend ralli after your departure. and it would add very greatly to our feeling of security in your absence if we were provided with the means of resisting any attempt at unfair dealing on his part. i presume it is unnecessary for me to say that we should only use the weapons in a case of absolute necessity?" "waal now, colonel," said johnson, "what you ask is fair enough, and for my own part i'd be willing enough to let you have all you want, but i vow i don't just see exactly how i'm to do it. the key of the arm-chest is in the armourer's pocket, and i can't issue anything out of that chest without his knowledge. now, i know that cuss, he's no friend of mine, and he'd just go straight away and tell ralli what i'd done, and that'd set the greek dead agin you all for a certainty and make things just as uncomfortable for you as could be. besides which, ralli 'd just take 'em all away from you again as soon as my back was turned, and then you'd be worse off 'n ever. no, that won't do, we'll have to go some other way about it; but you leave it to me, general; you may bet your pile i'll find out a way to do it before i sail. now, which of these boxes of music will you have?" they had arrived by this time at the capstan-house, and were standing near the pianofortes, all of which had been placed together on the floor of the sail-loft, the packing-cases having been ripped off and probably used for firewood. lance ran his fingers over the key-board of each instrument in turn, striking a few chords and harmonies to test the quality of the tone and touch, and finally selected a superb "grand" by broadwood. "all right, general, i'll have the durned thing taken down to your quarters to oncet. but do you mean to say that you know how to thump music out of them things as well as how to build batteries and ships and so forth?" ejaculated johnson. "well, yes," said lance, laughingly, "i believe i must plead guilty to being somewhat of a musician, though i have not touched an instrument for many a day until now." "then sit right down there, colonel, and play me something good," said johnson, rolling a nail-keg as a seat up to one of the instruments. lance, thoroughly amused at the comical incongruity of the situation, sat down and rattled off "yankee doodle," an air which he judged would be likely to find appreciation with his queer companion. johnson stood for a moment spell-bound as the well remembered strains fell upon his ear, then a broad grin of delight overspread his features, and finally he began to caper about the sail-loft in the most extraordinary manner, and to utter certain unearthly sounds which lance fancied was johnson's idea of singing. "something else! gimme some more," the pirate captain exclaimed rapturously, when his entertainer at length raised his fingers from the key-board. whereupon lance began to play and sing "hail, columbia." johnson stood still and silent as a statue now, the stirring strains touched an altogether different chord of his memory, and for an instant something suspiciously like a tear glistened in his eye. "thank you," he said very quietly, when lance had finished, "that will do now; i would rather not hear any more at present. let me keep the sound of that song in my mind as long as i can; my little maid at home used to sing that to me. but, look here," he added, as lance closed the instrument, "if you wish to be on good terms with the men after i am gone, have them all up in the meeting-room sometimes of an evening, and treat them to a little music; they will appreciate that, and you could do nothing more likely to win their regard. why shouldn't you give 'em--give us all--a concert to-night, to-day being a holiday?" lance hesitated for a moment before making answer to this strange and unexpected proposal. "to tell you the truth," he said at last, "i am afraid your people will be hardly in a mood to-night to appreciate such music as i could give them; the grog will have got into their heads, and they will be more inclined to sing among themselves than to sit quietly to listen to me." "not at all," answered johnson, who, now that a serious mood was upon him, had entirely dropped his americanism of speech, "not at all; i have taken care to give orders that they shall not have sufficient to make them noisy. you will find them perfectly quiet and orderly, and i confess i should like to see the effect of a little genuine good music upon them." "very well," answered lance nonchalantly, "i am sure i have no objection; and, now that you have mentioned it, i confess i feel curious to see the result of so novel an experiment." "then it is settled," said johnson; and he forthwith summoned a party of men, to some of whom he gave orders to remove to the hut the pianoforte lance had chosen, while to others was deputed the task of taking one of the other instruments into the large room used for purposes of general assembly, and placing the room in proper order for the evening's entertainment, which was fixed to commence at the orthodox hour of eight o'clock. when lance evelin sauntered into the hut he was assailed by a general chorus of questions. "what ridiculous story is this which my husband has been telling us, mr evelin?" inquired mrs staunton. "about the piano, you know," added violet. "is it actually true, lance, that that absurd creature is really going to let us have one?" chimed in blanche. "it would be a good deal more sensible of him if he would provide us with more comfortable quarters," grumbled dale. "i agree with you there, dale, it certainly would," said rex fortescue. "of course i am speaking now of the matter as it affects the ladies; for ourselves, we can rough it well enough, but i certainly wish they could be made more comfortable. however, the fellow seems to have done his best for us; i have seen no better building than this in the whole settlement, so i suppose we must endeavour to be content as long as we are obliged to remain here; and as for the piano, why it will enable the ladies to beguile an hour or two; but it is a queer present to make under the circumstances, and the man who made it is certainly a bit of an eccentric." "you are right," replied evelin; "and this gift is by no means his only eccentricity. guess what is his latest request, or command, i scarcely know which to call it?" they all decided that it would be utterly impossible for them to guess, there was no saying _what_ absurd whim might seize upon such a man; they would be surprised at _nothing_ which he might ask, and so on. "well, then, i will tell you," said lance. "he wishes me to give the men a concert to-night at eight o'clock in the assembly-room." "oh, lance, what an extraordinary request!" exclaimed blanche. "you will of course refuse; you will never trust yourself alone among all those men?" "certainly i shall," answered her lover, "why not? there will not be the slightest danger. the men are not in an excited state by any means, and i have an idea that a little music now and then may increase our popularity among them and place us on a more secure footing, if indeed it does not enable us to reach and awaken whatever of good may still exist in their breasts. besides," he added with a gay laugh, "i feel curious to see what effect i can produce upon them." "if you go, lance, i shall go with you," said rex. violet dudley glanced quickly and somewhat appealingly at the last speaker, but she had too much spirit to say a word which would keep her lover away from the side of his friend when there was a possibility that that friend might stand in need of help. "i think i may as well go also," remarked captain staunton. "it seems hardly fair to leave you all the work to do, evelin, when any of the rest of us can help you. i can sing a fairly good song, i flatter myself, if i am not much of a hand at the piano, and so when you feel tired i'll give you a spell." "all right," said lance. "the more the merrier; we shall at least show them that we are no churls. are there any more volunteers?" "certainly," said bob, "i'm one, mr evelin, if you will have me. i am something like captain staunton; i'm no hand at a piano, but i can sing, and i know a recitation or two which i think may serve to raise a good- humoured laugh." "i'm no singer," said brook, "but i know a few rather taking conjuring tricks, and i should like to go with you; but perhaps it would be hardly prudent to leave the ladies without any protection, would it? therefore i think i'll remain to-night, and go some other evening if there's going to be any repetition of this sort of thing." mr dale said nothing; he simply sat moodily plucking at his beard and muttering to himself; by the look of his countenance he was utterly disgusted with the whole proceeding. thus, then, it was finally arranged, and at a few minutes before eight o'clock, lance and his party issued from the hut on their way to the assembly-room, which they could see was already brilliantly lighted up. chapter thirteen. ralli explains himself; so does lance. on entering the assembly-room, our friends found that it was not only, as they had seen from the outside, well lighted, but that a very successful attempt had been made to decorate it by the draping of flags all round the walls, and the arrangement of an elaborate and well- designed flag-trophy on the wall at the back of the elevated platform, or stage, as it may be called. the long table, with its accompaniment of chairs, had been pushed back against the wall, and the pianoforte stood in the centre of the platform. the room was quite full, and the men appeared, for the most part, disposed to behave quietly and decorously. there were only some half a dozen young fellows who seemed at all inclined to be noisy or boisterous, and they occupied seats in the centre of the room. johnson occupied a chair on one side of the platform, and ralli balanced him on the opposite side. johnson appeared rather surprised to see _four_ of the _galatea_ party put in an appearance instead of one only; but he made no remark, merely waving them to accommodate themselves with chairs from those placed against the wall. "i am rather better than my word, you see," observed lance to him as the four friends stepped upon the platform. "i promised to do what i could in the way of furnishing your people with a little entertainment to-night, and i have brought three volunteers with me, which will enable us to infuse into the proceedings a little more variety than i could hope to impart to them alone." "so much the better, colonel," returned johnson. "it's real kind of you, i call it; and if the lads don't appreciate it, they ought to; that's all i can say. i've told 'em what you're going to do for 'em and all that; so, as soon as you're ready, i guess you can fire away." lance turned and opened the piano, looking quietly over the audience as he did so. his eye fell upon the half-dozen who seemed disposed to interrupt the proceedings, and stepping forward to the edge of the platform, he waved his hand for silence and said-- "your captain informs me that he has already explained to you the reason for his invitation to you to be present here this evening. to-day has been a somewhat notable day in the annals of the settlement. you have this morning laid the keel of a new ship, and commenced an undertaking which will tax your utmost skill, energy, and resource to carry through to a successful issue; and captain johnson has thought it an event of sufficient importance to be specially marked. hence he has made it a holiday for all hands; and, finding that i possessed some little skill as a musician, he invited me to help in the celebration of the day by closing it with a musical performance. this i willingly consented to do, in the belief that it might afford you a little pleasure and recreation; and i may as well take advantage of the present opportunity to tell you all that my friends and myself will always be found ready to do everything in our power to promote your comfort and welfare. but i must remind you that we are here to-night for _your_ pleasure rather than our own. we will do our best to amuse you, and i hope that you in your turn will individually do what you can to maintain quiet and order. we may not perhaps succeed in pleasing you all; if such should be the case, let those who are dissatisfied rise and quietly leave, and not disturb others, or interfere with their enjoyment by giving noisy expression to their dissatisfaction, i notice one or two who seem inclined to be a little unruly, but i hope they have sense enough to see that such conduct on their part would be in the worst possible taste, and that they will think better of it." loud exclamations of approval greeted this speech, mingled with shouts of "if they don't behave themselves we'll turn 'em out, guv'nor," and such like. there was a good deal of noise and confusion for about five minutes, during which lance calmly seated himself and waited patiently for silence; and, when this was at length restored, he went to the piano and sang to his own accompaniment dibdin's "tom bowline." lance possessed a full deep rich bass voice of exceptionally fine quality; and as the words of the song pealed through the room, a breathless silence was maintained by his strange audience,--the silence of surprise and delight. many of the men knew the song; had sung it or heard it sung hundreds of times on a ship's forecastle during the dog-watch; but not one of them had probably ever heard it sung before by a man of refined feeling, capable of expressing the full sentiment of the words, and it now came upon them almost like a revelation. sailors as a class are proverbially fond of music, but very few of them ever have--or, perhaps it would be more true to say, _give_ themselves--the opportunity to hear anything of better quality than the trash sung in music-halls; and most, if not all, of lance's audience now therefore experienced for the first time the refining power of really good music. their enthusiastic applause at the conclusion of the song was perfectly deafening. captain staunton then stepped forward and sang in true seamanlike style "the bay of biscay," the chorus of which was given with great unction and enjoyment by the whole audience. rex fortescue followed with "the death of nelson;" and then bob gave in excellent style a laughable recitation, which convulsed his audience, even to the tickling of the sullen ralli into a grim smile. then lance sang again; and so the entertainment proceeded for a couple of hours, to the unbounded gratification of all hands, when the pirates dispersed in a perfectly quiet and orderly manner, after giving, at johnson's call, three cheers for their entertainers. "thank you, colonel! thank you heartily all of you!" said that individual as our friends parted from him outside the capstan-house. "you've given us a real treat to-night, and i guess all hands 'll feel ever so much more friendly to you for it. give 'em another dose or two of the same sort of thing now and again, and i reckon they'll take care you don't get ill-treated while i'm away." "what about the arms and ammunition which i asked for to-day?" said lance. "you leave that to me, general," replied johnson. "i guess i'll find a way to let you have 'em before i sail; i won't forget it; you trust me. good-night." "good-night," was the reply; and our friends turned away in the direction of the hut. "would you mind walking a little way up the valley, gentlemen, before we go inside?" said bob. "i want to tell you something i ought perhaps to have told you long ago; but we have been so busy, i could never find an opportunity without speaking before the ladies, who, i think, ought not to know anything about it." "certainly, robert," said captain staunton; "let us hear what it is by all means. it is doubtless something of importance, or you would not speak so earnestly." "well, sir," said bob, "i wanted chiefly to warn you all not to trust johnson too much. he _seems_ friendly enough, but i doubt very much whether he is sincere. the day that we arrived in port, when the hands went aloft to stow the canvas, i jumped aloft with them, just to keep my hand in, as it were, and stowed the driver. while i was passing the gaskets, that fellow ralli came on board and entered into conversation with johnson, who spoke to him about us, and more particularly about _you_, mr evelin. he said that you were going to design a very fast vessel for him, and that we were to assist in the building of her, and in the fortification of the harbour; and that as long as we could be of use we were to be treated civilly; but that when we had done everything required of us, he wouldn't care _how_ we were treated, or what became of us." "the false, treacherous scoundrel!" exclaimed captain staunton indignantly. "was that all he said, robert?" "all that i heard," said bob. "after that they both went into the cabin. i wasn't eaves-dropping, you know, sir; but i was just overhead, so that i couldn't help hearing every word they said; and as they were talking about us, i thought i was justified in keeping my ears open." "quite right, robert, so you were," answered the skipper. "we are surrounded by and at the mercy of a band of men who have outraged every law, both divine and human; it therefore behoves us, for our own sakes, and even more for the sake of the helpless women dependent upon us, to take every possible precaution, and to ascertain by every possible means, what are their actual intentions regarding us. they are detaining us here against our will; they have imposed upon us tasks which they have not a shadow of right to lay upon us; and if they meditate treachery--which, from what you say, seems only too probable-- we are justified in resorting to craft, if necessary, to protect ourselves. is not that your opinion, gentlemen?" turning to lance and rex. "unquestionably," answered lance promptly; "the men are, one and all-- excepting, of course, the few who have refused to join the `brotherhood,' as they call it--outlaws; and, as such, they have no claim whatever to be treated in the straightforward fashion with which one deals with a _lawful_ enemy, such as one meets with in ordinary warfare. your information, robert, is valuable, not altogether on account of its novelty, but rather as being confirmatory of what has hitherto amounted merely to conjecture on our part. i have long suspected that our friend johnson is not quite so straightforward as he would have us believe. well, `forewarned is forearmed;' we are evidently in a very critical position here, a position demanding all the coolness, self-possession, and foresight we have at our command to enable us to successfully extricate ourselves; and i think we should give the matter our immediate consideration--now--to-night, i mean--we shall perhaps never have a better opportunity--and endeavour to decide upon some definite plan of future action." "very well," said captain staunton, "let us continue our walk, and talk matters over. it is perfectly evident, as you say, mr evelin, that we are in a very critical and difficult position, and the question is, what steps ought we to take in order to extricate ourselves? i think it is pretty clear that this man johnson has no intention of releasing us of his own free-will; we can be much too useful to him for him ever to do that; if, therefore, we are ever to get away from this place, it will have to be done _in spite of him_. and as we are too weak to escape by force, we must do so by craft; i can see no other way for it, can you?" "well," said lance slowly, blowing a long thin cloud of cigar-smoke meditatively up into the warm still night air, "i fancy we shall have to try a combination of both. i cannot conceive any practicable course which will allow of our escaping without coming to blows with the pirates; i wish i could. of course i do not care on my own account, although--notwithstanding my former profession--i am not particularly fond of fighting if it can be done without. but there are the ladies and poor little may; it is of them i always think when the idea of strife and bloodshed suggests itself. then there is their _comfort_ as well as their safety to be thought of; were it not for them i believe there would not be very much difficulty in seizing a stock of provisions and water, together with a boat, and slipping quietly out to sea some dark night, trusting to good fortune--or providence rather--to be eventually picked up by a passing ship. but i should certainly be slow to recommend so desperate a course under present circumstances, save in the very last extremity. the hardships those poor creatures passed through in their last boat-voyage i have not yet forgotten." it is not necessary to repeat every word of the discussion which followed; suffice it to say that it was of so protracted a character that the three individuals engaged in it did not enter their hut until the first faint flush of dawn was brightening the eastern sky. bob had been dismissed within an hour of the termination of the concert with a message to the effect that captain staunton and his two companions felt more disposed for a walk than for sleep, and that the rest of the party had therefore better retire when they felt so inclined, as the hour at which the three gentlemen would return was quite uncertain. the time thus spent had not, however, been thrown away; for, after a very earnest discussion of the situation, the conclusion arrived at was that they could not do better than adhere to their original plan of endeavouring to make off with the new schooner, and that her construction should therefore be pushed forward with all possible expedition; but that, as there was only too much reason to dread a change from the present pacific and friendly disposition manifested toward them by the pirates, an attempt should also be made to win over as many as possible of the prisoners, not only with the object of effecting these poor creatures' deliverance from a cruel bondage, but also in order that the fighting strength of the _galatea_ party (as they came to term themselves) might be so far increased as to give them a slightly better chance of success than they now had in the by no means improbable event of a brush with the enemy. now that the keel of the new schooner was actually laid, operations were resumed with even more than their former alacrity on board the _albatross_, and on the evening of the fourth day after the events related in the last chapter she was reported as once more ready for sea. during these four days captain staunton and the rest of his party-- excepting dale, who positively refused to do any work whatever--had, in accordance with their resolution, been extremely busy at the new shipyard, getting out and fixing in position the stem and stern posts; and it was only by the merest accident that they heard, on the evening in question, that the brig was to sail on the following day. as lance had heard no more about the promised arms and ammunition, he at once determined to see johnson once more respecting them. he accordingly set out in search of the pirate captain, but, to his chagrin, was quite unable to find him or to learn his whereabouts. he searched for him in vain the whole evening, venturing even on board the brig; and it was not until after eleven o'clock that night that he gave up the search in disgust with a strong impression that johnson had been purposely avoiding him. on the following morning, however, he was more successful, having risen before daylight in order that he might catch his bird on his first appearance in the open air. at six o'clock the bell rang as usual for the hands to turn to, and a few minutes afterwards the whole place was astir. lance walked down to the landing-place with captain staunton and the others, and saw them embark in the boats detailed to convey the working party to the new shipyard. he then whispered a word or two of explanation to his friends and allowed the boats to go away without him. they had been gone about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour when lance saw the man he sought emerge from the capstan-house and walk hurriedly down toward the beach, where a boat, fully manned, appeared to be awaiting him. a few steps, and lance was by his side. "good morning, captain johnson," he said with inward amusement as he noted the confusion of the pirate at the unexpected and evidently unwished-for meeting. "good mornin', general," was johnson's response, given with a heartiness which was visibly assumed. "this is a real fine morning, _i_ call it. nice little breeze, too, off the land; i guess we shall make short miles of it to-day. i am downright glad you missed the boats this morning; overslept yourself, i s'pose; i wanted to say `good-bye' to you and your chums, and i declare to goodness i was only just thinkin' when you come up to me that i'd be obliged to heave the brig to off the rock and run ashore in a boat just to shake nippers with you. well, i guess i must be off; there's the foretop-sail just let fall, and i'm bound they've passed the messenger already. i'm real sorry i can't take you all with me and shove you ashore somewhere on the quiet; but you see how 'tis; that feller ralli--but i ain't got time to talk any more, i swow. good- bye. by the time i get back i reckon you'll have the schooner pretty nigh ready for launching, eh?" "i hope so," said lance. "by the bye, have you made any arrangements for letting us have the arms you promised? that fellow ralli, as you have remarked--" "the arms? well, now, only to think of that!" exclaimed johnson with well-feigned annoyance. "what a dog-goned forgetful cuss i am; blamed if i ain't forgot all about 'em. i've been that busy, if you'll believe me, general, i ain't had time to swaller a mouthful of grub this four days; half-starved to death i am; just look at my waistcoat--fits me like a sack. but about them arms--i declare i am real sorry i forgot 'em, general; but never mind, i guess you won't want 'em. if you do"-- he button-holed lance and whispered him confidentially--"just you take 'em--help yourself to 'em; i give you my permission, i swow. and now i really _must_ say `good-bye.' take care of yourself, general, and go ahead with that schooner as fast as ever you can. get her finished by the time i come back, and the battery too, and i promise you shall leave the island as soon as you like arterwards." they were by this time at the water's edge; and as johnson uttered the last words of his farewell he sprang into the boat which was waiting for him, and flinging himself into the stern-sheets, gave the order to "shove off." ten minutes later the same boat was swinging at the brig's quarter- davits, and the brig herself, with her anchor-stock just showing above water, was moving slowly away towards the harbour-entrance under topsails and jib. at a little distance from lance stood ralli, watching the departure of the brig. "ah!" he muttered, "there you go, you vile american dog, you cowardly mean-spirited cur; take my parting curses with you; may you meet with nothing but ill-luck and perplexity; may misfortune follow you; may the very wind and the sea war against you; may the treachery which i have planned prevail over you; and may you die at last with the jeers of your enemies ringing in your ears. good-bye! good-bye!" he shouted, bringing the tips of his fingers together at his lips and wafting with them an ironical salute after johnson, who at that moment glanced shoreward and waved his cap. "good-bye, and the devil himself go with you. aha! my yankee friend, you little know that you are taking your last look at this scene; you little dream that the brig carries a dagger whose blade is thirsty for your heart's blood, and whose point _i_ have directed at your breast. adieu, miserable coward, for ever. i hope antonio will not forget to tell you, as he drives home his blade, that it was _i_ who ordered the blow; my revenge will else be robbed of half its sweetness. you thought, doubtless, that because it suited me to receive your insults in silence that i should soon forget them. bah! you should have known better; my very quietness--the repression of my resentment--should have warned you; but you are a poor blind fool without any discernment, or you would have known that a greek _never_ forgives a wrong. good-bye once more, and for the last time--good-bye; i wish you all speed on your road to perdition." and he waved his hat smilingly at the fast receding brig as he saw johnson raise a telescope to his eye and level it in his direction. when the _albatross_ had at length finally disappeared beyond the harbour's mouth ralli turned for the first time and caught sight of lance. stalking up to him he said scoffingly-- "so, mister soldier, you have lost your friend at last." "yes," said lance very quietly, "if, as i imagine, you refer to your captain. but i must protest against your styling him my friend; he is nothing of the kind." "ah, yes," sneered ralli. "now that he is gone, and can no longer protect you, you disown him. but that will not do. you and he were friends, whatever you may say. he is my enemy, and his friends are therefore my enemies also; _and they will be treated as such_; do you understand me?" "not in the least," said lance, "i have not the faintest notion of your meaning." "then listen to me and i will explain," said ralli, his eyes gleaming vindictively. "do you know that your friend yonder is fated never to return?" "what is the meaning of this?" thought lance. "some treachery or other on the part of this rascally greek, i'll wager. but it will never do to allow him to suppose that he is master of the situation so--" "i believe," he said carelessly, "there _is_ some sort of arrangement to that effect, is there not?" the greek gazed at him in unaffected alarm. "aha!" he ejaculated, "how came you to know that?" lance smiled at him compassionately. "did you really flatter yourself," he said, "that your plans were so astutely devised--so cunningly concealed that none but you and your partisans could possibly know anything about them! really, mr ralli, i fear you are greatly overrating your own sagacity. but we appear to be wandering away from the point. you were about to explain the meaning of an obscure remark you made a minute or two ago?" lance had never removed his glance for a single instant from ralli's face since the commencement of the conversation; and he was physiognomist enough to detect the signs of a fear almost approaching to panic in the countenance of the greek; he knew therefore that his bold guess had not been very far from the truth; and he continued to puff his cigar with all his wonted _insouciance_ as he waited calmly for the reply to his interrogation. "yes," said ralli, recovering his self-possession with evident effort. "i was about to explain two things--first, i wish you to understand that johnson is _not_ my captain, nor is he the captain of _anyone_ now on this island. we have thrown off our--what do you term it? our--" "allegiance?" blandly suggested lance. "our allegiance--yes, that word will do; it explains my meaning, though it is not the word i intended to use," answered ralli. "we have thrown off our allegiance. we are tired of him--this man johnson--and we will have no more of him; he will never return here; and now _i_ am capitan. you understand!" lance nodded. "good. the next thing i was about to explain is, that his friends are our enemies; you and your people especially. is that plain?" "perfectly," answered lance, still outwardly calm and unconcerned as ever, though inwardly much perturbed. "and i presume you intend us to accept these remarks of yours in the light of a threat of some kind?" ralli looked hard at his interrogator before replying. he could not in the least understand this man who received with such perfect _sang- froid_ the intelligence that he and his friends were to be regarded and treated as the enemies of a company of ruthless outlaws such as he must know ralli and his associates to be. "yes," he said at last, slowly and almost doubtingly, "you may take what i say as a threat. i mean to pay to you and your friends all the great debt of vengeance which that other friend of yours, johnson, has allowed to accumulate against him. i will be doubly avenged; i will be avenged upon him, and upon you as well." lance laughed gaily as he lightly knocked off with his little finger the ash from his cigar-end. this was a serious, a direful business; but he had no intention to let the greek see that his words had any alarming or disturbing effect upon him, so he said with a smile-- "excuse me for laughing at you, but, under the circumstances i really could not help it. your ignorance of the true state of affairs strikes me as so positively ludicrous. you forget, my good sir, that i am behind the scenes--in your secret, you know," he added, seeing a look of bewilderment at the other expression. "why, man, you and all your people are absolutely at our mercy. you look surprised, but i assure you such is the fact. i really do not know whether i ought to explain myself to you; i scarcely think you deserve it after your recent threats--no; i will keep my own counsel; you shall remain in your ignorance." and he turned to walk away. "stop," gasped ralli, "what is it you mean? i _must_ know." lance paused for a full minute as though irresolute; at last he said-- "well, perhaps it would be better for all parties that there should be after all a clear understanding. you and your people outnumber our party many times, and it is indisputable that you have it in your power in consequence to make us very uncomfortable; but, for all that, you are absolutely at our mercy; and therefore it will be greatly to your advantage to treat us well. you will perhaps understand this better if i inform you that your plot against johnson has been betrayed" (he did not think it necessary to explain that, as far as he knew, the only betrayal of it had been in the incautious words uttered by the greek himself at the opening of their present conversation); "and that if he does not return _neither will the brig_; and then how will you be situated! you could possibly contrive to exist for a year upon the provisions left on the island; you might even, aided by the productions of the island itself, find sustenance for many years. but would the spending of the rest of your lives on this island be in accordance with your plans and wishes? and do you not think it possible that johnson, in revenge for your plot against him, may find means to direct some cruiser to your hiding-place? your imagination, i take it, is vivid enough to picture the consequences of any such step on his part." "we shall have the battery and the schooner," muttered ralli. "yes," said lance, "_if we build them for you_; not otherwise. there is not a man on this island, outside our own party, who could complete the schooner, much less build the battery. now, do you begin to understand that i was only speaking the truth when i spoke of your being at our mercy." ralli was silent. he stood with knitted brows intently cogitating for some minutes; then suddenly looking up into lance's face with a smile he said-- "ah, bah! what obtuse people you english are; how impossible for you to understand a little joke! well, i will joke no more since you cannot understand it. we will be good friends all round; the best of friends; you shall have no cause to complain of bad treatment; and you will work _hard_ to finish the schooner and the battery _early_, please. i like not what you said just now about johnson and the frigate. but that too was all a joke i know." "you are mistaken," said lance. "i confess i was dense enough not to understand that you were joking, so i spoke in earnest. but i think we clearly understand each other now; so i hope we shall hear no more about threats, revenge, and nonsense of that kind." and flinging his cigar-end into the water, lance turned on his heel and walked away. knowing, or at least shrewdly guessing that ralli was watching him, he sauntered away in his usual careless and easy fashion toward the hut, which they had laughingly dubbed "staunton cottage," and entered it. the ladies were busying themselves about various domestic tasks, and little may was amusing herself with an uncouth wooden doll which bob had constructed for her. lance was a prime favourite with may, so the moment that he entered the doll was flung into a corner, and the child came bounding up to him joyously exclaiming-- "oh, you funny mr evelin, how is it that you have not gone with my papa? did you stay at home on purpose to play with me?" "well, not exactly, little one," answered lance, catching her in his arms and tossing her high in the air, to her infinite delight. "not exactly; although a man might be worse employed than in amusing you, you mischievous little fairy. no; i am going to papa presently--and would you like to come with me, may, in a nice little boat?" "i don't know," answered the child doubtfully. "how far is it? i don't think i like boats." "no, you poor little mite, i expect not; it would be wonderful if you did after what you have suffered in them," remarked lance, holding the child now in his arms, while she played with his long beard. "but we shall not have very far to go, pet; only over to that big rock," pointing out of the window, "and i will take great care of you." "and shall i see my papa?" inquired may. "oh, yes," was the reply; "you will be with him all day. and robert is over there too, you know; and i daresay he will play with you if you ask him prettily." "then i'll go," she decided promptly; and forthwith went away to her mother with the request that her hat and jacket might be put on, "'cause i's going with mr evelin to see papa," as she explained. "i daresay you are somewhat surprised to see me here," remarked lance, as he replaced his tiny playfellow on the floor. "the fact is that i have been watching the departure of the brig; and the idea has occurred to me that now she is gone, and so many of the remaining men are away at the shipyard all day, you ladies may with, i believe, perfect safety indulge in the unwonted luxury of a daylight walk. you all stand greatly in need of fresh air and exercise; and i really think there is now no cause to fear any molestation, otherwise i should not of course suggest such a thing. it will never do, you know, for you to remain cooped up here day after day--you will get low-spirited and out of health; and i am inclined to believe it will be rather a good idea than otherwise to accustom these fellows to the sight of you moving freely and fearlessly about." the ladies were quite unanimous in their cordial welcome to this suggestion, blanche only venturing to add in a whisper, and with a pleading look-- "can you not come with us, lance? we should feel _quite_ safe then." "i really could not, darling," he answered gently. "it would not be fair to the others, you know. beside which, i am urgently wanted at the yard to-day, and we must not let pleasure, however tempting, interfere with the progress of the schooner. i should like it immensely, of course, and if i thought there was the least particle of danger in your expedition i _would_ go; but i believe there is none. at the same time, you will of course keep your eyes open, dear, and be on the watch for any suspicious circumstance; and if you really _must_ have an escort, there is dale; shall i ask him?" "oh, dale!" ejaculated blanche with such a contemptuous toss of her pretty little head that lance said no more; it was sufficiently evident that the ladies would be badly in want of an escort indeed before they would accept dale. the three ladies were soon ready; and as they took their way up the valley lance stood at the door with may on his shoulder, watching them; and when at last they passed out of sight he made his way down to the landing-place, seated the child carefully in the stern of a small dingy which he found moored there, cast off the painter, stepped in himself, and, shipping the short paddles, drove the tiny boat with long easy leisurely strokes down toward the rock, chatting gaily with his tiny companion the while, and causing her childish laughter to peal musically and incessantly across the placid surface of the land-locked water. chapter fourteen. the ladies make a discovery; and bob distinguishes himself. it was a most delightful day for a walk, the ladies averred enthusiastically; and their enthusiasm was quite justified. the azure of the sky overhead was relieved by a bank of soft dappled fleecy clouds, which served in some measure as a screen against the ardent rays of the sun; and a gentle breeze from the westward imparted a feeling of freshness to the air, whilst it wafted to the pedestrians the subtly mingled perfumes of the thousand varied plants and flowers which flourished in the deep rich soil of the island. as the ladies walked quietly on up the gently sloping valley toward the hills their enjoyment increased with every step. hitherto they had only ventured abroad at night; and lovely as the landscape had appeared in the clear mellow radiance of the moon--the soft silvery light boldly contrasted with broad masses of rich grey-brown shadow--they agreed that it was incomparably more beautiful when viewed by the full light of day and in all the glory of brilliant sunshine. a thousand gorgeous colours on leaf and blossom, on gaily-plumaged bird and bright-winged insect, charmed their eyes and enriched the foreground of the picture; while the dense masses of foliage, with their subtle gradations of colour, light, and shade, as they gradually receded into the background, and finally melted into the rich purply grey of the extreme distance, balanced and harmonised the whole, completing one of the most beautiful prospects perhaps upon which the human eye had ever gazed. their spirits rose as they walked steadily onward and upward, breathing with intense enjoyment the strong pure perfume-laden air, exhilarating in its effect as a draught of rich wine; and temporarily forgetting, in the pleasure of the moment, not only their past sufferings but their present and future perils, they chatted merrily and arranged a hundred plans, many of which, could they but have known it, were destined never to attain fruition. hitherto they had been following a faintly defined track in the luxuriant grass, a track which had always up to the present determined the direction of their longer walks; but arriving at last at a point where this trail turned abruptly off, and passed down a gentle declivity apparently toward the sea on the eastern side of the island, they determined to abandon it, and, tempted by the shade, to plunge boldly into a broad expanse of park-like timber which spread before them. the welcome shade was soon reached; and, somewhat fatigued with their ramble, they seated themselves at the foot of a gigantic cork-tree, and in the rich green twilight shadow of its luxuriant foliage discussed the luncheon with which they had had the forethought to provide themselves. the luxuriant grass which had hitherto carpeted the earth here gave place to graceful ferns in rich variety, interspersed with delicate mosses of velvety texture, and here and there, in the more open spaces, small patches of a heath-like plant with tiny waxen blossoms of a tint varying from the purest white to a dainty purple. the silence of the forest was broken only by the gentle murmur of the wind in the tree-tops and the soft rustle of the foliage overhead, save when now and then a twittering bird flashed like a living gem from bough to bough; but there was a low, deep sound vibrating on the air, which told of the never- ceasing beat of the surf on the island's rock-girt shore. rested and refreshed, the ladies at length rose to their feet once more and continued their way through the wood. the ground soon began to rise steeply; and after nearly an hour's steady climbing they emerged once more into the full and dazzling sunlight to find themselves standing on the edge of a steep rocky ravine, through which, some fifty feet below, there flowed a tiny stream of crystal purity. the rocks were of a character quite new to them, and, ignorant of geology as they were, they would doubtless have passed them by without a second glance, had they not been attracted by a peculiar glitter here and there upon their surface, which proceeded, as they discovered upon a closer inspection, from the presence of minute particles of a dull yellow substance embedded in the stone. but what chiefly riveted their attention was a small basin-like pool with a smooth level sandy bottom, as they could clearly see from their elevated stand-point. the water appeared to be about two feet deep, and the basin itself was roughly of a circular form, about ten yards in diameter. that it was obviously intended by nature to be used as a bath was the thought which flashed simultaneously through the minds of the three fair gazers; and as each one glanced half-timidly around, only to feel reassured by the utter absence of any indication of probable unwelcome intrusion, the thought speedily found vent in words. "just look at that pool," exclaimed mrs staunton; "what a delightful bath it would make!" "oh, mrs staunton!" said blanche, "do you know that is exactly the thought which occurred to me. i feel tired, and i should so enjoy a plunge into the beautiful clear, cool water. do you think we might venture?" "i do not see why we should not," was the reply. "what do you think, violet?" "i think it would be nothing short of a luxury," answered violet. "i too feel tired, and i am sure it would refresh us. i am not afraid, if you are not." "then let us risk it," said mrs staunton with a sudden show of intrepidity, which was, however, only half genuine; and, each borrowing courage from the companionship of the others, they hurriedly scrambled down the rocky slope, and in a few minutes more were flashing the bright water over each other like naiads at play, their clear laughter echoing strangely among the mighty rocks of the ravine. the water proved to be much deeper than they had supposed, being quite four feet deep in the centre of the pool, which rendered their bath all the more enjoyable. the sand was, on the whole, beautifully fine, white, and firm beneath their feet, but occasionally they experienced the sensation of treading upon small, hard, roughly-rounded objects among the finer particles; and finally blanche encountered a lump so large and hard that, curious to see what it could be, she, with a motion of her foot, swept away the sand until the object was exposed to view. it seemed to be a rough, irregularly-shaped pebble somewhat larger than a hen's egg, of a dull yellow colour; and, reaching down her arm, she plunged beneath the water and brought the odd-looking object up in her hand. "what a curious stone; and how heavy it is!" she remarked, holding it up to view. her companions came to inspect it, and mrs staunton took it in her hand to make a close examination. "stone!" she exclaimed excitedly. "why, my dear girl, this is _gold_--a genuine nugget, unless i am greatly mistaken. mr thomson, a friend of my husband's in sydney, showed us several gold nuggets, and they were exactly like this, only they were none of them nearly so large." "do you really think it is gold?" asked blanche. "my dear mrs staunton, my dear violet, only fancy what a delightful thing it will be if we have actually discovered a gold mine; why, we shall be able to present our husbands with a magnificent fortune each." a charming blush mantled the speaker's cheek as she said this, notwithstanding the fact that by this time the three women had no secrets from each other. "i wonder if there are any more," remarked mrs staunton; "surely that cannot be the only one here. i fancy i stepped on something hard just now." the three women at once went groping along the sand with their feet, and not in vain. first one, and then another encountered a hard object which proved to be similar in substance to the one found by blanche; and in a quarter of an hour they had between them collected upwards of a dozen of them, though one only--found by mrs staunton--exceeded in size that of the first discovery. then, feeling somewhat chilled by their long immersion, they returned to _terra firma_, and were soon once more wending their way homeward. in passing through the wood they contrived to lose their way; but, as it happened, this proved of but slight consequence, as though they eventually came out at a point nearly a mile distant from the pathway which they had followed in the morning, they were quite as near the settlement as they would have been had they faithfully retraced their original footsteps; and by four o'clock in the afternoon they found themselves once more within the shelter of the walls of staunton cottage, greatly fatigued, it is true, by their long ramble, but with an elasticity of spirits and a sense of renewed life to which they had long been strangers. meanwhile the party at the shipyard had been thrown into a state of unwonted excitement by an incident which at one moment threatened to have a tragic termination. a strong gang of men were at work upon the rock--all, indeed, who were left upon the island, excepting some dozen or fourteen, most of whom were employed in providing for the daily wants of the others, such as in baking bread, cleaning out the huts, airing bedding, and so on--and the scene at the mouth of the harbour was therefore a tolerably busy one. captain staunton was in charge of the ship-building operations, with kit as foreman-in-chief, while rex and brook were superintending operations at the battery; the former, with a roll of rough-and-ready drawings in his hand, "setting out" the work, while the latter overlooked the construction of a lime-kiln. bob was making himself generally useful. it was while all hands were at their busiest that lance put in an appearance, leading little may by the hand. she of course at once made a dash at her father, flinging her tiny arms round his neck, kissing and hugging him vigorously, and showing in a hundred childish ways her delight at being with him; and the unwonted sight of the pretty little creature created quite a temporary sensation. a large majority of the men there were steeped to the lips in crime, yet there were very few among them who had not still left in them--hidden far down in the innermost recesses of their nature, and crushed almost out of existence by a load of vice and evil-doing, it may be--some remnant of the better feelings of humanity; and their features brightened and softened visibly as they witnessed the delight of this baby girl at finding herself with her father, and looked at her happy innocent face. her visit was like a ray of sunshine falling upon them from out the bosom of a murky and storm-laden sky; and as she flitted fearlessly to and fro among them, they felt for the moment as though a part of their load of guilt had been taken from them; that in some subtle way her proximity had exercised a purifying and refining influence upon them, and that they were no longer the utterly vile, god-forsaken wretches they had been. fierce, crime-scarred faces lighted up with unwonted smiles as she approached them; and hands that had been again and again soaked in human blood were outstretched to warn or remove her from the vicinity of possible danger. for the first few minutes captain staunton had been anxious and apprehensive at her unexpected presence among the ruffianly band; but his face cleared, and his knitted brow relaxed as he saw the effect which the sight of her produced, and when lance joined him he said-- "let her alone; she is doing more in a few minutes to humanise these men than you or i could achieve in a year." the child was naturally interested in everything she saw, and with tireless feet she passed to and fro, pausing now and then to gravely watch the operations of some stalwart fellow hewing out a timber with his adze, driving home a bolt with his heavy maul, or digging into the stubborn rock with his pickaxe, and not infrequently asking questions which the puzzled seamen strove in vain to answer. at length, having satisfied her curiosity by a thorough inspection of all that was going forward, she wandered down to the spot where the hulk had been broken up. this was a tiny sheltered bay or indentation in the rocks; and a large raft had here been constructed out of the dismembered timbers and planking, which were kept afloat in order that the powerful rays of the sun might not split and rend the wood. two or three detached planks formed a gangway between the raft and the rocks, and along these planks may passed on to the raft, without attracting the attention of anyone, it happening that just at that moment most of the hands were summoned to tail on to the fall of a tackle which was being used to raise one of the timbers into its place. gradually she strayed from one end of the raft to the other; and presently her attention was attracted by a curious triangular-shaped object which she saw projecting out of the water and moving slowly along. she wondered what it could possibly be, and, in order the better to see it, ran nimbly out upon the end of a long plank which projected considerably beyond the rest. so eager was she to watch the movements of the strange object that she overshot her mark and with a splash and a cry of alarm fell into the water. the triangular object immediately disappeared. luckily at this instant bob glanced round, just in time to see the splash caused by may's involuntary plunge and to note the simultaneous disappearance of a dark object in the water close at hand. divining in a moment what had happened, he set off with a bound down the sloping rocky way toward the raft, shouting as he went-- "a shark! _a shark_! and may has fallen overboard." for a single instant there was a horror-stricken pause; then tools were flung recklessly aside, the tackle-fall was let go and the timber suffered to fall unheeded to the ground again, and the entire gang with one accord followed in bob's wake, hastily snatching up ropes, boat- hooks, poles, oars, anything likely to be useful, as they ran. meanwhile bob, running with the speed of a hunted deer, had passed--as it seemed to the spectators--with a single bound down the rocks and along the entire length of the raft, from the extreme end of which he plunged without pause or hesitation into the sea. a bright momentary flash as he vanished beneath the surface of the water, seemed to indicate that he carried a drawn knife or some such weapon in his hand. simultaneously with the disappearance of bob, may's golden curls reappeared above the surface; and the child's aimless struggles and her choking bubbling cries lent wings to the rescuing feet of those who had listened again and again unmoved to the death-screams of their fellow men. another moment, and there was a tremendous commotion in the water close to the child; first a sort of seething whirl, then a dark object flashed for a moment into view, there was a furious splashing, a darting hither and thither of some creature indistinctly seen amid the snowy foam; and then that foam took on a rosy hue which deepened into crimson; the commotion subsided, and bob appeared once more on the surface, breathless and gasping. with a couple of strokes he reached may's side, and half a dozen more took him alongside the raft in time to deliver her into captain staunton's outstretched arms. "unhurt, sir, i believe, thank god!" bob gasped, as he delivered up his charge; and then, when the little one had been raised out of the water and clasped with inarticulate thanksgivings to her father's breast, he added-- "give us a hand, some of you fellows, will you? and heave handsomely, for i believe my leg's broke." "lay hold, boy;" and a dozen eager hands were outstretched to bob's assistance--foremost among them being that of a great black-bearded fellow named dickinson, who had formerly been boatswain's mate on board a man-o'-war, but who had deserted in order to escape the consequences of a sudden violent outburst of temper--"lay hold." bob grasped the proffered hand and was brought gently alongside the raft. "now then," exclaimed dickinson, assuming the direction of affairs, "kneel down on the edge of the raft, one of you--you, `frenchy,' you're pretty handy with your flippers--kneel down and pass your arm under his legs, as high up as you can. say `_when_.' are you ready? then lift, gently now, and take care you don't strike him against the edge of the raft. so! that's well. now, lift him inboard; that's your sort. now, off jackets, some of us, and let's sling him; he'll ride easier that way. are we hurting you, my lad?" "not much, thank'ee," answered bob cheerfully. "there," he added, as they once more reached the rocks, "that'll do, mates; lay me down here in the shade, and tell mr evelin i'm hurt--presently, you know; after he's brought the little girl round." in the meantime lance, almost as much concerned as captain staunton, had hurried after the latter, and offered his assistance, which was thankfully accepted. but there was very little that needed doing. so prompt had been bob in his movements that the poor child had never actually lost consciousness; and after a great deal of coughing up of salt water and a little crying, may was so far herself again as to be able to call up a rather wan smile, and, throwing her arms round her father's neck, to say-- "don't be frightened any more, papa dear; may's better now." great seemed to be the satisfaction of the crowd of men who had clustered round the group as they heard this welcome assurance; and then in twos and threes they slunk away back to their work, seemingly more than half ashamed that they had been betrayed into the exhibition of so human a feeling as interest in a mere child's safety. "if the little un's all right, mister, you'd better have a look at the chap that pulled her out. his leg's broke, i think," remarked dickinson's gruff voice at this juncture. "his leg broken? good heavens! i never dreamed of this," exclaimed captain staunton. "poor fellow! poor robert; let us go at once and see what can be done for him, evelin." "you'll find him there, under that rock," remarked the ex-boatswain's mate in a tone of indifference, indicating bob's resting-place by a careless jerk of the thumb over his left shoulder as he walked away. captain staunton and lance rose to their feet, and, the former carrying his restored darling in his arms, went toward the spot indicated. they had gone but a few paces when they were overtaken by dickinson, who, with a half-sulky, half-defiant look on his face said-- "i s'pose i can't be any use, can i? if i can, you know, you'd better say so, and i'll lend you a hand--and let _me_ see the man that'll laugh at me. i ain't _quite_ a brute, though i daresay you think me one. i like pluck when i see it, and the way that boy jumped in on the shark was plucky enough for anything. if it hadn't been for him, skipper, that little gal of yourn 'd have been a goner and no mistake." "you are right, dickinson, she would indeed. thank god she is spared to me, though. you _can_ no doubt be of the greatest use to us; and as to thinking you a brute--_i_ do nothing of the kind, nor does mr evelin, i am sure. i believe you make yourself out to be a great deal worse than you really are. well, robert, what is this, my boy? is it true that your leg is broken?" "i am afraid it is, sir," answered bob, who looked very pale, and was evidently suffering great pain. "but i don't care about that, so long as may is all right." "she _is_, robert, thanks to god and to your courage. but we will all thank you by and by more adequately than we can do now. let us look at your leg, that is the first thing to be attended to." "will you allow me, captain staunton?" interposed lance. "i have some knowledge of surgery, and i think my hand will be more steady than yours after your late excitement." the skipper willingly gave place to lance; and the latter, kneeling down by bob's side, drew out a knife with which he slit up the left leg of the lad's trousers. a painful sight at once revealed itself. the leg was broken half-way between the ankle and the knee, and the splintered shin-bone protruded through the lacerated and bleeding flesh. captain staunton felt quite sick for a moment as he saw the terrible nature of the injury; and even lance turned a trifle pale. "a compound fracture, and a very bad one," pronounced evelin. "now, dickinson, if you wish to be of use, find kit, the carpenter, and bring him to me." the man vanished with alacrity, and in another minute or two returned with kit. lance explained what he wanted--a few splints of a certain length and shape, and a supply of good stout spun-yarn. "do you think ralli would give us a bandage or two and a little lint from one of his medicine-chests?" asked lance of dickinson. "if he won't i'll pound him to a jelly," was the reckless answer; and without waiting for further instructions the man ran down to the water, jumped into the dingy, and, casting off the painter, began to ply his oars with a strength and energy which sent the small boat darting across the bay with a foaming wave at her bows and a long swirling wake behind her. in less than half an hour he was back again with the medicine-chest and all its contents; which he had brought away bodily without going through the formality of asking permission. the splints were by this time ready; and then began the long, tedious, and painful operation of setting and dressing the limb, in the performance of which dickinson rendered valuable and efficient service. the long agony proved almost too much for bob; he went ghastly pale and the cold perspiration broke out in great beads all over his forehead; seeing which the boatswain's mate beckoned with his hand to one of the men standing near, and whispered him to fetch his (dickinson's) allowance of grog. the man went away, and soon returned with not a single allowance but a pannikin-full of rum, the result of a spontaneous contribution among the men as soon as they were informed that it was wanted for bob. with the aid of an occasional sip from this pannikin the poor lad was able to bear up without fainting until lance had done all that was possible for him; and then dickinson and three other men, lifting him upon a strip of tarpaulin lashed to a couple of oars, carried him down to one of the boats, and jumping in, with lance and captain staunton--who could not be persuaded to trust may out of his arms--pushed off and rowed him down to the bottom of the bay. about a couple of hundred yards from the rocks they passed the body of a great dead shark floating belly upwards upon the surface of the water. the creature appeared to be nearly twenty feet long; and the blood was still slowly oozing from three or four stabs and a couple of long deep gashes near the throat. the mouth was open; and as the boat swept past its occupants had an opportunity to count no less than five rows of formidable teeth still erect in its horrid jaws. captain staunton pressed his child convulsively to his breast as he gazed at the hideous sight; and dickinson, who pulled the stroke-oar, averred with an oath his belief that there was not another man on the island with pluck enough to "tackle" such a monster. "by the bye, robert," said captain staunton, "you have not yet told us how you came to break your leg. did you strike it against the timber when you jumped overboard, or how was it?" "no, sir," said bob. "it was this way. just as i reached the end of the plank i caught sight of the brute rushing straight at may. i could see him distinctly against the clean sandy bottom, and he was not above six feet off. so i took a header right for him, whipping out my sheath- knife as i jumped; and luckily he turned upon me sharp enough to give little may a chance, but not sharp enough to prevent my driving my knife into him up to the hilt. then i got hold of him somewhere--i think it was one of his fins--and dug and slashed at him until i was out of breath, when i was obliged to let go and come to the surface. the shark sheered off, seeming to have had enough of it, but in going he gave me a blow with his tail across the leg and i felt it snap like a pipe-stem." "and, instead of making for the raft, you swam at once to may, thinking of her safety rather than of the pain you were suffering," said the skipper. "bob, you are a hero, if ever there was one. this is the second time you have saved my child from certain death; and i shall never forget my obligations to you, though god alone knows whether i shall ever have an opportunity to repay them." "i say, mister, i wish you wouldn't have quite so much to say about _god_; it makes a chap feel uncomfortable," growled dickinson. "does it?" said captain staunton. "how is that? i thought none of you people believed in the existence of such a being." "i can't answer for others," sullenly returned dickinson, "but i know _i_ believe; i wish i didn't. i've tried my hardest to forget all about god, and to persuade myself that there ain't no such person, but i can't manage it. the remembrance of my poor old mother's teaching sticks to me in spite of all i can do. i've tried," he continued with growing passion, "to drive it all out of my head by sheer deviltry and wickedness; i've done worse things than e'er another man on this here island, hain't i, mates?"--to his fellow-oarsmen. "ay ay, bill, you have." "you're a reg'lar devil sometimes." "a real out-and-outer, and no mistake," were the confirmatory replies. "yes," dickinson continued, "and yet i _can't_ forget it; i _can't_ persuade myself; and the more i try the worse i feel about it, and i don't care who hears me say so." "well, you _seem_ to be in earnest in what you say, dickinson; but i really cannot believe you _are_. no man who really believed in the existence of a god of justice would continue to live a life of sin and defiance," said the skipper. "wouldn't he?" fiercely retorted the boatswain's mate. "supposin' he'd done what i've done and lived the life i've lived, what would he do? answer me that." "come up to our hut next sunday morning at eleven o'clock, and i _will_ answer you." "what! do you mean to say that you'll let me in, and them women-folks there too?" "certainly we will," said captain staunton heartily. "we are all mortal, like yourself; and the ladies will not refuse, i am sure, to meet a man who feels as you do." "then i'll come," exclaimed the man with a frightful oath, intended to add emphasis to his declaration, and then, as the boat's keel grated on the beach, he and his mates sprang into the shallow water, and, lifting bob in his impromptu stretcher carefully upon their shoulders, they proceeded with heedful steps to bear him toward the hut. "now, there," remarked captain staunton in a low voice as they hurried on ahead to get bob's bunk ready for him, "there is an example of a human soul steeped in sin, yet revolting from it; struggling desperately to escape; and in its despair only dyeing itself with a deeper stain. it is a noble nature in revolt against a state of hideous ignoble slavery; and i pray god that i may find words wherewith to suitably answer his momentous question." "amen," said lance fervently, raising his hat reverently from his head as the word passed his lips. in another ten minutes they had poor bob safely in the house and comfortably bestowed in his berth. the medicine-chest had been brought back in the boat and was soon conveyed to the hut; and while lance busied himself in mixing a cooling draught for his patient, dale, to the intense astonishment of everybody, voluntarily undertook to prepare some strengthening broth for him. the man's supreme selfishness gave way, for the moment, to admiration of bob's gallant deed--so immeasurably beyond anything of which he felt himself capable--and, genuinely ashamed of himself, for perhaps the first time in his life, he suddenly resolved to do what little in him lay to be useful. when lance came down-stairs for a moment after administering the saline draught, he found dickinson and his three companions still hanging about outside the door in an irresolute manner, as though undecided whether to go or stay. he accordingly went out to them and, with an earnestness quite foreign to his usual manner, thanked them warmly yet courteously for their valuable assistance (lance _never_ forgot that he was a gentleman, and was therefore uniformly courteous to everybody), and then dismissed them, adding at the last moment a word or two of reminder to dickinson as to his promise for the following sunday, which he emphasised with a hearty shake of the hand. the boatswain's mate walked away down to the boat silently and in a seemingly dazed condition, holding up his right hand before him, turning it over, and looking at it as though he had never seen it before. he never opened his lips until the boat was in mid-channel, when, resting on his oar for a moment, he said-- "well, shipmates, you've heard me say to-day words that i wouldn't have believed this morning i could find courage to say to any human being. now, i'm not ashamed of 'em--i won't go back from a single word--but you know as well as i do what a rumpus there'd be if it got to be known that there'd been said what's been said this arternoon. i don't care about myself, not a single curse; you and as many more fools as choose can laugh at me until you're all tired; but mind--i won't have a word said about _them_; if this gets abroad they'll be made uncomfortable, and _i won't have it_--d'ye hear, mates, i won't have it. the first man that says a word about it--well"--with a powerful effort to curb his passion--"the best thing he can do is to take to the water and swim right out to sea; for the sharks 'll be more marciful to him than i will." "all right, matey, all right," good-humouredly answered one of the men, "you needn't threaten us--no occasion for that; we're not going to split on yer, old man; perhaps, if the truth was knowed, there's others besides yourself as don't feel pertickler comfortable about this here piratin' business--i won't mention no names--and anyhow you may trust _me_ not to say a word about what we've heard to-day upon it; and there's my hand upon it." "and mine." "and mine." the proffered hands were silently grasped with fervour; and then the oars were resumed and the boat sped on her way to the shipyard. chapter fifteen. lost! when the three ladies entered staunton cottage they were greatly surprised to find captain staunton and lance there, both busy scraping lint; and still more surprised to see dale bending over a fire with his coat off, diligently stirring the contents of a small tin saucepan. may was the first to throw any light upon the situation, which she did, directly the door opened, by rushing up to her mother and exclaiming excitedly-- "oh, mama! what do you think? i fell into the water, and bobbie jumped in too; and a naughty shark hurt poor bobbie and made his leg bleed; so papa and mr evelin and some sailors brought him home and put him to bed; and he's up there now, mama, _so_ poorly." mrs staunton turned mutely to her husband for an explanation. for a single moment she felt quite incapable of speaking intelligibly. her mental vision conjured up a picture of her child in some terrible danger, and, in her anxiety, her mind refused to take in more than that one awful fact, overlooking for the time the circumstance of bob having received an injury. the danger to which may had been exposed; that was all she thought about--all she _could_ think about just then; and, until she had heard the story, she had not attention for anything or anyone else. so captain staunton bade them all sit down, and then he related the full details of may's adventure, with bob's gallant rescue of her, and the unfortunate accident which accompanied it. it is not necessary to repeat the frequent exclamations of horror and admiration which were elicited from the fair auditors as the various details of the occurrence were related; nor to describe the convulsive way in which may was clasped to her mother's breast, and fondled and cried over by all three of the sensitive loving women together as they listened to the story of her terrible peril. suffice it say that, when the narrative was over, the womenkind went with one accord up to bob's bedside, and there so overwhelmed him with thanks and praises that the poor fellow was quite overcome, so that lance had finally to interfere, and with mock severity order their immediate withdrawal. later on, when the excitement had somewhat subsided, and while they were all sitting down quietly to tea, the ladies produced their nuggets, passing them round for inspection, and relating the manner in which they had been found. lance's experience as a gold-digger now served the party in good stead, for he had no sooner taken the dull yellow lumps into his hand than he pronounced them to be veritable nuggets of pure gold; and after extracting from the fair finders as accurate a description as they could give him of the locality in which the discovery had been made, he declared his belief that one or more "pockets" of gold existed in the immediate vicinity of the pool, and said he would take an early opportunity of personally inspecting the spot. the somewhat exciting events of the day caused the party to sit up chatting rather late that evening, and about midnight they were startled by the sound of knocking at the door. captain staunton opened it, and there stood dickinson, who explained with some hesitation that, "bein' as he couldn't sleep very well, he'd made so bold as to come up, seein' a light in the winder, to ask how the little missie was a'ter her ducking, likewise the youngster as had got his leg hurt." the skipper was able to give satisfactory answers to both inquiries, and mrs staunton, hearing that someone was asking after may, came out herself and thanked the ex-boatswain's-mate so sweetly for his interest in her child that the poor fellow went away more dazed than ever, but with a heart so light that he felt as if walking upon air; and during the short journey between the hut and his quarters he solemnly and silently registered sundry fearful vows as to what he would do to anyone who dared so much as to _think_ any harm of the inhabitants of staunton cottage. for the next two days everybody was exceedingly busy; the men being hard at work at the shipyard, while the women felt as though they could not do enough for bob, or make enough of him; indeed, in their anxiety to show their gratitude and admiration, they--violet and blanche, at least--let enthusiasm outrun discretion so far that they bid fair to do the patient more harm than good, so that mrs staunton was fain at last to take him under her own exclusive charge, forbidding the younger ladies to enter the room more than twice a day,--once in the morning and again in the evening,--and then rigorously limiting their visits to five minutes on each occasion. the third day following bob's accident was sunday. this day was always observed as a holiday by the pirates; not, it need scarcely be said, in deference to the fourth commandment, but simply because the men insisted upon having one day of rest from work--a day on which the more sober and steady members of the band were wont to devote some little attention to the toilet and to the repairs of their clothing; while the remainder--by far the greater number--gave themselves up to unrestrained riot and drunkenness, a circumstance which, as may easily be understood, always caused a considerable amount of anxiety to the inmates of staunton cottage. but however anxious they may have been--however fearful that, in their unbridled licence, the pirates might at any moment break in upon the privacy of the cottage and attempt some outrage--divine service was invariably performed twice each sunday in the lower apartment of the cottage. the day in question was no exception to the rule; and when the party began to assemble for the morning service, they saw that dickinson had posted himself at a little distance from, but within easy hail of, the door. he was accordingly invited in; and when he made his appearance, with his hair freshly cut, his long bushy beard and moustache carefully trimmed, and his person decently arrayed in a nearly new suit of blue pilot-cloth, he looked not only every inch a sailor, but also a very fine specimen of manhood. he entered with some show of diffidence, and seemed half-inclined to beat a hasty retreat again, when mrs staunton invited him to occupy a seat next her. however, he remained, conducting himself with the greatest propriety during the service, and evidently still having in remembrance the forms of the episcopal ceremonial. when prayers were over captain staunton delivered, according to his usual custom, a short address, in which he strove earnestly to give a plain and comprehensive answer to the question which dickinson had propounded to him in the boat. it is not within the province of such a book as this to repeat what was said on the occasion; suffice it to say that the skipper so far succeeded in his object that, when the service was over, the strange guest went away a happier and a more hopeful man than he had been for years. he presented himself again at the evening service, remaining, at mrs staunton's invitation, to listen to the sacred music in which the party generally indulged for an hour at the close of the day. thenceforth he was a changed man. on the following morning lance announced that he proposed to make, in blanche's company, a visit to the "gold mine," as they laughingly called it. blanche's presence was required ostensibly in order that she might act in the capacity of pilot; but no one attempted to pretend that he or she was blinded by so exceedingly transparent an excuse. everybody knew how eagerly the occasion was welcomed by the pair as affording an opportunity for a long day's uninterrupted enjoyment of each other's society, and everybody had accordingly something jocular to say about it. but what cared they, these two, happy in the first rosy flush of mutually acknowledged love. they laughingly returned jest for jest, and set off in high glee directly after breakfast, saying they were not to be expected back at any definite time, as they should stay until lance had made a thorough examination of the entire locality. deeply in love, however, as they both were, they had the forethought to provide themselves with a good substantial luncheon, and evelin also slipped a tolerably heavy hammer and a cold chisel into his pocket. blithely the pair stepped out,--for is not happiness always light of foot?--and in due time, a much shorter time, by the way than was occupied in the previous journey, they arrived at the brink of the ravine, and looked down upon the tiny crystal stream and the pool wherein the nuggets had been found. lance took in the geological characteristics of the place at a glance. he recognised the rocks as genuine out-crops of gold-bearing quartz, and the minute yellow specks therein as the precious metal itself, their visible presence being an indication of the extraordinary richness of the reef. "why, blanche darling!" he exclaimed, all his miner's instincts fully aroused as he chipped and broke off "specimens" here and there, to find tiny pellets and nodules of gold thickly clustering in each, "this mine of yours is worth a nation's ransom; i do not believe there is such another reef as this in the whole world. with proper crushing machinery we might all make our fortunes in a month. but let us take a look at the pool; unless i am greatly mistaken there is a princely fortune lying about here, and to be had for the mere picking up, without the need of machinery at all." they scrambled down the side of the ravine and stood by the margin of the pool. then lance looked upward in the direction of the flow of the rivulet, attentively noting the "run" of the strata. glancing about him, he saw a small broken branch lying on the ground at no great distance; and securing it he cut away with his knife the sides of the larger end so as to produce a flat surface, making of the branch a very narrow-bladed wooden spade, in fact. reaching as far forward as he could, he plunged the blade of his extemporised spade into the sandy bottom of the pool, pressing it gently down into the sand until he could get it no deeper, when he "prized" it upward, so as to bring to the surface a specimen of the subsoil. raising it very carefully, the end of the branch at length came into view, bringing with it a small quantity of yellow glittering sand. some of this, by care and patience, he managed to get out of the water before it was quite washed away; and, placing it in the palm of his hand, he gently agitated it to and fro beneath the surface of the water until all the lighter particles were washed away, when there remained in his hand a minute quantity of fine yellow dust. "there," he said, "what do you think of that, blanche? it is gold-dust, my dear girl; and if we could drain off the water from this pool--and it might be done without much trouble--we should find plenty of it underneath that fine white sand. now, let us inspect a little further." they accordingly began to walk slowly up the border of the stream, which descended the ravine by a series of miniature cataracts a foot or so in height, usually with small sandy-bottomed basins beyond. one of these basins proved to be so small and so shallow that, standing on a projecting ledge of rock, lance was able to make a tolerably thorough examination of its bed with the aid of the before-mentioned branch, and he had not been very long stirring up the sand with it when he turned up four very fine nuggets, varying in size from a hen's egg to a six-pound shot. "just as i expected," he exclaimed. "now, the spot from which this gold originally came is at the head of this ravine. these nuggets have all been brought down here by the water; and the higher we go the larger will the nuggets be, because of course, the heaviest of them will have travelled the shortest distance. but before pushing our investigations further, i propose that we sit down here and have luncheon; this is a picturesque spot; and, what is perhaps more to the purpose, i am frightfully hungry." they accordingly seated themselves upon a great moss-grown rock, and partook of the contents of the basket with all the appetite of healthy people who had passed a long morning in the fresh pure air. luncheon over, and lance having, at blanche's request--or perhaps the word _command_ would be nearer the truth--lighted a cigar, the pair proceeded with their investigations. the characteristics of the stream continued to be the same; short lengths of sparkling water flowing over a boulder-strewn bed; diminutive rapids; tiny cataracts; and occasional quiet pools between. one or two of the smallest and least difficult of these pools lance cursorily examined, finding in each case one or more nuggets, the sizes increasing as the searchers made their way upward, and thus confirming lance's theory. he did not, however, devote much time to the actual search for gold; his object was just then to trace the gold to its source, and, at the same time, to note what capabilities existed for damming off the most promising spots, with a view to future operations. a happy idea, as blanche thought it, suddenly occurred to that young lady. "oh, lance!" she exclaimed, "what geese we are?" "are we, darling?" said her companion. "probably if anyone happened to see us just now," sliding his arm round her waist and kissing her, "they would be inclined to think so. nay, you need not pout, it is entirely your own fault; the fact is, that you looked so pretty the temptation was simply irresistible." "was it?" she retorted. "well, i think it very rude of you to interrupt me like that, just at the moment i was about to give utterance to a brilliant idea; but seriously, lance dear, do you not think we could collect a sufficiency of this gold to purchase our freedom from these horrid men." evelin thought the matter over for a minute or two. "i am afraid not," he said at last. "i have not the slightest doubt about our being able to collect a sufficient quantity of gold; the ground seems to be absolutely _gorged_ with it; but the difficulty would be in the effecting of an arrangement by which these fellows would be persuaded to release us after the payment of the ransom. they would take the gold and afterwards simply break faith with us. no; our services are of too much value to them, unluckily, for them ever to voluntarily permit our departure; and we shall therefore have to follow out our original plan of escape, if possible--unless a better offers. but we will endeavour to possess ourselves of some of this enormous wealth; and we must trust to chance for the opportunity to convey it away with us." they were now near the head of the ravine, which seemed to terminate in a sort of _cul-de-sac_, a huge reef of auriferous rock jutting out of the ground and forming an almost perpendicular wall across the end of the ravine. on reaching the base of this wall, the tiny stream they had been following was found to have its source a yard or two from the face of the rock, bubbling up out of the ground in the midst of a little pool some three yards across. it was near this spot, therefore, in all probability, that the precious metal would be found in richest abundance. lance accordingly began to look around him for indications of the direction in which he ought to search. about ten feet up the face of the rock-wall he saw what appeared to be a fissure in the stone; and, thinking it possible that an examination of this fissure might aid him, he, with some difficulty managed to scramble up to it. when he reached the spot he found, however, instead of a mere fissure or crack in the rock, as he had imagined, a wide projecting shoulder of the reef which artfully masked a low narrow recess. penetrating into this recess, lance found that, after he had proceeded two or three yards, the walls widened out, and the whole place had the appearance of being the entrance to a subterranean cavern. thinking that, if such were indeed the case, the discovery might prove of great value, as affording the party a perfectly secure place of refuge in case of necessity, he emerged once more, and, discovering from his more elevated stand-point an easy means of descent, hastened down to blanche, and, informing her of his discovery, requested her to sit down and rest whilst he completed his explorations. he then looked about him for something to serve the purpose of a torch, and at length found a fragment of dry wood, which on being ignited promised to burn steadily enough for his purpose. armed with this he was about to reascend the face of the rock when blanche begged that she might be allowed to accompany him, as she was sure she would feel lonely sitting out there by herself. lance accordingly gave her his hand, and without any very great difficulty managed to get her safely up on the narrow platform in front of the opening. relighting his torch, which he had extinguished after satisfying himself that it would burn properly, lance led the way into the cleft; holding his brand well before him and as high as possible, and giving his disengaged hand to blanche, who suffered from the disadvantage of being in total darkness, her lover's bulky form almost entirely filling up the narrow passage they were traversing, and completely eclipsing the light. soon, however, they found the walls receding from them on either side, the roof rising at the same time; and when they had penetrated some fifty or sixty yards they were able to walk side by side. it was a curious place in which they found themselves. the rocky walls, which met overhead like an arch, were composed entirely of auriferous quartz, the gold gleaming in it here and there in long thin flakes. the passage sloped gently upward, whilst it at the same time swept gradually round toward the right hand; and though the air was somewhat close, there was an almost utter absence of that damp earthy smell which is commonly met with in subterranean chambers. as they continued on their way the rocks about them gradually underwent a change, the gold no longer showing in thin detached thread-like layers, but glittering in innumerable specks and tiny nodules all over the surface, so that, as the flickering uncertain light of the torch fell upon the walls, they glistened as though covered with an unbroken coating of gold-leaf. but this novel appearance, attractive as it was, was nothing to the surprise which awaited them further on. they had penetrated some eight or nine hundred yards, perhaps, into the bowels of the earth, and were thinking of returning, when they suddenly emerged from the passage into a vast cavern, so spacious in all its dimensions that their tiny light quite failed to reveal the farther side or the roof. but what little they _did_ see was sufficient to root them to the ground, speechless for the moment with wonder and admiration. the rocky floor upon which they stood was smooth as a marble pavement, apparently from attrition by the action of water through countless centuries, though the place was now perfectly dry. what chiefly excited their admiration, however, was the circumstance that the floor was not only smooth, it was as polished as glass, and in places quite transparent, while it glowed and sparkled with all the colours of the rainbow. they seemed to be standing on a surface of purest crystalline ice, seamed, streaked, veined, and clouded in the most marvellous and fantastic manner with every conceivable hue, through and into which the faint light of their torch gleamed, flashed, and sparkled with an effect of indescribable splendour. "oh, lance!" whispered blanche at last, "was ever anything so lovely seen before?" "a perfect palace of the gnomes, darling, is it not?" returned lance in his usual tone of voice; and then they stood awe-struck and enthralled, as his words were caught up by countless echoes and flung backward and forward, round and round, and in the air above them, in as many different tones, from a faint whisper far overhead to deep sonorous musical bell-like notes reverberating round the walls and echoing away and away, farther and farther, fainter and fainter, until at last, after an interminable time, as it seemed to them, the sounds died completely away and silence reigned once more. "it is marvellous! superb!" whispered evelin, not caring to again arouse the echoes of the place. "come, blanche, sweetheart, let us explore a little further while our torch still holds out." hand in hand, and with cautious steps--for the floor was almost as slippery as ice--they began to make the tour of this fairy-like cavern; but they had not proceeded a dozen steps before they were again arrested, spell-bound. the walls, as far as the feeble light of the torch would reveal them, were of rock of the same character as the floor; only that instead of being smooth and even they were broken up into fantastic projections of every imaginable form, while here and there huge masses started boldly out from the face, forming flying buttresses with projecting pinnacles and elaborate carved-work, all executed by nature's own hand; while elsewhere there clustered columns, so regular and perfect in their shape that they might have been transferred with scarcely a finishing touch of the chisel to the aisles of a cathedral. where the light happened to fall upon these the effect was bewilderingly beautiful, the rays being reflected and refracted from and through the crystals of which they were composed until they shone and sparkled like columns of prismatic fire. then a new wonder revealed itself; for, on approaching more closely to the glittering walls, it became apparent that they were seamed with wide cracks here and there, the cracks being filled with a cement-like substance, so thickly studded with nuggets of gold of all sizes, that in less than five minutes a man might have gathered more than he could carry away. passing along the walls, lance found that it was everywhere the same, and that in stumbling upon this subterranean palace of the fairies they had also discovered a mine of incalculable wealth. hastily gathering a few of the finest nuggets within reach, they set out to return. they had apparently made the entire circuit of the cavern, for there close to them yawned the black mouth of a passage. this was fortunate; as the torch had now burned so low that lance saw with consternation it would be necessary for them to make the greater part of their return journey in darkness. "but never mind, blanche darling," he said cheerfully, remarking upon this unpleasant circumstance. "it is all plain sailing; there are no obstacles in our way; and if we have to grope slowly along, still the marvellous sight we have seen is well worth so trifling a penalty. give me your hand, sweetheart, and let us get into the passage, for i shall have to abandon the light, it is scorching my fingers as it is." blanche silently gave her hand to her lover, a trifle nervous at having to traverse so long a distance in impenetrable darkness, and buried--who knew how deep--beneath the surface. _buried_! the idea was a most unpleasant one just then; and she shuddered as they plunged hand in hand into the passage, lance at the same moment flinging the charred stump of the burnt-out torch back into the great cavern behind them. cautiously they groped their way onward, lance feeling his way along the wall of the passage, and making sure of his footing at every step by passing his foot lightly forward over the ground before advancing. in this manner the pair proceeded for what seemed to them a considerable length of time--at least blanche thought it so, for at last she said with a slight tremor in her voice-- "how much longer do you think we shall be, lance! surely we cannot be very far from the entrance now." "no, we must be getting pretty close to it," said lance; "but surely you are not feeling frightened, little woman?" "not exactly frightened," answered blanche; "but this terrible darkness and this awful silence makes me nervous. it seems so dreadful to be groping one's way like this, without being able to see where one is going; and then i have a stupid feeling that the rocks above us may give way at any moment and bury us." "not much fear of that," said lance with a laugh, which went echoing and reverberating along the passage in such a weird unearthly manner that blanche clung to her companion in terror. "these rocks," he continued, "have supported for years--probably centuries--the weight above them, and it is not at all likely they will give way just now without any cause. i daresay the time _does_ seem long to you, darling, but you must remember we are walking at a much slower pace now than we were when we passed over the ground before. of course we _might_ walk faster, since we know the ground to be tolerably even and regular; still it is best to be cautious; if either of us happens to stumble here in the dark we might receive a rather severe blow. however, keep up your courage, we cannot be very much longer now." once more they continued their way in silence, the ground sloping gently downwards all the while, as they could tell notwithstanding the darkness; and still no welcome ray of daylight appeared in the distance to tell them that they were approaching their journey's end. at length a vague and terrible fear began to make itself felt in lance's own mind. recalling the incidents of their inward journey, he tried to reckon the time which they had occupied in passing from the open air along the gallery into the great cavern, and he considered that they could not possibly have been longer than twenty minutes, probably not as long as that. but it seemed to him that they had been groping there in the intense darkness for two hours at least! no, surely it could not be so long as that; the darkness made the time lag heavily. but if they had been there only _one_ hour, they ought by this time to have reached daylight once more, slowly as they had been moving. surely they had not--oh, no, it was not possible--it _could not_ be possible--and yet-- merciful god! what if they _had_ by some dreadful mischance _lost their way_. the strong man felt the beads of cold perspiration start out upon his forehead as the dreadful indefinable haunting fear at length took shape and presented itself before his mind in all its grisly horror. he had faced death often enough to look him in the face now or at any time without fear; but to meet him _thus_--to wander on and on in the thick darkness, to grope blindly along the walls of this huge grave until exhaustion came and compelled them to lie down and die--never to look again upon the sweet face of nature--never again to have their eyes gladdened by the blessed light of the sun or the soft glimmer of the star-lit heavens--to vanish from off the face of the earth, and to pass away from the ken of their friends, leaving no sign, no clue of their whereabouts or of their fate--oh, god! it was too horrible. not for himself; no, if it were god's will that thus he must die he had courage enough to meet his fate calmly and as a brave man should. thank god, he had so lived that, let death come upon him never so suddenly, he could not be taken unawares. lance evelin was by no means a saint; he knew it and acknowledged it in this dread hour; but he had always striven honestly and honourably to do his duty, whatever it might be, with all his strength; and then, too, like the apostle, _he knew in whom he trusted_. no, lance was not afraid of death on his own account; it was for the weak timorous girl by his side that all his sympathies were aroused. doubtless she too possessed a faith firm enough to enable her to meet her fate undismayed--he believed she _did_; but what terrible bodily suffering must she pass through before the end came. but perhaps, after all, he was alarming himself unnecessarily; even now they might be within a few yards of the outlet and yet not be able to see it, because, as he suddenly remembered, the passage was curved from its very commencement. but then, he also remembered, the passage at its outer end was so narrow that blanche had to walk behind him, and here they were, walking hand in hand and side by side, as they had been ever since they had entered this interminable passage. "blanche," said he, steadying his voice as well as he could, "put out your hand, dear, and see whether you can reach the right-hand wall." he felt her lean away from him, and then came her reply in a broken voice-- "no, lance, i cannot." "why, pet," he exclaimed, "i really believe you are crying." "yes, i am," she acknowledged. "forgive me, lance dear, i really cannot help it; i shall be better by and by, perhaps, but--oh! it is _so_ dreadful. you are very brave, and very good to me, but i know you must have realised it before now--the dreadful truth that _we are lost here_." "tut, tut; nonsense, child," lance answered cheerily; "why, blanche, you will get quite unnerved if you suffer such thoughts to take possession of you. there, lay your head on my shoulder, darling, and have your cry comfortably out; you will feel better and braver afterwards." he put his arm round her as he spoke; and the poor frightened girl laid her head upon his breast, trustfully as a child, and sobbed as though her heart would break. her companion let her sob on unchecked; he did not even say a word to comfort her--what _could_ he say, with that frightful suspicion every moment gathering force and strengthening itself into certainty? no; better not to say anything; better not to buoy her up with delusive hopes; and, oh! how thankful he felt that the terrible task of breaking to her the news of their awful position had been spared him. the sobs gradually grew less violent, and at length ceased altogether. then blanche raised her head and said quietly-- "now, lance, i am better, and feel able to listen to the worst you can tell me. i will not ask you to give me your candid opinion of our position, because i know it is--it _must_ be the same as my own. but what do you propose that we should do?" "well," said lance, as cheerily as he could, "the first thing i intend to do is to light a match and take a glance at our surroundings. it was stupid of me that i did not think of doing so before." he drew a box of matches from his pocket--being a smoker he was never by any chance without them--and the next moment a sharp rasping noise was heard, and a tiny flame appeared. the light, however, was too feeble to penetrate that egyptian darkness; they saw nothing but each other's faces; hers pale, with wide-open, horror-stricken eyes; and his, with contracted brow and firmly compressed lips, indicative of an unconquerable determination to struggle to the last against this dreadful fate which menaced them. "this will not do," said he; "we must improvise a better torch than this." he fumbled once more in his pockets, and presently found a sheet or two of paper on which he remembered jotting down some notes relative to matters connected with the construction of the battery. these he folded very carefully; so loosely as to burn well, yet tightly enough to burn slowly and so give them an opportunity for at least a momentary glance round them. then he struck another match, applied it to one of the tiny torches, and raised the light aloft. as he did so, blanche uttered a piercing shriek, and seizing him by the arm, dragged him back against the rocky wall of the passage. then, pointing before her, she gasped-- "look, lance; look!" lance looked in the direction toward which she pointed, and grew faint and sick as he saw that they had been standing on the very verge of a precipice. a stone, dislodged by blanche's hasty movement had rolled over the edge, and they now heard it bounding with a loud echoing clang down the face of the rock, down, down, down, the sound, loud at first, growing fainter and fainter, until at last a dull muffled splash told that it had reached water more than a hundred fathoms below. chapter sixteen. blanche and her lover have to swim for it. "stand close against the wall, blanche, and do not move," commanded evelin, as the paper torch burnt down and went out. "now," he continued, "i am about to light up another of these papers; and we must utilise the light to get past this gulf, if possible; it will never do for us to remain where we are. the question is--in which direction will it be most advisable for us to proceed? we must devote a moment or two to a hasty survey of the place, as far our light will allow us, before we move. neither the time nor the light will be wasted. and it will be better that you should turn your glance upward and away from the edge of the chasm; your nerves will then be all the steadier when we have to make a move. now, i am going to light up once more." another paper was lighted; and, placing himself in front of his companion, or between her and the edge of the chasm, in order to guard against the possibility of her turning faint or giddy and falling over, lance raised the light at arm's-length above his head to glance round. as he did so, the tiny flame wavered, as if fanned by a faint draught. he looked at it intently for a moment, and noticed that the wavering motion was continuous, and such as would be produced by a steady current of air flowing in the direction in which they had been proceeding. then he knelt down and held the lighted paper close against the surface of the ground. the flame burnt steadily for an instant and then betrayed a very slight draught in an opposite direction. then it went out, the paper being all consumed. he thought intently for a moment; then turned to his companion and said-- "blanche, dearest, _we are saved_. pluck up your courage, my own love, and thank god with me for showing us a way out of this terrible labyrinth." "i don't understand you, lance," answered the girl, trembling with agitation; "are you only saying this to sustain my courage a little while longer, or do you really mean that you believe there is still a chance of our emerging once more into the blessed light of day?" "i mean, dear, that i hope and believe we shall escape. listen. that bit of lighted paper has revealed the presence of two distinct currents of air flowing along this passage. that means that an outlet to the open air exists somewhere. the upper current, which is the warmer of the two, is flowing in the direction of that outlet; and all we have to do is to follow in the same direction, if we can, and we shall eventually reach the opening." "then let us proceed at once, lance dear, please," pleaded poor terrified blanche. "i feel as though i should go mad if we remain here much longer. i have a frightful feeling urging me--almost beyond my powers of resistance--to fling myself forward over the edge of that dreadful chasm which is yawning to receive me. oh! save me, lance darling, save me for pity's sake." "i _will_ save you, dear, if it is in man's power to do so," answered lance, "but you must help me by keeping up your courage; you know i cannot possibly think and reason calmly whilst you continue in this deplorable state of nervousness. now, i will light another paper--our last--and we will move forward at once. keep close to the wall, and be ready to give me your right hand as soon as the light shines out." another moment, and a feeble glimmer once more illumined the cimmerian darkness. holding the light in his right hand, lance gave his left to blanche, and they cautiously resumed their way. the ledge along which they were passing was about six feet wide; but a yard or two further on it narrowed abruptly, leaving a path barely twelve inches in breadth. it continued thus for a length of some twenty feet, and then widened out abruptly again, apparently to the full width of the passage. it seemed, in short, as though the terrible chasm terminated at this point. luckily, lance was the first to see it, and his resolution was at once taken. he dropped the lighted paper as if by accident, and extinguished it by setting his foot upon it. he knew that if his companion caught so much as a single momentary glimpse of the short but frightfully perilous passage she would have to make, her nerve would utterly fail her, and too probably a dreadful catastrophe would happen. so he resolved upon the hazardous attempt to get her past the danger blindfold. "tut! what a clumsy fellow i am!" he exclaimed pettishly, as though in reference to his having dropped the lighted paper. "now i shall have to expend another match. but, blanche, your nerves are still unsteady; the sight of this threatening gulf is too much for you. i think you would do better blindfold. give me your handkerchief, dear, and let me tie it over your eyes. i will remove it again as soon as we are past the chasm." "thank you," said blanche. "i really believe i _should_ feel better if the sight of that dreadful place were shut out. i can trust to your care and courage; but i confess with shame that, as far as i am concerned, i am thoroughly unnerved." lance took the handkerchief which blanche put into his hand, and bound it gently but firmly over her eyes, arranging it as well as he could in the darkness in such a manner as to make the blinding perfectly effectual. he then led her cautiously forward a step or two until he felt with his outstretched foot the edge of the precipice, when, bidding her stand perfectly still and to cling firmly to the irregular surface of the rock, he once more lighted the short remaining end of paper, utilising its brief existence to note well the perilous path they had to tread. "now, sweetheart," he said briskly, "do you feel better, and fit to go on?" "oh, yes," was the reply, in a tone so bright and cheerful that lance felt intensely relieved; and he forthwith set about the difficult task of getting his companion past the narrow ledge without further delay. by the last expiring gleam of his short-lived taper, lance took one more rapid glance at the terrible pass, and then, as the thick darkness once more closed round them, he said-- "now, dear, you must be very cautious how you move. keep close against the rock, and take a firm hold of any projections you can find. do not move until you have a firm hold with both hands, nor without telling me of your intention, as i shall keep close to you and give you the support of my arm. and do not loose your hold of the rock with one hand until you have secured a firm grip with the other. now, have you a tight hold? then move gently along, side wise; and keep _close_ to the rock." the dreadful journey was begun. slowly and cautiously the pair groped their uncertain way along that narrow ledge, each pausing until the other was ready to proceed; and lance with difficulty restrained a shudder as once during the passage he felt that the heel of his boot actually projected over the awful ledge. a dozen times he felt outwards with his foot to ascertain whether the chasm was passed or not, and at last, with an involuntary sigh of ineffable relief he found that there was solid ground beyond him as far as his foot could reach. "now stand quite still for a moment, blanche," he said. "i am about to light another match." he did so, and found that they had indeed achieved the awful passage-- with some six inches to spare. at his very feet still yawned the hungry gulf, but they were beyond it, thank god, and once more in comparative safety. hastily seizing his companion's hand, he hurried her far enough away from the spot to prevent her seeing the deadly nature of the peril to which they had been exposed, and then removed the bandage from her eyes. "there," he said cheerfully, "we are past the chasm at last, and now you may have the use of your eyes once more." lighting another match, the imprisoned pair now pressed forward as rapidly as circumstances would permit, taking care to keep a match always alight in order that they might not stumble unawares upon a possible second chasm or other danger. they pressed forward in silence, except for an occasional word of caution or encouragement from lance, both being far too anxious to admit of anything like a connected conversation. suddenly lance stopped short. to his sense of hearing, acutely sharpened by the long-continued death-like silence of the place, there had come _a sound_, fainter than the breathing of a sleeping infant, a mere vibration of the air, in fact, but still--a sound. what was it? he knelt down and placed his ear close to the ground. yes; now he caught it a trifle more distinctly; the faintest murmur still, but with something of individuality appertaining to it. it rose and fell rhythmically, swelling gradually in volume, and then subsiding again into silence. "hurrah!" he shouted joyously. "the sea! the sea! i can hear it. courage, blanche darling, our journey is nearly at an end. one short half-hour at most, and, with god's help, we shall be free." again they pushed eagerly forward; with high hopes and grateful hearts now, and with every yard of progress the gladdening sound rose clearer and clearer still until there could no longer be any possible mistake about it; it was indeed the regular beat of surf upon the shore. at length a faint gleam of light became perceptible upon the rocky walls in front; gradually it strengthened, until the more prominent projections of the rock began to stand out bold and black against the lighter portions beyond; and at last, as the path curved gently round, their eager eyes were gladdened by the sight of an opening into which the sea was sweeping with a long lazy undulating motion until it curled over and plashed musically upon a narrow strip of sandy beach. they both paused for a moment, with one consent, to feast their eyes upon the gladsome sight, and to restore their disordered faculties. then they saw that the long passage or gallery within which they stood terminated at its outer end in a cavernous recess, opening apparently on a precipitous part of the shore. the floor of the passage sloped gradually down until it met the short strip of sand upon which the mimic waves were lazily beating; and a yard or two from the water's edge the sand was marked with a well-defined line of stranded weed and drift- wood, which indicated the inner limit of the wash of the sea. a single glance was sufficient to show that the auriferous rock had been left behind; that which now surrounded them being a coarse kind of granite. pursuing their way the pair soon stood upon the strip of beach. then came the question, how were they to get out of the cavern, now that they had reached its mouth? the sides rose perpendicularly, and the top arched over in such a manner that escape seemed impossible. lance made several attempts on each side of the entrance to work his way out, but the face of the rock was worn so smooth with the constant wash of the water that the nearer he approached the entrance the more difficult did he find it to proceed, and at last, failing to find any further foot- hold, he was compelled to abandon his efforts and return to blanche, who meanwhile had been resting her tired limbs on the soft grey sand. "well, blanche," he said, "i thought our troubles were over when i first caught sight of that opening, but it appears they are not. there seems to be only one possible mode of escape from this place and that is by swimming. now, i can manage the matter easily enough if you will only trust me; the distance is the merest trifle, the water is smooth, and if you think you have nerve enough to rest your hands on my shoulders and to refrain from struggling when we get into deep water, i can support your weight perfectly well, i know, and carry you safely round to the beach, which i have no doubt we shall find at a short distance on one side or the other of the opening. it will involve a ducking, certainly, but we cannot help that; and if we walk briskly afterwards we shall take no harm." blanche laughed--she could afford to do that now. "if that is our only difficulty, it is but a trifling one," she said. "i can trust you implicitly, lance; and, what is perhaps almost as important, i can also trust myself. i can swim a little; and if i should tire i shall not be frightened, having you to help me." "very well," was the reply; "that is better than i dared hope. would you like to rest a little longer, or shall we make the attempt at once?" blanche announced her perfect readiness to make the attempt forthwith; and without further ado the pair straightway entered the water, hand in hand, lance first taking the precaution to place his watch in his hat and ram the latter well down upon his head. they waded steadily in until blanche felt the water lifting her off her feet, when they struck out, lance regulating his stroke so as to keep close beside his companion. the water was delightfully warm, the sun having been beating down upon it all day, and the immersion proved refreshing rather than otherwise. it took them only about a couple of minutes to reach the mouth of the cave; and then lance began to look about him for a suitable landing-place. he had expected to find a beach on one side or the other of the opening; but there was nothing of the kind as far as he could see. perpendicular cliffs rose sheer out of the water on both sides of the opening for a distance of perhaps a hundred yards; and where the cliff terminated the ground sloped steeply down, with huge masses of rock projecting here and there, the foot of the slope being encumbered with other rocks which at some distant period had become detached and rolled down into the water. in bad weather it would have been death to attempt landing upon any part of the shore within lance's range of vision; but fortunately the weather was fine and the water smooth; so they made for a spot which lance thought would serve their purpose, and in another ten minutes succeeded in effecting a landing among the rocks. the scramble up the steep face of the slope before them was not without its perils, but this also was happily accomplished; and at last they found themselves standing safe and sound on tolerably level ground, just as the last rays of the setting sun were gilding the summits of the hills before them. lance found that they had come out on the eastern side of the island; and as the harbour lay on the south side he knew pretty well in which direction they ought to walk; they therefore at once set out at a brisk pace toward a large patch of forest fringing a hill at some distance in front of but a little to the south of them. they had not gone very far before lance, who was keeping a keen look-out for some familiar landmark, recognised a dip between the hills as the ravine up which they had passed in the morning; and altering their course a little they came in about half an hour to the stream, which they crossed without difficulty, and then followed it down until they reached the pool in which the first discovery of gold had been made. thence their way was tolerably easy--though, in the darkness which had by this time closed down upon them, they went somewhat astray while passing through the wood--and in another hour they found themselves once more safely within the shelter of staunton cottage, thoroughly tired-out with their long and adventurous day's ramble. their entrance was greeted with exclamations of mock horror at the length to which they had spun out the day's ramble; but blanche's pale cheeks, draggled dress, and general "done-up" appearance speedily apprised her friends that a _contre-temps_ of some kind had occurred; and their jesting remarks were quickly exchanged for earnest and sympathetic inquiries as to what had gone wrong. whereupon lance-- having first suggested to his late companion the advisability of immediate retirement to her couch, and bespoken mrs staunton's kind services in the preparation of a cup of tea for each of the tired-out wanderers--proceeded to give a succinct account of their day's adventure, the recital of which elicited frequent exclamations of wonder, alarm, and admiration, the latter being vastly increased when he produced his valuable specimens, to which he had resolutely "stuck" through it all notwithstanding that their weight had proved a serious encumbrance to him during his swim. "now," he said in conclusion, "the net result of the day's exploration amounts to this. we have discovered a mine of incalculable wealth. what are we to do in the matter? there is so much gold there--in the cave, i mean--that a short period of resolute and well-directed labour will enable us to collect sufficient not only to fully recoup the underwriters for their loss through the burning of the _galatea_, but also to make every individual among us enormously rich. are we to let it lie there, and trust to the future for an opportunity to come back and fetch it, or shall we make an effort now to collect what will suffice us, and trust to chance for the opportunity to carry it off with us when we go?" in answer to this, everybody declared at once without hesitation their opinion that an attempt ought to be made to collect and carry off the gold with them; captain staunton very sensibly remarking that if anything occurred to prevent the safe transport of their prize home they could _then_ organise an expedition for a second attempt; but that it would be folly to make a necessity of this if by some extra effort on their part the business could be managed without it. this point being settled, the next question to be decided was--how they were to set about the collection of the precious metal; for it was obvious that any attempt to absent themselves from their daily attendance at the shipyard would not only excite suspicion, but it might also provoke a very unpleasant manifestation of active hostility on ralli's part. here violet dudley came to the rescue with a very practical suggestion. "if you, lance," said she, "can contrive to mark the two passages out of the great central cavern in such a manner that we women cannot possibly mistake one for the other, and so go astray, we might perhaps be able to collect the gold and convey it to a suitable spot for removal; and when enough has been gathered we can take our time about transporting it down here." "an admirable suggestion, miss dudley!" said captain staunton. "that effectually disposes of one part of the difficulty. but it will never do to bring the gold here; we could not possibly convey it on board the schooner without detection, even if we were quite sure of the success of our plan for making our escape in her. do you think, evelin, the pirates have any knowledge of the existence of this cave of yours?" "i am pretty certain they have not," was the reply. "there is no sign of any human foot having ever passed over the ground before our own; and it is so eminently well adapted for a place of concealment for their booty--and, indeed, for themselves as well--in the event of the island ever being attacked, that i feel sure they would, had they known of it, have stocked it with provisions and in other ways have prepared it as a place of refuge. it was only by the merest accident that i discovered the spot to-day; and but for the fact that our search not only led us up to the head of the ravine but also actually caused me to scale the face of the rock, it would have remained undiscovered still. a man might stand within twenty feet of the entrance without suspecting its existence; and, unless he had occasion to scramble up the rock as i did, and in exactly the same place, he would never find it." "very well, then," said captain staunton, "what i propose is this. since the ladies are kindly disposed to give them we will thankfully accept their services to this extent. let them collect the gold and convey it to the edge of the gulf or chasm which you so providentially escaped tumbling into to-day. then we men must undertake the task of conveying it to the other side and stacking it up in a position from which we can easily remove it with the aid of a boat. if we succeed in securing the schooner, we shall simply have to call off the mouth of the cave and remove our booty in that way. can anyone suggest anything better?" no one could; it was therefore decided that the skipper's proposal should be adopted, especially as it left them free to alter their plans at any time, should circumstances seem to require it. this decision arrived at, the party retired for the night, most of them, it must be confessed, to dream of the wonderful cave and the equally wonderful wealth of which they had been talking. the next day was spent by all hands, dale included, at the shipyard. this individual had, ever since poor bob's accident, manifested a growing dissatisfaction with himself, and an increasing amount of shame at the selfishness which caused him to live a life of idleness and comparative ease, while every one of his companions, the ladies included, were doing all they could to aid in maturing the great plan of escape; and now at last shame at his unmanly conduct fairly overcame him, and on this particular morning he startled everybody by putting in an appearance at the same time as the rest of the male portion of the party, saying in explanation that henceforward he too should go daily to work, as he was quite sure he could be of assistance. he was, of course, assured that he undoubtedly _could_ be of very great use if he chose; and there the matter ended. but a rather unpleasant feeling was excited when ralli, who was always promptly down at the beach to watch the departure of the working party, noticed and commented upon dale's presence. "aha! my fine fellow," he remarked sneeringly, "so you have made up your mind to go to work at last, have you? that is very well, sare. you must surely have dream last night that i had my eye on you. you think, perhaps, i have not take notice; but _i have_; and if you had not gone to work to-day, i should have said to you, `look here, my good man, suppose you not work you not eat;' and i should have stopped your 'lowance. but you are going to work; so now that is all right." it certainly served dale right; but, all the same, it was a disagreeable sensation to the rest to feel that this sly greek had been in all probability keeping a stealthy watch upon them and their movements. they inwardly resolved to be very much more circumspect in their goings- out and in their comings-in for the future; and they lost no time either in communicating this resolve to each other. all day long their thoughts were busy upon the subject of the gold mine; and by the time that they got back to the cottage that evening each man had an idea in connection with it to communicate to the others. they were unanimous upon one point, which was that--after ralli's remark to dale in the morning, and the _espionage_ which it seemed to suggest--it would be most unwise for any of the male portion of the party to visit the cave _during the day_. henceforward their visits there would have to be as few and far between as possible, and such visits as were unavoidable must be made during the night. with the women it would, of course, be different. _they_ could now safely venture out every day, it was believed; and as the walk up the valley was the one which involved the least exertion, it would only appear natural that they should almost invariably take it. but, in order to disarm suspicion, in case anything of the kind happened to exist, it was deemed best that an occasional walk should be taken in some other direction until they could resume the road toward the ravine with the certainty that they had not been watched and followed. it was further agreed all round that the task of _carrying_ the gold, when collected, over the most dangerous part of the path along the edge of the ravine was not to be thought of, especially as captain staunton had thought out a plan by which all danger might be completely avoided. his idea was exceedingly simple, and consisted merely in the erection on each side of the chasm of a short stout pair of sheers connected together at their heads by a good strong sound piece of rope, having rove upon it a thimble with a pair of clip-hooks attached. the gold could then be put into a canvas bag suspended from the clip-hooks, and, with the aid of a hauling-line, hauled easily enough across the chasm to the other side. these details agreed upon, they determined to proceed with their arrangements that same night. accordingly, as soon as the evening meal was over, the men retired to their bunks for a few hours' sleep--all, that is to say, except dale, who, quite unaccustomed to bodily labour, felt thoroughly exhausted with his day's work, and was therefore readily excused. he volunteered, however, to remain up on watch until all the lights in the pirates' quarter were extinguished, and then to take a good look round the settlement, and call the others when all was quiet; a raid upon the capstan-house being the first thing necessary to enable them to carry out their plans successfully. the pirates, working hard all day in the open air, were, as a rule, tolerably early birds; and by eleven o'clock that night the place was wrapped in darkness and repose. having thoroughly satisfied himself that this was the case, and that the coast was quite clear for his comrades, dale roused the latter and then tumbled into his own berth with the comforting reflection that he had at last taken the right course, and done something to regain that respect from his companions which he was beginning to be acutely conscious of having forfeited. five minutes later four forms might have been seen--had anyone been on the look-out--stealing quietly across the open space between staunton cottage and the capstan-house. fortunately no one was on the look-out, and they reached the building undiscovered, ascended the ladder, and found themselves standing in the thick darkness which enshrouded the long loft-like apartment. here lance promptly produced his box of matches, and, on striking a light, they were fortunate enough to discover hanging to a nail near the door a lantern ready trimmed. this they at once lighted, and, carefully masking it, proceeded to rummage the place for such things as would be likely to prove useful to them. the place was almost like a museum in the variety of its contents; and they were not long in confiscating a dozen fathoms of three-inch rope, the remains of a coil of ratline, a small ball of spun-yarn for seizings, a sledge-hammer, an axe apiece, a marline-spike, a few long spike-nails, which lance decided would be capital tools for the ladies to use in picking out the nuggets, and a few other trifling matters. then, hanging the lantern upon its nail once more, they extinguished it, and made the best of their way down the ladder again. a pause of a minute or so to look round and assure themselves that no midnight prowler was in their vicinity, and they set off at a brisk pace up the valley, lighted on their way by the clear soft effulgence of the star-studded sky. they were not long in reaching the shelter of the dense wood at the head of the valley; and once fairly through it, they laid down the bulk of their booty where they could easily find it again, and, returning to the wood, selected a couple of young pines, which they quickly felled. the branches were soon lopped off, after which they cut from the tall slender trunks four spars about ten feet in length to serve for sheers. shouldering these, they sought out the remainder of their belongings, and--by this time pretty heavily loaded--continued their way into and up the ravine, arriving at last, under lance's guidance, at the great rock which veiled the entrance to the cavern. lance and brook at once scrambled up to the narrow ledge before the entrance, taking with them the ratline and such other small matters as they could carry, while captain staunton and rex remained below to "bend on" and send up the remainder. many hands--especially if they be willing--make light work, and a quarter of an hour sufficed to transfer everything, themselves included, to the ledge. torches, chopped out of the remainder of the pines, were then lighted, and, once more loading up their possessions, they plunged boldly into the cavern, lance as pilot leading the way. in about half an hour they found themselves standing in the great central hall or cavern, which, lighted up as it now was by the glare of four flaming torches, looked more bewilderingly beautiful than ever. a hurried glance round was, however, all that they would now spare themselves time to take, and then they at once set vigorously to work. the first thing necessary was to mark in a legible manner--and in such a way that the mark could be identified in the darkness if need be--the inner extremity of the passage through which they had just passed. rex and brook undertook to do this; and as they had already agreed what the mark should be, these two began, with the aid of the sledge-hammer and a spike, to chip in the face of the rock a circular depression on the right-hand side of the passage, at a height of about three feet from the ground, so that it could easily be found and identified in the dark by a mere touch of the hand. leaving these two busily employed, lance and captain staunton hurried away in search of the other passage. they soon found an opening which proved to be the right one, though a third was afterwards found to exist further along the circular wall of the cavern. the second, however, was the passage they wanted; for, on going a short distance into it, lance's and blanche's footprints were distinctly traceable in a thin coating of fine dust which was met with. the identity of the passage being thus established, it was marked in a similar way to the other, but with a _cross_ instead of a circle. the marking of the two passages proved to be a long and tedious job, owing to the hardness of the rock and the imperfect character of the tools, but it was done at last; and then they set out to execute the real task of their journey, namely, the erection of the sheers. now that they had lights the journey along the second passage to the spot where the sheers were to be erected was accomplished in a trifle less than an hour; but a shudder ran through them all as, following the footprints, they saw that blanche had twice or thrice walked for several yards on the extreme verge of the yawning chasm without being aware of it. and when at last they came to the narrowest part of the path--that which blanche had traversed blindfold--they felt their very hair rising as they craned over the edge and heard the pebbles they threw in go bounding down until the sound of their ultimate splash in the water was so faint as to be hardly distinguishable. it was nervous work, the passage along that narrow ledge, but it had to be done and they did it, hauling the poles across afterwards with the aid of the rope; and this part of the work successfully accomplished, the rest was not long in the doing; another hour saw both pairs of sheers erect, properly stayed, and the three-inch-rope bridge strained across, with the clip-hooks and hauling-line attached, and, in short, everything ready for the commencement of operations. the axes and other matters were then taken back to the great central chamber, where they _were_ left for future use, and the party made the best of their way into the open air, and thence homeward, arriving finally at staunton cottage about an hour before the great bell rang the summons for all hands to come forth to another day's labour. chapter seventeen. bob wants to be rich. the problem as to the working of the gold mine being so far satisfactorily solved, it only remained to ascertain how the arrangements would answer when put into practice, and this the ladies did without loss of time. their plan was that one of them should remain at home to look after bob and little may, while the other two devoted a few hours of the day to the cave. as they took it in turns to remain at home in the capacity of nurse, each of them had two days in the cave to one at the cottage. in the meantime, thanks to lance's skill and the careful nursing of the ladies, bob was making steady progress toward recovery, and within a month of the occurrence of his accident was beginning to ask how much longer he was going to be kept a prisoner. he had been made aware of the gold discovery, by occasional references to it on the part of the others in his presence, but he had never heard the complete story; so one day, when it was blanche's turn to remain at home, he asked her to give him the entire history; which she did. he listened most attentively; and when the story was over remained silent, apparently wrapped in profound thought, for several minutes. looking up at last, with a flush of excitement on his face, he exclaimed-- "why, there must be gold enough there to make millionaires of every one of us!" "yes," said blanche, "i believe there is; at least lan-- mr evelin says so, and i have no doubt he knows." "oh yes," exclaimed bob enthusiastically, "_he_ knows. i believe he knows _everything_. and what a splendid fellow he is, isn't he, miss lascelles?" this last with a sly twinkle in his roguish eye. blanche appeared to think it unnecessary to comment upon or reply to this remark; at all events she remained silent. but the window-curtain somehow needed adjustment just at that moment, and the haste with which she rose to attend to this little matter--or something else--caused a most lovely pink flush to overspread her cheeks. bob saw it; perhaps he knew exactly what caused it; but if he did he was too much of a gentleman to show that he had noticed it. so when blanche had adjusted the curtain to her satisfaction he remarked with a heavy sigh-- "oh dear! i _wish_ i was well enough to be out and at work again. i long to have the handling of some of that gold." "you must have patience, robert," said blanche. "the worst part of your illness is now over, and in due time you will no doubt be able to take your share of the work once more. but whether such is the case or not, you may rest satisfied that you will have your share of the gold. whatever there may be, whether it be much or little, i know the gentlemen have decided that it shall be divided equally among us, even to little may." "i am sure it's very kind of them," said bob with a touch of impatience in his tone; "but i want to be up and able to work at it--to gather it in and see it accumulate. i want to be a really _rich_ man." "for shame, robert," said blanche, with just the faintest feeling of disgust--the first she had ever experienced toward bob. "if you talk like that i shall leave you. i am disappointed in you; i should _never_ have suspected _you_ of being mercenary." "well, i am then," returned bob, quite unabashed. "i _am_ mercenary, if that means being anxious to be rich. and so would you be, miss lascelles, if you had seen as much misery as i have; misery, too, which could be cured by the judicious expenditure of comparatively trifling sums of money. only think how jolly it would be to go up to every poor hungry man, woman, and child you met, clap a sovereign in their hands, and say, `there, go and enjoy the luxury of a good unstinted meal for once in your life.' but a rich man's power goes a great deal further than that. if ever _i_ am rich i shall not be satisfied with the bestowal of relief of such a very temporary kind as a solitary meal amounts to; i shall hunt up some really deserving cases and put them in the way of earning their own livings. _real_ relief consists, to my mind, of nothing short of the stretching out of a helping hand and lifting some poor soul clean out of that miserable state where one's very existence depends upon the fluctuating charity of one's fellow- creatures. i've _seen_ it, and i know what it means. there's any amount of real misery to be met with in the neighbourhood of the docks, ay, and all over london, for that matter, if one only chooses to keep one's eyes open. of course i know that many of the beggars and match- sellers, and people of that kind are rank loafers, too idle to work even when they have the chance--people who spend in drink every penny that's given them--and in my opinion they richly deserve all the misery they suffer. but there are plenty of others who would be only too happy to work if they could; and _they_ are the people i should seek out and help, the poor women and children, you know. it makes me fairly sick, i give you my word, miss lascelles, when i think of the vast sums of money that are squandered every year in ways which leave nothing to show for the expenditure. take gambling for instance. i've heard that thousands of pounds are lost every year at card-playing and horse-racing. the money only changes hands, i know; but what good does it do? if a man can afford to part with a thousand pounds in such a way, how much better it would be for him and everybody else if he would expend it in furnishing a certain number of persons with the means to earn their own living. i don't believe it's _right_ for people to squander and waste their money; i believe that money is given to people _in trust_, and that everybody will have to answer for the way in which they discharge that trust; don't you, miss lascelles?" "certainly i do, robert," answered blanche, very gravely. "but i must admit that i have never until now viewed the matter in the serious light in which you put it. i must beg your pardon, and i do most sincerely, for the way in which i spoke to you just now. i had no idea that you had any such good reasons as you have given for desiring to be rich. but what would you be able to do single-handed, no matter how rich you might be?" "ah!" ejaculated bob with a gesture of impatience, "that's just what _everybody_ says, and that's exactly where the mischief lies; they don't do anything because they can't do _everything_, and because they can't get others to join them. but i shouldn't look at it like that; i should just do my duty, whether other people did theirs or not; if others choose to shirk their duty it is their own look-out, it affords no excuse for me to shirk mine. but there--it's no use for me to talk like this; perhaps i never shall be rich; the gold is there, you say; but that is a very different thing from having it banked in england. how do they think we are going to get it away from the island without discovery? you may depend upon it that, whenever we go, it will be all in a hurry." blanche explained captain staunton's plan as to the carrying off of the gold; but bob shook his head dubiously. "it is a capital plan, i admit," he said, "but its success depends upon everything turning out exactly as arranged, and--you mark my words-- things _won't_ turn out that way at all; they never do. will you do me a favour, miss lascelles?" "certainly i will, robert, provided of course that it is in my power," answered blanche. "thank you," said bob. "you can do it easily enough. bring home here-- and get the other ladies to do the same--every day when you return from the cavern, as many nuggets as you can conveniently carry--say two or three pounds' weight each of you, you know--and hand them over to me. i'll contrive to find a safe hiding-place for them, and when the moment comes for us to be off i'll see that they go with us if such a thing is at all possible; then we shall not be quite destitute if after all we have to leave the heap in the cave behind us. but don't say anything about this to the gentlemen; captain staunton might not like it if he heard that i doubted the practicability of his plan." blanche readily gave the desired promise, and there the matter ended for the time. meanwhile the work went steadily forward at the shipyard, and by the time that bob was once more able to go on duty the framework of the schooner was complete, and the planking had been begun, whilst the battery was in so forward a state that another fortnight would see it ready to receive the guns. ralli was in a high state of delight; but bob had not been at work many days before he discovered that things were no longer as they had been when he received his hurt. the greek had never been courteous in his behaviour to the _galatea_ party, but now he was downright insolent, and his insolence seemed to increase every day. at the outset of the work the gentlemen of the party, that is to say, captain staunton, lance, and rex, had been required to look on and direct the progress of the work only, but now lance was the only one to whom this privilege was granted, a privilege which he scorned to accept unshared by the others, and accordingly when bob once more joined the working party he found his friends with their coats off and sleeves rolled up to the shoulders performing the same manual labour as the rest. seeing this, he of course did the same, and thus they all continued to work until--the end came. bob was greatly surprised at this state of things; so much so that he sought an early opportunity to inquire of lance the meaning of it. neither lance nor anyone else in the party were, however, able to give any explanation of it; all they could say with regard to the affair was that ralli had been gradually growing more insolent and tyrannical in his treatment of them until matters had reached the then existing unpleasant stage. but he was earnestly cautioned by captain staunton not to mention a word respecting it to the ladies, as it was extremely desirable that they should be kept for as long a time as possible quite free from all anxiety of every kind. "but can nothing be done to make this fellow mend his behaviour?" inquired bob of the skipper as they separated from the rest of the working party and walked toward the cottage on landing from the boats that night. "i fear not," was the reply. "while the schooner and the battery were still to be built we had the man to some extent in our power; but now that the battery is so near completion, and the hull of the schooner fully modelled, he is independent of us, and he has sense enough to know it. his own people are quite capable of finishing off the schooner now that her framework is complete, so that threats on our part would be useless--nay, worse than useless--since they would only irritate him and lead to increasing severity toward us." bob lay awake a long time that night, quite satisfied that the time had arrived when something ought to be done, but what that something should be he puzzled his brain in vain to discover. about a fortnight after this a serious accident occurred at the shipyard, or rather at the battery. this structure was now so far advanced that it was ready to receive the guns which were intended to be mounted in it. the armament was to consist of six -pounder iron muzzle-loaders of the ordinary old-fashioned type, to which johnson had helped himself in some raid on the spanish-american coast; and on the morning in question a gang of men was told off to hoist these guns up the cliff into the battery. lance had, as a matter of course, undertaken the supervision of this operation; but the work had hardly commenced when ralli made his appearance on the scene, announcing his intention to himself direct operations at the battery, and roughly ordering lance to return at once to his work on the schooner, "and to be quick about it too, or he (ralli) would freshen his way." evelin of course returned at once to the shipyard without condescending to bandy words with the greek, and the work went forward as usual. ralli soon had a pair of sheers rigged, and in due time one of the guns was slung ready for hoisting. lance had been watching ralli's operations, first with curiosity and afterwards with anxiety, for he soon saw that the man knew nothing whatever about handling heavy guns. he now saw that the gun which was about to be hoisted was wrongly slung, and that an accident was likely enough to result. so, forgetting his former rebuff, he threw down his tools and hurried to the place where the men were working about the gun and told them to cast off the slings. "you have slung it wrong, lads," said he, "and unless you are very careful some of you will be hurt. cast off the slings, and i will show you the proper way to do it." the men, accustomed to working under his directions, were about to do as he bade them, when ralli looked over the parapet and angrily ordered them to leave the lashings as they were and to sway away the gun. "as for you, mister soldier," he said, shaking his fist at lance, "you have left your work contrary to my orders, and i will seize you up to a grating and give you five dozen to-night as a lesson to you. now go." lance turned on his heel and walked away. things had come to a crisis at last, he thought; and he began to wonder how the crisis was to be met; upon one thing he was quite resolved, and that was that he would never submit to the indignity of the lash; ralli might kill him if he chose, but flog him--_never_. his sombre meditations were brought to an abrupt ending by a sudden crash accompanied by a shout of consternation in the direction of the battery. looking that way he saw the tackle dangling empty from the sheers, with the lower block about half-way up the cliff face, and at the base of the cliff were the men grouped closely together about some object which was hidden by their bodies. suddenly one of the men left the rest and ran toward the shipyard, shouting for help. "there has been an accident," thought lance. "the gun has slipped from the slings, and likely enough somebody is killed." "muster all the crowbars and handspikes you can, lads," said he, "and take them over to the battery; there has been an accident, i fear." a strong relief gang was soon on the spot, only to find lance's fears confirmed. the gun had been hoisted nearly half-way up the cliff when the guide-rope had fouled a rock. the armourer had stepped forward to clear it, and in doing so had given it a jerk which had canted the gun in its slings, and before the unfortunate man had realised his danger the gun had slipped and fallen upon him, crushing both his legs to a jelly. there was an immediate outcry among the men for lance, an outcry which ralli would have checked if he could; but his first attempt to do so showed him that the men were now in a temper which would render it highly dangerous for him to persist, so he gave in with the best grace he could muster and ordered one of the men to fetch evelin to the spot. on receiving the message lance of course at once flung down his tools and hastened to the assistance of the injured man. when he reached the scene of the catastrophe he found all hands, ralli included, crowded round the prostrate gun, and everybody giving orders at the same time, everybody excited, and everything in a state of the direst confusion. as he joined the group ralli stepped forward with a smile on his lips, which in nowise cloaked his chagrin at being obliged to yield to the demands of the men, and began-- "you see, mister soldier, we cannot do without you it seems, after all. just lend the men a hand to--" but lance brushed past him without deigning the slightest notice; and, pushing his way through the crowd, called upon a few of the men by name to assist him in relieving the unfortunate armourer from the ponderous weight of the gun, which still lay upon the poor fellow's mangled limbs. such implicit confidence had these men in him, prisoner among them though he was, that his mere presence sufficed to restore them to order; and in a few minutes the armourer, ghastly pale, and with every nerve quivering from the excruciating pain of his terrible injuries, was safely withdrawn from beneath the gun. "now, make a stretcher, some of you--ah, dickinson, _you_ are the man for this job; just make a stretcher, my good fellow--the same sort of thing that you made for the lad bob, you know--and let's get our patient into a boat as quickly as possible; i can do nothing with him here," said lance. "ay, ay, sir," answered dickinson promptly; and away he went with two or three more men to set about the work, lance plying the injured man frequently with small doses of rum meanwhile. ralli stood upon the outskirts of the crowd angrily watching the proceedings. he could not shut his eyes to the fact of lance's popularity with the men, and he vowed within himself that he would make him pay dearly for it before the day was done, even if he were compelled to seize him up and flog him himself. the stretcher was soon ready, and the armourer having been placed upon it, was carried as carefully as possible down to the boat. as the procession passed the shipyard lance beckoned to captain staunton, saying-- "i shall need your assistance in this case. it will be a case of amputation unless i am greatly mistaken, and if so, i shall require the help of someone upon whose nerve i can depend." captain staunton, upon this, hurried back for his coat, and rejoined lance just as the party was on the point of embarking in the boat. as the men propelled the craft swiftly across the bay lance related in a loud tone to the skipper ralli's behaviour during the morning, and his threat. they were still discussing the matter anxiously together when dickinson, who was pulling stroke-oar, and who doubtless guessed from catching a stray word or two what was the subject of their conversation, broke in upon their conference by inquiring of lance whether he thought the armourer would recover. "it is impossible to say yet," answered lance cautiously. "of course we shall do our best for him, poor fellow, but he will require more attention than i fear ralli will allow me to give him." "if that's all," remarked dickinson, "i think you needn't trouble yourself, sir; the greek knows too well what he's about to interfere with you when it comes to doctoring a hinjured man--a man as was hurt too all along of his own pride and obstinacy. and as to that other matter--the flogging, you know, sir--axing your pardon for speaking about it so plain, sir--don't you trouble yourself about that. he sha'n't lay a hand upon you while me and my mates can pervent it--shall he, mates?" "no, that he sha'n't, bo'," was the eager answer. "no, he _sha'n't_," coincided dickinson. "we can't do much to help you, you see, sir," he added, "'cause, worse luck, we don't all think alike upon some things; but we've only got to say the word to the rest of the hands, and i _knows_ as they won't hear of you bein' flogged. there isn't one of us but what respects you, sir, but what respects you gentlemen both, for that matter; you've always had a good word for everybody, and that goes a long way with sailors sometimes--further than a glass o' grog--and you may make your mind easy that the greek won't be let to--to--you know what, sir." "thank you, dickinson," said lance with outstretched hand, "thank you with all my heart. you have relieved me of a heavy load of anxiety; for, to tell you the truth, i had quite made up my mind not to submit to the indignity; and if ralli attempts to carry out his threat it will probably lead to precipitate action on our part, which at the present time would be simply disastrous." "so 'twould, sir; so 'twould," agreed dickinson. "you needn't say another word, sir; _we_ understands. only we'd like you to know sir-- and this here's a very good opportunity for us to say it--that whenever _the time comes_ you may reckon upon all hands of us in this here boat." "how do you mean?" ejaculated lance, considerably startled. "i really do not understand you." "oh, it's all right, sir," returned dickinson cheerfully. "we warn't born yesterday, ne'er a one of us, and you don't suppose as we believes you've all settled down to stay here for the rest of your nateral lives, do you? lord bless you, sir, _we_ knows you must have got some plan in your heads for getting away out of this here hole; and the long and the short of it is this:--when you're ready to go, we're ready to lend you a hand, perviding you'll take us with you. we're sick and tired of this here cursed pirating business; we wants to get away out of it; and we've been talking it over--me and my mates--and we've made up our minds that you're sartain to be off one of these fine days, and we'd like to go with you, if you'll have us. we want to give the world another trial, and see if we can't end our days as honest men; ain't that it, mates?" "ay, ay, bill; that's it and no mistake; you've put it to the gentlemen just exactly as we wanted it; what you says, we'll say, and whatever promises you makes we'll keep 'em; we wants another chance, and we hopes that if so be as these here gen'lemen are thinking of topping their booms out of this they'll just take us along with 'em," replied the man who was pulling the bow-oar, the others also murmuring an assent. "but what makes you think we have an idea of effecting our escape? and how many others of you have the same opinion?" inquired captain staunton. "well, i don't know as i can rightly say _what_ makes us think so; but we _do_," answered dickinson. "p'raps it's because you've took things so quiet and cheerful like. as to how many more of us thinks the same as we do--why, i can't say, i'm sure. i've only spoke about it to some half a dozen or so that i _knowed_ would be glad of a chance to leave, like myself." "well," said captain staunton after a pause, "i really do not think we can say anything to you, either one way or another, just now. what you have just said has been so utterly unexpected that we must have time to think and talk the matter over among ourselves; but i think we may perhaps be able to say something definite to you to-morrow in answer to your proposition. don't you think so, evelin?" "i think so," answered lance. "very well, then," said the skipper. "let the matter rest until to- morrow, and we will then tell you our decision. in the meantime it must be understood that none of you say a word to anyone else upon the subject until you have our permission." a promise to this effect was readily given by each of the men, and then the matter dropped, the boat shortly afterwards reaching the landing- place at the bottom of the bay. the armourer was at once taken out of the boat and carried by lance's directions up to the building in which he slept. the miserable man was by this time in a dreadfully exhausted condition; but on the arrival of the medicine-chest lance mixed him a powerful stimulating draught, under the influence of which he revived so much that evelin felt himself justified in attempting the operation of amputation. this, with captain staunton's assistance, was speedily and successfully performed; after which the patient was placed in his hammock, and lance sat himself down near at hand, announcing his intention of watching by the poor fellow until next morning. the operation successfully performed, dickinson and his three companions returned to the shipyard, maintaining an animated and anxious consultation on the way. the result of this consultation was that when the four men resumed work they had a great deal to say--after answering numberless anxious inquiries as to the state of the wounded man--upon the subject of ralli's treatment of lance and his threat to flog him. they denounced this conduct as not only unjust but also impolitic to the last degree, dwelling strongly upon the unadvisability of offending a man so skilled as lance in medicine and surgery, and impressing their audience with the necessity for discouraging--and, if necessary, interfering to prevent--the carrying out of the threat. and as sailors are very much like sheep--where one jumps the rest jump also--they had not much difficulty in arranging for a general demonstration of popular disapproval in the event of ralli's attempting the threatened indignity. fortunately for himself--fortunately also in all probability for those in whom we are chiefly interested--he allowed the affair to pass over; in going about among the workers that day he overheard enough to feel assured that, for the moment at all events, he was an unpopular man, and as among such turbulent spirits as those with whom he had to deal, unpopularity means loss of power, his own common sense suggested to him the extreme impolicy of pitting himself against them while they continued in so antagonistic a mood. but he was quite resolved that if he could not have in one way what he called his "revenge," he would have it in another; and from that day forward his insolence and tyranny of demeanour toward lance and his friends grew more and more marked, until at length it became so unbearable that they were driven to the very verge of desperation. meanwhile lance, sitting there watching his patient, soon saw that he was about to have his hands full. the hectic flush of fever began to chase away the deadly pallor from the sufferer's cheek; his eyes glittered and sparkled like coals of fire; and as feeling began to return to his hitherto benumbed limbs, and the smart of his recent operation made itself felt, he tossed restlessly in his hammock, tormented with an unquenchable thirst. "water! water!" he muttered. "for the love of god give me water!" lance gave him some in a tin pannikin. in an instant the vessel was glued to the unfortunate man's lips, and in another instant it was drained to the last drop. "more--give me more," he gasped, as soon as he had recovered his breath. but this lance declined to do. bidding the poor fellow be patient for a few minutes, he went to the medicine-chest and mixed him a cooling draught. this also was swallowed with avidity; and then the armourer lay quiet for a few minutes. not for long, however; he soon began to toss restlessly about once more; and by the time that the hands returned from their day's work at the shipyard he was in a raging fever--raving mad in fact; and lance was at last compelled to have him laced up in his hammock to prevent him from doing himself a serious injury. lance evelin will probably remember that night as long as he lives. in the delirium of the fierce fever which consumed him the unhappy armourer was visited by visions of all the evil deeds of his past life; and lance's blood curdled in his veins as he listened to his patient's disjointed ravings of murder, rapine, and cold-blooded cruelty of so revolting a character that he wondered how any human mind could conceive it in the first instance, and how, after it had been conceived, human hands could bring themselves to perpetrate it. and then the man's guilty conscience awakened from its long torpor, and, acting upon his excited imagination, conjured up a thousand frightful punishments awaiting him. he writhed, he groaned, he uttered the most frightful curses, and then, in the same breath shrieked for forgiveness and mercy. it was perfectly appalling; even his comrades--those who had shared with him in the dreadful deeds about which he raved--found the scene too trying for their hardened and blunted feelings; and such of them as had their hammocks slung in the same dormitory abandoned them and slept in the open air rather than remain to have their souls harrowed by his dreadful utterances. this terrible state of things existed until the afternoon of the following day--rather more than twenty-four hours after he had received his injuries--and then the fever subsided, but only to leave the once powerful man in the last stage of exhaustion. so completely prostrate was he that he had no power to so much as lift his hand, and he was only able to speak in the merest whisper. now was the time when all lance's skill was most urgently required. fagged as he was by his long night of watching, he tended his patient with the most unremitting assiduity, administering tonics and stimulants every few minutes; and racking his brain for devices by which he might help the man to tide over this period of extreme prostration. but it was all of no avail; the poor fellow gradually sank into a state of stupor from which all evelin's skill was unable to arouse him; and at length, about eight o'clock in the evening, after a temporary revival during which all the terrors of death once more assailed him, his guilty soul passed away without opportunity for repentance; prayers and curses issuing from his lips in horrible confusion up to the last moment of his existence. his death was witnessed by several of his companions in crime; and, while some tried to laugh and scoff away the unwelcome impression which the scene produced upon their minds, there were others who went into the open air and wandered away by themselves to ponder upon this miserable ending of a crime-stained life. chapter eighteen. alarm and disaster. lance's long and fatiguing watch beside the death-bed of the unfortunate armourer of course delayed to some extent captain staunton's reply to the suggestion which dickinson had made on behalf of himself and certain of his comrades. but the skipper had, to save time, discussed the matter with the rest of the party, coming to the conclusion that they would be quite justified, under the circumstances, in accepting the services of these men; and on the morning following the armourer's death--lance having enjoyed a good night's rest--his opinion was taken upon the question, with the view of giving the men an answer forthwith. evelin listened attentively to everything that was said; and then remarked-- "well, gentlemen, i quite agree with you that the assistance which the men have it in their power to afford us would be most valuable; it would clear away a good many of our difficulties and would go a long way toward ensuring success in our endeavour to escape--an endeavour which i must confess i have always secretly regarded with a considerable amount of doubt and misgiving. it has always presented itself to me as an undertaking of a decidedly desperate character; and now it appears more so than ever, having regard to the very disagreeable change in ralli's treatment of us. the only question in my mind is one of duty--duty to our country and to the world at large. we must not forget that the men who now come to us with offers of assistance are men who have, in the past, outraged every law, human and divine; and justice demands that they shall be delivered up to punishment. now, if we accept their services _we_ certainly cannot afterwards denounce them; it would be rank treachery on our part. how do you propose to overcome this difficulty?" "we have thought of that," replied captain staunton; "it is the only question which has bothered us; and, for my own part, i can only see one solution of it. no word has, it is true, been said by them as to our keeping their secret, but i think there can be no doubt that such a stipulation was intended to be understood; and in any case i fully agree with you that we cannot justly avail ourselves of their assistance and afterwards hand them over to the authorities. my view of the case is this. here we are, in what is beyond all doubt a most desperate scrape. a chance--and a very slight chance it is--offers for our escape, and most opportunely these men come forward with an offer of assistance. if we let slip this slight chance it is extremely doubtful whether we shall ever have another; and that, i imagine--taking into account the future possibilities of evil in store for the helpless women dependent upon us--counts for something, and justifies us is accepting help from almost any source. then, as regards the men themselves. it is undoubtedly true that they have committed crimes which place them quite outside the pale of human mercy, _if justice alone_ is to be considered. but for my own part i believe that they have repented of their past misdeeds--at any rate they _say_ so, and we have no reason to doubt the truth of their assertion. they ask for an opportunity to reform; they desire a chance of making amends, as far as possible, for the past evil of their lives; and i have an idea, gentlemen, that though, in giving them such a chance, we might not be acting in accordance with _man's_ idea of strict justice, we should be following pretty closely upon god's idea of it. he breaks not the bruised reed nor quenches the smoking flax; and if he thus declares his readiness to give even the most doubtful and unpromising of his creatures another trial, i really do not see that we are called upon to be more strict than he is. my proposal, therefore, is that we should accept these men's proffered assistance; that we should do what we may be able to do for them in the way of giving them the opportunity they desire; and if justice _is_ to overtake them--if punishment _is_ to follow their past misdeeds, let it be due to some other agencies than ours. if god intends them to suffer punishment at the hands of their fellow-creatures, he will provide the instruments, never fear. but i think it far more likely he will give them another chance." "i, too, believe he will," said lance. "you take a view of the matter which i confess with shame had not presented itself to me, and i am convinced. these men have committed crimes of exceptional enormity, it is true; but it is not for us to draw the line--to say to whom mercy shall be granted and from whom it shall be withheld; therefore let us accept their offer, and leave the matter of their punishment in god's hands." thus, then, it was decided; and bob--as the least likely to excite suspicion if seen in conversation with any of the pirates--was deputed to inform dickinson that his offer and that of his mates' had been accepted, and to request him to call--without exciting observation, if possible--at the cottage that evening. when the gentlemen returned home at the close of the day's work, they found blanche and violet in a state of considerable nervous excitement, owing, they asserted, to their having been frightened that day while at their work of gold-collecting in the cavern. on being asked for a detailed account of the circumstance which had alarmed them, violet said-- "we had been at work about two hours, and had just reached the edge of the gulf with our second load, when we were startled by hearing somewhere near us a sound like a deep long-drawn sigh, followed almost immediately afterwards by a loud moan. i have no doubt you will think us dreadful cowards, but it is no use concealing the truth--we simply dropped the gold and flew back along the passage to the great cavern at our utmost speed. arrived there, we sat down to recover ourselves, and at length succeeded so far that we were both inclined to believe we had been victimised by our own imaginations--you know what an eerie place it is, and how likely to excite weird fancies in the minds of nervous timid women like ourselves. so we summoned up all our courage and went to work once more. we naturally felt somewhat reluctant to visit the scene of our fright again; but we overcame the feeling and made our third journey to the chasm without experiencing any further shock to our nerves. on our fourth journey, however, we had reached the place, deposited our load, and had just set out to return when the same sounds were repeated, much more loudly than at first, and accompanied this time by a loud prolonged hiss such as i should imagine could proceed only from some gigantic serpent. we were thoroughly terrified this time, and fled once more, not only to the cavern but thence into the open air, and home. i do not know how we may regard the matter in the morning; but at present i really do not feel as though i could ever venture into the place again until the mystery has been solved and the cause of those terrifying sounds discovered." "of course not," said captain staunton. "none of you must attempt to visit the cavern again until we have had an opportunity of investigating the matter. it is possible--though, mind you, i don't think it at all probable--that a serpent or large reptile of some kind _may_ have made its way into the gallery. and, at all events, it will never do for you ladies to run the slightest risk. what do you think, evelin?" he added, turning to lance. "is it likely that there may be a snake or something of the sort there?" "not _likely_, i should say," responded lance; "we have never encountered a reptile of any description, large or small, in the course of our rambles about the island. but of course there is just the _bare possibility_--i cannot put it any stronger than that--of a snake drifting here on an uprooted tree or large branch. i have heard of snakes being seen in the branches of trees drifting down rivers in flood-time, and there is no reason why, under such circumstances, they should not be carried clear out to sea. whether, however, a serpent could exist long enough to make the voyage from the mainland to this island is, in my opinion, exceedingly doubtful. still, i quite agree with you that the ladies ought not to make any further visits to the cavern until we have discovered the source of their alarm." this singular circumstance gave rise to a considerable amount of speculation among the members of the party; and they were still discussing the matter when a knocking was heard at the door, and, in obedience to captain staunton's stentorian "come in," dickinson entered. "sarvent, ladies," exclaimed the new-comer with an elaborate sea-scrape. then, seating himself in the chair which captain staunton indicated, he continued, "well, cap'n, and gentlemen all, i've just comed up, you see, in obedience to your commands of the forenoon sent through the young gentleman there"--pointing to bob--"and to talk matters over as it were." "that's all right, dickinson," answered captain staunton; "_we_ are very glad to see you. robert of course told you that we have decided to accept the assistance of yourself and such of your shipmates as are to be thoroughly relied upon?" "he did, sir; and right glad and thankful i was to hear it," replied dickinson. "of course we knowed right well, sir, how much we was axing of you when we offered to chime in on your side. we was just axing that you'd take us upon trust as it were, and believe in the honesty and straight-for'ard-ness of men as had proved theirselves to be rogues and worse. but you've took us, sir, and you sha'n't have no cause to repent it; we're yours, heart and soul; hence-for'ard we takes our orders from _you_, and we're ready to take any oath you like upon it." "no oath is necessary, my good fellow," said captain staunton; "your bare word is quite sufficient, for if you intend to be faithful to us you will be so without swearing fidelity; and if you mean to betray us an oath would hardly stop you, i am afraid. but we do not doubt your fidelity in the least; the only thing we have any fear about is your _prudence_." "ah, yes; there sir, we _may_ fail," said dickinson with a mournful shake of the head. "but you give your orders, sir, and we'll do our best to obey 'em. but afore you lays your plans i think you ought to know how things is standing among us just now. i'm greatly afeared you're like so many young bears--with all your troubles afore you. that greek rascal, ralli, has been doin' his best to stir up all hands of us against you--and particler against _you_, mr evelin--by saying as it was all along of you as the poor armourer lost his life. he holds as how you killed him by taking off his legs, and that you desarves to be severely punished for doing of it; and there's some of the chaps as is fools enough to listen to what he says and to believe it too. but there's me and tom poole and two or three more--_we're_ going to hold out to it that you did the best you could for the poor chap; and that if it hadn't ha' been for ralli's own obstinacy the man wouldn't never have been hurt at all. and, however the thing goes, you may depend upon me to give you timely warning." "thank you, dickinson," said captain staunton. "this information which you have just given us is most valuable, and renders it all the more necessary that we should promptly mature our plans. now, to show you how thoroughly we trust you, i will explain those plans as far as we have yet arranged them; you can then tell us what you think of them; and you will also be better able to understand in what way you and your shipmates can prove of most use to us." "well, if that don't beat all!" exclaimed dickinson, after captain staunton had stated their plans. "to think as you should go for to arrange to run away with the schooner herself! why, i thought the most you'd do would be to provision and seize the launch, and go off to sea in her, taking your chance of being picked up some time or another. well, there ain't a soul amongst us, i knows, as has so much as the ghost of a hidee about your taking the schooner. some of the hands seems to have a kind of notion--i've found out since i spoke to you t'other day--that you _may_ try to slip off some day if you gets the chance; but they just laughs at it you know, and asks how you're to manage, and how far you'd get in a boat afore the schooner'd be alongside of you, and that-like. but _your_ plan's the right one, cap'n--no mistake about that. and now, just say what you want us chaps to do, and we'll do it if it's any way possible." "how many of you are there?" asked the skipper. "how many, i mean, upon whom we can absolutely depend. bear in mind that _no one_ who is not _thoroughly_ trustworthy is to be let into the secret." "all right, sir; you trust me for that," answered dickinson. "for my own sake--letting alone yours and the ladies'--you may depend on't i won't let out the secret to the wrong people. well; let me just reckon up how many of us there'll be in all. firstly there's eight of you, counting in mr bowles and kit, and leaving out the ladies. then there's the three other lads and the four men as was brought in with you, that's seven--seven and eight's--" "fifteen," interjected the skipper. "thank'ee, sir, i ain't much of a hand at figgers myself, but in course you're right--fifteen it is," said dickinson. "then there's me and tom poole--that's my pertickler mate--promoted he is to the armourer's berth--and dick sullivan and ned masters--that's four more, making fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen--nineteen, ain't it, sir?" "quite right," answered captain staunton. "then there's the prisoners, as we calls 'em--men, you know, sir, as has been took out of ships and wouldn't jine the `brotherhood'--i won't say much about _them_ just yet, but there's about half a dozen very likely hands among 'em that i think'll just jump at the chance of getting out of this. tom and me'll sound 'em cautious like, and hear what they've got to say for theirselves." "very well," said captain staunton. "and in the meantime it seems that there are nineteen of us, all told, who are to be absolutely relied upon--quite enough to handle the schooner if we can only manage to get away with her. now, what we have to do is this. the ballast and the water-tanks are already fixed in their places, so that need not trouble us; but we must contrive to get the tanks filled as early as possible. then, as soon as the decks are laid we must get conveyed on board all the provisions we can possibly manage. then we shall want arms and ammunition; the guns too must be hoisted in, under the pretence of fitting the slides properly. the spars are already commenced. they, or at least the lower-masts and bowsprit, must be stepped before the craft is launched; that can easily be managed, i think; the other spars also should be finished and got on board as early as possible, and likewise the sails. there are the stores of every kind also to be got on board-- in short, i should like to have the craft in a state of readiness to go to sea directly she leaves the stocks. but i really don't see how it is to be managed; we shall never be able to do a quarter of what we want without arousing ralli's suspicions." "oh, bless you, sir! yes, you will," said dickinson confidently. "ralli's taken a mortal dislike to you all, and 'specially to mr evelin,--sorry i am to say so,--and he just _hates_ to be dictated to. now, whatever you want, just let mr evelin tell him he ought to do the opposite of it, and, take my word for it, he'll just go and do exactly what he thinks you don't want him to; he'll do it out of sheer contrariness. but, whether or no, now that we knows what's wanted, we-- that's me and my mates--we'll do as much of it as we can, and you'll have to manage ralli so's to get the rest." "very well, dickinson," said the skipper, "we understand each other fully now, so i will not detain you any longer. do what you can to forward the plan, and let us know from time to time what success you are meeting with." "all right, sir, i will; thank'ee, sir. good-night, ladies and gentlemen all." and dickinson, taking the hint, retired. the gentlemen sat for an hour or two after that, talking over matters as they smoked their pipes, and then captain staunton, lance, and bowles rose and left the cottage to pay a visit to the cavern. in due time they reached the place, proceeding at once to the chasm, where they forthwith commenced a vigorous but unsuccessful search for the origin of the mysterious sounds which had disturbed the ladies. finding nothing, they began their task of conveying the gold collected that day across to the heap on the other side of the gulf. this heap was now assuming goodly proportions. there was more of it than an ordinary ship's boat could take at a single trip, even in the calmest of weather; and lance was in the act of remarking to captain staunton that he thought enough had now been collected to satisfy their every want, when a weird, unearthly moan smote upon their ears from the depths of the abyss. the sound, though not particularly loud, was so startling, echoing and reverberating, as it did, among the cavernous recesses far below, that the work was brought to a sudden standstill, and the three bewildered men felt their hair bristling as they listened. "_what_, in heaven's name, can it be?" ejaculated the skipper as he turned his startled gaze upon lance. "impossible to say," answered the latter. "one thing, however, is certain; no _human_ lungs could possibly give utterance to such a sound. and yet i don't know; the echoes of the place may have the property of magnifying and prolonging it. hillo, there! is there anyone below?" he continued, raising his torch aloft and peering with craned neck down into the black depths of the chasm. there was no response. and the light of the torch was quite inadequate to the illumination of more than a few feet from the surface. "it is possible that, if there _is_ anyone down there, he may be unable to hear me. sound _rises_, you know. here, bowles, come across to this side. we will unite our voices and see if that will evoke any response," said lance. bowles scrambled nimbly along the narrow and dangerous pathway, which, having traversed it so often, now had no terrors for any of them, and speedily joined the others. "now," said lance, "i will count three, and then we will all shout together, `hillo!' one, two, three--hillo!" the cry went pealing away right and left of them along the dark gallery, the echoes taking it up and tossing it wildly from side to side, up and down, until it seemed as though every rock in the vast cavern had found a voice with which to mock them; but no answering cry came from below. "there is no one there," said lance. "indeed there _can_ be no one there; nobody has been missed, and--" "hark! what was that?" a long-drawn sobbing sigh, such as a child will utter after it has cried itself to sleep, but very much louder; and immediately afterwards a gust of hot air, which brought with it a distinct odour of sulphur, swept past them down the gallery. "god of mercy! can it be possible?" ejaculated lance. "yes, it must be. fly for your lives; we may not have a moment to lose." "what is it?" gasped captain staunton, as the three started at a run up the gallery in the direction of the great cavern. "a _volcano_," answered lance. "there are subterranean fires in activity at no great depth beneath our feet, and they may break into open eruption at any moment." this was enough; his companions wanted to hear no more. the few words they had already heard lent wings to their feet, and in an incredibly short time they found themselves, panting and exhausted with their unwonted exertions, once more in the open air. "now we are comparatively safe," said lance as they walked rapidly down the ravine. "what i chiefly feared was one of those earthquake shocks such as sometimes precede a volcanic eruption. a comparatively insignificant one might have proved sufficient to cause the walls of the cavern to collapse and bury us. of course the ladies must be cautioned not to venture near the place again; but i think perhaps it will be better not to tell them why. it will only alarm them--perhaps unnecessarily--and keep them on the tiptoe of nervous anxious expectancy. the better plan will be to say that we consider we have now as much gold as we think it probable we shall be able to take away. don't you think so, staunton?" "assuredly i do," answered the skipper emphatically. "why, i would not allow my wife to enter that cavern again for all the gold it contains." they reached the cottage without further adventure; and on the following morning the ladies were told by captain staunton that, sufficient gold having now been collected, there would be no further necessity for them to continue their visits to the cavern, which, moreover, mr evelin considered unsafe, the peculiar noises which had startled them all being in his opinion an indication of its liability to collapse at any moment. after this a month passed away unmarked by anything worthy of record, except the ever-increasing insolence and tyranny of ralli toward our unfortunate friends. the battery was by this time complete, the guns mounted, and the ammunition stored in its magazine; whilst the schooner was also in a very forward state. she was fully planked, decks laid, the ballast stowed, bulwarks and hatchways completed, her bottom coppered up to the load water-line, her hull outside painted with a coat of priming, and the carpenters, assisted by the handiest men they could pick out, were busy finishing off the fittings of the cabin and forecastle. lance had been anxiously watching for a favourable opportunity to put into operation dickinson's suggestion as to the mode in which ralli should be approached in order to secure the completion of the work in the manner most favourable to their own plans, but hitherto no such opportunity had presented itself. this was peculiarly unfortunate, as the work was now in so forward a state that, whenever ralli opened his mouth, he expected to hear the dreaded order given for the preparation of the ways and the construction of the cradle for launching. but at length the coveted opportunity came. it was about nine o'clock in the morning when lance saw ralli step out of his gig on to the rocky platform at the lower end of the shipyard and walk straight toward the schooner. the greek paused at a little distance from where lance was at work, taking up a position from which he could obtain a favourable view of the vessel's beautifully modelled hull and gracefully sweeping lines; and then, with one eye shut, he began a critical scrutiny of her, shifting his position a few inches occasionally in order to test the perfection of the various curves. "now," lance thought, "is my time. i must tackle him at once, whatever comes of it; it will never do to defer the matter any further. another hour's delay may upset all our plans." so, throwing down his tools, he stepped up to ralli and said-- "i want to speak to you about the launch. we have now done nearly all that we _can_ do to the schooner whilst she remains on the stocks, and our next job will be to lay down the ways and--" ralli turned suddenly upon him with an evil gleam and glitter in his eyes which spoke volumes as to the envy and hatred he bore to this man, who, though a prisoner and practically a slave, still revealed in every word and gesture his vast and unmistakable superiority to every other man on the island, its ruler included. "aha! mister soldier," he said--using the mode of address which, for some reason known only to himself, he deemed most offensive to lance-- his lips curling into a sneering smile as he spoke, "what are you doing away from your work? go back to it at once, unless you wish me to start you with a rope's-end as i would an unruly boy." "i have no work to go back to," said lance; "i am simply wasting my time at present, and i wanted to learn your wishes as to what is to be done next i presume you will have the craft launched forthwith, as she is now ready to take to the water; and i should be glad to know what timber we are to use for the ways." "you presume i will have the craft launched at once," repeated ralli, the spirit of opposition rising strong within him, and the sneer upon his lips growing more bitter with every word he uttered. "why should you presume any such thing, eh, you sare?" "because it is the right and proper thing to do," answered lance. "every lubber knows that a ship is launched before she is rigged. besides, if you were to decide upon having the spars stepped and rigged, the stores stowed, and the guns hoisted in before she leaves the stocks, i should have a lot of extra trouble in calculating the proper distribution of the weights so as to ensure her being in proper trim when she takes to the water, and i want to avoid all that if possible." the greek grinned with vindictive delight as he listened to this apparently inadvertent admission on lance's part. it revealed to him, as he thought, a new and unexpected method of inflicting annoyance upon this man whom he hated so thoroughly, and his eyes fairly sparkled with malice as he answered-- "what do you suppose i care about your extra trouble, you lazy skulking hound? i tell you this: i will have every spar stepped, rigged, and put in its place; the running rigging all rove; every sail bent; every gun mounted; the magazine stowed; the stores and water all put on board; and everything ready for the schooner to go straight out to sea from the stocks, before she leaves them. poole! dickinson!"--to the two chums who were working at no great distance--"come here and listen to what i say. this stupid fellow--this soldier who thinks himself a sailor--says that the schooner ought to be launched at once. _i_ say that she shall be finished ready for sea before she leaves the stocks; and i place you, dickinson, in charge of the work to see that my orders are obeyed. this fellow will no longer give any orders; he will be only a common workman; he will obey you in future, or you will freshen his way with a rope's- end. you understand?" "ay, ay," answered dickinson, "i understands yer, ralli, and i'll do it too, never fear,"--with a scowl at lance for ralli's benefit. "why, the man must be a fool--a perfect fool--not to see as it'd be ever so much easier to get things aboard now than when she's afloat. now, you"-- turning to lance--"you just top your boom and git away back to your work at once, and don't let me see no more skulking or you'd better look out." lance simply shrugged his shoulders, as was his habit whenever he received any insolence from the members of the "brotherhood," and, turning on his heel, walked back to his work, secretly exulting in the complete success of his manoeuvre. dickinson looked after him contemptuously for a moment or two, and then, his face clouding, he remarked-- "arter all, i wish i hadn't spoke quite so rough to him; the chap's got his head screwed on the right way; he knows a mortal sight of things as i don't understand, and i'd ha' been glad to ha' had his help and adwice like in many a little job, as i'm afeared we'll make a bit of a bungle of without him." "that is all right," said ralli. "you shall be able to talk him over, dickinson. be a bit civil to him and he will tell you all that you will want to know. leave the--what you call?--the bullying to me; i shall take the care that he enough has of that." and now--on that same morning, and only an hour or two after the conversation just recorded--there occurred an unfortunate incident which completely dissipated lance's exultation, filling him with the direst and most anxious forebodings, and threatening to utterly upset the success of all their carefully arranged plans. it happened thus. some timber was required by the carpenters on board the schooner; and dickinson, eager to properly play his part in the presence of the greek--who was standing close by--ordered lance and captain staunton to bring up a large and heavy plank which he pointed out. they accordingly shouldered it, and, staggering under the load, proceeded upon their way, which led them close past the spot where ralli stood. as they were passing him it unfortunately happened that lance stepped upon a small spar, which, rolling under his feet, caused him to stagger in such a way that the plank struck ralli full in the mouth, knocking away three or four teeth and cutting open both lips. the fellow reeled backwards with the severity of the blow, but, recovering himself, whipped out his long knife, and, pale as death with passion, rushed upon lance. captain staunton saw what was about to happen, and shouted in warning, "look out, evelin!" flinging the plank to the ground at the same instant in such a way as to momentarily check the rush of the greek. lance at the call turned round, and was just in time to save himself from an ugly blow by catching ralli's uplifted arm in his left hand. the pirate, lithe and supple as a serpent, writhed and twisted in lance's grasp in his efforts to get free, but it was all in vain; he was helpless as a child in the iron grasp of the stalwart soldier, and he was at length compelled to fling his knife to the ground and own himself vanquished. but no sooner was he once more free than, calling to his aid a dozen of the most ruffianly of his band, he ordered them to seize lance and the skipper, and to lash them hand and foot until the irons could be brought and riveted on. this was done; and an hour afterwards, to the grief and consternation of all concerned in the plan of escape, the two to whom they chiefly looked for its success were marched off to the "black hole," each man's ankles being connected together by a couple of close-fitting iron bands and two long fetter-links. chapter nineteen. bob gives way to violence. great was the consternation and distress at staunton cottage that night when the workers returned from the shipyard and reported the arrest and imprisonment of captain staunton and lance evelin. that these two should be placed in durance at all was regarded as a serious misfortune; but, coming as it did at so critical a time, just as the work on the schooner was drawing near its completion and when the long-looked-for opportunity to escape might present itself at almost any moment, it was justly regarded as a disaster of the gravest character. the imprisoned men were the two who had most completely retained their coolness and self-possession throughout the whole of the reverses which had befallen the party; it was their fertile brains which had devised the audaciously daring plan of escape, and without them the rest of the party felt that they dare not do anything for fear of marring the whole scheme. and there was still another misfortune attending this arrest: supposing a favourable opportunity presented itself for the carrying out of the plan, it could not be seized so long as these two men were prisoners; all, even to dale, were fully agreed that escape without them was not to be thought of for a moment. for two of the party--poor mrs staunton and blanche--there was still another source of anxiety. now that ralli had at last completely laid aside the mask of friendliness which had at first concealed his feeling of ill-will--now that he had cast off the last remains of a semblance of forbearance--to what terrible lengths might he not allow his vindictiveness to carry him? would he stop short at the humiliation of imprisonment and fetters? or was it not too greatly to be dreaded that he would now proceed also to active violence! this fear was fully shared by the rest of the party, but they were careful to hide it from the two poor heart-broken women who were chiefly interested in the prisoners, striving rather to inspire them with hopes which they themselves did not entertain. a long and most anxious discussion of the situation that night, rex and bowles taking the lead by virtue of their superior resolution and experience, was productive of absolutely no result except to place an additional damper upon their already sufficiently depressed spirits. bob said nothing, but, like the queen's parrot, he thought the more. brook frankly acknowledged himself quite unequal to the emergency, as did dale, but both cheerfully stated their readiness to do anything they might be directed to do. and here it may be stated that misfortune had been gradually doing for the latter--as it does for so many people--what prosperity had utterly failed to do, it had been driving out of him that peevishness of temper and that utter selfishness of character which had been his most disagreeable characteristics, and it had developed in their place an almost cheerful resignation to circumstances and a readiness to think and act for others which promised to make of him eventually a man whom it would be possible to both respect and esteem. the following day brought with it a full revelation of the state of things which our friends would have to expect in the future; captain staunton and lance being taken out of their confinement only to be employed all day in fetters upon work of the most laborious description, and locked up again at night in the loathsome black hole; while for the benefit of the whole party--and for the rest of the prisoners also, for that matter--ralli had provided himself with a "colt," which he applied with merciless severity to their shoulders whenever the humour seized him. this last indignity was almost greater than they could bear; but lance saw that the time was not yet ripe for action, and that there was really nothing for it but to bear everything in dignified silence at present and with as much fortitude as they could summon to their aid, and he managed to whisper as much to bob, and to request him to "pass the word" to the others, which at intervals during the day bob did. before the day was over most of the prisoners, excepting those belonging to the _galatea_ party, had had enough of ralli's colt, and signified their readiness to join the "brotherhood;" they were accordingly sworn in at nightfall on their return from work. this most unfortunate state of affairs had prevailed for nearly a fortnight, during which ralli's arrangements for the entire completion of the schooner whilst yet upon the stocks had been pressed vigorously forward, when dickinson found himself in a position to announce to the greek that another three days would see the schooner ready for sea, and that--a sufficient number of men being now at liberty to proceed with the work--the time had arrived for the laying-down of the ways and the construction of the cradle. the eyes of the greek sparkled with delight. three days!--only three days more, or four at most, and the time for which he had so anxiously waited would have arrived; the time when he would find himself master not only of a battery which would enable him to hold the island against all comers--johnson included--or rather, johnson especially--but also of a smart little craft capable of sailing round and round the _albatross_, and heavily enough armed to meet her upon equal terms. let but those three or four days pass without interruption, and with what sincere delight would he view the approach of johnson and his brig, and with what a warm and unexpected welcome would he receive them! he rubbed his hands with fiendish glee as he thought of this, and slapped dickinson playfully on the shoulder as he bid him commence the necessary work forthwith. thereupon dickinson boldly stated that he must have the advice and assistance of captain staunton and lance, as he didn't know enough about cradles and ways and suchlike to build 'em properly, and he couldn't find anybody on the island as did! the ex-boatswain's mate was in hopes that this proposition of his would load to at least a temporary amelioration of the condition of his two friends, if not the absolute establishment of a better state of things; but his hopes were unexpectedly and effectually quenched by the announcement that the greek knew all about it, and intended to superintend that part of the work himself. the time had now arrived when a definite plan of action at the decisive moment ought to be fully agreed upon; and feeling this, dickinson arose from his bunk about midnight that night, and lighting his pipe sauntered in the direction of the black hole, hoping for an opportunity to confer and finally arrange matters with the prisoners confined therein. to his great disappointment and chagrin he found the door of the place--a small low building roughly but very solidly constructed of stone, with no windows and no means of ventilation save such as was afforded by the momentary opening of the door for ingress or egress--guarded by a couple of the most ruffianly of the pirates, fellows who were completely the creatures of ralli, and who had on more than one occasion thrown out strong hints of their suspicion that dickinson was on more friendly terms than he ought to be with the men now in confinement. to their searching inquiries as to the reasons for dickinson's untimely and suspicious visit to them the ex-boatswain's mate was driven to reply with a complaint as to the extreme heat and closeness of the night, and of his inability to sleep in consequence, his restlessness being such as to constrain him to rise and come outside for a smoke and a chat with somebody; and, there being no one else to chat with, he had just come to them. to this explanation he added a careless offer to relieve them of their guard for the rest of the night; but this offer provoked such an expression of unqualified suspicion from both the guards that he at once saw he was treading on very dangerous ground, and was accordingly fain to abandon his well-intentioned effort to communicate with those inside the prison door. driven thus into a corner, he resolved to get a word or two, if possible, with the inmates of staunton cottage; and he accordingly sauntered off, taking a very roundabout way, as long as he thought it at all possible for his movements to be seen by the already suspicious guards. dickinson's complaint as to the heat and closeness of the night was quite sufficiently well founded to have been accepted as perfectly genuine. it was pitchy dark, the sky being obscured by a thin veil of cloud which was yet sufficiently dense to completely obscure the light of the stars; the air was still to the extent of stagnation; and the temperature was so unusually high that dickinson found the mere act of walking, even at the idle sauntering pace which he had adopted, a laborious exertion. in the great and oppressive stillness which prevailed, the hoarse thunder of the trampling surf upon the rocky shores of the island smote so loudly upon the ear as to be almost startling; and to the lonely wanderer there in the stifling darkness the sound seemed to bring a vague mysterious premonition of disaster. dickinson had almost reached the cottage when he became conscious of another sound rising above that of the roaring surf, the sound as of a heavily-laden wagon approaching over a rough and stony road, or of a heavy train rumbling through a tunnel at no great depth beneath the surface of the earth. the sound, dull and muffled still, swept rapidly toward him from seaward, and at the moment of its greatest intensity there was for an instant a vibrating jar of the ground beneath his feet; the next moment it had passed, and the sound swept onward toward the interior of the island until it again became lost in the hollow roar of the distant breakers. somewhat startled by this singular and unusual phenomenon, dickinson hurried forward, and soon stood beneath the walls of the cottage. a light was still burning in one of the upper rooms; so, seizing a handful of fine gravel, he flung it against the window in the hope of quietly attracting the attention of the inmates. after two or three essays his efforts were rewarded with success, the window being softly opened and bowles' head thrust out, with the low-spoken ejaculation: "hillo, below there!" "it's me--dickinson," was the equally low-spoken response. "if you're not all turned-in i'd be glad to have a few words with some of yer." "all right, my lad!" said bowles. "i'll be down in a jiffey. nothing else gone wrong, i hope?" "no," said dickinson; "i only wants to make a few arrangements; that's all." in another minute the ladder was cautiously lowered, and rex and bowles joined their visitor. "i say, gen'lemen, did you hear anything _pecoolyer_ a few minutes ago?" was dickinson's first remark. "yes," said rex; "did you? unless i am greatly mistaken we have been visited by a slight shock of earthquake." "'arthquake, eh? well, if 'tain't nothing worse than that i don't mind," was the response. "you see i don't know much about 'arthquakes, not bein' used to 'em, and i felt a bit scared just at first, i own; but if so be as it's only a 'arthquake, why that's all right. if anything like that happens i like to know, if it's only to keep my mind quiet. but that ain't what i've come up here to rouse you gen'lemen out in the middle watch about; it's just this here." and therewith he proceeded to lay before his hearers his own view of the state of affairs, pointing out to them the fact--already keenly recognised by them--that the moment for action might now present itself at any time, and explaining his own anxiety for a definite arrangement of some plan of operations, together with an agreement upon certain preconcerted signals to be of such a character as should be easily understood by the initiated while unlikely to arouse the suspicions of the rest. a long conference ensued, at the close of which dickinson quietly returned to his hammock with a greatly relieved mind. the others also retired, but not to sleep. they felt that the decisive moment was at hand, the moment upon the right use of which depended their liberty, if not their lives, for they were fully persuaded that if their first attempt failed they would never be allowed to have another--and, though still anxious, their recent talk with dickinson had made them more hopeful of success than they had ever felt before. hitherto they had always been haunted by a lurking doubt; but now they began for the first time to think that there really _was_ a fair prospect of succeeding if they faced the dangers and difficulties of the attempt with boldness and resolution. their chief anxiety now was how to free their two comrades; and to this they were as yet quite unable to see their way. their anxiety and distress were greatly increased on the following day by finding that ralli had given orders that his two prisoners, the skipper and lance, were henceforth to be kept in close confinement altogether, with a double guard fully armed at the door, instead of being released during the day to work with the others at the shipyard. to be confined at all in the noisome "black hole" was bad enough, and their fortnight's incarceration had already told visibly on the health of the prisoners, even when they had had the opportunity of breathing a pure atmosphere during the day; but now that they were doomed to remain in the place both day and night their friends became seriously alarmed; they felt that the sentence was tantamount to one of a slow but certain death. and the most trying part of it was that there seemed no possibility of affording any succour to the doomed men; no attempt to help or relieve them could be devised except such as must necessarily bring the party into immediate collision with ralli and his myrmidons. the greek had now entirely laid aside all pretence of treating his prisoners with any show of consideration. they had served his purpose; he had made them his tools as long as their assistance had been necessary to the advancement of his ambitious schemes; but now their help was no longer necessary to him, and he felt free to gratify, without stint, the malignant and vindictive feeling with which he had from the first regarded them. one or two of them, too, notably lance and captain staunton, had on more than one occasion successfully opposed him in his efforts to have things entirely his own way; and that also must be amply atoned for. so he now amused himself at intervals in devising fresh indignities, in planning new hardships, to be heaped upon the unfortunate _galatea_ party. it was in this vindictive spirit that, on the second evening after dickinson's midnight visit, ralli walked up to the cottage, and, unceremoniously opening the door, obtruded his unexpected and most unwelcome presence upon its inmates. as he made his appearance the conversation, which had been of a somewhat animated character, suddenly ceased. he noted this circumstance as he glanced suspiciously round the room, with his features twisted into the now too familiar malicious smile. bowing with a sarcastic affectation of politeness, he remarked: "i am afraid my sudden appearance has interrupted a very interesting conversation. if so, i am vary sorray. but pray go on; do not allow my praisance to be any--what you call it--any--any--ah, yes, i have it--any restraint." then, suddenly changing his manner as his naturally suspicious nature asserted itself, he demanded: "what were you talking about? tell me--you; i insist." "we were talking about matters chiefly interesting to ourselves," answered bowles. "if 't had been anything we wanted you to know, we'd have sent for you." "ha! my big strong friend, how you are funny to-night! you want to make a laugh at me, is it not? all right; wait till to-morrow; i then shall make a laugh at you. it is i that shall be funny then," returned ralli with the evil smile broadening on his face and his eyes beginning to sparkle with anger. "well," he continued, "since you will not so civil be as answer my polite question, i will tell you what i have come to say. it is this. you men are working--after a very lazy fashion it is the truth--for your living, and from now i intend that the women--oh? i beg the pardon, i should have said the _ladies_--shall work for theirs too. i am not any more going to allow laziness; you must _all_ work, beginning to-morrow." here was an announcement which fairly took away the breath of the party. ralli saw the consternation which his speech had produced, and laughed in hearty enjoyment of it. "i tell you what it is, my good sir," said rex, recovering his presence of mind. "you may say what you please as to the manner in which we work, but you know as well as i do that our services are _ample_ payment for the food and lodging which we and the ladies get; and as to _their_ working--why, it is simply preposterous; what can they do?" "what can they do?" repeated ralli. "ha, ha! i will tell you, my very dear sair, what they can do, and what they _shall_ do. there are three of them and the shild. one shall do the cooking for the men; one shall clean out the sleeping-room, repair the men's clothes, and make their hammocks; and one--the prettiest one--shall cook for me and keep my cabin in order, make and mend my clothes, and attend to me generally. as for the shild, she shall gather firewood and--ah! there she is. come and kees me, you little girl." may had, in fact, at that moment entered the room with a happy laugh; but catching sight of ralli, the laugh was broken off short, and she sought shelter and safety by her mother's side, from which she manifested a very decided disinclination to move at ralli's invitation. "come here and kees me, little girl," repeated the greek, his anger rapidly rising as he saw how unmistakably the child shrank from him. "you must please excuse her," said mrs staunton, with difficulty restraining the expression of her resentment; "the child has not been accustomed to kiss strangers." "come and kees me, little girl," repeated ralli for the third time, holding out his arms to may, and entirely ignoring mrs staunton's remark. but his sardonic smile and his glittering eyes were the reverse of attractive to the child. besides, she knew him. "no," said she resolutely, "i will not kiss you. i don't love you. you are the naughty wicked cruel man that locked up my dear papa and mr evelin, and won't let them come home to me." "hush, may, darling!" began mrs staunton. but her warning came too late; the unlucky words had been spoken; and ralli, smarting under a sense of humiliation from the scorn and loathing of him so freely displayed by this pretty child--scarcely more than a baby yet--sprang to his feet, and, seizing may roughly by the arm, dragged her with brutal force away from her mother's side, and before anyone could interfere, drew out his colt and struck her savagely with it twice across her poor little lightly-clad shoulders. the little creature shrieked aloud with the cruel pain as she writhed in the ruffianly grasp of the pirate; yet the fiendish heart of her tormenter felt no mercy, his lust of cruelty was aroused, and the colt was raised a third time to strike. but the blow never fell bob was the nearest to the pirate when he made his unexpected attack upon may, and though the occurrence was too sudden to admit of his interfering in time to prevent the first two blows, he was on hand by the time that the third was ready to fall. with a yell of rage more like that of a wild beast than of a man he sprang upon ralli, dealing him with his clenched left hand so terrific a blow under the chin that the pirate's lower jaw was shattered, and his tongue cut almost in two. then, quick as a flash of light he released poor may from the villain's grasp, wrenched the colt out of his hand, and, whilst the wretch still writhed in agony upon the ground where he had fallen under the force of bob's first fearful blow, thrashed him with it until the clothes were cut from his back, and his shoulders barred with a close network of livid and bloody weals. the miserable cowardly wretch screamed at first more piercingly even than poor may had done; but bob commanded silence so imperatively and with such frightful threats that ralli was fairly cowed into submitting to the rest of his fearful punishment in silence, save for such low moans as he was utterly unable to suppress. as may well be supposed, this startlingly sudden scene of violence was productive of the utmost confusion in the room where it originated. the ladies, hastily seizing poor little moaning may in their arms, beat a precipitate retreat, while the men sprang to their feet and tried--for some time in vain--to drag bob away from his victim. but the lad was now a tall, stalwart, broad-shouldered fellow; his anger was thoroughly roused by the greek's cruel and cowardly conduct; and it was not until he had pretty well exhausted himself in the infliction of a well- deserved punishment that he suffered himself to be dragged away. and it was now too, in the desperate emergency with which our friends found themselves in a moment brought face to face, that bob showed the sterling stuff of which he was made. cutting short the horrified remonstrances of his friends he took the reins of affairs in his own hands, issuing his instructions as coolly as though he had been a leader all the days of his life. "_the time has come_," said he. "mr bowles, get a piece of rope, lash that fellow hands and heels together, and gag him. the rest of you get our few traps together; tell the ladies to do the same; and let all muster down at the landing as quickly as possible. i'm off to warn dickinson and the rest, and to release the captain and mr evelin. ah! i may as well take these," as his eye fell upon a brace of revolvers in ralli's belt. he withdrew the weapons, hastily examined them by the light of the lamp to ascertain whether they were loaded or no, found that they were; and then, repeating his injunctions as to rapidity of action, he slipped the pistols one into each pocket, opened the door, and disappeared in the darkness. once fairly clear of the house, bob paused for a minute or two to collect his thoughts. then he walked on again toward the large building in which the men were housed, and on reaching it coolly thrust his head in at the open door, and looked round as though in search of someone. "well, matey, what is it?" asked one of the pirates. "is dickinson here?" inquired bob boldly. "i think he is," was the reply. "yes, there he is, over there. here, dickinson! you're wanted." "ay, ay," answered dickinson. "who wants me?" "i do," answered bob. "_mr ralli says you're to shift over at once_." this was simply a form of words which had been agreed on when dickinson paid his midnight visit to the cottage, and meant that the moment for action had arrived, and that a muster was to be made at the landing- place. the sudden summons took dickinson rather by surprise, though he had been schooling himself to expect it at any moment; he instantly recovered himself, however, and rising to his feet with a well-assumed air of reluctance asked: "does he mean that we are to go now--to-night?" "he said `_at once_,'" answered bob. "oh! very well," growled dickinson, "i s'pose we must obey orders. here you--tom poole, sullivan, masters"--and he glanced his eye round the room, apparently hesitating whom to choose, but gradually picking out, one after the other, all the men who had cast in their lot with our friends--"muster your kits and then go up to the capstan-house; you've got to turn-in aboard the battery to-night, my beauties." the men named, taking their cue from dickinson, and acting up to instructions already received, assumed a sulky unwilling demeanour as they set about the work of packing a small quantity of already carefully selected clothes in their bags, growling and grumbling at having to turn out just when they were thinking of tumbling into their hammocks, and so on, but using the utmost expedition all the same. in a little over ten minutes from the time of their first being called, the men, sixteen in number, stood in the large loft of the capstan- house. poole had brought with him the key of the arm-chest, and, opening the case, he rapidly served out to every man a cutlass with its belt and a pair of six-chambered revolvers, every one of which he had himself fully loaded only the day before, in preparation for such an emergency as the present. the chest was then relocked and left, it being too heavy for them to carry away with them, to say nothing of the suspicion which such an act would excite if witnessed, as it would almost certainly be. but poole slipped the key back into his pocket again, knowing that the strength of the chest and the solidity of the lock were such as to involve the expenditure of a considerable amount of time in the breaking open; and every minute of detention suffered by the pirates would now be almost worth a man's life to the escaping party. "now, lads," said dickinson, "are yer all ready? then march; down to the beach we goes, and seizes the two whale-boats, eight of us to each boat. but mind! there's to be no getting into the boats or shoving off until the ladies and gentlemen from the hut's all here. mayhap we shall have to make a fight of it on the beach yet; so keep dry land under your feet until you has orders contrariwise." the men descended the ladder leading from the capstan-house loft, and ranging themselves in a small compact body, two abreast, marched down to the landing-place, being joined on their way by some half-dozen curious idlers who had turned out to see what was in the wind. dickinson was most anxious to get rid of these unwelcome attendants, and did all he could think of to persuade them to return to the house; but though quite unsuspicious as yet, they were not to be persuaded; they preferred rather to march alongside the other party, keeping up a constant fire of such jests and witticisms as sailors are wont to indulge in. bob, from a secluded and shadowy corner, watched this party as long as he could see them, and then began to look out for his own particular friends. he had not long to wait; barely five minutes afterwards he saw them also pass down on their way to the boats. he allowed these a sufficient time to reach the boats, and then set off at a brisk pace to the "black hole." he soon reached it; and on his approach was promptly challenged by the two guards, who happened to be the same two truculent ruffians who were on guard when dickinson tried to communicate with the prisoners. in reply to the challenge, bob informed them that they were wanted by ralli, _immediately_, at the cottage (that being the most distant building), and that he had orders to keep guard until their return. "what are we wanted for?" was the suspicious question. "oh! i believe there's some more people to be locked up here," answered bob nonchalantly. "all right!" answered the one who had asked the question. "come on, mike. and you--you young swab--mind you don't let a soul come near here while we're gone; if you do, ralli'll just skin yer. d'ye hear?" "all right!" answered bob, placing his back against the door; "you go on; i won't give ralli a chance to skin me, never fear. he's a good deal more likely to skin _you_ if you don't look sharp." the two guards accordingly set out in the direction of the cottage; but they had not gone half a dozen steps before they returned, cursing and swearing most horribly. "here, you young cub, what's the pass-word? damn me if i hadn't forgotten that," exclaimed one of them, making towards bob with outstretched hand. "stand back!" said bob. "if you advance another step i'll shoot you both like dogs." "the pass-word; the pass-word," demanded the ruffianly pair. "give the pass-word at once, or by --- i'll split your skull with this cutlass." bob saw that he had not a moment to lose; that his life hung upon a thread; and that, moreover, if he allowed these fellows to overpower him, the whole scheme would probably fail; he therefore whipped out his pistols, and, taking rapid aim, pulled both triggers at the same instant. there was a single report; and one of the men staggered forward, shot through the body, whilst the other threw up his arms and fell back heavily to the ground with a bullet in his brain. bob remembered for many a long day afterwards, and often saw in his dreams at night, the wild despairing glare in the eyes of the dying pirate as the flash of the pistol glanced upon the glazing eyeballs for an instant; but he had no time to think about such things now. stooping down and applying his mouth to the keyhole he said, loud enough to be heard by those within: "stand clear in there; i'm about to blow the lock to pieces. it is i-- robert. _the time has come_." "fire away, my lad!" was the reply. "you will not hurt us." bob applied the muzzles of both pistols to the lock, and pulled the triggers. fortunately, the lock was not a particularly strong one; and a supplementary kick sent the door flying open. captain staunton and lance at once emerged from their dark noisome prison and glanced eagerly around them. "thank you, robert," hurriedly exclaimed the skipper. "there is no time to say more now, i know; so tell us what we are to do, my lad, and we'll do it." bob pointed to the prostrate bodies of the two pirates and said: "take their arms, and then we must make a rush to the landing; this firing is sure to have raised an alarm, but it could not be helped. but how is this! where are your manacles!" "slipped them off, my lad, the moment we heard your voice," answered the skipper. "price--fine fellow that he is--managed that for us by putting us in irons several sizes too large for us. now, evelin, are you ready! i fancy i hear footsteps running this way." "all ready!" said lance. "then, off we go!" exclaimed bob. "this way, gentlemen--sharp round to the right for a couple of hundred yards, and then straight for the landing. it will give us a better chance if the pirates suspect anything and place themselves to cut us off." away went the trio at racing-pace, bob slightly taking the lead and striking sharply away to the right. it was well for them that they did so, as they were thus enabled to dodge a crowd of men who came excitedly running up from the landing on hearing the pistol-shots. the party from the cottage had safely reached the boats some few minutes before this; dickinson having very cleverly got them through the crowd on the landing-place by calling out in an authoritative voice as soon as he saw them coming: "now then, lads, make way there, make way for the prisoners to pass." the men accordingly gave way, forming a lane in their midst through which our friends passed in fear and trembling, exposed for a minute or so to the coarsest ribaldry which the ruffianly band could summon to their lips on the spur of the moment. it was not until they had all been passed safely into the two whale-boats, and dickinson's little band had drawn themselves closely up with drawn cutlasses in a compact line between the boats and the shore, that the suspicions of the pirates became in the least aroused. then there gradually arose an eager whispering among them; suspicious glances were turned first upon dickinson's party and then toward the buildings; and upon the noise of shots being heard they all set out at a run in the direction of the sound, fully persuaded that affairs had somehow fallen out of joint with them, and that it was quite time for them to be stirring. they had run about half the distance between the boats and the capstan- house when someone caught a glimpse of three flying figures indistinctly made out through the gloom. the alarm was instantly given, and in another moment the entire crowd had turned sharply off in pursuit. it now became a neck-and-neck race between the two parties as to which should reach the boats first. the pirates were poor runners, not being much accustomed to that kind of exercise; but so unfortunately were two out of the three fugitives of whom they were in chase. bob was fleet as a deer for a short distance, but he was far too loyal to leave his two friends; and they, poor fellows, weak and cramped as they were with their recent confinement, already began to feel their limbs dragging heavy as lead over the ground. the pirates gained upon them rapidly. presently one of the pursuers was so near that they could hear him panting heavily behind. "you keep steadily on," murmured bob, as he pushed in for a moment between his two companions; "i'll stop this fellow." then, allowing the skipper to pass ahead of him, he sprang suddenly aside, and, grasping one of his pistols by the barrel, brought down the butt of the weapon heavily upon the pirate's head as he rushed past. the fellow staggered a pace or two further and then fell heavily to the ground, where he lay face downwards and partially stunned until his comrades came to his assistance. as, fortunately, they all stopped and gathered round the man, raising him to his feet and eagerly questioning him, the diversion thus created gave the three fugitives time to reach the boats without further molestation. here they were, of course, received with open arms; but before their greetings were half exchanged the armed guard had turned to the boats, and, exerting their whole strength, shot them out upon the glassy waters of the bay, springing in themselves at the same moment and taking to their oars without an instant's delay. as soon as the boats' heads were turned round and fairly pointed away from the shore and toward the shipyard, dickinson, taking off his hat in salutation to captain staunton, said in a loud voice so that all in the boats could hear: "now, sir, we're fairly launched upon this here henterprise at last, and may luck go with us! we've all had to manage as best we could for the last few days--since you was locked up, you know, sir; but now as you're free again we wants you to understand as we all looks upon you as our lawful leader and cap'n, and that from henceforth all you've got to do is to give your orders, and we'll obey 'em." chapter twenty. a night of terror. captain staunton's first act, after suitably acknowledging dickinson's expression of fealty, was to inquire how the crisis had been brought about. the explanation made his eyes flash fire; he ground his teeth and clenched his fists with rage as he thought of how he would have punished the ruffian who had laid such brutal hands upon his little pet. and when the explanation was complete, he wrung bob's hand until it fairly ached as he thanked him for what he had done. meanwhile poor may still lay in her mother's arms moaning with pain; and when the skipper took her on his knee the little creature once more screamed out, and complained that it hurt her shoulder. upon this lance, thinking that something must be wrong, made a careful examination of the child, when it was found that ralli's brutal violence had resulted in the dislocation of her shoulder. it was of course at once pulled back into place, but the poor little creature's screams at the pain of the operation were terrible to hear; and captain staunton in the hastiness of his anger registered a solemn vow that if he ever again met ralli he would make the wretch pay dearly for his brutality. how little he dreamed of the terrible circumstances under which he would next see this miserable man. the two whale-boats sped swiftly across the glassy surface of the bay, propelled by six stalwart oarsmen each, a little jet of phosphorescent water spouting up under their sharp stems, a long ripple spreading out and undulating away on either side of them, and half a dozen tiny whirlpools of liquid fire swirling in the wake of each as their crews strained at the stout ash oars until they bent again. the night had grown black as pitch, not a solitary star was visible, and the heat was so intense as to be almost insufferable; but the men thought nothing of this in their eagerness and zeal now that they had taken the decisive step of throwing up their old life of crime and had fairly enrolled themselves once more on the side of law and order. in a very short time the boats had made the passage across the bay and were brought with an easy graceful sweep alongside the landing at the shipyard. the occupants quickly disembarked; and while the ladies proceeded at once under the care and guidance of rex and bob to safe and comfortable quarters in the schooner's spacious cabin, captain staunton gave orders that two large fires should be immediately lighted, one on each side of the landing, for the double purpose of affording them a light to work by and of enabling them to perceive the approach of their enemies. "for," he remarked to lance, "you may depend upon it that their suspicions are thoroughly aroused by this time, and it will not be long before they are after us to see what it all means." a couple of huge heaps of shavings, chips, and ends of timber were speedily collected and ignited, the blaze soaring high in the motionless air and throwing a strong ruddy light for a considerable distance round. then lance, with bowles, dickinson, poole, and three or four other reliable hands armed with torches, went carefully round the schooner, inspecting the cradle. it was unfinished; but lance thought that a couple of hours more of energetic labour expended upon it would make it sufficiently secure to enable them to effect the launch. time was now of immense value to them; they could not afford to be very particular, and so long as the cradle would serve its purpose that was all they cared about. they accordingly set to with a will, and very soon the yard resounded with the harsh rasping of saws and the heavy blows of mauls wedging the timbers into their places. in the meantime captain staunton with the rest of the party went on board the schooner, and, after fully arming themselves with cutlass and revolver, opened the magazine, passed a good supply of ammunition on deck, cast loose the guns, and carefully loaded them, cramming them almost to the muzzle with bullets, spike-nails, and anything else they could lay hold of. this done, the skipper, unwilling to leave the ship himself, called for a volunteer to go to the battery, spike the guns there, and lay a fuse in the magazine. bob at once stepped forward, and, being accepted, provided himself forthwith with a hammer and a sufficient length of fuse, and set out upon his errand. he had scarcely disappeared in the gloom when dale, who had volunteered to keep a look-out, gave warning of the approach of two boats--the launch and the pinnace--full of men. they were observed almost at the same moment by lance, who hailed: "schooner ahoy! do you see the boats coming?" "ay, ay," answered captain staunton. "we see them, and we'll give them a warm reception presently." "very well," returned lance; "we shall stick to our work and leave you to do the fighting. if you require any assistance, give us a call." "all right!" answered the skipper. then turning to the men on the schooner's deck, he shouted: "run those two guns out of the stern-ports there, and train them so as to sweep the boats just before they reach the landing. so! that's well. now wait for the word, and when i give it, fire." the boats, however, were meantime lying upon their oars, their crews apparently holding a consultation. the fire-light which revealed their approach revealed to them also the fact that the occupants of the shipyard were fully prepared to emphatically dispute any attempt on their part to land; and the sight brought vividly to their minds the aphorism that "discretion is the better part of valour." at length, after some twenty minutes of inaction--during which the workers underneath the schooner's bottom plied their tools with a skill and energy that was truly astounding--the two boats were once more put in motion, their crews directing their course toward the landing, each boat having a rude substitute for a white flag reared upon a boat-hook in the bow. the moment that they were near enough for their occupants to hear him captain staunton hailed them with an imperative order to keep off or he would fire into them. they at once laid upon their oars, and a man rising in the stern-sheets of the launch returned an answer, which was, however, quite unintelligible. meanwhile the boats, still having way upon them, continued slowly to approach. "back water!" shouted the skipper, seizing the trigger line of one of the guns, whilst brook stood manfully at the other. "back water, all of you, instantly, or we will fire." the man in the stern-sheets of the launch waved his hand; the oars again flashed into the water, and both boats dashed at the landing-place. "wait just a moment yet," said the skipper, raising a warning hand to brook and squinting along his gun at the same time. "now, fire!" the report of the two brass nine-pounders rang sharply out at the same moment, making the schooner quiver to her keel, and severely testing the construction of her cradle. a crash was heard, then a frightful chorus of shrieks, yells, groans, and execrations; and as the smoke curled heavily away, both boats were seen with their planking rent and penetrated here and there, and their occupants tumbling over and over each other in their anxiety to get at the oars--many of which had been suffered to drop overboard--and withdraw as quickly as possible to a somewhat safer distance. a hearty cheer was raised by the party in possession of the shipyard. those on board the schooner reloaded their guns in all haste, and the hammering down below went on with, if possible, still greater energy. the boats were suffered to retire unmolested, and nothing further was heard of them for over half an hour. then dale, who was still maintaining a careful look-out, suddenly gave notice that they were again approaching. the two aftermost guns were accordingly once more very carefully pointed and fired, captain staunton giving the word as before. but by some mischance the muzzles were pointed a trifle too high, and both charges flew harmlessly over the boats, tearing up the water a few yards astern of them. the pirates, upon this unexpected piece of--to them--good fortune, raised a frantic cheer of delight, and, bending at their oars until they seemed about to snap them, dashed eagerly at the landing- place. there was no time to reload the guns, so, seizing his weapons and calling upon all hands to follow him, the skipper hastily scrambled over the schooner's bulwarks, and, making his way to the ground, rushed forward to meet the enemy, who had by this time effected a landing. the two opposing forces met within half a dozen yards of the water's edge, and then ensued a most desperate and sanguinary struggle. the pirates had by this time pretty nearly guessed at the audacious designs of those to whom they were opposed. they had seen enough to know not only that an escape was meditated, but that it was also proposed to carry off the schooner--that beautiful craft which their own hands had so largely assisted to construct, and in which they had confidently expected to sail forth upon a career of unbounded plunder and licence, in full reliance that her speed would insure to them complete immunity from punishment for their nefarious deeds. such unheard-of audacity was more than enough to excite their anger to the pitch of frenzy, and they fought like demons, not only for revenge, but also for the salvation of the schooner. but if these were the motives which spurred them on to the encounter, their adversaries were actuated by incentives of a still higher character. they fought for the life and liberty, not only of themselves, but also of the weak defenceless women, whose only trust under god was in them; and if the pirates rushed furiously to the onset, they were met with a cool, determined resolution, which was more than a balance for overpowering numbers. captain staunton looked eagerly among the crowd of ruffianly faces for that of ralli, determined to avenge with his own hand the multitudinous wrongs and insults which this man had heaped upon him and his dearest ones; but the greek was nowhere to be seen. on the skipper's right was lance, and on his left dickinson, the former fully occupying the attention of at least three opponents by the marvellous play of his cutlass-blade, whilst the latter brandished with terrible effect a heavy crow-bar which he had hurriedly snatched up on being summoned to the fight. rex and brook were both working wonders also. bowles was fighting as only a true british seaman _can_ fight in a good cause; and dale, with a courage which excited his own most lively surprise, was handling his cutlass and pistol as though he had used the weapons all his life. steadily, and inch by inch, the pirates were driven back in spite of their superior numbers; and at last, after a fight of some twenty minutes, they finally broke and fled before a determined charge of their adversaries, rushing headlong to their boats and leaving their dead and wounded behind them. captain staunton did not follow them up, although the two whale-boats still lay moored at the landing as they had left them. he was anxious to avail himself of the advantage already gained in making good the escape of his own party rather than to risk further losses by an attempt to inflict additional punishment upon his adversaries. besides, that might possibly follow later on when they had got the schooner afloat. his first act, therefore, after the flight of the pirates, was to muster his forces and ascertain the extent of the casualties. the list was a heavy one. in the first place, nine of the little band were missing at the muster. bowles presented himself with his left arm shattered by a pistol bullet; brook was suffering from a severe scalp-wound; and every one of the others had a wound or contusion of some sort, which, whilst it did not incapacitate them for work, was a voucher that they had not shrunk from taking their part manfully in the fight. this first hasty examination over, an anxious search was instituted for the missing. the first man found was dickinson, dead, his body covered with wounds, and a bullet-hole in the centre of his forehead. near him lay dale, bleeding and insensible, shot through the body; and a little further on bob was found, also insensible, with a cutlass gash across the forehead. then dick sullivan was found dead, with his skull cloven to the eyes; and near him, also dead, one of the seamen of the _galatea_. and lastly, at some distance from the others, ned masters, with another seaman from the _galatea_, and two of the escaped prisoners, were found all close together, severely wounded, and surrounded by a perfect heap of dead and wounded pirates. these four, it seemed, had somehow become separated from the rest of their party, and had been surrounded by a band of pirates. this made a list of three killed and six severely wounded. the latter were gently raised in the arms of their less injured comrades and taken with all speed on board the schooner, where they were turned over for the present to the care of the ladies; while those who were still able to work resumed operations underneath the ship's bottom. another quarter of an hour's hard work, and then lance's voice was heard ordering one hand to jump on board the schooner and look out for a line. "all right!" exclaimed bob's voice from the deck; "heave it up here, mr evelin." "what! you there, robert? glad to hear it, my fine fellow. just go forward; look out for the line, and, when you have it, haul taut and make fast securely." "all right," answered bob with his head over the bows; "heave!" the line, a very slender one, was thrown up, and bob, gathering in the slack, and noticing that it led from somewhere ahead of the schooner, bowsed it well taut and securely belayed it. he knew at once what it was. "hurrah!" he shouted joyously. "that means that we are nearly ready for launching." bob's unexpected reappearance, it may be explained, was due to the fact that he had been merely stunned, and had speedily recovered consciousness under the ministering hands of his gentle friends in the cabin, upon which, though his head ached most violently, he lost no time in returning to duty. lance now made a second careful inspection of the cradle; and upon the completion of his round he pronounced that, though the structure was a somewhat rough-and-ready affair, it would do; that is to say, it would bear the weight of the schooner during the short time she was sliding off the ways, and that was all they wanted. "and now comes the wedging-up, i s'pose, sir?" remarked poole interrogatively. "wedging-up?" returned lance with a joyous laugh. "no, thank you, poole; we'll manage without that. do you see these two pieces of wood here in each keel-block? well, they are wedges. you have only to draw them out and the top of the block will be lowered sufficiently to allow the schooner to rest entirely in the cradle. get a maul, poole, and you and i will start forward, whilst you, kit, with another hand, commence aft. knock out the wedges on both sides as you come to them, and work your way forward until you meet us. the rest of you had better go on board and see that everything is clear and ready for launching." "when you're quite ready to launch, let me know, if you please, mr evelin, and i'll go and light the fuse that's to blow up the battery," said bob. "ah! to be sure," answered lance, "i had forgotten that. you may go up now if you like, bob, and i'll give you a call when we're ready." bob thereupon set off on his mission of destruction, while lance and poole with a couple of mauls began to knock out the wedges which evelin, foreseeing from the very inception of the work some such emergency as the present, had introduced in the construction of the keel-blocks. in a few minutes both parties met near the middle of the vessel, and the last pair of wedges were knocked out. "that's a good job well over," exclaimed poole; "and precious glad i am now that i thought of soaping them ways this morning. i _knowed_ this here business must come afore long, and i detarmined to get as far ahead with the work as possible. now i s'pose, sir, we're all ready?" "yes, i think so," answered lance, "but i'll just go forward and take a look along the keel to see that she is clear everywhere." he accordingly did so, and had the gratification of seeing by the still brilliant light of the fires that the keel was a good six inches clear of the blocks, fore and aft. "all clear!" he shouted. "now, go on board, everybody. light the fuse, robert, and come on board as soon as possible." "ay, ay, sir," answered bob from the not very distant battery. a tiny spark of light appeared for an instant in the darkness high up on the face of the rock as our hero struck a match, and in another couple of minutes he was running nimbly up the steep plank leading from the rocks beneath to the schooner's deck. "kick down that plank, robert, my lad, and see that it falls clear of everything," said lance. "are we all clear fore and aft?" "all clear, sir," came the hearty reply from various parts of the deck. "are you ready with the axe forward there, kit?" "all ready, sir." "_then cut_." a dull _cheeping_ thud of the axe was immediately heard, accompanied by a sharp _twang_ as the tautly strained line parted; then followed the sound of the shores falling to the ground; there was a gentle jar, and the schooner began to move. "she moves!--she moves!" was the cry. "hurrah! now she gathers way." "yes," shouted lance, joyously. "she's going. success to the _petrel_"--as he shivered to pieces on the stem-head a bottle of wine which the steward, anxious that the launch should be shorn of none of its honours, had brought up from the cabin and hastily thrust into his hand. "three cheers for the saucy _petrel_, my lads--hip, hip, hip, hurrah!" the three cheers rang lustily out upon the still air of the breathless night as the schooner shot with rapidly increasing velocity down the ways and finally plunged into the mirrorlike waters of the bay, dipping her stern deeply and ploughing up a smooth glassy furrow of water fringed at its outer edge with a coruscating border of vivid phosphorescent light. "the boats--the boats again!" suddenly shouted bowles, as the schooner, now fairly afloat, shot rapidly stern-foremost away from the rock--"good god! they are right in our track; we shall cut them in two." "that is their look-out," grimly responded captain staunton; "if they had been wise they would have accepted their defeat and retired to the shore; as, however, they have not done so, they must take the consequences. remember, lads, not a man of them must be suffered to come on board." a warning shout from the helmsman of the pinnace announced his sudden discovery of the danger which threatened the boats, and he promptly jammed his helm hard a-starboard. the launch was on his port side; and the result was a violent collision between the two boats, the pinnace striking the launch with such force as to send the latter clear of the schooner whilst the pinnace herself, recoiling from the shock, stopped dead immediately under the schooner's stern. there was a sharp sudden crash as the _petrel's_ rudder clove its irresistible way through the doomed boat, and a yell of dismay from its occupants, several of whom made a spring at the schooner's taffrail, only to be remorselessly thrust off again. "there is a chance for them yet," said the skipper, as the schooner continued to drive astern leaving the wretches struggling in the water, "the launch has escaped; she can pick them up." at length the schooner's way slackened sufficiently to enable lance, by looking over the bow and stern, to ascertain her exact trim. "it is perfect," he exclaimed to captain staunton as he rejoined the latter near the companion, "she sits accurately down to her proper water-line everywhere, thus proving the correctness of all my calculations--a result which pleases as much as it surprises me, since i have had to depend entirely on my memory for the necessary _formula_. well, captain staunton, my task is now finished; here is the schooner, fully rigged and fairly afloat; take charge of her, my dear sir; and may she fully answer all your expectations!" "thanks, evelin; a thousand thanks!" exclaimed the skipper, heartily grasping lance's proffered hand. "you have indeed executed your self- imposed task faithfully and well. let me be the mouth-piece of all our party in conveying to you our most hearty expressions of gratitude for the noble manner in which you have aided us in our great strait. to you is entirely due the credit of bringing our project thus far to a successful issue; but for your skill, courage, and resolution we might have been compelled to remain for years--ha! what is that?" a low rumbling roar was faintly heard in the distance, rapidly increasing in volume of sound, and breaking in with startling effect upon the breathless stillness of the night. "it is another earthquake," exclaimed lance. "thank heaven, we are afloat! had it caught us upon the stocks it would doubtless have shaken the cradle to pieces, and, in all probability, thus frustrated our escape." the ominous sound drew swiftly nearer and nearer, filling the startled air with a chaos of sound which speedily became absolutely deafening in its intensity; the waters of the bay broke first into long lines of quivering ripples, then into a confused jumble of low foaming surges; the schooner jarred violently, as though she was being dragged rapidly over a rocky bottom; there was a hideous groaning grinding sound on shore, soon mingled with that of the crashing fall of enormous masses of earth and rock, above which could still be feebly heard the piercing shriek of horror raised by the occupants of the launch. the shock passed; but was immediately followed by one of still greater intensity; the waters were still more violently agitated; the schooner was swept helplessly hither and thither, rolling heavily, and shipping great quantities of water upon her deck as the shapeless surges madly leaped and boiled and swirled around her. finally, a long line of luminous foam was seen to be rushing rapidly down upon the schooner from the harbour's mouth, stretching completely across the bay. as it came nearer it was apparent that this was the foaming crest of a wall of water some twelve feet in height which was rushing down the bay at railway-speed. "hold on, every one of you, for your lives!" hoarsely shouted the skipper, as the wave swept threateningly down upon the schooner; and the next moment it burst upon them with a savage roar. luckily, the _petrel's_ bows were presented fairly to it, or the consequences would have been disastrous. as it was it curled in over the stem, an unbroken mass of water, filling the decks in an instant and carrying the schooner irresistibly along with it toward the shore at the bottom of the bay. "let go the anchor," shouted captain staunton, as soon as he could get his head above water. but before this could be done the wave had swept past, rushing with a loud thundering roar far up the beach even to the capstan-house, and then rapidly subsiding. "get the canvas on her at once," ordered captain staunton--"close-reefed main-sail, fore-sail, and jib; we shall have some wind presently, please god, and we'll make use of it to get out of this as speedily as possible--merciful heaven! what now?" a sullen roar; a rattling crash as of a peal of heaviest thunder; and the whole scene was suddenly lit up with a lurid ruddy glow. turning their startled glances inland, our adventurers saw that the lofty hill- top, dominating the head of the ravine, near which was situated the gold cavern, had burst open and was vomiting forth vast volumes of flame and smoke. as they looked the top of the hill visibly crumbled and melted away, the flames shot up in fiercer volumes, vast quantities of red-hot ashes, mingled with huge masses of glowing incandescent rock, were projected far into the air; a terrific storm of thunder and lightning suddenly burst forth to add new terrors to the scene; and to crown all, a new rift suddenly burst open in the side of the hill, out of which there immediately poured a perfect ocean of molten lava. in the face of this stupendous phenomenon captain staunton's order to make sail passed unheeded; the entire faculties of every man on board the schooner were wholly absorbed in awe-struck contemplation of the terrific spectacle. onward rolled the fiery flood. it wound in a zigzag serpentine course down the side of the hill, and soon reached the thick wood at its base and at the head of the valley. the stately forest withered, blazed for a brief moment, and vanished in its fatal embrace, and now it came sweeping down the steep declivity toward the bay. this terrible sight aroused and vivified the paralysed energies of those on board the _petrel_. without waiting for a repetition of the order to make sail they sprang with panic-stricken frantic haste to cast off the gaskets, and in an incredibly short time the schooner was under canvas. still there was no wind. not the faintest breath of air came to stir the flapping sails of the now gently rolling vessel; and her crew could do nothing but wait in feverish anxious expectancy for the long-delayed breeze, watching meanwhile the majestic irresistible onward sweep of that fiery deluge. at last, thank god! there was a faint puff of wind; it came, sighed past, and died away. and now, another. the sails caught it, bellied out, flapped again, filled once more, and the _petrel_ gathered way. she had gradually swung round until her bow pointed straight for the capstan-house; and captain staunton sprang to the wheel, sending it with a single vigorous spin hard over. the breeze was still very light, and the craft responded but slowly to her helm; but at length she came up fairly upon a wind and made a short stretch to the eastward, tacking the moment that she had gathered sufficient way to accomplish the manoeuvre. she was now on the port tack, stretching obliquely across the bay in a southerly direction, when a startled call from poole, repeated by all the rest, directed captain staunton's gaze once more landward. "look--look--merciful powers, it is ralli!" was lance's horrified exclamation as he grasped the skipper convulsively by the shoulder and pointed with a trembling hand to the shore. sure enough it _was_ ralli. the pirates had either not waited to seek him, or had not thought of looking for him in the cottage before setting out on their expedition against the shipyard, and he had consequently been left there. but somehow--doubtless in the desperation of mortal fear excited by the dreadful phenomena in operation around him--he had at last succeeded in freeing himself from his bonds, and was now seen running toward the beach, screaming madly for help. the stream of lava was only a few yards behind him, and it had now spread out to the entire width of the very narrow valley. the unhappy wretch was flying for his life; terror seemed to have endowed him with superhuman strength and speed, and for a moment it almost appeared as though he would come out a winner in the dreadful race. "'bout ship!" sharply rang out the skipper's voice; "he is a fiend rather than a man, but he must not perish thus horribly if we can save him." he put the helm hard down as he spoke, and the schooner shot up into the wind, with her sails sluggishly flapping. but before she had time to get fairly round the helm was suddenly righted and then put hard up. "keep all fast," commanded captain staunton, "it is too late; no mortal power can save him. see! he is already in the grasp of his fate." such was indeed the case. the fierce breath of that onward-rolling flood of fire was upon him; its scorching heat sapped his strength; he staggered and fell. with the rapidity of a lightning flash he was up and away again; but--merciful god--see! his clothing is all ablaze; and listen to those dreadful shrieks of fear and agony--ah! miserable wretch, now the flood itself is upon him; see how the waves of fire curl round him--he throws up his arms with a harsh despairing blood-curdling yell--he sinks--he is gone--and the surging fiery river sweeps grandly on until it plunges with an awful hissing sound into the waters of the bay and the whole scene becomes blotted out by the vast curtain of steam which shoots up and spreads itself abroad. "what a night of horror! it is hell upon earth!" gasps the skipper, as he turns his eyes away and devotes himself once more solely to the task of navigating the schooner; "thank god the breeze is freshening, and we may now hope to be soon out of this and clear of it all. phew! what terrific lightning, and what an infernal combination of deafening sounds!" fortunate was it for the schooner and her crew that the wind was from the southward, or blowing directly down into the bay; otherwise they would speedily have been lost in the thick clouds of steam which rose from the water, or set on fire by the dense shower of red-hot ashes which now began to fall thickly about them. as it was, though the wind was against them, and they were compelled to beat up the bay, the wind kept back the steam, and also to a great extent the falling ashes. but, notwithstanding these favourable circumstances, the crew were obliged to keep the decks deluged with water to prevent their being ignited. gradually, however, the _petrel_ drew further and further beyond the influence of this danger; and soon the rock at the harbour's mouth was sighted. captain staunton was at first somewhat anxious about risking the passage out to sea, being doubtful whether the explosion of the magazine had yet taken place; but a little reflection satisfied him that it _must_ have occurred, as they had been drifting about the bay for nearly an hour, and he determined to push on. suddenly there was a shout from the look-out forward: "boat ahead!" immediately followed by the information, "it's the launch, sir, bottom- up!" such indeed it proved to be when the schooner a minute later glided past it. but where were her crew? they had disappeared, leaving no sign behind them. the hoarse angry roar of the breakers outside was now distinctly audible; and in another five minutes' time the _petrel's_ helm was eased up, she was kept away a couple of points, and, shooting through the short narrow passage on the eastern side of the rock, began to plunge with a gentle swinging motion over the endless procession of long slowly-moving swell outside. the crew of the schooner had time to note, as they swept past the rock and through the passage, that the battery no longer frowned down upon the bay. in its place there appeared a yawning fire-blackened chasm; and the shipyard was thickly strewed with masses and fragments of rock of all sizes; both whale-boats were swamped; and a solitary gun, with a fragment of its carriage still attached, lay half in and half out of the water. the timbers of the dismembered cradle still floated huddled together like a raft, close to the landing. "now," said lance to captain staunton, as soon as they were fairly outside of the harbour, "_we are free, thank god_! and, as there seems to be no immediate prospect of your further needing my help, i will go and look after the wounded and the ladies. poor souls! what a fearful time of suspense and terror they must have passed, pent up there in the cabin, listening to all these fearful sounds, and not knowing what it means or what will be the end of it." lance accordingly descended, to find the ladies pale as death, and their eyes dilated with fear, resolutely doing their best with the aid of the steward to assuage the agonies of the wounded. he was, of course, at once assailed with a hundred questions, to which, however, he put a stop by holding up his hand and laughingly saying-- "pray, spare me, and show me a little mercy, i beseech you; to answer all your questions would occupy me for the remainder of the night. be satisfied, therefore, for the present with the general statement that we have successfully launched the schooner--as doubtless you have long ago found out for yourselves; that there has been a terrible earthquake, accompanied by a volcanic eruption which bids fair to completely destroy the island; that we are now in the open ocean, having made good our escape, and that there is at present nothing more to fear. where is may?" "she is asleep in that berth," answered mrs staunton, "so i hope the worst of the poor child's pain is over." "no doubt of it," answered lance; "the fact that she is sleeping is in itself a sufficient indication of that. and now, let me first thank you for your care of my patients here--to whom i will now myself attend--and next order you all three peremptorily off to bed. away with you at once to the most comfortable quarters you can find, and try to get a good night's rest." utterly worn out, the ladies were only too glad to obey this order; and they accordingly forthwith retired to the cabins which the steward had already prepared for them. the more severely wounded were then speedily attended to, their injuries carefully dressed, and themselves comfortably bestowed in their hammocks; after which came the turn of the others. by the time that lance had fully completed his arduous task the first faint streaks of dawn were lighting up the eastern horizon; and he went on deck to get a breath or two of fresh air. he found the schooner slipping along at a fine pace under every stitch of canvas she could spread, including studding-sails, with the breeze about two points on the starboard quarter, a clear sky above her, and a clear sea all round. away astern, as the light grew stronger, could be seen a dark patch of smoke low down upon the horizon, indicating the position of "albatross island;" but the land itself had sunk below the horizon long before. my story is now ended; very little more remains to be told, and that little must be told as tersely as possible. the _petrel_ made a very rapid and prosperous passage home, and in due time arrived at plymouth--long before which, however, the wounded had all completely recovered. here the passengers landed; whilst captain staunton proceeded with the schooner to london, where the craft was safely docked and her crew paid off. the skipper then made the best of his way to the office of the owners of the _galatea_, where he was received with joyous surprise, his story listened to with the greatest interest, and himself congratulated upon his marvellous escape from the many perils which he had encountered. and, best of all, before the interview terminated, his owners showed in the most practical manner their continued confidence in him by offering him the command of a very fine new ship which they had upon the stocks almost ready for launching. i must leave it to the lively imaginations of my readers to picture for themselves the rapturous welcome home experienced by the other personages who have figured in this story, merely remarking that it left absolutely nothing to be desired, its warmth being of itself a sufficient compensation for all the hardship and suffering they had endured. the gold which bob's forethought had been the means of securing was duly divided equally between all who could fairly be regarded as entitled to a share; and, though it certainly did not amount to a fortune apiece, it proved amply sufficient to compensate the sharers for their loss of time. on the receipt of his moiety, bob gave a grand supper to all his friends in brightlingsea, the which is referred to with justifiable pride by the landlady of the "anchor" even unto this day. it was whilst this eventful supper was in full swing that lance evelin unexpectedly made his appearance upon the scene. he was enthusiastically welcomed by bob, duly introduced to the company, and at once joined them, making himself so thoroughly at home with them, and entering so completely into the spirit of the affair, that he sprang at a single bound into their best graces, and was vehemently declared by one and all to be "a real out-and-outer." the next day found him closeted for a full hour with old bill maskell, after which, to everybody's profound astonishment, the pair left for london. only to return next day, however, accompanied by a fine tall soldierly-looking old man, to whom bob was speedily introduced, and by whom he was claimed, to his unqualified amazement, as an only and long- lost son. sir richard lascelles--for he it was--was indebted to lance for this joyous discovery; and it was almost pitiful to witness the poor old gentleman's efforts to adequately express his gratitude to evelin for the totally unexpected restoration of his son to his arms. bob, now no longer bob legerton but mr richard lascelles, was speedily transferred to his father's house in london; and, according to the latest accounts, he is now busy qualifying himself to enter the navy. poor old bill maskell was in a strangely agitated condition for some time after the occurrence of these events, being alternately in a state of the greatest hilarity at bob's return home, and despondency at the reflection that henceforth the remainder of their lives must be spent apart. sir richard has, however, done what he could to console the poor old man by purchasing for him a pretty little cottage and garden in the most pleasant part of brightlingsea, supplementing the gift with an allowance of one hundred and fifty pounds a year for the remainder of his life. some two months or so after the arrival home of the _petrel_ a notice appeared in the _morning post_ and other papers announcing a double marriage at saint george's, hanover square; the contracting parties being respectively launcelot evelin and blanche lascelles; and rex fortescue and violet dudley; there is every reason therefore to suppose that those four persons are at last perfectly happy. it has been whispered--in the strictest confidence, of course--that there is some idea of fitting out an expedition to the south pacific, for the purpose of ascertaining whether "albatross island" is still in existence, and, if so, whether there is any possibility of working the enormously rich gold mine, the strange discovery of which is recorded in these pages. should the expedition he undertaken and carried out with results worthy of note, an effort will be made to collect the fullest particulars, with the view of arranging them in narrative form for the entertainment of such readers as are sufficiently interested in our friends to wish for further intelligence about them. little blue book no. edited by e. haldeman-julius stories of ships and the sea jack london haldeman-julius company girard, kansas copyright, , by charmian london. reprinted by arrangement. printed in the united states of america contents page chris farrington: able seaman typhoon off the coast of japan the lost poacher the banks of the sacramento in yeddo bay stories of ships and the sea chris farrington: able seaman "if you vas in der old country ships, a liddle shaver like you vood pe only der boy, und you vood wait on der able seamen. und ven der able seaman sing out, 'boy, der water-jug!' you vood jump quick, like a shot, und bring der water-jug. und ven der able seaman sing out, 'boy, my boots!' you vood get der boots. und you vood pe politeful, und say 'yessir' und 'no sir.' but you pe in der american ship, and you t'ink you are so good as der able seamen. chris, mine boy, i haf ben a sailorman for twenty-two years, und do you t'ink you are so good as me? i vas a sailorman pefore you vas borned, und i knot und reef und splice ven you play mit topstrings und fly kites." "but you are unfair, emil!" cried chris farrington, his sensitive face flushed and hurt. he was a slender though strongly built young fellow of seventeen, with yankee ancestry writ large all over him. "dere you go vonce again!" the swedish sailor exploded. "my name is mister johansen, und a kid of a boy like you call me 'emil!' it vas insulting, und comes pecause of der american ship!" "but you call me 'chris'!" the boy expostulated, reproachfully. "but you vas a boy." "who does a man's work," chris retorted. "and because i do a man's work i have as much right to call you by your first name as you me. we are all equals in this fo'castle, and you know it. when we signed for the voyage in san francisco, we signed as sailors on the _sophie sutherland_ and there was no difference made with any of us. haven't i always done my work? did i ever shirk? did you or any other man ever have to take a wheel for me? or a lookout? or go aloft?" "chris is right," interrupted a young english sailor. "no man has had to do a tap of his work yet. he signed as good as any of us and he's shown himself as good--" "better!" broke in a novia scotia man. "better than some of us! when we struck the sealing-grounds he turned out to be next to the best boat-steerer aboard. only french louis, who'd been at it for years, could beat him. i'm only a boat-puller, and you're only a boat-puller, too, emil johansen, for all your twenty-two years at sea. why don't you become a boat-steerer?" "too clumsy," laughed the englishman, "and too slow." "little that counts, one way or the other," joined in dane jurgensen, coming to the aid of his scandinavian brother. "emil is a man grown and an able seaman; the boy is neither." and so the argument raged back and forth, the swedes, norwegians and danes, because of race kinship, taking the part of johansen, and the english, canadians and americans taking the part of chris. from an unprejudiced point of view, the right was on the side of chris. as he had truly said, he did a man's work, and the same work that any of them did. but they were prejudiced, and badly so, and out of the words which passed rose a standing quarrel which divided the forecastle into two parties. * * * * * the _sophie sutherland_ was a seal-hunter, registered out of san francisco, and engaged in hunting the furry sea-animals along the japanese coast north to bering sea. the other vessels were two-masted schooners, but she was a three-master and the largest in the fleet. in fact, she was a full-rigged, three-topmast schooner, newly built. although chris farrington knew that justice was with him, and that he performed all his work faithfully and well, many a time, in secret thought, he longed for some pressing emergency to arise whereby he could demonstrate to the scandinavian seamen that he also was an able seaman. but one stormy night, by an accident for which he was in nowise accountable, in overhauling a spare anchor-chain he had all the fingers of his left hand badly crushed. and his hopes were likewise crushed, for it was impossible for him to continue hunting with the boats, and he was forced to stay idly aboard until his fingers should heal. yet, although he little dreamed it, this very accident was to give him the long-looked-for-opportunity. one afternoon in the latter part of may the _sophie sutherland_ rolled sluggishly in a breathless calm. the seals were abundant, the hunting good, and the boats were all away and out of sight. and with them was almost every man of the crew. besides chris, there remained only the captain, the sailing-master and the chinese cook. the captain was captain only by courtesy. he was an old man, past eighty, and blissfully ignorant of the sea and its ways; but he was the owner of the vessel, and hence the honorable title. of course the sailing-master, who was really captain, was a thorough-going seaman. the mate, whose post was aboard, was out with the boats, having temporarily taken chris's place as boat-steerer. when good weather and good sport came together, the boats were accustomed to range far and wide, and often did not return to the schooner until long after dark. but for all that it was a perfect hunting day, chris noted a growing anxiety on the part of the sailing-master. he paced the deck nervously, and was constantly sweeping the horizon with his marine glasses. not a boat was in sight. as sunset arrived, he even sent chris aloft to the mizzen-topmast-head, but with no better luck. the boats could not possibly be back before midnight. since noon the barometer had been falling with startling rapidity, and all the signs were ripe for a great storm--how great, not even the sailing-master anticipated. he and chris set to work to prepare for it. they put storm gaskets on the furled topsails, lowered and stowed the foresail and spanker and took in the two inner jibs. in the one remaining jib they put a single reef, and a single reef in the mainsail. night had fallen before they finished, and with the darkness came the storm. a low moan swept over the sea, and the wind struck the _sophie sutherland_ flat. but she righted quickly, and with the sailing-master at the wheel, sheered her bow into within five points of the wind. working as well as he could with his bandaged hand, and with the feeble aid of the chinese cook, chris went forward and backed the jib over to the weather side. this with the flat mainsail, left the schooner hove to. "god help the boats! it's no gale! it's a typhoon!" the sailing-master shouted to chris at eleven o'clock. "too much canvas! got to get two more reefs into the mainsail, and got to do it right away!" he glanced at the old captain, shivering in oilskins at the binnacle and holding on for dear life. "there's only you and i, chris--and the cook; but he's next to worthless!" in order to make the reef, it was necessary to lower the mainsail, and the removal of this after pressure was bound to make the schooner fall off before the wind and sea because of the forward pressure of the jib. "take the wheel!" the sailing-master directed. "and when i give the word, hard up with it! and when she's square before it, steady her! and keep her there! we'll heave to again as soon as i get the reefs in!" gripping the kicking spokes, chris watched him and the reluctant cook go forward into the howling darkness. the _sophie sutherland_ was plunging into the huge head-seas and wallowing tremendously, the tense steel stays and taut rigging humming like harp-strings to the wind. a buffeted cry came to his ears, and he felt the schooner's bow paying off of its own accord. the mainsail was down! he ran the wheel hard-over and kept anxious track of the changing direction of the wind on his face and of the heave of the vessel. this was the crucial moment. in performing the evolution she would have to pass broadside to the surge before she could get before it. the wind was blowing directly on his right cheek, when he felt the _sophie sutherland_ lean over and begin to rise toward the sky--up--up--an infinite distance! would she clear the crest of the gigantic wave? again by the feel of it, for he could see nothing, he knew that a wall of water was rearing and curving far above him along the whole weather side. there was an instant's calm as the liquid wall intervened and shut off the wind. the schooner righted, and for that instant seemed at perfect rest. then she rolled to meet the descending rush. chris shouted to the captain to hold tight, and prepared himself for the shock. but the man did not live who could face it. an ocean of water smote chris's back and his clutch on the spokes was loosened as if it were a baby's. stunned, powerless, like a straw on the face of a torrent, he was swept onward he knew not whither. missing the corner of the cabin, he was dashed forward along the poop runway a hundred feet or more, striking violently against the foot of the foremast. a second wave, crushing inboard, hurled him back the way he had come, and left him half-drowned where the poop steps should have been. bruised and bleeding, dimly conscious, he felt for the rail and dragged himself to his feet. unless something could be done, he knew the last moment had come. as he faced the poop, the wind drove into his mouth with suffocating force. this brought him back to his senses with a start. the wind was blowing from dead aft! the schooner was out of the trough and before it! but the send of the sea was bound to breach her to again. crawling up the runway, he managed to get to the wheel just in time to prevent this. the binnacle light was still burning. they were safe! that is, he and the schooner were safe. as to the welfare of his three companions he could not say. nor did he dare leave the wheel in order to find out, for it took every second of his undivided attention to keep the vessel to her course. the least fraction of carelessness and the heave of the sea under the quarter was liable to thrust her into the trough. so, a boy of one hundred and forty pounds, he clung to his herculean task of guiding the two hundred straining tons of fabric amid the chaos of the great storm forces. half an hour later, groaning and sobbing, the captain crawled to chris's feet. all was lost, he whimpered. he was smitten unto death. the galley had gone by the board, the mainsail and running-gear, the cook, every thing! "where's the sailing-master?" chris demanded when he had caught his breath after steadying a wild lurch of the schooner. it was no child's play to steer a vessel under single reefed jib before a typhoon. "clean up for'ard," the old man replied "jammed under the fo'c'sle-head, but still breathing. both his arms are broken, he says and he doesn't know how many ribs. he's hurt bad." "well, he'll drown there the way she's shipping water through the hawse-pipes. go for'ard!" chris commanded, taking charge of things as a matter of course. "tell him not to worry; that i'm at the wheel. help him as much as you can, and make him help"--he stopped and ran the spokes to starboard as a tremendous billow rose under the stern and yawed the schooner to port--"and make him help himself for the rest. unship the fo'castle hatch and get him down into a bunk. then ship the hatch again." the captain turned his aged face forward and wavered pitifully. the waist of the ship was full of water to the bulwarks. he had just come through it, and knew death lurked every inch of the way. "go!" chris shouted, fiercely. and as the fear-stricken man started, "and take another look for the cook!" two hours later, almost dead from suffering, the captain returned. he had obeyed orders. the sailing-master was helpless, although safe in a bunk; the cook was gone. chris sent the captain below to the cabin to change his clothes. after interminable hours of toil day broke cold and gray. chris looked about him. the _sophie sutherland_ was racing before the typhoon like a thing possessed. there was no rain, but the wind whipped the spray of the sea mast-high, obscuring everything except in the immediate neighborhood. two waves only could chris see at a time--the one before and the one behind. so small and insignificant the schooner seemed on the long pacific roll! rushing up a maddening mountain, she would poise like a cockle-shell on the giddy summit, breathless and rolling, leap outward and down into the yawning chasm beneath, and bury herself in the smother of foam at the bottom. then the recovery, another mountain, another sickening upward rush, another poise, and the downward crash. abreast of him, to starboard, like a ghost of the storm, chris saw the cook dashing apace with the schooner. evidently, when washed overboard, he had grasped and become entangled in a trailing halyard. for three hours more, alone with this gruesome companion, chris held the _sophie sutherland_ before the wind and sea. he had long since forgotten his mangled fingers. the bandages had been torn away, and the cold, salt spray had eaten into the half-healed wounds until they were numb and no longer pained. but he was not cold. the terrific labor of steering forced the perspiration from every pore. yet he was faint and weak with hunger and exhaustion, and hailed with delight the advent on deck of the captain, who fed him all of a pound of cake-chocolate. it strengthened him at once. he ordered the captain to cut the halyard by which the cook's body was towing, and also to go forward and cut loose the jib-halyard and sheet. when he had done so, the jib fluttered a couple of moments like a handkerchief, then tore out of the bolt-ropes and vanished. the _sophie sutherland_ was running under bare poles. by noon the storm had spent itself, and by six in the evening the waves had died down sufficiently to let chris leave the helm. it was almost hopeless to dream of the small boats weathering the typhoon, but there is always the chance in saving human life, and chris at once applied himself to going back over the course along which he had fled. he managed to get a reef in one of the inner jibs and two reefs in the spanker, and then, with the aid of the watch-tackle, to hoist them to the stiff breeze that yet blew. and all through the night, tacking back and forth on the back track, he shook out canvas as fast as the wind would permit. the injured sailing-master had turned delirious and between tending him and lending a hand with the ship, chris kept the captain busy. "taught me more seamanship," as he afterward said, "than i'd learned on the whole voyage." but by daybreak the old man's feeble frame succumbed, and he fell off into exhausted sleep on the weather poop. chris, who could now lash the wheel, covered the tired man with blankets from below, and went fishing in the lazaretto for something to eat. but by the day following he found himself forced to give in, drowsing fitfully by the wheel and waking ever and anon to take a look at things. on the afternoon of the third day he picked up a schooner, dismasted and battered. as he approached, close-hauled on the wind, he saw her decks crowded by an unusually large crew, and on sailing in closer, made out among others the faces of his missing comrades. and he was just in the nick of time, for they were fighting a losing fight at the pumps. an hour later they, with the crew of the sinking craft were aboard the _sophie sutherland_. having wandered so far from their own vessel, they had taken refuge on the strange schooner just before the storm broke. she was a canadian sealer on her first voyage, and as was now apparent, her last. the captain of the _sophie sutherland_ had a story to tell, also, and he told it well--so well, in fact, that when all hands were gathered together on deck during the dog-watch, emil johansen strode over to chris and gripped him by the hand. "chris," he said, so loudly that all could hear, "chris, i gif in. you vas yoost so good a sailorman as i. you vas a bully boy und able seaman, und i pe proud for you! "und chris!" he turned as if he had forgotten something, and called back, "from dis time always you call me 'emil' mitout der 'mister'!" typhoon off the coast of japan _jack london's first story, published at the age of seventeen._ it was four bells in the morning watch. we had just finished breakfast when the order came forward for the watch on deck to stand by to heave her to and all hands stand by the boats. "port! hard a port!" cried our sailing-master. "clew up the topsails! let the flying jib run down! back the jib over to windward and run down the foresail!" and so was our schooner _sophie sutherland_ hove to off the japan coast, near cape jerimo, on april , . then came moments of bustle and confusion. there were eighteen men to man the six boats. some were hooking on the falls, others casting off the lashings; boat-steerers appeared with boat-compasses and water-breakers, and boat-pullers with the lunch boxes. hunters were staggering under two or three shotguns, a rifle and heavy ammunition box, all of which were soon stowed away with their oilskins and mittens in the boats. the sailing-master gave his last orders, and away we went, pulling three pairs of oars to gain our positions. we were in the weather boat, and so had a longer pull than the others. the first, second and third lee boats soon had all sail set and were running off to the southward and westward with the wind beam, while the schooner was running off to leeward of them, so that in case of accident the boats would have fair wind home. it was a glorious morning, but our boat steerer shook his head ominously as he glanced at the rising sun and prophetically muttered: "red sun in the morning, sailor take warning." the sun had an angry look, and a few light, fleecy "nigger-heads" in that quarter seemed abashed and frightened and soon disappeared. away off to the northward cape jerimo reared its black, forbidding head like some huge monster rising from the deep. the winter's snow, not yet entirely dissipated by the sun, covered it in patches of glistening white, over which the light wind swept on its way out to sea. huge gulls rose slowly, fluttering their wings in the light breeze and striking their webbed feet on the surface of the water for over half a mile before they could leave it. hardly had the patter, patter died away when a flock of sea quail rose, and with whistling wings flew away to windward, where members of a large band of whales were disporting themselves, their blowings sounding like the exhaust of steam engines. the harsh, discordant cries of a sea-parrot grated unpleasantly on the ear, and set half a dozen alert in a small band of seals that were ahead of us. away they went, breaching and jumping entirely out of water. a sea-gull with slow, deliberate flight and long, majestic curves circled round us, and as a reminder of home a little english sparrow perched impudently on the fo'castle head, and, cocking his head on one side, chirped merrily. the boats were soon among the seals, and the bang! bang! of the guns could be heard from down to leeward. the wind was slowly rising, and by three o'clock as, with a dozen seals in our boat, we were deliberating whether to go on or turn back, the recall flag was run up at the schooner's mizzen--a sure sign that with the rising wind the barometer was falling and that our sailing-master was getting anxious for the welfare of the boats. away we went before the wind with a single reef in our sail. with clenched teeth sat the boat-steerer, grasping the steering oar firmly with both hands, his restless eyes on the alert--a glance at the schooner ahead, as we rose on a sea, another at the mainsheet, and then one astern where the dark ripple of the wind on the water told him of a coming puff or a large white-cap that threatened to overwhelm us. the waves were holding high carnival, performing the strangest antics, as with wild glee they danced along in fierce pursuit--now up, now down, here, there, and everywhere, until some great sea of liquid green with its milk-white crest of foam rose from the ocean's throbbing bosom and drove the others from view. but only for a moment, for again under new forms they reappeared. in the sun's path they wandered, where every ripple, great or small, every little spit or spray looked like molten silver, where the water lost its dark green color and became a dazzling, silvery flood, only to vanish and become a wild waste of sullen turbulence, each dark foreboding sea rising and breaking, then rolling on again. the dash, the sparkle, the silvery light soon vanished with the sun, which became obscured by black clouds that were rolling swiftly in from the west, northwest; apt heralds of the coming storm. we soon reached the schooner and found ourselves the last aboard. in a few minutes the seals were skinned, boats and decks washed, and we were down below by the roaring fo'castle fire, with a wash, change of clothes, and a hot, substantial supper before us. sail had been put on the schooner, as we had a run of seventy-five miles to make to the southward before morning, so as to get in the midst of the seals, out of which we had strayed during the last two days' hunting. we had the first watch from eight to midnight. the wind was soon blowing half a gale, and our sailing-master expected little sleep that night as he paced up and down the poop. the topsails were soon clewed up and made fast, then the flying jib run down and furled. quite a sea was rolling by this time, occasionally breaking over the decks, flooding them and threatening to smash the boats. at six bells we were ordered to turn them over and put on storm lashings. this occupied us till eight bells, when we were relieved by the mid-watch. i was the last to go below, doing so just as the watch on deck was furling the spanker. below all were asleep except our green hand, the "bricklayer," who was dying of consumption. the wildly dancing movements of the sea lamp cast a pale, flickering light through the fo'castle and turned to golden honey the drops of water on the yellow oilskins. in all the corners dark shadows seemed to come and go, while up in the eyes of her, beyond the pall bits, descending from deck to deck, where they seemed to lurk like some dragon at the cavern's mouth, it was dark as erebus. now and again, the light seemed to penetrate for a moment as the schooner rolled heavier than usual, only to recede, leaving it darker and blacker than before. the roar of the wind through the rigging came to the ear muffled like the distant rumble of a train crossing a trestle or the surf on the beach, while the loud crash of the seas on her weather bow seemed almost to rend the beams and planking asunder as it resounded through the fo'castle. the creaking and groaning of the timbers, stanchions, and bulkheads, as the strain the vessel was undergoing was felt, served to drown the groans of the dying man as he tossed uneasily in his bunk. the working of the foremast against the deck beams caused a shower of flaky powder to fall, and sent another sound mingling with the tumultuous storm. small cascades of water streamed from the pall bits from the fo'castle head above, and, joining issue with the streams from the wet oilskins, ran along the floor and disappeared aft into the main hold. at two bells in the middle watch--that is, in land parlance one o'clock in the morning;--the order was roared out on the fo'castle: "all hands on deck and shorten sail!" then the sleepy sailors tumbled out of their bunk and into their clothes, oilskins and sea-boots and up on deck. 'tis when that order comes on cold, blustering nights that "jack" grimly mutters: "who would not sell a farm and go to sea?" it was on deck that the force of the wind could be fully appreciated, especially after leaving the stifling fo'castle. it seemed to stand up against you like a wall, making it almost impossible to move on the heaving decks or to breathe as the fierce gusts came dashing by. the schooner was hove to under jib, foresail and mainsail. we proceeded to lower the foresail and make it fast. the night was dark, greatly impeding our labor. still, though not a star or the moon could pierce the black masses of storm clouds that obscured the sky as they swept along before the gale, nature aided us in a measure. a soft light emanated from the movement of the ocean. each mighty sea, all phosphorescent and glowing with the tiny lights of myriads of animalculae, threatened to overwhelm us with a deluge of fire. higher and higher, thinner and thinner, the crest grew as it began to curve and overtop preparatory to breaking, until with a roar it fell over the bulwarks, a mass of soft glowing light and tons of water which sent the sailors sprawling in all directions and left in each nook and cranny little specks of light that glowed and trembled till the next sea washed them away, depositing new ones in their places. sometimes several seas following each other with great rapidity and thundering down on our decks filled them full to the bulwarks, but soon they were discharged through the lee scuppers. to reef the mainsail we were forced to run off before the gale under the single reefed jib. by the time we had finished the wind had forced up such a tremendous sea that it was impossible to heave her to. away we flew on the wings of the storm through the muck and flying spray. a wind sheer to starboard, then another to port as the enormous seas struck the schooner astern and nearly broached her to. as day broke we took in the jib, leaving not a sail unfurled. since we had begun scudding she had ceased to take the seas over her bow, but amidships they broke fast and furious. it was a dry storm in the matter of rain, but the force of the wind filled the air with fine spray, which flew as high as the crosstrees and cut the face like a knife, making it impossible to see over a hundred yards ahead. the sea was a dark lead color as with long, slow, majestic roll it was heaped up by the wind into liquid mountains of foam. the wild antics of the schooner were sickening as she forged along. she would almost stop, as though climbing a mountain, then rapidly rolling to right and left as she gained the summit of a huge sea, she steadied herself and paused for a moment as though affrighted at the yawning precipice before her. like an avalanche, she shot forward and down as the sea astern struck her with the force of a thousand battering rams, burying her bow to the cat-heads in the milky foam at the bottom that came on deck in all directions--forward, astern, to right and left, through the hawse-pipes and over the rail. the wind began to drop, and by ten o'clock we were talking of heaving her to. we passed a ship, two schooners and a four-masted barkentine under the smallest canvas, and at eleven o'clock, running up the spanker and jib, we hove her to, and in another hour we were beating back again against the aftersea under full sail to regain the sealing ground away to the westward. below, a couple of men were sewing the "bricklayer's" body in canvas preparatory to the sea burial. and so with the storm passed away the "bricklayer's" soul. the lost poacher "but they won't take excuses. you're across the line, and that's enough. they'll take you. in you go, siberia and the salt mines. and as for uncle sam, why, what's he to know about it? never a word will get back to the states. 'the _mary thomas_,' the papers will say, 'the _mary thomas_ lost with all hands. probably in a typhoon in the japanese seas.' that's what the papers will say, and people, too. in you go, siberia and the salt mines. dead to the world and kith and kin, though you live fifty years." in such manner john lewis, commonly known as the "sea-lawyer," settled the matter out of hand. it was a serious moment in the forecastle of the _mary thomas_. no sooner had the watch below begun to talk the trouble over, than the watch on deck came down and joined them. as there was no wind, every hand could be spared with the exception of the man at the wheel, and he remained only for the sake of discipline. even "bub" russell, the cabin-boy, had crept forward to hear what was going on. however, it was a serious moment, as the grave faces of the sailors bore witness. for the three preceding months the _mary thomas_ sealing schooner, had hunted the seal pack along the coast of japan and north to bering sea. here, on the asiatic side of the sea, they were forced to give over the chase, or rather, to go no farther; for beyond, the russian cruisers patrolled forbidden ground, where the seals might breed in peace. a week before she had fallen into a heavy fog accompanied by calm. since then the fog-bank had not lifted, and the only wind had been light airs and catspaws. this in itself was not so bad, for the sealing schooners are never in a hurry so long as they are in the midst of the seals; but the trouble lay in the fact that the current at this point bore heavily to the north. thus the _mary thomas_ had unwittingly drifted across the line, and every hour she was penetrating, unwillingly, farther and farther into the dangerous waters where the russian bear kept guard. how far she had drifted no man knew. the sun had not been visible for a week, nor the stars, and the captain had been unable to take observations in order to determine his position. at any moment a cruiser might swoop down and hale the crew away to siberia. the fate of other poaching seal-hunters was too well known to the men of the _mary thomas_, and there was cause for grave faces. "mine friends," spoke up a german boat-steerer, "it vas a pad piziness. shust as ve make a big catch, und all honest, somedings go wrong, und der russians nab us, dake our skins and our schooner, und send us mit der anarchists to siberia. ach! a pretty pad piziness!" "yes, that's where it hurts," the sea lawyer went on. "fifteen hundred skins in the salt piles, and all honest, a big pay-day coming to every man jack of us, and then to be captured and lose it all! it'd be different if we'd been poaching, but it's all honest work in open water." "but if we haven't done anything wrong, they can't do anything to us, can they?" bub queried. "it strikes me as 'ow it ain't the proper thing for a boy o' your age shovin' in when 'is elders is talkin'," protested an english sailor, from over the edge of his bunk. "oh, that's all right, jack," answered the sea-lawyer. "he's a perfect right to. ain't he just as liable to lose his wages as the rest of us?" "wouldn't give thruppence for them!" jack sniffed back. he had been planning to go home and see his family in chelsea when he was paid off, and he was now feeling rather blue over the highly possible loss, not only of his pay, but of his liberty. "how are they to know?" the sea-lawyer asked in answer to bub's previous question. "here we are in forbidden water. how do they know but what we came here of our own accord? here we are, fifteen hundred skins in the hold. how do they know whether we got them in open water or in the closed sea? don't you see, bub, the evidence is all against us. if you caught a man with his pockets full of apples like those which grow on your tree, and if you caught him in your tree besides, what'd you think if he told you he couldn't help it, and had just been sort of blown there, and that anyway those apples came from some other tree--what'd you think, eh?" bub saw it clearly when put in that light, and shook his head despondently. "you'd rather be dead than go to siberia," one of the boat-pullers said. "they put you into the salt-mines and work you till you die. never see daylight again. why, i've heard tell of one fellow that was chained to his mate, and that mate died. and they were both chained together! and if they send you to the quicksilver mines you get salivated. i'd rather be hung than salivated." "wot's salivated?" jack asked, suddenly sitting up in his bunk at the hint of fresh misfortunes. "why, the quicksilver gets into your blood; i think that's the way. and your gums all swell like you had the scurvy, only worse, and your teeth get loose in your jaws. and big ulcers forms, and then you die horrible. the strongest man can't last long a-mining quicksilver." "a pad piziness," the boat-steerer reiterated, dolorously, in the silence which followed. "a pad piziness. i vish i vas in yokohama. eh? vot vas dot?" the vessel had suddenly heeled over. the decks were aslant. a tin pannikin rolled down the inclined plane, rattling and banging. from above came the slapping of canvas and the quivering rat-tat-tat of the after leech of the loosely stretched foresail. then the mate's voice sang down the hatch, "all hands on deck and make sail!" never had such summons been answered with more enthusiasm. the calm had broken. the wind had come which was to carry them south into safety. with a wild cheer all sprang on deck. working with mad haste, they flung out topsails, flying jibs and staysails. as they worked, the fog-bank lifted and the black vault of heaven, bespangled with the old familiar stars, rushed into view. when all was shipshape, the _mary thomas_ was lying gallantly over on her side to a beam wind and plunging ahead due south. "steamer's lights ahead on the port bow, sir!" cried the lookout from his station on the forecastle-head. there was excitement in the man's voice. the captain sent bub below for his night-glasses. everybody crowded to the lee-rail to gaze at the suspicious stranger, which already began to loom up vague and indistinct. in those unfrequented waters the chance was one in a thousand that it could be anything else than a russian patrol. the captain was still anxiously gazing through the glasses, when a flash of flame left the stranger's side, followed by the loud report of a cannon. the worst fears were confirmed. it was a patrol, evidently firing across the bows of the _mary thomas_ in order to make her heave to. "hard down with your helm!" the captain commanded the steersman, all the life gone out of his voice. then to the crew, "back over the jib and foresail! run down the flying jib! clew up the foretopsail! and aft here and swing on to the main-sheet!" the _mary thomas_ ran into the eye of the wind, lost headway, and fell to courtesying gravely to the long seas rolling up from the west. the cruiser steamed a little nearer and lowered a boat. the sealers watched in heartbroken silence. they could see the white bulk of the boat as it was slacked away to the water, and its crew sliding aboard. they could hear the creaking of the davits and the commands of the officers. then the boat sprang away under the impulse of the oars, and came toward them. the wind had been rising, and already the sea was too rough to permit the frail craft to lie alongside the tossing schooner; but watching their chance, and taking advantage of the boarding ropes thrown to them, an officer and a couple of men clambered aboard. the boat then sheered off into safety and lay to its oars, a young midshipman, sitting in the stern and holding the yoke-lines, in charge. the officer, whose uniform disclosed his rank as that of second lieutenant in the russian navy went below with the captain of the _mary thomas_ to look at the ship's papers. a few minutes later he emerged, and upon his sailors removing the hatch-covers, passed down into the hold with a lantern to inspect the salt piles. it was a goodly heap which confronted him--fifteen hundred fresh skins, the season's catch; and under the circumstances he could have had but one conclusion. "i am very sorry," he said, in broken english to the sealing captain, when he again came on deck, "but it is my duty, in the name of the tsar, to seize your vessel as a poacher caught with fresh skins in the closed sea. the penalty, as you may know, is confiscation and imprisonment." the captain of the _mary thomas_ shrugged his shoulders in seeming indifference, and turned away. although they may restrain all outward show, strong men, under unmerited misfortune, are sometimes very close to tears. just then the vision of his little california home, and of the wife and two yellow-haired boys, was strong upon him, and there was a strange, choking sensation in his throat, which made him afraid that if he attempted to speak he would sob instead. and also there was upon him the duty he owed his men. no weakness before them, for he must be a tower of strength to sustain them in misfortune. he had already explained to the second lieutenant, and knew the hopelessness of the situation. as the sea-lawyer had said, the evidence was all against him. so he turned aft, and fell to pacing up and down the poop of the vessel over which he was no longer commander. the russian officer now took temporary charge. he ordered more of his men aboard, and had all the canvas clewed up and furled snugly away. while this was being done, the boat plied back and forth between the two vessels, passing a heavy hawser, which was made fast to the great towing-bitts on the schooner's forecastle-head. during all this work the sealers stood about in sullen groups. it was madness to think of resisting, with the guns of a man-of-war not a biscuit-toss away; but they refused to lend a hand, preferring instead to maintain a gloomy silence. having accomplished his task, the lieutenant ordered all but four of his men back into the boat. then the midshipman, a lad of sixteen, looking strangely mature and dignified in his uniform and sword, came aboard to take command of the captured sealer. just as the lieutenant prepared to depart his eye chanced to alight upon bub. without a word of warning, he seized him by the arm and dropped him over the rail into the waiting boat; and then, with a parting wave of his hand, he followed him. it was only natural that bub should be frightened at this unexpected happening. all the terrible stories he had heard of the russians served to make him fear them, and now returned to his mind with double force. to be captured by them was bad enough, but to be carried off by them, away from his comrades, was a fate of which he had not dreamed. "be a good boy, bub," the captain called to him, as the boat drew away from the _mary thomas's_ side, "and tell the truth!" "aye, aye, sir!" he answered, bravely enough by all outward appearance. he felt a certain pride of race, and was ashamed to be a coward before these strange enemies, these wild russian bears. "und be politeful!" the german boat-steerer added, his rough voice lifting across the water like a fog-horn. bub waved his hand in farewell, and his mates clustered along the rail as they answered with a cheering shout. he found room in the stern-sheets, where he fell to regarding the lieutenant. he didn't look so wild or bearish after all--very much like other men, bub concluded, and the sailors were much the same as all other man-of-war's men he had ever known. nevertheless, as his feet struck the steel deck of the cruiser, he felt as if he had entered the portals of a prison. for a few minutes he was left unheeded. the sailors hoisted the boat up, and swung it in on the davits. then great clouds of black smoke poured out of the funnels, and they were under way--to siberia, bub could not help but think. he saw the _mary thomas_ swing abruptly into line as she took the pressure from the hawser, and her side-lights, red and green, rose and fell as she was towed through the sea. bub's eyes dimmed at the melancholy sight, but--but just then the lieutenant came to take him down to the commander, and he straightened up and set his lips firmly, as if this were a very commonplace affair and he were used to being sent to siberia every day in the week. the cabin in which the commander sat was like a palace compared to the humble fittings of the _mary thomas_, and the commander himself, in gold lace and dignity, was a most august personage, quite unlike the simple man who navigated his schooner on the trail of the seal pack. bub now quickly learned why he had been brought aboard, and in the prolonged questioning which followed, told nothing but the plain truth. the truth was harmless; only a lie could have injured his cause. he did not know much, except that they had been sealing far to the south in open water, and that when the calm and fog came down upon them, being close to the line, they had drifted across. again and again he insisted that they had not lowered a boat or shot a seal in the week they had been drifting about in the forbidden sea; but the commander chose to consider all that he said to be a tissue of falsehoods, and adopted a bullying tone in an effort to frighten the boy. he threatened and cajoled by turns, but failed in the slightest to shake bub's statements, and at last ordered him out of his presence. by some oversight, bub was not put in anybody's charge, and wandered up on deck unobserved. sometimes the sailors, in passing, bent curious glances upon him, but otherwise he was left strictly alone. nor could he have attracted much attention, for he was small, the night dark, and the watch on deck intent on its own business. stumbling over the strange decks, he made his way aft where he could look upon the side-lights of the _mary thomas_, following steadily in the rear. for a long while he watched, and then lay down in the darkness close to where the hawser passed over the stern to the captured schooner. once an officer came up and examined the straining rope to see if it were chafing, but bub cowered away in the shadow undiscovered. this, however, gave him an idea which concerned the lives and liberties of twenty-two men, and which was to avert crushing sorrow from more than one happy home many thousand miles away. in the first place, he reasoned, the crew were all guiltless of any crime, and yet were being carried relentlessly away to imprisonment in siberia--a living death, he had heard, and he believed it implicitly. in the second place, he was a prisoner, hard and fast, with no chance to escape. in the third, it was possible for the twenty-two men on the _mary thomas_ to escape. the only thing which bound them was a four-inch hawser. they dared not cut it at their end, for a watch was sure to be maintained upon it by their russian captors; but at this end, ah! at his end-- bub did not stop to reason further. wriggling close to the hawser, he opened his jack-knife and went to work. the blade was not very sharp, and he sawed away, rope-yarn by rope-yarn, the awful picture of the solitary siberian exile he must endure growing clearer and more terrible at every stroke. such a fate was bad enough to undergo with one's comrades, but to face it alone seemed frightful. and besides, the very act he was performing was sure to bring greater punishment upon him. in the midst of such somber thoughts, he heard footsteps approaching. he wriggled away into the shadow. an officer stopped where he had been working, half-stooped to examine the hawser, then changed his mind and straightened up. for a few minutes he stood there, gazing at the lights of the captured schooner, and then went forward again. now was the time! bub crept back and went on sawing. now two parts were severed. now three. but one remained. the tension upon this was so great that it readily yielded. splash the freed end went overboard. he lay quietly, his heart in his mouth, listening. no one on the cruiser but himself had heard. he saw the red and green lights of the _mary thomas_ grow dimmer and dimmer. then a faint hallo came over the water from the russian prize crew. still nobody heard. the smoke continued to pour out of the cruiser's funnels, and her propellers throbbed as mightily as ever. what was happening on the _mary thomas_? bub could only surmise; but of one thing he was certain: his comrades would assert themselves and overpower the four sailors and the midshipman. a few minutes later he saw a small flash, and straining his ears heard the very faint report of a pistol. then, oh joy! both the red and green lights suddenly disappeared. the _mary thomas_ was retaken! just as an officer came aft, bub crept forward, and hid away in one of the boats. not an instant too soon. the alarm was given. loud voices rose in command. the cruiser altered her course. an electric search-light began to throw its white rays across the sea, here, there, everywhere; but in its flashing path no tossing schooner was revealed. bub went to sleep soon after that, nor did he wake till the gray of dawn. the engines were pulsing monotonously, and the water, splashing noisily, told him the decks were being washed down. one sweeping glance, and he saw that they were alone on the expanse of ocean. the _mary thomas_ had escaped. as he lifted his head, a roar of laughter went up from the sailors. even the officer, who ordered him taken below and locked up, could not quite conceal the laughter in his eyes. bub thought often in the days of confinement which followed that they were not very angry with him for what he had done. he was not far from right. there is a certain innate nobility deep down in the hearts of all men, which forces them to admire a brave act, even if it is performed by an enemy. the russians were in nowise different from other men. true, a boy had outwitted them; but they could not blame him, and they were sore puzzled as to what to do with him. it would never do to take a little mite like him in to represent all that remained of the lost poacher. so, two weeks later, a united states man-of-war, steaming out of the russian port of vladivostok, was signaled by a russian cruiser. a boat passed between the two ships, and a small boy dropped over the rail upon the deck of the american vessel. a week later he was put ashore at hakodate, and after some telegraphing, his fare was paid on the railroad to yokohama. from the depot he hurried through the quaint japanese streets to the harbor, and hired a sampan boatman to put him aboard a certain vessel whose familiar rigging had quickly caught his eye. her gaskets were off, her sails unfurled; she was just starting back to the united states. as he came closer, a crowd of sailors sprang upon the forecastle head, and the windlass-bars rose and fell as the anchor was torn from its muddy bottom. "'yankee ship come down the ribber!'" the sea-lawyer's voice rolled out as he led the anchor song. "'pull, my bully boys, pull!'" roared back the old familiar chorus, the men's bodies lifting and bending to the rhythm. bub russell paid the boatman and stepped on deck. the anchor was forgotten. a mighty cheer went up from the men, and almost before he could catch his breath he was on the shoulders of the captain, surrounded by his mates, and endeavoring to answer twenty questions to the second. the next day a schooner hove to off a japanese fishing village, sent ashore four sailors and a little midshipman, and sailed away. these men did not talk english, but they had money and quickly made their way to yokohama. from that day the japanese village folk never heard anything more about them, and they are still a much-talked-of mystery. as the russian government never said anything about the incident, the united states is still ignorant of the whereabouts of the lost poacher, nor has she ever heard, officially, of the way in which some of her citizens "shanghaied" five subjects of the tsar. even nations have secrets sometimes. the banks of the sacramento "and it's blow, ye winds, heigh-ho, for cal-i-for-ni-o; for there's plenty of gold so i've been told, on the banks of the sacramento!" it was only a little boy, singing in a shrill treble the sea chantey which seamen sing the wide world over when they man the capstan bars and break the anchors out for "frisco" port. it was only a little boy who had never seen the sea, but two hundred feet beneath him rolled the sacramento. "young" jerry he was called, after "old" jerry, his father, from whom he had learned the song, as well as received his shock of bright-red hair, his blue, dancing eyes, and his fair and inevitably freckled skin. for old jerry had been a sailor, and had followed the sea till middle life, haunted always by the words of the ringing chantey. then one day he had sung the song in earnest, in an asiatic port, swinging and thrilling round the capstan-circle with twenty others. and at san francisco he turned his back upon his ship and upon the sea, and went to behold with his own eyes the banks of the sacramento. he beheld the gold, too, for he found employment at the yellow dream mine, and proved of utmost usefulness in rigging the great ore-cables across the river and two hundred feet above its surface. after that he took charge of the cables and kept them in repair, and ran them and loved them, and became himself an indispensable fixture of the yellow dream mine. then he loved pretty margaret kelly; but she had left him and young jerry, the latter barely toddling, to take up her last long sleep in the little graveyard among the great sober pines. old jerry never went back to the sea. he remained by his cables, and lavished upon them and young jerry all the love of his nature. when evil days came to the yellow dream, he still remained in the employ of the company as watchman over the all but abandoned property. but this morning he was not visible. young jerry only was to be seen, sitting on the cabin step and singing the ancient chantey. he had cooked and eaten his breakfast all by himself, and had just come out to take a look at the world. twenty feet before him stood the steel drum round which the endless cable worked. by the drum, snug and fast, was the ore-car. following with his eyes the dizzy flight of the cables to the farther bank, he could see the other drum and the other car. the contrivance was worked by gravity, the loaded car crossing the river by virtue of its own weight, and at the same time dragging the empty car back. the loaded car being emptied, and the empty car being loaded with more ore, the performance could be repeated--a performance which had been repeated tens of thousands of times since the day old jerry became the keeper of the cables. young jerry broke off his song at the sound of approaching footsteps. a tall, blue-shirted man, a rifle across the hollow of his arm, came out from the gloom of the pine-trees. it was hall, watchman of the yellow dragon mine, the cables of which spanned the sacramento a mile farther up. "yello, younker!" was his greeting. "what you doin' here by your lonesome?" "oh, bachin'," jerry tried to answer unconcernedly, as if it were a very ordinary sort of thing. "dad's away, you see." "where's he gone?" the man asked. "san francisco. went last night. his brother's dead in the old country, and he's gone down to see the lawyers. won't be back till tomorrow night." so spoke jerry, and with pride, because of the responsibility which had fallen to him of keeping an eye on the property of the yellow dream, and the glorious adventure of living alone on the cliff above the river and of cooking his own meals. "well, take care of yourself," hall said, "and don't monkey with the cables. i'm goin' to see if i can pick up a deer in the cripple cow cañon." "it's goin' to rain, i think," jerry said, with mature deliberation. "and it's little i mind a wettin'," hall laughed, as he strode away among the trees. jerry's prediction concerning rain was more than fulfilled. by ten o'clock the pines were swaying and moaning, the cabin windows rattling, and the rain driving by in fierce squalls. at half past eleven he kindled a fire, and promptly at the stroke of twelve sat down to his dinner. no out-of-doors for him that day, he decided, when he had washed the few dishes and put them neatly away; and he wondered how wet hall was and whether he had succeeded in picking up a deer. at one o'clock there came a knock at the door, and when he opened it a man and a woman staggered in on the breast of a great gust of wind. they were mr. and mrs. spillane, ranchers, who lived in a lonely valley a dozen miles back from the river. "where's hall?" was spillane's opening speech, and he spoke sharply and quickly. jerry noted that he was nervous and abrupt in his movements, and that mrs. spillane seemed laboring under some strong anxiety. she was a thin, washed-out, worked-out woman, whose life of dreary and unending toil had stamped itself harshly upon her face. it was the same life that had bowed her husband's shoulders and gnarled his hands and turned his hair to a dry and dusty gray. "he's gone hunting up cripple cow," jerry answered. "did you want to cross?" the woman began to weep quietly, while spillane dropped a troubled exclamation and strode to the window. jerry joined him in gazing out to where the cables lost themselves in the thick downpour. it was the custom of the backwoods people in that section of country to cross the sacramento on the yellow dragon cable. for this service a small toll was charged, which tolls the yellow dragon company applied to the payment of hall's wages. "we've got to get across, jerry," spillane said, at the same time jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his wife. "her father's hurt at the clover leaf. powder explosion. not expected to live. we just got word." jerry felt himself fluttering inwardly. he knew that spillane wanted to cross on the yellow dream cable, and in the absence of his father he felt that he dared not assume such a responsibility, for the cable had never been used for passengers; in fact, had not been used at all for a long time. "maybe hall will be back soon," he said. spillane shook his head, and demanded, "where's your father?" "san francisco," jerry answered, briefly. spillane groaned, and fiercely drove his clenched fist into the palm of the other hand. his wife was crying more audibly, and jerry could hear her murmuring, "and daddy's dyin', dyin'!" the tears welled up in his own eyes, and he stood irresolute, not knowing what he should do. but the man decided for him. "look here, kid," he said, with determination, "the wife and me are goin' over on this here cable of yours! will you run it for us?" jerry backed slightly away. he did it unconsciously, as if recoiling instinctively from something unwelcome. "better see if hall's back," he suggested. "and if he ain't?" again jerry hesitated. "i'll stand for the risk," spillane added. "don't you see, kid, we've simply got to cross!" jerry nodded his head reluctantly. "and there ain't no use waitin' for hall," spillane went on. "you know as well as me he ain't back from cripple cow this time of day! so come along and let's get started." no wonder that mrs. spillane seemed terrified as they helped her into the ore-car--so jerry thought, as he gazed into the apparently fathomless gulf beneath her. for it was so filled with rain and cloud, hurtling and curling in the fierce blast, that the other shore, seven hundred feet away, was invisible, while the cliff at their feet dropped sheer down and lost itself in the swirling vapor. by all appearances it might be a mile to bottom instead of two hundred feet. "all ready?" he asked. "let her go!" spillane shouted, to make himself heard above the roar of the wind. he had clambered in beside his wife, and was holding one of her hands in his. jerry looked upon this with disapproval. "you'll need all your hands for holdin' on, the way the wind's yowlin'." the man and the woman shifted their hands accordingly, tightly gripping the sides of the car, and jerry slowly and carefully released the brake. the drum began to revolve as the endless cable passed round it, and the car slid slowly out into the chasm, its trolley wheels rolling on the stationary cable overhead, to which it was suspended. it was not the first time jerry had worked the cable, but it was the first time he had done so away from the supervising eye of his father. by means of the brake he regulated the speed of the car. it needed regulating, for at times, caught by the stronger gusts of wind, it swayed violently back and forth; and once, just before it was swallowed up in a rain squall, it seemed about to spill out its human contents. after that jerry had no way of knowing where the car was except by means of the cable. this he watched keenly as it glided around the drum. "three hundred feet," he breathed to himself, as the cable markings went by, "three hundred and fifty, four hundred; four hundred and----" the cable had stopped. jerry threw off the brake, but it did not move. he caught the cable with his hands and tried to start it by tugging smartly. something had gone wrong. what? he could not guess; he could not see. looking up, he could vaguely make out the empty car, which had been crossing from the opposite cliff at a speed equal to that of the loaded car. it was about two hundred and fifty feet away. that meant, he knew, that somewhere in the gray obscurity, two hundred feet above the river and two hundred and fifty feet from the other bank, spillane and his wife were suspended and stationary. three times jerry shouted with all the shrill force of his lungs, but no answering cry came out of the storm. it was impossible for him to hear them or to make himself heard. as he stood for a moment, thinking rapidly, the flying clouds seemed to thin and lift. he caught a brief glimpse of the swollen sacramento beneath, and a briefer glimpse of the car and the man and woman. then the clouds descended thicker than ever. the boy examined the drum closely, and found nothing the matter with it. evidently it was the drum on the other side that had gone wrong. he was appalled at the thought of the man and woman out there in the midst of the storm, hanging over the abyss, rocking back and forth in the frail car and ignorant of what was taking place on shore. and he did not like to think of their hanging there while he went round by the yellow dragon cable to the other drum. but he remembered a block and tackle in the tool-house, and ran and brought it. they were double blocks, and he murmured aloud, "a purchase of four," as he made the tackle fast to the endless cable. then he heaved upon it, heaved until it seemed that his arms were being drawn out from their sockets and that his shoulder muscles would be ripped asunder. yet the cable did not budge. nothing remained but to cross over to the other side. he was already soaking wet, so he did not mind the rain as he ran over the trail to the yellow dragon. the storm was with him, and it was easy going, although there was no hall at the other end of it to man the brake for him and regulate the speed of the car. this he did for himself, however, by means of a stout rope, which he passed, with a turn, round the stationary cable. as the full force of the wind struck him in mid-air, swaying the cable and whistling and roaring past it, and rocking and careening the car, he appreciated more fully what must be the condition of mind of spillane and his wife. and this appreciation gave strength to him, as, safely across, he fought his way up the other bank, in the teeth of the gale, to the yellow dream cable. to his consternation, he found the drum in thorough working order. everything was running smoothly at both ends. where was the hitch? in the middle, without a doubt. from this side, the car containing spillane was only two hundred and fifty feet away. he could make out the man and woman through the whirling vapor, crouching in the bottom of the car and exposed to the pelting rain and the full fury of the wind. in a lull between the squalls he shouted to spillane to examine the trolley of the car. spillane heard, for he saw him rise up cautiously on his knees, and with his hands go over both trolley-wheels. then he turned his face toward the bank. "she's all right, kid!" jerry heard the words, faint and far, as from a remote distance. then what was the matter? nothing remained but the other and empty car, which he could not see, but which he knew to be there, somewhere in that terrible gulf two hundred feet beyond spillane's car. his mind was made up on the instant. he was only fourteen years old, slightly and wirily built; but his life had been lived among the mountains, his father had taught him no small measure of "sailoring," and he was not particularly afraid of heights. in the tool-box by the drum he found an old monkey-wrench and a short bar of iron, also a coil of fairly new manila rope. he looked in vain for a piece of board with which to rig a "boatswain's chair." there was nothing at hand but large planks, which he had no means of sawing, so he was compelled to do without the more comfortable form of saddle. the saddle he rigged was very simple. with the rope he made merely a large loop round the stationary cable, to which hung the empty car. when he sat in the loop his hands could just reach the cable conveniently, and where the rope was likely to fray against the cable he lashed his coat, in lieu of the old sack he would have used had he been able to find one. these preparations swiftly completed, he swung out over the chasm, sitting in the rope saddle and pulling himself along the cable by his hands. with him he carried the monkey-wrench and short iron bar and a few spare feet of rope. it was a slightly up-hill pull, but this he did not mind so much as the wind. when the furious gusts hurled him back and forth, sometimes half twisting him about, and he gazed down into the gray depths, he was aware that he was afraid. it was an old cable. what if it should break under his weight and the pressure of the wind? it was fear he was experiencing, honest fear, and he knew that there was a "gone" feeling in the pit of his stomach, and a trembling of the knees which he could not quell. but he held himself bravely to the task. the cable was old and worn, sharp pieces of wire projected from it, and his hands were cut and bleeding by the time he took his first rest, and held a shouted conversation with spillane. the car was directly beneath him and only a few feet away, so he was able to explain the condition of affairs and his errand. "wish i could help you," spillane shouted at him as he started on, "but the wife's gone all to pieces! anyway, kid, take care of yourself! i got myself in this fix, but it's up to you to get me out!" "oh, i'll do it!" jerry shouted back. "tell mrs. spillane that she'll be ashore now in a jiffy!" in the midst of pelting rain, which half-blinded him, swinging from side to side like a rapid and erratic pendulum, his torn hands paining him severely and his lungs panting from his exertions and panting from the very air which the wind sometimes blew into his mouth with strangling force, he finally arrived at the empty car. a single glance showed him that he had not made the dangerous journey in vain. the front trolley-wheel, loose from long wear, had jumped the cable, and the cable was now jammed tightly between the wheel and the sheave-block. one thing was clear--the wheel must be removed from the block. a second thing was equally clear--while the wheel was being removed the car would have to be fastened to the cable by the rope he had brought. at the end of a quarter of an hour, beyond making the car secure, he had accomplished nothing. the key which bound the wheel on its axle was rusted and jammed. he hammered at it with one hand and held on the best he could with the other, but the wind persisted in swinging and twisting his body, and made his blows miss more often than not. nine-tenths of the strength he expended was in trying to hold himself steady. for fear that he might drop the monkey-wrench he made it fast to his wrist with his handkerchief. at the end of half an hour jerry had hammered the key clear, but he could not draw it out. a dozen times it seemed that he must give up in despair, that all the danger and toil he had gone through were for nothing. then an idea came to him, and he went through his pockets with feverish haste, and found what he sought--a ten-penny nail. but for that nail, put in his pocket he knew not when or why, he would have had to make another trip over the cable and back. thrusting the nail through the looped head of the key, he at last had a grip, and in no time the key was out. then came punching and prying with the iron bar to get the wheel itself free from where it was jammed by the cable against the side of the block. after that jerry replaced the wheel, and by means of the rope, heaved up on the car till the trolley once more rested properly on the cable. all this took time. more than an hour and a half had elapsed since his arrival at the empty car. and now, for the first time, he dropped out of his saddle and down into the car. he removed the detaining ropes, and the trolley-wheel began slowly to revolve. the car was moving, and he knew that somewhere beyond, although he could not see, the car of spillane was likewise moving, and in the opposite direction. there was no need for a brake, for his weight sufficiently counterbalanced the weight in the other car; and soon he saw the cliff rising out of the cloud depths and the old familiar drum going round and round. jerry climbed out and made the car securely fast. he did it deliberately and carefully, and then, quite unhero-like, he sank down by the drum, regardless of the pelting storm, and burst out sobbing. there were many reasons why he sobbed--partly from the pain of his hand, which was excruciating; partly from exhaustion; partly from relief and release from the nerve-tension he had been under for so long; and in a large measure for thankfulness that the man and woman were saved. they were not there to thank him; but somewhere beyond that howling, storm-driven gulf he knew they were hurrying over the trail toward the clover leaf. jerry staggered to the cabin, and his hand left the white knob red with blood as he opened the door, but he took no notice of it. he was too proudly contented with himself, for he was certain that he had done well, and he was honest enough to admit to himself that he had done well. but a small regret arose and persisted in his thoughts--if his father had only been there to see! in yeddo bay somewhere along theater street he had lost it. he remembered being hustled somewhat roughly on the bridge over one of the canals that cross that busy thoroughfare. possibly some slant-eyed, light-fingered pickpocket was even then enjoying the fifty-odd yen his purse had contained. and then again, he thought, he might have lost it himself, just lost it carelessly. hopelessly, and for the twentieth time, he searched in all his pockets for the missing purse. it was not there. his hand lingered in his empty hip-pocket, and he woefully regarded the voluble and vociferous restaurant-keeper, who insanely clamored: "twenty-five sen! you pay now! twenty-five sen!" "but my purse!" the boy said. "i tell you i've lost it somewhere." whereupon the restaurant-keeper lifted his arms indignantly and shrieked: "twenty-five sen! twenty-five sen! you pay now!" quite a crowd had collected, and it was growing embarrassing for alf davis. it was so ridiculous and petty, alf thought. such a disturbance about nothing! and, decidedly, he must be doing something. thoughts of diving wildly through that forest of legs, and of striking out at whomsoever opposed him, flashed through his mind; but, as though divining his purpose, one of the waiters, a short and chunky chap with an evil-looking cast in one eye, seized him by the arm. "you pay now! you pay now! twenty-five sen!" yelled the proprietor, hoarse with rage. alf was red in the face, too, from mortification; but he resolutely set out on another exploration. he had given up the purse, pinning his last hope on stray coins. in the little change-pocket of his coat he found a ten-sen piece and five-copper sen; and remembering having recently missed a ten-sen piece, he cut the seam of the pocket and resurrected the coin from the depths of the lining. twenty-five sen he held in his hand, the sum required to pay for the supper he had eaten. he turned them over to the proprietor, who counted them, grew suddenly calm, and bowed obsequiously--in fact, the whole crowd bowed obsequiously and melted away. alf davis was a young sailor, just turned sixteen, on board the _annie mine_, an american sailing-schooner, which had run into yokohama to ship its season's catch of skins to london. and in this, his second trip ashore, he was beginning to snatch his first puzzling glimpses of the oriental mind. he laughed when the bowing and kotowing was over, and turned on his heel to confront another problem. how was he to get aboard ship? it was eleven o'clock at night, and there would be no ship's boats ashore, while the outlook for hiring a native boatman, with nothing but empty pockets to draw upon, was not particularly inviting. keeping a sharp lookout for shipmates, he went down to the pier. at yokohama there are no long lines of wharves. the shipping lies out at anchor, enabling a few hundred of the short-legged people to make a livelihood by carrying passengers to and from the shore. a dozen sampan men and boys hailed alf and offered their services. he selected the most favorable-looking one, an old and beneficent-appearing man with a withered leg. alf stepped into his sampan and sat down. it was quite dark and he could not see what the old fellow was doing, though he evidently was doing nothing about shoving off and getting under way. at last he limped over and peered into alf's face. "ten sen," he said. "yes, i know, ten sen," alf answered carelessly. "but hurry up. american schooner." "ten sen. you pay now," the old fellow insisted. alf felt himself grow hot all over at the hateful words "pay now." "you take me to american schooner; then i pay," he said. but the man stood up patiently before him, held out his hand, and said, "ten sen. you pay now." alf tried to explain. he had no money. he had lost his purse. but he would pay. as soon as he got aboard the american schooner, then he would pay. no; he would not even go aboard the american schooner. he would call to his shipmates, and they would give the sampan man the ten sen first. after that he would go aboard. so it was all right, of course. to all of which the beneficent-appearing old man replied: "you pay now. ten sen." and, to make matters worse, the other sampan men squatted on the pier steps, listening. alf, chagrined and angry, stood up to step ashore. but the old fellow laid a detaining hand on his sleeve. "you give shirt now. i take you 'merican schooner," he proposed. then it was that all of alf's american independence flamed up in his breast. the anglo-saxon has a born dislike of being imposed upon, and to alf this was sheer robbery! ten sen was equivalent to six american cents, while his shirt, which was of good quality and was new, had cost him two dollars. he turned his back on the man without a word, and went out to the end of the pier, the crowd, laughing with great gusto, following at his heels. the majority of them were heavy-set, muscular fellows, and the july night being one of sweltering heat, they were clad in the least possible raiment. the water-people of any race are rough and turbulent, and it struck alf that to be out at midnight on a pier-end with such a crowd of wharfmen, in a big japanese city, was not as safe as it might be. one burly fellow, with a shock of black hair and ferocious eyes, came up. the rest shoved in after him to take part in the discussion. "give me shoes," the man said. "give me shoes now. i take you 'merican schooner." alf shook his head, whereat the crowd clamored that he accept the proposal. now the anglo-saxon is so constituted that to browbeat or bully him is the last way under the sun of getting him to do any certain thing. he will dare willingly, but he will not permit himself to be driven. so this attempt of the boatmen to force alf only aroused all the dogged stubbornness of his race. the same qualities were in him that are in men who lead forlorn hopes; and there, under the stars, on the lonely pier, encircled by the jostling and shouldering gang, he resolved that he would die rather than submit to the indignity of being robbed of a single stitch of clothing. not value, but principle, was at stake. then somebody thrust roughly against him from behind. he whirled about with flashing eyes, and the circle involuntarily gave ground. but the crowd was growing more boisterous. each and every article of clothing he had on was demanded by one or another, and these demands were shouted simultaneously at the tops of very healthy lungs. alf had long since ceased to say anything, but he knew that the situation was getting dangerous, and that the only thing left to him was to get away. his face was set doggedly, his eyes glinted like points of steel, and his body was firmly and confidently poised. this air of determination sufficiently impressed the boatmen to make them give way before him when he started to walk toward the shore-end of the pier. but they trooped along beside more noisily than ever. one of the youngsters about alf's size and build, impudently snatched his cap from his head; and before he could put it on his own head, alf struck out from the shoulder, and sent the fellow rolling on the stones. the cap flew out of his hand and disappeared among the many legs. alf did some quick thinking, his sailor pride would not permit him to leave the cap in their hands. he followed in the direction it had sped, and soon found it under the bare foot of a stalwart fellow, who kept his weight stolidly upon it. alf tried to get the cap by a sudden jerk, but failed. he shoved against the man's leg, but the man only grunted. it was challenge direct, and alf accepted it. like a flash one leg was behind the man and alf had thrust strongly with his shoulder against the fellow's chest. nothing could save the man from the fierce vigorousness of the trick, and he was hurled over and backward. next, the cap was on alf's head and his fists were up before him. then he whirled about to prevent attack from behind, and all those in that quarter fled precipitately. this was what he wanted. none remained between him and the shore end. the pier was narrow. facing them and threatening with his fist those who attempted to pass him on either side, he continued his retreat. it was exciting work, walking backward and at the same time checking that surging mass of men. but the dark-skinned peoples, the world over, have learned to respect the white man's fist; and it was the battles fought by many sailors, more than his own warlike front, that gave alf the victory. where the pier adjoins the shore was the station of the harbor police, and alf backed into the electric-lighted office, very much to the amusement of the dapper lieutenant in charge. the sampan men, grown quiet and orderly, clustered like flies by the open door, through which they could see and hear what passed. alf explained his difficulty in few words, and demanded, as the privilege of a stranger in a strange land, that the lieutenant put him aboard in the police-boat. the lieutenant, in turn, who knew all the "rules and regulations" by heart, explained that the harbor police were not ferrymen, and that the police-boats had other functions to perform than that of transporting belated and penniless sailormen to their ships. he also said he knew the sampan men to be natural-born robbers, but that so long as they robbed within the law he was powerless. it was their right to collect fares in advance, and who was he to command them to take a passenger and collect fare at the journey's end? alf acknowledged the justice of his remarks, but suggested that while he could not command he might persuade. the lieutenant was willing to oblige, and went to the door, from where he delivered a speech to the crowd. but they, too, knew their rights, and, when the officer had finished, shouted in chorus their abominable "ten sen! you pay now! you pay now!" "you see, i can do nothing," said the lieutenant, who, by the way, spoke perfect english. "but i have warned them not to harm or molest you, so you will be safe, at least. the night is warm and half over. lie down somewhere and go to sleep. i would permit you to sleep here in the office, were it not against the rules and regulations." alf thanked him for his kindness and courtesy; but the sampan men had aroused all his pride of race and doggedness, and the problem could not be solved that way. to sleep out the night on the stones was an acknowledgment of defeat. "the sampan men refuse to take me out?" the lieutenant nodded. "and you refuse to take me out?" again the lieutenant nodded. "well, then, it's not in the rules and regulations that you can prevent my taking myself out?" the lieutenant was perplexed. "there is no boat," he said. "that's not the question," alf proclaimed hotly. "if i take myself out, everybody's satisfied and no harm done?" "yes; what you say is true," persisted the puzzled lieutenant. "but you cannot take yourself out." "you just watch me," was the retort. down went alf's cap on the office floor. right and left he kicked off his low-cut shoes. trousers and shirt followed. "remember," he said in ringing tones, "i, as a citizen of the united states, shall hold you, the city of yokohama, and the government of japan responsible for those clothes. good night." he plunged through the doorway, scattering the astounded boatmen to either side, and ran out on the pier. but they quickly recovered and ran after him, shouting with glee at the new phase the situation had taken on. it was a night long remembered among the water-folk of yokohama town. straight to the end alf ran, and, without pause, dived off cleanly and neatly into the water. he struck out with a lusty, single-overhand stroke till curiosity prompted him to halt for a moment. out of the darkness, from where the pier should be, voices were calling to him. he turned on his back, floated, and listened. "all right! all right!" he could distinguish from the babel. "no pay now; pay bime by! come back! come back now; pay bime by!" "no, thank you," he called back. "no pay at all. good night." then he faced about in order to locate the _annie mine_. she was fully a mile away, and in the darkness it was no easy task to get her bearings. first, he settled upon a blaze of lights which he knew nothing but a man-of-war could make. that must be the united states war-ship _lancaster_. somewhere to the left and beyond should be the _annie mine_. but to the left he made out three lights close together. that could not be the schooner. for the moment he was confused. he rolled over on his back and shut his eyes, striving to construct a mental picture of the harbor as he had seen it in daytime. with a snort of satisfaction he rolled back again. the three lights evidently belonged to the big english tramp steamer. therefore the schooner must lie somewhere between the three lights and the _lancaster_. he gazed long and steadily, and there, very dim and low, but at the point he expected, burned a single light--the anchor-light of the _annie mine_. and it was a fine swim under the starshine. the air was warm as the water, and the water as warm as tepid milk. the good salt taste of it was in his mouth, the tingling of it along his limbs; and the steady beat of his heart, heavy and strong, made him glad for living. but beyond being glorious the swim was uneventful. on the right hand he passed the many-lighted _lancaster_, on the left hand the english tramp, and ere long the _annie mine_ loomed large above him. he grasped the hanging rope-ladder and drew himself noiselessly on deck. there was no one in sight. he saw a light in the galley, and knew that the captain's son, who kept the lonely anchor-watch, was making coffee. alf went forward to the forecastle. the men were snoring in their bunks, and in that confined space the heat seemed to him insufferable. so he put on a thin cotton shirt and a pair of dungaree trousers, tucked blanket and pillow under his arm, and went up on deck and out on the forecastle-head. hardly had he begun to doze when he was roused by a boat coming alongside and hailing the anchor-watch. it was the police-boat, and to alf it was given to enjoy the excited conversation that ensued. yes, the captain's son recognized the clothes. they belonged to alf davis, one of the seamen. what had happened? no; alf davis had not come aboard. he was ashore. he was not ashore? then he must be drowned. here both the lieutenant and the captain's son talked at the same time, and alf could make out nothing. then he heard them come forward and rouse out the crew. the crew grumbled sleepily and said that alf davis was not in the forecastle; whereupon the captain's son waxed indignant at the yokohama police and their ways, and the lieutenant quoted rules and regulations in despairing accents. alf rose up from the forecastle-head and extended his hand, saying: "i guess i'll take those clothes. thank you for bringing them aboard so promptly." "i don't see why he couldn't have brought you aboard inside of them," said the captain's son. and the police lieutenant said nothing, though he turned the clothes over somewhat sheepishly to their rightful owner. the next day, when alf started to go ashore, he found himself surrounded by shouting and gesticulating, though very respectful, sampan men, all extraordinarily anxious to have him for a passenger. nor did the one he selected say, "you pay now," when he entered his boat. when alf prepared to step out on to the pier, he offered the man the customary ten sen. but the man drew himself up and shook his head. "you all right," he said. "you no pay. you never no pay. you bully boy and all right." and for the rest of the _annie mine's_ stay in port, the sampan men refused money at alf davis's hand. out of admiration for his pluck and independence, they had given him the freedom of the harbor. * * * * * transcriber's notes: obvious punctuation errors repaired. page , "spice" changed to "splice" (reef und splice) page , "undego" changed to "undergo" (undergo with one's) +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | transcriber's notes | | | | * some minor typographical errors corrected. | | * inconsistencies in spelling and lay-out have not been corrected. | | * italics are represented between underscores as in _italics_. | | * bold faced type is represented as in =bold face=. | | * sidenotes from the original work have been deleted from this | | e-text, since their sheer number made reading the text difficult.| | the section titles given in the table of contents are the same | | as the original sidenotes. | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ wrinkles in electric lighting. wrinkles in electric lighting. by vincent stephen. [illustration] e. & f. n. spon, , strand, london. new york: , cortlandt street. . introduction. in the following pages it is my intention to give engineers on board ship, who may be put in charge of electric lighting machinery without having any electrical knowledge, some idea of the manner in which electricity is produced by mechanical means; how it is converted into light; what precautions must be used to keep the plant in order, and what to do in the event of difficulties arising. i do not therefore aim at producing a literary work, but shall try and explain everything in the plainest language possible. contents. the electric current, and its production by chemical means. page production of electric current in chemical battery--current very weak--current compared to circulation of the blood--strength and volume of current--pressure not sufficient without volume--action of current is instantaneous--resistance to the passage of the current--copper the usual metal for conductors--heat produced by current when wire is too small production of electric currents by mechanical means. _magneto-electric machines._ current produced by mechanical means--alternating current-- magneto-electric machines--shock produced by interruption of current--the current must be commutated--description of commutator--current, though alternating in the dynamo, is continuous in the circuit--continuous current used for electro-plating _dynamo-electric machines._ current will magnetise an iron or steel bar--permanent magnet-- electro-magnet--where the magneto and dynamo machines differ-- armature of so-called continuous-current dynamo--type of commutator--commutator brushes--current continuous in the circuit--alternating-current dynamos--current not commutated-- intense magnetic field produced--simplicity of ferranti armature-- large number of alternations of the current--alternating current cannot be used to excite an electro-magnet--exciter coupled on to same spindle as dynamo--power of exciter if used alone electric lamps. production of electric light--arc lights--mechanism to regulate carbons--some lamps suitable for alternating current--when carbons are consumed, light goes out--arc lamps very complicated-- jablochkoff candles--arc formed between the carbons--candles require alternating current--incandescent lamps--vacuum formed in lamps prevents combustion--vacuum not perfect--advantages of incandescent lamps for house and ship lighting--unaffected by wind, and suitable for either continuous or alternating currents leads. leads made usually of copper wire--short circuit--high e.m.f. for arc lights, but low for incandescent--arc lights in series-- incandescent lamps in parallel circuit--e.m.f. same for one lamp as for a number--if lamps suitable, each one turns on and off separately--safety fuses ship lighting. position for dynamo--dynamo to be kept clean and cool--quick-speed engines--slow-speed engines with belts--means of keeping belt on the pulley--engine must work steadily--a good sensitive governor wanted--the belt must be kept tight--a handy belt-stretcher-- friction gearing--switch board near dynamo--leads of different colours--main leads and branch leads--lamps held in frosted globes--switches for each lamp--lamps of various candle-powers-- plan for lighting quarter-deck at times--arrangement of temporary leads--leads and lamps always ready, and easily fixed up--lighting of ships' holds--danger of fire with oil lamps--arc lamps not suitable--arrangement of leads for incandescent lamps-- work carried on better, and pilfering of cargo prevented--hold leads disconnected while at sea--installation complete--lights wanted as night approaches--precautions before starting dynamo-- lubrication must be perfect--commutators and collectors require very little oil--position of brushes--start the engine--switches not turned on; no current except from exciter--testing work of exciter--dynamos very powerful magnets--look out for your watches--switch on the lamps--current is produced in large dynamo-- difference of a few lamps compensated by governor--turn all lamps on, and light up gradually--inequality of light in different lamps--weeding out of bad lamps--lamps not to be run too bright-- no trouble with dynamo if oiling is attended to--seizing--oil must be thin--the dynamo must be kept clean--little troubles with the lamps--no safety fuse--effects of vibration of ship on lamps-- what to look to if a lamp is out.--recapitulation--a current of volts is hardly felt--incandescent lights for side lights-- mast-head light--arc light should never be used--present mast-head light quite powerful enough--on passenger steamers, side one blaze of light, and side lights barely visible--speed of dynamo constant, but steam power used in proportion to number of lamps in use--no danger to life from electric current on board ship-- binnacle lamps. electric light not suitable--dynamo if near a compass will affect it--notes wrinkles in electric lighting. the electric current, and its production by chemical means. [illustration: fig. .] it will first be necessary to explain how electric currents are produced by means of chemicals. in a jar a, fig. , are placed two plates b and c, one zinc, and the other copper, each having connected to it at the top a copper wire of any convenient length. the plates are kept in position by means of pieces of wood, and the jar is about half filled with a solution of salt and water, or sulphuric acid and water; if then the two wires are joined, a current of electricity at once flows through them, however long they may be. the current produced in this manner is very weak, and does not even keep what strength it has for any length of time, but rapidly gets weaker until quite imperceptible. the current is, however, continuous; that is, it flows steadily in the one direction through the wire, and may be used for ringing bells, or for other purposes where a feeble current only is required to do intermittent work. the wire e in connection with the copper plate is called the positive lead, and the other the negative, and the current is said to flow from the copper plate, through the wire e through the circuit to d, and thence to the zinc plate, and through the liquid to the copper plate. the current has often been compared to water flowing through a pipe, but i think it can be better compared to the blood in the human body, which through the action of the heart is continually forced through the arteries and veins in one steady stream. there is, however, this difference, that there is no actual progression of matter in the electric current, it being like a ripple on water, which moves from end to end of a lake without the water itself being moved across. now that i have given you an idea of how the current acts, i must try and explain how different degrees of strength and volume are obtained. in the first place, let us consider what constitute strength and volume in an electric current, or at least try and get a general notion about them. for this purpose i shall compare the electric current to water being forced through a pipe; and the strength of the electric current, or electromotive force, written for short e.m.f., will be like the pressure of water at any part of the pipe. two pipes may carry different quantities of water, and yet the pressure may be the same in each; in one a gallon of water may pass a given point in the same time that a pint passes the same point in the other, and yet in each case the different quantities may pass that point at the same speed. thus in electricity, two currents may be of different volume or quantity, measured in ampères, and yet be of the same e.m.f. measured in volts; or they may be of different e.m.f., or pressure, or intensity, and yet be of the same volume. if any work is to be done by the water forced through a pipe, such as turning a turbine, it is evident that pressure of itself is not sufficient, seeing that a stream an inch in diameter may be at the same pressure as another a foot in diameter. so with the electric current, if work is to be done, such as driving a motor or lighting a lamp, it is not sufficient to have a certain e.m.f.; there must be quantity or volume in proportion to the amount of work, so that if it takes a given quantity to work one lamp, it will take twice that quantity to work two lamps of the same kind. it must not be inferred from this, that if one lamp requires a certain e.m.f., that two lamps will require it to be doubled, as such is not the case, except under certain conditions which i will explain later on. the action of electricity is practically instantaneous in any length of wire, so that if the current is used to ring two bells a mile apart, but connected by wires, they will commence to ring simultaneously. i have so far not said anything about resistance to the passage of the current through the wires. i shall therefore refer again to our comparison of the current to water forced through a pipe, and you will agree that a certain sized pipe will only convey a certain amount of water in a given time. if a larger quantity is to be conveyed in the same time, a greater pressure must be applied, or a larger pipe must be used. it is evident that increasing the size of the pipe will get over the difficulty more readily than increasing the pressure of the water. the pipes themselves offer a certain resistance to the passage of the water through them, in the shape of friction; so that if an effect is to be produced at a distance, rather more pressure is required than if it is done close at hand, so as to make up for the loss sustained by friction. much the same may be said of the electric current; a certain sized wire will only carry a certain current, and if more current is required, a thicker wire must be used to convey it, or it must be of a greater e.m.f. it is usually more convenient to increase the thickness of the wire than to increase the e.m.f. of the current. the wire offers a certain resistance to the passage of the current through it, which may be compared to friction, and this resistance varies according to the metal of which it is composed. copper is the metal in ordinary use for wires for electric lighting purposes, and the purer it is the better will it convey the current. iron is used for telegraph wires on account of cheapness, the current used being so small that this metal conveys it readily enough; if copper were used, the wires will only require to be about one-third the diameter of the iron ones. the following are the respective values for electrical conductivity of various metals when pure, taking silver as a standard:--silver , copper · , gold , zinc , brass , iron · , tin · , lead · , mercury · . if a wire is made to convey a current which is too large for its electrical capacity, it will get heated, which decreases its conductivity, with the result that the heat increases until finally the wire fuses. i shall have more to say about this when speaking of electric lighting. production of electric currents by mechanical means. _magneto-electric machines._ i have shown how the electric current is produced by the action of chemical or primary batteries, and how this current will flow through suitable conductors. i shall now explain how mechanical power may be converted into electricity. it has been found that if a wire, preferably of copper, of which the ends are joined together, is moved past a magnet a current is induced in the wire, flowing in one direction while the wire is approaching the magnet, and in the opposite direction while it is receding from it. this is then not a continuous current like we obtained from the chemical battery, but an alternating one, and you will see later on how it can be made to produce similar effects. the oftener the wire passes the magnet the more electricity is generated, so that if we make a coil of the wire and move a large number of parts of wire past at one time, the effects on each part are accumulated; and if instead of having one magnet to pass before, we have several, the effects will be doubled or trebled, &c., in proportion to the number. if, again, the coil is moved at an increased speed past the magnets, the effects will be still further increased. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. .] the knowledge of these facts led to the construction of the various magneto-electric machines, of which a familiar type is seen in those small ones used for medical purposes. they contain a large horse-shoe magnet, close to the end of which two bobbins of copper wire are made to revolve at a high speed, and all who have used these machines know that the more quickly they turn the handle the greater shock the person receives who is being operated upon. the current generated is really very feeble, the shock being produced by interrupting it at every half revolution by means of a small spring or other suitable mechanism. if the current is not so interrupted, it cannot be felt at all, which may be proved by lifting up the spring on the spindle of the ordinary kind. the current is an alternating one, and changes its direction throughout the circuit, however extended it may be, at every half revolution. if it is required to have a continuous current, use must be made of what is termed a commutator, and i shall endeavour to explain the manner in which it acts as simply as possible. without going into any further details as to the construction of the bobbins, and their action at any particular moment, i shall content myself with saying that if the wire on the two bobbins is continuous, and the ends are connected, the current will flow one way during half a revolution, and the other way during the other half. now, in fig. , on the spindle a on which the bobbins are fixed, is fitted a split collar formed of two halves b and c, to which are joined respectively the ends of the wires + and -. this collar is insulated from the spindle by a suitable insulating material, that is to say, a material which does not conduct electricity, such as wood, ivory, &c., and is represented in fig. by the dark parts d. so far the circuit is not complete, so that however quickly you turn the machine no current is produced. if, however, some means is employed for joining b and c by a conductor, the alternating current is produced as before. in fig. , i show a section through b a c. on a base e made of wood, are fixed two metal springs f and g, which are made to press against b and c respectively; wires are connected at h and k, which, joined together, complete the circuit. a continuous current is said to be + or positive where it leaves a battery, and - or negative where it returns; it will be convenient to use these signs and terms in the following explanation. at one portion of the revolution the spindle will be in the position shown in fig. , and the + current is flowing into b, through f, to the terminal h, thence through the circuit to the terminal k, through g to c, and so back through the - wire to the bobbins of the machine. in fig. the spindle has made a half revolution, bringing b in contact with g, and c with f. but by this half turn the current is reversed in the bobbins, and the + current flows into c, through f, to terminal h as before, and through the circuit to k, through g and b, back to the bobbins. thus you see that in the circuit the current will be always in the same direction, or continuous, although in the bobbins it is alternating, and may be used for any purpose for which a continuous current is required, such as electro-plating, &c. [illustration: fig. .] there are various forms of the magneto-electric machines, as well as of commutators, but the foregoing shows the general principle of them all. _dynamo-electric machines._ it will now be necessary to explain the nature of a dynamo-electric machine, called, for shortness, a dynamo, and to show in what it differs from a magneto-electric machine. i have explained how an electric current is produced by a wire passing in front of a magnet; now, this magnet may either be of the ordinary kind, or it may be what is termed an electro-magnet. one of the effects which electricity can be made to produce is the magnetising of steel bars to form the ordinary and well-known permanent magnets which are used in ships' compasses, &c. to produce this effect, part of the wire in a circuit is made into a spiral as in fig. . [illustration: fig. .] the steel rod to be magnetised is placed within the spiral, and a continuous current of electricity is then sent through the wire, which causes the rod to become magnetised with a north pole at one end, and a south pole at the other. the more current is passed through the circuit, and the more turns are in the spiral, the more quickly and strongly is the rod magnetised; and it will retain its magnetism for an indefinite time if made of suitable steel. there is a point at which the metal is said to be saturated with magnetism, and the strength it has then acquired will be that which it will retain afterwards, although while under the influence of the current that strength may be considerably exceeded. if instead of a steel rod one of iron is placed in the spiral, and the current is passed through as before, it will be magnetised in the same manner; but as soon as the current is stopped, the rod loses almost all its magnetism, and if the current is then passed in the opposite direction the rod will be magnetised in the opposite way. the softer and more homogeneous is the iron, the more instantaneously will it acquire and lose its magnetism, and the greater strength of magnetism it is able to acquire. an iron bar, round which are wound a large number of turns of insulated or covered wire, constitutes an electro-magnet. the difference then between a magneto-electric and a dynamo-electric machine is, that in the former permanent magnets are used, and in the latter electro-magnets take their place. i do not intend to go into particulars as to the construction of the various dynamos in present use, as there are many books to be had in which these machines are fully described. i need merely say that in the so-called continuous-current dynamos, the whole or part of the current produced is made to pass through the coils of the electro-magnets, thus inducing in them the required magnetism. i showed how, in the magneto-electric machine, the currents are collected by means of a commutator, and it is evident that in figs. , , and there might be separate wires coming from each bobbin to b and c; and if there were more than two bobbins, there might still be two wires from each to b and c. on the other hand the collecting collar might be split into more sections; in fact there might be as many sections as bobbins. to show how the current is collected in continuous-current dynamos, i must give a short explanation of the revolving part or armature of a standard type of machine. in fig. is shown a horse-shoe magnet, with its north and south poles, n and s. between these poles is made to revolve the armature, composed of a number of coils of wire made to form a ring like a life-buoy. the ends of the wires are made to lie along a collar on the spindle, made of some insulating material, each wire being parallel to its neighbour, and kept separate from it, as shown in fig. . [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. .] these wires are so arranged that if one end of a sectional coil is on top of the spindle at a given moment, the other will be on the under side. if then, as shown in fig. , a rubber of copper, made in the form of a brush of copper wire for convenience, is placed in contact with the upper part of the commutator collar, and another similar one with the lower, it is evident the circuit will be completed in the same manner as before explained. [illustration: fig. . edison dynamo.] a wire which is + when above the spindle, will be - when below it, and as the spindle revolves the current changes in the various wires from - to + as they reach the top, so that it will always therefore be + in the upper brush and - in the lower one, and will accordingly be continuous through the circuit. it will be seen in the illustrations of various continuous-current dynamos, that though their shape and arrangement differ, the mode of collecting the current is much about the same as i have described above. figs. and show some of the continuous-current dynamos at present in use. [illustration: fig. . brush dynamo.] i will now explain the nature of an alternating-current dynamo. the principal difference between the continuous-and alternating-current dynamo, is in the number of magnets used. most of the former have only four magnets, while the latter have frequently as many as thirty-two. in reality, as i have shown, these are all alternating-current dynamos, only that in the so-called continuous-current ones, the current is commutated, whereas in the others it is not, but is used as it is produced. in the principal alternating-current dynamos, a number of small magnets, usually sixteen, are attached to a framework directly opposite a similar number of others of the same size, the space between the ends being only about an inch or two. these are all electro-magnets, and are wound in such manner that when excited by a current, every alternate one shall have the same magnetism, as in fig. , and every opposite one a contrary magnetism. this produces an intense magnetic field between the ends of the magnets, and in this space revolves the armature. this armature, in the siemens dynamo, is composed of a disc having as many bobbins on the periphery as there are magnets on each side of the dynamo. as each bobbin approaches each magnet a current is induced in one direction, which is reversed when the bobbin recedes; thus an alternating current is produced, which is collected by connecting the ends to insulated rings or collars on the spindle, and having small copper brushes or rubbers in contact with them. in the ferranti dynamo, the armature is quite different, and much more simple, as comparison of figs. and will show. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. . siemens armature.] [illustration: fig. . ferranti armature.] it consists of a copper tape bent in and out so as to form a sort of star with eight arms, the number of layers of insulated copper tape being from ten to thirty, according to requirements. the centre is made in a similar shape with bolts or rivets holding each convolution in place. the two ends of the tape are attached respectively to two collector-rings on the spindle, against which press two solid metal rubbers which carry off the current for use in the circuit. it can be shown that as each arm approaches a magnet a current will be induced in one direction, which will be reversed as each arm recedes; and therefore an alternating current will be produced. as there are sixteen magnets for the armature to pass at each revolution, there must be sixteen alternations of the current during the same time, so that if the speed of the armature is revolutions per minute, there will be × = alternations in one minute. these alternations being so extremely rapid, when this current is used for electric lighting, the steadiness of the light will be in no way affected, but will remain as constant as with a continuous current. [illustration: fig. . siemens alternating dynamo.] the alternating current produced by these dynamos cannot be used for exciting an electro-magnet, as the magnetism would be reversed at every alternation; a separate small dynamo of the continuous type is therefore used as an exciter to magnetise all the electro-magnets in the field, and it is usually coupled on to the same spindle, and therefore goes at the same speed as the alternating-current dynamo. the exciter is usually of a size to be able to do alone about one-tenth to one-twentieth of the work that the larger machines does in the way of lighting; so that if from any cause the latter is disabled while the ship lighted by it is at sea, the exciter may be used alone to do a portion of the lighting, in the first-class saloon for instance. this can only be done if the exciter is so constructed as to give the proper e.m.f. that the lamps require. [illustration: fig. . ferranti alternating dynamo.] figs. and are illustrations of two of the alternating current dynamos in use on board ship and elsewhere. electric lamps. i have explained how power can be converted into electric currents, either continuous or alternating, and i must now show how these currents can be applied to the production of light. [illustration: fig. .] the current may be used to produce an _arc light_ in the following manner:--two carbon rods, a and b, are held by suitable means in the position shown in fig. , and the two wires from a dynamo are joined respectively to a and b, the upper one always being the positive lead when a continuous current is used. when the current is sent through the circuit, it passes through the carbons a and b, which are conductors. immediately this occurs, suitable mechanism in the lamp, being acted on by the current, or by hand in the case of search-lights, or by clock-work, moves the two carbons a small distance apart, with the consequence that a dazzling arc of light is formed between them. if the carbons get too far apart, the mechanism brings them nearer together again, and on the delicacy with which it acts, depends the steadiness of the light. it would be useless to explain how this mechanism acts, as it is in a different form in each maker's lamp. some lamps have been constructed for use with an alternating current, but with the majority a continuous current is used. while an arc light is burning the carbons waste away, the upper one more rapidly than the lower, and the mechanism has to approach them constantly to make up for this waste. when the carbons are consumed as far as convenient, an automatic arrangement cuts off the current, and the light goes out; or it diverts the current to another set of carbons, which at once light up. the carbons are made in suitable lengths to last a certain number of hours, four, six, eight, &c. in fig. is shown an arc lamp complete. [illustration: fig. . arc lamp complete.] an arc lamp is of necessity a complicated affair, which it is not advisable to have on board ship, except where an electrician is engaged permanently. another way of producing light is to use the current in what is called an _electric candle_, of which a familiar type is the jablochkoff candle. fig. shows the form of this candle, a and b being two carbon rods parallel to one another, and joined, but at the same time insulated from one another by kaolin, a sort of chalky substance, which is a non-conductor. [illustration: fig. .] the wires c and d from the dynamo are joined respectively to a and b through metallic supports, as in an arc lamp, and when the current is turned on it flows through c a and across by a small strip of carbon e to b and d back to the dynamo. the strip e is only large enough to carry the current across for a moment, and is immediately consumed, but an arc of light is then formed between the carbons as in the arc lamp. as the carbons consume, the kaolin in between burns away, just in the same manner as, in an ordinary candle, the wick is consumed and the wax melts and burns away, except that in the latter case the wax feeds the light, whereas the kaolin is only used to keep the carbons the required distance apart and the arc of light from running down them. it is evident that the carbons must be consumed equally, for which reason use must be made of the alternating current. any unsteadiness that occurs in the light produced is consequent on unsteadiness of the current, or impurities in the carbons, &c., there being no mechanism of any kind required. these candles do not give such a great light as arc lights, but it is of the same nature in every way. fig. shows one of these candles in its holder, from which can be seen how electrical contact is made with the two carbons. [illustration: fig. .] if the current is interrupted in any way, and the light goes out, it will not be produced again automatically, but requires a small piece of carbon between the two carbons as a path for the current to pass across as in the beginning. a third form of electric light is produced by using the current in an _incandescent lamp_. to explain the action of an incandescent lamp, i must refer back to what i said about wires getting heated by a current being passed through them which was too large for their capacity. if two large wires are joined by a small one, and a strong current is passed through the circuit, the small wire rapidly gets red hot, and finally fuses. if this small wire is contained in a globe from which the air is exhausted, when the current is passed through it, it gets red, then white hot, and when very brilliant gets fused. if, instead of wire, we have in the small globe a thin filament of carbon, when the current is passed through, we get a brilliant light which remains constant because the carbon does not fuse, and it cannot burn away for want of air. fig. shows a swan lamp, and fig. an edison lamp, both made on this principle. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. .] if in these lamps the vacuum were perfect, the carbon filament would never get consumed; it is, however, impossible to get a perfect vacuum, but the better it is, the longer will the filament last. incandescent lamps are the only ones that are suitable for house or ship lighting. [advantages of incandescent lamps for house and ship lighting.] they give a yellowish light like a good gas-flame, they do not consume the air of a room, they cause no smell, and only give out a very slight heat. they are perfectly safe, because if the globe gets broken and allows air to get in, the filament is instantly consumed, and the light goes out. they can be put in all sorts of places where it would be impossible to have any other lamps, such as near the ceiling, close to curtains, in a room full of explosives or combustibles, and even under water. they are not affected by wind; they can therefore be used under punkahs, or near open windows, sky-lights, or ports, or in the open air. these lamps can be used with either continuous or alternating currents, but will probably last longer with the latter, because, when a continuous current is used, particles of the carbon of the filament appear to be conveyed from one end of the filament to the other, reducing the thickness at the one end, until finally it breaks. this evidently cannot occur with an alternating current, as the impulse in one direction is counteracted by the following one in the opposite direction. if the current used is of too high a tension for the lamps, they will show an intensely brilliant light for a short time, but the filament will soon be destroyed, and the lamp rendered useless. leads. we have now to consider the means used for conveying the current, continuous or alternating, to the lamps we intend to use. the leads for the electric current, which correspond in some measure with the pipes which convey gas, are made of copper wire, as pure as can be obtained, covered with some insulating material to prevent the escape of the current through contact with other conductors. the size of the wire is regulated according to the amount of current which is to be conveyed; it will do no harm to have it of twice the required section, but if it is of less than the required section, it will offer so much resistance to the passage of the current, that it will probably get fused in a very short time. if the lead attached to one terminal of the dynamo comes back to the other terminal without there being any lamps in the circuit, or other means of making use of the current, it is said to be short circuited, and if the dynamo is kept going something must give out very soon. the two leads must therefore never be connected with one another, except by a lamp or other resistance, and the manner in which the lamps are placed, and the size of the leads, depend upon the relative tension and quantity of current and the kind of lamps to be used. if the current is to be used in arc lamps it is usual to have a high e.m.f., which allows of the leads being of small section; but if it is to be used in incandescent lamps it is found more convenient to have a low e.m.f., and as this implies a large quantity of current, the leads have to be of large section. arc lamps usually require to be placed in series, that is to say, in such a manner that the current, after leaving the dynamo, passes through each lamp in succession. the e.m.f. required in this case is the sum of the e.m.f. for each lamp, the quantity required being the same as for one lamp. this accounts for the high e.m.f. used in arc lighting and the small size of the wire for conducting the current. incandescent lamps can be either in series or parallel, and frequently the two systems are combined. to explain the meaning of having lamps parallel, we will suppose the two leads from a dynamo to be taken along a wall, parallel to one another, and about six inches apart, ending at the end of the wall, but not connected in any way. if we then place lamps at intervals between the two leads, connecting one loop of each to the upper lead, and the other to the lower lead, by means of small copper wire, these lamps are said to be all parallel. in this arrangement the current required is the sum of the quantity necessary for each lamp, but the e.m.f. is the same as that required for one lamp of the same kind. as we therefore require to send a large quantity of current through the leads at a small pressure or e.m.f., these leads must be of large section. in the above arrangement each lamp may be turned on or off separately without affecting the others. sometimes two or more lamps are placed in groups between the parallel leads; these are then in series with regard to one another, and can only be turned on or off two or more at a time, in other words, one group at a time. if our dynamo is producing a current of volts e.m.f. when working at its proper speed, and our lamps are -volt lamps, we shall be able to turn each lamp on or off separately; but if we want to put in -volt lamps, we must place two together, and we shall then have to turn them on or off two at a time. i am supposing that in both cases the lamps require the same quantity of current, though of different e.m.f. to prevent the lamps being spoilt by the current being too strong through a sudden increase in the speed of the dynamo, as also to prevent the leads getting fused, and perhaps setting fire to the casing, it is usual to have safety fuses in various parts of the circuit. these are of different kinds, but a typical one consists of a small lead wire, large enough to carry the normal current, but which fuses when the current is too strong, and at once interrupts its passage. the lamps in the same portion of the circuit are then extinguished and so saved from destruction, and cannot then be lighted again until the fuse is renewed, which, however, can be done with ease. ship lighting. we will consider now the case of a steamship to be lighted by means of incandescent lamps. it is sometimes a matter of some difficulty to fix on a suitable position for the dynamo and engine, especially in ships which have already been running for some time. in selecting a position, it must be borne in mind that a dynamo will work best in a cool clean place, cleanliness being most important. if a lot of coal dust is flying about where the dynamo is working, it will be drawn into it, and tend to impair its electrical, as well as mechanical efficiency. if the dynamo is kept properly lubricated, it will work well enough in a hot place, but we must remember that the heating of the wire which makes up a large portion of the dynamo, reduces its conductivity, so that the cooler it is kept the better. the dynamo should be so placed that the engineer can get to every side of it easily. if a quick-speed engine is to be used for driving it direct, it will make a very compact installation, but there seems to be some difficulty as yet in getting suitable reliable engines, besides which many marine engineers object to quick-speed engines altogether. if a slow-speed engine is to be used, a belt is of course required to get the necessary speed on the dynamo, and various precautions are needful to prevent the belt slipping off the pulley when the ship is rolling about in a sea-way. in all cases, the engine and dynamo should be placed with their spindles fore-and-aft, or in a line with the ship's keel, the rolling being felt more than the pitching. there are various ways of keeping the belt from slipping off the pulley. some have flanges on the pulley, others have guides or rollers on each side of the belt, each plan having its advantages and disadvantages; but some plan must be used, otherwise the belt slips off, usually in the middle of the first-saloon dinner, and out go all the lights, besides which the belt may be considerably damaged before the engine can be stopped. the engine must be one that will work very steadily, otherwise the lights will pulsate at each revolution of the engine, which is most unpleasant. if the engine is a single one, it must have a large fly-wheel, or a driving-wheel large and heavy enough to answer the same purpose. the engine requires a good sensitive governor, so as to keep the speed regular when some of the lamps are turned on or off. when the engine and dynamo are in the main engine-room, the throttle-valve, or a stop-valve, should be in a convenient place for the engineer on watch to get at so as to instantly shut off the steam if the belt slips off or breaks. in ships where an electrician is carried there will not be the same necessity for this precaution. it is necessary to have some means of tightening up the belt, so as to keep it from slipping round the pulley. where the engine and dynamo are on the same level there may be a screw arrangement in the base-plate of the latter by which the distance between centres can be increased. where the engine and dynamo are on different levels, and the latter is a fixture, recourse must be had to a roller, bearing against the upper part of the belt and capable of screw adjustment. if link leather belting is used, it will be found necessary to take out several rows of links each day until it has finished stretching. a very handy thing to use for this purpose, and which can be made on board by an engineer, is a double clamp with a screw in between, just like the ones which are being sold for stretching trousers which have got baggy at the knees. whatever belt is used, it is very important that there should be no joint or inequality which can cause a jump or slip when going over the pulley, as this will cause the lights to pulsate each time. in america friction gearing has been tried, but i do not know with what success. from my experience of friction gearing, i am inclined to think it might do very well. there is certainly no doubt that direct-acting quick-speed engines are the ones to use, and it is only a question of getting a suitable one. the dynamo being firmly fixed in position, the main leads are connected to it, and carried along to the switch-board, which should be in a convenient position near at hand. on this switch-board are usually placed the large safety fuses. the board should have a cover to it, to prevent any one meddling with it, and to keep it clean. the main leads are of a large size, and from these other smaller ones branch off, being spliced and soldered to them. it is a very good practice to use leads of two different colours, as we can then work by the following rule: never connect together two leads of different colours except by means of a lamp or other resistance. the size of the various leads depends on the current to be conveyed, and is a matter for the electricians. on the main-deck of a large passenger steamer, the main leads may be carried along side by side under the upper deck, and from these, smaller ones branch off into the various sets of rooms, smaller ones still going into each room. in each room there will be one lamp with its switch to turn it on or off as desired, and a safety fuse. the lamps are held in small brackets, and are contained when desired in frosted globes, which diffuse the light and make it very pleasant. when these globes are held rigidly in the brackets, the least knock breaks them. a very good bracket i have seen in use is one which allows the globe to move about on its support when touched, being at the same time sufficiently a fixture to resist the motion of the ship; and in the particular ship in which i saw these used in the first saloon, there was not a single breakage during a four months' voyage. the switches for turning each light on or off can be under the control of the passengers, or, on the other hand, they can be fitted to work with keys kept by the stewards, as thought most desirable. the lamps used can be of various candle-powers, within certain limits, and of whatever make is considered best. they can also be of various makes, as long as they are constructed to stand the same e.m.f. the lamps in the passenger berths give quite sufficient light if of -candle power; the ones for lighting the saloons, passages, and other large spaces, may with advantage be of -candle power. in these days of luxurious travelling, when the various lines are trying to attract passengers to their particular ships, what follows may be thought worth consideration. in steamers going through the tropics to india, china, australia, &c., it is usual to get up dances, concerts, and other entertainments on the quarter-deck, at times when it would be impossible to do anything below on account of the heat. the quarter-deck then has to be lighted up. this is effected by means of globe oil-lamps hung about here and there, two being hung in front of the piano, in unpleasant proximity to the head of the obliging lady pianist. now in a ship lighted by electricity, there is no reason why a couple of leads should not be brought up from below through a skylight or other opening, on to the quarter-deck. indeed the leads might be arranged to screw into a place in the deck, or on the side of a skylight, just in the same manner as a hose is connected for washing decks. these leads would have holders for lamps fitted permanently at intervals, and when required for use would be stopped up along the awning-spar or ridge-chains, and the lamps screwed or hooked into the holders. with a few handy men, five or ten minutes would suffice to arrange the whole thing after the leads had once been fitted. the leads once fitted for this purpose would be always ready for use, and could be kept coiled away in a box which might also have a compartment to contain the dozen or so of lamps required. if the dynamo is already running as many lamps as it is capable of, some of the bedroom lights may be turned off while the quarter-deck is being lighted. another thing which i think has not yet been done is the following. when working cargo at night, and indeed during the day to some extent, lights are of necessity used in the holds. the _theory_ is, that no naked lights shall be allowed, but the _practice_ is this: lamps are taken below, get knocked about, the wicks fall down and want pricking up, the lamps are opened for this purpose, and as they are found to give more light without a dusty glass round them than with it, they are left open. candles are often taken below lighted, and even matches struck to see the mark on a bale. i am aware that arc lamps are used in the royal albert docks, london, in connection with the dock lighting, lamps being carried below when required, with flexible leads attached, and that, in some few steamers, arc lamps have been used in the same manner in connection with their own plant. these arc lamps are, i think, not nearly as suitable as incandescent lamps for the purpose of lighting up a ship's hold; the light is too glaring, and casts deep shadows amongst the bales and cases, besides which, the lamps are large and clumsy. i would suggest that leads should be carried behind the stringer-battens in the ship's side, or along under the next upper-deck, having simple sockets or holders for incandescent lamps at certain intervals. whoever might be in charge of the hold would screw or hook on the lamps as required, and so light up every part of the hold thoroughly while work was going on. there would be no risk of fire, and i am convinced that the extra leads and lamps would pay for themselves in a very short time, because work would get on more quickly, and pilfering of the cargo would be in a great measure put a stop to. the leads for the holds could be so arranged as to be quite unconnected with the dynamo while at sea, so that there could not be the remotest possibility of the current finding its way below when not wanted. in fine, there is no reason whatever why a ship's hold should not be lighted up when required, as well as a warehouse or store on shore. now, we will suppose that our installation is complete, ready for working, everything having been pronounced in order by the electrician who has looked after the work. evening is approaching, and the lights will soon be required; we must therefore see that our engine and dynamo are ready for a start. if the engine and dynamo are separate, the belt must be felt, to see that it is tight enough, otherwise it must be tightened by whatever means are provided for the purpose. we must also see that the engine and dynamo are properly oiled, and that the worsteds are down the tubes of the oil-cups, and working properly, not dry, as i have known them to be, with fatal results to the dynamo. if the lubrication is performed by means of tubes leading to each bearing from an elevated oil-box, we must see that the oil really gets to the bearings, and regulate its flow as required. the commutators and collector-rings and rubbers require only a wipe of oil, just sufficient to prevent undue wearing of the surfaces; if too much is put on them, they will spark a great deal, and sparking will wear them away more quickly than friction. the brushes of copper wire which collect the current of the exciter dynamo, and others of similar pattern, must be placed so that the ends press on the commutator as shown in fig. . the ends should project just a little way beyond the point or line of contact, and when the dynamo is running, there should be very little sparking. i am supposing that our plant consists of an alternating-current dynamo with a small exciter. the wires leading from the exciter to the other dynamo remain always connected, as there is no need for meddling with them. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. .] we will now start the engine, and thereby set the dynamo going round, slowly at first, and gradually up to the speed required. the main switches are not yet turned on, so there is no current going through the leads as yet; what then is being done? a current is being produced by the exciter only, and is magnetising the electro-magnets of the larger dynamo, and if we want to know if it is really doing its work as intended, we just hold a small pocket-compass over the ends of two opposite magnets of the dynamo, and observe how the needle points. it should at once take up the position shown in fig. , and if then held over the next couple in like manner, the needle should simply turn round, and point in exactly the opposite direction. if it points in any other direction, there is something wrong with the connections. if, however, the connections are right at starting, they will of course remain right, and there should be no need for this test. it is well to remember that when dynamos are working, they are, or contain for the time being, very powerful magnets, therefore if we bend over them to examine them, our watches will get magnetised, which does not improve their qualities as time-keepers. say that our dynamo is now going round at the required speed, which may be or revolutions per minute; the engine is not using much steam as yet, because very little work is being done. we now switch on a set of lamps; this closes the circuit, and the large dynamo begins to produce its alternating current, which goes through the lamps and lights them up. this, however, gives the engine more work to do, and more steam must be turned on, otherwise the necessary speed will not be kept up. we switch on all the other lamps as required, and must see that the speed of the dynamo is kept constant. a difference of a few lamps, affecting the engine to a small extent only, should be compensated automatically by the governor. if the brightest lamps are not bright enough, the speed should be increased a little, but care must be taken not to overdo it, because if the current is too strong, some of the safety fuses will melt, and the corresponding lamps will go out. it must not be inferred from what i have said, that it is necessary to run the dynamo at first without switching on any lamps. on the contrary, a better effect will be produced if all the lamps are switched on before starting, as they will then gradually work up to their full brilliancy; whereas, if one set of lamps is started first, and run bright, and we then switch on another set, the current at first will be too small for the two sets, and the first set will get quite dull, remaining so until the dynamo is going at its proper speed again. when lighted up for the first time, it will be found that some of the lamps are much brighter than others; this is because the lamps at present made are not of perfectly equal resistances. we must go round, then, and note where the dull ones are, and we can either at once, or during next day, shift them into the bathrooms and places where such a perfect light is not required. all the lamps in one room, the first saloon, or music room, for instance, should be equalised as much as possible, and in such places the brightest should be used. nothing looks worse than to see a couple of dull lights in the same room as a lot of bright ones. by seeing to these matters we can make the lighting much more satisfactory than it otherwise would be. during the first few evenings we shall probably have some of the lamps go out through the filaments breaking. this i consider a weeding out of defective lamps, because if it were that the current was too strong, the fuses would have given way. some of the fuses give way when the current is _not_ too strong; this is owing to imperfections in the fuses, and they must be replaced by spare ones. for the sake of economy, it is well not to run the lamps too bright. without giving the lamps the maximum current a very good light can be obtained, and they will last all the longer. i need hardly say that there is a medium in this as in everything else, and it does not look well when a candle is placed alongside of an electric lamp to enable a person to read or write in comfort. all this time the dynamo is running, and we must feel the bearings occasionally to see if they are keeping cool. there will be no trouble if the lubrication is all right. if the oil does not get into the bearings as it should do, they will heat, jam the spindle, or seize, and bring up the engine or break the belt. the lights will then all go out, and everybody will say hard things of the electric light, while the fault really rests with us. sometimes seizing occurs through the spindle not being slack enough in the bearings, but this generally occurs while testing the dynamo at the works. it must be borne in mind that in dynamos the spindle must be a good fit, and there may be room in the bearings for ordinary engine-oil while there may not be for a thicker oil, such as castor oil. therefore, if the bearings show a tendency to heat, it may improve matters to thin the oil used with petroleum. while giving the dynamo its proper supply of oil, we must only apply it in the proper places. if we let the bobbins get smothered in oil, the insulating material on the wire will get rotted, and a short circuiting will probably take place. the dynamo cannot be kept too clean, and there should be a canvas cover to put over it while not in use, especially while coaling. we will suppose that all is going on right; a steward comes along and says: "mr. so-and-so, i cannot get the lamp in number berth to light although i have turned the switch the right way." "all right, i will go and look at it," you answer. now, let us see what is the matter. we unhook or unscrew the lamp, and look at the filament; it is not broken. we replace the lamp again, and are careful that it makes good contact; but still no light. let us look at the safety fuse; why, there is none! it has been missed out. we get one of the spare ones out of our electric store, and put it in its place, and the lamp lights properly at once. we find another lamp out, and look at it. we see at once that the filament is broken, so there is no question about this one; it must be changed. hallo! what is up with this one? it goes in and out all the time like a flash light. the current must be getting to it all right, otherwise it would not light at all. i see what it is; it is a swan lamp, and the spring is not pressing quite fairly on it, so that one hook is making good contact, while the other tightens and slacks with the vibration of the ship. this is soon set right by turning the spring round a little, or hooking the lamp the other way. or it is an edison lamp, which has got slightly unscrewed, and no longer makes good contact at the back end of the holder. in some lamp-fittings the ends of the leads are held in a spring grip in the base of the bracket, and it may happen that they have slipped out, and so broken the circuit, and extinguished the light. in the swan lamps, and others of a similar pattern, one of the little platinum loops in the base of the lamps sometimes gets broken off; the lamp is then of no further use. to recapitulate, if a lamp goes out, the first thing is to see if the filament is broken, next if it makes good contact. if it does not then light up, see if there is any current getting to it; this may be found out by touching the two hooks in a swan holder, or the back and side of an edison screw holder, with a moistened finger. with a current of volts a slight tickling sensation will be felt if the current is passing through. if this cannot be felt, there must be some part or other disconnected, perhaps the safety fuse has given out, or the ends of the leads got adrift from the bracket. if in any doubt about the lamp, try another in the same place. in some steamers incandescent lamps are used in the side lamps; they can easily be fitted for this purpose, especially when the ship is provided with lighthouses built in, as in the anchor line steamers. two or more incandescent lamps can be arranged on a small stand, which will slide into the lantern, taking the place of the regulation oil lamp, and connected by flexible leads to the other leads. it would be easy to put six -candle power lamps in a group in each lantern, as it does not matter in what position they are placed; two might be used on ordinary occasions, while on a foggy night, the whole six could be switched on. if one lamp went out through the filament giving way, it would not affect the others, so that there would still be a light in the lantern. if, through some breakdown of the engine or dynamo, the electric current were no longer to be had, then it would only be necessary to withdraw the stand of lamps, and put in the ordinary regulation oil-lamp. the mast-head lamp could also be fitted with the electric light, as indeed has already been done. on no account, however, should an arc light be used, as besides being too dazzling, it is much too uncertain; in fact many other reasons could be given for rejecting it. it is even a question whether it is an advantage to have incandescent lamps for a mast-head light. there is certainly the great advantage of not having to pull the lamp up and down to trim it, a rather risky performance in heavy weather, and also of the light not being affected by any wind that may get into the lamp; though as regards the first, english officers would never be satisfied to see a lamp dangling on the stay all day long, as appears to be the custom in some foreign steamers, besides which it would have to be lowered to be cleaned outside. the present mast-head lights are quite powerful enough already, too much so when compared with the side lights. i am not aware of any collisions having occurred through a mast-head light not being seen in time, but how many from the side lights not being seen! it was no doubt contemplated, as indeed the regulations show, that no lights should be visible about a vessel, except the regulation lights; but many who have seen a large passenger steamer go past will have noticed how her side was--one, two, or three rows of dazzling bright lights, and will have looked almost in vain for the green or red light dimly visible in the midst of all the bright ones. if bright electric lights, therefore, are shining through the ports, we must have our side lights at least as bright, so as to give them a chance of being seen. if electric lamps are used as side lights, the dynamo must be kept running all night. if it is thought desirable to put out all unnecessary lights at p.m., the leads can be so arranged that these lights can be all on one or more circuits, and the necessary ones on another. although the dynamo will have to go at nearly the same speed throughout the night, it will not have the same amount of work to do, and the engine will therefore use much less steam, the consumption being in proportion to the number of lights used. an economical engineer will therefore see that bedroom lamps are not kept lighted all the evening without any necessity. on shore we should never think of keeping gas-lights blazing away for no purpose, and why should we use electricity with more lavishness, especially when it is so easy to turn a light on or off. the switches might with advantage be painted with balmain's luminous paint, and there would then be no trouble in finding them in the dark. it is well to know that on board ship, probably in all cases of electric lighting, there is no danger to life to be apprehended from touching any of the leads where bare, or indeed any part of the dynamos, as the e.m.f. is usually not more than volts. it is best, however, not to try any experiments, and it is a good general rule, not to touch a bare part of a dynamo or lead with both hands at the same time. the fear of getting hurt has the good effect of keeping passengers and others from meddling with their lamps. i have said nothing about the use of electric lights in binnacles, though it would be a great advantage to be able to supply them with a good steady light quite unaffected by wind. there is an obstacle to their use for this purpose, in that the electric current being used near the compass, the latter is affected by it. in theory, an alternating current should have no effect; but it would require very exhaustive experiments to be made before enough confidence could be inspired concerning its innocence, and i fancy it would usually be looked upon with great suspicion by captains and officers of ships. the dynamo being made up of powerful magnets, must of course be always at a good distance from the compasses. in some installations on iron steamers, the return leads have been dispensed with, the iron of the ship carrying the current back, in the same way that the earth or sea does it in a telegraph circuit. it is to be observed that a dynamo with _brushes_ on the commutator is not necessarily a _brush_ dynamo as a good many people seem to think, the latter being named after its inventor, mr. brush. a dynamo is not a _battery_ as some people call it, and there is no need for multiplying names. a pocket speed-indicator should be supplied for testing the speed of the dynamo, to see that it is kept up to proper speed, and that the belt (if used) does not slip to an unreasonable extent. i think i have now said enough to redeem my introductory promise, and if i have, so to speak, let more electric light on to a subject previously dark to a good many people, i shall be well satisfied with my labour, and i hope that those who peruse this book will be induced to go more deeply into the subject by means of the many good books which have been written by cleverer men than i, and which enter more thoroughly into all its details. [illustration] london printed by william clowes and sons, limited, stamford street and charing cross. books relating to applied science, published by e. & f. n. spon, london: , strand. new york: , murray street. _a pocket-book for chemists, chemical manufacturers, metallurgists, dyers, distillers, brewers, sugar refiners, photographers, students, etc., etc._ by thomas bayley, assoc. r.c. sc. ireland, analytical and consulting chemist and assayer. fourth edition, with additions, pp., royal mo, roan, gilt edges, _s._ synopsis of contents: atomic weights and factors--useful data--chemical calculations-- rules for indirect analysis--weights and measures--thermometers and barometers--chemical physics--boiling points, etc.--solubility of substances--methods of obtaining specific gravity--conversion of hydrometers--strength of solutions by specific gravity--analysis-- gas analysis--water analysis--qualitative analysis and reactions-- volumetric analysis--manipulation--mineralogy--assaying--alcohol-- beer--sugar--miscellaneous technological matter relating to potash, soda, sulphuric acid, chlorine, tar products, petroleum, milk, tallow, photography, prices, wages, appendix, etc., etc. _the mechanician_: a treatise on the construction and manipulation of tools, for the use and instruction of young engineers and scientific amateurs, comprising the arts of blacksmithing and forging; the construction and manufacture of hand tools, and the various methods of using and grinding them; the construction of machine tools, and how to work them; machine fitting and erection; description of hand and machine processes; turning and screw cutting; principles of constructing and details of making and erecting steam engines, and the various details of setting out work, etc., etc. by cameron knight, engineer. _containing illustrations_, and pages of letter-press, fourth edition, to, cloth, _s._ _just published, in demy vo, cloth, containing pages and illustrations, price s. d._ spons' household manual: a treasury of domestic receipts and guide for home management. principal contents. =hints for selecting a good house=, pointing out the essential requirements for a good house as to the site, soil, trees, aspect, construction, and general arrangement; with instructions for reducing echoes, waterproofing damp walls, curing damp cellars. =sanitation.=--what should constitute a good sanitary arrangement; examples (with illustrations) of well--and ill-drained houses; how to test drains; ventilating pipes, etc. =water supply.=--care of cisterns; sources of supply; pipes; pumps; purification and filtration of water. =ventilation and warming.=--methods of ventilating without causing cold draughts, by various means; principles of warming; health questions; combustion; open grates; open stoves; fuel economisers; varieties of grates; close-fire stoves; hot-air furnaces; gas heating; oil stoves; steam heating; chemical heaters; management of flues; and cure of smoky chimneys. =lighting.=--the best methods of lighting; candles, oil lamps, gas, incandescent gas, electric light; how to test gas pipes; management of gas. =furniture and decoration.=--hints on the selection of furniture; on the most approved methods of modern decoration; on the best methods of arranging bells and calls; how to construct an electric bell. =thieves and fire.=--precautions against thieves and fire; methods of detection; domestic fire escapes; fireproofing clothes, etc. =the larder.=--keeping food fresh for a limited time; storing food without change, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, etc. =curing foods for lengthened preservation=, as smoking, salting, canning, potting, pickling, bottling fruits, etc.; jams, jellies, marmalade, etc. =the dairy.=--the building and fitting of dairies in the most approved modern style; butter-making; cheesemaking and curing. =the cellar.=--building and fitting; cleaning casks and bottles; corks and corking; aërated drinks; syrups for drinks; beers; bitters; cordials and liqueurs; wines; miscellaneous drinks. =the pantry.=--bread-making; ovens and pyrometers; yeast; german yeast; biscuits; cakes; fancy breads; buns. =the kitchen.=--on fitting kitchens; a description of the best cooking ranges, close and open; the management and care of hot plates, baking ovens, dampers, flues, and chimneys; cooking by gas; cooking by oil; the arts of roasting, grilling, boiling, stewing, braising, frying. =receipts for dishes.=--soups, fish, meat, game, poultry, vegetables, salads, puddings, pastry, confectionery, ices, etc., etc.; foreign dishes. =the housewife's room.=--testing air, water, and foods; cleaning and renovating; destroying vermin. =housekeeping, marketing.= =the dining-room.=--dietetics; laying and waiting at table; carving; dinners, breakfasts, luncheons, teas, suppers, etc. =the drawing-room.=--etiquette; dancing; amateur theatricals; tricks and illusions; games (indoor). =the bedroom= and dressing-room; sleep; the toilet; dress; buying clothes; outfits; fancy dress. =the nursery.=--the room; clothing; washing; exercise; sleep; feeding; teething; illness; home training. =the sick-room.=--the room; the nurse; the bed; sick room accessories; feeding patients; invalid dishes and drinks; administering physic; domestic remedies; accidents and emergencies; bandaging; burns; carrying injured persons; wounds; drowning; fits; frost-bites; poisons and antidotes; sunstroke; common complaints; disinfection, etc. =the bath-room.=--bathing in general; management of hot-water system. =the laundry.=--small domestic washing machines, and methods of getting up linen; fitting up and working a steam laundry. =the school-room.=--the room and its fittings; teaching, etc. =the playground.=--air and exercise; training; outdoor games and sports. =the workroom.=--darning, patching, and mending garments. =the library.=-care of books. =the garden.=--calendar of operations for lawn, flower garden, and kitchen garden. =the farmyard.=--management of the horse, cow, pig, poultry, bees, etc., etc. =small motors.=--a description of the various small engines useful for domestic purposes, from man to horse power, worked by various methods, such as electric engines, gas engines, petroleum engines, steam engines, condensing engines, water power, wind power, and the various methods of working and managing them. =household law.=--the law relating to landlords and tenants, lodgers, servants, parochial authorities, juries, insurance, nuisance, etc. _on designing belt gearing._ by e. j. cowling welch, mem. inst. mech. engineers, author of 'designing valve gearing.' fcap. vo, sewed, _d._ _a handbook of formulæ, tables, and memoranda, for architectural surveyors and others engaged in building._ by j. t. hurst, c. e. fourteenth edition, royal mo, roan, _s._ "it is no disparagement to the many excellent publications we refer to, to say that in our opinion this little pocket-book of hurst's is the very best of them all, without any exception. it would be useless to attempt a recapitulation of the contents, for it appears to contain almost _everything_ that anyone connected with building could require, and, best of all, made up in a compact form for carrying in the pocket, measuring only in. by in., and about / in. thick, in a limp cover. we congratulate the author on the success of his laborious and practically compiled little book, which has received unqualified and deserved praise from every professional person to whom we have shown it."--_the dublin builder._ _tabulated weights of angle, tee, bulb, round, square, and flat iron and steel_, and other information for the use of naval architects and shipbuilders. by c. h. jordan, m.i.n.a. fourth edition, mo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _a complete set of contract documents for a country lodge_, comprising drawings, specifications, dimensions (for quantities), abstracts, bill of quantities, form of tender and contract, with notes by j. leaning, printed in facsimile of the original documents, on single sheets fcap., in paper case, _s._ _a practical treatise on heat, as applied to the useful arts_; for the use of engineers, architects, &c. by thomas box. _with plates._ third edition, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _a descriptive treatise on mathematical drawing instruments_: their construction, uses, qualities, selection, preservation, and suggestions for improvements, with hints upon drawing and colouring. by w. f. stanley, m.r.i. fifth edition, _with numerous illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _quantity surveying_, by j. leaning. with illustrations. second edition, revised, crown vo, cloth, _s._ contents: a complete explanation of the london practice. general instructions. order of taking off. modes of measurement of the various trades. use and waste. ventilation and warming. credits, with various examples of treatment. abbreviations. squaring the dimensions. abstracting, with examples in illustration of each trade. billing. examples of preambles to each trade. form for a bill of quantities. do. bill of credits. do. bill for alternative estimate. restorations and repairs, and form of bill. variations before acceptance of tender. errors in a builder's estimate. schedule of prices. form of schedule of prices. analysis of schedule of prices. adjustment of accounts. form of a bill of variations. remarks on specifications. prices and valuation of work, with examples and remarks upon each trade. the law as it affects quantity surveyors, with law reports. taking off after the old method. northern practice. the general statement of the methods recommended by the manchester society of architects for taking quantities. examples of collections. examples of "taking off" in each trade. remarks on the past and present methods of estimating. _spons' architects' and builders' pocket-book of prices and memoranda._ edited by w. young, architect. crown vo, cloth, _published annually_. fifteenth edition. _now ready._ _long-span railway bridges_, comprising investigations of the comparative theoretical and practical advantages of the various adopted or proposed type systems of construction, with numerous formulæ and tables giving the weight of iron or steel required in bridges from feet to the limiting spans; to which are added similar investigations and tables relating to short-span railway bridges. second and revised edition. by b. baker, assoc. inst. c.e. _plates_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _elementary theory and calculation of iron bridges and roofs._ by august ritter, ph.d., professor at the polytechnic school at aix-la-chapelle. translated from the third german edition, by h. r. sankey, capt. r.e. with _illustrations_, vo, cloth, _s._ _the elementary principles of carpentry._ by thomas tredgold. revised from the original edition, and partly re-written, by john thomas hurst. contained in pages of letter-press, and _illustrated with plates and wood engravings_. sixth edition, reprinted from the third, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ section i. on the equality and distribution of forces--section ii. resistance of timber--section iii. construction of floors--section iv. construction of roofs--section v. construction of domes and cupolas--section vi. construction of partitions--section vii. scaffolds, staging, and gantries--section viii. construction of centres for bridges--section ix. coffer-dams, shoring, and strutting--section x. wooden bridges and viaducts--section xi. joints, straps, and other fastenings--section xii. timber. _the builder's clerk_: a guide to the management of a builder's business. by thomas bales. fcap. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _our factories, workshops, and warehouses_: their sanitary and fire-resisting arrangements. by _b. h. thwaite_, assoc. mem. inst. c.e. _with wood engravings_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _gold_: its occurrence and extraction, embracing the geographical and geological distribution and the mineralogical characters of gold-bearing rocks; the peculiar features and modes of working shallow placers, rivers, and deep leads; hydraulicing; the reduction and separation of auriferous quartz; the treatment of complex auriferous ores containing other metals; a bibliography of the subject and a glossary of technical and foreign terms. by _alfred g. lock_, f.r.g.s. _with numerous illustrations and maps_, pp., super-royal vo, cloth, _l._ _s._ _d._ _iron roofs_: examples of design, description. _illustrated with working drawings of executed roofs._ by arthur t. walmisley, assoc. mem. inst. c.e. second edition, revised, imp. to, half-morocco, _l._ _s._ _a history of electric telegraphy_, to the year . chiefly compiled from original sources, and hitherto unpublished documents, by j. j. fahie, mem. soc. of tel. engineers, and of the international society of electricians, paris. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _spons' information for colonial engineers._ edited by j. t. hurst. demy vo, sewed. no. , ceylon. by abraham deane, c.e. _s._ _d._ contents: introductory remarks--natural productions--architecture and engineering--topography, trade, and natural history--principal stations--weights and measures, etc., etc. no. . southern africa, including the cape colony, natal, and the dutch republics. by henry hall, f.r.g.s., f.r.c.i. with map. _s._ _d._ contents: general description of south africa--physical geography with reference to engineering operations--notes on labour and material in cape colony--geological notes on rock formation in south africa--engineering instruments for use in south africa--principal public works in cape colony: railways, mountain roads and passes, harbour works, bridges, gas works, irrigation and water supply, lighthouses, drainage and sanitary engineering, public buildings, mines--table of woods in south africa--animals used for draught purposes--statistical notes--table of distances--rates of carriage, etc. no. . india. by f. c. danvers, assoc. inst. c.e. with map. _s._ _d._ contents: physical geography of india--building materials--roads--railways-- bridges--irrigation--river works--harbours--lighthouse buildings-- native labour--the principal trees of india--money--weights and measures--glossary of indian terms, etc. _a practical treatise on coal mining._ by george g. andrÉ, f.g.s., assoc. inst. c.e., member of the society of engineers. _with lithographic plates._ vols., royal to, cloth, _l._ _s._ _a practical treatise on casting and founding_, including descriptions of the modern machinery employed in the art. by n. e. spretson, engineer. third edition, with _plates_ drawn to scale, pp., demy vo, cloth, _s._ _the depreciation of factories and their valuation._ by ewing matheson, m. inst. c.e. vo, cloth, _s._ _a handbook of electrical testing._ by h. r. kempe, m.s.t.e. fourth edition, revised and enlarged, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _gas works_: their arrangement, construction, plant, and machinery. by f. colyer, m. inst. c.e. _with folding plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _the clerk of works_: a vade-mecum for all engaged in the superintendence of building operations. by g. g. hoskins, f.r.i.b.a. third edition, fcap. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _american foundry practice_: treating of loam, dry sand, and green sand moulding, and containing a practical treatise upon the management of cupolas, and the melting of iron. by t. d. west, practical iron moulder and foundry foreman. second edition, _with numerous illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the maintenance of macadamised roads._ by t. codrington, m.i.c.e, f.g.s., general superintendent of county roads for south wales. vo, cloth, _s._ _hydraulic steam and hand power lifting and pressing machinery._ by frederick colyer, m. inst. c.e., m. inst. m.e. _with plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _pumps and pumping machinery._ by f. colyer, m.i.c.e., m.i.m.e. _with folding plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _pumps and pumping machinery._ by f. colyer. second part. _with large plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _a treatise on the origin, progress, prevention, and cure of dry rot in timber_; with remarks on the means of preserving wood from destruction by sea-worms, beetles, ants, etc. by thomas allen britton, late surveyor to the metropolitan board of works, etc., etc. _with plates_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the municipal and sanitary engineer's handbook._ by h. percy boulnois, mem. inst. c.e., borough engineer, portsmouth. _with numerous illustrations_, demy vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: the appointment and duties of the town surveyor--traffic-- macadamised roadways--steam rolling--road metal and breaking-- pitched pavements--asphalte--wood pavements--footpaths--kerbs and gutters--street naming and numbering--street lighting--sewerage-- ventilation of sewers--disposal of sewage--house drainage-- disinfection--gas and water companies, etc., breaking up streets-- improvement of private streets--borrowing powers--artizans' and labourers' dwellings--public conveniences--scavenging, including street cleansing--watering and the removing of snow--planting street trees--deposit of plans--dangerous buildings--hoardings-- obstructions--improving street lines--cellar openings--public pleasure grounds--cemeteries--mortuaries--cattle and ordinary markets--public slaughter-houses, etc.--giving numerous forms of notices, specifications, and general information upon these and other subjects of great importance to municipal engineers and others engaged in sanitary work. _metrical tables._ by g. l. molesworth, m.i.c.e. mo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: general--linear measures--square measures--cubic measures--measures of capacity--weights--combinations--thermometers. _elements of construction for electro-magnets._ by count th. du moncel, mem. de i'lnstitut de france. translated from the french by c. j. wharton. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _practical electrical units popularly explained_, with _numerous illustrations_ and remarks. by james swinburne, late of j. w. swan and co., paris, late of brush-swan electric light company, u.s.a. mo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _a treatise on the use of belting for the transmission of power._ by j. h. cooper. second edition, _illustrated_, vo, cloth, _s._ _a pocket-book of useful formulæ and memoranda for civil and mechanical engineers._ by guilford l. molesworth, mem. inst. c.e., consulting engineer to the government of india for state railways. _with numerous illustrations_, pp. twenty-first edition, revised and enlarged, mo, roan, _s._ synopsis of contents: surveying, levelling, etc.--strength and weight of materials-- earthwork, brickwork, masonry, arches, etc.--struts, columns, beams, and trusses--flooring, roofing, and roof trusses--girders, bridges, etc.--railways and roads--hydraulic formulæ--canals, sewers, waterworks, docks--irrigation and breakwaters--gas, ventilation, and warming--heat, light, colour, and sound--gravity: centres, forces, and powers--millwork, teeth of wheels, shafting, etc.--workshop recipes--sundry machinery--animal power--steam and the steam engine--water-power, water-wheels, turbines, etc.--wind and windmills--steam navigation, ship building, tonnage, etc.-- gunnery, projectiles, etc.--weights, measures, and money-- trigonometry, conic sections, and curves--telegraphy--mensuration-- tables of areas and circumference, and arcs of circles--logarithms, square and cube roots, powers--reciprocals, etc.--useful numbers-- differential and integral calculus--algebraic signs--telegraphic construction and formulæ. _hints on architectural draughtsmanship._ by g. w. tuxford hallatt. fcap. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _spons' tables and memoranda for engineers_; selected and arranged by j. t. hurst, c.e., author of 'architectural surveyors' handbook,' 'hurst's tredgold's carpentry,' etc. ninth edition, mo, roan, gilt edges, _s._; or in cloth case, _s._ _d._ this work is printed in a pearl type, and is so small, measuring only - / in. by - / in. by / in. thick, that it may be easily carried in the waistcoat pocket. "it is certainly an extremely rare thing for a reviewer to be called upon to notice a volume measuring but - / in. by - / in., yet these dimensions faithfully represent the size of the handy little book before us. the volume--which contains printed pages, besides a few blank pages for memoranda--is, in fact, a true pocket-book, adapted for being carried in the waistcoat pocket, and containing a far greater amount and variety of information than most people would imagine could be compressed into so small a space.... the little volume has been compiled with considerable care and judgment, and we can cordially recommend it to our readers as a useful little pocket companion."--_engineering._ _a practical treatise on natural and artificial concrete, its varieties and constructive adaptations._ by henry reid, author of the 'science and art of the manufacture of portland cement.' new edition, _with woodcuts and plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _notes on concrete and works in concrete_; especially written to assist those engaged upon public works. by john newman, assoc. mem. inst. c.e., crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _electricity as a motive power._ by count th. du moncel, membre de l'institut de france, and frank geraldy, ingénieur des ponts et chaussées. translated and edited, with additions, by c. j. wharton, assoc. soc. tel. eng. and elec. _with engravings and diagrams_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _treatise on valve-gears_, with special consideration of the link-motions of locomotive engines. by dr. gustav zeuner, professor of applied mechanics at the confederated polytechnikum of zurich. translated from the fourth german edition, by professor j. f. klein, lehigh university, bethlehem, pa. _illustrated_, vo, cloth, _ s._ _d._ _the french-polisher's manual._ by a french-polisher; containing timber staining, washing, matching, improving, painting, imitations, directions for staining, sizing, embodying, smoothing, spirit varnishing, french-polishing, directions for re-polishing. third edition, royal mo, sewed, _d._ _hops, their cultivation, commerce, and uses in various countries._ by p. l. simmonds. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the principles of graphic statics._ by george sydenham clarke, capt. royal engineers. _with illustrations._ to, cloth, _s._ _d._ _dynamo-electric machinery_: a manual for students of electro-technics. by silvanus p. thompson, b.a., d.sc., professor of experimental physics in university college, bristol, etc., etc. second edition, _illustrated_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _practical geometry, perspective, and engineering drawing_; a course of descriptive geometry adapted to the requirements of the engineering draughtsman, including the determination of cast shadows and isometric projection, each chapter being followed by numerous examples; to which are added rules for shading, shade-lining, etc., together with practical instructions as to the lining, colouring, printing, and general treatment of engineering drawings, with a chapter on drawing instruments. by george s. clarke, capt. r.e. second edition, _with plates_. vols., cloth, _s._ _d._ _the elements of graphic statics._ by professor karl von ott, translated from the german by g. s. clarke, capt. r.e., instructor in mechanical drawing, royal indian engineering college. _with illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _a practical treatise on the manufacture and distribution of coal gas._ by william richards. demy to, with _numerous wood engravings and plates_, cloth, _s._ synopsis of contents: introduction--history of gas lighting--chemistry of gas manufacture, by lewis thompson, esq., m.r.c.s.--coal, with analyses, by j. paterson, lewis thompson, and g. r. hislop, esqrs.--retorts, iron and clay--retort setting--hydraulic main-- condensers--exhausters--washers and scrubbers--purifiers-- purification--history of gas holder--tanks, brick and stone, composite, concrete, cast-iron, compound annular wrought-iron-- specifications--gas holders--station meter--governor-- distribution--mains--gas mathematics, or formulæ for the distribution of gas, by lewis thompson, esq.--services--consumers' meters--regulators--burners--fittings--photometer--carburization of gas--air gas and water gas--composition of coal gas, by lewis thompson, esq.--analyses of gas--influence of atmospheric pressure and temperature on gas--residual products--appendix--description of retort settings, buildings, etc., etc. _the new formula for mean velocity of discharge of rivers and canals._ by w. r. kutter. translated from articles in the 'cultur-ingénieur,' by lowis d'a. jackson, assoc. inst. c.e. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the practical millwright and engineer's ready reckoner_; or tables for finding the diameter and power of cog-wheels, diameter, weight, and power of shafts, diameter and strength of bolts, etc. by thomas dixon. fourth edition, mo, cloth, _s._ _tin_: describing the chief methods of mining, dressing and smelting it abroad; with notes upon arsenic, bismuth and wolfram. by arthur g. charleton, mem. american inst. of mining engineers. _with plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _perspective, explained and illustrated._ by g. s. clarke, capt. r.e. _with illustrations_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _practical hydraulics_; a series of rules and tables for the use of engineers, etc., etc. by thomas box. fifth edition, _numerous plates_, post vo, cloth, _s._ _the essential elements of practical mechanics; based on the principle of work_, designed for engineering students. by oliver byrne, formerly professor of mathematics, college for civil engineers. third edition, _with wood engravings_, post vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: chap. . how work is measured by a unit, both with and without reference to a unit of time--chap. . the work of living agents, the influence of friction, and introduces one of the most beautiful laws of motion--chap. . the principles expounded in the first and second chapters are applied to the motion of bodies--chap. . the transmission of work by simple machines--chap. . useful propositions and rules. _breweries and maltings_: their arrangement, construction, machinery, and plant. by g. scamell, f.r.i.b.a. second edition, revised, enlarged, and partly rewritten. by f. colyer, m.i.c.e., m.i.m.e. _with plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _a practical treatise on the construction of horizontal and vertical waterwheels_, specially designed for the use of operative mechanics. by william cullen, millwright and engineer. _with plates._ second edition, revised and enlarged, small to, cloth, _ s._ _d._ _a practical treatise on mill-gearing, wheels, shafts, riggers, etc._; for the use of engineers. by thomas box. third edition, _with plates_. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _mining machinery_: a descriptive treatise on the machinery, tools, and other appliances used in mining. by g. g. andrÉ, f.g.s., assoc. inst. c.e., mem. of the society of engineers. royal to, uniform with the author's treatise on coal mining, containing _ plates_, accurately drawn to scale, with descriptive text, in vols., cloth, _l._ _s._ contents: machinery for prospecting, excavating, hauling, and hoisting-- ventilation--pumping--treatment of mineral products, including gold and silver, copper, tin, and lead, iron, coal, sulphur, china clay, brick earth, etc. _tables for setting out curves for railways, canals, roads, etc._, varying from a radius of five chains to three miles. by a. kennedy and r. w. hackwood. _illustrated_, mo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the science and art of the manufacture of portland cement_, with observations on some of its constructive applications. _with illustrations_. by henry reid, c.e., author of 'a practical treatise on concrete,' etc., etc. vo, cloth, _s._ _the draughtsman's handbook of plan and map drawing_; including instructions for the preparation of engineering, architectural, and mechanical drawings. _with numerous illustrations in the text, and plates_ (_ printed in colours_). by g. g. andrÉ, f.g.s., assoc. inst. c.e. to, cloth, _s._ contents: the drawing office and its furnishings--geometrical problems-- lines, dots, and their combinations--colours, shading, lettering, bordering, and north points--scales--plotting--civil engineers' and surveyors' plans--map drawing--mechanical and architectural drawing--copying and reducing trigonometrical formulæ, etc., etc. _the boiler-maker's and iron ship-builder's companion_, comprising a series of original and carefully calculated tables, of the utmost utility to persons interested in the iron trades. by james foden, author of 'mechanical tables,' etc. second edition revised, _with illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _rock blasting_: a practical treatise on the means employed in blasting rocks for industrial purposes. by g. g. andrÉ, f.g.s., assoc. inst. c.e. _with illustrations and plates_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _painting and painters' manual_: a book of facts for painters and those who use or deal in paint materials. by c. l. condit and j. scheller. _illustrated_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _a treatise on ropemaking as practised in public and private rope-yards_, with a description of the manufacture, rules, tables of weights, etc., adapted to the trade, shipping, mining, railways, builders, etc. by r. chapman, formerly foreman to messrs. huddart and co., limehouse, and late master ropemaker to h.m. dockyard, deptford. second edition, mo, cloth, _s._ _laxton's builders' and contractors' tables_; for the use of engineers, architects, surveyors, builders, land agents, and others. bricklayer, containing tables, with nearly , calculations. to, cloth, _s._ _laxton's builders' and contractors' tables._ excavator, earth, land, water, and gas, containing tables, with nearly , calculations. to, cloth, _s._ _sanitary engineering_: a guide to the construction of works of sewerage and house drainage, with tables for facilitating the calculations of the engineer. by baldwin latham, c.e., m. inst. c.e., f.g.s., f.m.s., past-president of the society of engineers. second edition, _with numerous plates and woodcuts_, vo, cloth, _l._ _s._ _screw cutting tables for engineers and machinists_, giving the values of the different trains of wheels required to produce screws of any pitch, calculated by lord lindsay, m.p., f.r.s., f.r.a.s., etc. cloth, oblong, _s._ _screw cutting tables_, for the use of mechanical engineers, showing the proper arrangement of wheels for cutting the threads of screws of any required pitch, with a table for making the universal gas-pipe threads and taps. by w. a. martin, engineer. second edition, oblong, cloth, _s._, or sewed, _d._ _a treatise on a practical method of designing slide-valve gears by simple geometrical construction_, based upon the principles enunciated in euclid's elements, and comprising the various forms of plain slide-valve and expansion gearing; together with stephenson's, gooch's, and allan's link-motions, as applied either to reversing or to variable expansion combinations. by edward j. cowling welch, memb. inst. mechanical engineers. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _cleaning and scouring_: a manual for dyers, laundresses, and for domestic use. by s. christopher. mo, sewed, _d._ _a glossary of terms used in coal mining._ by william stukeley gresley, assoc. mem. inst. c.e., f.g.s., member of the north of england institute of mining engineers. _illustrated with numerous woodcuts and diagrams_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _a pocket-book for boiler makers and steam users_, comprising a variety of useful information for employer and workman, government inspectors, board of trade surveyors, engineers in charge of works and slips, foremen of manufactories, and the general steam-using public. by maurice john sexton. second edition, royal mo, roan, gilt edges, _s._ _electrolysis_: a practical treatise on nickeling, coppering, gilding, silvering, the refining of metals, and the treatment of ores by means of electricity. by hippolyte fontaine, translated from the french by j. a. berly, c.e., assoc. s.t.e. _with engravings._ vo, cloth, _s._ _barlow's tables of squares, cubes, square roots, cube roots, reciprocals of all integer numbers up to , ._ post vo, cloth, _s._ _a practical treatise on the steam engine_, containing plans and arrangements of details for fixed steam engines, with essays on the principles involved in design and construction. by arthur rigg, engineer, member of the society of engineers and of the royal institution of great britain. demy to, _copiously illustrated with woodcuts and plates_, in one volume, half-bound morocco, _l._ _s._; or cheaper edition, cloth, _s._ this work is not, in any sense, an elementary treatise, or history of the steam engine, but is intended to describe examples of fixed steam engines without entering into the wide domain of locomotive or marine practice. to this end illustrations will be given of the most recent arrangements of horizontal, vertical, beam, pumping, winding, portable, semi-portable, corliss, allen, compound, and other similar engines, by the most eminent firms in great britain and america. the laws relating to the action and precautions to be observed in the construction of the various details, such as cylinders, pistons, piston-rods, connecting-rods, cross-heads, motion-blocks, eccentrics, simple, expansion, balanced, and equilibrium slide-valves, and valve-gearing will be minutely dealt with. in this connection will be found articles upon the velocity of reciprocating parts and the mode of applying the indicator, heat and expansion of steam governors, and the like. it is the writer's desire to draw illustrations from every possible source, and give only those rules that present practice deems correct. _a practical treatise on the science of land and engineering surveying, levelling, estimating quantities, etc._, with a general description of the several instruments required for surveying, levelling, plotting, etc. by h. s. merrett. fourth edition, revised by g. w. usill, assoc. mem. inst. c.e. _ plates, with illustrations and tables_, royal vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ principal contents: part . introduction and the principles of geometry. part . land surveying; comprising general observations--the chain--offsets surveying by the chain only--surveying hilly ground--to survey an estate or parish by the chain only--surveying with the theodolite-- mining and town surveying--railroad surveying--mapping--division and laying out of land--observations on enclosures--plane trigonometry. part . levelling--simple and compound levelling-- the level book--parliamentary plan and section--levelling with a theodolite--gradients--wooden curves--to lay out a railway curve-- setting out widths. part . calculating quantities generally for estimates--cuttings and embankments--tunnels--brickwork--ironwork-- timber measuring. part . description and use of instruments in surveying and plotting--the improved dumpy level--troughton's level--the prismatic compass--proportional compass--box sextant-- vernier--pantagraph--merrett's improved quadrant--improved computation scale--the diagonal scale--straight edge and sector. part . logarithms of numbers--logarithmic sines and co-sines, tangents and co-tangents--natural sines and co-sines--tables for earthwork, for setting out curves, and for various calculations, etc., etc., etc. _health and comfort in house building, or ventilation with warm air by self-acting suction power_, with review of the mode of calculating the draught in hot-air flues, and with some actual experiments. by j. drysdale, m.d., and j. w. hayward, m.d. second edition, with supplement, _with plates_, demy vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the assayer's manual_: an abridged treatise on the docimastic examination of ores and furnace and other artificial products. by bruno kerl. translated by w. t. brannt. _with illustrations_, vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _electricity_: its theory, sources, and applications. by j. t. sprague, m.s.t.e. second edition, revised and enlarged, _with numerous illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _the practice of hand turning in wood, ivory, shell, etc._, with instructions for turning such work in metal as may be required in the practice of turning in wood, ivory, etc.; also an appendix on ornamental turning. (a book for beginners.) by francis campin. third edition, _with wood engravings_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ contents: on lathes--turning tools--turning wood--drilling--screw cutting-- miscellaneous apparatus and processes--turning particular forms-- staining--polishing--spinning metals--materials--ornamental turning, etc. _treatise on watchwork, past and present._ by the rev. h. l. nelthropp, m.a., f.s.a. _with illustrations_, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: definitions of words and terms used in watchwork--tools--time-- historical summary--on calculations of the numbers for wheels and pinions; their proportional sizes, trains, etc.--of dial wheels, or motion work--length of time of going without winding up--the verge--the horizontal--the duplex--the lever--the chronometer--repeating watches--keyless watches--the pendulum, or spiral spring--compensation--jewelling of pivot holes-- clerkenwell--fallacies of the trade--incapacity of workmen-- how to choose and use a watch, etc. _algebra self-taught._ by w. p. higgs, m.a., d.sc., ll.d., assoc. inst c.e., author of 'a handbook of the differential calculus,' etc. second edition, crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: symbols and the signs of operation--the equation and the unknown quantity--positive and negative quantities--multiplication-- involution--exponents--negative exponents--roots, and the use of exponents as logarithms--logarithms--tables of logarithms and proportionate parts--transformation of system of logarithms-- common uses of common logarithms--compound multiplication and the binomial theorem--division, fractions, and ratio--continued proportion--the series and the summation of the series--limit of series--square and cube roots--equations--list of formulæ, etc. _spons' dictionary of engineering, civil, mechanical, military, and naval_; with technical terms in french, german, italian, and spanish, pp., and _nearly engravings_, in super-royal vo, in divisions, _l._ _s._ complete in vols., cloth, _l._ _s._ bound in a superior manner, half-morocco, top edge gilt, vols., _l._ _s._ _notes in mechanical engineering._ compiled principally for the use of the students attending the classes on this subject at the city of london college. by henry adams, mem. inst. m.e., mem. inst. c.e., mem. soc. of engineers. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _canoe and boat building_: a complete manual for amateurs, containing plain and comprehensive directions for the construction of canoes, rowing and sailing boats, and hunting craft. by w. p. stephens. _with numerous illustrations and plates of working drawings._ crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _proceedings of the national conference of electricians, philadelphia_, october th to th, . mo, cloth, _s._ _dynamo-electricity_, its generation, application, transmission, storage, and measurement. by g. b. prescott. _with illustrations._ vo, cloth, _l._ _s._ _domestic electricity for amateurs._ translated from the french of e. hospitalier, editor of "l'electricien," by c. j. wharton, assoc. soc. tel. eng. _numerous illustrations._ demy vo, cloth, _s._ contents: . production of the electric current-- . electric bells-- . automatic alarms-- . domestic telephones-- . electric clocks-- . electric lighters-- . domestic electric lighting-- . domestic application of the electric light-- . electric motors-- . electrical locomotion-- . electrotyping, plating, and gilding-- . electric recreations-- . various applications-- workshop of the electrician. _wrinkles in electric lighting._ by vincent stephen. _with illustrations._ mo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: . the electric current and its production by chemical means-- . production of electric currents by mechanical means-- . dynamo-electric machines-- . electric lamps-- . lead-- . ship lighting. _the practical flax spinner_; being a description of the growth, manipulation, and spinning of flax and tow. by leslie c. marshall, of belfast. _with illustrations._ vo, cloth, _s._ _foundations and foundation walls for all classes of buildings_, pile driving, building stones and bricks, pier and wall construction, mortars, limes, cements, concretes, stuccos, &c. _ illustrations_. by g. t. powell and f. bauman. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _manual for gas engineering students._ by d. lee. mo, cloth _s._ _hydraulic machinery, past and present._ a lecture delivered to the london and suburban railway officials' association. by h. adams, mem. inst. c.e. _folding plate._ vo, sewed, _s._ _twenty years with the indicator._ by thomas pray, jun., c.e., m.e., member of the american society of civil engineers. vols., royal vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _annual statistical report of the secretary to the members of the iron and steel association on the home and foreign iron and steel industries in ._ issued march . vo, sewed, _s._ _bad drains, and how to test them_; with notes on the ventilation of sewers, drains, and sanitary fittings, and the origin and transmission of zymotic disease. by r. harris reeves. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _standard practical plumbing_; being a complete encyclopædia for practical plumbers and guide for architects, builders, gas fitters, hot-water fitters, ironmongers, lead burners, sanitary engineers, zinc workers, &c. _illustrated by over engravings._ by p. j. davies. vol. i, royal vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _pneumatic transmission of messages and parcels between paris and london, via calais and dover._ by j. b. berlier, c.e. small folio, sewed, _d._ _list of tests_ (_reagents_), arranged in alphabetical order, according to the names of the originators. designed especially for the convenient reference of chemists, pharmacists, and scientists. by hans m. wilder. crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _ten years experience in works of intermittent downward filtration._ by j. bailey denton, mem. inst. c.e. second edition, with additions. royal vo, sewed, _s._ _a treatise on the manufacture of soap and candles, lubricants and glycerin._ by w. lant carpenter, b.a., b.sc. (late of messrs. c. thomas and brothers, bristol). _with illustrations._ crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the stability of ships explained simply, and calculated by a new graphic method._ by j. c. spence, m.i.n.a. to, sewed, _s._ _d._ _steam making, or boiler practice._ by charles a. smith, c.e. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ contents: . the nature of heat and the properties of steam-- . combustion.-- . externally fired stationary boilers-- . internally fired stationary boilers-- . internally fired portable locomotive and marine boilers-- . design, construction, and strength of boilers-- . proportions of heating surface, economic evaporation, explosions-- . miscellaneous boilers, choice of boiler fittings and appurtenances. _the fireman's guide_; a handbook on the care of boilers. by teknolog. föreningen t. i. stockholm. translated from the third edition, and revised by karl p. dahlstrom, m.e. second edition. fcap. vo, cloth, _s._ _a treatise on modern steam engines and boilers_, including land locomotive, and marine engines and boilers, for the use of students. by frederick colyer, m. inst. c.e., mem. inst m.e. _with plates._ to, cloth, _s._ contents: . introduction-- . original engines-- . boilers-- . high-pressure beam engines-- . cornish beam engines-- . horizontal engines-- . oscillating engines-- . vertical high-pressure engines-- . special engines-- . portable engines-- . locomotive engines-- . marine engines. _steam engine management_; a treatise on the working and management of steam boilers. by f. colyer, m. inst. c.e., mem. inst. m.e. mo, cloth, _s._ _land surveying on the meridian and perpendicular system._ by william penman, c.e. vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ _the topographer, his instruments and methods_, designed for the use of students, amateur photographers, surveyors, engineers, and all persons interested in the location and construction of works based upon topography. _illustrated with numerous plates, maps, and engravings._ by lewis m. haupt, a.m. vo, cloth, _s._ _a text-book of tanning_, embracing the preparation of all kinds of leather. by harry r. proctor, f.c.s., of low lights tanneries. _with illustrations._ crown vo, cloth, _s._ _d._ in super-royal vo, pp., _with illustrations_, in divisions, cloth, price _s._ _d._ each; or vol., cloth, _l._; or half-morocco, _l._ _s._ a supplement to spons' dictionary of engineering. edited by ernest spon, memb. soc. engineers. abacus, counters, speed indicators, and slide rule. agricultural implements and machinery. air compressors. animal charcoal machinery. antimony. axles and axle-boxes. barn machinery. belts and belting. blasting. boilers. brakes. brick machinery. bridges. cages for mines. calculus, differential and integral. canals. carpentry. cast iron. cement, concrete, limes, and mortar. chimney shafts. coal cleansing and washing. coal mining. coal cutting machines. coke ovens. copper. docks. drainage. dredging machinery. dynamo-electric and magneto-electric machines. dynamometers. electrical engineering, telegraphy, electric lighting and its practical details, telephones. engines, varieties of. explosives. fans. founding, moulding and the practical work of the foundry. gas, manufacture of. hammers, steam and other power. heat. horse power. hydraulics. hydro-geology. indicators. iron. lifts, hoists, and elevators. lighthouses, buoys, and beacons. machine tools. materials of construction. meters. ores, machinery and processes employed to dress. piers. pile driving. pneumatic transmission. pumps. pyrometers. road locomotives. rock drills. rolling stock. sanitary engineering. shafting. steel. steam navvy. stone machinery. tramways. well sinking. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. now complete. _with nearly illustrations_, in super-royal vo, in divisions, cloth. divisions to , _s._ _d._ each; division , _s._ _d._; or vols., cloth, £ _s._ spons' encyclopÆdia of the industrial arts, manufactures, and commercial products. edited by c. g. warnford lock, f.l.s. among the more important of the subjects treated of, are the following:-- acids, pp. figs. alcohol, pp. figs. alcoholic liquors, pp. alkalies, pp. figs. alloys. alum. asphalt. assaying. beverages, pp. figs. blacks. bleaching powder, pp. bleaching, pp. figs. candles, pp. figs. carbon bisulphide. celluloid, pp. cements. clay. coal-tar products, pp. figs. cocoa, pp. coffee, pp. figs. cork, pp. figs. cotton manufactures, pp. figs. drugs, pp. dyeing and calico printing, pp. figs. dyestuffs, pp. electro-metallurgy, pp. explosives, pp. figs. feathers. fibrous substances, pp. figs. floor-cloth, pp. figs. food preservation, pp. fruit, pp. fur, pp. gas, coal, pp. gems. glass, pp. figs. graphite, pp. hair, pp. hair manufactures. hats, pp. figs. honey. hops. horn. ice, pp. figs. indiarubber manufactures, pp. figs. ink, pp. ivory. jute manufactures, pp., figs. knitted fabrics--hosiery, pp. figs. lace, pp. figs. leather, pp. figs. linen manufactures, pp. figs. manures, pp. figs. matches, pp. figs. mordants, pp. narcotics, pp. nuts, pp. oils and fatty substances, pp. paint. paper, pp. figs. paraffin, pp. figs. pearl and coral, pp. perfumes, pp. photography, pp. figs. pigments, pp. figs. pottery, pp. figs. printing and engraving, pp. figs. rags. resinous and gummy substances, pp. figs. rope, pp. figs. salt, pp. figs. silk, pp. silk manufactures, pp. figs. skins, pp. small wares, pp. soap and glycerine, pp. figs. spices, pp. sponge, pp. starch, pp. figs. sugar, pp. figs. sulphur. tannin, pp. tea, pp. timber, pp. varnish, pp. vinegar, pp. wax, pp. wool, pp. woollen manufactures, pp. figs. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. crown vo, cloth, with illustrations, _s._ workshop receipts, first series. by ernest spon. synopsis of contents. bookbinding. bronzes and bronzing. candles. cement. cleaning. colourwashing. concretes. dipping acids. drawing office details. drying oils. dynamite. electro-metallurgy--(cleaning, dipping, scratch-brushing, batteries, baths, and deposits of every description). enamels. engraving on wood, copper, gold, silver, steel, and stone. etching and aqua tint. firework making--(rockets, stars, rains, gerbes, jets, tourbillons, candles, fires, lances, lights, wheels, fire-balloons, and minor fireworks). fluxes. foundry mixtures. freezing. fulminates. furniture creams, oils, polishes, lacquers, and pastes. gilding. glass cutting, cleaning, frosting, drilling, darkening, bending, staining, and painting. glass making. glues. gold. graining. gums. gun cotton. gunpowder. horn working. indiarubber. japans, japanning, and kindred processes. lacquers. lathing. lubricants. marble working. matches. mortars. nitro-glycerine. oils. paper. paper hanging. painting in oils, in water colours, as well as fresco, house, transparency, sign, and carriage painting. photography. plastering. polishes. pottery--(clays, bodies, glazes, colours, oils, stains, fluxes, enamels, and lustres). scouring. silvering. soap. solders. tanning. taxidermy. tempering metals. treating horn, mother-o'-pearl, and like substances. varnishes, manufacture and use of. veneering. washing. waterproofing. welding. besides receipts relating to the lesser technological matters and processes, such as the manufacture and use of stencil plates, blacking, crayons, paste, putty, wax, size, alloys, catgut, tunbridge ware, picture frame and architectural mouldings, compos, cameos, and others too numerous to mention. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. crown vo, cloth, pages, with illustrations, _s._ workshop receipts, second series. by robert haldane. synopsis of contents. acidimetry and alkalimetry. albumen. alcohol. alkaloids. baking-powders. bitters. bleaching. boiler incrustations. cements and lutes. cleansing. confectionery. copying. disinfectants. dyeing, staining, and colouring. essences. extracts. fireproofing. gelatine, glue, and size. glycerine. gut. hydrogen peroxide. ink. iodine. iodoform. isinglass. ivory substitutes. leather. luminous bodies. magnesia. matches. paper. parchment. perchloric acid. potassium oxalate. preserving. =pigments, paint, and painting=: embracing the preparation of _pigments_, including alumina lakes, blacks (animal, bone, frankfort, ivory, lamp, sight, soot), blues (antimony, antwerp, cobalt, cæruleum, egyptian, manganate, paris, péligot, prussian, smalt, ultramarine), browns (bistre, hinau, sepia, sienna, umber, vandyke), greens (baryta, brighton, brunswick, chrome, cobalt, douglas, emerald, manganese, mitis, mountain, prussian, sap, scheele's, schweinfurth, titanium, verdigris, zinc), reds (brazilwood lake, carminated lake, carmine, cassius purple, cobalt pink, cochineal lake, colcothar, indian red, madder lake, red chalk, red lead, vermilion), whites (alum, baryta, chinese, lead sulphate, white lead--by american, dutch, french, german, kremnitz, and pattinson processes, precautions in making, and composition of commercial samples--whiting, wilkinson's white, zinc white), yellows (chrome, gamboge, naples, orpiment, realgar, yellow lakes); _paint_ (vehicles, testing oils, driers, grinding, storing, applying, priming, drying, filling, coats, brushes, surface, water-colours, removing smell, discoloration; miscellaneous paints-- cement paint for carton-pierre, copper paint, gold paint, iron paint, lime paints, silicated paints, steatite paint, transparent paints, tungsten paints, window paint, zinc paints); _painting_ (general instructions, proportions of ingredients, measuring paint work; carriage painting--priming paint, best putty, finishing colour, cause of cracking, mixing the paints, oils, driers, and colours, varnishing, importance of washing vehicles, re-varnishing, how to dry paint; woodwork painting). london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. just published. crown vo, cloth, pages, with illustrations, _s._ workshop receipts, third series. by c. g. warnford lock. uniform with the first and second series. synopsis of contents. alloys. aluminium. antimony. barium. beryllium. bismuth. cadmium. cæesium. calcium. cerium. chromium. cobalt. copper. didymium. electrics. enamels and glazes. erbium. gallium. glass. gold. indium. iridium. iron and steel. lacquers and lacquering. lanthanum. lead. lithium. lubricants. magnesium. manganese. mercury. mica. molybdenum. nickel. niobium. osmium. palladium. platinum. potassium. rhodium. rubidium. ruthenium. selenium. silver. slag. sodium. strontium. tantalum. terbium. thallium. thorium. tin. titanium. tungsten. uranium. vanadium. yttrium. zinc. zirconium. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. workshop receipts, fourth series, devoted mainly to handicrafts & mechanical subjects. by c. g. warnford lock. illustrations, with complete index, and a general index to the four series, _s._ waterproofing--rubber goods, cuprammonium processes, miscellaneous preparations. packing and storing articles of delicate odour or colour, of a deliquescent character, liable to ignition, apt to suffer from insects or damp, or easily broken. embalming and preserving anatomical specimens. leather polishes. cooling air and water, producing low temperatures, making ice, cooling syrups and solutions, and separating salts from liquors by refrigeration. pumps and siphons, embracing every useful contrivance for raising and supplying water on a moderate scale, and moving corrosive, tenacious, and other liquids. desiccating--air-and water-ovens, and other appliances for drying natural and artificial products. distilling--water, tinctures, extracts, pharmaceutical preparations, essences, perfumes, and alcoholic liquids. emulsifying as required by pharmacists and photographers. evaporating--saline and other solutions, and liquids demanding special precautions. filtering--water, and solutions of various kinds. percolating and macerating. electrotyping. stereotyping by both plaster and paper processes. bookbinding in all its details. straw plaiting and the fabrication of baskets, matting, etc. musical instruments--the preservation, tuning, and repair of pianos, harmoniums, musical boxes, etc. clock and watch mending--adapted for intelligent amateurs. photography--recent development in rapid processes, handy apparatus, numerous recipes for sensitizing and developing solutions, and applications to modern illustrative purposes. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. just published. in demy vo, cloth, pages, and illustrations, _s._ spons' mechanics' own book; a manual for handicraftsmen and amateurs. contents. mechanical drawing--casting and founding in iron, brass, bronze, and other alloys--forging and finishing iron--sheetmetal working--soldering, brazing, and burning--carpentry and joinery, embracing descriptions of some woods, over illustrations of tools and their uses, explanations (with diagrams) of joints and hinges, and details of construction of workshop appliances, rough furniture, garden and yard erections, and house building-- cabinet-making and veneering--carving and fretcutting--upholstery-- painting, graining, and marbling--staining furniture, woods, floors, and fittings--gilding, dead and bright, on various grounds--polishing marble, metals, and wood--varnishing--mechanical movements, illustrating contrivances for transmitting motion-- turning in wood and metals--masonry, embracing stonework, brickwork, terracotta, and concrete--roofing with thatch, tiles, slates, felt, zinc, &c.--glazing with and without putty, and lead glazing--plastering and whitewashing--paper-hanging--gas-fitting-- bell-hanging, ordinary and electric systems--lighting--warming-- ventilating--roads, pavements, and bridges--hedges, ditches, and drains--water supply and sanitation--hints on house construction suited to new countries. london: e. & f. n. spon, , strand. new york: , murray street. the life of a ship from the launch to the wreck, by r.m. ballantyne. ________________________________________________________________________ a story for pre-teens, in which a small boy, davy, is taken to a shipyard to watch the building of a new sailing-vessel, the "fair nancy". eventually davy is allowed to sail on board of her as a boy-seaman. he is sea-sick at first, but soon recovers and learns how to climb the rigging to help with the sails. they encounter a hurricane, which knocks the ship over, and they lose the ship's boats. a raft is made, but only a few people can get away on it, including the captain's wife. the ship drifts helpless until she is wrecked on a hostile shore. there is only one chance for the men, and that would be if someone could swim ashore with a rope and fasten it, so that each member of the crew can be brought ashore with a travelling block and harness. this works, and no lives are lost. they walk out of the wilderness till they come to a village, from which they make their way to quebec, and thence back to england. i find it rather a depressing story, but the intention of the book, presumably, is to interest young people in a life at sea. ________________________________________________________________________ the life of a ship from the launch to the wreck, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. the life of a ship from the launch to the wreck. song of the sailor boy. oh! i love the great blue ocean, i love the whistling breeze, when the gallant ship sweeps lightly across the surging seas. i watched my first ship building; i saw her timbers rise, until her masts were towering up in the bright blue skies. i heard the cheers ascending, i saw her kiss the foam, when first her hull went plunging into her ocean home. her flags were gaily streaming, and her sails were full and round, when the shout from shore came ringing, "hurrah! for the outward-bound!" but, alas! ere long a tempest came down with awful roar and dashed our ship in pieces upon a foreign shore. but he who holds the waters in his almighty hand, brought all the sailors safely back to their native land. davy was a fisher boy; and davy was a very active little boy; and davy wanted to go to sea. his father was a fisherman, his grandfather had been a fisherman, and his great-grandfather had been a fisherman: so we need not wonder much that little davy took to the salt water like a fish. when he was very little he used to wade in it, and catch crabs in it, and gather shells on the shore, or build castles on the sands. sometimes, too, he fell into the water neck and heels, and ran home to his mother, who used to whip him and set him to dry before the fire; but, as he grew older, he went with his father in the boat to fish, and from that time forward he began to wish to go to sea in one of the large ships that were constantly sailing away from the harbour near his father's cottage. one day davy sat on a rock beside the sea, leaning on his father's boathook, and gazing with longing eyes out upon the clear calm ocean, on which several ships and boats were floating idly, for there was not a breath of wind to fill their sails. "oh, how i wish my father would let me go to sea!" said davy, with a deep sigh. "i wonder if i shall ever sail away beyond that line yonder, far, far away, where the sky seems to sink into the sea!" the line that he spoke of was the horizon. davy heaved another sigh, and smiled; for, just at that moment, his eyes fell on a small crab that stood before him with its claws up as if it were listening to what he said. "oh, crab, crab," cried the little boy, "you're a happy beast!" at that moment he moved the boathook, and the crab ran away in such a desperate hurry that davy opened his eyes wide and said, "humph! maybe ye're not a happy beast after all!" while he sat thus, a stout fisherman came up and asked him what he was thinking about. on being told, he said, "will you come with me, boy, to the building-yard, and i'll show you a ship on the `stocks.' i'm goin' as one of her crew when she's ready for sea, and perhaps by that time your father will let you go too." you may be sure that davy did not refuse such a good offer; so the man and the boy went hand in hand to the yard where ships were built. davy had never been there before, and great was his surprise when he saw a huge thing standing on dry land, with great pieces of wood of all shapes sticking round it, like the skeleton of a whale; but greater still was his surprise when the fisherman said, "there, lad, that's the ship." "well," exclaimed davy, opening his large eyes to their widest, "it don't look like one just now!" the fisherman laughed. "that's true, lad; but come--i'll explain;" and taking davy by the hand, he led him nearer to the "skeleton" of the ship, and began to explain the names and uses of the different parts. "you see that long thick timber," he said, "that runs from this end, which is the `stern,' to that end, which is the `bow'--well, that is the `keel.' this post or beam that rises out of it here is the `stern-post,' and that one that rises up at the far end yonder is the `stem' or `cutwater.' these are the principal timbers of the vessel, and upon their strength the safety of a ship chiefly depends. the sticks that you see branching out from the keel like deers' horns are called `ribs;' they are very strong, and the timbers that fasten them together at the top are called `beams.' of course these pieces of wood are some of them far larger than any trees that you have ever seen; but if you examine them you will find that each timber and rib is made up of two or three separate pieces of wood, fastened very strongly together. when all the beams are fixed they will begin to nail the planks on to the ribs; iron bolts are used for this purpose, but by far the greater number of the nails are made of wood. after this is done the seams between the planks will be filled with oakum and the whole ship covered over with pitch and tar, just in the same way as your father does to his boat when she lets in water. then the bottom of the ship will be entirely covered with sheets of copper, to prevent the wood worms from destroying it. these little rascals would eat through a ship's bottom and very soon sink it, but for the copper. next, the deck is laid down, and the ship will be ready for `launching.' a ship's masts and rigging are always put in after she is launched. now, lad, what d'ye think of it?" said the fisherman as he walked home again with davy. "the ship's to be a `three-master' full-rigged, and is to go by the name o' the _fair nancy_." as he said this he smiled, patted the little boy on the head and left him. but davy replied not a word to his friend's remarks. his curly head was stuffed quite full with the keel, timbers, ribs, beams, stern-post, planks, and cutwater of the _fair nancy_; he could not speak, he found it difficult even to think, so he thrust his hands deep into his pockets, sat down on the shank of an anchor, and stared out to sea. in half an hour he heaved a very deep sigh indeed, and said, "oh! dear me, i wonder if i shall ever go to sea in the _fair nancy_!" time flew on, and little davy fished with his father, and worked for his mother, and paid many a visit to the building-yard, to watch the progress of the ship--his ship, as he called it. he begged very hard, too, to be allowed to go in her when she should be ready for sea. at first neither father nor mother would hear of it, but at last they began to think that davy would make a very good sailor, for certainly he was an active obedient boy; so, although they did not say yes, they were not nearly so determined as they used to be in saying no. the day of the launch was a great day at the seaport where davy lived. the launch of a large ship is always a very interesting and wonderful sight indeed; so that thousands and thousands of people flock from all directions to see it. whichever way davy looked he saw crowds of people, some on foot, some on horses, some on donkeys, and some in carriages, all streaming towards the one great point--the ship-builder's yard. it seemed quite like a holiday or a fair, and was such a bright, warm, sunny day that people's hearts felt far lighter than usual. davy saw all this at a glance the moment he left home; and, throwing his red nightcap into the air, he gave one long loud hurrah! and ran away as fast as his heavy fishing-boots would let him. the ship was very different now from what it had been when he first saw it. there were four little masts put up in it, on which were hoisted gay and gaudy flags. her "hull," or body, was now coppered and neatly painted, while all the rubbish of the building-yard was cleared away, so that everything looked neat and clean. the stocks, or framework on which she had been built, sloped towards the water, so that when the props were knocked away from the ship, she would slide by her own weight into the sea. ships are always built on sloping stocks near to the water's edge; for you can fancy how difficult it would be to drag such a great thing into the water by main force. in order to make her slip more easily, the "ways," down which she slides, are covered with grease. very soon the crowds of people stood in silence, expecting the great event of the day; and, as the moment drew nigh, the band, which had been playing all morning, suddenly stopped. davy became very anxious, because he was so little that he could not see in the crowd; but, observing a post near at hand, he struggled towards it and climbed to the top of it. here he saw famously. the workmen had begun to knock away the props; there was just one remaining. at this moment a lady stepped forward with a bottle of wine in her hand to christen the ship. this she did by breaking the bottle against the cutwater; just at that instant she began to move. another second and the _fair nancy_ rushed down the incline, plunged heavily into the water like some awful sea-monster, and floated out upon her ocean home amid the deafening cheers of the people, especially of little davy, who sat on the top of the post waving his red cap and shouting with delight. after the launch davy and all the people returned home, and the _fair nancy_ was towed to the "shear-hulk" to have her masts put in. the shear-hulk is a large ship in which is placed machinery for lifting masts into other ships. every one who has looked at the thick masts of a large vessel, must see at a glance that they could never be put there by any number of men. machinery is used to do it, and the shear-hulk contains that machinery; so that when a ship has to get her masts put up she is dragged alongside of this vessel. in the meantime davy renewed his prayer to his father to let him go to sea, and at last the old man consented. his mother cried a good deal at first, and hoped that davy would not think of it; but his father said that it would do him good, and if he became tired of it after the first voyage he could give it up. davy was overjoyed at this, and went immediately to his friend the fisherman, ben block, who was very much delighted too, and took him to a shop to buy clothes and a sea-chest for the voyage. "you see, lad," said ben, "the ship is bound for quebec with a mixed cargo, and is to come back loaded with timber; and as the season is coming on, you'll need to get ready quick." "that i shall," replied davy, as they entered a shop. "ho! shopman, give me a straw hat, and a blue jacket, and a pair o' duck trousers, and--" "stop! stop!" cried ben, "you're sailing too fast. take in a reef, my lad." ben meant by this that he was to proceed a little slower. "you'll want a `sou'-wester,'" (an oilskin hat), "and a `dread-nought,'" (a thick, heavy coat), "and things o' that sort." after davy had bought all he wanted, and ordered a sea-chest, he went home to his mother, who was very sad at the thought of parting with him. when the day of departure came she gave him a great deal of good advice, which davy promised, with tears in his eyes, to remember. then she gave him a little bible and a kiss, and sent him away. his father took him to the beach, where the ship's boat was waiting for him; and, as the old man took off his cap, and raising his eyes to heaven, prayed for a blessing on his little son, davy, with watery eyes, looked around at the big ships floating on the water, and, for the first time, wished that he was not going to sea. in a few minutes he was on board the "outward-bound" ship. this is what we say of ships when they are going out to sea; when they return from a voyage we say that they are "homeward-bound." the _fair nancy_ was a noble ship, and as she hoisted her snow-white sails to a strong wind, (a stiff breeze, as ben block called it), she looked like a white cloud. the cloud seemed to grow smaller and smaller as davy's father and mother watched it from the shore; then it became like a little white spot on the faraway sea; then it passed over the line where the water meets the sky, and they saw it no more! after davy had cried a great deal, and wished very often that he had not been so determined to leave home, he dried his eyes and began to take great interest in the curious things he saw around him. what surprised him most of all was, that although he actually was at sea, he could not see the sea at all! this was because the sides of the ship, which are called "bulwarks," were so high that they quite prevented the little boy from seeing overboard. davy soon found an opening in the bulwarks, however, which his friend ben called the "gang-way," through which he could see the water and the ships and boats that were sailing there. and when he mounted the high part of the deck in front of the ship, which is called the "forecastle," or when he went upon the high deck at the stern of the ship, which is called the "poop," then he could see all round. and what a wonderful and new sight it was to davy! his cottage was gone! the beach, and the pier where the nets used to hang, were gone. the trees and fields were all gone, and there was nothing but sea, sea, sea, all round, so that the _fair nancy_ seemed the only solid thing in the whole wide world! but poor davy did not look or wonder long at this, for the breeze freshened, and the waves rose, and the ship plunged, and davy felt very queer about the stomach! there is a man in every ship called the "steward," and everybody loves that man, because he goes about from morning till night trying to do people good and to make them happy. he looks after breakfasts, dinners, teas, and suppers. he answers every one who calls, and gets for everybody anything that they want. he is never ill, never in a hurry, never in a bad temper; in fact, he is a very charming man. now, when the steward saw davy with a pale face, and red eyes, and awfully seasick, he went up to him with a smile, and said, "sick, my lad? you'll soon get used to it. always sick when you first go to sea. come below and i'll give you summat to do you good, and tumble you into your hammock." by going below the good steward meant going below the deck into the cabin. a ship is just like a large house, divided into a number of rooms--some of which are sitting rooms, some store and provision rooms, some kitchens and pantries, closets and cupboards; and there are two or three flats in some ships, so that you can go up or down stairs at your pleasure. when davy went down the ladder or stair, which is called the "companion," and followed the steward through many rooms full of all kinds of things that seemed to be all in confusion, and saw the sailors sitting, and smoking, and laughing, and talking on chests and tables, he almost believed that he was in a house on shore; but then he remembered that houses on shore don't dance about and roll, first on one side and then on the other, and plunge forwards and then backwards; so he sighed and put his hands to his breast, which felt very uncomfortable. "here's your hammock," said the steward; "all the sailors sleep in these things, and this one is yours." so saying, he lifted davy from the ground and tossed him into bed. the "hammock" is a long piece of canvas drawn in round an iron ring at each end. to this ring a number of cords are attached, and the hammock is slung by them to the beams of the ship. in the bed thus formed the blankets are put; and a very snug bed it is, as it swings about with the ship. davy soon fell asleep, but he was quickly wakened again by the horrible noises on deck. ropes were thrown about, men's feet were stamping, pieces of wood were falling, doors were banging, masts were creaking, the wind was howling; in short, davy thought it must be a terrible storm and that they should all be lost. but the steward said to him, in passing, "it's only a stiff breeze, youngster;" so he turned round and went to sleep again. for two days and two nights did davy lie there--very sick! on the morning of the third day he awoke much refreshed, and felt strongly inclined to eat his blankets! as he lay wondering how he was to get down out of his hammock without breaking his neck, he heard his friend ben block conversing with a man in another hammock who had never been to sea before and was very, very sick. "oh! dear me," sighed the sick man, "where are we now?" "don't know," answered ben; "we've been drove pretty far out of our course to the nor'ard, i guess. it's a dead calm." "a dead what?" said the sick man faintly. "why, a dead calm," replied ben. "when there's no wind it's a calm, and when there's no motion at all, either in the air or in the water, except the swell o' the sea, it's a dead calm. d'ye understand?" "is it fine weather, ben?" cried davy cheerfully. "yes, lad, it is," replied the sailor. on hearing this davy sprang, or, as the sailors call it, tumbled out of bed. he tried to get out of it; but not being used to hammocks, he was awkward and fell plump on the floor! however, he was not hurt; and throwing on his jacket, he ran up on deck. well might davy's heart leap and his voice shout at the beautiful sight that met his gaze when he reached the forecastle. the sea was like one wide beautiful mirror, in which all the clouds were clearly reflected. the sun shone brightly and glittered on the swell on which the ship rolled slowly; and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle flapping of the loose sails, now and then, against the masts. "have you had breakfast, youngster?" inquired the captain of the ship, laying his hand on davy's head. "no, sir, not yet," answered the boy. "run below, then, and get it, and after you've done come to me. we must put you to work now, lad, and make a sailor of you." the steward soon gave davy as much food as he could eat; then he sprang up the companion ladder, and, running to the poop where the captain was, touched his cap, saying-- "i'm ready, sir." "very good, my lad," said the captain, sitting down on the skylight, or window on the deck, which gives light to the cabin below. "do you see that little thing on top of the mainmast like a button?" "do you mean the truck?" said davy. "oh, you know its name, do you? well, do you think you could climb up to it?" "i'll try," cried davy, springing towards the mast. "stay!" shouted the captain; "not so fast, boy. you'd tumble down and break your neck if you tried to climb to the truck the first time you ever went up the mast. but you may go to the `maintop.' that's where you see the lower mast joined to the top mast. climb up by those rope ladders--the `shrouds,' we call them." away went davy, and was soon halfway up the shrouds; but he went too fast, and had to stop for breath. then he came to the mass of woodwork and ropes at the head of the lower mast. here he had great difficulty in getting on; but, being a fearless boy, he soon succeeded. the captain then called to him to go out to the end of the "yardarm." yards are the huge cross beams fastened to the masts to which the sails are fixed. the "main-yard" is the largest. the mainsail is attached to it. davy soon crept out nearly to the end, but when he got there the yard became so small and the ropes upon it were so few and slack, that the poor boy's courage began to fail. he looked down at the water, which seemed to be terribly far below him. at that moment the ship made a lurch or plunge, davy lost his hold, and with a loud cry fell headlong from the yard into the sea. in a moment ben block, who had been watching him, jumped overboard; a boat was lowered, and in less than ten minutes ben was picked up with davy clinging to him. not long after this they drew near the gulf of saint lawrence, and were beginning to think of the end of their voyage. but one night while davy lay sound asleep in his warm hammock, he was startled by a cry on deck, which was followed by a loud order for "all hands" to tumble up and shorten sail. the sailors are usually called "hands" at sea. in a moment davy was on deck, with only his trousers and shirt on. but he could not see anything, the night was so dark, and he could scarcely hear anything except the howling of the wind. "take in all sail!" roared the captain. the men rushed to obey, and davy was so well accustomed to the work that he too climbed to his usual place on the main topsail yard and began to haul in the sail. he could barely see the man next to him, and it was with difficulty he kept his hold of the yard, while the ship tossed and plunged in the waves. when nearly all sail was taken in the ship went easier, and the men assembled on the deck to await further orders. the gale increased, and suddenly the small bit of the fore-topsail that was hoisted burst into shreds with a clap like thunder, and carried away the fore-topmast with all its yards and rigging, part of the bowsprit, and the top of the mainmast. "clear away the wreck!" shouted the captain. some of the men ran for axes, and began to cut the ropes that fastened the broken masts to the ship, for there was a danger of the ship striking against them and knocking a hole in her side while she plunged. still the gale increased, and the mizzen topmast went overboard. the "mizzen" is the mast nearest to the stern. it is the smallest of the three. the lightning now began to flash, and the thunder to roar, while the crew of the _fair nancy_ stood on her deck clinging to the bulwarks, lest they should be washed overboard! little davy looked at the man next him, and saw that it was ben block. "oh, ben!" said he, "what an awful night it is! do you think we shall be lost?" ben shook his head. "i don't know, lad; but the lord can save us, if it be his will. pray to him, boy." "my poor mother!" murmured davy, as the tears rose to his eyes, while he prayed to god in his heart that he might be spared to see her again. at that moment there came a wave so big and black that davy thought the sea was going to turn upside down. it came on like a great dark mountain, high above the ship. "hold on for your lives!" cried some of the men, as the wave fell with a fearful crash and turned the ship over on her side--or on her "beam-ends," as sailors call it. they were in awful danger now, as the sea began to pour down into the cabins, and the masts and sails being in the water the ship could not "right," or become straight again. "cut away the masts!" roared the captain. the deck was now standing up like a wall, so that the men could not walk on it, but they managed with great difficulty to reach the mizzenmast, which a few strokes of the axe sent overboard. still the ship lay on her beam-ends. "cut away the mainmast!" cried the captain. the order was obeyed, and with a loud report, like a cannon shot, it went overboard too. immediately after the fall of the mainmast there came another wave, from which they never expected to rise again. it dashed down on the stern and drove in the cabin windows; but the worst of it was, that it swept away all the boats belonging to the ship. they had been securely fastened to the deck; but this wave carried them all away, so that now, if the ship sank, their only chance of escape was gone. the same wave snapped the foremast across near the deck. this was fortunate, because it enabled the ship to "right" herself, and once more the men were able to stand on the deck. the storm continued to rage still, however, and some of the men were sent to work the pumps, for there was a great deal of water in the ship now; so much, indeed, that she could hardly float. another party were ordered to fit up a small mast, which they tied to the stump of the foremast. this new one was called a "jury-mast;" and as they could not sail without a mast of some kind or other, they were very glad when they saw it up and a sail hoisted on it. during the night, however, another heavy wave broke this mast away also; so they were again left to toss like a log on the stormy waters. all this time the men were working hard at the pumps, but, although they worked for many hours without stopping, the water continued to increase in the hold, and they saw that the ship had sprung "a leak;" that is to say, some of the planks had started, or the seams had opened, and the water was pouring into it so fast that it was evident she would soon sink. this was very awful indeed. some of the men began to cry to god for mercy, others tore their hair and ran about like madmen, while some sat down and silently prepared to die! the morning light came at last. but what a sad sight it rose upon. the once noble ship now lay a wreck upon the water, with the masts and sails gone and her shattered hull ready to sink. the captain, who seemed to have lost all hope when the jury-mast broke, was standing on the poop, looking anxiously round the horizon in hopes of seeing a sail--but in vain. davy stood beside him, and looking up in his face, said, "please, sir, could we not make a raft?" "right, boy, right," replied the captain; "you're the best `man' amongst us. we're no better than girls to be giving way to despair in this way. hallo! lads, rouse up there; get all the spare yards and spars you can, and make a raft. look sharp now!" the captain said this in such a quick, commanding tone that all the sailors jumped to obey him, and in five minutes they were busily at work on the raft. first, they collected all the broken yards and bits of masts that were still floating alongside, dragging by the ropes that fastened them to the sides of the ship. these they arranged side by side, and tied them firmly together with ropes. then they collected all the spare timbers that were in the ship, and putting these above the others, fastened them with ropes too. after that they tore off some of the planks from the decks and bulwarks, with which they made a kind of floor to the raft. all this, although it takes a short time to tell, took a long, long time to do; for it was hard work moving such heavy timbers, and the poor men were very tired, having been up in the storm all night. besides this, although the wind had ceased, the waves were still high and would not let them work quietly. however, they finished it at last, and after it was done, they put a number of barrels of biscuit and some casks of water and wine on board. then they put a few blankets and a compass--that useful little machine that points always to the north, and shows the sailor which way to go, so that he sails in the dark night as surely as in the broad day. "now," said the captain, "i think that there is a chance of escape yet. get on board, lads, as fast as you can. i fear the ship won't float long." all the men now hastened on board. the captain's wife, who was the only female in the ship, was the first to step on the raft, and it soon began to be crowded. when about half of the sailors had left the ship the captain suddenly cried out, "ho! ben block, we've forgot a mast and sail. run below with a couple of hands and fetch one as fast as you can." just at that moment the ship gave a heavy plunge, the ropes broke, and the raft floated slowly away, leaving the men who were yet in the ship in a state of despair. one or two of them jumped into the sea and tried to swim to the raft; but the first man who did so was nearly drowned, and the others got back to the ship with great difficulty. it was a terrible sight to witness the misery of the poor captain, as he beheld his wife, standing with her arms stretched out towards him, and the raft drifting slowly away, until at length it appeared like a small black spot far off upon the sea. "oh, my poor wife!" he cried, "i shall never see you more." the tears were rolling down ben block's weatherbeaten face as he went up to the captain and took him by the hand. "never fear, sir," said he; "the almighty can save her." "thank you, ben, for saying that," replied the captain; "but the ship won't float long. my wife may indeed be saved, but we are sure to be lost." "i don't know that," cried ben, trying to look cheerful. "when you sent me down below, sir, to look for a mast and sail, i observed that the water in the hold had ceased rising. if we can only keep her afloat a little longer, we may manage to make another raft." the captain smiled sadly and shook his head, and davy, who had been standing beside him all the time, felt his heart sink again. to add to the horror of the scene, night came on, and the water was so high in the cabin that the captain and men who had been left in the wreck had to try to sleep on the wet decks the best way they could. next morning the wind was still blowing pretty hard, and they now saw that they were drawing near to a wild shore, where there seemed to be many large rocks in the water near the beach. the crew of the _fair nancy_ looked anxiously towards the land, hoping to see people there who might help them when the ship struck on the rocks; but they saw no one. in about an hour afterwards the ship struck, and the shock was so great that davy's heart seemed to leap into his throat. the shore was lined with great dark cliffs and precipices, at the foot of which the waves roared furiously. while the men stood looking helplessly at the land another wave lifted the ship, carried her forward a long way, and dashed her down on the rocks, where she stuck fast, with a sharp rock quite through her hull, and the water foaming round her. what made their situation more dreadful was, that a great deal of snow had fallen during the night. it covered the decks of the ship, and made the land look cold and dreary. "we must swim for it now," said the captain, as he looked sorrowfully at the boiling surf and immense waves which swept over the rocks, and bursting like thunder on the cliffs, were flung back upon the ship in spray. "no one can swim in such a surf as that," said one of the sailors gloomily. "surf" is the name given to the white foam which is formed by the waves when they dash upon the shore. it is very difficult, sometimes quite impossible, to swim in the surf of the sea, and many poor sailors have been hurled on the rocks by it and dashed in pieces while attempting to swim from their wrecked vessels to the land. every time a wave came it lifted the _fair nancy_, and, as it passed, let her fall heavily on the sharp rocks, so that she began to break up. still the men were afraid to venture into the sea, and they clung to the bulwarks, quite uncertain what to do. at last ben block turned to the captain and said-- "i'm a good swimmer, captain, and i think i could swim to the shore well enough perhaps; but there are some o' the men who can't swim, and poor davy, there, could never do it; so i'll just throw a rope round my shoulders and make for the shore. if i land i'll fix the rope to the cliffs, and you'll all be able to get ashore easy enough. if i should be drowned,--it'll only be a little sooner, that's all, and it's well worth risking my life to save my shipmates." "you're a brave fellow, ben," said the captain. "go and do it if you can." ben block went down below and soon returned with a stout rope. on the end of this he made a loop, which he passed round his shoulders, and then, raising his eyes to heaven with an imploring look, he leapt into the sea. at first he swam vigorously, and the sailors looked on in anxious hope. but a large wave came. it fell,--and ben block disappeared, while a cry of fear rose from the deck of the ship. in a few seconds, however, they saw him rise again and struggle manfully with the raging billows. the next wave that came lifted ben up and threw him on the beach, to which he clung with all his power; but as the wave retired it swept him back into the sea, for he could not hold on to the loose sand. he now rolled over and over quite exhausted, and the sailors thought he was dead. but a man's life is dear to him, and he does not soon cease to struggle. another wave approached. it lifted ben up and threw him again on the beach. this time he made a desperate effort to hold on, and, fortunately, he observed a large rock close to where he lay. with a sudden spring he caught hold of it and held on till the wave went back; then he ran forward a few steps and caught hold of another rock a little higher up, so that when the next wave broke over him it had not power to draw him back. another run--and he was safe! the men gave a loud cheer when they saw him land. after he had rested a little, ben fastened the end of the rope to a mass of rock. the sailors hauled it tight and fixed the other end in the ship; and then, one by one, they slowly crept along the rope and reached the shore in safety. here they all fell on their knees and thanked god for their deliverance. but now they found that the land was not inhabited, and they walked along that dreary coast for several days, almost starved to death with hunger and cold, for they had only a few biscuits among them, and their clothes were never dry. little davy was the best walker among them, and helped to keep up their spirits greatly by his cheerful conversation as they toiled along. at last they arrived at a little village, where the people were exceedingly kind to them; gave them food and dry clothes, and, after they became stronger, sent them to the great city of quebec. here they were kindly treated, and finding a ship bound for england, they all returned home. you may imagine the delight of the poor captain when he arrived and found his wife safe and sound. she and all the people on the raft had been picked up by a homeward-bound vessel the day after they lost sight of their ship, and were brought safe back to england. and you may fancy the joy of little davy's parents when their son opened the cottage door one day and rushed into his mother's arms. davy never went to sea again, but continued for many years after to help his poor father to fish. and the _fair nancy_--that beautiful ship, which davy had watched so long, which he had seen launched, and which had sailed so gallantly from her native shores, with her snowy sails glancing in the sun like the white wings of a seagull--alas! alas! she lay a total wreck now, on the rocky shores of a foreign land. file was produced from images generously made available by the kentuckiana digital library.) [illustration: leopold on the lookout. page .] oliver optic's yacht club series. the coming wave lee & shepard boston the yacht club series. the coming wave; or, the hidden treasure of high rock by oliver optic, author of "young america abroad," "the army and navy series," "the woodville stories," "the starry flag series," "the boat club stories," "the lake shore series," "the upward and onward series," etc., etc. _with thirteen illustrations._ boston: lee and shepard, publishers. new york: lee, shepard and dillingham. entered, according to act of congress, in the year , by william t. adams, in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington. to my young friend _elmer ellsworth holbrook_, of medway, mass., _this book_ is affectionately dedicated. _the yacht club series._ . little bobtail; or, the wreck of the penobscot. . the yacht club; or, the young boat builder. . money maker; or, the victory of the basilisk. . the coming wave; or, the hidden treasure of high rock. . the dorcas club; or, our girls afloat. . ocean born; or, the cruise of the clubs. preface. "the coming wave" is the fourth volume of the yacht club series, and is an entirely independent story. though the incidents are located on penobscot bay and relate largely to boats and yachting, the characters have not before been presented; but some of them will again be introduced in the subsequent volumes of the series. there is some breezy sailing in the story, and penobscot bay would not be properly described without the dense fog, upon which the turn of events depends in one of the chapters; nor is such a hurricane as that with which the story begins an unknown occurrence in these waters. whatever interest the volume may possess, however, does not wholly depend upon the experience in fog and gale of the hero and his friends, for the plot is as much of the land as of the sea. leopold bennington and stumpy are the chief characters. they are both working boys, who earn their own living, and do nothing more surprising than other young men have done before them. they are fastidiously honest, and strictly upright, though they make mistakes like other human beings. they try to do their whole duty, sometimes under very difficult circumstances, and if other boys may not do exactly as they did in certain cases, they may imitate leopold and stumpy in having a high aim, and in striving to reach it. if young people only mean well, they can hardly fail to lead good and true lives, in spite of their errors of judgment, or even their occasional failures to do right. towerhouse, boston, july , . contents. page. chapter i. the tempest in the bay, chapter ii. the last of the waldo, chapter iii. harvey barth's diary, chapter iv. stumpy and others, chapter v. herr schlager, chapter vi. miss sarah liverage, chapter vii. something about the hidden treasure, chapter viii. an important discovery, chapter ix. coffin rock, chapter x. doubts and debts, chapter xi. in the fog, chapter xii. an extensive arrival, chapter xiii. the excursion to high rock, chapter xiv. the fair thing, chapter xv. the waldo's passenger, chapter xvi. gold and bills, chapter xvii. the first of july, chapter xviii. the coming wave, the coming wave; or, the hidden treasure of high rock. chapter i. the tempest in the bay. "well, parsenger, we're likely to get in to port before long, if we only have a breeze of wind," said harvey barth, the cook and steward of the brig waldo, in a peculiar, drawling tone, by which any one who knew the speaker might have recognized him without the use of his eyes. the steward was a tall, lank, lantern-jawed man, whose cheek-bones were almost as prominent as his long nose. his face was pale, in spite of the bronze which a west india sun had imparted to it, and his hair was long and straight. he had a very thin beard of jet black, which contrasted strongly with the pallor of his face. his voice was hollow, and sounded doubly so from the drawl with which he uttered his sentences, and every remark he made was preceded by a single long-drawn hacking cough, which might have been caused by the force of habit or the incipient workings of disease. he was seated in the galley, abaft the foremast of the brig, and when the passenger showed himself at the door of the galley, he had been engaged in writing in a square record-book, which he closed the instant the visitor darkened the aperture of his den. the passenger--the only one on board of the waldo--was a short, thick-set man of about forty, whose name was entered on the brig's papers as jacob wallbridge, and his trunk bore the initials corresponding to this name. in his hand he had a pipe, filled full of tobacco, and it was evident that he had called at the galley only to light it, though the steward proceeded to infold his book in an ample piece of oil-cloth which lay upon the seat at his side. it was clear that he did not wish the passenger to know what he was doing, or, at least, what he had written, for he was really quite nervous, as he securely tied the book, and then locked it up in a box under the seat. though harvey barth did not confess it then, it was, nevertheless, a fact that he had been writing in his book about the passenger who darkened his door, though what he wrote was not seen by any human eye until many months after the pen had done its office. "i thought this morning we should get in to-night," replied the passenger, as he stepped inside of the caboose. "may i borrow a coal of fire from the stove, doctor?" "certain, if you can get one; but the fire is about out. you will find some matches in the tin box on your right," added the steward. "i like to light my pipe in the old-fashioned way when i can. i don't mean to begin to suck in brimstone just yet," continued wallbridge, as he succeeded in finding a coal, and soon had his pipe in working order. "what were you doing with that book, doctor? do you keep a log of the voyage?" "well, ya-as," drawled the steward. "i keep a log of this voyage, and a log of the voyage of life. i've kept a diary ever since i taught school; and that's seven years ago, come winter." "it must be worth reading. i should like to look it over, if we have to stay out here another day. i suppose you have seen a good deal of the world, if you have been to sea many years." "no; i haven't seen much of the world. i never went but one voyage before this, and that was in a coaster, from new york to bangor. the diary is only for my own reading, and i wouldn't let anybody look at it for all the world," answered harvey barth, with an even more painful cough than usual. "then you are not a great traveller," added wallbridge, puffing away at his pipe, as he watched the sun sinking to his rest beyond the western waves. "bless you! no. i was brought up on a farm in york state. i used to keep school winters till the folks in our town began to think they must have a more dandified chap than i am." "where did you learn to cook, if you were a schoolmaster?" "well you see i was an only son, and my mother died when i was but sixteen. father and i kept house together till he died, and i used to do about all the cooking. i had an idea then that i could do it pretty well, too," replied harvey, with a sickly smile. "the old man got to drinking rather too much, and lost all he had and all i had, too. my health wasn't very good; i had a bad cough and night sweats. i was an orphan at twenty-four, and i thought i'd go to new york city, and take a little voyage on the salt water. i had about a hundred dollars i earned after the old man died; but a fellow in the city got it all away from me;" and harvey hung his head, as though this was not a pleasant experience to remember. "ah! how was that?" asked wallbridge. "the fellow offered to show me round town, and, as i was kind of lonesome, i went with him. we called at a place to pay a bill he owed. he had a check for three hundred dollars; but the man he owed couldn't give him the change, so i lent him my hundred dollars, and took the check till he paid me. then my kind friend went into another room; and that's the last i ever saw of him. i couldn't find him, but i did find that the check was good for nothing. i hadn't a dollar left. at one of the piers i came across a schooner that wanted a cook, and i shipped right off. then the cap'n's nephew wanted to cook for him, after we got to bangor, and i was out of a job. i worked in an eating-house for a while, cooking; but my health was so bad i wanted to go to a warm climate; so i shipped in this brig for the west indies. it was warm enough there, but i didn't get any better. i don't think i'm as stout as i was when i left bangor. i shall not hold out much longer." "o, yes, you will. you may live to be a hundred years old yet," added wallbridge, rather lightly. "no; my end isn't a great way off," added the steward, with a sigh, as the passenger, evidently not pleased with the turn the conversation had taken, walked away from the galley. any one who looked at harvey barth would have found no difficulty in accepting his gloomy prediction; and yet he was, as events occurred, farther from his end than his companions in the brig. the steward sat before his stove, gazing at the planks of the deck under his feet. he was deeply impressed by the words he had uttered if the passenger was not. he had improved the opportunity, while the weather was calm to write up his diary, and perhaps the thoughts he had expressed on its pages had started a train of gloomy reflections. the future seemed to have nothing inviting to him, and his attention was fixed upon an open grave at no great distance before him in the pathway of his life. beyond that he had hardly taught himself to look; if he had he would, doubtless, have been less sad and gloomy. his work for the day had all been done; supper in the cabin had been served, and the beef and hard bread had been given to the crew two hours before. it was a day in august, and the sun had lingered long above the horizon. harvey had finished writing in his diary when the passenger interrupted him; but, apparently to change the current of his thoughts, he took the book from the box, and began to read what he had written. "i don't know what his name is, but i don't believe it's wallbridge," said he, to himself, as the last page recalled the reflections which had caused him to make some of the entries in the book. "that wasn't the name i found on the paper in his state-room, though the initials were the same. i don't see what he changed his name for; but that's none of my business. i only hope he hasn't been doing anything wrong." "my pipe's gone out," said wallbridge, presenting himself at the door of the galley again. "i want another coal of fire." the steward carefully secured his book again, and returned it to the box, while the passenger was lighting his pipe. "rather a still time just now," said the steward, alluding to the weather, as wallbridge puffed away at his pipe. "dead calm," replied the passenger. "we shall not get in to-morrow at this rate." "captain 'siah says we shall have more wind than we want before morning," added the smoker. "he wishes the brig was twenty miles farther out to sea, for his barometer has gone down as though the bottom had dropped out of it." "it looks like one of those west india showers," added the steward, as he glanced out at one of the doors of the galley. the calm and silence which had pervaded the deck of the waldo seemed to be broken. captain 'siah had given his orders to the mate, who was now shouting lustily to the crew, though there was not a breath of air stirring, and the brig lay motionless upon the still waters. the vessel was a considerable distance within the range of islands which separate penobscot bay from the broad ocean. the water was nearly as smooth as a mill-pond, and harvey had found no more difficulty in writing in his diary than if the waldo had been anchored in the harbor of rockland, whither she was bound, though she had made the land some distance to the eastward of owl's head. harvey bath walked out upon the deck, after putting on an overcoat to protect him from the chill air of the evening, for he felt that his life depended upon his precaution. in the south-west the clouds were dense and black, indicating the approach of a heavy shower. in the east, just as dense and black, was another mass of clouds; and the two showers seemed to be working up towards the zenith. "cast off the fore tack!" shouted the mate. "let go the fore sheet!" when this last order was given, it was the duty of the cook to execute it; and, ordinarily, this is about the only seaman's duty which the "doctor" is called upon to perform. harvey promptly cast off the sheet, and the hands at the clew-garnets hauled up the foresail. the flying-gib and top-gallant sails had already been furled, and the canvas on the brig was soon reduced to the fore-topsail, fore-topmast staysail, and spanker; and these sails hung like wet rags, the vessel drifting with the tide, which now set up the bay. the dense black clouds slowly approached the zenith, and it was dark before there appeared to be any commotion of the elements. as the gloom of the evening increased, the lightning became more vivid, the zigzag chains of electric fluid darting angrily from the inky masses of cloud which obscured the sky. the heavy thunder sounded nearer and more overhead, indicating the nearer approach of the two showers. scarcely did the flashing lightning--almost instantly followed by the cannon-like crash of the thunder--blaze and peal on one side of the brig, before the flaming bolt and the startling roar were taken up on the other side, as though the two tempests on either hand were vying with each other for the mastery of the air. captain josiah barnwood, familiarly called, even by the crew, who were his friends and neighbors, captain 'siah, nervously walked his quarter-deck, after he had taken every precaution which a careful sailor could take; for, even if his practised eye had not taught him that there was wind in the clouds in the south-west, the barometer had earnestly admonished him of violent disturbances in the atmosphere. he had done everything he could for the safety of the brig, but he blamed himself--though without reason, for the change of weather had been sudden and unexpected--for coming into the bay when it was so near night. the brig was surrounded on nearly every side by rocky islands and numerous reefs, with the chances that thick weather would hide the friendly lights from his view. but it was a summer day, and, until late in the afternoon, when there was no wind to help him, no change could have been anticipated. captain 'siah was nervous, though he was as familiar with the bay as he was with the apartments in his own house. he knew every island and head land, every rock and shoal, and the situation of every light-house; but the barometer had warned him of nothing less than a hurricane. the waldo was an old vessel, and barely sea-worthy, even for a summer voyage, to the region of hurricanes. he had, therefore, many misgivings, as he paced the quarter-deck, watching the angry bolts of lightning, and listening to the deafening roar of the thunder. occasionally he halted at the taffrail, and gazed into the thick darkness of the south-west, from which his experience taught him the tempest would come. then, at the foot of the mainmast he halted again, to listen for any sound that might come over the waters from the eastward; but his glances in this direction were brief and hurried, for he expected the storm from the opposite quarter. again he paused at the taffrail, by the side of the man who stood idle at the wheel, for the brig had not motion enough to give her steerage-way. this time captain 'siah listened longer than usual. from far away to seaward, between the peals of thunder, came a confused, roaring sound. at the same time a slight puff of air swelled the sails of the brig, and the helmsman threw over the wheel to meet her, as the vessel began to move through the still waters. "haul down the fore-topmast staysail!" shouted captain 'siah, at the top of his lungs, a sudden energy seeming to take possession of his nervous frame. "ay, ay, sir," returned the mate; and almost at the same instant the captain heard the hanks rattling down the stay. "it's coming down upon us like a tornado," said captain 'siah to the passenger who was smoking his pipe on the quarter-deck. "can i do anything, captain 'siah?" asked wallbridge, who had been aroused from his lethargy by the energy of the captain. "yes; let go the peak-halyards of the spanker!" answered the captain, sharply, as he sprang to the throat-halyards himself. the sail came down, and the passenger, who had evidently been to sea before, proceeded to gather up and secure the fluttering canvas, for the breeze was rapidly freshening. "furl the fore-topsail," cried the captain, with a kind of desperation, which indicated his sense of the peril of the brig. "ay, ay, sir," shouted the ready mate, who, in anticipation of the order, had manned the halyards, and stationed hands at the sheets and clewlines. "let go the sheets! clew up--lively! settle away the halyards! ready at the bunt-lines--sharp work, boys! aloft, and furl the topsail!" "set the main-staysail!" shouted the captain. captain 'siah was an old-fashioned shipmaster, and the waldo was an old-fashioned vessel. everything on board was done promptly and skillfully in the old-fashioned way. the captain knew just where he was as long as he could see any of the objects around him, whether lights or the dark outlines of the rocky islands. his principal fear was, if the brig withstood the shock of the tempest, that she would drift upon some dangerous rocks, which were hidden by the waves after half-tide. they were situated off a large island, whose high, precipitous shores he could just discern, when the lightning illuminated the scene around him. this island and these perilous rocks were dead to leeward of the waldo, and hardly a mile distant. with the aid of the staysail captain 'siah hoped--and only hoped--that he should be able to work his vessel out of the range of these dangers. but before the staysail could be set, and before the fore-topsail could be furled, a violent squall struck the brig. the fore-topsail was blown out of the hands of the four seamen who had gone aloft to secure it. so great was the fury of the tempest that in an instant the well-worn sail was torn into ribbons, and great pieces of it were blown away, like little white clouds played upon by the lightning. worse than this, two of the men on the topsail-yard were wrenched from their hold on the spar, and hurled into the darkness beneath them, one falling into foaming waters, and the other striking senseless upon the deck. vainly, for a time, the mate, with four men to help him, struggled to set the staysail, upon which depended the safety of the brig from the savage rocks to leeward of her. at last they succeeded stimulated by the hoarse shouts of captain 'siah on the quarter-deck, though not till one of the four men had been struck insensible on the deck by the fierce blows of the sheet-block. the sail was hauled out finally by the exertions of the mate. the helmsman met her at the wheel, and the waldo heeled over till the water poured in over her lee bulwarks. at this moment, the staysail, too flimsy from age to stand the strain upon it, was blown out of the bolt-ropes, with an explosion like a cannon, and went off like a misty cloud into the darkness. the hour of doom seemed to have overtaken the waldo; but in spite of the misfortunes that overwhelmed her, captain 'siah did not abandon hope, or relax his exertions to save the vessel. "set the fore-topmast staysail!" hoarsely yelled the captain. "send four hands aft to set the spanker!" captain 'siah did not know, when he gave this order, that three of his nine hands had been disabled, and the mate sent only three men aft, one of whom told the captain of the accident. but the passenger was as zealous and willing as even the mate. in order to save his canvas, the captain ordered the spanker to be balance-reefed. the stops were taken off, and the master assisted in the work with his own hands. "jam your helm hard down!" he cried to the man at the wheel. "if we can get her head up to the wind, we may be able to set these sails." all hands worked with desperate energy, and it required all their strength to prevent the canvas from being blown out of their hands. the savage wind upon her bare hull and spars had given the brig steerage-way, and when the man at the helm threw the wheel over, the head of the vessel began to come up to the wind. captain 'siah was hopeful, and he encouraged the men at the spanker to renewed exertions. he saw that the mate had partially succeeded in setting the head sail, and the chances were certainly much better than they had been a moment before. perhaps, if no greater calamity than that which came on the wings of the stormy wind had befallen the brig and her crew, she might possibly have been saved. the shower from the south-west and that from the east, had apparently come together above the devoted vessel. the lightning was more frequent and vivid, the thunder followed each flash almost instantaneously; and captain 'siah realized that the clouds were but a short distance above the brig. but he heeded not the booming thunder or the glaring lightning, only as the latter enabled him to see the work upon which the mate and himself were engaged. the captain, aided by the passenger, was lashing the throat of the gaff down to its place, when a heavy bolt of lightning, accompanied at the same instant by a terrific peel of thunder, struck the main-royal mast-head, and leaped down the mast in a lurid current of fire. at the throat of the main-boom it was divided, part of it following the mast down into the cabin and hold, and the rest darting off on the spar, where the captain, the passenger, and three men were at work on the spanker. every one of them was struck down, and lay senseless on the deck. even the man at the wheel shared their fate, though no one could know who were killed and who were simply stunned by the shock. the lightning capriciously leaped from the boom to the metal work of the wheel, shattering the whole into a thousand pieces, and splintering the rudder-head as though it had been so much glass. the rudder was disabled, the fore-topmast staysail was rent into ribbons, and the brig fell off into the trough of the sea, where she rolled helplessly at the mercy of the tempest. chapter ii. the last of the waldo. the storm which swept over the waters of the lower bay, lashing them into a wild fury, and piling up the angry waves upon them, was not merely a squall; it was a hurricane, which raged for half an hour with uninterrupted violence. from the time the tempest struck the waldo, she had been drifting towards the dangerous rocks; and when the wheel and rudder-head were shattered, the vessel became unmanageable. six men, including the captain and the passenger, lay paralyzed on the quarter-deck. there were only three left--the mate, the steward, and one seaman. when the steering apparatus was disabled, the brig fell off, and rushed madly before the hurricane, towards the dangerous reefs. the rain had been pouring down in torrents for a few moments, but little cared the seamen for that which could not harm the vessel. harvey barth was not, and did not pretend to be, a sailor. when the storm burst upon the vessel, he retired to the galley. when the moments of peril came, he was alarmed at first; but then he felt that he had only a few months, or a year or two at most, of life left to him, and he tried to be as brave as the sailors who were doing there utmost to save the brig from destruction. perhaps it would have been a pleasure to him in the last days of his life to do some noble deed; but there was only the drudgery of the common sailor to be done. he saw the man from the topsail yard strike heavily upon the deck. he dragged him into the galley, but he seemed to be dead. the steward had tender feelings, and he tried to do something to restore the unconscious sailor. while he was thus engaged, the mate summoned him to assist in setting the fore-topmast staysail. he obeyed the call, though it was the first time he was ever called upon to do any duty, except to make fast, or cast off the fore-sheet. he was not a strong man, but he did the best he could at the halyard, and the mate was satisfied with him. the bolt of lightning which came down the mainmast seemed to shake and shatter the brig, and the hands forward were terribly startled by the shock. then the sail they were setting was torn in pieces. the mate who had worked vigorously and courageously, saw that all they had done was useless. the vessel fell off, and rushed to the ruin that was in store for her. "it is all up with us," said mr. carboy, the mate, as he dropped the halyard. "nothing can save the brig now." "what shall we do?" asked harvey barth, startled by the words of the officer. "must we drown here?" "we shall do what we can to save ourselves," replied mr. carboy, as he made his way with no little difficulty to the quarter-deck, in order to ascertain the condition of things, for he was not aware of the havoc which the lightning had made among his shipmates. [illustration: the wreck of the waldo. page .] a flash of the electric fluid streamed along the mass of black clouds at this instant, and disclosed to him the situation of his companions. he was shocked by the sight, and even his strong frame was shaken by the fearful scene which for an instant only was visible to him. he recognized the captain, but he seemed to be dead. next to him was the passenger, who was getting upon his feet again, apparently not much injured by the bolt. not another of the six men who lay on the quarter-deck moved, or exhibited any signs of life. the mate,--in whose mind the situation of each of his unfortunate shipmates was fixed in such a way that he could not have forgotten the scene if he had lived to be a hundred years old,--went to each man, but could discover no indications of vitality in them. he was thinking of saving his own life, but it was awful, and terribly repulsive to his sense of humanity to consider the idea of abandoning the vessel while these men, who might be only stunned by the shock lay on her deck. "what's to be done, mr. carboy?" asked the passenger, when another flash revealed to him the presence of the mate; "we shall be on the rock in another moment." "we have two boats, but we can't get them into the water in this weather. it blows harder and harder," replied the mate. the passenger said no more, but, guided by the vivid lightning, he rushed down the companion-way into the cabin of the brig; but in another moment he returned with a small, but heavy package in his hand. when the mate went aft, harvey barth visited the galley, and took from the box his diary, still carefully envelloped in the oil-cloth. this book was the repository of the few valuables he possessed, but whether it was for the diary, or the treasures it contained, that he was so anxious to save it at that trying moment, we may not know. he stuffed the book inside of his guernsey shirt, which he buttoned tightly over it. then he crawled to the quarter-deck by holding on at the bulwarks; and here all the survivors of the tempest and the lightning met, as the passenger came up from the cabin. the brig rose and fell on the savage waves, and still dashed madly on towards the rocks. she lay broadside to the hurricane, so that her progress was slower than it would otherwise have been. his companions looked to the mate, whose skill and courage had inspired their confidence, to point out the means of safety, if there were any means of safety in such a tempest. the brig had evidently shifted her cargo in the hold, for she had heeled over until the water was a foot deep in the lee scuppers. "it will be all over with the waldo in two minutes more," said wallbridge, in a loud voice, which was necessary in order to make himself heard above the roar of the tempest. "i don't know this part of the bay very well," replied mr. carboy in the same loud tone. "we shall strike on a ledge in a minute or two." "then we will be ready for it," added the mate, taking from within the fife-rail at the foot of the mainmast a couple of sharp axes, which were kept for just such emergencies as the present. "we haven't time to cut away the masts," protested wallbridge, as a flash of lightning revealed the axes in the hands of the mate. "i am not going to cut away the masts. the jolly-boat wouldn't live a moment in this sea, and we must get the whale-boat overboard," answered the mate, as he went down into the waist, where the boat was locked up. "here, burns, cut away the lee bulward," he shouted to the only remaining seaman of the brig. "give me the other axe," said wallbridge. "i know how to use it." "good! make quick work of it," added mr. carboy. "here, steward, bear a hand at this boat." the passenger carefully deposited in the fore-sheets of the whale-boat the heavy bundle he had brought up from the cabin, and seizing the axe, he applied himself vigorously to the labor of cutting away the bulwark. the mate and steward cleared away the boat, and swung it around so that the stern was headed towards the opening. but while the passenger and the seaman were delivering their blows with the axes as well as the uneasy motion of the vessel would permit, the brig rose on the sea, and came down with a most tremendous crash. over went the mainmast, shattered at the heel by the bolt of lightning. the planks and timbers of the waldo snapped and were ground into splinters as the hull pounded upon the sharp rocks. the sea began to break over the deck, as the vessel settled. "give me that axe, burns," yelled the mate, as he sprang to the seaman, and snatched the implement from his hands. "clear away the wreck," he added to the passenger. aided by the frequent flashes of lightning, the mate and wallbridge cut away the braces and other rigging which encumbered the waist, and impeded the launching of the whale-boat. in a few moments it was all clear. harvey barth, aware of his own weakness, had already seated himself in the boat, which was ready, and almost floated on the deck when the heavy seas rolled over it. "into the boat!" called the mate, as he stood at the bow of it. "take an oar, mr. wallbridge." the passenger obeyed the order. enough of the bulwarks had been cut away to allow the passage of the boat. mr. carboy waited till a heavy billow swept over the deck of the brig, and then pushed her off into the boiling waves, leaping over the bow, as it cleared the vessel. "give way!" he shouted, as the whale-boat was swept away from the brig. "keep her right before it." but the mate was not satisfied with the efforts of burns, the seaman, and took the oar from his hand. half buried in the whelming tide, the whale-boat dashed through the waves towards the high cliffs of the rocky island. she had scarcely left the brig before it broke in two in the middle; the foremast toppled over into the water, and the after portion disappeared in the waves, as they were lighted up by the repeated flashes from the dark clouds. "we shall be dashed in pieces on the rocks!" exclaimed the mate, as he turned his gaze from the remaining portion of the waldo to the lofty cliffs on the island. "no; there is a beach under the rocks," replied wallbridge. "i know the place very well. let her go ahead, and we must take our chances in the surf." "if there is a beach we shall do very well," replied the mate, pulling vigorously at his oar to keep the boat before the wind; for he knew that, if she fell off into the trough of the sea, she would be instantly swamped. but the distance was short between the ledge and the shore, and in a moment more the boat struck heavily upon the gravelly beach, which was, at this time of tide, not more than ten feet wide, and the waves already rolled over it against the perpendicular rocks. with one consent, the four men leaped from the boat into the surf. the mate carried the painter on shore with him, and endeavored to swing around the boat, which had come stern foremost to the beach. burns imprudently moved out into the surf to assist him, when the undertow from a heavy wave swept him far out into the angry sea. in the mean time, wallbridge and harvey barth retreated towards the cliff. the tide was still rising, and the beach afforded but partial shelter from the fury of the billows. "this is no place for us," said wallbridge, gloomily. "i don't think it is," drawled harvey. "we can't stand it here a great while." "but i will make sure of one thing," added the late passenger of the waldo. "i have twelve hundred dollars in gold in my hand, and it may be the means of drowning me." "gold isn't of much use to us just now," sighed harvey, indifferently, as he glanced around him to ascertain if there were any means of escape to the high rocks above; but no man could climb the steep cliff beside him. "i worked two years in cuba for this money, and i don't like to lose it," said wallbridge. "but i don't mean to be drowned on account of it." as he spoke he kneeled down on the beach, and scooped out of the sand and gravel a hole about a foot deep, into which he dropped the bag of gold. "under that overhanging rock," said he, fixing in his mind the locality of his "hidden treasure;" "i shall be able to find it again when i want it." "i hope you will," answered harvey barth, looking up at the mark indicated by his companion. it was little he cared for gold then, and leaving the owner of the treasure to consider more particularly the place where he had buried it, he walked along under the cliff in search of some shelter from the billows, which every moment drenched him in their spray. he moved on some distance, till an angle in the cliff carried it out into the deep water. he had come to the end of the beach, and he halted there in despair. he felt that there was no alternative but to lie down and die in the angry waves, for it was better to be drowned than to be dashed to pieces on the jagged rocks. a bright flash of lightning, followed by a fearful crash of thunder, as though the bolt had struck upon the land near him, illuminated the scene for an instant. that flash, which might have carried death and destruction in its path on the land, kindled a new hope in the bosom of harvey barth, for it revealed to him an opening in the angle of the rock. the cliff seemed to have been rent asunder, and a torrent of fresh water was pouring down through it from the high land above. harvey entered the opening, walking with difficulty over the large, loose stones, rounded by the flow of the stream. the ascent was steep, and the torrent of water that poured down through the ravine increased the trials of its passage. but the wrecked wanderer felt that he was safe from the fury of the savage waves. when he came to a flat rock, only a few feet above the beach, upon which he could step out of the little torrent, he paused to rest and recover his breath. then he thought of his companions in misery, exposed to the peril of the sweeping billows and the more terrible rocks. he was not a selfish man, and the thought caused him to retrace his steps to the entrance of the ravine. here he halted, and shouted with all his might to his shipmates; but his voice was weak at the best, and no response came to his cries. the dashing of the sea and the roaring of the tempest drowned the sound. after finding a place of safety, he could not leave his companions to perish. the tide was still rising, increased and hastened by the furious hurricane which drove the waters in this direction. the beach was more dangerous than when he had crossed it before, but the steward, in spite of his weakness, reached the spot where the passenger had buried his gold. neither the mate nor wallbridge was there; and the whale-boat had also disappeared. with the greatest difficulty, harvey succeeded in regaining the opening in the rock. several times he was knocked down by the billows, and once he was thrown with considerable force against the cliff. bruised and exhausted, he seated himself on the flat rock again, to recover his breath and the little strength he had left. wallbridge and the mate were appalled at the fate of burns, though they did not know that a broken spar from the wreck had struck him on the head, and deprived him of the use of his powers. the whale-boat was hauled around, head to the beach, but the waves swept it far up towards the rocks, which threatened its destruction in a few moments more. then they missed harvey, and both of them shouted his name with all the vigor of their strong lungs; but the steward did not hear them. "the sea has swept him away," said the mate, sadly. "or dashed him against the rocks," added wallbridge. "it will be the same with us in a short time. i didn't think the tide was up so far, or i should have known better than to land here." "i would rather take my chance on the wreck," continued mr. carboy, who still held the painter of the boat. "i think it is moderating a little." "not much; but do you think we can get off in the whale-boat?" asked wallbridge. "we may but it is death to stay here ten minutes longer." "that's true; for common tides rise to the foot of the rocks. we can't stand up much longer." "now's our time!" exclaimed the mate. "the wind lulls a little. it can't be any worse on the wreck than it is here." the hurricane had certainly subsided a little, and with a vigorous effort the two stout men shoved the whale-boat down the steep declivity into the deep water. keeping her head to the sea, with the oars in their hands they leaped into the boat as a receding billow carried her far out from the beach. "now, give way!" cried the mate; and with lusty strokes they pulled against the advancing sea. the boat was light, and the two rowers were powerful men, thoroughly experienced in the handling of boats under the most trying circumstances. they succeeded in getting clear of the beach, however, only by the favoring lull of the tempest. they pulled dead to windward, for mr. carboy dared not risk the boat in the trough of the sea, even for a moment. this direction brought them, after a desperate pull, to the wreck of the waldo, only the forward part of which remained. this portion appeared to the mate to be wedged in between a couple of rocks, now hidden by the waves, for it did not rise and fall with the billows. he stated his belief to wallbridge, and they agreed that the wreck would be the safest place for them. the passenger spoke of a good harbor but a short distance to the northward, but mr. carboy declared that the whale-boat would be swamped in the attempt to reach it. under the lee of the wreck, the sea was comparatively mild, and the mate fastened the painter of the boat to the bobstay of the brig. without much difficulty, the two men climbed to the forecastle of the vessel, which was still above the water. doubtless mr. carboy was right in regard to the position of the wreck on the rocks, but the sea dashed furiously against the broken end of the hulk. the hurricane renewed its violence, and as the tide rose, the waves swept over the two men. but the rising sea did worse than this for them. it loosened the cargo, consisting in part of hogsheads of molasses; and they rolled down into the deep water. relieved of this weight, the tide lifted the wreck from between the rocks; the hulk rolled over and disappeared beneath the white-crowned waves, dragging the whale-boat down with it. the movement was so sudden that the mate and the passenger had no time to save themselves, if there had been any means of doing so, and they went down with the wreck. after a hard struggle for life, they perished. harvey barth alone was spared, and he rested on the flat rock in the ravine till his wasted breath and meagre strength were regained. then he continued his weary ascent till he reached the summit of the cliffs, where he saw the boat made fast to the wreck, and the mate and passenger clinging to the forestay. in the next glare of the lightning, with a thrill of horror, he saw the hulk topple over and disappear in the mad waves. harvey barth, the sick man, was the only one of the dozen persons on board of the waldo who was left alive in half an hour after the hurricane burst upon her; and she was not the only vessel that foundered or was dashed upon the rocks in that terrific storm, nor the only one from whose crew only a single life was spared. the tempest and the lightning had done their work; and when it was done, the dark clouds rolled away, the lightning glared no more, the winds subsided, and the sea was calm again. later in the night, the wind came cold and fresh from the north-west, and swept away from the narrow beach the wounded body of burns, and nearly every vestige of the wreck. the rising sun of the next morning revealed hardly a trace of the terrible disaster. chapter iii. "harvey barth, his diary." harvey barth stood on the high cliff and wept; not in a poetical sense, but cried like a little child, and the hot tears burned on his cold, thin pale cheeks. captain 'siah had always used him well; the rough mate had been kind to him; and the seamen, most of whom, like himself, were farmers' sons, had been friendly during the three months they were together. even the passenger often seated himself in the galley to talk with him, as he smoked his pipe. now they were all gone. so far as harvey knew, every one of them, from the captain to the humblest seaman, had perished, either by the bolt from the clouds or in the mad waters. it was barely possible that the mate or passenger had escaped from the wreck on which they had taken refuge, as they had the whale-boat with them. harvey barth, who had often told his shipmates that he had not much longer to live, was the only one saved from the whole ship's company. it seemed to him very strange that he should be spared while so many stronger men had been suddenly swept away. he dared not believe that any one else had been saved, and he could not but regard himself as a monument of the mercy, as well as of the mysterious ways of providence. he thanked god from the depths of his heart that he was saved, and he was almost willing to believe that he might yet escape the fate to which his malady had doomed him. the hurricane subsided almost as suddenly as it had commenced; the sea abated its violence, and the booming thunder was heard only in the distance. the black clouds rolled away from the westward, and the stars sparkled in the blue sky. the steward was wet to the skin, and he shivered with cold. where he was he had not the least idea. on the distant shore he could see the light-houses, but what points of land they marked he did not know. he was on the solid land, and that was the sum total of his information. he was well nigh worn out by the exertions and the excitement of the evening, but, turning his back to the treacherous ocean which had swallowed up all his friends, he walked as rapidly as his strength would admit, in order to warm himself by the exercise. from the cliffs the land sloped upward, but he soon reached the top of the hill, on which he paused to take an observation. from the point where he stood there was a much sharper descent before him than on the side by which he had come up. at the foot of the hill he saw two lights, then a sheet of water, and beyond a multitude of lights indicating a considerable village. the nearest light appeared not to be over half a mile distant, and the pale moon came out from behind the piles of black clouds to guide his steps. the cold north-west wind had begun to blow, and it chilled the wanderer to his very bones. he quickened his steps down the declivity, and soon reached a rude, one-story dwelling, at the door of which he knocked. he saw the light in the house, but no one answered his summons, and he repeated it more vigorously than before. then a window was cautiously thrown open a few inches. "who's there?" asked a woman. "a stranger," replied harvey, shivering with cold, so that he could hardly utter the words. "my husband's over to the village, and i can't let no strangers in at this time of night," added the woman. "i've been cast away on the coast, and i'm really suffering," drawled the steward, in broken sentences. "cast away!" exclaimed the wife of the man who was over at the village, as she dropped the sash. the terrible storm which had spent its fury upon sea and land was enough to convince her that men might have been shipwrecked; and this was not the first time that those treacherous ledges off high rock, as the cliff was called, had shattered a good vessel. the woman hastened to the door, and threw it wide open. the pale, shivering form of harvey barth, the overcoat he wore still dripping with water, was enough to satisfy her that the visitor had no evil intentions. "come in," said she; and when the steward saw the comfortable room in the house, he required no second invitation. "why, you are shivering with cold!" "yes marm; i'm not very well, and getting wet don't agree with me," replied harvey, his teeth still chattering. the room to which he was shown was the parlor, sitting-room, and kitchen of the cottage. on the hearth was a large cooking-stove, in which the woman immediately lighted a fire. she piled on the dry wood till the stove was full, and in a few moments the room was as hot as the oven of the stove. "it's no use," said the housekeeper, who had seated herself to rock the cradle; "you are wet through to your skin; and you can't get warm till you put on dry clothes." she went to a closet and took out her husband's sunday clothes a woolen undershirt, and a pair of thick socks. harvey thought of paradise when he saw them, for he was so chilled that to be warm again seemed to him the climax of earthly joy. the woman laid them on the bed in an adjoining chamber, and then begged him to put them on. he needed no urging, and soon his trembling limbs were encased in the warm, dry clothes. the coat and pants were much too short for him, but otherwise they fitted very well. when he came out of the chamber, with his wet clothes in his hands, he found a cup of hot tea on the table waiting for him. "now drink this," said his kind host. "it will help to warm you up; and i will put your things where they will dry." harvey drank the tea, and the effect was excellent. a short time before the stove restored the warmth to his body, and he began to feel quite comfortable. "i feel good now," said he, with a sickly smile. "i'm really a new man." "now i wish you would tell me about the wreck," added the woman, as she rocked the cradle till it was a heavy sea for the baby, which threatened it with shipwreck. "certainly; i'll tell you all about it," replied harvey. he started his story at the west india islands; but, with his drawl and his hacking cough, he made slow progress. he had not reached the coast of maine when the woman's husband arrived. of course he was astonished to find a stranger so comfortably installed in his house; but when his wife explained who the steward was, he became as hospitable and friendly as his wife had been. "this is my husband, john carter," said the woman, as the man of the house seated himself at the stove. "my name is harvey barth," added the shipwrecked. "i was cook and steward of the brig waldo; but she is gone to pieces now." "sho! you don't say so!" exclaimed john carter. "why, i made a voyage to savannah myself in the waldo, before i was married!" "you will never make another in her. she broke into two pieces, which rolled over and went to the bottom," added harvey. "you don't say so! was captain barnwood in her?" "yes, he was. cap'n 'siah, as we all called him--" "so did we," interposed john carter, with a smile. "cap'n 'siah was as nice a man as ever trod a quarter-deck." "so he was." "he's gone now," sighed harvey. "was he lost?" "yes sir; he was knocked stiff by the lightning, with half a dozen others." "sho! was the brig struck by lightning?" "she was. it came down the mainmast and knocked the wheel into a thousand pieces. when the steering-gear gave out, we couldn't do anything more. i'm the only one of twelve men and a passenger that was saved." harvey barth commenced his story anew, when the astonishment of john carter had abated a little, and gave all the particulars of the voyage and the wreck and all the details of his personal history since he kept school in "york state." it was midnight when he had finished, and the details were discussed for an hour afterwards. mrs. carter had brought on more hot tea, with pie and cheese, and other eatables, which the steward had consumed in large quantities, for one of the features of his malady was a ravenous appetite. john carter, who had been detained at the village by the violence of the storm, was as hospitable as any one could be, and harvey slept that night in the best bed in the house. after breakfast the next morning he brought out the oil-cloth which contained his diary. he had carefully concealed it when he changed his clothes, and he was now anxious to know whether it had escaped serious injury in the storm. he unfolded the oil-cloth before john carter and his wife. to his great satisfaction, he found it unharmed by the floods of water which had drenched him. the water-proof covering had secured it even from any dampness. harvey opened the book at a certain place, and exhibited between the leaves a thin pile of bank notes--the whole of his worldly wealth, for, as the waldo was a total loss, the wages that were due him on account of the voyage were gone forever. but there was fifty-two dollars between the leaves of the diary. he had come from home with a good stock of clothing, and had saved nearly all he had earned, including his advance for the west india voyage. at havana mr. carboy had the misfortune to lose his watch overboard, and, as he needed one, harvey had sold him his--a very good silver one--for twenty-five dollars. "now mr. carter, i want to pay you for what i've had," drawled harvey, as he opened the diary, and exposed his worldly wealth. "pay me!" exclaimed john carter, with something like horror in his tones and expression; "take any money from a brother sailor who has been wrecked! i don't know where you got such a bad opinion of me, but i would starve to death, and then be hung and froze to death, before i'd take a cent from you!" "i am willing to pay for what i've had, and i shall be very much obliged to you besides," added harvey. "not a red. put up your money. i don't feel right to have you offer it, even," said the host, turning away his head. "i've always paid my way so far; but i don't know how much longer i shall be able to do so. i'm very thankful to you and mrs. carter for what you've done, and i shall write it all down in my diary as soon as i get a chance." "you are welcome to all we've done; and we only wish it had been more," replied mrs. carter. "i don't think i shall go to sea any more," added harvey, gloomily. "i have friends in york state, and i have money enough to get back there. that's all i want now. if you will tell me how i can get to new york, i'll be moving on now. i haven't got long to stay in this world, and i mean to spend the rest of my days where i was born and brought up." "a steamer comes over to the village about three times a week, and she will be over to-day or to-morrow. i will row you over if you say so; but i shall be glad to take care of you as long as you will stay here." "i'm much obliged to you; but i think i had better go over this forenoon." half an hour later the steward shook hands with mrs. carter and bade her adieu. john pulled him across the river, as it was called,--though it was more properly a narrow bay, into which a small stream flowed from the high lands farther inland. the village was called rockhaven, and was a place of considerable importance. it had two thousand tons of fishing vessels; but the granite quarries in the vicinity were the principal sources of wealth to the place latterly rockhaven, which was beautifully situated on high land overlooking the waters of the lower bay, had begun to be a place of resort for summer visitors. the western extremity of the village extended nearly to the high cliffs on the sea-shore, and the situation was very romantic and picturesque. the fishing was the best in the bay, and the rocks were very attractive to people from the city. the harbor had deep water at any time of tide. for a summer residence, the only disadvantage was the want of suitable hotels or boarding-houses. of the former there were two, of the most homely and primitive character, and not many of the inhabitants who had houses suitable for city people were willing to take boarders. john carter pulled his passenger across the harbor, and walked with him to the cliff house, near the headlong steeps which bounded the village on the west. he introduced him to peter bennington, the landlord, and told his story for him. "i am sorry for you," said mr. bennington. "o, i've got money enough to pay my bill," interposed harvey barth, who had a sufficiency of honest pride, and asked nothing for charity's sake. the landlord showed him to a room, after he had shaken hands with and bidden adieu to john carter, it was not the best room in the house, but it was neat and comfortable. harvey inquired about the steamer to rockland, and was told that she would probably come the next day, and return in the afternoon. the steward made himself comfortable, and ate a hearty dinner when it was ready. in the afternoon he borrowed a pen and ink, and began to write out a full account of the wreck of the waldo. he wrote a large, round hand, which was enough to convince any one who saw it that he was or had been a schoolmaster. he worked his pen slowly and carefully, but he entered so minutely into the details of the disaster that he had not half finished the narrative when the supper bell rang. harvey did not resume the task again that day; he was too weary to do so. that night he was ill and feverish, and in the morning had an attack of bleeding at the lungs. the landlord sent for the doctor, but the patient was not able to leave in the steamer, which went in the afternoon. the landlord's wife nursed him carefully and kindly, and in a week he began to improve. he had no further attack of bleeding, and he began to hope that he should live to get home. as soon as he was able to sit up in the bed, he resumed the writing up of the diary. but we must leave him in his chamber thus occupied, to introduce the most important character of our story. he was a rather tall and quite stout young fellow of sixteen. he was dressed in homely attire, what there was of it, for he wore no coat, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up above his elbows, in order, apparently, to give his arms more freedom. he was as tawny as the sailors of the waldo had been, tanned by the hot suns of the west indies. he had just come down the river from the principal wharf, at the head of which was the fish market--a very important institution, where the product of the sea formed a considerable portion of the food of the people. the boat in which he sailed was an old, black, dingy affair, which needed to be baled out more than once a day to keep her afloat. the sail was almost as black as the hull, and had been patched and darned in a hundred places. the skipper and crew of this unsightly old craft was leopold bennington, the only son of the landlord of the cliff house, though he had three daughters. leopold carried the anchor of his boat far up on the rocks above the beach, and thrust one of the arms down into a crevice, where it would hold the boat. taking from the dingy boat a basket which was heavy enough to give a considerable curve to his spine as he carried it, he climbed up the rocks to the street which extended along the shore of the river for half a mile. on the opposite side of it was the cliff house. his father stood on the piazza of the house as the young man crossed the street. "well, leopold, what luck had you to-day?" asked mr. bennington, as his son approached. "first rate, father," replied the young man, as his bronzed face lighted up with enthusiasm. "what did you get?" asked the landlord. "mackerel." "mackerel!" exclaimed mine host, his face in turn lighting up with pleasure. "lots of them, father." "we have hardly seen a mackerel this year yet. i never knew them to be so scarce since i have been on this coast." "there hasn't been any caught before these for a month, and then only a few tinkers," added leopold, as he removed the wet rock-weed with which he had covered the fish to protect them from the sun. "they are handsome ones, too." "so they are--number ones every one of them, and some extra," said the landlord, as he raised the fish with his hand so that he could see them. "they were the handsomest lot of mackerel i ever saw," continued the young fisherman, his face glowing with satisfaction. "i brought up three dozen for you, and sold the rest. i made a good haul to-day." "three dozen will be all we can use in the house, as big as those are. two dozen would have been enough; we don't have many people here now. but where did you get them?" "just off high rock, where the waldo was wrecked. i fished within a cable's length of the ledges. i don't know but the sugar and molasses from the brig drew the mackerel around her," laughed leopold, as he took an old black wallet from his pocket. "were there any other boats near you?" asked the prudent landlord. "not another one; folks are tired of trying for mackerel, and have given it up. i didn't expect to find any, but i happened to have my jigs in the boat; and for an hour i worked three of them as lively as any fellow ever did, i can tell you." "did they ask you at the fish market where you got them?" "they did; but i didn't tell them," laughed the young man. "the mackerel fetched a good price. i counted off three hundred and twenty-four at ten cents apiece, and wouldn't take any less. they are scarce, and i saw them selling the fish at twenty cents apiece; so they will make as much as i do. here is the money--thirty-two dollars and forty cents." [illustration: harvey barth, his diary. page .] "keep it yourself, my boy. you shall have all you make, as long as you don't spend it for candy and nonsense. now go up and see the sick man. he may want something, and all the folks have been busy this afternoon." the landlord took the basket of fish and put them on the ice, while leopold went up to harvey barth's chamber. the sick man did not want anything. he was sitting up in the bed, with his diary and a pen in his hands, while the inkstand stood on the little table with the medicine bottles. "there," said harvey to leopold, who had been a frequent attendant during his sickness, "i have just finished writing up this date; and it contains the whole story of the wreck of the waldo, and all that happened on board of her during the voyage." "what is it? what are you writing, mr. barth?" asked the young man. harvey opened the book at the blank leaf in the beginning, and turned it towards his visitor. "harvey barth. his diary," leopold read. "i see; you keep a diary." "i do. i wouldn't take a hundred dollars for that book, poor as i am," added harvey, as he closed the volume and laid the pen on the table. "shall i put it away for you?" asked leopold. "no; thank you; i'll take care of it myself," he replied as he proceeded to fold the book in its oil-cloth cover. when leopold had left the room, harvey barth enclosed the book in an old newspaper, and, getting out of bed, thrust the package up the flue of the little fireplace in the room, placing it on some projecting shelf or jamb which he had discovered there. he was very careful of the book, and seemed to be afraid some one might open it while he was asleep. doubtless the diary contained secrets he was not willing others should discover; and certainly no one would think of looking in the flue of the fireplace for it. chapter iv. stumpy and others. harvey barth seemed to be exceedingly well satisfied with himself after he had finished the writing of his diary up to date. possibly the fact that he had not completed his account of the wreck of the waldo had troubled him, as any work left unfinished troubles a progressive or conscientious man. but whether or not he had been disturbed about his diary, he was happier than usual after he had completed the task. his physical condition had been greatly improved under the careful nursing of mrs. bennington. in the course of the afternoon not less than half a dozen persons called to see him, and remained from five minutes to half an hour, one of whom was connected with a newspaper in a city on the bay, who was anxious to obtain a full and correct account of the loss of the brig, which harvey had not yet been able to furnish, even verbally; but he promised to write out a full narrative for the applicant, in preference to giving it by word of mouth. others who called upon him were friends of those lost in the waldo, and desired to obtain further particulars in regard to the catastrophe. but the majority of those who visited the steward came only from mere curiosity, or at best from motives of sympathy. harvey barth, as the only survivor of that terrible disaster, was quite a hero in rockhaven. he had been mentioned in all the newspapers on the coast, in connection with the wreck, and many people had a curiosity to see him, especially the visitors at rockhaven, who had nothing to do but to amuse themselves. the wreck had been talked about for over a week, and for several days after the disaster high rock and its vicinity had been visited by a great number of boats. not a single body of those who perished in the wreck was washed ashore, though diligent search had been made on all the islands in the neighborhood. the visit of the newspaper man had given harvey barth a new sensation, for the steward was particularly pleased with the idea of writing an account of the wreck of the waldo for publication; and he thought over, during the rest of the day, the satisfaction it would give him to carry fifty or a hundred copies of the paper containing it to his native town in "york state," and distribute them among his relatives and friends. indeed, the idea was so exciting, that, when night came, he could not sleep till a late hour for thinking of it. and when he did go to sleep he dreamed of it; and it seemed to him that a "printer's devil" came to him in his chamber to ask for "more copy" of the important narrative. the imp disturbed him, and he awoke to find a man in his room; but it was only a half-tipsy "drummer" from the city, who had got into the wrong chamber when he went to bed. it took harvey some time to convince the interloper that he had made a mistake; and the stranger had some difficulty in finding his way out. the invalid heard him groping about the chamber for a long time before the door closed behind him. the steward quieted his excited nerves as well as he was able, and in thinking over the great composition upon which he intended to commence the next morning, he went to sleep again. leopold bennington had slept at least five hours before the sick man was finally "wrapt in slumber," as he intended to express himself in the great composition; and in two hours more he had slept all he could afford to sleep when number one mackerel were waiting to be caught. at three o'clock in the morning he awoke and dressed himself, the latter operation occupying not more than twenty seconds, for his toilet consisted only in putting on his trousers, shoes and hat. he went down stairs, and, as boys of his age are always hungry, his first objective point was the pantry, between the dining-room and kitchen, where he found and ate an abundance of cold roast beef, biscuits, and apple pie. being a provident youth, he transferred a considerable quantity of these eatables to the large basket in which he had brought home his fish the day before, so that he could "have a bite" himself, even if the mackerel failed to favor him in this direction. though he stopped to fill himself with cold roast beef, biscuit, and apple pie, and even to fill his basket after he had filled himself, leopold was very much excited in regard to the mackerel catch of that day. he hoped to find the number ones where he had fallen in with them the day before; and he could hardly expect to catch more than one more fare before the fact that the mackerel were in the bay became generally known. the mackerel fleet itself, consisting of between two and three hundred sail, might be in the vicinity before the sun set again. he realized the necessity of making hay while the sun shines. but mackerel are very uncertain, so far as their location and inclination to bite are concerned; so that there was not more than an even chance for him to catch a single fish. the result was doubtful enough to make the game exciting; and leopold felt very much as an unprofessional gambler does when he goes to the table to risk his money. it seemed to be altogether a question of luck. but leopold was hopeful, and felt that the chances were rather in his favor. he had been saving all the money he could earn for months for a particular purpose; and he was not excited by the simple prospect of obtaining the lucre for the purpose of hoarding it, so that he could feel that he possessed a certain sum. he had been a little afraid that, when his gains amounted to so large a sum as thirty-two dollars and forty cents, his father would take possession of his receipts; but the landlord of the cliff house adhered to his policy of allowing his son to retain the proceeds of his own labor. with a pea-jacket on his arm and the basket in his hand, he left the hotel while the stars were still shining in the few patches of blue sky that were not hidden by the clouds. but he did not proceed immediately to the boat. he crossed the street, and, concealing his basket in the bushes by the side of the path which led down to the river, he hastened up the next street beyond the hotel till he came to a small cottage, at the gate of which he halted, and gave three prolonged whistles. "hallo, le!" shouted a voice from the open window in the gable end of the cottage. of course no sane boy of sixteen would think of pronouncing the three syllables of the name of one of his cronies; and leopold, in his undignified intercourse with his companions, was known only by the abbreviated name of "le." "come, stumpy, tumble out," replied leopold. "bear a hand, lively, and don't wait for your breakfast. i have grub enough to keep us for a week." "i'm all ready," replied stumpy; "i was up when you whistled." early as it was in the morning, stumpy seemed to be very cheerful, perhaps made so by the remark about "grub" which leopold had used, for the boy of the cottage knew by experience that the provender which came from the hotel was superior to that of the larder of his own dwelling. the two "early birds" walked rapidly towards the river, not because they were in a hurry, but because they were excited. the excursion upon which they had now embarked had been duly talked over the night before, and stumpy, though his interest in the venture was small compared with that of his companion, was hardly less hopeful. they descended the steep path on the bank of the river, and in a few moments more the dingy old boat with the patched and ragged sail was standing out towards the open bay. the wind in the river was very light, and the old craft was a heavy sailor, so that her progress was very slow; but the tongues of the two boys moved fast enough to make up for the deficiencies of the boat. their conversation was about the prospect of catching a fare of mackerel, though harvey barth and his diary came in for some comments. stumpy was leopold's dearest friend and most intimate companion. the friendship had commenced in school, which both of them continued to attend in the winter. it had its origin in no especial event, for neither had conferred any particular favor on the other. like many another intimacy, it grew out of the fancy of the friends. both of them were "good fellows," and they liked each other. this is all the explanation which their friendship requires. stumpy was the oldest son of a widow, who managed with his assistance, to support her family of three children. socially there was no difference in their standing. if the landlord of the cliff house was a person of some consequence, on the one hand, stumpy's grandfather, on the other, was one of the wealthiest and most distinguished citizens of rockhaven, and the boy would probably inherit a portion of his property when he died. but it ought to be added that stumpy did not hold his head any higher because of his family connections. in fact, he hardly ever alluded to his relationship to the wealthy and distinguished man. to use his own words, he, "did not take much stock in his grandfather;" and in his confidential conversations with leopold he did not scruple to say that the old gentleman was the meanest man in rockhaven. this grandfather was moses wormbury, esq.; he was a justice of the peace, and had been a member of the legislature. it was said that he had a mortgage on every other house in rockhaven; but this was doubtless an exaggeration, though he loaned out a great deal of money on good security. squire wormbury had had two sons and several daughters, all the latter being married and settled in rockhaven or elsewhere. the elder son, joel, was the father of stumpy. the younger son, ethan, kept the island hotel, a small establishment of not half the size even of the cliff house, which had less than twenty rooms. in some respects the two hotels were rivals, though the cliff house had all the better business. ethan wormbury did his best to fill up his small house, and was not always careful to be fair and honorable in his competition; but mr. bennington was good-natured, and only laughed when bad stories about his house came from the island hotel. connected with joel wormbury, the father of stumpy, there was a sad leaf of family history. at the age of twenty-three he had married a poor girl, who became a most excellent woman. before this event he had been to sea, and had made several fishing trips to the banks. after his marriage, he worked at "coopering" when he could obtain this employment, and went a fishing when he could not. when his first boy was born, he named him after the master of a bark with whom he had made a voyage up the mediterranean, and who had been very kind to him during a severe illness at palermo. joel's father, uncles, and brother had all received scripture names; and perhaps it would have been better if joel himself had been equally scriptural in choosing names for his offspring, for the master of the bark was captain stumpfield, and the boy, stumpfield wormbury, was doomed to be called _stumpy_ from the day he first went to school till he lost it in the dignity of manhood, though, even then, the unfortunate cognomen was applied to him by his old cronies. joel wormbury was an industrious and prudent man, but his usual earnings were no more than sufficient to enable him to support his family; for, prudent as he was, it was impossible for him to be as mean as his father, who always insisted that joel was extravagant. seven years before we introduce his son to the reader, the father made a trip to george's bank. the vessel was lucky, and the "high liner's" share--eight hundred and fifty odd dollars--came to joel. but he had been out of work for some time, and was in debt; yet he honestly paid off every dollar he owed, and had over six hundred dollars left. with this he felt rich, and his wife thought their home ought to be more comfortably furnished. it was a hired house; and when two hundred dollars had been expended in furniture, squire moses declared that joel had "lost his senses." but the tenement was made very comfortable and pleasant; and still joel had four hundred dollars in cash. while he was thinking what he should do with this money, his father reproached him for his extravagance, and told him he ought to have built a house, instead of fooling away his money on "fancy tables and chairs," as he insisted upon calling the plain articles which his son had purchased. the idea made a strong impression upon joel, and he immediately paid a hundred dollars for half an acre of land in what was then an outskirt of the village. he wanted to build at once, and his father was finally induced to lend him seven hundred dollars, taking a mortgage on the land and buildings for security. the house was built, and the new furniture appeared to advantage in it. joel was happy now, and did his best to earn money to pay off the mortgage. he made two more trips to the georges, with only moderate success. all he could do for the next two years was to pay his interest and support his family. unfortunately, about this time, joel "took to drinking;" not in a beastly way, though he was often "excited by liquor." he was not regarded as a drunkard, for he attended to his work and took good care of his family. there were, unhappily, several rum-shops in rockhaven; and in one of these, one night, after joel had been imbibing rather more freely than usual, he got into a dispute with mike manahan, an irish quarryman, who was also warmed up with whiskey. mike was full of donnybrook pluck, and insisted upon settling the dispute with a fight, and struck his opponent a heavy blow in the face. joel was a peaceable man, and perhaps, if he had been entirely sober, he would have been killed by his belligerent foe. as it was, he defended himself with a bottle from the counter of the saloon, which he smashed on the head of his furious assailant. the blow with the bottle, which was a long and heavy one, felled mike to the floor. he dropped senseless with the blood oozing from his head upon the sanded boards. joel was appalled at what he had done; but he was sobered as well, and when some of the wounded man's friends attacked him in revenge, he fled from the saloon. but he went for the doctor, and sent him to mike's aid. he was terribly alarmed as he considered the probable consequences of his rash deed. he dared not go home, lest the constable should be there to arrest him. later in the evening he crept cautiously to the doctor's office, to ascertain the condition of his victim. the physician had caused mike to be conveyed to his boarding-place, and had done all he could for him. in reply to joel's anxious inquiries, he shook his head, and feared the patient would die. he could not speak with confidence till the next day, but the worst was to be anticipated. joel was stunned by this intelligence. a charge for murder or manslaughter would be preferred against him, and the penalty for either was fearful to contemplate. he dared not go home to comfort his wife--if there could be any comfort under such circumstances. stealing down to the river in the gloom of the night, he embarked in a dory he owned, and before morning pulled twelve miles to a city on the other side of the bay, from which he made his way to gloucester, where he obtained a lay in a fishing-vessel bound to the georges. when he was ready to sail, he wrote a long letter to his wife, explaining his situation. she had money enough to supply the needs of the family for a time for the purse had always been in her keeping. he asked her to write him in regard to the fate of mike manahan, and to inform him of what people said about the quarrel, so that he could get her letters on his return from the georges, if there should be no opportunity of forwarding them to him. mrs. wormbury was very much distressed at this unfortunate event; but it appeared in a few days that mike was not fatally injured; and in a week he returned to his work. mike was a good-hearted fellow, and as soon as he was able he called upon the wife of his late opponent, declaring that it was a fair fight, and that no harm should come to her husband when he returned. squire moses declared that people who were extravagant often "took to drinking," and that he was not much surprised at what had happened. joel's wife was happy at the turn the affair had taken; and her husband's absence was no more than she had been called upon to endure before. she wrote several letters to him, with "all the news," and confidently expected her husband's return in a few weeks. instead of his return came a letter from the captain of the vessel in which he had sailed--a sad letter which shut out all hope for the future. joel had gone off in a dory to attend to the trawls; a sudden fog had come up, so that he could not find the vessel, and his companions, after a day's search, had been unable to discover him. a storm had followed, and they had given him up for lost. the loss of a man in this way on the banks was not a very uncommon occurrence. months and years passed away, but nothing more was heard of joel wormbury. his wife and children believed that he was buried in the depths of the sea. mrs. wormbury knew better than to apply to her hard father-in-law when her money was exhausted; indeed, she used the very last dollar of it to pay him the interest on the mortgage note. she went to work, taking in washing for the rich people of the place and for the summer visitors. stumpy was old enough by this time to plant and take care of the garden, and to earn a little in other ways. though the times were always hard at the cottage, the family had enough to eat and to wear, and the widow contrived to save enough to pay the interest on the place, which she dared to hope might one day belong to her children. squire moses never did anything for her, declaring that, if she wanted any money, she could sell her "fancy tables and chairs," for the house was better furnished than his own; which was true. the squire's wealth continued to increase, for he was so mean that he spent only a small fraction of his interest money. he was hard and unfeeling, and not only refused to help his son's fatherless family, but had been heard to say that joel by his drunken brawl, had disgraced his name and his relations. ethan, the keeper of the island hotel, seemed to be his favorite; and people who knew him declared that he was as mean as his father. somebody pretended to know that the old man had made a will, giving nearly all his property to ethan. however this may have been, it was certain that squire moses had several times threatened to take possession of the cottage occupied by joel's family, for the principal of the mortgage note was now due. he had said this to joel's widow, causing the poor woman the deepest distress, and rousing in stumpy the strongest indignation. this was why stumpy "took no stock" in his grandfather. but while we have been telling all this long story about leopold's companion, the old boat had reached the vicinity of the wreck. stumpy had eaten his fill of cold roast beef, biscuit, and apple pie, and was entirely satisfied with himself, and especially with his friend. leopold threw overboard the ground bait, and soon, with a shout of exultation, he announced the presence of a school of mackerel. the lines were immediately in the water, and the fish bit very sharply. leopold and stumpy had nothing to do but pull them in and "slat" them off as fast as they could. the boat was filling up very rapidly; but suddenly, the school, as though called in after recess, sank down and disappeared. not another bite could be obtained, and the old boat was headed for the river. on the way up, stumpy counted the mackerel. "four hundred and sixty!" exclaimed he, when the task was finished. "that isn't bad," added leopold. "i threw out all the small ones--about twenty of them." "we will keep those to eat." in half an hour more there was a tremendous excitement in and around the fish market, caused by the arrival of the fare of mackerel. chapter v. herr schlager. four hundred and sixty mackerel, besides about twenty "tinkers," was a big fare for that season; but when this fish bite they make a business of it and an expert in the art may catch from forty to sixty in a minute. it was exciting work, and the blood of leopold and stumpy had been up to fever heat. but this violent agitation had passed away, though it was succeeded by a sensation hardly less exhilarating. though the fish were caught and in the boat, the game was not played out--to return to the comparison with the gambler. the excitement still continues and would continue until the fish were sold. the great question now was, what would the mackerel bring in the market? even a difference of a cent in the price of a single fish made four dollars and sixty cents on the whole fare. leopold had received a large price the day before, and he could only hope he should do as well on the present occasion. he was almost as deeply moved in regard to the price as he had been in regard to catching the fish. "i have made a big day's work for me, le, whatever price they bring," said stumpy, shortly after he had finished counting the fish. "if you sell them at five cents apiece, i shall have five dollars and three quarters; and that is more than i can generally earn in a week." "i won't sell them for five cents apiece, stumpy," replied leopold, very decidedly. "if they won't bring any more than that, what are you going to do about it?" laughed stumpy. "mackerel are very scarce this season, and i don't believe they have had any over at rockland. if the folks in the fish market don't give me ten cents apiece for the lot, i shall sail over there. i am almost sure i can get ten cents for mackerel as handsome as these are. besides, about all i brought in yesterday were sold before sundown." "then i shall be eleven dollars and a half in," added stumpy. "my mother wants about so much to make out her interest money. if she don't pay it we shall be turned out doors before the sun goes down on the day it is due." "do you think so?" asked leopold, with a deep expression of sympathy. "o, i know it. my grandad is an amiable man. he don't put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day, when anybody owes him any money." "it seems to me i would rather go to jail than owe him a dollar." "so would i; and i only wish my mother could pay off the mortgage! things have gone up in rockhaven, and the place that cost my father eleven hundred dollars seven years ago, is worth eighteen hundred or two thousand now. my affectionate grandpa knows this just as well as my mother; and if he can get the place for the seven hundred we owe him, he will do it. he says it is too expensive a place for poor folks who haven't got anything." "but if the place is worth two thousand dollars, your mother will get all over the seven hundred, when it is sold," suggested leopold, who had considerable knowledge of business. [illustration: the big catch of mackerel. page .] "the house and land are worth just what i say; or, at least, they were a year ago, though the war has knocked things higher than a kite just now. nobody except my loving grandpa has got the ready cash to pay down; and mother thinks the place wouldn't fetch much, if anything, over the mortgage. but in time it will be worth two thousand dollars." the arrival of the old boat at the wharf, and the commencement of the excitement in and around the fish market, terminated the conversation on stumpy's worldly affairs. as the dingy craft approached the pier, a crowd gathered at the head of the landing-steps, for it had been noised about the town that leopold had brought in a fare of mackerel the day before; and people were anxious to know whether he had repeated his good luck. a great many boats had gone out that morning after mackerel, but none of them had yet returned. foremost in the crowd on the wharf was bangs, the senior member of the firm that kept the fish market. he was excited and anxious, though he struggled to be calm and indifferent when leopold fastened the painter of his boat to the steps. "what luck to-day, le?" shouted bangs, who could not see the fish, for the careful leopold had covered them in order to keep them from injury from the sun, and so that the extent of his good fortune might not at once be seen by the idlers on the wharf. "pretty fair," replied leopold, striving to be as calm and indifferent as the dealer in fish on the pier. "what have you got?" inquired bangs. "mackerel," answered leopold, as he seated himself in the stern-sheets of the boat, with affected carelessness. "tinkers?" "no; the same sort that i sold you yesterday." "what do you ask for them?" inquired bangs, looking up at the sky as though nothing on the earth below concerned him. "ten cents," replied leopold, looking up at the sky in turn, as though nothing sublunary concerned him, either. "all right," said the dealer, shaking his head, with a kind of smile, which seemed to indicate that he thought the young fisherman was beside himself to ask such a price, after apparently glutting the market the day before. "that will do for once, le; but they won't bring ten cents at retail, after all i sold yesterday. i should have to salt them down." "very well," added leopold; "that's my price; and i don't know of any law that compels you to give it, if you don't want to, mr. bangs." the dealer began to edge his way through the crowd towards the fish market, and the idlers hastened to the conclusion that there would be no trade. "what do you ask apiece for two or three of them?" asked some one on the wharf. "twenty cents," answered leopold. "but i don't care to sell them at retail." "i will take three, if you will let me have them," added the inquirer. this conversation startled the head of the fish firm, and he returned once more to the cap-sill of the wharf. he saw that if the young man attempted to sell out his fare at retail, the business of the market would be ruined for that day. "i will give you eight cents apiece for all you have," said bangs. "you can't buy them at that price. if you don't want them at ten cents apiece, i shall take them over to rockland," replied leopold, who did not wish to offend the members of the fish firm, for they had often bought out his fare, and he wished to keep on the right side of them for operations in the future. mr. bangs considered, parleyed, and then offered nine cents; but finally, when leopold was found to be inflexible, he yielded the point, and agreed to pay the ten cents. the mackerel were unloaded and conveyed to the market, when the sale of them at retail commenced immediately. the fish were so large and handsome that twenty cents did not appear to be a very extravagant price for them, considering the scarcity of the article in the market. in the settlement, leopold received forty-six dollars; stumpy's share, according to a standing agreement, was one quarter of the proceeds of the sale; and the eleven dollars and a half which he put into his wallet was quite as satisfactory to him as the thirty-four dollars and a half was to leopold. both of them felt that they had been favored by fortune to an extraordinary degree, and they were very happy. the old boat was sailed back to her usual moorings. the tinkers were equally divided between the young fishermen, and they went home. by eleven o'clock stumpy had poured into the lap of his astonished mother the proceeds of his morning's work, and leopold had informed his father of the second big haul he had made that season. as before, mr. bennington--but with some additional cautions--told his son to keep the money he had made. "the sick man is in a peck of trouble this morning," added the landlord of the cliff house, when the exciting business of the occasion had been disposed of. "what's the matter of him?" asked leopold. "he has lost his book, his record, or whatever it is," added mr. bennington. "he has sent for everybody belonging in the house, including many of the boarders. he wants to see you." "i'm sure i don't know anything about it," replied leopold, who, judging by what the invalid had said about the book, realized that the loss of it must distress him very much. "no one seems to know anything about it; and the sick man will have it that some one has stolen the book. i laughed at him, and told him no one would steal such a thing, for it was worth nothing to anybody but himself. but go up and see him, leopold." the young man hastened to the room of the sick man. harvey barth was certainly very miserable on account of the loss of his diary. he spoke of it as he would have done if it had been some dear friend who had been taken away from him by death; but then he was sick and rather childish, and the people about the hotel pitied and sympathized with him. "where did you put it?" asked leopold, when he had heard all the particulars the steward could give in relation to his loss. "there isn't any cupboard in this room, and i hadn't any good place to keep it; so i just tucked it into the flue of that fireplace," drawled harvey, with the frequent hacking which impeded his utterance. "that was a queer place to put it," added leopold. "i know it was; but i hadn't any better one. i thought it would be safer there than in any other place." "are you sure that you put it there?" "am i sure that i am a living man at this moment?" demanded harvey. "that diary is worth more to me than all the rest i have in the world, and i shouldn't forget what i did with it." but leopold searched the room in every nook and corner, in spite of the protest of the sick man that it was useless to do so, for he had looked everywhere a dozen times himself. the young man was no more successful than others had been who had looked for the diary. "though you value it very highly i suppose the diary is not really worth very much," suggested leopold. "there are secrets written out in that book which might be worth a great deal of money to a bad man," replied harvey, in a confidential tone. "well, what do you suppose has become of it?" "i'll tell you. i think some one stole it," added the sick man impressively. "did any one know about the secrets written down in it?" "not that i know of. some one may have taken it in order to get my account of the wreck of the waldo. it may affect the insurance on the vessel, or something of that sort, for all i know. i think i know just who stole it too;" and harvey related all the particulars of the tipsy man's visit to the chamber the night before. "he pretended to be drunk, but i think he knew what he was about all the time, just as well as i did. in my opinion he took that book." "why should he take it?" asked leopold, who thought it was necessary to prove the motive before the deed was charged upon him. "i don't know but i think he sat at the window of the room over there," continued harvey, pointing to one in the l of the house, which opened at right angles with his own. "i believe he saw me put the diary in the flue, and then came into my room in the night and took it, while he was blundering about over the chairs and tables. i am sure that none of the folks who came in to see me in the afternoon could have taken it without my seeing them--not even the newspaper man. you may depend upon it, the tipsy man--if he was tipsy--took it. what he did it for is more than i can tell; but he may have thought it was money, or something else that was valuable. i saw him at that window after i had hid the diary in the flue." harvey bath was entirely satisfied in regard to the guilt of the tipsy man, and had already ascertained that the fellow was a "drummer"--in europe more politely called a "commercial traveller." he had also obtained the name of the man, and the address of the firm in new york city for which he travelled. with this information he hoped to obtain his treasure again, by shrewd management, when he went to new york. but, in spite of his grief over his loss, harvey wrote the account of the wreck of the waldo for the newspaper, in the course of the next day, and sent it off by mail. after leopold had done all he could to comfort the invalid,--though he failed, as others had, to lessen the burden which weighed him down,--he left the room, and walked down to the principal street of the village, on which the cliff house was located. a few rods from the hotel he came to the smallest store in the place, in the window of which were displayed a few silver watches and a rather meagre assortment of cheap jewelry. on the shelves inside of the shop was a considerable variety of wooden clocks, and, in a glass case on the counter, a quantity of spoons, forks and dishes, some few of which were silver, while the greater part were plated, or of block tin. over the door was the sign "leopold schlager, watch-maker." the proprietor of this establishment was leopold's uncle, his mother's only brother, which explains the circumstance of our hero's having a foreign name. of course, if leopold schlager was a german, mrs. bennington was of the same nationality, though any one meeting her about the hotel would hardly have suspected that she was not a full-blooded american. over thirty years before, she had emigrated with her younger brother, when the times were hard in germany. her father was dead, and her elder brother, leopold, was not yet out of his time, learning the trade of a watch-maker. the younger brother went to the west, taking her with him, and established himself on a farm. he was not very successful, and his sister, at the age of twelve, went to live with an american family in chicago, the lady of which had taken a fancy to her. she was brought up to work, though her education was not neglected. before she was twenty-one her brother in the west died. but by this time she was abundantly able to take care of herself. when the family in which she was so kindly cared for was broken up by the death of the father, she went to work in the kitchen of a large hotel, where she enlarged her knowledge and experience in the art of cooking, till she was competent to take a situation as the cook of a small public house. in this place she increased the reputation of the establishment by her skill, till the proprietor was willing to pay her any wages she demanded. peter bennington, a native of maine, was employed in the hotel; and he was so well pleased with the looks of the german cook that he proposed to her, and was accepted. katharina schlager spoke english then as well as a native; and she was not only neat and skillful, but she was a pretty and wholesome-looking woman. peter married her, and, after a while, bought out the hotel. but he was not successful in the venture; and, with only a few hundred dollars in his pocket, he returned to rockhaven, his native place, where he soon opened the cliff house. leopold was born in chicago, and his mother had insisted upon naming him after her brother in germany. mr. bennington had done very well in the hotel; but he was ambitious to do business on a larger scale, and was revolving in his mind a plan to make the cliff house into a large establishment, which would attract summer visitors in great numbers. he had bought the present hotel, and paid for it from his profits; and he hoped soon to be able to rebuild it on a larger scale. his wife was faithful and devoted to him and the children. she had always done the cooking for the cliff house, which had given it an excellent reputation. she was not only a good and true woman, but she was an exceedingly useful one to a hotel-keeper. for years she had tenderly thought of her absent brother in germany. she often wrote to him, and learned that he was doing a good business in a small city. after years of persuasion, she induced him to join her in america. he was met on the wharf in new york, when he landed, by mr. bennington and his wife, and conducted to rockhaven without delay. he could not speak a word of english then; but for six months he devoted himself to the study of it under the tuition of his sister and her children, till he was competent to carry on his business in the town. he was a very skillful workman, and all the watches in rockhaven and on the island came to him to be cleaned and repaired. even the rich men of the place found that he could be safely trusted with their valuable gold time-keepers, and he became quite celebrated in his line. he sold a watch occasionally, and had a small trade in clocks and other wares, so that he really made more money than in his native land. he had brought with him a considerable capital, and was enabled to stock his store without any aid from his sister. if herr schlager missed his "sauer kraut" and "bier," he enjoyed the company of his sister and her children. leopold was his favorite, perhaps because he bore the watch-maker's name. they were fast friends; and in the undertaking which leopold was laboring to accomplish, he had made his uncle his confidant. when the young man entered the store, he bestowed his first glance upon a small iron safe behind the counter, in which the watch-maker kept his watches, silver ware, and other valuables at night. leopold was interested in that strong box, for the reason that it contained his own savings. for six months he had been hoarding up every penny he earned for a purpose, and he had placed his money in the hands of his uncle for safe keeping. perhaps herr schlager's iron safe was as much the occasion of his confidence in his uncle as the fact of their relationship. leopold's present visit was made in order to dispose of the proceeds of his morning's work, before he lost it or was tempted to spend any portion of it. "ah, mine poy! you have come mit more money. i see him in your head," said herr schlager, as, with a cheerful smile, he left his work-table. "yes uncle, i have more money," replied leopold; and his success had covered his face with smiles. "_ich habe viel geld diesen morgen._" "_sehr gut!_" laughed the watch-maker, who was delighted to hear his nephew use the little german he had taught him. "_wie viel geld haben sie?"_ "_mehr als vier-und-dreisig thaler_," replied leopold, who had been preparing himself, during his walk from the hotel to the store, to speak what german he had thus far uttered. "_viel geld!_" cried the watch-maker. "how much have i now?" asked leopold, in plain english, forgetting for the time all the rest of the german he knew. "_sprechen deutsch!_" exclaimed the watch-maker. "i don't remember any more german," laughed the young man. "how much money have i now?" herr schlager opened the iron safe and placed in one of its draws the sum just given him by his nephew, and took therefrom a slip of paper. leopold added the sums he had deposited, and made the amount eighty-seven dollars and some cents. "das is nicht enough, leopold--eh?" asked the uncle. "no, not yet." "how many more you want of dollars?" "i don't know exactly. they ask two hundred; but, as it is rather late in the season, i think they will take one hundred and fifty," replied leopold, thoughtfully. "you shall buy him now." "not this year, uncle leopold; and next spring they will put the price up again. i haven't even a hundred and fifty dollars." "i shall let you haf de rest of das geld." this proposition produced an argument; but the nephew finally consented to borrow the balance of the sum required, if one hundred and fifty dollars would answer the purpose. leopold left the shop with an anxious heart; but in a couple of hours he returned for his own money and the loan. chapter vi. miss sarah liverage. for several months the landlord's son had had his eye on a new keel-boat, built during the preceding winter, which the owner did not feel able to keep for his own use. with a sort of desperate determination, leopold had been saving every cent he earned about the hotel, or in his boat, in order to purchase this new craft, or one like it if she should be sold before his accumulations enabled him to buy her. the owner asked two hundred dollars for her; but as the season advanced, leopold hoped to buy her for less. the matter had looked very hopeless to him until his first lucky catch of mackerel; and the second fortunate trip inspired him with confidence. his uncle had been his only confidant, and they had often discussed the project together. but now herr schlager had advanced the sum he needed to make the purchase, and the boat was bought. for two hours the young man had haggled with the owner about the price; but one hundred and fifty dollars, cash down, was a temptation which the builder could not resist in the end, when he thought of his unpaid grocery and provision bills. no name had yet been given to the new boat, which was now the property of leopold, for when the owner decided to sell her, he thought it was better to let the purchaser christen her to suit himself. the new craft was a sloop twenty-two feet long, with quite a spacious cuddy forward. she was a fast sailer, and her late owner declared that she was the stiffest sea-boat on the coast. of course leopold was as happy as a lord, and he wanted to hug herr schlager for his considerate loan of sixty-two dollars; but his uncle was quite as happy, and after the custom of his own country, he did actually hug and kiss his nephew, though the young man was rather confounded by the demonstration, especially as the passers-by in the street halted to observe the spectacle. as soon as the business of the purchase was finished, leopold hastened to the cottage of mrs. wormbury, where he found stumpy digging the early potatoes in the garden. he informed his friend of the great event of the day, and invited him to take a sail in the sloop. on their way to the boat they stopped at the hotel, where leopold told his father of the purchase. he did so with some misgivings, and took care to explain the uses to which he intended to put the boat, before his father had time to express an opinion. mr. bennington, to the great satisfaction of his son, offered no objection to the purchase; on the contrary, he seemed to be pleased with the transaction. "there are two gentlemen in the house that want to go over to the isle of holt (isle-au-haut) this afternoon," added the landlord. "i was just looking for you to go and see whether ben chipman could take them over." "i can take them over myself, father," said leopold. "so i was thinking. they want to go right off after dinner." "i shall be ready. we will bring the boat down now.--will you go with me, stumpy?" continued leopold, turning to his friend. "i should like to go, first rate," answered stumpy. they hastened to the wharf where the new boat lay, and in a few minutes more they were standing down the river in her. "she works tip-top," said the skipper, as soon as he began to feel the boat bearing on the tiller. "she minds her helm as soon as i touch the stick." "she's as handsome as a picture, too. she don't look much like your old boat," replied stumpy, with a smile as he realized the contrast. "not much. she seems to go at railroad speed. we haven't been used to going along at this rate." "that's so. what's her name le?" "she hasn't any yet. we will think of something for her." the skipper sailed the boat down to the mouth of the river, and came about off the light-house, located on a projecting cliff which extended out nearly half a mile from the southern shore. the trial-trip was entirely satisfactory; and on her return the sloop was moored near the old boat, which was now used as a tender for the new one. the young boatmen went home to get their dinners and made preparations for the trip to the isle-au-haut. leopold saw the two gentlemen who were to be his passengers, and agreed to take them over for five dollars. they did not object to the price, as the island was over ten miles distant, and there would not be any packet for several days. leopold filled the water-keg in the sloop, and laid in a stock of provisions for the voyage. at two o'clock the party started; but we do not intend to follow them in the details of the trip. the breeze was fresh and the sloop was fast. at four o'clock leopold had landed his passengers; but it was eight in the evening when the boat reached rockhaven on her return, for the skipper was obliged to beat back. the five dollars earned in the voyage was promptly handed over to the watch-maker, reducing by this amount the debt due him. by nine o'clock leopold was fast asleep, for he and stumpy had arranged to try the mackerel again the next morning. the skipper of the new boat was very tired for the day had been a long, laborious, and exciting one. it was four o'clock when he awoke the next morning. when he went out, he found stumpy waiting on the piazza for him. he had not stopped to eat his breakfast, but had provision enough in the basket for both of them. "we are late," said stumpy, as leopold joined him. "i know it; but i was so tired i didn't wake up," replied the skipper. "i have seen half a dozen boats go down the river since i stood here, added stumpy, ruefully. "i don't expect we shall do much to-day. folks have found out about the mackerel." they went down to the new boat, and were soon under way. at the point, they saw that all the craft which came out of the river were headed in the same direction--towards the reef off high rock. "what are you going to call this boat?" asked stumpy, as the skipper started the sheets, off the light-house. "i don't feel quite at home in her without being able to call her by name." "i haven't thought of any name yet," replied leopold. "we want something to call her by." "she has no name." "then we will call her the no-name, till you fix upon something," laughed stumpy. "all right." the "no-name" passed half a dozen of the boats bound to the reef; but when she reached her destination, there were not less than twenty craft, of all sorts and sizes, on the fishing-ground, huddled into a heap, near the spot where the luckless waldo had gone down. the secret was out. a fisherman going off to the deep water, on the morning before, had seen leopold's boat near the reef; and when it was said that the young man had obtained a large catch of mackerel, he knew where they came from. but the vicinity of the reefs was the usual place for catching these fish when they were to be had at all; and as soon as there were mackerel in the market, the fishermen and others knew where to go for them. in a few moments leopold had joined the crowd, and the fish bit as smartly as before. the no-name was more fortunate than most of her companions, and got about four hundred mackerel. she might have got twice as many if she had remained longer on the ground; but leopold reasoned that fish without a market were not very valuable. his was the first boat to reach rockhaven; and he sold his fare at seven cents apiece. by half past eight the no-name was washed down, and ready for a party, if any offered. stumpy went home with seven dollars in his pocket, and leopold diminished his debt by twenty-one dollars. there was no "job" for him at the hotel that day; but in the afternoon leopold took his father and mother and herr schlager out to sail in the new boat; and he was quite as happy on this occasion as though he had made five dollars by the trip. the next morning there were no mackerel off the ledges, or if there were, they would not bite; and the no-name made a profitless trip. when she returned, leopold found two gentlemen at the hotel who wished to sail over to rockland, as there was no steamer that day. while the skipper was making his trade with them, harvey barth entered the office. the sick man had finished his narrative of the loss of the waldo the day before, and sent it off by the mail in the steamer. he looked sadder and more gloomy than usual. "i should like to go over with you," said harvey, after leopold had named the price for the trip. "i will pay my share of it." the gentlemen looked at harvey and did not seem to like the appearance of him; and he certainly did not promise to be a very agreeable companion for an excursion. they took no notice of him, and the steward was mortified by their coldness. "are you going to leave us, mr. barth?" asked the landlord, who was behind the counter. "yes; i thought i would be on my way to new york as soon as i could, for i want to find that drummer," drawled harvey, with his usual hacking cough. "i feel better this morning, and i think i can stand it to move towards home. those men don't seem to want me to go with them, but i suppose i can wait till to-morrow. if you will give me my bill, i will pay it." "never mind that, mr. barth." "but i can pay what i owe." "you can't pay anything here," laughed the landlord. "we don't charge shipwrecked people anything." "but i have been here about ten days." "you can stay ten or twenty more at the same rate, if you will," added mr. bennington. harvey barth remonstrated, but the landlord was firm. the physician who had attended him also refused to take a cent from him, and so did all who had done anything for him. he tried to give a dollar apiece to the employes of the hotel who had been kind to him, but not one of them would accept the gift. when harvey left the room, the two passengers for rockland asked the landlord who he was; and when informed that he was the only survivor of the waldo, they changed their tone, and desired his company. they sent for him, and politely offered him a passage with them. "i don't want to go where i am not wanted," replied harvey. "but we shall be delighted to have you go with us," said one of the gentlemen, and the other heartily indorsed the remark. "i'll pay my share of the expense, if you are really willing to let me go with you." "we are glad to have you go with us; and as to the expense, we will arrange that when we get to rockland." shortly after the no-name departed, manned, by leopold and stumpy, with the three passengers in the standing-room. on the passage, harvey, at the request of his new friends, told the whole story of the wreck of the waldo, and then dwelt with particular emotion upon the loss of his diary. one of the gentlemen resided in new york city, and volunteered to assist him in recovering the cherished volume. when they arrived at their destination, harvey was not permitted to pay any portion of the expense of the trip; and the gentlemen insisted upon his accompanying them to the best hotel in the city, where from the abundant sympathy of the proprietor, he was not permitted to diminish his funds by a single dollar. having, a few days after, obtained the fifty copies of the newspaper which contained his account of the loss of the brig, he started in the steamer for boston, with a free ticket in his pocket. his first care after he got on board the boat, was to read the narrative he had written. he was sorely grieved to find that the first half of the account had been struck out by the remorseless editor; but it must be added that this portion of the history was wholly irrelevant, being made up of observations on the outward voyage of the waldo, and remarks upon the geography, climate, people and institutions of cuba. then, in the description of the wreck, harvey was indignant when he found that all his finest passages had been eliminated from the manuscript. adjectives and fine phrases without number had been struck out, and the poor steward felt that he might as well never have been a schoolmaster. the truth was, that the editor had only three columns of his paper to spare, and all he and his readers wanted were the facts in regard to the wreck. a vivid description of a tempest at sea seemed to be lost upon them. but harvey felt that he should not realize half the pleasure he had anticipated in distributing the fifty copies of the paper among his friends at home. it was late at night when the no-name arrived at her moorings in the river at rockhaven; for on the return trip the wind was contrary and very light. leopold, after this "job," had reduced his indebtedness to herr schlager to about thirty-two dollars. our space does not permit us to follow him in the process of extinguishing the debt, but it was all wiped out by the first of october. all the summer visitors had left the place, and it was a "dry time" at the cliff house. the landlord counted up his profits, and felt rich when he realized that he owned the hotel, did not owe a dollar to any man, and had twenty-five hundred dollars in the bank, or otherwise available for immediate use. he had a plan drawn for the enlargement of the hotel which would give him fifty chambers, besides a large dining-room and parlor. but it would cost eight thousand dollars to complete the building and furnish the house; and being a prudent man, he decided not to carry out the project till his funds were considerably increased. about the middle of october the steamer brought to rockhaven a woman, apparently about forty years of age, who registered her name at the cliff house as miss sarah liverage. though it was certain, from her own confession, that she had never been there before, she seemed to know all about the hotel, and all the persons connected with it. she was a plain-looking woman, well, but not richly, dressed, and her speech indicated that she was not a cultivated person. there was nothing remarkable about her, except her knowledge of the hotel, and a certain excitement in her manner, which indicated that she had come to rockhaven for a special purpose, which, however, she was not forward in revealing. she followed the landlord into the office, though he insisted upon showing her into the parlor. she wrote her name in the register, and then astonished mr. bennington and leopold by asking to have the room which had formerly been occupied by harvey barth assigned to her. "that is not one of the rooms we usually give to ladies, and we can do better for you," replied the landlord. "i'd rather have that room, if it don't make any difference to you," replied miss liverage. "certainly you can have it, if you want it, for it is not occupied." "i shall be much obliged to you if you will let me have it." "you knew harvey barth, i suppose," said the landlord, as leopold, who often conducted guests to their rooms, picked up the small valise, which was her only baggage. "well, yes; i ought to know him. i took care of him in the hospital three weeks before he died," replied miss liverage, confidently. "is he dead?" asked mr. bennington, startled by the announcement. "yes, sir; he died about a fortnight ago." "it is only six weeks since he left here," added leopold, who was even more shocked than his father at the news. "we didn't hear a word from him after he left rockland," continued mr. bennington. "i'm sure i didn't think he was so near his end, though i saw that he couldn't live very long." "i thought he would be able to get out again, till the very day he died. he ate a hearty dinner, for a sick man, and then was taken with bleeding at the lungs, and died right off. i went with his body to the place he was brought up, and he was buried a week ago last thursday, from the house of his uncle. he had good care while he lived, if he was in the hospital; and i believe everybody in the town turned out to go to his funeral. but i guess i'll go to my room now." leopold conducted her to the chamber, placed her valise in a chair, and saw that the wash-stand was provided with water and towels. "are you sure this is the room that harvey barth had?" asked miss liverage, as leopold was about to retire. "sure as i am of anything," replied the young man. "i used to stay with him a good deal, when i wasn't busy. was harvey barth a relation of yours?" "well, no, not exactly; but i was a good deal interested in him. you are leopold, i suppose," added miss liverage, who appeared to be anxious to change the direction the conversation had taken. "that's my name." [illustration: the arrival of miss sarah liverage. page .] "and this was harvey's room," continued the woman glancing around the chamber, and then bestowing especial attention upon the fireplace. "this was his room," replied leopold, as he moved towards the door. "can i do anything more for you?" "no, nothing now. you are the boatman, i believe; and you have bought a new boat." "i bought one just before harvey barth left the house. did he tell you about her?" "well, nothing in particular, only he said you were a great boatman, and a very good boy." as the woman did not seem inclined to say anything more, leopold left the room, and returned to the office. "can you make out what she is, leopold?" asked his father. "no; she says she is no relation to harvey, but she was a good deal interested in him. she seems to know all about me; but i suppose harvey barth told her." "i wonder what she is driving at?" added the landlord, whose curiosity, as well as that of his son, was raised to the highest pitch. "i haven't any idea. if she is not a relation of harvey, what is she, and why did she want his room?" "i can't tell." "how old do you think she is, father?" "about forty, i should say." "harvey couldn't have been engaged to her, or anything of that sort--could he?" suggested leopold. "i should think not. she is ten years older than he was, i should say," replied mr. bennington. no satisfactory solution presented itself, and miss sarah liverage had to remain a mystery for the time. chapter vii. something about the hidden treasure. miss sarah liverage had been three days at the cliff house before the mystery of her coming appeared to promise a solution. the landlord was sure she had come for something, for all her speech and all her actions indicated this. she had not visited the shore for recreation, and was not idling away a vacation. one day she commenced a conversation with mr. bennington, and the next with leopold; and, though she evidently desired to make some important revelation, or ask some startling question, she always failed to carry out her purpose. she was nervous and excitable; and on the second day of her stay at the hotel, the chambermaid discovered her in her room, on her knees before the fireplace, apparently investigating the course of the flue; but when the girl asked her what she was doing, she answered that she was looking for her shawl-pin, which she had dropped. the weather was rather chilly, and the wind blew fresh and stormy on the bay, so that leopold seldom went out in the new boat, but did a man's work about the hotel; for as the season advanced the "help" was reduced. miss liverage, for some reason, seemed to be very desirous of cultivating his acquaintance, and she talked with him much more than with his father. on the second day of her stay she offered him a dollar, when he brought her a pitcher of water to drink in the parlor, which the young man was too proud to accept. the guest talked to him for half an hour; and he noticed that she did not drink any of the water he had brought. on the strength of this and other similar incidents, leopold declared that she was a very strange woman. she sent for him, or procured his attendance by less direct means, as though she had something to say; but she did not say it. she asked a multitude of questions in regard to some of the localities in the vicinity, but she did not connect her business at rockhaven with any of them. on the third day of her residence at the cliff house a violent north-east storm commenced, and the guest could not go out of the house as she had been accustomed to do in the forenoon for a short time. from the cliff near the house leopold had explained to her the geography of the vicinity; and when she inquired where the ledges were on which the waldo had been lost, he indicated the direction in which they were situated, for the high land on the south shore of the river intercepted the view of them. miss liverage appeared to become more desperate in her purpose, whatever it was as the day passed away; and the storm seemed to increase her excitement. on the fourth day after her arrival, she vibrated between her chamber and the parlor all the forenoon, occasionally visiting the dining-room and the office. the landlord said she was "as uneasy as a fish out of water;" and he carried books and newspapers to her, but these did not seem to occupy her attention. she only glanced at them, and it was plain that her mind wandered when she attempted to read them. after dinner, on this eventful day her desperation appeared to culminate in a resolve to do something; and for the twentieth time since her arrival she sent for leopold. when he entered the parlor, where she was nervously walking across the floor, she closed the door after him, and looked out at the windows which opened on the piazza, apparently to assure herself that no one was within hearing distance of her. she labored under more than her usual excitement of manner, and the landlord's son was impressed with a belief that something was about to happen. miss liverage had evidently made up her mind to say something, and leopold promptly made up his mind, also, to hear what it was. "i didn't come down here for nothing," said she, and then paused to observe the effect of this startling revelation upon her auditor. "i didn't suppose you did," replied leopold, judging from the pause that he was expected to say something, though he was not very deeply impressed by the guest's announcement. "leopold, harvey barth said you were a very nice young man," she added. "then i suppose i am, for i think mr. barth was a man of good judgment," laughed leopold. "he told me you owed some money for your new boat." "he told the truth at that time; but i don't owe anything now. i was very lucky with the mackerel, and i have had plenty of jobs for the boat, so that i have paid up all i owed." "then you have paid your debt," added miss liverage, apparently "headed off" by the young man's reply. "i don't owe a cent to anybody." "i didn't know but you might want to make some money." "i do; i am always ready to make a dollar, though i don't owe anybody anything," replied leopold, willing to encourage the woman, while he did not desire to make anything out of her. "five hundred dollars is a good deal of money," continued miss liverage, watching the countenance of the young man very closely. leopold did not dispute the remark, and with a nod he admitted the truth of it. "i suppose you would not object to making five hundred dollars, leopold." "i don't believe i should, if i could make it honestly, fairly, and above-board; but i wouldn't steal five hundred dollars for the sake of having it." "of course not. i wouldn't, either," protested miss liverage. "i never did anything which was not honest, fair, and above-board, and i never mean to. now, leopold, i can put you in the way of making five hundred dollars." "can you? i am sure i shall not object. i suppose the money would do me as much good as it would anybody." "i have no doubt it would. now, can you keep a secret?" demanded the woman, more excited than ever; so much so that her manner began to be decidedly melo-dramatic. "that depends on circumstances," answered leopold, who was not yet quite clear in his own mind whether or not the woman was crazy. "if it is to cheat anybody out of a cent, even, i wouldn't keep a secret any more than i would the itch, if i could get rid of it." "nonsense, leopold! i am not going to cheat or wrong anybody. i wouldn't do such a thing for all the money in the world." "i can keep a secret that won't harm anybody," added the young man. "will you promise me solemnly not to tell any one, not even your father, what i say to you?" asked miss liverage, in a low tone, and in a very impressive manner. "if the matter don't concern my father, i won't tell him of it, or anybody else. but i don't want you to tell me anything that concerns any person--that is, in a way to do any injury." "it don't concern any living soul," interposed miss liverage, impatiently. "i know where there is some money." the last remark was whispered, after a glance at the door and all the windows of the parlor. "where is it?" asked leopold, now for the first time manifesting a real interest in the conversation. "in the ground." "buried?" "yes." miss liverage was very much agitated for a few moments, for she had now actually entered upon the business which had brought her to rockhaven. of course this important revelation was in some manner to involve harvey barth; but leopold was not willing to believe that the sick man had buried any considerable sum of money, unless his speech and his life while at the hotel were both a lie. "will you promise to keep the secret?" demanded the woman, as soon as she had overcome in a measure her agitation. "on the condition i said, i will," replied leopold. "but after you have told me, if i find that anybody is to be wronged by my keeping still, i shall tell all i know." "i'm satisfied. i hope you don't think i came down here, all the way from new york, to cheat or wrong anybody." "i hope not. if you did, i can't do anything for you." "you shall judge for yourself. it is just as harvey barth said: you are a good young man, and you will be as honest by me as you mean to be by other folks." "of course i will be." "your share of the money will be five hundred dollars. shall you be satisfied with this?" "i think i shall be," laughed leopold, to whom the amount seemed like a fortune. "you agree to take this as your share?" "yes; i agree to it." "and to keep the secret?" "on the conditions i named." "i am satisfied with the conditions. if you and i don't get this money, somebody else will, who has no more right to it than we have." "but who owns the money?" asked leopold, whose views of an honest policy required him to settle this question first. "nobody." "nobody!" exclaimed the young man. "it must belong to somebody." "no it don't." "how can that be?" "the owner is dead and gone." "then it belongs to his heirs." "he has no heirs." "who is he, anyhow?" "he isn't anybody now. didn't i say he was dead and gone?" demanded miss liverage, impatiently. "well, who was he, then?" "i don't know." "it's very strange," mused leopold. "i know it's strange. i am the only person living who knows anything about this money. if i don't take it, somebody else will, or it will stay in the ground till the end of the world," said the woman. "it's a plain case; and i think the money belongs to me as much as it does to anybody else." "where is it buried?" before she would answer this question, miss liverage satisfied herself that leopold understood the bargain they had made, and was ready to abide by all its conditions. with the proviso he had before insisted upon, the young man agreed to the arrangement. "i don't know exactly where the money was buried," continued the owner of the great secret. "o, you don't!" exclaimed leopold, rising from his chair, and bursting into a laugh. "then this is a 'wild goose chase.'" "no, it isn't. but now you have agreed to the terms, i will tell you all about it. sit down; for i don't want to scream out what i have to say. will any one hear us?" "no; i think not." "won't your father?" "no, he has gone up to squire wormbury's." miss liverage drew her chair up to the cheerful wood fire that blazed in the franklin stove, and leopold seated himself in the corner nearly opposite her, with his curiosity intensely excited by what he had already heard. "in the first place do you know whatever became of harvey barth's diary?" miss liverage began. "i haven't the least idea; but he said it was stolen from him, and he was going to get it when he went to new york," replied leopold, deeply interested even in this matter. "but he never found it, and i don't believe anybody stole it. i think it is in this house now. our first business is to find it." "we couldn't find it in the time of it, and i don't believe we can now." "we must find it, for that diary will tell us just where the money is buried." "you never will find the diary or the money." "don't be too fast. harvey told me where the money was buried. it was under the cliffs at high rock," added miss liverage. "the cliffs are about a mile long." "the money was buried in the sand." "the beach under high rock is half a mile long, and it would be a winter's job to dig it all over. but who hid the money there?" "a man who was wrecked in the brig." "was it harvey barth?" "no; the man was a passenger and called himself wallbridge; but harvey thought this was not his real name." "that was the name of the passenger as it was printed in the newspaper." "harvey wrote down all he knew about him in his diary. he buried his money--twelve hundred dollars in gold--on the beach; and in the diary the place is described. harvey inquired about the passenger in rockland; but no one knew anything about him." "twelve hundred in gold," said leopold, musingly. "yes; and i have agreed to give you nearly half of it." "if we find it," added the young man, who considered the information rather too indefinite for entire success. "i think we can find it." "did harvey barth tell you just where the money was buried?" "he said it was buried on the beach. he talked a great deal about it the day before he died, and said, if he ever got well enough, he should go and get it; and then he would pay me handsomely for all i had done for him. i was a nurse in the hospital, you see, and was his only companion. he felt very bad about the loss of his diary, and told me all about it. he said he put it in the flue of the fireplace, because there was no closet in the room. now, if nobody stole it, the diary must be there yet. i have looked into the flue, but i couldn't see anything of it; and i have made up my mind that it dropped down somewhere." "the room is directly over this parlor, and if it dropped into the chimney, it must have come down into this fireplace," replied leopold. "i am sure nothing was ever seen of it." they examined the flue of the franklin stove, and miss liverage was satisfied with the young man's statement in regard to its construction. "some one may have picked it up and put it away," suggested the nurse. "there was a summer piece fastened into the front of this stove, which was not taken down till i removed it to make the fire when you came. if the diary had been there, i should have found it. but i will search the whole house for it, though i am of harvey barth's opinion, that some one stole the book. if any person saw him put it into the flue, as harvey thought the drummer did, he might have supposed it was something very valuable. why should he take so much pains to hide it, if it was not? if the drummer did not take it himself, he may have told somebody else, who did steal it. if he had left the diary on the table, nobody would have touched it, i know. it was all because he hid it, that he lost it." miss liverage was sure the diary was still in the house, and during that and the next day, while the storm lasted, leopold searched the hotel from cellar to garret. he did not find the key to the hidden treasure of high rock. the nurse searched for herself, so far as she could do so without exciting the suspicions of the hotel people; but she was no more successful than her confidant in the secret. if the diary was in the house, it could not be found. the structure of the chimney, in which the flue of the fireplace was built, was carefully examined; and leopold's conclusion seemed to be fully verified. miss liverage was reluctantly compelled to abandon all hope of finding the coveted volume. the storm ended, and the sun shone again. the wind came fresh and cold from the north-west. the nurse looked from the windows of the hotel upon the waters of the river, which, sheltered from the force of the blast, were as smooth as an inland pond though the waves rolled up white and angry beyond the point. the guest at the cliff house, though she had given up all expectation of finding the diary, had not abandoned the hope of obtaining the hidden treasure. "now, leopold, we must go to the beach under high rock," said she, after the storm was over. "what is the use of going there, if you don't know where the money is hidden?" demanded the boatman. "i think i can find the place," replied miss liverage. "harvey told me where it was; but i can't think of the names he used in telling me. i was pretty sure i should find the diary, when i left new york." "if you want to go to high rock, i will take you down there in the boat," added leopold. "i'm afraid of boats. can't we go by land?" "not very well. my boat is as stiff as a man-of-war, and you can go a great deal easier in her than you can climb over the rocks on the other side of the river." miss liverage considered the matter, and after dinner she decided to undertake the hazardous trip, as she regarded it. she had an engagement the next week in new york, and she could not remain in rockhaven more than a day or two longer. what she did must be done at once. mr. bennington was astonished when he saw his son taking her out to sail on such a chilly, blustering day; but he always allowed his guests to suit themselves, and offered no objection to the expedition. leopold seated his timid passenger in the standing-room, and shoved off the boat. in the river she made smooth sailing of it; but the instant she passed the range of the high bluff on the north shore, the no-name plunged into a heavy sea, burying her bow deep in a foam-crested billow, whose dense spray drenched the water-proof of miss liverage, and it seemed to her as if the end of all things had come. "mercy on us!" screamed she, trying to rise from her seat, as the bow of the boat was lifted far up by the wave. "sit down, miss liverage," said leopold, pushing her back into her seat. "we shall be drowned!" cried the terrified passenger. "this is nothing; the boat is doing first rate," answered leopold. "i shall be wet to the skin," she added, as another cloud of spray was dashed over her. the skipper went to the cuddy, forward, and brought from it an old oil-cloth coat, which he spread over his passenger. though this garment protected her from the spray, the angry waves were still a vivid terror to her, and the skipper vainly assured her there was no danger. letting off the main sheet, he put the boat before the wind, and then she rolled, pitched, and floundered, till miss liverage declared she was frightened out of her life. "don't be alarmed. there! you can see the ledges now where the waldo went to pieces," added leopold, pointing to the black rocks, now in sight, upon which the white foam broke at every surge of the sea. "i can't see anything, leopold," gasped miss liverage, holding on to the washboard with both hands. "do go back as fast as you can." "but you can't find the money if you don't go and look for it." "i don't care for the money. i wouldn't stay out here another minute for the whole of it," protested the passenger. she pleaded so earnestly that leopold finally came about, and beat his way back to the river, and soon landed her in front of the hotel. she declared she would not get into a boat again for all the treasure hidden in the bowels of the earth. miss liverage was satisfied that leopold was both honest and zealous, and she finally concluded to commit to him the search for the buried money. the next day she started for home, disappointed and disheartened at the result of her visit to rockhaven, though she had some hope that her confidant might yet discover the treasure. chapter viii. an important discovery. the landlord of the cliff house was a man who attended to his own business to the exclusion of that of others, and he did not trouble himself any further about the affairs of his guest, though his curiosity was somewhat excited at first. leopold "was not happy" in being obliged to conceal his thoughts and actions from his father; but then mr. bennington did not question him in regard to her conduct after he was a little accustomed to the ways of miss liverage. the young man did not place much reliance upon the statements of the nurse. he had heard and read about "money-diggers" before. he was familiar with the story of wolfert webber, who had dug over the whole of his cabbage garden in search of hidden treasure, and he had no little contempt for those who allowed themselves to be carried away by such vain and silly illusions. while he had no doubt that miss liverage was in earnest, he had little confidence in the existence of the hidden treasure at high rock. though leopold did not intend to become a wolfert webber, and dig over half a mile of beach under the cliffs, he admitted to himself the possibility of the existence of the treasure. he had promised the nurse that he would search for the money, and he did so; but he felt that the task was like "looking for a needle in a hay-mow," and he abandoned it before he had made himself ridiculous in his own estimation. he wrote a letter to the nurse, who had given him her address in new york, informing her of the ill success of his endeavors. she answered the letter, giving him further instructions, saying that the money was buried not more than a foot below the surface of the beach, and near a projecting rock. probably when she was less excited than during her visit to rockhaven, her memory had recalled some of the statements of harvey barth; for certainly she had said nothing so definite as this when she was with leopold. the young man, aided by these directions, which certainly were not very precise, made another attempt to find the treasure. there was more than one "projecting rock," and he dug over all the sand and gravel to the depth of a foot in the vicinity of every part of the cliff which answered to the description given. he worked very hard, and the boatmen who saw him at his labors wondered if he expected to find clams so far up on the beach. he found neither clams nor money; and when he had finished the search he was more than ever dissatisfied with himself for being led away by such a chimera. he wrote to miss liverage again, informing her of the continued failure of his efforts, and declaring that he would not "fool with the matter" any longer. the nurse did not answer his last letter and it was evident that she too had "lost hope." leopold never heard anything more from her or about her, and in a few weeks he had forgotten all about the "hidden treasure of high rock," for he did not believe there was any treasure there, and it was not pleasant for him to remember that he had made a fool of himself. leopold and stumpy went to school together during the winter, and continued to be as good friends as ever. mrs. wormbury struggled with her hard lot, and squire moses still threatened to take possession of the cottage. the cliff house prospered in its small way, and the landlord still nursed his grand project of having a big hotel in rockhaven. during the next season leopold did very well with his boat, both with the fishing and with the "jobs" from the hotel. he saved his money and still kept it in the iron safe of herr schlager, who was as proud of and as devoted as ever to his nephew. in the spring, the question for the name of the new boat came up again, and the skipper was prepared to settle the question. among the guests at the hotel in the summer, was the family of the hon. franklin hamilton, a wealthy merchant of new york, who was a native of rockhaven. they had spent a few days at the cliff house for several seasons, though it was painfully apparent to the landlord that his accommodations were not satisfactory to his distinguished and wealthy guests, for the time they spent at the house was very brief. the family consisted of mr. hamilton, his wife and an only daughter. they always wanted to sail when they came to rockhaven, but ben chipman's boat did not suit them. leopold did not buy his sloop till after they had gone; but he congratulated himself upon the fact that when they came the next season he should be able to sail them in a boat which was good enough for any nabob in the land. being in funds in the spring, he fitted up the sloop very nicely, and could not help anticipating the pleasure it would afford him to sail the hamiltons, especially the daughter, who, at the age of fourteen, was a very pretty girl. revelling in these delightful thoughts, it suddenly occurred to him that he might give the young lady's name to the boat. it was certainly a very pretty name for so jaunty a craft as the sloop. it was rosabel. in another week it appeared in gilt letters on the stern of the boat. in the summer the family came again. rosabel was taller and prettier than ever, and leopold actually realized all his pleasant and romantic anticipations, as he sailed her and her parents about the bay. mr. hamilton engaged the boat for every day during his stay, which was prolonged to a whole week, or twice as long as he usually remained; for rosabel was so pleased with the water excursions that her father extended his visit at her desire. probably leopold had as much romance in his nature as most young men of seventeen, and after his first full season in the rosabel, the beautiful face and form of miss hamilton were a very distinct image in his mind, often called up, and often the subject of his meditations, though he could not help thinking of the wide gulf that yawned between the daughter of the rich merchant and the son of the humble landlord of a small hotel. in the fall of the year, leopold observed that his father was making frequent visits to squire moses wormbury; and it soon came out that the rich man was to loan the landlord six thousand dollars, to enable the latter to make his contemplated improvements upon the hotel. the squire was to have this sum on the first of january, and though mr. bennington did not want it for several months, he consented to take it at that time; for squire moses would not allow it to remain a single month uninvested. the landlord was confident that he could make money enough on the new hotel to pay off the mortgage in three years. as soon as the snow melted in the spring, the work was commenced. the old portion of the hotel was partly torn to pieces, and for a time business was very good at the island hotel, for the cliff house was closed. both the landlord and his son, pleasurably excited by the alterations in progress, worked with their own hands. among other changes, the parlor chimney was taken down, and leopold took a hand in the job, enjoying the operation of tumbling down to the cellar great masses of brick. "hold on, le," shouted the mason who was at work with him, when they had removed the chimney as far as the level of the parlor floor. "what's that?" the mason pointed to a bundle which was lodged in an opening back of the flue of the franklin stove that had stood in the parlor. it was covered with bricks and lime dust, but the mason brought it to the surface with his iron bar. "i know what it is," exclaimed leopold, as he picked up the package, and knocked it several times against a partition in order to remove the soot and dust from it. it was the oil-cloth containing the diary of harvey barth. leopold was somewhat excited by the discovery, and all the incidents of miss sarah liverage's visit to the hotel came back fresh to his mind, though they had occurred eighteen months before. "what is it?" asked the mason, whose curiosity was excited by the event. "it is a book that belonged to harvey barth, the steward of the waldo, which was wrecked off high rock," replied leopold. "i will take care of it." "but how came it in the chimney?" asked the workman. "he put it in the flue of the fireplace, and it tumbled down." "what did he put it in there for?" "because there was no closet in the room, and he was a very queer fellow. he is dead now." "what are you going to do with the book, then?" "send it to his friends, if i can find where they are." leopold carried the diary to his room, in a part of the house which was not to be disturbed, and locked it up in his chest. he wanted to read the portion which related to the wreck of the waldo, and the burying of the money, if such an event had occurred, of which he had some grave doubts. but he could not stop then, for he was doing a man's work for his father, and his conscience would not allow him to waste his time. the mason asked more questions when leopold returned to his work, and they were answered as definitely as the circumstances would permit. the young man examined the construction of the chimney, and found another flue besides that of the franklin stove, into which the diary had fallen. it had formerly served for a fireplace in an adjoining apartment, and had been bricked up before the landlord purchased the estate. the franklin stove, which was merely an iron fire place set into the chimney, had the less direct flue of the two, so that the package had fallen where it was found. during the rest of the day, leopold's thoughts were fixed upon the long-lost diary, for which miss liverage and himself had vainly searched. doubtless she would claim the diary, if it was found; but had she any better right to it than its present possessor? leopold considered this question with no little interest. the secret of the hidden treasure was certainly in his keeping, and after the "trade" made between them, he felt that she had some rights in the matter which he was bound to respect. but the affair was no longer a secret; for after the "humbug was exploded," as leopold expressed it, he told his father all about it. the landlord only laughed at it, and insisted that the nurse was crazy; and her excited conduct at the hotel rather confirmed his conclusion. the result of leopold's reflections during the day was a determination to write to miss liverage again, if he found anything in the diary which would enable him to discover the hidden treasure. the day seemed longer to him than usual, so anxious was he to examine the pages of the diary. when at last his work was done, and he had eaten his supper, he hastened to his chamber, and opened the oil-cloth package. he was greatly excited, as most people are when long-continued doubts are to be settled. in a few moments he would know whether or not miss liverage was crazy, and whether or not there was any foundation to the story of the hidden treasure. he locked the door of his room before he opened the package, for he felt now that the secret was not his own exclusive property. if there was twelve hundred dollars in gold buried in the sands under high rock which belonged to nobody, he felt bound in honor by his agreement with the nurse to make the division of it with her, in accordance with the conditions of the contract. he desired very much to speak to his father about the diary; but he did not feel at liberty to do so. it did not appear that the mason with whom leopold was at work had told mr. bennington, or any person, of the finding of the package. after his questions had been answered, he seemed to feel no further interest in the diary, and probably forgot all about it before he went home to dinner. the discovery of it did not seem to him to be a matter of any importance, and leopold kept his information all to himself. [illustration: leopold makes a discovery. page .] removing the string from the package, the young man proceeded to unwrap the oil-cloth, shaking the soot and lime dust into the fireplace as he did so. the diary came out clean and uninjured from its long imprisonment in the chimney. leopold's agitation increased as he continued the investigation, and he could hardly control himself as he opened the book and looked at the large, clear, round hand of the schoolmaster. the writing was as plain as print. he turned the leaves without stopping to read anything, till he came to the record of the last day whose events harvey barth had written in the book; but those pages contained only an account of his illness, and a particular description of his symptoms, which might have interested a physician, but did not secure the attention of the young man. he turned back to the narrative of the loss of the waldo. it was very minute in its details, and contained much "fine writing," such as the editor of the newspaper had struck out in the manuscript for publication. leopold had read the account in the newspaper, and he skipped what he had seen in print, till the name of "wallbridge" attracted his attention. the first mention of the passenger that he saw was made when he went into the cabin, after his recovery from the effects of the lightning, and returned with something in his hand. the reader followed the narrative, which was already quite familiar to him, till he came to the landing of the party in the whale-boat on the beach; and at this point he found something which harvey barth had not written in his newspaper article, or mentioned during his stay at the hotel. leopold read as follows:-- "as soon as we had landed on the beach, wallbridge told me he had twelve hundred dollars in gold, which he had earned by his two years' work in cuba. by the light of the flashes of lightning i saw the bag in his hand. it was an old shot-bag, tied up with a piece of white tape. wallbridge said he was afraid the bag might cost him his life, if he held on to it, and i suppose he thought he might have to swim, and the weight of the gold would sink him. "i have figured up the weight of twelve hundred dollars in gold, and i found it would be almost five pounds and a half troy, or nearly four and a half avoirdupois. i don't blame him now for wanting to get rid of it; but i did not think before i figured it up, that the money would weigh so much. four and a half pounds is not much for a man to carry on land, but i should not want to be obliged to swim with this weight in my trousers' pocket, even when i was in good health. "wallbridge said he would bury the money in the sand, under a projecting rock in the cliff, so that he could come and get it when he wanted it. just then a flash of lightning came, and i looked up at the cliff under which he stood. i saw the projecting rock, and it looked to me, in the blaze of the lightning, just like a coffin, from where i stood. it seemed to me then just like a sign from heaven that i should soon need a coffin, if the sea did not carry me off; but if the sign meant anything, it did not apply to me, but to wallbridge, who in less than half an hour afterwards was swallowed up in the waves. i am sorry for him, and i only hope he had not done anything very bad, for i could not help thinking he had committed some crime." leopold did not see why the writer should think so; but then he had not read the preceding pages of the diary, which harvey barth had written just before the passenger came to the galley to light his pipe. the narrative, after a digression of half a page of reflections upon the unhappy fate of wallbridge, continued:-- "wallbridge got down on his knees, and scooped out a hole not more than a foot deep in the sand, and dropped the bag into it. i looked up at the projecting rock again, when another flash of lightning came, and there was the coffin, just as plain as though it had been made for one of us. it was not a whole coffin, but only the head end of one. it seemed to project and overhang the beach at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and a man could have sat down on the upper end, which was about twenty feet high. the shape of it startled me so that i did not think any more of what the passenger was doing, though i saw him raking the sand into the hole with his hands. i thought the thing was a bad sign, and i did not like to look at it, though i could not help doing so when the lightning flashed. i walked along to get out of the way of it, and passed the place where wallbridge was at work. when i looked up at the cliff again, i could not see the coffin any more. there was the projecting rock, but on this side it did not look at all like a coffin. "i walked along to the end of the beach, where an angle in the cliff carried it out into the water. i expected every moment to be carried off by the sea or to be crushed against the rocks. i did not expect to save myself, and i could not help feeling that the coffin i had seen was for me. just then a flash of lightning showed me a kind of opening in the cliff, near the angle." leopold knew this part of the story by heart, and had often passed up and down through the ravine, which harvey barth described in his diary with as much precision as though the locality had contained a gold mine. "a projecting rock shaped like a coffin!" said the reader, as he raised his eyes from the book to consider what he had read. "i don't remember any such rock, though there may be such a one there. i must go down to high rock in a thunder-storm, and then perhaps it will look to me as it did to him." but the nurse was right, after all; there was a solid foundation to the story she had told, though she had not mentioned any rock shaped like the head of a coffin. probably harvey barth, who at the time he told the nurse the story had expected to get well enough to go to his home, had not intended to describe the locality of the hidden treasure so that she could find it, but only to assure her that he should have money with which to reward her, if she took good care of him during his sickness. leopold read the account of the burying of the money again; but he could not recall any rock answering to the description in the book. he had dug up the sand under every projecting rock that overhung the beach, to the depth of a foot, without finding the treasure. by the death of every person on board of the brig except harvey barth, the knowledge of the acts of wallbridge was necessarily confined to him. if the money had ever been buried on the beach, leopold was confident it was there now. no one could have removed it, for no one could have suspected its existence. faithful to the agreement he had made, leopold wrote a letter that evening to miss liverage, directing it to the address she had given him. the letter contained but a few lines, merely intimating that he had important business with her. the young man was now anxious to visit the beach under high rock, for the purpose of identifying the mortuary emblem which had so strongly impressed the author of the journal, in the lightning and the hurricane; but he could not be spared from his work, and it was several months before he was able to verify the statements in the diary. weeks and months passed away, and no answer to his letter came. in june he wrote another letter, to the "superintendent of bellevue hospital, new york city," in which harvey barth died, requesting information in regard to miss sarah liverage. a reply soon came, to the effect that the nurse had married one of her patients, and now lived somewhere in oregon, the writer did not know where. chapter ix. coffin rock. miss sarah liverage had taken herself out of the reach of all further communication in regard to the hidden treasure. leopold had no hope of being able to see or hear from her. she had not sent him her last address, and he had used all the means in his power to carry out the terms of the agreement. he considered himself, therefore, released from all responsibility, so far as she was concerned. but even then he did not feel like going to high rock and taking the money for his own or his father's use. he could not get rid of the idea that the money belonged to somebody. if wallbridge had saved this money from the earnings of two years in cuba, it certainly ought to go to his heirs, now that he was dead. the remarks of harvey barth in his diary seemed to indicate that the passenger had committed some crime, or at least that he was open to the suspicion of having done so. leopold considered, whether this might not be the reason why no one had yet claimed any relationship to him. the young man was sorely perplexed in regard to his duty in the matter; and he was really more afraid of doing wrong than he was of losing twelve hundred dollars in gold. he did not like to confess it even to himself; but he was afraid that his father's views, if he told him about the hidden treasure, might he looser than his own. he believed that the landlord was even more honest than the majority of men; but, after he had commenced upon the extensive improvements of the hotel, the son feared that the father might be tempted to do what was not exactly right. while all these questions remained unsettled in the mind of leopold, he did nothing to recover the money, until the hotel was nearly completed. in fact, he had no time to do so, for his father kept him busy from morning till night, and then he was so tired that he did not even feel like reading the diary. after he had obtained the important facts in regard to the buried money, he did not feel any further interest in the journal of harvey barth. he had tried to read portions of it; but each day commenced with a detailed account of the writer's health, with remarks on the weather, and similar topics, which did not hold the attention of the young man. the enlargement of the hotel was a subject which engrossed his whole mind, after the novelty of finding the diary had worked itself off. he was deeply interested in the progress of the work; and when the putting up of the partitions gave form and shape to the interior, not many other matters occupied his mind. the mechanics finished their labors, and the hotel was ready to receive the new furniture which had been purchased for it. leopold was busier than ever, and hardly a thought of the hidden treasure came to his mind. he put down carpets and put up bedsteads, till he was nearly worn out with hard work, though the excitement of seeing the various apartments of the new house assume their final aspect prevented him from feeling the fatigue of his labor. by the middle of june everything was ready for the reception of guests, though not many of them were expected to arrive till the middle of july. now the hotel was called the "sea cliff house," and its opening was advertised in the principal cities of new york and new england. as the island hotel lost its "trade" and the new house obtained it all, ethan wormbury was correspondingly angry. as usually happens to those who rebuild and remodel private or public houses, the expense far exceeded the estimates. the war of the rebellion was in progress, and the prices of everything in the shape of building material and furniture had fearfully increased. the nine thousand dollars which mr. bennington had on hand to pay his bills, was exhausted long before the work was completed. the landlord was sorely troubled, and he went to squire wormbury to obtain a further loan on his property; but the money-lender declared that he would not risk another dollar on the security. then mr. bennington mortgaged his furniture for two thousand dollars,--all he could obtain on it,--in order to relieve the pressure upon him; but even then the "floating debt" annoyed him very seriously. he had always paid his bills promptly, and kept out of debt, so that his present embarrassment was doubly annoying to him, on account of its novelty. with all his mind, heart and soul he regretted that he had undertaken the great enterprise, and feared that it would end in total ruin to him. the landlord talked freely with his wife and leopold about his embarrassments, and the son suffered quite as much as the father on account of them. there were guests enough in the hotel to have met the expenses of the old establishment, but not of the new one; and the landlord found it difficult even to pay the daily demands upon him. he was almost in despair, and a dollar seemed larger to him now than ever before, and hardly a single one of them would stay in his pocket over night. the interest on the mortgage note would be due on the first of july, and mr. bennington knew not where to obtain the first dollar with which to pay it. the landlord was in great distress, for he knew that squire moses was as relentless as death itself, and would show him no mercy. "i don't see but i must fail," said mr. bennington, with a deep sigh, as the day of payment drew near. "fail, father!" exclaimed leopold. "that will be the end of it all. if i don't pay my interest on the day it is due, squire wormbury will foreclose his mortgage, and take possession of the house," groaned the landlord. "can't something be done, father?" asked the son. "i don't know what i can do, i have borrowed of everybody who will lend me a dollar. with one good season i could pay off every dollar i owe, except squire wormbury's mortgage. it seems hard to go to the wall just for the want of a month's time. i am sure i shall make money after the season opens, for i have engaged half the rooms in the house after the middle of july. half a dozen families from chicago are coming then, and when i was in boston a dozen people told me they would come here for the summer." "i think you will find some way to raise the money, father," added leopold, more hopeful than his father. "i don't see where it is coming from. the bank won't discount any more for me. i feel like a beggar already; and all for the want of a month's time." leopold was very sad; but in this emergency he thought of the hidden treasure of high rock. but he had already made up his mind that this money did not belong to him. he even felt that it would be stealing for him to take it. in his father's sore embarrassment he was tempted to appropriate the treasure, and let him use it as a loan. but then, if his father should fail, and the heirs of wallbridge should appear, he could not satisfy them, or satisfy his own conscience. but the temptation was very great; and the next time he went out alone in the rosabel, he visited the beach under high rock. it was the first time he had been there this season. he landed, and commenced the search for the projecting rock which was shaped like a coffin. he walked from one end of the beach to the other, without discovering any rock which answered to harvey barth's description. he started to retrace his steps, remembering that the writer of the journal had been unable to observe the singular form of the rock after he had changed his position. the tide was low, and he walked on the edge of the water; but by going in this direction he had no better success. after spending an hour in looking for it, he could discover no rock which looked like the emblem of death. he returned to rockhaven, almost convinced that harvey barth had imagined the scene he had described in his diary. the next day, just at dark, a thunder-storm, the first of the season, came up. the weather had been warm and sultry for a week, and the farmers declared that the season was a fortnight earlier than usual. the roaring thunder and the flashing lightning reminded leopold of the scene described in harvey's journal, and especially of the burying of the twelve hundred dollars in gold. without saving anything to any one of his intention, he left the hotel, and embarked in the rosabel, with no dread of the rain, or a squall. there was wind enough to take him down as far as the ledges, and then it suddenly subsided. leopold furled his mainsail, for the calm indicated a coming squall. it wanted an hour of high tide, and he anchored the rosabel at a considerable distance from the shore, paying out the cable till the stern of the boat was in water not more than three feet deep. pulling upon the rope till he was satisfied that the anchor had hooked upon one of the sharp rocks below the beach, he prepared to go on shore. the beach sloped so sharply that the sands were not more than twenty feet from the stern of the rosabel. it was now quite dark, but the scene was frequently lighted up by the sharp lightning. the tide had risen so that the water was within a rod of the cliffs. taking an oar in his hand, he planted the blade end of it in the water as far as he could reach from the stern, and grasping the other end, he made a flying leap with its aid, and struck at a spot where the water was only knee-deep. he had scarcely reached the beach before the squall came; but it blew out of the north-west, so that the rosabel was partially sheltered from its fury by the projecting cliffs between high rock and the mouth of the river. she swung around, abreast of the cliffs, into the deep water between the beach and the ledges. leopold watched her for a few moments, fearful that the change of position might have unhooked the anchor; but it held on till the squall, which expended its force in a few moments, was over. then the rain came down in torrents, drenching the boatman to the skin. leopold, with the oar in his hand, walked along the narrow beach, watching the play of the lightning on the rocks of the cliff. occasionally he halted to observe the shapes they assumed, and he could not help perceiving that the glare of the electric fluid gave them an entirely different appearance from that which they usually wore. he had landed near the ravine by which harvey earth had escaped from the angry billows, and he walked to the farther end of the beach without seeing any rock which bore the least resemblance to a coffin. the tide was rising all the time, driving him nearer and nearer to the cliff. leopold was not much excited, for his former failure to find the hidden treasure had almost convinced him that no such thing existed. he was cool enough--drenched to the skin as he was--to reason about the movements of the shipwrecked party on the beach. "when harvey barth left wallbridge filling up the hole in which he had put the bag of gold," thought leopold, "he must have walked towards the 'hole in the wall'"--as the ravine was called by those who visited high rock. "if he hadn't walked towards it, he wouldn't have found it. if he had walked up and down the beach, he would have seen wallbridge and the mate when they went off in the whale-boat to return to the wreck. this shows plainly enough that he only walked one way before he came to the hole. that way must have been the opposite direction from that i have just come; for if he had walked the way i have, he could not have reached the hole; and there is no beach to walk on beyond it. "when harvey barth looked behind him, he could not see the coffin; and of course i couldn't see it when i came this way. i suppose it only shows itself, like the man's head near the light-house, from one particular point. the head can only be made out from a boat, when it ranges between the island and the light, one way, and in line with the dead tree and jones's barn on the north shore, the other way. twenty feet from this position, nothing that looks like a head can be seen. probably this coffin works by the same rule. if it don't, it is strange that i have never noticed it. now i will walk in the direction that harvey barth did, and if there is any coffin here i shall see it." the bright flashes of lightning still illuminated the cliffs, as leopold walked slowly towards the hole in the wall, scrutinizing the rocks with the utmost care. by the rising of the tide his line of march was now within ten feet of the cliff, and the beach was of about the same width as when the shipwrecked party had sought a refuge upon it; but the sea was comparatively calm, and there was no peril on its smooth sands. leopold had gone about one third of the length of the beach, when his eye rested upon a formation in the cliff, which, as the lightning played upon it, assured him he had found what he sought. the view he had obtained of it was only for an instant. he halted, waiting again till the lightning again, enabled him to see the rock. "that's it, as sure as i live!" exclaimed the boatman. again and again he saw it, as the lightning glared upon it; and the resemblance to a coffin was certainly very striking. harvey barth was justified again, and leopold acknowledged to himself the correctness of the description in the diary. thrusting the oar down into the sand on the spot where he was, so as not to loose the locality, he stood for some time observing the phenomenon on the rocks. he understood now why he had not seen it before. in his previous search, he had walked on the beach twenty feet farther out from the cliff. changing his position by wading into the water, the shape of the coffin on the rock was lost before he had moved ten feet from the oar. from this point it assumed a new form, looking like nothing in particular but a mass of rock. leopold returned to the stake which he had set up, and then walked from it to the cliff. when he stopped, the projecting rock was directly over his head. he knew the spot very well. he had baked clams there for rosabel hamilton during one of his visits to high rock with her; and he had dug over every foot of sand beneath it, in search of the hidden treasure, without finding it. but harvey barth was so correct in regard to his description of the locality that the boatman was more disposed to rely upon his statements in other matters than he had ever been before. he gathered a pile of stones to mark the place, and then gave himself up to a careful consideration of the circumstances of the case. he could not now escape the conclusion that the money was actually buried beneath the projecting rock--"coffin rock" he had already named in his own mind; and he proceeded to inquire why he had not found it, when he dug the ground all over. "miss liverage told me the hole which wallbridge dug was not more than a foot deep; and harvey barth's diary contained the same statement," said the boatman to himself. "i dug a foot down, and the money was not there. i remember i found a piece of boat-hook, with the iron on it about that distance below the surface. what does that prove? how happened that piece of a boat-hook, to be a foot under ground? on the top of the cliffs the sand and gravel, with a little soil on top, is six feet deep, and this beach is formed by the caving down of the earth. there is no beach beyond the hole, because the rocks are all bare on the top of the cliff. i suppose the sand keeps dropping down, and the roll of the sea has spread it out as it fell. i have no doubt that the hurricane piled the sand up a foot or more next to the cliff. that's the reason i didn't find the money. i will dig deeper now." satisfied with this reasoning, leopold waded off to the rosabel which the tide had swung in towards the beach again. in the cuddy he had a lantern,--for use when he was out after dark,--which he lighted. as he was obliged to supply bait for parties who went out fishing with him, he kept under the seat in the standing-room a boy's shovel, which his father had given him years before, with which he dug clams on the beaches. letting out the cable, the boat drifted still nearer to the beach, and the skipper landed, with his lantern and shovel. throwing off his wet coat, he began to dig under coffin rock. he allowed considerable latitude in marking out the size of the hole, to allow for any possible want of accuracy in harvey barth's observation. it was pitch dark after the shower, for the sky and the stars were obscured by dense clouds. leopold had only the light of his lantern to enable him to work, and his task was gloomy enough to satisfy the veriest money-digger that ever delved into the earth for hidden treasure. in half an hour, more or less, he had dug the hole a foot deep, and then felt that he had reduced this part of the beach to its former elevation, at the time of the wreck of the waldo. a descent of another foot would decide whether or not the treasure had an existence, save in the brain of the sick man. it was hard work, after a full day's labor at the hotel; but leopold redoubled his exertions after he had removed the first foot of sand. as he proceeded, he examined every stone he threw out of the hole, to assure himself that he did not miss the bag of gold. the task began to be somewhat exciting, as the solution of the problem drew nearer. the hole which he had laid out was six feet square; and when he had thrown out all the sand and gravel to this depth, in order to save any unnecessary labor he began to dig in the middle of the excavation, for this was directly under the centre of the projecting rock. if harvey barth's statement was exactly correct, the bag would be found where leopold was now at work. faster and faster he plied the shovel, the deeper he went, and, when he judged that the lower hole was nearly a foot deep, his excitement of mind was intense. he had come to the last layer of sand he had to remove in making the second foot in depth. placing his heel upon the shovel, he attempted to force it down the length of the blade; but something impeded his progress. it was not a rock, for it yielded slightly, and gave forth no sharp sound. scraping out the sand with the shovel, leopold began to paw it away with his hands. presently he felt something which was neither sand nor gravel. he drew it forth from the hole, and held it up where the light of the lantern struck upon it. it was the hidden treasure. [illustration: the money digger. page .] the bag was just what harvey barth had described, and it weighed at least the four pounds and a half avoirdupois which he had made it by his calculations. leopold was tremendously excited, as he seated himself on the brink of the hole, with the shot-bag in his hand. "hallo, le! is that you?" shouted a voice from the water. it was stumpy in leopold's old boat. chapter x. doubts and debts. leopold was terribly startled when he heard the voice of stumpy. he was the possessor of a mighty secret, and he felt that he had been very imprudent in exposing it to discovery. it would have been better to dig up the hidden treasure in the daytime, when the light would have enabled him to observe the approach of an intruder. but he was glad it was stumpy, rather than any other person, who had detected him in his strange and unseasonable labor. if need be, he could reveal the great secret to his friend, which he would have been very unwilling to do to any one else. but he did not wish to say a word about the hidden treasure even to stumpy. he was startled when he heard the voice of his friend, and, without deciding at that moment upon his future course, he dropped the shot-bag into the hole from which he had taken it, and hastily covered it with sand to the depth of a foot, in fact, filling up the smaller hole he had made. this was the work of a moment; and before stumpy had time to approach the spot, leopold, with the lantern in his hand, walked to the place where his friend had landed. "what are you doing here in the dark?" demanded stumpy, as leopold approached him. "lighting up the darkness," replied the money-digger, lightly. "what were you doing with that shovel?" added stumpy, as his friend stepped into the old boat, the bow of which rested on the beach. "digging, of course," answered the possessor of the mighty secret, not yet decided whether or not to reveal what he knew, and what he had been doing. "i don't think there is much fun in digging down here where it is as dark as a stack of black cats." "i was not digging for the fun of it. but what brought you down here in the darkness, stumpy?" asked leopold, willing to change the subject. "i wanted to see you, and went over to the sea cliff house. your father told me you had gone out in your boat just at dark; and, as a smart squall had just stirred up the bay, he was somewhat worried about you." "was he? i didn't know that he ever worried about me when i was on the water. i think i know how to take care of myself." "no doubt you do; but the smartest boatmen get caught sometimes. i think we had better hurry back, for the longer you are out, the more anxious your folks will be about you." "that's so," replied the considerate leopold. "but we have two boats here, and we can't both return in the rosabel." "can't we tow the old boat?" "we can, but i don't like to do it, for the old boat will be sure to bump against the rosabel, and scrape the paint off. now, stumpy, if you will take the new boat, and sail back in her, i will follow you in the old tub. you will get to the house long before i do, and you can tell the folks i am right side up." "why don't you go in the rosabel, and tell them yourself?" suggested stumpy. just at this point leopold was bothered. if stumpy reached the hotel first, he would tell mr. bennington where he had found his son, on the beach under high rock, with a lantern and shovel in his hand. of course his father would wish to know what he was doing there; and under present circumstances this would be a hard question, for leopold was deeply indoctrinated with the "little hatchet" principle. in a word, he could not tell a deliberate lie. he could not place himself in a situation where a falsehood would be necessary to extricate himself from a dilemma. unhappily, like thousands of other scrupulous people, he could "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel;" for it was just as much a lie to deceive his father by his silence as it was by his speech. but, after all leopold's motive was good. he was afraid his father would use the hidden treasure to relieve his embarrassments in money matters, and he was not willing to subject him to this temptation. the young man was still firm in his faith that the money belonged to somebody, and just as firm in the belief that it was his duty to seek out the owner thereof, which he had not yet done, or had time to do. he had thought a great deal about the ownership of the treasure; and, arguing the question as he might to himself, he always reached the same conclusion--that the money did not belong to him, and that it did belong to somebody else. he had considered the possibility of finding the proprietor of the twelve hundred dollars in gold through the owners of the waldo, and the consignees or agents of the brig in havana. this was before he found the old shot-bag; and, now that he had held it in his hand, this conclusion was even more forcible than before. satisfied that the secret would be safer in the possession of stumpy than of his father, he was tempted to tell him the whole story. "after all, i guess we will go back in the rosabel, stumpy," added leopold, when he had considered the matter. "you can keep your eye on the old boat, and see that she don't do any harm." "i can keep her from doing any mischief," said stumpy. leopold asked his companion to haul the rosabel up to the beach, and, shoving off the old boat, he returned to the spot under coffin rock where he had been digging. using his shovel vigorously for a few moments, he filled up the excavation he had made, and levelled off the sand and gravel, so that no chance visitor at the place should discover the traces of his labor. by the time he had finished the work, the rosabel had been hauled up to the beach, and the painter of the old boat attached to her stern. in a few moments the money-digger and his friend were under way, standing towards the mouth of the river. "i don't see why my father should be worried about me," said leopold, as he seated himself at the tiller. "you don't very often go out in the night, and in a thunder-storm, too. i was worried about you myself, le, for any fellow might be caught in a squall. without saying anything to your father, or any other person, i took the old boat, and stood out of the river. i shouted to you with all my might. when i got out beyond the point, i saw the light on the beach, under high rock, and went for it." "well, i'm much obliged to you for the trouble you have taken," added leopold. "but what in the world were you doing on the beach with the lantern and the shovel?" asked stumpy. "you couldn't catch any clams under the rocks where you were." "i didn't catch any. when you sung out, i was sitting on the beach. i had anchored the rosabel, with a long cable, and when the squall came, it blew her off so far from the shore that i could not get on board of her without swimming." "o, that's it--was it?" exclaimed stumpy, entirely satisfied with this explanation. certainly every word which leopold had uttered was strictly and literally true; but stumpy's deception was as complete as though it had been brought about by a lie. the money-digger was not quite satisfied with himself, though he had an undoubted right to "keep his own counsel," if he chose to do so. but while he was thus bothered about the situation, his friend changed the topic. "i wanted to see you," said stumpy, after he had accepted his companion's explanation. "what for?" "that old hunks had gone and done it!" added stumpy, whose chief emotion seemed to be a violent indignation. "what old hunks?" "why, grandad." "what has he done?" "taken possession of our house; or, what amounts to the same thing, has notified my mother that she must move out on the first of august, if the mortgage note is not paid." "that's rough," added leopold. "rough! that isn't the word for it," protested stumpy, warmly. "it is mean, rascally, contemptible, infamous, infernal! i should bust the dictionary if i expressed myself in full. if squire wormbury was a poor man, or really needed the money, it would be another thing; or if he would wait till houses and land are worth something in rockhaven. but he takes the time when the war has knocked everything into a cocked hat; and nobody knows whether we are going to have any country much longer, and nobody dares to buy a house. confound him! he takes this time, when the place won't fetch anything! he knows it will bring two thousand dollars just as soon as the clouds blow over. he intends to make money by the operation." "well, i don't see that you can help yourself, hard as the case is." "i don't know that i can; but i have been trying to do something." "what?" "i have asked two or three to take the mortgage; but i haven't found anybody yet. nobody down here has any money except my grandad, and it might as well be buried in the sea as to be in his trousers' pocket." "did you want to see me about this business?" asked leopold. "yes." "do you think i could help you out?" "that was my idea." "that's good!" laughed leopold. "my father can hardly keep his head above water now. he don't know where he shall get the money to pay the interest on his mortgage, due on the first of july. i should not be much surprised if your grandfather had to foreclose on the sea cliff house." "of course i don't expect you to find the money for us, only to help me in another way. but what you said about your father reminds me of something i was going to tell you, when i saw you." "what's that?" "if my grandad was a decent man, i wouldn't say anything about it," replied stumpy, apparently troubled with a doubt in regard to the propriety of the revelation he was about to make. "if there is anything private about it, don't say anything," added leopold, whose high sense of honor would not permit him to encourage his friend to make an improper use of any information in his possession. "the conversation i heard was certainly not intended for my ear," continued stumpy, thoughtfully. "then don't mention it." "i think i ought to tell you, le, for the business concerns your father." "no matter whom it concerns, if the information don't belong to you," said leopold. "if i hear my father and jones talking about smith in a private way, i don't think i have any right to go and tell smith what they say. it makes trouble, and it's none of my business." "i think you are right in the main, le; but let me put the question in another form. suppose you heard two scallawags in your hotel talking about setting my mother's house on fire; suppose you knew the plan they had formed to burn the cottage; would you say it was none of your business, because you happened to hear them, and the conversation was not intended for your ears?" "i don't believe i should say or think any such thing. these men would be plotting to commit a crime and it would be my duty to tell you," replied leopold. "my sentiments exactly. a crime! that's just my opinion of what my grandad is doing." "if you think so, it is perfectly proper for you to let on." "i do think so and i shall let on," added stumpy. "as you said just now, the interest on the mortgage note which your father owes squire moses will be due on the first day of july; and that's only ten days ahead. the squire thinks your father won't be able to raise the money, because he has been to him to ask the old skin flint to let him up a little." "yes; i know all that," replied leopold, sadly, for he dreaded the first of july almost as a condemned convict dreads the day of execution. "i went up to grandad's the other day, to carry his spectacles, which he left on the table when he came to tell mother that she must move out on the first of august. i wanted to give the spectacles into his own hands, and to say a word to him about the place, if i got a chance. i went into the kitchen, where the old man stays when he's in the house. he wasn't there; but i heard his voice in the next room where he keeps his papers, and i sat down to wait till he came out. there was no one in the kitchen but myself, for the women folks had gone up stairs to make the beds." "but whom was squire moses talking to?" asked leopold, much interested. "i was going to tell you all about it, le; but i wanted to say, in the first place, that i didn't go into the kitchen to listen, and i didn't want to break in on the old man when he was busy. squire moses did most of the talking, and it was some time before i found out who was with him. but after a while the other man spoke, and i knew it was ethan." "ethan wormbury you mean?" asked leopold. "yes my uncle ethan, that keeps the island hotel. your father's new house, le, has scared him half out of his wits. i can't remember half i heard them say; but the substance of it was, that if your father don't pay his interest money on the very first day of july, the old man means to foreclose the mortgage just as quick as the law will let him. that's the upshot of all that was said." "that's too bad!" exclaimed leopold, indignantly. "just what i thought, and that's the reason why i wanted to tell you. squire moses said your father's furniture was mortgaged, and that would have to be sold too. the plan of the old hunks is to get the hotel, and put ethan into it as landlord. if he can't do it this summer, he means to do it as soon as he can. he thought if he got the house, he could buy the furniture, and set ethan up by the middle of july, or the first of august." "it's a mean trick," muttered leopold. "that's what i say; but it isn't any meaner than a thousand other things the old man does. only think of his turning his son's wife, with three children, out of house and home! but you can tell your father all about it, le, and perhaps he may be able to get an anchor out to windward," continued stumpy, whose sympathy for his friend was hardly less than his fear for his mother's future. "i'm much obliged to you for telling me, stumpy; but i don't know that my father will be able to do anything to help himself, desperate as the case is," added leopold. "i hope he will." "so do i but i have my doubts. father said to-day that he had six calls for every dollar he got. he has mortgaged everything, so that he can't raise anything more. he said there was money enough in the large cities; that they had picked up after the first blow of the war, and some men were getting rich faster than ever; but down here everything was at a stand-still; no business, and no money. the rich folks will come down to the hotel by and by; and father says a good week, with the sea cliff house full, would set him all right; but he can't expect to do anything more than pay expenses, and hardly that, till the middle of july." "it's a hard case, and squire moses knows it. he said if he couldn't get the house on the first of july payment, he was afraid he should not be able to get it at all for ethan. i hope your father will be able to do something." "i hope so. if i could find any one who would give me a hundred and fifty dollars for this boat, i would sell her quick, and hand the money over to father. it would pay his interest, into thirty dollars, and perhaps he could raise the rest, though he says he has not had twenty dollars in his hand at one time for a month. i can't exactly see why it is that when men are making money hand over fist in some parts of the country, everything is so dead in rockhaven. the quarries have all stopped working, and the fishermen have gone to the war," said leopold, as the rosabel reached her landing place near the hotel, where she was carefully moored; and the boys went on shore. "by the way, stumpy," continued the skipper, as they walked up the steep path towards the road, "you said i might be able to do something to help your mother out of her trouble. if i can, i'm sure i should be glad to do so." "i don't know that i will say anything about it now. your case is rather worse than mine, if anything, and you have enough to think of without bothering your head with my mother's troubles," replied stumpy. "of course i can't raise any money to help her out; but if i can do anything else, nothing would please me more." "if you have any friends, you ought to use them for your father." "what do you mean by friends? i haven't any friends." "yes, you have; but i don't know that you have the cheek to call upon them. i suppose it will do no harm to tell you what i was thinking about, le," added stumpy, when they reached the road, and halted there. "your boat is called the rosabel. you gave her that name." "of course i did. what has that to do with this matter?" demanded leopold, puzzled by the roundabout manner in which his friend approached his subject. "you named the boat after somebody," continued stumpy, with something like a chuckle in his tones. "i named her after miss rosabel hamilton, whose father has been one of the best customers of the hotel. perhaps i had my weather eye open when i christened the sloop." "certainly you had," ejaculated stumpy. "but it was only to please the family, and induce them to stay longer at the hotel." "perhaps it was," added stumpy, placing a wicked emphasis on the first word. "o, i know it was!" protested leopold. "but i used to think you were rather sweet on miss rosabel, when i was in the boat with you." "nonsense, stumpy!" replied leopold; and if there had been light enough, perhaps his companion might have distinguished a slight blush upon his brown face. "i never thought of such a thing. why, her father has been a member of congress, and they say he is worth millions." "i don't care anything about congress or the millions; you would have jumped overboard and drowned yourself for the girl at any minute." "perhaps i would; i don't know. she's a nice girl," mused leopold. "that's not all, either." "well, what else?" "if rosabel didn't like you better than she did the town pump, i don't guess any more," chuckled stumpy. "i think she did like me, just as she would any fellow that did his best to make her comfortable and happy." "more than that." "i don't believe it. but what has all this to do with your mother's case, or my father's?" "i won't mix things any longer. her father is as rich as mud. i was going to ask you if you wouldn't write to mr. hamilton, and ask him to take the mortgage on my mother's house." leopold did not like the idea, but he promised to consider it. "if i were you, le, i should mention my father's case to him," added stumpy. but leopold did not like this idea any better than the other; and they separated. chapter xi. in the fog. leopold parted with his friend opposite the sea cliff house. he entered the office, where his father was busy in conversation with one of the guests. luckily the landlord, satisfied with the safety of his son, did not ask him where he had been; for his absence on the water was too common an event to excite any remark, and leopold went to bed as soon as he had shown himself to his mother, and told her that the squall had not harmed him. it is one thing to go to bed, and quite another to sleep. leopold was tired enough to need rest, yet his future action in regard to the hidden treasure did not allow him to do anything but think, think, think, till he heard the church clock strike twelve. that was the last he heard that night. but with all his thinking, his opinion was just the same as before. the money did not belong to him, and it did belong to somebody else. he could not escape these two conclusions, and whether his father failed or not, he could see no way by which he could honestly bring the twelve hundred dollars in gold to his aid. coming events pressed so heavily upon the minds of his father and stumpy, that neither of them had questioned him very closely in regard to his business on the beach in the storm and the darkness. as he had thus far escaped without telling any direct lies, he decided to keep his own secret for the present; but he intended, the very next time he went to rockland, to visit the owners of the waldo, and inquire about the passenger who had perished in the wreck of the brig. very likely this man had a wife and children, a father, or brothers and sisters, who needed this money. his wife and little children might at that moment be suffering for the want of it. it belonged to them, and they ought to have it. even if his father failed, and lost all he had, leopold felt that it would be better for him to do his whole duty. the secret was with himself alone, and there was no one to applaud his noble decision; nay, if he had told his friends and neighbors, and perhaps even his father, they would probably have laughed at him, called him a fool, declared that he was more nice than wise, and insisted that it was his duty to save the sea cliff house from the avaricious grasp of squire moses wormbury. in spite of his noble conclusion, he was still terribly worried about the financial troubles of his father. the rosabel was well worth two hundred dollars, and she was almost the only piece of property in the family which was not covered by a mortgage. it was early in the season, when a boat is more salable than later in the year; and before he went to sleep, leopold had decided to run over to rockland the next day, if possible, and endeavor to find a purchaser for her, even at three fourths of her value. it would be a happy moment for him if he could put one hundred and fifty dollars into his father's hands, and thus enable him to make up his interest money. there must be some one in rockland who wanted a boat, and who would be willing to pay him this price for so fast and stiff a craft as the rosabel. with this pleasant anticipation in his mind, leopold went to sleep. he usually got up between four and five o'clock in the morning; but he did not wake till he heard his father's voice in his chamber. he had been so tired after the hard work he had done on the beach, and lying awake till after midnight, he had overslept himself. "come, leopold; it is after seven o'clock," said mr. bennington, in the rather sad and gloomy tones which the misery of his financial trials had imposed upon him. "seven o'clock!" exclaimed leopold, leaping from the bed. "i didn't go to sleep till after midnight, and that's the reason i didn't wake up." "you needn't get up if you don't feel able to do so," added the landlord. "o, i'm able enough," protested leopold, half dressed by this time. "i should like to have you go down and see if you can get some fish for dinner," added his father. "all right. i will get some, if there is any in the sea," answered the young man, as he finished his primitive toilet. in fifteen minutes more, he had eaten his breakfast, and was descending the steep path to the river, where the rosabel was moored. the weather was cloudy, and out at sea it looked as if the fog would roll in, within a short time, as it often did during the spring and summer. indeed, the one bane of this coast, as a pleasure resort, is the prevalence of dense and frequently long-continued fog. sometimes it shrouds the shores for several days at a time; and it has been known to last for weeks. it is cold, penetrating, and disagreeable to the denizen of the city, seeking ease and comfort in a summer home. when the sloop passed light house point, leopold saw that the dense fog had settled down upon the bay, and had probably been there all night. but he did not bother his head about the fog, for he knew the sound which the waves made upon every portion of the shore. as one skilled in music knows the note he hears, leopold identified the swash or the roar of the sea when it beat upon the rocks and the beaches in the vicinity. by these sounds he knew where he was, and he had a boat-compass on board of the rosabel, which enabled him to lay his course, whenever he obtained his bearings. before the sloop had gone a quarter of a mile she was buried in the fog, and leopold could see nothing but the little circle of water of which the rosabel was the centre. with the compass on the floor of the standing-room, he headed the sloop for the ledges, outside of which he expected to find plenty of cod and haddock. the wind was rather light, but it was sufficient to give the rosabel a good headway, and in half an hour he recognized the roar of the billows upon the ledges. going near enough to them to bring the white spray of the breaking waves within the narrow circle of his observation, he let off his main sheet, and headed the sloop directly out to sea. the best fishing ground at this season was about two miles from the ledges; and with the wind free, leopold calculated that he had made this distance in half an hour. he had cleared away his cable, and had his anchor ready to throw overboard, when the hoarse croaking of a fog-horn attracted his attention. the sound came from the seaward side of him, and from a point not far distant. the rosabel was provided with one of those delectable musical instruments, whose familiar notes came to her skipper's ears. it was rather a necessity to have one, in order to avoid collisions; besides, it is fun for boys to make the most unearthly noises which mortal ear ever listened to. leopold blew his fog-horn, and it was answered by a repetition of the sound to seaward. the craft, whatever it was, from which the music came, was much nearer than when the skipper of the rosabel first heard the signal. this satisfied him that she was headed to the north-east, and was nearly close-hauled, for the wind was about east; in other words, the craft from which the melody of the fog horn came was standing from the sea directly towards the ledges off high rock. leopold blew his horn again and again, and the responses came nearer and nearer every time. the craft was evidently bound up the bay, or into the rockhaven river. if she was going to rockland, or up the bay, she was very much out of her course. if she was going into the river, she was more likely to strike upon the ledge than to hit her port. "ahoy! ahoy!" came a hoarse voice, apparently pitched from the note of the fog-horn. the skipper of the rosabel judged that the craft was not more than an eighth of a mile from him. "ahoy! ahoy!" he shouted in reply, at the top of his voice. leopold had hauled down his jib, and thrown the sloop up into the wind, in preparation for anchoring; but he concluded not to do so, in view of the peril of being run down by the stranger. on the contrary he hoisted his jib, and filled away again, so as to be in condition to avoid a collision. resuming his place at the helm, he stood out towards the fog-hidden vessel. the hail was repeated again and again, and leopold as often answered it. in a few moments more he discovered what appeared to him to be the jib of a schooner. her bow was of shining black, with a richly gilded figure-head under the bowsprit. a moment later he discovered the two masts of the vessel. the mainsail was set, but the foresail was furled, and she was apparently feeling her way with great care into the bay. a sailor in uniform was heaving the lead near the fore rigging. leopold saw, as soon as he obtained a full view of the vessel, that she was a yacht of at least a hundred tons and as beautiful a craft as ever gladdened the heart of a sailor. there were a dozen men on her forecastle, and as the rosabel approached her, a procession of gentlemen, closely muffled in heavy garments and rubber coats, filed up the companion-way, doubtless attracted to the deck by the incident of hailing another craft. "schooner, ahoy!" shouted leopold, as soon as he had made out the vessel. "on board the sloop!" replied the voice which resembled the tones of the fog-horn. "where you bound?" demanded the skipper of the rosabel. "belfast." "you are a long way off your course, then," added leopold, with emphasis. "will you come on board?" asked the speaker from the yacht. "ay, ay, sir, if you wish it," answered leopold. "hard down the helm!" shouted the hoarse voice, which we may as well say in advance of a nearer introduction, belonged to captain bounce, the sailing-master of the yacht. "what schooner is that?" called leopold, as the yacht came up into the wind. "the yacht orion, of new york," replied captain bounce. the skipper of the rosabel ran under the lee of the orion, and came up into the wind all shaking. leopold threw his painter to the uniformed seamen of the yacht, and then hauled down his jib. "where are we?" asked captain bounce, rather nervously for an old salt. "two miles off the high rock ledges; you were headed directly for them," replied leopold, as he let go the halyards of the mainsail. when he had secured the sail, he ascended the accommodation steps, which the seaman had placed on the side for his use. one of the hands carried the painter of the rosabel to the stern of the orion. "i don't know where we are now," said captain bounce, who was a short, stout man, with grizzly hair and beard, both reeking with moisture from the fog; and he looked like the typical old sea-dog of the drama. "do you know where we are, young man?" asked one of the gentlemen who had filed up the companion-way. leopold started suddenly when he heard the voice and turned towards the speaker. "of course i do, mr. hamilton," replied leopold, briskly. "i reckon you don't know me, sir." leopold took off his old hat, and bowed respectfully to the gentleman, who was muffled up in an immense overcoat with a long cape. "i do not," added the hon. mr. hamilton, with a puzzled expression. the skipper of the rosabel thought it was very strange that the honorable gentleman did not recognize him; for he did not consider that he had grown three inches taller himself, and that the distinguished guest of the cliff house met a great many people in the course of a year. "don't you know my boat, sir?" asked leopold, laughing as he pointed astern at the sloop. "i do not." "well, sir, that's the rosabel. you have sailed in her more than once." "o, this is leopold, then!" exclaimed mr. hamilton. "you ought to know where we are." "i do, sir; and i know that you were headed for the high rock ledges. i can prick your position on the chart." "he knows all about this coast, captain bounce," added mr. hamilton, turning to the sailing-master. "he will be a safe pilot for you." "well youngster, we are bound to belfast," said the sailing-master, thrusting his fists deep down into the pockets of his pea-jacket. "i am not a pilot to belfast," replied leopold; "but you must keep her west-half-north for owl's head, nine miles from here. there are islands and ledges all around you." "we have had enough of this sort of thing," interposed mr. hamilton, evidently disgusted with his experience. "we have been feeling our way in this fog for twenty-four hours. i would give a thousand dollars to be in belfast at this moment." "i don't believe the best pilot on the coast would agree to take this yacht up to belfast in this fog for twice that sum," added leopold. "one of the bangor steamers, that goes over the route every day, got aground the other night." "i never was on this coast before, mr. hamilton, as i told you before we sailed from new york," said captain bounce, apologetically; "but if i had been here all my life, i couldn't find my way in a sailing vessel in such a fog as this." "o, i don't blame you captain bounce," added mr. hamilton, who was the owner of the yacht. "i have kept you off the rocks so far; and that was the best i could do." "you have done all that anybody could do, captain bounce, and i have no fault to find with you. but the ladies are very uncomfortable; they are wet, and everything in the cabin is wet with the moisture of this fog. we are very anxious to get to some good hotel, where we can remain till the fog has blown away," continued mr. hamilton. "you can go into rockhaven, sir," suggested leopold. the hon. mr. hamilton smiled gloomily, and shrugged his shoulders, for he knew how limited were the accommodations in the old cliff house. "your hotel would not hold us, leopold," said mr. hamilton. "our party consists of fifteen persons. we must get into rockland, some how or other." "we have a new hotel, mr. hamilton," interposed leopold. "what's that?" "the sea cliff house. it is the cliff house rebuilt and enlarged. we have fifty rooms now, besides new parlors and a new dining-room. the house has been furnished new, and my father means to keep a first-class hotel. he has raised the price to three dollars a day, so that he can afford to do so. we have some rooms built on purpose for you, sir." "indeed! but your father always kept a good house, though it was not big enough." "you won't find any better hotel in rockland or belfast than the sea cliff house, mr. hamilton," said leopold, confidently. "then let us go there by all means," added the owner of the orion. "can you take the yacht into the harbor, leopold?" "i can sir." "are you sure?" "certainly i am." "we don't want to be thrown on the rocks." "i can go into the river with my eyes shut, any time, sir." "very well. captain bounce, here is your pilot." "all right mr. hamilton. all his orders shall be obeyed," replied the sailing-master. "hoist the jib, then, if you please, and head her to the north-east," added leopold. "to the north-east!" exclaimed captain bounce. "you said the ledges were in that direction." "i know they are; but i can tell just where to find them." "we are not anxious to find them," added the sailing-master. "i am, for i take my bearings from them. trust me as your best friend, captain bounce, and you shall throw over your mud-hook, in just an hour from now, in the river, off rockhaven." "all right; the owner says you are the pilot, and i haven't a word to say," replied the captain. "forward there! hoist the jib! at the helm!" "helm, sir!" replied the quarter-master. "keep her north-east." "north-east, sir." leopold turned at that moment, and discovered a bundle of shawls and water-proofs emerging from the companion-way. "leopold bennington! i'm glad to see you!" exclaimed the bundle, in a voice which the young pilot promptly identified as that of miss rosabel hamilton. "thank you, miss hamilton. i'm happy to see you again," stammered leopold, rushing up to the bundle, in which he could hardly make out the beautiful face and form of rosabel. "you have come to get us out of an awful bad scrape. we have no fire in the cabin, and are wet through, and nearly frozen. i'm so glad we met you!" "i'm glad to meet you too," said leopold. "i'm sure i didn't expect to see you out in this fog. but i'm the pilot of this yacht now and if you will excuse me, i will go forward, and attend to my duty." "certainly. don't let me keep you," answered rosabel, in those sweet, silvery tones which made leopold's heart jump. "i shall be so glad when we can see a good, warm fire!" the young pilot did not like to leave her; but he felt the responsibility of the position he had assumed, and he hastened forward. the orion was moving along through the water at the rate of about four knots an hour. leopold walked out on the bowsprit as far as the jibstay, and there seated himself. rosabel, apparently deeply interested in his movements, followed him as far as the forecastle. "what are you going to do out there, leopold?" she asked. "i'm going to keep a lookout for the ledges, which are ahead of us; and as i have to use my ears, i must ask you not to speak to me any more. excuse me, but i might not hear the breakers soon enough, if i were talking," added the pilot. rosabel excused him, and returned to the cabin, for the cold fog made her shiver, even within her bundle of clothing. leopold listened with all his might, and in less than half an hour he heard the surges on the ledges, faintly, at first, in the distance. "breakers ahead!" shouted captain bounce. "i know it; trust your best friend and don't be alarmed," replied leopold. "there is water enough here to float a seventy-four." he allowed the orion to proceed on her course, till he could hear very distinctly the breakers on the ledges, and was sure they were the high rock ledges. "starboard the helm, and start your sheets," shouted the pilot. "high time, i should say," growled captain bounce, as he gave the necessary orders, and the orion fell off to her new course. "keep her north-west," added leopold, as he just saw the ledges whitened with sea foam. he still retained his position on the bowsprit, with his attention fixed upon some point on the weather-bow. "that's it! dip point!" said he, as he listened to the breakers. "keep her nor'-nor'-west!" ten minutes later, he ordered the fog-horn to be blown, and a reply came off from the light-house on the point, at the mouth of the river. when the orion was clear of the point, he directed the yacht to be close-hauled on the starboard tack, in order to beat into the river. the first reach brought her to the high cliff near the hotel, and after a "short leg," he fetched the anchorage off the wharf. "let go your jib-halyards!" shouted leopold. "hard down the helm! let go the anchor!" the orion swung round to her cable, and the pilot went aft. chapter xii. an extensive arrival. during the run of the orion, from the time that leopold assumed the charge of her till the anchor buried itself in the mud of the river, the owner and the passengers remained in the cabin. they were all city people, and to them the fog was even more disagreeable than a heavy rain. it was cold and penetrating, and the pleasure-seekers found it impossible to remain on deck. they were actually shivering with cold, and perhaps for the first time in their lives realized what a blessing the sunshine is. but captain bounce was on deck, and, standing on the forecastle, he nervously watched the progress of the yacht. doubtless he felt belittled at finding himself placed under the orders of a mere boy, even though the pilot was as polite as a french dancing-master. [illustration: captain bounce cannot see the town. page .] when the orion changed her course off the ledges, he caught a glimpse of the dangerous rocks, upon which he had heard the beating surf for a moment before. from that time he did not see anything which looked like a rock or a cliff. even when the yacht swung around to her anchor, the shore could not be seen from her deck, so dense was the fog. captain bounce had not much confidence in the skill of his pilot. he had not seen the rocks and cliffs which line the coast, and had no idea of the perils which had surrounded him. whenever leopold ordered a change in the course, he could just hear the murmuring sea breaking on the shore; but the old sea-dog expected the vessel would be thrown upon the rocks every moment. he was prepared to act upon an emergency of this kind, and had actually arranged in his own mind his plan of procedure, when the order to let go the jib-halyard indicated that the pilot intended to anchor. captain bounce looked about him, but he could see nothing which looked like a town, a port, or a harbor. he was so obstinate in his incredulity, that he was inclined to believe the young man in charge had given up the attempt to find rockhaven as a bad job, and intended to anchor under the lee of some island. he obeyed the orders given him by the pilot, however. the chain cable ran out, and when its music had ceased, one of the church clocks in rockhaven struck ten. captain bounce heard it distinctly, and of course the sound from a point high above him in the air overwhelmed him with positive proof that the young pilot knew what he was about. "ten o'clock!" shouted leopold, walking up to the captain of the yacht. "we have been just five minutes short of an hour in coming up." leopold looked at his silver watch, which was the gift of herr schlager, and rather enjoyed the perplexity of the sailing-master. "i don't see any town," said captain bounce, going to the rail, and gazing into the fog, in the direction from which the sounds of the church clock had come. "you heard the clock on the methodist church strike--didn't you?" "i heard that." "well, sir, we are in the river; and it is a crooked river, too. you can't take a boat and pull in a straight line in any direction without running on the rocks," added leopold. "i'm glad we are in a safe harbor," continued the old sea-dog, but in a tone which seemed to belie his words, for he was not quite willing to believe that the boy had piloted the vessel four or five miles, without even seeing the shore a single time. "when did you leave new york, captain bounce?" asked leopold. "three days ago. we had a fine run till we went into the fog yesterday morning. the wind was contrary, and in beating my way up i lost my reckoning. i have been dodging the breakers for twenty-four hours. i was afraid of a north-easterly storm; and if i had had no women on board, i should have come about, and run out to sea. as it was, i had to feel my way along." "you are all right now," added leopold, as he saw the owner and passengers coming up the companion-way. "you have brought us in--have you, leopold?" said mr. hamilton. "yes, sir. you are in the river, off rockhaven, though you can't see anything," replied the young pilot. "you have done well; and you are fully entitled to your pilotage," added the ex-member of congress. "i don't pretend to be a pilot for pay," protested leopold. "you have brought the yacht into port, and here is your fee," said mr. hamilton, putting some bank bills into his hand. "no, sir!" exclaimed leopold; "i don't want any money for what i have done. i am not entitled to any pilot's fees." "yes you are, just as much entitled to them as though you had a warrant or a branch. now go to your hotel, and have everything ready for us as quick as you can. we are wet and cold, and we want good fires," continued mr. hamilton. "but this money--" "don't stop another moment, my boy," interrupted the rich merchant. "if your father's hotel is as good as you say it is, we may stay there a week." under this imperative order, leopold thrust the bills into his pocket, and leaped into the rosabel. he had anchored the orion off the wharf, in the deep water in the middle of the river, so that her boats could conveniently reach the landing-steps near the fish market. hoisting his mainsail and jib, he stood down the river. "come and help us get on shore!" shouted mr. hamilton, as the rosabel was disappearing in the fog. "we can't find the wharf." "ay, ay, sir," replied leopold. in a few moments he had anchored the sloop at her usual moorings, secured the sails very hastily, and was climbing the steep path to the road. in spite of the pride which had prompted him to refuse it, the pilot's fee was a godsend to him, or, rather, to his father, for he determined to give the money to him immediately. he took the bills from his pocket, and found there were three ten-dollar notes. his heart leaped with emotion when he remembered what his father said--that he had not seen twenty dollars at one time for a month. the landlord actually needed the money to make purchases for the comfort of his new guests. leopold was almost beside himself with joy, and he rushed up the steep, rocky path without regard to the proper expenditure of his breath. puffing like a grampus, he reached the road, and then ran with all his might, as if the sea cliff house was on fire. he rushed into the office, and flew about the house like a madman. his father was nowhere to be seen; but he spent only a moment in looking for him, and then darted out into the wood-shed. filling a bushel basket with wood, chips, and shavings, he carried it into the big parlor, and lighted a tremendous fire in the franklin stove. another was made in the large corner apartment up stairs, with two bed-rooms _en suite_, which he always called mr. hamilton's room. he piled on the wood with no niggardly hand upon these, and four other fires he kindled in as many of the best rooms in the house. calling the chambermaid to attend to those up stairs, he returned to the public parlor, where he piled up the wood again. "what under the sun are you doing, leopold?" demanded his father, while he was thus occupied. "making fires," replied the son, vigorously. "i have kindled five up stairs." "but what under--" "never mind now, father," interposed leopold. "fifteen folks from new york will be here pretty soon, and you must be ready for them." "fifteen!" exclaimed the landlord, who had been mourning over the fog, which promised to deprive him of the few guests who might otherwise come over to rockhaven in the steamer. "yes, sir, fifteen; and they are mr. hamilton's party." "good gracious!" exclaimed the astonished and delighted proprietor of the sea cliff house. "but i must go down to the wharf, and help get them ashore," continued leopold, so excited that he could hardly speak. "they are cold and wet, and want good fires." "i'll see to the fires leopold. but where in the world did they come from in this fog?" "they came in a yacht. i went off about two miles from the ledges after cod and haddock, and picked them up there. they had been knocking about in the fog for twenty-four hours. i brought the yacht into the river, and mr. hamilton gave me thirty dollars for pilot's fees. here's the money, father." "but, leopold," added the landlord, as he involuntarily took the bills, "this is your money, and--" "never mind, father. we mustn't stop to talk about it now," interposed the son, vehemently. "if you will have the house ready, i will go and bring up the folks. send the wagon down to the wharf as quick as you can." leopold waited for nothing more, but ran down to the wharf as fast as his legs would carry him, and arrived almost out of breath. to his astonishment, he found quite a number of people gathered there, for it had just been discovered that a large yacht had anchored in the river. squire moses and ethan wormbury were there, the latter to look out for the interests of the island hotel. leopold borrowed a skiff belonging to mr. bangs, and pulled off to the orion. both of her boats had been lowered from the davits, and hauled up at the accommodation steps, in readiness to convey the ladies and gentlemen to the shore. "we are all ready for you at the sea cliff house, mr. hamilton," said leopold, us he stepped upon the deck. "shall we find a good fire in the parlor?" asked the ex-congressman. "yes, sir, and in your rooms, too," replied leopold. "we call it warm weather down here; but i piled on the wood to suit your case." "i am so glad to come here again!" said rosabel, stepping up to leopold. "i am very much obliged to the fog for sending us to rockhaven." "i shall consider the fog one of my best friends after this," laughed leopold; and he conducted the young lady to the gangway. "father says you have a new hotel; and i hope we shall stay here all summer." "the sea cliff house, folks say, is about as good as anything on the coast; and i hope the new hotel will suit you well enough to keep you here a long time," said the gallant young man, as he assisted rosabel down the steps and into the stern-sheets of the boat. "it would be so delightful to stay here all summer, and have the yacht, so that we could sail about the bay!" leopold assisted the other ladies--of whom there were not less than seven--to their places in the two quarter-boats of the orion. the whole party was disposed in both of them, and the landlord's son led the way to the wharf in the skiff, which was reached in a few moments. leopold was on the landing-steps in time to assist the ladies when the first boat came alongside the platform, and the whole party were soon on the wharf. "who are all these people, leopold?" asked squire moses wormbury, as the young man was ascending the steps. "mr. franklin hamilton's party from new york," replied the young man hastily. "island hotel, sir?" said ethan wormbury, approaching one of the gentlemen, whose wife was leaning upon is arm; "best hotel in the place, sir, and close to the wharf." "if it is the best hotel in the place, that is where we wish to go," replied the gentlemen, with a slightly foreign accent in his tones. "this way, if you please, sir," added ethan, with enthusiasm, as he began to move up the wharf. "doctor," called mr. hamilton, "where are you going?" "to the hotel. thin man says he keeps the best one in this place." "we are all going to the sea cliff house," added the chief of the party. ethan gnashed his teeth with rage, and so did the squire, his father. it was really horrible to see the whole party going to the sea cliff. "how do you do, mr. hamilton?" said squire moses, extending his withered hand to the new york merchant. "glad to see you come down to the old place once in a while." "ah, how do you do, squire wormbury?" replied mr. hamilton, taking the offered hand. "i mean to come down here every year." "my son keeps the island hotel," insinuated the squire. "he don't make quite so much show as bennington, but he will take good care of you, and feed you better. folks that know say he keeps the best house. and bennington has raised his price to three dollars a day; the island hotel is only two." moses wormbury considered the last argument as by far the most powerful one he could present. how any man could help wishing to save a dollar a day on his board, was more than the squire was able to comprehend. "i have already spoken for rooms at the sea cliff house, and they have made fires in them for us," replied mr. hamilton, unmoved by the old man's powerful appeal. "ethan will give you a fire, and not charge you anything extra for it, as they do at bennington's," added the squire. "he can accommodate the whole party if you will sleep two in a bed. you will save at least fifteen dollars a day by going to the island hotel." "as we have spoken for rooms at the sea cliff house, i think we ought to go there," answered the new yorker, rather coldly, unmoved by the economical considerations of the squire. "stage all ready, mr. hamilton," interposed leopold, who had listened with painful anxiety to a portion of the old man's arguments. the "stage" was a long wagon, like an omnibus, but with no top; and ethan saw, with an aching and an angry heart, the entire party of fifteen crowd into this vehicle. squire moses was not only vexed, he was downright mad. at any time it would have annoyed him, as well as ethan, to see fifteen "arrivals" go to the "other house," and not a single one to the island hotel. to the old man it was doubly grievous at the present time, for every day the party staid at the sea cliff house would put at least forty-five dollars into the pocket of its landlord; and he was afraid mr. bennington would be able to pay his interest money on the day it was due. he wanted the new hotel for his son, if he could get it cheap enough, that is, for one third or one half of its value. this dawning of prosperity upon the sea cliff was, therefore, very unwelcome to the squire and his son. leopold leaped upon the box with the driver as soon as the passengers were all seated, and the two horses tugged up the steep hill from the wharf with the heavy load. on the level road above, the excited teamster put the whip upon his horses, and dashed up to the hotel at full gallop. fifteen arrivals at once, at this time in the year, was very unusual, and everybody about the hotel was thrown into a fever of excitement. the landlord stood upon the piazza, with no hat on his head, bowed and scraped, and helped the ladies out of the wagon. the party were shown to the parlor, which the roaring fire had heated to a fever temperature, so that the perspiration stood upon the landlord's brow when he entered it. in the mean time leopold had hastened to his room to change his clothes, and make himself presentable to the party. "this is delicious--isn't it?" said one of the ladies, when she felt the warm air of the parlor. "it feels like a new world," added another. "what a blessing it will be to be warm and dry once more!" put in a third. "we have made fires in your rooms, ladies," interposed the polite landlord, doubly courteous under the avalanche of good fortune which had fallen upon him. "i will show you your rooms as soon as you wish." "let us get warm before we do anything," said mr. hamilton, removing his heavy coat. "you have a very nice house, mr. bennington." "we think it is pretty fair down here," replied the modest landlord. "we have a parlor up one flight, with a bed-room on each side, which leopold always calls 'mr. hamilton's rooms.' i think they will suit you; at any rate, i fitted them on purpose for your use." "that was very considerate," laughed the merchant. "the three rooms will just accommodate your family. i have four other parlors, not quite so large, with one bed-room to each," continued the landlord, looking around at the new yorkers, as if to ascertain their wants. "of course you needn't have private parlors, if you don't want them. i have plenty of nice single rooms." "we want the private parlors," replied mr. hamilton. "i did not expect to find such accommodations in rockhaven." "i think i know what a hotel ought to be," added the landlord. "by and by, if our guests don't want private parlors, we shall put beds in them." "squire moses says you have raised the price," laughed the rich merchant. "yes, sir: i couldn't afford to keep such a house as i mean to keep at two dollars a day in these times." "you have done quite right, and the price is very reasonable." "i shall have to charge five dollars a day for the parlors, if anybody wants them." "certainly; that is also proper; and we want five of them. now i will go to the office, and enter the names on the register," said mr. hamilton. their were five gentlemen with their wives, two single gentlemen, two young ladies, and one young gentleman of sixteen. rooms were assigned to them according to their several needs, and all the party expressed themselves as delighted with their accommodations. the furniture was not costly, but it was neat and comfortable. the beds were clean, and everything was in good order. the baggage, which the boats had brought ashore after landing the passengers, was conveyed by the wagon to the hotel. in less than an hour, the guests were all comfortable and happy. mr. bennington was on the jump all the time, and so was leopold. the landlady, who was also the cook, was "spreading herself" to the utmost upon the dinner. they all knew that the success of the house depended in a very great measure upon the satisfaction given to these wealthy and influential guests. the landlord, however, knew better than to waste his strength upon mere "style," for he could not expect to equal that to which his present patrons were all accustomed at home. he wanted the best of meats and vegetables, well cooked, and served hot. he knew very well that a teaspoonful of string beans, mashed potato, stewed tomato, or green peas, in a miniature dish, placed before a guest after it had been standing half an hour on the pantry table, was not eatable; and he governed himself accordingly. at dinner the guests appeared modestly dressed, and it would have been difficult to identify in them the bundles of water-proofs, shawls, and overcoats which had landed at the wharf. leopold had put on a "biled shirt," as he called it, and dressed himself in his best clothes. to him was assigned the duty of waiting upon mr. hamilton and his family. in his "store clothes" leopold was a good-looking fellow, and he was remarkably attentive to the wants of miss rosabel. the dinner proceeded satisfactorily to the new guests, as to the old ones. dr. heilenwinder declared that the soup was marvellously good; and when he learned that mrs. bennington, who made it was a german by birth, its excellence was explained to him. the fog and rain continued for three days, and the ladies of the party hardly ventured out of the house. the bowling alleys and billiard tables were in constant use, and every evening, in the large hall connected with the hotel, there was a dance, to which mr. hamilton invited many of the town's people. it was fun and frolic from morning till midnight; and no party weather-bound in a hotel ever enjoyed themselves more. the fourth day was bright and pleasant. chapter xiii. the excursion to high rock. the yacht party which had come to rockhaven in the orion, in spite of the fog and the rain, appeared to be very happy. if they were aristocratic in the metropolis, they were not so in their summer resort. though the party was large enough to enable them to "have a good time" without any assistance from outside of the hotel, they invited many of the people of rockhaven to join them in their indoor amusements. as mr. hamilton was a native of the town, he was quite at home there, though he had been absent from his boyhood. in addition to the dancing, the billiards, and the bowling, one of the gentlemen of the party was an elocutionist, and gave several "readings" in the parlor. a celebrated writing-master, who was a guest at the hotel, gave an exhibition of his sleight of hand tricks, in which he was almost as skillful as in the use of his pen. at the end of the third day it was voted that, in spite of the weather, the party had enjoyed themselves to the utmost. mr. bennington and leopold were unremitting in their efforts to make the guests comfortable and happy. but in spite of the enjoyment within doors, the new yorkers were glad to see the sun shine again. for the first time since their arrival they were permitted to gaze upon the rugged and beautiful scenery of the island. they were delighted with the cliffs, and with the views from them. most of the party spent the day in rambling about the town and in climbing the rocks; but the younger members of it insisted upon something more exciting. when leopold carried their coffee to rosabel and her friend isabel peterson, at the breakfast table, he found them very much excited. they were talking together with a furious enthusiasm, though there was to be no wedding, or even a grand ball. "we want to go to high rock right off after breakfast," said rosabel; and it appeared that the high spirits of the young ladies were produced simply by the anticipation of this excursion. "in the rosabel?" asked leopold. "yes, certainly," answered miss hamilton. "i will be ready for you," added the skipper. "high rock is such a delightful place!" exclaimed rosabel, turning to isabel again. "i went there twice last summer; and i never enjoyed myself so much as i did in climbing the rocks, and looking out upon the ocean. i want you to see the place at once, belle." "i shall be delighted to go, especially if we are to sail in the rosabel," replied miss peterson. "isn't it a nice thing to have a boat named after you!" "of course it is a very great honor," laughed rosabel, as she shook back the affluence of wavy auburn locks which fell upon her shoulders. "leopold is a real good fellow." "he is a very good-looking fellow, too," added isabel, in a lower tone. "his face is handsome, and if he were only dressed in good style, he would be magnificent." "i think he is nice now," said rosabel, candidly, and without a blush, for the little beauty was conscious of nothing but a kindly regard for the landlord's son. "he doesn't talk a bit country, and isn't clumsy and awkward, like many young fellows away from the city." "his manners are as pleasant as those of any young man i ever met. do you know, belle, he speaks german?" "what, leopold!" "he knows how to speak it a great deal better than i do, though he never studied it in school, as i have for two years." leopold had left the dining-room for a moment, so that he did not hear any of this conversation, and therefore had no idea how well he stood in the estimation of these young ladies. of course they did not intend that he should know; and the next remark of isabel, to the effect that she wished he was not a "waiter," would certainly have hurt his feelings. leopold had gone into the office, where he found a boy waiting for a chance to set up pins in the bowling alley, whom he sent for stumpy, with directions for him to have the rosabel ready immediately for the excursion to high rock. stumpy often went with him, and, as he intended to wear his good clothes on the trip, he wanted his help on this occasion. as soon as breakfast was finished, leopold was ready. his passengers were to be rosabel, isabel, and charley redmond, a young man of seventeen, and the son of one of the new yorkers in the party. the sloop was all ready when they reached the river. stumpy had hoisted the mainsail, and hauled her up where the passengers could embark without difficulty. "why, she is a real nice boat!" exclaimed isabel, as she seated herself in the standing-room. "i told you she was," replied rosabel. "quite nobby," added charley redmond, with a patronizing tone, as he adjusted his eye-glasses, for he was either near-sighted, or fancied that the glasses added to his dignity and importance. "i dare say this rustic is quite a boatman." "he may be a rustic, but he is not so green as you are, charley redmond," added isabel, indignantly; but she spoke for her friend rather than for herself. the "rustic" did not hear any of these remarks, for after helping the girls to their seats, he had gone to cast off the cable which stumpy was hauling in. but leopold did not like charley redmond, for the young gentleman was a person of ten times as much importance, in his own estimation, as his father. he was supercilious, and, unlike the rest of the party, looked down upon the boatman, and everybody else in the town. "of course you couldn't expect much of a fellow down here," added charley. "he knows twice as much as you do," retorted isabel, as the skipper took his place at the helm, thus putting an end to the conversation. "now shove her off, stumpy," said leopold. "stumpy!" ejaculated charley, with a laugh. "that's a romantic name." "his name is stumpfield wormbury," leopold explained. "he is a first-rate fellow." "no doubt of it," sneered the new yorker, who was not a good specimen of his _genus_, and could not appreciate such a "good fellow," with his brown face and coarse clothes. "he don't like his nickname very well, and when he objected to it, years ago, the fellows began to call him 'wormy.' he couldn't stand that, and is satisfied now to be called 'stumpy.'" "stumpy is better than wormy," added charley redmond. "hoist the jib," said leopold. the rosabel went off with a brisk breeze, at a speed which immediately rekindled the enthusiasm of the girls; and, to prolong the sail, leopold stood off into the bay, going around a small rocky island, a mile from the light-house. "it's rather rough out here," said charley redmond, when the sloop began to dance and leap on the waves thrown up by the fresh north-west wind. "it's delightful!" exclaimed isabel; "isn't it, rose?" "i think so, belle; i enjoy it above all things." "but the boat is rather small," suggested charley, as a cloud of spray dashed over the bow. "so much the better," added rosabel. when the sloop was a mile from the shore, where the water was not sheltered by the high cliffs, the white caps lighted up the bay, and it was very lively sailing. the rosabel, close-hauled, pitched smartly, and the spray soon drenched stumpy, who, presuming not to intrude himself into the presence of the new yorkers in the standing-room, remained upon the half-deck. mr. redmond was not willing to own it, but he was actually frightened, as leopold could see by the way he started when the boat pitched, and by the energy with which he held on to the washboard. "i don't know that i like this very well," said he, at last, with a sort of shudder. "it's perfectly splendid," exclaimed belle. "elegant," added rosabel. "i will come about whenever you wish, miss hamilton," said leopold. "o, no, not yet," protested isabel. "i think it is about time," put in charley. "it is cold and wet." the skipper enjoyed the starts and squirmings of the young gentleman. he had the boat perfectly in hand, though by this time she had all the wind she could stagger under. he knew very well that the most exciting part of the sail was yet to come, for he would have the wind free as soon as he came about. if the girls had not been on board, he would have let the boat over far enough to take in a few buckets of water, for the especial benefit of mr. redmond. he knew just how much she would bear, and he could do it with entire safety; but he did not care to alarm his fair passengers. having weathered the island, he let off the sheets a little. the rosabel heeled over, and promptly increased her speed. the wind came in gusts, and now every flaw carried her down to the washboard. mr. redmond was more uneasy than ever, but the girls only shouted in the exuberance of their delight. "i don't believe in this thing," said charley, at last, when his nervousness overcame him. "are you afraid, charley?" laughed belle. "of course i'm not afraid--ugh!" he muttered, as the sloop heeled over till the waves threatened to invade the standing-room. "you _are_ afraid charley." "i'm not afraid; but i don't think it is safe. i've been in boats enough to know that this isn't the way to do the thing. why don't you lower one of the sails, leopold?" "what for?" asked the skipper quietly. "you will upset the boat!" gasped charley. "no danger of that." "but i know there is: i have been in boats before," protested charley. "if the ladies wish me to reef the mainsail, i will do so," said leopold. "o, no; don't, don't, leopold!" cried belle. "i think this is just lovely." "fun alive--isn't it?" chimed in rosabel. "it would spoil it all to reef." "if we only had a man with us, it would be another thing," groaned mr. redmond, with a shudder, as the boat went down to her washboard again. "i think i am strong enough to handle her," suggested leopold. "but you don't understand it," exclaimed the new yorker, desperately. "if you think you understand it any better than i do, i am willing to let you take my place," said the skipper, with a smile. "o, no! don't let him! i should certainly be afraid then," cried belle. "i don't pretend to know anything about a boat; and i don't think you do," blubbered charley, angrily. "i think i can get along with her," added leopold, pleasantly. "this is a quiet time compared with what i have seen out here in this boat." mr. raymond continued to growl, and the girls continued to scream and "squeal" with delight when the sloop heeled over, and when the spray drenched their water-proofs. the rosabel was at least five miles from the land, still making things very lively on board, when a large schooner was seen dead ahead. "i've had enough of this thing," said charley, clinging to the washboard behind him. "if you don't turn round, or lower one of the sails, i shall call for help from that vessel." "what a simpleton you are!" exclaimed belle; and her remarks were often much stronger than rosabel could approve. leopold quietly put the helm up, and let off the sheets, so that the boat did not go within half a mile of the schooner. half an hour later he put her about, and, with the wind on the quarter, stood in towards high rock. being almost before the wind, the rosabel jumped, leaped, and "yawed" about more than ever; but she took in no more spray over her bow. she seemed to fly on her course, and charley redmond expected every moment to feel her go over. he held on with desperation, unnoticed now by the girls. in another half hour the sloop passed into the calmer waters, sheltered by the high cliffs. charley began to be brave again. "you feel better--do you, mr. redmond?" said the laughing belle. "i feel well enough." "you were afraid." "afraid--i? not a bit of it; at least not for myself," replied the young gentleman. "the boatman don't understand his business. that's the whole of this thing." "my father says he knows all about a boat; and he would trust him farther than he would most men," added rosabel. "didn't he take the orion into the river in the fog?" "he didn't manage the yacht: captain bounce was on board. i have been in boats before, and i think i can tell when a boatman knows his biz," replied charley, confidently. "i wasn't at all concerned about myself; but i was afraid he would drown you girls. you were placed in my care--" "were we? indeed! didn't we invite you to come?" demanded belle. "if you did, of course it was my duty, as a gentleman, to look out for you. no; i wasn't a bit concerned about myself; but i was afraid for you." "it was very kind of you to be afraid for us," sneered his fair tormentor. "it was very unselfish in you. i think i see you now, reckless of yourself, but trembling for our safety! i hope you will tell leopold how to manage a boat!" "i shall be glad to learn," laughed the skipper. leopold ran the sloop alongside a rock, which at this time of tide served as a wharf, and landed his party. rosabel led the way to the hole in the wall, and they soon disappeared in the deep ravine. the skipper would have been very glad to go with them, but he was not invited to do so; and without this formality he was unwilling to do that which might possibly be deemed an intrusion. rosabel wondered that he did not come with them, and would have been glad of his company; but as she did not feel herself above the boatman, it did not occur to her to ask him. "that fellow was scared--wasn't he, le?" said stumpy, when they were alone. "of course he was. he is a regular spooney," replied the skipper. "if the girls hadn't been with us, i would have put him through a course of sprouts." "he thinks he is a bigger man than the president of the united states. you won't catch him in the rosabel again." "i don't want to catch him there." "how long are they going to stay up there, le?" asked stumpy. "they won't come down for a couple of hours yet." "then i can dig a bucket of clams while we are waiting," added stumpy, as he took the shovel and a pail from the cuddy. leopold fastened the painter to the rocks, and followed his friend. the bucket was soon filled with clams, the largest and finest to be found on the coast, for they were seldom dug on this beach. in returning to the boat, they passed quite near coffin rock, and of course leopold could not help thinking of the hidden treasure in the sand. stumpy, with the bucket of clams in his hand, led the way to the spot, not exactly with the approbation of his companion, who was afraid that the waters had not yet smoothed over the beach so as to conceal his recent operations. "come, stumpy, ain't you going down to the boat?" asked leopold, as he began to move in a different direction from that of his friend. "no hurry--is there? _i_ want to go to the spring, and clean up a little," replied the clam-digger. "can't you do it down by the boat?" suggested the money-digger, who did not feel inclined to answer the questions which the disturbed state of the beach under coffin rock would put into the mouth of stumpy. "i never wash in salt water when i can get fresh. besides i want a drink." without intending to be obstinate, stumpy silently insisted upon having his own way, by directing his steps towards the springs, which flowed from the rocks not twenty feet from the hidden treasure. the pure water dropped from an overhanging cliff, in a kind of alcove in the precipice. it was clear and cold, and on a warm day it was emphatically a luxury. if the weather was not warm on the present occasion, stumpy was, for he had been digging deep into the sand and mud of the beach. the water dropping from the spring had formed a deep pool under the cliff, which overflowed, and was discharged by a stream flowing down the sands into the ocean. in this stream stumpy washed his face and hands, and then his feet, covered with the black mud which he had thrown up from under the sand at low tide. leopold sat down on a bowlder, some distance from the cliff, to wait for his companion. stumpy seemed to be determined to do just what his friend did not want him to do, for, as soon as he had washed his feet, he walked directly out of the alcove to the spot under coffin rock, taking the clams and shovel with him. "i say, le, can't we get up a clam-bake for the girls?" said he, calling to the skipper in the distance. "it won't pay," replied leopold, walking to the place where stumpy stood, exactly over the buried treasure. "why not? you said miss rosabel liked clams." "it will take too long. we must get back to the hotel by dinner time." "just as you say; but if the girls like clams, it would be a treat to them; and this is just the place to do this thing." "we haven't time to-day." "all right," replied stumpy, who seemed to be just then engaged in a survey of the locality. "what in the world were you doing here, le?" he added. "this sand looks as though it had been all dug over." no high tide had washed the beach since leopold dug for the treasure, and even his shovel marks were plainly to be seen under the overhanging rock. "i might as well tell him all about it," thought leopold. "i can trust him till the end of the world; and i should like to have some one to help me bear the burden of the secret." "what were you digging for, le?" repeated stumpy, his curiosity considerably excited. "can you keep a secret, stumpy?" "of course i can till the rocks crumble, and the earth sinks," replied he, warmly. leopold told him the whole story, from the first glimpse he had of harvey barth's diary, down to the finding of the bag of gold. "i swow!" exclaimed stumpy, drawing a long breath, when the narrative was finished. "twelve hundred in gold!" "i haven't counted it; but that's what the diary says," replied leopold. "you will be as rich as mud, le. gold! then it's worth double that in paper." "it don't belong to me," answered leopold, decidedly. "it belongs to you as much as it does to any one." "but i intend to find the owner, or the heirs of the man who buried the gold." "i wouldn't leave it here a day longer, if i were you, le," said stumpy. "somebody else will find it." this suggestion was considered for some time, and leopold finally concluded to dig up the treasure, and conceal it in some safer place. in a few moments more the shot bag was unearthed, and stumpy held it in his hand. "i swow! solid gold!" exclaimed he. "halveses!" shouted charley redmond, suddenly stepping between the money-diggers. chapter xiv. the fair thing. leopold immediately began to realize that he had no talent for concealment; that he was a sad bungler in the management of any business which was not open and above-board. this impertinent, disagreeable little coxcomb of a new yorker, without a warning sound to announce his coming, had suddenly stepped between him and stumpy, who held the hidden treasure in his hand. if there was any person in or about rockhaven from whom he would have particularly desired to keep his secret, it was mr. charles redmond, or any other person like him. both leopold and stumpy supposed the little new yorker with the eye-glass was making himself as agreeable as he could to the young ladies on the cliffs above. it is true there was an angle in the cliffs which concealed his approach from the eye, and the soft sand deadened the sound of footsteps to the ear; but both the money-digger and the clam-digger would have deemed it impossible for any one to come into their presence without being heard. but then both of them were absorbed in the unearthing of the treasure, and leopold made so much noise with his shovel that the sound of charley redmond's approach, if there were any, could not be heard. leopold looked at stumpy, and stumpy looked at leopold. the money-digger and the clam-digger realized that they were in a bad scrape. this little dandy in eye-glasses had certainly upset all leopold's plans for the disposition of the gold. "halveses!" shouted charley a second time, as he adjusted his eye-glasses, and fixed his gaze upon the wet shot-bag which contained the hidden treasure. "i think not," added leopold. "no? when a fellow finds any money, the rule is to divy with all present," added charley. "and for that reason you modestly ask for one half?" "well that's a conventional phrase, you see. of course i meant _shareses_. i shall be quite satisfied with one-third; and that's the way to do the thing." "where did you come from? i thought you were on the cliff with the young ladies," asked leopold. "i was there; but it seems that i came down just in the nick of time," replied the little fop. "the fact is, i drank too much wine last night, and it makes me thirsty to-day. i was almost choked, and the ladies had seated themselves on a rock, to enjoy a view of the boundless ocean, you see; and it looked to me just as though they intended to stay there all day, you see. in the mean time i was suffering with thirst; but it wasn't polite, you see, for me to leave them. it isn't the way to do the thing, you see. i knew they wouldn't want me to leave them." leopold looked at stumpy, and smiled significantly. [illustration: stumpy with the bag of gold. page .] "my throat was as parched as though i had spent a month in the desert of what-you-call-it, you see," continued mr. redmond. "i desired very much to come down to the boat and obtain a draught of cold water. i didn't expect to obtain a draft on a gold bank then--ha, ha! you see? not bad--eh? even a gentleman can't help making a pun sometimes, you see." "making a what?" asked leopold. "a pun--you see," laughed mr. redmond. "which was the pun?" "don't you see it? why, a draught of water, and a draft on a gold bank. ha, ha!" "o, that was it--was it? i'm much obliged to you for telling me." of course mr. redmond hardly expected a "countryman" to appreciate his wit. "_i_ was suffering with thirst, you see," continued the fop. "i think you said so before." "i wanted to introduce the matter so as not to be abrupt; not to tear myself rudely away from the ladies, you see. we were gazing out upon the vast ocean, you see; and a quotation from the poet--ah--a doosed odd sort of a thing, written by the poet--what's his name? you know--about an old salt that killed a wild goose, or some sort of a thing, and then had nothing to drink. i repeated the quotation, and both of the girls laughed: 'water, water, all around, but not a drop of whiskey to drink.'" "i don't wonder the girls laughed," replied leopold. "why so?" asked mr. redmond, blankly. "you didn't quote it just as the poet 'what-you-call-him' wrote it, stumpy can give it to you correctly." "'water, water everywhere; not any drop to drink,'" added stumpy; "and coleridge was the fellow that wrote it." "not correct," protested mr. redmond, emphatically. "do you mean to tell me that an old salt thought of drinking water? it isn't the way old salts do that sort of thing, you see." the coxcomb felt that he had the best of the argument, however astonished he was to find that these countrymen knew something about the poets. "i told the ladies that i felt just as that old salt did, only i would rather have water just then than whiskey, however good whiskey may be in its place, you see. from this it was quite easy to say that i was very thirsty; and i said so. though miss hamilton did not wish me to leave her, you see, she was kind enough to tell me that i should find a spring of nice cold water under the cliff. i apologized for leaving the ladies, you see; but they were so self-sacrificing as to say that i needn't climb up the rocks to join them again; they would soon meet me on the beach. isn't it strange how these girls will sometimes give up all their joys for a feller?" "the girls must be miserable up there without you," added leopold. "the water was clear and cold, and it suited me better than the whiskey that old salt wanted in the poem. i found a tin cup at the spring, and i drank half a gallon. i was very thirsty, you see. while i was drinking, i heard you talking about the bag of gold; and then i stepped in here under this rock, just in the nick of time. come, stumpy, cut the string of the bag, and let us divy before the ladies join us." "why should you want a share of it mr. redmond?" asked leopold very much embarrassed by the situation. "you are the son of a rich man, and seem to have all the money you want." "no, not at all. that isn't the way my governor does that sort of thing, you see. a year ago he used to do the handsome thing, and then i could give a champagne supper to my friends at delmonico's. but one night, you see, i came home just a little elevated, you see; and when i went up to my bed, i had the misfortune to tumble down--it was quite accidental, you see--near the door of my governor's chamber. the patriarch came out. i was rather bewildered, you see, by my fall; and he had the impertinence to tell me i was intoxicated. after that he reduced my allowance of pocket money about one half, so that i have been short ever since, you see. cruel--wasn't it? what would you say, leopold, if your governor should tell you you were intoxicated?" "if i had been drinking champagne, or any other kind of wine, i should believe he spoke the truth." "nonsense! you see, i'm a two-bottle man, and i was only just a little heavy, you see. but we are wasting time. let us proceed to business. i have told you just how this sort of thing ought to be done; and i ask only the fair thing, you see. how much is there in the bag?" added mr. redmond, extending his hand to stumpy to take the treasure. stumpy did not respond to this application for the money. on the contrary, he handed it to leopold. "how much is there? do you know?" repeated the fop. "i do know: the bag contains twelve hundred dollars in gold," replied leopold, as he dropped the four-pound bag into his trousers pocket, where it weighed heavily upon his starboard suspender. "bully for you, my countryman;" exclaimed mr. redmond. "twelve hundred dollars in gold! that's four hundred apiece, you see; and i don't ask for more than my third. four hundred in gold! and that's over eight hundred dollars in greenbacks at the present time! i can give a dozen champagne suppers on that, you see; and when you fellows come to new york, i shall invite you to one of them, and tell my friends the romantic incident of the finding of the bag of gold." "i don't believe that any of this money will be spent for champagne suppers--at least, not yet a while," replied leopold. "aren't you going to divy?" demanded mr. redmond, looking as though he had regarded such a disposition of the treasure as a foregone conclusion. "i am not going to divy." "no? but that's mean you see." "i don't see it." "but it's the thing to do, when you find any money, you see." "do you think you had any share in finding it, mr. redmond?" asked leopold, quietly, as he began to move towards the boat. "i was looking on when you found it, leopold; and it's the rule, you see, in such cases, to divy. i was here when you unearthed the thing." "no, you were not," answered leopold, decidedly. "i dug it before you came to rockhaven." "i don't claim any share of it," stumpy put in. "le didn't find it by accident. no part of it belongs to me, and i don't ask for a dollar of the money." "o, you don't!" exclaimed mr. redmond; "then leopold and i will divy even, you see; half to each." "we shall not divide at all," added the skipper of the rosabel, who had by this time reached the flat rock where the sloop was made fast. "see here, leopold; do i understand you to say that you are going to keep the whole?" asked charley redmond, very seriously. "that would be mean, you see. it would be the way a swine would do that sort of thing." "i don't intend to divide at all, or to keep it myself. it don't belong to me any more than it does to you," protested leopold. "didn't you find it?" "of course i did." "then it belongs to you." "not at all. if you pick up a pocket-book in the street of new york, does it belong to you, or to the one that lost it?" "that's another sort of a thing, you see. this is money buried on the sea-shore by captain kidd, or some of those swells of pirates. it don't belong to anybody, you see." "this gold was not buried by pirates." "who did bury it, then? that's the conundrum." "his name was wallbridge." "did you know him?" asked mr. redmond. "no; i never saw him." "well, where is he now?" "he is dead; he was lost on the brig waldo, which went down by those rocks you see off there," replied leopold, pointing to the reefs. "then he is dead!" exclaimed the fop, with a new gleam of hope. "then he has gone to the happy hunting-ground, where gold isn't a hundred and twenty above par; and he won't have any use for it there, you see. the right thing to do is to divy." "i think not. if your father had lost twelve hundred dollars in gold on this beach, and went to the happy hunting-ground before he found it, you would not say that the money belonged to me, if i happened to dig it up," added leopold, earnestly, for he had some hope of convincing the new yorker of the correctness of the position he had taken, and of inducing him to keep the secret of the hidden treasure until its ownership had been fully investigated. "that's another sort of a thing, you see," replied mr. redmond. "in that case, the money would belong to me, as his nearest heir, and i should have the pleasure of spending the whole amount, thus unexpectedly reclaimed from the sands of the sea, in champagne suppers at delmonico's up-town house. that would be the fair thing, you see." "i think so myself; and i purpose to act on precisely the principle you suggest. mr. wallbridge, to whom the money belonged, has gone to the happy hunting-ground, where i don't want to trouble him to hunt for this bag of gold. for aught i know, mr. wallbridge had had a handsome, refined accomplished son, familiar with the poets, to whom this money now belongs just as much as though he were here to claim it; though i hope, when he gets it, that he will not spend the whole or any part of it in champagne suppers. i see that we are perfectly agreed in this matter, and that you think the way i mention is the right way to do this sort of thing." mr. redmond felt that he had been whipped in the argument; and he was very much dissatisfied with himself for the admission he had made in the supposed case, and very much dissatisfied with leopold for the advantage he had taken of the admission. "who was the feller that buried the money?" he demanded, feeling his way to another argument in favor of a division. "mr. wallbridge." "who was he?" "i don't know." "you haven't been introduced to him?" "no." "what do you know about him?" "nothing." "then how did you know he had a good-looking son, familiar with the poets?" "i don't." "that was what you said." "i only supposed a case. so far as we know now, no one was acquainted with mr. wallbridge. no one knows anything at all about him." "all right, then. all we have to do is to divy." "not yet. i am going to see the owners of the waldo, in which mr. wallbridge was a passenger. they know nothing about him, i am aware; but i am going to ask them to write to their agents in havana, and ascertain who he was." "that's taking a good deal of trouble for nothing, you see," added mr. raymond, with a look of disappointment and dissatisfaction. "that is just what i am going to do, any how," replied leopold, firmly. "the money don't belong to me, and i intend to keep it safely till the heirs of wallbridge appear to claim it; or at least, till i am satisfied there are no heirs. when that time comes, i shall be willing to _consider_ the question of dividing it with stumpy and you." "i don't think any of it belongs to me," added stumpy. "i think a share of it belongs to me; but i am willing to discount my claim, you see." "discount it?" queried leopold. "i can't wait a year or two till you find out whether or not the man that buried the gold has any heirs or not." "i am very sorry you are so impatient." "i want the money now, when my governor is cruel to me. besides, in two years gold may be down to par, and it won't bring anything more than its face, you see. i want to do the fair thing. give me two hundred dollars in gold, and i will relinquish my claim: discount it, you see." "no, mr. redmond; i cannot sell or discount what don't belong to me. they may do it in new york, but some of us countrymen haven't yet learned how to do that thing, you see," laughed leopold. "say one hundred, then." "not a single dollar. the best i can do is to promise that i will _consider_ the question of a division when i feel that the money belongs to the finder." mr. redmond argued the point in all its bearings, but with no different result. "but how long will it be before you find out whether this man had any heirs?" asked he. "i may ascertain in a month or two. it don't take but a week or ten days for a letter to go to havana." "then i must wait, i suppose," mused the fop. "you must, indeed." "but i am sure you will find no heirs." "i may not." "leopold, i'll tell you what i will do. i want to be fair, you see." "i see." "give me two hundred in gold now, and then, if you find any heirs, i will agree to pay the money back to you. that's fair, you see." "perhaps it is," laughed leopold, amused at the desperation of the coxcomb; "but one so busy as you are, and will always be, in a great city like new york, might forget to send me the money." "i will give you my note for it." "your note would not be worth any more than mine, for neither of us is of age. if you will give me your father's note i will think about it." "my father's note! i don't want my governor to know anything about this business, you see. i want this money for my private purse, so that i can give a champagne supper when i please." "i am afraid we shall not be able to manage the business, mr. redmond. you know i was to _consider_ your claim, when i found there were no heirs." "o, you mean to cheat me out of it." "i promised to _consider_ your claim. but in the mean time i don't want anything said about this money in rockhaven. it would make too much talk." "o, you want me to keep the secret--do you?" demanded mr. redmond, with a new gleam of hope. "i do." and leopold explained some of the reasons which induced him to desire that the hidden treasure should still remain a secret. "if you mean to do the fair thing, of course i shall keep still, you know. give me my share, and i will keep as still as the man that has gone to the happy hunting-ground." "i can't promise anything." "neither can i," said the fop, angrily; for by this time he had come to the conclusion that leopold did not intend to do "the fair thing." the money-digger was appalled to think of having the story of the buried treasure told all over rockhaven, and perhaps being compelled to hand it over to his father before he had made any effort to find the heirs of the lost passenger. on the other hand, he could neither divide the money at the present time, nor promise to do so in the future, with the troublesome visitor; and the former was the less of the two evils. the appearance of the young ladies on the beach, as they emerged from the hole in the wall, put an end to the argument; but leopold hoped yet that he should be able to prevail upon mr. redmond to be silent in regard to the treasure. "i am very glad to see you again, ladies," said the fop, running toward them as they approached. "i hope you will pardon me for leaving you, and for not returning, for a matter of some little importance prevented me from joining you again." "you are very excusable, mr. redmond," replied rosabel. "we contrived to pass away the time in your absence." "thank you for your kind consideration." "we didn't suffer much for the want of you, charley redmond," added belle. the party immediately embarked in the rosabel, which was soon under way on the return to rockhaven. but the wind was dead ahead, and even fresher than when they had come down to high rock. leopold stood directly out to sea, making only one tack in reaching the river. it was very rough, and mr. redmond soon lost all his elasticity of spirit, and forgot all about the hidden treasure of high rock, in his fears for his own safety. but, in spite of the gale, the rosabel went into the river without accident, under the skillful management of the skipper, though the entire party were thoroughly drenched by the spray. as soon as leopold had landed his passengers, and securely moored the sloop, he hastened, before going to the hotel, to the shop of his uncle. without any explanation, he dropped upon the watch-maker's counter the shot-bag, in which the gold chinked as it fell, to the intense astonishment of herr schlager. [illustration: "donner und blitz." page .] chapter xv. the waldo's passenger. "donner _und blitz_!" exclaimed herr schlager, when he realized that the wet and sandy bag on the counter before him contained money, for he was too familiar with the chink of gold to mistake the sound. _"was haben sie, hier, leopold?"_ "money, gold, specie, coin, _geld_," replied the boatman, hardly less excited than his teutonic uncle. "so mooch golt! der bag is wet mit der sand, and covered mit salt water! himmel! where so much money haf you found, leopold?" "put it in the safe, uncle, and we will talk about it afterwards," added the young man. "i haven't opened this bag, and i don't want it opened." "no? what for you want him not to be open?" "it is not mine." "not your money? dat is bad!" "i wish it were mine, certainly, uncle; but, as it is not, i mean to take good care of it for the owner." "den i sall seal up der bag for you," replied the watch-maker, taking a piece of red tape from one of his drawers, which he wound tightly over the original string of the bag. then, lighting the spirit-lamp which he used with his blow-pipe, he melted a large mass of sealing-wax upon the knot of the red tape, and pressed upon it the great seal hanging from his watch-chain. herr schlager was a simple-minded man, and doubtless he believed that the seal was a perfect protection to the contents of the bag. possibly he thought that no mortal man would dare to "cut the red-tape." leopold was less superstitious in regard to the sanctity of a seal; and he relied more upon the protective power of the iron safe than upon that of the tape or seal. his uncle lodged in a little room in the rear of his shop for the better security of his goods; and the young man felt that the treasure would be safe in the watch-maker's strong-box. herr schlager dropped the bag into one of the drawers of the safe. "now, where you was get him?" demanded the teuton, as he closed the iron door. "i dug it out of the sand on the beach at high rock, uncle," replied leopold. "den it pelongs to you, mine poy." "not at all, uncle; at least, not yet a while." leopold told the whole story, from harvey barth's diary down to date, as briefly as he could. "if i don't find any owner, i suppose the money belongs to me," he added. "himmel! yes!" answered the watch-maker. "now, uncle, don't you let anybody, not even my father, have the bag without my consent." "no, leopold; nobody shall touch him," added herr schlager, as he locked the door of the safe, and put the key in his pocket. the money-digger was satisfied that his uncle would be faithful to the letter of his promise; and he hastened back to the hotel, to attend to his usual duties. but the malignant little mr. redmond had already told the story of the hidden treasure, so far as he new it, to an audience in the office of the sea cliff house, which included the landlord. of course the narrative was full of interest; and in the course of half an hour it was travelling from mouth to mouth up the main street of rockhaven as rapidly as though it had been written out, and sent by express. when the finder of the treasure entered the hotel office, the subject was still under discussion. "leopold wouldn't do the fair thing, and divy with stumpy and me," said the little fop, when he had finished his story. "if he had, i would have kept the whole thing secret as he wished me to do." "why should he share the money with you, charley?" demanded mr. hamilton. "because i was in at the death, and that's the way to do the thing when any money is found. leopold was mean about it." "perhaps he was; but my boy hasn't the reputation of being mean," added the landlord. "i don't think charley has any claim," said mr. redmond, senior, the father of the _other_ mr. redmond, "however it may be with stumpy." "here he is, to speak for himself," added mr. hamilton, as leopold entered the room. "they say you are mean because you would not divide the money with charley. how is that, my boy?" "i certainly would not divide with him, or with anybody, for that matter," replied the skipper of the rosabel. "i found the money, all alone by myself, on the night before the orion arrived. i left it where it was, because i did not know what to do with it," replied leopold. "where is it now?" asked the landlord. "in my uncle's safe. i have not opened the bag, and uncle leopold sealed it up. i told him not to let anybody touch it without my consent." "i think that is the safest place for it," said mr. bennington. "then it appears that miss liverage was not crazy, after all." "she was right in every respect. if she could have told me where to look for the gold, i should have found it," replied leopold. "but how happened you to find it?" asked mr. hamilton. "i didn't happen to find it, sir. i went right to the place where it was, and dug it up, after i had read the directions in harvey barth's diary." "but where did you get the diary, leopold?" inquired the landlord. "i found it in the chimney, when the old house was pulled down." "you didn't say anything about it," added mr. bennington, rather reproachfully. "you laughed at me, father, after miss liverage had gone, and i thought i wouldn't say anything more until i found out whether miss liverage was crazy or not. then, when i read the diary, i didn't know but harvey barth might have been crazy when he wrote it, for i couldn't find any such rock as he mentioned till i went down to high rock in a thunder-storm. i am willing to tell all i know about it; but it's rather a long story." "and dinner is nearly ready," added the landlord, glancing at the clock. "what is it? we want to know about it," said belle peterson, rushing into the office, followed by rosabel. the story had been carried to the parlor by mr. redmond, junior, who had so little confidence in the future intentions of leopold, that he had revealed the secret from motives of revenge. "we will hear the story after dinner," said mr. hamilton. "we want to hear it, too," interposed miss belle. "yes father," added rosabel; "and all the ladies in the parlor want to hear it." "then leopold shall tell it in the parlor, if he is willing." "i'm willing, sir," replied leopold. "all i have to say about the money now is, that i believe it belongs to somebody--to the heirs of the man who buried it in the sand; and, as i told stumpy and mr. redmond, i intend to find those heirs, if i can." "that's right, leopold," exclaimed mr. hamilton, patting the boatman's shoulder. "be honest before you are generous." leopold and his father went to the dining-room, to prepare for their duties there. the landlord did not think as much as usual at this time about his chowder, chicken, and roast beef. the time was rapidly approaching when the interest on the mortgage note would be due. his new york guests had not paid their bills in whole or in part, and he was still very short of funds. the vision of this twelve hundred dollars in gold which his son had dug up from the sands of the sea, was intensely exciting to him. the gold transmuted into currency, when a dollar of the one was worth more than two of the other, would enable him to pay his interest and discharge the mortgage upon his furniture. he wanted the money, and he was not particularly pleased with leopold's idea of finding, at some remote period, the heirs of the man who had buried it. however, mr. bennington was an honest man; and further consideration of the subject would undoubtedly convince him that his son was exactly right and nobly just. the dinner at the sea cliff house was as good, though no better than usual; but the guests, after the abundance of exercise during the forenoon, were in better condition to enjoy it. they did enjoy it; and they talked about the hidden treasure of high rock while they did so. while they were eating and talking, and the landlord and his son were waiting upon them, the story of the bag of gold was travelling up the main street of the village, and, following the angles and bifurcations of the highways, was penetrating to the remotest corner of the town. among other places, it went to the island house, and ethan wormbury was utterly dismayed when he had listened to it. though it was almost dinner-time, he left the few guests in his house to wait upon themselves, and hastened over to his father's house, where he found that the astounding news had preceded him. squire moses was as much disconcerted and cast down as his son had been. "twelve hundred dollars in gold!" exclaimed the old man, wiping the perspiration from his bald head. "of course bennington will be able to pay his interest money now," added ethan. "i suppose so," groaned the squire. "but where on earth did the money come from? who buried it in the sand?" "one of the men that was lost on the waldo." "who was he?" "i don't know," replied ethan, for not many of the particulars in regard to the hidden treasure had yet been circulated. "but they say stumpy was with young bennington when he found the money." "what! stumpy! with him! then they will divide it between them!" exclaimed squire moses; and the amiable old gentleman did not seem to rejoice at this possible accession of fortune on the part of his grandson. "i don't know about that," said ethan, who was certainly not less troubled than his worthy patriarch. "but they ought not to touch the money--none of them. it belongs to the heirs of the man that was drowned. it ain't no better'n stealing to keep the gold," continued squire moses, with an overflow of honest indignation. "that's so," added ethan, sharing the virtuous sentiments of his father. "of course the money belongs to somebody, if the man that buried it is dead. but i want to know more about it; and i'm going down to see stumpy." "i'll go with you, ethan," said the squire; and together they left the house. "if they should keep the money, and divide it, joel's widow would pay off the mortgage on the house, and bennington would settle up his interest money on the first of july, i suppose," mused ethan aloud, as they walked along the street. the landlord of the island house appeared to be disposed to look the facts squarely in the face, however disagreeable they might be. if the money was divided, he could not expect to become the landlord of the new hotel, which was the height of his ambition. "i don't know," replied squire moses. "i don't go near bennington now; i don't say anything to him about the interest money; i don't want to disturb him, or to set him a thinking. he not only promises to pay the interest, but he promises to pay it on the first day of july. if he don't do it at the right time, i shall foreclose. i believe the man is ruined now; and the longer i wait, the more money i shall lose. he ought to know that such a big hotel, furnished as extravagantly as the new house, would not pay in such a place as rockhaven. he can never recover himself in the world." "but, father, even if the boys don't divide the gold, bennington's customers will pay him enough to enable him to settle the interest," suggested ethan, whose hopes were somewhat inflated by the reasoning of his father. "that may be; but bennington owes everybody in town, and his expenses for keeping those new yorkers in his house are enough to swamp him. i don't believe he'll think of the interest at all, he's so busy, till after it is too late. he owes jones three hundred dollars of borrowed money, which jones lent him till the first of july, when he is to pay the mortgage on his house. i've already told jones i couldn't wait a single day for my money; and he will have to make bennington pay. then i have hinted to green, the market-man, butler, the grocer, and others bennington owes, that they had better look out and get their pay before the first of july. they are after him now, and he promises to pay them all just as soon as these new york folks settle for their board. if bennington ain't short on the first of july, i'll lose my guess," said the old man; and he believed that he had made things intensely hot for his creditor. "i can count up over a thousand dollars he has promised to pay by the first of july." in justice to the landlord of the sea cliff house, it should be said that squire moses had overstated the facts, for mr. bennington had not _promised_ to pay, but had merely expressed his hope and belief that he should be able to do so in the month of july. he actually owed, besides his interest, about seven hundred dollars; and his debts troubled him sorely. he could only hope that his creditors would wait a few weeks, though even now they harassed him every day of his life. squire moses and ethan entered the cottage of joel's widow, and found the family at dinner. they did not knock at the door, or stand upon any ceremony. "stumpy, what's this story about the money found on the beach?" demanded squire moses, as though he felt that he had a right to know. now, half a dozen persons had already spoken to stumpy about the hidden treasure, and he was aware the subject was no longer a secret. "leopold found a bag of gold buried on the beach," replied stumpy; and without reserve, he proceeded to tell all he knew about the treasure. "and you and he are going to divide this money between you!" exclaimed squire moses, jumping at once to the point, as soon as stumpy had told the story. "who says we are?" asked stumpy, indignantly. "that is what they say," added ethan, who had, possibly, heard such a suggestion, as the narrative became distorted in its passage along the main street. "i want to tell you, susan wormbury," continued squire moses, addressing himself to "joel's widow," as he and ethan usually called her,--"i want to tell you, susan wormbury, that i don't believe this boy has been brought up right. you ought to have brought him up to be honest." "like his grandfather!" exclaimed stumpy, sullenly. "yes, like your grandfather," added the squire, severely. "no man can say that moses wormbury ever stole a cent from anybody." this remark evidently indicated the boundary line of the squire's homestead. "done just the same thing," muttered stumpy. "why, father, stumpy is a good boy," pleaded mrs. wormbury. "if he takes any of this money, it will be just the same as stealing it," added the squire, projecting the remark savagely at the trembling widow of his lost son. "who is going to take any of it?" demanded stumpy, springing to his feet, with his mouth full of fried fish. "you! you and bennington's son are going to divide it between you!" "its no such thing," protested stumpy. "i wish we were, though." "do you say you are not?" "i do say so! leopold thinks the money belongs to the heirs of the man who buried it on the beach; and he is going to try to find them." "that alters the case," replied the squire, more mildly. "i hope the man's heirs will get the money for it belongs to them." "i hope everybody will get what belongs to him," said stumpy; but the remark was too indefinite to be appreciated by his amiable grandfather. "you have no right to a dollar of this money, stumpy; and if you touch it, i want you to understand that it will be stealing." "i have nothing to do with the money. le bennington found it, and he knows what to do with it. if he chooses to give me some of it, i will take it fast enough." squire moses and ethan were both satisfied, so far as stumpy was concerned; and they were rejoiced to know that leopold intended to keep the gold until he could find the heirs of the man who had committed it to the sand. "susan," said squire moses, as he turned to depart, "i told you that you might stay in this house till the first of august; and so you may; but i am going to foreclose the mortgage right off, so that i can get legal possession sooner. it won't make any difference to you." the old miser did not wait to hear any reply to this announcement; but the tears dropped from the widow's eyes as the door closed upon the hard old man. the squire and ethan walked down to the main street, talking with every one they met about the treasure, protesting that it ought to be kept for the heirs of the rightful owner, and manufacturing public sentiment which should compel the landlord of the sea cliff house and his son to pursue this course. it is true that the people of rockhaven were very much surprised to hear squire moses and his son preaching such a doctrine; but they were willing to accept it, for it seemed to be just and right that the heirs should have what plainly belonged to them. unknown to them, and not yet with the entire approbation of his father, leopold was their ally in directing public sentiment. after dinner, the parlor of the sea cliff house was filled by the new yorkers and others who desired to hear the narrative of the finding of the hidden treasure. leopold, in his best clothes, washed, dressed, and combed for a great occasion, appeared at the door of the parlor with harvey barth's diary in his hand. stumpy, who had come over to see him in regard to the exciting topic, followed him, and took a back seat in one corner of the room. the money-digger was not a little abashed when he saw so many pairs of eyes directed towards him; but he commenced his story, and soon recovered his self-possession. he began with the wreck of the waldo, for the new yorkers knew little or nothing of this exciting event. he then came to the appearance of harvey barth at the cliff house, and detailed all the incidents relating to the diary, the visit of miss sarah liverage, and the finding of the journal when the chimney was pulled down. leopold stated he had read only those portions of the diary which related to the treasure; and then he read the description from the book of the burying of the gold in the thunder and lightning. he had dug the beach all over, under the instruction of the nurse; and he had been unable to find the bag even after he read the journal, until he went down to high rock in a thunder shower. then, for the first time, he could distinguish coffin rock. thus guided, he had found the treasure. leopold then gave his views in regard to the ownership of the gold, and declared that he intended to keep the money in his uncle's safe till he had seen the owners of the waldo, and they had sent to havana. this statement to the astonishment and confusion of the money-digger, was followed by hearty applause, in which even the ladies joined. public sentiment in the parlor earnestly indorsed his views. "leopold reads very well," said mr. hamilton; "and as we desire to rest for an hour or two, i suggest that he read the diary to us from the time the waldo left havana." this suggestion was warmly applauded, and verbally seconded by half a dozen of the party. leopold consented under this pressure, and read for a full hour, till he came to the afternoon of the day on which the brig was lost; in a word, till he came to what harvey barth had just written when wallbridge came to the galley to light his pipe, as recorded in the first chapter of this story. the steward did not believe the passenger's name was wallbridge, as written on the waldo's papers. he did not see what he had changed his name for, and hoped he hadn't done anything wrong. "'he gave his name as j. wallbridge,' leopold read from the diary; 'but that was not the name i found on the paper in his state-room, when i made up his bed on the day we sailed from havana, though the initials were the same. then he lent me his bible to read one day, and this other name was written on it in forty places, wherever there was any blank paper. i wanted to borrow the bible again, but he would not lend it to me; and i thought he remembered about his name being written in it so many times. i saw the same name stamped on a white shirt of his, which he hung up to air on deck to-day. the name was not j. wallbridge either; it was joel wormbury.'" "my father!" shouted stumpy, springing to his feet. chapter xvi. gold and bills. stumpy was an excited young man. he had come into the parlor on the invitation of leopold, and had very modestly coiled himself away in the most obscure corner of the room. he was very much interested in the reading of harvey barth's diary, and especially in regard to the mysterious passenger. when leopold read the name of "joel wormbury," he could no longer contain himself. he leaped from his corner, and shouted as though he had been hailing the rosabel half a mile off. "my father!" repeated he; and all eyes were fixed upon him. stumpy was excited, not so much, we must do him the justice to say, because there was money involved in the fact, as because the name and memory of his father were dear to him. "that man was stumpy's father as true as the world!" said mr. bennington. "it is a very remarkable affair," added mr. hamilton. "such things don't often happen." "but i haven't the slightest doubt that this wallbridge was joel wormbury," replied the landlord. "i'm sure of it," exclaimed stumpy. "i know all about that bible; i've seen it twenty times; and mother always used to put it into father's chest when he was going away fishing." "i don't know about that, stumpy," interposed mr. bennington, with a smile of incredulity; "i'm afraid it won't hold water." "what's the reason it won't?" demanded stumpy, who was entirely satisfied in regard to the identity of the sacred volume. "i used to carry it to sunday school sometimes; and i've seen my father's name written in forty places in it, wherever there was a page or part of a page not printed on, just as harvey barth says in his diary. i don't believe there is any mistake about that." "but the writer of this journal appears to have been considerably exercised about the passenger's change of name," said mr. hamilton, before the landlord had an opportunity to explain why he doubted the truth of the statement in regard to the bible. "harvey barth hoped mr. wallbridge had not done anything wrong." "he hadn't done anything wrong," protested stumpy, warmly. "why should he change his name, then?" asked the ex-congressman. "for the fact that he did so appears to be well established." "there was a reason for it," replied the landlord, "though as stumpy says, joel wormbury had done nothing wrong. joel was attacked by a man in liquor, and in self-defence he struck the assailant on the head with a bottle, and supposed that he had killed him. he left rockhaven in a great hurry, in order to escape the consequences. he did not even go to his house before he left town, afraid, perhaps, of finding a constable there waiting for him. he went off in such a hurry, that i don't believe he thought to take his bible with him." the landlord bestowed a smiling glance upon stumpy, satisfied that he had as completely demolished the bible argument as though he had been a practised theologian. "if my mother was only here, she could tell you all about that," said stumpy. "do you think he went home for the bible before he left?" asked mr. bennington. "i know he didn't." "where did he get the bible, then?" asked the landlord. "i'll tell you; and i won't say a word that i can't prove," replied stumpy, warmly. "you are not among enemies, or those who are at all inclined to doubt your word, young man," added mr. hamilton. "i'll tell you about it, then; but i wish my mother was here, with the letters my father wrote to her." "we are willing to believe all you say, stumpy," said the landlord. "you thought that what i said would not hold water, just now." "but i explained why i thought so." "and the doubt was certainly a reasonable one," added the merchant; "now we only wait for you to remove it." "i will do that and i can prove all i say by my father's last letter to my mother, which is post-marked at gloucester, mass., in which he told all about the fight, and gave the reasons why he cleared out." in answer to a question asked by one of the ladies, stumpy related more fully the particulars of joel wormbury's departure from rockhaven. "about six months before my father went off for the last time, he returned to gloucester from a fishing trip to the georges," continued stumpy. "he expected to go again in a few weeks; so he left his chest in gloucester. his bible was in that chest; but, as he found work coopering at home, he did not go again till he left after the fight. in his letter to my mother, he said he had got his chest, and that he had the bible all right. he wrote, too, that he meant to read it more than he had ever done before, and not use it to scribble in. that was the last letter we ever got from father. we heard that he had gone out to attend to the trawls, and was lost in a fog, not being able to find his way back to the vessel. of course we hadn't any doubt that he was dead, after we got a letter from the captain of the schooner in which my father sailed. that's all i know about it." "but how came he in havana?" asked mr. hamilton. "that's more than i know, sir," answered stumpy. "harvey barth could not have known anything about joel wormbury," added leopold; "and he wrote his diary, it appears on the very day the waldo was lost." "there can be no doubt that wallbridge and joel wormbury were one and the same person," said mr. hamilton. "the name which harvey barth found on the paper, the initials, on his valise, the name on the shirt, and written forty times in the bible, fully establish the fact in my mind." "and in mine, too," said leopold. "stumpy, the gold is yours, and i will give it to you whenever you are ready to take it." "this is a go!" exclaimed stumpy, with a broad grin on his brown face. "we need the money bad enough; and my mother will jump up six feet when she hears the news. somebody else won't feel good about it, i'll bet." stumpy did not explain to whom the last remark related; but he experienced the most lively satisfaction when he thought of the pleasure it would afford him to see his mother tender the seven hundred dollars in payment of the mortgage note. it occurred to him then that the business ought not to be postponed a single day, for squire moses had announced his intention of foreclosing the mortgage at once. "how much money is there in the bag?" asked the merchant. "twelve hundred dollars in gold," replied leopold; "and the diary says joel wormbury saved it in two years from his earnings in cuba." "joel was an industrious and prudent man," added the landlord. "it is very fortunate that the hidden treasure fell into honest hands," continued mr. hamilton, turning to leopold; whereupon all the company clapped their hands, and the skipper of the rosabel blushed like a school-girl. "he's a noble fellow!" exclaimed miss rosabel. "a pious swell," added charley redmond, with a sneer. the business of the meeting having been thus happily accomplished, the occupants of the parlor departed. "come stumpy, i want to hand the money over to you," said leopold. "i don't want it now," replied stumpy. "i shouldn't dare to take it into the house, for fear my beloved grandad should steal it. i think he would find some way to do it, without calling the deed by any hard name." "what are you going to do with the gold, stumpy?" asked mr. hamilton. "hand it over to my mother. squire moses is going to foreclose the mortgage on the house we live in right off. i want to head him off on that before night." "but gold, you know, is worth a large premium just now. i saw by my paper which came to-day that it was in new york," continued the merchant. "i'll go and tell my mother about it," said stumpy, moving off. "stop a moment, my boy," interposed mr. hamilton. "if you are going to pay off the mortgage you should do so in currency, not in gold. i will buy your coin, and assist you in this business." "thank you, sir," replied stumpy, warmly. "i will pay you the market rate for your gold, whatever the papers report it to be for to-day." mr. hamilton was certainly very kind; and stumpy felt that, with such a powerful friend, he had the weather-gage of his avaricious grandfather. leopold led the way to the shop of his uncle, and the new york merchant joined them. "i want the gold, uncle," said leopold. "what for you want him?" demanded herr schlager. "i have found the owner." "_donner and blitz!_ den he is no more your golt." "no, uncle; but i feel better in handing it over to stumpy than i should in spending it myself," laughed leopold. "_himmel!_ stumpy!" "yes stumpy." and the money-digger briefly stated the facts which had been discovered. "_donner and blitz!_ i'm glad for der poy, but sorry for you," added the watch-maker, as he took from the safe the shot-bag containing the treasure. "take it, stumpy. it is yours," said leopold. "open it." "i can't exactly believe in this thing yet, le," replied stumpy, as, with trembling hand, he cut the red tape, and demolished the sacred seal of herr schlager. turning the bag over, he poured the gold out upon the counter. the money was american coin, which joel wormbury had probably purchased in havana, to avoid the necessity of exchanging it after his return to rockhaven. mr. hamilton counted the money, and found that harvey barth's statement was again correct. "now figure it up, my boy. then we will finish this transaction at once," said the merchant. "i shall not be able to pay you in full for it to-day; but i have credits in belfast and rockland, and you shall have the whole of it by to-morrow night for we intend to cross the bay in the orion to-morrow." leopold and stumpy both did the sum, multiplying twelve hundred by two hundred and eight, and pointing off two decimals in the product. "twenty-four hundred and ninety-six dollars!" exclaimed leopold. "that's what i make it," added stumpy, "what a pile of money!" mr. hamilton, who had left new york prepared to pay the heavy expenses of his yacht excursion, counted off twelve one hundred dollar bills, which he handed to stumpy. "i will give you my note for the balance," said the merchant. "creation!" cried stumpy, looking the bills over, his eyes dilated till they were nearly as big as saucers--small saucers. "here's more money than i ever saw!" mr. hamilton wrote the note, and gave it to stumpy. it was made payable to the order of sarah wormbury. "but i don't want all this money. i don't know what to do with it," exclaimed stumpy, embarrassed by his sudden riches. "you shall have the rest to-morrow night," added mr. hamilton. "i would rather not have it just yet." "as you please. if i retain it, i shall pay you interest," replied the merchant. "interest! hold on, now, hold on, all!" almost shouted stumpy, turning from the bills which still lay on the counter, and looking leopold square in the face. "i'm a hog! i'm a pig, just out of the sty!" "what's the matter now?" demanded mr. hamilton, laughing heartily at the odd manner of stumpy. "here i've been thinking of myself and my folks all the time! here i've been thinking of what i should do with all this money, and never had a thought of le, who found it, and kept it for me and my folks. i'll do the fair thing le." "what do you mean?" asked the merchant. "i shall divy with le; i shall give him at least five hundred. "not a cent," protested leopold. "you bet!" added stumpy. "i've been thinking all the time about getting my mother out of trouble, and only just now it comes into my head that le's father is in hot water. i'll tell you what we'll do, le: i'll give you five hundred--" [illustration: stumpy pouring out the gold. page .] "no, you won't! not a cent," said, leopold, decidedly. "i should feel as though i had been paid for being honest." "i hope he won't take any part of the money which your father earned, and kept sacredly for his family," interposed mr. hamilton. "i grant that he deserves it." "not a cent," repeated leopold. "i never should have got a dollar of it, if it hadn't been for him," stumpy argued. "no matter for that," said leopold. "i know now!" exclaimed stumpy, as if a new thought had taken possession of him. "just subtract seven hundred from twenty-four hundred and ninety-six, le." "seventeen hundred and ninety-six," replied leopold. "that's just the amount i don't want. of course when i say 'i,' my folks is meant. now, le, your father wants money just as badly as my mother does; and we will lend the seventeen hundred and ninety-six dollars to him, taking his note on interest, just as mr. hamilton would give it. but i would rather give you five hundred of the money." "you can't give me a dollar; but if you will lend some of the money to my father, i should like it first rate." "i will--the whole of it," protested stumpy. "this is quite a sensible arrangement, my boys," said the merchant; "and i have so much confidence in mr. bennington's integrity, that i will indorse his note. but it strikes me that you are going rather too fast, stumpy." "why, sir?" "perhaps i have led you too rapidly over the ground. whatever property your father left--this money included--belongs to his family. i suppose an administrator ought to be appointed." "creation! that would be squire moses!" exclaimed stumpy, aghast. "no; your mother may be appointed." "my mother! well, now i think of it, i believe she was appointed. i didn't know much about such things at the time." "be that as it may, before you lend the money to mr. bennington, or give any to leopold, you had better see your mother. i will go to the house with you, for i am really quite interested in this matter." "thank you, sir; you are very kind, and i am ever so much obliged to you," answered stumpy. "but i shouldn't feel right--administrator or not--if le's father wasn't helped out of trouble." "i was not aware that mr. bennington was in difficulty." "he is--up to his eyes; and i know very well that my grandfather--that's squire moses--means to get the sea cliff house away from him, if he can, and let ethan wormbury have it. this money must save him. he's been a good friend to me, and i should be a hog if i didn't help him out. mother will do it, too, i know; for if it hadn't been for le, we shouldn't have seen this money." "we will talk with your mother about it," replied mr. hamilton, as he put the gold back into the shot-bag, and asked the watch-maker to keep it in the safe till the next day, when he intended to dispose of it in rockland. stumpy placed the twelve hundred dollars in bills in his wallet, and put it in his pocket; but he did not remove his hand from it till he reached his mother's house. if the widow's son was almost crazy in the whirl of remarkable events which so suddenly altered the fortunes of the family, it was hardly to be wondered at; and doubtless the ardor and fury with which he rushed into the house, with his hand still clutching the wallet in his pocket, would have startled his mother, if she had not been sadly occupied with an affair of her own. squire moses, ethan, and the village lawyer were with her, and were about to give the legal notice of the foreclosure of the mortgage. the old man was afraid that he should be cheated out of his prey if he waited any longer. stumpy rushed into the house, followed by mr. hamilton and leopold. "o, my son," exclaimed mrs. wormbury, "the house is to be taken from us!" "not now," interposed squire moses. "i told you that you might stay here till the first of august. i'm not a hard man, to turn you out without any notice. i always mean to do what is just right." "of course. i have been expecting it, after what you said; but it comes very hard to be turned out of house and home," sobbed mrs. wormbury. "you shall not be turned out, mother," cried stumpy, blubbered himself, when he saw the tears in his mother's eyes; "neither now nor on the first of august." "why stumpfield, what do you mean?" "perhaps the boy means to pay the note of seven hundred dollars," sneered squire moses. "but i don't want any nonsense about this business." "that's just what i'm going to do, grandpa," shouted stumpy, drawing the wallet from his pocket, and taking from it the roll of bills. squire moses turned round, amazed at the announcement of his grandson, and for the first time discovered the presence of mr. hamilton. "i'm glad to see you, mr. hamilton," said he, extending his withered hand to the merchant. "this is disagreeable business." "i should think it was--to turn your son's widow out of house and home," replied the ex-congressman, dryly. "the mortgage note has been due for years," pleaded the squire. "of course the widow can't pay it, and--" "yes, she can!" yelled stumpy. "she never did get any favors from you, and she don't ask for any now. here's the seven hundred dollars. my mother wants the note, and a release of the mortgage." squire moses actually turned pale, as much from anger as from the failure of a profitable operation for the future. "i don't understand this," said he. "here's your money, when you give my mother the papers," replied stumpy. "that's easy enough to understand--isn't it?" "where did you get the money, stumpy?" demanded the squire. "that don't make any difference," added stumpy, shaking his head. "i don't think it does," interposed mr. hamilton. "the young man's position appears to be quite correct." squire moses looked at the merchant, and immediately concluded that this rich new yorker had advanced the money. he bit his lips till they bled, but finally went off with ethan and the lawyer, to procure the necessary papers to discharge the mortgage. "i don't understand it any better than squire moses," said mrs. wormbury, when the hard creditor had gone. "you will pay off the note, mother, with money earned by father's own hands," replied stumpy, gently. "what do you mean, my son?" asked the widow, trembling with emotion. stumpy explained what he meant. mrs. wormbury listened, and wept when she realized that her husband had perished in the waves, not on the georges, but within sight of his own home. the story was hardly finished before squire moses returned alone, with the note and release. mr. hamilton carefully examined the latter document, and declared that it was correct. "so it seems joel was the passenger in the waldo, who buried this money," said the squire, as he put the bills in his pocket; for the discovery made in the parlor of the sea cliff house was now following the story of the hidden treasure up the main street. "that's so," replied stumpy; "and mother will always have the satisfaction of knowing that this house was all paid for with his earnings." squire moses soon left, with the feeling that he had lost at least a thousand dollars by the finding of the hidden treasure. chapter xvii. the first of july. "hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" shouted stumpy, as soon as the door had closed upon his amiable grandfather. he threw up his hat to the ceiling, and demonstrated in the most extravagant manner, to the great amusement of mr. hamilton and leopold. mrs. wormbury cried with joy, and was not less happy than her son. "come, stumpfield, don't go crazy," said she. "the house is paid for, mother, and you don't owe a single dollar in the whole world to any man, woman or child--except leopold," shouted stumpy, checking himself at the end of his enthusiastic discourse. "we ought to give him five hundred dollars of this money." "not a cent of it to me!" protested the skipper of the rosabel; "but you may do it in the other way if you like." "i will, and i know mother will.--mother," continued stumpy with energy, "we owe all this to leopold. he was honest, clear up to the hub; if he hadn't been, we shouldn't have got a cent of this money which father earned. we should have been turned out of the house on the first of august, and had to grub our way worse than ever. now the house is paid for, and we have nearly eighteen hundred dollars in cash. that will give us over a hundred dollars interest money, which will make it a soft thing for us. no interest money to pay, either; so that we shall be a hundred and fifty dollars better off than we were before; and all because leopold was honest, and did the right thing." "i am sure i am very grateful to him, for my own and my children's sake," added mrs. wormbury. "that don't pay any bills, mother," protested stumpy. "leopold's father is in trouble. my beloved grandad will come down upon him like a thousand of bricks, on the first of july, if he don't pay the interest on his note; and le says his father can't do it." "i'm very sorry," sighed mrs. wormbury. "that don't pay any bills, mother; and we must do something more than being sorry. i want to lend this money--this eighteen hundred dollars--to mr. bennington right off. he will be able to pay us after this season." "i think you can safely do this, mrs. wormbury," added the merchant. "i will indorse the landlord's note, and thus guarantee its payment." "i'm sure i shall be very glad to do so," said the widow, with a cheerful smile, which proved that she meant all she said. "i shall be very much obliged to you, and consider myself more than paid for anything i have done in this business," replied leopold. "i am sure you can depend upon mr. bennington," said mr. hamilton. "was any administrator appointed for the estate of your husband, mrs. wormbury?" "i was appointed administratrix." "as your husband was not dead at the time, perhaps the appointment does not hold good at present. you had better procure a reappointment. but in the mean time i will be responsible for all your acts, and you may take the landlord's note. i would assist mr. bennington myself if it were not for depriving stumpy of the pleasure of doing so." the business was finished, and mr. hamilton and leopold returned to the hotel. the widow and her son had a long talk over their sudden accession of fortune; but both of them were painfully perplexed by the revelations of harvey barth's diary. the husband and father had lived more than two years after they believed he was dead; but the events of this period seemed to be forever sealed to them. in what manner he had been saved, and how he came to be in cuba, made a sad mystery to them; but in due time the veil was lifted, and they heard the whole story. the landlord of the sea cliff house was in the office when his son returned. all the guests had gone to walk on the cliffs, and the house was nearly empty. mr. bennington, as usual of late, was sad, perplexed, and worried. his debts troubled him, and the dreaded first of july was rapidly approaching. jones had already told him he must have the three hundred dollars due him before that time. others were pressing him sorely to pay their bills or notes. two or three had already refused to give him any further credit for supplies for the hotel, the market-man among the number. it looked as though he must suspend on the first day of july. the finding of the hidden treasure, in spite of what leopold had said about keeping it for the possible heirs of the owner, to be discovered in the future, had given him a strong hope that it might be available to relieve him from his embarrassments. he thought only of using it to pay his debts, and restoring it if the heirs were found. but after dinner the heirs had been found in the family of joel wormbury. his hope from this source was, therefore, plucked away from him almost as soon as it was awakened. if the new yorkers staid till the dreaded pay-day, even the whole of their bills would not pay the amount of his indebtedness; but it was not probable that they would remain at the house more than a day or two longer. the most that he could expect from them was enough to pay jones, who had threatened to force him into insolvency if he was not paid. everything, therefore looked very gloomy and dark to the landlord, when his son entered the office. "you were in a great hurry to get rid of the money you found, leopold," said mr. bennington, rather reproachfully. "i had to be honest, father," replied the son. "if you had kept still for a few weeks, i might have used the money, and paid it off in the fall. of course i didn't mean to have you keep it; but if i could have had the use of it even a month, it would have saved me. as it is, i must fail," groaned the landlord. "i can't get over the first of july any way in the world." "how much do you owe, father?" asked leopold. "about a thousand dollars, which i must pay right off. mr. hamilton's party will probably leave three or four hundred dollars with me; but that won't save me." "well, father, you shall have money enough to pay all you owe, except the mortgages, to-morrow night," added leopold, lightly. "what do you mean?" demanded the landlord, opening his eyes. "by being honest i have made some good friends. after stumpy had paid of the mortgage on his mother's house, which squire moses was on the point of taking from the family, he offered to lend you all the rest of the money which the gold brings." "stumpy?" "his mother agreed to it, and you will give her a note for the amount, which mr. hamilton promised to indorse." "but how much money will there be?" asked mr. bennington, bewildered by this unexpected succor. "nearly eighteen hundred dollars." "that will be more than i want." "you need not take any more than you need; i think the hidden treasure meets your case better than if i had not found the heirs so soon." "i declare, i feel as if a ten-ton weight had been lifted from the top of my head!" exclaimed the landlord. "i feel better about it now than i should if i had stolen the hidden treasure," added leopold. "so do i. but i will take only twelve hundred dollars of this money; and i am satisfied that i shall be able to pay it at the end of the season." the next day the orion made her excursion to rockland, and leopold and stumpy were invited to join the party. rosabel and isabel were in excellent spirits, and, as the bay was tolerably smooth, so was charley redmond. stumpy, dressed in his sunday clothes, looked more like a gentleman than usual. mr. redmond tried to make fun of him before the girls, but stumpy was too much for him, and retorted so smartly that he turned the laugh upon the fop. rosabel's long auburn tresses floated on the breeze, and leopold could not help looking at her all the time, thinking that she was the prettiest girl in the whole world. he was very attentive to her, and when the yacht anchored in the harbor of rockland, she permitted him to hand her into the boat. stumpy, by his assiduous devotion to miss belle, and especially by his sharp and witty retorts upon mr. redmond, had won her regard, and the coxcomb had to step one side. charley was disgusted and had to seek his companions among the older people of the party, to whom he had much to say about these "country swells." mr. hamilton did his financial business in the city, disposing of the gold at two hundred and nine, as the telegraph reported the rate to be in new york. in the afternoon the breeze freshened, and, with leopold for a pilot, the yacht sailed up the bay, and the party enjoyed the trip till the last moment, when they landed in rockhaven. in the evening the merchant went to mrs. wormbury's house, and paid her the balance of the eighteen hundred and eight dollars, which the gold had produced. with so much money in the house, the widow and her eldest son could not sleep; but early the next morning mr. bennington received, and gave his note for, twelve hundred dollars of it, leaving stumpy, who was the financier on this occasion, embarrassed with six hundred more. he did not know what to do with it, and leopold advised him to put it in herr schlager's safe. they went to the watch-maker's for this purpose. in front of the shop they saw deacon bowman engaged in an earnest conversation with squire moses wormbury. stumpy heard his grandfather say something about "bonus" as he passed him. "there's a trade," said he to leopold, as they entered the shop. "my beloved grandad is going to gouge the deacon out of some money, i know by the looks of him." "deacon bowman looks troubled," added leopold. "he wants to borrow money, i suppose," replied stumpy. "hark!" stumpy went out of the shop, and while he pretended to be looking at the goods in herr schlager's window, he listened to the conversation till the two men separated, and the deacon entered the watch-maker's shop. "you are driving a hard trade, with squire moses," said stumpy, following the deacon into the shop. "did you hear it?" asked deacon bowman, with a troubled expression. "i heard part of it. squire moses is to lend you six hundred dollars, and you are to give him a note and mortgage on your house for seven hundred--a bonus of one hundred, besides the interest," added stumpy. "i did not agree to it, but i want the money very badly. my son, who is in business in portland, is in trouble, and i am raising this money for him," replied the deacon, with a shudder. "if i don't furnish it, my son will be--did you hear the rest?" "no, sir, i did not, and i don't want to hear it." "i'm glad you don't." the deacon's son had forged an indorsement, and if the note was not paid, exposure was certain; and squire moses was taking advantage of the circumstances. "make the note and mortgage for six hundred dollars to sarah wormbury, administratrix, and here is the money," added stumpy, taking the balance of the proceeds of the hidden treasure from his pocket, rejoiced to be able to help the worthy deacon, and at the same time to head off a mean act of his grandfather. deacon bowman had heard all about the good fortune which had come to joel wormbury's family, and he readily comprehended where the money in the hands of the young man came from. "i promised to meet squire moses here in an hour, and give him my final answer," added he. "i will have the papers ready as soon as i can." herr schlager put the money in his safe, as requested; but in less than an hour deacon bowman came with his papers, the mortgage and note duly signed, acknowledged, and witnessed. he received the money, and his heart seemed to be glad. by the time the business was finished, squire moses arrived, satisfied that the unfortunate deacon would be compelled to accept his hard conditions. "i shall not want the money, squire moses," said deacon bowman. "not want it!" exclaimed the old skinflint, taken all aback by this announcement. squire moses was very anxious to re-invest the sum he had received for the mortgage of joel's place, and he was greatly disappointed to lose so good a speculation as that he had proposed to the deacon. "i shall not want it; in fact i have been able to make a better arrangement," replied deacon bowman. "where did you get the money?" demanded the squire. "your grandson, here, loaned it to me on his mother's account." if squire moses was disappointed before, he was mad now. he looked daggers at stumpy, who was not afraid of him, now that the debt was paid. "of course you told him about your son," sneered the money-lender. "i did not," replied the deacon sadly. "people will be likely to know all about it now." "they will be likely to know at the same time that somebody required me to mortgage my place for seven hundred dollars, in order to obtain six hundred," added the deacon, sharply. squire moses was startled, for he valued his reputation more than his character as known to god and himself. "perhaps neither of us had better say anything," said he, biting his lip, and leaving the shop. "we will keep still till squire moses lets on," said stumpy; and everybody except the usurer was pleased. stumpy went home, and told his mother what he had done in her name, with which she was entirely satisfied. in due time the release and the mortgage were recorded; mrs. wormbury was re-appointed administratrix and guardian of her children, and all other necessary legal steps were taken to prevent any future difficulty, if squire moses was disposed to question the widow's proceedings. the first of july came. the new york party were still at the sea cliff house, though nearly every day they made an excursion in the orion. they were still enjoying themselves to the utmost, and the hotel grew in favor with them the longer they stayed. mr. bennington had quietly paid every bill presented to him, without informing any one that he was "in funds." squire moses had not been near him; in fact, the old man had been to bangor to look out for a piece of property on which he held a mortgage, and about which there was "a hitch." in his absence, the landlord's creditors, seeing that he was doing a good business, did not disturb him. even jones kept away till the first day of the month; but when he presented himself, his note was promptly paid. while he was still in the office of the hotel, squire moses, who had just returned from bangor, entered, with his mortgage note in his hand. he was very cross and very ugly, for he was in peril of losing the whole or part of the money he had loaned on the bangor property. as he had stirred up all the landlord's creditors, he was confident that mr. bennington would not be able to pay him. "i want the interest money to-day," said he, sharply as he stepped up to the counter, behind which the landlord stood. "can't you wait till next week? when these new york folks leave, i shall have more money than i have now," replied mr. bennington, who, knowing just what his hard creditor wanted, was disposed to thorn him a little. "i must have the money to-day," added squire moses more mildly, for he began to feel that the business was in just the condition he wished it to be. "it has been a pretty tight time with me for money," pleaded mr. bennington. "it has with everybody; but if you can't pay me my interest money, say so." "but suppose i can't pay it; you won't be hard with me--will you?" "i expect folks to do just what they agree to do. i don't want any long stories about it," added squire moses, who was secretly happy. "waiting till next week won't make any difference with you." "i think i know my own business best. i understand you to say you can't pay. here is jones, and in his presence, as a witness, i demand the money." "just so," replied the landlord; "but if--" "no buts about it, mr. bennington. i don't want to talk all day about nothing. you can't pay; that's enough;" and the squire moved towards the door, followed by jones, who desired to pay his note. "squire wormbury," called the landlord, "one word." the usurer walked back to the counter, determined, however, not to prolong the argument. mr. bennington took a well-filled pocket-book from the iron safe, from which he counted out the amount due the squire. "i thought you said you couldn't pay it," growled squire moses, whose heart sank within him when he saw the bottom drop out of the nice little plan--a very stupid one, by the way--which he had arranged with ethan. "i didn't say so. i only asked if you would wait till next week," laughed the landlord. "fooling with me--were you?" snapped the squire. "i understood a while ago that the sea cliff house was to have a new landlord about the first of july, and i wanted to see how you felt about it to-day." "who said so?" "well, you and ethan talked it over together. you were to take possession, if i didn't pay the interest, turn me out and put your son ethan in." "who said i did?" "no matter about that. you and he had the talk in the parlor of your house; and i can prove it, if necessary." but the landlord did not wish to do so, for it would expose stumpy, who had given the information to leopold. "i don't calculate to have anything which the law don't give me," growled squire moses, as he picked up his money, and indorsed the payment on the back of the note. "the law don't give you the sea cliff house, and it never will," added mr. bennington, as the money-lender turned to leave. "hold on, squire moses," interposed jones; "i want to take up that note of mine." "you needn't pay it yet," replied the usurer, who had over a thousand dollars on hand now, which he had been unable thus far to invest, for he did not believe in the government and the war, and refused to buy bonds. "i want to pay it now. i won't owe you anything after what i have heard to-day. i'm afraid i shall lose my place," answered jones. the debtor and creditor left together. jones paid his note. people began to believe that it was not prudent to borrow money of squire moses, for he was "tricky" as well as hard. in the course of that day mr. bennington paid every dollar of his indebtedness in rockhaven. those who had refused him credit were profuse in their apologies, and some of them confessed that they were "put up to it" by squire moses. the next day the orion departed, with all her party, for new york. mr. hamilton paid the bill, which amounted to over seven hundred dollars, without a question, and promised to come again the next season. leopold assisted the party in going on board of the yacht, and shook hands at parting with rosabel. he watched the vessel, with the beautiful girl waving her handkerchief to him, till she was out of sight. he was sorry to have her go, for it was a pleasure for him to look at her. he had sailed her to high rock the day before, and she had said a great many pleasant things to him. it was a quiet time at the sea cliff house after the departure of the new york guests, but leopold missed rosabel more than all others, and even then began to look forward to her return. chapter xviii. the coming wave. by the middle of july the sea cliff house was full. the report of the new yorkers among their friends that this hotel was the best on the coast, induced a great many families and others to seek accommodations at the house. by the first of august mr. bennington was obliged to "colonize" his guests in the neighboring houses. the season was a decidedly successful one to him, and his profits more than realized his anticipations. in the fall he paid off the mortgage on his furniture, and the note he owed to the widow wormbury, and still had a large balance in the bank. the island house had hardly any business, for people preferred to go to the sea cliff, even if they had to take rooms outside of the hotel. ethan did not make any money that season. leopold had all he could do in the boat, and made a small fortune for himself by taking out parties. he raised his price to six dollars a day, so that he could pay stumpy two dollars a day for his services. the affairs of mrs. wormbury were therefore in excellent condition. after the season was finished, a man came over from rockland and took rooms at the sea cliff house. he inquired if there was such a person in the place as joel wormbury. the guest was very much surprised to learn that he was dead, and in the course of the day went to see his family. he had come to offer joel a situation on a plantation in cuba, where he had first met and known the deceased. the visitor was an engineer, by the name of walker, and had instructed joel in his business, so that he was able to run an engine on a plantation. joel had told him his story. he had been picked up by a passenger steamer, and carried to liverpool. there, after he had been drinking, he was induced to ship as a seaman in a bark bound to havana, where he first met walker. he ran away from the vessel, and went with his new friend to the plantation where the latter was employed. joel was a mechanic, and understood an engine very well. instructed in the details of the business by walker, he obtained a situation at very good wages. he had written to his wife, but for some reason unknown his letters failed to reach their destination. after working two years on the plantation, he determined to go home, and ascertain what had become of his family. walker had gone with him to havana, where joel changed his money into american gold, and embarked in the waldo. that was the last his friend had heard of him. walker had come home on a visit to his relatives in the interior of the state, and wished joel to return with him. the mystery was solved; and the visitor declared that his friend had not drank a drop of liquor during the two years he was in cuba. it was a great satisfaction to mrs. wormbury and her children to hear this good report of the deceased husband and father; and walker left, sincerely grieved at the death of his friend, whom he highly esteemed. in the winter leopold went to the "academy," and studied hard to improve his mind and increase his knowledge. he applied himself diligently to german, under the instruction of herr schlager, so that he could talk in that language with rosabel when she came the next season, for it must be confessed that he thought a great deal of her. the spring came, bringing nearer to leopold the coming of rosabel. in june a letter from the honorable mr. hamilton arrived, announcing the intended visit of the family to the sea cliff house, and fixing the time at about the first of july. he engaged his own rooms, and three others for his party and they were to come in the orion. this was the best of news to leopold. he was a year older than when he had last seen rosabel, and had grown much taller and stouter. an incipient mustache was coming on his upper lip,--though he was not yet eighteen,--on which he bestowed some attention. the young ladies in the academy had declared among themselves that he was the handsomest young man in rockhaven; and with this indorsement there can be no doubt that he was a very good-looking fellow. he dressed himself neatly, out of his own funds, and was very particular in regard to his personal appearance. as the first of july approached, he was even more particular than usual. the dawning mustache was carefully trained, so that each hair was in the most eligible position to produce an effect. for a boating dress, he wore a gray woolen shirt, trimmed with pink, and secured in front with black studs. but even in this garb, with his hair nicely combed, his mustache adjusted, his broad shirt-collar, open down to his breast, and held in place by a black handkerchief, tied in true sailor style,--in this garb, even, he was a fellow upon whom a young lady would bestow a second and even a third look, if the circumstances were favorable. from early morning till dark, on the first day of july, leopold kept an eye on the sea-board side of the town, looking out for the orion. she did not appear; but on the afternoon of the next day, he discovered the yacht as she rounded the point on which stood the light-house. captain bounce knew his way into the river this time, and in a few moments more the orion reached the anchorage off the wharf. as soon as leopold recognized the vessel, he hastened to the rosabel, his heart beating wildly with the pleasant excitement of the occasion. embarking in the sloop, he was soon alongside the orion. the accommodation-steps were placed over the side for him, and he ascended to the deck. "i am glad to see you, leopold," said mr. hamilton, extending his hand to the boatman. "thank you sir; we are all glad to see you and your family here again," replied leopold, as he glanced towards the quarter-deck in search of rosabel. "are mrs. hamilton and your daughter on board?" "yes, both of them; but i have a smaller party than i had last year." at this moment leopold saw rosabel emerging from the companion-way. his brown face flushed as he approached her, and she was as rosy as a country girl when she offered him her little gloved hand, which he gratefully clasped in his great paw. "i am _very_ glad to see you again, miss hamilton," said leopold; and certainly he never uttered truer words in his life. "and i am delighted to see you again, leopold," she replied gazing earnestly into his handsome brown face, and then measuring with her eye his form from head to foot. "how tall and large you have grown!" we are inclined to believe, from the looks she bestowed upon him, that she fully indorsed the opinion of the young ladies of the academy. rosabel was taller, more mature, and even more beautiful than when he had seen her last. she was dressed to go on shore; but as soon as she saw leopold and the rosabel, a new idea seemed to take possession of her mind. "i want to go to high rock this minute!" exclaimed the fair girl. "i have been thinking about the place every day since i was here last year; and i want to go there before i land at rockhaven." her father objected, her mother objected, and the grim old skipper of the orion declared there would be a shower and a squall, if not a tempest, before night. but rosabel, though a very good girl in the main, was just a little wilful at times. she insisted, and leopold was engaged to convey her to the romantic region. he was seventeen and she was fifteen; and no young fellow was ever happier than he was as he took his place at the helm with rosabel opposite him in the standing-room. no other member of the party was willing to join her in the excursion, for belle peterson and charley redmond were not passengers in the yacht this time. if leopold had been a young new yorker, perhaps her father and mother would have objected to her going alone with him. as it was, they regarded him, in some sense, as a servant, and they intrusted her to his care as they would have done with a conductor on the train, or with the driver of the stage. he was simply the boatman to them--a very good-looking fellow, it is true, but not dangerous, because he was not the young lady's social equal. he always treated her with the utmost respect and deference. the breeze was fresh, and in a few moments leopold landed her on the narrow beach beneath the lofty rock. the maiden left the boat, climbed the high rock, and wandered about among the wild cliffs and chasms, all alone, for leopold could not leave the inanimate rosabel--which the rude sea might injure--to follow the animate and beautiful rosabel in her ramble on the shore. she was gone an hour, and then an other hour. he called to her, but she came not, and even the warning of the muttering thunder did not hasten her return. but she came at last, and leopold hastened to get under way, though he feared that the storm would be down upon him before he could reach the orion. "we are going to have a tremendous shower," said leopold, anxiously, as he shoved off the boat. "i'm not afraid; and if i get wet, it won't hurt me," replied rosabel, who actually enjoyed the flashing lightning and the booming thunder, and gazed with undaunted eyes upon the black masses of cloud that were rolling up from the south-east and from the north-west. "it looks just exactly as it did on the day the waldo was wrecked," added leopold. "it blew a perfect hurricane then, and it may to-day." "if you are alarmed, leopold, we can return," suggested rosabel. "we can hardly do that, now, for the tide has risen so high that the beach is nearly covered, and my boat would be dashed to pieces, if we have much of a squall." "do you think there is any danger?" asked the fair maiden, who was deeply impressed by the earnest manner of the boatman. "i hope not," replied he, more cheerfully, for he did not wish to alarm her. "if i can only get into dipper bay, which is hardly half a mile from here, we shall be all right; and we may have time to run into the river." dipper bay was a little inlet, almost landlocked, in which the water was deep enough to float his sloop at this time of tide, and its high rocky shores would afford him a perfect protection from the fury of any squall, or even hurricane. but leopold felt that his chances of reaching this secure haven were but small, for the breeze was very light. the rosabel was but a short distance from the shore when the wind entirely subsided, and the long rollers were as smooth as glass. the lightning glared with fearful intensity, and the thunder boomed like the convulsions of an earthquake. by this time rosabel, who had before enjoyed the sublimity of the coming storm, now began to realize its terrors, and to watch the handsome boatman with the deepest anxiety. the sails flapped idly in the motionless air, and dipper bay was still half a mile distant. "don't be alarmed, miss hamilton," said leopold, as he threw off his coat and vest, dropped his suspenders from his shoulders, and rolled up his shirt sleeves above the elbows. "if the squall will keep off only a few moments, we shall be in a safe place." the skipper evidently "meant business;" and, shipping the long oars, he worked with a zeal which seemed to promise happy results, and rosabel began to feel a little reassured. but the sloop was too large and too broad on the beam to be easily rowed, and her progress was necessarily very slow. "can't i help you, leopold?" asked the maiden, when she saw what a tremendous effort the boatman was making. "you may take the tiller and steer for dip point, if you please," replied leopold, knowing that his beautiful passenger would be better satisfied if she could feel that she was doing something. leopold plied his oars with all the vigor of a manly frame, intent upon reaching the little bay, where the high rocks would shelter his craft from the fury of the storm. then a breeze of wind came and he resumed his place at the tiller. he had almost reached the haven when he saw coming down over the waters a most terrific squall. before he could haul down his mainsail, the tempest struck the rosabel. he placed his fair charge in the bottom of the boat, which the savage wind was driving towards the dangerous rocks. before he could do anything to secure the sail, the main-sheet parted at the boom. he cast off the halyards; but the sail was jammed, and would not come down. the rosabel was almost upon the rocks. seizing an oar, leopold, satisfied that he could do nothing to save the boat, worked her away from the rocks, so that she would strike upon the narrow beach he had just left. the fierce squall was hurling her with mad speed upon the shore. by the most tremendous exertion, and at the imminent peril of his life, he succeeded in guiding her to the beach, upon which she struck with prodigious force, crushing in her keel and timbers beneath the shock. without a word of explanation, he grasped the fair rosabel in his arms, and leaped into the angry surges, which were driven high upon the rocks above him. the tide had risen so that there was hardly room under the cliff for him to stand; but he bore her to this only partial refuge from the fury of the storm. the tempest increased in violence, and the huge billows rolled in with impetuous fury upon him. grasping his fair burden in his arms, with rosabel clinging to him in mortal terror, he paused a moment to look at the angry sea. there was a narrow shelf of rock near him, against which the waves beat with terrible violence. if he could only get beyond this shelf, which projected out from the cliffs, he could easily reach the hole in the wall, where harvey barth had saved himself in just such a storm. he had borne rosabel some distance along the beach, both drenched by the lashing spray, and his strength was nearly exhausted. the projecting shelf was before him, forbidding for the moment his further progress. [illustration: the coming wave. page ]. placing his left foot on a rock, his fair but heavy burden on his knee, clasping her waist with his left hand, while his right was fastened for support in a crevice of the cliff, he paused for an instant to recover his breath, and watch for a favorable chance to escape from his perilous position. rosabel, in her terror, had thrown her arms around his neck, clinging to him with all her might. when he paused, she felt, reposing on his powerful muscles, that she was safe--she confessed it afterwards; though, in that terrible sea, and near those cruel rocks, the strength of the strongest man was but weakness. leopold waited. if the sea would only recede for an instant, it would give him the opportunity to reach the broader beach beyond the shelf, over which he could pass to the hole in the wall. it was a moment of hope, mingled with a mighty fear. a huge billow, larger than any he had yet seen, was rolling in upon him, crested and reeking with foam, and might dash him and his feeble charge, mangled and torn, upon the jagged rocks. still panting from the violence of his exertion, he braced his nerves and his stout frame to meet the terrible shock. with every muscle strained to the utmost tension, he waited the coming wave. in this attitude, with the helpless maiden clinging to him for life, with the wreck of his fine yacht near, he was a noble subject for an inspired artist. the coming wave buried him and the fair maiden in its cold embrace. it broke, and shattered itself in torrents of milky foam upon the hard rocks. but the larger and higher the wave, the farther it recedes. leopold stood firm, though he was shaken in every fiber of his frame by the shock. the retiring water--retiring only for an instant, to come again with even greater fury--gave him his opportunity, and he improved it. swooping like a strong eagle, beneath the narrow shelf of rock, he gained the broader sands beyond the reach of the mad billows. it blew a hurricane for some time. the stranded yacht was ground into little pieces by the sharp rocks; but her skipper and his fair passenger were safe. on the identical flat rock in the hole in the wall where the steward of the waldo had seated himself, after the wreck, leopold placed his precious burden. he sat down by her side, utterly exhausted, and unable to speak. he breathed very hardly, groaning heavily at each respiration, for he had exerted himself to the verge of human endurance. "o, leopold," gasped poor rosabel, gazing with tender interest upon her preserver, "you have saved me, but you have killed yourself!" the gallant young man tried to speak, but he could only smile in his agony. taking her hand, he pressed it, to indicate his satisfaction at what he had done. "what shall i do?" cried the poor girl. leopold could only press her hand again; but she felt that she must do something for him. throwing off her wet gloves, she began to rub his temples, to which he did not object. but in a few minutes more he was able to speak. "i am only tired," gasped the boatman. "i shall be all right in a few moments." then the rain began to pour down in torrents. leopold rose from the rock, and conducted rosabel to an overhanging cliff, in the ravine, which partially sheltered them from the storm. the wind continued to howl, as though the squall had ended in a gale; but the rain soon ceased to fall, and leopold helped his fair companion to the summit of the cliff. "there is nothing left of the rosabel," said leopold, as he gazed down upon the white-capped billows which lashed the jagged rocks below. "she went to pieces like an egg-shell." "never mind the boat, leopold. i am so thankful that our lives were spared," replied rosabel. "o, i don't care for the boat. i only thank god that you were saved. i thought we should both be dashed in pieces on the rocks." "i should have been, if you had not been so strong and brave, leopold. you might have left me, and saved yourself, without much trouble." "left you!" exclaimed leopold, gazing into her beautiful face. "i would rather have been ground up into inch pieces on the rocks, than do that, miss hamilton!" rosabel believed him, and the tears flowed down her cheeks, as she brushed away from her eyes the auburn locks, soaked with salt water, and gazed into his earnest, manly face. before the storm had subsided, the orion, bearing the agonized parents, was floundering in the billows off high rock, with only a close-reefed foresail set. leopold and rosabel both made signals, to assure the father and mother of their safety. an hour later, when the waters were comparatively still, there was a joyous scene in the cabin of the orion. hot tears dropped from the eyes of father and mother, and convulsive embraces were exchanged. leopold's right hand was nearly twisted off by the overjoyed parents and friends of her who had been saved from the coming wave. the yacht sailed into the river again, and on the passage, leopold, assisted by rosabel, related all the particulars of the loss of the rosabel, and of their narrow escape from the rocks and the billows on the beach under high rock. if mr. and mrs. hamilton had before regarded leopold, in any sense, as a servant, or even a boatman, they no longer considered him as anything but a social equal, a noble and dear friend, who had risked his life to save their beloved daughter. if they were grateful and devoted to him, not less so was rosabel herself. the party stayed a fortnight at the sea cliff house, and enjoyed themselves even more than during the preceding season. every pleasant day a party went out in the orion, and, having no boat of his own now, leopold was glad to go with them. on the day after the storm, the mate of the yacht had left rockhaven for new york, and the late skipper of the rosabel was requested to perform his duty on board, which he did to the entire satisfaction of captain bounce. after the mate had been absent a week, the mate _pro tem._ of the orion, as the yacht was running out of the river, discovered a small sloop, headed for the light. her hull and her sails were intensely white. she was a beautiful craft, and appeared to be entirely new. she was evidently a yacht, and leopold knew that she did not belong to any of the places in the lower bay. the word was passed aft that a yacht was approaching, and all the passengers came forward to see her. "that's her, mr. hamilton," said captain bounce, mysteriously after a little talk with his owner. "where is she from?" asked leopold. "new york," replied the ex-congressman, chuckling. "what's her name?" "the rosabel." "i didn't know there was any craft with that name, except mine," replied leopold, as rosabel placed herself by his side. "she is new, and has not had that name more than a week," added mr. hamilton. "whom does she belong to?" inquired leopold. "she belongs to leopold bennington now." this announcement was followed by a silvery laugh from the merchant's daughter. "she is to take the place of the boat you lost." "here's a go!" grinned stumpy, who was doing duty on board as assistant steward. "we don't care to mystify you, leopold," laughed mr. hamilton. "the mate of the orion is in charge of her. she is a new boat, finished just before i left new york, and offered for sale. on the day after you lost your sloop, i sent the mate to purchase her for you. there she is, and she is yours. you can go on board of her now, if you please." "let me go, too," interposed rosabel. the new yacht came up into the wind, when the orion did so, and one of the boats of the latter conveyed rosabel, leopold, and stumpy to the sloop, bringing back the mate and the man who had come with him from new york. the new rosabel was thirty-two feet long, with a large cabin, furnished with berths, and a cook-room forward. leopold and stumpy were enraptured with the craft, and looked her over with the utmost delight. they followed the orion all day, and kept up with her, for the new rosabel was even faster than the old one. but our story is nearly told, and we cannot follow these pleasant parties on their excursions on the bay. leopold and stumpy sailed the new rosabel the rest of the season, and the money flowed freely into their separate treasuries. the sea cliff house prospered beyond the expectation of the landlord, and he was abundantly able to pay off the mortgage on the hotel when it was due. squire moses dropped dead one day in a fit of apoplexy, and, having neglected to make a will, as he had often declared that he intended to do, his property was equally divided among his heirs. stumpy found his mother independent by this event, but he continued to sail with leopold in the rosabel. the next winter after the stirring incidents at high rock, leopold went to new york on a visit, and was heartily welcomed by the hamiltons, who treated him with as much consideration as though he had been a foreign duke. rosabel was delighted to see him, we need not add. the result of this visit was, that the merchant invited leopold to take a position in his mercantile establishment, to which his father reluctantly consented. stumpy took his place as boatman for the sea cliff house. leopold gave his whole energy to business, and when he was only twenty-two he was admitted as a partner to the firm. he was a splendid-looking fellow and no one would have suspected, after noting his elegant appearance, his fine manners, and his energetic business habits that he was not an original new yorker. of course he made frequent visits to the house of mr. hamilton, and was always a welcome guest. his relations with rosabel were of the most interesting character; and now at twenty-six, he is a happy husband, educated and wealthy, and, with his wife to nerve his soul, he stands braced against the coming wave of temptation and sin, which is always rolling in upon the pilgrim of earth. oliver optic's books. in doors and out: or, views from a chimney corner. mo. numerous illustrations, $ . . * * * * * differing from other books of this popular author in that it is intended for adult readers, while the others are written for young people. it contains about thirty bright and interesting stories of a domestic order, directed against the follies and foibles of the age. they are written in a kindly, genial style, and with a sincere purpose to promote happiness, good feeling, and right dealing in domestic, business, and social relations. many who have not time and patience to wade through a long story, will find here many pithy and sprightly tales, each sharply hitting some social absurdity or social vice. we recommend the book heartily after having read the three chapters on "taking a newspaper." if all the rest are as sensible and interesting as these, and doubtless they are, the book is well worthy of patronage.--_vermont record._ as a writer of domestic stories, mr. william t. adams (oliver optic) made his mark even before he became so immensely popular through his splendid books for the young. in the volume before us are given several of these tales, and they comprise a book which will give them a popularity greater than they have ever before enjoyed. they are written in a spirited style, impart valuable practical lessons, and are of the most lively interest. we have seen these stories likened to arthur's domestic tales; but while they instil equally as valuable lessons, we think them written with much more force and spirit.--_boston home journal._ young america abroad. second series. a library of travel and adventure in foreign lands, mo. illustrated by nast, stevens, perkins, and others. per volume, $ . . * * * * * . up the baltic; or, young america in norway, sweden, and denmark. . northern lands; or, young america in russia and prussia. . cross and crescent; or, young america in turkey and greece. . sunny shores; or, young america in italy and austria. . vine and olive; or, young america in spain and portugal. . isles of the sea; or, young america homeward bound. "oliver optic" is a _nom de plume_ that is known and loved by almost every boy of intelligence in the land. we have seen a highly intellectual and world-weary man, a cynic whose heart was somewhat imbittered by its large experience of human nature, take up one of oliver optic's books and read it at a sitting, neglecting his work in yielding to the fascination of the pages. when a mature and exceedingly well-informed mind, long despoiled of all its freshness, can thus find pleasure in a book for boys, no additional words of recommendation are needed.--_sunday times._ young america abroad. first series. a library of travel and adventure in foreign lands. mo. illustrated by nast, stevens, perkins, and others. per volume, $ . . . outward bound; or, young america afloat. . shamrock and thistle; or, young america in ireland and scotland. . red cross; or, young america in england and wales. . dikes and ditches; or, young america in holland and belgium. . palace and cottage; or, young america in france and switzerland. . down the rhine; or, young america in germany. * * * * * the story from its inception and through the twelve volumes (see _second series_), is a bewitching one, while the information imparted, concerning the countries of europe and the isles of the sea, is not only correct in every particular, but is told in a captivating style. "oliver optic" will continue to be the boy's friend, and his pleasant books will continue to be read by thousands of american boys. what a fine holiday present either or both series of "young america abroad" would be for a young friend! it would make a little library highly prized by the recipient, and would not be an expensive one.--_providence press._ the great western series. six volumes, illustrated, per vol., $ . . . going west; or, the perils of a poor boy. . out west; or, roughing it on the great lakes. . lake breezes; or, the cruise of the sylvania. . going south; or, yachting on the atlantic coast. . down south; or, yacht adventures in florida. (in press.) . up the river; or, yachting on the mississippi. (in press.) * * * * * this is the latest series of books issued by this popular writer, and deals with life on the great lakes, for which a careful study was made by the author in a summer tour of the immense water sources of america. the story, which carries the same hero through the six books of the series, is always entertaining, novel scenes and varied incidents giving a constantly changing, yet always attractive aspect to the narrative. "oliver optic" has written nothing better. woodville stories. uniform with library for young people. six vols, mo. illustrated. per vol., $ . . . rich and humble; or, the mission of bertha grant. . in school and out; or, the conquest of richard grant. . watch and wait; or, the young fugitives. . work and win; or, noddy newman on a cruise. . hope and have; or, fanny grant among the indians. . haste and waste; or, the young pilot of lake champlain. * * * * * though we are not so young as we once were, we relished these stories almost as much as the boys and girls for whom they were written. they were really refreshing even to us. there is much in them which is calculated to inspire a generous, healthy ambition, and to make distasteful all reading tending to stimulate base desires.--_fitchburg reveille._ for adult readers. living too fast; or, the confessions of a bank officer mo. cloth. illustrated. $ . . * * * * * this is a most entertaining story, and it also carries with it an excellent moral, self-evident to almost any reader. it is beautifully printed and graphically illustrated. the scene of the story is laid in boston; and the author's experience with his mother-in-law is very readable, as is also his reckless expenditures for his wife's sake, he harboring a false pride which inclined him to think that keeping up appearances was nearly the whole life. _if you want to place a thoroughly entertaining and profitable book in your library, do not fail to send to the publishers of this charming story, who will promptly furnish it on receipt of the price._--_boston cultivator._ "here is the last and best work of that instructive author. it is full of incidents of a fast life, the expedients to keep up appearances, resulting in crime, remorse, and the evil opinion of all good men. the narrative is replete with startling situations, temptations, and all that makes up a thrilling story, in the semblance of an autobiography well rendered, sprightly, pathetic, with a dash of sensation. saved by the lifeboat, by r.m. ballantyne. ________________________________________________________________________ this book is mainly to describe the lifeboat service, and how private individuals can donate the money for building a new lifeboat. we start off with a wreck just occurring near a little seaside village, and how the local men rushed down to the beach to do what they could to save life. we then move to the offices of a mean grasping shipowner, who will do anything to avoid properly equipping his ships with what they would need if disaster struck. eventually he is brought to a more sensible state of mind, and donates money for a new lifeboat. there is a good fund-raising chapter, and it is interesting how very much the same today's appeals for the lifeboat service are, though of course today's lifeboat is a very different item to the lifeboats of over a hundred years ago. ________________________________________________________________________ saved by the lifeboat, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. the wreck in the bay. on a dark november afternoon, not many years ago, captain boyns sat smoking his pipe in his own chimney-corner, gazing with a somewhat anxious expression at the fire. there was cause for anxiety, for there raged at the time one of the fiercest storms that ever blew on the shores of england. the wind was howling in the chimney with wild fury; slates and tiles were being swept off the roofs of the fishermen's huts and whirled up into the air as if they had been chips of wood; and rain swept down and along the ground in great sheets of water, or whirled madly in the air and mingled with the salt spray that came direct from the english channel; while, high and loud above all other sounds, rose the loud plunging roar of the mighty sea. "i fear there will be a call before long, nancy, for the services of the new lifeboat," said captain boyns, rising and taking down an oilcloth coat and sou'-wester, which he began to put on leisurely; "i'll go down to the beach and see what's doin' at the cove." the captain was a fine specimen of a british sailor. he was a massive man, of iron build, and so tall that his sou'-wester almost touched the ceiling of his low-roofed parlour. his face was eminently masculine, and his usual expression was a compound of sternness, gravity, and good-humour. he was about forty years of age, and, unlike the men of his class at that time, wore a short curly black beard and moustache, which, with his deeply bronzed countenance, gave him the aspect of a foreigner. "god help those on the sea," said mrs boyns, in reply to her husband's remark; "i'm thankful, dan, that you are on shore this night." nancy was a good-looking, lady-like woman of thirty-three or thereabouts, without anything particularly noteworthy about her. she was busy with her needle at the time we introduce her, and relapsed into silence, while her stalwart husband pulled on a pair of huge sea-boots. "did you hear a gun, nancy?" cried the captain, as a terrific blast shook every timber in the cottage--"there! ain't that it again?" nancy listened intently, but could hear nothing save the raging of the storm. the captain completed his toilet, and was about to leave the room when the door suddenly burst open, and a lad of about fourteen years of age sprang in. "father," he cried, his eyes flashing with excitement, "there's a brig on the sands, and they are going to launch the new lifeboat!" "whereaway is't, lad?" asked boyns, as he buttoned up his coat. "to lee'ard of the breakwater." "oh harry, don't be too venturesome," cried mrs boyns earnestly, as her strapping boy was about to follow his father out into the pelting storm. harry, who was tall and strong for his age, and very like his father in many respects, turning round with a hearty smile, cried, "no fear, mother," and next instant was gone. the scene on the beach when father and son reached it was very impressive. so furious was the gale that it tore up sand and gravel and hurled it against the faces of the hardy men who dared to brave the storm. at times there were blasts so terrible that a wild shriek, as if of a storm-fiend, rent the air, and flakes of foam were whirled madly about. but the most awful sight of all was the seething of the sea as it advanced in a succession of great breaking "rollers" into the bay, and churned itself white among the rocks. out among these billows, scarce visible in the midst of the conflicting elements, were seen the dark hull, shattered masts, and riven sails of a large brig, over which the waves made clear breaches continually. in the little harbour of the seaport, which was named covelly, a number of strong men were engaged in hastily launching a new lifeboat, which had been placed at that station only three weeks before, while, clustering about the pier, and behind every sheltered nook along the shore, were hundreds of excited spectators, not a few of whom were women. much earnest talk had there been among the gossips in the town when the lifeboat referred to arrived. deep, and nautically learned, were the discussions that had been held as to her capabilities, and great the longing for a stiffish gale in order that her powers might be fairly tested in rough weather, for in those days lifeboats were not so numerous as, happily, they now are. many of the town's-people had only heard of such boats; few had seen, and not one had ever had experience of them. after her arrival the weather had continued tantalisingly calm and fine until the day of the storm above referred to, when at length it changed, and a gale burst forth with such violence that the bravest men in the place shook their heads, and said that no boat of any kind whatever could live in such a sea. when, however, the brig before referred to was seen to rush helplessly into the bay and to strike on the sands where the seas ran most furiously, all lent a willing hand to launch the new lifeboat into the harbour, and a few men, leaping in, pulled her across to the stairs near the entrance, where a number of seamen were congregated, holding on under the lee of the parapet-wall, and gazing anxiously at the fearful scene outside. "impossible!" said one; "no boat could live in such a sea for half a minute." "the moment she shows her nose outside the breakwater she'll capsize," observed another. "we'll have to risk it, anyhow," remarked a stout young fellow, "for i see men in the foreshrouds of the wreck, and i, for one, won't stand by and see them lost while we've got a lifeboat by us. why, wot's the use o' callin' it a lifeboat if it can't do more than other boats?" as he spoke there came an unusually furious gust which sent a wave right over the pier, and well-nigh swept away one or two of them. the argument of the storm was more powerful than that of the young sailor-- no one responded to his appeal, and when the boat came alongside the stairs, none moved to enter her except himself. "that's right, bob gaston," cried one of the four men who had jumped into the boat when she was launched, "i know'd you would be the first." "and i won't be the last either," said young gaston, looking back at the men on the pier with a smile. "right, lad!" cried captain boyns, who came up at the instant and leaped into the boat. "come, lads, we want four more hands--no, no, harry," he added, pushing back his son; "your arms are not yet strong enough; come lads, we've no time to lose." as he spoke, a faint cry was heard coming from the wreck, and it was seen that one of the masts had gone by the board, carrying, it was feared, several poor fellows along with it. instantly there was a rush to the lifeboat! all thought of personal danger appeared to have been banished from the minds of the fishermen when the cry of distress broke on their ears. the boat was overmanned, and old jacobs, the coxswain, had to order several of them to go ashore again. in another minute they were at the mouth of the harbour, and the men paused an instant as if to gather strength for the mortal struggle before quitting the shelter of the breakwater, and facing the fury of wind and waves. "give way, lads! give way!" shouted old jacobs, as he stood up in the stern-sheets and grasped the steering oar. the men bent to the oars with all their might, and the boat leaped out into the boiling sea. this was not one of those splendid boats which now line the shores of the united kingdom; nevertheless, it was a noble craft--one of the good, stable, insubmergible and self-emptying kind which were known as the greathead lifeboats, and which for many years did good service on our coasts. it sat on the raging waters like a swan, and although the seas broke over it again and again, it rose out of the water buoyantly, and, with the brine pouring from its sides, kept end-on to the seas, surmounting them or dashing right through them, while her gallant crew strained every muscle and slowly urged her on towards the wreck. at first the men on shore gazed at her in breathless anxiety, expecting every moment to see her overturned and their comrades left to perish in the waves; but when they saw her reappear from each overwhelming billow, their hearts rose with a rebound, and loud prolonged huzzas cheered the lifeboat on her course. they became silent again, however, when distance and the intervening haze of spray and rain rendered her motions indistinct, and their feelings of anxiety became more and more intense as they saw her draw nearer and nearer to the wreck. at last they reached it, but no one on the pier could tell with what success their efforts were attended. through the blinding spray they saw her faintly, now rising on the crest of a huge wave, then overwhelmed by tons of water. at last she appeared to get close under the stern of the brig, and was lost to view. "they're all gone," said a fisherman on the pier, as he wiped the salt water off his face; "i know'd that no boat that ever wos built could live in that sea." "ye don't know much yet, bill, 'bout anything a'most," replied an old man near him. "why, i've see'd boats in the east, not much better than two planks, as could go through a worse surf than that." "may be so," retorted bill, "but i know--hallo! is that her coming off?" "that's her," cried several voices--"all right, my hearties." "not so sure o' that," observed another of the excited band of men who watched every motion of the little craft intently,--"there--why--i do believe there are more in her now than went out in her, what think 'ee, dick?" dick did not reply, for by that time the boat, having got clear of the wreck, was making for the shore, and the observers were all too intent in using their eyes to make use of their tongues. coming as she did before the wind, the progress of the lifeboat was very different from what it had been when she set out. in a few minutes she became distinctly visible, careering on the crest of the waves towards the harbour mouth, and then it was ascertained beyond doubt that some at least, if not all, of the crew of the brig had been rescued. a short sharp hurrah! burst from the men on the outlook when this became certain, but they relapsed into deep silence again, for the return of the boat was more critical than its departure had been. there is much more danger in running before a heavy sea than in pulling against it. every roaring billow that came into the bay near the cove like a green wall broke in thunder on the sands before reaching the wreck, and as it continued its furious career towards the beach it seemed to gather fresh strength, so that the steersman of the lifeboat had to keep her stern carefully towards it to prevent her from turning broadside on--or, as it is nautically expressed, broaching to. had she done so, the death of all on board would have been almost inevitable. knowing this, the men on the pier gazed with breathless anxiety as each wave roared under the boat's stern, lifted it up until it appeared perpendicular; carried it forward a few yards with fearful velocity, and then let it slip back into the trough of the sea. but the boat was admirably managed, and it was seen, as she drew near, that the steering oar was held in the firm grip of captain boyns. on it came before the gale with lightning speed towards the harbour mouth; and here a new danger had to be faced, for the entrance was narrow, and the seas were sweeping not into but athwart it, thereby rendering the danger of being dashed against the pier-end very great indeed. "missed it!" burst from several mouths as the boat flew round the head of the breakwater and was overwhelmed by a heavy sea which rendered her for one moment unmanageable, but almost as soon as filled she was again emptied through the discharging tubes in her floor. "no fear of father missing it," exclaimed young harry boyns, with a proud look and flashing eye as he saw the stalwart form of the captain standing firm in the midst of the foam with his breast pressed hard against the steering oar. "back your starboard oars! hold water hard!" shouted several voices. "she's round! hurrah!" cried harry, as the boat almost leaped out of the foam and sprang into the comparatively smooth water at the harbour mouth. the rowers gave vent to a short shout of triumph, and several worn, exhausted seamen in the bottom of the boat were seen to wave their hands feebly. at the same time, captain boyns shouted in a deep loud voice--"all saved, thank god!" as they swept towards the land. then did there arise from the hundreds of people assembled on and near the pier a ringing cheer, the like of which had never been heard before in covelly. again and again it was repeated while the lifeboat shot up on the beach, and was fairly dragged out of the sea, high and dry, by many eager hands that were immediately afterwards extended to assist the saved crew of the brig to land. "are all saved, father?" asked harry boyns, who was first at the side of the boat. "ay, lad, every one. fifteen all told, includin' a woman and a little girl. lend a hand to get the poor things up to our house, harry," said the captain, lifting the apparently inanimate form of a young girl over the side as he spoke; "she ain't dead--only benumbed a little with the cold." many hands were stretched out, but harry thrust all others aside, and, receiving the light form of the child in his strong arms, bore her off to his father's cottage, leaving his comrades to attend to the wants of the others. "oh harry!" exclaimed mrs boyns, when her son burst into the house, "is your father safe?" "ay, safe and well," he cried. "look sharp, mother--get hot blankets and things ready, for here's a little girl almost dead with cold. she has just been rescued from a wreck--saved by the new lifeboat!" chapter two. describes a merchant and his god, and concludes with "a message from the sea." a close-fisted, hard-hearted, narrow-minded, poor-spirited man was john webster, esquire, merchant and shipowner, of ingot lane, liverpool. and yet he was not altogether without good points. indeed, it might be said of him that if he had been reared under more favourable circumstances he might have been an ornament to society and a blessing to his country, for he was intelligent and sociable, and susceptible to some extent of tender influences, when the indulging of amiable feelings did not interfere with his private interests. in youth he had even gone the length of holding some good principles, and was known to have done one or two noble things--but all this had passed away, for as he grew older the hopeful springs were dried up, one by one, by an all-absorbing passion--the love of money--which ultimately made him what he was, a disgrace to the class to which he belonged, and literally (though not, it would seem, in the eye of law) a wholesale murderer! at first he began by holding, and frequently stating, the opinion that the possession of much money was a most desirable thing; which undoubtedly was--and is, and will be as long as the world lasts-- perfectly true, if the possession be accompanied with god's blessing. but mr webster did not even pretend to look at the thing in that light. he scorned to make use of the worldly man's "oh, of course, of course," when that idea was sometimes suggested to him by christian friends. on the contrary, he boldly and coldly asserted his belief that "god, if there was a god at all, did not interfere in such matters, and that for his part he would be quite satisfied to let anybody else who wanted it have the blessing if he only got the money." and so it pleased god to give john webster much money without a blessing. the immediate result was that he fell in love with it, and, following the natural laws attached to that vehement passion, he hugged it to his bosom, became blind to everything else, and gave himself entirely up to it with a self-denying devotion that robbed him of much of his natural rest, of nearly all his graces, and most of his happiness--leaving him with no hope in this world, save that of increasing his stores of money, and with no hope for the world to come at all. the abode of mr webster's soul was a dingy little office with dirty little windows, a miserable little fireplace, and filthy little chairs and tables--all which were quite in keeping with the little occupant of the place. the abode of his body was a palatial residence in the suburbs of the city. although mr webster's soul was little, his body was large--much too large indeed for the jewel which it enshrined, and which was so terribly knocked about inside its large casket that its usual position was awry, and it never managed to become upright by any chance whatever. to the former abode mr webster went, body and soul, one dark november morning. having seated himself before his desk, he threw himself back in his chair and began to open his letters--gazing with a placid smile, as he did so, at the portrait of his deceased wife's father--a very wealthy old gentleman--which hung over the fireplace. we omitted to mention, by the way, that mr webster had once been married. this trifling little event of his life occurred when he was about forty-eight years of age, and was a mercantile transaction of an extremely successful kind, inasmuch as it had brought him, after deducting lawyers' fees, stamps, duties, lost time in courtship, wedding-tour expenses, doctor's fees, deathbed expenses, etcetera, a clear profit of sixty thousand pounds. to be sure there were also the additional expenses of four years of married life, and the permanent board, lodging, and education of a little daughter; but, all things considered, these were scarcely worth speaking of; and in regard to the daughter--annie by name--she would in time become a marketable commodity, which might, if judiciously disposed of, turn in a considerable profit, besides being, before she was sold, a useful machine for sewing on buttons, making tea, reading the papers aloud, fetching hats and sticks and slippers, etcetera. there had, however, been a slight drawback--a sort of temporary loss--on this concern at first, for the piece of goods became damaged, owing to her mother's death having weighed heavily on a sensitive and loving spirit, which found no comfort or sympathy at home, save in the devoted affection of an old nurse named niven. when annie reached the age of six years, the doctors ordered change of air, and recommended a voyage to the west indies. their advice was followed. nothing was easier. mr webster had many ships on the sea. these were of two classes. the first class consisted of good, new, well found and manned ships, with valuable cargoes on board which were anxiously watched and longed for; the second class comprised those which were old, worn-out, and unseaworthy, and which, being insured beyond their value, might go to the bottom when they pleased. one of the best of the first class was selected--the _water lily_, a on lloyd's--and in it annie, with her nurse, was sent to sea for the benefit of her health. the parting was a somewhat important event in mr webster's life, for it convinced him, to his own surprise, that his power to love a human being was not yet utterly gone! annie's arms clasped convulsively round his neck at the moment of parting--her sobbing "good-bye, darling papa," had stirred depths which had lain unmoved almost from the days of early manhood. but the memory of this passed away as soon as he turned again to gaze upon the loved countenance of his yellow mistress. the voyage did annie much good. the short residence in demerara, while the vessel was discharging cargo and reloading, wrought wonders, and a letter, forwarded by a ship that sailed a short time after their arrival in "foreign parts," told mr webster that he might expect to see his daughter home again, sound and well, in a month or two at the farthest. but, to return from this digression to the abode of mr webster's soul:-- having looked at the portrait of his late wife's father for a moment and smiled, he glanced at the letter in his hand and frowned. not because he was displeased, but because the writing was cramped and difficult to read. however, the merchant was accustomed to receive such letters from seafaring men on many subjects of interest; he therefore broke the seal and set himself patiently to decipher it. immediately his countenance became ghastly pale, then it flushed up and became pale again, while he coughed and gasped once or twice, and started up and sat down abruptly. in fact mr webster exhibited all the signs of having received a severe shock, and an eye-witness might have safely concluded that he had just read the news of some great mercantile loss. so it was in one sense-- but that was not the ordinary sense. the letter in question was in the handwriting of a fussy officious "bumble" friend of the wealthy man, who dwelt in the town of covelly. it ran as follows: "my dear sir,--i write in great haste, and in much perturbation, having just heard from my servant of the wreck of your ship, the _water lily_, in covelly bay. she does not seem to be quite sure, however, of the name, and says that the only man who has been rescued is scarcely able to speak, so that i do sincerely hope my domestic, who is a stupid old woman, may turn out to be mistaken. i am on the point of hasting down to the shore to ascertain the truth for myself, but am obliged to write to you this brief and unsatisfactory account of what i have heard, in order to save the post, which is just being closed. you shall hear from me again, of course, by the next mail.--i remain, my dear sir, in much anxiety, your most obedient humble servant, "joseph dowler." it chanced that at the moment the above letter was handed to the postmaster, and while the wax was being melted before the final sealing of the post-bag, a sailor lad, drenched to the skin and panting vehemently, dashed into the office. "stop! stop!" he cried, "a letter--about the wreck--the _water lily_--to the owners--not too late, i hope?" "no, no, just in time. here, in with it. there, all right. now, jim, off with 'ee." the postman jumped on his vehicle, the whip cracked, and in another minute the royal mail was gone. thus it came to pass that two epistles reached mr webster that morning from covelly. but in the extreme agitation of his spirit, he did not observe the other letter which lay among the usual morning mass that still awaited examination. after reading the letter twice, and turning it over with trembling hands, as if he wished there were more in it, he pronounced a deep malediction on his "humble" friend, and rang the bell for his confidential clerk, who was an unusually meek, mild, and middle-aged little man, with a bald head, a deprecatory expression of countenance, and a pen behind his ear. "mr grinder," said mr webster, putting strong constraint on himself, and pretending to be quite composed, "a letter from covelly informs me that it is feared the _water lily_ has been wrecked in--" "the _water lily_, sir!" exclaimed grinder, starting as if he had received an electric shock. "i spoke audibly, did i not?" said mr webster, turning with a sharp look on his confidential clerk. "ye-es, sir, but, i--miss an--" the poor man could get no further, being of a timid, nervous temperament, and mr webster, paying no attention to his remark, was going on to say that he intended to go by the mail to covelly without delay to ascertain the truth for himself, when he was interrupted by the confidential clerk who exclaimed in a burst of agitation-- "there were _two_ letters, sir, from covelly this morning--did you read--" he stopped, for already his employer had sought for, found, and torn open the second epistle, which was written in a fair, legible hand. it ran thus:-- "sir,--my father, captain boyns, directs me to inform you that your daughter, miss annie, has been saved from the wreck of your brig, the _water lily_, which ran aground here this afternoon, and has become a total wreck. your daughter's nurse and the crew have also been rescued by our new lifeboat, which is a noble craft, and, with god's blessing, will yet do good service on this coast. i have pleasure in adding, from myself, that it was my father who rescued your child. she fell into the sea when being passed from the wreck into the boat, and sank, but my father dived and brought her up in safety. "much of the brig's cargo has been lost, i regret to say, but a good deal of it has been washed ashore and saved in a damaged state. the captain says that defective compasses were the cause of the disaster. there is not time to give you a more particular account, as it is close upon post-time. miss annie sends you her kindest love, and bids me say she is none the worse of what she has passed through.--i am, sir, your obedient servant, "harry boyns." "thank god!" exclaimed mr webster fervently. "why, what are you staring at, mr grinder?" he added, on observing that his confidential servant was gazing at him with an expression of considerable surprise. "excuse me, sir," stammered the unfortunate man, "i--i--in fact--you have so often told me that you did not believe in god that i fancied-- i--wondered--" "really, mr grinder, i must beg of you to confine your remarks in future entirely to matters of business. the so-called religious observations which you sometimes venture to make in my presence are extremely distasteful, i assure you. in explanation of what i said, however, i may tell you that this letter informs me of my daughter's safety, and i merely used the expression of satisfaction that is usual on such occasions. the phrase, as it is generally understood (except by weak men), commits me to nothing more. but enough of this. i find that the _water lily_ has indeed been lost. it was fully insured, i believe?" "yes, sir, it was." "very well; report the matter without delay. i will go to covelly to-night, and shall probably be back to-morrow." saying this, mr webster left the office, and, on the evening of that day, found himself seated in captain boyns's parlour, with little annie on his knee. her pretty head was on his shoulder, her fair curls straggled over his chest, and her round little arms tightly encircled his large body as far as they could reach, while she sobbed on his bosom and kissed him by turns. this was quite a new experience in the life of the gold-lover. he had declined to submit to familiar caresses in former years, but on such an occasion as the present, he felt that common propriety demanded the sacrifice of himself to some extent. he therefore allowed annie to kiss him, and found the operation--performed as she did it--much more bearable than he had anticipated; and when annie exclaimed with a burst of enthusiasm, "oh, dear, dear papa, i did feel such a dreadful longing for you when the waves were roaring round us!" and gave him another squeeze, he felt that the market price of the bundle of goods on his knee was rising rapidly. "did you think you were going to be drowned, dear?" said mr webster with the air of a man who does not know very well what to say. "i'm not sure what i thought," replied annie smiling through her tears. "oh, i was so frightened! you can't think, papa, how very dreadful it is to see the water boiling all round, and sometimes over you; and such awful thumping of the ship, and then the masts breaking; but what i feared most was to see the faces of the sailors, they were so white, and they looked as if they were afraid. are men ever afraid, papa?" "sometimes, annie; but a white face is not always the sign of fear--that may be caused by anxiety. did any of them refuse to obey orders?" "no; they were very obedient." "did any of them get into the lifeboat before you and nurse!" "oh, no; they all refused to move till we were put into it, and some of them ran to help us, and were very very kind?" "then you may be quite sure they were not afraid, however pale their faces were; but what of yourself, annie--were you afraid?" "oh, dreadfully, and so was poor nurse; but once or twice i thought of the text that--that--you know who was so fond of,--`call upon me in the time of trouble and i will deliver thee,' so i prayed and felt a little better. then the lifeboat came, and, oh! how my heart did jump, for it seemed just like an answer to my prayer. i never felt any more fear after that, except when i fell into the sea; but even then i was not so frightened as i had been, for i felt somehow that i was sure to be saved, and i was right, you see, for dear captain boyns dived for me. i love captain boyns!" cried annie, and here again she kissed her father and held him so tight that he felt quite angry with mrs niven, who entered at the moment, and said, apologetically-- "oh! la, sir, i didn't know as miss annie was with you. i only came to say that everythink is ready, sir, for going 'ome." "we don't intend to go home," said mr webster; "at least not for a day or two. i find that captain boyns can let us stay here while i look after the wreck, so you can go and arrange with mrs boyns." during the few days that mr webster remained at coral cottage (captain boyns's residence), mrs niven found, in the quiet, sympathetic mrs boyns, if not a congenial friend, at least a kind and sociable hostess, and annie found, in harry boyns, a delightful companion, who never wearied of taking her to the cliffs, the shore, and all the romantic places of the neighbourhood, while mr webster found the captain to be most serviceable in connection with the wreck. one result of all this was that mr webster offered captain boyns the command of one of his largest vessels, an offer which was gladly accepted, for the captain had, at that time, been thrown out of employment by the failure of a firm, in the service of which he had spent the greater part of his nautical career. another result was, that mr webster, at annie's earnest solicitation, agreed to make covelly his summer quarters next year, instead of ramsgate, and mrs boyns agreed to lodge the family in coral cottage. this having been all settled, mr webster asked captain boyns, on the morning of his departure for liverpool, if he could do anything more for him, for he felt that to him his daughter owed her life, and he was anxious to serve him. "if you could give my son harry something to do, sir," said boyns, "you would oblige me very much. harry is a smart fellow and a good seaman. he has been a short time in the coasting trade; perhaps--" "well, yes, i'll see to that," interrupted mr webster. "you shall hear from me again as to it." now the fact is that mr webster did not feel attracted by young boyns, and he would willingly have had nothing to do with him, but being unable to refuse the request after having invited it, he ultimately gave him a situation in one of his coasting vessels which plied between london and aberdeen. about a year after that, captain boyns sailed in the _warrior_, a large new ship, for the sandwich islands and the chinese seas. true to his promise, mr webster spent the following summer with annie and mrs boyns at covelly, and young boyns so managed matters that he got his captain to send him down to covelly to talk with his employer on business. of course, being there, it was natural that he should ask and obtain leave to spend a few days with his mother; and, of course, it was quite as natural that, without either asking or obtaining leave, he should spend the whole of these days in roaming about the shore and among the cliffs with annie webster. it would be absurd to say that these two fell in love, seeing that one was only seven and the other fifteen; but there can be no doubt they entertained some sort of regard for each other, of a very powerful nature. the young sailor was wildly enthusiastic, well educated, manly, and good-looking--little wonder that annie liked him. the child was winning in her ways, simple, yet laughter-loving, and very earnest--less wonderful that harry liked _her_! another year fled, and again the websters visited covelly, and again harry spent a few days with his mother; and although mr webster did not get the length of liking the youth, he at last came to the condition of not disliking him. year followed year, and still, each summer, annie pressed her father to return to the old place, and he agreed, chiefly because it mattered little to him where he went. he regarded the summer trip in the light of a penance to be paid for the sin of being a member of society and the head of a household, and placed every minute so wasted to the debit of the profit and loss account in the mental ledger of his life's affairs, for it must not be supposed that mr webster's character was changed by the events which followed the rescue of his child from the sea. true, he had been surprised out of his habitual hardness for a short time, but he soon relapsed, if not quite back to the old position, at least so near to it that the difference was not appreciable. as time ran on, men begun to look for the return of the _warrior_, but that vessel did not make her appearance. then they began to shake their heads and to grow prophetic, while those who were most deeply interested in the human beings who manned her became uneasy. "don't fret over it," said harry one day to his mother, in a kind, earnest tone; "you may depend upon it father will turn up yet and surprise us. he never lost a ship in his life, and he has sailed in worse ones than the _warrior_ by a long way." "it may be so," replied mrs boyns, sadly; "but it is a long, long time since he went away. god's will be done. whether he gives or takes away, i shall try to bless his name." at last harry gave over attempting to comfort his mother, for he began to fear that his father's ship was destined to be placed on the dark, dreary list of those of which it is sometimes said, with terrible brevity, in the newspapers, "she sailed from port on such and such a day, and has not since been heard of." in course of time harry made one or two trips to the east indies as first mate of one of mr webster's vessels, and ultimately obtained the command of one. at last a day came when there appeared in a welsh newspaper a paragraph, which ran thus:--"a message from the sea--a bottle, corked and sealed, was found by a woman on the beach, above conway, north wales. inside was a letter containing the following:-- "`latitude , longitude , off tierra del fuego. if this should ever reach the shores of england, it will announce to friends at home the sad fate of the ship _warrior_, which sailed from liverpool on th february hundred and something, bound for china. we have been boarded by pirates: we have been all locked into the cabin, with the assurance that we shall be made to walk the plank in half an hour. our last act is to put this in a bottle and drop it overboard. farewell, for this world, my beloved wife and son.' "`daniel boyns, captain.'" this letter was forwarded to the owner, and by him was sent to poor mrs boyns. alas! how many sailors' wives, in our sea-girt isle, have received similar "messages from the sea," and lived under the dark cloud of never-ending suspense--hoping against hope that the dear lost ones might yet return! chapter three. shows what some men will do and dare for money, and what sometimes comes of it. we must now beg the reader's permission to allow a few more years to elapse. eight have come and gone since the dark day when poor mrs boyns received that message from the sea, which cast a permanent cloud over her life. annie webster has become a beautiful woman, and harry boyns a bronzed stalwart man. but things have changed with time. these two seldom meet now, in consequence of the frequent absence of the latter on long voyages, and when they do meet, there is not the free, frank intercourse that there used to be. in fact, mr webster had long ago begun to suspect that his daughter's regard for the handsome young sailor was of a nature that bade fair to interfere with his purposed mercantile transactions in reference to her, so he wisely sent him off on voyages of considerable length, hoping that he might chance to meet with the same fate as his father, and wound up by placing him in command of one of his largest and most unseaworthy east indiamen, in the full expectation that both captain and vessel would go to the bottom together, and thus enable him, at one stroke, to make a good round sum out of the insurance offices, and get rid of a troublesome servant! gloating over these and kindred subjects, mr webster sat one morning in his office mending a pen, and smiling in a sardonic fashion to the portrait of his deceased wife's father, when a tap came to the door, and harry boyns entered. "i have come, sir," he said, "to tell you that the repairs done to the _swordfish_ are not by any means sufficient. there are at least--" "please do not waste time, captain boyns, by entering upon details," said mr webster, interrupting him with a bland smile: "i am really quite ignorant of the technicalities of shipbuilding. if you will state the matter to mr cooper, whom i employ expressly for--" "but, sir," interrupted harry, with some warmth, "i _have_ spoken to mr cooper, and he says the repairs are quite sufficient." "well, then, i suppose they are so." "i assure you, sir," rejoined harry, "they are not; and as the lives of passengers as well as men depend upon the vessel being in a seaworthy condition, i do trust that you will have her examined by some one more competent to judge than mr cooper." "i have no doubt of mr cooper's competence," returned mr webster; "but i will order a further examination, as you seem so anxious about it. meanwhile i hope that the ship is being got ready for sea as quickly as possible." "there shall be no delay on my part, sir," said harry, rising; "the ship has been removed from the birkenhead docks, in which you are aware she has lain for the last eight months, and is now lying in the brunswick dock, taking in cargo. but i think it a very serious matter, which demands looking into, the fact that she had no sooner grounded in the dock, than she sprang a leak which instantly let twenty-eight inches of water into her, and twice, subsequently, as much as forty inches have been sounded. yet no repairs worthy of the name have been made. all that has been done is the pumping of her out daily by the stevedore's men when their stowing work is finished." "has the agent for the underwriters visited her?" inquired mr webster. "he has, sir, but he seems to be of opinion that his responsibility is at an end because a surveyor from the mersey docks and harbour board had previously visited her, and directed that she should not be loaded deeper than twenty-one feet--chalking on the side amidships the six feet six inches clear beneath which she is not to be allowed to sink." "well, well," said mr webster, somewhat impatiently, "i will have the matter looked into. good morning, captain boyns." the captain bowed and left the office, and mr webster leant back in his chair, clasped his hands, twirled his thumbs, and smiled grimly at the old gentleman over the fireplace. true to his word, however, he had an inspection made of the _swordfish_. the inspector was of a kindred spirit with mr webster, so that his report was naturally similar to that of mr cooper. nothing, therefore, was done to the vessel--"nothing being needed"--and the loading went on in spite of the remonstrances of captain harry boyns, who, with all the energy and persistency of his character, continued to annoy, worry, and torment every one who possessed the faintest right or power to interfere in the matter--but all to no purpose; for there are times when neither facts nor fancies, fair words nor foul, fire, fury, folly, nor philosophy, will avail to move some "powers that be!" in a towering fit of indignation harry boyns resolved to throw up his situation; but it occurred to him that this would perhaps be deemed cowardice, so he thought better of it. then he madly thought of going direct to the president of the board of trade and making a solemn protest, backed by a heart-stirring appeal; but gave up that idea on recalling to memory a certain occasion on which a deputation of grave, learned, white-haired gentlemen had gone to london expressly to visit that august functionary of the state, and beseech him, with all the earnestness that the occasion demanded, that he would introduce into parliament a bill for the better regulation and supervision of ships, and for preventing the possibility of seamen and passengers being seduced on board unseaworthy vessels, carried off to sea, and there murderously drowned in cold blood, as well as in cold water; which deputation received for answer, that "it was not the intention of government, as at present advised, to introduce a measure for providing more stringent enactments as to the equipments, cargoes, and crews of passenger vessels!"--a reply which was tantamount to saying that if the existing arrangements were inadequate to the ends desired, government saw no way out of the difficulty, and people must just be left unprotected, and go to sea to be drowned or spared according as chance or the cupidity of shipowners might direct! this was pretty resolute on the part of government, considering that above a thousand lives were then, and above two thousand still are, lost annually on the shores of the united kingdom; a very large number of which--if we may believe the argument of facts and the pretty unanimous voice of the press--are sacrificed because government refuses to interfere effectively with the murderous tendencies of a certain class of the community! when harry boyns thought of all this he sighed deeply, and made up his mind to remain by the _swordfish_, and sink or swim with her. had he been more of a man of business, perhaps he might have been more successful in finding out how to have prevented the evil he foresaw; but it was the interest of the owner to keep him in the dark as much as possible, for which end mr webster kept him out of the ship's way as much as he could, and when that was impossible, he kept him so busily employed that he remained ignorant of a great deal that was said and done in regard to his vessel. at length the _swordfish_ left the brunswick dock, _six inches deeper_ than the surveyor had directed, and was towed to the wellington dock, where she took in tons of coke, and sank still deeper. harry also discovered that the equipment of the ship was miserably insufficient for the long voyage she was intended to make. this was too much for him to bear. he went at once to mr webster's office and said that if a deaf ear was to be turned any longer to his remonstrances he would throw up his appointment. poor harry could scarcely have taken a more effective step to insure the turning of the deaf ear to him. "oh!" replied mr webster, coolly, "if you refuse to take charge of my vessel, captain boyns, i will soon find another to do it." "i certainly do refuse," said harry, preparing to leave the office, "and i think you will find some difficulty in getting any other man to go to sea in such a ship." "i differ from you, captain boyns. good afternoon." "and if you do, and lives should be lost in consequence," added harry, grasping the handle of the door, "i warn you solemnly, that murder will have been committed by you, whatever the law may say on the subject." "good afternoon, captain boyns." "you've got a hard master," said harry to grinder as he passed through the outer office. the confidential clerk shook his head in a deprecatory way, and smiled. next moment harry boyns found himself in the street--with nothing to do, and the wide world before him! meanwhile, the loading of the _swordfish_ went on--also the pumping of her. that same day she was visited by a surveyor from the underwriters' association, who found her only five feet clear above water, and still taking in cargo. that gentleman called in another surveyor to a consultation, who agreed with him in pronouncing her overladen. she was represented as such to the local underwriters' association for which the surveyor acted, but as the _swordfish_ was insured in london and not with them, the liverpool underwriters did not consider themselves called upon to interfere. their surveyor, however, visited the vessel again, a few days later, when he found her "only four feet clear," and declared that, so far from going to bombay, he should not like to attempt to cross to dublin in her in anything like rough weather. now it must be observed that all these consultations and investigations took place in a quiet way. to the public eye all was "fair and above board." few among the thousands who visited the docks knew much about deep loading; still less about adequate equipping. they saw nought but a "noble ship," well painted, washed, gilded, and varnished, taking merchandise into her insatiable hold, while the "yo-heave-ho" of the seamen rang out cheerily to the rattling accompaniment of chains and windlass. many other ships were there, similarly treated, equally beautiful, and quite as worthy of the titles "good" and "noble" as the whited sepulchre is to be styled pure. a few days before the _swordfish_ was ready for sea, a new captain was sent down to her. this captain was not a "bad man" in the worst sense of that term--neither was he a "good" one. vigour, courage, resolution when acting in accordance with his inclinations--these were among his characteristics. but he was a reckless man, in want of money, out of employment, and without an appreciable conscience. in the circumstances, he was glad to get anything to do, and had been so long ashore and "in trouble," that he would probably have agreed to take command of and go to sea in a washing-tub if part paid beforehand for doing so. nevertheless, even this man (captain phelps by name) felt some degree of nervous anxiety on getting on board and examining the state of the ship. on further acquaintance with her, he was so dissatisfied that he also resolved to throw up his appointment. but he had obtained the berth through the influence of a friend who happened to be acquainted with mr webster. this "friend" wrote him a stern letter, saying, if he ventured to do as he proposed, he should never have a ship out of liverpool again, as long as he (the friend?) could prevent it! captain phelps was one of those angry men of iron mould, who appear to take pleasure in daring fate to do her worst. on receipt of the letter, he swore with an awful oath that he would now go to sea in the _swordfish_, even if he knew she would go to the bottom in twenty-four hours after weighing anchor. accordingly, having intrenched himself behind a wall of moral adamant, he went about with quiet indifference, and let things take their course. he made no objection whatever when, in addition to the loading already in the ship, the agents added a deck cargo of some massive pieces of machinery, weighing thirty tons, and a supply of coals, the proper receptacle for which below had been filled with iron goods. neither did he utter a word when--after the vessel had been taken out into the stream by the riggers--he and the owner, agents, pilot, and crew (only six of which last were a.b.'s), were taken off to her in a tug and put on board with orders to sail immediately. only a few passengers were going. these were already on board, but some of their friends went off in the tug to bid them a last farewell. this was a sad scene, but the captain regarded it with stoical indifference. there was a stout, hale old indian officer going out on a pleasure trip to his beloved east, and a daughter of the same whom he hoped to get married "offhand, comfortably there." there was a sick nephew of the old officer, going the voyage for the benefit of his health, on whose wan countenance consumption, if not death, had evidently set a deep mark. there were, also, a nurse and a lady's-maid, and two girls of ten or thirteen years of age--sisters--who were going to join their father and mother, besides one or two others. earnest loving words passed kindly between these and their relatives and friends as the moment of parting drew near. "don't forget to remember me to coleman and the rest of `ours,'" cried a stout elderly man, waving his hand as the tug moved off. "that i won't, and i shall expect to shake you by the hand again, old fellow, in a year or two." "you'll never see him again," thought captain phelps, as he stood with compressed lip and frowning eye on the quarter-deck. "good-bye, darling nelly," cried a lady to one of the sobbing girls from whom she was parting; "remember the message to mamma." "oh! yes," exclaimed the child, trying to look bright, "and we won't be very long of coming back again." "you'll never come back again," thought the captain, and he sighed _very_ slightly as the thought passed through his brain. "look alive there, lads," exclaimed the pilot, as the tug sheared away. soon the anchor was at the bows, the sails were shaken out, and the _swordfish_ began her voyage. "there's not a piece of spare rope aboard, sir," said the first mate, coming up to the captain with a blank look; "we can't even get enough to cat and fish the anchor." "you can unreeve the tops'l halyards," replied the captain, quietly. this was done, and the anchor was secured therewith. "how much water in the hold?" asked the captain. "three feet, sir; the carpenter has just sounded. it seems that the riggers were at work on the pumps when we came out in the tug, but were stopped by the agents before we got alongside. i fear she is very leaky, sir," said the mate. "i _know_ she is," replied the captain; "keep the men at the pumps." that night the weather became what sailors call "dirty," and next morning it was found that the water had mounted to feet inches. the pumps had become almost unworkable, being choked with sand, and it became evident that the voyage thus inauspiciously begun would very soon be ended. during the day the "dirty" weather became gale, so that, although the wind was fair, captain phelps determined to run to the nearest port for shelter. with a "good ship" this might have been done easily enough--many a vessel does it during every gale that visits our stormy shores--but the _swordfish_ was by this time getting water-logged and unmanageable. she drifted helplessly before the gale, and the heavy seas broke over her continually, sweeping away everything moveable. another night passed, and next morning--sunday--it became plain that she was settling down so the captain gave orders to get out the long-boat, and told the passengers to get ready. day had broken some time before this, but the weather was still so thick that nothing could be seen. "take a cast of the lead," said the captain. "ay, ay, sir," was the prompt reply, but before the order could be obeyed, the roar of breakers was heard above the howling of the storm, and the shout, "land on the port bow!" was instantly followed by "down with the helm!" and other orders hurriedly given by the captain and hastily obeyed by the men. all too late! the ship was embayed. as if to make their position more painful, the mists cleared partially away, and revealed the green fields and cottages on shore, with the angry sea--an impassable caldron of boiling foam--between. another instant and the ship struck with a convulsive quiver from stem to stern. the billows flew madly over her, the main-mast went by the board--carrying two of the men to their doom along with it--and the _swordfish_, "bound for bombay," was cast, a total wreck, upon the coast of cornwall. chapter four. the rescue. fortunate is it for this land that those who war for evil and those who fight for good do so side by side; and well is it for poor humanity that the bane and the antidote grow together. the misanthrope sends his poisonous streams throughout the land, but the philanthropist erects his dams everywhere to stem the foul torrents and turn them aside. the infidel plants unbelief with reckless hand far and wide, but the christian scatters the "word" broadcast over the land. the sordid shipowner strews the coast with wreck and murdered fellow-creatures; but, thank god, the righteous shipowner--along with other like-minded men--sends forth a fleet of lifeboats from almost every bay and cove along the shore to rob the deep of its prey, and rescue the perishing. in the bay where the _swordfish_ was stranded there chanced to be a lifeboat. most of her noble crew were, at the time the vessel struck, in chapel, probably engaged in singing the hymns of the great john wesley, or listening to the preaching of the "old, old story" of the salvation of souls through faith in jesus christ. but there were bodies to be saved that day as well as souls, and the stout arms of the lifeboat crew were needed. the cry was quickly raised, "a wreck in the bay!" the shout that naturally followed was, "the lifeboat!" a stalwart cornish gentleman sprang from his pew to serve his master in another field. he was the honorary local secretary of the lifeboat institution--a man brimful of physical energy, and with courage and heart for every good work. no time was lost. six powerful horses were procured so quickly that it seemed as if they had started ready harnessed into being. willing hands dragged the lifeboat, mounted on its carriage, from its shed, the horses were attached, and a loud cheer arose as the huge craft was whirled along the road towards the bay. the scene of the wreck was a mile distant, and a large town had to be traversed on the way thither. hundreds of worshippers were on the streets, returning home, with chastened thoughts and feelings perchance, from church and chapel. there was excitement, however, in their looks, for the echo of that cry, "the lifeboat!" had reached the ears of many, and eager inquiries were being made. presently the lifeboat itself, with all its peculiar gear, came thundering through the town, rudely dispelling, for a few moments, the solemnity of the sabbath day. hundreds of men, women, and children followed in its train, and hundreds more joined at every turn of the main thoroughfare. "a wreck in the bay!" "crew in the rigging!" "mainmast gone!" "she can't hold long together in such a sea!" "we'll be in time yet!" "hurrah!" such were some of the exclamations heard on all sides as the rescuers dashed along, and the excited multitude irresistibly followed. even females ventured to join the throng, and, holding shawls tightly round their heads and shoulders, went down on the exposed sands and faced the pelting storm. in less than half an hour after the alarm was given, the lifeboat swept down to the beach, the horses, obedient to the rein, flew round, the boat's bow was presented to the sea, and the carriage thrust as far into the surf as was possible. then hundreds of willing hands seized the launching ropes, and the boat, with her crew already seated, and the oars out, sprang from her carriage into the hissing flood. a tremendous billow met her. "steady lads, give way!" cried the coxswain, on whose steering everything depended at the first plunge. the short oars cracked as the men strained every muscle, and shot the boat, not over, but right through the falling deluge. of course it was filled, but the discharging tubes freed it in a few seconds, and the cheers of the spectators had scarce burst forth when she rushed out to meet the succeeding breaker. there was another breathless moment, when hundreds of men, eager to vent their surcharged breast in another cheer, could only gaze and gasp--then a roar, a world of falling foam, and the lifeboat was submerged. but the gallant coxswain met the shock straight as an arrow, cleft the billow, and leaped onward--irresistibly onward-- over, through, and in the teeth of raging wind and waves, until they were fairly out and dancing on the chaotic ocean. but, just before this took place, the captain of the _swordfish_, ignorant of the fact that the lifeboat was hastening to the rescue, unfortunately took a fatal step. believing that no boat would venture to put off in such a gale, he ordered the ship's launch to be lowered. this was done, but it was immediately upset and stove against the side. then the jollyboat was lowered, and nine men and the captain got into it. the old indian officer, with his daughter and all the women and children, were also, with great difficulty, put on board of it. captain phelps was cool and self-possessed in that hour of danger. he steered the boat with consummate skill, and succeeded in keeping her afloat for some time. on she rushed, as if driven by an irresistible impulse, amid the cheers of the crowd, and the prayers of many that she might safely reach the land. the brave fellows who manned her struggled hard and well, but in vain. when the boat was little more three hundred yards from the shore an immense breaker overtook her. "she'll be swamped!" "she's gone!" "god save her!" and similar cries burst from those on shore. next moment the wave had the boat in its powerful grasp, tossed her on its crest, whirled her round, and turned her keel up, leaving her freight of human beings struggling in the sea. oh! it was a terrible thing for the thousands on land to stand so close to those drowning men and women without the power of stretching out a hand to save! no one could get near them, although they were so near. they were tossed like straws on the raging surf. now hurled on the crest of a wave, now sucked into the hollow beneath, and overwhelmed again and again. the frail ones of the hapless crew soon perished. the strong men struggled on with desperate energy to reach the shore. three of them seized the keel of the boat, but three times were they driven from their hold by the force of the seas. two or three caught at the floating oars, but most of them were soon carried away by the under-current. the captain, however, with five or six of the men, still struggled powerfully for life, and succeeded in swimming close to the beach. up to this point there was one of the spectators who had stood behind the shelter of a bush, surveying, with sorrowful countenance, the tragic scene. he was a short, but fine-looking and very athletic man--a champion cornish wrestler, named william jeff. he was a first-rate boatman, and a bold swimmer. fortunately he also possessed a generous, daring heart. when this man saw captain phelps near the shore, he sprang forward, dashed into the surf, at the imminent risk of his life, and caught the captain by the hair. the retreating water well-nigh swept the brave rescuer away, but other men of the town, fearless like himself, leaped forward, joined hands, caught hold of jeff, and hauled him safe ashore along with the captain, who was carried away in a state of insensibility. again and again, at the risk of his life, did the champion wrestler wrestle with the waves and conquer them! aided by his daring comrades he dragged three others from the jaws of death. of those who entered the jolly-boat of the _swordfish_, only five reached the land. these were all sailors, and one of them, captain phelps, was so much exhausted by his exertions that, notwithstanding all that cordials, rubbing, and medical skill could effect, he sank in a few minutes, and died. but while this was occurring on the beach, another scene of disaster was taking place at the wreck. the lifeboat, after a severe pull of more than an hour, reached the vessel. as she was passing under her stern a great sea struck the boat and immediately capsized her. all on board were at once thrown out. the boat was, however, one of those self-righting crafts, which had just at that time been introduced. she immediately righted, emptied herself, and the crew climbed into her by means of the life-lines festooned round her sides; but the brave coxswain was jammed under her by some wreck, and nearly lost his life-- having to dive three or four times before he could extricate himself. when at last dragged into the boat by his comrades he was apparently dead. it was then discovered that the man who had pulled the stroke oar had been swept overboard and carried away. his companions believed him to be lost, but he had on one of the cork life-belts of the lifeboat institution, and was by it floated to the shore, where a brave fellow swam his horse out through the surf and rescued him. meanwhile, the lifeboat men were so much injured and exhausted that they were utterly incapable of making any attempt to rescue those who remained of the crew of the _swordfish_. it was as much as they could do to guide the boat again towards the shore, steered by the second coxswain, who, although scarcely able to stand, performed his duty with consummate skill. nothing of all this could be seen by the thousands on shore, owing to the spray which thickened the atmosphere, and the distance of the wreck. but when the lifeboat came in sight they soon perceived that something was wrong, and when she drew near they rushed to meet her. dismay filled every breast when they saw the coxswain carried out apparently dead, with a stream of blood trickling from a wound in his temple, and learned from the worn-out and disabled crew that no rescue had been effected. immediately the local secretary before mentioned, who had been all this time caring for those already rescued, and preparing for those expected, called for a volunteer crew, and the second coxswain at once shouted, "i'll go again, sir!" this man's bravery produced a wonderful moral effect. he was not permitted to go, being already too much exhausted, but his example caused volunteers to come forward promptly. among them were men of the coastguard, a body to which the country is deeply indebted for annually saving many lives. several gentlemen of the town also volunteered. with the new crew, and the chief officer of the coastguard at the helm, the noble boat was launched a second time. the struggle which followed was tremendous, for they had to pull direct to windward in the teeth of wind and sea. sometimes the boat would rise almost perpendicularly to the waves, and the spectators gazed with bated breath, fearing that she must turn over; then she would gain a yard or two, and again be checked. thus, inch by inch, they advanced until the wreck was reached, and the sailors were successfully taken off. but this was not accomplished without damage to the rescuers, one of whom had three ribs broken, while others were more or less injured. soon the boat was seen making once more for the beach. on she came on the wings of the wind. as she drew near, the people crowded towards her as far as the angry sea would permit. "how many saved?" was the anxious question. as the boat rushed forward, high on the crest of a tumultuous billow, the bowman stood up and shouted, "nine saved!" and in another moment, amid the ringing cheers of the vast multitude, the lifeboat leaped upon the sand with the rescued men! "nine saved!" a pleasant piece of news that was to be read next day in the papers by those who contributed to place that lifeboat on the coast; for nine souls saved implies many more souls gladdened and filled with unutterable gratitude to almighty god. but "twenty lost!" a dismal piece of news this to those at whose door the murders will lie till the day of doom. even john webster, esquire, grew pale when he heard of it, and his hard heart beat harder than usual against his iron ribs as he sat in the habitation of his soul and gazed at his deceased wife's father over the chimney-piece, until he almost thought the canvas image frowned upon him. there was more, however, behind these twenty lost lives than mr webster dreamed of. the links in the chains of providence are curiously intermingled, and it is impossible to say, when one of them gives way, which, or how many, will fall along with it, as the next chapter will show. chapter five. things become shaky, so does mr webster, and the results are an illness and a voyage. the old indian officer who was drowned, as we have seen, in the wreck of the _swordfish_, was in no way connected with mr john webster. in fact, the latter gentleman read his name in the list of those lost with feelings of comparative indifference. he was "very sorry indeed," as he himself expressed it, that so many human beings had been swept off the stage of time by that "unfortunate wreck," but it did not add to his sorrow that an old gentleman, whom he had never seen or heard of before, was numbered with the drowned. had he foreseen the influence that the death of that old officer was to have on his own fortunes, he might have looked a little more anxiously at the announcement of it. but colonel green--that was his name--was nothing to john webster. what mattered his death or life to him? he was, no doubt, a rich old fellow, who had lived in the east indies when things were conducted in a rather loose style, and when unscrupulous men in power had opportunities of feathering their nests well; but even although that was true it mattered not, for all colonel green's fortune, if thrown into the pile or taken from it, would scarcely have made an appreciable difference in the wealth of the great firm of webster and company. not that "company" had anything to do with it, for there was no company. there had been one once, but he had long ago passed into the realms where gold has no value. there was, however, a very large and important firm in liverpool which was deeply interested in the life of colonel green, for he had long been a sleeping partner of the firm, and had, during a course of years, become so deeply indebted to it that the other partners were beginning to feel uneasy about him. messrs. wentworth and hodge would have given a good deal to have got rid of their sleeping partner, but colonel green cared not a straw for wentworth, nor a fig for hodge, so he went on in his own way until the _swordfish_ was wrecked, when he went the way of all flesh, and wentworth and hodge discovered that, whatever riches he, colonel green, might at one time have possessed, he left nothing behind him except a number of heavy debts. this was serious, because the firm had been rather infirm for some years past, and the consequences of the colonel's death were, that it became still more shaky, and finally came down. now, it is a well understood fact that men cannot fall alone. you cannot remove a small prop from a large old tree without running the risk of causing the old tree to fall and carry a few of the neighbouring trees, with a host of branches, creeping plants, and parasites, along with it. especially is this the case in the mercantile world. the death of colonel green was a calamity only to a few tradesmen, but the fall of wentworth and company was a much more serious matter, because that firm was an important prop to the much greater firm of dalgetty and son, which immediately shook in its shoes, and also went down, spreading ruin and consternation in the city. now, it happened that dalgetty and son had extensive dealings with webster and company, and their fall involved the latter so deeply, that, despite their great wealth, their idolatrous head was compelled to puzzle his brain considerably in order to see his way out of his difficulties. but the more he looked, the less he saw of a favourable nature. some of his evil practices also had of late begun to shed their legitimate fruit on john webster, and to teach him something of the meaning of those words, "be sure your sins shall find you out." this complicated matters considerably. he consulted his cash-books, bank-books, bill-books, sales-books, order-books, ledgers, etcetera, etcetera, again and again, for hours at a time, without arriving at any satisfactory result. he went to his diminutive office early in the morning, and sat there late at night; and did not, by so doing, improve his finances a whit, although he succeeded in materially injuring his health. he worried the life of poor meek grinder to such an extent that that unfortunate man went home one night and told his wife he meant to commit suicide, begged her to go out and purchase a quart of laudanum for that purpose at the fishmonger's, and was not finally induced to give up, or at least to delay, his rash purpose, until he had swallowed a tumbler of mulled port wine and gone to sleep with a bottle of hot water at his feet! in short, mr webster did all that it was possible for a man to do in order to retrieve his fortunes--all except pray, and commit his affairs into the hands of his maker; _that_ he held to be utterly ridiculous. to make use of god's winds, and waves, and natural laws, and the physical and mental powers which had been given him, for the furtherance of his designs, was quite natural, he said; but to make use of god's word and his promises--tut! tut! he said, that was foolishness. however that may be, the end was, that webster and company became very shaky. they did not, indeed, go into the _gazette_, but they got into very deep water; and the principal, ere long, having overwrought all his powers, was stricken with a raging fever. it was then that john webster found his god to be anything but a comforter, for it sat upon him like a nightmare; and poor annie, who, assisted by mrs niven, was his constant and devoted nurse, was horrified by the terrible forms in which the golden idol assailed him. that fever became to him the philosopher's stone. everything was transmuted by it into gold. the counting of guineas was the poor man's sole occupation from morning till night, and the numbers to which he attained were sometimes quite bewildering; but he invariably lost the thread at a certain point, and, with a weary sigh, began over again at the beginning. the bed curtains became golden tissue, the quilt golden filigree, the posts golden masts and yards and bowsprits, which now receded from him to immeasurable distance, and anon advanced, until he cried out and put up his hands to shield his face from harm; but, whether they advanced or retired, they invariably ended by being wrecked, and he was left in the raging sea surrounded by drowning men, with whom he grappled and fought like a demon, insomuch that it was found necessary at one time to have a strong man in an adjoining room, to be ready to come in when summoned, and hold him down. gold, gold, gold was the subject of his thoughts--the theme of his ravings--at that time. he must have read, at some period of his life, and been much impressed by, hood's celebrated poem on that subject, for he was constantly quoting scraps of it. "why don't you help me?" he would cry at times, turning fiercely to his daughter. "how can i remember it if i am not helped? i have counted it all up--one, two, three, on to millions, and billions, and trillions of gold, gold, gold, hammered and rolled, bought and sold, scattered and doled--there, i've lost it again! you are constantly setting me wrong. all the things about me are gold, and the very food you gave me yesterday was gold. oh! how sick i am of this gold! why don't you take it away from me?" and then he would fall into some other train of thought, in which his god, as before, would take the reins and drive him on, ever in the same direction. at last the crisis of the disease came and passed, and john webster began slowly to recover. and it was now that he formed a somewhat true estimate of the marketable value of his daughter annie, inasmuch as he came at length to the conclusion that she was priceless, and that he would not agree to sell her for any sum that could be named! during this period of convalescence, annie's patience, gentleness, and powers of endurance were severely tried, and not found wanting. the result was that the conscience of the invalid began to awake and smite him; then his heart began to melt, and, ere long, became knit to that of his child, while she sought to relieve his pains and cheer his spirits she chatted, played, sang, and read to him. among other books she read the bible. at first mr webster objected to this, on the ground that he did not care for it; but, seeing that annie was much pained by his refusal, he consented to permit her to read a few verses to him daily. he always listened to them with his eyes shut, but never by look or comment gave the least sign that they made any impression on him. during the whole period of mr webster's illness and convalescence, captain harry boyns found it convenient to have much business to transact in liverpool, and he was extremely regular in his calls to inquire after the health of his late employer. this was very kind of him, considering the way in which he had been treated! sometimes on these visits he saw annie, sometimes he saw mrs niven--according as the one or other chanced to be on duty at the time; but, although he was never permitted to do more than exchange a few sentences with either of them, the most careless observer could have told, on each occasion, which he had seen, for he always left the door with a lengthened face and slow step when he had seen mrs niven: but ran down the steps with a flushed countenance and sparkling eyes when he had met with annie! at last mr webster was so much restored that his doctor gave him leave to pay a short visit to his counting-room in the city. how strangely mr webster felt, after his long absence, when he entered once more the temple of his god, and sat down in his old chair. everything looked so familiar, yet so strange! there were, indeed, the old objects, but not the old arrangements, for advantage had been taken of his absence to have the office "thoroughly cleaned!" there was the same air of quiet, too, and seclusion; but the smells were not so musty as they used to be, and there was something terribly unbusinesslike in the locked desk and the shut books and the utter absence of papers. the portrait of his deceased wife's father was there, however, as grim, silent, and steadfast in its gaze as ever, so mr webster smiled, nodded to it, and rang a hand-bell for his confidential clerk, who entered instantly, having been stationed at the back of the door for full ten minutes in expectation of the summons. "good morning, mr grinder. i have been ill, you see. glad to get back, however. how has business been going on in my absence? the doctor forbade my making any inquiries while i was ill, so that i have been rather anxious." "yes, sir, i am aware--i--in fact i was anxious to see you several times on business, but could not gain admittance." "h'm! not going on so well as might be desired, i suppose," said mr webster. "well, not quite; in short, i might even say things are much worse than they were before you took ill, sir; but if a confidential agent were sent to jamaica to--to--that is, if messrs. bright and early were seen by yourself, sir, and some arrangement made, we might--might--go on for some time longer, and if trade revives, i think--" "so bad as that!" exclaimed mr webster, musing. "well, well, grinder, we must do our best to pull through. are any of our vessels getting ready for sea just now?" "yes, sir, the _ocean queen_ sails for jamaica about the end of this month." "very well, grinder, i will go in her. she is one of our best ships, i think. the doctor said something about a short voyage to recruit me, so that's settled. bring me writing materials, and send a statement of affairs home to me to-night. i have not yet strength to go into details here." grinder brought the writing materials and retired. his employer wrote several letters; among them one to the doctor, apprising him of his intention to go to jamaica, and another to the captain of the _ocean queen_, giving him the same information, and directing him to fit up the two best berths in the cabin for the reception of himself and his daughter, with a berth for an old female servant. three weeks thereafter he went on board with annie and mrs niven, and the _ocean queen_, spreading her sails, was soon far out upon the broad bosom of the restless atlantic. chapter six. describes the presentation of a new lifeboat to covelly, and treats of the royal national lifeboat institution. we must now change the scene, and beg our readers to accompany us once more to covelly, where, not long after the events narrated in the last chapter, an interesting ceremony was performed, which called out the inhabitants in vast numbers. this was the presentation of a new lifeboat to the town, and the rewarding of several men who had recently been instrumental in saving life in circumstances of peculiar danger. the weather was propitious. a bright sun and a calm sea rejoiced the eyes of the hundreds who had turned out to witness the launch. the old boat, which had saved our heroine years before, and had rescued many more since that day from the angry sea, was worn out, and had to be replaced by one of the magnificent new boats built on the self-righting principle, which had but recently been adopted by the lifeboat institution. a lady of the neighbourhood, whose only daughter had been saved by the old boat some time before, had presented the purchase-money of the new one ( pounds) to the institution; and, with the promptitude which characterises all the movements of that society, a fine self-righting lifeboat, with all the latest improvements, had been sent at once to the port. high on her carriage, in the centre of the town, the new lifeboat stood--gay and brilliant in her blue and white paint, the crew with their cork lifebelts on, and a brass band in front, ready to herald her progress to the shore. the mayor of the town, with all the principal men, headed the procession, and a vast concourse of people followed. at the shore the boat was named the _rescue_ by the young lady whose life had been saved by the old one, and amid the acclamations of the vast multitude, the noble craft was shot off her carriage into the calm sea, where she was rowed about for a considerable time, and very critically examined by her crew; for, although the whole affair was holiday-work to most of those who looked on, the character of the new boat was a matter of serious import to those who manned her, and who might be called on to risk their lives in her every time their shores should be lashed by a stormy sea. our hero, harry boyns, held the steering oar. he had been appointed by the parent institution to the position of "local secretary of the covelly lifeboat branch," and, of course, was anxious to know the qualities of his vessel. harry, we may remark in passing, having lost his situation, and finding that his mother's health was failing, had made up his mind to stay on shore for a year or two, and seek employment in his native town. being a well-educated man, he obtained this in the office of a mercantile house, one of the partners of which was related to his mother. the rowing powers of the new boat were soon tested. then harry steered to the pier, where a tackle had been prepared for the purpose of upsetting her. this was an interesting point in the proceedings, because few there had seen a self-righting boat, and, as usual, there was a large sprinkling in the crowd of that class of human beings who maintain the plausible, but false, doctrine, that "seeing is believing!" considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the boat to overturn. the operation was slowly accomplished; and all through there appeared to be an unwillingness on the part of the boat to upset!--a symptom which gave much satisfaction to her future crew, who stood ready on her gunwale to leap away from her. at last she was raised completely on one side, then she balanced for a moment, and fell forward, keel up, with a tremendous splash, while the men, not a moment too soon, sprang into the sea, and a wild cheer, mingled with laughter, arose from the spectators. if the upsetting was slow and difficult, the self-righting was magically quick and easy. the boat went right round, and, almost before one could realise what had occurred, she was again on an even keel. of course she was nearly full of water at the moment of rising; but, in a few seconds, the discharging holes in her bottom had cleared the water completely away. the whole operation of self-righting and self-emptying, from first to last, occupied only _seventeen seconds_! if there was laughter mingled with the shouts when she overturned and threw her crew into the sea, there was nothing but deep-toned enthusiasm in the prolonged cheer which hailed her on righting, for then it was fully realised, especially by seafaring men, what genuine and valuable qualities the boat possessed, and the cheers became doubly enthusiastic when the crew, grasping the lifelines which were festooned round her sides, clambered on board again, and were reseated at the oars in less than two minutes thereafter. this done, the boat was hauled up on her carriage, and conveyed to the house near the beach which had been prepared for her reception, there to wait, in constant readiness, until the storm should call her forth to display her peculiar qualities in actual service. but another, and, if possible, a still more interesting ceremony remained to be performed. this was the presentation of the gold and silver medals of the institution to several men of the town, who, in a recent storm, had rendered signal service in the saving of human life. the zealous and indefatigable secretary of the institution had himself come down from london to present these. the presentation took place in the new town hall, a large building capable of containing upwards of a thousand people, which, on the occasion, was filled to overflowing. the mayor presided, of course, and opened proceedings, as many chairmen do, by taking the wind out of the sails of the principal speaker! that is to say, he touched uninterestingly on each topic that was likely to engage the attention of the meeting, and stated many facts and figures in a loose and careless way, which every one knew the secretary would, as a matter of course, afterwards state much better and more correctly than himself. but the mayor was a respected, well-meaning man, and, although his speech was listened to with manifest impatience, his sitting down was hailed with rapturous applause. at this point--the mayor having in his excitement forgotten to call upon the secretary to speak--a stout man on the platform took advantage of the oversight and started to his feet, calling from a disgusted auditor the expression, "oh, there's that bore dowler!" it was indeed that same joseph who had, on a memorable occasion long past, signed himself the "humble" friend of mr webster. before a word could escape his lips, however, he was greeted with a storm of yells and obliged to sit down. but he did so under protest, and remained watchful for another favourable opportunity of breaking in. dowler never knew when he was "out of order;" he never felt or believed himself to be "out of order!" in fact, he did not know what "out of order" meant _when applied to himself_. he was morally a rhinoceros. he could not be shamed by disapprobation; could not be cowed by abuse; never was put out by noise--although he frequently was by the police; nor put down by reason--though he sometimes was by force; spoke everywhere, on all subjects, against the opinions (apparently) of everybody; and lived a life of perpetual public martyrdom and protest. silence having been obtained, the secretary of the lifeboat institution rose, and, after a few complimentary remarks on the enthusiasm in the good cause shown by the town, and especially by the lady who had presented the boat, he called captain harry boyns to the platform, and presented him with the gold medal of the institution in an able speech, wherein he related the special act of gallantry for which it was awarded--telling how that, during a terrible gale, on a dark night in december, the gallant young captain, happening to walk homewards along the cliffs, observed a vessel on the rocks, not twenty yards from the land, with the green seas making clean breaches over her; and how that-- knowing the tide was rising, and that before he could run to the town, three miles distant, for assistance, the vessel would certainly be dashed to pieces--he plunged into the surf, at the imminent risk of his life, swam to the vessel, and returned to the shore with a rope, by which means a hawser was fixed to the cliffs, and thirty-nine lives were rescued from the sea! well did every one present know the minute details of the heroic deed referred to, but they were glad to hear the praises of their townsman re-echoed by one who thoroughly understood the merits of the case, and whose comments thereon brought out more clearly to the minds of many the extent of the danger which the gallant captain had run, so that, when harry stepped forward to receive the medal, he was greeted with the most enthusiastic cheers. thereafter, the secretary presented silver medals to two fishermen of the cove, namely, old jacobs and robert gaston, both of whom had displayed unusual daring at the rescue of the young lady who was the donor of the lifeboat. he then touched on the value of lifeboats in general, and gave an interesting account of the origin of the society which he represented; but as this subject deserves somewhat special treatment, we shall turn aside from the thread of our tale for a little, to regard the work and the boats of the royal national lifeboat institution, assuring our reader that the subject is well worthy the earnest consideration of all men. the first lifeboat ever launched upon the stormy sea was planned and built by a london coach-builder, named lionel lukin, who took out a patent for it in november , and launched it at bamborough, where it was the means of saving many lives the first year. although lukin thus demonstrated the possibility of lives being saved by a boat which could live under circumstances that would have proved fatal to ordinary boats, he was doomed to disappointment. the prince of wales (george the fourth) did indeed befriend him, but the lords of admiralty were deaf, and the public were indifferent. lukin went to his grave unrewarded by man, but stamped with a nobility which can neither be gifted nor inherited, but only won--the nobility which attaches to the character of "national benefactor." the public were aroused from their apathy in by the wreck of the _adventure_ of newcastle, the crew of which perished in the presence of thousands, who could do nothing to save them. models of lifeboats were solicited, and premiums offered for the best. among those who responded, william wouldhave, a painter, and henry greathead, a boat-builder of south shields, stood pre-eminent. the latter afterwards became a noted builder and improver of lifeboats, and was well and deservedly rewarded for his labours. in greathead had built thirty-one boats--eighteen for england, five for scotland, and eight for other countries. this was, so far, well, but it was a wretchedly inadequate provision for the necessities of the case. it was not until that a great champion of the lifeboat cause stood forth in the person of sir william hillary, baronet. sir william, besides being a philanthropist, was a hero! he not only devised liberal things and carried them into execution, but he personally shared in the danger of rescuing life from the sea. he dwelt on the shores of the isle of man, where he established a sailors' home at douglas. he frequently embarked in the boats that went off to rescue lives from the wrecks that were constantly occurring on the island. once he had his ribs broken in this service, and was frequently in imminent danger of being drowned. during his career he personally assisted in the saving of human lives! he was the means of stirring up public men, and the nation generally, to a higher sense of their duty towards those who, professionally and otherwise, risk their lives upon the sea; and eventually, in conjunction with two members of parliament-- mr thomas wilson and mr george herbert--was the founder of "the royal national institution for the preservation of life from shipwreck." this institution--now named the royal national lifeboat institution--was founded on the th of march , and has gone on progressively, doing its noble work of creating and maintaining a lifeboat fleet, rescuing the shipwrecked, and rewarding the rescuers, from that day to this. when life does not require to be saved, and when opportunity offers, the society allows its boats to save _property_, of which we shall have something more to say presently. at the founding of the institution in , the archbishop of canterbury of the day filled the chair; the great wilberforce, lord john russell, and other magnates, were present; the dukes of kent, sussex, and other members of the royal family, became vice-patrons; the duke of northumberland its vice-president, and george the fourth its patron. in the much-lamented prince albert--whose life was a continual going about doing good--became its vice-patron, and her majesty the queen became, and still continues, a warm supporter and an annual contributor. now, this is a splendid array of names and titles; but it ought ever to be borne in remembrance that the institution is dependent for its continued existence on the public--on you and me, good reader--for it is supported almost entirely by voluntary contributions. that it will always find warm hearts to pray for it, and open hands to give, as long as its boats continue, year by year, to pluck men, women, and children from the jaws of death, and give them back to gladdened hearts on shore, is made very apparent from the records published quarterly in _the lifeboat journal_ of the society, a work full of interesting information. therein we find that the most exalted contributor is queen victoria--the lowliest, a sailor's orphan child! here are a few of the gifts to the institution selected very much at random:--one gentleman leaves it a legacy of , pounds. some time ago a sum of pounds was sent anonymously by "a friend." there comes pounds as a second donation from a sailor's daughter, and pounds from a british admiral. five shillings are sent as "the savings of a child"; shilling, pence from another little child, in postage-stamps; pounds from "three fellow-servants"; pounds from "a shipwrecked pilot," and shillings pence from "an old salt." indeed, we can speak from personal experience on this subject, because, among others, we received a letter, one day, in a cramped and peculiar hand, which we perused with deep interest, for it had been written by a _blind_ youth, whose eyes, nevertheless, had been thoroughly opened to see the great importance of the lifeboat cause, for he had collected pounds for the institution! on another occasion, at the close of a lecture on the subject, an old woman, who appeared to be among the poorest of the classes who inhabit the old town of edinburgh, came to us and said, "hae, there's tippence for the lifeboat!" it cannot be doubted that these sums, and many, many others that are presented annually, are the result of moral influences which elevate the soul, and which are indirectly caused by the lifeboat service. we therefore hold that the institution ought to be regarded as a prolific cause of moral good to the nation. and, while we are on this subject, it may be observed that our lifeboat influence for good on other nations is very considerable. in proof of this we cite the following facts:-- finland sends pounds to our institution to testify its appreciation of the good done by us to its sailors and shipping. the late president lincoln of the united states, while involved in all the anxieties of the great civil war, found time to send pounds to our lifeboat institution, in acknowledgement of the services rendered to american ships in distress. russia and holland send naval men to inspect our lifeboat management. france, in generous emulation of ourselves, starts a lifeboat institution of its own; and last, but not least, it has been said, that "foreigners know when they are wrecked on the shores of britain by the persevering and noble efforts that are made to save their lives!" but there are some minds which do not attach much value to moral influence, and to which material benefit is an all-powerful argument. well, then, to these we would address ourselves, but, in passing, would remark that moral influence goes far to secure for us material advantage. it is just because so many hundreds of human living souls are annually preserved to us that men turn with glowing gratitude to the rescuers and to the institution which organises and utilises the latent philanthropy and pluck of our coast heroes. on an average, lives are saved _every year_; while, despite our utmost efforts, are lost. those who know anything about our navy, and our want of british seamen to man our ships, cannot fail to see that the saving of so many valuable lives is a positive material benefit to the nation. but to descend to the lowest point, we maintain that the value of the lifeboats to the nation, in the mere matter of saving property, is almost incredible. in regard to these things, it is possible to speak definitely. for instance, during stormy weather, it frequently happens that vessels show signals of distress, either because they are so badly strained as to be in a sinking condition, or so damaged that they are unmanageable, or the crews have become so exhausted as to be no longer capable of working for their own preservation. in such cases, the lifeboat puts off with the intention, _in the first instance_, of saving _life_. it reaches the vessel in distress; the boat's crew spring on board and find, perhaps, that there is some hope of saving the ship. knowing the locality well, they steer her clear of rocks and shoals. being fresh and vigorous, they work the pumps with a will, manage to keep her afloat, and finally steer her into port, thus saving ship and cargo as well as crew. now, let it be observed that what we have here supposed is not imaginary--it is not even of rare occurrence. it happens every year. last year thirty-eight ships were thus saved by lifeboats. the year before, twenty-eight were saved. the year before that, seventeen. before that, twenty-one. as surely and regularly as the year comes round, so surely and regularly are ships and property thus saved _to the nation_. it cannot be too well understood that a wrecked ship is not only an individual, but a national loss. insurance protects the individual, but insurance cannot, in the nature of things, protect the nation. if you drop a thousand sovereigns in the street, that is a loss to _you_, but not to the _nation_. some lucky individual will find the money and circulate it. but if you drop it in the sea, it is lost, not only to you, but to the nation to which you belong--ay, lost to the world itself for ever! if a lifeboat, therefore, saves a ship worth pounds from destruction, it literally presents that sum as a free gift to the nation. we say a free gift, because the lifeboats are supported for the purpose of saving life, not property. a few remarks on the value of loaded ships will throw additional light on this subject, and make more apparent the value of the lifeboat institution. take, first, the case of a ship which was actually saved by a lifeboat. she was a large spanish ship, which grounded on a bank off the south coast of ireland. the captain and crew forsook her, and escaped to shore in their boats, but one man was inadvertently left on board. soon after, the wind moderated and shifted, the ship slipped off the bank into deep water, and drifted to the northward. the crew of the _cahore_ lifeboat were on the look-out, observed the vessel passing, launched their boat, and after a long pull against wind and sea, boarded the vessel, and rescued the spanish sailor. but they did more. finding seven feet of water in the hold, they rigged the pumps, trimmed the sails, carried the ship into port, and handed her over to an agent for the owners. this vessel and cargo were valued at , pounds, and we think we are justified in saying that england, through the instrumentality of her lifeboat institution, presented that handsome sum to spain upon that occasion! but many ships are much more costly than that was. some time ago a ship named the _golden age_ was lost upon our shores; it was valued at , pounds. if that single ship had been one of the thirty-eight saved last year (and it might have been), the sum thus saved to the nation would have been more than sufficient to buy up all the lifeboats in the kingdom twice over! but that ship was not amongst the saved. it was lost. so was the _ontario_ of liverpool, which was wrecked in october , and valued at , pounds. also the _assaye_, wrecked on the irish coast, and valued at , pounds. here are , pounds lost for ever by the wreck of these three ships alone in one year! do you know, reader, what such sums represent? are you aware that the value of the _ontario_ alone is equal to the income for one year of the london missionary society, wherewith it supports its institutions at home and abroad, and spreads the blessed knowledge of gospel truth over a vast portion of the globe? but we have only spoken of three ships--no doubt three of the largest size--yet only three of the lost. couple the above figures with the fact that the number of ships lost, or seriously damaged, _every year_, on the shores of the united kingdom is above _two thousand_, and you will have some idea of one of the reasons why taxation is so heavy; and if you couple them with the other fact, that, from twenty to thirty ships, great and small, are saved by lifeboats every year, you will perceive that, whatever amount may be given to the lifeboat institution, it gives back to the nation _far more_ than it receives in _material wealth_, not to mention human lives at all. its receipts in from all sources were , pounds, and its expenditure , pounds. the lives saved by its own boats last year were , in addition to which other were saved by shore boats, for which the institution rewarded the crews with thirteen medals, and money to the extent of above pounds, for all services. the lifeboat institution has a little sister, whom it would be unjust, as well as ungracious, not to introduce in passing, namely, the shipwrecked mariners' society. they do their blessed work hand in hand. their relative position may be simply stated thus:--the lifeboat institution saves life. having dragged the shipwrecked sailor from the sea, its duty is done. it hands him over to the agent of the shipwrecked mariners' society, who takes him by the hand, sees him housed, warmed, clad and fed, and sends him home rejoicing, free of expense, and with a little cash in his pocket. formerly, shipwrecked sailors had to beg their way to their homes. at first they were sympathised with and well treated. thereupon uprose a host of counterfeits. the land was overrun by shipwrecked-mariner-beggars, and as people of the interior knew not which was which, poor shipwrecked jack often suffered because of these vile impostors. but now there is not a port in the kingdom without its agent of the society. jack has, therefore, no need to beg his way. "the world" knows this; the deceiver knows it too, therefore his occupation is gone! apart from its benignant work, the mere fact that the "little sister" has swept such vagrants off the land entitles her to a strong claim on our gratitude. she, also, is supported by voluntary contributions. turning now to another branch of our subject, let us regard for a little the boats of the lifeboat institution. "what is a lifeboat? wherein does it differ from other boats?" are questions sometimes put. let us attempt a brief reply. a lifeboat--that is to say, the present lifeboat--differs from all other boats in four particulars:-- . it is _almost_ indestructible. . it is insubmergible. . it is self-righting. . it is self-emptying. in other words, it can hardly be destroyed; it cannot be sunk; it rights itself if upset; it empties itself if filled. let us illustrate these points in succession. here is evidence on the first point. on a terrible night in a portuguese brig struck on the goodwin sands. the noble, and now famous, ramsgate lifeboat was at once towed out when the signal-rocket from the lightship was seen, indicating "a wreck on the sands." a terrific battle with the winds and waves ensued. at length the boat was cast off to windward of the sands, and bore down on the brig through the shoal water, which tossed her like a cork on its raging surface. they reached the brig and lay by her for some time in the hope of getting her off, but failed. the storm increased, the vessel began to break up, so her crew were taken into the boat, which-- having previously cast anchor to windward of the wreck, and eased off the cable until it got under her lee--now tried to pull back to its anchor. every effort was fruitless, owing to the shifting nature of the sands and the fury of the storm. at last nothing was left for it but to hoist the sail, cut the cable, and make a desperate effort to beat off the sands. in this also they failed; were caught on the crest of a breaking roller, and borne away to leeward. water and wind in wildest commotion were comparatively small matters to the lifeboat, but want of water was a serious matter. the tide happened to be out. the sands were only partially covered, and over them the breakers swept in a chaotic seething turmoil that is inconceivable by those who have not witnessed it. every one has seen the ripples on the seashore when the tide is out. on the goodwins these ripples are great banks, to be measured by yards instead of inches. from one to another of these sand-banks this boat was cast. each breaker caught her up, hurled her onward a few yards, and let her down with a crash that well-nigh tore every man out of her, leaving her there a few moments, to be caught up again and made sport with by the next billow. the portuguese sailors, eighteen in number, clung to the thwarts in silent despair, but the crew of the boat did not lose heart. they knew her splendid qualities, and hoped that, if they should only escape being dashed against the portions of wreck which strewed the sands, all might yet be well. thus, literally fathom by fathom, with a succession of shocks that would have knocked any ordinary boat to pieces, was this magnificent lifeboat driven, during two hours in the dead of night, over two miles of the goodwin sands! at last she drove into deep water on the other side; the sails were set, and soon after, through god's mercy, the rescued men were landed safely in ramsgate harbour. so, we repeat, the lifeboat is almost indestructible. that she is insubmergible has been proved by what has already been written, and our space forbids giving further illustration, but a word about the cause of this quality is necessary. her floating power is due to _air-chambers_ fitted round the sides under the seats and in the bow and stern; also to empty space and light wood or cork ballast under her floor. if thrust forcibly deep under water with as many persons in her as could be stowed away, she would, on being released, rise again to the surface like a cork. the self-righting principle is one of the most important qualities of the lifeboat. however good it may be in other respects, a boat without this quality is a lifeboat only so long as it maintains its proper position on the water. if upset it is no better than any other boat. it is true that, great stability being one of the lifeboat's qualities, such boats are not easily overturned. nevertheless they sometimes are so, and the results have been on several occasions disastrous. witness the case of the liverpool boat, which in january upset, and the crew of seven men were drowned. also the point of ayr lifeboat, which upset when under sail at a distance from the land, and her crew, thirteen in number, were drowned. two or three of the poor fellows were seen clinging to the keel for twenty minutes, but no assistance could be rendered. now, both of these were considered good lifeboats, but they were _not self-righting_. numerous cases might be cited to prove the inferiority of the non-self-righting boats, but one more will suffice. in february the southwold boat--a large sailing boat, esteemed one of the finest in the kingdom, but _not_ self-righting--went out for exercise, and was running before a heavy surf with all sail set, when she suddenly ran on the top of a sea, broached-to and upset. the crew in this case being near shore, and having on cork lifebelts, were rescued, but three gentlemen who had gone off in her without lifebelts were drowned. this case, and the last, occurred in broad daylight. in contrast to these we give an instance of the action of the self-righting lifeboat when overturned. it occurred on a dark stormy night in october . on that night a wreck took place off the coast near dungeness, three miles from shore. the small lifeboat belonging to that place put off to the rescue. eight stout men of the coastguard composed her crew. she belonged to the national lifeboat institution-- all the boats of which are now built on the self-righting principle. the wreck was reached soon after midnight, and found to have been deserted by her crew; the boat therefore returned to the shore. while crossing a deep channel between two shoals she was caught up and struck by three heavy seas in succession. the coxswain lost command of the rudder, and she was carried away before a sea, broached to and upset, throwing the men out of her. immediately she righted herself, cleared herself of water, and the anchor having fallen out she was brought up by it. the crew, meanwhile, having on lifebelts, regained the boat, got into her by means of the lifelines hung round her sides, cut the cable, and returned to the shore in safety! the means by which the self-righting is accomplished are--two large air-cases, one in the bow, the other in the stern, and a heavy iron keel. these air-cases are rounded on the top and raised so high that a boat, bottom up, resting on them, would be raised almost quite out of the water. manifestly, to rest on these pivots is an impossibility; the overturned boat _must_ fall on its side, in which position the heavy iron keel comes into play and drags the bottom down, thus placing the boat violently and quickly in her proper position. the simple plan here described was invented by the reverend james bremner, of orkney, and exhibited at leith, near edinburgh, in the year . mr bremner's aircases were empty casks in the bow and stern, and his ballast was three hundredweight of iron attached to the keel. this plan, however, was not made practically useful until upwards of fifty years later, when twenty out of twenty-four men were lost by the upsetting of the _non-self-righting_ lifeboat of south shields. after the occurrence of that melancholy event, the late duke of northumberland--who for many years was one of the warmest supporters and patrons of the lifeboat institution--offered a prize of pounds for the best self-righting lifeboat. it was gained by mr beeching, whose boat was afterwards considerably altered and improved by mr peak. the self-emptying principle is of almost equal importance with the self-righting, for, in every case of putting off to a wreck, a lifeboat is necessarily filled again and again with water--sometimes overwhelmed by tons of it; and a boat full of water, however safe it may be, is necessarily useless. six large holes in the bottom of the boat effect the discharge of water. there is an air-tight floor to the lifeboat, which is so placed that when the boat is fully manned and loaded with passengers it is _a very little above the level of the sea_. on this fact the acting of the principle depends. between this floor and the bottom of the boat, a space of upwards of a foot in depth, there is some light ballast of cork or wood, and some parts of the space are left empty. the six holes above mentioned are tubes of six inches diameter, which extend from the floor through the bottom of the boat. now, it is one of nature's laws that water _must_ find its level. for instance, take any boat and bore large holes in its bottom, and suppose it to be held up in its _ordinary_ floating position, so that it cannot sink, then fill it suddenly quite full of water, it will be found that the water _inside_ will run out until it is on a level with the water _outside_. water poured into a lifeboat will of course act in the same way, but when that which has been poured into it reaches the level of the water outside, _it has also reached the floor_: in other words, there is no more water left to run out. such are the principal qualities of the splendid lifeboat now used on our coasts, and of which it may be said that it has almost reached the state of absolute perfection. the lifeboat institution, which has been the means in god's hands of saving so many thousands of human lives, is now in a high state of efficiency and of well-deserved prosperity; both of which conditions are due very largely to the untiring exertions and zeal of its present secretary, richard lewis, esquire, of the inner temple. success is not dependent on merit alone. good though the lifeboat cause unquestionably is, we doubt whether the institution would have attained its present high position so soon, had it not been guided thereto by the judicious management of its committee--the members of which bestow laborious and gratuitous service on its great and national work--aided by the able and learned secretary and an experienced inspector of lifeboats (captain j.r. ward, r.n.) both whose judgement and discretion have often been the themes of deserved praise by the public. that the claims of the institution are very strong must be admitted by all who reflect that during upwards of forty years it has been engaged in the grand work of saving human lives. up to the present date, it has plucked , human beings from the waves, besides an incalculable amount of valuable property. it is a truly national blessing, and as such deserves the support of every man and woman in the kingdom. (see footnote.) but, to return from this prolonged yet by no means unnecessary digression,--let us remind the reader that we left him at the meeting in the town-hall of covelly, of which, however, we will only say further, that it was very enthusiastic and most successful. that the mayor, having been stirred in spirit by the secretary's speech, redeemed himself by giving vent to a truly eloquent oration, and laying on the table a handsome contribution towards the funds of the society. that many of the people present gladly followed his lead, and that the only interruption to the general harmony was the repeated attempts made by mr joseph dowler--always out of order--to inflict himself upon the meeting; an infliction which the meeting persistently declined to permit! thereafter the new lifeboat was conveyed to its house on the shore, where, however, it had not rested many weeks before it was called into vigorous action. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ for the sake of those who sympathise with us, and desire to give substantial evidence of their goodwill, we would suggest that contributions may be sent to the secretary, richard lewis, esquire, john street, adelphi, london. chapter seven. the storm and the wreck. listen, o ye who lie comfortably asleep, secure in your homes, oblivious of danger, when the tempest is roaring overhead! come, let us together wing our flight to the seashore, and cast a searching glance far and near over the strand. on a certain friday morning in the year hundred and something, a terrific gale broke over the east coast, and everywhere the lifeboat men went out to watch the raging sea, knowing full well that ere long there would be rough but glorious work for them to do. a tremendous sea ran high on the bar at tynemouth, and rolled with tremendous force on the black middens--rocks that are black indeed, in their history as well as their aspect. a barque was seen making for the tyne, towed by a steam-tug. a sudden squall struck them; the tug was forced to let the vessel go, and she went on the rocks. a few minutes had barely passed when another vessel was descried, a brig, which made for the harbour, missed it, and was driven on the same fatal rocks a few yards south of the barque. the alarm-gun was fired, and the members of the tynemouth _volunteer life brigade_ were quickly at the scene of disaster. the rocket apparatus was fired, and a line passed over one of the vessels; but other anxious eyes had been on the look-out that night, and soon the salvage boat _william_ was launched at north shields, and the south shields men launched the tynemouth lifeboat. the _constant_ lifeboat also put off to the rescue. it was getting dark by that time, so that those on shore could not see the boats after they had engaged in strife with the raging sea. meanwhile part of the crew of the barque were saved by the rocket apparatus, but those of the brig did not know how to use it, and they would certainly have perished had not the _william_ got alongside and rescued them all. while this was going on a third vessel was driven ashore on the battery rock. the south shields lifeboat made towards her, succeeded in getting alongside, and rescued the crew. a mile west of folkestone harbour a brigantine, laden with rum and sugar, went ashore, broadside-on, near sandgate castle. the ever-ready coastguardsmen turned out. a sandgate fisherman first passed a small grapnel on board, then the coastguard sent out a small line with a lifebuoy attached and one by one the crew were all saved--the men of the coastguard with ropes round their waists, standing in the surf as deep as they dared to venture, catching the men who dropped, and holding their heads above water until they were safe. but the gallant coastguardsmen had other work cut out for them that night. besides saving life, it was their duty to protect property. the cargo was a tempting one to many roughs who had assembled. when the tide receded, these attempted to get on board the wreck and regale themselves. the cutlasses of the coastguard, however, compelled them to respect the rights of private property, and taught them the majesty of the law! elsewhere along the coast many vessels were wrecked, and many lives were lost that night, while many more were saved by the gallant lifeboat crews, the details of which, if written, would thrill many a sympathetic breast from john o' groat's to the land's end; but passing by these we turn to one particular vessel which staggered in the gale of that night, but which, fortunately for those on board, was still at some distance from the dangerous and dreaded shore. it was the _ocean queen_. mr webster was seated in her cabin, his face very pale, and his hands grasping the arms of the locker tightly to prevent his being hurled to leeward. annie sat beside him with her arms round his waist. she was alarmed and looked anxious, but evidently possessed more courage than her father. there was some reason for this, however, for she did not know that mr webster's fortunes had got into such a desperate case, that for the retrieving of them he depended very much on the successful voyage of the _ocean queen_. "don't be so cast down, father," said annie; "i heard the captain say that we shall be in sight of land to-morrow." "heaven forbid," said mr webster. "better to be in mid-ocean than near land on such a night." annie was about to reply when the door opened, and the captain looked in. he wore a sou'-wester, and was clad in oilcloth garments from head to foot, which shone like black satin with the dripping spray. "we're getting on famously," he said in a hearty tone, "the wind has shifted round to the sou'-west, and if it holds--we shall--" "sprung a leak, sir!" cried the first mate in a deep excited voice as he looked down the companion. "what!" exclaimed the captain, rushing upon deck. "plank must have started, sir, there's three foot water in--" his voice was drowned by distance and the roaring of the gale, but mr webster and annie had heard enough to fill them with alarm. the _ocean queen_ had indeed sprung a leak, and so bad was it that when all the pumps available were set a-going, they failed to reduce the depth of water in the hold. still, by constantly changing hands and making strenuous exertions, they prevented it from increasing rapidly. all that night and next day they wrought with unflagging energy at the pumps. no man on board spared himself. the captain took his spell with the rest. even mr webster threw off his coat and went to work as if he had been born and bred a coal-heaver. the work, however, was very exhausting, and when land appeared no one seemed to have any heart to welcome it except annie and her old nurse mrs niven. towards evening of the next day the captain came up to mr webster, who was seated on the cabin skylight with his head resting wearily on his hands. "we cannot make the port of liverpool, i find," he said. "the pilot says that if we wish to save the ship we must run for the nearest harbour on the coast, which happens, unfortunately, to be the very small one of covelly." "then by all means run for it," said mr webster. "strange," he muttered to himself, "that fate should lead me there." the head of the _ocean queen_ was at once turned towards the shore, and as they neared it mr webster stood talking to annie about the time "long, long ago," when she had been rescued by a lifeboat there, and remarking on the curious coincidence that she should happen to come to the same place in distress a second time. the gale, although somewhat more moderate, was still blowing strong, and an "ugly sea" was rolling on the bank where the _swordfish_ had gone ashore many years before. this, however, mattered little, because the direction of the wind was such that they could steer well clear of it. but the channel leading to the harbour was very sinuous, and, as the pilot observed, required careful steering. in one part this channel was so crooked that it became necessary to go on the other tack a short distance. in ordinary circumstances the captain would have thought nothing of this, but he felt anxious just then, because some of the stores and cordage furnished by mistake to him had been intended for the _ruby_. now the _ruby_ was one of the vessels of webster and company which had been sent away with the hope, if not the intention, that it should be wrecked! the mistake had been discovered only after the _ocean queen_ had set sail. "ready about," cried the pilot. the men leaped to their respective places. "take another pull at that fores'l sheet," said the pilot. this was done. at sea this would not have been necessary, because the ship was lively and answered her helm well, but in the narrow channel things had to be done more vigorously. the extra pull was given. the tackle of the foresail sheet had been meant for the _ruby_. it snapped asunder, and the ship missed stays and fell away. instantly all was desperate confusion. a hurried attempt was made to wear ship, then two anchors were let go, but almost before the startled owner was aware of what had occurred, the good ship received a shock which made her quiver from stem to stern. she lifted with the next wave, and in another minute was fast on the shoal which had proved fatal to the _swordfish_, with the waves dashing wildly over her. long before this occurred, our hero, harry boyns, had been watching the vessel with considerable anxiety. he little knew who was on board of her, else would his anxiety have been infinitely increased. but harry was one of those men who do not require the spur of self-interest to keep them alive to duty. he had observed that the ship was in distress, and, as the honorary secretary of the lifeboat branch, he summoned together the crew of his boat. thus all was in readiness for action when the disaster occurred to the _ocean queen_. instantly the lifeboat was run down to the beach, where hundreds of willing hands were ready to launch her, for the people had poured out of the town on the first rumour of what was going on. the crew leaped into the boat and seized the oars. the launching-ropes were manned. a loud "huzzah" was given, and the lifeboat shot forth on her voyage of mercy, cutting right through the first tremendous billow that met her. at that time old jacob, the coxswain of the boat, happened to be unwell; harry himself therefore took the steering-oar, and bob gaston was in the bow. mr joseph dowler chanced to be among the spectators on shore. that fussy and conceited individual, conceiving it to be a fitting occasion for the exercise of his tremendous powers, stood upon an elevated rock and began a wildly enthusiastic speech to which nobody listened, and in which he urged the lifeboatmen to do their duty in quite a nelsonian spirit. fortunately a sudden gust of wind blew him off his perch. he fell on his head so that his hat was knocked over his eyes, and before he was thoroughly extricated from it, the lifeboat was far from shore, and the men were doing their duty nobly, even although mr dowler's appeal had failed to reach their ears! it was a tough pull, for wind, waves, and tide combined to beat them back, but they combined in vain. inch by inch they advanced, slowly and laboriously, although it was so bitterly cold that the men had little feeling in the benumbed hands with which they pulled so gallantly. at last they reached the vessel, pulled well to windward, cast anchor, and eased off the cable, until they passed her stern and got under her lee. just then harry looked up and felt as if he had received a shock from electric fire, for he beheld the pale face of annie webster gazing at him with glowing eyes! no longer did he feel the chilling blast. the blood rushed wildly through his veins as he shouted-- "look alive, bob,--heave!" bob gaston stood up in the bow, and, with a beautiful swing, cast a line on board, by means of which the boat was hauled alongside. just at that moment the mainyard came down with a thundering crash upon the ship's deck, fortunately injuring no one. at the same time a tremendous billow broke over the stern of the _ocean queen_, and falling into the lifeboat in a cataract completely sunk her. she rose like a cork, keel uppermost, and would have righted at once, but a bight of the mainsail, with some of the wreck, held her down. her crew, one by one, succeeded in clambering upon her, and harry shouted to the men in the ship to hand him an axe. one was thrown to him which he caught, and began therewith to cut the wreck of cordage. "slit the sail with your knife, bob gaston," he cried, but bob did not reply. all the other men were there; bob alone was missing. the difficulty of acting in such turmoil is not to be easily estimated. twenty minutes elapsed before the boat was cleared. when this was accomplished she righted at once, and bob gaston was found sticking to the bottom of her, inside, having found sufficient air and space there to keep him alive! another moment and harry boyns was on the deck of the wreck. perhaps the most earnest "thank god" that ever passed his lips burst from them when he seized annie's hand and entreated her to go with him at once into the boat. "stay! hold!" cried mr webster, seizing harry wildly by the sleeve and whispering to him in quick earnest tones, "can nothing be done to save the ship? _all is lost_ if she goes!" "hold on a minute, lads," cried harry to the men in the boat; "are the pumps working free,--is your ground tackle good?" he added, turning hastily to the captain. "ay, but the men are used up--utterly exhausted." "jump aboard, lads," cried harry to his men. the men obeyed, leaving four of their number in the boat to keep her off the ship's side. under harry's orders some of them manned the pumps, while others went to the windlass. "come, boys, make one more effort to save the ship," cried harry to the fatigued crew; "the tide will rise for another hour, we'll save her yet if you have pluck to try." thus appealed to they all set to work, and hove with such goodwill that the ship was soon hauled off the sands--an event which was much accelerated by the gradual abating of the gale and rising of the tide. when it was thought safe to do this, the sails were trimmed, the cables cut, and, finally, the _ocean queen_ was carried triumphantly into port--saved by the covelly lifeboat. need we tell you, good reader, that mr webster and his daughter, and mrs niven, spent that night under the roof of hospitable mrs boyns? who--partly because of the melancholy that ever rested like a soft cloud on her mild countenance, and partly because the cap happened to suit her cast of features--looked a very charming widow indeed. is it necessary to state that mr webster changed his sentiments in regard to young captain boyns, and that, from regarding him first with dislike and then with indifference, he came to look upon him as one of the best fellows that ever lived, and was rather pleased than otherwise when he saw him go out, on the first morning after the rescue above recorded, to walk with his daughter among the romantic cliffs of covelly! surely not! it would be an insult to your understanding to suppose that you required such information. it may be, however, necessary to let you know that, not many weeks after these events, widow boyns received a letter telling her that captain daniel boyns was still alive and well, and that she might expect to see him within a very short period of time! on reading thus far, poor mrs boyns fell flat on the sofa in a dead faint, and, being alone at the time, remained in that condition till she recovered, when she eagerly resumed the letter, which went on to say that, after the bottle containing the message from the sea had been cast overboard, the pirates had put himself and his remaining companions--six in number--into a small boat, and left them to perish on the open sea, instead of making them walk the plank, as they had at first threatened. that, providentially, a whale-ship had picked them up two days afterwards, and carried them off on a three years' cruise to the south seas, where she was wrecked on an uninhabited island. that there they had dwelt from that time to the present date without seeing a single sail--the island being far out of the track of merchant vessels. that at last a ship had been blown out of its course near the island, had taken them on board, and, finally, that here he was, and she might even expect to see him _in a few hours_! this epistle was written in a curiously shaky hand, and was much blotted, yet, strange to say, it did not seem to have travelled far, it being quite clean and fresh! the fact was that captain boyns was a considerate man. he had gone into a public-house, not ten yards distant from his own dwelling, to pen this letter, fearing that the shock would be too much for his wife if not broken gradually to her. but his impatience was great. he delivered the letter at his own door, and stood behind it just long enough, as he thought, to give her plenty of time to read it, and then burst in upon her just as she was recovering somewhat of her wonted self-possession. over the scene that followed we drop the curtain, and return to mr webster, who is once again seated in the old chair in the old office, gazing contemplatively at the portrait of his deceased wife's father. chapter eight. conclusion. there are times in the lives, probably, of all men, when the conscience awakes and induces a spirit of self-accusation and repentance. such a time had arrived in the experience of mr john webster. he had obtained a glimpse of himself in his true colours, and the sight had filled him with dismay. he thought, as he sat in the old chair in the old office, of the wasted life that was behind him, and the little of life that lay, perchance, before. his right hand, from long habit, fumbled with the coin in his trousers-pocket. taking out a sovereign he laid it on the desk, and gazed at it for some time in silence. "for your sake," he murmured, "i have all but sold myself, body and soul. for the love of you i have undermined my health, neglected my child, ruined the fortunes of hundreds of men and women, and committed m--" he could not bring himself to say the word, but he could not help thinking it, and the thought filled him with horror. the memory of that dread hour when he expected every instant to be whelmed in the raging sea rushed upon him vividly. he passed from that to the period of his sickness, when he used to fancy he was struggling fiercely in the seething brine with drowning men--men whom he had brought to that pass, and who strove revengefully to drag him down along with them. he clasped his hands over his eyes as if he thought to shut out those dreadful memories, and groaned in spirit. despair would have seized upon the gold-lover at that time, had not his guardian angel risen before his agonised mind. annie's soft tones recurred to him. he thought of the words she had spoken to him, the passages from god's word that she had read, and, for the first time in his long life, the sordid man of business exclaimed, "god be merciful to me, a sinner!" no other word escaped him, but when, after remaining motionless for a long time, he removed his hands from his face, the subdued expression that rested there might have led an observer to believe that the prayer had been answered. a knock at the office-door caused him to start and endeavour to resume his ordinary professional expression and composure as he said, "come in." harry boyns, however, had not waited for the answer. he was already in the room, hat in hand. "now, sir," he said, eagerly, "are you ready to start? the train leaves in half an hour, and we must not risk losing it _to-day_." "losing it!" said mr webster, as he rose and slowly put on his greatcoat, assisted by harry, "why, it just takes me five minutes to walk to the station. how do you propose to spend the remaining twenty-five?--but i say, harry," he added with a peculiar smile, "how uncommonly spruce you are to-day!" "not an unusual condition for a man to be in on his wedding-day," retorted harry; "and i am sure that i can return you the compliment with interest!" this was true, for mr webster had "got himself up" that morning with elaborate care. his morning coat still smelt of the brown paper in which it had come home. his waistcoat was immaculately white. his pearl-grey trousers were palpably new. his lavender kid-gloves were painfully clean. his patent-leather boots were glitteringly black, and his _tout ensemble_ such as to suggest the idea that a band-box was his appropriate and native home. "don't be impatient, boy," he said, putting some books into an iron safe, "i must attend to business first, you know." "you have no right to attend to business at all, after making it over to me, as you formally did yesterday," said harry. "if you come here again, sir, and meddle with my department, i shall be compelled to dissolve partnership at once!" "please, sir," said mr grinder, appearing suddenly at the door, in a costume which was remarkable for its splendour and the badness of its fit--for grinder's was a figure that no ordinary tailor could understand, "captain daniel boyns is at the door." "send him in," said webster. "he won't come, sir; he's afraid of being late for the train." "well, well," said webster, with a laugh, "come along. are you ready, grinder?" "yes, sir." "then, lock the office-door, and don't forget to take out the key." so saying, the old gentleman took harry's arm, and, accompanied by grinder and captain boyns senior, hurried to the train; was whirled in due course to covelly, and shortly after found himself seated at a wedding-breakfast, along with our hero harry boyns, and our heroine annie webster, who was costumed as a bride, and looked inexpressibly bewitching. besides these there were present excellent mrs boyns-- happily no longer a widow!--and grinder, whose susceptible nature rendered it difficult for him to refrain from shedding tears; and a bevy of bride's-maids, so beautiful and sweet that it seemed quite preposterous to suppose that they could remain another day in the estate of spinsterhood. mr joseph dowler was also there, self-important as ever, and ready for action at a moment's notice; besides a number of friends of the bride and bridegroom, among whom was a pert young gentleman, friend of mr dowler, and a mr crashington, friend of mr webster,--an earnest, enthusiastic old gentleman, who held the opinion that most things in the world were wrong, and who wondered incessantly "why in the world people would not set to work at once to put them all right!" niven, the old nurse, was there too, of course all excitement and tears, and so was bob gaston, whose appearance was powerfully suggestive of the individual styled in the ballad, "the jolly young waterman." now, it would take a whole volume, good reader, to give you the details of all that was said and done by that wedding-party before that breakfast was over. but it is not necessary that we should go into full details. you know quite well, that when the health of the happy couple was drunk, annie blushed and looked down, and harry tried to look at ease, but failed to do so, in consequence of the speech which had cost him such agonising thought the night before, which he had prepared with such extreme care, which contained such an inconceivable amount of sentimental nonsense, which he fortunately forgot every word of at the critical moment of delivery, and, instead thereof, delivered a few short, earnest, stammering sentences, which were full of bad grammar and blunders, but which, nevertheless, admirably conveyed the true, manly sentiments of his heart. you also know, doubtless, that the groom's-man rose to propose the health of the bride's-maids, but you cannot be supposed to know that dowler rose at the same time, having been told by his pert young friend that he was expected to perform that duty in consequence of the groom's-man being "unaccustomed to public speaking!" dowler, although not easily put down, was, after some trouble, convinced that he had made a mistake, and sat down without making an apology, and with a mental resolve to strike in at the first favourable opportunity. when these and various other toasts had been drunk and replied to, the health of mr crashington, as a very old friend of the bride's family, was proposed. hereupon crashington started to his feet. dowler, who was slightly deaf, and had only caught something about "old friend of the family," also started up, and announced to the company that that was the happiest moment of his life; an announcement which the company received with an explosion of laughter so loud and long that the two "old friends of the family" stood gazing in speechless amazement at the company, and at each other for three or four minutes. at last silence was obtained, and dowler exclaimed, "sir," to which crashington replied, "sir," and several of the company cried, laughingly, "sit down, dowler." it is certain that dowler would not have obeyed the order, had not his pert young friend caught him by the coat-tails and pulled him down with such violence that he sat still astonished! then crashington, ignoring him altogether, turned to mr webster, and said vehemently-- "sir, and ladies and gentlemen, if this is not the happiest moment of _my_ life, it is at least the proudest. i am proud to be recognised as an old friend of the family to which our beautiful bride belongs; proud to see my dear annie wedded to a man who, besides possessing many great and good qualities of mind, has shown himself pre-eminently capable of cherishing and protecting his wife, by the frequency and success with which he has risked his own life to save the lives of others. but, ladies and gentlemen, things more serious than proposing toasts and paying compliments are before us to-day. i regard this as a lifeboat wedding, if i may be allowed the expression. in early life the blooming bride of to-day was saved by a lifeboat, and the brave man who steered that boat, and dived into the sea to rescue the child, now sits on my left hand. again, years after, a lifeboat saved, not only the bride, but her father and her father's ship; which last, although comparatively insignificant, was, nevertheless, the means of preventing the fortunes of the family from being utterly wrecked, and the man who steered the boat on that occasion, as you all know, was the bridegroom? but--to turn from the particular to the general question--i am sure, ladies and gentlemen, that you will bear with me while i descant for a little on the wrong that is done to society by the present state of our laws in reference to the saving of life from shipwreck. despite the activity of our noble lifeboat institution; despite the efficiency of her splendid boats, and the courage of those who man them; despite the vigour and zeal of our coastguardmen, whose working of the rocket apparatus cannot be too highly praised; despite all this, i say, hundreds of lives are lost annually on our coasts which might be saved; and i feel assured that if the british public will continue their earnest support to our great national institution, this death-roll must continue to be diminished. my friends sometimes tell me that i am a visionary--that many of my opinions are ridiculous. is it ridiculous that i should regard the annual loss of nearly lives, and above two millions of money, as being worthy of the serious attention of every friend of his country? "excuse me if i refrain from inflicting on you my own opinions, and, instead, quote those of a correspondent of the _times_..." here the old gentleman hastily unfolded a newspaper, and read as follows:-- "`why should not such an amount of information be obtained as will not only induce, but enable the board of trade immediately to frame some plain, practical measure, the enforcement of which would tend to lighten the appalling yearly death-list from shipwreck? the plan i would suggest is that the board of trade should prepare a chart of the british and irish coasts, on which every lifeboat, rocket-apparatus, and mortar station should be laid down and along with this a sort of guide-book, with instructions giving every particular connected with them,--such as, their distances from each other, whether they are stationary or transportable, and the probable time that would elapse before one or the other could be brought to work with a view to the rescue of the shipwrecked crew. to illustrate my idea more plainly, i will take the eastern shore of mounts bay in cornwall. a vessel has been driven on shore at gunwalloe; the captain, having this chart, would find that there is a lifeboat at mullion, on the south, and a transporting lifeboat at porthleven, on the north of him, as well as a rocket-apparatus at each place. referring to his book of instructions, he would find something like this:--"the mullion lifeboat will drop down on you from mullion island. the porthleven boat will most likely be launched from the beach opposite. all going well, one or other of the boats will be alongside in less than an hour and a half. look out and get ready for the rocket lines in an hour after striking." the very knowledge even that the means of saving life are at hand would enable the captain to maintain a certain amount of discipline, while passengers and crew alike would retain in a great measure their presence of mind, and be prepared for every emergency. and again, as is often the case, if a captain is compelled to run his ship ashore, with the view of saving the lives intrusted to him, he would at once find from his chart and book of instructions the safest and nearest point from which he could obtain the desired assistance. it should be imperative (not optional, as at present) for every vessel to carry a certain number of lifebelts. the cork jacket recommended by the royal national institution is by far the best yet introduced, not only on account of its simplicity and cheapness, but because it affords, also, warmth and protection to the body.' "now, ladies and gentlemen," continued crashington earnestly, "here you have the opinions of a man with whom i entirely agree, for, while much is done by philanthropists, too little is done by government to rescue those who are in peril on our shores. in conclusion, let me thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for drinking my health, and permit me also to reiterate my hope that the happy pair who have this day been united may long live to support the lifeboat cause, and never require the services of a lifeboat." although crashington's remarks were regarded by some of the wedding-party as being somewhat out of place, mr john webster listened to them with marked attention, and replied to them with deep feeling. after commenting slightly on the kind manner in which he had referred to the heroic deeds of his son-in-law, and expressing his belief and hope, that, now that he had married annie, and become a member of the firm of webster and company, a life of usefulness and happiness lay before him, he went on to say-- "i heartily sympathise with you, sir, in designating this a lifeboat-wedding, because, under god, my daughter and i owe our lives to the lifeboat. you are also right in stating that the lifeboat has been the means of preserving my fortunes from being wrecked, because the saving of the _ocean queen_ was a momentous turning-point in my affairs. but a far higher and more blessed result has accrued to myself than the saving of life or fortune, for these events have been made the means of opening my eyes to the truth of god, and inducing me to accept the offer of free forgiveness held out to me by that blessed saviour to whom my dear annie has clung for many a year, while i was altogether immersed in business. i feel myself justified, therefore, in saying, with deep humility and gratitude, that _i_ have been saved by the lifeboat--body and soul." none [illustration: "they sailed on, in the moonlight" (see page )] the sandman: his sea stories by william j. hopkins author of "the sandman: his farm stories," "the sandman: more farm stories," "the sandman: his ship stories," etc. with forty illustrations by diantha w. horne this special edition is published by arrangement with the publisher of the regular edition, the page company. cadmus books e. m. hale and company chicago _copyright, _ by the page company _all rights reserved_ made in u.s.a. contents page the september-gale story the fire story the porpoise story the seaweed story the flying-fish story the log-book story the shark story the christmas story the sounding story the teak-wood story the stowaway story the albatross story the derelict story the lighthouse story the runaway story the trafalgar story the cargo story the privateer story the race story the pilot story the driftwood story list of illustrations "they sailed on, in the moonlight." (see page ) _frontispiece_ "sometimes he had to hold on to the fences" "they saw all sorts of things going up the river" "a great tree that was blown down" "it floated, burning, for a few minutes" "they swam in a funny sort of way" "they had more porpoises on deck than you would have thought that they could possibly use" "the surface of the sea seemed covered with them" "they amused themselves for a long time" "a school of fish suddenly leaped out of the water" "the sailors were having a good time" the hour glass "little jacob liked to watch captain solomon" "'right there,' he said, 'you can see his back fin'" the shark "'yes, little lad,' he said. 'for you--if you want it'" christmas island, st view, bearing n by e christmas island, nd view, bearing sw "little jacob watched it ... settle into the ocean" the lead "he walked all around the great yard with the boys on his back" "he was in the hold of the ship" the albatross "they watched it the day after the next, too" "captain solomon ... was watching the moon" "the fire blazed up, higher and higher" "at last he went to sleep" the lighthouse "it was a beautiful farm" "took up his bundle and went out the wide gate" "he started up, thinking of the farm at home" the bags of money "ran to get another bucket" "with guns and swords and cutlasses" "that was a signal for the _industry_ to stop" "it was a bigger flag than the first one" "he took it up and looked, very carefully" "the sloop was on her way" "many times had she been tied up at that wharf" "at last the arm-chair was all done" the model of the _industry_ _the sandman: his sea stories_ more stories of the brig "industry" the september-gale story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. once, more than a hundred years ago, when ships still came to that wharf, the brig _industry_ came sailing into that river. for she was one of the ships that used to come to that wharf, and she used to sail from it to india and china, and she always brought back silks and cloth of goats' hair and camels' hair shawls and sets of china and pretty lacquered tables and trays, and things carved out of ebony and ivory and teakwood, and logs of teakwood and tea and spices. and she had just got back from those far countries and captain solomon and all the sailors were very glad to get back. for it was more than a year since she had sailed out of the little river, and they hadn't seen their families for all that long time. and a year is a pretty long time for a man to be sailing on the great ocean and not to see his wife and his dear little boys and girls. so they hurried and tied the _industry_ to the wharf with great ropes and they went away just as soon as they could. and the men that had wives and little boys and girls went to see them, and the others went somewhere. perhaps they went to the sailors' home and perhaps they didn't. but captain solomon went to the office of captain jonathan and captain jacob, who were the owners of the _industry_. their office was just at the head of the wharf, so he didn't have far to go. and captain jonathan and captain jacob were there waiting for him, and they shook hands with him and sent him packing off home, to see his wife and baby. for captain solomon hadn't been married much more than a year and he had sailed away on that long voyage after he had been married four months and he had left his wife behind. and the baby had been born while he was gone, so that he hadn't seen him yet. that baby was the one that was called little sol, that is told about in some of the ship stories. captain solomon wanted to see his wife and his baby, so he hurried off when captain jonathan and captain jacob told him to. then the mate of the _industry_ got a lot of men and had them take out of the ship all the things that she had brought from those far countries. and they wheeled them, on little trucks, into the building where captain jonathan and captain jacob had their office, and they piled them up in a great empty room that smelled strangely of camphor and spices and tea and all sorts of other things that make a nice smell. at last all the things were taken out of the _industry_, so that she floated very high up in the water and the top of her rail, which the sailors look over, was high above the wharf. and captain jonathan and captain jacob came out of their office to speak to the mate. and the mate said that the _industry_ was all unloaded; for he was rather proud that he had got all those many things out so quickly. and captain jonathan answered the mate and said how quick he had been. but captain jacob didn't say anything, for he was looking around at the sky. the mate saw that captain jacob was looking at the sky, and he looked up, too. "looks as though we might have a breeze o' wind," he said. for little white feathery clouds were coming up from the southwest and covering the sky like a thin veil. captain jacob nodded. "more than a breeze," he said; for captain jacob had been a truly captain and he knew about the weather. "i've got out double warps," said the mate; and he meant that he had tied the _industry_ to the wharf with two ropes instead of one at each place. captain jacob nodded again. "that's well," he said. "that's just as well." and the mate said "good night, sir," to captain jonathan and he said it to captain jacob, too, and they bade him good night, and he went home. that evening captain jacob heard the wind as he was playing chess with lois. lois was captain jacob's wife. and captain jacob listened to the wind and forgot about the game of chess that he was playing, so that lois beat him two games. that made captain jacob angry, for lois didn't care much about chess and couldn't play as well as captain jacob could. she only played to please captain jacob, anyway. and captain jacob got so angry that he put the chessmen away and went to bed; but he didn't sleep very well, the wind howled so. very early in the morning, long before daylight, captain jacob got up. he had been awake for some time, listening to the sound of the rain against his windows and to the howling and shrieking of the wind. and he wondered what was happening down on the river and if the _industry_ was all right. he knew well enough what was happening along the shore, and that they would be hearing of wrecks for the next two weeks. they didn't have the telegraph then, so that they wouldn't read in a morning paper what had happened far away during the night, but would have to wait for the stage to bring them the news, or for some boat to bring it. so captain jacob got more and more uneasy, until, at last, he couldn't stand it any longer. and he dressed himself as fast as he could and put on his heavy boots and his great cloak, and he pulled his hat down hard, and he lighted a lantern and started down to the wharf. it was hard work, for the wind was so strong that it almost took him up right off the ground, and blew him along. and sometimes he had to hold on to the fences to keep himself from blowing away; and he had to watch for a chance, when the wind wasn't so strong for a minute, to cross the streets. once he heard a great crash, and he knew that that was the sound of a chimney that the wind had blown over. but he couldn't stop to attend to that. [illustration: "sometimes he had to hold on to the fences"] when he got to the wharf, he was surprised to see how high the hull of the _industry_ was. it wasn't daylight yet, but he could just make out the bulk of it against the sky. and he was surprised because he knew that it would not be time for the tide to be high for three hours yet, and the _industry_ was floating as high as she would at a very high tide. so captain jacob made his way very carefully out on the wharf, holding on to ropes and to other things when there were other things to hold on to, and crouching down low, for he didn't want to be blown off into the water. at last he got to the edge, and he held his lantern over and looked down at the water. and the top of the water was only about three feet down, for the wind was blowing straight up the river from the ocean, and it was so strong that it had blown the water from the ocean into the river. and it was still blowing it in, and was getting stronger every minute. captain jacob looked at the water a minute. "hello!" he said. but nobody could have heard him, there was such a noise of the wind and of the waves washing against the wharf. he didn't say it to anybody in particular, so he wasn't disappointed that nobody heard him. and he listened again, and he thought he heard a noise as though somebody was on the _industry_. so he climbed up the side, with his lantern, and there he saw the mate, for it was just beginning to be a little bit light in the east. the mate was trying to do something with an anchor; but the anchors were great, enormous, heavy things, and one man couldn't do anything with them at all. captain jacob went close beside the mate. "what you trying to do?" he yelled, as loud as he could. "what, sir?" asked the mate, yelling as loud as he could. "what--you--trying--to--do?" asked captain jacob again. the wind was playing a tune on every rope on the ship and singing a song besides, so that the noise, up there on the deck, was fearful. "trying to get an anchor out in the river," yelled the mate, putting his hands to his mouth like a trumpet. "wharf's going to be flooded as the tide rises. afraid she'll capsize!" "you can't do it alone," yelled captain jacob. "no," yelled the mate. "can't! get some men!" "good!" yelled captain jacob. and the mate climbed down the side. but the mate didn't have to go far, for some men were already coming as well as they could, holding on by the fences on the way, and the mate met those men. and they came on the _industry_, and lowered the biggest boat that she had into the water, and they all managed to get in, somehow or other, and to hold the boat while captain jacob and the mate lowered the anchor into the boat, winding the chain around the capstan. the anchor was so heavy that it nearly sunk the boat, but it didn't quite sink it. the end of the boat that the anchor was on was so near the water that water kept splashing in. then the men all rowed very hard and the boat went ahead slowly, while captain jacob and the mate let out more of the anchor chain. but they couldn't go very far, for the wind was so strong and the waves were so high and the heavy anchor chain held them back near the ship. when they had got as far as they could, they managed to pry the anchor overboard. it went into the water with a tremendous splash, wetting all the men; but they didn't mind, for they were all wet through already with the rain and the splashing of the waves. and the boat turned around and went back to the shore. but the men didn't try to row it back to the _industry_. the wind blew them up the river, so that they got to the shore three or four wharves up, beyond the railway where they pulled ships up out of the water to mend them. they then walked back as quickly as they could. captain jacob and the mate had been working hard, taking in some of the anchor chain. they put two of the bars in the capstan head and pushed as hard as they could, and they had managed to get a strain on the anchor by the time the men got back. it was daylight, by this time, and the tide had risen so much that the men had to go splashing through water that was up to their ankles all over the top of the wharf. but they didn't care, and they got up on the ship, and some of them put more bars in the capstan head and pushed, and some of them let out more of the great ropes that held the ship to the wharf. they wanted to get her away from the wharf and out in the river, for they were afraid that the wind might blow her right over upon the wharf and tip her over. then it would be very hard to get her into the water again. when the anchor chain was pulled in enough, they fastened it and went to the stern and down one of the great ropes that held the _industry_ to the wharf. they went down, half sliding and half letting themselves down by their hands, and captain jacob and the mate and all the men that were on the ship went down that way. they all had been sailors, and a sailor has to learn to do such things and not to be afraid. and they all splashed into the water that was on the top of the wharf. then they let out the ropes from that end, but they didn't let them go. and the _industry_ lay out in the river, at anchor, about five fathoms from the end of the wharf. a fathom is six feet, and sailors generally measure distances in fathoms instead of in feet. as soon as captain jacob had got to the wharf he yelled to the men and waved his hand to them, for he was afraid that they could not hear him if he tried to tell them anything. and he started very carefully across the wharf, holding on to anything he could get hold of, and all the men followed him. it was very hard work and very dangerous, too, going about on top of the wharf, for the water was nearly up to the men's knees, and it was all wavy. and captain jacob led the way to the office and opened the door and they all went in. as soon as they were inside, they began taking all the things that were piled up in that great room that had the nice smell, and they carried them up stairs. they didn't wait to be told what to do, for they knew well enough that captain jacob was afraid that the tide might rise so high that the floor of that room and of the office would be covered with water and all the pretty things would be wet and spoiled. of course, water wouldn't spoil the china and such things, but it would spoil the shawls and the silks and the tea and the spices. so they worked hard until they had all the things up stairs. and, by that time, the water was beginning to come in at the door and to creep along over the floor; and captain jacob and the mate and all the men went outside, and stood where they were sheltered from the wind, and they watched the river, that stretched out very wide indeed, and they watched the things that were being driven up on its surface by the wind, and they watched the _industry_. they were all standing in the water, but they didn't know it. and they saw all sorts of things going up the river, with the wind and the waves: many small boats that had been dragged from their moorings or off the beaches; and some larger boats that belonged to fishermen; and some of the fishermen's huts that had stood in a row on a beach; and a part of a house that had been built too near the water; and logs and boards from the wharves and all kinds of drifting stuff. it was almost high tide now, and the wind was stronger than ever. none of the men had had any breakfast, but they didn't think of that. "about the height of it, now," said the mate to captain jacob. they could hear each other speak where they were standing, in a place that was sheltered by the building. "not so bad here, in the lee of the office. and the wind'll go down as the tide turns, i'm thinking." [illustration: "they saw all sorts of things going up the river"] captain jacob nodded. he was watching the _industry_ pitching in the great seas that were coming up the river. "she ought to have more chain out," he said anxiously. "i wish we could have given her more chain. it's a terrible strain." "if a man was to go out to her," began the mate, slowly, "he might be able to give her more. he could shin up those warps----" "don't think of it!" said captain jacob. "don't think of it!" as he spoke, the ship's bow lifted to a great sea, there was a dull sound that was scarcely heard, and she began to drift, slowly, at first, until she was broadside to the wind. the anchor chain had broken; but the great ropes that were fastened to the wharf still held her by the stern. then she drifted faster, in toward the wharves. there was a sound like the report of a small cannon; then another and another. the great ropes that had held her to the wharf had snapped like thread. "well," said captain jacob, "now i wonder where she'll bring up. we can't do anything." so they watched her drifting in to the wharf where the railway was, where they pulled ships up out of the water to mend them. and captain jonathan was coming down to the office just as the _industry_ broke adrift, and he saw that she would come ashore at the railway. so he stopped there and waited for her to come. they had there a sort of cradle, that runs down into the water on rails; and a ship fits into the cradle and is drawn up out of the water to be mended. and captain jonathan thought of that, and he thought that it wouldn't do any harm to lower the cradle and see if the _industry_ wouldn't happen to fit into it. it might not do any good, but it couldn't do any harm; and the _industry_ was all unloaded, and floated very high in the water. so captain jonathan and two other men, who belonged at that railway, lowered the cradle as much as they thought would be right, and the _industry_ drifted in and she did happen to catch on the cradle. she didn't fit into it exactly, for she was heeled over by the wind, and she caught on the cradle more on one side than the other; but captain jonathan thought that she would go into the water all right when the tide went down a little and the cradle was lowered more. and he was glad that he had happened to think of it. then, pretty soon, the tide began to go out again, and the wind stopped blowing so hard. and, in an hour, there was not more than a strong gale blowing, and men began to go out in row boats that hadn't broken adrift, and to pick things up as they came down with the tide. the sea was very rough, but they were afraid that the things would drift out to sea if they waited. and, in a couple of hours more, captain jonathan and captain jacob and the mate and all the men had the _industry_ afloat again and were warping her back to her wharf. there was no great harm done; only some marks of scraping and bumping and the anchor down at the bottom of the river. [illustration] then captain jonathan and captain jacob went home to dinner, and pretty soon all the men went, too. and they saw a great many chimneys blown over into yards and a great many fences blown down; and they came to a great tree that was blown down across the street, and then they saw another and a third. and they had to go through somebody's yard to get around these trees. and, when they got home, they heard about an old woman who had tried to go somewhere, who had been picked up by the wind and carried a long way and set down again on her own doorstep. and she had taken the hint and gone into the house. that great wind, they called the great september gale, for it happened in the early part of september. that is the time of the year that such great winds are most apt to come. and all the people had it to talk about for a long time, for there wasn't another such gale for more than twenty years. and that's all. the fire story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. one day, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ sailed away from that wharf, on a voyage to india. and she sailed down the wide river and out into the great ocean and on and on until the land was only a dim blue streak on the horizon; and farther on, and the land sank out of sight, and there was nothing to be seen, wherever captain solomon looked, but that great, big water, that was so blue and that danced and sparkled in the sunshine. for it was a beautiful afternoon and there was just a gentle wind blowing, so that the _industry_ had every bit of sail set that could be set: mainsail and foresail and spanker, main-topsail, and fore-topsail, main-topgallantsail and fore-topgallantsail and main-royal and fore-royal and main-skysail and fore-skysail and staysails and all her jibs and a studdingsail on every yard, out on its boom. she was sailing very fast, and she was a pretty sight, with that cloud of canvas. she looked like a great white bird. i wish that you and i could have seen her. and the crew didn't have much to do, when they had got all those sails set. they had already been divided into watches, so that every man knew what his duty would be, and when he would have to be on deck, ready to work, and when he could sleep. and they stood at the rail, mostly, and they leaned on it and looked out over the water in the direction of that little city that they were leaving behind them and that they wouldn't see again for nearly a year. they couldn't see the little city because it was down behind the roundness of the world; but they saw the sun, which was almost setting. and the sun sank lower and lower until it sank into the sea. and there were all sorts of pretty colors, in the west, which changed and grew dim, and disappeared. and the stars came out, one by one, and it was night. captain solomon didn't have any of those many sails taken in, because he knew that it would be pleasant weather all night, and that the wind would be less rather than more. and it was such a beautiful night that he didn't go to bed early, but stayed on deck until it was very late; and he watched the stars and the water and he listened to the wash of the waves as the ship went through them and he saw the foam that she made; and he felt the gentle wind blowing on his cheek, and it all seemed very good to him. captain solomon loved the sea. then, when it was very late, and they were just going to change the watch, he went into the cabin to go to bed. before he had got his clothes off, he heard a commotion on deck, and the mate came running down. "the ship's on fire, sir," he said. "there's smoke coming out of the forward hatch." captain solomon said something and threw on his clothes that he had taken off and ran out on deck. it was less than half a minute from the time the mate had told him. and he saw a little, thin column of smoke rising out of the forward hatchway, just as the mate had said. they had the hatch off by this time, and the sailors were all on deck. the hatchway is a square hole in the deck that leads down into the hold, where the things are put that the ship carries. it has a cover made of planks, and the cover fits on tightly and can be fastened down. it usually is fastened when the ship is going. captain solomon spoke to the mate. "put her about on the other tack," he said, "and head for boston, while we fight it. if we get it under, as i think we will, we'll lose only a couple of hours. if we don't, we can get help there. we ought to make boston by daylight." "aye, aye, sir," said the mate. and he gave the orders in a sharp voice, and most of the crew jumped for the sails and the ropes and pulled and hauled, and they soon had the ship heading for boston. but the second mate and a few of the sailors got lanterns and lighted them. and, when they had lighted their lanterns, the second mate jumped down the hatchway into the smoke, and four sailors jumped down after him. and they began tumbling about the bales of things; but they couldn't tumble them about very much, for there wasn't room, the cargo had been stowed so tightly. and the second mate asked captain solomon to rig a tackle to hoist some of the things out on deck. "doing it, now," answered captain solomon. "it'll be ready in half a minute." and they got the tackle rigged right over the hatchway, and they let down one end of the rope to the second mate. this end of the rope that was let down had two great, iron hooks that could be hooked into a bale, one on each side. and the second mate and the sailors that were down there with him hooked them into a bale and yelled. then a great many of the sailors, who already had hold of the other end of the rope, ran away with it, so that the bale came up as if it had been blown up through the hatchway. then other sailors caught it, and threw it over to one side and unhooked the hooks, and they let them down into the hold again. they got up a great many bales in this way, and they did it faster than the _industry_ had ever been unloaded before. and the sailors that ran away with the rope sang as they ran. "what shall we do with a drunken sailor?" was the chanty that they sang. and, at last, the second mate and the four sailors came out of the hold, and they were choking with the smoke and rubbing their eyes. "getting down to it, sir," said the second mate, "but we couldn't stand any more." so the first mate didn't wait, but he took the second mate's lantern and jumped down. "four men follow me!" he cried; and all the other sailors, who hadn't been down yet, jumped for the lanterns of the four sailors who had been down, and captain solomon laughed. "that's the way to do it!" he cried. "that's the sort of spirit i like to see. we'll have it out in a jiffy. four of you men at a time. you'll all have a turn. man the pumps, some of you, and be ready to turn a stream down there if it's wanted." so the four who had been nearest to the lanterns went down, and some of the others tailed on to the rope, and still others got the pumps ready and rigged a hose and put the end of it down the hatchway. but they didn't pump, because captain solomon knew that water would do harm to the cargo that wasn't harmed yet, and he didn't want to pump water into the hold unless he had to. then they all hurried some more and got out more bales, until the mate and his four men had to come up; but there were more men waiting to go down, and, this time, captain solomon led them. he hadn't been there long before he called out. "here she is!" he said. and the sailors hoisted out a bale that was smoking. as soon as it was on deck, out in the air, it burst into flames. captain solomon had come up. "heave it overboard!" he cried. and four sailors took hold of it and heaved it over the side into the water. the _industry_ was sailing pretty fast and quickly left it astern, where it floated, burning, for a few minutes; then, as the water soaked into the bale, it got heavier, and sank, and the sailors saw the light go out, suddenly. [illustration] captain solomon drew a long breath. "put her on her course again, mr. steele," he said to the mate. "we won't lose any more time. you can have this mess cleared up in the morning." and the sailors jumped for the ropes, although they were pretty tired, and they swung the yards around, two at a time, with a chanty for each. the _industry_ was sailing away for india again. and, the next day they cleared the smoke out of the hold, and they stowed the cargo that had been taken out in the night, and they put on the hatch and fastened it. and that's all. the porpoise story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed away from the wharf and out into the great ocean on a voyage to india. and she had been gone from the wide river three or four days, and she was well out into the ocean and no land was in sight, but only water and once in a while another ship. but they didn't see ships as often as they had at first, and it was good weather and the wind was fair, so that there wasn't anything much for the sailors to do. the mates kept them as busy as they could, washing down the deck and coiling ropes, and doing a lot of other things that didn't need to be done, for the _industry_ had just been fixed up and painted and made as clean as she could be made. and that was pretty clean. so the sailors didn't care very much about doing a lot of things that didn't need to be done, but they did them, as slowly as they could, because, if they said that they wouldn't do things that the mates or the captain told them to do, that would be mutiny. and mutiny, at sea, is a very serious thing for everybody. it satisfied captain solomon and the mate well enough to have the men do things slowly, so long as they did them. for they knew that the men would do things quickly if there was any need for quickness. then, one morning, just as it began to be light, the man who was the lookout thought that he saw something in the water about the ship that didn't look quite like waves. and it got a little lighter so that he could make sure, and he called some others of his watch and told them to look and see the school of porpoises. and they all looked, and those men told others who looked over the side, too, and pretty soon all the men of that watch were leaning on the rail and looking at the porpoises. that made the mate who was on watch look over, too, so that every man on deck was looking over the side into the water. then the sun came up out of the water. [illustration] what they saw was a great many big fishes, all black and shining, and each one had spots of white on its side and a funny-shaped head. most of them seemed to be about the size of a man, and they swam in a funny sort of way, in and out of the water, so that their backs showed most of the time, and they glistened and shone and their spots of white made them rather a pretty sight. and now and then they spouted little jets of water and spray out of their heads into the air, just as if they were little whales. porpoises are more like little whales than they are like fishes, for they have to breathe air, just as whales do, and they spout just as whales do, and they are like whales in other ways. they aren't really fishes, at all. the _industry_ was sailing very fast, for the wind was fair and strong, and she had all the sails set that she could set; but the porpoises didn't seem to think she was going very fast, for they had no trouble at all to keep up with her and they could play by the way, too. and so they did, hundreds of them. some of them kept just ahead of her stem, where it cut through the water, and they leaped and gambolled, but the ship never caught up with them. and they were doing the same thing all about. seeing the porpoises that kept just ahead of the _industry_ made the sailors think of something and they all thought of the same thing at once. perhaps it was because it was about breakfast time. four of the men went aft to speak to the mate, who was standing where the deck is higher. and the mate didn't wait for them to speak, for he knew just what they were going to ask him. the men had their hats in their hands by the time they got near. the mate smiled. "yes, you may," he said. "i'll get 'em." and he went into the cabin. when he had gone the men grinned at each other and looked pleased and each man was thinking that the mate was not so bad, after all, even if he did make them do work that didn't need to be done, just to kept them busy. but they didn't say anything. then the mate came out, and he had two harpoons in his hand. "there!" he said. "two's enough. you'd only get in each other's way if there were more. bend a line on to each, and make it fast, somewhere." then captain solomon came on deck, and he offered a prize of half a pound of tobacco to the best harpooner. and the men cheered when they heard him, and they took the harpoons and ran forward. they hurried and fastened a rather small rope on to each harpoon, in the way a rope ought to be fastened to a harpoon, and two of the sailors took the two harpoons and went down under the bowsprit, in among the chains that go from the end of the bowsprit to the stem of the ship. they went there so as to be near the water. they might get wet there, but they didn't care about that. and the other end of the rope, that was fastened to each harpoon, was made fast up on deck, so that the harpoon shouldn't be lost if it wasn't stuck into a porpoise, and so that the porpoise shouldn't get away if it was stuck into him. one of the sailors was so excited that he didn't hit anything with his harpoon, and the sailors up on deck hauled it in. the other sailor managed to hit a porpoise, but he was excited, too, and the harpoon didn't go in the right place. when the sailors up on deck tried to haul the porpoise in, it broke away, and went swimming off. then those sailors came back on deck and two others took their places. one of those others had been harpooner on a whaleship before he went on the _industry_. he didn't get excited at harpooning a porpoise, but drove his harpoon in at just exactly the right place, and the sailors up on deck hauled that porpoise in. afterwards, that sailor got the half pound of tobacco that captain solomon had offered as a prize, because he harpooned his porpoise just exactly the right way. the sailor that went with him struck a porpoise, too, but it wasn't quite in the right place, and the men had hard work to get him. and then other sailors came and tried, and they took turns until they had more porpoises on deck than you would have thought that they could possibly use. and all the men had porpoise steak for breakfast that morning and porpoise steak for dinner, and porpoise steak for supper. sailors call porpoises "puffing pigs," and porpoise steak tastes something like pork steak, and sailors like it. but they had it for every meal until there was only one porpoise left, and that one they had to throw overboard. and that's all. [illustration: "they had more porpoises on deck than you would have thought that they could possibly use"] the seaweed story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they made up their minds that they ought to move their office to boston. and so they did. and, after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston and captain jonathan and captain jacob had their office on india street. then the change began in that little city and that wharf. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from boston for a far country, and little jacob had gone on that voyage. little jacob was captain jacob's son and lois's, and the grandson of captain jonathan, and when he went on that voyage he was almost thirteen years old. and little sol went, too. he was captain solomon's son, and he was only a few months younger than little jacob. captain solomon had taken him in the hope that the voyage would discourage him from going to sea. but, as it turned out, it didn't discourage him at all, but he liked going to sea, so that afterwards he ran away and went to sea, and became the captain of that very ship, as you shall hear. the _industry_ had been out a little more than a week, and she had run into a storm. the storm didn't do any harm except to blow her out of her course, and then she ran out of it. and the next morning little jacob came out on deck and he looked for little sol. the first place that he looked in was out on the bowsprit; for little sol liked to be out there, where he could see all about him and could see the ship making the wave at her bow and feel as if he wasn't on the ship, at all, but free as air. it was a perfectly safe place to be in, for there were nettings on each side to keep him from falling, and he didn't go out beyond the nettings onto the part that was just a round spar sticking out. when little jacob got to the bow of the ship, he looked out on the bowsprit, and there was little sol; but he wasn't lying on his back as he was most apt to be, nor he wasn't lying down with one hand propping up his head, which was the way he liked to lie to watch the wave that the ship made. he was lying stretched out on his stomach, with both hands propping up his chin, and he was looking straight out ahead, so that he didn't see little jacob. and the _industry_ was pitching a good deal, for the storm had made great waves, like mountains, and the waves that were left were still great. the ship made a sort of growling noise as she went down into a wave, and a sort of hissing noise as she came up out of it, and little jacob was--well, not afraid, exactly, but he didn't just like to go out there where little sol was, with the ship making all those queer noises. you see, it was little jacob's first storm at sea. it was little sol's first storm, too; but then, boys are different. so little jacob called. "sol!" he said. little sol turned his head quickly. "hello, jake," said he. "come on out. there's lots to see out here to-day." "are--are there things to see that i couldn't see from here?" asked little jacob. "of course there are," answered little sol, scornfully. "you can't see anything from there--anything much." "the ship pitches a good deal," remarked little jacob. "don't you think so?" "oh, some," said little sol, "but it's safe enough after you get here. you could crawl out. i walked out. see here, i'll walk in, to where you are, on my hands." and little sol scrambled up and walked in on his hands, with his feet in the air. he let his feet down carelessly. "there!" he said. "you see." "well," said little jacob. "i can't walk on my hands, because i don't know how. you show me, sol, will you?--when it's calm. and i'll walk out on my feet." little jacob was rather white, but he didn't hesitate, and he walked out on the bowsprit to the place where he generally sat. it was rather hard work keeping his balance, but he did it. and little sol came after, and said he would show him how to walk on his hands, some day when it was calm enough. for little sol didn't think little jacob was afraid, and the two boys liked each other very much. "there!" said little sol, when they were settled, "you look out ahead, and see if you see anything." so little jacob looked and looked for a long time, but he didn't know what he was looking for, and that makes a great difference about seeing a thing. "i don't see anything," said he. "what is it, sol--a ship!" "no, oh no," answered little sol. "it's on the water--on the surface. we've almost got to one of 'em." [illustration] so little jacob looked again, and he saw what looked, at first, like a calm streak on the water. there seemed to be little sticks sticking up out of the calm streak. then he saw that it looked like a narrow island, except that it went up and down with the waves. sometimes he saw one part of it, and then he saw another part. and the island was all covered with water, and the water near it was calm, and it was a yellowish brown, like seaweed. in a minute or two the _industry_ was ploughing through it, and he could see that it was a great mass of floating seaweed that gave way, before the ship, like water, and the little sticks that he had seen, sticking up, were the stems. a little way ahead there was another of the floating islands; and another and another, until the surface of the sea seemed covered with them. they were really fifteen or twenty fathoms apart; but, from a distance, it didn't look as if they were. "why, sol," said little jacob, in surprise, "it doesn't stop the ship at all. i should think it would. what is it?" "well," answered little sol. "i asked one of the men, and he laughed and said it was nothing but seaweed--that the ship would make nothing of it. i was afraid we were running aground. and the man said that the rows--it gets in windrows, like hay that's being raked up--he said that the windrows were broken up a good deal by the storm; that he's often seen 'em stretching as far as the eye could see, and a good deal thicker than these are." little jacob laughed. "what are you laughing at?" asked little sol, looking up. "'as far as the eye could see,'" said little jacob. "well," said little sol, "that's just what he said, anyway." "i'm going to ask your father about it," said little jacob. "he'll know all about it. he always knows." and he got up, carefully, and made his way inboard; then he ran aft, to look for captain solomon. he found captain solomon on the quarter deck, leaning against the part of the cabin that stuck up through the deck. he was half sitting on it and looking out at the rows of seaweed that they passed. so little jacob asked him. "yes, jacob," answered captain solomon, "it's just seaweed, nothing but seaweed. we're just on the edge of the sargasso sea, and that means nothing but seaweed sea. the weed gets in long rows, just as you see it now, only the rows are apt to be longer and not so broken up. it's the wind that does it, and the ocean currents. it's my belief that the wind is the cause of the currents, too. i've seen acres of this weed packed so tight together that it looked as if we were sailing on my south meadow just at haying time. i don't see that south meadow at haying time very often, now, but i shall see it, please god, pretty soon." "well," said little jacob, "i should think that it would get all tangled up so that it would stop the ship." "my south meadow?" asked captain solomon. he was thinking of haying, and he had forgotten the seaweed sea. little jacob laughed. "no, sir," he answered. "the seaweed. why doesn't it get all tangled like ropes, so that it stops the ship?" "the plants aren't long enough," said captain solomon. "come, we'll get some of it for you." "oh!" cried little jacob. "will you? thank you, sir." and captain solomon told two of the sailors to come and to bring a big bucket. the bucket had a long rope fastened across, and the end was long enough to reach from the water up to the deck of the _industry_. they use buckets like that to dip up the salt water; and, when the ship is going the sailors have to be very careful and very quick or they will lose the bucket, it pulls so hard. so one sailor dipped the bucket just as they were passing over one of the rows of seaweed; and the other sailor took hold of the rope, too, as soon as he had dipped the bucket, and they pulled it up and set it on deck. captain solomon stooped and took up a plant. there were two plants in the bucket. little sol had come when he saw the sailors with the bucket. and captain solomon showed the boys that a plant was about the size of a cabbage, and that it had a great many little balloons that grew on it about as big as a pea, and these balloons were filled with air to make the plant float. some of them were almost as big as a nut, and little sol and little jacob had fun trying to make them pop. [illustration] then little sol found a tiny fish in the bucket that was just the color of the weed; and little jacob saw another, and then he saw a crab drop from the weed that captain solomon was holding, and the crab was just the color of the weed, too. and they amused themselves for a long time with hunting for the queer fishes and crabs and shrimps, and something that was like a mussel, but it wasn't just like one, either. and they found a place in the weed where were some little balls. and they opened the balls, and little sol said he'd bet that they were where some animal laid its eggs. but little jacob didn't say anything, for he didn't pretend to know anything about it. but captain solomon got tired of holding that weed, so he dropped it back into the bucket and went away. and, at last, when little jacob and little sol got tired of hunting for things in the weed, the sailors threw it over into the ocean again. and that's all. the flying-fish story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, the brig _industry_ had sailed from boston for a far country and she had got down into the warm parts of the ocean. little jacob and little sol had gone on that voyage. little sol always got out on deck, in the morning, a little while before little jacob got out. and, one morning, he had gone on deck and little jacob was hurrying to finish his breakfast, when little sol came running back and stuck his head in at the cabin door. "oh, jake," he called, "come out here, quick! there are fishes with wings on 'em, and they are flying all 'round." then little jacob was very much excited, and he wanted to leave the rest of his breakfast and go out. all of a sudden he found that he wasn't hungry. but captain solomon was there, and he smiled at little jacob's eagerness. "better finish your breakfast, jacob," he said. "the flying fish won't go away--not before you get through." "thank you, sir," said little jacob. "i'm all through. i don't feel hungry for any more." "all right," said captain solomon. "but if you and sol get hungry you can go to the cook. i have an idea that he will have something for you." little jacob was already half way up the cabin steps. "thank you, sir," he said; but there was some doubt whether he had heard. captain solomon smiled again and got up and followed him. little sol was in his favorite place on the bowsprit, and little jacob was going there as fast as he could. he settled himself in his place and began to look around. "where, sol?" he asked. "where are the--oh!" [illustration] for, just ahead of the ship, a school of fish suddenly leaped out of the water, and went flying about fifteen or twenty feet above the water for a hundred feet or more. and they kept coming. little jacob could hear the humming of their long fins, but he couldn't see their fins, they went so fast. little sol had thought they were wings; and it was as nearly right to call them wings as to call them fins. "oo--o, sol!" cried little jacob. "_aren't_ they pretty? and aren't they small? and don't they fly fast?" "m--m," said little sol. "look at these over there!" cried little jacob, again. "see! they are flying faster than the ship is going. they are beating us!" little jacob was pointing to some fish that were flying in the same direction that the _industry_ was sailing. they went ahead of her and dropped into the water. "h'mph!" said little sol. "there isn't much wind, anyway. if there was, i'll bet they wouldn't beat us." there really was a good deal of wind. "but aren't they pretty colors, sol?" said little jacob. "they're all colors of blue and silvery. i can't see them very plainly, they go so fast. i wish i could see them plainer." captain solomon was standing near enough to hear what little jacob said. "if you'll come inboard, jacob," said captain solomon, "you can see them. we're catching them." [illustration: "the sailors were having a good time"] and little jacob turned his head, and then he scrambled in. now and then some of the flying fish flew right across the deck of the _industry_. and some of them came down on the deck, and some struck against the masts and ropes; and the sailors were standing all about, looking excited, as if they were playing a game. they had their caps in their hands, and when the fish flew across the deck, they tried to catch them in their caps. and some they caught and some they didn't; but the sailors were having a good time, and they laughed and shouted at their play. and a sailor who had just caught a fish in his cap brought it to little jacob. "now you can see it plainer," said captain solomon. little jacob looked and he saw a fish that was less than a foot long, and the color on its back was a deep, ocean blue, and the fins were a darker blue, and it was all silvery underneath. and it had long fins coming out of its shoulders, almost as long as the fish, and they looked very strong and almost like a swallow's wings. by and by little jacob looked up at captain solomon. "why do the men want to catch so many of them?" he asked. "because it's fun?" "well, no," said captain solomon. "it is great fun. i've done it myself, in my day. but these fish are very good to eat. any kind of fresh meat is a good thing, when you know there's nothing better than salted meat to fall back on. you'll see how good they are, at dinner." little jacob sighed. "oh," he said. "thank you for showing me." and he was rather sober as he went back to his place on the bowsprit to watch. but when dinner time came, he ate some of the flying fish and thought they were very nice, indeed. and that's all. the log-book story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from boston for a far country, and little jacob and little sol had gone on that voyage. little jacob and little sol were very much interested in the things that they saw every day and in the things that were done every day on the ship by the sailors and by the mates and by captain solomon. but those things that happened the same sort of way, every day, interested little jacob more than they did little sol. little sol liked to see them a few times, until he knew just what to expect, and then he liked to be out on the bowsprit, seeing the things that he didn't expect; or he liked to be doing things. and the things that he did were the sort of things that nobody else expected. so the things that little sol did were an amusement to the sailors and to the mates; and sometimes they were an amusement to captain solomon and sometimes they weren't. when they didn't amuse captain solomon they didn't usually amuse little sol, either. every captain of a ship keeps a sort of diary, or journal, of the voyage that ship is making. this diary is usually called the ship's log. and every day he writes in it what happened that day; the courses the ship sailed and the number of miles she sailed on each course; the sails that were set and the direction and strength of the wind; and the state of the weather and the exact part of the ocean she was in and the time that she was there. the exact part of the ocean that the ship is in is usually found by looking at the sun, just at noon, through a little three-cornered thing, called a sextant, that is small enough for the captain or the mate to hold in his hands; and by seeing what time it is, by a sort of clock, when the sun is the very highest. then the captain goes down into the cabin and does some arithmetic out of a book, using the things that his sextant had told him, and he finds just exactly where the ship was at noon of that day. then he pricks the position of the ship on a chart, which is a map of the ocean, so that he can see how well she is going on her course. sometimes it is cloudy at noon, so that he can't look at the sun then, but it clears up after dark. then the captain looks through his sextant at the moon, or at some bright star, and finds his position that way. and sometimes it is cloudy for several days together, so that he can't take an observation with his sextant in all that time. captains don't like it very well when it is cloudy for several days together, for then they have nothing to tell them just where the ship is, but what is called "dead reckoning." [illustration] captain solomon usually had the speed at which the ship was sailing measured several times every day. when he wanted that done, he called a sailor to "heave the log;" and the sailor came and took up a real log, or board, fastened to the end of a long rope, while one of the mates held an hour glass. but there wasn't sand enough in the glass to run for an hour, but it would run for half a minute. and when the mate gave the word, the sailor dropped the log over the stern of the ship and the mate turned the glass. and the sailor held the reel with the rope on it, so that the rope would run off freely, and he counted, aloud, the knots in the rope as it ran out. for the rope had knots of colored leather in it, and the knots were just far enough apart so that the number of knots that ran out in half a minute would show the number of sea miles that the ship was sailing in an hour. and when the sand in the glass had all run out, the mate gave the word again, and the sailor stopped the rope from running out. so captain solomon knew about how many miles the _industry_ had sailed on each course, and he could put it down in his book. that wasn't a very good way to tell where the ship was, by adding up all the courses she had sailed and getting her speed on each course, and adding all these to the last place that they knew about, but, when captain solomon couldn't get an observation with his sextant, it was the only way there was. that isn't the way they tell, now-a-days, how many miles a ship has sailed, for there is a better way that gives, more exactly than the old-fashioned "log," the number of miles. but they still have to add up all the courses and the miles sailed on each course to find a ship's place, when they can't take an observation. that is what is called "dead reckoning," and it isn't a very good way at its best. [illustration: "little jacob liked to watch captain solomon"] little jacob liked to watch captain solomon writing up the log for the day. he always wrote it just after dinner. and when he had finished dinner, he would get out the book and clear a place on the table to put it; and then he took a quill pen in his great fist and wrote, very slowly, and with flourishes. and when he had it done he always passed the book over to little jacob. "there, jacob," he said, with a smile. "that please you?" "oh, yes, sir," answered little jacob. "thank you, sir." and he began to read. one day, when they had been out of boston about three weeks, little jacob watched captain solomon write up the log, and, when he got it, he thought he would turn back to some days that he knew about and read what captain solomon had said about them. and so he did. october , . days out. comes in fresh gales & flying clouds. middle & latter part much the same, with all proper sail spread. imploy'd varnishing deck and scraping foreyard. saw a brig and two ships standing to the n. & w. a school of porpoises about the ship a good part of the morning, of which the crew harpooned a good number and got them on deck. i fear they are too many for us to acct. for before they go bad. course ese miles. wind fresh from s. & w. observatn, lat. n. long. w. that didn't seem to little jacob to be enough to say about the porpoises. he sighed and turned to another day. october , . days out. comes in fresh breezes and a rough sea fr. s. & e. spoke brig transit of workington fr.--s. salvador for hamburg. middle & latter part moderate with clear skies and beautiful weather. ran into some weed and running threw it off and on all day. courses ese m. wind strong fr. n. & e., moderating to gentle airs. sse. m. observatn., ---- lat. n. long. w. and it seemed to little jacob that it was a shame to say no more than that about that strange seaweed sea and the curious things that were to be found in it. but it was captain solomon's log and not little jacob's. he turned to another day, to see what there was about the flying fish. october , . days out of boston. comes in with good fresh trades and flying clouds. middle & latter part much the same. saw a ship standing on our course. not near enough to speak her. at daylight passed the ship abt. miles to windward. all proper sail spread. great numbers of flying fish (sea swallows) all about the ship, and the men imploy'd in catching them. it gave the men much pleasure and a deal of sport and the fish very good eating. course sse miles. wind ne. strong, trades. observatn., lat. n. long. w. chronometer loses _too much_. took spica and aquila at p. m., long. w. little jacob didn't know what spica and aquila were, and he asked captain solomon. "they are stars, jacob, and rather bright ones," said captain solomon. "my chronometer--my clock, you know--was losing a good deal, and i looked through my sextant at them to find out where we really were." "oh," said little jacob; but he didn't understand very well, and captain solomon saw that he didn't. it wasn't strange that he didn't understand. little jacob sat looking at the log book and he didn't say anything for a long time. captain solomon smiled. "well, jacob," he said, at last, "what are you thinking about? i guess you were thinking that you wished that you had the log to write up. then you could say more about the things that were interesting. weren't you?" little jacob got very red. "oh, no, sir," he said. "that is, i--well, you see, the things that are new and interesting to me--well, i s'pose you have seen them so many times that it doesn't seem worth while to you to say much about them." "that is a part of the reason," answered captain solomon. "the other part is that it doesn't seem necessary. anything that concerns the ship is put down. we don't have time--nor we don't have the wish--to put down anything else." "of course," said little jacob, "it isn't necessary." "i'll tell you what i'll do, jacob," said captain solomon. "i'll let you write up the log, and then you can write as much as you like about anything that interests you." little jacob got very red again. "_oh!_" he cried, getting up in his excitement. "will you let me do that? _thank_ you. i thank you very much. but--but how shall i put down all those numbers that show how the ship goes?" "i'll give you the numbers, as you call them," said captain solomon, "and i'll look over the log every day, to see that you put them down right." "i'll put them down just exactly the way you tell me to," said little jacob. "and i thank you very much. and i--i write pretty well." and little jacob ran to find little sol and to tell him about how he was going to write the log of the voyage, after that. and he did write it, numbers and all, and it was a very interesting and well written log. for little jacob could write very well indeed; rather better than captain solomon. captain solomon knew that when he said that little jacob could write it. and that's all. the shark story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's, and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once the brig _industry_ had sailed for a far country. little jacob and little sol had gone on that voyage, and they always raced through their breakfast so that they could get out on deck and see what there was to see. little sol generally beat and went on deck first, but sometimes little jacob was first. the reason that little sol generally beat was that little jacob had been brought up not to hurry through his meals, but to wait for the older people; and he had to wait, anyway, because he couldn't get the second part until his father and his mother, and any company they had, had finished the first part. then the first part was carried out and the second part was brought in; and little jacob had to sit quietly in his chair with his hands folded in his lap until it came in. but little sol didn't bother much about those things. one morning little jacob and little sol had raced through breakfast, as they always did, and they had finished at exactly the same time, because little jacob hurried. then they both tried to go on deck at the same time. they managed to go up the cabin steps together, but they couldn't get through the door together without squeezing very tightly. and, in that squeezing, little jacob caught his jacket on the lock of the door so that the jacket tore. but little jacob didn't know it, and he kept on pushing, and at last he and little sol went bouncing out and fell sprawling on the deck. captain solomon was sitting in the cabin, and he laughed to see them go sprawling out, but he thought that he guessed the little boys had done enough of that racing business. for somebody would have to mend little jacob's jacket and, besides, there was danger that little jacob would forget his manners, and that would never do. little jacob had beautiful manners. so captain solomon made up his mind that sol would have to wait until little jacob finished his breakfast, after that, and then they should go up the cabin steps like little gentlemen and not push and crowd and tear their jackets. and that would be a good thing for little sol, too, but he wouldn't like it at first. captain solomon didn't care whether he liked it or not. the little boys didn't know what captain solomon was thinking about, and they laughed and picked themselves up and looked around. and they didn't see anything but water all about, and the bright sunshine, and one or two little hilly clouds, and all the many sails of the _industry_. for they were still in the trade winds where it is generally good weather. and they saw the mate, and he was standing at the stern and looking down into the water behind the ship. "let's see what mr. steele is looking at," said little sol. "all right," said little jacob, "let's." so the two little boys walked to the stern and leaned on the rail and looked down at the water. but first little jacob said "good morning" to the mate. "good morning, jacob," said the mate. "now, what do you see there?" "i know," cried little sol. "it's a shark." "oh, is it?" cried little jacob. he was very much interested and excited. "where is it, sol?" little sol pointed. "right there," he said. "you can see his back fin, just as plain." and little jacob looked again, and he saw all the little swirls and bubbles and foam that made the wake of the ship, and right in the middle of it all he saw a great three-cornered thing sticking up out of the water. it was dark colored, and it followed after the ship as if it were fastened to it. "is that his back fin?" asked little jacob, "that three-cornered thing? i don't see the rest of him." "if you look hard," said mr. steele, "you'll make him out. he's clear enough to me." [illustration: "'right there,' he said, 'you can see his back fin.'"] little jacob looked hard and at last he saw the shark himself; but there were so many bubbles and swirls, and the shark was colored so exactly like the water, as he looked down into it, that it wasn't easy to see him. both the little boys watched him for some time without saying anything. at last little jacob sighed. "he's pretty big," he said. "why do you suppose he follows the ship that way? it's just as if we were towing him." "well," said the mate, "i never had a chance to ask any shark that question--and get an answer--but i think it's to get what the cook throws overboard." the mate turned and looked forward. "i see the cook now, with a bucket of scraps. you watch mr. shark." little jacob and little sol both looked and they saw the cook walking from the galley with his bucket. the galley is the kitchen of the ship. and he emptied the bucket over the side. then the two little boys looked quickly at the shark again, to see what he would do. they saw the shark leave his place at the stern of the _industry_ as the things came floating by, and they saw him turn over on his side and eat one or two of the things. he took them into his mouth slowly, as though he had plenty of time; or it seemed as if he ate them slowly. really, he didn't. they lost sight of him, for he stayed at that place until every scrap was gone. little jacob smiled. "he doesn't have to race through his breakfast," he said, "does he, sol? did you see that his underneath parts were white? i wonder why that is. i s'pose it's because anything that looks down looks into darkness, and anything that looks up looks into lightness. is that why, mr. steele?" "so that the fish wouldn't see him coming?" asked mr. steele. "well, jacob, to tell you the truth, i never thought much about it. and i don't really know how a shark would look from underneath, in the water. the pearl divers in india could tell you. but i guess that comes as near to the reason as any other--near enough, anyway. i've no doubt that his coloring makes him very hard to see, in the water." "i would like to see the pearl divers," said little jacob, "but i s'pose i can't. and i'm rather glad the shark is gone." "huh!" said little sol. "he isn't gone. he only stopped a minute. he'll be back. won't he, mr. steele?" mr. steele smiled. "there he comes, now." [illustration] and the boys looked and they saw the three-cornered fin cutting through the water at a great rate. the shark caught up with the ship easily and took his old place, just astern. the shark stayed with the _industry_ all of that day, and little jacob watched him once in a while. he thought the shark was kind of horrible and he wished that he would go away. but he didn't, that day or that night, or the next. and captain solomon didn't like it, either. so, when captain solomon saw him on the third morning, he spoke to the mate. "better get rid of that fellow, mr. steele," he said. "got a shark hook?" "yes, sir," answered the mate. "but i'm afraid it isn't big enough for him." but captain solomon told him to try it, anyway. and he called some of the sailors and told them to rig a tackle on the end of the mainyard. that was so that it would be easy to haul the shark in, when they hooked him. and he went down and got the shark hook. it was a great, enormous fishhook and it had about a yard of chain hitched to it, because if it was rope that went in the shark's mouth, he might bite it off. and a large rope ran through the blocks of the tackle, and the sailors hitched the end of that rope to the end of the chain. a lot of sailors took hold of the other end of the rope, and they stood with the rope in their hands ready to run away with it, just as they did when they were hoisting a yard with a sail. then the cook came with a big chunk of fat salt pork, and he put it on the hook so that the point of the hook was all covered. and the mate looked at it, to see if it was done right, and he saw that it was. "slack away on the line," he called to the sailors. and they let out the rope, until the mate thought that there was enough let out, and then he threw the hook, that was baited with the salt pork, overboard, and it trailed out astern. the shark saw the pork and he left his place at the stern and went over to see about it. first he seemed to smell of it and make up his mind that it was good to eat. then he turned lazily over upon his side, showing his whitish belly, and opened his mouth and swallowed the pork, with the hook inside it, and nearly all of the chain. little jacob was watching him, and he saw that the shark's mouth was not at the end of his nose, as most fishes' mouths are, but it was quite a way back from his snout, on the under side. and he saw his teeth quite clearly. there were a great many of them, and they seemed to be in rows. little jacob didn't have time to count the rows, but he thought that the teeth looked very cruel. the shark's mouth was big enough to take in a man whole. and then the mate, who still had his hand on the rope, jerked it with all his might. what happened then was never quite clear to little jacob. he heard the sailors running away with their end of the rope and shouting a chanty and stamping their feet. and he saw the water alongside the ship being all foamed up by an enormous monster that seemed large enough for a whale. then some water came up from the ocean and hit him in the face, so that he couldn't see for a few minutes and his jacket was all wet through. but the noise kept on. when little jacob could see again, the enormous monster was half out of the water and rising slowly to the yard-arm, while he made a tremendous commotion with his tail in the water, and a sailor was just reaching out with an axe. the sailor struck twice with the axe, but little jacob didn't see where. then the shark dropped back into the ocean with a great splash and out of sight. "well!" said the mate. "he's a good one! took a good shark hook with him and pretty near a fathom of new chain!" and when little jacob had got his breath back again, he ran down into the cabin to write all about the shark in the log-book. and that's all. the christmas story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from boston for far countries, and she had been gone about three months. she was going to java, first, to get coffee and sugar and other things that they have in java; and then she was going to manila and then back to india and home again. it was almost christmas time. little jacob and little sol were on board the _industry_ on that voyage, and it seemed very strange to them that it should be hot at christmas time. but they were just about at the equator, or a little bit south of it, and it is always hot there; and besides, it is summer at christmas time south of the equator. so little jacob and sol had on their lightest and coolest clothes, and they had straw hats on; but they didn't run about and play much, it was so hot. the two little boys were lying stretched out in the shadow of a great sail, and they had their hands behind their heads, and they looked up at the tall masts and the yards and the great white sails and once in a while they saw a little hilly cloud, and they didn't say anything for a long time. finally little jacob spoke to little sol. "what are you thinking about, sol?" he asked. "oh, nothing, much," answered little sol. "i was thinking it would be fun to be sitting up on the very tip top of the mainmast and letting my feet hang down and swinging back and forth with the mast. maybe i could see java." little jacob shivered to think of sitting on top of the mast. "my, sol!" he said. "you'd fall. there's nothing to hold on to." "oh, i'm not going to try it, jake," said little sol. "father'd give it to me, if i did. you know the time i fell overboard?" little jacob nodded. "well, then," said little sol. "i guess a boy'd be foolish to try that twice." little jacob nodded again. "did he thrash you, sol?" he asked. little sol smiled. "_didn't_ he, though?" he said. "ever get a thrashing, jake?" little jacob hesitated. "well," he said, slowly, "sometimes--with a slipper." "huh!" said little sol, with much scorn. "that's nothing. my father don't use any slipper." little jacob thought it was time to change the subject. "what makes you think that you could see java from up there?" "i don't s'pose i could, really," answered little sol. "but father said that we ought to sight it within two days." "to-morrow is christmas," remarked little jacob, thoughtfully. "i'd rather like to be at home, on christmas." "well, you can't," said little sol. "you're thousands of miles from home. i wonder what they'll have for dinner." "we generally have lots of things for christmas dinner," said little jacob, in a stifled little voice, "goose and apple sauce, and potatoes and squash and----" "i don't mean at home, jake," said little sol, gently. "i mean here. we always have good things at home, too. but we haven't any goose or anything else except salt junk and plum duff. i s'pose it'll be that." but little jacob didn't say anything because he couldn't speak. he tilted his hat over his eyes and thought how nice it was at home at christmas time, and how sorry lois, his mother, would be that he wasn't there, and how sorry his little sister lois would be. he didn't know about his father, captain jacob, but he thought that perhaps he would be sorry, too; and he knew that his grandfather, captain jonathan, would be sorry. he was very fond of his grandfather because captain jonathan was always nice and kind and gentle and he seemed to understand little boys. and, at last, little jacob jammed his hat on straight and got up and ran down into the cabin to write his mother a letter. captain solomon would leave the letter in java for some ship to take home. when he had written the letter he felt better. when the two little boys came out on deck the next morning, they went forward among the sailors; and they wished each man a merry christmas and they gave each one some little thing that they had found. the things were some things that captain solomon had brought to give away, although he did not expect, when he brought them, to give them to the sailors. and the men seemed very much pleased, and they wished little jacob and little sol a merry christmas, too, and some of the men had presents for the boys. these presents were usually something that the men had whittled out of ivory or bone or ebony. and little jacob and little sol hadn't expected that the men would give them any presents, and they were delighted; and, by the time they had got through giving the men presents their jacket pockets bulged out with all the things the men had given them. but one thing little jacob didn't put in his pocket, for fear that he would break it. that was a little model of the brig _industry_, about three inches long. the hull of the model was cut out of ebony, and the masts and spars were little ebony sticks stuck in, and the sails were of ivory, scraped thin, and the ropes were silk thread. and the sails were bulging, as if the wind was filling them and making them stand out from the yards. altogether, it was a most beautiful model, and little jacob was so surprised and pleased that, for some time, he couldn't say anything to the sailor who had given it to him. "is this for me?" he said, at last. "for _me_?" [illustration: "'yes, little lad,' he said. 'for you--if you want it.'"] that sailor was an old man. the little crinkles came around his eyes as he smiled down at little jacob. "yes, little lad," he said. "for you--if you want it. and with a merry christmas!" "oh," cried little jacob, "if i want it! i think it is the--most--beautiful--thing i ever saw. i can't thank you enough." you should have seen the old sailor's face when little jacob said that. the crinkles were so deep that you could hardly have seen his eyes. "to see your face now is thanks enough for me," he said. "but--but," said little jacob, "sol hasn't got anything half so pretty as this." "never you mind about sol," said the old man, in a whisper that sol could hear perfectly well. "he'll be havin' a ship of his own, one o' these days soon. what does he care about models?" and he looked at sol and winked. and sol straightened his shoulders and stopped looking disappointed. "that's what i will," said sol. and the boys stayed with the old sailor for a long time, and the sailor pointed to something that was blue and dim on the water, far away. "see that land?" he said. "that's christmas island on christmas mornin'." [illustration: christmas island st view, bearing n by e] and the boys asked if they would go near the island, and he said that they would go pretty near. and little jacob said that he would get some paper and draw the island when they came near it, and he would put it in the log book. and so he did, and he made it look like the pictures here. when little jacob had it all written in the log-book about the presents and about his little model of the _industry_ and about christmas island, it was time for dinner. [illustration: christmas island, nd view, bearing sw] when the little boys went in to dinner, they were both very much surprised; for there, on the table, was a real goose, beautifully browned over and smoking hot, and there was apple sauce to eat with it. and there was squash and potato and cabbage and ham and almost as many different things as little jacob would have had if he had been at home. and behind the goose stood captain solomon sharpening the carving knife, and he was smiling. little jacob didn't ask how he managed to have fresh goose, but he evidently wanted to; so captain solomon told him that the cook had kept it alive in the long boat all that long time, so as to be sure to have goose for their christmas dinner. the long boat was kept high up above the men's heads, on a sort of framework, so that little jacob had never seen the goose; but the cook had had a great deal of trouble to keep the boys from hearing it, and he had had to make it a secret with the sailors and sometimes he had the sailors take it down into the forecastle while little jacob and little sol were playing about. the forecastle is the place where the sailors sleep, and the little boys never went there. but little sol rather suspected that there was something that the cook was hiding from them, although he had never found out what it was. and, when they were through eating their goose, they had squash pie and apple pie, two kinds, and potato pie; but they weren't quite like the pies they would have had at home because the cook didn't have any butter to make the crust with, and his lard wasn't very good because they had been in the hot oceans for so long. and they had some very nice steamed pudding with raisins in it, and there were lots of raisins. when they were through eating their pudding and all the kinds of pies, little jacob was filled up about to his chin, and there was just room enough left for an apple and some nuts and raisins. and they had the apples and the nuts and raisins; all the kinds of nuts that they had at home and another kind of nut that little jacob had never seen before. he didn't know whether to call it a nut or a raisin. it had a thin shell and it was nearly as big as an english walnut, but inside the shell was a raisin; and the raisin had a single stone inside it, a little bigger than a cherry stone. little jacob and little sol thought that these raisinuts tasted very good indeed, and they didn't care whether they were raisins or nuts. little sol invented the name, raisinuts. [illustration] at last they were through dinner, and the little boys got up, very slowly, for they were filled as full as they could hold. and they walked slowly to the cabin steps and up the steps and out on deck. it was rather squally and, just as little jacob went out of the cabin door, a great gust of wind came and took his straw hat and carried it sailing away over the ocean. you can't stop a ship to get a straw hat, and little jacob watched it go sailing away on the gust of wind and settle into the ocean; but he was sorry, for it was the only straw hat he had, and it was too hot to wear his white beaver hat. but he thought that he wouldn't wear any hat until they got to java and then he would get another straw. when little jacob had watched his hat out of sight, he went into the cabin again to write some more on his letter to his mother. and that's all. the sounding story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from boston for far countries and little jacob and little sol had gone in her. and she had got to java and anchored near the place where they got water and they had sent some sailors ashore in boats to fill the water casks. and they had got the water and come back; and the boats and the water casks had been hoisted on board, and they had hoisted the anchor and sailed away, through the straits, for anger. you might not be able to find that place on a map of java, but that is what captain solomon says in his log-book, so it must be right. they got to anger the next morning, and captain solomon went ashore in his boat, with sailors to row it; for he wanted to send some letters and he wanted to find out what he would have to pay for sugar and for coffee. he had the letters in a bag. there were three that sailors had written; that doesn't seem many letters for a whole crew of sailors to write after they have been at sea for three months, but sailors aren't much at writing letters, anyway. and there were about half a dozen that captain solomon had written, and some from the mates; and there was one that little sol had scrawled to his mother, and there was the great thick letter that little jacob had written to his mother. captain solomon couldn't take little sol and little jacob ashore with him because he thought he would be too busy to look after them. the _industry_ didn't even anchor, but she sailed back and forth, in front of the town, waiting for captain solomon's boat to come back. at last captain solomon had heard all the news and had sent his letters and had found out the price of sugar and of coffee and had learned what ships were at batavia. batavia is a city in java, not far from anger, and captain solomon was going there on his way back. and he had got some fresh vegetables and some turtle and some fresh fowl of a chinaman, and all his errands were done. so he came back to the ship and got on board and the boat was hoisted up and more sail was set; and the _industry_ sailed on her way through sunda strait. captain solomon called it sunday strait. a strait is a rather narrow passage from one sea to another. sunda strait leads from the indian ocean to java sea; and, after that, there were some more straits leading to the china sea. late in the afternoon the wind got lighter; and as there was a strong current setting towards the southwest, through the straits, they couldn't sail as fast as the current carried them. so the _industry_ was carried back to anger; but she started again very early in the morning, when there was more wind and when the tide was different. when little jacob and little sol came on deck they saw three ships, going the other way. they wondered what they were, and they asked the mate. and the mate smiled and said that two of the ships were dutch and he supposed that they were going to batavia. and he thought that the other ship was american and he hoped that it would take the letters they had left at anger. little jacob hoped that it would; but little sol didn't seem to care. and, all of that day, they watched for more ships, and they saw land, now and then, far off on the horizon. it was very hot, for they were almost at the equator; so that even little sol was contented to keep still. and, towards night, they saw one of the sailors getting the lead line ready. the lead is just a big lump of lead, like a sinker that is used on a fishing line, and it is tied to the end of a long line that has the fathoms marked on it in much the same way that the log line has the knots marked; but the marks on the lead line are really six feet apart. and the lead itself has the lower end just a little bit hollowed. the sailor who was getting it ready first made sure that the line was all clear, without any knots or kinks in it. and, when he had seen that the line was all right, he took up the lead and smeared some grease on the bottom of it. the sailor was the old man who had given little jacob the model of the brig. little jacob was surprised. "what is that?" he asked. "is it grease?" the sailor was amused. "it's grease," he said, "sure enough." "and what is it for?" asked little jacob again. "i hope you don't mind telling me." "no, lad," said the sailor. "be sure i'll tell you. it's to bring up some of the bottom so's the cap'n can tell where we are." little jacob didn't understand. "i don't see," he said, "how captain solomon can tell where we are, that way." the sailor laughed. "well, no," he said. "i s'pose you don't. well, it's this way. the bottom of the sea is different in different places. in some parts it's mud and in other parts it's gray sand and in others it's black sand and in others yet it's yellow sand, and so on. in the deep oceans it's different yet, but no lead will reach it. and every good sailor man, such as cap'n solomon is, should know the bottom he'll find on the course he sails. and when i heave this lead, it tells him how much water he's got under him and the kind of bottom, for the lead brings up a little of the mud or the sand that sticks to the grease. that's how it is." little jacob thought that he understood. "and will you heave the lead now?" he asked. "i heave the lead when i'm ordered to," said the old man. "but i'm thinking the cap'n won't want it hove till after dark. there's no lights, hereabouts, you see. lighthouses," he added, seeing that little jacob didn't know what he meant. "oh," said little jacob. and he went off to find captain solomon and to ask him if he might stay up that night, until they hove the lead. heaving the lead is called sounding. and captain solomon laughed and said that he guessed so. so little jacob didn't go to bed so early as he generally did, but he stayed up to see them heave the lead. and, about nine o'clock, captain solomon called little jacob and little sol and told them that they had better be ready, for he was just going to begin taking soundings. so the two boys went to look for the sailor with the lead line. they found him standing by the rail just where the ship was widest, and by his side was a lantern, lighted. the mate had another lantern, and the light from those two lanterns was the only light that they could see. and, just as the boys came up, the sailor began to swing the lead to and fro. [illustration] he swung it farther and farther, each time, like a pendulum to a clock. and, when it was swinging pretty far, he let the line go, so that the heavy lead went ahead of the ship and fell into the water. as soon as he heard it strike the water, the sailor grabbed for the line quickly, and he caught it, but he let it slip through his hand. and he felt the lead strike the bottom. by the time the lead had struck the bottom, the ship had almost caught up to the place where it had gone into the water, so that the line was straight up and down. the sailor began to pull it in, feeling, with his fingers, for the wet part. when he had come to that, he held it in the light of the lantern for a moment. "ten fathom," he called. then he pulled the lead up. the mate took it and looked at the part that had been greased. "mud," he said; and he wiped it off on his finger and showed it to captain solomon. "all right," said captain solomon, when he had looked at the mud. "better keep the lead going for a while." so the sailor wiped the bottom of the lead clean, and smeared it with grease again. little jacob watched him swing it and heave it and pull it in. he wondered whether it was hard or easy to do what the sailor did; whether he could do it when he grew up. the great lead would be too much for a little boy, he knew. but it looked easy. "ten and a half," called the sailor, "and mud. i could tell by the feel of it." "yes, mud," said the mate, looking at the bottom of the lead. the lead was kept going, every half hour or so, all night. and, towards sunrise, they got twenty fathoms, and the lead brought up grains of black sand and grains of yellow sand, and they put away the lead line. but little jacob didn't know about that, for he was sound asleep in his bunk. and that's all. the teak-wood story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. captain jonathan and captain jacob owned the wharf and all the ships that sailed from it. the brig _industry_ was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf, and after captain jonathan and captain jacob moved to boston she sailed from a wharf in boston. and she had sailed from the wharf in boston on a voyage to the far country, and little jacob and little sol had gone in her. and she had sailed through the great ocean and past the country where the monkeys lived and through another ocean to india, and she had anchored in a wide river. and many little boats came off to her from a city that there was on the shore of the river, and they began to take out of the _industry_ all the things she had brought to that country. little jacob and little sol were as quiet as little boys could be expected to be, for they knew that captain solomon was very busy at first. but, at last, the things were all out of the _industry_; and captain solomon had to go ashore to buy things for the ship to take home again. so he had the sailors let down a boat, and he looked around for the boys. and they were so close behind him that he didn't see them until little sol touched him. "hello, boys!" cried captain solomon. "want to go ashore with me?" "yes, sir," called out little jacob and little sol, together, so that it sounded as if there was only one boy. "well, hop in, then," said captain solomon. and little sol hopped in, and little jacob hopped in; and captain solomon got in, and the sailors rowed them ashore. and they got out of the boat upon some wide stone steps that went down to the water, and the boys were very glad, for it was the first time that they had set foot upon the ground for a long time. and little jacob was surprised to find that the ground seemed to be waving around just like the deck of the ship, so that he couldn't walk very well. and he spoke of it to little sol, and captain solomon heard him, and he gave a great laugh. "so it does," captain solomon said. "so it does. and so it will for the next three days, jacob, if i'm not mistaken. it's queer ground, jacob, isn't it, to be waving around so? must be an earthquake." and little jacob looked up at captain solomon to see whether he was joking or not. for captain solomon was very apt to joke, but you couldn't tell whether he was or not unless you looked at him, and you couldn't tell, even then, unless you knew him pretty well. and little jacob decided that captain solomon was joking, so he smiled. "yes, sir," he said. "it must be an earthquake. we were very lucky, weren't we, to be just in time for an earthquake?" it was captain solomon's turn to look at little jacob to see what he meant. "ha! ha! very lucky, indeed, jacob," said captain solomon. "we're lucky dogs, jacob." and little sol didn't say anything, but only grinned; and he could do that pretty well. and they went, by queer streets, to the office of captain jonathan's and captain jacob's agent, who sold the things for them. and after that they went about among the shops and saw all the things that the men had to sell, and captain solomon went with them. and the men were very polite to captain solomon because they thought he might buy some of their things, but he didn't. and so they did all that day, and, late in the afternoon, they were rowed back to the ship. little jacob and little sol were very tired, and went to sleep right after supper. the next morning the boat was waiting for them, and in it were bundles for little jacob and little sol. and, after breakfast, they were rowed ashore again to the stone steps. and, at the head of the steps, two bullock carts were waiting for them. little jacob was surprised, and he asked captain solomon if they were going to see the elephants that his grandfather had spoken of. and captain solomon said that they were going to that place, but he didn't know whether the elephants that captain jonathan had spoken of had been obliging enough to wait thirty years or not. and little jacob smiled and got into the bullock cart. the bullocks went very slowly indeed; and the little boys saw the villages that they passed through on the way, and they saw the women washing the clothes in the water of the river, and they saw the crocodiles that looked like so many old logs. and, in time, the bullocks got to the place where the elephants were. it was late one afternoon that they got there, so that captain solomon thought that they wouldn't go to see the elephants that night. and, just as captain solomon said that, they heard a great gong ring. and captain solomon said that it wouldn't be any use to go to see them then, anyway, for the elephants stopped work when that gong rang, and nobody could get them to do anything after that. and the little boys thought that was queer. so, early the next morning, they went to the elephant place. it was a great big place, and a high, strong fence was around it on three sides, and on the fourth side was the river. and, next to the river, were great piles of teak-wood logs, and the logs were piled very nicely and evenly, so that the piles wouldn't fall down. and, far off at the back of the great yard, next to the forest, were a lot of the logs which were not piled, but were just as they had been dumped there, pell-mell, when they had been brought in from the forest. the logs that were all piled up nicely were to be sent down the river. little jacob and little sol had just time to see all that, when the great gong rang. then the elephants began to come out of a big shed that was in the back of the yard, and the little boys saw that some of the elephants had mahouts, or drivers, on them but the most of them didn't have any drivers. and the mahouts sat on the necks of their elephants, just back of the heads, and each mahout had an elephant-goad, something like an ox-goad, only that it was shorter and the end that was sharp was bent around so that it was something like the claws of a hammer, but the claws were sharp. and the elephants that knew their business walked slowly over to the logs that were piled pell-mell, and they made the elephants that didn't know their business go there too; and if any elephant, that didn't know, tried to go another way, the old elephants would butt him and jab him with their tusks. and then there was great squealing and noise. and when the elephants got to the logs, each one knelt down and put his tusks under a log and curled his trunk over and around it, and then he got up and walked slowly to the place where the logs were piled so nicely. and he put his log on the pile so that it wouldn't fall down, and when the pile was so high that he couldn't reach then he began to make a new pile. but some of the elephants didn't have any tusks and they just curled their trunks around the logs and carried them that way. little jacob and little sol were very much interested in watching the elephants and in seeing how wise they were; for they piled the logs just as well as if a man had told them where to put each one. and captain solomon said that they piled the logs better than any man there could have done it. and little jacob caught sight of one elephant that had his ears torn and had only one tusk. when he caught sight of that elephant, little jacob called out. "look, captain solomon!" he cried. "see! there is the elephant that grandfather told about, that will let little boys ride him." and the elephant was pretty near and he heard little jacob, but he couldn't understand what he said, for those elephants only understand the language that they speak in india. but the old elephant stopped and turned his head as far as he could, which wasn't very far, for elephants haven't any neck worth mentioning, so he had to turn his whole body before he could see the little boys. and, when he saw them, he began to walk up to the place where they were. and little jacob was a little bit scared, for the elephant was very big and he didn't know what he might do. but little jacob didn't run or look scared, and little sol wasn't frightened at all. and, when the old elephant had got near the little boys, he stopped and stretched out his trunk toward them. and little sol gave him a lump of sugar that he had in his pocket, and the elephant ate the sugar and stretched out his trunk again, but he didn't move. "i know what he wants," cried little jacob. and he got up from the log where he was sitting, and raised his arms, and the old elephant curled his trunk about little jacob and put him up high on his back, very gently. and little jacob grabbed hold of a sort of harness that the elephant had on, and he laughed. then the elephant stretched out his trunk for little sol and put him up behind little jacob. and little sol held on to the harness, too. captain solomon didn't know what to do while the elephant was putting the little boys up on his back, but then he made up his mind that the boys were well enough off; and the old elephant walked away, very carefully, and he walked all around the great yard with the boys on his back. and the boys laughed and said that it was fun. but captain solomon called to them to hold on tight. and they held on tight. and when they had been all around the great yard, the old elephant came back to the place where captain solomon was sitting. and he reached up with his trunk and took the boys down, first little sol and then little jacob, and he set them down on the ground very carefully. and the boys gave him some more sugar and stroked his trunk, and then he went away to his log piling again. [illustration: "he walked all around the great yard with the boys on his back."] and when they had been watching a long while, the gong rang. and the elephants all stopped their work at once and went into the shed. and that amused the boys very much, and the gong reminded them that they were very hungry, so they went away to get their dinner. and, after dinner, they watched the elephants again all the long afternoon, and by that time they were tired of watching elephants. so, the next morning, they got into the bullock carts again, and they went back to the ship. and the boat was waiting for them at the stone steps, and the sailors rowed them to the _industry_. and they were very tired and glad to get back, and they went to bed right after supper. and that's all. the stowaway story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. that wharf and all the ships that sailed from it belonged to captain jonathan and captain jacob; and after they had moved their office to boston the ships sailed from a wharf in boston. and once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from the wharf in boston, and she had got to that far country and all the things that she had brought there had been taken out of her and sold. and captain solomon had bought the things that she would carry back to boston, but they were not loaded on the _industry_ yet. and captain solomon had gone off with little jacob and little sol to see some elephants, for he thought the mate could attend to loading the ship. after captain solomon had gone off, the sailors who had rowed him ashore stood there for a few minutes looking after the dust that the bullocks kicked up, and then they turned to get into the boat again. and one of the sailors, who was named ephraim, saw a man coming toward them, and he knew the man, for the man was a sailor, too, and he and ephraim had sailed together a long while before, but not in the _industry_. so he waited for the man to come, and the man and ephraim were glad to see each other and ephraim asked him where he came from and what ship he was on. for no other ship was in the river at that time. then the man said that he had sailed in a ship from england, but the ship had gone off without him while he was ashore; and he wanted to get back to boston, for he hadn't been there for several years. and he asked ephraim if there was a chance to be a sailor on the _industry_. but ephraim said that they had a full crew and there wasn't any chance, for the old man was very strict. he called captain solomon the old man, but he wasn't an old man at all, for he wasn't quite forty years old; but sailors always call the captain the old man. and ephraim was afraid of captain solomon, but he needn't have been afraid, for captain solomon was a kind man, although he was rather gruff and stern to the sailors. and so ephraim advised the man to try to stow himself away on the _industry_ until she was clear of the land and on blue water, and then to come out and see what would happen. for he knew that captain solomon wouldn't go back just to land the man, and he couldn't throw him overboard. and the man said that he would do that, and he thought he should be able to stow away when the ship was loading, but he would have to depend upon ephraim to feed him for a few days. and ephraim said that he would, and the man went away and the sailors rowed the boat back to the _industry_. so the sailors began to load the ship with all the things that captain solomon had bought, and many little boats began to go back and forth and there was a good deal of confusion. and in the confusion of the loading the man managed to stow himself away on the _industry_; and he was in the hold of the ship, as far forward as he could get, so that ephraim could bring him food and water without much trouble. and the sailors got all the things aboard, and captain solomon came back with little jacob and little sol. and they got the things to eat on board, and the water that they would drink, and when everything was ready they hoisted up the anchor from the bottom of the river, and they hoisted the sails, and they sailed away down the river and out into the great ocean. and on the second day out, the stowaway came out and worked with the other sailors. and captain solomon was on the quarter deck, looking out over the ocean and at the ship and at the sailors, and he saw the stowaway. [illustration: "he was in the hold of the ship"] "who is that man and where did he come from?" he said to the mate. and the mate looked and saw the man, and he didn't know. "i'm sure i don't know, sir," answered the mate. "call him up," said captain solomon. so the mate called him and he came and stood at the foot of the steps that led to the quarter deck, and captain solomon stood at the head of the steps with his hand upon the railing. and the man stood first upon one foot and then upon the other and he looked very uncomfortable. "aye, aye, sir," said the man; and he touched his cap. and captain solomon didn't say anything for a long time, but he looked the man over from head to foot, and he looked very fierce and stern, so that the man was more uncomfortable than ever. and little jacob and little sol stood just behind captain solomon. "who are you, and where did you come from?" asked captain solomon. "give an account of yourself." then the man began to tell that he was a sailor and had been a sailor for many years. and he had shipped, last on an english vessel bound to india, and she had got there all right, but had sailed away without him while he was ashore on leave. captain solomon had to smile at that, though he didn't mean to. and the man went on to say that he wanted to get a passage to boston and he would have been glad to ship as one of the crew, but he understood that the ship had a full crew and that the captain didn't want any more sailors, and so he had stowed away. but he was an able seaman and would be only too grateful for a chance to work with the other sailors if captain solomon pleased, sir. then captain solomon was very angry, and asked how he heard that he had a full crew and didn't want any more sailors; and who told him that an able seaman who wanted to get back to boston couldn't get a passage on that ship. and the man wouldn't tell, but captain solomon saw that ephraim looked very uneasy, so he knew it was ephraim. and he called ephraim, and blew him up sky high, and he said that he had a good mind to put him and the stowaway both on bread and water for a month. when little jacob heard captain solomon say that, he stepped forward to speak, for he couldn't bear to think that men should be put on bread and water for a month just for that. but little sol gave him a nudge and whispered to him not to say anything, for he knew well enough that his father hadn't any idea of doing it. and ephraim and the stowaway both turned pale and looked as if they were going to be seasick, but they weren't. and after everybody had stood there without speaking for a good while, captain solomon spoke to the whole crew, who had all come near, and told them that he didn't want any such actions on his ship again; and if they ever heard of any such case, he wanted them to come right to him, and he would inquire into it. for he didn't want them to think that he would ever refuse a passage home to a good sailor. and he told ephraim and the stowaway that he would think about putting them on bread and water, but he wouldn't do it yet. and if the stowaway did his duty well and proved himself an able seaman he would try to get pay for him when he got back to boston and saw his owners. but if the man wasn't what he said he was, or didn't attend to his duty, he would be put on bread and water, as sure as his own name was solomon, and so would ephraim. then the sailors all went about their business, and captain solomon blew up the mate for letting a man stow away on the _industry_. and when captain solomon had blown everybody up that he could, he felt very pleasant indeed, and he played with little sol and little jacob. and that's all. the albatross story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, in the long ago, little jacob and little sol had gone in the brig _industry_ on a voyage to far countries; and they had been to the countries and had sailed again for home, but they had not got out of the warm oceans. and one morning little jacob and little sol came on deck together. they didn't race through their breakfast as they had been used to doing, because captain solomon had put a stop to that. and, as soon as they got on deck, they looked all around to see what was up that morning. far away they saw the upper sails of a ship that was going the same way they were, but they didn't see anything else except the blue water, although they looked very carefully out ahead and on both sides. but, right astern of the ship, and pretty near, was a great, enormous bird. the bird was so near that the little boys could see it very well, and they could see what color it was, and the shape of its bill, but they couldn't see its back nor the top of its head, because the bird was above them. if they had climbed up on the mast they could have seen its back, but they didn't think of that then. the bird was all white, so far as they could see, and it had a bill that was rather long and straight, and was hooked at the end. and the bird just sailed along and waved a little, up and down, but it didn't move its wings, so far as the boys could see, and they watched it for a long time. [illustration] its wings were enormous. little sol thought they were almost as long as the main-top-gallant yard if you could measure them spread out, as the bird was sailing. and little jacob looked very wise and he said that he didn't know how long the main-top-gallant yard was, but he should think they might measure two fathom and a half from tip to tip. and little jacob felt rather proud when he had said that, because he had guessed in fathoms. little sol looked rather scornful and said "huh!" and then little jacob asked him what kind of a bird it was, and little sol didn't know. then little jacob said "huh!" so they went to ask mr. steele or captain solomon. captain solomon was standing right behind them, and he was smiling because he had heard what the boys said. and he said that the bird was an albatross, and that little jacob was pretty nearly right about the length of its wings. little sol was taken down a peg and didn't say anything. then captain solomon went on to say that albatrosses often followed ships for days together, and the sailors never could see that they had to move their wings, but they sailed along just as fast as the ship sailed. he had seen lots of them in his time, but he had never seen them do anything else but sail, just as that one was doing then. and how they managed it, he didn't know, and nobody else knew, so far as he had ever heard. then little sol asked what the bird was following the ship for. and captain solomon said that he supposed that the albatross was following the ship to get the scraps that the cook threw overboard. at least, he didn't know any other reason, and the albatross took the scraps, anyway. they were like sharks in that way. then little sol asked him if they couldn't catch the albatross with a hook and a piece of pork, as they had caught the shark. and captain solomon said that they could, but that sol had better not try it, if he knew what was good for him; for the sailors thought that it always brought the worst kind of luck to a ship to kill an albatross, and he didn't know but they were right. and little jacob was glad captain solomon said that, for he didn't want the albatross killed, but he would rather watch it sailing along with the ship. [illustration] so nobody tried to do any harm to the albatross, but the men were all glad that it was there. and the little boys watched it almost all of that day. and the next day it was there, and they watched it, and they watched it the day after the next, too; but the morning after that it wasn't there. little jacob was sorry that it had gone, and the sailors were sorry, and they said that there would be a change of weather. and little jacob went down into the cabin to write all about the albatross in the log-book and to see the barometer, to see whether it said that the weather would change. the barometer was what captain solomon called "the glass," and people could tell, by looking at it, whether it was going to be stormy or not. and that's all. the derelict story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's, and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ was tied up at a wharf in boston. the wharf was much longer than any wharf in boston is now, for they have filled up the dock that was there with stones and dirt, and they have put more stones and dirt on the top of the old wharf and under it, and they have built a street there, so that the wharf is not half so long as it used to be. and captain jonathan and captain jacob had their office on india street, not very far from the head of the wharf, as it used to be, so that they could go to their ships easily and the captains could go to them. the _industry_ had aboard all the things that the sailors would eat and the water that they would drink; and the cargo was all stowed, and the sailors were all on the ship and the sails were loosed. and captain solomon came from the office of captain jonathan and captain jacob, and he walked down the wharf and he went aboard the ship. then the sailors cast off the ropes that had held her, and they hoisted the sails and sailed away. they sailed out of the harbor and past the islands and into the bay and then into the great ocean, and boston was left far astern. and, when they had been gone from boston nearly a week, the sailors fixed the sails so that the wind would blow on them the right way, and then they didn't have to change them for a long time, for they were in the part of the ocean that the trade winds blow over. in this part of the ocean the winds blow nearly always from about north-east, so that they are fair winds for a ship that is going south. that is one reason why ships don't always go the way that you would think would be the shortest, for it may be that, by going a way that is a little longer, they will be helped so much by the winds that they will get to the place where they are going sooner than if they went a shorter way. and there is another reason why ships do not always go the shortest way. in some parts of the ocean the ocean water is moving in one direction and in other parts of the ocean the water is moving in another direction. so, if a captain knows about these ocean currents, he can sail in that part of the ocean where the water is moving in the direction that he wants to go, and the ocean and the winds will both help the ship. every captain of a ship knows about these ocean currents and these winds, and chooses the part of the ocean where they will help his ship along. captain solomon knew all about them. [illustration: "captain solomon ... was watching the moon"] so the _industry_ sailed along, and she had got almost to the place where she would be past the trade winds; and it had got to be the evening of that day, and the sun had set a long time, but the moon had just risen. and captain solomon was standing by the rail, and he was watching the moon and the reflection of the moonlight on the water, and he was thinking that he wished the _industry_ could sail right up that broad path of moonlight forever; for it was very beautiful. captain solomon had such thoughts sometimes, but he didn't tell anybody about them, for they would think he was crazy, and the mates and the sailors wouldn't like to sail in any ship that he was the captain of. and while he was thinking these thoughts he was startled by the cry of the lookout who was on the forecastle near the bow. "hard a-port! hard a-port!" and captain solomon gave one great jump for the wheel. "hard a-port, you lubber!" he cried. "can't you hear?" and he grabbed the wheel and whirled it over, and the ship swung off, but she didn't swing very quickly, for the _industry_ wasn't very quick at minding her helm. but she did mind it in time, and just as she swung off she shot past something floating. and captain solomon looked and he saw that the floating thing was the hull of a great ship. the masts were all gone close to the deck and the hulk barely showed above the water, so that the waves washed over it, although there wasn't much of a sea and the waves weren't high at all. and when he saw that they were safely past the wreck, he turned the wheel the other way, and brought the _industry_ back again, and he had the sailors change some of the sails so that she wouldn't go ahead. then he called the sailor who had been on the forecastle, looking out, and he gave that sailor a blowing up, and he was very angry and he blew the man sky-high. he said that it was nothing but luck that they weren't all sent to the bottom, for the _industry_ was heading straight for the floating hulk, and if they had struck it, their chances wouldn't have been worth one of his grandmother's cookies. and he said some other things; and the sailor didn't answer back, for it is not a good plan to answer back to the captain, especially if that captain was captain solomon and was angry. but he seemed ashamed and slunk back muttering that he wasn't blind and he was keeping as good a lookout as could be expected, and nobody could have imagined that there would be that old hulk right in their course, anyway. but captain solomon didn't hear him, which was lucky for him. then captain solomon ordered the mate to have out a boat and go and see what the hulk was, and whether, by chance, there was anybody aboard of it, or anything to tell when she had been abandoned. and he told the mate to take with him a good supply of oil and some oakum and to set fire to the wreck as soon as he was through with her. and the mate had the sailors get out the boat, and he took the oakum and a big bucket of oil, and he was rowed away to the wreck, that was about a quarter of a mile away by that time and shining in the moonlight. and captain solomon saw the boat come near the wreck and make fast under her stern, and he saw the mate go on board. the mate went a little way down the cabin stairs, but he couldn't go all the way down because the cabin was full of water that washed to and fro as the hulk rolled in the ocean. and nobody was there. and the mate looked everywhere that he could go, and he found nobody. he couldn't look into the cook's galley, because the galley had been washed overboard; but he looked into the forecastle, and that had water in it, too, washing to and fro over the floor. but he saw that the clothes of the sailors were all gone except one thing which was washing about in the water on the floor, that looked as if it had been there a long time, and he couldn't make out what it was. so he went back to the stern and asked the sailors if they could make out the name or the port of the ship on the stern; for every ship has its name and the name of the city where it belongs painted on the stern. and the sailors said that there wasn't enough of the name left to tell what it was, but it seemed to be a french name. so the mate went back and he put three piles of oakum, one up in the bow, and one in the stern, and one half way between the two. and he soaked the oakum with oil and he poured oil on everything that was dry, and he set fire from the lantern which he carried. then he hurried to get off and into the boat, and the sailors cast off. and, before they got off, the mate saw that there was seaweed high up on the hulk, which showed that she had drifted about, as she was, for a long time. and the fire blazed up, and they hurried to get away from the wreck. [illustration] the fire blazed up, higher and higher, as the boat went back to the _industry_, so that it was roaring by the time the sailors climbed aboard. and they hoisted the boat up, and put it in its place, and captain solomon had the sailors change the sails so that the ship would go ahead on her course. and the mate was on the quarter deck, telling captain solomon what he had seen. when the mate had got through captain solomon thought for a long time. "that's the frenchman that was abandoned off hatteras more'n a year ago," said captain solomon at last. "they thought she was sinking. she must have been carried by the currents up towards norway, maybe, and then down past the west coast of france and spain. i've heard of derelicts doing that, but i've never seen it before." and the mate didn't say anything, but they watched the wreck burning. it burned fiercely, but the flames didn't blaze very high, for she hadn't any masts nor any rigging. and the light of the fire made the moonlight look pale and white. and they watched her getting farther and farther away as the _industry_ sailed on her course. "i hope," said captain solomon, "that there's something aboard of her to sink her." and just as he said that they saw the light of the fire go out suddenly, and where it had been there was nothing but some smoke in the air and the moon was shining brightly all around. and that's all. the lighthouse story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once the brig _industry_ was coming back from far countries to that wharf in boston, and little jacob and little sol were on her. and, when she was nearly in sight of the end of cape cod, a great storm came up, and the wind blew like sam hill. it blew harder than it had blown at any time while the _industry_ was sailing over the wide ocean to the far countries and back again. so, at last, captain solomon had to turn her around and run for it. but he ran as slow as he could, for he wanted to get to boston; and he growled and grumbled all the time because he had to go the way he didn't want to. little jacob had been feeling rather excited and very glad because he was so nearly home again. but, when the _industry_ turned around and sailed away from boston, he didn't feel glad any more, but he felt rather mournful. and he was just a little bit frightened at the great wind and at the great waves; for captain solomon hadn't turned around until he was obliged to, and that was the last minute that it was safe to keep on. it was getting dark, and captain solomon thought it would be a pity to run the risk of getting wrecked on the cape when the brig had gone all the way to manila and back safely. so little jacob crept into his bunk and held on tight, because the ship was pitching and rolling so much, and he tried to go to sleep. at last he went to sleep; but he had horrid dreams. [illustration: "at last he went to sleep"] captain solomon was on deck all that night, and he had on his oilskins and he was sopping wet outside the oilskins, but inside them he was dry as a bone; for oilskins keep the water out beautifully. and the spray was flying high above the rail and, once in a while, the top of a wave would come aboard in solid green water. but captain solomon didn't mind the water. he was only very angry at having to sail away from boston. the storm kept on for nearly three days and little jacob was pretty miserable but little sol enjoyed it. little sol wasn't so anxious to get home as little jacob was. and, at last, one morning when little jacob woke he didn't feel the ship pitching as she had been, and he was surprised to find that he was a little bit excited once more. and he went on deck as soon as he could, and he found that the wind was still blowing pretty hard but not so hard as it had been blowing, and the ship was headed for boston again. and all the sailors looked cheerful. and captain solomon was the most cheerful of all, although he needed some sleep. "well, jacob," he said, "we're headed for home again. i guess you're glad." "yes, sir," said little jacob, smiling, "i am glad. when shall we get there?" "if this breeze holds," said captain solomon, "we'll get in before dark to-night. but i'm afraid it won't hold." "oh," cried little jacob, "i _hope_ it will." "so do i, jacob," said captain solomon. "we'll see." but the wind got less and less. they passed provincetown, on cape cod, a little while after captain solomon and little jacob and little sol had finished their dinner, and jacob felt hopeful. but the _industry_ kept going slower as the wind died down, and jacob's heart kept going down and down. but he watched, to see if he could see boston. and, at last, it was almost dark and he hadn't sighted boston, and his heart was almost down in his boots. he thought that he saw some land away off on the western horizon, but he couldn't be sure whether he did or not, for it was only twilight and the western horizon was all dim and misty. and, suddenly, a little friendly star shone out, just where he was looking. "oh," he cried, "what is that star? it just came." captain solomon was standing near him, and he smiled at little jacob's question. "that star, jacob," he said, "is boston light. we can't get in to-night, but we'll go a little nearer and we'll stand back and forth until daylight. then we'll go in. but we sha'n't be there to breakfast." little jacob gave a long, shivering sigh. "well," he said, "i suppose you can't go in to-night. that light is a long way off, isn't it?" "yes," said captain solomon, "it's a long way off. and, besides, the wind is dying out." little jacob didn't say anything for some time. "the light-keeper must have to stay up all night," he said, then, "to see that his light doesn't go out." "yes, jacob," answered captain solomon, "he stays up all night, taking care of you and me. or he looks out for his end of it. there are two or three of them--the light-keepers. and, in the daytime, he sees that his lamps are filled and his wicks trimmed and his brasses bright and his glasses polished. when night comes he lights his lamp, and he looks at it every little while to make sure that it is burning all right. if it wasn't, there might be a wreck." [illustration] little jacob stood and watched the light for a long time without saying anything. captain solomon stood and watched it, too. "that is a very friendly light," said little jacob, at last, drawing a long breath and smiling at the light. captain solomon couldn't see the smile, because it was dark; but he heard it in little jacob's voice. "it is, jacob," said captain solomon, "a very friendly light." "i guess it's my bed-time," said little jacob. "good-night, captain." "good-night, jacob," said captain solomon. "by the time you're up, in the morning, we'll be almost in." and little jacob laughed happily and went down to bed. and that's all. the runaway story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the brig _industry_ was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf and captain solomon was her captain for many years. but, after he had been sailing to far countries for a long time, he thought it would be nice to stop going to sea, for he found that what he wanted was a farm where he could settle down and stay in one place. and, besides, he had three sons; and he didn't want his three sons to go to sea because he knew what a hard life it was. little sol was the oldest of his three sons, and he had been one voyage to far countries. captain solomon took him, thinking that the voyage would show him how much better it was to stay ashore and be a farmer than to go to sea and be a captain and have to stand all sorts of storms and perhaps be wrecked. but the voyage to those far countries hadn't made sol think what captain solomon had hoped it would make him think, but it had only made him want to go to sea all the more. little sol wasn't little any longer, but he had got to be about sixteen years old. and captain solomon's youngest son was the one that was, afterwards, uncle john and the father of little john, that it tells about in the farm stories. and what was the name of the middle son of captain solomon i have forgotten. perhaps it was seth. [illustration] so captain solomon bought the farm that he wanted. it was a beautiful farm, with a river running through it, and a great pond in it, and you would have thought that it would have suited sol exactly. but it didn't. for the one thing that sol wanted, and that all these beautiful things, the river and the great pond, and the hills and the woods, wouldn't make up for, was the ocean. the farm was twenty miles from the ocean. sol would have given anything if he could just _hear_ the ocean. where he had lived he could hear it all the time, sometimes loud and sometimes soft. it put him to sleep many and many a night, that sound of the sea as it broke on the shore. and he wanted it so badly that he was almost sick, but his father wouldn't let him go to sea, and he wouldn't even let him go to wellfleet to visit his cousins; for he was very much afraid that sol wouldn't come home again, but would go off to sea. and at last sol couldn't stand it any longer. he felt sick all the time and he couldn't sleep and he just hated that farm. so he made up his mind that he would have to run away from home. it was on his sixteenth birthday that he made up his mind to run away from home. captain solomon was a kind father, but he had been a captain for such a long time that he wanted to run his family and his farm just like a ship and to have everybody do just exactly as he said and ask no questions; and, when anybody didn't seem to want to do just as he said, but began to ask questions and argue, he got very angry. sol was very sorry to leave his mother, but there was nobody else except his two brothers. and he was very sure that seth would run away to sea when he got old enough, unless captain solomon let him go. but, long before it came to be seth's time, captain solomon had learned better. and john, at that time, was a little boy. so sol made his plans. and, when the time came, he left a letter to his father. the letter was scribbled on a leaf that sol tore out of a book, and it was very short, for sol didn't like to write letters. the letter said that he just _had_ to go to sea, and that he hoped that his father wouldn't blame him, and that he would come back some day when he had got to be a mate or a captain. then there was a letter to his mother. it was longer than the letter to his father and in it sol said that he was just sick for the sea and that, if he stayed on the farm, he knew he should get sicker and die. the farm was a beautiful farm, but farms were not for him for many years yet. he would rather plough the ocean than plough the earth. sol was rather proud when he wrote that about ploughing the ocean, for he thought it sounded rather well when he read the letter over. and he subscribed himself, with a great deal of love, her loving son. then sol made a bundle of the clothes he thought he would need, but the bundle was a small one, for he didn't think that he would need many clothes. and, when it got late that night, and everything was quiet about the house and even his brothers, seth and john, were sound asleep, sol opened the window and threw his bundle out. then he got out and slid down the rain spout. the rain spout made a good deal of noise, but it was wooden and not made of tin, so it didn't make as much noise as a rain spout would make now. sol was afraid that his father would hear the noise and wake up, so he hid behind the lilac bushes in the corner of the fence. but captain solomon had been doing a hard day's work, haying, and he slept very soundly. and, when he found that his father didn't wake up, sol crept out from behind the lilac bushes and took up his bundle and went out the wide gate. first he turned north and walked quietly along until he had passed the old schoolhouse and had got well into the village. he went carefully, while he was in the village, for he was afraid that somebody might be about and see him. almost everybody in the village knew sol, and anybody who met him, at that time of night, would know that he was running away. perhaps they would call up the constable and have him sent back. sol shivered when he thought of that. then he came to the old turnpike road to boston and he turned toward the east into the turnpike. he hadn't met anybody in the village nor seen a single light. [illustration: "took up his bundle and went out the wide gate"] it doesn't take a good, strong boy of sixteen all night to walk a little more than twenty miles, and sol loafed along and didn't hurry. once in a while he sat down to rest or sleep for a few minutes, but he didn't dare to really go to sleep, for fear that he would sleep all the rest of the night; and he had to be in boston by daylight. and, once in a while, he had to sneak around a toll-house, because he didn't have any money. and, at each toll-house, they made each person that was walking on the turnpike pay some money; perhaps it was a penny that they had to pay. they charged more for each wagon that passed. at last he came into boston and it wasn't daylight yet. so he walked over to the common and lay down under some bushes and went to sleep. sol was wakened by the snuffling noise that a cow makes when it is eating the grass and by the sound of the grass being bitten off. and he started up, thinking of the farm at home, and there was a cow almost near enough to touch. when he started up, the cow was frightened and galloped off, and sol saw that the sun was up and it must be about six o'clock. he laughed at the cow and opened his bundle and took out some bread that he had brought, and some gingerbread, and he ate them. it wasn't much of a breakfast, but he hadn't been able to get anything better. and, when he had finished, he walked down to spring lane and got a drink of water at the spring, and he washed his face and hands. then he kept on down to india street, for he was afraid his father would come after him and there was no time to lose. [illustration: "he started up, thinking of the farm at home"] sol needn't have been afraid that his father would come after him, if he had only known what was happening at the farm. captain solomon had been surprised that sol didn't come down stairs and, finally, he had gone up after him. there were seth and john just waking up and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes; but there was no sol and his bed hadn't been slept in. and captain solomon looked around until he saw the two letters pinned to the pin-cushion. then he looked angry, and he took the two letters and marched down stairs again. he didn't say anything, but he gave the letter that was directed "for mother" to his wife. and sol's mother didn't say anything, either, but she opened her letter and read it. it didn't take very long to read it but it took longer than captain solomon's. and the tears came into her eyes as she handed the letter to captain solomon and asked him not to be hard on the poor boy but to be gentle with him, for he must have felt that very same way when he first went to sea. and captain solomon read her letter and then he sat without saying anything for a long time, looking out of the window. perhaps he didn't see the things that were there; perhaps, instead of the fields of tall grass and of wheat, waving in the breeze, he saw the blue ocean sparkling in the sun and stretching away until it met the sky. perhaps he saw the tall masts and the white sails of the _industry_ rising far above his head, and felt her buoyant hull under his feet. whatever he saw, as he sat there, he laughed aloud, at last, and brought his fist down on the kitchen table. "let him go!" he said. "it's in the blood. the sea's salt is in the blood and the only thing that will take it out is the sea itself. he can no more help it than he can help breathing. i'll write him a letter." and so it happened that there was a letter for sol in captain jonathan's and captain jacob's office the next morning. they didn't know where he was, but they sent to all their ships that were in port to see if he could be found. the _industry_ happened to be in port, but she was just ready to sail, and she was to sail that afternoon. and it happened that sol had shipped as one of her crew and he was on board of her. captain jonathan and captain jacob didn't know that sol was one of the crew of the _industry_, because they didn't generally look over the crew lists any longer, but they left that to the captains and the mates. but when they found sol, they had him come to their office, and they gave him the letter from his father. and sol read the letter and he was very happy, and he wrote a long letter to his father. in that letter he said that he knew, now, that it was very foolish for him to run away, because captain solomon would have let him go if he had made him understand how he felt. but sol had always thought that his father was very stern and he hadn't told him how badly he felt at being kept away from the salt water. it may have been captain solomon's fault, too; and when he got sol's letter he went to a field that was far from the farm-house. but he didn't do any work. he sat there, under a tree that grew beside the stone wall, all the morning looking up at the clouds. it would be all the more foolish for any boy to run away to sea, now-a-days. for things have changed very much in the last hundred years. steamers have taken the place of sailing ships, and the crews of the few ships that there are aren't made up of men like captain solomon and sol. but, when the _industry_ sailed away from that wharf in boston for far countries, more than a hundred years ago, sol was a sailor. and that's all. the trafalgar story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the brig _industry_ was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf and, afterwards, she sailed from a wharf in boston. and captain solomon had been the captain of her for many years; but he had got tired of going to sea and had bought a farm that was not near the ocean. and sol, captain solomon's son, had got tired of staying on the farm and had gone off to sea, and he had risen to be the captain of the brig _industry_. once, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ sailed from a wharf in boston for manila and singapore and other far countries; but, first, she was going to leghorn. she carried flour, apples, salt fish, tobacco, lumber, and some other things that captain jonathan and captain jacob thought that the people in leghorn would buy. it was captain sol's first voyage as captain and he had been a sailor about four years. the _industry_ sailed along over the great ocean for many days, and she had good weather and nothing happened that was worth mentioning. captain sol had his eyes open, because there was a war between england and france and sometimes an english warship would meet an american ship and stop her and do things that neither the captain nor the crew of the american ship liked to have done. but there didn't seem to be anything that the american ship could do except run away; and sometimes they could get away and sometimes it wouldn't do any good to try. and the _industry_ kept getting nearer to the coast of spain and to the straits of gibraltar. it was the twenty-second of october, , and captain sol thought that he should sight cape trafalgar the next day. so, the next morning, he began to look out for cape trafalgar before it was light. and, when it was light enough to see anything, he saw that they were very near to a lot of great ships. they were warships and they were battered and there were great shot holes in their sides and some of the yards and topmasts had been shot away and there were great rents in their sails and, altogether, they looked like a lot of wrecks. it didn't take a man as smart as captain sol very long to guess that there had been a great battle a few days before. and he was right. the battle of trafalgar was fought between the english fleet of ships and the fleets of france and spain; and the ships that captain sol saw were english ships. the sailors were mending the ships, as well as they could, so that they would be fit to sail. and captain sol wanted to know what was going on, so he sailed nearer; and, when he was as near as he dared to go, he had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship wouldn't go ahead, and he waited there. pretty soon some sailors got into a boat from one of the english ships, and then an officer got in, and they rowed the boat over to the _industry_, and the english officer came on board of the _industry_. captain sol met him and he had some of the sailors stand in line on each side of the gangway. and captain sol and the english officer talked together, very politely, although the officer was plainly very much surprised to see so young a man as captain. captain sol was only twenty-one. and the officer told captain sol about the battle, and he told him that lord nelson had been shot in that battle, and he had died on board the _victory_ a few hours after the battle was over. and the officer saw the lumber that the _industry_ had on her deck, and he asked captain sol what other cargo he carried. and captain sol told him about the flour and the apples and the salt fish and the tobacco, and the officer got into his boat again and was rowed back to the _victory_. captain sol stayed there, waiting to see what would happen; for he thought that, perhaps, he might sell some of his cargo to the english ships and not have to carry it to leghorn. and, sure enough, the officer got into the boat again and came back. and he told captain sol that the commander of the fleet would be much obliged to him if he would sell some of his lumber and some flour and some apples; but he didn't ask for any of the salt fish nor for any of the tobacco. and captain sol agreed and the officer rowed away. then the _victory_ made signals to the other ships, telling them to send boats for the lumber and the flour and the apples that they needed. and a boat came to the _industry_ for each ship, until they were clustered about her as thick as bees about a hive. and the sailors were very busy, putting into the boats the lumber and the flour and the barrels of apples. captain sol had to have a tackle rigged over the hatchway of the _industry_ to hoist out the barrels. and when each boat had got its load, it was rowed back to its ship. it took them a long time to get all those things out of the _industry_, but at last it was all done and the last boat had rowed away; and captain sol found that he had sold all of his lumber and about half of his flour and about half of his apples. the english sailors needed all that lumber to mend the ships. then another boat came from the _victory_, and it was rowed to the _industry_, and the paymaster of the english fleet came aboard and two men came after him carrying bags of gold money. captain sol and the paymaster and the men with the bags of money went down into the cabin; and the paymaster counted out the gold money for the lumber and the flour and the apples, and left it on the cabin table. and, besides, he thanked captain sol for selling them the things. then he went away. [illustration] then captain sol had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship would go ahead, and he had a sailor stand at the flag halliards and dip the flag for a salute to the english ships. and the _industry_ sailed away from those english ships towards gibraltar, and pretty soon the ships were out of sight. and that's all. the cargo story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. that wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once the brig _industry_ was all ready to sail from boston for far countries. she had her cargo all stowed, but captain sol hadn't seen it stowed, for he had had to be away from boston while it was being put aboard. so a lumper, or 'longshoreman, had told the men where to put things. a lumper was a man who did the work of carrying things into a ship, or out of it. this man was a pretty good 'longshoreman, but a lumper wasn't a sailor and couldn't be expected to get the things stowed quite so well as a captain or a mate. the captain or the mate would be more interested in having the things stowed well, for it makes a great difference, in the sailing of a ship and in her behavior, how the cargo is stowed. captain sol generally liked to attend to those things himself. they had put on board all the things that they would eat and the water that they would drink; and captain sol came back and the _industry_ sailed away from that wharf out upon the great ocean. and she sailed the length of the atlantic, but she met a good deal of rough weather and she ran into three or four storms. captain sol soon found that the cargo hadn't been well stowed and it bothered him a good deal. for, in his log-book, he wrote things like these: aug. , heavy sea from the eastward. ship labors very badly. sept. , squally with rough, heavy sea. ship labors very much. sept. , ship rolls and labors hard through the night. sept. , heavy gales & squally with tremendous sea. ship'd much water. sept. , strong gales and rough sea. ship rolls heavy. sept. , hard squalls and tremendous sea from n. & e. ship labors very hard. oct. , a very heavy sea running during the hours. ship labors too much, owing to bad stowage of cargo. it must be corrected. so, before the _industry_ had got around the cape of good hope, captain sol had made up his mind that he would have that cargo overhauled and stowed the way it ought to be. for he thought that the ship would sail enough faster to make up for the time it would take, and all hands would be more comfortable. and he had the sailors steer her to a little island that he knew about, where there was a good harbor and where he wouldn't be bothered. and she got to that island and the sailors let her anchor down to the bottom of the harbor, and they began to take out her cargo. first they rigged tackles to the yards high up on the masts, and they swung the yards so that the tackles would be just above the hatchways; and one was over the forward hatchway and one was over the after hatchway. then captain sol sent one gang of men down into the hold of the _industry_ by the after hatch, with the mate to tell them what to do; and he sent another gang of men into the hold by the fore hatch, with the second mate to tell them what to do. and he divided the sailors that were left into two parts, six men for the fore hatch and six men for the after hatch. the sailors were all stripped to the waist and barefooted, for they knew, from the way the crew was divided up, that they would have to work hard and as quickly as they could. captain sol was a driver for work, but his crew didn't think any the less of him for that. and captain sol called to the mates. "are you all ready?" he said. and the mates answered that they were all ready when he was. "well, rout it out, then, as fast as you're able," said captain sol; "i'll see that we keep up with you." and he ordered four men to tail on to each rope. he meant for four men to take hold of the free end of the rope that ran through the blocks of the tackle. "and run away with it," he said. "and when i say run i don't mean walk, either." the sailors already had hold of the ropes, and they grinned when captain sol said that. "aye, aye, sir," they shouted. and he ordered the other two men at the fore hatch and the other two men at the after hatch to be ready to handle and loose the bales and to be lively about it. "all ready!" he called to the mates. then the fun began. the bales and the barrels and the boxes seemed to fly out of the hatchways and to alight on the deck like a flock of great birds. and the men who had to handle them and to cast off the hooks did it in the liveliest way that can be imagined, and they hustled the boxes and the barrels and the bales to one side so that there should be room for the next thing that came up. and there was a great noise of a lively chanty, that the sailors sang all the time, without stopping. it wasn't worth while to stop; for then, as soon as they had stopped singing, they would have to begin again, so they kept on all the time. and there was the soft noise of their bare feet stamping on the deck but they didn't stamp very hard because that would hurt their feet. pretty soon the bodies and the faces of the sailors began to glisten; and, before long, the sweat was running down in streams. for, working there, at that island, was just about the same as it would have been if they had been working at charleston or savannah in may. it was pretty hot for such hard work. but the sailors were merry at it, and grinned and shouted their chanty, and they kept at it until all the things were out on the deck of the _industry_ that had to be taken out. the things that were the heaviest they didn't take out, but just moved them to one side and left them in the hold. by dinner time, they had all the cargo taken out that had to be taken out, and the heaviest freshly stowed in the middle of the ship at the very bottom. then captain sol told the mates and the sailors to come up. "there!" said he. "i'll bet dollars to buttons there never was a ship unloaded any quicker than we've unloaded this one. now go to your dinner, and we'll finish this stowing this afternoon." and he told the mate to serve out to the sailors a little rum. they had been working very hard and they would have a lot more hard work to do before the day was done. it was the custom, in those days, to serve out rum to the crew now and then; perhaps once a week. it wasn't a good custom, perhaps, but it was a custom. captain sol never once thought of breaking that custom, but he gave each man a very little, and then they had their dinner. and, after they had finished their dinner, the sailors who had been on deck in the morning went down into the hold and the sailors who had been in the hold in the morning stayed on deck. but the mates had to go down, and sometimes captain sol was in the hold and sometimes he was on deck. for he wanted to see for himself how the work was being done. they put the heaviest things they had left next to those great, heavy things that were stowed in the middle of the ship at the very bottom. and they kept lowering down the heaviest things that they had on deck, and the sailors who were in the hold stowed them. they packed them very tightly, so that, no matter how much the ship should pitch and toss and roll, the cargo should not get loose. for it is a very bad thing for the cargo to shift, and a ship might be lost if its cargo shifted, in a storm. it is only in a storm that such a thing is likely to happen. at last they had lowered the last bale and the last box that they had on deck, and they had been stowed. and the men who were in the hold called out for more, and the men on deck said that there wasn't any more. the mates were surprised, for there was some room left in the hold that there hadn't been the way the cargo was stowed at first. and the mates came up, and the sailors came up, and they were just dripping wet. and captain sol thanked the men for working so willingly all day, and he said that he thought that they would all be glad because the ship would ride easier, after this, and wouldn't take in so much water; and it would be much easier to handle sail in rough weather. and he said that he supposed they thought they ought to have a little more rum. he was going to serve it out to them, but he warned them that it would be a very little. and, at that, the men all roared out, and captain sol went to the quarter deck and stood by the railing that divided it from the rest of the ship. he had a jug beside him. and the men came up, with their tin cups in their hands, and they held their cups up high, one at a time. and captain sol poured a very little rum into each cup, and the man with the cup went forward. but, while captain sol was doing that, there was one sailor near the middle of the ship who felt as if he would rather have a dousing of cold water than all the rum in the jug. and that man got one of those buckets that were used to get salt water from the ocean for washing down decks and for other things. the bucket had a long rope for a handle. and he dropped the bucket overboard and gave the right jerk to the rope, and he pulled it up, full of water. then he stopped a man who was going by with his cup, and asked him to throw the water over him. the other man asked him where he would have it. "alow and aloft," said the sailor who had got the water, "and fore and aft." [illustration] so the other sailor began to throw the water over him. but, just then, there was another sailor just going by, and the temptation was too great. he threw what water was left in the bucket over that other sailor. and that sailor gave a great roar, and ran to get another bucket. and he filled it and tried to throw the water on the man who had wet him down; but he couldn't find him. so he threw the water over another man. and that man ran for a bucket, and in about a minute all the sailors were chasing each other around, throwing water over everybody they met. there was a great noise and uproar, but everybody was good-natured about it, for they were all very hot and the salt water felt very pleasant to them. and, of course, the clothes that they had on were all wet through, but nobody had on anything much besides his breeches, and it didn't matter. and captain sol and the mate stood on the quarter deck and laughed at them. and, when the men had got tired of playing, they went down to their supper; and captain sol went down to write in his log-book. nov. . had cargo out and restowed it between a. m. and p. m., with an hour for dinner. i w'ld like to see the gang of lumpers that can do half as well. so ends this day. and that's all. the privateer story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. that wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. once, in the year , the brig _industry_ sailed from boston for far countries with captain sol as her captain. there was, at that time, a great war between france and spain, on one side, and england and some other countries, on the other side; but the english ships had to do almost all the fighting, for their side, that was done on the ocean. and there were a good many english and french and spanish privateers sailing about, seeing how much harm they could do to the ships that belonged to the other side. [illustration] a privateer was a vessel that was fitted out by private persons, just as if captain jonathan and captain jacob had made up their minds that the _industry_ should be a privateer, if the united states was at war. and they would fit her out with guns and swords and cutlasses, and they would get a crew for her, and they would ask the government if she could be a privateer. and the government would probably have said that she could, and they would have sent captain jonathan and captain jacob some papers, called "letters of marque and reprisal," which said that the _industry_ was a united states privateer and that she could take ships as prizes and sell them. governments do not do that, now, and a privateer is no better than a pirate; but they all did it a hundred years ago. captain sol had thought about it a great deal, for privateers weren't very particular what ships they captured; and he wondered whether he ought to carry a whole lot of guns. he always had some guns on the ship, but not enough to make a fight with, if the other vessel had a whole lot, as privateers always did. but, finally, he decided that he had better not, or he might be taken for a pirate. for his country wasn't at war and, of course, he hadn't any papers. pirates that are captured are usually short lived. so he had sailed away without any guns worth mentioning. the _industry_ sailed along over the ocean for about two weeks and nothing much happened, and she wasn't so very far from the coast of spain; perhaps she was three or four hundred miles away. for, on that voyage, she was bound to leghorn, first, and then she was going to java and manila. and, in the middle of the forenoon of that day, the lookout in the crosstrees of the _industry_ reported a sail heading directly for them. captain sol was worried about it and asked the sailor about the rig of the vessel. and the sailor said that he couldn't tell what her rig was because he couldn't see any more than her upper sails, and not much of them; but she seemed to be a brig, and he thought she was fast, by the way she was rising. he thought he should be able to see her hull in less than half an hour. captain sol said a bad word and took his glass and went up to the crosstrees himself. but he couldn't see enough, there, so he went on, up the mast. and he rested the glass against the rigging and looked. it took him a long time to see anything, the rigging jumped around so; but at last he managed to see. and he came down quickly and spoke to the man at the wheel, who looked at him as if he expected some orders. "keep her as she goes," he said. "it won't do any good to try to run away from that vessel. she can sail three feet to our two. and, whoever she is, she has no business with us, anyway." but captain sol knew that it would make very little difference whether she had any right to stop them or not. if her captain wanted to he would. and the mates knew that, and the sailors knew it. so captain sol ordered one of the sailors to hoist the united states flag, and he kept on. [illustration: "that was a signal for the _industry_ to stop"] the brig kept rising fast and, in a short time, they could see her hull from the deck of the _industry_. they saw that she was a spanish privateer; and she hoisted the spanish flag and kept on. and, pretty soon, she was nearly abreast of the _industry_; and she turned a little, and there was a little puff of smoke from her side, and the sound of the report came over the water a second or two later. that was a signal for the _industry_ to stop. but the _industry_ seemed to have grown deaf, and she didn't stop, and no sailor made a move to touch a rope. and the spanish brig seemed to be a little angry, and she turned again and there was a bigger puff of smoke from her side and a cannon ball came skipping across the water, ahead of the _industry_. that was a hint that she had better stop, if she knew what was good for her. but captain sol only had another united states flag hoisted, and it was a bigger flag than the first one. when the spanish brig saw that the _industry_ wasn't going to stop, she seemed to get very angry. there was another puff of smoke from her side, and a solid shot tore through one of the sails of the _industry_, leaving a ragged hole. [illustration] "well," said captain sol, "she's begun to talk. i guess we may as well heave to." so he had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship wouldn't go ahead. but the sailors worked slowly, and the mates didn't hurry them, either. and, in a few minutes, a boat put off from the spanish brig, and the boat was filled with men. they had a pretty long way to row because captain sol hadn't stopped when he was asked to. but, after a while, they were at the side. the officer in the spanish boat was very much excited and talked very fast. he wanted captain sol to put a gangway or a ladder over the side, so that he could get on board easily. but captain sol winked at the mate and made believe that he didn't understand. "no compreeny," he said, leaning over the side. for he thought that they could come aboard any way they were able. he had had the ship stopped for them. "donkey!" said the officer, in spanish. and he scrambled up, followed by ten of his men. the other men stayed in the boat. and captain sol was very polite, but he couldn't talk spanish and he made believe he couldn't understand what was said. really, he knew enough spanish to be able to understand what the officer said, but he couldn't speak spanish. after a while, the officer tried french, but captain sol made believe that he couldn't understand that, either, and he said, in english, that he was very sorry that he didn't have any frenchmen in the crew. so the officer gave up trying to make captain sol understand. and he made the crew of the _industry_ go in the boat, but he left captain sol and the mates, and ten men for a prize crew. and he told captain sol that he was to take the ship to cadiz. he kept saying that name over and over. captain sol knew that it would be of no use to resist, and he didn't. and the crew bade him good bye, and the boat was rowed away. then his new spanish crew fixed the sails so that the ship would go ahead. he thought they were pretty clumsy about it, but he didn't say anything. and the _industry_ sailed away towards cadiz, and the spanish brig turned to the north. they sailed all the rest of that day towards the coast of spain, which was on their way to leghorn, anyway. captain sol kept his eyes open, for he hadn't given up hoping for a chance to get the ship back again; but the chance didn't seem very good, with only the two mates and himself against the ten spaniards. and, that night, there must have been something the matter with the watch that the spaniards kept, for, when there was light enough to see, in the morning, there was a big english warship close to them. she was big enough to swallow the _industry_ whole and never to know the difference. captain sol laughed right out loud when the spaniards first saw her; he had known about her nearly half the night. the spaniards never once thought of fighting, but surrendered right off. it would have been very foolish for them to fight, for they were only ten men, in a ship that wasn't fitted for fighting; and the english ship was a big ship fitted up on purpose to fight, and she had a crew of three or four hundred men. so a boat soon put off from the english ship, with sailors in it, and came to the side of the _industry_. and captain sol was hurrying to put a ladder over, so that the english officer could come up without any trouble. but the officer didn't wait for any ladder; he and his men swarmed up the side like flies. and captain sol met the officer, and he laughed and said that he was glad to see him. and the officer smiled and wondered why that was, and he shook hands with captain sol; and then captain sol and the officer went into the cabin together. and captain sol told the officer about the spanish privateer. when the officer had heard the story he said it was hard luck, but, as the vessel was a spanish prize, he should have to take her. he thought that the admiralty court would fix that matter all right. and captain sol sighed and said that he hoped so, but he didn't know much about admiralty courts. he had understood that american owners were apt to get the worst of it. and then captain sol and the officer had a glass of wine together, and it was so good that they each had another glass; and then they went on deck. the officer bundled the spaniards into the boat and left ten englishmen to take their places, apologizing to captain sol for leaving him so short-handed. the _industry_ generally had a crew of twenty-five or thirty men. then the officer got into the boat and rowed away. captain sol was to take the _industry_ to gibraltar, which was right on the way to leghorn, too. and it was pretty near, so that he ought to get there the next day. then captain sol had an idea. he served out a little rum, first, and he told the crew that if nothing happened he would take the ship straight to gibraltar. but the spaniards were pretty thick between where they were and gibraltar, so he thought he would ask them a question. if they should be taken by the spaniards again, and the crew should be left on board, would they agree to sign as his crew, for a voyage to leghorn and other ports? when the english sailors heard that, some of them began to grin; and they talked together for a little while, and then they said that they would agree to do as captain sol had said. and captain sol was pleased, and he served out another helping of rum all around. the sailors called it grog. sure enough, they were captured again, the next morning, before they had got within sight of gibraltar; and the spanish ship put on board the _industry_ a prize crew of nine men. but she left the english crew on board, for she had already taken several other prizes; and she had put other prize crews on board of those prizes, and she had their crews as prisoners. and her captain was afraid to have more prisoners because he would have nearly as many prisoners as he had men left in his crew. then the spanish ship told captain sol to steer for algiers, and she sailed away about her business. captain sol did as he was told and steered for algiers. but, in the night of that day, the two mates went, while the spanish crew weren't looking, and they set free the englishmen and gave them a paper to sign. that paper made them captain sol's sailors. and then they gave each man pistols and a cutlass, and the first mate took half of the englishmen and went to the forecastle, where four men of the spanish crew were sleeping; and the second mate took the other five englishmen, and he went on deck, where the other five men of the spanish crew were on watch, but he hid his englishmen. and captain sol was walking back and forth on the quarter deck, and suddenly he began to whistle softly. and all the englishmen sprang out, and they had that spanish crew captured before they knew what had happened. but they didn't have to hurt anybody, they captured them so quickly. then captain sol changed the course of the _industry_ so that she was heading for leghorn, and he got to leghorn in due time; but he had some trouble in getting rid of his spanish prisoners. and nobody ever knew whether captain sol meant to be captured by the spaniards, that last time, or not. and that's all. the race story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. a long time ago the brig _industry_ lay at that wharf in boston, and she was all ready to sail for far countries. and there was a ship that was named the _augusta ramsay_ lying at the next wharf, and she was all ready to sail, too, and she was going to the same country that the _industry_ was going to. captain sol had been on the _industry_ for a long time, seeing that the cargo was stowed as well as it could be stowed, and trying to hurry the lumpers. but he couldn't make them hurry very much. captain sol wanted to get the _industry_ away before the _augusta ramsay_ sailed, so as to gain as much time as he could. for, in those days, the owners of ships couldn't telegraph to far countries to find out what they had to sell and what they wanted to buy, but the captains of their ships had to find out those things when the ships got there. and the captains had to sell the things they brought for as much as they could get for them, and they had to buy what they wanted to carry back for as low a price as they could. so it made a good deal of difference whether a ship got there first or not; for the ship that got there first could sell the things that she brought at a higher price, and could buy the things to bring back for a lower price than a ship that got there a little later. so captain sol knew that it would be a race, for the whole voyage, between the _industry_ and the _augusta ramsay_. and captain henry, of the _augusta ramsay_, knew it, too, and he was hurrying as fast as he could. the _augusta ramsay_ was a good deal bigger than the _industry_, but captain sol had his mind made up to beat her if he blew the sticks right out of the _industry_. so it happened that the ship _augusta ramsay_ pulled out from her wharf at exactly the same time that the brig _industry_ pulled out from hers. and they both began to set all the sails that they possibly could. and the ship and the brig sailed down the harbor together before a fair wind. a fair wind is a wind that blows about the way the vessel is going. but the _augusta ramsay_ was just ahead, going down the harbor, for the wharf that she started from was a little nearer to the channel than captain jonathan's and captain jacob's wharf; and the channel that led out of boston harbor was even more crooked and narrow than it is now. so the _industry_ couldn't pass the _augusta ramsay_, while they were in the channel and setting all those many sails, and captain sol didn't try it. by the time the _industry_ had got out into boston bay she had set her mainsail and her foresail, and her maintopsail and her foretopsail, and her maintopgallantsail and her foretopgallantsail, and her mainroyal and her foreroyal, and her mainskysail and her foreskysail, and all of her jibs and her spanker and her staysails; and the sailors were busy getting out her studdingsail booms. the studdingsail booms are sticks that stick out beyond the ends of the yards; and, as soon as the sailors had got out these booms, they set the studdingsails that belonged on them, so that it was just as if the foresail and the other sails that had studdingsails had been made so much bigger. and the _industry_ had set all the sail that she could set. the _augusta ramsay_ had all the sails that the _industry_ had and, besides those sails, she had the sails that belong on the mizzenmast: the cross-jack and the mizzentopsail and the mizzentopgallantsail and the mizzenroyal and the mizzenskysail and all the mizzenstaysails. but the _industry_ couldn't set those sails on the mizzenmast, because she didn't have any mizzenmast. and the two vessels leaned a good deal and the foam piled up under their bows and they just flew out of boston bay into massachusetts bay and out past provincetown into the great ocean; but neither gained on the other any worth mentioning. and night came and they didn't take in any of the sails that they had set, but they sailed on, in the moonlight. captain sol had to keep his crew pretty busy, changing the sails so that the wind would blow on them the right way, and so did captain henry. it is a good deal of a job to change these many sails. but morning came, and there was the _augusta ramsay_ right abreast of them. and the wind increased, so that the two vessels leaned a great deal; but captain sol said that he guessed he could carry his sail as long as captain henry could carry his, and he wasn't going to be the first to take in sail. but the sailors didn't like to hear captain sol say that because they knew that it meant hard work for them. they sailed on, that way, for a long time, and they never lost sight of each other. but, first, the _augusta ramsay_ would be a little way ahead and then the _industry_ would gain a little and go ahead of the _augusta ramsay_. then, one day, it began to blow harder and harder and captain sol knew that they would have a storm. and he got a little worried because he was afraid that he might have to take in some sail before captain henry did. for he wouldn't risk his ship just because he had said that he wasn't going to be the first to take in sail. and he looked, through his glass, at the _augusta ramsay_, to see if she took in any of her sails, and he waited as long as he dared to wait. then, just as he was going to give it up, and take his glass down, he saw the sailors on the _augusta ramsay_ going up on the yards. and he was very glad of it, and he gave orders for his sailors to reduce sail. and the sailors were glad, too, and they swarmed up aloft and took in the sails in a jiffy. the storm lasted for three days and two nights. the wind blew harder and harder and the waves got higher and higher and the rain came down in sheets. then it would stop raining, for a little while, and the wind would blow harder than ever, while the flying clouds seemed to be no higher than the masthead. then it would begin to rain again. but they didn't lose sight of the _augusta ramsay_ completely, although, at times, she was hidden by the rain and, for one whole day, they didn't see her at all. but she was there on the next morning. and the _industry_, all through that hard blow, was sailing under double-reefed topsails, and so was the _augusta ramsay_. and double-reefed topsails is very little sail, compared to the enormous spread of canvas that the vessels had set when they left boston. at last, after dark of the third day, the wind began to be less and the clouds to be more broken, and captain sol knew that the storm was over. and he made up his mind that he would get out of that place just as soon as he could, for he thought that, just as likely as not, it would be calm there for some time. and he thought that the sooner he got out of any place where there was likely to be no wind, the better. so he didn't go to bed, but he watched the weather, and he waited. finally, he thought that the _industry_ could stand a little more sail. "call all hands," he said to the mate, "and get sail on her, little by little. we don't want to loaf around here." it was two o'clock in the morning, and the mate thought that the sailors would grumble; but he didn't care. "aye, aye, sir," he said. and he called all hands, and they came up on deck, grumbling at the captain for routing them up at that time, to make sail, when it was blowing hard enough, anyway. but the mate pretended not to hear them, and he ordered some of the sailors aloft. and the sailors that went aloft shook out the reefs in the topsails; and the sailors that were on deck pulled away at the halliards and at the sheets, but they didn't shout out any chanty. and the _industry_ began to sail faster. and pretty soon captain sol had the men shake out some other sails and hoist them. and the wind was less, and a star showed. and captain sol had the men set more sails, so that the vessel had all that she could stand. then, pretty soon, more stars showed, and the wind kept on going down. and, by daylight, he had nearly all the sails set, and nothing was to be seen of the _augusta ramsay_. and captain sol chuckled to himself, and went down to bed. he didn't sleep very long but just took a little nap and then he went on deck again. there were two things that bothered him a little, besides the sailing of his vessel, which couldn't be said to bother him at all; for he always did the very best he could. nobody can do any more than that. and, when he had done the very best he could, captain sol didn't worry about what would happen; which was very sensible on captain sol's part. and the two things that bothered him were, first, where the _augusta ramsay_ was; and, second, the disposition of his crew. it seemed to him that they were likely to make trouble. captain sol wasn't afraid of trouble, but he knew that the willingness of the crew made a great difference in the speed that could be got out of a vessel in a long voyage. so he made up his mind that he would attend to the second matter first. captain sol had all hands called; and the men came up unwillingly, and they were very cross with captain sol because they thought that he had called them to change the sails again. and they had been up nearly the whole of three nights and wanted to sleep. but captain sol called them all aft, and he stood by the railing that was at the edge of the quarter deck and he made them a little speech. he said that the men must know that there was a race between the _augusta ramsay_ and the _industry_, and that each vessel was trying to be the first to get to the far country, where they both were bound. it was worth something to his owners to have the _industry_ get there first, and he would promise the crew five dollars apiece if they beat the _augusta ramsay_, even if they only beat her by an hour. and, for every day that they beat her, up to two weeks, he would promise them two dollars apiece. he didn't care about beating her by more than two weeks, because he thought that he would have his cargo aboard, all ready to carry back to boston, in that time. but there must be no skulking and no unwillingness. anything of that kind would be severely dealt with, and he would not hesitate to put any man in irons for the rest of the voyage who didn't jump to his duty at the word. and, when captain sol had finished his speech, the men all shouted out a cheer for him and another cheer for captain jonathan and captain jacob. and they weren't grumbly any more but they were glad. and captain sol turned away and looked through his glass to see if he could make out the _augusta ramsay_. but he couldn't see any sign of her. so captain sol sailed the _industry_ across the wide ocean and down around the cape of good hope and across the indian ocean; and he carried sail until it almost cracked the masts, and his crew were as willing as they could be and nobody skulked. but, all that time, there was no sign of the _augusta ramsay_. and they sailed into the wide river and anchored; and captain sol sold the things he had brought and bought the things to carry back, and still there was no sign of the _augusta ramsay_. and he loaded the _industry_ with the things that he had bought, and he hoisted his anchor and sailed away down the river. and, just as he came to the ocean, there was the _augusta ramsay_ sailing in. captain sol had the sails fixed so that the ship wouldn't go ahead and so did captain henry. and captain sol had a boat lowered and sailors got in, to row it, and he went over to make a call on captain henry. and he found that the _augusta ramsay_ had been caught in a calm place, after that storm, because captain henry hadn't been willing to rout his men out at two o'clock in the morning; and she hadn't been able to get out of that calm place for nearly two weeks, but had stayed there, with her sails flapping against the masts, for all that long time. and captain henry said that it was a joke on him and bade captain sol good bye and wished him a good voyage home. but captain sol thought that it was no joke for the owners of the _augusta ramsay_. then he got into his boat again and went back to his ship. and the _augusta ramsay_ fixed her sails so that she would go ahead, and so did the _industry_. and they sailed away from each other; but captain sol had taken captain henry's letters. and that's all. the pilot story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the wharf was captain jonathan's and captain jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to boston. after that, their ships sailed from a wharf in boston. the channel into boston harbor was crooked and narrow and a captain had to know it very well to be able to take a ship in safely. a good many captains didn't like to risk it, even if they thought they did know the channel pretty well. so there were some men who made it their business to take vessels out of the harbor, that wanted to go out, and to bring vessels in, that wanted to come in. those men were called harbor pilots, or just pilots. and they knew just exactly how much water they would find at each place; and they knew the whole harbor so well that they could tell, almost, where every stone, of the size of a hat, was on the bottom of it. in the year , john wilson was one of these pilots, and he lived at winthrop. winthrop was a convenient place for a pilot to live in, for it is on a sort of a point that bends around, so that it is outside of boston harbor. now john wilson's house was where he could see, from the windows of a room upstairs, far out to sea. he could have seen provincetown, on the end of cape cod, if it hadn't been so far away that it was hidden by the roundness of the world; and there was nothing, except the ocean and the ships that sailed on it, between him and europe. on clear days he was apt to sit at his upper window, looking out over the ocean and smoking. and whenever he saw the upper sails of some vessel beginning to show, far away, over the waters of massachusetts bay, he would hurry off to his sloop, that always lay ready at the wharf, just below; and he would tell the man who was pottering about on the sloop, and who was named joe, that there was a vessel coming up and that he had better stir his stumps. for he thought that it was the ship _dawn_. or, perhaps, it was the brig _sally ann_ or the _coromandel_, or the ship _pactolys_, or the _savannah_, or the _augusta ramsay_, or the brig _industry_. for john wilson knew every vessel that sailed from boston so well that he could tell a vessel's name as soon as he caught sight of her upper sails. then joe would hurry and john wilson would hurry and they would sail down to meet that vessel. and john wilson, if he was the first pilot to get to the vessel, which he generally was, would climb aboard, leaving joe to sail the sloop alone; and he would take command of the vessel and pilot her safely in, through the channel, to her wharf. but, if it was foggy or hazy, so that john wilson could not see the sails of vessels far off, over the water, even with his long glass, he and joe would sail back and forth before the entrance to boston harbor. sometimes there would be three or four pilot boats sailing back and forth, waiting for the ships to come in; and, when they sighted a ship, it would be a race to see which boat would get to her first. one afternoon, in the late summer, john wilson sat at his upper window, smoking and looking out at the gulls. his long glass lay on another chair beside him, all ready to look through; and, once in a while, he took it up and looked, very carefully, all along the edge of the ocean. but, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see any ships. there was a fisherman going out, but fishermen didn't take pilots, and, if they had, it was too late, anyway. and he saw another small vessel coming in, pretty soon after the fisherman had gone. it was the portland packet. she didn't take a pilot, either, but her captain was a pilot. [illustration] john wilson was getting tired of sitting by that window, although it was a very pleasant place on a summer afternoon. he got up and stretched sleepily, for it was sleepy work sitting there, doing nothing. then he thought that he might as well take a last look through the glass, before he went, and he lifted it and held it against the frame of the window and looked. "hello!" he said to himself. "the skysails and royals of something. it's a brig. by the cut of her sails, she'll be the _industry_. haven't heard of her since she was spoken, going out, five months ago. she must have made a quick passage." then he put down the glass and hurried down to the sloop. "hurry up, joe," he said. "the old _industry_'s coming in. and she's in a hurry, too. that cap'n sol's carrying royals and skysails. that's all that showed. like enough he's got stu'n'sails on her, too. he seems to want to get in to-night; and we've got to hurry, for she'll keep right on to his wharf, pilot or no pilot." "he hasn't been reported at manila," said joe. "no," said john wilson, "he hasn't. but he'll report his own arrival there. there's few can carry sail with cap'n sol." [illustration: "the sloop was on her way"] the sloop was on her way, by that time, out to the channel and down to the bay. she was rather fast, for such a small vessel, for the pilot who had the fastest boat had the best chance; and she had a good deal of sail for a boat of her size. but she couldn't sail as fast as the _industry_. she met the _industry_ about five miles out in the bay, and john wilson saw that captain sol had put a flag in the rigging, to show that he wanted a pilot. captain sol had the sails fixed so that the _industry_ wouldn't go ahead very fast, and the sloop came alongside and john wilson scrambled aboard. the sloop wasn't tied to the ship at all, and she didn't stay alongside as long as a minute; then she was sailing off again, towards boston. for joe had to take john wilson home again after he had got a vessel piloted safely in to the wharf that she was going to. captain sol met john wilson when he came on board and shook hands with him. "hello, john," he said. "i hoped we should get you." "hello, sol," said john wilson. "you haven't been reported at manila, yet, and you have no business to be here." "so?" asked captain sol. "three ships sailed from manila for boston ahead of me. they'll be along in the course of time." he smiled to himself at the thought of his having passed those ships. but captain sol didn't generally say much, and john wilson didn't ask him anything more about those ships. but he made up his mind that he would keep a sharp lookout for them. "get us in as soon as you can, john," continued captain sol. "i have some business that i want to get done before dark." "all right," said john wilson; and he began to give his orders. the sails were fixed so that the ship would go ahead again as fast as she was going before. they passed the pilot boat, with joe sailing it all alone, and then john wilson told the sailors to begin to take in sail. they had so much sail spread that it would take the sailors all the time, until they got to the wharf, to take it in, for they had reached the beginning of the channel between the islands. and they sailed in, past the islands, and john wilson had the ship steered so that she went in the deepest part of the channel. and they came up to the wharf, gently, and the ship was tied to the wharf with great ropes; and there was a little of the afternoon left. so captain sol went to attend to the business that he wanted to do. but john wilson went to the office of captain jonathan and captain jacob and they paid him some money for piloting the _industry_ up the harbor. then he went back to the wharf and watched the sailors, who were busy on the _industry_, and he waited for joe to come, with the sloop, to take him back to winthrop. and, in about half an hour, there was the sloop. and john wilson got aboard and sailed away for winthrop. and that's all. the driftwood story once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. and in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. and a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. and because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. that was a great many years ago. the river and the ocean are there yet, as they always have been and always will be; and the city is there, but it is a different kind of a city from what it used to be. and the wharf is slowly falling down, for it is not used now; and the narrow road down the steep hill is all grown up with weeds and grass. many times, in the long ago, the brig _industry_ had sailed from that wharf, on voyages to far countries, and had come back again to the wharf, bringing spices and tea and sets of china and pretty little tables inlaid with ivory and ebony, and camel's hair shawls, and cloth of goat's hair, and logs of teak-wood to make things of, and many another beautiful thing. and, when captain jonathan and captain jacob moved their office to boston, she had sailed from a wharf in boston to that far country. captain solomon was the captain of the _industry_ then. and captain solomon married and had sons, and when those sons were beginning to get old enough to go to sea, captain solomon stopped being a captain and became a farmer. for he didn't want his sons to go to sea, and he thought that, if he had a farm, away from the salt ocean, they wouldn't go. so he bought the farm that it tells about in the farm stories. but little sol ran away to sea, just the same; and he got to be the captain of the _industry_. and captain jonathan got to be an old man, and he died peacefully. and still the brig _industry_ sailed to that far country and sailed back again. and the years passed, and captain jacob got to be a very old man, and he died, too; and lois was an old woman, and little jacob, her son, had grown to be a man, and little lois, her daughter, had grown up and married. and still the brig _industry_ sailed on her voyages and came back again, but she was getting to be old, too. [illustration: "many times had she been tied up at that wharf"] and, at last, after more years had passed, the _industry_ was so old that she needed to have a lot done to her to make her safe. and her owners decided that it wasn't worth while to rebuild an old vessel, but they would build a new one instead; for they didn't build the kind of ship that the _industry_ was any more, but they built a kind that they thought was better and faster. so, when she got in the next time from that far country, they told her captain what they had decided to do. that captain wasn't captain sol. he didn't go to sea any more, but he lived in boston. so, when she had been unloaded, the captain and some sailors sailed her down to the wide river that the little city was beside. it took them only about a half a day to go there from boston, and the _industry_ sailed into the river for the last time, and up to the wharf that was all falling down. and the men tied her to the wharf with great ropes. many times had she been tied up at that wharf, and she had loaded there and had been unloaded there many times. but she now would never again go sailing out of the river into the great ocean. and the captain went to the riggers of ships, and he had hard work to find them; but at last he found some riggers of ships that were left, and he told them to come to the wharf and take the sails and the yards off the _industry_, and the masts out of her, because she was going to be broken up. and the riggers came, and they took the sails off the yards and they took the yards down; and they took down the topmasts, and they took off the bowsprit, and they took out the great masts that had felt the strain of the winds blowing on the sails for thousands and thousands of miles. and the _industry_ was nothing but an old hulk lying at an old wharf that was falling down. then some junk men came, and they stripped off the copper sheets that were on her bottom, and they took the iron work out of her, and they carried the copper sheets and the iron to their shop. then they untied the great ropes which held the hulk to the wharf, and they towed all that was left of the _industry_ to a shallow place, up the wide river, and there they pulled it high up on the shore. and some more men came and began stripping off the sheathing of thin boards that had been put on outside of her planking, and they sawed this sheathing up until it was small enough to go in a fireplace, and they split it up into small sticks. for the sheathing, that has been next to the copper sheets and has gone in the salt water for so many years, would burn with pretty green and blue flames and little flashes of red. and then they began to take off her thick planking of oak. lois's son, that had been little jacob, was squire jacob when he had grown up. and he heard of it, and he came to see the end of the _industry_. and, when he saw the remains of the ship lying there on the shore, and saw where the men had taken the planks off, so that her great ribs showed, like a skeleton, the sight filled his heart with sadness. he thought of the voyage that he had made in her, when he was a little boy, and he thought of the many times that she had sailed to that far country and had always brought the sailors and the captains back safe; and he stood there, looking, for a long time. but, at last, he turned away, and he went to the men who had the sheathing all sawed and split into small sticks, and he bought that sheathing, every bit of it. and he told the men that he would like to have the rudder and one or two of the ribs. and the men said that they would be glad to give him the rudder and some of the ribs. then he went back to the little city, and he found an old sailor who had sailed in the _industry_. that sailor was an old man and he didn't go to sea any more, he was so old; but he lived in a nice kind of a place that was for old sailors to live in, and he liked to whittle things with his knife. he could whittle pretty well, for sailors are great whittlers. and lois's son, squire jacob, told this old sailor about the _industry_, and how he had bought all the sheathing that there was, and that he would have the rudder and some of the ribs. and he asked the sailor if he could manage to make a model of the brig _industry_ out of the rudder, and fit it with sails and everything just as the _industry_ really had been. and the sailor was sorry when he heard about it, and he said he would like nothing better than to make the model, and it should be exactly like the _industry_, down to the smallest block and the least rope. and he said that he would make the model for nothing if he might have the rest of the rudder to make a model for himself, too. so squire jacob was glad, and he told the old sailor that he could have the rest of the rudder and welcome, and that he must come up sometimes and sit in front of his fire when the sheathing was burning; for he had a good deal of it, and it would be a long time before it was all burned up. and the old man thanked him and said that he would be glad to come. then squire jacob went to some cabinet makers, and he said that he would like to have them make a chair for him out of the ribs of the _industry_. it would be an arm-chair and would have a picture of the brig carved in the wood up at the top of the back. and the cabinet makers understood, and they said that they would make him the arm-chair. [illustration] and at last the arm-chair was all done, and the model was almost done; but the arm-chair was done first. and, one evening, squire jacob was sitting in the arm-chair before the fire, and in his hand he held the little model of the _industry_, that an old sailor had carved, with his jack-knife, for his christmas present when he went on that voyage to far countries as a little boy. the hull of that little model was made of ebony and the masts and spars were little ebony sticks; and the sails were of ivory, scraped thin, and the ropes were silk thread. and the sails were bulging, as if the wind was filling them and making them stand out from the yards. but the ivory sails were yellow with age, and the silk thread was all yellow and rotten. that little model was only about three inches long, so that it rested easily on squire jacob's hand. he sat before the fire, looking at the little model, and his wife sat in another chair beside him. and their daughter, who was named lois, was sitting in a low chair by her mother. that lois was pretty nearly grown up. and squire jacob remembered, and he told his wife and his daughter lois the things that it tells about in the christmas story. when he had finished telling the christmas story, the door-bell rang; and lois went to the door, and she came back and said that an old man was out in the hall, but he wouldn't come in. and squire jacob went out to the hall, and he came back with the old sailor who had carved the model of the brig _industry_ out of the real rudder of the ship. he had that model in his arms. and he set the model that he had brought in the middle of the mantel, over the fire, and sat down in the arm-chair. and squire jacob didn't say anything, but he handed him the little model, made of ebony and ivory. the old sailor took the little model, and it made him remember many things; and he remembered about the old man who had carved that model and about that very voyage, for he had been one of the crew of the _industry_ when she went on that voyage to far countries and carried little jacob and little sol. and he told some stories about that sailor and that voyage that squire jacob was very glad to hear. they all sat there for a long time, but they didn't say much. and the old sailor looked from the little model of the _industry_, in his hand, to the big one, that was on the mantel before him; and squire jacob took some of the sheathing of the real _industry_ and put it on the fire. and it blazed up with flames that were all green and blue, and red. "a many miles o' ocean 's in that flame," said the old sailor, "a many miles." "and a good ship," said squire jacob. "that she was," said the old sailor. "a good ship." [illustration] and they watched the sheathing burning, and squire jacob thought that he saw pictures in the flames. at first he saw a ship all alone on the great ocean, and nothing could be seen from the ship but miles of tossing water; and the flame died out. then another flame blazed up, and squire jacob saw a great river with a city on the bank, and the brig _industry_ was anchored in the river. and many little boats were rowed from the city to the ship and back again. the little boats were loaded with tea and spices and camel's-hair shawls and many other beautiful things. and he saw captain solomon on the ship; and that flame died out. and another flame blazed up, and he saw the _industry_ just coming up the river and tying up at the wharf that the narrow road led down to. and that flame died out quickly, and the piece of sheathing only glowed, for it was all burned to ashes, and the ashes dropped down where the other ashes were. and that's all of this book. the sandman: his sea stories these stories give you a good picture of life on an old-time sailing vessel. when you want to look up some special point, this index will show you the right page. albatross, - christmas, on shipboard, , communication, - , , driftwood, - elephants, - equator, fish, porpoise, - ; flying fish, , - ; shark, - food, , , , - , lighthouses, - ocean, - ; sounding, - ; seaweed, - selling and trading, , , - transportation: bullock carts, ; sailing ships, , , - , - , - , , , - , - weather, - ; barometer, ; storm, - none man on the ocean, a book about boats and ships, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. treats of ships in general. there is, perhaps, no contrivance in the wide world more wonderful than a ship--a full-rigged, well-manned, gigantic ship! those who regard familiar objects in art and nature as mere matters of course, and do not trouble themselves to wander out of the beaten track of everyday thought, may not at first feel the force or admit the truth of this statement. let such folk endeavour to shake themselves vigorously out of this beaten track of everyday thought. let them knit their brows and clench their teeth, and gaze steadfastly into the fire, or up at the sky, and try to realise what is involved in the idea of--a ship. what would the men of old have said, if you had told them that you intended to take yonder large wooden house, launch it upon the sea, and proceed in it out of sight of land for a few days? "poor fellow," they would have replied, "you are mad!" ah! many a wise philosopher has been deemed mad, not only by men of old, but by men of modern days. this "mad" idea has long since been fulfilled; for what is a ship but a wooden house made to float upon the sea, and sail with its inmates hither and thither, at the will of the guiding spirit, over a trackless unstable ocean for months together? it is a self-sustaining movable hotel upon the sea. it is an oasis in the desert of waters, so skilfully contrived as to be capable of advancing against wind and tide, and of outliving the wildest storms--the bitterest fury of winds and waves. it is the residence of a community, whose country for the time being is the ocean; or, as in the case of the _great eastern_ steamship, it is a _town_ with some thousands of inhabitants launched upon the deep. ships are, as it were, the electric sparks of the world, by means of which the superabundance of different countries is carried forth to fill, reciprocally, the voids in each. they are not only the media of intercourse between the various families of the human race, whereby our shores are enriched with the produce of other lands, but they are the bearers of inestimable treasures of knowledge from clime to clime, and of gospel light to the uttermost ends of the earth. but for ships, we should never have heard of the wonders of the coral isles and the beauties of the golden south, or the phenomena and tempests of the icy north. but for ships, the stirring adventures and perils of magellan, drake, cook, etcetera, had never been encountered; and even the far-famed robinson crusoe himself had never gladdened, and saddened, and romantically maddened the heart of youth with his escapes, his fights, his parrots, and his philosophy, as he now does, and as he will continue to do till the end of time. some account, then, of ships and boats, with anecdotes illustrative of the perils to which they are frequently exposed, cannot fail, we think, to prove interesting to all, especially to boys, for whose particular edification we now write. boys, of all creatures in this world, are passionately fond of boats and ships; they make them of every shape and size, with every sort of tool, and hack and cut their fingers in the operation, as we know from early personal experience. they sail them, and wet their garments in so doing, to the well-known sorrow of all right-minded mammas. they lose them, too, and break their hearts, almost, at the calamity. they make little ones when they are little, and big ones when they grow big; and when they grow bigger they not unfrequently forsake the toy for the reality, embark in some noble craft, and wed the stormy sea. a word in your ear, reader, at this point. do not think that because you fall in love with a _ship_ you will naturally and necessarily fall in love with the _sea_! some do, and some don't: with those who do, it is well; with those who don't, and yet go to sea, it is remarkably ill. think _philosophically_ about "going to sea," my lads. try honestly to resist your own inclination _as long as possible_, and only go if you find that _you can't help it_! in such a case you will probably find that you are cut out for it--not otherwise. we love the sea with a true and deep affection, and often have we tossed upon her foam-topped waves; but we don't wish to be a sailor--by no manner of means! and now, boys, come along, and we will conduct you as pleasantly and profitably as we can from a ship's cradle, through all her stormy existence, to her grave. chapter two. the earliest days of water-travelling. once upon a time there were no ships. men did not know the meaning of the word; they did not want them; and, for many, many centuries the sea-gulls had the ocean all to themselves. but _boats_ are of very ancient date. doubtless the _first_ boats must have been constructed by the _first_ men who dwelt on the earth. they consisted, probably--for we are now in the land of conjecture--of stumps of fallen trees, or bundles of rushes, seated astride of which the immediate descendants of our first parents ferried themselves over small lakes and across rivers. wet feet are not agreeable under any circumstances. we can conceive that prolonged voyages performed in this fashion--say several hundred yards or a mile--rendered those primitive mariners so uncomfortable, that they resolved to improve their condition; and, after much earnest thought, hit upon the plan of fastening several logs together by means of twigs, and thus they formed _rafts_. as time progressed, and men began to display wisdom in making tools of stone and in the moulding of metal, we can imagine that they soon bethought themselves of flattening the surface of their rafts; and then, finding them unwieldy and difficult to manage, no doubt, they hit upon the idea of hollowing out the logs. adzes were probably not invented at that time, so they betook themselves to the element of fire--which is at the present day used by savage nations for the same purpose--and burned out the insides of their logs. thus _canoes_ sprang into being. but such canoes were clumsy and heavy, besides being liable to split; men therefore bethought themselves of constructing a light framework of wood, which they covered with bark or skin. then artificers in iron invented saws; logs were ripped up; planks were formed; pitch oozed ready to hand from the trees; with grass, perchance, they caulked the seams;--and soon the first _boat_ floated on the water--clumsy and tub-like, no doubt, but serviceable withal--and youths of a hundred years old, and full-grown men of two or three hundred, capered and shouted on the shore with delight at the great invention; while venerable patriarchs, of seven or eight hundred summers, gazed in wonder, with almost prophetic solemnity, and exclaimed that they had never before seen the like of _that_ in all the course of their long, long lives! those times are old now--so old that men can scarcely get their minds to realise how old they are; nevertheless, the craft that were used then are used even now, and that not only among the savages of distant lands, but by men living at our very doors. the _coracle_, a basket-boat of the most primitive description, is still occasionally met with in south wales. it is neither more nor less than a large wicker basket covered with a hide, and is tub-shaped, and clumsy to a degree. when the romans invaded britain, this species of boat was in common use. like the canoe of the north american indian, it is easily upset, and we should think must be rather unmanageable; but as we are not likely ever again to be reduced to it in this country, we can afford to regard its faults with indifference. from little boats to big boats there is but a step; and no doubt rivers were soon navigated, and new countries explored, while those who lived near the sea-coast dared even to launch their boats upon the ocean; but they "hugged the shore," undoubtedly, and seldom ventured to proceed at night unless the stars shone brightly in the sky. years rolled on, and dwellers on the sea-coast became more and more venturous in their voyages along the shore. it behoved them to have larger boats, or barges, with numerous rowers, who would naturally carry weapons with them to guard themselves from foes. war-galleys sprang into being. strong winds sometimes carried these off-shore, and out of sight of land. ah, reader! who can conceive the feelings of the first mariners who saw the solid land sink on the horizon, and beheld nothing substantial in all the waste of waters, save their own tiny bark that reeled beneath them on the heaving billows? perchance these first adventurers on the deep found their way back to land, and afterwards tried the bold experiment of steering by the stars. perhaps not; but at length it did come about that ships were built, and men were found bold enough to put to sea in them for days and weeks together. the ark is the first ship of which we have any authentic account. we now leave the region of conjecture; for the ark was built by noah under the immediate direction of the almighty, and we have a minute account of it in the bible. more than two thousand three hundred years before our lord and saviour jesus christ came to earth, man's wickedness had attained to such a height that god resolved to destroy the inhabitants of the world by a deluge. but, in the midst of wrath, god remembered mercy. he spared noah and his family, and saved them from destruction by placing them in the ark along with pairs of the lower animals. every reader of the bible knows the story of the deluge; but everyone may not be aware that traditions of this deluge are found in every part of the earth. east, west, north, and south--civilised and savage--all men tell us of a great flood which once covered the world, and from which only one family was saved, in a boat, or a canoe, or an ark. what the barbarous and savage nations know dimly from tradition, we know certainly and fully from the inspired word of god. the ark was built; the flood came; noah with his family and two of every living creature entered into it; and for months the first ship floated on a sea whose shoreless waves flowed round and round the world. what the ark's form was we cannot precisely tell; but we know its dimensions pretty accurately. although it was not intended for voyaging, the ark must necessarily have been a perfect model of a vessel, meant to float upon the waters. to some extent, too, it must have been fitted to ride upon turbulent billows; for it "went upon the face of the waters" for upwards of seven months, and before it rested finally on the top of mount ararat, "god made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged." in regard to its size, the most interesting way to consider it, perhaps, will be to compare it with the _great eastern_, the largest ship that has yet been built by man. assuming a cubit to be about inches, the length of the ark was about feet, its breadth about feet, and its depth about feet. the _great eastern's_ length is feet, its breadth feet, and its depth from deck to keel feet. the ark was built of gopher-wood, which is thought by some to be pine, by others cedar. it consisted of three stories, and had a window and a door, and was pitched within and without. but it had neither masts nor rudder; and it is evident that, although it was man's refuge, the ark was not designed to be managed by man, for after noah and his family had entered in, god took on himself the guidance and preservation of their vessel. thus our saviour--of whom the ark was a type--specially guides and protects those who flee to him for refuge. but although we have noticed the ark as being the first ship, we cannot with propriety place it in the front of the history of navigation. after the flood the ark seems to have been soon forgotten, or at least imperfectly remembered, and men reverted to their little canoes and clumsy boats, which sufficed for all their limited wants. it was not until about a thousand years later in the world's history that men built ships of considerable size, and ventured on prolonged _coasting_- voyages, for the purposes of discovery and commerce. navigation had been practised, and the art of ship-building had made very considerable progress, long before men dared to lose sight of the shore and venture out upon the mysterious bosom of the great unknown sea. to the ancients the mediterranean was the ocean; and among its bays, and creeks, and islands, maritime enterprise sprang into being and rose into celebrity. among the phoenicians, the egyptians, and hebrews, we find the earliest traces of navigation and commerce. the first of these nations, occupying the narrow slip of land between mount lebanon and the mediterranean, rose into fame as mariners between the years and before christ--the renowned city of sidon being their great sea-port, whence their ships put forth to trade with cyprus and rhodes, greece, sardinia, sicily, gaul, and spain. little is known of the state of trade in those days, or of the form or size of ancient vessels. homer tells us, in his account of the trojan war, that the phoenicians supplied the combatants with many articles of luxury; and from scripture we learn that the same enterprising navigators brought gold to solomon from ophir in the year b.c. a short time previous to this the phoenicians ventured to pass through the strait of gibraltar, and for the first time beheld the great atlantic ocean. proceeding along the coast of spain, they founded cadiz; and, not long after, creeping down the western coast of africa, established colonies there. but their grandest feat was achieved about years b.c., when they sailed down the red sea and the eastern coast of africa, doubled the cape of good hope, sailed up the western coast, and returned home by the strait of gibraltar. bartholomew diaz must hide his diminished head before this fact; for, although he gets all the credit, the phoenicians of old "doubled the cape" at least twenty centuries before him! that long voyages were made by the men of old, before authentic history began, seems highly probable. the expedition of the _argonauts_ to colchis in the year b.c., in search of the "golden fleece," is the first ancient voyage that lays claim to authenticity. what the golden fleece was is uncertain; some think it was a term used to symbolise the mines of precious metals near the black sea. whatever it was, the _argonauts_ went in search of it: whether or not they found it is unrecorded in history. jason, son of the king of thessaly, was the leader of this expedition, which consisted of one ship and fifty men. a man named _argus_ built the ship, which from him was named the argo, hence the name of _argonauts_. in treating of ancient vessels, we may as well proceed on the principle suggested by a sagacious child, who, when his mother was about to tell him a story, usually begged of her to "bedin at the bedinning." we shall begin at the beginning. chapter three. rafts and canoes. rafts, as we have already remarked, must undoubtedly have been the beginning of navigation. but they have not, like many other species of ancient craft, been altogether superseded by modern inventions. true, we do not nowadays carry on war on rafts, but we still carry on trade with them in many parts of the world. how the rafts of ancient times were formed we cannot tell precisely, though we can easily guess; but one thing we know, and that is, that the first improvement made in such craft was the thrusting of a few thick planks down into the water, to the depth of three or four feet, between the logs which composed the raft. these acted the part of a keel, and, by pressing against the water _side-ways_ when a _side_ wind blew, prevented the raft from making much of what is called _leeway_--that is, drifting in the direction in which the wind happened to be blowing. some sorts of dutch vessels use lee-boards for this purpose at the present time. the rafts now in use on the great rivers of america are exceedingly curious in many respects. one peculiarity of many of them is that they float _themselves_, not goods, to market--the pine logs of which they are constructed being the marketable commodity. some of these "lumber-rafts," as they are called, are of great size; and as their navigators have often to spend many weeks on them, slowly floating down the rivers, they build huts or little cottages on them, cook their provisions on board, and, in short, spend night and day in their temporary floating-homes as comfortably as if they were on the land. when these rafts approach a waterfall or a rapid, they unfasten the lashings and allow several logs tied together to run down at a time. after the rapid is passed, the loose logs are collected together, the raft is reconstructed, and the voyage down to the sea continued. of course, huts are built only on rafts which navigate the largest rivers, and are not thus liable to be taken to pieces. when the logs reach the sea, they are shipped to various parts of the world where timber is scarce. large quantities are imported into great britain from canada and other parts of america. a bold thing has occasionally been done. instead of shipping the logs in vessels, enterprising and ingenious men built them into a _solid ship_, leaving a small space to serve as a cabin and a hold for provisions; then, erecting masts, they hoisted sail, and in this singular craft crossed the atlantic. on arriving at port they broke up their raft-ship and sold it. the immense size of the rafts which are floated down some of the great rivers of the world may be gathered from the following engraving, which represents a raft on the dwina, one of the great rivers of russia. rafts, however, have not been confined to the purposes of traffic. they have frequently been the means of saving the lives of shipwrecked mariners; but too often they have been the means only of prolonging the wretched existence of those who have ultimately perished at sea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ turning now from the consideration of rafts, we shall describe canoes. canoes must, we think, have been invented after rafts. they were formed, as we have said, out of logs, of bark and of skins stretched upon frames of wood. of ancient canoes we can say little. but it is probable that they were similar in most respects to the canoes used by savage nations at the present time; for man, in his lowest or most savage condition, is necessarily the same now that he was in ancient times. we shall, therefore, take a glance at the canoes of savage nations now existing, and thus shall form a good idea, we doubt not, of what canoes were in days of old. simplest among them all, perhaps, are the canoes of the north american indians. these are built of thin laths and ribs of wood, and are covered with the bark of the birch-tree. the sheets of bark are not a quarter of an inch thick. several sheets are used in the covering of one canoe. they are sewed together with the long pliant roots of the pine, and the seams are rendered tight with gum procured from the same tree. so light are these canoes, that two men can carry on their shoulders one capable of holding eight or ten men, with their provisions, etcetera, for a voyage of many months. they are of various sizes--from the hunting canoe which holds one indian, to the largest canoe that carries fourteen. they are propelled by short paddles instead of oars. many and terrible are the risks run by _voyageurs_ who travel through the lakes and rivers of north america in these canoes. the following anecdote is related of a narrow escape made by some fur-traders while descending one of the rivers in the backwoods of the hudson bay territory:--one fine evening in autumn, a north-canoe was gliding swiftly down one of the noble bends in the river referred to. new, beautiful, and ever-changing scenes were being constantly opened up to the view of the _voyageurs_, whose plaintive and beautiful canoe-songs were rolling over the waters. suddenly the song ceased as the distant roar of a waterfall struck their ears, and the steersmen-- for there are usually two, one in the bow and one in the stern--prepared to land and "_make a portage_,"--that is, carry the canoe and lading past the falls by land, and re-launch and re-load in the smooth water below. the approach to the landing-place at the head of the fall was somewhat difficult, owing to a point of rock which projected into the stream in the direction of the fall, and round which point it was necessary to steer with some dexterity, in order to avoid being drawn into the strong current. the fearless guides, however, had often passed the place in former years in safety, and accordingly dashed at the point with reckless indifference, their paddles flinging a circle of spray over their heads as they changed from side to side with graceful but vigorous rapidity. the swift stream carried them quickly round the point of danger, and they had almost reached the quiet eddy near the landing-place when the stem of the canoe was caught by the current, which instantly whirled it out from the shore and carried it down stream like an arrow. another moment, and the gushing water dragged them to the verge of the fall, which thundered and foamed among frightful chasms and rocks many feet below. it was the work of a moment. the stern of the canoe almost overhung the abyss, and the voyageurs plied their paddles with the desperation of men who felt that their lives depended on the exertions of the next awful minute. for a few seconds the canoe remained stationary, and seemed to tremble on the brink of destruction-- the strength of the water and the power of the men being almost equally balanced--then, inch by inch, it began slowly to ascend the stream. the danger was past! a few nervous strokes, and the canoe shot out of the current like an arrow, and floated in safety in the still water below the point. the whole thing, from beginning to end, occurred in a few seconds; but who can describe or comprehend the tumultuous gush of feeling aroused during those brief moments in the bosoms of the _voyageurs_? the sudden, electric change from tranquil safety to the verge of what appeared certain destruction--and then, deliverance! it was one of those thrilling incidents which frequently occur to those who thread the wildernesses of this world, and is little thought of by them beyond the moment of danger; yet it was one of those solemn seasons, more or less numerous in the history of all men, when the almighty speaks to his careless creatures in a voice that cannot be mistaken, however much it may be slighted; awakening them, with a rough grasp, to behold the slender cord that suspends them over the abyss of eternity. the canoes used by the eskimos who inhabit the polar regions are made of a light framework of wood, which is covered entirely over with seal-skin--a round hole being left in the centre, in which the eskimo sits. round this hole there is a loose piece of skin, which is drawn up by the man and fastened round his waist. the machine is thus completely water-tight. no waves can dash into, although they can sweep over it; and if by chance it should upset, the eskimo can turn it and himself up into the proper position by one dexterous sweep of his long, double-bladed paddle. the paddle, which varies from ten to fifteen feet, is simply a pole with a blade at each end. it is grasped in the centre, and each end dipped alternately on either side of the _kayak_, as this canoe is called. eskimo kayaks are first-rate sea-boats. they can face almost any sort of weather. they are extremely light, and are propelled by the natives very swiftly. in these frail canoes the natives of the polar regions pursue seals and whales, and even venture to attack the walrus in his native element. the kayak is used exclusively by the men. the oomiak, or women's canoe, is of much larger and clumsier construction, somewhat like a boat. it is open above, and can hold a large family of women and children. like the kayak, it is a framework of wood covered with seal-skin, and is propelled by means of short paddles of the spoon form. the famous "rob roy" canoe, which is now so much in vogue among boys and young men of aquatic tendency, is constructed and managed on precisely the same principles with the eskimo kayak; the only difference between the two being that the "rob roy" canoe is made of thin wood instead of skin, and is altogether a more elegant vessel. an account of it will be found in our chapter on "boats." the south sea islanders also use a canoe which they propel with a double-bladed paddle similar to that of the eskimos. they are wonderfully expert and fearless in the management of this canoe, as may be seen from the annexed woodcut. in order to show that the paddle of the canoe is more natural to man than the oar, we present a picture of the canoe used by the indians of the amazon in south america. here we see thar the savages of the south, like their brethren of the north, sit with their faces to the bow and urge their bark forward by neans of short paddles, without using the gunwale as a fulcrum. the oar is decidedly a more modern and a more scientific instrument than the paddle, but the latter is better suited to some kinds of navigation than the former. very different indeed from the light canoes just described are the canoes of the south sea islanders. some are large, and some are small; some long, some short; a few elegant, a few clumsy; and one or two peculiarly remarkable. most of them are narrow, and liable to upset; in order to prevent which catastrophe the natives have ingeniously, though clumsily, contrived a sort of "_outrigger_," or plank, which they attach to the side of the canoe to keep it upright. they also fasten two canoes together to steady them. one of these _double canoes_ is thus described by cheever in his "island world of the pacific:"--"a double canoe is composed of two single ones of the same size placed parallel to each other, three or four feet apart, and secured in their places by four or five pieces of wood, curved just in the shape of a bit-stock. these are lashed to both canoes with the strongest cinet, made of cocoa-nut fibre, so as to make the two almost as much one as same of the double ferry-boats that ply between brooklyn and new york. a flattened arch is thus made by the bow-like cross-pieces over the space between the canoes, upon which a board or a couple of stout poles laid lengthwise constitute an elevated platform for passengers and freight, while those who paddle and steer sit in the bodies of the canoes at the sides. a slender mast, which may be unstepped in a minute, rises from about the centre of this platform, to give support to a very simple sail, now universally made of white cotton cloth, but formerly of mats." the double canoes belonging to the chiefs of the south sea islanders are the largest,--some of them being nearly seventy feet long, yet they are each only about two feet wide and three or four feet deep. the sterns are remarkably high--fifteen or eighteen feet above the water. the war canoes are also large and compactly built; the stern being low and covered, so as to afford shelter from stones and darts. a rude imitation of a head or some grotesque figure is usually carved on the stern; while the stem is elevated, curved like the neck of a swan, and terminates frequently in the carved figure of a bird's head. these canoes are capable of holding fifty warriors. captain cook describes some as being one hundred and eight feet long. all of them, whether single or double, mercantile or war canoes, are propelled by paddles, the men sitting with their faces in the direction in which they are going. as may be supposed, these canoes are often upset in rough weather; but as the south sea islanders are expert swimmers, they generally manage to right their canoes and scramble into them again. their only fear on such occasions is being attacked by sharks. ellis, in his interesting book, "polynesian researches," relates an instance of this kind of attack which was made upon a number of chiefs and people--about thirty-two--who were passing from one island to another in a large double canoe:--"they were overtaken by a tempest, the violence of which tore their canoes from the horizontal spars by which they were united. it was in vain for them to endeavour to place them upright again, or to empty out the water, for they could not prevent their incessant overturning. as their only resource, they collected the scattered spars and boards, and constructed a raft, on which they hoped they might drift to land. the weight of the whole number who were collected on the raft was so great as to sink it so far below the surface that they stood above their knees in water. they made very little progress, and soon became exhausted by fatigue and hunger. in this condition they were attacked by a number of sharks. destitute of a knife or any other weapon of defence, they fell an easy prey to these rapacious monsters. one after another was seized and devoured, or carried away by them, and the survivors, who with dreadful anguish beheld their companions thus destroyed, saw the number of their assailants apparently increasing, as each body was carried off until only two or three remained. "the raft, thus lightened of its load, rose to the surface of the water, and placed them beyond the reach of the voracious jaws of their relentless destroyers. the tide and current soon carried them to the shore, where they landed to tell the melancholy fate of their fellow-voyagers." captain cook refers to the canoes of new zealand thus:-- "the ingenuity of these people appears in nothing more than in their canoes. they are long and narrow, and in shape very much resemble a new england whale-boat. the larger sort seem to be built chiefly for war, and will carry from forty to eighty or a hundred armed men. we measured one which lay ashore at tolaga; she was sixty-eight and a half feet long, five feet broad, and three and a half feet deep. the bottom was sharp, with straight sides like a wedge, and consisted of three lengths, hollowed out to about two inches, or one inch and a half thick, and well fastened together with strong plaiting. each side consisted of one entire plank, sixty-three feet long, ten or twelve inches broad, and about one inch and a quarter thick; and these were fitted and lashed to the bottom part with great dexterity and strength. "a considerable number of thwarts were laid from gunwale to gunwale, to which they were securely lashed on each side, as a strengthening to the boat. the ornament at the head projected five or six feet beyond the body, and was about four and a half feet high. the ornament at the stern was fixed upon that end as the stern-post of a ship is upon her keel, and was about fourteen feet high, two broad, and one inch and a half thick. they both consisted of boards of carved work, of which the design was much better than the execution. all their canoes, except a few at opoorage or mercury bay, which were of one piece, and hollowed by fire, are built after this plan, and few are less than twenty feet long. some of the smaller sort have outriggers; and sometimes two are joined together, but this is not common. "the carving upon the stern and head ornaments of the inferior boats, which seemed to be intended wholly for fishing, consists of the figure of a man, with the face as ugly as can be conceived, and a monstrous tongue thrust out of the mouth, with the white shells of sea-ears stuck in for eyes. but the canoes of the superior kind, which seem to be their men-of-war, are magnificently adorned with openwork, and covered with loose fringes of black feathers, which had a most elegant appearance. the gunwale boards were also frequently carved in a grotesque taste, and adorned with tufts of white feathers placed upon black ground. the paddles are small and neatly made. the blade is of an oval shape, or rather of a shape resembling a large leaf, pointed at the bottom, broadest in the middle, and gradually losing itself in the shaft, the whole length being about six feet. by the help of these oars they push on their boats with amazing velocity." mr ellis, to whose book reference has already been made, and who visited the south sea islands nearly half a century later than cook, tells us that the _single canoes_ used by some of the islanders are far safer than the _double canoes_ for long voyages, as the latter are apt to be torn asunder during a storm, and then they cannot be prevented from constantly upsetting. single canoes are not so easily separated from their outrigger. nevertheless they are sometimes upset in rough seas; but the natives don't much mind this. when a canoe is upset and fills, the natives, who learn to swim like ducks almost as soon as they can walk, seize hold of one end of the canoe, which they press down so as to elevate the other end above the sea, by which means a great part of the water runs out; they then suddenly loose their hold, and the canoe falls back on the water, emptied in some degree of its contents. swimming along by the side of it, they bale out the rest, and climbing into it, pursue their voyage. europeans, however, are not so indifferent to being overturned as are the savages. on one occasion mr ellis, accompanied by three ladies, mrs orsmond, mrs barff, and his wife, with her two children and one or two natives, were crossing a harbour in the island of huahine. a female servant was sitting in the forepart of the canoe with mr ellis's little girl in her arms. his infant boy was at its mother's breast; and a native, with a long light pole, was paddling or pushing the canoe along, when a small buhoe, with a native youth sitting in it, darted out from behind a bush that hung over the water, and before they could turn or the youth could stop his canoe, it ran across the outrigger. this in an instant went down, the canoe was turned bottom upwards, and the whole party precipitated into the sea. the sun had set soon after they started from the opposite side, and the twilight being very short, the shades of evening had already thickened round them, which prevented the natives on shore from seeing their situation. the native woman, being quite at home in the water, held the little girl up with one hand, and swam with the other towards the shore, aiding at the same time mrs orsmond, who had caught hold of her long hair, which floated on the water behind her. mrs barff, on rising to the surface, caught hold of the outrigger of the canoe that had occasioned the disaster, and calling out loudly for help, informed the people on shore of their danger, and speedily brought them to their assistance. mrs orsmond's husband, happening to be at hand at the time, rushed down to the beach and plunged at once into the water. his wife, on seeing him, quitted her, hold of the native woman, and grasping her husband, would certainly have drowned both him and herself had not the natives sprung in and rescued them. mahinevahine, the queen of the island, leaped into the sea and rescued mrs barff; mr ellis caught hold of the canoe, and supported his wife and their infant until assistance came. thus they were all saved. the south sea islanders, of whose canoes we have been writing, are--some of them at least--the fiercest savages on the face of the earth. they wear little or no clothing, and practise cannibalism--that is, _man-eating_--from choice. they actually prefer human flesh to any other. of this we are informed on most unquestionable authority. doubtless the canoes which we have described are much the same now as they were a thousand years ago; so that, by visiting those parts of the earth where the natives are still savage, we may, as it were, leap backward into ancient times, and behold with our own eyes the state of marine architecture as it existed when our own forefathers were savages, and paddled about the thames and the clyde on logs, and rafts, and wicker-work canoes. chapter four. ancient ships and navigators. everything must have a beginning, and, however right and proper things may appear to those who begin them, they generally wear a strange, sometimes absurd, aspect to those who behold them after the lapse of many centuries. when we think of the trim-built ships and yachts that now cover the ocean far and wide, we can scarce believe it possible that men really began the practice of navigation, and first put to sea, in such grotesque vessels as that represented on page . in a former chapter reference has been made to the rise of commerce and maritime enterprise, to the fleets and feats of the phoenicians, egyptians, and hebrews in the mediterranean, where commerce and navigation first began to grow vigorous. we shall now consider the peculiar structure of the ships and boats in which their maritime operations were carried on. _boats_, as we have said, must have succeeded rafts and canoes, and big boats soon followed in the wake of little ones. gradually, as men's wants increased, the magnitude of their boats also increased, until they came to deserve the title of little ships. these enormous boats, or little ships, were propelled by means of oars of immense size; and, in order to advance with anything like speed, the oars and rowers had to be multiplied, until they became very numerous. in our own day we seldom see a boat requiring more than eight or ten oars. in ancient times boats and ships required sometimes as many as four hundred oars to propel them. the forms of the ancient ships were curious and exceedingly picturesque, owing to the ornamentation with which their outlines were broken, and the high elevation of their bows and sterns. we have no very authentic details of the minutiae of the form or size of ancient ships, but antiquarians have collected a vast amount of desultory information, which, when put together, enables us to form a pretty good idea of the manner of working them, while ancient coins and sculptures have given us a notion of their general aspect. no doubt many of these records are grotesque enough, nevertheless they must be correct in the main particulars. homer, who lived b.c., gives, in his "odyssey," an account of ship-building in his time, to which antiquarians attach much importance, as showing the ideas then prevalent in reference to geography, and the point at which the art of ship-building had then arrived. of course due allowance must be made for homer's tendency to indulge in hyperbole. ulysses, king of ithaca, and deemed on of the wisest greeks who went to troy, having been wrecked upon an island, is furnished by the nymph calypso with the means of building a ship,--that hero being determined to seek again his native shore and return to his home and his faithful spouse penelope. "forth issuing thus, she gave him first to wield a weighty axe, with truest temper steeled, and double-edged; the handle smooth and plain, wrought of the clouded olive's easy grain; and next, a wedge to drive with sweepy sway; then to the neighbouring forest led the way. on the lone island's utmost verge there stood of poplars, pines, and firs, a lofty wood, whose leafless summits to the skies aspire, scorched by the sun, or seared by heavenly fire (already dried). these pointing out to view, the nymph just showed him, and with tears withdrew. "now toils the hero; trees on trees o'erthrown fall crackling round, and the forests groan; sudden, full twenty on the plain are strewed, and lopped and lightened of their branchy load. at equal angles these disposed to join, he smoothed and squared them by the rule and line. (the wimbles for the work calypso found), with those he pierced them and with clinchers bound. long and capacious as a shipwright forms some bark's broad bottom to outride the storms, so large he built the raft; then ribbed it strong from space to space, and nailed the planks along. these formed the sides; the deck he fashioned last; then o'er the vessel raised the taper mast, with crossing sail-yards dancing in the wind: and to the helm the guiding rudder joined (with yielding osiers fenced to break the force of surging waves, and steer the steady course). thy loom, calypso, for the future sails supplied the cloth, capacious of the gales. with stays and cordage last he rigged the ship, and, rolled on levers, launched her on the deep." the ships of the ancient greeks and romans were divided into various classes, according to the number of "ranks" or "banks," that is, _rows_, of oars. _monoremes_ contained one bank of oars; _biremes_, two banks; _triremes_, three; _quadriremes_, four; _quinqueremes_, five; and so on. but the two latter were seldom used, being unwieldy, and the oars in the upper rank almost unmanageable from their great length and weight. ptolemy philopator of egypt is said to have built a gigantic ship with no less than forty tiers of oars, one above the other! she was managed by men, besides whom there were combatants; she had four rudders and a double prow. her stern was decorated with splendid paintings of ferocious and fantastic animals; her oars protruded through masses of foliage; and her hold was filled with grain! that this account is exaggerated and fanciful is abundantly evident; but it is highly probable that ptolemy did construct one ship, if not more, of uncommon size. the sails used in these ships were usually square; and when there was more than one mast, that nearest the stern was the largest. the rigging was of the simplest description, consisting sometimes of only two ropes from the mast to the bow and stern. there was usually a deck at the bow and stern, but never in the centre of the vessel. steering was managed by means of a huge broad oar, sometimes a couple, at the stern. a formidable "beak" was affixed to the fore-part of the ships of war, with which the crew charged the enemy. the vessels were painted black, with red ornaments on the bows; to which latter homer is supposed to refer when he writes of red-cheeked ships. ships built by the greeks and romans for war were sharper and more elegant than those used in commerce; the latter being round bottomed, and broad, in order to contain cargo. the corinthians were the first to introduce _triremes_ into their navy (about years b.c.), and they were also the first who had any navy of importance. the athenians soon began to emulate them, and ere long constructed a large fleet of vessels both for war and commerce. that these ancient ships were light compared with ours, is proved by the fact that when the greeks landed to commence the siege of troy they _drew up their ships on the shore_. we are also told that ancient mariners, when they came to a long narrow promontory of land, were sometimes wont to land, draw their ships bodily across the narrowest part of the isthmus, and launch them on the other side. moreover, they had a salutary dread of what sailors term "blue water"-- that is, the deep, distant sea--and never ventured out of sight of land. they had no compass to direct them, and in their coasting voyages of discovery they were guided, if blown out to sea, by the stars. the sails were made of linen in homer's time; subsequently sail-cloth was made of hemp, rushes, and leather. sails were sometimes dyed of various colours and with curious patterns. huge ropes were fastened round the ships to bind them more firmly together, and the bulwarks were elevated beyond the frame of the vessels by wicker-work covered with skins. stones were used for anchors, and sometimes crates of small stones or sand; but these were not long of being superseded by iron anchors with teeth or flukes. the romans were not at first so strong in naval power as their neighbours, but in order to keep pace with them they were ultimately compelled to devote more attention to their navies. about b.c. they raised a large fleet to carry on the war with carthage. a carthaginian quinquereme which happened to be wrecked on their coast was taken possession of by the romans, used as a model, and one hundred and thirty ships constructed from it. these ships were all built, it is said, in six days; but this appears almost incredible. we must not, however, judge the power of the ancients by the standard of present times. it is well known that labour was cheap then, and we have recorded in history the completion of great works in marvellously short time, by the mere force of myriads of workmen. the romans not only succeeded in raising a considerable navy, but they proved themselves ingenious in the contrivance of novelties in their war-galleys. they erected towers on the decks, from the top of which their warriors fought as from the walls of a fortress. they also placed small cages or baskets on the top of their masts, in which a few men were placed to throw javelins down on the decks of the enemy; a practice which is still carried out in principle at the present day, men being placed in the "tops" of the masts of our men-of-war, whence they fire down on the enemy. it was a bullet from the "top" of one of the masts of the enemy that laid low our greatest naval hero, lord nelson. from this time the romans maintained a powerful navy. they crippled the maritime power of their african foes, and built a number of ships with six and even ten ranks of oars. the romans became exceedingly fond of representations of sea-fights, and julius caesar dug a lake in the campus martius specially for these exhibitions. they were not by any means sham fights. the unfortunates who manned the ships on these occasions were captives or criminals, who fought as the gladiators did-- to the death--until one side was exterminated or spared by imperial clemency. in one of these battles no fewer than a hundred ships and nineteen thousand combatants were engaged! such were the people who invaded britain in the year b.c. under julius caesar, and such the vessels from which they landed upon our shores to give battle to the then savage natives of our country. it is a curious fact that the crusades of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were the chief cause of the advancement of navigation after the opening of the christian era. during the first five hundred years after the birth of our lord, nothing worthy of notice in the way of maritime enterprise or discovery occurred. but about this time an event took place which caused the foundation of one of the most remarkable maritime cities in the world. in the year italy was invaded by the barbarians. one tribe, the veneti, who dwelt upon the north-eastern shores of the adriatic, escaped the invaders by fleeing for shelter to the marshes and sandy islets at the head of the gulf, whither their enemies could not follow by land, owing to the swampy nature of the ground, nor by sea, on account of the shallowness of the waters. the veneti took to fishing, then to making salt, and finally to mercantile enterprises. they began to build, too, on those sandy isles, and soon their cities covered ninety islands, many of which were connected by bridges. and thus arose the far-famed city of the waters--"beautiful venice, the bride of the sea." soon the venetians, and their neighbours the genoese, monopolised the commerce of the mediterranean. the crusades now began, and for two centuries the christian warred against the turk in the name of him who, they seem to have forgotten, if indeed the mass of them ever knew, is styled the prince of peace. one of the results of these crusades was that the europeans engaged acquired a taste for eastern luxuries, and the fleets of venice and genoa, pisa and florence, ere long crowded the mediterranean, laden with jewels, silks, perfumes, spices, and such costly merchandise. the normans, the danes, and the dutch also began to take active part in the naval enterprise thus fostered, and the navy of france was created under the auspices of philip augustus. the result of all this was that there was a great moving, and, to some extent, commingling of the nations. the knowledge of arts and manufactures was interchanged, and of necessity the knowledge of various languages spread. the west began constantly to demand the products of the east, wealth began to increase, and the sum of human knowledge to extend. shortly after this era of opening commercial prosperity in the mediterranean, the hardy northmen performed deeds on the deep which outrival those of the great columbus himself, and were undertaken many centuries before his day. the angles, the saxons, and the northmen inhabited the borders of the baltic, the shores of the german ocean, and the coasts of norway. like the nations on the shores of the mediterranean, they too became famous navigators; but, unlike them, war and piracy were their chief objects of pursuit. commerce was secondary. in vessels resembling that of which the above is a representation, those nations went forth to plunder the dwellers in more favoured climes, and to establish the anglo-saxon dominion in england; and their celebrated king alfred became the founder of the naval power of britain, which was destined in future ages to rule the seas. it was the northmen who, in huge open boats, pushed off without chart or compass (for neither existed at that time) into the tempestuous northern seas, and, in the year , discovered the island of iceland; in , the coast of greenland; and, a few years later, those parts of the american coast now called long island, rhode island, massachusetts, nova scotia, and newfoundland. it is true they did not go forth with the scientific and commercial views of columbus; neither did they give to the civilised world the benefit of their knowledge of those lands. but although their purpose was simply selfish, we cannot withhold our admiration of the bold, daring spirit displayed by those early navigators, under circumstances of the greatest possible disadvantage-- with undecked or half-decked boats, meagre supplies, no scientific knowledge or appliances, and the stars their only guide over the trackless waste of waters. in the course of time, one or two adventurous travellers pushed into asia, and men began to ascertain that the world was not the insignificant disc, or cylinder, or ball they had deemed it. perhaps one of the chief among those adventurous travellers was marco polo, a venetian, who lived in the latter part of the thirteenth century. he made known the central and eastern portions of asia, japan, the islands of the indian archipelago, part of the continent of africa, and the island of madagascar, and is considered the founder of the modern geography of asia. the adventures of this wonderful man were truly surprising, and although he undoubtedly exaggerated to some extent in his account of what he had seen, his narrations are for the most part truthful. he and his companions were absent on their voyages and travels twenty-one years. marco polo died; but the knowledge of the east opened up by him, his adventures and his wealth, remained behind to stir up the energies of european nations. yet there is no saying how long the world would have groped on in this twilight of knowledge, and mariners would have continued to "hug the shore" as in days gone by, had not an event occurred which at once revolutionised the science of navigation, and formed a new era in the history of mankind. this was the invention of the mariner's compass. chapter five. the mariner's compass--portuguese discoveries. "what _is_ the compass?" every philosophical youth of inquiring disposition will naturally ask. we do not say that all youths will make this inquiry. many there are who will at once say, "oh, i know! it's a needle with a card on the top of it--sometimes a needle with a card under it--which always points to the north, and shows sailors how to steer their ships." very well explained indeed, my self-sufficient friend; but you have not answered the question. you have told us what a compass is like, and one of the uses to which it is applied; but you have not yet told what it _is_. a man who had never heard of a compass might exclaim, "what! a needle! is it a darning needle, or a knitting needle, or a drawing-through needle? and which end points to the north--the eye or the point? and if you lay it on the table the wrong end to the north, will it turn round of its own accord?" you laugh, perhaps, and explain; but it would have been better to have explained correctly at first. thus:-- the mariner's compass is a small, flat bar of magnetised steel, which, when balanced on a pivot, turns one of its ends persistently towards the north pole--the other, of course, towards the south pole; and it does this in consequence of its being magnetised. a card is fixed above, sometimes below, this bar of steel (which is called the needle), whereon are marked the cardinal points--north, south, east, and west--with their subdivisions or intermediate points, by means of which the true direction of any point can be ascertained. "aha!" you exclaim, "mr author, but you yourself have omitted part of the explanation. _why_ is it that the magnetising of the needle causes it to turn to the north?" i answer humbly, "i cannot tell;" but, further, i assert confidently, "neither can anybody else." the fact is known, and we see its result; but the reason why magnetised steel or iron should have this tendency, this polarity, is one of the mysteries which man has not yet been able to penetrate, and probably never will. having explained the nature of the compass, as far as explanation is possible, we present our reader with a picture of one. it will be seen that there are four large points--n, s, e, and w--the cardinal points above referred to, and that these are subdivided by twelve smaller points, with one little black triangular point between each, and a multitude of smaller points round the outer circle. to give these points their correct names is called "boxing the compass,"--a lesson which all seamen can trip off their tongues like a, b, c, and which most boys could learn in a few hours. for the sake of those who are anxious to acquire the knowledge, we give the following explanation: let us begin with north. the large point midway between n and e (to the right) is _north-east_. the corresponding point midway between n and w (to the left) is _north-west_. a glance will show that the corresponding points towards the south are respectively _south-east_ and _south-west_ (usually written s.e. and s.w., as the two former points are written n.e. and n.w.). now, to read off the compass with this amount of knowledge is very simple. thus: _north_, _north-east_, _east_, _south-east_, _south_, _south-west_, _west_, _north-west_, _north_. but be it observed that, in the language of the sea, the _th_ is thrown overboard, except when the words north and south occur alone. when conjoined with other points they are pronounced thus: nor'-east, sou'-east; and so on. to come now to the smaller subdivisions, it will suffice to take a quarter of the circle. the point midway between n.e. and n. is "nor'-nor'-east" (n.n.e.), and the corresponding one between n.e. and e. is "east nor'-east" (e.n.e.). these points are again subdivided by little black points which are thus named:--the first, next the n., is "north by east" (n. by e.); the corresponding one next the e. is "east by north" (e. by n.). the second _black_ point from n. is "nor'-east by north" (n.e. by n.), and the corresponding one--namely, the second black point from east--is "nor'-east by east" (n.e. by e.). thus, in reading off the compass, we say--beginning at north and proceeding to east-- north: north by east; nor'-nor'-east; nor'-east by north; nor'-east; nor'-east by east; east nor'-east; east by north; east;--and so on with the other quarters of the circle. so much for "boxing the compass." the manner in which it is used on board ship, and the various instruments employed in connection with it in the working of a vessel at sea, will be explained shortly; but first let us glance at the history of the compass. it is a matter of great uncertainty when, where, and by whom the mariner's compass was invented. flavio gioia, a neapolitan captain or pilot, who lived about the beginning of the fourteenth century, was generally recognised throughout europe as the inventor of this useful instrument; but time and research have thrown new light on this subject. probably the neapolitan pilot was the first who brought the compass into general notice in europe; but long before (the year in which it was said to have been invented) the use of the magnetic needle was known to the chinese. _loadstone_, that mineral which has the mysterious power of attracting iron, and also of imparting to iron its own attractive power, was known to the chinese before the year , in which year a famous chinese dictionary was completed, wherein the word _magnet_ is defined as "the name of a stone which gives direction to a needle." this proves not only that they knew the attractive properties of the loadstone, and its power of imparting these properties to metal, but also that they were aware of the polarity of a magnetised needle. another chinese dictionary, published between the third and fourth centuries, speaks of ships being guided in their course to the south by means of the magnet; and in a medical work published in china in , mention is made of the _variation_ of the needle, showing that the chinese had not only used the needle as a guide at sea, but had observed this one of its well-known peculiarities--namely, the tendency of the needle to point in a _very slight degree_ away from the true north. in the thirteenth century, too, we find mention made of the needle by a poet and by two other writers; so that whatever flavio gioia may have done (and it is probable he did much) in the way of pushing the compass into notice in europe, he cannot be said to be the inventor of it. that honour doubtless belongs to the chinese. be this as it may, the compass was invented; and in the fourteenth century it began that revolution in maritime affairs to which we have alluded. the first compasses were curiously formed. the chinese used a magnetised needle, which they placed in a bit of rush or pith, which was floated in a basin of water, and thus allowed to move freely and turn towards the poles. they also made needles in the form of iron fish. an arabian author of the thirteenth century thus writes:--"i heard it said that the captains in the indian seas substitute for the needle and reed a hollow iron fish magnetised, so that, when placed in the water, it points to the north with its head and to the south with its tail. the reason that the iron fish does not sink, is that metallic bodies, even the heaviest, float when hollow and when they displace a quantity of water greater than their own weight." the use of the compass at sea is so simple, that, after what has been said, it scarcely requires explanation. when a ship sets sail for any port, she knows, first of all, the position of the port from which she sets sail, as well as that to which she is bound. a straight line drawn from the one to the other is her true course, supposing that there is deep, unobstructed water all the way; and if the compass be placed upon that line, the point of the compass through which it passes is the point by which she ought to steer. suppose that her course ran through the east point of the compass: the ship's head would at once be turned in that direction, and she would continue her voyage with the needle of the compass pointing straight _across_ the deck, and the east and west points straight _along_ it. but various causes arise in the actual practice of navigation to prevent a ship keeping her true course. winds may be contrary, and currents may drive her either to the one side or the other of it; while land-- promontories, islands, and shallows--compel her to deviate from the direct line. a vessel also makes what is called "leeway;" which means that, when the wind blows on her side, she not only advances forward, but also slides through the water sidewise. thus, in the course of a day, she may get a considerable distance off her true course--in sea parlance, "make a good deal of leeway." to perform the voyage correctly and safely in the face of these obstacles and hindrances is the aim and end of navigation; and the manner of proceeding is as follows:-- the hour is carefully noted on setting sail, and from that moment, night and day, to the end of the voyage, certain observations are made and entered in the ship's journal, called the log. every hour the rate at which the ship is going is ascertained and carefully noted. the point of the compass towards which the ship is to be steered is given by the captain or officer in command to the steersman, who stands at the wheel with a compass always before him in a box called the "_binnacle_." the course is never changed except by distinct orders from those in command; and when it is changed, the hour when the change is made and the new course to be steered are carefully noted down. thus, at the end of the day, or at any other time if desired, the position of the ship can be ascertained by her course being drawn upon a chart of the ocean over which she is sailing,--correct charts, or maps, being provided by the captain before starting. the estimate thus made is, however, not absolutely correct. it is called the "_dead-reckoning_," and is only an approximation to the truth, because allowance has to be made for leeway, which can only be guessed at. allowance has also to be made for variations in the rate of sailing in each hour, for the winds do not always blow with exactly the same force during any hour of the day. on the contrary, they may vary several times within an hour, both in force and in direction. those variations have to be watched and allowed for; but such allowance may be erroneous in a greater or less degree. currents, too, may have exerted an unseen influence on the ship, thus rendering the calculation still less correct. nevertheless, dead-reckoning is often the only guide the sailor has to depend upon for days at a time, when storms and cloudy skies prevent him from ascertaining his true position by other means, of which we shall speak presently. of course, in the early days of navigation there were no charts of the ocean. the navigator knew not whither he was hurrying over the wild waste of waters; but by observing the relative position of some of the fixed stars to his course while sailing out to sea, he could form a rough idea of the proper course to steer in order to return to the port whence he had started. the compass, then, shows the sailor the course he has been going, and the _log_ (of which more presently) enables him to ascertain the rate at which he has proceeded; while his chronometers, or time-keepers, tell him the _time_ during which the course and rate of sailing have been kept up. and many a long cruise on the unknown deep has been successfully accomplished in days of old by bold seamen, with this method of dead-reckoning; and many a mariner at the present day depends almost entirely on it, while _all_ are, during thick, stormy weather, dependent on it for days and sometimes weeks together. the _log_, to which we have referred, is the instrument by which is determined the rate at which a ship is progressing. it is a very simple contrivance: a triangular piece of wood about the size of a large saucer, with a piece of stout cord fastened to each corner, the ends of the cords being tied together, so that when held up, the "log," as it is called, resembles one of a pair of scales. one of the cords, however, is only temporarily attached to its corner by means of a peg, which when violently pulled comes out. one edge of the triangle is loaded with lead. the whole machine is fastened to the "log-line,"--a stout cord many fathoms long, which is wound on a large reel. "heaving the log," as we have said, takes place every hour. one sailor stands by with a sand-glass which runs exactly half a minute. another holds the wooden reel; and a third heaves the log overboard, and "pays out" line as fast as he can make the reel spin. the instant it is thrown the first sailor turns the sand-glass. the log, being loaded on one side, floats perpendicularly in the water, remaining stationary of course; while the man who hove it watches sundry knots on the line as they pass over the stern of the ship, each knot representing a mile of rate of speed in the hour. as the last grain of sand drops to the bottom of the glass the first sailor gives a sharp signal, and the second clutches and checks the line, examines the knot nearest his hand, and thus knows at once how many knots or miles the ship is sailing at that time. the sudden stoppage of the line jerks the peg, before referred to, out of the log, thereby allowing the other two fixed cords to drag it flat and unresisting over the surface of the sea, when the line is reeled up and put by. the flight of another hour calls for a repetition of the heaving of the log. as scientific knowledge advanced, instruments of peculiar and more complicated form were devised to enable navigators to ascertain more correctly their position on the surface of the sea; but they did not, and never will, supersede the method by dead-reckoning--for this reason, that the latter can be practised at all times, while the former are useless unless the sun, moon, or stars be visible, which in some latitudes they are not for many days and weeks, when clouds and fogs shroud the bright sky from view. the _quadrant_ is the chief of those instruments. it is represented on next page. to give a succinct account of this would take up more space than we can spare. it may suffice the general reader to say that by observing the exact position of the sun at noon, or of the moon or a star, in relation to the horizon, the precise _latitude_ of a ship--that is, her distance north or south of the equator--is ascertained. the method of "taking an observation" is complicated, and difficult to explain and understand. we refer those who are curious on the point to treatises on navigation. _chronometers_ are exceedingly delicate and perfect time-keepers, or watches, which are very carefully set at the commencement of a voyage. thus the _time_ at the _meridian_ whence a vessel starts is kept up during the voyage. by means of an observation of the sun with the quadrant, or sextant (a somewhat similar instrument), the true time at any particular point in the voyage may be ascertained. a _difference_ is found to exist between the time at the spot where the observation is taken, and the time of the chronometer. a calculation founded on this difference gives the ship's _longitude_--that is, her distance east or west of the meridian that passes through greenwich. that meridian is an imaginary line drawn round the world longitudinally, and passing through the north and south poles, as the equator is a line passing round it latitudinally. when a ship's latitude and longitude have been ascertained, and a line drawn through the first parallel to the equator, and another line through the second parallel to the first meridian, the point where these two lines intersect is the _exact_ position of the ship upon the sea. the size and form of ships having gradually improved, the compass and other scientific appliances having been discovered, cannon also and gunpowder having been invented, seamen became more courageous and venturesome; and at last the portuguese nation began that career of maritime enterprise which won for it the admiration of the world. about the beginning of the fourteenth century ( ), the canary islands, lying off the west coast of africa, were re-discovered by the accident of a french ship being blown off the coast in a storm, and finding shelter amongst them. this group had been known to the ancients under the name of the fortunate islands, but had been forgotten for more than a thousand years. during the course of the century the spaniards plucked up courage to make discoveries and settlements upon them, although by so doing they were compelled to undergo that much-dreaded ordeal--sailing _out of sight_ of their once fondly "hugged" land! in the beginning of the next century arose a prince, don henry, son of john the first of portugal, whose anxiety to promote discovery, and to find a passage by sea round the coast of africa to india, induced him to send out many expeditions, all of which accomplished something, and many of which added very extensively to the geographical knowledge of the world at that time. navigators, sent out by him from time to time, discovered the madeira islands; sailed along the western coast of africa a considerable distance; ascertained the presence of gold-dust among the savages on the gulf of guinea; discovered the azores, besides numerous other islands and lands; crossed the equator, and approached to within about eighteen hundred miles of the south-most cape of africa. the discovery of gold-dust stirred up the energies of the portuguese in a remarkable degree, and caused them cheerfully to undertake ventures which, without that inducement, they would probably never have undertaken at all. moreover, they had now learned to quail less at the idea of losing sight of land; and towards the end of the fifteenth century ( ), bartholomew diaz, an officer of the household of john the second, achieved the grand object which had long been ardently desired by the portuguese--he doubled the great southern cape of africa, which king john named the "cape of good hope," although diaz had named it the "cape of tempests." the circumstance is thus alluded to by a poet of that period-- "at lisboa's court they told their dread escape, and from her raging tempests named the cape. `thou southmost point,' the joyful king exclaimed, `_cape of good hope_ be thou for ever named!'" chapter six. boats, model-boat making, etcetera. leaving the subject of ancient ships and navigation, we shall now turn our attention to the more recent doings of man on the ocean, and, before entering into the details of ships and ship-building, devote a little time and space to the consideration of boats. there are great varieties of boats--as regards shape, size, material, and use--so that it is not easy to decide on which we shall first fix our attention. there are large and small, long and short boats; flat, round, sharp, and bluff ones,--some clumsy, others elegant. certain boats are built for carrying cargo, others for purposes of war. some are meant for sailing, some for rowing; and while many kinds are devoted to business, others are intended solely for pleasure. before we refer to any of these, perhaps our young readers will not object to be told how to construct:-- a model boat. we need scarcely say that it is not expedient for a boy to attempt to build a model boat in the same manner as a regular boat-builder constructs one for actual service. it would be undertaking an unnecessary amount of labour to lay a keel and form ribs and nail on planks in the orthodox fashion, because, for all practical purposes, a boat cut out of a solid block of wood is quite as useful, and much more easily made. the first thing you have to do, my young boat-builder, then, is to go and visit a harbour or beach where varieties of boats are to be found, and, having settled in your mind which of them you intend to copy, make a careful drawing, in outline, of its form in four different positions. first, a side view, as in figure . then the stern, with the swelling sides of the boat visible, as in figure . the bow, as in figure ; and a bird's-eye view, as in figure . the last drawing can be made by mounting on some neighbouring eminence, such as a bank or a larger boat, or, if that is impossible, by getting upon the stern of the boat itself, and thus looking down on it. these four drawings will be of great service in enabling you to shape your model correctly; for as you proceed with the carving you can, by holding the model up in the same position with any of the drawings, ascertain whether you are progressing properly; and if you get the correct form of your boat in these four positions, you will be almost certain to make a good boat. if, on the other hand, you go to work without drawings, the probability is that your boat will be lopsided, which will prevent it from floating evenly; or crooked, which will tend to check its speed in sailing, besides being clumsy and not "ship-shape," as the sailors have it. figure will keep you right in regard to relative length and depth; figure in regard to shape of stern and bulge of the sides; figure secures correct form of the bow; and figure enables you to proportion the breadth to the length. the next thing to be done is to procure a block of fir-wood, with as few knots in it as possible, and straight in the grain. the size is a matter of choice--any size from a foot to eighteen inches will do very well for a model boat. before beginning to carve this, it should be planed quite smooth and even on all sides, and the ends cut perfectly square, to permit of the requisite pencil-drawings being made on it. the tools required are a small tenon-saw, a chisel, two or three gouges of different sizes, a spoke-shave, and a file with one side flat and the other round. a rough rasp-file and a pair of compasses will also be found useful. all of these ought to be exceedingly sharp. the gouges and the spoke-shave will be found the most useful of these implements. begin by drawing a straight line with pencil down the exact centre of what will be the deck; continue it down the part that will be the stern; then carry it along the bottom of the block, where the keel will be, and up the front part, or bow. if this line has been correctly drawn, the end of it will exactly meet the place where you began to draw it. on the correctness of this line much will depend; therefore it is necessary to be careful and precise in finding out the centre of each surface of the block with the compasses. next, draw a line on each side of this centre line (as in the accompanying diagram), which will give the thickness of the keel and stern-post. then on the upper surface of the block draw the form of the boat to correspond with the bird's-eye view (figure , on page ) already referred to. then draw _one-half_ of the stern on a piece of thin card-board, and when satisfied that it is correct cut it out with scissors; apply it to the model, first on one side, and then on the other side of the stern-post. by thus using a pattern of only one-half of the stern, exact uniformity of the two sides is secured. treat the bow in the same way. of course the pattern of the bow will at first be drawn on the _flat_ surface of the block, and it will represent not the actual bow, but the thickest part of the hull, as seen in the position of figure , on page . after this, turn the side of the block, and draw the form represented in figure , page , thereon, and mark _on the keel_ the point where the stem and keel join, and also where the stern and keel join. this is necessary, because in carving the sides of the boat these lines will be among the first to be cut away. the next proceeding is to cut away at the sides and bottom of the block until, looking at it in the proper positions, the bow resembles figure , and the stern figure , above referred to. this will be done chiefly with the gouge, the chisel and spoke-shave being reserved for finishing. then saw off the parts of the bow and stern that will give the requisite slope to these parts, being guided by the marks made on the keel. in cutting away the upper parts of the bow and stern, be guided by the curved lines on the deck; and in forming the lower parts of the same portions, keep your eye on your drawing, which is represented by figure . it is advisable to finish one side of the boat first, so that, by measurement and comparison, the other side may be made exactly similar. those who wish to be very particular on this point may secure almost exact uniformity of the two sides by cutting out several moulds (three will be sufficient) in card-board. these moulds must be cut so as to fit three marked points on the _finished_ side, as represented by three dotted lines on figure ; and then the unfinished side must be cut so as to fit the moulds at the corresponding points. if the two sides are quite equal at these three points, it is almost impossible to go far wrong in cutting away the wood between them--the eye will be a sufficient guide for the rest. the accompanying diagram shows the three moulds referred to, one of them being _nearly_ applied to the finished part of the hull to which it belongs. thus--(a) represents the unfinished side of the boat; (b) the finished side; (c) is the mould or card cut to correspond with the widest part of the finished side, near the centre of the boat; (d) is the mould for the part near the bow; (e) for that near the stern. these drawings are roughly given, to indicate the plan on which you should proceed. the exact forms will depend on your own taste or fancy, as formed by the variously-shaped boats you have studied. and it may be remarked here, that all we have said in regard to the cutting out of model boats applies equally to model ships. the outside of your boat having been finished, the bow having been fashioned somewhat like that represented in the accompanying cut, and the stern having been shaped like that shown in the illustration given below, the next thing to be done is to hollow out the hull. care must be taken in doing this not to cut away too much wood from one part, or to leave too much at another; a little more than half an inch of thickness may be left everywhere. next, fix in the thwarts, or seats, as in the foregoing cut, attach a leaden keel, and the boat is completed. the keel may be formed by running melted lead into a groove cut in a piece of wood, or, better still, into a groove made in nearly dry clay. by driving four or five nails (well greased) into the groove before pouring in the melted lead, holes may be formed in the keel by simply withdrawing the nails after it is cold. a mast and sail, however, are still wanted. the best kind of sail is the lug, which is an elongated square sail--shown in the accompanying illustration. most of our fishing-boats are provided with lug-sails, and on this account are styled luggers. these boats are of all sizes, some of them being fifty tons burden, and carrying crews of seven or ten men each. a picture of a lugger is given on the next page. great numbers of fishing-boats may be seen at great yarmouth, and all along the coasts of norfolk and suffolk. they are employed in the herring-fishery, and use nets, which are let down in deep water, corks floating the upper edges of the nets, and the lower edges being sunk by leads, so that they remain in the water perpendicularly like walls, and intercept the shoals of herring when they chance to pass. thousands of these glittering silvery fish get entangled in the meshes during night. then the nets are drawn up, and the fish taken out and thrown into a "well," whence they are removed as quickly as possible, and salted and packed in lockers; while the nets are let down again into the sea. these boats remain out usually a week at a time. most of them return to port on saturday, in order to spend sunday as a day of rest. some, however--regardless of the fact that he who gives them the fish with such liberal hand, also gave them the command, "remember the sabbath day"--continue to prosecute the fishing on that day. but many a good man among the fishermen has borne testimony to the fact that these do not gain additional wealth by their act of disobedience; while they lose in the matter of nets (which suffer from want of frequent drying) and in the matter of health (which cannot be maintained so well without a weekly day of rest), while there can be no doubt that they lose the inestimable blessing of a good conscience. so true is it that godliness is profitable for the life which now is as well as for that which is to come. a model boat should be rigged with only one mast and lug-sail, or with two masts and sails at the most. three are unnecessary and cumbrous. each sail should be fixed to a yard, which should be hoisted or hauled down by means of a block or pulley fastened near the top of the mast. the positions of these yards and the form of the sails may be more easily understood by a glance at our woodcut than by reading many pages of description. sprit-sails are sometimes used in boats. these are fore-and-aft sails, which are kept distended by a sprit instead of a yard. the sprit is a long pole, one end of which is fixed to the lowest _innermost_ corner, near the mast, and the other end extending to the highest _outermost_ corner; thus it lies diagonally across the sail. it is convenient when a boat "tacks," or "goes about"--in other words, when it goes round frequently, and sails, now leaning on one side, and, at the next tack, on the other side. in this case the sprit requires little shifting or attention. but it is dangerous in squally weather, because, although the sheet or line which holds the lower and _outer_ end of a sail may be let go for the sake of safety, the upper part remains spread to the wind because of the sprit. the best rig of all for a model boat, and indeed for a pleasure-boat, is that which comprises a main-sail, in form like that of a sloop or a cutter, omitting the boom, or lower yard, and a triangular fore-sail extending from near the mast to the bow of the boat or to the end of the bowsprit--somewhat like a sloop's jib. both of the sails referred to may be seen at the part of this book which treats of sloops and cutters; and they are the same in form, with but slight modification, when applied to boats. racing-boats are long, low, narrow, and light. some are so narrow as to require iron rowlocks extending a considerable distance beyond the sides of the boat for the oars to rest in. many of these light craft may be seen on the thames and clyde, and other rivers throughout the kingdom. the larger sort do not require what we may call the outrigger rowlocks. the "rob roy" canoe has, of late years, come much into fashion as a racing and pleasure boat. whatever the advantages of this craft may be, it has this disadvantage, that it can hold only one person; so that it may be styled an unsocial craft, the company of one or more friends being impossible, unless, indeed, one or more canoes travel in company. this species of canoe became celebrated some years ago, in consequence of an interesting and adventurous voyage of a thousand miles through germany, switzerland, and france, and, subsequently, through part of norway and sweden, made by mr macgregor in a craft of this kind, to which he gave the name of "rob roy." since the craft became popular, numerous and important improvements have been made in the construction of its hull and several parts, but its distinctive features remain unaltered. the "rob roy" canoe is, in fact, almost identical with the eskimo kayak, except in regard to the material of which it is made--the former being composed wholly of wood, the latter of a framework of wood covered with skin. there is the same long, low, fish-like form, the same deck, almost on a level with the water, the same hole in the centre for the admission of the man, the same apron to keep out water, and the same long, double-bladed paddle, which is dipped on each side alternately. the "rob roy" has, however, the addition of a small mast, a lug-sail, and a jib. it has also a back-board, to support the back of the canoeman; the paddle, too, is somewhat shorter than that of the eskimo canoe; and the whole affair is smarter, and more in accordance with the tastes and habits of the civilised men who use it. in his various voyages, which we might almost style journeys, the originator of the "rob roy" canoe proved conclusively that there were few earthly objects which could form a barrier to his progress. when his canoe could not carry him, he carried it! waterfalls could not stop him, because he landed below them, and carried his canoe and small amount of baggage to the smooth water above the falls. in this he followed the example of the fur-traders and indians of north america, who travel over any number of miles of wilderness in this manner. shallows could not stop him, because his little bark drew only a few inches of water. turbulent water could not swamp him, because the waves washed harmlessly over his smooth deck, and circled innocently round his protective apron. even long stretches of dry land could not stop him, because barrows, or carts, or railways could transport his canoe hither and thither with perfect ease to any distance; so that when the waters of one river failed him, those of the next nearest were easily made available. in conclusion, it may be said that the "rob roy" canoe is a most useful and pleasant craft for boys and young men, especially at those watering-places which have no harbour or pier, and where, in consequence of the flatness of the beach, boats cannot easily be used. it would be an almost endless as well as unprofitable task to go over the names and characteristics of all our various kinds of boats in detail. of heavy-sterned and clumsy river craft, we have an innumerable fleet. there are also _torbay trawlers_, which are cutters of from twenty to fifty tons; and the herring-boats of scotland; and cobbles, which are broad, bluff, little boats; and barges, which are broad, bluff, large ones; and skiffs, and scows, and many others. in foreign lands many curious boats are to be met with. the most graceful of them, perhaps, are those which carry lateen sails--enormous triangular sails, of which kind each boat usually carries only one. _india-rubber boats_ there are, which can be inflated with a pair of bellows, and, when full, can support half-a-dozen men or more, while, when empty, they can be rolled up and carried on the back of one man, or in a barrow. one boat of this kind we once saw and paddled in. it was made in the form of a cloak, and could be carried quite easily on one's shoulders. when inflated, it formed a sort of oval canoe, which was quite capable of supporting one person. we speak from experience, having tried it some years ago on the serpentine, and found it to be extremely buoyant, but a little given to spin round at each stroke of the paddle, owing to its circular shape and want of cut-water or keel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ of all the boats that swim, the lifeboat is certainly one of the most interesting; perhaps it is not too much to add that it is also one of the most useful. but this boat deserves a chapter to itself. chapter seven. lifeboats and lightships. when our noble lifeboat institution was in its infancy, a deed was performed by a young woman which at once illustrates the extreme danger to which those who attempt to rescue the shipwrecked must expose themselves, and the great need there was, thirty years ago, for some better provision than existed at that time for the defence of our extensive sea-board against the dire consequences of storm and wreck. it is not, we think, inappropriate to begin our chapter on lifeboats with a brief account of the heroic deed of:-- grace darling. there are not many women who, like joan of arc, put forth their hands to the work peculiarly belonging to the male sex, and achieve for themselves undying fame. and among these there are very few indeed who, in thus quitting their natural sphere and assuming masculine duties, retain their feminine modesty and gentleness. such a one, however, was grace darling. she did not, indeed, altogether quit her station and follow a course peculiar to the male sex; but she did once seize the oar and launch fearlessly upon the raging sea, and perform a deed which strong and daring men might have been proud of-- which drew forth the wondering admiration of her country, and has rendered her name indissolubly connected with the annals of heroic daring in the saving of human life from vessels wrecked upon our rock-bound shores. grace darling was born in november , at bamborough, on the northumberland coast. her father was keeper of the lighthouse on the longstone, one of the farne islands lying off that coast; and here, on a mere bit of rock surrounded by the ocean, and often by the howling tempests and the foaming breakers of that dangerous spot, our heroine spent the greater part of her life, cut off almost totally from the joys and pursuits of the busy world. she and her mother managed the domestic economy of the lighthouse on the little islet, while her father trimmed the lantern that sent a blaze of friendly light to warn mariners off that dangerous coast. in personal appearance grace darling is described as having been fair and comely, with a gentle, modest expression of countenance; about the middle size; and with nothing in the least degree masculine about her. she had reached her twenty-second year when the wreck took place in connection with which her name has become famous. the farne islands are peculiarly dangerous. the sea rushes with tremendous force between the smaller islands, and, despite the warning light, wrecks occasionally take place among them. in days of old, when men had neither heart nor head to erect lighthouses for the protection of their fellows, many a noble ship must have been dashed to pieces there, and many an awful shriek must have mingled with the hoarse roar of the surf round these rent and weatherworn rocks. a gentleman who visited the longstone rock in , describes it thus:-- "it was, like the rest of these desolate isles, all of dark whinstone, cracked in every direction, and worn with the action of winds, waves, and tempests since the world began. over the greater part of it was not a blade of grass, nor a grain of earth; it was bare and iron-like stone, crusted, round all the coast as far as high-water mark, with limpet and still smaller shells. we ascended wrinkled hills of black stone, and descended into worn and dismal dells of the same; into some of which, where the tide got entrance, it came pouring and roaring in raging whiteness, and churning the loose fragments of whinstone into round pebbles, and piling them up in deep crevices with seaweeds, like great round ropes and heaps of fucus. over our heads screamed hundreds of hovering birds, the gull mingling its hideous laughter most wildly." one wild and stormy night in september --such a night as induces those on land to draw closer round the fire, and offer up, perchance, a silent prayer for those who are at sea--a steamer was battling, at disadvantage with the billows, off saint abb's head. she was the _forfarshire_, a steamer of three hundred tons, under command of mr john humble; and had started from hull for dundee with a valuable cargo, a crew of twenty-one men, and forty-one passengers. it was a fearful night. the storm raged furiously, and would have tried the qualities of even a stout vessel; but this one was in very bad repair, and her boilers were in such a state that the engines soon became entirely useless, and at last they ceased to work. we cannot conceive the danger of a steamer left thus comparatively helpless in a furious storm and dark night off a dangerous coast. in a short time the vessel became quite unmanageable, and drifted with the direction of the tide, no one knew whither. soon the terrible cry arose, "breakers to leeward," and immediately after the farne lights became visible. a despairing attempt was now made by the captain to run the ship between the islands and the mainland; but in this he failed, and about three o'clock she struck heavily on a rock bow foremost. the scene of consternation that followed is indescribable. immediately one of the boats was lowered, and with a freight of terror-stricken people pushed off, but not before one or two persons had fallen into the sea and perished in their vain attempts to get into it. this party in the boat, nine in number, survived the storm of that awful night, and were picked up the following morning by a montrose sloop. of those left in the ill-fated ship some remained in the after-part; a few stationed themselves near the bow, thinking it the safest spot. the captain stood helpless, his wife clinging to him, while several other females gave vent to their agony of despair in fearful cries. meanwhile the waves dashed the vessel again and again on the rock, and at last a larger billow than the rest lifted her up and let her fall down upon its sharp edge. the effect was tremendous and instantaneous; the vessel was literally broken in two pieces, and the after-part, with the greater number of the passengers in the cabin, was swept away through the fifa gut, a tremendous current which is considered dangerous even in good weather. among those who thus perished were the captain and his wife. the forepart of the steamer, with the few who had happily taken refuge upon it, remained fast on the rock. here eight or nine of the passengers and crew clung to the windlass, and a woman named sarah dawson, with her two little children, lay huddled together in a corner of the fore-cabin, exposed to the fury of winds and waves all the remainder of that dreadful night. for hours each returning wave carried a thrill of terror to their hearts; for the shattered wreck reeled before every shock, and it seemed as if it would certainly be swept away into the churning foam before daybreak. but daylight came at last, and the survivors on the wreck began to sweep the dim horizon with straining eyeballs as a faint hope at last began to arise in their bosoms. nor were these trembling hopes doomed to disappointment. at the eleventh hour god in his mercy sent deliverance. through the glimmering dawn and the driving spray the lighthouse-keeper's daughter from the lonely watch-tower descried the wreck, which was about a mile distant from the longstone. from the mainland, too, they were observed; and crowds of people lined the shore and gazed upon the distant speck, to which, by the aid of telescopes, the survivors were seen clinging with the tenacity of despair. but no boat could live in that raging sea, which still lashed madly against the riven rocks, although the violence of the storm had begun to abate. an offer of pounds by the steward of bamborough castle failed to tempt a crew of men to launch their boat. one daring heart and willing hand was there, however. grace darling, fired with an intense desire to save the perishing ones, urged her father to launch their little boat. at first he held back. there was no one at the lighthouse except himself, his wife, and his daughter. what could such a crew do in a little open boat in so wild a sea? he knew the extreme peril they should encounter better than his daughter, and very naturally hesitated to run so great a risk. for, besides the danger of swamping, and the comparatively weak arm of an inexperienced woman at the oar, the passage from the longstone to the wreck could only be accomplished with the ebb-tide; so that unless the exhausted survivors should prove to be able to lend their aid, they could not pull back again to the lighthouse. but the earnest importunities of the heroic girl were not to be resisted. her father at last consented, and the little boat pushed off with the man and the young woman for its crew. it may be imagined with what a thrill of joy and hope the people on the wreck beheld the boat dancing an the crested waves towards them; and how great must have been the surprise that mingled with their other feelings on observing that one of the rowers was a woman! they gained the rock in safety; but here their danger was increased ten-fold, and it was only by the exertion of great muscular power, coupled with resolute courage, that they prevented the boat being dashed to pieces against the rock. one by one the sufferers were got into the boat. sarah dawson was found lying in the fore-cabin with a spark of life still trembling in her bosom, and she still clasped her two little ones in her arms, but the spirits of both had fled to him who gave them. with great difficulty the boat was rowed back to the longstone, and the rescued crew landed in safety. here, owing to the violence of the sea, they were detained for nearly three days, along with a boat's crew which had put off to their relief from north sunderland; and it required some ingenuity to accommodate so large a party within the narrow limits of a lighthouse. grace gave up her bed to poor mrs dawson; most of the others rested as they best could upon the floor. the romantic circumstances of this rescue, the isolated position of the girl, her youth and modesty, and the self-devoting heroism displayed upon this occasion, thrilled through the length and breadth of the country like an electric shock, and the name of grace darling became for the time as well known as that of the greatest in the land, while the lonely lighthouse on the longstone became a point of attraction to thousands of warm admirers, among whom were many of the rich and the noble. letters and gifts flowed in upon grace darling continually. the public seemed unable to do enough to testify their regard. the duke of northumberland invited her over to alnwick castle, and presented her with a gold watch. a public subscription, to the amount of pounds, was raised for her. the humane society presented her with a handsome silver tea-pot and a vote of thanks for her courage and humanity. portraits of her were sold in the print-shops all over the land; and the enthusiasm, which at first was the natural impulse of admiration for one who had performed a noble and heroic deed, at last rose to a species of mania, in the heat of which not a few absurdities were perpetrated. among others, several of the proprietors of the metropolitan theatres offered her a large sum nightly on condition that she would appear on the stage, merely to sit in a boat during the performance of a piece illustrative of the incident of which she was the heroine! as might have been expected of one whose spirit was truly noble, she promptly declined all such offers. god seems to have put his arm tenderly round grace darling, and afforded her special strength to resist the severe temptations to which she was exposed. all proposals to better her condition were rejected, and she returned to her home on the island rock, where she remained with her father and mother till within a few months of her death. the fell destroyer, alas! claimed her while yet in the bloom of womanhood. she died of consumption on the th of october , leaving an example of self-devoting courage in the hour of danger, and self-denying heroism in the hour of temptation, that may well be admired and imitated by those whose duty it is to man the lifeboat and launch to the rescue on the stormy waves, in all time to come. lifeboats. a lifeboat--that is to say, the lifeboat of the present time--differs from all other boats in four particulars. it is _almost_ indestructible; it is insubmergible; it is self-righting; it is self-emptying. in other words, it can hardly be destroyed; it cannot be sunk; it rights itself if upset; it empties itself if filled. the first of these qualities is due to the unusual strength of the lifeboat, not only in reference to the excellence of the materials with which it is made, but also to the manner in which the planks are laid on. these cross one another in a diagonal manner, which cannot be easily described or explained to ordinary readers; but it is sufficient to say that the method has the effect of binding the entire boat together in a way that renders it much stronger than any other species of craft. the second quality--that of insubmergibility--is due to air-chambers fixed round the sides of the boat, under the seats, and at the bow and stern. these air-cases are sufficiently buoyant to float the boat even if she were filled to overflowing with water and crowded to her utmost capacity with human beings. in short, to use an expression which may appear paradoxical, she can carry more than she can hold--has floating power sufficient to support more than can be got into her. the third--her self-righting quality--is also due to air-chambers, in connection with a heavy keel. there are two large and prominent air-cases in the lifeboat--one in the bow, the other in the stern. these rise considerably above the gunwale, insomuch that when the boat is turned upside-down it rests upon them as upon two pivots. of course it cannot remain stationary on them for a moment, but must necessarily fall over to the one side or the other. this is the first motion in self-righting; then the heavy keel comes into play, and pulls the boat quite round. being full of water, the lifeboat would be comparatively useless but for its fourth quality--that of self-emptying. this is accomplished by means of six large holes which run through the floor and bottom of the boat. the floor referred to is air-tight, and is so placed that when fully manned and loaded with passengers it is a _very little above the level of the sea_. on this fact the acting of the principle depends. between the floor and the bottom of the boat--a space of upwards of a foot in depth--there is some light ballast of cork or of wood, and some parts of the space are left empty. the six holes above-mentioned are tubes of six inches in diameter, which extend from the floor through the bottom of the boat. now, it is one of nature's laws that water must find its level. for instance, take any boat and bore large holes in its bottom, and suppose it to be supported in its _ordinary_ floating position, so that it cannot sink even though water runs freely into it through the holes. then fill it suddenly quite full of water. of course the water inside will be considerably above the level of the water outside, but it will continue to run out at the holes until it is exactly on a level with the water outside. now, water poured into a lifeboat acts exactly in the same way; but when it has reached the level of the water outside _it has also reached the floor_, so that there is no more water to run out. such are the principal qualities of the splendid lifeboat now used on our coasts, and of which it may be said that it has reached a state of almost absolute perfection. the accompanying sections of the lifeboat exhibit the position of the air-cases and discharging tubes. in figure the _shaded_ parts give a side view of the air-cases. the line a a indicates the deck or floor, which lies a _little_ above the level of the water when the boat is loaded; b b is the water-tight space containing ballast; c c c are three of the six discharging holes or tubes; the dotted line d d shows the level of the sea. figure gives a bird's-eye view of the boat. the shaded parts indicate the air-cases; and the position of the six discharging tubes is more clearly shown than in figure . there are three covered openings in the floor, which permit of a free circulation of air when the boat is not in use, and in one of these is a small pump to clear the ballast-space of leakage. it will be observed that the boat draws little water; in fact, there is much more of her above than below water, and she is dependent for stability on her great breadth of beam and her heavy keel. these four qualities in the lifeboat are illustrated every year by many thrilling incidents of wreck and rescue. let us glance at a few of these. first, then, as to the _almost_ indestructible quality. take the following evidence:-- on a terrible night in the year a portuguese brig struck on the goodwin sands, not far from the lightship that marks the northern extremity of those fatal shoals. a shot was fired, and a rocket sent up from the lightship as a signal to the men on shore that a vessel had got upon the sands. no second signal was needed. anxious eyes had been on the watch that night. instantly the ramsgate men jumped into their lifeboat, which lay alongside the pier. it was deadly work that had to be done,--the gale was one of the fiercest of the season,--nevertheless the gallant men were so eager to get into the boat that it was overmanned, and the last two who jumped in were obliged to go ashore. a small but powerful steamer is kept to attend upon this boat. in a few minutes it took her in tow and made for the mouth of the harbour. they staggered out right in the teeth of tide and tempest, and ploughed their way through a heavy cross-sea that swept again and again over them, until they reached the edge of the goodwins. here the steamer cast off the boat, and waited for her, while she dashed into the surf and bore the brunt of the battle alone. with difficulty the brig was found in the darkness. the lifeboat cast anchor when within about forty fathoms, and veered down under her lee. at first they were in hopes of getting the vessel off, and hours were spent in vain endeavours to do this. but the storm increased in fury; the brig began to break up; she rolled from side to side, and the yards swung wildly in the air. a blow from one of these yards would have stove the boat in, so the portuguese crew--twelve men and a boy--were taken from the wreck, and the boatmen endeavoured to push off. all this time the boat had been floating in a basin worked in the sand by the motion of the wreck; but the tide had been falling, and when they tried to pull up to their anchor the boat struck heavily on the edge of this basin. the men worked to get off the shoals as only those can work whose lives depend on their efforts. they succeeded in getting afloat for a moment, but again struck and remained fast. meanwhile the brig was lifted by each wave and let fall with a thundering crash; her timbers began to snap like pipe-stems, and as she worked nearer and nearer, it became evident that destruction was not far off. the heavy seas caused by the increasing storm flew over the lifeboat, so that those in her could only hold on to the thwarts for their lives. at last the brig came so near that there was a stir among the men; they were preparing for the last struggle--some of them intending to leap into the rigging of the wreck and take their chance; but the coxswain shouted, "stick to the boat, boys! stick to the boat!" and the men obeyed. at that moment the boat lifted a little on the surf, and grounded again. new hope was infused by this. the men pulled at the hawser, and shoved might and main with the oars. they succeeded in getting out of immediate danger, but still could not pull up to the anchor in teeth of wind and tide. the coxswain then saw plainly that there was but one resource left--to cut the cable and drive right across the goodwin sands. but there was not yet sufficient water on the sands to float them over; so they held on, intending to ride at anchor until the tide, which had turned, should rise. very soon, however, the anchor began to drag. this compelled them to hoist sail, cut the cable sooner than they had intended, and attempt to beat off the sands. it was in vain. a moment more, and they struck with tremendous force. a breaker came rolling towards them, filled the boat, caught her up like a plaything on its crest, and, hurling her a few yards onwards, let her fall again with a shock that well-nigh tore every man out of her. each successive breaker treated her in this way. those who dwell by the sea-shore know well the familiar ripples that mark the sands when the tide is out. on the goodwins these ripples are gigantic steps, to be measured by feet, not by inches. from one to another of these banks this splendid boat was thrown. each roaring surf caught it by the bow or stern, and, whirling it right round, sent it crashing on the next ledge. the portuguese sailors appeared to give up all hope, and clung to the thwarts in silent despair; but the crew-- eighteen in number--did not lose heart altogether. they knew their boat well, had often gone out to battle in her, and hoped that they might yet be saved if she should only escape striking on the pieces of old wrecks with which the sands were strewn. thus, literally, yard by yard, with a succession of shocks that would have knocked any ordinary boat to pieces, did that lifeboat drive during _two_ hours over _two_ miles of the goodwin sands. at last they drove into deep water; the sails were set; and soon after, through god's mercy, they landed the rescued crew in safety in ramsgate harbour. what further evidence need we that the lifeboat is almost, if not altogether, indestructible? that the lifeboat is insubmergible has been proved to some extent by the foregoing incident. no better instance could be adduced to prove the buoyancy of the life boat than that of the tynemouth boat, named the constance, at the wreck of the _stanley_, in the year . in this case, while the boat was nearing the wreck, a billow broke over the bow of the _stanley_, and falling into the constance, absolutely overwhelmed her. referring to this, the coxswain of the lifeboat says: "the sea fell over the bows of the stanley and buried the lifeboat. every oar was broken at the gunwale of the boat, and the outer ends swept away. the men made a grasp for the spare oars; three were gone--two only remained." now, it is to be observed that the coxswain here speaks of the boat as being _buried, sunk_ by the waves, and _immediately_, as he says, "the men made a grasp for the spare oars." the sinking and leaping to the surface seem to have been the work almost of the same moment. and this is indeed the case; for when the force that sinks a lifeboat is removed, she rises that instant to the surface like a cork. in order to prove the value of the self-righting quality, and the superiority of those lifeboats which possess it over those which are destitute of it, we will briefly cite three cases--the last of which will also prove the value of the self-emptying quality. on the th of january , the point of ayr lifeboat, when under sail in a gale, upset at a distance from land. the accident was seen from the shore; but no help could be rendered, and the whole boat's crew-- thirteen in number--were drowned. now, this was deemed a good lifeboat, but it was not a self-righting one; and two of her crew were seen clinging to the keel for twenty minutes, by which time they became exhausted and were washed off. take another case of a non-self-righting boat. in february the southwold lifeboat, a large sailing-boat, and esteemed one of the finest in the kingdom, went out at the quarterly period of exercise in rough weather, and was running before a heavy sea with all sail set when she suddenly ran on the top of a wave, broached to, and upset. the crew in this case were fortunately near the land, had on their cork belts, and were dragged ashore, though with difficulty; but three amateurs, who were without belts, perished. these two cases occurred in the day-time. the third case happened at night--on a very dark stormy night in october . a wreck had been seen about three miles off dungeness, and the lifeboat at that place--a small self-righting and self-emptying one belonging to the royal national lifeboat institution--put off, with eight stout men of the coast-guard for a crew. on reaching the wreck, soon after midnight, it was found that the crew had deserted her; the lifeboat therefore returned towards the shore. on nearing it she got into a channel between two shoals, where she was caught up and struck by three heavy seas in succession. the coxswain lost command of the rudder; she was carried away before the sea, broached to, and upset, throwing her crew out of her. immediately she righted herself, cleared herself of water, and the anchor, having fallen out, brought her up. the crew, meanwhile, having on cork belts, floated, regained the boat, clambered into it by means of the life-lines hung round her sides, cut the cable, and returned to shore in safety. so much for the nature and capabilities of our lifeboats. we cannot afford space to say more in regard to them than that they are the means, under god, of saving many hundreds of human lives every year on the coasts of the united kingdom, besides a large amount of shipping and property, which, but for them, would inevitably be lost. the noble institution which manages them was founded in , and is supported entirely by voluntary contributions. along with the lifeboat we may appropriately describe here another species of vessel, which, if it does not directly rescue lives, at all events prevents disaster by giving timely warning of danger. we refer to:-- lightships. these floating beacons are anchored in the immediate vicinity of the numerous sand-banks which lie off the mouths of some of the principal ports of the kingdom, especially in england, and on other parts of our shores. there are numerous floating lights around our coasts, marking shoals on which lighthouses could not easily be erected. their importance to shipping is inconceivably great. the accompanying illustration shows a vessel passing the lightship at the nore. the impossibility of shipping getting safely into or out of the port of london without the guiding aid of lightships, as well as of buoys and beacons, may be made clear by a simple statement of the names of some of the obstructions which lie in the mouth of the thames. there are the _knock_ shoals, the east and west _barrows_, the _john_, the _sunk_, the _girdler_, and the _long_ sands, all lying like so many ground sharks waiting to arrest and swallow up passing vessels, which, unfortunately, they too often accomplish despite the numerous precautions taken to rob them of their prey. most people know the appearance of buoys, but we dare say few have seen a buoy or beacon resembling the one in our engraving, which is a sort of cage, fastened to a buoy, with a bell inside that rings by the action of the waves. it must have been something of this sort that was used at the famous "bell rock" in days of yore. lightships are usually clumsy-looking, red-painted vessels, having one strong mast amidships, with a ball at the top, about six feet in diameter, made of light laths. this ball is a very conspicuous object, and clearly indicates a lightship to the passing vessel during the day. at night a huge lantern traverses on, and is hoisted to nearly the top of, the same mast. it is lighted by a number of argand lamps with powerful reflectors. some lightships have two masts, and some three, with a ball and a lantern on each. some of these lanterns contain fixed, others revolving lights--these differences being for the purpose of indicating to seamen the particular light which they happen to be passing. thus, the goodwin sands, which are upwards of ten miles in length, are marked by three lightships. the one on the north has three masts and three _fixed_ lights. the one on the south has two masts and two _fixed_ lights. the one that lies between the two--off ramsgate, and named the gull--has one mast and one _revolving_ light. the crew of a lightship consists of about nine or ten men, each of whom does duty for two months on board, and one month on shore, taking their turn by rotation; so that the number of men always on board is about seven. while on shore, they attend to the buoys, anchors, chain-cables, and other stores of the trinity house, which has charge of all the lights, buoys, and beacons in england. they also assist in laying down new buoys and sinkers, and removing old ones, etcetera. lightships run considerable risk, for besides being exposed at all times to all the storms that rage on our shores, they are sometimes run into by ships in foggy weather. the _gull_ lightship, above referred to, occupies a peculiar and interesting position. being in the very centre of all the shipping which passes through the downs, she has frequent narrow escapes, and has several times been damaged by collisions. the marvel is that, considering her position, she does not oftener "come to grief." she also signals for the ramsgate lifeboat, by means of guns and rockets, when a ship is observed by her crew to have got upon the dreaded goodwin sands. we had the pleasure of spending a week on board of the _gull_ lightship not long ago, and one night witnessed a very stirring scene of calling out the lifeboat. we shall conclude this subject by quoting the following letter, which we wrote at the time, giving a detailed account of it. ramsgate, march , . the eye-witness of a battle from an unusual point of view may, without presumption, believe that he has something interesting to tell. i therefore send you an account of what i saw in the _gull_ lightship, off the goodwin sands, on the night of thursday last, when the _germania_, of bremen, was wrecked on the south-sand-head. having been an inhabitant of the _gull_ lightship for a week, and cut off from communication with the shore for several days, i have been unable to write sooner. our never-ending warfare with the storm is well known. here is one specimen of the manner in which it is carried on. a little before midnight on thursday last (the th), while i was rolling uneasily in my "bunk," contending with sleep and sea-sickness, and moralising on the madness of those who choose "the sea" for a profession, i was roused--and sickness instantly cured--by the watch on deck suddenly shouting down the hatchway to the mate, "_south-sand-head_ light is firing, sir, and sending up rockets." the mate sprang from his "bunk," and was on the cabin floor before the sentence was well finished. i followed suit, and pulled on coat, nether garments, and shoes, as if my life depended on my own speed. there was unusual need for clothing, for the night was bitterly cold. a coat of ice had formed even on the salt-water spray which had blown into the boats. on gaining the deck, we found the two men on duty actively at work, the one loading the lee gun, the other adjusting a rocket to its stick. a few hurried questions from the mate elicited all that it was needful to know. the flash of a gun from the _south-sand-head_ lightship, about six miles distant, had been seen, followed by a rocket, indicating that a vessel had got upon the fatal goodwins. while the men spoke, i saw the bright flash of another gun, but heard no report, owing to the gale carrying the sound to leeward. a rocket followed, and at the same moment we observed the light of the vessel in distress just on the southern tail of the sands. by this time our gun was charged, and the rocket in position. "look alive, jack! get the poker," cried the mate, as he primed the gun. jack dived down the companion hatch, and in another moment returned with a red-hot poker, which the mate had thrust into the cabin fire at the first alarm. jack applied it in quick succession to the gun and the rocket. a blinding flash and deafening crash were followed by the whiz of the rocket as it sprang with a magnificent curve far away into the surrounding darkness. this was our answer to the _south-sand-head_ light, which, having fired three guns and three rockets to attract our attention, now ceased firing. it was also our note of warning to the look-out on the pier of ramsgate harbour. "that's a beauty," said our mate, referring to the rocket; "get up another, jack; sponge her well out. jacobs, we'll give 'em another shot in a few minutes." loud and clear were both our signals; but four and a half miles of distance and a fresh gale neutralised their influence. the look-out did not see them. in less than five minutes the gun and rocket were fired again. still no answering signal came from ramsgate. "load the weather gun," said the mate. jacobs obeyed; and i sought shelter under the lee of the weather bulwarks, for the wind appeared to be composed of pen-knives and needles. our third gun thundered forth, and shook the lightship from stem to stern; but the rocket struck the rigging, and made a low, wavering flight. another was therefore sent up; but it had scarcely cut its bright line across the sky, when we observed the answering signal--a rocket from ramsgate pier. "that's all right now, sir; our work is done," said the mate, as he went below, and, divesting himself of his outer garments, quietly turned in; while the watch, having sponged out and re-covered the gun, resumed their active perambulation of the deck. i confess that i felt somewhat disappointed at this sudden termination of the noise and excitement. i was told that the ramsgate lifeboat could not well be out in less than an hour. it seemed to my excited spirit a terrible thing that human lives should be kept so long in jeopardy; and, of course, i began to think, "is it not possible to prevent this delay?" but excited spirits are not always the best judges of such matters, although they have an irresistible tendency to judge. there was nothing for it, however, but patience; so i turned in, "all standing," as sailors have it, with orders that i should be called when the lights of the tug should come in sight. it seemed but a few minutes after, when the voice of the watch was again heard shouting hastily, "lifeboat close alongside, sir. didn't see it till this moment. she carries no lights." i bounced out, and, minus coat, hat, and shoes, scrambled on deck, just in time to see the _broadstairs_ lifeboat rush past us before the gale. she was close under our stern, and rendered spectrally visible by the light of our lantern. "what are you firing for?" shouted the coxswain of the boat. "ship on the sands, bearing south," replied jack at the full pitch of his stentorian voice. the boat did not pause. it passed with a magnificent rush into darkness. the reply had been heard; and the lifeboat shot straight as an arrow to the rescue. we often hear and read of such scenes, but vision is necessary to enable one to realise the full import of all that goes on. a strange thrill ran through me as i saw the familiar blue and white boat leaping over the foaming billows. often had i seen it in model, and in quiescence in its boat-house-- ponderous and ungainly; but now i saw it, for the first time, endued with life. so, i fancy, warriors might speak of our heavy cavalry as we see them in barracks, and as _they_ saw them at alma. again all was silent and unexciting on board of the _gull_. i went shivering below, with exalted notions of the courage and endurance of lifeboat men. soon after, the watch once more shouted, "tug's in sight, sir;" and once again the mate and i went on deck. on this occasion, the tug _aid_ had made a mistake. some one on shore had reported that the guns and rockets had been seen flashing from the _gull_ and _north-sand-head_ lightships; whereas the report should have been, from the _gull_ and _south-sand-head_ vessels. the single word was all-important. it involved an unnecessary run of about twelve miles, and an hour and a half's loss of time. but we mention this merely as a fact, not as a complaint. accidents will happen. the ramsgate lifeboat service is admirably regulated, and for once that an error of this kind can be pointed out, we can point to dozens--ay, hundreds--of cases in which the steamer and lifeboat have gone straight as the crow flies to the rescue, and have done good service on occasions when all other lifeboats would have failed, so great is the value of steam in such matters. on this occasion, however, the tug appeared late on the scene, and hailed us. when the true state of the case was ascertained, the course was directed aright, and full steam let on. the ramsgate lifeboat, _bradford_, was in tow far astern. as she passed us the brief questions and answers were repeated for the benefit of the coxswain of the boat. i observed that every man in the boat lay flat on the thwarts except the coxswain. no wonder. it is not an easy matter to sit up in a gale of wind, with freezing spray, and sometimes green seas, sweeping over one. they were, doubtless, wide awake, and listening; but, as far as vision went, that boat was manned with ten oilskin coats and sou'-westers. a few seconds took them out of sight; and thus, as far as the _gull_ lightship was concerned, the drama ended. there was no possibility of our ascertaining more, at least during that night; for whatever might be the result of these efforts, the floating lights had no chance of hearing of them until the next visit of their tender. i was therefore obliged to turn in once more, at three a.m. next forenoon we saw the wreck, bottom up, high on the goodwin sands. on friday morning, the _alert_--tender to the lightships of this district, under command of the trinity superintendent, captain vaile-- came off to us, and we learned the name of the vessel, that she was a total wreck, and that the crew, seven men, had taken to their boat, and succeeded in reaching the _south-sand-head_ lightship, whence they were almost immediately after taken by the deal lifeboat, and safely landed at deal. it is to be carefully observed here that, although in this case much energy was expended unnecessarily, it does not follow that it is often so expended. often--too often--all the force of lifeboat service on this coast is insufficient to meet the demands on it. the crews of the various boats in the vicinity of the goodwin sands are frequently called out more than once in a night; and they are sometimes out all night, visiting various wrecks in succession. in all this work the value of the steam-tug is very conspicuous. for it can tow its boat again and again to windward, and renew the effort to save life in cases where, unaided, lifeboats would be compelled to give in. embarking in the _alert_, i sailed round the wreck at low water, and observed that the deal luggers were swarming round her like flies; the crews stripping her bottom of copper, and saving her stores, while, apparently, hundreds of men were busy upon her deck dismantling her shattered hull. this, after all, is but an insignificant episode of wreck on the goodwins. many wrecks there are every year much more worthy of record; but this is sufficient to give a general idea of the manner in which our great war with the storm is conducted--the promptitude with which relief is rendered, and the energy with which our brave seamen are ready to imperil their lives almost every night, all round the coast, and all the year round. chapter eight. docks and shipbuilding. having in the previous chapters treated of the subjects of ancient navigation and ships, and given some account of the boats of the present time, we now proceed to write about modern ships. in doing so, let us turn our attention first to:-- the dockyard. if we were a maker of riddles, we would ask our reader, "why is a ship like a human being?" and having added, "d'ye give it up?" would reply, "because it commences life in a cradle;" but not being a fabricator of riddles, we _don't_ ask our reader that question. we merely draw his attention to the fact that ships, like men, have not only an infancy, but also have cradles--of which more hereafter. let us enter one of those naval nurseries--the dockyard--where ships may be seen commencing their career. what a scene it is! what sawing and thumping, and filing, and grinding, and clinching, and hammering, without intermission, from morn till noon, and from noon till dewy eve! what a babel of sounds and chaos of indescribable material! that little boy whom you observe standing under the shadow of yonder hull--his hands in his pockets (of course), his mouth open (probably), and his eyes gazing up fixedly at the workmen, who cluster like bees on the ribs and timbers of yonder infant ship has stood there for more than an hour, and he will stand there, or thereabout, for many hours to come; for it happens to be a holiday with him, and he dotes on harbours and dockyards. his whole being is wrapped up in them. and this is natural enough. most boys delight to gaze on incomprehensible and stupendous works. let us--you and i, reader-- follow this urchin's example, keeping our mouths shut, however, save when we mean to speak, and our eyes open. there are ships here of every shape and size--from the little coasting-vessel to the great east indiaman, which, in its unfinished condition, looks like the skeleton of some dire megatherium of the antediluvian world. some of these infant ships have an enormous shed over them to protect them from the weather; others are destitute of such protection: for ships, like men, it would seem, are liable to vicissitudes of fortune. while the "great ones" of the dockyard world are comfortably housed, the small ones are not unfrequently exposed to the fitful buffeting of the rude elements even from their birth. there are ships here, too, in every state of progression. there, just beside you, is a "little one" that was born yesterday. the keel has just been laid on the blocks; and it will take many a long day of clinching and sawing and hammering ere that infant assumes the bristling appearance of an antediluvian skeleton. yonder is the hull of a ship almost completed. it is a gigantic infant, and has the aspect of a very thriving child. it evidently has a robust constitution and a sturdy frame. perhaps we may re-visit the dockyard to-morrow, and see this vessel launched. besides these two, there are ships with their ribs partially up, and ships with their planking partially on; and in a more distant part of the yard there are one or two old ships hauled up, high and dry, to have their bottoms repaired and their seams re-pitched, after many a rough and bravely-fought battle with the ocean waves. now that we have gazed our fill at the general aspect of the dockyard, let us descend a little more to particulars. we shall first tell of the:-- nature and use of docks. there are two kinds of docks--dry and wet. a dry-dock is usually constructed with gates, to admit or shut out the tide. when a ship arrives from a long voyage, and needs repair to the lower part of her hull, she must be got out of the water somehow or other. this object is frequently attained in regard to small vessels by simply running them gently on the flat sand or mud beach of a bay or harbour, so that, when the tide retires, they shall be left dry. but it would be dangerous as well as inconvenient to do this with large ships, therefore dry-docks have been constructed for this purpose. they are so built that when the tide is full the dry-docks are also full. when thus full of water, the gates of a dry-dock are opened, and the large ship is dragged slowly in, after which the gates are shut. the tide then retires, leaving it in this basin of water. the ship is then propped up on all sides with timbers, in such a way that she stands upright, "upon an even keel," and thus, the pressure on her hull being equally distributed, she is not damaged. then the water is let out by means of sluices in the gates, or it is pumped out, and the ship left dry. when the tide returns, the gates and sluices are all shut, and its entrance into the dock prevented, until such time as the ship is repaired, when water is let slowly in. as the vessel floats, the props and supports fall away, the gates of her hospital are opened, and off she goes again, in all the vigour of recruited health, to wing her way over the billows of the great deep. a wet-dock is somewhat similar to a dry-dock, the chief difference being that ships while in it are kept floating in water. docks are not only used, however, for repairing and building ships. they are also used for loading and unloading them; and as ships are entering and departing from them almost constantly, the busy, bustling, active scene they present is always agreeable. the principal docks in the united kingdom are as follows:-- docks on the thames--namely, east and west india docks, london docks, saint katherine's docks, commercial docks, victoria docks. southampton docks. liverpool and bristol docks. hull docks. glasgow docks. dundee docks. leith docks. birkenhead docks. so much for docks in passing. let us now turn our attention to the process of:-- building a ship. as we think it highly improbable that any of our readers intend to become either ship-carpenters or ship-architects, we will not worry them with technical explanations. to give an easily understood and general idea of the manner of building a ship is all we shall attempt. the names of those parts only that are frequently or occasionally referred to in general literature shall be given. the term _ship_ is employed in two significations. in familiar language it denotes any large or small vessel that navigates the ocean with sails. in nautical language it refers solely to a vessel having three masts, each consisting of a lower-mast, a top-mast, and a top-gallant-mast. at present we use the term _ship_ in the familiar sense. elaborate and complicated drawings having been prepared, the shipbuilder begins his work. the _keel_ is the first part of a ship that is laid. it is the beam which runs along the bottom of a boat or ship from one end to the other. in large ships the keel consists of several pieces joined together. its uses are, to cause the ship to preserve a direct course in its passage through the water; to check the leeway which every vessel has a tendency to make; and to moderate the rolling motion. the keel is also the ground-work, or foundation, on which the whole superstructure is reared, and is, therefore, immensely strong and solid. the best wood for keels is teak, as it is not liable to split. having laid the keel firmly on a bed of wooden blocks, in such a position that the ship when finished may slide into the water stern foremost, the shipbuilder proceeds next to erect the stem and stern posts. the _stem-post_ rises from the _front_ end of the keel, not quite perpendicularly from it, but sloping a little outwards. it is formed of one or more pieces of wood, according to the size of the ship; but no matter how many pieces may be used, it is always a uniform single beam in appearance. to this the ends of the planks of the ship are afterwards fastened. its outer edge is called the _cut-water_, and the part of the ship around it is named the _bow_. the _stern-post_ rises from the opposite end of the keel, and also slopes a little outwards. to it are fastened the ends of the planking and the framework of the stern part of the ship. to it also is attached that little but most important part of a vessel, the _rudder_. the rudder, or helm, is a small piece of timber extending along the back of the stern-post, and hung movably upon it by means of what may be called large iron hooks-and-eyes. by means of the rudder the mariner guides the ship in whatever direction he pleases. the contrast between the insignificant size of the rudder and its immense importance is very striking. its power over the ship is thus referred to in scripture,--"behold also the ships, which, though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth." the rudder is moved from side to side by a huge handle or lever on deck, called the _tiller_; but as in large ships the rudder is difficult to move by so simple a contrivance, several ropes or chains and pulleys are attached to it, and connected with the drum of a _wheel_, at which the steersman stands. in the largest ships two, and in rough weather four men are often stationed at the wheel. the _ribs_ of the ship next rise to view. these are curved wooden beams, which rise on each side of the keel, and are bolted firmly to it. they serve the same purpose to a ship that bones do to the human frame--they support and give strength to it as well as form. the _planks_ follow the ribs. these are broad, and vary in thickness from two to four inches. they form the outer skin of the ship, and are fastened to the ribs, keel, stem-post, and stern-post by means of innumerable pins of wood or iron, called _tree-nails_. the spaces between the planks are caulked--that is, _stuffed_ with oakum; which substance is simply the untwisted tow of old and tarry ropes. a figure-head of some ornamental kind having been placed on the top and front of the stem-post, just above the cutwater, and a flat, ornamental stern, with windows in it to light the cabin, the hull of our ship is complete. but the interior arrangements have yet to be described, although, of course, they have been progressing at the same time with the rest. the _beams_ of a ship are massive wooden timbers, which extend across from side to side in a series of tiers. they serve the purpose of binding the sides together, of preventing them from collapsing, and of supporting the decks, as well as of giving compactness and great strength to the whole structure. the _decks_ are simply plank floors nailed to the beams, and serve very much the same purposes as the floors of a house. they also help to strengthen the ship longitudinally. all ships have at least one complete deck; most have two, with a half-deck at the stern, called the _quarter-deck_, and another at the bow, called the _forecastle_. but the decks of large ships are still more numerous. those of a first-rate man-of-war are as follows--we begin with the lowest, which is considerably under the surface of the sea:-- the orlop-deck, the gun-deck, the middle-deck, the upper-deck, the quarter-deck, and the poop--the latter deck being the highest deck of all, a very small one, at the stern. thus a man-of-war is a floating house with six stories--the poop being the garret, and the orlop-deck the cellars. the upper decks are lighted by sky-lights; those farther down by port-holes (or gun-holes) and windows; the lowest of all by candles or lamps, daylight being for ever banished from those gloomy submarine regions! the _bulwarks_ rise above the upper-deck, all round the ship, and serve the purposes of protecting the upper-deck from the waves, and supporting the _belaying-pins_, to which the ropes are fastened. in ships of war the top of the bulwarks forms a sort of trough all round the ship, in which the hammocks (the swinging-beds) of the men are stowed away every morning. this trough is termed the _hammock-nettings_, and the hammocks are placed there to be well aired. in action the bulwarks serve to protect the crew from musketry. the _wheel_, which has been already referred to, stands usually at the stern of the ship, on the quarter-deck; but it is sometimes placed on an elevated platform amid-ships, so that the steersman may see more clearly where he is going. the _binnacle_ stands directly in front of the wheel. it is a species of box, firmly fixed to the deck, in which is placed the compass. it is completely covered in, having a glass window, through which the man at the wheel can observe the course he is steering. the _capstan_ stands on the main-deck, sometimes near the centre of the vessel, at other times near the bow or the stern. it is a massive block of timber moving on a pivot, which is turned round by wooden levers, called capstan bars, or _hand-spikes_, and is used for any purpose that requires great _tractive_ power--the drawing in of the cable, for instance, or warping the ship; which means that a rope is fixed on shore, or by an anchor to the bottom of the sea, and the other end of it is coiled round the capstan, so that when the capstan is forced round by the handspikes, the rope coils on to it, and the ship is slowly dragged forward. the _windlass_ is simply a horizontal, instead of a perpendicular capstan. its sole purpose is for heaving up the anchor, and it is placed close to the bow of the ship. the _galley_, or cooking-house, is usually near to the windlass, in the front part of the vessel. here the cook reigns supreme; but this nautical kitchen is wonderfully small. it is just big enough to hold the fireplace and "coppers," with a small shelf, on which the cook (always a man, and often a negro) performs the duties of his office. the various decks below are partitioned off by means of plank walls, which are called _bulk-heads_, into a variety of berths and apartments; and the greater part of the centre of the vessel (in merchantmen) is called the _hold_, and is reserved for cargo. the _hull_ of the ship being finished, now gets a coat of tar all over it, which preserves the wood from the action of the weather, and helps to render the seams water-tight. some vessels are sheathed from the keel to a short way above their water-line with thin sheets of copper, to preserve them more effectually from tear and wear, and especially to defend them against those barnacles and marine insects that would otherwise fasten to them. being now ready to be launched from her cradle into the sea--her future home--we will proceed in our next chapter to describe the process of launching. chapter nine. the launch, etcetera. ships begin life with a retrograde movement; they imitate the crabs: in other words, they are launched stern foremost. whether great or small, long or short, whether clothed in patrician copper or smeared with plebeian tar, they all start on their first voyage with their stern-posts acting the part of cut-water, and, also, without masts or sails. these necessary adjuncts, and a host of others, are added after they have been clasped to the bosom of their native sea. one notable exception there is to this rule, the launch of the far-famed _great eastern_, which monster of the deep was forced into her element _sidewise_, of which a full account will be found in another part of this volume. the _cradles_ on which ships are launched are wooden frameworks, so constructed as to slide down an inclined plane, called the _ways_, bearing their burdens along with them into the water. when a ship is ready for launching, the _shores_, or supports, that have kept her so long in position are knocked away one by one, until the entire weight of the ship rests on the cradle. the _ways_ are then well greased, and it only remains to knock away one or two remaining checks to allow the vessel to seek her future home by means of her own weight. but before this last act is done, a day must be fixed for the launch; friends of the owners must be invited to go on board during this her first voyage; a fair maiden must be asked to go through the ceremony of giving the ship her name; and paragraphs must go the round of the newspapers. as the hour draws near, crowds of human beings, young and old, male and female, must hurry to the spot to witness the great event, and hundreds of little boys must beg leave from school (if they can); in short, a great stir must be made, and a great day must dawn, before the last shores are knocked away, and the noble structure be permitted to rush down that inclined plane, and for the first time cleave the waves. and now, having shown how the launching of our ship is accomplished, let us turn to consider the next step towards completion; for there is yet much to be done ere she is able to brave the tempest. rigging a ship. although fitting-in the lower-masts of a ship cannot well be deemed a part of the rigging, we will nevertheless describe the operation here. as the lower-masts of a large ship are from five to six feet in circumference, it is manifest that some powerful mechanical contrivance is required to raise them over the bulwarks, and put them in an upright position, into their appointed places. such contrivances, in the form of enormous cranes, are fixed in some of the larger docks; but the most useful method is to have the masts put in by means of: _the shear hulk_. this is a strongly built hull of a ship, moored in a part of a river or harbour that will afford depth of water to float vessels of any size alongside. it has one stout mast, with two immense beams attached to it near the deck, and sloping outwards over the bulwarks in such a way that their ends overhang the deck of the vessel into which masts are to be placed. these sloping beams are prevented from falling overboard altogether, and their slope is regulated, by blocks and tackles from the mast of the hulk. by means of this contrivance, which is just a gigantic floating crane, the ponderous lower-masts of large ships are raised and lowered into their places. when these are fixed, the rigging of the ship commences. the method of putting it up cannot prove interesting to general readers; not even to boys, for when they take to rigging model ships, they do not require the mechanical contrivances that are necessary in rigging large vessels. but all readers of sea stories and nautical history will find it of the utmost advantage to their clear understanding of what they read, to have a general idea of the names and uses of the principal parts of a ship's rigging. we shall, therefore, devote a small space to the explanation of this subject. and, first, let us examine the _masts_. these vary in size, form, and number in different ships, but in all they serve the same purpose--to support the sails. lower masts of large vessels are never formed out of one tree. they are found to be stronger when built up of several pieces, which are fastened together by strong iron hoops. masts sometimes consist of three distinct parts. the _lower_-mast, _top_-mast, and _top-gallant_-mast. in most large ships there are three masts, each having three parts. the centre mast, being the largest, is the _main-mast_; the front one, which is next in size, is the _fore-mast_; and the one next the stern, the smallest, is called the _mizzen_. although we have spoken of _lower-masts_ for the sake of clearness, the name is never used. the name of the mast itself designates the lower part of it. to name the masts in order, we have the fore-mast. main-mast. mizzen-mast. fore-top-mast. main-top-mast. mizzen-top-mast. fore-topgallant-mast. main-topgallant-mast. mizzen-topgallant-mast. the parts of the different masts are connected and secured by means of _cross-trees_ and _caps_, which are named after the mast and part of the mast to which they belong. thus we have the _fore-top_, the _fore-top-mast cross-trees_, the _main-top_, and _main-top-mast cross-trees_, etcetera. observe, particularly, that the _fore-top_, _main-top_, and _mizzen-top_, are the platforms, or cross-trees, at the tops of the _lower_-masts, and not--as might well be supposed by landsmen--the extreme tops of these masts. the button-like objects on the summits of the masts are called the _trucks_; which, besides forming a sort of finish to them, are fitted with small _pulleys_, through which _signal-halyards_, or cords for hoisting the flags, are rove. in first-rate men-of-war the _tops_ are so large that a number of men can be stationed on them. besides their other purposes, they are very frequently used as a place of punishment for the midshipmen, or "middies" (the boy officers), who are often sent there to air themselves, and profit, if they can, by calm reflection in exalted solitude. _shrouds_ and _stays_ are the thick ropes that keep the masts firmly in position. they form part of what is termed the "standing gear" of a ship--in other words, the ropes that are fixtures--to distinguish them from the "running gear"--those movable ropes, by means of which the sails, boats, flags, etcetera, are hoisted. nearly all the ropes of a ship are named after the mast, or yard, or sail with which they are connected. thus we have the _main shrouds_, the _main-top-mast shrouds_, and the _main-topgallant shrouds_; the _main back-stay_, the _main-topgallant back-stay_, and so on--those of the other masts being similarly named, with the exception of the first word, which, of course, indicates the particular mast referred to. the shrouds rise from the _chains_, which are a series of blocks called "dead eyes," fixed to the sides of the ship. to these the shrouds are fixed, and also to the masts near the tops; they serve the purpose of preventing the masts from falling _sideways_. backstays prevent them from falling _forward_, and _forestays_ prevent them from falling _backward_, or "aft." besides this, shrouds have little cross ropes called _ratlines_ attached to them, by means of which rope-ladders the sailors ascend and descend the rigging to _furl_, that is, tie up, or _unfurl_, that is, to untie or shake out, the sails. our cut represents a sailor-boy ascending the mizzen-top-mast shrouds. he grasps the _shrouds_, and stands on the _ratlines_. _yards_ are the heavy wooden cross-poles or beams to which the sails are attached. _reef-points_ are the little ropes which may be observed hanging in successive rows on all sails, by means of which _parts_ of the sails are gathered in and tied round the yards, thus reducing their size in stormy weather. hence such nautical expressions as "taking in a reef," or a "double reef," and "close reefing,"--which last implies that a sail is to be reduced to its smallest possible dimensions. the only further reduction possible would be folding it up altogether, close to the yard, which would be called "furling" it, and which would render it altogether ineffective. in order to furl or reef sails, the men have to ascend the masts, and _lay-out_ upon the yards. it is very dangerous work in stormy weather. many a poor fellow, while reefing sails in a dark tempestuous night, has been blown from the yard into the sea, and never heard of more. all the yards of a ship, except the three largest, can be hoisted and lowered by means of _halyards_. the top-gallant masts can also be lowered, but the lower-masts, of course, are fixtures. the _bowsprit_ of a ship is a mast which projects out horizontally, or at an angle, from the bow. it is sometimes in two or three pieces, sometimes only in one. to it are attached the _jib-sail_ and the _flying-jib_, besides a variety of ropes and stays which are connected with and support the fore-mast. the _cat heads_ are two short beams which project from the bows on either side, and support the ship's anchors. _miscellaneous_.--the openings in the decks are called _hatches_; the stair-cases which descend to the cabins are called _companions_. the pulleys by which sails, etcetera, are hoisted, are named _blocks_. _braces_ are the ropes by which sails are fixed tightly in any position. hauling a rope _taut_, means hauling it tight. the _weather_ side of a ship means the side which happens to be presented to the wind; the _lee_ side, that which is away from the wind, and, therefore, sheltered. the _starboard_ side means the right side, the _larboard_ signifies the left; but as the two words resemble each other, the word _port_ is always used for larboard to prevent mistakes in shouting orders. _heaving the lead_ is the act of throwing a heavy leaden plummet, with a line attached, into the sea to ascertain its depth. it is thrown from the _chains_ as far as possible ahead of the ship, so that it may reach the bottom and be perpendicularly beneath the man who heaves it when the ship comes up to the spot where it entered the water. a peculiar and musical cry is given forth by the heaver of the lead each time he throws it. the forecastle is the habitat of the ordinary sailors, and is usually in nautical parlance termed the _foge-s'l_. most of what we have just described applies more or less to every ship; but this will be seen in future chapters. meanwhile, we would seriously recommend all those who have found this chapter a dry one to turn back to the heading entitled "rigging a ship," and from that point read it all over again with earnest attention. chapter ten. coasting vessels. the coasting-trade of the british islands is replete with danger, yet it is carried on with the utmost vigour; and there are always plenty of "hands," as seamen are called when spoken of in connection with ships, to man the vessels. the traffic in which they are engaged is the transporting of the goods peculiar to one part of our island, to another part where they are in demand. in describing these vessels, we shall begin with the smallest. sloops. like all other vessels, sloops vary in size, but none of them attain to great magnitude. as a class, they are the smallest decked vessels we have. from to tons burden is a very common size. a sloop of tons burden is what we ordinarily call a _little_ ship, and one of tons is by no means a big one. the hull of such a vessel being intended exclusively to carry cargo, very little space is allowed for the crew. the cabins of the smaller-sized sloops are seldom high enough to permit of an ordinary man standing erect. they are usually capable of affording accommodation to two in the cabin, and three or four in the forecastle,--and such accommodation is by no means ample. the class to which vessels belong is determined chiefly by the number of their masts and by the arrangement and the form of their sails. the distinctive peculiarity of the sloop is, that it has but one mast; and its rig is, nautically speaking, _fore-and-aft_--that is to say, the sails are spread with their surfaces parallel to the sides of the vessel, _not_ stretched upon yards _across_ the vessel. the term "fore-and-aft" is derived from the _forward_ part and the _after_ part of the ship. _fore-and-aft_ sails, then, are such as are spread upon yards which point fore and aft, not across the ship. we conceive this elaborate explanation to be necessary for some readers, and, therefore, don't apologise for making it. a ship whose sails are spread across the hull is said to be _square-rigged_. sometimes, however, a sloop carries one and even two square sails. the masts, yards, and sails of a sloop are as follows:--as has been already said, one of the distinctive peculiarities of a sloop is, that it has only _one_ mast. this mast is sometimes formed of one _stick_, sometimes of two; the second, or top-mast, being fastened to the top of the lower mast by _cross-trees_ and _cap_, in such a way that it may be hoisted or lowered at pleasure. a sloop has usually four sails,--a mainsail, fore-sail, gaff, and jib. the _main-sail_ is behind the lower mast. it reaches from within a few feet of the deck to the top of the lower mast, and spreads out upon two yards towards the stern or after part of the ship, over which it projects a few feet. the lower yard of the main-sail is called the boom, and the upper the main-sail yard. this is by far the largest sail in the sloop. above it is spread the _gaff_, which is comparatively a small sail, and is used when the wind is not very strong. the _fore-sail_ is a triangular sheet, which traverses on the _fore-stay_; that is, the strong rope which runs from the lower mast-head to the bow, or front part of the sloop. on the bowsprit is stretched the _jib_, another triangular sail, which reaches nearly to the top of the lower mast. the only sail that rises above the lower mast is the gaff. in stormy weather this sail is always taken down. if the wind increases to a gale, the jib is lowered and lashed to the bowsprit. should the gale increase, a reef is taken in the main-sail. one, two, three, and sometimes four reefs are taken in, according to the violence of the storm; when the last reef is taken in, the sloop is under _close-reefed_ main-sail. increased violence in the storm necessitates the taking in of the main-sail and _lying-to_ under the fore-sail, or a part of it. lying-to is putting the sloop's head to the wind, and placing the helm in such a position that it tends to turn the vessel in one direction, while the gale acting on the fore-sail tends to force it in another, and thus it remains stationary between the two opposing forces. many vessels thus _lie-to_, and ride out the severest storm. sometimes, however, a dreadful hurricane arises, and compels vessels to take in all sails and "_scud under_ _bare poles_"--that is, _drive before_ the wind without any sails at all; and it is at such seasons that man is forced to feel his utter helplessness, and his absolute dependence on the almighty. of course, there are slight variations in the rig of sloops--some have a _square-sail_, and some have a _flying-jib_; but these are not distinctive sails, and they are seldom used in small craft. doubtless, those of our readers who have dwelt on the sea-coast must have observed that boats and vessels frequently sail in precisely opposite directions, although acted upon by the same wind. this apparent paradox may be explained thus:-- suppose a vessel with the bow and stern sharp and precisely alike, so that it might sail backwards or forwards with equal facility. suppose, also, that it has two masts exactly the same in all respects--one near the bow, the other near the stern. suppose, further, a square sail stretched between the two masts quite flat; and remember that this would be a _fore-and-aft_ sail--namely, one extending along the length, not across the breadth of the vessel. well, now, were a breeze to blow straight against the side of such a vessel, it would either blow it over, flat on its side, or urge it slowly _sideways_ over the water, after the fashion of a crab. now remove one of these masts--say the stern one--and erect it close to the lee-side of the vessel (that is, away from the windward-side), still keeping the sail extended. the immediate effect would be that the sail would no longer present itself _flatly_ against the wind, but diagonally. the wind, therefore, after dashing against it would slide violently off in the direction of the mast that had been removed, that is, towards the stern. in doing so it would, of course, give the vessel a shove in the opposite direction; on the very same principle that a boy, when he jumps violently off a chair, not only sends his body in one direction, but sends the chair in the opposite direction. so, when the wind jumps off the sail towards the stern, it sends the ship in the opposite direction--namely, forward. reverse this; bring back the mast you removed to its old place in the centre of the deck, and shift the _front_ mast near to the lee-bulwarks. the wind will now slide off the sail towards the _bow_, and force our vessel in the opposite direction-- namely, backward; so that, with the same side wind, two ships may sail in exactly opposite directions. by means of the rudder, and placing the sails in various positions, so as to cause them to press against the masts in a particular manner, vessels can be made to sail not only with a side wind, but with a breeze blowing a good deal _against_ them--in nautical phraseology, they can be made to sail "close to the wind." in short, they can sail in every direction, except directly in the "teeth" of the wind. some ships sail closer to the wind than others; their powers in this respect depending very much on the cut of their sails and the form of their hulls. the _lighter_ is a small, rough, clumsy species of coasting-vessel, usually of the sloop rig. it is used for discharging cargoes of large vessels in harbours, and off coasts where the depth of water is not great. lighters are usually picturesque-looking craft with dingy sails, and they seldom carry top-sails of any kind. being seldom decked, they are more properly huge boats than little ships. but lighters are not classed according to their rig,--they may be of any rig, though that of the sloop is most commonly adopted. the cutter. this species of vessel is similar, in nearly all respects, to the sloop; the only difference being that it is better and more elegantly built. gentlemen's pleasure yachts are frequently cutters; but yachts may be of any form or rig--that is, they may belong to any _class_ of vessels without changing their name of _yacht_. cutter-yachts are much more elegantly moulded and rigged than the sloops that we have just described. they are _clipper-built_--that is, the hull is smoothly and sharply shaped; the cut-water, in particular, is like a knife, and the bow wedge-like. in short, although similar in general outline, a cutter-yacht bears the same relation to a trading-sloop that a racer does to a cart-horse. their sails, also, are larger in proportion, and they are fast-sailing vessels; but, on this very account, they are not such good _sea-boats_ as their clumsy brethren, whose bluff or rounded bows rise on the waves, while the sharp vessels cut through them, and often deluge the decks with spray. in our engraving we have several cutter-rigged yachts sailing with a light _side_ wind, with main-sail, gaff, fore-sail, and jib set. the schooner. this is the most elegant and, for small craft, the most manageable vessel that floats. its proportions are more agreeable to the eye than those of any other species of craft, and its rig is in favour with owners of yachts,--especially with those whose yachts are large. the schooner's distinctive peculiarities are, that it carries two masts, which usually "_rake aft_," or lean back a good deal; and its rig is chiefly fore-and-aft, like the sloop. of the two masts, the _after_ one is the _main-mast_. the other is termed the _fore-mast_. the sails of a schooner are--the _main-sail_ and the _gaff_, on the main-mast; the _fore-sail_, _fore-top-sail_, and _fore-top-gallant-sail_ (the two last being square sails), on the foremast. in front of the fore-mast are the _staysail_, the _jib_, and the _flying-jib_; these last are triangular sails. if a schooner were cut in two in the middle, cross-wise, the front portion would be in all respects a sloop with a square top-sail; the stern part would also be a sloop, minus the bowsprit and the triangular sails _before_ the mast. schooners sometimes carry a large square-sail, which is spread when the wind is "dead aft." they are much used in the coasting-trade; and one of their great advantages is that they can be worked with fewer "hands" than sloops of the same size. the brig. advancing step by step in our investigation of the peculiar rig and build of ships, we come to the _brig_. this species of craft is usually, but not necessarily, larger than those that have been described; it is generally built on a larger scale than the schooner, and often approaches in magnitude to the full-sized, three-masted ship. the distinctive features of the brig are, that it has _two_ masts, both of which are _square-rigged_. it is a particularly serviceable species of craft, and, when of large size, is much used in foreign trade. the advantage of the square-rig over the fore-and-aft rig is, that the sails, being smaller and more numerous, are more easily managed, and require fewer men or "hands" to work them. thus, as we increase the size of our vessel, the more necessity is there that it should be square-rigged. the huge main-sail of the sloop and schooner could not be applied to large vessels; so that when men came to construct ships of several hundred tons burden, they were compelled to increase the _number_ of masts and sails, and diminish the size of them; hence, probably, brigs were devised _after_ schooners. the main-mast of a brig is the aft one. the sails are named after the masts to which they are fastened,--namely, the _main-sail_; above that the _main-top-sail_; above that the _main-top-gallant-sail_; and sometimes a very small sail, named the _royal_, is spread above all. behind the main-sail there is a small fore-and-aft sail similar to the main-sail of a schooner, which is called the _boom-main-sail_. on the fore-mast is a similar sail, which is called the _try-sail_. attached to the respective yards of square-rigged ships there are smaller poles or arms, which can be pushed out at pleasure, and the yard lengthened, in order to receive an additional little sailor wing on each side. these wings are called _studding-sails_ or _stun-sails_, and are used only when the wind is fair and light. they are named after the sails to which they are fastened; thus there are the _main-stun-sails_, the _main-top-stun-sails_, and the _main-top-gallant-stun-sails_, etcetera. the fore-mast of a brig is smaller than the main-mast. it carries a _fore-sail_, _fore-top-sail_, _fore-top-gallant-sail_, and _fore-royal_. between it and the bowsprit are the _fore-stay-sail_, _jib_, and _flying-jib_. the three last sails are nearly similar in _all_ vessels. all the yards, etcetera, are hoisted and shifted, and held in their position, by a complicated arrangement of cordage, which in the mass is called the running-rigging, in contradistinction to the standing-rigging, which, as we have said, is _fixed_, and keeps the masts, etcetera, immovably in position. yet every rope, in what seems to a landsman's eye a bewildering mass of confusion, has its distinctive name and specific purpose. brigs and schooners, being light and handy craft, are generally used by pirates and smugglers in the prosecution of their lawless pursuits, and many a deed of bloodshed and horror has been done on board such craft by those miscreants. the brigantine. the rig of this vessel is a mixture of that of the sloop and brig. the brigantine is _square_-rigged on the fore-mast, and sloop-rigged on its after or mizzen mast. of its two masts, the front one is the larger, and, therefore, is the main-mast. in short, a brigantine is a mixed vessel, being a brig forward and a sloop aft. such are our coasting-vessels; but it must be borne in mind that ships of their _class_ are not confined to the coast. when built very large they are intended for the deep ocean trade, and many schooners approach in size to full-rigged "ships." chapter eleven. vessels of large size. we now come to speak of ships of large size, which spread an imposing cloud of canvas to the breeze, and set sail on voyages which sometimes involve the circumnavigation of the globe. the barque. this vessel is next in size larger than the brig. it does not follow, however, that its being larger constitutes it a barque. some brigs are larger than barques, but _generally_ the barque is the larger vessel. the difference between a barque and a brig is that the former has _three_ masts, the two front ones being square-rigged, and the mizzen being fore-and-aft rigged. the centre mast is the main one. the rigging of a barque's two front masts is almost exactly similar to the rigging of a brig, that of the mizzen is similar to a sloop. if you were to put a fore-and-aft rigged _mizzen-mast_ into the after part of a brig, that would convert it into a barque. the term _clipper_ simply denotes that peculiar sharpness of build and trimness of rig which insure the greatest amount of speed, and does not specify any particular class. there are clipper sloops, clipper yachts, clipper ships, etcetera. a clipper barque, therefore, is merely a fast-sailing barque. the peculiar characteristics of the clipper build are, knife-like sharpness of the cut-water and bow, and exceeding correctness of cut in the sails, so that these may be drawn as tight and _flat_ as possible. too much bulge in a sail is a disadvantage in the way of sailing. indeed, flatness is so important a desideratum, that experimentalists have more than once applied sails made of _thin planks of wood_ to their clippers; but we do not know that this has turned out to be much of an improvement. the masts of all clippers, except those of the sloop or cutter rig, generally rake aft a good deal--that is, they lean backwards; a position which is supposed to tend to increase speed. merchant vessels are seldom of the clipper build, because the sharpness of this peculiar formation diminishes the available space for cargo very much. the ship. the largest class of vessel that floats upon the sea is the _full-rigged ship_, the distinctive peculiarity of which is, that its three masts are _all_ square-rigged together, with the addition of one or two fore-and-aft sails. as the fore and main masts of a "ship" are exactly similar to those of a barque, which have been already described, we shall content ourself with remarking that the _mizzen-mast_ is similar in nearly all respects to the other two, except that it is smaller. the sails upon it are--the _spanker_ (a fore-and-aft sail projecting over the quarter-deck), the _mizzen-top-sail_ and _mizzen-top-gallant-sail_, both of which are square sails. above all these a "ship" sometimes puts up small square-sails called the _royals_; and, above these, _sky-sails_. chapter twelve. wooden and iron walls. the birth of the british navy may be said to have taken place in the reign of king alfred. that great and good king, whose wisdom and foresight were only equalled by his valour, had a fleet of upwards of one hundred ships. with these he fought the danes to the death, not always successfully, not always even holding his own; for the danes at this early period of their history were a hardy race of sea-warriors, not less skilful than courageous. but to king alfred, with his beaked, oared war-ships, is undoubtedly due the merit of having laid the foundation of england's maritime ascendency. england under the normans does not seem to have greatly desired to excel in maritime enterprise, but it was otherwise during the plantagenet period. henry the second possessed a most formidable fleet, numbering some five hundred vessels of war. during the reign of his successor a novel artifice in naval warfare was resorted to by the english which merits notice. the english admiral caused a number of barrels of unslaked lime to be placed in his ships. having brought his fleet to windward of the enemy--the french--he ordered water to be poured on the lime. this of course raised a great and dense smoke, which, being blown by the wind into the very faces of the french, prevented the latter from seeing on what quarter they were being attacked. a panic arose, and spread, among the french vessels, and the victory fell easily to the english. the navy of edward the third numbered eleven hundred ships when he undertook the invasion of france. but the great majority of these were not properly men-of-war--in fact, there were only five fully equipped warships; the rest were for the most part merchant vessels converted into fighting ships and transports for the time being. the navy of king philip of france, though numerically weaker, far surpassed that of the english king in point of equipment. of the four hundred ships of which it consisted, no fewer than one hundred had, been built purposely for war, according to the best principles of naval architecture then known. bows, catapults, javelins, and weapons of a like description were the engines of offence used on both sides, and with these much havoc was wrought at close quarters. the english were victorious, notwithstanding the more scientific equipment of their foes. the french ships were boarded, and the flower of king philip's naval force must that day have perished. henry the seventh did much for the improvement of the english navy. it was during his reign that the _great harry_ was built, which was really the first large ship built directly for the royal navy. hitherto the vessels employed by england for national defence or offence had been supplied by certain maritime towns; but the _great harry_ was the property of the people. she was built in , and had port-holes for cannon in the lower deck, being the first vessel thus constructed. the _great harry_ was subsequently far surpassed by another of king henry's ships, the _grace de dieu_, which was no less than one thousand tons burden, and carried seven hundred men and one hundred and twenty-two guns, (some writers mention only eighty guns) the largest of which were but eighteen-pounders. the _grace de dieu_ was a four-masted vessel, and was built in . an epoch in england's maritime history, which was in some respects the most brilliant and momentous, now falls to be mentioned; a period when england's name became a synonym on the seas for everything that was most intrepid and successful in maritime enterprise; an era of daring adventure and splendid achievement, which at length established england as the first naval power among the nations of europe. not without long and fierce struggle, however, was this supremacy won. the french, spanish, and dutch each and all in turn disputed england's claim to the sovereignty of the seas. it is unnecessary to repeat here the oft-told tale of the defeat of the spanish armada, nor yet the almost as familiar story of our frequent naval encounters with the dutch in the days of admiral blake and the great dutch admiral van tromp. long and desperate those conflicts were, and nothing but indomitable courage and stubborn perseverance could have secured the victory for the english ships, for in almost every instance our foes were numerically the stronger. in the thrice famous days of nelson, it was still our "wooden walls" which carried the flag of england on from triumph to triumph. at the battle of trafalgar the _victory_ and the french ship the _redoubtable_ were brought up close alongside of each other, and in this position poured volley after volley upon each other's bulwarks, until water had to be thrown over the ships' sides to prevent them igniting. the _victory_ was a grand ship in her time, yet she was not more than two thousand tons burden, and her guns were but one hundred and two in number. but at last the day arrived when it became manifest that the glory of our "wooden walls" had set. in the prime of his intellectual and physical strength, the emperor louis napoleon was a man of active and subtle brain, and it was to his ingenious invention that the first ironclad ship of war owed its birth. floating batteries protected with iron plates were first employed during the crimean war. it was becoming manifest that the great strides which were being made in the manufacture of cannon must necessitate an improved system of defensive armour for ships of war. no wooden vessel that could be constructed could be proof against the new guns that were now coming rapidly into use. the french, as has been just indicated, were the first in the field with the new style of war-ships. _la gloire_ was built, and was quickly followed by our own _warrior_. the frame of _la gloire_ was constructed of wood, but covered with an iron plating four and a half inches in thickness. the _warrior_ was built on an iron frame, and her armour-plating is of the same thickness as that of _la gloire_; the lining is of solid teak eighteen inches thick, which is again backed by an inner coating of iron. the length of the _warrior_ is three hundred and eighty feet, but only about two-thirds of this is iron-plated. at this time--the early days of ironclads--the heaviest shot that could be thrown by any gun was a sixty-eight pounder. guns of this calibre the _warrior_ and her class were proof against. but the guns increased rapidly in size and power, and the thickness of the armour with which the ships were protected had to be increased in proportion. the class of war-vessels which succeeded the _warrior_ were entirely cased with iron plates, whose thickness has from time to time been increased. since the first ironclad was built, then, a contest--for only such it can be called--has been going on between the cannon-maker and the ship-builder, the one striving to construct a gun which shall pierce the thickest armour which the ship can carry, the other adding inch upon inch to his armour plates, to the end that they may be shot-proof; and this contest may be said to be going on at this hour. will there ever be the same romance about the warships of the present day,--what those of the future will be like we do not care to speculate,--and the old "wooden walls" whose prowess on the high seas founded england's maritime glory? will a dibdin ever arise to sing a _devastation_ or a _glatton_? can a _devastation_ or a _glatton_ ever inspire poetic thoughts and images? one would say that the singer must be endowed in no ordinary degree with the sacred fire whom such a theme as a modern ironclad turret-ship should move to lyric utterance. it has been said that all the romance of the road died out with the old coaching days; and certainly a locomotive engine, with its long black train of practical-looking cars, makes hardly so picturesque a feature in the landscape as one of the old stage-coaches with its red-coated driver, horn-blowing guard, and team of mettled greys; but a railway train is an embodiment of poetry compared with a turret-ship. but if it be true that poetry and romance must more and more cease to be associated with our navy, we must just accept the fact, for nothing is more certain than that, whatever the warships of the future _may_ be, we can never again return to the days of the old wooden ships. several opposing difficulties have now to be met in the construction of ironclads. invulnerability as regards the enemy's guns, protection to the men on board, speed, and the quality of being easily managed at sea,--all these points have to be carefully considered; and the difficulty is that one quality wars against another. a ship might be built which was proof against any guns that could be devised, and then might be found utterly unmanageable and unsafe at sea. a balance of qualities has therefore to be struck, and this perfect equipoise has by no means been as yet attained. every year--we might say every month-- witnesses the birth of some new type of armour-plated war-ship, built in every case at an enormous cost. the new sea-monster looks formidable enough in all conscience; but the question that arises the instant she quits the dock is, is she sea-worthy? and with the fate of the _captain_ and the _vanguard_ in our memories, the question may well arise. the story of modern war-ships has, up to this, been one of mingled success and failure. does not the epigram on our war-ships--our "sub-marine fleet"--owe its point and sting, in a measure, to its truth? of the various types of modern war-vessels, the most formidable yet devised are undoubtedly the _steam-rams_ and _turret-ships_. the steam-ram is armed with a strong steel beak, with which it charges an enemy in much the same way as the war-galleys of ancient times charged a foe, or as a sword-fish attacks its adversary. the turret-ship carries one or more shot-proof circular turrets, in which one or more guns are worked by the crew, the guns being capable of being turned and pointed in any direction. both turret-ships and steam-rams are, of course, iron plated. vessels of this description were first employed by the americans in the great civil war. the careers of the _merrimac_ and _monitor_ may be said to have become a part of american national history. the _merrimac_ was the first iron-plated steam-ram. she was originally a wooden frigate; was cut down, coated with iron, and furnished with a ram. in her famous encounter with the _congress_ and the _cumberland_, two wooden frigates of the federals, she steamed alongside the former, delivered a raking fire, and then, turning upon the _cumberland_, attacked that vessel with her ram. of the _cumberland_ she made quick work; for having torn a gaping rent in her side, she poured a damaging fire into the gap, hanging on by the sharp iron beak with which steam-rams are furnished. then withdrawing to a short distance, she again charged her adversary, and delivered a second terrible fire, until the _cumberland_ finally sank. the merrimac then turned her attention to the _congress_, whose fate she sealed in about half an hour. the first shot caused fearful destruction, killing every man at one of the guns, blowing away the bulk-heads, strewing the deck with a carnage too horrible to dwell upon, and finally setting the ship on fire. the _congress_ at last struck her colours, but during the night she blew up. this formidable vessel had subsequently to haul down her colours before the _monitor_--in a figurative sense, that is, for she did not actually surrender, but retreated after a contest of some hours. in this notable struggle the _merrimac_ sustained much damage, without succeeding in inflicting on her enemy anything like the same amount of injury; in fact, the _monitor_ came out of the action scathless. the changes that are taking place in the construction of war-ships are so various and so rapid, that we cannot attempt to do more here than take note of a few of the principal; and even what are mentioned as novelties now, before these pages appear may have ceased to be novelties. iron is now employed in almost every part of a war-ship, the masts themselves being in many cases of iron--hollow tubes through which the running rigging may be let down when there is danger of its being damaged by the enemy's fire. the majority of modern ironclads are built in compartments, with this advantage that, if damage is sustained in one part of the vessel, and the water rush in through the gap made by shot or any other cause, the ship will still float until the water can be let out again. the american ironclad turret-ship _monitor_ has given her name to a whole class of vessels built within recent years for the english navy; but in many respects our vessels are superior to their american prototype. all these ships--which are characterised by low free-boards and absence of masts and sails--fight their guns from turrets. they are sometimes known as "coast-defence ships," from the circumstance that they were constructed mainly for home service. of these "english monitors," four--the _cyclops_, _gorgon_, _hecate_, and _hydra_--are built on identically similar principles. in appearance they may be best compared to a raft with a battery on top of it, from which fortress or battery rise various funnels and a flag-staff. the deck is but three feet and a half above the level of the sea. while the ships are in port the deck is roofed in with an awning and railed round; but both awning and railing are removed when the vessels put to sea. the battery or fortress is in the centre of the ship, and fills up about one-third of her length and three-fourths of her breadth. the surrounding deck is flush, its surface being broken only by the skylights, which are three in number. the skylights allow but a scant and dim light to penetrate to the officers' and seamen's quarters below; but even this is wanting in time of action, when a shot-proof shield takes the place of the glass windows. the deck of the dass of war-ships we are describing is composed of twin-layers of iron plating half an inch each in thickness, supported on iron beams, and of two layers of solid teak lining four inches thick. the sides of the ships are protected by iron plating of eight-inch thickness amidships, which is an inch more of iron than the armour possessed by the majority of our masted sea-going ironclads, many of which are twice or thrice the size of the _cyclops_ and her sister-ships. it will thus be seen that these turret-ships are practically stronger in defensive equipment than any other class of ironclad cruisers. the battery of these vessels is surrounded by a breastwork six feet in height, plated with nine-inch armour. entrance is gained to the turrets themselves from inside this breastwork. in the centre of the turret there are two cylinders, the one fitting over the other in a manner which keeps the whole steady even in rough weather. small steam-engines placed inside the breastwork serve to turn the turrets, which, however, can also be worked by manual labour should necessity demand it. the ports present a striking contrast to those in the old wooden ships, by reason of their greatly diminished size. they just admit of the muzzle of the gun peeping through, and no more, being oval in shape, and about three feet in diameter lengthways. there can be little doubt that these small ports are an advantage, since they must afford greater protection to the gunners during action. when it is desired to alter the direction of the guns, the change is not effected by moving them in the ports, but by revolving the turret itself. should it ever happen in action that the free movement of the turret should become impeded from some cause, then the only means of changing the direction of the guns would be to turn the whole ship. the turrets are armed with two twenty-five ton guns, carrying four hundred pound shot. the deck being flush, as has been mentioned, the guns can be fired straight ahead and astern, and command all sides. less than one minute is needed to revolve the whole turret. this class of ships is believed to be able to keep up a constant steady fire whether in chase or in retreat. abaft the funnel in these ships there is an upright oval tube rising some seventeen feet above the level of the main deck, plated with iron. the upper plate is pierced with several small horizontal slits, from which the tube has received the name of the "conning-house," for through these openings the captain can "con" or note whatever is going on outside, without himself being exposed to danger. this circular box just allows the captain to turn himself about in; and here must he stand in time of action, directing and governing the whole conduct of his ship by mechanical telegraphs. of the many curious and remarkable features in these ships, one of the most remarkable is the extensive use made of machinery for every purpose. engines revolve the turrets, raise the ashes from the engine-rooms, turn the capstans, work the rudders;--engines do everything. three monitors similar to those just described were built for the defence of several of our colonies. the colony of victoria, we believe, purchased their ironclad, the _cerberus_, from the home government; at any rate, the people maintain her at their own cost. before the _cerberus_ could make the voyage out to melbourne, her sides had to be built up with thin iron plating for nearly her whole length. in the same way the _cyclops_ and her companion-ships might be made fit to face any sea or weather. it may occur to the reader to ask, why not have sea-going masted vessels at once? to which it may be answered, first, that the masted ships must inevitably draw more water than those of which the _cyclops_ and _hecate_ are types. turret-ships like the _monarch_, or broadside-ships like the _hercules_ and _sultan_, draw about twenty-five feet of water; the smaller ships only sixteen, while at the same time they are more heavily armoured. thus the latter, if close pressed by an enemy's sea-going ironclads--the only class from which they have much to fear-- could take shelter up a river out of their reach. in action near the land these monitors, moreover, could be handled with greater ease. secondly, from their much smaller size, the coast-defence ships are built at a much less cost--an important consideration in days when a first-class ironclad costs about as much as a small fleet of bygone days. the vessels we have been describing are of rather more than two thousand tons burden, as compared with the five thousand tons of the larger sea-going ships; and, speaking roughly, the expense of construction is proportionate to the tonnage. the _glatton_ turret-ship has several characteristics in which it differs from the above class of monitors. it has but a single turret, and its guns throw six hundred pound shot, carrying three miles and a half. her water-draught is about six feet more than that of the _cyclops_ and _hecate_, and her armour-plates three inches thicker. though she carries fewer guns, the _glatton_ is a much more powerful vessel than the other monitors. (note: the above description of english monitors is adapted and abridged from an article in chambers's journal.) we shall now briefly describe the _devastation_, one of the largest and most powerful of all our ironclads. the _devastation_ in her after-part rises but four feet and a half above the water; but to meet bad weather she is furnished with an armour-plated half-raised forecastle, so that forward she is nine feet out of the water. the free-board amidships is still higher, being at this point level with the platform on which the two turrets are placed. in the centre of the ship rises a circular iron erection, on the top of which is the hurricane-deck. through this structure runs a passage, in which are situated the entrances to the hatchways and to the hurricane-deck overhead. from the hurricane-deck rise the ship's two funnels; and here also are the captain's fighting box, already alluded to in describing the coast-defence ships, the fire-proof shield for protecting the steering gear, and the boats. in a gale the hurricane-deck is the only safe place in ships of this kind--the only place where one would not get speedily washed overboard. as for the below part of the ship, it is there almost impossible to breathe, even when air has been pumped in from above, which is the only means of ventilating this portion of the vessel. the _devastation_ carries two guns in each of her turrets, placed side by side, each weighing thirty-five tons. the turrets, directly the guns have been fired, can be wheeled rapidly round, thus turning the exposed parts away from the enemy. ships such as the _devastation_, the _thunderer_, and the _fury_ do not, at first sight, strike one as particularly well adapted for rough weather, to put it in the mildest phrase. nevertheless, the _devastation_ has been fairly well tested in this way, having encountered some pretty rough weather, and, it is affirmed, behaved satisfactorily. the great danger about all ships of this class is that they may not rise to the seas, but that the waves, breaking over them, may press them down and founder them. the _thunderer_ has been known to have her forecastle, which is somewhat lower than that of the _devastation_, completely submerged, and this, too, when no very high sea was running. these ships are designed, not for home service and coast defence merely, but for general action in mid-ocean. to attempt to describe even a single specimen of each type of modern war-ships would to a certainty weary the reader, for to any but an expert there would inevitably be a sense of repetition in the perusal of such a narrative. but in order to place before our readers something like an approximate idea, at any rate, of the present state of our navy, we shall examine briefly one other first-class ironclad, the _inflexible_, which may be regarded as a leading example of ironclad ships, and, at the time of writing, as one of the highest achievements of modern naval architecture. the _inflexible_ is the vast size of , tons burden, her horse-power being . the length is feet, her armour-plating from to inches thick, with an inner lining of wood from to inches in thickness. she is divided into compartments, and her engines are placed at such a distance from each other that should one be disabled from any cause the other would still be in working order. the chief characteristic of the _inflexible_ is the position of the turrets. the majority of ships of this description have their turrets in the middle line, from which it results that only one half of their guns can be directed on an enemy, whether ahead or astern. the _inflexible_ has her turrets on each side--the fore-turret on the port-side, the after-turret on the starboard. she can thus use the whole of her guns against an enemy _at the same time_, whether it be ahead or astern. it will be seen that the thickness of the armour-plating with which the _inflexible_ is protected is enormous; and yet this thickness of iron has been pierced. the question, then, that immediately suggests itself is, _can_ a vessel be constructed to carry much heavier armour-plating than this? a recent writer in the _times_ declares not. "so far as the exigencies of the navy are concerned," he says, "the limit of weight seems to have already been reached, for the simple reason that the buoyancy of our ironclads cannot with safety be further diminished by the burden of heavier armour and armaments." the following very graphic description of the interior of a turret-ship was written by an eye-witness of the scene described. it is an extract from a narrative supplied to the author of "the sea: its stirring story of adventure and peril," from which we take it. the vessel described was the _miantonoma_, an american ironclad turret-ship. "you ascend again through a trap-door, and find yourself in a circular room, some twelve feet in diameter, padded from top to bottom like the interior of a carriage. by your side is a huge mass of iron. you are inside the turret. a glimmering lamp sheds its feeble light on the moving forms around you, and from below comes the faint whispering of the men, until the trap is shut and you are again in utter silence. "`_prepare_!' the gunner's mate stands on your toes, and tells you to lean forward and thrust your tongue out of your mouth. you hear the creaking of machinery. it is a moment of intense suspense. gradually a glimmer of light--an inch--a flood! the shield passes from the opening; the gun runs out. a flash, a roar--a mad reeling of the senses, and crimson clouds flitting before your eyes--a horrible pain in your ears, a sense of oppression on your chest, and the knowledge that you are not on your feet--a whispering of voices blending with the concert in your ears--a darkness before your eyes--and you feel yourself plump up against the padding, whither you have been thrown by the violence of the concussion. "before you have recovered sufficiently to note the effects i have endeavoured to describe, the shield is again in its place and the gun ready for reloading. they tell you that the best part of the sound has escaped through the port-hole, otherwise there would be no standing it, and our gunner's mate whispers in your ears, `it's all werry well, but they bu'sts out bleeding from the chest and ears after the fourth discharge, and has to be taken below.' you have had enough of it too, and are glad that they don't ask you to witness another shot fired." it must be stated that since the _miantonoma_ was built a new and improved principle of turret-firing has been introduced. electricity is now employed in discharging the guns, and there is thus no necessity for anyone being in the turret, which is of course a great advantage. at the close of the civil war, america possessed a fine fleet of monitors, of which scarcely any now remain. for the time they seemed all but impregnable to shot and shell; but they were built by contract, of unseasoned wood, and in the course of ten or twelve years yielded to natural decay. but the _brooklyn_ and the _ohio_, both fine examples of naval architecture, still survive to maintain, in so far as two ships can, america's maritime prestige. a chapter treating of ironclads would, we think, be incomplete without allusion made to the loss of the _captain_, whose terrible fate in has caused a mournful interest to be attached to that vessel. the _captain_ was feet in length and feet broad. her armour-plating reached to five feet below the water-line. opposite the turrets her plating was eight inches in thickness and seven inches in other parts. the ship was furnished with two screws, placed side by side. the screws were available for steering, and thus the vessel could be governed without the rudder. the _captain_ was fully rigged, and could carry a large spread of canvas. the special characteristic of the ship was her revolving turrets. each turret was feet in diameter on the outside and feet inches on the inside. the walls of the turrets were therefore feet inches thick; and one half of this thickness was composed of iron. the turrets were revolved by separate engines, but they could also be turned, if occasion required, by hand-labour. two armstrong twenty-five ton guns, throwing six hundred pound shot, were placed in each turret. the ship was built after designs by captain coles--the architect also of the _monarch_. on her first sea-voyage the _captain_ showed, apparently, such excellent sea-going qualities that her architect and the contractors, the messrs. laird, were quite satisfied as to her safety in mid-ocean. in the autumn of she accompanied the fleet on a cruise; and on the th of september, shortly after midnight, foundered off cape finisterre. the whole crew were lost, with the exception of nineteen men, and among those who perished was captain coles himself, captain burgoyne, the commander of the ship, and a son of the then first lord of the admiralty--mr childers. it is unnecessary to recall to the memory of the adult among my readers the deep feeling of pity and gloom spread by this awful disaster throughout great britain. the night on which the _captain_ foundered was no doubt a somewhat rough one, with squalls and a heavy sea on; but it was not merely the force of the storm which overwhelmed the vessel. mr james may, a surviving gunner of the ill-fated ship, gave a sufficiently clear account of the foundering of the vessel. soon after midnight he was awakened from sleep by a noise and a feeling that the ship was uneasy. rising, and taking with him a lamp, he proceeded to the after-turret to see if the guns were all right. everything was secure enough there; but he had hardly finished his examination when he felt the vessel heel steadily over, a heavy sea struck her on the weather-port, the water rushed into the turret, and may presently found himself in the water. he swam to the pinnace, which he perceived floating bottom upwards, and there he was presently joined by captain burgoyne and several others of the crew. then he beheld the vessel turn over and go down, stern first; the whole catastrophe being over in a few minutes. the launch was drifting a few yards off, and may called out to his comrades, "jump, men! it is our last chance." may with three others succeeded in reaching the boat, in which fifteen of the remainder of the crew also found a refuge. it is uncertain whether poor captain burgoyne remained in the pinnace or failed to reach the launch. the nineteen survivors, after a hard row of twelve hours, without food or drink, landed at cape finisterre, where they were hospitably received and cared for by the people. a court-martial was held in due course to investigate the cause of the disaster. into the details of the evidence it is impossible here to enter, but it was sufficiently proved that there were grave faults in the _captain's_ construction,--faults which, as is unfortunately too often the case, were not discovered by such calculations as were made before the ship started on what may be said to have been her first, as it was her last, cruise. it had, however, been noticed by some that the vessel was about a foot and a half deeper in the water than she should have been--that her free-board, in a word, instead of being eight feet above the water, as was designed, was only six feet six inches; and it needs but a very slight knowledge of marine matters to understand how this difference would materially prejudice the stability of such a vessel as the _captain_. if it has been the reader's chance, as it has been ours, to visit anyone of our great naval arsenals--especially portsmouth or plymouth--he cannot have failed of being struck with the gallant and splendid appearance presented by many of our ships of war; but he must likewise have been affected with feelings the reverse of admiration by more than one type of modern ironclads. no one who admires a real ship, be it of wood or of iron--a stately frigate in full sail before a favouring wind--can at the same time admire a monitor. many persons, in truth, will refuse to regard a turret-ship as a ship at all. it overturns our every notion of what a ship should look like. a low, black, mastless, raft-like, cruel-looking machine, without the faintest pretension to form or comeliness, a turret-ship is simply a fighting-engine, a floating battery--an ingenious and formidable instrument of death and destruction, no doubt, but nothing more. yet these are among the leading war-ships of the present, and, as far as can at present be seen, of the immediate future; and on these we must depend for the protection of our shores should they ever be threatened. and yet, great as is the annual cost of our navy, and great as is the amount of ingenuity spent in the construction of new and novel ships of war--each designed to be more impregnable and more formidable than its predecessor--our navy is at this moment in somewhat of an unsettled and transitory state. changes in the construction of ironclads are every year taking place, and considerable difference of opinion exists among our highest naval authorities upon important points in marine architecture. ships of war have now to contend with such formidable enemies in the shape of guns, torpedoes, and other engines of terribly destructive power, that it is difficult to say at present which will eventually triumph. one of the old wooden ships placed beside a modern ironclad is as a child's toy battery compared with gibraltar; and yet it can hardly be said that the nation has the same feeling of confidence and security in our present ships which it reposed in the vessels which nelson so often led to victory; for it must be long ere the fate of the _captain_ and the _vanguard_ is entirely forgotten. of this, however, we may, we think, at least rest assured, that, however dubious we may be in regard to some of the novelties and presumed improvements that are being from time to time introduced in naval architecture, england is well abreast of the age in maritime matters; if her ships be not absolutely perfect, and proof against every form of danger, they are at least equal to those of any other nation. we need a strong, a very strong navy; and as a fact our naval resources are nearly equal to the combined naval strength of europe. a somewhat different condition of things will need to come about from that which at present exists among the nations of the world ere england can afford to decrease her naval armaments; and until the great powers of the world agree to settle their disputes by some other means than by "wager of battle," and are resolved to "war no more," probably the best and only way for her is to keep herself as strongly and perfectly armed as possible. it is this that has probably helped, at any rate, to secure so long and uninterrupted peace for our shores; and to try a different and opposite course would, to say the least, be a risk. it is upon her navy, as all the world knows, that england depends for defence and security. to be weak in our navy would be to be weak throughout all our armour. our navy is at present, we would fain hope, a peace-weapon in our hands--a shield, not a sword; and while it is such, the stronger and more flawless it is, the better for us, and perhaps for the world at large. this may strike the reader as a somewhat vain-glorious, "spread-eagle" way of putting the case; but if he look at the matter fairly and impartially, we think he will admit that there is some truth in our statement. before closing this chapter, a word or two must be said descriptive of that fell foe to ships of war, the torpedo, though space demands that our reference should be brief. almost all modern ships of war are constructed with false bottoms, designed especially to protect them against torpedoes. there are many different forms of torpedoes, employed in a variety of ways. a torpedo may be described as a submarine exploding apparatus. it may contain from thirty to as much as five hundred pounds of gunpowder; and the explosion is effected either by means of electricity, or by a spring and a detonating substance when the engine comes in contact with a ship. some kinds of torpedoes rest on the bottom of the sea, while others are anchored and float suspended in the water. if a vessel strikes against one of these terrible engines, she is either at once blown to splinters, or a rent is made in her bottom which causes her rapidly to sink. one type of torpedoes resembles somewhat a fish, and is impelled rapidly through the water by a screw and other machinery. torpedoes are so constructed as to be able to rise and strike a vessel just at the right moment. when not filled with gunpowder or gun-cotton, dynamite and other explosive substances are used instead for charging these submarine war-engines. various methods have been devised to secure ships from torpedoes. nets are sometimes extended in front of the ship, which catch the torpedoes before they can come in contact with the vessel's bottom. this safeguard was adopted, in many instances with success, by the federal war-ships when entering confederate harbours. but a great deal may be done to secure a ship against these terrible engines of destruction by precaution simply, as was proved in the crimean war, when the russian torpedoes did little or no damage to our ships, by reason of the unceasing watchfulness maintained on board. during the late war between russia and turkey one of the most daring exploits of the campaign was an attack by a russian squadron of torpedo-boats on the turkish monitor _hifse rahman_. the flotilla comprised four ships, the _czarevich_, the _xenia_, the _czarevna_, and the _djirid_. the two first named began the attack, the _czarevna_ and the _djirid_ holding themselves in reserve until their assistance should be wanted. the launches were equipped with strong iron awnings which shielded their crews from the enemy's fire. each boat was armed with two torpedoes, fastened to the end of long spars projected over the bulwarks and working on pivots. the torpedoes could be detached from the spars when occasion demanded; while long chains were secured to the missiles, by which they were attached to the enemy's vessel, as well as to the wire of a galvanic battery fastened round the waist of the commander of the launch. this battery was the means by which the torpedo was exploded. the flotilla left the roumanian side of the danube on the th of june at about midnight, and in something less than an hour the _hifse rahman_ loomed in sight, a shadowy mass on the dark waters. the approach of the torpedo-boats was almost noiseless, and the croaking of the frogs was said to have further favoured the russians by drowning the sound of the engines, so that those on board the monitor were not aware of their enemy's propinquity until the launches were almost alongside. the sentry at once challenged, when lieutenant doubarsoff, the commander of the _czarevich_, answered "friends." but his speech betrayed him; the alarm was spread; and the _hifse rahman_ opened a sharp fire upon the launches. but lieutenant doubarsoff succeeded in attaching his torpedo-chain to a rope hanging at the monitor's bows, and then rapidly backed his little vessel and fired the torpedo. a tremendous explosion; a column of water shot up into the air, and the launch was nearly swamped! a breach had, however, been made in the _hifse rahman's_ bulwarks. the other monitors were now thoroughly alive to their danger, and the russian launches had to sustain a deadly cannonade, upon which lieutenant doubarsoff ordered lieutenant schestakoff to bring up his launch, the _xenia_, and apply a second torpedo, which the latter was able to do, attaching the missile amidships of the turkish vessel. the fate of the _hifse rahman_ was now sealed, and in a few minutes she sank. the russian launches succeeded in getting clear of their enemy again without losing a single man, and thus ended the first torpedo expedition ever made against an enemy's ironclads, but which may, as a writer describing the event says, "end in completely revolutionising our present system of monster iron walls." the grand cross of saint george was awarded to lieutenants doubarsoff and schestakoff for this intrepid and successful exploit. space is not left us to do more than revert for a moment to what is perhaps the deadliest weapon of offensive naval warfare yet devised,-- rams. some experts maintain that nothing can match the power of the ram of a modern ironclad skilfully handled; and a well-known naval authority has declared that the use of the guns in a naval action should be merely preliminary to that of the ram--in other words, that all effort should be concentrated upon making an opportunity of using the ram. we close this chapter by recalling the reader's attention to a feature in modern war-ships already alluded to, and which indeed the whole course of our remarks upon this subject points to--the almost universal use of machinery in modern naval tactics. most assuredly in modern sea-warfare it may be said, in the laureate's words--used by him, of course, with a very different sense--that "the individual dwindles," so that the prediction, which some of our readers may remember was once made by a first lord of the admiralty, seems not unlikely one day to become sober fact--that the time will come when we shall no longer require sailors, because all that our warships will need will be stokers and artillerymen. whether this is a consummation to be desired we are not careful here to pronounce. chapter thirteen. origins of steamships--ocean-steamers, etcetera. as we have been led, in writing about ships of the navy, to refer to steam, we turn aside at this point to treat of that tremendous motive-power. one night, in the year , a terrible sight was witnessed by the inhabitants of the banks of the river hudson in america. men love what is marvellous, and they will go a long distance out of their way to see that which is terrific and horrible; but on the night in question there was no need to go far. the farmers had only to look out of their windows, and the sailors of the shipping had only to lift their heads above the bulwarks, to behold a sight that appalled the stoutest hearted, and caused the very hair on the craniums of the timid to stand on end. the object that created so much consternation was--a "monster of the deep!" at some parts of the river, men could not tell what it was like, for the night was dark when it passed, but a dark, shadowy idea they obtained by the light of the fire which the creature vomited from its jaws; and they formed a tremendous conception of its size and power from the speed at which it travelled, the splashing which it made, and the hideous groans with which it burdened the night-air. this "fiery monster of the deep" was the _first_ river-steamer, the _clermont_! before going further into the details of this the first of a class of ships which have, within the last fifty years, almost completely changed the whole system of navigation, let us take a cursory glance at the first attempts made to propel ships by means of steam. the subject has occupied mankind much longer than many people suppose. so long ago as the year , a naval captain of spain applied an engine to a ship of about two hundred tons, and succeeded in moving it at the rate of about two miles an hour. the nature of his engine the captain kept secret; but it was noted that part of it consisted of a caldron of boiling water. this we are told by thomas gonzales, the director of the royal archives of simancas; but his veracity is now called in question,--at any rate, nothing further was afterwards heard of the discovery. the first authentic record we have of steam navigation occurs in a work written by the marquis of worcester in , in which allusion is made to the application of engines to boats and ships, which would "draw them up rivers against the stream, and, if need be, pass london bridge against the current, at low-water." many attempts, more or less successful, were made by ingenious men from time to time. papin of france in constructed a steamboat, the success of which may be gathered from the fact that it was ultimately broken up by enraged and jealous watermen! jonathan hulls in , and m. genevois in , were each successful, to a certain extent, in constructing working models, but nothing definite resulted from their labours. yet we would not be understood to undervalue the achievements of such men. on the contrary, it is by the successive discoveries of such inquiring and philosophical men that grand results are at last attained. the magnificent structures that crowd the ocean were not the creations of one era, or the product of one stupendous mind. they are the result of the labours of thousands of men whose names have never been known to fame. the men who, working upon the materials supplied by preceding generations, brought the propulsion of boats by steam nearest to perfection, _just before_ the commencement of navigation, were mr miller of dumfries, mr taylor, his friend, and tutor in his family, and mr symington. all of these were, in a very important degree, instrumental in ushering in the great event. symington, in , fitted an engine to a large boat, in which he attained the speed of seven miles an hour. the man to whom the credit belongs of introducing _steam navigation_ is undoubtedly mr fulton of america. this gentleman, who was contemporary with those just mentioned, visited france and england, in the former of which countries he endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to carry out his projects, while in the latter he met with symington, and obtained much valuable information from him. we have no sympathy whatever with those who seem to rake in to the credit of their own country every discovery and invention they possibly or plausibly can. we did much _towards_ the commencement of steam navigation, but we did not begin it. we pushed considerably in advance of other nations in the invention of apparatus by which boats might be propelled by steam; we constructed models, tried it on a small scale, and found the thing to answer admirably: but we rested there. meanwhile, an enterprising american came and saw our achievements, ordered an engine in england, carried it across the atlantic, and _commenced_ the era of steam navigation, on the river hudson, by building and launching: the first steamer. robert fulton, in conjunction with chancellor livingston of america, planned, built, and launched a boat in the spring of , which they named the _clermont_. it was propelled by steam, and averaged the rate of five miles an hour on its first voyage from new york to albany, a distance of nearly one hundred and fifty miles. all discoveries and novelties, great and small, are treated with ridicule at first by the mass of mankind, so it is not a matter of wonder that the crowds which flocked to the wharf to see the _clermont_ start on her first trip were somewhat satirical and jocose in their remarks. but when the steam was turned on, and they heard the first of that series of snorts that was destined ere long to shake the trembling air of land and sea, and saw the great, uncouth paddle-wheels revolve powerfully in the water and churn it into foam, a shout, tinged doubtless with prophetic fervour, greeted the triumphant engineer as his little steamboat darted from the shore. colden, in his life of fulton, speaks thus of the _clermont's_ first voyage:-- "she excited the astonishment of the inhabitants of the shores of the hudson, many of whom had not heard even of an engine, much less of a steamboat. there were many descriptions of the effects of her first appearance upon the people of the banks of the river. "some of these were ridiculous, but some of them were of such a character as nothing but an object of real grandeur could have excited. she was described by some, who had indistinctly seen her passing in the night, as a monster moving on the waters, defying the winds and tide and breathing flames and smoke! she had the most terrific appearance from other vessels which were navigating the river when she was making her passage. the first steamboat (as others yet do) used dry pine wood for fuel, which sends forth a column of ignited vapour many feet above the flue, and, whenever the fire is stirred, a galaxy of sparks fly off, which, in the night, have a very brilliant and beautiful appearance. "this uncommon light first attracted the attention of the crews of other vessels. notwithstanding the wind and tide, which were adverse to its approach, they saw with astonishment that it was rapidly coming towards them; and when it came so near that the noise of the machinery and paddles was heard, the crews--if what was said in the newspapers of the time be true--in some instances shrank beneath their decks from the terrific sight, and left their vessels to go on shore; whilst others prostrated themselves, and besought providence to protect them from the approaches of the horrible monster which was marching on the tide, and lighting its path by the fires that it vomited!" the _clermont_ became a regular passenger boat on the hudson; and the progress of steam navigation continued to advance, until nearly all the navigable rivers of the world, and the great ocean itself, were covered with these clanking ships of commerce, which have added more to the comfort, the wealth, and the power of man--the power of doing good as well as evil-- than the feeble human mind can conceive. the comet. it was not until five years after the americans set us the example that we launched our first passenger steamboat, the _comet_, a vessel of about twenty-five tons, with engines of three horse-power. this little vessel was started by henry bell, of helensburgh, on the clyde. it began its career in , and plied regularly for two years. like her predecessor the _clermont_, she was regarded with no small degree of scepticism, and with a large amount of surprise by the thousands who saw her set forth. nevertheless, she soon proved her value, became a successful speculation to her owners, and was ere long followed by many other vessels of a similar kind. the "argyle", afterwards named "the thames." in the _argyle_ was launched. this vessel was the first european steamer that pushed out into the more dangerous navigation of the open sea-coast. she was purchased by a company in london. on her passage up, she was as nearly as possible wrecked on a lee-shore, but, by her steam-power, was enabled to go straight against the wind, at the rate of three and a half knots an hour, and so escaped. one of the passengers has left us an interesting account of this interesting voyage, from which we cull one or two paragraphs: "the weather had now become so stormy and bad that our captain determined to put in to the port of wexford, his great object being to navigate the vessel safely to london, rather than, by using great despatch, to expose her to unnecessary risk. we put to sea again at two o'clock p.m., on may th, and steered for saint david's head, the most westerly point of wales. during our passage across saint george's channel, one of the blades of the starboard paddle-wheel became out of order; the engine was stopped, and the blade cut away. some hours afterwards, a similar accident happened to the other wheel, which was remedied in the same manner. "about two-o'clock in the afternoon, twelve hours after leaving wexford, we reached the pass of ramsay. we remained there for three hours, to oil the engine, and to give the stoker, who had not quitted his post an instant since leaving wexford, a little rest. in a short time several boats were seen coming to our assistance, the idea prevailing here, as at wexford, that our vessel was on fire. we landed on the island of ramsay, a most desolate spot, containing only one habitation; we, however, procured some bread, butter, milk, cheese, and ale, with which we returned to the vessel, and commenced steaming through the straits, and across saint bride's bay. "the weather had now become unfavourable, and the sea ran alarmingly high in the bay. on the south side of saint bride's bay, between skomar island and the mainland, is a nasty passage called jack sound. our pilot warned us of the danger of attempting this passage, excepting at high-water and with a favourable wind, as there were several formidable whirlpools, which would seize the vessel and carry her on the rocks. captain dodd, however, who knew the power of his engine, insisted on going through the sound, in order to save five hours and another night at sea. the pilot repeated his remonstrances, at the same time trembling for fear; but we passed through all the whirlpools with the greatest ease. nothing, however, can be conceived more frightful than the aspect of some of the rocks, and especially of those called the bishop and his clerks. had we been in a sailing vessel, our position would have been most perilous; but our steam was all-powerful, and brought us safely to milford haven. "we put to sea again late on the evening of the st, and on friday morning we were in the middle of the bristol channel, with no land visible; but towards evening we discovered the high coast that terminates england in the west. as the weather, however, again assumed a gloomy aspect, our new pilot judged that it would be imprudent that night to double land's end, so we shaped our course towards saint ives. "on approaching the shore, we perceived a crowd of small vessels making towards us with all possible rapidity, by means of oars and sails. here, as elsewhere, the alarm was taken, on seeing a vessel, judged to be on fire, steering towards the town, and all the disposable craft immediately put to sea. all the rocks commanding saint ives were covered with spectators; and when we entered the harbour, the aspect of our vessel appeared to occasion as much surprise amongst the inhabitants as the ships of captain cook must have produced on his first appearance amongst the islanders of the south seas. "another night passed, a night of storm and danger, but the little _thames_ (the vessel had been renamed by the new company who purchased her) behaved nobly, and next day reached plymouth. here," continues the narrative, "the harbour-master, who had never seen a steam-vessel before, was as much struck with astonishment, when he boarded the _thames_, as a child is on getting possession of a new plaything. he steered the vessel, and we passed round several ships of war in the sound. the sailors ran in crowds to the sides of their vessels as we passed them, and, mounting the rigging, gave vent to their observations in a most amusing manner. "we left plymouth at noon on the following day, and steamed without interruption to portsmouth, where we arrived on friday, june th, having accomplished one hundred and fifty miles in twenty-three hours. at portsmouth astonishment and admiration were, if possible, more strongly evinced than elsewhere. tens of thousands of spectators were assembled to gaze on the _thames_; and the number of vessels that crowded around us was so great, that it became necessary to request the admiral to give us a guard to preserve some degree of order. "we entered the harbour in the most brilliant style, steaming in, with the assistance of wind and tide, at the rate of from twelve to fourteen miles an hour. a court-martial was at the time sitting on board the _gladiator_ frigate; but the novelty of our steamboat presented an irresistible attraction, and the whole court came off to us, excepting the president, who was obliged by etiquette to retain his seat until the court was regularly adjourned. on saturday, june th, the port-admiral sent his band and a guard of marines at an early hour on board; and soon afterwards he followed, accompanied by three admirals, eighteen post-captains, and a large number of ladies. the morning was spent in steaming amongst the fleet, and running over to the isle of wight. from portsmouth we proceeded to margate, which we reached on sunday morning. here we remained until the following day, when we embarked for our final trip, at half-past eight in the morning; and about six in the evening arrived at limehouse, where we moored." we have entered thus at considerable length into this voyage, because, besides being the first steam sea-voyage, it serves to exhibit very distinctly how great and how rapid has been the progress of steam-navigation within the last fifty years. in reading such an account as this, in these days of "ocean mail-steamers" and "great easterns," we can scarcely believe that in it reference is made, not to the middle ages, but to the year . ocean-steamers. after that momentous era when steam was first successfully applied to useful purposes, human progress and improvement in all departments of science and art seemed to have been hooked on to it, and to have thenceforth rushed roaring at its tail, with truly "railroad speed," towards perfection! scarce had the first model steamboat splashed with its ungainly "blades" the waters of a pond, than river traffic by means of steamboats began. and no sooner had this been proved to be a decided success, than daring schemes were laid to rush over the ocean itself on wheels. men were not long about it, after the first start was made. their intellectual steam was up, and the whirl of inventive effort racked the brains of engineers as the wheels of their steamboats tortured the waters of the deep. and here again the name of fulton comes into notice. early in he conceived the idea of constructing a steam-vessel of war, which should carry a strong battery with furnaces for red-hot shot. congress authorised the building of such a ship, and before the end of the same year it was launched. fulton died the following year, but the fame of that enterprising engineer will never die. the new vessel received the rather quaint title of _fulton the first_. she consisted of two boats joined together. those who were appointed by congress to examine her and report, gave the following account of this curious man-of-war: "she is a structure resting on two boats and keels, separated from end to end by a channel fifteen feet wide and sixty-six feet long. one boat contains the caldrons of copper to prepare her steam; the cylinder of iron, its piston, lever, and wheels, occupy part of the other. the water-wheel revolves in the space between them. the main or gun-deck supports the armament, and is protected by a parapet four feet ten inches thick, of solid timber, pierced by embrasures. through thirty port-holes as many thirty-two pounders are intended to fire red-hot shot, which can be heated with great safety and convenience. her upper or spar-deck, upon which several thousand men might parade, is encompassed by a bulwark, which affords safe quarters. she is rigged with two stout masts, each of which supports a large lateen yard and sails. she has two bowsprits and jibs, and four rudders--one at each extremity of each boat; so that she can be steered with either end foremost. her machinery is calculated for the addition of an engine which will discharge an immense column of water, which it is intended to throw upon the decks and through the port-holes of the enemy, and thereby deluge her armament and ammunition. "if, in addition to all this, we suppose her to be furnished, according to mr fulton's intention, with hundred-pound columbiads, two suspended from each bow, so as to discharge a ball of that size into an enemy's ship ten or twelve feet below her water-line, it must be allowed that she has the appearance, at least, of being the most formidable engine for warfare that human ingenuity has contrived." she certainly was; and even at the present time the _fulton the first_ would cut no insignificant figure if placed alongside our gunboats, floating-batteries, and steam-frigates. it is not easy to get intelligent men to believe in things that savour of the marvellous; yet there seems to be a point past which, if once a man be got, he will go on to believe almost anything, no matter how absurd. in those days few people in europe would credit the truth of this ship's proportions; but when, in the course of time and from indubitable testimony, they were compelled to believe, they flew to the opposite extreme of incredulity and believed anything, as the following curiously comical paragraph will show. it is said to have appeared in a scotch treatise on steamships, and is intended for a "full, true, and particular account" of this monstrous american man-of-war steamer. after giving her dimensions three times larger than they were in reality, the author continues:--"the thickness of her sides is thirteen feet of alternate oak plank and cork wood. she carries forty-four guns, four of which are hundred pounders; quarter-deck and forecastle guns, forty-four pounders: and further, to annoy an enemy attempting to board, can discharge one hundred gallons of boiling water in a minute; and, by mechanism, brandishes three hundred cutlasses with the utmost regularity over her gunwales; works also an equal number of heavy iron spikes of great length, darting them from the sides with prodigious force, and withdrawing them every quarter of a minute!" this vessel, although probably intended for an ocean-steamer, was never used as such. but not long after, a vessel propelled by steam ventured to cross the atlantic, and thus became the parent of commercial steam navigation. this vessel was: the "savannah" steamer. unfortunately, little information as to this, the first ocean-steamer, has been chronicled. she was launched at new york on the nd of august , and in the following year made her first voyage to savannah, from which she sailed for liverpool soon after, and crossed the atlantic in twenty-five days-- during eighteen of which she used her engines. the _savannah_ was about tons burden, and was on this occasion commanded by captain moses rodgers. she was fitted with machinery for taking in her wheels in stormy weather, which was found to work admirably; and she is mentioned as having been seen on the ocean going at the rate of nine or ten knots. from liverpool this steamer went to saint petersburg, and afterwards returned to savannah in safety. this was the insertion of the wedge. our own country did not follow the lead until , when the good people of new york were thrown into a state of excitement by the arrival of two steamers, the _sirius_ and the _great western_, from england. so long a time had elapsed since the voyage of the _savannah_ that men had well-nigh forgotten it, and were disposed to regard these vessels as the _first_ ocean-steamers. indeed, some narrow-minded and ungenerous writers have asserted that they _were_ the first--totally ignoring the prior claim of the _savannah_. from that period ocean-steamers began to run frequently across the atlantic. they now do so regularly, as well as to nearly all other parts of the world. ocean mail-steamers. the improvements which have taken place during recent years in ocean-going steamships have been great and rapid. the speed attained by some of these magnificent vessels is little short of marvellous. many persons still living can recollect the time when the voyage to australia in a sailing vessel lasted six months. what is now the state of matters? by more than one line of steamships the traveller may reach sydney or melbourne within forty days. a recent voyage of the _orient_, one of the latest and finest additions to ocean steamships, merits more than a passing notice. the _lusitania_, which belongs to the same line, steamed from england to australia in less than forty days, and the feat was regarded as a great one. but the _lusitania_ has been far outmatched by her sister-ship the _orient_, which has actually accomplished the same voyage in thirty-five days, fifteen hours, and forty-six minutes. from plymouth to the cape of good hope took the _orient_ only seventeen days twenty-one hours. this is the fastest speed on record. whether it is the maximum rate possible to ocean steamships, or whether it is destined to be surpassed by a still higher degree of speed, remains to be seen. many persons are of opinion that the increased facilities of speed which are now within reach of travellers on long voyages will gradually lead to the total disuse of sailing ships for passenger traffic. it may be so, but there are still not a few who would prefer a sailing to a steam ship for a long sea voyage, notwithstanding its so greatly inferior rate of speed. but nowadays everything must be sacrificed to _time_. "time flies," is at present the motto of most instant and potent power with the world; but the day is perhaps not far off when the fiat, "thus far, and no farther," must be pronounced not only on the speed of steamships, but on the breathless rush and hurry of the age in general. the czar's yacht "livadia." undoubtedly one of the most remarkable craft afloat is the russian czar's steam-yacht the _livadia_. to a scotch shipbuilding firm belongs the credit of having constructed this unique and splendid vessel, and it is certainly a feather in the cap of messrs. elder and company, the well-known glasgow shipbuilders, from whose yard the _livadia_ was launched in july . one would imagine that the highest point of comfort and luxuriousness has been reached in the accommodation offered by the _livadia_; but this is far from being the only or even the chief respect in which the vessel is remarkable. she is notable from a purely nautical point of view-- being the outcome of principles that may be said almost to revolutionise all pre-existing ideas of shipbuilding, though something like the same principle may be found in the circular ironclads of admiral popoff. hitherto the plan which naval architects have followed, where the desideratum was exceptional speed, was to give the vessel in course of construction length in combination with as fine lines and as perfect proportion as possible. but in the case of an imperial pleasure-boat, like the _livadia_, it was an object to obtain an ampler and more drawing-room like accommodation than is compatible with length, narrowness of beam, and fine lines; and the constructors of the czar's new yacht have succeeded in securing not only this internal spaciousness and comfort, but also a satisfactory degree of speed. it was to the united exertions of admiral popoff of the russian navy, and dr tideman of the royal dockyard, amsterdam, that the design of the _livadia_ was due. it is not easy in words to convey a distinct impression of this curiously-shaped craft, but our description will, we hope, give the reader a pretty correct idea of the vessel. the constructors of the _livadia_, it is believed, chose a turbot as their model for the hull; and in thus taking a flat fish as a suggestion for their vessel, the builders, as a recent writer on the subject points out, followed no extravagant, though certainly a novel, fancy. in broad terms the _livadia_ may be described as a wide and shallow oval in shape, half submerged, while over this turbot-shaped raft a superstructure is erected, somewhat similar in appearance to an ordinary vessel, and comprising large, lofty, and sumptuous saloons and other apartments. the _livadia_ is feet long, feet broad, and feet deep. she is , tons burden, and her displacement . the two leading merits of the _livadia_, due to its peculiar construction, are--first, that its frame can support a superstructure of almost palatial proportions such as would founder any other vessel; and second, that its great breadth of beam keeps the ship as steady as a ship can possibly be, while, at the same time, its lower lines secure a very good degree of speed. the _livadia_ possesses powerful propelling engines. there are three sets of these, each with three cylinders, the diameter being sixty inches for the high pressure, and seventy-eight inches for the low, with a stroke of three feet three inches. as much strength and lightness as possible have been secured for the propellers by constructing them of manganese iron; while steel has been largely employed for the engines and boilers, which are, for their weight, the most powerful possessed by any vessel. the estimated horse-power is , , and the ship, under favourable conditions, can make fifteen knots an hour. the double water-tight bottom of the _livadia_ is three feet six inches deep at the centre, and two feet nine inches at each end. in this turbot-like lower part is the machinery, and it is the receptacle also for coals and stores of all kinds. the twofold bottom of the ship comprises forty compartments, and the whole is sufficiently strong, it is believed, to withstand the heaviest weather to which the yacht is likely to be exposed, as well as the strain of her powerful machinery. the entire length of the upper part of the ship, in which are the imperial apartments, and the quarters of the officers and crew, is feet, and the breadth feet. the crew all told numbers . the private apartments of the czar himself are forward on the main-deck, well away from the heat of the engines and the smell of the machinery. a visitor to the ship is chiefly struck, perhaps, by the height to which the decks rise above the hull, the uppermost compartment of all being fitted out as a reception saloon, in the centre of which a little fountain rises out of a bed of flowers. this portion of the vessel is forty feet above the level of the sea. the apartment is luxuriously appointed in the fashion of the reign of louis xvi. the drawing-room is furnished in a style of equal sumptuousness, in the crimean tartar style; but the rest of the imperial apartments are in a simpler order of decoration. behind the funnels there is another deck-house, containing the captain's quarters and rooms for the grand duke constantine. it will thus be seen that the _livadia_ is literally a floating palace, equipped and decorated with that almost eastern love of sumptuous display which characterises the russians as a people. all the three screws with which the _livadia_ is furnished are wholly submerged in the water--another novelty in the construction of the vessel. one or even two of these screws might suffer serious injury and the ship still remain manageable. it is not wonderful that the launch of a craft, at once so splendid and so curious, should have caused much interest and excitement in the neighbourhood in which it took place. a distinguished company witnessed the ceremony, while the crowd which lined the banks of the river clyde numbered , . a short service was conducted by three priests of the greek church, and the bows of the vessel were then sprinkled with holy water. after the conclusion of this ceremony, the yacht received her name from the duchess of hamilton, and was then launched. the launch was a complete success, the _livadia_ taking the water in gallant style, though the task was one of more than ordinary difficulty from the circumstance of the great breadth of the ship's keel-less bottom, which much increased the friction to be overcome. at the luncheon which concluded the day's proceedings, mr pearce, the chairman, who represented the firm of elder and company, stated that the principle adopted in the building of the _livadia_ would probably be more useful in the case of ships of war than of merchant vessels, but that builders of the latter might also derive valuable hints from the construction of the new ship. whether this will prove to be the case time has yet to show. a most interesting discovery of a norse war-ship has recently been made at sandefjord in norway. the vessel, there can be no doubt, is one of the kind in which those formidable buccaneers, the norsemen, used to harry the coasts of great britain and france ten hundred years ago. it was found buried in the ground, and seems to have been the sepulchre of some great viking chieftain, who had probably many a time sailed forth in it to the terror and detriment of some less warlike and powerful neighbour. the ship is unusually large, and very completely equipped. its length is about seventy-five feet; and sails, rigging, a number of shields and other instruments of battle, were found on board. chapter fourteen. the "great eastern." the _great eastern_ steamship deserves to be regarded as the eighth wonder of the world, beyond all question. she is at present by far the largest vessel in the world, and is the most magnificent creation of naval architecture that was ever launched upon the sea. the substance of the following account of this interesting ship has been gathered principally from the times and the illustrated london news for , the year in which the _great eastern_ was launched, and from a pamphlet which was sold on board, by permission of the proprietors. the _great eastern_ was intended for the indian and australian route by the cape of good hope. the result of large experience in steam navigation has proved that the size of the ship, (when steam is used), ought to be in proportion to the length of the voyage. mr brunel, the talented engineer to whose genius and perseverance this monster ship owes her existence, acting on this principle, calculated that the voyage to australia and back being , miles--a vessel of , tons burden, (or a ton burden for every mile to be steamed), would require to be built, capable of carrying fuel for the entire voyage, it being impossible, without incurring enormous expense, to procure coal for such a vessel at intermediate ports. the eastern steam navigation company undertook the herculean work. the total cost of construction was estimated at , pounds. mr brunel prepared the designs. a spot of ground was chosen on the banks of the thames, in the building-yard of the company at millwall, and the building was commenced, on the lines laid down by mr scott russell, on the st of may . every minute detail of the arrangements and building of this wonder of the world is fraught with interest. the mere preparing of the ground to receive her enormous weight was calculated to fill the minds of men with astonishment. her supports and scaffoldings, and the machinery by which she was ultimately launched, taxed the skill of her engineers even more than her construction. a very town of workshops, foundries, and forges sprang into being round her hull; and as this rose, foot by foot, in all its gigantic proportions, the surrounding edifices dwindled down into insignificance, and the busy population of artificers clustered upon her like ants upon a prostrate monarch of the forest-trees. the hull of the _great eastern_ is built entirely of iron, and is feet in length, feet in breadth, and feet in height from keel to deck. it is divided transversely into ten separate compartments of feet each, rendered perfectly water-tight by bulk-heads, having no openings whatever lower than the second deck; whilst two longitudinal walls of iron, feet apart, traverse feet of the length of the ship. the mind will be better able to realise the magnitude of these dimensions if we add that the _great eastern_ is six times the size of the duke of wellington line-of-battle ship, that her length is more than three times the height of the monument, while her breadth is equal to the width of pall mall, and a promenade round the deck affords a walk of more than a quarter of a mile. there is no keel properly so called, but in its place a flat keel-plate of iron, about two feet wide and one inch thick, which runs the entire length from stem to stern. this is the base upon which all the rest is reared, plates and girders alike. the iron plates which form her planking are three-quarters of an inch thick. up to the water-mark the hull is constructed with an inner and outer skin, two feet ten inches apart, both skins being made of three-quarter inch plates, except at the bottom, where the plates are an inch thick; and between these, at intervals of six feet, run horizontal webs of iron plates, which bind the two skins together, and thus it may be said that the lower part of the hull is two feet ten inches thick. this mode of construction adds materially to the safety of the vessel; for, in the event of a collision at sea, the outer skin might be pierced while the inner might remain intact. this space may also at any time be filled with water, and thus ballast, to the amount of tons, be obtained. some idea of the magnitude and weight of the vessel may be formed from the fact that each iron plate weighs about the third of a ton, and is fastened with a hundred iron rivets. about thirty thousand of these plates were used in her construction, and three million rivets. the fastening of these rivets was one among the many curious operations performed in course of building. the riveting men were arranged in gangs, each gang consisting of two riveters, one holder-up, and three boys. two boys were stationed at the fire or portable forge, and one with the holder-up. this boy's duty was to receive the red-hot rivet with his pincers from the boy at the forge, and insert it in the hole destined for its reception, the point protruding about an inch. the holder-up immediately placed his heavy hammer against the head of the rivet, and held it firmly there, while the two riveters assailed it in front with alternate blows, until the countersunk part of the hole was filled up, after which the protruding head was cut off smooth with the plate, the whole operation scarce occupying a minute. in riveting the double part of the ship the holder-up and his boy were necessarily in the interior part of the tubes, and passed the whole day in the narrow space between, (of two feet ten inches wide), in comparative darkness, having only the glimmer afforded by a single dip candle, and being immediately under the deafening blows of the riveters. the _deck_ of the _great eastern_ is double, or cellular, after the plan of the britannia tubular bridge. the upper deck runs flush and clear from stem to stern, and he who takes four turns up and down it from stem to stern walks upwards of a mile. the strength of this deck is so enormous that if the ship were taken up by its two extremities, with all its cargo, passengers, coals, and provisions on board, it would sustain the whole. the deck has been covered with teak planking, and has been planed and scrubbed to man-of-war whiteness. not even a stray rope's end breaks the wonderful effect produced by its immense expanse. her fleet of small boats, which are about the size of sailing cutters, hang at the davits, ten on each side. there are six masts and five funnels. the three centre square-rigged masts are of iron. they were made by mr finch of chepstow, and are the finest specimens of masts of the kind that were ever manufactured. each is made of hollow wrought iron in eight-feet lengths, strengthened inside by diaphragms of the same material. between the joints, as they were bolted together, was placed a pad of vulcanised india-rubber, which gives a spring and buoyancy to the whole spar greater than wood, while at the same time it retains all the strength of the iron. the other masts are made of wood, and the canvas that can be spread is no less than square yards. on deck are four small steam winches or engines, each of which works a pair of cranes on both sides of the vessel; and with these five thousand tons of coals can be hoisted into the vessel in twenty-four hours. the _engines_ and boilers are of immense power and magnitude. there are both screw and paddle engines, the former being capable of working up to horse-power, the latter to . there are ten boilers and one hundred and twelve furnaces. the paddle engines, which were made by messrs. scott russell and company, stand nearly feet high. each cylinder weighs about tons, and each paddle-wheel is feet in diameter, or considerably larger than the ring in astley's circus. the screw engines were manufactured by messrs. watt and company of birmingham. they consist of four cylinders of inches diameter and feet stroke. the screw propeller is feet in diameter and feet pitch; and the engine-shaft is feet long, or feet longer than the height of the duke of york's column. the paddles and screw, when working together at their highest pitch, exert a force equal to , horsepower, which is sufficient to drive all the cotton-mills in manchester! the consumption of coal to produce this force is estimated at about tons per day. besides these engines there are also several auxiliary engines for pumping water into the boilers, etcetera. the passenger accommodation in the _great eastern_ is very extensive-- namely, first-class, from to second-class, and about third-class passengers; or if troops alone were taken, it could accommodate , men. the _saloons_ are fitted up in the most elaborate and costly manner. the chief saloon is magnificently furnished. it is said that the mirrors, gilding, carpeting, and silk curtains for this apartment alone cost pounds. in the berths, of course, no attempt is made at costly decoration of this kind, though the fittings are good and sufficiently luxurious. the berths are arranged in three classes: those for parties of six or eight, and these are large rooms; those for parties of four; and the rest in the usual style of double cabins. all are very roomy, as cabins go--very lofty, well lit, and those on the outer sides exceedingly well ventilated. on the lower deck the berths are even larger, loftier, and more commodious than those on the upper. both the berths and saloons here are in fact almost unnecessarily high, having very nearly fifteen feet in the clear. the kitchens, pantries, and sculleries are all on the same extensive scale, and fitted with all the large culinary requisites of first-class hotels. the ice-house holds upwards of tons of ice; and the lofty wine-vaults--for such in fact they are--contain wine enough to form a good freight for an oporto trader. _miscellanea_.--in addition to the boats of the _great eastern_ (twenty in number), she carries two small screw-steamers, each feet long, feet broad, tons burden, and horse-power, suspended aft of the paddle-boxes. as the captain's voice could not be heard half-way to the bow, even with the aid of the ancient speaking-trumpet, that instrument is supplanted by _semaphore_ signals by day, and _coloured_ lamps by night; the _electric telegraph_ is also used in connection with the engine-rooms. there are ten _anchors_, four of them being trotman's patent, weighing seven tons each. the _cables_ are each fathoms long, and their united weight is tons. the _tonnage_ of the _great eastern_ is , tons register, and , tons builders' measurement. the _crew_ at first consisted of thirteen officers, seventeen engineers, a sailing-master, and a purser, four hundred men, and two or three surgeons, all under the command of the late captain w. harrison, (formerly of the cunard line). the _launch_ of this leviathan was a most formidable undertaking, and was accomplished by means of powerful hydraulic rams, which propelled the vessel down the launching "ways." the ship rested on two gigantic cradles, and was forced sideways down the inclined plane, until she floated on the river. by a complication of ingenious contrivances the great ship was regulated in her descent so as to proceed slowly and regularly down the ways. several unsuccessful attempts were made to launch her, and several of the hydraulic rams broke down ere she floated on the bosom of old father thames; and the cost of this operation alone is said to have been nearly , pounds. the _trial of the engines_, both screw and paddle, took place for the first time on the th of august , when the completion of the vessel was celebrated by a banquet on board. the first movement of the gigantic cranks and cylinders of the paddle engines was made precisely at half-past one, when the great masses slowly rose and fell as noiselessly as the engines of a greenwich boat, but exerting in their revolutions what seemed to be an almost irresistible power. there was no noise, no vibration, nor the slightest sign of heating. the tremendous frame of ironwork sprang at once into life and motion, with as much ease as if every rod and crank had been worked for the last ten years. the _trial trip_ of the _great eastern_ was an event that excited intense interest all over the kingdom. for the first time, she cast off her moorings on wednesday morning, (the th september), and reached the nore on thursday, where she anchored for the night before proceeding to sea. on friday morning, at ten minutes past nine, she started on her first salt-water voyage. a conviction of the extreme steadiness of the vessel must speedily have seized everyone on board. there was no perceptible motion of any kind. the giant ship was speedily surrounded by yachts, tugs, fishing-smacks, and, indeed, by a representative of almost every kind of vessel which is prevalent at the nore. these accompanied her as far on her way as their limited sailing powers would permit. although there were sharp squalls and a chopping sea nearly all through the trip, not the slightest inconvenience was felt by any of the visitors, not even among the fairer portion of the passengers. the morning, which was rather fine at starting, suddenly became clouded, and the shifting squalls increased in violence. though the squally state of the weather damped the pleasure of all on board, yet it afforded an opportunity of trying the properties of the ship, now under paddle as well as screw; and it was the wish of mr scott russell and all on board to meet a good gale of wind. at a moderate computation, the distance from the deck to the water could not be much less than forty feet, while the vessel is nearly seven hundred feet long. this area would, of course, present an enormous surface to the force of the wind, and formed the subject of considerable discussion as to the effect it would have on her sea-going qualities. the ship was as stiff and steady as though she still remained on her cradles in the isle of dogs, and her course was as calm and true as though she were on a lake without a capful of wind. it is said that at one portion of the voyage she steamed nineteen miles an hour. the _explosion_.--all went well till the ship had passed folkestone. about half-past five o'clock, while the majority of the passengers were on deck, and a few gentlemen only remained in the dining saloon, a tremendous explosion occurred, and in an instant showers of broken glass, and fragments of wood and iron, came crashing through the skylight. those in the cabin rushed on deck. the ship was still pressing onward; at either end all was still and deserted, while in the centre all was smoke, fire, vapour, and confusion. the great funnel, of eight tons weight, had been shot up as if from a mortar, and fell on the deck broken in two pieces. the whole centre of the ship seemed to be only one vast chasm, and from it were belching up steam, dust, and something that looked like incipient conflagration. captain harrison acted nobly on this terrible occasion. he had been standing on the bridge overhead, looking into the binnacle, and the moment he heard the report, and whilst the destructive shower was still falling fast, he jumped upon the deck, and ordered an immediate descent to the ladies' saloon, in the firm conviction that they were all there as on the previous evening. but many of the men were panic-stricken, and had already shrunk away from the explosion. a foolish passenger had raised a cry of "the boats," and, assisted by some of the sailors, was madly attempting to let them down. in one moment all would have been lost; for the rush to the boats would have been general, and hundreds been drowned, whilst the noble ship would have been left to certain destruction. but the voice of the captain was heard like a trumpet, calling out, "men, to your duty; officers, to your posts; give me a rope, and let six men follow me!" the effect of this short address was electric. in an instant he had slid down the rope into the saloon, followed by his brave boatswain hawkins, and six volunteers were not long wanted for the forlorn hope. one after another he dashed open the gilded panels; but the splendid apartment had, strange to say, only two inhabitants,--his little daughter edith, and her pet dog. it was the reward of his gallantry that his own child should be thus the one to be so providentially saved. but even then he did not for a moment lose his self-command. snatching up the child, and with one glance seeing that she was unharmed, he exclaimed, "pass her along to the deck; there are more rooms to be searched." in this way did he move about rapidly, but coolly, and did not again return to the deck until he had satisfied himself that not a single woman was in the burning, steaming, suffocating chamber. his intimate friend, mr trotman, who had followed him down almost immediately, found the poor lap-dog moaning under a heap of ruins, and was the means of restoring it to its little mistress. the magnificent saloon was a mass of torn and shattered furniture, mirrors, and ornaments. had the passengers adjourned to this apartment after dinner, instead of to the deck, the consequences would have been awful. an eye-witness describes the scene of devastation as follows:-- "the mirrors which formed the covering of the funnel which had been the cause of so much mischief were literally smashed to atoms, and large fragments of the broken glass were hurled upon deck, a long distance aft of the paddle-wheels. the ornamental bronzed columns which supported the gilt cornices and elaborate ornamentation, were either struck down or bent into the most fantastic shapes; the flooring, consisting of three-inch planks, was upheaved in several places; the gangways leading to the sleeping-cabins at the sides were shot away; the handrails were gone, and the elegant carpet was concealed beneath a chaos of fragments of finery. the books on the shelves of the library remained unmoved; the piano was thrown on one side; and the floor presented huge upheaved and rent chasms, through which might be seen the still greater ruin in the lower cabin. below the saloon, or drawing-room, is the saloon of the lower deck, which was, of course, traversed by the same funnel as the one above it. on each side of these spacious saloons were small staircases leading to blocks of sleeping-cabins, scarcely one of which would have been without its two or more occupants a few hours later in the evening. they were now blown down like a house of cards. the furniture which they contained formed heaps of dislocated chairs, and wash-stands, and basins; the doors were off their hinges, the partitions were forced outward, the staircases leading to them had to be sought in the splinters and broken wood which lay in heaps in the lower saloon." the unhappy men who were working in the stoke-holes and tending the furnaces were the sufferers by this catastrophe. believing that one of the boilers had exploded, fears were entertained that the whole body of stokers and engineers attending the paddle engines were killed. mr trotman went down the air-shaft communicating with the other boilers. seeing by the light of the furnaces a number of men moving about, he inquired if they were all right, and the response sent up from these lowest depths of the ship was, "all right at present, but we don't know how long." they were told to keep quiet, and stay where they were; that they could be of no service on deck, and all would be well in a few minutes. the gallant fellows remained by their fiery furnaces with resolute good-will. in the case of the firemen tending the other set of boilers a very different scene was taking place. ropes were thrown down, and, one by one, wounded, bleeding, and staggering men were drawn up, their black, begrimed faces forming a ghastly contrast with scalded portions of their limbs and bodies. the men were taken aft to the hospital, and to the cabins, where mattresses and blankets were laid for them. two or three of these poor fellows walked up to the deck almost, if not quite, unassisted. their aspect told its own tale, and none who had ever seen blown-up men before could fail to know at a glance that some had only two or three hours to live. where not grimed by the smoke or ashes, the peculiar bright, soft whiteness of the face, hands, or breast, told at once that the skin, though unbroken, had in fact been boiled by the steam. one man walked along, and seemed quite unconscious that the flesh of his thighs, (most probably by the ashes from the furnace), was burnt in deep holes. to some one who came to his assistance he said quietly, "i am all right. there are others worse than me; go and look after them." this poor man was the first to die. it was seen at once that but little hope existed for many, if not the majority, of the sufferers, who were twelve in number. most of them seemed very restless, and almost, if not quite, delirious; but a few of those whose injuries were likely to be more immediately fatal remained quiet, half unconscious, or at most only asking to be covered up, as if they felt the cold. for these latter all knew that nothing whatever could be done, as, in fact, they were then dying. the explosion had occurred in the double casing round the bottom of one of the funnels. we have not space to describe this minutely, and by the general reader the description, were it given, would scarce be understood; but it is well to remark that the piece of machinery which caused the deplorable accident had been previously condemned in strong terms by competent judges, and there is no doubt that the hot-water casing round the funnel ought never to have been there. after the catastrophe, the _great eastern_ kept on her course as though nothing had happened, although the force of the explosion was sufficient to have sent any other ship to the bottom. the damage was estimated at pounds. she arrived at portland on the th, and remained there for some time undergoing repairs. afterwards she continued her trial trip to holyhead, where she arrived on the th of october. the results of the trial, excepting, of course, the accident, were most satisfactory. her speed under disadvantageous circumstances had been good, and her engines had worked admirably. against a gale of head wind she went as steadily as if in harbour, but with the wind a-beam she rolled considerably. altogether there was good reason to hope that the _great eastern_ would fulfil the sanguine expectations of her warmest admirers. the following account of the continuation of her trial trip from portland to holyhead, as gathered from the _times_, is exceedingly interesting:--when steam was up, and all ready for starting from portland, the crew were sent forward to heave up the anchor. eighty men sufficed to drag the _great eastern_ up to and over her moorings. bringing the anchor out of the ground, however, was not so easily managed; and it was not till all the musical resources known to sailors on such occasions were nearly exhausted that the tenacious gripe of trotman's patent was released, when a slow drift with the tide showed that the great ship was again set free. in another minute, without shouting, confusion, or hurry of any kind, and with less noise than is made by a -ton coaster, a slight vibration through the ship, with a thin line of foam astern, showed that the screw engines were at work and the vessel once more under way. with such ease, with such perfect quietness and good order was everything accomplished, that the occasional cheering from the yachts and steamers was almost the first token given to those on board that the trial trip had commenced. at a quarter to four the "way" on the vessel was rapid; her head went round like turning a pleasure-boat; and so little sign was given of the ship being under steam, that it seemed rather as if the breakwater had got adrift and was slowly floating past, than that the monster vessel was really cleaving the blue waves with a force which, as yet, we have seen no wind or sea to resist or check. directly the anchor was fished, captain harrison passed the word to steam ahead with both engines easily, and the wheels began their revolutions, slowly at first, but nevertheless making a track of foam upon the water such as they never made on the first start from deptford to the nore. the accession of speed from working the paddles was at first but slight; not from any want of power, however, but simply from the fact that both engines were ordered to work slowly, and though propelling the great ship at something like eleven knots, were really scarcely driving at indicated half-speed. quitting portland, it was necessary to make rather a round turn on leaving the breakwater, as right ahead on the starboard bow was a small light-ship, looking like the skeleton of a vessel, and marking the presence of a dangerous shoal, known by the most appropriate and significant name of "the shambles." inside this lay a long and turbid ridge of angry water, where the race of portland ran, and where a deep rolling swell, like the bay of biscay on a reduced scale, kept tumbling and breaking into spray like drifts of snow against the high, gaunt cliffs. it, however, required no actual watching of the low green mounds of water, which seemed butting against the coast, to convince all on board that the _great eastern_ was at sea. to the infinite relief and comfort of all the passengers, the vessel began to yield to reason, and to behave as much like another ship as she could consistently with her size. it would be too much to say she rolled at this time; for when the _great eastern_ rolls, if ever she does roll, travellers may depend upon her accomplishing something in that peculiar style of ocean navigation quite in proportion to her bulk; but one thing is certain-- that she went from side to side sufficiently to show that she was susceptible of the motion of the water, and that if ever she steams across a beam sea, she is likely to move to it with a will, though slowly and easily. continuing for a considerable time under little more than half steam, the _great eastern_ averaged more than thirteen knots, (fifteen miles), an hour. the best guide to the rapidity of the ship's progress was the way in which she passed fast-sailing schooners and overhauled the steamers. at this time nearly all the swell had ceased, and the monster ship was rushing over what to her were the mimic waves, and leaving less wake upon the waters than is caused in the thames by a gravesend boat. the only peculiarity about her progress was the three distinct lines of frothy water which the screw and paddles made, and which, stretching out in the clear moonlight like a broad highway, seemed as if the _great eastern_ had fulfilled her purpose, and really bridged the sea. for a considerable part of the way the paddles were working easily at from nine to ten, and the screw at from thirty-two to thirty-four revolutions per minute. it will give most readers a better idea of the tremendous nature of the size and speed of the engines which worked so easily, when it is said that, at ten revolutions, the paddle-wheels dashed through the water at something like feet per minute, and the screw revolved at . when accomplishing this, the consumption of fuel was at the rate of tons a day for both engines, the indicated power being above horses--about horses for the paddles, and a little over for the screw. in order to secure her going at full speed, however, under such circumstances, the great ship should have been down by the stern at least eighteen inches more than she really was, for not less than a foot of the screw-blades was out of the water, and the slip or loss of power was of course very great. off the coast of cornwall, the swell caused her to roll very considerably, as long as she was a-beam of the long swell. soon after this a small brig was seen right under the starboard bow. as usual with these small coasters, she was showing no light and keeping no look-out, and but for the anxious vigilance exercised on board the big ship, the brig would have been under the waves in two minutes more. her escape was narrow enough, and nothing short of the instant stoppage of the engines and actually reversing the screw saved her from swift destruction. she drifted from under the starboard paddle within twenty yards--quite close enough to enable captain harrison to speak to her master, and to express a very strong opinion on his style of navigation and conduct generally. towards the close of the trip all the fore and aft sails were set. the look of her vast spread of canvas and the extraordinary effect it produced, as one stood at the wheel-house and gazed beneath the long vista of brown sails stretched to the very utmost, and sending off the wind with the sustained roar of a volcano, was something almost indescribable. no mere description could convey a fair idea of the curious effect of the long, unbroken avenue of masts, sails, and funnels,--like a whole street of steamships, if such a term is fairly applicable. the rate of going throughout the whole trip was very satisfactory. allowing for the want of trim on the part of the vessel, and consequent absence of immersion in both screw and paddles, it was calculated from this data, by all the nautical authorities on board, that, in proper condition, the vessel might be depended on for eighteen miles an hour throughout a long voyage, and under steam alone. that in a strong and favourable breeze she would at times accomplish eighteen knots, or more than twenty-one miles an hour, there was no reason to doubt. among other tests to which the _great eastern_ was subjected was the terrible storm of the th and th october of that year, ( ), in which the _royal charter_ went down. she lay at anchor in the harbour of holyhead during that storm. so fierce was the gale that a large part of the breakwater was destroyed, and several vessels went down inside the harbour, while some were driven on shore. for one hour the big ship was as near destruction as she is ever likely to be. her salvation, under god, was due to the experience and energy of captain harrison and his officers. during the whole gale the captain was on the watch, sounding the lead to see if she dragged, and keeping the steam up to be in readiness to put to sea at a moment's notice. the gale roared and whistled through the rigging with indescribable fury. the captain, in trying to pass along the deck, was thrown down, and his waterproof coat was blown to ribbons. the cabin skylights were thrown open with a fearful crash, the glass broken, and deluges of rain and spray poured into the saloons. two anchors were down, one seven tons, the other three, with eighty and sixty fathoms of chain respectively; but the ground was known to be bad, and the lee-shore rocky, while the waves came curling and writhing into harbour, straining the cables to the utmost, and dashing against the rocks like avalanches of snow. the dash of these billows on the breakwater was like the roar of artillery. all this time the red light at the end of the breakwater shone out cheerily in the midst of a turmoil of spray. at last masses of the timber-work and solid masonry gave way. the gale rose to its fiercest, and one huge billow came rolling in; it towered high above the breakwater; it fell, and the red light was seen no more. the danger was now imminent. the cables could evidently bear no more, and the gale was increasing; so the screw was set going, but the wreck of timber from the breakwater fouled it and brought it to a dead-lock. then the wind veered round more to the north-east, sending a tremendous swell into the harbour, and the _great eastern_ began to roll heavily. in this extremity the paddle engines were set going, and the ship was brought up to her anchors, one of which was raised for the purpose of being dropped in a better position. at this moment the cable of the other anchor parted, and the great ship drifted swiftly toward what seemed certain destruction; but the heavy anchor was let go, and the engines turned on full speed. she swung round head to wind, and was brought up. this was the turning-point. the gale slowly abated, and the _great eastern_ was saved, while all round her the shores and harbour were strewn with wrecks. after the gale the _great eastern_ started on her return trip to southampton, which she reached in safety on the morning of the rd november. in this, as in her previous experiences, the mighty ship was well tested, and her good and bad points in some degree proved. at the very outset the steam gear for aiding in lifting the anchors broke down, and one of the anchors refusing to let go, was broken in half. the condenser of the paddle engines seems to have been proved too small in this trip. for some time she went against a stiff head-wind and sea-- which is now well known to be the great ship's forte--with perfect steadiness; but on getting into the channel she rolled slowly but decidedly, as if bowing--acknowledging majestically the might of the atlantic's genuine swell. here, too, a wave actually overtopped her towering hull, and sent a mass of _green_ water inboard! but her roll was peculiarly her own, and wonderfully easy. the vessel made eighteen knots an hour. she was under perfect command, even in narrow and intricate channels, and, despite her varied mishaps and trials, passed through this stormy period of her infancy with credit. _disaster to "great eastern" in september _.--having made three successful voyages to america, the great eastern, after all her troubles, was beginning to establish her reputation, to confirm the hopes of her friends and silence the cavils of her enemies, when the bad fortune that has been her portion from the cradle once more overwhelmed her, and shook, if it did not altogether destroy, the confidence in her capabilities which the public had been beginning tardily to entertain. there is nothing more difficult to ascertain than the true state of the case--with reference to culpability, accidental circumstance, inherent or incidental weakness, negligence, unavoidable risks, etcetera--in such a disaster as that which happened to the great ship in september of . and nothing could be more unfair than to pass judgment on her without a full knowledge of the minute particulars, and, moreover, a pretty fair capacity to understand such details and their various relations. before proceeding with the narrative of the event referred to, we may remark that while, on the one hand, it may be argued, with great plausibility, that her numerous disasters and misfortunes prove that she is unfitted for the navigation of the sea, it may, on the other hand, be argued, with equal plausibility, that the very fact of her having come through such appalling trials unconquered, though buffeted, is strong presumptive evidence that she is eminently fitted for her work, and that, under ordinary circumstances and _proper_ management, she would do it well. it is believed that any other vessel afloat would have been sunk had she been exposed to the same storm _under similar circumstances_. it must be borne in mind that, although other vessels weathered the same storm successfully, they did not do so with their rudder and rudder-posts gone, their captains and part of their crews new to them, and their chain cables, cabin furniture, and other material left as totally unsecured as if she had been a river steamer about to start on a few hours' trip. on tuesday the th of september the _great eastern_ left liverpool for america with passengers and a large, though not a full, general cargo. between and of the passengers occupied the berths in the principal cabins; the remainder of them occupied the intermediate and steerage cabins. all went on prosperously until the thursday, when, as the ship was in full steam and sail, she encountered a terrific gale about miles to the west of cape clear, and, in spite of the best seamanship, she failed to ride over the storm, which, with tremendous fury, swept away both her paddles. simultaneously the top of the rudder-post, a bar of iron ten inches in diameter, was suddenly wrenched off, and her steering gear being also carried away, she broached to and lay like a huge log in the trough of the sea. from thursday evening until two o'clock on sunday, her bulwarks almost touching the water, she rolled about like a disabled hulk, the passengers and crew expecting that she would every moment go down. the working and rolling of the vessel, at one instant of dread, displaced and destroyed all the furniture of the cabin and saloons, and, broke it to pieces, throwing the passengers pell-mell about the cabin. everything that occupied the upper deck was washed away, and a large part of the passengers' luggage was destroyed. between twenty and thirty of those who were on board, including several ladies, had limbs and ribs fractured, with numerous cuts and bruises. one of the cow-sheds, with two cows in it, was washed into the ladies' cabin, together with other things on board, and caused indescribable consternation and confusion. on sunday evening, after two days of terrible suspense, a temporary steering gear was fitted up, and the disabled vessel with her distressed crew made for cork harbour, steaming with her screw at nine knots an hour. her flag of distress was sighted at about three o'clock in the afternoon of tuesday, off the old head of kinsale, and h.m. ship _advice_ at once steamed out to her assistance and towed her to within a mile of the lighthouse off cork harbour by about nine o'clock. such is a general outline of this disaster--one which is rendered all the more remarkable from the circumstance that the vessel had only been recently surveyed by the officers of the marine department of the board of trade, when new decks and other requirements were carried out and completed at a cost of , pounds. the scene during the storm in the grand saloon, as described in detail by various passengers, was absolutely terrific. none of the furniture had been secured, and when the gale became violent and the rolling of the vessel increased, sideboards, tables, chairs, stools, crockery, sofas, and passengers were hurled with fearful violence from side to side in a promiscuous heap. when it is said that at each roll the top platform of the paddle-boxes dipped into the sea, anyone who has seen the towering sides of the _great eastern_ may form some conception of the angle of the decks, and the riot of unfastened articles that continued below during the greater part of the gale. the destruction was universal. the largest mirror in the grand saloon, which was about twelve feet high, was smashed to pieces by a gentleman going head foremost into it. although much bruised and cut, strange to say he was not seriously injured. the chandeliers fell from the ceiling, and the crashes they made in falling added to the general din. one of the other mirrors was smashed by a large stove. some of the passengers escaping from the dining-room were dashed against the iron balconies, which gave way with the pressure, and falling on the glass flooring at the sides, dashed it to atoms. the noise and turmoil of destruction below, together with the howling of the tempest above and the dashing of spray over the decks, whence it flowed in copious streams down into the cabins, formed a scene which cannot be fully conceived except by those who witnessed it. on deck, the confusion was equally great and destructive. many of the boats were carried away. the great chain cables rolled from side to side, until they were actually polished bright by the friction, while they were a source of perpetual danger to the crew in the performance of their duties. the oil-tanks broke loose, and after tumbling about for a time, fell down through the upper hatchway. and the two cows that fell with their cow-shed down into the ladies' cabin were killed by the violence of the shock. the chief cook was flung against one of the paddle-boxes, and having put out his hand to save himself, had his wrist sprained. he was then flung towards the other side, and coming against a stanchion in the way, had his leg fractured in three places. one lady had a rib fractured; another her shoulder dislocated; another her wrist. these are only specimens, selected to show what the poor people were subjected to. it is said that there were twenty-two fractures altogether, among passengers and crew, besides innumerable cuts and bruises. the cabins were flooded to the depth of several feet, and broken articles of furniture floated about everywhere. the luggage in the luggage-room, which had not been secured, was hurled about, until trunks, boxes, valises, etcetera, striking against each other, and against the sides of the compartment, were utterly destroyed--the very leather of the trunks being torn into small shreds. throughout all this terrible scene, the passengers behaved, with one or two exceptions, admirably. the ladies especially displayed great courage--remaining, in accordance with the desires intimated to them, in their cabins; while the gentlemen did their best to keep order. on the friday, they appointed a sort of committee or police force, of upwards of twenty strong, who took the duty in turns of going round the vessel, keeping order, carrying information to, and reassuring, the ladies and children. four only of these, who were called directors, had the privilege of speaking to the captain during the storm--thus saving him from the annoyance of repeated and ceaseless questioning. the crew also did their duty nobly. captain walker acted throughout with calmness, courage, and good judgment; and from the tenor of resolutions passed at an indignation meeting, held by the passengers after their return into port, it would appear that they entirely exonerated him from any blame in reference to the disaster. the fitting up of temporary steering gear, which was begun on the sunday when the storm moderated, was a work of great difficulty and danger. it was accomplished chiefly through the courage and cleverness of two men--john carroll and patrick grant--who volunteered for it, and were let down over the stern at the imminent risk of their lives; and an american gentleman, mr towle, a civil engineer, rendered great assistance in superintending and directing the work. it was not until two o'clock on sunday morning that the vessel got up steam in her screw boilers, and steered for cork harbour. the whole of the ironwork of both paddle-wheels was carried entirely away. the ladder leading up to the larboard paddle-box was twisted in an extraordinary manner. the boats on the starboard side were all gone, and those on the other side were hanging loosely from their fastenings. altogether, the great ship presented a most melancholy spectacle as she was towed into port. at the meeting of the passengers already referred to, the first resolution was expressive of their grateful acknowledgments to almighty god for his kind care in protecting them during the storm, and bringing them in safety out of their danger. the second condemned the directors, and stated that "the _great eastern_ was sent to sea thoroughly unprepared to face the storms which everyone must expect to meet with in crossing the atlantic; and that, if it had not been for the extraordinary strength of the hull, and the skill which was manifested in the construction of the vessel and its engines, in all human probability every soul on board would have perished." it has been said that if the ship had been more deeply laden she would have weathered the gale more easily. this, if true, is an argument in her favour. but in viewing the whole circumstances of this and previous disasters, we cannot avoid being deeply impressed with the fact that the _great eastern had not up to that time had fair play_. in her construction and general arrangements there have been some grave, and numerous more or less trivial errors. from first to last there has been a good deal of gross mismanagement; but the _great eastern_ cannot, with justice, be pronounced a failure. latterly she has done good service in laying ocean telegraph-cables, a species of work for which she is pre-eminently well adapted. it is possible that she may yet live to ride out many a wild atlantic storm, and perchance become the first of a race of ponderous giants who shall yet walk the deep,--to the utter confusion of timid croakers, and to the immense advantage of the world. chapter fifteen. curious craft of many lands. "many men, many minds," runs the proverb. "many nations, many ships," is almost equally true. a nation may show its individuality in the fashion of its marine architecture as much as in any other direction-- as, for instance, in its national dress, dwelling-houses, food, amusements; and an ethnologist in studying a people's characteristics may do wisely not to overlook its ships and boats. even in europe, where an advanced civilisation may be supposed to be slowly smoothing off national characteristics and peculiarities, and gradually blending and amalgamating diverse national customs, there still exists a considerable disparity in the marine architecture of different states; while between the ships of europe and those of some parts of asia the gulf is certainly broad enough, so that about the only point of resemblance between an english ironclad and a chinese junk is, that both are manifestly better adapted for the sea than the land. we now propose describing some of the more curious craft peculiar to various nations, beginning with europe: the dutch galliot is a somewhat peculiar craft to the eye of an englishman; heavy and clumsy-looking beyond doubt, but a good sea-boat notwithstanding. the galliot looks much the same, whether you regard her from stem or from stern, both being almost equally rounded. keel she has scarce any; her floors are flat, hull broad and deep, and rudder very wide. hung on each side is a large lee-board, to keep her from making too much leeway. her hull is varnished a bright yellow colour, and shines in the sun. her bulwarks are lofty; and a wooden house is placed aft, where the captain and his family live, and which is always kept brightly painted. this part of the ship is a remarkably snug place, comfortably furnished, and kept with the characteristic dutch cleanliness and neatness. forward is the caboose of the crew, a wide, low, but roomy erection. the galliot is rigged with square sails on her mainmast, a fore and aft main-sail, a gaff mizzen and mizzen gaff top-sails, and a high bowsprit. her sails are sometimes white, sometimes tanned. if the reader has ever chanced to enter the port of rotterdam, he will have encountered plenty of examples of the craft we are describing; and if he did not altogether approve or admire their shape, he must at least have been struck by their remarkable cleanness and brightness. a dutch galliot may be fifty, eighty, or even a hundred and fifty tons burden. when the dutch build vessels of a larger size than this, they do so on very similar lines to english merchantmen, though usually somewhat broader and bluffer. off the coast of portugal we meet with many different kinds of craft, of which the trading schooners differ from almost any other kind of vessel. broad in the beam, and short in the counter, some are rounded at the stem, some nearly square. they are decked, and are from forty to one hundred tons burden. they are peculiarly rigged, having only lower masts stepped at different angles. the gaffs of the fore-sail, as well as the main-sail, can be raised to different heights. they have fore stay-sail, jib and flying jib, gaff top-sails, and a large square sail and square top-sails. on the whole, they are ungainly-looking craft in the extreme; but they are very capable sea-boats, and make voyages as far as south america. mr w.h.g. kingston gives a graphic description of a portuguese craft which it has never been our fortune to see. he calls it the lisbon bean-pod, from its exact resemblance to that vegetable, and affirms it to be the most curious of european craft, which we can readily believe. "take a well-grown bean-pod," he says, "and put it on its convex edge, and then put two little sticks, one in the centre and one at the bows, raking forward, for the masts, and another in the bows, steeving up, for the bowsprit, and another astern for a boomkin or outrigger, and then you have before you the boat in question." these boats carry a lateen sail, sail very fast, and are much used on the waters of the tagus as fishing-boats and trawlers. other curious craft to be met with in europe are the scamparia and felucca of the mediterranean, the greek mystico and the trabacalo of the adriatic. the gondola, than which, perhaps, nothing that floats on the waters is suggestive of more romantic and poetical associations, is so familiar to everybody from pictures, and has so often been introduced into story, song, and narratives of travel, that we shall not pause to describe it. passing from europe to africa, we note among the craft peculiar to that country the diabiah or nile boat, a very comfortable travelling boat for warm climates. it is a large boat, and contains a house at one end, in which the passengers sleep at night, or take refuge from the sun's fierce heat by day. in asia a great variety of vessels and boats of various shapes and sizes are met with, to describe all of which would carry us far beyond the space at our disposal. the dhow of the arabs runs from sixty to a hundred tons, is almost entirely open, and has a sharp pointed bow, projecting for a considerable distance beyond the hull. on the high, broad stern a covered-in poop is placed, containing the quarters of the captain and passengers. the stern is usually ornamented with carving, as english vessels used to be in old days. the dhow carries but one sail, lateen-shaped, and the mast stoops forward at a sharp angle. these craft have not unfrequently been engaged in the nefarious slave traffic carried on on the east coast of africa. the catamaran of madras can only be called a boat on the _lucus a non lucendo_ principle, for it consists simply of three logs placed side by side, pointed at the bows, and kept together by two cross-pieces. yet this rude raft does good service in its way, being the only means of communication in rough weather between vessels lying off madras and the shore; for there are no wharves at madras, and ships are compelled to anchor in the offing. when the sea runs so high that boats of the ordinary kind are useless, the services of the catamarans are gladly enough made use of. the native boatmen, seated on their log rafts, and quite naked, make their way through the roughest surf to the vessels, carrying messages to and from the land. the rower propels his boat with a rather long paddle. sometimes he is washed off his catamaran into the sea; but being an expert swimmer, he usually recovers his seat without much trouble, and it rarely happens that any of these men are drowned. we spoke a little space back of the national characteristics of a people being traceable in its marine architecture as well as in other things, and surely this statement finds abundant illustration in the craft of the chinese. in china we find an intensely conservative people, and their national bent is undoubtedly indicated in their ships, which in all probability have not altered in any material regard for centuries. a chinaman would be as slow to change the shape of his junk as his shoes, or the length of his pigtail. and a strange, old-world, semi-barbarous look a chinese junk has. chinese junks vary greatly in size, but all present the same type of architecture. the sails in every case are of brownish-yellow matting, swung across the mast like a main-sail, and having pieces of bamboo placed cross-wise and parallel to each other, making them look somewhat like venetian blinds. these wooden strips both strengthen the sail and facilitate its reefing when lowered. a large chinese junk rises high out of the water; there are two or more decks aft above the main-deck, painted and carved with various devices; and the cabins are often luxuriously furnished according to celestial tastes. if you look at any representation of a junk, you will notice that the rudder is very broad, resembling somewhat the rudder of a canal barge. in spite of its primitive look, it has, after all, something picturesque about it; but we fancy that we would rather contemplate it in a picture than sail in one across the atlantic. on the deck of a junk is always to be found a josshouse or temple, in front of which the crew keep incense, sticks, and perfumed paper continually burning. when a calm overtakes an english vessel, the sailors and passengers are always supposed to try what "whistling for a wind" will effect. in lieu of this method of "raising the wind," a chinese sailor shapes little junks out of paper, and sets them afloat on the water as a propitiatory service to the divinity who has the welfare of seamen under his especial care. the river-life of china is very curious. quite a large proportion of the people spend their whole lives on the water, while many who are employed during the day on land sleep in boats on the various rivers. this condition of things corresponds in some degree to that described by captain marryat in that fine old story "jacob faithful," in the early chapters of which we get diverting glimpses of life on board a thames lighterman. but the river population of china is still more absolutely aquatic in manner of life than the thames barge-folk. the boats in which this class of the population live have an awning of bamboo and matting fore and aft, which is removed by day and raised at night. at sundown the boat-people anchor their craft in rows to stakes, thus forming boat-terraces as it were. when business grows slack at one part of the river, the master of the boat moves up or down stream to some other part. from the shape of these boats, resembling somewhat the half of an egg cut lengthwise, they are called in the chinese language "egg-boats." a large family will sometimes pack itself into an egg-boat not much more than twelve feet long and six broad. these river-folk have characteristics which almost render them a people apart. they have a code of laws of their own, differing in many points from that which governs the land community, and the two populations do not intermarry. women to a large extent navigate the egg-boats, as indeed they do many other kinds of boats in china. travellers report that these river-families live peaceable and happy enough lives, seldom disturbed by disputes of any kind. possibly one cause for this may be that which some humourist suggested as the reason why "birds in their little nests agree," namely, because it would be dangerous if they "fell out." but, speaking seriously, it says much for the placable nature of these chinese river-folk that they can pass such a happy existence within the narrow bounds of their egg-boats. passing over to america, we shall first describe the famous american and canadian river steamboats, which are in many respects as curious and unique as they are generally magnificent. these steamers are usually paddle-boats; are very long and narrow in shape, but of great strength. on the hull a sort of lofty platform is built, which is divided into what may be called the middle and the main deck, one above the other. fore and aft there is a spacious, luxuriously appointed, and richly decorated saloon, covered in with a glass roof. ranged on each side of the saloon are the cabins, each containing two berths. these sleeping-cabins, like the saloon, are prettily furnished and tastefully decorated. over the saloon is another deck or platform-- the whole structure as may be seen from our illustration is very much "be-decked"--about the middle of the vessel and in front of the funnel. here is situated the wheel, and here also the captain and officers take their position. this part of the vessel is kept private to them, no passenger being permitted to trespass on it. beneath the saloon-deck is the middle-deck, as has already been indicated, which also contains a saloon of its own, as well as sleeping apartments. this portion of the steamer is usually reserved for the unmarried ladies among the passengers, who, as all readers of american literature must be aware, are treated in america with an almost chivalrous courtesy and consideration. the dining-saloon of the vessel is situated in a third and undermost deck, which reaches from the middle of the boat right aft, and is a well-lighted, well-arranged room. the cargo is placed amidships, heaped up in great piles--passenger boats seldom or never carrying heavy goods. the american's passion for economising time is manifest in the steamboats as everywhere else, most of them carrying a barber, who will accommodate you with "easy shaving" during the voyage. the barber's shop is forward with the cook's quarters and other offices. american river-boats may vary, of course, in details, but we have endeavoured to indicate the leading characteristics of a typical example. the stories current in regard to the facility with which an american steamboat blows up have been much exaggerated, but nevertheless it is probably true that they bear the bell in this direction of risk and danger. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ of all craft of the canoe order, the flying-proa of the pacific is the swiftest. it carries a sail almost triangular in shape, and a straight yard. it has an outrigger; and outrigger, mast, and yard are of bamboo. strong matting composes the sail, which is stretched very flat upon the yard. when the crew wish to put their boat about they have merely to shift the sail, when what was before the prow of the proa becomes the stern. these boats are usually manned by a crew of about half-a-dozen. one man sits at either end of the vessel and takes his turn of steering according to whatever tack the canoe is on. the duty of the rest is to bail out the boat and to keep the sail properly trimmed. nothing afloat, probably, can go so close to the wind as the flying-proa, while its speed is astonishing. the malays use the proa, but theirs is a broader, heavier, and less swift boat than that used by the ladrone islanders of the pacific, which is that which we have just described. the canoes of the fijians are superior to those in use among any other of the south sea islanders. their chief feature is that they are twin-canoes, joined together by cross-beams, which support a platform of from twelve to fifteen feet broad. of the two canoes, one is smaller than the other, and the smaller serves by way of an outrigger. these canoes are sometimes one hundred feet long, their depth being usually about seven feet. sometimes a small cabin is built upon the platform. the mast is about thirty feet long, is supported by guys, and is furnished with a yard carrying a large sail. there are small hatchways at both ends of the craft, at each of which one of the crew sits ready to bail out the boat. the fijian canoes can also be propelled by means of sculling, the sculler using a broad-bladed scull about ten feet in length. a large canoe can be got through the water at the rate of two or three miles an hour by sculling. various experiments have from time to time been made in the way of building boats and ships with double hulls, the object being to obtain increased stability, and thus reduce to a minimum the rolling and pitching of ordinary vessels. the steamship castalia was an ambitious attempt in this direction. she was built for the passenger service between england and france. but she did not realise the expectations formed of her. most persons who have crossed from dover to calais, or vice versa, by the calais-douvre mail packet, will bear witness both to the comfort and speed of that vessel. up to this she has proved the most perfect form of steam-ship yet constructed for the purpose required. the calais-douvre is built somewhat upon the same principle as the castalia, but differs from that vessel in that whereas the latter was two half-ships joined together, each twin-portion of the calais-douvre is a perfect ship in itself. the result has been, that while the castalia was a failure, the calais-douvre has proved a distinct success. she is three hundred feet in length and sixty feet in breadth; her tonnage is two thousand, and her water-draught only six feet, so that she can enter calais harbour at even a low tide. two transverse iron girder bulk-heads unite the two hulls of the vessel; and her steering apparatus is so simple, and at the same time so effective in construction, that one wheel is usually sufficient to work it. she makes the passage from dover to calais usually in an hour and a half; but in very fine weather we ourselves have crossed in less than that time. with the maximum rate of speed, the calais-douvre has attained the minimum amount of pitching and rolling yet secured by any channel boat. her saloons, cabins, and decks are spacious and handsomely appointed, so that the channel passage in this vessel is made under as favourable conditions for bad sailors as any sea-passage can be. victoria and albert museum science handbooks. ancient and modern ships. part i. [illustration] board of education, south kensington. victoria and albert museum. ancient and modern ships. part i. wooden sailing-ships. by sir george c. v. holmes, k.c.v.o., c.b., hon. member i.n.a., whitworth scholar. formerly secretary of the institution of naval architects with seventy-four illustrations. [illustration] (_revised._) london: printed for his majesty's stationery office, by wyman and sons, limited, fetter lane, e.c. . to be purchased, either directly or through any bookseller from wyman & sons, ltd., fetter lane, london, e.c.; or oliver and boyd, edinburgh; or e. ponsonby, , grafton street, dublin; or on personal application at the catalogue stall, victoria and albert museum, s.w price one shilling and sixpence in paper wrapper, or two shillings and threepence in cloth. preface. an endeavour has been made in this handbook, as far as space and scantiness of material would permit, to trace the history of the development of wooden ships from the earliest times down to our own. unfortunately, the task has been exceedingly difficult; for the annals of shipbuilding have been very badly kept down to a quite recent period, and the statements made by old writers concerning ships are not only meagre but often extremely inaccurate. moreover, the drawings and paintings of vessels which have survived from the classical period are few and far between, and were made by artists who thought more of pictorial effect than of accuracy of detail. fortunately the carvings of the ancient egyptians were an exception to the above rule. thanks to their practice of recording and illustrating their history in one of the most imperishable of materials we know more of their ships and maritime expeditions than we do of those of any other people of antiquity. if their draughtsmen were as conscientious in delineating their boats as they were in their drawings of animals and buildings, we may accept the illustrations of egyptian vessels which have survived into our epoch as being correct in their main features. the researches now being systematically carried out in the valley of the nile add, year by year, to our knowledge, and already we know enough to enable us to assert that ship building is one of the oldest of human industries, and that there probably existed a sea borne commerce in the mediterranean long before the building of the pyramids. though the phoenicians were the principal maritime people of antiquity in the mediterranean, we know next to nothing of their vessels. the same may be said of the greeks of the archaic period. there is, however, ground for hope that, with the progress of research, more may be discovered concerning the earliest types of greek vessels; for example, during the past year, a vase of about the eighth century b.c. was found, and on it is a representation of a bireme of the archaic period of quite exceptional interest. as the greater part of this handbook was already in type when the vase was acquired by the british museum, it has only been possible to reproduce the representation in the appendix. the drawings of greek merchant-ships and galleys on sixth and fifth-century vases are merely pictures, which tell us but little that we really want to know. if it had not been for the discovery, this century, that a drain at the piræus was partly constructed of marble slabs, on which were engraved the inventories of the athenian dockyards, we should know but little of the greek triremes of as late a period as the third century b.c. we do not possess a single illustration of a greek or roman trireme, excepting only a small one from trajan's column, which must not be taken too seriously, as it is obviously pictorial, and was made a century and a half after many-banked ships had gone out of fashion. in the first eight centuries of our era records and illustrations of ships continue to be extremely meagre. owing to a comparatively recent discovery we know something of scandinavian boats. when we consider the way in which the norsemen overran the seaboard of europe, it seems probable that their types of vessels were dominant, at any rate in northern and western european waters, from the tenth to the twelfth century. from the time of the norman conquest down to the reign of henry viii. we have to rely, for information about ships, upon occasional notes by the old chroniclers, helped out by a few illustrations taken from ancient corporate seals and from manuscripts. from the time of henry viii., onwards, information about warships is much more abundant; but, unfortunately, little is known of the merchant vessels of the tudor, stuart, and early hanoverian periods, and it has not been found possible to trace the origin and development of the various types of merchant sailing-ships now in existence. the names of the authorities consulted have generally been given in the text, or in footnotes. the author is indebted to dr. warre's article on ships, in the last edition of the "encyclopædia britannica," and to mr. cecil torr's work, "ancient ships," for much information concerning greek and roman galleys, and further to "the royal navy," a history by mr. w. laird clowes, and the "history of marine architecture" by charnock, for much relating to british warships down to the end of the eighteenth century. , adelphi terrace, w.c., _january, , _. contents. chapter i. page. introduction chapter ii. ancient ships in the mediterranean and red seas chapter iii. ancient ships in the seas of northern europe chapter iv. mediÆval ships chapter v. modern wooden sailing-ships appendix description of an archaic greek bireme index list of illustrations. fig. page * . egyptian ship of the punt expedition. about b.c. _from dêr-bahari_ _frontispiece_ . the oldest known ships. about b.c. . egyptian boat of the time of the third dynasty + . egyptian boat of the time of the fourth dynasty * . nile barge carrying obelisks. about b.c. . battleship of ramses iii. about b.c. . portion of a phoenician galley. about b.c. _from kouyunjik (nineveh)_ . greek unireme. about b.c. . greek bireme. about b.c. . fragment of a greek galley showing absence of deck. about b.c. . galley showing deck and superstructure. about b.c. _from an etruscan imitation of a greek vase_ . greek merchant-ship. about b.c. . roman merchant-ship + . probable arrangement of oar-ports in ancient galleys . suggested arrangement of oar-ports in an octoreme . roman galley. about a.d. . liburnian galley. conjectural restoration . stem and stern ornaments of galleys . bow of ancient war-galley . bow of ancient war-galley . anglo-saxon ship. about a.d. - . viking ship . one of william the conqueror's ships. a.d. * . sandwich seal. * . dover seal. * . poole seal. . venetian galley. fourteenth century . cross-section of a venetian galleon . venetian galleon. . italian sailing-ship. fifteenth century . english ship. time of richard ii. . english ship. time of henry vi. . english ship. latter half of fifteenth century . columbus' ship, the "santa maria." . sail-plan of the "santa maria" . lines of the "santa maria" . the "henry grace À dieu." . _pepysian library, cambridge_ . the "henry grace À dieu." _after allen_ . genoese carrack. . spanish galleass. . english man-of-war. about . venetian galleass. . the "prince royal." . the "sovereign of the seas." . the "royal charles." . the "soleil royal." . the "hollandia." . british second-rate. . midship section of a fourth-rate. end of seventeenth century . the "falmouth." east indiaman. launched . the "royal george." . the "commerce de marseille. . british first-rate. . " " " . heavy french frigate of . " " " . the "howe." . sir robert seppings' system of construction . " " " " " . " " " " " . the "waterloo" . the "queen" * . the "thames." east indiaman. * . the "thetis." west indiaman * . free-trade barque ++ . the "bazaar." american cotton-ship. ++ . the "sir john franklin." american transatlantic sailing-packet. ++ . the "ocean herald." american clipper. ++ . the "great republic." american clipper. . archaic greek bireme. about b.c. the illustrations marked * are published by kind permission of the committee of the egypt exploration fund. those marked + are taken from "the history of merchant shipping and ancient commerce," and were kindly lent by messrs. sampson low, marston & co., ltd. those marked ++ are reproduced from "la marine française de à nos jours," by l'amiral paris. ancient and modern ships. part i. _wooden sailing-ships._ chapter i. introduction. a museum relating to naval architecture and shipbuilding is of the utmost interest to the people of great britain, on account of the importance to them of everything that bears on the carrying of their commerce. every englishman knows, in a general way, that the commerce of the british empire is more extensive than that of any other state in the world, and that the british sea-going mercantile marine compares favourably in point of size even with that of all the other countries of the world put together; but few are probably aware of the immense importance to us of these fleets of trading ships, and of the great part which they play in the maintenance of the prosperity of these isles. the shipping industry ranks, after agriculture, as the largest of our national commercial pursuits. there is more capital locked up in it, and more hands are employed in the navigation and construction of ships, their engines and fittings, than in any other trade of the country excepting the tillage of the soil. the following table gives the relative figures of the merchant navies of the principal states of the civilised world in the year , and proves at a glance the immense interest to our fellow countrymen of all that affects the technical advancement of the various industries connected with shipping:-- number and tonnage of sailing-vessels of over tons net, and number and tonnage of steamers of over tons gross, belonging to each of the countries named, as recorded in lloyds' register book. ------------------------------------------------------------------ | total no. of | total tonnage of flag. | steam and sailing | steam (gross) and of | vessels. | sailing-vessels (net). ----------------------+-------------------+----------------------- united kingdom | , | , , colonies | , | , , +-------------------+----------------------- total | , | , , | | united states of }| | america, including }| , | , , great lakes }| | | | danish | | , french | , | , , german | , | , , italian | , | , japanese | | , norwegian | , | , , russian | , | , spanish | | , swedish | , | , all other | | countries | , | , , +-------------------+----------------------- total | , | , , ----------------------+-------------------+----------------------- the part played by technical improvements in the maintenance of our present position cannot be over-estimated; for that position, such as it is, is not due to any inherent permanent advantages possessed by this country. time was when our mercantile marine was severely threatened by competition from foreign states. to quote the most recent example, about the middle of last century the united states of america fought a well-contested struggle with us for the carrying trade of the world. shortly after the abolition of the navigation laws, the competition was very severe, and united states ships had obtained almost exclusive possession of the china trade, and of the trade between europe and north america, and in the year the total tonnage of the shipping of the states was , , , against , , tons owned by great britain. the extraordinary progress in american mercantile shipbuilding was due, in part, to special circumstances connected with their navigation laws, and in part to the abundance and cheapness of excellent timber; but, even with these advantages, the americans would never have been able to run such a close race with us for the carrying trade of the world, had it not been for the great technical skill and intelligence of their shipbuilders, who produced vessels which were the envy and admiration of our own constructors. as a proof of this statement, it may be mentioned that, the labour-saving mechanical contrivances adopted by the americans were such that, on board their famous liners and clippers, twenty men could do the work which in a british ship of equal size required thirty, and, in addition to this advantage, the american vessels could sail faster and carry more cargo in proportion to their registered tonnage than our own vessels. it was not till new life was infused into british naval architecture that we were enabled to conquer the american competition; and then it was only by producing still better examples of the very class of ship which the americans had been the means of introducing, that we were eventually enabled to wrest from them the china trade. another triumph in the domain of technical shipbuilding, viz., the introduction and successful development of the iron-screw merchant steamer, eventually secured for the people of this country that dominion of the seas which remains with them to this day. among the great means of advancing technical improvements, none takes higher rank than a good educational museum; for it enables the student to learn, as he otherwise cannot learn, the general course which improvements have taken since the earliest times, and hence to appreciate the direction which progress will inevitably take in the future. here he will learn, for instance, how difficulties have been overcome in the past, and will be the better prepared to play his part in overcoming those with which he, in his turn, will be confronted. in such a museum he can study the advantages conferred upon the owner, by the successive changes which have been effected in the materials, construction, and the means of propulsion of ships. he can trace, for instance, the effects of the change from wood to iron, and from iron to steel, in the carrying capacity of ships, and he can note the effects of successive improvements in the propelling machinery in saving weight and space occupied by engines, boilers, and bunkers; and in conferring upon a ship of a given size the power of making longer voyages. here, too, he can learn how it was that the american clipper supplanted the old english sailing merchantman, and how the screw iron ship, fitted with highly economical engines, has practically driven the clipper from the seas. in fact, with the aid of a good museum the student is enabled to take a bird's-eye view of the whole chain of progress, in which the existing state of things constitutes but a link. signs are not wanting that the competition with which british shipowners had to contend in the past will again become active in the near future. the advantages conferred upon us by abundant supplies of iron and by cheap labour will not last for ever. there are many who expect, not without reason, that the abolition or even the diminution of protection in the united states will, when it comes to pass, have the same stimulating effect upon the american shipbuilding industry which the abolition of the old navigation laws had upon our own; and when that day comes englishmen will find it an advantage to be able to enter the contest equipped with the best attainable technical education and experience. chapter ii. ancient ships in the mediterranean and red seas. it is not difficult to imagine how mankind first conceived the idea of making use of floating structures to enable him to traverse stretches of water. the trunk of a tree floating down a river may have given him his first notions. he would not be long in discovering that the tree could support more than its own weight without sinking. from the single trunk to a raft, formed of several stems lashed together, the step would not be a long one. similarly, once it was noticed that a trunk, or log, could carry more than its own weight and float, the idea would naturally soon occur to any one to diminish the inherent weight of the log by hollowing it out and thus increase its carrying capacity; the subsequent improvements of shaping the underwater portion so as to make the elementary boat handy, and to diminish its resistance in the water, and of fitting up the interior so as to give facilities for navigating the vessel and for accommodating in it human beings and goods, would all come by degrees with experience. even to the present day beautiful specimens exist of such boats, or canoes, admirably formed out of hollowed tree-trunks. they are made by many uncivilized peoples, such as the islanders of the pacific and some of the tribes of central africa. probably the earliest type of _built-up_ boat was made by stretching skins on a frame. to this class belonged the coracle of the ancient britons, which is even now in common use on the atlantic seaboard of ireland. the transition from a raft to a flat-bottomed boat was a very obvious improvement, and such vessels were probably the immediate forerunners of ships. it is usual to refer to noah's ark as the oldest ship of which there is any authentic record. since, however, egypt has been systematically explored, pictures of vessels have been discovered immensely older than the ark--that is to say, if the date usually assigned to the latter ( b.c.) can be accepted as approximately correct; and, as we shall see hereafter (p. ), there are vessels _now in existence in egypt which were built_ about this very period. the ark was a vessel of such enormous size that the mere fact that it was constructed argues a very advanced knowledge and experience on the part of the contemporaries of noah. its dimensions were, according to the biblical version, reckoning the cubit at eighteen inches; length, feet; breadth, feet; and depth, feet. if very full in form its "registered tonnage" would have been nearly , . according to the earlier babylonian version, the depth was equal to the breadth, but, unfortunately, the figures of the measurements are not legible. it has been sometimes suggested that the ark was a huge raft with a superstructure, or house, built on it, of the dimensions given above. there does not, however, appear to be the slightest reason for concurring with this suggestion. on the contrary, the biblical account of the structure of the ark is so detailed, that we have no right to suppose that the description of the most important part of it, the supposed raft, to which its power of floating would have been due, would have been omitted. moreover, the whole account reads like the description of a ship-shaped structure. shipbuilding in egypt. the earliest information on the building of ships is found, as might be expected, on the egyptian tombs and monuments. it is probable that the valley of the nile was also the first land bordering on the mediterranean in which ships, as distinguished from more elementary craft, were constructed. everything is in favour of such a supposition. in the first place, the country was admirably situated, geographically, for the encouragement of the art of navigation, having seaboards on two important inland seas which commanded the commerce of europe and asia. in the next place, the habitable portion of egypt consisted of a long narrow strip of densely peopled, fertile territory, bordering a great navigable river, which formed a magnificent highway throughout the whole extent of the country. it is impossible to conceive of physical circumstances more conducive to the discovery and development of the arts of building and navigating floating structures. the experience gained on the safe waters of the nile would be the best preparation for taking the bolder step of venturing on the open seas. the character of the two inland seas which form the northern and eastern frontiers of egypt was such as to favour, to the greatest extent, the spirit of adventure. as a rule, their waters are relatively calm, and the distances to be traversed to reach other lands are inconsiderable. we know that the ancient egyptians, at a period which the most modern authorities place at about , years ago, had already attained to a very remarkable degree of civilisation and to a knowledge of the arts of construction on land which has never since been excelled. what is more natural than to suppose that the genius and science which enabled them to build the pyramids and their vast temples and palaces, to construct huge works for the regulation of the nile, and to quarry, work into shape, and move into place blocks of granite weighing in some cases several hundreds of tons, should also lead them to excel in the art of building ships? not only the physical circumstances, but the habits and the religion of the people created a demand, even a necessity, for the existence of navigable floating structures. at the head of the delta of the nile was the ancient capital, the famous city of memphis, near to which were built the pyramids, as tombs in which might be preserved inviolate until the day of resurrection, the embalmed bodies of their kings. the roofs of the burial chambers in the heart of the pyramids were prevented from falling in, under the great weight of the superincumbent mass, by huge blocks, or beams, of the hardest granite, meeting at an angle above the chambers. the long galleries by which the chambers were approached were closed after the burial by enormous gates, consisting of blocks of granite, which were let down from above, sliding in grooves like the portcullis of a feudal castle. in this way it was hoped to preserve the corpse contained in the chamber absolutely inviolate. the huge blocks of granite, which weighed from to tons each, were supposed to be too heavy ever to be moved again after they had been once lowered into position, and they were so hard that it was believed they could never be pierced. now, even if we had no other evidence to guide us, the existence of these blocks of granite in the pyramids would afford the strongest presumption that the egyptians of that remote time were perfectly familiar with the arts of inland navigation, for the stone was quarried at assouan, close to the first cataract, miles above cairo, and could only have been conveyed from the quarry to the building site by water. in the neighbourhood of memphis are hundreds of other blocks of granite from assouan, many of them of enormous size. the pyramid of men-kau-ra, or mycerinus, built about b.c., was once entirely encased with blocks from assouan. the temple of the sphinx, built at a still earlier date, was formed, to a large extent, of huge pieces of the same material, each measuring × × · feet, and weighing about tons. the mausoleum of the sacred bulls at sakara contains numbers of assouan granite sarcophagi, some of which measure × × feet. these are but a few instances, out of the many existing, from which we may infer that, even so far back as the fourth dynasty, the egyptians made use of the arts of inland navigation. we are, however, fortunately not obliged to rely on inference, for we have direct evidence from the sculptures and records on the ancient tombs. thanks to these, we now know what the ancient nile boats were like, and how they were propelled, and what means were adopted for transporting the huge masses of building material which were used in the construction of the temples and monuments. the art of reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions was first discovered about the year , and the exploration of the tombs and monuments has only been prosecuted systematically during the last five-and-twenty years. most of the knowledge of ancient egyptian ships has, therefore, been acquired in quite recent times, and much of it only during the last year or two. this is the reason why, in the old works on shipbuilding, no information is given on this most interesting subject. knowledge is, however, now being increased every day, and, thanks to the practice of the ancient egyptians of recording their achievements in sculpture in a material which is imperishable in a dry climate, we possess at the present day, probably, a more accurate knowledge of their ships than we do of those of any other ancient or mediæval people. by far the oldest boats of which anything is now known were built in egypt by the people who inhabited that country before the advent of the pyramid-builders. it is only within the last few years that these tombs have been explored and critically examined. they are now supposed to be of libyan origin and to date from between and b.c. in many of these tombs vases of pottery have been discovered, on which are painted rude representations of ships. some of the latter were of remarkable size and character. fig. is taken from one of these vases. it is a river scene, showing two boats in procession. the pyramid-shaped mounds in the background represent a row of hills. these boats are evidently of very large size. one of them has oars, or more probably paddles, on each side, and two large cabins amidships, connected by a flying bridge, and with spaces fenced off from the body of the vessel. the steering was, apparently, effected by means of three large paddles on each side, and from the prow of one of the boats hangs a weight, which was probably intended for an anchor. it will be noticed that the two ends of these vessels, like the nile boats of the egyptians proper, were not waterborne. a great many representations of these boats have now been discovered. they all have the same leading characteristics, though they differ very much in size. amongst other peculiarities they invariably have an object at the prow resembling two branches of palm issuing from a stalk, and also a mast carrying an ensign at the after-cabin. [illustration: fig. .--the oldest known ships. between and b.c.] some explorers are of opinion that these illustrations do not represent boats, but fortifications, or stockades of some sort. if we relied only on the rude representations painted on the vases, the question might be a moot one. it has, however, been definitely set at rest by professor flinders petrie, who, in the year , brought back from egypt very large drawings of the same character, taken, not from vases, but from the tombs themselves. the drawings clearly show that the objects are boats, and that they were apparently very shallow and flat-bottomed. it is considered probable that they were employed in over-sea trade as well as for nile traffic; for, in the same tombs were found specimens of pottery of foreign manufacture, some of which have been traced to bosnia. [illustration: fig. .--egyptian boat of the time of the third dynasty.] the most ancient mention of a ship in the world's history is to be found in the name of the eighth king of egypt after mena, the founder of the royal race. this king, who was at the head of the second dynasty, was called betou (boëthos in greek), which word signifies the "prow of a ship." nineteen kings intervened between him and khufu (cheops), the builder of the great pyramid at ghizeh. the date of this pyramid is given by various authorities as from about to b.c. as the knowledge of egyptology increases the date is set further and further back, and the late mariette pasha, who was one of the greatest authorities on the subject, fixed it at b.c. about five centuries intervened between the reign of betou and the date of the great pyramid. hence we can infer that ships were known to the egyptians of the dynasties sixty-seven centuries ago. fortunately, however, we are not obliged to rely on inferences drawn from the name of an individual; we actually possess pictures of vessels which, there is every reason to believe, were built before the date of the great pyramid. the boat represented by fig. is of great interest, as it is by far the oldest specimen of a true egyptian boat that has yet been discovered. it was copied by the late mr. villiers stuart from the tomb of ka khont khut, situated in the side of a mountain near kâu-el-kebîr, on the right bank of the nile, about miles above cairo.[ ] the tomb belongs to a very remote period. from a study of the hieroglyphs, the names of the persons, the forms of the pottery found, and the shape, arrangement, and decoration of the tomb, mr. villiers stuart came to the conclusion that it dates from the third dynasty, and that, consequently, it is older than the great pyramid at ghizeh. if these conclusions are correct, and if mariette's date for the great pyramid be accepted, fig. represents a nile boat as used about , years ago--that is to say, about fifteen centuries before the date commonly accepted for the ark. mr. villiers stuart supposes that it was a dug-out canoe, but from the dimensions of the boat this theory is hardly tenable. it will be noted that there are seven paddlers on each side, in addition to a man using a sounding, or else a punt, pole at the prow, and three men steering with paddles in the stern, while amidships there is a considerable free space, occupied only by the owner, who is armed with a whip, or courbash. the paddlers occupy almost exactly one-half of the total length, and from the space required for each of them the boat must have been quite feet long. it could hardly have been less than seven feet wide, as it contained a central cabin, with sufficient space on either side of the latter for paddlers to sit. if it were a "dug-out," the tree from which it was made must have been brought down the river from tropical africa. there is no reason, however, to suppose anything of the sort; for, if the epoch produced workmen skilful enough to excavate and decorate the tomb, and to carve the statues and make the pottery which it contained, it must also have produced men quite capable of building up a boat from planks. [illustration: fig. .--egyptian boat of the time of the fourth dynasty.] the use of sails was also understood at this remote epoch, for it will be noticed that, on the roof of the cabin is lying a mast which has been unshipped. the mast is triangular in shape, consisting of two spars, joined together at the top at an acute angle, and braced together lower down. this form was probably adopted in order to dispense with stays, and thus facilitate shipping and unshipping. it is also worthy of note that this boat appears to have been decked over, as the feet of all those on board are visible above the gunwale. a representation of a very similar boat was found in the tomb of merâb, a son of khufu, of the fourth dynasty. the tombs of egypt abound in pictures of boats and larger vessels, and many wooden models of them have also been found in the sarcophagi. there is in the berlin museum a model of a boat similar in general arrangement to the one just described. it is decked over and provided with a cabin amidships, which does not occupy the full width of the vessel. fig. is a vessel of later date and larger size than that found in the tomb of ka khont khut, but its general characteristics are similar. from the number of paddlers it must have been at least feet in length. in this case we see the mast is erected and a square sail set. the bow and stern also come much higher out of the water. the roof of the cabin is prolonged aft, so as to form a shelter for the steersman and a seat for the man holding the ropes. similarly it is prolonged forward, so as to provide a shelter for the captain, or owner. the method of steering with oars continued in use for centuries; but in later and larger vessels the steering-oars, which were of great size, were worked by a mechanical arrangement. the illustration was taken originally from a fourth-dynasty tomb at kôm-el-ahmars. there are also extant pictures of egyptian cattle-boats, formed of two ordinary barges lashed together, with a temporary house, or cattle-shed, constructed across them. the history of egypt, as inscribed in hieroglyphs on the ancient monuments, relates many instances of huge sarcophagi, statues, and obelisks having been brought down the nile on ships. the tombs and monuments of the sixth dynasty are particularly rich in such records. in the tomb of una, who was a high officer under the three kings, ati, pepi i., and mer-en-ra, are inscriptions which shed a flood of light on egyptian shipbuilding of this period, and on the uses to which ships were put. in one of them we learn how una was sent by pepi to quarry a sarcophagus in a single piece of limestone, in the mountain of jurra, opposite to memphis, and to transport it, together with other stones, in one of the king's ships. in another it is related how he headed a military expedition against the land of zerehbah, "to the north of the land of the hirusha," and how the army was embarked in ships. in the reign of pepi's successor, mer-en-ra, una appears to have been charged with the quarrying and transport of the stones destined for the king's pyramid, his sarcophagus, statue, and other purposes. the following passage from the inscriptions on his tomb gives even the number of the ships and rafts which he employed on this work:[ ]-- "his holiness, the king mer-en-ra, sent me to the country of abhat to bring back a sarcophagus with its cover, also a small pyramid, and a statue of the king mer-en-ra, whose pyramid is called kha-nofer ('the beautiful rising'). and his holiness sent me to the city of elephantine to bring back a holy shrine, with its base of hard granite, and the doorposts and cornices of the same granite, and also to bring back the granite posts and thresholds for the temple opposite to the pyramid kha-nofer, of king mer-en-ra. the number of ships destined for the complete transport of all these stones consisted of six broad vessels, three tow-boats, three rafts, and one ship manned with warriors." further on, the inscriptions relate how stone for the pyramid was hewn in the granite quarries at assouan, and how rafts were constructed, cubits in length and cubits in breadth, to transport the material. the royal egyptian cubit was · inches in length, and the common cubit · inches. the river had fallen to such an extent that it was not possible to make use of these rafts, and others of a smaller size had to be constructed. for this purpose una was despatched up the river to the country of wawa-t, which brugsch considered to be the modern korosko. the inscription states-- "his holiness sent me to cut down four forests in the south, in order to build three large vessels and four towing-vessels out of the acacia wood in the country of wawa-t. and behold the officials of araret, aam, and mata caused the wood to be cut down for this purpose. i executed all this in the space of a year. as soon as the waters rose i loaded the rafts with immense pieces of granite for the pyramid kha-nofer, of the king mer-en-ra." mr. villiers stuart found several pictures of large ships of this remote period at kasr-el-syad on the nile, about miles below thebes, in the tomb of ta-hotep, who lived in the reigns of pepi i. and his two successors. these boats were manned with twenty-four rowers, and had two cabins, one amidships and the other astern.[ ] the same explorer describes the contents of a tomb of the sixth dynasty at gebel abû faida, on the walls of which he observed the painting of a boat with a triple mast (presumably made of three spars arranged like the edges of a triangular pyramid), and a stern projecting beneath the water. between the sixth and the eleventh dynasties egyptian history is almost an utter blank. the monuments contain no records for a period of about years. we are, therefore, in complete ignorance of the progress of shipbuilding during this epoch. it was, however, probably considerable; for, when next the monuments speak it is to give an account of a mercantile expedition on the high seas. in the valley of hamâmât, near coptos, about miles above cairo, is an inscription on the rocks, dating from the reign of sankh-ka-ra, the last king of the eleventh dynasty (about b.c.), describing an expedition by sea to the famous land of punt, on the coast of the red sea. this expedition is not to be confounded with another, a much more famous one, to the same land, carried out by direction of queen hatshepsu of the eighteenth dynasty, about eleven centuries later. sankh-ka-ra's enterprise is, however, remarkable as being the first over-sea maritime expedition recorded in the world's history. it may be noted that it took place at about the date usually assigned to noah's ark. the town of coptos was of considerable commercial importance, having been at one end of the great desert route from the nile to the red sea port of kosseir, whence most of the egyptian maritime expeditions started. the land of punt, which was the objective of the expedition, is now considered to be identical with somaliland. the following extracts from the inscription give an excellent idea of the objects and conduct of the expedition, which was under the leadership of a noble named hannu, who was himself the author of the inscription:[ ]-- "i was sent to conduct ships to the land of punt, to fetch for pharaoh sweet-smelling spices, which the princes of the red land collect out of fear and dread, such as he inspires in all nations. and i started from the city of coptos, and his holiness gave the command that the armed men, who were to accompany me, should be from the south country of the thebaîd." after describing the arrangements which he made for watering the expedition along the desert route, he goes on to say:-- "then i arrived at the port seba, and i had ships of burthen built to bring back products of all kinds. and i offered a great sacrifice of oxen, cows, and goats. and when i returned from seba i had executed the king's command, for i brought him back all kinds of products which i had met with in the ports of the holy land (punt). and i came back by the road of uak and rohan, and brought with me precious stones for the statues of the temples. but such a thing never happened since there were kings; nor was the like of it ever done by any blood relations who were sent to these places since the time (of the reign) of the sun-god ra." from the last sentence of the above quotation we may infer that previous expeditions had been sent to the land of punt. communication with this region must, however, have been carried on only at considerable intervals, for we read that hannu had to build the ships required for the voyage. unfortunately, no representations of these vessels accompany the inscription. between the end of the eleventh and the commencement of the eighteenth dynasty, the monuments give us very little information about ships or maritime expeditions. aahmes, the first king of the latter dynasty, freed egypt from the domination of the shepherd kings by means of a naval expedition on the nile and the mediterranean. a short history of this campaign is given in the tomb of another aahmes, near el kab, a place on the east bank of the river, miles south of cairo. this aahmes was a captain of sailors who served under sequenen-ra, king aahmes, amenophis i., and thotmes i. king aahmes is supposed to have been the pharaoh of the old testament who knew not joseph. he lived about b.c. by far the most interesting naval records of this dynasty are the accounts, in the temple of dêr-el-bahari close to thebes, of the famous expedition to the land of punt, carried out by order of that remarkable woman queen hatshepsu, who was the daughter of thotmes i., half-sister and wife of thotmes ii., and aunt and step-mother of the famous king thotmes iii. she appears to have been called by her father during his lifetime to share the throne with him, and to have practically usurped the government during the reign of her husband and during the early years of the reign of her nephew. the expedition to the land of punt was evidently one of the most remarkable events of her reign. it took place about b.c.--that is to say, about three centuries before the exodus. the history of the undertaking is given at great length on the retaining wall of one of the terraces of the temple, and the various scenes and events are illustrated by carvings on the same wall, in as complete a manner as though the expedition had taken place in the present time, and had been accompanied by the artists of one of our pictorial newspapers. fortunately, the great bulk of the carvings and inscriptions remain to this day, and we possess, therefore, a unique record of a trading expedition carried out at this remote period. the carvings comprise representations of the ships going out. the landing at the "incense terraced-mountain," and the meeting with the princes and people of this strange land, are also shown. we have pictures of their pile dwellings, and of the trees and animals of the country, and also portraits of the king of punt, of his wife and children. lastly, we have representations of the ships returning to egypt, laden with the precious incense of the land and with other merchandise, and also of the triumphant reception of the members of the expedition at thebes. one of the inscriptions relates as follows:[ ]-- "the ships were laden to the uttermost with the wonderful products of the land of punt, and with the different precious woods of the divine land, and with heaps of the resin of incense, with fresh incense trees, with ebony, (objects) of ivory set in pure gold from the land of the 'amu, with sweet woods, khesit-wood, with ahem incense, holy resin, and paint for the eyes, with dog-headed apes, with long-tailed monkeys and greyhounds, with leopard-skins, and with natives of the country, together with their children. never was the like brought to any king (of egypt) since the world stands." the boast contained in the concluding sentence was obviously not justified, as we know the same claims were made in the inscription in the valley of hammamât, describing the previous expedition to punt, which took place eleven centuries earlier. from the frontispiece, fig. , we can form an accurate idea of the ships used in the red sea trade in the time of the eighteenth dynasty. they were propelled by rowers instead of by paddlers, as in all the previous examples. there were fifteen rowers on each side, and, allowing four feet for the distance between each seat, and taking account of the length of the overhanging portions at bow and stern, the length of each vessel could have been little short of a hundred feet. they were apparently decked over and provided with raised cabins at the two extremities. the projections marked along the sides may indicate the ends of beams, or they may, as some writers have supposed, have been pieces of timber against which the oars could be worked in narrow and shallow water. [illustration: fig. .--nile barge carrying obelisks. about b.c.] these vessels were each rigged with a huge square sail. the spars carrying the sail were as long as the boats themselves, and were each formed of two pieces spliced together in the middle. the stems and sterns were not waterborne. in order to prevent the vessel from hogging under the influence of the weights of the unsupported ends, a truss was employed, similar in principle and object to those used to this day in american river steamers. the truss was formed by erecting four or more pillars in the body of the vessel, terminating at a height of about six feet above the gunwale, in crutches. a strong rope running fore and aft was passed over these crutches and also round the mast, the two ends of the rope having been so arranged as to gird and support the stem and stern respectively. the temple of dêr-el-bahari contained also a most interesting illustrated account of the transport of two great obelisks down the nile in the reign of the same queen. unfortunately, parts of the description and of the carvings have been lost, but enough remains to give us a very clear idea of the vessels employed and of the method of transport. fig. shows the type of barge employed to carry the obelisks, of which there were two. the dotted lines show the portions of the carving which are at present missing. the restoration was effected by monsieur edouard naville.[ ] the restoration is by no means conjectural. the key to it was furnished by a hieroglyph in the form of the barge with the obelisks on deck. some of these obelisks were of very large size. there are two, which were hewn out of granite for queen hatshepsu, still at the temple of karnak. they may, very possibly, be the two which are referred to in the description at dêr-el-bahari. one of them is feet and the other feet in height. the larger of the two has been calculated to weigh tons, and the two together may have weighed over tons. to transport such heavy stones very large barges would have been required. unfortunately, the greater portion of the inscription describing the building of these boats has been lost, but what remains states that orders were given to collect "sycamores from the whole land (to do the) work of building a very great boat." there is, however, an inscription still intact in the tomb of an ancient egyptian named anna, who lived in the reigns of the three kings thotmes (and therefore also during that of queen hatshepsu), which relates that, having to transport two obelisks for thotmes i., he built a boat cubits long and cubits wide. if the royal cubit of · inches was referred to, the dimensions of the boat would have been feet long by feet wide. this is possibly the very boat illustrated on the walls of dêr-el-bahari; for, it having evidently been a matter of some difficulty to collect the timber necessary to build so large a vessel, it seems only natural to suppose that it would be carefully preserved for the future transport of similar obelisks. if, however, it was found necessary to construct a new boat in order to transport queen hatshepsu's obelisks, we may be fairly certain that it was larger than the one whose dimensions are given above, for the taller of her two obelisks at karnak is the largest that has been found in egypt in modern times. the obelisk of rose granite of thotmes i., still at karnak, is feet shorter, being feet, or exactly the same height as the one called cleopatra's needle, now on the thames embankment. the barge shown in fig. was strengthened, apparently, with three tiers of beams; it was steered by two pairs of huge steering-oars, and was towed by three parallel groups, each consisting of ten large boats. there were oarsmen to each boat in the two wing groups, and in each of the central groups: there were, therefore, exactly one thousand oars used in all. the towing-cable started from the masthead of the foremost boat of each group, and thence passed to the bow of the second one, and so on, the stern of each boat being left perfectly free, for the purpose, no doubt, of facilitating the steering. the flotilla was accompanied by five smaller boats, some of which were used by the priests, while the others were despatch vessels, probably used to keep up communications with the groups of tugs. there are no other inscriptions, or carvings, that have as yet been discovered in egypt which give us so much information regarding egyptian ships as those on the temple at dêr-el-bahari. from time to time we read of naval and mercantile expeditions, but illustrations of the ships and details of the voyages are, as a rule, wanting. we know that seti i., of the nineteenth dynasty, whose reign commenced about b.c., was a great encourager of commerce. he felled timber in lebanon for building ships, and is said to have excavated a canal between the nile and the red sea. his successor, the famous ramses ii., carried on wars by sea, as is proved by the inscriptions in the temple at abû simbel in nubia, miles above cairo. in the records of the reign of ramses iii., b.c., we again come upon illustrations of ships in the temple of victory at medînet habû, west thebes. the inscriptions describe a great naval victory which this king won at migdol, near the pelusiac mouth of the nile, over northern invaders, probably colchians and carians. fig. shows one of the battleships. it is probably more a symbolical than an exact representation, nevertheless it gives us some valuable information. for instance, we see that the rowers were protected against the missiles of their adversaries by strong bulwarks, and the captain occupied a crow's nest at the masthead. ramses iii. did a great deal to develop egyptian commerce. his naval activities were by no means confined to the mediterranean, for we read that he built a fleet at suez, and traded with the land of punt and the shores of the indian ocean. herodotus states that, in his day, the docks still existed at the head of the arabian gulf where this red sea fleet was built. pharaoh nekau (necho), who reigned from to b.c., and who defeated josiah, king of judah, was one of the kings of egypt who did most to encourage commerce. he commenced a canal to join the pelusiac branch of the nile at bubastis with the red sea, but never finished it. it was under his directions that the phoenicians, according to herodotus, made the voyage round africa referred to on p. . when nekau abandoned the construction of the canal he built two fleets of triremes, one for use in the mediterranean, and the other for the red sea. the latter fleet was built in the arabian gulf. [illustration: fig. .--battleship of ramses iii. about b.c.] in later times the seaborne commerce of egypt fell, to a large extent, into the hands of the phoenicians and greeks. herodotus ( to b.c.) gives an interesting account of the nile boats of his day, and of the method of navigation of the river.[ ] "their boats, with which they carry cargoes, are made of the thorny acacia.... from this tree they cut pieces of wood about two cubits in length, and arrange them like bricks, fastening the boat together by a great number of long bolts through the two-cubit pieces; and when they have thus fastened the boat together they lay cross-pieces over the top, using no ribs for the sides; and within they caulk the seams with papyrus. they make one steering-oar for it, which is passed through the bottom of the boat, and they have a mast of acacia and sails of papyrus. these boats cannot sail up the river unless there be a very fresh wind blowing, but are towed.... down stream they travel as follows: they have a door-shaped crate, made of tamarisk wood and reed mats sewn together, and also a stone of about two talents' weight, bored with a hole; and of these the boatman lets the crate float on in front of the boat, fastened with a rope, and the stone drag behind by another rope. the crate then, as the force of the stream presses upon it, goes on swiftly and draws on the ... boats, ... while the stone, dragging after it behind and sunk deep in the water, keeps its course straight." in connection with this account it is curious to note that, at so late a period as the time of herodotus, papyrus was used for the sails of nile boats, for we know that, for many centuries previously, the egyptians were adepts in the manufacture of linen, and actually exported fine linen to cyprus to be used as sailcloth. before concluding this account of shipbuilding in ancient egypt, it may be mentioned that, in the year , the french egyptologist, monsieur j. de morgan, discovered several nile boats of the time of the twelfth dynasty ( b.c.) admirably preserved in brick vaults at dashûr, a little above cairo, on the left bank of the river. the site of these vaults is about one hour's ride from the river and between and feet above the plain. the boats are about feet long, to feet wide, and - / to feet deep. as there were neither rowlocks nor masts, and as they were found in close proximity to some royal tombs, it is considered probable that they were funeral boats, used for carrying royal mummies across the river. they are constructed of planks of acacia and sycamore, about three inches thick, which are dovetailed together and fastened with trenails. there are floors, but no ribs. in this respect the account of herodotus is remarkably confirmed. the method of construction was so satisfactory that, although they are nearly , years old, they held rigidly together after their supports had been removed by monsieur de morgan. they were steered by two large paddles. the discovery of these boats is of extraordinary interest, for they were built at the period usually assigned to noah's ark. it is a curious fact that they should have been found so far from the river, but we know from other sources--such as the paintings found in papyrus books--that it was the custom of the people to transport the mummies of royal personages, together with the funeral boats, on sledges to the tomb. the famous galleys of the egypt of the ptolemies belonged to the period of greek and roman naval architecture, and will be referred to later. from the time of the ancient egyptian vessels there is no record whatever of the progress of naval architecture till we come to the period of the greeks, and even the early records relating to this country are meagre in the extreme. the phoenicians were among the first of the races who dwelt on the mediterranean seaboard to cultivate a seaborne commerce, and to them, after the egyptians, is undoubtedly due the early progress made in sea-going ships. this remarkable people is said to have originally come to the levant from the shores of the persian gulf. they occupied a strip of territory on the seaboard to the north of palestine, about miles long and of the average width of only miles. the chief cities were tyre and sidon. there are only three representations known to be in existence of the phoenician ships. they must have been of considerable size, and have been well manned and equipped, for the phoenicians traded with every part of the then known world, and founded colonies--the principal of which was carthage--at many places along the coast-line of the mediterranean. a proof of the size and seaworthiness of their ships was the fact that they made very distant voyages across notoriously stormy seas; for instance, to cornwall in search of tin, and probably also to the south coast of ireland. they also coasted along the western shores of africa. somewhere between the years and b.c. some phoenician ships, acting under instructions from pharaoh nekau, are said to have circumnavigated africa, having proceeded from the indian to the southern ocean, and thence round by the atlantic and through the pillars of hercules home. the voyage occupied more than two years, a circumstance which was due to the fact that they always landed in the autumn and sowed a tract of country with corn, and waited on shore till it was fit to cut. in the time of solomon the joint fleets of the israelites and phoenicians made voyages from the head of the red sea down the coasts of arabia and eastern africa, and even to persia and beluchistan, and probably also to india. the phoenicians were not only great traders themselves, but they manned the fleets of other nations, and built ships for other peoples, notably for the egyptians and persians. it is unfortunate that we have so few representations of the phoenician ships, but we are justified in concluding that they were of the same general type as those which were used by the greeks, the carthaginians, and eventually by the romans. the representations of their vessels known to be in existence were found by the late sir austin layard in the palace built by king sennacherib at kouyunjik, near nineveh, about b.c. one of these is shown in fig. . though they were obviously rather symbols of ships than faithful representations, we can, nevertheless, gather from them that the warship was a galley provided with a ram, and fitted with a mast carrying a single square sail; there were also two banks of oars on each side. the steering was accomplished by two large oars at the stern, and the fighting troops were carried on a deck or platform raised on pillars above the heads of the rowers. [illustration: fig. .--portion of a phoenician galley. about b.c. _from kouyunjik (nineveh)._] shipbuilding in ancient greece and rome. in considering the history of the development of shipbuilding, we cannot fail to be struck with the favourable natural conditions which existed in greece for the improvement of the art. on the east and west the mainland was bordered by inland seas, studded with islands abounding in harbours. away to the north-east were other enclosed seas, which tempted the enterprise of the early navigators. one of the cities of greece proper, corinth, occupied an absolutely unique position for trade and colonization, situated as it was on a narrow isthmus commanding two seas. the long narrow gulf of corinth opening into the mediterranean, and giving access to the ionian islands, must have been a veritable nursery of the art of navigation, for here the early traders could sail for long distances, in easy conditions, without losing sight of land. the gulf of Ægina and the waters of the archipelago were equally favourable. the instincts of the people were commercial, and their necessities made them colonizers on a vast scale; moreover, they had at their disposal the experience in the arts of navigation, acquired from time immemorial, by the egyptians and phoenicians. nevertheless, with all these circumstances in their favour, the greeks, at any rate up to the fourth century b.c., appear to have contributed nothing to the improvement of shipbuilding.[ ] the egyptians and phoenicians both built triremes as early as b.c., but this class of vessel was quite the exception in the greek fleets which fought at salamis years later. the earliest naval expedition mentioned in greek history is that of the allied fleets which transported the armies of hellas to the siege of troy about the year b.c. according to the greek historians, the vessels used were open boats, decks not having been introduced into greek vessels till a much later period. the earliest greek naval battle of which we have any record took place about the year b.c., over years after the expedition to troy and , years after the battle depicted in the temple of victory at thebes. it was fought between the corinthians and their rebellious colonists of corcyra, now called corfu. some of the naval expeditions recorded in greek history were conceived on a gigantic scale. the joint fleets of persia and phoenicia which attacked and conquered the greek colonies in ionia consisted of vessels. this expedition took place in the year b.c. shortly afterwards the persian commander-in-chief, mardonius, collected a much larger fleet for the invasion of greece itself. after the death of cambyses, his successor xerxes collected a fleet which is stated to have numbered , vessels, of which , were triremes. the remainder appears to have been divided into two classes, of which the larger were propelled with twenty-five and the smaller with fifteen oars a-side. this fleet, after many misfortunes at sea, and after gaining a hard-fought victory over the athenians, was finally destroyed by the united greek fleet at the ever-famous battle of salamis. the size of the persian monarch's fleet was in itself a sufficient proof of the extent of the naval power of the levantine states; but an equally convincing proof of the maritime power of another mediterranean state, viz., carthage, at that early period--about b.c.--is forthcoming. this state equipped a large fleet, consisting of , ships, against the greek colonies in sicily; of these , were fighting galleys, and the remainder transports on which no less than , men were embarked. this mighty armada was partly destroyed in a great storm. all the transports were wrecked, and the galleys were attacked and totally destroyed by the fleets of the greek colonists under gelon on the very day, according to tradition, on which the persians were defeated at salamis. out of the entire expedition only a few persons returned to carthage to tell the tale of their disasters. [illustration: fig. .--greek unireme. about b.c.] the foregoing account will serve to give a fair idea of the extent to which shipbuilding was carried on in the mediterranean in the fifth century before the christian era. we have very little knowledge of the nature of greek vessels previously to b.c.[ ] thucydides says that the ships engaged on the trojan expedition were without decks. according to homer, , ships were employed, those of the boeotians having men each, and those of philoctetes men each. thucydides also relates that the earliest hellenic triremes were built at corinth, and that ameinocles, a corinthian naval architect, built four ships for the samians about b.c.; but triremes did not become common until the time of the persian war, except in sicily and corcyra (corfu), in which states considerable numbers were in use a little time before the war broke out. [illustration: fig. .--greek bireme. about b.c.] fig. is an illustration of a single-banked greek galley of the date about b.c., taken from an athenian painted vase now in the british museum. the vessel was armed with a ram; seventeen oars a-side are shown. there is no space on the vase to show in detail the whole of the mast and rigging, but their presence is indicated by lines. fig. is a representation of a greek bireme of about the date b.c.--that is to say, of the period immediately preceding the persian war. it is taken from a greek vase in the [illustration: fig. .--fragment of a greek galley showing absence of deck. about b.c.] british museum, which was found at vulci in etruria. it is one of the very few representations now in existence of ancient greek biremes. it gives us far less information than we could wish to have. the vessel has two banks of oars, those of the upper tier passing over the gunwale, and those of the lower passing through oar-ports. twenty oars are shown by the artist on each side, but this is probably not the exact number used. unfortunately the rowers of the lower tier are not shown in position. the steering was effected by means of two large oars at the stern, after the manner of those in use in the egyptian ships previously described. this is proved by another illustration of a bireme on the same vase, in which the steering oars are clearly seen. the vessel had a strongly marked forecastle and a ram fashioned in the shape of a boar's head. it is a curious fact that herodotus, in his history (book iii.), mentions that the samian ships carried beaks, formed to resemble the head of a wild boar, and he relates how the Æginetans beat some samian colonists in a sea-fight off crete, and sawed off the boar-head beaks from the captured galleys, and deposited them in a temple in Ægina. this sea-fight took place about the same time that the vases were manufactured, from which figs. and are copied. there was a single mast with a very large yard carrying a square sail. the stays are not shown, but homer says that the masts of early greek vessels were stayed fore and aft. it is impossible to say whether this vessel was decked. according to thucydides, the ships which the athenians built at the instigation of themistocles, and which they used at salamis, were not fully decked. that greek galleys were sometimes without decks is proved by fig. , which is a copy of a fragment of a painting of a greek galley on an athenian vase now in the british museum, of the date of about b.c. it is perfectly obvious, from the human figures in the galley, that there was no deck. not even the forecastle was covered in. the galleys of figs. and had, unlike the phoenician bireme of fig. , no fighting-deck for the use of the soldiers. there was also no protection for the upper-tier rowers, and in this respect they were inferior to the egyptian ship shown in fig. . it is probable that athenian ships at salamis also had no fighting, or flying decks for the use of the soldiers; for, according to thucydides, gylippos, when exhorting the syracusans, nearly sixty years later, in b.c., said, "but to them (the athenians) the employment of troops on deck is a novelty." against this view, however, it must be stated that there are now in existence at rome two grotesque pictures of greek galleys on a painted vase, dating from about b.c., in which the soldiers are clearly depicted standing and fighting upon a flying deck. moreover, thucydides, in describing a sea-fight between the corinthians and the corcyreans in b.c., mentions that the decks of both fleets were crowded with heavy infantry archers and javelin-men, "for their naval engagements were still of the old clumsy sort." possibly this last sentence gives us a clue to the explanation of the apparent discrepancy. the athenians were, as we know, expert tacticians at sea, and adopted the method of ramming hostile ships, instead of lying alongside and leaving the fighting to the troops on board. they may, however, have been forced to revert to the latter method, in order to provide for cases where ramming could not be used; as, for instance, in narrow harbours crowded with shipping, like that of syracuse. it is perfectly certain that the phoenician ships which formed the most important part of the persian fleet at salamis carried fighting-decks. we have seen already (p. ) that they used such decks in the time of sennacherib, and we have the distinct authority of herodotus for the statement that they were also employed in the persian war; for, he relates that xerxes returned to asia in a phoenician ship, and that great danger arose during a storm, the vessel having been top-heavy owing to the deck being crowded with persian nobles who returned with the king. [illustration: fig. .--galley showing deck and superstructure. about b.c. _from an etruscan imitation of a greek vase._] fig. , which represents a bireme, taken from an ancient etruscan imitation of a greek vase of about b.c., clearly shows soldiers fighting, both on the deck proper and on a raised, or flying, forecastle. in addition to the triremes, of which not a single illustration of earlier date than the christian era is known to be in existence, both greeks and persians, during the wars in the early part of the fifth century b.c., used fifty-oared ships called penteconters, in which the oars were supposed to have been arranged in one tier. about a century and a half after the battle of salamis, in b.c., the athenians commenced to build ships with four banks, and five years later they advanced to five banks. this is proved by the extant inventories of the athenian dockyards. according to diodoros, they were in use in the syracusan fleet in b.c. diodoros, however, died nearly years after this epoch, and his account must, therefore, be received with caution. the evidence in favour of the existence of galleys having more than five superimposed banks of oars is very slight. alexander the great is said by most of his biographers to have used ships with five banks of oars; but quintus curtius states that, in b.c., the macedonian king built a fleet of seven-banked galleys on the euphrates. quintus curtius is supposed by the best authorities to have lived five centuries after the time of alexander, and therefore his account of these ships cannot be accepted without question. it is also related by diodoros that there were ships of six and seven banks in the fleet of demetrios poliorcetes at a battle off cyprus in b.c., and that antigonos, the father of poliorcetes, had ships of eleven and twelve banks. we have seen, however, that diodoros died about two and a half centuries after this period. pliny, who lived from to a.d., increases the number of banks in the ships of the opposing fleets at this battle to twelve and fifteen banks respectively. it is impossible to place any confidence in such statements. theophrastus, a botanist who died about b.c., and who was therefore a contemporary of demetrios, mentions in his history of plants that the king built an eleven-banked ship in cyprus. this is one of the very few contemporary records we possess of the construction of such ships. the question, however, arises, can a botanist be accepted as an accurate witness in matters relating to shipbuilding? the further question presents itself, what meaning is intended to be conveyed by the terms which we translate as ships of many banks? this question will be reverted to hereafter. in one other instance a writer cites a document in which one of these many-banked ships is mentioned as having been in existence during his lifetime. the author in question was polybios, one of the most painstaking and accurate of the ancient historians, who was born between and b.c., and who quotes a treaty between rome and macedon concluded in b.c., in which a macedonian ship of sixteen banks is once mentioned. this ship was brought to the tiber thirty years later, according to plutarch and pliny, who are supposed to have copied a lost account by polybios. both plutarch and pliny were born more than two centuries after this event. if the alleged account by polybios had been preserved, it would have been unimpeachable authority on the subject of this vessel, as this writer, who was, about the period in question, an exile in italy, was tutor in the family of Æmilius paulus, the roman general who brought the ship to the tiber. the romans first became a naval power in their wars with the carthaginians, when the command of the sea became a necessity of their existence. this was about b.c. at that time they knew nothing whatever of shipbuilding, and their early war-vessels were merely copies of those used by the carthaginians, and these latter were no doubt of the same general type as the greek galleys. the first roman fleet appears to have consisted of quinqueremes. the third century b.c. is said to have been an era of gigantic ships. ptolemy philadelphos and ptolemy philopater, who reigned over egypt during the greater part of that century, are alleged to have built a number of galleys ranging from thirteen up to forty banks. the evidence in this case is derived from two unsatisfactory sources. athenæos and plutarch quote one callixenos of rhodes, and pliny quotes one philostephanos of cyrene, but very little is known about either callixenos or philostephanos. fortunately, however, callixenos gives details about the size of the forty-banker, the length of her longest oars, and the number of her crew, which enables us to gauge his value as an authority, and to pronounce his story to be incredible (see p. ). whatever the arrangement of their oars may have been, these many-banked ships appear to have been large and unmanageable, and they finally went out of fashion in the year b.c., when augustus defeated the combined fleets of antony and cleopatra at the battle of actium. the vessels which composed the latter fleets were of the many-banked order, while augustus had adopted the swift, low, and handy galleys of the liburni, who were a seafaring and piratical people from illyria on the adriatic coast. their vessels were originally single-bankers, but afterwards it is said that two banks were adopted. this statement is borne out by the evidence of trajan's column, all the galleys represented on it, with the exception of one, being biremes. augustus gained the victory at actium largely owing to the handiness of his liburnian galleys, and, in consequence, this type was henceforward adopted for roman warships, and ships of many banks were no longer built. the very word "trireme" came to signify a warship, without reference to the number of banks of oars. after the romans had completed the conquest of the nations bordering on the mediterranean, naval war ceased for a time, and the fighting navy of rome declined in importance. it was not till the establishment of the vandal kingdom in africa under genseric that a revival in naval warfare on a large scale took place. no changes in the system of marine architecture are recorded during all these ages. the galley, considerably modified in later times, continued to be the principal type of warship in the mediterranean till about the sixteenth century of our era. ancient merchant-ships. little accurate information as we possess about the warships of the ancients, we know still less of their merchant-vessels and transports. they were unquestionably much broader, relatively, and fuller than the galleys; for, whereas the length of the latter class was often eight to ten times the beam, the merchant-ships were rarely longer than three or four times their beam. nothing is known of the nature of phoenician merchant-vessels. fig. is an illustration of an athenian merchant-ship of about b.c. it is taken from the same painted vase as the galley shown on fig. . if the illustration can be relied on, it shows that these early greek sailing-ships were not only relatively short, but very deep. the forefoot and dead wood aft appear to have been cut away to an extraordinary extent, probably for the purpose of increasing the handiness. the rigging was of the type which was practically universal in ancient ships. fig. gives the sheer draught or side elevation, the plan, elevations of the bow and stem, and a midship section of a roman vessel, which from her proportions and the shape of bow is supposed to have been a merchant-ship. the illustration is taken from a model presented to greenwich hospital by lord anson. the original model was of white marble, and was found in the villa mattei in rome, in the sixteenth century. we know from st. paul's experiences, as described in the acts of the apostles, that mediterranean merchant-ships must often have been of considerable size, and that they were capable of going through very stormy voyages. st. paul's ship contained a grain cargo, and carried human beings. [illustration: fig. .--greek merchant-ship. about b.c.] in the merchant-ships oars were only used as an auxiliary means of propulsion, the principal reliance being placed on masts and sails. vessels of widely different sizes were in use, the larger carrying , talents, or tons of cargo. sometimes, however, much bigger ships were used. for instance, pliny mentions a vessel in which the vatican obelisk and its pedestal, weighing together nearly tons, were brought from egypt to italy about the year a.d. it is further stated that this vessel carried an additional cargo of tons of lentils to keep the obelisk from shifting on board. lucian, writing in the latter half of the second century a.d., mentions, in one of his dialogues, the dimensions of a ship which carried corn from egypt to the piræus. the figures are: length, ft.; breadth, nearly ft.; depth from deck to bottom of hold, - / ft. the latter figure appears to be incredible. the other dimensions are approximately those of the _royal george_, described on p. . [illustration: fig. .--roman merchant-ship.] details of the construction of greek and roman galleys. it is only during the present century that we have learned, with any certainty, what the ancient greek galleys were like. in the year a.d. it was discovered that a drain at the piræus had been constructed with a number of slabs bearing inscriptions, which, on examination, turned out to be the inventories of the ancient dockyard of the piræus. from these inscriptions an account of the attic triremes has been derived by the german writers boeckh and graser. the galleys all appear to have been constructed on much the same model, with interchangeable parts. the dates of the slabs range from to b.c., and the following description must be taken as applying only to galleys built within this period. the length, exclusive of the beak, or ram, must have been at least ft., the ram having an additional length of ft. the length was, of course, dictated by the maximum number of oars in any one tier, by the space which it was found necessary to leave between each oar, and by the free spaces between the foremost oar and the stem, and the aftermost oar and the stern of the ship. now, as it appears further on, the maximum number of oars in any tier in a trireme was in the top bank, which gives a side. if we allow only ft. between the oars we must allot at least ft. to the portion of the vessel occupied by the rowers. the free spaces at stem and stern were, according to the representations of those vessels which have come down to us, about / th of the whole; and, if we accept this proportion, the length of a trireme, independently of its beak, would be about ft. in. if the space allotted to each rower be increased, as it may very reasonably be, the total length of the ship would also have to be increased proportionately. hence it is not surprising that some authorities put the length at over ft. it may be mentioned in corroboration, that the ruins of the athenian docks at zea show that they were originally at least ft. long. they were also ft. in. wide. the breadth of a trireme at the water-line, amidships, was about ft., perhaps increasing somewhat higher up, the sides tumbled home above the greatest width. these figures give the width of the hull proper, exclusive of an outrigged gangway, or deck, which, as subsequently explained, was constructed along the sides as a passage for the soldiers and seamen. the draught was from to ft. such a vessel carried a crew of from to , of whom were rowers, seamen to work the sails, anchors, etc., and the remainder soldiers. of the rowers, occupied the upper, the middle and the lower tier. many writers have supposed that each oar was worked by several rowers, as in the galleys of the middle ages. this, however, was not the case, for it has been conclusively proved that, in the greek galleys, up to the class of triremes, at any rate, there was only one man to each oar. for instance, thucydides, describing the surprise attack intended to be delivered on the piræus, and actually delivered against the island of salamis by the peloponnesians in b.c., relates that the sailors were marched from corinth to nisæa, the harbour of megara, on the athenian side of the isthmus, in order to launch forty ships which happened to be lying in the docks there, and that _each_ sailor carried his cushion and his oar, with its thong, on his march. we have, moreover, a direct proof of the size of the longest oars used in triremes, for the inventories of the athenian dockyards expressly state that they were - / cubits, or ft. in. in length. the reason why the oars were arranged in tiers, or banks, one above the other was, no doubt, that, in this way, the propelling power could be increased without a corresponding increase in the length of the ships. to make a long sea-going vessel sufficiently strong without a closed upper deck would have severely taxed the skill of the early shipbuilders. moreover, long vessels would have been very difficult to manoeuvre, and in the greek mode of fighting, ramming being one of the chief modes of offence, facility in manoeuvring was of prime importance. the rowers on each side sat in the same vertical longitudinal plane, and consequently the length of the inboard portions of the oars varied according as the curve of the vessel's side approached or receded from this vertical plane. the seats occupied by the rowers in the successive tiers were arranged one above the other in oblique lines sloping upwards towards the stem, as shown in figs. and . the vertical distance between the seats was about ft. the horizontal gap between the benches in each tier was about ft. the seats were some in. wide, and foot-supports were fixed to each for the use of the rower next above and behind. the oars were so arranged that the blades in each tier all struck the water in the same fore and aft line. the lower oar-ports were about ft., the middle - / ft., and the upper - / ft., above the water. the water was prevented from entering the ports by means of leather bags fastened round the oars and to the sides of the oar-ports. the upper oars were about ft. long, the middle ft., and the lower - / ft., and in addition to these there were a few extra oars which were occasionally worked from the platform, or deck, above the upper tier, probably by the seamen and soldiers when they were not otherwise occupied. the benches for the rowers extended from the sides to timber supports, inboard, arranged in vertical planes fore and aft. there were two sets of these timbers, one belonging to each side of the ship, and separated by a space of ft. these timbers also connected the upper and lower decks together. the latter was about ft. above the water-line. below the lower deck was the hold which contained the ballast, and in which the apparatus for baling was fixed. in addition to oars, sails were used as a means of propulsion whenever the wind was favourable, but not in action. the athenian galleys had, at first, one mast, but afterwards, it is thought, two were used. the mainmast was furnished with a yard and square sail. the upper deck, which was the fighting-platform previously mentioned, was originally a flying structure, and, perhaps, did not occupy the full width of the vessel amidships. at the bow, however, it was connected by planking with the sides of the ship, so as to form a closed-in space, or forecastle. this forecastle would doubtless have proved of great use in keeping the ship dry during rough weather, and probably suggested ultimately the closed decking of the whole of the ship. there is no record of when this feature, which was general in ancient egyptian vessels, was introduced into greek galleys. it was certainly in use in the roman warships about the commencement of the christian era, for there is in the vatican a relief of about the date a.d. from the temple of fortune at præneste, which represents part of a bireme, in which the rowers are all below a closed deck, on which the soldiers are standing. in addition to the fighting-deck proper there were the two side platforms, or gangways, already alluded to, which were carried right round the outside of the vessel on about the same level as the benches of the upper tier of rowers. these platforms projected about to in. beyond the sides of the hull, and were supported on brackets. like the flying deck, these passages were intended for the accommodation of the soldiers and sailors, who could, by means of them, move freely round the vessel without interfering with the rowers. they were frequently fenced in with stout planking on the outside, so as to protect the soldiers. they do not appear to have been used on galleys of the earliest period. we have no direct evidence as to the dimensions of ships of four and five banks. polybios tells us that the crew of a roman quinquereme in the first carthaginian war, at a battle fought in b.c., numbered , in addition to soldiers. now, the number can be obtained by adding two banks of respectively and rowers to the of the trireme. we may, perhaps, infer that the quinquereme of that time was a little longer than the trireme, and had about ft. more freeboard, this being the additional height required to accommodate two extra banks of oars. three hundred years later than the above-mentioned date pliny tells us that this type of galley carried rowers. we know no detailed particulars of vessels having a greater number of banks than five till we get to the alleged forty-banker of ptolemy philopater. of this ship callixenos gives the following particulars:--her dimensions were: length, ft.; breadth, ft.; draught, under ft.; height of stern ornament above water-line, ft. in.; height of stem ornament, ft.; length of the longest oars, ft. the oars were stated to have been weighted with lead inboard, so as to balance the great overhanging length. the number of the rowers was , , and of the remainder of the crew , , making a total of , men, for whom, we are asked to believe, accommodation was found on a vessel of the dimensions given. this last statement is quite sufficient to utterly discredit the whole story, as it implies that each man had a cubic space of only about ft. to live in, and that, too, in the climate of egypt. moreover, if we look into the question of the oars we shall see that the dimensions given are absolutely impossible--that is to say, if we make the usual assumption that the banks were successive horizontal tiers of oars placed one above the other. there were said to have been forty banks. now, the smallest distance, vertically, between two successive banks, if the oar-ports were arranged as in fig. , with the object of economizing space in the vertical direction to the greatest possible degree, would be ft. in. if the lowest oar-ports were ft. above the water, and the topmost bank were worked on the gunwale, we should require, to accommodate forty banks, a height of side equal to ft. × ft. in. + ft. = ft. in. now, if the inboard portion of the ft. oar were only one-fourth of the whole length, or ft. in., this would leave ft. - ft. in. = ft. in. for the outboard portion, and as the height of gunwale on which this particular length of oar was worked must have been, as shown above, ft. in. above the water, it is evident that the outboard portion of the oar could not be made to touch the water at all. also, if we consider the conditions of structural strength of the side of a ship honeycombed with oar-ports, and standing to the enormous height of ft. in. above the water-line, it is evident that, in order to be secure, it would require to be supported by numerous tiers of transverse horizontal beams, similar to deck-beams, running from side to side. the planes of these tiers would intersect the inboard portions of many of the tiers of oars, and consequently prevent these latter from being fitted at all. if we look at the matter from another point of view we shall meet with equally absurd results. the oars in the upper banks of athenian triremes are known to have been about ft. in length. underneath them, were, of course, two other banks. if, now, we assume that the upper bank tholes were ft. in.[ ] above the water-line, and that one-quarter of the length of the upper bank oars was inboard, and if we add thirty-seven additional banks parallel to the first bank, so as to make forty in all, simple proportion will show us that the outboard portion of the oars of the uppermost bank must have been just under ft. long and the total length of each, if we assume, as before, that one quarter of it was inboard, would be ft., instead of the ft. given by callixenos. any variations in the above assumptions, consistent with possibilities, would only have the effect of bringing the oars out still longer. we are therefore driven to conclude, either that the account given by callixenos was grossly inaccurate, or else that the greek word, [greek: tessarakontêrês], which we translate by "forty-banked ship," did not imply that there were forty horizontal _superimposed_ tiers of oars. the exact arrangement of the oars in the larger classes of galleys has always been a puzzle, and has formed the subject of much controversy amongst modern writers on naval architecture. the vessels were distinguished, according to the numbers of the banks of oars, as uniremes, biremes, triremes, quadriremes, etc., up to ships like the great galley of ptolemy philopater, which was said to have had forty banks. now, the difficulty is to know what is meant by a bank of oars. it was formerly assumed that the term referred to the horizontal tiers of oars placed one above the other; but it can easily be proved, by attempting to draw the galleys with the oars and rowers in place, that it would be very difficult to accommodate as many as five horizontal banks and absolutely impossible to find room for more than seven. not only would the space within the hull of the ship be totally insufficient for the rowers, but the length of the upper tiers of oars would be so great that they would be unmanageable, and that of the lower tiers so small that they would be inefficient. the details given by ancient writers throw very little light upon this difficult subject. some authors have stated that there was only one man to each oar, and we now know that this was the case with the smaller classes of vessels, say, up to those provided with three, or four, to five banks of oars; but it is extremely improbable that the oars of the larger classes could have been so worked. the oars of modern venetian galleys were each manned by five rowers. it is impossible in this work to examine closely into all the rival theories as to what constituted a bank of oars. it seems improbable, for reasons before stated, that any vessel could have had more than five horizontal tiers. it is certain also that, in order to find room for the rowers to work above each other in these tiers, the oar-ports must have been placed, not vertically above each other, but in oblique rows, as represented in fig. . it is considered by mr. w. s. lindsay, in his "history of merchant shipping and ancient commerce," that each of the oblique rows of oars, thus arranged, may have formed the tier referred to in the designation of the class of the vessel, for vessels larger than quinqueremes. if this were so, there would then be no difficulty in conceiving the possibility of constructing galleys with even as many as forty tiers of oars like the huge alleged galley of ptolemy philopater. fig. represents the disposition of the oar-ports according to this theory for an octoreme. [illustration: fig. .--probable arrangement of oar-ports in ancient galleys.] [illustration: fig. .--suggested arrangement of oar-ports in an octoreme.] it appears to be certain that the oars were not very advantageously arranged, or proportioned, in the old greek galleys, or even in the roman galleys, till the time of the early cæsars, for we read that the average speed of the athenian triremes was stadia in the day. if the stadium were equal in length to a furlong, and the working day supposed to be limited to ten hours, this would correspond to a speed of only two and a half miles an hour. the lengths of the oars in the athenian triremes have been already given (p. ); even those of the upper banks were extremely short--only, in fact, about a foot longer than those used in modern -oared racing boats. on account of their shortness and the height above the water at which they were worked, the angle which the oars made with the water was very steep and consequently disadvantageous. in the case of the athenian triremes, this angle must have been about . °. this statement is confirmed by all the paintings and sculptures which have come down to us. it is proved equally by the painting of an athenian bireme of b.c. shown in fig. , and by the roman trireme, founded on the sculptures of trajan's column of about a.d., shown in fig. .[ ] in fact, it is evident that the ancients, before the time of the introduction of the liburnian galley, did not understand the art of rowing as we do to-day. the celebrated liburnian galleys, which were first used by the romans, for war purposes, at the battle of actium under augustus cæsar, were said to have had a speed of four times that of the old triremes. the modern galleys used in the mediterranean in the seventeenth century are said to have occasionally made the passage from naples to palermo in seventeen hours. this is equivalent to an average speed of between and miles per hour. [illustration: fig. .--roman galley. about a.d.] [illustration: fig. .--liburnian galley. conjectural restoration.] the timber used by the ancient races on the shores of the mediterranean in the construction of their ships appears to have been chiefly fir and oak; but, in addition to these, many other varieties, such as pitch pine, elm, cedar, chestnut, ilex, or evergreen oak, ash, and alder, and even orange wood, appear to have been tried from time to time. they do not seem to have understood the virtue of using seasoned timber, for we read in ancient history of fleets having been completed ready for sea in incredibly short periods after the felling of the trees. thus, the romans are said to have built and equipped a fleet of vessels in days for the purpose of resisting the attacks of hiero, king of syracuse. in the second punic war scipio put to sea with a fleet which was stated to have been completed in forty days from the time the timber was felled. on the other hand, the ancients believed in all sorts of absurd rules as to the proper day of the moon on which to fell trees for shipbuilding purposes, and also as to the quarter from which the wind should blow, and so forth. thus, hesiod states that timber should only be cut on the seventeenth day of the moon's age, because the sap, which is the great cause of early decay, would then be sunk, the moon being on the wane. others extend the time from the fifteenth to the twenty-third day of the moon, and appeal with confidence to the experience of all artificers to prove that timber cut at any other period becomes rapidly worm-eaten and rotten. some, again, asserted that if felled on the day of the new moon the timber would be incorruptible, while others prescribed a different quarter from which the wind should blow for every season of the year. probably on account of the ease with which it was worked, fir stood in high repute as a material for shipbuilding. the structure of the hulls of ancient ships was not dissimilar in its main features to that of modern wooden vessels. the very earliest types were probably without external keels. as the practice of naval architecture advanced, keels were introduced, and served the double purpose of a foundation for the framing of the hull and of preventing the vessel from making leeway in a wind. below the keel proper was a false keel, which was useful when vessels were hauled up on shore, and above the keelson was an upper false keel, into which the masts were stepped. the stem formed an angle of about ° with the water-line, and its junction with the keel was strengthened by a stout knee-piece. the design of the stem above water was often highly ornate. the stern generally rose in a graceful curve, and was also lavishly ornamented. fig. gives some illustrations of the highly ornamented extremities of the stern and prow of roman galleys. these show what considerable pains the ancients bestowed on the decoration of their vessels. there was no rudder-post, the steering having been effected by means of special oars, as in the early egyptian vessels. into the keel were notched the floor timbers, and the heads of these latter were bound together by the keelson, or inner keel. beams connected the top timbers of the opposite branches of the ribs and formed the support for the deck. the planking was put on at right angles to the frames, the butting ends of the planks being connected by dovetails. the skin of the ship was strengthened, in the athenian galleys, by means of stout planks, or waling-pieces, carried horizontally round the ship, each pair meeting together in front of the stem, where they formed the foundations for the beaks, or rams. the hulls were further strengthened by means of girding-cables, also carried horizontally round the hull, in the angles formed by the projection of the waling-pieces beyond the skin. these cables passed through an eye-hole at the stem, and were tightened up at the stern by means of levers. it is supposed that they were of use in holding the ship together under the shock of ramming. the hull was made water-tight by caulking the seams of the planking. originally this was accomplished with a paste formed of ground sea-shells and water. this paste, however, not having much cohesion, was liable to crack and fall out when the vessel strained. a slight improvement was made when the shells were calcined and turned into lime. pitch and wax were also employed, but were eventually superseded by the use of flax, which was driven in between the seams. flax was certainly used for caulking in the time of alexander the great, and a similar material has continued to be employed for this purpose down to the present day. in addition to caulking the seams, it was also customary to coat over the bottom with pitch, and the romans, at any rate, used sometimes to sheath their galleys with sheet lead fastened to the planking with copper nails. this was proved by the discovery of one of trajan's galleys in lake riccio after it had been submerged for over thirteen centuries. [illustration: fig. .--stem and stern ornaments of galleys.] [illustration: fig. .--bow of ancient war-galley.] [illustration: fig. .--bow of ancient war-galley.] the bows of the ancient war galleys were so constructed as to act as rams. the ram was made of hard timber projecting beyond the line of the bow, between it and the forefoot. it was usually made of oak, elm, or ash, even when all the rest of the hull was constructed of soft timber. in later times it was sheathed with, or even made entirely of, bronze. it was often highly ornamented, either with a carved head of a ram or some other animal, as shown in figs. to ; sometimes swords or spear-heads were added, as shown in figs. and . a relic of this ancient custom is found to this day in the ornamentation of the prows of the venetian gondolas. originally the ram, or rostrum, was visible above the water-line, but it was afterwards found to be far more effective when wholly immersed. in addition to the rams there were side projections, or catheads, above water near the bow. the ram was used for sinking the opposing vessels by penetrating their hulls, and the catheads for shattering their oars when sheering up suddenly alongside. roman galleys were fitted with castles, or turrets, in which were placed fighting men and various engines of destruction. they were frequently temporary structures, sometimes consisting of little more than a protected platform, mounted on scaffolding, which could be easily taken down and stowed away. the use of these structures was continued till far into the middle ages. chapter iii. ancient ships in the seas of northern europe. outside the mediterranean it is known that some of the northern nations had attained to very considerable skill in the arts of shipbuilding and navigation. cæsar gives a general description of the ships of the veneti, who occupied the country now known as brittany, and who had in their hands the carrying trade between gaul and britain.[ ] as might be expected from the stormy nature of the atlantic, the veneti were not able to place any reliance on oars as a means for propulsion. according to cæsar's account, they trusted solely to sails. their vessels were built entirely of oak of great thickness. he also mentions that the beams were as much as in. in depth. the bottoms of these vessels were very flat, so as to enable them the better to be laid up on the beach. the hulls had considerable sheer, both at the stem and stern. the sails were of dressed hide, and the cables were iron chains. it is evident from this cursory description that the ships of the veneti were not based upon mediterranean models, and it is highly probable that they, rather than the oar-propelled galleys, may be regarded as the prototypes of the early sea-going vessels of northern europe. although the art of ship construction had attained to great importance amongst the veneti, their neighbours, the britons, were still very backward in this respect at the time of the first roman invasion. cæsar states that their vessels were of very slight construction, the framework being made of light timber, over which was stretched a covering, or skin, of strong hides. sometimes the framework was of wicker. the ancient saxons, who were notorious as pirates on the north sea, made use of boats similar to those of the ancient britons. at the time of their invasion of britain, however, their vessels must have been larger and of more solid construction, though we must dismiss, as an obvious absurdity, the statement that the first invading army of , men was carried to this country in three ships only. it is much more probable that the expedition was embarked in three fleets. the saxon kings of england often maintained very considerable fleets for the purpose of protecting the coast from the danes. alfred the great is generally regarded as the founder of the english navy. he designed ships which were of a better type and larger size than those of his enemies, the danes. they were said to have been twice as long as the vessels which they superseded. the saxon chronicle says, "they were full twice as long as the others; some had sixty oars, and some had more; they were swifter and steadier, and also higher than the others; they were shaped neither like the frisian, nor the danish, but so as it seemed to him they would be most efficient." in alfred met and defeated a danish squadron, in all probability with his new ships. edgar ( to ) is stated to have kept at sea no less than , vessels of various sizes, divided into three fleets, and the old historian william of malmesbury tells us that this king took an active personal interest in his navy, and that in summer time he would, in turn, embark and cruise with each of the squadrons. [illustration: fig. .--anglo-saxon ship. about a.d.] fig. is an illustration of an anglo-saxon ship taken from an old saxon calendar, which is, or was, in the cottonian library, and which is supposed to have been written about half a century before the norman conquest. it is reproduced in strutt's "compleat view of the manners, customs, arms, habits, etc., of the inhabitants of england, from the arrival of the saxons till the reign of henry viii.," published in . the proportions of the boat as represented are obviously impossible. the sketch is, however, interesting, as showing the general form and mode of planking of the vessel, and the nature of the decorations of the bow and stern. we see that the vessel was a warship, as the keel prolonged formed a formidable ram. we also may notice that the sail was relied on as a principal means of propulsion, for there are apparently no notches or rowlocks for oars. the steering was effected by two large oars, in a similar manner to that adopted by the ancient egyptians and other mediterranean peoples. the extraordinary character of the deck-house will be observed. it is, of course, purely symbolical, and may, at most, be interpreted as meaning that the vessel carried some sort of structure on deck. in the seventh and eighth centuries of the christian era the scene of maritime activity was transferred from the mediterranean to the north of europe. the norsemen, who overran the whole of the european seaboard at one time or another, were the most famous navigators of the period immediately preceding the middle ages. any record connected with their system of ship-construction is necessarily of great interest. the fleets of the norsemen penetrated into the mediterranean as far as the imperial city of the eastern emperors. in the north they discovered and colonized iceland, and even greenland; and there are good grounds for believing that an expedition, equipped in iceland, founded a colony in what are now the new england states five centuries before columbus discovered the west indies. unfortunately, the written descriptions extant of the norse ships are extremely meagre, and if it had not been for the curious custom of the norsemen of burying their great chiefs in one of their ships and heaping earth over the entire mass, we should now know nothing for certain of the character of their vessels. many of these ship-tombs have been discovered in modern times, but it happened in the majority of instances that the character of the earth used was unsuited to their preservation, and most of the woodwork was found to be decayed when the mounds were explored. fortunately, however, in two instances the vessels were buried in blue clay, which is an excellent preserver of timber, and, thanks to the discovery of these, we have now a tolerably complete knowledge of the smaller classes of vessels used by the vikings. one of them was discovered, in , at haugen, but by far the most important was found in , at gogstad, near sandefjord, at the entrance of the fjord of christiania. though this vessel is comparatively small, she is, probably, a correct representative of the larger type of ships made use of by the renowned adventurers of the north in their distant expeditions. in view of the great interest attaching to this find, a detailed description of the vessel is given. the illustrations (figs. to ), showing an end elevation, longitudinal and cross-sections, and the half-plan with her lines, are taken from the "transactions of the institution of naval architects."[ ] the boat was clinker-built and wholly of oak. her principal dimensions are: length, ft. in.; extreme breadth, ft. in.; and depth, from top of keel to gunwale, ft. in. the keel is in. deep, the part below the rabbet of the garboard or lowest strakes of the planking, being in. deep, and - / in. thick at the bottom. the width across the rabbet is in., while the portion above the rabbet and inboard is in. wide. the keel and stem and stern-posts run into each other with very gentle curves. the keel itself is ft. long, and to it are connected, by vertical scarves and a double row of iron rivets, the forefoot and heel-pieces, which latter are fastened in a similar manner to the stem and stern-post. these posts are in. deep at the scarf, gradually tapering upwards. the framing of the bottom is formed of grown floors resting on the top of the keel, and extending in one piece, from shelf to shelf, as shown on the transverse section (fig. ). there are nineteen of these floors in all, spaced in the body of the boat, on the average ft. in. apart. they are in. in diameter at the garboard strake, and taper in both dimensions, so that they are less than in. at the shelf. they are not fastened to the keel. the planking is put on clinker fashion. there are sixteen strakes a side, the breadth of each, amidships, being on the average - / in., including the land of in., and the length of planks varies from ft. to ft. the thickness is generally in. the tenth plank from the keel is, however, - / in. thick, and forms a kind of shelf for the beam-ends. the third plank from the top is - / in. thick, and is pierced with -in. holes for the oars, of which there are sixteen on each side. the two upper strakes are only / in. thick, and inside the top one is placed the gunwale, which is × - / . the planks are fastened together by iron rivets spaced from in. to in. apart. the heads of the rivets are in. in diameter, and the riveting plates / in. square. the planks are worked down from thicker slabs, and a ledge in. in height is left on the inboard surface of the middle of each plank. the planks bear against each floor at two points, viz. the upper edge and the projecting ledge. fig. shows a section of a floor and of the plank, with its projecting ledge. the fastenings of the planking to the floors are very peculiar. two holes are bored transversely in the ledge, one on either side of each floor. there is a corresponding hole running fore and aft through the floor, and through these holes are passed ties made of the tough roots of trees barely / in. in diameter, crossed on the ledge and passing once through each hole. the only iron fastening between the planking and the floors is at the extreme ends of the latter, where a single nail is driven through each, and riveted at the ends of the floors. the beams rest on the shelf strake and on the tops of the floor-ends. they are in. deep and in. wide. they are connected with the planking by knees (see the section, fig. ), fastened to their upper faces and to the side of the ship as far up as the oar-strake, or "mainwale," by means of oak trenails. the knees are not so wide as the beams, and consequently a ledge, or landing, is left on each side of the latter which supports the flooring, or bottom boards. the top strakes are connected to the body of the vessel by short timbers, shown in the section, fig. . these are placed in the spaces between the knees. the beams are supported in the middle by short pillars resting on the throats of the floors. [illustration: fig. . fig. . fig. . fig. . fig. . viking ship.] the vessel was propelled by sails as well as oars. it was fitted with a single mast; the arrangements for stepping and raising and lowering the latter were peculiar. a beam of oak, ft. long, in. wide, and in. deep, formed the step. a side elevation of this is shown at _s_, in the longitudinal section, fig. , and a cross-section in fig. . the step, as may be seen, is countersunk over the throats of the floors; it is tapered towards the ends, and a piece (_c_) nearly in. thick, immediately forward of the mast, rises vertically out of it. this piece is fastened to a huge log of oak, ft. long, in. broad, and in. deep in the middle, marked _f_ (figs. and ), which rests on a sole-piece about in. thick. the sole-piece is countersunk over the beams. the large log is called by mr. colin archer the "fish," partly because its ends are fashioned to represent the tails of two whales, and partly because the mast partners of modern ships, which take the place of this heavy piece, are to this day called _fisken_ in norway. the fish contains a slot (_h_) nearly ft. long, and the same width as the mast, - / in. the mast goes through the forward end of the slot, and when it is in use the slot is filled up with a heavy slab. when the mast is lowered for going into action, or when going against a head-wind, the slab is removed, and the fore-stay slacked off, thus permitting the mast to fall aft. the sail used was a solitary square one. the rudder resembles a short oar. it is hung by a rope passing through a perforated conical chock on the starboard side of the ship. there is an iron eyebolt near the bottom edge, through which a rope probably passed for the purpose of raising the rudder when not in use. the rudder was worked by means of a tiller fitted into the socket at the upper end. unfortunately, the two extreme ends of the ship have decayed away, so that it is not possible to determine with accuracy what was the appearance of the bow and stern. it is, however, probable, from the direction taken by the planking towards the ends, that the vessel possessed very considerable sheer. as may be seen from the plan, the character of the lines was extremely fine, and it is probable that the boat was capable of high speed. the remains of the ropes which have been discovered prove that they were made from the bark of trees. this vessel may be considered as a connecting link between the ancient and mediæval types of ships. her proportions and scantlings prove that her builders had a large experience of shipbuilding, that they fully understood how to work their material and to adapt it properly to the duty it had to fulfil, and also that they understood the art, which was subsequently lost, to be revived only in modern times, of shaping the underwater portion of the hull so as to reduce the resistance to the passage of the vessel through the water. the only part of the structural design to which any serious exception can be taken is the very slight character of the connection between the top sides and the body of the boat, and even this defect was probably not very serious when we take into account the lightness of the loading, and the fact that it probably consisted chiefly of live cargo, so that there was little dead weight to cause serious straining. vessels of the type of the viking ships were built in denmark at a very early date. in three boats were discovered buried in a peat bog in jutland. danish antiquaries consider that they were built about the fifth century of our era. the largest is ft. in length and of such an excellent type that boats of somewhat similar form and construction are in universal use to this day all round the coasts of norway. such an instance of persistency in type is without parallel in the history of shipbuilding, and is a wonderful proof of the skill of the norsemen in designing and building vessels. the boat in question is clinker-built, the planks having the same peculiarities as those of the viking ship just described. it is of the same shape at both ends, and has great sheer at both stem and stern. the rowlocks, of which there are thirty, prove that the vessel was intended to be rowed in either direction. this also is a peculiarity of the modern norwegian rowboat. the steering was effected by means of a large oar, or paddle. there is no trace of a mast, nor of any fitting to receive one; nor was the vessel decked. the internal framing was admirably contrived. in fact, it would be difficult, even at the present time, to find a vessel in which lightness and strength were better combined than in this fifteen-hundred-year-old specimen of the shipbuilder's art. chapter iv. mediÆval ships. in the times of the norman kings of england both the war and the mercantile navies of the country were highly developed. william the conqueror invaded this island without the assistance of a war navy. he trusted to good luck to transport his army across the channel in an unprotected fleet of small vessels which were built for this purpose, and which were burnt by his order when the landing had been effected. we possess illustrations of these transport vessels from a contemporary source--the bayeux tapestry, which was, according to tradition, the work of queen matilda, the conqueror's consort. fig. represents one of these vessels. it is obviously of scandinavian type, resembling in some of its features the viking ship shown in figs. to . apparently, oars were not used in this particular boat; the propulsion was effected by means of a single square sail. the mast unshipped, as we know from other illustrations on the same piece of tapestry. the steering was effected by a rudder, or steering-board, on the starboard-side. in all the illustrations of ships in this tapestry the main sheet was held by the steersman, a fact which shows that the normans were cautious navigators. another ship is represented with ten horses on board. we possess confirmatory evidence that the ship shown in fig. represents a type that was prevalent on our coasts in the eleventh and two following centuries, for very similar boats are shown in the transcript of matthew paris's "history of the two kings of offa" (now in the cottonian library), the illustrations in which are supposed to have been drawn by matthew paris himself. the history is that of two saxon princes who lived in the latter half of the eighth century, and was written in the first half of the thirteenth. we may fairly suppose that the illustrations represented the types of vessels with which the historian was familiar. they were all of the type depicted in the bayeux tapestry. they are of the same shape at both ends, just like the viking ship, and it may be added, like the boats to this day in common use along the coasts of norway. [illustration: fig. .--one of william the conqueror's ships. a.d.] it must not be supposed that the art of building ships of larger size, which was, as we have seen, well understood by the romans, about the commencement of our era, was forgotten. on the contrary, though, no doubt, the majority of ships of the eleventh and twelfth centuries were of small dimensions, yet we occasionally meet with notices of vessels of comparatively large size. such an one, for instance, was _la blanche nef_, built in the reign of henry i., and lost on the coast of normandy in the year a.d. this ship was built for prince william, the son of the king, and he was lost in her, together with passengers and crew. this number proves that the vessel was of considerable size. _la blanche nef_ was a fifty-oared galley. long before her time, at the end of the tenth century, when ethelred the unready was king of england, the viking olaf tryggvesson built, according to the norwegian chroniclers, a vessel ft. in length. it may here be mentioned that galleys continued to be used, along with sailing ships, in the various european navies till the seventeenth century. another instance of the loss of a large twelfth-century ship occurred in the reign of henry ii., half a century later than the wreck of _la blanche nef_, when a vessel engaged in transport work foundered with persons. in the reign of richard coeur de lion a great impetus was given to shipbuilding and to maritime adventure in this country by the expedition which the king undertook to the holy land. a fleet of about vessels, according to peter langtoft, sailed from dartmouth in april, a.d. it was reinforced considerably in the mediterranean; for, according to matthew paris, richard was accompanied on his voyage to palestine by buccas, "ships of burthen," and triremes, and according to vinesauf, the fleet consisted of about vessels. the buccas, or busses, or dromons, were ships of the largest size, with triple sails. there were two sorts of galleys; some were propelled by oars alone, and others by oars and sails: the latter were the larger, and, according to matthew paris, sometimes carried men in armour, besides rowers and the sailors. he also states that some of them had triple banks of oars like the ancient galleys; but, according to vinesauf, the majority had not more than two banks of oars, and carried the traditional flying deck above the rowers for the use of the soldiers; they were low in the water compared to the sailing-ships, and they carried beaks, or rams, which, as narrated subsequently, they used to some purpose. the larger type of sailing-ships carried a captain and fifteen sailors, forty knights with their horses, an equal number of men-at-arms, fourteen servants, and complete stores for twelve months. there were, moreover, three much larger vessels in the fleet which carried double the complement mentioned above. as an instance of the very large size to which vessels occasionally attained in those days in the levant, we may refer to a saracen vessel which was attacked by richard's fleet near beirut in syria, in . it was described by many of the old chroniclers. this ship had three masts, and is alleged to have had , men on board at the time of the fight. the attack was carried out with great difficulty, on account of the towering height of the sides of the saracen vessel, and it was not till ramming tactics were tried by the galleys charging in line abreast, that her hull was stove in, in several places, and she went down with nearly all hands, only thirty-five, or, according to other accounts forty-six, having been saved. these large ships appear to have been used by other mediterranean powers towards the end of the twelfth century. for instance, a great venetian ship visited constantinople in a.d., of which it was stated that "no vessel of so great a bulk had ever been within that port." this vessel is mentioned by cinnamis, marino, and filiasi, and others, but her dimensions are not given. it is, however, known that she had three masts. cinnamis, who was at constantinople at this very time, states that she received from , to , venetian refugees on board, and conveyed them to the adriatic. the venetians are said to have employed another very large ship at the siege of ancona in a.d. on account of its size it was named _il mondo_. the republic of venice was, during the time of which we are writing, and for a long subsequent period, the foremost maritime power of the world. it is highly probable that many of the improvements which found their way into mediæval ships owed their origin to its great naval arsenal, which was famed for its resources and for the technical skill of its employés. at one time this arsenal employed , workmen, and during the great struggle of the republic with the turks at the end of the sixteenth century it turned out a completed and fully equipped galley every day for a hundred days in succession. during the crusades, venice and the rival republic of genoa secured between them the great bulk of the business involved in transporting troops and stores to the east, and they frequently hired out their war and merchant ships to other powers. shortly after the crusade of richard coeur de lion the trade and shipping of england appear to have undergone great expansion. in the reign of henry iii. ( to ) the historian, matthew of westminster, writes of them in a strain which might almost apply to our own day:-- "oh england, whose antient glory is renowned among all nations, like the pride of the chaldeans; the ships of tarsis could not compare with thy ships; they bring from all the quarters of the world aromatic spices and all the most precious things of the universe: the sea is thy wall, and thy ports are as the gates of a strong and well-furnished castle." in another place the same historian writes of the english trade as follows:-- "the pisans, genoese, and venetians supply england with the eastern gems, as saphires, emeralds, and carbuncles; from asia was brought the rich silks and purples; from africa the cinnamon and balm; from spain the kingdom was enriched with gold; with silver from germany; from flanders came the rich materials for the garments of the people; while plentiful streams of wine flowed from their own province of gascoigny; joined with everything that was rich and pretious from every land, wide stretching from the hyades to the arcturian star." no doubt this expansion was due, in part, to the very large participation which the english fleet took in the crusade. great numbers of english mariners were thus enabled to penetrate into seas that were new to them, and had opportunities of studying the commercial needs of the countries which bordered on those seas. another cause which powerfully contributed to the development of navigation, and consequently of shipbuilding, was the introduction of the mariner's compass into western europe during the first half of the thirteenth century. the english war navy, also at the commencement of the reign of henry ii., appears to have been in a very efficient condition. matthew paris gives a description of a great naval fight off the south foreland, in the year , between a cinque ports fleet under the famous hubert de burgh, who was at the time governor of dover castle, and a large french fleet under a monk of the name of eustace, who was one of the most skilful naval commanders of his day. the english fleet consisted of forty vessels, of which only sixteen were large and manned with trained sailors. the french fleet, which was endeavouring to carry a strong invading army to england, was made up of eighty large vessels, besides numerous galleys and smaller craft. the account of the battle is most interesting, because it throws a flood of light upon the naval tactics and the weapons of offence of the day. the english commander manoeuvred for the wind, and having got it, he bore down on the french fleet, and attacked their rear ships with flights of arrows carrying phials of unslaked lime, which being scattered and carried by the wind, blinded the frenchmen; boarding was then attempted with perfect success, the rigging and halyards of the french ships were cut away, causing the sails to fall upon their crews. a hand-to-hand combat then took place, which resulted in fearful slaughter of the would-be invaders: several of the french ships were rammed and sunk by the english galleys, and in the end the whole of the hostile fleet, with the exception of fifteen vessels, was taken or sunk. this was one of the most momentous naval battles in english history, and is memorable as having furnished the first recorded instance of a battle having been preceded by manoevres to obtain the weather-gauge. [illustration: fig. . sandwich seal. .] [illustration: fig. .--dover seal. .] we have, unfortunately, very few illustrations of the thirteenth-century ships, and those which we do possess are taken from the corporate seals of some of the cinque ports and other southern seaport towns. fig. is a representation of the seal of sandwich, and dates from the year . the circular form of a seal is not very favourable for the representation of a masted ship, but we can at least make out that the vessel in question is of the scandinavian type used by william i. and his successors. it also appears to have been an open boat, and contains the germs of the castellated structures fore and aft, which, as we shall see afterwards, attained to the most exaggerated dimensions. in the case of the sandwich ship these castles were not incorporated with the structure of the vessel; they were merely elevated positions for the use of the archers and men-at-arms, and were mounted on columns, and were probably removable. we can also learn from the engraving that the practice of furling sails aloft was practised at that time. fig. is the seal of dover, and dates from the reign of edward i. ( a.d.). it does not show much progress over the sandwich boat of nearly fifty years earlier, but we may notice that the castles are more developed and of a more permanent character. this vessel also possesses a bowsprit. it was about the middle of this century that cabins appear to have been introduced into english ships. the first mention of them occurs in , when orders were given that "decent chambers" were to be constructed in a ship in which the king and queen were to voyage to gascony. there are records in existence of the dimensions of some vessels which were built for louis ix. of france in the year a.d. at venice and genoa. they are published in jal's "archéologie navale." the venetian ship which was named the _roccafortis_ appears to have been the largest. her dimensions are given as follows: length of keel, ft.; length over all, ft.; width at prow and poop, ft. this latter dimension is hardly credible. the _roccafortis_ had two covered decks, and a castle or "bellatorium" at each end, and also several cabins. the crew numbered . the genoese ships were smaller. two of them were of identical dimensions, viz. length of keel, - / ft.; length over all, ft.; beam, ft. the figure given for the beam appears to be too small in this case, if the dimensions of the mast, - / ft., are correct, for such a long mast could hardly have been carried in so narrow a boat. these vessels had two decks, and are said to have had stabling for fifty horses each; but this latter statement cannot be true if the dimensions are accurately given. we have very little information about the ships of the end of the thirteenth and commencement of the fourteenth centuries. there is a list in existence of cinque ports ships which were fitted out in to take part in the war against scotland. they were thirty in number. more than half of them had complements of two constables and thirty-nine mariners, and the smallest had one constable and nineteen mariners. there is also a statement of the tonnage and complements of ships intended for an expedition to guienne in the year , which throws some light on the size of the vessels employed in the scottish expedition. from it we learn that a ship of tons had mariners and officers; one of tons, ; vessels between and tons, ; of tons, ; of tons, ; of tons, ; of tons, ; and of tons, . from the above we may infer that the largest vessels in the cinque ports' squadron of , were from to tons. the measure of a ton in those early days was probably the cubic space occupied by a tun of wine of gallons in the hold of a ship. we possess one representation of an english ship of the date of this expedition to guienne. it was engraved on the seal of the port of poole in the year (fig. ). it is remarkable as the earliest known instance of an english ship fitted with a rudder at the stern instead of the side-rudder, or paddle, which had been in use from the very earliest times. we also notice in this ship a further development of the stern and forecastles, which, however, were not as yet fully incorporated with the structure of the hull. the reign of edward iii., which commenced in , was, in consequence of the wars with scotland and france, one of great naval activity. after some years of desultory naval warfare in the channel, a famous sea fight took place at sluys, in dutch flanders, about ten miles north-east of blankenberghe, in the year . the english fleet consisted of about ships under the personal command of edward iii. the allied french and genoese fleet numbered, according to the english king, , and was composed of ships, galleys, and barges, while some of the chroniclers have put its numbers at as many as sail, but this would probably include many small craft. the battle resulted in the capture, or destruction, of nearly the whole french fleet. the english are said to have lost , men killed, and the french , . in one vessel, named the _jeanne de dieppe_, captured by the earl of huntingdon, no fewer than dead bodies were found. the latter figure shows that some very large vessels were used at this battle. [illustration: fig. .--poole seal. .] edward iii. caused a gold noble to be struck in bearing the representation of a ship almost precisely similar to the vessel on the seal of poole, of about twenty years earlier (fig. ). it is fitted with a rudder at the stern, and we may therefore conclude that at this period the side-rudder, or clavus, had disappeared from all important vessels. the fore and stern castles were, in most cases, temporary additions to merchant ships, to adapt them for purposes of warfare. in fact, nearly all the sailing-ships used in naval warfare down to, and even after the fourteenth century, appear to have been employed as merchant vessels in time of peace; and this remark applies even to the king's ships. it was, no doubt, the introduction of artillery that first caused the sailing warship to be differentiated from the merchantman. although gunpowder for military purposes is said to have been used on land as early as , and although iron and brass cannon are mentioned amongst the stores of three of the king's ships in , nevertheless, the battle of sluys and the subsequent naval engagements in the reign of edward iii. appear to have been fought without artillery. it was not till the last quarter of the fourteenth century that guns became at all common on board ship. in the year edward iii. invaded france, and was accompanied by a fleet of from , to , ships, besides small craft. two hundred of these vessels were employed after the king's landing in ravaging the northern coasts of france and destroying the hostile shipping. in the year edward organised another great naval expedition against france, this time in order to give him the command of the sea during his siege of calais. the fleet was drawn from all the ports of the kingdom, and small contingents came from ireland, flanders, spain, and the king's own possession of bayonne. there are two lists in existence of the numbers of ships and men contributed by each port to this expedition. they agree very closely. according to one of them, the united fleet consisted of ships, and , mariners, or an average of about twenty mariners to each ship. this figure, of course, does not include the fighting men. about fifty of these vessels were fighting ships fitted with castles, and the remainder were barges, ballingers (which appear to have been a kind of large barge), and transports. the largest contingents, by far, came from yarmouth, which contributed ships and , men; fowey sent ships and men; and dartmouth supplied ships and men; while london, independently of the king's own vessels, sent only ships manned with men. in edward iii. and the black prince fought a famous naval battle off winchelsea against a fleet of forty spanish ships. the battle is generally known by the name of l'espagnols-sur-mer. edward was victorious, though he lost his own ship, through its springing a leak when colliding with one of the spanish vessels. the tactics of the english consisted chiefly of boarding, while the spaniards, whose vessels were much the higher, attacked with cross-bows and heavy stones; the latter they hurled from their fighting-tops into their adversaries' ships. from the foregoing, we can infer that the naval resources of england in the first half of the reign of edward iii. were very great. during the latter half of his reign he neglected his navy, and the french and spaniards, in spite of all their previous losses, rapidly gained the upper hand at sea, and ravaged the english coasts. in the spanish fleet assisting the french inflicted a severe defeat upon an inferior english squadron which had been sent to the relief of la rochelle. this battle is memorable because it was, probably, the first sea-fight in which artillery was employed, the spanish ships having been partly armed with the new weapon. the venetians are usually credited with having been the first people to employ naval guns; but we do not find them using artillery against the genoese till the year . the introduction of cannon as the armament of ships of war was the cause of several modifications in the construction of their hulls. most of the early vessels fitted with cannon were of the galley type, the guns being mounted on the upper deck, and fired over the bulwarks, _en barbette_. afterwards portholes were cut through the bulwarks. fig. represents a venetian galley of the fourteenth century, as given by charnock, with a single gun mounted in the bow. [illustration: fig. .--venetian galley. fourteenth century.] the new form of armament of ships involved a considerable raising of the height of side, and in order to counteract the effect of the high topside, carrying the weight of guns aloft, the beam of the vessel relatively to its length had to be much increased. the venetians were, however, afraid to make the transverse section wide throughout, lest the weight of the guns near the sides of the vessel should cause the connection of the sides with the beams to strain; hence they gave the sides considerable "tumble home," or fall inboard, as represented by fig. , which shows the cross-section of a venetian galleon. it will be noticed that the width of the upper deck is only about half that of the greatest beam. this practice was afterwards carried to an absurd extent by the venetians and their imitators, even in cases where guns were not carried aloft, as may be seen from the sketch of a galleon given in fig. . hence it is evident that the introduction of ordnance on board ship accounted for a complete revolution in the proportions of hulls hitherto in vogue. the rig of ships also underwent a considerable development about this period. the old single mast of the galley was supplemented by two and in some cases by three others. the sails were still square sails carried on spars, and the practice of reefing the sails to the spars aloft, instead of lowering spars and sails together on deck, had now become common. [illustration: fig. .--cross-section of a venetian galleon.] two years after the action off la rochelle we find the french commencing the construction of a royal navy at rouen. this step was taken in consequence of the strong opinion held by jean de vienne, who was appointed admiral of france in , that vessels built specially for the purposes of war would have a great advantage over the hired merchantmen which had to be adapted for fighting each time they were impressed. it is highly probable that the latter half of the fourteenth century witnessed many improvements in ships built in the mediterranean. this was no doubt due, in part, to the intense commercial rivalry that existed at that time between venice and the other italian republics. fig. is taken from a ms. virgil in the riccardi library, reproduced in m. jal's[ ] work. it represents an italian two-masted sailing-ship of this period. this is one of the earliest illustrations of a ship with a permanent forecastle forming part of the structure of the vessel. the stern castle also appears to have a permanent, though not a structural character. ships of somewhat similar type were used in england in the reign of richard ii. at the end of the fourteenth century. fig. represents one of them, the original being in an illustrated manuscript in the harleian library. it was written by a frenchman of the name of francis de la marque in richard's reign. there are illustrations in manuscripts still in existence written about this period, which confirm the fact that this type of ship was then prevalent. [illustration: fig. .--venetian galleon. .] the reign of henry v. ( to ) was one of great naval development. the king himself took a most ardent interest in the royal navy, and frequently inspected the ships during their construction. under his auspices some very large vessels were built for the fleet. lists of this king's ships are still in existence. they are classified under the names great ships, cogs, carracks, ships, barges, and ballingers. the largest of the great ships was the _jesus_, of , tons; the _holigost_, of ; the _trinity royal_, of ; and the _christopher spayne_, of ; the last-mentioned was a prize captured by the earl of huntingdon. the majority of the ships were, however, from to tons. the carracks were apparently not english-built ships, as all those in the king's navy were prizes captured in and . the three largest were of , , and tons respectively. the barges are given as of tons, and the ballingers ranged from to tons. the total strength of the royal navy about the year , as given in the list compiled by w. m. oppenheim from the accounts of the keepers of the king's ships, is ; of these were ships, carracks, barges, and ballingers. it is worthy of notice that there were no galleys included in the list. [illustration: fig. .--italian sailing ship. th century.] [illustration: fig. .--english ship. time of richard ii.] henry invaded france in with a fleet of , vessels, which had been raised by impressing every british ship of tons and upwards. the home supply not being sufficient for his purpose, henry sent commissioners to holland and zealand to hire additional vessels. in all , ships were collected and , utilised. these figures give us a fair idea of the resources of this country in shipping at that time. this was the invasion which resulted in the victory of agincourt and the capture of harfleur. in the year following ( ) france was again invaded and the fleet was stated by some to have numbered , and by others ships. a naval battle was fought off harfleur. it resulted in a complete victory for henry. the old tactics and the old weapons seem to have been used. although, as we have seen, guns had been used in sea-fights nearly forty years previously, there is no mention of their having been employed on either side at this battle. in the king again collected , vessels at southampton for a fresh invasion of france. having first obtained the command of the sea by a naval victory over the french and genoese, a landing was duly effected near harfleur. several vessels, including four large carracks, were captured in the sea-fight, and were added to the king's navy. during the reign of henry v. the mercantile marine of england made no progress. commerce was checked in consequence of the state of war which prevailed, and the improvements in shipbuilding seem to have been confined to the royal navy. it seems probable, however, that the experience gained in the construction and navigation of the very large ships which the king added to the navy had its effect, ultimately, in improving the type of merchant-vessels. [illustration: fig. .--english ship. time of henry vi.] during the forty years of the reign of henry vi. england was so greatly exhausted and impoverished by war with france and by internal dissensions at home, that commerce and shipbuilding made little progress. we possess a sketch of a ship of the early part of the reign of henry vi. it is contained in a manuscript in the harleian library of the date, probably, of to . it is reproduced in fig. , and differs from the ship of the reign of richard ii. shown in fig. , chiefly in having the poop and forecastle more strongly developed. while england was steadily declining in power from the time of the death of henry v., a new maritime nation was arising in south-western europe, whose discoveries were destined to have a most marked effect on the seaborne commerce, and consequently on the shipbuilding of the world. in the year the portuguese, under the guidance of prince henry the navigator, commenced their exploration of the west coast of africa, and they continued it with persistency during the century. in they discovered, or rather re-discovered, the island of madeira, for it is extremely probable that it was first visited by an englishman of the name of machin. the portuguese prince firmly believed that a route could be opened round africa to the indies. to reach these regions by sea seems to have been the goal of the great explorers of the fifteenth century, and the portuguese were stimulated in their endeavours by a grant from pope martin v. of all territories which might thenceforward be discovered between cape bojador and the east indies. in an expedition consisting of six caravels was fitted out, and made a voyage to guinea; it resulted in the discovery of the cape verde islands. the caravel was a type of ship much used by the countries of southern europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. a description of a spanish vessel of this type is given on pages to . in the azores were discovered. in a lucrative trade was opened up between portugal and the natives of guinea. six years afterwards the cape of good hope was reached by bartholomew diaz, and in it was doubled by vasco da gama. during a great part of the period in which the portuguese were thus occupied in extending their commerce and in paving the way for great discoveries, the condition of england, owing to the french war and to the subsequent wars of the roses, was passing from bad to worse. nevertheless, the spirit of commercial enterprise was not wholly extinguished. a few merchants seem to have made fortunes in the shipping trade, and among them may be mentioned the famous william canynge of bristol, who was probably the greatest private shipowner in england at the end of the reign of henry vi. and during the time of edward iv. ( to ). canynge traded to iceland, finland, and the mediterranean. he is said to have possessed ships as large as tons, and it is recorded on his monument, in the church of st. mary redcliffe, in bristol, that he at one time lent ships, to the extent of , tons, to edward iv. it is also related of him that he owned ten ships and employed sailors and artisans. it was not till the year , upon the conclusion of peace between edward and the french king, louis, that affairs quieted down in england, and then trade and commerce made most marvellous progress. the king himself was one of the leading merchants of the country, and concluded treaties of commerce with denmark, brittany, castile, burgundy, france, zealand, and the hanseatic league. in the reign of edward's successor, richard iii., english seaborne trade obtained a firm footing in italy and other mediterranean countries. we, fortunately, possess drawings which show that an enormous advance was made in shipbuilding during the period under discussion, or that, at any rate, the advance had by that time reached england. fig. illustrates a large ship of the latter half of the fifteenth century. it is taken from a manuscript in the cottonian library, by john rous, the celebrated warwickshire antiquary and historian. this manuscript records the life and history of richard beauchamp, earl of warwick, who was born in , and died in . the author of the manuscript, however, lived till , in the early part of the reign of henry vii., and we may therefore conclude that the illustrations represent ships of the latter half of the fifteenth century. the vessel shown in fig. was used for war purposes, as four guns were mounted on the broadside. there were also four masts and a bowsprit, and a strongly developed forecastle, which formed part of the structure of the ship. there was apparently very luxurious accommodation provided for passengers and officers in a large deck-house at the poop. the mainsail was of very large dimensions, and was emblazoned with the arms of the earl of warwick. in this illustration we see an early approach to the modern type of sailing-ship. there are several other drawings of ships in the same manuscripts, and most of them have the same general characteristics as fig. . [illustration: fig. .--english ship. latter half of fifteenth century.] the reign of henry vii. ( to ) was a memorable one in the annals of navigation and commerce. two years after he came to the throne, the portuguese sent the expedition, previously referred to, to discover a route to the indies round africa. the expedition never reached its destination, but diaz succeeded in discovering the cape of good hope. [illustration: fig. .--columbus' ship, the _santa maria_, .] a few years later, in , christopher columbus made his famous attempt to reach the indies by sailing west. this expedition, as is well known, resulted in the discovery of the west indian islands, and, shortly afterwards, of the mainland of america. the ships which columbus took with him on his voyage were three in number, and small in size. as spain had possessed many large vessels for a century and a half before the time of columbus, it is probable that he was entrusted with small ships only, because the government did not care to risk much capital in so adventuresome an undertaking. [illustration: fig. .--sail-plan of the _santa maria_.] fortunately, we have a fairly exact knowledge of the form and dimensions of the caravel _santa maria_, which was the largest of the three vessels. she was reconstructed in - at the arsenal of carraca, by spanish workmen, under the superintendence of señor leopold wilke, for the chicago exhibition of . señor wilke had access to every known source of information. figs. to give a general view, sail-plan and lines, of this ship as reconstructed. the following were her leading dimensions:-- length of keel · feet length between perpendiculars · " extreme length of ship proper " length over all · " breadth, extreme · " displacement fully laden tons weight of hull · " the _santa maria_, like most vessels of her time, was provided with an extensive forecastle, which overhung the stem nearly ft. she had also an enormous structure aft, consisting of half and quarter decks above the main deck. she had three masts and a bowsprit. the latter and the fore and main masts were square-rigged, and the mizzen was lateen-rigged. the outside of the hull was strengthened with vertical and longitudinal timber beams. the _santa maria_, as reproduced, was sailed across the atlantic from spain by captain d. v. concas and a spanish crew in the year . the course taken was exactly the same as that followed by columbus on his first voyage. the time occupied was thirty-six days, and the maximum speed attained was about - / knots. the vessel pitched horribly. in the first english expedition was made to america under john cabot. we have no particulars of the ship in which cabot sailed, but it could not have been a large one, as it is known that the crew only numbered eighteen. the expedition sailed from bristol in the month of may, and land, which was probably cape breton, was sighted on june . bristol was reached on the return journey at the end of july. in the following year cabot made another voyage, and explored the coast of north america from cape breton to as far south as cape hatteras. many other expeditions in the same direction were fitted out in the last years of the fifteenth and the first years of the sixteenth centuries. [illustration: fig. .--lines of the _santa maria_.] while cabot was returning from his first voyage to north america, one of the most famous and most epoch-making expeditions of discovery of modern times was fitted out in portugal. on july , , vasco da gama set sail from the tagus in the hope of reaching india _via_ the cape of good hope. his squadron consisted of three ships, named the _san gabriel_, the _san raphael_, and the _birrio_, together with a transport to carry stores. there is a painting in existence at lisbon of the _san gabriel_, which is supposed to be authentic. it represents her as having a high poop and forecastle, very like the caravel _santa maria_. she had four masts and a bowsprit. the latter and the fore and main masts were square-rigged. the _san gabriel_ was, however, a much larger vessel than the _santa maria_. she is said to have been constructed to carry pipes of wine. this would be equivalent to about tons measurement, or, from to tons register.[ ] the other two ships selected were of about the same dimensions, and of similar equipment and rig, in order that, in the event of losses, or accidents, each of the ships might make use of any of the spars, tackle, or fittings belonging to the others. it may here be mentioned that the ships reached quilimane, on the east coast of south africa, on january , . after many visits to east african ports, during which they satisfied themselves that the arts of navigation were as well understood by the eastern seamen as by themselves, they set sail for india early in august, and after a voyage of twenty, or, as some say, twenty-three days, they sighted the coast, and shortly afterwards arrived in calicut, nearly fourteen months after they started from lisbon. about this time the memlook sultans of egypt absolutely cut off the trade which had been carried on for centuries between the italian republics and the malabar coast of india _via_ the overland route and the red sea. it was this fact that gave the discovery of the sea-route to india such enormous importance, and, ultimately, it was one of the causes of the commercial downfall of the italian republics. the cape route became the great high-road of commerce to the east, and remained so down to the present reign, when the re-establishment of the overland route, and, eventually, the successful cutting of the suez canal, restored commerce to its old paths. the discoveries of columbus, vasco da gama, john cabot, and their successors, had an enormous influence upon shipbuilding, as they not only widened the area of seaborne commerce, but offered strong inducements to navigators to venture on the great oceans, far from land, in craft specially adapted for such voyages. hitherto, sailors had either navigated the great inland seas of europe or had engaged in the coasting trade, and the longest voyages undertaken before the end of the fifteenth century were probably those which english merchants made between bristol and iceland, and between our eastern ports and bergen. henry vii. not only encouraged commerce and voyages of discovery, but also paid great attention to the needs of the royal navy. he added two warships to his fleet, which were more powerful vessels than any previously employed in this country. one of them, named the _regent_, was copied from a french ship of tons, and was built on the rother about . she carried four masts and a bowsprit, and was armed with small guns, called serpentines. the second ship was named the _sovereign_, and it is remarkable, as showing the connection at that time between land and naval architecture, that she was built under the superintendence of sir reginald bray, who was also the architect of henry vii.'s chapel at westminster abbey, and of st. george's chapel, windsor. the _sovereign_ carried serpentines. the _regent_ was burnt in an action off brest in the reign of henry viii., in the year . she caught fire from a large french carrack, called the _marie la cordelière_, which she was attacking. both ships were utterly destroyed. the _marie la cordelière_ was probably the largest warship of her time. she is said to have carried , men, and to have lost killed in the action. she was built at morlaix at the sole cost of anne of brittany, then queen of france. [illustration: fig. .--the _henry grace à dieu_. _pepysian library, cambridge._] the _regent_ was replaced by a very famous ship called the _henry grace à dieu_, otherwise known as the _great harry_. as a consequence, most probably, of the size and force of some of the french ships, as revealed in the action off brest, the _henry grace à dieu_ was a great advance on any previous british warship. she was built at erith, and was probably launched in june, . her tonnage is given in a manuscript in pepys' "miscellanies" as , ; but it is generally believed that she did not in reality exceed , tons. [illustration: fig. .--the _henry grace à dieu_. _after allen._] there are more drawings than one in existence, supposed to represent this famous warship. one of them, shown in fig. , is from a drawing in the pepysian library, in magdalene college, cambridge. another, shown in fig. , is from an engraving by allen of a picture ascribed to holbein. the two illustrations differ in many important respects and cannot both represent the same ship. there is very little doubt that fig. is the more correct representation of the two, because it is confirmed in all essential respects by volpe's picture of the embarkation of henry viii. at dover in on this very ship. volpe's picture is now at hampton court palace, and shows four other ships of the royal navy, which were all built in the same style as the pepysian drawing of fig. , with enormous forecastles and poops. the vessel represented in the picture ascribed to holbein appears to belong to a later date than , and is, in fact, transitional between the ships of this period and those of the reign of elizabeth. one of the warships of the latter period is shown in fig. . according to a manuscript, in the pepysian collection, the _henry grace à dieu_ was armed with twenty-one guns and a multitude of smaller pieces. the numbers of the various guns and the weights of their shot are given in the following table:-- +---------------+---------+-----------+ | | | weight of | | name of gun. | number. | shot. | +---------------+---------+-----------+ | | | lbs. | | cannon | | | | demi-cannon | | | | culverin | | | | demi-culverin | | | | saker | | | | cannon perer | | | | falcon | | | +---------------+---------+-----------+ the sizes of the guns of this time are pretty accurately known, because one of the ships of henry viii., called the _mary rose_, built in , went down off portsmouth in , and several of her guns have been recovered, and are still in existence. the portholes were circular, and so small in diameter that no traverse could have been given to the guns. this practice continued to prevail till the time of the commonwealth. there were five masts in this, as in all other first-rates henceforth down to the time of charles i. one of the masts was inclined forward, like a modern bowsprit. each mast was made in one piece, the introduction of separate topmasts having been a more modern improvement. [illustration: fig. --genoese carrack. .] the highest development in the art of shipbuilding at this period was reached in the large merchant-ships called carracks. the competition between the great trading republics of italy, viz. venice and genoa, and the rivalry of portugal probably accounted for the marked improvement in the character of merchant-ships in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. fig. gives a representation of a large genoese carrack of the sixteenth century. it will be noticed that this vessel had four masts, and was square-rigged, the foremost mast having been inclined forward somewhat after the fashion of the modern bowsprit. in the sixteenth century the carrack often attained the size of , tons. towards the latter half of this century a portuguese carrack captured by the english was, in length, from the beakhead to the stern, ft.; beam, ft.; length of keel, ft.; height of mainmast, ft.; circumference at partners, ft.; length of mainyard, ft.; burthen, , tons. this vessel carried pieces of brass ordnance--a very necessary addition to the merchant-ship of the period--and accommodated between and passengers. the most important maritime event in the sixteenth century was, undoubtedly, the fitting out by spain, in , of the gigantic expedition intended to invade this country in the reign of queen elizabeth. an account of the fleets on either side may therefore be interesting. [illustration: fig. .--spanish galleass. .] the great armada consisted of no less than vessels, of which only four were galleys, and four galleasses.[ ] of the remainder, were under tons, and were between and , tons. the total tonnage of the ships, less the galleys and galleasses, was , . the armament consisted of , [ ] guns. the seamen numbered , and the soldiers , . the fleet was divided into ten squadrons. the largest vessel was the flagship of the levant squadron, and was of , tons, and carried guns. the crew consisted of sailors and soldiers. the next largest was of , tons and carried guns, but the greater number of the vessels were much smaller. the popular belief as to their incredible size and unwieldiness must therefore be dismissed as baseless, for even the largest ships were far exceeded in size by some of the carracks, or merchant vessels, of that day. on the average the spanish vessels mounted guns apiece, and carried crews of sailors and soldiers. fig. is a sketch, taken from the tapestry of the old house of lords, of one of the galleasses of the fleet. it will be noticed that she carried her guns extremely high, a peculiarity which was common to many of the spanish vessels; for we read that their fire did more harm to the rigging than to the hulls of the english vessels. the fleet mustered by elizabeth was far more numerous, but its tonnage did not amount to one-half of that of the armada. the total number of vessels sailing under the english flag was , of which, however, only belonged to the royal navy. the remainder were merchant vessels, hastily fitted out and adapted for purposes of war by their owners, or by the ports to which they belonged. of the royal ships the largest was the _triumph_, built in . she was commanded by sir martin frobisher, and was only exceeded in size by four of the spanish vessels. the _triumph_ was between , and , tons, but there were only seven ships in the english navy of between and , tons, whereas the spaniards had no fewer than . the crew of the _triumph_ numbered , of whom were sailors, gunners, and soldiers. the _triumph_ carried guns, of which were cannon, demi-cannon, culverins, demi-culverins, sakers, and small pieces. the greatest number of guns carried by any ship in the fleet was , mounted on board the _elizabeth jones_, of tons, and built in . the flagship of the lord high admiral, lord howard of effingham, the _ark_, was the most modern of the english warships, having been built in . she was of tons, carried a crew of , and mounted guns. of the merchant auxiliaries the two largest were the _galleon leicester_ and the _merchant royal_, each of tons, and each carried a crew of men. in the former of these the explorer cavendish afterwards made his last voyage. another of the merchant-ships, the _edward bonaventure_, belonged to the levant company, and in the years to was distinguished as the first english ship that made a successful voyage to india. the size of a large number of the merchant-ships was under tons. the total number of the crews of the entire english fleet was , ; of these , belonged to the queen's ships. as a general rule, the english ships in the reign of queen elizabeth, both in the royal navy and in the mercantile marine, were much inferior in size to the vessels belonging to the great maritime republics of italy and to spain and portugal. hitherto the practice had been general of hiring genoese and venetian carracks for mercantile purposes. it is stated that about the year , or twenty years after queen elizabeth's accession to the throne, there were only ships in the royal navy and of above tons burthen in the whole kingdom, and but that exceeded tons. nevertheless, in this reign there was a great development of mercantile activity, in which the sovereign as well as her people participated. many trading expeditions were sent out to the west indies and to north america, and warlike descents on the spanish ports were frequently carried out, and were attended with great success. in elizabeth's time the first british colony, virginia, was founded in north america, and sir francis drake undertook his memorable and eventful voyage round the world in a squadron, which consisted, at the commencement, of five vessels, whereof the largest, the _pelican_, was of only tons burthen, and the smallest a pinnace of tons. so great was the progress made about this time in english maritime trade that, only four years after the date above mentioned, there were said to have been no less than english commercial vessels of above tons in existence. in the year drake, in his famous marauding expedition in the spanish seas, captured a great carrack called the _san felipe_, which was returning home from the east indies. the papers found in her revealed the enormous profits which the spaniards made out of their trade with india, and afforded such valuable information that the english merchant adventurers were incited to cut in and try to secure some share of this trade for themselves. this led, ultimately, to the founding of the celebrated east india company, and to the conquest of india by the british. in certain merchants petitioned the queen to grant them a licence to trade with the east indies; but elizabeth, fearing the resentment of the spanish and portuguese, would not grant their request for many years, and it was not till the last day of the year that she gave a charter of incorporation to the earl of cumberland and knights and merchants for fifteen years, and thus founded the first east india company. english adventurers, however, did not wait for a charter before commencing their trading operations with the east, for in an expedition consisting of three ships was sent out under the command of james lancaster. only one of the three--the _edward bonaventure_, which, as already mentioned, had been a merchant auxiliary in the english fleet that opposed the armada--ever reached the east indies in safety. a few weeks after the charter had been granted lancaster led another expedition to the east. his fleet consisted of five ships; the largest, the _dragon_, was of tons, and had a crew of . after an adventurous voyage the fleet returned to england in september, , having been absent two years and eight months. there is abundant evidence to show that foreign merchant ships in elizabeth's reign were often much larger than any built in this country. the following are examples. in a portuguese carrack called the _madre de dios_ was captured and brought home. she was of , tons burthen, feet long from stem to stern, and had seven decks, including the numerous half and quarter decks which formed the poop. in a spanish carrack was destroyed which had , men on board. when cadiz was taken in two spanish galleons of , tons were captured, and the flagship, the _san felipe_, of , tons, was blown up. in a portuguese carrack of , tons was captured at cezimbra. she was named the _san valentino_, and was worth, with her cargo, a million ducats. the system of striking topmasts appears to have been introduced into the english navy in the reign of queen elizabeth. it is mentioned by sir walter raleigh as a recent improvement and "a wonderful ease to great ships, both at sea and in the harbour." amongst the other novelties mentioned by the same authority was the use of chain-pumps on board ship; they lifted twice the amount of water that the old-fashioned pumps could raise; studding, top-gallant, sprit and topsails were also introduced, and the weighing of anchors by means of the capstan. he also alludes to the recent use of long cables, and says that "by it we resist the malice of the greatest winds that can blow." the early men-of-war, pierced with portholes, carried their lower guns very near the water. in some cases there were only fourteen inches from the lower sill of the portholes to the water-line. this practice led to many accidents; amongst others may be mentioned the loss of the _mary rose_, one of the largest ships in the royal navy in the time of henry viii. sir walter raleigh mentions that, in his time, the practice was introduced of raising the lower tier of ports. nevertheless, this improvement did not become general till the time of the restoration of charles ii. fig. is a representation of an english ship of war of the time of queen elizabeth, supposed to be of the date . it is copied from the tapestries of the old house of lords. it shows clearly the recently introduced topmasts alluded to by sir walter raleigh. it is certainly a much more ship-shaped and serviceable craft than the vessels of henry viii. there is also in existence a drawing of a smaller elizabethan warship in the rawlinson mss. in the bodleian library; in essential particulars, it confirms fig. . both of these show that the forecastles and poops had been considerably modified. [illustration: fig. .--english man-of-war. about .] [illustration: fig. .--venetian galleass. .] another great naval war was waged in the latter half of the sixteenth century, about sixteen years before the defeat of the spanish armada. the scene was the adriatic sea, and the combatants were venice, with her allies, spain and the papal states, on the one hand, and the turks on the other. it culminated in the complete defeat of the latter at lepanto in . the site of the battle of lepanto is very near to that of actium, and it is a remarkable circumstance that twice in history a decisive naval battle between the west and east should have been decided at the same spot. the allies possessed a fleet consisting of galleys and galleasses. the venetians introduced the latter type of vessel in order to meet the turks on even terms. it was an improved form of galley with three masts, carrying several guns on the broadside, most of them mounted on the upper deck. fig. represents one of the venetian galleasses as used at the battle of lepanto, to the winning of which engagement they are said to have contributed materially. the galleass was essentially a mediterranean warship. it was never generally adopted by the western powers, but four neapolitan vessels of this category, carrying each guns, formed a part of the great armada sent by spain to effect the conquest of england. the galleass represented in fig. had a circular forecastle in which were mounted several guns, to be used in end-on attack. it is impossible to read the accounts of the battle of lepanto and of the defeat of the spanish armada without noticing the great contrast between the ships used in the two wars at about the same period. in the mediterranean the single-banked galley was still the prevailing type, while in the western and northern seas the bulk of the spanish and the whole of the british fleets were sailing-ships. it does not appear that any further novelties, or improvements, worth alluding to were introduced into the practice of shipbuilding till the accession of the house of stuart in . all the monarchs of this family paid particular attention to the development of the royal navy. king james i. had in his service an educated naval architect of the name of phineas pett, who was a master of arts of emmanuel college, cambridge, and a member of a famous family of shipbuilders who had been employed for two centuries previously, from father to son, as officers and architects in the royal navy. some time after the accession of james, a royal commission inquired into the general state and management of the navy, and issued a report in , which was in effect "a project for contracting the charge of his majesty's navy, keeping the coast of england and ireland safely guarded, and his majesty's ships in harbour as sufficiently guarded as now they are, provided that the old debts be paid, ... and certain assignments settled for the further payment of the navy quarterly." at the time the report was issued there were only seventeen vessels in the navy which had been built during the reign of james. the most important of these was the _prince royal_, built in , and, at the time, considered to be one of the finest men-of-war in the world. fig. is an illustration of a man-of-war of the period, which, there is strong evidence for believing, was this very vessel. it was designed and built under the superintendence of phineas pett at woolwich dockyard, and was given by the king to his son henry, prince of wales, in honour of whom it was named the _prince royal_. it was in many respects a remarkable departure from the prevailing practice of the times, and, if stripped of its profuse carved work, was very similar in outline to the men-of-war built as recently as the commencement of the last century. the designer was bold enough to abandon some of the time-honoured features of ship construction, such as the beak, or prow, derived from the old galleys, and the square buttock, or tuck. the latter feature, however, continued to appear in the ships of most other european countries for some time afterwards. the length of keel of this vessel was ft., and the beam ft. the reputed burthen was , tons, and the vessel was pierced for guns, whereof she carried , the vacant portholes being filled in action from the opposite side, a custom which prevailed down to the last century and was adopted in order to lessen the dead weight carried aft. the great difference between the shape of the quarter galleries and forecastle in this ship and in the earlier types will be noted. the armament of the _prince royal_ consisted of the following guns: on the lower deck six -pounders, two -pounders, and twelve -pounders. the bow and aftermost ports were empty, and in case of necessity the former was filled by an -pounder from the opposite side, and the latter by a -pounder from the stern-ports. the upper deck was armed with -pounders, the aftermost port being vacant, and filled up when required. the quarter-deck and forecastle were provided with -pounders. [illustration: fig. .--the _prince royal_. .] the building of this ship aroused many apprehensions, and a commission was appointed to report on the design while it was being constructed. it certainly seems that gross errors were made in the calculations. for instance, it was estimated that loads of timber would be required for her construction, whereas , loads were actually used. the timber also was so unseasoned that the ship only lasted fifteen years, and had then to be rebuilt. many complaints were made about this time of the incapacity and ignorance of english shipbuilders. sir walter raleigh laid down the following as the principal requirements of warships: strong build, speed, stout scantling, ability to fight the guns in all weathers, ability to lie to easily in a gale, and ability to stay well. he stated that in all these qualities the royal ships were deficient. he also called attention to the inferiority of our merchant-ships, and pointed out that, whereas an english ship of tons required a crew of thirty hands, a dutch vessel of the same size would sail with one-third of that number. another authority of the time complained that-- "he could never see two ships builded of the like proportion by the best and most skilful shipwrights ... because they trust rather to their judgment than their art, and to their eye than their scale and compass." the merchant navy of england languished during the early years of the reign of james i. owing, however, to the patronage and assistance extended by the king to the east india company, and also in no small measure to the stimulus caused by the arrival of some large dutch merchantmen in the thames, the merchants of london abandond the practice of hiring ships from foreigners and took to building for themselves. in the year there were not more than ten ships belonging to the port of london with a burthen in excess of tons, but, owing to the sudden development of shipbuilding, the port of newcastle in the year owned more than ships exceeding the above-mentioned tonnage. in the year the king granted a new charter to the east india company, and in the following year a vessel, called the _trade's increase_, was sent out. this ship was the largest merchantman built up to that time in england. her career, however, was not fortunate. she was careened at bantam, in order that some repairs to her hull might be effected, but she fell over on her side and was burnt by the javanese. before the year british merchants had made altogether twelve voyages to the east indies, for the most part in ships of less than tons. in that year, however, all the merchants interested in the oriental trade joined together to form the united east india company. the first fleet fitted out by the re-organised company consisted of four ships, of , , , and tons burthen respectively. it had to fight its way with the portuguese before it could commence to trade. the portuguese considered that they were entitled to a monopoly of the trade with the east, and jealously resented the intrusion of the english merchantmen, whom they attacked with a fleet of six galleons, three ships, two galleys, and sixty smaller vessels. they were, however, ignominiously defeated, and the english merchants were enabled to accomplish their purpose. during the last five years of the reign of james i. the strength of the royal navy was increased twenty-five per cent. his son and successor, charles i., through all the troubles of his eventful reign, never neglected this branch of the national defences, and during his reign the mercantile marine grew to such an extent that, at the time of the outbreak of the civil war, the port of london alone was able to furnish ships of considerable size, all mounting cannon and fitted up in every respect for the operations of war. [illustration: fig. .--the _sovereign of the seas_. .] the _sovereign of the seas_, illustrated in fig. , may be taken as a sample of the largest type of warship built by charles. like the _prince royal_, she was designed by pett, and was considered to be the most powerful man-of-war in europe of her time. her construction must have been a great improvement on that of the _prince royal_; for, whereas the latter ship was declared to be no longer fit for service fifteen years after her launch, the _sovereign of the seas_, though engaged in most of the naval battles of the seventeenth century, remained in good condition for a period of sixty years, and was then accidentally burnt at chatham when about to be rebuilt. she was the first three-decker in the royal navy, but as she proved somewhat crank, she was cut down to a two-decker in the year . at the restoration she was renamed the _royal sovereign_. this very remarkable vessel was of , tons burthen. her length of keel was ft.; length over all, ft.; beam, ft. in.; and depth from top of lanthorn to bottom of keel, ft. she was built with three closed decks, a forecastle, a half-deck, a quarter-deck, and a round-house. she carried in all or guns, and was pierced for thirty guns on the lower, thirty on the main, and twenty-six on the upper deck; the forecastle had twelve, and the half-deck fourteen ports. she also carried ten chasers forward, and as many aft. she was provided with eleven anchors, of which one weighed two tons. the _royal sovereign_ may fairly be taken as representing the commencement of a better school of ship construction. her merits were due to the talents of phineas pett, who, though not uniformly successful in his earlier designs, was a great innovator, and is generally regarded as the father of the modern school of wooden shipbuilding. very little is known, unfortunately, of the character and rig of the smaller classes of trading vessels of the end of the sixteenth and the commencement of the seventeenth centuries. it is, however, tolerably certain that cutter-rigged craft were used in the coasting and irish trades as far back as ; for there is a map of ireland of that date in existence on which are shown two vessels rigged in this manner. with the description of the _royal sovereign_ we close the account of mediæval naval architecture. thanks to the fostering care of charles i., to the genius of pett, and to the great natural advantages conferred by the superiority of english oak to other european timbers, england at this period occupied a high place in the art of shipbuilding. the position thus gained was maintained and turned to the best advantage in the period of the commonwealth, when successful naval wars were undertaken against the dutch and other european states. these wars eventually resulted in establishing england, for a time, as the foremost maritime power in europe. chapter v. modern wooden sailing-ships. the naval wars which followed the establishment of the commonwealth contributed in a very large degree to the progress of shipbuilding. in war broke out with the united provinces, headed by the dutch, who were, prior to that period, the foremost naval and mercantile power in the world. the struggle lasted about two years, and during its continuance the british fleet increased from fifty-five first, second, and third rates, to eighty-eight vessels of corresponding classes, while a proportionately larger increase was made in ships of smaller denominations, and, in addition, the vessels lost in the war were replaced. the war with the dutch was an exceptionally severe struggle, and ended in the complete victory of this country, which then stepped into holland's place as foremost naval power. in addition to this war, cromwell undertook an expedition to the mediterranean, to punish the piratical states of algiers, tunis, and tripoli. the fleet was commanded by blake, and was completely successful in its operations, which resulted in a security for british commerce with the levant that had never been known before. admiral penn was at the same time entrusted with the command of a powerful expedition to the spanish west indies. the annexation of jamaica followed, and british commerce in the west increased. in fact, with the progress of the national navy the commerce of the country also extended itself, and the increased experience thus obtained in shipbuilding, both for the war and trading fleets, necessarily resulted in great improvements in the art. [illustration: fig. .--the _royal charles_. .] the expenditure on the navy in the time of the commonwealth was enormous relatively to the total national revenue. in the year - four-fifths of the income of the country was devoted to the sea service, in the following year two-thirds, and in - nearly three-fifths. these are figures which have never been approached at any other period. the ships built during this time were of moderate dimensions. only four were of , tons. these were the _dunbar_, of , tons and guns, built in ; the _london_, built in the same year, of the same tonnage and number of guns, though of different dimensions; the _richard_, of , tons and guns, built in ; and the _naseby_, built in , of , tons and guns. all four were renamed at the restoration. charles ii. and his brother, the duke of york, afterwards james ii., both possessed in an eminent degree the fondness for the navy which distinguished all the members of the stuart dynasty, though, unfortunately, after the first naval war waged by charles against holland, the condition of the fleet was allowed to deteriorate very rapidly. as a sample of the type of warship of the first class built in this reign, we give, in fig. , the _royal charles_, which was constructed at portsmouth dockyard in , by sir anthony deane, to carry guns. this illustration and that of the _sovereign of the seas_ are after pictures by vandevelde. this ship was the largest in the navy, excepting always the famous old _sovereign of the seas_ and the _britannia_. the latter was built at chatham, by pett, in , and carried guns, and measured , tons. the _royal charles_ created as much sensation in its day as did the famous ship built for charles i. there is a beautiful model of the _royal charles_ in the museum. [illustration: fig. .--the _soleil royal_. .] the following table gives the leading dimensions of the _royal charles_ and the _britannia_:-- --------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+------------ | | | | | name of ship. | length. | breadth. | depth of | draught. | complement. | | | hold. | | --------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+------------ | ft. | ft. in. | ft. in. | ft. in. | royal charles | | | | | britannia | | | - / | | --------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+------------ fig. is an illustration after vandevelde of a famous french first-rate of the same period, named the _soleil royal_, of guns. she was destroyed in cherbourg bay the day after the battle of cape la hogue, in . fig. is a dutch first-rate, named the _hollandia_, of guns. she was built in , and took part in the battle of beachy head as flagship of admiral cornelis evertsen. [illustration: fig. .--the _hollandia_. .] the chief difference between the british and foreign builds of warship of the latter half of the seventeenth century was that the english vessels were always constructed with the rounded tuck before mentioned, as introduced by pett, while the continental ships all had the old-fashioned square tuck, which is well illustrated in fig. . the dutch ships in one respect excelled all others, in that they were the first in which the absurd practice of an exaggerated "tumble home," or contraction of the upper deck, was abandoned. this fashion was still carried out to a very great extent by the english, and to a less extent by the french and spaniards. the chain-plates in the english vessels were also fixed extremely low, while the dutch fixed them as high as the sills of the upper-deck ports would allow. in consequence of the shallowness of the dutch harbours, the draught of their ships was also considerably less than that of the english vessels of corresponding force. most of the ships in a seventeenth-century fleet deemed fit to take their station in the line of battle were third-rates. the first and second rates were exceptional vessels, and were only employed in particular services. a comparative table of the dimensions and armament of the various rates, or classes in the year , is annexed:-- ------------+------+---------+---------+---------+-------+---------+------- | | | | | | guns | |length| | depth | draught | | on war | designation.| of | breadth.| of | of | tons. | service | crew. | keel.| | hold. | water. | | at home.| ------------+------+---------+---------+---------+-------+---------+------- | feet.| feet. | feet. | feet. | | | st rate | to| to | . to | to | to| to | to | | | . | . | | | nd rate | to| to | to | to | to| to | to | | | . | | | | rd rate | to| to | . to | to | to| to | to | | | . | . | | | th rate | to| to | . to | . to | to| to | to | | | . | . | | | th rate | to| . to | . to | . to | to| to | to | | | | . | | | ------------+------+---------+---------+---------+-------+---------+------- the first so-called frigate was designed by peter pett, and built at chatham in . she was named the _constant warwick_. her dimensions were: length of keel, ft.; breadth, ft. in.; depth, ft. in.; tonnage, ; guns, ; crew, . she worked havoc amongst the privateers of the time. the bomb-ketch was originally introduced by a famous french naval architect named bernard renan, about . this class of warship was first employed by louis xiv. in the bombardment of algiers, where it produced an enormous effect. bomb-ketches were of about tons burthen, very broad in proportion to their length, and built with great regard to strength, on account of the decks having to bear the downward recoil of the mortars. the latter were placed in the fore-part of the vessel, which was purposely left unencumbered with rigging. the hold between the mortars and keel was closely packed with old cables, cut into lengths. the yielding elastic qualities of the packing assisted in taking up the force of the recoil. the bombs weighed about pounds, and the consternation and terror produced by them may readily be realized when it is remembered that, up to that time, the most dangerous projectile which a warship could discharge at a land fortification was a thirty-two pound shot. these vessels were fitted with two masts, one in the middle and the other in the stern. while referring to this invention of bernard renan, it should be mentioned that france rose to the rank of a great naval power in the reign of louis xiv., under the famous minister colbert, in the latter half of the seventeenth century. when louis succeeded to the throne the french navy was practically non-existent, as it consisted only of four, or five, frigates. in he had raised the strength of the fleet to fifty line-of-battle ships and a corresponding number of frigates and smaller vessels. nine years afterwards, the french marine numbered vessels of all classes, exclusive of galleys. in the french fleet in the channel alone numbered sixty-eight ships, while the combined british and dutch squadrons consisted only of fifty-six, and suffered a defeat at beachy head, in which the english lost one vessel and their allies six. this defeat was, however, amply revenged two years afterwards, when the allies succeeded in opposing the enormous number of ninety-nine ships of the line, besides thirty-eight frigates and fireships, to tourville's fleet of forty-four ships of the line and thirteen smaller vessels, and defeated it off cape la hogue, inflicting on it a loss of fifteen line-of-battle ships, including the famous _soleil royal_, of guns, illustrated in fig. . from the time of louis xiv. down to the present date french naval architects have always exercised a most important influence on the design of warships, a circumstance which was largely due to the manner in which colbert encouraged the application of science to this branch of construction. it may be truly said that, during the whole of the eighteenth century, the majority of the improvements introduced in the forms and proportions of vessels of the royal navy were copied from french prizes. [illustration: fig. . british second-rate. .] [illustration: fig. .--midship section of a fourth-rate.] in order to complete the illustrations of british warships of the latter half of the seventeenth century views of a second-rate are given in fig. , and a cross-section of a fourth-rate in fig. . it would be impossible in the present work to notice in detail all the alterations in size and structure of ships which took place during the eighteenth century. a few of the leading changes may, however, be mentioned. in the year an attempt was made to systematize the dimensions of the various rates, and the figures as given in the following table were fixed:-- --------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+------------- number of | | | | | | guns. | | | | | | --------------|-------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+------------- length of | | | | | | gun-deck | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | | | | | | extreme | | | | | | breadth | ft. | ft. in. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | | | | | | depth of hold | ft. in. | ft. in. | ft. in. | ft. in. | ft. | ft. in. | | | | | | tonnage | | | | | | --------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+------------- when the figures were compared with those of contemporary french ships of the same rates, it was found that the british vessels of every class were of inferior dimensions. whenever british men-of-war were captured by the french, the number of their guns was reduced. it was universally admitted that the french ships were superior in sailing qualities; so much so was this the case that, whenever a french squadron was chased, the english-built ships in it were the first to be overtaken. the subject of the superiority in size of the french ships was constantly coming to the front, and in a new establishment was made for the dimension of ships in our royal navy, according to the following scale:-- --------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------- number of guns. | | | | | | --------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------- increase of length | ft. | ft. | ft. | | ft. | ft. increase of breadth | in. | ft. | in. | ft. | ft. | ft. in. increase of tonnage | | | | | | --------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------- in addition to the increase in dimensions, much improvement was made in the same year in the interior arrangements, and in the preservation of the timber of which ships were constructed. up till this period both thick stuff and planks were prepared by charring the inner surface while the outer surface was kept wet, and this process was continued till the plank was brought to a fit condition for bending to the shape it was required to take. in this year, however, the process of stoving was introduced. it consisted in placing the timber in wet sand and subjecting it to the action of heat for such time as was necessary in order to extract the residue of the sap and to bring it to a condition of suppleness. in the year the process was favourably reported on by two of the master shipwrights in their report on the state of the planking on the bottom of the _falkland_. some of the planking had been charred by the old process, some stoved by the new, and the remainder had been neither stoved nor charred. the stoved planks were found to be in a good state of preservation, while many of the others were rotten. the process remained in use till , when it was superseded by the practice of steaming the timber. the steaming and the kindred process of boiling remained in vogue during the whole of the remainder of the era of wooden shipbuilding. in the rapid decay of ships in the royal navy once more caused serious attention to be paid to the subject of the preservation of timber. it was, in consequence, arranged that larger stocks of timber should be kept in the dockyards, and that line-of-battle ships should stand in frame for at least a year, in order to season before the planking was put on. similarly, frigates were to stand in frame for at least six months, and all thick stuff and planking was to be sawn out a year before it was used and stacked, with battens between the planks, so as to allow of the free circulation of the air. similar regulations were put in force for the beam pieces, knees, and other portions of the ships. much trouble was caused by the injurious effects of bilge-water and foul air in the holds of ships, and various remedies were devised from time to time. in structural improvements were devised to allow of the bilge-water flowing more freely to the pumps, and trunks were fitted to the lower decks to convey air to the holds. in it was proposed that the holds of ships should have several feet of water run into them in the early spring in order to cool them, and that it should not be pumped out till august; but this remedy was never extensively practised. in dr. s. hales proposed a system of ventilation by means of windmills and hand-pumps, which produced excellent results. it was noticed that the accumulation of carbonic acid gas and foul damp air in the holds, not only set up rapid decay in the ship, but also most injuriously affected the health of the crews. dr. hales' system was employed in the _prince_ from to , and it was considered that the durability of this vessel had been greatly increased. it was also reported by lord halifax that the mortality on the non-ventilated ships on the coast of nova scotia was twelve times as great as on those vessels which were fitted with dr. hales' appliances. there are not many records in existence of the merchant-vessels of this period. fig. is a representation of an armed east indiaman which was launched at blackwall in . her length of keel was ft. in.; breadth, ft.; and burthen, tons. she was named the _falmouth_, and was constructed by the famous shipbuilder, john perry, of blackwall yard. she was commenced almost exactly two years before the date of her launch. like all her class, she was heavily armed. [illustration: fig. .--the _falmouth_. east indiaman. launched .] at the close of the war against france and spain, which lasted from to , great complaints were made of the weakness of our warships at sea. it was also found that the establishment of had not been adhered to, and the dimensions of ships were not fixed in accordance with any particular standard. the first defect was remedied by the placing of as many standards of wood, or iron, on the different decks as could be conveniently arranged, so as not to interfere with the guns, and by the use of larger bolts than had hitherto been employed, as high up as possible in the throats of the hanging knees. also the beams of the quarter-deck and round-house were supported with lodging knees, and in some instances with hanging knees of wood, or iron. various other pieces, such as the stem, were also strengthened and the weights of the taffrails and quarter-pieces were reduced. the advice of the master shipwrights of the various dockyards was sought, in order to fix a new establishment of dimensions, but great difficulties were found in introducing the much-needed reforms, and for some time afterwards the ships of the british navy were at a disadvantage with those of foreign countries by reason of their contracted dimensions and inferior forms. the capture, with great difficulty, of a spanish ship of seventy guns, named the _princessa_, in , by three british men-of-war of equal rating, but far inferior dimensions, was one of the events that first opened the eyes of the admiralty to the defects of their vessels. the first attempt towards introducing a better type of ship was made in , when the _royal george_, famous for her size, her services, her beauty and misfortunes, was laid down. she was not launched till . the following were her principal dimensions:-- length of keel for tonnage ft. - / in. length of gun-deck ft. extreme breadth ft. - / in. depth of hold ft. in. tonnage number of guns crew men. fig. is an illustration of this ship. she rendered great services to the country under the orders of admiral lord hawke, especially in the memorable defeat of the french navy off the island of belle-isle in . she was lost at spithead in , when being inclined in order to have some repairs to her bottom executed. she capsized, and went under, men, women, and children being drowned in her. the _royal george_ was followed by several others of various rates and improved dimensions, notably by the _blenheim_ ( ) and the _princess amelia_ ( ). the latter was one of the most famous ships of her day, and was constantly employed as long as she continued fit for service. in a french ship of seventy-four guns named the _invincible_ was captured, and was found to be such an excellent vessel that her dimensions were adopted for the _thunderer_, laid down about . one of the most interesting models in the museum is of the _triumph_ ( ), also built on the lines of the _invincible_ in . her length of gun-decks was ft. in.; breadth, ft. in.; depth of hold, ft. in. in the following year was built the _victory_, guns, famous as nelson's flagship at trafalgar, and still afloat in portsmouth harbour. her dimensions are: length of gun-deck, ft.; breadth, ft.; depth of hold, ft. in.; tonnage, , . [illustration: fig. .--the _royal george_. .] the following table gives the dimensions of typical ships of war constructed about the middle of the eighteenth century:-- ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------- number of | | | | | | guns. | | | | | | ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------- length of | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. gun-deck | | in. | | in. | in. | | | | | | | length of keel | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. for tonnage | in. | in. | | in. | - / in.| - / in. | | | | | | extreme | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. breadth | - / in.| in. | in. | in. | - / in.| - / in. | | | | | | depth of hold | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | in. | | | in. | - / in.| in. | | | | | | tonnage | , | , | , | , | , | , | | | | | | ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------- the genuine frigate--that is to say, a large cruiser, of relatively high speed, carrying its main armament on one deck--was introduced into the royal navy in , when the _adventure_ was built. she carried thirty-two guns, of which twenty-two were -pounders. the first british -gun frigates were the _brilliant_ and _pallas_, built in . their main armament also consisted of -pounders. french frigates of the same date were of larger dimensions, as is proved by the following table which compares the principal measurements of the _brilliant_ and of the french frigate _aurore_:-- ----------+-----------+-----------+---------------------------------- name of | length of | breadth. | depth of | tonnage. | complement. ship. | gun-deck. | | hold. | | ----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+------------ | ft. in. | ft. in. | ft. in. | | | | | | | brilliant | | | | | aurore | | - / | | | | | | | | ----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+------------ in the year a most important improvement was introduced, which greatly increased the usefulness of ships. this was the discovery of the value of copper plates as a material for sheathing their bottoms. previously to this period lead was the metal used for sheathing purposes, and even it was only employed occasionally. in other cases the bottoms of vessels were paid over with various compositions, the majority of which fouled rapidly. the first vessel in the navy that was copper-sheathed was the _alarm_, a -gun frigate. at first the use of copper caused serious oxidation of the iron bolts employed in the bottom fastenings, and copper bolts were substituted for them. about the year the dimensions of the various rates were again increased in order to keep pace with the improved french and spanish ships. in the year the -gun frigate founded on a french model was introduced into the navy, and continued to be much used throughout the great wars at the close of the eighteenth and the commencement of the nineteenth century. the first british frigate of this rating was the _minerva_, which measured ft. in length of gun-deck; ft. in. width of beam; ft. in. depth of hold, and tons--figures which were evidently based on those of the _aurore_, captured in (see p. ). in and two very large french frigates were captured. their names were the _artois_ and _aigle_, and they exceeded in size anything in this class that had yet been built. the length of gun-deck measured ft.; width, ft. in.; depth of hold, ft. in.; tonnage, , ; they each carried guns and men. again, in , the force of new ships of the various rates was much increased. the largest line-of-battle ship then built was the _hibernia_, of guns. she was the first of her class introduced into the navy. her dimensions were as follows:--length on gun-deck, ft. in.; extreme breadth, ft. in.; depth of hold, ft. in.; burthen in tons, , . the armament consisted of thirty -pounders on the lower deck, thirty -pounders on the middle, and thirty-two -pounders on the upper decks, while eighteen -pounders were mounted on the forecastle and quarter-deck. it is worthy of remark that, for some time previously, the large line-of-battle ships carried -pounders on the lower deck, but it was found that the -pounders could be loaded much more quickly, and that a great advantage arose in consequence. [illustration: fig. .--the _commerce de marseille_. captured .] in the year the first -gun frigate, the _acasta_, was built. this type of vessel was intended to replace the old -gun two-decker. the _acasta_ measured ft. on deck; ft. - / in. extreme breadth; ft. in. depth of hold; with a burthen of , tons. her armament consisted of thirty -pounders on the main deck, and ten -pounder long guns on quarter-deck and forecastle. [illustration: fig. .--british first-rate. .] during the whole of our naval history down to comparatively recent times, improvements in the dimensions and forms of our ships were only carried out after they had been originally adopted by the french, or spaniards, or more recently by the people of the united states of america. thus, we find that, shortly after war had been declared against the french revolutionary government in , admiral hood took possession at toulon, amongst other vessels, of a french first-rate called the _commerce de marseille_, which was larger and mounted more guns than any vessel in the service of great britain. fig. is an illustration of this fine man-of-war, which was ft. in. long on the lower deck, ft. - / in. broad, of ft. depth of hold, and of , tons burthen. as an instance of the progress in size, as related to armament, made during the century, we may compare the dimensions of this french first-rate with those of the _royal anne_, an english -gun ship built in . the length of gun-deck of the latter ship was ft. in., and tonnage , , the more recent vessel showing an increase of nearly fifty per cent. in tonnage for an increased armament of twenty guns. as further examples of the naval architecture of this period, in figs. and are given views of an english first-rate of the year , and in figs. and corresponding views of a heavy french frigate of about the year . one of the greatest improvements made at the end of the eighteenth century was the raising of the lower battery further above the water, so as to enable the heavy guns to be fought in all weathers. it was frequently observed that the old british men-of-war of seventy-four guns when engaging a hostile vessel to leeward were, on account of the crankness of the ship and the lowness of the battery, obliged to keep their lower ports closed; whereas the french ships, which were comparatively stiff, and carried their lower guns well above the water, were enabled to fight with the whole of their battery in all weathers. [illustration: fig. .--british first-rate. .] after the capture of the _commerce de marseille_, an english first-rate, named the _caledonia_, to carry guns, was ordered to be laid down. she was not, however, commenced till . her dimensions and proportions closely approximated to those of her french prototype, and need not, therefore, be more particularly referred to. she was the first -gun ship built in this country. [illustration: fig. .--heavy french frigate of .] in the year the united states declared war against great britain. the struggle was memorable for several naval duels between the frigates of the two nations. when the war broke out the united states possessed some frigates of unusual dimensions and armament. the british cruisers were quite overmatched, and in several instances were captured. in consequence of these disasters a new and improved class of frigate was introduced into the royal navy. what had happened in the case of the frigates took place also in regard to the sloops employed as cruisers. they were completely outmatched by the american vessels of corresponding class, and many of them were taken. [illustration: fig. .--heavy french frigate of .] in , on the conclusion of the long wars with france, there was, of course, a marked diminution in the number of ships built for purposes of war. the _howe_, of guns (fig. ), is given as an illustration of a first-rate of this period. during the earlier years of the present century great improvements were introduced by sir robert seppings and others into the structural arrangements of ships. during the long wars abundant experience had been gained as to the particular kinds of weakness which ships exhibited when exposed to the strains produced by waves. it had been felt for many years that the system of building was very defective, and the life of a man-of-war was consequently short, only fifteen years for a ship built of english oak in the royal dockyards, and about twelve years for similar vessels built in private yards. amongst the greatest defects was the absence of longitudinal strength to enable a ship to resist the effects of hogging and sagging strains in a sea-way. [illustration: fig. .--the _howe_. .] when a ship at sea is so placed that the crest of a large wave is passing about the midship section, the two ends may happen to be in the hollows between the waves, and in this case are to a great extent unsupported by the water, and consequently have a tendency to droop. the result is that the ship tends to arch up in the centre like a hog's back, and the upper decks are put into a state of tension, while the bottom of the vessel, on the contrary, undergoes compression. the strains set up in this way are called hogging strains. when the position of the waves is exactly reversed so that the two ends are supported by the crests, while the hollow between them passes under the middle, the latter part of the ship has a tendency to droop or sag, and the bottom is consequently extended, while the upper works are put into a state of compression. it will be noticed, on referring to the illustration of the _royal george_ (fig. ), that the framework of ships built on the old system consisted of a series of transverse ribs which were connected together in the longitudinal direction by the outside planking and by the ceiling. as there was no filling between the ribs, the latter tended alternately to come closer together, or recede further apart, according as they experienced the influence of hogging or sagging stresses. the french during the eighteenth century had at various times proposed methods of overcoming this defect. one was to cross the ceiling with oblique iron riders. another was to lay the ceiling itself and the outside planking diagonally. sometimes the holds were strengthened with vertical and sometimes with diagonal riders, but none of these plans gave lasting satisfaction. the means adopted by sir robert seppings were as follows:-- firstly, the spaces between the frames were filled in solid with timber (fig. ). in this way the bottom of the ship was transformed into a solid mass of timber admirably adapted to resist working. at the same time the customary interior planking below the orlop beams was omitted. [illustration: fig. .--sir robert seppings' system of construction.] secondly, the beams were connected with the sides of the ship by means of thick longitudinal timbers below the knees running fore and aft, called shelf-pieces, _a_, _a_ (fig. ), and similar pieces above the beams, _b_, _b_ (fig. ), called waterways. these not only added to the longitudinal strength of the ship, but formed also very convenient features in the connection between the deck-beams and the ship's sides. [illustration: fig. .--sir robert seppings' system of construction.] thirdly, a trussed frame was laid on the inside of the transverse frames in the hold of the ship. this frame consisted of diagonal riders making an angle of about ° with the vertical, together with trusses crossing them, and longitudinal pieces, as shown in fig. . this trussed frame was firmly bolted through the transverse frames and the planking of the ship. fourthly, it was proposed to lay the decks diagonally; but this system does not appear to have ever come into general use. it should here be mentioned that the use of shelf-pieces and thick waterways in connection with the ends of the beams was first adopted by the french in very small vessels; also the system of fillings between the frames was an extension of a method which had been in use for some time, for it was customary to fill in the spaces as far as the heads of the floors, in order to strengthen the ship's bottom against the shocks and strains due to grounding. [illustration: fig. .--sir robert seppings' system of construction.] sir robert seppings further introduced many minor improvements into the details of the construction and the forms of ships. amongst these may be mentioned the method of combining the frame-timbers. the old method of shaping the heads and heels of these timbers and of combining them with triangular chocks is shown on the left-hand side of fig. . in the new method the heads and heels were cut square, and combined with circular coaks, as shown on the right-hand side in the same fig.] [illustration: fig. .--the _waterloo_.] the principal alterations in the forms of ships introduced by sir robert seppings, were connected with the shapes of the bow and stern. hitherto the bow was cut straight across at the cathead, so as to form a vertical wall extending down to the level of the upper deck portsills, and formed of thin boarding and stanchions. the old shape of the bow is clearly shown in figs. and . the disadvantage of this arrangement was that it exposed the ship to the raking fire of an enemy. the old form of bow was also deficient in structural strength, and was liable to cause leakage. sir robert seppings carried the rounding of the bow right up to the upper deck, and made it as strong as any other part of the ship to resist either shot or stresses. this alteration also enabled him to provide for firing several guns in a line with the keel. the old square stern was also abolished and a circular one introduced, which enabled a more powerful battery to be carried aft. in order to bring up the account of british sailing line-of-battle ships to the period when they were superseded by the adoption of steam-power in the royal navy, we give illustrations of a first-rate launched in the reign of william iv., called the _waterloo_ (fig. ), of guns, and of the _queen_ (fig. ), of guns: the latter was the first three-decker launched in the reign of queen victoria. a comparison of these illustrations with those representing the largest men-of-war in the time of the stuart sovereigns, will do more than any verbal description to show the great alterations in form and size which had taken place during two centuries. the _waterloo_ had a length on deck of ft. in., extreme breadth of ft. in., and a tonnage of , ; while the corresponding dimensions of the _queen_ were ft. - / in., ft. - / in., and , tons. [illustration: fig. .--the _queen_.] [illustration: fig. .--the _thames_. east indiaman. .] during the epoch covered in this chapter the chronicles of the british mercantile marine were extremely meagre. the seaborne commerce of the country had increased enormously since the time of the restoration. it had, in fact, kept pace with the development of the royal navy, and, in proportion as the naval power of the country was increased so was her commerce extended and her mercantile marine increased. in the year the total amount of british mercantile shipping was about , , tons; in it had increased to , , tons, and in to , , ; while in it had reached , , tons. the east india company was by far the largest mercantile shipowner and ship-hirer in the country. in the year the company employed ships of the aggregate burthen of , tons, builders' measurement. it was about this period that the company commenced the construction of a larger type of vessel for their own use. these vessels afterwards became famous for their exploits, and were called east indiamen. fig. is an illustration of one of them named the _thames_, built in , of , tons register. she carried guns, and had a crew of men. east indiamen were designed to serve simultaneously as freight-carriers, passenger-ships and men-of-war. in the latter capacity they fought many important actions and won many victories. having had to fill so many purposes, they were naturally expensive ships both to build and work. their crews were nearly four times as numerous as would be required for modern merchant sailing-ships of similar size. at the close of the great wars in the early part of this century commercial pursuits naturally received a strong impetus. great competition arose, not only between individual owners, but also between the shipowning classes in various countries. this caused considerable attention to be paid to the improvement of merchant-ships. the objects sought to be attained were greater economy in the working of vessels and increased speed combined with cargo-carrying capacity. the trade with the west indies was not the subject of a monopoly as that with the east had been. it was consequently the subject of free competition amongst shipowners, and the natural result was the development of a class of vessel much better adapted to purely mercantile operations than were the ships owned or chartered by the east india company. fig. is a late example of a west indiaman, of the type common shortly after the commencement of the nineteenth century. the capacity for cargo of ships of this type was considerably in excess of their nominal tonnage, whereas in the case of the east indiamen the reverse was the case. also, the proportion of crew to tonnage was one-half of what was found necessary in the latter type of vessel. while possessing the above-named advantages, the west indiamen were good boats for their time, both in sea-going qualities and in speed. [illustration: fig. .] when the trade with the east was thrown open an impetus was given to the construction of vessels which were suitable for carrying freight to any part of the world. these boats were known as "free traders." an illustration of one of them is given in fig. . they were generally from to tons register. the vessels of all the types above referred to were very short, relatively, being rarely more than four beams in length. to the americans belongs the credit of having effected the greatest improvements in mercantile sailing-ships. in their celebrated baltimore clippers they increased the length to five and even six times the beam, and thus secured greater sharpness of the water-lines and improved speed in sailing. at the same time, in order to reduce the cost of working, these vessels were lightly rigged in proportion to their tonnage, and mechanical devices, such as capstans and winches, were substituted, wherever it was possible, for manual labour. the crew, including officers, of an american clipper of , tons, english measurement, numbered about forty. the part played by the americans in the carrying trade of the world during the period between the close of the great wars and the early fifties was so important that a few illustrations of the types of vessels they employed will be interesting. fig. represents an american cotton-ship, which also carried passengers on the route between new york and havre in the year . in form she was full and bluff; in fact, little more than a box with rounded ends. [illustration: fig. .--free-trade barque.] [illustration: fig. .--the _bazaar_. american cotton-ship. .] in , when steamers had already commenced to cross the atlantic, a much faster and better-shaped type of sailing-packet was put upon the new york-havre route. these vessels were of from to , tons. one of them, the _sir john franklin_, is shown in fig. . they offered to passengers the advantages of a quick passage, excellent sea-going qualities, and, compared with the cotton-ships, most comfortable quarters. the americans had also about this time admirable sailing-packets trading with british ports. in the early fifties the doom of the sailing-packet on comparatively short voyages, such as that between new york and western european ports, had been already sealed; but, for distant countries, such as china and australia, and for cargo-carrying purposes in many trades, the sailing-ship was still able to hold its own. fig. represents an american three-masted clipper called the _ocean herald_, built in the year . she was ft. long, ft. in beam, and of , tons. her ratio of length to breadth was . to . fig. is an illustration of the _great republic_, which was one of the finest of the american clippers owned by messrs. a. law and co., of new york. she was ft. long, ft. beam, ft. depth of hold, and of , tons. she was the first vessel fitted with double topsails. her spread of canvas, without counting stay-sails, amounted to about , square yards. she had four decks, and her timber structure was strengthened from end to end with a diagonal lattice-work of iron. the speed attained by some of these vessels was most remarkable. in the _nightingale_, built at portsmouth, new hampshire, in a race from shanghai to deal, on one occasion ran knots in twenty-four hours. in the same year the _flying cloud_, one of donald mckay's american clippers, ran knots in twenty-four hours in a voyage from new york to san francisco. this performance was eclipsed by that of another vessel belonging to the same owner, the _sovereign of the seas_, which on one occasion averaged over eighteen miles an hour for twenty-four consecutive hours. this vessel had a length of keel of ft., ft. in. beam, and ft. in. depth of hold. she was of , tons register. [illustration: fig. .--the _sir john franklin_. american transatlantic sailing-packet. .] [illustration: fig. .--the _ocean herald_. american clipper. .] english shipowners were very slow to adopt these improvements, and it was not till the year , after the abolition of the navigation laws, that our countrymen really bestirred themselves to produce sailing-ships which should rival and even surpass those of the americans. the legislation in question so affected the prospects of british shipping, that nothing but the closest attention to the qualities of vessels and to economy in their navigation could save our carrying trade from the effects of american competition. mr. richard green, of the blackwall line, was the first english shipbuilder to take up the american challenge. in the year he laid down the clipper ship the _challenger_. about the same time, messrs. jardine, matheson, and co. gave an order to an aberdeen firm of shipbuilders, messrs. hall and co., to build two sharp ships on the american model, but of stronger construction. these vessels were named the _stornoway_ and _chrysolite_, and were the first of the celebrated class of aberdeen clippers. they were, however, only about half the dimensions of the larger american ships, and were, naturally, no match for them in sailing powers. the _cairngorm_, built by the same firm, was the first vessel which equalled the americans in speed, and, being of a stronger build, delivered her cargo in better condition, and consequently was preferred. in the _lord of the isles_, built by messrs. scott, of greenock, beat two of the fastest american clippers in a race to this country from china, and from that time forward british merchant vessels gradually regained their ascendency in a trade which our transatlantic competitors had almost made their own. [illustration: fig .--the _great republic_. american clipper. .] it was not, however, by wooden sailing-ships that the carrying trade of great britain was destined to eclipse that of all her rivals. during a portion of the period covered in this chapter, two revolutions--one in the means of propulsion, and the other in the materials of construction of vessels--were slowly making their influence felt. about twelve years before the close of the eighteenth century the first really practical experiment was made on dalswinton loch, by messrs. miller and symington, on the utilization of steam as a means of propulsion for vessels. an account of these experiments, and of the subsequent application and development of the invention, are given in the "handbook on marine engines and boilers," and need not, therefore, be here referred to at greater length. the other great revolution was the introduction of iron instead of wood as the material for constructing ships. the history of that achievement forms part of the subject-matter of part ii. during the first half of the nineteenth century, good english oak had been becoming scarcer and more expensive. shortly after the restoration the price paid for native-grown oak was about £ _s._ a load, this being double its value in the reign of james i. the great consumption at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the last century had so diminished the supply, that in , the year in which the great napoleonic wars terminated, the price had risen to £ _s._ a load, which was, probably, the highest figure ever reached. in it sank to £ , and then continued to rise till, in , it had reached £ _s._ per load. in consequence of the scarcity of english oak many foreign timbers, such as dantzic and italian oak, italian larch, fir, pitch pine, teak, and african timbers were tried with varying success. in america timber was abundant and cheap, and this was one of the causes which led to the extraordinary development of american shipping in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it is probable that, but for the introduction of iron, which was produced abundantly and cheaply in this country, the carrying trade of the world would have passed definitely into the hands of the people of the united states. the use of iron and steel as the materials for construction have enabled sailing ships to be built in modern times of dimensions which could not have been thought of in the olden days. these large vessels are chiefly employed in carrying wheat and nitrate of soda from the west coast of south america. their structural arrangements do not differ greatly from those of iron and steel steamers which are described in part ii. appendix. description of a greek bireme of about b.c. during the year the british museum acquired a new vase of the dipylon class, which was found near thebes in boeotia, and dates from about b.c. on one side of the vase are represented chariots and horses, apparently about to start for a race. on the other side is a painting of a complete bireme, which, on account of its antiquity and the peculiarities of its structure is of extraordinary interest. the galley in question, fig. , is reproduced from an illustration, traced direct from the vase, and published in the "journal of hellenic studies," vol. xix. ( ). the chief peculiarity of the construction is that the rowers are seated upon a two-storied open staging, erected upon a very shallow hull and extending from an elevated forecastle to an equally raised structure at the stern. the stage, or platform, on which the lower tier of oarsmen is seated, is supported by vertical struts rising out of the body of the boat. the platform for the upper stage is also supported by vertical struts, which rise, not from the boat itself, but from an intermediate stage, situated between the two tiers of rowers. in the absence of a plan it is not possible to say if these platforms were floored decks, with openings cut in them, where necessary, for the legs of the rowers; or if they were simply composed of longitudinal beams connected by cross-pieces which served as seats, or benches. the latter arrangement appears to be the more probable. there are twenty oarsmen a-side, on the lower tier, and, apparently, nineteen on the upper. no attempt is made by the artist to show more than the rowers on one side, and, to avoid confusion, those on the two tiers have their oars on the opposite sides of the galley, and only one of the blades of the far side is shown. the men of the lower tier rest their feet against supports fixed to the vertical struts which support their platform, while those of the upper tier rest theirs, apparently, upon the intermediate stage. the vessel is provided with a large and a small ram, and is steered by means of two large paddles. the prow ornament resembles a snake. in some of its features, notably in the shape of the ram, the shallowness of the hull, and the height and number of the stages, this galley resembles the phoenician boat of a somewhat later date, described on page . the arrangement of the rowers is, however, totally different in the two cases, those in the phoenician vessel being all housed in the hull proper, while those in the greek galley are all placed on the stages. it is a curious coincidence that the two specimens of galleys of the eighth and seventh centuries b.c., of which we possess illustrations, should both be provided with these lofty open stages. [illustration: fig. .--archaic greek bireme. about b.c.] this greek bireme, with its shallow hull and lofty, open superstructure, could hardy have been a seaworthy vessel. the question arises, what purpose could it have been intended to serve? the rams, of course, suggest war; but the use of rams appears to have been pretty general, even in small greek rowing-boats, and has survived into our own day in the venetian gondola. the late dr. a. s. murray, keeper of the greek and roman antiquities at the british museum, who wrote an account of the vase in the "journal of hellenic studies," is of opinion that both the subjects on this vase represent processions, or races, held at the funeral ceremonies of some prominent citizen, and that, in fact, all the subjects on dipylon vases seem to refer to deceased persons. he points out that virgil mentions in the _Æneid_ that games, held in honour of the deceased, commenced with a race of ships, and that he could hardly have done this if there were no authority for the practice. the large figures at the stern seem to point to the bireme of fig. being about to be used for racing purposes. the man who is going to step on board is in the act of taking leave of a woman, who holds away from him a crown, or prize, for which he may be about to contend. if this view be correct we have, at once, an explanation of the very peculiar structure of this bireme, which, with its open sides and small freeboard, could only have been intended for use in smooth water and, possibly, for racing purposes. there are several other representations of greek galleys, or of fragments of them, in existence. nearly all have been found on eighth-century dipylon vases, but, hitherto, no other specimen has been found in which all the rowers are seated on an open stage. in the collection of dr. sturge there is a vase of this period, ornamented with a painting of a bireme, which is as rakish and elegant in appearance as fig. is clumsy. it also is propelled by , or perhaps , rowers. those of the lower tier are seated in the body of the boat, while those of the upper bank on what appears to be a flying deck connecting the forecastle and poop, and about ft. to ft. in. above the seats of the lower tier. in the museum of the acropolis there are also some fragments of dipylon vases, on which are clearly visible portions of biremes. the rowers of the lower bank are here again, seated in the hull of the galley and appear to be working their oars in large square portholes, while the upper row are seated on a flying deck, the space between which and the gunwale of the hull is partly closed in by what appear to be patches of awning or light fencing. the portholes above referred to are in fact merely open intervals between the closed-in spaces. similar lengths of fencing may be seen in the representation of a phoenician galley (fig. , p. ). from the above description it is not difficult to see how the galley, with two tiers of oars, came to be evolved from the more primitive unireme. first, a flying deck was added for the accommodation of the upper tier of rowers. it formed no part of the structure of the ship, but was supported on the latter by means of struts, or pillars. the spaces between the hull and the flying deck at the two ends of the galley were closed in by a raised forecastle and poop. these additions were necessary in order to keep the vessel dry, and attempts were no doubt made to give protection to the remainder of the sides by means of the patches of light awning mentioned above. the step from this to carrying the structure of the sides up bodily, till they met the upper deck, and of cutting portholes for the lower tier of oars, would not be a long one, and would produce the type of bireme illustrated on p. (fig. ). footnotes: [ ] this illustration is taken from mr. villiers stuart's work, "nile gleanings." [ ] "a history of egypt under the pharaohs," by dr. henry brugsch bey. translated and edited from the german by philip smith, b.a. [ ] "nile gleanings," p. . [ ] the inscription is taken from the "history of egypt under the pharaohs," by dr. henry brugsch bey. translated and edited by philip smith, b.a. second edition, pp. , . [ ] "a history of egypt under the pharaohs," by dr. henry brugsch bey. translated and edited from the german by philip smith, b.a. second edition, p. . [ ] egypt exploration fund: _archæological report_, - . edited by f. l. griffith, m.a. [ ] "the history of herodotus," translated by g. c. macaulay, m.a. . vol. i. p. . (ii. is the reference to the greek text.) [ ] in appendix, p. , will be found an account of an eighth-century greek bireme, recently discovered. [ ] for latest information on greek vessels of archaic period, _see_ appendix. [ ] this figure is obtained by adding the height of the lowest oar-port above the water, viz. ft., to ft. in., which is twice the minimum vertical interval between successive banks. [ ] this illustration is taken from charnock's "history of marine architecture." it is copied by charnock from basius, who, in his turn, has evidently founded it on the sculptures on trajan's column. [ ] "cæsar, de bello gallico," bk. iii. chap. . [ ] vol. xxii., p. . paper by mr. colin archer. [ ] "archéologie navale." [ ] w. s. lindsay, "history of merchant shipping and ancient commerce," vol. ii. p. . [ ] the details, as related by various authorities, differ slightly. [ ] according to some accounts there were , bronze and iron guns of all calibres. index. a aberdeen clippers, _acasta_, first english -gun frigate, _adventure_, first genuine english frigate, _alarm_, first copper-sheathed frigate, alfred the great founds english navy, american clipper, the _great republic_, .. ----, ----, the _ocean herald_, .. ----, clippers, speeds attained by, ----, cotton-ship, the _bazaar_, , ----, frigates, superiority of, in .. ----, transatlantic sailing-packet the _sir john franklin_, .. anchors, first use of capstans for weighing, _ark_, elizabethan warship, ark, noah's, account of, armada, spanish, account of, artillery, effect of introduction on designs of ships, ----, first use of, by venetians on board ship, ----, first use of, in naval warfare, , . _see also_ guns _artois_ and _aigle_, french frigates of , dimensions of, athenian docks, dimensions of, _aurore_, french frigate of , dimensions of, b baltimore clippers, barge, egyptian, used for transporting obelisks down nile, _bazaar_, american cotton-ship, , bireme, greek, of about b.c., ----, ----, of about b.c., . ----, roman, _see also_ galleys boat, egyptian, of the third dynasty, ----, ----, of the fourth dynasty, boats, egyptian, in time of herodotus, ----, ----, of the sixth dynasty, ----, ----, of the twelfth dynasty now in existence, ----, of the ancient britons, bomb-ketches, introduction of, _brilliant_, english frigate of , dimensions of, _britannia_, warship of charles ii., , britons, boats of, buccas, or busses, c cabins, first mention of, on english ships, cables, use of, for girding ancient ships, cabot's voyages to america, _cairngorm_, clipper, _caledonia_, english first-rate of .. canynge of bristol, shipowner of the fifteenth century, capstans first used for weighing anchors, caravels, , , carracks in the fifteenth century, ----, in the sixteenth century, ----, spanish and portuguese, end of the sixteenth century, carthaginian naval expedition against greek colonies, caulking of ancient galleys, chain-pumps, introduction of, _challenger_, first english clipper, charles i., warships of, charles ii., warships of, classification of ships in time of henry v., clipper, american, the _great republic_, .. ----, ----, the _ocean herald_, .. ----, the _cairngorm_, ----, the _lord of the isles_, clippers, aberdeen, ----, american, speeds attained by, ----, baltimore, ----, english, _et seq_. columbus' ships, _et seq_. _commerce de marseille_, french first-rate of , particulars of, commerce of england in reign of henry iii., ----, ----, in reign of edward iv., commonwealth, naval expenditure under, ----, naval wars of, ----, warships of, competition between great britain and the united states for the world's carrying trade in , ----, for the world's carrying trade, probable renewal of, _constant warwick_, english frigate, .. construction of greek and roman galleys, construction of viking ship, ----, of wooden battleships, , copper-plating ships' bottoms, introduction of, crews of english ships, end of the twelfth century, ----, ----, ----, early fourteenth century, ----, ----, ----, reign of elizabeth, ----, ----, ----, seventeenth century, ----, of greek triremes, ----, of roman quinqueremes, cutters, earliest notice of, d danish ship, description of ancient, decks, use of, in egyptian ships, , ----, ----, in greek galleys, , , , , , ----, ----, in phoenician galleys, dêr-el-bahari, maritime records on the temple of, dimensions of american clippers, ----, of athenian docks, ----, of columbus' ship, ----, of east indiaman of .. ----, of english warships, , , , , , , , , , ----, of greek triremes, ----, of italian ships built for france in the thirteenth century, ----, of sixteenth century carrack, dover seal, ship on, drake circumnavigates globe, dromons, e east india company, early voyages of, , ----, ----, ----, elizabeth grants charter to, ----, ----, ----, james i. grants charter to, ----, ----, ----, origin of, ----, ----, ----, in .. east indiaman of .. , ----, ----, of (the _thames_), , _edward bonaventure_, elizabethan merchant-ship, , edward iii.'s fleet in .. edward iii., naval wars of, ----, ships of, edward iv., english commerce in reign of, egypt, favourable situation of, for development of shipbuilding, ----, transport of granite blocks down nile, , , egyptian barge for transporting obelisks down nile, ----, boat of the third dynasty, ----, ----, of the fourth dynasty, ----, ----, of the sixth dynasty, ----, boats in time of herodotus, ----, ----, of the twelfth dynasty, now in existence, ----, maritime expeditions to the land of punt, , ----, naval expedition against the shepherd kings, ----, religion, influence of, on the development of shipbuilding, ----, ships used in hatshepsu's expedition to punt, ----, warships of ramses iii., _elizabeth jones_, elizabethan warship, elizabethan fleet, , ----, maritime expeditions, ----, merchant-shipping, , english clippers, _et seq._ ----, commerce in the reign of henry iii., ----, ----, ----, of edward iv., ----, first-rate of , _sovereign of the seas_, ----, ----, of , _royal charles_, , ----, ----, of , _royal anne_, ----, ----, of , _royal george_, , ----, ----, of , _hibernia_, ----, ----, of .. _et seq._ ----, ----, of , _caledonia_, ----, ----, of , _howe_, ----, ----, time of william iv., _waterloo_, , ----, ----, beginning of queen victoria's reign, _queen_, , ----, fourth-rate, end of the seventeenth century, ----, mercantile marine in time of james i., ----, ----, ----, in first half of the nineteenth century, ----, second-rate, end of the seventeenth century, ----, shipbuilding, excellence of, in time of charles i., ----, ships, sir walter raleigh's criticisms on, ----, warships in the reign of henry vii., ----, ----, ----, of henry viii., ----, ----, ----, of elizabeth, ----, ----, ----, of james i., _et seq._ ----, ----, ----, of charles i., ----, ----, in the commonwealth, ----, ----, in the reign of charles ii., , ----, ----, ----, of anne, ----, ----, ----, of george ii., ----, ----, ----, of george iii., _et seq._ ----, ----, ----, of william iv., ----, ----, ----, of victoria, ----, ----, increase of size of various rates in .. ----, ----, of the middle of the eighteenth century, defects of, f _falmouth_, east indiaman of , , fleet of richard coeur de lion for invasion of palestine, fleet of edward iii. for invasion of france in , ----, of henry v. for invasion of france, ----, of queen elizabeth to oppose armada, , fleets of the saxon kings of england, forecastles, developments of, , , , , , , , , frigate, french, of , , , , frigates, _brilliant_ and _aurore_, of , dimensions of, ----, introduction of, , ----, of thirty-eight guns, introduced , ----, of forty guns, introduced , ----, superiority of american in , "free traders," french first-rate of , particulars of, ----, frigates of , , , , ----, naval architects, influence of, , ----, ----, power under louis xiv., ----, navy, foundation of, g galleasses, spanish, , ----, venetian, end of the sixteenth century, galleon, venetian, of the sixteenth century, galley, archaic greek, about b.c., ----, greek, without deck, ----, of eleven banks, alleged to have been built in cyprus, ----, of sixteen banks, brought to rome by Æmilius paulus, ----, phoenician, of the seventh century, ----, ptolemy philopater's, criticism of account of, ----, venetian, of the fourteenth century, galleys, ancient, caulking of, ----, ----, structural arrangements of, _et seq._ ----, ----, timber used in construction of, ----, arrangement of rowers in, , ----, greek and roman, details of construction of, _et seq._ ----, greek, rams of, , , ----, liburnian, ----, many-banked, arrangement of oars in, ----, ----, disused after actium, ----, ----, use of, by ptolemies, ----, ----, use of, in greece, ----, reasons for arrangement of oars in banks, ----, roman, use of lead sheathing in, ----, ----, use of turrets in, ----, ----, used against carthaginians, ----, speeds of, , ----, use of decks in, , , , , , , ----, use of sails in, ----, used by alexander the great, ----, venetian, number of rowers to oars of, ----, with four banks of oars, use of, by athenians, ----, with five banks of oars, use of, by athenians and syracusans, _see also_ uniremes, biremes, triremes, quinqueremes, penteconters genoese ship built for france, , _great republic_, american clipper, , greece, ancient, shipbuilding in, ----, favourable geographical situation of, for navigation, greek bireme of about b.c., ----, bireme of about b.c., ----, galley without deck, ----, galleys, rams of, , , greek merchant-ship of about b.c., ----, penteconters, ----, triremes, crews of, ----, ----, details of, ----, unireme of about b.c., greeks (ancient), naval expeditions of, guns, naval, time of henry viii., _see also_ artillery, naval guns h hatshepsu's expedition to the land of punt, _henry grace a dieu_, warship of henry viii., henry v., classification of ships of, ----, fleet of, for invasion of france, ----, naval development in reign of, henry vi., ship of reign of, henry vii., naval development in reign of, henry viii., naval guns in time of, ----, warships of, herodotus, account of egyptian boats by, _hibernia_, battleship of , particulars of, _hollandia_, dutch warship of .. _howe_, english first-rate of .. i _invincible_, french warship of .. italian fifteenth century ship, j james i. appoints commission to inquire into state of navy, ----, development of merchant shipping under, ----, warships of, _et seq._ l _la blanche nef_, loss of, lancaster's expedition to east indies, la rochelle, naval battle of, in .. lead-sheathing, use of, in roman galleys, lepanto, naval battle of, l'espagnols-sur-mer, naval battle of, liburnian galleys, _lord of the isles_, greenock clipper, libyan boats in ancient egypt, m _madre de dios_, portuguese carrack, _marie la cordelière_, french warship, .. maritime expedition round africa sent out by nekau, ----, ----, to land of punt, , ----, ----, elizabethan, _see also_ naval expeditions, naval wars masting of warships in tudor period, masts of ancient egyptian boats, mediæval ships, _et seq._ mercantile marine of great britain in first half of the nineteenth century, merchant shipping, development of, under james i., ----, ----, foreign, end of the sixteenth century, ----, ships, ancient, ----, ----, elizabethan, , ----, ----, greek, of about b.c., ----, ----, roman, _minerva_, first english -gun frigate, museums, technical, value of, n naval battle at lepanto, ----, ----, at sluys, naval battle of la rochelle in .. ----, ----, of l'espagnols-sur-mer, ----, ----, off south foreland in .. ----, expedition, carthaginian, against greek colonists, ----, expeditions of the ancient greeks, ----, ----, persian, against greece, ----, expenditure under the commonwealth, ----, guns in time of henry viii., ----, power of france under louis xiv., ----, war with united states in .. ----, wars of the commonwealth, ----, ----, of edward iii., navigation, early notions of, nekau's attempt to make a red sea and nile canal, ----, expedition round africa, noah's ark, account of, norman ships, norsemen, ships of, o oars, arrangement of, in galleys of many banks, ----, of greek triremes, length of, ----, of venetian galleys, number of rowers to, obelisk, transport of, to rome in a.d., obelisks, size and weight of, ----, transport of, down nile, ocean herald, american clipper, .. olaf tryggvesson, large ship built by, overland route to india, closing of, in the fifteenth century, p penteconters, greek, persian naval expeditions against greece, pett, phineas, , , , phoenician galley of seventh century, phoenicians, commerce of, ----, origin of, poole seal, ship on, portholes of warships in tudor period, , ----, raising of lower deck at end of the eighteenth century, portuguese, discoveries of, in the fifteenth century, _prince royal_, warship of james i., et seq. ptolemies, use of many-banked galleys by, ptolemy philopater's galley, criticism of account of, punt, first recorded maritime expedition to the land of, ----, queen hatshepsu's expedition to the land of, q _queen_, english first-rate, time of queen victoria, quinqueremes, roman, crews of, ----, use of, by alexander the great, ----, use of, by romans, , r raleigh's criticisms on english ships, rams of greek galleys, , , ramses iii., warships of, _regent_, warship built .. renan, bernard, richard coeur de lion, fleet of, richard ii., ship of reign of, rigging, improvements introduced in fourteenth century, ----, improvements in, end of the sixteenth century, roman galleys, use of lead sheathing in, ----, ----, use of turrets in, ----, ----, used against carthaginians, , ----, merchant ships, ----, naval power, origin of, ----, quinqueremes, crews of, _royal anne_, english first-rate of .. _royal charles_, warship of charles ii., _royal george_, particulars of, rudders, first use of, in english ships, s sailcloth, linen, made by ancient egyptians, sailing-ships, excellence of american, in the middle of the nineteenth century, , sails, early use of, in egypt, ----, papyrus used for, by ancient egyptians, ----, use of, in galleys, sandefjord ship, description of, sandwich seal, ship on, _santa maria_, caravel of columbus, _et seq._ saracen ship of the twelfth century, saxon kings of england, fleets of, ----, ships, seppings, sir robert, improvements introduced by, in naval construction, _et seq._ shelf-pieces, introduction of, in shipbuilding, ship, description of ancient danish, ----, description of viking, ----, genoese, built for france, .. ----, greek merchant, ----, roman merchant, ----, italian, of fifteenth century, ----, of columbus, et seq. ----, of edward iii., ----, of reign of richard ii., ----, ----, of henry vi., ----, on dover seal, ----, on poole seal, ----, on sandwich seal, ----, saracen, of the twelfth century, ----, venetian, built for france, .. ----, venetian, of the twelfth century, of great size, ships, classification of, early fifteenth century, ----, earliest mention of, in history, ----, egyptian, used in hatshepsu's expedition to punt, ----, english, of the end of the fifteenth century, ----, mediæval, _et seq._ ----, norman, ----, of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, improvements in, , ----, of the fourteenth century, crews of, ----, of the norsemen, ----, of the saxons, ----, of the veneti, ----, of vasco da gama, ----, the most ancient known, ----, used in trojan expedition, see also merchant-ships, east indiamen, warships, west indiamen shipbuilding, cost of timber for, in the nineteenth century, ----, improvements introduced by sir robert seppings, _et seq._ ----, in ancient greece, _et seq._ ----, introduction of shelf-pieces and waterways, shipping statistics of the principal maritime powers, _sir john franklin_, american transatlantic sailing-packet, .. sluys, battle of, _soleil royal_, french warship, end of the seventeenth century, _sovereign_, english warship, time of henry vii., _sovereign of the seas_, warship of charles i., spanish armada, account of, speeds attained by american clippers, ----, of galleys, , square buttocks, abandonment of, in english warships, steam navigation, introduction of, stern castles, development of, , , , , , , , _stornoway_ and _chrysolite_, first aberdeen clippers, strains, hogging and sagging, on ships, structural arrangements of ancient galleys, _et seq._ stuart kings, fondness of for navy, , , t _thames_, east indiaman, of , _thetis_, west indiaman, , timber for shipbuilding, cost of, in the nineteenth century, ----, ----, superstitions of ancients regarding, ----, for warships, methods of treating in the eighteenth century, ----, used in construction of ancient galleys, topmasts, introduction of striking, _trade's increase_, jacobean merchantman, triremes, first use of, in greece, ----, greek, crews of, ----, ----, dimensions of, ----, ----, length of oars of, _see also_ galleys _triumph_, elizabethan warship, trojan expedition, ships used in, "tumble home," why introduced, turrets, use of, in roman galleys, u unireme, greek, of about b.c., . _see also_ galleys v vasco da gama, ships of, ----, voyages of, veneti, ships of, venetian galleasses, end of the sixteenth century, ----, galleon of the sixteenth century, ----, galley of the fourteenth century, ----, galleys, number of rowers to oars of, ----, ship, built for france, , ----, twelfth century ship of great size, venetians, first use of naval artillery by, ----, skill of, in shipbuilding, ventilation of warships, middle of the eighteenth century, viking ship, description of, voyages of vasco da gama, w warships of ramses iii., ----, ventilation of, middle of the eighteenth century, _see also_ english warships, english first-rates, frigates, fleets, galleys, ships, french first-rates _waterloo_, english first-rate, time of william iv., , waterways, introduction of, in shipbuilding, west indiaman, the _thetis_, end of part i. printed by wyman and sons, limited, london and reading. off to sea, by whg kingston. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ off to sea, by whg kingston. chapter one. my birth and education. from my earliest days i have been known as jovial jack junker. i got the name, i believe, from always being in good humour, and seeing the bright side of things. whatever i ate did me good, and i never had had an hour's sickness in my life; while if things happened to go wrong one day, i knew they would go right the next. people said i was of a happy disposition; i suppose i was. i always felt inclined to be singing or whistling, and when i did not, it was because i knew i ought to keep silence--in church, for instance, or in the presence of my elders, who happened to be engaged in conversation. still, i was not born, as the saying is, with a silver spoon in my mouth, nor did i possess any great worldly advantages. i did not trouble myself much about the future, i must confess that. if i got what i wanted, i was contented; if not, i expected to get it the next day or the day after. i could wait; i always found something to amuse me in the meantime. my father was a marine--a man well known to fame, though not the celebrated "cheeks." he was known as sergeant junker. he had several small sons and daughters--young junkers--and when i was about twelve years of age, he was left an inconsolable widower by the untimely death of our inestimable mother. she was an excellent woman, and had brought us up, to the best of her ability, in a way to make us good and useful members of society. she was indeed a greater loss to us than to our poor father; for, as my elder brother simon observed, as he rubbed his eyes, moist with tears, with the back of his hand-- "you see, jack, father can go and get another wife, as many do; but we can't get another mother like her that is gone, that we can't, nohow." no more thorough testimony could have been given to the virtues of our mother. she was a superior woman in many respects, and she was of a very respectable family, and had a nice little fortune of her own; but she had the common weakness of her sex, and fell in love with the handsome face of our honest, worthy father, ben junker the marine, at the time a private in that noble corps. she did not like his name, but she loved him, and overcame her prejudice. he could, at the period i speak of, scarcely read or write; but she set to work to educate him, and so far succeeded, that, being a very steady man, he rose in due course to be a sergeant. she had the ambition of hoping to see him obtain a commission; but he used to declare that, if he did, nothing would make him more unhappy, as he should feel exactly like a fish out of water. he was thus, at the time of which i am speaking, still a sergeant. our mother, in consequence of the income she enjoyed, was able to give her children a much better education than we should otherwise probably have obtained. at the time of her death, it would have been difficult to find in our rank of life a more happy, contented, and better-conducted family. our father, as i have said, was at first inconsolable; but he was of a happy, contented disposition, as it is very necessary that marines, as well as other people, should be--a disposition which i fortunately inherited from him. he took the rough with the smooth in life, as a matter of course. a favourite song of his, which he used to hum, was-- "what's the use of sighing, while time is on the wing? oh! what's the use of crying? then merrily, merrily sing fa! la!" consequently, as simon said he knew he would, he began in a short time to look out for another wife; and, unhappily for us, fixed on a widow with a family. she was, however, a very amiable woman; in fact, her great fault was, that she was too amiable, too soft and yielding. she could not manage to rule her own family, and a most uproarious, mutinous set they were. from the time they came to the house there was no peace or quiet for anyone else. they, indeed, soon took to try and rule over us with a high hand. her girls used to come it over our girls, and her boys over our boys. brother simon, who was bigger and stronger than her eldest, more than once threatened that he would thrash them all round, if they had any more nonsense, and that invariably made our poor stepmother burst into tears, and plead so hard for her rebellious offspring, that the good, honest fellow had not the heart to put his threat into execution. at last some of us could stand it no longer. as simon was old enough, he went one day, without saying anything to anybody, and enlisted in the marines. bill, our second brother, got our father to apprentice him to a ship-carpenter; and, after no little trouble and coaxing, he promised to let me go on board a man-of-war. he did so, however, very unwillingly. "you don't know the sort of life that you will have to lead aboard ship, jack," he observed. "boys afloat are not the happy-go-lucky sort of chaps they seem on shore, let me tell you; but, to be sure, they have got discipline there, which is more than i can say there is to be found in a certain place that you know of." and my father uttered a deep sigh. we were walking, one evening after tea, up and down our bit of a garden, while he smoked his pipe. he was allowed to live out of barracks, and we had a small cottage a little way off. "i don't know, jack, but what i should not be sorry, if my company was ordered on service afloat," he observed, confidentially, after a minute's silence. "your new mother is a good woman--a very good woman; about her i made no mistake, though she is not equal, by a long chalk, to her that's gone; but oh! jack," and he sighed again, "i did not take into account those young cubs of hers. they will not rest till they have driven your sisters out of the house, as they have driven the boys; and then--and then--why, i suppose, they will drive me away too!" my poor father! i sighed at the thoughts of his domestic happiness being so completely destroyed, in consequence of the advice of king solomon not having been followed--the rod having been spared, and the children spoiled. the following day, my father being sent on duty to portsea, took me with him. soon after we landed, i met, just on the inner end of the common hard, an old friend of mine, dick lee, a waterman. "father," i said, "if dick will let me, i'll stop, and have a pull in his wherry. as i am going to sea, i should like to learn to row better than i now do." my father, glad to keep me out of harm's way, told me that, if dick wished it, i might remain with him. well pleased, i ran down the hard, and jumped into old dick's wherry. dick intended that i should sit in his boat, and just practise with the oars, but i had no notion of that sort; so, casting off the painter, i shoved away from the shore. i kept pulling up and down for some time, and round and round, till my arms ached; when, determining to take a longer voyage, i turned the boat's head out into the harbour. the tide was running out: i went on very swimmingly, i did not think of that. i had not, however, got very far, when i heard old dick's voice shouting to me-- "come back, jack, come back, you young jackanapes!" dick was in a rage, no doubt about that. i pulled round, and in spite of all my efforts could make no headway. dick shouted, and swore, but to no purpose. i might have cracked my sinews with pulling, but still the boat would keep drifting down and down, running a great risk of getting athwart-hawse of some of the vessels moored a dozen yards below me. at last, dick did what he might as well have done at first--stepped into another boat with his mate, and came after me. he soon brought me back as a prize. his temper was in no way soothed, though i cried out, again and again, i could not help it. "jump ashore now, lad," he said, as we touched the hard. "next time you'll do what i tell you you may do. i never said you might go and run the chance of getting the boat stove in, and yourself drownded. i keeps my family in order, whatever other people may do." obeying old dick, i stood disconsolately on the hard, while he took his fare on board, and pulled away across to gosport, without deigning to waste another word on me. however, i soon recovered my spirits, and amused myself making an excursion over the huge logs of timber that occupy a considerable space in that nook of the harbour. i was running along on the more steady pieces of timber which formed the boundary of the pond, when i saw a boy in a boat, placed very much in the position from which i had just escaped. in vain he attempted to stem the tide. he was evidently not accustomed to a boat. he looked round, and saw that the boat was drifting towards the cable of a vessel moored off the hard. i shouted out to him to pull hard with his starboard oar; but, instead of so doing, he jumped up, and caught hold of the cable, across which the boat had just then come, letting go at the same time one of his oars, which fell overboard. he now clung to the chain, and the current swept the boat away from under his feet. "hold on! hold on, for your life!" i shouted out; but, instead of so doing, he let go, expecting to regain his boat. he tried to swim, but he was evidently a bad swimmer. i looked round. no boat was near. i saw there was every chance of his being drowned. i was a capital swimmer; so, hoping to save the lad, i plunged in, and followed him. just as i was taking the leap, i caught sight of old dick, coming across the harbour. i shouted at the very top of my voice, pointing to the place where the boy was floating away. this gave me some hopes that we should be picked up. i soon saw that i had miscalculated the distance, for the boy seemed a very, very long way off. i had very little hopes of helping him, and thought it very likely i should get drowned myself, when i saw a hawser, somewhat slack, stretched across the course down which the boy was drifting. "if he has got any sense, he will catch hold of it," i thought. how thankful i felt when i saw him grasp it! as i got near, he cried out-- "help! help! i can hold on no longer!" "hold on, whatever you do?" i cried out. "oh dear! oh dear!" he shouted again, "what will become of the boat? what will become of the boat?" he was evidently getting somewhat stupid and confused. i redoubled my efforts, and grasping the hawser with one hand, caught hold of his jacket with the other, just as he was relaxing his grasp. "now, stupid!" i cried out, "just catch hold of this rope again, and hold on! you don't want to get drowned, do you?" "no, i don't; but you had no business to call me stupid," he exclaimed, in an indignant tone. "if you go and get drowned when there's no need of it, you are stupid," i answered; "but if you will hold on tight, till dick comes and takes us off, i will say something for you." my arguments had some effect, for hold on tight he did, i helping him by the collar of his jacket. i had enough to do, however, to keep him and myself afloat, as well as to hold on at the same time. it seemed to me that old dick was a long time coming. at last i shouted out. "ay, ay!" answered his well-known voice, and at last i saw the bow of his boat coming round from under the stern of a vessel above us. no one was on the decks of any of the vessels round us, which was the reason, i suppose, that we were allowed to hang on there so long by ourselves. "well, what mischief have you been after?" asked old dick, as he hauled the other boy and me afterwards out of the water. "well, you do look like two drownded rats?" "he has been after no mischief at all!" exclaimed the other boy, who, in spite of his recent alarm, had not lost his spirits. "he jumped into the water to save my life, and he has saved it; and i am sure my papa and mamma will not think it was any mischief, but will be ready to thank him very heartily, as i do." "and who are you, young gentleman?" asked old dick. "what business had you to be tumbling into the water?" he had begun to pull up the harbour, i should say, placing us in the stern sheets while he was asking these questions. "who am i? you want to know who i am?" said the young gentleman, who was employed in squeezing the wet out of his clothes; "i am richard alfred chesterton plumb," answered the boy, standing up and assuming an air of dignity; "and i did not tumble into the water, but my boat got away from me, and i tried to get after it; and that reminds me that she is floating down the harbour; and so, old gentleman, i will just trouble you to go in chace of her and try to bring her back." "ho! ho! ho!" exclaimed old dick; "some young bantams do crow loud. howsomdever, there is spirit in the lad, no doubt about that!" "well, old man," again asked the young gentleman, "are you going after my boat?" old dick did not deign an answer; but, looking away down the harbour, espied the boat, and, pulling round, made chase after her. we were soon up to her, and master richard, as he called himself, wanted to be put aboard again. "i can row about till i am dry," he observed. "what's the odds?" however, as there was only one oar remaining, this was an impossibility. "you will only go and get yourself drownded again," said the old man, "and catch your death of cold sitting in your wet things into the bargain. so you just come up to my missus, and she will give you a hot cup of tea and dry your duds, and then jack here and i will see you safe home to your friends." i have a notion that old dick was afraid the young master might forget all about the service which had been rendered him, and having an eye to the main chance, he was resolved that i should receive a reward--he himself hoping probably to obtain some remuneration also for his trouble. on our way back young master richard, who was in no way disconcerted, espied the missing oar, which had been caught in an eddy, and drifted in towards the shore. we got hold of it, and he now seemed perfectly happy. we both looked very foolish, i thought, as dripping wet we followed old dick up to his house. the old woman had our clothes very soon off us, and tumbled us both into their bed. the young gentleman whispered to me that it was not very nice, but i was in no way particular. "it will not do to be ungrateful. i would bear anything, rather than show i did not like it," he added, still whispering. he at last got rather impatient, and singing out, asked dick if he would go and buy him a new suit at selby's, the tailor's in high street. the old man laughed. "i've got no credit there, young gentleman," he answered. "maybe, too, your friends would not be quite pleased. your clothes will be dry enough in time; and, there now, the water's boiling, and you shall have a bowl of tea hot enough to take the skin off your mouths." the steaming liquid was soon brought to us, and after drinking it, master richard said he felt as warm and comfortable as he had ever done in his life. he was only anxious to be off. at length, however, the warmth and closeness of the room sent us both off into a sound sleep. we were awoke by old dick's voice. "well, lads," he said, "are you ready to put on your clothes, and come along to young master's friends? i have seen your father, jack. he knows all about them, and says it is all right. he tells me, jack," he whispered, "they're no end of grand people, so i hope you have stepped into the right boat this time." i could not exactly understand the meaning of my old friend's remarks, but i saw that he was well pleased. old mrs. lee pressed some more tea and bread and butter on us, and had a sausage frying in the pan. i was not sorry to get it; but, after taking a few mouthfuls, the young gentleman said he was very grateful, but that he had had enough, and that he expected to find dinner when he got home. "i could not have eaten another mouthful, even if the old woman had threatened to throw me into the frying-pan," he observed, as we left the house, "but i did not like to hurt her feelings." i had eaten up the remainder of the sausage, so i benefited by master richard's delicacy of stomach. chapter two. my first start. we crossed the water to gosport, and took our way along the road which led past the small row in which we lived. i inquired on my way of old dick, if he knew who the young gentleman's father was. "they say he's a nabob," answered old dick, "but what a nabob is, i'm sure i don't know, except that he's a yellow-faced gentleman, with lots of money, and always complaining of his liver." having received this lucid explanation to my question, i rejoined my young companion. i thought i might learn more about the matter from him. "they say your father is a nabob; is he?" i asked. "a nabob? no," he answered. "he is a great deal more important person--he is a brigadier; at least he was in india, and mamma always speaks of him as the brigadier, and people always talk of her as mrs. brigadier." "then i suppose you are the young brigadier?" i said, very naturally. "no, indeed, i am not," he answered. "but there is the house. and, i say, i am very much obliged to you, remember, for what you have done for me. i see you are up to joking; but let me advise you not to come any of your jokes over my father, or mamma either. indeed, you had better rather try it with him than with her. you would think twice before you ever made the attempt again." passing through an iron gateway, we proceeded up to the house, which was some little way from the road. it was low, with a broad verandah round it, and i found was known as chuttawunga bungalow. i saw the name on the side-post of the gateway. a tall, dark-skinned man, dressed in white, a broad-rimmed cap on his head, came to the door. he seemed rather doubtful as to admitting old dick and me. "here, chetta, let us in at once!" exclaimed the young gentleman in an authoritative tone. "these are my friends. they have rendered me an essential service. the boy saved my life when i was drowning, and the old man pulled us both out of the water, when we could not hold on much longer. where is my papa? and, i say, chetta, do not go and tell mrs. brigadier just yet. i would rather have the matter over with one of them first." i felt rather awe-struck at having to go into the presence of so great a man, for i had pictured him as a tall, ferocious-looking personage, with a huge moustache and a military air and manner. great was my astonishment when i saw, seated in an arm-chair, cross-legged, with one foot resting on a foot-stool, a small man with yellow hair, thin cheeks, and habited in a silk dressing-gown and nankeen trousers. "why, richard alfred chesterton!" he exclaimed in a sharp, querulous tone, "where have you been all this time? it is as well your mother had to go out, or she would have been thrown into a state of great alarm; and something else, i suspect, too," he said, in a lower tone. "well, papa," answered richard, when the brigadier had ceased speaking, "you would not address me harshly, if you knew how very nearly you were having the misery of losing me altogether. it is a long story, so i will not now enter into details. it will be sufficient for you to know that i was in a boat, and that out of that boat i fell into the dangerous current of the harbour; and had it not been for the bravery and gallantry of this young lad whom i have brought with me, i should have been at this moment food for the fish in the solent sea, or a fit subject for a coroner's inquest, had my body been discovered." the brigadier opened his grey eyes wider and wider, as the boy continued speaking. "and, papa, we must not forget this old boatman, too, who pulled the boy and me--what's your name? ay; jack junker--out of the water." thus master dicky ran on. "well, my boy, i am thankful to see you safe, and i wish to express my gratitude to the brave lad, jack junker, who saved your life, and to the old man who pulled you out of the water. my friends, i must consult mrs. brigadier plumb, how i can best show you my gratitude. i always do consult her on all important matters. till then i hope you will remain in this house. i am too great an invalid to talk much to you, but my son will do his best to make amends for my deficiencies." on this master richard went up and whispered something in his father's ear. "will one or two do?" i heard the brigadier ask. "no, no, father, do it handsomely. to be sure, he ran no risk, but it was the way he did it; and i rather think he looks for some remuneration." on this the brigadier shuffled off his chair, and opening his writing-desk, took out a bank note. "here, my friend," he said to old dick, "i should like to pay you for the loss of time, and the expense you have been put to, for this youngster, so accept these few pounds. i hope to show my sense of what you have done, more heartily by-and-by." i saw old dick's eyes sparkle. he had probably expected a sovereign at the outside. "jack," he whispered to me, as we left the room, "you are in luck; for, if he pays me five pounds for just picking that young shrimp out of the water, he will certainly do a good deal more for you who saved his life." master richard soon overtook us, and then insisted on showing us over the house--into the drawing-room, and dining-room, and breakfast-parlour, and into several of the bedrooms, then down into the servants' hall. i had never been in such a fine house in my life before. and then he took us out into the garden, and walked us all round, showing us the fruit-trees in blossom, and the beautiful flowers. "my mamma will be home soon," he observed, "and my two sisters. i want her to see the brigadier first, because, you see, although it was a very fine thing in you to pick me out of the water, i had no business to tumble into it, or, indeed, to be in a boat at all. the brigadier did not see that, but she will. she keeps us all precious strict, i can tell you. i have several brothers--the eldest is in the army, and two are away at school. i have not quite settled what i am going to be. i should not object to go into the navy, but then i should like to be made an admiral or a post-captain at once. i have no particular taste for the army, and as for the law, or several other things, i would as soon dig potatoes, or go shrimping; and thus, you see, the navy is the only profession likely to suit me, or i am likely to suit." old dick cocked his eye, as he heard young master's remarks. "i rather think he must be changed a bit before he is suited to the navy, however much he may think the navy will suit him; and there i have an idea he will be pretty considerably mistaken," he whispered to me. the young gentleman had evidently caught the habit of a pompous style of speaking from mrs. brigadier, as i afterwards discovered. it sounded somewhat ridiculous, especially from the mouth of so small a chap. i had reason to suspect that he now and then, too, made curious mistakes; though of course, not very well able to detect them myself. at last an open carriage drove up to the door, with a curly-wigged coachman on the box, and two dark-skinned servants standing behind, dressed like the one who had opened the door. inside was a very tall lady, sitting bolt upright, with two considerably smaller young ladies opposite to her. young master told old dick and me not to make any noise, lest she should see us, as we were watching their arrival through the shrubbery. she got out with a dignified air, resting on one of the black servants, and strode into the house. the two young ladies followed demurely in her wake. she was exactly what i should have expected the brigadier to be, only she wore petticoats, and a bonnet instead of a cocked hat. in a short time the servant appeared, and summoned young master into the house. he quickly appeared, and beckoned us from a window to come in. i did not see the meeting of the mother and son, but i know when i entered she stretched out her arms, and gave me a kiss on the brow. "you have rendered me an essential service, young lad," she exclaimed, in a voice well calculated to hail the maintop in a gale at sea, or to shout "advance!" at the head of a regiment in action. "i wish to show my gratitude, but how can i do so?" "and you--" and she looked towards old dick, who drew back; and i really heard him say-- "oh, don't!" he thought she was going to salute him as she had me. "you took them into your boat; you preserved them from catching cold: i am grateful--very grateful!" and i saw her fumble in the deep recesses of a side-pocket. "my dear," whispered the brigadier, "i have already bestowed a pecuniary recompense." "you have!" she said turning round sharply, "without consulting me?" this was said in an intended low voice, but i heard it. "well," she said, "money cannot repay you for the service you have performed. but you have found your way to this house. come again to-morrow, and by that time i will have considered how i can best show my gratitude." "thank you, marm!" answered old dick, evidently very glad to get away. "shall i take jack with me? he lives over on this side, and i can drop him at his home as i go back to gosport." "if you so think fit, my friend," answered mrs. brigadier; "and if the boy--by-the-by, what is your name?" she asked. "jack junker," i replied; and i told her that my father was a sergeant. "jack junker? yes, if you wish to go, jack," she answered. "i also then shall have time to consider how i can best express my gratitude. farewell?" she put out her hand, and shook old dick's; but i thought, as she spoke to me, her manner was considerably colder than it had been at first. old dick and i left the room, and the door was closed behind us. "i doubt her," whispered old dick to me. "i am glad the old gentleman, however, gave me the five pounds. it was handsome in him. but jack, my boy, i suspect you will have to rest satisfied with having saved the life of a fellow-creature; though, as you were the means of my gaining this, i think i must hand over half to you, as your share." to this, of course, i would not consent; and somewhat disappointed, perhaps, i accompanied my old friend through the hall, having the honour of being salaamed to most profoundly by the dark-skinned domestics. we walked slowly, and had not got very far, when i heard footsteps coming behind us. turning round, i saw master richard running with all his might. "here, jack?" he said, "the brigadier gave me this, and told me to hand it over to you. my mother was out of the room at the time, so do not say anything about it to her. she will show you her gratitude in some other way. i do not mean to say it is as much as i should like to have offered you; but here, be quick i put it into your pocket, or we may be seen from the house." "don't be a fool, jack!" said old dick, seeing i hesitated. "it's justly yours, boy, and let them settle the matter as they think best." "good-bye, jack!" said young master, shaking me by the hand. "good-bye!" he added, taking old dick's rough paw. "we are a curious set; but i say, do not refuse anything you can get. if you want any interest exerted, then boldly ask my mother. she will do that in a way which overcomes all difficulties. if she wanted to make me archbishop of canterbury, she would work away till she had done it, if she happened to live long enough." old dick dropped me at my home. there was a tremendous noise going on, created by my stepmother's children. she was crying out and imploring them to be quiet, and they were squabbling and crying and abusing each other. the big ones had appropriated the little ones' toys, or other property, and all the poor woman could do they would not restore the articles, while the young ones were crying to get them back, every now and then making a rush at their bigger brothers and sisters, and getting a box on the ear in return. my appearance rather increased than quelled the commotion. tommy, the biggest, asked me in a threatening way where i had been, and of course i was not going to answer him; so he doubled his fist, and, had i not stood on my guard, he would certainly have hit me, but he thought better of it. just at that moment my father returned off duty, full of my performances, of which old dick had told him all particulars. he was very indignant with tom. "is this the way, you young ruffian, you treat a brave lad who has been saving the life of a fellow-creature, and that fellow-creature the son of a brigadier? do you know what a brigadier is, you young jackanapes, eh?" he exclaimed, giving way for once to anger, of which he was very seldom guilty. his remarks silenced all the party, who, of course, were then eager enough to learn what i had done and what had happened. my poor stepmother embraced me warmly, and tears fell from her eyes as she glanced round on her own disorderly offspring. for the rest of the evening they behaved better. my father was well pleased on hearing of the brigadier's gift, for the purse contained ten sovereigns. "it's very liberal," he said; "for though i suppose he thinks his son's life worth more than that, yet, from what you tell me, no doubt it is as much as he dared to give; yet i can tell you, from what i have heard, that that shrivelled-up yellow-faced old fellow was as plucky an officer as ever saw service." my father would not let me go back to the bungalow. "you have done your duty, jack, and you have received a present, which you must lay by for a rainy day; and if the brigadier's lady wants to show her maternal gratitude, it's her business to find you out." i thought probably that young master would take care to see something more of me. i liked his manner; for although there was a good deal of seeming bombast and pretension about him, i had an idea he was sterling at bottom--a plucky little chap, just as his father had been. this circumstance had in no way put aside my wish to go to sea. i kept talking about it whenever i had an opportunity. "i see how it is," sighed my father; "you are right, jack. the way tom stood up to you just now showed me that your old home is not as pleasant as it should be." "then you will let me go, will you not, father?" i said. the fact was, it was a very different thing for him to talk about letting me go, and to ship me off. he hummed and hesitated, and said he thought i had better wait till i was a year older, or till he himself was sent to sea. "oh, but that may not be for a long time, father; and what should i do with myself till then?" i exclaimed. "i am not quite so sure that it will be a long time, jack," he answered, with a sigh. "once upon a time my only wish was to remain on shore, but times are changed. i don't want to say a word against my present wife. she is a good woman; an excellent woman; but somehow or other she does not manage to keep the house as quiet as it might be; and those children of hers are terribly unlicked cubs." i agreed with him there. "they want to be under the management of mrs. brigadier for a few months," i observed; "i rather think that she would not be long in bringing them into order." "you are right, jack. but i have seen her, and with all her perfections, i would not swop my present wife with her on any account." my father gave a shudder. "well, jack," he said, "there's an old friend of mine--sergeant turbot--whose company has been appointed to the _roarer_, fitting out for the east india station, alongside the topaze sheer hulk." "well, father," i said, "though i should like to go with you, yet i fancy that `a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush;' and, if you will let me, i'll go with sergeant turbot. he will look after me and keep me out of mischief, and stand my friend, if i want one. i should not like to lose the opportunity." "well, well, i see how it is, home is too hot for you," sighed my poor father. "to-morrow morning, please heaven! i will take you on board, and see what turbot has to say to the matter. if he's agreeable, why there won't be much difficulty in getting you rated as one of the boys aboard." my father was as good as his word, and at an early hour the next morning we embarked in a wherry, and pulled alongside the _roarer_. when i got on board, and while standing with my father waiting for sergeant turbot, who was on duty, it seemed to me as if every man and boy in the ship had gone stark staring mad, rushing and rolling about, tumbling over each other, shouting and bawling at the top of their voices. presently i heard a ferocious-looking hairy monster of a man growl out, in a voice loud enough to wake a dozen midshipmen, however fast asleep they might have been, "up all steerage hammocks?" the shrill sound of his whistle piercing through my head. i had been on board men-of-war before when there was no duty going on, and all was quiet and in order. if i had not had hold of my father's hand, i think i should have gone down the side again into the wherry. in reality, however, it was only ned rawlings performing an ordinary piece of morning duty--as gentle and tender-hearted a fellow as ever stepped, in spite of his gruff voice and hairy face, and the "cat" he had sometimes to wield. i have a notion, that every time he laid on that cat, he felt it as acutely as the culprit on whom it was deservedly inflicted. i still felt something like a fish in a tub, trying to escape the dangers i supposed surrounded me, when sergeant turbot came along the main deck. he laughed heartily, till his fat sides shook again, when he saw my affrighted countenance, and my father told him i could not make out the cause of all the uproar. "why, the men are pretty quiet," he observed; "they're pretty much like this at all times, except when they're sleeping, or at mess, or at quarters." my father told him our object. "that i will, junker," he observed at once. "i am sure you would look after a boy of mine if i had one, and i will look after yours. i cannot teach him much seamanship, but i'll give a hint to those who can, and i'll look after him, and see that he gets into no mischief, as long as i am in the ship. we are going out to a somewhat trying climate though, and men of my figure are apt to suffer, i am told." he cast a momentary glance over himself. it was fortunate for sergeant turbot that he was a marine, and still more that he had not to go aloft. on board ship he could do his duty admirably, but on shore his figure was decidedly against him. he was very stout. it was lucky for me that he was so, for i could always find him when i wanted him. at first, i thought that i could run away from him, if desirable; but in that respect i was mistaken, for he could send after me, and have me back pretty quickly. all being arranged, the sergeant undertook to speak to the first-lieutenant; and he had me and my father up, and asking him a few questions, told him to fill up different papers, which he did forthwith, and i was regularly entered as a boy on board the _roarer_. chapter three. life on the roarer. i went back with my father, and the remainder of the day was spent by my stepmother in getting my outfit ready. it was an unusually good one, in consequence of the brigadier's gift. "i don't expect to hear much more about that," observed my father. "there is a good deal of talk about those sort of people; though, to be sure, the old man and the young one have some feeling; still i don't see what good they could do you, jack, even if they wished it. i should not wish you put above your station; though, to be sure, your poor dear mother was a lady herself, that she was, every inch of her, and too good for me. however, jack, there's one thing i have got to counsel you: do your duty, tell the truth, and never mind the sneers or laughter of those who try to lead you astray. there is one in heaven who will hear your prayers, and don't you go and forget to tell him your wants, and ask him to do what is best for you. and now, my boy, you have my blessing; and i am sure, that good mother of yours--she who's gone i mean--will be looking down from wherever she is, and watching over you, and praying for you, if so be she has the power; but of that matter, i must own, i have no certain knowledge, only i do think it's the work she would like to be employed in, anyhow." the next morning i took an affectionate farewell of my brothers and sisters, and very far from an affectionate one of the children of my poor stepmother. she herself, however, wept bitterly, as i went out of the house; my father, and a marine he had got from the barracks, carrying my chest. it was not a very big one, as may be supposed. we had got some distance from the house, when who should i see, scampering after us, and well out of breath, than the young master richard. "oh, jack!" he exclaimed, "where are you going? i wanted to come yesterday, but could not, because my mother took me to see the port-admiral, and all sorts of other naval authorities. i wanted, as i told you, to go to sea, and she seems to think it's a very good place for me to go to. she says that as i have been so nearly drowned once, i am not likely to be drowned again; that it's much less expensive than being in the dragoons, and, in fact, she made up her mind that to sea i was to go. somehow or other she and the naval big-wigs have settled it, and i am to go on board the old _roarer_, which is to sail, in a short time, for the east indies." "that's the very ship i have joined," i answered. "is it? how jolly! but are you to be a midshipman?" "no," i answered, "i am only rated as a boy on board." "oh! i suppose there is no great difference. i do not know much about a ship, or the ways of a ship. i am to have a fine new uniform, and a dirk, and a chest full of no end of things. well, we shall know more about it by-and-by; but i was forgetting what i came for. i wanted you to come up to the house. my father wants to talk to you, and my sisters want to see you; to make much of you, i fancy, but that might be a bore. but, i say, let those two soldiers take your chest aboard, and present your compliments to the captain, and say you will come by-and-by." my father and his companion, on hearing this, burst out laughing. "i have a notion, young master," said my father, "that that would not do for jack. much obliged to you all the same; but you are likely to be in one station, and he in another, so i am afraid the kindness you intend him will not do him any good. i promised to take him on board the _roarer_ this morning, and i shall have to go on duty again very soon; so once more i have to thank you, and wish you good morning!" master plumb seemed rather astonished at this answer. "rather a proud chap that soldier," he said to me. "i should have taken him for an officer, if he had not been carrying the box. who is it?" "my father," i answered. "oh, that's it," he observed. "well, jack, i wish you could come, but if you cannot, i must take your excuses; though i am sure the captain would not be angry, if you sent him a polite message." "my father knows better than i do," i answered; "and i have not seen the captain, so i must go. i am very sorry, for i should like to have come with you." master richard wrung my hand very warmly, and most unwillingly went back towards his home. how sergeant turbot did laugh when we got on board, and my father told him what had happened. he advised me not to give master richard's message. my father, having left me under charge of the sergeant, took his departure. he came on board, however, several times in old dick's wherry. "i don't ask you to come home, my boy," he said, "for i have not got the heart to go through that parting business again. besides, jack, the home is not as comfortable as it should be. perhaps, however, when you come back, four or five years hence, things will have mended. and you will not forget your father, jack, and i'm sure you won't her that's gone." these remarks were made the last time i saw my worthy father before the ship went out of harbour. i, in time, got accustomed to the ways of a ship, or, rather, to the ways of the men. it was rather curious, at first, to see a number of big fellows standing round a tub or basin, all washing themselves in the same water; one toothbrush, if they were particular enough to have such a thing, and one comb, serving for the whole party. only a few, however, of the cleanest men used the former article. still, things were somewhat trying to a young chap. when the ship appeared to have got a little quiet, suddenly, as i was seated near sergeant turbot, i heard a sharp whistle and a ferocious growl, which made me jump off the bench. "all hands on deck?" or some such cry, were the words which followed the whistle. "who is that growling out?" i asked of the sergeant. "that is one of our licensed growlers," was the answer. "it's his business to growl; he is paid for it. seamen are fond enough of growling generally, but they get nothing when they do, though they growl till they are hoarse." now, as i said, i had been aboard all sorts of ships in ordinary, or in the dockyard, but never before on board one fitting-out. when, therefore, i stepped on deck after the men, i was perfectly confounded; and the scene of confusion around me--such piping, and swearing, and bawling, and shouting, swaying up yards, getting in guns and stores, and pulling and hauling in all directions. still, i made the best of it; and, having my eyes about me, kept out of harm's way, and stood ready to try and do anything i was told to do. this went on till the men knocked off work again, and the hubbub was concentrated on the main and lower decks, especially round the galley-fire, where the cooks were busy serving out dinners to the different messes. "it smells fine, at all events," i thought to myself, and would have made me hungry, if i had not been so already. then a marine struck a bell four times double, which made eight bells, and the officer of the watch roared out, "pipe to dinner!" didn't the whistle of the boatswain and his men sound shrilly then! the dishes being arranged on the mess-tables, which were placed in rows along the decks, all hands fell to with a will; and i, among the number, ate my first dinner aboard ship. in about an hour there was another pipe, and the word "grog!" was bawled out. each man went to receive his quantum of rum and water. the sergeant said that rum was a bad thing for little boys, and drank mine for me. i now think that he was right. i had as yet seen nothing of master plumb, and i began to think that he was not coming after all. this did not concern me, i own, very much; for, as he would be at one end of the ship and i at the other, we should not exchange words very often, and i knew pretty well, from what i had already seen, that he would soon get into the ways of his messmates, and look down upon me, and swear and abuse me, as some of the other young gentlemen were apt to do. at last all stores were on board, the sails were bent, and, casting off from the old hulk, we hauled out into the stream. the _roarer_ certainly looked to greater advantage than she had hitherto done. the next day decks were cleared, the men put on clean shirts and trousers, the officers appeared in full fig, and the long-expected captain came up the side. "butter won't melt in his mouth," i heard one of the seamen near me observe. "you think so?" remarked ned rawlings. "now do you just get near, and have a look at his eye, and you will sing a different song. it's not always the rough-and-ready looking chaps, like you and i, tom, as are the best men for work!" our captain certainly did look more fit for a ball-room, or a naval officer in love on the stage, than for the deck of a man-of-war. he was the most polished article about his whole ship. his whiskers were curled; his cheeks were pink; the gold lace on his coat shone with undimmed lustre, not a particle of dust rested on the fine cloth of which it was made, while it fitted with perfection to his well-formed figure. kid gloves covered his hands, and a fine cambric handkerchief appeared from his breast-pocket. he bowed to the flag, and he bowed to the officers, as he cast a scrutinising glance round the deck. some of the older officers pulled rather long faces when they saw him. in a short time, he ordered all hands to come aft, and then, in a clear, somewhat soft voice, made a long speech. the sum total of it was, that he was determined to have a crack ship, and a crack crew, and that he did not like to use the lash, but that he did not always do what he liked; still, that he always would have done what he wanted done. the men could not quite make him out, nor could i; but i came to the conclusion, that he was not just the sort of man to whom i should like to carry such a message as master plumb had requested me to give. next day we went out to spithead. no signs of my friend. i told sergeant turbot that i thought master richard plumb would not come after all. "perhaps not," he answered; "mrs. brigadier does not like to part from him, or maybe they are washing and combing him, and making him fit to come aboard, which i suppose occupied the time of a certain person who should be nameless, and prevented him joining us till yesterday. maybe, young master has thought better of the matter, and would rather go for a parson, or one of those chaps as goes to foreign courts to bamboozle the people." i, at all events, made up my mind that i should see no more of master richard. however, scarcely had i come to this conclusion, than a large wherry came alongside, and a card was sent up for the captain. "certainly," he answered. the boatswain's mate whistled; the side boys were called away, i being one of them, and we hastened to our posts on the accommodation-ladder. there, in a boat, sat mrs. brigadier, with the brigadier on one side and master richard on the other, and the two young ladies i had before seen. mrs. brigadier, putting her hand on the shoulder of one of the men who was holding on the bow stepped up the accommodation-ladder with a dignified air, followed humbly by the brigadier. then came the young ladies. young master followed his sisters in a spick-and-span new uniform, looking especially well pleased at himself. as he came up he espied me. that there was no pride in him, he showed by an inclination to shake hands with me. but against this there were two reasons: first, i should have fallen from my perch, and then it would have been decidedly against nautical etiquette. "why, jack, shall i have to do this sort of work?" he asked, as he passed me. "i think not, sir," i answered, for i had learned to say "sir" to a uniform. "i am a side boy, you are a midshipman." "oh, ay, that makes a difference," he observed, following up his sisters; and i do believe he gave the last a pinch in the ankles, as he pretended to keep down her petticoats, for she kicked out behind, missing his nose, though, narrowly. the whole party were soon on deck, where the captain stood to receive them, bowing with formal politeness to mrs. brigadier and to the brigadier, as well as to the young ladies. he cast a very different sort of glance at young master, who came up, no way disconcerted, by the side of his father. "we were anxious to see the last of our boy," said mrs. brigadier, for the brigadier seldom spoke much in her presence. "we wished also properly to introduce him to you and to his brother officers. he is not our only son, but he is our youngest son, and as such we naturally prize him greatly. these are our two girls--leonora and euphemia. they are not likely to leave us, unless at any time they should be destined to make the home of some worthy man happy; but boys, captain sharpe, must go out into the world, and richard alfred chesterton does not find himself an exception to the general rule. he desired to enter your noble profession, and i am sure, captain sharpe, that you will watch over him with paternal care; i trust by-and-by because you appreciate his merits, but at present, as he is unknown to you, for my sake--for the sake of a fond, doting mother." "i always do look after my midshipmen, madam," answered the captain; "i wish them to learn their duty, and i make them do it. if your son behaves himself, he will get on as well as the rest; but if not, he will probably find himself spending a considerable portion of his time up aloft there," and the captain glanced at the mast-head. i saw young master screw up his mouth at this. however, mrs. brigadier said nothing. she had unburdened her maternal bosom, and done her duty, as she considered it. the captain now invited the brigadier and his family down to luncheon, and master richard followed, his air of confidence somewhat abated. he had taken the captain's measure, and the captain had taken his, but they were not likely to get on the worse for that. i saw many glances of admiration cast at the young ladies by the lieutenants and midshipmen, for really they were very pretty, nice girls, according to my notion-- not a bit like their mamma. at last the party came out of the cabin again, and the side boys were once more called away. the old brigadier took a hearty affectionate farewell of his boy, and his sisters kissed him--all very right and proper--and then came mrs. brigadier. i saw that poor master richard was rather uncomfortable, when, quite regardless of where they were, she took him up in her long arms, and kissed his cheeks, and his forehead, and his lips, just as if he had been a baby, and a big tear did start into her eye. "well, she is human, at all events," i thought, "in spite of her appearance." though some of the midshipmen might have laughed, the captain looked as grave as a judge, and so did the other officers. master richard went down the ladder, and saw his party off: then he again came up the side, and walked about the deck by himself, evidently not knowing exactly what to do. at last, the first-lieutenant, mr. blunt, went up to him. "have you ever been to sea before, mr. plumb?" he asked. "no, indeed, i have not," was the answer, "and i am rather doubtful--" "well, well," broke in mr. blunt, "remember, i speak to you as a friend. you should say, `sir!' when you address a superior officer." "certainly," answered master dicky, "but i did not know you were my superior officer." the lieutenant laughed. "you will have a good deal to learn, i suspect, mr. plumb. remember, i am the first-lieutenant of the ship, and you must obey with promptitude any orders which i, or any of the other lieutenants give, or the master, or the warrant-officers, or, indeed, any officers on duty, may issue. you have a great many people above you on board this ship, mr. plumb." "so it seems, sir," said richard, "but if they all try to teach me my duty, so much the better; i shall learn the faster." "you will," said mr. blunt, "only there is one thing you must never pretend to be, and that is--stupid. the captain believes you to be one of the sharpest lads who ever came to sea; and, let me tell you, he is not the man to allow anybody to gainsay his opinion." chapter four. first experiences of sailing. we ran down channel at a rattling rate, the wind off shore, the sea smooth, the sun shining brightly. young master richard soon got the name from his messmates of dicky plumb--a name which, of course, stuck to him. in spite of his airs of dignity, he soon showed that he was a plucky little fellow; and he was at once for going aloft with the other midshipmen and boys. the first time, he ran up the main rigging pretty smartly, till he got to the futtock-shrouds; go higher he could not, and go through the lubber's hole he would not. he kept looking up, till at length he determined to go round by the futtock-shrouds into the top. he clambered along; i was aft, cleaning some brass-work, and could not help looking up, and watching him. round into the top he could not get. more than once i thought he would lose his hold. the captain, who came on deck, thought so too. he made as if he would go aloft himself, when ned rawlings caught his eye. "go and look after the boy," he said. ned sprang aloft, and in a twinkling had his arms round dicky's waist. "don't struggle," he said, "and i'll have you down safe." in a few seconds, dicky was all right on the deck. he was not contented, however; aloft he would go again, immediately. "i will try once more, sir," he said, turning to the captain--for he had learned to say "sir," by this time, to everybody--and after three or four attempts--ned rawlings taking care to be in the top beforehand-- round the shrouds he got, and safe into the top. he was not going to stop there, though; and up the top-mast rigging he went, and down again on the other side. "if that boy does not break his neck, he will do well in the service," i heard the captain observe. "the little fellow has got pluck and coolness." "they say in the berth, sir, that he is a most impudent little chap," observed mr. blunt. "very likely," remarked the captain; "it takes some time to rub that sort of material out of a boy." dicky often came forward to have a talk with me, and though he could be uppish enough with his equals and superiors, he was as kind and gentle to me as any one could be. "i am very glad i came to sea, jack," he observed. "i am learning more about my work every day; and then the weather is so different to what i thought it was at sea. i always fancied we were tumbling and tossing about, except when the ship was in harbour; but here we have been gliding on for the last fortnight with the water as smooth as a mill-pond." i, in reply, said i was glad i came; but from what i heard, we must expect ups and downs at sea--sometimes smooth, and sometimes blowing hard. "it is all the same to me," i observed. "when i came to sea, i made up my mind to take the rough and the smooth together." "jack, were you ever sea-sick?" asked dicky. "not that i remember. were you?" "no; and i don't intend to be," he answered, drawing himself up somewhat proudly. "i am not going to be made the sport of my inside." "more likely of your messmates," i answered. we soon found, however, that this easy sort of life was not going to last for ever. one night we had to tumble out of our hammocks, in the middle watch, pretty fast, at the cry of--"all hands shorten sail!" the men were out of bed in a twinkling. it was wonderful how soon they slipped into their clothes. the sea was roaring, the wind howling and whistling, and the officers shouting--"clew up! haul down! close reef topsails!" and similar cries. i was very glad not to have to go aloft just then, right up into the darkness, amid the slashing of ropes, and the flapping of sails, and the fierce whistling of the blast as it rushed through the rigging. so, i have an idea, was dicky plumb, though he had been boasting so boldly the previous afternoon. i remember being ordered aft with other boys, to man the mizen-topsail clew-line, which we did, and pulled, and hauled away, till we were ordered to belay. this is the only piece of service i recollect rendering to my country that night. when the ship was got under snug sail, the crew were piped down; and i, with the watch below, turned in. i was, however, by this time, feeling rather curious. i had hitherto been very well, and remarkably jolly; and was sure i was going to make a first-rate sailor. the ship, however, began to roll, and went on rolling more and more. not only i, but most of the other boys, and many of the men, too, were looking very queer. i had a friend i have not mentioned before--tommy punchon by name--a fine little chap. he had never seen a ship before he came on board the _roarer_; but he had read of ships, and foreign lands, and that made him come to sea, he told me. now he had heard there was such a thing as sea-sickness, but he was not going to knock under to it--not he. i met tommy coming along the lower deck (i am speaking now of the next morning), looking very green and yellow; indeed, all sorts of colours; perhaps i looked the same, i rather think i did. i asked him how he felt. "very jolly, eh?" "oh, don't! don't!" he answered, with the corners of his mouth curling down. "it's an awful reality; i must confess it." just then, i caught sight of dicky plumb, who had been sent along the deck on some duty, which he had evidently a difficulty in performing. i doubt if his mother would have owned him, so crest-fallen he looked. i dared not speak to him. he, indeed, cast an imploring look at me, as much as to say, "don't!" on he went, trying to reach the midshipmen's berth, but overcome by his feelings--miserable i know they were, from experience-- he stopped, and if sergeant turbot had not caught him in his arms, he would have sunk down on the deck. the sergeant, however, helped him along, till he got him stowed safely away in the berth, where there were probably several other young gentlemen in a like prostrate condition. meantime, i grew worse and worse. tommy and i were soon joined by other boys--a most miserable crew--and we all together went and stowed ourselves away in the fore part of the ship, thinking that no one would be troubled about such wretched creatures as we were. my grand idea was a hope that some one would come and throw me overboard. we lay thus for some time unnoticed, and began to hope that we should not be discovered. still, i must say, i did not care what happened to us. i asked tommy how he felt. "oh, jack! jack?" he groaned out, "do take me by the head and heels, and heave me overboard, there's a good fellow!" "that's just what i was going to ask you to do for me," i answered, in the same dolorous tone, though i have an idea, that if any one had actually taken us at our word, the cold water would soon have restored us to health, and we should have wished ourselves on board again. suddenly, we were all aroused by a gruff voice sounding in our ears, and, looking up, who should we see, but that hard-hearted individual, bryan knowles, the ship's corporal, standing over us, cane in hand. "what are all you boys idling here for?" he growled out. "rouse up, every one of you; rouse up, you young villains, and go to your duty?" poor little wretches that we were; as if we could possibly do anything but just crawl from one place to another, and lie down, wishing to die. but it was not only the boys who were ill, but great hulking fellows, some seamen, but mostly marines; fully fifty of them, lying and rolling about the decks like logs of wood. i need not further describe the scene, or enter into too minute particulars. at length, old futtock, the boatswain--a friend of sergeant turbot's-- gave me leave to go and lie down in his cabin till i should get better. the very feeling that i had some one to care for me did me good. in most ships there is a dirty jem; we had one, a miserable fellow, with a skin which no amount of washing could cleanse. now it happened that a party of tall marines had stolen down the fore cock-pit, and having found their way into the cable tier, had snugly stowed themselves on some spare sails and hawsers. there they lay, groaning and moaning, and making other noises significant of what was going on, when mr. maconochie, a big, burly scotchman, mate of the orlop deck, coming forward, heard them, and very soon began to peer about with his large goggle eyes into the recesses of the tier. i dreaded the consequences, as, slipping out of the cabin where i had been, i looked out to see what he was about. "what are you sodgers doing there?" he roared out, in a furious passion at seeing what they had been about. one of them, with a wicked leer, at once pointed to dirty jem, who lay fast asleep not far off. now, whether mr. maconochie thought he could not punish the marines, and was glad to get hold of some other individual on whom to vent his rage, i do not know; but, be that as it may, he roused up the poor boy, and having boxed his ears, ordered him to take one of the steerage, that is, a midshipman's hammock--which had been left by the marine who ought to have lashed it up--and to carry it up and stow it in the poop nettings. poor jem poked his fingers into one of the turns, and began to drag the big hammock along, but so weak was he that he could scarcely move. i do not think he could ever have got up, even to the lower deck. fortunately for dirty jem, mr. blunt, who would allow no one but himself to bully, and that he never did, happened to come down, and inquiring why he was dragging the hammock, ordered him to put it down, and hauled mr. maconochie pretty severely over the coals for his barbarity. the marines had meantime sneaked off, and thus escaped the mate's rage. i had got nearly well by this time, and thought, as the ship was still tumbling about, that i was going to enjoy myself. the captain, however, having ascertained that we had got our sea legs and sea stomachs into order, ordered the ship's corporal to turn us out of our hammocks at four o'clock next morning to muster at the lee gangway. we there had to answer to our number, and then came the pipe-- "watch and idlers, holystone decks?" we were sent on to the poop, and were employed for some time amidst the slashing and dashing of water, working away on our bare knees on the sanded decks, grinding them with the holystones. then we had to scrub with hard brushes, while the captain of the mizen-top kept dashing buckets full of water round us, often sending one right into our faces. there were generally one or two of the midshipmen there, who had to paddle about, with their trousers tucked up and their feet and legs bare; however, as the first-lieutenant set them the example, they had no cause to complain. for a whole day i had seen nothing of dicky plumb. at length, one morning, who should appear on deck but the young gentleman himself. he looked doubtingly at first at what was going forward, then off he slipped his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers, and began like the others running here and there, seeing that all hands worked away with a will. we had to muster for numerous purposes--to see that we were clean, and that our hammocks were lashed up properly. the latter was severe work; for, the hammocks being heavy and we little, when the ship was rolling it was as much as we could do, and sometimes more than we could do, to hold on to them, and keep ourselves from rolling away across the deck. poor jem (dirty jem, i mean) was often in trouble. the lieutenant made us tuck up our shirt-sleeves and trousers, and then lift our arms and legs to see that they were properly washed. dirty jem had really got his arms clean up to his elbows, and legs up to the knees. "turn up your shirt-sleeves higher, boy, and your trousers too," said the lieutenant. a dark rim of dirt was seen at each place. "corporal, give this boy twelve finnams!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "please, sir, i didn't know that we were to muster there," spluttered out dirty jem. the excuse, however, did not save him. he got the finnams, and had to clean himself into the bargain. to the latter operation he objected even more than the first, and seemed to think it a very hard case of cruelty. however, i shall have no space for our adventures in the far east, if i go spinning my yarn in this style. we touched at madeira, the chief object, i fancy, being to procure a cask or two of wine for the captain and the admiral on the station. hearing one day that we were nearing the line, i, with tommy punchon and several other boys, were very anxious to know what that could mean. i promised to ask sergeant turbot. i did so. he looked very wise, and replied--"why, you understand, jack, that the line is what you don't see, but it's there, and runs right round the world, from east to west, or west to east, it's all the same. and then it's very hot there, because the sun is right overhead, and for the same cause it's always summer, and the days are neither very long nor very short, and there are mostly calms. for this reason, and because he could not pick out a more comfortable part of the whole watery-world, the king of the ocean, daddy neptune, as we call him, once on a time used to live there. he does not now, that i know of, because i have heard say that all the heathen gods and goddesses have given up living at all on the earth; though, to be sure, i don't say but what he and they may visit it now and then. now, jack, you understand all about the matter, or as much as i, a sergeant of the royal marines, do, and that surely must be quite enough for a second-class boy on board ship." full of the lucid information i had received, i returned to my messmates, who told me that, in spite of what the sergeant had said, they heard, positively, that neptune and all his court were coming on board, either the next day or the following. sure enough, daddy did come on board, in right fashion, when the opportunity was taken of giving dirty jem a thorough washing, and punishing three or four other individuals in a rather unpleasant way, by cramming their mouths full of grease and pitch, under the pretence of lathering them, before being shaved by neptune's barber. i should say, that a lower studding-sail had been fastened up, in the form of a long bag, in the main deck, on the starboard side, and filled with water. the skid gratings had been taken off, so that, looking down from the starboard gangway, nothing but water was to be seen. neptune and his wife made their appearance from forward, sitting on what they said was their chariot, but which looked like a gun-carriage. they had two infants, who put me wonderfully in mind of two small boys in our mess, while his wife had very much the appearance of ned rawlings; and i thought, too, i recognised the features of his secretary, his coachman, and barber. they were followed by a number of courtiers, and twenty-four bears, and as many constables. the chief business of the latter was to catch the fellows who were to be shaved and ducked. we boys were tossed about from side to side of the tank by the bears, they crying out, "he's none of my child!" and very fortunate we thought ourselves when we got out again. the side being smooth and steep as an earthen pan, we were very much like rats caught in one. besides dirty jem, the smaller, we had a big, hulking fellow--michael clack, by name. he was a dirty, lazy, lubberly fellow, disliked and despised by all the ship's company. he had, from the first, i doubt not, a pretty good notion that he would receive no very delicate treatment from neptune's ministers, so he went and hid himself away, thinking that he might, perhaps, escape notice. he had been marked, however, from the first. "michael clack! michael clack!" was soon called out by the secretary, and "michael clack! michael clack!" resounded along the decks. the constables searched for him everywhere, along each deck, behind every chest, and each store-room, and in each corner into which he could possibly have crept. at last, it was believed that he must have gone overboard. still, as he had been seen by more than one of the boys scudding along the decks faster than he had ever been known to move before, the fact that he had gone overboard was doubted by a great many. at length, the constables instituted another search along the orlop deck, and in the cable tier. a shout proclaimed that clack was found. he was stowed away in the coil of a cable, and a piece of canvas drawn neatly over him. he was dragged up, and placed on the plank before neptune. "you are a big, lazy, idle, mischievous, do-nothing rascal," began his majesty. "you deserve no good from any one, and you will get it, too, my hearty! give him number ." that was the roughest razor in use. "plenty of lather! lay it on thick!" neptune's ministers of justice did not require a second bidding. the moment the unhappy clack opened his mouth to plead his cause, the tar-brush was run almost down his throat. his face was next covered with it, and scraped with a jagged razor, till the blood ran out in all directions. in this state he was tossed into the tank, and bandied about among the bears, every one of whom owed him a grudge, till some one cried out that he was done for. he had fainted, or, like the australian dingo, had pretended to faint, and looked, indeed, as if he were dead. the captain, seeing what had happened, was very angry, and ordering him to be taken to the doctor, forbade the sports to be continued. neptune and his secretary begged pardon as well as they could for what had happened, and he and his followers waddled forward, and disappeared over the bows. we heard that evening that michael clack was very ill, and there was a general idea that he was going to die. what the doctor thought about the matter i do not know. clack hated work, but he disliked nasty physic still more. this the doctor knew; and by giving him all the most nauseous draughts he could think of he soon got him out of the sick list. clack, though out of the sick list, was very soon in the black list; and being shortly afterwards detected in helping himself to the contents of another man's bag, he was adjudged by the captain to be placed in irons, to be kept in solitary confinement, and otherwise punished. chapter five. across the ocean. falling in at length with the north-east trade-winds, we stood towards the coast of south america, and entered rio de janeiro harbour, which was but very little, if anything, out of our course for the cape of good hope. this will be seen by a glance at a map of the world, and ships, therefore, frequently touch there on their way to the regions beyond the cape of good hope. it is a magnificent bit of water, surrounded by curiously-shaped mountains and peaks, with a big city on its shores, full of large streets and no end of churches. sergeant turbot took tommy punchon and me with him, to keep us out of mischief, though we would rather have gone alone to try and get into it. i was astonished at the quantity of black slaves, grunting and groaning away under their heavy loads. still, they were ever ready for a joke, and the niggers we met with loads were merry laughing fellows, who went along singing and joking, as if no such thing as slavery existed. i might fill my journal with an account of the numberless curious things i saw on shore, but if i did i should have no space for my own adventures; so i will leave to others to give a description of rio, and go on with my sea log. that night, when we got on board again, sergeant turbot and the boatswain were walking the forecastle, and punchon and i were standing not far off, when a splash was heard, and the sentry shouted out, "a man overboard!" he immediately fired, but did not hit the man, whose head i could see as i looked out from one of the ports as he struck out boldly for the land; there were plenty of sharks about, so that there was not much chance of his reaching it, even if he was allowed to go. the sentry's shot was, however, followed by the officer of the watch calling away the second cutter. she was lowered and manned pretty quickly, and i watched her eagerly as she made chase after the fugitive. he was soon brought back, and proved to be no other than michael clack, who, taking advantage of the short interval when a prisoner is relieved from his manacles in the evening, had contrived to slip overboard. no one had supposed that he was a good swimmer, yet, to reach the shore, he must have been a first-rate one. perhaps some friend had told him that an american vessel lay inside of us, and he hoped to reach her, when he would have been taken on board and concealed. he would, however, have been a somewhat dear bargain, if they had got him. we were soon again at sea, steering across the atlantic for the cape of good hope. i need scarcely say that soon after we got out of harbour michael clack got four dozen for his attempt at desertion. i am not going to describe the ceremony; it is a very unpleasant one for all hands concerned. still, i must own, master michael got what he deserved. "you have heard of good service stripes, may-be, jack?" said the sergeant to me. "those are what we call bad service stripes; and mind you, boy, never do anything to deserve them." i asked sergeant turbot if he could tell me anything of these trade-winds, which had been blowing so strong in our favour for so many days. "that's just what i have been talking to futtock about," he answered. "he and i make it out, that they always do blow in some parts from the north-east, and, further south, from the south-east. why they blow thus, is more than i can tell you; but i've heard say, that they have got the name of trade-winds, because they help on traders in a voyage through the atlantic." i was not quite satisfied with this answer, and determined to try and find out more of the matter by-and-by. the weather had been threatening for some hours, and towards evening the hands were turned up to reef topsails. three reefs were at once taken in, and not a moment too soon. down came the gale upon us. the big ship heeled over till the lower-deck ports were under water. the rolling seas tossed round her, and roared, as if eager to swallow her up. the wind whistled, the thunder growled, every now and then breaking overhead with tremendous rattles and crashes, and a pitchy darkness came down over the ocean, the occasional flashes of lightning only rendering the darkness still more dark. before long we had our fore-topsail close reefed, three reefs in the main-top-sail, and mizen-topsail furled, and we were running dead before the gale, at not less than fifteen knots an hour. mr. futtock said that we were going twenty; and, of course, i believed him; but i do not now, because i never found the fastest ship go so fast, and the old _roarer_ was, as the men said, a good one to fight, but not to go. in spite of the remarks i made of our captain, many of the men still held to the notion that there was more talk than do in him. "just a lady's man--very fine to look at, with his cambric handkerchiefs and scent bottles, but you never get much out of such chaps." officers little think how much they are discussed by the men. the second-lieutenant was thought still less of, and not without reason. he was fond of spouting poetry, and doing the polite to young ladies, whenever any came off to see the ship; but as to seamanship, he knew little about it. he often got the ship into a mess, but had no idea of getting her out of it again. now, it happened to be his first watch; it had just struck eight bells. the starboard watch had been called, and a few minutes afterwards the other watch was mustered. during this time the rounds went to see all cleared up and safe below. the watch relieved was just turning in. some already had their clothes off, when suddenly a fearful crashing sound was heard. no one knew what had happened, only that there was a feeling that the ship was in some awful danger. not a word was heard from the officer of the watch. if we were in peril he was not going to take us out of it--so it seemed. neither punchon nor i had taken off our clothes, so we scrambled on deck to see what was the matter. a seaman will understand our position, when i say that the ship was taken right aback, and driving, stern first, at the rate of some twelve knots an hour, with the sea breaking over her poop, two-thirds of which were already under water. no one spoke; not an order was given. suddenly, a loud voice was heard, shouting, "on deck, lads, for your lives?" and directly afterwards ned rawlings piped, "all hands save ship!" the crew were on deck almost before the sound of the pipe had died away; and again the same voice--we now knew it to be that of the captain--shouted, "man the starboard fore-brace!" officers, marines, any one who was near, grasped the rope, and hauled away on it with a will. the head yards were very soon braced right up, and the head sails took and filled at the very moment that the poop was nearly under water, and it seemed as if the ship was going bodily down. the main and cross-jack yards were soon braced round, and in less than a quarter of an hour from the time the wind had shifted we were braced sharp up on the starboard tack, and going seven knots through the water. "we have had a merciful deliverance," i heard old futtock remark to the gunner a short time afterwards. "it's not often that a ship gets into the position we were in and gets out of it. in another minute the sea would have been rushing right over the poop down on our quarter-deck, and it would have been all over with us. if mr. muddlehead had had his wits about him, he would have braced the yards up the moment we were taken aback. a pretty go it would have been, if we had not been under snug sail. why, we should have gone right down, stern foremost, and never have come up again. that's been the fate of many a ship out in these parts, which has never since been heard of." "a fine fellow, our skipper," i heard mr. plumb observe to a messmate. "i really did think at first that the brigadier and my mother would have had to bewail my loss. i am deeply indebted to him." a loud laugh followed the young gentleman's remark. "ha! ha! ha! dicky, remember that all people are not taken at their own value," exclaimed an old mate, who was fond of putting mr. plumb down now and then. after this night our captain was more than ever respected by the crew, because he was now known to be a thorough seaman--a doer as well as a talker--and in consequence he maintained discipline on board without flogging and without difficulty. we touched at the cape, where dicky plumb really did go on shore and dine with the governor, who happened to be a friend of his father's, and he took good care afterwards to talk not a little about his visit to his messmates, and the way he was treated by the governor. i was at this time appointed to wait on the midshipmen, the boy i superseded being the unfortunate jem smudge. "i don't like having you to wait on us," observed mr. midshipman plumb to me, one day soon after this. "i am afraid the fellows will be abusing you, and i could not stand that; but you must not mind it, if they do; and if you will bear abuse for a little time, i will manage to make all square in the end." "do not trouble yourself about that, master richard," i answered. "depend upon it, i don't care what the young gentlemen say to me. i intend to do my duty to them, and sergeant turbot says it will be all the better for me. so, whatever they say, let it pass. don't say anything for or against me." "as to that, jack, you must let me take my own course," answered mr. plumb. i found that dicky plumb got considerably laughed at by his companions for what they called his uppishness, and his boasting of his various friends and relations of rank. still, nothing would ever put him down. "it is no fault of mine if my father happens to have a duke for a cousin, or a governor-general of india for a brother-in-law, or if he is intimate with the prime minister, or if the queen herself holds him in high estimation; so i do not see why you chaps should laugh at me." "but, i say, master dicky," exclaimed an old mate, sampson trueman by name, "is it a fact that your father has a cousin a duke, and is brother-in-law to the governor-general?" "i ask you, mr. trueman, whether it is becoming of you--a master's mate in the british navy, and soon, i hope, should the lords commissioners of the admiralty be made aware of your superlative merits, to become a lieutenant--to call in question the word of another officer, notwithstanding that he may not be of your own exalted rank," exclaimed dicky, in his usual pompous manner. "i must decline answering those questions." there was a general laugh, in which mr. trueman joined; and though, probably, the older members of the mess suspected that the gentleman had been romancing, others were still under the impression that he really possessed the exalted connections of whom he boasted. helped along by a fine steady breeze we made good progress, and at length reached the entrance to the river hoogley. dicky got leave to accompany the captain up to calcutta. whether or not he was received as a relative by the governor-general no one in his own mess could ascertain. he dined, however, at government house, but that might have been in consequence of some introduction sent out by mrs. brigadier. she was, at all events, a person to take care that her son should not be overlooked. we did not remain there long before we received orders to make the best of our way on to china, where an expedition was engaged in teaching the celestials to pay due respect to the outside barbarians, as they call the nations of europe. chapter six. we reach the flowery land. on a fine afternoon we found ourselves sailing into a beautiful bay, with high mountains rising up on either side. we soon dropped anchor off a town, which we found was the new english city of victoria, in the island of hong kong, close to the mainland of china. a large number of other vessels were already at anchor, men-of-war, merchantmen, transports, and store-ships. the transports had on board a body of british troops destined, as sergeant turbot informed me, to teach the chinese manners. before long, several of the officers and men from other ships of the squadron came aboard us, and soon told us what had been done, making us, of course, very eager to be engaged in similar exploits. boxes, slippers, daggers, knives, and all sorts of articles were exhibited as trophies. the most highly prized were the chinamen's pigtails, which our men had cut off, they declared, when the enemy ran away. we had a busy time of it at hong kong. it was understood that there would probably be a good deal more fighting with the chinese. the marines, of course, expected to be employed on shore. i could not help feeling, however, somewhat anxious for my friend, sergeant turbot; for in that climate to have to make a long march, or to storm a fort at the top of a hill, would, i thought, too likely prove fatal to him. "we shall have some work, jack, before long," he observed to me; "and i have no doubt our corps will uphold its credit. these chinese are curious fellows to fight with, i hear; for, though they are easily beaten, they don't seem to find it out; they stop and fight till they are killed. i rather think, however, jack, that you will be disappointed, as our ship is not likely to have much work to do herself, except, perhaps, attacking forts at the mouths of the rivers, or a big town or two near the sea. however, you will hear of it from those who are sent away in the boats, and i dare say we marines shall have something to talk about when we get back." a day or two after this, however, mr. plumb stopped me outside the berth. "jack," he said, "i have been appointed to a schooner--the _fawn_--which is to be fitted out as a tender to the ship. mr. ormsby, the third lieutenant, is to command her, and i have made up my mind to get you as one of her crew. two or three boys are certain to be sent in her." i thanked master dicky for his kind intentions. "if i am ordered to go, i must," i observed, "but i would rather ask sergeant turbot what he thinks about the matter, if i am to have my choice." i told the sergeant. "i don't want to lose sight of you, boy; but, of course, you will see more of what is going forward if you go aboard the schooner, and you will get more seamanship, too, than you will in this big ship." i told mr. plumb, the next time i saw him, what the sergeant said. "of course, i knew he would," he answered, "and i will see about it, jack." whether master dicky had anything to do in the matter or not, i do not know; but i and tommy punchon were two of the boys selected to go on board the schooner. the whole squadron soon after sailed, and proceeded to the mouth of the canton river, where they astonished the celestials by blowing their forts to pieces. the larger ships remained at the mouth of the river, while the smaller vessels, we among them, with a couple of steamers, were sent higher up. the chinese did their best, of course, to bamboozle the diplomatists. however, those gentlemen saw enough to make them advise all the foreign merchants living at canton to leave the place. they heard also that the chinese had laid plans to destroy the english ships, and that a large army was also collecting, to meet our troops, should they land. we, with several other small men-of-war, corvettes, and brigs, lay high up the river. generally speaking, the river is crowded with boats of every possible shape and fashion, moving up and down the stream. a vast number of people live in these boats, and merely go on shore occasionally to buy food, or to sell their fish or ducks, or the articles they may have brought from other places. at this time, however, not a boat was to be seen; they had all gone up the creeks, out of the way of the barbarians. at length the sun set gloomily, the sky was overcast, and the darkness increased, till it was difficult to see far beyond the bowsprit end. our people were all ordered to remain on deck. the guns were loaded, and each man was armed. the boats were cleared, ready to be lowered as they hung at the davits, at a moment's notice. "well, jack, what do you think of it?" said mr. plumb, who came forward where i was standing. "i suppose something or other is going to happen," i answered, "but i don't know what." "why, i will tell you," he said; "the chinese think they are going to catch a weasel asleep, but they are mistaken. they will find that they have only stirred up the british lion with a long pole, and that he will not only roar, but make a spring which will astonish them. i have been anxious to have something to do, and i hope we are going to find it at last." scarcely had he spoken, when the sentry from a vessel ahead of us hailed. he got no answer, it seemed, for he immediately fired. directly he had done so, in the midst of the darkness, as it were, a bright light burst forth, blazing away furiously, and revealing a number of dark objects floating on the water. instantly the drum sounded, beating to quarters. the chinese had commenced their plan for destroying the english ships by fire-rafts. the boats of the squadron were seen immediately, pulling up the river, when, grappling the rafts, they towed them away clear of the ships. some went on shore on one bank, some on the other. some drifted down towards a village, the houses of which they immediately set on fire. dicky plumb had jumped into one of the boats, and i, without orders, followed him. we steered away towards one of the rafts which seemed to be approaching the _fawn_. just as we got hold of it, it burst into flames; but, in spite of the heat, we got it clear of the vessel, and did not leave it till it was close in with the shore. and now, on all sides, were blazing up vast fires, some drifting about the river, others on shore where the rafts had struck; their light exhibiting the panic-stricken chinese who had had charge of them, some trying to escape towards the shore, others swimming down the stream, those who could not swim standing on the deck till driven overboard by the heat; all the time a sharp fire being kept up at them by our marines, who, naturally, under such circumstances, showed them but little mercy. as the first body of fire-rafts had been towed clear, guns opened on us from the shore, the chinese having erected several new batteries for that purpose. now began the roar of artillery, though, in consequence of the darkness, the chinese, not being able to distinguish the vessels, took but bad aim. we also could only find out the whereabouts of their batteries by the light of their guns, and the reflection of the fire from the burning houses on the shore. these showed us numerous tartar officers hurrying about, and endeavouring to rally and encourage their men to fight the guns. we managed, as did other vessels, to escape damage, by alternately veering out cable and shortening it again, so as considerably to alter our position, and thus to deceive the chinese gunners. this sort of work continued till daylight. at length, when the sun rose in an unclouded sky, it exhibited to our sight a scene of havoc and destruction on either side. on the banks were the wrecks of the still burning fire-vessels; the batteries on shore knocked to pieces by our shot; the suburbs of the town, and several of the villages, in flames; while, here and there, a spar knocked away on board the vessels, or some other trifling damage, showed how we had been employed during the night. one of our active little steamers, soon after daylight, was some distance ahead, when a large junk made her appearance from round a point, and began firing away. the steamer very quickly put the junk to flight, when, at a signal made, the boats of the squadron were ordered to proceed after her. in a few minutes, some twenty men-of-war's boats were pulling away, as hard as the crews could lay their backs to the oars. i, as before, jumped into dicky plumb's boat, and she was away before i was discovered. no sooner had we rounded the point i have spoken of, than a whole fleet of war junks and boats of all sorts were found huddled together at no great distance. instantly, we dashed at them. many of the junks had soldiers on board, who, as soon as they saw us coming, did their best to get on shore, shoving off in small boats as fast as they could leap into them. some, in their hurry, fell overboard. a considerable number had thus made their escape by the time we reached the scene of action. some of the junks and boats were pulling away up the river. we, with other boats, made chase. the shot from the ships' launches quickly set many of the junks on fire. as soon as we got up to a junk, we examined her carefully, to ascertain if anybody was on board, before we devoted her to the flames. in a short time, the whole water was covered with burning vessels, one after the other, those having powder on board blowing up with loud explosions. in spite of our humane intentions, there are so many hiding-places on board a chinese junk, that nearly in every one several unfortunate fellows had concealed themselves. as the fires in creased, we saw them rushing up from below, where they would remain until no longer able to bear the heat on deck. some then were seen to jump desperately overboard. most of these swam on shore without much difficulty; but others, who apparently could not swim, remained clinging to the outside of the junk or the rudder. here we saw them holding on till the junk blew up, or the heat compelled them to leave their last refuge. when we could, we took them on board, but there were so many junks burning together that this was not always possible, and consequently a considerable number must have perished. we had got alongside a boat, not knowing what was on board her, when dicky plumb leaped on to her deck. i had followed him, when my eye caught sight of a little fizzing spot of light, just as if the end of a cigar had been thrown down. i saw the fire slowly working its way on. in an instant, it occurred to me that it was a slow match. seizing my friend by the arm, i leaped back into the boat. "hillo, jack! what do you mean by that?" he exclaimed in an indignant tone. "shove off!" i shouted, "and pull away!" the men guessed what it was, and the boat had not got ten yards off, when up went the chinese craft, on board which we had been a moment before, shivered into a thousand fragments. there were a number of similar boats near at hand, some of which caught fire, and blew up at the same moment. happily, we escaped without much hurt. we found fifty of a similar character, which had been prepared for the destruction of the english fleet. it was a curious scene--the chinese craft, of all sizes, sailing, pulling, and paddling away in every direction, the english boats dashing here and there in pursuit. sometimes a chinaman would blow up just as one of our boats got alongside, and then we had to pull off after a different enemy. we had captured a good many junks, when, some way ahead, we saw what looked like a steamer. though there was no steam up, the wheels were paddling away. we managed, however, to get up to her, when overboard jumped a number of people; and, on reaching her deck, we found that, though there were paddles outside, the inside had only wooden machinery, to be worked something like a treadmill by men. she managed, however, to go through the water at the rate of three or four knots an hour. several similar sham steamers were captured, which had been manufactured by the celestials, for the purpose of overawing us barbarians. the fighting for the day, however, was very far from finished. the troops had been landed, as well as the marines and brigades of blue jackets, and were now busily employed in storming the forts surrounding canton. we had gone up a creek which ran near the base of a high hill, on the top of which was a fort. a party of marines and blue jackets had marched round by land, to attack it, and as we approached, we saw them charge up the hill. mr. hanson, the mate, who commanded the boat, was very eager to join in the fray. we had a strong current against us. however, by dint of hard pulling, we managed at length to get up near the base of the hill. the chinese at the top had made a gallant defence, and many of our people had already been killed or wounded, or knocked up by the heat. among others, struggling up the side of the hill, i saw a marine, whom i knew by his red coat; his sword was in his mouth, and with hands and feet he was endeavouring to climb up the steep side of the hill. i guessed by his figure that he must be my friend sergeant turbot. i could almost fancy that i heard him puffing and groaning, as every now and then he looked up, and shouted to his men to lend him a hand. they, however, had dashed on, to get at the enemy; in fact, it seemed a wonder that he should have escaped hitherto with his life from the showers of shot which came sweeping down the hill-side. just then, we saw, coming round the base of the hill, a strong body of tartar troops, evidently intending to take our men in the rear. "now is the time, my lads!" shouted mr. hanson, starting up. it must be understood that we had been completely concealed from the enemy. with loud shouts and cries we all dashed forward together to attack the head of the enemy's column. they, expecting that we were merely a leading body of blue jackets, turned tail, and retreated, with a greater rapidity than they had advanced, we keeping up a hot fire in their rear. i could not bear the thoughts of leaving my old friend in his present predicament, and, therefore, without stopping to ask leave, i scampered off to his assistance, forgetting all about the shower of bullets through which i had to pass. happily, not one hit me, and i was soon by the sergeant's side. "why, jack, you seem to me like an angel from heaven!" he exclaimed, as he saw me. "put your shoulder under me and help me up. up i must go, but it was cruel to send me to storm such a hill. it is not fit work for a man of my figure; but, up! up!" the sergeant had chosen a short cut, though a very steep one. by my aid, shoving astern, we had already made some progress, when part of the boat's crew arrived, led on by dicky plumb. "oh, mr. plumb, do get your men to lend me a hand and haul me up this place. we should be in the fort as soon as the rest, if we could but get up to the top of the cliff." i was not sorry, i confess, to have some assistance. by the aid of the men the sergeant at last reached a level spot at the summit of the hill. "now, my lads," he shouted, taking his sword from his mouth, "we'll be at them!" the chinese, believing that no one could get up that way, had neglected its defences. led on, therefore, by the gallant sergeant, we all together made a dash into the fort. the enemy, taken on the flank, began to give way, and the main body of marines and bluejackets, making a renewed effort in front, dashed in over all obstacles, cutting down the defenders, who stood bravely at their guns till the last. "jack, jack," said the sergeant, when the fort was in our possession, "i owe you much. you saved my life, i believe, but you did more than that, you saved my honour." before the day was over, not only canton, but all the surrounding forts were in possession of the british. as sergeant turbot could descend the hill more easily than he could get up it, i wished him good-bye, and returned with my young officer to the boat. poor mr. hanson had received a wound in the leg, which had, i found, prevented him joining in the attack. chapter seven. our cruise in the junk. just as we got out of the creek we caught sight of a large junk stealing round a point at no great distance from us. although mr. hanson and one of the men were wounded, he instantly ordered us to give chase, and away we pulled after the junk, which as we rounded the point we saw was making for one of the innumerable canals which intersect the country in all directions. if she once got into it she might escape us. the men therefore bent to their oars with a right good will, apparently just as fresh, as when they left the schooner in the morning. as we approached the junk, the chinese began firing at us with their gingals and swivels, and for a couple of minutes or more we were exposed to a pretty heavy shower of bullets. i got the rim of my hat taken off. "no odds," i cried out; "it's better than the tip of my nose." a man near me had a shot through the fleshy part of his shoulder, and a dozen bullets or more stuck in the sides of our boat. on we dashed, however, right under the oars of the chinaman. "come on, my lads?" shouted dicky plumb, whose blood was up to boiling pitch; and catching hold of a pike which was thrust at him, he hauled himself up on to the junk's deck, four of our men climbing up at the same moment. fortunately for master dicky, ned rawlings was by his side, and saved his head from a blow aimed at him by a chinaman. mr. hanson, in spite of his wound, got the men to haul him up. i followed close behind mr. plumb, and in a few seconds we were all upon the deck of the chinaman, slashing and cutting away. so frightened had the chinese become at our proceedings in the morning, that very few stopped to oppose us, and scarcely had we gained the deck, than the crew began to jump overboard on the opposite side. in another minute not a chinaman was left alive on the upper deck. "now, lads, let us look after them below!" shouted mr. plumb, leading the way to the main deck. a considerable number of the crew had remained there, intent upon mischief. as they saw us, however, they made a bolt right forward and leaped through a large port, striking out for the shore, which was not more than thirty yards off. "they have been after something or other," cried mr. plumb. as he spoke, i sprang down to the deck below, and there i saw what looked like a thin snake of fire crawling along the deck. i rushed at it, and found the end of a slow match which had not long been lighted. to snatch it up and throw it overboard was the work of a moment. i was only just in time, however, and did not feel very comfortable even then, for it was leading down, through an opening in the deck, to what i had little doubt was the magazine. ned rawlings, who had followed me, sprang to where several buckets were hung up, and seizing one of them to which a rope was attached, in a moment he had it full of water, which he dashed down the opening into the magazine. mr. hanson now ordered the cable of the junk to be cut, and sent the boat ahead to tow her out of the creek. there was no time to be lost, for a number of chinese were collecting on the shore, some of them already beginning to take long shots at us. four hands jumped into the boat with mr. plumb, while two others, with ned rawlings and i, remained to assist mr. hanson. as there were a number of small boats along the shore, the chinese might easily have come back again; but they expected to see us blown up into the air, and the fear of the consequence kept them at a distance, and proved our safety. at length, just as it was growing dusk, we got clear out into the harbour, when the wind proving fair, we hoisted the junk's sails, and stood away towards where we expected to find the schooner. several times we were chased by english boats, and were twice fired at by some of our friends, who supposed that our junk was still in the hands of the chinese, who were endeavouring to escape. our prize was indeed a curious craft; a capital place for playing hide-and-seek in--full of all sorts of odd little cabins and cupboards and recesses in which people could stow themselves away. having found several lanterns, we lighted them, and mr. dicky and i hunted throughout the vessel, in case any chinese were still on board, who might steal out and perhaps after all blow up the vessel. we thought that we had looked into all the cabins and cupboards, and nooks and corners, and came and reported the same to mr. hanson. "go and look again, dicky," he answered. "take rawlings with you, and let him run the point of his cutlass gently through all the crevices." off we started again, rawlings carrying a huge paper lantern, covered with dragons and other monsters, and having his cutlass ready to stick into any crevice we might discover. we began forward, examining all sorts of curious places, but no one was to be found there. at length we got aft, where we thought we had searched thoroughly, and came to a little cupboard in one of the quarters, into which ned gently inserted the point of his weapon. a shrill cry, which made us start, was the result, and putting in his hand he hauled out a young chinese boy, who had managed to coil himself away in a very small space. he seemed by his gestures to be entreating us not to kill him, and then gave us to understand that he was anxious to be our friend, and to serve us. of course, not a word he said could we understand. "are there any more of you stowed away?" asked ned; but if we did not understand the chinese boy, neither did he understand us, and no answer could be got to this question. having looked about in the neighbourhood of the spot where we found the boy, we carried him on deck to mr. hanson. he there went through the gestures he had made to us, and mr. hanson signed to him to sit down on the deck, and let him know that he would receive no harm. we were then sent back to continue our search. no other person was, however, found, and at length we got alongside the schooner. we were received by a loud cheer from our shipmates, and mr. ormsby ordered us to retain possession till he could inspect the junk in the morning, and settle what was to be done with her. "but mr. hanson is wounded, sir," sung out dicky plumb; "and besides, sir, _we are hard up for grub_. the provisions the chinese have left on board don't look very tempting." mr. hanson, with the other wounded man, was therefore ordered to go on board, that the assistant-surgeon might look to their hurts, while a supply of provisions was sent us from the schooner, dicky plumb thus remaining in command of the junk. "jack," he said to me, "if i had my will, i should like to appoint you my first-lieutenant, for i think you know as much about seamanship as i do; but as that would not be quite correct, i am afraid i must have ned rawlings as my second in command. i only hope we may be ordered to take a cruise somewhere. it would be great fun going away by ourselves to look after prizes, would it not?" i agreed with him, but observed that i did not think mr. ormsby would dispatch us for that purpose. the next morning, when mr. ormsby came on board, he declared that the junk we had taken was so fine a vessel that it would be a pity to destroy her, and therefore obtained leave to carry her off to hong kong. "can i remain in command of her, sir?" asked dicky, touching his hat when mr. ormsby had arrived at this decision. the lieutenant looked at him with a smile. "why, mr. plumb, what amount of navigation do you possess?" "why, sir," said dicky, promptly, "i know how to steer, and we can keep the _fawn_ in sight, so she will serve as our pole-star." "but suppose it came on thick weather, and you lost sight of us?" observed the lieutenant. "we would not rest till we had found you again," answered dicky, promptly. "i suspect the _fawn_ will outsail the junk, and then what will you do?" "ask every one we meet the whereabouts of hong kong," answered dicky. "i have no doubt you would do your best," said mr. ormsby, "but still i cannot quite trust you. i must send mr. hanson back, and i have no doubt that you will prove a very efficient first-lieutenant to him." with this master dicky was obliged to remain content, and, in a couple of days, mr. hanson, having somewhat recovered his strength, came on board and took the command. before many days were over the chinese succeeded in bamboozling our plenipotentiaries; we gave up all we had won, and the fleet sailed away back to hong kong. we followed in the wake of the schooner, which had to shorten sail for us, when the wind was abeam; but at length it came aft, and we then kept very good way with her; indeed, she had to make all sail not to let us pass her. our captive chinese boy seemed very well reconciled to his fate. we could not make out what was his name, so we called him "joss." he was a merry, yellow-faced little chap, with the funniest pig-eyes imaginable. he seemed always ready to laugh, and sing, and dance about the deck. it was very evident that he would pick up english sooner than any of us were likely to learn a word of chinese. in the course of a few days, indeed, he could ask for all sorts of things, and seemed to know a great deal that was said to him. i should say mr. hanson spoke very handsomely of the way dicky plumb had behaved in boarding the chinese, and told mr. ormsby that he had been the first on deck, and how gallantly he had behaved also on shore, when attacking the fort. i found, also, that he made favourable mention of my conduct on both occasions. "indeed, had it not been for junker," i heard that he observed, "we might all of us have been blown into the other world." mr. ormsby had said that he should report my conduct to the captain, who would be sure not to let it pass unnoticed. dicky told me all this. "i was very glad of it, jack," he said. "to tell you the truth, i have an idea in my head. what it is, i am not going to tell you; only, jack, if i am ever a captain, i should like to have you as my first-lieutenant." "thank you, sir," i said, "for your kind wishes, but i am afraid such good luck is not in store for me." at length, our junk, with several others that had been captured, reached hong kong in safety. the harbour was crowded with vessels. there must have been a hundred or more craft, of various sorts, from line-of-battle ships down to schooners and cutters, and a variety of chinese and other foreign-rigged vessels. chapter eight. a typhoon and a shipwreck. the junk lay in hong kong harbour, close to the _fawn_. soon after we brought up in the harbour, finding that a boat was to be sent from the _fawn_ to the _roarer_, i got leave to go in her. i had some misgivings about sergeant turbot, and was anxious to see him. i found that he was in the sick bay, where there were several wounded men. he shook me warmly by the hand when he saw me. "jack, my boy," he said, "you saved my life t'other day, and, what is more, my honour. if it had not been for you, my fellows would have got into that chinese fort while i was at the bottom of the hill; but jack, i confess it, i feel i am not cut out for campaigning in a hilly country; indeed, to advance, at double-quick, across a plain, tries me considerably." i was afraid, from the sergeant's way of talking, that he was very ill. i made some remark to that effect. "in honest truth, jack," he answered, "i was pretty well knocked up altogether with that work on shore; what with the hot sun, the rapid marching, and climbing those heights; but still, jack, i don't think i am going to give in just yet. if i do, remember me to your father, and tell him that i consider you are worthy of him. however, i hope to be fit for duty in the course of a few days, and to have another pull at the chinamen's pigtails before we have done with them." from what i could hear on board i found that our business in the boat and capture of the junk was highly approved of. our captain, with several of the boats of the _roarer_, had been engaged, and he had behaved with great bravery and activity. i was glad to find, that in the course of a few days sergeant turbot was much better. his gallantry was well known, and dicky plumb told me that he had heard the captain of marines on board say that in future he would take care that he was not sent on an expedition where any great bodily exertion was required. we had been some time off hong kong, and began to grow weary of not having more to do. the weather had now become excessively hot and sultry. dark black clouds collected in the sky, and there was an oppression in the atmosphere which made all hands feel uncomfortable. the weather-wise predicted a typhoon. i asked sergeant turbot, the last visit i paid him, the meaning of a typhoon. "why, jack, you must know that a typhoon is just like ten everyday gales of wind pressed into one," he replied. "if a fellow is aloft he has need to hold on with his eyelids, teeth, and nails; and if he's on shore, to look out for falling chimneys and roofs. if we get one--and from what i hear there's every chance of it--you'll know what it is fast enough, and not forget either, as long as you live." the barometer, too, supporting the opinion of the weather-wise, was falling, indicating a change of weather. meantime, the chinese on shore seemed to be greatly excited. we saw, stuck out from many of their houses, long poles, twenty or thirty feet high, with huge lanterns at the end of them, ornamented with grotesque-looking figures of various sorts. then began the beating of gongs, the firing of crackers, and the explosion of little bamboo petards, from one end of the town to the other, and from all the boats along the shore. the chinese might possibly have thought that their fireworks had produced some effect, for the day passed by and no typhoon broke over us. at night, however, dark clouds again collected overhead, out of which the most vivid lightning shot incessantly. for an instant the whole sky was lighted up, and the numerous vessels in the harbour, and the distant shores, could be seen clearly. then all again was pitchy darkness. the night passed away, however, without any incident worthy of note. in the morning, mr. ormsby, who had been on board the _roarer_, came back, and said that he had received orders to convey the junk to macao. "then i am afraid our independent cruise will be up," i heard mr. plumb observe to mr. hanson. we accordingly got under weigh, and stood out of the harbour. we had not, however, proceeded far, when the threatening appearances of the weather returned. again the clouds collected, the lightning flashed vividly, and sudden gusts came furiously off the land. mr. ormsby hailed, and ordered us to bring up under the high shore, a couple of miles to windward, he setting us the example. a few tacks brought the _fawn_ to an anchorage, when her topmasts were struck, and every preparation was made for the typhoon, which, it was now evident, was about to commence. we were some way astern of the schooner, when down came a fierce blast with tremendous force upon us. the sails were lowered, and the huge anchor let go. "the craft will ride it out after all, i believe," said mr. hanson, watching to ascertain whether the junk was driving. "that's more than any other ship will do," observed ned rawlings, pointing to the vessels in the distance, many of which were now driving away furiously before the wind; and already the sea was covered with the wrecks of native vessels, to which numerous persons--both men and women and children--were clinging desperately, as they drove onward before the wind. fearful must have been the destruction of life and property in that crowded harbour. however, we had to think about ourselves. the typhoon was increasing in fury; it seemed to be working itself up like a man getting into a rage. a blast ten times stronger than the first now struck us. "she has parted, sir," cried ned rawlings. away we drove before the wind. at first we went sideways, and it seemed as if every instant we should be blown over. the helm however, was put up, and away we drifted right before the gale; the farther we got from the shore the higher the seas became, and the stronger the wind. mr. hanson looked grave; there was good reason for his so doing, for the junk began to pitch and roll in the most furious manner, while the seas danced up round her, seeming determined to come on board. at times, it seemed scarcely possible that we could hold on to her deck; we felt somewhat like peas on a drum--jumping up and down, with the prospect of being jerked overboard every instant. as to setting sail, that was impossible; for even had a foot of the bamboo-matting been presented to the wind it would have been blown away. the junk, flimsy as she looked outside, was strongly built, so that there was less risk of her going to pieces than might have been supposed. i asked rawlings what he thought about the matter. "well, jack," he said, "if we can keep the open sea the old tea-chest may float; but if we get the coast under our lee we shall drive ashore and go to pieces." more than once mr. hanson looked astern. "perhaps he hopes that the _fawn_ will come after us," i observed to rawlings. "that's not likely," was the answer. "it would not do to risk the loss of the schooner on the chance of helping us; and, to my mind, there's little help any vessel can give us." had, indeed, the schooner been following, we might not have seen her; for, so thick was the spray which drove over us, that we could scarcely see many yards beyond the junk, all the time the wind howling and shrieking, and the water hissing and foaming around us. we could do nothing to help ourselves; indeed, it took all our strength just to hold on to the side. every now and then a huge sea would come rolling up, and seem about to break on board, but the buoyant junk rose to the top of it, and then again down we plunged into the deep trough below. mr. hanson and two of the men stood at the helm, trying to steer the lumbering craft, and not without difficulty could they prevent her from broaching-to. dicky plumb had done his best to keep his legs, but, finding that impossible, at length sat down on the deck, holding on, and endeavouring to look as unconcerned and cool as possible. as we looked out we could see fragments of wreck floating by, showing us what would, too probably, be our fate. we passed one large junk almost under water, to which several people were clinging; they held out their hands to us, asking for assistance, but we could give them none, and soon we drove by, when they were hid from our sight by the driving spray. on we went. "breakers ahead!" shouted ned rawlings, who had been looking out. there appeared, right before us, a line of coast--to weather it, seemed impossible; and yet, if we could not do so, our destruction was inevitable. at length we made out a point of land on the port bow--we were driving towards it--mr. hanson put the helm as much as he could to starboard. "if we can get to the other side of that," he observed to mr. plumb, "we may escape with our lives; if not, there's not a chance for us." "it cannot be helped," answered mr. dicky, quite composedly. "we have done our best, and can do no more." closer and closer we drew to the wild rocks at the end of the point; the surf was breaking furiously over them. i know i held my breath, and i cannot exactly say how i felt; only i kept wishing something was over. there were the rocks, and there was the fearful surf roaring over them. in another instant we were in the midst of the surf; i expected to hear a crash, and to find the vessel going to pieces. the water came rushing over our decks; the masses of spray blinded us. on we flew, and in another moment the point was passed; and though the sea broke heavily on the shore, still there was a possibility of our landing on it. we had no anchors remaining, so we could not bring up, even could any anchor have held; shipwreck was certain. the only doubt was where we should strike--that was settled in another minute--lifted high on a roller we were hurled towards the shore; then suddenly down we came with a tremendous crash; the masts instantly fell; the upper works were washed away; with difficulty could we hold on to the wreck. "now, jack, let's see what you can do," exclaimed ned rawlings. "there's not a better swimmer on board!" i understood what was wanted. ned got hold of a rope, which i fastened round my waist. "i'll carry it ashore," i cried out. "let me go, too," cried dicky plumb, forgetting that he could not swim. there was no time for thought. i dashed overboard, and struck out for the shore; i ran a great risk of being knocked on the head by pieces of the wreck; i knew that several passed close to me. now the sea came roaring up, and, passing over the vessel, sent me some way towards the shore; as it receded, however, it carried me back again almost to the junk; still i struggled on; the next sea which came up took me still nearer, and, though i went back again, still i had gained some distance; at last, i felt my feet touch the ground, then i seemed about to be swept back again, but i struggled on, and with a wild spring, clutching the sand with my hands, i resisted the receding water, which came hissing and foaming around me; then with a few more desperate struggles i found myself out of the reach of the sea. near me was a pointed rock; round it i securely fastened the rope. in the meantime, three or four men had thrown themselves into the water; one poor fellow was swept out, his dying shriek reaching my ear just as i landed; another was holding on desperately to a piece of the wreck; two more came on shore, but greatly exhausted. i saw rawlings making signals to me to haul in the rope; i began to haul away, but the rope he had secured to the light one i took on shore was so heavy that i could not accomplish the task; just then i was joined by my two shipmates, and all three of us pulling away at the rope, we got it on shore; the end was secured, as the lighter one had been, round the rock; and the first person who tried it was rawlings. i found that he had secured a couple of travellers to the rope. "i will go back," he said, "and bring mr. plumb. mr. hanson will not leave the vessel till all are on shore, i know." master dicky, however, was for coming entirely by himself; still, i think he would have been washed off had not rawlings gone to his assistance. little joss, the chinese boy, clambered along as actively as a monkey. there was more difficulty in getting mr. hanson on shore, as he had scarcely quite recovered from his wounds. not a moment after he left the junk a sea came roaring up, and in an instant she split into a thousand fragments; not a particle of her remained holding together on the rock on which she struck; the same sea tore the poor fellow who had been clinging to a piece of the wreck from his hold, and he was washed away, no more to be seen. the remainder of us clambered up away from the beach, where we sat down to consult what was best to be done. it was now growing dark; not a house or shelter of any sort could we see. "we shall all perish if we spend the night exposed to this bitter blast," said mr. hanson. "lads, we must look out for some place or other for shelter," and saying this, he led the way further inland, where a lofty cliff appeared before us. searching about, we found an opening in the rock, down the centre of which a stream flowed, running on towards the sea. here we were somewhat sheltered from the wind, but it was open at the top, so that the air even here felt very cold. chapter nine. captured by the celestials. the night passed slowly by. we were very hungry and very cold. i had the satisfaction of having my praises sung by my commander. "indeed, junker, i am ready to confess that we owe our lives to you," said mr. hanson. "it required no little courage to carry the rope on shore in the way you did." i made a suitable, and, i hope, modest reply. there was no room to lie down, so we all had to sit up and do our best to keep our feet out of the stream. as the morning broke the typhoon subsided, and at last we went out of our resting-place to look about us. the whole shore was lined with pieces of wreck. one of the poor fellows who had been drowned had been thrown up, but the bodies of the others could not be seen. we most of us had become desperately hungry: i know i was. where to get food was the question. hunting along the beach, however, we found a ham and a small keg of biscuits. we soon fell to on them. though the biscuits were somewhat soaked with water, in a short time there was little of either one or the other to be seen. mr. hanson said that we were on an island, but how we were to get away was the question. we could only hope that the _fawn_ might come and look out for us, on the possibility of our having escaped. we had just finished our breakfast, when we heard some cries above our heads, and, looking up, we saw a number of chinese, who were amusing themselves by gazing down on us. we asked joss who they were. "bad people! bad people!" he answered, shaking his head. they seemed in a short time to have gained courage, and now some thirty or forty men, dressed like common fishermen, came down from the heights, and stood round us. seeing that we were unarmed, they became familiar, and presently one of them signed to mr. hanson to take off his coat. this he did, hoping to satisfy them. no sooner did they get it, than they set up a shout and laugh, and then signified to dicky plumb to do the same. "i will do no such thing," he answered, buttoning up his jacket. on this a couple of fellows seized him and tore it open, and in another minute hauled it off his back, in spite of his indignant expostulations. pleased at their success, they treated us all in the same way, leaving us only our shirts and trousers. mr. hanson at length got hold of one of the men who appeared to be a leader among them, and endeavoured by signs to explain that if he would take us back to hong kong he should be handsomely rewarded. little joss, who was very quick in understanding our meaning, came to our assistance. at length the man agreed to take us for a hundred dollars a head. we had, however, to wait for a considerable time before the weather moderated sufficiently, and we were then all marched to the harbour, at some distance from the place where we drove on shore. here another dispute arose among our captors. the owners of different boats considered that we ought to be divided among them. finally, mr. dicky plumb, with ned rawlings and i, with little joss, fell to the share of an old fellow with a remarkably roguish expression of countenance. we, however, could not help ourselves, and could only hope that the promise of the reward would induce him to take us back safely. in the evening we were carried on board different junks. our boat was open amidships, with a small cabin aft, into which we were all stowed. here we spent the night, for we saw from the first that our friends had no intention of getting under weigh till daylight. the other junks sailed first, but our old captain showed no disposition to follow them. we inquired why he did not sail with the others, but he only grinned and shook his head at us. he was waiting apparently for some of his crew. at length we got under weigh; and now we began to hope that before the next morning we should find ourselves at hong kong. we had not been at sea more than an hour when, coming round a point, there appeared a large mandarin war junk. our old captain was evidently in great trepidation. still he sailed on as before, hoping that the mandarin junk would not overhaul us. a signal, however, from her was seen, ordering us to heave-to. on this the old captain made signs to us to lie down at the bottom of the boat, and he then covered us up with mats. on came the junk. what was going to happen we could not tell. presently we heard loud voices and shouts, and we felt that a boat had come alongside. we might well have given ourselves up for lost. "jack," whispered mr. plumb to me, "if we could but get hold of some swords, we would have a fight for it. i should like to die game. i have no idea of being killed like a rat in a hole." i felt very much as he did, but while there was a chance of escaping notice, i saw that it would be wiser to remain concealed. presently, however, we found the mats being lifted up off us; concealment was no longer possible. we sprang to our feet, and there we saw a dozen chinamen, with weapons in their hands, ready to cut us down, should we attempt resistance. their officer turned upon our unfortunate old captain, who stood at the helm the picture of dismay; the crew were sitting forward, chattering with fear; without another word the officer gave a flourish with his sword, and the old man's head rolled off into the sea; the crew attempted to leap overboard, but were mercilessly cut down. we fully expected to be treated in the same way; instead of this, the boat was brought alongside the junk, on board of which we were all ordered to go. the junk having cast off the fishing-boat, with the body of her murdered owner still on board, and those of several of the crew, made sail to the east. what was to be done with us we could not say. with oars and sails the junk made great progress. our only hope rested on the possibility of being fallen in with by a man-of-war; but even then, if hard pressed, our captors were very likely to murder us all. having got clear of the land, the junk stood away to the north. we three were thrust into a little cabin on one side of the deck, so small, that only one could lie down at a time; joss, however, was allowed to come to us, and wander about the deck as he liked. how he had escaped we could not well tell; and now it seemed that no one intended to injure him. he told us, that, as far as he could make out, we were going to some place in the north, a long way off. we suspected that the captain of the junk intended to make the most of us, and would probably declare that, he had taken us from aboard a barbarian man-of-war, we being the only survivors. "i do not at all like the look of things, jack," said dicky plumb to me. "i am afraid they will be clapping us into cages, and sending us about the country as a show." "that will be one way of seeing the world," i answered; "and provided they do not cut off our heads, i dare say, some day or other, we shall be getting back to our friends." day after day we sailed on; in vain we looked out for an english man-of-war. "very little chance of falling in with one," observed ned rawlings. "after that typhoon they will all be in harbour, repairing damages." ned was right. it was probably owing to that circumstance that we escaped recapture. at length we entered the mouth of a large river, and joss made us understand that we were being carried to the city of nankin; we were, in reality, in the great river yang-tse-kiang. from the time we had been coming we knew that it must be a long way from hong kong, and our hopes of being retaken now vanished altogether: the wind coming down the river, the junk came to an anchor. i should have said that all this time our only food was salt fish and rice. when we anchored, several boats brought off some vegetables, which we had given to us in addition; it was hard fare, however, but after all it did not much signify, as it kept body and soul together, and our health did not suffer. the mandarin, being anxious, apparently, to deliver the despatches which he carried, as well as to exhibit us, took us on shore, and we were now all three placed in a cart, and driven off into the interior; as there were no springs, we went bumping and thumping over the road in a way sufficient to dislocate all our limbs. just as we were starting, little joss, who had managed to get on shore, jumped into the cart, and we were not sorry to see his merry, good-natured face. to make a long story short, at last we arrived at a walled city; it was not nankin, however, but a place supposed to be very strong--chin kiang-foo; it was full of tartar soldiers, who scowled at us as we passed. we had not gone far when we stopped before a sort of public office, i suppose, when a man came out and put some large labels round our necks. what they were of course we could not tell, but we made out from what joss said, that they were to inform the world, that we were prisoners taken in a bloody fight from an english war ship, which had been sent, by the bravery of the chinese, to the bottom. having been carried round the city, we were taken to a place which we soon found was the public prison; here we were all four (for joss was with us) thrown into a small cell not much larger than our cabin on board the junk. "no chance of cutting our way out, mr. plumb," observed ned rawlings. "i wish there was," said mr. plumb. little joss we found looking very sad. he seemed, from what we made out, to think we were all going to be killed. "it cannot be helped," said dicky. "jack, are you prepared to die?" "i hope so," i said; "but i would rather live, i confess; and, do you know, i think we shall, in spite of appearances. the chinamen would gain nothing by killing us, and our keep cannot cost them much." by such remarks i soon restored dicky's hopes. we were kept for some days in our wretched little prison, having our food brought to us, but being otherwise left alone; at length, one day, the door opened, and four soldiers appeared: without saying a word, they seized hold of ned; he shook himself free of them, however, having an idea, that they were going to take him out and kill him. four finding they could not manage him, six more appeared, who, rushing on him, at length pinioned his arms, and carried him away out of the cell. "i hope they will not separate us, jack," said dicky. "i am very unhappy about ned." "i hope they will not indeed," i answered. poor ned! though he made no further resistance as long as we could see him, the chinese soldiers were kicking and cuffing him, some pulling his hair, and others his ears, as they dragged him along. two days afterwards we received a visit from a dozen soldiers at least. they stopped for a moment when the door was opened, and then rushing in seized the midshipman, and pinioning his arms, dragged him out of the cell. "good-bye, jack?" he shouted out. "i suppose they are going to cut my head off. it is reputed to be a dignified way of making an exit, and if i cannot escape, i must grin and bear it." even at that moment, dicky could not help having a joke. i felt very sad when i was left alone, for it seemed too likely that our cruel captors would kill us all. at length my turn came, but i was only honoured by six soldiers, who appeared to think that they could manage me without much difficulty. i tried to sing, and appeared as merry as possible, even when they came round me, knowing that kicking and scratching would do no good. still, i own i had an uncomfortable feeling about my throat, fully believing that before long i was to have my head cut off. one of them, however, clapped an iron collar round my neck, from which a chain extended to my feet. on my ankles irons were also fixed, so that, had i been a very samson, i could scarcely have escaped. in this state the soldiers dragged me along, and passing through several courts, i was carried into a house, where, seated at a table, i found several dignified-looking personages, with scribes at either side of them, pen in hand, ready to make notes. they began by asking me all sorts of questions, to which, of course, not knowing a word they said, i could make no answers. at this, several persons rushing forward, one gave me an unpleasant kicking behind my knees, while another pressed me down, a third seizing my head and banging my nose on the ground. this process did not make me speak chinese a bit better than at first. i guessed it was what my companions in captivity had had to go through, and i fully expected to be led off and treated as i supposed they had been. instead of this, after i had received a considerable number of blows and kicks, the mandarins, finding that they could make nothing of me, ordered me back to my cell. for some hours afterwards i kept constantly feeling my neck--not quite certain whether or not it had been cut through with a fine-edged sabre, and almost expecting every now and then to find my head roll off on to the ground. chapter ten. liberty again. days and weeks passed away. i was kept in a solitary cell. even joss was not allowed to visit me. i feared, indeed, that he must have been killed. of what had become of my companions i could gain no tidings. "they have not killed me, perhaps they have let them live." this reasoning was the only thing that gave me hopes. i must confess, however, it was a hard matter to keep up my spirits. the iron chains on my neck and arms weighed me down. i was now moved into a cell in which were two dozen or more prisoners. in it was a bench, to which i was chained, but in such a way as to allow me to sit, if not with ease, at all events without pain. my youth might, perhaps, have excited the compassion of my fellow-prisoners, for savage as some of them looked, they treated me with kindness. had i been sure that my friends were even no worse off than i was, i should have been contented. many of the poor prisoners were suffering from all sorts of complaints, and several of them were led out from time to time, when we could hear their cries and shrieks, and when they came back their legs and arms and bodies bore signs of the fearful treatment they had received. twice a day my fellow-prisoners and i were unchained and allowed to go into the courtyard for air and exercise. sometimes we were allowed to remain there longer than at other times. on one occasion we were hurried back and quickly chained up again, when we found that it was in consequence of the unexpected visit of a mandarin to the prison. in vain i tried to find out whether dicky plumb or ned rawlings were alive. at last it struck me that if they were within hearing they might answer if i were to sing a song; so, to the astonishment of my fellow-prisoners, i suddenly struck up "rule britannia?" walking about the yard, and shouting louder and louder. they, i believe, thought i was mad. i stopped and listened. i thought i heard a faint response from another part of the building, but i was not certain. several days passed by, when, as i sat on the bench, chained as usual, i heard a voice in the courtyard below humming the very air i had sung, but whether it was the voice of dicky plumb or ned rawlings i could not tell; indeed, it seemed to me to be that of a stranger. i had lost all account of the time i had been in prison, when one day i remarked that there was a considerable excitement exhibited by my companions. that something of importance was taking place i was certain. suddenly, at the time we were usually taken into the yard in the morning, the sound of musketry reached my ears. faint at first, it grew louder and louder. then there came the roar of big guns. oh, how i longed to be with dicky plumb or ned rawlings! there could be no doubt that the english were attacking the place. it did not occur to me that in revenge the chinese might cut off our heads. the noise grew louder and louder. presently i could hear shouts and cries, and bullets seemed pattering against some of the buildings in the neighbourhood. the city was attacked--of that there could be no doubt. i could not help shouting out again "rule britannia!" the chinese looked at me with great awe; they must have fancied it an incantation. the hubbub increased; there was evidently some desperate fighting close at hand. suddenly two of the gaolers rushed into the cell, and came up to me. i could not help fancying that my last moment had come. instead of that, greatly to my satisfaction, they undid my fetters, then made a sign to me to follow them. i did so gladly enough, and in the courtyard whom should i see but dicky plumb himself! we cordially shook hands. "i am so glad, jack!" he exclaimed. "to this moment i did not know whether you were alive or dead." "nor i you," i answered. directly afterwards we were joined by ned rawlings, who seemed well pleased to see us both again, while little joss, who soon afterwards appeared, exhibited the greatest possible satisfaction. directly afterwards the gates were thrown open, the chinese scampered off and hid themselves, and in rushed a body of blue jackets, among whom i recognised several of the crew of the _fawn_. supposing that we had long been dead, they did not know us; indeed, pale and thin and dirty as we were, this was not surprising. the whole place was, in a short time, in the power of the british. the tartar soldiers fought desperately, and when they found they could no longer defend their houses, they deliberately killed their wives and children, and then destroyed themselves. several of the superior officers, rather than be taken, threw themselves upon their swords. others, however, who had heard that the english treated their prisoners with humanity, if they could not run away, more wisely lived "to fight another day." when the battle was over we were taken on board the _fawn_, which lay some way down the river. although we had gone through many hardships, we had reason to be thankful, for we found that we were the only persons on board the junk who had escaped with life. i often shudder, even now, as i think of what we had to go through. a considerable number of english and lascars were, about this time, seized by the chinese, and were put to death, after being cruelly ill-treated for several months. the emperor of china finding that, in spite of the boasting of his generals, the barbarians managed to beat his troops on every occasion, signed a treaty of peace. the squadron, therefore, once more returned to hong kong. although the war was over, we were not to be idle. we had just time to pay our friends a visit on board the _roarer_, when we were ordered off in search of pirates, large numbers of which gentry infested the china seas. mr. ormsby appointed me to attend him in the cabin. little joss had, from the first, attached himself to me, and mr. ormsby, seeing this, allowed him to help me in the cabin. he looked upon me as an old friend, from our having been fellow-sufferers, and to show his regard, endeavoured to teach me chinese. i must, however, confess, that he learned english far more rapidly than i did chinese. we had another mate and midshipman from the ship, instead of those lost, and they, with mr. plumb, all messed together with the lieutenant, as well as the second master and the assistant-surgeon. mr. ormsby, being a very particular person, had a supply of plate, which he put under my charge. it was kept in a chest with a number of other articles which he had picked up in china, and valued highly. we had been away some weeks without meeting with any suspicious craft when one night we saw a bright light burning ahead. "a ship on fire!" sung out mr. mason, the officer of the watch. mr. ormsby at once came on deck, and ordered all sail to be made to get up with her. the wind was light; the flames appeared to be rising higher and higher; we were afraid that we should be too late to render assistance to the poor people on board. every stitch of canvas the schooner could carry was set. "i would give a good round sum to be up with that vessel," exclaimed dicky plumb. "a dreadful thing for them to be burnt alive or drowned." several remarks of a similar nature were made; and certainly, if wishing or whistling would have brought us up to the vessel, we should have been there quickly enough. at length we could make out the masts and hull of a brig--a large vessel she seemed; the flames had caught her sails, and were playing round her spars and masts. suddenly, as we gazed at her, the deck seemed to lift; like sky-rockets up rose the masts; the flames burst up brighter than ever from the hull; and then, like showers of rockets, down came the burning rigging, hissing, into the sea; after this the flames raged more furiously than ever; then, suddenly, there was perfect darkness; a groan escaped the breasts of many on board. we were too late to save any of the sufferers, still we stood on towards the spot where the vessel had been. suddenly a hail reached us; we replied to it. in a short time we shortened sail, and a boat came alongside; we had little doubt that she contained some of the people from the brig; six men soon came up the side, most of them had their heads and arms bound up. "who are you, my men?" asked mr. ormsby. "i am the mate, sir, of the brig that just now blew up; we are the only people who have escaped," said one of them. "this afternoon we were attacked by half a dozen malay prows; we fought desperately, hoping to drive off the pirates; at length, the master and the other hands being killed, we jumped into the long-boat and made off, hoping to return to the brig when the pirates had left her; they, however, set her on fire, and we were intending to make the best of our way to singapore when we caught sight of the schooner." the mate expressing his belief that the pirates had stood to the southward, all sail was made in that direction. the weather had been threatening for some hours; it now grew worse and worse. mr. ormsby's chief regret was that it might drive the pirate fleet into port. we made such good way, that soon after noon we caught sight of the vessels of which we were in search; they saw us, and guessed our intentions, and away they went before the wind. we stood on, hoping to come up with them; hour after hour passed by, and they kept ahead. the weather was getting more and more dirty; still we persevered, and, as the wind increased, we gained upon them. "i think i could hit the sternmost of those fellows," said ned rawlings, as he ran his eye along a gun. the gun was trained forward. rawlings, who was one of the best marksmen on board, fired. the shot struck the nearest prow, and sent the splinters flying away in every direction. "well done, rawlings?" cried mr. ormsby. the gun was again loaded, when just as he fired a fearful crash was heard; the schooner shook from stem to stern. "she's ashore!" cried out more than one voice. "and we must heave her off, lads!" cried our commander; giving the order to take in all sail. the vessel only hung forward; a boat was lowered, and a hawser carried out immediately astern. we had not struck long before our enemies discovered what had happened; they now came clustering round us at a respectful distance, though, having seen the effects of our shot. the wind, however, was increasing, and the sea was getting up; and there seemed every probability of the schooner being completely wrecked. i bethought me, meantime, of mr. ormsby's directions. while the men were working away to heave her off, i went down into the cabin; having secured a rope round the chest mr. ormsby had placed under my charge, i got a long thin line to serve as a buoy-rope, and got hold of a piece of light wood, out of which to form the buoy. i did not think much, i own, of the danger we were in. the wind was increasing, the sea was getting up meantime, and i might have seen that the little craft would not hold together many hours exposed to such a sea as was likely to roll in on her. the junks were drawing in closer and closer, just waiting for the moment when, our masts going, we might be thrown into confusion; and they would have less difficulty in boarding. having done all i could below, i went on deck; the wind had greatly increased, the seas came rolling slowly in towards us; still, the crew, encouraged by our brave commander, laboured on. the cable by which we were hauling off was tight as a harp-string; the men were pressing with might and main upon the capstan-bars; those who were not thus employed were ordered to run from side to side--now forward, now to rush aft altogether. just then, through the gloom, we observed a heavy sea rolling in towards us; it might prove our destruction, or-- "heave, lads! heave!" shouted our commander. with a bound, so it seemed, as the sea passed under us, the vessel came off the reef, and was quickly hauled up to the anchor. had it been daylight, the pirates would have discovered what had occurred; as it was, they probably did not find out that we were free. the cable was brought ahead, sail was made, the anchor was hove up, and away we shot, close-hauled, clear of the reef. i had gone below to get supper for the commander, for, as may be supposed, no one had eaten anything for some hours; soon afterwards he came into the cabin. "hillo! what is this?" he exclaimed, as he got his foot round the buoy-rope. i told him what i had done. he laughed. "well, jack," he said, "you did what every man should do--your duty. you attended to your own business, and looked after the property placed under your charge. however, i suspect if the schooner had gone to pieces, we none of us should have remained alive to tell what had become of my plate-chest. still, i will not forget this night's work, jack." i heard mr. ormsby tell the officers that he was not going to let the prows escape. "we must wait, however, till daylight," he observed, "or we may be getting on shore again." bumping on a pointed rock tries a vessel. scarcely had we got off, when one of the carpenter's mates, who acted as our carpenter, came aft. "she's making water very fast, sir," he said, addressing our commander. "it's as much as we can do to keep her afloat till the morning." "rig the pumps, then; and, mr. norton, send the hands to work them," said mr. ormsby, quite composedly. "we must not let the _fawn_ go down, whatever we do." in another minute the clank of the pumps was heard, and on it went--"clank! clank! clank!" i dropped asleep in the midst of it. when morning broke, a large fleet of prows was discovered about three miles to leeward; we immediately made sail, and stood down towards them, a bright look-out being kept for reefs and shoals. the size of the little vessel evidently encouraged the pirates. their numbers having been now increased, instead of running, they stood boldly up towards us. "we shall see some fun now, jack," said dicky plumb, "depend on that." in a short time we were near enough to open fire on the leading junks. they, in no way daunted, returned it with their long brass guns and gingals, peppering us very hotly. i rather suspect that mr. ormsby now saw that it would have been wiser had we kept clear of such gentry, especially in the sinking condition of the schooner; as long as the breeze held, and the schooner was under command, we could run here and there, raking the prows, and handling them very severely. at length, however, as the evening was coming on, the wind fell; our enemies, on this, were seen to get out their long sweeps, and come out towards us in a body, some on one side, some on the other. it was evident that we should have to fight for our lives; for the moment, not a man on board thought of the leak. i got hold of a cutlass, which i could handle pretty well, and a brace of pistols; mr. plumb armed himself in a similar manner. for some time we managed to keep the enemy at a distance with our guns, which we fired as rapidly as we could load them. it was now again almost dark. just as the nearest prow was about to board, down she went; our men cheered, and redoubled their efforts; but we had another big enemy on the other side. on she came, though hulled several times; her crew were ready to spring on board. mr. ormsby, aided by ned rawlings and one or two others and myself, had run in a gun, and loaded it; it was quickly run out again, and fired right down into the hold of the prow. just as the malays were about to spring on board, a thundering noise was heard; flames burst forth, and up went the vessel into the air; the schooner's sails were set on fire, and several of our people were hurt; my face was blackened all over, and so was dicky plumb's. down came the wreck of the prow on our deck, while the limbs of her unfortunate crew were sent right over us, some sticking in the rigging; this fearful event kept the rest of our enemies at a distance for a few minutes, and enabled us to put out the flames, and to clear away the wreck. scarcely, however, had we done this, than with fierce cries and shouts once more the prows pulled up towards us; we met them with further discharges of shot, but though many of their people were killed, yet a big prow grappled us on either side. so fiercely did our people fight, that not a man who reached the deck had time to recover his legs before he was cut down. joss exerted himself bravely, and though not big enough to handle a cutlass, kept bringing ammunition up from below, and then getting hold of a revolver, did good execution with it, running in and out among the men, and killing numbers of pirates as they attacked our people with their sharp scimitars. at length we succeeded in casting off the grapnels which the malays had thrown on board; and the breeze catching our topsails, we stood out once more from between them; we had, by this time, lost four or five of our men, three of whom were killed outright; and it seemed too likely, if the malays were determined to overpower us, they would do so. our young commander fought like a lion, and dicky plumb, i must say, fought like a lion's whelp; no sooner did a malay show his brown face over the bulwarks, than dicky was at him; indeed, all hands were doing their utmost. i will not boast of myself; in fact, if i had been ever so great a coward, i should have fought; for i felt very sure, and so did everybody on board, that if we did not fight, we should one and all be knocked on the head. directly there was a moment's cessation of firing we had to run to the pumps, and to work away for our lives to keep the vessel from sinking. again and again, however, the prows came round us, and no sooner had we beaten off one set, than others took their places. at length mr. ormsby was hit; he sank on the deck. dicky and i, who were standing near, ran to help him up. "don't give in, mason?" he shouted; "fight to the last!" "are you much hurt, sir?" i asked. "i don't know. lend me a handkerchief." the assistant-surgeon, who was fighting as furiously as any one, now hurried up, and bound a handkerchief tightly round mr. ormsby's leg. "give me my sword again!" he exclaimed. "there is some fight in me yet!" at that moment several fresh prows were making towards us. every man on board would be required to repel them. our guns were, however, all loaded ready to give them a warm reception. in spite of the hot fire we poured aboard them, on they came. now one of them grappled us on the starboard bow, while we had another on our quarter. and now, with loud shrieks and cries, the pirates began to spring upon the schooner's decks. "lads! we will sell our lives dearly?" exclaimed mr. ormsby. "yes; never say die?" shouted dicky plumb, in a shrill voice. the crew being divided, some went on the starboard bow and some on the port side, to repel the boarders. still it seemed impossible that we should drive them back altogether. the malays, from the prow on our bow, came pouring on board. mr. ormsby, with ned rawlings and dicky plumb, made a dash forward to try and repel them. just at that moment a loud, hearty british cheer saluted our ears. a blue light burst forth at our port bow, and a number of blue jackets were seen climbing up over the bulwarks, led by no less a person than our gallant captain himself. we could scarcely believe our senses when we saw them; in fact, i fancied it was a dream. they soon, however, by the way they treated the malays who had gained our decks, showed us that their appearance was a satisfactory reality. in a few seconds the fore part of the vessel was cleared; and now, sweeping up, they soon drove off the pirates who were leaping down on our quarters. in another instant, the prows were making the best of their way from us. "we must not let them go free!" exclaimed the captain; and calling his men into the boats, away they started after the prows. meantime, we could see the blue lights from the ship burning a couple of miles away to windward. the surgeon had now time to attend to mr. ormsby's wound. i was looking out for dicky plumb. he was nowhere to be seen. the thought came across me that he had been killed, or else that the malays, as they retired, had carried him off. we, meantime, made sail and followed the boats. four prows were captured. we could see their men jumping overboard as the boats dashed alongside. daylight at length broke. there lay the schooner, her decks bloody, her bulwarks shattered, and her rigging cut up. portions of wreck floated round us. not a human being, however, was to be seen. the four captured prows lay close together, and half a mile off was the old _roarer_, standing towards us under all sail. captain sharpe now came on board, and greatly to my satisfaction dicky plumb came with him. he had slipped into the captain's boat as he shoved off, as he said, to see a little more of the fun. the _roarer_, we found, was on her way to calcutta. as soon as we were again free of the pirates, the hands were again sent to the pumps. mr. ormsby had done his best to keep the crew ignorant of the condition of the vessel. it now became evident, however, that, pump as hard as we could, she could scarcely be kept afloat. captain sharpe was convinced of this as soon as he returned on board. he at once ordered mr. ormsby and the other wounded men into the boats. fresh hands went to the pumps, but all they could do was in vain. "all hands into the boats?" shouted our captain. there was not a moment to lose. i got hold of mr. ormsby's sextant and chronometer, and scarcely had i leaped with them into one of the boats, than the schooner gave a plunge, and down she went, her pennant streaming up, the last object seen as she disappeared beneath the surface. the end of it, however, floated for a few seconds. she had gone down, it was evident, in shallow water. "hillo! what is that buoy floating there?" asked the captain. my heart gave a jump of pleasure. "it's mr. ormsby's chest," i answered, and i told him what i had done. the launch and pinnace were ordered up, and in a short time the chest was weighed and safely got on board, and i got highly praised for being the means of saving it. the surviving pirates being taken out of the prows, they were set on fire, and we watched them burning to the water's edge, while we sailed away after their companions. "what are we to do with these black fellows, i wonder?" i asked of sergeant turbot. "why, i suppose, jack, they will all be hung, as a lesson to their friends," he replied, "not to go and do the same; but to my mind these fellows are terribly hard to teach." chapter eleven. in the pirate stronghold. the navigation of those seas is ticklish work, and we knew that unless great care was taken, we might run the old _roarer_ on a rock, as we had the little _fawn_, with much more serious consequences--once hard and fast, we were not likely to get the old barky off again. a lookout was stationed at the foretop mast-head, and at the fore yard-arms, to watch the appearance of the sea, and give notice of any change of colour; while the hands were at their stations, ready to shorten sail, or to brace the yards sharp up, should any danger appear ahead. danger, however, was not likely to deter captain sharpe in any course which he conceived it his duty to follow. "these pirates must be put down," i heard him observe to mr. blunt. "the only way to do so is to follow them up whenever we can get tidings of them, to burn their villages and their vessels, and to hang them whenever we can catch them in the act. they understand no other kind of treatment. i remember once, in the mediterranean, capturing a greek pirate. we let him go, as he showed a letter from the master of a merchantman, in which great gratitude was expressed for the way in which the greek had behaved. we found, however, that the fellow had plundered the vessel of everything of value immediately after he had got possession of the letter. i caught him again the following year, and asked him how, after once he had been so generously pardoned, he could think of returning to his piratical ways. "`ah, signore,' he answered, `it is our nature. had you hung me then, i should no longer have gone pirating.' "we put an effectual stop to his career this time, and he submitted with the most perfect grace; it was our business to hang him--it was his fate to be hung." i did not forget our captain's remarks. i felt much pleased when mr. ormsby sent to desire that i might attend on him while he lay suffering from his wound. "i know that i can trust him to you, junker," said the surgeon, "and take care he has his medicine at the exact hour i mark down." "i am thankful to have you by me, jack," said mr. ormsby. "you have behaved admirably, and i shall always be glad to render you any assistance in my power." i will not say that these remarks did not raise me somewhat in my own estimation. i do not see how it could have been otherwise; and vague ideas of what i might perhaps become by-and-by, floated through my mind. i was the son of a marine only, but then he was a sergeant, and my mother was certainly a lady by birth, though she might have been supposed to have lowered herself when she married my honest father. "well, well, that may be all nonsense," i thought over and over again, "and yet, if there is an opportunity, i will try to distinguish myself. i may, to be sure, get knocked on the head, and then there will be an end to the matter; but still, people do go through all sorts of dangers, and come out without even a scratch." all day long the _roarer_ ran on, when towards evening we stood into a bay, where she brought up. it was supposed that the pirates were hiding away in the neighbourhood, and during the night a bright lookout was kept, lest any of the prows, not aware of our vicinity, might be stealing by. i sat up, as long as i could keep awake, with mr. ormsby; but at length the surgeon sent me to my hammock, he or one of the midshipmen taking my place. he, however, had a good deal himself to do, looking after the other wounded men. when the sun rose there was not a breath of wind, the water in the bay looking like a polished mirror, so clear, that we could see the fish swimming about, far down below the surface. at length the land breeze came off the shore, the anchor was hove up, and we once more made sail. i may as well say that this sort of work continued for several days. mr. ormsby was gradually recovering, so that he did not require much of my attendance. dicky plumb met me one day. "jack," he said, "i have been making interest, in case there is any boat-work, that i may be employed, and i have asked, if i go, that you may go also. of course the old _roarer_ herself is never likely to get hold of any of these fellows. they can see her coming, and hide away without difficulty, but with the boats it may be a very different matter." the very day after this we brought up as usual in a sheltered bay, the high points on either side covered with trees completely concealing the ship. it was dusk before we came to an anchor, so that, unless the people on shore had been expressly looking for us, we were very likely to have escaped observation. as soon as the sails were furled, the captain issued an order for five boats to be got ready, and armed with provisions for a couple of days, and it soon became known that he himself intended to lead our expedition in search of the pirates. the captain went in one of the boats, the second-lieutenant with the master and two mates in the others. dicky told me he was going with mr. mason. "and you are to take an oar in the boat, as barket, who belongs to her, is ill. depend upon it, we shall see some fun. the captain would not trouble himself, unless he felt pretty sure of bagging a few pirates." there was a thin crescent moon in the sky, just sufficient to enable us to see the land, but not affording light enough to betray our approach to any of the people on shore. i should say that two days before we had fallen in with a trading junk proceeding northward. captain sharpe had questioned the master, and having treated him very liberally, obtained, i fancy, a good deal of information from him. as the chinaman sailed away to the northward, there was no danger of his carrying the information of our being on the coast to the pirates, had he been so disposed. he, however, was probably very thankful to us for endeavouring to put an end to the career of those "ocean gatherers of blackmail." the men, having had their suppers, got ready for the expedition. we all had pistols in our belts and cutlasses by our sides, while in each boat there were several muskets besides those carried by the marines. in the bow of the launch, as also in that of the pinnace, there was a long brass gun, which could throw a shot well able to send a pirate prow to the bottom in the course of a few discharges. the captain gave the order to shove off, and following him closely, the flotilla of boats pulled away to the southward. i could not help looking every now and then at the big ship, as her dark hull, and masts and yards rose up against the clear sky. our oars had been muffled, so that the pirates might not be warned of our approach. the only sound heard was the light splash of the blades, as they clove the calm surface of the water, and the light ripple caused by our stems as we glided through it. we had to round a high wooded point, which in a short time hid the ship from our sight. we now coasted along at some distance from the land, but sufficiently near to discover any prows which might be at anchor. hour after hour we pulled on, but no suspicious craft were seen which might tempt us to overhaul them. not a word was exchanged between the different boats, for sound is carried at night over a calm sea-- especially in that clear atmosphere--to an immense distance, and had we laughed or talked, we might easily have betrayed our approach. "slow work this, mason," whispered mr. plumb. "i hope, however, we shall have our reward before long." we soon after this saw behind us a high wooded point, very like the one near which the _roarer_ lay. just then the captain dropped alongside each boat, and told the officers to be prepared, as he fully believed we should find a fleet of piratical prows on the other side. this put us all on the look-out. each man might be seen tightening his belt, and feeling to ascertain that his pistol was ready at hand. keeping close together, we followed our brave leader round the point. scarcely had we opened the bay, when we made out a large fleet of prows at anchor, close in with the shore. it would have been difficult to count them. "lads," said the captain, as he again dropped alongside, "i expect you to be cool and obey orders. you are to attack each prow in succession. two will attack one and two the other, and i will move on to wherever i am most required. no cheering till we are actually on board and the vessel is our own. we must make sharp work of it, and i hope daylight will see the pirate fleet either taken or destroyed. no cheering, lads, now. that is just what i expect you to do." saying this, the captain once more took his position at the head of the little squadron. how calm and quiet and peaceable looked that bay! not a ripple broke the surface of the water, which reflected the stars that glittered in the clear heaven. like a snake springing on its prey, the line of boats advanced towards the prows. our approach was not perceived, as far as we could judge. probably the malays, trusting in their numbers, and not aware of the neighbourhood of the ship, kept no watch. there was one awkward question, which i suppose our captain had asked himself--were the people we were going to attack really pirates or honest traders? he, i conclude, had received information which made him sure that they were pirates; if not, that they had been, or would be, if opportunity offered. if they were the gentry who had burned the merchant vessel and attacked the _fawn_, they deserved punishment, there was no doubt about that. steadily we advanced, every moment expecting to have a fire of gingals opened upon us. the pirates slept soundly; not even a dog barked on board any of their vessels. as we got nearer we saw the masts of a square-rigged vessel rising up in their midst. she was probably their prize. this made our captain more certain that they were the pirates he hoped to find. on we steadily went till the leading boat was within twenty yards of a large prow, two others appearing close astern of her, while the others were anchored in line, the barque--for such she appeared to be--inside of all; indeed, from the way she heeled over, we judged that she was aground. there seemed to be every probability of our getting on board unobserved, when suddenly a shout was heard from the deck of the nearest prow, and a bullet directly afterwards whistled over our heads. numerous other wild cries and shouts arose from the nearest vessel, quickly taken up by those astern of her. "on, lads!" cried our captain. "remember my directions?" scarcely had he spoken, when his boat dashed alongside the prow, two others following his example; we pushed on to the next. there was no time for thought before we were clambering up her side and engaged hand to hand in a desperate conflict with her dark-skinned crew, looking still darker in the gloom of night, grinning, and shouting, and hacking away at us with their sharp sabres, while others fired their matchlocks and gingals in our faces. our pistols and cutlasses, were, however, well matched to them; i kept close to dicky plumb, who sprang on board with the greatest gallantry. the glitter of dicky's uniform seemed to excite the fury of the malays; three big fellows making a dash at him together. i turned aside the sword of one fellow who was about to cut him down; but it would have gone hard with him, had not ned rawlings, who was with us, sprung forward, and with a sweep of his cutlass settled the other two; the remainder of the crew, finding that resistance was vain, leaped overboard, and attempted to swim on shore. no quarter was asked for; the pirates were not accustomed to give it themselves, and probably expected none. in ten minutes not a malay remained alive on board. according to orders, as soon as we had captured one vessel, we leaped again into our boats, and pulled off to the next; in another instant we were alongside her, with pikes being poked down at us, and matchlocks and gingals fired in our faces. though two of our men had been wounded, no one as yet had been killed. in spite of the warm reception we met with, we managed to climb on board, and we went through much the same scene as that before enacted; we found the malays no despicable enemies, for they fought with the greatest desperation, even when all hope of victory had been lost. as on board the other vessel, no one would yield; and after a third of the crew had been killed, the remainder sprang overboard, some being drowned, others, probably, reaching the shore in safety. it might have been wise if we had set the captured prows on fire immediately; but probably our captain wished to recover the cargo of the barque, which they might have got on board, and therefore spared them till there was time to search their holds. we went on from vessel to vessel, not always seeing what became of those who jumped overboard. we had captured eight or ten in this way, when the remainder were seen to be cutting their cables, and running on shore; at the same time, the first vessel we had captured was observed to be moving; there could be little doubt that the malays who had jumped overboard from the other prows had contrived to reach her; as she was the largest, and had a considerable amount of cargo on board, they probably thought it worth while running every risk in the hope of escaping with her. mr. mason was the first to discover what had occurred, and ordered us immediately into the boat; we then pulled away in chase. the prow was making towards a point which formed one side of the bay; she had already got a considerable start before she had been perceived. we had had by this time one of our number killed and two wounded, who, though they persisted in keeping at the oars, could not put forth their usual strength; one, indeed, had before long to give up; still mr. mason persevered, hoping to overtake the prow before she could reach the shore. as we shoved off from the last vessel we had taken, he shouted to the crew of the boat which had boarded with us, saying where we were going; but probably he was not heard, for we were left to make chase alone. we had four marines with us, who stood up every now and then, and fired at the enemy, but that only made them pull away the faster; we were gaining on them, but not very rapidly. now and then, the enemy fired at us in return. "pull away, lads i pull away!" shouted dicky every now and then, helping the stroke oar. the prow was getting nearer and nearer the shore. it seemed very doubtful whether we should overtake her before she reached it. still, the example set by captain sharpe was followed by his officers. his motto was "persevere," so was theirs. at length the prow got within twenty fathoms of the beach. we were almost up with her, when the other wounded man i spoke of gave in, sinking down, poor fellow! at his oar. this hindered us when we were almost up to the vessel. once more we were on the point of hooking on, when the prow dashed high up on the beach. at that moment, a number of men with firearms rushed out from among the trees and rocks, and began peppering away at us. "we will board her first, and drive them away afterwards," shouted mr. mason, springing up the side of the vessel. dicky plumb and i followed him, with ned rawlings, the marines covering us with their muskets as we did so. the enemy soon gave way, the greater number rushing over the bows and wading on shore. we had recaptured the prow, but just as we were congratulating ourselves on our easy victory, bright flames burst forth from the fore part of the vessel, spreading rapidly. to extinguish them was impossible. "to the boats, lads!" shouted mr. mason, "or the craft may be blowing up and carrying us with her. we must punish these fellows, however." the warning came just in time. scarcely had we jumped into the boat and made towards the beach, than up went the vessel, almost overwhelming us with her burning fragments; indeed, it seemed a wonder that we should have escaped, so close were we at the time. many pieces, indeed, fell on the outside of us--no large portion, happily, striking the boat. led by mr. mason, we dashed on shore, and with our four marines, who had fixed bayonets--the rest of us armed with cutlasses--charged the enemy. they ran away--the wisest thing they could do, but we followed, which was not at all a wise thing. the malays first fled along the beach, we every now and then firing at them; then they turned inland. still, as long as we kept sight of them, mr. mason led us on. rocks and trees were on either side of us. just as we were leaving the beach, i thought i heard a shout from the boat, in which were the wounded men and a couple of hands left to keep her afloat. our blood was up, mr. mason vowing that, though the malays might run fast, he would overtake them. we had now got a considerable distance from the beach, when our enemies disappeared. they had evidently concealed themselves among the trees and rocks. it was equally evident that we had done a very foolish thing. all we could now do was to retrace our steps; that, however, was not quite so easy a matter. before we had moved a hundred yards we discovered that we had lost our way. with daylight we might have found it, but in the darkness we could not discover a glimpse of the sea. just then we caught sight of numerous dark forms appearing above the rocks and among the trees. slowly they closed in upon us. we were surrounded by our enemies; there was no doubt about that. they were well armed with matchlocks, for we saw the matches fizzing away at their belts, while we had only four muskets and half a dozen pistols. our cutlasses and the marines' bayonets would have enabled us, perhaps, to have fought our way out from among our enemies, could we have seen it. "there is no help for it; i am afraid it is all up with us, lads!" cried mr. mason, as some fifty armed men pressed closer and closer round us. "we must sell our lives dearly!" the threatening gestures of the enemy showed us that we must do this, if we could not escape. an open space, however, appeared before us. "fire, and then charge?" cried mr. mason. the order was obeyed. several of the malays fell, and on we dashed. they, in return, however, poured in a shower of bullets upon us, which knocked over two of the marines, and hit another of the seamen. "on, on, lads! we must regain the beach!" cried mr. mason; and we fought our way on for another fifty yards. the malays had, however, in the meantime reloaded their pieces, and a second deadly discharge was poured in upon us. our leader fell, as did the two marines and three more of our men. ned rawlings, dicky, and i, indeed, were the only ones of the whole party untouched. hearing poor mr. mason groan, dicky and i stooped down to lift up his head. "i just now caught sight of the water," cried ned rawlings. "if you will help him up on my back, i'll carry him off to the boat." we instantly lifted mr. mason on ned's broad shoulders, and as the malays did not press on us, there seemed a possibility of success. they, however, seeing only two persons able to fight, now made a rush towards us. we, of course, thought our last moments had come. resistance was useless. instead, however, of cutting us down, they seized us by the arms, wrenched our cutlasses out of our hands, and dragged us along as prisoners. they soon caught hold of ned, who, however, would not let mr. mason go. he was soon brought up to where we were. mr. mason could, by this time, scarcely speak. "put me down, my good fellow," he said, "it is useless; i have received my deathblow; i only hope these fellows will not murder you and the lads. put me down, i beg you; you only increase my suffering by attempting to carry me." very unwillingly, ned obeyed him. mr. mason then made signs to the malays, entreating them to spare our lives; and trying to explain to them, that if they did so, we should certainly be ransomed, and they would be the gainers. they seemed to understand him, for they held a consultation together, as if to decide what was to be done with us. it was an anxious time, for we knew that they were just as likely to settle to cut off our heads as to allow them to remain on our shoulders. we, meantime, sat down near poor mr. mason; he had been shot in two places, and though we managed to tie handkerchiefs over the wounds, we could do no more. his voice grew weaker and weaker; at length he made no answer to our remarks, and when i lifted up his hand it fell helplessly by his side. "he's gone, lads," said ned rawlings. "he was a brave officer, but he wanted judgment in bringing us into this fix." the malays seemed to have decided to let us live; binding our arms behind us, they dragged us all three off up the country. at length we heard some dogs barking, and lights were seen glimmering ahead; and in a few minutes we found ourselves in the midst of a village of huts, with bamboo-built walls and roofs thatched with leaves. dawn was just breaking. a number of dark-skinned women and children came out, chattering and screeching, and eagerly pressing round the white prisoners. "keep up your spirits, jack!" said dicky to me. "if we put a bold face on the matter we are more likely to gain their respect than if we allow them to suppose that we are frightened." the inhabitants having satisfied their curiosity, we were carried into a hut, in which we all three were shut up; the furniture consisting only of a mat spread on the ground. "can't say i like the look of those chaps," said ned rawlings to me. "shouldn't be surprised but what after all they meant to kill and eat us. i have heard say that there are some chaps in these parts who do that sort of thing." "i hope not," i observed. "i think they would have knocked us on the head at first, if they had intended to do so; and, considering that they must feel rather savage at having their vessels destroyed, we are fortunate in not being killed." "well, the wisest thing we can do is to make the best of it," observed mr. plumb; "and as i feel pretty tired i will lie down on this mat and go to sleep." saying this the midshipman coiled himself up on the ground, and in another minute was snoring away as if he were in his own hammock. i felt very much inclined to follow his example; ned, however, seemed to think that it was his duty to keep watch, and when i lay down, i saw him still sitting up, and evidently intending to keep awake. in a very few minutes i was as sound asleep as mr. plumb; how long i had slept i do not know, when i was awoke by the sound of firing, and loud shouts and cheers in the distance; the midshipman also awoke, and we all sat listening attentively, hoping that our friends were coming to the rescue. the sounds grew louder and louder. ned tried to force open the door, but though made only of bamboo, the fastenings were so strong that he could not succeed. now arose the cries and shouts of the malays, and the sound of their matchlocks, as they fought desperately to defend the approach to their village. "if they are beaten, they will come in and knock us on the head in revenge," said dicky plumb. "it cannot be helped, though; i wish we were out of this, however, for we might then have, at all events, a run for life." the sounds grew louder and louder. it was evident that our captors were being driven back. "it is just like our captain," observed dicky. "when he found one of the boats missing, he came on shore to look for her, and then discovered this village, and determined to attack it, hoping to find us inside. he will be very sorry when he hears of the death of mr. mason and the other poor fellows." "i think we could get out through the roof of this place, though we cannot force open the door," observed ned, beginning to climb up the side. in a little time he had worked a hole in the thick thatch; in another minute he was through it. "now, sir, catch hold of my hand and i'll haul you up," he said to mr. plumb. the midshipman was speedily on the top of the hut; i followed, hauled up by the same friendly hand, scarcely had i reached the top when the door of the hut was opened, and we heard several voices utter exclamations of surprise. "follow me," whispered mr. plumb; "there is not a moment to be lost! we must run for it, that's evident!" we dropped down to the ground as noiselessly as we could. it was broad daylight; but, happily, we had got to the rear of the hut, which, as it seemed, was on the outside of the village. the ground was very wild and rough, sloping rapidly down towards the sea. we had got a considerable distance, however, before we were discovered. as soon as we were seen the malays pursued us, for they had no intention that we should escape. several shots were sent after us, but from the roughness of the ground, as we kept leaping from rock to rock, we escaped being hit. our enemies pursued us, determined to prevent our escape. if we were active, so were they; and away we all went, leaping from rock to rock, they jumping as we did. a curious sight it must have been to any one looking on. a stumble or fall would have been fatal. we mercifully kept our legs; still, they were overtaking us, when we caught sight of a party of our own men, who finding that side of the hill undefended were advancing towards the village. we ran towards them. and now the tables were turned, and the malays had to scramble back as fast as they had come. in the meantime captain sharpe with the main body was fighting his way up towards the village, the road being desperately defended by the piratical inhabitants. conducted by us, the smaller party we had joined now attacked the enemy in flank. they at length gave way, though they bravely covered the retreat of their women and children. a large number of the men were killed, but we were too glad to let the others escape. having driven out the inhabitants, we were now ordered to search for booty. we had soon ample proof of the character of the people by the various bales of silk and cotton goods, cutlery, and other articles which were discovered in different store-houses, apparently the property of the rajah and other principal men. having made a thorough search, and collected all the articles of value to be found, we conveyed them down to the boats. this done, the village was set on fire in several places, to secure its complete destruction--no very difficult matter, considering the materials of which it was composed. we then pulled back towards the barque which i have before mentioned. her unfortunate crew and passengers, for she apparently had had some, were all murdered. not a human being belonging to her could be discovered. how the malays had allowed dicky, rawlings, and myself to escape, we could not at first tell. we had, i should say, taken a few prisoners, and among them was a lad who was discovered to be the rajah's son. it was concluded, therefore, that they had spared our lives for the sake of exchanging us for him. our victory was complete; for we had captured all their prows, and recovered the merchant vessel they had carried off. it had, however, been dearly purchased; for we had lost the best part of a boat's crew and a boat which the malays had destroyed. the cries we heard just before leaving the beach we found afterwards had been those of our unfortunate countrymen when they were attacked by the malays, who had immediately put them to death. as soon as all the articles of value had been taken out of the prows and put on board the prize, they were set on fire, and, burning rapidly, one after the other quickly went to the bottom. the prize, i should have said, had been hove off the shore. a breeze now springing up, sail was made, and taking our boats in tow, we stood back to the _roarer_. it was hoped that the lesson we had given the pirates would make them and their friends behave better for the future. we cruised for another fortnight in search of any similar gentry. the barque was very useful, as while we lay at anchor, concealed in some wooded bay, she was sent out to act as a bait, for the purpose of drawing any pirates from their lairs. fifty hands were sent on board her, including a dozen marines, besides which she was armed with four long sixes and half a dozen brass swivels. after all, however, the pirates were too wary, and the bait did not take. at length, without any further success, our time to remain in those seas was up, and captain sharpe had, according to orders, to proceed to calcutta. chapter twelve. i get promoted. we brought up for a few days at singapore. it is a large place, numerous fine buildings, warehouses, public edifices, and private residences extending along the shore to a considerable distance, while the harbour is full of vessels of all nations from china, japan, russia, america, and every portion of the eastern seas. i had never before seen such a curious collection of rigs, the _roarer_ looking somewhat like a leviathan among minnows. summary justice was here executed on the pirates we had captured, many of them having been taken red-handed from the murder of the crew of the barque. they themselves died with the most perfect indifference, fully impressed with the idea that they had lived excellent lives, and that their last act was highly meritorious. it was necessary, however, to read a lesson to the crews of the numberless vessels crowding the harbour, who would carry an account of the execution wherever they went, and show the piratical tribes that the english were determined to make them change their mode of life for one of a more peaceable character, and more conducive to the prosperity of commerce in those regions. the son of the rajah whom we had captured was, however, pardoned; and it was made known that this was in consequence of the way we had been treated by our captors. the young gentleman was, however, not allowed to return to his family and friends, but kept at singapore that he might receive instruction, and be induced to lead a more creditable life than his father and his ancestors had probably done. at first he begged very hard that instead of going to school he might be taken off and hung at the yard-arm as his friends had been. however, he shortly became reconciled to his lot, and is, i have reason to believe, by this time a very respectable member of civilised society. sergeant turbot told me that in his younger days he had come out to singapore when it was little better than a sandbank with a few tumble-down huts upon it, inhabited by the followers of the rajah, whose chief occupation was to pounce out and rob all passers-by. "that was a good many years ago, as you may suppose," said the sergeant. "there was, however, at that time, a man out in these parts who had a head on his shoulders. he was called sir stamford raffles. he was governor of java, which our government, very foolishly, afterwards gave up to the dutch, who owned it before we took it. well, sir stamford saw that it was very important to have a place to which the traders in those seas could resort under english protection, and so he got the government to purchase the island from the malay owners, and it was established as a free port. that was all that was done. people very quickly came and bought the land and built the warehouses, and the place became what you now see it." we had to keep a bright look-out as we passed through the straits of malacca. we made the northern end of sumatra and were about a couple of days' sail from it when the weather gave indications of a coming typhoon. all hands were on deck shortening sail when down it came upon us. over heeled the old ship, and it seemed at first as if the masts would be taken out of her, or that she would go over altogether. she righted, however, and by desperate exertions she was made snug before any great damage was done. it reminded us somewhat of the one we had encountered at hong kong, but it was not so severe. had we, however, delayed another five minutes in shortening sail, it would have made us look very foolish. all night we lay hove-to, trusting to one who looks after sailors, but feeling that we could do very little for ourselves. next morning by daybreak the weather began to moderate. the hands had just been sent aloft to shake a reef out of the topsails, when dicky plumb, who was in the foretop, shouted out-- "a vessel on the lee bow! dismasted! she seems a large ship, sir!" all eyes were turned in the direction to which mr. plumb pointed, but as yet the ship could not be seen from the deck. mr. ormsby accordingly went aloft, and soon found that mr. plumb was right. the _roarer_ was accordingly kept away towards her. as we approached her we saw signals of distress flying from a spar which had been secured to the stump of the mainmast, and, on passing near her, a man held up a board on which was written, "we are sinking! no time to be lost!" there was, however, still a good deal of sea running, and it was no easy matter for a boat to go alongside a vessel rolling as she was, without any masts to steady her. captain sharpe, however, was not a man to desert his fellow-creatures in distress; indeed, i may say, it would be hard to find a captain in the british navy who would do so. we accordingly hove-to to leeward of the ship, and made a signal that we would send assistance as soon as possible. after waiting for a little time the boats were lowered. mr. blunt went in one of them, and mr. ormsby in the other. we watched them anxiously as they pulled towards the dismasted ship. now they seemed as if about to be thrown upon her deck; now they sank down, and it appeared impossible that they could escape being crushed by her as she rolled over. at length, however, with great risk they got alongside, and we could see several women and children being lowered into them, and also a few men. at length they once more shoved off, and we watched them anxiously as they returned to the _roarer_. i was standing near dicky plumb at the time they approached the ship; i saw him fix his eyes intently on one of the boats; he seized a glass and looked towards it:-- "yes, i'm sure i'm right! why, i do believe there is my respected mother! yes, and there is the brigadier and my sisters! yes, yes! how wonderful! pray heaven they may be got on board in safety!" he added, with more feeling than i had ever before known him exhibit. every preparation had been made by captain sharpe to get the people out of the boats as they came alongside. the young ladies were first lifted up, for mrs. brigadier would not go till she had seen them and her husband safe on board; she came last, and not till then did she discover that the ship was the _roarer_, and that her son was on board. she received dicky very affectionately; again and again she pressed him in her arms, and the tears rolled down her somewhat furrowed cheeks. of course, his father and sisters exhibited the feeling that might have been expected. the boats returned immediately to the ship; and, to make a long story short, all the people from her were got safely on board; scarcely, however, had the last person left her, when her bows lifted, and then down she went as if to make a long dive; we looked, and looked in vain; she was never more destined to come up again. "oh, jack!" said dicky, a short time afterwards to me, "i am so thankful that my father and mother, and those dear sisters of mine, were got safely on board the _roarer_; suppose we had been too late, and they had all gone to the bottom! and, i say, jack, i have been talking about you; and have told them all the things you have been doing; and they want to see you, and have a talk with you; the captain, too, i can tell you, has been praising you, and said--what i have often said--that you ought to be on the quarter-deck." i thanked master dicky for his kind wishes; but replied (and i must honestly confess i did not speak the truth), that i had no ambition that way, but was very jovial and happy where i was. "maybe, jack," he answered, "but i rather think you would find yourself still more jovial and happy as a midshipman." well, i had to go on the quarter-deck, where mrs. brigadier shook hands with me, as did the young ladies and the brigadier himself. "i have heard a good deal about you, young man," said the old officer, taking me aside. "if it had not been for you i should have lost my son; and, since then, i hear you have done many gallant things. i think also that there is another reason why mrs. brigadier is bound to give you a helping hand. do you happen to know your mother's maiden name?" "evans, sir--mary evans." "i thought so," he said; "evans was my wife's name. there were two sisters: one married a private of marines, and the other a captain, as i then was; but blood is blood, and i am not the man to deny its claims. your father is a fine, honest fellow, and i should not have been ashamed to call him brother-in-law therefore; in fact, jack junker, you are my nephew." i will not say how i felt; indeed, i cannot very clearly. i know i felt very jovial; and my heart bumped and thumped in a way it had never done before. i thanked my uncle, the brigadier, for his kindness; and told him i was very glad i had been of service to his son--though i little dreamed at the time that he was my cousin--and that i liked him for himself; and that ever since i had been on board the _roarer_ he had proved a steady friend to me. i confess one thing--i could not help secretly hoping that my new aunt would not be too demonstrative in her affection. dicky soon afterwards came up, and shook me warmly by the hand. "you are to be on the quarter-deck from this day forward," he exclaimed. "i am so glad! i have not been more jovial for many a day. the brigadier is to get your outfit, so you will have no trouble or bother about the matter." this announcement was confirmed soon afterwards by captain sharpe himself, who complimented me very kindly on my conduct on several occasions; and said that even had not the brigadier and my aunt made the application, he himself purposed endeavouring to obtain an appointment for me on our arrival in england. from that day i entered the midshipmen's berth; and, to the credit of my new messmates, i must say they treated me with the greatest kindness and consideration. of course, i was only provisionally a midshipman, but there was no doubt of my appointment being confirmed by the proper authorities, as captains have no longer the power they once had of making midshipmen. dicky and i had a very pleasant time of it at calcutta; he, generous fellow, insisting on calling me cousin, and introducing me wherever he went. we were both very sorry when at length the ship was ordered away on her return to england; however, our feelings were not shared in by the majority of the officers and ship's company, who rejoiced at the thoughts of once more returning to the shores of their native land. by the time we reached england, i found that my father had gone to sea, my sisters were married, and our poor stepmother had been driven out of existence by her uproarious offspring. ned rawlings, on our arrival, in consequence of the recommendation of captain sharpe, got his warrant as a boatswain. sergeant turbot went on shore with his company, and he told me that he thought if he was ever ordered foreign again, he must quit the service. "as long as i have got a ship's deck or a plain to fight on--provided there's not much marching--it's all very well, jack," he said; "but if i had to climb a hill, i should run a risk of losing my honour, if not my life, for up it i never could get." i was very glad to find that shortly afterwards he got a snug little appointment, and was never likely again to be sent to sea. little joss, who had accompanied us to england, remained on shore as a servant in captain sharpe's family. becoming a christian, he had no desire to return to his own country; and being a faithful and intelligent fellow, he ultimately became the captain's butler, a position he still holds. i occasionally have the honour of dining with my old captain, and at no house am i so well looked after by the servants. i always stop afterwards to have a yarn about the flowery land with mr. joss. he tells me that he thinks he could do very well at hong kong, and i should not be surprised to find him going off to establish himself there, with the wages gained during his long and faithful service. dicky and i, soon afterwards, through captain sharpe's interest, got appointed to a smart frigate; and when she was paid off, he having served his time, received his promotion as a lieutenant. all nonsense had long since been knocked out of him; and he was a universal favourite with officers and men, and acknowledged to be as gallant a fellow as ever walked a ship's deck. captain sharpe is now an admiral, and highly esteemed in the service. one of my cousins married mr. ormsby, who a short time before had been made a commander; and when i am not at sea i always find a pleasant home at his house, or at that of my kind-hearted uncle, who, after a few more years' service, returned to england, and, in spite of his liver, has managed to live to a green old age. mrs. brigadier has in no way changed; and owing to her exertions, dicky, in a short time, was made a commander, and i became a lieutenant--a rank i at present hold. my friends flatter me, by saying that i am such a very good first-lieutenant, that it would be a loss to the service to make me a commander. i am jovial and contented as ever; and after all, in my opinion, i am in a far more enviable position than many who, as they think, have risen to the summit of fame. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ the end. antony waymouth, by w.h.g. kingston. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ antony waymouth, by w.h.g. kingston. chapter one. "what! ned raymond ahoy! heave to, lad. what! dost seek to give a wide berth to an old friend? that once was not your wont. ned raymond ahoy, i say!" the slight dark moustache on the lip of the person addressed showed that he had just reached the age of manhood. his raven hair hung in ringlets from his head. a black velvet cloak thrown over one shoulder, and a tightly-fitting dress of the same material and hue, set off his well-made, active figure. his plumed cap and the sword by his side showed that he claimed to belong to the upper rank of society. indeed, no one looking at the refined expression of his features and his intelligent countenance could doubt that such was his right. he was walking somewhat rapidly through the narrow and irregularly-built streets of the seaport town of plymouth, at that time one of the chief ports of departure for the numerous naval expeditions which went forth to the west and to the east in search of new lands, and of regions of gold and diamonds and other precious stones. it is worthy of remark that the people of devonshire and cornwall have from the earliest days shown a strong propensity for naval adventure. this arises not alone from their geographical position, but has descended to them from their progenitors, who were, there can be but little doubt, phoenicians,--or their descendants the carthaginians, perhaps,--sailors, merchants, and others attracted from the northern shores of africa for the sake of the tin found in those counties. even at the present day many of their customs and the nautical terms they employed are retained. the clotted cream of devonshire and on the coast of barbary is the same, as is the mode in which the people manage their farms. caboose was the name of the temple carried by the fire-worshipping phoenicians on the decks of their vessels; the cook's house on board ship is now so called. davit in arabic is a crooked piece of wood; the same term we apply to the timbers by which boats are hoisted up to the sides of ships. however, we are now talking of more modern days, and must proceed. good queen bess sat on the throne of england, and ruled the realm as few sovereigns have done before or since, greatly to the furtherance of britain's glory and wealth, and to the firm establishment of religion and true liberty, for which let all honest englishmen be grateful, and talk not of her womanly weaknesses and failings. the young gentleman, hearing his name called, stopped and looked earnestly at the person who had addressed him, and who was following rapidly in his footsteps. the costume of his pursuer was far more gay and dashing than was his, being composed of bright-coloured velvet and silks, with a golden chain round his neck, a plumed hat set jauntily on his head, and a jewel-hilted sword by his side. he had a laughing blue eye and light curling locks, and though his countenance was well bronzed, and his voice strong and manly, his features still bore the impress of early youth. indeed, his hairless lip and beardless chin showed that he had scarcely emerged from boyhood. he ran up to the person of whom he was in pursuit, and frankly held out his hand. "really, sir, you have the advantage of me," said the elder gallant, gravely drawing himself up. on this the younger gave way to a merry peal of laughter, exclaiming, "if i am changed, surely you are not, good coz. i see that. what! ned--ned, most oblivious of mortals, don't you remember little tony waymouth, whom you pulled out of the water just in time to prevent him from becoming food for the fishes, at the risk of your far more valuable life, and to whom you ever gave the best of advice, and set the best of examples, neither of which, graceless vagabond that he was, is, and i fear ever will be, he took or followed?" there was no longer any hesitation on the part of the elder in seizing the proffered hand, but he found his fingers wrung in so hearty a way, and with so vice-like a grasp, that he could scarcely refrain from crying out with pain. the lad saw by the expression of his friend's countenance that in the warmth of his affection he had really hurt him. "marry, pardon me, dear ned, that my fingers have been thus heedless. they have been so accustomed to haul at ropes, tug at the oar, and dabble in the tar-bucket, that they have, like their owner, lost, i fear me, all civilised habits and customs," he exclaimed, exhibiting his horny-palmed, thoroughly-bronzed hand. "say not a word, tony," answered raymond. "far rather would i feel the grasp of thy honest fist than the gingerly touch of the soft-palmed courtier. but tell me, lad, where hast thou been these long years since we parted at school, where i fear me, tony, there was not much knowledge packed away in that then small head of thine? i have heard rumours of your existence, and that is all." "wandering over the ocean, and battling with the elements and strong-armed men," answered young waymouth. "but the spectacle of two such gay gallants as we are in this quiet street has already attracted attention. i see down there the sign of the white swan, a good hostelrie, i know. let us step in there; it is about the hour of dinner, and i know full well that we shall find a cup of good sack to wash down the viands. while discussing it i will tell you briefly of my doings and listen gladly to yours. i long to hear of your past life and future prospects." "agreed," said raymond; "but before we enter let me advise you, tony, to take but one cup; the second is apt to do harm." "an' it be a jolly big one, then," answered waymouth, as they entered the inn. "we rovers of the sea get so much salt water down our throats that we require a fair portion of good liquor to correct its ill effects." "the same as of old," observed raymond, as they took their seats in the public room and waited till dinner was placed before them, preceded by the promised sack. "and now, tony, that your throat is washed, tell me all that time will allow of yourself," he added, after waymouth had tasted and expressed his approbation of the sack. "with all my heart, then, that i may the sooner come at yours, ned, i'll begin," said waymouth, in his light, cheery tone. "you know that i always had a fancy for a life at sea; not that i knew any thing about it, but i thought i did, which comes to the same thing. many of my relatives followed the sea, both on my father's and mother's side, and among them was as brave a gentleman as ever stepped--my worthy cousin, captain john foster, of the good ship primrose, belonging to the port of london. i had frequently seen him and won his regards, and so at last i told him my hopes and wishes. he promised to intercede for me, and kept his word. my father gave his consent, and the next time he put to sea he took me with him as cabin-boy. the primrose was bound for bilboa, on the north coast of spain, with bale goods. we had a quick run across the bay of biscay, were politely received by the spaniards, and soon made arrangements to dispose of our cargo. to show his regard, the chief magistrate of the district, the corregidor, sent word that he would pay us a visit. he came off in a large boat, with a dozen or more dons, highly respectable merchants, he told us, who wished to make our acquaintance. the captain introduced me to the corregidor as a young relative who had come to sea for the first time to try how he liked a life on the ocean. the magistrate made a great deal of me, and patted me on the head, and said all sorts of complimentary things which i didn't understand; but there was a language in his eye which i did understand, though, and i saw glances exchanged between him and the dark eyes of his companions which still further aroused my suspicions. i slipped out of the cabin and told the captain. `good boy!' he remarked; `i'm on the watch.' "dinner was brought in, and wine in abundance. the corregidor, after sparingly partaking of some food and wine, departed with some of his followers, leaving, however, live in the cabin, who at once made themselves at home, laughing, and singing, and talking at their ease, trying to make the captain and officers drink with them. i observed that they did not swallow nearly as much as they pretended to take, and that the flasks but slowly became empty. they kept on their cloaks, and i caught sight of the scabbards of their swords and of a long dagger in the belt of one of them. still we mustered twenty-seven men, stout and true, on board, so that we had nothing to fear from these five spaniards. as to purchasing the cargo, the object for which they said that they had come, they were, it seemed, too much overcome with wine to talk about the matter. "leaving them in the cabin, i went on deck, where i found that the captain had served out arms to all the men, and loaded the guns ready for action. some of our people were sent below, others lounged about the deck with their weapons concealed under their clothes. he had good reason for this precaution, for as i looked over the side i saw two boats pulling off towards us, one containing twenty or thirty men, the other near a hundred, it seemed. "the corregidor, in the smaller boat, was the first to come alongside and to step on board with all imaginable frankness and cordiality. he had brought with him some dozen or more biscayan merchants, who were desirous of trading with their friends the english. "`if these are biscayan merchants, they have a very martial look about them,' observed the captain to one of our officers. `now, senhor corregidor,' he continued, `you'll understand that no more of those gentry come up the side; they crowd our decks and incommode the men in their duties.' "the corregidor with many a grin agreed to this, but still the boats remained alongside. our captain on this was about to order them off, when senhor corregidor whips out a white wand of office, and cries out in a loud voice, `yield, for you are our prisoners,' while the seeming merchants draw their daggers and swords and present them at the captain's breast. "`we are betrayed, lads!' he shouts, knocking up the weapons with a handspike. "at the same moment a drum beats in the big boat, and the spaniards, soldiers in disguise, begin to climb up the sides. i run aft and clap the hatch over the cabin, so as to keep the five gentlemen there quiet, while our men, drawing out their weapons, begin to lay about them with a will which astonishes the dons. some run to the guns and point them down at the boats; others, with axes, force back the men who are climbing the sides. our decks are slippery with blood. several of our men are wounded. a shot strikes a shipmate standing in front of me, and, falling dead, he knocks me over. it saves my life, for a spaniard is making a cut at me, which misses, and our captain cuts him down. still we fight on against fearful odds. our enemies gain the deck, but it is only to add to the heap of the slain. at last the corregidor cries out, and begs our captain to order his men to cease fighting. "`marry, very likely!' says the captain, in the sort of spanish lingo he spoke. `why, my fellows are such fire-eating dogs that they would kill me if i was to make such a proposal. is it the inquisition, with a turn at the thumb-screws, the rack, and the stake, or liberty and old england, you look for, my brave lads?' continues the captain, turning to the men. "`liberty and old england!' shout all our company. "`then let us trundle these treacherous scoundrels overboard, cut our cable, and make sail,' he exclaims in return. "scarce a minute passed and it was done; some were thrown into the hold, and the rest overboard, and a strong breeze coming off the land, the cable was cut, the sails filled, and away we glided out ahead of a dozen boats which came off in pursuit. we plied them well with our ordnance, till, like baffled hounds, they turned tail and went back to their kennel. "clear of the land, we turned to examine our prisoners. the five caged in the cabin had whole skins, the rest were wounded. among them was the smooth-spoken corregidor, now woefully crestfallen. we dressed his and the other people's hurts as well as we could, seeing that we had no leech aboard, and with a fair wind stood across the bay of biscay. the captain, whose kindness seemed to touch the feelings of the don, at last asked him what made him act so treacherous a part. on this out of his pocket he pulls a paper, which was just an order from king philip to seize every ship of holland, zealand, easterland, and england, in his ports, letting none escape, that he might increase his own fleet, by which he proposed to strike a blow to overwhelm old england and all protestant countries together. "`ah! is that so, senhor don? then our gracious sovereign lady shall know all about it, an' my name be john foster,' exclaimed the captain; and you may be sure that, favoured by fine weather, we carried all sail night and day until we arrived safely in the thames. "the captain, taking me with him, hurried up to london with our prisoners, strongly guarded. we got audience of the queen and of the great lord burleigh; and the captain, albeit not much of a courtier, did his devoir right courteously to her majesty, who took the paper with her own gracious hand, and ordered a gentleman standing by to read it to her. when she heard its contents her whole countenance changed. "`we'll be on the watch for you, cousin philip,' she exclaimed; but i heard no more, for her majesty turned to my lord burleigh and other noblemen and gentlemen to hold secret converse with them. "but the captain was not the man to go away without fulfilling all his intentions. he took me by the hand, and, presenting me to the queen, told her that i had given him the first hint of the intentions of the spaniards, and confirmed the opinion he had formed, and he hoped that her majesty would graciously keep me in mind. "`ah, ah! the little varlet, we'll not forget him,' was her majesty's reply; nor, by my troth, did she. there's not an expedition of note, nor an adventure which has promised honour or wealth, since undertaken, in which i have not been engaged. i sailed with admiral sir francis drake to the west indies in the sea dragon, commanded by honest harry white. we did the spaniards no small damage, burning their towns and sinking their ships without number, and came back with our pockets lined with doubloons, and six hundred thousand golden pounds, and brass cannon, and jewels, and ornaments of all sorts on board. i served aboard the mary rose, under the brave captain fenton, when the spaniards' grand armada entered the channel; and, following them up, we at length broke through their line, led by the admiral himself. then we engaged broadside to broadside a huge spanish galleon, which we compelled to strike, and carried into port. but i weary you, good coz, with my adventures; i might go on talking till midnight, and yet not tell thee half the things i have done and seen. i may well say, that, since the time i made my first voyage in the primrose, for not one single month at a time has my foot rested on _terra firma_." "weary me, tony!" exclaimed raymond, who had been listening with the deepest attention, and an expression of wonder in his countenance, to every word his young companion had uttered. "indeed you do not. if i did not know you to have been as a boy the soul of honour, and incapable of falsehood, i should only have been inclined to doubt that you had gone through all the adventures you describe." "ah, that is because all these years you have been living quietly on shore, as i suspect, where weeks and months pass by you scarcely know how," answered waymouth, in a tone of compassion. "but now that i have told you somewhat about my worthless self, let me ask you how you have passed the last few years of your mortal existence?" "briefly i will reply," said raymond. "at school and college. the learned university of oxford is my _alma mater_, and even now i am debating to what profession to devote my energies--the law, the church, or physic. sometimes i fancy public life, or to seek my fortune at court, where i have kindred who might aid me; but yet, in truth, i am undecided." "ah, that's good," exclaimed waymouth with animation. "the law--to persuade your hearers that black is white, and to set men by the ears-- let that alone an' you value your soul." it is not surprising that the young seaman should give expression to a vulgar and ignorant prejudice against one of the most necessary of professions. "physic! `throw physic to the dogs, i'll none on't,' as will shakespeare has it," continued waymouth. "no, no, ned, learn not to murder thy friends and those that trust thee. as to the church, i'll say nothing against that if thou hast a calling to the ministry. to care for the soul's welfare is a noble office, but if sought for the sake of filthy lucre it's a mean, despicable trade, so we hold who follow the sea. and then thou talkest of seeking thy fortune at court. as well seek it on the slippery ice. no, no; listen to me, ned. seek it with us. it's a secret as yet, and i cannot tell thee particulars; but this much i may say. there is as bold an adventure even now preparing as ever set forth from these shores. hark, ned: i know that thou art trustworthy. it is for the far-off lands of india, cathay, the spice islands, and maybe the wide pacific, where many a richly laden galleon or portugal ship may be fallen in with. become an adventurer with us. our lists are not filled up. think that in two or three short years, at most, thou wilt become for certain a man of wealth, fit to wed the proudest lady in the land. then the wonders of those distant lands! they make no more count of gold and silver, of diamonds and other precious stones, than we do of tin and iron, and of pebbles from the seaside. come, come, ned; say yes to my proposal." but raymond did not say yes, and waymouth continued in the same strain for some considerable time longer. at length raymond answered, while the colour mantled on his cheeks-- "i would fain go with thee, good coz, but the truth is, there is one i love here in england from whom i could not bear to be parted. we trust to wed some day, and all my hopes of happiness on earth are bound up in her." "ha! ha! i might have thought so," said waymouth. "that comes of living on shore. now at sea we have no time for thinking of such matters. i doubt not, however, that the fair one, whoever she may be, is worthy of your love. tell me, do i know her?" "it is no secret--she is the lady beatrice willoughby. her grandfather was that noble captain who perished in the attempt to discover a passage to cathay by the north-west. you have doubtless heard the tale--how he and all his men were found frozen to death in the icy sea, the admiral seated in his cabin, his pen in his hand, his journal before him." "ay, that have i, and reverence his name," said waymouth with feeling. "but what fortune hast thou, coz, to support a wife? they say these ladies of fashion are not content unless they have their coach, their running footmen, and their waiting-women, and i know not what else beside." raymond sighed. "my fortune is to be made--i live on hope," he answered. "such often maketh the heart sick and the body lean," replied the young sailor. "follow my advice. go tell the lady beatrice the truth. vow eternal constancy, and comfort her with all the soothing speeches thou canst make, and i'll warrant that, in three short years at furthest, thou wilt return with wealth sufficient to support a wife as becomes your family and hers." there can be no doubt that antony waymouth spoke what he believed to be the truth, and gave, as he fancied, excellent advice. it may appear surprising, however, that raymond, a scholar and a man of good parts and judgment, should have been so strongly influenced as he was by the arguments of a mere youth; but, as far as acquaintance with the world was concerned, waymouth was the oldest of the two. he had been left since a child almost to work his own way in the world, helped onward by the queen, and had mixed with every variety of men. this gave him a confidence in himself and an independence of manner which raymond had had no opportunity of gaining. while the young men were still eagerly talking, a clock from a neighbouring tower struck the hour of one past noon. waymouth started up with an exclamation of astonishment, saying-- "the hours have sped faster than i thought. i should have been aboard by this time to see how the artificers get on with their fittings. but come, coz, you shall be my excuse, and i'll show thee as stout ships as ever sailed the salt ocean." "agreed," was the answer, and the two friends set off. all the way antony plied his companion with the most glowing descriptions of the wealth and fortune to be obtained in the distant east, not to speak of the honour, and glory, and renown. portugal ships and spaniards without number were sure to be taken, even should the land fail to, yield what might be expected. and then the wonders to be seen--the curious people--the palaces of silver and precious stones--the great mogul on his throne of gold, and the emperor of cathay, with his robes of rubies and diamonds--not to speak of the possibility of falling in with prester john, whose dominions were undoubtedly on that side of africa; and then the spice islands, which might be discerned by their fragrance even when miles away! enlarging, as waymouth did, with an eloquence which perfect confidence in the truth of what he was saying gave him, and a strong desire to gain over his friend, it is not surprising that raymond yielded to such seductive arguments, and began to grow eager to join the expedition as an adventurer. aboard the ships which were fitting in the harbour, waymouth introduced him to several other adventurers, who naturally wished to obtain a gentleman of such good parts and family as a brother in their company. raymond had, he fancied, a small patrimony at his command. could he do better than risk it in so promising an adventure, and in three short years come back and marry his beloved beatrice? still he would do nothing rashly; he would make no engagement till he had talked the matter over with her. accordingly, leaving waymouth on board to attend to his nautical duties, early next morning he took horse and set off for exeter, in the neighbourhood of which city the lady willoughby, with her daughter and the rest of her family, resided. raymond was welcomed as he always was, but he could not bring himself at first to announce the object of his visit. he spoke, however, of his meeting with waymouth, and of his descriptions of the wonders of the east, and the wealth to be speedily obtained in those distant seas. his auditors were even more interested than he expected. it was but natural that young hugh willoughby should be so, but so likewise was hugh's uncle, sir john jourdan, a brother of lady willoughby's, and guardian to her children. the early dinner over, raymond and beatrice wandered forth into the grounds, for they were acknowledged lovers, and enjoyed a liberty which would otherwise have been denied them. raymond saw at once that beatrice was sad at heart. he felt tongue-tied. she spoke first. "i know what has been passing in your mind, dear edward. you long to join these adventurers, and i know why--for the sake of the wealth you hope to obtain." she gazed tenderly at him, her blue eyes suffused with tears. beatrice was fair and graceful. raymond thought her beauty faultless: so did many others. how could he withstand such an appeal? he acknowledged that she was right in her conjectures, but expressed himself ready to be guided by her decision. "stay, then," she whispered. "wealth i do not value. i would be content to be your wife however humble your lot, but i have that confidence in your steadiness, and perseverance, and love for me, that, with the many honourable careers open to you at home, i feel sure that you will ere long secure a sufficient competency to support me in that station of life in which we have been born." raymond thanked her over and over again for this kind and encouraging speech. in a moment all his dreams of adventure and the wealth he was suddenly to acquire vanished into thin air. he promised to be worthy of the high opinion she had formed of him, and to labour on bravely in england, having the enjoyment and support of her society. they wandered on through the grounds, beneath the shade of stately elms and sturdy oaks, in the delightful feeling that they were not to be parted, and regardless of all sublunary affairs but their own. little, therefore, were they prepared for the blow which was to fall on their heads on their return to the hall in the evening. it appeared as if both sir john and hugh had divined raymond's thoughts when he had arrived in the morning at the hall, for they immediately commenced the subject of an adventure to cathay, and inquired if he had formed any plans for making one. raymond did not like the tone in which he was addressed, and replied simply that, had such an intention crossed his mind, he had abandoned it. on this the knight looked glum, and hugh showed an inclination to fume; but no further words then passed. it was not till the ladies had retired to their chambers that sir john again opened on the subject. he spoke very explicitly. he was the guardian of his niece beatrice, and as such had the undoubted disposal of her hand. love and poverty might do in theory, but were objectionable in practice. he had a great respect for master raymond, as he had for sir thomas his father, and for all his family, but the interests of his ward must be his first consideration. now he had discovered, _imprimis_, that master raymond had much less fortune than he had supposed; and, secondly, that his prospects of making a fortune, or of pushing his way in the world, were much smaller than desirable, and that, therefore, he was in duty bound to withhold the consent previously given to his marriage to beatrice till such times as he could show that he possessed the means in fact, and not only in prospect, of maintaining her as a gentlewoman. poor raymond felt his heart sinking lower and lower while listening to these remarks, till it seemed to have gone out of his bosom altogether. what could he say? he stammered out, at length, that his love would give him strength and courage to achieve any thing mortal man could do, and that he was sure of success. but what sounded a very plausible argument to his ears was so much prunella to those of the old knight. "i'll tell thee what, lad: from thine own showing this morning, there is a course open to thee by which thou mayst gain speedily both wealth and honour, and all a gentleman of spirit can desire, and that i take thee to be. go, think about it on thy couch, and to-morrow i'll warrant that thou wilt agree that i have given thee sound counsel and advice." edward went to his couch, but not a wink did he sleep. his heart was torn with a variety of conflicting emotions. he could not help owning that there was truth in what sir john had said, and yet he felt that he had the power to win his way to fortune by honest labour with such a being as beatrice willoughby at his side. hot and feverish, he rose early to take a turn in the park. he had not gone far when he heard footsteps behind him. he turned, and saw hugh willoughby following him at a rapid pace. there was a frown on the young man's brow, and his lips were compressed in a way which showed that he was in no good humour. "well met, this fine morning," he exclaimed in an angry tone. "i must have a word or two with you, master edward raymond. it seems, sir, that you have been deceiving us--leading us to suppose that your fortune is far greater than it turns out to be. i'll tell you, sir, that my sister shall never wed a beggar while i have a sword with which to run that beggar through the body who dares to wish it." edward gasped for breath--such bitter, taunting, cruel words, how could he abide them? he had a sword by his side, but nothing should make him draw it on the brother of his beatrice. he took two or three turns up and down on the greensward. "hugh," he exclaimed, "you wrong me cruelly. your uncle knows more of the state of my affairs than i do myself. my earnest desire has been to obtain a fortune to support your sister as becomes her. but two days ago the offer was made me to undertake such an expedition as that proposed by your uncle. not your taunts, not your threats, not your anger, shall compel me to go; but i believe that i shall be doing right in going. on one condition i will consent--that no force or restraint be put on your sister's inclinations. if she cares no longer for me, let her marry whom she will; but if she remains faithful to me--as i know right well she will, and as i shall to her--then i have your word, that, on my return with the wealth i may have won, i may claim her as my bride." "fairly and right nobly spoken," exclaimed hugh, who, though hot-tempered, was of a generous disposition, and had been worked up to act as he had done by his uncle. "agreed--agreed; i'll tell beatrice what you have said, and, no doubt, she will see its wisdom." in more friendly intercourse than from their first meeting might have been expected, the two young men continued their walk, and returned to such a breakfast as is seldom, in these degenerate days, seen on the table. sorely against her judgment and inclination, beatrice yielded to her uncle's demands. deep was her sorrow at parting from edward, and reiterated were their mutual vows of constancy; not that either had the slightest doubt of each other's devoted love. it was more for the sake of influencing others than themselves that vows were exchanged--that they might say, "we have vowed; we cannot break our vows." edward had to return home to make his preparations. the old knight, his father, heard of this his sudden resolve with a sorrowing heart. his own health had given way sadly of late. he knew that the change which no mortal can avoid must soon come upon him, and should his well-loved son go away, even for a few years, he could scarcely hope that his eyes would rest on him again on this side the grave. he was fully aware, too, of the perils, great and innumerable, to which he must inevitably be exposed. still, though gentle and loving, he was stout of heart; peril had never daunted him. if his son desired to go on this adventure, he would not withhold his consent. lady raymond was no more; but there was another member of his family, to part from whom cost edward a severe pang--his lovely sister constance. she was not only lovely, graceful, and good, but full of animation and spirit, combined with a calm courage and determination which, when difficulties came in her way, made her take pleasure in overcoming them. few who observed her gentle and quiet demeanour would have supposed her likely to perform the deeds of devotion and courage of which she was capable. "i wish that i were a man, that i, too, might take part in so gallant an enterprise, and win for myself such a bride as is your beatrice," she exclaimed when her brother told her of his purpose; but she added, "and yet, dear edward, it grieves me sorely to part with you. i would go myself, and yet i would not have you go; and yet, again, i cannot say you nay. go, go! it must be so, i see, and i will join my prayers with those i know your sweet beatrice will offer up night and day for your safe return." "the die is cast," said edward with a sigh, and he wrote to waymouth to say he would join him. in the course of four days he set forth from exeter, with a couple of packhorses to carry his worldly goods, and a serving-man, equipped for his projected voyage to the far east. chapter two. a goodly fleet of stout ships, with bulging sails, and gayly-coloured banners and streamers flying, sailed down plymouth sound before a favouring breeze, which promised to waft them along steadily towards the sunny latitudes of the tropics. there sailed the red dragon, of full three hundred tons and forty pieces of ordnance--the admiral's ship; and there was the serpent, of not less than two hundred and fifty tons--the vice-admiral's ship; and the lion, of not much less tonnage and armament than the serpent; there was the lion's whelp, a tall ship, and two pinnaces, the sunshine and moonshine, the larger ships carrying each from one hundred to one hundred and thirty men, and the pinnaces thirty men each; and as for arms, besides great guns, they were amply provided with culverins, sakers, falconets, and murtherers, the latter unpleasantly-named pieces being similar to blunderbusses on swivels, and loaded with small shot, and scraps of iron, lead, or stones. no little squadron in those days could have been more amply equipped, provisioned, and found in every way, or better manned or commanded. it must be remarked that the pictorial representations of ships of those days give us a very erroneous notion of what ships really were. ships capable of performing long voyages in tempestuous seas, and ships on tapestry--worked by fair fingers, which, however ably they might have plied their needles, were scarcely capable of delineating accurately those wonderful constructions on which the eyes of the workers had probably never rested--are very different from each other. the ships now described sailing down plymouth sound were strongly-built craft, with bows not over-bluff and sides not over-high. they had erections on deck, both at the bows and stern, rising some five feet above it, or a little more, perhaps, on the top of which men could stand for fighting or working some of the sheets and braces of the lighter sails, while the halyards and other chief ropes lead to the main deck. in these said erections, or castles, as they were called, still to be seen in most foreign and many english merchantmen, somewhat modified and in more pacific guise, there were port-holes, with guns projecting from them both at the sides and outer ends, and also along the deck. thus an enemy having gained the deck would be exposed to a hot fire from the defenders under shelter of the wooden walls of the two castles. on the fore and main mast the sails were square, and there were also staysails fore and aft. on the mizzen-mast there was a large lateen yard and sail, such as is still seen in the mediterranean. it was a useful and powerful sail for plying to windward, gaff-sails not having then been invented. the tops were circular, and heavier than would now be approved of, but certainly not the heavy constructions they are represented in pictures. the holds of those vessels were very capacious, and the cabins were fitted not without regard to comfort and luxury, and were often richly ornamented. such was the squadron to which the lion belonged, and on board the lion sailed antony waymouth as master's mate or chief officer under the captain, and his friend edward raymond, to whom was awarded the office of cosmographer, he being at the same time an adventurer of some three hundred pounds. of the lion an honourable gentleman, john wood, was captain, and master james walker, a truly worthy man, and pious withal, the minister. captain lancaster, a man of renown and valour, was the admiral and general; and nicholas parker, captain of the serpent, the vice-admiral. of the rest of the officers and gentlemen adventurers it is not necessary here to speak. that they were not a godless or a lawless company, intent only on plunder, may be proved by the following rules and articles set down for their guidance: "the usual service appointed by the church of england to be said twice a day. due reverence to be given to the ministers. not to suffer swearing, dicing, card-playing, or other vain talk. conspiring against the life of the general or any other in authority to be punished by death. to follow the admiral day and night and no man to be so bold as to go before him. to speak with him every morning and night. not to be more than an english mile from him. signals: not to give chase without the admiral's orders. watchwords: `if god be with us;' answer, `who shall be against us?' if an enemy be encountered, rather to be on the defensive than the offensive." waymouth showed these articles to raymond, observing--"you see, ned, we seamen are not, the godless reprobates some who grow rich upon our toil and danger would wish to make it appear. where would you find a more humble christian man than good master walker, our minister? and surely the example he and the other chaplains of the fleet set is not without its due influence among the crews." waymouth spoke the truth. it was not till many years after this that the character of the british seaman changed very much for the worse. no chaplains were then sent to sea; religion was ignored, and, as a consequence, the mass of seamen became godless, swearing, vicious reprobates, little better than heathens in their religion or morality. on board captain lancaster's fleet, however, order was well maintained, and the ministers setting a good example, religion flourished more than among most communities on shore. all honour be to our sea-going ancestors! they were brave, sincere, zealous, and energetic men; black was black with them, and white white. they had, it must be owned, some queer notions as to right and wrong, and honest traders on the north of the line seemed to consider themselves justified in acting the part of pirates to the south of it. like the arabs of the desert, their hand was against every man, and every man's hand against them. in the east, spaniards, portugals, hollanders, and english were at ceaseless war with each other; or when the hollanders pretended to side with the latter, it was simply for the purpose of betraying them and injuring their commerce in those parts. as raymond stood on the aftercastle of the lion, watching the fast-receding shores of old england, his spirit sank within him. he was thinking--and shame, to him if he was not--of beatrice. not for a moment did he doubt her love and constancy; but he thought of the dangers to which she might be exposed should troublous times again arise--of her grief should he not be destined to return. he had others, also, whom he loved at home; his widowed mother, his brothers, and, above all, his sister constance, the dear friend of his beatrice, unlike her in appearance, for constance was a dark-eyed, dark-haired beauty, full of life and animation, but like her in goodness and sense, and the sweetness of her disposition. hugh willoughby affected her, but it was evidently with a mere boyish admiration, and she regarded him in no other light than as her friend's brother. edward's reveries were broken in on by waymouth, who sprang up on the deck of the aftercastle and clapped him, as was his wont, on the shoulder, exclaiming-- "what! disconsolate, ned? turn thee about, lad; the old country will not move till we come back, depend on that. look ahead! that's the way we seamen set our eyes. even now the admiral has made a signal that several sail are in sight under all canvas, steering for the south. spaniards or portugals i hope they may prove, and if so, and we come up with them, thou'lt have the satisfaction of enjoying a sea fight before we've been forty-eight hours on the salt ocean." edward's attention was instantly aroused. nothing in the then state of his feelings he would so much enjoy as a battle. not that he had seen one, nor had he pictured its horrors very clearly to himself. had he, possibly he would not have been so anxious for it. the hope of booty animated the ship's company generally, though some declared that it was the desire to destroy papists, the born enemies of england, at which their minister, master walker, severely rebuked them, telling them that it was filthy lucre, and that alone, they desired, and that the sword was not the weapon to win men over to the truth, or to use against men who held not the truth. "the sword repelleth friends," he continued. "kind words and gentle usage attract those who have been our foes. such are the weapons protestants should use against their papist adversaries." master walker's plain speaking and honest dealing with those over whose spiritual welfare he had the charge made him generally beloved, though a few bad tempers disliked him. to waymouth and raymond he was a sincere and warm friend, as he was in truth, as far as they would let him, to all who sailed on board the fleet. the chase continued; but the strangers, whatever their nation, were fleet craft. so far they had been gained on as to be seen from the tops of the lion. though outnumbering the english, they continued their flight; southward they sailed, and southward after them sailed their pursuers. the spaniards had received so many severe lessons of late that they had learned to consider discretion the best part of valour. henceforth their history was to show a retrogressive movement. their black injustice and horrible cruelties to the natives of mexico and peru were to meet with just retribution. the cries of thousands ascending from their inquisitorial prisons were not unheard. national sins were to meet with national punishment. they had been tried in the balance, and found wanting. so it has gone on. the land of spain, bountifully blessed by nature, still holds a people grovelling in the dust of ignorance and superstition. at that time it is difficult to overstate, though not to believe, the utter detestation in which the spaniards were held by all true-hearted englishmen, and in which the portugals over whom they held sway had to share. the chase continued till night hid the strangers from the sharp eyes of the men on the lookout at the mast-heads. in vain were they looked for the next morning. "never mind," said waymouth as he walked the deck; "the world is round: sir francis drake has proved it so. we'll come up with them in the course of the circle." the belief that the enemy were ahead urged the bold mariners to carry sail night and day, so that their run to the south was unusually rapid. raymond devoted himself to the study of navigation and to practising the use of such nautical instruments as were then invented; nor did he neglect to gain a knowledge of the object of the ropes and sails, and the mode of dealing with a ship under various circumstances, so that waymouth soon pronounced him an accomplished seaman. there occurred but one event worth narrating for some time. sixteen sail were seen approaching, and the fleet got ready for action. the strangers, however, turned out to be hamburg hulks from lisbon; but the obstinate hollanders refused to strike to the english flag--a piece of folly not to be borne--so they were fired into and compelled to heave to. boats were then sent on board, and such articles as were likely to prove useful were taken out of them, it being evident that they were loaded with spanish property. they were then charitably allowed to proceed on their voyage. we will not describe the mummeries and other ceremonies which took place on crossing the line, introduced by some genoese seamen on board, such as they said their countrymen were wont to indulge in formerly on passing through the "gut of gibbelterra," and now of late in these same latitudes. it was not much to good master walker's taste, seeing that numerous profane gods and goddesses of the sea were introduced--hercules and orion, and venus and neptune, and others, tritons and odd fish of all sorts. without misadventure the squadron reached sierra leone, where the blacks were friendly, and, taking in water and fresh provisions, stood across to the coast of brazil. here a brighter lookout than ever was kept, and not without avail, for when about eight leagues from the shore they descried a small portugal ship, which they chased and took, of about fifty tons' burden, bound up the river plate. she had forty-two negroes on board for peru, and two portugal women and a child passengers, with some sugar, rice, and sweetmeats. the next day another portugal ship was captured. waymouth in his journal remarked, "that the only riches in her besides slaves and friars were beads, pictures, and other spiritual trinkets--furniture designed for the use of a new monastery." the pilot of this ship turned out to be an englishman--one dick carter, from limehouse--who had been so long away from home that he had almost lost all use of his native tongue. "why, lad, we have a man aboard--tom carter--from the same place," observed waymouth, as the man tried in broken accents to narrate his history. tom was sent for, and, sure enough, the two proved to be brothers. dick gladly consented to serve on board the lion, and informed waymouth, in gratitude for his kind treatment, that a spanish squadron of considerable force was daily expected in the plate. the admiral, however, instead of trying to avoid them, resolved to await their coming, and, entering the river, cast anchor. "now, ned, we shall have our hearts' desire," exclaimed waymouth, as he stopped for a minute near his friend while going round the decks to see that the ship was ready for a fight. the day was passing away, when, about four o'clock in the afternoon, five sail of large ships and several smaller ones were seen rounding a point in the river. the english, therefore, in warlike manner set their watch, the trumpets sounded, the drums beat, and the admiral opened fire on the approaching enemy, who, however, anchored out of shot, the better to prepare for the expected fight. they were some little time in doing this, and then once more they advanced, it being now nightfall. the wind had dropped, so the spaniards' boats towed on their big ships with the intent of boarding the english. both sides were, meantime, plying their guns and small arms with vigour; the english with the greater success, as their men were more at liberty. the spanish vice-admiral was seen with two smaller ships bearing down on the lion; captain wood was, therefore, compelled to slip his cable, to prevent them driving athwart his hawse. a breeze springing up, he was able to make sail and lay the galleon alongside, caring little for the smaller ships. now began a most desperate fight, the bright flashes of the guns making night appear like day; the rattle of the small arms, the roar of the heavy ordnance, the sounding of the trumpets and drums, the shouts and shrieks of combatants, creating a turmoil terrible to novices--and confusing to the senses. the lion enjoyed a large share of the fight, everybody being actively engaged, the captain himself firing a musket like the rest. one of the spanish frigates, coming too near her, received so heavy a storm of shot, that, one penetrating her magazine, with a loud roar she blew up, when her companion sheered off, not wishing to share the same fate. the lion now turned her whole fury on the galleon, which she kept at a respectful distance. suddenly the galleon's fire ceased. the darkness was great; she could nowhere be seen. captain wood now stood away to support the admiral and the other ships; they were hard pressed, though fighting valiantly. the lion soon had an enemy worthy to contend with in a portugal galleon which had come in with the spaniards, and now hoped, by attacking a ship partly disabled by a long combat, to come off the conqueror. the english captain, as did his young lieutenant, called on their men to exert themselves to the utmost to fight for the honour of old england. raymond supported them bravely, and, though at length wounded in the arm, he refused to leave the deck. thus the fight continued, captain wood making several attempts to board his opponent, which the latter nimbly avoided. the admiral and vice-admiral were all the time hotly engaged. the former was seen to run a large spaniard aboard, when, after a hot discharge of great guns, flames were observed to burst forth from one ship or the other, and thus they drove by till no longer to be distinguished. the last seen of the serpent was in chase of some spaniard, as her tall masts, like some huge monster of the deep, glided by past the lion. towards morning the moon disappeared, clouds overspread the sky, the portugal thought it wise to sheer off, and the brave ship's company of the lion waited anxiously for daylight to ascertain the fate of their friends and foes. for fear of the ship being drifted on shore, captain wood again anchored. as soon as the fight was over, waymouth hastened to look for his friend. he found him below in the hands of the surgeon. raymond bore the pain bravely. waymouth congratulated him. "you've had a taste of what a sea fight is like, ned," he observed. "maybe before we get back to old england we may have to count scores such, for, no doubt, the portugals and spaniards, and even the hollanders, will give us plenty of occasions to prove our valour." raymond replied that he was ready for another fight, and should be willing to meet the foes of england wherever they were to be found. it appeared probable that he would at once have another opportunity, for, as daylight broke, a large ship was discerned bearing down on them under all sail. she was the portugal. the lion's crew flew to their guns, and as she came near plied her so well with their shot that she was fain to sheer off, and to stand down towards the river's mouth. as she stood away, an officer of rank--so he seemed by his fine garments and feather in his cap--sprang on the aftercastle, and, shaking his fist, cried out through his trumpet-- "we shall meet you again ere long, you hated english, and then we shall have our revenge." "let the dog bark who runs away. though he shows his teeth he dare not use them," exclaimed waymouth with a scornful laugh. the increasing light had shown some way astern the topmasts of a ship out of the water, crowded with people. was the foundered ship a friend or foe? as soon as they were clear of the portugal ship two boats were lowered, and made towards the spot where the masts appeared. at the same time several boats were seen putting off from the shore, clearly belonging to spaniards. when they, on their part, beheld the english approaching, fearing their prowess, from which they had suffered so much, they put back, leaving their countrymen to their fate. the poor people on the masts, who had been clinging there for the greater part of the night, held out their hands, imploring succour. this english sailors have ever been ready to give to those in distress, whether friends or foes. the boats, therefore, approached to take off the nearly-exhausted people. waymouth, who was in the first boat, perceived, as he fancied, the flutter of a female's dress. on the cross-trees, just above the water, lay a young lady, her head resting on the arm of an old and dignified-looking man, while the two were further supported by four or five faithful seamen who clung near them. the seamen waved their hands to attract the notice of the english. "take this lady off first," they cried out. "save her and her father; mind not us." waymouth required no further inducement to exertion than the sight that feminine gear had excited. the spanish seamen refrained from leaping into the boat as she came up to the mast, allowing waymouth to climb up and release the lady from her painful and perilous position. carefully he lifted her into the boat, and placed her in the after-part. "oh, meu pai! meu pai!" she cried out in the tongue of the portugals--"oh, my father! my father!" "have no fear, fair lady," cried waymouth, who understood it slightly; "he is safe." and, springing back, he assisted the old gentleman into the boat. the latter, as far as his exhausted slate would allow, expressed his thanks. not till now did the spanish seamen descend into the boat. as soon as he had received as many as she could carry, waymouth returned with them to the lion. the care of the surgeon and good master walker soon restored the young lady--for young she was and beautiful--to a state of consciousness and quietude. her nerves had been sorely shaken by the combat, the sinking of the ship, and terrible danger to which she had been exposed. her father, the old gentleman, was, it appeared, don joao pinto d'almeida, the governor of a portugal settlement in the east; she was the donna isabel d'almeida, his only child. though portugals, they had taken passage aboard this spanish ship, intending to proceed on their farther voyage in the one which had escaped and left them to their fate. the portugal ship was the santa barba, and her captain don pedro de lima. don joao seemed glad to hear that the santa barba had escaped capture, and supposed that in the darkness don pedro had not seen the wreck. meantime most of the people from the masts had been rescued and brought on board the lion. while the boats were thus engaged, firing was heard, and several ships were seen approaching, hotly engaged, down the mighty plate stream, compared to which the rivers of europe seem but purling brooks. it was a sad fate for the poor wretches on the masts to be thus left to starve or fall off and be drowned, but there was no time for delay. the lion lifted her anchor, and made sail to join in the combat. her rigging had been repaired as far as practicable, so that she was fresh for the fight. the rest of the english squadron and four spaniards or portugals were observed fiercely exchanging shots with each other. the enemy, probably, had already enjoyed a sufficient taste of the quality of the english to be tired of the fight, for no sooner was the lion observed drawing near with drums beating, trumpets braying forth defiance, and ordnance speaking a still more decided language, than they steered for the shore on either side, and ran hard and fast aground. some of the people in the enemy's ships took to their boats, others leaped overboard and swam to the shore, and several were seen running backwards and forwards at their wits' end, the english cannon thundering furiously at them; while a few bold spirits stood at their quarters, and returned the fire from their own pieces. however, they could not long maintain the unequal fight; flames burst forth from the ports of the ships, and one after the other, before any booty could be obtained from them, they blew up, till not a spaniard remained to dispute the passage of the river. now the english admiral thought fit to anchor his fleet opposite a pleasant spot near the mouth of the river, and, the larger number of the company landing, a fort was erected to guard against surprise, and the repairing of the ships commenced. as yet they had gained much of what men call glory and renown, concerning the value of which there may be some dispute; but they had obtained no booty, about the desirableness of which there cannot be two opinions. so thought the adventurers. they were all eager, therefore, to proceed to the east, where they expected to find it in abundance, and accordingly hurried on the refitting of the ships. it was well that they did so, for scarcely was the squadron once more clear of the land than a large fleet was seen approaching the mouth of the river. the english ships stood on their course, for the strangers, undoubtedly spaniards and portugals, were too numerous to be trifled with. the enemy were soon seen to make sail in chase. the english set all their canvas, not to avoid the fight, but to separate the ships of the enemy, so as to deal first with the faster sailers. the plan answered; but the leading spanish ships soon got such a taste of the guns of the dragon, the serpent, and the lion, that they dropped astern, the rest not deeming it prudent to take their places, content with boasting that they had put an english squadron to flight. thus triumphantly the english ships sailed on their way across the atlantic till they neared the cape bona spei, or bona speranza, as in those days the cape of good hope was frequently called. once more they dropped anchor in saldanha bay, a place at which most vessels sailing to cathay were wont to touch. the common people among the prisoners had been left on shore in america; but the officers and the portugal governor and his daughter, and some attendants, had been carried on, the admiral deeming that they might be useful to exchange with any english persons of quality who might have been captured by the portugals; or, if not, that a good ransom might be obtained for them. don joao and donna isabel remained accordingly on board the lion, where captain wood, as did his young lieutenant, paid them all the attention in their power. waymouth admired the fair captive. he could speak her language better than most on board, and many an hour, not unnaturally, he passed in her company. it is possible that his feelings might have run away with him altogether had he not had so grave a monitor as edward raymond by his side, who was ever whispering that donna isabel was of a country at enmity with his, of a faith differing greatly from his, and that, though her attractions were great, there were many fair ladies in england possessed of still greater, and more suited to be his bride. these remarks did not exactly go in at one ear and out the other; but no sooner did donna isabel appear on deck than they were forgotten for the time. that donna isabel had, however, any other feeling than that of gratitude for antony waymouth, no one on board could say, for she was equally courteous to raymond and to all the other officers. don joao meantime was very anxious to be liberated, as he wanted to get to his government, and he was continually urging his captors to allow him to depart on board the first portugal ship they might meet, he undertaking to pay a large ransom for himself and daughter. captain wood was a jovial-hearted and mannered man. he laughed loudly at the proposal. "thine own ransom, worthy senhor, we shall fix at not less than five hundred golden pieces; and for thy daughter, we must allow antony waymouth to arrange that." the captain spoke in jest, but to waymouth the proposal caused sore perplexity. he was grieved to have to part with her, in the first place. in the second, if he named a ransom at what he considered her value, it would be high indeed; if he mentioned a small sum, it would appear as if he held her in low esteem. he was very much inclined to quarrel with his captain on the matter; but the more perplexed he appeared the more determined captain wood became to fix him to the point. he walked the deck in a state of great agitation. all sorts of mad schemes occurred to him. he had paced up and down for some time when he was joined by raymond, who had heard of his perplexity. "let me judge if i may help to get thee free of thy difficulty," said raymond, who, having an older head on his shoulders, was not so troubled as his younger friend about the matter. "you have to name the value of this fair portugal donna; you esteem her very highly too." "yes, indeed i do. she is the most charming, sweet, enchanting creature my eyes have ever beheld or expect to behold," exclaimed waymouth, uttering many other rhapsodical expressions, which his friend did not interrupt. when he ceased, the latter quietly remarked-- "well, repeat all you have said to our captain, and then declare that, as she is above all price, so no price would pay her ransom, and that, therefore, she is entitled to go free." waymouth struck his forehead, surprised that so bright a thought had never occurred to him, and, thanking edward, hastened to the captain to give his reply. it was taken in good part; no one was inclined to gainsay it; and don joao undertook to pay the required sum, how, when, and where it might be demanded. "at your own castle, when we can get there, and to whomsoever we may depute," was the reply. perfect confidence was placed in don joao that he would pay the money. at that time the portugals and the spaniards were held in respect for their rigid adherence to the code of honour which they had laid down for themselves. the difficulty was to find a ship by which to send them, as the admiral was unwilling to go out of his course to land them. hitherto the squadron had avoided all disaster, though not successful in making prizes. they were now in a part of the ocean where fearful hurricanes were at times to be expected, and in a latitude full of little-known islands and rocks; at the same time, they might hope to meet with numerous ships of the enemy. waymouth, as he thought on having to part with donna isabel so soon, became more and more downcast, though edward and good master walker, the minister, and the other officers, did their utmost to keep up his spirits; some, like raymond and master walker, by entering into his feelings; others, like captain wood, by bantering and quizzing. "a sail! a sail!" was shouted from the mast-head, whence a bright lookout was constantly kept. chase was made--the stranger was overtaken. she proved to be a portugal, a straggler from a large squadron supposed to be far ahead. not a moment was to be lost. every article of value was taken from her except the fittings of her chief cabin, some guns for signals, and provisions sufficient to last her till she could reach the malabar coast. the admiral then ordered the prisoners to be placed in her. waymouth had the duty of conveying them. donna isabel spoke but little, keeping her head muffled in her hood. the english lieutenant tried to talk, but never had he felt so tongue-tied. this was not surprising. he could say nothing definite about the future, and he had little to say about the past. he carefully helped her up the side, and placed her on a seat on the deck of the tiger. don joao was profuse in his expressions of gratitude for the treatment he and his daughter had received, and over and over again declared that it would afford him intense satisfaction to pay his ransom whenever demanded. waymouth, like a true sailor, had hurried below to see what arrangements could be made for the comfort and convenience of donna isabel, and, having pointed out to the officers of the ship what was to be done, had returned on deck resolved to pour out all his feelings into her ear, when a gun from the admiral, repeated by the lion, warned him that he must not delay another moment. all he could do was to bow low as he passed the lady and her father, utter a low farewell, and, leaping into his boat, pull back to the lion as fast as his men could bend to their oars. the squadron instantly made all sail in chase of the enemy supposed to be ahead. for some time waymouth had too much to do to look towards the ship on board which he had left the portugal governor and his daughter, and when he did look she appeared but a speck on the horizon. he stood gazing, lost in a reverie. he was aroused by a slap on the shoulder. "look ahead! that's the way we seamen set our faces," said a voice near him, "quoting your own words, coz. we have changed places, methinks." waymouth, looking round, saw raymond and several other officers standing behind him. he heaved a sigh, and then joined in the laugh in which the rest were indulging. he had been too long at sea not to know the folly of growing angry under such circumstances. besides, as he confessed to raymond, he could not help feeling relieved at having no longer so important a charge. a brighter lookout than ever was kept on board the squadron, that they might not pass the enemy. just before noon on the third day some strange sail were descried ahead. they increased in numbers: they were tall ships. there could be no doubt that they were those of the portugal fleet they were in chase of, but far more numerous than they had been led to expect. still undaunted, the brave admiral and his officers resolved to attack them. the portugals saw the english approaching, and no longer, like caitiffs, flying before the foe, hauled their wind, and, forming a semicircle, prepared to receive them. in spite of the mighty superiority of the portugals, the english sailed on in compact order, the men at their guns, their matches in their hands ready to open fire, every one in the fleet prepared for death or victory. chapter three. the portugal fleet, which the little english squadron was now rapidly approaching, looked formidable indeed, numbering as it did four times as many tall ships as the latter, but not a heart among the stout men who formed the crew of the red dragon, the serpent, or the lion, the sunshine or moonshine, quailed with the thoughts of combating against odds so great. good master walker, the minister of the lion, went round among the crew as they stood at their quarters, reminding them that they were about to fight for their sovereign, their country, their honour, and their religion. "and, dear lads," he added, "now is not the time to preach to you; but i have taught you all faithfully the truth, and would beseech all who have listened to remember and adhere by it." the admiral had formed his line of battle, and, passing by each ship on his way to form the van, hailed through his speaking-trumpet, encouraging the crews to fight bravely for st. george and merry england, and promising them, if they gained the victory, the rich freights of all the ships they could capture. it was a bold feat of the gallant admiral thus to sail into the very midst of his foes, who he knew must surround him. the portugals were formed, as has been said, in a semicircle, with the concave side of their line turned toward the english, so that they might quickly overlap them--in a land fight an important point to gain, but at sea of slight advantage. the english were formed as a wedge; the red dragon led, the serpent following, then came the two pinnaces, the lion and lion's whelp bringing up the rear. as the hostile fleets drew near, drums began to beat and trumpets to bray forth their discordant sounds, when, with a loud crashing roar, the artillery on both sides opened. the great guns sent forth their round shots, and the culverins, sakers, falconets, and murtherers their death-dealing showers of iron and lead, causing havoc and destruction wherever they fell. ill pleased were the portugals with this proceeding. numbers were falling on board every ship. in vain they called on their saints to improve their aim and strengthen their powder--the shot seemed to have no effect on the heretical englishmen-- the saints paid them no attention. they had found a tartar, and surrounded him, but were as disagreeably placed as if they had been dancing round an exploding magazine. bravely plied the gallant english their guns. as long as any one of them had legs to stand on or arms to work with he refused to desert his quarters. if one stopped for a moment from working his gun, it was to help a messmate bind a handkerchief round a wounded limb, or to tie one round his own leg or side. officers and men vied with each other as to who should perform deeds most worthy of fame. the portugals, on the contrary, though their trumpets brayed forth far louder than those of their foes, forgetful of their ancient renown, hastened below the instant they were wounded, however slight their hurts, crying out for the medico to come and help them; and some, when the english shots rattled on board, were seen to run away from their guns, even though unwounded. still, numbers in so close a fight gave a great advantage to the portugals. the admiral's ship, the red dragon, especially was hard pressed, the enemy seeming resolved to destroy her first, hoping thus to gain an easy victory over the rest. but the brave lancaster was not a man to be daunted. as fresh foes pressed around him he kept shouting to his crew-- "the more the merrier, lads! the more the merrier! we've pills enough on board to dose them all till they'll wish they'd come to some other doctor for their physic." captain wood, too, was scarcely less hard pressed. he had sent the lion's whelp ahead to the support of the sunshine and moonshine, which seemed in danger of being altogether overwhelmed by the huge ships of the enemy which clustered around them, and thus the stout lion had to encounter a whole host of foes by herself. "come one, come all!" shouted captain wood. "brave lads, we are ready for them!" "ay, ay! one and all!" echoed antony waymouth. "hurrah for merry england! give it them, lads! a few more doses like that and they'll cry peccavi and strike their flags." "peccavimus you should have said," remarked raymond, whom waymouth was passing as he hurried from gun to gun to assure himself that all were being fought to the best advantage. "ay, marry, not one, but fifty, will sing that song to-day, coz," said antony, laughing. in truth, even in the heat of battle both officers and men indulged themselves in cutting jokes whenever an occasion occurred. not, however, that the fight was any joking matter, for never in those seas had a more desperate one taken place. the brave men on board the lion were falling thickly, some to rise no more, others to be carried below and placed in the hands of the surgeon, and to these master walker was rendering all the assistance in his power, and affording spiritual counsel and consolation at the same time. it was a dark, close place down in the depths of the ship, dimly lighted by two lanterns overhead, with a table in the centre and hammocks slung on either side, already occupied by wounded men. others lay on the deck, beneath, and one poor fellow was on the table, the surgeon and his assistants standing over him examining a dreadfully shattered limb. master walker was holding his hand and giving him some wine, of which, with vinegar and burnt feathers, the place was redolent, although they could not overcome that indescribable odour, dreadful and sickening, found wherever wounded men are collected together. "it must be done, lad," said master walker kindly. "there's no help for it; the leg must come off to save thy life." "what! lose my leg! never again to dance a hornpipe on deerbrook green among the lassies of our village? no more to come the double-shuffle and hear the merry clapping of the old people's hands? i'd as lief lose my life! but let the surgeon do his worst," murmured the lad, who was one of waymouth's followers; "i'll bear it." "like a lion, i hope, lad," said the minister; "and pray to heaven for strength--that's where you'll get the most." "seldom i've ever gone there for any thing," answered the lad with a sigh, and then, following the good minister, he endeavoured to utter a prayer. it soon broke into groans, for the surgeons were operating on his limb, and these, in spite of his resolution, were succeeded by shrieks and cries, echoed by many of his poor shipmates who lay around him in the same sad plight. not even the roar of the cannon overhead and the crashing of timbers, the shouts of the combatants and the rattle of the small arms, and the braying of the trumpets and other instruments, could altogether overpower those sad cries. yet the sounds on deck grew louder and louder. "there must be terrible work, i fear me, going on, ap reece," observed master walker to the welsh surgeon, who had come round to feel the patient's wrist; "we've had no one brought down for the last five minutes." the surgeon made no answer, but signed to the minister to pour some cordial down the young seaman's throat. "more--more! or he'll slip through our fingers," he whispered. the minister obeyed. the lad opened his eyes, and turning them towards him with an expression of gratitude, gasped out-- "tell mother i've not forgotten the--" a convulsive shudder passed over his frame, the blood started from beyond the tourniquet, and before the assistants could replace it the youth was a corpse. "peace be with him," said the minister solemnly, as the body was quickly removed to give place to another yet breathing victim of battle. such is one of the many dark sides to the pictures of warfare. if this alone were to be seen, few would be eager for the combat. "no more coming," once more observed the minister. "either we must be hard pressed indeed, or have put the portugals to flight." "i fear me much the former," said ap reece. "i'd lief take a sword and go help our brave fellows. if the foe gain the day, they'll not leave one of us alive to tell the tale. what say you, master walker? will you come?" "nay, ap reece, abide where you are. every man at his proper work--you tending the hurt, i speaking the truth to the salvation of their souls. thus should we be found even were the end of the world approaching." the high-spirited welshman returned to his post, and though he had no more legs and arms to cut off, there was ample work for his skill. the dreadful uproar continued. it was evident that some of the enemy's ships had got alongside, and that the lion's crew were engaged in repelling the portugals who were attempting to board. who was gaining the day it was impossible to say. it was a time truly of anxious suspense. ap reece could at length endure it no longer. "if you go not on deck to learn how it fares with our men, master walker, i must go myself," he exclaimed; and, seeing that the minister did not move, he seized a sword which had been brought below by a wounded man, and sprang up the ladder. the chaplain looked hesitatingly in the same direction. "no, no; my duty is with the suffering and dying, though i'd lief strike a blow as in days of yore for our reformed faith and merry england," said he to himself, and again turned to attend to a sorely wounded man by whose side he had been sitting. ap reece soon gained the deck; he had been in many a fight, but never in a more desperate one. the lion was closely surrounded by a forest of masts, with shattered spars, and burning sails, and severed ropes and blocks swinging to and fro, and splinters rattling from aloft, while round shots and bullets were flying thickly about, and from every side the loud clashing of steel showed that the combatants were striving hand to hand. the portugals were attempting to board on every side of the lion, but no sooner did they reach her deck than they were driven back with loss, and often followed on board their own ships. a new combatant had just come up on the lion's quarter, and was pouring his crew on board. waymouth caught sight of what was occurring, and with a handful of men sprang to repel the boarders. hard pressed by the leader of the portugals, he was well-nigh being driven back at the moment ap reece reached the deck. the surgeon saw at a glance where his services would be of most use, and shouting at the top of his voice a welsh war-cry, he rushed to the lieutenant's assistance. down before his sturdy blade went foe after foe till he reached waymouth's side. "a rescue! a rescue!" he shouted, and cleaving to the chin the head of one of the lieutenant's many assailants, the rest sprang hastily back, some into their own vessel, and some, missing their footing, overboard. "on, on!" shouted waymouth. "on, on, and the enemy's ours!" cried ap reece; and following the retreating boarders they drove them across the deck of their ship, cutting down many, till the remainder cried out for quarter, when their flag was hauled down and the capture was complete. "we have more prizes to make before the day is over, lads," cried waymouth, and at that instant another large portugal ship driving against the prize, he, with the brave ap reece and a number of followers, threw himself on her deck. so fierce was this onslaught that the enemy did not stand a moment, but tumbling below one over the other, or in their fright jumping overboard, or casting down their weapons, they allowed speedy possession to be taken of their ship. waymouth and his companions then lashed the two prizes together, and not without difficulty regained the lion, on the other side of which more of the enemy were congregated. of one captain wood had taken possession. waymouth and ap reece now sprang on board another about midships, when, dividing their forces, one swept forward and the other aft, driving their loudly vociferating foes before them till the portugal's flag was hauled down. "hurrah! hurrah! my brave boys," shouted waymouth. "four prizes in the lion's maw--the fattest in all the fleet, too, i have a notion--one more--yonder she comes. strike fast, and strike home." thus shouting, he seized the helm of the prize, and steered her so as to fall foul of yet another big portugal ship. "shall we once more tempt fortune?" cried waymouth to the fighting surgeon. "what say you, ap reece? there must be ducats not a few aboard our tall friend here." "but one answer to that question. on, on!" exclaimed the welshman. and no sooner did the sides of the two ships grind together than waymouth lashed them by the shrouds, and then sprang on board the new-comer. she was full of men who showed every intention to defend her; but undaunted by numbers, the englishmen threw themselves among them, with their sharp swords flashing rapidly, and soon hewed a lane for themselves from one side to the other. they had begun to cut a second when the portugals, dreading the result, hauled down their own flag, and yielded. by this time such of the portugal ships as were in a condition to escape were making the best of their way under all sail to the northward, leaving the rest in the hands of the english, who were in no condition to follow. the victors had indeed suffered severely, though it was some time before waymouth, and those with him, could ascertain the true state of affairs. at length he brought his last-captured prize up to the lion, where the rest were collected, and having secured his prisoners, and left a few men on board to watch them, he returned to his own ship. the lion with her torn sails, shattered spars, and ropes hanging in disordered festoons, looked any thing but like a victor, yet she was in a better plight than her consorts. far ahead lay the admiral with three of the enemy's ships he had captured, but his masts were tottering, and it was evident that he had suffered severely in the fight. the serpent, though she had taken a couple of prizes, was even in a worse condition, while of the three smaller ships the poor little moonshine had disappeared altogether, the lion's whelp lay a dismasted hulk on the waters, and the sunshine appeared in a sinking condition. three prizes, proofs of their prowess, lay near them, and it was to be hoped that some of the crew of the moonshine had found safety on board them. and now the surgeon, ap reece, his fiery blood beginning to cool, bethought him that he ought to go and look after his patients below, while waymouth began to make inquiries as to who had been killed and who wounded among his shipmates. his grief was sincere when he heard of his young follower's death. he looked round, also, anxiously for raymond. he was nowhere to be seen. was he on board any of the prizes? no; such and such officers had charge of them. he sprang below. master walker could give him no tidings of his friend. he inquired eagerly of all the surviving officers. it was remembered that he had headed a party who had repulsed the boarders from a large portugal ship, which had afterwards sheered off. several men were missing who could not be accounted for, and it was supposed possible that he, with them, had gone on board the enemy, and that they had been carried off as prisoners. waymouth hoped such might be the case, as it was the only chance of again seeing his friend, but, attached though he was to him, he had no time just then to mourn his loss. fearful had been the slaughter on board the lion and the injuries she had received, while so many of her people had been taken off to man the prizes that not enough remained to repair the damages which she had received. the energies of every one on board unwounded were taxed to the utmost, nor could assistance be expected from the other ships, which had enough to do to look after their own prizes. the ships now closed up with each other, and the lion was able to hail the admiral's ship. "sad news--sad news," was the answer. "captain lancaster was slain at the beginning of the fight, and though we have gained the victory we have bought it with the loss of half our men." the loss on board the serpent was also very great, though she had suffered less than the admiral's ship; but the lion's whelp and the sunshine had lost, in proportion to their crews, as many men as the latter; while of the unfortunate moonshine scarcely a third had escaped on board the prizes: all her wounded had gone down in her. the captain of the serpent was also desperately wounded, and captain wood sent waymouth on board to see him and receive his orders, as he was now chief in command. waymouth, finding his way among the dying and wounded, reached the cockpit where captain nicholas parker lay. he was groaning with anguish, which the surgeon, who stood by his side, was endeavouring to alleviate with a cordial. in vain. the groans continued, but grew fainter. the surgeon felt the captain's pulse. waymouth stepped up. "i have come to receive orders from the admiral, for such he now is, since captain lancaster has been killed," he said. "our brave captain will never give orders more," answered the surgeon with much feeling. "your captain, master waymouth, will be admiral ere many minutes are over. we've gained victory at heavy cost." before waymouth left the ship captain parker had breathed his last, and he pulled hastily back to announce the sad event to captain wood, who had now become commander-in-chief, but seemed but little elated with the circumstance. master walker was pacing the deck to recover from the effects of the close atmosphere he had endured below, and the harrowing scenes he had witnessed. "this is what men call glory, and what young men sigh after and long to engage in," he observed, while waymouth stood quiet for a few seconds discussing some food which had been brought to him, for he had no time to go below. "look there; see what man's avarice and rage and folly have brought about in a few short hours." he pointed with a melancholy glance at a number of slain arranged around the mainmast, and to several wounded who had been mercifully brought on deck to breathe a purer atmosphere than that to be found below; then to the lion's shattered masts and bulwarks; and, lastly, moving his hand round to their almost dismasted, and yet more shattered, consorts and prizes, from one of which, taken by the serpent, at that instant flames were seen to burst forth. the lion had but one boat which could float, and into her an officer and crew jumped and pulled away to the assistance of the burning vessel, the men being urged to speed, not impossibly, in the hope of obtaining some of the plunder on board. the serpent had sent off two of her boats, and the red dragon another, but the portugals either would not go to the assistance of their countrymen or their boats were knocked to pieces, or the officers in charge of the prizes would not let them go, for no assistance was sent, though several were near the burning vessel. the boats pulled rapidly through the water; and good cause they had so to do, for the flames rose higher and higher, bursting out from all the ports from stem to stern till there appeared not a spot on which a human being could stand unscorched by the fire. busily as all on board the lion were employed, they stopped to gaze on the scene. even amid the flames they could see the unhappy men rushing here and there, seeking in vain for safety: some were casting themselves into the sea; others, unable probably to swim, waited anxiously for the boats. in vain! in vain! ere the boats reached them the burning masts and spars rose gradually up from the hull--up, up, they shot into the air; the deck followed, the flames increasing with tenfold fury, a loud report announcing that the magazine had exploded, and that the rich argosy, with all still living on board, had been hurried to destruction. those in the boats pulled back, endeavouring to avoid the burning fragments of spars and wreck which came hissing in a thick shower around them. then recollecting that some might yet be floating near where the wreck had been, like true british tars they again dashed on, in the hope of rescuing them. so rapidly had the catastrophe occurred after the first outbreak of the fire, that waymouth had not moved from the minister's side. "there, there--!" continued the latter, "surely such work as that is the invention of satan--that roaring lion who is ever going about seeking whom he may devour. what mad folly in men thus to yield to him, and to destroy each other at his will and beck!" "what you say, master walker, may be true--all very true; but we are in for it, and must carry through our enterprise, or perish," exclaimed waymouth, with rather more impatience than he was wont to address the minister. "we have taken prizes enough to make every man of us wealthy for the rest of our lives; but our loss of brave fellows has been heavy, i grant you, and i'd give up every ducat that falls to my share for the sake of knowing what has become of edward raymond, and all the gold i may ever possess to get him back safe aboard here." "he was a worthy gentleman, and i pray that he may still be reckoned among the living," said the chaplain, and he was about to commence an exhortation to his young friend when waymouth was called away to attend to one of the numberless duties which, in consequence of the loss of many of his messmates, now fell to his lot. as soon as shot-holes had been plugged, the wounded masts and spars strengthened, the shrouds set up, and damaged rigging repaired, an examination of the prizes commenced. the wealth they contained surpassed even the expectation of the adventurers. besides gold and silver in bars, there were cases of diamonds and pearls and other precious stones, and casks and cases of rich spices, and strange and rich silks, and a variety of other articles from india. in truth, there appeared to be more than enough to enrich even the commonest seaman of the squadron, although by far the largest share would go to the officers. fortunately, the weather remained calm, or more of the ships would have gone to the bottom. every one exerted himself to the utmost, and good reason he had so to do, for a storm might arise, or the enemy return with greater force, and all the treasure gained by so much toil and bloodshed might be lost. before the day was over, the signal was made from the serpent that captain parker had ceased to breathe. captain wood therefore assumed the chief command, and ordered the red dragon to come near that he might go on board her, leaving waymouth in command of the lion. a consultation of all the chief officers was now held, and it was determined to abandon and destroy the sunshine and lion's whelp, to shift their crews on board the two largest and least injured of the portugal ships, to select a third on board which to put all the prisoners, and to burn the remainder. the plan was at once put into execution, and the wealth of all her prizes was carried on board the lion. not, however, till two days had passed were the prizes sufficiently gutted of their stores and provisions to be abandoned. a short time before nightfall they were set on fire; and it was a sad though a fine sight to see eight tall ships burning away together. master walker again had reason to shake his head. "another example of man's folly," he exclaimed. "see yon beautiful fabrics, on which so much thought, time, and labour was expended, being destroyed in a few short minutes!" "but you would not have us tow the useless hulls round the world, master walker, would you?" asked waymouth, with some little hastiness not to be wondered at. "no, captain waymouth, but i would that the hulls were not useless, and still freighted with honest merchandise, that we and the portugals were at peace, as christian men should be, and each pursuing our own course as gentlemen adventurers for our own profit and advantage and that of our respective countries. when i joined the expedition i understood such was to be the case. we were to be armed to resist attack, as is lawful--not to attack others, which is wrong. but all these doings of blood and destruction have opened my eyes, and made me wish that i had remained quiet at home, even though my stipend was small and precarious. i love you right well, as you of a surety do know, captain waymouth, and i tell you that no good can come of these doings." "i see not the strength of your reasoning, master walker," said waymouth. "we all knew when we left old england that we were embarking in an adventure in which we should meet with hard blows as well as rich prizes. we are in no wise worse than drake, and see what honours have been heaped on him." "i say nothing against the powers that be; and her gracious majesty may have had her reasons for honouring sir francis; but there are persons who consider his expedition round the world as worthy only of a sea-rover of old or of a downright pirate," observed the minister. "let be, let be, master walker," exclaimed waymouth petulantly; "i can brook more from you than from any man alive, but i have heard enough." the minister was too wise to proceed, but he shook his head mournfully. the prisoners were now all collected on board one ship. among the wild spirits found among the english crews some were not wanting who suggested that they should be sent adrift without compass, guns, or provisions; some even hinted that to bore holes in the ship's bottom would be the surest way of disposing of them; others considered that it would be wise to keep them as prisoners, and to insure their keeping with the fleet they should only be furnished day by day with the necessary provisions, and that two ships should be appointed especially to watch them. more generous counsels, however, prevailed. "no, no, by my halidom!" exclaimed captain wood; "portugals though they are, they have fought bravely, and like honest gentlemen shall be treated. we'll give them arms to defend their lives, and provisions to fill their insides, and a compass to find their way to some one of their own ports or factories on the coast of the indies, and all we'll demand of them is that if they find any englishmen in the same plight as they are themselves that they treat them in the same way as they are treated by us." waymouth warmly seconded the admiral's proposal; so did several of the superior officers, though others grumbled at letting the prisoners off without a ransom, or trusting to their honour to return the favour they were to receive. away sailed the portugal ship with all the prisoners on board; not, however, without waymouth having extracted a promise from all the officers to make inquiries for his friend raymond, and to let him know, if alive, where he was to be found. waymouth hoped that among them some at least would do their utmost to redeem their promise. once more the english fleet was sailing proudly over the seas, but sadly diminished in the number of their men. the wealth collected seemed prodigious in the eyes of the crews, and little short of that obtained by drake of the spaniards. still their success only made them greedy for more, and the seamen especially expressed their aversion to the trading part of the enterprise, and loudly proclaimed their desire to cruise against any enemy to be found--dutch, if portugals could not be found, or spaniards if they could be fallen in with. waymouth, especially, found that he had a very mutinously inclined crew to deal with. who was the chief instigator he determined to discover, in the hope that by punishing him he might bring the rest under better discipline. the officer next in command to him was miles carlingford, an honest, straight-forward seaman, on whom he knew that he could depend as well as he could on master walker and the surgeon ap reece as to faithfulness; but master walker was a non-combatant, and would be averse to any stringent measures; and ap reece, from his hot-headed impetuosity, would be likely to betray any counsel with which he was intrusted. captain wood had brought two cabin-boys with him--or, as they would now be called, midshipmen--and these he had left under waymouth's especial care. poor fellows! early indeed were they to be initiated into the stern realities of life. it would have been difficult to find a stronger contrast than between the two lads, and yet they were great friends. the eldest, alfred stanhope, was of high birth, of which he was fully conscious. he was refined in appearance and manners, and was light-hearted and gay in the extreme. he was never out of spirits or out of humour, and was utterly indifferent to danger. his talents, however, were not great, and the knowledge he did possess was very superficial. his father was a spendthrift and a ruined man, and had allowed him to come to sea in the hope of his being provided for in one way or another. his companion, oliver marston, was the son of a stout english yeoman to whom captain wood's family was under some obligations, and, as a way of repaying him, he had offered to take oliver, one of ten sons, on an adventure through which he would be certain to secure his fortune. the lad, though he had never seen a ship except worked on tapestry, had no objection to go to sea. he was a short, stout, strongly-built little fellow, able to hold his own with all competitors. while poor alfred stanhope had been nurtured in the lap of luxury, oliver had been brought up in the roughest style, and was therefore much better able than his companion to buffet with the storms of life they were doomed to encounter. he had much more sense and shrewdness in his round little head than might have been supposed, while all about him was sterling stuff of the toughest nature, except his heart, in one respect, and that was as soft and gentle as that of a true sailor is said to be. oliver was a favourite with waymouth, who, though he did not spoil him, encouraged him to speak more openly to him than he allowed any one else to do except master walker. it was night. waymouth was seated in his cabin. a lamp hung from the beam above, the light of which fell on a chart he was anxiously scanning. unwonted cares oppressed even his buoyant spirit. his ship had suffered much; he had a large amount of wealth on board; his crew was much weakened, some were disaffected, and he was about to enter seas difficult of navigation, and where typhoons might be expected. he mourned, too, his friend raymond's loss, though he did not believe that he was dead, but that he had been carried off a prisoner by the enemy. still, how could he hear of him, and how rescue him if he was a prisoner? he fell into a reverie. he was aroused by the sentry at the announcement that an officer wished to see him. "let him come," was the answer; and oliver marston stood before him. "what now, oliver?" asked the captain. "you know, captain waymouth, that i am not a tale-bearer; but i've just heard some matters which i bethought me i ought to convey to you without delay," answered marston. "there's mutiny in the ship, sir, or what may come to worse." "ah! how come you to know that, boy?" asked the captain anxiously, for the announcement somewhat confirmed his own suspicions. the youngster answered promptly--"it is my first watch, sir, and as i had no fancy for turning in for a short time, i lay down for a snooze on a chest outside the boatswain's cabin. i was afraid of oversleeping myself, so quickly awoke, and was about to jump up, when i heard voices near me. the words were spoken in an undertone, as if the speakers desired not to be overheard. who the speakers were, i am not certain; they talked of the wealth that was on board, and how you and the other captains would get the lion's share, but that if they acted with spirit and stuck together they might have the whole of it." "and you heard the whole of this, and were not dreaming, boy?" "every word, sir, and i was wide awake," answered oliver. "you have done well to come to me at once," said the captain. "speak to no one of what you have heard, and appear even to your messmates as if all were going on right. to-morrow morning i will communicate with the admiral, and we will soon have these would-be mutineers in limbo. have you no idea who were the speakers?" "i like not, sir, to bring an accusation against any man without perfect certainty, but to the best of my belief there were peter hagger, the boatswain, and john moss, his mate, among the chief speakers," answered oliver. "as to the rest i might be mistaken, but i think not of those two. i recognised also dick soper's voice, and he is not likely to be left out if such work is proposed." "he'll swing ere long at the yard-arm, an' i mistake not; but enough now, lad," said the captain. "keep counsel and your eyes about you, and we'll defeat the rebels. they'll attempt nothing while we are with the admiral; they know him, and i thought they knew me too. who has the first watch?" "mr carlingford, sir," said marston. "tell him to keep close up with the admiral, as i want to speak him at dawn," said waymouth; "and call me should the weather give signs of change. you have acted most commendably." the lad took his leave well pleased with the praise bestowed on him by his captain, and very indifferent to the danger to which he as well as all the officers on board were exposed. the young captain sat for some time meditating on the matter. he could not tell how many of the crew might be engaged in the plot, and on what support the conspirators depended. he might discover who were the ringleaders, but find that the greater part of the crew sided with them. caution, courage, and decision would be required--he trusted he should not be wanting in either of the three. the last few days had been a time of unusual exertion and care. he required rest to restore his well-nigh exhausted energies. examining his fire-arms with more care than usual, and placing his sword by his side ready for instant use, though he firmly believed that no attempt would be made by the mutineers, he threw himself on his bed. he had resolved to take the lion next morning under the guns of the red dragon, and having informed captain wood of what he knew, call out the three men whose voices young marston recognised, and send them on board the flagship for punishment. he soon, however, forgot his anxieties in a sound sleep. he was awoken by the voice of oliver marston loudly calling him. "what is it?" he asked, starting up with his sword grasped in his hand. chapter four. "what is it?" exclaimed the young captain of the lion, as he sprang from his bed, on which he had thrown himself without undressing. he did not require the cabin-boy's answer, for by the way the ship was heeling over he knew that it was blowing a heavy gale. "i bade you call me the instant there were signs of a change of weather," he observed as he hurried towards the cabin-door to gain the deck. "the ship but this instant was struck by a squall, sir, and we are shortening sail as fast as we can," said marston, though the captain did not stay to hear his last words. the deck of the lion appeared, as the captain reached it, to be a scene of the greatest confusion. showers of spray, torn up from the ocean by the sudden squall, were thrown over her in dense masses. the wind howled and whistled through the rigging, the sails were flapping loudly in the gale--some torn from their bolt-ropes, others with the sheets let go, which were lashing and slashing wildly and twisting into a thousand knots. huge blocks, too, were swinging to and fro, threatening the seamen with destruction, while some of the spars wounded in the action now gave way, and their fragments came thundering down on deck, sweeping all before them. the sea roared, the thunder in crashing peals rattled along the sky, and the forked lightning ran hissing in vivid flashes from out of the dark clouds along the foaming waves, and played round the ship. the officers were shouting to the men--many, with axes and knives in their hands, rushing here and there at the risk of their lives to cut clear the blocks and the wreck of the spars, without which it was scarcely possible to go aloft to furl the remaining sails. waymouth at once saw that the only safe course to pursue was to put the ship before the wind. as he issued the required orders he looked out for the admiral's ship, but the signal lanterns at her stern were nowhere to be seen. mr carlingford asserted that they were close to them when the squall struck the ship; so did stanhope, who did the duty of a signal midshipman. the captain could only hope, therefore, that the admiral had at once bore up when the hurricane struck his ship. two lights were still visible in the direction the other ships were supposed to be, but at some distance, and the lion was apparently fast leaving them. her crew had indeed enough to do to attend to themselves--their own safety demanded all their energies. waymouth's firm, commanding voice soon called order out of chaos. the ship answered her helm, and, getting before the wind once more, rose on an even keel, and flew rushing on through the darkness. sail after sail was taken in--the loftier masts and spars had been carried away by the wind, and were mostly cut clear of the ship. the foretopmast had escaped being hit in the action, and had stood. the hurricane was increasing in power, rolling up the ocean into huge seas; higher and higher they grew, their crests curling masses of foam, following eagerly astern as wild beasts in pursuit of their flying prey. often, while the forked lightning played round the ship, had the captain gazed anxiously at the foretopmast to ascertain how it stood the increasing pressure deprived of its usual support. he scarcely hoped to save it. the hurricane gave no signs of abating; on the contrary, it was increasing in strength. "it must be done!" he exclaimed, seizing a sharp axe; "better choose our time than let it fall when we are unprepared. volunteers to cut away the foretopmast!" "i'll go," cried miles carlingford, and his words were echoed by several others. "no, carlingford; you stay to take care of the ship. i can let no man lead but myself in a task of such peril." marston and stanhope both volunteered, but the captain ordered them to remain with the lieutenant. followed by a daring crew, waymouth sprang aloft, each man armed with axe or knife. some remained on deck to cut the ropes which led down there. all had their tasks assigned them. the least important ropes and stays were first severed. "remember, lads, wait till i give the word, and then cut with a will," cried the captain. as he stood on the top his axe was lifted in the air. "cut!" he shouted, as, gleaming in the lightning, it descended with a force which half severed through the spar. over it fell with a crash into the sea, and, free from all ropes, floated clear of the ship. the crew uttered a hearty cheer as the captain descended on deck after the performance of this gallant and skilful act without the loss of a man. none cheered more loudly than the boatswain and his two mates. the ship drove on before the hurricane, but, relieved of so much top hamper, she laboured far less than she had been doing. the storm had not abated its fury; the mad waves followed fiercely after the ship, and leaped up, foam-covered, on either side, threatening to fall down on her decks and sweep everybody from off them, or to send the stout bark herself to the bottom. the thunder roared loudly as at first, the lightning flashed vividly as ever, and ran its zigzag course crackling and hissing through the air, and along the summits of the waves, and round the storm-driven ship, now seeming to dart along her spars, and then to light with a lambent flame the summit of her masts. the crew were collected on deck ready for any work required of them, sheltering themselves as best they could under the bulwarks for fear of being washed away. waymouth stood with his first lieutenant on the aftercastle away from the crew. he told him of the conspiracy of which he had gained information. "what think you, carlingford?" he added. "shall we seize the villains now, tax them with their intended crime, and call on all who are for discipline and order to rally round us; or let them go on plotting till they find a fit occasion to put their plots into execution? it were a bold stroke at such a moment, and would be sure of success." "no one would be found willing to differ from you now," answered the lieutenant; "i doubt, therefore, that you would ascertain who are the conspirators, and it would only give them a certain vantage-ground by showing them that you doubt their honesty." waymouth yielded to this advice, and allowed the opportunity of seizing the supposed mutineers to pass. he had no fear that they would make any attempt to gain possession of the ship while the gale might last. in spite of the danger in which his own ship was placed, he turned his thoughts more than once to the rest of the squadron. what had become of them? were they still afloat, driven here and there before the hurricane, or had they all met the fate from which the lion herself had so narrowly escaped, and foundered? he could not help dreading that the latter might have been the case. hour after hour passed by, and the wind blew fiercely as at the commencement of the storm. no fire could be lighted. scarcely any one had even tasted food, and the fierce spirits who had been before inclined to mutiny must have been considerably tamed by the buffeting and fasting they had been compelled to undergo. "i've heard say that it's an ill wind that blows no one good," observed carlingford to his captain. "i doubt if the knaves who so notably were proposing to take possession of the ship will be inclined to make the attempt for some time to come." "we will keep an eye on them, at all events," said waymouth. "in the present battered condition of our good ship, they will be too wise to wish to run away with her, or all the labour of putting her to rights would fall on their hands. ah, no, the rogues! they will let us first do the work for them, and then cut our throats. i have met before with villains such as these, and know how to tackle them." although occasionally brave villains are found, as a rule ill-doers are cowards; and the would-be mutineers on board the lion were no exception to the rule. the captain and his lieutenant noted those who on that awful night showed most fear, and they proved to be the very men marston had mentioned. even the boatswain, who was generally a bold fellow, evidently shrank from the performance of any duty of especial danger, and while the captain went aloft to cut away the topmast was not one of those who had volunteered to accompany him, though under ordinary circumstances it would have been his duty to perform the work. morning broke at length upon the wide waste of foam-covered heaving waters, but in vain did the anxious officers of the lion look around for any of her consorts. she herself was labouring heavily. the well was sounded. there were three feet of water in the hold; that was much in a ship of the lion's build. there must be a leak. the pumps were manned; all hands must work spell and spell. even then scarcely could the leak be kept under. those men who had shown the greatest courage during the night laboured the hardest now; the conspirators worked with an air of desperation. when the water still gained on them, "let's to the spirit-room, and die jovial," cried one. "ay, ay, to the spirit-room; a last glass before we quit the world," was echoed by several. deserting their stations, they rushed tumultuously to the hold. they found three soldiers stationed there, with their muskets ready to fire. strange that the very men who were about to stupefy themselves with liquor, and so to go out of the world, were afraid of dying by the hands of their countrymen! growling like cowed mastiffs they shrank back, some returning to the deck, and others turning into their hammocks, where they intended to remain while the ship sank. but a few only behaved thus. the greater number, as true british seamen always have done, remained at their posts to face the danger. their perseverance was rewarded. about noon the gale began to abate, the sea to decrease. as the ship laboured less there was a hope that the leaks might be got under, and the carpenters, after sounding, reported that there was not more than the usual quantity of water in the well. the news was received with loud cheers by the crew, but they soon found that continued exertion would be necessary to keep the ship afloat. the skulkers were accordingly routed out of their berths, and compelled to take their turn at the pumps. waymouth well knew that idleness is the mother of many a crime, and he determined that his crew should have no such excuse. as soon as the sea became calm, there was ample work to employ all hands in repairing the damages the ship had received in the battle and the storm. "any day we may meet an enemy, and the ship must be in a state to fight him, lads," the captain was continually remarking, especially when he saw the men slacken at their work. a course had been shaped for the island of java, where in the harbour of bantam he still entertained hopes of falling in with the rest of the squadron. day after day the lion continued her voyage without further adventure, and every day saw some advance made in restoring her to her former condition, so that, had she encountered a portugal ship, she would have been as ready as ever for the fight. in appearance, however, she still wore a very battered and forlorn state. such was the guise in which she at length entered the harbour of bantam, making the best show that was possible, with banners and streamers flying, and drums and fifes, and other music, playing. very different, however, was the figure they made from what they had expected, and what it would have been, had the whole english squadron sailed in at the same time. very different also was the reception they received from the king of bantam, in those days a powerful sovereign with a magnificent court of nobles dressed in rich robes. perceiving the coldness of their reception, waymouth, habiting himself in his most imposing attire, and taking a number of followers, attired in all the bravery they could command, went on shore, and, on obtaining admission to the palace, informed his majesty that his ship was only the first of a large fleet which had just obtained a glorious victory over the portugals, and that he hoped they would soon enter the harbour and spend a large portion of their wealth among him and his people. when this fact became clear to the royal mind, the king's conduct underwent a considerable alteration, and he seemed now only anxious to ascertain how he could best please his guests. there was no lack of entertainments of all sorts--fights of wild animals, shows, and dances. these served to amuse the men, and to prevent them from thinking of the future. but waymouth and his chief officers could not get rid of their anxiety for their companions. they still, however, lived on in hopes. in the mean time, the captain's chief uneasiness arose from the conduct of the boatswain, who was clearly endeavouring to ingratiate himself with the crew by overlooking their faults and shielding them from punishment. the consequence was that the discipline of the ship, spite of all the captain and superior officers could do to prevent it, became worse than it had ever been before. miles carlingford advised waymouth to have hagger and his supposed associates seized, and run up to the yard-arm, or shot; but there were many reasons against this summary proceeding. they were in the port of a treacherous people, who would very likely take advantage of any dissensions among themselves, and it was impossible to say how many of the crew might join hagger. "we must either wait the arrival of the rest of the fleet or seize the fellow in blue water, with no one to interfere with us," answered waymouth. however, day after day passed by, and week after week, and the fleet did not appear. it became at last too probable that they had all foundered. still it was possible that they might have put into some other port to refit, and might arrive at the rendezvous after all. the time passed pleasantly enough on shore, as great respect was shown to the strangers by the king and chiefs. the english, in return, tried to make themselves popular with all classes, and traded successfully with them, taking care not to allow them to know the amount of wealth they had on board. hope grew meantime fainter and fainter, and it struck waymouth that the behaviour of the natives towards them had of late changed for the worse. among the merchants with whom he had dealings was one who appeared to be especially honest, and more disposed to be friendly than any of his countrymen. one day he made his appearance on board, saying that he had come to trade, and he began in the usual way, but while so engaged he contrived with a peculiar gesture to give a paper to waymouth, on which was drawn a ship under full sail. above the ship was a hand, showing the very gesture the merchant had just made. waymouth could scarcely fail to understand the hieroglyphic. that the merchant wished the lion to sail away there could be no doubt. the expression of the man's countenance convinced him that he was friendly and in earnest. some danger threatened. perhaps the king had got information of the wealth contained in the ship, and intended to seize her. whatever enemies they might have on shore, there was one who could not be kept out of the ship. the unhealthy season was approaching. fever made its appearance on board; several were struck down with it; one after the other died; the surgeon declared that the only way of saving the lives of all on board was to put forthwith to sea. once more the lion was ploughing the waters of the deep. "a sail! a sail!" was the cry. a vessel was seen making for the harbour of bantam. she might be one of the long-missing squadron. sail was made in chase. as the lion approached, the stranger showed the portugal flag. hurrah! another prize was to be made. the thought put every one in high spirits. even the sick came up from their beds to have a look at the enemy. the object of the portugal was to enter the harbour of bantam before the lion, under the belief that he would there find protection. on sprang the king of beasts. it soon became obvious, unless there was a change of wind, that the prey would have little chance of escape. the officers and crew of the lion eagerly watched the portugal ship, speculating on the value of her cargo, and whether she was likely to offer resistance. such an idea was generally treated with scorn. what was the surprise, therefore, of all on board to see the chase suddenly haul up her courses and heave her maintopsail aback to await the coming of her pursuer! "can it be that any on board are treacherous, and wish thus to gain our favour?" said waymouth. "more likely that they are cowards all, and think discretion the best part of valour," observed carlingford: "we shall soon learn, though." "ay, that shall we," answered waymouth. "but, see, what flags are those? they look not as if the portugal was in a humble mood." as he was speaking, several flags were hoisted to the mast-heads of the stranger, conspicuous among all being that of portugal flying above the flag of england. the sight caused a general shout of indignation among the english crew, and doubled their desire to get alongside the foe. as they got still nearer, the portugal once more let fall his sails and stood boldly towards them, letting fly a shot in defiance. "now this is what does the heart good," exclaimed waymouth in high glee. "yonder is a brave fellow and a worthy foe. i had ten times rather meet such a one than the coward who runs away and then yields when he is caught without striking a blow. we shall take yonder gentleman--of that there is no doubt; and it will be a satisfaction to treat him as a brave man should be treated--with honour and distinction." "i would that we could avoid fighting," said master walker. "here are we both from europe--two ships, the remnant, probably, of the proud fleets which left our native shores--and we must needs set to work to knock each other to pieces. what, prithee, is to be gained by it?" "honour, good master walker! honour, which we gentlemen of the sword sigh for and live for, not to speak of the golden doubloons and other articles of value with which these portugals think fit to freight their ships," answered waymouth with a laugh which showed the cool if not light spirit with which he could enter into the deadly fight. nearer and nearer drew the two ships. the portugal was the first to fire, and all his guns were aimed high, as if he was anxious to cripple his opponent. the reason was obvious. his decks were crowded with men, and he hoped by running on board the english ship to take her easily with his overwhelming numbers. waymouth saw that his proper plan was to give the portugals a wide berth and keep firing away till he had thinned those numbers, at the same time that it was very much against his usual system and inclination, as it was against that of his followers. now the guns of the lion began to play vigorously, some of them being, according to the captain's orders, fired high, and others low. although now and then her spars and ropes were hit, she was inflicting equal injury on the rigging of her opponent, while such of her guns as were trained low were making fearful havoc among the people on the deck of the portugal. she, in return, was employing every manoeuvre to close with the lion, till it appeared as if the english were actually afraid of her. "this must not last longer," exclaimed waymouth. "british steel has seldom failed, however great the odds. we'll give the portugals their way." the remark was received with a loud shout by his men, on which he ordered the lion to be steered to close with her antagonist. the two ships met with a crash; and before the portugals, who had been mustering on purpose, could reach the side of the lion, her gallant crew, led by waymouth, had boarded the enemy. and now, in truth, was shown what english steel could do; and well as many of the portugals fought, the decks were soon cleared of all but a gallant few, who, surrounding the portugal captain, stood at bay. that portugal captain was a young man of a noble bearing; though wounded, he seemed resolved to resist to the last. "yield thee--yield thee, brave senhor!" cried waymouth. "life and liberty shall be yours. i would fain not kill thee." "to you, brave captain waymouth, i will yield me, if you will order your men to refrain from striking," was the answer. "truly, they strike so hard and fast, that otherwise not one of my comrades will remain alive." "you are a brave gentleman. it shall be as you desire. we have met before, i suspect," shouted the english captain, ordering his men to let drop the points of their weapons. the deck, so lately the scene of a fierce conflict, was in an instant quiet, though the planks, slippery with gore, and the human forms strewed thickly from one end to the other, showed the desperate nature of the drama which had there been enacted. the portugal captain delivered his sword to waymouth, who courteously returned it, recognising him as the bravest of those captains who had been captured in the great battle fought by the whole fleet--don antonio de mello by name. the prize was richly freighted, and as the lion would require some repairs after the battle, it was resolved to carry her back to bantam. the return of the english so soon with a captured enemy raised them very much in the estimation of the people of bantam, and proportionately lowered the portugals. the repairs of both ships were soon completed, and the more valuable part of the cargo of the prize transferred to the lion. waymouth's generous feelings prompted him to restore the captured ship to don antonio, taking his word that neither he nor his officers or men would again serve against the english. he made the proposal, however, first to his own officers, who all, with the exception of peter hagger, readily agreed to forego their share of the prize that the prisoners might have an opportunity of returning to their own country. the boatswain, on the contrary, vowed, that, as they had won the booty by hard fighting, they would keep it, and that he and many other good men that he knew of would not give up a nail of what was their own. "well said, master hagger; let me know who are these good men of whom you speak, and your share and theirs of what is restored to the portugals shall be calculated and given to you," said captain waymouth, looking sternly at the boatswain. "i wish to deprive no man of what he considers his own; but it strikes me that when a fair estimate is made of the real value of your share it will not be worth disputing about." notwithstanding these remarks of the captain, hagger insisted on having his share, but he was only able to send in the names of rather more than a dozen men who agreed with him. the supercargo, or accountant, of the lion, was therefore summoned, and directed to make out an estimate of the value of the shares in question. "now deduct therefrom," said waymouth, "wages of officers and crew of the portugal to conduct her home; risk of capture or loss; increased risk of loss or capture of the lion in consequence of her being short-handed." "in that case, sir, the balance is against master hagger and the rest," remarked the accountant. "i thought as much," observed waymouth, laughing. the boatswain's anger and disappointment were very great when he found how the tables had been turned, and that, instead of gaining any thing, he had merely shown who were the men among the crew plotting with him. the portugals' satisfaction was very great when they found that they were not to be detained at bantam, where, from the unhealthiness of the climate during the hot months, they could expect only to find graves. don antonio warmly expressed his gratitude. "i had some information, noble captain, which i purposed giving before parting, at all events, but which i have now a double gratification in affording," he said, addressing waymouth. "during that dreadful fight, when your fleet destroyed so many of ours, some few englishmen were carried off prisoners by those which escaped. among them was an officer who belonged to the lion. i saw him but once, and his name i did not hear, though i doubt not that he is the friend whose fate you so much desired to learn. he is now a prisoner in the castle of san pedro, to the south of goa. i had resolved to take the earliest opportunity of sending you this information according to my promise, little supposing that i should be able to deliver it under, to me, such unfortunate circumstances." this news raised waymouth's spirits higher than they had been for some time. it made him feel almost sure that raymond had survived the battle, because, as all the other officers of the lion had been accounted for, it could be only him of whom don antonio spoke. on hearing this, it at once flashed across waymouth's thoughts that he had done unwisely in giving the prisoners their liberty with so few conditions. "i ought to have bargained that any english who might be in the hands of their countrymen should promptly be liberated without ransom; but yet-- no; i have done a liberal deed, and i will not regret it. if these portugals have any feeling of honour, they will let my friend go free when i demand him." from a subsequent conversation with don antonio, waymouth was compelled to abandon the last expressed hope. it appeared that the governor of the castle of san pedro was a certain don lobo, who was noted for his ferocity and avarice, so that he was well called lobo, which means in the portugal tongue a wolf. don antonio stated that he was never known to do a noble or generous act, and that he was not likely to deliver up his prisoner unless a heavy ransom was paid, and that so bitter was his animosity against the english that it was possible he would not even set him at liberty. "then the lion shall force the wolf to succumb," exclaimed waymouth. "i will not ask you, don antonio, to fight against your countrymen, but i must beg you to give me such information as may assist me in liberating my friend, and i must then exact a promise from you that you will not return to san pedro, or by any means allow notice of our approach to be carried there." don antonio, without hesitation, gave the promise required, the more readily, perhaps, that the lion would have the start of him for some days, and, being short of provisions and water, he could not attempt to make so long a passage as that from bantam to goa without being amply supplied with both. yet further to prevent the chance of don lobo being informed of the approach of the lion, waymouth afterwards extracted an additional promise from don antonio that he would not attempt to sail for a week after her. "ned, dear coz, we shall once more shake hands, and drink a bowl together to the health of thy lady love," he exclaimed, apostrophising his friend while walking his quarter-deck, as the lion, under all sail, clove her way towards the west through the limpid ocean. chapter five. our chronicle takes us back to the time when the fight between the english and portugal fleets was raging most furiously, and when, to an inexperienced eye like that of edward raymond, on finding his ship surrounded, it might naturally have appeared that victory was siding with his foes rather than with his own party. he believed, however, that by a desperate effort the day might be retrieved, and he gallantly resolved on his part to make the effort, trusting that others would be doing the like at the same moment. just then he caught sight of waymouth repelling the boarders from one of the portugal ships, and so calling on all the men near to follow, he led them on to the deck of another of the enemy's ships which had at that moment run alongside. so fierce was his attack, that the foe gave way, and before many minutes were over he found himself master of the ship; but in the mean time she had broken clear of the lion, and was drifting down on another portugal ship coming freshly into the fight. the two were soon locked together, and while he with his handful of followers was endeavouring to defend his prize at one end of the ship, a party of portugals rushed on board at the other. in vain he fought with the greatest heroism. most of his followers were cut down. pressed on all sides, he had not a prospect of success. another portugal ship came up. his prize, so gallantly taken, was already recaptured. unable to parry a stroke made at him, he was severely wounded, and dropping the point of his sword, he yielded himself a prisoner to the reiterated demands of a portugal captain who had headed the chief body of his assailants. the three portugal ships had, however, fallen within the fire of the red dragon and the serpent, whose shot crashing on board made them glad to set all the sail they could spread and draw off. as edward stood on the deck and saw the shattered condition of the english ships, he could scarcely believe that the enemy were really drawing off; but when he afterwards saw some of the portugals actually sinking, and others with their masts gone, he could not refrain from uttering a cheer, faint though it was, at the thought that his countrymen had gained the hard-fought victory. in this he was joined by the few survivors of his brave followers, all of whom were more or less wounded. on hearing the cheer, some of the portugals came towards them with threatening gestures, one of them exclaiming, in tolerably good english--"you are impudent fellows indeed to cheer when you are miserable prisoners on board the ship of an enemy. do not you see that we are victorious?" "running away is a funny mode of proving it, senhor portugal," answered dick lizard, one of the seamen, cocking his eye at the speaker. "if you had cheered, now, we might have thought you had won the day; but i sticks to my opinion that it's we have won the day; and so i say, one cheer more for old england. old england forever!" the portugal's rage was so great that he would have given dick a clout on the head which would have finished his shouting, had not raymond, weak as he was, stepped forward to defend his follower, who was much hurt. "shame on you, senhor portugal," he exclaimed, standing over dick with a broken spar which he had grasped to defend him. "what! would you strike a wounded man simply because he knows the satisfaction he feels that our countrymen are free, if not the victors, and not as we are, prisoners?" "you crow loudly for a cock with his leg tied," said the man, desisting, however, from his attempt to strike poor dick. some more seamen had now assembled, threatening to punish the english for their audacity, when their captain made his appearance among them, inquiring the cause of the disturbance. "senhor," he said, turning to edward, "you are my prisoner, though i wish to treat you as a brave man and a gentleman; but i cannot always restrain my people, who are somewhat lawless in their notions; and i must therefore request that, whatever may be the feelings of your countrymen, they will keep them within bounds." so many of the portugals were wounded, that it was some time before the not very skilful surgeons of the ship could attend to the english, who had, and perhaps fortunately for themselves, to doctor their own hurts, which they did, one helping the other in their own rough but efficacious way. it was pleasant to see the hardy tars helping each other like brethren, washing and cleansing each other's wounds--several of them tearing up their shirts to bind up their comrades' limbs, or letting their heads rest with tender care in their laps. those who had still strength to stand anxiously watched the fast-receding fleet of the english till their loftier masts sank below the horizon, and all hope of being pursued and retaken was abandoned. "troth, sir, i suppose, then, we must make the best of a bad job," said lizard, shrugging his shoulders. "that's my philosophy. i learned it when i was a little chap from my father, who was a great philosopher, seeing that he was a cobbler, and have stuck to it ever since, and never found it fail. what's the odds? says i. why should a man sigh and groan if he can laugh? why should he cry and moan if he can sing? if things are bad, they can be mended--just as my father used to say of the old shoes brought to him. if that isn't a comfort, i don't know what is." most of the portugal ships escaping from the fight kept together; but meeting the same hurricane which caused such fearful havoc among the english fleet, they also were separated, some going where so many proud argosies have gone--to the bottom--the santa maria, the ship on board which edward found himself, being left alone to pursue her voyage. edward suffered much from his wound, and had far from recovered his strength when the santa maria arrived at goa. goa was at that time the largest european settlement in the east; and here the portugals, to impress the natives with the beauty of the faith they professed, had established that admirable institution, the benign inquisition. here those edifying spectacles, _autos-da-fe_, frequently took place, when men of all ages, women, and even children, were paraded forth, dressed in hideous garments, to be burned alive in consequence of their unwillingness to confess their belief in the doctrines held by the church. our chronicle does not decide whether the portugal priesthood were right or wrong in their proceedings; but, undoubtedly, very few converts were made to the christian faith, and the influence of their country in the east has long since decreased to zero. the appearance of the place, though deceptive, was in its favour, and innumerable large churches, monasteries, and other public buildings reared their heads on its sandy shores. those were the days of old goa's grandeur and magnificence, soon to depart for ever. instead, however, of being landed here, the prisoners were conveyed to the fort of san pedro, to the south, lest inconvenient questions might be too often asked as to how they came to be there, and what had become of the rest of the fleet which captured them. the castle of san pedro was a strong fortress with high walls and towers--a gloomy-looking place, as gloomy as any spot in that land of sunshine can be, but gloomy undoubtedly it appeared to poor edward and his companions, as, strongly guarded, they were conducted through its portals, not knowing when they might repass them and obtain their liberty. they were first conducted into the presence of the governor, a surly old don of the most immovable character; his face was like smoke-dried parchment, with beard of formal cut, and eyes so sunk that nothing could be seen but two small spots of jetty hue, overhung with grey shaggy eyebrows. without the slightest expression of courtesy or commiseration, he at once commenced interrogating edward in the portugal tongue, ordering a yellow-skinned trembling clerk, who squatted at his side with a huge book before him, to write down his replies. edward answered succinctly to all the questions put to him, requesting that, as prisoners of war, he and his men might be treated with the courtesy usually awarded to persons in their position, by civilised nations, among whom the portugals stood prominent. "call yourselves prisoners of war!" exclaimed don lobo, pulling his moustaches vehemently. "you are pirates--you and your countrymen-- nothing better; and as such deserve to be thrown from the top of one of the towers of this castle, or dangled from one of the turrets by a rope, or shot, or drowned--any death is too good for you; burning at the stake as heretics--ay, vile heretics as you are--is most fit for you. see that such is not your lot." edward made no reply to this address, feeling that such would only too probably exasperate the petty tyrant. dick lizard was, however, not so judicious. having had a good deal of intercourse with the portugals, he knew enough of their language to understand what was said; so, putting his left arm akimbo, and doubling his right fist, he exclaimed-- "call us pirates! i'll tell you what you and your dastardly crew are, senhor don governor: you are a set of garlic-eating, oil-drinking sons of sea-cooks, who rob the weak when you can catch them, and run away from the strong like arrant knaves and cowards as you are. you are--" what other complimentary remarks poor dick might have uttered it is impossible to say; for as he was beginning his next sentence, a blow from the butt-end of an arquebuse laid him prostrate on the floor. edward, afraid that his bold countryman had been killed, knelt down by his side. but dick's head was too hard to succumb to the strength of a portugal's arm, even when wielding a heavy weapon. "all right, sir," he said, opening his eyes. "i'll be at them again, and give 'em more of my mind, and my fist too, if i can get at them." edward, however, advised him under the circumstances to keep both one and the other to himself, and, as he did not feel disposed to be polite to his masters, to hold his tongue. "masters! marry, masters, indeed!" cried dick. "if you says they are masters, sir, i suppose they be; but they'll find me a terrible obstinate servant to deal with, let me tell them." "no, don't tell them, lizard, that or any thing else," said edward soothingly. "you see that at all events we are in their power, and unless they let us go we may have some difficulty in escaping." "not if we can get some planks to float on, sir," whispered lizard. "that notion of yours, sir, has brought me to sooner nor any thing. i thinks as how now, sir, i can keep a civil tongue in my head to those baboon-faced, sneaking, blackguard scoundrels." "get up, then, man, and remember not to speak a word while i explain your sentiments," said edward, glad by any means to save his follower from ill treatment. the portugals, who fully believed that the blow must have inflicted a mortal injury on the man, fancied that his officer was receiving his last dying words, a message to his distant home, and did not interfere with him. their surprise, therefore, was proportionately great when they saw him got up on his legs, give a hitch to his waistband, and, after sundry scratches and pulls at his shaggy locks, once more address the governor. "an' may it please your honour, senhor don governor, i axes your reverence's pardon for calling you and your people yellow-faced sons of sea-cooks (because as how to my mind your fathers and mothers were never any thing so respectable," he added in a low tone). "howsomdever, as your honour knows, i am but a rough seaman who's followed his calling on the salt water all the days of his life, and will follow it, maybe, to the end, and therefore much manners can't be expected; and so, senhor scarecrow, or whatever is your name, i hope you'll not log down against my officer here or my shipmates any thing you've heard." edward, as soon as he could put in a word, began to offer an interpretation of what had been said. it was not very literal, but interpreters are seldom exact in translation. he remarked that his follower had forgotten himself, that the blow had brought him to his senses, and that he now wished to render every apology in his power to one like senhor don lobo, who so greatly merited his respect. the old governor pulled away at his beard for some time, and twirled his moustaches, but was at length pacified sufficiently to order the prisoners to be carried off to the ward prepared for them. edward, determined to maintain a courteous demeanour in spite of the harshness with which he was treated, bowed to the governor as he was marched off between two guards, who seemed to think that the pugnacious englishmen would by some means or other break away from them, and effect their escape. for that reason dick lizard had no less than six guards, one on each side, and two in front, and two behind; and certainly, as he rolled along with his sea cap stuck on the back of his head, his brawny arms bare, and his broad chest exposed, he appeared capable of successfully accomplishing any design he might conceive on his captors. the rest of the seamen imitated him with more or less effect, and were evidently customers of whom the portugals stood greatly in awe. the ward in which the english prisoners were placed was a room in a tower on a third floor overlooking the sea. it might have made a not unpleasant chamber if nicely fitted up, but as the only aperture to admit light and air was strongly barred, as the walls were of rough stone, the floor dirty, and heaps of not the cleanest straw were made to do duty for beds, the state of the case was very different. there were no chairs or tables; so that when the prisoners got tired of walking about they were obliged to betake themselves to their heaps of straw. here day after day passed by. edward, however, with the aid of dick, who firmly believed in his power of escaping, kept up the spirits of the party by inducing them to tell their long and astounding yarns, and singing a variety of songs. sometimes their guards came in to inquire why they were making so much noise, but they were not generally interfered with. occasionally they received a visit from the surly old governor, when edward, instead of asking for better quarters, as he might reasonably have done, treated him with the same respect as at first. dick lizard pretended to do the same; but as soon as the stately don had passed him the expression of his features and his gestures showed that his respect was not of an enduring quality. as the governor passed along the ward, dick would imitate his strut and would give a stately bow, now on one side, now on the other, his countenance all the time in a broad grin. even the warders and guards were amused by his antics, and for fear of putting a stop to them only gave way to their laughter when they saw that the governor was not looking towards them. "all right, sir," said dick to edward one day, after he had been indulging in more than his usual facetiousness, and the governor had taken his departure. "to my mind these portugals care very little for their old don, or they wouldn't laugh at him as they do; and it's my belief that we shall be able to bribe them to let us slip out one of these fine nights without making any noise about it, and when the morning comes we shall be gone." edward's heart beat with joy at the thought, but after reflecting a little he answered, with a sigh-- "a bright idea, dick, but i fear me much the wherewithal to bribe is sadly wanting. the rogues have left us little else but the clothes on our backs." the seaman gave a well-satisfied hitch to his waistband--a movement indicative of satisfaction or hesitation, as well as other emotions of the mind, among nautical characters in all ages--and observed-- "the dons are not quite as clever as they think, sir. they left us our clothes, but i and two more of us had lined them pretty thickly with good lots of yellow-boys, and there they are all safe. you know, sir, a seaman never knows what may happen, and to my mind it's a wise custom among some of us. to be sure, if we comed to be cast away on a desolate island, all the gold in the world wouldn't help a man to get off so much as a sharp axe and a chest of carpenter's tools; but among people with manners and customs, though i can't say much for either one or the other of those hereabouts, there's nothing like gold!" "true indeed, lizard," said edward, partaking somewhat of the confidence of his follower, at the same time that he saw more clearly, probably, the difficulties in their way. he therefore entreated dick and the rest to act with the greatest circumspection, and to appear to submit with perfect readiness to the rules and regulations of the place. the good effect of this conduct was apparent by the greater liberty which the prisoners obtained, and they were now allowed to take their exercise in the open air on the flat roof of part of the castle. thence in a short time they were allowed to descend to a terrace overlooking the sea, where, however, they were watched by several lynx-eyed guards stationed above them. it is seldom that those shores are visited by storms, but when the wind does blow it makes ample amends for its usual state of quiescence. in spite of a gale which had sprung up, edward, with dick lizard and several of the other prisoners, was walking up and down on the said terrace, when dick, whose eyes were of the sharpest, exclaimed that he saw a tall ship driving on before the gale, which set directly on the coast. "alas for the hapless crew!" exclaimed edward. "i fear me they will all be lost!" "not a doubt about it, sir, unless some true-hearted seamen venture out to their rescue when the ship strikes, as strike she must before many hours are over." "are you ready to go, lizard?" asked edward. "an' that i am, sir, and all the rest of us, i'll warrant, if a boat can be found to swim in such a sea," answered dick. "then i'll lead you, my brave lads!" said edward warmly. "i'll go seek the governor and get from him a boat fit for our purpose. whoever they are, i could not bear to see our fellow-creatures perish without an effort to save them. but perhaps the portugals themselves will be eager to go, and not thank us for making the offer." "not a bit of it," answered dick sturdily. "i've seen brave portugals, i'll allow, but when they come out to this country all the good gets burnt out of them." dick was not far from right. edward got access to the governor, who at once inquired if any one was ready to volunteer to go to the rescue of the crew of the ship now closely approaching the land; but when it was understood that the english prisoners had offered to risk their lives in the undertaking, no one was found willing to deprive them of the honour. a fine seaworthy boat was placed at edward's disposal, and at the head of his men, who were in the highest spirits, he walked out once more from prison. of what nation was the approaching ship was the question. to the honest tars and the brave gentlemen they followed it mattered nothing whether she was friend or foe. the portugals had, however, discovered her to belong to their own people, and this, although it did not make them the more disposed to risk their own lives, induced them the more willingly to allow the english to do so to any extent they might see fit. great was the eagerness they exhibited in bringing oars, and tholes, and boathooks, and ropes down to the boat, and still more, when the english had got into her, in launching her into deep water. this could not have been done on the open beach, on which the sea broke with terrific force, but she was hauled up on the shore of a natural harbour formed by two ledges of rocks rising a considerable height above the water. as the outer ends circled round and overlapped each other, the water inside the basin thus formed was comparatively smooth. outside, however, the sea broke with terrific fury, threatening to overwhelm any boat or other floating machine which might get within its influence. some way to the north was another wide extending ledge of rocks, towards which it appeared that the unfortunate ship was drifting; but even should she escape that particular lodge and drive on the beach, the chance that any of those on board would escape was small indeed, for so high were the rollers and so powerful the reflux that once within their influence the stoutest ship could not hold together many minutes, and should any living beings washed towards the shore escape being dashed to pieces or killed by the broken planks and spars, they would be carried again out to sea and lost. edward and dick lizard saw clearly this state of things, but they were not in consequence deterred from attempting to perform their errand of mercy. they also saw that if they would be successful there must be no delay. each man having secured his oar with a rope, and himself to his seat by the same means, edward gave the sign to the portugals to shove off the boat. with loud shouts they placed their shoulders under her sides, and then, shrieking and grunting in concert, they almost lifted her along the sand till she floated, when the english prisoners bringing their oars into play shoved her off into the middle of the basin. dick lizard took the helm, while edward stood up to judge of the best moment for crossing through the breakers. the crew went, steadily to their work. no one was ignorant of the danger to be gone through. at the entrance of the little harbour a white wall of water rose up before them, curling round and topped with masses of glittering foam, which fell in dense showers, blown by the gale over them, tending to blind and bewilder even the most experienced seaman of the party. edward was at first in despair of finding a channel through which the boat could by any possibility pass and live. some of the portugals had, however, assured him that at times between the intervals of the heavier seas he would be able to get through, and he resolved to persevere if his men were ready to do so. "ready, ay, ready, every one of us, master raymond," answered dick lizard, after the briefest of consultations with his comrades. "where's the odds? we can but die once, whether with a portugal's bullet through us, or by the _vomito preito_ or under yonder foaming seas--what matters it? an' you wish to go, we, to a man, will go too." "thanks, my brave lads; and now, when i order you to give way, give way you must, or be ready to back water at the word," exclaimed edward, standing up in the stern-sheets of the boat so as to command a view over the mass of seething, raging, roaring water which rose before him. sea after sea rolled in, and with a voice of thunder broke on the rocks with a force sufficient, it seemed, to dash them to fragments; but, placed there by the hand of omnipotence to curb the fury of the wild ocean, the proud waters were hurled back upon themselves again and again, unable to gain a foot on their fixed confines, shattered into minute atoms of foam which the wind bore far away on its fleet wings, while the iron rocks remained fixed as of old, laughing to scorn their reiterated attacks. the ship meantime was approaching nearer and nearer to the shore. had she been drifting directly on it, she would by that time have been cast helpless on the stern rocks, but happily part of her foremast was still standing, on which a sail being set, her course was somewhat diagonal, and she was therefore longer in reaching her impending fate than had at first appeared likely to be the case. now she rose on the summit of a foaming sea, now she sank into the hollow, seemingly as if never to appear again; but bravely she struggled on, like a being endued with life, resolved to battle to the last, yet knowing that destruction was inevitable. edward observed that although at first there appeared to be no difference in the height of the rollers, yet that after a time several of less apparent strength came tumbling in unbroken till they actually touched the rocks, leaving a narrow yet clear space between them. through this space he determined to urge his boat. he pulled down to the very mouth of the harbour; the crew lay on their oars. a huge sea came roaring on majestically, and breaking into foam almost overwhelmed the boat. directly afterwards the clear channel appeared. "give way, give way, brave lads!" shouted edward. the boat sprang on. immediate destruction or success awaited them. the blades of the oars were concealed amid the seething waters on either side, and the foam came bubbling up over the gunwales, but the boat still held her course outward. she rose towards the summit of a lofty sea; the men strained every nerve. up she climbed; then downward she slid rapidly to meet another sea, up which she worked her way as before. another and another appeared in rapid succession; she surmounted them all, and the open ocean was gained. having gained a sufficient distance from the land, they had to keep along shore with the sea stream--a dangerous position, as, should the boat be caught by a roller, she would most certainly be turned over and over till she was dashed in fragments on the beach. on they came to the ship, plunging through the seas, and appearing as if every instant would be her last, even before she could reach the fatal strand. as they drew near they could distinguish the people on board in various attitudes indicative of despair. there were many hapless beings--sailors, soldiers, civilians, and women and children, some infants in arms, all full of life, and yet, ere many fleeting minutes could pass away, to be numbered with the dead. one last desperate effort was, it was seen, now made by the crew of the ship to save their lives. two anchors were let go, the cables flying out like lightning from the bows, while at the same moment gleaming axes cut away the remaining part of the foremast, which plunged free of the ship into the sea. it was a well-executed, seamanlike manoeuvre. the stout ship was brought up, and although she plunged with her lofty bow almost under the seas, it seemed that her anchors were about to hold her. hope revived in the breasts of those on board. edward and his brave companions pulled alongside; ropes were hove to them, and they maintained the position they had gained, although in the greatest possible peril of being swamped. to climb up to the deck of the ship was almost impossible, but raymond shouted out that he was ready to convey as many of the passengers to the shore as were willing to trust themselves to his charge. many of those who but a short time before had given way to despair were now unwilling to leave the stout ship which still floated under them for a small open boat. some who had less confidence in the power of the anchors to hold the ship, hurried to the side, and showed by their gestures that they wished to enter the boat. without assistance, however, to make the attempt were madness, and the portugal seamen exhibited no intention of helping them. "i'll do it, master raymond," cried dick lizard, seizing a rope which hung over the side, and with a nimbleness which alone prevented him from being crushed between the boat and the ship he climbed up over her bulwarks. two seamen followed his example. several more persons came crowding to the side of the vessel on seeing the hardihood of the british seamen in venturing to their assistance. dick seized the person he found nearest to him as he leaped on deck. it was a young girl. she was clasping the arm of a grey-headed, tall old man, who seemed to be her father. "no time for ceremony, fair lady," cried dick; "bless your sweet face, i'll make all square when we gets you safe on shore; just now, do you see, you mustn't mind a little rough handling. there! there! let go the old gentleman's fist; we'll lower him after you, never fear. hold on taut by the rope, as you love me. a drop of tar won't hurt your pretty hands. there! there! away you go! look out below there! gingerly, lads, lower away. now, old gentleman, you follows your daughter, i suppose?" these exclamations were all uttered while dick and his companions were securing a rope round the young lady's waist, and lowering her into the boat. she gazed upward at her father with a look of affection as she felt herself hanging over the raging ocean while the boat seemed receding from her. a loud shriek of terror escaped her. dick waited till the boat had again risen, and just as it was about to descend into the trough, he let the young girl drop into the arms of raymond, who stood ready to receive her, and with a sharp knife cut the rope above her head, not waiting to cast it loose. the next comer was, as dick promised, the old gentleman, who, even less able to help himself than the young lady, was treated much in the same way. a young mother with her child, whom with one arm she clutched convulsively to her bosom, while with the other with a parent's loving instinct she endeavoured to prevent the infant from being dashed against the ship's side, was next lowered. not a sound did she utter. once the ship, gave an unexpected roll, and she was thrown rudely against the side, but she only clasped her infant the tighter, and heeded not the cruel blows she was receiving. barely could edward with all his strength secure her and free her from the rope before the boat was dashed off to a distance from the ship. again, however, the boat was hauled up alongside. lizard had now slung two little boys together. though pale with terror, they bravely encouraged each other as they hung over the foaming ocean till the position of the boat enabled them to be lowered into her. their father stood on the bulwarks watching them with all a father's affection, he himself wishing to follow immediately, but being prohibited from making the attempt till some more women and children had been lowered. lizard and his companions laboured on unceasingly, for none of the portugal's crew would render them any assistance. several other people were thus conveyed to the boat, but many who seemed at first inclined to leave the ship lost courage as they saw the hazard of the undertaking. some, again, as they gazed towards the foam-covered shore, and heard the roar of the seas as they dashed on the wild rocks, or rolled up on the shingly beach, showed that they would rather trust their safety to the boat than to the labouring ship. among them was a young man who pushed forward requesting to be lowered. "no, no, senhor don," said lizard. "do ye see that there are more women and children to go first? we must look after the weaker ones, who can't help themselves. that's the rule we rovers of the ocean stick to." the young man, either not comprehending him, or so eager to escape as to forget all other considerations, sprang up on the bulwarks, and, seizing a rope, attempted to lower himself without assistance. miscalculating the time, he descended rapidly; the ship gave a sudden lurch, the boat swung off, and the foaming sea surging up tore him from the rope, and with a fearful cry of despair he sank for ever. he was the first victim claimed by the ocean. his fate deterred others from making a like attempt. "come, senhor," said lizard to the father of the little boys, "if you wish to go with us it's fair you should, seeing that others are thinking about the matter instead of acting. you just trust to me, and i'll land you safely." comprehending what lizard meant by his gestures, rather than by his words, he submitted himself to his guidance, and was placed by the side of his boys. at that instant a cry arose on board the ship that the anchors were dragging. lizard soon saw that the report was too true. now numbers were eager to jump into the boat. she might have carried three more persons, but in the attempt to receive them scores might have leaped in, and the boat would have been swamped. dick and his companions had no fancy to be wrecked with the ship; so, seizing ropes, they swung themselves into the boat. the next moment the rope which held the boat was cut, and she floated clear of the ship. the oars were got out and hastily plied by the sturdy seamen. good reason had they to exert all their strength, for the ship, while dragging her anchors, had already carried them fearfully near the roaring line of breakers among which she herself was about to be engulfed. with horror those who had been rescued contemplated the impending fate of their late companions. slowly the boat worked her way out to sea, while the ship, with far greater rapidity, drove towards the shore. now the wind, which appeared for an instant to have lulled, breezed up again. hardly could the boat hold her own. edward and lizard had to keep their eyes seaward to watch the waves in order to steer their boat amid their foaming crests. the hapless people on board too well knew what must be their own fate. in vain they shrieked for help; in vain they held out their arms; vain, truly, was the help of man. a furious blast swept over the ocean. a mass of foam broke over the boat. raymond believed that she could not rise to the coming sea, but, buoyantly as before, she climbed up its watery side, struggling bravely. as she reached its summit a cry escaped the rowers--"the anchors have parted! good god! the anchors have parted!" in an instant more the raging seas, foaming and hissing, broke over the stout ship, ingulfing in their eager embrace many of those who were till then standing on the deck full of life and strength. still the waters seemed to cry out for more. each time they rushed up more and more were torn from their hold. some strong swimmers struggled for a few moments amid the boiling surges for dear life, but the shrieks of most of them were speedily silenced in death. the stout ship, too, stout as she was, quickly yielded to the fury of the breakers. the high poop was torn away as if made of thin pasteboard; the wide forecastle, with the remainder of the crew still clinging to it, was carried off and speedily dashed to fragments; the stout hull next, with a wild crash, was rent asunder, and huge timbers, and beams, and planks were dashed to and fro amid the foaming billows, speedily silencing the agonised shrieks of those who yet hoped--though hoped in vain--to reach the land where hundreds upon hundreds of their fellow-creatures stood bewailing their fate, but unable to render them assistance. but a few minutes had passed by since the tall ship had struck on those cruel rocks, and now her shattered fragments strewed the ocean, some carried back by the receding waves, others cast, torn and splintered, on the beach with tangled masses of ropes, and spars, and seaweed. here and there a human form, mangled, pallid, and lifeless, could be discerned, surrounded by the remnants of the wreck, now approaching, now again dashed off suddenly from the shore; now an arm might be seen lifted up as if imploringly for help; now the head, now the very lips, might be seen to move, but it was but the dead mocking at the living. no sound escaped those lips; for ever they were to be silent. most of those thus momentarily seen were swept off again to become the prey of the ravenous monsters of the deep. a few of the poor remnants of frail mortality were cast up and left upon the shore, whence they were carried up by the pitying hands of charity to be interred in their mother earth, but by far the greater number were among those who shall rest in their ocean graves till the time arrives when the sea shall give up her dead, and all, from every land and every clime throughout all ages since the world was peopled, shall meet together for judgment. chapter six. "how fares it with the good ship, dick?" asked edward, fearing for one moment to withdraw his eyes from off his arduous task of steering the boat amid the raging seas. the answer came not from the british seaman, but from one of the passengers taken from the ship:-- "mother of heaven! they are lost--all lost!" the words, uttered by the young lady who had been the first received into the boat, were followed by a heart-rending shriek as she sank fainting into the arms of her father. many of those who had been saved had relatives, all had friends and acquaintances, on board the ship. some others cried out and expressed their horror or regret, but the greater number looked on with stolid indifference, satisfied that they had themselves escaped immediate destruction, or absorbed in the selfish contemplation of their own pending fate. it seemed even now scarcely possible that the boat, heavily laden as she was, could escape being swamped. humanly speaking, her safety depended on the bone and muscle and perseverance of her crew. none but true british seamen could have held out as they did. many hours had elapsed since the ship was first seen; night was approaching, and the sea still ran so high that it would be next to madness to attempt re-entering the little harbour--a task far more difficult than getting out of it, as the slightest deviation to the right or left would have caused the instant destruction of the boat and of all on board her. there was nothing, therefore, but to continue at sea. there was no other harbour for many miles either to the north or south which they could hope to reach within many days. "an' we had but provender aboard, master raymond, we might give the portugals the slip, and never let them see our handsome faces again," observed dick, after keeping silence for a considerable time. "true, dick," answered edward, and hope rose in his heart at the bare mention of escaping; but with a sigh he added, "first, though, we have no provender, and had we, in duty we are bound to land these poor people as soon as we can with safety venture so to do. already they are almost worn out, and a few hours more of exposure may destroy their lives, which we have undergone this peril to preserve. then, again, the portugals allowed us to take the boat on the faith that we were to return. duty is duty, dick; the temptations to neglect it do not alter its nature, whatever the old tempter satan may say to the contrary. let us stick to duty and never mind the consequences." "that's all true, no doubt, master raymond, what you say," replied lizard. "but it would be hard, if there was a chance of getting away, to go back to prison. liberty is sweet, especially to seamen." "duty is duty, dick," repeated raymond. "what is right is the right thing to do ever since the world began. maybe the gale will go down, and by dawn we may land these poor people without danger. it will be a happy thing to us to have saved them; and, to my mind, even our prison will be less dreary from having done it." all hands were soon brought round to their officer's opinion. the sun was now setting, and darkness in that latitude comes on immediately afterwards. their prospect was therefore dreary and trying in the extreme. it was difficult to keep the boat free from water in the day; still more difficult would it be while night shrouded the ocean with her sombre mantle. hunger, too, was assailing the insides of the crew; but, still undaunted, they prepared to combat with all their difficulties. rest they must not expect; their safety depended on their pulling away without ceasing at the oars. pull they did right manfully. now one broke into a song; now another cheered the hearts of his companions with a stave, which he trolled forth at the top of his voice. the example was infectious, and in spite of hunger and fatigue, jokes and laughter and songs succeeded each other in rapid succession. the jokes were none of the most refined, nor were the songs replete with wisdom; but the laughter, at all events, was loud and hearty; above all things, it had the effect of raising the drooping spirits of the poor beings who had been confided to them by providence. as they sang, and joked, and rowed, the sea began to go down, and thus, as their strength decreased, the necessity of exerting it became less; still they were compelled to pull on to keep the boat off the land and her head to the sea. at length the singers' voices grew lower and lower, and the jokers ceased their jokes, and the heads of some as they rowed dropped on their bosoms for an instant, but were speedily raised again with a jerk and a shake as they strove to arouse their faculties. edward had need of all his energies to keep himself to his task, and he told dick to warn him should he show any signs of drowsiness. the hours as the morning approached appeared doubly long. the dawn came at last, and then the sun in a blaze of glory shot upward through the sky and cast his burning rays across the waters upon the boat, with her living but almost exhausted freight yet struggling bravely. the wind had fallen. there was a perfect calm, but yet the billows rolled on, moved, it seemed, by some mysterious power unseen to human eye--not, as before, broken and foaming, but in long, smooth, glassy rollers. smooth as they were, they would have proved fatally treacherous to the boat had raymond ventured to land. as they approached the beach they gained strength and height, and then broke with tremendous fury on the smooth sand or rugged rocks, as if indignant at being stayed in their course. again and again edward and his companions gazed wistfully at the coast. that formidable line of breakers still prohibited approach. he and his companions had before been suffering from hunger. as the sun rose higher and became hotter and hotter, thirst assailed them--thirst more terrible and more fatal than hunger. the poor passengers suffered most; it seemed as if they had escaped a speedy death on the previous day, to suffer one more painful and lingering. raymond had been unable till now to pay them much attention personally, leaving them to assist each other as best they could. he was now attracted by the affectionate manner in which the young lady who had been at first saved tended her aged father, and at length, when he could with safety leave the helm, on stooping down to aid her, he recognised in her features, careworn as they were, those of donna isabel d'almeida. he addressed her by name. "what! then our gallant deliverer is the englishman don edoardo, the friend of don antonio!" she exclaimed. "father, father, we are safe among friends; they will surely take us to the shore when they can. i perceived the likeness from the first, but, overcome with terror and confusion, i could not assure myself of the fact. you will forgive me, don edoardo." "indeed, fair lady, i have nothing to forgive," said edward. "i rejoice to have been the means of thus far preserving one for whom i have so high an esteem from a dreadful fate. i cannot but believe that providence, which has saved us thus far, will enable us yet to reach the shore in safety." "heaven and all the saints grant that we may! and under your guidance i have no fear," answered donna isabel. "but, don edoardo--" the young lady stopped and hesitated, and then continued in a faint voice-- "there was another brave officer of your ship i would ask after--don antonio. i could never pronounce his family name. how is it that he is not with you?" this question very naturally led edward to describe the battle, and how he had been taken prisoner and brought to goa, and thence transferred to the safe keeping of don lobo, and how he and his companions had been treated, and how they had been enabled to come off to the assistance of the ship in consequence of the cowardice of her countrymen, who were glad to get others to do the work which they were afraid to attempt. this account was listened to with interest by the rest of the passengers, who all exclaimed against the cruelty and injustice of don lobo, and promised, should they be preserved, to use their influence in obtaining the liberty of the brave englishmen. "see, dick, did i not say right when i told thee that we should do our duty, and leave the consequences to providence?" raymond could not help remarking to lizard. "we shall now have many friends about us on shore, and some of them will get us set free, depend on that." "i hope you are right, master raymond; but to my mind the portugal chaps haven't much gratitude in their nature, and out of sight with them is out of mind," was dick's reply. as the day drew on, the anxiety of all in the boat to reach the land increased; indeed, it was very evident that without water several would be unable to exist through another night. accordingly, about four hours after noon, as was guessed by the height of the sun, raymond announced his intention of making the attempt to run into the harbour. he had carefully noted the bearings of the marks at the entrance on coming out, so that he was able to steer a direct course for the spot. the long swells still rolled in, and broke along the coast in sheets of foam, and all he hoped to find were a few yards of green water through which he might steer his boat. the belief that their toils were to come to an end roused up even the most exhausted of the crew. on glided the boat. now those on board looked down on the shore full in view before them-- now a smooth green wall of water rose up and shut it from their sight. even the bravest held their breath as they approached the rocks, and the loud roar of the breakers sounded in their ears. edward and lizard stood up, grasping the tiller between them. there was no going back now. had they allowed the boat to come broadside to one of those watery heights she would instantly have been rolled over and over, and cast helpless on the rocks. many a silent prayer was offered up that such a fate might be averted. nearer and nearer the boat approached the rocks. "back water--back water, lads!" cried raymond, and a huge roller lifted the boat high above the shore, but failed to carry her forward. it broke with a thundering roar into sheets of foam, and then opened before them a smooth channel. "pull--pull for your lives, lads!" cried edward. the seamen obeyed with a will. the boat shot on, and, amid showers of spray on either hand ere a breath could be completely drawn, she was gliding forward, all dangers passed, towards the beach, where hundreds of persons, portugals and natives, stood ready to receive them. the boat was hauled up on the beach, and, this task accomplished, even edward and lizard sank down, unable to support themselves. they and their companions were carried up to the castle, and, although somewhat better chambers were provided for them, they found themselves still prisoners, and strictly guarded. "i told you so, master raymond--i told you so!" exclaimed dick. "there's no gratitude in these portugals." however, after the lapse of a few days their condition was altered very much for the better, and provisions and luxuries of various sorts were sent in as presents from those who had heard of their brave exploit. raymond also received visits from don joao d'almeida, as also from various other persons of influence. he was himself allowed rather more liberty than before, and was even permitted to ride out in a morning with an escort, in company with some of the officers of the fort, and to enter into such society as the place afforded. he thus constantly met the young donna isabel, whom he could not help regarding with interest. at the same time, whatever might have been his private opinion regarding the attractions of that fair lady, even had they been far greater than he esteemed them, he would not have allowed himself to be influenced by them; first because there was one in his far-off home to whom his troth was plighted, and secondly because he fancied that her affections were fixed on waymouth, and though he devoutly hoped that his friend would never marry her, yet he considered that as a messmate and a friend he was not the person to stand between them. these were the very reasons which suggested themselves to his mind as an excuse, as it were, for not following the rules of all romances, and falling desperately in love with the young lady whom he had been the means of preserving from a dreadful death. it is possible that even had edward not been influenced by these two reasons for not falling in love, as the phrase goes, with donna isabel, he might have found others--indeed, that she was a romanist and of a different nation would have had great power with him alone--but it is not necessary to enter into them; the fact remains, he did not in the slightest degree set his affections on her. he, however, believing firmly that she was in love with waymouth, and having a true and honest heart himself, placing full confidence in the constancy of woman, undoubtedly paid her great attention--such courteous attention as a brother would pay a sister, or an honest man his friend's wife, certainly thinking no evil, or that evil could arise therefrom. now it happened that don lobo, the governor of the castle of san pedro and its dependencies, was a bachelor, and, although a surly, cruel, and morose fellow, had a heart susceptible of the tender passion, or rather of what he fancied was the tender passion, for it would be difficult to suppose any thing tender connected with him. it had been very long since he had seen anybody so young and so beautiful as donna isabel, and no sooner did he set eyes on her after she had recovered from the effects of her voyage and exposure in the open boat than he began to be unusually agitated, nor could he rest night or day for thinking of her. his siestas in his hammock at noon, with slaves fanning his face, brought him no rest, nor was it afforded by his couch at night. he resolved to make donna isabel his wife. he did all he could to exhibit his feelings towards her; but, powerful as they might have been, and although she might have discovered what they were, she certainly did not return them. notwithstanding this, matters went on smoothly enough for some time. don lobo was not a despairing lover, and he knew enough of the female sex to be aware that their feelings are not altogether immutable, even if they change only by slow degrees. donna isabel's sentiments might alter, and he might reach a high point in her favour. time, however, passed on as it has done ever since the world began, and no such change as the governor anticipated took place; on the contrary, as the young lady's eyes were more and more opened to the true state of the case, so did her dislike to the don the more and more increase. indeed, whenever she looked at him, or thought about him, or heard him spoken of, it was with a feeling rather akin to disgust than to devotion. she did not, nevertheless, exhibit these uncomplimentary sentiments as forcibly as under other circumstances she might have done. she and her father were, in the first place, guests of don lobo, and dependent on him. poor don joao had also lost all his property in the ship, and, it having been supposed that he was lost, another person had been appointed to his proposed government, and he had to wait till he could receive a fresh appointment from home. don lobo was also rich, and had pressed money on don joao, which he had accepted, and had thus become still more indebted to him. all these circumstances would have made it very impolitic in donna isabel to exhibit her real sentiments, which she was thus in part compelled to disguise, though she could not do so altogether; nor did she afford the slightest encouragement to her unattractive admirer. at first the surly don was very indifferent to this state of things. "she'll yield--she'll yield before long to my powerful persuasions and personal attractions," he observed to his confidant and factotum, pedro pacheco, a worthy always ready to do his master's behests, whatever they might be. "i'll put on my new doublet and hose, and my jewel-hilted sword, and i'll attack her again this day manfully." "certainly, most certainly, senhor don lobo. a man of your excellency's superlative qualities, no female heart, however hard, can possibly long withstand," observed pedro. "i knew that would be your opinion, my faithful pedro," said the governor--the fact being that the faithful pedro always did agree with his patron, not troubling himself to decide whether he thought him right or wrong. in this instance both were wrong. the governor, to the surprise of the garrison, who had been always accustomed to see him wearing a greasy old doublet and a rusty-hilted sword, made his appearance in a richly ornamented suit, which, though somewhat fusty from having been long shut up, had the advantage of being costly. he was received, however, as usual by donna isabel, who, though she could not help remarking that he wore a handsomer dress than usual, said nothing whatever which might lead him to suppose that she saw in him the least improvement. he tried to talk, but in vain; not a word of sense could he produce. then he tried to look unutterable things, but he only grinned and squinted horribly, till he frightened the young lady out of her senses, and made her suppose that he was thoroughly bent on going into a fit. although he did not suspect the cause, he had the wit to discover that he had not made a favourable impression, and returned to his quarters disappointed and not a little angry with his ill success. pedro pacheco could only advise him to try again. he might have acted a more friendly part if he had said "give it up." don lobo did try again, and with the like ill success. "persevere," said pedro. the governor did persevere day after day, and at length, in spite of the entire absence of all encouragement, declared his passion. donna isabel frankly told him that she did not love him, and did not believe that she ever should. she might have said she did not think she ever could. he said nothing, but made his bow and exit. he told pedro pacheco of his ill fortune. "then she loves another!" observed pedro. "who can he be?" exclaimed the governor in a fierce voice. "where have your excellency's eyes been of late?" asked the confidant quietly. "what!" cried don lobo, giving a furious pull at his beard, "that englishman?" "the same," said pedro pacheco, nodding his head. "then i will take good care he no longer interferes with me," said the don in a savage tone. "of course it would be unwise not to exert your authority when you have him in your power," said pedro. "better put him out of the way altogether." "he has friends--i must have an excuse," said the governor. "he has been plotting or will be plotting to make his escape," observed pedro. "to effect this he would not scruple to murder all in the castle. he and his companions have shown what daring rogues they are by going out to the rescue of donna isabel and the rest when none of our heroic countrymen would attempt the exploit. ah, those english are terrible fellows!" "proof must be brought to me of their abominable intentions, and then we shall have this officer and his men in our poorer," observed the governor savagely. "proof, your excellency! there will be no want of that, considering that our garrison consists of the very scum of the streets of lisbon," answered the confidant. "why, we have men here who for a peco have sworn away the lives of their most intimate acquaintances. of course, in so admirable a cause they would have no scruple in swearing whatever we may dictate, even should it not be absolutely correct." "what you may dictate, honest pacheco, not we, understand," said the governor. "they may bungle when brought into court as witnesses, and though under ordinary circumstances that would not matter, some of these shipwrecked persons are likely to be favourable to them, and might report unfavourably of me if matters did not go smoothly. as to the means i am indifferent when so important a result is to be attained." "ah, most noble governor, i understand all about your wishes in the matter, and will take care that the affair is carried out in a satisfactory way," answered the honest pedro, making his master an obsequious bow as he left the room. don lobo clinched his fist, and, grinding his teeth, struck out as if he had got his prisoner's face directly in front of him. the performance of this act seemed to afford him infinite satisfaction, for he walked up and down the room with a grin which might in courtesy have been called a smile on his countenance for some time till his legs grew weary of the exercise. not long after this, edward was one evening pacing the terrace facing the sea, casting many a longing glance over the glass-like water of the ocean, on which the rays of the setting sun had spread a sheet of golden hue, and he was considering by what means he could possibly with his companions make his escape, when rough hands were laid on his shoulders and he found his arms suddenly pinioned from behind. his first impulse was to endeavour to shake them off, and having by a violent effort done so, his next was to double his fists and to strike at them right and left, knocking two of them down at the instant in a true british fashion. at that instant, dick lizard, coming on the terrace and seeing his officer assailed, rushed forward to his assistance, and quickly sent two more portugals tumbling head over heels right and left of him. "to the rescue! to the rescue!" he shouted out, and his voice quickly collected all the english prisoners who were within hearing. of course more portugals hurried up to the spot, who at once joined in the fray. swords and daggers were drawn, which the englishmen quickly wrenched from the hands of their assailants, though not till several of the prisoners had been wounded; and now the clash of steel was heard and fire-arms were discharged, and the skirmish became general. in the midst of it pedro pacheco rushed out of his quarters, crying out-- "treason! treason! the english are rising and murdering every one of us," and at the same moment he levelled a pistol at raymond's head. the bullet would probably have, ended the life of the gallant adventurer had not dick lizard struck up the portugal's arm, for he had no time in the first instance to do more, but a second blow from his fist sent senhor pedro sprawling on the ground among several others of his party who had been placed in the same horizontal position by the sturdy englishmen. in spite of the superior numbers of the portugals, the fate of so many of their party made the rest unwilling to close with the prisoners, who, not knowing what was intended, stood boldly at bay, resolved to sell their lives dearly, dick lizard singing out-- "come on--come on, ye varlets! we don't fear ye. one spaniard lick two portugee, one englishman lick all three!" this state of things could not, however, last long. trumpets were sounding, drums were beating, and soldiers from all quarters were collecting, who now with don lobo at their head surrounded the englishmen. at the command of the governor they were levelling their matchlocks (fortunately the matter of discharging them was not a speedy operation), when don joao d'almeida and his daughter donna isabel made their appearance on the scene with most of those who had been preserved from the wreck. "hold, hold, countrymen!" cried don joao. "what! are you about to slaughter those who so gallantly risked their lives to save ours? hold, i say; i am sure that you, don edoardo, have done nothing intentionally to deserve this treatment." donna isabel joined her entreaties with those of her father. "certainly i have no wish to break the peace," answered raymond. "the arms we hold were taken from those who assailed us, and we are ready to lay them down instantly at the command of the governor, in whose lawful custody we consider ourselves." thus appealed to, don lobo could not, without outraging all law, order the destruction of his prisoners. those who had possessed themselves of weapons put them down, when they were immediately seized each by not less than six portugals, and marched off to the cells in which they had at first been confined. "i must inquire into the cause of this outbreak, when punishment will be awarded to the guilty," said don lobo, as he stalked back to his quarters. the unpleasant look which the governor cast on him made edward feel that evil was intended. his suspicions were speedily confirmed, for instead of being taken to the chamber he had lately occupied, he was marched off to the prison in which he and his companions had at first been confined, and was thrust alone into a dark, close, foul dungeon, at a distance, he feared, from lizard and his other men. he knew nothing of the jealous feelings which had sprung up in the bosom of don lobo, or his apprehensions would naturally have been greatly increased. the air of the dungeon was noxious and oppressive, and he had not been in it many hours before he began to feel its ill effects. "a week or two in such a hole as this will bring my days to a close," he said to himself as he surveyed, as far as the obscurity would allow, the narrow confines of his prison-house. "alas! alas! my adventure has turned out ill indeed. my own beatrice, for thy sake i left my native land, and thou wilt have, ere long, to mourn me dead. for thy sake, sweet girl, i pray that i may escape." in this strain he soliloquised for some time, as people in his circumstances are apt to do, and then he set to work to consider how, by his own exertions, he might be able to get free. he was fain to confess, that, unaided, he had not the slightest chance of escape. of one thing, however, he was certain--that dick lizard would not rest day or night till he had made an attempt to help him. and he knew that dick, with all a sailor's bluntness and thoughtlessness, had a considerable amount of ready wit, and of caution too, where it was necessary for the accomplishment of an important object. edward hoped also that his friends would prove true, and exert themselves in his favour. all this time don lobo had resolved on his destruction, and only waited the best opportunity of accomplishing it. knowing the character of the dungeon in which his prisoner was confined, he believed that he should have very little trouble about the matter. edward's constitution was, however, very sound, and though he certainly suffered in health, he did not break down altogether, as the governor expected would be the case. don lobo, therefore, announced publicly that he intended to bring the prisoners engaged in the late outbreak to a trial. this every one knew well would result in their being shot. day after day passed by. edward found his imprisonment more and more irksome, while he had not yet succeeded in communicating with lizard, nor could he ascertain even where the honest fellow was shut up. his jailers were only conversable when they had any disagreeable news to communicate, and it is extraordinary how loquacious they became when the day of his trial was fixed, and the opinion as to his fate was formed. they seemed to take especial delight in taunting him and in annoying him in every way. "ah, senhor, many an honest man has been hung before now, and many a rogue, and neither seems to think it a pleasant operation," remarked one of the fellows, imitating the contortions of countenance of a strangled person. "to which class does the noble senhor belong, i wonder?" said another. "maybe to the last, if he will pardon me saying so," observed a third with a grin. "but, ah me! rogue or honest, there will be some fair ladies mourning for him in more ports than one," cried another, who was considered the wit of the gang. "permit me, senhor, to convey your last dying message to some or all of them. maybe in your own land there is some fair young dame from whom you would not willingly be parted, eh? i thought that i should hit the right nail on the head." "peace--peace, men!" exclaimed edward. "for your own sakes, lest you should ever be in a like condition, allow me to be alone." his appeal, made with dignity and calmness, had more effect than he expected, and the men shrank back, for a time, at least, abashed. their last remarks did not, however, affect his feelings as might have been supposed, the fact being that his beatrice was never out of his thoughts, and night and day his prayers had been for blessings on her head. the day of the englishmen's trial approached. of the result there could not be a shadow of doubt. numerous witnesses were able to prove that they had been found in open insurrection with arms in their hands, while there was no one to speak in their favour. any thing, also, like justice was unknown in the land. still, don lobo, having resolved to get rid of his supposed rival, wished to give as great an air of formality and legality to his proceedings as he possibly could. edward, from all he could ascertain, felt convinced that he had not many days to live. the night before his trial arrived he had thrown himself on the heap of straw which served as his bed by night and his only seat by day, that he might obtain some repose, the better to go through his ordeal on the morrow, when he heard his prison-door open gently, without the usual creaking noise which announced the appearance of his jailers, and a bright light streamed on his closed eyes. he fancied that he must be dreaming, till he unclosed them and discovered that the light was held by a being habited in a white robe, beautiful in appearance, whether celestial or human he could not at first decide. if the latter, she was young and of the fair sex. he looked again. yes--donna isabel d'almeida stood before him. she put her finger to her lips to impose silence, and kneeling down by his side whispered for some time into his ears. she then produced a couple of files and other instruments for forcing off shackles, which she and the prisoner plied so assiduously that scarcely half an hour had passed before he stood up free from his chains. "take off your shoes and put on these woollen slippers, and follow me, senhor," whispered donna isabel. "the guards are asleep, and if no noise is made we need not fear being stopped." edward could scarcely believe his senses, and fancied that he must be asleep, but still he wisely did as he was bid. he, however, felt scarcely able to walk after being shut up for so long in that pestiferous dungeon. donna isabel, shrouding part of the lantern, glided towards the door, which opening noiselessly she passed out, he following. she led the way up a narrow, dark, winding staircase. it had not many steps, and edward, to his surprise, found himself pacing a long passage, the end of which he could not distinguish. he had never before been in that part of the fort. not a sound was heard, nor did his own nor his guide's footfall make the slightest noise. he conjectured that the guard had just before made the rounds, and that the warders had settled themselves into their nooks and corners and gone to sleep. donna isabel seemed to have perfect confidence that all was right, though he could not help expecting every instant to come on one of these nooks, and to find a warder prepared to dispute their onward progress. he had been aware that his dungeon was at a considerable depth, but, judging from the number of steps he had to ascend, he found that it was even deeper down than he had supposed. the gallery was low and arched-- hewn out of the rock it appeared, or built of rough stones, though, as may be supposed, he made no very exact observations as he hurried on. suddenly donna isabel stopped, and taking his arm led him round a corner into another corridor or gallery. it was a side passage, or, probably, rather a passage which had been commenced but not finished. covering up her lantern, they were in total darkness. edward had, however, time to ascertain that they were behind a buttress or projecting part of the wall, which would conceal them partially from any one passing along the main gallery they had quitted. donna isabel had not sought the place of concealment a moment too soon, for scarcely was the light shrouded than footsteps were heard and a glare of light appeared. the light proceeded from a couple of torches held by two men, and directly behind them stalked no less a person than the governor himself, followed closely by pedro pacheco. the glare penetrated to the recess in which the fugitives stood, and edward expected every moment to be discovered by don lobo. the don was, however, near-sighted, or so occupied in earnest conversation, that he did not turn his eyes in that direction. edward could hear his companion's heart beat. discovery would have been destruction to both of them probably--to him certainly. the governor, also--as was his habit--walked along with his eyes on the ground, but those of the worthy pedro had the custom of continually casting furtive glances here and there, as if he expected some one to jump suddenly upon him and give him a stab in the ribs or a kick in a less noble part, or as if he thought a person was about to creep behind him to listen to what he was saying. edward had remarked this peculiarity in the governor's confidant, and had very natural apprehensions that it would lead to their detection. the eyes went up and down, here and there, as usual--now, by a turn of the head, looking over one shoulder, now over the other, now into the governor's face to ascertain what effect his remarks were producing. donna isabel crouched down, really now trembling with fear, for, as far as her gentle nature would allow, she loathed senhor pedro even more than his master. edward stood bolt upright, with his arms by his side and his eyes fixed, to occupy as little space as possible. round and round went pedro's lynx-like orbs. by what possibility could they escape falling on the spot where edward was endeavouring to hide? a small matter often produces an important result. a little stone, which hundreds of feet had passed by without touching, lay on the ground. the governor struck his toe against it, on which toe a painful callosity existed. uttering an oath at the pain he was caused, he stumbled forward, and would have proved the hardness of the rock with the tip of his nose had not pedro caught him as he fell. so assiduous were the attentions of the confidant, that, though don lobo limped on slowly, they had both passed beyond the spot from which they could see the fugitives before pedro's eyes turned again towards the quarter where they stood. it might be possible that other persons were following, but no one else appeared. it occurred to edward that the governor might be on his way to see him in his cell, and if so their flight would speedily be discovered. at all events, not a moment was to be lost. donna isabel must have thought the same, for, taking his hand, she again led him along the chief gallery in the direction in which they were before going. "the stumble of the governor might be fortunate for more reasons than one," thought edward. "if he is going towards my cell, it may delay him and give us a little longer start." distances appear much greater to persons walking in the dark and in an unknown path, and thus edward believed that they must be close on some outlet long before one was reached. more steps were ascended and others descended, and long passages traversed, when donna isabel led the way through a narrow one which turned off at right angles to a main gallery, and hurrying along it for some way, they suddenly came to a door. the cool night air came through an iron grating, showing that it was an outlet, if not to the fort itself, to that portion where the prison was placed. iron bars secured it, and a strong lock, apparently. the lady beckoned to edward to undertake the task which her weaker arms were unable to perform, throwing the light of the lantern for the purpose on the door. the bolts having been without much difficulty withdrawn, she produced a key, which she handed to edward. in vain he attempted to fit it in the lock. it was clearly the wrong key, or they had come to the wrong door. there was a latch, but though he pulled at it and shook it, the door would not open. "alas! i trust the error is not fatal. we should have turned to the right instead of to the left," whispered donna isabel. "it was the only point about which i had any doubt." leaving the door with the bolts withdrawn, they retraced their steps for some distance. "here! here!" whispered donna isabel. "this is the right way." going on, they stood before a door similar to the one they had before attempted. the bolts were withdrawn with ease; they had evidently lately been oiled. passing through the gateway, edward and the lady found themselves in the open air. edward expected to be outside the fort, but he soon discovered that they were still within the outer works. the heavy footsteps of a sentry as he paced the ramparts could be distinctly heard, the bark of a dog in the distance, and the steady lash of the restless sea on the beach. a wide open space had to be crossed. the attempt must be made, and yet they might be seen by the sentry. fortunately the night was dark. donna isabel held edward back till the man had turned, and then whispering, "quick, quick!" led the way, running rapidly across the open space. so quickly she ran, that edward could scarcely keep up with her. breathless she reached the parapet of the outer works. at the spot where they stood an angle sheltered them from the sight of the sentry above. edward looked over, and found that it was directly above the shore, and, as far as he could judge in the darkness, the ditch seemed to have been almost filled with sand. donna isabel, stooping down, produced a strong rope from under a gun-carriage, to which the end was secured. "i doubt not its strength," she whispered; "but i will lead the way." and before edward could prevent her grasping the rope, she had flung herself off the wall, and was descending rapidly. believing that she had reached the bottom, he imitated her example. the rope stretched and cracked as his weight was thrown on it. every moment he expected it to break, and he was unable to tell the height he might have to fall, or the nature of the ground which he should reach. it was with inexpressible satisfaction that his feet touched some hard, rugged rocks. "we have yet farther to go," said donna isabel. "then, don edoardo, i must leave you with those better able than a weak girl to render you assistance." along the rough sea-beat rocks donna isabel, with unfaltering steps, held her way. the softer sand was gained, and now faster even than before she fled along, urging edward to still greater speed. "go before me, brave englishman," she exclaimed. "even now we may be pursued, and my failing strength will not bear me on as fast as you can run. on, on; care not for me; i will follow." this, however, edward could not bring himself to do. it was contrary to all his manly feelings, his ideas of chivalry. half lifting and half supporting the young lady, he bore her on towards the harbour. as they went, the idea occurred to him, "what could be donna isabel's intentions? did she propose flying with him?" the question was perplexing. "i'll tell her at once the truth, and return to prison rather than place her in a wrong position." while thus hurrying on, however, he found it impossible to express his sentiments. the beach which formed the inner side of the little harbour was at length reached, but no boat could edward discern. "it is farther out, concealed under the rocks," said donna isabel. "we must endeavour to reach it by walking along them." the undertaking appeared very hazardous to edward, who remembered that there were numerous crevices, and smooth, slippery places, down which it would be difficult to avoid falling. donna isabel, however, assured him that she was acquainted with a secure path which had been cut in the rocks. after searching for a short time the path was found, and cautiously she led the way along it. it was necessary in the dark to feel every step in advance, lest a false one might precipitate her into the water. the delay was very trying. neither of them had once looked behind; there would have been no use in so doing. even if pursued, they could not have fled faster than they had done. suddenly donna isabel stopped. "i cannot find the path," she exclaimed, after searching round for some time. in vain edward tried to discover it. while stopping in consequence of this, their eyes were directed for the first time towards the castle. in front of it appeared several bright lights; they were those of torches and lanterns. after flitting about for some time, the lights began to move towards the harbour. they were pursued. if the boat could not be found, they would inevitably be captured. "i will go first and search for the boat, at all hazards," exclaimed edward. he walked on. donna isabel in her alarm had fancied that they were out of the path, though it was but some roughness of the rock that had misled her. they were soon again in it. with renewed spirits edward pushed on. he fancied that he saw the boat close under a projecting part of the rock. he hailed. "all right, huzza!" answered a voice. he recognised it as that of dick lizard. "we are here, most of us. the portugals have got three still, but they'll be out soon and come on here." dick, being low down, had not seen the lights near the castle. edward told him of the circumstance. "then the poor fellows will be caught," cried dick. "if we had a chance we'd go back and help them; but we've none. it's the chance of war. if the scoundrel portugals kill them, we'll avenge them some day. but step in, sir, and we'll shove off. we are sadly short-handed, that's the worst of it, if we are chased. however, it can't be helped." edward had not spoken to donna isabel for some seconds, or it might be a minute or two; certainly not since he had heard lizard's voice. now came the perplexing point, what would she do? don joao was not in the boat, nor any of her countrymen. would she desire to accompany him? he turned to address her, to express his deep gratitude for her noble exertions, and the arrangements she had made thus far so successfully to enable him to escape. great and painful was his astonishment, however, when, on turning, donna isabel was nowhere to be seen. lizard had not perceived her. "when i first caught sight of you, master raymond, you were alone; that i'll swear, sir," he replied. edward sprang back horrified. "donna isabel! donna isabel!" he shouted. he felt as grieved and alarmed as he would have done had she been a beloved sister. the dreadful idea seized him that she must have slipped off the rock and been drowned; for calm as was the sea, the swell sent a constant current into the harbour, which would instantly have drawn her away from the spot where she had fallen. "donna isabel! donna isabel!" he again shouted. no answer was given. to delay longer would have been useless. dick and the other men had joined in the fruitless search. they now literally forced him into the boat, and, shoving off, began to pull down the harbour. as they did so, one of the men declared he saw an object floating by--an uplifted hand. on they pulled; it was ahead. again it was seen. at that moment lights appeared on the beach, and advancing along the rocks. the fugitives were, however, on the element they loved. they were free. a few strokes more and they would be out of the harbour, when, alas! the stem of the boat struck against a chain drawn tightly across the mouth, and the loud cries and derisive shouts of the portugals told them that their hopes of escape were vain. chapter seven. it would be impossible thoroughly to describe the feelings of disappointment which the englishmen experienced when they discovered that they were caught like fish in a net. the portugals were advancing along the rocks on both sides of the harbour, and in the narrow channel where they were they would all be shot down, or must yield directly they were summoned. in vain they tried to break through the chain. again and again they dashed the stem of their boat against it. no weapon of sufficient strength to cut it was to be found in the boat. dick and another man leaped overboard, and, balancing themselves on the chain, attempted to lift the boat over, but she was far too heavy to allow them a chance of success. hitherto the portugals had not fired; it might have been because they believed that donna isabel was with them, or that, having to scramble along the rocks, they had left their weapons behind them. "oh, boys! if we had but a place to swim to, we'd swim rather than be caught by these baboon-faced portugals," cried dick, as he reluctantly re-entered the boat. lights were now seen as if on the water itself. "the portugals have launched some boats, and are coming in pursuit!" shouted lizard. "never mind, lads; if we can but get through their chain, we'll hold them a long chase yet. now, lads, a hearty pull and pull all together." heartily the seamen did pull, and stove in the bow of the boat, and sprang every one of their oars. with no very complimentary remarks on the portugals' rotten spars, they broke them completely in two, and each man, grasping the inner end, prepared to use it as a quarter-staff. scarcely had they thus armed themselves when three boats dashed up alongside them. several voices ordered them to yield themselves prisoners. "yield ourselves prisoners!" exclaimed dick. "come and take us, you blackguards! we'll just have the pleasure of cracking some of your skulls first." although the portugals did not understand dick's polite observations, they concluded from the tone of his voice that they were not conciliatory, and therefore, with threats of vengeance, they pressed round them. great was their astonishment and indignation as they were about to jump on board the fugitives' boat to find showers of blows descend on their heads with such hearty good-will, that with many a cracked skull they sprang back into their own boats faster than they had left them. the portugals in the boats so thickly surrounded the english that the former could not use their fire-arms, while those on the rocks were also afraid to fire for fear of hitting their friends. bravely and gallantly the seamen held out. "hurrah for the true english quarter-staves, lads!" cried dick, as he dealt blow after blow on the heads of the portugals, his example being ably followed by the rest of the men. edward shouted and encouraged his followers, though less vociferously. several of the portugals were knocked overboard; others, stunned, fell back into the bottom of their boats; and others, with broken arms and bruised shoulders, shouted--"treachery! treachery! help! help! fire! fire!" and all sorts of cries, under the belief that the numbers of the fugitives were far greater than was the case. as long as the enemy could be kept at close quarters the english had greatly the advantage; but at length so greatly worsted were the portugals that the survivors and the unmaimed, getting out their oars, and shoving off from the boat which contained the audacious english, fairly took to flight, and pulled away up the harbour, maliciously shouting as they went-- "fire! fire at the chain!" their cries were heard, and the rattle of fire-arms followed, and the bright flashes were seen, while the shot whistled over the only spot at which the prisoners could hope to make their escape, even if they could manage to cut or force the chain. as it would have been certain death to make the attempt, raymond proposed a still more daring scheme--to pull up the harbour after the portugal boats, to board one of them before the people had recovered from their panic, to seize their arms, and then to try and make terms with the enemy, or to die fighting bravely with weapons in their hands which might be used at a longer distance than could their quarter-staves. the idea was no sooner suggested than put into execution. the boats had only gone up a short distance, and before the portugals were aware that they were pursued, the english, with their dreaded quarter-staves, were battering away on their skulls, and in a few seconds had possessed themselves of all the fire-arms, ammunition, and swords to be found on board. another boat was overtaken, and before those on board had recovered from their astonishment they were also deprived of their arms. the english now dashed on so as to reach the shore before their opponents, and be ready to stand on their defence. their success was greater than they anticipated. as the portugals were looking in other directions, no one opposed them, and they had time not only to leap on shore, but to reach a rock on the beach which raymond recollected so close to the water that it prevented any one approaching on that side, while the rock itself formed a rampart in front, behind which they could fight. here edward found himself with dick lizard and ten other men, some of them more or less wounded, but all able to use their weapons. although they knew that they must ultimately be starved out or overwhelmed by numbers, yet, like brave men, they agreed not to yield while resistance could by any possibility avail them. some time passed--no enemy appeared. what were the portugals about to do? was the question. "they don't know where we've got to, and they're boasting that they've killed us," suggested dick in a low voice. edward had still a lingering hope that they might escape. the minutes were very long, but they increased into hours, and at last the day dawned, and dick, looking out from behind his hiding-place, could see the portugals scattered about among the rocks near the harbour still looking for them. daylight, however, exhibited the boat on the beach, and the marks of their feet on the sand. their place of refuge was soon discovered, and now in numbers the portugals came crowding up from all quarters, thinking that they were about to take their prey on easy terms, and vowing vengeance on their heads. the rock, however, formed a breastwork which no bullets could penetrate, nor even could round shot from ordnance make any impression on it. the shape was that of a half-moon, the convex side being towards the shore, with the two horns running some way into the water where it was too deep for any one to wade, except the sea was unusually smooth. on the sea side there was deep water, outside of which was a ledge of broken rocks here and there showing their heads, forming a barrier no boats could pass, with what may be described as a lagoon of smooth water inside the rocks. thus raymond and his party were completely protected from the sea, unless a boat could be dragged overland and launched beyond the rock into the lagoon. this could easily have been done under ordinary circumstances, but any persons now attempting it would have been exposed to the fire of the english from the rock. edward had noted some of the advantages offered by the rock as a place where a few determined men might defend themselves, but the strength of its position surpassed his expectations. it was the recollection of this rock which made him propose the bold attack on the portugals in their boats which proved so successful. some of the portugals, it was observed, advanced bravely enough, but others, whose heads were bandaged, though they shouted and urged on their countrymen, hung back, and seemed in no way inclined to encounter the daring englishmen. dick lizard pointed them out to his companions. "ha, ha! the varlets!" he exclaimed. "they know the flavour of our english quarter-staves, and don't want a second taste of them." raymond had no necessity to counsel his men to be steady, for every one had his weapons ready, and stood as cool as if no enemy were advancing to the attack. still the number of their opponents was sufficient to daunt the stoutest hearts. not only were there portugals, but swarthy natives in light garments and long matchlocks, nimble fellows who looked capable of climbing over the rocks like wildcats, and proving troublesome at close quarters. there were some gayly-bedecked cavaliers on horseback, but of them the seamen took but little account. "all we've to do, lads, is to kill the steeds, and then your horsemen become clumsy footmen," exclaimed lizard as he saw them galloping up over the sand-hills from the interior. the portugals, who, like wise men, seemed to be lovers of long shots, began to fire towards the rock, not all together nor taking good aim, but as each man thought he could hit an enemy without being hit himself. the leaden bullets mostly flew high overhead, but a few came spluttering against the rock to fall flattened into the crevices or to roll down into the sand. edward ordered his followers to keep under cover, he alone watching the progress of their foes. on they came, the showers of shots increasing in thickness, but being perfectly innocuous. the nearer they got the higher the shot flew, so that no harm was done except to the portugals themselves by the bursting of some of their fire-arms. "wait, lads, till they get close up to the rock, and then fire and knock over the foremost dozen at the least," he cried out. "maybe they won't expect the warm reception we can give them." raymond, like a good officer, having made the utmost of his position and taken every proper precaution to insure success, did his best to encourage his men and to make them despise their enemies. foolish and ignorant officers neglect the necessary preparations and precautions, and yet fancy that they are exhibiting their bravery by despising their foes. this has ever been a great cause of defeat and disaster. there was a pause. the portugals had not the heart to make a rush forward, and the english were unwilling to throw their precious shot away. the portugals were seen to halt, as if to hold a consultation. the perfect quietness of the english alarmed them more than loud shouting and noise would have done. they did not know what to make of it. "ha! ha! they've no stomach for the fight," whispered dick, who had popped up his head to see what was going forward. "they're just thinking whether they 'll go back to their wives and families, or come on and be shot. we'll teach them the wisest thing to do." the pause was broken by the sound of a trumpet, and a cavalcade was seen approaching from the direction of the castle. as it drew near, edward recognised by his dress and bearing don lobo at its head. an officer was now seen to gallop forward towards what might be called the storming party, but that they appeared to have no great inclination to storm. his message seemed to expedite their movements, and with loud shouts and a hotter fire they once more advanced. finding also that the garrison of the rock did not reply, their courage increased as did their shouts and their speed, although it requires a stout heart to march towards an enemy over heavy sand. "they'll go back, an' i mistake not, faster than they are coming on," whispered dick. "steady, my merry men," cried raymond as the portugals were crowding on within a few paces of the rock. numbers had already begun to climb its slippery sides, pressing on each other, the hinder ones urging on those in front, the rearmost feeling their valour at the highest pitch, when edward perceived that the time for action had arrived. "now, lads, give it them!" he exclaimed, setting the example by firing his piece, which was of the blunderbuss genus, rammed full of shot, and knocking over three if not more of the stormers. the rest of the party discharged their fire-arms at the same moment, lodging their contents in the bodies of some score or more of their assailants. they, the most part killed, with many who, though unhurt, were terribly alarmed, tumbled back on their comrades in the rear, all rolling down the rock together, and so thoroughly bedabbled with blood that it appeared as if the whole party were desperately wounded. this damped the courage of the rest. some stood irresolute, others actually ran, and others shouted to their comrades to go on, but did not themselves advance. this enabled the english seamen to reload their fire-arms, and as it was evident that the fight would be carried on at close quarters, each man put as many shot into his piece as it would hold. "now we are ready once more for the portugals! hurrah, lads! give it them again!" shouted dick, while the enemy hesitated to advance. several fire-arms had been taken from the boats besides those of which each man had possessed himself. these were also loaded and placed ready for use. the spirits of the seamen rose as they saw the way in which the first attack had been repulsed. of the future they did not think. edward, on the contrary, could not help thinking of the result, and felt that their lives must be sacrificed in the end, and that, as they had resolved to sell them dear, the longer they fought was but adding to their price. still he kept his courage up and resolved to persevere to the end. still the enemy did not advance. the governor was seen in the distance, and appeared to be furious at the hesitation of his men. message after message was sent to them to goad them on. the trumpets sounded the charge, and with shouts and cries they once more advanced to climb the rock. again edward allowed them to approach till the most daring had got high enough to bring their breasts up to the muzzles of the pieces. "fire, my merry men, fire!" he shouted. the result was even more terrible than at first, and numbers of killed and wounded men rolled back on their comrades, throwing their ranks once more into confusion. this time, however, others attempted to come on, but edward, leaving two of his party to reload the fire-arms, led on the rest armed with their quarter-staves, and leaping on the rock gave the foe so unexpected a reception that they were driven helter-skelter back and fairly put to flight. edward restrained his men from firing a volley after them, as ammunition was too precious to be thrown away. this success gave them a short breathing-time. raymond had little hopes, however, of obtaining fair and honourable terms. carrying off their wounded, but leaving their dead under the rock, the portugals withdrew to a distance. the englishmen had time now to consider their position and what was to be done. they were as unanimous as at first in determining to hold out to the last gasp. indeed, edward reminded them that if they yielded they would certainly be put to death. without saying any thing, dick slipped from among the rest, and with a large knife in his hand rushed into the water. he speedily returned with a large bunch of clams and other shell-fish. "ha! ha! the portugals will not starve us out as quickly as they think," he exclaimed triumphantly. "that's the reason, i take it, that they hold back." probably dick was right in his conjecture. there was no want of driftwood under the rock, and, though raw shell-fish have often been eaten, even seamen prefer them cooked. a fire was soon lighted, and all the garrison were speedily employed in roasting the shell-fish. the portugals on seeing the smoke must have guessed its cause, for they were soon again seen assembling to renew the attack. edward saw that the time had come when they must prepare to die like brave men, for he could not hope to repulse another attack as successfully as he had done the first. often did the brave band wish they were on the deck of a stout ship prepared to do battle on somewhat equal terms, with a prospect of victory in the end, or at worst to go down with colours flying to find their graves in the element they loved so well. ever and anon, and naturally enough, they turned a wistful gaze over the ocean, and a sail was now descried in the horizon. the circumstance could scarcely give rise to hope, and yet often and often, as men would do, they turned their eyes in the same direction to watch her progress. she was, however, not directly approaching the shore, for the land breeze yet blew strongly off it, but she was standing along it close-hauled from the southward. "she is edging in for the land!" cried dick lizard. "she may be a portugal, or a spaniard, or a hollander; but oh, boys! she may--she may be an honest englishman, and bring us help at our great need." "the lord grant that so it may be!" said edward, who, without pretension, had true religious principles, and was not ashamed of his feelings. "we are in his hands. let us pray for protection, and he will not desert us." and then and there, on the sand and rocks, like sturdy believers as they were, they knelt down, with their arms in their hands, and humbly poured out their petition to heaven for aid. then they rose and looked out for the enemy. the land wind, as has been said, was blowing, and the heat was very great, especially on the sands, and the portugals seemed rather inclined to take their siesta than to fight with enemies whom they believed they had got securely in a trap from which they could not ultimately escape death or capture. as the sun rose the wind died away, and the heat became almost unbearable. some of edward's party declared that they should be roasted alive, and that they felt themselves bubbling and hissing already. "never mind, lads, a plunge in the sea will soon cool us; and that's what i propose we take to when our ammunition is all gone," cried dick. even while he was talking, however, a ripple was seen to play over the surface of the lagoon, and a faint breeze fanned their scorched cheeks. "hurrah, lads! here comes the honest sea wind," exclaimed dick. "may it blow us good luck!" stronger and stronger it blew, and now the strange ship was seen to be rapidly approaching the land under all sail, having squared away her yards before it. had the portugals been more wide awake they would have long since seen her. they seemed, indeed, in no way disconcerted at her appearance. after a time, the portugal flag was seen flying at her peak, and they were evidently prepared to welcome her as a friend. the hopes of most of the party again sank low. dick, however, constantly kept his eye on the stranger, scanning her sails and rigging and lofty hull. he had not much time to engage in this agreeable occupation before raymond called his men to their posts, for the enemy were seen mustering in great numbers, probably ashamed that their countrymen should find them kept at bay by a mere handful of foreigners. don lobo himself rode forth from the castle with his staff of officers, and drums beat, and trumpets brayed, and cymbals clashed as the troops rushed forward to the assault. on they came. "steady as before, my brave men, and we'll beat them off again," cried edward. up the rock they climbed with fierce shouts and denunciations of vengeance, but the same mistake was again committed as at first--the bravest had been allowed to go first, the more cowardly following. again the little english band of heroes let fly their pieces, knocking over the leaders, who, falling back, threw the rest into disorder. some struggled on, and the english quarter-staves again came into use. several of the english were, however, wounded by the pistols of the portugals. raymond got a severe cut on his left arm, and a bullet went through the brain of another man. still the seamen struggled on, and making a rush all together, drove the portugals once more to the bottom of the rock. now, had the cowards led the way they would have undoubtedly been killed by the volley of the english; but before the latter could reload, the braver men would have been upon them, and would probably have ended the unequal contest. as it was, so great was the awe inspired by the english seamen's determined bravery, that it was some time before the portugals could be again brought up to the attack. during the interval the stranger ship had approached as near the shore as it was safe to venture, and had there cast anchor, just beyond the range of the guns of the castle. several boats were seen to be lowered from her lofty sides. they were at once filled with men and pulled towards the shore, under cover of the ship's guns. the ship had come to an anchor while the fighting was going forward, and no sooner were the enemy repulsed than lizard turned his eyes towards the ocean to ascertain what the stranger was about. he took a steady gaze at her, and then giving a loud slap with his hand on his thigh, he exclaimed-- "the lion, lads, the lion! hurrah! old england for ever! hurrah!" his shouts made all his companions turn their eyes in the same direction, and so absorbed were they in gazing at the stranger, that had the enemy stormed at that moment the little english band would have been cut to pieces. a second glance was not necessary to convince edward that the ship he saw was indeed the lion herself. the portugals, it seemed by their movements, began to have some suspicions of the character of the stranger, and of the object of the boats in coming on shore. it made them still more eager to recapture their former prisoners, and to retire to the fort. doubly resolved, however, were raymond and his men to hold out till their countrymen could come to their rescue. the boats were steering for a bay between the rock and the castle. again the portugals began to assail the rock with fierce cries of vengeance. the seamen shouted in return. hotter and hotter grew the fight; the eleven defenders of the rock stood boldly at bay, hurling the portugals down the rock, casting their pistols, which they snatched from their hands, after them, and often bringing their own quarter-staves into play. still, from loss of blood and the constant attacks of the enemy, their strength began to fail; even edward felt that nature would give way, when the stranger's boats reached the beach. each boat was full of men, who leaped on shore and formed in two parties--one pushing towards the castle, the other, shouting "st. george and merry england!" towards the rock. on they came. there was no doubt that they were friends. some of the portugals faced about to meet them; but so furiously did the strangers charge, that, after exchanging several blows, resulting in not a few cracked skulls, those who could run took to their heels and fled. edward, seeing this, charged down on his assailants, driving them before him to the bottom of the rock, which his friends at the same moment reached. the remainder of the enemy, finding themselves between two fires, made no attempt at defence, but as many as could escape ran off inland, the rest being cut to pieces or made prisoners. hearty were the greetings as shipmates, long separated, clasped the hands of shipmates--for the new-comers were the brave lions. raymond's first inquiry was for antony waymouth. "the captain is leading the other party," was the answer. "our orders are to push on to join him." "oh, let us go!" cried edward, forgetting his wounds, fatigue, and every thing, and eager only to join his friend. on they went over the hot sands, not altogether unmolested; for the portugals fired at them from a distance, and here and there one of the party was hit; but no one seemed to care for wounds--the castle of san pedro, with the reputed riches of its savage governor, was to be their prize. the two parties met under the walls. there was a short but hearty greeting between antony waymouth and edward raymond. "we have no lack of gold and jewels already aboard the lion," exclaimed the former; "but an' we become masters of what this castle holds we may turn our bows homeward, and no longer go roaming the world around for gold; that those who have lady-loves may wed and live like lords of the land to the end of their days. yet i tell thee, ned, i am more glad to see thee alive and hearty than if i had gained this fortress." there was no time for edward to tell his story. waymouth assured him that, had he suspected he was with the defenders of the rock, he should have come in person to his assistance. waymouth's party had landed with some scaling-ladders and a small ram used for battering open gates. the men were all eager to begin the attack. they had halted under shelter of some rocks near the forts. with a loud cheer the men sprang forward as the bugles sounded for the assault. some placed the scaling-ladders against the walls, and began to climb up with a celerity and activity which only seamen can display; others bore on the battering-ram towards one of the gates, which they battered with vigorous blows; while a third party, armed with arquebuses and crossbows, shot bullets and bolts towards the walls, bringing down all who appeared upon them. although, from so great a number of the portugals having been put to flight, the defenders were few, the walls were high and the gates strong, and, to get into the castle was no easy matter. as to the gate, the portugals let the battering-ram do its worst without interfering, while they united all their efforts in opposing the escaladers, who, as they reached the summit of the ladders, again and again were hurled down, some with broken heads and gashed shoulders and arms, and others killed outright, though not a few were ready, as at first, to climb up and renew the attack. waymouth and his officers exerted themselves gallantly, but discovered that stone walls are hard things for men to knock their heads against, and many began to fear that the exploit must be abandoned, when edward, who, in spite of his wound, had not been behindhand in exhibiting his courage, recollected the gate out of which donna isabel had conducted him the previous night, and the angle of the wall down which he had slipped. telling waymouth what he proposed doing, he summoned dick lizard and some of his companions in captivity, with a few other fresh men, and, briefly explaining his plans, led them round close under the walls on the sand where it was evidently generally washed by the sea. the angle was reached, and by the rope which edward had left hanging over when making his escape he prepared to climb up, though each of his men was eager to lead. young marston, who was the only midshipman of the party, especially entreated that he might go. "i'll be at the top in a moment, sir," he whispered. "i'll let you know if there are any portugals near, and if they tumble me over it will matter nothing." edward, however, would allow no one to precede him. he grasped the rope, and began his ascent. how different were his feelings from what they had been when descending a few hours before! marston followed directly after him. up he climbed, expecting every moment a portugal's head to appear over the parapet, and to see the rope cut above him. on he went, though. the summit was reached, and throwing himself on it, he drew his sword and stood ready to defend the spot till his men should have likewise gained a footing. marston was by his side in a moment. when they looked around, not a portugal was to be seen to stop their progress. forward they rushed accordingly, and got half way across the open before they were discovered by one of the garrison. the man who first saw them summoned others, and a pretty strong party was collected to oppose them, who, rushing down, met them before they reached the gate at which they were aiming. so furiously, however, did the seamen charge the enemy, that they were driven back, cut down, or put to flight before any one had time to shut the gate, which, as edward had hoped might be the case, was left open. a few rushed in before them, and a desperate struggle ensued. in the end not a portugal remained alive. the passages resounded with the tramp of armed men, the clash of steel, the reports of pistols, and the cries of the wounded, while clouds of smoke rolled along them. "on! on!" was the cry. dick lizard happily knew the way to the principal gate. "i'll tell you, master raymond, by and by how i came to know it," he remarked. "it's all of the lady who helped us out." on they went. it was every thing to reach the principal gate without further opposition. as edward had hoped, all the defenders were on the ramparts. no one had remained inside the gate, which from its strength it was supposed would withstand any attempt to batter it down. dick was not mistaken. the thundering of the battering-ram guided them also to the spot. passing under a broad archway, they found themselves just within the great gate. the din of the battle outside had prevented their approach being heard, while every one was too busy to observe them. bars and bolts innumerable guarded the gate. these edward and his followers began to withdraw, but they were so huge and rusty that it was with difficulty they could be removed. while the seamen were still labouring away, raymond, turning his head, saw at the farther end of the passage a number of men approaching. at their head he recognised don lobo himself. with cries of vengeance, the governor led on his men. the blood of the lusitanian was up, and, cruel tyrant and extortioner as he had been, when he found himself pushed to extremities, and his enemies already within his stronghold, he resolved to drive them out or die as became him in its defence. as the governor approached, edward and part of his company faced about to encounter him, while dick lizard and the rest plied crowbars and hammers in beating back the huge bolts which secured the gate. the battering-ram was all the time thundering away outside. the object of don lobo was to destroy the daring band of englishmen who had got inside, and to replace the bolts before the ram had forced the gate. nobly edward and his little party kept their numerous foes, hard pressing on them, at bay. don lobo himself rushed forward at length in desperation, and his blade crossed that of edward. "ha, ha! i hate you, and you know the reason, vile englishman!" he exclaimed, as he made a lunge at his opponent's breast. edward turned the weapon aside, and that instant dick shouted-- "stand from under, lads! stand from under!" for the huge gate was cracking in every part, and with a loud crash down it came, crushing one poor fellow, the rest with difficulty escaping. don lobo heard the shout and the crash. his eye was for an instant withdrawn from his sword's point to look at the falling gate. that instant was fatal to him, and edward's weapon entering his bosom, he fell backwards to the ground, while his own sword fell useless from his grasp. as the gate gave way, the fierce and eager countenances of the english seamen were seen in the entrance, led on by waymouth. "st. george and merry england!" they shouted. "down with the portugals! hurrah! hurrah!" "an' you cry `down with the portugals!' just be sure if there are portugals to put down," cried dick. "the mouse has got into the cheese before you, mates; but there is no lack of mites yet to eat. on--on, lads!" dick narrowly escaped a clout on the head by his facetiousness. fortunately, daylight came in through the open gateway, and through the smoke and dust his features were recognised in time. the whole party now rushed forward. some of the portugals in narrow, passages made a stand, but they were forced back and driven from chamber to chamber till every part of the castle was in the hands of the english. "the miser's gold! the miser's gold!" was now the cry. "where are his strong boxes? bring him forth, and make him tell us." several hurried off to search for the late governor. edward might have told them of his fate, but he, mindful of poor don joao, had gone to look for his unfortunate acquaintance, and to save him, if possible, from insult or violence. here and there the sound of strife might still be heard as a few of the braver spirits who had retreated, not aware how entirely the castle was in the power of the english, were defending themselves in rooms and galleries from small parties of adventurers who had separated from the main body in search of plunder. edward had made inquiries both of portugals and english if they knew aught of don joao. at length, led by the sound of clashing steel, he found his way, with the few men he had got to follow him, into the circular chamber of a distant tower. there in a deep window recess clustered three or four priests holding crucifixes in their hands, some dark-skinned women in their picturesque costume, and some native attendants. before them stood don joao, with five or six portugal soldiers, defending themselves with their swords against the attacks of four or five english sailors, who were hewing and hacking away, not with much science, but with such furious blows that they had already cut down two or more portugals, and were now hard pressing the old soldier. he was bleeding from more than one wound, and was evidently little able to hold out against assailants so persevering. edward hurried forward, ordering the englishmen to desist; but they either would not or did not hear him, and before he could interpose his own weapon, a heavy cut from a rapier brought the old man to the ground. "for shame, men!" exclaimed edward, saving the old soldier from another blow. "we war not with grey hairs, with priests and women. let not another blow be struck." the portugals, finding resistance hopeless, threw down their arms. edward knelt down by the old man's side, and raised his head. it was very evident that his last hours were passing by. "my daughter?" he asked in a faint voice. "brave englishman, can you tell me any thing of my daughter? she had my leave to aid in your escape. i would have accompanied her had i been able." edward felt sick at heart at having to tell the poor father of his daughter's fate. yet what could he say? "alas! i cannot say but i fear the worst," was his reply. "i dreaded to hear this, but do not blame you, noble englishman. the last link which bound me to earth is broken, and i am ready to quit this world, which man's folly and wickedness has made so full of woe and suffering." these were almost the last words the old man spoke, though the priests came round and administered the rites of their faith ere his spirit quitted its frail tenement. even the rough seamen, despisers and haters of all papistical ceremonies, looked on with respect and awe as the old soldier's head sank on his breast, and his hand fell powerless by his side. waymouth had taken precautions to secure all the entrances to the castle while the garrison were committed to the dungeons in which they had been accustomed to confine the enemies who had the misfortune of falling into their hands. those who had gone in search of don lobo soon returned, bearing on a litter his dead body, an officer holding up in triumph a bunch of keys which had been found in his pockets, and shouting-- "the keys of his money-chests! the keys of his money-chests!" "the keys are but of small service to us without the chests," remarked the captain. "find the chests, men, and we may make small account of the keys." a diligent search was therefore commenced for the reputed wealth of the old governor. it was said that he had employed thirty years in collecting it, and that he had purposed shortly returning to europe, under the vain belief that it would afford him enjoyment and contentment. every passage, and corner, and crevice of the castle from top to bottom was searched, and not a sign of a money-box could be discovered. some declared that the governor's wealth was really fabulous--that is to say, it had no existence; while others affirmed that it did exist, and would somewhere be discovered. midshipmen generally consider hunting for rabbits very good fun, but hunting for money-chests was very much better. all the cabin-boys of the lion hunted round and round and up and down with wonderful zeal. the captain at last promised that whoever found the wealth should have a tenth portion of it. this still further excited the diligence of all hands. still no chests were forthcoming. some, in revenge, proposed burning down the castle, till the captain announced that whoever set it on fire should be cast into the flames. again and again the search was renewed. the prisoners were interrogated, but no one could tell. rewards were offered without effect. it was evident that they did not know. several said that pedro pacheco knew; but that worthy had been run through the body by a pike, which had struck him in the back as he was making his escape with a bag of gold under his arm, which he refused to stop and deliver. the booty was, after all, not so contemptible, for there were silver plate in large quantities, and jewelled ornaments, and golden coin; but, as it was not what was expected, no one was contented. at last oliver marston happened to strike his foot against a ring in the corner of a small room on the ground floor of the castle. it served as the handle of a stone which without difficulty he lifted. lights were brought. a flight of stone steps led to a vault, in which was an iron door. crowbars, eagerly brought, forced it open, and there exposed to view were a dozen large iron chests. the governor's keys were applied, the lids opened, and exposed to view ingots of gold and silver, and jewels and coins scarcely to be counted. wild were the shouts of delight as chest after chest was opened, and each one in succession appeared to contain more gold and jewels than the first. the chests were computed to contain property of even greater value than what was already on board the lion. it was no easy work to carry off the chests, but it was accomplished before the eyelids of one of the victors closed in sleep. the prisoners were allowed their liberty, the castle was set on fire, and, while the flames were bursting out on all sides, the lion made sail with her rich freight, and stood away to the southward. chapter eight. away sailed the lion, those on board exulting in the rich booty they had obtained, and looking ere many months had passed by once more to tread the shores of old england and to enjoy the wealth they had gotten with so much toil and danger. good master walker, the minister, did his best to warn them not to trust to the riches they had acquired, that riches are apt to take to themselves wings and flee away, and that it in no way follows that because people possess wealth they will have the power of enjoying it. these and other similar remarks were received by the officers and men in general with no good grace, and master walker lost popularity simply because no one could deny the truth of his remarks. "there is many a slip between the cup and the lip," he added one day, most greatly to the annoyance of his hearers. the more conscious people are that a thing may probably come to pass, the more angry they are, if it is against their wish that it should happen, when they are told so. antony waymouth was no despiser of gold--or rather the good things of life which gold procures--but he loved his honour more, and he considered it his duty to go in search of the commander-in-chief and the rest of the fleet, if haply they might have reached the rendezvous at bantam. waymouth had full experience of the responsibility of power, though he had able assistants in raymond and his first officer, carlingford. several of the crew had for many months shown a mutinous disposition, though the storms to which they had been exposed, the fights in which they had been engaged, and the prospect of the attack on the castle of san pedro, had prevented any serious outbreak. now, however, they loudly expressed their disapproval of continuing the search for captain wood, declaring that he and his consorts must long since have perished, and that they, having collected so large an amount of wealth, would be acting like fools to remain out a day longer than they could help. round the mess-table by day and during the watches of the night the only subject of conversation was the way in which they would spend their wealth when they got on shore. their disappointment and anger therefore increased greatly when they found that the time for their return might be indefinitely delayed. those even who had hitherto been obedient began to express themselves in a mutinous manner, and to hint that the sooner another man was captain the better it would, be for all hands fore and aft. this state of things was not unknown to waymouth and his officers, and it put them on their guard; but while no overt act was committed, it was impossible to take active steps to bring about a change. as at first, peter hagger, the boatswain, with his mate and dick soper, a seaman, were supposed to be the ringleaders. though narrowly watched, nothing could be proved against them. the captain's two cabin-boys, oliver marston and alfred stanhope, proud of the approval they had before received, determined to discover, if possible, what was wrong. they had taken dick lizard into their councils, assured that he, at all events, might be depended on. in spite of all their wealth and their anticipations of the pleasures it might procure, none of either high or low degree on board could boast of much enjoyment. the happiest person was master walker. he was doing his duty, and leaving the consequences in the hand of heaven. the island of java was once more sighted and the harbour of bantam entered. no certain news could there be obtained of captain wood. several large ships of the hollanders had, however, visited the place since their departure, and the people had done their best to spread evil reports of the english. waymouth cared little for this, but he vowed, should he ever come across the hollanders, he would make them pay for their slanders, and those who knew him best had no doubt that he would put his threat into execution. still his chief desire was to go in search of his friends, but even this could not be done without delay, for, he having ordered a survey of the lion, the carpenters reported that she must undergo a thorough repair before she would be fit to put to sea. no man knew better than the bold captain of the lion how to get into the good graces of people in power, and he soon gained the confidence and good-will of the king of bantam. at the same time he was too wise to put more confidence in his majesty than was necessary; he therefore carefully kept concealed from him the amount of wealth the lion had on board, and rather let him suppose that he and his company were needy adventurers who had yet their fortunes to make at the point of their swords, at the same time that the little they possessed they were ready to expend liberally. this policy answered so well that the repairs of the lion were allowed to proceed without interruption. one enemy, however, could by no means be kept at a distance. it was the black fever. while still many necessary repairs were yet to be done, it made its baneful appearance. strong men who had boldly confronted the fiercest foes and the raging storm turned pale when they heard that it had already carried off six of their shipmates. from that time not a day passed but two or more died. every one of the company laboured hard to get the ship ready for sea, under the belief that they should leave the fell destroyer behind them. now the qualities of master walker, the chaplain, shone forth brightly, for while others shrank back from attending on the plague-stricken, he boldly went among the sick and attended the dying, giving them spiritual counsel and consolation, tending them, and administering medicines prescribed by the surgeon. full thirty of her brave crew had succumbed to the destroyer, before the lion, having been got ready for sea, once more ploughed the waters of the ocean. still the fever raged. gladly would those on board have given all their wealth to have escaped with health from the plague-stricken ship. day after day more and more were called away. a small number only of those who were attacked survived, but so sick and weak did they remain that their recovery was hardly expected. waymouth had received intimation that some ships, supposed to be english, had been seen farther to the eastward, and from the description given, believing them to be captain wood's squadron, he steered a course in that direction. on sailed the lion on her solitary course. the angel of death still pursued her, continuing to summon one after another of her crew. hope of finding his consorts, however, allured the brave captain on in spite of the ravages of the plague and the warnings given him of the increasing discontent of the crew. "i know the varlets, and fear them not," he answered. "i showed them before who was master, and will show them again to their cost." meantime, peter hagger, the boatswain, had been biding his time and strengthening his party by every device he could think of. he well knew that he was watched, but he strove to throw the captain off his guard by a frankness of manner, an unusual attention to his duties, and the strictness with which all orders were obeyed. he appeared to have succeeded so far as to make waymouth believe that he had abandoned his evil designs, and might be trusted. in the fore-part of the ship, far down in her inward depths, was situated his principal storeroom. there the light of day had never entered since the huge structure had been put together, nor had fresh air penetrated. it was redolent of pitchy and tarry odours, with numerous others of a far from fragrant character. a large horn lantern hung from a beam above, and shed a sickly light throughout the chamber. here, seated on chests and casks, with their heads bent forward together as if in earnest consultation, were about a dozen seamen. their naturally ill-favoured countenances were not improved by long exposure to the burning sun of the tropics. the presiding spirit among them was evidently peter hagger, the boatswain. "are we all agreed, mates?" he asked in his usual gruff voice. "all," said several. "provided we take no lives," added others. "the fever has been doing enough of that work lately among us." "dead men tell no tales," observed hagger. "if we secure the gold we need fear neither dead nor living men," observed one of the men, who, from the tone of his voice, was evidently of superior education to the rest. "if they were ever to come back without a stiver in their pockets, who would take their word against ours, when we are rolling in wealth?" "but if we don't heave them overboard or run them up to the yard-arm, what are we to do with them?" was a question put by another speaker. "why, land them on a desolate island, or sell them to some of these easterns, or put them on board a prize with provisions to take them to the nearest shore, that would be giving them a fair chance of escape, and no one need complain," was the remark of a mutineer who had sided with hagger. "that will do," observed the boatswain. "and now, mates, the sooner we set about this work the better. to my mind there's no time like the present. every day we are going farther and farther to the eastward, and every day getting more and more out of our reckoning. now d'ye see? all we've to do is to sail west, and when we get into the longitude of bon esperanza cape, steer north, and we'll find our way back to old england, never fear." "ay, ay! with you as captain, master hagger," exclaimed several mutineers, "we shall go straight forward, not be running here and there, looking into this port and that port, and all to no purpose, to look for people who have long since gone to davy jones's locker. peter hagger for captain! he's the man we want." peter hagger bent forward, for the height of the cabin did not allow him to stand upright. "mates, i take your terms," he said in a low voice. "i've no wish to injure any man, least of all master waymouth, who has good qualities, i'll allow; but we must have our rights, and if he has lost his wits--as there's no doubt he has--it is seemly that some better man should take his place, and as you choose me, mates, why, i'm not the man to gainsay you." "all right, captain hagger; all right," said several of the men. "but what is it you would have us do?" "that's what i was coming to," answered hagger, still more lowering his voice till it was only audible to those who put their ears close to his mouth. the men talked long and earnestly together, till all their plans seemed matured. not only were their plans matured, but they appeared confident of success. one by one they stole off from their place of meeting. they had no fear of having been overheard, for, suspecting that such had before been the case, they had now placed sentries to give notice of the approach of any one they might suspect. separating, they went to their hammocks, and, what may seem strange, all except the arch-mutineer slept as soundly as if their consciences were free from blame. he could not rest; for though he believed that he was on the point of obtaining the object of his desires--the larger portion of the store of wealth contained in the lion--yet all the time he was conscious that he had not the ability to retain command over the lawless band who had selected him as their leader, nor the knowledge necessary to navigate the ship to an english port. still he was determined to persevere in his mad course. he trusted to chance for the future. the wealth he was resolved to have at all risks. the following night had been fixed on for the outbreak. it was the middle watch. the weather even for those latitudes was hot and close. many of the officers found their cabins too warm to allow them to sleep, and had come on deck to endeavour to obtain rest. some had thrown themselves down in spots where they were unobserved, and had gone to sleep. miles carlingford had charge of the watch, with the two young cabin-boys, stanhope and marston, under him. the captain, accompanied by edward raymond, after a time came also on deck. waymouth cast his eyes round the horizon several times as he slowly paced up and down with raymond. "i like not the look of the midnight sky," he observed to carlingford; "i have known black storms, with fury so terrible that scarcely the stoutest ships could withstand them, spring out of such. we must be on the watch. with our weakened crew we cannot shorten sail as we were wont to do, and yet i would not rouse up the men unnecessarily." "ay, ay, sir, i'll not let my eyes wink," answered carlingford; "but i hope the weather may clear without the storm. still, there is no telling in these latitudes what may happen. i would we were out of them." "so do i, master carlingford, believe me, most heartily," answered the captain. "i promise you, too, that if in two days we do not discover the admiral we will shape a course for the cape of bon esperanza; after recruiting ourselves there we will lose no time in sailing for old england." "it will be a happy time indeed, sir, when we again see the white cliffs of our native land," remarked raymond, anxious to keep his chief up to his intentions. "i would that the crew were made acquainted with your intentions; it would tranquillise their minds, and banish the discontent in which they now indulge." "they will know in good time," answered waymouth, somewhat angrily. "it does not do to yield to their fancies, or they will become masters over those they are bound to obey." scarcely had he spoken when from each of the hatchways, which had been left open on account of the heat, numerous dark forms sprang up, though so silently that neither did he nor the other officers who were looking seaward hear or observe them. like tigers on their prey the men threw themselves on the knot of officers, who were instantly brought violently to the deck, and pinioned before they had time to cry out. in vain they struggled; they were dragged to the guns, to one of which waymouth, carlingford, raymond, and the two cabin-boys were securely lashed almost before the rest of the officers on deck had sprung to their feet, aroused by the cries they made. none had arms; and the rest of the mutineers, rushing aft, grappled with them, threatening vengeance if they resisted. surprised and bewildered by the suddenness of the attack, scarcely aware by whom it was made, they were easily knocked down and secured. the welsh surgeon, ap reece, was below, sleeping soundly in spite of the heat and the noise, fatigued with his attendance on the sick, who were still numerous. the shouts and cries of his struggling brother officers awoke him, and, seizing a rapier and a brace of pistols, which he stuck in his belt, he was about to spring on deck to their assistance, when it occurred to him that it would be wiser to ascertain exactly what was occurring. the words which reached his ears--"mutiny! mutiny! help! help! loyal men to the rescue!"--showed him clearly the state of the case. "the scoundrels will be waiting to knock all who are below on the head as they come up," he thought to himself; "but i will disappoint them." thereon he began to make his way forward, where he was sure of finding some of the men ready to side with him. there was a passage from one end of the ship to the other, and at the division between the officers' quarters and the fore-part a sentry was usually placed, but sickness had so diminished the numbers of the crew that there were not enough men to perform any but the most necessary duties. ap reece groped his way on in darkness. he heard some men hallooing out, but it was evident that they were bound, and could render him no assistance till they were released. on a sudden a hand grasped his arm. "who is this?" said a voice which he recognised as that of honest dick lizard. "a friend to all hands," answered the surgeon. "i hope that you have not turned mutineer, dick." "no, indeed, i should hope not, sir," replied dick indignantly; "i have a guess of what's going on. what can we do to help the officers? all the true men are bound hand and foot, and i'm the only one who managed to slip away." "we won't despair, dick; are you armed?" asked the surgeon. "i've a hanger, sir," was the answer. "come here and i'll give you some pistols," said ap reece. "now we'll first loose all the true men, and then make a rush together and release the captain, if we can find him. with a sword in his hand he'll soon give good account of the mutineers and bring them to terms." the surgeon, stepping back, armed dick as he had promised, and together they found their way without interruption to the fore-hatch. as they got their heads up to the coamings they perceived that the scuffling had ceased, though the voices of a few of the officers were heard upbraiding the men for their treachery. "my friends, i beseech you to be silent. let me speak to these misguided men," said a voice which they recognised to be that of master walker, the minister. "mutineers!--for such you are--you are triumphing now in the success of your scheme, and the fancied possession of all the wealth this ship contains; but first let me ask you what does it advantage you now? nothing. what can it ever advantage you? you can never enjoy it; for be assured that the vengeance of heaven will overtake you sooner or later; even now, wretched men, it is preparing for you." "cease, cease, master walker," exclaimed hagger, stepping up to the minister. "we wish you no ill; necessity makes us act as we do. we want to injure no one, but we won't stand opposition, and i for one cannot be answerable for the consequences." it is needless to say that this threat was accompanied by numerous oaths which need not be repeated; in truth, peter hagger never spoke without interlarding his remarks with expressions of that description. ap reece guessed correctly that the appeal of master walker would have no present beneficial effect, and therefore he and lizard slipped down below again and made their way to the cabins of some of the inferior officers whom the latter believed had not joined in the mutiny. two of them, the gunner and carpenter, were found lashed in their berths, not having the slightest conception of what had occurred, and believing that they were the only sufferers. a few brief words explained matters to them. three other men who had positively refused to join the mutiny were found lashed in different parts of the ship. they were released, hangers were placed in their hands, and, together, led by ap reece, they sprang on deck and rushed aft to where the officers lay bound, their principal object being to release captain waymouth and then to attack the mutineers. as they were on their way, a shout and a loud oath from hagger, who saw them coming, called the attention of his followers, the boatswain throwing himself before the captain at the moment ap reece was about with his hanger to sever the lashings which bound him. the surgeon was therefore compelled to use his weapon to defend his own life, for the boatswain, seeing what he was about, attacked him with the greatest fury, and a desperate combat ensued. lizard and the other men, foiled in their attempt to release some of the officers, were fighting for their lives. dick and his party were, however, able to keep their immediate opponents at bay, the chief interest centring between ap reece and the boatswain. hagger was a huge, powerful man, with around bullet-head covered by black shaggy hair, and a face of the bull-dog type. ap reece, on the contrary, was a slight active man, but he made up by activity what he wanted in strength. he, too, had science, which the boatswain had not, and altogether the combatants were not unevenly matched. the great strength of the boatswain gave him, however, somewhat the advantage, as he wisely only stood on the defensive, allowing the surgeon to exhaust his powers. ap reece sprang round and round him--now he retreated, now he advanced, but to no purpose--hagger was not to be betrayed into abandoning his tactics. he waited his opportunity. it came. the surgeon's foot slipped, and unable to recover himself, his knees came with great force on the deck. at that instant a flash of lightning darting from the clouds revealed the combatants to each other. "hagger, i saved your life once when all hope seemed gone," exclaimed ap reece, as the mutineer's weapon was about to descend on his head. "i don't ask for my life from you or such a one as you. strike, and add a gross act of folly to your crimes and madness. but the fever has not left the ship yet; and the time will come ere long when you and your comrades in your night's work will want my aid, and will be ready to give for it all the gold you have got in your possession. strike, i say." the boatswain's hanger was again lifted as if to strike, when one of his own party sprang forward. "hold, hold, master hagger," he cried out, interposing his own weapon. "our surgeon speaks the truth. we, any one of us, may want doctoring ere an hour be over, and who's to doctor us an' we trust to tim rosemerry, who swears he knows the whole art, from having served an apprenticeship for six mouths to a foreign leech in the city of westminster? i put it, mates, are we to have a doctor who knows nothing, or a friend who has set many of us on his legs when we thought that we were never to walk again?" "let the doctor live! let the doctor live!" exclaimed all the men, surrounding the boatswain, who dropped the point of his weapon. "thanks, friends. i accept my life, for i have no wish to lose it," said ap reece, rising to his feet. "the sick i will doctor as before; but remember, i will sanction no act of violence or cruelty while i remain with you." "oh, we are all honourable men here," cried several of the men in a derisive tone, to which remark the surgeon thought it imprudent to reply. while this scene was acting, dick lizard and his companions were exchanging blows with the rest of the mutineers; but overwhelmed by numbers, two were killed, and dick and another were brought to the deck badly wounded. dick had been a general favourite; and although the mutineers were exasperated with him for the attack he had made on them, and for the unmeasured abuse he now heaped on their heads, they agreed he was too good a fellow to be put out of the way, and that if he would keep a civil tongue in his head, he should live. this was a somewhat difficult task for honest dick, though, when his life was offered, like a wise man he accepted it without thinking it necessary to make any stipulations. the mutineers had now decidedly gained the day; the officers were forced at the sword's point to go below, and each was confined in his own cabin. the threatening state of the weather made hagger anxious to arrange matters. there was no wind, but an ominous swell had got up which made the ship roll heavily, and loud claps of thunder rattled through the sky, while vivid flashes of forked lightning darted from the clouds, hissing like fiery serpents along the surface of the ocean, or playing round the masts and threatening the lion with destruction. waymouth lay in his cabin, feeling like a chained beast of the forest eager to be loose, indignant at the treachery practised on him, and feeling also the probability that the ignorant men who had been guilty of this act of atrocity would wreck the ship, and involve both themselves and him and his officers in a common destruction. he knew that they were totally unaware of the intricacies of the navigation through which the lion had got so far to the eastward, and that it would be impossible for them unaided to retrace their course. he had perhaps a grim satisfaction in contemplating this, though all his own prospects of wealth would vanish, and life itself be lost. at length, however, the very intensity of his feelings overcame him, and he fell asleep. his sleep was far from refreshing, and his dreams were strangely troubled. yet on he slept for some time, he believed. whenever he felt himself waking, he forced himself to doze off again rather than awake to the disagreeable realities of his position. at length, however, the violent rolling and pitching of the ship roused him completely up. the roar of the sea, the howling of the wind, the dashing of the waves on the side of the ship, the rattling of blocks and ropes, and the tramp and shouts of men overhead, convinced him that the long-expected strife of the elements had begun. the rolling and pitching and jerking of the ship became more and more violent, the washing of the water up the sides and over the deck showed him that the sea was running high, and the way in which the ship occasionally heeled over showed him that the gale was blowing furiously. the sounds which reached him from the deck told him also that efforts were being made to shorten sail. "the mutinous varlets! now is the occasion to prove their seamanship, if they have any," he muttered to himself. "what the idiots will do it is hard to say, except let the good ship drive on the rocks. what are they about now? there's not one of them can stow the mainsail properly but hagger in a gale like this. they'll capsize the stout ship, or send the masts over the sides--the idiots!" thus he spoke, or rather thought, for some time. the ship plunged on through the mountainous seas, her timbers creaking and groaning as if they were about to be torn asunder. the cabin was in obscurity, for all the hatches were battened down, and not without good reason, for the foaming seas often broke so completely over the ship that without this precaution she might have filled and gone bodily down. waymouth believed that the day was advancing from the sensations of hunger which he was beginning to experience. in vain he tried to release himself from the ropes which bound him. the more he struggled the tighter they became. nor could he manage to get his mouth down to any part of the rope, or he would have tried to gnaw it asunder with his teeth. he shouted over and over again to his friends in captivity; but though the sound of his voice reached them, he could not, from the noises in the interior of the ship, make out what they said in return. they were evidently as securely bound as he was, and also confined in their cabins. "patience is a virtue, i doubt not, but it is sore difficult to exercise it just now," he said to himself, with a mocking laugh. suddenly the ship heeled over more than ever--there was a loud crash-- the sea seemed with fierce roars to be washing over her--shrieks and cries of distress reached his ears even where he lay. again she righted, and seemed to go tearing on through the ocean as before. "one or more of our masts have gone," muttered waymouth. "well, let them go; it is but the beginning of the end. the sooner those scoundrels find out their folly the better. had we shortened sail as i was about to do, this disaster would have been avoided." on, on went the ship, plunging down, again to be lifted up, truly reeling to and fro like a drunken man. once more she was pressed down; another fearful crash followed, and there were piercing shrieks and cries. waymouth believed fully that the ship was foundering; but no, she rose again, and rushed on still more unsteadily than before. on, on she went. time was pressing. a hatch was removed for an instant, and a gleam of light penetrated into the cabin. again it was obscured, and a lantern was lighted; three or four men descended. waymouth heard them go to his lieutenant's cabin. they were offering him the command, if he would help them out of their difficulties. an indignant refusal was the reply. "scoundrels that you are, you may all sink with us before i'll take charge of the ship while the rightful commander remains alive," said carlingford. they then applied to raymond, who was known to be a good navigator. his reply was of the same nature. none of the temptations the mutineers could hold out would induce an officer of any rank acquainted with navigation to take command. a consultation was then held, and after some time the mutineers approached the cabin where waymouth lay. the light of a lantern flashed on his eyes, and, the door opening, hagger, soper, and other mutineers stood before him. "what is your pleasure with me, knaves?" he asked in a haughty, undaunted tone. "an' please your honour, the ship is driving we know not where, and is like to strike on some strange rock or island, if she go not down first," said hagger, holding his hat in his hand. "maybe: it is what i expected," answered waymouth calmly. "when fools take the helm, they are certain to steer to destruction." "an' please your honour, we wish to know whether you will please to take charge of the ship, and save her and all on board," said soper humbly. "likely enough--to have my throat cut, and the throats of the gentlemen with me, by you mutinous varlets, when you find the ship in safety," answered waymouth. "no, knaves; you have brought yourselves into this strait, and you may get out of it as best you may." "if your honour will take command and save the ship, and overlook our conduct, we will be obedient in future," said soper, who acted as spokesman. "seize that man, then, and put him in irons first," answered waymouth, casting his glance on hagger, who clapped his hand on his hanger, as if about to defend himself, but the rest threw themselves on him, and bore him in spite of his great strength to the deck. "now haste and release my officers, and beg them to come here," continued waymouth, addressing one of the men who was not required to hold the chief mutineer. raymond, carlingford, master walker, ap reece, and the other officers quickly made their appearance, surprised at the turn matters had taken. in their presence he made the mutineers cast off his fetters, and ordering hagger to be bound and secured in a place of safety, he exclaimed, "follow me, gentlemen!" and sprang with an elastic step on deck. the scene which met his eye was, however, far from encouraging. two of the masts had gone by the board, and now hung with a mass of rigging and shattered spars over the sides. part of the foremast only was standing, on which the foresail was set, driving the ship on furiously through the water, while the seas, foaming up on either hand, threatened to overwhelm her, and sent the masts and spars dashing like battering-rams against the sides as if about to stave them in. all the boats were gone or knocked to pieces, and booms and caboose--indeed, the sea had made a clean sweep of every thing movable on deck. fearfully, too, was the number of the crew diminished--not a dozen mutineers remained alive; the rest had been carried away when the masts fell, or had been swept off the decks by the raging seas which had broken on board. the officers and men who had remained faithful outnumbered the mutineers. it appeared, however, that human skill and courage would be but of little avail, and that the gallant ship was doomed to destruction. "the scoundrels have summoned us too late," said waymouth to miles carlingford, a sigh, unheard amid the howling of the tempest, for the first time escaping his bosom. "howbeit, we'll do what men can do to save the ship. summon all hands with axes to clear the wreck of the masts." in an instant every man, accustomed to the commanding voice of his chief, was actively employed. ropes and broken spars were quickly severed, and the shattered masts and their heavy rigging were soon floating away astern. the huge foresail, which had hitherto threatened to tear the mast out of the ship, was skilfully reefed, and with somewhat diminished speed the lion plunged onward through the foaming ocean. still the rate at which she drove was far too great for safety, yet all had been done that could be done, and waymouth and his followers resigned themselves like brave believing men to the rule of him who rules the universe, and without whose will not a sparrow falls to the ground. as they tore on, the masts of a tall ship appeared ahead. her more lofty spars and masts were snugly housed, and with the little sail she carried, evenly balanced, she rode hove to nearly head to wind. on, on drove the lion. it was feared that she might strike the stranger. with difficulty this was avoided. people were seen on the stranger's deck, but no assistance could be expected from them. no flag flew from her peak. her nation could not be ascertained; she might be a hollander or a portugal--scarcely english, from the appearance of the people and her build; certainly not one of admiral wood's squadron. the people on board waved and shouted, but their voices were unheard. a board was shown, but ere what was written on it could be deciphered the lion had driven a long way by. soon the stranger was lost to sight; no aid could be hoped for from her. on, on drove the once-gallant lion, now, a helpless wreck on the waste of waters. far from abating, the fury of the storm increased. another damage was discovered; the wreck of the mast had struck the rudder, and now a sea carried it away. dreadfully the battered ship laboured through the foaming seas. the well was sounded. aghast, the carpenters declared that there were seven feet of water in the hold. "to the pumps! to the pumps!" was the cry. the diminished crew began to labour at the pumps, but weakened by disease they could hardly gain on the water. buckets were employed, and those who could not work at the pumps passed them from hand to hand from below, but even thus but little progress was made in freeing the ship. all hands must work. the arch-mutineer hagger was released from his shackles, and came to take his spell at the pumps. without remonstrance he obeyed, though somewhat sulkily. the sick came from below, but soon sank overcome with the exertion. others, too, who had hitherto escaped were struck by the fever. those whom the sea had spared disease now grasped, and the numbers of the crew of the ill-fated lion began again fearfully to diminish. still the gale blew, and still the ship drove on. at last, the almost unknown pacific was entered. what land would bring them up no one could tell. they had no chart to guide--no knowledge of the unmeasured ocean across which they were driving. thus the lion helplessly pursued her course, the sport of the raging tempest, and vanished, as it were, into obscurity. chapter nine. we left antony waymouth and his companions in misfortune on board the ill-starred lion, which was driving at furious speed across the wide pacific. for many days no observation had been taken, for neither sun nor stars had been visible. one compass alone remained uninjured, and that told them that their course was still easterly, and some began to assert that they would meet with no land till they struck on the vast continent of america. would their crazy, battered bark float as long? would their provisions and water hold out till they could reach some hospitable shore? no longer was the once docile ship under control; the rudder had been carried away, and with the scant materials at their disposal they could not construct a new one, nor while the sea ran so high could they attempt to rig it. the foresail still stood and dragged the ship forward, nor could it with safety be lowered, for without it she might have broached to, and all on board have been swept from the decks. by constant bailing and labouring at the pumps the leaks could with difficulty be kept under. yet hope in the bosoms of waymouth, raymond, ap reece, and some of the braver spirits, was not extinct. the more ignorant men, however, began to despair, and would, had not strict watch been kept, have broken into the spirit-room and drunk till they became unconscious of all that was occurring around. the fever caught at bantam had not yet left the crew, and many still lay struck down by it in their berths, while one or more continued every day to be added to the list of victims. not a day passed that one was not carried off. no one knew who would next be called away. seldom that more than one died in the day, yet that circumstance seemed to create greater terror than had several died together. "who has gone to-night?" was the question asked by the survivors as each morning they met on deck after their troubled rest below. thus gradually the crew diminished in numbers. how valueless appeared the wealth they had with so much toil and danger collected! of the officers, waymouth, raymond, carlingford, and ap reece, with master walker and the two young cabin-boys, were the only ones who had hitherto escaped. all the rest whose names have not been mentioned in this chronicle had sunk under the fell disease. honest dick lizard was among the survivors, and so likewise were hagger and soper, and several of the mutineers. including them, of seamen, soldiers, and idlers or landsmen not a score and a half still lived. master walker had not exhorted in vain, and, abashed and confounded, many of the mutineers believed that they had by their crime brought down the vengeance of heaven on their heads. still hagger and others clung to the idea of possessing the gold, and, hoping that the ship would escape foundering, waited for an opportunity to make off with it, though not knowing whither they could go. they had set their hearts on the gold, though, like the miser gloating over his hoard, they did not recollect how utterly without value it would be unless it could be exchanged for objects they might require. for many days the storm had continued without abating. with short intervals of rest, every one on board had laboured at the pumps, and the full, clear streams which flowed from the scuppers as the ship rolled from side to side showed the quantity of water which found an entrance between the planks. now, as on she drove amidst mist and spray, dim outlines might be seen of land, or seeming land, often high as if composed of mountain-ranges, at other times low, like banks just rising above the water. some, however, deemed the forms but those of clouds either floating high in the sky or resting on the ocean, and that could they have approached the spots where they were supposed to be, they would have vanished from the sight. for several days no such appearances were observed; then, again, more were seen, and once more the ship drove on without a break in the circle of the horizon. at length the storm gave signs of breaking--the seas began to lessen in height, and the wind to howl less shrilly through the rigging of the remaining masts. almost as suddenly as it had commenced, the tempest ceased, and the sea, no longer stirred by its power, went rapidly down. next day, as the sun rose brilliantly over the waste of waters, the wind fell altogether. not a ripple broke the glass-like surface of the ocean; there was a perfect calm. slowly at first the huge ship rolled from side to side, and then by degrees all movement ceased, and she lay like a log on the watery waste. no longer tossed to and fro, the planks between which the sea had found an entrance closed, and the pumps gained triumphantly on the leak. waymouth, with his few surviving officers and friends, stood on the deck of the shattered bark; the crew lay or sat grouped about forward. it was evident to the officers that no longer had they power to guide their ship, and it was proposed to build a boat and in her seek some island where at all events they might find food and water, and no longer be the sport of the elements. waymouth shook his head. "i in no wise object, gentlemen and dear friends, to build a boat," he observed. "by her means we may guide our ship into a port; but while a plank of her holds together, i, her captain, can by no means desert her. others may do as they judge convenient--i will not counsel; but my maxim has ever been to stay by the ship to the last." "and i, dear friend, will stay by you!" exclaimed raymond, stepping forward and grasping waymouth's hand. "we are in the power of providence, and if it is thought fit that we die on some foreign strand why should we complain? or, if not, the means will be found by which once more we may visit our native shores." "well spoken and truly," said master walker. "i, too, will abide with our brave captain and share his fortunes." "i never thought of doing otherwise," cried ap reece, "for, to say the truth, i was sure that the knaves who would have deserted him would not be worth caring for." the two cabin-boys declared that their only wish was to remain with their brave captain. a boat, however, must be built as the surest means of guiding the ship into a harbour or to an anchorage, and at once all hands set to work to accomplish the object. planks, and ribs, and nails enough for the purpose were found, and all worked most diligently. there was no idleness now. no one showed greater zeal than peter hagger and his former associates. waymouth, in the generosity of his heart, believed that he was desirous of making amends for his former misconduct. the boat was of good size, so that she might, if it was required, carry all hands, either should the ship be about to sink, or be driven against rocks, or cast on shore. masts and sails were fitted to her, and long sweeps, at each of which two men might pull. she was speedily ready, and with reason, for no one could tell at what moment she might be wanted. "i hope that we may not want her to carry us all, for it would be a brave thing to take back the good ship, if so be we may find a harbour of refuge to refit," observed the captain as he contemplated the boat just completed. the storm had continued long, but it seemed as if the calm was about to continue for a still longer period. day after day the sun rose and shed a hot glare over the glass-like surface of the ocean; but there the storm-battered ship lay like a deserted wreck, scarcely capable of holding human beings, so forlorn and helpless she looked. hopeless was the attempt to rig jury-masts, for not a spar remained of a size sufficient to bear a sail. exertions, however, were made to build a rudder, by which, when the breeze returned, the ship might be guided free from any dangers which might appear ahead, or steered towards a promising anchorage. materials, however, were scanty, and little expectation was entertained that it would stand any rough usage of the sea. death, in taking away so many of the crew, had left fewer mouths to feed, and thus there appeared to be a sufficiency of provisions to last for many months, and of water there were many casks full. strange to narrate, the fever at length, in spite of the calm, had quitted the ship; those who had last been taken ill were recovering, and the spirits of all somewhat revived. they expected deliverance of some sort, though they could not tell whence it might come. some had spoken with seamen who had sailed with the famous sir francis drake, and they told of beautiful islands with lofty hills, and fountains of bright waters, and groves of cocoa-nuts, and many trees with delicious fruits, and roots of various descriptions fit for food, so easy of cultivation that the happy natives lived at ease without the necessity of labour. they failed not, also, to tell of other advantages peculiarly attractive to the taste of seamen. it is not surprising that the delights offered by a life in one of these happy islands became the constant theme of conversation among the seamen, till they began to persuade themselves, that, although their gold might be of little value, they might pass their days with no small amount of contentment. few on board felt their situation more painfully than edward raymond. for the sake of one he dearly loved he had become an adventurer that he might make his fortune. he had obtained the wealth he coveted, and now it appeared that he was doomed never to enjoy it. while the gale lasted the ship was driving onward, and might in reality be approaching home, but now she was motionless, and it seemed that thus she might remain till their food should be exhausted and all should die, and the rigging should rot, and the bulwarks and decks decay, and at length the ship herself go down into the depths of the sea. that such had been the fate of many a stout ship with her gallant crew there could be no doubt. waymouth fully believing, however, that some island would be reached ere long where provisions and water could be obtained, had in no way stinted the crew of their usual allowance. one day, however, the carpenter desired to speak with him. his countenance, expressive of consternation, showed that something was very wrong. "what ails it with thee?" asked the captain, concealing his own anxiety. "an' it please your honour, the casks which i deemed full of water have leaked till not a drop in most of them remains," was the appalling answer. "we have not water for another three days." "bad news indeed, master auger, but, ere three days are over, maybe we shall reach some green island where there will be no lack of water and other things to refresh the men," answered the captain calmly. "make not the news public, however. we must lessen the allowance, and trust that a good providence will send us relief." more than ever was a breeze prayed for. all on board were placed on an allowance of water sufficient only to moisten their parched tongues; yet even thus, as the calm continued, it appeared too likely that it would altogether fail. gladly would the hapless crew have given all the gold on board the lion for a few casks of the precious fluid. waymouth made every effort to keep them employed. a great object was to ascertain the situation of the chief leaks; and this by perseverance he was enabled to do, as well as to stop them. by making the men constantly bathe he prevented them feeling so much as they might have done the want of fresh water; but, in spite of all his watchful care, there were some bad hearts among the crew who did not cease to plot against him. for a time, notwithstanding all their trials and hardships, the bold gentlemen adventurers kept up a gallant appearance; but now, at length, their sufferings began to tell upon them, and their sunken eyes, hollow cheeks, and haggard looks told plainly what they endured. no longer in brave attire with elastic step they paced the deck, but unshaven and with unarranged garments they leaned against the bulwarks, or slowly dragged their feet for a few minutes where they were wont to walk so briskly. with longing eyes the horizon was scanned for the signs of a coming breeze. the wind came at last from the west, and once more the ship moved slowly through the water. hope revived. for two days she continued her course, towing after her the boat which had been launched during the calm in readiness for use. again the fitful breeze ceased, and the ship lay motionless as before. a slight breeze came, and clouds assembled, and showers fell. the grateful rain was collected in sails and buckets, and saved by every means, and afforded important relief to all remaining on board. so light was the wind that it scarce moved the heavy ship through the water. three more days passed, and once again the ship began to move. more and more rapidly she glided along towards the east. "america will be reached at last, friends, and then it will be hard if some spaniard fall not in our way whom we may compel to convoy us back to old england," observed waymouth as he watched the progress of the ship through the water. once more the hearts of all on board revived; and well might they, for the sea was calm, the air pure, and the sun shone brightly from out of the blue firmament. of provisions there were sufficient to last for some time, and the water, if husbanded with good care, might hold out till more rain should fall. the want, however, of fresh meat and vegetables began to tell, and that scourge of mariners, the scurvy, made its appearance. more than ever, therefore, did waymouth desire to meet with some green island where his crew might refresh. the pleasant breeze continued, and wafted the ship along at moderate speed. so limited was the number of officers that waymouth took his watch like the rest. he had been on deck all the afternoon. edward raymond took the first night watch. he walked the deck thinking of home. should he ever return there? should he ever be united to her he loved? he believed in her truth and constancy, and until she received undoubted proof of his fate, she would not believe him lost. what a solace, what a pure delight was it to him to think of her, of her bright love, of all her noble qualities! he pitied his friend, and wished that he, too, had before he left england fixed his affections on one worthy of him. his watch at length was out, and he was relieved by carlingford. the boatswain had appeared to be so completely contrite that he had been allowed to return to his duty, and was to have the morning watch. waymouth had slept longer than usual. he knew not how it was. more than once he had tried to arouse himself, and had again fallen off into slumber; while his cabin-boy had neglected to call him at the proper hour. at length he sprang up, and, dressing with the rapidity of a seaman, he hastened on deck. he gazed for a moment around with mute astonishment. no officer stood ready to receive him, not a man was to be seen on deck. the sails were lowered, and the ship lay motionless like a log upon the water. he looked astern; the boat was gone. a dreadful suspicion flashed across his mind: he was deserted. yet could this be possible? surely no. raymond, his long-tried friend, the soul of honour--he would not have left him! carlingford, the gallant seaman! master walker the minister, he surely was no hypocrite. ap reece, though hot-headed, was warm-hearted and true as steel. he shouted, again and again, "all hands on deck! all hands on deck! your captain calls!" there was no reply. was it fancy? a sound came forward. before going there, he shouted once more down the after-hatchway. he had got down about half the length of the deck when raymond's voice arrested him. he for some moments could with difficulty comprehend what had happened. he, too, had likewise only just then awoke from an unusually sound sleep. together they hastened forward. there lay, bound and gagged, mr carlingford, dick lizard, and several of the crew. they had all felt unusually drowsy on their watch. suddenly they had been set upon by hagger, soper, and the wretches who had mutinied and been pardoned, and, before they could offer any resistance, they were all knocked down, prevented from crying out, and bound hand and foot. several of the watch below were treated in the same manner, and without delay chests of treasure and provisions had been got up from the hold and placed in the boat, and the mutineers, leaping into her, after lowering the sails, had quitted the ship. for some time afterwards there had been a breeze, so that the sails in the boat must much have aided them in getting to a distance. waymouth on hearing this at once suspected the whole plan of the treacherous plot which had been so successfully carried out. the mutineers had obtained some narcotic, with which he and his officers and the loyal part of the crew had been drugged, and thus the watch on deck had been easily overpowered, and allowed them time to load the boat with all they desired and to make their escape. the rest of the officers were found below, unconscious of what had happened; and ap reece, on awaking and examining his medicine stores, discovered that certain drugs had been abstracted which were calculated to produce sleep. "let the villains go. i wish them no further evil than their own deeds will assuredly produce," said the captain. "add, my brother, that they may be led to see the error of their ways and repent," said master walker. "they have souls, and those souls are precious; never let us forget that." a theft of far greater value than that of the gold was the two casks of water, one only, partly consumed, being left. "it behooves us to husband this with even greater care than before, though we may be thankful that we have fewer mouths to consume it," was the only remark made by the captain. still the truth must be said. the hearts of those left could not but burn with indignation at the treachery of their late shipmates. it was soon discovered to be even greater than at first supposed; for as soon as the sails were again set and hands were sent to the helm, it was found that the newly constructed rudder had been cut adrift, and that the ship was once more left without the means of being guided so as to escape a threatened danger or to enter a friendly port. yet there was faith in the hearts of those brave men in god's mercy, which had preserved them hitherto so long, not in their own strength and wisdom, which they had found so utterly to fail them, and they did not despair. towards evening a breeze arose, and once more they were wafted onward in the same direction as before. such means as seamen have often used were employed to guide the ship, by towing several boards, weighted at one end, astern; but they only served to keep her head in one direction. all night long they sailed calmly on. when morning broke there was a cry, "land, land on the larboard bow!" the sun arose, the blue sea sparkled brightly, and a lovely island appeared, with yellow sand fringed by palms and numerous graceful trees and shrubs, and picturesque hills covered with wood, and waterfalls dashing down amid rocks, and pure streams flowing towards the ocean, and blue mountains rising towards the sky in the distance. the ship glided on, nearing the shore. should she cast anchor there? a boat was seen ahead. it was their own boat, carried off by the mutineers. there was a calm spot between the rocks; the boat ran in. the ship's course would carry her clear of the land unless great efforts were made to guide her in. they watched with anxiety the proceedings of those in the boat. from amid the beautiful groves numerous bands of natives rushed out. their skins were dark; their hair strangely dressed. they had bows and large clubs in their hands. those in the boat made signs to show that they desired to be friendly, but the dark-skinned natives disregarded them. the seamen endeavoured to shove off, but the savages, sending a thick flight of arrows, rushed into the water and seized the boat. the hapless crew in vain endeavoured to defend themselves. the savages surrounded them, grappled with them, tore them from the boat with uplifted clubs, and ere many seconds had passed their brains were scattered on the sands. the remaining crew of the lion gazed with horror on the scene. not one of their late shipmates remained alive. truly had retribution speedily overtaken them. quickly, however, the savages were seen to be launching canoes of large dimensions, each capable of containing three to five score of men. it was evident that pursuit was intended. the lion's guns might have put them to the rout, but her powder had been well-nigh expended, and the little that remained had been greatly damaged by the water. had the ship been under proper government, she might, it was supposed, have run down the canoes, or, at all events, have avoided them, and not allowed them to come alongside; but as it was, there appeared great probability that the fate of the mutineers might be theirs. still, like brave men, they felt that they had to do their best and leave the rest to providence. thus, with the little powder they possessed fit for use, four of the after-guns and a number of the small arms were loaded, and they continued their course. should any reef be in the way on which it should be their fate to strike, they knew that their fate must be sealed. they could see the black savages making violent and threatening gesticulations as they laboured at forcing their canoes into the water. happily the operation was a long one. the canoes when afloat appeared even larger than on shore; they were like two large boats united by one wide deck or platform, with one mast. on this a vast sail of matting was set, and over the water they glided at a rapid rate. the warriors on board meantime were brandishing their weapons, and leaping, and dancing, and shouting. more and more canoes were launched till a whole fleet was in pursuit of the lion, which glided on in silence as if unconscious of their presence. a fair breeze had been blowing--it began to increase. the farther the lion got from the land the stronger it blew; the sea, too, became rougher and rougher. the canoes were closely approaching, for in the smooth water they sailed three times as fast as the lion. their numbers were overwhelming. should they persevere, even the lion's shot would avail nothing against them. waymouth ordered that not a gun should be fired till he should give the word. on came the foe. the leading canoes were almost up to the lion, but, no longer steady, she began to roll and pitch in the rising sea. still eager for their prey, the savages persevered. the headmost darted alongside. the lion's guns were depressed. "fire, my brave men! fire down into them!" cried waymouth, setting the example and bringing down a savage, who, by his appearance and gestures, seemed to be a chief. not a shot was thrown away. some of the savages who were climbing up the ship's sides were driven back, but others, as the canoes came up, succeeded them. more and more were coming on. just then a heavy squall struck the ship. like a restive steed she gave a plunge forward, then rolled from side to side, shaking herself clear of the canoes surrounding her. the savages were driven from their hold; the canoes were thrown one upon the other, and on sprang the gallant lion free from her foes. her after-guns played upon them for a few minutes, but when, baffled and confused, they showed no signs of pursuing, the english ceased firing, and the ship pursued her course unmolested. grateful as they were for their preservation, it was tantalising to the crew to sail away from that seemingly lovely shore where water and the vegetables they so much needed might be procured in abundance. "were it not for the light of gospel truth we might be such as they are," observed master walker, pointing at the island. "see the earth in that sweet spot as god hath made it, and see man in those savages as sin has made him, and as he will continue till that blessed light irradiates his mind and heart." chapter ten. the sorely-battered lion pursued her course across the wide pacific. the island of the black savages was soon lost sight of. "it was the wretches' skins made them so fierce and savage," observed dick lizard to a messmate in the minister's hearing. "white or black thou wilt find it the same, dick," he remarked. "the skin is in no way to blame. it is the heart of man which is by nature so desperately wicked. maybe we shall fall in with some white savages and find them no wise better than the black who have destroyed our late shipmates and from whom we have escaped." the health of the survivors of the once-gallant company of officers and men of the stout ship became worse and worse. scarcely one but showed some signs of the dreadful disease which had attacked them. it appeared too probable that the fears of those who predicted that they and their ship would rot away in that mighty ocean--their fate unknown--would be realised. again scarce a drop of water remained, but when the last drop was gone, clouds gathered and grateful showers gave them a supply for a few days longer. "were those showers sent without design?" asked master walker. "surely not; let us hope on, still trusting in the lord." on, on they glided, sometimes becalmed if driven west, always regaining their lost ground and advancing to the east. once more their water failed. with parched mouths they began to wish for death to end their sufferings. there was a shout from those on the lookout on deck--"land! land!" nearer they drew: they could not miss it. an island with hills and groves of trees; pure water must be there. some spoke of savages to oppose their landing. as they advanced, a reef was seen over which the sea broke. were all their hopes to be disappointed? a passage appeared through the reef, wide enough, it was hoped, for the ship to pass. could she be taken through? anxiously all watched her progress. a temporary steering apparatus, which in smooth water partly served the purpose of a rudder, had been rigged. it required, however, the united strength of all on board who could be spared to work it. thus no one was idle. raymond was stationed at the bowsprit end to watch for the appearance of sunken rocks or reefs and to give timely notice to waymouth, who stood aft to direct the steering and to manage the sails. the land looked more and more beautiful as the lion approached; greater would be the disappointment to the suffering mariners should they be unable to land. before them rose the land as if just painted by the hand of nature. there were the glittering sands, the palm-trees laden with refreshing fruit, the shady groves beneath which the cool breeze played wantonly, fertile valleys, hills of fantastic shapes covered with a rich verdure, rugged rocks projecting from their sides, and amid them sparkling waterfalls leaping downwards and sending up wreaths of snowy foam as they reached some crystal pools or rushing streamlets at their base. what rest, what quiet, what luxury might be theirs if they could but reach that lovely land! no natives were seen to impede their landing or to interrupt their enjoyment. that dreadful reef of hard coral was still before them, the sea, elsewhere so calm and blue, dashing against it with fury as if enraged at the barrier it offered to its approach. still there was that one narrow passage clearly defined, and within they hoped to find a calm lagoon where the ship at length might be brought to an anchor if they could pass through it in safety. the breeze increased, driving the lion either to safety or to utter destruction. raymond stood pointing right ahead, with his hand now diverging slightly on one side, now on the other. "haul away, lads, haul away!" shouted waymouth. "now steady! steady!" the foam rose high on either side, curling over and falling in showers on the inside of the reef, the wind blowing it here and there, and, as the ship plunged onward amid it, almost concealing raymond, who, however, made no sign of alarm. the ship pitched violently, the breakers roared, the foam flew around her, and then gliding, on, her crew perceived that she floated in a tranquil lagoon sheltered completely from the howling gales or raging seas. a cheer burst from their throats--very different from the battle-shouts of former days which were wont to make the portugals tremble in their shoes. the sails were furled, the anchor let go. "brethren, let us, as is becoming, offer our humble thanks to a merciful heaven, which has brought us into this haven of safety," exclaimed master walker, and all joined heartily in the good minister's prayer. those were days when men were not ashamed to worship together and to acknowledge the loving providence which guarded them from danger. boats were lowered, and while one-half of the remnant of the once-gallant crew remained on board to guard the ship in case of surprise, the other, well armed, proceeded on shore to explore the island, and to procure, without delay, the much-longed-for fruit and water. the party in the boats, led by waymouth, proceeded cautiously. they had had evidence of the treachery of the natives in those regions, and they every moment expected to see a band of savages rush out from among the rocks and trees to attack them. all was silent. eagerly they stepped on shore. waymouth posted a few men on the lookout, while the rest proceeded to knock down the cocoa-nuts and to suck out the delicious juice, not forgetting to take some to their comrades on guard. then they hurried on to the nearest fountain, which gushed forth from the rocky side of a hill. here filling their water-casks, they rolled them down to the boats, one of which, laden with them and cocoa-nuts, forthwith returned to the ship. waymouth, with his small band, next proceeded to examine the island. he could scarcely believe that so lovely a spot should remain uninhabited, yet so it seemed--no sign of life, at all events, was there. the whole circuit of the island was made, and not a human being was seen. on their return, however, ap reece, who was exploring in a sheltered bay hitherto unvisited, shouted to waymouth and the rest to come to him. they descended, and a spectacle met their view which told too clearly the sad history of those who had once inhabited that lovely island. scattered about above high-water mark lay the fleshless bones of numbers of men, the spears and arrows or darts which had deprived them of life still remaining. they were warriors, for the bony fingers of some still grasped the spears or clubs with which they had in vain attempted to defend their native shore. but where were the women and children? they had undoubtedly been carried off by the conquerors. it was a melancholy scene, on which, probably, from the day of the battle no human eye had rested--no tear had been dropped for their fate. a stricter search was now instituted. fields were observed in which roots and various plants were cultivated. on ascending the hills, in sheltered nooks, and always in some picturesque situation, habitations were discovered of curious and neat workmanship, apparently not long deserted. ap reece declared it as his opinion that the island was of volcanic origin, and that probably a burning mountain would be found in it. they continued their explorations, and on reaching the summit of one of the highest hills in the island they observed in the distant horizon what looked like faint blue clouds resting on the water, but which waymouth pronounced positively to be land. it was, therefore, probable that, although the island on which they were was uninhabited, they had neighbours from whom a hostile visit might some day be expected. "lest they should come we must be prepared for them," said waymouth. "what we have seen, dear friends, proves that, lovely as is this earth, wherever man is found there a paradise does not exist," observed master walker. "those who search for such a spot search in vain, believe me." many of those who heard master walker's remarks might at other times have refused to acknowledge their justice, but suffering had tamed the pride of all, and all were inclined to agree with one who had ever shown himself a true friend and counsellor. one thing was certain, that the island would afford them ample means for refreshment, and a delightful abode; the land was evidently fertile in the extreme, the scenery lovely, and the climate delicious. having come to this conclusion, they returned on board to take the place of their comrades, who had been panting to put foot on shore. waymouth had a consultation with his officers, and it was agreed that their first work should be to land the guns, and stores, and freight, and to heave down the ship that her damages might be examined, and, if possible, repaired. short-handed as they were, this was a work of time. the freight was very great, and although the mutineers had carried off much gold, still a vast quantity of immense value remained. there was gold and silver in bars and coins, and in numberless utensils, and figures, and crucifixes, and candlesticks, and there were precious stones, and silks, and spices, and all sorts of rare and rich commodities; but as their owners hoisted them with aching arms out of the hold, and conveyed them to the shore, they sighed as they thought how utterly valueless they were to them now, and how, too, probably they might never reach england, where they could be enjoyed. huts were built in which all these valuables were stored, even before the adventurers erected habitations for themselves. those were warlike times, and, accustomed to fighting as they were, their next care was to dig trenches and to place their guns in position, so that they might defend themselves and their property should any foes attack their island. a considerable time was consumed in these labours, though, waymouth setting the example, the officers worked as hard as the men. often, indeed, so unequal at first was their strength to the task they had undertaken, that even the strongest fell fainting to the ground from their exertions. gradually, however, with the pure air and water, and the ample vegetable diet they enjoyed, they regained their health and strength, even though the rest they so much required was denied them. having completely emptied their ship and dismantled her, even her ballast being got out, they waited till a high tide, and placed her on shore. it was with anxious eyes that they watched the carpenter as he made an examination of her hull. with auger and mallet in hand he went over every part of the ship. he then desired to speak to the captain alone. it was some time before antony waymouth again appeared among them. "friends, hear me," he said in a firm voice. "you are brave men, and will dare all that men can dare, but it is the opinion of our carpenter (and you know that his judgment is good) that our once stout ship is not in a fit condition to continue our voyage. had we the means of repairing her we might do so, but they do not exist, and we must be content to abide our time here, or to proceed by such other means as providence may send us." this address of the captain was warmly received, and his spirit appeared to be infused into theirs. raymond probably heard the announcement with more pain than any one else. his hopes of returning home seemed forever cut off. should he ever again see his beloved beatrice? what probability was there of a ship visiting that island? in building the boat carried off by the mutineers they had exhausted so large a portion of the remnant of their stores that they had not sufficient to build another. one thing he was determined to do. he would cherish his love for beatrice to the last gasp of life, and would make every effort which strength and means would afford to return to old england. waymouth highly applauded his resolution. "beshrew me, dear coz," he said, "it was a cruel wrong that i unwillingly did thee when i induced thee by my persuasions to come out to these savage regions; yet i did it for love of thee, and with good intentions, and thus i know that thou harbourest no ill-will towards me in consequence. but keep up thy heart, ned; we know not what happy turn fortune may take. perchance, after all, we may patch up the old lion so that she may perform the remainder of the voyage across this wide pacific. we have well-nigh performed half of it already. then courage, ned, courage. let us live on in hope." "thanks, dear captain. i neither blame thee nor allow hope and my heart to part company," answered raymond. "i know not how it may happen, but still i hope to see the white cliffs of england before i die." "so, marry, do i," exclaimed waymouth, his own spirits rising as he talked with his friend. "we'll make the old lion swim. there are trees for planks and spars; we must set our saws to work, and try what can be done. it may take time, but what matters that, provided we succeed in the end?" the people generally, however, made no complaint of their lot, and as waymouth kept them constantly employed without over-exerting them, they had no time to contemplate the future. the most important question which arose was how they should support existence after the provisions which they had brought in the ship were exhausted. fish might be caught, and there were roots, and fruits, and herbs which ap reece and master walker pronounced to be nutritive and good when properly cooked, but such diet would scarcely suit the stomachs and support the strength of englishmen accustomed to the meat diet of their native land. there were no beasts on which they could feed, and the birds, which were mostly water-fowl, could only be obtained by being shot. now although there was no want of fire-arms, nor of lead for bullets and small shot, there was only powder enough left to enable them to discharge the great guns once, or fire a few rounds of musketry. this matter caused the officers considerable concern. should they repair the ship or build another craft, they must have provisions, and powder for their defence and for procuring provisions; crossbows, to be sure, might be manufactured, but they were inefficient weapons compared to fire-arms, though several on board were well accustomed to their use. there was a great probability, also, that they would be attacked some day by the natives of the islands they saw in the distance, and although victory would be certain if they could use their fire-arms, without them they might be overwhelmed by numbers and conquered. still they went on strengthening their fort, improving their dwelling-houses, and making experiments in the cultivation of the various roots and fruit-bearing plants and shrubs they found in the island, as if they fully expected to remain, at all events, some time on the spot. they then began fashioning planks and spars for the ship, setting up a forge for the iron-work, and, as their canvas had been almost exhausted, in converting some of their rich silks--damaged, however, by the water--into sails by sewing many folded together, thus making them far stronger than any ordinary canvas. all these were works which must of necessity occupy a length of time. there was but one carpenter and one artificer who understood the blacksmith's craft. all the others had to be instructed before they could render any efficient aid, but as all were anxious for the result they laboured willingly and learned rapidly. on examining the stores which had been landed, four well-secured casks were discovered which had been taken out of one of the last prizes captured. the contents were not known till one day ap reece, searching for a chest of drugs, examined one of them, and pronounced them to contain saltpetre. "ah! that villainous drug of which will shakespeare speaks," exclaimed waymouth. "to us it might be precious if combined with charcoal and sulphur; but whence is the latter to be procured?" "we'll see; perchance it may not be so hard to find as my noble captain supposes," answered ap reece. on hearing this waymouth cheered up greatly. "many are the obligations we are under to you already, my good friend, and a still greater debt shall we owe to you if you discover the means of thus supplying our chief wants. sulphur, i know, is brought home in ships from italy, but in what other parts of the world it is found i know not," answered waymouth, who made no profession of scientific knowledge. "in a few days i hope to prove that i am right in my conjectures," answered the surgeon. "at all events, i pray thee have the saltpetre carefully guarded. i will set forth at break of day to-morrow in search of this article we so much covet." when master walker heard of the search for sulphur, he shook his head, exclaiming-- "alack! alack! but the other day we were all pronouncing this isle to be a paradise on earth, and now are eagerly seeking for the means of destroying life. believe me, no paradise can exist where the shafts of death can reach." ap reece was right in his conjectures. after searching for several days, he not only discovered a large amount of sulphur, but the crater of a volcano whence it had proceeded. charcoal was next to be made, and when that was produced the surgeon commenced his preparation of gunpowder. great was the disappointment, however, when the result appeared to be a complete failure. a black powder was produced, which burnt, but its explosive qualities were very imperfect. nothing daunted, however, he again set to work. numberless experiments were made, and at length success crowned his efforts. the powder was pronounced as good as that in the small cask they had remaining. months, however, had rolled on from the time of their first landing till the powder was produced. though all had worked hard, the repairs of the big ship had made no great progress. want of skill and want of tools was the cause of this. they had now, however, forged tools, and were gaining skill. necessity truly is the mother of invention. those who had never before handled axe or hammer were becoming fair carpenters and smiths. sometimes as they examined the old lion, and timber after timber and the whole lower part of the planking was found to be rotten, they were almost in despair. some even declared that it would be useless to continue the work, till waymouth's cheerful voice aroused them. "look at those noble trees, lads! cannot they be made to produce as good timbers and planks as those that are rotten, think ye?" he exclaimed. "see the planks we have already formed! all we want is time. what we may not effect in six months we surely can in twelve. cheer up, brave lads! cheer up!" such were the encouraging words he was wont to address to his men, and they had their effect. two canoes had been formed; they were merely trunks of trees hollowed out, but they served the purpose for which they were intended--to fish from in the calm lagoons round the coast. since a supply of powder had been obtained they were used for shooting wild fowls, whose haunts could be approached by their means on the water far more easily than by land. such was the state of affairs when one day edward and carlingford, with the two young cabin-boys, dick lizard, and another man, had gone out in the canoes prepared either to shoot birds or to fish. the weather being calm, and they also being on the lee side of the island, they ventured outside the reef to a greater distance than was their custom in order to visit a rock some little way off on which they expected to find an abundance of birds. they reached the rock in safety, and found not only birds but eggs in vast quantities, which would afford a healthful and pleasant change of diet. well pleased with thus obtaining an ample supply of food with little trouble--for the eggs were to be had for the picking up, and the birds by knocking them down with sticks without firing a shot--they at once began to fill their canoes. they had well-nigh completed their cargoes, when, on looking seaward, edward's eye fell on an object on the water seemingly approaching them. they soon discovered it to be a large double canoe. they had had proof of the treacherous nature of the savages of those regions. they soon came to the conclusion that unless they wished to engage in a sanguinary contest with the people on board the big canoe it would be wiser to return forthwith to the mainland. by the aid of their fire-arms they might undoubtedly come off victorious, but not without killing many of the savages, and this edward was most anxious to avoid doing. all the scenes of battle and bloodshed through which he had gone had not hardened his heart, and he longed for the time when he might sheathe his sword and never draw it more. the englishmen took their seats in their small skiffs, and the savages in their large vessel approached the rock. they had come probably for the purpose also of collecting eggs and birds. the canoes had got about half way to the main island when they landed on the rock. they could not have been long there before they must have discovered that it had been visited, and their eyes being directed towards the island, they must have discovered the canoes. although the large double canoes of those seas sail at a prodigious rate when once launched, they are so heavy that they cannot with ease be pushed off from the land. before this was accomplished the wind had risen, blowing from the island towards the rock. edward and his companions paddled on with all their might. their fire-arms would avail them nothing if the strangers were to attempt to run them down. it was with great satisfaction, therefore, that they saw the breeze rise, which as they drew near the shore offered no opposition to their light canoes. "very probably those savages are some of the people who destroyed the inhabitants of this island," said carlingford. "they will have discovered our traces on the rock, and will fancy that some of their enemies must have escaped them." "whatever they think, we may expect a visit from them ere long," answered edward. "we must be prepared for them, and as maybe there is no time for delay and we cannot afford to lose these birds and eggs, we must load ourselves with them and carry them across the island." drawing their canoes out of the water and concealing them in the bushes, they loaded themselves with the birds, carrying the eggs in baskets, and hurried on, leaving mr carlingford to watch the proceedings of the strangers. on receiving the information brought by edward, waymouth summoned his followers from all directions into the fort and made arrangements for their defence. the canoes which had pursued them must have each carried a hundred men or more, and as they did not muster altogether more than thirty souls, they could not expect without some difficulty to drive off their assailants. all their preparations were completed when the lieutenant brought word that the strange canoes had sailed away towards the land in the north-east. this incident showed them more than ever the necessity of being on their guard against surprise, and consequently lookouts were stationed on two high points in different parts of the island to give notice of the approach of any strange canoes. fortunate was it for the adventurers that they had a leader possessed of so much judgment and discretion as well as bravery. some had begun to grumble at having two persons taken off every day from the important work of repairing the ship, when, ten days after the circumstance above mentioned, one of the watchmen came hurrying in to announce the appearance of a large fleet of double canoes--there might be fifteen or more, but it was difficult at the distance they were off to count them. the other lookout-man having been sent for, the first, with lizard, went out to watch the proceedings of the strangers. waymouth, urged by master walker and raymond, resolved, if possible, to treat them as friends, and to avoid bloodshed as long as he could. one of the chief objects in building the fort was to defend the ship, and some of the guns were so placed as to play upon all approaching her. every possible precaution had been taken, when, in the evening, lizard arrived, bringing the information that the enemy had landed, and appeared to be making preparations to encamp on the shore. he computed that there could not be much fewer than a thousand of them. there were no women or children; and as they were all armed, and decked out with paint and feathers, there could be no doubt that they had come with some hostile intention. night came on, and the savages did not approach. it was possible that they might not be aware of the presence of the white men; or if they had by any means discovered the erection of the fort, they might purpose to attack it during the night. at all events, it was necessary for the adventurers to keep a vigilant watch. the hours of darkness passed away. no foes had appeared. it was possible, however, that they might be watching in ambush in the neighbourhood to rush into the fort as soon as the little garrison were off their guard. waymouth was not a commander to be thus taken by surprise. as soon as dawn had broke he sent out scouts to examine the thickets around. no foes were there concealed; they therefore advanced farther and farther. gaining a height which commanded a valley along which the savages would probably approach, a party of them were seen advancing along it and examining the country on either side; some going first were evidently scouts, and tracing out the track made by the adventurers as they crossed the island. the savages were seen to halt, and they remained stationary till they were joined by a considerably larger body. the english scouts hurried back to the fort. they had not long reached it when the scouts of the enemy were seen emerging from the valley. they drew back when they caught sight of the fort, and evidently understood its object. one thing, however, it was very evident that they did not understand--the power of the guns mounted within it--for in a short time their whole army collected within range, so that it would have been in the power of the english to have destroyed a large number without giving them warning. at master walker's suggestion, waymouth, before allowing a shot to be fired, resolved to try what negotiation might effect. a white flag was hoisted in the fort, but it was totally disregarded: the savages did not understand its meaning. several then volunteered to go out and speak to them; but as no one comprehended their language, that would be of no use. master walker recommended that some presents should be carried and placed on the ground midway between them. this was done; but the savages, instead of placing others in their stead, rushing forward, carried them off with shouts of derisive laughter, taking the gifts more as a tribute than as a token of amity. another effort was to be made. edward and carlingford advanced, making signs of amity, but it seemed that they were not understood, for suddenly some hundreds of the savages, with fearful yells, rushed forward, with clubs uplifted as if to destroy them. such evidently was their intention. waymouth saw that there was but one way to save the lives of his friends, and he gave the order to the arquebusiers to open their fire to the right and left of the english and over their heads, while at the same time the great guns belched forth flame and shot on the advancing masses. the effect was magical. numbers fell to the ground overpowered by fear rather than by wounds, some fled, others stood still, but none advanced. before any had recovered from their panic, edward and his companion were in the fort. the savages, after a short time regaining courage, collected in vast numbers on the land side of the fort, gazing with wonder at it, and at the ship, of which they could obtain a good view. the artillery had not done sufficient execution to show them its power; and once more flourishing their clubs, and leaping and shouting, they advanced towards the fort. this was no time for trifling. should they persevere in the face of the fire-arms, they might by their numbers alone overwhelm the little garrison. waymouth ordered the guns to be fired this time directly at the foe. the effect exhibited when the smoke cleared off was indeed like the work of magic; the space lately filled with leaping, shouting beings was entirely emptied, except here and there a few dark forms which lay writhing or stretched at length and motionless on the ground. not another savage was to be seen. a shout was bursting from the lips of the adventurers at this speedy repulse of their foes, when there was a burst of flame, a terrific roar, the earth shook under their feet, earth, and rafters, and clods of grass came showering down on their heads, and the cries and groans of wounded men struck the ears of the rest with alarm. their magazine had exploded, and every grain of powder, except such as was in the guns turned seaward and in the pouches of the arquebusiers, was destroyed. two of their number had been killed by the explosion, and several were wounded by the falling fragments of the building. even the bravest began to despair, and to believe that they were about to be slaughtered by the savages. the voice of waymouth once more restored their confidence. "what, lads i are we, who have for years past fought and conquered countless numbers of portugals, turks, and infidels of all sorts, to be downcast because a few casks of gunpowder blow up and a few score of naked savages are shrieking away in front of us?" he exclaimed. "cheer up! what has happened is but the fortune of war. probably the savages, having had a specimen of our prowess, will not venture again to molest us, and if they do we have still some powder and sharp swords with which to defend ourselves." these words had the effect intended. ap reece attended to the wounded. the two poor fellows who had been killed bringing out the powder were buried, and the adventurers waited with calmness for the return of the savages, should they again venture on an attack. waymouth was certain that they still remained in the neighbourhood, as now and then a person could be seen passing in the far distance, and he was loath to send out a scout lest he might be set on by any natives lying in ambush and carried off. darkness returned. strict watch was kept, and few of the adventurers closed their eyes in sleep. long and dreary seemed the night. would the savages pluck up courage and return to the attack? if they were of the same character as those who had destroyed the mutineers, more ferocious savages it would be hard to find. sounds were heard during the night, but the stars were obscured by clouds and mist, and no object could be discerned at any distance from the fort. morning at length returned, and by the light of day it was discovered that both the dead and the wounded had been carried off. it was important to ascertain whether the enemy still lurked in the neighbourhood. several of the party volunteered to go out for this object. waymouth accepted the offer of carlingford and young martin. their progress was anxiously watched from the fort. they at length disappeared among the trees. their friends trembled lest the savages might set on them. now two objects were seen moving on a hill in the distance: it might be them. two hours passed away. they did not appear. either the enemy having taken their departure, they had proceeded across the island, or they had been set upon and destroyed. several wished to go out to search for their friends, but this waymouth would not allow. their fears were, however, banished when their lost friends were seen approaching. they brought the intelligence that the savages had embarked in their large canoes and had sailed away. this was satisfactory news. in vain, however, did they endeavour to manufacture some powder instead of that which had been destroyed. without saltpetre they could do nothing. for some time, also, they could make no progress with the ship. the carpenter and smith had both been injured by the explosion, and the two men killed had been among the best artificers. often as waymouth and edward examined the work, they agreed that it might have been wiser to have built a new vessel altogether of much smaller dimensions. still, notwithstanding all their disappointments and difficulties, they proved themselves to be true men by perseveringly labouring on. one error was allowed to be committed. when all fears of the return of the savages had subsided, the desire to obtain birds was so great that the powder was expended to shoot them, those on the rock having been mostly frightened away. many more months passed away. had it not been for good master walker, who ever reminded them of the sabbath, and exhorted them on that day to refrain from work, they would have lost all note of time. the hull was at length almost completed; the sails were manufactured, and a supply of cordage; the masts had next to be formed and got in, as also the spars. the larger trees best suited for the purpose were on the opposite side of the island, and a party had gone across to select some for the purpose required, when, after a time, they were seen hurrying back with looks of consternation. they had cause for alarm. a fleet of canoes twice as numerous as that of their former visitors was seen approaching the island, and would soon be on shore. signals were made to recall all those at a distance into the fort. every means which could be thought of was taken to strengthen the fortifications. an examination was made of the remaining powder. the error which had been committed was evident; there was not enough to load all the great guns, leaving none for the smaller pieces, and of that little which remained a considerable portion was damp, and would require to be dried before it could be used. waymouth, in this emergency, endeavoured as before to inspire his followers with courage. he ordered three guns to be loaded pointing in the direction by which it was expected the savages would approach if their purpose was to attack the fort. the rest was divided among the arquebusiers, who were charged not to throw a shot away. there were a few crossbows which were eagerly brought into requisition, and every man had besides a pike, battle-axe, and sword, so that, compared to the savages, they were well armed. still it was fearful odds for eight and twenty men to contend against a thousand. the night was approaching. the sun went down in an angry mood, and the wind began to blow strongly, and went on increasing till it raged fearfully among the tall palm-trees, which bent like willow wands before its fury. fiercer and fiercer it blew. sentinels were posted round the fort, for it was conjectured that the savages might make their approach during the darkness, in the hopes of taking the garrison by surprise. the grey dawn appeared. no foe was in sight. just, however, before the sun should arise--for his beams could not penetrate through the dark canopy of clouds overhead--suddenly from every quarter on the land side appeared from among the trees large bodies of savages dressed with their war ornaments, and wildly flourishing their weapons, while, as they rushed on, they uttered the most fearful shrieks. nearer they approached. at a signal from waymouth the guns opened on them; but though many were laid low, this did not stop the rest. the guns no longer roared. the foe came on as before; like ants they swarmed round the fort. the arquebusiers reserved their fire till the enemy was close upon them. now began the fierce strife. as the savages rushed on they were driven back with the bullets which hailed on them, with thrusts of pikes and blows of battle-axes. still more came on. these were no ordinary savages. it was evident that they were well accustomed to scenes of bloodshed: they fought more like demons than men. they were driven back only to return with greater fury, like the waves of the stormy ocean. three of the adventurers lay dead, several more were wounded; still the brave band encouraged each other to persevere. they mostly fought with desperation, not expecting to escape, but resolved to sell their lives dearly. more savages were coming on, when suddenly they paused. those who were fighting drew back with astonishment in their countenances. waymouth, who was everywhere, rushing here and there to aid those the most hard pressed, turned his eyes seaward, and there he beheld a fine ship with her tacks aboard, endeavouring to beat off the island, which it was evident she had discovered at daybreak, when too late, close under her lee. she might escape the most dangerous reef, but there was a point of land on which he judged that she must inevitably strike. all the canvas she could carry was set, and heeling over to the gale she plunged furiously through the foaming seas. he shuddered to think what would be the fate of her crew should they fall into the hands of the savages, and he longed to be able to hurry to their assistance. the savages, meantime, it seemed, believed that she was some being sent to the assistance of those with whom they were fighting, and, calling loudly to each other, they sprang back out of the conflict, and the whole body rushed away into the cocoa-nut grove, and were soon hid from view. chapter eleven. beatrice willoughby was seated, with her embroidery before her, in the withdrawing-room of the old hall where her childhood's happier days had been passed. her dress showed that she had lost some near relative. in truth, the lady willoughby, her mother, had been summoned to happier realms, and she and hugh were left orphans, alone in the world, all in all to each other. hugh had altered much for the better. he felt his responsibilities--that his dear sister was greatly dependent on him--and her happiness had become his chief care. she was not, however, dependent for support on him, for she had a handsome dower, which would enable her to live as became her rank. she was not alone; hugh was there, seated at a window, engrossed in a book of travels, for to see the wide world had become the great desire of his heart. unable himself to wander forth to foreign lands, he obtained every book in his power which described distant countries and the adventures of those who had visited them. beatrice had a more sociable companion than her brother in sweet constance raymond, who, having lost the old knight her father, had lately taken up her abode with her friend. both girls were mistresses of themselves, and enjoyed no small satisfaction in feeling their independence. hugh no longer affected mistress constance. he had been so long in her company that he had learned to look on her in the light of a sister whom it was his duty to protect and support as he felt that he should his own sister beatrice. in truth, sweet mistress constance, being a year or more older than hugh, and of a somewhat vehement if not imperious temper, had herself done much to cure him of the tender sentiment which at one time seemed about to spring up in his bosom. the young people were not, however, without one who acted the part of a guardian, although he could not claim the legal right of being so. this was honest john langton--captain john langton--a devoted friend and follower of their honoured father, sir hugh willoughby. sickness had prevented him from going that fatal voyage from which the brave knight never returned. captain langton was an experienced seaman; he had made many voyages to various regions, and was a man of great judgment and discretion. although the snow of the winter of life had already sprinkled his head, his health and strength were unimpaired, while the spirit of adventure which had tempted him abroad in his younger days lay smouldering within his bosom, ready to burn up should occasion blow upon it. he lived in a small mansion close by the hall, where he was an almost daily visitor. it may be supposed that the very constant subject of conversation between the two young maidens was the fate of him who had been so long absent, and of whom since they had last received tidings more than two years had passed--long, long years they had been to them. still they lived on in hope of hearing of edward, or some day of seeing him walk in, full of health and strength, and to hear him recount the adventures he had gone through. as to the wealth he had coveted, it mattered little to them whether he brought it or not, provided he was never again tempted to go in search of it. there was another, too, in whose fate, though he knew not of it, the lovely constance was interested. when edward had written home he had spoken little of his own deeds, but he had enlarged greatly on the gallantry of his friend waymouth, and her enthusiastic imagination adding lustre to his acts, she had pictured him to herself as worthy of being a hero of romance, and had without hesitation encouraged that sentiment towards him, which, if not love, was nearly allied to it. hugh, who had come to the end of his book, and was gazing out of the window, wondering when he should have the opportunity of visiting the scenes described therein, suddenly exclaimed-- "there is a stranger coming along the paths. his dress, much the worse for wear, betokens him to be a seafaring man, and his features are dark and weather-beaten. maybe he brings tidings from the distant eastern seas." the hearts of his fair hearers beat quick as they heard these words. who could this weather-beaten stranger be? they in the same breath entreated hugh to hasten out and to bring in the seaman lest he should pass by, not that it was likely he would so do without stopping to ask an alms or the means of proceeding on his way. he was evidently footsore and weary, and probably hungry and poor, and as such alone claimed their compassion. hugh gladly hurried out, and soon returned with the wayfarer. he was a man of middle age, and, though his countenance spoke of toil and torrid climes, he was stout of limb and broad of shoulder, and had no lack of work in him; and, though his garments were worn almost to tatters, they had once been of a rich description. he doffed his battered beaver as he entered the hall, and stood before the fair dames in a humble posture, waiting till they addressed him. "whence come you, stranger, and what brings you into these parts?" asked beatrice in a gentle voice calculated to give encouragement to the person she addressed. she spoke not without hesitation, and in truth she had no great expectation of hearing aught of him she loved. "i come, lady, from far-distant regions; my calling is on the sea, my birthplace near gloucester; and landing at plymouth without rhino in my purse, food in my pouch, or friends to afford me any, i have been working my way as best i could to that home where i hope to find rest and quiet after all my toils," answered the stranger bluntly. "what took you to those foreign lands?" asked beatrice, somewhat disappointed with the answer. "my own folly, and, maybe, greed of gain," he replied in the same tone. "i gained wisdom, and might have gained wealth had it not taken to itself wings and flown away." "but with whom did you sail to those far-distant realms? surely you went not alone?" said constance in a tone which showed that she might not be inclined to brook a saucy answer. "your pardon, fair ladies; i saw not the drift of your questions," replied the seaman. "i sailed in the company of a brave admiral, captain lancaster, on board his tall ship the red dragon, with several other goodly ships, the serpent, the lion, the lion's whelp--" "can you give us tidings of any on board the lion?" exclaimed beatrice, eagerly interrupting him. the stranger shook his head. "bad tidings only, i fear, sweet ladies," he answered with some feeling. "of all that gallant company, captains, and officers, and men, i am the only one, to the best of my belief, who yet breathes the air of heaven-- except," he added, seeing the effect his words were producing on his fair auditors, "one of the ships, storm-driven, found a haven of which i know nothing; the remainder of the brave squadron i saw go down into the ocean depths with all their gallant crews--" "what--what was the name of the ship which may have escaped that dreadful doom?" exclaimed both the fair girls at once in accents scarcely articulate from agitation. "the lion was the ship, once commanded by captain wood, and, when he became admiral, by captain antony waymouth, as brave an officer as ever held a sword," answered the seaman, evidently now wishing to speak to the purpose. "we had long been parted from him, i being still on board the red dragon, when a fierce tempest arose--so fierce i had never before encountered. one by one we saw consorts, long battered by the waves and shattered in battles innumerable, go down, all on board perishing. scarcely could the red dragon keep afloat, much less render assistance to others. her turn came. we had been driving to the east, hoping to find a haven where we might repair our damages, when, even in sight of land, the tempest still raging, a whole plank, it seemed, started, for, without many minutes for preparation, the big ship began to settle bodily down into the sea. there was no time to cut loose the boats--no time to form a raft. i felt the deck sink under me; shrieks and cries arose. i clutched a large spar which had been left unsecured on deck, and found myself floating amid the foaming waves. my companions in misfortune gradually disappeared. one by one they sank down till i was alone. the storm subsided. for nearly, two days i clung to the spar, and when my strength was well-nigh gone, a ship of the hollanders, sailing from land, took me aboard. the gale had but sunk to rest for a season. it rose again, and the stout ship was driven before it far to the east amid islands with which no one on board was acquainted. we explored among them for a long time, but the hurricane season was not over. our captain observed signs of a coming storm, and with a sagacity for which those hollanders are justly famed he brought up inside a reef, where, sheltered from the sea, we might lie safely at anchor. while there, the gale continuing, i saw a ship approaching, and feared greatly that she might be dashed on the reef. anxiously i watched her as she drew near. i knew her at once, having so long sailed in her company. she was the once tall ship the lion, now sadly shattered and shorn of her beauty. she escaped the reef but by half a cable's length, it seemed, and on she drove to the westward. as long as i could see her from the mast-head, to which i ascended, escaping all dangers, she drove in the same direction. scarcely could i hope, however, with the numberless islands which besprinkle that ocean, she could drive clear of them all. still she may have escaped. the gale continued for many days. sometimes the wind dropped, but the skipper refused to leave the shelter of the reef, and sure enough before long the storm raged again more furiously than ever. it was his opinion, too, that the gale would continue blowing on towards the east, so that a ship might be driven half round the world by it before she would again find herself in a calm. but i weary you, fair ladies." "go on, go on, good friend!" exclaimed beatrice, her bosom heaving with agitation. "didst ever gain further tidings of the lion?" "no, lady, not from that day to this," answered the seaman. "all i know is that it was the hollander's opinion if any of her company survive they must be dwelling on one of the islands of the pacific, on whose shore, undoubtedly, the ribs of the good ship are lying." "beatrice! hugh! let us go and search for them!" exclaimed constance, springing up with her eyes streaming, and her hands clasped in an appealing attitude, first turning to one and then to the other. "stranger, could you guide a ship in the direction in which you think they were driven? we would search every shore, we would visit every island in that mighty pacific, till we found them. it were a shame if we were to allow my noble brother edward and that gallant captain antony waymouth to perish on some desert isle without making an effort to save them, and bring them back to their native shores. hugh, the credit of your manhood is at stake an' you decline to help us, and i know beatrice too well to doubt that she will bear me company, and go i will round and round the world if i can find men to man the ship." "i promise you, sweet coz, that if you go i will bear you company, and i will answer for brother hugh," said beatrice, taking her friend's hand. "i would, however, that good master john langton could have a word with this stranger; he would understand far more of his account than, with our small knowledge of sea affairs, we can do. what is thy name, friend? we will ask captain langton to come up to the hall to see thee." the seaman looked somewhat puzzled as he replied-- "i am known, lady, as simple josiah weedon, and i will gladly talk with master langton, but i have an aged mother and sister, and a wife who was sorely displeased at my leaving her before, and i doubt that she will let me quit home again; yet to please two such sweet ladies as you are, and to bring back to the world two such gallant gentlemen as captain antony waymouth, and his lieutenant master edward raymond, i would again risk the dangers of the sea and part from my loving spouse, provided we were simply to make the voyage out and home, spending some fixed time in the search." "thanks, master weedon, thanks!" exclaimed constance enthusiastically; "we would join our prayers with yours to persuade your wife to let you come, if that would avail." "my better-half, ladies, is one woman in a thousand. if she will, she will, you may depend on't; if she won't, she won't, and there's an end on't. i will hie me home, and should she consent i will send you word; if not, you will know that i am kept bound in the chains of matrimony." suddenly hugh recollected that probably the stranger was hungry, which he confessed to be the case. refreshment was therefore placed for him in the dining-hall, to which he set himself to do ample justice, and while he was discussing it beatrice sent a messenger to summon master langton. the old captain soon appeared. his astonishment at hearing the account given by weedon was very great, but far greater was it on hearing of the resolution to which his fair friends had so suddenly arrived. he knew constance too well by this time to attempt to combat it. before he made any remark, however, he had a long conversation with the stranger. he seemed perfectly satisfied that he was honest and his statements true, though he doubted much the likelihood of the missing ship being found. it was not a matter to be settled in a hurry; much discussion would be required, and he could not find it in his heart to oppose the scheme altogether. pressed by hugh, master weedon gladly consented to remain that night at the hall to rest, and if he ate and drank abundantly he deserved his provender in return for the way he plied his tongue for hugh's benefit. hugh would scarcely have allowed him to sleep had he not cried out that his tongue could wag no more. next morning, while discussing the ale and beef and wheaten bread placed before him at breakfast, he was compelled by the young man to begin again, and before he was permitted to go on his way he had given hugh a large amount of information about those eastern seas and strange lands among which he had so long wandered. the ladies had filled a satchel with good food, and pressed on the seaman a purse with a store of coin to enable him with ease to reach his journey's end. there was little doubt that the subject would be discussed by the two maidens and hugh. in truth, morning, noon, and even, it was the only matter about which they could speak; even captain langton caught much of their enthusiasm. hugh was fully as warm as his sister or constance. means would not be wanting between them to fit out a tall ship able to sail round the world. john langton must be captain; they would take no refusal. master josiah weedon should be pilot if his wife would let him go, and if not, no doubt he could give such directions to captain langton as would enable him to sail in the direction they desired, where they might perchance discover the lion. at length their importunity, if not their reasoning, succeeded in overcoming all master langton's scruples, and he consented to search for a suitable ship, to fit her out and store her, and to find the necessary officers and crew. not many days had elapsed, and just as captain langton was about to set off for plymouth, when josiah weedon arrived habited exactly as before. "fair ladies, master hugh, i am ready to sail with you to any part of the world you may desire," he exclaimed as he entered the house. "things are changed since i left home, and beshrew me i was an idiot to expect it to be otherwise. my good old mother is in her grave; had she been alive i should have had a different tale to tell. my sister is married and gone far away i know not whither, and my wife, why she has gone away with my sister and a new husband of her own into the bargain, and not a soul in the place would acknowledge me. my doublet is threadbare and tattered. josiah weedon was always the best-dressed man in the village. i was a wretched beggar. josiah weedon was to come back with a dozen packhorses laden with gold and precious stones. many more bitter remarks were made, and finally i was kicked out of the village as a rogue and vagabond, and glad enough to hurry back that i may lay my sword and services at your feet, fair ladies, right willing to do your behests in any way you may command me." the young people did not doubt the truth of master weedon's story, and, after he had fed, hugh hurried him off to captain langton that he might accompany him the next morning to plymouth. while the captain and pilot were selecting a ship and fitting her out, hugh, with his sister and constance, was engaged with those learned in the law in arranging for the necessary funds and the disposal of their estates, should they not live to return to the shores of old england. yet so sanguine is youth that not one of them ever for a moment believed that they should not return successful. hugh was the least likely to be disappointed; he would, at all events, see much of the world, and would meet with many adventures. he forgot that it is possible to meet with disagreeable as well as agreeable adventures. before long captain langton wrote word that he had purchased a stout ship, which constance insisted should be called the esperanza, or hope. captain langton was well known, and he had little difficulty in selecting a goodly company, especially when the object of the voyage was understood. many young gallants offered their services on hearing that mistress beatrice willoughby and mistress constance raymond were themselves going on it, and were much disappointed on having them courteously refused. captain langton selected as his officers staid, steady, and trusty men, who were likely to keep one object in view-- their duty--and not to depart from it. the tall ship esperanza, with banners and streamers flying and the white canvas spread to the breeze, sailed down plymouth sound on her way to the far-off lands of the east. never ship bare richer freight, for never sailed over the salt seas two fairer damsels with more loving, faithful hearts. fair blew the breeze, calm was the sea, just rippled by the joyous wind, and bright the sky overhead. even john langton caught some of the enthusiasm of his young charges, and could not help predicting a favourable termination to the adventure. well was the good ship called the esperanza, for all on board felt hope reigning in their bosoms except master weedon, the pilot. when rallied on his gravity he replied-- "i prithee do not ask me to rejoice at the prospect of the future who have been oft so cruelly deceived. if matters turn out well, good; it will be time enough to rejoice then; if ill, it will be but as i expect. i shall at least have the satisfaction of knowing that i have not laughed in vain. meantime i will do my duty, and guide the ship towards those regions where the fair dames and their brother desire to proceed. may their star be a happier one than mine!" this was the usual style of weedon's remarks. inside a rough shell there was a tender heart, which had been sorely wounded by the reception he had encountered on his return to the place of his birth. hugh willoughby, on the contrary, was full of life and animation. every thing he saw was new and strange, and afforded him delight, and he looked forward without doubt to the complete success of their enterprise. the ship sailed on without interruption till the burning rays of the sun, which shone down on the deck, making the pitch to bubble up out of the seams, and driving the ladies to seek the shadow of the sails, warned them that they were already in southern latitudes. the elder seamen laughed at the notion of the weather being hot. "do you call this hot?" said master weedon. "why, good friends, we were wont during calms in those eastern seas to cook our victuals on the bare planks or on a sheet of tin placed on the deck. i can certify that we shall have it far hotter than this." the breeze still held fair, though coming off the land of africa, said to lie some twenty leagues away on the larboard beam. "a sail! a sail!" was shouted by the seaman on the watch in the top. "to the eastward, and seemingly approaching us," he replied to the questions put to him. mariners sailing over the ocean in those days had to be on their guard against foes in every direction. every preparation was made to give the stranger a warm reception should he prove an enemy. the heavy guns and all fire-arms were loaded; battle-axes, pikes were got up, and placed with slow matches in readiness for use; swords were girded on, and the deck of the esperanza--generally so quiet and peaceful--assumed a thoroughly warlike appearance. when all things were ready, hugh approached the ladies. "fair friend and sweet sister, i am about to exert some little authority over you," he said. "should yonder stranger prove to be a foe, you must descend into the hold, where you will be free from danger. when we have driven off, or captured, or sunk the enemy, we will summon you from your prison-house to rejoice with us in our victory, and to reward those who have exhibited most valour in the fight." to this arrangement neither beatrice nor constance showed any inclination to agree. "but suppose one of the foeman's shot was to deprive you of life," argued hugh. "in battle, methinks, bullets pay little respect to persons." "we shall but die in the performance of our duty and in the execution of our mission," answered constance. hugh, not quite comprehending her remark, observed-- "yes; but one might die, and one might escape--and alack for the survivor!" still the ladies insisted on remaining. "take your will, take your will, fair ladies. i would not quarrel with you at such a time," he said in a mournful tone. "but i pray that neither of you may be killed, though, perchance, a bullet may tear open that fair cheek, or a splinter may deprive sweet beatrice of an eye. although i doubt not edward's love would stand the test, it would be a sorry plight in which to greet him should we haply discover the land where the lion is cast away." the fair damsels looked at each other. "brother hugh, we will follow your counsel and seek shelter in the hold, where we may offer up prayers for your safety," said beatrice humbly, constance signifying, at the same time, that she agreed with her friend. the stranger approached. a crescent was seen on her green ensign. she was undoubtedly a sallee rover. they were in the latitude where those vultures of the ocean were wont to cruise. hugh hurried the ladies below. the ports of the esperanza were closed, and many of the crew hidden away under the bulwarks, so that she looked but little able to defend herself. not that any ship in those days went to sea unarmed--as well might a lamb attempt to sport among a troop of hungry lions. the sallee rover approached, with her infidel banners flying, her brazen trumpets braying, and her deck covered with turbaned swarthy moors, expecting to obtain an easy victory. john langton kept his good ship on her course without replying. he well knew that, should victory not be obtained, the alternative must be death, or--worse than death--a life-long slavery. not a man on board but resolved to triumph or to go down fighting for his own sake, but much more for the sake of the fair ladies he had sworn to serve and protect. louder blew the trumpets of the moors as their ship came within shot of the esperanza. nearer and nearer they drew. their purpose, it seemed, was to run the english ship on board, and to overcome her crew by superior numbers. captain langton watched for the best moment to fire. already the dark-skinned infidels stood, with their scimitars in hand, crowding the side, and some in the rigging, ready to spring on board. "raise the ports, and give it them!" shouted the brave english captain. his gallant crew cheerfully obeyed, and the next instant twenty moors were seen struggling or dead, prostrate on the deck of the rover, which made a vain attempt to haul her tack aboard and sheer off. again the english crew loaded their guns ready to fire, as with a crash she ran alongside. this time they were pointed at her hull, and fearful was the execution they caused. many of the moors endeavoured to spring on the deck of the esperanza, but they were driven headlong back with pikes and battle-axes, too late to regain their ship, which broke clear of the englishman, and they fell headlong into the sea. then fearful shrieks arose as the esperanza sailed on--the sallee rover was sinking. was mercy to be shown to those who never showed it to others? the choice was not allowed them. before the canvas could be taken off the english ship, the rover had sunk beneath the sea, and not a moor remained struggling on the surface. beatrice and constance, finding that the firing and turmoil of battle had ceased, entreated that they might come on deck. they gazed around in astonishment on every side; no foe was there; and except a few of the crew with limbs bound up, and here and there the white splinters where the shot from the rover had struck the bulwarks, not a vestige of the fight was to be seen. even then the eyes of most on board were gazing at the spot where the rover had gone down, as if they expected to see her emerge again from her watery grave. the damsels could scarcely believe their senses. "heaven has fought for us," said captain langton. "we did our duty, but no power of ours could have accomplished what has been done. i pray that it may prove the first of many successes leading to that which may crown our hopes." "i pray so too, kind friend," answered beatrice, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of the danger from which they had been preserved. such was the tone of feeling of the voyagers--ay, and of many of the boldest adventurers--of those days. they gave heaven the praise for all their deliverances and successes, and threw the blame when they failed on their own folly and neglect. there were clear-sighted, right-judging, and truly pious men in those days, who were laying the foundation of england's glory and power. the age which produced a shakespeare produced many other gigantic intellects and true men. the esperanza sailed on, hope swelling the hearts of her owners and a fair wind her canvas, till afric's southern cape, known by the name she bore, that of bona esperanza, appeared in sight. master weedon counselled that they should not enter table bay, but proceed on to saldanha bay as more convenient for watering, and where they were less likely to receive interruption. as they drew near two tall ships were seen at anchor. they might be foes more likely than friends, where foes were so numerous and friends so few. the captain seemed doubtful whether it were wise to enter. "we may fight them if they oppose us, and conquer them as we did the rover," cried hugh. "maybe when they know our errand, whatever their nation, they may be inclined to aid us." master weedon seemed rather doubtful of this, but captain langton sided with hugh, and the esperanza was accordingly steered towards the bay, running up a white flag as a signal of truce at the fore. it was well that this precaution was taken, for the strangers proved to be two hollanders, always jealous of the english who appeared in those parts. the captains, however, when they found that their trade was not to be interfered with, and that there were two fair ladies on board the esperanza, proved themselves to be honourable and courteous gentlemen. they begged permission to visit the english ship, and offered all the aid in their power to forward the object of the adventurers. this aid was gratefully accepted, and picked men from their crews being sent by them the rigging of the esperanza was quickly set up, and other repairs effected, and wood and water got on board, so that slid was able to sail to the east in their company. scarcely were the three ships out of sight of land when several sail were espied coming from the west. the hollanders hailed to notify that they must be part of a portugal fleet which they had reason to expect ere long in those seas. should the portugals espy them they would assuredly make chase and not spare either ships or crews should they come off victorious. as more strange ships were seen coming up, flight was their only prudent course. all sail was made, accordingly, to escape. the strangers had espied them, for they also crowded on canvas in pursuit. captain langton informed the hollanders that no english fleet had of late sailed with so many ships as now appeared. "then they are portugals, and we must escape them if we value our lives or liberty," was the answer. though the hollanders were stout ships, yet the portugals had faster keels, it seemed, for in spite of the wide spread of canvas set by the former they gained rapidly on them. the esperanza might have gone far ahead; and though the hollanders hailed and begged captain langton so to do, he replied that it went against his stomach to do such an act--to desert those who had befriended him. hugh applauded his resolution, and beatrice and constance agreed with him. the esperanza therefore shortened sail that she might not run away from her heavier-sailing consorts. they insisted, however, that she should keep a short distance ahead, that they might bear the first onslaught. there was ample time to make every preparation for the fight, and the shades of evening were coming on before the leading ships of the portugals got up with the stout hollanders. it was now to be seen whether to sail fast or to fight stoutly were of most avail. so fiercely did the hollanders receive their assailants that the first three of them dropped astern in confusion; others coming up were treated in the same manner. hugh was so delighted with the bravery of the hollanders that he begged captain langton to drop astern into the fight. "no, no, the post of honour is the station assigned to them," answered the captain. "should any of the portugals pass our friends it will then be our duty to fight them. let us not wish to deprive the brave hollanders of the glory they are winning for themselves." chapter twelve. the hollanders sailed steadily on: the wind freshened. still more of the portugal ships were coming up: the three friends held steadily on their way. the hollanders sent heavy shot from their sterns, sorely discomposing their pursuers. the wind, too, was increasing, and clouds were gathering, and darkness coming on. it was clear that the portugals were being drawn away from their intended port. this encouraged the hollanders to hold out; yet they contended against fearful odds. now the whole portugal fleet, crowding on still more sail, pressed up to overwhelm them. it would have been wiser of the said portugals had they allowed their expected prey to pass on their way unmolested. a terrific blast struck their ships, rending sails and snapping spars and topmasts in every direction, and throwing the whole fleet into confusion; while the stout hollanders, with their stronger canvas, glided calmly on, uninjured by the gale, though sorely battered by the shot of the enemy. darkness speedily came on, and shut out their foes from their sight. when morning broke, not an enemy's ship was to be seen. captain langton hailed the hollanders gratefully to acknowledge the gallant protection they had afforded the esperanza; whereon the two captains appeared, and, waving their hats, assured him that it was their delight and pleasure to serve ladies as fair and excellent as those who sailed on board her. the heavy sea running prevented any further communication for some days. thus escorted, the esperanza sailed on towards batavia; whence it was proposed that she should take fresh departure towards the little-known seas to the east, whither the lion had been seen driving. space will not allow an account of all the attentions paid to beatrice and constance at batavia, and the magnificent _fete_ which the governor gave in their honour; for, even in those good old days, fair ladies were not often found sailing round the world in search of lost lovers and mothers, albeit the so doing was a most praiseworthy and commendable act. certes, few damsels would be so confident as were these two heroines, that, should they succeed in their search, the brothers or lovers would be ready to exhibit that amount of gratitude which beatrice and constance looked for as their reward. it was reported that constance, who was known only to be looking for her brother, received and refused uncounted offers of marriage from the governor, as well as from all the chief unmarried officers of the colony who could aspire to that honour, and that she was entreated to reconsider the subject, and to return to their fair port; while beatrice was assured, with all the delicacy of which the mind and language of a hollander is capable, that, should she not succeed in her search, it would be entirely her own fault should she remain long in single blessedness. happily, the sickly season had not commenced at batavia, before the esperanza was once more ready for sea; and thus the adventurers escaped the fate which has overtaken so many voyagers who have visited those sickness-causing shores. the governor and all the chief officers accompanied the ladies to their boat; the whole population gathered to see them embark; handkerchiefs waved, shouts arose, prayers for their safety were uttered; and the guns from the forts and all the shipping in the harbour fired as the anchor of the esperanza was won from its oozy bed, and, the sails being spread, she glided forth on her perilous way. it was reported that the governor and several of his officers shed tears as they thought of all the numberless dangers to which those fair dames would be exposed; but on that point the author of this faithful chronicle feels some doubt, for reasons which he does not consider right to disclose. the fair damsels themselves felt few alarms or doubts: they were grateful for all the kindness they had received, and still more thankful that they had escaped from the place, and were once more on the free ocean. they had no longer cause to dread interruption from portugals or from the ships of other civilised nations. the governor of batavia had given them letters charging all true hollanders to render them every assistance in their power, and they hoped by watchfulness and prudence to escape from the hands of the savage people inhabiting the countries towards which they were sailing. they were well supplied with provisions and ammunition, and hoped that they might be delayed in no place, except to make the necessary inquiries for the lion, and to take in water and wood; for, albeit heroines are described in romances as performing long journeys without food or shelter, ships cannot sail over the ocean without stopping to take in fresh supplies of water that their crews may drink, and wood with which to cook their victuals. as yet, not a word respecting the lion or her possible fate had they heard. still their spirits did not flag while they approached the spot where master weedon had last beheld her. seamen were stationed in the tops to keep a lookout for any strange sail, or for islands where the information they sought might be obtained. again want of space prevents a description of the many places at which they touched, and the strange people they beheld. the esperanza held her course to the east, skilfully navigated, and escaping many dangers. right well and faithfully did master weedon fulfil his engagement: he pointed out the very reef within which the hollander had taken shelter when he had seen the lion drive by. "henceforward," he concluded, "i will submit to the superior knowledge of captain langton in the guidance of our good ship." due east the esperanza now sailed. mariners in those days troubled not their heads about circular storms or any such theories; and therefore it was concluded, that if a gale was blowing from the west, before which the lion was driven, she most assuredly would be found to the east. now on one hand, now on the other, islands were espied and visited; but no information was obtained. either there were no natives, or they fled at the approach of the strange ship; or, when natives were found, no means existed of exchanging ideas between the voyagers and them. at length an isle appeared ahead; its mountains, as first seen, scarcely to be distinguished from the sky, as they rose out of the blue ocean, now growing more and more distinct, till they assumed new and picturesque forms, some exhibiting dark and rugged rocks, lofty precipices, towering pinnacles, or rounded and gentle slopes covered with umbrageous groves. here bays or inlets were seen, and green valleys and dark ravines extending far inland. a reef appeared, extending partly round the island, with openings in it through which the ship might sail, and find a secure anchorage within. no dangers appeared ahead; and, skilfully piloted, the esperanza came to an anchor. captain langton, however, like a wise leader, observed carefully how he might speedily again get to sea should circumstances require it. words would fail to describe the beauty of the island to which the adventurers had come,--the brightness of the atmosphere, the purity of the air, the sparkling waterfalls, the yellow sand, the tall palm-trees, the gorgeous flowers, the groves, the valleys, and the mountains before mentioned. there were natives; for their habitations of considerable size and varied form were perceived amid the trees. before long, some were seen coming off in canoes; but it seemed that the ship was a strange thing to them, for none of them dared approach her. as observed at a distance, they were dark-skinned men, tall of figure, with much rude ornament, and their hair curiously dressed out in various forms. still it was possible that they might be mild and gentle of disposition; and as the adventurers were anxious to hold communication with them, master weedon offered to visit the shore, and, presenting trinkets and such-like things which had been brought for the purpose, invite them on board. it was with no small amount of anxiety that he was watched, as, with four men in his boat, he approached the beach. no one drew nearer till he had landed: when, taking the treasures he had brought from the boat, he held them up, first towards one canoe, then towards another; and then he placed them on the sand, and returned to his boat. thus tempted, the savages landed, and quickly made their way towards the articles on the beach. they were soon seized on and examined; and in a brief space of time afterwards the savages seemed as ready to go on board the ship as they before seemed desirous of keeping away from her. before long, canoes appeared from many other quarters. captain langton, observing this, considered a while, and then called hugh to him. "there is a saying, master hugh, that we should look upon all men as honest till we find them rogues; but methinks it were safer in these regions to consider all rogues till we find from long experience that they are honest," he observed. "now, i suspect, from the way these people at first avoided us, they had some reason to believe we would do them harm; but that, seeing that such is not our thought, they now come without fear of us. from this i argue that some other ship has been here, to whose company they gave cause of offence; and they might suppose that our ship is the same, or that we have come to avenge the injury they may have done our friends. we will not say this to the ladies, lest it alarm them without cause; but we will take due precautions against treachery, of which they are assuredly capable, or their looks belie them." hugh fully agreed with captain langton in his opinion, and master weedon and the other officers of the ship were warned to be on their guard. many of the savages had by this time collected round the ship, and a few chiefs and others came on board. beatrice and constance had retired to their cabin; for they neither liked the appearance of the savages, nor desired to be seen of them. they looked curiously at every thing on board, especially at the guns, of the use of which they clearly had some idea. as evening drew on, they took their departure, seemingly on excellent terms with their white visitors. the seamen began to consider them very well-behaved savages; but captain langton warned them not to trust to appearances, nor would he allow any of the crew to visit the shore. the next day, some large canoes came sailing up from other parts of the coast, and many more savages assembled round the ship. nearly half the ship's company had been below, either asleep or engaged in various occupations, when the savages were on board the first day. captain langton, remembering this, determined to keep half the people concealed, and at the same time well armed, while those on deck also were armed; the guns, were loaded, the slow matches ready, the cable was hove short, and the sails loosed. "maybe the savages mean us well, and these precautions may prove not to have been necessary," he observed to hugh, who seemed to think that he was over-careful; "but suppose they mean us ill, and purpose suddenly setting on us, we shall have cause to be thankful that we took them. i know what savages are; and i need not tell thee, if they were to succeed, what would be the fate of those you love best, and of all on board. i like not the looks of these gentry; though, for naked savages, their manners are wondrously courteous." hugh could not but agree that his friend was right; though it was tantalising not to be allowed to wander along that glittering strand, or through those shady groves, or to climb those picturesque hills he gazed at with so much admiration. water and fuel were, however, to be got off, and, if possible, vegetables: as to meat, as no animals were seen, it was concluded that none was to be obtained. three or four chiefs and about a dozen followers were allowed on board, and to them was explained by signs what was required. the chiefs quickly understood, and, after talking some time together, ordered away ten of the canoes to the shore; still leaving, however, the same number alongside, full of men armed with clubs and spears. they themselves, however, showed no inclination to quit the ship, but rather to remain to acquaint themselves with every thing about her. they seemed much disconcerted at not being allowed to go below; and for some time sat moodily on the deck, addressing no one. when, however, the canoes were seen coming off, they again rose to their feet, and their animation returned: but, instead of ten, there were now thirty canoes; ten appeared to be laden with calabashes of water, ten with wood chopped fit for burning, and ten with roots and vegetables. "surely these people mean us no ill, or they would not thus attend to our wants," cried hugh, who had from the first been unwilling to mistrust them. "wait till we see how they proceed," answered captain langton. the savages now thronged more thickly than ever round the ship. many sprang on board, and they began to hand up the calabashes and wood; but hugh observed, on looking down over the side, that there was no large quantity of either wood or water, and that many more people had come on board than were necessary to perform the work. the seamen had rolled some casks up to the side, that the water might be emptied into them; so that, for that purpose, no one need have come on deck. the savages, too, began to mingle among the crew; and captain langton observed that three or four attached themselves especially to each seaman, and at the same time that more canoes were coming off from the shore. matters had already proceeded far enough. ordering his men to be on their guard, and to separate themselves from the savages, he signified to the chiefs that he was ready to pay them with the articles he had promised, but that their countrymen must leave the ship. the chiefs gazed around: there were at least four savages, to one englishman on board, and ten times as many around the ship. a signal was made, and in an instant each black man raised his club to strike a sailor. "hugh, beware!" cried captain langton, presenting his pistol at the breast of a chief whose club was about to dash out young willoughby's brains. hugh sprang aside; the savage fell, whirling his club in the air. the seamen, mostly on the watch, avoided the blows of the savages, returning them with interest with their sharp hangers or battle-axes. the report of the captain's pistol was the signal for those below to appear. up through the hatches they sprang, shooting, cutting down, and driving before them, the treacherous blacks. they quickly fought their way up to the guns, one of which, discharged, made the natives in the canoes paddle off in terror towards the shore. not so the chiefs. two seamen lay stretched lifeless on the deck from the blows of their clubs; others were wounded. they themselves stood whirling their heavy weapons around them. a shot laid one low; another, the youngest, driven to the bulwarks, having hurled his club at his foes, sprang overboard, and attempted to reach the canoes by swimming; while a third, fighting to the last, was cut down by master weedon's hanger. a few of the canoes were struck by the shots; but the greater number escaped unhurt to the shore. while the guns were still firing, beatrice and constance appeared on deck, and entreated that the savages might be spared. although captain langton and master weedon considered such leniency ill bestowed, they obeyed the wishes of the fair ladies they served. the nature of these savages was, however, before long, proved. not many hours had passed when warlike sounds of horns and drums, with shrieks and cries, were heard; and round a point were seen coming towards the ship a fleet of large canoes, each like two vessels joined together with one mast and huge sail. five, ten, nearly twenty, were counted. nearly a hundred men were on board each; and, by their fierce and frantic gestures, there could be no doubt what were their intentions. it was possible that the guns of the esperanza might have destroyed many of them, if not the whole: but such a wise commander as captain langton considered that nothing would be gained by remaining, and much might be lost; and, as the wind was fair to pass through the nearest passage in the reef, he ordered the anchor to be tripped, the sails to be sheeted home; and, before the canoes got near, the esperanza, under all sail, was standing out to sea. "once on the open ocean, with a fair breeze, i care not how many of those savages come round us," cried the captain, as he guided the ship towards the passage in the reef. every man was at his station to trim the sails; for, should the fickle wind change or fall, the esperanza might be cast helplessly on the rugged mass of coral near which she was passing. the savages showed that they had no intention of abandoning their prey, while stronger proof was given of captain langton's wisdom in being cautious of them. the rocks, over which the water formed and leaped, were on every side. the esperanza glided on. it seemed that a person might spring from her yard-arms to the rocks. it was here the savages must have hoped to overtake her. they were close astern, and the warriors on their decks even now began to cast their darts towards the ship. had there been but a few minutes' delay in getting under way, they would have come alongside at a moment most perilous to the safety of the ship. a loud cheer burst from the lips of the british seamen as they found themselves once more on the open ocean. still their persevering foes came on. by their numbers alone, should they once succeed in getting alongside, they might gain the victory. the after-guns were pointed towards the headmost canoes; but though struck by the shot, and though several of their warriors were killed, they yet came on. so rapidly, too, did they glide over the water, that many of them ranged up on either side. little could they, however, have expected the shower of shot and bullets which crashed down upon them, tearing open the sides of their frail vessels, rending their sails, shattering the masts, and sweeping the warriors off their decks. it would have been scant mercy to themselves had the adventurers shown mercy. some of the canoes got alongside; and the enraged savages, attempting to climb up, were driven back with pike and pistol and battle-axe, while the big guns, playing down on them, tore open the sides of their canoes, and sent them to the bottom, leaving those on board to swim for their lives. soon the whole sea astern of the ship was alive with the forms of the savages as they swam on, either to reach the canoes of their friends or to gain the shore. the breeze increased. the esperanza rushed through the water. in vain the savages attempted to get on board: numbers had been slain, half their finest canoes had been sunk or disabled. with gratitude and rejoicing the adventurers saw the remainder, suddenly altering their sails, dash towards the shore. on this one occasion, not an englishman had been wounded. they waited till they had got far out to sea before they committed to the deep the bodies of their poor shipmates killed in the morning. the breeze which had enabled them to escape from the savages increased rapidly to a gale, and the gale to a fearful storm. they would thankfully have been within the shelter of some friendly port. dangers seemed thickening around them. on drove the ship; the wild seas reared their foaming heads on either side, the wind howled and whistled through the rigging, the thunder roared, the lightning flashed. darkness came on; but still the helpless ship drove before the tempest. brave hugh remembered whose son he was, and never lost heart. he went into the cabin, where his sister and constance were seated,--their hands clasped together,--for the purpose of encouraging them; for the way in which the stout ship rolled and pitched and tumbled about, the timbers and bulkheads groaned and creaked, the water washed overhead, combined with the sounds before described and the shouts of the seamen, made him conclude that they would be overcome with terror. "why should we be alarmed?" asked beatrice, looking up. "we have been protected hitherto: why not to the end? we calculated the risks we were to run before we embarked: we are prepared for all the dangers we may have to encounter." "brave sister!" cried hugh as he left the cabin to return to his duty on deck. "i pray that edward, for whom you have sacrificed so much, may prove worthy of you, should we succeed in finding him." all night long the ship drove on before the gale. no object even a cable's length ahead could have been discerned, except when the bright flashes of lightning, darting from the inky clouds, played over the foam-crests of the heavy seas. who could tell at what moment the good ship might be cast on some coral reef or on some desert shore, and be dashed to fragments? what prospect that the life of any one of them would be saved? or if by any unexpected means their lives should be preserved, that they should escape from falling into the power of savages such as those whom they had lately encountered? dawn approached. with daylight, dangers might be seen, and perchance avoided. the spirits of all rose. those on the watch ahead looked out eagerly for the first faint streaks of light in the eastern sky. suddenly a cry arose,--a fearful cry to those who knew its import,-- "land ahead! breakers ahead!" "down with the helm! haul the starboard tacks aboard, the sheets well aft!" cried captain langton in a tone which showed no sign of trepidation. "we may yet weather yonder reef, if the mast proves faithful. courage, friends; courage!" each order was promptly obeyed. the ship heeled over to the blast, staggering through the seas. the reef might be avoided; but there was a point beyond that it seemed impossible to weather. captain langton shook his head. "heaven may preserve our lives, but the fate of the good ship is sealed," he answered to hugh's inquiries. "be prepared to bring your sweet sister and mistress raymond on deck. assure them that each man on board will cheerfully yield up his own life so that theirs may be preserved." hugh entered the cabin. in a short time he returned, conducting the two fair girls. they gazed around, not without terror; and yet they retained a calmness and self-possession which many of the other sex might have envied. on one side was the raging sea, on the other a smiling island; but dark rocks, the dread of mariners, intervened. "heaven will assuredly hear our prayer, and cause the wild waves to take us, rather than that we should fall into the hands of savages such as those from whom we have just escaped," said beatrice in answer to a remark of her friend. "yet there are savages. even now i see a numerous band moving along the shore!" exclaimed constance. "still be of courage, sweet sister. the ship may hold together; and we have arms with which to fight, and brave men to use them." the seamen, though striving to the utmost, knew that the unavoidable catastrophe was approaching. already the ship was embayed, and the captain was looking out for some spot where she might, with the best chance of preserving their lives, be allowed to drive on shore, should the last resource fail. the anchors had been got ready to let go. trusty seamen stood with gleaming axes to cut away the masts. hugh hurried his charges under shelter; for captain langton's uplifted hand showed what was about to occur. the shrouds were severed, the axes struck the tall masts, and one by one they fell into the raging sea. one anchor was let go, and speedily another. "do the anchors hold?" was the cry. "ay, ay," was the answer. "the ship no longer drives; the wind is falling; the sea breaks here with far less force than farther out. heaven be praised! even now the ship may be saved!" such were the exclamations uttered by those on board the esperanza. the ship had driven into a bay, where, against all expectation, the anchors held. should the gale not again increase, fresh masts might be procured from the shore, and the voyage be continued. all depended on the character of the natives. persons were observed moving on the beach, and apparently watering the ship; but the sea was yet too rough to allow any boats to come off with safety. gradually the wind went down, and captain langton resolved to communicate with the shore, in order to ascertain the character of the inhabitants, that, at all events, the ladies, and a party to guard them, might be placed in safety till he could get the ship into a secure harbour. the shore was anxiously scanned by all. the natives were still there. one man, who possessed the best eyesight in the ship, affirmed that the savages were white, and wore clothes; though, as might be supposed, his assertion met with the ridicule it deserved. "we shall soon know the truth," cried hugh, who, with his sister and constance, had been the most eager of the spectators; "for here come two canoes, which will speedily be alongside." "who can those be? not savages, surely," cried constance, as the leading canoe drew near. "my heart tells me, e'en though my eyes might play me false," exclaimed beatrice, trembling as she had not with the terror of the expected shipwreck. in another minute, edward raymond had sprung up the side of the esperanza, and had pressed her in his arms; scarcely heeding, for an instant, his own sweet sister constance. "among faithful, loving, daring women, surpassing all! now we are rewarded for all our toils and dangers!" he exclaimed, as he looked again and again at the countenance of his beloved beatrice to assure himself that it was she who rested on one arm, while his other hand pressed that of his devoted sister. in the second canoe came antony waymouth. constance received him, as in duty bound, as a relative, albeit a distant one. whether or not he came up to the picture her imagination had painted of a perfect knight, our chronicle says not. certain, however, is it, that from the moment his eyes beheld her, and he heard of the sacrifice she had made to friendship in accompanying the fair beatrice, his heart became enslaved, under the belief that she would be willing to make a far greater sacrifice for love. thus had the chief object of the voyage of the esperanza been accomplished,--the long-lost adventurers were found. much, however, had still to be done. the boats were lowered, and the ladies, with hugh willoughby and a few of the mariners who were sick, were conveyed on shore. the savages, it was found, had made their escape from the island; and, believing that the spirit who protected the white man had come there to punish them for their crime, no more returned to it. the esperanza was, the next day, towed into the harbour where lay the battered hull of the lion. all her company were thankful that they had not repaired her before, and sailed away; and it was unanimously agreed that her rich freight should be transferred to the esperanza, in which ship all should sail back to old england. the masts intended for the lion were placed in the esperanza, which, in a wonderfully short space of time, was got ready for sea. certain it is, that, conducted by master walker, a service was held, both crews being present, to return thanks for their preservation thus far, and to offer up prayers for their protection for the future. and, moreover, it seemed clear and undoubted, if ladies have to wander round the world, it is advisable, meet, and convenient, if possible, that they should have husbands to protect them: therefore the same excellent minister was called on to unite in the bonds of holy matrimony master antony waymouth and mistress constance raymond, and master edward raymond, the brother of the above constance, and mistress beatrice willoughby, before the esperanza once more sailed on her homeward voyage to old england. traversing the vast pacific towards the east, and rounding the southern point of the new world, the esperanza reached plymouth; and never ship returned home with richer freight of gold and of precious stones, or truer or more loving hearts. and here, in the peaceful haven, endeth our "chronicle of the sea." the end. the dark frigate wherein is told the story of _philip marsham_ who lived in the time of king charles and was bred a sailor but came home to england after many hazards by sea and land and fought for the king at newbury and lost a great inheritance and departed for barbados in the same ship, by curious chance, in which he had long before adventured with the pirates. by charles boardman hawes _frontispiece in color by_ anton otto fischer _an atlantic monthly press book_ little, brown and company boston _copyright, _, by the torbell company (publishers of _the open road_) _copyright, _, by the atlantic monthly press, inc. _copyright, _, by little, brown and company _all rights reserved_ _twentieth printing_ the atlantic monthly press books are published by little, brown, and company in association with the atlantic monthly company printed in the united states of america [transcriber's note: extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the u.s. copyright on this publication was renewed.] [illustration: _with her great sails spread she thrust her nose into the heavy swell._] to george w. cable with warm admiration and filial affection from _curious old books, many of them forgotten save by students of archaic days at sea, i have taken words and phrases and incidents. the words and phrases i have put into the talk of the men of the rose of devon; the incidents i have shaped and fitted anew to serve my purpose_. c. b. h. contents chapter page i flight ii a leal man and a fool iii two sailors on foot iv the girl at the inn v sir john bristol vi the rose of devon vii the ship's liar viii storm ix the master's guest x between midnight and morning xi head winds and a rough sea xii the porcupine ketch xiii a bird to be limed xiv a wonderful excellent cook xv a lonesome little town xvi the harbour of refuge xvii will canty xviii tom jordan's mercy xix a man seen before xx a prize for the taking xxi ill words come true xxii back to the inn xxiii and old sir john xxiv and again the rose of devon the dark frigate chapter i flight philip marsham was bred to the sea as far back as the days when he was cutting his milk teeth, and he never thought he should leave it; but leave it he did, once and again, as i shall tell you. his father was master of a london ketch, and they say that before the boy could stand unaided on his two feet he would lean himself, as a child does, against the waist in a seaway, and never pipe a whimper when she thrust her bows down and shipped enough water to douse him from head to heels. he lost his mother before he went into breeches and he was climbing the rigging before he could walk alone. he spent two years at school to the good dr. josiah arber at roehampton, for his father, being a clergyman's son who had run wild in his youth, hoped to do better by the lad than he had done by himself, and was of a mind to send philip home a scholar to make peace with the grandparents, in the vicarage at little grimsby, whom tom marsham had not seen in twenty years. but the boy was his father over again, and taking to books with an ill grace, he endured them only until he had learned to read and write and had laid such foundation of mathematics as he hoped would serve his purpose when he came to study navigation. then, running away by night from his master's house, he joined his father on board the sarah ketch, who laughed mightily to see how his son took after him, do what he would to make a scholar of the lad. and but for the mercy of god, which laid philip marsham on his back with a fever in the spring of his nineteenth year, he had gone down with his father in the ketch sarah, the night she foundered off the north foreland. moll stevens kept him, while he lay ill with the fever, in her alehouse in high street, in the borough of southwark, and she was good to him after her fashion, for her heart was set on marrying his father. but though she had brought tom marsham to heel and had named the day, nothing is sure till the words are said. when they had news which there was no doubting that tom marsham was lost at sea, she was of a mind to send the boy out of her house the hour he was able to walk thence; and so she would have done, if god's providence had not found means to renew his strength before the time and send him packing in wonderful haste, with moll stevens and certain others after him in full cry. for the third day he had come down from his chamber and had taken the great chair by the fire, when there entered a huge-bellied countryman who carried a gun of a kind not familiar to those in the house. "ah," phil heard them whispering, as he sat in the great chair, "here's jamie barwick come back again." then they called out, "welcome, jamie, and good-morrow!" philip marsham would have liked well to see the gun himself, since a taste for such gear was born in him; but he had been long bedridden, and though he could easily have walked over to look at it, he let well enough alone and stayed where he was. they passed it from one to another and marvelled at the craftsmanship, and when they let the butt fall on the floor, the pots rang and the cans tinkled. and now one cried, "have care which way you point the muzzle." but the countryman who brought it laughed and declared there was no danger, for though it was charged he had spent all his powder and had not primed it. at last he took it from them all and, spying moll stevens, who had heard the bustle and had come to learn the cause, he called for a can of ale. there was no place at hand to set down his gun so he turned to the lad in the chair and cried, "here, whiteface with the great eyes, take my piece and keep it for me. i am dry--oh, so dry! keep it till i have drunk, and gramercy. a can of ale, i say! hostess! moll! moll! where art thou? a can of ale!" he flung himself down on a bench and mopped his forehead with his sleeve. he was a huge great man with a vast belly and a deep voice and a fat red face that was smiling one minute and frowning the next. "ho! hostess!" he roared again. "ale, ale! a can of ale! moll, i say! a can of ale!" a hush had fallen upon the room at his first summons, for he had been quiet so long after entering that his clamour amazed all who were present, unless they had known him before, and they now stole glances at him and at one another and at moll stevens, who came bustling in again, her face as red as his own, for she was his match in girth and temper. "here then!" she snapped, and thumped the can down before him on the great oaken table. he blew off the topmost foam and thrust his hot face into the ale, but not so deep that he could not send phil marsham a wink over the rim. this moll perceived and in turn shot at the lad a glance so ill-tempered that any one who saw it must know she rued the day she had taken him under her roof in his illness. he had got many such a glance since word came that his father was lost, and more than glances, too, for as soon as moll knew there was nothing to gain by keeping his good will she had berated him like the vixen she was at heart, although he was then too ill to raise his head from the sheet. it was a sad plight for a lad whose grandfather was a gentleman (although he had never seen the old man), and there had been times when he would almost have gone back to school and have swallowed without a whimper the latin and greek. but he was stronger now and nearer able to fend for himself and it was in his mind, as he sat in the great chair with the gun, that after a few days at longest he would pay the score in silver from his chest upstairs, and take leave for ever of moll stevens and her alehouse. so now, giving her no heed, he began fondling the fat countryman's piece. the stock was of walnut, polished until a man could see his face in it, and the barrel was of steel chased from breech to muzzle and inlaid with gold and silver. small wonder that all had been eager to handle it, the lad thought. he saw others in the room furtively observing the gun, and he knew there were men not a hundred leagues away who would have killed the owner to take it. he even bethought himself, having no lack of conceit in such matters, that the man had done well to pick phil marsham to keep it while he drank his ale. the fellow had gone to the opposite corner of the room and had taken a deep seat just beneath the three long shelves on which stood the three rows of fine platters that were the pride of moll stevens's heart. the platters caught the lad's eye and, raising the gun, he presented it at the uppermost row. supposing it were loaded and primed, he thought, what a stir and clatter it would make to fire the charge! he smiled, cocked the gun, and rested his finger on the trigger; but he was over weak to hold the gun steady. as he let the muzzle fall, his hand slipped. his throat tightened like a cramp. his hair, he verily believed, rose on end. the gun--primed or no--went off. he had so far lowered the muzzle that not a shot struck the topmost row of platters, but of the second lower row, not one platter was left standing. the splinters flew in a shower over the whole room, and a dozen stray shots--for the gun was charged to shoot small birds--peppered the fat man about the face and ear. worst of all, by far, to make good measure of the clatter and clamour, the great mass of the charge, which by grace of god avoided the fat man's head although the wind of it raised his hair, struck fairly a butt of moll stevens's richest sack, which six men had raised on a frame to make easier the labour of drawing from it, and shattered a stave so that the goodly wine poured out as if a greater than moses had smitten a rock with his staff. of all in the room, mind you, none was more amazed than philip marsham, and indeed for a moment his wits were quite numb. he sat with the gun in his hands, which was still smoking to show who had done the wicked deed, and stared at the splintered platters and at the countryman's furious face, on which rivulets of blood were trickling down, and at the gurgling flood of wine that was belching out on moll stevens's dirty floor. then in rushed moll herself with such a face that he hoped never to see the like again. she swept the room at a single glance and bawling, "as i live, 't is that tike, philip marsham! paddock! hound! devil's imp!"--at him she came, a billet of flanders brick in her hand. he was of no mind to try the quality of her scouring, for although she knew not the meaning of a clean house, she was a brawny wench and her hand and her brick were as rough as her tongue. further, he perceived that there were others to reckon with, for the countryman was on his feet with a murderous look in his eye and there were six besides him who had started up. although phil had little wish to play hare to their hounds, since the fever had left him fit for neither fighting nor running, there was urgent need that he act soon and to a purpose, for moll and her flanders brick were upon him. warmed by the smell of the good wine run to waste, and marvellously strengthened by the danger of bodily harm if once they laid hands on him, he got out of the great chair as nimbly as if he had not spent three weeks in bed, and, turning like a fox, slipped through the door. god was good to philip marsham, for the gun, as he dropped it, tripped moll stevens and sent her sprawling on the threshold; the fat countryman, thinking more of his property than his injury, stooped for the gun; and those two so filled the door that the six were stoppered in the alehouse until with the whoo-bub ringing in his ears phil had got him out of sight. he had the craft, though they then came after him like hounds let slip, to turn aside and take to earth in a trench hard by, and to lie in hiding there until the hue and cry had come and gone. in faith, he had neither the wind nor the strength to run farther. it was "stop thief!"--"murder's done!"--"attach the knave!"--"help! help!" who had dug the trench that was his hiding-place he never knew, but it lay not a furlong from the alehouse door, and as he tumbled into it and sprawled flat on the wet earth he gave the man an orphan's blessing. the hue and cry passed him and went racing down the river; and when the yells had grown fainter, and at last had died quite away, he got up out of the trench and walked as fast as he could in the opposite direction, stopping often to rest, until he had left moll stevens's alehouse a good mile behind him. he passed a parish beadle, but the fellow gave him not a single glance; he passed the crier calling for sale the household goods of a man who desired to take his fortune and depart for new england, and the crier (who, one would suppose, knew everything of the public weal) brushed his coat but hindered him not. in the space of a single furlong he met two puritans on foot, without enough hair to cover their ears, and two fine gentlemen on horseback whose curls flowed to their shoulders; but neither one nor other gave him let. the rabble of higglers and waggoners from the alehouse, headed by the countryman, jamie barwick, and by moll stevens herself, had raced far down the river, and phil marsham was free to go wherever else his discretion bade him. now it would have been his second nature to have fled to the docks, for he was bred a sailor and could haul and reef and steer with any man; but they whom he had no wish to meet had gone that way and in his weakness it had been worse than folly to beard them. his patrimony was forfeit, for although his father had left him a bag of silver, it lay in his chest in moll stevens's alehouse, and for fear of hanging he dared not go back after it. she was a vindictive shrew and would have taken his heart's blood to pay him for his blunder. his father was gone and the ketch with him, and, save for a handful of silver the lad had about him, he was penniless. so what would a sailor do, think you, orphaned and penniless and cut off from the sea, but set himself up for a farmer? phil clapped his hand on his thigh and quietly laughed. that a man needed money and skill for husbandry never entered his foolish head. were not husbandmen all fond fellows whom a lively sailor man might fleer as he pleased? nay, they knew not so much as one rope from another. why, then, he would go into the country and set him up as a kind of prince among husbandmen, who had, by all reports, plenty of good nappy liquor to drink and bread and cheese and meat to eat. with that he turned his back on the sea and london and on moll stevens, whom he never saw again. his trafficking with her was well ended, and as well ended his father's affair, in my belief; for the woman had a bitter temper and a sharp tongue, and there are worse things for a free-hearted, jovial man such as tom marsham was, than drowning. the son owed her nought that the bag in his chest would not repay many times over, so he set out with all good courage and with the handful of silver that chanced to be in his pocket and, though his legs were weak and he must stop often to rest, by nightfall he had gone miles upon his way. chapter ii a leal man and a fool clouds obscured the sun and a gusty wind set the road-side grasses nodding and rustled the leaves of oak and ash. phil passed between green fields into a neat village, where men and women turned to look after him as he went, and on into open country, where he came at last to a great estate and a porter's lodge and sat him down and rested. there was a hoarse clamour from a distant rookery, and the wind whispered in two pine trees that grew beside the lodge where a gentleman of curious tastes had planted them. a few drops of rain, beating on the road and rattling on the leaves of a great oak, increased the loneliness that beset him. where he should lie the night he had no notion, or whence his supper was to come; but the shower blew past and he pressed on till he came to a little hamlet on the border of a heath, where there was a smithy, with a silent man standing by the door. as he passed the smithy the lad stumbled. the man looked hard at him as if suspecting some trickery; but when phil was about to press on without a word the man asked in a low voice, who the de'il gaed yonder on sic like e'en and at sic like hoddin' gait. at this phil sat down on a stone, for his weakness had grown on him sorely, and replied that whither he was going he neither knew nor cared. whereupon the man, whom he knew by his tongue to be a scot, cried out, "hech! the lad's falling!" and catching the youth by the arm, he lifted him off the stone and led him into the smithy. phil found himself in a chair with straight back and sides, but with seat and backing woven of broad, loose straps, which seemed as easy as the best goose-feathers. "it is nought," he said. "a spell of faintness caught me. i'll be going; i must find an inn; i'll be going now." "be still. ye'll na be off sae soon." the man thrust a splinter of wood into the coals, and lighting therewith a candle in a lanthorn, he began rummaging in a cupboard behind the forge, whence he drew out a quarter loaf, a plate of cheese, a jug, and a deep dish in which there was the half of a meat pie. placing before his guest a table of rough boards blackened with smoke, a great spoon, and a pint pot, he poured from the jug a brimming potful of cider, boiled with good spices and fermented with yeast. "a wee healsome drappy," said he, "an' then the guid vittle. dinna be laithfu'." raising the pot to his lips the lad drank deep and became aware he was famished for food, although he had not until then thought of hunger. as he ate, the quarter loaf, the cheese, and the half of a meat pie fell victims to his trenchering, and though his host plied the jug to fill his cup, when at last he leaned back he had left no morsel of food nor drop of drink. now, for the first time, he looked about him and gave heed to the smoking lanthorn, the dull glow of the dying sea-coals in the forge, the stern face of the smith who sat opposite him, and the dark recesses of the smithy. outside was a driving rain and the screech of a gusty wind. it was strange, he thought, that after all his doubts, he was well fed and dry and warm. the rain rattled against the walls of the smithy and the wind howled. only to hear the storm was enough to make a man shiver, but warmed by the fire in the forge the lad smiled and nodded. in a moment he was asleep. "cam' ye far?" his host asked in a rough voice. the lad woke with a start. "from london," he said and again he nodded. the man ran his fingers through his red beard. "god forgie us!" he whispered. "the laddie ha grapit a' the way frae lon'on." he got up from his chair and led phil to a kind of bed in the darkest corner, behind the forge, and covered him and left him there. going to the door he looked out into the rain and stood so for a long time. two boys, scurrying past in the rain, saw him standing there against the dim light of the lanthorn, and hooted in derision. the wind swept away their voices so that the words were lost, but one stooped and, picking up a stone, flung it at the smithy. it struck the lintel above the man's head and the boys with a squeal of glee vanished into the rain and darkness. the blood rushed to the man's face and his hand slipped under the great leathern apron that he wore. by morning the storm was gone. the air was clean and cool, and though puddles of water stood by the way, the road had so far dried as to give good footing. all this philip marsham saw through the smithy door, upon waking, as he raised himself on his elbow. he had slept that night with his head behind the cupboard and with his feet under the great bellows of the forge, so narrow was the space in which the smith had built the cot; and where his host had himself slept there was no sign. the smith now stood in the door. "na, na," he was saying, "'tis pitch an' pay--siller or nought. for the ance ye hae very foully deceived me. ye shall hence-forth hae my wark for siller; or, an ye like--" a volley of rough laughter came booming into the smithy, and then a clatter of hoofs as the man without rode away; but the face of the smith was hot as flame when he turned to the forge, and, as he thrust his fingers through his red beard, an angry light was in his eyes. reaching for the handle of the bellows, he blew the fire so fiercely that the rockstaff and the whole frame swayed and creaked. he then took up a bar of metal and, breaking it on the anvil with a great blow of the up-hand sledge, studied the grey surface and smiled. he thrust the bar into the white coals and with the slicer he clapped the coals about it. now drawing out the bar a little way to see how it was taking its heat, and now thrusting it quickly back again, he brought it to the colour of white flame, and, snatching it out with his pliers and laying it on the face of the anvil, he shaped it with blow after blow of the hand hammer, thrust it again into the coals and blew up the fire, again laid it on the anvil, and, smiting it until the sparks flew in showers, worked it, with a deftness marvellous in the eyes of the lad, who sat agape at the fury of his strokes, into the shape of a dagger or dirk. at last, heating it in the coals to the redness of blood and throwing it on the floor to cool, he paced the smithy, muttering to himself. after a time he took it up again and with the files in their order--the rough, the bastard, the fine and the smooth--worked it down, now trying the surface with fingertips, now plying his file as if the devil were at his elbow and his soul's salvation depended upon haste, until the shape and surface pleased him. he then thrust it again into the coals and blew up the fire softly, watching the metal with great care till it came to blood-red heat, when he quenched it in a butt of water and, laying it on the bench, rubbed it with a whetstone until the black scurf was gone and the metal was bright. again he laid it in the coals and slowly heated it, watching with even greater care while the steel turned to the colour of light gold and to the colour of dark gold; then with a deft turn of the pliers he snatched it out and thrust it deep into the water. as he had worked, his angry haste had subsided and now, drawing out the metal, he studied it closely and smiled. then he looked up and meeting the eyes of philip marsham, who had sat for an hour watching him, he gave a great start and cried, "god forgie us! i hae clean forgot the lad!" laying aside his work he pushed before the chair the smoke-stained table he had used the night before, placed on it a bowl and a spoon, and, setting a small kettle on the forge, blew up the fire until the kettle steamed. he then poured porridge from the kettle into the bowl, and bringing from the cupboard a second quarter-loaf, nodded at the lad and, as an afterthought, remarked, "there's a barrel o' water ahint the smiddy, an ye'd wash." rising, phil went out and found the barrel, into which he thrust head and hands to his great refreshment; and returning, he sat down to the bread and porridge. while phil ate, the smith worked at a bit of bone which he shaped to his desire as a handle for the dirk. with light taps of the riveting-hammer he drove it into place and bound it fast with ferules chosen from a box under the cot. he then sat looking a long time at phil, nodded, smiled, ran his fingers through his beard, smiled again and, with a fine tool, fell to working on the ferules. there had been a friendly look in the lad's eyes, and of friendly looks the smith had got few in england. people bought his work because he was a master craftsman, but the country folk of england had little love for the scots who came south in king james's time and after, and a man had need to look sharp lest he fall victim to theft or worse than theft. he stopped and again looked at his guest, ran his fingers through his beard and demanded suddenly, "thy name, laddie?" "philip marsham." "ye'll spell it out for me?" this phil did. after working a while longer he said as if in afterthought, "ye'll bide wi' me a while?" "no, i must be on my way." the man sighed heavily but said only, "i hae ta'en a likin' to ye." rising, the lad thrust his hand into his bosom and stood as if to take his leave. "na, na! dinna haste! i'll ask ye to gie me help wi' a bit that's yet to be done." the smith turned his work over and over. he had made a dirk with a handle of bone bound with silver, and, as he turned it, he examined it with utmost care. "'twill do," he said at last, "and noo for the wark that takes twa pair o' hands." he pointed to a great grindstone. 'he that will a guid edge win, maun forge thick an' grind thin.' sitting down at the grindstone, the lad began to turn it while the smith, now dashing water over it, now putting both hands to the work, ground the dirk. an hour passed, and a second, with no sound save the whir of steel on stone and now and again the muttered words:-- 'he that will a guid edge win, maun forge thick an' grind thin.' leaning back at last, he said "'tis done! an' such wark is better suited to a man o' speerit than priggin' farriery." he tried the edge with his thumb and smiled. from a chip he sliced a thin circular shaving that went with and across and against the grain. laying a bit of iron on a board, he cut it clean in two with the dirk and the edge showed neither nick nor mark. phil rose now, and drew from inside his shirt his small pouch of silver. "i'll pay the score," he said. the scot stared at him as if he would not believe his ears, then got up as if to thrust the dirk between the lad's ribs. "those are very foul words," he said thickly. "nae penny nor plack will i take, and were ye a man bearded, i'd leave ye a pudding for the hoodie-craw." the lad reddened and stammered, "i--i--why, i give you thanks and ask your pardon." the smith drew himself up and was about to speak harshly, but he saw the lad's eyes filling and knew no harm was intended. he caught his breath and bit his beard. "'tis forgi'en an' forgot," he cried. "i hae ta'en a likin' to ye an' here's my hand on't. i hae made ye the dirk for a gift an' sin ye maun be on your way, ye shall hae my ane sheath, for i've no the time to mak' ye the mate to it e'er ye'll be leavin' me." with that he drew out his dirk, sheath and all, and placing the new blade in the old leather, handed it to the lad, saying, "'tis wrought o' damascus steel and there's not twa smiths in england could gi'e ye the like." so with few words but with warm friendliness they parted, and philip marsham went away over the heath, wondering how a scottish smith came to be dwelling so many long leagues south of the border. in those days there were many scots to be found in england, who had sought long since to better their fortunes by following at the heels of their royal countryman; but he had chanced to meet with few of them. not until he had gone miles did he draw the dirk and read, cut in fine old script on the silver ferule, the legend, _wrought by colin samson for philip marsham_. there are those who would say it was a miracle out of bible times, but neither philip marsham nor i ever saw a scot yet who would not share his supper with a poorer man than himself. at the end of the day he bought food at a cottage where the wife did not scruple to charge him three times the worth of the meal, and that night he lay under a hedge; the day thereafter he chanced upon a shepherd with whom he passed the night on the hills, and the third day he came to an inn where the reckoning took all but a few pence of his silver. so as he set out upon his way in the morning, he knew not whence his supper was to come or what roof should cover his head. it was a fine day, with white clouds blowing across a blue sky and all the colors as bright as in a painted picture, and there was much for a sailor to marvel at. the grass in the meadows waved in the great wind like running water. the river in the valley was so small and clear and still that, to a man bred at sea, it appeared to be no water at all but a toy laid between hills, with toy villages for children on its banks. climbing with light quick steps a knoll from which there was a broader prospect, phil came unawares upon a great thick adder, which lay sunning its tawny flanks and black-marked back but which slipped away into a thicket at the jar of footsteps. the reptile gave him a lively start, but it was soon gone, and from the knoll he saw the valley spread before him for miles. it was a day to be alive and, though philip marsham was adrift in a strange world, with neither chart nor compass to show the way, his strength had at last come back to him and he had the blithe spirit that seasons a journey well. his purse was light but he was no lad to be stayed for lack of wind, and seeing now a man far ahead of him on the road, and perceiving an opportunity to get sailing directions for the future, he leaped down from the knoll and set off after the fellow as hard as he could post. the man had gone another mile before phil overhauled him and by then phil was puffing so loudly that the fellow, who carried a huge book under his arm and bore himself very loftily, turned to see what manner of creature was at his heels. although he had the air of a great man, his coat was now revealed as worn and spotted and his wristbands were dirty. he frowned, bent his head, and pursued his journey in silence. "good morrow to you!" phil cried and fell into step beside him. the man answered not a word but frowned and hugged his book and walked the faster. at that phil bustled up and laid hand on his dirk. "good morrow, i say. hast no tongue between thy teeth?" the fellow hugged his book the tighter and frowned the darker and fiercely shook his head. "never," he cried, "was a man assaulted with such diversity of thoughts! yet here must come a lobcock lapwing and cry 'good morrow!' i will have you know i am one to bite sooner than to bark." already he was striding at a furious gait, yet now, giving a hitch to his mighty book, he made shift to lengthen his stride and go yet faster. unhindered by any such load, phil pressed at his heels. "'a lobcock'? 'a lapwing'?" he cried. "thou puddling quacksalver--" stopping short and giving him a look of dark resentment, the fellow sadly shook his head. "that was a secret and most venomous blow." "i gave you good morrow and you returned me nought but ill words." "the shoe must be made for the foot. i have no desire to go posting about the country with a roystering coxcomb but--well--as i say, i have no liking for thy company, which consorts ill with the pressure of many thoughts; but since you know what you know (and the devil take him who learned you it!), like it or not, i must even keep thy company with such grace as may be. yea, though thou clappest hand to thy weapon with such facility that i believe thee sunk to thy neck in the devil's quagmire, bogged in thy sin, and thy hands red with blood." with that, he set out again but at an ordinary pace, and phil, wonderfully perplexed by his words, fell into his step. again the fellow shook his head very sadly. "a secret and most venomous blow! th' art a devon man?" "nay, i never saw devon." the fellow shot him a strange glance and shifted the book from one arm to the other. "and have never seen devon? never laid foot in bideford, i'll venture." there was a cunning look in his eyes and again he shifted the book. "'tis even so." "a most venomous blow! this wonderfully poseth me." after a time he said in a very low voice, "there is only one other way. either you have told me a most wicked lie or jamie barwick told you." the fellow, watching like a cat at a rat-hole, saw phil start at the sound of jamie barwick's name. "i knew it!" he cried. "he'd tell, he'd tell! he's told before--'twas he took the tale to devon. he's a tall fellow but i'll hox him yet. it was no fault of mine--though i suppose you'll not believe that." upon the mind of philip marsham there descended a baffling array of memories. the name of the big countryman with the gun carried him back to that afternoon in moll stevens's alehouse, whence with good cause he had fled for his life. and now this stray wight, with a great folio volume under his arm, out of a conglomeration of meaningless words had suddenly thrown at the lad's head the name of jamie barwick. "we must have this out between us," the fellow said at last, breathing hard. "i'll not bear the shadow longer. come, let us sit while we talk, for thereby we may rest from our travels. you see, 'twas thus and so. jamie barwick and i came out of devon and took service with sir john--jamie in the stables, for he has a way with horses, and i as under-steward till my wits should be appreciated, which i made sure, i'd have you know, would be soon, for there are few scholars that can match my curious knowledge of the moon's phases and when to plant corn or of the influence of the planets on all manner of husbandry; and further, i have kept the covenant of the living god, which should make all the devils in hell to tremble; and if england keeps it she shall be saved from burning. so when i made shift to get the ear of sir john, who hath a sharp nose in all affairs of his estate, said i,--and it took a stout heart, i would have you know, for he is a man of hot temper,--said i, if he would engage a hundred pounds at my direction i would return him in a year's time a gain of a fourth again as much as all he would engage. "'aha!'" quoth he, "'this is speech after mine own heart. a hundred pounds, sayest thou? 'tis thine to draw upon, and the man who can turn his talents thus shall be steward of all mine estates. but mind,'--and here he put his finger to his nose, for he hath keen scent for a jest,--'thou shalt go elsewhere to try the meat on the dog, for i'll be no laughingstock; and if thou fail'st then shalt thou go packing, bag and baggage, with the dogs at thy heels. is 't a bargain?' "now there was that in his way of speech which liked me little, for i am used to dealing with quieter men and always i have given my wits to booklearning and to holy writ rather than to bickering. but i could not then say him nay, for he held his staff thus and so and laughed in his throat in a way that i have a misliking of. so i said him yea, and took in my own name fifty acres of marsh land, and paid down more than thirty pound sterling, and expended all of eight pound sterling for the ploughing and twice that for the burning, and sowed it with rape-seed at ninepence the acre, and paid twelve pound for the second ploughing and eleven pound for the fencing--all this did i draw from sir john, who, to pay the devil his due, gave it me with a free hand; and if god had been pleased to send the ordinary blessing upon mine acres i should have got from it at harvest three hundred or four hundred or even five hundred quarters of good rape-seed. and what with reaping and threshing and all, at four and twenty shillings the quarter i should have repaid him his hundred pounds, threefold or fourfold. all this by the blessing of god should i have done but for some little bugs that came upon mine acres in armies, and the fowls of the air that came in clouds and ate up my rape-seed and my tender young rape, so that i lost all that i laid out. and sir john would not see that in another year i ought, god favouring me, to get him back his silver i had lost, even as the book says. he is a man of his word and, crying that the jest was worth the money, he sent me out the gate with the dogs at my heels and with jamie barwick laughing till his fat belly shook, to see me go; for i was always in terror of the dogs, which are great tall beasts that delight to bark and snap at me. and the last word to greet my ears, ere i thought they would have torn me limb from limb, was sir john bawling at me, 'thou puddling quacksalver!' which jamie barwick hath told in bideford, making thereby such mirth that i can no longer abide there but must needs flit about the country. and lo! even thou, who by speech and coat are not of this country at all, dost challenge me by the very words he used." phil lay meditating on the queer fate that had placed those words in his mouth. "who," he said at last, "is this sir john?" "'who is sir john?'" the fellow turned and looked at him. "you have come from farther than i thought, not to know sir john bristol." "sir john bristol? i cannot say i have heard that name." "hast never heard of sir john bristol? in faith, thou art indeed a stranger hereabouts. he is a harsh man withal, and doubtless my ill harvest was the judgment of god upon me for hiring myself to serve a cruel, blasphemous knight who upholdeth episcopacy and the common prayer book." "and whom," asked the lad, "do you serve now?" "ah! i, who would make a skillful, faithful, careful steward, am teaching a school of small children, and erecting horoscopes for country bumpkins, so low has that harsh knight's ill-considered jest cast me. ''twas worth the money,' quoth he; but it had paid him in golden guineas had he had the wit and patience to wait another year." the fellow closed his eyes, tossed back his long hair, and pressed his hands on his forehead. "never, never," he cried, "was a man assaulted with such diversity of thoughts!" philip marsham contemplated him as if from a distance and thought that never was there a long-haired scarecrow better suited for the butt of a thousand jests. there were people passing on the road, an old man in a cart, a woman, and two men carrying a jug between them, but phil was scarcely aware of them, or even of the lank man beside him, so absorbing were his thoughts, until the man rose, clasping his book in both hands and running his tongue over his lips. his mouth worked nervously. "i must be off, i must be off. there they are again, and the last time i thought i should perish ere i got free of them. o well-beloved, o well-beloved! they have spied me already. if i go by the road, they'll have me; i must go by wood and field." turning abruptly, he plunged through a copse and over a hill, whence, his very gait showing his fear, he speedily disappeared. and the two men, having set their jug down beside the road, were laughing till they reeled against each other, to see him go. chapter iii two sailors on foot as the two men roared with laughter by the wayside so that the noise of it made people a quarter-mile away turn round to see what was the matter, those who passed eyed them askance and gave them the width of the road. but to the few passers the two paid no heed at all. pointing whither the lank fellow with the book had gone, they roared till they choked; then they fell on each other's necks, and embracing, whispered together. separating somewhat unsteadily, they now looked hard at philip marsham who knew their kind and feared them not at all. shifting his dirk within easy reach of his hand, and so drawing his knees together that he could spring instantly to one side or the other, he coolly waited for them to come nearer, which they did. the foremost was a fat, impudent scoundrel with very red cheeks and a very crafty squint. the other was thin and dark, less forward, but if one were to judge by his eyes, by far the braver. both had put on long faces, which consorted ill with their recent laughter, and both, it was plain, were considerably the worse for strong drink. the first glanced back over his shoulder at the second, who gave him a nudge and pushed him forward. "ahem," he began huskily. "you see before you, my kind young gentleman, two shipwrecked mariners who have lost at sea all they possess and are now forced to beg their way from london into devon port where, god willing, they will find a berth waiting for them. they--ahem--ahem--" he scratched his head and shut his eyes, then turning, hoarsely whispered, "yea, yea! so far is well enough, but what came next?" the other scowled blackly. "bear on," he whispered. "hast forgot the tale of calamities and wrecks and sharks?" "yea, yea! troubles, my kind young gentleman, have somewhat bepuzzled my weary wits. as i was about to say, we have journeyed into those far seas where the hot sun besetteth a poor sailor with calentures, and nasty rains come with thunder and flash, and the wind stormeth outrageously and the poor sailor, if he is spared falling from the shrouds into the merciless waves,--for he must abide the brunt of those infectious rains upon the decks to hand in the sails,--goeth wet to his hammock and taketh aches and burning fevers and scurvy. yea, we have seen the ravenous shark or dog-fish (which keepeth a little pilot-fish scudding to and fro to bring it intelligence of its prey) devour a shipmate with its double row of venomous teeth. surely, then, young gentleman, kind young gentleman, you for whom we have brought home curious dainties from that strange and fearful sea, will give us a golden guinea to speed us on our way; or if a guinea be not at hand, a crown; or sparing a crown, a shilling; or if not a shilling, sixpence. nought will come amiss--nay, even a groat will, by the so much, help two poor sailors on their way." as the two looked down at philip marsham, a score of old tales he had heard of worthless sailors who left the sea and went a-begging through the kingdom came to his mind. it was a manner of life he had never thought of for himself, nor had he a mind to it now. but he knew their game and, which was more, he knew that he held a higher trump than they. he leaned back and looked up at them and very calmly smiled. "how now!" the spokesman blustered. "dost laugh at a tale so sad as mine? i ha' killed an italian fencing-master in my time. i ha' fought prizes at half the fairs in england." his companion laid a hand on his arm and whispered in his ear. "nay," he retorted angrily, "'tis nought but a country fellow. i'll soon overbear him." again phil smiled. "hast thou never," he said in a quiet voice, "heard the man at the mainmast cry, 'a liar, a liar!' and for a week kept clean the beakhead and chains? nay, i'll be bound thou hast sat in bilbowes or been hauled under the keel. the marshal doubtless knew thee well." the faces of the two men changed. the fat man who had been the spokesman opened his mouth and was at loss for words, but the thin, dark man began to laugh and kept on laughing till he could hardly stand. "we ha' reached for a pheasant and seized a hawk," he cried. "whence came you, my gay young gallant, and what are you doing here?" "why, i am here to set myself up for a farmer. i had a reason for leaving london--" again the thin man burst out laughing. "why, then," quoth he, "we are three men of like minds. so had martin and i a reason for leaving london, too. and you are one who hath smelt salt water in your time. nay, deny it not. martin's sails are still a-flutter for wind, so sorely did you take him aback. 'twas a shrewd thrust and it scored. why, now, as for farming,"--he spread his hands and lifted his brows,--"come with us. there's a certain vessel to sail from bideford on a certain day, and for any such tall lad as thou i'll warrant there'll be a berth." leaning back against a little hill, the lad looked from the red, impudent face of the fat man to the amused, lean, daring face of his companion and away at the hills and meadows, the green trees and ploughed fields, and the long brown road that would lead the man who followed its windings and turnings, however far afield they might wander, all the way across england from the channel to the severn. he had made port, once upon a time, in bristol and he remembered lifting lundy's island through the fog. a fair countryside lay before him, with the faint scent of flowered meadows and the fragrance of blossoming fruit-trees on the wind, but the sea was his home and the half-witted creature with the book and the ranting talk of ploughing and planting had made the lad feel the more his ignorance of country matters, a suspicion of which had been growing on him since first he left the town and port behind him. these were not men he would have chosen, but he had known as bad and he was lost in a wilderness of roads and lanes and never-ending hills and meadows and woods, with villages one after another. any port in a storm--any pilot who knew his bearings! and for the matter of that, he had seen rough company before. though his grandparents were gentlefolk, his father had led a rough life and the son had learned from childhood to bear with low humour and harsh talk. the lean man still smiled, and though martin was angry still, neither the lad nor the man heeded him. "i could bear you company, but--" a doubt crept on him: when sober they might be of quite another mind. "nay, say us no buts." "i have neither money nor gear for a journey." "nor we--come!--nay, i am not so deep in my cups that i do not know my own mind." the man chuckled, perceiving that his intuition had fathomed the lad's hesitation. rising, phil looked at the two again. he was as tall as they, if not so broad. after all, it was only martin whose head was humming with liquor; the lean man, it now appeared, was as sober as he pleased to be. "and if i have no money?" "we are the better matched." they returned to the highway, where martin and the thin man took up the jug between them, each holding by his forefinger one of its two handles, and together all three set out. but the jug was heavy and they progressed slowly. "in faith, the day's warm and the road is dusty and i must drink again," said martin at last. they stopped and set the jug down in the road. "you must pay," said the thin man. taking from his pocket a penny, martin handed it to his companion and filling a great cup, drained it to the bottom. he then shook the jug, which showed by the sound that there was little left. they walked on a while; then the thin man stopped. "i'll take a bit of something myself," he said. he took the penny out of his pocket, handed it to martin, filled the cup and drained it. both then looked at phil. "it is tuppence a quantum," said the thin man. "have you tuppence?" phil shook his head, and the three went on together. three times more they stopped. the penny changed hands and one or the other drank. martin's speech grew thicker and his companion's face flushed. "neither one of us nor the other," said the thin man, with a flourish of his hand, "is often seen in drink. there is a reason for it this time, though. 'if any chuff,' say i, 'can buy good wine for a half crown the jug and sell it at profit for tuppence the can, why cannot we?' so we ha' laid down our half crown and set out upon the road to peddle our goods, when martin must needs drink for his thirst, which, as the scripture hath it, endureth forever. 'but,' quoth i, 'for every pot a penny to him and a penny to me.' 'why,' quoth he,"--lowering his voice, the thin man whispered to phil, "he is a rare fool at times," then resumed in his ordinary voice,--"'why,' quoth he, 'here's thy penny for thee.' so, presently, i to him: his penny for the wine that i drink. before we have gone far it comes upon me as a wondrous thrifty thought, that the more we drink the more we earn."--again he whispered to phil, drawing him aside, "when i had drunk a few cans, which much enlivened my wits, i saw he was not so great a fool as i had thought;" and resumed his ordinary voice--"'tis little wonder that all the world desires to keep an alehouse or a tavern!" never was there plainer example of befuddled wits! passing back and forth, from one to the other, the single penny, the two had consumed their stock in trade, believing that they were earning great profit on their investment. perceiving that the jug was nearly empty, phil waited with quiet interest for the outcome. they stopped again in the road. martin handed the penny to the thin man and poured from the jug into the cup. there was a gurgle or two and the jug was empty. the cup was but half full. "'tis not full measure," he muttered, "but let it be." he emptied the cup and wiped his lips. "now," said the thin man, his face by this time fully as red as his fellow's, "where's thy store of silver? count and share, count and share." "thou hast it, pence and pounds." martin's eyes half closed and his head nodded. breathing hard, he sat down beside the road. "nay, th'art drunk. come, now, thy purse and a just division." out of a fog of wild notions the befuddled thin man had pitched upon this alone, that martin withheld from him their common profit from their adventure into trade. he had keen mind and strong will, and his head had long resisted the assaults of the wine; but wine is a cunning, powerful foe and not easily discouraged, which by sapping and mining can accomplish the fall of the tallest citadel; and now, although steadier on his feet, the fellow was nearly as drunk as his mate and in no condition to perceive the flaw in his own logic. to all this martin gave no heed at all. he covered his eyes with his hands and uttering a prolonged groan, cried thickly,--apparently to phil,--"and did you ever see a man dance on air! ah, a hanging is a sight to catch the breath in your throat and make an emptiness in a man's belly!" "tush!" the thin man cried. leaning over martin he thrust his hands into pocket, pouch and bosom. "where hast thou hid it?" he fiercely whispered. martin tried to stand and fell weakly back, but slapped the thin man across the face as he did so. in an instant the thin man had out a knife and was pressing the point firmly against martin's ribs. over martin's florid face there came a ghastly pallor. "let me go!" he yelled. "take away thy knife, thou black-hearted, thrice accurst old goat! i've nought of thine. o tom, to use me thus basely!" and sprawling on his back, he wriggled under the knife like a great, helpless hog. the thin man smiled. to phil marsham his face seemed to have grown like pictures of the devil in old books. he held the knife against the shrieking fat man's breast and pressed it the harder when martin clutched at his wrist, then with a fierce "pfaw!" of disgust released his victim and stood erect. "pig!" he whispered. "see!" the point of the knife was red with blood. "th'art not worth killing. thy thin blood would quench the fire of a fleshed blade." with that, he deliberately spat in the man's face, and turning, went off alone. they were two sober men that watched him go, for the fumes of liquor had fled from the fat man's brain as he lay with the knife at his heart, and of their wine phil marsham had taken not a drop. striding away, the thin man never looked behind him; and still showing them only his back, he passed out of sight. martin remained as pale as before he had been red. he rubbed his sore breast where the knife had pricked him, and gulped three or four times. "ah-h-h!" he breathed. "god be praised, he's gone!" he made the sign of the cross, then cast a sharp glance at phil to see if he had noticed. "god be praised, he's gone! he hath a cruel humour. he will kill for a word, when the mood is on him. i thought i was a dead man. ah-h-h!" the colour returned to his round face and the sly, crafty look returned to his eyes. "we'll find him at bideford, though, and all will go well again. he'll kill for a word--nay, for a thought! but he never bears a grudge--against a friend. we'll lie tonight, my lad, with a roof over our heads, and by dawn we'll take the road." chapter iv the girl at the inn as they came at nightfall to the inn whither martin had been determined they should find their way, a coach drawn by two horses clattered down the village street and drew up at the inn gate before them. there was calling and shouting. hostlers came running from the stables and stood by the horses' heads. the landlord himself stood by the coach door to welcome his guests and servants unloaded their boxes. the coachman in livery sat high above the tumult, his arms folded in lofty pride, and out of the coach into the light from the inn door there stepped an old gentleman who gallantly handed down his lady. the hostlers leaped away from the bridles, the coachman resumed the reins, and when the procession of guests, host, and servants had moved into the great room where a fire blazed on the hearth, the horses, tossing their heads, proceeded to the stable. all this the two foot-weary travellers saw, as unobserved in the bustle and stir, they made their way quietly toward the rear of the building. when they passed a dimly lighted window martin glanced slyly around and with quick steps ran over to it and peeped in. whatever he sought, he failed to find it, and he returned with a scowl. the two had chosen the opposite side of the house from the stable and no one perceived their cautious progress. martin repeated his act at a second window and at a third, but he got small satisfaction, as his steadily darkening frown indicated. they came at last to a brighter window than any of the others, and this he approached with greater caution. he crouched under it and raised his great head slowly from the very corner until one eye saw into the room, which was filled with light and gave forth the clatter and hum of a great domestic bustling. here he remained a long time, now ducking his head and now bobbing it up again, and when he came away a smile had replaced his frown. "she's here," he whispered. "from now on we've a plain course to sail, without rock or sandbar." they retraced their steps and went boldly round the inn to the kitchen door. there were lights in the stable and men talking loudly of one thing and another. from the kitchen door, which stood ajar, came the rattle of dishes and the smell of food and a great bawling and clamouring as the mistress directed and the maids ran. with a jaunty air and an ingratiating smile, martin boldly stepped to the door. he knocked and waited but no one heeded his summons. a scowl replaced his smile and he knocked with redoubled vigour. the sound rang out clearly in the inn yard. several men came to the door of the stable to see what was the matter and the clamour in the kitchen ceased. steps approached, a firm hand threw wide the door, and a woman cried with harsh voice, "well, then, what'll you have, who come to the back when honest folk go to the front?" there was for a moment a disagreeable cast in martin's eyes, but his facile mouth resumed its easy smile. "an it please you, mistress, there are two gentlemen here would have a word with nell entick." "gentlemen!" she cried with a great guffaw. "gentry of the road, i make no doubt, who would steal away all the girl has--it's little enough, god knows." a couple of men came sauntering out of the stable and the kitchen maids stood a-titter. martin sputtered and stammered and grew redder than before, which she perceiving, bawled in a great voice that rang through the kitchen and far into the house, "nell entick, nell entick! devil take the wench, is she deaf as an adder? nell entick, here's a 'gentleman' come to the kitchen door to see thee, his face as red as a reeky coal to kindle a pipe of tobacco with." a shrill chorus of women's laughter came from the kitchen, echoed by a chorus of bass from the stable, and phil marsham stepped back in the dark, unwilling to be companioned with the man who had drawn such ridicule upon himself. but as martin thrust himself forward with a show of bluster and bravado, the click of light footsteps came down the passage, and through the kitchen walked a girl whose flush of anger wondrously became her handsome face. "where is the wretch," she cried, and stepping on the doorstone, stood face to face with martin. "so, 'tis thou," she sneered. "i thought as much. well--" she suddenly stopped, perceiving phil, who stood nearly out of sight in the shadow. "who is that?" she asked. the mistress had returned to the kitchen, the girls to their work, the men to the stable. "th'art the same wench," martin cried in anger, seizing at her hand. "hard words for old acquaintance, and a warm glance for a strange face." she snatched her hand away and cuffed him on the ear with a force that sent him staggering. though he liked it little, he swallowed his wrath. "come, chuck," he coaxed her, "let bygones lie. tell me, will he turn his hand to help his brother?" she laughed curtly. "the last time he spoke your name, he said he would put his hand in his pocket to pay the sexton that dug your grave and would find pleasure in so doing; but that he'd then let you lie with never a stone to mark the place, and if the world forgot you as soon as he, the better for him." "but sure he could not mean it?" "he did." martin swore vilely under his breath. from the kitchen came the landlady's voice. "nell entick, nell, i say! gad-about! good-for-nought!" "go to the stable," she whispered, "and tell them i sent you to wait there. she'll be in better humour in an hour's time. it may be i can even bring you in here." she shot another glance over martin's shoulder at the slim form of phil marsham and went away smiling. few in the stable looked twice at the two strangers in worn coats and dusty shoes who entered and sat on a bench by the wall, for there is as much pride of place in a stable as in a palace. there was talk of racing and hunting and fairs, and the beasts champed their oats, and everywhere was the smell of horses and harness. presently there came from the inn a coachman in livery and him they greeted with nods and good-morrows, for he was sleek and well fed and, after a manner, haughty, which commanded their respect. he sat down among them affably, as one conscious of his place in the world but desiring--provided they recognized him as a man of position--to be magnanimous to all; and after inquiring into the welfare of his horses he spoke of the weather and the roads. "hast come far?" a wrinkled old man asked. "aye, from larwood." "the horses stood the day's travel well?" "aye, they are good beasts. but much depends on proper handling. it makes a deal of difference who holds the reins." he looked about with an air of generous patronage. "that, and their meat." he nodded toward one of the men. "'tis well, though, when at night they are well fed, to fill the rack with barley-straw or wheat ere leaving them, as i showed thee, that perceiving it is not pleasant they may lie down and take their rest, which is in itself as good as meat for the next day's work." a general murmur of assent greeted this observation. "goest far?" another asked. "aye, to lincoln." a rumble of surprise ran about the stable and the deference of the stablemen visibly increased. "hast been long away?" "aye, six weeks to the day." "it do take a deal of silver to travel thus." "aye, aye." he condescended to smile. "but there are few of the clergy in england can better afford a journey to the isle o' wight than the good dr. marsham, and he is one who grudges nought when his lady hath been ill. 'tis wonderful what travel will do for the ailing. aye, he hath visited in many great houses and i have seen good company while we have been on the road." phil had looked up. "where is this doctor marsham's home?" he asked. all frowned at the rash young man's temerity in thus familiarly accosting the powerful personage in livery, and none more accusingly than the personage himself; but with a scornful lift of his brows he replied in a manner to tell all who were present that such as he were above mere arrogance. "why, young man, he comes from a place you doubtless never heard of, keeping as you doubtless do, so close at home: from little grimsby." martin glanced at phil. "the name, it seems, is thine own. hast ever been at little grimsby?" "never." and with that they forgot philip marsham, or at all events treated him as if he had never existed. "'tis few o' the clergy ride in their own coaches," someone said, with an obsequiousness that went far to conciliate the magnificent coachman. "aye, very few," he said smiling, "but dr. marsham is well connected and a distant relation some years since left him a very comfortable fortune--not to mention that in all england there are few better livings than his. there is no better blood in the country than runs in his veins. you'd be surprised if i was to tell you of families he's connected with." so the talk ran. presently a little boy appeared from the darkness beyond the door and hunting out martin, touched his shoulder and beckoned. martin, having long nursed his ill temper, rose. "it is time," he said, "yea, more than time." with swagger and toss he elbowed his way out past the liveried coachman; but missing phil he turned and saw him still sitting on the bench, his eyes fixed on the harness hanging on the opposite wall. "come, come," he called loudly. "come, make haste! where are thy wits? phil, i say!" starting suddenly awake from his revery, phil got up and followed martin out of the stable, seeing no one, and so blindly pressed at his heels, so little heeded what went on about him, that the sudden burst of laughter his absence of mind had occasioned passed unheard over his head. in the kitchen, whither the boy led them, they found places laid at one end of a great table and nell entick waiting to serve them, who gave martin cold glances but looked long and curiously at phil marsham. the mistress and the other girls were gone. the boy sat in the corner, by the great fireplace where the roast had been turning on the now empty spit. nell set before them a pitcher of beer and all that was left of a venison pasty. martin ate greedily and whispered to her and talked in a mumbling undertone, but she gave him short answers till his temper flew beyond his grasp and he knocked over his beer in reaching for her. "witch!" he snarled. "yea, look him in the eye! his wits are a-wandering again." looking up, phil met her eyes staring boldly into his. he leaned back and smiled, for she was a comely lass. "have the two guests who came tonight in a coach gone yet to bed?" he asked. "how should i know that?" his question baffled her and she looked at him from under her long lashes, half, perhaps, in search of some hidden meaning in his words, but certainly a full half because she knew that her eyes were her best weapons and that the stroke was a telling one. she made little of his meaning but her thrust scored. he looked at her again and marked the poise of her shapely head, the curves of neck and shoulders, the full bosom, the bare arms. but his mind was still set on that other matter and he persisted in his design. "i want," he said slowly, "to see them--to see them without their knowing or any one's knowing--except you and me." here he met her at her own game, and he was not so far carried away but that he could inwardly smile to see his own shot tell. "they have supped in the little parlor and are sitting there by the fire," she whispered. "it may cost me my place--but--" again she looked at him under her long lashes. he gave her as good as she sent, and she whispered, "come, then--come." martin gave an angry snort over his beer, but she returned a hot glance and an impatient gesture. with phil pressing close at her heels she led the way out of the kitchen and down a long passage. stopping with her finger on her lips, she very quietly opened a door and motioned him forward. again her finger at her lips! with her eyes she implored silence. without so much as the creaking of a board he stepped through the door. a second door, which stood ajar, led into the little parlor and through the crack he saw an old man with long white hair and beard--an old man with a kindly face mellowed by years of study, perhaps by years of disappointment and anxiety. the old man's eyes were shut, for he was dozing. in a chair on the other side of the hearth a lady sat, but only the rich border of her gown showed through the partly open door. the lad stood there with a lump in his throat and a curious mingling of emotions in his heart and head. it had happened so suddenly, so strangely, he felt that baffling sense of unreality which comes sometimes to all of us. he touched the wall to make sure he was not dreaming. had he but stayed in school, as his father had desired, and gone back to little grimsby, who knew what might have come of it? but no! he was a penniless vagabond, a waif astray on the highroads of england. he was now of a mind to speak out; now of a mind to slip like a fox to earth. his gay, gallant ne'er-do-weel of a father was gone. he was alone in the world save for his chance acquaintance of the road, which was perhaps worse than being entirely alone. what madness--he wondered as he looked at the kindly face of the drowsy old man--had led tom marsham away from his home? or was it more than a mere mad prank? had the manners of a country vicarage so stifled him that he became desperate? as phil thought of martin drinking in the kitchen, a wave of revulsion swept over him; but after all, his father had kept such company in his own life, and though he had brought up the boy to better things, the father's reckless and adventurous nature, in spite of his best intentions, had drawn the son into wild ways. something rose in phil's throat and choked him, but the hot pride that came straightly and honestly from his father now flamed high. he knew well enough that tom marsham had had his faults, and of a kind to close upon him the doors of such a home as the vicarage at little grimsby; but he had been a lovable man none the less and tom marsham's son was loyal. the girl, daring not speak, was tugging at phil's coat in an agony of misgivings. he stepped softly back, closed the door on a world he might have entered, and carried away with him the secret that would have brought peace--if a sad, almost bitter peace--to two lonely souls. he paused in the passage and the girl stopped beside him. there was no one in sight or hearing, and he kissed her. such is the curious complexity with which impressions and emotions crowd upon one, that even while the vicarage at little grimsby and his dead father were uppermost in his thoughts, he was of a mind then and for many a long day thereafter to come back and marry her. since he had closed the door through which he might have passed, this was a golden dream to cling to in hard times and glad, he thought. for he had caught her fancy as well as she his and she kissed him full on the lips; and being in all ways his father's son, he fell victim to a kitchen wench's bright eyes at the very moment when little grimsby was within his reach, as has father had done before him. then they walked out into the kitchen, trying to appear as if nothing had happened, and martin, perceiving their red cheeks, only sneered. "you must sleep on the hay," she whispered; and to martin, "i'll send him word before morning and give you his reply." so they again followed the little boy through the darkness to the stable by a back way, and climbed a ladder to the great mow and crawled behind a mountain of hay, and lay with their thoughts to bear them company while men far below talked of country affairs, horses were trampling uneasily in their stalls, and the little boy was off through the night with a message. chapter v sir john bristol there was not a cloud in the sky at dawn. cocks crowed lustily, near and loud or far and faint. the blue light grew stronger and revealed the sleeping village and the rambling old inn and the great stable, where the horses stood in their stalls and pulled at the hay and pease in the racks or moved uneasily about. the stars became dim and disappeared. the rosy east turned to gold and the dark hills turned to blue and the village stirred from its sleep. the master of the inn came down, rubbing his eyes and yawning, to the great room where one of the maids, bedraggled with sleep, was brushing the hearth and another was clearing a table at which two village roysterers had sat late. the master was in an evil temper, but for the moment there was no fault to be found with the maids, so he left them without a word and went through the long passage to the kitchen. seeing there a candle, which had burned to a pool of tallow, still guttering faintly in its socket, he cried out at the waste and reached to douse the feeble flame, then stopped in anger, for in a chair by the table, on which he had rested his head and arms, the little boy sat fast asleep. "hollo!" the master bawled. up started the little boy, awake on the instant and his eyes wide with fear. "what in the fiend's name hast thou been up to, this night?" quoth the master in a fierce bellow. the little boy burst into tears. "he'll have nought to do with him," he wailed. "'twas a long way and fearful dark but i went it, every step, and ferreted him out and gave him the message; and he swore most wickedly and bade me tell the man go to a place i don't like to name, and bade me tell nell entick he took it ill of her to traffic with such as that brother of his." "ah-ha!" cried the host, belting his breeches tighter. "most shrewdly do i suspect there have been strange doings hereabouts. where's nell entick? nell entick, i say, nell entick!" his voice went through the house like thunder. the sashes rattled and the little boy quaked. down came the hostess and in came the maids--all but nell entick. "nell entick! where's nell entick, i say! fiend take the wench--where's nell entick?" then in came the sleepy hostlers, and the coachman, his livery all awry from his haste--but not nell entick. for nell entick, a-tremble with well-founded apprehensions, having gone late to bed and slept heavily, had risen just after the host, had followed him down the passage and, after listening at the door until she made sure her worst fears were realized, had darted back along the passage and out through the inn yard to the stable where as loudly as she dared, but not loudly enough to rouse the weary sleepers above, she was calling, "martin! martin! awake, i say, or they'll all be upon thee! martin, awake!" the host in fury seized the little boy by the ear and dragged him shrieking across the table. "now, sirrah," quoth he, "of whom mak'st thou this squalling and squealing? a stick laid to thy bum will doubtless go far to keep thy soul from burning." "unhand me!" he squalled. "she'll kill me, an i tell." "an thou tellest not, thou slubbering noddy, i'll slice thee into collops of veal." and still holding the unhappy child by the ear, the host, making a ferocious face, reached for a long and sharp knife. "i'll tell--i'll tell--'tis the two men that slept in the hay." "ha! the hounds are in cry." and with that the host released his victim and dashed, knife in hand, out the kitchen door. the household trailed at his heels. the sleeping guests woke in their chambers and faces appeared at curtained windows. nell entick fled from the stable as he came roaring, but seeing her not, he mounted the ladder and plunged into the hay with wild thrusts of his knife in all directions. "hollo! hollo!" he yelled. "at 'em, dogs, at 'em!" and the two sleepers in the far corner of the mow, as the household had done before them, started wide awake. for the second time since they had met, martin, crouching in the hay, crossed himself, then shot a scared glance at phil. martin was white round the lips and his hands were shaking like the palsy. "said he aught of hanging?" he whispered. but philip marsham was then in no mood to heed his chance companion, whose bubble of bluster he had seen pricked three times. what had occurred was plain enough and the two were cornered like rats; but phil got up on his toes, shielded from sight by a mound of hay, and squatting low, got in his arms as much of the hay as he could grasp. bawling curses and thrusting this way and that with his knife, the host came steadily nearer. he passed the mound. he saw the two. knife in hand he plunged at them over the hay, with a yell of triumph. but his footing was none of the best, and as he came, phil rose with a great armful of hay to receive the knife-thrust and sprang at him. thus thrown off his balance, the man fell and the lad, catching his wrist and dexterously twisting it, removed the knife from his hand and flung it into the darkest corner of the great mow. "help! treason! murder! thieves!" with his hand on the host's throat, phil shoved him deeper in the hay and held him at his mercy, but martin was already scrambling over the mow, and with a last thrust phil left the blinded and choking host to dig himself out at his leisure and followed, dirk in hand. as the two leaped down on the stable floor, the flashing dirk bought them passage to the rear, whither they fled apace, and out the door and away. they passed nell entick at the gate, her hands clasped in terror, who cried to martin, "he'll have nought of you. hard words were all he sent." to phil she said nothing but her glance held him, and he whispered, "i will come back and marry you." she smiled. "you will wait for me?" he whispered, and kissed her. she nodded and he kissed her again ere he fled after martin. when they had left the village behind them they stopped to breathe and rest. leaning against a tree, martin mopped the sweat from his brow. "had i but a sword," he cried, "i'd ha' given them theme for thought, the scurvy knaves!" "it seems thy brother, of whom we were to have got so much, bears thee little love." and phil smiled. for this martin returned him an oath, and sat upon a stone. on the left lay the village whence they had come, and, though the sun was not yet up, the spire of the church and the thatched roofs of the cottages were very clearly to be seen in the pure morning air. smoke was rising from chimneys and small sounds of awakening life came out to the vagabonds on the lonely road, as from the woods at their back came the shrill, loud laugh of the yaffle, and from the marsh before them, the croaking of many frogs. martin's shifty eyes ranged from the cows standing about the straw rack in a distant barton in the east to a great wooded park on a hill in the west. "i will not go hungry," he cried with an oath, "because it is his humour to deny me. we shall see what we shall see." he rose and turned west and with phil at his heels he came presently to the great park they had seen from a distance. "we shall see what we shall see." with that he left the road and following a copse beside a meadow entered the wood, where the two buried themselves deep in the shade of the great trees. the sun was up now and the birds were fluttering and clamouring high overhead, but to the motion and clamour of small birds they gave no heed. from his pocket martin drew a bit of strong thread, then, looking about, he wagged his head and pushed through the undergrowth. "hare or pheasant, i care not which. here we shall spread our net--here--and here." whereupon he pulled down a twig and knotted the thread and formed a noose with his fingers. "here puss shall run," he continued, "and here, god willing, we shall eat." having thus set his snare, he left it, and sulkily, for the sun was getting up in the sky and they had come far without breaking their fast. so phil followed him and they lay on a bank, with an open vale before them where yellow daffodils were in full bloom, and nursed their hunger. after a while martin slipped away deftly but returned with a face darker than he took, and though he went three times to the snare and scarcely stirred a leaf,--which spoke more of experience in such lawless sports than some books might have told,--each time his face, when he returned, was longer than before. "a man must eat," he said at last, "and here in his own bailiwick and warren will i eat to spite him. yea, and leave guts and fur to puzzle him. but there's another way, quicker and surer, though not so safe." so they went together over a hill and down a glade to a meadow. "do thou," he whispered, "lie here in wait." with a club in his hand and a few stones in his pocket he circled through the thicket, and having in his manner of knowing his business and of commanding the hunt, resumed his old bravado, he now made a great show of courage and resourcefulness; but phil, having flung himself down at full length by the meadow, smiled to hear him puffing through the wood. off in the wood wings fluttered and martin murmured under his breath. presently a stone rapped against a tree-trunk and again there was the sound of wings. then the lad by the meadow heard a stone rip through the leaves and strike with a soft thud, whereupon something fell heavily and thrashed about in the undergrowth, and martin cried out joyously. he had no more than appeared, holding high a fine cock-pheasant, with the cry, "here's meat that will eat well," when there was a great noise of heavy feet in the copse behind him, and whirling about in exceeding haste, he flung the pheasant full in the face of the keeper and bolted like a startled filly. thereupon scrambling to his feet, phil must needs burst out laughing at the wild look of terror martin wore, though the keeper was even then upon him and though he himself was of no mind to run. he lightly stepped aside as the keeper rushed at him, and darting back to where martin had dropped his cudgel, snatched it up and turned, cudgel in hand. he was aware of a flash of colour in the wood, and the sound of voices, but he had no leisure to look ere the keeper was again at him, when for the first time he saw that the keeper was the selfsame red-faced countryman who had brought the gun to moll stevens's alehouse by the thames--that it was jamie barwick. now the keeper barwick was at the same moment aware of something familiar about his antagonist, but not until he was at him a second time in full tilt did he recollect where and when he had last seen him. he then stopped short, so great was his amazement, but resumed his attack with redoubled fury. his stick crashed against the cudgel and broke, and ducking a smart rap, he dived at phil's knees. to this, phil made effective reply by dropping the cudgel and dodging past the keeper to catch him round the waist from behind (for his arms, exceeding long though they were, were just long enough to encompass comfortably the man's great belly), and the lad's iron clutch about the fellow's middle sorely distressed him. as they swayed back and forth the keeper suddenly seized phil's head over his own shoulder and rose and bent forward, lifting phil from the ground bodily; then he flung himself upon his back and might have killed the lad by the fall, had phil not barely wriggled from under him. both were on their feet in haste, but though the keeper was breathing the harder, philip marsham, having come far without food, was the weaker, and as barwick charged again, phil laid hands on his dirk, but thought better of it. then barwick struck from the shoulder and phil, seizing his wrist, lightly turned and crouched and drew the man just beyond his balance so that his own great weight pitched him over the lad's head. it is a deft throw and gives a heavy fall, but phil had not the strength to rise at the moment of pitching his antagonist,--which will send a man flying twice his length,--so barwick, instead of taking such a tumble as breaks bones, landed on his face and scraped his nose on the ground. he rose with blood and mud smearing his face and with his drawn knife in his hand; and philip marsham, his eyes showing like black coals set in his stark white face, yielded not a step, but snatched out his dirk to give as good as he got. then, as they shifted ground and fenced for an opening, a booming "holla! holla!" came down to them. they stopped and looked toward the source of the summons, but phil, a shade the slower to return to his antagonist, saw out of the corner of his eye that barwick was coming at him. he leaped back and with his arm knocked aside barwick's blow. "holla, i say! ha' done, ha' done! that, barwick, was a foul trick. another like that, and i'll turn you out." a crestfallen man was barwick then, who made out to stammer, "yea, sir john--yea, sir john, but a poacher--'e's a poacher, sir john, and a poacher--" "a foul trick is a foul trick." the speaker wore a scarlet cloak overlaid with silver lace, and his iron-grey hair crept in curls from under a broad hat. his face, when he looked at barwick, was such that barwick stepped quietly back and held his tongue. the man had martin by the collar (his sleek impudence had melted into a vast melancholy), and there stood behind them a little way up the bank, phil now saw, a lady no older than phil himself, who watched the group with calm, dark eyes and stood above them all like a queen. "throw down those knives," the knight ordered, for it took no divining to perceive that here was sir john bristol in the flesh. "thrust them, points into the ground. good! now have on, and god speed the better man." to philip marsham, who could have expected prison at the very least, this fair chance to fight his own battle came as a reprieve; and though he very well knew that he must win the fight at once or go down from sheer weakness and want of food, his eyes danced. the knight's frown darkened, observing that barwick appeared to have got his fill, and he smote the ground with his staff. then barwick turned and philip marsham went in upon him like a ray of light. three times he threw the big man, by sheer skill and knowledge, for the other by his own weight hindered himself, but after the third time the world went white and the lad fell. he sat up shortly and looked into sir john's face. "'tis the lack of food," he stammered, "or i'd out-last him as well as out-wrestle him." sir john was laughing mightily. "you gave him full measure, and thank god you are fresh from a fast or i'd ha' lost a keeper. as for food, we shall remedy that lack. two things i have to say: one to you, barwick. you attempted a foul trick. i'll have none such in my service. if it happens again, you go. and as for you, you white-livered cur, that would leave a boy to a beating and never turn a hand to save him, i'll even take you in hand myself." and with that, sir john flung back his cloak and raising his staff with one hand while with the other he kept hold of martin's coat-collar, he thrashed the man till he bellowed and blubbered--till his coat was split and his shirt was bloody and his head was broken and his legs were all welts and bruises. "help! help! o holy mary! saints in heaven! help! o jamie, jamie, jamie! o sir! kind sir! let me go! let me go!" sir john flung him away with a last whistling stroke of the great staff. "that," said he, "for cowardice." and jamie barwick, having already forgotten his own rebuke, was broadly smiling. sir john turned then and looked philip marsham in the eye. "it was a good fight," he said, and smiled. "courage and honour will carry a man far." he then looked away across his wide acres to the distant village. for a while he was lost in revery and the others waited for him, but he came to himself with a start and turned brusquely, though not unkindly, to philip marsham. "come now, begone, you vagabond cockerel! if a farm is robbed from here to the channel, or a hundred miles the other way, i'll rear the county upon your track and scour the countryside from the severn to the thames. i'll publish the tale of you the country over and see you hanged when they net you." he stood there looking very fierce as he spoke, but there was a laugh in his eyes, and when phil turned to go, he flung the lad a silver coin. phil saw the gesture and picked the money from the air, for he was quick with his fingers, but before he caught it sir john seemed to have forgotten him; for he bent his head and walked away with his eyes on the ground. there was something in the knight's manner that stung the lad, who looked at the coin in his hand and almost as quick as thought hurled it back at sir john. "how now?" cried sir john, turning about. "i'll take no money that is thrown me," phil replied. "so!" sir john stood looking at him. "i have a liking for thee," he said, and smiled. but he then, it seemed, again forgot that there was such a lad, for he once more bent his head and walked away with the lady who had stood above them in the wood. as for phil, he did not so lightly forget sir john. he watched him until he had fixed in his mind every line of his tall, broad figure, every gesture of his hand and every toss of his head. he then walked off, and when he turned to look back a last time sir john was gone. "what was that he said of hanging?" martin whispered. the fellow's face was so white and his lips and his bruises were so blue that phil laughed at him before his eyes, who thereupon lost his temper and snarled, "it's all well enough to take things lightly, you who got no beating; but hanging is no laughing matter." he then looked cautiously around and ran back the way they had come. when he returned he held between thumb and forefinger the silver coin phil had thrown back at the burly knight. martin bought food with it and phil, though he thought it would have choked him, helped him eat it; and so they survived the day. "that keeper, barwick," martin said that evening as the two tramped west along the highway, "is my brother, and an ungrateful wretch he is." "i knew he was your brother," phil said. but he was not thinking of martin or his brother. he was thinking of the old knight in the scarlet cloak so bravely decked with silver lace. there was only one man philip marsham had ever known, who had such a rough, just, heavy-handed humour as sir john bristol or any such indomitable sense of fair play, and that man was phil's dead father. chapter vi the rose of devon they came to bristol over the hills that lie to the south of the town. they had lost time on the way and had grown weary and sore of foot; and finding at last that there was little hope of overtaking at bideford the thin man with whom they had parted on the road, they had turned north in somerset at the end of polton hill. they passed first across a lonely waste where for miles the only human being they saw was an aged man gathering faggots; then over the mendip hills and through rough valleys and rougher uplands, and so at last to the height whence bristol and avon valley and bristol channel in the east lie spread in a vast panorama. far away in hungroad and kingroad ships were anchored, but the vessels at the wharves of bristol lay with their keels in mud, for the tide was out and the tides of bristol, as all know, have a wonderful great flow and ebb. the two went on into the town, where there were seafaring men standing about and talking of ships, which gave phil marsham a feeling of being once more at home after his inland travels; and passing this one tavern and another, they came to a square where there was a whipping-post and a stocks, and a man in the stocks. now a man in stocks was a pleasing sight to phil, for he was not so old that he missed the humour of it, and he paused to grin at the unlucky wight who bore with ill grace the jeers of the urchins that had assembled to do him honour; but when martin saw the fellow he looked a second time and turned very hastily round. straightway seizing phil by the arm he whispered hoarsely, "come now, we must hie us away again, and that speedily." "why in so great haste?" phil returned. "here is a pleasant jest. let us stay a while. who knows but some day we may ourselves sit in the bilboes and yonder ballad-maker may take his fill of pleasure at our misfortune. why, then, turn about is fair play. let us enjoy his while there's time." and he waited with quiet glee for martin's angry reply. "fool!" martin whispered. "stay and be hanged, an thou wilt." thereupon martin posted in all haste back the way he had come and phil, of no mind to be left now, since they had journeyed together thus far, followed at his heels with a curiosity that he was intent on satisfying. "'sin,' according to the proverb," he called after martin, "'begins with an itch and ends with a scar,' but methinks thy scars, which are numerous, are all an-itch." "hist, fool," martin snarled. "be still! for ha'pence i'd slit thy throat to still thy tongue. i swear i can already feel the hemp at my weasand. it burns and spreads like a tetter." and he made haste up out of the town till despite his great weight and short wind he had phil puffing at his heels. "this is queer talk of ropes and hangings. it buzzeth through thy noddle like bees in clover. in faith, though thy folly be great, yet it sorely presses upon thee, for i have seldom seen a man walk faster. yet at thine ordinary gait a tin-pedlar's broken-down jade can set a pace too fast for thee to follow." "yea, laugh at me! wouldst thou stay for sugared pills of pleasure with the hangman at thy heels?" "what has a poor devil in stocks to do with the hangman, prithee? and why this fierce haste?" "th' art no better than a gooseling--fit for tavern quarrels. and did you never see a man dance on air? 'tis a sight to catch the breath in the throat and make an emptiness in a man's belly." "there be no hangings without reason." "reason? law, logic, and the switzers can be hired to fight for any man, they say. 'tis true, in any event, of the law. i've seen the learned men in wigs wringing a poor man's withers and shaping the halter to his neck." they had talked breathlessly at long intervals in their hasty flight, and thus talking they had come out of the town and up from the valley; nor would martin stay to rest till from the southern hill that had given them their first prospect of bristol city they looked back upon the houses and the river and the ships. martin breathed more easily then and mopped his forehead and sat down until his wildly beating heart was quieter. "to bideford we must go, after all," said he, "and 'twere better by far had we never turned from the straight road." "i am of no mind to go farther," phil replied, looking back. "there will be more vessels sailing out of bristol than out of bideford. a man can choose in which to go." martin gulped and rubbed his throat. "nay, i'll not hear to it. daniel went but once into the lion's den." he sighed mightily as he thought of begging his long way through somerset and devon, for he was a big heavy man and lazy and short of wind; but he would not go back, though he refused to speak further of his reason for it; and phil, though in truth he liked martin little, was too easy-going to part thus with his companion of the road. the lad was young, and the world was wide, and it was still spring in england. so they turned toward the hills, which were blue and purple in the setting sun,--a shepherd, did he but know it, lives in halls more splendid than a king's,--and set forth upon their journey through the rough lands of somerset. they went astray among the mines but found their way to wells where, as they came out from the town, they passed a gallows, which gave martin such a start that he stopped for neither breath nor speech until he had left that significant emblem of the law a mile behind him. they went through glastonbury, where report has it that joseph of arimathea and king arthur and king edgar lie buried, and through bridgewater, where to their wonder there was a ship of a hundred tons riding in the parret. they went through dulverton on a market day, and crossed the dunsbrook by the stone bridge and so passed into devon. they went on over heath and hill and through woods and green valleys until at the end of seven days from bristol--for time and again they had lost their way, and a sailor on shore is at best like a lame horse on a rough road--they crossed the taw at barnstable. again going astray, they went nearly to torrington before they learned their blunder and turned down the valley of the torridge. but all things come to an end at last, and one pleasant evening they crossed the ancient bridge built on stately gothic arches into the populous town of bideford. at the river front there lay a street the better part of a mile long, in which were the custom house and a great quay, and there they saw ships of good burden loading and unloading in the very bosom of the town, as the scribe hath it. thither phil would have gone straightly but martin shook his head. so turning up from the river, they passed another long street, where the houses of wealthy merchants stood, and this, too, martin hastened quickly by. he shot glances to one side and the other as if fearing lest he see faces that he knew, and led his companion by an obscure way, as night was falling, to a cottage whence a dim light shone through a casement window. standing on the rough doorstone under the outcropping thatch, which projected beyond the line of the eaves to shield the door from rain, he softly knocked. there was no answer, no sound, but the door presently moved ajar as if by its own will. "who knocks?" an old woman whispered. "'tis that dark i cannot see thy face." "'tis thine eyes are ailing. come, open the door and bid us enter." "thy voice hath a familiar ring but i know thee not. who art thou?" "we be two honest men." "ah, two honest men? and what, prithee, are two honest men doing here?" "yea, 'tis a fair thrust and bites both ways! thou old shrew, dost bar the door to martin barwick?" "so 'tis thou. i believe it even is. enter then, ere the watch spy thee. th' art a plain fool to stand here quibbling thus, though 'tis to be expected, since thou wert ever quicker of thy tongue than thy wit. but who's thy fellow?" "nay, thou old shrew, open to us. he is to be one of us, though a london man by birth." "one of us, say'st thou? enter and welcome, then, young sir. mother taylor bids thee welcome. one of us? 'tis the more pity so few of the gentlemen are left in port." "the old one?" "he hath sailed long since." she closed the door behind them, and the three stood together in the dark passage. "hast money?" "not a groat." she sighed heavily. "i shall be ruined. seven o' the gentlemen ha' sailed owing me." "yea, thou old shrew, had i a half--nay, had i the tenth part of the gold thou hast taken from us and laid away wherever thy hiding-places are, i'd go no more to sea. but thou know'st what thou know'st, and there's not one among us but will pay his score. the wonder is that of them thou could'st hang by a word none has slit thy scrawny throat." "aye, they pay, they pay. and the gentlemen bear mother taylor nought but love. how else could they do their business but for good mother taylor?" she led them into a little back room where there was a fire and a singing kettle; and as she scuttled with a crooked, nimble gait from one window to another to make sure that every shutter was fast closed, in her cracked old voice she bade them sit. to his prudent companion, whose quick glance was marking every door and window,--for who knows when a man shall have need to leave in haste a sailor's inn?--quoth martin, "the old witch is a rare hand to sell a cargo got--thou can'st guess well enough how; and the man who would bring a waggon-load of spirits past the customs on a dark night or would bargain with a dartmoor shepherd for wool secretly sheared, can lay the matter before her and go his way, knowing she will do his business better than he could do it himself. yea, a man's honour and life are safer with her than with any lord in england." she showed by a grunt that she had heard him but otherwise paid no attention to what he said. she brought food from a cupboard and laid the table by the fire, and going into a back room, she drew a foaming pitcher of beer. "no wine?" cried martin. "mother taylor has no wine? come, thou old beldame, serve us a stronger tipple." she laughed shrilly. "the beer," said she, "is from frome-selwood." "why, then, i must needs drink and say nought, since it is common report that the gentry choose it, when well aged, rather than the wine of portugal or france. but my heart was set on good wine or stronger spirits." "he who sails on the morning tide must go sober to bed else he may rue his choice. aye, an' 'tis rare fine beer." her old bent back fitted into her bent old chair. her face settled into a myriad wrinkles from which her crooked nose projected like a fish in a bulging net. she was very old and very shrewd, and though there was something unspeakably hard in her small, cold eyes, martin trusted her as thus far he had trusted no one they had met. even to phil she gave an odd sense of confidence in her complete loyalty. at phil she cast many glances, quick and sharp like a bird's, but she never spoke to him nor he to her. it was martin who again spoke up, having blunted the edge of his hunger. "and now, you old witch, who's in port and where shall we find the softest berths? for you've made it plain that since trust us you must, you will trust us little--that is to say, it is not in thy head that our score shall mount high." she chuckled down in her skinny old crop. "let us see. the old one has gone and that's done. you were late." "'tis a long road and we went astray." "there's the nestor and the essay. they will be off soon; the one to liverpool for salt, t' other to ireland for wool." martin thereupon set down his pot of beer and significantly rubbed his throat, at which the old woman cackled with shrill laughter. "aye, th' art o'er well known in liverpool. well, let us consider again. there's the rose of devon, new come from plymouth. i hear she's never touched at bideford before and her master hails from dorset." "his name?" "'tis candle." martin laughed boisterously. "a bright and shining name! but i know him not and will chance a singeing. what voyage does she make?" "she goeth to fetch cod from newfoundland." the old woman saw him hesitate. "a barren voyage, think'st thou? nay, 'twere well for one of the gentlemen to look into that trade. who knows?" "true, old mother witch, who knows?" martin tapped the table. "can'st arrange it?" "nay. but i can start the wedge." "we'll go," said martin at last. "but now for bed. we've been a weary while on the road." it was a great bed in a small room under the thatch; and as they lay there on the good goose-feathers in the dark, martin said, "we'll sail in this rose of devon, lad." phil, already nearly asleep, stirred and roused up. "any port in a storm," he mumbled. then, becoming wider awake, he asked, "what is all this talk of 'the gentlemen' and who, prithee, is the old one?" "ah, a natural question." though the room was dark as egypt, phil knew by martin's voice--for he could recognize every inflection and change in tone--that the sly, crafty look was creeping over his fat, red face. "well," martin continued after a moment of silence, "by 'the gentlemen' she means a few seafaring men that keep company together by custom and stop here when ashore--all fine, honest fellows as a man may be proud to know. i have hopes that some day you'll be one of us, phil my lad, and some day i'll tell you more. as for the old one, it very curiously happens that you have met with him. do you recall to mind the thin man i quarrelled with, that first day?" "yea." "that is the old one, and tom jordan is his proper name." it was martin, after all, who fell asleep first, for phil lay in the great bed in the small room, thinking of all that had happened since the day he fled from moll stevens's alehouse. there was colin samson, whose dirk he wore; there was the wild-eyed, black-haired man with the great book and the woeful tale; there were martin, and tom jordan, "the old one"; there were the inn and the old lady and gentleman--it all seemed so utterly unreal!--and nell entick, and sir john bristol. he fell asleep thinking of nell and sir john and dreamed of marrying nell and keeping a tavern, to which the bluff old knight came in the guise of a very aged gentleman from little grimsby with a coachman who went poaching pheasants in the tavern yard. it was early morning when mother taylor called them down to breakfast at a table burdened with good food such as they had not eaten for many long days. she sat by the fire, a bent old woman in a round-backed little chair, watching them with keen small eyes while they ate, and smiling in a way that set her wrinkles all a-quiver to see them empty dish after dish. "th' art a good old witch, mother taylor, though the devil cry nay," said martin. "though thy score be high never did'st thou grudge a man the meat he ate." "'tis not for nought the gentlemen love mother taylor," she quavered. "what can a woman do when her beauty's gone but hold a man by the food she sets before him? 'tis the secret of blessed marriage, martin, and heaven send thee a wife as knows it like i!" "beauty, thou old beldame! what did'st thou ever know of beauty? but beauty is a matter of little moment. hast thou prepared the way for us?" she laughed in shrill delight at his rough jesting. "aye, i ha' sent a messenger. seek out the rose of devon and do thy part, and all shall be well." "and whence does good captain candle expect his men?" "say to captain candle that thou and this handsome young gentleman who says so little are come from the mersey, where thy vessel, the pride o' lancashire, lies to be repaired, and that master stephen gangley sent thee." she looked at phil, who had learned long before to hold his tongue in strange places, and he smiled; but martin laughed hoarsely. "th' art the devil's own daughter. and does this master stephen gangley in all truth dwell in liverpool?" "dost think my wits are wandering, martin? nay, i be old, but not so old as that. go hastily through the town lest thou be seen and known. thou, of all the gentlemen, most needs make haste." the two stopped just inside the door. "you have chalked down the score against us?" she laughed in her skinny throat. "i be old, but not so old as to forget the score. the gentlemen always pay." she pushed martin out and shut the door behind him, then, seizing phil by the arm, she whispered, "leave him." martin angrily thrust the door open again and she gave phil a shove that sent him stumbling over the threshold. the door slammed shut and they heard the bolt slide. "they pay," martin muttered. "yea, they pay in full and the old witch hath got rich thereby, for 'tis pay or hang. so much does she know of all that goes on at sea! in faith, i sorely mistrust she is a witch in all earnest; but even be it so, a most useful witch." as the two came into the town they saw at a distance a crowd gathering. dogs barked and boys shouted and men came running and laughing, which seemed to give promise of rare sport of one kind or another. "see!" cried phil, catching martin by the arm. "here's a game. come, let us join the cry." "thou art a very pattern of blockishness," quoth martin. "would'st see us in pillory, egged, turnipped, nay, beaten at the post?" "come, old frog, i for one will run the hazard." "old frog, is it?" martin's face flamed redder than before. "an we loiter there'll be sharp eyes upon us. my very throat is itching at the thought. justice is swift. who knows but we'll swing by sundown? hast never considered the pains of hanging? the way they dance and twitch is enough to take the sap out of a man's legs." martin's fears were an old story and the lad heeded them so little, save when he would make game of them, that he never even smiled. "see!" he cried. "there's a man in their midst. stay! who is he? he is--yea, he is the very one, come back to bideford despite his fears. and it seems the townsfolk know him well." the jeering mob parted and revealed a lank man with a great book. his voice rose above their clamour, "o well beloved, o well beloved, never was a man perplexed with such diversity of thoughts!" but martin was gone, and phil hastening after him saw a face in a window, which was watching martin hurry through the town. and when phil pursued martin the eyes in the window scanned the lad from head to foot. they found lying at the quay the vessel they sought, and a brave frigate she was, with high poop and nobly carved fiddlehead and sharp, deep cutwater. the gun-deck ports were closed, but on the main deck was a great show of ordnance with new carriages and new yellow breechings. there were swivel-guns on the forecastle and the quarter-deck and there was a finely wrought lantern of bronze and glass at the stern. but as they came up to her, a cloud hid the sun and the gilded carving ceased to shine and the bright colours lost their brilliance and her black, high sides loomed up sombrely, and to phil she seemed for the moment very dark and forbidding. of this martin appeared to have no perception, for he smiled and whispered, "mother taylor hath done well by us. this rose of devon is a tall ship and by all the signs she will be well found." there were men standing about the capstan on the main deck and voices came from the forecastle; but on the poop there leaned against the rail to watch the two come down the quay a single man, of an age in the middle-thirties, with a keen, strong face, who wore a good coat on his back and had the manner of a king in a small island. they stepped under the poop and martin doffed his hat, having assumed his most ingratiating smile. "an it please you, sir," said he, "have i the honour to address captain candle of the rose of devon frigate?" "i am captain candle." "good morrow to thee, sir, and master stephen gangley of liverpool sent us--" "yea, i received his letter. i know him not, but it seems he knows friends of mine. you are over heavy for a good seaman but your fellow takes my eye." martin stammered and flamed up with anger, and perceiving this, the captain smiled. "let it be," he said. "i can make room for the two, and to judge by your looks, if you are slow aloft at handling and hauling, we can use you to excellent purpose as a cook. of good food and plenty it is plain you know the secret." he watched policy contend with anger in martin's face and his own expression gave no hint of what went on in his mind; but there was that about him which made phil believe he was inwardly laughing, and phil had an instant liking for the man, which, if one might judge by the captain's glance or two, was returned. "you may sign the articles in the tavern yonder," he said. "you are none too early, for we sail in an hour's time to get the tide." as phil followed martin into the tavern he saw a bustle and flurry in the street, but it passed and while they waited by the fire for the captain and the agent to come with the articles he thought no more of it. they came at last, and other seamen with them, and spread the articles on the oaken table where one man might sign after another. and when martin's turn was come, he tried to speak of wages, but the captain named the figure and bade him sign, and before he thought, he had done so. he stood back, cursing under his breath, and when the captain named a higher wage for phil, martin's cursing became an audible mumble, which drew from master and agent a sharp glance. though martin smiled and looked about as if to see whence the sound came, he deceived no one. the men filed out of the tavern, walking soberly behind the master, and proceeded down the quay to their ship. their feet clattered on the cobbles and they swung along at a rolling gait. some were sober and some were drunk; and some were merry and some were sad. some eyed one another with the curiosity that a man feels if he must sit, for months to come, at cheek and jowl with strangers; and some bent their eyes on the ground as if ill at ease and uncertain of their own discretion in thus committing themselves to no one knew what adventures in distant seas and lands. thus they came to the ship, following at the master's heels, and thus they filed on board, while captain candle stood at one side and looked them over as they passed. to a young fellow leaning over the waist one of the men called, "well met, will canty!" looking up, phil himself then caught the eye of a lad of his own years who was returning the hail of a former shipmate, and since each of the youths found something to his taste in the appearance of the other, on the deck of the ship they joined company. "you come late," said the one who had answered to the name of will canty. "unless i am much mistaken, you were not on board yesterday." he was tall and slender and very straight, and he carried his head with an erectness that seemed at first glance to savour of vanity. his face, too, was of a sober cast and his expression restrained. yet he seemed a likable fellow, withal, and one whom a man could trust. "i have not until now set foot on this deck," phil replied. "but having seen many vessels in my time, i venture that the rose of devon is a staunch ship, as captain candle, it is plain to see, is a proper master." "yea, both sayings are true. i know, for i have sailed before in this ship with captain candle." an order bawled from the quarter-deck caused a great stir, and for the moment put an end to their talk, but they were to see more of each other. casting off the moorings in answer to the word of command, the men sprang to the capstan. it was "heave, my bullies!" and "pull, my hearts of gold!" some, in a boat, carried out an anchor and others laboured at the capstan. the old frigate stirred uneasily and slipped away from the wharf, rolling slightly with the motion of the sea, and thus they kedged her into the tide. "bend your passeree to the mainsail!" back came a roaring chorus, "yea, yea!" "get your sails to the yards there--about your gear on all hands!" "yea, yea!" men here and there replied. "hoist sails half-mast high--make ready to set sail!" "yea, yea!" "cross your yards!" "yea, yea!" "bring the cable to the capstan--boatswain, fetch the anchor aboard!--break ground!--up there, a hand to the foretop and loose the foretopsail!" "yea, yea!" and the first man to set foot on the ratlines was running up the rigging. it was philip marsham, for to him the sea was home and there was no night so dark he could not find his way about a ship. nor did his promptness escape the sharp eye of captain candle. now, while the captain stood with folded arms at the poop, his mate cried, "come, my hearts, heave up your anchor! come one and all! who says _amen_? o brave hearts, the anchor a-peak!" "yea, yea!" "heave out your topsails!--haul your sheets!--let fall your foresail!--you at the helm, there, steer steady before the wind!" on all the vessels in the harbour, and all along the quay and the streets, men had stopped their work to see the rose of devon sail. but though most of them stood idle and silent, there was a sudden flurry on the quay where but now she had been lying, and two men burst out, calling after her and waving their arms. "'tis the beadle and the constable," the men muttered. "who of us hath got to sea to escape the law?" the mate turned to the master, but the master firmly shook his head. "come, seize the tide," he called. "we will stay for no man." "heave out the foretopsail--heave out the main topsail--haul home your topsail sheets!" the men aloft let the lesser sails fall; the men on deck sheeted them home and hoisted them up. the mate kept bawling a multitude of orders: "haul in the cable there and coil it in small fakes! haul the cat! a bitter! belay! luff, my man, luff! you, there, with the shank painter, make fast your anchor!" then came the voice of the master, which always his mate echoed, "let fall your mainsail!" and the echo, "let fall your mainsail!" "yea, yea!" "on with your bonnets and drabblers!" and again came the echo from the mate, "on with your bonnets and drabblers!" "yea, yea!" the great guns ranged along the deck--each bound fast by its new breechings--with their linstocks and sponges and ladles and rammers, made no idle show of warlike strength. there was too often need to let their grim voices sound at bay, for those were wild, lawless days. such a ship as the rose of devon frigate, standing out for the open sea, is a sight the world no longer affords. those ships are "gone, gone, gone with lost atlantis." their lofty poops, their little bonaventure masts, their lateen sails aft, their high forecastles and tall bowsprits with the square spritsail flaunted before the fiddlehead, came down from an even earlier day; for the rose of devon had been an ancient craft when king james died and king charles succeeded to the throne. but she was a fine tall ship and staunch notwithstanding her years, and there was newly gilded carving on bow and stern and a new band of crimson ran her length. with her great sails spread she thrust her nose into the heavy swell that went rolling up the bristol channel, and nodding and curtseying to old neptune, she entered upon his dominions. she was, as i have said, a brave tall ship, yet, despite her gilded carving and her band of crimson, her towering sides which were painted black gave her a singularly dark appearance, and she put to sea like a shadow out of older days. chapter vii the ship's liar death by land is a sobering thing and works many changes; but to my thought death at sea is more terrible, for there is a vast loneliness, with only a single ship in the midst of it, and an empty hammock for days and weeks and even months, to keep a man in mind of what has happened; and death at sea may work as many changes as death by land. now the rose of devon was a week from england when a footrope parted and the boatswain pitched down, clutching at the great belly of the sail, and plunged out of sight. and what could a man do to save him? they never saw him after that first wild plunge. there, aloft, was the parted rope, its ends frayed out and hanging. below decks was the empty berth. the blustering old boatswain, with his great roaring voice and his quick ear for a tune, had gone upon the ultimate adventure which all must face, each man for himself; but they only said, "did you see the wild look in his eyes when he fell?" and, "i fear we shall hear his pipe of nights." and, "'tis a queer thought that neddie hart is to lie in old davy jones's palace, with the queer sea-women all about him, awaiting for his old shipmates." presently the master's boy came forward into the forecastle, where the men off duty were sitting and talking of the one who had fallen so far, had sunk so deep, had gone on a journey so long that they should never see him again; and quietly--for the boy was much bedevilled and trembled with fright to think of putting his head, as it were, into the mouth of the lion--he crept behind philip marsham and whispered in his ear, "the master would see thee in the great cabin." they sat at close quarters in the forecastle of the rose of devon, and the boy had barely room to pass the table and the benches, for the men had crowded in and put their heads together; but for once they were too intent on their own thoughts to heed his coming or his going, which gave him vast comfort. (little enough comfort the poor devil got, between the men forward and the officers aft!) so phil rose and followed. the great cabin, when he entered, was empty. he stood at loss, waiting, but curiously observed meanwhile the rich hangings and the deep chairs and the cupboards filled with porcelain ware. there was plate on the cabin table and a rich cloak lay thrown loosely over a chair; and he thought to himself that those deep-sea captains lived like princes, as indeed they did. he shifted his weight from foot to foot in growing uneasiness. the boy had disappeared. there was no sound of voice or step. then, as the ship rolled and phil put out a foot to brace himself, a door swung open and revealed on the old-fashioned walk that ran across the stem under the poop, the lean, big-boned figure of captain francis candle. the master of the rose of devon stood with folded arms and bent head, but though his head was bent, his eyes, the lad could see, were peering from under his heavy brows at the horizon. he swayed as the ship rolled, and remained intent on his thoughts, which so absorbed him that he had quite forgotten sending the boy for philip marsham. so phil waited; and the broad hat that hung on the bulkhead scraped backward and forward as the ship plunged into the trough and rose on the swell; and captain candle remained intent on his thoughts; and a sea bird circled over the wake of the ship. after a long time the master turned about and walked into the cabin and, there espying philip marsham, he smiled and said, "i was remiss. i had forgotten you." he threw aside the cloak that lay on the chair and sat down. "sit you down," he said with a nod. "you are a practised seaman, no lame, decrepit fellow who serves for underwages. have you mastered the theory?" "why, sir, i am not unacquainted with astrolabe and quadrant, and on scales and tables i have spent much labour." "so!" and his manner showed surprise. then, "inkpot and quill are before you. choose a fair sheet and put down thereon the problem i shall set you." the captain leaned back and half closed his eyes while phil spread the paper and dipped the quill. "let us say," he finally continued, "that two ships sail from one port. the first sails south-south-west a certain distance; then altering her course, she sails due west ninety-two leagues. the second ship, having sailed six-score leagues, meets with the first ship. i demand the second ship's course and rhomb, and how many leagues the first ship sailed south-south-west. now, my man, how go you to work?" phil studied the problem as he had set it down, and wrinkled his brows over it, while captain candle lay back with a flicker of a smile on his lips and watched the lad struggle with his thoughts. after a time phil raised his head. "first, sir," said he, "i shall draw the first ship's rhomb thus, from a unto e, which shall be south-south-west. then i shall lay a line from a unto c as the ninety leagues that she sailed west. next i shall lay my line from c to d, and further, as her south-west course. then i shall lay from a a line that shall correspond to the six-score leagues the second ship sailed, which cuts at d the line i drew before." as he talked, he worked with his pen, and the master, rising as if in surprise, bent over the table and watched every motion. the pen drew lines and arcs and lettered them and wrote out a problem in proportions. hesitating, the point crawled over columns of figures. "the rhomb of the second ship," said phil at last, "is degrees sixty-seven, and minutes thirty-six. her course is near west-south-west. and the first ship sailed forty-nine leagues." tapping the table, as one does who meditates, captain candle looked more sharply at the lad. "you are clever with your pen." "'tis owing to the good dr. arber at roehampton," phil replied. "had i abode with him longer, i had been cleverer still, for he was an able scholar; but there was much in school i had no taste for." the captain's eyes searched his face. "i sent for you," he said, "because i was minded to make you my boatswain. but now, if my mate were lost, i swear i'd seat you at mine own table." phil rose. "go then, master boatswain. but stay! you and your comerado make a strange pair. how came you bedfellows?" "why, sir, we met upon the road--" "yea, not at sea! not at sea! enough is said. begone, master boatswain, begone!" "how now," cried martin when phil passed him on the deck. "art thou called before the mast?" and he laughed till he shook. "nay, he hath made me his boatswain." "thou?" "yea, comerado." "thou? a mere gooseling? the master's on the road to bedlam! why here am i--" martin's red face flamed hot. "yea, he spoke of thee." "ah!" "quoth he, thou art a fine fellow, but hot-tempered, martin, and overbold." "ah!" the crafty, sly look came upon martin's face and he puffed with pride; but phil, delighting to see the jest take effect, laughed before his eyes, which sorely perplexed him. "a fine fellow, but overbold," martin muttered, as he coiled the cable in neat fakes. "yea, i did not believe he thought so well of me. from the glances he hath bestowed upon me, it was in my mind he was a narrow man,--" martin smiled and dallied over his work,--"one with no eye for a mariner of parts and skill. 'a fine fellow, but overbold!' nay, that is fair speech and it seems he hath a very searching observation." standing erect, martin folded his arms and swelled like a turkey-cock. his eyes being on the horizon and his back toward the watchful mate, he remained unaware that he had attracted the mate's attention. "a fine fellow, but overbold," he repeated and smiled with a very haughty air. the mate, casting his eyes about the deck, picked up a handy end of rope and made a knot in it. one man and another and another became aware of the play that the mate and martin were about to set and, grinning hugely, they paused in their work to watch, even though they risked getting themselves into such a plight as martin's. the captain came to the break of the quarter-deck and, perceiving the fun afoot, leaned on the swivel-gun. slowly his humour mastered his dignity and a smile twitched at his lips. "a fine fellow, but overbold," martin was murmuring for the fourth time, when the rope whistled and wound about his ribs and the knot fetched up on his belly with a thump that knocked his wind clean out. he made a horrible face, gasping for breath, and his ruddy colour darkened to purple. reaching for his knife he whirled round and drew steel. "what rakehell muckworm, what base stinkard, what--" he met the cold eye of the mate and for a moment flinched, then, burning with his own folly, he cried, "thou villain, to strike thus a man the captain himself called a fine fellow but overbold!" a snicker grew in the silence and swelled into a rumble of laughter; then, by the forecastle bulkhead, a man began to bawl, "a liar! a liar!" the mate stopped short and his hand fell. a score of voices took up the cry--"a liar! a liar!"--and martin turned pale. captain candle on the quarter-deck was laughing softly and the mate in glee slapped his thigh. "thou yerking, firking, jerking tinker," said he, "dost hear the cry? 'tis a monday morning and they are crying thee at the mainmast." "a liar! a liar!" the men bawled, crowding close about. "but 'tis no lie. or this foully deceitful comerado, this half-fledged boatswain--" it came suddenly upon martin that he had been sorely gulled, and that to reveal the truth would fix upon him the lasting ridicule of his shipmates. he swelled in fury and gave them angry glances but they only laughed the louder, then, rope in hand, the mate stepped toward him. though he made a motion as if to stand his ground, at sight of the rope martin's hand shook in his haste to thrust his knife back into the sheath. it was the old custom of the sea that they should hail as a liar the man first caught in a lie on a monday morning and proclaim him thus from the mainmast, and unhappy was the man thus hailed, for thereby he became for a week the "ship's liar" and held his place under the swabber. "for seven days, thou old cozzener," said the mate, "thou shalt keep clean the beakhead and the chains, and lucky art thou to be at sea. ashore they would have whipped thee through the streets at the cart's tail." again a great wave of laughter swept the deck and by his face martin showed his anger. but though he was "a fine fellow" and "overbold," he kept his tongue between his teeth; and whatever he suspected of philip marsham, he held his peace and went over the bow with ill grace and fell to scraping the chains, which was a task to humble the tallest pride. there was that in the laughter of the crew which had taught discretion to even bolder men than martin barwick. "i have seen his kind before," a voice said low in phil's ear. "but though there be much of the calf in him, beware lest you rouse him to such a pitch that he will draw and strike." it was will canty, the youth who had already won the young boatswain's liking, spoke thus. he was a comerado more to phil's taste than was the luckless martin; but fate is not given to consulting tastes, and necessity forces upon a traveller such bedfellows as he meets by the way. chapter viii storm the storm brewed long in gray banks of cloud that hung in the west and north. it drew around the rose of devon from north to east with a slow, immutable force, as yet perceived rather than felt, till she sailed in the midst of a circle of haze. at night the moon was ringed. the sun rose in a bank of flaming red and the small sea-birds that by their presence, mariners say, tell of coming gales, played over the wake. captain candle from the poop sniffed at the damp air: and studying the winds as they veered and rose in brisk flourishes and fell to the merest whisper of a breeze, he puckered his lips, which was his way when thoughts crowded upon him. martin on the beakhead pursued his noisome task of cleaning it under the watchful eye of the swabber (who took unkind joy in exacting from him the utmost pains), and cast furtive glances at the gray swell that came shouldering up from the east. "holla, boatswain," the captain cried. "yea, yea!" "our foresail is old and hath lost its goodness. look to thy stores and see if there be not another. have it ready, then, to bend in haste if there be need." "yea, yea!" "and lay out thy cordage, boatswain, that if sheet or halyard or tackling shall part, we may be ready to bend another in its place." descending thereupon into the forehold with his boatswain's mate to fetch and carry, boatswain marsham fell to work overhauling the bolts of sail-cloth and the hanks of cordage and the coils of rope, till he had found a new foresail and laid it under the hatch, and had placed great ropes and such cordage as headlines and marlines and sennets so that a man could lay hands on them in a time of haste and confusion. for the rose of devon was heavily pitching and the seas crashed on her three-inch planks with a noise like thunderclaps; and when she lifted on the swell, the water rumbled against her bilge and gurgled away past her run. very faintly he heard a sailor's voice, "the pump is choked." there was shouting above for a time, then the cry arose, which brought reassurance to all, "now she sucks," and again there was quiet. climbing through the hatch and passing aft along the main deck, he heard for himself the _suck-suck_ from the pump well, then the rattle of tiller and creak of pintle as the helmsmen eased her off and brought her on to meet a rising sea. "holla, master!" "holla, is all laid ready below?" "yea! ropes and cordage and sail are laid ready upon the main deck and secured against the storm." "and seemeth she staunch to one in the hold?" "yea, master." "then, boatswain, call up the men to prayer and breakfast, for we shall doubtless have need of both ere the day is done. boy, fetch my cellar of bottles, for i would drink a health to all, fore and aft, and i would have the men served out each a little sack." by midday the veering winds had settled in the east and the overcast sky had still further darkened. the ship, labouring heavily, held her course; but as the wind blew up a fresh gale, the after sails took the wind from the sails forward, which began to beat and thresh. swarming aloft, the younkers handed the fore-topsail-steering-sail, the fore and main topsails, and the main-topsail-staysail. but as they manned the foreyard, the ship yawed in such a manner that the full force of the wind struck the old foresail and split it under their fingers. philip marsham on the weather yardarm, with the grey seas breaking in foam beneath him at one minute and with the forecastle itself seeming to rise up at him the next minute, so heavily did the old ship roll, was reaching for the sail at the moment it tore to ribands; and a billow of grey canvas striking him in the face knocked him off the yard; but as he fell, he locked his legs round the spar and got finger hold on the earing, and crawled back to the mast as the sailors stood by the ropes to strike the yard and get in the threshing tatters of the sail. the mate, going aft, was caught in the waist when the ship gave a mighty lurch, and went tumbling to lee-ward where the scupper-holes were spouting like so many fountains all a-row. the fall might well have ended his days, had he not bumped into the capstan where he clung fast with both arms, and twice lucky he was to stay his fall thus, for a sea came roaring over the waist and drowned the fountains in the scuppers and in a trice the decks were a-wash from forecastle to poop. but the old ship shook her head and righted and captain francis candle, leaning against the wind, his cloak flapping in the gale and his hat hauled hard down over his eyes, descended from the poop and braced himself in its lee. "the wind blows frisking," the mate cried, scrambling up the ladder and joining the master. "yea, it is like to over-blow. she took a shrewd plunge but now. we shall further our voyage by striking every sail. go thou, mate, and have them secure the spritsail-yard, then take thy station on the forecastle." for an hour or two the old rose of devon went plunging through the seas; and there was much loosing and lowering of sails. for a while, then, the wind scanted so that there was hope the storm had passed, and during the lull they bent and set the new foresail and must needs brace and veer and haul aft. but ere long the gale blew up amain, and in the late afternoon captain candle, sniffing the breeze, called upon all to stand by and once more to hand both foresail and mainsail. "cast off the topsail sheets, clew garnets, leechlines and buntlines!" the order came thinly through the roar of the wind. "yea, yea!" a shrill voice piped. "stand by the sheet and brace--come lower the yard and furl the sail--see that your main halyards be clear and all the rest of your gear clear and cast off." "it is all clear." "lower the main yard--haul down upon your down-haul." as the yard swayed down and the men belayed the halyards, one minute staggering to keep their feet, the next minute slipping and sliding across the decks, the captain's sharp voice, holding them at their work, cut through the gale, "haul up the clew garnets, lifts, leechlines and buntlines! come, furl the sail fast and secure the yard lest it traverse and gall!" "'twas a fierce gust," an old sailor cried to phil, who had reached for the rigging and saved himself from going down to the lee scuppers. "we best look the guns be all fast. i mind, in the grace and mary, my second guinea voyage, a gun burst its breechings--" "belay the fore down-haul!" the mate thundered, and leaving his tale untold, the old man went crawling forward. the men heard faintly the orders to the helmsman, "hard a-weather!--right your helm!--now port, port hard! more hands! he cannot put up the helm!" then out of the turmoil and confusion a great voice cried, "a sail! a sail!" "where?" "fair by us." "how stands she?" "to the north'ard." she lay close hauled by the wind and as the rose of devon, scudding before the sea, bore down the wind and upon her, she hove out signs to speak; but though captain candle passed under her lee as near as he dared venture and learned by lusty shouting that she was an english ship from the east indies, which begged the rose of devon for god's sake to spare them some provisions, since they were eighty persons on board who were ready to perish for food and water, the seas ran so high that neither the one vessel nor the other dared hoist out a boat; and parting, the men of the rose of devon lost sight of her in the gathering dusk. still more and more the storm increased. darkness came, but there was no rest at sea that night. thanks to the storm, and the labour and anxiety it brought all hands, martin, the latter part of that day, escaped the duties of ship's liar, and glad was he of the chance to slip unobserved about the deck with no reminder of his late humiliation. but by night he was blue with the cold, and drenching wet and so hungry that he gnawed at a bit of biscuit when he needed both hands to haul on a rope. finding phil marsham at his shoulder and still resenting bitterly the jest to which he had fallen victim, he shot at him an ill-tempered glance and in sullen silence turned his back. "belay!" a line of struggling men tripped and stumbled as they secured the rope and went swaying and staggering across the deck when the ship rolled; for the weight of her towering superstructure and her cannon would set her wallowing fearfully in the merest seaway. one caught up the rope's end in loose coils; another, having fallen, got clumsily on his feet and staunched his bleeding nose; the rest shivered as the icy wind struck through their wet shirts. martin again turned his back on the boatswain and hugged himself, but to little profit, although his fat arms covered a goodly area. phil laughed softly at martin's show of spleen and was about to warm the man's temper further by a thrust well calculated to stir him to fury, when the ship rose with a queer lurch and descended into a veritable gulf. they saw above them a sea looming like a black cloud. it mounted slowly up, hung over them, curled down a dark tongue of water and, before the rose of devon had righted from her plunge into the trough, broke upon the ship and overwhelmed her. the waist was flooded from the head of the forecastle to the break of the poop. water, licking across the quarter-deck, rose in a great wave that drenched the captain to his thighs and poured into the steerage room, momentarily blinding the men at the helm,--for in those old ships they stood with their faces on a level with the quarter-deck,--and, following whipstaff and tiller, spilled into the main deck and hold. philip marsham, as the water washed him off his feet, made shift to lay hands on the shrouds, and though he had no footing and was washed far out over the side, his grasp was strong and he held himself against the rush of water as the ship rose like a dog shaking its head and coming up through a wave. in very truth she seemed to shake her head and struggle up to the black night above. but as phil saved himself he saw martin cowering by a gun and striving to reach the breeching; and as the ship rose, the lad half felt, half saw, some great body washed past him and over the side. there was no one beside the gun: martin was gone. though a man were a knave and liar, phil marsham had no stomach to see him drown thus; and though he held old martin in contempt and bedevilled him night and day, yet he had a curious liking for the fellow. overhead there hung from the maintop a loose rope. he faintly saw it swinging against the leaden-black sky. by a nimble leap there was a fair chance a man might reach it and if it did not part, an active man might by a stroke of fortune regain the ship. all this phil saw in the falling of a single grain of sand, then the rope swung within reach of his hand and he seized it. spared the hazard of leaping for it, he let go the shrouds and swung with all his strength out into the night. swinging high over the sea he saw for an instant, while he was in mid-air, the rose of devon surging away from under him. the single great lanthorn was burning on her poop, and dim lights in forecastle and cabin showed that those parts of the ship, at least, had come up through the sea unflooded. he thought he saw a cloaked figure like a shadow on the quarter-deck. then he slid down into darkness till the rope burned his hands, then he struck the water and went under, gasping at the shock, for the sea was as cold as a mountain stream. he caught a last glimpse of the great ship, now looming high above him, then clutching fast the rope with one hand and wildly kicking out, he felt with his knees what might be a man's body. with his free hand he reached for the body. he snatched at an arm and missed it, then felt hair brushing his fingers and tangled them in it and gripped it. he went down and down; then the drag of the water, for the ship was scudding fast, raised him to the surface. the ship rolled toward him and he again went under, overshadowed by the lofty poop which leaned out so far that notwithstanding the tumble home he thought the poop would come down and crush him. the ship then rolled away from him, and the rope brought up on his arm so hard that he feared the bones would pull from their sockets; but if he died in doing it he was bound he would hold the rope and keep his man. the ship rolled till he bumped against her side and was lifted half out of water. "help!" he cried. "help or we die!" he heard voices above and felt the rope move as if some one had seized it, then the looming bulk of the ship rolled back and drove him again down into the sea. he had no wind left for calling when he came up as once more the ship rolled, but the man he held had come to life and was clinging like a leech to the rope, which vastly lightened the strain, and some one above was hauling on it. for a moment the two swung in air with the sea beneath them, then the ship rolled farther and their weight rested on planks, and hands from within the ship reached down and lifted them on board. the man--and it was indeed martin--coughed like one who is deathly sick, as well he might be, and went rolling down the deck with a boy to help him. but phil, having kept his head and having swallowed no great quantity of salt water, was able after breathing deeply a few times to stand alone beside will canty whose hands had drawn him to safety, and to perceive that waist, boat, capstan, windlass and sheet anchor were washed away. he then heard a pounding and shouting aft. "what in the fiend's name hath befallen us?" he demanded. "'tis even worse than doth appear," will cried. "the sea hath a free passage into the hold between the timber heads. they are pumping with both pumps. the captain hath ordered the mizzenmast cut away, the better to keep us before the wind. hear you not the sound of axes? and--" out of the darkness burst the mate. "come, my hearts! below there! cram blankets and hammocks into the leak, yea, the shirts from off your backs! and then to the pumps to take your turn. and pray almighty god to give us sight of another day." there was running on the deck and shadows passed forward and aft. from the quarter-deck a clear voice, so sharp that it pierced the noise of the storm, was calling, "port the helm! ease her, ease her! now up! hard up! ease her, ease her!" as the boatswain dropped through the hatch, he saw very dimly the captain crouching under the poop, his cloak drawn close about him. there was wild confusion below, for as the ship rolled to starboard the sea burst in through the great gap along the timber heads and pushed through the gap and into the ship the blankets and rugs that were stuffed in place. though the men leaped after them and came scrambling back to force them again into place between the timbers, and though they tore down hammocks and jammed them in with the blankets to fill the great opening, yet as the ship again rolled and the sea once more came surging against the barrier, they again fled before it, and again the sea cleared the gap and came flooding in upon the deck. it was a sight to fill a brave man with despair. the more hands made faster work, and though the labour seemed spent in vain they stuffed the gap anew. but now when the ship again rolled to starboard an old seaman raised his hand and roared, "every man to his place and hold against the sea! stay! hold fast your ground!--come, bullies, hold hard!--good fellows! see, we have won!" they had perceived his meaning and braced themselves and with their hands they had held the stuffing in the gap until the pressure ceased, which was more of a feat than a man might think, since despite their every effort the sea had found passage in great strong streams, yet they held to the last; and when the ship rolled back, boatswain marsham cried out:-- "now, master carpenter, quick! bring great nails and hammer and a plank or two. yare, yare!" "yea, yea," the carpenter cried, and came running down the deck. the men held the planking and the carpenter drove home the nails and thus they made the plank fast along the timbers behind the gap, where it would serve to brace the stuffing. between the plank and the stuffing they forced a great mass of other wadding, and though the ship rolled ever so deeply the plank held against the sea. they left it so; but all that night, which seemed as long as any night they had ever seen, no man slept in the rose of devon, for they still feared lest the sea should batter away the plank and work their undoing. all night long they kept the pumps going and all night long they feared their labour would be lost. but at four in the morning one of the pumps sucked, which gave them vast comfort, and at daybreak they gave thanks to god, who had kept them safe until dawn. the storm had passed and the sky was clear, and phil and martin met at sunrise. "since thou hast haled me out of the sea by the hair of my head," quoth martin, after the manner of one who swallows a grievance he can ill stomach, "i must e'en give thee good morrow." chapter ix the master's guest "a sail! a sail!" the seas had somewhat abated and the rose of devon was standing on her course under reefed mainsail when the cry sounded. the vessel they sighted lay low in the water; and since she had one tall mast forward and what appeared to be a lesser mast aft they thought her a ketch. but while they debated the matter the faint sound of guns fired in distress came over the sea; and loosing the reef of their mainsail and standing directly toward the stranger, the men in the rose of devon soon made her out to be, instead, a ship which had lost her mainmast and mizzenmast and was wallowing like a log. while the rose of devon was still far off, her men saw that some of the strange crew were aloft in the rigging and that others were huddled on the quarter-deck; and when, in the late afternoon, she came up under the stranger's stern, the unknown master and his men got down on their knees on the deck and stretched their arms above their bare heads. "save us," they cried in a doleful voice, "for the lord jesus' sake! for our ship hath six-foot water in the hold and we can no longer keep her afloat." in all the rose of devon there was not a heart but relented at their lamentable cry, not a man but would do his utmost to lend them aid. "hoist out thy boat and we will stand by to succour thee," captain candle called. "we can do no more, for we ha' lost our own boat in the storm." it appeared they had but one boat, which was small, so they must needs divide the crew to leave their vessel, part at one time and part at another; and the seas still ran so high, though wind and wave had moderated, that it seemed impossible they could make the passage. with men at both her pumps the rose of devon lay by the wind, wallowing and plunging, and her own plight seemed a hard one. but the poor stranger, though ever and again she rose on the seas so that the water drained from her scupper-holes, lay for the most part with her waist a-wash and a greater sea than its fellows would rise high on the stumps of mainmast and mizzenmast. her ropes dragged over the side and her sails were a snarl of canvas torn to shreds, and a very sad sight she presented. three times they tried to hoist out their boat and failed; but the fourth time they got clear, and with four men rowing and one steering and seven with hats and caps heaving out the water, they came in the twilight slowly down the wind past the rose of devon and up into her lee. the men at the waist of the ship saw more clearly, now, the features of those in the boat, and the one in the stern who handled the great steering oar had in the eyes of philip marsham an oddly familiar look. phil gazed at the man, then he turned to martin and knew he was not mistaken, for martin's mouth was agape and he was on the very point of crying out. "holla!" martin yelled. the man in the stern of the boat looked up and let his eyes range along the waist of the ship. not one of all those in sight on board the rose of devon escaped his scrutiny, which was quick and sure; but he looked martin coldly in the face without so much as a nod of recognition; and though his brief glance met phil's gaze squarely and seemed for the moment to linger and search the lad's thoughts, it then passed to the one at phil's side. it was the thin man who had been martin's companion on the road--it was tom jordan--it was the old one. martin's face flamed, but he held his tongue. a line thrown to the boat went out through the air in coils that straightened and sagged down between the foremost thwarts. a sailor in the boat, seizing the line, hauled upon it with might and main. the old one hotly cursed him, and bellowed, "fend off, fend off, thou slubbering clown! thy greed to get into the ship will be the means of drowning us all." some thrust out oars to fend away from the side of the ship and some held back; but two or three, hungering for safety, gave him no heed and hauled on the rope and struggled to escape out of their little boat, which was already half full of water. the old one then rose with a look of the fiend in his eyes and casting the steering oar at the foremost of them, knocked the man over into the sea, where he sank, leaving a blotch of red on the surface, which was a terrible sight and brought the others to observe the old one's commands. some cried "save him!" but the old one roared, "let the mutinous dog go!" perhaps he was right, for there are times when it takes death to maintain the discipline that will save many lives. at all events it was then too late to save either the man or the boat, for although they strove thereafter to do as the old one bade them, the boat had already thumped against the side of the ship and it was each man for himself and the devil take the last. the men above threw other ropes and bent over to give a hand to the poor fellows below, and all but the man who had sunk came scrambling safe on board. the old one leaned out and looked down at the boat, which lay full of water, with a great hole in her side. "i would have given my life sooner than let this happen," he said. "there are seven men left on board our ship, who trusted me to save them. indeed, i had not come away but these feared lest without the master you should refuse to take them. what say ye, my baw-cocks, shall we venture back for our shipmates?" looking down at the boat and at the gaping holes the sea had stove by throwing her against the rose of devon, the men made no reply. "not one will venture back? is there no one of ye?" "'twere madness," one began. "we should--" "see! she hath gone adrift!" and in truth, her gunwales under water, the boat was already drifting astern. at the end of the painter, which a rose of devon's man still held, there dangled a piece of broken board. "let us bring thy ship nigh under the lee of mine," the old one cried to captain candle. "it may be that by passing a line we can yet save them." "it grieves me sorely to refuse them aid, but to approach nearer, with the darkness now drawing upon us, were an act of folly that might well cost the lives of us all. mine own ship is leaking perilously and in this sea, were the two to meet, both would most certainly go down." the old one looked about and nodded. "true," said he. "there is no recovering the boat and darkness is upon us. let us go as near to the ship as we may and bid them have courage till morning, when, god willing, we shall try to get aboard and save them." "that we will. and i myself will con the ship." leaning over the rail, tom jordan, the old one, called out, "holla, my hearts! the boat hath gone adrift with her sides stove; but do you make a raft and keep abroad a light until morning, when god helping us, we will endeavor to get you aboard." perceiving for the first time that the boat was gone and there was no recovering her, those left on board the wreck gave a cry so sad that it pierced the hearts of all in the rose of devon, whose men saw them through the dusk doing what they could to save themselves; and presently their light appeared. working the rose of devon to windward of the wreck, captain candle lay by, but all his endeavours could not avail to help them, for about ten o'clock at night, three hours after the old one and his ten men had got on board the rose of devon, their ship sank and their light went out and seven men lost their lives. the old one, standing beside captain candle, had watched the light to the last. "it is a bitter grief to bear," he said, "for they were seven brave men. a master could desire no better mariners. 'tis the end of the blue friggat from virginia, bound for portsmouth, wanting seven weeks." "a man can go many years to sea without meeting such a storm." "yea! three days ago when the wind was increasing all night we kept only our two courses abroad. at daybreak we handed our main course, but before we had secured it the storm burst upon us so violently that i ordered the foreyard lowered away; but not with all their strength could the men get it down, and of them all not one had a knife to cut away the sail, for they wore only their drawers without pockets; so the gale drove us head into the sea and stopped our way and a mighty sea pooped us and filled us and we lay with only our masts and forecastle out of the water. i myself, being fastened to the mizzenmast with a rope, had only my head out of water. yea, we expected to go straight down to the bottom, but god of his infinite goodness was pleased to draw us from the deep and another sea lifted up our ship. we got down our foresail and stowed it and bored holes between the decks to let the water into the hold and by dint of much pumping we kept her afloat until now. in all we have lost eight lives this day and a sad day it is." "from virginia, wanting seven weeks," captain candle mused. captain jordan stole a swift glance at him but saw no suspicion in his face. "yea, from virginia." "you shall share mine own cabin but i fear you have come only from one wreck to another." the two captains sat late that night at the table in the great cabin, one on each side, and ate and drank. there was fine linen on the table, and bread of wheat flour with butter less than two weeks from the dairy, and a fine old cheese, and a mutton stew, and canary and sack and aqua vitæ. at midnight they were still lingering over the suckets and almonds and comfits that the boy had set before them; and the boy, nodding in uncontrollable drowsiness as he stood behind his master's chair, strove to keep awake. the murmuring voices of the men at the helm came faintly through the bulkhead, and up from below the deck came the creak of whipstaff and tiller. the moon, shining through the cabin window, added its wan light to the yellow radiance from the swinging lanthorns, and stars were to be seen. so completely had wind and weather changed in a night and a day that, save for the long rolling swell, the great gap where waist and boat and capstan had gone, the hole stuffed with blankets and rugs and hammocks, the stump of a mizzenmast, and the rescued men on board--save for these, a man might have forgotten storms and wrecks. "you are well found," said captain thomas jordan, tilting his glass and watching the wine roll toward the brim; "yea, and we are in good fortune." his thin face, as he lifted his brows and slightly smiled at his host, settled into the furrowed wrinkles that had won him the name of the old one. "we can give such entertainment as is set before you," his host drily replied. francis candle was too shrewd a man to miss his guest's searching appraisal of the cabin and its furnishings. in his heart he already distrusted the fellow. chapter x between midnight and morning through the main deck to the gun-room and up into the forecastle there drifted smoke from the cookroom in the hold, which was the way of those old ships. at times it set choking the men at the pumps; it eddied about the water cask before the mainmast and about the riding butts by the heel of the bowsprit, and went curling out of the hawse pipes. it crept insidiously into the forecastle, and the men cursed fluently when their eyes began to smart and their noses to sting. there were seven men in the forecastle and martin barwick was one of the seven, although his watch was on deck and he had no right to be there. philip marsham, whose watch was below, had stayed because he suspected there was some strange thing in the wind and was determined to learn if possible what it was. two of the others were younkers of the rose of devon, who suspected nothing, and the remaining three were of the rescued men. there was a step above and a round head appeared in the hatch. the dim smoky light gave a strange appearance to the familiar features. "ho, cook!" martin cried, and thumped on the table. "come thou down and bring us what tidings the boy hath brought thee in the cookroom. yea, though the cook labour in the very bowels of the ship, is it not a proverb that he alone knows all that goes on?" slipping through the hatch, the cook drew a great breath and sat him down by the table. "she was the blue friggat, i hear, and seven weeks from virginia--god rest the souls of them who went down in her!" "from virginia!" quoth martin. "either th' art gulled, in truth, or th' art the very prince of liars. from virginia! ho ho!" and martin laughed loud and long. now it was for such a moment that philip marsham was waiting, nor had he doubted the moment would come. for although martin had gone apart with the men who had come from the foundered ship, the fellow's head, which was larger than most heads, could never keep three ideas in flourish at the same time. to learn what game was in the wind there was need only to keep close at martin's heels until his blunders should disclose his secrets. "the devil take thee, thou alehouse dog!" the cook cried in a thick, wheezy voice. "did not the boy bring me word straight when he came down for a can of boiling water with which this captain jordan would prepare a wondrous drink for captain candle?" "and did not i part with this captain jordan not--wow-ouch!" with a yell martin tipped back in his chair and went over. crawling on his feet, he put on a long face and rubbed his head and hurled a flood of oaths at the sailor beside him, a small man and round like an apple, who went among his fellows--for he was one of those the rose of devon had rescued--by the name of harry malcolm. "nay," the little round man very quietly replied, "i fear you not, for all your bluster. put your hand on your tongue, fellow, and see if you cannot hold it. i had not intended to tip you over. it was done casually." "and why, perdy, did'st thou jam thy foot on mine till the bones crunched? i'll have thy heart's blood." "nay," the man replied, so quietly, so calmly that he might have been a clerk sitting on his stool, "you have a way of talking overmuch, fellow, and i have a misliking of speech that babbles like a brook. it can make trouble." martin stopped as if he had lost his voice, but continued to glare at the stranger, who still regarded him with no concern. "it is thy weakness, fellow," he said, "and--" he looked very hard at martin--"it may yet be the occasion of thine untimely end." for a moment martin stood still, then, swallowing once or twice, he went out of the dimly lighted forecastle into the darkness of the deck. "he appears," the little man said, addressing the others, "to be an excitable fellow. alas, what trouble a brisk tongue can bring upon a man!" the little man, harry malcolm, looked from one to another and longest at phil. now phil could not say there had been a hidden meaning in the hard look the little man had given martin or in the long look the little man had given phil himself. but he knew that whether this was so or not, there was no more to be got that night from martin, and he in turn, further bepuzzled by the little man's words and after all not much enlightened by martin's blunder, left the forecastle to seek the main deck. passing the great cannon lashed in their places, and leaving behind him the high forecastle, he came into the shadow of the towering poop on which the lantern glowed yellow in the blue moonlight, and continued aft to the hatch ladder. already it was long past midnight. he imagined he heard voices in the great cabin, and although he well enough knew that it was probably only imagination,--for the cabin door was closed fast,--the presence of the old one on board the rose of devon was enough to make a man imagine things, who had sat in mother taylor's cottage and listened to talk of the gentlemen who sailed from bideford. he paused at the head of the ladder and listened, but heard nothing more. an hour passed. there were fewer sounds to break the silence. there is no time like the very early morning for subtle and mysterious deeds. boatswain marsham was asleep below and captain candle was asleep aft, when captain jordan arose and stretched himself, and in a voice that would have been audible to captain candle if he had been awake but that was so low it did not disturb his sleep, vowed he must breathe fresh air ere he could bury his head in a blanket for the night. emerging from the great cabin, captain jordan climbed first to the poop, whence he looked down on the brave old ship and the wide space of sky and darkly heaving sea within the circle of the horizon. to look thus at the sea is enough to make a philosopher of a thinking man, and this captain thomas jordan was by no means devoid of thought. but whereas many a one who stands under the bright stars in the small morning hours feels himself a brother with the most trifling creatures that live and is filled with humility to consider in relation to the immeasurable powers of the universe his weakness during even his brief space of life--whereas such a one perceives himself to be, like the prophets of ancient times, in a divine presence, the old one, his face strangely youthful in its repose, threw back his head and softly laughed, as if there high on the poop he were a god of the heathen, who could blot out with his thumb the ship and all the souls that sailed in her. his face had again a haunting likeness to the devils in the old wood-cuts; and indeed there is something of the devil in the very egotism of a man who can thus assert his vain notions at such an hour. presently descending from the poop and with a nod passing on the quarter-deck the officer of the watch, he paced for a time the maintop-deck. he pretended to absorb himself in the sea and the damage the storm had done to the waist; but he missed nothing that happened and he observed the whereabouts of every man in the watch. edging slowly forward, he stood at last beside a big man who was leaning in the shadow of the forecastle. "we meet sooner than you thought," he said in a low voice. "yea, for we were long on the road and entangled ourselves wonderfully among those byways and high-ways which cross the country in a manner perplexing beyond belief." "saw you your brother?" "in all truth i saw him--and the devil take him!" the old one laughed softly. "it is plain thy brother hath little love for a shipwrecked mariner," quoth he, "yet there is a most memorable antiquity about the use of ships, and even greater gluttons than thy brother have supped light that worthy seamen might not go hungry to bed. we will speak of him another time. what think you of this pretty pup we have met by the way?--ah, thine eye darkens! methinks thou hast more than once felt the rough side of his tongue." "he bears himself somewhat struttingly--" martin hesitated, but added perforce, since he had received a friendly turn he could not soon forget, "yet he hath his good points." "he was one too many for thee! nay, confess it!" "th' art a filthy rascal!" martin's face burned with anger. "i knew he would be too cunning for thy wool-gathering wits. truly i believe he is a lad after my own heart. i have marked him well." "but hast thou plumbed his inclination with thy sounding lead?" "why, no. at worst, he can disappear. it has happened to taller men than he, and in a land where there are men at arms to come asking questions." "hgh!" "this for thy whining, though: we shall play upon him lightly. some are not worth troubling over, but this lad is a cunning rogue and hath book learning." "came you in search of this ship?" "it was chance alone that brought us across her course. chance alone, martin, that brought your old captain back to you." watching martin, as he spoke, the old one again laughed softly. "yea, martin, it touches the heart of your old captain to see with what pleasure you receive him." "th' art a cunning devil," martin muttered, and babbled oaths and curses. "we must sleep, martin--sleep and eat, for we are spent with much labour and many hardships, and it is well for them to sail our ship for us a while longer. but the hour will come, and do you then stand by." the old one went aft. the ship rolled drowsily and the watch nodded. surveying her aloft and alow, as a man does who is used to command, and not as a guest on board might do, the old one left the deck. chapter xi head winds and a rough sea "lacking the mizzen she labours by the wind, which hath veered sadly during the night," quoth captain jordan in a sleepy voice, as with his host he came upon deck betimes. "i like it little," the master replied. "it would be well to lay a new course and sail on a new voyage. there is small gain to be got from these fisheries. a southern voyage, now, promises returns worth the labour." to this captain candle made no reply. he studied the sore damage done to the ship, upon which already the carpenter was at work. "with a breadth of canvas and hoops to batten the edges fast, and over all a coating of tar, a man might make her as tight and dry as you please," said the old one. he smiled when he spoke and his manner galled his host. "it was in my own mind," captain candle replied, with an angry lift of his head. there are few things more grievously harassing than the importunity and easy assurance of a guest of whom there is no riddance. it puts a man where he is peculiarly helpless to defend himself, and already captain candle's patience had ebbed far. "bid the boatswain overhaul his canvas, mate, and the carpenter prepare such material as be needful. aye, and bid the 'liar' stand ready to go over the side. 'twill cool his hot pride, of which it seems he hath full measure." "yea, yea!" as the master paced the deck, back and forth and back and forth, the old one walked at his side--for he was a shrewd schemer and had calculated his part well--until the master's gorge rose. "i must return to the cabin," he said at last, "and overhaul my journal." "i will bear you company." "no, no!" the old one smiled as if in deprecation; but as the master turned away, the smile broadened to a grin. boatswain marsham and the one-eyed carpenter who wore a beard like a goat's were on their way to the forehold. the cook and his mate were far down in the cookroom. ten men in the watch below were sound asleep--but martin barwick, the eleventh man in the watch, was on deck, _and of the eleven rescued men not one was below_. with captain candle safe in his cabin and busied over his journal, there were left from the company of the rose of devon eight men and the mate, and one man of the eight was at the helm. these the old one counted as he took a turn on the quarter-deck. the old one and his men were refreshed by a night of sleep and restored by good food. to all appearances, without care or thought to trouble them, they ruffled about the deck. one was standing just behind the mate; two were straying toward the steerage. "thy boatswain is a brave lad," the old one said to the mate, and stepping in front of him, he spread his legs and folded his arms. the mate nodded. he had less liking for their guest, if it were possible, than the captain. "a brave lad," the old one repeated. "i can use him." "you?" "yea, i." the mate drew back a step, as a man does when another puts his face too near. he was on the point of speaking; but before his lips had phrased a word the old one raised his hand and the man behind the mate drove six inches of blue steel into the mate's back, between his ribs and through his heart. he died in the old one's arms, for the old one caught him before he fell, and held him thus. "well done," the old one said to his man. "not so well as one could wish," the man replied, wiping his knife on the mate's coat. "he perished quietly enough, but the knife bit into a rib and the feeling of a sharp knife dragging upon bone sets my teeth on edge." the old one laughed. "thy stomach is exceeding queasy," he said. "come, let us heave him over the side." all this, remember, had happened quickly and very quietly. there were the three men standing by the quarter-deck ladder--the old one and his man and the mate--and by all appearances the old one merely put out his hands in a friendly manner to the other, for the knife thrust was hidden by a cloak. but now the mate's head fell forward in a queer, lackadaisical way and four of the old one's men, perceiving what they looked for, slipped past him through the door to the steerage room, where they clapped down the hatch to the main deck. one stood on the hatch; two stood by the door of the great cabin; and the fourth, stepping up to the man at the helm, flashed a knife from his sleeve and cut the fellow down. it was a deft blow, but not so sure as the thrust that had killed the mate. the helmsman dropped the whipstaff and, falling, gave forth a yell and struck at his assailant, who again let drive at him with the knife and finished the work, so that the fellow lay with bloody froth at his lips and with fingers that twitched a little and then were still. the man who had killed him took the whipstaff and called softly, "holla, master! we hold the helm!" then from his place he heard a sailor cry out, "the mate is falling! lend him aid!" then the old one's voice, rising to a yell, called, "stand back! stand off! now, my hearts!" there came a quick tempest of voices, a shrill cry, the pounding of many feet, then a splash, then a cry wilder and more shrill than any before, "nay, i yield--quarter! quarter, i say! mercy! god's mercy, i beg of you! help--o god!" there was at the same time a rumble of hoarse voices and a sound of great struggling, then a shriek and a second splash. the man at the helm kicked the dead helmsman to one side and listened. in the great cabin, behind the bulkhead at his back, he heard a sudden stir. as between the mainmast and the forecastle the yells rose louder, the great cabin door burst open and out rushed captain francis candle in a rich waist with broad cuffs at his wrists, his hair new oiled with jessamine butter, and gallant bows at his knees, for he was a fine gentleman who had first gone to sea as a lieutenant in the king's service. as he rushed out the door the man lying in wait on the left struck a fierce blow to stab him, but the knife point broke on a steel plate which it seemed captain candle wore concealed to foil just such dastardly work. thereupon, turning like a flash, captain candle spitted the scoundrel with his sword. but the man lying in wait on the right of the door saw his fellow's blow fail and perceived the reason, and leaping on the captain from behind, he seized his oiled hair with one hand and hauled back his head, and reaching forward with the other hand, drove a knife into the captain's bare throat. dark blood from a severed vein streamed out over captain candle's collar and his gay waist. he coughed and his eyes grew dull. he let go his sword, which remained stuck through the body of the man who had first struck at him, clapped his hand to his neck, and went down in a heap. the yells on deck had ceased and the man who had killed francis candle, after glancing into the great cabin where the captain's cloak lay spread over the chair from which he rose to step out of his door and die,--where the captain's pen lay across the pages of the open journal and a bottle of the captain's wine, which he had that morning shared with his guest, captain thomas jordan, stood beside the unstoppered bottle of ink,--walked forth upon the deck and nodded to the old one, who stood with his hand on the after swivel gun. there were a few splotches of blood on the deck and three men of the rose of devon's crew lay huddled in a heap; there were left standing three other men of the rose of devon, and sick enough they looked; martin barwick was stationed by the ladder to the forecastle, where he stood like a pigeon cock with his head haughtily in the air and his chest thrust out; and the little round apple of a man, harry malcolm, who had broken in upon martin the night before, bearing now a new and bloody gash across his forehead, was prowling among the guns and tapping the breech rings with a knowing air. the old one from the quarter-deck looked down at the new comer. "rab took the steel," the fellow said. "rab!" the old one cried. "not rab, you say?" "yea, he struck first but the master wore an iron shirt which turned the point and he was then at him with his sword." "we have lost nine good men by this devil-begotten storm, but of them all rab is the one i am most loath to see go to the sharks." the old one paced the deck a while and the others talked in undertones. "yea, martin," he called at last, "nine good men. but we have got us a ship and i have great hopes of our boatswain, who may yet make us two of rab. at all events, my bullies, we must lay us a new course, for i have no liking of these northern fisheries. hark! they are pounding on the hatch." the sound of knocking and a muffled calling came from the main hatch, whereat the men on deck looked at one another and some of them smiled. "it were well--" the little round man began. he glanced at the huddled bodies and shrugged. "true, true!" the old one replied, for he needed no words to complete the meaning. "you men of the rose of devon, heave them into the sea." the three looked at one another and hesitated, and the youngest of the three turned away his face and put his hand on his belly, and sick enough he looked, at which a great laugh went up. "go, harry," the old one cried to the little round man, "and tell them at the hatch to be still, for that we shall presently have them on deck. we must learn our brave recruits a lesson." again a roar of laughter rose, and as the little man went in to the hatch, the others drew about the three who cowered against the forecastle ladder, as well they might. "come, silly dogs," said the old one, "in faith, you must earn your foolish lives. lay hands on those carcasses and heave them to the fishes." they looked into the faces of the men about them, but got small comfort as they edged toward their unwelcome task. "it is hard to use thus a shipmate of three voyages," the oldest of them muttered. "true," replied the old one, "but so shall you buy your way into a goodlier company of shipmates, who traffic in richer cargoes than pickled codfish and new england herrings." the three picked up the bodies, one at a time, each with its arms and legs dragging, and carried them to the waist and pushed them over. but the youngest of the three was trembling like a dead weed in november when they had finished, and the old one chuckled to see the fellow's white face. "have courage, bawcock," the old one cried; "there shall soon be a round of aqua vitæ to warm thy shaking limbs and send the blood coursing through thy veins. now, mate harry, lift off the hatch and summon our good boatswain and carpenter." "as you please, as you please," came the quick, gentle voice of the little round man. "but there are two of 'em left still--rab and the captain--and there's a deal of blood hereabouts." they heard the hatch creak as the little man pried it off. they heard his quick sentences pattering out one after another: "hasten out on deck--nay, linger not. the master would have speech of thee. nay, linger not. ask me no questions! there's no time for lingering." then out burst phil marsham with the older carpenter puffing at his heels. "what's afoot?" cried phil. "where's the master?--what--where--" so speedily had they hurried from the hatch (and so cleverly had the little round man interposed himself between the hatch and the two bodies at the cabin door) that in the dim light of the steerage room the two had perceived nothing amiss. but now, looking about for the source of the fierce cries and yells they had heard, they saw red stains on the deck, and men with scared white faces. all looked toward the old one as if awaiting his reply; and when phil marsham, too, looked toward him, he met such another quizzing, searching, understanding gaze as he had long ago met when he had taken the words from martin's lips on the little hill beside the road. "why, i am master now, good boatswain." "but captain candle--" "his flame is out." the lad glanced about him at the circle of hard old sea dogs--for they were all of them that, were their years few or many--and drew away till he stood with the waist at his back. laying hands on his dirk, he said in a voice that slightly trembled, "and now?" "why," quoth the old one, "you have sat in mother taylor's kitchen and heard talk of the gentlemen. you know too many secrets. unless you are one of us--" he finished with a shrug. "you ask me, then, to join you?" "yea." "i refuse." he looked the old one in the eye. "why, then," said the old one, "you are the greater fool." the circle drew closer. "what then?" "'tis but another candle to be snuffed." with hand on dirk and with back against the waist, the boatswain looked one and another and then another in the eye. "why, then," said he, "i must even join you, as you say. but i call upon you all to witness i am a forced man." and he looked longest and hardest at the three men from the old crew of the rose of devon. the old one looked back at the lad and there was, for the first time, doubt in his glance. he stood for a while pondering in silence all that had taken place and studying the face of his boatswain; but his liking of the lad's spirit outweighed his doubts, for such bold independence, whether in friend or foe, was the one sure key to tom jordan's heart. "so be it," he said at last. "but remember, my fine young fellow, that many a cockerel hath got his neck wrung by crowing out of season." he turned to the carpenter. "and what say you? we can use a man of your craft." "i am thy man!" the fellow cried. the stains on the deck had made him surpassingly eager, and his one eye winked and his beard wagged, so eager was he to declare his allegiance. "well said!" the old one responded. "and now, master harry, have them up from below--the sleepers, and the cook and his mate, and all! we have taken a fine ship--a fine ship she will be, at all events, once our good carpenter has done his work--and well found. we needs must sign a crew to sail and fight her." they heard the little round man calling down the hatch and at a great distance in the ship they heard the voices of men grumbling at being summoned out of sleep. but the grumbling was stilled when one by one the men came out on deck; and of them all, not a man refused to cast his lot with the old one and the rest. the mere sight of a little blood and of the hard faces that greeted them was enough for most. and two or three, of whom will canty was one, must fain perceive how futile would be present resistance. indeed, in the years since the old queen had died, and the navy had gone to the dogs, and merchantmen had come to sail from the downs knowing they were likely enough to meet a squadron of galleys lying in wait fifty leagues off the lizard, many a sailor had taken his fling at buccaneering; and those that had not, had heard such great tales of galleons laden with treasures of the indies and with beautiful dames of spain that their palates were whetted for a taste of the life. the cook smiled broadly and clapped the boy on the back and cried out that as a little lad he had sailed with john jennings what time john jennings's wench had turned his luck, and that having begun life in such brave company, he would gladly end it in a proper voyage if it was written that his time was near. they all laughed to see the boy turn white and tremble, and they huzzaed the cook for his gallant words. but will canty met phil's eyes and there passed between them a look that made the old one frown, for he was a man who saw everything. the rose of devon, although close-hauled by the wind, rolled heavily, which was the way of those old tall ships; but the adverse winds and high seas she had encountered were of fancy as well as of fact. the sun was shining brightly and sky and sea were a clear blue; but despite sun and sky and sea no weatherwise man could have believed the dark days of the rose of devon were at an end. like so many iron bars the shadows of the ropes fell blue on the sails, and the red blotches on the deck matched the dull red paint of the stanchions and the waist. the carpenter, who had come up with his plane in his hand, fingered the steel blade. the boy turned his back on the bloody deck and looked away at the sea, for he was a little fellow and not hardened by experience of the world. "come, my hearts," cried the old one, and gaily enough he spoke. "we are banded together for the good of all. there is no company of merchants to profit by our labour and our blood. god hath placed in our keeping this brave ship, which will be staunch and sea-worthy when our carpenter hath done his work. harry malcolm is our mate and master gunner as of old, and phil marsham shall continue as our boatswain--nay, grumble not! he came with martin barwick and he hath sat in mother taylor's kitchen, where may we all sit soon and raise our cans and drink thanks for a rich voyage. there is work to be done, for all must be made clean and tight--yea, and rab is to be buried." the little round man was still wandering from gun to gun and smiling because the guns pleased him. they were demiculverins of brass, bored for a twelve-pound ball and fit to fight the king's battles; but alas! they had shown themselves powerless against a foe from within the ship. and as the rose of devon rolled along in the bright sun, alone in a blue sea, the body of francis candle lay forgotten in the steerage room. chapter xii the porcupine ketch looking down from the quarter-deck the old one spied the cook, who had come up to warm his bald head and fat face in the sun and to clear the smoke from his nostrils. "ho, cook," quoth he, "i have a task for thee. break out from the cabin stores rice and currants and cinnamon and the finest of thy wheaten flour. seek you also a few races of green ginger. it may chance there is even a little marchpane, for this man candle had a gentle palate. spare not your old cheese, and if you unearth a cask of fine wine fail not to tell of it. in a word, draw forth an abundance of the best and make us such a feast as a man may remember in his old age." the cook smiled and rubbed his round paunch (yet cringed a little), for he was of a mind, being never slow in such matters, to filch from the cabin table whatever he might desire and his heart warmed to hear the good victuals named. "yea, master," he cried, "for thee and for mate malcolm?" "nay, thou parsimonious dog! think you that such are the manners of gentlemen mariners? times have changed. though i be master, there is no salt at my board. one man is as good as another and any man may rub his shoulder with mine." the old one's own men chuckled at the cook's blank face and the boy shivered when he thought that he must wait on them all, of whom one was as likely as another to fetch him a blow on the head. but the cook went down below and they heard him bawling to his mate to come and help break out the cabin stores, and word went through the ship of what was afoot. and though will canty and the boatswain, meeting, glanced dubiously each at the other, as did others of the rose of devon's old company,--for matters are in a sad way in a ship when the master feasts the men,--all the foolish fellows were clapping one another on the back and crying that here was a proper captain, and there was none quite so mad as to dispute them in so many words. the smoke grew thick between the decks, and after a while there rose the smell of baking and roasting, and the foolish ones patted their bellies and smacked their lips. they whispered about that the boy was spreading with a linen cloth the table in the great cabin and that the cook's mate was staggering under weight of rich food; and when the cook called for men to hoist out a cask of such nectar as poor sailors know not the like of, a great cheer went up and there were more hands to haul than there was room on the rope. the old one, leaning on the poop, smiled and harry malcolm, coming to join him, smiled too; for they knew well the hearts of sailormen and did nothing without a purpose. so the table was laid and the feast was spread and in came the men. only one remained at the helm, for the wind was light, which made light his task; six remained on deck to watch and stand by, with harry malcolm curled against the light gun on the quarter-deck to command them; and the cook and his mate, resting from their labours far down in the hold, gorged themselves on good food and drank themselves drunk on nappy liquor from a cask they had cannily marked for their own among the cabin stores. of the rest, all that could find room crowded into the great cabin, and all that could find no room in the cabin squatted on the deck outside the door on the very spot where francis candle had fallen dead. they sat with their backs against bulkheads and stanchions, where they, too, could join in the feast and the council; and the boy, when all were fed, gathered meat from under the table like old king adoni-bezek of unhappy memory. it was a sight to remember, for very merry they were and save as they were rough, hard-featured men, a man would never have dreamed they bore blood on their hands and murder on their hearts. the old one sat at the head of the table and took care that neither food nor wine was stinted. the carpenter, his one eye twinkling with pleasure and his beard waggling in his haste lest another should get ahead of him at trencher work, sat on the old one's right, which was accorded him as a mark of honour since he had accomplished marvels in restoring the planking the storm had torn asunder. a stout seaman of the rescued men, paul craig by name--it was he who had needed two blows to kill the helmsman--sat at the old one's left and squared his big shoulders over his meat and ate like a hog till he could hold no more, for he was an ox of great girth and short temper and little wit, who ate by custom more than did him good. another of gaunt frame, joseph kirk by name, sat smiling at a man here and a man there and tippled till his head wagged; and off in a corner there sat a keen little man with a hooked nose, who was older than most of those in the cabin yet had scarcely a wrinkle to mar the smoothness of his shaven face save above and behind his eyes, where a few deep lines gave him the wild look of a hawk. when he spoke, which was seldom, thick gutturals confused his words, and always he sat in corners. does not a man looking out of a corner, with a wall on two sides of him and no one behind him, see more than another? his christian name was jacob and most of them knew him by no other; but mocking him they called it "yacob." further than that, which he took with a wry smile, they refrained from mocking him, for though he spoke little, his silence said much. the old one rose and very sober he was as he held high a brimming can, and so steady was his hand that not a drop spilled. for a space he paused and looked around at the rough company seated at the long table and crouching in the mellow shadows beyond the door, then, "to the king!" he cried. those not knowing him well, who stared in perplexity at such a toast in such a place and time, saw his eyes twinkle and perceived he was looking at old jacob in the corner. then old jacob, smiling as at a familiar jest, rose in turn and raised his can likewise, and pausing to look about him, cried back at the old one in his thick foreign voice, "the king and his ships--be damned!" a yell of laughter and derision shook the cabin. the one-eyed carpenter leaped up first, then such of the rescued men as were not too drunk to stand, then here and there men of the rose of devon's company, some eagerly in all earnestness, others having a mind to keep their throats in one piece, for they perceived that like enough the unholy toast was but to try their allegiance. the old one's eyes leaped from man to man and his cold voice cut through the noisy riot of drunken mirth. "i had said will canty was a man of spirit, but his can hugs the table when these tall fellows are drinking confusion to the king." "a hand-napper, a hand-napper! have him away, my hearts, to the halifax engine," joe kirk bawled with a drunken leer. "why," said will canty, and his face was white, but with a red spot on either cheek, "my can, since you say what you say, was dry; and for the matter of that, i am no prating puritan who wishes ill to the king." over the rumble of voices the old one's voice rose loudest: "see you, then, religious cobblers or preaching button-makers among us?" "and there are others yet besides prating puritans, mine friend, that drink our toast!" cried jacob. the old one then smiled, for he was no man to drive a nail with a two-hand sledge. but although he changed his manner as fast and often as light flickers on running water, under the surface there flowed a strong, even current of liking or ill will, as sooner or later all men that had dealings with him must learn, some to their wonder and some to their sorrow. "enough, enough!" said he. "will's a good lad and he'll serve us well when there's powder smoke to snuff. be you not offended, will. in all faith our ship is a king's ship and more, for are we not thirty kings, to fight our own battles and heave out our own flag before the world and take such treasures as will buy us, each and all, a king's palace and all the wives a king could wish? nay, god helping us, my hearts, we shall carry home to good mother taylor riches that will serve for a sponge to wipe the chalk from every black post in cornwall and in devon, and will canty shall drink with us there." there rose a thunder of fists beating the board and a rumble of "yea's," and the old one made no end of smiling, but there were some whom his smile failed to deceive. "come, boy, with thy pitcher of sack! pour sack for all!" he cried. "come, ply thy task and let no man go wanting. fill you will canty's pot." he gulped down a mighty draught and wiped his moustaches with thumb and forefinger. "and now, brave lads, let us have our heads together: though we lie but a hundred leagues off these banks of newfoundland, what say you? shall we turn our backs on them and take a fling at a braver trade? or shall we taste of fat lobsters and great cod, and perchance pluck the feathers from some of these new england towns concerning which there hath lately been such a buzz of talk in old england--at cape ann, let us say at venture, or naumkeag, or plymouth colony?" "yea, yea! i am for cape ann," cried joe kirk, and his head rolled drunkenly above his great shoulders as he bolstered his opinion with curses. "did not my brother go thither, years and years agone, for the company of dorchester merchants? yea, and told rare tales of succulent great fish, which are a marvelous diet." "nay, thy brother was as great a sot as thou," a voice put in, and joe rose in anger, but a general clamour drowned his retort and he lapsed back into a sodden lethargy. "as for me," bellowed martin with bluster and bravado, "i say go we to plymouth and rap the horns of these schismatic puritans. tell me not but that they've mines of rich gold hid away. did'st ever see a roundhead knave would brave the wild lions of america unless he thought there was gold in't?" "thou thyself art fool as well as knave," quoth the old one. "did'st thou not once cry the whole ship's company out of sleep to see a mermaid that would entice thee to thy peril? and when sober men had come on deck there was nought there but a seal-fish at play. lions forsooth! in africa even i have heard a lion roar, but not in america. much searching of tracts hath stuffed thy head." the drunken joe roused sleepily up. "my brother saw a lion at cape ann plantation. my brother--" he drew a knife and wildly flourished it, but fell back in a stupor before the laughter died. martin's bluster, as was its way when a man boldly confronted it, broke like a pricked bubble, but his sullen glare caught the old one's eye. leaning over the table, the old one said in a low, taunting voice, "and did you never see a man dance on air? ah, there's a sight to catch the breath in your throat and make an emptiness in a man's belly!" as often happens when there has been a great noise and a man speaks in a low voice, there was a quick lull and the words came out as clear as the ringing of a half crown. phil marsham, looking across the table into the old one's cold blue eyes, which were fixed on martin, saw in them a flicker of calculating amusement; then he saw that martin was swallowing as if he had a fishbone in his throat. in truth martin wore the sickly smile that a man affects when he is cornered and wishes to appear braver than he is. he tried to speak but succeeded only in running his tongue over his lips, which needed it if they were as dry as they were blue. "come, come, we get no place!" "yacob! yacob!" they cried at the sound of his voice, "up on thy feet, yacob!" he rose and stood in his corner. his long hair was brushed back from a forehead so high that it reached to a great lump on the crown of his head. his brows were knit with intense earnestness. his big nose and curled lips and small chin were set in what might have seemed in another place and another time scholarly intentness. they did him honour by waiting in silence for his words. "this bickering and jangling brings us no place. shall we go on or shall we go back? shall we go north or shall we go south? those are questions we must answer. now i will tell you. if we go on, we shall find little fishing ships, with fish and no chinks, and we shall get tired of eating fish. if we go back in this fine ship that god in his goodness hath given us, we shall hang. we may yet go back to mother taylor, but we must go back in another ship. you know why. now, brave hearts, if we go on to new england it shall profit us nothing. for the new-english are poor. they live in little huts. the savages come down out of the woods and kill. whether there be lions i do not know and i do not care; those savages i have seen and they are a very ugly sight. the english plantations are cold in winter like the devil. they are poor. the english, they play with poverty. "and if we go south? ah-h-h! there are the spains! they have sun and warmth and fruits and spices! they have mines of gold and silver and stones of great price. while the english play with poverty, the spains play with empires! in new england we shall eat salt cods or starve--which is much the same, for salt cods are a poor diet. but in the south we shall maybe catch a galleon with a vast treasure." and with that, very serious and sure of his rightness, he sat down. "yea, yacob! yea, yacob!" they bawled and delighting in the alliteration cried it again, over and over. paul craig, heavy with sated gluttony, piped a shrill "yea, yacob," and the old one pounded the table and grinned, for he had sailed many seas in jacob's company. phil marsham--nay, and even will canty, too!--pricked ears at the sound of spanish galleons; for the blue caribbean and the blue hills of the main were fabled, as all knew, to hold such wealth as according to the tales of the old travellers was to be found in cathay or along the banks of the first of the four rivers out of paradise. and was not a spanish ship fair prey for the most law-abiding of english mariners? there was a hubbub of talk as they sat there, and there was no doubt but they were of one mind to turn their backs on the bleak northern coast and seek a golden fortune in the south. but the council arrived suddenly at an end when down from the deck came the lingering call, "a sa-i-l! a sa-i-l!" up, then, the old one leaped, and he raised his hand. "a sail is cried. what say you?" "let us not cast away what god hath offered us!" "yea, yacob!" "up, you dogs in the steerage! a hall, a hall!" one fell over on the table in drunken torpor. another rushed out the door and tumbled over a sleeper at the threshold. "up, you dogs! how stands he?" they poured out of the cabin to the deck. "he stands on the lee bow!" "bear up the helm! a fresh man at the helm!" the old one thundered. he squinted across the sea. "come, harry--here on the poop--and tell me if she be not a ketch. now she lifts--now she falls. 'twill be a chase, i take it." the round little mate came nimbly up the ladder. "helm a-luff!" said he in his light, quick voice, which at first the helmsman failed to hear. "helm a-luff! a-luff, man! art deaf? the courses hide her. there she lifts! yea, a ketch. let us see. it is now an hour to sunset. if we stand across her bows and bear a sharp watch we shall come up with her in early evening and a very proper moment it will be." his light, incisive speech, so unlike the boisterous ranting of the old one, in its own way curiously influenced even the old one himself. a man who has a trick of getting at sound reasons, unmoved by bluster or emotion, can hold his own in any company; and many a quiet voice can fire a ship's crew to action as a slow match fires a cannon. "now, young men," martin roared, "up aloft and loose fore and main topsails. and oh that our stout mizzenmast were standing yet!" "no, no, no!" cried harry malcolm and he almost raised his voice. "thy haste, thou pop-eyed fool, would work the end of us all. think you, if they see us fling every sail to the wind, they will abide our coming without charging their guns and stationing every gunner with linstock and lighted match? nay, though she be but a ketch, let us go limping across her bows as lame as a pipped hen." "true, and with every man lying by the side of his gun, where they shall not see him until we haul up the ports and show the teeth of the good ship." it was jacob who spoke thus as he climbed to harry malcolm's side. the old one, looking down at the deck below, touched his mate's arm. "yea, i see them. what do you want?" "it seems," said the old one, "that our boatswain hath a liking for the fellow." "and that the fellow hath a liking for our boatswain, think you?" "well?" jacob thrust his long nose between them. "'well,' you say, by which you mean 'not well.' it proves nothing that a man will not drink damnation to a king." the three heads met, high on the poop, and now and again they glanced down at the two lads who stood by the waist and watched the distant sail, which grew black as the sun set behind it. the sun set and the sea darkened and a light flamed up on board the chase, which appeared to show her good faith by standing toward the rose of devon. there was a rumble of laughter among the men when they perceived she had changed her course. the sober wrung oaths from the drunk by dashing bucketfuls of cold water in their faces. the gunners moved like shadows among the guns. and high on the poop, three shadows again merged into one. "master boatswain," the old one called, but softly, "do thou take it upon thyself, although it lies outside thine own province, to make sure that powder and balls and sponges and ladles and rammers are laid ready." hunching his bent shoulders, mate malcolm came nimbly down the ladder and from the chest of arms drew forth muskets and pistols. "come, my bullies below there, knock open your ports!" it was the old one's voice, but so softly and briskly did he speak that it might have been harry malcolm. as the dim figures on deck moved cautiously about, the subdued voice again floated down to them:-- "let all the guns be loose in tackles and stand by to run them out when the word is given. port your helm! every man to his quarters. now, my hearts, be ready to show your courage and we'll have this wandering ketch for a consort to our good rose of devon." then harry malcolm came in haste along the deck. "who's to this gun? and who to this? nay, you've a man too many there. here, fellow, come hither! here a man is lacking. you there, who are playing the part of gunner, have you ever heard these bulldogs bark? and understand you the business? good, good!" and he passed on up the deck. nought escaped him. in the silence they heard the sound of his voice and the quick pattering of his feet when they could see no more than that he was still moving among the guns. they had come so near the stranger that they must soon hail or be hailed, when a figure emerging from the steerage room in the darkness came upon phil marsham by the quarter-deck ladder and gave a great start. as phil turned, the fellow whispered, "god be thanked it is thou! i thought it was another. come with me to the side--here by the shrouds." the two stepped lightly under the shadow of the quarter-deck to the waist, where the carpenter had nailed in place new planks not twelve hours since, and together they raised a bundle. it was on the larboard side, and since all had gathered for the moment to starboard to watch the strange ketch, there was no man to observe them. some one moved above them and they hesitated, then they heard slow steps receding and thick undertones that they recognized as jacob's. when he had gone, the one who had brought the bundle whispered, "heave it far out," and together they hove it. still in the shadow of the quarter-deck, the two slipped silently back, unseen, and when harry malcolm came hurrying from one side, and jacob from the other, to see what had made the splash, there was no one there nor could any man answer their questions. "have you done as you said?" phil asked in a breathless whisper. "that i have." and it was will canty who spoke. "then we shall like enough be hanged; but thou art a tall fellow and i love thee for it." there came over the water a voice distinctly calling, "whence your ship?" "back to your guns, ye dogs!" cried mate malcolm in a voice that could be heard the length of the deck, yet that was not loud enough to be heard on board the stranger. "of england," the old one called from the quarter-deck. "and whence is yours?" there was a space of silence, in which the two vessels came nearer each other, and i would have you know that hearts ever so courageous were thumping at a lively pace. "and yours?" the old one cried the second time. there came voices and a hoarse laugh from the stranger, then, "are you merchants or men of war?" "of the sea," cried the old one in a voice so like thunder that a man would not think it could have come from his lean throat. "run out your guns, o my hearts! let him have the chase guns first. the chase guns--the chase guns!" now one bawled down the main hatch, and another below echoed his cry, then there sounded the quick _boom-boom_ from the bows. the guns had spoken and the fight was on. "up your helm--up your helm! hold your fire now, my hearts, and have at them!" the old one cried. and now the voice came again over the restless sea. "our ship is the porcupine ketch and our quills are set." the dark sea tossed and rolled between the vessels and little that happened on board either was visible to the other, so black was the night; but the light of the sky, which the water reflected, made of each a black shape clear-cut as of jet but finer than the most cunning hand could carve, in which a man might trace every line and rope. and now from on board the ketch jets of flame burst out and after them came smartly the crack of muskets. "now, lads," the old one thundered, "give fire and make an end of this petty galling. give fire!" a gun on the maintop-deck boomed and another followed; but there was confusion and stumbling and all were slow for want of practice together, and there was time lost ere the third gun spoke. then, while mate malcolm was storming up the deck and the old one was storming down, they heard the strange master calling to his gunners; then, to the vast amazement of the men of the rose of devon, who had cherished the delusion that their chase was a weak craft and an easy prize, on board the ketch as many as a dozen guns belched flame. their thunder shook the sea and their balls sang through the rigging, and a lucky shot struck the rose of devon in the forecastle and went crashing through the bulkhead. the ketch then tacked as if to give fire with her other broadside but deftly swung back again and before the old one or harry malcolm had fathomed the meaning of it there rose from on board her, the cries of "bear up and close with him!"--"board him on his quarter!" "have ready your graplins!" "sheer off, sheer off!" old jacob roared. "our powder is good for nought. yea, she is in all truth a prickly porcupine." "if we foul, cut anything to get clear!" cried the old one. "put down your helm! veer out your sheets! cast off weather sheets and braces! aloft, there, and clear the main yard where the cut tacklings foul it! good lad, boatswain, good lad!" for on the yardarm phil had drawn dirk and cut at the snarl of ropes, where a chance ball had wrought much mischief. then, as the two vessels swung side by side he looked squarely into the eyes of a bearded man in the rigging of the ketch. the old one--give the devil his due!--was handling his ship in a proper manner and by luffing he had kept abreast of those guns in the ketch which had spent their charges. but it was plain that the rose of devon had caught a tartar. in all truth, she had run upon a porcupine with quills set, for though a smaller vessel, the ketch, it now appeared, carried as many men or more, and every man knew his place and duty. looking down on her deck, phil saw her gun crews toiling with sponges and rammers to load anew. she was herself, it seemed, a sea rover athirst for blood and in those wild, remote seas there was no fraternity among thieves. as the main yardarm of the rose of devon swung toward her rigging when the ship rolled, the bearded man ran a rope about the spar and in a moment the vessels were locked abeam and were drifting together till their sides should touch. philip marsham again drew the dirk that colin samson had wrought for him and leaning far out struck at the fellow's breast, who swung back to avoid the thrust, which pricked him but did no more. then the fellow sprang to the attack with his own knife in hand, for he had thrown a knot in the rope, which creaked and tightened; and with a yell of triumph he struck at the lad, who swung to one side and struck back. it was a brave fight in the empty air, and the two were like warring spiders as they circled and swung in the darkness and thrust each at the other. but the lad was many years the younger, and by so much the more nimble, and his dirk--for which all thanks to colin samson!--smote the fellow a slashing blow in the thigh. and while the fellow clung to the shrouds, weak with pain, a second rose-of-devon's man came crawling over phil who hung below from the yard, and slashed the rope. "we are clear! we are clear! god be thanked!" the old one yelled. meanwhile the men of the rose of devon had succeeded in firing three guns of the larboard broadside, which by the grace of divine providence wrought such ruin in the stranger's running gear that the one crew of rascals was enabled to escape fit retribution at the hands of the other. the peak of her great foresail fell and in a moment her cut halyards were swept into a snarl that needed time and daylight for untangling. so the rose of devon slipped past the ketch, whose men were striving to clear the rigging and come about in pursuit, and having once evaded her erstwhile chase, the old ship ran away in the night. with her lights out and all the sail spread that she could carry, and favoured by clouds and fog, she made good her escape; but there was grumbling forward and grumbling aft, and there was a dead man to heave over the side. it served philip marsham better than he knew that he had fought a duel on the yardarm; for dark though the night had been, there had happened little that escaped the old one's eye; and bitter though tom jordan's temper and angry his mood, he was always one to give credit where he believed it due. when he wiped the blood from the dirk, phil remembered with gratitude the good smith, colin samson. then he thought of the old lady and gentleman at the inn, and of nell entick, and bluff sir john. he would have been glad enough to be out of the rose of devon and away, but for better or worse he had cast his lot in the ship, and though he little liked the lawless turn her affairs had taken, a man cannot run away by night from a ship on the high seas. all hands stood watch till dawn as a tribute to the war of one pirate upon another, and not until the sun had risen and shown no sail in sight did the old one himself go into the great cabin. chapter xiii a bird to be limed a lad being called into council by such a man as tom jordan might well think himself a fine fellow, and rare enough were lads whom tom jordan would thus have summoned. but although philip marsham, it seemed, had taken the old one's eye and won his heart long before on the little hill beside the road, when phil had drawn the wind from martin's sails, and although it had not escaped tom jordan that phil's hand moved easily toward his weapon, the old proverb has it "a man that flattereth his neighbor, spreadeth a net for his steps"; and "he that whistleth merrily, spreadeth his nets cunningly and hunteth after his prey greedily." so, "come, boatswain, and lend us thy wits," cried tom. "four heads shall provide more wisdom than three." and with that, he clapped phil on the back and drew him into the cabin where jacob and the mate sat deep in talk of the night's adventures. "a hawk, when she is first dressed and ready to fly," said jacob, "is sharp set and hath a great will upon her. if the falconer do not then follow it, she will be dulled for ever after. so, master, a man! yea, and a ship." "a great will, sayest thou?" quoth the old one, and his voice revealed his sullen anger. "why then, in god's name, did ye not rake them with a broadside or twain?" with which he turned on harry malcolm, thus to include him in the charge. "for one thing," replied malcolm, and testily, for ill temper prevailed both aft and forward, "we gave the gunners no firing to learn them their guns. for another thing, the powder failed us. for yet another, since you say what you say, and be cursed for it, 'twere a mad, foolish notion to run afoul a strange ship, for we have but a half the company we need to work a ship and fight. and finally, to cap our woeful proverbs, we know what we know--yea," and he shot a dark glance from under bent brows, "we know what we know; there be those who come toward us with their feet, but go from us with their hearts." his voice, as always, was light and quick, but there was a rumble in it, such as one may sometimes hear in a dog's throat. as the three men looked first at one and then at another, there came to boatswain marsham, sitting as it were outside their circle, the uneasy throbbing of their suspicion. "of the powder," said jacob coolly, "i have taken a little from each barrel." he laid on the table seven packages wrapped in leaves from an old book. regarding closely the notes he had written on each package, he opened them one by one and placed them in a row. "this," said he, "is from the barrel that good harry malcolm served out to the men and that doubtless this man candle hath used from in old days. it hath lost its strength by long lying. press it with thy fingers and thou shalt feel it soft to the touch. here upon this white sheet of paper i lay four corns of this powder. this other powder"--and he chose a second package--"is from a barrel new opened. press it and thou shalt see how firm and hard is each corn. and this, too, is firm and of a fair azure. and so, also, this. but this--" and he first put his eyes close to the notes on each remaining packet, then held them far off, for his sight, although good at a great distance, made out with difficulty things near at hand, "this is from a barrel that hath lost its strength by moisture; and this hath a fault i shall tell you of." taking a pinch of each, as he spoke, he had laid the corns, each some three fingers distant from the next, in a circle on the paper. he then struck tinder, and lighting a match made of twisted cords of tow boiled in strong lye-ashes and saltpetre, he held it over a corn of the good powder. there was a flash and puff, and the ring of powder was gone. the corns of good powder had fired speedily and left only a chalky whiteness in their place, nor had they burned the paper or given off smoke; but the corns of poor powder had burned slowly, and some had scorched the paper and some had given forth smoke. the old one softly swore. "and have we, then," asked he, "but three barrels of good powder?" "nay, there are more than three. this last is weak because they have neglected to turn the barrels upside down, so the petre has settled from top to bottom, as is its way. we shall find the bottom as strong as the top is weak, and by turning the barrel we shall renew its strength evenly." "as for the powder that hath spoiled by long lying," cried philip marsham, "i will undertake to make it as good as new." "do you, boatswain, mind your sails and cordage," said old jacob, with a wry smile. "an you wish to grind it in the mortar, that you may; but it is i who will measure the petre. nay, i will make you, if you wish it for a wonder to show friends, a powder of any colour you please--white, red, blue, or green." of the three who leaned over the packets of powder, old jacob was the only one who bore with even temper the sad reverse of the night before; for master and mate glared at each other in such wrath as had thrown a shadow over every soul in the ship. some had waked with aching heads, for which they had their own folly to thank; some were like men who dream they have got a great treasure but wake to find pebblestones or worse under the pillow: since the porcupine ketch had yielded them no gold and had stung them instead with her quills. in all truth the ship was by the ears, for in extremities your sea sharks are uncertain friends, as a touch of foul weather will manifest to any man's satisfaction. "enough of this," said the old one, and he pushed aside the packets and folded his arms. "we lose time. there is a thief amongst us." "a thief, you say?" and the hot red of anger burned its way across the boatswain's face, for the three had turned and looked hard at him. the old one and harry malcolm then exchanged quick glances, and jacob shut his small mouth tight and knotted his brows. "well," cried phil, "would you charge me with theft?" "some one," said the old one, lingering over each word, "hath wrought a clever plot against us." "say on, say on!" "he is a man, i make no doubt, whose buttons are breaking with venom." there was heavy silence in the cabin. jacob, pursing his lips and knotting his brows, looked from one of them to another, and phil, vaguely on the defensive, drew back and gave them a gaze as steady as they sent. "he is doubtless a very cunning rascal," harry malcolm put in, "who hath cut his cloth by his wits; but he is making a suit that will throttle him by its narrowness about the neck." the master and mate once more exchanged glances and the old one then smiled lightly, as if again there were sunlight rippling over dark water. "nay, philip, we think no ill of thee. but do thou have care to thy company. a foul trick hath been done with a mind to render us helpless at sea, so that we must crawl to the nearest land, where some base dunghill spirit is doubtless of a mind to leave our company. but we have resources; yea, and of thee, philip, we think no ill." despite their fair words, though, they were watching philip marsham like three old tomcats watching a sparrow, and he, being no fool, knew the reason why. three hard faces they showed: the one, handsome in a devilish way and keen; the second, unassuming, yet deeply astute and marked by a deeper rooted, if less frank, selfishness; the third, older, wiser, more self-centred. the eyes of master and mate were coldly cruel; but old jacob was too intent on his own thoughts to be cruel save by indifference. all that day jacob squatted on the deck and toiled with tools and wood. from the wood he chose certain long pieces, fine-grained and straight and dry and free from knots, and certain shorter and broader pieces that were suited to his purpose, and bade the carpenter plane them smooth. he laid out scales, working with a small square and a pair of compasses, and engraved them with utmost care. he wrought brass into curious shapes by a plan he made, and from morning till night he kept at the task, frowning and ciphering and sitting deep in thought. he called for charcoal and a mortar, and beat the charcoal to a fine powder and tempered it with linseed oil. this he rubbed into the wood he had shaped to his liking, and watched it a long while, now and again touching it to try it; then with oil from a phial he had found in a chest in the great cabin he rubbed the wood clean, and there were left in the wood, set off neatly in black, the gradations and figures he had so exactly etched. taking his work into the great cabin, he toiled on by lanthorn light until a late hour, and there through the open door men as they passed might see him hunched over the table with his medley of tools about him. but when at last he leaned back and drew a long breath of relief, very serious and very wise, his work was done, and curiously and deftly contrived it was. on the table before him there lay a cross-staff, a nocturnal and a gunter's scale, "with which," said he, to the old one, who sat opposite him quietly taking tobacco and sipping wine, "and with what instruments the thief hath left us, a man can navigate a ship where he will." examining closely the nocturnal, which was intricately carved and engraved, the old one muttered, as if ignoring jacob's words, "i will yet lime that bird." "though he be never so mad a callant, i misdoubt he will put his head into a noose," said jacob in his thick, serious voice. "be he the one we think or not the one we think, i will set him such a trap," said the old one, "as will take the cunningest fox that ever doubled on the hounds." and the thin face smiled in a way that was not pleasant to see. chapter xiv a wonderful excellent cook if an astrologer or an arabian enchanter could say to a man, "beware of this or that, for it is a thing conceived of the devil to work thy ruin," there would be reason for studying the stars or smiting the sand. and this, indeed, they do, according to the old tales. but if a sailor seek out an astrologer to learn things that shall profit him, he is more likely to find a man grown foolish by much study, who will stroke his chin sagely and say, "come, let us look into this matter. under capricorn are all diseases in the knees and hams, leprosies, itch and scales and schirrous tumors, fallow grounds and barren fields, ox-houses and cow-houses, low dark places near the ground, and places where sails and materials for ships be laid." and while he talks of fixed angles and of the lord of the ascendant being in the fourth week, some small unsuspected thing may be the very egg on which the devil is sitting like an old black hen to hatch forth a general calamity. thus certain incidents that shortly thereafter happened are to the point, for although they appeared of little moment at the time, they turned the tide of men's lives and made a stir that has to do with the current of my tale. now the men of the rose of devon sighted a sail at high noon when they were a week on their way south, and though she showed her heels and ran, and though the rose of devon lacked her mizzenmast, the strange vessel was but a small pink and so slow that they laid her aboard two hours before dark. in her crew she had only a dozen men, and sorely frightened they were, as they tossed in the lee of the dark frigate. so to save themselves from a more cruel fate there was scarcely one of them but leaped at the chance to join the rose of devon's crew. they tumbled up their small cargo of salt fish for bilbao and hoisted it on board the ship, together with their shallop, and casting their pink adrift, they forbore from complaining when their new master and his men stole whatever pleased them, from the new men's rings and knives to the very clothes on their backs. so, with her plunder and her recruits, the rose of devon again squared her yards and continued on her course. there was, to be sure, one fellow of mean spirit who whined dolefully, upon conceiving his present extremity to be distasteful. but another got comfort by knocking him on the head when no one was looking; and finding him dead, the old one hove him over-board and there was no further trouble from the fishermen. yet it was no secret that there was grumbling and complaining forward among the gentlemen of the rose of devon, so the old one sent the boatswain to summon them aft when the watches were changing. he leaned against the swivel gun on the quarter-deck, and looking down into their faces, smiled disagreeably. "it hath come to my ears," said he, "that one hath a sad tale to tell because we failed to take the porcupine, which, though a mere ketch, outnumbered us in guns and men. and another hath a sad tale to tell because this pink that late became our prize is small and of little worth, though we got from her eleven brave fellows who shall be worth a store of fine gold." he looked from one of his men to another, for they were all there,--martin and the cook, and philip marsham and will canty, and paul craig and joe kirk, the one-eyed carpenter and the rest,--and his thin face settled into the many wrinkles that had got him his name. there was none of them, unless it might be harry malcolm or old jacob, who could say surely at one time or another what thoughts were uppermost in tom jordan's shrewd head. "come, now, my hearts of gold," he cried, "let us have an end of such folly. said i not that these northern fisheries were meat for crows? and that we must go south to find prey for eagles? we will choose a fine harbour by some green island where there's rich fruit for the picking and fat fish for the catching, and we will build there a town of our own. we will take toll from the king of spain's ships; we will take us wives and women and gold and wine from the dons of the islands and the main. yea, we will lay up a great store of riches and live in fullness of bread and abundance of idleness." some were pleased, but some doubted still, which the old one perceiving, for he read their faces, cried, "nay, speak up, speak up! let us have no fair-protesting friends with hollow and undermining hearts." "yea, it is a fair tale," cried one, in a surly voice, "but thus far we have blows to show for our pains--blows and a kettle of fish." "and methinks," another growled, "we shall see more of salt fish and buccaned meat, than of fine wines and gold and handsome women." "'tis a swinish thought," the old one retorted; but he smiled when he said it, so that they took no offense, for of such grumbling he had no fear. he was set to catch a bird of quite another feather. then old jacob rose and they were silent to hear him. "let us make an end of talk," said he slowly. "we are on our way south and to stop or turn aside would be nothing but foolishness." and with that, although they had expected him to say more, he turned away. then, of a sudden, "come, will," the old one cried, singling out his man from all the rest, "what say you?" if will canty's face changed at all, it was a whit the paler as he met the old one's eyes. "i say," he replied, "that since we have fish on board, we are sure of fish and would do well to eat fish ere we lose it." "there is sooth in thy words," quoth the old one, and he smiled in friendly wise. (but despite his smile, he liked the words little, as any shrewd man might have known by his eyes, and will canty was no fool.) "come, cook, and boil us a great kettle of fish." the rumble of low voices changed to laughter and the cook boldly cried, "yea, yea, master!" "for our much voyaging and many pains," cried the men, as they went about their work, "we have got a kettle of fish." and they laughed mightily, for though it was the very thing that before had made them grumble, now they saw it as a droll affair and made of it many jests, of which a few were good and more bad, after the manner of jests. as for the cook, he called his mate and bade him break out a drum of fish and set a kettle to boil, and cuffed him this way and that, till the poor fellow's ears were swollen. and the old one said to harry malcolm, "saw you not how deftly the fellow twisted out of the corner, and with a sly remark that no one can take amiss? oh, he is a slippery dog and i am minded to cut his throat out of hand!" "now, that would be very foolish, for where there's one of them, there's always two, and the one will toll the other on until there are two dogs by the heels instead of one." at that the old one laughed harshly, and the two, who were after a left-handed fashion uncommonly congenial, went off well pleased with their conceit. down in the hold the kettle boiled right merrily, and the cook swelled with pride that he had a mate to carry and fetch. he cuffed the poor fellow this way, and he cuffed him that. he threw a pan at him when the fire smoked worse than common, and he thrust a fistful of flour into his face and down his neck when he let the fire lag. he flung him his length on the floor for spilling a pint of water; and when in despair the lad fled for his life, the cook seized him by the hair and haled him back and put a long knife at his breast and swore to have his heart's blood. oh, the cook was in a rare and merry mood, for he had drunk more sack than was good for him from the cask he had marked as his own; but as he had waxed exceeding gay and haughty, the sack had dulled his wits and he was drunker than he knew. "come, thou pig! thou son of a swine!" he yelled. "ladle out the fish and choose of the best for the cabin. yea, choose in abundance and summon the master's boy and bid him haste. and do thou bestir thyself and carry to the men." and with that, he fetched the poor fellow a blow on his head, which knocked him off his feet. the fellow ran to do the work and the cook, in vast satisfaction at having so well acquitted himself, sat down with a goblet of sack and tippled and nodded, and kept an ill-tempered eye on the master's boy and his own, as with shrewd fear of broken heads they scurried back and forth. "it is most wonderful excellent sack," quoth the cook, and with his sleeve he mopped his fiery bald head. "it was by a happy stroke i marked it for my own. truly, i had rather be cook than master, for here i sit with mine eye upon the cabin stores, from which i can choose and eat at will, and the captain, nay, the lord high admiral of england, is himself none the wiser. fish, sayest thou? nay, fish is at best a poor man's food. i will have none of it." and thus he ran on foolishly, forgetting as he drank sack, that there was no one to hear him, not even his mate. "truly, i am a wonderful excellent cook. i may in time become a captain. i may even become the governor of a plantation and take for a wife some handsome spanish woman with a wonderful rich dowry. she must have an exceeding rich dowry if she will marry me, though. yea, i am a wonderful excellent cook." and the more he drank the more foolish he became. after a while, he cocked his head upon one side; and quoth he, "i hear them calling and shouting! it seemeth they are singing huzza for me. i hear them coming down to do me honour. truly, i am a most wonderful excellent cook and the fish hath pleased them well. foolish ones that they are to eat it!" the silly fellow sat with his head on one side and smiled when they burst in upon him. "hast come for more fish?" he cried. "yonder stands the kettle. nay, what's that? what's that thou sayest? nay, fellow, th' art mad? thou know'st not to whom thou speakest." "fool! knave! scoundrel! swine!" they yelled. "oh, such a beating as thy fat carcase will get. hear you not the uproar? think you to cozzen us?" with that they seized him, two by the head and two by the feet, and dragged him to the ladder. they threw a rope about him and knotted it fast and tossed the ends to men at the hatch above, who hauled him, squealing and kicking like an old hog, up on deck. to the cabin they dragged him, with all the men shrieking curses at him and pelting him with chunks of fish, and in the cabin they stood him before the table where the old one and harry malcolm sat, and very angry were they all. "dog of a cook," said the old one, "for a relish to conclude our meal, we shall see thee eat of this fish that the boy hath brought us." and he thrust before the cook a great dish. "eat it, every shred, bones and all," said he, "or i'll have thee butchered and boiled in place of it." "why, now," said the cook, somewhat sobered by rough handling and a trifle perplexed, but for all that still well pleased with himself, "as for the bones, they are liable to scrape a man's throat going down. i am reluctant to eat bones. but the meat is good. i rejoice to partake of it, for so diligently have i laboured to prepare it that i have denied myself, yea, though i hungered greatly." "eat," said the old one and widely he grinned. looking suspiciously about him, for there was something in their manner that he failed to understand, the cook thrust his hand into the dish and took from it a great slice of fish, which he crammed into his mouth. "eat," said the old one, "eat, o thou jewel among cooks!" a curious look came over the cook's face and he raised his hand as if to take the fish out of his mouth. "nay, swallow it down," said the old one. "be not sparing. there is abundance in the dish. yea, thou shalt stand there eating for a long time to come." and though he smiled, his look made it plain that he was in no trifling mood. the cook turned pale and choked and gasped. "water!" he cried thickly, for his mouth was too full for easy speech. "nay, much drinking hath wrought havoc with thy wits. eat on, eat on!" prodigious were the gulps by which the cook succeeded at last in swallowing his huge mouthful, and great was his distress, for the salt in it nearly choked him. "water, water!" he weakly cried. "nay, temper thine heart with mercy, master! i beg for water--i beseech for water." "eat on," said the old one grimly. then harry malcolm chuckled and the men in the door roared with laughter, but the cook plunked down on his fat knees and thrust out both his hands. "nay, master, i cannot hold it down!" "eat on, o jewel among cooks!" "nay, master--" "come, then, lads, and cram it down his hungry throat." three of them seized him, and one, when he shut tight his mouth, thrust a knife between his teeth. "blub-bub-blah!" he yelled. "i'll eat! i'll eat!" they let him go and he rose and ate. time and again he gasped for water and they laughed; time and again he lagged and the old one cried, "eat on!" when at last he stood miserably in front of the empty dish, the old one said, "for a day and a night shalt thou sit in bilboes with a dry throat, which will be a lesson to learn thee two things: first, before cooking a kettle of fish, do thou bear it well in mind to soak out the salt so that the fish be fit for food; and second, by way of common prudence, do thou sample for thyself the dishes that are cooked for the cabin." they haled him forward and locked the shackles on his feet and placed beside him a great dish of the fish, that whoever wished might pelt him with it; and there they left him to repent of his folly and forswear drunkenness and whimper for water. as the weary hours passed, the sun tormented him in his insufferable thirst; but nightfall in a measure brought relief and he nodded in the darkness and fell asleep. waking, he would rub his head, which sadly throbbed and would seek by gulping to ease his parched throat; and sleeping again, he would dream of great buckets of clear water. the voices that he heard buzzed in his ears as if they were the droning of flies, and hunching himself down in his shackles at one end of the iron bar, he forgot the world and was forgotten, since his fat carcase lay inertly in a black shadow and there was nothing to make a man keep him in mind. he heard at last a voice saying, "but nevertheless it becomes you to walk lightly and carefully," and another replying, "i fear him not, for all his subtle ways. much that goes on escapes him." he stirred uneasily, and opening his eyes, saw that there were two men leaning side by side against the forecastle. "in the matter of wit, you grant him less than his due," said the first speaker. "and in another matter you charge him with a heavier burden than he needs bear." the cook stirred and groaned and the first speaker chuckled, at which the cook's gorge rose from anger. "o jewel among cooks!" one of the two called softly, and the unhappy man knew by the voice that the speaker was philip marsham. naming no names and talking in roundabout phrases as people do when they wish one to know their meaning and another not to, the two continued with no heed at all to the cook, whom they thought a mere drunken lout. and indeed, their undertones were scarcely audible; but anger sharpened the cook's ears and his wits, and he lay and ruminated over such chance sentences as he got. "it puzzled me from the first," said the other, "to see how easily you bore with your comrade of the road." "why, he is a good soul in his way." the other gave a grunt of disgust. "nay, it is a wonder to me that a lad with your nice notions ever found his way to sea," phil retorted. "and i might never have gone, had not captain francis candle been my godfather." "as for me, i have seen both sides of life; and, but for a certain thing that happened, i might be well enough contented where i am." "and that?" phil hesitated, for though they had talked freely, as young men will, the question searched a side of phil's life to which as yet he had given no clue. "why," said he, lowering his voice, "for one thing, i saw for the first time my own grandfather; and for another, i saw a certain old knight who quite won my fancy from such a man as a certain one we know. come, let us stroll together." and as they walked the deck that night, arm in arm, phil told his companion what his life had been and what it might have been, and mentioned, in passing, the girl at the inn. left to his miseries and his thoughts, of which the first were little better company than the second, the woeful cook turned over and over in his fat head such fragments of their talk as he had succeeded in overhearing, and to say truth, he made little more out of it all than the speakers had intended. but his parched throat teased his wits to greater effort, and being come to such a state that he would have bartered his immortal soul for water, had chance offered, he bethought him of a plan by which, if luck held good, he might escape from his shackles. the moment for which he waited was a long time coming and he suffered a great variety of increasing miseries before it arrived; but when the watches changed, he saw among the men newly arrived on deck his erstwhile dearest friend, and somewhat reluctantly forgiving his dear friend for belabouring him over the head with a whole salt fish, the cook softly called the man by name. the fellow came snickering, which made it none the easier to bespeak his aid; but the cook nevertheless swallowed his wrath as well as with his dry throat he could, and whispered to the fellow that he must make haste and tell the master there was news to be imparted in secret. at this the fellow held up his hand with thumb thrust between first and second fingers. "give me no fico," wailed the most excellent cook. "nay, i have stumbled upon a black and hidden matter. go thou, and in haste, and it will pay thee well." for a time they bickered in the dark, but there was in the cook's despair a sincerity that finally made the fellow believe the tale; and finding, upon stealing aft, that there was still a light in the great cabin, he mustered up his courage and knocked. "enter," cried a hard voice. the fellow opened the door and peeped in and found the old one sitting alone at the table. glancing hastily about, and the more alarmed to meet the cold eye of harry malcolm who lay on the great bed in the corner of the cabin, he closed the door at his back and whispered, "he swears it's true--that there's foul work afoot. 'tis the cook who hath told me--yea, and hath bade me tell you. he would say no more--the cook, i mean." "oh, my good friend, our most excellent cook!" meditating, the old one looked the fellow up and down. "here," said he, "strike off his shackles and send him in with the key." and he threw the fellow the key to the locks. after a while the cook came weakly in and shut the door behind him and, throwing the key on the table, fell into a chair. "ah," said the old one, "what is this tale i have heard news of?" "water!" gasped the cook. for though he had managed, by pausing at the butt on his way, to drink nearly a quart, he had no mind the old one should know of it. the old one smiled. "go, drink, if thy tale be worth it; but mind, if i deem thy tale not worth it, thou shalt pay with a drop of blood for every drop of water." the cook shot a doubting glance at the old one, but went none the less, and came back wiping his lips. "have at thy tale," said the old one. there was a quaver in the cook's voice, for he was by no means sure of how great a tale he could make, and the master's face gave him small encouragement, for from the beginning of the tale to the end the old one never altered his cold, cruel smile. "it was the boatswain and young canty," he said. "ah!" "they was leaning on the forecastle and walking the deck arm in arm and talking of one thing and another." "and what did they say?" "they talked about some one's slow wit--i could not make sure whose, for they scoffed at me bitterly--and canty was bepuzzled by the boatswain's ways, and he wanted him to do something or other." "go on." the old one, grinning coldly, leaned back and watched the labouring cook, who wracked his few brains to make a worthier story. "nay, but i heard little else. yet, said i, the master must know at all costs." "what a thick head is thine and how easily seen through and through!" the old one laughed. "think you all this is worth a second thought? i am of the mind to have you skinned and salted. but i forgive you, since i have a milkish heart that is easy moved to pity. get you down to your berth and sleep." the cook departed in haste, but with a fleeting glance at harry malcolm whom he feared less only than the master. he was aware that for some reason he did not understand, his broken tale had served his purpose. when he had gone the old one turned about. "you heard him. what think you?" said he. from the great bed in the corner, harry malcolm raised his head and laughed silently. "our able cook was hard pressed for an excuse to get out of his ankle rings. did you hear him slopping at the butt the first time passing? as for his tale, we know what we knew, and no more." "'slow wits'! i wonder." "at baracao we shall see," said harry malcolm. "neither one nor a dozen can harm us before we raise land." "and after raising land, which by god's mercy will be soon now, we shall see whose wits will nick first when the edges crack together." the old one stretched and yawned and harry malcolm softly laughed. chapter xv a lonesome little town a light seen in the middle watch gave warning of an unexpected landfall, and calling up the old one, who had a store of knowledge gained by much cruising in those seas, they lay off and on until dawn, when they made out an island of the bahamas. it seemed, since by their reckoning they were still a day's sail from land, that there was some small fault in their instruments; but to this they gave little heed, and which island it was and what occasioned the light they never knew, though some ventured one guess and some another as they bore past it and lifted isle beyond isle. for two days, with the old one conning the ship, they worked their way among the islands, and thus at last they came to a deep bay set among hills, which offered a commodious and safe anchorage, notwithstanding that on the point that guarded the bay there was the wreck of a tall ship. in the shallop they had taken from the fishing pink, the old one and jacob, with four men to row them, went out to the wreck and returned well pleased with what they had found. "god is good to us," cried the old one, perceiving that harry malcolm waited at the waist for their coming. "though her foremast and mainmast be sprung, yet her mizzen is sound as a nut." "and is it to be fetched out of her unharmed?" "yea, that it is! come, master carpenter, haul out our broken old stump of a mizzen. by this time on the morrow our good rose of devon will carry in its place as stout a stick as man can wish. faith, the ill fortune of them whose ship lies yonder shall serve us well." there was a great bustle in the old frigate, for work was to be done that needed many hands. some went to the wreck to save masts and spars, and others, led by the one-eyed carpenter, toiled to haul out the stump. boatswain marsham and his mate laid ready ropes and canvas; and the most of the company being thus busied with one task or another, martin and the cook caught a store of fresh fish, which the cook--who had now become a chastened, careful man--boiled for supper, while martin went onshore for fruit that grew wild in abundance and for fresh water from a sandy spring. it was three days instead of one before the work was finished; but meanwhile there was fresh food and water aft and forward, and having spent at sea many weary weeks, the men rejoiced to pass time so pleasantly in a snug haven. indeed, a man might have passed a long life in comfort on such an island, and there were many who cried yea, when joseph kirk declared himself for building a town there, to which they might return with a store of wives and wines, and from which they could sally forth when their supplies of either got low, and get for themselves others out of the king of spain's ships and plantations. but the old one laughed and cried nay. "i shall show you a town," said he, "in a land as fair as this, but with houses built and ready for us, and with gold piled up and waiting, and with great cellars of wine and warehouses filled with food." so they sailed from the island one morning at dawn and for a week they picked their way down the windward passages. at times they lay hidden in deep harbours of which the old one knew the secret; and again they stood boldly out to sea and put behind them many leagues of their journey. and thus progressing, one night, as they worked south against a warm breeze scented with the odour of flowers, they sighted on the horizon a dark low land above which rose dimly the shape of a distant mountain. the men gathered about master and mate and jacob, then harry malcolm went swarming up the rigging and from the maintopsail yard studied the dim bulk of the mountain. after a time he cried down to them, "douse all lights and hold her on her course!" for an hour they stood toward the land, then malcolm came down from aloft smiling, and there ran through the ship a great wave of talk. though a man had never sailed those seas before, he would not have found the reason for their talk hard to guess, since there were few secrets on board. time and distance had made less the grumbling occasioned by the disastrous brush with the porcupine and by the littleness of the profit got from the pink, and they had warmed their hearts with the old one's tales. bearing to the west, the rose of devon skirted the dark shore for miles; but the master and mate were growing anxious lest dawn overtake them before they should reach the hiding-place they sought; and when they rounded a certain wooded point and sailed into a deep, secluded bay where a ship might lie for a year unseen,--which put an end to their fears,--they let go their anchors with all good will and furled their sails; and at break of day they kedged the ship into a cove that might have been a dock, so straight were the shores and so deep the water. "mind you, ned," or "mind you, hal, the night we landed on hispaniola?" the men from the blue friggat were saying. and "'twas thou at my side when we stole down through the palms and bottled the garrison in the little fort." and "ah, what wine we got that night!" "yea, and how drunk we got! so that martin barwick was of a mind to go fight a duel with the captain of the soldiers. and then they burst out and drove us all away, and there was an end of our taking towns for a long, long while." "i will have you know that i was no drunker than any man else," martin snarled, and they laughed uproariously. "come," cried another, "since we have laid our ship in her chosen berth, let us sleep while the idlers watch. we shall be off in the cool of the afternoon." "nay, in the morning!" "afternoon or morning matters little," said old jacob thickly, in the corner where he sat watching all the men. "the hour is near when we shall lay in the hold a goodly cargo. i know well _this_ town. we need only find two more such towns to get the money to keep us the rest of our lives like so many dukes, each of us in a great house in england, with a park full of deer, and the prettiest tavern wenches from all the country round to serve us in the kitchen." that day, while the men slept in such cool places as they could find, the cook and the carpenter stood watch; and a very good watch they kept, for they were prudent souls and feared the old one and dared not steal a wink of sleep. but though there was much need that the men should sleep, there was small need of a watch, for the ship lay in that deep cove in the little round bay, with masses of palms on the high banks, which hid her from waterline to truck. at mid-afternoon, as the old one had bade them, the cook and the carpenter called the men, who came tumbling up, quickly awake and breathing heavily, since there was work to be done ere another morning broke, and, like enough, blood to be spilled. from a chest of arms harry malcolm handed out muskets and pistols and pikes. "this for you," he said--"and this for you--and here's a tall gun for paul craig. nay, curse not! prayers, paul, shall profit thee more than curses." "i tell ye what, i'll not carry this great heavy gun," quoth he, and turned a dull red from anger. "blubububububub!" one cried, and all laughed. "'tis lucky, paul," retorted harry malcolm, "that tom jordan is an easy, merciful man, or there's more than one back would bear a merry pattern in welts." he took up another musket--cumbersome, unwieldy weapons they were, which a man must rest for firing--and handed it to another. "and this for you." jacob was turning over and over on his palm powder from a newly opened barrel, and the old one was leaning on the quarter-deck rail, whence he sleepily watched the small groups that were all the time gathering and parting. will canty, his face a little whiter than ordinary and his hand holding his firelock upright by the barrel, stood ill at ease by the forecastle. the boys lurked in corners, keeping as much as possible out of the way, but watching with wide eyes the many preparations. and indeed it was a rare sight, for the staunch old ship, her rigging restored and her many leaks stopped, lay in her little cove where a cool breeze stirred the ropes, and the afternoon sun shone through the palms brightly on the deck, and the men moved about bare-armed and stripped to their shirts. "it would save much labour," said the carpenter, "were we to use this fair breeze to go by sea." "true, carpenter, but a ship coming in from sea is as easy spied by night as by day, whereas a company of men descending from the hills by night will have the fort before the watchdogs bark. and who is there will grudge labour in such a cause?" the old one looked about and the carpenter himself nodded assent. only paul craig grumbled, and at him the others laughed as they ate and drank. they slept again till just before dawn, then, running a plank to the shore, they gathered under the palms, for there was need of a last council before leaving the ship. "we are forty men," said the old one, "and forty men are all too few; but though it is little likely that any will stumble on the ship in our absence, it is a matter of only common prudence that we post a guard ere we go." "yea, a guard!" cried paul craig. "i, now, am a very watchful man." "nay, but think, paul, how great a meal thou can'st eat when thou hast climbed up hill and down with thy gun, and how much thou can'st drink. 'twould be no kindness to leave thee. we must leave some lithe, supple lad who hath no need for the tramp." and the old one chuckled. "come, paul and martin, you shall lead our van." harry malcolm met his eye, and he nodded. "i name to guard our ship," said he, "the cook and joe kirk and will canty. do you, lads, load the swivel guns and keep always at hand two loaded muskets apiece. fire not unless the need is urgent, and keep the ship with your lives, for who knows but the lives of us all are staked upon your watchfulness and courage? you, harry, since you know best the road, shall lead, with paul and martin upon either hand; the rest shall follow, and jacob and i will guard the rear." he turned to the three who were to stay. "if there is good news, i will send men to bring the ship round to the harbour where, god willing, we shall load her to the deck with yellow chinks. if bad news,--why, you may see us in one day, or three, or five,--or maybe never." he arched his brows and tossed his piece to his shoulder, and with jacob at his side, he followed the others, who were already labouring under the weight of their weapons as they filed up the steep acclivity. the old one and jacob slowly climbed the wild, rough hill and paused until the marching column was out of hearing. "you are a strange man," said jacob. "i would wring his neck without thought." "that were a mere brutal jest such as affordeth little joy," the old one replied. "i will wind him in a tangle of his own working, then i will take the breath from his nostrils deliberately and he will know, when he dies, that i know what i know." "you are a strange man." "i can keep order among the gentlemen better than could any captain in the king's service; and such a game as this sharpens a man's wits. we shall see what we shall see." jacob slipped away by himself and the old one followed his men. all that morning, unseen and unsuspected, jacob sat behind a rock within earshot of the ship. the palms shielded him and shaded him and he got himself into such a corner that no one could approach him from behind or see him without being seen. and all that morning he neither heard nor saw aught worthy of mark until about noon a voice in the ship cried out so that jacob could plainly understand the words, "one should watch from land. now a man on the hilltop could serve us well." to which a second voice replied, "go thou up, will, go thou up! we are of no mind to stir." there came the sound of steps on a plank, then a rattle of pebbles and a rustle of leaves; and jacob rose quickly and followed at a safe distance a man who passed his corner on the way up the acclivity. reaching the summit, of the hill, where he was safely out of sight from the ship, the fellow--and it was indeed will canty--searched the sea from horizon to horizon; but jacob, hunting deliberately as was his manner, found a seat a great way off, yet so situated among the trees that he could watch without being seen. for an hour he sat thus in a niche in the rocks below and watched will on the flat ledge above; then he saw him start up of a sudden and look around him very carefully and cautiously, and whip his shirt off his back and wave it in the air. for a good half-hour will waved the shirt, stopping now and then to rest; but it seemed that nothing came of his waving, for with a sad face he put on his shirt and again sat down and presently he returned to the ship. jacob dozed a while longer where he was, having seen all that; for he was a man who could put two and two together as well as another, and he had learned what he wished to know. then he got up, and seeking out the place where the old one and his men had passed, he followed after them at a serious, steady gait, which seemed not very fast yet which kept plodding so surely up hill and down hill and through gullies and over ledges and along beside the sea, that in two hours he had covered the distance the others, burdened with guns and pikes and swords, had covered in three; and before nightfall, following the marks they had left for him, he overtook them resting in a ravine. night, which comes so suddenly in the tropics, was about to darken the world, when jacob gave them a great start by walking silently in upon them as they sat talking in low voices, with their guns lying by their sides and their minds on the work that was before them. he nodded at the old one, who knew well enough what his nod meant, and sat quietly down among them. there was but a small moon, and when at nearly midnight they bestirred themselves and ate the last of the sea bread they had brought, the light was dim. but their plans were laid and the hour was come and the old one and harry malcolm and jacob knew the ways they were to go. they were more than thirty, and they straggled out in a long line as they climbed the precipitous hill. but those ahead waited at the top for those behind and together, marching in close array, they crossed a ridge and came into sight of a little town that lay below them among hills and mountains. it was a dark and silent town, whose houses had a ghostly pallor in the faint light from the crescent moon, and it lay beside a harbour which shone like silver. there were no lights in the houses and in all the place nothing stirred; but in the harbour a ship lay anchored, concerning which they speculated in whispers. "the road lies yonder under the rock," said harry malcolm. "and one man has strayed," jacob whispered. "i will fetch him." he stepped back the way they had come, and returned with paul craig who dragged his gun by the muzzle. the fellow's manner betrayed his cowardice and the old one pushed the point of a knife against his breast. "if again you stray or loiter," he whispered, "this blade will rip you open like a hog fat for the killing." though the words were uttered very softly, others heard them, and martin barwick, whose courage was none of the staunchest, rubbed his throat and swallowed hard. "gold without stint is ours for the taking," said the old one. "i have a misliking of yonder ship." "nay, she is but one more prize." they moved down the mountain path toward the town. "there are twelve houses," said jacob. "two men to a house leaves ten for the fort." in the dim light he had missed his count, for the men as they approached the gate of the village had crowded together. "no one sleeps in the fort," quoth harry malcolm in a low voice. "they go to the fort only when they are attacked by dogs of english or wicked pirates." some one laughed softly. "two men to a house," the old one was saying. "kill, plunder, and burn!" then as they stood in the very gate a dog barked. they jumped at the sound, but higher by far did they jump when from the ship lying in the harbour there came a loud hail in spanish. "ha! the dogs are wakeful!" the old one cried in double meaning, and with that he plunged forward through the shadows. though for the most part he showed himself a shrewd, cautious man, he was not one to turn back when his blood was up; and quicker than thought he had raised his voice to a yell:-- "come, my hearts, and burn them in their beds!" "nay, nay!" cried jacob. "come back while there is yet time! they cannot yet know who we are or from whence we come. another day, another month, will be best!" but they had gone. with a yell the old one had led the way, and they had followed at his heels. jacob was left alone in the dark, and being a rarely prudent man and of no mind to risk his neck lightly, he stayed where he was. as the old one stormed the first house, there came a shot from the darkness and he gave a howl of pain and rage. turning, phil marsham saw a stranger cross the road behind him, but he had no time to consider the matter, since the first cries had waked the town. a dozen men were exchanging musket-shots with the fort, wherein they were folly-blind, for their shots went wild in the dark and their guns took a long time loading; and the old one, thinking to further the attack and not considering that the light would reveal their whereabouts and their weakness, struck fire to dry grass, which blazed up and caught wood, but went out, hissing, under a bucket of water from within a house. here a rose-of-devon's man took the steel and died, and there another went down, hit by a musket-ball. in a lull in the firing--for the charges of their guns were soon spent--they heard plainly the sound of oars and saw that two boats were bringing men from the vessel in the harbour, and from the far side of the place others came charging with pikes and swords. in all truth, the town was aroused and the game was over, so they took to their heels and ran for their lives, since they were outnumbered and outfought and no other course was left them. all who escaped gathered on the hill, for though a man might wish in his heart to leave the rose of devon for ever, he could find no refuge in the nest of hornets they had stirred to fury, since in the eyes of the enemy one must appear as guilty as another. so, leaving ten of their number behind them, dead or wounded or captured, every man who could walk started back for the rose of devon with the thought to cheer him on, that after daybreak in all likelihood the howling pack would be at his heels. they bickered and wrangled and cursed, and one whispered to philip marsham that if they had an abler captain their luck would turn, which was a great folly and cost him a broken head. "that for thy prattle," the old one cried, for he had been walking just behind. and with a club he struck the fellow a blow that sent him to the ground. indeed, the old one had intended to kill him, and had he not been so weary, he would doubtless have stayed to complete his work, for his temper was torn to rags. uphill and down they went, through thickets and streams, over ledges and sandy slides, round dank old fallen logs and along firm beaches, back to their dark frigate, with their labour for their pains. and so, by broad daylight, weary and hungry and too angry for civil speech, they came to the rose of devon. the younkers trotted along, dog-tired, and the men tramped in as best they could. there were hard words on this side and hard words on that, and hands were clapped on knives for no cause at all. they thought it queer, when in the gray morning they came sliding down to the ship, with a rattle of pebbles and loose earth, that they found her so still, and only the cook on her deck, and himself in a cold sweat of fear. "i would have nought to do with it," he cried, and being still mindful of his thirsty hours in bilboes, he shook in his shoes lest they fix upon him a share of the blame for that which had occurred in their absence. "with what and whom would'st thou have nought to do?" the old one demanded, and he showed a face that made the cook's teeth rattle. "with them--they've gone." "who hath gone?" "will canty and joe kirk. they took the shallop and bread and beer." "it seems," said the old one, and in a strangely quiet voice, "that the edge that is nicked is not will canty's. is it thine, jacob, or mine?" the cook thought that either he or the old one had lost his wits, for he made no sense of the words; but harry malcolm and jacob knew what was meant, and philip marsham made a sharp guess at it. chapter xvi the harbour of refuge it was up anchor and away, for they needs must flee ere the hunters find them. they stood along the coast with a light breeze in the early morning, when the sun was rising over the sea and tipping with gold the branches of the dark palms; but the rose of devon was a hawk with clipped wings. a company of twenty-nine or thirty men in a staunch ship with a goodly number of brass cannon and with powder and balls in abundance (which provident merchants had bought to defend their venture against pirates!) might have done very well on a merchant voyage or fishing. if there are not too many to share in the adventure, a man can earn his wages by the one; or if he would go to the banks of newfoundland or to massachusetts bay, his lay of a fishing voyage will doubtless bring him enough golden chinks to drink in strong ale or sack the health of every fair maiden of plymouth ere he must be off to fill his pockets anew. though the times be ever so hard, he is a feckless sailor who cannot earn in such a company the price of drinking the three outs. but to work a ship and lay aboard a rich prize, with perhaps need to show heels to a king's cruiser or to fight her, is quite another game; and the old one and harry malcolm, who had their full share of the ill-temper that prevailed throughout the ship, cursed their fortune, each in his own way, and wrangled together and quarrelled with the men. and indeed, among all the men of the rose of devon there were only two or three who that morning remained unperturbed by their misadventures of the night. one was jacob, who sat in this corner or that and eyed all comers coldly and as if from a distance. a second was philip marsham, who did not, like jacob, appear to lose his warmer interest in the ship and her company, but whose interest had been always less as for himself alone. meeting in groups of three or five, the men ripped out oaths and told of how one captain or another had once taken a ship or a town with vast bloodshed and plunder, and thus they stormed about the deck at intervals until an hour after sunrise, when phil from the forecastle and old jacob from his corner under the quarter-deck, having observed them for some time putting their heads together and conversing in undertones, heard them crying out, "yea, yea! go on, go on! we are all with you!" four of the men then started through the steerage room to the great cabin and the rest gathered in a sullen half circle just under the quarter-deck. jacob raised his head and listened; his face was very thoughtful and his small mouth was puckered tight. at the sounds that issued from the cabin, phil himself drew nearer. "well," cried the old one in a voice that seemed as full of wonder as of wrath,--they heard him plainly,--"what in the devil's name mean ye by this?" "we ha' lost a dozen men and our shallop by this foolish march, and from this rich town of which you have promised much we have got only blows and balls for our labour." the speaker's voice was loud and harsh, and he larded his speech with such oaths and obscene bywords as are not fit for printing. "we are of a mind to change captains. you shall go forward and paul craig shall come aft. speak up, paul! tell your tale of no marching to wear out a man's feet--" there came a string of oaths in the old one's voice and a wild stamping and crashing; then out they burst, jostling one another in their haste, and after them the old one with a clubbed musket. he subdued his fury, when he faced the ring of sullen men, as if he had taken it with his hands and pushed it down. but they feared him none the less, and perhaps the more. a man looking at him must perceive that his mind was keen and subtle, which made his quietness, when he was angry, more terrible than a great show of wrath. "i have sailed before with mad, fickle crews," said he; "yea, once with a crew so mad that it would send a gentleman post unto the king with a petition of grievances because a king's ship had chased us from the south foreland to the lizard. but never saw i a more mad crew than this, which is enough to give a man a grievous affliction of the colic and stone by the very excess of its madness." "as for madness," cried a man who stood at a safe distance behind the rest, "i charge thee with worse than madness. we have lost two fights and many men and have got to show for it--a kettle of fish." some laughed, but more muttered angrily. "why--we have had our ill fortunes. but what gentlemen of the sea have not? come, make an end of this talk. come out, you who spoke, and let us consider the matter. nay? he will not come, though by his speech he is a bold man?" again some of them laughed, but in a mean way, for he had cowed them by his show of violence and they feared more than ever that subtle spirit which over-leaped their understanding. "listen, then, my hearts of gold: we will come about and sail back. we will lie tonight by the very town that last night we stormed. we will seek it out as a harbour of refuge. we will tell them a tale of meeting pirates who captured our shallop and part of our men. we will give them such a story that they will think we have met the very men they themselves last night beat off, and will welcome us with open arms to succour our distress. who knows but that we can then take them by assault? or if for the time they are too strong for us, we will mark well the approaches and the defenses, and some night we will again come back." the idea caught their fancy, and though a few cried nay and whispered that it was the sheerest madness yet, more cried yea and argued there was little risk, for if worst should come to worst, they could turn tail and run as run they had before. as they talked, they forgot their many woes and whispered about that none but the old one would ever think of such a scheme. harry malcolm and the old one went off by themselves and put their heads together and conversed secretly, and throughout the ship there was a great buzz of voices. only jacob, who sat in his corner and watched now one and now another, and philip marsham, who watched jacob, kept silence amidst the hubble-bubble. so they wore ship, and returning along the palm-grown shores, came again at the end of the afternoon into sight of the flat mountain they had seen first by night; and though the wind fell away at times until the sails hung in listless folds, they gathered speed with the evening breeze and came at nightfall into a fine landlocked harbour with the town at its head, where there were lights shining from the houses and a ship still lying at anchor. upon their coming there was a great stir in the town. they saw lights moving and heard across the water voices calling; but though the men of the rose of devon stood by their guns, ready to lift the ports at a word and run out their pieces, they laughed in their sleeves at their own audacity whereby they hoped greatly to enrich their coffers. then one in the fort hailed them in spanish, and while the old one made answer in the same tongue, those who understood it whispered to the rest that he was giving the men in the fort a sad tale of how the rose of devon had fallen in with a band of sailors of fortune who had killed part of her men and would have killed them all had not the old one himself by a bold and clever stroke eluded them. the old one and the man in the fort flung questions and answers back and forth; and as they talked, the men at the guns relaxed and softly laughed, and martin whispered to philip marsham, "yea, they are telling of a band of roving englishmen who last night singed their very whiskers; and being clever men and learning that them whom we ourselves have met and fought were lawless english dogs, they perceive we needs have met the very rascals that made them so much trouble." again martin listened, then slapped his thigh. "they are sending us boats!" he exclaimed. "though they perceive we are english, it seemeth they bear an englishman no ill will because he is english. truly, a fool shall be known by his folly!" most of the men were elated, but old jacob watched and said nought. his black, bright eyes and his nose, which came out in a broad curve, made him look like an old, wise rat. as the boats came over the dark water, with the soft splash of oars, there was hurried talking on the quarter-deck, then the old one came swiftly. "good boatswain," said he, "these foolish fellows have bade us ashore to break bread with them and share a bottle of wine. now i am of a mind to go, and harry malcolm is of a mind to bear me company. we will take twelve men and so arrange it that they shall not surprise us. yea, i am too old a dog to be caught by tricks. it may be we can strike them again tonight, and a telling blow. it may be not. but do you and jacob keep watch on board, with every man at his station in case of need." so the rose of devon let go her anchors and swung with the tide a cable's length from the unknown ship, which lay dark and silent and apparently deserted. the strange boats came up in the shadow of the poop and the old one and harry, with their men mustered about them, exchanged greetings with the oarsmen below, in rough english and in rougher spanish, as each side strove to outdo the other in civility. the men--heavily armed--slid down into the boats and the old one smiled as he watched them go, for he was himself well pleased with the escapade. such harebrained adventures were his bread of life. he followed the men, the cabin lanthorn in his hand, and after him came harry malcolm, as cool as a man could desire, and watched very sharply all that went on while the boats rowed slowly away toward the land. then jacob came out of his corner and spoke to phil. "i will watch first," said he. "the cook hath laid a fine supper on the cabin table. go you down and eat your fill, then come up and keep the deck and i will go down and eat in my turn." at something in the man's manner, which puzzled him, phil hesitated; but the thought was friendly, and he said, "i will not be long." "do not hurry." when phil turned away, old jacob cleared his throat. "boatswain--" "yea?" "do not hurry." as phil sat at the table in the great cabin, which was so dark that he could scarcely see the plate in front of him (although he ate with no less eagerness because of the darkness), the planks and timbers and transoms and benches were merged into an indiscriminate background of olive-black, and there hung before him by chance a mirror on the forward bulkhead, in which the reflection of the yellow sky threw into sharp outline the gallery door at his back. having no means at hand for striking a light, he was hungrily eating and paying little heed to his surroundings, when in the mirror before his eyes, against the yellow western sky the silhouette of a head wearing a sweeping hat appeared over the gallery rail. there was not the faintest noise, and no slightest motion of the ship was perceptible in the brown stillness of the evening. the head, darkly silhouetted, appeared in the mirror as if it were a thing not of this earth, and immediately, for he was one who always kept his wits about him, phil slipped silently off the bench, and letting himself down flat on the deck, slid back into the darkest corner of all, which lay to the starboard of the gallery door. there, without a sound, he rose to his feet. the black silhouette reflected in the mirror grew larger until it nearly blocked the reflection of the door, then a board in the gallery gently creaked and phil knew that the man, whoever he was, was coming into the cabin. presently in the subdued light he could dimly see the man himself, who stood by the table with his back toward phil and glanced about the cabin from one side to the other. knowing only that he was a stranger and therefore had no right to enter the great cabin of the rose of devon, phil had it in mind to jump and seize him from behind, for so far as he could appraise the man's figure, the two were a fair match in weight and height. but when phil was gathering himself for the leap, he saw in the mirror the reflection of a second head, and then of a third. again the gallery creaked, for the newcomers, like the first, were on their way into the cabin. by the door they stood for a moment listening, and in the silence phil heard a boat gently bumping against the side of the ship. he was first of a mind, naturally, to cry an alarm; but were he to call for help, he would learn no more of their errand. they drew together beside the table and conversed in whispers of which phil could distinguish nothing, although he was near enough to reach out his hand and seize hold of the curls and brave hat of the nearest of them. to attack them single-handed were an act of plain folly, for they wore swords and doubtless other weapons; but when he perceived that the first had got out flint and steel, he knew that they must soon discover him. "whence and for what have you come?" he said in a low voice. they turned quickly but with admirable composure: there were never seen three calmer men. the first struck light to a slow match and held over it the wick of a candle drawn from his pocket, upon which the flame took hold and blazed up, throwing curious shadows into the corner of the cabin and half revealing the hangings and weapons. the man raised the candle and the three drew close about phil and looked at him steadily. "so a watch is set in the cabin, i perceive," the man holding the candle said with a quiet, ironical smile. by mien and speech phil knew upon the instant that they were englishmen and it took no great discernment to see that they were gentlemen and men of authority. they pressed closer about him. "whence and for what have you come?" he repeated. they made no reply but stood in the brown light, holding high their candle and looking him hard in the face. again he heard the boat bumping against the side of the ship and now the murmur of the wind aloft. far away he heard a faint sound of calling which was growing constantly louder. the three exchanged glances and whispering to one another, moved toward the gallery; but as they started to go, the one turned back and held the candle to phil's face. "of this be assured, my fine fellow," said he, "i shall know you well if ever i see you again." phil was of a mind to call after them, to pursue them, to flee with them; but as it is easy to understand, there were strong reasons for his staying where he was, and there had been little welcome in their faces. he stood for a moment by the table and noticed that the sky in the mirror had turned from a clear olive to a deep gray and that the lines of the door and the gallery rail had lost their sharp decisiveness and had blurred into the dark background. then he darted out of the cabin through the steerage and called sharply, "jacob! jacob!" the men watching at the guns stirred in suppressed excitement and turned from whispering uneasily. "there are strange sounds yonder, boatswain," called one. "and shall we knock out the ports and loose the tacklings?" another asked. "be still! jacob, jacob!" phil cried, running up on the quarter-deck. there was no one on the quarter-deck; there was no one on the poop. the wind was blowing up into a fair breeze and small waves were licking against the dark sides of the rose of devon. but the after decks were deserted. "jacob!" phil cried once more, and sent his voice out far across the water. but there was still no answer. jacob had gone. for a moment the lad stood by the rail and intently listened. the calling on shore had ceased, but a boat was rowing out from the town and the beat of oars was quick and irregular. further, to swell his anxiety, there was a great bustle on board the unknown ship, which had been lying hitherto with no sign of human life. then philip marsham took the fate of the rose of devon in his hands and leaned out over the quarter-deck gun. "holla, there!" he called, but not loudly, "let the younkers lay quietly aloft and lie ready on the yards to let the sails fall at a word." seeming encouraged and reassured by a summons to action, the younger men went swarming up the rigging, and as quietly as one could wish; but even the low sound of their subdued voices drummed loud in the ears of the lad on the quarter-deck. jacob had gone! the boatswain, for one, remembered old tales of rats leaving ships of ill fortune. chapter xvii will canty they saw a boat coming a long way off, with her men rowing furiously, but by that time there were all manner of sounds on the shore whence the boat had launched forth. shouts and yells in english and spanish, with ever the booming of guns, echoed across the harbour. beacons flamed up and for a while danced fitfully, only to die away when those who tended the fires left them unwatched and with flaming brands joined in the cry; and in the wake of the furiously rowing boat came others that strove with a great thresh of oars to overhaul the fugitive. the activity and tumult were very small and faint under the bright stars in that harbour girdled about with palms. though the rugged slopes of wild mountains, rising like escarpments above the harbour, by day completely dwarfed it, yet the stars made the mountains seem by night mere pigmy hills, and even the many sounds, which a great echoing redoubled, seemed smaller and fainter in the presence of the vast spaces that such a night suggests. although the men in the foremost boat rowed out of time and clumsily, their fierce efforts kept them their lead, and they were still far in advance of their pursuers when they tossed up their oars and crouched panting on the thwarts in the shadow of the ship. "ropes, you fools!" the old one called. "cast us ropes! ropes! bind fast this bird we've caught and trice him up! now, my hearts, swing him aloft--there he swings and up he goes! well done! i'll keep him though i risk my neck in doing it. make fast a rope at bow and at stern! good! every man for himself! up, thou! and thou! up go we all! come, tally on and hoist the boat on board! and the men are aloft? well done, jacob! haul up the anchor and let fall the courses!" it was plain from their manner that those who came swarming up the sides had a story to tell, but there was little time then for story-telling. the pursuing boats lifted their oars and swung at a distance with the tide, since it was plain for all to see that they were too late to overhaul the fugitives. although on board the stranger ship there were signs and sounds of warlike activity, she too refrained from aggression; and the old one, having no mind to traffic with them further, paced the deck with a rumble of oaths and drove the men alow and aloft to make sail and be gone. it was "haul, you swine!" and "heave, you drunken dogs!" and "slacken off the weather braces! leap for your lives!" and "haul, there, haul! a touch of the rope's end, boatswain, to stir their spirits!" and "come, clear the main topsail! up aloft to the topsail yard, young men! a knife, you dog, a knife! slash the gaskets clear! a touch of the helm, there! harder! harder! there she holds! steady!" then harry malcolm called from the quarter-deck in his quiet, quick voice, "the swivel gun is loaden, tom. i'll chance a shot upon the advantage." "good, say i!" quoth the old one. "and if the first shot prove ill, amend it with a second." they saw moving on the forecastle the light of a match, and after such brief space of time as a spark takes to go from brace-ring to touchhole the gun, which was charged with small shot for sweeping the deck if an enemy should board the ship, showered the distant boats with metal. they saw by the splashing that the charge had carried well and that malcolm's aim was true, and a yell and a volley of curses told them as well as did the splash, which was dimly seen by starlight, that the shot had scored a hit. while a sailor sponged the gun, harry malcolm gave a shog to the full ladle of powder, and keeping his body clear of the muzzle, put the ladle home to the chamber, where he turned it till his thumb on the ladle-staff was down, and gave it a shake to clear out the powder, and haled it forth again. then with the rammer he put the powder home and drove after it a good wad and in anger and haste called for a shot. then the old one laughed through his teeth. "go thou down, jacob," cried he, "and give them a ball from the stern chaser. to sink one of those water snakes, now, would be a message worthy of our parting. jacob! jacob, i say!" there was no answer from old jacob. it was boatswain marsham who cried back, "he hath gone." "gone?" quoth the old one. his face, as the starlight revealed it, was not for the reading, but despite him there was something in his voice that caught the attention of the men. "gone?" the old one repeated, and leaned down in the darkness. the shadows quite concealed his face when he was bent over so far that no light from above could fall on it, but he raised his hand and beckoned to the boatswain in a way there was no mistaking. in response to the summons of the long forefinger, phil climbed the ladder to his side. "you say he hath gone," the old one quietly repeated. "when did he go?" "i do not know. he kept the deck when i went below for supper." "how did he go?" "nor do i know that. but three men came into the cabin by way of the gallery while i was there--" "three men, say you? speak on." the old one leaned back and folded his arms, and though he smiled, he listened very carefully to the story the boatswain told. "and when you came on deck he was gone." the old one tapped the rail. "you have booklearning. can you navigate a ship?" "i can." "yea, it may well be that now we shall have need of such learning. it was an odd day when you and i met beside the road. i shall not soon forget that ranting fool with the book, who was as good as a bear-baiting to while away an afternoon when time hung heavy. oft ha' we left him fallen at the crest, in the old days when he dwelt in bideford, but jacob saw no sport in it, nor could he abide the fellow." the old one looked phil frankly in the eye and smiled. "in faith, i had a rare game that day with martin, whose wits are but a slubbering matter at best. but that's all done and away with. and jacob hath gone! let him go. betide it what may, there is one score i shall settle before my hour comes. go forward, boatswain, and bear a sharp watch at sea, and mind you come not abaft the mainmast until i give you leave." the old one spoke again when phil was on the ladder. "mind you, boatswain: come not abaft the mainmast until i give you leave. i bear you nought but love, but i will have you know that in what i have to do i will brook no interruption." though tom jordan had spoken him kindly, the lad was not so blunt of wit that he failed to detect suspicion in the man's manner. he stopped by the forecastle, and looking back saw that the old one was giving the helmsman orders, for the ship had cleared the harbour, to all appearances unpursued, and was again bearing up the coast. the old one then came down from the quarter-deck, and, having spoken to several of the men in turn, called, "come, martin; come, paul, bring the fellow in." and with that, he went into the great cabin, where they heard him speaking to harry malcolm. as for martin barwick and paul craig, they went over to where the one had all this time been lying whom they had trussed up in ropes and hoisted on board. all the time he had been in the ship he had neither moved nor spoken, nor did he speak now as they picked him up, one at his head and one at his feet, and carried him into the cabin. the door shut and for a long time there was silence. there were some to whom the matter was a mystery, and the boatswain was among them; but the whispering and nodding showed that more knew the secret than were ignorant of it. the ship thrust her nose into a heavy swell and pitched until her yards knocked on the masts; the breeze blew up and whipped the tops off the waves and showered the decks with spray; the sky darkened with clouds and threatened rain. but in the ship there was such a deep silence as stifles a man, which endured and seemed--were it possible--to grow minute by minute more intense until a low cry burst from the cabin. the men sitting here and there on deck stirred and looked at one another; but philip marsham leaped to his feet. "sit down, lad," said the carpenter. "drop your hand!" "nay, it is better that i keep my hand on your arm." "drop your hand! hinder me not!" "nay, i am obeying orders." there came a second cry from the cabin, and phil laid his free hand on his dirk. "have care, boatswain, lest thy folly cost thee dear. there are others set to watch the deck as well as i." and now three men who had been sitting by the mainmast rose. they were looking toward phil and the carpenter, and one of them slowly walked thither. though philip marsham had no fear of hard fighting, neither was he an arrant fool, and instantly he perceived that he was one man against many under circumstances that doubled the odds. his heart beat fast and a cold sweat sprang out on his forehead. "what are they doing to him?" he demanded. "nothing that he hath not richly earned," said the man who had come near the two. scarcely conscious of his own thought, phil glanced toward the dark and distant shore; but, slight though his motion, the carpenter's one eye saw it and his none too nimble wit understood it. "nay," said he, "it is a mad conceit." the carpenter thrust his fingers through his beard, and, being a kindly soul in his own way and having a liking for the boatswain, he wished himself rid of his responsibilities. but since there was no escape from the situation he drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders to make the best of it. "i heard of a man once, when i was a little lad," he said, "who was cast ashore on the main, in mexico or some such place. miles philips was his name and the manner of his suffering at the hands of the indians and the spaniards may serve as a warning. for they flung him into prison where he was like to have starved; and they tortured him in the inquisition where he was like to have perished miserably; and many of his companions they beat and killed or sent to the galleys; and himself and certain others they sold for slaves. so grievous was his suffering, he was nigh death when he heard news of sir francis drake being in those seas and ran away to join him. yet again they caught him--caught this miles philips and clapped him into prison with a great pair of bolts on his legs; and yet once more did he escape, for god willed it, and filed off his irons and got him away and so betook him back to england after such further suffering from the indians and the mosquitoes and the spaniards and the dogs of the inquisition as few men have lived to tell the tale of. all this, i have heard from an old man who knew him, is told in master hakluyt's book, where any scholar of reading may find it for himself. though not a man of reading, yet have i taken it to heart to beware of straying from a ship into a strange land." of all the fellow had said philip marsham had heard no more than half, for the cry that had twice sounded still rang in his ears, although since it had died away the second time there was only silence on the deck save for the carpenter's rambling talk. the lad's mind leaped nimbly from one occurrence to another in search for an explanation of the cry. "tell me," said he, "what happened on shore?" at this the carpenter laughed, pleased with believing he had got the boatswain's thoughts off the affair of the moment. "why, little enough. they would have persuaded us to leave our weapons at the door, but the old one was too wise a horse to be caught by the rattle of oats. and whilst he was ducking and smiling and waving hands with the spaniards, i myself, my ears being keen, heard one cry in spanish, for i have a proper understanding of spanish which i got by many pains and much listening--as i was saying, i heard one cry in spanish, 'yea, that is he.' and said i to myself, 'now heaven keep us! where have i heard that voice?' and then it came upon me and i cried in english, 'who of us knew the dog, will canty, could talk spanish?' whereat the old one, hearing me, turned and caught a glimpse of will in the darkness. you know his way--a shrewd blade, but hot-tempered. 'there,' cries he, 'is my man! seize him!' and with that i, being nearest, made a leap. and they, being at the moment all oil to soothe our feelings and hood our eyes, were off their guard. so the old one, who likely enough had heard for himself will canty's saying, since he too hath a curious knowledge of spanish, cries, 'back to the boat, my lads!' for seest thou, if will canty was pointing out this one or that, there was treacherous work in the wind. so down through them we rushed, all together, bearing will with us by the suddenness and audacity of our act, and so away in a boat before they knew our thought." "and who were the other englishmen?" the carpenter gave the lad a blank look. "why, there were none." rising, phil paced the deck while the carpenter and the others watched him. some scowled and whispered suspicions, and others denied them, until phil himself heard one crying, "nay, nay, he's a true lad. 'tis only he hath a liking for the fellow." the carpenter neither smiled nor frowned, for though he knew no loyalty deeper than his selfish interests, and though he felt no qualm regarding that which was going on in the cabin (since he had little love for the poor wretch who was the victim), he had a very kindly feeling toward those who got his liking; and it sorely troubled him that philip marsham should suffer thus, though it were at second hand. "come, lad," said he, "sit down here and take comfort in the fine night." laying his elbows on the rail, phil thrust his hands through his hair and bit his two lips and stared at the distant shore of cuba. he feared neither indians nor insects nor the inquisition. there were other things, to his mind, more fearful than these. the gasping sound that then came from the cabin was one thing more than he could abide. he turned with the drawn dirk in his hand, but the carpenter was on him from behind, whispering, "come, lad, come!" and because he could not but be aware of the carpenter's honest good will, he could not bring himself to use the dirk, yet only by using the dirk could he have got out of the long arms that held him fast. for a moment they swayed back and forth; then, when others were hurrying to aid the carpenter, the door of the great cabin opened. a rumble of laughter issued, then the old one's voice, "lay him here in the steerage and shackle him fast to the mizzen. he may well be thankful that i am a merciful man." chapter xviii tom jordan's mercy they anchored that noon in a great bay surrounded by forests and mountains, which formed a harbour wherein a thousand sail of tall ships might have lain. through the long afternoon, while the rose of devon swung at her anchor, the wind stirred the palms and a wild stream, plunging in a succession of falls down a mountainside, shone like a silver thread. but paul craig sat guard over will canty, who lay in the steerage chained to the mizzenmast, and there was no chance for any one of the men to speak with will. and on deck the carpenter measured and sawed and planed for his purpose; and having shaped his stock he wrought a coffin. first he threw nails in a little heap on the deck, then, kneeling, he drove them home into the planed boards. it was rap-rap-rap, and rap-rap-rap. the noise went through the ship, while the men looked at one another; and some chuckled and said that the old one was a rare bird; but the old one, coming out of the great cabin without so much as a glance at the lad who lay chained to the mast, stood a long time beside the carpenter. he kept a grave face while he watched him work, and very serious he looked when he turned away and came and stood beside philip marsham. "there are men that would slit the fellow's throat," he said, "or burn him at stake, or flay him alive; but i have a tender heart and am by nature merciful. though he broke faith and dipped his hands in black treachery, i bear him no ill will. i must needs twist his thumbs to wring his secrets out of him and i can no longer keep him about me; yet, as i have said, i bear him no ill will. saw you ever a finer coffin than the one i have ordered made for him?" what could a man reply? although there had been complaining and revolt before, the old one again held the ship in the palm of his hand, for they feared his irony more than his anger. darkness came and they lowered the coffin into the boat, whither man after man slid down. "come, boatswain," said the old one, in a quiet, solemn voice. "there is an oar to pull." and what could a man do but slide with the others down into the boat and rest on the loom of an oar? phil shared a thwart with the carpenter, and raised his oar and held it upright between his knees. the coffin lay across the boat amidships, and there were four oars, two on the one side and two on the other; but a man sat beside each oarsman, two more crowded into the bow, and two sat in the stern sheets with the old one. then they lowered will canty to the bottom in front of the old one, where he lay bound hand and foot. shoving off from the ship, the oarsmen bent to their task and the old one steered with a sweep; but the boat was crowded and deep in the water, and they made slow progress. mosquitoes swarmed about them and droned interminably. the water licked at the boat and lapped on the white beach. the wind stirred in the palms. the great bay with its mountains and its starry sky was as fair a piece of land and sea as a man might wish to look upon in his last hour; but there are few men whose philosophy will stand by them at such a moment, and there is an odd quirk in human nature whereby a mere droning mosquito can drive out of mind the beauty of sea and land--nay, even thoughts of an immeasurable universe. the men beat at mosquitoes and swore wickedly until the old one bade them be silent and row on, for although they had come near the shore the water was still deep under the boat, which tossed gently in the starlight. a time followed in which the only sounds were of the wind and the waves and the heavy breathing of the men. some were turning their heads to see the shore and the old one had already risen to choose a landing-place, when will canty--who, although bound hand and foot, had all the while been edging about in the stern unknown to the others till he had braced his feet in such a way that he could get purchase for a leap--gave a great spring from where he lay, and thus threw himself up and fell with his back across the gunwale, whence, wriggling like a worm, he strove to push himself over the side. the old one sprang forward in fury to seize and hold him, and caught him by the wrist; but one of the men in zeal to have a hand in the affair drove the butt of his gun against will canty's chin, and in recovering the piece he stumbled and pushed the old one off his balance. so the old one lost his hold on will canty's wrist and before the rest knew what was happening will had slipped into the deep water and had sunk. that he never rose was doubtless the best fortune that could have befallen him, and likely enough it was the blow of the gun that killed him. but the old one was roused to such a pitch of wrath at being balked of his revenge that he was like a wild beast in his fury. quicker than thought, he turned on the man who had pushed against him, and reaching for the coffin that was made to will's measure--a great, heavy box it was!--raised it high and flung it at the fellow. it gashed the man's forehead and fell over the side and floated away, and the man himself, with a string of oaths, clapped his hand to the wound, whence the blood trickled out between his fingers. "swine! ass!" the old one snarled. "i was of a mind to lay thee in will canty's bed. but let the coffin go. th' art not worthy of it." the boat grated on white sand, and leaping to his feet the old one cried with a high laugh as he marked his victim's fear, "get thee gone! if ever i see thy face again, i will slit thy throat from ear to ear." "nay, nay, do not send me away! do not send me away!" the man wailed. "o god! no, not that! i shall perish of indians and spaniards! the wild beasts will devour me. nay! nay!" the old one smiled and reached for a musket, and the poor fellow, his face streaked with gore, was overcome by the greater terror and fled away under the palms. no shot was fired and neither knife nor sword was drawn ere the echo of the fellow's wailing died into silence; but the old one then fired a single shot after him, which evoked a last scream. "come, martin, take the scoundrel's oar," quoth the old one, and he turned the head of the boat to sea. they said little and were glad to row briskly out to the ship. action is ever welcome at the time when a man desires most of all to get away from memory and thought. that night, when they were all asleep, martin leaped out on the deck and woke them by shrieking like a lunatic, until it seemed they were all transported into bedlam. he then himself awoke, but he would say only, "my god, what a dream! oh, what a dream!" and he would rub his hands across his eyes. the grumblers continued quietly to grumble, for that is a joy no power on earth can take away, but there was no more talk of another captain. some said that now the luck would change and told of prizes they had taken and would take, and recalled to mind the strong liquors of bideford and the pasties that mother taylor would make for them. others, although they said little, shook their heads and appeared to wish themselves far away. but whether a man felt thus or otherwise, there was small profit of their talking. for another day and night they lay at anchor and ate and drank and sprawled out in the sun. the rose of devon, as they had earlier had occasion to remark, was richly found, and they had still no need to bestir themselves for food and drink. but any man with a head on his shoulders must perceive that with old jacob, who had gone so wisely about his duties and had so well held his own counsel in many things, the ship had lost something of stability and firm purpose even in her lawless pursuits. and will canty, too, was gone! as the old writer has it, "one is choked with a fly, another with a hair, a third pushing his foot against the trestle, another against the threshold, falls down dead: so many kind of ways are chalked out for man, to draw towards his last home, and wean him from the love of earth." though will canty had died a hard death, he had escaped worse; and as priam, numbering more days than troilus, shed more tears, so philip marsham, outliving his friend, faced such times as the other was spared knowing. of all this he thought at length, and fearing his own conscience more than all the familiars of the inquisition, in which he was singularly heartened by remembering the stout old knight in the scarlet cloak, he contrived a plan and bode his time. in the darkness of the second night, when the old one had somewhat relaxed his watchfulness, boatswain marsham slipped over the bow and lowered himself silently on a rope he had procured for the purpose, and very carefully, lest the noise be heard on board the ship, seated himself in tom jordan's boat and rowed for shore. an honest man can go so far in a company of rogues and no farther. reaching the land and hauling the boat up on the beach in plain sight of those left in the rose of devon, where they might swim for it if they would, he set off across the hills and under the palms. upon reaching the height he looked back and for a moment watched the old ship as she swung with the tide on the still, clear water. he hoped he should never see her again. then he looked down at the tremulous and shimmering bay where will canty lay dead, and was glad to plunge over the hill and leave the bay behind him. chapter xix a man seen before there was sullen anger and worse in the rose of devon when day broke, for the boatswain, too, had gone and the boat lay in sight upon the beach whereby all might know the means of his going. one watching from the mountain would have seen the rose of devon spread her sails and put to sea like a great bird with white wings. but there was no one on the mountain to watch, and when the ship had sailed, no human being remained to interrupt the placid calm that overspread the bay that summer morning. the sun blazed from a clear sky, and the green palms rustled and swayed beside the blue water, and in all the marvelously fair prospect of land and sea no sign or mark of violence remained. phil marsham had gone in the night over the hills and across the narrow peninsula between two bays. though the way was rough, the land was high and--for the tropics--open, and he had put the peninsula behind him by sunrise. he had then plunged down into a swampy region, but, finding the tangle of vines and canes well nigh impassable in the dark, he had struggled round it and had again come to the shore. there, finding once more a place where a man could walk easily, he had pressed on at dawn through a forest of tall trees in infinite number and variety, with flowers and fruits in abundance, and past a plain of high grass of wonderful greenness. a short time after sunrise he drank from a spring of water and ate ship's bread from the small store with which he had provided himself. but he dared not linger, and resuming his journey he came upon two huts where nets and fishing-tackle were spread in the sun to dry. the heat, which seemed to swell from the very earth, by then so sorely oppressed him that he stopped for a while in a shady place to rest. but still he dared not stay, and although upon again arising he saw that dark clouds were covering the sky, he once more stepped forth with such a stout heart as had carried him out of london and all the long way to bideford in devon. it gave him a queer feeling to be tramping through an unknown land with no destination in his mind, yet he vowed to himself that, come what might, he would never go back to the rose of devon. there is a time when patience and forbearance are enough to earn a man a hempen halter, and thinking thus, he faced the storm and renewed his determination. the wind rose to a furious gale; the clouds overswept the sky and thunder shook the earth and heavens. the rain, sweeping down in slanting lines, cut through the palm leaves like hundreds upon hundreds of thrusting swords; and lightning flamed and flashed, and leaped from horizon to horizon, and hung in a sort of continual cloud of deathly blue in the zenith, blazing and quivering with appalling reverberations that went booming off through the mountains and came rolling back in ponderous echoes. it was enough to make a brave man think the black angels were marshalling for the last great battle; it was such a storm as a boy born in england and taught his seamanship in northern waters knew only by sailors' tales. the rain beat through the poor shelter that he found and drenched him to the skin, and the roaring and thundering of the tempest filled him with awe. and when the storm had passed, for it lasted not above three quarters of an hour, the sun came out again and filled the air with a steamy warmth that was oppressive beyond description. then the woods came to life and insects stirred and droned, and mosquitoes, issuing from among the leaves and grasses, plagued him to the verge of madness. one who has lived always in a land where mosquitoes return each year in summer is likely to have no conception of the venomous strength with which their poison can work upon one who has not, by much experience of their bites, built up a measure of resistance against it. phil's hands swelled until he could not shut them, and the swelling of his face so nearly closed his eyes that he could hardly see. when two hours later, all but blinded, and thirsting and hungry, he came again to the shore and made out in the offing, by squinting between swollen eyelids, the same rose of devon from which he had run away and to which he had vowed he would never return, his misery was such that he would have been glad enough to be on board her and away from such torment, though they ended the day by hanging him. but the rose of devon sailed away over the blue sea on which the sun shone as calmly and steadily as if there had been no tempest, and philip marsham sat down on a rock and gave himself up as a man already dead. there two natives of the country found him, and by grace of god, who tempered their hearts with mercy, carried him to their poor hut and tended him with their simple remedies until he was in such measure recovered of the poison that he could see as well as ever. he then set out once more upon his way to he knew not where, having rubbed himself with an ointment of vile odour, which they gave him in goodly quantity to keep off all pestiferous insects, and on the day when he ate the last morsel of the food with which the natives had provided him he saw from the side of a high hill a strange ship at anchor in a cove beneath. now a ship might mean one thing or she might mean another; and a man's life might depend on the difference. drinking deeply from a stream that ran over the rocks and through the forest, and so at last into the cove, philip marsham returned into the wood and sat upon a fallen tree. he saw a boat put out from the ship and touch on the shore a long way off, where some men left her and went out of sight. after an hour or two they came back, and, entering the boat, returned to the ship. he saw men working on deck and in the rigging; he heard the piping of a whistle, and now and again, as the wind changed, he heard more faintly than the drone of insects the voices of the men. being high above the shore, he found the mosquitoes fewer and the wind helped drive them away; yet they plagued him continually, despite his ointment, of which little was left, and made him miserable while he stayed. he would have hurried off had he dared; but the chance that the ship would be the means of saving his life withheld him from pursuing his journey, while doubt concerning the manner of craft she was withheld him from making known his presence. in mid-afternoon he saw far away a sail, which came slowly in across the blue plain of the sea; and having clear eyes, trained by long practice, he descried even at that great distance the motion of a heavily rolling ship. from his seat high on the hill he could see a long way farther than the men in the ship in the cove, and a point of land shut off from them an arc of the sea that was visible from the hill; so when night fell they were still unaware of the sail. though he had watched for hours the ship in the cove, the runaway boatswain of the rose of devon had discovered no sign of what nation had sent her out or what trade her men followed; but there came a time when his patience could endure suspense no longer. he picked his way down to the shore, following the stream from which he had been drinking during his long watch, and cautiously moved along the edge of the water till he came to the point of land nearest the anchored ship, whence he could very plainly hear voices on board her. there were lights on the stern and on deck, and through an open port he got sight of hammocks swinging above the guns on the main deck. at last he took off the greater part of his clothes and piled them on a rock; then, strapping his dirk to his waist, he waded silently into the water. reaching his depth, he momentarily hesitated, but fortifying his resolution with such philosophy as he could muster, he began deliberately and silently to swim. letting himself lie deep in the water and moving so slowly that he raised no wake, he came into the shadow of the ship. it was good to feel her rough planking. he swam aft under the quarter, and coming to the rudder laid hands on it and rested. above him he could see, upon looking up, a lighted cabin-window. his own body seemed ponderous as he slowly lifted himself out of water. he raised one hand from the tip of the rudder just above the tiller to the carving overhead and got grip on a scroll wrought in tough oak. he put his foot on the rudder, and feeling above him with his other hand seized fast the leg of a carved dragon. very thankful for the brave ornaments with which the builder had bedecked the ship, he next got hold of the dragon's snout, and clinging like a fly, unseen and unsuspected, above the black water that gurgled about the rudder and the hull, he crawled silently up the stern. coming thus to the lighted cabin window, he peeked in and found the place deserted. on the table a cloth was laid, and on the cloth such a dinner service as he could scarce have dreamed of. there were glasses of rare tints, with a few drops of wine left in them, which glowed like garnets under the bright candles. there were goblets of silver, and even, he believed, of gold. there were wonderfully delicate plates crusted with gold about the edges. there was an abundance of silver to eat with and a great decanter, wrought about with gold and precious stones, such as simple folk might not expect to see this side of heaven. at the sound of steps, phil drew back and hung over the water on the great stern of the ship. a boy came into the cabin and stepped briskly about clearing the table. voices came down from above--and they were speaking in english! what a prize she would have made for the rose of devon, phil thought, and grimly smiled. "boy!" a voice bellowed from somewhere in the bowels of the ship. "yea, yea, master," cried the boy, and with that he scurried from the cabin like a startled chick. phil raised his head and renewed his hold, for he could not cling there forever; yet how to introduce himself on board the ship was a question that sorely puzzled him. he threw a bare leg over the sill, the more easily to rest, and revolved the problem in his mind. they were plainly honest englishmen, and right glad would he have been to get himself in among them. yet if he came like a thief in the night, they must suspect him of evil intentions without end. while he thus attacked the problem from one side and from the other, it occurred to him that the best way was to crawl down again into the water and swim back to the shore from whence he had come. there, having donned his clothes, he would call for help. surely there was no one so hard of heart as to refuse a lad help in escaping from the pirates. he raised his leg to swing it out of the window again and put his scheme into practice, when he felt--and it startled him nearly out of his skin--a hand lay hold on his ankle. if you will balance yourself on the outside of any window with one foot over the sill, you will find it exceedingly difficult to pull your foot away from some one inside the window without throwing yourself off the wall, and phil for the moment was reluctant to make the plunge. slowly at first he twisted and pulled, but to no purpose. with waxing vigour he struggled and yanked and kicked and jerked, but completely failed to get his ankle out of the hand that held it. it seemed that a gentleman who had been sitting at a little desk, so placed that phil could not have seen it without thrusting his head all the way into the cabin, had looked up, and, perceiving to his mild surprise a naked foot thrust in through the window, had nimbly arisen, and stepping lightly toward the foot, had seized the ankle firmly at the moment when phil was about to withdraw it. the gentleman marvelled much at what he had discovered and purposed to get at the reason for it. not only did he succeed with ease in holding the ankle fast against his captive's somewhat cautious first kicks; he anticipated a more desperate effort by getting firm hold with both hands, so that when his captive decided to risk all, so to speak, and tried with might and main to fling himself free and into the water by a great leap, the gentleman kept fast his hold and held the lad by his one leg, who dangled below like a trapped monkey. very likely it was foolish of philip marsham to attempt escaping, but as i have said he was of no mind to be caught thus like a thief entering in the night, and he was so completely surprised that he had no time at all to collect his wits before he acted. yet caught he was, and, for a bad bargain, hung by the heels to boot. "boy," the gentleman said, and his voice indicated that he had a droll humour, "call captain winterton." the boy, further sounds revealed, who had come silently and in leisure, departed noisily and in haste. heavy steps then approached, and a gruff voice cried, "what devilish sort of game is this?" "take his other leg, charles, and we shall soon have him safe on board. i am not yet prepared to say what sort of game it is, beyond saying that it is a rare and curious game." thereupon a second pair of hands closed on philip marsham's other ankle, and, would he or would he not, he was hauled speedily through the cabin window. "young man," said the gentleman who had first seized him, "who and what are you, and from whence have you come?" "i am philip marsham, late boatswain of the rose of devon frigate. i came to learn from what country this ship had sailed and to ask for help. i myself sailed from bideford long since in the rose of devon, but, falling into the hands of certain sailors of fortune who killed our master and took our ship, i have served them for weary months as a forced man. having at last succeeded in running away from them, i have come hither by land, as you can see, suffering much on the way, and i ask you now to have compassion on me, in god's name, and take me home to england." "truly," said the gentleman, "those devilish flies have wrought their worst upon him. his face is swelled till it is as thick-lipped as a guinea slave's." he spoke lightly and with little thought of phil's words, for his humour was uppermost in him. he was in every way the fine gentleman with an eye for the comical, accustomed to having all things done for him and as little likely to feel pity for this nearly naked youth as to think it wrong that the little cabin boy should stand till morning behind his chair, lest by chance, desiring one thing or another, he must compromise his dignity by fetching it for himself. but now the other, captain winterton, a tall, grave man, with cold face and hard cold eyes, stepped forward, and speaking for the first time said: "do you remember me?" phil looked him in the eye and felt his heart sink, but he was no coward. "i do," he replied. captain winterton smiled. he was the first of the three men who had come on board the rose of devon by way of her gallery, and had entered the great cabin the night when phil marsham sat there at supper. it then burst upon phil that in the whole plain truth lay his only hope. "i ran away from them--they had forced me into their service!--a week since. nay, it is true! i am no liar! and it will pay you well to keep a sharp watch this night, for a vessel like enough to the rose of devon to be her twin is this minute lying behind yonder point." "ah! and you sailed, i believe you said, from bideford. doubtless you have kept the day in mind?" "why, 'twas in early may. or--stay! 'twas--" "enough! enough! the master of--" "but though i marked neither the day of the week nor the day of the month, i remember the sailing well." "doubtless," quoth the captain dryly, "but it will save time and serve thy cause to speak only when i bid thee. interrupt me not, but tell me next the name of the lawful master in whose charge thy most excellent ship sailed from bideford." this keen and quiet captain in the king's service was of no mind that his prisoner should tell with impunity such a story as he might make up on the moment. accordingly he proceeded to draw forth by question after question such particular parts of the story as he himself desired to hear, now attacking the matter from one angle and now from another, watching his prisoner closely the while and all the time standing in such a place that the lad had no chance at all of escaping through the open window. chapter xx a prize for the taking "we shall see," said captain winterton, when he had listened to all of the tale that he would hear. he turned about. "boy," he cried, "go speedily and send mr. rance in to me." the boy departed in haste and in a moment there entered a junior officer, who stared in frank curiosity at the three in the cabin. "mr. rance," said the captain, "go aloft in person to the main truck and look about you sharply. come back and report what you see." "yea, yea, sir," the young man replied, and with that he was gone. the captain stood by the cabin window and frowned. plainly he had small confidence in the good faith of the prisoner and regarded his story as at best an attempt to save himself at the expense of his friends. the gentleman of the humours, somewhat sobered by the captain's manner of grave concern, returned to his desk, but sat tapping his fingers and watching philip marsham. it had instantly, of course, dawned upon the runaway boatswain that his peril was more serious than he had had reason earlier to believe. for supposing the unknown sail should in all truth be the rose of devon,--and since she was cruising idly thereabouts nothing was more probable,--he stood between the devil, or at all events the devil's own emissary, thomas jordan, and a deeper sea than any ship has ever sailed: the sea upon which many a man with less plain evidence of piracy against him has embarked from a yardarm with a hempen collar about his neck and a black cap over his eyes. who, pray, would accept for sober truth such a tale as any scoundrel would make out of whole cloth to save himself from hanging? despite all he could do or say, he now saw plainly, he must stand convicted, in their minds, of being at the very least a spy sent to learn the state of affairs on board this tall ship in which he was now a prisoner. then back to the cabin came young mr. rance and very much excited did he appear. "sir," he exclaimed, and stood in the door. "tell your tale." "a ship lieth two cable's lengths from land on the farther side of the point, and a boat hath set out from her and is following the shore as if to reconnoitre." "ah," said the captain, "it is quite as i thought. no drums, mind you, nor trumpets, mr. rance. call the men to quarters by word of mouth. make haste and put springs on the cables if there be time before the boat rounds the point. bid the gunner make all preparations for action and order a sharp watch kept; but order also that there be no sound or appearance of unusual activity. send me a corporal and a file of men, and the master." the gentleman at the desk chuckled. "come, boy, clear the table," said the captain. the boy jumped and returned to his work. the master came first, but the corporal and his men were close at the master's heels. "take this fellow to the gun room, clap him into irons, and set a man to watch him." "yea, yea. come, fellow, march along." and thus sending before them boatswain marsham, erstwhile of the rose of devon frigate, the corporal and his men departed from the cabin. there were guns on the right hand and the left--ordnance of a size to sink the rose of devon with a broadside. there were sailormen thronging between-decks in numbers to appall the young prisoner who came down among them nearly naked from his swim. though no greater of burthen than the rose of devon, the ship was better armed and better manned, and all signs told of the stern discipline of a man-of-war. the alternatives that phil marsham faced, as he sat in shackles with no spirit to reply to the jibes of the sailors and watched men stripped to the waist and moving deftly among the guns, were not those a man would choose. if his old shipmates took this tall and handsome ship, a blow on the head and a burial over the side was the kindest treatment he could expect of them. and if not--the gallows loomed beyond a court of admiralty. for hours the hum of voices went up and down the main deck and for hours boatswain marsham sat with the bolts upon his legs and wrists and saw the life of the ship go on around him. the men leaped here and there at a word, or lolled by their guns waiting for orders. the night wore on, and nodding, phil thought of the two ships lying one on each side of the point of land and by all appearances two quiet merchantmen. yet one, he knew to his sorrow, smelled devilishly of brimstone; and the other, in which he now sat a prisoner, though her ports were closed and her claws sheathed, was like some great tiger watching through half-shut eyes a bold, adventurous goat. as the night wore on, he dared hope that the reconnoitering boat had returned to her ship with news that had sent her away in haste, whereby there was a chance that his tale might yet be taken for the truth that it was; and the longer he waited the higher rose his hope, and with the better reason. but an hour or more after midnight he heard men beginning to talk as if there was something new in the wind, and the nearest gunner put his ear to a cat-hole. "the dogs are out; i hear oars," he whispered. "yea, though they are rowing softly, i swear i can hear oars." a hush came over the ship and those below heard faintly a hail given on deck. distant sounds came and went like whispers out of the sky, then somewhere outside the ship a great shouting arose and one of the men at a starboard gun cried gleefully, with a round oath, "verily they are bent on boarding us, lads! their foolish audacity seasons the term of all our weary waiting." "hark! they are hailing!" cried another. "come, strike your flag. have an end of all this talk," a distant voice called. whereat philip marsham, who knew the voice, thought that though their audacity cost him his life it was in its own mad way superb. the reply was inaudible below, but a boat crashed against the ship. there was a burst of yelling, followed by a rattle of musketry, then a voice boomed down, "haul up your ports and run out your guns!" at that the men beside the guns sprang up with running and calling and the ports flew open and the sounds from without became suddenly louder and clearer. on the one hand were boys handing up filled budge-barrels; on the other were gunners with linstocks ready and powder for the priming. then, "ho, master gunner," a great voice roared, "withhold your fire! the boats are under the guns and too near for a fair shot!" it was such a moment as a man remembers always, for there was the smoke of powder in the air, with a din of splashing and cursing, and overhead a great hubbub, then silence save for the quick beat of oars. "see! see!" cried the men. "there go their boats, splintered and all but sunk! and see! there go ours! to your oars, lads, to your oars, ere their ship hath time to flee! see! there they go! yea, and there go we!" the old one had made his last blunder. he had come by night, thinking to board a peaceful merchantman laden with a rich cargo, and had found himself at the head of his score of men on the deck of a man-of-war. to all those below, but most of all to philip marsham chained in the gun room, it was a blind, confusing affair; but the sounds told the story; and though darkness hid the blood that was spilled, there was no mistaking the cries for quarter and the shrieks of agony. nor was there need for haste to reach the rose of devon, since the men left as keepers of the ship were too few to make sail. captain charles winterton of the king's navy himself boarded the dark frigate by starlight, and a capital lark he found it, for behind his stern mien was a lively taste for such adventure. with lusty shouting he swept the handful of men from her deck, and having put a prize crew and his lieutenant in charge of her, he brought back a few more prisoners to join company with the luckless boarders he had sent down to be locked in irons below. they were sad and angry gentlemen, for there are those to whom the laughter of a hundred sailors is worse than death by the sword. the first of them all to enter the gun room was tom jordan. his cheek was gashed and his hair was singed and blood smeared his shirt from shoulder to shoulder and one arm hung limp and broken; but though he was in great pain he smiled, and when they led him into the gun room and he saw philip marsham with bolts on wrists and ankles, he laughed aloud. the fellow was a very mark and pattern of a scoundrel, but he had the courage and spirit of a hero, and had he first gone to sea under another king than james or charles he might in some overwhelming danger have saved england. great admirals are made of such timber--bold, resolute, utterly dauntless--and any bold man might have fallen into the same trap that had caught tom jordan. (nay, had nothing warned captain winterton or aroused his suspicions, there was a fighting chance for tom jordan to have taken his ship from him even so.) but tom jordan had gone to sea in the days when the navy was going to the dogs, and, like many another lad of spirit who left the king's service to join the pirates, he had adventured with the algerians before he led the gentlemen of bideford. and at last, hazarding a final effort to retrieve his luck, he had unwittingly thrust his head into the halter. yet, though they had broken his body, they had failed to touch his courage; despite his pain, he could smile and even laugh. turning his great grief into a jest, he cried, "holla, o bravest of boatswains! this is a joy i had not looked for. it seems that, if hang i must, i shall not hang alone." and laughing again, right merrily, he swooned away, which captain charles winterton, having himself come down with the others to see them all shackled, watched with quiet interest. they brought down the carpenter, who was shaking like a man with an ague, and his beard waggled as he shook. they brought down martin barwick, whose face was drawn and haggard, and his hand rubbed his throat, for it itched in a prophetic manner. then came harry malcolm, who stopped before phil and spat at him and cursed him, and paul craig, who had neither eye nor thought for any one besides himself, and a dozen others of whom there was not one that failed to revile at their erstwhile boatswain. a hapless time of it philip marsham had among them, but it added little to his great burden of misery. nor, for the matter of that, did reviling content them; for toward morning, when the others were dozing, harry malcolm, whom they had locked to a longer chain, crawled over to where phil lay and very craftily tried to kill him with bare hands. the guard cried out, but instead of stopping, the man redoubled his efforts to throttle the lad whom he had seized from behind when he was asleep; whereupon the guard struck a sharp blow with the butt of his musket, and when the corporal had come running and had felt of harry malcolm's wrist and had listened for his heart and had turned him over on his back, he cursed the guard with fluent oaths for robbing the gallows. chapter xxi ill words come true to the isle of wight, and thence to spithead and deptford, came in time the sybil of forty-four guns, captain charles winterton, and accompanying her, in the hands of a prize crew, the rose of devon frigate. there, bundling certain unhappy gentlemen of fortune out of the ship, they sent them expeditiously up to london and deposited them for safe keeping in the marshalsea prison, a notable hostelry which has harboured great rogues before and since. in the fullness of time, the lord high admiral of england, "who holds his court of justice for trials of all sea causes for life and goods," being assisted by the judge of admiralty and sundry others, officers and advocates and proctors and civilians, was moved to proceed against the aforesaid gentlemen of fortune. so they heard their names cried in the high court of admiralty and were arraigned for piracy and robbery on the high seas and charged with seizing the frigate rose of devon, the property of thomas ball and others, and murdering her master, francis candle, and stealing supplies and equipment to the value of eight hundred pounds. nor was that the whole tale of charges, for it seemed that the lords of admiralty laid to the discredit of those particular gentlemen of fortune numerous earlier misdeeds of great daring and wickedness and an attempt to take his majesty's ship sybil, which had cost the lives of certain of his majesty's seamen and had occasioned his majesty much grief and concern. he who read the indictment spoke in a loud and solemn voice, such as might of itself make a man think of his sins and fear judgment; but they were already cowed and fearful, save only the old one, who still held his head high and very scornfully smiled. the cook bent his head and shivered and dared not look the jury in the face. the carpenter wept and martin barwick was like a man struck dumb and paul craig kept working his mouth and biting at his lips. there was a great concourse of people, for who would not seize upon the chance to see a band of pirates? but a very poor show the pirates made, save the old one; for though they had talked much and often of their valour and had represented themselves as tall fellows who feared nothing in life or death, they were now and for all time revealed as cowards to the marrow of their bones. quietly and expeditiously the officers of the court swore their first witness, who smelled of pitch and tar and bore himself in such wise that he was to be known for a sailor wherever he might turn. to their questions he replied with easy assurance, for he was not one of those fellows who cope with great gales and storms at sea only to be cowed by a great person on land. "yea, sir," quoth he, "there is among mariners common talk of a band of sea sharks that hath long resorted to his majesty's port of bideford. yea, my lord.--and have i met with them? that i have, and to my sorrow. this month two years i was master in a likely snow, the prosperous of three hundred tons, which fell afoul of that very company, as their boasting and talk discovered to us, who took our ship and set me adrift in a boat with seven of mine own men, whereby, god being merciful unto us, we succeeded after many hardships in winning to the shore of ireland, whence the grace of bristol bore us home to england.--the fate of the others in our company? in faith, some, i am told, joined themselves with that same band of sea sharks. the rest were slaughtered out of hand.--nay, my lord, the night was black and my sight of the scoundrels was brief. i much misdoubt if i should know them again." "come, come," quoth his lordship, tapping the papers spread on his great table, "look at these prisoners gathered here at the bar and tell me if there be one among them of whom you can say, 'this man was there; this man did thus and so.'" so the witness came, with the air of a man who is pleased to be seen of many people, and looked them over, one and all; but at the end of his looking he sadly shook his head. "nay, my lord, the night was dark and sight was uncertain; and though i should rejoice--none more than i!--to see a pirate hanged, i am most loath to swear away the life of an innocent man. there is no man here of whom i can truly say i have seen him before." his lordship frowned and the proctors shook their heads; the prisoners sighed and breathed more freely. the tale was at an end, and bearing away with him his smell of pitch and tar the fellow returned to his place. four witnesses were then summoned, one after another, and told tales like the first. one had been in a ship that was seized and sunk in bristol channel; the second had received a gaping wound in the shoulder off st. david's head, and had known no more until he found himself alone on the deck of a plundered flyboat; the third had fallen into evil company in plymouth, which beat him and robbed him and left him for dead, and from the talk of his murderous companions he had learned, before they set upon him that they were certain gentry of bideford; and the last of the four told of the murderous attack of a boarding party, which had taken a brig and tumbled him over the side into a boat. "yea, my lord," he cried, "and i fear to think upon what befell our captain's little son, for of all our crew only three men were left alive and as they sailed away from us three we heard the boy shrieking pitifully." one by one the witnesses wove with their tales a black net of wickedness, but they could not or would not say they knew this prisoner or that. the judge frowned darkly from his bench and the people in the seats opened their mouths in wonder and excitement at the stories of robbery and murder. but the net was woven loosely and without knots, for thus far there had been no one to pick out this man or that and say, "it was he who did it." so the cook and the carpenter took heart; and the colour returned to martin barwick's face; and the old one, leaning back, still smiled scornfully. yet the judge and the advocates seemed in no way discouraged, from which the men of the rose of devon might have drawn certain conclusions; for as all the world knows, judges and advocates with a band of pirates under the thumb are, for the honour of the law, set upon making an example of them. there was long counselling in whispers, then a bustle and stir, and an officer cried loudly, "come, make haste and lead her in." a murmur passed over the court and the people turned their heads to look for the meaning of the cry. then a door opened and an officer appeared, leading by the arm a very old woman. phil marsham felt his heart leap up; he saw martin raise his hand to his throat with a look of horror. but when he stole a glance at the old one, he saw, to his wonder, that the old one was smiling as calmly as before: truly the man was a marvel of unconcern and a very cool and desperate rascal. "is this the woman?" quoth my lord the judge, who raised his head and lifted his brows to see her the better. "yea, my lord." "hm! let us look into this matter!" there was silence in the room except for the sound of shuffling papers. "this woman, commonly known as mother taylor, is to be hanged this day sennight, i believe." "yea, my lord." "and it hath been suggested that if she can lay before us such evidence as is needful, she will be commended to the king's mercy and doubtless reprieved from the gallows. hath all this been made plain and clear to her?" "yea, my lord." "hm! it appears by these papers, woman, that keeping a house to which rogues of all descriptions have resorted is the least of your crimes." a strange, cracked old voice burst shrilly upon the still court. "'tis a lie, my lord! alas, my lord, that wicked lies should take away my good name, and i tottering on the edge of the grave!" there were cries of "silence!" and the officer at the old woman's side shook her by the arm. "and to continue from the least to the greatest, you have disposed of all manner of stolen goods, and have prepared slow poisons to be sold at a great price and have stained your hands with murder." "alas, my lord, it is a wicked lie--!" they shook her into silence, but her lips continued to move, and as she stood between the officers her sharp little eyes ranged about the court. there was further counselling among the proctors, then one cried sharply, "come, old woman, remember that the hangman is ready to don his gown, and answer me truly before it is too late: on such and such a day you were at your house in bideford, were you not?" "nay, sir, i am old and my wits are not all they were once and i cannot remember as i ought." "come, now, on such a day, did not a certain man come to your house in bideford and abide there the night?" "it may be--it may be--for one who keepeth a tavern hath many guests." "look about you, old woman, and tell us if you see the man." "nay, good sir, my wits wander and i do not remember as i used." as philip marsham watched her hard face, so very old and crafty, he paid little heed to the low voices of the proctors and the judge. but the sharp command, "look this man in the face and tell us if you have ever seen him before," came to the erstwhile boatswain of the rose of devon like the shock of cold water to a man lying asleep. they led her before tom jordan--before the old one himself--and the two looked each other full in the face, yet neither fluttered an eye. in all truth they were a cool pair; it had taken a solomon to say which of them was now the subtler. "nay, my lord, how should i know this man? he hath the look of an honest fellow, my lord, but i never saw him ere this." thereupon the officers exchanged glances and the proctors whispered together. they led her before martin barwick and again she shook her old white head. "nay, my lord, i know him not." but martin was swallowing hard, as if some kind of pip had beset him, and this did not escape the notice of the court. down the line of accused men she came and, though she walked in the shadow of the gallows, she said of each, in her shrill, quavering old voice, "nay, my lord, i know him not." of some she spoke thus in all truth; of others, though she knew it would cost her life, she craftily and stoutly lied. and at last she came to philip marsham, whose heart chilled when he met the sharp eyes that had looked so hard into his own in bideford long before. "nay, my lord, he is a handsome blade, but i never saw him ere this." some smiled and sniggered; but the old woman shrugged, and lifted her brows, and stood before the court, wrinkled and bent by years of wickedness. say what you will of her sins, her courage and loyalty were worthy of a better cause. in despair of pinning her down, they led her away at last to a bench and there she sat with officers to guard her. now she watched one man and now she watched another. often philip marsham felt a tremor, almost of fear, at seeing her eyes looking hard into his own. but though of the old woman the court had made nothing, the exultation that showed in the faces of some of the prisoners was premature, for the lords of admiralty had other shafts to their bow, as any gentleman of fortune might have known they would. again there was a stir among the ushers, and in the door appeared one at whose coming tom jordan ceased to smile. the fellow's chin sagged and his eyes were wild and he ducked to his lordship as if some one had pulled a string; and when they called on him to give the court his name he cried very tremulously, "yea, yea! joseph kirk, an it please you, my lord!" "come now, look about you at these men who are arraigned for piracy. are there any there whom you have seen elsewhere?" "yea, yea, that there be! there! and there! and there!" "ah! hm! men you have seen elsewhere! tell us who they are." and his lordship smiled dryly. "it is not to count against me, my lord? i have repented--yea, i have repented! 'twill not undo the king's pardon?" the very judge on the bench gave a grunt as in disgust of the abject terror the fellow showed, and a murmur of impatience went through the room; but though he afforded a spectacle for contempt, they reassured him and urged him on. "yea, yea! that one there--he at the end--was our captain, and tom jordan his name. it was he who led us against a vast number of prizes, which yielded rich profit. it was he and harry malcolm--why, harry malcolm is not here. huh! 'tis passing strange! he hath so often stole beside them, i had thought he would hang beside them too. yea, and as i was saying--let us consider! yea, yea, it was he and harry malcolm who contrived the plan for killing captain candle and taking the rose of devon. yea, they called me apart on the forecastle and tempted me to sin and forced me with many threats. he it was--" tom jordan was on his feet. "you lie in your throat, you drunken dog! it was you who struck him down with your own hand!" "nay, nay! i did him no harm! it was another--i swear it was another!" "it seems," said his lordship, when they had thrust tom jordan back in his seat and had somewhat abated their witness's terror of his one-time chief, "it seems this fellow's words have touched a sore. go on." "and there is martin barwick--nay, hold him! nay, if i am to go on, i must have protection!--and there paul craig and there our boatswain, philip marsham--" and so he continued to name the men and told a tale of shameful acts and crimes for the least of which a man is hanged. indeed, philip marsham himself knew enough of their history to send them one and all to the gallows, but he had not heard a tenth part of the story of piracy and robbery and murder and black crimes unfit for the printed page that this renegade pirate told to the full court of admiralty. the fellow made a great story of it, yet kept within a bowshot of the truth; but he was a villain of mean spirit and, though he did for the court the work it desired, he bought his life at cost of whatever honour he may have had left. and then came captain charles winterton, who rose, bowing in stately wise to his lordship, and with a composed air and an assured voice very quietly drew tight the purse-strings of the net that joe kirk had knotted. in his grand and dignified manner he bowed now and then to his lordship and to the proctors, who asked him questions with a deference in their bearing very different from their way with the other witnesses. "yea, these pirate rogues boarded his majesty's ship sybil and killed three of his majesty's men before they perceived the blunder they had made and gave themselves up.--how many lives did the boarders lose? probably twelve or fourteen. several bodies fell into the water and were not recovered. it was useless to hunt for them, my lord. great sharks abound in those waters.--yea, this thomas jordan led them in person. in truth, there is little distinction between them in the matter of guilt. the man marsham, whom the previous witness named a boatswain, was the first to board the sybil. he entered the great cabin by way of the stem, apparently to spy out the situation on board. he declared himself a forced man who had run away from the pirates. who could say? the situation in which he was taken was such, certainly, as to incriminate him; though 'twere cause for sorrow, since he was a brave lad and had given no trouble during the voyage home." there was a great whispering among the people, who thought it was a shame for so likely a lad to hang with a pack of pirates. but it was plain by now to the greatest dullard among those unhappy gentlemen of fortune that hang they must; and for philip marsham, who sat as white as death from the shame of it, there was no slightest spark of hope. the net was woven and knotted and drawn, and the end of it all was at hand. when, according to the custom of the time, they called on tom jordan for his defense, he rose and said, "alas, my lord, the ropes are laid that shall hang me. already my neck aches. this, though, i will say: whatever these poor men have done, it is i that compelled them into it, and i, my lord, will stand to answer for it." some gave one defense and some another; and meanwhile there was much legal talk, dry and long and hard to understand. and so at last they called on philip marsham to rise and speak for himself if he had anything to say in his own defense. he rose and stood before them, very white of face, and though his voice trembled, which was a thing to be expected since he saw before him a shameful death, he told them his true story, beginning with the day he sailed from bideford, very much as i have told it here. but when they asked him about affairs on board the rose of devon that concerned the others and not him, he replied that each man must tell his own tale and that though he swung for it he must leave the others to answer those questions for themselves. "come," quoth his lordship, leaning forward and sharply tapping his table, "you have heard the question asked. remember, young man, that you stand in a place exceeding slippery. it shall profit you nothing to hold your peace." "my lord," said he, "the tale hath been told in full. there is no need that i add to it, and were i to speak further i should but carry with me to the grave the thought that i had done a treacherous thing. though i owe these men for nought save hard usage, yet have i eaten their bread and drunk their wine, and i will not, despite their sins, help to hang them." it was doubtless very wrong for him to reply thus, as any moralist will point out, since it is a man's duty to help enforce the laws by bringing criminals to justice. but he answered according to his own conscience; and after the craven talk of joseph kirk, the lad's frank and honest statement pleased perhaps even my lord the judge, sitting high above the court, who frowned because his position demanded frowns. surely loyalty ranks high among the virtues and great credit is due to a keen sense of personal honour. but there then came from his talk a result that neither he nor any other had foreseen. up sprang tom jordan. "my lord," he cried, "i pray thee for leave to speak!" to the frowns and chidings of the officers who forced him down again, he paid no heed. a tumult rose in the room, for they had hurled the old one back and clapped hands over his mouth; but out of the struggle came again the cry, "my lord! my lord!" and his lordship, calling in a loud voice for order and silence, scowled and gave him the leave he asked. as martin had said long before, tom jordan was an ugly customer when his temper was up and hot, but no man to nurse a grudge. "i thank you, my lord," said he, the while smoothing his coat, which had wrinkled sadly in the scuffle. "though i must hang i desire to see justice done. it lay in the power of this philip marsham to have added to the tale of our sins and the sum of our woes; wherefore, since he hath had the spirit to refrain from doing thus, why, my lord, i needs must say that he hath spoken only the truth. he was a forced man, and having a liking for him, since he is a lad of spirit, i would have had him join us heart and soul. 'tis true likewise that he ran away from our ship and turned his hand against us, and for that i would have let him hang with these other tall fellows but for the brave spirit he hath shown. but as for yonder swine--yea, thou, joe kirk! quake and stare!--he hath done more mean, filthy tricks to earn a hanging than any other gentleman of fortune, i believe, that ever sailed the seas." "not so, my lord!" joe kirk yelled. "he fears me for my knowledge of his deeds! help! hold him--hold him!" tom jordan swore a great oath and joe kirk leaped up in his seat, white and shaking, and cried over and over that it was all a lie, and there was a merry time of it before the attendants restored peace. and then, to the further amazement of all in the court, captain charles winterton again rose. "if i may add a word, my lord? thank you, my lord. i observed that when the prisoners went below their manner toward this man marsham was such as to lend a certain plausibility to his story. they took, in short, so vindictive a delight in his misfortunes that even then it seemed not beyond reason that his tale was true and that he had indeed left them without leave. that, of course, proves nothing with regard to his being a forced man; but it is a matter of common justice to say that, in consideration of all that i have seen before and of that which i have this day heard, i believe he hath told the truth both then and now. thank you, my lord." such a hullabaloo of talk as then burst forth among the spectators, and such learned argument as passed between the proctors and the lieutenant of admiralty and his lordship the judge, surpass imagination. some quoted the latin and the greek, while others of less learning voiced their opinions in the vulgar tongue, so that all in all there was enough disputation to fuddle the wits of a mere layman by the time they gave the case to the jury. then the jury, weighing all that had been said, put together its twelve heads, while such stillness prevailed in the court that a man could hear his neighbor's breathing. it seemed to those whose lives were at stake that the deliberations took as many hours as in reality they took minutes. there are times when every grain of sand in the glass seems to loiter in falling and to drift through the air like thistledown, as if unwilling to come to rest with its fellows below. yet the sand is falling as fast as ever, though a man whose life is weighing in the balance can scarcely believe it; so at last the jury made an end of its work, which after all had taken little enough time in consideration of the matter they must decide. "you have reached with due and faithful care a verdict in this matter?" quoth his lordship. "we have, my lord." "you will then declare your verdict to the court." "of these fourteen prisoners at the bar of justice, my lord, we find one and all guilty of the felonies and piracies that are charged against them, save only one man." in the deathly silence that fell upon the room the name sounded forth like the stroke of a bell. "we acquit, my lord, philip marsham." * * * * * there and then philip marsham parted company with the men of the rose of devon. his hands shook when he rose a free man, and when many spoke to him in all friendliness he could find no voice to reply. never again did he see their faces, but he heard long afterward of how, a week from the day of their trial, they went down the river to wapping in wherries, with the bright sun shining on the ships and on the shore where a great throng had assembled to see them march together up the stairs to execution dock. though they had always made themselves out to appear great and fierce men, yet on that last day they again showed themselves cravens at heart--except tom jordan. the old one, stern, cold, shrewd, smiled at his fellows and said, "it is to be. may god have mercy on me!" and though he stood with the black cap over his eyes and the noose round his neck, he never flinched. as for martin barwick, his face grey with fear, he strove to break away, and cried out in english and in spanish, and called on the virgin. sadly, though, had he fallen from the teachings of the church, and little did his cries avail him! he came at the last to the end he had feared from the first; and his much talk of hanging was thus revealed to have been in a manner prophecy, although it sprang from no higher oracle than his own cowardly heart. one told philip marsham that mother taylor was hanged; another said they let her go, to die a natural death in the shadow of the gallows that stood by the crossroads in her native town of barnstable. either tale is likely enough, and phil never learned which was true. for aught i know to the contrary, she may have found an elixir of life as good as the one discovered by the famous count de saint-germain, and so be living still. whatever the end she came to, phil marsham was far away when they determined her fate. for the day he stepped out in the streets of london, a free man once more and a loyal subject of the king, he took the road to the distant inn where he was of a mind to claim fulfillment of nell entick's promise. chapter xxii back to the inn if this were a mere story to while away an idle hour, i, the scribe, would tie neatly every knot and leave no irish pennants hanging from my work. but life, alas, is no pattern drawn to scale. the many interweaving threads are caught up in strange tangles, and over them, darkly and inscrutably, atropos presides. who cannot recall to mind names and faces still alive with the friendship of a few weeks or months,--a friendship pleasant in memory,--a friendship that promised fruitful years, but that was lost for ever when a boy or man drifted out of sight for one reason or another, and on one tide or another of the projects that go to make up life? to philip marsham, tramping again the high roads of england, there came, mingled with many other desires, a longing to see once more the scottish smith who had wrought the dirk that had tasted blood for his protection in those dark adventures at sea. but when he came to the smithy beside the heath he found it open and empty. the wind blew the door on rusty hinges; brown leaves had drifted in and lay about the cold forge; the coals were dead, the bellows were broken, and the lonely man who had wrought iron on the now rusty anvil had taken his tools and gone. the day was still young, for the wayfarer, starting early and in the fullness of his strength, had this day covered three miles in the time that one had taken him when he walked that road before. so he left the smithy and pushed on across the heath and far beyond it, marking each familiar farm and village and country house, until night had fallen and the stars had come out, when he laid him down under a hedge and slept. he was thinking, when he fell asleep, of nell entick. he remembered very well her handsome face, her head held so high, her white throat and bare arms. he was going back to the inn to claim fulfillment of her promise and he pictured her as waiting for him there. in most ways he was a bold, resolute youth who had seen much of life; but in some ways, nevertheless, he was a lad of small experience, and if he thought at all that she had been a little overbold, a little overwilling, he thought only that she was as honestly frank as he. waking that night upon his bed of leaves, he saw far away on a hill the dancing flames of a campfire, concerning which he greatly wondered. for, having been long out of england, he had small knowledge of the ups and downs of parliaments and kings; and in the brief time since his return, of which he had spent nearly all in prison, he had heard nothing of the tumultuous state of the kingdom, save a few words dropped here or there while he was passing through hamlets and villages, and seen nothing thereof save such show of arms as in one place or another had caught his eye but not his thought. although he knew it not, since he was a plain lad with no gift of second-sight, he lay in a country poised on the brink of war and his bed was made in the field where a great battle was to be fought. he went on at daylight, and going through a village at high noon saw a preacher in clipped hair and sober garb, who was calling on the people to be valiant and of good courage against those wicked men who had incited riot and rebellion among the roman catholics in ireland, whereby the king might find pretext for raising a vast army to devastate and enslave england. sorely perplexed by this talk, of which he understood little, phil besought a sneering young fellow, who stood at no great distance, for an explanation; to which the fellow replied that it was talk for them that wore short hair and long ears, and that unless a man kept watch upon his wits his own ears would grow as long from hearing it as those of any roundhead ass in the country. at this phil took umbrage; but the fellow cried nay, that he would fight no such keen blade, who was, it seemed, a better man than he looked. and with a laugh he waved the matter off and strolled away. so to the inn phil came in due time, having meditated much, meanwhile, on the talk of the king and war and the rights of parliament, which was in the mouths and ears of all men. but he put such things out of his mind when at last he saw the inn, for the moment was at hand when his dreams should come true and he should find waiting for him the nell entick he remembered from long ago. surely a lad of enterprise, who had ventured the world over with pirates, could find in any english village something to which he could turn his hand. indeed, who knew but some day he might keep the inn himself--or do better? who knew? he remembered little grimsby and drew a long breath. caught in a whirl of excitement that set the blood drumming in his ears, he strode into the house and, boldly stepping up to the public bar, called loudly, "holla, i say! i would have speech of mistress nell entick." from a tall settle in the corner, where he sat taking tobacco, there rose a huge man with red and angry face. "who in the devil's name art thou," he roared, "that comes ranting into an honest house and bawls out thus the name of mistress nell entick?" there were as usual a couple of countrymen sitting with pots of ale, who reared their heads in vast amazement, and in the noisy kitchen down the passage a perceptible hush followed the loud words. the house seemed to pause and listen; the countrymen set down their pots; there was a sound of creaking hinges and of lightly falling feet. very coolly, smiling slightly, philip marsham met the eyes of the big, red-faced man. "it seems," said he, "thou art riding for another fall." a look of recognition, at first incredulous, then profoundly displeased, dawned on the red face and even greater anger followed. "thou banging, basting, broiling brogger!" he thundered. "thou ill-contrived, filthy villain! out the door! begone!" "it seems, jamie barwick, that thy wits are struck with years. have care. thy brother is already on the road to wapping--they have signed and sealed his passage." the fat man came to phil with the slow gait and the low-hung head of a surly dog. he thrust his red face close to phil's own. "yea, it is thou," he sneered. "i am minded to beat thee and bang thee till thou goest skulking under the hedges for cover. but it seems thou hast good news. what is this talk of the hangman's budget?" "it is true. by now thine excellent brother hath in all likelihood donned the black cap and danced on air. as for beating and banging--scratch thy head and agitate thy memory and consider if i have given thee reason to hope for quietness and submission." there was a flicker of doubt in the man's small eyes, whereby it seemed his memory served him well. "and what meanest thou by saying thou would'st have speech of mistress nell entick?" he asked suspiciously. "that concerns thee not." "ha!" he scowled darkly. "methinks it concerns me nearly!" and then a high voice cried, "who called my name?" they turned and phil marsham's face lighted, for she stood in the door. she was not so fair as he had pictured her--what lad's memory will not play such tricks as that?--and he thought that when he had taken her away from the inn she need never again wear a drabbled gown. but it was she, the nell entick who had so lightly given him her promise and kissed him as he fled, and he had come for her. "back again, john? nay, john was not thy name. stay! no, it hath escaped me, but i remember well thy face. and shall i bring thee ale? or sack? we have some rare fine sack." he stared at her as if he could not believe his ears had told him right. "i have come," he said, "to claim a certain promise--" she looked bewildered, puzzled, then laughed loudly. "silly boy!" she cried. "i am these six months a wife." "a wife!" "yea, and mine," cried barwick. "come, begone i i'll have no puppies sniffling at her heels." at something in the man's manner, the full truth dawned on philip marsham. "i see. and you have taken the inn?" "yea, that i have! must i split thy head to let in knowledge? begone!" she laid her hand on barwick's wrist. "the lad means no harm," she whispered. "come, it is folly to drive trade away." and over barwick's shoulder she cast phil such a glance that he knew, maid or matron, she would philander still. but phil had seen her with new eyes and the old charm was broken. (perhaps if tom marsham had waited a year before he leaped into marriage, i had had no story to tell!) all that was best in the father had come down to the son, and phil turned his back on the siren with the bold, bright eyes. he turned his back on the inn, too, and all the dreams he had built around it--a boy's imaginings raised on the sands of a moment's fancy. nay, he turned his back on all the world he had hitherto known. with a feeling that he was rubbing from his face a spider's web of sordidness,--that he was cutting the last cord that bound him to his old, wild life,--stirred by a new and daring project, he went out of the inn and turned to the left and took the road in search of sir john bristol. chapter xxiii and old sir john sir john bristol! there, gentlemen, was a brave, honest man! a man of spirit and of a humour! if you crossed him, if you toyed with him, his mirth was rough, his hand was hard, he was relentless as iron. but for a man who stood his ground and fought a bold fight and met squarely the old man's eyes, there was nothing sir john would not do. after all his weary travels by land and sea, philip marsham had at last come back to find a man whom he had seen but once and for a brief time. yet in that man he had such complete confidence as he had never had in any other, and since jamie barwick had left the man's service and taken the inn--who knew? striding over the same rolling country road that he had tramped with martin long before, and coming soon to the park, he skirted it and pressed on, keeping meanwhile his eyes and wits about him, until he perceived a gate and a porter's lodge. he went to the gate and finding it ajar slipped through and made haste up a long avenue with overarching trees. a man from the lodge came out and angrily called after the intruder, but phil never looked back. the avenue turned to the left and he saw at a distance the great house; he was of no mind to suffer hindrance or delay. the sunset sky threw long, still shadows across the grass, and countless wandering branches of ivy lay like a dark drapery upon the grey walls of the old house. a huge dog came bounding and roaring down the avenue, but when the lad smiled without fear and reached a friendly hand toward him, the beast stopped clamouring and came quietly to heel. lights shone from the windows and softly on the still evening air the thin, sweet music of a virginal stole over the broad terraces and lawns. the clamour of the dog, it seemed, had attracted the attention of those within, for a grey-haired servant met the stranger in the door. he stood there suspiciously, forbiddingly, and with a cold stare searched the young man from head to heel. "i would have speech of sir john bristol," said phil. the servant frowned. "nay, you have blundered," he replied haughtily. "the servants' hall--" "i said sir john." "sir john? it is--ahem!--impossible." "i said sir john." the servant moved as if to shut the door. "come," said phil quietly, "enough of that! i will have speech of sir john bristol." for a moment the servant hesitated, then from within a great voice cried, "come, cobden, what's afoot?" in haughty disapproval of the lad without, the servant turned his back, but to the man within he spoke with deference, as if apologizing. "yea, sir john. the fellow is insistent, but i shall soon have him off." "go, cobden. leave him to me." the servant moved away and disappeared. the virginalling had ceased, and on the lawns and the avenue and the park, which stretched away into the dark valley, a deep silence had come with the twilight. the sun had set and the long shadows across the grass were lost in the greater shadow of evening. as the world without had grown darker, the lights within seemed to have grown brighter. "come, fellow, come into the hall. so! have i not seen thee before?" "yea, sir john." "ha! i can remember faces. aye, there are few that escape me. let us consider. why, on my life! this is the lad that gave barwick such a tumbling that the fellow walked lame for a month. speak up! have i not placed thee right?" "though i was faint for want of food, i was quicker on my feet than he." the old man laughed until his brave curls shook. "in faith, and it is said with moderation. and what now, lad? what hath brought thee hither?" "since barwick hath left your service--" "that he hath, that he hath!" "it seemed there might be a place for a keeper." "for a keeper? ha, ha, ha! nay, th' art too spirited a lad to waste away as keeper. mark my word, lad, the king will shortly have need for such courageous gallants as thou. unless i mistake thy spirit, we shall soon see thee riding among the foremost when we chase these dogs of roundheads into the king's kennels and slit their noses and prick their ears as a warning to all of weak mind and base spirit." "i have a taste for such sport, and god knows i am the king's man." "good, say i!" sir john's clear eyes searched the frank eyes of the lad, and the old man was pleased with what he found. "come, the cook shall fill thy belly and cobden shall find thee a bed. cobden! cobden, i say!" "yea, sir john." "make place for this good fellow in the servants' hall and see that he hath all that he can eat and drink." "yea, sir john." "but stay a moment. thy name, fellow." "philip marsham." "philip marsham?" the heavy brows knotted and sir john spoke musingly. "philip marsham! i once knew a man of that name." silence fell upon the hall. grey cobden stood a little behind his master, and when phil looked past sir john he saw standing in a door the tall, quiet girl he had seen with the old knight that day in the wood so long since. doubtless it was she who had played upon the virginal. her dark eyes and fine dignity wove a spell around the lad--a spell of the magic that has come down from the beginning of time--the magic that is always young. take such spells, such magic, as lightly as you please; yet they have overturned kingdoms and not once, but many times, have they launched a thousand ships. "did you ever hear of dr. marsham of little grimsby?" sir john asked, and he watched the lad very closely. "yea." "and what have you heard of him?" "he is my grandfather." "so!" the old knight stepped back and bent his brows. "verily," he said, "i believe the lad hath spoken truth. go, cobden. there is no place in the hall for this lad." the servant departed and the girl stepped nearer. "your father's name?" sir john said. "my father's name was thomas marsham." "doubtless he bred you to the sea." "he did." "he broke the hearts of his father and his mother." phil stood silent in the hall and looked sir john in the eye. since there seemed to be no reply, he waited for the knight to speak again. "tom marsham's father and mother are dead, but within the year, lad, they stood where you are standing now. it was the last time i saw them." what could a young man say? phil marsham remembered well the one time he had himself seen them. who knew what might have happened had he spoken? but the chance was gone, and for ever. "there is no place for philip marsham in my servants' hall," said sir john. "his father--but no! let the dead lie. there is no place for philip marsham in my servants' hall. under my roof he is my guest." chapter xxiv and again the rose of devon the story of philip marsham and of sir john bristol, and of the fortune left by the good doctor marsham of little grimsby,--how it came to his grandson and was lost in the war that brought ruin to many a noble family,--is a tale that may some day be worth the telling. of that, i make no promises. the years that followed were wild and turbulent, but during their passage phil chanced upon one reminder and another of his earlier days of adventuring. he saw once again the long, ranting madman who had carried the great book. he might not have known the fellow, who was in a company of brownists or anabaptists, or some such people, had he not heard him crying out in his voice like a cracked trumpet, to the great wonder and admiration of his fellows, "never was a man beset with such diversity of thoughts." there was jacob, too, who had sneaked away like a rat on the eve of the day when tom jordan's schemes fell about his ears: phil once came upon him face to face, but when their eyes met jacob slipped round a corner and was gone. he was a subtle man and wise, and of no intention to be reminded of his days as a pirate. philip marsham went to the war with sir john bristol, and fought for the king, and rose to be a captain; and with the story of philip marsham is interwoven inseparably the story of anne bristol and of her father, sir john. for sir john bristol died at the second battle of newbury with his head on philip marsham's knees; and in his grief at losing the brave knight who had befriended him, the lad prayed god for vengeance on the roundhead armies. and yet, though his grief was bitter, he had too just a mind to see only one side of a great war. once, when they sent him from the king's camp on a secret mission, the enemy ran him to cover, and he escaped them only by doubling back and hiding in the garret of a cottage where he lay high under the thatch and watched through a dusty little window the street from the red boar inn down the hill to the distant meadows, without being himself seen. he heard far away a murmur as of droning bees. minutes passed and he heard the drone settle into a hollow rumble, from which there emerged after a time the remote sound of rattling drums and the occasional voices of shouting men. then, of a sudden, there broke on the air a sound as of distant thunder, in which he made out a chorus:-- "his staff and rod shall comfort me, his mantle e'er shall be my shield; my brimming cup i hold in fee of him who rules the battlefield." the voices of the singing men came booming over the meadows. they were deep, strong voices and there was that in their volume and fierce earnestness which made a man shiver. phil heard a dog barking; he saw a woman standing in the door of a cottage; he saw a cloud of dust rise above the meadow; then they came. first a band of men on foot in steel caps, with their firelocks shouldered, swinging out in long, firm strides. then a little group of kettledrums, hammering away in a fierce rhythm. then a number of horsemen, with never a glint of gold on their bridles and never a curl from under their iron helms. then, rank behind rank, a solid column of foot that flowed along the dusty road over hillock and hollow, dark and sombre, undulating like a torpid stream of something thick and slow that mightily forces a passage over every obstacle in its way. they came up the hill, turning neither to right nor to left, up the hill and over it, and away to the north, where king charles and all his armies lay. it was a fearful sight, for they were stern, determined men. there was no gallant flippancy in their carriage; there was no lordly show of ribbands and linen and gold and silver lace. they frowned as they marched, and looked about them little. they bore so steadily on, they made one feel they were men of tempered metal, men of no blood and no flesh, men with no love for the brave adventures of life, but with a streak of iron in their very souls. philip marsham had heard the men of the rose of devon go into battle with cries and shouting, and laugh when they killed; he had seen old sir john bristol throw back his head proudly and jest with the girls of the towns on their march; but these were men of another pattern. he became aware, as he watched them go by--and he then knew the meaning of fear, safely hidden though he was, behind the dirty and small window in the gable; for had one man of those thousands found him there, it would have ended the fighting days of philip marsham--he became aware that here was a courage so stubborn there was no mastering it; that here was a purposeful strength such as all the wild blades in his master's camp could never match. their faces showed it; the marching rhythm of the never-ending column was alive with it. behind the first regiments of infantry, horsemen came, and, at an interval in the ranks of the cavalry, five men rode together. the eyes of one, who led the four by a span or two, were bent on the road, and his face was stern and strong and thoughtful. as phil watched him, the first hesitating surmisal became conviction, and long afterward he learned that he had been right. from his gable window he had seen oliver cromwell go by. all that afternoon the column streamed on, and in the early darkness philip fell asleep to the sound of men marching. in the morning they were gone, and he went on his way and fulfilled his mission; but though the king's men fought with a gallantry that never lessened, the cause of the king was lost, and the day broke when philip marsham was ready to turn his back on england. so he came a second time to the harbour of bideford, in devon, and had it in his mind to take ship for some distant land where he could forget the years of his youth and early manhood. he was in the mood, then, to envy sir john bristol and all the gallant company that had died on the fields of naseby and newbury, and of many another great battle; for he was the king's man, and great houses of the country had fallen, and many lords and gentlemen whose estates had gone to pay the cost of cromwell's wars had as much reason as he, and more, to wonder, at the sight of deep water, whether it were better to die by one's own hand or to seek new fortunes beyond the sea. there were many vessels in the harbour and his gaze wandered over them, ships and pinks and ketches and a single galliot from the low countries, until his eyes came at last to one of singularly familiar aspect. he looked at her a long time, then strolled down to the quay and accosted an aged man who was warming his rheumatic limbs in the sun. "what ship is that," said captain marsham, "which lies yonder, in line with the house on the farther shore to the right of the three trees?" the aged man squinted over the harbour to pick up the bearings his questioner had given him and cleared his throat with a husky cough. "why, that," he said, "beës the frigate they call rose of devon." "the rose of devon--nay, she cannot be the rose of devon!" "can and beës. why does 'ee look so queer, sir?" "not the rose of devon!" "art 'ee addled?" he laughed like a cackling hen. "aye, an' yon's her master." the master turned when the young captain accosted him, and replied, with reasonable civility, "yea, the rose of devon, captain hosmer, at your service, sir. passage? yea, we can take you, but you're a queer sort to ask passage ere you know whither she sails. is it murder or theft?" "neither. the old order is changing and i would go abroad." "to the colonies?" "they tell me all the colonies are of a piece with these roundheads here, and that as many psalms are whined in boston in new england as in all the conventicles in london." he laughed in good humour. "you are rash," said he. "were i of the other side, your words might cost you your head. but we're going south to barbados, and there you'll find men to your own taste." captain philip marsham wished no more than that. so he struck a bargain for passage, and paid with gold, and sailed from england for the second time in the old rose of devon, the dark frigate that by god's grace had come back to bideford in the hour when he most needed her. the end * * * * * the dark frigate _by_ charles boardman hawes the frigate _rose of devon_ rescues from a wreck in mid-ocean twelve men who show their gratitude by seizing the _rose_, killing her captain and sailing toward the caribbean where they hope to plunder spanish towns and galleons. mistaking an english man-of-war for a merchantman, they are captured and brought back to england for trial. only one, an english lad, philip marsham, a member of the original crew of the _rose_, is acquitted; and he, after adventures in the forces of king charles, tires of cromwell's england and sails for barbados once more on the _rose of devon_. "the dark frigate" has long been a favorite story for boys and in was awarded the john newbery medal, given annually "for the most distinguished contribution to american literature for children." when "the dark frigate" was first published f. f. van dewater in _the new york tribune_ said: "no one, we think, has written so perfect a pirate tale since 'treasure island'." _with frontispiece in full color by_ anton otto fischer * * * * * the mutineers _by_ charles boardman hawes this rousing pirate story of the pacific has proved even more popular than the author's newbery prize-winning "the dark frigate." originally published as an atlantic monthly press book in , it has delighted thousands of adventure-loving boys (and girls too!). from the moment when young benjamin lathrop of salem signs up with captain whidden of the _island princess_ the reader embarks on a reading voyage of high and gleaming excitement. "there is the atmosphere of the old-time ships and the spirit of the sailors of a century ago--such as you find in the pages of dana and stevenson.... here is a story that stands out with distinction among all the sea stories of many years."--_boston herald_ _with frontispiece in full color by_ anton otto fischer some notes on shipbuilding and shipping in colonial virginia by cerinda w. evans librarian emeritus, the mariners museum newport news, virginia virginia th anniversary celebration corporation williamsburg, virginia copyright©, by the mariners museum, newport news, virginia jamestown th anniversary historical booklet, number as concerning ships it is that which everyone knoweth and can say they are our weapons they are our armaments they are our strength they are our pleasures they are our defence they are our profit the subject by them is made rich the kingdom through them, strong the prince in them is mighty in a word: by them in a manner we live the kingdom is, the king reigneth. (from _the trades increase_, london, ) shipbuilding and shipping the dugout canoe various types of watercraft used in colonial virginia have been mentioned in the records. the dugout canoe of the indians was found by the settlers upon arrival, and was one of the chief means of transportation until the colony was firmly established. it is of great importance in the history of transportation from its use in pre-history to its use in the world today. from the dugout have come the piragua, rose's tobacco boat, and the chesapeake bay canoe and bugeye as we see them today. the first boats in use by the colony in addition to the indian canoe were ships' boats--barges, long-boats, and others. a shallop brought over in sections was fitted together and used in the first explorations. as the years went by, however, "almost every planter, great and small, had a boat of one kind or another. canoes, bateaux, punts, piraguas, shallops, flats, pinnaces, sloops, appear with monotonous regularity in the seventeenth and eighteenth century records of virginia and maryland." little is known about the construction of boats in the colony except the log canoe. a long and thick tree was chosen according to the size of the boat desired, and a fire made on the ground around its base. the fire was kept burning until the tree had fallen. then burning off the top and boughs, the trunk was raised upon poles laid over crosswise on forked posts so as to work at a comfortable height. the bark was removed with shells; gum and rosin spread on the upper side to the length desired and set on fire. by alternately burning and scraping, the log was hollowed out to the desired depth and width. the ends were scraped off and rounded for smooth navigating. captain john smith, who had a number of occasions to use the canoe, wrote that some were an elne deep (forty-five inches), and forty or fifty feet in length; some would bear forty men, but the most ordinary were smaller and carried ten, twenty, or thirty men. "instead of oars, they use paddles or sticks with which they will row faster than our barges." additional space and graceful lines in the canoes were secured by spreading the sides. to do this, the hollowed log was filled with water and heated by dropping in hot stones until the wood became soft enough to bend into the desired shape by forcing the sides apart with sticks of different lengths and allowed to harden. the tools with which the indians built their boats and used for other purposes, were tomahawks of stone sharpened at one end or both, or one end was rounded off for use as a hammer. a circular indentation was made in the center to secure the tomahawk to the handle. another method of fitting the stone tomahawk to a handle was to cut off the head of a young tree, and as if to graft it, a notch was made into which the head of the hatchet was inserted. after some time, the tree by growing together kept the hatchet so fixed that it could not come out. then the tree was cut to such a length as to make a good handle. another method in use was that of binding the stones to the ends of sticks and gluing them there with rosin. some colonists did not hesitate to take the canoes from the indians, which they may or may not have returned. on one occasion the king of rappahanna demanded the return of a canoe, which was restored. among the first laws of the general assembly was that for the protection of the indians, enacted in august, : "he that shall take away by violence or stealth any canoe or other things from the indians, shall make valuable restitution to the said indians, and shall forfeit, if he be a freeholder, five pounds; if a servant, forty shillings or endure a whipping." a story of an indian and his canoe was told by john pory, secretary of virginia, after he had visited the eastern shore. "wamanato, a friendly indian, presented me with twelve bever skins and a canow which i requited with such things to his content, that he promised to keep them whilst he lived, and berie them with him being dead." several writers of boatbuilding have expressed the thought that the evolution of the chesapeake bay canoe and the chesapeake bay bugeye from the indian dugout canoe was one of the most interesting developments in the history of shipbuilding. m. v. brewington, in his _chesapeake bay: a pictorial maritime history_, says of this development: "the white man's superior knowledge of small craft soon indicated changes which would improve the canoe: sharp ends would make her easier to propel and more seaworthy; broader beam and a keel would increase stability; sail would lessen the work of getting from place to place. sharpening the bow and stern was a simple matter; the increased beam was difficult because no single tree could provide the needed width. in time, the settler learned to join two or more trees together to give the beam desired. he learned how to add topsides, first of hewn logs, later of sawed plank. a keel was added and a sailing rig. after the centerboard was invented, it took the place of a keel...." "but the culmination of the simple, single log, trough-shaped indian dugout was the bugeye, a complex vessel as much as eighty-five feet in length. there was an intermediate step between the canoe and the bugeye, the brogan, a large canoe, partially decked, with a cuddy forward in which a couple of men could sleep and cook.... the earliest known use of the name "bugeye" was in , but doubtless the word was not coined upon the first appearance of the vessel itself.... in essence the bugeye was a large canoe, fully decked, with a fixed rig following that of the brogan. there were full accommodations for the crew which, because the vessel was built for oyster dredging, needed to be comparatively large.... throughout the course of development from canoe to bugeye, the original dugout log bottom was always apparent in this most truly american craft." virginia-built pinnaces the smallest of the three vessels that reached virginia in april, , was the little pinnace _discovery_, a favorite type of small vessel in that period. the first english vessel known to have been built in the new world was a pinnace. a colonizing expedition to raleigh's colony on roanoke island left plymouth, england, on april , , with a fleet of five vessels and two pinnaces attached as tenders. a storm sank the tender to the _tiger_, sir richard grenville's flagship. on the th of may, the fleet came to anchor in the bay of mosquetal (mosquito), and a landing was made at st. john on the island of puerto rico. here an encampment was made to give the men time to refresh themselves and to build a new pinnace for the _tiger_. a forge was set up to make the nails, and trees were cut and hauled to camp on a low four-wheeled truck for the boat's timber. the ship's carpenters made speedy headway, launching and rigging the pinnace in ten days. they set sail from st. john on the th of may, the new pinnace carrying twenty men and, on the th of july, anchored at hatoraske on the way to roanoke. the second english vessel known to have been built in north america was also a pinnace. the members of the second colony of virginia left plymouth, england, on the last day of may, , under command of captain george popham, and located at "sagadahoc in virginia" at the mouth of the kennebec river. there they set up fortifications which they called fort st. george. after finishing the fort, "the carpenter framed a pretty pinnace of about thirty tons which they called _virginia_, the shipwright being one digby of london." this little vessel is known to have made two voyages across the atlantic. on june , , a fleet of seven ships and two pinnaces left plymouth, england, for jamestown. after a few days out, one of the pinnaces returned to england, but the other, the little _virginia_, remained with the fleet as the tender to the flagship _sea venture_. sir thomas gates, lieutenant governor under lord de la warr, and sir george somers, admiral of the fleet, embarked on the _sea venture_, commanded by captain christopher newport, vice admiral. these three men were leaders of the expedition and in order to avoid any dispute as to precedence, they agreed--very unwisely, it was disclosed--to sail on the same ship "with several commissions sealed, successively to take place one after another, considering the uncertainty of human life." wreck of the _sea venture_ on july , a violent storm arose which separated the _sea venture_ from the rest of the fleet. this "dreadful tempest" was the tail of a west indies hurricane and lasted four days and nights. an account of it written in , by william strachey, secretary to lord de la warr, and a passenger on the ship, is said to be one of the finest descriptions of a storm in all literature, and led to the writing of _the tempest_ by shakespeare. the letter was written to a person unknown, addressed as "excellent lady." some excerpts are given herewith. when on s. james his day, july , being monday ... the clouds gathering thicke upon us and the wind singing and whistling most unusually, which made us to cast off our pinnace towing the same until then asterne, a dreadful storm and hideous, began to blow from out the north-east, which swelling, and roaring, as it were by fitts, some hours with more violence than others, at length beat all light from heaven, which like a hell of darkness turned black upon us, so much the more fuller of horror, as in such cases horror and fear use to overrunne the troubled, and overmastered sences of all, which, taken up with amazement, the eares lay so sensible to the terrible cries, and murmurs of the winds, and distractions of our company.... for foure and twenty houres the storme in a restless tumult, had blown so exceedingly, as we could not apprehend in our imaginations any possibility of greater violence, yet did wee still find it, not only more terrible, but more constant, fury added to fury, and one storm urging a second more outrageous than the former; whether it so wrought upon our feares ... as made us look one upon the other with troubled hearts and panting bosoms; our clamours drowned in the windes, and the windes in thunder. prayers might well be in the heart and lips, but drowned in the outcries of the officers, nothing heard that could give comfort, nothing seen that might encourage hope.... the sea swelled above the clouds, and gave battell unto heaven. it could not be said to raine, the waters like whole rivers did flood in the ayre.... the winds spake more loud and grew more tumultuous and malignant. what shall i say? winds and seas were as mad as fury and rage could make them.... there was not a moment in which the sudden splitting or instant oversetting of the ship was not expected. howbeit this was not all; it pleased god to bring a greater affliction yet upon us; for in the beginning of the storm, we had received likewise a mighty leake. and the ship in every joint almost, having spued out her okam, before we were aware ... was growne five foote suddenly deep with water above her ballast, and we almost drowned within, whilst we sat looking when to perish from above. this imparting no less terror than danger ran through the whole ship with much fright and amazement, startled and turned the blood and took down the braves of the most hardy mariner of them all.... the leake which drunk in our greatest seas, and took in our destruction fastest could not then be found nor ever was by any labour, counsell or search.... every man came duely upon his watch ... working with tyred bodies and wasted spirits three days and foure nights destitute of outward comfort, and desperate of any deliverance.... during all this time the heavens looked so black upon us that it was not possible the elevation of the pole might be observed; nor a starre by night, not a sun beame by day was to be seene. onely upon thursday night, sir george somers being upon the watch, had an apparition of a little round light like a faint starre, trembling and streaming along with a sparkeling blaze, halfe the height upon the main mast, and shooting sometimes from shroud to shroud, tempting to settle as it were, upon any of the foure shroudes ... half the night it kept with us; running sometimes along the main yard to the very end, and then returning. at which, sir george somers called divers about him, and showed them the same.... it did not light us any whit the more to our known way, who ran now as hoodwinked men, at all adventures, sometimes north and north-east, then north and by west, and in an instant varying two or three points, and sometimes half the compass.... it being now friday, the fourth morning, it wanted little, but that there had been a general determination to have shut up hatches, and commending our sinfull soules to god, committed the ship to the mercy of the sea. surely, that night we must have done it, and that night had we then perished: but see the goodnesse and sweet introduction of better hope, by our merciful god given unto us. sir george somers, when no man dreamed of such happiness, had discovered and cried land! the storm drove the ship toward the dangerous and dreaded islands of bermuda. nearing the shore, the ship was caught between rocks as in a vise and held there while all the one hundred and fifty persons reached the shore in safety. as soon as they were conveniently settled, after the landing, the long boat was fitted up in the fashion of a pinnace with a little deck made of the hatches of the wrecked ship, so close that no water could enter, and with a crew of six sailors, using sails and oars, thomas whittingham, the cape merchant, and henry ravens, the master's mate, as pilot, the boat sailed for virginia. it was hoped, when news reached jamestown of the safe landing of the passengers from the wrecked _sea venture_ on bermuda, that a ship or pinnace from the fleet in virginia would be sent to take them home, but the long boat was never heard from again. building the _deliverance_ and the _patience_ while waiting for help from virginia, sir george somers and sir thomas gates decided to build a pinnace, in case of need. the work was put in charge of richard frobisher, an experienced shipwright. the only wood on the island that could be used for timber was cedar and that was rather poor, being too brittle for making good planks. the pinnace's beams were all of oak from the wrecked ship, as were some planks in her bow, all the rest was of cedar. the keel was laid on the th of august, , and on the th of february, calking had begun. old cables that had been preserved furnished the oakum. one barrel of pitch and another of tar had been saved. lime was made of wilk shells and a hard white stone, which were burned in a kiln, slaked with fresh water, and tempered with tortoise oil. she was forty feet long at the keel, nineteen feet broad at the beam, had a six-foot floor, her rake forward being fourteen feet, her rake aft from the top of her post (which was twelve feet long) was three feet; she was eight feet deep under her beam, four feet and a half between decks, with a rising of half a foot more under her forecastle, the purpose being to scour the deck with small shot if an enemy should come aboard. she had a fall of eighteen inches aft to make her steerage and her great cabin larger; her steerage was five feet long and six feet high with a closed gallery right aft, having a window on each side, and two right aft. she was of some eighty tons burden. on the th of march, the pinnace was launched, unrigged, and towed to "a little round island" nearer the ponds and wells of fresh water, with easier access to the sea, the channel there being deep enough to float her when masts, sails and all her trim had been placed on her. "when she began to swim (upon her launching) our governor called her _the deliverance_." late in november, and still with no word from virginia, sir george somers became convinced that the pinnace which frobisher was building would not be sufficient to transport all the men, women, and children from bermuda to virginia. he consulted with sir thomas gates, the governor, who approved his plan of building another pinnace. he would take two carpenters and twenty men with him to the main island where with instruction from frobisher, "he would quickly frame up another little bark, for the better sitting and convenience of our people." the governor granted him all the things he desired, all such tools and instruments, and twenty of the ablest and stoutest men of the company to hew planks and square timber. the keel laid was twenty-nine feet in length, the beam fifteen feet and a half; she was eight feet deep and drew six feet of water, and was of thirty tons capacity. sir george somers launched her on the last day of april, giving her the name of _patience_, and brought her from the building bay in the main island, into the channel where the _deliverance_ was moored. after nine months on the islands, these fearless and undaunted men, with a stout determination to finish the voyage they had begun nine months before, set sail in the two pinnaces on may , , and after eleven days, arrived at point comfort. "on the three and twentieth day of may, we cast our anchor before jamestown." boatbuilding before the few available records of early boatbuilding in the virginia colony differ so materially that one cannot make a statement as to number or kind of vessels with any degree of accuracy. that the first vessel constructed in virginia was built earlier than the year , and was of twelve or thirteen tons capacity, seems to be an accepted fact as given in the spaniard molina's _report of a voyage to virginia_ in . the report also referred to a galley of twenty-five benches being built there. in his _short relation_ to the council of the virginia company in june, , lord de la warr spoke regretfully of the fact that the three forts he had erected near point comfort were not properly manned because of a lack of boats, there being but two, and one barge in all the colony. the fishing, too, had been hindered because of this shortage. no mention was made of the galley that was said to have been in the process of construction. argall's shipyard at point comfort in a letter to nicholas hawes, written in june, , samuel argall (later sir samuel argall) tells of a voyage to virginia in , and some of his activities there. on the th of september, he arrived at point comfort with sixty-two men on the ship _treasurer_, his course being fifty leagues northward of the azores. from the day of his arrival until the first of november, he spent the time in helping to repair such ships and boats as he found there "decayed for lack of pitch and tarre." about the first of november, he carried sir thomas dale in the _deliverance_ to sir thomas smith's island to have his opinion about inhabiting it. they found an abundance of fish there, "very great cod" which they caught in water five fathom deep. they planned to get a great quantity in the summer of , and hoped to find safe passage there for boats and barges by "a cut out of the bottom of our bay into de la warr bay." this is an early mention of the need for a canal connecting these two bays. that the sir thomas smith's island referred to was not the island known by that name lying near cape charles is evident from the reference to large cod fish caught there, and the desire for a passage between the bays for a shorter route. argall sailed from point comfort on the first of december and entered pembroke, now rappahannock, river where he met the king of pastancie, who told him the indians were his very great friends and had a good store of corn for him, as they had provided the year before. he carried his ship to the king's town and there built a stout shallop to take the corn aboard. after concluding a peace with other divers indian lords, and giving and taking hostages, argall hastened to jamestown with bushels of corn, which he delivered to the storehouses there, besides the bushels he retained for the use of his own company. as soon as he had unloaded the corn, argall set his men to work felling timber and hewing boards with which to build a "frigat." he left this vessel half finished in the hands of his carpenters at point comfort in order to make another voyage to pembroke river, and so discovered the head of it. upon learning that pocahontas was with the king of patowomack, he devised a stratagem by which she was captured. pocahontas was taken to jamestown and delivered to the protection of sir thomas gates, who hastened to conclude with powhatan, her father, a peace based upon the terms demanded by argall. argall returned to point comfort and "went forward with his frigat and finished her." he sent a "ginge" of men with her to cape charles, to get fish and transport them to "henries town" (henrico). another gang was employed to fell timber and cleave planks to build a fishing boat. argall himself, with a third gang, left in the shallop on the first day of may to explore the east side of the bay. having explored along the shore for some forty leagues northward, he returned on the th of may, fitted his ship and built a fishing boat, and made ready to take the first opportunity for a fishing voyage. other voyages of argall samuel argall is said to have achieved lasting fame as one of england's maritime pioneers by establishing a shorter route to virginia from england in , although batholomew gosnold took that route in , and martin pring did so in . the usual course led by way of the canaries to the island of puerto rico in the west indies, the route of columbus, a long, circuitous pathway exposed to pirates and interference from spain. argall made the round trip by the shorter route in five months. however, the shorter route did not supplant entirely the longer southern route for several decades. argall accompanied lord de la warr to virginia in , to point out the northern route. while in virginia, he was sent with sir george somers to bermuda with two pinnaces to get a supply of hogs and other provisions for the colony. in a storm, argall lost sight of sir george's pinnace and failed to locate bermuda; so he changed his course toward the north and went to sagadahoc and cape cod where he procured a large cargo of fish, which he brought to jamestown. sir george somers reached bermuda, but died there on november , . argall was then sent by lord de la warr to the river patawomeke to trade with the indians for corn, where he rescued the english boy, henry spelman, who had been living with the indians. through spelman's influence, the indians "fraughted his ship with corn." soon after june , , argall sailed from virginia on his "fishing voyage" in a well-armoured english man-of-war. his object was the french colony of jesuits at mt. desert, now in maine, but at that time within the bounds of virginia. he attacked the buildings and returned with the priests late in july. he was sent back by gates to destroy the buildings and fortifications there and at st. croix and port royal. this was done and he arrived back at jamestown, about the first of december. on this voyage, he stopped at new netherlands, on the hudson, and forced the colonists there to submit to the crown of england. shipbuilding on plantations the tracts of land or plantations occupied by individual settlers of the colony were very few until after the "starving time" in . when the colony had been reorganized by lord de la warr and sir thomas gates, and something like peace existed with the indians, more land patents were issued year after year. a list of land owners, in , in the records of the company, shows nearly two hundred persons owning plots of land varying in size from forty acres to the thirty-seven hundred acres of sir george yeardley's plantation at hungar's river on the eastern shore. in _a perfect description of virginia_ by an unnamed writer in , it is stated that there were in the colony "pinnaces, barks, great and small boats many hundreds, for most of their plantations stand upon the rivers' sides and up little creeks and but a small way into the land." every planter must have had a boat of some kind. neighborly communication had to be maintained, religious services attended, fishing and oystering to be done, crops of tobacco transferred to the ships anchored out in the channel, and cargoes of goods taken from the ships to the warehouses. the planter navigated the boat himself unless he could provide a slave or an indentured servant. most of the shipbuilding done on the plantations was done by ship carpenters or men trained by them. the shipyards were very simple affairs, the essentials being a plot of ground on the bank of a stream with water deep enough to float the vessel and near a supply of suitable timber. later would be added, perhaps, a small pier to which the boat could be attached, and a small building or shed for the protection of tools. a visiting ship in need of repair would seek some convenient place on the river and the hospitality of the neighboring planter. an instance is that of captain thomas dermer from monhegan, north virginia, now in maine, who arrived at the colony in september, , in an open pinnace of five tons. he had met captain ward several weeks earlier at a place called "st. james his isles," and there had put most of his provisions on board the _sampson_, captain ward's boat. of his arrival in virginia, he wrote to samuel purchas as follows: "after a little refreshing, we recovered up the river to james citie and from thence to captain ward his plantation, where immediately we fell to hewing boards for a close deck." he and his men soon fell sick with malaria and "were sore shaken with burning fever." as their recovery was slow and winter had overtaken them, dermer decided to wait until spring before sailing north. captain john ward had arrived in virginia during the previous april and was already a member of the house of burgesses. some of the visitors did their shipbuilding more quickly. a captain thomas young arrived in the colony with two ships on july , , and by july , was reported by governor harvey to have built two pinnaces, and that he would be gone in two more days. some planters on the larger plantations continued to build their own ships even after public shipyards had been established in seaport towns. flowerdieu hundred on the james river was a prosperous plantation, where many vessels were built. it had its own wharf where large ships could be moored for loading. some shipbuilding at westover on the james river is recorded in the diary of william byrd ii, who, after the death of his father in , became owner of the plantation. in july , byrd wrote: "i sent the boatmaker to falling creek to build me a little boat for my sea sloop." two days later he wrote: "i sent tom to williamsburg for john b-r-d to work on my sloop." later in the month, he noted that john b-r-d had come in the night to work on his sloop. in november, he wrote: "in the afternoon we paid a visit to mr. hamilton who lives across the creek. we walked about his plantation and saw a pretty shallop he was building." in august, , he wrote that he had taken a walk to see the boatbuilder at work. on august , he wrote that he had paid the builder of his sloop sixty pounds, which was twenty pounds more than he had agreed for. later in the year, he noted that his sloop had gone down to the shipyard at swinyards. byrd acquired a new shipwright who came from england on the ship _betty_ in . in march, he wrote that the new shipwright was offended because he had been given corn pone instead of english bread for breakfast. he had taken his horse and ridden away without a word. however, he reported later that the shipwright had returned. on may , , byrd reported that he had engaged mr. t-r-t-n to build him a sloop next year. several years later, he recorded the loss of his great flat boat, but it was found by a man at swinyards. swinyards was a place for public warehouses and a shipyard, located on the north bank of the james river, a short distance below westover, opposite windmill point. at berkeley, a neighboring plantation on the james river, owned by benjamin harrison, there were extensive merchant mills and a large shipyard where vessels were built for the plantation. on october , , there appeared a for-sale advertisement in the _virginia gazette_: "a double decked vessel of tons on the stocks at berkeley shipyard, built to carry a great burden, and esteemed a very fine vessel." two years later, john hatley norton and a mr. coutts were negotiating with colonel harrison for the purchase of the ship _botetourt_ built there for which they offered pounds sterling. "she is as stout a ship as was ever built in america, and we expect will carry hogsheads of tobacco," wrote mr. norton. the virginia company's interest in boatbuilding when sir thomas smith ended his term as treasurer of the company in , among many other charges brought against him by the opposing faction, it was declared there was left only one old frigate belonging to somers' isles, one shallop, one ship's boat, and two small boats belonging to private persons. in his defense, smith referred to the men he had sent to virginia to set up iron works; the making of cordage, pitch, tar, pot and soap-ashes from material at hand; the cutting of timber and masts; and how he had sent men to erect sawmills for cutting planks for building houses and ships. in justification of smith and himself, robert johnson, alderman, a leader during smith's administration, drew up an account in which he stated among other evidences of prosperity that barks, pinnaces, shallops, barges, and other boats had been built in the colony; but this statement was not accepted as fact. sir edwin sandys succeeded smith as treasurer; and in the earl of southampton's administration in , a list of improvements was drawn up, among which it was claimed that the number of boats was ten times multiplied and that there were four ships owned by the colony. a reply to this may be taken from _an answer to a declaration of the present state of virginia in may_, , in which it was declared that the new administration was many degrees behind the old government, for in those times there were built boats of all sorts, barges, pinnaces, frigates, hoyes, shallops and the like. the great massacre in march, , put an immediate check on any progress in boatbuilding in the colony. for a time the settlers were panic stricken, and there was much talk of assembling all the remaining settlers on the eastern shore, but happily, wiser counsel prevailed. that the few boatwrights then in the colony perished is considered probable from the fact that none could be found to repair a boat that had drifted ashore at elizabeth city after the massacre. when writing about the indian massacre, captain john smith, in his _general history of virginia_, in a bitter outburst, said: "yea, they borrowed our boats to transport themselves over the river to consult on the develish murder that insued and of our utter extirpation." in sir francis wyatt's commission to sir george yeardley on september , , to attack the indians in punishment for the massacre, he ordered the use of "such ships, barks, and boats as are now riding in this river as transports." the ships and barks may well have been english vessels. when virginia became a crown colony in , the reports on the state of the colony named thirty-eight boats, two shallops, one bark, one skiff, and one canoe, but this was considered inaccurate as many plantations did not report their vessels. shipwrights and ship-carpenters every colonizing expedition to the new world had been deeply impressed by the wealth of shipbuilding materials to be found. the english were particularly enthusiastic, since the scarcity of timber in england was very serious. here, in virginia, were to be found all that was needed for building ships: "oakes there are as faire, straight and tall and as good timber as any can be found, a great store, in some places very great. walnut trees very many, excellent faire timber above four-score foot, straight without a bough." the report went on in praise of the tall pine trees fit for the tallest masts, and the kinds of woods for making small boats: mulberry, sassafras, and cedar. other materials were not wanting: iron ore, pitch, tar, rosin, and flax for making rope. the colonists saw in this wealth of materials a new source of supply at one-half of the previous cost. both england and holland had been purchasing their shipbuilding materials from poland and prussia at a cost of a million pounds sterling annually. one enthusiastic englishman, when he heard these reports, wrote: "we shall fell our timber, saw our planks, and quickly make good shipping there, and shall return thence with good employment, an hundred sayle of ships yearly." when captain newport returned to england in june, , he carried with him a request, from the colonists to the company, for carpenters to build houses, and shipwrights to build boats. upon newport's return in , he brought with him a number of poles and dutchmen to erect sawmills for the production of boards for houses and boats. this did not prove to be a successful venture. further attempts were made in , and later, to establish sawmills in the colony. instructions sent to governor wyatt, in , bade him "to take care of the dutch sent to build sawmills, and seat them at the falls, that they may bring their timber by the current of the water." repeated appeals had been made to the company for ship-carpenters without success. in january, , the governor and council joined in an appeal for workmen to build vessels, of various kinds, for the use of the people in making discoveries, in trading with their neighbors, and in transporting themselves and goods from one place to another. in reply, a letter from the company, in august, gave the encouraging news, that in the spring, the company would send an excellent shipwright with thirty or forty carpenters. in preparation, they were advised to fell a large number of black oak trees, and bark as many others. the company expected the sawmill to provide the planks and suggested a place near the sawmill and ironworks for the shipyard. a thousand pounds had been underwritten by private persons for sending the shipwrights and carpenters who were promised by the end of april at the latest. the next spring, in may, the council received notice that sailing on the ship _abigail_ were captain thomas barwick and twenty-five other persons for building boats, ships and pinnaces. they were to be established together in an area of at least twelve hundred acres, and were to be employed only in the trade for which they were sent. four of the company's oxen were to be assigned to them for use in hauling the timber. captain barwick and his men settled in jamestown. at first they were employed in building houses for themselves and afterward began to build shallops, the most convenient and satisfactory vessels, for transporting tobacco to the large ships. soon several of the men were ill, from malaria it was thought, and by the end of the year many of them had died. a letter from george sandys, in march, to deputy treasurer ferrar, sent by the ship _hopewell_, told the discouraging news. he deplored the failure of the shipbuilding project caused by the death of captain barwick and many of his shipbuilders, "wherein if you blame us, you must blame the hand of god." he attributed the pestilent fever that raged in the colony to the infected people that came over in the _abigail_, "who were poisened with stinking beer, all falling sick and many dying, everywhere dispersing the contagion." not only the shipbuilders, but almost all the passengers of the _abigail_, died immediately, upon their landing. the contagion even spread to the cattle and other domestic animals, it was said. on march , , thomas munn (?) came before the council and the general court of virginia and swore that he was at the making of a small shallop, by direction of captain barwick, and that afterward this boat was sold to captain william eppes, for two hundred pounds of tobacco, and "as yet the debt is not satisfied unto any man." upon the death of captain barwick, munn had delivered to george sandys, treasurer, a list of debts owing, and this debt had never been paid. adam dixon, who came over in the _margaret and john_, was sent by the company as a master calker of ships and boats. he was living at pashbehays, near jamestown, in . as the years went by, a number of shipwrights came to the colony from time to time, and were engaged in private shipyards on plantations, or set up shipyards of their own. orphan boys were sometimes apprenticed to these shipbuilders until they reached the age of twenty-one. they were expected to be taught to read, write and cipher in addition to learning the trade of ship-carpenter. many of the shipwrights who came to virginia in the seventeenth century, became land owners, some of them owning large tracts of land, as shown by county records, especially in the tidewater area. in lancaster on the rappahannock river, john meredith, a shipwright, obtained, by patent, a tract of fifty acres. his sale of acres is recorded, also a contract to build a sloop and a small boat, in payment of a debt of , pounds of tobacco. in rappahannock county records, we find shipwright simon miller, a noted shipbuilder, who owned a tract of acres; and john griffin, a shipwright, who, in , recorded a deed to colonel cadwalader jones for a bark of fifty odd tons, for the consideration of fifty pounds sterling. the first john madison of virginia, great-great-grandfather of president james madison, acquired considerable land in virginia by the importation of immigrants; in a land patent dated , he called himself a ship-carpenter. at this time, good ships of three hundred tons and over were being built in virginia, and probably john madison aided in the construction of one or more of these. it is evident that many of the shipwrights, who came to virginia from england, found the life of a planter more desirable than that of a shipbuilder, while some of them combined the two occupations. controversies over boats the council and general court of virginia were called upon occasionally to settle controversies over vessels of various kinds and to hear reports concerning others. the following reports are from the records of the court for to . at an early date, robert poole reported a trading voyage with the indians for mr. "treasurer," in the pinnace _elizabeth_, during which he gave ten arms length of blue beads for one tub of corn and over, and thirteen arms length for another tub. anne cooper complained that her late husband, thomas harrison, loaned a shallop to lieutenant george harrison, late deceased. it was ordered by the court that she should receive one hundred pounds of merchantable tobacco from george harrison's estate. an argument between john utie and bryan caught resulted in the order that the latter should build utie a shallop eighteen feet, six inches keel; six feet, six inches breadth; with masts, oars, yard and rudder, and to find the nails and six score "ruff and clench" desired. utie was to pay bryan for building the shallop six score pound weight of tobacco, and to furnish the help of a boy and the boy's diet. also, he was to pay bryan six score pounds of tobacco for a boat previously built for him. captain francis west, a member of the council, desired that he be given the use of the spanish frigate with all her tackle, apparel, munitions, masts, sails, yards, etc., that had been captured by john powell, with a shallop built for that purpose, on an expedition to the west indies in the man-of-war, _black bess_. he was required to pay pounds of tobacco to the captain and men. in trading for corn for southampton hundred, john powntis was allowed a barrel of the corn for the use of his pinnace. mr. proctor had to pay mr. perry fifty pounds of tobacco for splitting perry's shallop. later, a shallop, which edmund barker sold to mr. rastall's men, was ordered returned to mr. perry, and edmund barker to be paid fifty pounds of tobacco for mending the shallop. to settle a charge against thomas westone by several men, he was ordered to appear before the governor with his pinnace. at a later meeting, thomas ramshee swore that westone was owner of the ship _sparrow_ and "did set her out of his own charge, from london to virginia." this was an early seagoing vessel of a colonist, but whether built in virginia, or purchased, is not stated. nicholas weasell received the most severe penalty, in cases concerning boats, when he was ordered to serve henry geny the rest of the year from february, for taking away geny's boat without leave, "whereupon it was bilged and spoiled." captain claiborne purchased a shallop with appurtenances from captain john wilcox who had been "at the plantation called accomack" since . he paid wilcox pounds of tobacco for the shallop, and sold it to thomas harwood. captain wilcox failed to make delivery, and the court ordered the attorney of captain wilcox to make satisfaction to thomas harwood. the court was called upon to settle a controversy between captain william tucker and mr. roland graine about a boat. a mrs. hurte was named as the owner of another ship in the colony, the _truelove_, formerly owned by john cross, deceased in england. a much discussed case was that of william bentley, on trial for the killing of thomas godby, which resulted when mr. conge's boat ran ashore at merry point, near william parker's house. while there, bentley, who had arrived in the boat, got into a quarrel and fight with godby, and was accused of killing him. these court records show that most of the cases concerned vessels built in the colony: boats, pinnaces, and shallops. the ships mentioned were evidently of english make. the shallop was the most popular boat for use in the colony. it was a small boat from sixteen to twenty feet in length, fitted with one or two masts and oars, and suitable for exploring the creeks and rivers, collecting corn from the indians, and transporting tobacco to waiting ships. shipbuilding on the eastern shore the eastern shore records are among the earliest in virginia. shipbuilding in the early days has been ably discussed by dr. susie m. ames in _studies of the virginia eastern shore in the seventeenth century_. in , john toulson, or poulson, built a pinnace at nassawadox in which he had one-half interest. richard newport, one of captain christopher newport's sons, while living in northampton county, bought a shallop from the carpenter, thomas savage, for the use of the merchant, henry brookes, for which savage was paid twenty pounds sterling. william berry, another eastern shore carpenter, made an agreement with philip taylor, one of william claiborne's men, during the kent island controversy, to make him a boat, twenty by ten feet, provided taylor furnished the boards for the deck between the forecastle and the cabin. for this, berry was to receive two cows with calf and four hundred pounds of tobacco. during the dispute over kent island, a pinnace, belonging to captain claiborne, was taken by the marylanders. obedience robins, a well-known citizen of the eastern shore, acquired from the boatwright, william stevens, a shallop, twenty-six feet in length, with masts, yards, and oars. he owned a pinnace also, which he had named _accomack_. a number of lawsuits on the eastern shore in the 's, involved boats and ship materials. philip taylor was indebted to william stevens for one house, four days on a shallop, valued at one pound sterling, six gallons of tar, and nails of various sizes. payment was ordered made to the overseers of the estate of daniel cugley of one small boat, twenty-four yards of canvas, twenty gallons of tar, and ninety ten-grote nails, supplies for making a boat. another court order concerned the delivery of a boat, and six-penny nails lent by john neale. ambrose nixon testified that he and his mate had built a boat for randall revell. in , two planters of accomack, nicholas white and one barnaby, made voyages to new england in their own vessels. the names of walter price and christopher stribling shipwrights are listed in the early records of northampton county. encouragement for the building of ships the general assembly of virginia encouraged shipbuilding by such laws as those enacted during : "be it enacted that every one that shall build a small vessel with a deck be allowed, if above twenty and under fifty tons, fifty pounds of tobacco per ton; if above fifty and under one hundred tons, one hundred pounds of tobacco per ton; if above one hundred tons, two hundred pounds per ton. provided the vessel is not sold except to an inhabitant of this country in three years." other encouragement by virginia to owners of vessels, built by them, was the exemption of the two shillings export duties per hogshead of tobacco; the exemption from castle duties; the reduction to two pence per gallon on imported liquor from the four pence required of foreign vessels; and the exemption from duties imposed on shipmasters on entering and clearing, and for licenses and bond where necessary. the english government discouraged manufacture in the colonies that would compete with home manufactures, but the building of ships was an exception. england needed ships and granted the colonies the right to build as many as they could. throughout the whole period of royal government, there were enacted various laws remitting the duties on imports brought in on native ships and remission of tonnage duties. this aroused the resentment of the english shipbuilders, who had endeavored to put a stop to the building of ships of any size in the colonies. they were alarmed, too, at the laws passed in the colonies to encourage shipbuilding and complained that they had been discriminated against. resolutions were passed by parliament to investigate such laws framed in the colonies, and a bill, based upon these resolutions was proposed, but never introduced. however, in , governor culpeper was ordered to annul the laws exempting virginia owners of vessels constructed in the colony from duties on exported tobacco and castle duties. the grounds upon which this order was based were ( ) the injustice of granting privileges to virginia ship owners, not enjoyed by the owners of english vessels, trading in virginia waters; ( ) the success of the navigation laws would be impaired by creating a virginia fleet, able to transport tobacco, without the assistance of english vessels; and ( ) owners of english ships might be tempted to order them as belonging to virginians. since the virginia fleet in , was composed of two ships, as mentioned by john page, in a petition to lord culpeper, the english were thought to be unnecessarily alarmed. during the 's, following the laws of the general assembly, a number of virginia built ships were recorded. there was much shipbuilding activity on the eastern shore. the mate of the _royal oake_, when caught trading illegally, stated that the owner had another boat in the house of a mr. waters, and also had a sloop being built there. about this time, a shipwright agreed to build between may and october, for william whittington, a sloop of twenty-six feet keel, and breadth in proportion, receiving for his work , pounds of tobacco. in , john goddon entered a claim for a vessel of twenty-five tons built for him in accomack. john bowdoin built a brigantine which he named _northampton_. the size of the vessels built in virginia had been increasing steadily. thomas ludwell, secretary of the colony, reported, in , that there had been built recently, several small vessels which could make voyages along the coast, presumably sloops. again, in a letter to lord arlington, secretary ludwell made the following statement: "we have built several vessels to trade with our neighbors, and do hope ere long to build bigger ships and such as may trade with england." colonel cuthbert potter of lancaster county, who was sent on a mission to ascertain the truth of the reported indian depredations in massachusetts and new york, was an early settler in the colony, and had acquired large land holdings in middlesex county. about , he removed to barbadoes in his own sloop, the _hopewell_. in , james fookes agreed to build for the widow, mrs. ann hack, a sloop that would carry thirty-five hogsheads of tobacco, if mrs. hack would supply the plank and a barrel of tar; fookes agreed to finish the job by the th of december. the following summer, at the plantation of mrs. hack, fookes made a formal contract with the brother of mrs. hack, augustine herrman of bohemia manor in maryland, to build a sloop and have it ready by the following october. herrman is well-known for his map of maryland and virginia. twenty years later, the dimensions of the _phenix_, another vessel built by fookes, were given: length of keel, forty feet; breadth, fourteen feet, nine inches inside; depth, eight feet, ten inches. in the english _news letter_ of march , , was carried an encouraging news item: "a frigate of between thirty and forty [tuns?], built in virginia, looks so fair, it is believed that in a short time, they will get the art of building as good frigates as there are in england." at that time, a new fort was being erected at point comfort, and it was ordered that every ship riding in the james river should send one carpenter with provisions and tools to work on this fort. in , mrs. sarah whitby, widow of john whitby, petitioned the king in council as follows: "the petitioner with other planters in virginia are owners of the ship _america_, built in virginia by captain whitby, and pray for a license, for the said vessel with six mariners, to proceed to virginia." the workmanship of the _america_ and her fine appearance had aroused the interest of the english, and expectations arose that virginia might soon become skillful in building large vessels. in a reply by sir william berkeley, governor of virginia, to an inquiry by the lords commissioners of foreign plantations, in , as to the number of ships that trade yearly with the colony, he answered that there were a number of ships from england and ireland and a few ketches from new england, but never at one time more than two virginia-owned vessels, and they not more than twenty tons burden. he stated further that the severe act of parliament which excluded the colony from commerce with any other nation, was the reason why "no small or great vessels are built here." but other records of the time contradict berkeley's statement as to the number and size of vessels built in the colony. in addition to those mentioned above, there is found in the records of york county, an itemized cost of building a sloop, the total amount being , pounds of tobacco. the various materials were furnished by the owners: richard meakins, feet of plank; mr. newell, the rigging; captain sheppard, the sail; and mr. williams, the rudder iron. about four months were required to complete the vessel, charges for food running that length of time, during which a cask of cider was consumed. some sloops were made large enough to hold as many as fifty hogsheads of tobacco, and could sail outside the coast. the sloop _amy_, with fourteen hogsheads of tobacco, sailed from virginia to london in . dr. lyon g. tyler in _the cradle of the republic_ wrote that as early as , ships of tons were built in virginia, and trade in the west indies was conducted in small sloops. lieutenant john west of the eastern shore, stating that he had built a vessel of forty-five tons, decked and fitted for sea, petitioned the court for a certificate to the assembly as encouragement for so doing. two other shipwrights, thomas fookes and robert norton, testified as to the weight of the vessel. west was evidently seeking the subsidy of fifty pounds of tobacco for building a vessel "above twenty and under fifty tons," under the law of . john west was evidently considered an excellent boatwright and carpenter, for in an indenture of the year , made between him and robert glendall, late of elizabeth city county, west is enjoined by the court to do his utmost to instruct glendall in sloop and boat building, and in such other carpenter's work as he was "knowing in." in his testimony before the board of trade on september , , as to the manufactures in virginia, major wilson stated that very good ships were built in virginia of tons and upwards; but cordage, iron, and smith's work were "brought thither." during that year, a group of merchants in bristol, england, had a number of ships constructed in virginia. they were influenced by the fine quality of timber and the small cost of the work, as compared with the cost of similar work in england. also, a matter of no small importance, a cargo of tobacco was ready for each completed ship. the wills of deceased persons sometimes revealed ownership of vessels. of particular interest is the will of nathaniel bacon, senior, in which he left to his wife and his nephew, lewis burwell, "all ships or parts of ships ... to me belonging in any part of the world." these were to be disposed of by abigail, his wife, and the nephew as they saw fit. an inventory of the estate of one thomas lloyd of richmond county, on october , , lists one decked sloop on the stocks, unfinished, of about thirty tons; one small open sloop newly launched, not finished, of twenty-five tons; one new flat, one old ditto; one old barge; one parcel of handsaws, etc. sir edmund andros, governor of virginia, in answering the inquiries of the council of trade and plantations, the clearing house for colonial affairs, in the year , stated that there were , inhabitants in virginia, and the number of vessels reported by the owners were four ships, two barks, four brigantines, and seventeen sloops. his report for the previous year had named eight ships, eleven brigantines, and fifteen sloops that had been built for which carpenters, iron work, rigging, and sails had been brought from england. eighteenth century shipbuilding the building of ships, barkentines and sloops in virginia, during the early years of the eighteenth century, had so increased that the master shipbuilders of the river thames addressed a petition to the king in , stating that by the great number of ships and other vessels lately built, then building, and likely to be built in the colonies, the trade of the petitioners was very much decayed, and great numbers of them for want of work to maintain their families, had of necessity left their native country and gone to america. they felt that not only british trade and navigation had suffered thereby, but danger existed in fitting out the royal navy in any extraordinary emergency. this petition applied to the northern colonies particularly, as they were far ahead of virginia in shipbuilding, but the southern colonies were included. as we have seen, many shipwrights came to virginia and acquired large tracts of land and became planters. in the narrative of his travels in virginia, with some companions early in the eighteenth century, francis louis michel of berne, switzerland, related that when he was within fifty miles of the coast, he saw two ships, the larger, one of the most beautiful merchantmen he had ever seen. because it was built in virginia, it was named _indian king_ or _wild king_, he did not remember which. three years before, it had fallen into the hands of pirates, so the narrative related, but had been rescued by the british warship _shoreham_, and sixty pirates of all nations taken prisoners, all of whom were hanged in england. how many vessels were built or repaired at the point comfort shipyard is not known. at a meeting of the council of virginia in may, , a letter from captain moodie stated that he had fitted up a very convenient place at point comfort for careening her majesty's ships of war, or any other ships that came to the colony; and he proposed that some care be taken and some person appointed to have charge of the situation. this arrangement was confirmed by a letter from lieutenant governor alexander spotswood to the british admiralty on october , , in which he wrote that for the convenience of careening, there is a place at point comfort which, with a small charge, could be fitted up for that purpose; h.m.s. _southampton_ had careened there, and there may be served the largest ships of war, which her majesty will have occasion to send to virginia as cruisers or convoys. this careening site at point comfort provided long-needed facilities for careening vessels for repairs and scraping bottoms. as early as , david pietersz de vries from holland, arrived at jamestown with a leaky ship, but found no facilities in the colony for careening vessels. he found it necessary to sail to new netherlands for such repairs. as late as , when the _shoreham_, a fifth rate frigate, was the chesapeake bay guardship, captain passenger, her commander, wrote to governor nicholson: "i have only to offer (may your excellency think convenient) about the latter end of september to careen the _shoreham_. she is at present very foul, and the rudder is loose, which i fear before the next summer, may be of dangerous consequences which cannot be removed, without careening or lying ashore, which i presume there is no place in virginia, that will admit of." it is thought, however, that there must have been careening places in the colony for the smaller vessels, or how else could the pinnaces and sloops have been kept in repair. sloops became popular in the eighteenth century, and a number of them were built in virginia to be disposed of in the west indies. after the sloop was finished, she received a cargo of tobacco, and vessel and tobacco were sold together. because of the danger from pirates and spanish interference, the sloops for the west indies trade were designed especially for speed and maneuverability. the pilot boat evolved in the colony quite early. an advertisement appeared in the _virginia gazette_, on july , , for a pilot boat stolen or gone adrift from york river. the boat was twenty-four feet keel, nine feet beam, with two masts and sails, and was painted red. another advertisement in september, , concerning a boat stolen from newport news, on the james river, by one james hobbs, a carpenter. the boat was about fifteen feet keel, had two masts, and was payed with pitch. it had a new arch thort of black walnut, and a tarpaulin upon the forecastle. norfolk became one of the busiest ports in virginia, both in shipbuilding and ship repair work. a shipyard had been established on the elizabeth river in by john wood and work had been almost continuous, though at times very slow, throughout the seventeenth century. an inventory in , listed one brigantine, three sloops, and three flats owned by robert tucker. one of the sloops was forty feet in length and valued at pounds sterling. captain samuel tatum owned the ship _caesar_, which was said to be worth pounds sterling, and the sloop _indian creek_ valued at twenty-five pounds. william byrd in his _history of the dividing line_, states that he saw at norfolk, in , twenty sloops and brigantines. some of them were quite evidently of english origin. in , the sloop _industry_, "lately built in norfolk," was loaded with tobacco in the james river to take to london. captain goodrich, master of the ship _betty_ of liverpool, which was built on the elizabeth river for the maryland trade, was permitted by the council of virginia, to sail to liverpool without the payment of the usual port duties. the firm of john glasford and company contracted with smith sparrows in , for a ship built at norfolk, sixty feet in length, sixteen feet in the lower hold, and four feet between decks, the price being fifty shillings per ton. many of the shipwrights, who came to virginia and became land owners, settled in norfolk. that port was especially known for this kind of citizen, ranking next to the merchant in wealth and influence. among house owners were some ship-carpenters who carried on their trade, receiving for a day's work four shillings and a pint of rum, more wages than the salary of some clergymen. several shipwrights listed in lower norfolk were large property owners. abraham elliott owned land both in virginia and england. one john ealfridge owned one-half interest in a mill, and acquired a plantation for each of his two sons in addition to his own. to secure a large sum of money due robert cary of london, theophilus pugh of nansemond county mortgaged his lands, slaves, and vessels with all their boats. the vessels were listed as follows: ships, _william and betty_, _prosperous esther_; sloops, _little molly_, _little betty_; schooners, _nansemond frigate_, _pugh_. if the average planter had owned the equivalent of two ships, two sloops and two schooners, the total number of vessels in virginia in the middle of the eighteenth century would have far exceeded any inventory reported. the frame of a snow, which was to have been built by thomas rawlings, a ship-carpenter, for mr. john hood, merchant of prince george county, was advertised for sale in . the snow was to have been sixty feet keel; twenty-three feet, eight inches beam; ten feet hold; and four feet between decks. also advertised for sale about the same time was a schooner, trimmed and well-fitted with sails and rigging to carry fifty hogsheads of tobacco. in march, , the sloop _little betty_, burden fifty tons, was offered for sale with her sails, anchors, furniture, and tackle. the advertisements of virginia-built vessels in the 's, and in the 's, show a steady increase in the size of sloops and ships. the following are mentioned: a brig of eighty tons; several snows, one to carry hogsheads of tobacco; and several schooners. schooner rigged boats appeared in the colony early in the eighteenth century, and gradually increased in size and importance. during the second half of the eighteenth century, the schooner displaced the sloop as the principal coastwise vessel, and emerged during the revolution as a distinctive american type. "the most spectacular event in the history of naval architecture in the eighteenth century was the emergence of the chesapeake bay clipper-schooner," says arthur pierce middleton. in april, , john hatley norton came from london to be his father's agent with headquarters in yorktown. he wrote home that his cousins, the walker brothers, had a shipyard at hampton, and were building ships of new white oak, well calculated for the west indies trade. a letter from john m. jordon & company, london, in , reads in part as follows: "mr. william acrill desires you will make insurance of his brig, _america_, captain william c. latimer; in case of loss to receive four hundred pounds. she is chartered by a gentleman on the rappahannock; and is now in hampton roads, and will sail tomorrow or next day; and in case she arrives safe, you are to receive her freight, and sell the vessel, provided you can get four hundred pounds for her." occasionally, we find an account of the use of a vessel of some kind or other for pleasure. in fithian's _journal and letters_, the author writes in , that his employer, mr. robert carter of nomini, prepared for a voyage in his schooner _harriot_ (named for his daughter), to the eastern shore of maryland for oysters. the schooner was of forty tons burden, thirty-eight feet in length, fourteen feet beam, six feet in depth of hold, carried bushels of grain, and was valued at forty pounds sterling. again from the _journal_: "from horn point, we agreed to ride to one mr. camel's, who is comptroller of the customs here. before dinner, we borrowed the comptroller's barge, which is an overgrown canoe, and diverted ourselves in the river which lies fronting his house." [illustration: _susan constant._ replica of the ship that brought the first settlers to jamestown, photograph by w. t. radcliffe.] [illustration: interior of the _susan constant_ photograph by w. t. radcliffe.] [illustration: the manner of makinge their boates. xii. the manner of makinge their boates in virginia is verye wonderfull. for wheras they want instruments of yron, or other like vnto ours, yet they knowe howe to make them as handsomelye, to saile with whear they liste in their riuers, and to fishe with all, as ours. first they choose some longe, and thicke tree, accordinge to the bignes of the boate which they would frame, and make a fyre on the grownd abowt the roote therof, kindlinge the same by little, and little with drie mosse of trees, and chipps of woode that the flame should not mounte opp to highe, and burne to muche of the lengte of the tree. when yt is almost burnt thorough, and readye to fall they make a new fyre, which they suffer to burne vntill the tree fall of yt owne accord. then burninge of the topp, and bowghs of the tree in suche wyse that the bodie of the same may retayne his iust lengthe, they raise yt vppon potes laid ouer cross wise vppon forked posts, at suche a reasonable heighte as they may handsomlye worke vppó yt. then take they of the barke with certayne shells: thy reserue the innermost parte of the lennke, for the nethermost parte of the boate. on the other side they make a fyre accordinge to the lengthe of the bodye of the tree, sauinge at both the endes. that which they thinke is sufficientlye burned they quenche and scrape away with shells, and makinge a new fyre they burne yt agayne, and soe they continue sometymes burninge and sometymes scrapinge, vntill the boate haue sufficient bothowmes. this god indueth thise sauage people with sufficient reason to make thinges necessarie to serue their turnes. from hariot's _virginia_. indian dugout canoe] [illustration: rose's tobacco boat, ] [illustration: rucker's tobacco boat, from percy's _piedmont apocalypse_.] [illustration: shallop from a sketch by gordon grant.] [illustration: _discovery_. replica of the pinnace that accompanied the _susan constant_, photograph by w. t. radcliffe.] [illustration: construction of the _discovery_, after seventeenth-century shipbuilding photograph by w. t. radcliffe.] [illustration: an early shipyard from abbot's _american merchant ships_.] [illustration: from ralamb's _skeps byggerij_, . trans. by j. aasland, jr., hampton, va. early shipbuilding tools used in sweden and other countries --english broad axe. --compass. --compass with chalk holder. --chalk line on roller. --compass. --axe for holes. --ruler. --tongue on ruler - / ft. --dutch ruler. --tongue on ruler for ship layout. --swedish cutting axe. --trimming hatchet. --hook for removing old calking. --english adz. --adz. --swedish or dutch adz. --english handsaw. --handsaw with handle. --mallet. --hammer. --claw hammer. --circle saw. --auger. --dutch brace auger. --english wood chisel. --wood chisel. --english mallet. --gouge. --swedish mallet. --gouge. --gouge. --gouge. --calking mallet. --calking tool. --spike iron. --calking tool. --calking mallet. --english gouge. --calking iron. --lubricating tool, also for removing pitch. --hook for removing oakum or old calking. --calking iron. --calking iron. --tool used to clean out seams. --calking iron. --calking iron. --scraper.] [illustration: shipwrights drawing, from pepysian mss in magdalene college, cambridge, england.] [illustration: h.m.s. _mediator_, a virginia sloop of about , purchased for the royal navy in drawn by h. i. chapelle from admiralty records.] [illustration: sloops in the york river between yorktown and gloucester point from an original drawing, .] [illustration: chesapeake bay log canoe under construction from brewington's _chesapeake bay log canoes_.] [illustration: a virginia pilot boat with a view of cape henry from _naval chronicle_, .] [illustration: american schooner off coast of virginia, from a watercolor by g. tobin in the national maritime museum, london.] [illustration: british schooner from a painting of curacao, .] [illustration: seventeenth-century shipyard in england from the science museum, south kensington, london.] [illustration: careening ships in england, from the science museum, south kensington, london.] [illustration: english ketch, about from r. c. anderson's _sailing ships_.] [illustration: brigantine, about from williams' _sailing vessels of the eighteenth century_.] [illustration: brig from williams' _sailing vessels of the eighteenth century_.] [illustration: snow from williams' _sailing vessels of the eighteenth century_.] [illustration: small galley-built vessel, ship-rigged, from the archives in the custom house, london.] [illustration: ss _united states_, built at the newport news shipbuilding and dry dock company. latest shipbuilding in virginia, to compare with seventeenth-century craft photograph by w. t. radcliffe.] trading towns and ports in the early days of the colony after tobacco had become a commodity for export, ships moored at the wharves of the plantations along the james, york and rappahannock rivers and their estuaries. as trade increased, larger ships were used which anchored in the channels of the rivers, and the tobacco and other exports were carried to them by small boats--shallops, sloops, and barges. the government complained that it was losing revenue by this individualistic and unorganized shipping of the planters, and steps were taken to correct this. in , it was enacted by the general assembly that all goods entering in any vessel--ship, bark or brig, should discharge at jamestown. this act applied to the colonists in their exports as well, but the law was disregarded. in , places were selected in the different counties that had the advantage of accessibility and deep water where ships could gather to receive and discharge their cargoes. the establishment of these trading towns, as they were called, was by an act as follows: the general assembly having taken into consideration the great necessity, usefulness and advantages of cohabitation ... and considering the building of storehouses for the reception of all merchandizes imported, and receiving and laying ready all tobacco for exportation and sale ... that there be in every respective county fifty acres of land purchased by each county and laid out for a town and storehouses.... the price of the fifty acres of land was set at , pounds of tobacco and casks. lots of one-half acre were to be sold to individuals by a stated time at the price of one hundred pounds of tobacco. twenty places were named in the counties where trading towns were to be established: henrico, at varina. charles city, at flower de hundred opposite swinyards. surry, at smith's fort. james city, at james city. isle of wight, at pate's field, pagan creek. nansemond, at huff's point. warwick, at the mouth of deep creek. elizabeth city, west side of hampton river. lower norfolk, on nicholas wise's land. york, on mr. reed's land. new kent, at the brick house. gloucester, at tindal's point. middlesex, west side of wormley's creek. rappahannock, at hobb's hole. stafford, at peace point. westmoreland, at nomini. accomack, at onancock. northampton, north side of king's creek. lancaster, north side of corotomond creek. northumberland, at chickacone creek. the towns were building up. warehouses, churches, and prisons were erected in many of them, as well as private dwellings. an occasional court house could be found where legal proceedings were enacted. in , however, an act of the general assembly changed many of the trading towns to ports, but was suspended later until the pleasure of the king and queen on the subject should be learned. no definite action was taken until , when queen anne, who ascended the throne in , expressed approval. then an act for ports of entry and clearance was passed to be in use from the th of december, . this act provided that naval officers and collectors at the ports should charge virginia owners of vessels no more than half of the fees required for the services of entering and clearing. the sixteen towns to become ports were named as follows: hampton. norfolk. nansemond. james city. powhatan (flower de hundred). yorktown. queensborough, at blackwater. delaware, at west point. queenstown, at corrotoman. urbanna, at middlesex. tappahannock, at hobb's hole. new castle, at wicomico. kingsdale, at yohocomoco. marlborough, at potomac creek. northampton, at king's creek. onancock. the names of some of the trading towns were changed when they became ports, and soon became important and well-known throughout the country. hampton, known first by the indian name kecoughtan (spelled in various ways) was settled in . although the name had been changed to elizabeth city by the company in may, , upon the petition of the colonists, the old indian name was still in use occasionally in the th century. in papers relating to the administration of governor nicholson is a list of vessels about to sail from "keccowtan" in july , sixty-seven sail of merchant ships bound for various ports of great britain. the names kecoughtan, elizabeth city, lower james, and even southampton were used interchangeably, and shown on records of the colony, until the act of , named the port hampton. in british colonial records of , we find hampton town, elizabeth city and keccowtan used in the same chapter. f. c. huntley in his _seaborne trade in virginia in mid-eighteenth century_, published in the _virginia magazine of history_, vol. , makes the statement that in the th century, port hampton handled the largest amount of shipping of all the virginia ports, judging from the total tonnage of vessels entering and clearing as given in the records of the naval officers. he uses , as a normal trade year of which he gives interesting statistics. he states that the tonnages that entered and cleared the port hampton naval office were distributed among five different types of rigging. cleared: sloops, schooners, ships, brigs, snows. entered: sloops, schooners, ships, brigs, snows. of these a goodly portion were built in virginia. after taking part in laying the dividing line between virginia and north carolina, william byrd ii wrote on march , : norfolk has most the air of a town of any in virginia. there were more than brigantines and sloops riding at the wharves and ofttimes they have more. it has all the advantages of a situation requisite for trade and navigation. there is a secure harbor for a goodly number of ships of any burthen. the town is so near the sea that a vessel can sail in and out in a few hours. their trade is chiefly to the west indies whither they export abundance of beef, pork, flour and lumber. in the _journal_ of lord adam gordon, colonel of the th regiment of foot, stationed at the west indies from to , is extracted the following: "norfolk hath a depth of water for a -gun ship or more, and conveniences of every kind for heaving down and fitting out large vessels; also a very fine ropewalk. there is a passage boat from hampton to norfolk and from york to gloucester." in the third quarter of the th century, norfolk became the principal seaport of virginia. yorktown was founded on land patented about by nicholas martiau, a walloon who had come to virginia in the summer of . his grandson, benjamin read, sold fifty acres to the colony in , and here yorktown as a port built the first custom house, not only in virginia, but in the country. a two-story brick building, erected about , by richard ambler, who occupied the building as collector of customs for yorktown in . it became a port of entry for new york, philadelphia and other northern cities, the importance of which was destroyed by the revolutionary war. york county was one of the eight original shires in , under the name, charles river, changed in to york. the old custom house is still standing and is used as a museum for colonial and revolutionary relics. the location of alexandria on a large circular bay in the potomac river soon gave that town great importance as a port and shipyard. for generations, tobacco and grain were shipped from there, and imports of many kinds brought in. master shipbuilders turned out vessels manned, owned and operated by alexandrians. from her ropewalk came the rope to hoist the sails made in her sail lofts. on may , , george washington went to alexandria to see col. littledale's ship launched. he tells of another launching he attended there on october , , when he "stayd up all night to a ball." the two creeks flowing from near williamsburg to york river on one side and the james on the other, played an important part in early colonial history. from york river sloops, schooners, barges and all manner of flat-bottomed craft sailed up queen's creek to queen mary's port with its capitol landing within a mile of williamsburg. the same kind of watercraft sailed from james river up college creek to queen anne's port with its college landing near the city. cargoes of mahogany, lignum vitae, lemons, rum, sugar and ivory were discharged. received in return were tobacco, grain, flour and other commodities. vessels on queen's creek were required to pass through the custom house at yorktown after that office had been established. because of a general complaint by masters of ships that there were neither pilots nor beacons to guide them in virginia waters, the general assembly appointed captain william oewin chief pilot of james river in march, , to be paid five pounds sterling for the pilotage of all ships above eighty tons if he be employed, and if not employed due to the presence of the ship's pilot who guided the vessel, he received forty shillings. the pilot was required to maintain good and sufficient beacons at all necessary places, and toward this expense, the master of every vessel that anchored within point comfort, having or not having a pilot, was required to pay thirty shillings. later the pilot or the company to which he belonged was required to keep one pilot boat of foot keel at least, rigged and provided for use at all times. early ferries in virginia during the first quarter of the seventeenth century, the settler in virginia used any kind of craft he possessed to cross the streams that separated him from his neighbor or for transacting business. canoes, flatboats, scows, even sailing boats were pressed into service. these he propelled himself until he acquired a slave or two. communication was aided by bridges across the smaller streams, and when horses became available, by crossing the rivers at the fords whenever possible. the steady increase of settlers, however, created a demand for public transportation across creeks and rivers at the most travelled points. one of the first public ferries on record was started as a private enterprise in , by adam thoroughgood. a skiff was rowed by slaves across the waters of lower norfolk, between what are now the cities of norfolk and portsmouth. in a few months the demand for transportation became so strong that the ferry was taken over by the county, increased to three hand-powered vessels and supported by a levy of six pounds of tobacco on each taxable person in the county. a second early ferry was that of henry hawley in , when he was granted a patent by the court to keep a ferry at the mouth of the southampton river in kequoton, now hampton, for the use of the inhabitants and other passengers during his natural life, not exacting above one penny for ferriage according to the offer in his petition. "for the more ease of travellers," it was enacted by the general assembly in january , that the country provide and maintain ferries and bridges and the levy for payment to the ferrymen be made by the commissioners where the ferry is kept. this act, establishing ferries at public expense, was repealed later and the court of each county given power to establish a ferry, or ferries in the county where needed at the instance of individuals. the court had authority to appoint and license the ferry keeper, to require of him a bond of twenty pounds sterling payable to his majesty as security for the constant use and well-keeping of the boats. it was the duty of the court to order and direct the boats and hands in use at the ferries. to encourage men to engage in operating ferries, it was enacted in that all persons attending on ferryboats should be free from public and county levies and from such public services as musters, constables, clearing highways, impressment, etc., and should have their licenses without fee or paying a reward for obtaining them. and if the ferryman desired to maintain an ordinary (public inn) at the ferry, he should be permitted to do so without fee for the license, but should be required to give bond for security. no other person should be permitted to establish an ordinary within five miles of such a ferry keeper. a warning was issued that any person not a ferryman who for reward should set any person over the river where there was a ferry, except for going to church, should pay for every such offense five pounds sterling, one-half to go to the ferryman and one-half to the informer, the full amount to the ferryman should he be the informer. the county court was authorized in to make an agreement with the keeper of the ferry to set over the county militia on muster days and to raise an allowance for this in the county levy. all public messages and expresses to the government were to be allowed to cross ferry free. the adjutant general with one servant and their horses were exempted in from any payment on any ferry in the colony. ministers of the church were likewise exempt from paying ferriage. dugout canoes of the indians were among the first ferries used in virginia and when more space was needed, two canoes were lashed together and secured by means of heavy cross pieces. in the _journal_ of thomas chalkley, a traveller in virginia, he tells of a ferry crossing made at yorktown in : "we put our horses into two canoes tied together, and our horses stood with their fore feet in one and their hind feet in the other." later, flatboats, scows, barges, and more carefully planked boats were put into use. rope ferries were necessary wherever the current was swift, but used as little as possible on navigable rivers because of the obstruction to navigation. the number of ferries in the colony increased steadily from year to year. at nearly every session of the general assembly some law was enacted "for the good regulation of ferries." in , the assembly published a list of ferries with corresponding rates of ferriage that crossed the james, york, and rappahannock rivers and their branches. the ferries but not the rates are given herewith as follows: ferries on james river and branches thereof-- henrico county at varina. bermuda hundred to city point. charles city county at westover. appomattox river near col. byrd's store. prince george county at coggan's point, and maycocks. powhatan town to the swineherd landing. surry county, hog island to archer's hope. sicamore landing by windmill point to the widow jones's landing at wyanoke. mouth of the upper chipoake's creek over to the row, or martin's brandon. swan's point to james town. crouche's creek to james town. james city county at james town to swan's point. james town to crouche's creek. williamsburg, princess ann port to hog island. chickahominy, at usual place on each side of river. john goddale's to williams's neck, or drummond's neck. nansemond county, coiefield's point to robert peale's near sleepy hole. elizabeth city county at hampton town from town point to brookes's point. hampton town to sewell's point. norfolk town to sawyer's point or lovet's plantation. ferries on york river and branches-- new kent county, robert peaseley's to philip williams's. brick house to west point. brick house to graves's. king william county, spencer's over to the usual landing place. thomas cranshaw to the usual landing place. philip williams's to peaseley's point. west point to brick house. abbot's landing over mattaponi river. west point to graves's. york town to tindal's point (gloucester point). this ferry was in continual operation until when a fine new bridge was opened for travel across the york. the ferriage in was seven pence half penny for a man, fifteen pence for man and horse. queen mary's port at williamsburg to claybank creek in gloucester county. captain matthews's to capahosack. tindal's point to york town. capahosack to matthews's landing or scimmino creek. bailey's over the peankatank. king and queen county, graves's to west point. graves's to brick house. burford's to old talbot's. captain walker's mill landing. middlesex county, over peankatank at turk's ferry. ferries on the rappahannock river-- middlesex county, shelton's to mottrom wright's. brandon to chowning's point. essex county, daniel henry's to william pannell's. bowler's, at the usual place, to sucket's point. tappahannock to webley pavies, or to rappahannock creek. henry long's to the usual place. richmond county, william pannell's over the rappahannock. sucket's point to bowler's. potomac river-- stafford county, col., william fitzhugh's landing to maryland. eastern shore-- port of northampton to the port of york. port of northampton to the port of hampton. rates on these ferries were fixed by courts and varied according to distance. across the southampton river in hampton the rate was one penny, while from the port of northampton to hampton, the price was fifteen shillings for a man and thirty shillings for a man and horse. in , the ferry from hampton to norfolk was described as follows: "from the town of southampton, across the mouth of the james river, to the borough of norfolk and nansemond town; from the borough of norfolk and nansemond town, across the mouth of the james river, to the town of southampton." the fare for this trip for a man passing singly was seven shillings, six pence; for a man and horse, five shillings each. by february , the ferries across the chesapeake bay had been expanded, and were described as follows: "from york, hampton and norfolk towns, across the bay to the land of littleton eyre on hungar's river in northampton county; from the land of littleton eyre on hungar's river in northampton county, across the bay to york, hampton and norfolk." the rate for a man was twenty shillings, for a man and horse, fifteen shillings each. in , another list of ferries, published in hening's _statutes_, showed that the number had more than doubled since . the potomac river had added fourteen to the number given at that time. two ferries had been established on nottaway: "from thomas drew's land to dr. brown's, and from bolton's ferry to simmons' land." the ferries in addition to those of are the following: james river and branches-- land of henry batte in henrico county, to the glebe land at varina. westover in charles city county, to maycox, or coggins point, and from maycox to westover. kennon's to maye's on appomattox river, and from maye's to kennon's. joseph wilkin's or john hood's land in prince george county, to john minge's land in wyanoke. hog-island, in surry county, to higginson's landing on col. lewis burwell's land. jamestown to swan's point. cowle's to williams's. cowle's to hamner's point. crawford's to powder point. boiling's point in henrico county, over appomattox river. city point to shirley hundred, at the ship landing, and from the said landing to city point. ship landing at shirley to bermuda hundred. bermuda hundred to city point. hemp landing at the falls of james river, to shocoe's, on the land of william byrd, esq. land of stephen woodson, in the county of goochland, to manacon town. henry cary's land, over the river, to the land of the said cary. henry batte's, in the county of henrico, to alexander bollings, in the county of prince george. land of col. richard bland, in the county of prince george, to the land of mrs. anderson, in the county of charles city. land of william pride called the store landing, in the county of henrico, to anthony's landing, in the county of prince george. store landing over persie's stile creek, to the land of peter baugh. warehouse landing at warwick, to the land of thomas moseley. mulberry island point in the county of warwick, to cocket's in isle of wight, and from cocket's to mulberry island. land of richard mosby in goochland county, to the land of tarlton fleming, opposite to mosby's landing. land of tucker woodson, to the land of paul micheaux near the court house. land of bennet goode to the land of col. john fleming. land of james fenly to the land of william cabbell, cross the fluvanna. charles lynch's plantation in albemarle county, on the rivanna, cross the said river, to the land of richard meriwether. land of mr. benjamin cocke, cross the said river, to the land of the said benjamin cocke. land of ashford hughes on the north side of james river, near the mouth of willis creek, cross the river to the land of robert carter, and from the said carter's to the said hughes's. land of lemuel riddick, adjoining the public wharf in suffolk, cross nansemond river, to samuel jordan's land. land of william pride in the county of herrico, on appomattox river, above the narrow falls, to the land of the said pride over the river, in prince george county. land of william cabbell, in albemarle county, at the mouth of swan's creek, over the fluvanna, to the land of samuel spencer; or from the said cabbell's, over tye river, to his land opposite. additional ferries on the york river-- chamberlayne's to williams's. brick house to dudley's, or dudley's to brick house. webb's to lyde's, formerly spencer's, in king william county. temple landing, over mattaponi river. west point to dudley's, or dudley's to west point. capahosic to scimino. seaton's over piankatank. frazier's to broach's, and from broach's to frazier's. walker town to waller's, or waller's to walker town. turk's ferry over piankatank. robert king's over pamunkey to blackwell's, or from blackwell's to king's. sweethall to claiborne gooch's, or from claiborne gooch's to sweethall. george dabney's over pamunkey river. taylor's in king william to garland's in hanover. william pulliam's in hanover, to john holliday's in caroline. richard littlepage's to thomas claiborne's land, over pamunkey, and from claiborne's to littlepage's. todd's warehouse landing, in king and queen, to the land of robert armistead bird, in king william. ferries on the rappahannock river-- whiting's to gilbert's. land of thomas ley to robinson's, or from robinson's to ley's. byrd's to williams', or williams' to byrd's. tappahannock town to carter's, or to rappahannock creek, on either side thereof. tankersley's over rappahannock river, to the usual place. germanna over the rapid ann. ray's plantation to skinker's. urbanna to chetwood's. urbanna, from the ferry landing to locust point, on the land of ralph wormley, esq. johnston's plantation in spotsylvania, to washington's in king george. taliaferro's plantation of the mount, to the land of joseph berry. philemon cavenaugh's ford. wharf above the mouth of massaponax creek, to the opposite landing upon mr. ball's land. fredericksburg warehouse to the land of anthony strother, or from strother's to fredericksburg. roy's warehouse to gibson's warehouse. william lowry's to the land of benjamin rust, or from rust's to lowry's. falmouth to the land of francis thornton, in spotsylvania. hackley's land in king george to corbin's in caroline. lot of joseph morton, in leeds town, to the lands of mrs. brooke. lower side of parrot's creek to teague's creek, on the land of baldwin. matthews smith, and from that creek to the lower side of parrot's creek. ferries on the potomac river-- col. william fitzhugh's land at boyd's hole, over to maryland. hoe's to cedar point. tripplet's land below the mouth of quantico creek, over to brooks's land. robert lovell's in the county of westmoreland, over to maryland. land of william russel on sherendo, cross into the fork, or cross the main river. kersey's landing on col. carter burwell's land, to the land of col. landon carter. gersham key's land, to the land of the honourable william fairfax. williams' gap, from the land of the right honourable the lord fairfax, where john melton now lives, to the land of ralph wormley, esquire. plantation of george mason, opposite to rock creek, over to maryland. plantation of john hereford in [doegs?] neck, over the river, to the lower side of pamunkey in maryland. hunting creek warehouse to frazier's point, or addison's. land of ebenezer floyd to powell's. evan watkin's landing, opposite to canagochego creek, to edmund wade's land in maryland. land of william clifton to the land of thomas wallis. land of hugh west to frazier's, or addison's. the county courts were required to appoint proper boats to be kept at the ferries where needed for the transportation of wheeled vehicles--carts, chaises, coaches and wagons. the rates for these vehicles were based upon the rates for horses. for every coach, chariot or wagon, the price was the same as for the ferriage of six horses; for every cart or four-wheeled chaise, the price was the same as for four horses; and for every two-wheeled chaise or chair, the same as for two horses. for every hogshead of tobacco, the rate of one horse was charged. for ferrying animals, every head of neat cattle rated as one horse; every sheep, lamb or goat, one-fifth part of the rate for a horse; for every hog, one-fourth of the ferriage of a horse. should the ferryman exceed the legal rates, he was penalized by having to pay to the party aggrieved, the ferriage demanded and ten shillings. in february , a free ferry for any persons and their commodities was established from the town of port royal over the rappahannock river to the land of john moore in king george county. in , there were five ferries from norfolk over her various bodies of water, one of which was established as a free ferry supported by the county to enable the poor people of the community to have free passage to market. in the _virginia gazette_ for march , , the following advertisement appeared: "i have boats for the use of my ferry equal to any in the government, and can give ferry dispatch greater than any other ferry keeper on the potomac river." in the late seventeenth century, the henrico county ferry was run by a woman. the county levy for that year was the sum of , pounds of tobacco to be paid to mrs. sarah woodson for keeping the ferry for one year. the county courts continued to establish new ferries and to discontinue others through the revolution and after. now and then bridges would take the place of ferries across the smaller streams. an interesting instance of such a change is told in the _richmond times-dispatch_ for august , . "for a century from , ferries were maintained across the two branches of pagan river at smithfield in isle of wight county. in , these ferries were abandoned for toll bridges." from year to year, ferries gradually gave way to bridges and now, when we have passed the middle of the twentieth century, there are few ferries left in virginia. these are large, fine steamboats capable of carrying hundreds of passengers, but are no more necessary to the welfare of the people than were the little dugouts in the early days of the colony. shipbuilding in the period of the revolution at a convention of delegates and representatives of the counties and corporations of the colony of virginia on july , , there was established a committee of safety consisting of ten prominent men for putting into execution the ordinances and resolutions of the convention. that committee was authorized to provide as many armed vessels as they judged necessary for the protection of the colony in the war that seemed to threaten. advertisements for ship-carpenters and other operatives were made, and every inducement held out to them in order that the building of vessels might immediately commence. between december, , and july, , the committee established a small navy by purchase of several armed, schooner-rigged vessels from the owners of the merchant fleet; and contracts were made for a number of galleys to be constructed on the different rivers of the colony. the potomac was to be protected by the construction of two row-galleys and the purchase of three boats. george minter was elected master of a row-galley to be built on the james river under the direction of colonel cary. he was requested to recommend proper persons to be mate, two midshipmen, gunner, and to enlist forty seamen. john herbert, a master shipbuilder, was employed to engage any number of ship-carpenters that he could procure upon reasonable terms, and to examine such places upon the james river or its branches as he thought proper and convenient for erecting shipyards, and to report to the committee. caleb herbert was retained as the master builder of a shipyard on the rappahannock river, and reuben herbert for such a yard on york river. each of them was desired as soon as possible to engage a proper number of workmen for building two row-galleys to be employed in the two rivers to transport troops. it was recommended that a committee at norfolk engage a proper person to take direction and employ a number of ship-carpenters for at least a year, to build vessels for the colony. george mason, in a letter to george washington on april , , mentioned that he had under his charge two row-galleys of or tons burden, each to mount light guns, three and four pounders; and the sloop, _american congress_, a fine stout vessel of tons burden, mounting fourteen carriage guns, four and six pounders, and was considering mounting two -pounders upon her main boom. on june , , the committee of safety appointed christopher calvert to superintend the building of two row-galleys for the protection of virginia and north carolina, to engage a master workman and as many men as he should need to work expeditiously. the two vessels, _caswell_ and _washington_, were built at the south quay shipyard on the blackwater river near the north carolina line. a north carolina sloop had been seized in ocracoke inlet in april, . sometime later, a warrant for £ was issued to argyle herbert for the use of captain calvert upon account to pay the carpenters employed on his galley. at the convention of delegates held at the capitol in williamsburg on may , , resolutions were passed dissolving the government from great britain, establishing virginia as a commonwealth or state. a board of navy commissioners composed of five members was appointed to superintend and direct all matters relating to the navy. their peculiar duties were defined as follows: to superintend and direct the building and repairing of all vessels; provide the necessary outfits, ordnance, provisions and naval stores; control the public rope walks; erect dockyards; contract for and provide all timber necessary for building purposes; and supervise the shipyards. on september , , this commission was requested to engage the proper persons for building "in the most expeditious manner", boats for the transportation of troops on the rivers, each boat to be the proper size for carrying a complete company of men with their arms and baggage. those were small boats without masts but broad and strong enough to transport troops across rivers and to carry from point to point large quantities of ammunition and provisions as they were required. the small boats had been found indispensable in retreats, in rapid marches, and in concentrating land forces. the commissioners were authorized in october to provide the necessary plank and timber for the building of four large galleys fit for river and sea service, and to be mounted with proper guns. and for manning these galleys and others being built, the commissioners were requested to raise the number of men needed, not to exceed to serve three years. the continental congress directed that two frigates of guns and of tons burthen be built in virginia, and the navy board ordered the work done at gosport shipyard in norfolk county. the following excerpts from a letter of richard henry lee of the united states congress to james maxwell, chief superintendent of construction on december , , give directions for building the frigates: the congress has resolved upon building two ships-of-war of guns each.... you, sir, have been recommended as a person of great fitness for this business.... i do, in the name of the committee, request you will ... determine a most fit place to put these ships upon the stocks at. safety against the enemy is a very necessary object, proper water for launching, and convenience for getting timber you will consider.... a master builder with four or six workmen will soon go hence to virginia for this business, and i have no doubt other workmen will be had in that state to carry on the work briskly.... the builder desires that trees be felled immediately whilst the sap is down, that a quantity of locust trunnels be split one and one-half inches and from to inches in length; that sawyers be employed to get out white oak plank of - / inches. these things and whatever else may be immediately necessary for this business you will take care to have done.... the builder tells me that cedar, locust, pitch pine, or wild cherry will be the proper timber for the upper works. on wednesday, december , , it was resolved by the general assembly that the governor be desired to write to the maryland council of safety to inform them that four galleys of eighty odd feet keel, intended for the protection of chesapeake bay and adjacent capes and coasts, were then building in virginia and in great forwardness, and that the general assembly have directed four more galleys, much larger, be immediately built and equipped for the same purpose. the hope was expressed that the sister state, equally interested in mutual defence, would supply a proper quota of galleys to act in concert with those of virginia. chesapeake bay was the chief theatre of action by the enemy because of the principal tories residing near its waters. to watch their movements and prevent intercourse with the enemy became the duty of these galleys. two galleys, the _accomack_ and _diligence_, were built in on muddy creek near guilford in accomack county, and stationed on the eastern shore. these large galleys were about feet in length and each carried two -pounders, four -pounders, and several swivels, in all ten guns. the state built and operated in , a ropewalk at warwick in chesterfield county about five miles below richmond, where ducking, sail-cloth, and rope were manufactured under the charge of captain charles thomas. several important warehouses had been established there. the place was totally destroyed in the british raid of april, . there were numerous places in virginia where shipbuilding was carried on during and . vessels were built and equipped on the eastern shore, the potomac, the rappahannock, chickahominy and james rivers; at hampton, gosport in norfolk county, south quay on the blackwater near the carolina line, frazier's ferry on the mattaponi, and cumberland on the pamunkey. this last shipyard was discontinued at the suggestion of thomas jefferson in because of the enormous expense attending its support. there was also a shipyard in gloucester county owned by john hudgens. construction was carried on chiefly at the chickahominy and gosport yards. the shipyard on the chickahominy was located about twelve miles from its mouth and chosen partly because of its sheltered location and the fine timber that grew near by. the navy board had purchased acres of land for the sum of £ in april, , and it became one of the busiest shipyards in the state. the ship _thetis_, and the armed brig _jefferson_, and many others were built in this yard. this establishment suffered the same fate as the warwick ropewalk during arnold's raid in . a few posts are still standing in the water to mark the spot. just before the breaking out of the revolution, the british government had established a marine yard at portsmouth, virginia, for the use of its navy, and named it for the dockyard gosport near portsmouth, england. this yard was confiscated by virginia when the war began, and enlarged in , by the purchase of acres of the estate of andrew sproule, the british navy agent, for $ , . the ship _virginia_ was built here and the two frigates laid on the stocks, with a number of other vessels. early in may, , a british fleet with a large force of frigates and transports passed through the capes and on into hampton roads, under the command of sir george collier. unable to meet such a formidable enemy, the virginians withdrew their small fleet up the river for safety. the following extract is said to be from the _journal_ of h.m.s. _rainbow_, commanded by sir george collier: when the troops under general matthews took possession of portsmouth, norfolk and gosport navy yard had been abandoned. before leaving, the virginians had set fire to a ship-of-war of guns ready for launching, belonging to congress, and two french merchant ships loaded with bales of goods and tobacco.... the quantities of naval stores found in their arsenals were astonishing. many vessels of war were on the stocks in different stages of forwardness; one of guns, one of , three of , and three of , beside many merchantmen. the whole number taken, burnt, and destroyed while the king's ships were in the river amounted to _one hundred and thirty-seven_ sail of vessels.... [evidently, james maxwell's two frigates were included in this group.] five thousand loads of fine seasoned oak knees for shipbuilding and an infinite quantity of plank, masts, cordage, and numbers of beautiful ships-of-war on the stocks were at one time in a blaze and totally consumed, not a vestige remaining but the iron work.... quantities of tar were found in the warehouses, and in suffolk, , barrels of pitch, tar, and turpentine were seized. much was carried away but great quantities were set on fire and left behind. early in , it was learned that the enemy intended another invasion of the coast of virginia, and the general assembly took measures for defense. in addition to land forces, the navy was ordered to assemble a small fleet consisting of the ships _thetis_, _tempest_, and _dragon_, the brig _jefferson_ and the galley _henry_ for the purpose of defending hampton roads and adjacent waters. in october, the situation seemed much more critical and acts were passed to build two more galleys of the same construction as built by congress in , carrying two -pounders in the bow, a like number in the stern, with -pounders at the sides. the rigging, sails, guns, and other materials to be provided while the galleys were on the stocks that no time be lost in preparing them for the cruise. captain james maxwell addressed a letter to governor jefferson on december , , informing him that the lieutenant of the _jefferson_ thinks it will take £ , [in continental money] to pay her up to the present time. there was also due the workmen of the gosport shipyard on the last of october, £ , - _s._- _d._ clothing was wanting for men-- shirts, jackets, and breeches, stockings, shoes and hats or caps. governor jefferson wrote to james maxwell on january , , as follows: "i enclose you a plan for building portable boats, recommended by general washington, and shall be glad that you will take measures for having about twenty of them made without delay. we have doubts that they will suit our waters, and will be glad to confer with you on any suggested improvement." general lafayette having arrived at york on march , , governor jefferson wrote him that there would be ready for him at the chickahominy shipyard four boats well-fitted to his purpose, and others were collecting in the rivers to rendezvous at hood's. these were for lookout boats placed in the rappahannock, piankatank, and york rivers. hood's was a battery on the james in prince george county, opposite weyanoke, now called fort powhatan. later, maxwell notified the governor that he was building a few boats at the chickahominy shipyard. the governor had requested that a good bateau builder be sent there to superintend some carpenters in building bateaux for the river above the falls, and the rest of the carpenters be set to building boats for navigating the lower parts of the river, boats so light and of such form they could be moved on wheels. on april , , the traitor arnold and phillips made their raid up the james river, penetrating as far as richmond. a detachment under lieut. col. ambercrombie destroyed the shipyard at chickahominy including a large number of naval craft, among them an unfinished ship of tons, and important warehouses. on april , the virginia fleet composed of six ships, eight brigs, five sloops, two schooners and several smaller craft, met the british fleet in battle a few miles below richmond, but had to give way. a number of vessels were scuttled or set on fire, but the enemy captured the rest, and the fleet was practically wiped out. only one armed vessel remained, the brig _liberty_. after the surrender of cornwallis, the general assembly met on may, , and appointed three commissioners to superintend the work of protecting the bay. the ship _cormorant_ and the brig _liberty_ were prepared, and plans made for building two galleys and two barges or whale boats. the commissioners managed to keep a small naval force together during and , until the war came to an end. when peace was declared in , the commissioners had in different stages of construction the schooners _harrison_ and _patriot_, the barges _york_ and _richmond_, and the pilot boat _fly_. virginia dispensed with all her fleet except the _liberty_ and _patriot_ which were retained, with the approval of congress, as revenue cutters. among the various types of vessels mentioned here, galleys are generally thought of as having been rather insignificant. on the contrary, they were among the important vessels constructed for the virginia navy. while they were so built that they could easily retire up the creeks out of range of british guns, they were capable also of sailing out in the broad waters of the bay. they were broad in proportion to their length which varied from to feet, and not drawing much water could support immense weight upon their decks, as in transporting troops with their horses and baggage, and in carrying guns of the largest size. generally they had two masts and were rigged as schooners, but an occasional galley carried three masts as in the case of the _gloucester_. some were without masts and were called row-galleys. these were only half decked, were provided with high and strong bulwarks for the better protection from marksmen, and were propelled by oars only. the armaments of these galleys were much more formidable in proportion to their tonnage than were those of any other vessels. in november, , two large galleys for river and sea service were ordered to be built to carry four -pounders, and fourteen -pounders each. also, in october, , two more large ones were ordered to carry two -pounders in the bow, the same in the stern, with -pounders at the sides, for the protection of the chesapeake bay. the _gloucester_ was one of the largest galleys built. judging from the order sent to captain charles thomas on april , , for rope and cables from the ropewalk at warwick, the galley had a foremast, a mainmast, a mizzen and a bowsprit. all the rigging was to have a rogue's yarn in it, that it might be distinguished from merchant rope. a rogue's yarn was a single thread of red or blue which was twisted in the rope at the manufactory, and served to distinguish it from all others. the _gloucester_ was used as a prison ship. two accounts of the development of the schooner in use by virginia during the revolution are worth recording: (a) it is from this time perhaps that we may date that new era in the art of shipbuilding which now produced the firstlings of that brood of fast-sailing clippers that afterwards were to astonish and charm the naval world with their brilliant performance. the americans were the originators of this improved naval architecture. it was developed by that spirit of invention and love of adventure so characteristic of a young and vigorous people, urged by necessity.... the far-famed baltimore clipper soon established the reputation of that long, low, rakish-looking craft, which has ever since been the cynosure of the seaman's eye. (b) the most spectacular event in the history of naval architecture in the th century was the emergence of the clipper-schooner which became famous during the revolution. this was a trim, rakish craft known as the virginia-built schooner, an exclusively chesapeake type prior to the revolution. the war created a demand for this fast-sailing vessel and builders all along the coast constructed vessels on the clipper lines thereby converting it to a national type. the war made the clipper-schooner internationally known, however, and before the end of the century, the french, dutch, and british built schooners on the clipper lines. the pilot boat used in the virginia navy was a small fast-sailing craft used as "lookouts", only two of which, the _molly_ and the _fly_, were armed. their duties were attended with many hardships and extreme peril. they were obliged to hover along a dangerous coast in all weathers to give notice of the approach of every sail whether friend or foe. they acted as a flying sentry at the gates of the chesapeake, but constantly exposed to the broad atlantic outside. although the war virtually eliminated virginia's trading fleet as well as her navy, her shipbuilding capacity was at its best. her many shipyards, abundant supplies of available shipbuilding timber, and her skilled craftsmen soon put her trading fleet in operation and it became an integral part of the american merchant marine. early virginia watercraft (as defined by authorities) _shallop_--a nondescript type of small boat, from the french "chaloupe," open or half-decked, sometimes with one or two masts for use if needed. it was the most popular boat used in the colony for collecting corn from the indians, fishing, oystering, and exploring. _pinnace_--"an old name in english marine nomenclature." a light sailing vessel from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, decked and having one or more masts, from twenty to thirty tons burden. the pinnaces _virginia_, _discovery_, and the two built at bermuda, _deliverance_ and _patience_ were sea-going vessels. _barge_--"a term applied to numerous types of vessels throughout the ages." in virginia it meant a ship's boat, or a flat bottom freight boat used on inland waterways and for loading and unloading ships. _bateau_--the chesapeake bay bateau in colonial times was a double-ended boat having a v-bottomed hull, built in lengths to forty or fifty feet, and was primarily a rowing or poling boat used for rivers and creeks. _scow_--a large flat-bottomed vessel having broad, square ends and straight sides, sometimes flat-decked. probably from the dutch term "schouw." _flat_--an old form of boat, simple to build, with flat bottom, ends boarded over, used for heavy freight and ferrying, sometimes having a mast. _skiff_--a light swift open boat, generally double-ended for rowing, but sometimes equipped for sailing. _frigate_--originally a light vessel propelled by both sails and oars with flush decks. a "frigott" was constructed at cape comfort by captain argall in . later the term was applied only to a type of warship. _punt_--a small flat-bottomed, open boat, usually with a seat in the middle, and a well or seat at one, or each end for use in shallow waters, propelled by oars or poles. _yawl_--a small sailing vessel rigged like a sloop with a small additional mast in the stern. _canoe_--the evolution of the chesapeake bay canoe and the chesapeake bay bugeye from the indian dugout canoe, is one of the most interesting developments in the history of shipbuilding in america. _piragua_ or _periagua_--a large dugout canoe fitted with sails. _tobacco boat_--the double dugout canoe generally referred to as the tobacco boat, was "invented" by the reverend robert rose, rector of st. ann's parish in albemarle. the boats were from fifty to sixty feet in length, from four to five feet in width, clamped together with cross beams and pins, two pieces running lengthwise over these, with a capacity of from five to ten hogsheads of tobacco. the first mention of this boat was in rose's diary for march , . ( ) the james river bateau or tobacco boat was invented by anthony j. rucker in , and is mentioned in jefferson's _notes on virginia_. the bateaux were made of boards from forty to sixty feet long and flat-bottomed. they were constructed so that either end could be poled against the river bank and the hogshead rolled aboard. each craft required a crew of three, one to steer and one each for the sideboards, the full length of the gunwales. _sloop_--a craft with a single mast and fore-and-aft rig, in its simplest form a mainsail and jib. it is said to have appeared in the colony from england before , and became the most common colonial rig. it was the fast-sailing craft for coastwise and west indies trade. it became very popular as a pleasure boat. _schooner_--a two or more masted vessel, fore-and-aft rigged. the essentials of the schooner are two fore-and-aft sails and a headsail (jib), any other sails being incidental. this type of rig was not known until the last quarter of the seventeenth century, appearing in america by , or shortly after. during the second half of the eighteenth century, the schooner displaced the sloop as the principal colonial coasting vessel, and during the revolution emerged as the most distinctly american type. _pilot boat_--in , the general assembly passed an act creating the office of chief pilot of the james river. a specific type of vessel evolved for use as pilot boats--fast, weatherly boats, somewhat on the mold of the already developing clipper schooner, about . this boat soon acquired schooner rig and all the characteristics of a clipper schooner. this trim craft, distinguished for speed and sea worthiness, proved ideal for yachting. almost all schooner yachts until about , were built on the lines of pilot boats. the best known example was the victory of the yacht _america_ in . _brig_--a seagoing vessel having two masts and square rigged. _brigantine_--a seagoing vessel having two masts, one square rigged, the other fore-and-aft. _snow_--a seagoing vessel having two masts similar to a brig, and an additional mast abaft the mainmast which carried a spanker or driver (a gaff-headed trysail). _ship_--a sailing vessel having three or more masts, square rigged, the largest seagoing vessel of the period. a term frequently applied to any vessel. _bark_ or _barque_--a sailing vessel having three or more masts, square rigged, the after mast, fore-and-aft rigged. a term frequently applied to any vessel. _barkentine_--a sailing vessel with three or more masts, the fore mast square rigged, the other masts being fore-and-aft. _galley_--a long, single or partially decked vessel of light draft, fitted for rowing and having one or two masts to raise for use when needed. they ranged in size from forty to seventy-five feet in length, and were used as warships by virginia during the revolution when they carried from one to twelve guns. the planters and shipbuilders of virginia had a wide choice in the selection of timber for building their boats and ships: virginia yielding to no known place in the known world for timbers of all sorts, commodious for strength, pleasant for sweetness, specious for colors, spacious for largeness, useful for land and sea, for housing and shipping. for timber, we have the oak, ash, poplar, black walnut, pines and gum trees. frequently several kinds of wood were used in the construction of a boat, and the color combinations of the natural woods, with the use of turpentine and pitch, was pleasing enough to some shipbuilders. for others, however, the vessels were painted in bright colors, often a combination of several colors. the larger vessels were usually built of white oak, but due to the rapid growth of the tree, virginia oak was not as good or lasting as the oak grown in england. ships built from the american live oak, helped much to improve the reputation of colonial vessels. as a general rule, vessels built in the colony were without ornamentation of any kind, utility being the watchword, and speed important. it has been reported, however, that a few billet heads and figureheads were placed on ships, and carved figureheads imported from boston by a planter appeared on his vessels. bibliography abbot, w. j. _american merchant ships and sailors._ new york, . ames, s. m. _studies of the virginia eastern shore in the seventeenth century._ richmond, . andrews, c. m. _the colonial period of american history._ new haven, yale university press, - 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. vols. campbell, charles. _history of the colony and ancient dominion of virginia._ philadelphia, pa., . chapelle, howard i. _american small sailing craft._ new york, . chatterton, e. k. _english seamen and the colonization of america._ london, . _dictionary of american history._ new york, . vols. fassett, j. f. g. _the shipbuilding business in the united states._ new york, _society of naval architects and marine engineers_, . fithian, p. v. _journal and letters._ williamsburg, . flippen, p. s. _the royal government in virginia, - ._ new york, . fry and jefferson's _map of virginia_. . grahame, james. _history of the united states of america from the plantations of the british colonies until their assumption of national independence._ philadelphia, pa., . vols. gwathmey, j. h. _historical register of virginians in the revolution, - ._ richmond, . "vessels of the united states navy," p. . hakluyt, richard. _principal navigations, voyages, and discoveries of the english nation._ glasgow, . vols. hariot, thomas. _a brief and true report of the new found land of virginia._ frankfort, de bry, . also, a facsimile reprint of the first edition, . new york, . hening, w. w., ed. _statutes at large._ richmond, va., - . vols. herrera, antonio de. _general history of the vast continent and islands of america._ london, . vols. huntley, f. c. _the seaborne trade in virginia in mid-eighteenth century._ in _virginia magazine of history and biography_, vol. . johnson, e. r., and collaborators. _history of domestic and foreign commerce of the united states._ washington, . johnson, robert. _nova britannia._ . (in _force's tracts_, vol. ) kelly, roy, and f. j. allen. _the shipbuilding industry._ boston, . latane, j. h. _early relations of maryland and virginia._ baltimore, . (_johns hopkins university studies._ th ser., iii-iv). lefroy, j. h. _memorials of bermuda._ london, . vols. lull, e. p. _history of the united states navy yard at gosport, virginia._ washington, . mackintosh, j. _the discovery of america and the origin of the north american indians._ toronto, . mason, f. n., ed. _john norton and sons, merchants of london and virginia._ richmond, . mason, p. c. _records of colonial gloucester county._ newport news, va., - . vols. mereness, n. d., ed. _travels in the american colonies._ new york, . middleton, a. p. _tobacco coast, a maritime history of the chesapeake bay in the colonial era_, edited by george c. mason. newport news, . ---- _new light on the evolution of the chesapeake clipper schooner._ (in _the american neptune_, vol. ) moore, g. m. _a seaport in virginia._ richmond, . morris, e. p. _the fore and aft rig in america._ new haven, yale university press, . morriss, m. s. _the colonial trade of maryland, - ._ (_johns hopkins university studies in history and political science._ series .) neill, e. d. _history of the virginia company._ albany, n.y., . _norfolk county deed book_, vol. f. manuscript. palmer, w. p. _the virginia navy of the revolution._ (in the _southern literary messenger_, january-april, .) paullin, c. o. _the navy of the american revolution._ cleveland, . "the virginia navy," pp. - . percy, alfred. _piedmont apocalypse._ madison heights, va., . purchas, samuel. _purchas his pilgrimes._ glasgow, - . vols. quinn, d. b. _the roanoke voyages, - ._ london, hakluyt society, . vols. ralamb, ake classon. _skeps byggerij eller adelig ofnings._ stockholm, . reprinted at malmo, . robinson, conway. _account of discoveries in the west until , and of voyages to and along the atlantic coast of north america from to ._ richmond, . smith, john. _works, - ._ arber edition. birmingham, . ---- same, with introduction by a. g. bradley. edinburgh, . vols. spotswood, alexander. _official letters._ richmond, . vols. stewart, r. a. _the history of virginia's navy of the revolution._ richmond, va., . swem, e. g. _virginia historical index._ roanoke, va., - , vols. the trades increase. london, . tyler, l. g. _the cradle of the republic._ richmond, . virginia (colony). _minutes of the council and general court of colonial virginia, - ._ richmond, . _virginia gazette._ williamsburg, - . virginia company of london. records, edited by s. m. kingsbury. washington, - . vols. virginia. governor. _official letters of the governors of the state of virginia._ vol. i: patrick henry, july, -june, . vol. ii: thomas jefferson, june, -june, . richmond, - . _virginia historical register._ richmond, va., - . vols. _virginia magazine of history and biography._ richmond, -, vol. . wertenbaker, t. j. _norfolk; historic southern port._ durham, n.c., . _william and mary college quarterly._ williamsburg, - . series , vols. - ; series , vols. - . williams, m. r. _sailing vessels of the eighteenth century._ (in _united states naval institute proceedings_, vol. , january, .) winsor, justin. _narrative and critical history of america_. boston, . vols. wise, j. c. _ye kingdom of accomack_, or _the eastern shore of virginia in the seventeenth century_. richmond, va., . wissler, clark. _indians of the united states._ garden city, . appendix i the following advertisements of vessels to be sold were selected from the _virginia gazette_ as showing types and sizes of watercraft in use. , may . ... a small shallop about five years old in yorktown, will carry between and bushels of corn. william rogers. , ... by the executors of mr. thomas rawlings, a ship carpenter, lately deceased, the frame of a snow which was to have been built by the said rawlings on account of mr. john hood, merchant, of prince george county, of the following dimensions: feet keel, feet in. beam, molded, feet hold, feet between decks. to be sold at the plantation of the deceased near flower de hundred. also, a sizable, useful boat and a vessel called a schaw. , june . ... to the highest bidder, schooner belonging to the estate of the rev. adam duckie, deceased, trimmed and well-fitted with sails and rigging, some parts new, close docked, carries hogsheads of tobacco ... also, a hogsheads flat lying at hobb's hole. , march . ... the sloop _little betty_ lying at suffolk town in nansemond county, burthen tons, with her sails, anchors, furniture, tackle, will be sold on wednesday, th of april. , september . ... by the subscriber living in norfolk county, a new schooner, now on the stocks and will be launched by the last day of november next, or sooner if required; the dimensions, feet keel, feet beam, feet inches hold. she is a well built vessel, her plank being well seasoned and sufficiently secured with iron work, being to be finished to a cleat, at shillings per ton. william ashley. , june . ... the brig _lucy and john_, burthen tons together with guns, rigging, tackle, apparel and furniture, at york town, friday, the th instant, to the highest bidder. thomas dickinson. , may --. ... at public auction may , at the landing of mr. thomas scott in the borough of norfolk, a new ship on the stocks, dimensions: feet keel, feet beam, feet hold, and feet inches 'tween decks. joshua corprew. , june . ... at norfolk, a ship on the stocks, dimensions: feet keel, feet beam, feet inches hold, feet inches between decks, together with the rigging, sails, cables, anchors, etc., provided for her. she will be completely furnished and ready to launch by the th of next month. for terms apply to thomas mccullock. , september . ... on the th day of october next at public auction to the highest bidder ... a new ship about tons burthen, well calculated for european or west indies trade, and built with the best white oak complete and ready for launching with the full stock and rigging complete. apply to administrators in norfolk for william irving. , september . ... to be let on charter for europe the snow _nancy_, john ardis master, now lying at norfolk, a new vessel, burthen about hogsheads. apply to john greenwood. , november . ... a new ship, tons, built of white oak, for the west indies or tobacco trade. apply to joseph calvert, or to george walker at hampton. , may . ... a new ship now lying at suffolk wharf, burthen about hogsheads of tobacco, well built with best white oak timber and plank. the purchaser may have long credit for part of the money. any person inclinable to purchase may be shown the vessel by applying to subscriber, living in kingston parish, gloucester county. thomas smith. , may . ... a new ship of about tons, well calculated for the tobacco trade, built of the best seasonal plank and timber, and can be launched in a little time, if desired. two month's credit will be allowed for two-thirds or three-fourths the value. any person inclinable to purchase may be shown the vessel by applying to subscriber, living in kingston parish, gloucester county. thomas smith. , march . ... a well built snow, carpenter's and outside work finished, dimensions: feet keel, feet beam, feet clear lower hold, feet inches between decks. norfolk, executors of joshua nicholson. , june . ... a new schooner that will be launched in august next or sooner if required; burthen tons, and will carry about bushels of grain; built of the best white oak plank and timber. also, for sale, a sloop, tons, one year old, together with her sails, anchors, etc. apply to edward hughes, living on the head of east river in gloucester county. , june . ... at rocket's landing, one-third, one-half or the whole of a schooner to be launched in a fortnight. samuel du val. , august . ... a sea schooner, tons, two years old. also a sloop, tons, now on the stocks, launched in three weeks. kingston parish, gloucester county. robert billings. , august . ... a new vessel on the stocks, double decked, about tons, might be launched in days. john greenwood, norfolk. , september . ... a new vessel now on the stocks, of about tons, tobacco or west indies trade, built of the best seasoned plank, and can be launched in a few weeks. she may be made a ship, a snow, or a brig as may best suit the purchaser. apply in norfolk. edward h. moseley. , october . ... a double decked vessel on the stocks, tons, will carry a great burden and is esteemed a very fine vessel. benjamin harrison. , march . ... the brig _little benjamin_ about tons burthen, double decked, has made but two voyages, is extremely well built and completely fitted. credit will be given until the th of december next on giving bond with a good security to ben: harrison. , march . ... anytime between this and the th of april next, the brigantine _fair virginian_, only one year old, just sheathed and now ready for to take a cargo on board, burthen about tons. any person inclinable to purchase such a vessel may know the terms by applying to the subscriber in charles city and be shown the said vessel now lying near sandy point on james river. cash or bills of exchange any time in the april general court, will be accepted for payment. robert mckittrick, william acrill. , april . ... ready to launch being completely finished, a schooner, feet keel, feet inches beam, and feet hold; her beams, carlings, and top timber of cedar, and built by a compleat workman. any person in want of such a vessel may be supplied by the subscriber on paying one-half the purchase money on delivery of said vessel, and the other half in october next. also, a sloop, burthen of about bushels, will be ready by the first of may, and wants a freight for any part of the west indies. any person in want of such a vessel is desired to make it known to carter tarrant. , september --. ... the sloop _industry_, now lying at fredericksburg, with her sails, rigging, etc. she will carry upwards of bushels of grain. j. watson and r. dickinson are authorized to sell her. although the following contracts for building vessels were made when virginia was no longer a colony but had become a state, they are included here because of the descriptions of the vessels and the interesting contracts: ( ) contract between the owner and builder of a vessel in gloucester county on july , : it is this day agreed on between mathias james of the one part and john fowler of the other part ... that the said mathias james for and in consideration of the sum of pounds to him in hand paid, the receipt whereof he hereby acknowledgeth, doth oblige himself to begin, finish, and complete all the joiner's work properly belonging to the sloop he is now building, in a neat, convenient and workmanlike manner. the steerage must be sealed that the whole shall be finished as soon as possible. in witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, the day and year above written. n.b.--there is to be no state room in the above cabin. matthew james, john fowler. witness, william lilly. ( ) contract between the owner and builder of a vessel on november , : i, joseph billups, sr., of gloucester county, kingston parish, do agree to build a boat feet keel, with proper width of beam and hold, for john avery.... i do hereby oblige him first to pay me, the said billups, gallons of good west india rum, and pounds of lawful money.... the said avery to oblige himself to pay the said billups pounds per ton, to supply the said billups with suitable iron at ten shillings per pound.... to furnish him with money if wanting to carry on the said boat.... joseph billings, john avery. teste, joseph billups, jr. various statistics were given by different writers for the number of virginia owned vessels in the period just before the outbreak of the revolutionary war. in _shipyard statistics_ by h. c. smith and l. c. brown, one of the articles that comprises _the shipbuilding business in the united states of america_, edited by f. g. fassett, jr., and published in by the society of naval architecture and marine engineers, there are given lists of vessels owned by the several provinces in the years , , and . virginia is listed as having in , ships, sloops and schooners-- vessels of tonnage; for , there were ships, sloops and schooners, tons; and for , ships, sloops and schooners, tons. we notice that the report of vessels for , is the same number reported by governor andros in , which is rather surprising, and shows how inadequate the statistics were, and how careful a writer must be in using them. appendix ii the items on shipping given below were selected from the _virginia gazette_ to show some details of virginia shipping in the eighteenth century: the home ports, the ports entered and cleared, the types of vessels and various kinds of cargo. sailings are given from september , , when a virginia owned vessel was first mentioned in the _gazette_, to june , , and is by no means a complete list, even in the copies of issues now extant; it is well to recall that copies of many issues have never been found. later sailings in the _gazette_ have frequently omitted the type of vessel. a large number of vessels here named were virginia owned and many of them virginia built. , september . ship _priscilla_ of virginia, richard williams, entered at the port of york river from barbadoes. , november . ship _john and mary_ of virginia, richard tillidge, entered the port of york river from barbadoes. , february . the brigantine belonging to col. benjamin harrison, arrived in james river last week from london, but last from salt islands loaded with salt. , february . cleared out of york river the schooner _grampus_, john briggs, for madeira with bu. wheat, bu. white pease, bu. red pease, bu. beans, hhd. beeswax, and staves. cleared out of york district the following vessels: , march . sloop _medford_ of new england, james hathaway, for new england with bu. com, bu. pease, and ft. of walnut plank. march . ship _hanover_ of bristol, roger rumney, for bristol with hhd. tobacco, tons iron, and staves. , march . schooner _swallow_ of new england, john atwood, for boston with bu. corn, bu. pease, bu. wheat, and ft. of plank. , march . sloop _francis_ of bermuda, william mallory, for bermuda, with bu. corn, and bu. pease. , march . sloop _mary_ of bermuda, samuel nelms, for bermuda, with bu. corn, bu. pease, mast, and other pieces of timber. , march . ship _micajah and philip_ of london, james bradley, for london, with hhd. tobacco, staves, and a parcel of plank. , march . brig _abington_ of virginia, john upcott, for madeira, with bu. pease, bu. corn, bu. wheat, beeswax and hemp. entered in the york district, with sundry european goods: , march . ship _catherine_ of london, william taylor, from london. , march . ship _haswell_ of london, john booch, from london. , march . sloop _southampton_ of london, robert angus, from london. , march . sloop _betty_ of virginia, thomas hamlin, from jamaica. , april . the ship _johnston_ of liverpool, james gillart, is lately arrived at york from angola, with choice young slaves. the sale of them began on tuesday the th instant, and continues at york river. thomas nelson. , may . entered york river schooner _lark_ of virginia, john thompson, from jamaica with casks molasses, puncheons rum, bags cocoa, and pounds [sterling] in cash. , may . entered york river, the sloop _molly_ of virginia, simon handcock, from barbadoes, with hhd. tierces and bbl. rum, bbl. sugar, and bag ginger. cleared from upper district of james river: , june . sloop _betty_ of virginia, george cabanis, for bermuda, with bu. corn, bbl. pork, bbl. beef, bbl. tallow, and bbl. lard. , june . sloop _phoenix_ of virginia, lemuel portlock, for barbadoes, with bu. corn, bu. pork, and staves. , june . sloop _molly_ of virginia, john thompson, for barbadoes, with bu. corn, bu. pease, bbl. pork, headings, and shingles. , july . entered york district, the brig _priscilla_ of virginia, richard williams, from london and madeira with pipes and hhd. madeira wine. , july . entered york district the sloop _industry_ of virginia, john white, from maryland; cleared for maryland with bbl. salt and doz. bottles madeira wine. , july . cleared from york river the brig _mary_ of virginia, stephen swaddle, for london with hhd. tobacco, staves, a parcel of sassafras, pipes madeira wine, lbs. beaver skins and doe skins. , september . cleared out of york river, the brigantine _priscilla_ of virginia, john langland, for bristol with hhd. tobacco, bbl. turpentine, tons iron, walnut planks, gum planks, staves, and bag wool. , october . entered york river, the sloop _john and mary_ of virginia, j. briggs, from st. christophers with tierces, hhd. molasses, bu. salt, and pounds [sterling] in cash. , december . the brigantine _john and mary_, richard tillidge, now lies at mr. littlepage's wharf on pamunkey river ready to take in tobacco on freight at the usual rate for bristol. it is intended to sail in march. orders sent to captain john perrin, owner, of gloucester or captain tillidge. , december . the ship _industry_, john brown, now lying at bull hill in james river, will sail shortly for cadiz, and is to call at madeira in his return thither for wine and freight if sufficient encouragement is shown. send orders to captain john hutchins of norfolk, the owner of the ship, or to the master. , may . entered york river, the sloop _molly_ of virginia, john thompson, from jamaica, having on board casks molasses, gal. rum, hhd. sugar, bag ginger, and pounds in cash. she belongs to captain francis willis. , may . entered york river, the sloop _coan_ of virginia, john kerr, from dublin, having on board chest linens, provisions, and passengers. she is in the employ of colonel martin, who arrived in her. , june . cleared from upper james, the snow _phoenix_ of virginia, william spry, for london with hhd. tobacco, hhd. skins, hhd. ipecacuane, box sundry goods returned, staves, and hhd. sassafras. , june . entered york river, the brig _abingdon_ of virginia, thomas southwick, from barbadoes with hhd., tierces and bbl. rum, bbl. sugar, hhd. and tierce molasses, and bbl. ginger. , june . the schooner _fanny_ lying at mill creek near hampton, will soon be higher up the james. persons apply for freight to mr. jacob walker or to messrs. cherrington and whitten near the falls of james river. , june . goods on board the ship _harrison_ at swinyards in james river, thomas boiling, owner of goods unknown. any person sending for them with bills of lading may have them. , july . entered in york river the sloop _molly_ of virginia, john thompson, from barbadoes with hhd., tierces, and bbl. rum, bbl. sugar, bag cotton, and negroes. , july . a ship belonging to mr. theophilus pugh of nansemond is lately arrived in nansemond, weeks from bristol. , august . entered upper district of james river, the brigantine _little molly_ of virginia, thomas hamlin, from jamaica with hhd. sugar, puncheons rum, bags and casks of cocoa. , august . cleared at york the schooner _grampus_ of virginia, john briggs, for boston with bu. pease, bu. corn, bu. wheat, ft. walnut plank, pipe staves, and hhd. madeira wine. , october . cleared from york the ship _harrison_, captain bolling, for london. , october . arrived in york river the schooner _grampus_ of virginia belonging to colonel lewis of gloucester, john briggs, from boston with bbl. cider, bbl. train oil, bbl. codfish and mackerel, cwt. iron, bbl. cranberries, bu. apples, tierce molasses, hhd. and bbl. rum, a negro slave and lb. cheese. , october . the snow _catherine and lenora_, james mccullock, belonging to messrs. spaulding and lidderdale, loaded with tobacco and bound for london, will sail from james river in or days. , october . arrived in york river last monday the snow _john and mary_ belonging to captain john perrin, richard tillidge, from bristol. , october . cleared from upper district of james river, the sloop _nancy_ of virginia, james griffin, for boston with bu. wheat, and deer skins. , november . cleared from upper district of james river, the snow _kitty and nora_ of virginia, james mccullock, for london with hhd. tobacco, casks skins, parcel beaver skins, staves, and ft. oak plank. , november . cleared out of rappahannock district the ship _brothers_, robert hall, for london with hhd. tobacco, tons pig iron, and staves. , november . cleared out of york district, the ship _molly_ of virginia, thomas wilson, for madeira with bu. wheat, bu. corn, bu. bonnevelts, hhd. and bbl. beeswax, bbl. flour, and hhd. staves. , november . cleared out of upper district of james river, the sloop _charming anne_ of virginia, thomas goodman, for lisbon with bu. wheat. , december . entered in the upper district of james river, the snow _john and mary_ of virginia, richard tillidge, from york river in ballast. , december . cleared from york river the schooner _grampus_ of virginia, john briggs, for madeira with bu. of wheat, pipe staves and lb. beeswax. , january . cleared from york river the brig _abingdon_ of virginia, thomas southwick, for madeira with bu. wheat, bu. pease, bu. corn, and lb. bread. , january . cleared out of upper district of james river, the brig _little molly_ of virginia, thomas hamlin, for georgia with bu. corn, bu. pease, casks pork, casks beef, casks lard, , shingles, negro, and sheep. , january . entered the upper district of james river, the brigantine _robert and john_ of virginia, john cooke, from the lower district in ballast. , january . cleared out of upper district the snow _john and mary_ of virginia, richard tillidge, for york river with bu. wheat. , february . cleared out of york river the snow _john and mary_, richard tillidge, bound for madeira, having on board bu. wheat, bu. pease, and lb. bread. , february . entered in the upper district of james river, the sloop _nancy_ of virginia, james griffin, from rhode island with bbl. train oil, lb. cheese, hhd., tierce rum, hhd., tierce molasses, and a bundle of european goods. , march . cleared out of james river, the brig _robert and john_ of virginia, john cooke, for madeira with bu. wheat. , march . cleared out of james river the sloop _robert_ of virginia, samuel rogers, for barbadoes, with bbl. pork, bu. corn, and bu. pease. , march . last friday, the brig, _pretty betsy_ belonging to colonel lewis of gloucester county, james robinson, bound for london with hhd. tobacco, sailed out of severn river and on the same day met with disaster on the middle ground between the capes. , may . entered in york river the brig _pretty betsy_, anthony mosely, for london with hhd. tobacco, staves, pipe madeira wine, and tons iron. , may . entered upper district james river, the snow _kitty and nora_ of virginia, james mccullock, from london via madeira with sundry european goods and pipes, hhd. madeira wine. , may . entered in york river, the brig _abingdon_ of virginia, thomas southwick, from madeira and barbadoes with pipes wine, hhd., tierces and bbl. rum, bbl. sugar, and pounds shillings in cash. , june . cleared from york river the schooner _grampus_ of virginia. john briggs, for madeira with bu. corn, bu. pease, pipe staves, and pounds beeswax. , june . entered the upper district of james river, the ship _william and betty_ of virginia, john turner, from the lower district with hhd. tobacco. , june . entered in york river, the snow _john and mary_ of virginia, richard tillidge, from madeira and barbadoes with hhd., tierces and bbl. rum, bbl. muscavado sugar, and pipes madeira wine. , june . entered york river the snow _mary_ of virginia, james hume, from james river with bbl. pork, shingles, pipe staves, and ft. -inch plank. , june . the snow _john and mary_, richard tillidge, belonging to captain perrin, now lying at mr. littlepage's on pamunkey river, is ready to take on freight for bristol. , july . cleared from upper district the snow _kitty and nora_ of virginia, james mccullock, for london with hhd. tobacco, hhd. skins, deer skins, beaver skins, walnut planks, and staves. , august . entered york river the brig _little molly_ of virginia, james cox, from james river with part of her lading for the west indies. , september . cleared york river, the brig _abingdon_ of virginia, thomas southwick, for madeira with bu. wheat, bu. corn, pounds beeswax, and case cloths. , november . last saturday arrived in james river the sloop _charming anne_ belonging to colonel benjamin harrison, captain taylor, from jamaica. left james river for jamaica on june , with staves, bbl. pork, bbl. beef, bbl. tongue, bbl. lard, bbl. flour, bbl. pease, and bu. corn. , april . cleared at hampton, the snow _john and mary_, thomas bradley, for liverpool with hhd. tobacco, bbl. tar, walnut stocks, and staves. , april . entered at hampton, the sloop _little molly_, crawford conner, from philadelphia. , may . entered hampton, may to , vessels. , december . cleared upper district from september to december , vessels. , december . entered upper district from september to december , vessels. , july . entered york river the snow _two brothers_, with upwards of fine healthy slaves, the sale of which will begin at west point on monday, th of august. the said ship is not two years old, well-fitted and manned, and will take in tobacco for bristol at pounds per ton. such gentlemen as are inclined to ship to thos. chamberlayne & co., from york or james river, are requested to send their orders on board to john lidderdale. , july . arrived from gambia, the ship _gildart_ with choice gambia slaves, the sale whereof will begin at hobb's hole on the rappahannock, on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, the th, th, th of august; and in brown's church the monday following, where the sale will continue until completed. the said ship is a new vessel mounted with guns, navigated with men, and will take on tobacco for liverpool at pounds per ton. apply to john lidderdale, harmer & king. , january . entered in york river the snow _london_ of virginia, alex leslie master. , january . cleared from york the sloop _merry fellows_, thomas perrin, for barbadoes. , january . cleared from york the snow _london_ of virginia, alex leslie master. , january . cleared from york the snow _john and mary_, of virginia, anthony allen. , september . cleared from the upper district of james river: ( ) the ship _bobby of virginia_, john cook, for london with hhd. tobacco, tons pig iron, and staves. ( ) the snow _phoenix_ of virginia, samuel kelly, for london, with hhd. tobacco, elephant's teeth, staves, heading, pine planks, hand spikes, and oars. , november . cleared from the port of south potomac, the _caple_ of virginia, samuel curle, for hampton, with bu. indian corn, casks molasses, bbl. and tierce sugar, and hhd. rum. entered at the port of accomack the following vessels: , may . schooner _anne_, william wainhouse, from new york with boxes chocolate, wt. ham, bbl. cordial, cases and half-bbl. rum, cases and bbl. loaf sugar, quarter box glass, hhd., tierces, and bbl. molasses. , may . sloop _nancy_, johannes watson, from philadelphia. , may . sloop _endeavor_, edmund joyne, from maryland. , may . schooner _betsey and esther_, stephen sampson, from barbadoes with hhd. rum, and bbl. muscavado sugar. , june . sloop _nancy_, johannes watson, from philadelphia with bu. salt, and a parcel of earthen ware. , june . schooner _little betsy_, zephaniah brown, from rhode island, with one-half ton hollow iron ware, hhd. rum, bu. salt, a parcel of earthen ware, riding chairs, desks, saddles, half-doz. house chairs, trunks european goods, and hhd. molasses. , june . sloop _john and betsey_, w. b. hunting, from philadelphia, with box loaf sugar, bu. salt, wt. cordage, bbl. limes, boxes european goods, cask nails, quarter-cask gun powder, bolts duck, and a parcel of earthen ware. , june . schooner _jeany and sally_, reubin joyne, from nevis and st. eustatia, with hhd. rum, hhd. molasses, bbl. sugar, hhd. foreign brown sugar. , june . schooner _old plantation_, laban pettit, from philadelphia, with boxes chocolate, boxes soap, crates earthen ware, saddles, anchors, doz. scythes, bbl. loaf sugar, tierces and pieces of english duck, trunk of european goods, chest sweet oil, cask nails, kegs pipes, tierce empty bottles, box looking glasses, bolts oznabrigs, and piece sheeting. cleared at the port of accomack: , may . sloop _nancy_, johannes watson, for philadelphia, with bu. corn, bags feathers. , may . schooner _friendship_, daniel sturgis, for halifax with bu. corn. , may . sloop _endeavour_, edmund joyne, for boston, with bu. corn, and bu. oats. , may . sloop _john and betsy_, w. b. bunting, for philadelphia, with bu. corn, bu. wheat, bu. oats, wt. feathers. , june . schooner _leah_, john bradford, for barbadoes, with bu. corn. , june . sloop _polly_, thomas alberton, for philadelphia, with bu. corn, bbl. pork. , june . sloop _nancy_, johannes watson, for philadelphia, with bu. corn, and bu. oats. , june . schooner _skipton_, william patron, for maryland, with bu. corn, wt. bacon, cwt. feathers, , shingles. , june . schooner _old plantation_, laban pettit, for philadelphia, with bu. oats. , june . schooner _little betsey_, zephaniah brown, for rhode island, with bu. corn, bu. wheat, bu. pease, bu. rye, bags feathers, and bag cotton. an analysis of these items shows that the vessels entered and cleared at the york river, lower james river, hampton, upper district of james river, rappahannock, pamunkey, nansemond, and severn river. at least half of the entries and clearances were made in the york river. it will be noted that the same vessel made a number of entries and clearances. in the list are brigs, brigantines, sloops, schooners, snows, and ships, most of them virginia owned, and we like to think they were virginia built as well. only six ships are listed as virginia owned, yet the names of some of the others are so strictly virginia names--_braxton_, _harrison_, _virginia planter_--that is seems highly probable that they too were virginia owned. the names of only ten owners are given. the information received by the _gazette_ was not always accurate. occasionally a vessel is listed as two vessels of different rigs, but having the same name and the same master was evidence enough that they were one and the same. the _john and mary_, richard tillidge master, is listed as a brigantine for two trips, a snow for eight trips, and a sloop, john briggs master, for one entry. the _robert and john_, john cooke master, is listed both as a brig and a brigantine. sometimes the name of a vessel was changed after its first appearance as in the case of the _katherine and lenora_ which appeared on three trips thereafter as the _kitty and nora_, james mccullock master. the cargoes of vessels clearing for europe and the west indies contained for the most part tobacco, corn, wheat, beans, pease, beeswax and staves. the cargoes from vessels entering from europe would contain goods of various kinds; vessels from the west indies would bring rum, molasses, sugar, ginger, salt, and occasionally a slave. in , two ship loads of slaves were brought to the colony and sold, a part of the sale being conducted in a church. transcriber's note: research indicates the copyright of this book was not renewed. minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. words printed in italics are marked with underlines: _italics_. songs of sea and sail _songs of sea and sail_ _thomas fleming day_ new york and london the rudder publishing company _copyright _ by thomas fleming day _all rights reserved_ press of thomson & co. new york _to those who love the sea and its ships._ _contents._ page the mermaid's song trafalgar when the forsaken port an early moonset on the bridge missing making land at portsmouth at anchor from the cliff then and now the ships the man-o'-war's man's yarn a foggy morning unknown the coasters to-day the sailor of the sail the yacht the trade wind's song execution rock light the cargo boats noontide calm old buccaneer's song the belfry of the sea phantoms flotsam the lost ship the main sheet song the landfall the clipper the constitution the tartar warning in september the homeward bounder's song the spell of the sea days of oak long, long ago wind happy ships the quest the mermaid's song. oh, what comes flowing over the sea in the hush of the evening's cool? it is a mermaid singing to me as she sits in a silver pool. as she sits in a silver pool and sings of the world i never shall see, where the dulse-weed clings, and the star-fish rings the red anemone; the world which lies where human eyes are never allowed to see the gold and gems and fluted stems of the crimson coral tree-- is that what she sings to me? she is haunting and holding my heart with a strain, where joy lies asleep in the shadow of pain; and the world that is under the sea is spreading its pleasures and treasures to gain the love that lies dormant in me-- the love that i bear for the sea, for the secret and sorrowful sea; is luring my feet from the gray land again and filling my soul with the scent of the main, the sound and the scent of the sea; and the speech of the siren is spoken in vain, for that mermaid is singing to me of the world that is under the sea; and the love that i bear for the ocean again, for the mournful and mutable sea, has taken possession of me: my heart is enmeshed in the mystical strain that mermaid is singing to me of the world that lies under the sea. ah, hark again! in a sadder strain she is singing a song to me-- a song of the unseen sea; she is singing of ships whose wrecks have lain for ages in the sea, in the depths of the sunless sea; and her voice is soft with a thought of the pain that song is giving to me. a thought that i thought forever had lain in the depths of the soundless sea is searching my soul in that mermaid's strain and bringing a sorrow to me from the world that is under the sea. for i have a friend whose bones have lain for ages in the sea, (for so it seems to me), and her song has opened that wound again and brought back a sorrow to me-- from the depths of the endless sea. a grief that is grieving my life again, a thought that i thought, forever had lain, and never come back to me, is searching my soul in that mermaid's strain and bringing a sorrow to me from the world that lies under the sea. oh, what comes flowing over the sea in the hush of the evening's cool? it is a mermaid singing to me as she sits in a silver pool. trafalgar, . we hailed the morning star above the spanish shore; our cannon's random roar then woke black trafalgar. where our foes lay in the crescent bay we watched the fog bank gray melt silently away as the sun uprose. then rolled the deep alarm-- the foeman's call to arm; and swiftly from our van there pass'd from man to man, "they will fight." with hearts that beat to chase we caught the growing gale, and 'neath a press of sail bore up to take our place on the right. nelson, our admiral then, greatest of all seamen, we cheered to death again as he pass'd; 'round toward the land we tacked and stood about-- the hills rang to our shout as lifted and blew out his last command from the mast. then flash'd our full broadside, roaring across the tide, as crashing side by side we broke their line; thro' rolling clouds of smoke burst in our prows of oak; their tall sides bent and broke like pine. as died the stagger'd blast the sails dropt to the mast; that broadside was their last! one more to clip her wing! quick away! tigers our boarders spring, cutlass to cutlass ring, in the fray. we heard no quarter call: a man stood every gaul! useless, their flag must fall that day. the fight thus well begun, we paused a breathing space; each soul leapt to a face as nelson in his grace signaled "well done!" staying the tott'ring mast we rounded to the blast, grappled the next that pass'd-- a huge spaniard. no room to lift the ports: black gun to gun retorts-- lip locked to lip, each man a firmer grip on his lanyard. to save this pride of spain a frenchman joined the fight; then roaring in our might we smote him with our right twice, and again. "cease! cease!" our captain cries. "she lies a silent wreck!" three times we spared that foe, yet from her came the blow that laid our hero low on the deck. what more for me to say, save thro' the fatal fray we marked the hours that day with cheers! our foes struck one by one; yet when the fight was done we saw the misty sun set thro' our tears. o england, strong yet free, the crown we bear to thee, laurels for victory! weave cypress in the wreath: for he to whom thou gave the keeping of the wave, nelson, the true, the brave, has struck his flag to death. oh, men of hero race, in what a fitting place to set his conquering star!-- amid the battle's roar, under the rolling shore where rises wild and hoar cape trafalgar. when. when western winds are blowing soft across the island sound; when every sail that draws aloft is swollen true and round; when yellow shores along the lee slope upward to the sky; when opal bright the land and sea in changeful contact lie; when idle yachts at anchor swim above a phantom shape; when spires of canvas dot the rim which curves from cape to cape; when sea-weed strewn the ebbing tide pours eastward to the main; when clumsy coasters side by side tack in and out again-- when such a day is mine to live, what has the world beyond to give? the forsaken port. thro' all this perfect summer day the wind has blown from out the west, and now the sunset fires invest where looms the mainland far away, the old town right abreast. the red-brown roofs and rugged spires uplift and pierce the sunset fires, the old town right abreast. the ships rise up, and sail, and sail, then drop beneath the distant rim-- the crimson rim. we watch their topsails float and trail-- like bubbles 'round a goblet's brim, a moment there they rise and dip, then break against the sky's red lip. unhailed the ships go sailing by the old town over there; and yet it seems we hear a cry-- a heart-born cry of anguish and despair, of hope lost in despair. in speechful grief the old town stands and beckons with its outstretched hands as the ships go sailing by. long years ago its port was thronged with many a busy sail, with rustling sail. and many a heart has sighed and longed for that old town's cheery hail-- has sighed and longed for that old town's welcome hail. oh, where are they who left thy port in strength of youth, in pride of love? side by side with a dark consort, calm seas below, blue skies above, they tacked and stood across the bar: only the sea knows where they are-- only the sea! perhaps at night the phantom ships-- thy lost ships--come sailing in; their spectre crews with parted lips that utter no sound, for the spell of death turns even a laugh to a grin. do they wait, and list for the din of the cheers and the bells to welcome them in-- for the cheers and the bells to welcome them in? do their dead hearts know hopes and fears? do they dream of the wives they've not seen for years?-- the wives and the sweethearts who watched them thro' tears sail away, sail away, when the wind was south and the bar was blue at the harbor's mouth, and the gulls flew low like flakes of snow, and the summer wind bore the heave-yo-ho of the sailors brown into the town? are they here, the ones so dear? alas! the lips that their lips have known, alas! the hearts that once beat to their own are lying up on the hillside there, and the daisies and grasses have overgrown their graves for many a year. yon sentinel pine that watches the graves where their wives and sweethearts are laid to rest the wild winter wind defies and outbraves; its roots are sunk in some loved one's breast. are their souls at rest? sometimes, i think, they must wander down here to watch for the ships that never will come. in the silence of night they throng the old pier to welcome the wanderers home; their lustreless eyes-- enough of death and ghostly tales! oh, let the old town keep its vigil there, watching for those who were! what though the dark ship with us sails-- ah, fools, to freight our hearts with care! to waste our breath in idle hails, to cringe and cry. we live for those who are, not were!-- we live to live, not die! an early moonset. like galleon flying a picaroon, along the edge the ship-shap'd moon leadeth a star across the sea to the cloudy harbor under her lee. with her splendid lading of golden light she seems to dread the pirate night; with puffing sails and fretful oars she steereth and speedeth for purple shores. she will anchor to-night beneath the fort whose grim guns guard the cloudy port, where sound and safe from picaroon rides many an olden and golden moon. on the bridge. eight bells ring out from the fo'c'sle head; with a cheery good-eve the mate comes forth, the second goes off to his welcome bed, after giving the course as west by north. as i stand with my chin on the dodger's ridge and dreamily eye our plunging craft there's a rattle of heels on the flying bridge and a gruff report that the watch is aft. "all right!" says the mate, with a glance below; "relieve the wheel and the lookout there!" and then we begin, with our to and fro, the walk and the talk we nightly share. in silence at first--for our pipes are lit-- we pace and puff, and we pause and turn, and it's up and down, for she rolls a bit when flying light with the sea astern. but there's a key in the hands of smoke that fits a lock in the lazy brain, and we spring the wards with a quiet joke and rout out a store of yarns again. our voices ring with a pleasant sound, and now and again it seems to me as though in the roar that sweeps around we are joined by the social sea. and in that strange way that talk is bred-- as a few grains sown bring the wheaty stack-- so something afresh the other said put the roaming brain on another tack. and we boxed about in an aimless way, with a careless fling from sea to land, and spoke of the world as a young man may when he hasn't the time to understand. we spoke of the land that gave us birth; we spoke of the one that's home to me: those nations destined to shape the earth to the single state it is to be-- of tricks we played in our school-boy days; the fun and frolic of being young; how we jollied life in a hundred ways with gibes that pleased and jests that stung. and of those we loved--for now we knew with half our life in the dim astern which lights were false and which lights were true, and whose was the hand that bid them burn. of the rough hard life the sailor leads, the pay he gets and the sharks ashore, and what are the laws our shipping needs, and the way things went in days of yore. of the sailing ship as she yet survives, of rigs we never shall see again, of inventions that save our seamen's lives and murder the breed of sailor men. we talk of these and of many a bout when a crew came aft for a nasty row-- when loud comes a cry from the fore look-out of a light on the starboard bow. "all right!" the response. then we train our eyes on the western rim thro' the closing night. it's a steamer, sure, by the flash and size-- a liner's electric masthead light. she rises fast, and is soon up well, rushing along 'neath a smoky pall, a mass of lights like some huge hotel ablaze for its annual boarders' ball. as she grows abeam--for we give her space, for twenty knots is a right of way-- there's an answering glow on old ocean's face and a glint on the waves in play. and i think, as i watch her speed along, of the many lives she holds in trust, and ponder what they would do, that throng, if fate should get in a deadly thrust. a ship like ours or a sunken wreck-- a crash in the dark--some plates stove in-- a frightened rush for the upper deck, and a clamorous, cowardly din! how some would die as men should die, how some would perish in selfish strife, how some in that hour would dignify by a noble close a worthless life. how she whose vigor we oft deride-- the woman--would show her courage then, and meet her death at her lover's side in a way to shame the best of men. but, science be praised, it is seldom now we lose a ship by a sudden crash, for what with the lights and the whistle's row we luckily dodge a general smash. and that ship there, as she breasts the swell and ghosts her side with a foamy ridge, has had many a shave--for logs don't tell all the tales of a steamer's bridge. in silence we watch her for quite a time until she becomes a smoky blear, then as ten rings out from the fo'c'sle chime i go aft to my cheese and my beer. missing. a cloudless sky, a sleeping sea, a cold gray reach of shore, a gleam of sail upon the lee-- and nothing more. my eyes saw that, my heart saw more: a woman whose quivering lip moulded this sentence o'er and o'er, "god keep that ship!" god keep that ship! her prayer, not mine, goes out across the sea to where beyond the misty line a face is turned from me. god keep that ship! her ship, not mine-- mine never came back to me. making land. the fore-royal furled, i pause and i stand, both feet on the yard, for a look around, with eyes that ache for a sight of the land, for we are homeward bound. like a bowl of silver the ocean lies, untouched by the fret of a single sail, and over its edge the billows uprise and slide before the gale. i see, close beneath me, the garn's'l bulge, and half of the tops'l swollen and round swells out above, where the bunts divulge the fores'l's snowy mound. with a fill and a flap the jibs respond, as she rolls a-weather, then rolls a-lee, and her bone as she leaps is thrown beyond the next o'ertaken sea. and the hull beneath in its foamy ring is narrowed in by the spread of sail, and the waves as they wash her seem to fling their heads above the rail. and i hear the roar of the passing blast, and the hiss and gush of the parted sea is mixed with the groan of the straining mast, and the parrel's, che, che, che. of the weather deck where the old man strides, from the break of the poop to the after-rail, i can catch a glimpse, but all besides is hid by swelling sail. for the wake abaft is shut behind, except when she yaws from her helm and throws; then like a green lane it seems to wind aheap with drifted snows. but lo! as i gaze the weather clew of the topsail lifts to the watch's weight, and the helmsman comes into perfect view, and at his side the mate. as i swing my eyes ahead again for that one last look ere i drop below, they catch as she lifts a grayish stain athwart the orange glow. my heart leaps up at the welcome sight, and i grasp the pole with a firmer hand, and shading my eyes from the glancing light make sure that it is land. it seems to dance, but i catch it still as we lift to the sweep of a longer sea-- 'tis the windy top of a far-off hill whose shape is known to me. then i send a yell to the rolling deck, and start all hands from their work below; as i point with a rigid arm at the speck-- the cry comes back, "land ho!" and the mate looks up and gives a call, the old man stops in his clock-like walk, the watch lets up on the top-sail fall and takes a spell of talk. the skipper goes aft to the binnacle, where he shapes his hand on the compass card, and takes with a glance the bearing there, eying me on the yard. and i stand with my right arm swinging out, with a finger true on the dancing speck, until on my ears falls the ringing shout: "all right! lay down on deck!" at portsmouth the great ships in the harbour sit silent on the tide, and in the sea beneath them their gloomy shadows ride. there is no life, no beauty, no grace the heart can feel, in those irenic monsters-- those hideous forms of steel. it is old england's squadron, her constant watch and ward-- the bulwark of her freedom, the channel's matchless guard. how different from the frigates that bore the dauntless blake; how different from the liners that roared in nelson's wake! majestic then and lofty they towered above the deep, bestowing beauty on the main their forms were framed to keep. sail over sail they offered their canvas to the wind, that mimicked in its whiteness the wake they swept behind. no wonder kingly seamen were bred in ships like those; no wonder that they made them a terror to their foes. for in the grace and beauty they shed upon the sea man found the inspiration that kept him brave and free. and man and ship together played well that noble part, until their oaken sides became a symbol for his heart. but look! where black and formless those modern monsters ride a blot upon the seascape, a load upon the tide. hark! from the massive flagship breathes out the morning gun; exultant in its mission her ensign meets the sun. from battle-ship and cruiser, from merchantman and fort, the cross of red makes glorious the strong and ancient port. then with a heart that follows i turn my eager eyes to where at honored moorings the grand old victor lies. there floats the same proud bunting she swept along the breeze the day that france was broken and driven from the seas. there in prophetic splendor it crowns her shapely spar, the promise of a future-- the final trafalgar. at anchor. sights of sail are caught on the edge-- black coasters waiting the flood; nest of spars that stroke like the sedge long rivers of sunset blood. gleam of lamps low down in the west, gulls crying over the bar, sea as still as a child at breast, moon following up a star. that is to-night--and our own to twist round memory's finger and hold, as guerdon for those we've lost or missed while fretting and fighting for gold. from the cliff. the wind is fresh, the wind is foul; the clouds are long and low and gray; the rocky headland wears a cowl, and looks a monk who kneels to pray and tell his beads for parting souls: while out beyond the bar there rolls a sullen swell, and white and high along the cliffs the breakers fly. _roar, roar, o sea! thy stormy song appalls the weak, but nerves the strong._ look! yonder bark with puffing sail has turned her bow to win the sea; she fears to meet the rising gale with reef and rockland on her lee. and as she luffs the blast to greet, by halyard, clew, and straining sheet, all, all, alert her seamen stand, and watch with anxious eye the land. _roar, roar, o sea! thy stormy song appalls the weak, but nerves the strong._ then tack on tack she weathers out-- her topsails shiver in the wind; down goes the helm, she flies about, and leaping off soon leaves behind the rocky dangers, and has past the headland, when the wrathful blast, bursts from the cloud and wild and grand hurls in the sea against the land. _roar, roar, o sea! thy stormy song appalls the weak, but nerves the strong._ then and now. the wind has changed to happy south, the tide is setting free, as one by one, past harbor mouth, our ships stand out to sea. we watch them pass, my love and i; we shout halloo! from shore. good-bye! good-bye! the sailors cry; good-bye! the breakers roar. the wind has turned to icy north, full bitterly it blows; the sea is wroth, and white with froth, and no ship comes or goes. we watch for them, my love and i; we linger on the shore. the breakers cry ho! ho! good-bye!-- good-bye for evermore. the ships. sing the sea, sing the ships, sing the sea and its ships, with the lightness and the brightness of the foam about their lips; when reaching off to seaward, when running down to leeward, when beating up to port with the pilot at the fore; when racing down the trade, or ratching half afraid with a lookout on the yard for the marks along the shore. sing them when you frame them, sing them when you name them, sing them as you sing the woman whom you love; for the world of life they lose you, for the home that they refuse you, for the sea that deeps beneath them and the sky that crowns above. sing them when they leave you, sing them when they grieve you, going down the harbor with a smoky tug along; with the yards braced this and that, and the anchor at the cat, and the bunting saying good-bye to the watching, waving throng. sing them when they need you, sing them when they speed you, with their stems making trouble for the steep atlantic seas; when the channel as she rolls heaps the foam along the poles, and the decks fore-and-aft are awash above your knees. sing them when they spring you, sing them when they wing you, rolling down the trades with a breeze that never shifts; when the crew they quite forget what is meant by cold and wet, and the feel of the braces and the sheets and the lifts. sing them when they mock you, sing them when they shock you, smothered under topsails with the kingly horn abeam; when the wind flies round about and the watch is always out, and all hands are wishing that they'd signed to go in steam. sing the sea, sing the ships, sing the sea and its ships, with the molding and the folding of the wave about their form; sing them when they teach us, sing them when they preach us, a lesson in the calm and a sermon in the storm. sing them when the dying wind has left them lying with the canvas in the brails a-tremble to the rolls; and the ocean is so still that you wonder if it will give back to her who bore them those legions of lost souls. sing the sea, sing the ships, sing the sea and its ships, with the forming and the storming of the wave athwart their bows; sing them when you clear them, sing them when you steer them, for the strength that they have given and the courage they arouse. for the nation that forgets them, for the nation that regrets them, is a nation that is dying as the nations all must die; for there never yet was state that met the roman fate while she had a ship to guard her and a sailor to stand by. for the traffic you have won, for the web that you have spun, to catch the flies of commerce and the fleeting gnats of trade will be rent and blown away, for the weak will never pay their earnings to a people who have stamped themselves afraid. pull down the selfish wall! we are not cowards all! there are some who dare to struggle with the traders of the world. cast off the nation's chain, and give us back the main, and the flag that's never absent and the sail that's never furled. sing the sea, sing the ships, sing the sea and its ships, with the mounding and the pounding of the wave along their sides; when sailing out and bounding, when towing in and rounding, they drop the anxious anchor and they face the swinging tides. sing them when you leave them sing them when you heave them to a fast berth, a last berth beside the knackers quay; for our ships are getting rotten and our people have forgotten the mission of the vessel and the glory of the sea. the man-o'-war's-man's yarn. down came the corvette on our weather; then thundered our broadsides together. thus thus we fought all day; and when the sun set and evening spread across the east her mantle gray, under our lee she lay, her decks a mass of dead. yet at her splintered foremast head her ensign laughed, lifting and flapping in the draft, scorning our shot to bring it down. our captain eyed it with a frown to hide his admiration-- hero himself, he heroes knew, tho' children of a hated nation. then to his weary blood-stained crew he cried:-- "to your guns once more and let our broadside roar!" then hot and close we plied her with shot that tore her fore and aft; yet still that crimson banner laughed-- yet still her broken, bleeding men gave back our cheers again. we would have spared them then; as with fierce and flashing eyes, with eyes aflame with pride, we looked upon a foe who for twelve hot hours defied a vessel twice her size. but fate thrust in a bloody fist and gave our hearts a devilish twist. a random shot that hit our rail came from her foremost gun, and flying in the splinter hail struck down the one whose voice had shaped and cheered the fray thro' all that mad and murderous day. he fell; and for a space we stood as though our smoke-grimed forms had turned to wood, the victims of some deadly spell. silence--save for the feverish groans of they who, writhing, dying lay-- was over all; then suddenly there burst a yell that would have shocked and staggered hell! ah! you who sit with me to-night and talk of war, of might and right; had you been there to see that fight, when, reeling down upon the wreck, we boarded, leaping on her deck, and mad with slaughter--mad and blind with blood of ours, aye, your own kind. we shot and cut, we slew the remnant of that dauntless crew; and when our pikes had struck the last tore down that ensign from the mast. had you been there, i say, to see that horror--but, enough for me to tell, we shuddered at the sight when in the chill that follows fight we gazed upon that slaughter pen and knew those things as fellow-men. with feverish haste we cleared the deck, then fired the slowly sinking wreck, and cutting loose stood off astern, and watched her spar and topsides burn till suddenly a blinding flash; a roar. silence. here--there--a splash and all was o'er. we filled our yard, though leaking much and laboring hard stood up for port, and made at last the harbor's light. but ho! avast with tales like this; they breed a thirst-- another glass--my throat is curs'd with fire. here's to the gallant tar who talks of peace, yet longs for war; who lives to see his ship again dispute the glory of the main, and man for man, and gun for gun, meet such another dauntless one. a foggy morning. seaward driving, like a shriving gray monk cloaked in gray, thro' the crowded ship-enshrouded, buoy-bound reaches of the bay; misty moving phantoms proving vessels creeping slowly past. hark! the droning fog-horn moaning from the steamer looming vast; bell-buoy telling when the swelling swell of ocean rocks its boat where the ledge's granite edges threaten ships that overfloat; canvas dripping, dew streams slipping down the black and swollen gear; helmsman peering at the steering compass thro' a watery blear; topsails dimming in the swimming vapor sea that floats o'erhead, and the singing seaman swinging constantly the pilot lead; sun uprising with surprising mystic glory haunts the shroud, red and rolling thro' the shoaling eastward verges of the cloud; spars uplifting on the shifting billows of the fading mist seem suspended on extended rippling ropes of amethyst; day-star bursting, hotly thirsting, drains the fog with fervid lips; sunlight flashing shows us dashing past the port, the town, the ships. unknown. lo! when the sun was half dropt in the west, as wing-weary sea birds seeking their night-rest, they drifted in upon the harbor's breast. none knew from whence they came, or where they sailed; no betraying pennon from their mastheads trailed; they answered not when they were loudly hailed. when the day into the night had died they clustered on the ebbing tide, like sleeping sea swans, side by side. the warders at the midnight hour, within the shadow of the tower, watched their lanterns rise and lower. ere scarce the day and earth had wed, their oars on either side they spread, shook out their sails and southward fled. and when the sun shot up across the bay, naught showed where they had made their stay, save the broken corals where their anchors lay. so into my heart at eventide ofttimes a fleet of dreams will glide, and all night long at anchor ride. from whence they come, or where they go, what pain or joy their forms foreshow, i dare not ask--i cannot know. but when dawn breaks o'er sea and mart, with rippling oars and yearning sails they start, leaving their anchor marks upon my heart. the coasters. _overloaded, undermanned, trusting to a lee; playing i-spy with the land, jockeying the sea-- that's the way the coaster goes, thro' calm and hurricane: everywhere the tide flows, everywhere the wind blows, from mexico to maine._ o east and west! o north and south! we ply along the shore, from famous fundy's foggy mouth, from voes of labrador; thro' pass and strait, on sound and sea, from port to port we stand-- the rocks of race fade on our lee, we hail the rio grande. our sails are never lost to sight; on every gulf and bay they gleam, in winter wind-cloud white, in summer rain-cloud gray. we hold the coast with slippery grip; we dare from cape to cape; our leaden fingers feel the dip and trace the channel's shape. we sail or bide as serves the tide; inshore we cheat its flow, and side by side at anchor ride when stormy head-winds blow. we are the offspring of the shoal, the hucksters of the sea; from customs theft and pilot toll, thank god that we are free. _legging on and off the beach, drifting up the strait, fluking down the river reach, towing thro' the gate-- that's the way the coaster goes, flirting with the gale: everywhere the tide flows, everywhere the wind blows, from york to beavertail._ * * * * * _here and there to get a load, freighting anything; running off with spanker stowed, loafing wing-a-wing-- that's the way the coaster goes, chumming with the land: everywhere the tide flows, everywhere the wind blows, from ray to rio grande._ we split the swell where rings the bell on many a shallow's edge, we take our flight past many a light that guards the deadly ledge, we greet montauk across the foam, we work the vineyard sound, the diamond sees us running home, the georges outward bound; absecom hears our canvas beat when tacked off brigantine, we raise the gulls with lifted sheet, pass wing-and-wing between. off monomoy we fight the gale, we drift off sandy key; the watch of fenwick sees our sail scud for henlopen's lee. with decks awash and canvas torn we wallow up the stream; we drag dismasted, cargo borne, and fright the ships of steam. death grips us with his frosty hands in calm and hurricane; we spill our bones on fifty sands from mexico to maine. _cargo reef in main and fore, manned by half a crew; romping up the weather shore, edging down the blue-- that's the way the coaster goes. scouting with the lead: everywhere the tide flows, everywhere the wind blows, from cruz to quoddy head._ to-day. the sea and the sky are in love to-day, their forms are the forms of one; and ships that sit on the lip of the bay, coming and going the other way, are sparks in the sparkling sun. the shape and shadow of yachts that slip embayed by the land's long sweep are phantoms that cover a phantom ship, while out on the shoals the summer gulls dip-- to-day is a day asleep. the sailor of the sail. i sing the sailor of the sail, breed of the oaken heart, who drew the world together and spread our race apart, whose conquests are the measure of thrice the ocean's girth, whose trophies are the nations that necklace half the earth. lord of the bunt and gasket and master of the yard, to whom no land was distant, to whom no sea was barred: who battled with the current; who conquered with the wind; who shaped the course before him by the wake he threw behind; who burned in twenty climates; who froze in twenty seas; who crept the shore of labrador and flash'd the caribbees. who followed drake; who fought with blake; who broke the bar of spain, and who gave to timid traffic the freedom of the main. who woke the east; who won the west; who made the north his own; who weft his wake in many a fake athwart the southern zone; who drew the thread of commerce through sunda's rocky strait; who faced the fierce levanter where england holds the gate; who saw the frozen mountains draw down the moonlike sun; who felt the gale tear at the sail, and ice gnaw at the run; who drove the lance of barter through asia's ancient shield; who tore from drowsy china what china dare not yield; who searched with cook and saw him unroll beneath his hand the last, the strangest continent, the sundered southern land; to whom all things were barter--slaves, spices, gold, and gum; who gave his life for glory; who sold his soul for rum-- i sing him, and i see him, as only those can see who stake their lives to fathom that solveless mystery; who on the space of waters have fought the killing gale, have heard the crying of the spar, the moaning of the sail; who never see the ocean but that they feel its hand clutch like a siren at the heart to drag it from the land; i see him in the running when seas would overwhelm lay breathing hard along the yard and sweating at the helm. i see him at the earing light out the stubborn bands when every foot of canvas is screeved with bloody hands. i see him freezing, starving--i see him scurvy curst, alone, and slowly dying, locked in that hell of thirst. i see him drunk and fighting roll through some seaboard town, when those who own and rob him take to the street and frown. o sovereign of the boundless! o bondsman of the wave! who made the world dependent, yet lived and died a slave. in britain's vast valhalla, where sleep her worst and best-- where is the grave she made you--your first and final rest-- beneath no stone or trophy, beneath no minster tower, lie those who gave her empire, who stretched her arm to power. below those markless pathways where commerce shapes the trail, unsung, unrung, forgotten, sleeps the sailor of the sail. the yacht. how like a queen she walks the summer sea; her canvas crowning well the comely mold light loved until it lifts a spire of gold outlined and inset by a tracery of rig and spar. hers is a witchery of loveliness, that seems to draw and hold the wind to do its bidding. fold on fold the seas charge in; then stricken by the free quick lancing of her stem recoil to break against the breeze; then rushing back they foam along the rail, and swirl into the wake, and rave astern in many a wrinkled dome. for thus she doth her windward way betake like one who lives to conquer and to roam. the trade-wind's song. oh, i am the wind that the seamen love-- i am steady, and strong, and true; they follow my track by the clouds above o'er the fathomless tropic blue. for close by the shores of the sunny azores their ships i await to convoy; when into their sails my constant breath pours they hail me with turbulent joy. oh, i bring them a rest from the tiresome toil of trimming the sail to the blast; for i love to keep gear all snug in the coil and the sheets and the braces all fast. from the deck to the truck i pour all my force, in spanker and jib i am strong; for i make every course to pull like a horse and worry the great ship along. as i fly o'er the blue i sing to the crew, who answer me back with a hail; i whistle a note as i slip by the throat of the buoyant and bellying sail. i laugh when the wave leaps over the head and the jibs thro' the spray-bow shine, for an acre of foam is broken and spread when she shoulders and tosses the brine. thro' daylight and dark i follow the bark, i keep like a hound on her trail; i'm strongest at noon, yet under the moon i stiffen the bunt of her sail; the wide ocean thro' for days i pursue, till slowly my forces all wane; then in whispers of calm i bid them adieu and vanish in thunder and rain. oh, i am the wind that the seamen love-- i am steady, and strong, and true; they follow my track by the clouds above o'er the fathomless tropic blue. execution rock light. out on its knoll of granite gray, old execution rears its ghostly shaft, and thro' the night and thro' the day speaks cheer to passing craft; while in the sun they see it gleam upon the horizon, miles afar, and in the dark its changeful beam flames out a guiding star. from year to year, thro' calm and gale, across the sound its warning flare is cast it cries "all's well!" to steam and sail and guides them safely past. one day it hides its form in haze and seems to sentinel some mystic strand; the next, it glories in the blaze of morning's crimson brand. and now across the stormy tide it spires against the sandy bluff, and shows the front of one who will abide the shock of lusty blows. along its reef the surges roll, and white with repulse rise and fling their froth like snow across the rocky knoll, then burst in foamy wrath. and there it stands, fearless, sedate, like some brave knight who scorns to couch his lance against the churls, but with his weight bears back their wild advance. the cargo boats. i love to see them, laden deep, come steaming in from ports afar, and, slipping past the light-ship, creep with watchful steps across the bar, mauled by the hands of tide and time, all grimy with their grimy coals, their funnels white with salty rime, and smoky rings about their poles. look, now, along the gedney lane, with pushing bows comes slowly through a west of england cargo wain, with banded stack and star of blue. there is no beauty in her form; but when has simple beauty paid in vessel destined to perform as cinderella to the trade? go, let her haughty sisters flaunt their sightly stems and graceful sheers; but let her best, her only vaunt, be that she is as she appears-- a thing that men have framed to bear their merchandise at cheapest rates, that's safe to pay a pound a share, and more when there's a boom in freights; a monster whelped of monster age-- an age that thinks but cannot feel-- whose bible is the balanced page, whose gods are gods of steam and steel. in her i love the useful thing-- in her i hate the sailless mast; for i am one who cares to sing the glories of the steamless past. i feel the spirit of the age-- the master splendor of its span-- but make no common with the rage that lifts the thing above the man. but useless this--we've learned to make the word _mechanic_ fit a song; so let us watch that ship and take her picture as she jogs along. the house-flag hoist; the ensign spread; the tackles rove; the booms atop; the deck-gang busy on the head; the anchor ready for the drop. though from this outlook men appear no bigger than a dancing midge, i see the pilot standing near the skipper on the upper bridge. the telegraph is set "stand by"; the oldest hand is at the wheel; and down below with watchful eye the chief awaits the warning peal. the engines hiss; the 'scape-pipe roars; the firemen spread the dusty slack, and sternward from her funnel pours a cloud that lingers in her track. the hook is past, the buoy abeam; then slowly to her helm she turns, and getting confidence and steam at full speed up the bay she churns. her lean hull shrinks, her spars grow short, her trailing flag is scarcely seen, as slipping past the granite fort she drops her hook off quarantine. and we who watch her turn away and talk of ships and other things, the present and the future day, and what the world will do with wings. how men will stir with busy hum the upper main, by wake untraced, and how the ocean will become again a sailless, shipless waste. the noontide calm. i. the azure sky leans on the sea, inverting its concavity, and in the waveless depths below re-forms and rolls its cloudy show; for cloud and cloud are piled to shape a mountain here, and there a cape, until the heavens seem to rest a cheek upon the ocean's breast, and listen, with white lips apart, to catch the beating of its heart. fathoms deep, oh, fathoms deep, maid and merman lie asleep; calm above and calm below; sheering to the current's flow, vessels red and vessels brown, floating, cast a shadow down on the seafolks' coral town. ii. slowly the shadows crawl along the wall of the sea-king's hall. the sea-grass curtains thro' he looks out upon the blue glimmering regions that bow down to the magic of his crown. lord of half an ocean, he loves to live where rivers three, flowing from the windy hills, drinkers of a thousand rills, pour into the thirsty sea. there he delights to lie, mirroring the lucent sky in his wild and wondrous eye. far, far o'erhead he marks the swordfish and the sharks darting up and floating down; sees the porpoise, blue and brown, plunge thro' the silver nebula of fish;--the herring in dismay break, scatter like a starry host whose path some errant sun has cross'd. and he smiles to watch the race when the merry dolphins chase a dogfish from his flying prey; where the clumsy sea-cows stray, herded by the mermen strong, who, with lances light and long, keep the gaunt sea-wolves at bay. iii. shades of vessels that have passed rope and sail and yellow mast-- on the seafolks' town are cast; and the merking, startled by shadows in his crystal sky, calls the guard at palace gate, where he reigns in ancient state, sitting on a coral throne, with sea-mosses overgrown-- calls his guard to send a slave skyward, soaring thro' the wave, to command the mariner to move on. the messenger, a dolphin bold, with back of gold, swiftly cleaving, swirling, leaving a flashing trail, as from each scale and finny tip a silver spray of bubbles slip. higher, higher rises he, till from the surface of the sea he leaps, and gloriously rolls his flashing coat of mail in the splendor of the day. then the sailors trim the sail, knowing that the sprightly gale cometh when the dolphins play. haste away! haste away! for the breeze frets the seas, and the rim of opal hue burns a green and flames a blue. the old buccaneer's song. oh, my heart goes privateering along the spanish main, and i feel the breezes blowing and see those isles again-- those isles of peace and plenty where we loved to linger long, to woo the black-eyed carib maid who sang the rover's song; who, resting in the palm shade when the sun was fierce above, with many a tender measure taught us what indeed is love. oh, my heart goes privateering along the spanish main, and i hear my comrades calling me back to them again; for 'tis where the breakers, roaring, flash in and beat the sand-- 'tis where the feathery plantain shakes its shadow on the strand; 'neath orange and palmetto and many a flowery tree dwell the gallant privateersmen who drink and think of me. oh, my heart goes privateering along the spanish main-- i see our banners flying and i hear the cheers again: when with many a reckless comrade in vessel tall and true, before the constant trade-wind to the south-and-west we flew, and ere the haughty spaniard had thought of danger near town and tower and galleon were spoil of buccaneer. oh, my heart goes privateering along the spanish main, and many a pearl and red doubloon chink in my hand again. back, back unto the sunny isle to rest a season there-- to bind a lace of priceless gems in my sweet carib's hair, to feel her arms about my neck, to hear her sing again the pleasures and the glories of our life along the main. oh, my heart goes privateering along the spanish main, for i am weary waiting for those days to come again. a curse upon this slothful life and this black northern land! oh, give to me the sapphire sea and southern strand! oh, let me hear but once again my comrades' ringing cheers, and lead to spoil and victory the dashing buccaneers. the belfry of the sea. _men who bless them and caress them-- bells that call upon the land-- curse and chide them, mock, deride them, when they shout above a sand. not alone are bells thus treated, for the story is repeated in the world of every day; he who flings us-- he who brings us-- joys and pleasures all may share, has our blessings for his pay; but he who warns us-- he who mourns us, bids us to the watch and ware-- has our curses, and reverses in the moulds that mint our prayer._ o singer of the sailor's song, fear not to sing me broad and strong-- fear not to sing me in the van of those who stand and strive for man; and if they make the question, then come tell me what man does for men. i am the belfry of the sea, the rider of the swell, the guardsman of the deadly lee, the outer sentinel. man placed me here to watch this sand-- this sneaking, shifting shoal-- he shaped me with a clever hand, so that my bell doth toll with every move and motion of the changeful, changeless ocean. mine is a thankless task; but no recompense i ask. i am hated by the shoal; i am hated by the sea; and the very fish that bask in the shadow of my cask are half afraid of me. the land wind speaks me fair, for it has no thought or care with the deeds that are done in the midnight and the gale; and it bears me on its wing a welcome offering of the shouting of the upland and the chatter of the shale. but most i love the weather when the wind and sea together lie locked in summer slumber and the sky sleeps overhead, for then i ease the strain on my anchor and my chain, and ring a muffled service for my shattered, scattered dead. i am never wholly sad; i am never wholly glad; for my sadness is half madness and my gladness is half sadness for the remnants of the wrecks that lie below me cast a gloom upon the wave, and my sunny days are past sleeping in the shadow that is shaken from a grave. 'twas not i who betrayed them; 'twas not i who waylaid them; but they died with curses for me on their water-wasted lips. i did my best to save them the warning that i gave them is the warning that has succored ten thousand watchful ships. ah, had they used the lead! ah, had they tacked instead of standing blindly onward without a watch for me! they would have heard me tolling; they would have seen me rolling; and have had a chance to weather and gain the open sea. for i mark a dreaded danger to the coaster and the stranger, for my friend below is silent and shows no foamy chain. not like the sunken ledge; not like the reefs that wedge the surges from the undergrip and hurl them out again. for the reef it warns the ship by the frothing and the snowing of its rocky underlip; for it shows its broken teeth, and it bares the bone beneath, and roars sometimes in anger, and it cries sometimes in grief. but this sluggish and this sucking spread of sand it is dead to ear and eye; and its very bounds defy the laws that keep in order the stout and stable land. it changes every storm; and i never know its form-- i who gird and guard it with my constant clanging bell-- it scarcely gives me hold for my anchor in its mold; and we shift and change together with each mighty, moving swell. but i rob it of its prey, for the ships have time to stay, when the wind takes up my music and bears it out to sea; but when the easters roar and drive upon the shore my loudest cry of warning is tossed and lost a-lee. then, then i cry in anger, and the clanging and the clangor shake and shock the bars of my tossing, toiling cage; and i curse the wind and sea, and the chain that's under me strains its links and surges with the transports of my rage. for i know i cannot save them; and the shoal that thinks to grave them-- that will feed its thousand acres on their oaken frames and sides-- it seems to mound its spread, it seems to lift its head, as though to make more deadly the tangle of its tides. in the snow, in the fog, when the sharpest eyes are blind; when the ocean has scarce motion, and the wind has forsaken; when my power of speech is taken, and i sit in silent pain; when i toil and toil in vain to force the larum note from the muscles of my throat, and it only breathes a toll that dies upon the shoal; and i strive and i writhe with the pain of action palsied by a force beyond control. when i cannot see or hear them; when i cannot warn or cheer them; and only know that they are there by the throbbing of my soul. for i know that they will blame me; for i know that they will name me with the bitterest of curses for the silence of my note, and i stoop and pray the sea to lend its aid to me; but it mocks me with a ripple that scarcely wets my float. and then i hear them calling, as slowly, slowly crawling they come working in from seaward with their whistles crying _where_? and i try to answer back that i'm lying in the track; but the loudest cry i make them is a thread upon the air. _swing--swing-- ring--ring-- roll--roll-- toll--toll-- just a thing without a soul, doing its duty on the shoal; just a bell that sea and swell in their fury, in their play, set a throbbing, and a sobbing; by their very madness robbing-- by their rage and rush defeating, by their hate and hurry cheating-- ocean of its prey. swing--swing-- ring--ring-- roll--roll-- toll--toll._ phantoms. like a tide that runs increasing, bearing ships to port again, there's a tide that brings unceasing pleasures to my restless brain. when at night i sit and swinging idly to a strain of thought, then it flows, resistless, bringing countless tales with pleasure fraught. and it seems as though the olden stories of the mystic sea came like ships to bear their golden, precious cargoes unto me. for i hail with deep emotion all those gray and ghostly forms, phantoms of the shoreless ocean that is swept by constant storms. and i see from mist-enshrouded, ancient, half-forgotten tales galleons rise, and memory clouded, pass with faint and formless sails. others come, the tall and splendid monarchs of the oaken side, who, with master arms, contended for the empire of the tide. one by one they pass in glory-- stately shapes that led the van-- builders of the ocean's story, noblest gift of man to man. and not less the worn and shattered, drifting, find my port at last. all the stranded, stove, and battered victims of the wave and blast, they are mine by right of capture: buccaneer and ship of plate; and i search their holds with rapture till the night grows cold and late; till the moon, high-prowed and dipping, like a ship of ancient worth, leaves her cloudy port and slipping, spins her wake across the earth. and the wind, to peace consenting, breathes a hymn above the land; and the ocean, half repenting, kneels in prayer along the sand. flotsam. for the tide runs in and the tide runs out, and the women they talk and wait, for hope has a soul that is built of doubt, and our ships are ofttimes late. and the tide runs up and the tide runs down, and the drift goes floating past; a message it bears to the waiting town in form of a broken mast. look! no seaweed yellows its shattered ends! no shell-fish whiten its girth! 'tis a message, they cry, old ocean sends to those they have left on earth! and the tide runs up and the tide runs down, and the sea reclaims its toll; but the hopes that live in that stricken town are those hopes that have no soul. the lost ship. who saw the ship going down to the sea with her topsails sheeted home, and her spanker swelling like a course, foam along the lee, and the crew on the tackle of the anchor? who saw her running off from the land, wind blowing strong, steering true for the light-ship, but went away wishing he might command some future day such a tall, such a tight ship? came she never back again to that port? long did they wait, watching out at eve and morn. last was she seen hove-to with canvas short by an eastward bounder scudding past the horn. who saw her sink that midnight in the storm? where does she lie, rig-tangled and hull-broken? sails she, perhaps, a ghostly, gliding form, that silent sea where ships are never spoken? the main-sheet song. rushing along on a narrow reach, our rival under the lee, the wind falls foul of the weather leach, and the jib flaps fretfully. the skipper casts a glance along, and handles his wheel to meet-- then sings in the voice of a stormy song, "all hands get on that sheet!" yo ha! yo ho! then give her a spill, with a rattle of blocks abaft. yo ha! yo ho! come down with a will and bring the main-sheet aft. rolling the foam up over the rail she smokes along and flings a spurt of spray in the curving sail, and plunges and rolls and springs; for a wild, wet spot is the scuppers' sweep, as we stand to our knees along-- it's a foot to make and a foot to keep as we surge to the bullie's song. yo ha! yo ho! then give her a spill with a rattle of blocks abaft. yo ha! yo ho! come down with a will and bring the main-sheet aft. muscle and mind are a winning pair with a lively plank below, that whether the wind be foul or fair will pick up her heels and go; for old hemp and hands are shipmates long-- there's work whenever they meet-- so here's to a pull that's steady and strong, when all hands get on the sheet. yo ha! yo ho! then give her a spill with a rattle of blocks abaft. yo ha! yo ho! come down with a will and bring the main-sheet aft. the landfall the scent of the soil is strong on the breeze, the gulls are many and shrill, and over the crest of the cresting seas is floating a rosy hill; and right at the base of this filmy shape, just clear of the weather shroud, say, is it ship, or is it a cape, or a hard spot in the cloud? but hark! from aloft where the seaman swings, and points with an eager hand, then fore and aft the glad cry rings-- land, ho, land! the clipper. her sails are strong and yellow as the sand, her spars are tall and supple as the pine, and, like the bounty of a generous mine, sun-touched, her brasses flash on every hand. her sheer takes beauty from a golden band, which, sweeping aft, is taught to twist and twine into a scroll, and badge of quaint design hang on her quarters. insolent and grand she drives. her stem rings loudly as it throws the hissing sapphire into foamy waves, while on her weather bends the copper glows in burnished splendor. rolling down she laves her high black sides until the scupper flows, then pushing out her shapely bow she braves the next tall sea, and, leaping, onward goes. the constitution. where glory dwells a hundred years, that spot becomes a shrine, the very soil she trod appears to bear the touch divine; the rusted gun, the shattered blade, are kept with sacred hand, and honor bows before the shade that fought to save the land. then why neglect--why give to rot this victor of the flood? is she less holy than the spot that drank a hero's blood? has she no plume to wing a thought-- no spark to fire a mind? in names like her's such deeds are wrought as glorify mankind. and they, whose mighty banner fell before her lightning's blast, their victor rides the harbor swell unshorn of yard and mast; and glory gilds her like a sun, when, steaming thro' the wave, with dipping flag and rapid gun, the brave salute the brave. then give ours back, the sail, the spar-- go let her broadside roar! a gun for every glit'ring star her conquering ensign bore. to show ye have not held in vain the heritage she kept, oh, let her image grace again the sea she proudly swept! the tartar. the wind from east to south has shifted, the sea's gone down and the clouds are rifted, and broad on the larboard bow are seen a full-rigged ship and a brigantine, with a topsail schooner in between-- all bound to london town. the ship with a golden freight is freighted, the old brigantine with coal is weighted, the schooner's a slippery privateer, with roguish rig and a saucy sheer-- her cargo is guns and hearts of cheer-- all bound to london town. a frenchman out of old brest is cruising, "a chance," says he, "there's no refusing. i will drive that privateer away; the ship and the brig will be my prey, for we don't meet prizes every day-- all bound to london town." then, crowding sail, on the wind he hurried; the ship and the brig they worried and scurried. the privateer, with her canvas short, just showed a muzzle at every port, for she'd a crew of the fighting sort-- when bound to london town. the frenchman tacked the weather gauge after; the privateer cut the sea abaft her; before she had time to ease a turn they drove a broadside into her stern, for fighting's a trade one's apt to learn-- when bound to london town. then side by side with their guns they pounded, till catching a puff the schooner rounded, and ere they had way to do the like, she laid them aboard with blade and pike, so what could the brestman do but strike-- and go to london town? the wind from east to the south has shifted, the sea's gone down and the clouds are rifted, and broad on the larboard bow are seen a privateer and a brigantine, with a captured frenchman in between-- all bound to london town. warning. when the old moon hangs to the cloud's gray tail and the stars play in and out; when the east grows red and the west looks pale and the wind goes knocking about; when over the edge of the shapeless coast, where the horizon bites the cloud, the rack of the rain stalks in like a ghost and a sail blows through its shroud-- when the morn is such, of the noon beware! for this calm's a stormy feint: a reef in the sail is better than prayer, for a snug ship needs no saint. in september. oh, the wind, the wind, and the white wake behind; and the land of yellow sand, looming like a band of gold along the rim; and the laughter of the sea, and the sense of mystery, in the dim stretch of lee, where the haze in the blaze of heat seems to meet the sky. oh, the happy sails that fly to the east, to the south, and the light-house at the mouth of the bay with its gray granite spire bold against the higher lift o' green, and a smoky tug-boat's trail flaunting like a tail of stormy cloud, and a steamer in between with her paddles whirring round. oh, a day upon the sound, with the wind, the wind, coming out behind, and the feeling of content that is lent to the mind, when the sailing breeze is fair, and your only thought or care is to keep the sails asleep, and run, until the sun drops in the west-- then rest is best. the homeward bounder's song. there's many a ship with taller mast, there's many of squarer yard, there's many a one that sails as fast and many that roll as hard; with decks as white, with paint as bright, with hull as staunch and sound; but never ship that steers so light as the ship that's homeward bound! _then give her a spoke, and keep her west, hurrah, for the world is round! and here's to the ship that steers the best-- hurrah for the homeward bound!_ there's many a port in distant land and many a splendid sight, where turret slim and palace grand rise skyward tall and white; where castles rear, and far and near shines many a golden dome; but never sight that's half so dear as the dear old port at home. _then give her a spoke, and keep her west, hurrah for a breeze astern! and here's to the port we love the best-- the port where the twin-lights burn!_ there's many a maid of fashion rare in warm and palmy lands, with sea-deep eyes and night-black hair and brown and shapely hands; with lips as red as ever led the heart of a man to roam, but never one we'd take instead of the girl that waits at home. _then give her a spoke and keep her west, hurrah for a wake of foam! and here's to the girl we love the best-- the girl that we leave at home._ the spell of the sea. by the sea i sit and dream of things that have passed, and now are fading as fades the gleam of sail on the ocean's brow, and i hear that song again she sang to the world before men had crossed her glit'ring plain to die on the further shore. 'tis a song that, like the wind in a stormy counterpart, rouses and rolls the restless mind, till it breaks against the heart-- till it hurls its foam amain on the reefs which gird that lee-- and the heart is swept again by that yearning for the sea. ah, the sea it sings that song whenever the moon is full-- whenever the wind is strong, and the tides are bountiful-- and it throws a spell o'er one that my heart cannot withstand, so clearly do i foresee that i shall not die on land. days of oak. i. when ship met ship in olden days, with battle banners flaunting, from stem to stern the cannon's blaze a fiery challenge vaunting-- then man fought man, as brave men should, to keep those walls of native wood. ii. when broadsides roaring swept the deck, and crews were madly cheering; when sail and spar were shot to wreck, and ships were swiftly nearing; then men faced death, as brave men should, behind their walls of native wood. iii. when face to face and hand to hand-- when boarders' blades were flashing; when bloody pikes made desperate stand, and pistol balls were crashing-- then man fought man, as brave men should, to keep those walls of native wood. iv. when valiant arms prevailed at last, the foe for quarter crying, the dying seaman eyed the mast, and cheered his colors flying-- for men met death, as brave men should, behind their walls of native wood. long, long ago. as slow our boat the water thro' is stealing on the breeze, the curving sky a tender blue, a deeper blue the seas; we mark whereon the western edge a band of coast is seen, where juts the cape and slopes the ledge, a port is shut between. on either side a sudden rise of black and broken rock thrusts out an arm that well defies the frantic ocean's shock; and from its point the sunken reef runs out a mile or more, where many a ship has come to grief when breaking breakers roar. long, long ago, in sudden wrath a storm burst on this land; it caught a fleet within its path-- an admiral in command. for three black days they fought the gale, then one by one they wore-- and reft of spar and stripped of sail went smashing on that shore. where red and rough the land-slip beach is touched by tiny waves-- beyond the winter breaker's reach they dug their shallow graves; and with a prayer that half expressed the sorrow that they knew, they laid the admiral there to rest surrounded by his crew. but, ah, to-day is sweet--and lo, the ocean is at rest, save for a breathing low and slow of wind across its breast. far out beyond the cloudy forms are anchored on the edge-- it is no time to talk of storms, of wrecks upon the ledge. wind happy ships. wind happy ships, that rise and make across the gaping bay, to dance like bubbles in the wake of westward flying day. so quick they rise, so swift they flow, so bright their topsails gleam, they seem to come, and come and go like joy-thoughts in a dream. wind happy ships, in constant flight across the sloping main, that thro' the dark and thro' the light sail on and on again. a port ye have, i know not where-- 'tis far beyond my world-- but pray some day may find you there with all your canvas furled. the quest. my carrack rides the wave below, the castle glooms above-- "now who will sail the sea with me, to find the man i love?" three pilots tall sit in the hall, and drink my father's ale-- "now one of three must go with me, this ship of mine to sail." deep, deep they quaffed, and quaffing, struck the board with tankard chine-- "now in what port, to east or west, dwells this true love of thine?" "i seek no port to east or west, but down beyond the rim, by following far the falling star, my ship will come to him. "he rules a land of surfless shores, of deep enchanted bays; where time is twice as long again, and half the nights are days; "where dreams are dreamt with open eyes; where love forbears to change; and all that's new is old and sweet, and all that's old is strange." loud, loud they laughed, and laughing, blew the foam from bearded lips as blows the gale the whiter foam from the bows of plunging ships. then up and spake the youngest one-- and laughter seamed his cheek-- "there is no port beyond the rim, such as the port you seek. "the sea is wide, and isles may hide unknown to pilot's eye; but this, methink, lies on the brink, when glows the ev'ning sky: "a vapory shore that fades before the swift-advancing stars; where rides the moon on blue lagoon embayed by golden bars." he ceased; and the boisterous laughter rose rumbling thro' the hall. it swept like a gale among the mail, and the banners shook like shivered sail, as it rolled from wall to wall. then up and spake the second one: "i fear not wind nor wave; but this soft clime of twice-long time must lie beyond the grave. "no seaman's skill, no pilot's art, may find that port, i ween, for god alone doth read the chart of that dark sea between. "and though i serve my lord and king with head, and heart, and hand, i will not make, for woman's sake, a voyage to find that land!" they laughed, but they laughed less lightly, as though they felt their breath, and cheered the jest to free the breast from ugly thoughts of death. the maiden stepp'd three paces back, but nothing did she say-- she turned her eyes upon the west, she signed the cross upon her breast, then bent her knee to pray. dear heart, but it was beautiful to hear that maiden's prayer! so strong of faith, so rich with love-- it seem'd as though the sun above slipp'd down to drink its share. and the saint on the window painted looked down on her bended head, as a father who lingers watching soft breathed above the dead-- looked down from the glowing casement, from the sun-lit crimson glass-- then followed a murmur of whispered prayer, and a silence descended unaware, like the silence of the mass. then up she rose like one refreshed, who bendeth o'er a stream and drinketh deep, and in her eyes there shone the light that mocks the wise and maketh doubt a dream. then up she rose as one refreshed and spake but once again: "if you trust your heart above your art our search will not be vain." then stood and spake the oldest one: "my eyes are true and keen, and i have sailed for four-score years wherever ship hath been. "from east to west, from north to south, with every wind that blows, i know no land beyond the rim where boundless bays repose; "where sleeps the sea along the strand of sky-like slopes that wear so rich a light the very night forgets to linger there. "it seems to me, if such there be, no man could pass it by; and i will make, for thy dear sake, this voyage before i die. "and if i fail that port to hail, god fend my soul. oh, pray! the task i take for love's sweet sake may wash some sins away." transcriber's note _underscores_ have indicate italics. the original book used hyphens inconsistently. the inconsistencies have been preserved. available by internet archive (https://archive.org) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) images of the original pages are available through internet archive. see https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofl forwuoft reminiscences of a liverpool shipowner - by sir william b. forwood, k.b.e., d.l. author of "recollections of a busy life": "economics of war finance": etc. illustrated with plates liverpool henry young & sons, limited mcmxx. [illustration: the port of liverpool-- _from the picture by s. walters_] preface the following sketches were contributed to the liverpool press (_liverpool daily post_, _liverpool courier_, _journal of commerce_), and they are now published at the request of many friends. advantage has been taken of the opportunity for revision, and to add further reminiscences. a chapter has also been added descriptive of the part played by the british merchant seaman in the war; and another, published in , portraying the attitude and work of the british shipowner during the war. to do adequate justice to the history of our shipping during the past sixty years would occupy several volumes. in the following pages all that has been attempted has been to outline the principal events in the fewest possible words, in the hope that they may serve for future reference; and also keep alive that interest in our mercantile fleet which is so essential to the prosperity of our country and the welfare of our people. bromborough hall, cheshire, _august, _. contents chapter i page the passing of the sailing-ship chapter ii the era of the steamship chapter iii the evolution of the marine engine chapter iv the makers of our shipping trade chapter v our merchant ships and the war chapter vi shipping and the war chapter vii the "red jacket," chapter viii the "queen of the avon," chapter ix the "great eastern," chapter x the building of an east indiaman chapter xi our riddle of the sands list of illustrations --the port of liverpool, _frontispiece._ --the sailing-ship "princess charlotte" _facing page_ --the ss. "savannah" " " --the ss. "great western" " " --the ss. "president" " " --the ss. "britannia" " " --the ss. "great britain" " " --the ss. "scotia" " " --portraits--charles maciver, william inman, thomas h. ismay, sir edward harland " " --the ss. "oregon" " " --the ss. "umbria" " " --the ss. "oceanic," no. " " --the ss. "nile" " " --portraits--sir thomas brocklebank, w. miles moss, f. r. leyland, sir alfred jones " " --the sailing-ship "aracan" " " --the ss. "aquitania," with convoy " " --the ss. "oceanic," no. " " --the ss. "mauretania" " " --the ss. "olympic" " " --the sailing-ship "red jacket" " " --the ss. "great eastern" " " --the ss. "aquitania" " " reminiscences of a liverpool shipowner chapter i the passing of the sailing-ship the old sailing-ship, with all the romance which surrounds it, must long linger in the affectionate regard of all british people as the creator of our great overseas trade and the builder-up of our commercial prosperity. the sailing-ship was the mistress of the seas for centuries. she founded our maritime supremacy, was the conveyor of the first fruits of our manufacturing industry to the ends of the world, and enabled us to train a race of sailors unequalled for their skill, courage, and patriotism, who in times of national peril have protected our homes and safeguarded the freedom of the world. liverpool owes her greatness as a city and her position as the first port in the world to her shipping. possessing the only deep-water haven on the west coast, she naturally became the port of shipment for the manufactures of lancashire and yorkshire directly our export trade began to develop. the beginnings of the shipping trade were small, for in there were only vessels belonging to the port. the opening up of the american trade in gave a great impetus to shipping. it was destined, however, to receive a serious check by the world-wide war which started in , and was waged almost continuously for sixty years. the first of this long series of wars known as the seven years' war ( - ) was followed by twelve years of peace, and it was during this time that our trade with america made its greatest headway. the war of independence with america, which broke out in , proved most disastrous to liverpool. it paralysed our trade and there was dire distress in the town. it is recorded: "our docks are a mournful sight, full of gallant ships laid up and useless." this unhappy war lasted seven years. but perhaps the most terrible period for our shipping was in , when america, feeling herself "crushed between the upper and the nether millstone of napoleon's mastery on land and england's supremacy by sea," declared war and threw her strength into privateering. the result to the trade of liverpool was most disastrous. the number of ships entering the port fell from , in to , in . when, in , peace was again brought about, there was a most rapid recovery in business in every direction. our british arms which had been victorious in the great war on the continent of europe had also made our country supreme at sea; foreign shipping had almost disappeared, and our shipping trade reaped an enormous advantage, our tonnage rapidly increasing. the period from - may be termed the halcyon days of the british ship, and the period from - witnessed the "passing" of the sailing-ship. with the "passing" of the sailing-ship we have lost many interesting and attractive features. the attitude of the shipowner has entirely changed. his quiet, leisurely occupation has gone, and with it much that was picturesque and gave pleasure and enjoyment. with the advent of the steamer a new era opened up, characterised by the hustle of increased activity. speed is the criterion aimed at, calling for constant and strenuous work. the shipowner of the olden days had time to take a deep personal interest in the upkeep of his ship. he strolled down from his office almost daily to the dock where she was lying. of the sixty-four sixty-fourth shares into which the ownership was divided he probably owned at least one-half; this gave him a very real concern in his ship's welfare. he watched and supervised her construction with the same solicitude as he would the building of his own house. and when completed and she took up her loading berth in the prince's or salthouse dock, all fresh painted, the rigging tarred down, the ratlines all taut and evenly spaced, every rope and hawser carefully coiled down and in its place, it was excusable if the owner viewed his ship with some pride. a large poster displayed in the ship's rigging announced the port for which she was taking cargo and the date of sailing--a date which was never kept. she remained in dock week after week while her cargo gradually trickled down. this long delay involved a loss of interest and earning power, and also a serious loss of interest to the owners of cargo shipped by her. mr. donald currie, when he left the cunard company, made up an ownery for five or six ships for the calcutta trade, and was anxious that jardine, skilmer & co., of calcutta, should take the agency at that port. but they had suffered so much from the delay of their cargoes that they made it a condition of their acceptance that mr. currie should strictly adhere to his advertised dates of sailing; and certainly he had no cause to regret it, for practically jardines loaded his ships with their own goods, and mr. currie's fleet rapidly increased. this was the beginning of fixed days of sailing from liverpool, which are now almost universal. although the pleasure of a shipowner was more personal and greater in the days gone by, it was accompanied by much anxiety, and the risks were greater than those of to-day. a wooden ship was liable to decay, and the periodical surveys by lloyd's were times of much concern. they might expose some defect which might involve the stripping and rebuilding of the part affected. the highest class at lloyd's a for thirteen years, soon ran out, and the continuation of the class always involved many repairs. the preparation of a captain's instructions prior to the commencement of a voyage entailed much thought; every contingency had to be provided for; there were no "cables" by which subsequent instructions could be sent, or the owner consulted. cargoes at the loading ports were uncertain, and the change of ports in ballast had to be provided for. the most carefully-worded instructions often failed to provide for the very contingency which happened, or more frequently the captain did some stupid thing. the owner was in dread lest his ship should find no homeward cargo and have to shift ports, or lest she be damaged or dismasted, and put into some remote port not contemplated in his instructions. he had visions of heavy repair bills and bottomry bonds. sailing-ship owning was profitable to those who possessed high-class ships, but i cannot recall many fortunes made out of soft wood ships, the cost of their maintenance and repair being so heavy. in a brief résumé of the history of the sailing-vessel it is not necessary to pass in review the early steps taken in the evolution of a ship, for shipowning did not assume a position of any importance before the year , when, during the reign of queen elizabeth, the east india company was founded. the east india company's first ships were vessels of from tons to tons. they were all heavily armed, and only conveyed the cargoes belonging to the company. the "john" company was highly successful, and at the close of the eighteenth century had not only a large fleet of ships, but also possessed a large portion of the continent of india. the ships of the company were remarkable vessels; they were frigate built, large carriers, and stately looking, but badly designed, very slow, required a large quantity of ballast, and their cost was about £ per ton. improvement in design and equipment was very slow; there existed no incentive to improvement; the profit made was derived mainly from the cargoes they carried; and it has been said that the improvements made in british shipping from the reign of queen elizabeth to the victorian era were so gradual as to be perceptible only when measured by centuries. when we speak of the ships of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, we cannot but be surprised to find how slight were the improvements made during these three hundred years. during the latter half of the eighteenth century the finest ships were constructed in france, and at that period the best ships in the british navy were those captured from the french. the treaty of peace between the united states of america and great britain, signed in , marks the beginning of a new era in the history of shipping. the progress, however, for some years was slow; design and construction were hindered by our obsolete tonnage laws, which encouraged the building of a very undesirable type of ship. meanwhile america was going ahead. not only did she produce more ships, but they were well designed and equipped, and it was the general opinion that the american ship was superior to the british ship. when, in , the monopoly of the east india company came to an end, and the commerce of the orient was thrown open to all british ships, there was at once an effort made to establish british shipping on a broader and more substantial basis. the opening of the china and east india trades gave rise to that competition which had been so long dormant, and without which there can be little incentive to improvement. the american trade gave the first and great impetus to shipowning in liverpool. the famous new york packets, the pioneer black ball line, were established in . this line consisted at first of vessels of from to tons register. these little ships with their full bodies and bluff bows made wonderful passages, averaging days outwards and days homewards. they were for many years the only means of communication between this country and the united states. the "dramatic" line was started in , with vessels of about tons, and it is noteworthy that the "sheridan," of tons, built the following year for this line, was found to be too large for the liverpool trade; but the trade rapidly grew and the packet ships gradually increased in tonnage. in the "new world" was built, of , tons. as a child i recollect being taken down to the dock to see this ship, as being the largest sailing-ship in the world; and many still living will remember the "isaac webb," the "albert gallatin," the "guy mannering," and the "dreadnought." the ships of the "black ball" line and the "dramatic" line were grand ships, and made many wonderful passages. there are three outstanding events which greatly contributed to the improvement of british shipping, and may be said to mark the beginning of our great maritime position--the establishment, in , of lloyd's register; the founding, in , of the marine department of the board of trade; and, in , repeal of the navigation laws. these laws, devised originally for the protection of british shipping, and to secure for it a certain monopoly of the carrying trade, had become antiquated, and a hindrance to its development. it was not, however, until we found the commerce of the world was largely being carried by american ships, which were faster and better built, that an agitation was started to abolish those laws. [illustration: "princess charlotte," ] there was considerable opposition to their repeal, and the first result was not encouraging; there was a decrease in the tonnage of british ships entering our ports, and a large increase in foreign tonnage, especially of american; and although this created a feeling of despondency, and gave rise to the fear that we had lost for ever our premier position in the overseas carrying trade, it really proved a great stimulus to enterprise, and renewed exertion, and not many years elapsed before we had regained, and more than regained, our position in the shipping world. to america belongs the credit of introducing the clipper ship, which was specially designed to make rapid passages. the discovery of gold in california created a great rush, and there was a gigantic movement of human beings by land and by sea. the land journey across america was long and hazardous, and this gave rise to a large emigration by sea, and the necessity for providing a class of ship which would be able to make rapid passages. this the old-fashioned frigate-built ship was unable to do. the era of the clipper ship may be said to date from , when gold was first discovered in california. the building of these ships in america proceeded rapidly, and in four years one hundred and sixty were built. they were the swiftest ships the world had ever seen, making the voyage from new york to san francisco in from to days. they were remarkable for their fine lines, lofty spars, and great sail-carrying capacity. the discovery of gold in california in was quickly followed by the discovery of gold in australia in , and a rush of emigration immediately set in, which had to be carried by sailing-ships. the regular traders were small vessels with very limited passenger accommodation; so shipowners very quickly turned their attention to the clipper ships built in new england and in new brunswick, which had been so successful in the californian trade. the first clipper ship constructed for the australian trade was the "marco polo," of , tons. she was built in , at st. john's, for james baines & co., of liverpool, and she was the pioneer of the famous australian black ball line. the "marco polo" was a handsome ship, built with a considerable rise of floor and a very fine after end, and carrying a large spread of canvas. she made some remarkable passages under the command of captain forbes, who did not hesitate to shorten the distance his ship had to travel by sailing on the great circle, and going very far south. the "marco polo" may be said to have set the pace in the australian trade. she was quickly followed by such renowned ships as the "lightning," the "james baines," the "sovereign of the seas," and the passages of these ships created as much public interest as those of our atlantic greyhounds do to-day. we had also the white star line of australian clippers, which owned the "red jacket," the "blue jacket," and the "chariot of fame." the "red jacket" made the record passage of days to melbourne, and was one of the most famous of the american built clippers. although america can claim to have introduced the clipper ship, our english shipbuilders were not much behindhand. the tea trade with china offered great rewards for speed, and the ship landing the first cargo of the new teas earned a very handsome premium. the competition was, therefore, very keen. these tea clippers were very beautiful vessels of about to , tons, of quite an original type; and, unlike the american clipper, they relied for their speed more upon the symmetry of their lines than upon their large sail area. they had less beam and less freeboard than the american clipper, and as their voyages necessitated a good deal of windward work, this was made their strong point of sailing, and probably they will never be excelled in this. the names of the "falcon," the "fiery cross," the "lord of the isles," will still dwell in the memory of many. in a memorable race took place between ten celebrated tea clippers, and the evenness of their performances was remarkable. the times of the passages of the first five, from the anchorage in china to deal, varied from to days, and the prize, s per ton, was divided between the "taeping" and the "ariel"--the one arriving first at deal, and the other being the first to dock in london. there were similar races every year, which always aroused great interest. the greatest development in sailing-ships was brought about by the substitution of iron for wood in their construction. the iron ship, among other advantages, could be of larger size, was more durable, and less costly in maintenance; and in a notable further improvement was made when, in the liverpool ship "seaforth," steel lower masts, topmasts, and topsail yards, and also standing rigging of steel wire were introduced, and about the same time double topsail yards were adopted. we are apt to make light of the great increase in american shipping since the late war, and think that the competition of america will not last and will not be serious. we should, however, not forget how large a proportion of the world's carrying trade by sea was done by america prior to her civil war in , and the excellence of her ships. the tariffs she imposed after this war killed her shipping and made shipbuilding, except for her coastwise trade, impossible. the result of the late war has been to make the cost of shipbuilding nearly as great in this country as in america, and she will certainly make a serious bid for her share of the trade. with the passing of the old sailing-ship we have lost much that was picturesque and much that appealed to sentiment. the river mersey at the top of high water filled with sailing craft of all kinds, from the great australian clipper down to the dutch galliot or the british sloop with her brown sails, presented a panorama which has no equal to-day, and called forth thoughts of adventure and perils by the sea which a great atlantic liner or even the modest coasting steamer fail to suggest, although they may speak to us in the spirit of the times--of that security and speed which has brought the very ends of the earth together. this short sketch of the old sailing-ship days would be incomplete without alluding to the position of the sailor, which was far from satisfactory. his life was hard and very rough. he usually lived in the forecastle, which was close and damp. the chain cables passed through it to the chain lockers below, the hawse-pipes had often ill-fitting wooden plugs, and when the ship plunged into a head sea the forecastle was flooded. there was no place for the men to dry their clothes, and no privacy. their food was salt tack, and it was no wonder that they enjoyed their noggin of rum. these were, however, days before we had the luxury of preserved provisions or ice-houses. but the old british tar came of a hardy, good humoured race. i have seen them when off cape horn take marling-spikes aloft to knock the ice off the topsail, and merrily singing one of their chanties while they tied in a close reef. the pay of a sailor was small--£ a month for an a.b.; and when they returned home from a voyage they were pounced upon by the boarding-house keepers, who did not let them out of their clutches while they had any money left. the neighbourhood of our sailors' home was a perfect hell, a scene of debauchery from morn to night. the sailor had no chance, and when he sailed again he had no money to buy any decent or warm clothes. thanks to such philanthropists as the late samuel smith, alexander balfour, and monsignor nugent, this reproach to liverpool was, after a great and long fight, removed, and the interests of the sailor are to-day safeguarded in every way by the board of trade, and greater interest is exhibited in his welfare by the shipowner. while thus recording the conditions of a seaman's life we must not forget that the conditions of life generally were much harder and rougher than those of to-day, and the sailor had many compensating advantages when at sea. it was while he was in port that he required safeguarding. chapter ii the era of the steamship with the "passing" of the sailing-ship much of the poetry and romance of the sea disappeared. the era of the steamship is more prosaic, but it brought with it a recognition of the spirit of the times that the expanding trade of the world and the march of civilisation, demanded speed and regularity in our sea services for their development, and what we have lost in romance we have more than made good by the wider distribution of the world's products which the facilities for travel and the rapid conveyance of our merchandise have made available. all parts of the world have been brought within easy reach of the traveller, and our trade routes have been increased and expanded. we have opened up new markets for our exports, and new sources for the supply of food. our people are now largely fed by supplies of perishable food which reach us from the far distant antipodes. it is, indeed, difficult to say what might have happened if we were still dependent upon the old sailing-ship. the advent of the steamship was most fortuitous. just as in our means of conveyance by land, new means and forms of transport have been developed with our increasing population, so it would appear that, as the growth of our population and the spread of civilisation have demanded it, improved facilities for travel by sea have been opened up. the passing of the sailing-ship made very slow progress in the beginning, for although steamers entered the atlantic and the east india trades about , the old-fashioned wooden paddle steamer was not a serious competitor except in the conveyance of passengers and mails. it took thirty or forty years to develop improvements in the design of steamers and to effect the evolution of the marine engine, and the progress made was gradual. the high-pressure engine, the compound engine, the turbine, and now the geared turbine were all steps in the direction of securing the economy and efficiency necessary to make the steamer an effective competitor in the conveyance of heavy or bulky cargoes; but once this point was reached, the sailing-vessel was doomed except in the small coasting trades. the opening of the suez canal also gave the steamer a great advantage, and perhaps did more than anything else to destroy the position of the sailing-ship in the long trades. it will be interesting to watch the effect which dear coals and cost of sailing may have in reviving the fortunes of the sailing-ship. [illustration: ss. "savannah," ] steamers are now mostly owned by public companies, which we regret to say are largely centred in london, and are represented in liverpool by managers. a steamer somehow fails to arouse the same enthusiasm as the old sailing-ship; much of the old romance and sentiment has gone. the managers have so many steamers to look after that their work becomes more or less mechanical; they cannot take the same personal interest in them. the manager of one large fleet boasted that he never went down to the dock to see his steamers--this he considered was the business of his marine superintendent. the shareholders in a limited liability company in the same way have not the same close touch with their property that the owner of a sixty-fourth share had in the old sailing-ship. the one was personal, the other is remote. the subscription lists of our nautical charities prove this. the bluecoat school and the seamen's orphanage do not appeal to them as they appealed to the bryan blundells, the macivers, the brocklebanks, allans, beazleys, and ismays and the general public of fifty years ago. we cannot dwell upon the many early efforts to apply the steam engine to the propulsion of a ship. the first steam vessel to cross the atlantic was the "savannah," a vessel feet in length and feet broad. she was built in new york in ; she was an auxiliary vessel, her paddle wheels being taken off and placed on deck when the wind was fair. she sailed from savannah on the th may, , and arrived at liverpool on the th june. the first vessel to steam all the way across the atlantic was the "royal william," built at quebec in . she was tons, with side-lever engines of horse power. she sailed from quebec to london on the th of august, , and after a stormy passage arrived in the thames on the th september. a more serious attempt to bridge the atlantic was made in june, , when a second "royal william" of tons was built at liverpool, and her paddle engines of horse power were made by fawcett, preston & co., of liverpool. she made several successful passages, and was our first passenger steamer. the transatlantic steamship company, which had chartered the "royal william" afterwards built the "liverpool," of , tons, and horse power. she made several voyages, averaging days out and days home. mr. maginnis in his very useful and excellent work "the atlantic ferry," claims for the "sirius" the honour of inaugurating the atlantic steamship service. she was owned by the british & american steam navigation company, of which mr. john laird was the chairman. she was tons, and sailed on the th april, , making the passage in ½ days, maintaining an average of ½ knots, on a consumption of tons. about the same time the "great western," of , tons, sailed from bristol, making the outward passage in ½ days. [illustration: ss. "great western," ] the british & american steamship company encouraged by the successful voyage made by the "sirius," built, in , two sister ships, the "british queen" and the "president." they were , tons gross register, and horse power. the "british queen" sailed from portsmouth, july th, , and the "president" on july th, . the "president," after sailing from new york, on march th, , with a small number of passengers, was never again heard of, and in consequence of this disaster the british & american steamship company ceased to exist. we cannot omit from our brief review of the early history of the steamship, an allusion to the "great britain," the first large iron steamer. she was , tons, and was launched at bristol in . for very many years she was our largest ship, and considered to be one of the wonders of the day. she was placed in the liverpool and new york trade, and sailed on the th july, , on her first voyage. i remember seeing her pass down the channel off seaforth. her six masts greatly impressed my child intelligence. she was wrecked the same night on the irish coast, but she was afterwards got off, and had a very varied and chequered career, and underwent many changes. her six masts were reduced to four, then to three. she had new engines, and was placed by gibbs, bright & co., in the australian trade. then she was converted into a full rigged sailing-ship, and in was condemned at the falkland islands as no longer seaworthy, and remained there for many years as a coal hulk. it cannot be said that these early endeavours to establish a steamship trade were very encouraging, and the great scientist of that day, dr. lardner, stated that he had no hesitation in saying that the project announced in the newspapers of making a voyage directly from new york to liverpool was perfectly chimerical. they might as well talk of making a voyage from new york to the moon. all the more honour to those pioneers who had the courage and the prescience to go ahead; and to mr. samuel cunard and his partners the steamship trade must be for ever deeply indebted, for to them we owe the first serious and successful effort to establish a steamship service across the atlantic. they built, in , the "britannia," "acadia," "columbia," and "caledonia,"--the first ships of the now celebrated cunard line. the inman line was founded in , the guion line in , and the white star line, which now shares the great atlantic trade with the cunard company, was established in . [illustration: ss. "president," ] the evolution from sail to steam involved changes in the design of the hull of a ship. at first it was considered that to turn a sailing-ship into a steamer it was simply necessary to fit a hull designed for a sailing-vessel with a steam engine. it was soon, however, discovered that the fine lines and deep keel required to carry sail were not required in a steamship, and in course of time full-bodied hulls with square bilges without keels were adopted. an iron steamer is but a rectangular girder or tank with the ends sharpened, the co-efficient of fineness varying from to degrees, according to the speed or deadweight capacity required. in sir edward harland, with a view to easy propulsion, introduced steamers into the mediterranean trade with a length of ten times their beam. these were so successful that when he built the fleet for the white star line he carried out the same principle, thereby also securing steady sea boats. he also introduced central passenger saloons and cabins, which speedily made the white star ships very popular. cabin accommodation placed in the centre of the ship has now become general. some further modifications in design have taken place; ships have, relatively, now less length and more beam, and the cabin accommodation is built up citadel fashion in the middle of the ship. the most notable evolution has, however, been in size and speed. the "britannia," built in , was , tons, with ½ knots speed. she was followed by the "great britain," in , , tons; she was, however, too large for the times, and did no good. the "great eastern," built in , was of , tons, and knots speed, and was also a failure, although if she had been given sufficient power she would probably have hastened the era of large and fast vessels. the demand for speed was for some years the governing feature in the design of steamers in the atlantic trade, and to a smaller extent in the eastern trades, in which the carrying of coal for long voyages has also to be considered. the increase in power required to obtain high speeds necessitated the adoption of twin screws, and with the still higher powers required by the "mauretania," "olympic," etc. ( , h.p.), four propellers are found necessary. in the atlantic trade, the "arizona," built by john elder & co. for the guion line, was the first of the "atlantic greyhounds." she was quickly followed by the "alaska" and the "oregon," the latter being built in , with a speed of knots. she was the fastest ship of her time, and became the property of the cunard company. she was again eclipsed by the cunard ships "umbria" and "etruria," in , with a speed of ½ knots. in the "city of paris" and "city of new york" had attained a speed exceeding knots. for some years no improvement in speed was obtained until the advent of the "campania" and "lucania," in , with a tonnage of , and a speed of knots. [illustration: ss. "britannia," ] although steamers thus gradually increased in size and power, the "oceanic," built in for the white star line, may, i think, claim to be the pioneer of the great atlantic liners. she was , tons and feet long, and knots speed. she was quickly followed by the "lusitania" and "mauretania," built for the cunard in , with a tonnage of , , and a speed of ½ knots. they were again eclipsed in size by the "olympic," "aquitania," and the "imperator," all about , tons; but the "mauretania" still holds the blue riband of the atlantic for speed. it is scarcely safe to say that the last big ship has been built; size is only limited by commercial considerations and the depth of water available in our harbours, as an iron ship, being a girder, her length is limited by the depth which can be given to the girder. the cost of construction may, however, limit the size of ships, at all events, for some years. chapter iii the evolution of the marine engine the steamship as a practical proposition developed slowly, being retarded by the dilatory evolution of the marine engine. the first serious effort to apply steam power to vessels of any size dates back to only - , years which witnessed the establishment of the royal mail, the peninsular and oriental, and the cunard steamship companies. their first vessels were steamers of , tons, having a speed of eight or nine knots. such vessels were not formidable competitors of the old packet ships, except in the passenger trades; their average passage across the atlantic, occupying from thirteen to seventeen days, not being a great improvement upon the passages of the sailing-packets. the ships of the dramatic line averaged ½ days, and those of the black ball line days. [illustration: ss. "great britain," launched ] the advantage of the greater regularity in the passages of the steamer was, however, obvious, and greatly stimulated invention. the improvements in the paddle engine were slow. we were a long time getting away from the side-lever engine, working at a low pressure. the "britannia," built in , was , tons; her engines indicated horse-power, giving a speed of ½ knots. the "scotia," the finest paddle steamer ever built, and the last of the great paddle boats, was built in , and had the same type of side-lever engine, but her tonnage was , , with an indicated horse-power of , , giving her a speed of knots. the most rapid passage made by the "britannia" was days hours; the most rapid made by the "scotia" was days hours. the screw propeller was invented in , but for a long time it was thought to be inferior to the paddle as a means of propulsion, and there was some difficulty in applying the power to the screw shaft. the side lever in various forms was tried, but proved a failure. the "great britain," , tons, launched in , had engines which worked upward on to a crank shaft, and the power was brought down by endless chains to the screw shaft. this did not prove satisfactory. then we had oscillating engines working a large geared wheel fitted with wooden teeth to increase the revolutions of the propeller. then came the direct-acting engines with inverted cylinders, which for years were almost the universal type of engine, and were a very efficient form of low pressure engine. the compound engine revolutionised the steamship trade, ensuring such economy of fuel as to permit of long voyages being successfully undertaken. the compound engine developed into the triple expansion engine; the object being to get the last ounce of power out of the steam by first using it in a high pressure cylinder at lbs., then passing it into a larger cylinder, using it expansively, and finally passing it into a still larger cylinder at about lbs. pressure, and again allowing it to expand. the triple expansion engine came into general use in . the turbine, invented by sir charles parsons in , has effected a revolution in the engines of large size. the principle is simply to allow steam at a high pressure to impinge upon blades fitted to a rotor which it revolves on the principle of the syren. the steam is afterwards used expansively in a second rotor working directly upon the screw shaft. the advantage of a turbine engine is its simplicity--few working parts and a saving in weight and space; its disadvantage is that a separate turbine has to be employed to obtain sternway. recently, geared turbines have been introduced which are lighter, slightly more economical in fuel, and are sweeter running machines. it is noteworthy that whereas gears were necessary in olden times with engines working at a low pressure to speed up the propeller shaft, with turbines gears are used to reduce the revolutions. [illustration: ss. "scotia," ] meantime, greater boiler efficiency was being obtained. the "britannia" worked with a pressure of lbs. this was gradually increased to lbs. in boilers constructed in , and this was practically the range of pressure during the period of single-expansion engines. the salt water used in these boilers caused them to become quickly salted up, which not only diminished their efficiency but shortened their lives, and it was not until the compound engine was invented by john elder that cylindrical boilers, working at a pressure starting at lbs. and increasing to lbs., were introduced. these proved a great success. by the use of fresh feed water and replenishing it from the condensers, salting was prevented and the life of a boiler greatly increased. no further great improvement in the boiler has taken place. the water-tube boiler is still in an experimental stage, and attention is now being directed to oil fuel, which will reduce the engine-room staff, ensure greater cleanliness and quicker despatch. the result of these improvements in marine engines and boilers has been to reduce the consumption of coal from lbs. per indicated horse-power to . lbs., which cannot be considered otherwise than a great achievement. the future high cost of coal is sure to stimulate invention, and we may at no distant date expect developments in internal combustion engines adapting them to high powers which may open up a new and great era for mechanically-propelled vessels, and again entirely change the world's outlook. we have also always before us the probability of further discoveries in electricity; the recent developments in wireless telegraphy teach us that we are only on the threshold of discoveries which will bring this mighty but mysterious power more and more into the service of man. chapter iv the makers of our shipping trade these sketches of the growth and development of our shipping trade would be incomplete without some reference to those who built up its great prosperity--men who are entitled not merely to our consideration but to our admiration; men whose memories should be treasured by liverpool people, because they afford to generations yet to come examples of industry and perseverance in the face of difficulties which should not be without beneficial effect if kept in remembrance. things move so rapidly, and our memory is so limited that we are apt to view the things of to-day as of our own creation, and lose sight of the strenuous spade work done by our forefathers. much as we must appreciate the enterprise and ability of our shipowners of to-day, it is no disparagement of them when we claim that the work of those who have gone before was equally enterprising within its limits, and was even more strenuous and anxious. they had to do with a business world only just emerging from the chrysalis state, and without those helps and facilities which modern science has placed at our disposal. but while claiming this, we must avoid considering those who have passed before as "giants" of industry. they were simply the men who, when placed in circumstances of difficulty, always rise to the occasion and develop those faculties of industry, resource and imagination which are so happily characteristic of our race. that we may, therefore, appreciate the labours of those who have built up our prosperity we must consider shortly the circumstances in which they worked and the tools they had to work with. we have already alluded to the difficulties which a ship's husband had to contend with owing to the absence of "cables," or any speedy means of communication with distant places, and to the anxieties attending the maintenance of the old wooden ships; but these did not entirely disappear when iron ships were introduced. the early steamers were badly designed, very short of freeboard, insufficient in strength and short of engine power; they were frequently loaded too deeply, and we had many casualties. one of the greatest improvements in the construction of an iron ship was the introduction of iron decks, which gave the constructional strength required, and when water ballast tanks were also adopted a ship not only gained additional strength, but also mobility and seaworthiness. [illustration: charles maciver] [illustration: william inman] [illustration: thomas h. ismay] [illustration: sir edward harland] the place of the old cargo boat was in course of time taken by the so-called "tramp," the modern cargo carrier--a good wholesome ship, a large carrier, with sufficient power to take care of herself in all weathers. with modern machinery a tramp can go to the ends of the earth without replenishing her coal supply. one remarkable change has taken place which would have shocked the shipowners of fifty years ago; steamers no longer carry sails and the tendency is to do away with masts. the "standard" ship has only one mast, which is only used for signalling. the excellence of modern machinery and the general adoption of the twin screw have rendered breakdowns very rare, and the "wireless" is at hand to summon assistance when required. if the cargo steamer of to-day has improved, the design of the passenger ship has made even greater progress. those who travelled across the atlantic in the early sixties will recall the stuffy passenger saloons, placed right aft, with no seats except the long settees, and lit only by candles suspended on trays, which swayed to and fro sputtering grease right and left. the state-rooms were placed below the saloon and were lit by oil lamps, one between every two rooms. these were religiously put out at ten o'clock every night. there was no ventilation, and no hot water was obtainable. we have always thought that the introduction of the electric light was a greater boon, and more appreciated on board ship than anywhere else. on a rough, wild night, when everything in your state-room is flying about, and you begin to conjure up thoughts of possible disaster, if you switch on the electric light, all is at peace. the very waves appear to be robbed of their fury. there were no smoke-rooms in the olden days--the lee side of the funnel in fine weather, the fiddlee at other times. here, seated on coils of rope, and ready to lift our feet as the seas rolled in from the alleyways on either side, we smoked and spun our yarns. there was an abundance of food in the saloon in the shape of great huge joints of meat and dishes of vegetables, which were placed on the table, and it required some gymnastic agility to be ready to seize them, when the ship gave a lurch, to prevent their being deposited on your lap. we had no serviettes, but there came the enormous compensation for all deficiencies--it was deftly whispered, "the cunard never lost a life," and not another word was said. the conditions of life in the steerage were wretched. the sleeping berths were huddled together, necessitating the occupants climbing over each other; there was no privacy, no washing accommodation except at the common tap, no saloon or seating accommodation except on the hatchways. the food was brought round in iron buckets, and junks of beef and pork were forked out by the steward, and placed in the passenger's pannikin, and in a similar way potatoes and plum duff were served out. all this has been changed, and in place of discomfort we have luxurious accommodation for every class of traveller; and this change has been brought about by the men concerning whom we propose to make some notes. sir edward harland it is very difficult to give to any one man the credit for the great improvements which have been made, but i think ship designing owes much to the late sir edward harland, of belfast. he was the first to introduce the long ship with easy lines--easily propelled and excellent sea boats. in designing passenger ships, sir edward harland was the first to see the advantage of placing the saloon passenger accommodation in the centre of the ship (citadel fashion), thus adding greatly to the comfort of ocean travel. the modern cargo boat--the so-called "tramp," because she has no fixed trade, but vagrant-like seeks her cargoes at any likely port--owes much also to the genius of sir edward. the old-fashioned wave line theory in design, with its concave water lines and hollow sections, had produced bad sea boats and poor cargo carriers. sir edward was the first to perceive that long, easy convex water lines, with full sections, gave buoyancy at every point, were more easily propelled, and had large deadweight and measurement capacity. i think, therefore, when considering who were the makers of the shipping industry of to-day, his name must ever occupy a foremost position. we must also give credit to messrs. randolf elder & co., for the introduction of the compound engine, and to sir william pearse (who became the head of the firm) for the "atlantic greyhounds," the "arizona," followed by the "alaska" and the "oregon." these ships were the first to make speed one of the first considerations of atlantic travel. the shipbroker in the olden days we had not only shipowners but shipbrokers, who had lines of ships to various places, and who either chartered vessels or loaded them upon commission. the loading brokers made it their duty to call upon the forwarding agents every morning to ascertain what goods they had for shipment. this duty was never relegated to clerks, but was always performed by one of the principals. we have a very vivid recollection of the daily morning visits of mr. mors, mr. astley, mr. w. imrie, mr. thomas moss, mr. mcdiarmid, and others. this business of the shipbrokers eventually came to an end when regular lines of steamers were established, but they for long occupied a very influential position in the shipping world. [illustration: ss. "oregon," ] charles maciver the most outstanding figure among shipowners of - was charles maciver, of the cunard line, a man of resolute courage and stern discipline. clean shaven with aquiline features, he looked like a man born to command. i remember when i was mayor, in , a commission was given to herkomer to paint his portrait. he asked me what sort of man mr. maciver was, and then proceeded to calderstones to paint his portrait. in a few days he returned, saying he was going home, as he had not found the strong man i had described. in a few months he returned and called to tell me that he had found my mr. maciver and painted him. it appears that on his first visit mr. maciver was suffering from illness. mr. maciver built up the cunard line, which in the fifties paid one-third of our liverpool dock dues. i can visualise colonel maciver marching down water street at the head of , of his men whom he had drilled and trained. this was one of the first volunteer regiments raised in , when we had fears that napoleon iii intended to invade this country. many stories are told of mr. maciver's stern discipline. it is said one of his captains asked permission to take his wife to sea with him. permission was granted, but when the day of sailing arrived he received passenger tickets for himself and his wife, also an intimation that he had been superseded in command of the ship. i remember doing some small service for mr. maciver which required some promptitude in its execution. in thanking me he added, "young man, always kill your chickens when young"--and this was the principle he acted upon when threatened with opposition in any of his trades. mr. maciver was very public-spirited, and a liberal supporter of our seamen's charities. it was a rule with the old cunard line not to introduce improvements until they had been well tried, and they continued to construct wooden paddle steamers long after the iron screw steamer had proved its efficiency. it was no doubt this policy which built up the wonderful reputation the line has always enjoyed for safety. although charles maciver was the master-builder of the cunard company, he was not actually one of the founders. these were samuel cunard, george burns, and david maciver. david maciver died in , and his brother charles took his place. i was staying at castle wemyss in , when i received a message that sir george burns wished to see me. the old man was lying on what proved to be his deathbed. his features, which were those of a handsome, strong, and resolute man, were thrown into striking relief by the halo of long, flowing, silver-white locks, which fell on his pillow. his mind (he was then ninety-five) evidently loved to live in the distant past, and he told me with pride, not of the doings of the cunard company, with which he had been so long and so honourably associated, but of the old sailing brigs, which in the days of his youth carried the mails between this country and halifax. several of the first cunard ships were built by john wood at port glasgow. as a schoolboy i spent my summer holidays at his house. he was then building the wooden steamer "lusitania" for my father's firm. she was intended to trade between lisbon and oporto. old john wood was the father of shipbuilding on the clyde, and a brass plate inserted in the wall of messrs. duncan's shipbuilding yard at port glasgow now marks the site of his house. i treasure these links of memory with those olden days of the shipping industry; they bridge over a period of most remarkable achievement and progress. sir george burns was made a baronet by queen victoria on the occasion of her golden jubilee, and his son was raised to the peerage on her majesty's diamond jubilee under the title of lord inverclyde. lord inverclyde took a very warm interest in shipping matters; he was a keen yachtsman, and dispensed at castle wemyss a splendid hospitality. he was for many years chairman of the cunard company. after the cunard company was formed into a limited company, in , mr. john burns was the chairman, but as he lived in scotland, the deputy-chairman (the late mr. david jardine) had the practical charge. his devotion to the interests of the company through difficult times was most praiseworthy. he built the "umbria" and "etruria," the two most successful and popular ships ever owned by the company. the marine superintendent of the cunard line (captain watson) was a remarkable man, a seaman of the olden school, with great knowledge of a ship, but with a very narrow outlook. of those who have passed away in connection with the cunard company, the most conspicuous figure was the second lord inverclyde, who succeeded mr. jardine as chairman in , and remained so until his death, five years later. lord inverclyde had a great grasp of affairs, and was a thorough master of the management of a steamer. he built the "mauretania" and "lusitania," and had he lived he was destined to take a leading position in the country. lord inverclyde was succeeded as chairman by mr. william watson, who died in . [illustration: ss. "umbria," ] the inman line ten years after the cunard company was established the late mr. william inman, in conjunction with richardson brothers, of belfast, founded a line of steamers to philadelphia. their first steamer was the "city of glasgow." they shortly after made new york their headquarters in america. mr. inman's policy was to cultivate the emigration trade, which had hitherto been carried by sailing ships; in this he was very successful, and the inman line, which existed for nearly forty years, will be remembered as containing some very fine and fast ships. the last ship mr. inman built, the "city of rome," was certainly the handsomest ship entering the port. mr. inman died in comparatively young. he was an excellent public-spirited citizen, always ready and willing to help forward any good cause. we saw much of him at windermere, where he loved to spend his holidays, and owned quite a flotilla of craft on the lake. before he died the pride of place on the atlantic had, however, been wrested from his hands by the more enterprising white star company. the inman steamers passed into the hands of the inman and international steamship company, under the direction of the late mr. james spence and mr. edmund taylor, and eventually drifted to southampton, and the old inman line, loved by liverpool people for their handsome ships with their overhanging stems and long graceful lines, is now only a memory. the collins line in an american line called the collins line started in the new york trade. it consisted of wooden paddle steamers with a tonnage of , . they were for those times most luxuriously fitted. they had straight stems, and were known by their black funnels with red tops. the company was not a financial success, and the steamers were withdrawn in . the white star line the white star line was originally a line of clipper ships trading to australia, and owned by pilkington and wilson. the line was bought by mr. t. h. ismay, who had formed a partnership with mr. imrie. mr. schwabe, of broughton hall, west derby, was a large shareholder in messrs. bibby's mediterranean line, and had, much to his annoyance, been notified that he could not have any further interest in their steamers, and the story goes that over a game of billiards he asked his friend, mr. imrie, to establish a new line to new york, and promised, if he would do so, and would give the order to build the ships to messrs. harland and wolff, he and his friends would take a substantial interest. messrs. ismay, imrie & co. accepted the proposal, and in conjunction with the late mr. g. h. fletcher founded, in , the white star line of steamers to new york, mr. fletcher being associated with mr. ismay in the management. in the design of the "oceanic," "baltic," "atlantic," the first steamers built for the line, mr. harland adopted the novel features to which i have already alluded, and these, with the personal interest which mr. ismay displayed in making travellers by his line comfortable, quickly made the white star company very popular. it was this personal touch which contributed largely to the success of the company, and built up its great prosperity. mr. ismay was a personal friend of whom i saw much in private life. i did not consider his prominent position was due so much to his brilliance, although he was distinctly an able man, as to his personality. he was also very thorough in all he did, and had great initiative. he had the happy gift of winning the confidence of those with whom he was associated, and the power of selecting excellent lieutenants and placing responsibility upon them. he was ambitious--not for honour, for he had refused a baronetcy--but that the white star line should be pre-eminent. i was his guest on board the "teutonic," in , on the occasion of the queen's diamond jubilee; the ship was filled by the leading people of the land. all that was great and distinguished in politics, in literature, and art, etc., were represented. we had also the kaiser wilhelm ii as a visitor. i was struck by mr. ismay's composure and the perfection of all his arrangements. the occasion was also made memorable by the appearance of the "turbinia," sir charles parsons' experimental ship. she rushed about at headlong speed, but always under control, and it was evident that the turbine was destined to become--as it has--a great motive power with immense possibilities. mr. ismay unfortunately did not live to see the completion of his _chef d'oeuvre_, the "oceanic." s. b. guion the guion line occupied for many years an important and distinct position. founded in , their steamers were specially constructed for the emigration trade. after enjoying considerable success, they were unfortunate in adopting new designs which proved very costly experiments. upon the death of mr. guion, in , the steamers were transferred to a public company, which ceased to exist in . mr. guion was very highly esteemed, he was a member of the city council and chairman of the watch committee; his pleasant, genial smile and his little jokes still linger in my memory. [illustration: ss. "oceanic," no. , ] we have not alluded to the national line, which was established in , and which, after enjoying a fluctuating career of prosperity and adversity, came to an end in . the mediterranean trade in the forties the mediterranean trade was conducted by sailing brigs and fore and aft schooners. the late mr. w. miles moss, of james moss & co., told the story that in , feeling convinced that the time had arrived to introduce steamers, he invited those engaged in the trade to dinner at his house. he gave them his opinion, and added that he had contracted to build a steamer to cost £ , , and invited his guests to take an interest with him. they responded to the extent of £ , only. mr. moss significantly added, "i took the balance." this steamer was the "nile," and was the beginning of the moss, bibby, viana, chapple lines. they all rapidly grew to be enterprises of great importance, and the sources of large wealth. james moss & co. were the pioneers in the steam trade to egypt and the levant, their first steamer being the "nile." the bibby line the bibby line to the mediterranean was established in by john and james bibby, who had for many years owned a line of small sailing-vessels trading to italy. the success of the line was largely due to the genius of a young man, mr. f. r. leyland, who worked his way up from one of the lower rungs of the ladder, and eventually became the owner of the company. the career of mr. leyland is one of the most remarkable in our annals; receiving but a scant education he became a great linguist, an excellent musician, and as lover and connoisseur of art he had few superiors. mr. leyland's dispute with the great whistler as to the decoration of his peacock room will be remembered by many. the bibby line was revived by the nephews of the messrs. bibby who built up the old bibby line. the present bibby line has made for itself a very leading position in the east indian trade. w. j. lamport the liverpool shipping trade owes much to the late mr. w. j. lamport, who for many years was the nestor of the trade, and also the founder, in co-partnership with mr. george holt, of the firm of lamport & holt. mr. lamport was a very able man and was the author of the first merchant shipping bill. [illustration: ss. "nile," ] t. and j. harrison messrs. t. and j. harrison, in the sixties, owned a few iron ships in the calcutta trade, and some small steamers in the charente wine trade. the late mr. james harrison was a genius--some thought he was a little eccentric, but he saw much further than most men, and recognised that there was an opening in the india trade for ships of moderate power that could make their passages with some regularity, and he boldly chartered the ships of messrs. malcolmson, which were large carriers, and with their engines of small power placed right aft, they quickly made a great success. mr. james harrison's mantle fell upon very worthy shoulders in the late mr. john hughes, and under his direction the little charente line developed into the important harrison line of to-day. mr. james harrison's sons are among the foremost of the supporters of our charities, and have contributed largely to the building of our cathedral. alfred holt mr. holt claims a prominent niche in our gallery. he was essentially an inventor and a pioneer. in the early sixties he owned a line of small steamers trading to the west indies, and afterwards he entered the china trade in association with the swires, and was the founder of the prosperous holt line. mr. holt was for long years the advocate of the single engine, which he claimed to be the most economical, and also of models having fine lines and a big rise of floor--claiming that it was most economical in practice to have an easily-driven vessel. experience has, however, demonstrated that ships with full bodies can be more cheaply propelled at moderate speeds. mr. holt was the chairman of the dock board, and was the inventor of the "plateway"; a scheme suggested to be adopted on our highways in order to facilitate the conveyance of heavy goods in competition with the railways, a scheme of which we shall hear more. sir alfred jones the late sir alfred jones was a remarkable personality. he climbed up to the prominent position he eventually occupied by the sheer force of his will and character, backed by marvellous industry. i once asked him why he did not take a partner. his answer was, "i will do so as soon as i can find a man as 'intense' as myself." on my inquiry how he got through his work he replied, "system. my day is mapped out--a certain hour for my steamers, another for my banana trade, another for coal, another for my properties, another for my theatres in the canaries." with all this he spent several days each week in london, taking his correspondence clerks with him on the train and shedding them on the way as he completed his letters. for sheer force of character and power for work, sir alfred was the most remarkable man liverpool has produced in my day. [illustration: sir thomas brocklebank] [illustration: w. miles moss] [illustration: frederick r. leyland] [illustration: sir alfred jones] mr. walter glynn we had in mr. walter glynn a successful manager of the leyland line, and also a very useful member of the dock board. very blunt of speech, his directness of purpose was a very useful quality in public affairs. mr. william johnston mr. william johnston, the founder of the johnston line, devoted himself to the building up of his own business, in which he was most successful. he was the first to recognise and profit by through freight arrangements in connection with the great trunk lines of railway in america. rathbone brothers were among the first to form a line of steamers to calcutta. the "orion," "pleiades," and others, were handsome vessels, but the general impression was that they were not sufficiently large carriers for such a distant trade. mr. william rathbone's memory will be long treasured by liverpool as one of our most useful public men. he represented the town in parliament for many years, and liverpool was never better represented. he had an office at the rear of his private residence in london, where he kept a staff of clerks for his parliamentary business. those were days when a member could initiate and carry through legislation. mr. rathbone took a leading position in the reform of the poor laws, and in the promotion of the first merchant shipping bill. his brother, mr. samuel g. rathbone, devoted his remarkable ability to local affairs, and was a very valuable and leading member of the town council. turner, morrison & co. the owners of the asiatic line, trading on the coast of india, were represented by the late mr. alfred turner, who was one of our most large-hearted citizens. when we failed in the eighties to raise money to build a cathedral on the st. john's site, he defrayed the whole of the initial expenses. he was for some years the president of the seamen's orphanage. sir thos. royden was at one time one of our most prominent shipbuilders. he afterwards devoted his attention entirely to ship owning, in which he was most successful. sir thomas was a tower of strength to the tory party, his eloquence and his smile being among their most valuable assets. sir thomas lived to a good old age, and was always prominent in liverpool affairs. sir arthur forwood founded, in , the west india & pacific co., of which he was the managing director, until he entered parliament. he was a man of striking ability and power of organisation, and was endowed with enormous energy. as the leader of the tory party in liverpool and in the county he did a great work for liverpool, and he became the parliamentary secretary to the admiralty. the booth line the booth line occupies a prominent position, and has built up a large trade with the northern brazilian ports. it was founded by the right hon. charles booth, the philanthropist, and the late mr. alfred booth. the original booth line amalgamated some years ago with messrs. singlehurst & co. * * * * * it is impossible to refer to the many who have been interested in our atlantic steam trade who valiantly bore their part in the struggles of the past. in these days, which have been days of remarkable prosperity, one is apt to forget the struggles of the past, and in no trade were they more severe than in the atlantic. sailing-ship owners among the sailing-ship owners of the day messrs. brocklebank took the lead. their ships, distinguished by a white band, seemed to monopolise the albert and the salthouse docks. they were not only our largest shipowners but our largest merchants, their ships conveying mostly their own cargoes. they were very slow in changing over from sail to steam. mr. ralph brocklebank took an active interest in the affairs of our dock board, and was for many years the chairman. sir thos. brocklebank took a prominent position in politics as a unionist, and both were very public spirited. messrs. rankin, gilmour & co., associated with the old firm of pollock & gilmour, of glasgow, had a large fleet, mostly engaged in the timber trade. mr. robert rankin lived at bromborough hall, and was for many years the chairman of the dock board. the firm is now most worthily represented by mr. john rankin, to whose widespread philanthropy liverpool is so greatly indebted. mr. edward bates was among our principal shipowners. his ships traded with bombay, were built of iron, and bore family names. to the surprise of most people, mr. bates entered parliament. he won the reputation of being the most regular member in his attendance, and was created a baronet. [illustration: "aracan," ] among other owners of sailing-ships we had mr. james beazley, who will always live in our kindly memory as the founder of the seamen's orphanage; mr. f. a. clint, mr. david fernie, and others. the australian trade probably the most active trade in the fifties was the australian trade, the gold discoveries attracting a large emigration trade. mr. h. t. wilson (the napoleon of the tory party) was very prominent and active in this trade. he founded the white star line, which he afterwards sold to mr. ismay. mr. james baines (who never appeared to be able to buy a hat sufficiently large to contain his big head), with his henchman, mr. graves, was always active and pushing, and kept the black ball line of australian packets well to the fore. he owned quite a large fleet of clippers, including the celebrated ship the "marco polo," the "james baines," the "donald m'kay," and others. the australian trade did not make fortunes; the soft wooden ships were costly to maintain, and competition became severe. s. r. graves, m.p. was a prominent shipowner. he became one of the members of parliament for liverpool; he was very popular in the house, and his friends expected he would have taken a high position had he lived. he was the popular commodore of the royal mersey yacht club, and his schooner yacht "ierne" will be remembered by many. we must not forget the fruit schooners owned by messrs. glynn & co., which filled the old george's dock. they were the witches of the sea. one of our most flourishing trades was the west coast trade of south america. it was worked by small barques of - tons, always smart, well-equipped vessels, as they needed to be to do battle with the heavy westerly gales off cape horn. messrs. balfour, williamson & co., who owned many vessels in this trade, made a noteworthy departure in providing a home in duke street for their masters and apprentices when in port. leaders in shipping in bringing these sketches to a close, one feels it may be considered presumptuous to attempt to allot the position which each may claim in building up our shipping prosperity, but we may point to distinctive features in the work of each claiming recognition. i think mr. charles maciver stands out prominently as the founder of our great atlantic trade. mr. t. h. ismay demands our appreciation for the good work he did for the ocean traveller--he made the comfort of the passenger his first consideration. the late mr. w. miles moss can claim to be the pioneer of the mediterranean steam trade. mr. inman was the friend of the irish emigrant. sir alfred jones, the active minded and energetic owner, whose ambition was boundless and success great. and last, but not least, sir edward harland, the great master shipbuilder, whose genius prevailed everywhere, and is still felt. it is very gratifying to be able to record the successful careers of many of our shipowners, who, from small beginnings, have achieved not only wealth, but positions of influence and importance. we have already alluded to mr. ismay, mr. f. r. leyland, and sir alfred jones. the late sir donald currie was for many years head of a department in the cunard co., and became in after years the chairman and principal owner of the cape mail line of steamers; and sir charles cayzer, while in the service of the p. & o. company, saved sufficient to buy a small sailing-vessel, and afterwards associating himself with messrs. arthurs & co., of glasgow, founded the important line of steamers bearing his name. it is a subject for sincere regret that the recent craze for amalgamation has obliterated so many landmarks in the history of our shipping. in a very few years names which were household words with us will have disappeared. ismay, imrie & co., the inman company, the guion line, the west india and pacific, the dominion line, the old bibby line have all already gone, and have become absorbed in still larger companies. the process is still making headway, and in a few years very few of the old companies will be left, and the headquarters of our great shipping industry will be in london. this will not make for the general prosperity of liverpool, and we shall miss the old liverpool shipowner in many ways. it will, however, be always pleasant to think of how nobly he did his duty. messrs. maciver, inman, ismay, allan, beazley, sir alfred jones were all distinguished by their public spirit and their generous support of our charities, particularly those associated with the welfare of the sailor, and no port in the world is so well equipped with institutions which care for his welfare. chapter v our merchant ships and the war _she walks the water like a thing of life and seems to dare the elements to strife._ --byron. the active part taken by our merchant ships in the war, and the brave deeds of our seamen are perhaps too recent to be considered "reminiscent," yet we cannot but feel that any story of the doings of our merchant navy during the past fifty years would be very incomplete without some reference to the noble part it played in the stirring events of the last five years, and how largely it contributed to the glorious and victorious result. the task of giving even a fragmentary account of the part which the mercantile marine took in the mighty conflict is rendered difficult in consequence of the lack of authoritative information, owing to the severe (but very proper) censorship exercised over the press during the war, and we shall have to await the official accounts to enable us to appreciate fully its work. but we know, however, sufficient of the arduous work of our seamen during this period, their courage and endurance in times of stress and peril, and their indomitable pluck in going to sea without any hesitation, knowing by experience the dangers they would encounter, to rank their services among the most valorous in the history of our country. war was declared on the th august, . this country was slow in realising the gravity of the situation. "business as usual" expressed the light heart with which we entered upon a campaign which was destined to become a world war, involving us in immense sacrifices, and in responsibilities of which even now we cannot see the end. warlike operations during the first few months were mostly on land. the seas appeared to be well under the control of the navy, and therefore when sailing from liverpool early in december for the canaries, on the "anchises" we did not take seriously into account any danger from a submarine attack, and the only special precaution taken during the voyage out was to summon all hands to their boat-stations with their lifebelts on. when we arrived at las palmas, we saw fourteen german steamers anchored within territorial waters, while their crews had been interned, a british cruiser paying an occasional visit to see that the ships were all still there. [illustration: ss. "aquitania," with convoy, ] the sympathy of the people of the canary islands was entirely with germany, which for some time had been carrying on a carefully prepared propaganda. when the time arrived to return home, in april, , the conditions had changed. the germans had declared a submarine blockade on the th february. the submarine warfare had become active, and special precautions had to be taken. when passing ushant a destroyer dashed up alongside, and gave the sailing directions upon which we were to proceed going up channel; but even these would not have protected us if we had been a few hours earlier, for a steamer preceding us had been attacked and sunk while following the course we were sailing upon. our ship, the white star steamer "corinthic," was bound from new zealand to london, with a cargo of frozen meat, and also carried many passengers. she was armed with two four-inch guns, manned by a complement of naval gunners. at dover we had to pass through a narrow passage protected by mines on either side; off margate we brought up for the night guarded by a destroyer, while ships of war were continually dashing past. there were evident signs of anxiety and activity, and we began to realise that we were at war, and to consider what could be done to counter the attack of a u boat. we had guns, but when a u boat showed herself, it would be almost too late to fire with effect. we remembered when on board the "mauretania" on a voyage to new york, hearing at a distance of fourteen miles a fog bell ringing under water at the nantucket lightship, and we thought the same principle might be utilized to detect a submarine at some distance by the thud made by the propeller. we also thought of the long distance coming up the channel which our ship had sailed without any protection, and the idea of reverting to the old system of "convoys" suggested itself, and we ventured, on reaching london, to write a letter to the _times_, embodying these ideas, but they were censored by the admiralty, although both were subsequently, after the lapse of three years, introduced, the "convoy" being found the best means of protecting our merchant fleet. when the war broke out suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, we were probably better prepared by sea than by land to meet the onslaught which had been so cunningly devised to take us unawares, for it was undoubtedly the intention of germany to crush us and bring us under her heel within a few months. the fleet had been summoned for a review by his majesty the king, it was, therefore, practically mobilized, and ready at once to take up such positions as would paralyze the movements of the german fleet, but much more than this had to be done, our army had to be transported across the channel, with all its stores and equipment; the forces so nobly supplied by our dominions beyond the seas had to be brought over, and this had to be done by our merchant ships. the seas had to be policed, our commerce had to be carried on and to be protected, and all this with the knowledge that german fleets still existed in the pacific and south atlantic, and also that many armed raiders were about. the rapidity with which all this was organised and carried out reflects the greatest credit upon our navy and merchant service. we managed to land our "contemptible" little army (as the kaiser was pleased to term it) of , men, and place it in battle array on the belgian soil without our enemy knowing when it arrived or where it was placed, and it was this ignorance of the whereabouts of our forces which we are now told enabled us to turn the defeat of the marne into a victory. on the seas our fleet was able to dispose of the german pacific fleet by sinking it in the battle off the falkland islands. the raiders were, however, successful in destroying much shipping before they were run to earth by our navy, which in the end destroyed or captured them. the credit of destroying the "cap trafalgar" after a severe fight belongs to a liverpool merchant ship, the "carmania." the war, however, developed new engines of maritime warfare--the submarine, the mine, and the seaplane--and our enemies speedily let it be known that they intended to carry out the traditions of their hun forbears, and pursue a ruthless war, in which they would slay every man, woman and child, however peaceful might be their occupations, if they stood in their way--a policy which they carried out with the greatest cruelty, outraging every dictate of humanity. the u boats, whose legitimate sphere was only to attack warships or those carrying troops or munitions, broke the laws of nations, and attacked hospital ships, sinking them with their freight of suffering humanity, passenger steamers, and merchantmen of every kind, not merely sinking them, leaving their people to drown or perish, but in many cases adding to their death struggles by firing upon them while in the water, or turning them adrift in their boats hundreds of miles away from the land. germany had realised at an early date in the war that she had no chance of defeating our navy in regular warfare, and that the submarine was not a very effective weapon against a battleship; and therefore, after declaring a submarine blockade of british commerce, entered upon a submarine campaign against our merchant shipping, in which she met with varying success. between the th february and the th october, , she sank ships and fishing vessels, the highest number in one week being ; and in the following year, between february th and november th (in nine months) the german submarine sank vessels of over , tons, under , tons, and fishing craft; the number of ships unsuccessfully attacked being . during the war upwards of , british sailors lost their lives through submarine attacks. [illustration: ss. "oceanic," no. , ] submarines which at first were limited in the range of their operations by the amount of fuel they could carry, and could only conduct their nefarious warfare within the waters immediately surrounding great britain, were eventually built of sufficient size to be able to destroy our shipping when two or three hundred miles to the west of ireland, and two or three u boats were constructed large enough to cross the atlantic and destroy some shipping on the american coast; they were also armed with guns, which they freely used. various estimates were put out as to the number of submarines afloat. they seemed to ever increase in numbers, and in their boldness and unscrupulous mode of warfare. sometimes their attacks slacked off, as we are now told, while the kaiser had passing qualms of conscience. their movements were directed by wireless, and there is little doubt that they had sympathizers on the british coast, from whom they received information. the sinking of our shipping became alarming, sometimes, at the week-ends, the total reaching twenty and more steamers for the two days. this was the condition of things with which our merchant fleet had to contend. traversing day by day and hour by hour waters reeking with death and destruction, they knew that a submarine attack probably meant death to a large number of the people on board, perhaps all; but the british sailors heeded it not, their country's call sounded in their ears, and without hesitation they went to sea, not only in ships engaged in commerce, but also in vessels acting as armed cruisers and as patrol ships, sweeping the seas in search of the enemy's raiders; or as transports, in which they conveyed nearly a million of british troops from the most distant parts of the world, and two millions of american troops across the atlantic, with all their munitions of war and all their impedimenta. such a brilliant performance must for all time stand forth as one of the greatest achievements in the world's history. nor was the great and heroic work of our sailors limited to merchant ships. our fishing fleets, fitted as minesweepers, carried on without flinching, the highly dangerous task of sweeping the seas to find and destroy the mines which the enemy had strewn in all its pathways. even their mines were diabolically constructed to destroy innocent life, for contrary to international law, they remained active even after they were detached from their moorings, and were floating about. they were also sown by night, in the busy channels frequented by cross channel steamers and our fishing fleets. that all this was carefully thought out and "according to plan," is proved by the fact they could and did discriminate where and what their submarines attacked, for the isle of man boats were immune from attack, because it was known that they regularly carried large numbers of german prisoners of war. the patrol and mine-sweeping services conducted by our fishermen and many yachtsmen were most arduous, exposed not only to submarines and mines, but to the cruel, cold winter weather and heavy seas; yet they never faltered in their duty. the sea along the east coast of england is sown with wreckage of steamers and fishing craft destroyed while pursuing their ordinary and innocent trades. the irish sea and the north channel are also strewn with the remains of british shipping. for four years or more british ships followed their calling, passing through seas bristling with dangers, and the people of this country, which depends upon its overseas traffic for their daily bread, went about as usual, and suffered no actual privation from the shortage of food. such was the position of things--the dangers which our merchant ships had to encounter, and the problems which our navy had to attack and to conquer. the versatility of our navy is proverbial. it has been well said "a sailor is a jack of all trades." a distinguished officer recently stated that when he retired from the navy, he bought a brewery, which he worked for some years, and brewed the best beer in the district. he then laid a submarine cable for the american government, and ended up by managing a foreign coal-mine. such is the remarkable adaptability of our naval men. it is not, therefore, surprising that when the submarine menace developed itself our navy was not slow in devising means of counter-attack, and of destroying the u boats. destroyers and even submarines chased them, dropping depth charges containing high explosives, which were fatal if they struck the submarine, and even the concussion of the explosion at a considerable distance placed their electric batteries _hors de combat_. wire netting protected our ships while at anchor, and was used to form a barrier across the channel and to protect our ports. it was found that u boats could be seen from an aeroplane when they were some depth under the water. aeroplanes were, therefore, used to hunt the submarine, and indicate its position to an accompanying destroyer, or the aeroplane itself dropped a depth charge. underwater listening apparatus was invented, by which the thud of the propeller of a submarine could be distinctly heard, and the position of the submarine approximately ascertained. mystery-ships, fully armed, but having the appearance of an innocent coasting vessel, traversed the adjacent seas, but the most successful protection afforded to our transports and to our commerce was the adoption of the old system of "convoys." convoys were seldom very successfully attacked, and ships lost while being convoyed did not exceed per cent. the convoy system required very careful organisation. ships have different speeds and different destinations, so we had convoys for ships of varying swiftness. we had not sufficient war ships or destroyers to act as convoys from shore to shore in the atlantic, therefore the convoys crossing the ocean were only under the protection of a ship of war, and only met their escort fleet of destroyers when they reached the danger zone. at a given point the convoy broke up, some ships going up the st. george's channel to liverpool, the others proceeding to london and the channel ports. the convoy system in the later stages of the war became very perfect, and although some enemy submarines boldly penetrated the protecting line of destroyers, and sank a few ships, they seldom got away again, and the knowledge of this had a very wholesome and a very deterrent effect. the valuable services performed by both english and american destroyers to our mercantile marine deserves the highest praise. the appearance of the river mersey upon the arrival of a convoy was something to be remembered. sometimes a convoy would consist of twenty or thirty large merchantmen, all dazzle-painted, stretching out in a long line from new brighton to the sloyne, while their escort of british and american destroyers made their rendezvous at the birkenhead floating stage. admiral scheer, in his book, allows that the germans lost half of their submarines, a considerable number he says were always under repair, and the difficulty of obtaining crews was an increasing one. therefore, we think that it can be claimed that our navy had already mastered the u boat menace when the war ended. to make it difficult for a submarine to find the range at which to fire their torpedos, our ships were carefully camouflaged or dazzle-painted, and presented a very grotesque and strange appearance, no two ships being alike. the painting was carefully designed, in many cases by an artist of eminence, the object being to confuse the eyes of a spectator at a distance. in some cases the ship was made to appear as if going the opposite way to that upon which she was actually proceeding. in others the ship gave the appearance of going at a much greater speed than that at which she was actually steaming. in others the ship at a distance had the appearance of being much shorter than she really was. in all these cases the submarine would have difficulty in ascertaining how far his quarry was away from him, which way she was proceeding, and how fast she was going. in order to render a submarine attack still more ineffective, our ships during the day time followed a zig-zag course, proceeding for a given period on a certain course, then suddenly changing it by several degrees, thus rendering it difficult for a submarine to get into a position to fire a torpedo. [illustration: ss. "mauretania," camouflaged, built ] another device adopted by our ships when pursued by a submarine was to throw out a smoke screen, which for some minutes entirely hid them from the enemy, enabling them to alter their course and steal away from their pursuers. the promiscuous mine-laying was a source of many disasters, but fortunately the invention of the "paravane" by a naval officer, proved an excellent protection. it consisted of two long steel bars, one on either side of the ship, attached at one end to the bows a few feet below the water, and at the other to an "otter," which, as the ship proceeded, spread the bars out and kept them away from the ship's side. when a mine was struck, the buoy-rope of the mine slid down and along the bar, and when it reached the "otter" the rope was caught and cut by a steel knife, and the mine was sunk. sufficient has been said to prove the very active and noble part taken by our mercantile marine during the war. although we do not claim that they won the war, we can, at least, say that the war could not have been won without them. we would also wish to bear testimony to the excellent spirit displayed by the royal navy to the merchant navy. they were in the highest and best sense "comrades-in-arms," and we in liverpool also gratefully recognize our debt to the united states. american destroyers were continually in the mersey. we admired their seamanlike trim, and the smartness of the officers and crews, and we appreciate the excellent and arduous work they did in safeguarding our convoys, which not only demanded the exercise of great skill, but called forth courage and endurance. chapter vi shipping and the war _the following chapter was published during the war, and fairly describes the attitude taken by shipowners towards the war, and the great work they successfully performed._ .--now and after it is unfortunate that no adequate statement has been forthcoming setting before the public the important services shipowners are performing for the country, and the serious position of the shipping industry. even in the house of commons the voice of the shipowner has never been effectively raised. it is no exaggeration to say that the shipping interest of great britain has sacrificed more than any other leading industry--and the country does not realise the serious difficulties which are in front of shipowners if they are to "carry on" after the war and maintain our maritime position. indeed, so far from the true position of the shipowner being realised, there appears to be a general impression that he has made undue profits out of the war, and is still in a privileged position, and is gathering in exceptional riches. it will scarcely be disputed that the material prosperity of the country depends upon the existence of a great mercantile marine, and that our shipping industry is vital to the existence of the nation. in times of peace we depend upon it to feed and clothe our people, and to bring us the necessary raw products, the manufacturing of which gives employment to our industrial population. we are apt to forget that we live upon an island, and with the exception of coal and iron, we depend almost entirely upon our shipping to supply the wants of our forty-five millions of people and to maintain our industries. were it not for our merchant ships the present war could not have been carried on. it would, ere now, have been lost, and the people of this country would be in the grip of famine. nor have our shipowners merely supplied our commercial wants; our merchant ships have been turned into armed cruisers, patrol ships, hospital ships, and transports, and have thus rendered the most effective assistance in the conduct of the war. anyone who realises these facts will see how important it is that our shipping interest should be supported, so that it may be in a position to resume its activities; and that its individuality should not be crushed and extinguished by government control and bureaucracy. as a proof of the successful enterprise of our shipowners in the twenty years prior to the war, our tonnage increased from , , tons to , , tons, and we owned per cent. of the world's shipping. [illustration: ss. "olympic," ] it may be well to deal at once with the allegation that shipowners have made excessive profits. there is no doubt that during the first two years of the war ships earned large freights, not, however, due to what is commonly called "profiteering," but simply because the government hesitated to check the imports of merchandise of a bulky character. after the government had taken up the tonnage necessary for their transport purposes, what remained was not sufficient to convey the produce pressing for shipment. if imports had been regulated as they are now, the pressure for freight room would have been reduced and freights kept within moderate limits. the urgent need for checking imports of a bulky character was, i know, urged upon the government by shipowners who foresaw the scramble for freight space, but the government failed to respond to these representations. their hands were very full, the tonnage problem was a new and difficult one, opening up many embarrassing questions, viz., as to what imports should be checked, the effect of this upon our manufacturers, and what would be the result of checking trade in one direction, in causing its dislocation in another, and the consequent disturbance of our foreign exchanges. all these and others were points upon which we had little or no experience to guide us, and the position was aggravated by the loss of tonnage due to the ravages of the submarine. taking a calm view of the retrospect, and the gigantic and unique task with which the government has been faced, they have accomplished their work with fewer blunders than might have been expected. after all, freights have not bulked largely in the increased cost of produce; a freight of £ per ton is only d per pound. if we are to find the true cause of our high cost of living we must look at the inflation and consequent depreciation of our currency, the high rate of wages, and increased spending power of our working classes, and the indifferent harvests of last year in all parts of the world. the high freights earned by our shipping in , , and part of naturally caused the value of shipping to rapidly advance. very few new merchant ships were being constructed; ships were being destroyed, and shipowners possessing established lines were forced to buy to maintain their services, and thus the value of secondhand steamers advanced to two, three, and even four times their pre-war values. many holders, especially of tramp steamers, sold out and realised great fortunes, and these unexpected and unprecedented profits unfortunately escaped taxation, on the ground that they represented a return of capital; and it is these profits that have appeared unduly large in the public eye. the shipowners who remained in business, and this comprised the great majority, were deprived of per cent. of all their profits above their pre-war datum, and afterwards this tax on their excess profits was relinquished, and the government requisitioned all tonnage on what are known as blue book rates--which on the basis of the present value of shipping yield only a poor return. it is difficult to understand why the government should have placed shipping on a basis of taxation differing from all other industries--it is the industry which beyond all others is essential to the conduct of the war, and which is exceptionally subject to depreciation. the chancellor of the exchequer (the right hon. a. bonar law) was undoubtedly carried away by his own amateur experience as a shipowner, and thought there was no limit to the extent he might filch away the shipowner's earnings, little recking that if the shipowner is unable to put on one side a reserve to replace the tonnage he loses, he is forced to go out of the trade; and also utterly disregarding the rapid headway being made by neutral countries, who are profiting by the high freights and using their profits to greatly extend their mercantile fleets. in estimating the financial results of our shipowning industry during the early period of the war, allowance must be made for the increased cost of working a steamer. coals, wages, insurance, port charges, and cost of repairs, and upkeep were all very high; indeed, it may be said that the nett results to the shipowner of the high freights which prevailed in and were not very excessive when all these things are considered, for in addition to the increased cost of working, there was heavy depreciation to provide for, the shipowner suffered a complete dislocation of his trade, and in many cases lost his entire fleet, the creation of long years of toil, and with this his means of making a livelihood. .--difficulties of restoration we have considered the position of shipping as the paramount industry of the country--its great services in the conduct of the war, and what it is suffering in consequence of the diffusion of fairy tales of the excessive profits made by shipowners. we can now turn our attention to the extraordinary difficulties which stand in the way of the restoration of the shipping industry, which are fraught with considerable peril to the future of our empire. shipping may be divided into two classes, both of which are of national importance. the liners, which comprise fixed services of passenger and cargo ships. these services must be maintained, and new tonnage built at whatever cost to replace lost ships. the other class is our cargo ships. many of these conduct regular services; others are what are known as "tramps," and go where the best freights offer. it is the owners of the tramp steamers who have realised large profits by selling their ships. the government in their shipping policy have entirely failed to discriminate between these classes, not recognising that the liner services involve a complete and costly system of organisation both at home and abroad, which, once dislocated, is difficult to restore. the urgency for additional cargo ships prevents the building of liners, and there must be a considerable shortage of this description of vessel when the war ends. probably the cause which has been most detrimental and disastrous to shipping was the obstinacy of the admiralty in declining to recognise the urgent necessity for building more merchant ships. they filled all the yards with admiralty work, and when the violence of the submarine attack aroused the nation to a sense of the danger before it, and the cry went up throughout the land "ships, ships, and still more ships," the government then--only then--responded, and decided that further merchant ships must be built at once. there was great delay in giving effect to their decision to build "standard" ships--plans had to be submitted and obtain the approval of so many officials that many months elapsed before the keel of the first standard ship was laid, and in the meanwhile the losses through the submarine attack continued. the destruction of tonnage by submarine attack in assumed very serious proportions, but latterly the number of vessels sunk has been gradually reduced, and we have the recent assurance of the secretary to the admiralty that our methods of dealing with submarines have improved, and that we are now achieving considerable success in destroying them. the following statement gives the position to-day in gross tonnage:-- . u.k. world. sunk , , , , built , , , , nett loss , , , , january-march, . sunk , , , built , , nett loss , , the nett loss of british tonnage of , tons during the first three months of was still very serious, but we were told that we were making distinct progress in our rate of shipbuilding, and the following returns seem to bear this out. the united kingdom monthly output of new ships from may, , was in tons:-- may , june , july , august , september , october , november , december , january , february , march , april , in the year ended april, , new u.k. ships totalled , tons, and for the year ended april, , , , tons. the growing scarcity of shipping, the urgent need of providing tonnage for the food supplies, not only for this country, but also for our allies, forced the government to consider in what way they could make the most economical use of the tonnage available. the position was rendered more acute by the entry of america into the war, and the adoption of the "convoy" system as a protection against submarine attack. there were two policies open for adoption by the government. one was to marshal and organise shipowners, and place in their hands the provision of the necessary tonnage, thus securing the co-operation and assistance of trained specialists. the other policy was to "control" the trade, requisition the whole of our shipping, and to work it themselves. they unfortunately adopted the latter policy, and by so doing they not only lost the individual enterprise and supervision of the trained shipowners, but practically placed shipowners out of business, and this at a time when "neutrals," who continue to benefit by the high freights, are making rapid strides as shipowners. the shipping control, under the able direction of sir alexander maclay, is doing its work on the whole better than might have been expected--thanks to the voluntary assistance of many of our younger shipowners. under the control, the shipowner is paid at rates laid down in the blue book, and without going into figures it may be roughly stated that on the pre-war values of steamers these rates leave him per cent. or per cent. on his capital, and per cent. for depreciation, but on to-day's values the return upon his capital is very poor. a steamer now costs to build at least three times its pre-war cost. therefore, it is obvious a provision of per cent. for interest and depreciation on pre-war cost is only per cent. on to-day's values. this affords no inducement to enterprise, and it is not surprising that many shipowners have gone out of business. the government control has taken ships out of the long voyage trades and placed them in the atlantic trade, where they are required as transports and for the conveyance of food. this policy, which was perhaps inevitable, may involve far-reaching consequences. the long voyage trades have been built up by shipowners at a heavy cost, and are also the creation of generations. these services involve costly adjuncts in the shape of docks, piers, barges, repairing shops, branch steamers, and through traffic arrangements. it may be said all this will be recovered after the war; but this loses sight of the difficulty of regaining a trade once its associations and connections are severed; and also of the probable competition of america and neutral countries. certainly, the blue book rates give no compensation for such a disturbance. the government are making huge profits out of shipping, but what becomes of these profits we have been unable to discover; they do not appear in any returns we have seen. but the time has arrived when the "blue book" rates require to be revised--this, in view of the heavy cost of the repairs which will be necessary when the war is over, and the necessity of placing the shipowner in a position to replace his tonnage at the enhanced prices which will prevail. .--problems to come with peace we can now proceed to consider what will be the position of shipping after the war. this involves much clear thinking, and the discussion of several questions upon which no definite statement can be at present made. we start with a tonnage deficit as compared with of approximately , , tons. the output of new tonnage at present falls short of our losses; last quarter to the extent of , tons. this is serious, but we are gradually overtaking it. we built last quarter , tons, and other countries did still better, turning out , tons, and it would appear as if we might now claim with some confidence that while the curve of the destruction by submarines is decreasing, the curve of the output of tonnage is increasing, and we may reasonably hope that at the end of the year our gains and losses of tonnage will balance. this will leave us still to make good the losses by submarine prior to this year. we have also to keep in mind that our shipbuilding yards are still much occupied with admiralty work and with the repair of ships damaged by submarine attack. after the war the government will have to demobilise, and the repatriation of armies comprising , , men, with their munitions and impedimenta, can scarcely occupy less than two years, and will engage probably one-third of our available tonnage. europe will be very short of raw materials of every kind; the importation of them will be very urgent, and food will also be short for some time. with the heavy weight of taxation which we shall have to bear, an increased output of manufactures will be necessary if the prosperity of the country is to be restored. this will not be possible without an abundant supply of raw materials. the repatriation of our armies and the urgent need for raw produce would indicate that the government will retain their control of shipping for some time after the war. the british and american governments are building standard and wooden merchant ships, but they will not last long, and will have to be replaced by more substantial and suitable vessels. the prospect before shipowners, therefore, is that there will be a prolonged period of government control and of high freights, which will greatly benefit neutral shipowners. and the serious question arises, how is the british merchant service to be built up again? the position is one full of difficulty. prices of new ships will probably rule very high, and the blue book rates afford no encouragement to build. in america, france, and germany the difficulty will probably be solved by the granting of subventions; but in this country we have a profound distrust of subventions, as they are invariably associated with government control, which has always been destructive of enterprise. nothing could be more unfortunate than the prolongation of the shipping control one day longer than is necessary. it is undoubtedly paralysing the industry, and any attempt, such as has been fore-shadowed, to nationalise shipping would be most disastrous. how could a state department administer the shipping industry of this country in competition with foreign private enterprise? the national control of our shipping and other leading industries may be expedient in the present war crisis, but it has taught us that the nationalisation of any industry penalises it with so many restrictions, and surrounds it with so many unnecessary difficulties that it is foredoomed to failure, and would inflict infinite damage to the prosperity of the country. advances of money by the government at a low rate of interest would no doubt be an encouragement--and those shipowners who can afford to be bold and accept the position will probably be rewarded; but to go on building ships at the very high prices may be beyond the prudent reach of the average private shipowner. this rather points to the creation of large companies. in shipowning, as in every other department of industrial life, "scale" may be the dominant factor, and the shipowning companies who, during the war, have been able to lay by large reserves, will find themselves in a position of great advantage. in view of the necessity for strengthening the hands of shipowners and enabling them to carry on in the difficult times before them, the government is making a mistake in not giving more encouragement to shipowners. experience teaches us that shipowners may be trusted to quickly adopt every modern means to work their ships economically, and to adapt them to the trades they serve; but do our port authorities equally recognise their duties to provide the most up-to-date methods and machinery for the handling of our cargoes? we may economise in the working of our ships at sea, but if on their arrival in port they have to wait for berths to discharge and load, and if these operations are hampered by the lack of mechanical appliances or labour, the shipowners' exertions are in vain. nor does the difficulty end here: docks lose their value and attractiveness if the cost of moving cargoes from the ship's side to the warehouse, or to the manufacturing districts, forms a heavy addition to the freight. in liverpool we have, unfortunately, the costly, cumbrous, and old-fashioned system of cartage still prevailing. there is a lack of good road approaches to the docks and railway termini--a wholly inadequate means of conducting the cross-river traffic. our trade has out-grown our railway communications with the interior, and our railways continue, as they have always done, to strangle our trade by their excessive charges, and thus to deprive our port of the advantage of its unique geographical position. we want cheap and abundant water, and cheap electrical energy to extend our local manufacturing industries. all these things point to a quickening of dock board methods, but still more to the awakening of the city council to its responsible duties as the custodians of a great seaport, and the urgent necessity that they should do their part in its restoration and development, and make it ready to do its share in the revival of trade after the war. our city fathers cannot rest content with carrying out what disraeli, in one of his ironical moods, called "a policy of sewage." we want a wider outlook, and a more generous appreciation of the fact that liverpool depends upon her commerce. every expenditure which the city has made in the past upon its development has resulted not only in its growth and prosperity, but in the well-being of her people. the british mercantile marine has for long been the envy of neighbouring nations, who are watching the opportunity to seize the business which our ships have been compelled to abandon. we have lost a large proportion of our tonnage, and what is left is taken out of the control of the shipowner. the situation constitutes a serious national danger, and we may some day awake to the fact that we have lost beyond recovery the industry which is above and beyond all others, the great national asset, and shall rue the day when our chancellor of the exchequer became interested in four small vessels and drew conclusions from his experience which are not supported by the wider and more expert knowledge of the shipowner. such is the present position of shipping and its future outlook-- a considerable reduction in the available tonnage. government control for a lengthened period. high freights and high cost of new ships. the probability of a great increase in american and neutral shipping. we cannot leave the subject without indicating that everything may be greatly changed by the attitude of labour. if the present "ca-canny" and "down tool" policies are to continue it is difficult to see how we can recover our prosperity. labour will have to realise that it has its value, and that the receipt of wages carries with it the obligation to give an honest day's work. and equally employers will have to recognise that labour must have a fuller share of the fruits of their labour and better conditions of life. strikes will not settle these matters; they only serve to intensify distrust and ill-feeling. we must hope that our men returning from the front will have a wider outlook and altered views of life, and that employers will also generously recognise the changed conditions. we trust also that the whitley report may be quickly followed by the establishment of industrial councils, and that these councils will be able to promote confidence and good feeling and remove the friction and distrust which has too long existed between capital and labour. meanwhile a propaganda might be started to instruct our people in those elementary principles of economic science which govern their labour, and about which so much ignorance unhappily prevails. chapter vii the "red jacket" a reminiscence of we are justly proud of the development of our steamships--their size, speed, and magnificent equipment--and we are apt to forget that this has always been characteristic of british shipping. in the old sailing-ship days, about - , a walk round the prince's dock, crowded with clipper ships, was something to fill an englishman with pride. the beautiful symmetry of the hull, the graceful sweep of the sheer fore and aft, the tautness of the spars, the smartness of the gear and equipment attracted the eye; but, perhaps, above all, the romance of the sea attached itself to the sailing-ship and appealed to the imagination in a way which does not gather round a steamer, however large and magnificent. we realised that the sailing-ship had to do battle with wind and waves in far distant seas single-handed, relying entirely upon her sails and equipment and the skill of her crew; whereas a steamer tells us at once of her unseen power which makes her independent of winds and weather, and enables her to make her voyages with almost the regularity of the railway train. all this, the achievement of the steam engine and the development of the screw propeller, is very splendid to think upon, but the old romance of the sea has gone. the inspiring and wonderful sight of the liverpool docks, a forest of the masts of english and american clippers; the river mersey at high water, alive with splendid sailing vessels leaving or entering our docks, and at anchor in a line extending from the sloyne to new brighton, or towing out to sea, or may be sailing in from sea under their own canvas--all was activity and full of life and motion. i remember seeing one of brocklebank's ships--the "martaban," of tons--sailing into the george's dock basin under full canvas; her halliards were let go, and sails were clewed up so smartly that the ship as she passed the pierhead was able to throw a line on shore and make fast. it is difficult in these days to realise such a thing being possible. it was skill supported by discipline. when i was young i was a keen yachtsman, and had the good fortune to make a voyage to australia in one of the most famous of our clipper ships, the "red jacket." some account of the first few days of my voyage may be of interest, and bring into contrast the ease and luxury enjoyed on board an atlantic liner, with the hard life on board a first-class clipper ship. it is not too much to say that on board an atlantic liner the weather does not count; on board an old sailing-ship the weather meant everything. [illustration: "red jacket," ] the "red jacket" was built in maine, in . she was , tons. her length was feet, and her beam feet. she was an extremely good-looking ship. her figurehead was a full-length representation of "red jacket," a noted indian chieftain. she had been purchased by pilkington & wilson for £ , , for their white star line of australian packets. on her voyage from new york she had made the passage in thirteen days one hour--on one day she logged miles. on the morning of the th november, , i embarked by a tender from the liverpool pierhead. it was nearly the top of high water. the crew were mustered on the forecastle, under the st mate, mr. taylor. an order comes from the quarter-deck, "heave up the anchor and get under way." "aye, aye, sir." "now then, my boys, man the windlass," shouts the mate, and to a merry chantie: in paddy murphy went to heaven to work upon the railway, a-working on the railway, the railway, the railway, oh, poor paddy works upon the railway. a good chantie man is a great help in a ship's crew. a song with a bright topical chorus takes half the weight off a long or a heavy haul. the chain cable comes in with a click, click of the windlass falls. "the anchor is away, sir," shouts the chief officer. "heave it a-peak and cathead it," comes from the quarter-deck, and the tug "retriever" forges ahead, and tightens the towrope as we gather way. bang, bang, went the guns, and twice more, for we were carrying the mails, and good-bye to old liverpool, and the crowds which lined the pierhead cheered, for the "red jacket" was already a famous ship, and it was hoped she would make a record passage. next morning we were off holyhead, with a fresh westerly breeze and southerly swell. we were making but poor headway, and shortly the hawser parted. "all hands on deck" was shouted by captain o'halloran, and a crew of eighty men promptly appeared on deck, for we carried a double crew. "loose sails fore and aft; hands in the tops and cross-trees to see that all is clear and to overhaul gear; let royals and skysails alone." the boatswain's whistle sounded fore and aft as the men quickly took their positions and laid hold of the halyards and braces. "mr. taylor, loose the head-sails." "aye, aye, sir." the topsails, courses, and topgallant sails were all loose and gaskets made up. "sheet home your topsails." "aye, aye, sir." "now, then, my men, lead your topsail halyards fore and aft, and up with them." away the crew walk along with the halyards, and then with a long pull and a pull all together the topsail yards are mastheaded to the chantie:-- then up the yard must go, whiskey for my johnny, oh, whiskey for the life of man, whiskey, johnny. "'vast heaving--belay there. now brace up the yards, all hands on the lee fore braces." so handy my boys, so handy, sang the chantie man. "pass along the watch tackle, and have another pull. that will do. belay there, and man the main braces. down tacks." the jibs are run up and the spanker hauled out, and the good ship "red jacket" like a hound released from the leash, bounds forward, and runs the knots off the log reel. captain o'halloran was hanging on to the rail to windward, munching, not smoking, his cigar, with an anxious eye to windward, asking himself, "dare i do it? will she carry them? yes, i think she will. mr. taylor, stand by the royals, haul on the weather braces, steady the yard while the youngsters lay aloft--up boys"; and half a dozen or so youngsters scampered up the rigging, over the tops, and through the cross-trees, and quickly were the royals loosed and sheeted home. "well done lads--tie up the gaskets--clear the clew lines and come down." but we not only wanted all sails, but every sail well set, for we were close on the wind. jibs and staysails, courses and topsails, topgallant sails and royals must be braced sharp up at the same angle to the wind, and every tack and sheet pulling doing its work. the good ship felt that she had the bit in her mouth, and bounded along, throwing the seas in sparkling cascades to port and starboard. the man at the wheel kept his eyes upon the weather-luff of the fore royal, and kept the sail just on the tremble, so as not to lose an inch to windward. as evening approached, the wind increased with squalls, the captain looked anxious, and shouted to mr. taylor, "see that all the halyards are clear, run life-lines fore and aft, sand the decks, and see that the lee scuppers are free." so the good ship plunged along, occasionally taking a sea over the bows, and in some of her lurches pushing her lee rail under water and throwing spray fore and aft; she was just flirting with the weather, romping along, seemingly enjoying every moment, and revelling in her element. "keep her going," shouted the captain to the man at the wheel, "full and bye; just ease her a few spokes when the squall strikes her." a loud report like a cannon--the second jib is blown clear out of the bolt ropes. "hands forward--bend a new jib"--not an easy matter with seas coming over the forecastle; but with haul in the bowline, the bowline haul the sail was mastheaded. "mr. taylor, heave the log." "aye, aye, sir." "what is she doing?" "eighteen knots, sir, on the taffrail." "good, we shall make over knots by noon tomorrow." and we did. we need not say that passengers under these conditions were not at home, or, indeed, wanted on deck, and the fifty saloon passengers and steerage were on such days kept below in an atmosphere which was stifling; but this was rather an exceptional day. we had also soft, bright, sunny days, when life was a delight, a luxury, a dream, and the sea heavenly, but we had something exciting almost every day--sail splits, spars and gear carried away, albatross circling overhead, cape pigeons, icebergs off kerguelen land, and finally we made port philip heads in sixty-four days--the record passage. bravo, "red jacket." i leave my readers to mentally compare a passenger's life on the "red jacket"--with its spirit of sport and adventure, its romance, its daily happenings, and its hardships--with the luxury on such a ship as the "aquitania" or "olympic" with all their attractions of a first-class hotel, bridge parties, dancing, and entertainment of every kind, regardless of weather--with everything, in fact, but that spirit of adventure which appeals so strongly to the imagination of the britisher, and which, after all, has built up his character and made him the doughty man he is either on land or at sea. chapter viii the "queen of the avon" a reminiscence of the old-fashioned sailing-ship was handicapped by her inability to contend successfully with strong head winds. after the continuance of a succession of north-west gales the river mersey and our docks became crowded and congested with outward bound ships waiting for a shift of wind to enable them to get away, and when this took place the river was a wonderful sight. i remember, as a boy, standing on the shore at seaforth and counting over three hundred sailing vessels of all sorts and sizes working their way out to sea on the ebb tide between the rock light and the formby light ship, and interspersed among them were also a number of sailing-ships towing out to sea. this crowd of shipping was not only very picturesque, with their divers rigs and tanned sails, but was interesting, as it contained many types of vessel now extinct. the "brig," square-rigged on both masts, was a good-looking, weatherly craft; the "billie boy," carrying a square sail forward and a jigger aft; the sloop, which did most of our coasting work, had a big square-cut mainsail and jib; and the old dutch galliot, with her bluff bows and paint of many colours; all these have now practically disappeared. the most trying winds, however, were the easterly gales, which prevailed in november and december, and also in the spring. with easterly gales blowing i have known liverpool to be a closed port for weeks together, few or no vessels entering it; and more than once this blockade of our port by easterly gales had a serious effect upon our stocks of cotton and produce. the inward-bound fleet was caught in the chops of the channel, and was there detained until the wind changed. it is of such an experience i wish to write. i had gone out to australia in the celebrated clipper "red jacket." at sydney i took my passage home in a small barque of tons, called "queen of the avon." i was the only passenger, and selected this little ship purposely that i might learn something of the practical working of a ship at sea. i told the captain of my wish, and found him quite sympathetic, and he offered to teach me navigation; but when i showed him the log i had kept on the "red jacket," and the many observations i had taken and worked out, he said he felt he could not teach me much. he, however, agreed to my taking my trick at the wheel, and going aloft when reefing or making sail. when the ship was ready for sea the police brought off our crew, for, in consequence of the lure of the goldfields, it was only possible for a ship to keep her crew by interning them with the police while she was in port--in other words, placing them in gaol. the police and the crew soon set our topsails and foresail, and with a fair wind we quickly passed down sydney's beautiful harbour. when we reached the entrance the police, getting into their boat, left us, and we started upon our long voyage to valparaiso. from valparaiso we proceeded to guayaquil, where we loaded a cargo of cocoa for falmouth for orders. our voyage was uneventful. i obtained the knowledge of seamanship i desired, for we were fortunate in having in our small crew an old man-of-war's man named amos. amos was a splendid man, a stalwart in physique, and most estimable in character. he quickly took the lead in the forecastle, and exercised great moral influence. no "swear word" was heard when old amos was present. when reefing he had the post of honour at the weather earing, and when he got astride the yardarm the weather earing was bound to come home. he taught me my knots, bends, and splices, and looked after me when aloft. at the end of ninety days we sighted the wolf rock off the land's end. in the afternoon we were off the lizard, and stood off shore to clear the manacle rocks. the crew were busy hauling up the cables from the chain locker, for we expected to be in falmouth before sunset, and all hands were bright and gay at the early prospect of being on shore once more. the wind, however, became more easterly, and when we again tacked we failed to clear the manacles. standing out again we were blown off the land, and thirty days elapsed before we again made the manacles, during which time we battled day after day with a succession of easterly gales. we were blown off as far west as the meridian of the fastnet; then we got a slant, and crawled up as far as the scillies, only to be blown off again. it was monotonous and weary work; standing inshore during the day and off-shore at night, mostly under double-reefed or close-reefed topsails, or hove to with a heavy sea running. indeed, we met many ships which apparently had given up the contest, and remained hove-to waiting for a change of wind. we had some bright sunny days, but mostly drab grey atlantic days, and an easterly wind always. at the end of ten days h.m.s. "valorus," a paddle sloop, came within hailing distance, and offered to supply us with fresh provisions. this offer our skipper declined, much to the disappointment of his crew, for our hencoops had been empty for weeks, and our one sheep and two pigs had been consumed long ago, and we were living upon hard biscuit and salt tack, boiled salt beef and plum duff one day and roast pork and pea soup the next. there was no variation; our food had become distinctly monotonous. the crowd of ships thus weather-bound increased day by day--ships from calcutta and bombay, deeply-laden rice ships from rangoon, and large heavily-laden american ships with guano from the chinchas. some we met almost daily; others came upon the scene now and again, and we welcomed them as old friends. the only vessels that got through to their port of destination in spite of the easterly gales were the fruit schooners conveying cargoes of oranges from the azores. they were smart brigantines--perfect witches of the sea--well handled, and they never missed a chance. they seemed to have the power of sailing right into the teeth of the wind. at the end of a further ten days another relief ship hailed us, but our captain again declined any supplies, arguing with himself that the east winds could not last much longer; but another ten days had to pass before a gentle westerly swell told us that westerly winds were not far away, and before twenty-four hours had elapsed we squared away before a westerly breeze. we soon passed the lizard, and the manacles, and dropped our anchor in falmouth, making the passage in days, of which we had spent thirty in the chops of the channel. chapter ix the "great eastern" a reminiscence of some account of the memorable voyage of the "great eastern," when she broke down in the middle of the atlantic, may be of interest. it is an old story, but it is memorable as marking an epoch in the history of the atlantic trade, which owes not a little of its progress to its failures. the enterprise which produced these failures is entitled to our admiration for its boldness and courage. the "great eastern" was a remarkable ship. she was, in a sense, twenty years ahead of her time. on the other hand, if she had possessed sufficient engine power for her displacement, she would have revolutionized steamship travel across the atlantic and hastened the era of large and swift atlantic liners. the "great eastern" was designed by brunel, and built in for the east india and australian trades, for which routes a large coal carrying capacity was necessary. but she never entered those trades. her speed in smooth water was twelve to thirteen knots, but in a head sea she could do little more than hold her own, hence the cause of her troubles. the following figures give her dimensions, contrasted with the largest vessel of her time--the "scotia"--and the ships of to-day:-- built. length. beam. depth. tonnage. "great eastern" . , "scotia" . , "campania" . , "aquitania" . . , it will be seen from these figures how great was the departure of the "great eastern" from the largest vessel of her period, and how small she would appear to-day by the side of the "aquitania." not only was she a great advance in size, but she had many other novel points. she was propelled by two sets of engines, oscillating paddle engines and horizontal screw engines, which together developed , horse-power. she was fitted with six masts and four funnels. her cabin accommodation was unusually capacious and lofty. speaking from memory, her saloon was to feet high. she had a smoking room, while in the "scotia" smokers had still to be content with the fiddlee, sitting upon coils of rope. the "great eastern" had but few deck houses, so that her decks were magnificently spacious. [illustration: ss. "great eastern," ] she sailed from liverpool for new york on a beautiful afternoon in the early autumn of . we had on board about four hundred saloon passengers, and a considerable number in the second cabin. she was commanded by an ex-cunarder, captain walker. the dock quays in liverpool, margining the river, were lined with a vast concourse of people to see the great ship depart. we had a splendid run down the channel, and on the following evening we passed the fastnet. our people were having a gay time, singing and dancing on deck, and greatly enjoying themselves. in the middle of this revelry we passed the "underwriter," one of the black ball sailing-packets, also bound for new york. she was under whole topsails, plunging into a head sea and throwing the spray fore and aft. we looked upon her with admiration, but with feelings of immense superiority. the old order had passed away, and the new had arrived in the "great eastern." many were the congratulations expressed upon the advance in naval architecture, and many indeed fancied that the perils and discomforts of the sea were things of the past. the next day was one of those drab grey days so frequent upon the atlantic. the wind was increasing in force, and more northerly. the sea was getting up, but the great ship, meeting it almost dead ahead, scarcely heeded it. "she is as steady as a rock." "wonderful!" were some of the remarks passed around as we took our morning constitutional. by noon the scene had changed. the wind had veered round to the north, bringing up a heavy beam sea. the big ship began to lurch and roll heavily, taking heavy spray overall. some of her movements were significant of danger--she hung when thrown over by a sea, and recovered very slowly. a huge sea striking her on the starboard bow swept her fore and aft, and carried away one of our paddle wheels and several boats. an ominous silence shortly prevailed, and it was whispered that the rudder had been carried away. the great ship fell into the trough of the sea and became unmanageable, lurching and rolling heavily and deeply. the seas, from time to time, striking her with great force, made her quiver fore and aft. the second paddle wheel was soon swept away, and boat after boat was torn from the davits, the wrecks in many instances being suspended by the falls. while destruction was being wrought on deck, the damage in the saloons and state-rooms was appalling. they were simply wrecked by the furniture getting loose and flying about, breaking the large mirrors which adorned the saloon, and adding broken glass to the dangerous mass of debris. many of our passengers were badly wounded. the engineers were trying to repair the broken rudder-stock by coiling round it iron chains to form a drum, so as to be able to get a purchase upon it. that night was a night of much anxiety, but the behaviour of the passengers was exemplary. the ladies found a part of the saloon where they could sit on the deck in comparative safety, and here they knitted and sang hymns. there was a general effort to make the best of things. the following morning the weather had slightly moderated, but the sea was still mountainous, and we rolled heavily. the chain cable stowed in one of the forward lower decks broke loose, and burst through the outer plating and hung in a festoon overboard. the cow-house had been destroyed, and one of the cows was suspended head downwards in the skylight of the forward saloon, and a swan which had been in the cow-house was found in the saloon. the captain sent for some of the passengers he knew, and told them that, as the crew had broken into the liquor store, he wished to form special guards to patrol the ship. some twenty or thirty volunteered, and for four hours each day we patrolled the ship, having a white handkerchief tied round our left arm as our badge of office. food had become a difficulty. all the crockery had been smashed, so the victuals were brought down in large stew pans, and taking pieces of broken dishes, we helped ourselves as best we could. in the afternoon the "scotia," outward bound for new york, hove in sight. the great cunarder looked stately and magnificent, and as she gracefully rode over the big seas without any effort, simply playing with them, she told us what design, knowledge and equipment could do. after sailing round us, she bore away on her voyage. another miserable night followed, and it was obvious that the mental strain was beginning to tell upon some of our people. the following day the weather was much finer and the sea moderate, but we were still helpless, a derelict on the wide atlantic. no success had attended the effort to repair the rudder-stock; nothing would hold it. in the afternoon a small nova scotian brig hove in sight, and sailed round us, as we thought, within hailing distance. one of our passengers offered the captain £ per day if he would stand by us. no answer coming, an offer to buy both his ship and her cargo was conveyed to him, but still no answer came, and in the evening she sailed away. the captain of the brig was apparently some time afterwards informed of what had taken place, and promptly claimed one day's demurrage, and was suitably rewarded. it was now evident that our only hope was to hasten the repair of the rudder-stock. in our dire emergency a young american engineer, mr. towle, offered a new suggestion, to build a cross head on to the broken stock, and to steer the ship with tackles attached to it. after some hours' work and the exercise of much ingenuity, he succeeded, to the great joy of everyone. the screw engines were still in good order, and the big ship was soon on her way back to queenstown, where we arrived five days after passing it on our outward voyage. the damage done to the ship was considerable, and some idea of the violence with which she had rolled can be formed from the fact that when the baggage room was opened, it was found that water having got into it, the baggage had been churned into a pulp, and was taken out in buckets. the "great eastern" ended her somewhat inglorious career by laying cables across the atlantic, and finally was broken up on the new ferry shore at birkenhead. she had served, however, one great purpose which had borne good fruit--she taught us that to successfully fight the atlantic on its days of storm and tempest, which are many, the design of the engine and its power should receive as much consideration as the design of the ship's hull. chapter x building an east indiaman a reminiscence of _build me straight, o worthy master, staunch and strong, a goodly vessel that shall laugh at all disaster, and with wave and whirlwind wrestle._ --longfellow. the building of a wooden east indiaman recalls much of what was romantic in the history of british shipping--much of what was essentially british in the art of the craftsman. the old shipwright with his black wooden toolbox slung over his shoulder, or plying his adze or the caulking iron, is a type of a british artisan unhappily now becoming extinct. he was no ordinary workman following day after day the same monotonous job, for his work called for the constant exercise of his own individuality, of his powers of observation, and his ingenuity in the application of the teachings of experience; the selection of suitable timber, of proper scantling, oak crooks for the floors, aprons and knees, the curved timber for the futtocks, all called for skill and knowledge, and he had to keep constantly in view, when building, the necessity for giving proper shifts to the scarfs and the butting of the planks--all demanding not only thought, but daily presenting new problems which only a trained eye and experience could solve. the rhythm of the old shipbuilding yard had a peculiar charm and attraction; it was not the monotonous deafening roar of the hydraulic riveter heard in the modern yard, but the music of the adze and the humming of the caulking chisel made a sort of harmony not unpleasant to the ear; while the all-prevailing smell of tar imported a nautical flavour which is entirely absent from the iron shipbuilding yard. we now only think in terms of angle iron, plates, butt straps, and rivets which follow one orthodox pattern. the iron ship is but a tank with shaped ends, or a girder, or a series of box girders, for every deck, and every row of pillaring constitutes a girder; their size and shape are all set out by the draftsman in the drawing office, the work in the yard is purely mechanical; the old skill of the craftsman is not called into play. it was my good fortune, when i left school in , to spend some time in the shipbuilding yard of george cox & son, of bideford, in order that i might obtain some knowledge of the craft. the firm were engaged building the "bucton castle," of , tons register, for the calcutta trade, to class thirteen years a , the highest class at lloyd's. it is of my experience in building that ship of which i purpose writing. it will occur to many that bideford was a strange out-of-the-way place for a shipyard. bideford we only associate with charles kingsley and "westward ho!" with its long bridge of twenty-three arches, a bridge which has the repute of being a soul-saving bridge, an alms-giving bridge, a dinner-giving bridge, a bridge which owns lands in many parishes; but bideford, with its wide expanse of sands and tidal bores, is about the last place to suggest shipbuilding. but bideford, like plymouth and devonport in olden days, was in close proximity to large forests of oak and other woods essential to wooden shipbuilding. the first thought of the builder of a wooden ship was to secure his timber, good natural oak crooks for the floor timbers, knees and aprons, and the futtocks forming the turn of the bilge, and good square timber for the frames, beams, etc. not only had this to be carefully selected free from rends and shakes, but it had to be piled up in the yard and seasoned. in the same way elm timber required for the sheathing, and the pine necessary for the decks and inside ceiling, all required seasoning before being worked up. the plans of the proposed ship having been prepared and duly laid off in the drawing loft, the first step was to provide the blocks upon which she was to be built, and the ways from which, when completed, she would be launched. upon these blocks the keel was laid, usually constructed of elm, which is tough and does not split. the keel was in several lengths, fastened together with long scarfs, bolted through. on each side a rabbit or groove was cut to receive the garboard strake (the first strake of planking). on the top of the keel the floor timbers were laid across alternately, long and short, and on the top of the floors the keelson was bolted. the keelson ran the full length of the ship. there were also sister keelsons on either side, covering the ends of the floors. to the end of the floors the first futtocks were scarped and bolted, and these formed the turn of the bilge, and above came the timbers forming the frame. the selection of the timber required for the floors and futtocks needed a very skilled eye; pieces of timber which would require the least dressing must be chosen, and the piles of timber were examined over and over again to find the piece which would give the nearest approach to the curve required when the ship was in frame. then came the planking or sheathing. this had to be carefully worked in proper shifts, to prevent the butts of the planking coming into close proximity. the upper strakes or sheer strakes and the bilge strakes were always doubled. in a similar way the interior of the ship was lined or ceiled, all with a view to strength. 'tween deck beams and main deck beams were thrown across and rounded up, to give strength and camber to the decks. they were fastened to longitudinal timbers running along the sides of the ship, called shelfs, and these shelfs were secured to the framing of the ship by wooden knees reinforced in high-class ships by iron knees. the structure was fastened by wooden treenails and metal through-bolts of copper or yellow metal. the butt end of every plank was secured by a metal bolt, in addition to treenails securing it to every timber. i have said enough to prove that the shipwright of the olden time had to exercise more individuality and skill than is necessary to-day. the shipbuilder's work was not completed when he had launched his ship; she had to be rigged and fitted out, and copper-sheathed to prevent the ravages of worms and marine insects; and in course of time the ship had to be salted, the spaces between the frames being filled with rock salt to preserve the timber from decay. american ships, which were very numerous and handsome in design, were usually built with hacmatac frames and pine sheathing, and canadian vessels were built entirely of soft wood with iron fastenings, and rarely received a higher class than nine years a . although the reminiscences of the old wooden shipbuilding days are pleasant and interesting, if we had been limited to wooden ships the progress of commerce and the spread of civilisation would have been greatly hindered. it was not possible to build a wooden ship of over , tons--i think this was the size of the "great republic"--and the number of vessels required to lift the merchandise now requiring to be carried by sea would have exhausted our available forests of timber. the iron and steel ships have saved the situation, not only enabling us to move the cargoes the world requires, but enabling us to construct steamers of large size and great speed which have built up a passenger trade which, even sixty years ago, was never dreamed of. it is remarkable that in land travel, just as the growth of the population demanded it, we have had improvements in the mean of locomotion--the pack-horse, the wheel, the steam engine, the railway, and electric traction have followed each other. so at sea--from the ancient galley to the wooden sailing ship, the clipper ship, the paddle steamer, the screw steamer, the high-pressure engine, the condensing engine, the double and triple expansion engine, the turbine, and we have in front of us looming largely oil fuel, to be followed probably by some form of electric propulsion. from this it would almost seem as if a providence provided for us transport facilities in proportion to our needs for the conveyance of our products and for travel. i was interested in recently visiting bideford to find that the old shipbuilding slips still exist--although unused for nearly fifty years. they have this year been bought by the firm of hanson & co., who have a small ship under construction. chapter xi our riddle of the sands shortly before the late war a small volume entitled "the riddle of the sands" had a large circulation. it described the adventures of two friends, who, in a small yacht, spent their summer vacation in cruising on the friesland coast of germany, and it gave a graphic account of their discovery of a wonderful network of canals and waterways which had been made through the sands, connecting the ports of emden, wilhelmshaven and cuxhaven. mysterious craft flitted about, and their own movements were carefully watched. what is this "riddle of the sands" they asked? the war gave the answer. it was a great submarine base for an attack upon england. we in liverpool have our riddle of the sands, which, although very different in character, has proved equally elusive. it has defied scientific solution, the teaching of hydrodynamics, and has from time to time almost threatened the existence of the port of liverpool, and with it the prosperity of our manufacturing districts. the approaches to the port have not been maintained (although assisted) by the use of mechanical or scientific means, but by encouraging the natural forces to do the work necessary to maintain the deep water entrances clear and serviceable. there are many now living who remember that the deep water approach to liverpool was through the rock channel only with three feet of water at low water, with dangerous and shifting shoals off the spencer spit, and the long lee shore off the west hoyle bank. if these conditions had continued the liverpool of to-day would not have existed. the development of the northern deep water approaches is an interesting study. liverpool has solved her own "riddle of the sands," not by colossal ambitious engineering schemes which might have been fatal, but by patient watchfulness of what nature was doing, or trying to do, and judiciously assisting her efforts. nature has practically closed the rock channel and the old victoria channel, and concentrated her forces and opened up the queen's channel with over feet of water at low tide in the dredged cut at the bar, thus making the port open for ordinary vessels during twelve hours out of the twenty-four, and making liverpool the great port she is--the only deep water port on the west coast capable of taking such great ships as the "aquitania" and "olympic." [illustration: ss. "aquitania," ] the riddle of the sands as it presents itself to us, divides itself into two portions:-- the sands of the upper estuary; the sands of the sea channels; each forming a very interesting and entertaining subject of inquiry. the riddle of the upper estuary we have an upper estuary of the mersey formed like a huge bottle with a narrow neck entrance at seacombe, through which the tide rushes at springs at the rate of five or six knots. at rock ferry this estuary, like a fan, spreads out to widnes, runcorn, ellesmere port, and garston. this vast basin is filled by the tidal waters twice in each day, forming a great lake; at low water we have a vista of sandbanks and water, very beautiful in their colour and light effects, the favourite haunt of wildfowl, which in olden time filled the decoys at hale and widnes. during the parliamentary inquiry into the proposal to construct the manchester ship canal, it was given in evidence that each tide brought into this bottle-necked estuary , tons of sand, which was held by the water in mechanical suspension and deposited on the banks at slack water, which takes place at the top of high water. the ebb tide carries this sand out again. about half ebb a process of erosion takes place. tidal streams form through the sand banks, and gradually underpin the sand, which falls into these streams and is carried out to sea. on a quiet summer evening the process of erosion going on can be heard at bromborough, the loud reports caused by the falling sands being distinctly audible. this riddle of the sands makes quite a fairy tale, so full of surprises, so wayward and erratic. craft and even ships which have disappeared long since suddenly come into view. the coals which fall overboard when coaling our great liners in the sloyne creep along the bottom and pile themselves on to the sandbanks, and form a welcome supply of fuel to the villagers. wells of beautiful fresh spring water bubble up on the shore at shodwell, and formerly supplied the runcorn coasters with water. at the mouth of the alt, and also at hoylake, the low tides expose the remains of two remarkable primeval forests, from which have been gathered many tokens of long bygone generations. there is one thing these sands will not do. they will not obey the dictates of man unless they conform to their moods and methods. the original scheme for the construction of the manchester ship canal proposed to cut a channel through the sands from runcorn to deep water at garston, a distance of about ten miles, protected on either side by training walls of stone. the mersey docks and harbour board very strongly and successfully opposed this part of the scheme, maintaining that by thus stereotyping the channel, the process of erosion would be destroyed and the estuary would become permanently silted up with sand. there would not be a sufficient head of water impounded each tide to keep the sea channels and approaches to the mersey scoured and fit for navigation. the magnitude of the reservoir of water gathered at high water in the upper estuary may be gauged by the fact that spring tides rise feet and neap tides feet, and form the mighty power for scouring the sea channels. the riddle of how to treat the upper estuary has therefore been solved by leaving nature severely alone and permitting no interference. the riddle of the outer estuary when we come to consider the conditions affecting the outward estuary, which extends from the rock light to the bar, we have to take into account not only the scouring power of the ebb tide, and its capacity as a sand carrier depending upon the force of the current and the volume of water, but also the action of waves which is very powerful in preventing the undue accumulation of sand upon our shores and upon the great sandbanks lying off the entrance to the port. standing on the shore at blundellsands at low tide and during a westerly gale, i have seen the shore from hightown to seaforth a moving mass of sand, spreading itself over the surface like a sheet. placing a stick into the ground, in a few moments a heap of sand would accumulate on the windward side. these sand storms fill up all the mouths of the alt, and pile the sand up in big banks. if there was no correcting force these sand storms would quickly fill up the shallow shores and destroy their capacity to impound the tidal water which assists the scouring power of the main stream; but at high water with a westerly gale the waves churn up these deposits of sand, and the ebb tide carries them out to sea. after a westerly gale i have seen the shores swept of loose sand down to the hard shore beneath, and the many outlets of the alt washed clean, and the black marl which forms their banks exposed. i do not think that this wave action has been sufficiently considered in selecting the shallow flats on the west side of the burbo bank as the place of deposit for the sand dredged from the bar. they are frequently violently disturbed by the action of the waves, and the sand is carried by the flood tide back again to the bar. there is another action of which we must take notice; every stream creates an eddy of slack water, or, it may be, a counter current of much reduced velocity, in a stream heavily charged with sand such as our tidal streams, and these eddies may create inconvenient deposits of sand and accretions to the banks which have to be watched. the old sea approaches having set out the natural forces we have to deal with, we will proceed to consider their effect upon the outer approaches to the river mersey. these approaches twenty-five years ago were very indifferent. the bar only carried eight feet of water at low tide, and practically for vessels of any size liverpool was a closed port for eighteen hours out of the twenty-four. by the employment of sand dredgers, which have removed millions of tons of sand, this difficulty has been overcome, but in deepening the bar the mersey docks and harbour board have greatly added to the work which the ebb tide has to do. that work has to be supplemented by the almost continuous use of sand dredgers, and has been also assisted by the construction of the revetment on the taylor bank. this has prevented the flood tide frittering its strength away over the taylor bank, and confines and concentrates the strength of the ebb stream; but still the formation of inconvenient lumps in the crosby channel suggests that the ebb tide has more than it can do. it has been suggested that by confining this channel with training walls constructed along the burbo bank and the crosby shore the power of the ebb tide would be increased. it is, however, forgotten that the effect of training walls would be to diminish the volume of water, and therefore its sand-carrying capacity, and also that training walls along the lancashire shore would rob the channel of the large amount of water now impounded at high water on the shore, which forms a valuable addition to the first part of the ebb. the changes in the outer estuary during the past fifty years have been quite remarkable. the old sea channel was the rock channel striking off to the west at the rock light, and the fairway was marked by two land marks which were prominent objects upon the bootle shore; while the hoylake and leasowe lighthouses indicated the fairway through the horse channel. the rock channel has shoaled, and is no longer used. the old victoria channel took its seaward course between the great and little burbo banks. this in process of time has shoaled and narrowed, and is no longer of any service, and the main channel pursues a north-west direction between the little burbo bank and the taylor bank, and crosses the bar through the new queen's channel. the taylor bank, which now stretches from the crosby lightship almost to the bar is of recent formation, and takes the place of the jordan flats. the rapid growth of the taylor bank no doubt induced the dock board to construct the revetment, and it has proved an effective bulwark against the rebound of the stream round askew spit, and its extension to the north seems to be desirable. the strong flood coming through the crosby channel is no doubt mainly accountable for the erosion which has taken place at hightown, and which is now taking place at hall road. the latter can be prevented by the erection of a timber groin to give a south-west direction to the flood stream. i have made these sands and sand banks a long study. the late rev. nevison loraine and i explored, in our canoes, every nook and cranny of the sand banks, and loved to bathe in the pools which formed at low water on the burbo bank; but this long experience of the riddle of the sands makes me afraid to dogmatise--nature so often rebels and does the very opposite to what you expect, and the teaching of the past tells us that she has been a good friend to liverpool, and had better be left alone, only helping her, as by the revetment, to concentrate her energy in the direction she wishes to go. a step in the same direction might be taken by closing the channel which has formed across the burbo bank. in my canoeing days this channel was a mere gutter, but now it is sufficiently large to abstract much water from the main stream. it has also often occurred to me that the old formby channel might also be diverted. it serves no useful purpose for navigation, and if the ebb tide which now flows through it could be turned into the present formby channel it would increase the scour; but experience may have demonstrated that the flood tide demands the old channel, and if so it has been wisely left open. i think it is probable that the flood tide making through this old formby channel strikes the main stream of the flood coming through the crosby channel and rebounds on to the hightown and hall road shores, causing the erosion at these points. great credit is due to the conservators, the mersey docks and harbour board, and to captain mace, r.n., for the care and wisdom with which they have watched over the approaches to our port, and to the successful way they have handled our "riddle of the sands." liverpool: lee and nightingale, printers, , north john street . * * * * * * transcriber's note: archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed. minor punctuation errors have been corrected. hyphenation has been made consistent. the title page shows a publication date of mimxx. this appears to be a typographical error for mcmxx and has been corrected. the following changes have been made: page --section title moved to follow italicised note. page --pervailing amended to prevailing--... old-fashioned system of cartage still prevailing. the frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page. other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph. =by e. boyd smith= the early life of mr. man. illustrated in color. the story of noah's ark. illustrated in color. the story of pocahontas and captain john smith. illustrated in color. the railroad book. illustrated in color. the seashore book. illustrated in color. the farm book. illustrated in color. books specially illustrated in color by e. boyd smith ivanhoe. by sir walter scott. two years before the mast. by richard henry dana, jr. robinson crusoe. by daniel defoe. houghton mifflin company boston and new york the seashore book bob and betty's summer with captain hawes story and pictures by e. boyd smith houghton mifflin company boston and new york [illustration] copyright, , by e. boyd smith all rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form _published september _ the riverside press cambridge massachusetts printed in the u. s. a. the seashore book [illustration] the first row now i will tell you how bob and betty spent the summer at the seashore with captain ben hawes. captain hawes was an old sailor. after forty years' service on the high seas he had settled down ashore at quohaug. [illustration] bluff and hearty, and with no end of sea yarns and stories of strange adventures, and of foreign ports and peoples, he was more interesting to the children than the most fascinating fairy book. his home was a little museum of odds and ends brought from different far-away lands, with everything arranged in shipshape order. the big green parrot, who could call "ship ahoy!" "all aboard!" delighted the boy and girl. and the seashells, which gave the murmuring echo of the ocean when you put them to your ear. and the curiosities of strange sorts and shapes, from outlandish countries. as their first day was fine and the bay smooth, captain hawes took the children out for a row in his "sharpey." how delightful it was, skimming so easily over the shining water. the shore, the docks, and the vessels at the wharves were all so interesting from this view. [illustration] he told them all about the different craft they passed, the fishermen, the coal barges, the tramp steamers, how they sailed and where they went to, and now, finding them such good listeners, for the captain liked to tell about ships and the sea, he launched forth into a general history of things connected with sea life, from the first men, long, long ago, who began poling about on rafts, to the coracle, and the dugout. the dugouts were canoes hollowed out of tree trunks. "down in the south seas the savages still make them; i've seen them many a time," he explained; "and of course you've heard of our indians' birchbark canoes." by and by the use of sails had developed, and boats and ships grew bigger, and now the day of the steamboat had come. "now, i want you to know all about boats and ships," he added; "i'll take you to the yards to-morrow, if it's fine, and show you how they make them, so that when you go back home, where they don't know much about such things, you can just tell them." [illustration] the shipyard the next day captain ben, true to his promise, took the children around to stewart's boat shop where a fishing-boat was being built, and showed them just how the frame was made, the keel, the ribs, the stem, and sternpost, and how the planking was laid on. how everything was made as stiff and strong as possible so that the boat could stand the strain of being tossed about by heavy seas. bob followed it all with enthusiasm, for he was fond of carpentering and working with tools. he made up his mind that he would build a boat some day. and now the captain, having made everything clear with this small example which they could readily understand, proposed a visit to the shipyard, where a real life-sized ship was being built. here they found a busy gang of men hard at work, some with "broad axes" cutting down the planks to a line, "scoring" and "beating off"; others with "adzes" "dubbing," and even whipsawyers ripping logs. [illustration] on stagings about the great ship, which towered up as high as a house, more men were at work planking. the planks, hot from the steam boxes, carried up the "brow" staging on men's shoulders, to be clamped into place and bolted fast. [illustration] and how big it all was! this made the children open their eyes in wonder. they had already seen such vessels in the water, but had never appreciated how huge the hulls were, almost like a block of houses, or so it seemed to them. captain hawes then showed them how this great ship was built on the same principle as the small boat they had just seen. and now if the children didn't really understand everything it wasn't the captain's fault; the subject was rather a big one for beginners. but it was a great sight, and it wasn't everybody who had seen a ship being built, they knew that. on the way home they rowed past sloops with a strange contrivance out on the end of the bowsprit; this captain hawes said was called a "pulpit." these boats went sword-fishing, and in the pulpit a man was stationed with lance in hand, while aloft in the rigging a "lookout" sighted the fish. when the boat was near enough, the man with the lance stood ready, and speared the fish as it passed. he promised to show them these big fish the next time a catch was brought in. [illustration] digging clams though there were so many interesting things to see and learn by the seashore, it was also an ideal place for play, and just now it seemed to our boy and girl as though nothing else could compare with it. clam-digging was such sport. captain hawes took them down at low tide to the soft mud and showed them how to dig the clams. and then the fun of roasting them in the driftwood fire, and the picnic clam-bakes, with the delicious chowder! it was here the children met a future playmate, patsey quinn. captain hawes jokingly called him a little water-rat, for patsey had been brought up along the shore and knew all about things. he proved to be a most valuable companion to bob and betty, and the captain could trust him to look after them, for of course he knew just what was safe and what wasn't. [illustration] [illustration] he took them on many expeditions along the beach, knew just where the best clams and mussels were to be found, and where the crabs lived, and how to catch them. wading among the seaweed-covered rocks they had lively times, occasionally getting their toes or fingers nipped, for crabs object to being caught. patsey taught his new friends how to fish, though they never got to be as good fishermen as he was. they seemed to catch more sculpins than anything else, and though sculpins were wonderful looking creatures they were not, patsey explained, very good eating; flounders and eels were better. but betty was afraid of eels. they squirmed so. the seaweeds and shells interested the children, and the many-colored pebbles, so nice and round, from being rolled by the sea, patsey knowingly explained. he showed them how to throw flat stones along the surface of the water, until they, too, could make them skip a number of times before sinking. there was no end to the variety of amusements; every day seemed to bring forth new ones, and the sunburned, healthy children enjoyed it all to the full. [illustration] the sail loft nights, especially dark nights, the children watched with unfailing interest the great flash-light from the lighthouse out on the point. captain hawes had explained the uses of lighthouses, how they showed the way to ships at night, like signs on street corners or crossroads, and also warned them to keep away from the rocks. one day he rowed them out, and the light-keeper took them up in the tower and proudly showed them the powerful lamp with its complicated reflectors, and explained it all. betty admired the bright, shining appearance of things, and was surprised to learn that the man himself looked after all this: she had thought that only a housekeeper could keep up such a polish. [illustration] another time captain hawes took the children to barry's sail loft, where the sails for the new ship were being made. he had already told them something about sailmaking, but knew they would understand better by seeing the real things. the sail loft, like everything connected with ships, proved interesting,--the broad clean floor, the men on their low benches sewing the seams of the heavy canvas, forcing the needles through with the stout leather "palms," instead of thimbles. and all their neat tools, the "heavers," "stickers," "fids," "grummet stamps," and such odd-named things. [illustration] on the wall in one corner of the loft was a varied collection of bright "clew irons" and "rings," "thimbles" and "cringles," which aroused the children's curiosity. these, it was explained, were to be sewed into the corners of the sails to hold the ropes for rigging. here and there compact, heavy rolls of canvas, sails completed, were lying by, ready to be taken away and rigged to the tall masts and broad yards of the ship; sails which later would look so light and graceful when carrying the ship along. the summer days were passing quickly to the children, and captain hawes insisted that they must hurry and learn to swim, and with patsey's help they were at it daily. after the first cautious wadings and splashing they enjoyed it immensely, and before the summer was really over they had learned to keep their heads above water: not to swim far, that would come with time and greater strength, but they had made a beginning, and felt justly proud of the accomplishment. [illustration] the log boom the two children, under the captain's instruction, learned to row, after a fashion, though the oars of the sharpey were rather heavy for them, and sometimes would catch in the water with disconcerting results. the captain called it "catching a crab." but it was all great fun, in spite of this. often captain hawes took them sailing in his catboat, the mary ann, and one day ran up close to the log "boom" which belonged to the shipyard, and showed them where the lumber came from, for the building of the ship. he explained how it had been cut far up in the back forests and rafted down the rivers to the sea. the great raft was now held in place by a frame of logs outside the others fastened together with "dogs" and chains. here the children saw the men picking out the special logs they needed, and doing various stunts, paddling and balancing with boathooks. some would even paddle off to the shipyard on a log, balancing much like a tight-rope walker. but once in a while accidents would happen, and they would get more than wet feet, to the great glee of their comrades. [illustration] [illustration] when the logs reached the shipyard they were sawed into planks by the "whipsawyers," or the machine saws, cut into shape, as they had already seen, by axes and adzes, and fitted to their places in the building of the ship. you may be sure the children had to try this game of logging, and they built themselves a raft, of loose boards lying along the beach, and while betty was the passenger bob vigorously poled his raft about in the shallows. patsey quinn, more ambitious, and used to frequent wettings, boldly imitated the log-men in their balancing feats, not without coming to grief occasionally, though it worried him but little; being in the water to him was much the same as being out of it. these were busy, happy days for the children; there was always plenty to see or do. patsey was curious to know about the things of the city, but bob and betty felt perfectly sure, at least just now, that the seashore was a much more interesting place. [illustration] the launching the children were always hearing about lobster fishing, for that was an important industry at quohaug, so captain hawes took them out in his boat to see the fishermen at work hauling in their traps. the fishing-beds were dotted with little buoys, each fisherman having his own, with his private mark. to each buoy a trap was attached by a long line. down on the bottom the lobsters would crawl into the traps after the bait, and then could not get out. but bob and betty were disappointed to find these lobsters as they came out of the water a dull green instead of the beautiful bright red they expected. captain hawes explained that they would come out red after they were boiled. to-day was the day set for the launching of one of the new ships the children had seen almost finished in the shipyard on their first visit. high tide was the time set, and the whole village turned out to see the event. captain hawes had told them that they would soon see the ship floating out in the bay; but this was hard to believe; how would it be possible to move that big mass? "just you wait and you'll see," the captain assured them. [illustration] [illustration] at the yard everybody was eager and excited. captain hawes put the children up on a tall wooden "horse" where they could get a good view. the ship, all decked with gay, fluttering flags, had been wedged into her "cradle." the ways down which she was to slide were well greased, and the builder was waiting for the tide to be at its highest. at last the moment had come. the signal was given. busy workmen with sledges, under the ship struck blow on blow, setting up the lifting wedges, and knocking away the few remaining props; then scampered back out of danger. slowly at first, the great ship "came to life," then began to move. slowly but steadily gaining speed, she began to slide down the ways. fast and faster, gaining momentum, she rushed, as though really alive, gracefully sliding, into the sea. then sped far out into the deep water, where she floated on an even keel. from being a mass of planks and beams she now seemed to be a great living creature, and the lookers-on cheered her and waved their hats, as she proudly took her place on the sea, where she would pass the rest of her life. bob and betty were so impressed that even the yacht race they saw that afternoon, though a fine sight, seemed tame after the launching. [illustration] the wreck to the children the restless sea with its many changes was a new sight. one day it would be flat and calm and shiny, like a big mirror. again quickly changing with a breeze to blues of various shades. again it would be broken with white-caps and spray, as the wind grew stronger. and it was so big! and captain hawes assured them that it was even bigger than it looked, telling them that if they went away out there to the distant edge by the sky, they would still see another just as far off, and so on for many, many days before they would get to the other side of the ocean. when the winds blew high and the waves dashed against the rocks and tossed up the white spray, he would take them down to the beach to watch the storm, and see the surf roll in. of course this was a time for rubber boots, "oilskins," and "sou'westers," such as the seafaring people wear. [illustration] one day during a gale, a "nor'easter," when they could hardly stand alone, they saw a schooner wrecked out on the rocks. everybody on shore was greatly excited. and the life-boat with its hardy crew put off to the rescue of the sailors, who could be seen clinging to the rigging, waiting for help. they were all saved, but the vessel was lost, and dashed high up against the rocks. [illustration] a few days later, when the storm had passed and the sea became calm again, captain hawes rowed the children out to the rocky point to see the wreck. here the stranded schooner lay firmly wedged among the rocks. her masts were gone, her back was broken, and her bow splintered in pieces, rigging and tatters of sails hung about in confusion. and the good craft, which such a short time before had been sailing so proudly, was now but a worthless hulk. such was often the end of a good many stout vessels, the captain told the children; this was the chance of the sea. and then, once started, he told them long and thrilling tales of his different voyages and adventures, and the wrecks he had known, and been in. [illustration] the riggers this life by the sea made an endless appeal to the children's imagination, and offered a never-failing amount of wonderful things to see and learn about. "now," said captain hawes one day, "we'll go over to the wharf and see the riggers fitting up the new ship we saw launched." you may be sure the children were willing. captain hawes, who knew everybody and was welcome everywhere, took them on board and showed them everything, from the bow to the stern. and all about the ship was so neat and well made it was a constant marvel to the children. high up in the rigging men were swarming, "reeving" on "stays" and "shrouds," and no end of "running" rigging, doing the most wonderful circus stunts in the most matter-of-fact way, far up on dizzy heights. the children fairly held their breath to watch them. [illustration] out on the yards sailors were "bending on" the new sails, the sails bob and betty had seen being made at the sail loft. the whole work seemed to them a wonderful confusion of lines and ropes and pulleys and tackle. captain hawes tried to explain what each rope meant and how it was used. but there were too many; it was all too confusing. each rope, he told them, had its own name; every sailor had to know them to be able to do his work. [illustration] the riggers built trim little rope ladders from the rail to the crosstrees by lashing small "ratlines" to the heavy "shrouds." the "stays" and "shrouds," of course, were to hold the great masts in place. the children wondered at it all, but didn't pretend to understand it, though bob was especially interested, for climbing he understood, and such climbing was far ahead of anything the biggest boy in his school could do. they delighted in the cook's kitchen, the "galley." such a compact, neat little room, where the most ingenious shelves and lockers were arranged, in which to hold everything needed in the way of dishes and pots and pans. the stove was chained down solidly so that no storm might upset it and cause fire, the cook explained. to betty, the "galley" was the most interesting thing about the ship; it pleased her housekeeping instincts, though it did seem strange to see a sailor cook. [illustration] whaling the city children never wearied of captain hawes's stories of his voyages, and the captain, with such good listeners, never wearied telling of them,--a perfect combination. he told of how when a young man he used to go whaling. "of course you know what whales are, big sea animals, you couldn't call them fish, often sixty or seventy feet long, 'as long as a big house,' huge creatures who lived in the northern or southern seas, though once in a while a stray one had been known to come into the sound, not far from here." now the children were really excited. "oh, if only one should happen to come this summer!" the captain said that would be just a chance; it was hardly a thing you could count on. [illustration] when the ship reached the far-away seas where whales were to be found, "lookouts" were stationed aloft at the masthead to watch for them. when one was sighted the lookout shouted, "there she blows"; for the whales have a habit of blowing up spray when they come to the surface to breathe, then the boats were lowered and away the sailors went after the whale. when they came up with him they rowed as close as they dared, and the harpooner in the bow of the boat hurled his harpoon into the big creature's side. [illustration] the whale at once made a great commotion, slashing about and beating up the water, then diving deep down. the sailors "paid out" the rope attached to the harpoon as the whale went down. sometimes they had to cut it to keep from being dragged under. but when this didn't happen the whale would come up after a while and start away dragging the boat along at a terrific speed. in time he would get tired and the boat would again be rowed near, and a lance thrust into his side until he was quite dead. it was all exciting and dangerous work, for sometimes the whale would attack the boat and splinter it to pieces with a blow of his tail, and the men, often badly hurt, be thrown into the sea, and sometimes lost. the dead whale was towed off to the ship, here he was moored to the side, and the body cut up. the great pieces of fat blubber "tried out," that is, melted in pots over the fire on the deck, and the oil run off into barrels and stowed away in the hold. [illustration] loading the ship captain hawes made the children a little toy schooner which they sailed in the coves along the beach. he showed them just how to "trim" the sails and set the rudder, so that the boat would "tack" and sail against the wind, "on the wind," he called it. about this time they heard that the new ship, now all rigged and with all sails in place, had been taken to the neighboring port and was taking on her cargo for a long voyage. as they wanted to see the ship again, the captain took them on this little journey to see the work being done at the docks. loading a ship is always a strenuous and hurly-burly affair, with much bustle, shouting, hauling, pushing, and pulling. the children, under patsey's lead, found a good point of vantage on top of some boxes, and watched the work. [illustration] busy "stevedores," who had charge, were hurrying the "longshoremen," who rolled barrels, and carried bags up the gangplank into the ship, to be snugly stowed away between decks. bales and boxes were being hoisted over the rail, to be lowered through the hatches into the hold. the donkey engine buzzed, the mate shouted orders, and everything, to the children, seemed confusion, but it was orderly confusion, for the work was rapidly going ahead. the great quantity of goods which went aboard astonished bob and betty; they had never seen so many boxes, barrels, bales, and bags before. and yet this was only the beginning, for the captain told them that even at this rate it would still take many days to load the ship. [illustration] when the first of the cargo went aboard, the vessel sat high out of the water, but when all should be in and stowed safely away, she would settle deep down to her "water line." this was where the green and black paint met. all this had been planned before she was built, captain hawes explained; the ship designer knew just how she should sit in the water when loaded; there was no guesswork about it. the ship was to go on an eastern voyage. he had often been out there, away off in the china seas, where strange craft came about you: junks with their odd, high sails, their yellow sailors with "pigtails" down their backs, everything so different from our part of the world. [illustration] burned at sea in the evenings, as captain hawes sat smoking his pipe, he would tell the children of strange lands he had visited in his voyages, and then suggest that they look up these places in their geographies, and this study, which before was a task, took on a new interest for bob and betty. china and greenland now meant so much more. telling about iceland and greenland, he said that up there in those parts, where almost everything that wasn't snow was ice, certain animals lived which couldn't be found anywhere else, like the big white polar bear, and the walrus. "why, we know a polar bear," betty broke in. why, of course, he was an old acquaintance. they had often seen him in central park. "well, now, that's good," said the captain; "now you'll remember where he came from. i've been up his way more than once." often whalers chased the "right" whale away up there; dangerous seas to work in, as icebergs were plenty and the risk of striking them in the fog was great. [illustration] [illustration] but the thing which sailors dreaded most was fire at sea. this seldom happened, but when it did it was bad. once his ship was burned at night among the icebergs. there was nothing to do but take to the boats and escape to shore, which luckily was near. they lost everything but the clothes they wore, and a small amount of provisions. and there, while they looked on, the ship went up in a sheet of flame, and that was the last of her. the captain said they felt pretty blue and lonely out there far away from the rest of the world, with no means to get away but the small boats. fortunately they soon managed to reach an eskimo village. these eskimos are the natives who live there always, short people, dressed all in heavy, warm furs, who build themselves snow houses, where in the coldest weather they keep comfortably warm. they live by hunting and fishing. they spear seals from their skin canoes,--"kayaks,"--and fish through holes in the ice. these are the people you hear the explorers tell about when they go on expeditions to the north pole. captain hawes thought they were the strangest people he had ever met. as whalers often put in up in these parts, the captain and his mates did not have too hard a time, and were picked up by a passing ship and brought home. [illustration] the ship sails away summer was passing quickly now, and it would soon be time for the "long vacation" to come to an end. before they had to go the sachem--that was the name of the new ship--was ready to put to sea. the children had admired her "figure-head," an indian chief, gilded and painted in bright colors. the ship had taken on her whole cargo, the hatches were closed, and everything made tight and taut for her long voyage. she was bound for the far east, the captain told them. first she would touch at some south american ports, then go across the ocean to africa, stopping at cape town, and other less important ports, then around the cape and up the indian ocean to india; then to china and japan. with the goods she had taken aboard she would trade with the different ports, either selling or exchanging what she had for the things made or raised in those far-away countries, which she would bring back home to sell in our markets. this was the way, captain hawes explained, that we got many good things that we couldn't raise in our own country. [illustration] the day the ship sailed, everybody turned out to wish her a good voyage. [illustration] with all sails set she was a beautiful sight; a gentle land breeze filled her sails and slowly and gracefully she drew away, headed for the open sea. the steamers and the tugs in the bay whistled salutes. captain hawes, with a sigh, told the children that probably that was the last square-rigged ship they were likely to see leaving this port, as the old-style ship was now almost a thing of the past. the "fore-and-aft" rig was more practical and generally used where sailing vessels were still employed. but even they were all giving way before steam. nowadays steamers, freighters, did nearly all the carrying trade. they watched the ship till far, far away, as the sun was setting, she showed as a small black spot on the horizon. and now it was time to leave quohaug, for this summer vacation was ended. at home again they were just in time to see the review of the country's war fleet on the hudson. this was the latest development of sea power, great, massive steel vessels, with no sails, driven by steam. they were grandly impressive, but just wait till you hear bob and betty tell of quohaug and then you will know what ships with sails mean. [illustration] [illustration] [illustration: cover art] the second mate by h. bedford-jones garden city new york garden city publishing co., inc. copyright, , by doubleday, page & company all rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the scandinavian printed in the united states at the country life press, garden city, n. y. _first edition_ the second mate i the _sulu queen_ was steaming south at an eight-knot clip, which for her was exceedingly good, bound for macassar, singapore and way ports, according to the dispensation of providence. her tail shaft was likely to go at any minute; she had an erratic list to starboard; her pumps could barely keep down the water that seeped through her loose plates; but she was going. just to be going was an achievement for the _sulu queen_. she was certain not to be going for very long. her macaense--or portuguese eurasian--skipper was enjoying an opium dream in his cabin. her chief engineer, a one-eyed cyclops who had long since buried his glasgow accent under a maze of tropic profanity, was dead drunk. her black gang was composed of macao coolies. her men forward were lascars, under a mild-eyed malay serang who was an escaped murderer from bilibid prison. her two quartermasters were chinese, and efficient. her supercargo was a straits chinese comprador, a singapore man. her mate was a hulking dutchman, rotten with gin alow and aloft. her second mate was jim barnes, for whose labor all these others drew pay. she carried nine passengers. abdullah, an arab merchant, was going home to macassar, taking with him his first wife and five offspring. how the slave of god, as his name bore witness, ever got to canton with so many, was a mystery; what had become of the other three lawful wives, not to mention the unlawful ones, was a greater mystery. the other two passengers were nora sayers and ellen maggs. they were missionaries of some kind in china, had been ordered to voyage for their health, and as their funds were low, had taken the _sulu queen_. jim barnes had been too busy to ask questions. he would have welcomed them on the bridge, except that the dutchman and the chief were both up there, nearly naked and rather soused. they had been there in that condition since leaving cantop. when he explained the matter to them, ellen maggs blushed faintly, and nora sayers was quite willing to come along anyhow; but ellen prevailed. at two bells in the morning watch, jim barnes heaved a huge sigh of relief and left the bridge, which he had perforce held since before midnight. the islands were past; simonor was dropping astern into the horizon and ahead was the open celebes sea and a clear course for macassar. by some miracle the coral reefs had been evaded. jim barnes sought the galley and obtained some tea from the yellow cook. he gulped it down and then started for his own cabin, meaning to get some sleep. the quartermaster of his watch had the bridge and a fair course. then, at the door af his stateroom, he paused with a sudden oath. the course was south by a quarter east; to his amazement, barnes discovered that the ship was swinging around until the sun was almost astern. with another oath of weary, wondering disgust, he started for the ladder. as he touched it, he heard his name spoken, and glanced around. the other quartermaster, li fu by name, was gliding toward him, and the yellow face was gleaming with inward excitement. "what is it?" demanded barnes. "maste', you watch out velly sha'p!" exclaimed li fu, low-voiced, tense. "bad piecee bobbery kick up, mebbeso two bells this afte'noon! i think mebbeso all hands talkee-talkee make fo' mutiny. cap'n he say fo' tell you come see him." "you tell the skipper to go to hell," said barnes. "opium crazy, that's what he is. mutiny. good gosh, we've nothing to mutiny for!" "cap'n he say head in fo' sesajap," persisted the chinaman. jim barnes groaned. "head in for sesajap, eh? heading in for borneo--the skipper changed the course, did he? that why we're turning?" li fu nodded, beady eyes alert. "well, i've no time now to palaver with that cursed eurasian topside," said barnes bluntly. "you tell him to take the bridge or chase vanderhoof up there--i'm done. savvy? i'm going to sleep. let everybody mutiny and be damned. i'm the only seaman aboard this cursed packet anyhow. i'm tired o' doing ten men's work. trouble coming this afternoon, is it? then let afternoon take care of itself. i'll be ready to take the deck after this watch is over--noon. and, listen! tell the cap'n that if he don't shoot the sun and verify his position after this running around, he'll land us all in hell. you savvy that? then tell him from me. and if he wants to run us into borneo, let him do it!" li fu grinned delightedly and stated that he savvied plenty. he, like any efficient seaman, had no use for the other officers and regarded jim barnes as a little tin god. jim barnes went into his cabin, locked the door, stuck a chair under the knob, and then dropped on his bunk, dead to the world. down in the engine-room, where the heat had sent the chief into a drunken stupor, the malay serang conferred with the two assistant engineers. they were both men of color, being macaense like the skipper, but not, like him, owning a large share in the _sulu queen_. filling his mouth with betel paste, expectorating a scarlet stream across the floor under the ladder, the serang spoke as he squatted there with the two engineers. "the supercargo, lim tock, is a very clever man. he has arranged everything into shares; there will be one hundred shares made of everything. fifty of these will be divided among the men, the other fifty among us, the officers." "good," assented the second engineer. "how many are in it, gajah?" gajah, the serang, spat again, and his soft eyes glowed luminously. "all the men, here and above. the wireless man, the two quartermasters, _tuan_ barnes, and the cap'n must be killed. _tuan_ vanderhoof will navigate the ship. he is a great coward, and after his feet are burned he will be glad to serve us. this chief engineer must be killed, too. six altogether. you will attend to this chief." the two eurasians looked at each other, then at the supinely snoring figure of the chief. they grinned and nodded. the chief would be drunk again after tiffin. "you are sure of the men?" asked the third. "of course," said gajah. "lim tock shipped them carefully at canton, and my own men are picked for the purpose." "why has the course been changed?" demanded the second engineer. "because i whispered into the ear of the cap'n," said gajah, with a meditative smile. "i told him that i knew a chief at one of the islands in the mouth of the sesajap river, who had a great deal of gold dust, many birds' nests, and some fine pearls and shell. the _tuan_ cap'n is very greedy. he changed the course immediately." "is there such a man?" asked the third. gajah grinned in derision. "why not? once i knew such a man at sibuko, which is not far away. he was the second cousin of my elder brother's third wife, and he was very rich. i went to visit him, and induced his youngest wife to run away with me. but she forgot to bring the pearls with her, being in love with me, and so i slew her. that happened in manila, and they put me into prison because of it. the white _tuans_ did not understand." "well, when is this to take place?" asked the second engineer nervously. "at the striking of two bells in the next watch." "it shall be done. who is to command, after that?" "the supercargo, lim tock," answered the serang. "he is very clever. a friend of his, also a member of the lim family, is to meet us near bunju island with a junk of which he is cap'n. since the arrangement is all lim tock's, he deserves to command. it was he who got the opium put aboard at macao." "one thing," put in the third, his dark and muddy eyes gleaming. "the two white women! surely they are not to be killed?" "one does not waste the gifts of allah," said gajah sententiously. "the one with yellow hair goes to me; the other, who blushes often and whose figure is that of the willow, will comfort lim tock for the loss of his eldest son, who was hanged by the english last month for killing a white _tuan_. after a little while we shall sell them to chiefs along the coast, and so be rid of them. _wallah_! it is hot down here." he arose, knotted his fine silk _sarong_ more closely about his waist, loosened his shagreen-hilted kris in its sheath, and departed. they two engineers looked at each other, and a slow smile passed between them. "she of the yellow hair," said the third reflectively, "is tall and strong, of high spirit, and a fitting mate for me, whose veins run with the proud blood of the da soussas!" "and she of the lissome body," said the second engineer, rubbing his bristly chin, "has ere now smiled very sweetly upon me. it is not proper that yellow and brown island scum should have precedence before us, men descended from the conquistadors!" "i agree with you," responded the other. "but what are we to do?" "first secure the ship," said the second promptly. "then secure--what we want." "good!" agreed the third engineer with emphasis. "let us consider the matter." meantime, in the chart-house li fu had delivered the second mate's message to the befuddled skipper, who sat dreamily over his charts. the message was literally delivered, but it could not stir the captain into action. he was lost in the reverie of contemplation that comes of good opium; not actual dreams, as some think, but a complacent sweetishness in the mind that shoves aside all immediate problems and refuses to take a crisis seriously. the captain, indeed, was a lost soul. usually your opium-eater cannot smoke the drug at all, and the smoker cannot attain nirvana by eating it. this macaense, however, both ate and smoked, thereby letting damnation into himself by two channels. he was a thin, pasty man, once of powerful physique, but now rather rickety on his pins. "one hundred and seventy miles to the mouth of the sesajap," he murmured. "we shall reach it at five o'clock tomorrow morning." he gave over thinking and plucked vacuously at his thin mustaches. "providing the engines hold," added li fu, who spoke better portuguese than english. "if the night is clear, there will be a new moon. we should sight the coast by midnight." "the engines!" repeated the skipper. "where is the chief? he was here an hour ago." "he went below, sir. the mate woke up and went into the wheel-house." "bring him here, li fu." the quartermaster went out of the chart-house, presently to return alone. "he is asleep, sir. we cannot wake him." "drunk, eh? never mind, never mind. i will take the observation myself at noon-- "and at two bells, sir," reminded li fu cautiously. "oh, you are a fool, quartermaster! these men will not mutiny. there is no reason for it. you are not used to lascars and must not be a fool. i shall go to rest and make ready my instruments. the course is to be held as it is." the captain rose and, with a sigh of relief that no more duty presented itself, made his way back to his cabin. li fu studied the outspread chart and lighted a cigarette. after a while, the other quartermaster left the wheel lashed and came into the chart-house, also lighting a cigarette. the two men greeted each other quietly. like li fu, quartermaster hi john was a stalwart, efficient seaman, calm and well poised. he addressed li fu in the cantonese dialect. "you told him, li?" "i told him," said li fu. "he went to sleep. he was very weary." "did you find out why the captain changed the course?" "no. he thinks more about his _hap toi_ than about what i ask him. i woke up the chief and told him, but he was too drunk to understand. he asked if there was no help for the widow's son, and went to sleep again. his mind is gone." "the second mate will fight," said hi john thoughtfully. "if he is not slain before he gets a chance." "there remains the wireless officer." "true. he remains." the two men looked at each other and smiled mirthlessly. the wireless man was the privileged son of a macaense, chief owner of the _sulu queen_. cumshaw had obtained his berth; he did not know one end of the wireless from another, as the quartermasters had learned when jim barnes cursed him for an idiotic fool. he was no better than an idiot; he was, indeed, some degrees worse, since the diseased degeneracy of asia was his heritage. "then you and i are alone," said hi john. "we are alone. what answer shall we make to lim tock when the time comes?" hi john extinguished his cigarette. "duty is a shining star, li fu. i have a revolver in my bag." "i have one also," said li fu. "yet i do not want to swallow gold." "nor i; this life is good." hi john lighted another cigarette. "still, consider duty! lim tock is a terrible man. it was he who sank the dutch steamer last year, before his son was hung. his son helped him. they each got two dutch women and much money. if we do not join him, li, i think that we shall both swallow gold." "yes. then you join him." "oh, no." hi john's singsong tones were soft. "oh, no! i did not mean that." li fu looked slightly ironic. "you think this ship worth dying for? or those white women beautiful enough to die for?" "not at all," said hi john. "the ship is a rotten hulk. the women are ugly and pale as ghosts. i care nothing what becomes of either. at the same time, i revere the wisdom of my paternal parent, who was also an officer in a ship. before he swallowed gold, he asked me to take an oath, that i would never swerve from my duty. therefore i cannot well join lim tock, since i undertook a certain duty aboard this ship." "that is true," said li fu. "i have no oath to restrain me, but my duty needs no oath. therefore i agree with you fully. i shall get my revolver, and also yours, while you are on the bridge; i have had it two rice-years, but it is a good one." "very well," said hi john. "give me mine when you have the opportunity." while these two men talked on the bridge-deck, lim tock, the super-cargo, walked aft on the main-deck, past the dingy passenger-cabins where the brood of abdullah swarmed about the two "missionary ladies." lim tock was an elderly straits chinaman, with a short, gray mustache, a drawn, parchment face, and two bright and glittering gray eyes--a most amazing pair of eyes to be staring from a saffron face! yet some chinese are gray-eyed. in the stern, he came upon abdullah, the arab merchant, who was reading a koran. the arab looked up, smiled slightly, and spoke in the low malay which most men use in the island seas. this slave of god was a thin and deadly looking person, fierce with his hook nose and jutting shreds of beard and jetty eyes. "all is arranged?" "it is arranged," said lim tock. "you agree to take the white women off our hands?" "yes; and to ask no other share of the rewards." lim tock inclined his head and passed on around to the starboard passage. there he came upon gajah, the serang, busy doing nothing. to him lim tock spoke in high malay, a tongue which very few men know or understand, even in the island seas. "abdullah suspects nothing. his boxes will be rich plunder. let him be the first to fall, and his children after him--a clean sweep." "and the woman, his wife?" asked the lascar serang. "she has borne many and is past pleasing. let her accompany abdullah." the serang nodded indifferently and lim tock went his way. while men thus talked and schemed and counseled together alow and aloft, jim barnes slept. ii nora sayers was tall and active, with brilliant yellow hair and very deep violet eyes; a young woman of great energy, who had seen too much bloodshed in the revolutionary fighting around pekin, and who had turned her mission station into a hospital of tortured men. ellen maggs, smaller, very slender and frail in looks, was newer to china, but she, too, had seen so many horrors that the powers above had thought best to send both women away on a sea voyage in company. ellen maggs, however, had more steel beneath her quiet and old-fashioned exterior than men imagined possible. when they entered the mess saloon at eight bells, noon, they were not surprised to find themselves alone. they had by this time grown used to the peculiar conditions prevailing aboard the _sulu queen_. the chief had a lurking sense of shame that kept him from their presence. the captain had the bridge. the wireless officer came in, bowed very effusively, and seated himself. he could speak no english, and listened staringly to the laughter and light chatter of the two women. abdullah and his family ate by themselves. presently jim barnes entered, bathed and shaven and with his usual air of radiating high good-humor. almost at the same moment came vanderhoof, eyes bloodshot, walk unsteady, to seat himself with a grunt and absorb quantities of coffee and rice-curry. he gave barnes a scowling regard across the table. "der cap'n say for you to take der pridge," he growled. "not me," said barnes pleasantly. "now that we've open sea ahead, you and he can do a little work, van. everything's galley-west aboard this hooker, and the watches might as well go with the rest." the yellow steward set an open gin-bottle beside the mate, who poured a tumbler full, then glared at barnes. "by chiminy," he said, "d'you refuse to opey orders, huh?" "you bet i do," said jim barnes, his eyes twinkling. "and if you know what's good for your health, van, you'll sober up before you try to give me any. savvy that?" despite the cheerful accent, something in the steady and level regard of the second mate caused vanderhoof to drink down his gin without making any response. when he had emptied the bottle, he shoved back his chair and left the cabin. "well, ladies," said barnes, "how do you find yourselves this morning? rather warm last night. did your fan work all right?" "quite, thanks," and nora sayers smiled. "aren't you just a trifle independent with your superior officers, mr. barnes? i thought all sailors were very polite----" barnes grinned. "oh, me and van? don't pay any attention to that, miss sayers. he was just trying to show his authority in front of you and miss maggs." "oh!" nora sayers laughed. "isn't it mutiny to refuse to obey orders?" "not aboard this packet. the skipper has been hitting the pipe all morning and now he's got us headed slap for borneo. lord knows why; i don't." ellen maggs smiled shyly. "you're the most happily irresponsible person i ever met, mr. barnes," she said. "and so is this ship. every voyage in her must be a delightful adventure, if it's like this one! have you been with her long?" "this is my first and last," said barnes drily. "you can't say that you've enjoyed yourselves so far, can you?" "i have, every minute of it!" exclaimed ellen maggs, an unwonted sparkle in her eyes. "and so have i," asserted nora sayers with energy. "look at the queer people we've met! this funny little man down the table, who stares and giggles----" "he's part idiot," interjected jim barnes. "but who else?" "all of them! the poor old captain, with his politeness and queer abstractions and----" "the old man's only forty," and barnes chuckled. "but the hops gets 'em early. so you like the eurasians, do you?" "i don't like them, no, but they're interesting," stated miss sayers. "and the chief engineer is queer, too, only he won't talk--==" "i was talking with him early this morning," put in ellen maggs. "he's a dear old man, nora. he was telling me all about his early life in scotland." "he always does," put in jim barnes, "when he's in the middle of a big spree. oh, don't look shocked! won't do any good. i guess you ladies are disappointed that you didn't find another queer duck in the second officer's shoes, eh? or am i queer, too?" "you're just human," declared miss sayers promptly. "only you're too busy to be very polite." "i'm going to be busier yet, right after lunch," said jim barnes. "oh, steward! get me some more of that curry." "why, what have you found now to keep you occupied?" asked ellen maggs, interested. jim barnes did not respond until the steward had left the cabin. then he spoke cheerfully, as he sugared his coffee with some care. "me? i've got to set the ship afire. as soon as they give the alarm, i want you two ladies to come up to the upper bridge-deck, and come quick! i'll be in the chart-house----" "you mean that little coop up above the bridge, with the awning?" asked nora sayers. "just that. i'll get there before they discover the blaze." the two women stared at him, then glanced at each other in perplexed wonder. "what do you mean, mr. barnes?" demanded ellen maggs, a faint touch of color in her cheeks. "are you joking about getting the ship afire?" "no," said jim barnes. his tone was unusually crisp, and the look that he gave them was keen and incisive. "no. don't let out a peep before the steward, now! a mutiny is due to start at one o'clock, and, so far as i can see, most of the officers will get wiped out at the first crack. mutiny or piracy, i'm not sure which. i've got to set the hooker afire and keep the men so blamed busy they'll have no time for murder. please pass the butter, miss maggs." his matter-of-fact manner made the two women at first doubt his words, then believe them with a frightful sense of conviction; ellen maggs stared at him from eyes that slowly widened. glancing up and meeting her gaze, jim barnes was suddenly startled by the intensity of her look, by the revealed womanhood he saw in her face; he had not dreamed that she could look so beautiful. "i'm sorry i scared you," he said, smilingly. there was an infectious quality to his smile; perhaps because of his direct blue eyes, wrinkled at the corners; perhaps because of his wide and humorous mouth and strong chin. "but the steward's coming now----" "you're in earnest?" demanded nora sayers, who had gone a little white. "quite. nobody aboard can use the wireless, unless you ladies can. any chance?" ellen maggs shook her head. "no chance," she said, and astonished jim barnes by smiling. "but i have a pistol in my suitcase----" "fine!" exclaimed barnes heartily. the steward entered with his plate of curry. "you get it. and you girls might as well buckle down to the fact that before we get through there's going to be a large slice of the lower regions laid bare aboard this hooker. is that an engagement ring you're wearing, miss sayers? pardon personalities; i'm asking for a reason." "yes." nora sayers twisted the ring on her finger. "it's----" "all right. if you ever want to add a plain gold hoop to it, you remember that there's just one man aboard who can pull you out o' this, and that's me. i don't want any interference, and i do want help. get me?" "yes!" exclaimed ellen maggs, and her eyes were shining. "just where do you want us to come, please? you spoke about the chart-house----" "come there, and i'll see you up safe to the awning deck above. a little before two bells. bring with you anything that you value very highly. we may stave off this fuss until night, in which case we'll be all right. well, cheer up and don't worry! see you later." jim barnes pushed back his chair, produced his pipe, and began to fill it as he left the mess saloon. he stood by the rail a moment, until his pipe was lighted. "i guess that was laying bare the situation with a rough and brutal hand," he said, and chuckled softly. "had to be done, though. and now i've got to step mighty carefully. most likely those assistant engineers are in on the game; they're eurasians, too, so i can't take chances. if anyone suspects that i know about things, the blow-off will come before two bells--which would spoil everything for me. but lordy! what a pippin that little maggs girl is! she's a regular guy." from his language, it might be inferred that jim barnes was an american. puffing at his pipe, he sought the engine-room. the chief blinked up at him from a huge plate of curry. a glance showed barnes that neither of the assistants were about, and he ventured an open word. "chief, wake up! mutiny is scheduled for two bells, and if you don't want your throat cut you'd better be advised----" "get oot o' ma engine-room!" ordered the chief with dignity. "ye drunken scut, can ye not bear your liquor like a man? i'll hae no drunken officers cooming doon here to be bawlin' o' mutinies in ma ear! tak' shame to yoursel', sir!" barnes compressed his lips and turned away. it was useless. the _sulu queen_, originally a well-decked tramp, had been fitted up rather shabbily to carry passengers in the island trade, the after portion of the deck-house having been added to for this purpose. carrying all the oily waste he could conceal about his person, jim barnes made his way aft to one of the unoccupied cabins. the two white passengers were not in sight. in the stern, beneath a tattered awning, abdullah sat smoking a water-pipe, his wife and family around him. "they're safe enough," observed barnes, as he ducked into the cabin he sought. "even if the old packet can't get up enough steam to check the flames, and goes down, they'll be taken care of. so, on with the dance!" the fact that he was committing various sorts of barratry and felony, did not worry jim barnes in the least. the storm season being past, the lookout or awning-deck above the pilot-house was fitted up with awning and canvas aprons and some chairs, but remained almost unused. the additional climb of a dozen feet from the chart-and pilot-house was far too much trouble for the captain and others; besides which, the place was no more than a box a dozen feet square, and was hot. a single ladder ascended to it from the bridge deck, which it overlooked completely. shortly before two bells, jim barnes welcomed ellen maggs and nora sayers, as they came up to the bridge. he was alone there, with li fu and two of the lascars in the chart-house. down in the bows, lim tock, the supercargo, was standing in talk with the steward, and both watches were idling about the deck. "how do we get upstairs?" asked ellen maggs. "right this way, ladies!" answered barnes cheerfully. "chairs up there and a couple of old magazines, as well as a breaker of water and some other things. whatever happens, don't worry--and wait for me. here you are!" as they vanished up the ladder, he re-entered the chart-house and addressed the two lascar seamen. "run, quick! one of you to the serang, the other to lim tock. say that i smell smoke, and have search made for fire. look at the bunkers, but don't take off the hatches until the last thing. if there's a fire in the forward hold, call me." a startled glance passed between the two men, and they jumped for the ladder. jim barnes turned to the quartermaster, smiling slightly. "where is hi john?" "him look velly sharp, i think." "we can depend on him?" li fu nodded. "all right, then," said barnes. "you go tell him to come up here. then take charge of those lascars and keep 'em out of the after cabins for a while, until the fire shows itself. you savvy? don't be in any hurry to put it out, either. we'll hold this thing off until night if we can." across the saffron features flitted a look of admiration, for li fu comprehended the plan instantly. then the quartermaster was gone. barnes looked at the chronometer. it lacked five minutes of one. "two bells won't be struck," he thought, as he swung the wheel. he grinned at sight of the commotion below. lim tock was yelling orders at those of the black gang whom he could see. gajah, the serang, was whistling at his lascars shrilly. then he remembered the chief engineer, and rang the bell. one of the assistants answered in the tube. "ship's on fire," said jim barnes, chuckling to himself. "stop your engines and keep up a full head o' steam for the hose." hi john appeared, gave barnes a brief nod and a grin, and took the wheel. there had never been any fire drill aboard the _sulu queen_ in the memory of man, but barnes blew the whistle nevertheless and added to the confusion. vanderhoof's bellow arose from below, followed by an outburst of yells and shouts from aft. "they've found it," said barnes. he went to the bridge rail and glanced aft. a trail of smoke and steam was veering out in the wake of the steamer. barnes listened for a little to the sounds of tumultuous confusion, then rejoined the quartermaster. "how did you and li fu know so much about this mutiny?" he demanded. "talkee-talkee," rejoined hi john curtly. "my savvy lascar talk plenty." "oh! understand malay, do you? good work. what reason have they to mutiny?" hi john had picked up a good deal of information. he knew that the rich boxes of the merchant abdullah were to be looted, and that there was a large amount of opium down below, to be transferred to a chinese junk and landed somewhere along the bornean coast. undoubtedly, the _sulu queen_ was to be stripped of everything valuable, then quietly sunk in deep water. lim tock was in it, the serang gajah was in it, and the chinese junk was in it; so were some of the officers and all the men aboard. reluctantly jim barnes became convinced that to strive against the inevitable would be useless. except for these two chinese, he could depend upon no one. had he been alone on the ship, his actions would have been simple and perhaps effectual. "i'd like to go down there and shoot the supercargo, the serang, and a few of the men, and get the old hooker into port," he said to hi john. "but the safety of those two white women is worth more than this damned old carcass of a boat. i can't risk it." hi john looked bewildered at this reasoning, which he could not understand. at this instant li fu came up the port ladder, panting, and grinned as he saluted barnes. "mutiny makee, no matter! i think they wait, same time tonight, mebbeso." "two bells evening watch?" demanded barnes. "aye, sir. cap'n say go ahead on course, he makee fire go out." barnes rang for full speed ahead, then questioned li fu. both the skipper and vanderhoof were in charge, it seemed, and were fighting the fire. vanderhoof was somewhat sobered by the danger; the captain was almost incapacitated and was acting like an old woman, according to li. the quartermaster was highly disgusted. it was the effort of the serang, whose lascars were working hard, that was putting the fire under control. presently the skipper himself appeared, he was breathing hard and was all in a tremble. he wiped his pallid brow and cursed heartily. "fire under?" asked barnes. "yes, yes, or soon will be. no matter at all. very disturbing," panted the captain. "i must obtain some rest, must verify our position. keep her as she is, sir." he looked around, nervously fingered the chart, then departed. barnes looked after him in contempt, then went to the ladder leading above. "gone for a few pipes, the swine!" he muttered, then looked up and raised his voice. "come on down, girls. mutiny's postponed until tonight. false alarm and nobody killed yet." iii "what part are you from?" asked jim barnes. "illinois," said ellen maggs. "from elgin, where they make watches. were you ever there?" "no closer than the outside of a watch," responded barnes. "but now i'm going there some day." "why?" "to see where you came from." ellen maggs laughed a little and actually forgot to blush. "do it again," said barnes. "do what?" "laugh that way. it's the prettiest thing i ever saw." ellen blushed at that, then turned as nora sayers joined them. "nora! mr. barnes comes from baltimore, too! he was born there!" "good for him!" nora sayers laughed in her hearty, energetic fashion. "perhaps you know my father there, mr. barnes--the physician, doctor sayers?" "don't know anybody there," admitted jim barnes. "i've been at sea ever since the war finished up, and before. but i'm going to settle down some day, across the bay from san francisco. ever been there, miss maggs?" "only when i came out to china." "well," said jim barnes, in his whimsical [transcriber's note: line of text missing from source book] all picked out! a fine little bungalow on one of the hills at sausalito, where you can see the ships all up and down the bay, and the campanile at berkeley clear across-- "have you got the girl picked out, too?" asked nora sayers amusedly. "well," said jim barnes, in his whimsical way, "i didn't have up to a couple of weeks ago, but lately i've sort of got my mind made up. by the way, girls, you'd better get all ready. we're going to leave the ship in an hour or two." "leave her?" they repeated as one, in dismayed accents. "how?" "you'll see. i'll take the bridge when watches are changed at eight bells--eight o'clock. you come up to the bridge a little before then, and stick around. excuse me, now; i'll have to pack a few things myself." barnes hurried away, leaving the two women at the rail. dinner was over, a meal from which all three were glad to escape, coming out on deck to find the sun gone and the afterglow staining the horizon like old church windows. a tragic affair, that dinner! the captain was ill and did not appear; vanderhoof was on deck, more drunk than usual; the second engineer quarreled with the wireless cub, who lost his head in a fit of idiotic rage and had to be taken away and locked up, screaming curses. the chief engineer was also locked in his own cabin, enjoying a spell of "the horrors." wishing vainly that he understood something about the wireless outfit, barnes sought his cabin and packed up the few belongings that he wished to take from the ship. while he was at this task, li fu knocked at the door and entered hurriedly. "hello! what news? is it set for two bells?" li fu assented. he was bursting with laughter over some joke of the cruel chinese variety, and barnes presently learned what it was. he was ordering li to warn abdullah of what was intended, with the intent to get the arab's family away safely, when the quartermaster exploded in a laugh and reported a conversation that he had overheard among some of the lascars. it appeared that abdullah was as much in the plot as anyone, and was to receive as his booty the two white women. the assistant engineers had an eye on the same prey; while lim tock and gajah, the serang, were equally concerned. to the chinese, this was a huge jest all around, for it meant that the wolves would turn and rend each other. "hell!" said jim barnes. "i hate to leave the kids here. but go ahead, now; and tell hi john to attend to the engines as soon as he goes off watch, then to get up to the bridge and stand by. have you got the boat ready?" "aye, sir," assented li fu. "plenty wate'; eve'ything leady." "on your way, then!" barnes made his way to the bridge, where hi john and two lascars were in charge, and passed behind the chart-house unremarked. vanderhoof was not in evidence. aboard the _sulu queen_ the clear night was already insufferably warm, for she was steaming with the wind. passing to the centre starboard boat, barnes found the cover loosely in place. he put in his few effects, then gave his attention to the lines. like most old ships of a past generation, the steamer was equipped with clifford's lowering gear, the most beautiful boat-gear ever devised, in theory, permitting a boat to be lowered by slacking a single line. this was the boat carried for use in emergencies. it was not stowed in chocks but was swung out and left clear, secured by gripes to a toggle which could be slipped in ah instant. "if we have luck she'll do," thought barnes, examining the lowering line. "the pendants are new line and not swelled; we ought to get down without spilling. hm! if anybody'd ever told me that i'd owe life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to this cursed ancient clifford gear, i'd have called him a liar! but wait. we're not off yet by a long shot." true enough. an automatic in either side pocket of his jacket, jim barnes took over the bridge from hi john as eight bells struck. then, dismay seized upon him. his own lack of foresight had brought on the crisis before he wanted or expected it! ellen maggs and nora sayers were on the bridge. they had brought some personal effects, each in a small grip; and from the look cast at them by the departing lascar wheelmen, barnes knew that suspicion was up. two fresh lascars came to the wheel, with li fu. disregarding these, barnes made a slight gesture to hi john, who slipped out of sight instantly on his errand below. unless the engines were disabled, barnes knew that his preparations were of no avail. he greeted the two women with his usual air of cheerful assurance, however. "all ready? fine! the two quartermasters are with us. come along, now, and climb into the boat--no time to lose, i assure you! in ten minutes this ship is going to be about the unhealthiest spot you ever heard of." he led them around the chart-house toward the boat. "but the captain!" protested nora sayers. "surely, if you know there will be some trouble, the other officers----" "nix," said barnes. "good lord, girl! haven't you seen already what sort o' swine the others are? hear that so-called wireless officer scream? he's still off his head--and couldn't send a message if he were sane. and the old man's soggy with opium. here you are! step on this water breaker, and over into her; she's solid." indeed, his words were given emphasis by the screaming of the wireless man, which had broken out anew down below. miss sayers stepped to the breaker, and barnes helped her up into the boat. then he turned, picked up ellen maggs bodily and lifted her over the edge, laughing as he did so. "got your pistol? good. sit tight, and don't scream when things bust loose. see you later." he left them hurriedly and returned to the wheel, fighting down his appalling helplessness to prevent what was going to happen. about the ship's officers he cared less than nothing; he was thinking now of the arab woman and her brown children below. abdullah might or might not protect them from the yellow fiends. the tall figure of the serang rose at the starboard ladder. one glance from li fu told barnes that this was the end. the two lascars were here to finish the quartermaster, and gajah had come to attend to the second mate. the time was at hand. barnes went to the door of the chart-house. a shot would do the business, but he wanted no shooting up here if possible. "serang!" he exclaimed crisply. "step aft. something i want to show you." that suited the malay, who loosened his kris in its sheath and followed. at the corner of the chart-house, barnes pointed across the deck, obscure in the starlight, to the boat. "what's that?" sincerely astonished, gajah peered at the boat, with the two women sitting in her. and as he stared, barnes let drive with the heavy barrel of his automatic, a full, fair blow across the skull. a grunt broke from the serang, who pitched sideways and flung out his arms. barnes caught him and lowered the bleeding form to the deck, then darted back to the chart-house. just in time, too! for all his watchful care, li fu had been taken unawares, one of the lascars gripping him in both arms, the other with kris upraised for the blow. barnes was in upon them unseen, and struck down the man with the kris. the other lascar leaped away, gained the far door of the chart-house--and ran into the arms of hi john. something happened there. steel flashed and a man gasped; the lascar slipped to the deck quietly. "you two men watch the ladders!" snapped barnes. "when you hear me call, come to the boat." revolvers out, each quartermaster took one of the ladders. barnes turned and ran aft along the deck at top speed, disregarding the low call that the two women sent after him as he passed the boat. he was listening desperately for sounds from below. they came to him, came all in a jumble that his brain sorted out mechanically. first came a jarring wrench that shook the whole ship. then the engines stopped. whatever hi john had done, the work was effective. and at the same instant the night was split by a sudden cry. "allah! allah----" then the screaming of the wireless man was cut very short. an oath of desperation on his lips, jim barnes gained the small after ladder that led to the stern of the main deck. from below him burst a storm of cries; the shriek of a woman, the staccato yells of men, and a thin, shrill wail that maddened him. he dropped to the deck below, and found himself in the midst of an inferno, clearly illumined by the deck-lights. abdullah lay across his water-pipe, stabbed in the back. nearby was his eldest child, also stabbed, and two lascars were fighting to take another child from the arms of its dying mother. barnes saw only this much, and then began to fire. he forgot everything but the horror in front of him, and only laughed when several of the lascars began to converge on him. a shot rang out from one of the forward cabins. barnes, seizing the child, thrust him up the ladder and then swung about to meet three lascars plunging at him. he shot the first and second, ducked the kris-swing of the third, then tripped the man and shot him as he fell. then he plunged for the nearest cabin, whence came screams. just what happened next is something of which jim barnes never speaks. the orders of lim tock, to make a clean sweep of abdullah's family, were being followed to the letter. barnes was in the cabin for fully a minute--which, just then, was a very long space of time. by the time he emerged, much had happened. there was a crashing and smashing from the length of the cabins as the doors were battered in. from the bridge, a spatter of revolver shots; and, from below, more shots followed by the wild scream of the old chief as he reached the deck--a scream of half rage, half agony. he died at the rail, trailing blood across the deck, in his fist a blood-spattered spanner. after him, the chinese stokers poured up to the deck and scattered for loot. jim barnes came out of the cabin, thrusting a dead lascar ahead of him. about his neck clung one of abdullah's daughters, and under his left arm was another. from the passage leaped a stoker, whom barnes shot. then, at the ladder, he urged the two little girls upward to join their brother above. a shot rang out at him, and the bullet slithered on the steel beside him. barnes paused to empty his automatics, then went up the ladder on the jump. at the top, he caught hold of the frightened children and rushed them along, shouting as he did so to the two quartermasters. they, after shooting at the forms down below on the foredeck and in the well, joined him at the boat. barnes chucked in the three children and cast off the toggle. "in with you, men, and lower away! i'll slide down the pendant. where's your pistol, ellen? hand it over--thanks. sit still, all of you! lower, li, lower! that's it----" li fu slacked the lowering line about the cleat, and the boat fell away rapidly. barely in time, too; barnes perceived a rush of figures coming from the after ladder, and opened fire. they scattered. there was a moment's breathing spell, while from fore and aft, alow and aloft, rose sing-song calls in cantonese and the harsher gutturals of the lascars. a rush was being planned from both sides. barnes caught a soft call from below, and breathed a prayer of thanks. a number of figures showed at the corner of the chart-house. he emptied his pistol at these, then turned, caught one of the pendants hitched to the davit-head, and let himself go sliding down. a burst of yells rang out from the bridge deck, but he was in the boat below ere any could reach the rail. the two quartermasters had already put out the oars, and barnes cast off the line and let the pendants unreeve as the roller whirled. the boat started away from the ship's side. "here," came a voice, and barnes felt one of his own pistols shoved into his hand. "my clip fitted your automatic and----" "good girl, ellen!" he cried out, and laughed as he fired at the rail above. a shot made answer, and a kris sang through the air to splash alongside--but the boat was clear. she drew away from the ship before the mutineers were sure just what had happened. iv "there's one good thing we can say for the _sulu queen_," observed jim barnes. "that is, she sailed under english board rules." "what has that to do with our present situation?" demanded nora sayers. "it means that we've got a sprit rig stowed aboard. in oars, men! hi john, we'll be sailing before the wind, so lash your oar to the for'ard thwart to make a boom for the fores'l. li fu, break out the canvas. get the mast stepped, then trim ship." over the waves behind, the tumult had died, and the distant lights of the _sulu queen_ showed only when the boat lifted on a crest. no pursuit had been made, nor had the searchlight been put into effect. seemingly, lim tock was making no effort to find the boat. probably the supercargo was for the present unable to get his men in hand and was also very likely to be busy getting the engines into working order. when the centreboard was let down and the boat was being trimmed, jim barnes surveyed her with acute satisfaction. she was a nearly new whaleboat, fitted with a rudder in navy style, and well found in all respects. with a grunt of delight, barnes opened the oiled silk wrapping of the matches, found the compass to be a good one, and set it by his side in the stern. in another ten minutes the sprit was up, the foresail rigged to the makeshift boom, and the whaleboat was running before the wind toward borneo. the eldest of the three children was barely six; none of them were cognizant of what had happened. after whimpering a little, they were soon asleep amidships, wrapped in the spare sail. "if you girls will come aft, you can curl up in the bottom of the boat at my feet," said barnes. "you'll be out of the wind and she'll be better trimmed. i've kept the boat well wet down since we sailed, and she's dry as a bone." the two women obeyed. nora sayers looked up at barnes. "the other children? and their mother?" barnes tried to speak, but his throat was suddenly dry. "i--damn it, girl, don't make me think of it! i did what i could. go to sleep." ellen maggs caught her breath sharply. then, after a moment, barnes felt her hand touch his, and he gripped her fingers. both women were crying, he thought; but after a little they fell quiet, lulled by the regular rise and fall of the boat, by the long forward sweep, the rush and hiss of water as she drove along on a crest, and the tilted drop into the trough only to gather impetus anew and hurl forward. the curling sweep of wind and sea, like a cleansing breath, wiped out all that was behind them and lessened the sharp memory. once barnes, looking back, saw a searchlight fingering the water; that was all. the stars blazed cold and brilliant, and the thin crescent of the new moon hung like green silver against the depths above. so passed the hours, and the boat rushed ever onward and onward under the steady sweep of wind. barnes held her on the same course the _sulu queen_ had been following, to make the bornean coast. they were far out of any steamer track, and there was no hope of being picked up unless by some chance trading schooner. dawn found them steadily bowling along. li fu had crept aft and relieved barnes of the tiller; and barnes, resting against the stern-thwart, opened his eyes to find the head of ellen maggs pillowed upon his shirt, and his arms about her shoulders. how this had come about, he had not the least idea, but made no objection to the arrangement. perhaps aroused by his awakening stir, the girl opened her eyes a moment later. nora sayers was sleeping peacefully. barnes felt ellen maggs catch her breath at sight of the ocean and sky that closed them in, then saw the color come into her cheeks. before she turned to glance at him, he closed his eyes again. she did not move, but, after realizing the situation, accepted it. above them the lean form of li fu crouched at the tiller, dark eyes sweeping the water ahead. "awake?" asked barnes after a moment. "don't move. sailing a whaleboat before the wind, even with a centreboard, is about as ticklish as canoeing. comfortable?" "very, thank you," she responded, although he could see that the color lingered in her cheeks. "when the kids wake up, we'll stretch our legs a bit and break out some grub," said barnes. she was silent for a space, then spoke quietly. "are we going anywhere? have you seen any ship, or will any see us?" "going to borneo. we'll raise the coast as soon as the sun's up. we won't see any ship unless she sees us first, however." "but i thought we might see one, and catch her attention----" jim barnes chuckled at this. "no chance! novels to the contrary, it just ain't done. a small boat has a horizon of two and a half miles. we could see another boat a mile farther. the bridge of a ship can see us fifteen miles away, and would be sure not to miss our sails. so by the time we saw a ship, she'd be bearing down to take us on board. but we'll not see any; we're way out of the steamer lane." behind the boat, all the eastern sky reddened and streamed with the dawn-shafts, and the sun sprang suddenly from the sea-rim, piercing the haze and mist of dawn with his level rays of gold. li fu bent down and touched the shoulder of barnes. the latter looked. out ahead of them a purple mass was upheaved above the horizon, running north and south. "look!" barnes pointed it out to the girl. "there's borneo. if the wind holds, we'll make the coast in a couple of hours. the wind's shifting around to the north, too. wake up, hi john! take in your boom, bring the sheet aft, and let the foresail gybe. mind your helm, li fu, as she wears----" the whaleboat came over nicely, but as she heeled the three children wakened and began to cry out. nora sayers sat up, bewildered, then quickly began to mother the little ones. hi john came aft and relieved li fu, who, with barnes, set to work breaking out the cabin stores put aboard the boat. when breakfast was somewhat precariously made an end of, barnes turned over the forward portion of the boat to the two women and their charges, bringing the quartermasters back in the stern with him. with the spare sail he contrived a low screen which afforded the women some privacy without lessening the windage of the sails. li fu curled up to sleep, but hi john, with a serious effort to improve his english, questioned barnes about their course and then delivered himself of a matter which drew barnes' immediate and earnest attention. the quartermaster had discovered that the captain had changed the course of the _sulu queen_ toward borneo by reason of something the serang gajah had said to him. further, he knew that there was much opium on the steamer, which lim tock meant to transfer to a junk which was to meet her somewhere. putting these facts together, the inference was that the _sulu queen_ was to meet the junk somewhere near the mouth of the sesajap, for which the skipper had headed her. "i don't know but what you're right, john," said barnes thoughtfully. "we might run into that junk, eh? but no great matter if we did. they'd be chinese and would leave us alone." hi john shook his head at this. the boat was stenciled with the name of the _sulu queen_, and the men aboard the junk would not be exactly fools. barnes nodded assent. "you're right. still, the chances are ten to one that we'll not see her. how badly did you smash those engines? what did you do to them?" "me no savvy," said the quartermaster with a shrug. he had smashed them, and that was all he knew, except that he had done it in a hurry and at considerable risk. jim barnes had fetched along no charts, but needed none for this coast. to the north was point elphinstone and british territory, and no settlements along the coast. to the south were several dutch stations within a hundred miles or so. as hi john claimed to know the coast fairly well, barnes decided to run straight in for the land, if possible identify their position, and then strike south for the nearest dutch settlement. the boat was staunch; the storm season was gone, and there was nothing to fear. "and the quicker i can get a gunboat after that devil, lim tock, the better!" reflected barnes. he still saw red at thought of what he had witnessed the previous night. an hour passed, and another, and the coast opened up before them as the breeze held. the mountains of the interior rose in a dull purple mass, against which stood the brighter green of the low shores. an island presently detached itself to the north, and after studying the coast-line carefully, hi john declared this to be bunju, with the island of tarakan a little off the port bow. south of tarakan were dutch posts on the bulangan river mouths, so barnes let her fill off a little, heading southeast by east. the children, meantime, had begun to explore, and two of them appeared aft, staring at the three men with wondering brown eyes, but too shy to talk. barnes was paying little heed to them; both he and hi john were examining the coast ahead. then, suddenly, li fu uncurled, and came out of his sleep with a blood-curdling yell. for an instant barnes thought the quartermaster had gone mad, until he saw the man staring at the wet leg of his dungaree trousers. wet! a chattering cry from li fu drove the warning home. he plunged forward. "drop it, you little rascal! drop it!" it was one of those slight accidents upon which destiny hangs and veers. the arab boy had found the lanyard of the plug in the boat's bottom, and now stood holding up the plug curiously while the water spouted into her. at the cry and plunge of barnes, the boy scrambled away forward. nora sayers came aft, and ran into him. they fell together, just as barnes flung himself on the plug and attempted to replace it. hi john, too startled to mind his helm properly, let her yaw on the crest of a wave--and the big mainsail gybed. barnes, who had jammed the plug back into place, thought she was gone; but the water that she had shipped saved her in that instant. the mast, bone-dry and rotten, went with a rending crash, smashing the sprit with it. she swept up on the next sea with a pile of canvas dragging over her bow and the frightened children screaming. seizing li fu's knife, barnes went into the tangle furiously, for somewhere beneath it was ellen maggs. he found her unhurt, however, her arms about the youngest child. "lord, girl! i thought the mast had hit you. get aft, now. both of you girls take pannikins and bail. li, put out an oar and keep her from broaching. john, come along and help clear away. move sharp, everybody!" in five minutes the dripping canvas was hauled in amidships and the damage ascertained. the sprit was gone beyond repair, and the upper half of the mast. against the stump, barnes held an oar while hi john deftly lashed it in place. "what happened?" demanded nora sayers. "we all picked the lee side to fall on," and barnes laughed as he spoke. "cheer up! no harm done! we'll run into shore and replace the spars, then be on our way. eh, john?" "can do," grunted hi john, examining the coast line. "plenty bamboo. hey! catchum sail off sta'board counter!" barnes leaped to a thwart and took one look to the north. a brown, square sail was in sight, creeping from behind one of the islands. he turned. "now, john, move! get that canvas up, anyway at all so it'll draw--come on! use that long piece of the sprit for a gaff; lash the canvas to it and then lash it as high on the oar as you can. look alive! that's your junk, yonder." the two men fell furiously to work, while the women bailed and li fu tugged at the long oar to keep the whaleboat from broaching. and the brownish yellow matting sail crept down on them like an ungainly water-spider. v under the rapid directions of barnes, the whaleboat was presently surging through the water again, while he took the tiller and the quartermasters finished the bailing. both women sat a bit aft to trim the boat anew; and, as they had worked diligently at cantonese while fitting themselves for mission duties, they understood the tongue more or less. neither of the quartermasters was aware of the fact. barnes spoke it not at all. "our master is in love with this drooping girl," said li fu chantingly, as he bailed. "lim tock desired her also. she must have a devil that charms some men, for she is of no beauty in my eyes." hi john laughed harshly. "if those aboard the junk see the women, they will try hard for us! lim tock was a straits man; to him white women are beautiful. these others are straits men, too, i think. women are more desirable than gold, and white women than pearls; for white women are hard to come by in singapore, unless one----" he went on to speak learnedly of matters which, by good fortune, came in words that the two women had not learned. as it was, they gave each other a startled glance. then ellen maggs motioned to the spare sail. "get it, nora. lie down and pull it over us." barnes saw the action, and his eyes narrowed perplexedly. then he understood, and a smile touched his lips. "good work, girls! get the kids with you. li and john, lie down here by the after thwart, in the trough of the next wave. chances are they won't have very good glasses aboard the junk. we'll puzzle 'em a bit and make 'em suspicious." once again the slender accident upon which hangs fortune! although the junk was at least three miles from them, barnes had swiftly estimated her course and sailing power, and had come to the desperate conclusion that she meant to intercept them and would do so before they could make the shore. her large forward and smaller after sail were putting her through the water almost dead before the wind at a fast clip. now, when the whaleboat rose to the following seas, she presented the spectacle of a boat under jury rig manned by a single figure in the stern. other figures had been aboard her; now they were gone. to those on the junk, familiar with the artifices of malay and dyak, familiar with theft and murder and piracy by quiet lagoon and hidden river-mouth, it was obvious that the thirty-foot whaleboat wished them to think only one person was aboard. the others might be lying hidden with weapons ready under mats and sails--as they were. jim barnes hauled in his sheets until the whaleboat began to heel, and headed up more directly for the shore, sailing by the wind and getting every possible fraction of speed out of her. watching narrowly, he saw the brown matting sail braced around. the junk altered her course slightly, to run past the stern of the whaleboat and reconnoitre. "good!" he exclaimed, with a breath of relief. "we've won--he's frightened! everybody stay close, now. we don't want her to learn too much. li fu, feel around there and pass me up the crutch for the steering oar, and you, john, have one of the oars ready. i'll ship the crutch and get out the oar. that'll give us better steering power and add a bit to our speed. we'll need the oar in the surf, if there is any." five minutes later the change was made and barnes stood up to the long oar, which kept the boat from yawing and thus aided her progress. her makeshift rig was holding and promised to effect its purpose. so it did, indeed. another twenty minutes made so plain to the junk that the whaleboat could not be intercepted, that she hauled about and stood off-shore, giving up the chase entirely. barnes jubilantly conveyed the news to all hands, but added a warning word. "stay where you are! we don't want her coming in later to investigate us. john, stand by the centreboard and haul up when i give the word. there's a lagoon ahead, and we may find a bar at the entrance. no sign of any, but that don't always signify----" he craned anxiously forward as he stood, examining the shores upon which they were sweeping. they were low and unhealthy. from the water ascended a line, a tangled cluster of mangrove roots twisted like frozen snakes, with the green wall above. here and there, however, openings showed that behind these islets lay long lagoons. for one of these openings barnes steered, forced to take chances on striking a sandbar. he looked back from a crest and found the brown sail dipping under the horizon. "all clear! come alive! ready for a shock if she strikes, girls. haul in, john! that's the ticket!" in between the trees, they rushed on a white foam-crest, swept past, and went darting across the quiet surface of a lagoon, the sails flapping. a hundred yards in width it was, the mangrove wall on one side, and on the other a strip of white sand with jungle greenery making another wall to shut off the sky. the boat glided gently across and drifted until her nose touched the sand. with a breath of relief, barnes dropped his oar. then the heat smote them, blazing, torrential, insufferable. there in the quiet lagoon, cut off from wind and sea, the sun beat down unchecked. nora sayers, coming to her feet, glanced at the watch on her wrist and uttered a cry of surprise. "good gracious! do you know that it's nearly noon? no wonder it's hot----" "sit down!" ordered barnes. "pull her up, lads." leaping into the water, the quartermasters pulled the nose of the whaleboat to the sand and helped the two women and the children out. "all ashore!" sang out barnes. "li fu, you and john cut a new mast and sprit. bamboo, if you can find it; if not, whatever you can get. miss sayers, keep your eye on the kids, will you? miss--er--ellen, will you take this stuff as i hand it out? we'll use the spare canvas for table-cloth, and have a bang-up feed to celebrate. you girls are getting your money's worth this cruise! how do you like borneo?" nora sayers had no time to answer, for the three brown children had promptly stripped and were plunging through the water or catching sand-fleas, and she was in laughing pursuit. ellen maggs smiled as she took the provisions that barnes handed out. "i--why, i like it!" she said, her eyes big with wonder at the things around, and sparkling with eagerness. "i'm frightened, and happy, and--don't want to go back! are there any savages around?" "probably a few head-hunters, but they won't worry us. here's a tin of sardines." with her next load the girl was laughing at sight of nora sayers rounding up her charges. "i wish we could do that, too! the water looks so clean, and the sand so white." "nothing to prevent," said barnes, chuckling. "after lunch we'll get the boat rigged. you and nora can slip up around that point, take the kids along and enjoy life. no sharks of any size in here, and no crocodiles in salt water, i guess. you might catch a stingaree, but not much chance. while you're gone, i'll have a dip myself." nora sayers and the excited, chattering brown children rejoined them, and presently their noon meal was ready. barnes sent up a call, which was answered from the depths of the green jungle, but the meal was half over when li fu and hi john appeared. they were hot and bedraggled, but exultantly produced two admirable spars of bamboo, each of the right size, for mast and sprit. nora sayers, energetic and vigorous despite the heat, went exploring and announced the discovery of a little cove, just around a sandy point. so, taking the children, she and ellen maggs presently departed thither, and the joyful shrieks of splashing youngsters soon echoed through the lagoon. jim barnes lighted his pipe and fell to work on the spars, at which the quartermasters joined him after their meal. it was no light job, since he was determined to have everything shipshape for the proper handling of the boat, and the sheath-knives made slow work of the fibrous bamboo. it was an hour before the mast was stepped and rigged to his satisfaction. then he enjoyed a quick dip, and was dressed again when the others returned. the chinese went in search of crabs, to vary their diet. the two women found barnes sitting on the sand, his pipe alight and a frown on his face, as he studied the opposite shore of the lagoon. "are you all ready to get off?" asked nora. "ready and waiting." barnes grinned cheerfully. "look at the channel over there, by which we came in. notice anything funny about it?" both women looked, perplexed, but could find no explanation of his words. barnes pointed to the sand about the bow of the boat. "there's the answer, girls. tide! it must have been on the ebb when we got here. now she's gone down, and there isn't three inches of water over the bar. we're stuck until about five o'clock, that's all! i'm taking no chances with a thin-skinned whaleboat." "we can't get out, then?" queried ellen maggs. "right. we can fish and sew and smoke and talk, and hunt crabs, but we can't leave. by four or five o'clock we may scrape over. why worry? we're a lot better off than we might have been. not often you strike a sand beach along these mangrove swamps, i can tell you! we'll stretch the spare sail as an awning for the kids and let 'em sleep." using the broken spars, and nora sayers aiding him, he stretched the canvas from the side of the boat and the three children were soon asleep in the shade. retiring to the edge of the trees, the three awaited the return of the quartermasters. barnes sighed luxuriously. "golly! this is the first vacation i've had in a long while. hope you girls won't lose your jobs if you don't get back to china on schedule?" "i guess not," said ellen maggs. "what brought you on that awful ship, mr. barnes?" barnes gave her a look of whimsical reproach. "now, now, i'm surprised at you! my name isn't mister--it's jim! make believe we're on a desert isle, can't you?" ellen maggs blushed faintly, but her eyes were sparkling when she responded. "all right--jim! now what brought you on that ship?" "fate," said jim barnes, grinning. "do you girls remember that morning you came into the consul's office in hong kong?" both women glanced at him, surprised. "were you there?" demanded nora sayers. "we didn't see you?". "i was there when you left, after talking with the consul about the _sulu queen_" he responded. "you were too excited to notice me, though. the consul's a good sport. he knew the old hooker was no ship for me, but he said you girls were stubborn and were going to take the trip aboard her----" "the rates," put in ellen maggs meekly, "were half what the other steamers wanted." "sure. so's the pay they offered me. 'you go along on that houseboat of corruption, barnes,' the consul said. 'she needs a second, and there ought to be one white man aboard her if those fool girls are determined to sail.' so, having seen you girls, i agreed with him--and here we are! and believe me, i'm tickled to death that i shipped aboard her." "so am i," said nora sayers laughing frankly. ellen maggs said nothing at all, but barnes caught a look from her eyes that set his pulses leaping. li fu and hi john returned with a mighty loot of crabs and sea-slugs garnered from the outer reef, and reported that no sail was in sight, nor was any trail of smoke along the horizon. while the women shudderingly eyed the hideous slugs and the children poked at them with sticks, barnes got a fire going from dry driftwood and the crab-meat was cooked. the two chinese squatted over another fire and prepared the slugs after their own fashion. the repast was flavored with curiosity rather than hunger. by the time it was done, nora sayers announced the hour as nearly four. jim barnes glanced out at the bar, and nodded. the tide was creeping in. "all aboard! we'll try it, anyhow. unship the tiller, li! she steers and handles much better with the oar." thankful to escape from the unstirred, stagnant heat of the lagoon, the women and children were aided into the boat after it had been shoved clear. barnes took the stern; the quartermasters ran her out and leaped aboard, getting out oars. "wind's going down outside," announced barnes, as they neared the opening. "we'll keep along the coast during the night, however, and with morning ought to run into some native fishing boats. we can soon find where the nearest dutch post is located. here we are, now! in oars, men! stand by the centreboard, john. li fu, take care of the sheets!" the boat's keel touched the mud of the bar lightly, very lightly, and then was over. there had been surf in the morning, but now it was gone, except for a line of breakers fifty feet away. the sails caught the breeze, the boat heeled over, and a moment later barnes luffed and drove her through the surf, to fall away on the other tack and head out to the southward. then, as he stood watching the sails, his eyes widened. before him, seemingly without cause, had appeared a little round hole in the mainsail. an instant later the crack of a rifle came on the wind. he turned, as a shout broke from li fu, and perceived what none of them had observed in the moment of getting through the surf. half a mile to the north along the mangrove reef was the same junk they had encountered earlier in the day; and, between her and them, bearing down upon them and booming along with the breeze, were three ship's boats with canvas set. "our boats!" cried jim barnes. "they sank the ship and came along in the boats. down, everybody! john, get those water breakers aft to trim ship. down!" another rifle-crack emphasized his words, and then the sharp song of the bullet whining overhead, followed by a chorus of yells from the three boats. vi barnes stood at the steering oar, holding the long ash deep and giving the whaleboat every ounce of windage that would drive her forward. shot after shot rang out from the pursuing boats, which were filled with men. he could picture well enough what had happened. lim tock, unable to repair the smashed engines of the _sulu queen_, had sunk her. into the boats had piled the lascars and the yellow men, with their loot and opium, and started for the coast. they must have met the junk during the day, put the loot aboard her, heard of the whaleboat, and had come to seek her. lim tock would not dare to let her escape to carry tales. "and now they've found us right enough!" he thought. "caught us, confound it! if they didn't have rifles, i'd run out to sea and fight 'em with seamanship. those lascars can't begin to handle whaleboats. if we only had a good mile between us! but the wind's falling. it'll die out, and won't come up again until after sunset. and by that time they'll crawl up on us with the oars. damn it!" the bullets droned overhead. one man at a time seemed to be firing until his magazine emptied. there were good shots among the pursuers, too; several holes were visible in the mainsail, and twice barnes had felt hot lead come close. it dawned upon him that they were firing at his figure. "are we beating them?" called nora sayers. "no," said barnes grimly. in his appraisal he found the case hopeless, desperate; and he put it bluntly enough, explaining that the oarsmen aboard the pursuing boats, and the calm that was certain to fall, insured their being overtaken. the chinese listened calmly, with clear understanding; the two women comprehending well enough, but urging him desperately with their eyes. the whaleboat was reaching out on the starboard tack, as she had left the lagoon opening. the land fell away to the southwest, so that she was standing practically out to sea while running almost before the wind. "we'll have to run for the land, and do it quick," said barnes. "we don't dare to tack; we'll have to wear. the breeze is still pretty fresh, and they're apparently badly out of trim; good! now you'll see some fun, girls. i'll bet a trade dollar that one of 'em gets spilled. nora, come a bit aft and sit on the lee thwart--that's right. revolvers loaded, men?" the quartermasters answered with a nod. barnes commanded li fu to stand by the fore sheet and, when the helm was put up, to empty his weapon at the nearest of the three boats. "you take charge of the main sheet, john. those lascars will imitate us, and we'll give 'em something to imitate, or i'm a dutchman! all right, john--slack away, roundly! haul in--haul in! let her gybe, now--smart does it! ease away, now----" the staccato reports of li fu's revolver cracked emptily down the wind. the boat went off before the wind, and the mainsail was hauled in and gybed dangerously, then was eased away as she paid off on the new tack. li fu, dropping his weapon, handled the fore sheet smartly to meet her by the wind. a jubilant yell broke from barnes as he glanced backward. the foremost pursuer, confused by li fu's bullets, tried to wear hastily and suddenly. her mainsail hauled around in a terrific jibe that sent her flat over. heads dotted the water about the craft, but the other two boats managed the trick safely and stood away without halting to pick up their companions. a renewed rifle-fire opened from them. "fire and be damned to you!" shouted barnes in delight. "if i had you out at sea and the wind steady, i'd show you tricks, you dogs! that's one of you gone, and the junk will be delayed picking up----" the words seemed suddenly checked on his lips; a grunt broke from him, an abrupt ejaculation of surprise and almost alarm. the occasion of it did not appear. "can either of you men steer with the oar?" he demanded. li fu shook his head. hi john assented with a nod, and barnes beckoned him. picking his way aft, hi john took over the oar. "you see that point dead ahead, with what seems to be a river-mouth on the other side? head for it, or a couple of points to starboard of it to allow for leeway. and make the river, john--good man----" barnes spoke jerkily. for an instant he changed countenance; an expression of agony leaped across his face. he started forward. a cry broke from ellen maggs. "catch him, li fu!" but jim barnes sank down on the thwart beside nora sayers, and, smiling a little, reached up one of his automatics to li fu. "here, li! go aft to keep her trimmed, and let 'em have it. fire low; those bullets will smash through the boat." li fu stepped past him. barnes, disregarding the hand of nora sayers, lifted himself forward a little and dropped near the bow thwart, beside ellen maggs. the three children were up in the bow, chattering away and delighted with the chase. "you're hurt?" cried ellen maggs, leaning toward barnes. he laughed lightly, though his lips were graying, as he looked into her eyes. "aye. nora, pass up that little black medicine chest, will you? it's stowed under your thwart, i think, with the lantern and other stuff that was in the boat. does either of you girls know anything about surgery?" "i do," said ellen maggs. her cheeks were very white, her eyes large. "only a little----" barnes put his hand under his shirt and examined his side gingerly. then, with a grimace, he wriggled out of his jacket. he took the sheath-knife which li fu tossed forward on demand, and cut at the right side of his shirt. nora sayers, her face drawn and anxious, would have come with the medicine case, but barnes checked her. "stay where you are, nora. we're fighting to reach land ahead of those devils, and every bit of trim to the boat counts a lot. throw it; that's right. now ellen, the bullet went in under the right arm and is bulging out the skin here on my right side. cut the skin and it'll pop out. i'm not left-handed or i could do it. then douse on plenty of iodine fore and aft, and clap on some kind of a bandage." he lay back and threw up his arms, gripping the corks outside the gunwale, and so lay motionless, waiting. the girl leaned forward, her lips clenched. "don't worry; it won't hurt," he said easily. "you, li fu! open up. are they gaining on us, or holding steady?" "plenty steady," responded the quartermaster. at the next wave-crest he fired. his feet braced, barnes lay motionless, and a smile crept to his pallid lips as he noted the deft certainty with which the girl attacked her task. twice she started to cut, and flinched; then, desperately, she set the keen steel to the white skin. in five seconds it was done. the bullet fell from her reddened fingers and bounced on the thin sheathing. "steady, steady!" said barnes quietly, seeing her lips quiver. "now the smelly stuff and the bandages, girl." a sudden exclamation from the chinese made him glance up. "what is it, men? what is it?" "that last shot plenty damn good; first-chop!" responded li fu, staring out. "hai! catchum bottomside one time!" "fine work!" cried barnes. "that's two out of the race. ripped through her sheathing, eh? anybody hurt?" "my no can see--catchum one damn coolie, mebbeso. bail like hellee!" "good! do the same to the other boat if you can." "can do," asserted li fu confidently, but he failed to make good his promise. the one shot that caused one of the two pursuers to limp behind was doubtless sheer luck. "turn over, please," came the voice of ellen maggs. barnes obeyed. the girl caught her breath as his blood-soaked back was revealed, while nora sayers leaned forward and directed her, aiding as best she could. "how's the wind?" demanded barnes, while the bandage was being wrapped in place. "go down plenty quick," responded li fu, examining the empty weapon. "no can do. i think lim tock in this boat. plenty joss." "huh! joss won't save him if i get a good crack at the devil," commented barnes, as he lay face-down. "going to make the river, john?" "aye. can do." "it's done," said ellen maggs, her voice very faint. barnes lifted himself stiffly and sat up. he saw the girl smile tremulously. then her face went ashen and she dropped back against the lee gunwale and lay quiet. barnes looked up at nora sayers. "leave her be," he said quietly. "poor girl! must have been hell for her." "it was," agreed nora sayers, regarding him almost savagely. "why didn't you let me do it? she wasn't made for that sort of thing, although she's a wonderful surgical assistant. i saw her faint twice, one morning at tientsin, when they were working on the wounded men. she ought to be cooking and tending babies, instead of messing around blood and wounds!" "good lord, don't take it out on me!" said barnes, and smiled a little. "i didn't send her out to china, did i? but it won't be my fault if she ever goes back, i can tell you that! come on, swap places with me and mother her a bit. i've got to see what's doing. we've got a darned slim chance even if we do get ashore, and we can't overlook any bets." he dragged himself painfully to the thwart, nora sayers aiding him. then, as he sat up, she took the head of ellen maggs in her lap. to his infinite relief, barnes perceived that they were more than holding their own in the chase, and, if the wind had held, might have run for it successfully. but the wind would not hold. already it was dying out. looking back, he could see the brown matting sails of the junk flapping idly as she lay to, picking up the men from the capsized boat. the second boat, half submerged, was heading back for her. only the third boat held on its course. as nearly as barnes could tell, there were a dozen men aboard her, but without glasses he could not distinguish figures to the extent of identifying them. he took the empty weapon from li fu and began to reload. "none too many cartridges left; we didn't figure on a little war," he commented, and turned his attention to the shore. a breath of relief escaped him. the shore was a scant quarter-mile away, and the wind would get them to it. hi john had made the promontory, a low, mangrove-rimmed tongue of land, and was heading toward the river-mouth which had disclosed itself beyond. the stream was one of some size, thickly girt by trees and jungle. a single line of surf, breaking across the bar, was divided by a small, narrow island of white sand, where a few trees struggled. with extra high tides the island would be covered, barnes decided, but not at present. "right-hand channel, john," he directed. "then beach her on that island. if we don't get that boat stopped, she'll do for us; but we can stop her. ellen waked up yet?" "not yet," said nora sayers. "then leave her alone. the next ten minutes tells the tale. give me that gun of hers." the girl obeyed. a shrill cry from hi john heralded the surf-line, and as the boat rose to it, the sail began to flap. the wind was down. vii sunset was at hand. the red ball of the sun, blurred out of rotundity by the haze, hovered at the purple rim of the western mountains as though hesitating to depart. the boat was through the surf, carried forward by the white crest in a surging rush. a last puff of wind filled her sails and gave her way enough to get over the bar and go in upon the sandy shore of the islet. here the trees and brush, while nothing like the tangled mass of jungle ashore, were thick enough to afford concealment. this was not the aim of barnes, however. "haul her up, lads!" to his order the quartermasters leaped out. "you girls stay here and keep the kids quiet. if they have the nerve to rush, we're gone; but they won't. here, john, give me a hand! quick!" he was helped ashore, finding himself very weak but clear-headed. each of the chinese had a revolver. barnes had two automatics and the one belonging to ellen. he gave his directions swiftly, and the two men darted into the brush. barnes leaned against the nearest tree and waited, watching the canvas of the pursuing boat come flying in with the last dregs of the breeze. at last she came, rising on the gathering surge of the breaking surf, bow flinging high, steersman standing at the straining, oar in the stern. as she lifted against the flaming sky, barnes threw up his automatic and fired. the oarsman crumpled up. from three points the islet spat bullets at the nearing boat, sweeping her with the hot lead. by some miracle, the expected did not happen. instead of capsizing, the boat swept in on the surf, and paused. a rifle spat response vainly. men were tumbling, falling over the thwarts, shrieking and yelling oaths. the figure of lim tock, in the bow, staggered and went down, but his voice pierced through the din continually. an oar was put out, and another. of the dozen men aboard her, not half survived that blasting welcome. revolvers and pistols had been emptied. frantically the gasping men got the boat headed around to meet the surf. two more oars jabbed out. barnes lifted ellen maggs' pistol and shot with deliberate aim. two of the oarsmen sprawled down. somehow the boat crawled out again, in an interval of the surf, and began to draw away. barnes, disappointed and raging, emptied his last bullets at her. for a while she floated there, until the oars bit at the water and pulled her slowly away. "damn it!" said barnes bitterly, as the quartermasters came back, reloading. "came within an ace of capsizing him; came within an ace of getting him and bagging his rifles! and missed. now we've lost the whole trick after all." "plenty joss along lim tock," commented hi john. barnes wearily turned to the boat and seated himself on the gunwale, while at his order the two men unshipped the spars and canvas. ellen maggs still lay unconscious, her head in the lap of nora sayers, who, was looking up at barnes with glad eyes. "we've won? you beat them off?" barnes mechanically felt for his pipe, filled it, and held a match to it. "no," he said, his voice bitter. "we'd have won if we'd got their rifles and killed that devil, lim tock. we only drove him off--and we've lost, absolutely. leave the spars here ashore, john; put the canvas aboard--that's right. lay her on the canvas, nora, and take it easy. you'll need the sails for a covering against the night-mist." when she had made the unconscious girl comfortable with the canvas, nora sayers rose and stepped ashore, where the three children were already ranging happily. "what do you mean?" she demanded. "how have we lost?" barnes jerked his pipe to seaward. "they're bound to silence us at all costs, aren't they? sure. they've plenty of men aboard the junk and those other boats. it'll probably remain calm until sunrise, now, and we can't possibly get to sea. we can use only two oars. the inference is obvious." she could not mistake it, and nodded slowly. barnes turned to the two chinese. "any idea where we are, john?" hi john nodded, and squatted in the sand with a stick. in the sand he drew several converging lines, designed to represent the delta and mouths of a large river. he pointed to one, then indicated the river beside them. "i think bulungan river," he said. "we go up, bimeby we come topside. big river." "you may be right, john--and look here! there's a dutch post somewhere up the bulungan----" "two," said the quartermaster. "plenty big river, topside." barnes looked at the recumbent figure of ellen maggs in the boat, looked at the three children playing in the sand. in the warm, clear light of the sunset, the perplexed frown of his face was plain to be seen. he looked anxious, yet his blue eyes were stormy and filled with a passionate anger as though he were rebelling against something that he saw was unavoidable. he came to his feet and paused. "dutch posts?" cried nora sayers eagerly. "then we can row up the river!" barnes looked at her, and under the regard of his eyes she fell silent. "yes, you can," he said. "sure. and so can those devils, unless there's something right here to stop 'em! besides, it's a long chance. we don't know for sure that it's the bulungan river, or one of the mouths. that's the devil of destiny; it never gives a man a fair show for his white alley! the cards are stacked every time." he glanced at the sky. there was yet half an hour of daylight, for the sun was down behind the western mountains of borneo, and the afterglow would linger for a while. "you mean," questioned the girl, "that they can row so much faster than we can?" "exactly. a dozen oars to our two. the dutch posts, if they're here, are probably miles up-river. they are trading posts, you know, in touch with the natives. we might hide somewhere along the river, only to die slowly. lim tock will search every inch of the stream, you may be sure. his own life depends on it." "if we could get a messenger up the river----" "yes," said barnes, and laughed. nora sayers bit her lip. for a moment he puffed at his pipe, then drew a deep breath and beckoned the two quartermasters. they came, watching his face calmly, without emotion. "you men will take this boat and row up the stream," he said quietly. "i confide to your care these two women, and these children. you are to protect them at all costs. this is----" "but--wait!" exclaimed nora sayers in dismay. "shut up!" snapped barnes. "now, men, this is your duty. they must be taken up to the dutch post, wherever it is. it means you must row most of the night, understand? i shall remain here and stop lim tock's men. i'm no good for rowing--and i can do that. now, do you understand?" "my savvy. aye," they responded together. "good. get to work and lighten the boat, then." barnes put his pipe between his teeth and stepped toward the trees. he found himself halted, the girl's hand on his arm. he turned, and was astonished by the emotion that was in her face and eyes. "please!" she said brokenly. "you must not do this. you must not deliberately sacrifice yourself----" "cut it out, will you?" he roughly intervened. "i know what must be done here, nora. i'm not making any grandstand play, either. i can hold 'em up, and you can send down a dutch launch with a gun in her. they have 'em with machine-guns and pom-poms. one o' their launches could sink that blamed junk in a jiffy! they'll come quick enough, too! believe me, those dutchmen like nothing better than wiping out pirates, unless it's wiping out plague-ships. they do both jobs up brown." "stop evading, please," she broke in. "why are you doing this? why don't you leave one of those chinese here, and go with us?" the face of barnes twisted wryly. "gosh, i wish that i could!" he said almost wistfully. "nope. whoever stays here will have a sweet time of it. besides, i'm good for nothing else. those quartermasters are darned fine men, nora; they'll see you through safe. you've got to realize that we're up against a desperate affair, and no half-way measures will serve!" she stared into his eyes for a moment. "is it for the children that you're doing it?" she asked. "they aren't worth it, i tell you! three arab children--they aren't worth the loss of a man like you!" "you know better, girl," he said quietly, and she shivered. "is it--us? is it for her? then, do you think she'd want to leave you? do you think she'd want to live and know that you had died here----" "shut up; you'll be hysterical if you keep up this gait," interrupted barnes. "now, young lady, you can gamble good and hard that i don't want to stay here! not much. if there was any way out of it, i wouldn't. i'm not hankering for a martyr's crown or any of that hero stuff, not for a minute! i'm for keeping jim barnes topside every time. it hurts like hell to realize that there's no other way out. but here are you girls, and the kids, and somebody has to wait here. see? it just has to be done, that's all." "then--then you don't believe that--we can reach the post in time?" "well, anything's possible," said barnes dryly. "sure, there's a chance! now, i want you to get off before ellen wakes up, see? let her sleep as long as she will; this faint of hers is liable to go into sleep." meantime, the two quartermasters, while lightening the boat of everything except food and a breaker of water, had been drinking in what they could understand of this conversation. their work finished, they stood by the bow of the boat and looked at each other for a moment, silent. at length li fu spoke, impassively, unconcerned. "to the superior man, duty is as a clear star shining in the night." "so it is written," agreed hi john. "give me your revolver and cartridges." "haste treads upon the tail of a tiger," dissented li fu reflectively. "here is the revolver. let us see to whom the gods assign it. shall a white man be braver than we?" "very well." li fu tossed his revolver in the air. it spun, end over end, and spinning, fell down into the sand. the butt fell toward li fu, who stooped and picked it up. "now give me yours," he said. hi john obeyed without protest, passing over his revolver and what spare cartridges he had in his pockets. then he turned and walked to barnes and nora sayers, who had watched this scene curiously. he addressed the girl. "missee, i think mebbeso you can row plenty good?" "of course!" she exclaimed. "of course i can!" "then you row along me," said hi john. "li fu, he stop here." barnes growled something under his breath, and walked over to li fu. "what's this mean?" he demanded. "you get in that boat and row, d'you understand?" li fu regarded him placidly, without emotion, his yellow features very composed. "you go hellee," he said, and then grinned. "my stop along you. savvy? missee plenty stlong, use oar plenty good! you go hellee." what he saw in those calm eyes checked the words on the lips of barnes. he turned and went to the boat, and waded out along the gunwale until he was beside the figure of ellen maggs. with an effort, he stooped and touched his lips to her still cheek. "good-by, girl!" he whispered, and then straightened. "get the kids, nora! come on, pile in; time to get off! get as far as you can before it gets dark. wrap a cloth about your hands, too; they'll be blistered quick enough." collecting the children, nora sayers got into the boat. she held out her hand to barnes, who gripped it and smiled cheerfully. "good-by," she said, her voice breaking. "i wish you'd let me wake her up! she'd want to say-- "she'd say i needed a shave damn bad," and barnes chuckled as he made reply. "you settle down on this thwart. all ready, men? shove off. good luck to you, nora! wrap your hands, now, before you get started. see you later!" the boat glided out, hi john scrambling aboard as she cleared the sand. nora sayers tried to answer, but could not. barnes stood beside li fu and waved his hand. the boat slowly drew up-river under the pull of the two oars and vanished around the head of the islet. viii "watch and watch, li fu," said barnes, when night settled down on the islet, the river-mouth and the booming surf. "i'm done in. wake me at midnight; they'll not come until then." "not then, i think," said li fu. "china boys not like night devils. plenty devils in liver." "all right," barnes laughed as he stretched out in the warm sand. "let the river-devils fight for us, then!" about midnight the quartermaster wakened him. there had been no alarm, no sound or sight of the enemy. only the continuous rolling crash of the surf, regular and unceasing, conflicted with the noises of nightbirds from the jungle. the starlight and thin glow of the sickle moon faintly illumined the white sands and the glittering waters, where the waves curled and broke in running lines of phosphorescent radiance. at first barnes found li fu's conviction incredible. it was hard to believe that lim tock's lascars and chinese, the latter probably predominating, would relinquish the opportunity to sweep in upon the islet with their boats and finish everything with one determined rush. the chinese firmly credited the existence of water-devils, however, and river-devils in particular, whose power at night was invincible. barnes sat through his lonely watch, stiff and aching from his wound, and found no indication of alarm out on the surging waters, where a heavy ground-swell kept the rollers tumbling in along the shoreline. he began to think that he had wasted himself, despite all. had he stayed in the boat, it by this time would be far up the river. he laughed and shook off the thought. after all, he had no assurance of that! the boat, with only two oars, might be a day or two in reaching the main river above the delta, where the dutch post would be placed. with dawn, the pirates would sweep down on the island. if they found it deserted, they would go up the river with a rush. no, the effort was not wasted; was far from wasted! toward dawn he roused li fu, and lay down once more to get all the rest possible. when the quartermaster again wakened him, it was to point out dark dots on the waters, now overcast with the graying dawn. the boats, four of them, were scattered a quarter-mile from the river mouth, up and down from the bar. jim barnes laughed softly. "they think we'll come out with the first breath o' wind; that we've been waiting here for the breeze! and they're waiting to riddle us with their rifles, then close in. good! let 'em wait. every minute gained puts the whaleboats farther up the river. suppose we make some tea, li fu. the fire will show that we're here and encourage 'em to wait." chuckling at all this, li fu gathered wood and soon had a fire going. hot tea and biscuit invigorated barnes hugely, and he was much himself again by the time the reddening dawn and freshening daylight betrayed to the waiting boats that the fugitives were not setting forth from shore. no doubt they considered that barnes had laid up the whaleboat and was prepared to fight it out. "they're closing in," said barnes suddenly. "oars are out. the junk is coming down the coast, too. she'll probably anchor off the river, and they'll pour in a hot rifle-fire before making a rush. dig for cover, li!" grasping the idea, li fu took his knife to the sand and prepared two long, deep depressions at the edge of the brush. meantime, one of the boats drew in closer than the others as though to test the presence of those on the islet. barnes sighed unavailingly for a rifle, as his pistols were of small value at such distance. he tried two shots, however, and by sheer luck dropped the boat's helmsman, so that she sheered off promptly. the boats opened a dropping rifle-fire, and barnes retired to the position prepared. lying beside li fu, he waited. he had three automatics and several spare clips. the quartermaster had two revolvers and a handful of loose cartridges. under the urge of the ground-swell, surf was now breaking in a heavy line at the bar, an outer line of breakers stretching twenty yards farther seaward. while the boats kept up their intermittent fire, bullets crashing across the island, the junk came slowly along with the morning breeze. outside the first line of surf she dropped anchor and hauled down the brown matting sails, and the boats converged upon her. streamers and fingers of flame were reaching across the whole eastern sky. "plenty of men aboard her," said barnes. "they'll crowd into the boats and pull for us. catch the first boat as she rises, li, like we did last night. if one of them goes over in that surf, not a man will reach shore. good gosh, look at her rise up! they're fools if they try it." to the two men lying on the sandy islet, the surf promised indeed to be an excellent protection. the roaring breakers swept on and hurled up into a great wall of white and crimson spray, against the sunrise, a ten-foot wall of curling, foaming water whose impact as it came down made the islet shake and sent a booming roar echoing along the coast. the tide was coming in, and there was a strong rip along the bar. now the sun was up, in a gleaming splendor of golden glory. as each glittering line of surf swept up and curled, it hid from sight the boats and all save the upper masts of the junk herself. between the surges, the rifle-fire was maintained steadily, but li fu and barnes were well protected against the ripping storm of lead that devastated the foliage above and ploughed the sand into ripples of dancing grains. "they come," said li fu suddenly. the next surf-interval showed a crowded boat leaving the junk. the craft damaged on the preceding evening by hi john's bullet must have sunk, for it appeared that now there were but two whaleboats among the four approaching craft. one of those, however, would do the business, thought jim barnes grimly. covered by a hot fire from the rifles, the first boat reached in for the surf, her oars dipping strongly, the other boats following her. she was a bluff-jawed longboat belonging to the junk, dangerously crowded with men, and barnes caught the flame of naked steel as she lifted on a crest. he thrilled to the possibility of sending her over as she struck the white wall to cleave a way through. not a man would reach shore through the pounding maelstrom of those waters. thundering and shuddering, a long breaker smashed and swirled across the bar, and now the longboat dipped oars and gathered way to rise on the next crest and come over. a whirl of bullets heralded her coming. then, as the riotous crest closed in and lifted her and the shots ceased, barnes came to one knee. he had her position absolutely fixed, and aimed carefully, firing even before she came into sight. she heaved and lifted, cleaving the water. barnes fired again and again, hearing the bark of li fu's revolver at his side. a mad yell broke from the chinese. barnes lowered his arm and stared, wide-eyed. that first shot of his, perhaps, had done the work; had sent a rower headlong at the crucial instant. at the very crest of the giant wave, the boat broached, was sent stern-first. a shriek burst from the score of men crowded into her, a fearful, splitting shriek that wrenched through the roar of the surf. then she was picked up, hurled end over end from the crest of the wave, flung sideways, and went upside down beneath the terrific smash of that falling pinnacle of water. a lather of foam spread out from the sweeping rush of the breaker, but not a man showed in it. they were held down, dragged out with the backlash, gripped and flung about with the mad swirl under the surface. the boat itself, a crushed and broken thing, came into sight, was tugged out and into the next surf-crest, to be whirled horribly aloft and buried again; but no man of all her crew appeared. the whiff of a bullet made barnes wake up, and he flung himself into the sand. li fu was yelling in an ecstasy of delight. then, at the next interval, barnes realized that the other boats were coming forward--two whale-boats, and a smaller craft. "lascars!" yelled li fu. "plenty joss along lim tock!" the malays were rowing these boats; seamen unsurpassed. well, this was the end of it; useless everything that had been done, once these boats came through. barnes caught the arm of the yellow man. "empty one gun--then reload and wait. savvy?" li fu nodded hastily. the two whale-boats came on abreast, rowed with precision, a brown malay at each steering crutch, the long oars rising and dipping and hurling her forward with absolute surety. up they rose and up, then forward and down, as though leaping from that high curling wall into the water beyond! barnes found himself firing mechanically, firing until the hammer clicked on nothing and he slipped one of his extra clips into the weapon. useless! a sudden inarticulate cry escaped his lips. the last bullet had brought down the steersman of the boat to the left. almost through, she broached and swerved. the water swung her about, caught up her keel and spilled her men into the smother. she was sent rolling along, crushing the men beneath her, pounding on the sand until the undertow dragged her out and away. but the other boat was through. it drove forward toward the islet with a wild yell lifting from the men aboard, and rifles spattering lead. and now the smaller boat was in the surf, and riding it. "back!" shouted barnes. "back to cover, li! fire and reload while i fire." from the shelter of the brush, li fu emptied his two revolvers into the boat. he could hardly miss at this distance, as she came foaming to the shore. barnes could see the figure of lim tock crouching amidships, a bandage about his head. men went down, brown and yellow men crowded between her thwarts. rifles and revolvers sent bullets hailing at the trees, and with the impetus that was upon her, she came in and her nose touched the beach. barnes was ready, cool, imperturbable. the first man that leaped from her, he dropped; and the second, and the third. then the boat tipped, and brown and yellow came ashore in a mass, lim tock heading them. krisses and knives flamed in the sunlight. the smaller boat was reaching into the shore now. the end was at hand. into the mass barnes planted his bullets steadily. one gun was empty, now the other. no time to reload--he dropped them and seized that of ellen maggs. only three or four men left, lim tock heading them! then a new burst of yells, and from the last boat poured a dozen fresh assailants, with the serang gajah at their head, his unhealed scalp wound red and ominous in the sunlight. a scream of battle-madness burst from li fu. he leaped forward, out into the open, and ran at the newcomers. pistols barked; krisses glittered. barnes saw the quartermaster come to grips with gajah, and the two men went rolling in the sand. then, smiling, he lifted his weapon and shot. lim tock took the bullet between the eyes, and sprawled forward. barnes laughed, and shot again. then he ducked back into the brush. an instant later, the brown and yellow men came on in a wave, mad with the battle fury, blind and deaf to everything around them, intent only upon the white man who had eluded them. from among the trees the weapon of barnes barked out its last shots. ix the patrol launch belonging to the bulungan river post, commanded by. controleur opdyke and manned by stalwart achinese sepoys, sped swiftly down the northern branch of the mighty river. the controleur was highly nervous, for this navigation in the early dawn was an unaccustomed and perilous thing; further, the girl who stood beside him, and the tall chinese at her elbow, were continually urging him to greater speed. then came the first gleams of sunrise, and the spattering of shots from below--and the prim, alert controleur needed no further urging. at his swift command the speed was increased, and the brown sepoys stripped the cover from the one-pounder up forward. rifles were brought up and loaded. they burst into full view of the river-mouth just as the smaller boat came to the islet and poured forth her men and the wild charge forward was begun. controleur opdyke perceived instantly that he could not get through the surf to the junk. being a man of distinct character, he did not hesitate. two orders passed his lips. at the first, the gun crew threw in a shell and sighted; at the second, the rifles began to speak along the forward deck. the little pom-pom barked, and the shell exploded above the junk. it barked again, and scored a hit. again, and the junk reeled and staggered. then the achinese were leaping overboard and pouring ashore, and among them hi john. and after them, despite the imploring commands of the officer, ellen maggs. jim barnes came face to face with her as he squirmed out of the brush and brushed the blood from his eyes. a kris had slithered athwart his scalp; for a moment he thought she was a vision, standing there in the fresh sunlight, her eyes fastened upon him, her hands outreaching. then he heard her voice. "oh, jim, jim! if you had only known--it was barely five miles up to the post! and we were hours getting there. thank god, you're alive!" it was quite as a matter of course that jim barnes took her in his arms and held her close to him for a long moment. speech came hard. there was everything to say, and nothing. suddenly he realized that she was trembling. "oh, jim! you'll have to help me. i--i told an awful lie----" she was frightened, nervous, tearful, and yet a smile crept into her-blushing cheeks as she looked up into his eyes. "who to, me?" he asked, returning the smile. "no. to--to the controleur. controleur updyke. he was terribly severe about it all. he wouldn't bring nora, and he wasn't going to bring me----" "what was the lie?" asked barnes, puzzled. then he looked up to see the officer striding toward them. he realized abruptly that the little brown soldiers had been very busy all over the islet. "der junk hass sunk," said the controleur, taking off his helmet. "diss iss mynheer parnes? i am pleassed to meet you, sir." "same to you," and barnes grinned as he put out his hand. even the primness of opdyke could not meet that grin without an answering smile. "controleur opdyke? i'm sure much obliged to you. just came along in time." "ja. i am glad. your vrouw, madame parnes, she hurried us. dat wass goot, too." "oh, so that's it!" barnes laughed out suddenly, and caught ellen maggs to him. "you little rascal, you! told him you were my wife, eh? well, you will be as quick as it can be managed--won't you? say yes!" "yes, jim,"-she murmured. suddenly barnes turned. "where's li fu?" he demanded. "that chinese chap who stayed with me----" "he iss badly hurt, but all right," said opdyke, beginning to understand things a little. "sir, dere must be reports made, und prisoners must be----" "forget it, forget it!" said barnes, and laughed happily. "this is miss maggs, controleur. she told you a lie. she's not my wife, but is going to be. will you forgive her?" controleur opdyke met the eyes of ellen maggs. suddenly he smiled, and tendered her a very deep bow. "diss young man, he iss very lucky," he said. "_mejuffvrouw_, shall i make you happy, yes? den, dere iss a missionary at de post. now, if you eggscuse me, i must look after dese t'ings." he turned and walked stiffly away toward his men, who were rounding up sullen captives. but jim barnes looked-down into the shining eyes of the girl. "ellen! remember that bungalow on the hill above sausalito that i told you about? do you really want it--and a husband who's a sailor and hasn't a lot o' money? or would you sooner go back to china?" a smile lightened in her face. "i'm tired of china, jim," she said. delightedly, barnes caught her to him again and stooped to her lips. then, with a happy laugh, he straightened up. "missionary at the post, eh? hurray! let's go!" "aye, aye, sir," she said obediently. "go it is, sir--steady as she is!" the end google books (the university of california) transcriber's notes: . page scan source: https://books.google.com/books?id=u spaqaaiaaj (the university of california) the seafarers by the same author a bitter heritage. fortune's my foe. the scourge of god. across the salt seas. the clash of arms. denounced. in the day of adversity. the hispaniola plate. the desert ship. a gentleman adventurer. the silent shore. his own enemy. the seafarers by john bloundelle-burton author of 'the clash of arms' 'fortune's my foe,' 'across the salt seas' london c. arthur pearson limited henrietta street w.c. to all old friends and comrades who have been, or are still seafarers either in the royal navy or other branches of the sea service i inscribe this book contents chap. . 'sweeter than blue-eyed violets or the damask rose' . stephen charke . 'let those love now who never loved before' . portsmouth _en fête_ . 'so farewell, hope!' . 'and bend the gallant mast, my boys' . 'an ocean waif' . 'his name is--what?' . 'through the salt sea foam' . the growing terror . the terror increases . stricken . 'spare her! spare her!' . struck down . a light from the past . man overboard . 'farewell, my rival' . 'she will never know' . 'i almost dreaded this man once' . 'i do believe you' . washed ashore . a sailor's knife . 'the tiger did that' . beaten! defeated! . 'i have loved my last' . 'here is my journey's end' chapter i 'sweeter than blue-eyed violets or the damask rose' that bella waldron should have felt sad, and her night's rest have been disturbed in consequence, was, in the circumstances, most natural. for one cannot suppose that any young girl leaves her home, her mother, and her country without much grief and perturbation; without tears and sorrow and heavy sighs, as well as tremendous fears that she may never return to, nor see, them again. and such is what bella was about to do when this particular night should have come to an end: she was about to traverse not one ocean, but two; to pass from a life that, if not luxurious, was at least comfortable, to another which, if more brilliant, would undoubtedly be strange, and, consequently, not easily to be adopted at first. in fact, to go from one side of the world to the other. yet, all the same, it was singular that, between her intervals of weeping and sobbing, and when she had at last cried herself to sleep, she should have been tormented with such frightful dreams as those which came to her. dreams of horrors that in their weirdness became almost ludicrous, or would have been ludicrous to those who, knowing of them, did not happen to be experiencing them. thus, the idea of a crocodile regarding one with a glittering eye from its ambush in the sand, seems for some reason, in our waking moments, to conjure up a comical sense of terror--perhaps because of the 'glittering eye'; yet there was nothing comical about it to the mind of bella as she awoke with a shriek from her sleep after the vision of the creature had had momentary existence in the cells of her brain. and, even when she was thoroughly awakened and knew that she had only been suffering from a bad dream, she still shuddered at the recollection, and muttered, 'it appeared as if it was creeping towards me to seize me with its horrid jaws! oh, it was dreadful!' then she slept again--only, however, to dream of other things. of a desolate shore at first, with, upon it, a misty creature waving its hands mournfully above its head, those hands being enveloped in some gauzy material, so that the figure appeared more like a skirt-dancer than aught else; then, of two lions fighting savagely; and then of a vast black cave with an opening as high as st. paul's and as wide as a railway terminus is long, against which, armed with a spear and protected with a buckler, she seemed to stand trembling. trembling, too, because she could not see one yard into the deep and profound darkness before her, yet into which, as she peered furtively and with horror, she appeared to perceive things--forms half-animal and half-human--crawling, revolving, creeping about. then, again, she awoke with a start. but by now the room was light with the gray, mournful glimmer of the approaching dawn; so light that she could see her wicker-basket trunks in their american-cloth wrappers standing by the wall, with the lids open against it; soon, too, she heard the sparrows twittering outside, as well as other congenial suburban sounds, such as the newspaper boys shrieking hideously to one another, and the milkman uttering piercing yells; and--though it was her last day in england--she was glad to spring out of bed and know herself once more a unit in the actual world instead of a wanderer in a world of dreams. 'i wish,' the girl muttered to herself, standing by the window and drawing up the blind half-way, whereby she was enabled to see that the gray dawn of a may morning gave promise of a warm, fine day later on, 'that, if i were to have such bad dreams at all, i might have been spared them on the very day of my departure for the other side of the globe. i am not superstitious, yet, yet--well!--i shall think of this dream, i know, for many a day to come.' then she slipped on her dressing-gown, thrust her pretty little white feet into some warm, felt bath-slippers, and, opening her door quietly, because it was still early and she did not wish to awaken those in the house who might be asleep, she went across the passage to her mother's room. yet, ere she did so, let us regard this young girl, whose story and adventures we are now to follow--this girl whose dreams of leering crocodiles and dark, mystic caves, with hideous creatures gyrating in them, will, as we shall see, be far outnumbered and outshone by the actual realities that she will experience in her passage across the world. for it had been resolved on by fate, or providence, or destiny, or whatever one may term that power which controls our earthly existence, that to bella waldron were to come experiences, strange, horrible, and fantastic, such as the last decade of our expiring century rarely assaults men with, and women hardly ever. standing there in the now clear light of the morning, her long dressing-gown enshrouding her tall, shapely, and _svelte_ figure, and with her masses of hair hanging dishevelled--hair a warm brown with golden gleams in it, such as has the ripening corn--an observer would decide at once that she was beautiful. beautiful, also, by the gift of clear, hazel-gray eyes--eyes that were pure and innocent in their glance; beautiful as well by her softly-rounded face, her rich red lips--the upper one divinely short--and also by her colouring. if, too, one applies to her the lines of that old poet dead and gone two hundred years ago, the words describing gloriana:-- more fair than the red morning's dawn, sweeter than pearly dews that scent the lawn, than blue-eyed violets, or the damask rose when in her hottest fragrancy she glows, bella waldron may be considered as depicted. 'mother,' she said, going in now to the room where the poor lady whom she addressed had herself passed a sad and tearful night, bemoaning the fact that soon--in a few hours--indeed now--because the fateful day had come--her child was to be torn from her. 'oh, mother! it is to-day--to-day! oh, my darling! how can i part from you?' and then, folding her mother in her arms while she sat on the bedside, the two women wept together. 'yet,' said mrs. waldron, to whom advancing years brought the power of philosophic resignation, if not the thorough strength to overcome that which rendered her unhappy, 'yet, bella, my dearest, it is so much for you. such a position, such a future! oh, think of it! a position you could scarcely ever have hoped to obtain. and the love, my child, the love! think how gilbert loves you and you love him. for you do love him, bella. of all men, he is the one for you.' 'with my whole heart and soul i love him!' her daughter answered. 'mother, if i had never met him i do not believe i could have ever loved any other man. ah, i am glad juliet called romeo the god of her idolatry! it has taught me how to think of gilbert.' 'and the position, bella. the position--think of that! in our circumstances, even though you come of a good stock and are descended from ladies and gentlemen on both sides from far-off years, you could never have hoped to make such a match.' 'the position is nothing to me, mother. i love gilbert fondly. i long to be his wife. why should i think of the position?' 'every woman must think of it, child. when you are as old--and worn--as i am, you--you will teach your own children to think of it. it is everything to be the wife of a gentleman, better still the wife of a man of rank. everything! short of being the wife of a distinguished man, a man whose name is on everybody's tongue, there is no other position so good. and, even then, that distinguished man may not be a gentleman as well. that would be dreadful. yet your husband will be both. think, bella! he is sure to become a nobleman, and he may become the most renowned admiral in the navy.' 'you dear old mother! but i love gilbert because he is gilbert. otherwise, neither the nobility which is certain, nor the renown which is prospective, would take me across the world to him. do you think i would go to bombay to marry the heir to a title or a possible admiral if i did not love him?' 'heaven forbid!' mrs. waldron replied, as she sat up in her bed and smoothed her hair. 'heaven forbid! yet,' she murmured, perhaps a little weakly for a lady who had just delivered herself of such admirable sentiments, 'yet i do honestly think, darling, that the love you bear each other--yes! above all, the love--and the position--i must think of the position, bella!--and the certainty of a brilliant future for you, reconcile me a little to parting with you. some day, when you are a mother, you will understand me.' 'i understand you now, darling. yet, yet--ah!' and now she sobbed on her mother's shoulder--'yet, to think of our being parted for so long--for three years! gilbert must remain on the station for that length of time.' now it is certain that mrs. waldron was sobbing too, yet, because there was something of the spartan mother, something, too, of cornelia, mother of the gracchi, about her, she calmed her sobs. for she, too, had been ruthlessly torn by an all-conquering lover, who would take no denial, from her parents, arms. yet that lover had had no such proud future to offer her as the gilbert of whom they spoke had to offer his beloved arabella; for her there had been nothing to flavour her existence except the glorious spice tasted by us all--of loving and being loved. and now--now that she was what she called old--which was not the case, since she was still short of her forty-fifth year--now she knew--and, knowing, said--that love accompanied by brilliant prospects and an assured future was the most satisfactory of all loves. 'your father,' mrs. waldron said, 'remained on his station, the pacific, for seven years, and we were separated all that time. he there, i here, in london. and in lodgings, bella--oh those lodgings and that cooking!--you remember, darling? you must remember the lodgings and the cooking, child though you were. and he was not a future peer, though he did once think he might become an admiral.' 'forgive me, mother,' bella said, kissing her mother again and again. 'i will not repine any more. i ought not to do so, i know. for is not my gilbert the handsomest, bravest sailor that ever wore the queen's uniform? and it won't be so long after all. only--only--i do wish there wasn't that awful journey. oh if there were only a bridge!' and for the first time she smiled. 'or a railway,' she added. 'i am sure, bella,' her mother said, forgetting how she would feel that evening when her child was gone, and neither the bright voice nor brisk footsteps would be heard any more in the house, 'i am sure you cannot complain of the manner in which you are going out. the vessel may not be as comfortable as they say the great liners are, but at least your uncle is the captain, and it is his own ship. and that cabin he showed us yesterday, when we went down to gravesend, is far better than anything you could get in any liner, even the best. i had one once, when i went out to join your father at halifax, in which there was nowhere but the pockets of my clothes to keep things in, while the other lady above me could open the scuttle as she lay in her berth. and your cabin is as big as a dining-room, with a sofa----' 'you dear, darling mother!' bella exclaimed. 'you are an angel to comfort me thus, when i know all the time that your heart is as sad as mine. oh if we had not to part!' and again the two women hugged and kissed each other. chapter ii stephen charke a year before this momentous day when arabella waldron was to set sail for india in her uncle's full-rigged ship, the emperor of the moon, there had come to her that supreme joy which is the most sweet experience of a young girl's life. the man she was madly in love with had asked her to be his wife, and, so far as it was possible to forecast the future, it seemed that before them both there stretched a long vista of happy years to be spent together, or as many years together as a sailor and his wife can pass during the greater part of their lives. yet, who can foretell the future--even so much as what to-morrow may bring forth? to-day we are here, to-morrow we are gone. a bicycle accident has done for us, or we have caught a fever or pneumonia, and we are no more. how, then, was bella to know that events would so shape themselves that, ere she had been a year engaged to her future husband, she would be on board the _emperor of the moon_, bound for the other side of the world, and that during her passage in the good old ship, named after an ancient play--a representation of which one of the late owners had witnessed in his boyhood--she would encounter such calamities and perils? but let us not anticipate. rather, instead, let us describe who bella was, and how she came to love and to be loved, to be wooed and won. our english girl! the girl fairly tall, and full to the brim with health; full, too, of a liking for all exercise which befits the dawning woman--for boating, riding, walking, cycling: not ashamed to acknowledge that she likes a good dance and that she has a good appetite for a ball supper; one who is, withal, not a fool! where in all the world can you find anything better than that--better than the honest girls who have been our mothers, are our wives, and, please god, are what our daughters will be? such a one was bella waldron. she could take a scull--and pull it, too--as well as any of her sisters whom you shall meet 'twixt richmond and windsor; she could cycle thirty miles a day, eat a good dinner afterwards, and then go to a dance in the evening; and she thought nothing of walking from west kensington to piccadilly or regent street, with a glance at the kensington high street shops on her way!--especially when the winter remnant sales were on and advertised daily in glowing terms. of riding she knew little, because horse-exercise is a more or less expensive luxury, and also because an income of £ a year does not allow much in the way of luxuries, even when there are only two people in the family and two servants (with an odd boy) kept. and that sum represented mrs. waldron's income. bella's mother had been a miss pooley, who had married the late commander waldron (retired with the brevet rank of captain), and to this lady there remained only one near relative, besides bella, at the time this veracious narrative opens. now, this gentleman merits a slight description, not only because he plays a considerable part in those adventures and tribulations which, later on, befell the girl, but also because he occupied a position almost unique and, consequently, conspicuous in these modern days. fifty--nay, thirty years ago, there would not have been anything peculiar in the career he followed; but now, with the twentieth century close upon us, that career was almost a singular one. captain pooley was a sea captain--a mercantile sea captain--owning two ships of his own, and always in command of one of them. that which he now commanded was the very _emperor of the moon_ of which you have already heard, and of which, if you follow this narrative, you will hear a great deal more; the other was a brig called _sophy_, which will not figure at all in these pages. now captain pooley, as he was called by everybody, though, of course, he had no right whatever to that distinctive appellation, had as a young man possessed an extraordinary love for the sea, so intense a love, indeed, that he, not being able to obtain a nomination for the royal navy, had induced his father to apprentice him to the merchant service. later in life--one must be brief in these preliminary descriptions!--he had, after obtaining all his certificates, purchased one after the other, with some little money he had inherited, shares in first the one ship and then the second, and eventually, by aid of savings and successful trading, had become the entire owner of both. for the rest--to be again brief--he was a gentleman in manner and in feelings, while in his person he was a handsome, burly man, with the brightest of blue eyes, a vast shock of remarkably white hair above a good-looking, ruddy, tan-brown face; and was also the possessor of a smile which appeared more often than not upon his good-humoured countenance, and helped to make him welcome wherever he went, both at home and abroad. he was, it should be added, a married man, but childless, and it was not unusual for him to occasionally take his wife on the voyages he made for the purpose of transporting the goods which he sold in distant parts of the world, as well as for the purpose of purchasing other goods for sale in england. otherwise, mrs. pooley remained at home in a pretty little villa at blackheath, of which he owned a long lease. it was a year before the great joy of bella's life came to her that the 'captain,' returned from a voyage to calcutta, and, as was always the case with him, he went to west kensington to visit his sister and niece, accompanied by his wife. these visits were invariably paid, and also invariably returned by mrs. and miss waldron, and were generally productive of a great deal of pleasure on either side. captain pooley--as we will continue to term him--was a kind-hearted, open-handed man, who loved his own kith and kin and cherished an old-fashioned notion--still in existence, heaven be praised, amongst many members of various classes of society--that people should do as much as lay in their power to make their relatives happy. wherefore, on this night, he said, as he took the head of mrs. waldron's table--which she always insisted on his doing whenever he stayed with her--and while he carved a pair of most excellent fowls: 'so i think we shall have a good time of it all round, mary,'--mary being mrs. waldron's name. 'to-night we will go to the lyceum, and to-morrow--well, to-morrow--we'll see. then, next week, southsea. southsea's the place for us. great doings there next week, bell. the visit of the foreign fleet now there will beat everything that has gone before.' 'but the expense, george!' exclaimed his sister. 'the expense will be terrible. i saw in the paper that everything would be at famine price.' the captain pooh-poohed this remark, however, saying that an old friend of his, who had retired from the royal navy and was now living at that lively watering-place, knew of a little furnished house which could be obtained reasonably if taken for the following week, as well as for the principal one. and he clinched the remark by saying, 'and i have told him to secure it.' there was therefore nothing further to be said on that score, bella alone remarking that she had the best old uncle and aunt that ever lived. 'there will be,' he continued, putting a slice of the breast upon her plate, probably as a reward for her observation, 'plenty to amuse bella. there is a garden-party at whale island; another given by the general; and a ball given by the navy at the town hall. that's the place for you, bella. if you don't find a husband there--and you a sailor's daughter, too--well!----' but these remarks were hushed by his wife, who told him not to tease the child, and by the beautiful rose blush which promptly rushed to his niece's cheeks. yet, all the same, bella thought it very likely that she would have a good time of it. they were playing _madame sans-gêne_ at the lyceum that evening--though pooley rather wished it had been something by shakespeare--and on the road to the theatre in the cab he told them that he had taken another stall, to which he had invited a young friend of his whom he had run against in town a day or two ago. 'and a very good fellow, too,' he said, 'besides being a first-rate sailor. and he has had a pretty hard struggle of it, owing to his being cursed with a cross-grained old father, who seemed to imagine his son was only brought into the world that he might sit upon him in every way. all the same, though, stephen charke got to windward of him somehow.' 'whoever is he, uncle?' bella asked, interested in this story of the unknown person who was to make a fifth of their party; while her mother addressed a similar question to mrs. pooley. 'he is,' said the captain, 'a young man of about thirty, who once went to sea with me in the _sophy_; the son of an old retired officer, who was years ago in a west indian regiment. after petting and spoiling the boy, and--as stephen charke himself told me--almost treating him with deference because he happened to have been born his son, he afterwards endeavoured to exert a good deal of authority over him, which led to disagreeables. he wanted the lad to go in for the army, and stephen wanted to go to sea.' 'and got his way, apparently,' said bella. 'he did,' her uncle replied, 'by absolutely running away to sea--just like a hero in a boy's book.' 'how lovely!' the girl exclaimed. 'ha! humph!' said pooley, rather doubtfully, he being a man who entirely disapproved of disobedience in any shape or form from a subordinate. 'anyhow, his experiences weren't lovely at first. they don't take runaways in the best ships, you know. however, he stuck to it--he had burnt his boats as far as regards his father--and--well!--he holds a master's certificate now, and he's both a good sailor and a good fellow. he is in the naval reserve, too, and has had a year in a battleship.' 'and his father?' mrs. waldron asked. 'are they reconciled?' 'the old man is dead, and charke has three or four thousand or so, which makes him more or less independent. he's a queer fish in one way, and picks and chooses a good deal as to what kind of ship he will serve in. for instance, he won't go in a passenger steamer, because, he says, the mates are either treated with good-natured tolerance or snubbed by the travellers, and he aims at being an owner. however, as i said before, he's a good fellow.' by this time the cab had forced its way along the strand amidst hundreds of similar vehicles, many of which were disgorging their fares at the various other theatres, and at last, after receiving a gracious permission to pass from those autocratic masters of the public--the police stationed at the foot of wellington street--wrenched itself round and pulled up in its turn beneath the portico of the theatre. 'there's charke!' said pooley, while, as he spoke, a rather tall, good-looking man of dark complexion, who was irreproachably attired in evening dress, came up to them and was duly introduced. to bella, whose knowledge of the world--outside the quiet, refined circle in which she had moved--was small, this man came more as a surprise than anything else. she knew nothing of the sea, although she was the daughter of an officer who had been in the royal navy, and her idea of what a 'mate' was like was probably derived from those she had seen on the jersey or boulogne packet-boats, when her mother and she had occasionally visited these and similar places in the out-of-town season. yet stephen charke (she supposed because he was a gentleman's son, and also because of that year in a battleship as an officer of the r.n.r.) was not at all what she had expected. his quiet, well-bred tones as he addressed her--with, in their deep, ocean-acquired strength, that subtle inflexion which marks the difference between the gentleman and the man who is simply not bad-mannered--took her entirely by surprise; while the courteous manner in which he spoke, accompanied by something that proclaimed indubitably his acquaintance, not only with the world, but its best customs, helped to contribute to that surprise. so that, as they proceeded towards their stalls, she found herself reflecting on what a small acquaintance she had with things in general outside her rather limited circle of vision. chapter iii 'let those love now who never loved before' the 'captain' led the way into the five stalls he had booked, followed, of course, by the elder ladies, and, as stephen charke naturally went last, it fell out that bella and he sat by each other. and between the acts, the intervals of which were quite long enough for sustained conversation to take place, the girl had time to find her interest in him, as well as her surprise, considerably increased. she had perused in her time a few novels dealing with the sea, and, in these, the mates of ships of whom she had read had more or less served to confirm her opinion, already slightly formed from real life. but, when charke began to talk to her about the actual source from which the play they were witnessing was drawn, she acknowledged to herself that, somehow, she must have conceived a wrong impression of those seafarers. certainly he, she thought, could not be one of the creatures who cursed and abused the men if they objected to their food, and threatened next to put them in irons; nor did she remember that such individuals had ever been depicted in sea stories as knowing much about the revolution in france and the vulgar amusements of napoleon. then, during the next interval, he approached the subject of the forthcoming festivities at portsmouth, to which bella's uncle had told him he was going to take his relatives, and from that he glided off into the statement that he himself would be there. 'i am going down next monday,' he said, 'to see one or two of my old mess-mates of the _bacchus_--in which i served for a year in the channel squadron--and i fancy i shall be in at most of the functions. have you ever been to a naval ball?' bella told him she never had been to one, her mother's intimacy with the service having entirely ceased since captain waldron's death, and he then proceeded to give her an account of what these delightful functions were like. indeed, so vividly did he portray them that bella almost wished they were going on that very night to take part in one. when the play was over, she--who acknowledged to herself that which probably no power on earth would have induced her to acknowledge so soon to any one else, namely, that stephen charke was an agreeable, if not a fascinating, companion--in company with the others prepared to return to west kensington, bidding goodbye to him in the vestibule of the theatre. 'where are you staying?' mrs. waldron asked him, as they stood on the steps waiting for their cab to make its appearance in turn. 'and are you in london for any time?' charke mentioned the name of a west end caravanserai, at which he had a room, as his abode for the next day or so, and by doing so he administered one more shock of surprise to the girl standing hooded and muffled by his side. for, again, in her ignorance, or perhaps owing to her reading of nautical novels, she had always thought of the officers of merchant vessels as living somewhere in the purlieus of ratcliffe highway when ashore, and rarely penetrating farther west than the city itself. it seemed, however, that either she had formed a totally erroneous impression of such people, or that the above sources of information must be wrong if all were really like mr. charke. but then, suddenly, there occurred to her mind the fact that her uncle had said this young officer was in possession of some few thousand pounds of his own--and this, probably, would explain why he was living in a comfortable manner when he was ashore. 'i am at home to my friends every other friday,' mrs. waldron said, as now the cab had got to the portico, and a man was bawling out 'mrs. pooley's carriage' at the top of his voice--which announcement, nevertheless, served the purpose required--'and the day after to-morrow happens to be one of those fridays. if you care to call--though i know gentlemen despise such things--we shall be glad to see you.' 'i do not despise them,' charke answered, 'and i shall be delighted to come.' then he bade them all good-night, saw the cab off, and strolled down to his hotel. in his innermost heart charke did despise such things as 'at homes,' or 'tea fights,' as he termed them contemptuously to himself, yet, in common with a great many other men, he was willing enough to go to them when there was any attraction strong enough to draw him. and he told himself that there was an attraction at mrs. waldron's such as he had never been subjected to before. 'what a lovely girl,' he thought to himself; 'what eyes and hair--and a nice girl, too! now i begin to understand why other men curse the sea, and say they would rather earn their living on shore driving busses than following our calling. and, also, why they nail up photographs in their cabins and watch every chance of getting mails off from the shore. i suppose i should have understood it earlier if i had ever met a girl like this.' he did call on the following friday, after having passed the intervening two days in wandering about london; in going to a race meeting one day and a cricket match at the oval the next; in trying a dinner at one foreign restaurant on the wednesday, and another at a second foreign restaurant on thursday; but all the time he felt restless and unsettled, and wished that four o'clock on friday was at hand. 'this won't do,' he said to himself, before the cricket match on thursday was half over, and while he sat baking in the sun that streamed down on to the oval--which disturbed him not at all, and had no power to make him any browner--'this won't do. i must go to sea at once. by the time i have seen that girl again i shall be head over ears in love with her. and the interest on £ in india stock--by jove! it isn't quite £ since i've been loafing about on shore!--and a chief officer's pay won't keep a wife. not such a wife as she would be, anyway.' he did not know it--or, perhaps, he did know it and would not acknowledge it to himself--but he was very nearly head over ears in love with bella waldron already. and he had only seen her once--been by her side at a theatre for three hours--with three intervals of ten minutes in which to talk to her! yet the girl's beauty, her gentle innocence, and above all, that trusting confidence with which she seemed to look out upon all that was passing before her, and to regard the world as what it appeared to be and to take it at its own valuation, had captured him. still, he should have known--he must have known--that when a man who has never thought much of the women he has met heretofore, and has generally forgotten what their features were like by the next day, takes to lying awake for hours dreaming at last of one woman with whom he has by chance come into contact, he is as nearly in love with her as it is possible for him to be. so, at least, those report who have been in love, and so it has been told to the writer of this narrative! he made his way to montmorency road, west kensington, exactly at four o'clock, and while he sat in the pretty drawing-room talking to mrs. waldron, who was alone at present--the appearance of bella being promised by her mother in a few moments--he found himself wondering what the girl did with her life here. he had seen a bicycle in the passage as he was shown upstairs, so he supposed she rode that; while there were some photographs of rather good-looking men standing about on the semi-grand and on the plush-covered mantelshelf--which made him feel horribly annoyed, until mrs. waldron, seeing his glance fixed on them, informed him that they were mostly cousins who were out of the country, and that one or two of them happened to have succumbed to various climatic disorders abroad, for which catastrophes he did not seem to feel as sorry as he supposed he ought to do. then bella came in, looking radiantly beautiful in a summer dress (a description of which masculine ignorance renders impossible), and stephen charke was happy for ten minutes. for they all talked of the impending _fêtes_ at portsmouth in honour of the foreign fleet, and charke found himself in an elysium when bella promised him--without the slightest self-consciousness or false shame--that she would undoubtedly have some dances reserved for him. yet, soon, other callers came in, and stephen charke found himself deprived of the pleasure of further conversation with bella. an elderly dowager claimed her attention, and a middle-aged lady--of, as he considered, menacing aspect--regaled him with the evil doings of her domestic servants, a subject of about as much interest to this wanderer of the seas as that of embroidery or tatting would have been. an irish doctor of divinity also disturbed his meditations on bella's beauty by telling funny stories, the point of which the divine had forgotten until he refreshed his memory by reference to a little note-book in which he had them all written down, while a young militia subaltern who had failed for the army--and seemed rather proud of it!--irritated him beyond endurance. yet, even through this fatuous individual, there came something that was welcome to him, since he saw bella regarding the youth with a look of scarcely veiled contempt, and he longed to tell the idiot that the only failure for which women have no pity in this world is that of the intellect. 'goodbye,' he said to bella, who accompanied him to the head of the stairs, after he had made his adieux to her mother. 'goodbye. next week--portsmouth--and--my dances.' 'i shall not forget,' she said. after which he wandered off by devious and intricate ways (which reminded him of some of the narrow passages he knew of between the islands in the china seas) and so arrived at the district railway. and all the time he was telling himself that he was a fool--an absolute fool. 'i have fallen in love with a girl i have only seen twice,' he meditated, as the train ran through the sulphurous regions underground, and he endeavoured to protect his lungs by smoking cigarette after cigarette; 'a girl who is not, and never can be, anything to me. she will make a good match some day; she must make a good match--girls of her position and looks always do; and, a year or two hence, i shall luff into some unearthly harbour abroad, and run against pooley, who will tell me that she has done so.' yet, all the same, he took comfort from remembering that he had not seen anybody at mrs. waldron's 'afternoon' who was likely to be the individual to carry her off. but, in spite of this soothing reflection, he braced himself to a stern resolution: he determined that, as already in his life he had triumphed over other things, so he would triumph now. he would triumph over this swift-flowering and still growing love; conquer it by absence from the object which inspired it; trample it down till there was nothing left of life in it. 'i have no money to keep a wife,' he thought, as he walked up from charing cross station to his hotel; 'certainly no money to keep such a wife as she would be. and, even if i had, it is not likely that she would marry me; "a common mate," as i have heard ourselves called. portsmouth shall end it,' he concluded. 'i'll have one good week there, and then to sea again on a long cruise. that ought to do it! i'll go down to the docks to-morrow and see what's open.' wherefore, full of this determinate resolution to drive from out of him the frenzy which had taken possession of his heart and mind, he went to the hotel and read in his bedroom for an hour or so, during all of which time bella waldron's face was looking out at him from the pages of the _navy and army illustrated_, and was always before him until he went forth to try still another foreign restaurant. yet she was there too, and her pure, innocent eyes were gazing at him across the imitation flowers and the red candle-shades in the middle of the table; and so, also, they were in the stalls of the empire, until he fell asleep in his seat. nor was she absent from his mind during the long hours of the night. chapter iv portsmouth _en fÊte_ the lunch at whale island was over, and there was a slight breathing-space ere the garden-party, which followed it, began. meanwhile, from southsea pier, from down by the pontoon at the foot of the old hard, and over from gosport, picket-boats, steam pinnaces, and launches--all belonging to her majesty's ships lying out at spithead--were coming fast, as well as shore boats and numerous other craft that blackened the waters. and they bore in them a gaily-dressed crowd of men and women, the ladies being adorned in all those beauteous garments which they know so well how to assume on such an occasion; while, among the gentlemen, frock-coats, tall hats, and white waistcoats, as well as full dress, or 'no. ' uniform, were the order of the day. for all these ship's-boats, after putting off from the battleships and cruisers to which they belonged, had, by order of the vice-admiral commanding the channel squadron, called at the above-named places to fetch off the visitors to the whale island festivities. stephen charke, in the uniform of the r.n.r., came in the picket-boat of the _bacchus_, wherein he had been lunching with the wardroom officers, and as she went alongside of southsea pier, and afterwards at the old town pier, he had eagerly scanned the ladies who were waiting to be taken off. he was not, however, particularly disappointed or cast down at not seeing the one girl he was looking out for at either of them, since, in the continual departure of similar boats, and the running backwards and forwards of these craft between whale island and the landing-stages, it was, of course, hardly to be supposed that she would happen upon the particular boat in which he was. he saw her, however, directly he, with his companions, had made their way to the lawn on which the wife of the port-admiral was receiving her guests, and--in so seeing her--he recognised instantly that he was not going to enjoy his afternoon as much as he had hoped to do. 'who's that?' he asked of the staff-commander of the _bacchus_, with whom he happened to be walking at the moment. 'i mean that flag-lieutenant talking to the young lady in the white dress?' 'that?' replied his companion, regarding the young officer indicated. 'oh, that's gilbert bampfyld, flag-lieutenant to the rear-admiral. he's a good chap; i'll introduce you later. a lucky fellow, too. he's heir to his uncle, lord d'abernon. he's all right,' he concluded inconsequently. 'i know the young lady,' stephen said. 'i've been at sea with her uncle.' 'good-looking,' said the staff-commander, who was a single man. 'fine girl, too. i hope she's coming to the ball.' 'she is,' charke replied, and then stood observing her companion from the little group of which they now formed part. certainly the young officer was 'all right,' if good looks and a manly figure can entitle any one to that qualification. he was undoubtedly handsome, with the manliness which women are stated (by authorities on such matters) to admire: his bright eyes and good complexion, as well as his clear-cut, regular features, leaving little else to desire. he was also fairly tall, while, if anything were required to set off his appearance, it was furnished by his full-dress and his flag-lieutenant's aiguillettes. he was talking now in an animated way, as charke could see easily enough from where he stood by the refreshment tent; and it was not possible for him to doubt that he was making himself very interesting to bella. for a moment, stephen stood hesitating as to whether he should go up and present himself to the girl who had never been out of his thoughts since he said 'goodbye' to her in west kensington; then, while he still debated the matter in his mind, bella saw him and smiled and nodded pleasantly, while she looked--as he thought--as though she expected he should come up to her. which of course decided him. there was no affectation in the manner wherewith bella greeted him; in truth, she was glad to see him and, honestly, as she did everything else, she said so. 'i have been looking for you for the last half-hour,' she remarked, as he reached her side, 'and wondering if you were coming or not'; after which she introduced stephen charke and gilbert bampfyld to each other. then, some other officers coming up at this moment, more introductions took place, while bampfyld said that he must move off. 'i have escaped from my admiral for a few moments,' he said, while he added with a laugh: 'i am not quite sure, however, that he is not congratulating himself on having escaped from me. i hope, miss waldron,' he added, 'that you have an invitation for the ball?' 'yes,' bella said; and she smiled at lieutenant bampfyld's request that he might not be forgotten on that occasion, though she did not say positively whether that calamity would occur or not. then, when he had moved on to join the distinguished officer to whom it was his duty to be attached almost as tightly as a limpet to a rock, she said to charke, 'come, now, and see mamma. she is in the shade behind the tent, and she has found an old friend of father's.' but it was so evident that mrs. waldron was thoroughly enjoying herself with that old friend, who was a retired post-captain (she was, indeed, at the moment of their arrival engaged in reminiscences of the north american and west indian stations), that they strolled away together, and, finding soon another shady seat, sat down and passed an agreeable hour or so. wherefore, as you may thus see, stephen charke did spend a happy afternoon, notwithstanding that first apparition of the flag-lieutenant in converse with the girl who was now never out of his thoughts. indeed, it would have been to him a perfect afternoon, had he not more than once seen bampfyld (who again appeared to have escaped from his admiral!) roaming about the place with a somewhat disconsolate, as well as penetrating, look upon his face; which look charke construed into meaning that the other was seeking for the girl of whom he himself had now obtained temporary possession. however, even so, he did not think it necessary to call bella's attention to the fact. but we must not tarry over these soft summer beguilements to which the old naval capital and all in her had given themselves up. there lie other matters before us--matters which, when they afterwards occurred, caused three people now partaking of these enjoyments to, perhaps, cast back their memories,--memories that were not untinged by regret. suffice it, therefore, that we hurry on, and passing over another garden-party which took place at the military commandant's, and an 'at home' given on board the foreign visitors, flagship, as well as entertainments at which only the male sex were present, we come to the naval ball at the town hall. that was a great night, a night on which, if one may judge by subsequent events, many loving hearts were made happy; on which, too, some saw the dawn of the first promise of future happiness--and one man, at least, was made unhappy. it was a great night! a night no more forgotten by three people in the days that followed it than was the garden-party which preceded it by a day or so. the first lord of the admiralty led off the quadrille with the wife of the commander-in-chief, while the prince who was in command of the foreign fleet danced with the first lord's wife; there being in that set, round which the other guests formed a vast circle, the most prominent individuals then present in portsmouth. and bella, standing close by with her hand upon the arm of stephen charke, while they waited for the first dance in which all the guests could participate, felt that, at last, she knew what a ball was. 'it isn't quite like a state ball,' whispered lieutenant bampfyld to them as he passed by with his admiral, he being qualified to give such information in consequence of his duties as flag-lieutenant having often given him the opportunity of attending those great functions, 'but it is much prettier.' then he disappeared for a time. 'it could scarcely be prettier than it is,' bella said to charke. 'how has the room been made so beautiful?' 'the men of the _vernon_ have done it all,' her companion answered; 'they are good at that sort of thing.' as, indeed, they seemed to be, judging by the effect they had produced. trophies of arms, flags, devices, life-buoys white as snow, with the names of vessels belonging both to the visitors and ourselves painted in gold upon them, decorated the vast room; while, from the dockyard, had been unearthed old armour and weapons, such as, in these present days, are forgotten. also the colour lent by various uniforms, naval, military, and marine, as well as by flowers and the bouquets carried by ladies, added to the brilliant scene--while the sombre black of civilians helped to give a contrast to the bright hues. for civilians were not forgotten: admiralty officials, private residents, special correspondents--with a wary eye on their watches, so that they might be able to rush over to the post-office with their last messages for the great london and provincial papers--were all there. 'come,' said stephen charke, as the band of the royal marines struck up the first waltz, 'come, miss waldron; it is our turn now.' and for ten minutes he realised what happiness meant. that he would have to resign her for the greater part of the evening, he knew very well--her programme was already full!--his name appearing three times on it, and lieutenant bampfyld's also three times--yet, later, he did so none the less willingly for that knowledge. how could he? he loved the girl with his whole heart and soul--madly! 'i shall love her always, until i die,' he muttered to himself as he stood by, seeking no other partner and watching her dancing now with the flag-lieutenant. then, next, he saw her dancing with the flag-lieutenant of the other admiral--though that did not seem to him to be so disturbing a matter. 'till i die!' he repeated again; and then once more called himself a fool. his second dance with her arrived, and once more he was in his seventh heaven; for the moment he was again supremely happy. 'i hope i may have the pleasure of taking you in to supper,' he almost whispered in her ear as they paused for a moment for breath, and it seemed as if the light of his enjoyment--for that evening at least--had been suddenly extinguished when she, raising those sweet, clear eyes to his, exclaimed: 'oh, i am so sorry! but i have promised lieutenant bampfyld that he shall do so.' for the remainder of the ball charke did not let a single dance pass by without taking part in it, and allowed his friends to introduce him right and left to any lady who happened to require a partner, though reserving, of course, the one for which he was engaged to bella at what would be almost the end of the evening. in fact, as his friend the staff-commander said, 'he let himself go pretty considerably,' and he so far exemplified that gentleman's remark that he took in to supper one of the plainest of those middle-aged ladies who happened to be gracing the ball with their presence. yet this lady found nothing whatever to complain of to herself (to her friends she would have uttered no complaint of her cavalier, even though he had been as stupid as an owl and as dumb as a stone, she being a wary old campaigner), but, instead, thought him a charming companion. perhaps, too, she had good reason to do so, since, from the moment he conducted her across the temporarily constructed bridge which led from the town hall proper to the supper tent erected in a vacant plot of ground, his conversation was full of smart sayings and pleasant, though occasionally sub-acid, remarks on things in general. yet, naturally, it was impossible that she should know that the undoubtedly bright and piquant conversation with which he entertained her was partly produced by his bitterness at seeing gilbert bampfyld and bella enjoying themselves thoroughly at a table _à-deux_ close by where he and his partner were seated, and partly by his stoical determination to 'let things go.' and by, also, another determination at which he had arrived--namely, to go to sea again at the very first moment he could find a ship. chapter v 'so farewell, hope!' nine months had passed since the entertainment of the foreign fleet at portsmouth--months that had been pregnant with events concerning the three persons with whom this narrative deals; and bella sat now, at the end of a dull march afternoon, in the pretty drawing-room in west kensington. she sat there meditating deeply, since she happened to be alone at the moment, owing to mrs. waldron having gone out to pay several calls. of all who had been at those entertainments, of all in the party which, in the preceding june, had gathered together at portsmouth, the three ladies of the family, mrs. waldron, mrs. pooley, and bella, were alone in england; the three men--the three sailors--were all gone to different parts of the world. captain pooley had sailed with his vessel to australia; stephen charke had gone to china as first officer of a large vessel; and gilbert bampfyld, who, in consequence of the rear-admiral's retirement, no longer wore the aiguillettes of a flag-lieutenant, had been appointed to the _briseus_, on the east indian station. and bella, sitting now in her arm-chair in front of the drawing-room fire, with a letter lying open on her lap before her, was thinking of the writer of that letter, as well as of all that it contained. if one glances at it as it lies there before her, much may be gleaned of what has happened in those nine months; while perhaps, also, some idea, some light, may be gained of that which is to come. 'my darling,' it commenced (and possibly the writer, far away, may have hoped that, as he wrote those words, they would be kissed as often by the person to whom they were addressed as he fondly desired), 'my darling--your letter came to me to-day, and i must write back to you at once--this very instant--not only because i want to put all my thoughts on paper, but also because i can thus catch the p. and o. mail. how good! how good you are! while, also, i do not forget how good your mother is. i know i ought not--at least i suppose i ought not--to ask you to do such a thing as come out to me, and i can assure you i hesitated for weeks before daring to do so. yet, when i reflected that, if you could not bring yourself to come, as well as induce your mother to give her consent to your coming, we could not possibly be married for three years, i could not hesitate any longer. and now--now--oh, bella, my darling! i could dance for joy if my cabin was big enough to allow of such a thing--you are coming! you will come! how happy we shall be! i can think of nothing else--nothing. you don't know how i feel, and it's useless for me to try to tell you....' no more need be read of this letter, however, and, since the reader will shortly be informed of what led to it, nothing more need be said than that, after a good deal of explanation as to how the young lady to whom it was addressed was to make her plans for reaching bombay, it was signed 'gilbert bampfyld.' so that one sees now what had been the outcome of that week of delight at portsmouth during the last summer; one understands all that had been the result of those garden-parties and that ball. they--the festivities--were followed by a renewal of the acquaintanceship between mrs. waldron and her daughter and gilbert bampfyld, as, indeed, the latter had quite made up his mind should be the case, and as--since the truth must always be spoken--bella had hoped would happen. they were followed, that is to say, directly the naval man[oe]uvres were over, for which important function both divisions of the channel squadron were of course utilised, while not a week had elapsed from the time of the return of the ships to their stations before gilbert bampfyld presented himself in montmorency road. and that presentation of himself at this suburban retreat was, it is surely unnecessary to say, succeeded by many other things, all showing what was impending and what actually happened later on. gilbert bampfyld told bella that he loved her and wanted her for his wife, and--well, one can imagine the rest. what was there to stand between those loving hearts? what? nothing to impede their engagement, nothing that need have impeded their immediate marriage, except the fact that bella's maiden modesty could never have been brought to consent to a union so hurriedly entered into as would have been necessary, had she agreed to become gilbert's wife ere he set out for bombay to join the _briseus_, to which he was now appointed. one regrets, however, when describing such soft and glowing incidents as these, that space is so circumscribed (owing to the canvas having to be filled with larger events now looming near) as to leave no room for more minute description of this love idyl. it would have been pleasant to have dwelt upon bella's ecstatic joy at having been asked to be the wife of the one man--the first man--whose love she had ever desired (ah, that is it--to be the first man or the first girl who has ever touched the heart of him or her we worship); only it must not be--the reader's own imagination shall be asked to fill the missing description. let those, therefore, who remember the earliest whispered word of love they ever spoke or had spoken to them; who recall still the first kiss they ever gave or took; and those who can remember, also, all the joy that came to them when first they loved and knew themselves beloved, fill the hiatus. that will suffice. 'we shall be so happy, dearest,' gilbert said, when all preliminaries had been arranged in so far as their engagement was concerned, and when he did not know at the time that he was about to be sent on foreign service, but hoped that he would either be allowed to remain in the channel squadron or be transferred to the training squadron, or, at worst, appointed to the mediterranean. 'we shall be so happy, darling. i hoped from the first to win you--though--though sometimes i feared there might be some one else.' 'there could never have been any one else. never, after i had once met you,' she murmured. 'oh, gilbert!' and then she, too, said she was so happy. yet a moment later she whispered: 'but, somehow, it seems too good to be true. all has come so easily in the way that i--well, as we--desired, that sometimes i think there may be--that something may arise to--to----' 'what--prevent our marriage? nothing can do that. nothing could have done that--nothing!' 'suppose your uncle, lord d'abernon, had objected?' she said, remembering that she had heard how this nobleman was not always given to making things quite as easy and comfortable to those by whom he was surrounded as was considered desirable. 'suppose that had happened?' 'oh, he's all right,' gilbert replied. 'he expected his opinion to be asked and his consent obtained, and all that sort of thing, but, outside that, he's satisfied. and if he wasn't, it wouldn't have made any difference to me--after i had once seen you.' for which remark he was rewarded with one of those chaste salutes which bella had learnt by now to bestow without too much diffidence. as regards mrs. waldron--well, she was a mother, and it was not to be supposed that such a distinguished match as bella was about to make could be aught but satisfactory to her; while captain pooley, who had not yet departed with the _emperor of the moon_ for australia, told his niece that she was a lucky girl. he also informed gilbert that, as he was a childless man, bella would eventually fall heiress to anything he and his wife might leave behind them. matters looked, therefore, as though they would all go merry as the proverbial marriage bell. all, as the old romancists used to say, was very well. then fell the first blow--the one that was to separate those two fond hearts. gilbert was suddenly appointed to the _briseus_ and ordered to proceed to bombay to join her at once, and a fortnight later he was gone, and poor bella was left behind lamenting. she was sitting, lamenting still, before her fire on this march day, with this newly-arrived letter on her lap--in solemn truth, she had been lamenting his departure ever since it had taken place--when, suddenly, there broke in upon her ears the sound of a visitor's knock below. then, ere she could distinguish whose voice was addressing the servant who had answered the door, she heard a manly footstep on the stairs, and, a moment later, the maidservant announced: 'mr. charke.' mr. charke! the man whose memory had almost faded from her mind--as she had reproached herself for more than once, when it did happen to recur to her--the man whom she had learnt to like so much during all that happy time last year. now, as she gazed on him, and noticed how brown he was as he came forward--more deeply browned, indeed, than she had thought it possible for him, who was already so tanned and sunburnt, to be--and noticed, too, the strong, self-reliant look on his face, she reproached herself again. she acknowledged, also, that she had liked him so much that even her new-found happiness ought not to have driven all recollection of him entirely from her mind. then she greeted him warmly, saying all the pleasant little words of welcome that a woman whose heart goes in unison with her good breeding knows how to say; and made him welcome. yet, as she did so, she observed that he was graver, more sad, it seemed to her, than she had ever remarked before. 'you are not ill?' she asked, as this fact became more and more apparent to her. 'surely, you, a sailor, have not come back from the sea unwell? at least i hope not.' 'no,' he said, 'no. nor, i hope, do i seem so. do you know that, besides any desire to call and see you, i came for another purpose?' and now his eyes rested on her with so strange a light--so mournful, deep a light--that in a moment her woman's instinct told her what he meant as plainly as though his voice had done so. like a flash of lightning, that instinct revealed to her the fact that this man loved her; that, from the moment they had parted, months ago, she had never been absent from his mind. she knew it; she was certain she was right--she could not be deceived! then to herself she said: 'heaven help him--heaven prevent him from telling me so.' but aloud, her heart full of pity, she said: 'indeed,' and smiled bravely on him while she spoke. 'indeed, what was that purpose?' 'to congratulate you. to---- 'congratulate me!' 'yes. i met the _emperor of the moon_ at capetown. we were both homeward bound. and--and--your uncle told me the news. i offer my congratulations now.' yet, as he said the words, she saw that his face was turned a little aside so that she could not perceive his eyes. congratulations! well, they might be sincere in so far as that, because he loved her, he wished her well and desired that she should be happy, but--but--otherwise--no! it was not to be thought upon. as he said the words: 'i congratulate you,' he followed an old custom--one more foreign than english--and held out his hand, taking hers. and he kept it, too, fast in his own, while he said in the voice that his struggles with the elements had made so deep and sonorous: 'yes, i congratulate you. i must do that. to--to--see you happy--to know you are so, is all that i have--all--i hope for now. yet there is no treachery to him in what i say. heaven help me! i mean none--but--but--i--from the first--i have lo----' 'no, no,' she murmured, striving to withdraw her hand, yet not doing so angrily. 'no, no. don't say it, mr. charke. don't, pray don't.' and, now, neither could he see her eyes nor her averted face. 'don't say it. you do not desire to make me unhappy?' she murmured. 'never, as god hears me. but--i have said it. i had to say it. goodbye.' 'goodbye,' she said--and then, as he neared the door, she turned once and looked at him with eyes that were full of intense pity and compassion. chapter vi 'and bend the gallant mast, my boys' events are now drawing near to that night when bella was to have those distressing dreams which have been mentioned at the opening of this narrative; all was arranged for her departure to bombay. a little more, and she will be on her way to india and to wedlock. yet all had not been quite easy and smooth in the settlement of affairs. at first, mrs. waldron, good, loving mother though she was, and fully cognisant of the facts--namely, that bella loved lieutenant bampfyld madly and would be an unhappy woman if she did not become his wife long ere three years had passed, and that the match which her child was about to make was undoubtedly a brilliant one--refused to hear of such a thing as that she should go out to him. 'if you are worth having,' she said, when first the proposal was submitted to her, 'you are surely worth coming for.' and, since this was a truism, it was hardly to be gainsaid. yet, as we know by now, she had been won over by her daughter's pleadings and entreaties; by, too, the plain and undeniable fact that there was not the slightest possibility of lieutenant bampfyld being able to come home to marry her, or to return to england in any way--short of being invalided--until the _briseus_ herself returned. then, no sooner had this difficulty been surmounted than another reared its head before mother and daughter. how was she to go out to bombay alone and unprotected? a young married woman, who had to proceed to india to join her husband, might very well undertake such a journey, but not a young single woman such as bella was, while for chaperon or protectress there was no one forthcoming. at first, it is true, mrs. waldron had meditated accompanying bella herself (she being an old sailor, to whom long sea voyages were little more than railway journeys are to some more stay-at-home ladies); only, down in the depths of her nature, which was an extremely refined one, there was some voice whispering to her that it would be indelicate to thus bring her daughter out in pursuit of her affianced husband. it is true, however, that authorities on social etiquette who have since been consulted have averred that this was a false feeling which was in possession of mrs. waldron's mind; but be that as it may, it existed. then, too, she still regarded the matter of her child going to her future husband, instead of that husband coming to fetch her, as one of particular delicacy; one of such nicety as to permit of no elaboration; and she resolved that, come what might--even though she should have to purchase, or hire rather, the services of an elderly and austere travelling companion--she must not herself accompany bella. 'heaven knows what is to be done,' she said to her daughter, as they discussed the important point, 'but i suppose it will come to that'; the 'that' meaning the hired chaperon. then she sighed a little, remembering how the late captain waldron had encompassed thousands of miles in a voyage which he made from the antipodes to espouse her. yet, ere many days had passed, the clouds of obstruction were suddenly removed in a manner which seemed almost--as the fond mother stated--providential. captain pooley's ship had followed home, after a week or so of interval, that in which stephen charke had returned to england, and its arrival was soon succeeded by his own in montmorency road. 'going out to him to be married!' he exclaimed, after his sister--who happened to be alone at the time of his visit--had made him acquainted with what she had given her consent to some two or three months before, on gilbert's application backed up by bella's supplications, and which consent she had moaned over inwardly ever since she had so given it. 'going out to be married, eh? why, she must want a husband badly!' yet, because he knew well enough the customs of her majesty's service and the impossibility which prevailed in that service of an officer coming home to marry his bride, he did not repeat her words, 'if she is worth having, she is worth coming for.' 'so other people have thought, if they have not openly said so,' mrs. waldron replied. 'i am sure they must have thought so. yet,' she went on, with determination, 'i have agreed to it, and i cannot retract my word. it is given, and must be kept. no, it is not that which troubles me.' 'what, then?' 'why, the getting out. how is the child to go alone, in a great liner, with two or three hundred passengers, all the way to bombay? how?' she repeated. 'bombay, eh? bombay. oh, well, if that's her destination, she can go comfortably enough. there need be no trouble about that. only she will be more than double the time the p. and o., or any other line, would take to carry her.' 'what do you mean, george?' 'why,' he said, 'i happen to be taking the old _emperor_ to bombay next month with a general cargo--calling at the cape on the way. she can go with me, and welcome. there's a cabin fit for a duchess which she can have.' * * * * * * it was a cabin fit for a duchess, as bella and her mother acknowledged when, a fortnight later, they went down to gravesend to inspect the _emperor of the moon_, and after it had been decided in solemn family conclave that, by this ship, the former should make the voyage to india. and it was more than likely that the girl would make it under particularly pleasant circumstances, since this was one of those occasions on which mrs. pooley had decided to accompany her husband, she not having felt very well during the past winter. at present, the cabin was empty and denuded of everything, pooley having decided to have it refurnished; but when he told them how that furniture would be arranged in the great roomy place, which would have been dignified as a 'state-room' in one of the old clippers, bella said again, as she had said so often before, that 'he was the best old uncle in the world.' now the _emperor of the moon_ was a smart, though old-fashioned, full-rigged ship of about six hundred tons, her lines being perfect, while leaving her full of room inside. her saloon was a comfortable one, well furnished with plush-covered chairs and benches--the covering being quite new; a piano--also looking new--was lashed to the stem of the mizzen-mast, while there were swinging vases, in which, no doubt, fresh ferns and flowers would be placed later. on deck she was very clean and white, with much brass and everything neat and shipshape, while the seaman who should regard her bows and stern would at once acknowledge that she left little to desire, old as she was. for, in the days when she was laid, they built ships with a view to both sea qualities and comfort, and the _emperor of the moon_ lacked neither. her sleeping-cabins were bedrooms, her saloon was a dining-room as good as you would find in a fifty-pound-a-year suburban residence, and her masts would have done credit to one of her majesty's earlier ships. altogether, bella was pleased with everything, especially with her cabin, which was on the port side of the saloon, and she was, besides, pleasantly excited at the idea of so long a sailing voyage. 'i know,' she said to her uncle, 'that we shall have a delightful time of it, and for companionship i shall have you and auntie. that's enough.' 'you will have some one else, too,' pooley said, with a smile; 'you know i have two officers. come'--and again he smiled--'it is our "lay days,"' by which he meant that they were shipping their cargo. 'come, i will introduce them to you.' then he led the way up the companion to the deck. they met one of these officers, the second mate, a young man whom pooley introduced as mr. fagg, and then, while they were all talking together, bella heard a deep, low voice behind her say: 'how do you do, miss waldron?' a voice that caused her to start as she turned round to find herself face to face with stephen charke. 'you!' she exclaimed involuntarily. 'you! are you going on this voyage?' 'i am first officer,' he said. 'i wanted a berth, and captain pooley has given me one.' and amidst her uncle's joyous laughter and his remark that he knew this would be a pleasant surprise for bella, and while, too, mrs. waldron said that she was delighted to think he would be in the ship to look after her daughter, that daughter had time to think herself--to reflect. in her heart, she would far rather that charke had not been here; while she wondered, too, how he could have brought himself to accept his present position, knowing, as he must have known, that she was going in the ship. 'it is so vain, so useless,' she thought; 'and can only lead to discomfort. we shall both feel embarrassed all the way. oh, i wish he were not coming!' then, although she pitied him, and although she had always liked him, she resolved that, through the whole of the time they were together in the ship, she would see as little of stephen charke as possible. 'you do not object to my presence, i hope?' he said a moment later, as they both stood by the capstan alone--pooley and his wife and sister having moved off forward. 'i should be sorry to think that my being here was disagreeable to you. i have to earn my living, you know.' 'what right could i have to object, mr. charke?' 'perhaps you think i have behaved indiscreetly?' for a moment she let her eyes fall on him and rest upon his own; then she said: 'i will not give any opinion. you have to earn your living, as you say; while as for me--well, you know what i am going to india for.' 'yes,' he answered. 'i do know.' after which he added: 'do not be under any wrong impression. i shall not annoy you. i am the chief officer of this ship and you are a passenger. that is, i understand, how the voyage is to be made?' 'if you please,' bella replied very softly, and the tones of her voice might well have brought some comfort to him, if anything short of the possession of her love could have done so. a fortnight or three weeks later the pilot had left the _emperor of the moon_, the lee main braces were manned, the ship was lying over under her canvas, the wind was well astern. bella was on her way to india and her lover! let us pass over this parting between mother and child, the fond embraces, the tears and sobs which accompanied that parting following after the dawn when we first made the girl's acquaintance, and following, too, that night of unrest and disturbing dreams. no description of such partings is necessary; many of us, young and old, men and women, have had to make them; to part from the loved, gray-haired mother who has sobbed on our breast ere we went forth to find our livelihood, if not our fortune, in a strange world; many of us have had to let the child of our longings and our hopes and prayers go forth from us who have sheltered and nurtured it--from us who have perhaps prayed god night and day that, in his mercy, it might never leave our side. we go away ourselves because we must; also they go from us because they must; and there is nothing but the same hope left in all our hearts--the hope that we shall not be forgotten--that, as the years roll by, those we have left behind will keep a warm spot for us in their memory, or that those who have left us behind will sometimes turn their thoughts back longingly to us in our desolation. it has to be, and it has to be borne; alas, that parting is the penalty we all have to pay for having ever been permitted to be together. and, so, across the seas, the stout old _emperor of the moon_ went; buffeting with the channel, throwing aside the rough waves with her forefoot as though she despised them, sinking england and home behind her with every plunge she made. and at the moment that she was leaving the lizard far away astern of her, and was running well out into the atlantic, a telegram was delivered in montmorency road addressed to bella, which was opened by her mother. a telegram signed 'gilbert,' which ran: 'don't start. _briseus_ appointed to east coast africa, slaver catching.' a telegram that had come three days too late! a telegram that was re-forwarded to capetown, where it lay for forty-seven days awaiting the arrival of the _emperor of the moon_, and, then,--was forgotten! chapter vii 'an ocean waif' from the time the men had sheeted home the topsails as the _emperor of the moon_ got under way until now when, having left the cape of good hope behind her, she was travelling through the water at a very fair speed and with her head set due north, scarcely anything had occurred much worthy of note. soon--after the first two days had passed, during which time bella had lain flat in her berth in the large roomy cabin provided for her by her uncle, while his wife had administered to her odd glasses of champagne, little cups of rich, succulent soup, and such like delicacies--the girl was able to reach the deck. and, once there and under an awning stretched from the ensign staff to past the mizzen-mast, she would sit and meditate for hours on the forthcoming meeting with her lover which was drawing nearer and nearer with each plunge of the emperor's forefoot into the sapphire sea. sometimes, too, she would read aloud a novel to mrs. pooley, who, perhaps because she was good and motherly, and fat, would listen to nothing but the most romantic love-stories which the vivid brains of fashionable novelists could turn out; though, when alone, and reading for her own amusement, bella would pore over books of adventure in wild parts of the world, or devour some of the histories of marine voyages which her uncle possessed in his neat mahogany bookcases below. of stephen charke she saw, of course, a good deal, as it was natural she should do. you cannot be in a ship, however large or small, without seeing much of all on board; but when it comes to sitting down every twenty-four hours to what captain pooley called 'four square meals a day, with intervals between for refreshments,' you must not only be brought into constant touch with your companions, but also enter into much discourse with them. yet, as the girl told herself, charke was behaving well, extremely well; so that, gradually, she lost all sense of discomfort that would otherwise have arisen through being thrown continuously into his society, and, ere long, she would observe his approach without the slightest tremor of susceptibility. soon, too, she began to acknowledge to herself that stephen was a gentleman in his feelings, and that, no matter what his sentiments might be towards her--if they existed still and were unchanged from what they had once been--he at least knew how to exercise that control over them which a gentleman should be capable of. until now, he had never said one word to her that any other person might not have uttered who had found himself thrown into her society on board the _emperor of the moon_, nor had he unduly sought her presence or, being in it, endeavoured to remain there as long as it was possible. nothing of much note had occurred thus far on the voyage, it has been said; yet there had of course been some of those incidents without which no voyage of any distance is ever made. once through the bay, and, while they ran swiftly south, they had found themselves in a dense fog--a most unusual thing in such a latitude and at such a time of year; then, upon the top of that fog, there had sprung up a stiff breeze which gradually developed into a gale, so that, from clewing the main royal to furling the top-gallant sails of the mizzen and foremasts was but the action of a moment, as was the next work of taking in the main top-gallant sail. and thus, ere long, bella had her first experience of what a storm at sea was like, and, as she heard the live stock grunting and squealing forward; the ship's furniture more or less thundering about wherever it could get loose; the piano--on which, only the night before, she had played the accompaniment to her uncle's deep bass voice as he trolled out 'in cellar cool'--thumping heavily against the bulkhead to which it was usually lashed, and the cries of the sailors as they uttered words which might not, perhaps, be properly denominated as 'cries, alone, she began to wonder how her darling gilbert could ever have chosen such a calling. while, too, the streaming planks when, at last, she ventured on deck, the dull sepia clouds and the mournful look of the emperor herself, under reefed topsails, foresail, fore topmast staysail, main trysail and spanker, as she rolled and yawed about in the troughs and hollows of the sea, and took the water first over one bow and then over another--and then, for a change, over her stem--only increased that wonder. yet, lo! the next morning--for the sea is a great quick-change artist, volatile and variable as a flirt, though too often as tragic as medea herself--when bella looked out of her scuttle, against which the green water now slapped boisterously but not viciously--all was changed. a bright sun shone down from the blue heavens, the ship had still got a roll on her, though not an unpleasant one--and the girl felt hungry. which was as good a sign that the storm was over as could well be wished for. 'it has been a rough night,' stephen charke said, as he rose from his breakfast on her entrance to the saloon, helped her to her chair, and bade the steward bring coffee and hot rolls and bacon--all of which were already perfuming the air. 'your uncle is now on deck. we have been there all night.' 'i thought,' said bella, pouring out her coffee and smiling pleasantly, since now all fear had departed from her mind that charke would misconstrue any friendly marks of intimacy she might be disposed to graciously bestow on him, 'that i was at the end of my journey. indeed, that we all were; that it was brought to a sudden end; accomplished. that----' 'that,' said stephen, smiling too, sadly enough, yet enhancing wonderfully his dark, handsome looks by doing so, 'that perhaps mr. bampfyld might miss his bride!' for a moment bella's hazel eyes flashed at him, and he thought how wondrously beautiful they looked as they did so--then a serious expression came on her face. while, after pausing a moment, as though scarcely knowing what answer to make or whether she should make one at all, she said: 'yes. that he might miss his bride. my death, and that alone, could cause him to do so.' and as she spoke she looked stephen straight in the face, while feeling again--to her regret--that old sentiment of doubt of him which she had come to believe she had conquered and subdued. 'his death would cause the same result,' he answered, speaking slowly, hesitatingly, for in truth he felt as if he were treading on dangerous ground. and in a moment he found such was the case. 'mr. charke,' the girl said, very quietly now, 'i should be so much obliged to you if, during the remainder of our journey together, you will neither discuss my affairs nor those of my future husband, nor him. it will make the voyage pleasanter to me if you will do that.' as she spoke, the bell struck two, and, since the watches had been disorganised by the storm of the night, that sound meant that captain pooley would now come below for his breakfast, and his place above be taken by the mate. therefore, he turned towards the stairs, muttering: 'i beg your pardon, i am sure. pray forgive me. i will not offend again.' then he disappeared on to the deck. yet an hour later he stood by her side beneath the awning, and now he was directing her attention to something that, a mile off, was the object of attention from every one on board. the captain and his wife were both regarding it fixedly; so, too, were the men forward; the only persons not present being, of course, the watch below and the second mate, mr. fagg, who had now turned in. 'what do you make it out to be?' asked pooley of stephen, as they still gazed at it. 'it is not a baby nor a child; yet it is scarcely bigger than the first. can it be a dog?' 'no,' said charke authoritatively, as though his younger eyesight was not to be disputed; 'it is either a young tiger or a panther cub afloat on a water-cask. there has been a wreck during the night, i expect, and it has got adrift. perhaps,' he said, 'if we cruise around a bit we may find some human life to save.' 'how should it be aboard any ship?' asked the captain. 'who takes tigers or panthers for passengers?' 'plenty of people,' charke answered quietly. 'they are brought home to sell to the menageries and zoos. a cub like that is worth twenty pounds--worth looking after. guffies bring them home sometimes, sailors often. meanwhile,' he added, 'according to the set of the waves, that thing will be alongside us in a quarter of an hour. i'll bet a day's pay it strikes the ship betwixt the main and mizzen channels.' 'oh,' exclaimed mrs. pooley and bella together, 'do let us save it and get it on board! it will,' said the latter, 'be such a lovely plaything--and such a curiosity! fancy a girl from west kensington who has never had a plaything or pet more stupendous than a canary, a cat, or a fox-terrier, having a tiger. why,' she exclaimed, with a laugh which gave to her short upper lip an appearance of tantalising beauty, 'una will be outdone by me--a girl of the nineteenth century!' tantalising or not as that smile might be, it led to the salvation of the cub; for, with a swift look at the captain which was meant to ask for his assent, charke called to one of the sailors to get over into the channels and down on to the fourth futtock, he telling him with wonderful accuracy the exact spot where the water-cask would strike the stationary ship. five minutes later, that which he had calculated with such precision came to pass, the cask touched the vessel's side almost immediately beneath the man's feet, and, in another moment, the cub had been caught by its loose skin in the exact middle of its back and hauled up, squealing, spitting and scratching, on to the deck. 'the little beast!' exclaimed the mate, as he sucked the back of his hand where the creature had clawed him; 'the little beast! this is a pretty reward for our saving it from drowning!' and he administered a sound kick to the thing as it lay on the deck. so sound and rousing a one, indeed, that it gave a grunt of pain, and, with its claws--about as big, or bigger, than those of a good-sized cat--endeavoured to fasten on to his legs. while, from its yellow, scintillating eyes, it emitted a glance of such malignant ferocity as, had it been more fully grown, might have alarmed a braver man than he. 'oh, how cruel to kick that poor little half-drowned thing!' bella exclaimed reproachfully; 'it never meant to hurt you, only it was frightened. poor little thing!' she said again, and, even as she spoke, she knelt down on the deck and stroked the wet, striped ball that lay there. and it seemed as if her gentleness had some power to soothe whatever ferocious instincts--still dormant and undeveloped at present--were smouldering within it. for, instead of now using its paws as weapons with which to strike out and attack anything near it, it played with her as a kitten plays with a ball, tapping at her hand and trying to catch it, and pushing and kicking against her with its hind legs. 'you see,' she said, looking up at charke with a glance in which she could not disguise her dislike of his violence, 'you see, at present, at least, it does not try to harm those who treat it well.' 'yes,' he said, 'i see.' then he added, half-bitterly, half-morosely: 'no one doubts your powers of fascination, miss waldron.' chapter viii 'his name is--what?' the saving of this creature, which bella elected to call bengalee, because she said she was sure it came from bengal, and also because she had once sung a song having that name, was followed by no other events of any importance whatever. nor need their stay at the cape be dwelt upon, because it consisted simply of various visits which were paid in the outskirts by mr. and mrs. pooley, accompanied by bella; by the unloading of a considerable portion of the cargo of the _emperor of the moon_, and by the refilling of the hold with other goods saleable in india. and, now, they were once more on their way towards the equator, going due north instead of due south, as when they had last approached it, and with a cool southern breeze driving the emperor along under full sail. yet, so gentle was this breeze that, even if there had been any who were not sailors in the ship--as bella, as well as mrs. pooley, might now well be considered, after the length of voyage she had already gone through, added to a few extra days and nights of turbulence and storm--scarcely would they have felt any inconvenience from the motion. thus, therefore, with occasionally a dropping of the wind which reduced their speed a few knots, and, sometimes, with a total drop in it, so that they did not progress a knot an hour, while the ship swung slowly round and round the compass, they found themselves at the time which is about to be described in about latitude . s., and longitude . e., or, as near as may be, about miles to the s.w. of mauritius. wherefore, since the _emperor of the moon_ has arrived thus far in the indian ocean there has now to be set down a series of strange events which befell her, of so remarkable and peculiar a nature that one wonders that those events have never been chronicled before. for, far different from the ordinary stress and disasters which overtake ships at sea were those which have to be described; far different from those which the recorders of maritime calamities are in the habit of chronicling either in romance or dry-as-dust descriptions of facts. all of which the writer now proceeds to relate, beginning with so strange a coincidence as, perhaps, none but those readers who, in their voyage through life, have recognised that truth is more strange than the wildest fiction, will be willing to allow within the bounds of likelihood. however, to make a beginning--since the coincidence is true--the _emperor of the moon_ was in those latitudes above described when, it being a bright hot morning with the sea already gleaming like molten brass, with the pitch between the planks already of the consistency of putty, and with the brasswork in such a state of heat that it was unsafe to touch it unless one wanted to leave the skin of his palms and fingers behind them, the look-out on the fo'c's'le head yelled: 'sail, right ahead!' now, since nothing of this kind, neither steamer nor sailing vessel, had been seen since they had northed out of the west-wind drift, and since, also, the liners were rarely found outside of the equatorial current, this cry was sufficient to fill every one on board with a considerable amount of interest and excitement. 'whereaway?' called out charke, who was on the poop at this moment, the captain, his wife, and bella being below at breakfast; and, ere the man could repeat that the sail was right ahead and about five miles off, all those others there had come on deck. 'how pretty it looks, shining in the sun!' the girl exclaimed, as she regarded it through a pair of marine glasses which her uncle had placed at her disposal; 'and how the sail glistens! it looks like a star.' 'humph!' said the captain, as he gazed through his binocular. 'like a star! true enough, so it does. and,' he said, addressing the two mates who were standing near him, 'we have seen such stars hereabouts before, eh? do you think,' he went on, addressing charke, lowering his voice a little, 'it is one of those?' 'don't know,' charke said, working his own glass a good deal. 'can't see how it can be; too far to the east. bussorah, muscat, ras-el-had, mohamrah, oman--that's their mark. what should they be doing here?' 'all the same,' exclaimed pooley, 'it's the rig, and the true shape, that of a jargonelle pear cut in half. i do believe that's what it is. they might have been blown out of their course, you know, or chased by one of her majesty's ships. what do you think?' 'i think,' said charke, who always spoke of everything connected with his calling in the most unemotional manner possible, 'i think we shall know when we come up to her, as we must do in about half an hour. while,' he continued, with a subdued tone in his voice, while his eye glinted sideways towards where bella stood, 'we are not naval officers but only humble merchant seamen. there's no prize-money for us, therefore it is not our business.' bella had, of course, been listening attentively to all that had been said since she had come on deck after running lightly up the poop ladder, and now, hearing these words about 'naval officers' and 'prize-money,' her interest became more intense than before. 'oh, uncle!' she exclaimed, putting her hand on his sleeve, 'what does it all mean? naval officers and prize-money! that's not one of her majesty's ships?' 'no, my dear,' the captain replied, 'that is not one of her majesty's ships; but i shall be precious surprised if she doesn't turn out to be one of the very craft that her majesty's ships are always on the look-out for hereabouts, only rather closer in towards the african coast than this. she has all the build of an arab slave-dhow.' 'ay,' exclaimed charke, who was still using his glass freely, from where he stood behind them. 'ay, and something more than the build, too. if i'm not mistaken, her hatches have open gratings. what do you say, fagg?' turning to his junior. 'seems so, sir,' said that young officer, who never wasted more words than necessary, 'though i'm not quite sure.' 'i am,' replied charke. 'i can see the grating slits perfectly as we get nearer.' 'what does that mean?' asked bella, to whom this conversation conveyed nothing. 'it means,' said pooley, 'that there is live stock below those gratings. black cattle, as they used to be called on the west coast. ordinary hatches, to simply cover up cargo, are not made to let the air in. cargo can do without breathing.' 'how awful!' bella exclaimed, while through her mind there ran recollections of what she had heard or read casually of the slave trade in the old days, and also of the horrors of the north-west passage. 'how awful!' 'bad enough,' replied pooley, 'though not as bad as the old west african days, nor as shocking as you might think. the slave trade is a valuable one in this ocean, and those who are carried in the dhows are well enough fed. rice, indian corn, maize, and cassava is given them for food, and they have mats and matting galore to sleep on. persian merchants and arab gentlemen don't buy starved scarecrows for their domestic servants.' 'whatever she is, and whatever her cargo is, there's something wrong with her,' the chief mate suddenly exclaimed. 'she's off the wind now, and the fellow who was at the helm has left it. it is abandoned. by jove!' he exclaimed, 'he is lying wriggling by it. what on earth's the matter?' 'and,' added the second mate, 'there's a negro woman waving a red scarf. something's wrong there, no doubt.' 'we shall be up to them in ten minutes,' the master said, all bustle and excitement now. 'let go the foretack. stand by to lower the starboard-quarter boat'; while, as he spoke, the men of the watch who had been leaning on the fife-rail rushed to the falls to be ready to let the boat sink to the water when the proper moment came. to bella this seemed the most exciting moment of her life! there, in front of her, was one of those vessels, the name of which, or class of which, was almost unknown to her, except that, from odds and ends of conversation with her lover, she had gathered that these were the things in the chasing of which part of his existence might be passed until they met once more at bombay. here, on this glistening, glassy sea, the dhow lay--her one mast raking towards her bow instead of her stern, as is the case with most vessels of the western world, and her long white triangle of a sail unfilled and flapping listlessly. a dhow--perhaps a slaver! as her uncle and the mate had said--a dhow in sore distress with, writhing by her helm, the man who had lately been steering her, and, over her bow, that negro woman waving frantically the red scarf. excitement there was, indeed, in all this; excitement which caused bella, even as she eagerly watched the vessel they were approaching, to wonder how the striking up of the band at a ball, or the ring of the prompter's bell ere the curtain rose on a drama that all london was flocking to see, could have ever stirred her pulses. what were they, those trivialities, to the smiling, glistening face of this eastern sea--to the horror and the cruelties that this now tranquil ocean's bosom had enfolded through the ages. still the negress waved, not recognising, perhaps, in her blind, besotted, dumb, animal-like ignorance that help was at hand, and still, through their glasses, they could see that he who had steered the dhow now lay motionless. then, at her ear, as the _emperor_ came within six cable-lengths of the dhow, her uncle gave a few rapid orders, the second mate, accompanied by the boat's crew, jumped into the quarter-boat--the man at the wheel luffed until the vessel had not a motion in her. swiftly the boat was lowered, the rudder and thole pins shipped, and she was on her way to the dhow. 'what do you make of it?' the master roared to fagg ten minutes later, as, by then, the _emperor of the moon_ had come closer to the dhow through the motion of the swell. 'what?' 'i don't know what to make of it, sir,' the second mate called back. 'the man who was steering is, i think, dead. he does not move, and there is a white film over his eyes. the woman who waved the handkerchief seems well, but i cannot understand what she means. she does nothing but howl and point below.' 'are the hatches grated?' 'yes, sir, and there are four negroes beneath them. it is a slave dhow for certain. the negroes are shackled and handcuffed.' 'have you searched further?' 'i am going to do so now. the ship is settling, i think. there is a kind of poop superstructure forming cabins.' 'search at once; then bring all alive on board us.' in a moment mr. fagg had disappeared into what he had termed a 'kind of poop superstructure,' and, while he was in it, all on board the _emperor_ were occupied in speculating on what could have brought a slaver so far to the east and out of her ordinary course, and also in wondering what the mate would find during his further search. but that wonderment was soon to be resolved, for, ere mr. fagg had been out of their sight five minutes, he rushed back from the superstructure to the deck, and bawled through his hands: 'there is a young naval officer lying in the poop cabin, and he is slightly wounded. his name is--is----' 'what?' roared pooley, astonished at the mate's hesitation. 'it is marked on the rim of his cap--inside. it is--i--i am afraid it is miss waldron's _fiancé_. the--the--name is bampfyld.' chapter ix come over, come home through the salt sea foam. never, perhaps, on all that old highway of the waters, that silent road along which so many had steered their course to fabled ormuz and to ind, nor amidst fierce sea-fights 'twixt arab and persian, or arab and european in later centuries, nor in the howl of storm when the waters closed around the shipwrecked and doomed, had there arisen a more piercing shriek than that which now issued from bella waldron's blanched lips. 'my god!' she screamed, repeating the second mate's words. '"the name is bampfyld!" oh, it's gilbert--gilbert! there is no other in the navy list. let me go to him, uncle!' 'no, no,' the master said, while good mrs. pooley put her arms round the girl as she stood there by the poop-rails and endeavoured to calm and soothe her. 'no, no, bella; they will bring him on board directly, then,'--and in his desire to ease the girl's heart he raised the ghost of a smile to his lips--'then you shall nurse him till he is well. yet,' he muttered to charke, as he walked over to where the first mate stood, 'yet, how on earth does he find himself in that infernal dhow!' 'heaven knows,' the other answered. 'but, perhaps, 'tis not so strange, after all. there may have been a fight between his ship and the slaver--though there's not much fight in them when they get a sight of the british flag!--or he may have been sent to board her and got cut down, or half-a-hundred things. all of which,' he added, with his now usual cynicism, 'are equally likely or unlikely. anyhow, he is here--or will be in a few moments--and we shall have him for a passenger to bombay. your niece is in luck, sir,' and he turned on his heel and went down the ladder to the deck to see to the raising of the boat, which was now making its way back to the ship. to stephen charke, still loving the girl as madly as he did, still raging inwardly at the knowledge that every knot which the ship made was bringing her nearer to the man who, as he considered, had torn her from him, this incident seemed the last and most crushing blow of all. god knows what hopes the mate had cherished in his bosom since first he had learnt that bella was to be a passenger in her uncle's ship for about four months; what ideas might have been revolving in his mind as to whether, in those four months, something extraordinary, something almost unheard of--not to be dreamt of nor foreseen--might happen to give him one more chance of winning her. he was a romantically-minded man, a man with so rich an imagination that, to him, there sometimes came ideas that few are ever burdened with. and, in that full and teeming imagination, there had been pictured to him visions of the _emperor of the moon_ being wrecked and bella and he alone spared--he, of course, saving her at the peril of his own life and winning her away from her more aristocratic lover by so doing. or, he dreamt of that lover being himself wrecked and lost, or pierced by an arab spear in some affray, or shot in a hand-to-hand fight with a particularly bold slaver (since he knew well enough that the ships of the bombay station were often enough down here) or--or--or he cherished any mad vision that first rose to his brain. and now--now--this very man, this successful rival, this aristocratic naval officer, with his high birth and future peerage, was actually being brought aboard the ship where the woman was whom they both loved--brought on board 'slightly wounded,' and his own last chance thus gone. gone for ever now! perhaps, therefore, it was no wonder he should bite his lip and smother unholy murmurs deep down in his throat; perhaps, too, he merits compassion. he had loved this girl fondly since first he set eyes on her, and once, at one time, he thought he had almost won her. then this other had come in his way, had swept him out of bella's heart, or the approach to it, and his chance was over. yet, once again, they had met through an almost unheard of, and scarcely to be imagined, opportunity, and--lo! here was his successful rival once more at hand to thwart him. it was hard on him, or, as he muttered to himself, 'devilish rough.' the quarter-boat was coming back to the ship now, fagg steering her, while, between him and the stroke oar, there lay the body of the young naval officer, clad in his 'whites.' and again as bella, madly whispering 'gilbert, gilbert, my darling,' stood by the head of the accommodation ladder--which had been lowered while the boat was gone to the dhow--the men brought her lover gently up and laid him on the deck under the awning. 'oh, gilbert!' she cried again, as now she bent over him, while stroking his hair, which, on the left side of his head, was all matted with thick coagulated blood, 'oh, gilbert! to think that we should meet thus! sir!' she screamed to fagg, who was about to descend again to the boat to fetch off the others still in the dhow, 'where is he wounded? where? have you had time to discover?' 'i have looked him over, miss waldron, and, to tell you the truth, i do not think there is much the matter with him.' 'thank god! oh, thank god!' 'that blood,' the second mate continued, 'comes from a heavy contusion at the side of his head, but the skull is uninjured. also there is no concussion--observe the pupils of the eyes are not at all dilated.' then he turned away and went swiftly down the ladder again, muttering that, if he was to save the arabs and the negroes, there was no time to be wasted. the dhow was filling fast, he added. there was a big hole in her below the waterline, and a quarter of an hour would see the end of her. and now gilbert was carried to the cabin corresponding with bella's on the port side of the vessel, aft of the saloon, and mrs. pooley, with the steward, went in to undress him, telling bella that, as soon as he was comfortably placed in the bunk, she should come and take her place by his side. whereon the girl, distracted by both her hopes and fears--hopes that the second mate was right in his surmises as to her lover's wounds, and fears that he was wrong--sat herself down on the great locker that was in the gangway, and gave herself up to tearful meditations. 'ah, if he should die!' she murmured; 'if he should die! then my heart will break.' though, as you shall see, and have undoubtedly divined, gilbert was not to die then, at least. but, by this time, other things were taking place above which were almost as startling as the discovery of lieutenant bampfyld in that slave-dhow. startling, not only because of the unexplained cause that had brought the arab slaver into this portion of the indian ocean, but also because of the strange and mysterious behaviour of those others who were now being conveyed on board the _emperor of the moon_. ere they came, however, mr. fagg had sent over information surprising enough in itself, and sufficient to prepare all on board the ship for what, a little later, they were to see. 'the owner--if he is the owner,' he cried, 'the man who fell down while steering, is dead. he is stiffening. i presume i had best leave him to go down with the dhow?' 'ay,' called back pooley. 'ay. what about the others?' 'i cannot make them out. the negress seems well enough, but terribly frightened. as for the four men below, they all appear blind. we have taken their shackles off and they grope their way about as though in the dark. my men have to lead them up the ladders--yet their eyes look clear enough.' 'have they been kept in the dark, think you, and is the sun dazzling them now?' 'no, sir. the open gratings have furnished the part of the hold they were in with plenty of light.' he paused a moment, and those in the _emperor_ saw him gazing down steadfastly to that hold; then he called again: 'we must come away now, sir. the water is pouring in. the dhow will not swim much longer.' 'do so,' answered back pooley; and five minutes afterwards the boat was on her way to the ship, laden with the rescued negroes. mr. fagg had proved right in his surmise as to the necessity for leaving the slaver at once. for, ere he came on board, she was observed to heel over a little to starboard, then to further do so with a jerk; then, suddenly, she righted until she was on a level keel--and, next, sank below the waves like a stone, the body of the dead man, who had fallen down while steering, alone remaining above the heaving waters, and being swirled round and round in the whirlpool caused by the wreck, until it too went down. creeping up the companion, their hands directed to the side-ropes by the sailors; feeling the steps with their huge splay feet--as a mule feels its way along the thin line of insecure path that rounds the smooth face of a precipice--those stricken men came; huge, splendid specimens of the swart negroes of wyassa and wahiyou and wagindo, whom the arab slaver ships from kilwa, below zanzibar, and transports to bussorah and mohamra, whence they often reach the more distant turkish harems. now, looking at them as they stood on the deck of the _emperor of the moon_, it seemed as though their course was almost run. for, though these men would never be slaves to arab or persian or turk, of what use to himself or any one else is an unhappy blind nigger who, to exist at all, must work like a dray-horse? 'poor wretches!' said pooley to charke as they both stood regarding these blacks, 'see how the shackles have eaten into their ankles. poor brutes! they say that sometimes these fellows sell themselves willingly into slavery; i doubt much if these have done so. ah, well! we must take them with us to bombay, where, at least, they will be free. i wish,' he added, 'we could communicate with them somehow and learn who and what they are.' 'perhaps,' said charke quietly, unemotionally as ever, 'lieutenant bampfyld can tell us when he comes to. since he was in the dhow, he probably knows what she was and where she came from.' then, breaking off to cast his eye around, he said: 'sir, there is a breeze coming aft. shall we not make sail?' 'ay,' cried pooley, springing to the poop, 'ay, we have had little enough wind for some days. summon the watch.' a few moments later the order to square the yards thundered along the deck; the men rushed to the braces. far off, up from the dusky, wizard south, the wind was coming as they fisted the canvas, and the _emperor_, heeling over, gathered way and sped once more towards india. she gathered way faster and faster as outer jib and topsails were loosed and sheeted home, fore and main top-gallant sails and spanker yards braced sharp up, and main-sail, main-royal and mizzen top-gallant sails set, as well as jibs and staysails. she talked, as the sailors say, as she went through the water; she hummed and sang beneath the breeze that came up from far down by the antarctic circle--a breeze whose cool breath was gone and was, instead, perfumed now by the warm spicy odours of adjacent mauritius and reunion. away, over the vast waste of golden waters she flew, and the master, standing on the poop, called down to his first mate joyfully to ask him if this would not do well enough for bombay. 'ay, ay, sir,' answered charke, turning round from giving orders to the men aloft to answer his chief. 'ay, ay, sir.' while to himself he muttered: 'bombay! india! well, when we are there, all is ended for me!' chapter x the growing terror the sailor is, as all the world knows, a light-hearted, mercurial creature. face to face with death in some form or other during every hour of his life--although, often, the mere presence of death is neither known nor suspected--he is only too elated and happy when momentarily without anything to cause him anxiety. such was the case now with captain pooley, since his beautiful ship was rapidly picking up all the time she had lost by lack of wind and delays, 'and since,' as he jovially phrased it, 'all his new passengers were doing well.' 'first and foremost,' he said that evening, as he sat at the head of his table with bella in the place of honour on his right hand, his wife on the left, and mr. fagg opposite to him, while his honest, sunburnt face gleamed rubicund beneath the inch of white under his hair which his cap had preserved from the sun, 'bella's young man is all right. then bella's new plaything, the tiger, takes kindly to its lodgings--though you will have to sell it, my child, directly we get to bombay, and distribute the money it fetches among the men. then those wretched slaves--even they will eat and drink, won't they, fagg?' 'not much of that, sir,' the second mate answered, who was eating and drinking pretty well himself, however; 'they don't care to do much of either. they make a good deal of moaning up in that deck-cabin forward which you have given them. the woman, however, seems all right. i suppose the lieutenant has not been able to tell you much about the dhow yet, miss waldron?' he asked, bending forward a little as he addressed her. 'at present,' she replied, 'we have had little conversation. he says, however, that he sent me a telegram from bombay, telling me not to start as the _briseus_ was coming down here. he only came-to an hour ago, however,' she went on, while a ravishing blush swept over her face, 'and we--we--have had so much to----' 'spare her, fagg,' said pooley, with a laugh, and passing the claret at the same time. 'spare her. suppose you woke up one fine afternoon and found your sweetheart bending over you in your berth and whispering all sorts of endearing things in your ears, as well as kiss----' 'uncle!' cried bella, while mrs. pooley touched her husband's arm reprovingly with her forefinger, and mr. fagg hid his face behind the vase of brilliant cape gooseberries on the table. 'uncle!' whereon the bluff, good-natured sailor desisted, and began to speculate on the blindness with which the rescued negroes were attacked, and on that attack being, as he imagined, a recent one. 'they capture these poor wretches inland,' he went on musingly, 'in the big lake region as often as not; but, as far as i have ever heard, blindness is not one of their afflictions. moreover, these arab owners and captains wouldn't buy blind slaves, either for selling farther north, or for using as sailors in their dhows. therefore, i take it, this blindness must have come on them since they were shipped. that's strange, isn't it?' while, as he spoke, he rose, and went to his neat mahogany bookcase which was securely fastened to one of the saloon's bulkheads, and took down the two medical works he possessed--the one dealing with all general human complaints to which our flesh is heir, and the other with tropical diseases more especially. yet neither under the heading of 'eye,' nor 'blindness,' nor 'optics,' could he find aught that bore upon the subject; nor, in his book on tropical complaints, could he discover any information that might enlighten him as to why the four negroes should be so stricken. he spoke again, however, after turning over the leaves of these erudite volumes a second time, saying: 'fever, i know, sometimes produces blindness as an after-effect, yet--well, we have all seen these fellows, and there's no fever in them, i should say. oh, deuce take this confusion of tongues!' he exclaimed irritably; 'if it did not exist we could find out so much from the sufferers themselves. bella, our only hope is in you and your patient. if lieutenant bampfyld can't tell us something, we shall never know who these men and the woman are, where they came from, what is the matter with them, and to whom the dhow belonged. can he speak anything but english, child?' 'he knows some hindustani,' bella replied; 'and, i think he said, some words of swahili. he has taken up eastern languages in the service, which was one of the reasons for his being appointed to the _briseus_. he may be some help. at least he can tell us how he came on board that horrid ship.' as she spoke, eight-bells struck on deck, and, as the sound came through the skylight, both she and mr. fagg rose, the girl doing so because it was the hour at which she intended to visit gilbert again, and the latter because it was time to relieve stephen charke, who would now come below to take his supper. for bella had fixed this hour for paying her last evening visit to her future husband because she knew that the second mate would then descend, and she was never now desirous of being more in his company than necessary. she therefore left the saloon before fagg could have relieved charke, and, going to the cabin in which gilbert bampfyld lay, pushed back the curtain that hung at the door and went in to him, while observing as she did so that he was awake and gazing upwards as he lay. and she saw that he smiled happily on perceiving her, and whispered the word 'darling' as she advanced to his bedside. 'you are better, dearest,' she said, bending over him and putting her hand on his forehead, which was cool and moist. 'much better. aunt will come soon with fresh bandages for your poor head, and then you will have a good night's refreshing sleep. and to-morrow, perhaps, you will be able to tell us how you came to be in that hideous slaver. oh, bertie!'--for so she often called him--'what a mercy it was that we found you as we did. and what a miracle that we should have met thus. home-keeping and narrow-minded people would say, if they read it all in a book, that such a thing was unnatural and impossible.' their first meeting, their joy at discovering that they had come together again in this marvellous manner; their rapture when, a few hours before, gilbert bampfyld had emerged from his stupor and unconsciousness, has not been forgotten, although the description of it has been omitted. omitted for the simple reason that most of us have been, or are, lovers; most of us have known in our time, or know now--and those are the happy ones!--the sweet, unutterable joy with which such meetings are welcomed. who does not remember the sudden, quickened beat of the heart at some period of their existence, as they met again the one they loved the best of all in this world; the creature upon whom their thoughts were for ever dwelling, and from whom those thoughts, however wandering they had heretofore been, were, at last, never more to roam! picture to yourself, therefore, what rhapsody was bella's when, forgetting everything else but that she held her lover to her heart, she wept over his salvation from an awful, swift, impending death; picture also to yourself the delirious joy which coursed through gilbert's now unclouded mind, as he found himself in her arms--with her--close to her. picture this, and no further description is needed of their meeting in that cool, darkened cabin of the old ship. imagine for yourself what your own ecstasy would have been in such or kindred circumstances, and you possess the knowledge of what theirs was. 'darling,' he said again now, as she held to his lips a cooling drink that she had brought into the cabin with her, 'darling, i can tell you in half-a-dozen sentences or less----' 'no,' she said. 'no; not now. to-morrow, when you have slept----' 'yes, now. why, dearest, i am well! i could take the middle watch to-night if necessary, or--or--do anything that a sailor may be called on to do. and as for finding me in that dhow, why, it's the simplest thing on earth--or the waters. listen. the _briseus_, as you would have learnt by that telegram i sent you if you had ever received it, was suddenly ordered to join the cape squadron--dhow-catching. and i can tell you we were not so very long before the game began, since by the time we were abreast of kilwy--which is the southern limit of the legal slave trade--we fell in with twelve dhows, one of them being our friend from which i was rescued by your people. and you may depend we were after them like lightning, while beginning to ply them with shell and shot from our little gun forward. they scattered, of course, though some got hit and lay disabled on the water, while i went off in the whaler with her crew to attack one that seemed badly knocked about. the one in which i was when found by you.' 'the horror!' exclaimed bella, with a pretty shudder. 'no, no; don't call her that, because, after all, i owe my life to her.' 'well, the angel!' exclaimed bella now, with sudden change. 'though i don't altogether know that the captain meant to save me----' 'the wretch! i'm glad he's dead.' gilbert laughed at these variations in bella's mental temperature. then he continued. 'they are artful--incredibly artful--in these dhows. they will let our pinnaces or whalers or any other of the ship's boats come alongside, then, all of a sudden, they cut their lee halliards, and down comes their great sail over us, enveloping the boat and all in it, just as if it was in a net or a bag.' 'ah!' gasped bella. 'and that's not all. when you are caught like that, they have another pleasing little way of firing at you from above through the canvas, so that you are being shot down while, all the time, you have no chance of escape.' 'oh!' exclaimed bella. 'to think of it! ah, the wretches.' 'they do, bella. fortunately, however, this one couldn't do it, being disabled, and she had, therefore, come up to the wind with hardly any way on her. this was all right for us, as i meant to board, so as we came alongside each other we hooked on to her anchor cable, which was hanging pretty low down, and we should have got on board, too, only at that moment the dhow gave a lurch which sent the whaler half-seas under, and i got a blow on the head which knocked me insensible----' 'oh, gilbert! that wound on your head!' 'i suppose so. at any rate, i knew no more about it; and i don't know anything further, now, since i was insensible till i woke up here this morning and found you bending over me. however, i'm all right now, or soon shall be.' 'but how did you come into the dhow you were found in?' bella asked, while pouring out, directly afterwards, one question after another. 'and when did it happen--yesterday, or a week ago? and where was the whaler, and the sailors, and the _briseus_? and why did they all desert you? what a nice kind of a captain yours must be, to be sure!' 'my opinion is now,' said gilbert, 'that the dhow you found me in, rescued me--picked me up. and i expect our captain--he is a rattling good skipper, bella, all the same--heard i was drowned and thinks i've missed my muster. my cousin jack will imagine for a month or so--till we get in to bombay--that he is the future lord d'abernon,' and he laughed as he thought of how soon cousin jack would be undeceived. 'but the dhow we found you in--how did she escape, and why didn't the _briseus_ capture her?' 'some must have got off in the confusion since it was only an hour from dark. i'm certain to be reported lost when the ship goes into either zanzibar or aden, and---- what's that?' he exclaimed, breaking off suddenly. 'surely that's your uncle's voice!' he recognised it because captain pooley had been in to see him after he recovered his consciousness and had congratulated him on doing so, as well as on being practically restored, while saying also that he was delighted at being the means of rescuing him out of the sinking slaver. 'yes,' bella replied, 'that's uncle's voice; and the other is that of mr. charke, the first mate.' 'listen! what is it he is saying?' it was perfectly easy to hear what he was saying, since both master and mate were conversing in the saloon, to which charke had descended. and the words which reached their ears, as they fell from the latter's lips, were: 'oh, no doubt about it whatever, sir; not the least. the negress is now as blind as the negroes themselves. she cannot see her way along the deck, nor any of the signs we have made before her eyes.' chapter xi the terror increases the southerly wind did not hold as it should have done considering the time of year, and the consequence was that the _emperor of the moon_ was by no means making such a passage as was to be expected of her. indeed, by the time that the second day had passed since the rescue of gilbert from the slaver, and when the evening was at hand, she was almost motionless on the water, while such sails as were still left standing hung as listlessly as though they were suspended in a back room. now, this was disheartening to all on board--that is to say, to all except one person--as is generally the case when such things happen. the master was grieved because he looked upon the delay as an absolute waste of valuable time, while as for bella and gilbert--well, it is scarcely necessary to write down here what they were looking forward to at the end of their journey, or what visions haunted the mind of the latter concerning the cathedral in bombay and a ceremony of marriage being performed at the altar-rails by the bishop. yet, all--passengers, master, officers and men--had to swallow their disappointment as best they might, and to recognise the fact that bombay was still over three thousand miles away and not likely to be reached for very many days. the one person who was, however, resigned to the affliction of delay was stephen charke, in whose brain there still lingered a wild and chimerical idea that there might yet be sent by fate some extraordinary piece of good fortune which would, even at the last moment, sever gilbert and bella, with the subsequent result of bringing him and her together. it has been said that he was a dreamer, and never had he been so more than now, since, sleeping and waking, he still mused on the possibility of some extraordinary set of circumstances arising which should force the girl into his arms. yet, he had to own to himself that nothing was more unlikely than that any such circumstances could by any possibility arise. if anything visited these seas, this stupendous ocean, at this period of the year, it was most likely to be a flat calm such as that which they were now experiencing, instead of storms; and, even if storms should come, of what avail would they be to separate gilbert bampfyld and bella waldron? 'i am a fool,' he would mutter to himself, as he smoked his pipe in either the solitude of his own cabin or on the deck at night, 'a fool. a madman! one has only to observe how they love each other, how they never leave each other's side, to see that nothing could ever bring her to me. even though she and i were cast on some deserted shore, even though i saved her from forty thousand threatened deaths--even though bampfyld himself were dead and buried, she would never give herself to me. i am,' he would repeat again, 'a fool.' and this acknowledgment would, for a time, operate wholesomely on him--a man whose mind was not altogether that of a visionary and whose heart was not, by nature, a perverted or warped one--and he would resolve that, henceforth, he would think no more of this girl for whom his love was so fierce and, to him, so disturbing. he made resolutions, therefore, and kept them--until the next time that he saw the lovers together, smiling, talking, happy in each other--'billing and cooing,' as he called it, with a smothered curse. they were on deck together, now, on the evening of the second day of calm as stephen went up to take the first watch, since gilbert had refused to remain a prisoner in the cabin allotted to him for more than twenty-four hours, and pooley was also there, fagg being below finishing his supper. mrs. pooley sat on the poop in a deck-chair engaged in some needlework she had constantly on hand, and, forward, the men were engaged in smoking and telling yarns, while the general idleness which pervades the forecastle when a ship is becalmed prevailed everywhere. one man was reading a short story to his mates out of a country paper six months old, another had a sewing-machine between his legs with which he was mending his and his comrades, clothes, a third was teasing and playing with 'bengalee,' the tiger cub, which was growing--or seemed to be growing--fast. at present, however, it was safe to let it loose since it had no more strength than a large-sized cat, and teeth not much bigger than those domestic animals possess. generally, the creature followed bella about wherever she went, rolling down the companion ladder after her like a striped ball when she went below, or lying on the edge of her dress when she sat on deck; but at night it was shut up in a locker forward and looked after by the sailors. the hour for its temporary retirement had not, however, yet arrived, wherefore it was still gambolling about amongst the men. altogether, the vessel presented a peaceful scene as she lay 'idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean,' while, from forward, there came the droning voice of the sailor who was reading the storiette to his mates, interrupted only by the laughter of the others at the cub's leaps and growls; and, from the after part of the ship, the talk of the 'quarter-deck' people arose. 'come,' said pooley now, addressing charke, 'come, let us go and look at those unfortunate niggers. the lord knows what is to become of them. the woman, you say, never rises from the floor of the cabin, but only lies there and moans. it is the strangest thing i ever heard of in my life. i wish, mr. bampfyld,' turning to that gentleman as he passed with bella, 'that you could give us some information about that dhow we found you in.' but, of course, gilbert could tell them no more than he had already done a dozen times, while repeating in substance all that he had said to his _fiancée_. 'i am sorry,' he had said on each occasion, and again said now, 'but i know absolutely nothing. i was insensible when i was taken into the dhow--as taken in i must have been, since i could never have got in by myself--and, as you are well aware, i was insensible when i was brought out. i positively know nothing.' 'the helmsman's death was as strange as anything,' pooley observed. 'fagg says there was no wound about him that he could see. what, therefore, could he have died of?' 'sunstroke, i imagine,' the first mate said, in his usual emphatic, crisp manner. 'sunstroke. it could not have been fever, otherwise these negroes would have it, too. yet,' he went on, in a manner more meditative than usual with him, 'those arabs, if he was an arab, rarely suffer from that. it takes a white man to get sunstroke.' 'well, come,' said the master again, 'let's go and see to them. the sun is on the horizon; it will be dark in a quarter of an hour's time.' whereon he strode forward, accompanied by charke, while mr. fagg, who had come up from the saloon, began to keep such watch as was necessary. and gilbert, bidding bella go and sit with mrs. pooley, strode after them, since he was anxious to have a look at the unhappy creatures who had been rescued at the same time as himself. the male blacks had been put into a deck cabin (in which was usually kept an assortment of things such as spare lamps, a boat sail or two, and mr. fagg's bicycle, on which he disported himself whenever he got ashore anywhere), wherein some matting had been thrown down for their accommodation. and, as now they neared this cabin, they heard sounds proceeding from within it which were really moans, but, to their ears, had more the semblance of the bleating of sheep. also, it seemed as if one of them within was chanting some sort of song or incantation. 'we shall have to stop this noise in some way, sir,' charke said to the captain; 'it has been going on more or less ever since they came on board, and the men complain that it disturbs them in the fo'c's'le. it's a pity we can't communicate with them somehow. perhaps lieutenant bampfyld might try, as he says he knows some words of swahili'; while as he spoke he looked at the man who had once more, as he considered, or chose to consider, stepped in between him and the woman he loved. yet, because he never forgot that he was a gentleman born, there was nothing in his manner that was otherwise than polite when he addressed gilbert. 'i have tried,' said the latter, 'more than once to-day. and either my swahili is defective, or that is not their language. i suspect that it's galla, of which i do not know a word.' meanwhile, the captain had drawn back the cocoanut matting which hung in front of the deck cabin door, though, after peering into the sombre dusk for a moment, he started back, exclaiming: 'good heavens! what has happened now? have they murdered one of their companions, or what?' it was, in truth, a weird sort of scene on which he, as well as gilbert and charke, gazed, as the swiftly-failing tropical evening light illumined the interior of the cabin. flat on the floor of it lay one of the negroes, undoubtedly dead, since there was on his face the gray, slate-coloured hue which the african assumes in death. yet his eyes were open, only now, instead of that bright glassy look which all their eyes had had since they were brought on board, there was a dull filmy look, which told plainly enough that there was no life behind them. still, dead as the man undoubtedly was, he did not present the most uncanny spectacle of all within! that was furnished by those who of late had been his comrades, and by the strange grotesqueness--a grotesqueness that was horrible in itself--of their actions. all three of the living negroes were on their knees in the cabin, which was roomy enough to amply admit of their being so, while, with their great black hands, they were pawing the man all over, feeling his breast and body, and endeavouring to bend his fingers and toes as well as his legs and arms; while, even as they did so, from their great mouths came that moaning incantation which resembled so much the bleating of sheep. doubtless they felt almost sure that their fellow-slave was dead, and these actions were being performed as tests. yet, also, there was a solemn, wild unearthliness attached to the whole thing by the manner in which, when one of the visitors standing at the door and peering in made a remark, all turned their sightless eyes towards that door and then held up each a hand, and emitted a hissing noise through their great pendulous lips, as though enjoining silence and respect for the dead. they held up those hands with the fingers stretched enormously apart and with the palms towards the intruders. their eyes were bright enough as they glared at the three white men outside, whom they could not see, yet, somehow, the gleam in them and the knowledge that they were sightless gave so creepy a feeling to those regarding them that they could not restrain a shudder. 'what in god's name is it?' exclaimed pooley, he being the first to speak. 'what? what horrible disease that blinds them to commence with, and then kills--and kills not only negro, but arab--captured and captor? who--which--will be the next?' as he spoke, a thought struck each of the three as they stood there gazing at one another in the swiftly-arrived darkness of the tropical night--a thought to which, however, not one of them gave utterance. _who_ would be the next? an arab had died from some strange, unknown disease in the ship wherein these men had been found, and, now, one of them, too--a negro! had, they reflected, this insidious horror been, therefore, brought into a ship full of white men? would they also fall victims to that which had killed the others? that was the thought in their minds--in the minds of all of them, though not one gave voice to that thought. 'he must be got away from them--taken out of that cabin,' pooley said, his speech a little changed now, and more husky and less clear than usual. 'perhaps the woman, the negress, may be of some avail. i doubt if they will let us remove him without difficulty--though--poor blind things as they are--they could scarcely make any resistance. go across to the other cabin, mr. charke, and fetch her over.' he had been anticipated in his order, however, by the chief mate ere he spoke, charke having, through some idea of his own, already crossed the deck to the opposite cabin in which the woman was placed. therefore, as pooley looked round to see why the mate did not answer him, he saw in the darkness that he was returning; while he perceived--even in this darkness, which was not quite all darkness yet, and by the light of the foredeck lantern--that charke looked pale and agitated. 'the woman,' he said, 'is dead, too, i believe. she is lying on the cabin floor motionless--and cold.' chapter xii 'stricken' it was from this time that there began to creep over the ship a feeling shared by all, both fore and aft, that the voyage would not end without something untoward happening. what form, however, any misfortune which might come to them would be likely to take, none were bold enough to attempt to prophesy. yet, all the same, the feeling was there, and, since every man on board the ship was a sailor, while, for the ladies, one was a sailor's wife and the other a sailor's future wife (each of whom was certain to be strongly receptive of the ideas and superstitions of her own particular sailor), it was not very strange that such should be the case. and, there was also in the thoughts of all that idea to which none of the men congregated outside the cabin, when the negro had been found dead, had ventured to give expression--the idea that the unknown, insidious disease--which had struck him and the negress, and also, possibly, the arab _negoda_ down--might eventually seize on them. there were, however, at present at least, no symptoms of anything of the kind happening. all on board continued well enough, and, up to the time that the man and woman had both been buried in the sea for more than twenty-four hours, no complaints were heard from any one of feeling at all unwell, while the three remaining blacks seemed no worse than before. yet, it was a pity, perhaps, that at this time the ship should still have been forced to remain becalmed and almost motionless; that neither from south nor west any breeze blew--from the north and cast there was scarcely a possibility of wind at this season--and that, except for the strong southern current which carried her along at a considerable though almost imperceptible rate, she hardly stirred at all. a pity, because it gave the sailors too many idle watches wherein to talk and chatter, to spin yarns of old-time horrors which had fallen upon vessels in different parts of the world, and to relate strange visitations which they had either personally suffered under or had 'heerd tell on,' and so forth. nor aft, in the saloon, did those who used it fail to discuss the strange circumstance of--not so much the death which had stricken the africans--as the blindness that had fallen upon them. and here, stephen charke, better read perhaps than any of the others owing to his studious nature, was able to discuss the matter more freely than either the captain or those who sat at his table. 'i do distinctly recollect reading somewhere,' the mate said one evening, as all sat under the great after-deck awning, fanning themselves listlessly, while fagg worked a kind of punkah which his ingenuity had devised, 'i do distinctly recollect reading somewhere of all those in a ship, on board of which was a large cargo of west african negroes bound for america, being stricken with blindness. i wish i could recall where i read it. in that way we might be able, also, to find out how to take some steps to avoid the same thing happening to us in the old _emperor_.' 'a cheerful prospect, truly,' said the captain, 'if that is to occur'; and as he spoke he roamed his eye around the tranquil, glassy sea, on which there was not so much as a ripple. 'a pleasant thing, indeed, if one-half of us get blind and a rough time comes on. how, then, is the ship to be worked three thousand miles. how are the sails to be attended to?' and now he directed his eyes aloft to where all the canvas was neatly furled with the exception of the studding sails. 'we'll hope it won't be as bad as that, sir,' said fagg. 'only the black people, and those out of another ship than ours, seem to suffer. until one of us,'--by which he meant the europeans on board--'gets affected we haven't much to fear, i take it. while, you know, sir, we can find shelter before we reach bombay. there are the seychelles, for instance, from which we are not so very far off.' 'such a delay as that would mean a very serious loss for me,' pooley replied. 'as it is, i expect, one way or another, i shall miss one voyage out of two years.' 'i hope not,' said gilbert bampfyld, seriously, 'otherwise i shall begin to think it was a pity you ever came in contact with the dhow in which you found me.' yet, as he spoke, he saw bella's beautiful eyes fixed on his face, and knew that no more crowning mercy had ever been vouchsafed to any two mortals than had been accorded to his sweetheart and himself by his rescue. 'well,' said pooley, 'we won't talk about that. i am devoutly thankful that we were enabled, by god's mercy, and also by the aid of something which is almost a miracle, to rescue you. for the rest a sailor must take all that comes in his way and never repine. the _emperor_ has been a good old tank to me; pray heaven she continues so to the end.' then he suddenly stopped and peered forward under the awning towards the forecastle, where, beneath another awning, the sailors had been lying about, some sleeping, some chatting idly, and most of them--even to those who had dropped off--with a pipe between their lips. 'what's that commotion forward?' he asked, addressing himself to charke, who, ever on the _qui vive_ as became a chief officer, had sprung to his feet and was gazing keenly towards the foredeck. 'what's the matter with the men, and why are those three holding wilks up like that?' 'forward there!' sang out charke in a voice like a trumpet, as he, too, saw that which the master had described, namely, three of the hands standing up round the man named wilks, and one grasping him on either side, while he himself pushed his arms out before him in a manner that implied a sort of doubting helplessness on his part. 'forward there! what's the matter with that man?' 'he says he can't see, sir,' roared back another man on the forecastle deck, pulling his hair to charke as he spoke. 'he was asleep just now; and then, when he woke up, he asked what time o'night it was because it was so dark.' 'my god!' exclaimed pooley, while the faces of all around him took on a blanched, terrified look, and bella, with the beautiful carnation of her lips almost white now, grasped her lover's arm. 'my god!' then he turned to fagg and muttered, repeating the other's words: '"not much to fear until one of us gets affected." heavens! we haven't had long to wait!' while, following charke who had already gone forward, and followed by fagg, he went towards the forecastle. his mates were bringing wilks down the ladder now, since charke sang out that he should be taken into the comparative darkness of their quarters at once, thereby to escape the glare of the sun; and not one of those who were eagerly watching his descent but observed how like his actions were to the actions of the blind negroes when they were brought off from the dhow, and the actions of the others to the behaviour of the men who had assisted them to come on board. for his companions directed his hands to the ladder's ropes even as the blacks, hands had been directed; while in each of his motions was the same hesitation, followed by the same careful grasping of the rail, as there had been in the motions of the slaves. 'oh, gilbert,' bella exclaimed piteously, as she clung to him, 'what is going to happen? what is hanging over us? supposing--supposing----' 'what, darling?' 'that--oh, i don't dare to say what i dread. but if this terrible thing should spread all through the ship. if uncle, if you, if all the sailors were attacked. and you--you--dearest; you, my darling.' 'let us hope it will not come to that. besides i, personally, matter the least of any----' 'bertie!' she almost shrieked, alarmed, 'when you know that those others--some of them at least--that those poor black creatures have died after it. and you say that you matter the least of any; you, whom i love so.' 'i meant as regards the ship. i am not one of her officers, nor concerned in the working of her; and bella, dearest bella, don't get those dreadful ideas into your pretty head. never give way to panic in an emergency. doubtless some more will find their eyesight leave them--temporarily--but it can scarcely be that all will be attacked. and as regards death following, why, those other niggers are all right, and they are just as blind as those who have died!' it happened--as so often such things happen in this world--that he spoke a little too soon. he hit upon the denial of the likelihood of a possibility occurring which, by a strange decree of fate or chance, was, at the very moment of that denial, to occur; since, just as the repudiation of such probability was uttered by him, and before the men helping wilks had had time to get him comfortably into his berth in the forecastle, there arose once more that strange, weird, moaning kind of incantation from the deck-cabin in which the remaining negroes were, that had been heard before by all. and, added to it, was something more than any had heretofore heard, namely, a series of wild turbulent shouts in the unknown barbaric tongue used by the africans--shouts that seemed to issue alone from one of their throats. a noise, a bellowing, in which, though on board the _emperor of the moon_ there was not one person who could understand the words that voice uttered, all recognised the tones that denote fear, terror, and misery extreme. instantly, so stridently horrible were those cries, every one of the englishmen about rushed towards the cabin, pooley and charke being the first there, while gilbert, running forward from the afterpart and along the waist, was soon by their sides. and then, looking in, they saw that the poor blind, excited savage who was emitting those shouts had, in truth, sufficient reason for his frenzy. he seemed--he was, indeed--demented, as, with both his great hands, he felt all over the bodies of his comrades who were lying lifeless on the cabin deck, and presented an awful appearance to those who gazed on him as his great features worked in excitement, his vast mouth, with its adornment of huge white teeth, opened and shut like a wild beast's at bay, and his blind, but brilliant, eyes glared hideously. that he was nearly mad with fright and terror was easily apparent, since, while recognising without seeing that there were others near, he snarled and bit at the space in front of him, and struck out with his fists or clawed at the air with his enormous hands. 'he will spring out at us directly,' charke said, drawing to one side of the cabin. 'the fellow is mad with fear or grief.' then, ready in expedient as ever, he ran the cabin door out of its slide and shut in the negro with his dead companions. nor did he do so too soon, since, a moment later, those without heard the huge form of the man leaping towards the door; once they heard him slip, as though he had trodden on the body or one of the limbs of those lying dead on the floor; and then there came a beating and hammering on that door which seemed to promise that, in a few seconds, the panels would be dashed out and the maddened black be among them. 'this is too awful,' muttered pooley. 'is he really gone mad, do you think?' he asked, appealing to charke, gilbert and fagg at one and the same time. 'no doubt about it,' they answered together. 'no doubt. and if he once gets out to the deck, sir,' said charke, 'a dozen of us will not be able to hold him.' 'we must capture him if he does. better throw a rope round him somehow. if he were not blind, we should have to shoot him. ha! see, he has smashed open the panel! stand by there, some of you men, to catch him as he leaps out.' while, even as he spoke, the gigantic madman, with another howl, broke down the door and sprang amongst them. chapter xiii 'spare her! spare her!' mrs. pooley, bella and gilbert sat alone in the saloon that night, the faces of the two women being careworn and depressed in appearance, while on that of the young naval officer was a look, if not of consternation, at least of doubt and anxiety. that all of them should present this appearance of perturbation was natural enough, because by this time it was impossible to suppose that any less than a calamity was impending over the _emperor of the moon_ and all in her. two more men, named burgess and truby, had been attacked with blindness, while the negro, who had been the last survivor amongst the slaves, was himself now dead. 'it was too awful,' said gilbert, who had come below to tell the ladies that which had happened above, since to keep silence on the subject was useless, in consequence of the turmoil in the ship which had accompanied the poor creature's last moments. 'he died a raving maniac--nothing short of that. you heard his howls and yells after we had got him safely tied up; _we_ saw a sight that i, at least--and i should think everybody else--hope never to see again. even roped as he was, his leaps and convulsions were something shocking. thank god, they soon came to an end. i believe he died of the exhaustion caused by his mania.' 'what is to become of us all?' asked mrs. pooley sadly. 'what? the ship moves only by the current; my husband said just now that, if things go on and get worse, there will be none left to control her when the wind does come.' 'the trouble is,' said gilbert, 'that, if they make sail when the wind springs up, there may be no men to take it in if that wind comes on too strong. and, at all events, it will be serious if more men are attacked. i have offered my services in any capacity if wanted, and will serve either as officer or man if captain pooley will let me.' bella threw an admiring glance at her lover in approval of what she, in her own mind, probably considered his noble disinterestedness; then she said: 'but surely all are not going to be attacked one after another in this way? and if so, uncle can't possibly think of trying to get to bombay when the wind does come.' 'i have suggested the same thing to him that fagg did this afternoon--namely, the seychelles. they're all right, and the climate is first-rate for the tropics. he says, however, he will see what happens by the time we get a wind. he won't give in if no more men are attacked.' meanwhile, even as he spoke, each of the trio were occupied with thoughts which they would not have cared to put into language. mrs. pooley's were those good wifely reflections which busied themselves only with her husband's interests, and were disturbed by considerations of what a loss to him the delay would produce should it be further prolonged. yet, there was also growing upon her, if it were not already full-grown--as was now the case with all others in the ship--a gruesome, indefinable horror of what might be the outcome of this strange affliction that had fallen on the vessel. suppose, she had asked herself a hundred times in common with all the others on board--the sailors alone expressing their thoughts openly--suppose everyone in the _emperor_ succumbed to this blindness! what then would happen, even if it were not followed by death? would they drift about the ocean helplessly if the calm continued, until they were seen and rescued by some other vessel; or, if a strong gale came up, would they--with no one capable of so much as steering the ship be shipwrecked and sent to the bottom? while, as to the horrible idea of death following on blindness, and the _emperor of the moon_ drifting about, a floating catacomb--that was not to be thought about! it was too fearful a thing to reflect upon and still preserve one's sanity. yet, all the same, not only was it thought about but talked about among the sailors, while many ideas were propounded as to what was to be done ere the worst came to the worst. as for bella, her reflections were all of one kind, and one only. would gilbert be spared! for herself she cared but little, though she would scarcely have been the brave, womanly girl she was if she had not repined at the dark cloud which had now settled down over the existence of her lover and herself, and which threatened, if it continued to hover over them and their fortunes, to darken that existence still more. further than this she did not dare to look, and, consequently, could only pray fervently that the cloud might be lifted ere long, even as she strove to force herself to believe that such would undoubtedly be the case. yet gilbert's meditations were perhaps the most melancholy and bitter of any of the three persons now assembled in the saloon--brave, self-reliant young officer as he was, and full of hope and belief in many happy years still to come and to be passed in the possession of a beautiful and devoted wife, as well as in the service of a glorious profession. for he could not disguise from, nor put away from, his mind the recollection that, with his coming into this ship, with his rescue, there had come also that intangible, mysterious disease which was striking down those around him one by one at extremely short intervals; and, although he knew that he was no more responsible for its presence than if he had never been found in that accursed dhow, he began to think that there were many in the _emperor of the moon_ who would regard him as being more or less so. which, in truth, was a weak supposition, born in his usually strong, clear head by the calamities now happening with great frequency one after the other; a supposition shared by no one else in the ship. for--as he himself knew very well, yet took no comfort in knowing--had he not been in the dhow her other inhabitants would have been rescued all the same and taken off by pooley, and would have brought on board with them the infection which was now supposed to be at the root of the disasters that were happening. the meditations of all three were now, however, disturbed by the descent of stephen charke to the saloon, he being about to eat his evening meal before taking the first watch. as usual and, almost, it seemed, unjustly so--since never had he said any further words to bella which she could construe into an approach to anything dealing with his regard for her--his appearance was unwelcome to her. he seemed, however, to be entirely oblivious of what her sentiments towards him might be, and, after giving a slight bow to both ladies, rang the bell for the steward to bring him his supper. then, as he seated himself at the table, he said: 'i fancy we shall have to avail ourselves of your offer of service after all, lieutenant bampfyld, and in spite of our having refused it an hour ago. fagg,' he went on, as he cut himself a crust from the loaf, 'is attacked with blindness now.' 'great heavens!' exclaimed gilbert, while bella, scarcely knowing why, burst into tears and hid her head on mrs. pooley's ample shoulder. 'yes, it is too awful. so is payn, the bo'sun, attacked.' 'my god!' and now mrs. pooley's fortitude gave way too, and she sobbed quietly to herself until, recognising that two tearful women were scarcely in their proper place in the saloon with these young men, she rose, and, taking bella with her, they went off to their cabins. 'the watch, of course,' went on charke, 'is nothing now with the ship at a standstill. yet one has to keep it more or less. fagg's turn would have been the middle of to-night, but if you like to fall in you can take the first, and i'll----' 'thank you,' said gilbert quietly, 'but i have done plenty of watch-keeping, both before and after i was a flag-lieutenant. the middle watch won't hurt me. i will relieve you at midnight.' 'as you like. of course, the skipper and i recognise that it is a great obligation on your part----' 'oh, rubbish! we are absolutely and literally "all in the same boat" now, and we've got to make the best of it.' then gilbert rose and said: 'by the way, i should like to go and see that poor chap, fagg, if he is in his cabin. he's a nice young fellow.' 'he is, and a good sailor, though he doesn't make any fuss. lord knows what's going to be the end of it all. i hope to heaven those who are struck won't go the way of those niggers, and that their sight will come back before long.' 'i hope so, too; or else this will be one of the most awful calamities that ever fell upon any ship on a voyage. and the worst is, no one knows what the end is to be.' then he turned on his heel and moved away with the intention of going to fagg's cabin, while charke, who was now half-way through his supper, went on steadily with it; yet, as gilbert reached the gangway outside, the other made a further remark. 'by-the-by,' he said, 'another strange thing has happened. that infernal tiger-cub of miss waldron's--her pet!--seems going the same way as the others. it is crawling about the foredeck in a half-blind fashion, and evidently can't see signs made before its eyes. as far as the little beast goes, i shouldn't mind seeing it fall through one of the scuppers back into the sea it was dragged out of. it was rather rubbish to save it at all!' the words 'that infernal tiger-cub of miss waldron's' grated somewhat on gilbert's feelings, as did also the brutality of the remark about its falling into the sea. why this was so he did not know, unless it was that he had seen the interest bella took in the little creature, and in feeding it and calling every one's attention to the extraordinary manner in which it seemed to grow almost hourly. nevertheless, the observation did grate on him, and he began to tell himself that he did not care much for stephen charke. however, like a good many other young naval officers, he had thoroughly learnt the excellent system of controlling his thoughts in silence, wherefore, without making any further remark than saying that he was sorry to hear about 'bengalee,' he went on his way towards mr. fagg's cabin, leaving the first mate to finish his supper by himself. he left him, also, to some strange meditations which, had they been uttered aloud in the presence of any listener, might have caused that person to imagine that he was the recipient of the babblings of a visionary. put into words those musings would have taken some such form as this:-- 'supposing this malady or pestilence, or whatever it is, should be followed by madness and death, as was the case with the negroes. and supposing also that, among those who are struck, our friend lieutenant bampfyld--the future lord d'abernon!--should be one. what happens? bella'--for so he dared to call her in his thoughts and to himself--'bella is deprived of him. suppose, also, that the whole management of the ship falls into my hands; pooley may be attacked, too--then--then--then----' but here his mental ramblings had to come to a conclusion, because, wild as his riotous thoughts were, his mind was clear enough to perceive that he was just as likely to be attacked by the blindness as was either pooley or bampfyld. while he saw very plainly that so, too, was bella. and this pulled his meditations up with a jerk, since he could imagine nothing more horrible that could occur now than that the majority of all the men on board should remain sound and unstricken, and capable of working the _emperor of the moon_ safely into some port or other, while the beautiful girl whom he worshipped and adored so much should succumb to the hateful affliction. 'oh, my god!' he almost moaned aloud, 'if--if she should be the next. if she should be taken and we left. how--how could i endure that?' and then, because he was a man with the best of impulses beneath all the gall which had arisen in his heart at losing the girl he had once hoped so much to win, he moaned once more: 'not that--not that. spare her, at least, heaven! spare her, even though i have to stand by and see him win her after all. spare her! spare her!' chapter xiv struck down but still the days went on and no wind came--the one thing which, even now, after they had been becalmed for nearly a week, might have saved the ship from any fearful calamity that was at last, almost without a doubt, in store for her. for, according to their reckonings, taken regularly both by aid of the brilliant sun which still poured down its vertical rays upon them, and also by the use of a cherub log which they possessed, as well as the ordinary ones, the current had drifted them some three hundred miles north, so that they had consequently the northern coast of madagascar on their port bow, as well as the aldabra islands, and with galega, providence and farquhar islands almost directly ahead of them. only--the wind would not come, and the ship lay upon the water as motionless, except for the current, as though she had been fixed upon the solid and firm-set earth. and, meanwhile, the blindness which had seized upon one man after another was still continuing its progress, and more than half--indeed, three-parts--of the complement of the _emperor of the moon_ were now sightless. of seventeen sailors, eleven were down with this terrible, paralysing affliction, as well as one officer, mr. fagg; so that, if now the long-hoped-for breeze should spring up, there were scarcely enough men in the whole vessel to set the sails, even including pooley--who certainly could not go aloft with safety!--and charke and gilbert; while, presuming all of them could do so and the wind should freshen much, they would undoubtedly be far from able to take them in again. and then the result must be swift--undoubted--deadly. the ship would rush to her destruction, would be beyond all control; she would either go over under the force of the elements, or be dashed to pieces on some solitary coral island which she might encounter in her mad, ungovernable flight. consequently, there remained but one chance, and one only, for her, that chance being to forgo the advantage of the wind when it came at last, and to let her drift under bare poles until they were seen, and perhaps rescued, by a passing vessel. but, again there arose the fear in all hearts, as already it had done before--namely, would any other ship which might encounter them be willing to take on board men in such a plight as they were, and suffering from a disease that none could venture to doubt must be contagious? meantime, the life in the vessel itself was, possibly, the strangest form of existence which has prevailed for many a long sea-voyage. for she was subject to no stress whatever of weather, the elements were all in favour of her safety, if not her progress; she was comfortable and easy and well found with everything of the best--since, in the _emperor of the moon_, there was neither rotten pork nor weevily biscuits for old shellbacks to grumble and curse at and mutiny over, as those who wish to make the sailor dissatisfied with his lot are too often fond of representing to be the case--every one was well housed and well provided with good, wholesome food. yet, all the same, she was a stricken ship--stricken, in truth, by the visitation of god; smitten by the hand of god with a curse which none could understand or explain. fortunately, however--if the word fortune may be used in connection with those now in her!--this curse seemed to have stopped at the blindness--though god knows that was bad enough! death did not seem to be following after it, nor madness, nor delirium, as had been the case with the others--certainly as death had been. those who were down lay in their berths, blind, it is true; but otherwise there was nothing else the matter with them; and, since they were ministered to by those who, up to now, had themselves escaped the visitation, they did not suffer in any other way. bella and mrs. pooley were at this time more or less in charge of the provisions, the latter dealing out the men's rations under the orders of her husband, while bella, arrayed in a long white apron which gave her a charmingly strange appearance in the eyes of all who beheld her, attended to the meals of those who used the saloon, took her place in the cook's galley--the unfortunate man being one who was down with the scourge--and saw to all preparations necessary for their now hastily devised and uncomfortable meals. 'she's a good 'un,' the six remaining healthy men muttered to themselves, as they saw her busying herself about the ship, making soup and broth for them as well as for the after-cabin, and working indefatigably from morning to night on behalf of all on board, 'a real good 'un. and this here navy lieutenant what's to marry her is a lord, ain't he, bill?' 'he ain't a lord yet, but he's a-going to be. ah, well; if we ever all gets safe into port, her ladyship will know summat about what her servants ought to be like. her cooks won't get to windward of her in a hurry, i'll go bail!' 'if we ever get safely into port!' that was the sentiment which pervaded all minds on board the _emperor of the moon_ at that time. 'if they ever got safely into port!' for all on board began now to doubt whether they would do so. the eighth day of their being becalmed had come, even as those forecastle hands discussed the girl's goodness--with also, in whispers, many an admiring remark on her beauty and generally trim-built appearance--the eighth day had come and, suddenly, just as the forenoon watch was over, two more men suddenly called out together that they were 'struck'--were blind! two more, leaving now only four sailors and three officers--counting gilbert in place of fagg--and two helpless women! 'well,' said the chief mate, coming up to where gilbert and bella were discussing gravely this new affliction, while close by them the usual business was going on of getting the two fresh cases into their berths in the forecastle--which was now a lazaretto--'well, this ends it. the wind may blow as much as it likes now, we shall never be able to make sail. we must drift about till we are picked up or----' then, seeing the look of terror on bella's face, he refrained from finishing his sentence, saying instead: 'if we had as many hands to do one man's work as you have in her majesty's service, lieutenant bampfyld, we should still be all right.' 'i don't know,' gilbert replied coldly, and in a manner which, quite unknown to himself, he had been gradually adopting of late towards his unsuspected, would-be rival. 'i don't know. we may have a dozen hands to do one man's work in our service, as you seem to suggest, and as is often supposed, yet, all the same, i'd back four of our men and two young officers to get a lot of sail on a ship of this size, anyhow!' 'they might. yet, clever as they are, you wouldn't like to back them for much to furl those sails again if the breeze freshened into a strong wind, would you?' 'i think so,' said gilbert, still more coldly. 'at any rate, i'd back them to have a rare good try.' 'try!' exclaimed charke. 'try! oh, we can all try! as far as that goes, i'd have all the blind ones out to put their weight on the braces while the rest went aloft, if the wind would only come; they could do that without seeing. and we could try getting the sails off again if it blew too hard--but i doubt our doing it. any one can try.' after which he walked forward to make inquiries about the two fresh cases of blindness. 'i don't like that man, bella,' gilbert said when the other was out of hearing, 'although he's a smart officer and a gentleman. and i don't think he likes me.' for a moment she stood there saying nothing, and with her eyes cast down on the soft pitch of the seams, which was greasy and seething under the fierce sun. then she looked up at her lover and said: 'no more do i much now, bertie. in fact, i almost fear him.' 'i wonder if he was ever in love with you?' bampfyld said, while remembering, as she spoke, how once, in those delicious days when they had first acknowledged their own love for one another, she had jokingly told him that he was not the first sailor who had tried to woo her. and he recalled, too, the fact that charke had been introduced to her mother's house by her uncle, and had been more or less of a frequent visitor there. 'was he, bella?' he continued. 'was he the sailor you once told me of who wanted your love?' 'yes,' she said, gazing up at him with her clear, truthful eyes. 'he was. he told me so long after i met you. and i believe now--i have thought so for some time--that he would never have applied for the position he holds in this ship if uncle hadn't told him that i was coming in it. he was far too ambitious for such a post when i first knew him, and aspired to be captain in one of the great liners, and eventually to be an owner.' 'i'm glad you've told me, darling. especially as it quite explains his not liking me over much. poor chap! i can understand that he should not do so in the circumstances,' he added, while gazing down on his sweetheart with such a glowing look of love as to cause her to forget all their unfortunate surroundings and revel only in her delight at being so much beloved by him. 'yet,' gilbert continued, 'i can't understand his wanting to come into this ship, even though it would give him three or four months more of your society. such a thing as that would have been maddening to ordinary men--i know it would have been to me! if you had rejected me--i--i--well, there! i can't say what i should have done; but, at any rate, i couldn't have borne the torture of being in your presence--especially if you were on your way to marry another fellow.' 'he is a strange man,' bella said, 'and although i never loved him, i cannot help admiring his force of character. his father, a selfish old man, treated him badly and baulked him of going into your service, yet he managed to be a sailor in another way, and to enforce respect from every one. and he is a cultivated man and wonderfully well read. still, i don't altogether like his force of character, or rather, the direction it takes. he told me, on that day at portsmouth, that he never faltered in his purpose, and that, when once he had made up his mind to do a thing or get a thing, he did it, or got it, somehow. i believe, too, that he meant it as a kind of defiance to me.' 'did he, though!' exclaimed gilbert, as now they sat beneath the awning, at which they had arrived while talking. 'did he! well, he won't get you, anyway, will he? not while i'm alive, anyhow. if, however, i were to die----' but this remark was promptly hushed by bella, who would not allow her lover to even finish it, and, as his watch commenced at six o'clock, he now went below to get an hour or so's rest before that time arrived, while she still sat on beneath the awning, thinking dreamily of him alone and of their future--if any lay before them, which now seemed doubtful, or, at least, very uncertain. then, suddenly, as thus she mused, there happened a thing which startled and amazed her so that she sprang out of her singapore chair and gazed aft, away down towards the south. a thing which even she, a landswoman, a girl originally unacquainted with anything connected with seafaring matters, had, by now, come to recognise and understand as vital to all on board that ship. she had felt the back of the straw hat she wore lifted by a slight warm ripple of air, while, at the same moment, some of the pages of a book she had left lying on the table were suddenly turned over swiftly and with a loud rustle. 'it is the breeze,' she muttered, 'the breeze! the wind at last!' the others on deck had perceived it as quickly as she. at once, those who were about had sprung into action and thrown off the listlessness which had pervaded all in the ship since they had been becalmed. in an instant all was bustle and confusion; the four remaining men who could see rushing about eagerly. the master came out from where he had been talking to some of the sufferers, while charke, running along the waist, called out: 'miss waldron! miss waldron! where is the lieutenant? we want his services now, at once. perhaps he, too, can do as much as any of his own men could if we look alive.' 'i will fetch him directly,' bella cried, full of excitement, and, swiftly, she ran down the companion to the saloon on her way to hammer on gilbert's cabin-door and awaken him. but, as she reached the place she stopped, petrified almost and filled with a vague alarm at she scarcely knew what, while, at the same time, she smothered a shriek which rose to her lips, and exclaimed in its place: 'bertie! bertie! what is the matter?' for she saw him standing by the saloon-table gazing at her, smiling even as he heard her loved voice, yet holding on to the edge with one hand while, with the other, he felt, as it seemed, cautiously before him. and again she cried: 'bertie, what is it? what does it mean?' then she heard his voice saying: 'it means, darling, that i too am struck down. that i too am blind.' chapter xv a light from the past four seamen only left untouched by blindness now, and two officers, to work a ship of six hundred tons! how was it to be, how could it ever be, done? the task was hopeless, and so all recognised on board that unhappy, ill-omened ship, even as now the wind freshened and the bosom of the ocean became flecked with little white spits of foam, while the breeze, hot as the breath of a panting wolf, swept up from the south. a breeze hot now, though once it had been cool--glacial--as it left the icebergs of the antarctic circle. what was to be done? they muttered now, as, together, the six unstricken men took counsel while they stood in the shade of the foredeck awning, and forgot, in their excitement, that one was the master and owner, the other the first officer, and the four remaining ones only poor, ignorant sailors. what! what! what! 'i,' exclaimed pooley, at last, after much discussion, 'can at least steer her. some one must do it if she is to move at all; otherwise, in spite of my seventeen stone, i would be up those ratlins like a boy. but, even then, of what use are five to fist all the canvas she can carry?' 'we can fist some of it, at any rate,' said charke, strong, determined as ever. 'by heaven!' he cried, 'lieutenant bampfyld shall never go back to any of her majesty's ships and say that half-a-dozen men under the red ensign couldn't do something; couldn't make one stroke to save themselves!' then, in an instant, he asked the captain to go to the wheel, while he sent the man, whose trick it was, forward, and, a second later, he was issuing orders to his subordinates. somehow, these orders were obeyed, and in about an hour, during which time all worked with a will and as if their lives depended on it, the _emperor of the moon_ was under close-reefed topsails, foresail and fore-topmast staysail, when, if she had only had her full complement of able-bodied men to do the necessary work, she might well have been under full sail before the still increasing wind, and making a good nine or ten knots an hour. but, now, that was impossible; even if those five could have got all her canvas on her the thing would have been madness. a little further increase of force in the wind, and they would at once have to shorten sail again--which, in the circumstances, it would be almost impossible for them to do--or to stand by and see the masts jumped out or blown overboard. as it was, the _emperor_, under the combined power of the current and what wind they could avail themselves of, was making something like five knots an hour. during all this time bella had been below with gilbert and a prey to terrible anguish, yet endeavouring in every way to cheer and solace him and to thrust her own fears and forebodings into the background. fears and forebodings of she scarcely knew what, yet fears that were, all the same, assuming by degrees a more or less tangible shape. for of late--indeed, long since--there had been intensifying more and more in her mind that feeling of dislike and mistrust of stephen charke which she had experienced from the first moment that she had discovered him to be the second in command of the vessel in which she was to make so long a voyage; for, over and over again, she had remembered, had recalled, how he had said that he was never baulked in the end of what he desired to obtain, and that if he wanted a thing he generally managed to get it. and she knew that he had meant it as a warning, if not a threat; though, certainly, since that miracle had happened which had brought her lover into the very ship which was taking her to india and to him, she had laughed at, had inwardly despised, the threat, if it was one. but now--now! with gilbert stricken down by her side, helpless, crippled by blindness, unable to do aught for himself or her, and with her uncle broken down and worn almost to equal helplessness with his enforced labour and his despair at the ruin which threatened him through the probable destruction of his ship, what--what might not charke do? _he_ was not blind yet, nor---- then, as her meditations reached this point, and while gilbert sat by her side on the pretty plush-covered locker with his head on her shoulder, he broke in on those meditations, and what he said could not by any possibility be construed by her as helping to dispel them, but, rather, indeed, to aggravate them. 'at the rate we have been going on,' he said, 'since i came aboard, there will not be a living soul left with their eyesight by the end of the next two or three days. oh, my god! bella, what will it be like when this ship is at the mercy of the ocean, with every person on board blind.' 'don't let us think about it, darling. don't, don't! and even now some may retain their sight. uncle, i, mr. charke, the men----' 'ah,' he said, 'charke; yes, charke. excepting you, dearest, i would sooner charke kept his sight than almost any one else.' 'why?' she asked, thinking that of all who were in the ship she, perhaps, cared less whether charke preserved his sight or not. 'think what a strong, self-confident man he is. even if all the others were blinded and he was not, he would devise something for keeping the vessel afloat, though, of course, he could not work her. he would manage to get us all taken off somehow.' this, the girl acknowledged, not only to him but herself, was true enough. as regarded charke's sailor-like self-confidence, courage and determination, as well as how to do everything best that was necessary in the most sudden emergency, there was nobody on board the ship, nor ever had been, who was superior, or even equal, to him. yet--in sole command and possession of that ship, supposing the other inhabitants of her should also be attacked with blindness and helplessness--what might he not do, if his dogged resolution never to be baulked of anything he had set his mind upon was allowed full sway? her imagination was not a tragic one, nor more romantic than that of most young women who had been brought up as she had been, yet--yet--she shuddered at fears which were almost without actual shape in her thoughts. with all the others blind, herself included; with none to observe what charke did; with the opportunity of removing for ever from his path any who had crossed it--of removing the one whom she felt sure, whom she _divined_, he was anxious to remove; with an open sea around him----'oh, god!' she broke off, while exclaiming to herself, even as her reflections shaped themselves thus, 'never--never will i believe it. never will i think so basely of any man, especially since he has given me no cause to do so. and, as yet, there are plenty left with their eyesight; plenty to see what is going on.' her uncle and aunt came into the saloon now, full of a distress that was visibly marked upon both their faces as well as their demeanour, yet both as kindly as ever in their manner, and uttering expressions of sympathy with gilbert in his affliction. but, all the same, bella could not but observe the look of absolute illness and grief on captain pooley's countenance, nor help trembling inwardly at the fear that he might be the next one attacked. nevertheless, he said cheerfully enough, after he had exhausted his condolences with the young man: 'we are doing some good now, at any rate. the "cherub" is marking about six knots; if the wind keeps where and as it is we may yet fetch mahe, or one of the other seychelles. in fact, we must reach them, or some other place, or----' 'or what?' asked bella, looking at him with tear-laden eyes. 'or,' her uncle said, not, however, concluding his speech as he had originally meant to do, 'or drift about until we fall in with another vessel. we ought to do that, too,' he continued, 'for we are almost in the direct track from the red sea to australia; we are in the track of the big liners.' 'how,' asked gilbert now, while forcing a smile to his face as he spoke, although it was but a poor, wan substitute for the bright, joyous one that generally lit up his countenance--and, indeed, it was only assumed with the hope of cheering his sweetheart by his side, wherefore, like all other substitutes for the real thing, it was but a wretched copy--'how are my brother-sufferers? it would be cheering news to hear that some of them were regaining their sight.' 'at present,' pooley replied, 'only one of your "fellow-sufferers" seems to be doing so, and that's not a human being but no other than bella's _protégé_ the tiger-cub. that creature is, we all believe, coming round. it is rambling about the deck by itself, but it undoubtedly can see now to avoid hitting its head against the raffle lying there. however,' he went on, 'here's a little information which you may both be glad of, upon which he dropped his hand into his nankeen jacket and produced from it an old, dirty, and much-thumbed book, on which, in addition to many other unclean marks and stains, were added droppings from candles.' it was evidently, as bella at once divined, one which had been pored over at night; while, had she been well acquainted with the habits of those who dwelt in the forecastle, she would have also understood that mercantile jack is often in the habit of sticking lighted bits of candle about whenever he wants to read, and even to the sides of his bunk in which he lies, when he sleeps in one instead of in a hammock. 'millett,' her uncle went on, naming one of the men who had still retained his eyesight, 'showed me this an hour ago. it belongs to poor wilks, and is a book entitled _calamities of sailors_, it being a collection of odds and ends accumulated from various writers by an unknown hand. now, here,' he went on, 'is a strange account of blindness attacking a vessel in much the same way as those in my poor old _emperor_ have been attacked, and----' 'did they regain their sight?' exclaimed his listeners together; all three, namely, mrs. pooley, gilbert, and bella, asking the same question in almost the same words. 'they did,' the master went on, 'in this case. it happened on board the _james simpson_, in . but in another, i am sorry to say, they did not; and also, i am sorry to say, this is a very circumstantial account, given by m. benjamin constant to the french chamber of deputies, in , when he was speaking on the horrors of the west african slave trade. he tells how a french ship, _le rôdeur_, having a crew of twenty-two men and a hundred and sixty slaves, left bonny in , and was attacked with almost precisely the same blindness which has now fallen on most of us. things were worse with them than in this ship, however. they had scarcely any water, the air below was horribly impure, and, when the poor wretched slaves were allowed on deck, they locked themselves in each other's arms and leaped overboard in their agony, so that the french captain ordered some of them to be shot as a warning.' 'yet,' exclaimed gilbert, '_le rôdeur_ must have got safely into harbour at last, or m. constant would not have given his information.' 'yes,' said pooley, 'that of course is so. pray god we do, too'; whereon he closed the book and dropped it into his pocket. it was well he should do so. well, too, that bella did not ask to be allowed to read it for herself, for it contained a good deal more than her uncle had thought fit to read out, and described further horrors which it was not advisable that any in that saloon should be made acquainted with.[ ] chapter xvi man overboard another day had passed and the south wind still blew gently, neither increasing nor decreasing in force, so that the log showed that the _emperor of the moon_ had progressed between a hundred and fifty and two hundred miles farther north. farther north, as all said now, but not to bombay, since they had abandoned all hope of reaching that port in their present short-handed condition, and without obtaining fresh assistance--but towards the seychelles. that was the harbour of refuge to which their thoughts and aspirations pointed at this time; the spot where, even though they should obtain nothing else, they would at least be in safety, and the one from which they could be taken off by some other ship if they were not able to find the means of working their own. but, even as this day was drawing towards its conclusion--a day hotter, it seemed to all on board, than any they had previously experienced, and when neither the awnings nor the breeze that came aft protected them sufficiently to allow of their being on deck, unless duty demanded that they should be there--a change was perceived to have taken place in the condition of one or two who had been attacked by blindness. mr. fagg had declared that he was regaining his sight, and that, although he could not distinguish small objects with any amount of clearness, he was nevertheless able to see large things, such as the form of a man or woman, in a blurred, indistinct manner if he or she happened to enter his cabin; while wilks averred that his sight was also returning rapidly to him. 'for, see here, sir,' he said to charke, who, learning what was happening, or said to be happening, had gone forward to question him on the subject, 'i can walk aft to the break of the poop without stumbling against anything or over anything either. may i show you, sir?' 'ay,' replied charke. 'show me. let's see what you can really do,' while at the same time he motioned to a sailor, who happened to be by the mizzen-mast, to throw down gently a coil of rope he held in his hand so that, when wilks neared the spot where it was, they would be able to observe whether he could see clearly enough to avoid it or not. meanwhile, wilks, having received the necessary permission, had started from close by the fife-rail, where the conversation had been going on, and was making it perfectly clear that what he had stated was undoubtedly the truth. for, independently of the coil which the sailor had deposited abreast of the mizzen-mast, there was at this moment a good deal of raffle lying about the deck, as well as a bucket or so, and also a squeegee alongside the saloon skylight. but wilks saw them all and steered himself along, avoiding each and every object both great and small, while, when he approached the coil of cable, he passed round it in almost precisely the same manner that a man in possession of his ordinary eyesight would have done. then he looked back--at least he turned his face back--towards where he had started from, and, with a gratified grin on his countenance, asked charke if he was not all right. 'yes,' replied charke, 'or getting so. if one or two more of your mates would only recover in the same way, we might bend another sail and, so, make a few more knots. yet, curse it!' he muttered to himself, 'as one gets well another gets ill.' this was unhappily only too true, for not an hour before he had been called to observe that wilks seemed to be on a fair way towards recovery, he had learnt that pooley was, although not stricken with the blindness, yet rapidly becoming blind. he had himself discovered such to be the case when, after lying down for an hour, he had been unable to perceive anything clearly on awakening. and, in another hour after this had been found by him to be the case, he was obliged to acknowledge his darkness of vision was becoming more intense, and that he feared his sight would be entirely gone by nightfall. this was, perhaps, the greatest blow of all to several on board the unfortunate ship; on bella it fell with overwhelming force. for now she recognised that, of all others, the very man she most feared and dreaded--though she could not have explained why that dread should have taken possession of her--was in absolute control over the ship, and could indeed do what he liked with it. her uncle, she understood, could of course still issue orders, but--how was it to be known that those orders were being obeyed? then, strong-minded as she was, and feeling more so, as well as more self-possessed because of the presence of her lover in the ship, she again forced herself to discard such miserable and--as she termed them in her own mind--ridiculous fears, and set herself about the task which had now for some time developed on her of attending to the catering of the ship and looking after the sufferers generally. for, from mrs. pooley, bella had not at any time received much assistance, owing to the fact of the poor lady having been quite ill since the calamities on board began to follow each other in such frequent succession, while, now that her husband was struck down, she appeared to have collapsed altogether. indeed, at this present time, she was doing nothing except lying on the plush-covered sofa of the saloon, while moaning feebly that they were all doomed, and that, even if the ship was not utterly cast away and lost, there would soon not be a living soul on board who would be able to see. 'and then,' she sobbed, 'what can happen to a vessel--in the night, especially--full of men and women who are all blind and cannot find their way from one end of the deck to another?' 'nonsense, aunty, dear, nonsense!' bella replied, while endeavouring bravely to dispel her aunt's forebodings, which, in solemn truth, she shared to the full with her, though not for worlds would she acknowledge that she did so. 'are not some already getting well--mr. fagg, and the sailor, wilks, and bengalee----' 'while at the same time others succumb to the blindness,' mrs. pooley interjected, still with a moan. 'and now your poor uncle, of all others.' 'well,' said bella, still stout of heart, 'we have this comfort: it soon passes away. let me see. bengalee has been blind about a fortnight, wilks and mr. fagg about twelve days--whatever is that noise!' she exclaimed, breaking off suddenly. as she uttered that exclamation there had come a sudden racket above their heads, the noise descending through the wide-open skylight. a noise which seemed first like the yelp of a dog in pain; then another which resembled somewhat the spitting of a cat, followed by a shrieking kind of growl, and then the voice of charke exclaiming angrily: 'i'll have the infernal thing thrown overboard. here you, catch hold of it--make a loop and fling it over its neck. catch it, one of you!' 'oh!' cried bella, forgetting everything else for the moment, and rushing towards the companion, 'it's bengalee!' then she swiftly ran up to the deck, and saw the tiger-cub standing close up by the frame of the skylight and growling at charke, whom it regarded with terribly vicious eyes. and she noticed, too, that it held up one of its hind legs as though it were injured. 'what are you doing to the creature?' she cried. 'you have been kicking it again, you----' she was going to say 'brute,' but restrained herself. 'and you shall not have it thrown overboard, as i heard you order the men to do!' she continued. then she went towards the creature perfectly fearlessly, and spoke to it, and eventually stroked its back, so that at last its growls subsided altogether. the chief mate's face had presented an appearance of scowling rage as she reached the deck, while it had on it an expression that boded ill for any extended existence being accorded to bengalee had she not appeared at the moment she did. yet, by the time she had ceased petting the animal he had managed to control himself considerably, and to smooth out the look of temper from his countenance. and now he said: 'oh, of course i did not really mean to do that, miss waldron. though it will have to be got rid of eventually. it is impossible that it can be kept much longer. and, you know, we have enough work to do without attending to such an animal as this. just think! i am the only officer fit for duty, and i have only four able men to work with--since wilks cannot be called well yet.' honestly, bella felt sorry that she had spoken as hotly as she had done, since she did indeed recognise the almost superhuman amount of work that had fallen on charke's shoulders just now. he seemed never to sleep but was on deck night and day, sometimes steering, sometimes even going aloft alone, and hardly ever snatching a quarter of an hour for his hasty meals. she murmured, therefore, some words of regret, and was going on to say how sorry she was for having been excited, when he stopped her. 'no, no, miss waldron. it was nothing--nothing. the thing did spring at me angrily as i passed where it was sleeping, and i kicked it. i am sorry, too. and you know i would not injure anything you liked,' while, as he spoke, he bent his dark, handsome eyes on her. perhaps it was a pity he uttered these last words, since in her own heart she did not believe that they were true. she had seen his glances more than once directed at gilbert when he had not known that she was observing him, and she thoroughly believed that, in them, there was a malignant look, a look of hatred, which belied his words. and she had seen--she _thought_ she had seen--something else in those glances when gilbert was first attacked with blindness which, if not gloating, was very like it. she said, therefore, now, as she turned towards the ladder: 'then you won't punish it, mr. charke, will you? you won't let it be thrown overboard in any circumstances, will you?' 'it shall be as sacred to me as you are,' he replied. 'its life as sacred as yours.' but all the same, she told herself as she went back to the saloon, that, if there was anything charke hated in that ship, or rather, any two things he hated more than all else, those things were her lover and bengalee. presently, not ten minutes later, she again heard his voice, calling out loudly to one of the men this time: 'if we could only get another on her we could make two more knots, i believe. if only some of those who are blind but not otherwise incapacitated would help on the braces and get the yards round, we could do it.' she was not the only person who heard these words. not a moment had they left his lips before the curtains in front of gilbert's and mr. fagg's cabins were pushed swiftly back with a metallic jangle, as the rings ran along the rod, and each of the young men appeared in the saloon and began making his way guided by his hands, towards the stairs leading up to the deck. 'oh!' cried bella, not quite understanding what it was charke wanted done, or what assistance could be rendered by persons who were blind, 'what are you going to do? gilbert, don't do anything rash! nor you, mr. fagg!' though she saw by their faces and the smile that came to each that she had overrated any harm that was possible. 'we'll get that sail on,' exclaimed gilbert, as he felt his way up the stairs, and fagg said: 'we will so,' as he followed him after they had each jostled the other at the foot in a slight collision which their sightlessness had caused, and, a moment afterwards, bella and mrs. pooley were left alone in the cabin. yet they could hear, plainly enough, the words of approval bestowed on gilbert and fagg for their promptness, when the meaning of it was recognised by those on deck; and they caught, too, the orders bawled with great rapidity by charke the instant he had received this extra assistance. also, they heard him ordering one man to the starboard main braces and another to go forward and loose the jib. a moment later they heard something else as well. the cry of two or three voices together, the roar of charke, and then his trumpet-tones, exclaiming: 'my god! he's overboard!' and bella, with the image of one man alone in her mind, reeled backwards towards the sofa where mrs. pooley lay, and gradually slid, fainting, on to the cabin floor by her side. chapter xvii 'farewell, my rival' had bella known more about a ship and its intricacies she would have understood that, notwithstanding some one had undoubtedly gone overboard, the sailor, whoever he was, could not by any possibility have been one of those who had gone to help in squaring the yards. instead, she would have been aware that such an accident could only have happened to some seaman who had either gone aloft or out on to the jib-boom. and, in fact, the latter was the case; the unfortunate fellow, a man named brown, falling off the boom while endeavouring to set the flying jib, and being struck a moment later by the frame timbers forward as he fell. yet the unhappy sailor seemed still to have some life left in him, as those who rushed to the port side could see, since, as he was passed by the ship, he was observed to rise to the surface--his head all shiny with blood--and to strike out manfully. but what could that avail, since, by the time the _emperor_ could be brought to the wind and a life-buoy thrown overboard, he was half a mile astern? to lower the boats in time to save him would also have been an impossibility, even if it could have been done at all; and, moreover, the swift-coming instantaneous darkness of the equator was at hand, so that the man himself was, by now, almost invisible. 'steer her course again,' charke called out, therefore, to the man who was at the wheel, in a voice in which regret for the unfortunate sailor was mingled with a tone denoting some other sentiment that, perhaps, none would have been able to understand, even though they had been swift to observe it, as, in their excitement, none were. then, at once, in a few moments, the _emperor of the moon_ was again heading towards where the seychelles lay. what was that other sentiment which now pervaded the breast of this strong, masterful sailor; this man who had worked untiringly for hour after hour on stretch, and who seemed to rise triumphant over nature's command that both sleep and meals should be properly partaken of? the man who had not changed his clothes for three days, nor even had them off his back when he sought a quarter of an hour's rest here or ten minutes there? what was this sentiment? nothing but a certainty that this was the last voyage the ship was ever to make--a feeling of intense conviction, which had been growing upon him for some time, that all in the ship were doomed. for he, at least, could see--_he_ was not blind yet--and, more than all else on board, perhaps, could feel; and his sight showed him things over the water, in the density of the atmosphere, even in the appearance of the brassy heavens above, which told him that, ere long, the slight whispering breeze which blew would be changed into a hurricane howling across the ocean. his feelings, his nerves, the moisture of his skin corroborated, also, what his sight proclaimed. 'it will come,' he muttered to himself, as now he paced the after-deck, with his eyes never off the light sail that the ship was carrying. 'it will come soon, and then we are done for, even though i get every inch of canvas off her first. this man's death leaves me and three other sailors as the only persons to work the ship. it is strange if, even under bare poles, we continue to swim.' then, as he turned his head towards where bella (who had soon recovered from her faintness) was now standing talking with her uncle and her lover, he muttered another sentence to himself--a sentence which, should a romancist or a dramatist inspire one of his characters with it, would, perhaps, be deemed unnatural, yet which this man of iron will and fierce determination muttered to himself as calmly as he would have given an order to one of his few remaining sailors. 'if it blows, as i believe it will, twenty-four hours will see the end of us all. she--oh, my god! she will be dead--but so will he and so shall i. well, there's consolation in that. if i can't have her, no more can he. that thought makes the end mighty cheap.' here he strode towards those three standing by the break of the poop, and touching his cap to bella--he was, as she had observed, a gentleman, and in all that became the outward semblance of a gentleman he never failed--he said quietly to the poor, blind captain standing by her side with his fingers resting lightly on her arm: 'we must get in all the sail, sir, now. there is a change coming; i know it--feel it. the glass, too, stands very low, and since we cannot work the ship in a storm, short-handed as we are, we had better commence at once. it will be pitch dark in ten minutes and there is no moon.' 'good god!' exclaimed pooley, 'what is to happen next? the glass low, you say? well, that means a change of some sort, though not necessarily bad weather. what are these feelings you speak of, charke?' 'the feelings of a sailor,' he replied. 'you know them as well as i do. ha!' he exclaimed, 'there's lightning in the south. no time to be lost.' then he seized the boatswain's whistle, which he had hung round his neck and used since the man himself had become disabled, and blew it as a signal to his three remaining hands to be ready for his orders. 'now then,' he cried, 'up with you and stow the few sails that there are. what do you say?'--to one who muttered something--'tired--been working all day? why, damn you! haven't i been working too.' charke rarely swore, but he was impelled to do so now, especially as he had moved out of bella's hearing. 'do you see that lightning down there in the south? do you want the ship to be blown over and go to the bottom in her? here, you stop at the wheel,' addressing the man who was already at it, 'we others can do it somehow. follow me'; and away he went to the topsail yard, selecting the most arduous part of the business for himself. while he muttered to himself as he did so: 'now, if i should go, too--fall off the yard--they are doomed beyond all help. nothing then can save him.' which thought caused a strange, weird kind of smile to be on his face as he sprang up the ratlins. and, stirred to action by his own indomitable energy, the men did set about the work and managed it somehow, the sails being stowed in a very unshipshape fashion (or what would have been an unshipshape fashion if the proper quantity of sailors had been there to do the job) and in such a manner that the first gust of the coming tempest would be as likely as not to blow them clean off their lashings. still, it was done at last, and not too soon either, since, ere they had concluded their work, the lightning was flashing incessantly and huge drops of rain were falling. 'it's a south-easterly wind,' said gilbert to bella, turning his cheek towards it. 'where will it blow us to now?' charke thought he knew, as he listened to the remarks, since he had returned to their vicinity after coming down from the topsail-yard, but he uttered never a word. even now he loved the girl by their side too much to frighten her more than was necessary. yet, had he said that he knew that, short of a miracle, it must be the bottom of the ocean--as was the case--she would probably not have heard him, since, at this moment, with a devilish shriek, the gale was upon them. upon them and almost pooping the ship as it struck her right aft, and then driving her forward in the churned sea with a horrible, sickening motion, while, since she was fairly deeply laden, she recovered herself from the avalanche of water but slowly. an avalanche that, sweeping over the poop with a roar and a swish, took bella and gilbert off their feet and hurled them forward staggering, and buffeted against each other. 'below--go below, all of you!' roared charke to them, and also to pooley, who had himself been sent sliding along the deck and was now hanging on to a belaying-pin, even as he called out to know where bella was. 'below, i say! we must close the hatches, or she will have the sea in her. below, quick!' and, rushing towards bella, he led her to the after-companion, dragging gilbert with his other hand and returning for pooley. and now the tropical lightning--that violet-hued lightning which is so beautiful and also so sure a sign of awful turbulence in the elements--played incessantly on the ill-starred _emperor of the moon_; the seas were mountains at one moment, valleys at another. the ship, too, was rolling so that it seemed as if everything on her deck must be pitched off her into the sea--as was indeed the case with many of the smaller things which went to form the raffle lying all about--and each time that she went over to port or starboard she took tons of water over her side. then, a still more gigantic wave caught her on her port-bow, and absolutely threw her up, it rolling directly afterwards under her counter and letting her drop directly afterwards into the trough, while over her poop, again, came that which seemed to be not a wave but the whole indian ocean itself. amidst it all charke still stood at the wheel, holding on to it as perhaps few solitary men had ever held on to a wheel in such a sea before; his arms actually bars of iron, yet appearing to him as though deprived of all sense and feeling. he stood there silent, determined, resolved, awaiting death, knowing that it must come and not dismayed--because it must come to that other, too, that man below in the saloon who loved and was beloved by bella. then, suddenly, he knew that he was not to die there alone at his post while his rival expired in his sweetheart's arms, or she in his; he knew--he discovered that not to him alone was to belong all the bravery and the resolution. creeping up from below, thanking god that the hatch had not yet been closed, feeling his way by his hands and gradually reaching the wheel--buffeted here and there; knocked down once, then up again--gilbert bampfyld crept to his side, and, an instant later, was fingering and, next, gripping the spokes. 'let me help you!' he roared, so as to be heard, while feeling as he did so which way the other man who already had hold of the wheel was exerting his force. 'blind as i am, i can do that. who are you?' 'stephen charke,' the other answered, also shrieking his name. 'help, if you like. but it is useless. we are going.' 'i know it,' gilbert answered. 'well! we will go down standing.' and charke, still endeavouring to hold up the ship, still to protract life from one moment to another, muttering inwardly: 'curse him! he is a man. one worthy of her.' then, unceasingly, he continued his work, wrenching, striving, endeavouring in every way to save the ship from being pooped or flung over as the waves took her and cast her up like a ball, or hurled her down like a falling house into the gaping, hellish troughs that lay below, yawning for their victim. but still the lightning played upon the doomed craft, illuminating her from stem to stern, showing the fore top-gallant mast gone and the jib-boom carried away, broken off short, three feet from the bowsprit head. also it showed something else--something that, had he had time to think of aught but preventing the ship from falling off the course he was endeavouring to steer, might have struck a feeling of wild horror to his uncanny breast. for some of the blind, stricken men forward had crept by now out of the forecastle and other places where they had herded, and were crawling about the foredeck, holding on to whatever they could clutch--belaying-pins, the fife-rail, the racks, even the ring-bolts. amongst them, too, was the tiger-cub, an almost unrecognisable lump, except for the topaz gleam which his eyes emitted: a gleam that, as a sea, which was in truth a cataract, washed it from the foremast almost to where he stood, appeared to charke malignant, devilish, threatening. and he heard those unhappy men's voices, cursing, blaspheming, praying: roaring that they feared no death which they could see, but that they wanted to go neither to heaven nor hell enveloped in utter darkness. 'no jack who ever sailed,' they screamed, 'feared a death that he could face, but we fear this. and if we had but our sight, maybe there'd be no death at all!' 'ay, but there would, though,' muttered charke to himself--'there would. ha! by god, look there,' he cried aloud, forgetting that the only man who could hear his words was blind. the ship had given another hideous plunge--had wrenched herself as a giant might give a wrench in endeavouring to free himself from the chains that bound him--then down! down! down! she went into the hollows of the ocean, so that up above her on either side were nothing but vast walls of sea. walls that would, that must close together, charke understood, fifty feet above their heads, leaving the ship beneath them. and then he turned to the other man by his side, saying calmly: 'now is the time! you love bella waldron. so do i. and neither of us will ever set eyes on her again. farewell--my rival!' chapter xviii 'she will never know' 'how in heaven's name has she ever done it?' muttered charke to himself, three minutes later, as, dripping like a dog dragged out of a pond, he still stood by the wheel while holding on like a vice to the spokes. and still both he and gilbert had each got their legs twisted in the radii to prevent them from slipping, since now the ship lay over frightfully to starboard and did not recover herself at all. 'ah, well,' he continued, 'it does not matter much how. another five minutes and over she goes--turtle. it is a hundred to one she has six feet of water below.' how had she done it? that was the wonder, the marvel; the more especially a wonder if, as charke thought, she had six feet of water in her, since twice that amount would have taken her to the bottom even though she lay in the most tranquil waters of the universe. it was impossible she would have risen again, if overloaded thus. yet, water in her or not, she had accomplished a marvellous feat for any craft that ever left the shipbuilder's yard. for, from down below in those awful depths, with, on either side of her, and glistening all around her in the glare of the lightning like the sides of a crevasse, those walls of sea, she had still risen above them and had (a moment or so after they seemed to be closing in on her and shutting her out for ever from the world above) been once more poised on the crest of a huge billow. she had done it, and now lay listing over on to her starboard side, as some great wounded creature might do whose right ribs had all been broken in by the blows of a pole-axe. but still she travelled through the water in the darkness of the night; for now the lightning was ceasing and, also, she carried no lighted lantern since there were none to attend to such things--while, even though there had been, the beating of the gale would soon have extinguished them. she travelled swiftly, too, cutting her way through billow and wave, taking in huge seas aft which swept her decks--yet going still. but with some of those spectral forms, those blind groping men, departed for ever; swept down the sloping deck by tons of water, down and over into the ocean. and of the few, the three who had still their sight, one lay with a broken neck at the foot of the foredeck companion-way, having been flung down the hatch-way head foremost; the other two were drunk. they had broken into the steward's room, where there were none to control them, and had found some bottles of beer, as well as one of brandy and one of rum--and this was the result! at that moment the wheel spun round in gilbert's hands, dragging him with it in its revolution, so that he thought he would have to let go or be thrown in a somersault over into the sea; then, as he forced it back, he heard charke's voice bellowing at him: 'can you hold her up for five minutes? i can grasp the spokes no more; i am done. i would not have let go like that, god knows i wouldn't, but i have lost all sensation in my arms and hands. i will lead fagg out. perhaps he can help.' 'i may hold her steady,' gilbert answered, 'but no more. what can a blind, stricken man do?' 'it is enough,' charke said. 'sight would not aid you to do more, and, after all, it is of no use. we but prolong life for nothing. yet, here goes.' he made his way below, falling, sliding down the companion-ladder, tumbling along in the darkness to where he judged the door of fagg's cabin was; he fell over things that had been hurled out of the steward's pantry on the port side--broken dishes, plates, tin utensils, potatoes peeled ready for cooking, and a joint of meat--he felt all these with his feet and benumbed hands, and found a bottle, too, which his smell told him was rum. then he tore the cork out of it with his teeth and drained a tumblerful of the raw spirits. that gave him fresh life and energy; the blood coursed and danced through his veins again, his fingers began to feel, his arms to strengthen. sliding back the door of fagg's cabin he called him by name, and, receiving no answer, felt in the berth to see if he was there, while, even as he discovered that the bed was empty, he trod on an upturned face, and then stooped down and felt it and the head, and found the latter all broken. whereby he understood what had happened to the unfortunate young officer, and knew that he had either been hurled out of his bed against a bulkhead, or, being out of it, had been dashed to death. he would have gone back now to relieve gilbert, and was turning to do so when his eye caught the glimmer of a light down the narrow gangway leading to the saloon, and he knew at once that somehow those within had managed to get the bracket-lamp over the table lit. whereon he went towards that saloon, intent on seeing how those who were in it--especially _one_ in it--were preparing to meet their end. were they bearing up bravely? was she--was that girl who maddened him, that girl, through his unrequited love for whom, he knew, he felt, that all his better qualities had been driven out of him--preparing to meet her death nobly, valiantly? the sight he saw might have struck horror to a bolder, a better man than he. a sight more fitting to meet the eyes of one who gazed into a catacomb or charnel-house than into what had been, not long before, a pretty, bright saloon. mrs. pooley lay flat upon her back, moaning feebly, her stout body rolling backwards and forwards with every swing of the ship and every plunge it made. the captain was on his face, and above him lay half the debris of the shattered, sea-wrecked cabin. but bella! she frightened, startled him! 'the others may be dead,' he whispered, 'but she, surely she is alive. god! how her eyes stare, yet--yet how lovely she is still.' the girl was sitting upright upon the saloon sofa, her hands gripping the head of it as though, all unconscious as she appeared to be, she still knew that she must do that to save herself from being flung down, and her lips moved faintly. then he wrenched the bottle of rum from out of his pocket, he having put it there with a view to administering some to gilbert when he regained the deck, rival though he was, and moistened her lips with it. 'miss waldron--bella,' he whispered, allowing himself in those last moments the luxury of calling her by the name that he had whispered so often softly to himself. 'bella! for god's sake, say something. tell me that you are not dying.' and she did whisper something--a word that he heard above all the roar of the hurricane thundering aloft, above the awful concussions of the ship's sides as again and again the tons of water struck at her, heavily, savagely, and as, also, she struck at them in her maimed progress; above even the rattle of ship's furniture rolling about, and the sickening thumps of the unlashed piano as it beat against the stem of the mizzen-mast. she whispered a word or so. 'gilbert,' those white, cold lips muttered; 'gilbert, my darling, we are dying together. clasp me to your arms now. hold me in them to the end.' with a moan, not a curse!--a curse would not have availed or eased him now--he started back in that dim cabin, hurling the bottle from him as he did so. his rival! his rival! again, even now! his name the last word on her lips, his image the last thing present to her in the hour of death. then he fled from the cabin back again to his post, back to the wheel to which he swore he would lash himself, and so go down thinking of nothing but his duty. there was, his fevered mind told him, nothing but that--but his duty--left. as he went along he noticed, distraught though he was, that the vessel was making a kind of rotatory movement under him; that she seemed, indeed, to be gliding round and round in a circle although beaten back more than once by the awful force beneath her. 'he has left the wheel!' he cried, his swift and accurate seaman's knowledge and intelligence telling him at once what had happened. 'is he mad--or dead?' and clutching, grasping at everything that offered a hold to him, he forced himself back to where the wheel stood, only to find when there that gilbert was lying senseless by it. senseless but not dead, as one thrust of charke's hand under the other's wet clothes, towards the region of the heart, told him very well. an instant later he had resumed his hold on the spokes, and was endeavouring to put the ship on her course before the howling winds, to keep her straight on into the dark, impenetrable depth of blackness ahead of her. again the marvel was that she did not go over, or did not suddenly sink beneath the weight of water that was pouring in on all sides--sink like a stone. and he began to tell himself now that, as she had borne up so long, as the storm could, by no possibility, become worse and must, at last, abate, there was still a hope. a hope of what? that he and bella might both be saved; be saved, and saved alone, together. 'she is alive and i am alive. the others are dead, or dying. oh, god! if she and i are spared----' but that sentence was never finished! for, as he partly uttered it there came an awful crash, a crash that hurled him back, then flung him over and over on the poop--a grinding, horrible concussion, followed by the most terrible thumps and by the sudden cessation of the ship's passage. and, a moment later, the vessel heeled over, though still beating and thumping heavily, so that now the water poured into her forwards, and, gradually, her fore-part was entirely immersed. but still the pounding and the awful grating continued, while growing worse and worse. 'she has struck,' he muttered to himself. 'struck on a reef or a rock. the end has truly come.' in a moment he had picked himself up from the poop-deck, and, difficult as it was to move with the vessel beating backwards and forwards, had dragged himself down to the saloon--down to where bella was, the woman whom he would save or die with. the lamp had gone out with the concussion. all was in darkness, and, above the roar of the tempest outside, he could hear the furniture beating about the saloon as the ship swayed and wrenched. yet he went on towards where he had left her ten minutes before; on towards the sofa on which she had been sitting almost unconscious. she was not there he found, but, instead, lying insensible at the foot of the sofa. insensible, he knew, because, to his words, his summons, she returned no answer. then, in a moment, he had seized her in his arms, had lifted her up, and, with her head upon his shoulder, was groping his way with unsteady, stumbling feet towards the gangway. her head upon his shoulder now, her hair brushing his face now, in this moment, in the hour of destruction--for one, for both of them! her head upon his shoulder! and he a mortal man! it was beyond endurance; more than he could bear! acknowledging this, recognising it, he slightly moved, with the hand which was around those shoulders, that face so close to him, that face so close, so cold and chill--and kissed her long and passionately. 'she will never know,' he muttered, 'never know. yet--yet it has made death sweeter. death! the death that will be ours ere many more moments have passed.' yet, near as that death was, so near as to be beyond all doubt, as much beyond all doubt as that the rocking, shivering ship was breaking up fast, he felt his way towards where he knew the life-buoys were, and rapidly fitted one on to each of them; while, as he did so, he murmured again and again: 'if any are saved it can only be she and i. yet even of that there is no hope.' chapter xix 'i almost dreaded this man once' the indian ocean lay beneath the purple-scarlet rays of the setting sun as calmly and as peacefully as though, across its treacherous bosom, nothing more violent than a cat's-paw had ever swept. indeed, so calm and peaceful was the spaceless sheet of cobalt that, almost, one might have thought he gazed upon some quiet tarn, or inland lake, shut in and warded off from any breeze that might blow or any tempest that could ever roar. only--he who should stand upon the pebbly beach of a little island upon whose white stones the surf hissed gently as it receded slowly and faintly--as though it were asleep and languid--would have known that, for thousands of miles ahead of him, there was nothing to oppose the tempests of the east and south, or prevent them from lashing that now calm and placid ocean into madness, or from exerting their powers of awful destruction. a little island set in that glittering, sapphire sea, with, all around its circumference of five miles, a belt of white bleached stone and sand, and with, inland and running up from the belt, green grassy slopes, in which grew tall palm trees, vast bushes or tufts of bananas, orange and lemon trees, mangoes and yams. there, too, were grassy dells through which limpid streams of pure cool water ran until they mingled with the salt ocean; there the wild turtle-dove cooed from guava and tamarind tree, the quails and guinea-fowls ran about upon the white silvery sands; while, to complete all these natural advantages, neither mosquito nor sandfly existed. a little island girt by coral reefs--the ocean's teeth, strong, fierce, and jagged; teeth that can rip the copper sheathing off a belated vessel as easily as a man can rip the skin from off the island's pink and golden bananas; teeth that can thrust themselves a dozen or twenty feet into the bowels of forlorn and castaway barks and tear them all to pieces as the tusk of the 'must' elephant tears the bowels of its victims. a little island, one of a thousand in that sometimes smiling, sometimes devilish, sea--such as are in the chagos archipelago, or the seychelles, or the cormoras, and, like so many of those islands, untrod, unvisited by man. unvisited because, where all are equally and bounteously supplied by nature, there is no need for any ship to draw near this solitary speck that is guarded from all approach by those belts of coral, and also because, to this small island, there is no natural harbour should rough winds blow. now--as still the setting sun went swiftly down amidst its regal panoply of purple and violet and crimson, while, above those hues, its rays shot forth great fleaks and flames of amber gold--it was not uninhabited, not desolate of all human life. upon a grassy slope a man lay, his head bound up with linen bands; one of his hands being swathed, too, in similar wrappings. and his eyes were closed as though he were sleeping--or dead. to her who gazed on him it seemed almost as if it must be the latter--the greater, the more everlasting sleep, that had fallen on him. for there were two in this island now; she who thus looked down on the prostrate man being a woman clad in a long dress, which once had been of a soft, delicate white fabric, but, now, was stained and smeared with many splashes and marks, and was rough and crumpled with hard usage and by the effects of seawater. her hair, too, was all dishevelled, uncombed and unbrushed; tossed up in a great mass upon her head; bound with a piece of ordinary tape. and still she was as beautiful as she had ever been; beautiful in this negligence which was the result of shipwreck and of battling with tempest, of cruel buffetings from merciless waves and jagged rocks--beautiful, though on her face and in her eyes was now the sombre beauty of a despair and misery too deep for words. for he whom she loved, he whose wife she was to have been, was not upon that island with them, and had no more been heard of since, in the arms of stephen charke, she had been plunged into the sea and, in those arms, borne to safety and to life. she gazed down on him now, in the last glimmering beams of the golden light that shot athwart the island, while regarding him with some expression in her glance which caused that glance to be not altogether a reflex of her own misery and despair. an expression that seemed to denote a supreme pity, an almost divine regret for him who lay before, and beneath, her, in pain and suffering. 'how brave--how strong he was!' she murmured inwardly, her lips not moving. 'how he fought with that storm--fought with death to save me and himself! no!' she broke off, still uttering her meditations to her own heart alone--'why do him such injustice even in my thoughts? it was not to save us both, but me alone. there was but one desire in his soul--to save me!' she turned and went to a small heap of fruit that she had gathered earlier in the day, and selected one of the great pink bananas--pink with a lustrous beauty which those who only see them when they arrive in northern climes could never believe they have once possessed--then she took a scooped-out cocoanut shell, and, going to a little babbling rill that ran through the grassy defile, filled it with water. after which she returned to where the other lay, and, kneeling by his side, gazed on him again. 'my god!' she whispered. 'i almost dreaded him once. feared him for i knew not what. feared him! him! and he has been my saviour.' he seemed to know that she was by his side and near him; for, even as she murmured these words to herself, stephen charke opened his eyes--a faint smile appearing in them--and gazed into hers. 'you are better?' she asked, as she gave him the shell with the water in it, which he was not too weak to be able to take and raise to his lips, while she tore off the rind of the banana. 'your forehead,' she went on, while putting her hand upon it calmly, as a sister might, 'is cooler. are you still in pain?' 'no,' he answered. 'no--only very weak. are--are--any more saved from that?' and he directed his glance to where, two hundred yards off from the island, lay something protruding above the water which looked like the rounded back of a whale, but was, in truth, the torn and lacerated keel of the _emperor of the moon_. in her last struggles--in her last convulsions as the gale had hurled her on to the coral reef--she had turned almost completely over. 'no,' she replied, her face an awful picture of despair and anguish. 'none are saved but you and i. oh!' and she buried that face in her hands and wept aloud, piteously, heartbrokenly. 'god rest their souls,' he said solemnly. 'god pity them! why i, too, should have been spared except to save you, i do not know. i might as well have gone down with them.' 'no! no!' she cried. 'no, mr. charke. you must be spared for better days, for greater things. oh,' she exclaimed, 'how bravely you battled with it all! uncle told us,' she went on through her tears, 'when we were below and before i became insensible, that your efforts were superhuman; that, if the ship could be saved, it would be by you alone. and,' she continued, 'how you saved me i do not know. only--only--i wish i had gone with him, with gilbert.' 'nay,' he said--'nay. do not say that. and--and--i ask you to believe that, had it been possible, i would have saved him too. but it was impossible. impossible to so much as slip a life-buoy over his shoulders. the end was at hand, the ship broken in half. it was impossible,' he repeated earnestly. 'how,' she asked, as she sat by his side gazing out across the calm, waveless sea through the fast-coming tropic night, and watching the great stars--almost as big as northern moons---sparkling, incandescent like, in the blue heavens above--'how did you do it? i remember nothing till i found myself lying there,' and she pointed down to the white sand, from which there came, through the sultry night, the gentle hiss of the sea, 'and saw you lying near me, and dead, as i thought.' 'nor do i remember, or only very little more than you can do. i dragged you from the saloon, and, after fixing a life-buoy on to each of us, leaped into the sea with you, striking out vigorously to avoid the ship. and i can recall my battlings with the waves for a few moments--only a few--then feeling my breath knocked out of me. and, then, nothing more until i came to and found you looking at me here. it was the life-buoys that saved us.' 'in god's mercy. under his providence. yet--yet--if it were not wicked to say so--if it were not for my poor dear mother at home--i--should----' 'no, no!' he almost moaned. 'no, no! not that!' then, after a moment or so of silence, he said: 'do you know how long we have been here? can you guess?' 'this is the second night, i suppose,' she answered. 'when i came-to yesterday morning, i imagine it was the first one after the wreck.' 'possibly. and have you seen nothing pass at sea, either near or far off?' 'nothing. yet i have gazed seaward all the time it has been light on each day. where do you think we are?' 'if the island is uninhabited, i think it must be one of the cormora group, since it can scarcely be part of the chagos archipelago--they are too far to the east. and all the others in the indian ocean--certainly in this part of it--are inhabited.' she made no reply now--she did not say what almost every other woman in her position would undoubtedly have said--namely, that she hoped they would in some way be taken off the island. for, in absolute fact, she did not hope so. to be saved from this desolation, to be put on board some ship which might be going to any part of the world, even though that part should be england itself, meant leaving gilbert behind--leaving him to his ocean grave. and she would not--certainly she would not yet--consent to believe that he had met with such a grave. the _emperor of the moon_ was still there, a part of her above the water although she was almost turned upside down, or 'turned turtle,' as she knew the sailors called it, and--and--might not some of those who were in her when she struck be still sheltering, clinging to some portion of the wreck that happened to be above water? she did not know much about ships, this awful, fateful voyage being her only experience, wherefore she thought and hoped and prayed that such a chance as this which she imagined in her mind might be possible. while, too, she remembered that gilbert and her uncle were both blind. therefore, if they were still alive, they could not cast themselves into the sea to escape out of the vessel--they would not, indeed, know that there was an island close to them, and, probably, would imagine that the ship was wrecked upon some reef or rock, so that it would be doubly dangerous to venture to leave her. and, again, even if they could by any wild chance have guessed that there was an island near, how would they in their blindness have known which way to proceed to reach it? thus, by such arguments, she had endeavoured to solace her sad, aching heart, and now, as she rose to leave stephen charke for the night, she put into words the thoughts which had been present to her mind from almost the first moment she had discovered that they themselves were saved. 'do you think,' she asked, standing there gazing down on him once more--'do you think any who were in the ship when we escaped can be still alive? is there any hope of that?' he looked up at her swiftly as she made the suggestion, then--because he felt that it was useless to encourage such vain longings--because, also, he knew that such a thing was impossible--absolutely, entirely impossible, he said: 'no, no! it cannot be. those who were in the cabin would be submerged as the ship went over, and those who were on the deck would be thrown into the sea.' she gave a bitter sigh as he answered her--and it went to his heart to hear that sigh, since now his pity for her was heroic, sublime, in its self-abnegation--as great as were also his love and adoration; then she asked: 'and where was gilbert--lieutenant bampfyld?' 'he--he--was lying by the wheel. god pity him! he was a brave, noble officer. even in his blindness he had crept up to help at the wheel, and was determined to do something towards saving the ship if possible. then--then--he fell down from exhaustion. he----' '--is dead!' she muttered, in a voice that sounded like a knell. 'dead! oh, my god! he is dead. i wish i were dead, too!' chapter xx 'i do believe you' she moved away from him now that the night was at hand, intending to seek a little knoll that was hollowed out by nature so that it presented the appearance of a small cave of about six feet in depth and the same in breadth. above it there grew, tall, stately, and feathery, two cocoa trees close together; around it trailed tropical creepers and huge-leaved plants which bore upon them large white flowers. it was into this cave she had crept the night before and had slept, and to it she now intended to go again, it being, as she thought, better perhaps to pass the night there than in the open air. yet, had she but known, it offered her no necessary shelter, since, in truth, none was required--especially at this season. dews scarcely ever arose in the island, there being little, if any, of that dampness at night for which the poisonous deadly west coast of africa is so evilly renowned, and one might sleep in the open air as free from the dangers of exhalations as in any closed place that could be devised here. but, not being aware of this--as how should she who, hitherto, had known so little of the world outside london--outside england?--she spoke to stephen charke ere she left him for the night, saying: 'i wish there was something to cover you with--something to protect you. yet there is nothing--not a rag.' 'it is of no importance,' he said, looking up at her, and able to see her face, pale and ghostlike, by the light of the stars. 'of none whatever. i shall be able to lie here and sleep very well. there is no fear of damp or fever in all this locality. i know it well. and, tomorrow, i hope to be able to get up and go about the island. perhaps, beyond that mountain at the back, there may be some signs of human habitation--of human life. do not think of me. good-night. sleep well. try to sleep well.' 'good-night,' she answered, 'good-night'; and then she slowly withdrew to the cave in the little knoll, and so left him. but, when she had gone, and had lain herself down upon the soft, dry sand within that cave, sleep refused to come to her. the night before she had slept long and soundly, perhaps because of all that she had gone through, and because also she was battered and bruised and weak after her immersion in the sea and the contact with the rocks. but to-night she could not do so--her mind was now triumphant over her body; the hour of that mind's agony was upon her. and she bent and swayed beneath this agony, and recognised, acknowledged, all the ruin that had fallen on her future life and hopes and dreams of happiness to come. her lover, her future husband, was gone--was dead! her heart was broken; there was in actual fact no future before her. she had loved him madly, blindly, almost from the first time she had set eyes on him, and now--now he was dead. there was nothing more. she would never love any other man; none other could ever find his way into her heart as gilbert bampfyld had done, nor set every pulse and fibre in her body stirring, nor cause her to thank god when she awoke each morning that another day had dawned when, even though she might not see him, she could still pass many waking hours in thinking of him. no; no other man would ever have the power to cause all that. henceforth, if she ever left this island alive, it would be to return to a joyless, hopeless life--a woman widowed ere she had become a wife. thus she thought and mused as she lay in the cave, her head supported on one hand while she looked out on all that devilish, cruel waste of waters which had hurled the ship to its destruction and slain almost every soul on board her, and which now--like some wanton trampling on the ruin and despair that she has caused--was smiling before her in the rays of a crescent moon that was just peeping above the eastern horizon. indeed, the glimmer which this young moon sent shimmering along the tropical sea was not unlike the false sad smile that a wanton's lips might wear in the hour of her victim's ruin; the smile that bespeaks 'the painting of a sorrow, a face without a heart.' a little breeze sprang up now, a ripple soft as a lover's kiss; balmy, too--as it played among all the rich tropical vegetation of the island--as a young girl's pure breath, and she saw that her fellow-castaway perceived it, since he turned himself so as to bring his face towards it--doubtless to cool his heated frame and to get relief from the warm, tepid air that hung all around--air that was like the atmosphere of a turkish bath. and this led her thoughts away from her own sorrows into the direction of those griefs which must be his--towards this brave, valiant man, who had saved her life at, as she knew must be the case, the risk of his own. his lot was also sad, she recognised, sad because he loved her--as it would have been the merest affectation for her to pretend to doubt--and because she knew that never could this love obtain that which it hungered for. yet, all the same, there had come into her heart a feeling of intense sorrow for him; sorrow and pity that had welled up into her bosom and was almost holy in its depth and purity. 'to love and lose, as i have done,' she murmured; 'to love and never win, as is the case with him. oh, god! could there be aught to make our bitterness--our lot--more terrible?' suddenly, she started and raised herself higher with her elbow, her nerves quivering, her heart beating violently, her eyes staring intently into the shade beneath a copse, in which grew in wild profusion a tangled mass of cocoa trees and tamarinds, of orange bushes and lemon trees, and into which, now, the new moon's rays were glinting. for she had seen something moving there--something creeping, crawling close to the ground--stealthily, secretly--as though desirous to approach the spot where they were both so near together, without being heard or seen. what new horror was this that approached them in the night, that crept in ambush towards them as though intent on secret murder and attack? what! some native of this horrid region lusting for the stranger's blood, or some wild beast as fierce! her; tongue cleaved to her mouth--she could feel that the roof of the latter was becoming dry--she tried to scream--and failed! and, still, close to the earth, that thing crept--nearer--nearer--and once, as it either pushed some underbrush aside or came more into view, a ray of the moon glistened on a pair of eyes, illuminating the pupils for a moment. then she found her voice and shrieked aloud: 'mr. charke! mr. charke! there is something creeping towards us. save us! save us!' in a moment he was endeavouring to spring to his feet, but this he could not do owing to his soreness and contusions; yet, nevertheless, he staggered up a moment later and gazed around, wishing that he had some weapon to his hand. that cry of bella's--it rang along the desolate beach as, may be, no woman's voice had ever rung there before!--brought matters to a crisis. there was a rush, a spring from the creature that had, by now, crawled so near to them; a spring which hurled charke back reeling as the thing passed him and then brought it, itself, close to bella, about and around whom it at once began to gambol, rudely and roughly, as some great watch-dog might do who had found its lost mistress. the creature was bengalee, the tiger-cub, and, in some way, it, if nothing else, was saved from the wreck of the _emperor of the moon_. 'oh!' cried bella, half fearfully at its furious bounds and leaps, which, even in her nervousness, she could not but construe into a wild, savage joy on its part at once more being in her presence, 'it is bengalee. oh, thank god!' 'thank god?' charke repeated, not understanding. 'thank god for what?' 'it is a sign,' she said, 'a sign that we are not the only ones who have escaped. think! think! if this creature could get ashore, so--so may others have done.' for a moment he said nothing, contenting himself with watching the exultation of the creature and in reflecting that it was her shriek which had told it who those were to whom it had drawn so near--with, perhaps, if stung by hunger and privation, a vastly different intention from that of fondling either of them! and he did think of what she hinted in connection with its safety and its having reached the island alive, as well as of that safety pointing to the fact that others, that human beings, might also have done so. only--he knew, and knowing, refrained from saying, that her deduction was by no means accurate. this animal had been on the deck when the ship heeled over on the reef; it was confined only in a locker from which it might easily have forced its way out in its terror, or, indeed, might have fallen out of it, but it was an animal, and its blindness had left it! gilbert bampfyld had also been on the deck, charke remembered, but was still blind. there was no analogy between the tiger-cub and any human soul on board. 'you do not answer,' she said, as now bengalee lay panting at her feet, its rough evidences of delight having ceased for a time; 'you do not speak. you think there is no likelihood of any others being saved from the wreck?' 'i cannot think so. heaven knows that, if i could comfort you with such hopes, i would. but----' and now he repeated aloud those silent thoughts and arguments of a moment ago; while, as he did so, he saw, in the moonlight, that she turned from him, and he heard her whisper low: 'heaven help me!' then, because her misery and woe struck like a knife to his heart, he said: 'to-morrow, if i am strong enough, as i think i shall be, i will make a journey round the island and explore every spot upon it, where, if--if any one should have, by god's mercy, been fortunate enough to reach the land, i must light upon them. believe me, nothing shall be left undone that i can do.' 'i do believe you,' she cried; 'i do, indeed. ah, mr. charke,' she almost wailed, 'how good and noble you are! oh that such goodness, such nobility must go for ever unrequited!' 'that,' he answered, and she, also, could see by the aid of the moon's rays that on his face there came a wan smile, a smile that had not even the ghost of happiness in it, 'that is not to be thought of--never. let us put away for ever all thoughts of my desires; let us think only of what we have to do. to find, first, whether, in providence, there should be any others who have escaped from the wreck, and, next, how we are to escape out of this. if there are other islands near here which are inhabited, no matter by whom or what, it may be easy.' 'and if not?' 'then we must wait until, by some signal or other which i may devise, we can attract the attention of a passing vessel. beyond this i can think of nothing.' 'oh!' she exclaimed, 'much as i long to return home to england, to my mother--i think only of her now, i have none other of whom to think--yet--yet, ah, i could not go till i was sure, sure beyond all possibility of doubt, that gilbert was not here or somewhere near. think, if he should be still alive and blind and wounded! here and unable to help himself. oh, it would be almost worse than to know that he was dead.' 'i do think,' charke answered; 'i understand. and until we are sure, one way or the other, we will not go: no, not even though rescue came to-morrow.' then, looking down at the tiger-cub which had now risen to its feet again, and was pacing restlessly about with the sinuous, lithe movements peculiar to its race, he said: 'but there is also one other thing that must be done. that creature is now beyond control, even by you; and these beasts are treacherous to the core. if it is to live, and we are to live also, it must be secured--made prisoner. otherwise something terrible will happen. i know it; feel sure of it.' chapter xxi washed ashore they had both slept again by the time that the morning broke with the suddenness of the tropics, while the coming of the sun was heralded by the pale primrose hue which all who have been between capricorn and cancer know so well; that hue being followed by the vermilion and golden shafts of light, and then by a deep blood-red tinge which suffused all the horizon. they had slept uneasily, each in their place; with--outside, near the opening of the little cave under the knoll--the tiger lying tranquilly as though keeping watch and ward over her whom, probably, it deemed its friend and mistress. yet, ever and again, as she, while waking to regard it more than once--because of the fear which stephen's words had engendered in her mind--saw very well, its yellow eyes peered out restlessly from their closed slits of eyelids, the pupil of each eye being itself a horizontal slit only. and she acknowledged that charke had spoken aright, that the time had come for the creature to be either imprisoned or made away with. all its evil instincts were undoubtedly being developed with its growth; soon, they would have obtained their full force and be, perhaps, exerted. it was time. but now the dawn was come, the blood-red of the eastern sky was plainly visible, and the birds of the island were twittering to each other and pluming themselves; whereon the girl rose and left the cave, and passed quietly by the creature lying so close to her as though in fear of arousing it. in actual fear of it, indeed, since she did not know but that it might turn and rend her at any moment. for it was big enough and strong enough to do so now, its size being that of a large retriever, or a year-old mastiff; and she, or he, even--that stalwart muscular sailor--would probably have had little chance against it if it had set upon them, since both were unarmed and both were weakened and broken down by their struggles in the tempest-tossed waves. charke, seeing the girl rise from her recumbent position, rose also, quickly and quietly, and came towards her, while as he did so he said: 'now, to-day is the time for me to make that search round the island which i promised you. we will but eat a little fruit, and then i will set out.' 'shall i go with you?' she asked, as, taking up the cocoanut shell, she turned to go towards the rivulet that ran at her feet, 'or is it better for me to remain here? perhaps, too, it may be more than i can do. or, indeed,' she hastened to add, 'more than you can accomplish in one day, and in such heat as there will be. oh, mr. charke,' she continued, 'you are not strong enough to undertake it yet!' 'i feel strong enough this morning,' he replied, 'and, if i cannot make the whole tour of the place in one day, i can at least do a considerable part of it. i will begin at once, before the sun becomes too fierce. but, as for you, perhaps it would be best if you stayed here. the outlook from this portion of the island is, i think, the one from which any ship that happened to pass would be most likely to be observed. you see, we look west from here, towards where africa lies, and vessels use that track in preference to running more out into the open.' 'i will do anything you suggest,' she said. 'anything you think will be for the best. but'--and again there came upon her face that stricken look which made his heart so sad for her, and which, whenever he observed it, caused him to bury every sorrow for himself in a more profound and unselfish one for her--'but--you know--i--i--at present--just at present--for a day or so--do not wish to see a ship come here to rescue us.' 'i know, i know,' he answered, not daring to keep his eyes fixed full upon that lovely but unhappy face. 'i know. well, we will not look out for rescue yet. but, still, i think you had better stay here. we do not know for certain the size of this island; it is only guesswork on my part. it may be too far a walk, too much of an undertaking for you. you are not afraid--of that?' he continued, as he directed his eyes towards bengalee, while seeing how, as he was speaking, she, too, had let her glance fall upon the cub, which was now pacing restlessly about at their feet. 'no,' she said, 'i am not. yet what you said in the night was true. it is growing beyond control, and, of course, i know how treacherous and savage these animals are. it was a piece of girlish folly on my part to beg poor uncle to save it.' 'i scarcely know how we are to make away with it,' he replied. 'i have nothing but this,'--and he took from his pocket a little white-handled penknife, which he had probably bought for a shilling off a card exposed in a london shop window. 'i could hardly kill it with that. however, one thing is certain, it will die of starvation ere long on this island. it cannot live on fruit as we can, nor catch birds, and there are no signs of animals, not even rats or mice, as far as i can see.' 'oh, poor thing; what a dreadful death to die!' the girl exclaimed, her pity at once awakened for a creature which had been more or less her pet for some few weeks. yet she hastened to ask if starvation did not make such animals even more fierce than usual, and if the risk to them both would not, thereby, be increased. then, before he could reply, she suddenly exclaimed, as her glance fell on the sea, 'what is that out there? surely--surely--it is not a drowned man? oh, not that--not that!' following the direction of that glance, he saw something drifting about on the tranquil, almost rippleless, water over which by now the rays of the risen sun were gleaming horizontally. something that, since it was end-on towards them and the island, was not easily to be distinguished, yet was, all the same, undoubtedly no drowned man nor human body, alive or dead. at first he thought it might be a dead shark--his knowledge of the sea telling him at once that it was not a living one, since they never expose aught but the dorsal fin when swimming--then, a second later, he recognised what the object was. 'no,' he exclaimed, anxious to appease her terrors at once--while knowing to whom, and, above all others, to whose _dead_ body those terrors pointed--'no, that is no body, living or dead. instead, it is one of our quarter-boats. washed out of the chocks when the ship turned on her side, no doubt, and floating about ever since.' 'it is coming nearer,' bella exclaimed, her eyes still on it and full of delight at hearing that in it there was, at least, no confirmation of one awful fear; 'do you not think so?' 'undoubtedly it is coming nearer. it will strike the shore just there if the reef does not catch it'; and he pointed with sailor-like certainty to a spot close by. 'it will be a mercy if it does.' 'why? we could not escape from this place in that, could we?' 'hundreds of sailors have escaped death in smaller boats than that; ay, and lived for many days, too, on an open and rough sea in such boats. but it is not for that only. if it comes ashore i can make a visit to the poor old _emperor_ and find out something, if not all, that i--that we---want to know. while, though we need not put to sea in it, we may use it to get to some other island which is inhabited, by, perhaps, white men; but, anyhow, by some one. it will be of the greatest assistance, especially as, since it floats, it must be undamaged. i trust the oars, if not the sail, are in it.' and now, listening to his words, bella became as eager for the quarter-boat to come ashore as her companion was, and, together, they went down to the spot he had indicated as that which the boat was likely to arrive at--a spot about sixty yards from where they were. as bella walked by her preserver's side she was wondering many things, and especially if he would, indeed, be able now to discover what the fate of the others in the _emperor_ had been, and, above all, if, by the aid of this boat, he would be enabled to solve for her the question she hourly, momentarily, asked herself by day and night--the question whether there was any hope left of a life of happiness and bliss to be passed by her lover's side, or whether, for her, the future could bring nothing but a joyless, heartbroken existence henceforth. also, she mused upon one other thing--namely, what charke was thinking of while, with his eyes never off the incoming boat, he meditated deeply as, from his knit brows and fixed look, she felt sure he was doing. the thoughts, those that actually were in his mind, he would, undoubtedly, not have divulged, even though she had asked him to do so, since they were such as could only have caused grief unspeakable. for he was thinking that, since this quarter-boat had been washed out of the chocks and off the deck into the sea, and had then floated about for forty-eight hours in the neighbourhood previous to being directed by some subtle current to the island, so other things that were on deck would be subject to the same conditions. the bodies of drowned men; the body of her lover! he knew that the sea and its currents and tides work in calm weather with as much regularity as the sun and the moon work in their rising and setting, and, indeed, as the seasons themselves work; and he knew, also, that if gilbert's body--which was close to where the quarter-boat rested when the ship struck--had been washed into the sea at the same time as it, then it was most probable, nay, almost certain, that it also would come ashore at the same spot and perhaps almost at the same time. what horror, what fresh horror, would that be for this poor devoted girl to experience! for, in his own heart, he never doubted for one moment that somewhere close at hand the body of gilbert bampfyld was floating about. the boat was coming very close into the shore now, so close that they could see that one oar was in it, but only one, and that there was nothing else, while they observed, too, that the rudder was not fixed in the braces. yet that mattered little to stephen charke if he could only once get possession of the boat itself, since with one oar on such a glossy sheet of water as this ocean was now, he could propel and steer it easily enough. 'i am glad, thankful, it is coming ashore,' he said now. 'i had thought of swimming out to the ship, only i dreaded the sharks. little use as one's life may be, one would scarcely care to lose it by the jaws of those brutes.' and, though he did not see it, the girl by his side gave him a glance such as would, perhaps, have cheered his heart had he done so. 'was not her own life, also, of little enough use,' she asked herself as he spoke, 'to make her sympathise with his remark? would it not be a broken and dejected one, henceforth, if that which she dreaded, which she had almost forced herself to feel sure must be the case, should be proved to be so beyond all doubt before many more hours had passed?' for every hope with which she had buoyed herself was sinking in her breast, as moment after moment went by and the time grew longer and longer since the wreck had taken place. the boat touched the white, pebbly beach now, grating on it with a gentle scrape, and stephen, who had gone close to the water's edge to await its arrival, put out his hand, and, seizing first the stern and then the painter, drew it a foot or two farther on shore. then he got into it, and, grasping the solitary oar which had remained in the boat simply because the loom, or handle, had got caught beneath the stern thwart, prepared to shove off in it. 'you will not mind,' he said, as he did so, 'being left alone for half an hour? this will not take me away from you for so long as when i go round the island.' while she, in answer, shook her head to indicate that she was not at all afraid of being left by herself. chapter xxii a sailor's knife 'she is perfectly sound and watertight,' he called back to her as, with the hand which was uninjured, he threw the oar over the boat's stern, and worked her out from the shore. 'if we want her to help us off to another island she will do it, if i can only find another oar floating about somewhere.' then he propelled her as swiftly as he could to where the _emperor of the moon_ lay outside the rock, her keel and copper bottom gleaming in the bright morning sun. as he drew near to the ship he began to perceive how all hope of the likelihood that any one should still be alive and imprisoned in the ship must be abandoned. she had turned over even more than he had at first imagined when regarding her from the shore of the island, so that the keel was almost level in a manner exactly the opposite from what sailors mean when they talk about a 'level keel.' it stuck up now, so far as it was out of water, as some sharp mountain ridge seems to stick up when regarded from a valley, and showed an almost horizontal line; while, beneath the keel and above the water, for half the length of the vessel, there was visible a portion of the outside of the main hold, down to (or up from) her diagonal ribboned-lines. and, here, there was a great gaping wound, a hole smashed into her side large enough to have let the whole indian ocean pour into the devoted ship directly it was made, and (although there might well be others which were not visible) sufficient to have filled and sunk, forthwith, the largest vessel that was ever launched. the force of the impact was to be appreciated, too, by the manner in which her copper sheathing was driven into her and burst, so that, where the blow had been struck by the jagged tooth of the rock, the latter looked like a destroyed _chevaux-de-frise_, or, for a better comparison, a paper hoop through which an acrobat had passed. and, in this burst and broken protection, as in other and less terrible circumstances it might have been (though naturally it had proved useless here), the sheathing-nails stuck out like brilliant, gleaming yellow teeth, all broken and distorted. charke brought the quarter-boat alongside the upturned or leaning bottom, so that, by looking through this gaping wound, he could peer into the now reversed decks and see that there lay, on what had once been the roof of it but was now the floor, a mass of articles, such as is usually stowed away in a ship's lower decks. a mass, composed of cables and old and new sails, as well as some stores, consisting of dozens of tinned-meat cans unopened, boxes of sardines, and so forth, and several old sea chests and trunks--all lying, of course, helter-skelter, as they had been thrown together by the ship's reversal. 'there are some things of use here,' charke thought, 'and worth taking away,' whereupon he ran the painter through a small hole in the sheathing and tied it tightly, and then scrambled up the vessel's inverted side until he was able to drop himself through the opening into the deck, taking care that he tore neither his flesh nor his clothes in doing so. being there, he selected a small sail which he found; it was indeed, a boat sail, and had its gear of mast and tackle attached, while, passing it through the orifice, he dropped it carefully into the boat, and then he took next a few of the tins of provisions, and dropped them into her, too. and, also, he found something which would be to him, in the utterly unprovided condition in which bella and he had escaped to the island, of the greatest service. this was a long, sharp knife in its leather sheath, such as sailors strap to their sides, and was new and in good condition, so that he did not doubt that the last seaman who had been sent below to this deck had dropped it there, and he was able to picture to himself the man's annoyance, probably expressed aloud and with a good deal of vehemence and strong language, over his loss. this done--and the doing of it had not taken long--he prepared to leave the disordered hold, when he remembered that there was one thing he wanted, namely, some cable. 'that tiger has to die at once,' he muttered to himself. 'with a piece of stout rope and this knife--which would slay anything, from a horse downwards--its death should not be difficult of accomplishment.' then, having selected two or three pieces of cable of different strands, he got out through the hole again and into the boat. it is almost needless to write down that he found no sign of human life as he rowed about and round the wrecked _emperor of the moon_ for some moments afterwards. needless, too, perhaps, to add that he had never expected to find any. he was a sailor, accustomed to disaster at sea and full also of much acquired knowledge pertaining to many of the calamities which it had never been his lot to experience heretofore; and he knew--he felt sure, and would have staked his life upon the certainty of his convictions--that of all who had been in that doomed ship an hour before she struck, none except bella waldron and himself were now alive. those who had been below in the cabins or saloon, those also who were in forecastle or galley, had met, must have met, not only with their deaths but their graves at one and the same time; while as for the unhappy and blind young officer who had caused him so much heartache by winning the woman whom he loved so fondly, and whom he had once hoped to win--why, it was impossible that he should still be alive. if he had been washed ashore, it could be only as a corpse, and it was most improbable that even that should have happened. in truth, he believed that, with all the others, he had been carried below by the overturning of the ship and then pinned down, buried, beneath the mass of the fabric. otherwise, since the boat had floated ashore, so, too, would he have done by now. 'the woman he had hoped to win,' he repeated softly to himself, as still he sculled the quarter-boat round and round while peering down into the dark blue depths as far as he could penetrate; and while endeavouring also to perceive some sign or memorial--even so much as a cap or straw hat--of one of those poor drowned sailors imprisoned below--'the woman he had hoped to win!' and as the phrase rose to his mind, though not to his lips, he recalled as well how he had cherished the thought of the length of voyage that had lain before her ere she could join her lover in india; how, too, he had pondered on half a hundred things which might happen ere the old _emperor_ should be anchored in bombay harbour. almost, now, those meditations seemed to have been prophetic--for what had not happened! the girl's lover was gone, removed by death, and she had none other in the world on whom to lean but himself. and what was more, she spoke kindly to him; she pitied him, he could well perceive; there was something between them now, a deep sympathy, a reliance on each other in their misfortunes, which had never existed before. 'the woman he had hoped to win?' well!--he scarce dared whisper the thought to his longing heart, yet it was there!--the thought, the hope that in days to come, in after-months, perhaps years, when her grief for gilbert bampfyld was mellowed and softened by time, when she knew him better and should fully recognise how profound his adoration for her was, he might still win her! she could not, young as she was, and with all the years of a long life before her, sorrow for ever--sorrow for a memory that would at last be nothing but a shadow. 'he _would_ win her!' he said aloud to himself now, as he worked the boat ashore, 'he was resolved he would.' the one obstacle in his path was removed, the brave, gallant young officer was gone, brushed aside by fate. he would win her yet! he stepped ashore now to where she was standing watching him, and it seemed almost--if his recent thoughts had not tinged his present fancies with a roseate hue--that there was a look of greeting and welcome to him in her eyes, even as she saw that he had come back--even at the ending of so short an absence as his had been! was she beginning now--now that she had none other in the world to watch for--to desire to have him always near her? ah, if that were indeed so! then--then he might win her at last. 'you found,' she asked, speaking low, and in those sad tones which had come into her voice of late, and since disaster had fallen heavily on them, 'you found no sign of any others having been saved?' 'no,' he said, also softly. 'no, there are no signs of that. miss waldron--i am neither cruel nor hard of heart, but--oh, how can i say it!--it is useless to hope.' 'useless! ah, well, i suppose it is--it must be! and, god help me, it must also be borne.' then she turned away from him with the desire to prevent the tears which had risen to her eyes from being seen by him, and went back to the shade of the trees under which she had been sitting until she saw the quarter-boat returning with him in it. and he followed her, carrying the cable which he brought away from the ship; the knife which he had found being in his pocket and the sail with its gear left in the boat. the sun was terribly fierce now, so fierce that to be beneath its rays for only a few moments was to risk sunstroke or to be burnt more red than he had long since been, or she since her exposure on the island; and, of course, he could not attempt the projected tour of the place until that sun once more sank low in the west. there was, therefore, nothing now to do but to sit idly gazing out to sea and watch for signs of any ship which might pass near enough to perceive them, when they should have erected signals. 'after the tour round the island,' he said to her, as he sat by her side beneath the palm trees and occupied his time in plaiting some of the long, thick grass which grew at their feet into something that should serve for hats, or, at least, coverings for their heads, 'after the tour, when we have had the last sad satisfaction of knowing that there can be none who have escaped, you will not object to my endeavouring to arrange for our being taken off? the mozambique channel is full of ships on their way to india during the time of the southwest monsoon--you will let me make signals, will you not?' 'i am in your hands,' she replied, her eyes on him. 'you must do all that you think best. ah, mr. charke, you do not know how grateful i feel to you!' 'never say that. not a word. i knew, i thought, i could save one besides myself, and, naturally,' he went on simply, 'i saved you.' then both sat on musing and meditating in silence. 'here comes the tiger,' he said now, seeing the creature stalking towards them in the lithe, treacherous manner peculiar to its race. 'i imagine it has been endeavouring to find food. i brought off some tinned things from the ship; yet, cruel as it seems to be, it is not advisable, i think, to give it anything in the shape of flesh. meanwhile, if it will only go to sleep we ought to secure it,' and, as he spoke, he took up one of the pieces of cable and commenced tying what is known to sailors as a double-diamond knot. but, previously, he had fastened the other end securely round one of the palm trees that grew close by him. 'there will be one advantage in this,' he said, 'namely, that the more it pulls against it the tighter will come the loop, so that its intelligence will prevent it from straining at the rope and strangling itself.' 'poor wretch,' bella exclaimed, 'how gaunt and lean it is growing! i recognise that it cannot be kept alive or even taken off with us when we are found here; yet--yet i am sorry for it.' 'yes,' he answered, 'i understand that, but it has to be done--must be done--it is imperative. in the state it is now in from hunger, and also owing to its increasing strength, our lives are no longer safe with it, and certainly not with it at large; while, if one of us were to scratch our hands, or even get the slightest wound, and the creature smelt the blood, which it would undoubtedly do--well, the result might be terrible. now, see, it's going to sleep; it appears exhausted. i must drop the loop over its head.' 'no,' she answered, 'let me do that. it is still very docile with me,' and, as she spoke, she took the loop from his hand and, while patting the creature's head--whereon it raised it as a dog will raise its head when stroked by a loved hand--she dropped that hand down until the rope was round its neck, though not without muttering some words of regret as to what she deemed her treachery. 'it is no treachery,' he said, 'no more treachery, indeed, than to tie up a mastiff in its kennel. and, even though it were, it would not matter. these creatures are themselves the incarnation of treachery. however, the main point is that it is now secure. it is not yet strong enough to burst this rope.' such was the case, yet it was strange that to so acute a mind as charke's there had not occurred the idea that it would not take a tiger very long to gnaw a ship's rope through if it desired its release. chapter xxiii 'the tiger did that' when the sun began to drop towards where africa lay, afar off and invisible, and when (because of the dense foliage which crowned the slopes of the island that rose behind the beach) that portion where they sat was rapidly becoming shaded from its burning rays, stephen charke said that the time had come for him to think of making his tour of the place, or, at least, of accomplishing a part of it. the air, it is true, still resembled that which one feels when they have approached too near to a furnace, or, for a further simile, have descended into the engine-room of a steamer. yet, now, there would be no danger of sunstroke, and the expedition, such as it was, might very well be undertaken. 'my idea is,' charke said, 'to begin now, this afternoon, by starting to the left and going on along the shore until i am nearly opposite this place on the other side of the island; then i will come back here, crossing it, and to-morrow i will do the same thing with the other side. that way there cannot be much left unexplored by to-morrow evening. what do you think?' 'i think,' bella answered, 'that you are the most unselfish, heroic man i ever knew. ah, mr. charke,' she continued, 'i know very well why you are doing this, why you are going to make this journey round the island. it is to satisfy me, it is for my sake. if you were alone here you would never do it, but occupy yourself only on thoughts of how to get away, and----' 'no,' he said, 'no. had i been the only person who got ashore from the wreck i should, as a sailor, as a comrade of the others, have deemed it my duty to make a thorough search through the island ere i took steps to quit it. i shall have, as the survivor of the _emperor of the moon_, to make a report----' 'i understand,' she said quietly. 'i understand. nothing that you can say will make me feel my obligations to you any the less.' for bella waldron knew as well as stephen charke himself knew, that what she had just said was the absolute fact; she knew that he was going to undertake this fresh toil--for toil it was, after all he had gone through, after his bruises and buffeting with the waves, and in this terrible torrid-zone heat--for her and on her account alone. he was going to undertake it with the desire of easing her heart and preventing her, in after-years, from being able to reproach herself with having left the spot while any chance remained of there being one of those who were dear to her upon it. she was, too, perfectly aware that he did not for one moment believe--alas! how could he, a trained, intelligent seaman, believe?--that there was any other soul left alive out of all those who had been in the ill-fated vessel when she struck on the rock. and, being thus unable to believe, could she regard him as aught else than that which a moment before she had termed him, 'a most unselfish, heroic man'? before he left her he asked if she would not partake of some of the tinned meats, or sardines, which he had managed to obtain from the upturned hold, but as the girl replied that it was far too hot to eat anything but the wild fruit growing in such profusion all around, and also that she was not hungry, he decided that he would not open one of the tins for himself. he, too, could do very well on what there was to their hands for the trouble of picking, since, here, in this tropical, steaming atmosphere, eating scarcely seemed a necessity of life; while, if it were, then those glorious bananas whose golden and crimson hues merged so superbly into each other were amply sufficient. but, also, he had another reason for not opening the preserved meat. the odour of it would--might--arouse the cub's desires, and, once aroused, they would possibly stir the animal almost to frenzy if ungratified. he rose now and prepared to set out, there being still two full hours of daylight left; two full hours ere the sun would be gone and the swift, dark night had fallen at once upon all around--the outcome of a dusky veil which the sun appears to fling behind it as it departs, and out of which emerges black obscurity, lit only by the burning, silvery constellations. but, ere he went, he asked if she feared to be left alone for so long. 'no,' she replied, 'no. why should i? what is there to hurt me here?' 'there may be people on the island all the same,' he replied, 'even if they have not yet discovered our presence; although i do not think it likely.' 'nor do i. if there were they would by now, in two days, have observed that,'--and she pointed towards the wreck--'and have come down to it. we are alone,' she concluded with a sigh. 'there is no one else here but you and i.' and still again she sighed. 'yes,' he answered, understanding all that her words meant, all the heartbrokenness that they expressed. 'yes, we are alone; there are no others.' after which he left her, saying that, by dark, or very shortly afterwards, he would be back again. when he had departed, after looking round once to wave his hand ere a bend of the shore hid him from her view (and she noticed that, true to his sailor's instincts, he went towards the boat and inspected it, and then drew it up a little more on to the white-pebbled beach and made the painter more secure), she went down to the rivulet and cooled her face and hands and feet in it, and made some attempt at arranging her hair, while using the stream as a mirror. yet it was little enough that she could do in the way of a toilet, since she had nothing that would serve as a comb nor any soap or towel. after which, feeling refreshed, nevertheless, by this attempt, she returned to where she had been sitting and gazed out seaward, meditating deeply. 'what an end,' she murmured, as she did so, while from her eyes the tears flowed freely now--the more so because there was none to observe them--'what an end to all! gilbert, who was to have been my husband, dead! gilbert, whom i so loved with my whole heart and soul, dead! and lying beneath that ship. oh, gilbert, gilbert, gilbert, my love, come back to me. and my poor uncle and aunt, too. oh, god, what a disaster! what a disaster!' and now she wept piteously, so piteously that, if that other man, who had risked his own chances to save her as well as himself, could have seen her, the sight would have gone near to break his heart. that other man! at this moment her thoughts turned to him too. almost unconsciously she found herself thinking of him, speculating on what his future would be. 'he will never marry,' she murmured. 'i know it. feel sure of it. it would be the idlest affectation to ignore his sentiments for me. yet--yet--how sad, how mournful a life must his be henceforth; no home to go to, no wife to welcome him, none to make him happy. poor mr. charke. poor stephen. our lots will be similar, we must be friends, always friends.' meanwhile, he was making his way along the beach, which was still shaded from the sun and becoming, indeed, more and more so as he progressed farther round the island, away from the west. and every step which he took served only to confirm him in what he had believed, known from the first--the unlikelihood of there being any other person saved from the wreck. 'surely,' he muttered to himself, 'if he should have drifted ashore, it would have been here. the current sets this way, and also the monsoon blows towards this island. living or dead, he would have come to this neighbourhood if he had come at all. the tiger did that, and, doubtless----' he paused at those words. 'the tiger did that!' and for a moment it seemed to him that his heart stood still. 'the tiger did that!' ay, but did it? was he wrong in the surmise, wrong in his deduction? did the cub land here or hereabouts? reflecting, recalling the night before, the early dawn, when bella shrieked to him and awoke him from a half-slumber into which he had fallen, he recollected that the beast had sprung forth from the copse of orange and lemon trees that was to the right of the little spot where he had waded ashore with the girl in his arms, and where, after carrying her up far above the waterline, he had dropped senseless. it had sprung at them from the right side, was coming from the right; and it was not to be believed, it was, indeed, beyond all belief, that it could previously have passed across where they were from the other side without having been noticed by one of them, especially by bella, who was wide awake. it was coming from the right; it had, doubtless, therefore, got ashore, been cast ashore, to the right. and he was seeking for signs on--had set out to--the left! had he, therefore, chosen the most unlikely place in which, if, by the most remote chance, any human being should have been washed ashore, to discover them? 'shall i go back,' he mused, 'and begin again on the other side? shall i?' yet, as he meditated, he reflected that there would be little use in doing so; certainly little use in doing so to-day. an hour had now passed, or nearly so, since he quitted bella; the sun, he knew, since he could no longer see it, was sinking fast--over the whole of the rich, luxurious vegetation that stretched inland there was now the golden hue, the amber light that, in the tropics, follows after the dazzling, blinding, molten brilliancy of the noontide, directly the sun is no longer vertically above the globe. and also, there was the odour of the coming night all about him, the odour of the declining day when, from every fruit and flower that has drooped through the hottest hours of the earlier portions of that day, there exudes the luscious, sickly scent that travellers know so well. 'no,' he said to himself, 'no. it would be little use to turn back now or to begin again to-night! and--and,' he murmured, thinking deeply as he did so, 'even though he had been cast ashore, he could not now be alive. blind--unable to see his way--to find any of all the fruit that grows here in such profusion, poor bampfyld would succumb to starvation, even if the life had not been beaten out of him by the waves.' it was of gilbert bampfyld alone that he thought, of him alone about whom he speculated, since, of all the others who had been in the _emperor of the moon_, he was the only one whose body could by any possibility have come ashore. they, those others, pooley and his wife, were in the submerged cabin, no power on earth could have got them out of it; any men left in the galley and the forecastle were in as equally bad a plight. nothing could have saved them, or have even released their bodies. but, as he thought of gilbert bampfyld, so he felt sure that he also must have perished, even though he was not thus below as those others had been. still musing on all this, but with one other image ever present to his mind--the image of the woman he loved--dishevelled and storm-beaten, but always beautiful--the woman of whom, now, he began to dream once more, to dream of winning for his own in some distant day--he went on along the beach, his eyes glancing everywhere around and near him. glancing into the wild, tangled vegetation, along the channels of the rivulet's courses, but sometimes with them fixed on the beach. suddenly he stopped, his heart quivering again, beating fast. at his feet there lay a sailor's rough jacket, and, a little farther off, a cap--a common, blue-flannel thing, such as the mercantile sailor buys for a few pence at a ratcliffe highway slop-shop. he stopped, regarding them--not with that agitation which the greatest romancer who ever lived has depicted as clutching at crusoe's heart when he saw the footmarks, but, instead, with a feeling of astonishment; yet a feeling of astonishment which, he told himself, he, a sailor, ought not to experience. 'do not all wrecks,' he muttered, 'send forth around them countless articles of débris, countless portions of the raffle that encumbers their decks? what more likely than that a sailor's jacket and a cap should have floated ashore?' then he stooped, and, feeling them, found that they were thoroughly dry, so that they must have been ashore for some hours at least, since even the fierce sun of the now declining day could not have dried them in less time, all soaked with water as they had been. chapter xxiv beaten! defeated! 'no,' he said to bella some time later, and when he had returned to her, 'no other signs than these. nothing,' while, as he spoke, he pointed to the jacket and cap at his feet. he had brought them with him after the discovery, thinking that perhaps they might be useful when the time came for them to set out in the quarter-boat, as he fully imagined they would have to do, thereby to reach some other island. 'yet,' she whispered, 'if they, if this animal, too,' indicating bengalee, who now, what with his being made prisoner by the rope and also by his long fasting, displayed a horrible state of nervous agitation, a state which frightened bella and rendered even charke very uneasy, 'if they could be thrown ashore, why not others? mr. charke, do you think there is any hope?' 'i cannot buoy you up by saying that i do think so,' he answered. 'yet be assured of one thing--you will know soon now. to-morrow, at the first sign of dawn, i set out to accomplish the inspection of the other half of the island. it is smaller even than i thought; it will not take long.' and at daybreak he roused himself to carry out his undertaking, though, even as he rose from the warm, soft sand on which he had lain, he knew, he felt sure, that he was going on a bootless task. again and again he had told himself, through the night, that, even though gilbert bampfyld's body had reached the island, it had never done so with life in it. yet he would make sure for her sake and for his. 'heaven bless you,' she exclaimed from where she also rose as she saw him do so, and while going towards him. 'heaven bless you. you spare yourself no trouble nor fatigue on my account.' 'it is best,' he answered, though he scarcely knew what reply to make. 'it is best that there should be no chance lost. if--if----' then he held out his hand to her as he had not done before, and at once, after she had taken it, set out upon the remaining portion of his search. and, for some reason which he, perhaps, could not have explained to himself, he cast back no last look at her in the swift-coming daylight--nor gave any word of farewell as he had done on the previous afternoon. that daylight brought a little breeze with it which was cool and soft as it came off the ocean that, for some hours, had been free from the burning rays of the sun; and charke made his way along the beach while glancing everywhere, as he had done during his search of yesterday,--into every spot wherein, if any one, anything, had come ashore, they would probably have been cast. but as it had been when he proceeded towards the left or south, so it was now as he went towards the right or north end of the island. he found nothing; not even, this time, a rag of clothing or a spar from the ship. he observed, however, amongst other things of which his vigilant eyes took notice, that here the formation of the island was considerably different from what it had been on the southern side. there, as he made his way back inland to bella, cutting across from the eastern to the western shore, he had found the glades and groves almost flat, except for small knolls and little eminences on which, as everywhere else, there grew the long, deep-green grass, the cocoa trees and tamarinds, and the flowering shrubs and bushes. but here, upon the side he was now following, all was very different. inland, he could perceive that the surface rose until it developed into quite high hills, and that those hills, forming into spurs as they ran down to the water's edge, created a number of little bays or coves, some of them being scarcely more than fifty yards in breadth. also he perceived that on high, where the crests or summits of these spurs were, their sides were abrupt declivities resembling often the sheer sides of cliffs instead of sloping gradually and being covered by the deep emerald-green, velvety grass. and they were white as english cliffs--as those of dover!--and, sometimes, as precipitous. huge masses, too, of fallen, crumbling rock lay tumbled together at their base and in the tiny valleys which they formed between them, and gave, thereby, signs of either a convulsion which had some time or another taken place, or of their lack of solidity and insecure composition. 'i shall have,' charke thought, 'a mountainous, up-and-down kind of return journey if i go back to her inland. yet it will cut off a good deal of the way and make it easier for me.' he found as he progressed, however, that soon, if he wished to continue his inspection of the whole of the coast, he would, in any circumstances, have to continue his walk more or less inland, since now he could observe, by looking about, that the spurs ran quite out into the sea, so that they hid each little bay from its neighbour on either side of it. consequently, if he wished to inspect the space between each, he would have to mount to their tops and thus peer down into the recesses that they formed. at present, however, there was no necessity for him to do this. still looking, he saw that there were three more bays, or coves, which he could reach by walking between the feet of the spurs and the water, the spurs stopping some yards short of the gentle surf which the morning breeze was raising. 'three,' he said, 'three. this one where i am now, the first; then two more. and, after that, i must ascend and gaze down. there will be no getting farther along the bank.' so he entered the first cove, finding it as desolate and bare as the others into which he glanced in his journey; bare of everything, and with its white beach so void of all else but its own stones, that it might, that morning, have been swept clean and clear. the second was the same, except that here, upon its beach, there lay the long iron shank of an anchor with one arm and fluke upon it, but with the other gone. an anchor that, he knew at a glance, had never been made in recent days--that, by its quaint form, must be some centuries old. and, even as he continued his journey, he wondered how it had come there, and if, in long-forgotten and unnumbered years, some toilers of the sea had been flung ashore in this spot, and if this was all that had been left by time to hint at the story. then he entered the third, and last, bay or cove which remained passable by the shoreway--the last he would be able to inspect until he ascended to the cliffs above. as he did so he started--knowing, feeling, that beneath his bronze and sunburn he had turned white--recognising that he was trembling with a faint, nervous tremor. for this cove to which he had penetrated was different from the previous ones; it ran back between the two spurs which formed its walls until it merged into the wooded, grassy declivity that sloped down from above, while, at the foot of that declivity, was more grass forming a little carpeted ravine and, growing on it, some of the island trees--orange trees, lemon trees, even bananas. and on the grass there lay a man. dead or asleep! a man, fair-haired, clad in a white drill suit with brass buttons--they glistened now in the rays of the risen sun!--the white uniform of the royal navy. a man who was gilbert bampfyld. his heart like ice within his breast--all was lost now, every hope gone that, of late, he had once again begun to cherish!--stephen charke advanced to where that man lay, and, approaching noiselessly, looked down on him. looked down and recognised that here was no sign of death or coming death; that the man was sleeping peacefully and calmly; that he was rescued for the second time within the last month from a sudden doom. he also saw something else--he observed that bampfyld had recovered his sight. this he could not doubt. near him was some fruit which he must have gathered recently. and he had pulled down some of the branches of the trees which grew close by, and had shed them of their leaves, upon which he was now lying, they making an easier pallet than the grass alone would have done, while charke perceived, also, that he had been fashioning a sturdy branch of the tamarind into a stout stick. doubtless, he had recovered his sight through the shock of his immersion, when the ship heeled over. strong, determined, masterful as stephen charke had been through all the disasters which had overwhelmed the _emperor of the moon_; brave and stalwart as he had shown himself when, with none other left to command the doomed ship but himself, he had helped to furl and unfurl sails, to steer like any ordinary seaman at the wheel, and to endeavour manfully to hold the vessel up and ward off instant destruction--he was beaten now. beaten! defeated! and he felt suddenly feeble, so feeble that he was forced to sit down by the saved man's side, while doing it so quietly that the other did not awaken. beaten! defeated! ay, and with nothing left of prospect in the future, nor ever any hope. nothing! nothing! nothing! what had he hoped? he found himself asking: what, in these last few days? what dreamt of? a home, a wife; perhaps, in the future, children waiting for his return, running to meet him and to beg for stories of the sea, of tempests surmounted, of dangers passed. now, there would never be any home, nor wife, nor children. nothing! he had loved one woman fondly, madly; the one woman in all the world for him. until ten minutes ago he had believed that, some day, he would win her. and, now, it was never to be. his home would be the desolate home which the sailor ashore inhabits; his existence a long series of toiling across the seas in any ship wherein he could find employment, first one, then the other, for poor wages and without one gleam of sunshine to cheer him. what a life! and--and it had seemed, only an hour ago, that all was likely to be so different. she, bella waldron--his love--no, not his! never his now--was being drawn towards him, she relied on him, trusted in him; but, henceforth, she would need him no more. this other had come back, would come back into her life again, and--he would go out of it for ever. god! it was bitter. his hand, as he lifted it in his agony and let it fall again, struck against something hard in his pocket. thrusting it into the pocket, he felt there the sailor's knife which he had found in the hold of the ship, and drew it forth, regarding it. it was a good knife, he found himself reflecting, a good knife. the man who owned it had kept it in excellent order, too; sharp and keen. how he must have railed at losing it. and he, stephen, had found it! a good knife, long and stout-bladed, well pointed--a knife that would sever the stoutest cable or----! men had been slain with worse weapons than this. a blow from it over the heart, under the left shoulder, and struck downwards--yes! such blows must be struck downwards, or otherwise they might fail--and a life could easily be taken. easily--in a moment. it was a good knife, he thought again. as he opened it and ran his finger along its tapering blade, and observed the thick, solid back which that blade possessed, he could not but acknowledge this. the man who had owned it and lost it had paid money for that knife. this was no slop-shop thing bought of a thievish whitechapel or houndsditch jew who preyed on poor seamen. a good knife! he turned his head and looked at gilbert bampfyld lying there, still sleeping peacefully; looked at the man whom he had come out to seek, and--had found! found as he had never expected to do, as he had never believed it possible he should do. he looked at him, recognising all that his being there meant, all that this third human existence on the island, where formerly there had been but two persons, meant to him; the ruin that it cast upon his hopes. and again he regarded the knife, holding it by the tip, weighing it, balancing it. it _was_ a good knife; one that would strike hard and sure. and, as he so thought, he rose from his seat, went down to where the surf was beating violently now upon the beach, and flung the thing far off into the sea. then he returned to the sleeping man, and, kneeling by his side, shook his arm gently, saying: 'come, lieutenant bampfyld. come! wake up, rouse yourself.' chapter xxv i have loved my last, and that love was my first. 'my god!' exclaimed gilbert, as, beneath that light touch, he awoke and saw stephen charke by his side, 'is it a dream! you--you here! saved! thank god for all his mercies. i thought all were lost but me.' then, suddenly, even as he rose to his feet (limping on one of them, as charke saw, and grasping the tamarind cudgel he had cut himself as though for support), he cried, lifting his other hand to his eyes--'but, bella. oh, bella, my darling! are,' he added hoarsely, 'any others saved besides yourself? speak, put me out of my misery, one way or the other.' he saw, he must have seen, the answer in stephen charke's eyes, for now he fell down on the leaves and grass at his feet and clasped his hands as though thanking heaven fervently for its mercies. but he could not speak yet, nor for some moments, or only spoke to once more mutter incoherent words of thanksgiving for this last crowning mercy. 'yes,' charke said, and it seemed to himself as though his voice was tuneless, dead--as if it came from him with difficulty. 'yes, she is saved; is safe. and she hopes always to see you again.' 'but how? how? for god's sake, tell me that. she was in the cabin--surely she was in the cabin--i left her there when i struggled to the wheel. how was she saved?' 'i,' said charke, 'was enabled to help her. we got ashore together.' 'to help her!' gilbert said, looking into his eyes. 'to help her! it was more than that, i know. i am a sailor as well as you; such help is no light thing. should you not rather say you risked your life for hers? you could have done it in no other way.' 'no,' charke said, 'i risked nothing. it was nothing. any one could have done it.' again the other looked at him, knowing, feeling sure that the man before him was refusing to take any credit for what he had done. then he said: 'where is she? can i see her at once, now? soon?' 'she is not far. within two miles from here; she awaits, hopes for, your coming.' 'two miles! heaven help me! i can scarcely crawl. two miles, and i think my ankle is sprained.' 'she can come to you,' charke replied, and the deadness, the lack of tone in his voice, the lifelessness of it, was apparent to the listener now, as well as to himself. 'i can fetch her.' 'do! do! at once, i beseech you. oh to see her, to see my girl again. yet, still i do not understand. how could she hope to ever see me in life again, how await my coming? she could not dream, she could not dare to dream, that i might be saved.' 'she would not believe anything else. for myself,' charke went on, scorning to say that which was not the case, 'i did not believe you could be saved. it seems to me now, as you stand before me, that a miracle must have been worked in your behalf. and i told her so, mincing no matters. i told her you must be dead. but she would not believe. instead, she bade me, besought me to search this island, though, to be honest, i considered it useless to do so. yesterday i took the other side, to-day this. and she was right. i--have found you.' his tone was not aggressive, crisp and incisive though his words might be, yet there was something in the former, and, perhaps, the latter, which told gilbert bampfyld that the search he spoke of had been one of chivalrous obedience to a helpless woman's request, and not one made at his own desire. and he remembered how bella had told him this man had loved her once, and had hoped for her love in return. well, no matter, he had saved her at what must have been peril to his own life. he could not cavil at, nor feel hurt at, the coldness of his speech. 'what you have done,' he said, 'is more than words can repay; and, even though they were sufficient, now is not the time for them. mr. charke, can you bring her to me?' 'i will go at once. but--but she will, undoubtedly, be anxious, excited to know something of how you were saved. as we return to you she will desire to be told everything; will be impatient to hear. what shall i tell her, over and above the greatest news of all, that you are restored to her?' 'there is not much to tell. as i was swept over the ship's side my hand touched the port quarter-boat which was being thrown out at the moment.' 'ah! it has come ashore too.' 'and, naturally, i clutched at it. i would not let go; i held on like grim death, knowing that my only chance was in it. and, do you know, i found that i could see again; distinctly, or almost so. i could see the waves, the surf ahead; knew that some shore or coast was near. but, even as i recognised this, wondering, too, why at the moment when i was doomed to be drowned i should have this gift accorded me, i lost my hold on the boat and, a moment later, was thrown ashore or, at least, touched bottom. and--and it was a hard fight; i never thought to win through it. each recoil of the waves tore me back again only to find myself thrown forward with the next. three times it happened. then--then, at last, when i knew that, on the next occasion, i should have no breath left in my body, i was flung still farther on land than i had been before, and, this time, i determined i would not be dragged back alive, so i dug my foot and hands into the soft sand. i wrestled with those waves and i beat them. they receded, leaving me spread-eagled on the shingle, free of them for a moment, and, ere they could return and catch me again, i had scrambled out of their reach.' 'was that here, on this spot where we are now?' 'no, it was farther that way, between a mile and two miles farther.' and, as gilbert bampfyld spoke, he pointed with the stick in the direction where bella waldron and stephen charke had taken up their quarters since they had got ashore. therefore, her lover had been close to them once, and they had never known it! 'i stayed there one night,' gilbert went on, 'then feeling sure there were islands to the north--as there must be, you know--i came this way. only, i slipped on the beach and, i think, sprained my ankle, so that i could get no farther.' 'god has been very good to you,' stephen said, 'and to her. now i will go and bring her here: it will not take long. soon, very soon, you will be together. you will be happy. in a couple of hours she will be here. it would, perhaps, be in less time than that, only, you observe, the sea is rising and the surf getting very high. we must come inland, above, by the cliffs. farewell till then.' 'farewell. god bless you. ah, mr. charke, if you could only know my gratitude to you for saving her, also what happiness you have brought into my life again. if you could only know that!' but charke was on his way back to where he had left bella almost before gilbert had concluded his sentence, and, beyond a backward wave of his hand, had made no acknowledgment of his words. he climbed up to the summit of the cliffs easily enough, for by now all his strength had come back to him, and he felt as vigorous as he had ever done in his life. yet, when he gained the top, he noticed that there was still something wanting, some of the spring and elasticity which had characterised the manner in which he had returned to bella yesterday from the other side of the island. why was this, he asked himself? why? but he could find no answer to the question. yet, perhaps, his musings on what he had heard half an hour before were sufficient to have driven all the life, all the hope, out of him. his musings on the change that this last half-hour had brought into his future. god! his future. 'he was there, close to us,' he reflected, 'and we neither of us knew nor dreamt of it. i could have sworn it was impossible he should be saved. she--well, she did not dare to hope. and for two days! for two days he has been close to us, and--and in those two days what have i not pictured to myself, what dreams have i not had! what a fool's paradise i have been imagining for myself. now, there is nothing before me. nothing--now, or ever.' but still he forced himself to stride on, passing sometimes beneath the cocoa trees that grew on the little upland, sometimes through open glades in which the morning sun beat down upon his head with a fierceness only inferior to the strength it would assume an hour or so later--yet he heeded nothing. he felt that he must reach bella as soon as possible and tell her everything. there was no more joy left in existence for him, but he was the bearer of news that would give her joy extreme, and--he loved her. because he did so he would not keep that news from her one moment longer than was necessary. 'yet,' he whispered to himself, while thinking thus, 'she would have come to love me in his place some day, she would--she must. i divined it, saw it. now, it will never be. never. my god! it is a long word.' then he braced himself up still more and went on, until he stood upon the summit of the little elevation which rose behind the spot that they had made their resting-place. perhaps she had seen him returning; perhaps she had had some divination of his approach, since he perceived that she was coming towards him and was mounting the ascent to meet him, her head protected by the cap of the drowned sailor, while, over it, she held with one hand a great palm leaf to protect her from the sun. then, as they approached each other, she gave a gasp--it was almost a shriek, and cried out: 'mr. charke! mr. charke! what is the matter? what has happened? you are ghastly pale beneath your bronze. and--and your face is changed. what is it?' 'i come,' he said,--and now she gave another gasp, for his voice was changed too,--'as the bearer of good--of great tidings. of----, and he paused. for as he spoke she, too, had turned white. then, raising both her hands to her breast, she stood panting before him. 'he is saved!' she said. 'he is saved! gilbert is saved. is that it? are those the tidings?' 'yes,' he answered. 'yes. he is saved.' for a moment she stood before him, her hands still raised to her bosom, then, suddenly, she swayed forward and would have fallen but that he caught her in his arms, and, an instant later, had laid her on the soft grass, while he ran down to the rivulet to fetch some water to revive her. this happened directly after he had returned, but, when he had bathed her forehead and moistened her lips with the water, she soon sat up, saying: 'come, let us go to him. at once. we must go at once. yet--why does he not come to me?' 'he has hurt his foot. but it is nothing. only a sprain. if you are recovered from your swoon let us set out. it is not far. we shall be there soon.' whereon he gave her his hand and assisted her to rise, repeating that it was best to set out at once. and then they did so, he offering his arm to assist her up the slope, while explaining that, owing to the increased roughness of the sea, it was impossible to proceed by the beach to where her lover was. and, next, he began the account of how he found gilbert, and went through with it almost uninterruptedly, she listening without saying a word beyond now and again exclaiming, 'poor gilbert!' or 'thank god!' indeed, her silence during his narrative was such that more than once he glanced down at her, while wondering at that which seemed listlessness on her part. yet he would have wronged her deeply had he really believed her listless, since bella waldron would have been no true, honest, english girl had she by this time become indifferent to the news that her betrothed was saved. indeed, in her heart she was thanking god again and again, and far more often than she was giving outward utterance to those thanks, for having saved her lover and preserved him to her---only! only what? only, that she knew how, with their restored happiness, there had come to this other man--to him to whom she owed her life and, with it, the possibility of being once more united to gilbert--a broken heart and the destruction of every hope of happiness that he had cherished. she could see it in his face, hear it in his voice, discern it even by the manner in which he walked by her side. that which she knew he hoped for could never have been, she told herself; never, never, never! had gilbert died, still it could never have been; none could ever have taken his place. but, she was a woman with a true woman's heart in her breast--and her pity was womanly--sublime. chapter xxvi "here is my journey's end, here is my butt, and very seamark of my utmost sail." they had progressed so far towards the cliffs above the little bay or cove, where gilbert was, that now they had but to cross the summit of one more spur and then they would be able to descend to him. 'you will see him soon now,' charke said to the girl, 'very soon. then you will be happy. to-night, he and i will arrange the signals that may bring some succour to us. at any rate, it cannot be long in coming. if we are where i think, hundreds of ships pass near here annually. and, at the worst, one may live here very well for some time.' she heard his words, she missed no tone nor inflection of his voice--but she could not answer him. it was impossible. for, though he spoke on subjects which were appropriate enough to their surroundings, she knew that his speech, instead of conveying his thoughts, was only used to hide them; and that beneath what he said lay a sadness too deep for utterance. therefore, she made no attempt at reply, but contented herself with letting her eyes rest on his face now and again, and then withdrawing them directly afterwards. suddenly, however, and after having cast a glance backwards across the little plateau which they had passed along, he exclaimed: 'why, lieutenant bampfyld will find another companion of his in the poor old _emperor_ here to greet him. see, there comes bengalee, behind us. how has he broken away from the cable? it was stout enough to hold a small frigate,' and, as she turned to look in the direction he had indicated, she saw the tiger-cub coming after them along the plateau at a considerable pace. coming swiftly, too, and always with the lithe and hateful sinuosity which marks the progress of the species. then, as she, too, turned and saw its striped body winding in and out beneath the tamarind and palm trees, she remembered that she had observed it gnawing at the cable ere she set out, and told stephen so. and she also told him that it had seemed much excited at being left behind, and had made considerable struggles to break loose when she moved away. 'it will perhaps be appeased,' he answered, 'when it finds itself once more with you. poor wretch! its hunger must be frightful. yet--yet--how else to kill it? and killed it must be.' 'i wish,' she said again, as she had so often said before, 'that i had never asked to have it saved. it would have been better to have let it die in the sea.' 'perhaps,' he answered. 'perhaps. we can, however, leave it here when we get taken off, and then it must take its chance.' they were now upon the last ridge of the spur beneath which he had left gilbert, and he told her that, in another moment, she would see him by looking down. 'indeed,' he said, 'if you glance over now you can see him, i imagine.' then he bade her hold his hand and lean over the lip of the precipice, and trace the run of the hill seawards. following his instructions, she did so, when suddenly, below, they heard a rattling, a sliding as of a mass of earth and stones slipping, and he felt a slight withdrawal, a sinking of the ground, beneath their feet. he felt it and understood its significance in an instant, while recalling the masses of fallen chalk and earth which he had observed lying at the foot of this and other cliffs earlier in the day. 'back,' he cried, 'back!' while, as he did so, he seized bella with his other hand as well as the one she already held, and sprang away from the ridge, the violence of his action causing her to fall on her knees. yet, still knowing her danger--their danger--he dragged her back and saved her. though not a moment too soon--not an instant!--for, as he clutched at her, the earth for a foot or so in front of them--the very portion of it on which they had been standing! the very portion, indeed, across which he had but now drawn her--gave way. it gave way, broke off in a long line, and fell with a crash to the depths below, leaving an abyss above the spot over which he had drawn her. 'my god!' she gasped, 'you have saved my life again! again--ah!' that last exclamation was, in truth, a shriek of dismay, of awful agony, of terror in the extreme. for she, whose face was towards the way they had come, as his back was towards it, saw that which he had no knowledge of; that which paralysed her, struck her an instant after dumb with horror. she saw the tiger-cub close behind him and crouching for a spring, she saw its devilish eyes gleaming like topazes, and she saw its body hurled with tremendous force towards charke as he stood looking down on her. full at him it sprang, its savage jaws open and its forelegs extended. and it partly missed him through passing on his left side, yet not doing so altogether. instead, it struck his left shoulder, spinning him round like a drunken, reeling man, and causing him to stagger backwards towards the chasm and, with a gasp, to fall over it and disappear. and bella, left alone in that awful moment--for the tiger's leap had carried it far over the cliff and to its own destruction--saw a man below--her lover--shouting and gesticulating--and then she knew no more. * * * * * * an hour later, stephen charke lay on his back below the cliff, his eyes upturned to the sun, which was by now peeping over the hill and illuminating all the little valley with its rays--he lay there breathing his last and with his back broken. by his side knelt bella waldron, while gilbert bampfyld stood near, their faces the true index of their sorrow. 'no,' stephen whispered hoarsely, now, in answer to a question from her. 'no. i feel no pain, nothing but the numbness of my back and lower limbs. nay, nay, do not weep.' then he lowered the poor, feeble voice a little more and whispered even more calmly to her--'i am content, well content. and--it--is better so. there was no life, no future for me.' 'oh!' she said, wringing her hands while the tears streamed from her eyes and dropped upon his upturned face. 'oh! that you should have died in saving me. that you, whom i honour so, should die at all--young, strong, as you are. and through the outcome of my wilfulness, of my letting that creature be saved. saved to slay you. ah! god, it is too hard!' 'it thought,' he said, after a pause, during which she wiped the drops from his forehead and moistened his lips, 'that i was attacking you. doubtless it did so. it hated me and loved you.' then, he added to himself, 'as all love you.' 'gilbert,' she shrieked now to her lover, 'gilbert, can nothing be done; nothing to save him? ah! perhaps his back is not broken; it may be but a terrible fall--he may recover yet. can we do nothing?' but it was stephen who answered, 'nothing.' 'old chap,' said gilbert, also close by him now, and kneeling down to take his hand, 'is--is there anything you want done; any message sent to any one at home? only say the word. you know you can depend on me.' 'if it can be,' the dying man said, and now his voice was very low, almost inaudible, 'if you can have it done later, when you are found, bury me--at--the--spot where she and i--came ashore. there, in the little knoll. you know.' and his eyes sought hers. 'that is where i want--to lie--until we meet again.' they could not answer him, their voices were no longer their own; hardly could they see him through their tears, but still they were able to tell him by their gestures that it should be as he desired. after which gilbert managed to rise to his feet and whisper in bella's ears, 'he is--going--now. the end is close at hand. say--say "goodbye" to him, and--and kiss him. he deserves it from you, and--i shall not grudge it.' then, in his manliness, he turned away from them. perhaps the dying man guessed what had been said; and, because he knew his hour had come, he opened his eyes for the last time and gazed wistfully at her. 'goodbye,' he said. 'farewell.' 'goodbye. oh, god! that i should have to say it to you. goodbye--goodbye, stephen,' and she stooped down and kissed the cold, white lips of the man who had loved her so. and, next, she put her arm beneath his neck and let his head lie on it, while, amidst the tempest of her sobs, she heard him murmur feebly: 'i loved you--from--the first--moment. i love--you--now.' then his head turned over on her arm and lay there motionless. * * * * * * the wedding was over, gilbert bampfyld and bella were man and wife, the marriage having taken place at capetown. while the only difference between the ceremony and that which had been originally intended was that the archbishop of capetown joined their hands instead of the bishop of bombay doing so. therefore, at last, these two loving hearts were made happy, and, in spite of all that had threatened both bella and her lover during the past few months, the future now looked bright and cheerful. not three days had elapsed since stephen charke's death when gilbert (who, with bella, sat from sunrise to sunset beneath a clump of cocoa trees on the highest point to which they could attain, he being soon able to reach it quite easily by the aid of his cudgel and owing to the rapid improvement in the sprain he had suffered from) saw a vessel not two miles away from the island. 'and i swear,' he exclaimed, 'one of her majesty's cruisers. look at those yellow funnels, one aft of the other. that's a cruiser right enough. i wonder if it's the _briseus_.' then he fell to making every kind of signal which he could devise when unprovided with the means of attracting her attention either by pistol-shot or fire, and in about half an hour they had the joy of seeing one of her cutters manned and lowered, and, a moment later, making for the shore. the cruiser turned out to be the _clytie_, on her way home from calcutta to plymouth, and, even as the cutter fetched the shore, the coxswain recognised gilbert as an officer with whom he had previously served. then he furnished him with the intelligence that he was reported dead. 'not yet,' said gilbert; 'though, since i left the _briseus_, when in charge of her whaler, i have had two narrow escapes. unfortunately, others, with whom i have been in company, are so.' then, briefly, he told the man all that had happened to him, and stated that he was going to ask the captain of the _clytie_ for a passage for himself and his future wife, the young lady by his side. first, however, there was one thing to be done--namely, to bury stephen charke in the place which he had indicated. this was a thing which would now be very easy of accomplishment, since the sea was perfectly calm again and the body could be easily carried from the spot where he had fallen to that where he desired to be buried. but, to begin with, the permission of the captain had to be obtained, which was done by signalling, and then the rest was easy. some more men were sent off in the second cutter, with the chaplain as well as some spades for digging a grave, after which the sailors marched under gilbert's command to where he and bella had covered up stephen charke's remains with palm and other leaves that were within their reach, and then removed the body. and very reverently was the interment performed, all standing round the spot with the exception of bella, who was so overcome that she had to be led away from the grave. and so they laid him in it; and there, in the little solitary island, they left him to his long sleep. perhaps, nothing so much as his death--not even his heroism in the stricken ship, nor his masterful strength in fighting the storm and the waves, and in succeeding at the risk of his own life in saving that of the woman whom he so tenderly loved--kept his memory green in both their hearts. perhaps, too, that last sacrifice which he made--his life!--at the moment when once more he was preserving hers, furnishes the reason which again and again prompts gilbert to say to his wife, in a voice always full of a tone of regret for the brave man who lies so far away: 'after all, bella, i am not sure that you chose the right one. poor stephen charke was the better man of the two.' yet, when he observes the glance she gives him in return, he is comforted by knowing that, in no circumstances, could that other have ever won her heart as he did. footnotes [footnote : this is not fictitious. m. constant made his speech to the chamber of deputies on june , , and it contained all attributed to it above. it described how the crew of _le rôdeur_ were themselves struck down one by one soon after the outbreak among the slaves, how many of the slaves were flung overboard to save the cost of supporting them, and also how, while the ship was subject to this terrible calamity, a spanish slaver, named the _leon_, spoke her, asking for assistance, as almost every one on board her was stricken with sudden blindness. _le rôdeur_, the account went on to say, eventually reached guadaloupe with only _one_ man left who was not smitten, and he became blind directly after he had brought the vessel into harbour. the spaniard was never heard of again.] the end captain of the kali by gary wright sail down the wind, kali! victory waits across the seas--and so does death! [transcriber's note: this etext was produced from worlds of if science fiction, january . extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the u.s. copyright on this publication was renewed.] john ward, god helper, hung in his chair like a damp, empty uniform. an open, four-foot port showed a circle of blazing blue sky and a regular glimpse of a high, curving topsail. the humid, hot salty flavor of a strange sea blanketed the cabin, and sparked a sudden thought: "what the hell am i doing here?" there was no prompt answer. the wind rushed and moaned. the roiling water crashed and hissed under the stern. the following ship heaved its topsail into sight again, and withdrew it. a lilting chant drifted like smoke on the wind. _we ride the wind down like sleek, skimming birds. the seething foam furrows follow true. the sky is clouded with our singing sails. we ride the wind down, down the wind._ he was comet colonel john ward, terran confederation, earth; he was certain of that. age? forty-two, more or less. specialty? historical naval tactician. if you had to call it something you might as well call it that. hobby? sailing. but, god, snipes and lightnings aren't ships-of-the-line! reading? well ... lyric poetry and ancient history, if you must know. present occupation? god helper. no, call that commander advisor to the kali, aqua. future? oh, hell-yes; right up the.... _wide shouldered, wave exploding, trim twin-hulled we come. first, the sky tall, fine first-liners. then the seconds, flanking fast. lean and level slide the frigates. all around us flash the corvettes. ride the wind down, kali seamen, down the wind to ande-ke._ six months ago he had a future all outlined, but six months ago he was a shining god helper, come in glory. now he was simply a god helper, and sometimes not even that. _we are the kali. the fortunate ones. yes! heirs to our wind and water world. like our ships we are tall and proud. like our wind we are wild and restless. like our sea we are strong and savage. this is our world, wide and lonely. ride the wind down. kali brothers, down the wind to anda-ke._ * * * * * six months on this barely discovered, one per cent land area, behind-the-galaxy planet, with piercing confederation insight: aqua. where the land was scattered about like pepper on an egg, and even the wind tried to run backwards. _down the wind at anda-ke--there is trouble. there we meet the stupid grimnal. there the challenging, groveling grimnal. he will plead for his wives and children. and, as proper kali seamen. we will keep them soft and happy. after, we send their men away, under the hungry gray-green water: under the wind as we ride the wind down, down the wind to victory._ and here he still was, trying to show some life-loving, song-singing, battle-mad, contrary-thinking, conceived of leather and salt spray, five-foot humanoids how to fight a sea war. and that was really quite a joke. the kali and the grimnal had been at this for a hundred years, and doing quite well. they were in no danger of getting overpopulated for one thing, and had evolved a dual power political system over the entire planet before the invention of an explosive. but now, being newly discovered by bigger and better dual powers, they were being shown how to fight in a bigger and better way. only the grimnal seemed to be learning, however. oh, the kali listened, and even followed directions, but they seemed incapable of understanding that slamming two corvettes upwind into the guns of eight first-liners was simply not good military tactics. they had a game. something like tag in reverse. one man was it, and everyone on ship tried to catch him. he could go anywhere, do anything, even cut the rigging as long as it didn't endanger the ship. the more daring he was, the better. ward had watched one make a hundred and fifty foot dive from a skysail yard with the ship making about twenty knots in a heavy sea. how do you go about explaining caution to a people like that? * * * * * but he had to. somehow. since the big boys had taken sides the kali had been losing. or, more accurately, ward had been losing. _all the gods are busy beings. we know. but even they have noticed now_, ward's wandering mind snapped back. this was a new verse. _and sent a sky man down to help us; sent a helper down to lead us. but the ways of gods are strange. the grimnal leaps from isle to island, while the kali stand and watch him. while the gods and helpers falter. ride the wind down, kali brothers. at anda-ke we stand the test._ a polite cough from behind reminded him that captain tahn was still in the cabin. the kali coughed to express anything from rage to sheer joy, and this one probably meant that ward's hearing the last verse was an accident. ward swung around and glanced at him, but the kali deliberately kept his slitted eyes on the chart before him. ward was reminded again of the kali likeness to the long vanished american indian: black, straight hair; narrowed, snapping black eyes; high, angular cheek bones. but not much beyond that. if you took a fine featured sioux of long ago ... shortened him about a foot, thinned him down--bones and all, raised his shoulders to a perpetual shrug, stretched his arms so that they still reached his hips, then starved him for a month ... you might be close. but if you took a picture of him then, and looked at it slightly sideways, you would almost have it. an extremely thin, short, shrugging strip of muscled rawhide. tahn coughed again; the your-attention-please cough. he swung a chart around for ward to see. it was a rough drawing of anda-ke, the largest of the grimnal group, and more or less the home island. it looked somewhat like a startled elephant: mouth open, trunk arced out at an angle. the mouth was anda bay, and was guarded by anda passage where the lower lip came within two miles of the upper. the trunk was pelo head, and was broken about halfway down by pelo break. the area between the drooping trunk and the neck was the grimnal sea. it was into this that the kali fleet was charging like a peanut sailing for the mouth. tahn tapped a pencil-like finger at the rearmost reach of anda bay. * * * * * "there," he said, in the kali-confederation mixture they found to be the shortest distance between two cultures. "anchored there like marks on a sail. feeling so safe in their home. thinking we do not dare come after them. grimnal rafts just waiting to go to the bottom." "and the gliders?" ward asked. "are they returned? we have no information but the tales of two natives." tahn glanced at a water trickling, time-measuring device hanging from the overhead. "soon the gliders return, but...." he shrugged, somehow. "and those are not rafts," ward went on. "the natives said three, two and single gun rows. that means first and second-liners, frigates and probably corvettes. and they said 'many,' which means anywhere from fifty to two hundred." tahn coughed his agreement. "but with grimnal stupidity," he said, "they can do no more than run around in terror as we shell the city and fire their ships. we have this won." ward looked down at his bands, caught a deep breath, and continued. "i have said before. we are not fighting just the grimnal. we are fighting god helpers too. men like myself have come to help the grimnal." he caught tahn's flickering glance and added quickly, "men who are probably better fighters than i am." tahn coughed and leaned his head sideways, fairly equivalent to a casual 'so what?' "false gods. false helpers," he said. ward held his breath and swung back to face the port. great, sizzling hell! he wondered if his opposite with the grimnal had such problems. probably not. problems weren't allowed in the united peace worlds. and with the grimnal preference for island life over the sea, it apparently took little urging to make them want all the islands in the world. "you realize," ward said without turning, "that they have probably known of our coming for days." "good." "and what would they still be doing at anchor?" cough, cough. probably meaning how the hell should i know? ii if only they didn't have this towering independency and conceit, ward thought. they used to fight as individual ships. then they weren't the least surprised if a lonely frigate was blown to splinters by an overwhelming grimnal force. in fact, it was a thing of joy and beauty forever. it was only by the very fiercest thundering had he gotten this fleet together under tahn, and only tahn's high position had kept it together. and god only knew how much longer it would hold together. the grimnal had shown remarkable organization. ward had pointed that out, and that was a gross mistake. the kali wanted nothing to do with what the grimnal did. a sharp rap sounded on the cabin door and a kali slipped in. he made the casual motion that could be a salute, a greeting or a wave good-by, depending on circumstances. "two gliders return," he said happily. "in the bay are two first-liners, four second-liners, five frigates and some corvettes. all at anchor. just waiting for us." ward nodded. "how many corvettes?" the kali's face wrinkled in dismay. "fifty-six," he said softly. ward smiled to himself, and ran the kali fleet by in his mind. eighteen first-liners mounting a hundred-twenty guns apiece. eleven second-liners mounting eighty to ninety guns. twenty-four frigates mounting fifty to sixty guns. fifty-two corvettes mounting ten to twenty guns. a strong force, but not as strong as the grimnal potential. firmly, he said: "we will run down almost to anda passage--then wait." the kali glanced at each other. tahn coughed. "not to go in?" "no!" "why?" ward took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. "we know there are land guns along the passage. we know that even without them three first-liners could hold it against anything. we know that those ships in the bay are not the whole fleet. where are the rest?" double cough. double head bob. two helpless expressions. "we outnumber," tahn said hopefully. ward muffled a smile. at least they were learning something. "we cannot go in, tahn. it's a trap." tahn was quiet, his whole body slowly coming to what ward knew was hurt pride and anger. "then we wait?" "we wait." tahn was nearly rigid, his voice fighting its cage of control. "we wait like before?" * * * * * it was ward's turn to let a tingling moment pass. this was the first overt mention of his past actions. he must walk softly. kali temper was like nitroglycerine; one touch the wrong way.... "we wait only to learn of the other grimnal ships," he said evenly. "we let them make the first move in order to see what they are doing. then we strike--hard!" after a long, breathless moment, tahn coughed. it was one that ward never heard before, but judging by sound, it was not meant to be pleasant. ward stood up, stared directly at tahn and said quietly "i charge you with honesty, tahn." it was a serious phrase. tahn made the equivalent of a nod. "there is much talk," he began, his voice higher pitched. "we ask ourselves why we do not fight. the grimnal takes many islands; land that is ours. he does not defeat us, but we do not stop him. we wait as you tell us. we wait and see our islands lost. "the kali are ashamed, and the grimnal laughs. we cannot go home and face our women and children. "you come to show us how to fight, you say. but we do not fight. we wait. you tell us things that will make us win, but we do not fight. we wait. you hold us back. we ask ourselves why." he straightened, obviously grabbing a big piece of kali courage. "there is an answer why. perhaps you help other gods than ours. or--perhaps you are afraid." there it was. stark and ugly. ward looked at tahn for a long time, then straightened to his full five-eleven. "as a god helper i am charged with honesty at all times," he said, and let it sink in for a second. "i see many more things than the surface of the sea and the direction of the wind. what i do for the kali is for the good of the kali. if you follow me, you go to victory. if you do not follow, you go to the bottom." the kali glared with glittering eyes. tahn's cough was a bark. "perhaps some will follow." their parting salute was crisp as they spun and left. ward eased himself back to the chair and stared at the door. this was the ragged edge. they fight the one coming, or else.... and if they lost it, the confederation could mark off the kali, john ward and the planet. he remembered all too clearly the other engagements, if you would call them that. and he remembered too the disappointment, chagrin and outright anger of the kali, and his own frustration. * * * * * engagement one: taley point. they had surprised a small grimnal force close in to shore on the leeward side. after trading shots at extreme range. ward gave the order to withdraw. reasons? shallows, reefs, a raising wind, and nightfall. the grimnal was gone in the morning. the kali had been stunned. it was the first time they had ever withdrawn with whole ships. engagement two: gola island. they had chased a smaller force into port, but ward had held off because of intense shore fire. the kali did not sing for three days. engagement three: bari sea. they were closing with a nearly equal force, yet out of range, when a large wind devil, one of the freak, contrary winds, had slashed across both fleets; shredding sails, splintering masts, effectively crippling both forces. ward gave the order to heave to and repair damages, as the grimnal did the same. the kali were astonished. such a thought was madness with the enemy in sight. but they followed orders, and did not smile when he appeared any more. engagement four: darel sea. (oh, the darel sea!) they were closing at glider range when a lucky grimnal had sneaked in and managed to fire bomb a first-liner. without that ship they were greatly out-gunned and, leaving a frigate to take off the crew, they slipped off downwind. it was a near rebellion, but tahn had held them. then the wind came up, bringing the grimnal force with it. and both the frigate and the burning first went down fighting. the kali had cried, probably, ward thought, more in admiration than in sadness. and now, as a result of a vote of ships' captains, they were headed straight for the grimnal's heart; and ward wondered if he was anything more than a passenger. he knew he had been tactically right in each case, but the kali knew he was morally wrong. so who had it, the head or the heart? and what about this thing of being afraid? that hurt. he didn't believe he was afraid. honestly, he really couldn't say. he had, as a fact, never fought a battle in his life. * * * * * he used to play a game in the scouts. what did they call it? capture the flag, or something like that. each side had a hidden flag and the other tried to get it. he was always the planner. how'll we do it, john? and he would tell them, and keep away from the rough stuff, and they nearly always won. but violence fascinated him as a spectator. later his reading took him in that direction, and later still his studies. in the middle of his life he found he was one of the leading historical naval tacticians in the world. he started writing historical novels, under a pseudonym, of course, and soon became the world's authority. then someone blundered into aqua. for a couple hundred years the terran confederation and the united peace worlds had been at war. not an open, honest, stand-up-and-get-it war; but an undercover, half ignored, let's-get-the-kids-to-fight war. a galaxywide game, played for planets, using local cultures. and always according to the rules. no new technologies. no new weapons. use what you have at hand. play it fair. because if you do not, neither will we--and together we will eliminate the universe. aqua was a natural. it had a war already underway. deep in the secretmost catacombs of confederation central a voice said: "find a man who knows ancient naval tactics. find a man who knows sailing. find a man who knows combustion firearms. find a man. now!" and the order went rattle-rattle, click-click, wink, blink ... and reached out and touched doctor john ward. although _colonel_ ward's training had filled three straight days, there was one thing they forgot to tell him--what do you think about, really, when someone fires a cannon in your face? a knock came at the door. ward rubbed his face back into an expression of awareness. "come." tahn entered briskly and strode to the opposite side of the table. his eyes held a level, challenging look. "gliders say there are grimnal coming up behind us along the coast. about--uh--two hours distant." "how many?" "there are four firsts, five seconds, twelve frigates and some corvettes." ward patiently tapped the table. "how many corvettes?" "twenty-three." ward was thoughtful for a moment. "we still have them. but it still is not their whole force." "we hit them?" i'd better answer this one right, he told himself. they were now just below pelo break, about two hours from the passage. there was about an hour of daylight left. "after the sun dies," he said, avoiding the word "wait," "we will swing to meet this new force. if the wind holds straight and steady, we will come across to them like sharks in the night." "sharks?" ward grinned. "a very savage deep sea fish of my world." tahn relaxed, and a twisted smile came over his narrow face. "it will be a short fight," he said softly. iii aqua's sizzling sun was getting hazy as it settled behind lower pelo head, outlining the violent peaks like teeth in some savage jaw. ward stood on the bridge of the first-liner, _bad weather_, and watched the fleet and the late returning gliders. he never failed to marvel at these ships--sleek, sea-flying catamarans, steady, tall and wonderously beautiful. their twin hulls skimmed the seas with hardly a roll. their speed was something you had to feel to believe. he watched the second-liner. _south bird_, come around to catch her glider. both soaring upwind, they aimed for an intersection. as they drew closer, two long booms with netting between were extended over the stern. slowly they angled together. when it appeared that the glider would crash the bridge it pulled up, stalled and fell softly into the net. he never failed to exhale a long breath after such a landing--catching, rather. launching was even more spectacular. the ship raced out on fast beam reach with its glider poised upwind on its two poles. then a streaking corvette hissed up under the stern, swung slightly upwind, caught the braided stretch-line and actually yanked the glider aloft. ward was quite sure it was something he never wanted to try. the _bad weather_ was coming around now. he caught the white flash of her glider high downwind. tahn came to stand by him, his quick, cat-like motions betraying his eagerness. "they bring more news," he grinned. "the grimnal in anda bay is starting to raise sail." ward frowned. "they think to trap us between them. perhaps they expect us to race into the passage after dark." tahn coughed his pleased cough. "but our--uh--tactics, is it? they are to keep out of the passage?" ward smiled. "for now. we fight them as two separate fights, not as one. we will overwhelm each in turn." tahn's cough was one of agreement. "yes," he breathed. "just as long as we fight." they turned to watch the glider make its long floating approach. it had dumped its spoilers and was losing altitude, when it suddenly climbed impossibly fast, spun completely around and exploded in a hundred pieces. * * * * * tahn leaped to the rail, stared, then keened the kali howl of alarm. ward squinted downwind in puzzlement, then saw it--the seething, wild slice of a wind devil arcing toward the fleet. curling, lashing, faster than any ship, it bore down on them in a track of boiling foam. other ships took up the cry. knives flashed as sheets were cut and sails crashed down. seamen ran aloft to furl the wild cloth. some of the leading corvettes tried to turn and run out of the way, but the wind was too fast. a corvette suddenly lifted her bows, flipped over backwards and slammed down like a thrown stone. a frigate lost her sails and masts in less than two seconds. another corvette rose sideways on one hull, spun and broke in two. the wind shriek became deafening. another frigate lost its masts, lifted on its stern and fell back in an explosion of water. the first-liner, _thunder_, lost its masts and rigging, put its bows down as if stepped on, spun a full ninety degrees and finally relaxed. a corvette went tumbling end over end into the side of a second liner, which immediately lost its masts and half its bridge. a corvette went streaking out of the fleet at blinding speed, one hull hiked entirely out of the water, and disappeared in a wall of spray. it was abruptly silent. the foaming wind track left the fleet and slashed toward the open sea. with a soft flutter, then a breeze, the westerly quietly resumed its push. the kali appeared on deck again and slowly gazed about them. and the fleet lay dead in the water. ships lay heading in all directions. wreckage, lines and bits of sail littered the water. a frigate lay listed hard over. damage reports were coming in to the _bad weather_: the _thunder_ dismasted and leaking; another first dismasted; one second leaking badly, perhaps going down; three other seconds dismasted; one frigate sinking fast; two more dismasted and leaking; two more dismasted; six corvettes lost; four dismasted and damaged. tahn was grim as he scratched marks on a slate. twenty-one ships out of action in less than a minute. ward cursed and slammed the rail. damned planet! damned grimnal! damned everything! tahn coughed beside him. _and_ damned coughing! "there is more news," tahn said quietly. "we just fished out a glider flyer who had returned from cruising pelo head." ward turned. there seemed to be a smile flickering on tahn's swarthy face. "he says there is a great grimnal force coming into the break from the north. sixteen firsts, eighteen seconds and ten frigates. there are no corvettes." ward's whole body seemed to tighten. thanks to a damned wind the trap was sprung. "can they come through the break?" he asked, more to stall for time than gain information. tahn coughed three times. "it is a brave thing to do. even for kali it would be brave. it is bad water in the break. the wind goes up; the current comes down. it is slow, but it can be done." "how slow?" * * * * * tahn tilted his head, stared at where the slice of the break was barely visible on the horizon, and shrugged, almost. "maybe--uh--two hours. maybe more." he coughed. "maybe less." ward glared at the crippled ships. "and they would try it at night?" tahn coughed assent. "there will be a good moon. i would try it." damn. forces from three sides that, united, would blow them right out of the water. they could meet any of them alone, but.... "if we could slip south," he pondered aloud, "we could--" tahn snarled, his face an unearthly mask in the dimming light. his breath whistled between his teeth. "you _polasti_!" he hissed. ward straightened and faced him. the kali around froze in their tracks. _polasti_ was the foulest word in their language. "kali have died in this water just now," tahn was barely able to manage his voice. "they are down there right now. we will not run and disgrace them! we will stand here. we will put a wall of sails and guns around this spot, and if we die it will be in honor. we will run no more. _we will run no more!_" he was trembling when he finished, and ward expected a knife to make one final arc. it was impossible to try to explain. it was broken.... that thought crashed through as a knife never could. it's over. the grimnal will surround this pitiful fleet like a storm. it's over; we've lost the fight, the war and the planet. and i've done it. it's my baby. the thing seared him, roared through him, shook him--and touched a secret place. a deep place where he stored his anger. all his past angers, big and little; covered stifled, caught and hidden. old hurts, old dreams, old reproaches screamed and gibbered through him like a thousand ghosts and devils. they swamped the gentle man. they dragged him down and gagged him. and something else took his place--something that had never been allowed to stand before. "you stupid bastards!" he roared, wheeling to face them all. "you god-forsaken fools! a grimnal baby is a greater fighter than your bravest man. look what he has done to you. look! like blind animals you have been led into a trap. you have been put in a cage of your own ignorance. you call me _polasti_! i am the only one who can show you how to win. the only thing you know is to bunch together and be killed like animals at slaughter. you stand together in one tight group to make it easy for him. you know how it will be? look!" he sprang to the glass globe that held the magnetized needle, seized it and hurled it to the deck. it exploded like a small bomb. the kali moved back. "that is what the grimnal will do to you. your bravery will be as that glass, nice to see--but look at it now!" water from the globe trickled slowly through the shattered glass. the chips winked red in the dying sun. only the cry of the wind sounded through the ship. ward forced his choking breath to an even rhythm. "now go die like the fools you are." he left the quiet bridge and threaded his way to his cabin. night was coming softly to the grimnal sea. * * * * * it was dark in the cabin when the knock sounded. there was no answer, and it came again. "come," ward said in a very tired, hollow voice. the door swung open and someone entered. after a long moment, tahn's voice came softly in the dark. "no one has ever spoken to the kali like that." ward did not answer. "it is a brave man that can do that. and bravery is something we understand." there was a silent moment. tahn coughed. "may i light the lamp?" ward swung around in the chair. "certainly." flint flicked on steel, a spark glowed, caught, and light wavered in the cabin. the two faced each other, ward sagged low in the chair, the kali by the lamp. tahn coughed again. "there is a way?" ward let a moment pass. "there is a way to try." "fighting?" "yes, fighting." tahn paused the barest second. "tell me." iv the frigate, _windsong_, skimmed downward like a low, lean cloud. behind her, vague in the dim moonlight, followed four more frigates and the skating corvettes. before her, like a gate to hell, gaped the jagged mouth of pelo break. ward leaned against the bridge rail beside resi, the scarred and battered captain of _windsong_. "keep close to the eastern side," ward said. "in the shadow of the cliffs, out of the moonlight." resi spoke softly to the helmsman, and the _windsong_ eased into the shadow. ward turned and watched the following ships as, one by one, they slipped out of the moon and all but vanished. he swung back and squinted ahead. as far as he could see, high, broken cliffs reared straight from the water on both sides, angling together in the distance. there tahn had said, they stood a scant two hundred yards apart, and the break turned nearly sixty degrees to the west. that was the narrows. ward turned to resi, wondering if the old kali fully understood the plan. "if we do not meet them before, we wait for them at the narrows." there was no acknowledgement that he could tell. not even a cough. he doesn't like this, ward thought. he relishes the fight coming, but not me. despite tahn's heated pep talk, i am a bad totem. but tahn had accomplished one thing--an honor promise from each ship's captain to follow orders. ward knew they would, as long as everything went along with fighting, but the moment something went wrong. he remembered tahn's bark of surprise as the plan unfolded. then the argument, and his own firm stand that he command this force. for this was the crucial contact. the key. if this failed--it all failed. he was sure that tahn and the rest of the feverishly anxious kali would more than whip their end. they were outnumbered, but had an overwhelming firepower edge. for the hundredth time he reviewed the thing, looking for the fatal flaw. one frigate for the crippled ships, which gave them quite a bit of firepower right there. two firsts, four seconds, five frigates (the _storm bird_ had gone down) and four corvettes. they were to make fast repairs, jury rig, then stand by in the shadow at the mouth of pelo break. if the kali came back out--fine; they would all rejoin tahn. if not--and the grimnal came--they were a last stand. tahn had the main force of sixteen firsts, seven seconds and thirteen frigates. he was to intercept the grimnal coming from behind. he would run their fleet through, come about, rake them again and run out to sea. he was to hit them hard enough to stop them, then make them believe he was running away. after any pursuit was discouraged he was to come downwind and fly for anda passage. if the timing was right, he would run right over the force from the bay, and with a little effort clear them off the water. "then," ward had added with a half smile, "you can shell the land guns in the passage in your spare time. if the first grimnal force comes limping in you shouldn't have any trouble." * * * * * no, tahn wouldn't have any trouble. in the kali's present mood they could probably do it with half their ships. but hell would be open in the break tonight. five slim frigates and forty-two tiny corvettes against sixteen firsts, eighteen seconds and ten frigates. ship for ship; but what unbalanced firepower! their advantage would be surprise, if nothing slipped, and maneuverability where the grimnal ships would have their hands full just keeping clear of the cliffs. and this was the fulcrum. a sudden flare from the maindeck. "cover that!" resi snapped. then to ward, "they are cooking the liquor." ward nodded. apparently resi had a good idea of what was expected. that was one good thing. the liquor, as they called it, was their explosive. a revolting, highly inflammable slime brewed of seaweed and fats. it was prepared in port, but had to be brought to a firing temperature on board. this was done by heating in large kettles and kept just below boiling. when a gun was to be fired, a certain measure of this soup was poured down the muzzle to a sizzling hot firing chamber, kept hot by a covered charcoal packing and quickly sealed by a lava-stone ball. it was the gunner's sense of timing then to know when the gun was ready, and slam the firing stud with a hammer. this slapped flint to steel inside the chamber--and wham. but it was touchy. if the gunner swung too soon, nothing. if he waited too long, it fired itself. if the chamber was too cool, it would not fire at all; if too hot, it might go the second the ball was rammed. a very delicate operation. and in the midst of battle--with charcoal flying, hot shot coming in, glowing fires under the kettles and spilled hot liquor everywhere--it was hard to see what kept a ship from blowing the whole battle apart. but that never happened. the liquor was easily diluted with water, and they went into battle with special water crews sloshing down the decks. and the stuff was fast. in the gola island fight, with fairly hot guns, they were loading, aiming and firing in about ten seconds. the _windsong_ eased along, the narrows loomed closer and ward began to tighten. any second he expected the double bows of a grimnal first-liner to slide into sight, followed by another, and another, and another.... he felt the urge to move about, to do anything as long as he was moving. he noticed the kali were the same. they were as restless as the troubled waters of the break--lunging, hissing, swirling, rocking up and down. they were constantly at the rail relieving themselves, or rattling the dipper at the water barrel. and he could see the glint of their eyes as they threw quick glances in his direction. he caught resi watching too, and moved away. * * * * * they didn't trust him. they were waiting for him to call it off. they expected him to; probably wanting him to. he suddenly found he was quivering like a captured bird. he gripped the rail hard with both hands to stop. but it wouldn't stop. it galloped through him, ran him down and trampled him. and in panic he saw what it was. fear. not simply the fear of failing. it was.... god! the reality of it! this wasn't like reading a book or writing a story. this was going to be real shot and flame instead of words and paper. real people were going to die, with their blood warm and sticky and horror in the eyes--and he wouldn't be able to glance away to ponder it. it was going to roll from start to finish with the reality of now and the surety of death. it was going to flame as fights have flamed since something first snatched up a rock. and he was going to be right in the middle of it with these kali, win or lose, live or die. and what was he doing here with these strange, alien kali? he raised his head and glanced around. resi was standing by the helmsman, talking with his deck lieutenant. water splashed down on the maindeck; the water crews at work. there was a breathless quiet over the ship. he could see them standing like shadows, watching the curve of the narrows. the spartans must have stood like that at the pass of thermopylae! and the athenians on the plains of marathon. and the americans at bastogne. and men anywhere, any time before a battle. a single, whispering line from an old poem sang through him: _into the valley of death rode the six hundred._ there was no alien here but himself. * * * * * the ominous walls of the narrows closed and filled the sky. beyond the curve, some two miles up, the grimnal ships were slowly beating upwind. suddenly, like a touch of fire to old ashes, he knew what he was doing here. a long imprisoned breath escaped from him, and a great sigh seemed to come from the whole ship. resi turned. ward could barely make out what must be a smile in that old kali face. "we made it, ho?" "just barely, by god. have the ships string out as planned, with the lead frigate in the tip of the shadow where the break turns into the moonlight. and be careful of noise. it will carry in here like a cannon shot." resi coughed and was gone like a cat. the _windsong_ fell dead in the water. the others whispered past like ghosts. voices called softly, and the small, shielded signal lights licked from ship to ship. and the _windsong_ was alone. her bows swung out slightly to allow the foreguns a field of fire. ward climbed down from the bridge, strode the water-slick maindeck and gained the foredeck. the gun crews turned, glanced at him, then turned back. he could not tell if they were smiling or not. so what. they would have plenty to smile at in a moment. the lead first-liner was about a mile now and keeping well to their side. ward squinted at the point of the shadow, but there was no light flickering there that he could see. damn! the grimnal ship looked huge in the moonlight, and the break behind it seemed filled with sails. it was nearly abreast of the shadow tip, still holding to their side, and the tiniest flicker of light danced in the shadow beside it. ward grinned. david and goliath. the giant first-liner started its slow tum on the very edge of the shadow, drifting into the dark until only its sails held the moon. the sails came around, fluttered and filled. the silent hulls came into sight. ward let out a breath, echoed by resi. the lead liner was well on its new tack. the next was starting to edge into the shadows, and behind that was another, and another, and another. resi muffled a cough. "you tell when?" he whispered. ward nodded. "i'll tell when." the grimnal rode closer, the crash of its bow waves sounding louder. ship after ship was coasting past the hidden frigate. ward's excitement grew to a pounding thing. they would be able to get them all in range. the sails towered over them. a hundred yards. almost abreast; just at the narrowest point. ward took a deep breath, and said quietly: "now." * * * * * resi turned and hissed. steaming liquor trickled down hungry cannon mouths. lava balls were softly rammed home. muzzles came down. aimed. the gunners tensed, raised their hammers--and swung. the night came apart. a crashing roar racketed through the break. the walls blasted back the echo. the _windsong_ rocked and trembled. smoke boiled into the moonlight and dimmed the grimnal ship. and that was only a small sound. over a mile of fire smashed from the shadow and for a quivering second, it seemed the world had exploded. then came the thunder, and ward flinched. waterspouts climbed in the moonlight. wreckage spun from the grimnal ships. holes splintered in their sides. the _windsong_ roared again; the bobbing corvettes answered. and a deafening, mind dulling thunder covered the break. and the grimnal did not answer. the lightning flared steady now from the kali line. resi climbed halfway up the ratlines for a better look. and still the wounded giants had not answered. grimnal were running in all directions on their decks. resi let out a howl of sheer triumph. "they do not have their liquor cooked!" he cried, swinging to the deck. "we have them with cold guns!" the kali cheered, and the firing seemed to cease. ward was shaking again, but for a different reason. "hey, resi," he bellowed. "let's get in there closer." sails snapped and the _windsong_ came alive. she seemed to leap into the moonlight. then a corvette appeared beside her, and another, then two racing side by side into the smoke. and all the kali were moving. the _windsong's_ men were laughing like children, and the water crews had everything soaked halfway up the mainsails. what people! ward laughed, ducking another bucketful. resi slid to a halt beside him. "we fool them, ho? we fool them!" "closer," ward yelled. "under their guns!" "but they are not firing." "under their guns anyway," ward laughed, and added to himself--away boarders! a few scattered shots were coming from the grimnal, ripping overhead. ward stood a little taller. the _windsong_ came about, her starboard bow nearly slashing the looming first-liner. ward felt resi's hand on his arm. "it was really _you_ that fool them." ward grinned foolishly. "but _we_ whip them, ho?" ward wanted to answer, but it was the starboard guns' turn to speak. internet archive (https://archive.org) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) images of the original pages are available through internet archive. see https://archive.org/details/wreckingmaster pain transccriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). text enclosed by plus signs is in bold face (+bold+). the wrecking master * * * * * * books by ralph d. paine published by charles scribner's sons +sandy sawyer, sophomore.+ illustrated, mo $ . +the stroke oar.+ illustrated, mo $ . +the fugitive freshman.+ illustrated, mo $ . +the head coach.+ illustrated, mo $ . +college years.+ illustrated, mo $ . * * * * * +the wrecking master.+ illustrated, mo $ . +a cadet of the black star line.+ illustrated, mo $ . * * * * * * the wrecking master [illustration: "you're working for jim wetherly"] the wrecking master by ralph d. paine author of "a cadet of the black star line," "the fugitive freshman," "the head coach," etc. illustrated by george varian new york charles scribner's sons copyright, , by charles scribner's sons published september, [illustration: logo] contents chapter page i. a skipper in bad company ii. the _resolute_ fathoms the plo iii. the race for the _kenilworth_ iv. wicked mr. pringle in collision v. "all hands abandon ship" vi. dan frazier's predicament vii. a fat engineer to the rescue viii. a fog of suspicions ix. the broken hawser x. dan's dreams come true illustrations "you're working for jim wetherly" _frontispiece_ facing page and with bill mcknight's assistance the derelict was hauled aboard like a large and dripping fish the _sombrero_ sailed like a witch in the race but for once that square-jawed uncle of his had dared too much dan felt a new thrill of surprise and alarm it was a pretty bit of old-fashioned boarding for the prosaic twentieth century "if you are going to call me a liar at the start, you won't get very far!" she looked as if she had laid her bones on the reef for good and all the wrecking master chapter i a skipper in bad company "a thick night and no mistake, dan. it's as black as the face of a nassau pilot. we ought to be nearing the coal wharf by now. of course they wouldn't have sense enough to leave a light on it to give us our bearings." captain jim wetherly was growling through the window of the darkened wheel-house to his deck-hand, young dan frazier, as the oceangoing tug _resolute_ felt her way up the harbor of pensacola. she had towed a dismasted bark into port after a long and stubborn tussle with wind and sea, and her master was in haste to fill the empty bunkers and drive her home to key west, five hundred miles across the blue gulf. the mate and several of the crew had gone ashore for the evening, the fat and grizzled chief engineer was loafing on the deck below, and captain wetherly was somewhat consoled to have a sympathetic listener in his youngest deck-hand. this dan frazier was his nephew, not long out of the key west high school, and trying his hand at seafaring in the _resolute_ as the first chance which had offered to ease his mother's task of caring for him. in the presence of any of the vessel's company, discipline was observed between the two with a respectful "aye, aye, sir," or "no, sir," on dan's part, but now when they were alone on deck dan felt free to reply: "it's strange water to me, uncle jim. i shouldn't wonder if the old _resolute_ felt timid about poking around a crowded harbor on a thick night. what she likes best is plenty of sea-room with a wreck piled hard and fast on the florida reef and a fighting chance to pull it off. i wish i could have been on board when you were taking hold of that big italian steamer last spring. the men say they thought the _resolute_ was going to yank the engines clean out of her before you let go on the last haul that dragged the wreck clear of the reef. is it true that bill mcknight clamped the safety-valve down and said it was up to providence to see that his boilers didn't blow up?" captain wetherly chuckled. the flare of a match as he relighted his pipe illumined a pair of steadfast gray eyes and a smooth-shaven chin of such dogged squareness of outline that dan's statements seemed to be half-way answered even before his uncle said: "pshaw, boy, bill mcknight is a good chief engineer, but if his engines didn't get any more rest than that tongue of his, they would have been in the scrap-heap long ago. i suppose he has been filling you up with yarns of the wonderful things he has done with this boat on the reef. come to think of it, he _was_ carrying some steam more than the law allowed when we tackled that italian wreck for the last time, but we weren't there for our health. and wrecking isn't a business for children, dan. you'll find that out if you stick by me long enough to get your mate's papers. seems to me we must have run past that confounded coal wharf by this time. i don't know whether that light yonder is a lantern or a store up the street somewhere." dan went over to the side of the deck and peered into the shoreward gloom while captain wetherly jerked a bell-pull. a mellow clang floated from the engine-room, the _resolute_ slackened way to half-speed, and began to swing in toward the puzzling light. dan frazier thought he heard the click of rowlocks somewhere off in the darkness and cocked an ear to listen. the sound ceased and then he fancied he saw a shadowy patch moving on the water almost in front of the _resolute's_ bow. an instant later captain wetherly shouted in alarm: "boat ahoy. do you want to be run under?" angry, confused voices were raised from the blackness close ahead while the tug quivered to the thrust of the engines as they strove to check her headway. panic-stricken profanity was volleyed from the water, there was a slight shock and crash as of splintered planking, and the tug slid over what remained of the blundering small boat. "great scott!" cried captain jim. "the poor fools must have done it a-purpose. when they come up and yell, stand by to fish 'em out, dan. tell bill mcknight to man a boat and be ready to lower it. of all the----" the horrified dan had already scampered down to the main-deck and, snatching up a coil of heaving line, he sprang upon the guard-rail and waited for a call for help from the castaways. the chief engineer was bawling commands to a fireman and the cook who were fumbling with the falls of a boat swung aft. the galley boy came rushing along with a lantern and dan held it over the side just in time to see a head bob to the foaming surface with a gurgling lament: "aren't you going to haul me aboard your murderin' tow-boat?" dan tossed him a bight of the line into which he wriggled his shoulders and with bill mcknight's assistance the derelict was hauled aboard like a large and dripping fish. they did not waste time in looking him over, but asked in the same breath: [illustration: and with bill mcknight's assistance the derelict was hauled aboard like a large and dripping fish] "how many more of you?" "only one, and he can't be far off," panted the victim of the collision. "you'll hear him holler pretty soon unless you knocked his brains out when you struck us." the boat was ready by this time, and dan and the cook, letting it down by the run, scrambled in and shoved clear of the tug. they had paddled only a little way astern when the lantern threw its wavering gleam athwart the missing man, who was groaning as if hurt, while he tried with feeble splashing to keep himself afloat. with great exertion he was dragged over the gunwale and taken to the _resolute_. he was unable to stand on deck and blood was oozing from a ragged gash on his forehead. the engineer helped carry him into his own state-room a few steps away on the lower deck, where the wet clothing was stripped from him and the bunk made ready. meanwhile, captain wetherly, relieved to learn that no lives were lost, rang up speed and headed the tug for what he hoped might be the wharf he was seeking. presently dan frazier reported at the wheel-house door and explained: "you won't be any more surprised than i was to find out that the first man we picked up is jerry pringle. yes, it's old pringle himself sure enough, uncle jim. i didn't get time for a sight of him until just now. what in the world is he doing so far from key west, and how did he happen to be run down in a boat at night in pensacola harbor? it beats me." "what has he got to say for himself?" snapped captain jim with a note of hostility and suspicion in his voice. "is he sober? and jerry pringle let a tow-boat waltz right over him! um-mm, he must have been mighty busy thinking about something else. who is the other fellow? ever see him before?" "no, sir. he's an englishman, i think, a big, strong man with a brown beard. he is pretty well knocked out and his wits were muddled by a thump on the head. he talks flighty. jerry pringle is with him and says he will fetch him around without our help and get him ashore as soon as we land." "well, there's the coal-pocket looming up ahead, and you'd better get aft to make a line fast, dan," observed the captain. "as soon as we dock, i'll step down and see what i can do for our passengers. they're welcome to stay aboard overnight. jump lively." while the _resolute_ was deftly laid alongside the head of the wharf, dan made a flying leap to the string-piece and dragged the hawsers to the nearest pilings, bow and stern. then he hurried back to the chief engineer's room in quest of more information about the strange and unwilling visit of mr. jeremiah pringle of key west. dan frazier knew him as one of the most daring and successful wreckers of the florida reef, that cruel, hidden rampart of coral which stretches in the open sea for a hundred and fifty miles along the atlantic coast of southern florida, on the edge of the great highway of ocean traffic for central and south america. because the gulf stream flows north along this crowded highway, the steamers and sailing craft bound south skirt the reef as close as they dare in order to avoid the adverse current. tall, spider-legged, steel light-houses rise from the submerged reef, but its ledges still take their yearly toll of costly vessels, as they have done for centuries. when such disasters happen, the wreckers flock seaward to try to save the ship and cargo. jerry pringle was one of the last of a famous race of native wrecking masters of key west. his father and grandfather were wreckers before him, and they had been hard and godless men, rejoicing in the tidings of disaster on the reef as a chance to plunder and destroy. rumor had said some curious things about this jeremiah pringle's methods as a wrecking master, but dan frazier gave them careless heed, partly because he had heard so many wicked tales of the by-gone wrecking days, but more because young barton pringle, the only son of this man, was his dearest chum and school-mate. with very lively curiosity dan halted in the doorway of the little state-room which captain jim wetherly had entered just before him. jeremiah pringle was sitting on the edge of the bunk as if to shield his comrade of the small boat from observation, and was gruffly cautioning him not to exert himself by trying to talk. captain wetherly was eying them both with the keenest interest reflected in his determined countenance. he was saying as dan came within earshot: "of course i am very sorry it happened, pringle, but i don't see how you can hold me responsible for the loss of your boat. my lights were in order and the vessel was moving at half speed. i'm sure your friend there, the master of the _kenilworth_, lays it to your own carelessness." "who said he was master of the _kenilworth_?" spoke up jerry pringle. "you seem to be taking a whole lot of things for granted. he's in no shape to deny it, so call him what you please." mr. pringle looked unhappy and not all at ease, nor had he any thanks to spare for his rescue. even dan could perceive how thoroughly disgusted he was over this unlucky meeting with captain wetherly who replied: "oh, yes, it _is_ captain bruce of the _kenilworth_, that big english cargo steamer in the stream loaded with naval stores for london. he was pointed out to me in the broker's office this afternoon. were you coming ashore from his ship when you ran under my bows?" hearing his name spoken, the man with the bandaged head tried to raise himself in the bunk and muttered, as if his senses were still confused: "malcolm bruce, if you please, bound home to london, then out to vera cruz with a general cargo. lost at sea, all stove up, and a black, wet night. but i get well paid for losing the rotten old ship. how much is it worth, pringle? ha, ha!" jerry pringle's tanned cheek turned a shade or two paler and he forced a hot drink between the other man's lips as if to shut off his speech. the master of the _kenilworth_ subsided and put his hands to his head while pringle explained to captain wetherly with nervous haste: "he's jabbering about the loss of his boat that you made hash of. it was nothing but a skiff. it was my fault, i guess. we were busy talking and i kept no lookout. i'll pay him the cost of the boat, captain wetherly. so forget it, won't you. if you'll send ashore for a hack i can lug captain bruce up to a hotel right away." "no hurry, is there? let him rest," said captain jim. "dan here will sit up with him if you want to turn in. of course you know dan frazier, your boy's chum." mr. pringle glanced up at the doorway and looked even more downcast and sullen at recognizing dan. he nodded at the interested lad and returned: "so many of us sort of crowd this state-room. i'll look after captain bruce by myself if you don't mind clearing out, captain wetherly." the dazed captain of the _kenilworth_ showed signs of trying to break into the conversation and managed to sputter excitedly: "i get ten thousand dollars for this night's job." at this, jerry pringle fairly begged the kind-hearted skipper of the _resolute_ to withdraw, and although the night was cool for september, the rescued wrecking master wiped the perspiration from his face with a wet shirt sleeve. captain wetherly gazed down at the man in the bunk for a moment, nodded gravely, and tiptoed on deck with a parting remark: "ten thousand dollars is a lot of money to pay for a splintered skiff, pringle." "captain bruce is ravin' crazy," grumbled jerry pringle as he shut the state-room door. "go fetch a hack, dan," ordered captain jim, "and help pringle lug him ashore. i tried to be decent to them, but my patience is frazzled. i don't want 'em aboard any longer than i can help." "but what are they doing together in pensacola harbor?" asked dan. "there's something mighty queer about it all." "keep your guesses to yourself, and don't think too hard about it, or you may go off your noddle like the britisher in yonder," said captain jim as he went forward toward his own room. dan wandered far and wide ashore before he found a cruising hack and was able to return to the wharf. going aboard, he delayed to coil and stow a heaving line which tripped him as he passed along the lower deck. from a near-by window came the voice of captain bruce of the _kenilworth_ in low-spoken query, evidently addressed to his companion, jeremiah pringle: "did i say anything silly? i was a bit muddled, i know. i didn't bring you into it, did i? there was nothing said about the _kenilworth's_ next voyage, was there?" "you said a heap sight too much," was the reply in a rumbling undertone. "that jim wetherly is pretty keen when it comes to putting two and two together. but he has a kind of mushy streak of sentiment in him and he won't believe anything bad of a man till the evidence is strong enough to hang him. it's been an unlucky night's work, and it's time we were out of here." dan knocked on the door and, without even a "thank you," jerry pringle brushed him out of the way and half-dragged, half-carried captain bruce toward the gang-plank. the master of the _kenilworth_ bade him halt, however, and, grasping dan by the hand, told him in a deep and pleasant voice: "you saved my life, youngster, and i won't forget it. come aboard my ship before sailing and let me thank you, won't you? i'll be fit and hearty in a day or so." dan liked the looks and manner of the big, brown-bearded englishman and warmly replied: "pulling you out of the wet was the least we could do. i hope your head will mend all right. captain wetherly will be glad to see you on board again, sir." dan lent a hand as far as the hack and then sought captain wetherly's room. the light was burning and the deck-hand dared to enter on the chance of having a talk with "uncle jim," whom he found reading a novel in his bunk. the boy had many questions to ask, but he was not ready to go straight to the heart of the matter, and so began: "jerry pringle acted kind of ugly and uneasy, didn't you think? i suppose he was mad at getting spilled into the harbor. you and he never did seem to be very fond of each other." captain jim threw down his book and sat up in his bunk with a rather grim smile as he replied: "you're no fool, dan, though you aren't more than half as old as me. and you have lived ten of your years in key west. i know you think the world of young barton pringle. he is a fine, clean lad, the son of his mother through and through. but there's a different strain in that dad of his, and you know it. you want to find out what i think of to-night's business, don't you? well, i think the big englishman might have picked better company." "but he said some things about getting ten thousand dollars for losing his ship and so on, uncle jim, and i heard more than you did. he was worried to death for fear he had talked too much. the wrecking business in key west is square and honest as far as i know, but ship captains _have_ put their vessels on the reef on purpose in the old days and the wreckers helped plan it beforehand. and i can't help wondering if jerry pringle came to pensacola to fix up a deal with this captain of the _kenilworth_ to lose his ship on the next voyage out from london to vera cruz. there would be rich salvage and loot in a general cargo, wouldn't there? she's a mighty big steamer." captain jim stroked his chin and was so long silent that dan began to fidget. then, as if rousing himself from some very interesting reflections, the elder man drawled in a tone of mild reproof: "there isn't a bit of evidence that would hold water, dan. i may have my suspicions, but perhaps they are all wrong, and if we said a word it might ruin a good ship-master with his owners. jerry pringle and he must have been up to their ears in conversation when they let us run 'em under, and i wish the big englishman could prove an alibi for the time we had him, aboard. better forget it." dan bit his lip and appeared so gloomy and forlorn that his uncle was moved to ask what troubled him. "it's bart pringle," said dan, and his voice was not quite steady. "when i meet him in key west i'll have a secret to hold back from him, and it's about his own father. oh, i can't believe there's anything to it. and there's bart's mother! well, i think i'll turn in, uncle jim. good-night." late in the next afternoon the _resolute_ cast off from the coal wharf and swiftly picked up headway as her powerful engines began to urge her, with tireless, throbbing cadence, toward her distant home port of key west. presently she surged past a long, deep-laden cargo steamer from whose stern rippled the flaming british ensign. it was the _kenilworth_, and captain jim and dan frazier stared at her with curious interest. a tall, broad-shouldered, brown-bearded figure was leaning against the railing of her bridge. a strip of bandage gleamed white beneath the visor of his cap. he flourished an arm in farewell to the _resolute_ whose deep-toned whistle returned a salute of three blasts. dan passed by the wheel-house door on an errand for the mate and could not help saying aloud to himself: "it must have been a nightmare. that captain bruce looks like too fine a man to think of such a dreadful thing!" captain jim wetherly overheard the comment and seemed to echo this verdict as he remarked in a reverent and sympathetic tone: "lead captain malcolm bruce not into temptation, for jerry pringle is a hard customer to have any dealings with, on or off the reef." chapter ii the "resolute" fathoms the plot as the _resolute_ steamed into key west harbor, dan frazier was on the lookout for his friend barton pringle who almost always ran down to the wharf when the whistle of captain wetherly's tug bellowed the tidings of her return from sea. this time, however, dan felt that a shadow had fallen over their close comradeship which had been wholly frank and confiding through all their years together. dan could not forget the events of the night in which barton's father had behaved like a man caught in the act of planning something dark and evil. but the sight of barton pringle waiting on the end of the wharf to catch the _resolute's_ heaving lines and welcome him home, made dan wonder afresh if he had not been too hasty and suspicious. barton's honest, beaming face was in itself a voucher for his bringing up amid sweet and wholesome influences. nor was dan ready to believe that a bad father could have such a straight and manly son. before the boys were within shouting range of each other, captain wetherly sent for dan and told him: "you can stay home until you get further orders. i don't expect to leave port again for several days. tell your mother that i will run in for a little while after supper to-night." dan thanked him with a grin of delight and ran below to yell to barton pringle on the wharf: "hello, bart. come aboard and help me scrub decks and get things ship-shape and i'll be ready to jump ashore just so much sooner." barton made a flying leap aboard as soon as the lines were made fast, and asked as he picked up a pail and broom: "what kind of a voyage did you have, dan? anything exciting happen?" "nothing to speak of," replied dan, and he felt his face redden with a guilty sense of secrecy. he was about to say that he had met barton's father in pensacola, without mentioning how or where, when the other lad spoke up: "i tried to get away for a little trip myself. father went up the gulf on the mail steamer and i begged him to take me along. but he was going only to tampa to see about buying a couple of sponging schooners, and he said he was in too much of a hurry to bother with me." "going only to tampa," echoed dan with a foolish smile. "oh, yes, only as far as tampa. sorry you had to miss it, bart. how's everything with you? have you bent the new main-sail on the _sombrero_?" barton plunged into an excited discussion about the fast little sloop which the boys owned in partnership, while dan tried to keep his wits about him, for he was thrown into fresh doubt and uneasiness by the news that jeremiah pringle had said he was going to tampa instead of pensacola. usually the two boys had so many important matters to talk about that one could find a chance to break in only when the other paused for lack of breath, but now dan found it hard to avoid awkward silences on his part. he was glad when old bill mcknight, the chief engineer of the _resolute_, waddled up to them and announced with a sweeping gesture toward the city streets: "back again to the palm trees and the brave cubanos and the excitements of a metropolis smeared over a chunk of coral reef so blamed small that i'm scared to be out after dark without a lantern for fear i'll walk overboard. i'm due to start a revolution in honduras, and to-day i enlist a few hundred brave and desperate key west cigar-makers, dan. i'm perishin' for a little war and tumult. look out for my signal rockets." with that mr. mcknight jauntily twirled his grizzled moustache and ambled up the wharf. he had been engineer of the _resolute_ when she was running the spanish blockade of cuba, as a filibuster to carry arms and ammunitions to the revolutionists, and his cool-headed courage had fetched the tug out of some perilous places. the ponderous, good-natured engineer was very fond of dan and every little while invited him, with all seriousness, to join some new and absurd scheme for touching off a spanish-american revolution, with dazzling promises of loot and glory. the boys laughed as they gazed after him, and barton said: "filibustering must keep your hair standing on end, eh, dan? i reckon it beats wrecking, though you couldn't get an old key wester to admit it. there hasn't been a wreck on the reef for goodness knows how long. father promised to take me with him on the next wrecking job if it isn't blowing too hard when the schooners go out to the reef." "well, you can count on seeing captain jim wetherly and the _resolute_ on the job no matter how hard she blows," smiled dan with a spark of the rivalry which flamed high between the tow-boat and the schooner fleet. willing hands made short work of dan's tasks, and he hurried into his shore-going clothes while barton swung his legs from the bunk and retailed the latest news about ships, and the sponge market, and the high school base-ball team which had won a match from the soldiers of the garrison. they parted a little later, dan eager to run home and see his mother, and barton anxious to make the _sombrero_ ready for a trial spin. as dan sped toward the cottage on the other side of the narrow island, he said to himself with a puzzled frown: "everything bart talked about made me think of the other night in pensacola: his father's going away, and the next wreck on the reef, and all that. and he thinks his father is the strongest, bravest man that ever went to sea. maybe he is, but i wish he wasn't related to bart." a slender, sweet-faced woman in black was waiting in a dooryard shaded by tropical verdure as dan rounded the corner. she had heard the far-echoing, resonant whistle of the _resolute_, and knew that her boy was home again. her husband, for many years employed in the key west custom house, had died only two years before, and the love and yearning in her eyes at sight of dan would have told you that he was her only child and her all-in-all if you had never seen them together before. he was taller than she, and, as her sturdy son stooped to kiss her with his arms about her neck, she said: "i wanted to be at the wharf to meet you, danny boy, but i couldn't leave home in time. bart pringle's mother ran in to talk to me about sending him away to school. i told her i wanted to do as much for you, but the way wasn't open yet. they can afford it, and bart is too bright and ambitious to settle down in a key west rut." they walked to the wide veranda across which the cool trade-wind swept, and mrs. frazier ordered dan to take the biggest, easiest wicker chair, after which she vanished indoors and almost instantly reappeared with a plate laden with pie and doughnuts. "you had breakfast in that stuffy little galley, i suppose," laughed she, "but i know you are always hungry. you can stow these trifles away as a deck-load, can't you?" dan confessed that he could carry any amount of cargo of this kind and then, between bites of a home-made doughnut, spoke very earnestly: "bart ought to go north to school, mother, and i will tell him so and back you up for all i'm worth. it will do him good to break away from home. and uncle jim wetherly will put up the same line of argument to mrs. pringle whenever you say the word." "jim is my dearest brother, but i can't picture him as showing very much excitement about bart's education," she responded. "he thinks there's no finer thing in the world than to be master and owner of a sea-going tow-boat. why do you think he will be interested, dan?" her son took her hand in his hard, sun-burned paw and with a stammering effort began his confession of all that he had heard and seen after jerry pringle and the english ship-master had been run down in their small boat. the mother listened with wide-eyed astonishment, and then with something like indignation she cried: "why, dan, you ought to be writing novels for a living! that poor captain bruce of the _kenilworth_ was out of his head, and you know that jerry pringle has a sour, gruff way with him even when he's on dry land. i can't believe it of mary pringle's husband. it is a dreadful thing to suspect him of, plotting to wreck a fine, big steamer." "that's just like a woman," declared dan with a very grown-up air of wisdom. "mrs. pringle hasn't anything to do with it. and you are like uncle jim, always refusing to think other folks are a bit less square and decent than you are. ask him to-night what _he_ thinks about it, but don't breathe a word to anybody else, will you?" "i shall scold him for putting such silly ideas in your head," firmly announced mrs. frazier. "you couldn't have pieced this plot together all by yourself, even if you are as big and strong as a young tow-boat." "all right," said dan good-humoredly. "only i hope barton will go away to school before the explosion happens. for if i'm right, jerry pringle may be in disgrace before he's a year older. captain jim will never let up on him if the _kenilworth_ does happen to be stranded on the reef." when captain wetherly strolled in after supper, his sister began at once to cross-question him. he evaded her as far as possible and finally declared: "i knew that dan would tell you. i don't want him to keep anything from his mother. but it must go no farther than this. i will say this much, that when the _kenilworth_ is due in the florida straits on her next voyage outward bound, the _resolute_ will be a good deal less than a thousand miles away. and just for curiosity i have cabled to london to find out if she is really chartered to vera cruz for her next voyage, and what kind of a reputation her owners bear. they may be interested in losing her, do you see? "speaking of cables, dan," he continued; "i got orders this afternoon to go to charleston at once and tow that big suction dredge to santiago. we shall be able to get away in a couple of days. you had better come aboard to-morrow night." "why, you'll be gone for weeks and weeks, dan," sorrowfully cried his mother. "i won't waste any time, nor try to save coal on this voyage," said captain jim with a grim smile. "i want to be a good deal nearer the reef than santiago, about two months from now." "it's a long, long while to have my boy away from me," mrs. frazier murmured with a sigh. "but this tremendous conspiracy will be all blown out of your heads before you come home again." after a luxurious night's slumber in a real bed, dan felt as if the cobwebs had been brushed from his busy brain and that the bright world held better employment than brooding over what might happen to somebody else. he set forth to find barton and arrange a match race between the _sombrero_ and a rival craft, to be sailed before dan had to go to sea. the challenge being accepted on the spot, there was much to be done in a very few hours, and dan heartily agreed with barton's opinion delivered from the cockpit of their rakish craft: "it is a pity we have anything to do but sail boats for the fun of it. what a bully sou'west breeze we're going to have this afternoon, dan! can you coax old bill mcknight to come along for ballast?" "yes, if we promise him to smuggle some rifles and dynamite in the hold," laughed the other. after dinner, dan sauntered along the water front in the hope of finding the mighty bulk of the chief engineer to serve as two hundred and seventy pounds of desirable live ballast. the south-bound mail steamer, from tampa for havana, had just landed her passengers, and foremost among them loomed the tail and lanky figure of jeremiah pringle. the wrecking master spied dan and hurried to meet him in the narrow street. his manner was no longer hostile and sullen, and dan was amazed to have a greeting hand stretched toward him and to hear a cordial voice: "how's the boy? you and bart as busy as ever? i went up the gulf to buy a schooner or two, and i found a beauty. i need a mate for her, dan. you are young, but you know more about salt water than most men. it means double the wages of a deck-hand on that sooty old tow-boat. i want you to go to tampa and help fetch her down right away, which is why i spring the proposition on you kind of off-hand and sudden." it was a chance at which dan would have jumped a week before. something held him back, however, and, although he did not take time to reason it out, he vaguely felt that jeremiah pringle was trying to bribe him to keep his mouth shut. but he had a natural fear of making an enemy of such a man as this, and he swiftly decided to make no mention of the night in pensacola. that was a matter for captain jim wetherly to handle. dan was ready to stand by his guns, however, so far as his own honesty was concerned, and he stoutly replied: "that is a big thing to have come my way, captain pringle, and i ought to thank you. but i don't care to take it. my mother wants me to stick by captain jim wetherly if i'm going to stay afloat, and she knows best." jerry pringle looked black, but forced a smile as he growled: "one thing you've got from your uncle jim is a swelled head. well, we'll say no more about it; _nothing at all about it, understand_?" the last words were spoken with a threatening earnestness, and dan understood what was meant. he nodded and went on his way, for once anxious to get to sea, away from a situation in which he seemed to become more and more befogged. he found bart dancing jig-steps with impatience, and trying to listen to a long-winded yarn delivered by mr. bill mcknight who had been already kidnapped for the afternoon. the _sombrero_ sailed like a witch in the race, the live ballast shifted himself with more agility than the boys had dreamed he could display, and the match was won with the lee-rail under and the cockpit awash. mrs. frazier watched the finish from a wharf and invited bart and the engineer to come home with dan for a festive supper party in celebration. there could be no long faces or heavy thoughts at such a time, and dan forgot the shadow and laughed himself into a state of collapse along with his mother and bart when mr. mcknight, with a wreath of scarlet ponciana blossoms on his bald head, danced spanish fandangos until the cottage shook from floor to rafters. [illustration: the _sombrero_ sailed like a witch in the race] they all escorted dan down to the _resolute_ in the starlit evening and sat on the guard-rail while the chief engineer fished a guitar from under his bunk and sang cuban serenades, leading off with "la paloma." it was as merry as such a parting hour could be, but there were tears in the mother's eyes when she kissed dan good-night, and her voice was not steady when she whispered, "god bless and keep you, my precious boy." when it came to saying good-by to bart, dan was more serious than usual and, he held fast to his comrade's hand for a moment while he looked him in the eyes and said: "blow high, blow low, you will find me standing by, bart. good luck and lots of it." shortly after daylight next morning the _resolute_ churned her way out of the placid harbor and laid her coastwise course for charleston. it proved to be an uneventful run with pleasant weather and a favoring sea. captain wetherly had nothing to say about the steamer _kenilworth_ until they reached charleston where he found a cablegram from london waiting for him. he read it aloud to dan as soon as they happened to be alone. "_unable to send required information until later. will communicate your next port._" "it might have cleared up this _kenilworth_ business," said captain jim. "however, we may get a message at santiago." but the _resolute_ was not to see santiago as soon as her master expected. there was a week's delay in getting the great suction dredge ready to begin the voyage. then, when the _resolute_ had taken hold of the clumsy monster, for all the world like a bull-dog trying to drag a dry-goods box, the captain of the dredge was hurt by a falling bolt and there was more delay at anchor while a new skipper could be sent for. when, at last, the unwieldy tow was got to sea, strong head-winds buffeted her day after day and urged the panting, sea-swept _resolute_ to her best efforts to keep up steerage way. she crept southward like a snail, eating up coal at a rate which compelled captain wetherly to put into nassau, and again into the harbor of mole st. nicolas at the western end of hayti. twice the dredge snapped her hawsers and broke clean adrift. when the weary tug and her tow crept in sight of the morro castle at the mouth of santiago harbor, bill mcknight almost wept as he surveyed his engines and boilers. sorely racked and strained they were, and captain jim tried to comfort him by declaring that no other fat engineer could have patched and held them together to the end of the voyage. making temporary repairs was a costly and tedious undertaking, and the crew of the _resolute_ tired of the charms of santiago and grew restless and homesick for key west. while dan, the captain, and mcknight were eating lunch ashore one day, a swarthy, dapper clerk from the cable office sought the venus café with a message which he had tried to deliver on board the tug. it was for captain wetherly who read it with an air of mingled surprise and chagrin. with a glance at the engineer who was blissfully absorbed over his third plate of alligator pear salad, captain jim remarked as he handed the sheet to dan: "it is from london. well, the cat is out of the bag, and we might as well let mcknight in. we are going to need him before we get through with this job, and need him bad. i suppose i ought to have been more suspicious, but it sounded too rotten to be true. bill, you must have that engine room in shape this week if it breaks your back. we are going to make a record run home to key west." dan read in silence before handing the cablegram to captain wetherly. "_kenilworth cleared for vera cruz. heavily insured. general cargo. owners hard hit by recent losses. will bear watching._" captain jim hammered the table with his fist and tried to speak in an undertone as he hotly exclaimed: "this confidential report makes my suspicions fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. i couldn't for the life of me understand how the master of a big steamer could afford to ram her ashore and lose her, and his berth and his reputation with it, for ten thousand dollars. but if he knew that his owners would shield him and stand in with him, why, of course, he might be tempted to clean up ten thousand dollars for himself when a man like jerry pringle crossed his bows and passed him a few hints. a lot of good it would have done for me to cable captain bruce's owners and give them warning of what we heard that night in pensacola harbor. they would have laughed at me as a meddlesome idiot. cleared for vera cruz, has she? she does her ten knots right along, i picked up that bit of information at pensacola. allow her twenty days to the reef." bill mcknight had dropped his fork and was purple with suppressed excitement. when the captain fetched up for lack of breath, he blurted in a hoarse whisper: "it doesn't take a axe to drive an idea into my noddle. as near as i can make out, though your bearings are considerably overheated, captain, there is scheduled to be a large and expensive wreck on the reef, assisted by her skipper and one jeremiah pringle. it sounds like the good old times before the light-houses crippled the wrecking industry. and we _resolutes_ propose to be first on hand to pull her off and disappoint certain enterprising persons?" "disappoint 'em!" fairly shouted captain jim. "if the _kenilworth_ does go ashore, i'll fetch that vessel off the reef if it tears the _resolute_ to kindling wood. i'll break their rotten hearts and show them what honest wrecking is." "i didn't throw away that clamp i made to hold the safety-valve down, captain," chuckled bill mcknight. "and i ain't afraid to use it again, either." chapter iii the race for the "kenilworth" chief engineer bill mcknight hoisted himself up the iron ladder that led from the fire-room of the _resolute_ and tottered on deck gasping for breath. he was begrimed from head to foot, the sweat had furrowed little streaks in the mask of soot and grease which covered his ample countenance, and his eyes were red with weariness and want of sleep. he had shoved the tug back to key west at her top speed, and now he was toiling night and day to make her ready for whatever summons might come for a tussle on the reef. captain wetherly found him slumped against the deck-house with his head in his hands and exhorted him cheerily: "don't give up the ship, bill. it is a great repair job that you've done, and the worst is over. the new tubes are most all in, aren't they?" "the boilers will be as good as new," grunted mcknight, "but how about my bronchial tubes, captain? i can't plug them up and make steam same as i plugged the boilers and fetched you back from santiago. i'm so full of cinders inside that i rattle when i walk. but give me another week and the boat will be fit to hitch a hawser to this benighted island of key west and tow it out to sea. anything new ashore?" captain jim sat down beside the engineer and made sure that they could not be overheard as he began: "dan has been watching jerry pringle's fleet of wrecking vessels for me. those two schooners he bought in the gulf have come into port, and it is mighty little sponging he intends to do with them at present, bill. they look fast and they can stow lots of cargo. and pringle has been overhauling his other schooners and has chartered three more in key west. he says he intends to send them out to join the mackerel fleet." "anything doing in the tow-boat line?" asked mcknight with a new gleam of interest in his damaged eyes. "if pringle aims to tackle a certain job that may be reported from the reef pretty soon, he will have to make a bluff at pulling the steamer off, won't he? there might be a small fortune in salvage, besides looting the cargo out of her." "he is dickering for some kind of a time charter on the _henry foster_," snapped captain jim. "she couldn't pull a feather-bed off the reef without breaking down. and i understand he has been cabling up the gulf about another tug or two." "well, we can get all the tow-boats we need and good ones, can't we?" beamed mcknight. "maybe we can't handle most any kind of a wrecking job ourselves! and there won't be any bluffs about it when _we_ take hold." "i'm certainly sorry for dan, poor boy," said captain jim with a sigh. "he feels as if he were spying on bart's father. and to make it worse, bart is going to sail with the old man for a while and the lad will be mixed up in this nasty mess as sure as fate, and he will be on the wrong side of it. here comes our dan now. drop the subject, bill. it only makes the youngster more unhappy." dan frazier had passed some restless nights since his return to key west, but his mind was too sunny and youthful to believe that things were ever as bad as they might be. he found comfort in the hope that captain wetherly would spoil the plot to lose the _kenilworth_. he had implicit confidence in his uncle's ability to win against any odds with the stanch _resolute_, and now that a fair and open battle against jerry pringle was assured, dan found himself eager for the fray. barton had told him that morning: "father and mother are talking of sending me north to school, but i'm going to rough it at sea with father for a month or so. he said he tried to get you to work for him. i knew you wouldn't leave captain jim, but maybe we might have been lucky enough to work on a wreck together." "you can't tell, bart. perhaps we shall, but we may be working against each other. i'll back captain jim wetherly to be first man aboard the next vessel that goes on the reef." "captain jim is a good man," declared bart, "but it will be a cold day when he lays alongside a wreck ahead of that daddy of mine." the boys were busy with their unbeaten sloop _sombrero_, and one day slid into another while dan employed much of his spare time in helping his mother about the house and in painting the chicken-house, the fences, and porch with great pride in the spick-and-span results. mrs. frazier still professed to take no stock in the plot hatched by "barton's father and mary pringle's husband," but she was nervous and absent-minded at times, and there was even more affection than usual in her manner toward bart. dan tacked a calendar at the head of his bed and crossed off the days one by one, saying to himself when he awoke and looked at it: "twenty days out from london, as uncle jim figured it, and the _kenilworth_ is one day nearer the reef." twenty-two days had been counted when captain jim called at the cottage and told dan to go aboard the _resolute_ and stay there until further orders. when the deck-hand reported for duty, he found all hands of the crew either at work on board or within call on the wharf. bill mcknight had steam in his boilers and, although the fires were banked, he had just finished stowing below a generous supply of resinous pine wood, oil-soaked cotton waste, and a barrel of turpentine for use as emergency fuel. "i lost thirty-five pounds of weight in three weeks," snorted the engineer, "but i mended the old hooker to stay mended. ho, ho, there goes the _henry foster_ to sea, captain. wonder if there's anything doing so soon? her engines sound like a mowing-machine trying to cut a path through a brick-yard." "don't worry about her," muttered captain jim. "pringle isn't aboard her. we won't leave here until he gets uneasy. he is a good deal better posted than i am about his infernal program and we----" captain jim stopped short, for barton pringle unexpectedly appeared on deck and announced to dan: "i'm going up the hawk channel with father at daylight to look for one of our sponging vessels that's reported ashore near bahia honda key. thought i'd say good-by." dan could not help glancing at captain jim as he replied with a quiver of excitement in his voice: "we may be running up the outside channel before you get back, bart. perhaps we shall sight you. hope you have a good trip." barton was in a hurry and jumped ashore with a wave of his hand to the chief engineer. when he was out of ear-shot dan observed with a long face: "i would give six months' wages if i could make bart stay home. do you suppose his father is really going to sea at daylight, or is he just using bart to fool us?" "i haven't been walking in my sleep," dryly responded captain jim. "there's a hundred and fifty miles of the reef between here and miami and i don't intend to follow any decoy ducks and fetch up at the wrong end of it. i figure on getting a report of any disaster as soon as the next man." the next day passed without tidings. jeremiah pringle had vanished from his haunts in key west, and four of his schooners were not to be found at their moorings. another day dragged by, bill mcknight was stewing with impatience and dan frazier was losing his appetite while captain jim wetherly remained cheerful and unruffled. he was like another man, however, when a message came to him at noon on the fourth day of waiting. it was from the cable office and he had no more than glanced at it before he darted on deck, ordered the mate to get the crew aboard, shouted down a speaking-tube to bill mcknight, and took his station at the wheel. his keen-witted, masterful energy seemed to thrill the _resolute_ with life and action. black smoke gushed from her funnel as her stokers toiled in front of the furnace doors. the engines were turning over when the last deck-hand leaped aboard, and as the dripping hawsers were hauled in, the tug was moving out into the stream. key west island was over her stern before dan found time to run up to the wheel-house. captain jim slipped a crumpled bit of paper into his fist and motioned for him to keep it to himself. it was from the marine observer at jupiter inlet, a hundred miles to the northward of the florida reef: "_steamer kenilworth southbound passed seven this morning. signalled steering gear disabled by heavy weather but able to proceed._" dan's faith in human nature, as it had to do with the master of the _kenilworth_, had been so severely shocked that he wondered whether the report of her mishap could be true. he was not shrewd enough to perceive, however, what captain jim whispered as he went below to see how things were moving in the engine-room. "crippled steering gear, bosh. her skipper has to fake up some excuse for striking the reef." dan could scarcely believe that the curtain had really risen on this seafaring melodrama in which he was to be an actor. a stately ship was moving blindly toward an ambush which might be the death of her. and racing to find and befriend her was this lone tug whose throbbing heart of steel shook her stout hull from bow to stern as she tore through the long head-seas on the edge of the gulf stream. the afternoon was already waning and night would overtake the _resolute_ before she could reach the upper stretches of the reef. captain wetherly felt certain that the _kenilworth_ would not be rammed on the coral ledges in broad daylight, and he foresaw a desperate game of hide-and-seek between darkness and dawn. but he held to the doctrine that with anything like even chances an honest man will win against a rascal in the game of life, afloat or ashore. the north-east wind was steadily freshening and the sky had become gray with drifting clouds. as dusk crept over the uneasy sea a mist-like rain began to drizzle. the master of the _kenilworth_ might reasonably lose his bearings if the night grew much thicker. bill mcknight emerged from his sultry cavern long enough to grumble to dan: "what's to hinder our running past that steamer before morning, i want to know, hey, boy?" "you wouldn't worry if you could watch captain jim hug the reef," assured dan. "it's like walking a tight-rope. i thought we were going to climb right up into the american shoal light-house." "well, this old tug is doing her fifteen knots, dan, which is faster than she ever flew before," chuckled the chief engineer, "and if we touch bottom, you'll know it all right. look up yonder at my fireworks." dan stared at a banner of solid flame that streamed from the funnel which glowed red hot for a dozen feet above the deck. with a cry of alarm he ran to the upper deck-houses which were built just fore and aft of the funnel and found the wood-work charred and smoking. he shouted down to mcknight who replied with a laugh: "it isn't my affair if your superstructure burns up. my orders are to make steam. better mention it to the skipper." dan rushed to the wheel-house but captain jim received the news as if it were the merest trifle. he was sweeping the sea with his night-glasses and exhorting the mate at the wheel to "hold her as she is and keep your nerve." to dan he replied airily: "caught afire, has she? good for bill mcknight. he's delivering the goods. get some men with buckets and put the fire out. i've no steam to waste in starting the pumps and putting the hose on it." the deck force was taking turns at shovelling coal to reinforce the stifled stokers, and those off watch followed dan with cheers. they knew that a race was on, and it lightened their toil to know that the _resolute_ was pounding toward her goal, wherever it was, with every ounce of power in her. captain jim joined the fire-fighters long enough to yell to them: "look out for rockets ahead. the first man to sight distress signals from the reef gets ten dollars and a new hat." a brawny negro stoker wiped the sweat from his eyes as he bobbed on deck and panted: "when cap'n jim smell a wreck she's sure gwine be where he say. if he wants to find 'stress signals he better look amongst us poor niggers in the fire-room." midnight came and no one thought of sleep. the excitement had spread even to the cook and the galley boy who thought they saw rockets every time a match was lit up in the bows. dan gazed out into the starless night and listened to the clamor of the parting seas alongside with frequent thoughts of barton pringle who was somewhere out here, proud of his father's seamanship and daring, loyal to his interests, trusting him as dan trusted his uncle jim. now like pawns on a chess board, the two boys were to play their parts on the opposing sides of a conflict which would be fought to the bitter end. dan was aroused by a hoarse shout from the bridge of the _resolute_: "red rocket two points off the port bow." dan wheeled and looked forward while his breath seemed to choke him. a second rocket soared skyward, like a crimson thread hung against the curtain of night. "hold her steady as she is," shouted captain jim from his post on the bridge. "the weather has cleared a bit and that signal was a long way off." there was an exultant ring to his strong voice as if he were glad to have the climax in sight. he sent for dan and told him to stay on the bridge and look for answering signals. "it's the _kenilworth_, a thousand to one," said the captain of the _resolute_. "and if jerry pringle's schemes haven't missed fire, his tug or one of his schooners will just happen to be within signalling distance. ah, by judas, there goes his answer, a rocket way out to seaward. pringle was afraid to hug the reef on a thick night. he missed the _kenilworth_ when she passed inside of him. it may possibly be a merchantman that has seen the _kenilworth's_ signals, but we take no chances." captain wetherly shouted the tidings down the tube to the engine-room force, and the hard-driven tug tore her way through the heavy seas in the last gallant burst of the home-stretch. back through the speaking-tube bellowed the voice of the chief engineer: "i've just put the clamp on the safety-valve, captain. she's carrying thirty pounds more steam than the law allows, and if she cracks she'll crack wide open. hooray! give it to her!" as if the captain of the stranded steamer were content to know that his message had been seen and answered, he sent up no more rockets, nor did any more answering signals gleam out to seaward. it was a race in the dark. the _resolute_ and her rival, if such it was, must run down two sides of a triangle whose apex was the unseen vessel on the reef. captain jim had taken the compass bearings of the _kenilworth's_ rockets and, regardless of the risk he ran in driving his steamer along the very fangs of the reef, he held her in a straight line for her goal and prayed that her bottom would not be ripped off or her straining boilers blow her sky high. almost at the same instant that the excited deck force of the _resolute_ glimpsed a red light winking far off to starboard, they saw the mast-head light of the stranded vessel almost dead ahead. "that red light out yonder belongs to j. pringle," muttered captain wetherly, "and we must be pretty near the same distance from that mast-head light on the reef. it's going to be a whirlwind finish, all right." the _resolute_ kept full speed ahead as if she intended to cut her way through the stranded steamer. not until a huge black shape dotted with a row of cabin lights loomed a little to one side of her headlong flight, did captain jim shift his course to round to in the deep water beyond the reef. his fists were clenched and his jaw was set hard as he glared from the wheel-house door to find the oncoming boat which he had sworn to beat. her lights were no more than a quarter of a mile away as the _resolute_ crept under the quarter of the stranded cargo steamer. "if that's you out yonder, jerry pringle," growled captain jim to himself, "you've slowed up to find out who the dickens we are. no wonder you're worried. come on and have it out, you hatchet-faced pirate." he seized the whistle cord and the _resolute_ roared a long, sonorous blast of greeting and defiance. then he caught up a megaphone and shouted toward the steamer stranded on the reef: "ship ahoy! i'll stand by to put a line aboard at daylight. are you resting easy as you are?" "what steamer is that?" came the answering hail from the darkness. "the tow-boat _resolute_ of key west, first vessel to come to your assistance. who are you?" "the deuce you are," and there was the most profound amazement in the other voice. "this is the steamer _kenilworth_ of london. a crosscurrent set me on here but i can work off with my own engines, thank you." "you'll never work her off," yelled captain jim. "your vessel will break her back if it blows much harder. it's high-water two hours after daylight. it's now or never to pull her clear." there was no reply. it was evident that captain malcolm bruce was shocked and bewildered by the unlooked for presence of the _resolute_ and was sparring for time until he could hail the other craft which by this time was feeling her way nearer. captain wetherly was in no temper for parleying. he moved the _resolute_ up abreast of the _kenilworth's_ bridge and shouted sternly: "i know your voice, captain bruce. my name is jim wetherly. this is the only tow-boat within five hundred miles that's got the power to drag you clear. and i must take hold on this next tide, before you begin to pound and settle. we'll arrange terms afterward." "i'll wait till daylight before taking any lines aboard," was the curt response from captain bruce who had moved aft to hail the other tug which had now dropped astern of the _resolute_. "this is the _henry foster_, in command of jeremiah pringle," came back to him. "we answered your rockets. shall we stand by?" "i will let you know when daylight comes," answered the master of the _kenilworth_. captain jim wetherly stamped his foot and snarled at his puzzled mate: "they must think i'm seven kinds of a fool. i'll block their game right now. oh, dan frazier, come here, on the jump." he grasped dan by the collar, dragged him into the chart-room, and closed the door. with swift, emphatic utterance captain wetherly shot these instructions into the boy's ear: "dan, i'm going to put you aboard the _kenilworth_. i can't spare anybody else, and you will be my agent, understand? if captain bruce refuses to take my line, this business will be put up to the underwriters from start to finish. and the crooked owners won't be able to collect one dollar of insurance, i'll see to that. and i'll have you as a witness to prove that the _resolute_ was first on the spot. come along with me." captain jim pulled dan by the arm toward the lower deck. a boat was lowered in a twinkling and, while the excited lad waited for a chance to jump, captain jim told him: "it's likely that pringle has barton with him on the tug, and they may try the same trick. if they come aboard the _kenilworth_, you remember that you're working for jim wetherly, no matter if it means a scrap." as the yawl danced away from the side of the _resolute_, captain jim shouted to the _kenilworth_: "put a ladder overside, if you please, captain bruce. i'm sending my nephew aboard to talk business with you." "i will talk no business before daylight," roared captain bruce. "call your boat back." "oh, yes, you _will_ take him aboard," stormed captain wetherly. "_if you don't, the underwriters will know the reason why._ shall i tell _you_ why?" "hooray! but that was a shot below his water-line," chuckled bill mcknight from the engine-room door. "but i don't envy dan his job when jerry pringle climbs aboard the _kenilworth_." chapter iv wicked mr. pringle in collision in his cooler moments captain wetherly might not have ordered dan frazier to board the stranded _kenilworth_ before daylight, for a heavy sea was running along the reef. but he knew there was smoother water in the lee of the stranded steamer and he had reason for confidence in his boat's crew. he had been foolhardy in bringing his tug so close, but he was in no mood to weigh risks; and he was ready to back dan to play a man's part in this game for high stakes. dan had learned to do as he was told without asking why, but as he peered from his plunging yawl at the tall, black hulk of the helpless _kenilworth_, his hands were shaking and his lips were dry. although the seas did not break over the reef because of the depth of water, they threatened to smash the yawl against the steamer's side. presently a lantern crept down from the deck above like a huge fire-fly. it was tied to one of the lower rounds of a swaying rope ladder, at the sight of which dan gathered himself for the ordeal. as the yawl rose he jumped headlong, got a grip on the ladder, and hung on for dear life while a frothing sea washed over him. gasping for breath, bruised and dazed, he fought his way up the side and fell over the bulwark of the after well-deck. dan had not the slightest idea of what he was expected to do on board the _kenilworth_, but after two seamen had stood him on his feet he limped forward in search of captain bruce. oddly enough, he did not feel in the least afraid of meeting the hostile ship-master whose wicked plans had been spoiled by the coming of the _resolute_. dan recalled the big, brown-bearded man with the deep voice and the kindly eyes whom he had met in pensacola harbor, and said to himself, as he had said then: "he looks like too fine a man." but as captain jim's agent, dan braced himself to be stern and dignified while he clambered to the bridge. he found captain bruce standing in the light that fell from the chart-room door. "i am to stay aboard until further orders from captain wetherly, sir," announced dan in the heaviest voice he could muster. "nobody asked you, so get away from my quarters," was the irritable reply. dan stepped forward into the light and captain bruce stared at him with puzzled interest. then his frown cleared and he exclaimed heartily: "why, it's the lad that fished me out of pensacola harbor. i ought not to forget you, had i? pardon my rude manners, but a man with his ship in peril is poor company. come inside. well, upon my word, this is a most extraordinary reunion all round." the stalwart master mariner was trying hard to wear his usual manner, but his words came out with jerky, nervous haste, his gaze shifted uneasily, and he was twisting both hands in his beard. if his conscience had been troubling him before, panic fear had now come to torment him; fear of captain wetherly; fear even of this boy, for no mere chance could have brought about this midnight meeting on the reef. in silence dan followed him into the chart-room and waited while captain bruce seemed to forget himself in gloomy reflection. with an effort the master of the _kenilworth_ looked at the boy and began to explain: "i hope captain wetherly did not take offence. i am responsible for the safety of this ship, and until i can get in touch with my owners my word is final. if i can get her off without help, it means saving a whacking big salvage bill. she is making no water, and is in little danger." dan knew enough of the ways of seafaring men to be surprised that this captain should stoop to explain matters to the deck-hand of a tug. but the captain's word did not ring true. he was trying to play a part, and dan saw through it and was sorry for him. "you don't know the reef," replied the boy. "you struck it in good weather. and captain jim wetherly is no robber. he would not stand by if he thought you were not going to need him and need him bad. _we_ don't do any crooked business aboard the _resolute_, sir." dan had not meant to deal this last home-thrust. he was one lone-handed boy in the enemy's camp. captain bruce flushed and looked hard at dan, not so much with anger as with unhappy doubt and anxiety. he did not reply and appeared to be struggling with his thoughts. dan was so worn out with excitement and loss of sleep that he had to blink hard at the swinging lamp to keep his eyes open, and after several minutes of silence, captain bruce's face seemed to waver in a kind of haze. dan aroused himself with a start when the master of the _kenilworth_ spoke the question that was uppermost in his thoughts: "how did your tow-boat happen to find me to-night? what were you doing out here, boy?" dan's drowsiness fled as if a gun had been fired in the room. what could he say? if he told the truth he might be knocked on the head and dropped overboard before daylight. deeds as bad as this had been done on the reef, and he was the only witness to back up captain jim's story of a plot to wreck the steamer. he could only stammer: "we were running to the north'ard and saw your signals. captain wetherly commands the _resolute_. you must ask him." "he threatened and bulldozed me to-night," exclaimed captain bruce. "i let you come on board because he treated me kindly at pensacola. i will give him my answer at daylight." dan leaned forward with his elbows on the table and looked up into the captain's face. mustering all his courage, he began to say what was in his heart, as if he were talking to one of his own friends who had done something to be sorry for: "captain wetherly is working for your interests, sir. he knows the reef better than any pilot out of key west. if he says he can get your steamer off, he'll do it. and--and--he wants to save you--your ship--no matter what it costs him. it--it--isn't only to get ahead of jerry pringle on a wrecking job, captain. he likes you, and barton pringle is my chum, and mrs. pringle is my mother's dearest friend, and captain jim wants to get you clear and on your voyage again without--without being forced to--to fight it out to a finish with you and jerry pringle. it's for bart and his mother, and for you, too, captain bruce." the ship-master walked to the doorway and stood gazing out into the night. then he replied gruffly with a hard laugh: "you are almost asleep, my boy. i can't make head or tail of what you are driving at. i make my own bargains with tugs when i need them. lie down on the transom and take forty winks. i am going to start my engines again and work my vessel off on this tide." dan nodded and promptly curled up on the leather cushions. daylight showed through the port-holes when he awoke and stepped out on deck. a few cable-lengths to seaward rolled the _resolute_. astern of her was the _henry foster_. beating up the hawk channel inside the reef came two schooners under clouds of canvas. other sails flecked the sea to the southward, all hastening toward the _kenilworth_. from among the low islets to the westward the smaller craft of the "conchs," or scattered dwellers on the keys, were speeding toward the scene. the _kenilworth_ lay with a list to port, her bow shoved high on the invisible reef, her stern still afloat. it would have been hard to convince a landlubber that this great steamer was in danger of going to pieces. no seas were breaking around her. she looked as if she had come to a standstill in mid ocean. dan frazier had the love of the sea in him. the sight of this helpless ship as he saw her by daylight appealed to him as tremendously sad and tragic. he picked up a sounding lead and let it fall over the side to find the depth of water amidships, for a glance at the chart-room clock had told him that the tide was almost at the flood. the sound of voices made him look aft. captain bruce was coming forward with jeremiah pringle, and behind them was barton. a moment later, captain jim wetherly threw a leg over the steamer's rail and shouted to his men in the yawl to wait for him. he ran forward to dan without speaking to the others as he passed them, and shoving his nephew toward captain bruce he exclaimed: "here's my man, aboard your ship hours ahead of pringle. you'll have to talk business with me first. and all i ask is a square deal." barton hung back and acted as if he had caught the spirit of the hostile rivalry that threatened an explosion of some kind. he was more highly strung and impulsive than dan, less used to knocking about among men, and he felt that dan was somehow taking sides against him. before captain bruce could speak, jerry pringle strode up with an ugly scowl on his lean, dark face and said: "let wetherly talk terms. when he gets through, i will be ready to sign a paper to take charge of the job for half the figure he names, i don't care how low he goes." "that ought to settle it. you can't do as well as that, captain wetherly," put in the master of the _kenilworth_. "if you are so sure my ship can be pulled off, i see no reason why captain pringle isn't the man to do it." captain jim was trying to keep his temper under, but the fact that these two men were trying to carry out their vile agreement right under his nose was more than he could stand. he shook his heavy fist in jerry pringle's face and declared: "the _resolute_ will make fast to this ship this morning. and if you want the _henry foster_ to get action, it will be under my orders, and at my terms. by judas, this play-acting ends right here. i mean you, too, captain bruce. i have been hoping that i could keep my mouth shut. i'd rather cut off my right hand than drag certain other people into it. i know why you brought your boy along with you, jerry pringle. to put a stopper on my tongue, wasn't it? hide behind women and children, eh? well, i'm in charge of wrecking this steamer, understand? get back to your tug. i've a good mind to----" he felt a pull at his arm, and turned to look into dan's imploring face as the boy whispered: "don't say any more, uncle jim. wait till bart is out of the way, please, oh please do." captain jim rammed his hands in his breeches pockets and addressed captain bruce: "i've said my last word. my hawser will come aboard at once." the master of the _kenilworth_ wavered and looked at jerry pringle as if appealing to the stronger will which had tempted and entrapped him. the hapless ship-master had gone too far with the plot to let it go by the board. pringle muttered with a sneer: "who is master of this steamer, anyhow?" captain bruce echoed the remark: "i command this ship, captain wetherly, and the sooner you leave her the better." wasting no more words, captain jim called to his boat's crew to stand by to take him off, and said to dan: "pringle is going back to his tug. you stay here. they won't dare to do you any harm. keep your eyes and ears open." presently bart followed his father on board the _henry foster_. dan had found no chance to talk with him and he was not sorry. he was afraid bart would ask him what captain jim's angry speech had meant. already the stranding of the _kenilworth_ had dragged the two lads into its tangle of motives and events. dan was too absorbed in wondering what captain jim could do next to dwell long with his own troubles and perplexities. he watched the _resolute_ steam nearer the _kenilworth_, while captain wetherly's deck-crew gathered around the huge coils of steel hawser on the overhang. soon the _henry foster_ wallowed closer and her men were also busy making ready to pay out a towing hawser. dan could not understand how captain jim was going to get his line aboard the _kenilworth_, and he breathlessly awaited the next move. on board the _resolute_, captain wetherly was standing at the wheel and watching the _henry foster_ with the light of battle in his gray eyes. jerry pringle's tug had forged ahead until she lay square in the path of the _resolute_ which was thus prevented from getting into position for taking hold of the steamer on the reef. captain jim pulled the whistle cord and the _resolute_ clamored to the other tug to move out of the way. but mr. pringle seemed determined to remain exactly where he was. again and again the _resolute's_ whistle was sounded, but the _henry foster_ refused to make room. captain wetherly finally growled to the mate: "he doesn't seem to have very good manners, does he? maybe he ought to be taught a lesson. take the wheel while i go below and have a few words with mr. mcknight." the chief engineer was leaning against a stanchion and muttering insults at the balky _henry foster_, with special emphasis on the shortcomings of mr. j. pringle. "are you going to sit here all day and let those _henry fosters_ laugh at you, captain?" asked mcknight. "not if you have steam enough to do as i tell you, bill. all i want you to do is to jump her ahead for all she's worth when i ring the jingle bell. then hold on tight and say your prayers." "going to push pringle out of the way?" asked the engineer with a smile of happy anticipation. "well, there's steam enough to make the _henry foster_ know she's been bumped. it's about time something happened." the captain returned to the wheel-house and gave the signal to back her. the _resolute_ slipped very slowly astern until she was in a position for a "running start." as a final warning her whistle was blown, without reply from the _henry foster_. then, with one long blast like a war-whoop, the _resolute_ moved straight ahead, gathering headway until her rearing bow was flinging cascades of spray. the mate gasped: "keep her off, captain, or you'll be in collision." captain wetherly grinned and nodded as he held his tug straight at the after part of the _henry foster_ on board of which there was much shouting and running to and fro. her crew had taken it for granted that the _resolute_ would pass astern of them until her tall cut-water loomed within a hundred feet of their overhang. then her engine-room bells ding-donged one frantic signal after another, but she began to move too late. _crash!_ and she heeled far over from the shock of the collision. like a keen-edged axe through a soft timber, the bow of the _resolute_, with her weight and momentum behind it, sheared through the overhang and sliced a dozen feet off the stern of the luckless _henry foster_. it was done and over within a twinkling. the _resolute_ ploughed on with headway almost unchecked, and as her horrified mate rushed forward to see what damage had been done to her own hull, captain jim wetherly looked back and remarked to himself: "as neat a job as i ever saw. her after bulkhead will keep her afloat, but the _henry foster_ is surely shy her tail-feathers. i guess that winds up her career as a tow-boat for some time. jerry pringle looks kind of upset and agitated." mr. pringle had picked himself up from the deck, where he had been hurled headlong, and was wildly shaking his fist at the _resolute_. the crippled tug was drifting off broadside and was evidently helpless. presently a small boat put off from her and headed for the _resolute_. as soon as he was within shouting distance, jerry pringle rose in the stern-sheets and yelled in a voice broken with rage: "you'll pay for my vessel, jim wetherly. you run her down on purpose. she'll founder or drift on the reef if you don't tow me to key west." "you violated all the rules of the road," sung back captain jim. "and you're so fond of wrecking other people's vessels, supposing you see what kind of a job you can make of the _henry foster_. tow you to key west? you're joking. i'm going to put my line aboard the _kenilworth_ and i'll settle with you later." dan was dancing up and down on the _kenilworth's_ deck as he stared at this amazing collision. it might be a reckless and lawless thing to do, but dan saw that jerry pringle had brought the disaster upon himself, and that it had given captain jim a clear field. throwing his cap in the air, dan let out a series of shrill and joyous war-whoops. he had forgotten all about barton, but in the midst of his noisy jubilation he caught sight of his chum standing aft on the _henry foster_ and peering down at the havoc made by the collision. dan's voice must have carried across the water, for bart turned to look at the _kenilworth_ and shook his fist with every sign of rage and resentment. dan subsided, but the mischief had been done. he had made an enemy of barton, and he muttered with a sorrowful face: "i can't blame him for getting mad as a hornet at me. i ought to have kept still. i don't know how we can ever patch up this misunderstanding either. he ought to hold his daddy responsible for thinking he could monkey with uncle jim wetherly and the _resolute_." chapter v "all hands abandon ship!" nobody was more dumfounded by the ramming of the tug _henry foster_ than captain bruce of the steamer aground on the reef. in a twinkling his wicked partnership with jeremiah pringle had been smashed beyond mending. he could no longer refuse to accept help from the victorious _resolute_. this meant that captain jim wetherly would take charge of the wrecking of the steamer and try to save her and her cargo by every means in his power. jerry pringle had been driven from the scene. he was on board his shattered tug which was drifting to the southward, in no great danger of going ashore, while several schooners were clustering around to give her aid. dan frazier paid no attention to captain bruce, but ran to the stern of the _kenilworth_ to watch the _resolute's_ crew send its towing hawser aboard. captain jim was at his best in such an undertaking as this, and his men were obeying his shouted orders with disciplined skill and haste. the hawser writhed after the yawl like a sea-serpent and was dragged up the side of the stranded vessel by her own crew, who were jubilant at seeing active operations under way. when the line was made fast, captain jim bellowed through his megaphone: "we have wasted time and lost the best of the tide, captain bruce, but i'm going to pull for an hour anyhow. set your engines going full speed astern and throw your helm to port." captain bruce obeyed with eager energy. he seemed to be coming to himself and honestly anxious to get his ship afloat. his broad shoulders were thrown back, and he held his head erect, while his deep voice had a tone of masterful decision. if he had made a compact with the evil one, he acted like a man who regretted the bargain and wanted to repair the damage already done. fate had suddenly snatched him out of the clutches of jeremiah pringle and perhaps he was glad of it. at least, dan frazier was ready to look at it in this way, and as captain bruce came aft to examine the hawser the lad said to himself with a wisdom born of his own experience: "last night he kind of behaved like a boy that had done something he was awful ashamed of, but was scared to own up to it. now he looks as if he felt the way i do when i've decided to tell mother all about it and promise her i'll do the best i can to make things all square again." dan found time to take an anxious look at the weather, and a sweeping survey of sea and sky told him why captain jim did not want to wait for the next flood tide before beginning work. the ocean had turned from green and blue to a dull gray. the clouds were low and far-spread and the wind was seesawing in fretful gusts, now from the north-east, again from the north-west. the barometer had sought a lower level overnight, and all these signs declared that a gale was brewing. if it came out of the north-west, the charging seas would drive the _kenilworth_ farther on the reef and perhaps lift her clear across the coral barrier to sink, with a broken back, in the deep water of the hawk channel. the _resolute's_ whistle signalled that she was ready to match her power against the reef. as she forged ahead, the sagging hawser tautened and twanged like a huge banjo string, while the sea was churned to froth in her wake. at the same time the _kenilworth's_ engines lent their mighty strength to the task. her hull vibrated as if the rivets were being pulled from their steel plates, but the keel did not move an inch. dan's faith in captain jim's word was so implicit that he expected to feel the steamer start seaward in the first ten minutes. at the end of the hour, however, the _resolute_ was still tugging away without result, like a man trying to lift himself by his boot-straps. then she slackened up on the hawser as if to get her breath for the next tussle. the wind was blowing with more and more violence. it picked up the white-topped seas and hurled them high against the _kenilworth_, while the tug rolled and plunged amid driving foam and spray. gulls were flying in from seaward to seek the shelter of the distant keys. but it was not yet rough enough to daunt captain jim wetherly and he was evidently waiting to make a second attempt on the afternoon tide. dan had seen these northerly gales blow themselves out in a few hours and he felt no uneasiness at being left in the _kenilworth_, although he muttered to himself as he felt the helpless steamer tremble to the shock of the seas: "i don't see why uncle jim left me here now that pringle is out of the way. i guess he hasn't time to remember that he is shy one deck-hand." there was some truth in this surmise, for captain wetherly was having all he could do to keep the _resolute_ at her station and her propeller clear of the hawser which he refused to let go because he feared the weather might make it impossible to lower the yawl for another trip to the _kenilworth_. he knew what captain bruce was not aware of, that the steamer had been shoved on a shelving slope of the reef where she could withstand a terrific pounding without having the bottom torn out of her, and that if she once started to move astern she would quickly slide off into deep water. therefore captain jim was ready to take long chances with his tug before he would run to key west for refuge from wind and sea. in the afternoon, when the _resolute_ whistled that she was about to go ahead again on the hawser, the green billows were breaking over her bow and flooding aft in booming torrents. her funnel was white with sea-salt from the spindrift as she plunged and reared like a bucking bronco. dan was watching the laboring _resolute_ from the stranded steamer's bridge when captain bruce put a hand on his shoulder and said with hearty frankness: "that skipper of yours is plucky, and he is a first-class seaman. but he will lose his vessel if he stays out here much longer." "he may have to give you a wider berth by dark," said dan. "in ordinary weather he could take the _resolute_ over the reef along here, but now the seas would pick her up and drop her on the ledges. i guess he will have to leave me aboard here overnight, captain. there's no getting a boat over to me now. and he can't take the _resolute_ to leeward of you, on the inside of the reef, for there isn't a deep water passage through, for miles and miles." "you are welcome to stay aboard with me, lad," replied captain bruce. "we may have a tough time of it ourselves before morning, and i fancy your uncle is sorry he did not take you off with him. but that can't be helped." the _resolute_ had begun to pull. it was a thrilling battle to watch. the seas were so heavy that her power was applied in a series of tremendous lunges which threatened to snap the hawser every time her stern rose skyward. dan held his breath and gripped the rail with both hands as the tug surged ahead again and again. her mate and two deck-hands were crouched far aft, ready to cast loose the hawser whenever the captain dared to hold on no longer. after a while dan saw the chief engineer waddle back to the overhang to take a look at the situation. there was something cheering in the sight of this bulky, stout-hearted veteran of many a desperate venture at sea. bill mcknight plucked off his cap and waved it in greeting to dan, as if signalling him that all was well. "i guess he's clamped down his safety-valve long before this," said dan aloud as he flourished an arm at bill mcknight. "my word but you are a desperate lot," observed captain bruce, and a smile lightened his anxious face and weary eyes. "i think we are safer aboard the _kenilworth_." he turned away to talk to his own chief engineer and his first officer. they had come up from below to report that the crew were beginning to talk of quitting the ship, and that it was hard to keep them at their stations. the news aroused captain bruce like a bugle-call to action. if he had been weak in an hour of temptation he was now once more the able, resolute ship-master, trained by long years at sea to face such a crisis as this. "do the cowards want to abandon ship while we are trying to work her off?" he thundered. "look at that tug-boat out yonder. she isn't afraid to stay by us in a bit of a breeze. come along with me. i'll handle them." he hurried after the first officer, and dan was left alone to gaze at the brave struggle of the _resolute_. it seemed impossible that she could hold on much longer. her hull was buried by one sea after another, but she shook herself free and plunged ahead with dogged, unflinching power. the afternoon was nearly spent. a stormy dusk was beginning to steal over the tossing sea. dan perceived that captain jim was trying to stand to his task until high water might help to lift the _kenilworth_. but for once that square-jawed uncle of his had dared too much. the _resolute_ had endured more than steel and timber could be expected to endure. dan yelled with dismay as he saw the massive timber framework of the towing-bitts fairly jump out of the deck, splintered and broken, and vanish in the sea astern while the hawser slackened and buried itself in the waves. the mate and deck-hands were hurled this way and that. an instant later the wind bore a terrific crashing noise to dan's ears. a gaping hole showed in her after deck as the _resolute_ dove ahead, suddenly released from her grip on the _kenilworth_. [illustration: but for once that square-jawed uncle of his had dared too much] "great scott, she jerked the towing-bitts clean out of her," cried dan. "it was just like pulling the stem out of an apple. now we _are_ done for. is anybody killed?" his eyes filled with hot tears as he saw bill mcknight rush aft and help pick up the mate and deck-hands who lay sprawled in the scuppers. the mate was huddled in a heap where he had been flung, and the rescuers dragged him clear and carried him forward between them, his legs and arms swaying limp. "he looks dead," moaned dan. "and it leaves uncle jim single-handed. he can't run home before this sea with a hole in his after deck like that. she'd swamp in no time. he'll have to buck into it and try to fetch miami. and we can't get any help to him." the _resolute_ steamed very slowly away from the reef, fighting for her life. three long blasts from her whistle came down the wind as she spoke her farewell. before long her reeling shape was lost to view on the shadowy sea; then her mast-head light gleamed for a little longer before she wholly vanished from dan frazier's yearning gaze. captain bruce had rushed on deck at the sound of her whistle and dan pointed to the dim outline of the beaten and crippled _resolute_ while in a voice broken with grief and excitement he explained what had happened to the tug. "uncle jim will have other tugs on the way as soon as he can wire for them," added dan. "i think he ordered a schooner to run to miami this morning with orders for more help to be sent you." "they can't get out to us until this blow is over," said the captain. "we are in for a bad night, my boy. i wish you were out of it. but captain wetherly couldn't have taken you off to save his soul." "i wouldn't have been here if you had been square--" dan began to say with a sudden rush of anger. but it seemed as though captain bruce had not heard him, for he went on to say: "if my boy had lived he would have been about your age now, dan. he was just your kind of a youngster, too. go below and get some supper, and some sleep if you can." there was to be little sleep aboard the _kenilworth_ through this night. the gale had no more than begun to blow when the _resolute_ was forced to retreat. long before midnight it was lashing the shoal water of the reef into huge breakers which assailed the _kenilworth_ with thundering fury. her keel began to pound as she was lifted and driven a little farther on the reef by one shock after another. the decks sloped more and more until it was not easy to keep a foothold. the noise of the water breaking over her hull, the booming cry of the wind, the groaning and grating and shrieking of her steel plates as the reef strove to pull them asunder, made it seem as if the steamer could not hold together until daylight. the grimy men from the engine-room and stoke-hole had fled to the shelter of the steel deck-houses where they huddled with the seamen, shouting to each other in english, norwegian, and spanish. captain bruce and his officers finally gathered in the chart-room and discussed the chances of launching the boats if matters should grow much worse. dan frazier was doubled up in a corner chair, half-dead for sleep, but fighting hard to keep his wits about him and tell the others what he knew of the reef and the water that stretched to leeward of the ship. in answer to a question from captain bruce he said: "this is the narrowest part of the reef, captain wetherly told me, and if you can get your boats away in the lee of the ship and keep them afloat through the breaking water you will be in the hawk channel, only three miles from a string of keys. the channels between the islands are deep enough for a ship's boat. you don't need any chart to find smooth water in those lagoons, sir." "her bottom plates are opening up," growled the chief engineer who had just come up to report. "the sea is coming in fast. it has begun to flood the fire-room, and i can't make steam to keep the pumps going much longer." "the bulkheads forward are twisting like so much paper," added the first officer. "they can't stand up if she racks herself any worse. then she will be flooded fore and aft." captain bruce jumped to his feet and gruffly broke into this dismal kind of talk: "get all the men you can and come below with me. her after part is still afloat and tight, and if we can brace the midship bulkheads with enough timbers and cargo, they may hold for a while yet." it was a forlorn hope, but even the seamen and stokers were glad to be doing something to save the ship, and most of them rallied to the call of the captain and mate and followed them down into the gloomy hold. dan went along to try to do what he could, and also because he remembered that captain jim had told him to "keep his eyes and ears open." "if we abandon the _kenilworth_," thought dan, "and i see uncle jim again, the first thing he will ask me is what shape we left the steamer in--had she begun to break in two, and how badly was she flooded, and so on. i guess it's part of my job to find out all i can." he picked up a lantern which had been overlooked and crept after the men, down one slippery iron ladder after another. it was a terrifying trip below decks where the angry ocean sounded as if it were about to tear its way through the vessel's side, amid an awful hubbub of shifting cargo, and breaking beams and plates. dan hesitated more than once and tried to choke down his fear. he was in strange quarters and the men ahead of him, used to finding their way all over the vessel, moved much faster than he. they had reached the engine-room and were moving forward while he was still clinging to the last ladder. then a lurch of the ship dashed his lantern against the hand-rail. the glass globe was smashed and the light went out. the electric lighting plant had been disabled and the cavern of an engine-room was in black darkness as dan vainly searched his pockets for matches. he heard faint shouts from somewhere forward and thought he saw the gleam of lanterns. he tried to grope his way toward them, but stumbled and fell against a steel column. with aching head he staggered to his feet just as the whole hull of the ship seemed to be raised bodily and let fall on the reef with a deafening crash. dan was more frightened and confused than ever. a moment later his feet began to splash in water. he thought the sea had broken into the engine-room, and he tried, with frantic haste, to find his way back to the ladder and regain the deck above. by this time he had completely lost his bearings. he did not know whether he was going toward the bow or stern. at length his trembling fingers clutched the rail of a ladder which ran upward from a narrow passageway. it led him to another deck still far down in the vessel's hold, where he could find no more ladders to climb. after what seemed to him hours of feeling his way this way and that, he bumped against a solid steel wall. dan knew it was a bulkhead of some kind, but it must be far from the toiling crew of the ship, for he had long since ceased to hear or see them. he had never been in such utter darkness nor so hopelessly lost and bewildered. the frightened lad shouted for help, but his voice could not have been heard a dozen feet away, so great was the din around him. he tried to think, to get back his sense of direction, to feel his way along the bulkhead in the hope of getting his hands on some object with whose outline he was familiar, which might tell him into what part of the ship he had wandered. he was leaning against the steel wall of the bulkhead when it buckled, sprang back, and then quivered as if it had been a sheet of tin. there was a tremendous noise of crackling, rending timber and steel above dan's head. he whirled about and tried to flee as he heard the collapsing bulkhead give way. the boy could hear the cargo toppling toward him with the roar of a landslide. he threw up his arms to shield his head, then something struck him in the back and hurled him to one side. he fell across a bulky box of some kind while other heavy boxes, a deluge of them, thundered from above and crashed all round him. dan cowered in a frightened heap, expecting every instant to have his life crushed out. but gradually the descent of the cargo ceased, and he was still alive. he tried to move his legs and found they had not been smashed. struggling to turn over on his back he put up his arms and discovered that a huge packing case had so fallen as to make a bridge over him and keep clear the little space in which he crouched. but he was walled in by packing cases on all sides and he struggled in vain to move them. until his fingers were torn and bleeding and his strength worn out, dan tried to make an opening large enough to wriggle through and escape from this appalling prison. when at length he lay still and panted aloud the prayers his mother had taught him, there came the echo of hoarse shouts above the clamor of the ship and the sea. through a crevice between the boxes of freight that penned him fast he glimpsed the gleam of moving lanterns. the captain and crew were deserting the hold of the ship. dan tried to call to them but his cries were unheard. the shouts ceased, the gleams of light vanished one by one, and dan was left alone in the flooded and shattered hold of the _kenilworth_. far above him captain bruce and his crew were making ready their life-boats, preferring to trust themselves to the storm-swept sea than to the steamer which they believed doomed to be torn to fragments within the next few hours. "they must have given up the fight", moaned dan between his sobs. "i guess it means all hands abandon ship at daylight. and they will think i've been washed overboard in the dark." chapter vi dan frazier's predicament imprisoned as he was in the hold of the _kenilworth_, and feeling sure that the steamer was to be abandoned by her crew as a hopeless wreck, dan frazier became almost stupefied with terror and exhaustion. as long as there was any strength in his athletic young body he had pushed and tugged at the mass of freight which penned him in, shouting in his frenzy until his voice failed him and died away in hoarse, broken weeping. at length his benumbed senses lost themselves in heavy slumber. he dreamed of being at home with his mother in the palm-shaded cottage and she was holding him in her lap and stroking his forehead with her cool hands. but nightmares came to drive away this sweet dream, and he awoke with a choking cry for help. dan thought he must have been asleep for hours and hours. more torturing than the realization of his dreadful plight was his burning thirst. but his brain was clearer and he listened to the medley of noises around him with a glimmer of hope. the water had not reached the deck on which he had been trapped, although he could hear it washing to and fro in the bottom of the hold below. the hull of the ship had ceased to pound on the reef. the breakers beat against her steel sides and fell solid on her upper decks with a sound like distant thunder, but dan began to feel confident that the gale was blowing itself out and the steamer was going to live through it. he thanked god that he had not been drowned, at any rate, even though he seemed likely to perish where he was for lack of food and drink. youth grasps at slender hopes and finds strength in dubious consolations. dan had expected to be overwhelmed by the sea without a ghost of a chance to fight for his life. now that this peril seemed to be passing, his wits began to return, and he fished his strong bladed sailor's clasp-knife from his trousers pocket. to hack away at his prison walls was better than doing nothing. he twisted painfully about until he had located the widest crevices between the sides of the packing-cases and began to chip away at the stout planking. it was a task tedious and wearisome beyond words. there was no light, his nerves were unstrung, and he worked with unsteady, groping hand. rats scampered over him, or squealed in the darkness close by, and he slashed at them savagely. they startled him so that more than once he gave up the task and wept like a little child. at length dan cut through the planking of a box which was wedged fast between two larger ones and his knife clinked against tin. he managed to break off a splintered end of board and pulled out a round can of some kind of provisions. this was unexpected good fortune, and he carefully cut into the lid with a muttered prayer of thanksgiving, hoping to find enough liquid to wet his parched tongue. the can proved to be full of french peas, packed in enough water to supply a long drink of cool, refreshing soup. dan scooped up the tiny peas with his fingers, emptied the tin, and eagerly drove his knife into another of them. the nourishment made him feel like a giant. he returned to his task with genuine hope of being able to whittle a way out of his trap. but as the weary hours dragged by, and the strokes of the knife became more and more feeble, the prisoner gave himself up to despair. his strength had ebbed so fast that he slumped down and slept with his face in his arms. a great noise awoke him. the cargo was shifting and tumbling with fearful uproar. from below came the rumble of coal sliding across the bunkers. the deck rolled violently and pitched dan to the other end of his pen. he expected to be crushed by the cargo, and thought the ship must be turning over. but the commotion gradually ceased and, to his great astonishment, he was alive and unhurt. the deck seemed to have much less slant than before. he raised his arms and they touched nothing over his head. unable to realize the truth, he scrambled to his feet and stood upright. the great package of freight which had roofed him over had slid clear, carrying along the boxes piled above it. frantic with new hope of release, dan clambered upward, tearing his clothes to tatters, plunging headlong from one obstacle to another, bruising his face, hands, and knees against sharp edges and corners. scrambling over the disordered cargo until he had to halt to get his breath, dan gasped to himself: "i can't get on deck through a freight compartment. the hatches will be fastened down above. i must find out how i blundered in here as far as the broken bulkhead." a moment later he fetched up against solid tiers of cargo which had not been dislodged and knew he must be headed wrong. this gave him a clue, however, and with fast-failing strength he stumbled back over the way he had come. at last he saw a streak of daylight filter down from a skylight far above. yes, there was a road to the upper deck. dan glimpsed the shadowy outline of a ladder. it was all he could do to muster courage to attempt the long and dizzy climb. but he set his teeth and clung like a barnacle to one round after another until he fell against the iron door of a deck-house, fumbled with the fastening, and tottered out into daylight. half-blinded and blinking like an owl, dan frazier covered his face with his hands until his eyes could bear the dazzling reflection of sea and sky which were flooded with glorious sunshine. the wind sang through the shrouds and funnel-stays and the blue ocean upheaved in swollen billows, but the gale had passed. dan's bewildered gaze fell upon the empty chocks, the dangling falls and the davits swung outboard, where the steamer's life-boats had been. these signs were enough to tell him that the ship had been abandoned. he was left alone in her, and he went forward with a feeling of uncanny isolation. water to drink was what he wanted more than anything else, and before making a survey of the ship he sought the tank in the chart-room and fairly guzzled his fill. then he made a ferocious onslaught on the cabin pantry and carried on deck a kettle full of cold boiled potatoes, beef and hard bread, and climbed to the battered bridge. looking down at the steamer from this lofty perch, dan understood what had caused the violent roll and lunge that set him free from his prison below decks. the storm had driven her, head-on, far up the outer slope of the reef, where she had lain as if about to break in pieces, with the seas washing clean over her. but while her forward compartments had filled with water, her stern was still buoyant. when the gale had subsided the ship was hanging over the deep water on the inner side of the reef, and the next high tide had lifted her stern so that she slid bow-first, for half her length, down the opposite side of the shelf which had held her keel fast. it looked like a miracle to dan, but here was the ship still solid under his feet. gazing down from one end of the bridge, he could see the inner edge of the reef shimmering far down through the clear water and the hull of the _kenilworth_, hanging only by the after part. "where, oh where, is uncle jim?" he thought. "he might patch up her bulkheads, lift the water out with his wrecking pumps, and pull her off yet. and i'll bet he'd keep her afloat somehow." then a stupendous thought flashed into dan's mind. it was such a dazzling, gorgeous idea that it made him dizzy with delight. yes, it was all true. the _kenilworth_ had been abandoned by her captain and crew as a wreck. she was like a derelict at sea. whoever should find and board her would have the right to claim heavy salvage on the vessel and her cargo if they were saved and brought into port. it was the unwritten law of the reef that the first man to set foot on an abandoned wreck was the wrecking master, to be obeyed as such, with first claim on salvage. dan tried to arrange his thoughts in some kind of order, and at length he said to himself with an air of decision: "the wrecking master on this job is daniel p. frazier. i earned it all right, and key west will back me up whether jerry pringle likes it or not. and i'm going to hold her down till uncle jim comes back. there can't be any more question about who has the wrecking of her. general cargo, too!--i'll bet it's worth several hundred thousand dollars!--and a four thousand ton steel steamer. if we can save her, the owners will have to give up fifty or a hundred thousand dollars in clean salvage money." the weight of his responsibility soon tamed dan's high spirits. he could make no resistance if a crew of hostile wreckers should happen along to dispute his title in the absence of captain jim wetherly. the morning sun was no more than three hours high. he must watch and wait through a long, long day, any hour of which might bring in sight the sails of a fleet of wrecking schooners. dan reckoned that he had been penned below for about thirty hours and that this was the morning of the second day after the wreck. captain jim must have a tug on the way by this time. but, on the other hand, if captain bruce and his men had been picked up and carried to key west, their tidings would send jerry pringle and his horde of wreckers flying seaward by steam and sail. every boy who plays foot-ball has dreamed of breaking through the line, blocking a kick, scooping up the ball, and running down the field like a whirlwind to score the winning touchdown with the other eleven vainly pounding along in his wake. so most of us have dreamed of playing the hero by stopping a runaway horse, saving the life of the prettiest girl that ever was, and being splendidly rewarded by her millionaire father. dan frazier's pet dream had a salt-water background. it was of being the first to find an abandoned ship with a rich cargo, triumphantly bringing her into port, and winning a fortune in salvage. at last he had found his ship, but the lone hero had an elephant on his hands. dan was too weary in body and mind to roam about the steamer. he rigged a bit of awning on the bridge, dragged a mattress up from below, and lay gazing through the rents in the canvas weather screen until noon. a mail steamer northward-bound passed close to the reef, slowed down to make sure the crew had left the wreck, and ploughed on her way. dan grew tired of looking to the southward for schooners beating up from key west and concluded that the head wind and heavy sea were holding them in harbor. there was no black smudge of smoke to the northward to show that captain jim was coming out from miami in a tow-boat. over to seaward, however, in the east-north-east, three sails glinted like flecks of cloud. they were close together, and dan gazed at them idly, thinking they might be coastwise merchant vessels hauling southward before the piping wind. but as they lifted higher, he noticed that they were shaping a straight course for the reef instead of swinging off to follow the track through the florida straits. they were schooners coming with great speed and showing a reckless spread of canvas. soon the low hulls gleamed beneath the towering piles of sail and dan jumped to his feet as he scanned the beautiful sea picture they made. "bahama schooners; i know their cut!" he exclaimed. "they've smelled a wreck on the reef as sure as guns. the news must have reached nassau by cable yesterday. and those pirates have got a clear field for once. what _can_ i do? they won't listen to my story, not for a minute. they'll swarm aboard like rats and be ripping the cargo out of this vessel in a jiffy." the youthful wrecking master was at his wits' end and his head began to throb as if it would split, for he had little endurance left. he remained in hiding on the bridge and tried to think out a plan of action as the bahama schooners swooped across the frothing sea, laying their courses in a bee line for the _kenilworth_. dan's only hope was that he might be able to stay aboard until captain jim should return to enforce the law of the reef with his crew of hard-fisted tow-boat men to back him up. he thought of telling the wreckers that he was a stowaway, left behind when the steamer's men deserted her, but, although dan frazier was far from perfect, he hated the notion of lying his way out of this tight corner. he was truthful by habit, for one thing, and there was another reason which he muttered to himself: "there's been lying enough on this job. the poor old ship has been rotten with lies ever since her skipper first ran afoul of jerry pringle. even her grounding on the reef was a lie. and i don't believe uncle jim would lie to save the ship, or his own skin either. no, this poor old vessel has been good to me so far. i got out of her hold by good luck and i'll trust to luck to pull me out of this scrape." dan picked up a pair of glasses and looked at the nearest schooner which had boldly crossed the reef and was rounding to in the smoother water of the hawk channel while a group of black-skinned, ragged wreckers were shoving a boat over the side. dan felt a new thrill of surprise and alarm as he scrutinized a burly figure poised at the schooner's rail. it was "black sam" hurley, a bahama wrecker of such evil repute that he had been pointed out to dan in nassau harbor as one of the notorious characters of the islands. [illustration: dan felt a new thrill of surprise and alarm] "there are plenty of honest wreckers in the bahamas," said the lad to himself, while his teeth chattered. "but they don't sail with 'black sam.' and he was alongside the _resolute_ at nassau, talking to the cook. he'd know me again. it's a good thing i chucked up that idea of lying out of this. it's time for me to get under cover, all right." dan crept off the bridge along the windward side of the deck-house and kept well out of sight of the schooners until he reached the shelter of the funnel and the engine-room skylights. then he slipped into the nearest door and made his way to the flight of ladders up which he had climbed in the morning. he had fled in a state of panic, but one glance down into the black hold made him draw back and take measures to provision himself against a long siege below. there was no need for great haste, and dan delayed to equip himself with a lantern, matches, a jug of water, and a canvas bag, crammed with food, which he slung about his neck. then he made his way below with lighted lantern, seeking to find as secure and comfortable a refuge as possible. the bahama wreckers would begin to loot the part of the cargo easiest to get at and handle, he reasoned, and therefore he passed by the uppermost cargo deck and explored the region below, slowly making his way aft. it was a dangerous and desperate journey, but dan was thinking only of keeping out of the way of "black sam" until captain jim should come back and retake the ship which belonged to him. "i'm what the lawyers call a vital document when they're arguing a salvage case in the key west court," thought dan with a half-hearted grin. "and from all i've heard of 'black sam' hurley, he'd chuck this vital document overboard if he thought it might interfere with his possession of the wreck." in this game of hide-and-seek the advantage was with the lad in the hold, and fear of discovery by the wreckers did not greatly trouble him. after a long time he heard clamorous voices somewhere above and he doused his lantern. the wreckers seemed to be exploring the upper cargo decks. some kind of a dispute arose and the sides of the ship flung back the echoes of it as from a great sounding board. dan could not make out what the quarrel was about, but at length the sounds grew fainter as if the wreckers had returned to the outside world above. dan had felt a gush of cool wind from somewhere over his head and shifted his quarters to get beneath it and out of the reeking, stifling atmosphere of the hold. he knew it must come from a pipe running to one of the great bell-mouthed ventilators on deck and was glad that it had been turned so as to face and catch the invigorating breeze. he had not dreamed that the ventilator might serve as a speaking-tube. while he waited, however, to learn what the wreckers intended to do next, some one began to talk, and he heard every word distinctly. the voice sounded so near his ears that he was as startled as if a ghost had stepped out of the darkness. dan jumped to his feet, his nerves all of a quiver. he would have fled anywhere to get away from this uncanny voice, but a stronger gust of wind struck his upturned face and the mysterious voice sounded even louder. he thought of the ventilator pipe, got a grip on himself, and scarcely breathed as he listened to the odd intonations of the bahama negro speech. "black sam" was talking. dan remembered the peculiar guttural cadence of his voice as he had heard it in nassau harbor. he must have been standing directly in front of the ventilator on deck, for every word carried down the pipe to dan: "ah don't care nuffin' 'bout de ship. we ain't got no tow-boats to pull her off. an' if we don't work quick an' soon them key westers'll be a-scatterin' down an' run us back home--you heah me? take a big bag o' powdah an' blow de side outen her. dat's what i say do. de cargo ports is all jammed fas'. we can't open 'em nohow. an' we ain't got no steam to hoist wid a donkey-engine. blow de side outen her. she's hung fas' on de reef. she ain't gwine sink. when we'se done loaded our schooners wid cargo we can strip the brasses in de engine-room. blow her up. ain't i wrecked plenty vessels? don't i know?" dan heard one of the other wreckers rumble: "sam knows bes'. cut de fuse to burn ten minutes an' let us get back aboard our schooners. hang de sack o' powder 'g'inst the ship's plates inside an' let her go. reckon we'll blow a hole in her fit to run a tow-boat froo, sam." to dan frazier these last words sounded faint and confused, as if something was the matter with his hearing. he had only time to mutter "they are going to blow her up and me with her." then he felt so giddy that he put out his arms to steady himself. his knees gave way and he sank down in a heap. chapter vii a fat engineer to the rescue dan frazier came to himself with the message from the ventilator pipe surging in his confused brain. the bahama wreckers were going to blow up the ship. "a ten-minute fuse," he whispered as he began to crawl forward to escape from the hold. how long had he been unconscious? the explosion might come on the next instant. dan was afraid to face "black sam" hurley and his lawless crew, but he was far more afraid to stay below. his only thought was to gain the upper deck and jump overboard in the hope that the wreckers might pick him up. fear gave him strength for the journey, fear such as he had never known before. losing his bearings in his headlong panic, dan turned toward the side of the ship, for he had not delayed to relight his lantern. a little way in front of him a red spark glowed and sputtered. it burned a hole in the gloom, and dan stood stock-still and stared as if fascinated. it was the fuse of the charge of powder. he wanted to run away from it but his legs refused to carry him. when he moved, it was not in flight but straight toward the sputtering slow-match. it was not in the least a conscious act of bravery. dan felt sure that he could not regain the upper deck before the explosion tore him to pieces. he turned at bay to fight for his life with the instinct of a hunted animal. springing toward the terrible, winking spark with his fists doubled as if to ward off an attack, dan struck at it, tore the trailing fuse free from its fastening, trampled it under his feet, and pulled it to bits after the fire was dead. the explosive itself was also an enemy which he must destroy. as if he were in a delirium, dan whipped out his knife, cut the lashing of the sack of powder, and dragged it after him in his retreat. he came to a hatchway, let the sack drop, and heard it splash in the water which flooded the lower hold. then he clawed his way toward daylight. dan no longer cared whether the wreckers saw him or not. no danger could have forced him down into the hold of the ship again. it was a place filled with horrors. when he came out into the sunshine and wind it was a kindly chance which made him lie down in a corner of the deck that was screened from sight of the wreckers' schooners. dan had forgotten all about them. he had come to the end of his rope, and all he could think of was, "i want to go home. i want to go home." "black sam" hurley was impatiently awaiting the explosion which should tear a gap in the _kenilworth's_ side and allow his greedy wreckers to begin operations. ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed, and there was a great hubbub on board the bahama schooners tossing at a safe distance from the steamer. at the end of half an hour "black sam" ordered a boat away and the crew crowded in pell-mell. they boarded the lee side of the _kenilworth_ with the agility of monkeys and their bare feet slapped the deck as they ran to the hatch. dan heard them and realized that he must try to find a resting-place where they would not discover him upon their return from below. he might perhaps be unseen if he took refuge on the bridge which the wreckers were not likely to ransack until later. he managed to drag his aching, weary body forward and laid down on the mattress behind the canvas weather screen. after a few minutes he heard the wreckers come boiling out of the hold with cries of amazement, anger, and fear. they had expected to find a faulty fuse, but fuse, powder, and all had vanished. some of them swore the ship was haunted and refused to have anything to do with fetching another sack of powder. their leader bellowed and threatened, but he could not quell the riot. at last he yelled that he would lay the second charge himself and stay aboard if he blew up with it. scoffing at the idea of ghostly interference, he ordered his men to search the ship. these plans were suddenly knocked all askew. shouting arose on board the schooners whose crews were waving their arms toward the north. the wreckers on the steamer rushed to the side and discovered the cause of alarm. the funnel and upper works of a tug were lifting from the sea, beneath a trailing banner of smoke. dan had been watching the scene on deck with absorbed attention, and as he looked seaward and caught sight of the tug his heart stood still. he squinted through the glasses. there were two white bands around the funnel. could it be the _three sisters_ of jacksonville, the big wrecking tug of which captain jim's cousin was master? the streaked smoke-stack and the stubby derrick-masts--the drab wheel-house--yes, these were things which dan remembered noticing when the tug was in key west. and captain jim must be in her. she was hurrying to find out what had become of the _kenilworth_. "perhaps they are looking for me," thought dan. "and i'm still wrecking master if 'black sam' doesn't see me first." the bahama wreckers were very busy with their own affairs. the sight of the on-coming tug had altered their campaign in a twinkling. "black sam" was now determined to keep possession of the wreck at all hazards, acting on the theory that he was the wrecking master by the law of the reef. he told his men to stay where they were and slid down the side of the steamer to pull off to the schooners and muster reinforcements. a score of stalwart negroes rallied to his summons and tumbled into their boats. a picturesque and piratical looking force they were as they scrambled over the _kenilworth's_ bulwarks and scattered along her sea-scarred decks. "black sam" showed his teeth in a snarl as he yelled to them: "dey ain't gwine be no argifying 'bout dis yere wreck. we'se heah an' we stay heah. if dem tow-boat folks tries to come aboard, keep 'em busy wid dem belaying-pins yondah an' yo' knives--yo' heah me?" the _three sisters_ was rapidly nearing the scene. from his ambush dan watched her with yearning, happy eyes. he was not yet out of trouble, but captain jim would somehow rescue him in the nick of time. he saw the powerful tug sweep around to leeward of the bahama schooners and slow down as if her people were trying to fathom the situation. captain jim wetherly was standing by the wheel-house door, shading his eyes with his hand. dan wanted to call to him, but he dared not show himself. the tug crept nearer, and dan rejoiced to discover that most of the _resolute's_ crew were clustered along the lower deck, including the portly chief engineer, bill mcknight, who loomed like a whale among minnows. presently captain jim sung out: "what are you bahama niggers doing aboard that steamer? she belongs to me. i had hold of her once and am in charge of wrecking her. clear out before i put my men aboard." a row of black heads bobbed in violent agitation along the _kenilworth's_ bulwarks, and "black sam" hurley shouted back with a loud laugh: "go back home, white man. we foun' dis yere wreck 'bandoned. i'se wreckin' marster--yo' heah me? if you all wants her, come aboard an' take her." dan saw bill mcknight waddle aft in great haste, dive into his room, and beckon to a _resolute_ deck-hand. presently the two reappeared dragging a long, heavy box which the engineer began to break open with furious blows of a hatchet. "it's the case of mauser rifles bill stowed away from the last filibustering cargo he ran over to cuba," murmured dan. "he said he was saving 'em to start another revolution with. hooray! hooray! there'll be something doing." bill mcknight was passing the rifles out to the eager crew of the _resolute_ who looked as if they were about to earn their passage aboard the _three sisters_. captain jim made one jump from the upper deck, without delaying to find the stairway, and caught up a rifle and a handful of cartridges. once more he shouted to the wreckers on the _kenilworth_: "if you want trouble we'll give you plenty. are you coming off?" "we ain't scared by dem guns," yelled "black sam." "you ain't got no rights in dis vessel. you all don't dare to do no shootin'." "i've got the underwriter's agent aboard this tug, and he knows the facts," returned captain jim. "you are pirates and i intend to have no monkey-business. i know all about you, sam hurley." "show yo' claim on dis wreck. we'se heah. you ain't," replied the negro. dan could hold in no longer. he poked his head above the canvas screen of the bridge, waved both arms over his head, and yelled at the top of his voice: "you bet we're here, uncle jim. and i'm wrecking master and it is your job." the men on the _three sisters_ dropped their rifles and stared in silence, with mouths agape. it was a voice and a vision from the dead. "black sam" and his wreckers stood poised in their various threatening attitudes as if petrified. it was a strange tableau. if dan had hopped off a passing cloud he could not have caused a more breathless sensation. the spell which his appearance cast on all who beheld him was broken by the jubilant voice of captain jim: "it's dan frazier sure enough. thank god you're alive and kicking, boy. captain bruce reported you drowned, and nobody's dared to tell your mother till i could get out to the wreck. hold your nerve. we're coming after you." the words awoke "black sam" hurley to swift action. he was beside himself with rage at the boy on the steamer's bridge who had spoiled the explosion and then made a jest of his claims as wrecking-master. the desperate negro had only one idea in his head--to square matters by getting his hands on dan. he ran toward the bridge with several of his men at his heels, and dan hastily climbed on the rail ready to jump overboard as the only way of escape. but before the wreckers had gained his refuge, he heard captain jim cry: "hold on, dan. don't jump. duck and lie flat where you are." the boy flopped full length on the bridge an instant before several rifles barked on the _three sisters_ and bullets came singing over the _kenilworth_. the wreckers halted, huddled in confusion, and ran for the shelter of the nearest deck-house. "black sam" delayed to hurl an iron belaying-pin at dan's head and paid dearly for the act. it was bill mcknight who drove a bullet through his arm and made him fly for cover with blood trickling from his fingers. then the clarion tones of the fat chief engineer sounded across the water as if he had taken full command of the expedition: "half a dozen of you men stay here to sweep the _kenilworth's_ bulwarks with your guns and give us a chance to climb over. the rest follow me to board her. _a la machete!_ out cutlasses. _viva cuba!_ hip, hip, hooroo!" two boats were fairly thrown into the water from the _three sisters_ and the cheering _resolutes_ fell into them, grabbing capstan bars and coal shovels, or clubbing their rifles. the bahama wreckers had no intention of being driven from their prize without making a fight for it. several of them pulled revolvers from inside their shirts and popped wildly away at the approaching boats while "black sam" led a crowd of his followers behind the tall bulwark where they crouched, sheltered from rifle fire, and ready to receive the boarders as they came over the side. captain jim was in the bow of one boat, the chief engineer in the other. the wreckers had been unable to cut away the dangling boat ropes and bowlines by which they had climbed on board, and the attacking party ascended like so many acrobats. bill mcknight was boosted and hauled part way, but as soon as he found a secure purchase for his fingers and toes, he dove over the bulwark like a landslide and pranced into action like a cyclone. it was a pretty bit of old-fashioned boarding for the prosaic twentieth century. the _resolutes_ suffered some cracked heads and bloody faces before they gained foothold and swept forward. try as he would, captain jim could not keep the terrific pace set by bill mcknight who was swinging his rifle like a flail and clearing a wide path while he grunted maledictions at the foe. [illustration: it was a pretty bit of old-fashioned boarding for the prosaic twentieth century] "you're blockin' my way, you google-eyed thief. _bing!_ there's one on the cocoanut," he panted with a cheerful grin as he smote a stalwart wrecker and sent him spinning. "we're a-coming, dan. keep your reserved seat," he bellowed to the bridge as he wiped the sweat from his eyes. "black sam's" men could not withstand the determined and disciplined onslaught and began to leap overboard, _plop! plop!_ into the green sea over which the boats from their schooners were racing to pick them up. only their leader stayed behind, sullenly nursing his wounded arm. captain jim halted long enough to tell him: "my men will take you aboard the tug and patch you up from my medicine chest. then you'd better make sail for home. the reef isn't healthy for your breed of nassau wreckers. better pass the word among your friends." then captain jim ran to the bridge, but bill mcknight was already hugging dan and fairly blubbering over him. the boy was too weak to struggle out of this crushing embrace, but he waggled a free hand to captain jim and stammered: "w-wow, ouch. glad to see you aboard." "glad to see us aboard, you rascal," laughed his uncle as he yanked the engineer away and thumped dan on the back. "_well_, we're tickled to death to see _you_ aboard. how in the--, of all the-- whew, what are you doing here anyhow, dan?" his nephew made a brave attempt to answer him. now was the time to play the hero, to tell how he had stuck to the ship and saved her. but dan frazier was no hero. he was just a stout-hearted lad who had weathered one cruel ordeal after another with the almighty's aid, and he had hung on to himself as long as he could. now there was no more call for courage. he was safe and the ship had been restored to uncle jim. tears streamed down dan's face and he swayed against bill mcknight who put a steadying arm around him. "i--i'm just tired out, i--i guess," he sobbed. "please take me home, uncle jim. i--i want my mother." bill mcknight coughed and wiped his eyes as he lifted dan's feet clear of the deck, while captain jim lent his sturdy arms to the task of carrying the boy to the ship's side and lowering him into a boat. they got him aboard the _three sisters_ without mishap, took off his tattered, grimy clothing, and tucked him in the captain's bunk. "the boy is bruised and scratched from head to foot," said the master of the tug, captain jim's cousin. "we'd better sponge him down with hot water and arnica. he must have had a tougher time of it than most grown men could live through, jim. see here, these are fresh burns on his hands. now, where did he get those?" "the lord only knows," said captain jim as he patted dan's flushed cheek. "don't pester him with questions now. he's got some fever and his eyes look bad to me. i'm going to leave mcknight on the wreck with some of my men to stand off any other kinky-headed pirates that may light on the reef. and we're going to take this boy home to his mother as fast as you can poke this old hooker of yours into key west." dan opened his eyes and smiled at captain jim who motioned him to be quiet. but dan was already restless with fever and he had a hundred things to talk about if they would only stop whirling around in his head long enough to be laid hold of. he looked at his scorched fingers which were pecking at a corner of the blanket and said in a voice so weak that it sounded foolish to him: "they tried to blow her up--to blow jerry pringle up--no, i don't mean that. it was 'black sam' hurley--he lit the fuse, uncle jim--and i put it out--all alone down in the hold. you never saw such big rats--with sacks of powder tied to their tails--and eyes like sparks." captain jim soothed dan as best he could and whispered to his cousin: "did you get that? it's all true, i reckon. that's an old trick of the bahama wrecking gangs. ask mr. prentice to come in. the underwriters ought to be interested in the boy." mr. prentice, the florida agent of the english marine insurance companies, was a sharp-featured, elderly gentleman of few words. he had a great deal of confidence in captain wetherly's ability to handle such a bad business as a costly steamer high and dry on the reef, but he was not prepared to hear such an astonishing tale as was whispered to him in the doorway of the captain's state-room. "mind you, we don't know a quarter of it yet," added captain jim. "but it looks as if you'll have to thank dan frazier, not me, for saving the steamer out yonder." "u-m-m. bless me, but it's most extraordinary," murmured mr. prentice. "i must go aboard at once and look for confirmation. it's a very unusual wreck, captain wetherly," and the underwriter's agent shot a keen glance from under his gray brows. "i shall be much interested in getting captain bruce's version. jeremiah pringle was off here, also, the night the _kenilworth_ went ashore, was he not? i understand you were in collision with him next day." mr. prentice had slightly raised his voice. it carried to dan's ears and he raised himself on his elbow and cried out in excitement: "we'll pull her off, uncle jim, and barton won't know. and his mother won't know. don't let them know. the captain is sorry. we can handle it all by ourselves." "the lad is off his head, and no wonder," said captain jim, addressing the keen-eyed underwriter's agent. "come outside, if you please." "what are you holding back?" asked mr. prentice severely as they moved away from the door. "i intend to get to the bottom of this, you know. there is some mystery about it that is eating that lad's heart out." "i haven't time to talk," was the reply. "but i'm going to get that ship off for you, thanks to the boy in there. and if we _are_ holding anything back, it will have to stay hid and hawsers couldn't pull it out of me." he went aft to meet bill mcknight who had come over from the _kenilworth_ to get his orders. "how's the boy?" anxiously asked the engineer. "pretty sick, i'm afraid, bill. but home will cure him if anything will. he's talking wild and saying too much." captain jim jerked his thumb over his shoulder at mr. prentice and went on, "it's the mysterious ways of providence, bill. captain bruce gave the dirty business away when he was queer in his head aboard the _resolute_ at pensacola, and dan has put that gimlet-eyed agent on the track by going daffy here. you can peek in at the boy, and then you hustle your dunnage and pick your men and go to the _kenilworth_. i'll be back to-morrow, and more tugs and lighters will be on the way. take mr. prentice along with you. good luck." the engineer tiptoed into dan's room and laid his rough hand on the pillow. he looked down in silence while his gray moustache quivered as if strong emotion was held in check. then he lumbered on deck and prepared to quit the tug. a few minutes later the "jingle bell" rang boisterously and its clamor was borne to dan. he smiled at captain jim and murmured: "full speed ahead! and mother will come down to the wharf when she hears our whistle off the red buoy." chapter viii a fog of suspicions it was not until a fortnight after dan frazier had been taken home to key west that he was allowed to leave his room and lounge in a wicker chair on the cottage porch. his face and hands were thinner and the sea tan could not hide the pallor caused by fever, but he looked at the glad, green world with bright eyes and clamored for food like a young cormorant. his mother, who fluttered about him with fond anxiety, had tried to banish all mention of the _kenilworth_, but now that he was able to be outdoors he fairly bullied her with questions which had been disturbing his days and nights of illness. "i am sure barton is as fond of you as ever," said she. "he may have been angry at first, but he has been here to ask about you almost every day. he told me you had nothing to do with his father's tug being cut in two by brother jim, but he said you hooted at him when it happened. that wasn't like my dan." her son tried to look repentant, but his eyes twinkled and he grinned as he replied: "it wasn't nice of bart to laugh at me while his cantankerous old daddy's tug was keeping the _resolute_ away from the wreck. how did bart explain the smash-up?" "he as much as said that jim wetherly behaved like a pirate and a lunatic, though of course barton is too polite to put it in so many words," confessed mrs. frazier with a sigh. "it has made a lot of talk in key west. mr. pringle swears he is going to take it into court. he declares he had made a contract with the captain of the _kenilworth_ when along came jim and rammed him to get the job away from him." "made a contract with the _kenilworth_! i should say jerry pringle did," snorted dan with rising color. "he made his rotten contract in pensacola, months before the ship was wrecked. he didn't get half what's coming to him. i wish uncle jim had sunk the _henry foster_. what else has happened?" "captain bruce has called twice to see you. and since meeting him i am more skeptical than ever about your conspiracy story, dan." "captain bruce been here? so you like him, too, do you?" exclaimed dan. "were all hands saved from the wreck?" "they got away from the ship in their boats at daylight," answered mrs. frazier. "captain bruce had some ribs broken by being dashed against the side, and two boats were swamped. but they reached the keys with all hands and were picked up a day later by a sponger and brought down the hawk channel to key west. captain bruce was broken-hearted over losing you, and when he heard you were still alive he insisted on leaving the hospital and coming up here, broken ribs and all. he seems very moody and depressed. i suppose he is unhappy about losing his ship." "he is thinking about several things, i reckon," said dan. "that ship has made everybody unhappy. she is loaded with trouble. captain bruce is sorry he ever clapped eyes on jerry pringle for one thing. and he hates himself even worse for not sticking to his vessel. and he quit her and left me on board to come through the gale all right with the ship still under me. what is he planning to do now?" "wait, and take the _kenilworth_ again if she is floated," replied mrs. frazier. "he is going up to the reef as soon as the doctor will let him." she walked to the end of the porch and brushed aside the tangle of vines which partly screened her view of the street. then she turned and said to dan: "here comes mr. prentice and i think he intends to call here. what a very stiff and formal looking person he is!" the underwriters' agent opened the gate with a courtly bow to mrs. frazier. his greetings were most polite, but he lost no time in coming to the point. mrs. frazier was about to withdraw, but dan spoke up sharply: "if it's about the _kenilworth_, mr. prentice, i want my mother to stay. i keep no secrets from her." mr. prentice bowed gravely and seated himself facing dan, who could not help feeling that this elderly gentleman was unfriendly to him. the underwriters' agent opened fire without further warning: "i am pleased to note your rapid recovery from a very trying experience, mr. frazier. as you may know, i represent english insurance interests which wrote a total of a hundred thousand pounds sterling on the _kenilworth_ and her cargo. if the efforts to float the vessel prove successful, the loss may be comparatively small." mr. prentice adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat, and resumed with emphatic earnestness: "you hinted at having prevented a disastrous explosion in the steamer's hold, mr. frazier. you may not recall the words you used. it was after you were taken on board the tug _three sisters_. i have made the most thorough examination of the _kenilworth_ and failed to find any traces of explosives." "if you are going to call me a liar at the start, you won't get very far," hotly cried dan. "do you think i cooked up that yarn to get a reward out of the insurance companies? did you fish in the water amidships for a sack of powder? wait till the ship is pumped out and i'll find it for you fast enough." [illustration: "if you are going to call me a liar at the start, you won't get very far!"] mrs. frazier laid her hand on the lad's shoulder, whispered in his ear, and he sank sulkily back in his chair while the unruffled mr. prentice asked: "why did you dump the powder down the hatch instead of letting it stay where it was as evidence of the dastardly attempt of the wreckers?" "i didn't know what i was doing," exclaimed dan in a flare of impatience. "i was scared clean out of my wits. i was afraid to turn my back on that bag of powder. maybe you wouldn't have been as cool as an ice-chest, either, and thinking about _evidence_. what the dickens are you driving at anyhow?" "i will drop this matter for the present," said mr. prentice, fishing out a small note-book as if to confirm his recollection before he declared: "i heard you say on board the _three sisters_, '_don't let them know. keep it dark. we can handle it all by ourselves. the captain is sorry he did it._' what did you mean, mr. frazier? this wreck is to be investigated. i am already convinced that certain persons on board the tug _resolute_ had advance information of the intended loss of the _kenilworth_. your tug had steam up and her crew on board for several days before the disaster. captain wetherly started for sea in a tremendous hurry after getting a cable message that the _kenilworth_ had passed jupiter light. i have copies of the message he sent asking for this information and the reply from the government signal station. then, as if to prevent interference with a bargain made in advance, captain wetherly deliberately cut down and disabled the tug _henry foster_. i believe you know the truth. what did you mean by '_don't let them know? keep it dark?_'" dan looked bewildered for a moment and stared at mr. prentice who seemed to be talking the sheerest nonsense. then, as the meaning of these suspicions filtered into the boy's mind, his face became red with wrath and astonishment. his world was turning topsy-turvy. the underwriters' agent was actually accusing captain jim wetherly and the _resolute_ of the wicked deed which they had been trying to mend--of plotting to put the _kenilworth_ on the reef! why, this was like one of the dreams of dan's weeks of fever. at length he pulled himself to his feet and fairly shouted: "i know who started this crazy story of yours, mr. prentice. jerry pringle mu st be at the bottom of it. do you mean to say you have listened to such infernal lies about a man like captain jim wetherly? you didn't understand what i was talking about on board the _three sisters_. and do you think _we_ had anything to do with the stranding of captain bruce's steamer? do you want to know the truth? i'll tell you the truth--no, i won't. captain jim is my skipper and i must take my orders from him. he told me to keep my mouth shut, and i can't say anything until he gives me the word." mrs. frazier was wringing her hands as she stood between mr. prentice and dan, as if trying to shield her boy from harm. "dan must not talk to you another minute," she exclaimed indignantly. "he is all of a tremble now. it is cruel of you to torment and bully him, mr. prentice." the underwriters' agent apologized and tried to explain his errand in more detail. "i like your boy, mrs. frazier. he is a manly fellow. i am inclined to believe that he is prompted by good motives. he is loyal to captain wetherly and the _resolute_, which is quite natural. but this _kenilworth_ affair looks like a bad business from start to finish. something was in the wind before the steamer went ashore, and it is my duty to get at the facts without sparing any one's feelings. i want dan to think it over and i shall have another talk with him when he feels a bit stronger." "why don't you tackle captain bruce and make him tell what he knows?" burst out dan. "what does he say about it?" "the case of captain bruce will be disposed of in london," answered mr. prentice; "but the evidence must be gathered in key west." he reluctantly took his departure and, as his tall, spare figure moved down the street, dan followed mrs. frazier into the cottage and declared: "this notion of fighting to keep disgrace and exposure away from bart pringle and his mother has gone about far enough. do you suppose i am going to have you dragged into it, all because jerry pringle is smart enough to cover up his tracks and shift the suspicion to uncle jim? not in a thousand years. uncle jim will have to come to key west and clear himself somehow." a heavy footfall sounded on the porch and the spoon on dan's medicine glass jingled as the ponderous presence of bill mcknight filled the outside doorway while he raised his big voice in "ship, ahoy? is dan aboard?" "the very man i want to see. come in," called dan. "he won't excite me, mother, he'll be just like a hogshead of soothing syrup." the chief engineer advanced cautiously, as if not quite certain how to handle himself in a sickroom, and whispered hoarsely: "keep perfectly cool and calm, my boy. we'll say nothing at all about wrecks, riots, and revolutions, will we, mrs. frazier? birds and flowers and how's the weather, eh? they're the topics." "oh, shucks," was dan's rude comment. "i want to know all about everything, don't i, mother? where is the _resolute_? what's the news from captain jim?" mr. mcknight turned to dan's mother and waited for orders. she nodded her assent, and the visitor set himself down in a chair which creaked and groaned. then he extracted a package from his white duck coat and removed the paper wrapping. a glass jar was revealed which mr. mcknight placed on the table with the explanation: "calf's-foot jelly, ma'am. i had to cable for it. there's a poor crop of calves in key west. i've never been sick myself, except when i got my head busted, or broke an arm or leg, or got shot up. but we fished a box of books out of an english wreck one time, and they were mostly novels. we dried 'em out in the engine-room and all hands read 'em. and whenever anybody in them yarns took sick, i'm blessed if the vicar's wife, or the squire's daughter, or the young ladies next door, didn't trot in with this here calf's-foot jelly. they used tons of it in every novel, ma'am. i reckon it'll put dan on his pins." the chief engineer wiped his face and fixed a pair of spectacles on his ruddy nose, after which he gazed searchingly at dan as if to satisfy himself that the boy was all there. bashfully waving his paw as if to ward off mrs. frazier's laughing thanks, he went on to say: "the _resolute_ is almost ready for sea and your berth is waiting for you, dan. captain jim jerked the life out of her when he fetched away the towing-bitts. she was most as sad a sight as the _henry foster_. i've just come down from the reef to see that the repairs are all ship-shape and run her to sea in three or four days." "can't i go in her, mother?" begged dan. "i won't do any work. tell the doctor the air will do me good. i've simply got to see the wreck. how about it, mr. mcknight? is she really going to come off?" "you'd think so, if she brings a chunk of the reef along with her," chuckled the engineer. "captain jim has built two coffer-dams in her, where her bottom was ripped out. he'll begin to pump 'em out next week. that will lift the bulk of the water out of her. and the wrecking pumps can handle the rest of the leaks. he's a terrible man is captain jim, when he gets a full head of steam in his boilers. he's patching up the bulkheads, lightering the cargo, got a force of mechanics in the engine-room, and so on till she hums like a beehive. good weather, reef like a mill-pond, and two chartered tugs waiting to hook on to her, not to mention the _resolute_." "that beats doctors and calf's-foot jelly for putting me on my toes again," was dan's jubilant comment. "have you heard anything ashore here about her going on the reef?" mrs. frazier tried to head off this agitating topic, but mr. mcknight failed to comprehend her manoeuvres and briskly replied: "no, i just come away from the reef and hustled straight up here from looking over the _resolute_. there's nothing leaked out, has there? i'd like to see somebody punished, you understand, but captain jim told me to shut up and stay shut up." "well, _we_ are accused of putting up the _kenilworth_ job," exclaimed dan. "don't mind mother. she's one of us. if you're going to have a fit, please go outside. this house isn't big enough." mr. mcknight was too taken aback to display any violent emotion. he wiped his spectacles with great care, as if they had something to do with his hearing, and asked dan to "say it again, and say it slower." dan told him all about the visit of the underwriters' agent, whereupon mr. mcknight raised both hands and exclaimed: "hold on, boy. it all sounds plumb raving crazy to you, but there may be a heap more in it than you think. who knew jerry pringle was aboard the _resolute_ that night in pensacola harbor? you and me and captain jim, and the cook and galley boy. the rest of the crew was ashore or down below. did you know that the cook and the galley boy quit the _resolute_ last week and went up the gulf to ship on a central american fruiter? they may be mighty hard to find if jerry pringle had anything to do with getting them out of the way. where are our witnesses, eh? and you tell me old man prentice has copies of the cable messages that prove captain jim was waiting for the _kenilworth_? they may be mighty hard to explain." "how about captain bruce?" asked dan with a very sober face. "he is the only man that can clear it all up in a jiffy." "i can't quite fathom him, dan. sometimes i think he only needs a good strong shove to make him own up to it all and take his medicine like a man. but supposing pringle offers him the ten thousand dollars anyhow to saddle the job on us _resolutes_? it's worth that to jerry to save his own skin." "captain jim must get after captain bruce and make him tell the truth if he has to choke it out of him," cried dan in great excitement. "as soon as we pull the _kenilworth_ off the reef there is going to be a fight to a finish." "you ain't quite fit for wrecking or fighting, and your mother will scold me directly for getting your bearings hot," quoth mr. mcknight. "you just sit tight and maybe you can go up to the reef in the _resolute_ with me." with this the chief engineer departed under full steam, evidently afraid of facing dan's mother. the patient suffered no relapse, however, and felt so much stronger next day that mrs. frazier suggested a walk as far as the parade-ground of the artillery barracks, hoping to give him a respite from any more disturbing visitors. they strolled slowly through quaint crooked streets of the sea-girt town, into the shaded plaza of the garrison which faced an expanse of green lagoon and low mangrove-covered keys. a wharf ran out from the seawall in front of them and they walked idly toward it to look at the schooners beating up to the town. dan delayed to watch a distant sail which was scudding in from one of the near-by keys. presently he called out: "don't wait for me, mother. that's the _sombrero_ yonder, and she will pass within hail of the wharf. i'm going out there and catch bart pringle as he scoots by." the boys had not met since dan's return from the reef, and dan was a trifle surprised that bart had let the last three days pass without calling to see him. "i want to beg his pardon for laughing at him when the _henry foster_ was stood on her ear," reflected dan as he walked toward the end of the wharf. "we have a pack of things to talk about, and i must be awful careful not to say a word against his father. but there's due to be a rumpus before long." the _sombrero_ tore past with a free sheet, fluttered into the wind, and slid gracefully up to the wharf. dan jumped onto the bowsprit and footed it aft with a cheery greeting to bart who was busy with sheets and tiller. "hello, dan. glad you feel so spry. want to run down to the fort and back?" said bart without his usual smile. his manner was so glum, in fact, that dan spoke up rather sharply: "what in the world has happened to you? has the _sombrero_ been beaten while i was laid up? my goodness, i thought you'd be glad to see me." bart rubbed his head, scowled at the main-sail, and sighed before he responded with an effort: "i've got to tell you, dan. mind you, i don't take any stock in it, but i hate myself for letting it worry me. it's about the _kenilworth_. it's too tough to repeat, really it is, but you ought to have a chance to come out and nail it as a lie. they say captain jim wetherly knew she was going on the reef, and that you knew it, too. i wish----" "and you listened to such stuff?" dan fiercely broke in. "who told it to you?" "mr. prentice asked me a lot of questions and i couldn't help seeing what he was trying to prove, dan. i asked my father about it and he seemed to think things looked pretty black for captain jim. and father is mighty seldom fooled about anything that goes on along the reef. i want to tell him that you say it's all foolishness. he would be mighty glad to have it cleared up all right for captain jim wetherly. and he knows how chummy i am with you." "y-you asked your f-father about it?" stuttered dan and his eyes were blazing. "bart pringle, you make my head dizzy. look here, i'll tell you one thing that's straight goods. i wouldn't believe _you_ were guilty of a murder, not if they had a million witnesses, unless i saw you do it with my own two eyes. and as for the _kenilworth_, whether captain bruce meant to put her on the reef or not, captain jim wetherly had nothing to do with it. and that's all i can tell you. of course that lets me out." dan's heart was sore that his chum's loyalty should have been shaken in the slightest degree, but he tried to be fair, and added in a milder tone: "mr. prentice got things all snarled up somehow, but it's sure to come out right. maybe i ought not to blame you for being worried, bart. things have been happening mighty fast for all hands concerned." by this time barton was honestly ashamed of himself and could think of nothing to say but a stammering apology which dan accepted with a rather gloomy nod. it was the nearest their friendship had ever come to a break, and both boys would have preferred an open quarrel to this cloud of aggrieved misunderstanding. there was little more talk between them while the sloop crashed into the long seas of the outer roadstead. after they had put her about and were heading homeward, dan exclaimed: "there's the good old _resolute_ at her dock, and she is getting up steam. she must be 'most ready to go to the reef. put me alongside, bart. i want to look her over. i'll walk home from there." as dan sprang up the deck of the tug he was hailed by the chief engineer. leading the way to his state-room, mr. mcknight picked dan up bodily, tossed him on the bunk, locked the door, and spoke as follows: "things are a-popping red-hot, my boy. captain jim landed from the reef an hour ago. i told him all i knew about his being suspected of the crooked job, and what does our busy skipper do then? he promptly lays for jerry pringle. does he beat him to death, same as i figured on doing sooner or later? no, captain jim, as usual, does what you least expect. he tells pringle that he needs help on the _kenilworth_ wreck. weather looks unsettled; must lighter more cargo out of her quicker than blazes; needs all the schooners he can lay his hands on, and is in a desperate hurry for another tug. then he up and offers j. pringle a contract to take all his vessels up to the _kenilworth_ and go along himself as assistant boss on the wreck. jerry hems and haws, but captain jim looks him square in the eye and tells him to have that tampa tug of his ready for sea at daylight to-morrow. and jerry agrees as meek as moses and goes off to find the skipper of his vessels." "but why and what for?" exclaimed dan. "jerry pringle working for captain jim on the _kenilworth_! it's too much for me to fathom." "for one thing, captain jim needs his help to get the steamer off," returned bill mcknight. "there isn't a smarter wrecker on the coast than this same pringle. the love of wrecking is in his blood, and it fairly kills him to be idle with a fine, big ship on the reef. now that his plot to lose the _kenilworth_ is spoiled, why shouldn't he win a nice pot of money by helping save her? then, again, maybe captain jim wants to heap coals on his head till he hollers for a fire-extinguisher. there is going to be something doing on the reef, dan. better come along with us. you will be plenty strong enough if you have eaten up all that calf's-foot jelly i lugged up to you." "where does captain bruce come in?" asked dan. "will he be on the _kenilworth_, too?" "he goes up in the _resolute_ with us, but jerry pringle doesn't know it," answered mr. mcknight with a solemn wink. "everybody that has played a hand in this game is going to round to on the deck of that unfortunate steamer in a couple of days from now, and i'm a poor guesser if it don't turn out to be a lively reunion before she comes off the reef." chapter ix the broken hawser the battered _kenilworth_ lay heeled far over to one side, looming forlornly from the reef in the midst of a smooth and sparkling sea. her sides were gray with brine and streaked red with rust, her grimy decks strewn with a chaotic litter of cargo, timbers, and rigging. the once trim, seagoing steamer made a most distressful picture as seen from the _resolute_ which was bearing down from the direction of key west. captain bruce was standing in the bows of the tug. gazing at his helpless ship, he found it very hard to realize that he had deliberately placed the _kenilworth_ in this pitiful plight. she looked as if she had laid her bones on the reef for good and all, but it was plain to see that the wreckers did not think so. cargo was tumbling from her ports into lighters strung alongside, tugs hovered fussily near-by, and groups of active men toiled at capstans, derrick-booms, and donkey-engines. [illustration: she looked as if she had laid her bones on the reef for good and all] "it looks like trying to float her before long," captain wetherly sung down from the wheel-house of the _resolute_. "come up here, captain bruce. i want to show you something." the master of the _kenilworth_ mounted the ladder with an air of reluctance, for it hurt him even to talk about the ship. he looked worn and haggard and he could not rid himself of a great dread lest the _kenilworth_ might not be floated after all. he was cheered, however, by the buoyant confidence of captain jim wetherly who exclaimed with a note of mirth in his voice: "there's a sight to make you rub your eyes, captain bruce. that is jerry pringle's tug from tampa on the port quarter of the _kenilworth_. and there he goes up the side. hooray! see him chase that gang of his down the hatch. he is surely shoving the job along for all he's worth. that's his way when he once buckles down to it." "but you were fighting each other alongside my ship not long ago. i don't understand it," commented captain bruce. captain jim led the other man out of ear-shot of the wheel-house and told him with a grim smile: "jerry pringle expected to work on this wreck. you know that even better than i do. i upset some plans of his, and yours. now he has to do the job _my_ way--understand? do you know that i am suspected of plotting with you to put this ship on the reef, captain bruce? you haven't heard it from mr. prentice? um-m; well, you will hear a whole lot more about it from me before this ship of yours slides off into deep water." the master of the _kenilworth_ winced at the threatening tone of these words, and his face was very red as he tried to bluster it out: "what rot! that prentice is a doddering old fool. talking behind my back, is he? of all the wicked, silly nonsense! well, upon my word!" "that will do for you," was captain jim's curt reply. "_you_ are going to clear me. i kept my mouth shut to shield some innocent people, women and children, friends and kinfolk of mine--do you see? i expect to give your ship back to you. and you are going to do the square thing by me. think it over and think hard." captain wetherly faced about and left the other gazing with a troubled frown at the _kenilworth_. presently dan hailed his uncle: "bart pringle came along with his father, sir. i'd like to go aboard the wreck and see him if you don't mind, sir." "go ahead, dan. last time you two lads met on that deck you bristled at each other like two terrier pups. but i don't expect to cut his dad's tow-boat in two this trip, so i reckon you'll be glad to see each other." dan followed captain bruce up the steamer's side and found barton dangling his legs from a heap of hatch-covers. "why don't you get busy? i want you to know that i am the real wrecking master of this vessel," cried dan as he thumped his friend on the back with a generous impulse to forgive and forget their recent misunderstanding. "i never saw a pringle that was willing to loaf ten seconds on a wreck. gracious, look at your father. you can't see him for dust." mr. jeremiah pringle was, indeed, making good his surprising contract with captain jim wetherly. he viewed a difficult task of wrecking as a personal battle between the reef and himself; his brains, brawn, and courage matched against the perils of the sea. while the boys watched him drive his crew of hardy wreckers, bart remarked: "i thought father and captain jim were red-hot at each other over the _henry foster_ business, didn't you? they must have patched it up all right, and that's enough to show how silly those stories were about--about the wreck and captain jim. father wouldn't lend a hand in a crooked job for any money. i have been feeling meaner than a yellow pup for ever bothering my head about those rumors that lugged you into the dirty work, dan. will you really forgive me?" "i was mean and nasty to you when the _henry foster_ was split wide open, so i reckon we are quits," confessed dan. "let's shake hands and forget it." "i'd trust you as i would trust my own father," earnestly exclaimed bart. "right down in my heart i would no more dream of your being mixed up with a crooked wrecking job than i would think of suspecting him. that's as strong as i can put it. you won't hold it out against me any more, will you, honest?" jeremiah pringle had come out of a forward hold and was making his way aft along the ship's side to release a fouled guy-rope. the boys did not see him pass behind them, and as bart waxed earnest his voice carried to his father's ears. the stern-visaged wrecker halted and listened with the most intense interest. he heard his own son say: "_i'd trust you as i'd trust my own father.... that's as strong as i can put it._" jeremiah pringle had been dealt a blow from a quarter so unexpected that he was quite staggered. moving stealthily out of sight of the two lads, he went about his duty but his mind was painfully active with emotions which were as novel as they were disturbing. it had never before occurred to him that his boy's life was anywhere linked with his own. he did not intend to set him a bad example, nor bring disgrace on the name he bore. but now barton had accused and condemned him, not by doubting but by believing in him. it was brought home to him from a clear sky that his son was shaping his own course by what he believed his father to be. as jeremiah pringle sweated through the long day, he sullenly reflected: "i can't argue it out with the fool boy. and what gets under my skin, too, is the way dan frazier has handled himself since that night in pensacola. he must have got wind of the _kenilworth_ job then. i hate to be under obligations to anybody, and jim wetherly and that boy have been keeping it all back from my boy. why? so barton wouldn't be ashamed of his daddy. that's a cheerful notion to take to bed with me." he had begun to feel that it might be unfair to his son's faith in him to engage in any more shady wrecking operations, and he was nearer being ashamed of himself than he had been in many years. it seemed as if captain jim wetherly read his thoughts, for he halted him next day long enough to say: "you have taken hold in great shape. it helps square matters, jerry. it is your duty to get this ship off the reef; you know that. and you will never be able to look that boy of yours in the eye until the _kenilworth_ is towed into port and made ready for sea again." mr. pringle was in no mood to have his sins or his duty flung in his teeth, and he retorted savagely: "don't preach at me, jim wetherly. i break even with you by helping you get this vessel afloat. and i won't make you pay for smashing the _henry foster_. that squares all debts between us." meanwhile dan and barton had explored the _kenilworth_ from end to end, dan telling at great length the story of his imprisonment among the cargo in the hold. when he came to the chapter dealing with the visit of the bahama wreckers, he hurried bart to the spot where he had found the lighted fuse and sack of powder. alas, even the fragments of the fuse had been swept away in the task of lightering the cargo. dan headed for the nearest hatchway to search for the powder. the compartment into which he had thrown it was cleared of water, the débris shovelled out, and the shattered bottom plates covered deep with cement and timber bracing. "our wreckers didn't find the powder bag, or captain jim would have told me," mourned dan. "the canvas may have ripped open or rotted where it fell. you believe it all, don't you, bart? but that hatchet-faced old prentice as much as called me a liar. and i won't be happy till i can make him take it back. he thinks i was trying to pull his leg with the explosion yarn. why, i couldn't have made up a story like that in a thousand years." "don't you care. of course it's true. and it was splendid. i am certainly proud of you," declared bart who was anxious to make amends for the rift in their friendship. "you and i will back old prentice into a corner first chance we get and make him apologize--won't we?" the underwriters' agent came on board two days later and had a long interview with captain jim behind the locked door of the chart-room, after which captain bruce and jeremiah pringle were singly summoned for more mysterious conferences. but no attention was paid to dan who felt that he moved in a cloud of suspicion and dismally reflected: "old prentice has set me down as a liar and won't even give me a chance to deny it. i wish i could have kept that fuse to hitch to his coat-tails. i won't save another ship for him,--that's one thing sure." at length the day came when captain jim wetherly announced that he intended pulling on the stranded steamer with all four tugs at high water in the afternoon. they might not be able to start her, but it was worth trying, for the spell of fair weather could not be expected to last much longer. dan was still grumbling to himself as he went off to the _resolute_ which had signalled for all hands to return. one by one the tugs got into position for a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together." captain wetherly stayed in the _kenilworth_ to direct operations and took his station up in the bows. to jerry pringle was entrusted the important duty of properly making fast the hawsers from the tugs. it amused captain jim to hear him fiercely shouting orders to the crew of the _resolute_ who glared at their former foeman as if they would like to muster a boarding party and attack him. the men in the yawls and on the rolling decks of the tugs worked with more caution than usual. they did not mind falling overboard or being upset by an obstreperous hawser as part of the day's work. but the dumping overboard of damaged cargo, including smashed cases of salt meats and other provisions, had lured scores of huge sharks which hovered in the clear, green depths at the edge of the reef or rushed to the surface at the splash of box or barrel. all hands breathed easier when the hawsers had been passed aboard without mishap. when all was in readiness to begin the tug-of-war between the tow-boats and the reef, captain wetherly's nerves were tingling with excitement. the hour had come to put his faith and his works to the crucial test. it meant more to him than salvage, for he was also seeking with might and main to undo a wrong of which this ship had been the victim. "the old _resolute_ will pull her heart out before she quits," he muttered. "i've given her the hardest berth, for she knows we can't afford to lose this ship." slowly the tugs forged ahead until they were straining at their hawsers like a team of well-handled horses, each using every bit of its strength to the best advantage. then it was "full speed ahead," and they buckled down to their task as if no odds were great enough to daunt them,--_resolute_, _three sisters_, _fearless_, and _hercules_. soon the rusty, high-sided _kenilworth_ was veiled in the black clouds of smoke which drifted from their belching funnels. captain jim moved to leeward to get a clearer view and observed that jeremiah pringle was standing within a few feet of the vibrating steel hawser of the _resolute_, where it led in over the bows of the _kenilworth_. "that is a brand-new line, but it isn't healthy to get so near it," he called out. "that tow-boat of mine has busted them before this, jerry." "always bragging of those engines of yours. you are as bad as bill mcknight," pringle shouted back. he looked down at the ponderous steel cable with a careless laugh. a moment later captain jim forgot his own warning and ran to the side to shout an urgent order to one of the tugs. he stood for a few seconds almost on top of the hawser where it led inboard and was about to retreat to his former station when the huge line twanged with a rasping note as if its fibres were overstrained. he wasted a precious instant in looking down to find out what the trouble might be, heard the steel cable crack and give, tried to flee, and caught his toe in a ring-bolt screwed to the deck. just then jerry pringle lunged forward and knocked captain jim flat with a sweep of his powerful right arm. this deed, done with lightning speed and rare presence of mind, sufficed to put captain jim out of harm's way, but it used the precious second of time in which jeremiah pringle might have saved himself. before pringle could drop on deck or leap for shelter, the hawser snapped in twain with a report like that of a cannon. the ragged ends whizzed through the air with the speed and destructiveness of projectiles. one of them crashed against a metal stanchion, cut it clean in two, and knocked a pile of timber braces in all directions. these obstacles saved jerry pringle from being sliced in twain, but he was swept up in the flying debris and sent spinning overboard as if he were a chip caught in a tornado. the accident happened with such incredible swiftness that captain wetherly scrambled to his feet and stood blinking at the spot from which pringle had vanished as if he were blotted out of existence. then, pulling himself together, with a yell of horrified dismay he rushed to the side of the ship and stared down into the sea which was seething with the foamy wash from the screws of the nearest tugs. he saw a black object rise to the surface, drift toward the stern, and then slowly sink from sight. running aft where the water was clear, he caught a glimpse of the body of jerry pringle settling toward the white coral bottom. two of the tugs were hastily manning boats. captain jim glanced toward them and knew their help would come too late. he thought of the sharks which had been flocking around the ship. they could not have been driven very far away by the tumult of the tugs. while he wavered, captain jim said to himself: "he didn't figure on the odds when he bowled me out of danger before he tried to save himself. here goes." springing upon the bulwark, he jumped clear and sped downward with feet together and arms stretched above his head. it was a thirty-foot drop to the water and he shot into it as straight and true as a dipsey lead. his impetus carried him far down into the cool, green sea and, opening his eyes, he dimly discerned the shadowy form of the man he sought drifting above him. as captain jim rose he grasped the other by the shirt and struck out with his free arm. pringle might be dead for all he knew, but he hung to him like a bull-dog, fighting his way upward to reach the blessed air and ease his tortured lungs. a boat was pulling madly toward the scene, the crew yelling and splashing to hold the sharks at bay. most clamorous of the party was the chief engineer of the _resolute_ who was roaring with tears in his eyes: "wow--wow--wow, keep a yellin', boys. it's captain jim they're after. jerry pringle's too tough for 'em." a black fin skittered past the boat and bill mcknight blazed away at it with a rifle which he had caught up on the run. a few more desperate strokes and they slackened speed and beat the water into foam with the flat of their oars. a long, sinister shadow slid swiftly under the boat and the men yelled as they saw it veer toward the stern of the kenilworth. but this hastening shark had overrun its prey. captain jim and his burden rose within an oar's length of the yawl and were grasped by a dozen eager hands before they could be attacked. dan frazier was not in the boat. he had not recovered his wits until his comrades had shoved clear of the _resolute_. he stood as if paralyzed and watched the rescue. when the two dripping figures were hauled into the yawl and he saw captain jim sit up and shake himself like a retriever, a wordless prayer of thanksgiving welled from the depths of his heart. then he saw the boat move toward jerry pringle's tug which lay on the other side of the _kenilworth_, screened from view of the rescue. bart had gone on board this tug earlier in the day, and dan felt his knees tremble as he saw the body of jeremiah pringle hoisted over the low bulwark. it seemed an age before the yawl returned to the _resolute_ and captain jim leaped on deck, followed by the chief engineer. their faces were very solemn and they spoke with evident effort: "were--were you too late, uncle jim?" stammered dan. "yes, he must have been dead when he struck the water," slowly returned captain wetherly. "but i'm glad i went after him. he made a brave man's finish. it's awful tough on bart, but he is standing up under it like a thoroughbred. jerry pringle staked his life and lost it for me." captain jim wiped his eyes and coughed. bill mcknight ventured to say to dan: "he'd have done the same trick to save one of his own deck-hands. jerry pringle was a brave and ready man, we all know that. it was instinct. he didn't have time to figure it out. but i reckon god almighty will give him plenty of credit and square accounts for whatever he did wrong. whew! i can't realize it a little bit." "the tug will take him down to key west right away," said captain jim. "i'm going along with jerry pringle on his last voyage. want to come, dan? it will do bart a whole lot of good to have you as a shipmate and you can tell him that his father was a man to be proud of. we'll forget everything that happened before to-day. you come aboard the _kenilworth_ with me and i'll leave orders for my men. i'll have to be back here to-morrow if this steamer is to come off the reef. i have a notion that jerry pringle was sorry he ever helped to put her on there. and from watching him lately i believe we couldn't please him any better than by getting the _kenilworth_ off and mending the wrong he planned to do." as they boarded the _kenilworth_ captain bruce met them and asked in a voice hoarse with emotion: "they tell me he has slipped his cable. if my ship had not stranded it would not have happened." "what are you going to do about it? let _me_ be accused of helping to wreck your steamer?" sternly replied captain wetherly. "jeremiah pringle has squared his accounts and made _his_ record clean. but how about you?" chapter x dan's dreams come true the first pull on the stranded steamer had been halted by the tragedy of jeremiah pringle's heroic death. as soon as possible captain jim wetherly hastened back from key west to the reef and dan rejoined his shipmates in the _resolute_. they were very loth to leave the widow and the son of the wrecking-master who, with all his faults, had died as he had lived, unflinching in the face of the perils of the sea. but duty sounded a trumpet-call to save the _kenilworth_, and with flags at half-mast the tireless tugs again hovered about her under the vigilant direction of captain wetherly. meanwhile the wreckers had been toiling in night and day shifts, taking out more cargo. when at length the tugs were summoned for another titanic tussle, every man felt that the supreme moment was at hand. it was now or never. captain wetherly voiced the feelings of all with passionate energy: "she has _got_ to go. that's all there is to it." the tugs had been pulling a scant hour when captain jim felt the keel of the _kenilworth_ grind on the coral bottom. it was no more than a slight shock which made the ship tremble as if she felt a thrill of returning life and freedom. then she hung fast for a long time, moved again, and perceptibly righted herself. another interval of futile effort, and at last the steamer slid forward with a dull, harsh roar as her broken keel ripped through the coral and ploughed slowly down the sloping shelf into the deep water on the landward side of the reef. the frantic tugs behaved as if they could not believe the _kenilworth_ was actually afloat. they refused to stop pulling with might and main until their prize was trailing after them down the fairway of the hawk channel. their whistles bellowed jubilation while captain jim signalled the _resolute_: "keep her going for key west." the panting tugs led the sluggish, battered steamer out through the nearest gap in the reef, and she rolled solemnly in the swells of the open sea where she belonged. captain bruce was pacing the bridge of his ship, nervous, absorbed in his own thoughts, and oblivious of the general rejoicing. above the stern of the _kenilworth_ the british ensign still flew at half-mast and served to recall a tragedy which captain bruce wanted to forget. his partnership with jerry pringle had been ill-fated from the start. in a flash of splendid manliness pringle had given his life to save the man who had smashed the evil partnership. and was he, malcolm bruce, ship-master, willing to let this jim wetherly stand accused of the crime planned in pensacola harbor? no, he had not come to such depths of degradation as this. he had fought it out with himself and he was ready to take the consequences. dan frazier came on board the _kenilworth_ for orders when the tugs slackened way to shift their hawsers, and captain bruce beckoned him to a corner of the bridge where captain wetherly was standing. the haggard ship-master placed his hand on the lad's shoulder as he began to speak: "i want dan to hear what i have to say, captain wetherly. he came aboard my ship when she went on the reef and refused to believe the worst of me, though he knew it all the time. i abandoned the ship and left him on board instead of sticking by her as i honestly intended to do. but i see now that my will had been undermined. there was a rotten spot in my heart." "you didn't mean to abandon me, sir," spoke up dan. "i never held that against you." "i am glad you have a decent word for me," replied captain bruce with the shadow of a smile. "the long and short of it is that i am going to make a clean breast of it to the underwriters' agent, mr. prentice, when we get to key west. it seems to be the only way to clear you, captain wetherly. of course i never dreamed that circumstances could be twisted about to fetch you into this miserable business. but pringle has gone, and i am not quite enough of a cur to dodge my share of the punishment. i make no defence, but my record was fairly clean until--well, you know when. my owners are shrewd, tricky, close-fisted men who got me into their way of doing business a little at a time. my ideas of right and wrong were warped by degrees. men don't go bad all at once, dan. don't ever forget that. a ship's timbers don't rot overnight and let her founder in the gale that tests her strength. the first speck of rot is almost too small to see, but it grows. at last these people had me fit for their work, and three voyages ago they put it at me that there would be no great sorrow if the _kenilworth_ met disaster. i should have quit them on the spot, but i took the temptation to sea with me. and in the next voyage i ran afoul of jeremiah pringle in pensacola. he found me willing to listen. five years ago i would have kicked him out of my cabin. you know the rest of it. ten thousand dollars was the price if he could have the vessel to wreck. and my owners were ready to give me a bigger, newer ship if i lost her for the insurance. but you spoiled all that, and i am glad you did. i seem to have been a weak-kneed kind of a rascal." "bully for you," cried captain jim. "shake hands on it. dan here was sure you were sorry you ever got into this mess, the first time he met you. but this is mighty serious business for you, captain bruce. the underwriters will make an example of you, as sure as guns. are you going back to england to face the music?" "it means that i am in disgrace and will command no more ships, i suppose," was the reply. "and i suppose it means a dose of prison, but i don't mean to veer from the course i have charted. there isn't any other way out of it. i would rather be dead along with jerry pringle than to go on hating myself and living in a hell of my own making." "i reckon you are right," said captain jim after a long silence. "it pays to go straight, and every man must work out his own salvation." "anyhow, you would feel a heap worse if your ship had gone to pieces," dan ventured to suggest in his effort to find a ray of sunshine in the cloud. "right you are, my lad. it has been a great fight, and a man couldn't work alongside this uncle of yours very long without wanting to live straight and clean. you helped save the _kenilworth_, dan. i haven't forgotten that." "but you can't square me with old man prentice," sadly returned dan. "i think it's great of you to stand by captain jim, but it doesn't help my case. i am still left high and dry as a liar." "things will straighten themselves out now. don't worry," smiled captain bruce. "mr. prentice will be easier to handle after he knows the facts in my case." "how about salvage? don't i come in on that?" anxiously asked dan who was not old enough to appreciate the sacrifice involved in captain bruce's confession. "i expect to be paid my towing and wrecking bill to cover my time and expenses," said captain jim. "but i don't want any more salvage than that. i won't take blood-money, not even from the pockets of those scoundrelly owners of yours, captain bruce. they won't be able to collect a cent of insurance after you make your statement, and the repairs will cost them a small fortune. the underwriters will make it hot enough for them. trust prentice for that." dan raised his voice in most lugubrious accents: "but won't there be any salvage for me after all i went through in this beastly ship? why, i have been expecting to get rich from it, to go north to school and college with bart, and buy a bigger yacht, and give mother a spree in new york and--and all i get is to be called a liar by old man prentice." dan's disappointment was so keen that captain jim hastened to console him. "i kind of overlooked your case. sure enough, i've robbed you of your rights, haven't i? i suppose if you could go north to school, you and your mother would feel that you had your share of salvage, wouldn't you?" "yes, indeed. that would clear up the account in great shape," cried dan. "but where is the money coming from? you can't charge it up against the _kenilworth's_ owners, can you?" "well, if those bahama niggers had blown up the steamer, the owners' bills might be a good deal bigger," smiled his uncle. "just let your salvage claim rest for a day or so. i promise you it will be worked out somehow." early in the morning the _kenilworth_ moved slowly to an anchorage in the inner harbor of key west, at last in a friendly haven. her escort of victorious tugs whistled a glad alarm as they cast loose and steamed toward their several wharves. dan was on board the _resolute_, and as she neared the shore he saw his mother hastening down to the landing place. "you will be all the salvage she wants out of this job," said captain jim as dan waved his cap for an answering signal to the fluttering handkerchief. a little later mother and son walked homeward together and she learned of captain bruce's manly decision to make atonement. her tender heart was moved with pity for his plight and she spoke up impulsively: "i knew there was a great deal of good in him, dan. and think how forlorn and unhappy he must feel. he needs friends. ask him up to see us. i am very sorry for him." "all right, mother. he has shown himself to be a pretty good sort of a man, after all. how is bart pringle? is he all broken up? he's been on my mind most of the time since i went back to the reef." "it was a dreadful shock to mary pringle and her boy," replied mrs. frazier. "but they will be happy again after a while. jerry pringle was a hard man, dan, and he never really knew his own family. he was the richest man in key west and of course they have no worries about money. they fairly worship his memory because he died a hero's death. but it is as if they were admiring some noble character in a book, not a real, live man who was a part of their daily lives. they never knew him well." "perhaps it was all for the best," sighed dan. "bart will never know anything else about his father and he has a memory to live up to that is a better inheritance than all the money that was left behind. oh, but it was worth while fighting hard to keep the truth from bart and his mother." in the afternoon dan went back to the _resolute_ to invite the chief engineer to supper. mr. mcknight announced as he staggered the boy with an affectionate blow between the shoulders: "old prentice was aboard looking for you not an hour ago, and said he'd come back if he didn't find you at home. i told him that if he had a notion of calling you a liar some more, i was your proxy and he could say it to me. i began to roll up my sleeves and he plumb near backed himself overboard." "i wish he had," returned dan. "what on earth does he want now? the _kenilworth_ affair is all cleared up." "well, he was dying to see you, dan. better wait aboard. the old icicle will wander back after a while. i hear we are going to tow the _kenilworth_ to jacksonville to be docked for repairs. do you know when?" "captain jim said in about a month," replied dan. "as soon as she can be patched up to stand the voyage. but maybe i won't be with you, then. it depends on whether i win my salvage case." "too much sun. gone a bit queer in the head," murmured mr. mcknight. "we surrendered all claim to salvage--you know that. it's an outrage, too. when i was wreckin' on the coast of-- hello, here comes old prentice now." the underwriters' agent was advancing with almost undignified haste, and as he came down the gang-plank he extended his hand to dan and exclaimed in most friendly fashion: "delighted to find you, mr. frazier. you will be good enough to sit down aft with me for a few minutes? i wish to show you a document which has just reached me." brushing past the glowering chief engineer, mr. prentice fumbled in his breast pocket and brought forth a large, official-looking envelope. his manner was really sheepish as he hemmed and hawed, flourished the envelope, and said: "i wish to offer you an apology, dan, which you are manly enough to accept, i am sure. i find myself in--er--a rather painful position. the fact of the matter is that i have been guilty of an error of judgment. i have in my hands a letter sent to me in care of the british consul in key west. attached to it is an affidavit which you may examine at your leisure. to make a long story short, these documents come from nassau. while investigating the _kenilworth_ disaster, it occurred to me to make some inquiries concerning one hurley, known as "black sam," who had possession of the steamer when you were rescued from her. your story of preventing an explosion seemed improbable to me, partly because i could find no proof, and also because i held certain other suspicions, now removed, i am glad to say. i made an effort to locate this hurley person. there was not one chance in a thousand that he would confirm the truth of your story, if found. but, by extraordinary good luck, he was recently arrested for cracking the skull of one of his crew. and while in jail he was visited by my agent in nassau. you will be surprised to learn that he readily consented to sign an affidavit describing his attempt to blow up the _kenilworth_, and your part in the episode. the fellow has a rude sense of humor, it appears, and had come to regard it as a good deal of a joke on him." "it is great news for me," exclaimed dan. "i hated to have you think what you did." "i have something more to say," resumed mr. prentice with a smile. "captain bruce and captain wetherly came to see me to-day. it was a strange interview, as you may perhaps guess. captain bruce confessed that he had tried to lose his ship on the reef. my suspicions were wrong from start to finish, and i have apologized to captain wetherly. in fact, i seem to be a walking apology. but the chapter is closed. the steamer is to be made fit for sea by her owners, without a penny of cost to the underwriters, and her master will go to england to face the consequences of his confession. the owners will also have to settle for damages to cargo. under the circumstances, i am of the opinion that the underwriters are deeply indebted to you for preventing the total loss of the _kenilworth_. they can well afford to do the handsome thing by you, my boy, not as salvage, but as a gift, a reward for a heroic deed. such gifts have been bestowed on several ship-masters within my recollection. captain wetherly informs me that you are ambitious to get an education. i pledge you my personal word that you can count upon receiving a sum of several thousand dollars to assist that praiseworthy ambition. i expect to go to england shortly, and will look after the matter myself." while dan struggled between gratitude and amazement to find words to fit the occasion, mr. prentice patted his shoulder with fatherly affection and added: "i know the story of your loyalty to your friend, young barton pringle. it seems right and proper that you should go away to school together, without a shadow between you any longer." mr. prentice left the nassau documents with dan and took his departure, leaving the lad to stammer the wonderful tale to bill mcknight who found an outlet for his own emotion by announcing: "i'm going to hustle right ashore, dan, and hire the key west brass band to serenade old prentice to-night. i've got money in the bank, boy, and i'm going to turn it loose." while this rash declaration was being argued, captain wetherly came aboard and added his congratulations to the tumultuous celebration. when mr. mcknight became quieter for lack of breath, dan spoke up with a sudden shock of unhappy recollection: "but how about captain bruce, uncle jim? it doesn't seem fair for him to be left all alone to go back to england and be in disgrace among his own people. why, if he stands by his guns, he will be sent to prison." "i had a long talk with him an hour ago," replied captain wetherly. "he can't be budged from his resolution to take all the blame for the disaster. and of course his owners will try to shift it all onto him and they may be able to clear themselves in court. i can't help admiring his pluck. but he may come back here later, dan. i have just landed a big government contract for towing and dredging work, to last for several years. and i need more help with the business i have now. i asked captain bruce to come back to key west when he gets clear of his troubles in england. i told him that he would be with friends here, with folks who believed in him. i would trust him as a partner. he will never go wrong again." "what did he say?" asked dan and bill mcknight in the same breath. "he was considerably touched. said he would think it over, and thanked me, and went off to tell prentice about it. he will come back to work with me some day, i am pretty sure." a few weeks later dan frazier and barton pringle were waving their farewells to key west from the deck of a mail steamer, northward bound to enter a preparatory school. their mothers were standing together on the wharf and behind them towered the rugged figure of captain jim wetherly. as the steamer drew away and the last "good-byes" were shouted across the water, bart sighed and murmured to his friend: "father ought to be there to see me off. i can't realize it yet, dan. but i must try to live up to the example he set for me. i am so glad he and captain jim became good friends. it was the _kenilworth_ that brought them together. i reckon they were the same breed of men, only it took them a long time to find it out." dan looked across the harbor at the rusty _kenilworth_ which was almost ready to be towed away to a dry-dock. the sight of her thrilled him with memories of the hardships, dangers, and tragedy of the weeks of hard-fought battle on the reef. it came over him that while he had won his salvage and his fondest dreams were coming true, perhaps barton pringle had won even richer and more enduring salvage in the bright memory of his father's last deed, a memory and an inspiration unmarred by the knowledge of anything less worthy. "i am proud of uncle jim," said dan at length. "and you can always be proud of your father, bart." presently the steamer passed the _resolute_ which lay at her wharf ready for sea. the chief engineer hurried into the wheel-house and pulled the whistle cord for all he was worth. the tug roared a hoarse farewell, and dan gazed at her and the burly figure of bill mcknight with glad affection in his eyes. they stood for something worth while to the boy who was leaving his shipmates to venture into strange waters and chart a new career. he had toiled among men who were fitly called "the resolutes," and the lessons of duty he had learned afloat would not be soon forgotten ashore. dan was thinking aloud as he said while he waved his cap at the powerful, seagoing tug in which he had played his part as a humble deck-hand: "i don't know what this preparatory school up north is going to be like, but i reckon if i can play the game so the _resolute_ won't be ashamed of me i'll come out all right." books by ralph d. paine "_will be read with pleasure by the many boys to whom the sea speaks with an inviting voice._" --_new york herald._ _the wrecking master_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ the business of saving ships wrecked on the reefs along the florida coast is one of the most dangerous and exciting in the world. the two sons of rival wreckers, who are in a race to rescue a big steamer which has gone ashore in a peculiar manner on a florida reef, have adventures as novel as they are exciting. there is a sharp contest of skill, courage, and stratagems, and thrilling fights with men and with storms. _a cadet of the black star line_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ "the man of to-day being the boy of yesterday, there is never a lack of interest in good manly boy stories, the kind that makes the red blood flow faster and the heart beat truer. such a story is 'a cadet of the black star line.' ... "mr. paine's narrative of the experiences of a cadet on one of the big ocean liners moves along with splendid spirit." --_philadelphia press._ "a stirring tale of sea life, the breezes of the ocean blowing through every chapter.... clean, wholesome reading." --_new york observer._ charles scribner's sons, new york _college series_ _sandy sawyer, sophomore_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ sandy sawyer, a husky crew man, works during the summer to pay for his college course. his adventures in the country, where he strokes a crew of his own against one of summer boarders, makes interesting reading. _the stroke oar_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ the stroke of the "'varsity" crew shanghaied in the middle of the college year through an accident goes through some remarkable adventures that end with his rowing in the great boat race at new london. _the fugitive freshman_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ "a mysterious disappearance, a wreck, the real thing in a game of baseball are but a few of the excitements the book contains." _--philadelphia ledger._ _the head coach_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ "the book is so compact of healthy young manliness and depicts so many sound-hearted characters in so winning a way that it deserves unusual success."--_chicago inter-ocean._ _college years_ _illustrated. mo. $ . _ "extremely life-like and accurate pictures of the campus.... every boy who intends to go to college will want to read these stories." _--yale alumni weekly._ charles scribner's sons, new york