"Well, Mr Leslie," inquired the mate, "is there any chance of our
coming at that medicine-chest? To speak plainly, I don't half like the
look of the skipper, and that's a fact. It ain't natural for a man to
lie like that, hour a'ter hour, without movin'; and the sooner we can
bring him back to his senses, the better I shall be pleased."
"Yes," answered Leslie, "I quite understand how you feel about the
matter, and I feel quite as anxious as you do about it; more so,
possibly, since it is I who am responsible for the man's condition. I
shall be bitterly grieved if he proves to be seriously injured; but in
any case I hope you will understand that it was impossible for me to
allow him to retain possession of his revolver. He had clearly
conceived an extraordinary aversion for me, and exhibited it without
restraint. I believe that when he fired at me he fully intended to kill
me, if he could, and I was compelled to act in self-defence. If a man
allows his temper to get the better of him to that extent, he must take
the consequences. But here we are," as he threw open the door of Miss
Trevor's cabin, "and that, I take it, is the medicine-chest;" pointing
to a fairly large chest standing against the bulkhead.
"Yes," assented Purchas, "that's the chest. Better have it out of this
into the main cabin, hadn't we? Then we shan't be obliged to disturb
the lady whenever we want to get at it."
"Certainly," agreed Leslie; "I was about to suggest it."
And therewith the two men seized, each of them, a handle and carried the
box into the main cabin, placing it conveniently for pushing it under
the table, out of the way, when not required. The chest was unlocked,
and they threw it open, disclosing an interior fitted with a tray on
top, which contained a long tin tubular case labelled "Diachylon
Plaster," surgical scissors, surgical needles, rolls of bandage, and
numerous other surgical instruments and appliances; while, underneath
the tray, the body of the chest was full of jars and bottles containing
drugs, each distinctly labelled, and each fitted into its own special
compartment. There was also in the chest a book setting forth in detail
the symptoms of nearly every imaginable disease, with its appropriate
treatment, and also the proper course to pursue in the event of injury.
The book was furnished with a very complete index, to facilitate prompt
reference.
This book they took out and laid open upon the cabin table, now spread
with the breakfast equipage. Anxiously they pored over its pages,
finding more than one reference that seemed fairly to fit the case; and
at length Leslie, to whose judgment the mate seemed disposed to defer,
decided upon a treatment, which they proceeded forthwith to act upon.
It consisted in the administration of a draught, and the application of
a blister; and owing to the absolute insensibility of the skipper and
his consequent powerlessness to assist in any way it was a somewhat
lengthy job; but they completed it at last, and then went to breakfast.
As it was not expected that any visible result of their treatment would
become apparent for the first hour or so, they did not visit the skipper
at the conclusion of the meal; but Purchas went to his cabin and turned
in, leaving Leslie in charge of the deck--the latter undertaking to call
the mate at seven bells, in time to take the meridian altitude of the
sun at noon, for the determination of the brig's latitude.
During the time that Leslie had been occupied below he had been
conscious of the fact that the breeze was freshening, as was evidenced
by the increasing heel of the brig and her growing liveliness of
movement; and when at length he went on deck and relieved the carpenter,
who had been temporarily in charge, he found quite a smart breeze
blowing from about due east, and the brig, with her weather-braces
slightly checked, and everything set, to her royals, staggering along,
with a great deal of fuss and much churning up of water about her bluff
bows, at a speed of some six knots. He glanced aloft and saw that her
topgallant-masts were whipping and buckling like fishing-rods.
"Hillo, Chips," he said good-humouredly, "so you are one of the
carrying-on school, I see. But what about those sticks aloft; aren't
you trying them rather severely? Of course you ought to know their
condition better than I do; but it looks to me as though you are giving
them rather more than they ought to be asked to do."
"Oh, they're goodish sticks, sir, are them topgallant-masts, and the
skipper's a rare hand for carryin' on; she ain't no clipper, as I dare
say you've noticed, sir; but the cap'n makes a p'int of gettin' every
inch out of her as she's capable of doin' of. All the same, sir, I
believe it's about time them royals was took in."
"So do I," agreed Leslie, as a somewhat fresher puff took the brig and
caused the spars to buckle still more ominously. "Royal halliards, let
go! Clew up and furl!" he shouted to the men who were lounging on the
forecastle over some tasks that they were performing in the leisurely
manner usual with merchant seamen.
The carpenter sprang to the main royal halliards and let them run; a man
forward dropped the serving-mallet that he was using, and did the same
with the fore royal halliards; and while two other hands started the
sheets and began to drag upon the clewlines, a third shambled aft and
helped the carpenter to clew up the main royal.
This relieved the brig a trifle; but there was a hard look about the sky
to windward that promised still more wind; so Leslie said--
"The breeze is coming still stronger before long, Chips; you had
therefore better make one job of it, and take in the topgallantsails as
well. And when that is done, if the men are not better engaged, let
them get to work and set up the topgallant and royal rigging fore and
aft; it is shockingly slack--hanging fairly in bights, in fact--and is
affording practically no support to the spars."
"Ay, ay, sir!" answered the carpenter, who was acting also as boatswain.
"I've had my eye on that riggin' for the last day or two; it wants
settin' up badly, and I'll attend to it at once."
The men had got the canvas clewed up, and were aloft furling it when
Miss Trevor emerged through the companion-way; and Leslie, with a word
of greeting, hastened to arrange a deck-chair for her accommodation on
the lee side of the deck, within the shadow of the main trysail; for
although there was a slight veil of thin, streaky cloud overspreading
the sky, the sun shone through it with an ardour that made shelter of
some sort from it very acceptable, especially to a girl who might be
supposed to set some value upon her complexion. She accepted Leslie's
attentions with a brief word or two of thanks, uttered in tones that
suggested an inclination to revert to her former unapproachable
attitude; and the ex-lieutenant at once left her to herself, passing
over to the weather side of the deck and devoting himself strictly to
his duties as officer of the watch.
At seven bells he called Purchas, who presently made his appearance on
deck, with an old-fashioned quadrant in his hand. He looked aloft, and
then to windward, noted the changes that Leslie had affected, and
graciously expressed his approval of them. Then he said--
"I s'pose, Mr Leslie, you're a first-class navigator and know all about
shootin' the sun?"
"Naturally, I do," answered Leslie; "navigation is, of course, an
essential part of the education and training of a naval officer; and I
learned all in that line that they thought it necessary to teach me a
good many years ago."
"Ay, so I supposed," returned Purchas. "As for me, I've learned what
was required to enable me to get my certificate; but, after all, I don't
really understand it properly. I can take the sun at noon, of course,
and work out the ship's latitood; but, even at that, I've got no very
great faith in myself; and as to the longitood--well, there; I always
feels that I may be right or I may be wrong. I never was much of a hand
at figures. So, if you've no objections, I'd take it very kind of you
if you'd lend me a hand at this job while the skipper's on his
beam-ends. He's got a real dandy sextant in his cabin that I'll take it
upon me to let you have the use of; and the chronometer's in there too.
We might as well have them things out of there too, then we shan't have
to disturb the young lady every time we wants 'em."
Leslie quite agreed as to the desirability of this, and he also
cheerfully undertook to check and assist Purchas in his navigation. The
latter therefore went below to make the necessary transfer, and
presently returned to the deck, carrying Potter's sextant--a very
handsome and valuable instrument--in his hand. This he handed to
Leslie; and as the time was now drawing well on towards noon, the two
men betook themselves to the forecastle--the sun being over the jib-boom
end--and proceeded to take the meridian altitude of the luminary. This
done, "eight bells" was struck, the watch called, and Leslie and the
mate returned aft to work out their calculations. As a result, there
proved to be a difference of two miles between them; nothing very
serious, but enough to prove that Purchas's doubts of himself were fully
justified.
Upon being called by Leslie, the mate had looked in upon Potter for a
moment on his way up on deck, but had failed to discover any improvement
in his condition. He now suggested that they should both go below and
subject their patient to a closer examination--which they did.
As Purchas had already remarked, there was no apparent improvement in
Potter's condition; on the contrary, when Leslie felt his pulse it
seemed to him that it was weaker. This, however, might be accounted for
by the fact that the man had taken no nourishment from the moment that
he had sustained his injury, and owing to his absolute helplessness, it
seemed impossible to administer any to him. A further study of the book
of directions accompanying the medicine-chest, however, instructed them
how to overcome this difficulty; and, summoning the steward, the mate
forthwith gave him instructions to kill a chicken and have some broth
prepared as quickly as possible. Meanwhile the blister was snipped and
dressed, another dose of medicine administered, with considerable
difficulty, and the man was once more left to himself, the
self-constituted physicians having then done all, for the moment, that
was possible.
"I wish something big would come along--a man-o'-war, for instance,"
observed Leslie, as he and the mate left the cabin together; "we could
then signal for medical assistance. A properly qualified doctor could
soon say precisely what is wrong, and what would be the proper treatment
to adopt. And if the case is really serious--as, to be frank with you,
Purchas, I am beginning to fear it is--we might even trans-ship him, and
thus give him the best chance possible for his life. You, of course, in
such an event, would fully report all the circumstances of the case, and
I should accompany the man to the other ship, to take the responsibility
for whatever might happen. And Miss Trevor would go with me, since she,
of course, now wishes to return home--failing an opportunity to continue
her voyage to Australia or India--as soon as possible. What do you
think of my plan?"
"Why," answered Purchas, "it seems a good enough plan, so far as it
goes. And if that there ship that you're talkin' about could spare me a
navigator to help me take the brig to Valparaiso, why, I'd be perfectly
satisfied. But there don't seem to be much chance of our fallin' in
with nothin'; we haven't spoke a single craft of any sort this side of
Finisterre."
"The greater the likelihood of our doing so soon," remarked Leslie. "It
may be quite worth while to keep an especially bright look-out, with a
view to the intercepting of anything that may happen to heave in sight."
On board small craft of the _Mermaid_ type it is usual to have dinner
served in the cabin at midday; and accordingly, the steward having
already announced that the meal was on the table, and summoned Miss
Trevor, Leslie and Purchas entered the cabin and proceeded to dine. It
was Leslie's afternoon watch below and his eight hours out that night,
so he decided to lie down on the cabin lockers and get an hour or two's
sleep after he had smoked his pipe on deck. Before doing so, however,
he went forward to the galley to inquire how the chicken broth was
progressing, and finding that it was ready, he took it aft, and, on his
way below, requested Purchas to accompany him, and assist him to
administer it.
The two men entered the cabin together, and stepped to the side of the
bunk. The figure of Potter still lay exactly as they had left him; but
as Leslie stood for a moment gazing, he gradually became aware that a
subtle change in the man's appearance had taken place; through the
swarthy tints of the sunburnt complexion an ashen grey hue seemed to
have spread. He bent closer, and laid his hand upon the wrist, feeling
for the pulse. There was no beat perceptible. He moistened the back of
his hand and laid it close to the lips, waiting anxiously to feel the
breath playing upon the moistened skin. He could detect nothing. Then
he laid his hand upon the man's chest, over his heart. The chest had
ceased to heave; and there was not the faintest throb of the heart, so
far as he could feel. Finally, he snatched a small mirror from the nail
on which it was hanging, and laid it gently, face downward, on Potter's
mouth. He left it there for fully two minutes; and when at length he
lifted it again its surface was still bright and undimmed as before. He
carefully hung the mirror upon its nail again, and, turning to the mate,
said--
"Mr Purchas, I regret to inform you that Captain Potter is dead!"
"Dead!" ejaculated Purchas. "No, no; he can't _be_! there must be some
mistake."
"I very greatly fear that there is _no_ mistake about it," returned
Leslie. "I have seen death, in my time, too often not to recognise it.
You will observe that breathing has ceased; neither can I find any trace
of a pulse, or the slightest flutter of the heart-beat. All these
symptoms are, I believe, quite consistent with a state of trance; and,
remembering that, we must of course be careful to do nothing
precipitately. But I am convinced that the man is really dead--a very
short time will suffice, in this climate, to demonstrate whether or not
that is the case--and I would advise you to give immediate instructions
to have the necessary preparations made for his burial. Should my
surmise prove correct, you are now the master of this brig; and as such
you will of course adopt such measures with regard to me, as the
immediate cause of this misfortune, as you may deem fit. But there is
no necessity to put me in irons; I cannot very well escape."
"Put you in irons!" ejaculated Purchas; "I should think not. No, Mr
Leslie, you had no intention of killin' the skipper; I'll swear to that.
It was an accident; neither more nor less. How was you to know that a
great strong man, like he was, was goin' to stagger back and hit his
head again' the rail, same as he did? And he provoked you; all hands
'll bear witness to that; he shot at ye, and you was quite justified in
takin' his revolver away from him. Oh no, there'll be no puttin' of you
in irons so long as I'm skipper o' this brig. But of course I shall
have to make a hentry of the whole affair in the official log-book; and
now you'll have to go on with the brig to Valparaiso, whether or no, to
hear what the British Consul there have got to say about it."
"Certainly," assented Leslie, "I shall make no difficulty about that.
And I have not very much fear as to the result. But, as to Miss Trevor,
I hope you will seize the first suitable opportunity that occurs to
trans-ship her. She, poor girl, will now be more anxious than ever to
get away from this vessel."
"Yes, yes; of course she will," agreed Purchas. "And I suppose, Mr
Leslie," he continued, "you won't have any objections to continue
lending me a hand to work and navigate this brig? Now that the
skipper's gone I shall need help more'n ever."
"You may rely upon me, Mr Purchas, to do everything in my power to help
you," answered Leslie. "And now," he continued, "while you are making
the arrangements of which I just now spoke, I will go on deck and make
Miss Trevor acquainted with the news of our misfortune."
Miss Trevor received the news of Potter's demise with a few expressions
of well-bred regret, but she did not appear to be very greatly concerned
at the event. It could scarcely be otherwise. In the first place, she
had only been in the man's company a very few hours; and although he had
certainly picked her and Leslie up--thus saving them in all probability
from a lingering and painful death--he could scarcely have acted
otherwise, seeing that he had nothing to do but give orders for a few
rope's ends to be dropped over the side to them. Then, although she had
given no sign of it, his manner toward her had been such as to fill her
with vague fear; while his behaviour toward Leslie, when that individual
had unavailingly attempted to convince him of the presence of another
survivor upon the floating wreckage, was scarcely of a kind to inspire a
woman with confidence or respect.
By eight bells in the afternoon watch there was no longer room for doubt
that Potter was really dead; and this being the case, Purchas very
wisely decided to bury the body at once, and get rid of it. At his
summons, therefore, the carpenter and another man came aft with a square
of canvas, palm, needle, and twine to sew up the body, and a short
length of rusty chain--routed out from the fore-peak--wherewith to sink
it. Meanwhile the brig's ensign was hoisted half-mast high, and the men
were ordered to "clean" themselves in readiness for the funeral--all
work being knocked off for the remainder of the day. Upon being
apprised of what was about to take place, Miss Trevor retired to her
cabin.
The process of sewing up the body and preparing it for burial occupied
about half an hour, by which time the men were all ready. Meanwhile
Leslie had been coaching Purchas--who frankly confessed his ignorance--
as to the part he was to perform; it being of course his duty, as master
of the ship, to read the burial service.
The carpenter having reported that the body was ready, two more men came
aft, bearing with them a grating which they laid down on the deck
alongside the companion. They then descended to the berth wherein the
dead man lay and, assisted by the carpenter and the man who had helped
to sew up the body in its canvas shroud, carried the corpse, with some
difficulty--owing to its weight, and the cramped dimensions of the berth
and the companion-way--up on deck, where it was laid upon the grating,
and a spare ensign spread over it as a pall. Then the four men raised
the grating and its burden to their shoulders, and with Purchas in front
reading the burial service, and Leslie following behind, all, of course,
uncovered, the little procession moved slowly along the deck to the lee
gangway, where the rest of the crew, also uncovered, awaited it.
Arrived at the gangway, the grating was laid upon the rail, with the
feet of the body pointing outboard; the carpenter and his assistant
supporting the inner end of the grating.
Shorn though the ceremony necessarily was of most of the solemn
formalism that characterises an interment ashore, and further marred in
its effectiveness by the droning tones in which Purchas deemed it proper
to read the beautiful and solemn words of the prescribed ritual, it was,
nevertheless, profoundly impressive, the peculiar circumstances of the
case, and the setting of the picture, so to speak--the small brig out
there alone upon the boundless world of waters, the little group of
weather-beaten bare-headed men surrounding the stark and silent figure
upon the grating, who a few brief hours before had been the head and
chief of their small community; the man to whose knowledge and skill
they had willingly committed their fortunes and themselves, who had
ruled them as with a rod of iron, whose will was their law, who had held
their very lives in his hands, at whose caprice they were either happy
or miserable, and who now lay there without the power to move so much as
a finger either to help or hurt them, and whose lifeless clay they were
about to launch to its last resting-place, there to repose "till the sea
gives up her dead,"--this, with the wailing moan of the wind aloft, the
sobbing of the water alongside, and the solemn glory of the dying day
all uniting to imbue the scene and the occasion with a profundity of
sadness and a sublimity that would have been impossible under other
circumstances. And so deeply was Leslie moved by it that, for the first
time since the words of his cruel and unjust sentence had fallen upon
his ears, he once more felt, to conviction, that God the Creator, God
the Ordainer, God the Father was and must be an ever-living and
omnipotent entity. And for the first time, also, since then he followed
the prayers that Purchas droned out with an earnest and heartfelt
sincerity at which he felt himself vaguely astonished.
At length the mate reached the words in the service, "we therefore
commit his body to the deep," whereupon the two men who supported the
inner end of the grating tilted it high, and the heavily weighted body,
sliding out from beneath the outspread ensign, plunged with a sullen
splash into its lonely grave. The remainder of the service was quickly
gone through; and as the little party of mourners rose from their knees
with the pronouncement of the last "Amen," the sun's disc vanished in a
blaze of indescribable glory beneath the horizon, while at the same
moment "four bells" pealed out along the brig's deck.
"Go for'ard, men," ordered Purchas, replacing his cap upon his head;
"and see that that gratin' is stowed away again in its proper place.
Haul down that ensign, one of you. And whose trick at the wheel is it?"
For the next three or four days nothing worthy of mention occurred on
board the brig, save that the breeze which had sprung up on the morning
of the day of Potter's death held good, and ran them fairly into the
Trades. Our next vision of the _Mermaid_, therefore, shows her bruising
along under all plain sail, including fore and main royals, together
with port topgallant and topmast studding-sails on the main, and topmast
and lower studding-sails on the foremast; the rigging having in the
interim been properly set up, so that the brig could carry that amount
of canvas without jeopardy to her spars.
The death and burial of the late skipper had permitted of a certain
modification of arrangements aft. Thus, while Miss Trevor was, by
Purchas's natural courtesy, allowed to retain possession of the late
Potter's cabin, as the best and most commodious berth in the brig,
Purchas had transferred the chronometer, charts and other paraphernalia
appertaining to the navigation of the brig, to his own cabin, which he
once more occupied; Leslie moving from the longboat into the steward's
cabin, now vacated by Purchas. With the permission of the latter, also,
Leslie had appropriated to his own use Potter's somewhat extensive kit--
the two men being much of a size, although Potter had been of
considerably stouter build. This, of course, conduced greatly to
Leslie's comfort, as it afforded him, among other advantages, a
much-needed change of linen; although the ex-lieutenant did not assume
possession of these articles without certain inward qualms that, under
the circumstances, were not to be wondered at.
Then it presently transpired that Potter--who had possessed a shrewd eye
for a money-making speculation--had, before leaving London, invested a
considerable sum in articles of various kinds that he knew, from
experience, he would be able to dispose of at a huge profit, upon his
arrival at Valparaiso; and among these there happened to be a capacious
case of ladies' clothing. This case Leslie also commandeered, giving to
Purchas, in exchange, a signed agreement to pay to Potter's heirs,
executors, or assigns--if such could be found upon their return to
England--the full value of the goods, as well as of the clothing that
Leslie had appropriated to his own use. This case of clothing, together
with the other goods included in the speculation, were, as Purchas
happened to know, stowed in the after hold, on top of the cargo; Leslie
therefore lost no time in having the hatches lifted and the case hoisted
on deck, and opened. Then he summoned Miss Trevor upon the scene, and
invited her to overhaul the case and help herself freely to the whole or
such part of the contents as she might find of service to her; with the
result that the lady soon found herself in possession of an ample if
somewhat showy wardrobe, to her infinite comfort and contentment.
During the whole of this time, it may be remarked, not a single sail of
any description had been sighted; although Leslie, keenly anxious to
meet the wishes of Miss Trevor in the matter of trans-shipment, had
caused a bright look-out for ships to be maintained throughout both day
and night.
A week, or maybe rather more than that, had elapsed since Potter's death
when Leslie discovered what appeared to him a fresh cause for the
apprehension of future trouble. It was Purchas who this time gave rise
to the apprehension. The fellow had, from the moment when Leslie and
Miss Trevor first came aboard the brig, been exceedingly civil and
obliging to them both, cheerfully doing everything that lay in his power
to make them comfortable. It is true that, perhaps in return for this,
he had not hesitated to invoke Leslie's assistance in the matter of
navigating the brig, and standing a watch--in fact, performing the
duties of a mate; but this, under the circumstances, was perfectly
natural, and quite in accord with Leslie's own inclination.
But later, within a few days of Potter's death, indeed, Leslie thought
he detected in Purchas an inclination to shirk some of the more
important duties of the ship, such as the navigation of her, for
instance, and relegate them entirely to him. Even this, however, did
not greatly worry Leslie. In any case, he always took the necessary
observations for the determination of the brig's latitude and longitude,
independently of Purchas; and whether the latter checked his
observations or not was a matter of indifference to him, since he had
the fullest confidence in the accuracy of his own work--a confidence,
indeed, that Purchas appeared to fully share, since, in the event of any
discrepancy between them, the new skipper always accepted Leslie's
results in preference to his own. This, however, was not the chief
cause of Leslie's disquietude, which arose from the fact that on more
than one occasion, when it had been his "eight hours out," he had
noticed, when calling Purchas at midnight, that the latter's breath had
smelt strongly of rum, and that the man, upon taking the deck, had
appeared to be strongly under the influence of drink. So markedly,
indeed, was this the case upon a recent occasion that Leslie had taxed
him with it.
"Look here, Mr Purchas," he had remarked, "you have been mixing your
`nightcap' too strong to-night, and are scarcely in a fit condition to
have charge of the brig. Go below and sleep it off. I will take your
watch for you, with pleasure."
"Oh, will you?" Purchas had retorted disagreeably. "Le' me tell you,
shir, tha' you'll do nothin' o' short; I'm qui' cap'le lookin' after
thi' ship or any other ship that ever was built; and I won' have you or
any other man tryin' take my charac'er away. You go b'low an' leave me
'lone. D'ye hear?"
Seeing at once that the man was in much too quarrelsome a condition to
be satisfactorily reasoned with, Leslie had at once left him and gone
below; only to return, however, within the next ten minutes to find
Purchas stretched at full length upon a hencoop, fast asleep and snoring
stertorously.
On the morning following this incident Leslie, finding the skipper once
more sober and, as usual under those circumstances, quite genial and
friendly, tackled him again upon the subject.
"I want to talk to you very seriously, Purchas," he said, as the two
walked the weather side of the deck together, smoking, after breakfast.
"You are now the skipper of this brig, you know; and, as such, are
accountable to nobody but your owners for your conduct. But this, as I
have understood you to say, is your first command; and whether you
retain it or not after the termination of this voyage must necessarily
depend to a very great extent upon your behaviour _now_. Insobriety is,
as I need hardly tell you, the one unpardonable sin in the eyes of a
shipowner. No man will knowingly entrust his property to the care of
another who, even only occasionally, permits himself to take too much
liquor, because he can never know just when that overdose may be taken.
He is always ready to believe that it may be imbibed at the most
inopportune moment, and that the master of his ship may be under its
influence at the precise instant when the safety of the ship, crew, and
cargo demand his utmost vigilance and most intelligent resource. And
although you may imagine that what you do out here in mid-ocean cannot
possibly reach the ears of your owner, you must not forget that sailors
have a keen eye for what goes on aft; a skipper cannot get drunk without
the fact reaching the sharp ears of those in the forecastle. It is one
of the easiest things in the world for an officer to acquire, among his
crew, a reputation for insobriety; and, once they get ashore, you may
trust them to talk about it freely, very often adding embellishments of
their own. The reputation of a ship-master is in the hands of his crew;
and if he is foolish enough to afford them the opportunity, they may be
depended upon to ruin it for him. Besides, I want you to remember your
responsibilities as master of this brig. I will undertake to look after
her and see that nothing goes wrong during the time that I have charge
of the deck; but I cannot _always_ be on deck, you know; and if you
should happen to be intoxicated and incapable--as you were last night--
while I am below, what would be the result of a sudden squall, for
instance? Or how is the craft to be kept clear of possible collision on
a dark and dirty night? There are a thousand sudden emergencies
constantly threatening the seaman, any one of which may arise at a
moment's notice."
"Yes, yes," answered Purchas, somewhat impatiently; "I know all about
that. I've heard it all a thousand times before; heard it until I'm
sick of it. But there's no call to make a fuss about it; I own up that
I was just a little bit `sprung' last night; but what of it? The night
was fine and clear, the `glass' was steady, and there wasn't nothin'
anywheres within sight of us; so where was the danger?"
"There was none, as it fortunately happened," admitted Leslie. "But who
is to know what will occur within the limits of a four-hours' watch?
Suppose, for instance, that I had not chanced to notice your condition,
and had turned in; and that while you were lying unconscious upon that
hencoop a sudden squall had struck the brig, what would have happened?
Why, the craft might have been dismasted, or even, perhaps, capsized!
And where should we all have been, in that case?"
"Well, ye see, we warn't dismasted, let alone capsized, so there's no
harm done," answered Purchas, testily. "All the same," he added, in
more moderate tones, "I'm willin' to admit that there's a good deal of
reason in your argufication, so I'll go slow in future; I don't say that
I won't take a glass or so of grog of an evenin' if I feels to want it;
but I'll take care not to swaller enough of it to capsize me again."
"You would do far better to swear off it altogether," asserted Leslie.
"You would be glad, afterwards, that you had done so. You are an
excellent seaman; and I shall be more than glad to help you to perfect
yourself in navigation, if you will allow me, so that there should be
nothing to stand in the way of your getting your master's certificate
upon your return to England. And with that, and a reputation for
reliability such as you can acquire during this voyage, there should be
nothing to prevent your continuing in the command of this brig, or even
of your getting something very much better. And now, I think, it is
about time for us to get our sights for the longitude."