Well might the unhappy fugitives have despaired. The larger portion of
their provisions had been washed overboard; the remainder were almost
exhausted; their boat was battered and leaky, the seamen were apparently
dying, and unable to determine in what direction to seek for land. For
weeks they might sail on and not find it. Still the missionary and his
companions placed their trust in Him who is able to save them.
A light breeze once more sent the boat through the water. They were
gliding on when Harry observed that old Tom's eye was intently gazing
towards the south-west, yet he did not speak. Harry looked in the same
direction.
"What do you see, lad?" asked old Tom.
Harry rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, it is. A sail! a sail!" he exclaimed.
"I thought so, but feared that my hopes might have deceived me," said
old Tom. "She is standing this way, and is close-hauled."
The boat was steered so as to intercept the stranger. Harry kept his
gaze fixed on her. She was evidently a whaler.
"Can she be the _Steadfast_?" exclaimed Dickey, who was also earnestly
looking at her.
"I was in hopes that she might be," exclaimed Harry.
"The _Steadfast_ would be deeper in the water, and has a new cloth on
her foretopsail, and that ship has not," observed old Tom.
"We should be thankful, whatever she is," said Mr Hart. "Let us return
thanks to God for sending her to rescue us."
The men roused up on hearing that a ship was approaching, and managed
even to get their oars out to pull alongside her.
As they drew near they saw clearly that she was not the _Steadfast_.
The stranger hove to. A person, whom they supposed to be the captain,
asked whence they had come and what they wanted.
"We are escaping from savages, and entreat you to receive us on board,
for we are almost starved," answered Mr Hart.
"You may come on deck, then," said the captain; but that was more than
any one in the boat unassisted could do. Even old Tom, the strongest of
the party, could not manage to clamber up the side. A ladder was
therefore let down, and two seamen descending carried up Mrs Hart and
then her husband. The boys followed, old Tom being the last to leave
the boat, which was then hoisted up, but almost fell to pieces in the
operation.
"You people have had a narrow escape," observed the captain, as he
examined the boat. "You and your wife can have a cabin, though I am not
fond of missionaries, I tell you," he observed, turning to Mr Hart.
"The rest can manage to shift for'ard among the men."
"I shall be grateful for any accommodation you will afford my wife and
me," said Mr Hart. "You see how much she requires attention;" and he
pointed to his wife, who was seated on a hencoop almost fainting. "I
would ask you, too, to allow those two young gentlemen to live in the
cabin; one is a captain's son, the other an apprentice."
"Oh, they can shift for themselves well enough forward," answered the
captain, gruffly. "We are bound for the Sandwich Islands, which I hope
to make in the course of a couple of weeks, and we shall then part
company, as you will then be able to find a vessel to carry you wherever
you may wish to go. I cannot undertake charge of you for a longer
time."
"All I can say is that we shall be grateful to you for preserving our
lives; for I believe, humanly speaking, we should have perished before
many days had elapsed," said Mr Hart. "I do not at present see how we
can repay you, but if I have the power be assured I will gladly do so."
The crew, though rough in appearance and rough spoken, paid every
attention in their power to old Tom and his companions, and put them
into their berths, where they all in a few minutes fell fast asleep.
Next day Harry and Bass, having somewhat recovered, crawled on deck.
They learned that the ship was the _Swordfish_; that Captain Boucher,
the master, was an odd-tempered man, and that, as she had been out more
than a year and caught but few whales, and had of late had nothing but
ill-luck, he was in an especial bad humour. The captain was walking up
and down, abusing the officers, who behaved in the same way towards the
men, while the latter growled in return and performed their work in a
sulky way.
Harry was afraid that poor Mr and Mrs Hart would be neglected, and,
waiting till the captain was quiet, humbly asked leave to be allowed to
go down and pay them a visit.
"What do you want with them?" asked the captain.
"They are my friends," said Harry, "and I wish to see if they require
anything."
"If you go below you shall wait upon them and on me too, youngster. My
cabin-boy fell overboard the other day, and I want another."
"While I remain on board I will do as you wish," answered Harry, glad to
have the means of being of service to his friends.
He found them in a small cabin--poor Mrs Hart still very weak and ill,
and Mr Hart seated by her side, though much requiring rest himself.
One of the men who had taken in the captain's breakfast had brought them
some, but they had received no other attention, while they had heard the
captain abusing missionaries as a useless, idle set who never did any
good.
Harry set about the duty he had undertaken with alacrity, though for
some days he had great difficulty in moving about. He said nothing when
the captain abused him as an idle young dog, but did his best to do as
he was required. He spread the table as he had seen it arranged on
board the _Steadfast_, and tried to keep the cabin in good order. He
was constant in his attendance on Mr and Mrs Hart, though he had often
a difficulty in obtaining proper food for them from the cook.
Dickey was anxious to assist him, and proposed to ask the captain's
leave.
"I am sure he would not grant it," said Harry; "he would only say that
one boy is more than enough, and that we should be playing tricks
together."
Harry could not help acknowledging that he had an uncomfortable life of
it; but he willingly bore all the captain's abuse for the sake of his
friends, and his chief consolation was to remain in their cabin and to
listen to Mr Hart's conversation. The captain, however, who at length
one day found he was there, ordered him on deck.
"What are you and that man plotting about?" he asked, abusing him as an
idle young dog. "I'll give you work to do;" and Harry was sent to
assist Bass in blacking down the rigging.
After that the captain kept him constantly employed in the dirtiest work
about the ship.
Harry bore this treatment without murmuring.
"I only wish that the voyage was over," he remarked to Bass. "Still,
whatever he does, we should be thankful to him for saving our lives."
"I am not so certain that he will let us go free, even when we reach the
Sandwich Islands," answered Bass. "The men say he will swear we are
apprentices, and keep us on board."
"Don't let him suppose that you think so. If we have our wits about us
we may make our escape," said Harry.
Day after day the wind continued light, and the voyage was prolonged.
The captain treated the boys in the same tyrannical way as at first.
Harry could only exchange a few words with his friends when he took them
their meals; he was thankful that the captain had not deprived him of
the opportunity of doing so.
"It is our duty, my dear Harry, to bear with ill-treatment," observed
Mr Hart. "It is hard to do so, but let us pray for grace, and we shall
not seek it in vain."
At length the Island of Oahu, in which the capital Honolulu is situated,
was sighted. As the ship approached the harbour, and Harry and Bass
were congratulating themselves that their emancipation drew near, the
captain ordered them to go down into the cabin. When there they found
themselves suddenly seized by two of the mates, who thrust them into a
small side cabin.
"You will remain there; and take care that you make no noise," said one
of the mates. "When we are at sea again you will be let out." The poor
boys expostulated in vain. The door was locked upon them, and they were
left in almost total darkness.
"I told you so," said Bass. "I was sure he meant us mischief."
"I am very sure that Mr Hart will make every effort to obtain our
release," observed Harry. "So will old Tom; and I should think the
captain would scarcely venture to detain him."
In a short time they heard the anchor let go, and they knew that the
ship had entered the harbour. They waited in the hope that Mr Hart
would discover where they were and come at least to speak to them, but
night came on and they were left alone. They had to coil themselves up
and go to sleep.
Next morning the first mate opened the door and put in some breakfast,
saying that it would be worse for them if they made any noise.
Several days passed by and they were thus kept in durance. They heard
at different times voices in the cabin; but not knowing who the speakers
were, they were afraid of crying out. At last they knew by the
movements of the ship that she was once more under way; and shortly
afterwards the mate came to the door and told them that they might go on
deck to attend to their duty. Greatly to their satisfaction, they saw
old Tom. He made a sign to them not to speak to him and turned away.
They waited till it was dark. He then came up to them as they were
standing together.
"I discovered that the captain had shut you up," he said; "and I did all
I could to get him to allow you to go on shore, but he said that he had
a right to detain you, and I of course would not leave the ship without
you. We must therefore watch for an opportunity of getting on shore at
some place where English authority is established, and we can make
complaints of the way you have been treated."
"I would rather land among savages than remain on board," said Harry.
"And so would I," exclaimed Bass. "And if you will come with us we will
try to escape at the first place we touch at."
"We must learn what sort of a place it is first," said old Tom, "or we
may be worse off than we are on board."
"We will talk about that by-and-by," said Harry. "I am very anxious to
know what has become of Mr and Mrs Hart."
"I am thankful to say they are among friends," answered old Tom.
"Missionaries have been for some time settled in these islands, and the
king and a considerable number of his people have become Christians.
Mr Hart did not forget you either, and he came on board to try and
learn what had become of you. The captain must have deceived him, and
persuaded him that you were no longer in the ship. He was coming off
again just as we were getting under way, and the captain would not then
allow him to come up the side."
"I am thankful, at all events, to hear that our friends are safe," said
Harry; "and we must try to make the best of it."
"That's a wise resolution, Harry," said Tom. "Even though the captain
should continue to ill-treat you, behave as you have hitherto done, and
even his hard heart may be softened. However, we must not be found
talking together, so now go and turn into your berths, and try and get a
better night's rest than you could have had in that close cabin."
Harry and Bass followed old Tom's advice; and next morning when they
came on deck they found that the ship was off the magnificent coast of
the large island of Hawaii, with the two lofty mountains, Mouna Kea and
Mouna Roa, rising far off.
The weather looked threatening, and in a short time a heavy gale began
to blow. The wind increased in fury till it became a perfect hurricane.
The sails were closely reefed. The captain endeavoured to beat out to
sea, as there was no port under his lee into which he could run.
Notwithstanding all the efforts made to keep off the land, the ship
drove closer and closer to it. A terrific line of breakers could be
seen dashing on the shore. Should the ship be driven among them, her
destruction would be certain; and there was little hope of an anchor a
holding to save her from her impending fate. To avoid this, sail was
kept on the ship, though, under any other circumstances, with an open
sea before her, she would have been running under bare poles.
Harry and Bass were standing together.
"What do you think of it, Tom?" asked Harry, as the old man came up to
them.
"Badly enough, as far as this world is concerned," answered old Tom.
"Happy are those who are prepared to enter another world, as I know you
are, and I hope Mr Bass is too. He who died for us is ready to welcome
us there, if we are trusting to Him alone down here, and not to our own
strength and doings, however good our fellow-men may think us. That's
my comfort, whatever happens, though for your sakes, and that of the
poor fellows aboard, I pray we may escape. I cannot say, however, that
I see much prospect of it. If the worst comes, do you boys stick by me,
and I will do my best to save your lives."
The ship drifted nearer and nearer the shore. The captain and mates,
hardy and bold as they were, looked pale and anxious, now gazing up at
the bending masts, now at the shore under their lee.
"If we get a slant of wind we may do it yet," said the captain.
"But if not?" observed the first mate.
"We must let go our anchors, and cut away the masts. There is nothing
else to be done," was the answer.
The hoped-for change of wind did not come.
"Let go the best bower," shouted the captain. "Stand by with the axes."
The order was obeyed. The ship for a moment rode head to wind. At the
same instant the men, with gleaming axes in their hands, were seen
cutting away at the masts.
Tom led his young friends under shelter of the poop deck.
Down came the masts with a crash. Not a hundred fathoms astern the sea
in wild masses was breaking furiously. The next instant the anchor
parted; another was let go, but it scarcely held for a moment; and then
the ship drove broadside into the midst of the wild, raging tumult of
waters. Now she rose for a moment on the summit of a huge wave, now
borne onwards she sank into a hollow between the waves. The next sea
swept her decks, carrying many of the hapless crew overboard, and
washing away the caboose and a large portion of the bulwarks.
By Tom's advice Harry and Bass clung to a stanchion near which they had
taken their post. Tom held on to another near them.
Another sea struck the devoted ship, and threw her with tremendous force
on the coral rocks, crushing in her bottom and sides. Others of the
crew were carried off as the seas continued to strike her. Now portions
of her bows, now the remainder of her bulwarks, were swept away, while
on each occasion the fearful crashing and rending of timbers showed that
she was rapidly breaking up.
"What had we best do?" asked Bass.
"Hold on to the last," answered Harry; "perhaps the gale may abate, and
we may yet reach the shore."
There seemed, however, but little hope of their doing this. Every
instant larger portions of the wreck were carried away. It was evident
that in a short time she would break up completely. Tom handed to each
of the boys a length of rope.
"Make yourselves fast to any piece of timber you can get hold of," he
said; "it will give you the best chance of safety."
Few of the people had by this time escaped, and every sea which broke
over the wreck carried one or more away.
At length another tremendous sea came rolling towards them. A fearful
crash followed. Harry and Bass found themselves floating together amid
the boiling waters, with pieces of wreck tossed to and fro near them, a
blow from which would have proved fatal, but not one struck them. Not
far off they caught sight of Tom clinging to a portion of the poop deck.
A sea carried them towards him. He hauled them up, and they made
themselves fast to some ring-bolts. Though the seas washed over them,
and they felt as if the breath would be knocked out of their bodies,
they were not carried off; and they found that their raft was being
driven rapidly towards the shore, now scarcely a quarter of a mile from
them. Every instant they expected the raft to be turned over and over,
but it floated as before, and, now lifted high on the summit of a
breaker, and now sunk down into the hollow of the sea, went on and on
till they felt it ground on the beach.
Tom told them to cast themselves adrift, when, seizing each by the arm,
he dragged them forward, and in another instant they were on dry ground.
"Praise God for His mercy! We are safe!" cried Tom. "But now, boys,
let us see if we can help any of our shipmates."
They looked along the beach on either hand, but for some minutes they
could discover no one.
"There is a man!" at length cried Tom. "I caught sight of his head and
hand among the foam."
They ran in the direction Tom pointed, waiting anxiously, in the hope of
dragging the man out of the surf as it broke on the shore. Tom rushed
in and seized him, as for an instant he was thrown on the beach, or the
receding waves would have carried him back. The boys assisted Tom.
They recognised the features of the captain, but the hue of death was on
his face. His arms fell down as they placed him on the ground.
"He has gone!" cried Tom.
They did what they could to revive him, but life was extinct.
Two other bodies were washed up, but not a human being besides
themselves reached the shore alive. They looked around them. The whole
bay into which they had been thrown presented a scene of barren wildness
and grandeur. A valley opened up from it, and in the distance rose the
summit of a lofty volcano, the stream of lava from which had caused the
desolation they saw around.
"I am glad we have got ashore alive; but I am afraid we shall die of
hunger if we cannot manage to get out of this soon," said Bass.
"He who brought us on shore will take care of us," observed Tom. "But
we must do our best. The sooner we set off to look for some natives the
better."
"If there are any Christians about here, we are sure, if we can find
them, to be treated kindly."
Having examined the coast as far as they could see on either hand, they
agreed to move to the east, in which direction some green shrubs and
trees were distinguishable. As they all felt weak and exhausted, there
was no time to be lost.
"Won't it be well to get hold of something to defend ourselves if we are
attacked?" said Bass. "I should like to have a club to fight with."
"It would be no use, Mr Bass," answered Tom. "We must try to make
friends with the natives; I have no fear about the matter."
"Nor have I," said Harry.
Tom and the two boys made their way along the shore. Sometimes they had
to climb over rocks, sometimes to wade through black sand. At length
they reached a firmer beach, and got on better than at first.
The day was wearing on. They had had nothing to eat or drink since the
previous evening. They all felt faint and hungry.
At length they caught sight of a stream of sparkling water trickling
down the rocks. How eagerly they drank of it! It revived them, and
they pushed on. They were anxious to fall in with natives before dark
who might give them food and shelter.
The appearance of the country rapidly improved. At last, after climbing
some rocks, they found themselves looking down into a beautiful bay, on
the shore of which a number of women and girls were collected, who, from
the way they were employed in combing their dark hair or dressing their
heads with flowers, had apparently just come out of the water.
On seeing the three strangers several of the girls shrieked out. Among
them was a tall, dignified-looking person, who, on observing Tom and the
boys approaching, rose from the ground on which she had been seated and
advanced towards them. To their surprise, she addressed them in broken
English.
"Who you? where you come from?" she asked.
Tom replied that they were English, and had escaped from their ship,
which had been wrecked some way along the coast.
"And, please, marm," he added, "we are very hungry, especially these two
boys, and shall be thankful if you will give us some food as soon as
possible."
"We are not more hungry than he is," said Harry; "but he always thinks
more of us than of himself."
The lady smiled and made signs to them to accompany her, evidently
understanding what they said, though she herself had soon apparently
exhausted her stock of English words. She led the way, followed by her
maidens.
Climbing the rocks, which were easily surmounted, they found themselves
in a level country with trees growing luxuriantly, while plantations of
various descriptions were seen in every direction. At a little distance
was a cottage, which, though built after the native fashion, was of
considerable size.
"There is my house," said the lady, pointing to it. "You welcome food,
plenty sleep till to-morrow, and praise Jehovah."
"What! marm, if I may make so bold to ask, are you a Christian?"
exclaimed Tom.
The lady nodded and smiled.
"You Christian too, I hope?" she said.
"That I am, marm, and so are these boys," answered Tom.
"I told you all would be right, Harry," he added. "You see we could not
have fallen into better hands."
On reaching the house, the girls, by the directions of their mistress,
hurried to prepare food, and several dishes of fish and fruits were soon
placed on mats on the floor. Before bidding her guests to eat, the
lady, who had been sitting, rose and said a grace in her own language,
adding a few words of English. Tom and the boys uttered "Amen," at
which she seemed pleased, and she then served each of them with her own
hands.
As soon as she saw that her guests had eaten enough, she assembled her
family and attendants, who seated themselves before her; she read to
them the Bible in her own language, and then offered up a prayer. After
this, she leading, the rest joined in singing a hymn, the tune of which
Tom recognised, though the words were strange to him. The evening's
devotions being thus concluded, she led them to a part of the house
screened off by mats, and bidding them enter, pointed to three beds,
also covered with matting, which her maidens had in the meantime
prepared for them.
Their clothes had been thoroughly dried during their journey. She
showed that she had thought of their comfort by presenting each of them
with some cotton garments, and making them understand that their own
clothes, saturated with the salt water, should be washed and ready for
them the next day.
"We have indeed fallen into good hands, as you say, Mr Hayes," observed
Harry, after they had all three knelt down and said their prayers.
"No doubt about that," answered old Tom. "We shall find that a
missionary has been here; and I hope by his means to gain tidings of our
friends and be able to rejoin them."
With this pleasant thought they lay down to rest. Harry hoped not only
to meet Mr and Mrs Hart again, but to be able to find a ship returning
to England. He longed once more to be with his dear mother and sister,
and to comfort them in their affliction.