AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA
When morning broke on the day after our escape from the burning island
we shaped a course with the wind, for I had no fixed purpose, and our
only hope of returning to civilization lay in a chance meeting with
some passing vessel. Yet I knew how remote that chance would be. The
sea in these latitudes was not in the course of trade between any of
the countries of the known world, and voyages of discovery such as
those undertaken by Dirk Hartog and other navigators of the time were
few and far between. Still I conceived it to be my duty to make the
best use of the means which Providence had placed in my hands of
returning to home and friends, and as the cutter danced over the waves,
and the salt spray moistened our faces, I felt my spirits rise.
Melannie, in her new-found freedom, was like a happy child.
"Let us sail on for ever, Peter," she said. "I never want to put my
foot on land again."
I tried to tell her that we could not live long upon the ocean; that
our food and water would fail us; and that unless we fell in with a
ship, or landed upon some friendly island, our doom was sealed. But
Melannie refused to look upon the graver side of our situation, and
seemed so happy and contented that I did not like to spoil her
enjoyment with my dismal forebodings. Time enough, I thought, to meet
trouble when it comes. Meanwhile we continued our voyage as a pleasure
trip, eating the fruit we had brought with us when we felt hungry, and
quenching our thirst from the boat's water-tank, with no care for the
future.
During this time Van Luck resumed his former air of abstraction, which
I had noticed in him on board the "Arms of Amsterdam". For hours at a
time he would remain silent, looking across the sea with his hand
shading his eyes in the watchful attitude which had become habitual to
him during his solitary vigils at the island upon which we had found
him. If spoken to when this fit was upon him, he would not answer, nor
did he, at such times, appear to realize where he was. I could see that
his mind was deranged, and I dreaded some violent outbreak, such as
that which had come over him when, by his treachery, I was cast into
the sea. But Melannie showed no fear of him; in, her delight at being
with me upon the ocean away from the savages, among whom she had been
reared, she seemed to have forgotten his presence.
For the next week after leaving what had been once the Island of Gems,
we experienced a spell of fine weather, with bright sun and cool
breeze. The elements seemed kind to the exiled queen without a throne,
who had trusted herself to the wind and the sea, and but for the
anxiety which I felt for the future, the voyage would have been a
pleasant one.
In order to protect Melannie from the heat of midday, and to ensure her
some measure of privacy, I constructed a temporary cabin for her, with
some spare canvas which I found on board the boat, but at night she
preferred to sleep in the open so that she might watch the stars, which
shone with extraordinary brilliancy. It was then that I lowered the
sails when our boat drifted upon the moonlit sea. Melannie would at
such times creep into my arms, and with her head pillowed upon, my
breast would listen to the wonders I had to tell of the world of white
people to which I hoped I was taking her.
"Something warns me I shall never see that country, Peter," she said to
me one night with a sigh, "but I like to hear you speak of it. It must
be a happy land where there are no black men to frighten a poor girl
and make her weep. But I shall not see it. The white spirits would not
welcome me to their country if they knew of the sights I had seen and
the pain I had caused to be inflicted on those whom Ackbau hated."
"It was not your will, but Ackbau's, Melannie, which caused such
suffering," I answered. "None could blame you for being the mouthpiece
of his villainy."
But Melannie shook her head.
"The white man's country is not for me, Peter," she declared
sorrowfully. "I am too steeped in blood to take the white girls' hands
in friendship."
Then she clung to me weeping, with her head upon my breast, and so she
would sob herself to sleep like a child disappointed in play.
But, knowing her history, I could not find it in my heart to blame her
for what had been done at the dictation of others. I pictured her a
queen, among the whites, by reason of her wealth from the sale of her
jewels, who would doubtless have many noble suitors at her feet. Her
beauty was such as I had never seen equalled, and her imperious and
sometimes wilful ways only added to her indescribable charms.
It was now forced upon me that unless help came soon we must starve.
Our stock of fruit was almost exhausted, and scarce three quarts of
water remained in the tank. I had not been able to impress upon
Melannie the necessity for economy in our eating and drinking. She had
always been used to an abundance of simple fare, and, like a child,
lived for the hour, with no thought of the future. Van Luck had also
been in the habit of helping himself to what he wanted from our stock,
nor had I liked to interfere with him lest I might cause trouble. But
now I resolved to take a firmer stand with both my passengers.
To add to my anxieties I could see that Van Luck had been attracted by
the bag of jewels which Melannie had so imprudently displayed on the
night of our escape from the burning island. He was continually
watching it when his eyes were not employed in gazing across the sea,
and once I caught him creeping toward Melannie when she slept as if
with the intention of robbing her of the treasure. I spoke to him
roughly, and ordered him back to the fore part of the boat. He obeyed,
but his looks were so threatening that I momentarily expected him to
attack me.
I now determined to keep awake while Melannie slept in order that I
might watch Van Luck, and I impressed upon the queen that she must
never sleep when I slept. Thus we continued for some nights, keeping
watch and watch about. But I soon found I could not trust Melannie, for
when I awoke I discovered her to be asleep. But in this, as in all
else, Melannie was such a child that I could not find it in my heart to
scold her.