"MUM."
Captain Knox did not set off in pursuit of the British vessel from which
Blair had so unexpectedly escaped. Our young sailor soon learned that
the "Molly" was on the look-out for richer prey, in the shape of an East
Indiaman, whose costly cargo was expected to prove a gold mine for
captain and crew.
The love of adventure and the lust for gold seemed uppermost in the
minds of Blair's new companions. The Fairport boy was not long in
discovering that there was about as little Christian patriotism on board
the Molly, as there is verdure in Sahara. In the freedom of the
mess-table, the late achievements of the crew were the occasion of many
a "yarn," and of many a fierce discussion as to who had been the boldest
and most reckless in the excitement of attack and victory. It was plain
that the crew of the Molly were little better than a den of thieves,
their whole thought being of plunder, their whole ambition the winning
of gold. Blair blushed for the honor of his country, to find such men
among her avowed defenders. Oaths and obscenity made even more hateful
the rough narratives in which each strove to prove himself more hardened
and abandoned than the last speaker. Blair's soul recoiled with horror
from the taint of such companionship; yet for him there was no escape.
Among these coarse rovers he was forced to eat and sleep, to live and
labor, while many weeks went by.
The youngest on board, he was at the beck and call of these rough men,
who made his body as weary of doing their bidding as his soul of their
words of wickedness. A deep, hearty hatred of the crew of the Molly took
possession of Blair Robertson. He wondered that a benevolent Providence
should have placed a Christian boy in the midst of the pollution of such
associates, and subject to the martyrdom of hearing their daily talk. A
cold and haughty silence was Blair's defence against their scolding and
their railing. With a feeling of conscious superiority he moved among
them, desiring their praise even less than their persecution.
The names of the crew of the Molly were as unattractive as their
appearance and manners. These soubriquets spoke not of pious parents who
had given their children to God, with a Christian name which they
trusted would be registered in heaven. They told rather of lawless
lives, and a past which must be buried in oblivion or acknowledged with
shame and perhaps fear. "Fighting-cock," "Torpedo," "Brimstone," and
"the Slasher," were among the leaders who dubbed Blair with the title of
"Mum," and so saluted him on all occasions. Blair had a very
considerable sense of his own dignity, and was by no means pleased with
this style of address. Yet he showed his resentment by increased
taciturnity rather than by words. Captain Knox and Derry Duck soon found
out that Blair Robertson was no useless addition to the crew, and
promptly gave him his share in the watch and in other duties which his
strength would permit.
The hours of the watch were to Blair the most agreeable he now enjoyed.
In the silent night, with the sea below and the sentinel stars overhead,
he could commune with God, undisturbed by the wickedness of man.
Blair had not been a day on board the Molly, when Torpedo, a fiery young
Spaniard, spied him reading his pocket-Testament in a quiet part of the
ship. The book was snatched away and flung triumphantly into the water,
while Torpedo exclaimed in bad English that Blair should follow it if he
tried to force any of his canting notions on the free crew of the
privateer. Well was it for Blair that his mind was stored with chapter
after chapter of the precious volume, which would otherwise have been to
him now a sealed book. It surprised him to see how much of the
Scriptures he could by a strong effort recall, and most consoling and
cheering to him were those words of peace and power.
In one of these lonely watches, Blair's thoughts turned to his present
companions with his usual loathing. Suddenly there came to him the
image of these rough bad men in their days of babyhood, ere yet this
evil world had found its full response in the evil within their poor
human hearts. He could fancy the loving eye of God on those little ones,
following them along their dreary pathway, and grieving as thicker grew
the crust of sin over all that had been pure and childlike, and more and
more dark their coming doom. Blair realized for the first time the love
of God, the pure and holy God, for those wicked transgressors of his
law. "Yes," he thought, "it was while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Hateful as must have been to Him the atmosphere of guilt and degradation
in this lower world, he left his Father's throne and came to seek and to
save that which was lost." Ah, how unlike the ministry of the Son of
man had been Blair's proud, self-exalting, unloving demeanor. Perhaps
mercy for those poor abandoned men had sent a Christian boy to dwell
among them and show forth the image of his Master. With deep shame Blair
saw how unchristian had been his thoughts and acts towards his
uncongenial associates. Had he not cherished the very spirit of the
Pharisee, "Stand by thyself; I am holier than thou?" Blair thought of
his proud and hasty temper and of the many sins of his boyhood, and
meekly owned that but for the loving hand of God which had hedged him
round against temptation, and planted him in the garden of the Lord, he
might have been even worse than these wild rovers of the sea. Earnestly
he prayed that he might so live and love on board the Molly, that at
least a faint image might be given of the great Example, who endured
the contradiction of sinners, and for their sakes was willing to suffer
even unto death.
Shame and indignation that such men should profess to be defenders of
the American flag had hitherto been a chill to the patriotism of Blair
Robertson. Now the thought struck him, that if he could but win one of
these hardy sailors to be a Christian servant of his country, an honor
to the flag under which he sailed, not in vain would a young patriot
have endured the trials and temptations of the "Molly." "But," thought
Blair, "what am I, single-handed, against so many? How can I hope to
bring a blessing by the prayers of my one heart, be it ever so devoted?"
He remembered that the prayer of the patriot Moses saved the hosts of
the children of Israel from utter destruction at the hand of their
offended God. At the prayer of Paul, the Ruler of the seas gave him not
only his own life, but the lives of all that were with him in the ship.
"I cannot," he said to himself, "hope to prevail like these saints of
old, at least not for my own sake; but the name of Jesus is
all-powerful. I will plead it for the poor wanderers about me, and God
will in due time, I trust, prosper and bless my efforts."