It needed no conjuror to explain that report. Every one knew what it
meant. It was caused by the exploding of the strong iron-bound cask--
burst open by the gas engendered by the fire within. Of course the
spirit was now spilled over the floor of the store-room and everywhere
on fire; so that every combustible article within reach--and of these
there were many--would soon catch the flame. There were dry barrels of
biscuits, and quantities of bacon, hams, with lard, oil, and butter. It
was remembered that there was a barrel of pitch, too, close to where the
brandy-cask had been kept. All these would catch freely and burn
rapidly and readily--especially the barrel of pitch, the head of which
was open. It was thought there was no gunpowder for, although there had
been a large quantity of coarse blasting-powder aboard, it was part of
the original freight, and had all been delivered to King Dingo Bingo in
exchange for the slaves. So at least was it supposed at the time, and
this hypothesis served a useful purpose--since it enabled the crew to
act with more coolness than they would otherwise have done. There is no
situation more calculated to destroy presence of mind than to be aboard
a ship on fire, and to know that somewhere among the flames there is a
barrel of powder.
Of course the crew of the _Pandora_ did not stand idle or inactive.
They ran in every direction in search of means to extinguish the fire.
Buckets were collected from all parts of the deck, and water was
procured from pumps and over the sides. This was heaved down the
hatchway of the store-room--bucketful after bucketful--but apparently
without any good purpose. Still the flames raged and the water did not
reach them; at all events, it failed to extinguish them.
Of course no one dared venture below. The smoke and fire forbade it--
any attempt to go down would have been a rash sacrifice of life, and no
one thought of making it.
For nearly ten minutes the men continued to draw water, and dash it in
bucketsful down the hatchway; but all to no purpose. The fire gained
strength. The smoke grew thicker and hotter, from the pitch and other
combustible substances that had now evidently caught the flames. It
poured up in vast volumes till the cabin became filled. It was no
longer possible to approach the hatchway, no longer possible even to
enter the cabin. One or two who ventured in were half-stifled before
they had gone six feet inside, and came reeling back like men who were
drunk!
The buckets were thrown aside. They could no longer be of service--as
no one could get near the hatchway to pass water down it, and it was of
no use throwing it elsewhere.
But the hour of despair had not yet arrived. Sailors are men who rarely
yield to despair; at all events not while the slightest chance remains
to beget hope; and, bad as may have been their moral character, the crew
of the _Pandora_ were not cowards. Linked with a thousand crimes they
had the one virtue of courage--though brute courage it may have been.
Not yet did they despair. Other resources were now thought of. A piece
of hose was attached to the spout of the pump, and carried to the door
of the cabin; and by means of this water was still poured in.
But this contrivance proved unavailing. The mouth of the hose could not
be got into the hatch, as it was impossible any longer to enter the
cabin, and the water was spilled on the floor. It so chanced that the
stern of the vessel sat high. The casks that had been emptied were all
in the after-hold, while the full ones containing the sea-water were
stowed forward. Hence the barque was higher abaft than at the bows.
For this reason the water thrown upon the cabin floor by means of the
hose-pipe, instead of remaining there, came running back towards the
gangways as fast as it was poured in.
This produced a new consternation; for the men had conceived hopes that,
after deluging the cabin from the pumps, the water would run through the
open hatch and then extinguish the fire below.
As soon as it was perceived that this purpose could not be accomplished,
then, indeed, did symptoms of despair make their appearance upon the
faces of the crew; and they began to turn their eyes upon one another
with glances of interrogation and looks that proclaimed the knowledge
that their plan had proved a failure. No one had the courage to say so,
and the pumping went on--though it was evident, from the slowness of the
motion and the want of energy exhibited, that the men who were working
the handle were exerting themselves, only with a sort of mechanical
effort that would soon yield to despondency and despair.
And so it yielded. Without any one saying a word, all seemed tacitly to
have arrived at the same conclusion--that their efforts were idle; and
all at once the pumping was suspended, the handle was dropped, the
hose-pipe lay flattened along the deck, and the water ceased to flow!
By this time the whole after-part of the vessel was shrouded in smoke
that had been oozing out from the door and windows of the cabin, and
which, in consequence of the stillness of the night, was not carried
away. Slowly it ascended into the air, and so straight upwards that the
edge of the cloud had not yet approached the main-deck--although the
whole of the mizen-mast was enveloped by the thick smoke and invisible
to its very peak. Most of the quarter-deck covered, and the cabin was
now completely hidden from view by the vapoury volume that clustered
above and around it. As yet there was no flames to be seen, but the
hissing, crackling sound coming up from below, at intervals fell upon
the ear, and told that the fierce element was still raging there, and
would soon exhibit itself in all its red and terrific splendour.
No one waited to watch its progress. No longer did any one think of
attempting to extinguish, or even to check the fierce destroyer. All
hopes of saving the vessel were given up; the _Pandora_ must be
abandoned; and now was heard that heart-thrilling summons to the
sailor--that last despairing cry--
"To the boats! to the boats!"