THE REEF.
Even had the occupants of the Simoon’s cabin been assured that the
vessel’s hull was strong enough to successfully withstand the angry
blows of the water, and had they known that all the chances were in the
brig’s favor during the progress of the storm, which was now fully upon
them, their situation would have been one of anxiety and terror, tossed
about as they were at the mercy of the wind and wave, without power to
guide the helpless craft. Instead, however, of being assured of their
ultimate safety, the little party had every reason to believe that the
wreck could not long remain afloat if the sea continued boisterous, and
the one fact uppermost in the mind of each was that at any moment the
hulk might sink like a stone, with no possible chance that the lives of
those on board could be saved.
Perhaps the timbers did not creak and groan any more than would have
been the case had the vessel been uninjured and sailing buoyantly over
the waves guided by skillful hands; but to the terrified ones the
straining of the planks sounded as if each separate piece was being
wrenched from its fellow, and more than once when an unusually heavy
sea came aboard did they glance at the companion-way, expecting to see
the water pouring in upon them.
Their fears were allayed in some slight degree after an hour had passed
and the brig continued to float. In their minds came the thought that
if she had ridden the waves thus far, however sluggishly, it might be
possible she would continue to do so until aid in some form should come.
During this time they had remained motionless as when terror dealt
the first blow--old Chloe on her knees with Gertie and Ben tightly
clasped to her bosom, and Jake crouching on the brass-covered stairs.
When in his despair came a gleam of hope to the cook, he started up
the companion-way quickly, as if he expected he could see through the
blackness which was rendered more dense and bewildering by the flying
spray and rain.
“Don’t go, Jake! Don’t leave us here!” Ben cried, not realizing for the
moment that it was impossible for the man to go very far away.
“I only wanted to see how things looked from the deck,” Jake replied as
he halted at the door, and in the briefest possible space of time he
understood that it would be in the highest degree dangerous to make any
attempt at going forward.
The seas were dashing entirely over the vessel, and had the
companion-way opened toward the bow instead of the stern, the cabin
would long since have been filled with water.
“I s’pose I might as well stay here,” and Jake seated himself on the
stairs. “Jest for a minute I thought something could be done; but it’s
blacker outside than a pocket, an’ a man who’d try to go for’red would
be swept overboard.”
“If Captain Irwin would only find us now!” Gertie cried, and any hope
of escape she might have had from the coming of the schooner was
dispelled by the cook, who said in a tone of despair:
“It wouldn’t do a bit of good if she was within hail this very minute.
They couldn’t reach us any more’n we could them.”
“They might come in the long-boat,” Ben suggested.
“She couldn’t be lowered without swampin’, an’ Captain Irwin knows too
much to try such a job. The only chance we’ve got is that this old hulk
will live through the gale, an’ not be blown too far out to sea.”
After this the little party relapsed into silence, save when old Chloe
bewailed her fate at having left Savannah, or exclaimed in anger
because her “Moses” had persuaded her “to go up Norf.” Now and then
Gertie would take Ben’s hands in hers, as if to cheer him, or he would
stroke her hair to show that he still considered himself her protector,
even though it was now so impossible to extend any aid. Jake remained
on the stairs glancing up apprehensively every time the waves struck
an unusually heavy blow, and on two occasions making an unsuccessful
attempt to reach the deck.
With almost painful slowness the minutes passed, and it was not yet
midnight when Gertie believed it was time for the sun to rise. Then
kindly sleep came to the relief of the old woman and the two children,
and partially sitting, partially lying on the floor the three were lost
to consciousness of the danger which menaced, while Jake played the
part of a very ill-favored guardian angel as he sat above them keeping
useless watch while the wind, the sea and the grinding of the vessel’s
timbers made hideous confusion.
The dawn had not yet appeared when the storm-tossed hulk sunk down
into the waters as if about to take the last plunge, and Jake grasped
more firmly the rail of the stair-way, believing the end had finally
come. How long this downward motion continued before she began to rise
again, he had no idea; he was only conscious that she had ceased to
settle and was being lifted once more, and the fear of immediate death
which had come upon him was hardly gone before it returned. Up, up the
water-laden vessel was carried, until it seemed as if her bow must be
directly above her stern, and then there was a swift, sickening onward
rush that ended with a crash which hurled the sleepers to the forward
end of the cabin, throwing Jake directly upon them.
It was nearly a minute before any one could understand what had caused
this sudden change of position, and then Jake said, as he rose to
his feet after extricating himself with difficulty from old Chloe’s
detaining grasp:
“We have struck the land somewhere, and it’s a little comfort to know
there’s a solid substance underneath us, even if we never get ashore.”
The Simoon was now motionless; the waves were striking against her
with a force that could plainly be felt by the frightened ones; but
she no longer rose or fell on the angry waters--there was a feeling
of solidity about her which did very much toward allaying the fears
of those who were in such peril. For the moment there was no question
whether the hulk could remain intact against the blows of the sea; but
all believed they were freed from any immediate danger.
“Where do you suppose we are?” Gertie asked, and the cook replied with
something like his former sadness:
“I don’t know. It’s satisfaction enough to feel that she has grounded
without asking for anything more. We may be on an island, an’ then agin
we may have struck a reef; but wherever she is, we ain’t likely to sink
any deeper ’till the waves break her to pieces.”
“Couldn’t we learn anything by going on deck?” Gertie asked, for
the idea of waiting in fear lest the brig should be stove was but a
trifling degree less unpleasant than remaining in suspense while the
helpless vessel was being driven on by the storm.
It was yet dark, and the pounding of the waves upon the deck could
still be heard. It would be impossible to make out the position of the
brig even if one could remain above long enough to take a survey of the
surroundings.
“All we can do is to stay where we are until it is light,” Jake
replied, “and we sha’n’t have long to wait, for it’s pretty near
sunrise.”
In this the cook was correct, for the first gray light of the coming
day could be seen in the cabin before an hour had passed, although to
the anxious ones it appeared as if nearly half the night elapsed from
the time Jake spoke until dawn paled the flame of the lamps.
It seemed as if the coming of the sun had broken the force of the gale,
for when it was possible to discern surrounding objects the sea had so
far subsided that there was no danger in going on deck. The towering
waves continued to dash against the wreck with a force that threatened
momentarily to rend the timbers, but the waters no longer swept fore
and aft in irresistible torrents, as had been the case when the doomed
vessel struck upon the reef.
Jake was the first to ascend the stairs. Following him came Ben,
grasping Gertie tightly by the hand, as she in turn had a firm hold of
old Chloe, who had been literally speechless with fear during the past
two hours, and whose face was of that peculiar greyish hue which terror
paints upon a black skin.
The first glimpse which the shipwrecked ones had of their surroundings
was neither encouraging nor particularly disheartening. They were no
longer in danger of immediate death, but might be obliged to remain
where they were many days, during which time they would undoubtedly
suffer some discomforts if not actual privations.
The Simoon had struck a reef which extended along one side of a very
small coral island or key, on which a dozen mangrove trees represented
the entire vegetation. She lay with her stern raised slightly higher
than the bow, and her port side exposed to the seas, which were yet
curling angrily and ominous-looking as they chased each other in the
race to the doomed vessel, and from her to the shore, which was hardly
more than two hundred yards away.
“It doesn’t appear like such an awfully jolly place, but it’s a long
ways ahead of an open boat in a fog,” Ben said, after the little party
had gazed several minutes in silence at the glistening white sand of
the tiny island. “As soon as the sea gets smooth we can start in search
of Key West.”
As he spoke, all hands instinctively glanced astern where it was
supposed the Sea Queen’s tender was still moored, but nothing could be
seen. One end of the painter was made fast to a belaying-pin, and Jake
ran quickly toward it, hauling in on the rope until a small fragment of
shattered timber to which the ring-bolt was attached had been brought
to view.
“We might a’ known that any kind of a boat would a’ been stove in them
seas,” he exclaimed bitterly, “an’ I was such a fool as to think she
was holdin’ fast an’ sound.”
“Shall we have to stay on this vessel?” Gertie asked in a tremulous
voice, for the pounding of the waves against the side of the brig
was sufficient to give the impression that the hull could not long
withstand the continued assault.
“It won’t be such a very hard matter to go ashore after the sea gets
quiet,” Jake replied as he dropped the now useless rope and gazed
around, “but when we’re on that bit of sand we’ll have to stay there,
for I don’t reckon we could do much sailin’ with a raft.”
“We ought to be mighty thankful that the ‘bit of sand,’ as you call it,
is so near,” Ben said cheerfully, as he crept cautiously around the
starboard side of the deck-house in order to get a better view of the
island.
It is quite probable that Jake was thankful at having a place of
refuge, however small, close at hand, but he could not resist the
desire to indulge in the pleasure of appearing sad, and one would have
believed from the look on his face that every hope had departed.
The sight of the land had lifted old Chloe from out the slough of
despair into which she had so long been plunged, and the grayish hue
gave place to shining black as she feasted her eyes, which had for
so many days been accustomed to the heaving billows, upon the waving
leaves and glittering sand.
“Bress de Lawd, it’s big ’nuff to stan’ on and looks gooder’n a hunerd
ships. I’se done gone ready to leave dis yer crazy vessel.”
“All right, aunty,” Jake replied in a melancholy tone, “you shall be
there before sunset, an’ by the time you get all tied up with the
rheumatiz along o’ layin’ on the wet sand, you’ll be mighty glad
to see the smallest turtlin’ schooner that ever come nosin’ round
this forsaken place. You an’ Gertie ’tend to gettin’ something for
breakfast while we try our hands at raft buildin’.”
Chloe was perfectly willing to do anything which would forward the
preparations for landing, and she immediately went into the pantry,
followed by Gertie. During the storm the remnants of the galley had
been washed away, therefore the task which the cook of the Sea Queen
had set for the old woman was not easy of accomplishment unless
breakfast was to be served cold.
If Chloe’s portion of the labor was difficult, that which Jake and Ben
were to perform was doubly so, owing to the fact that every movable
thing on deck, including the turtle, which was the remote cause of
three of the party being in such trouble, had been swept overboard, and
materials sufficient for building a raft were not easily found.
The cook had already indulged in mourning to quite an extent, therefore
he had nothing with which to occupy his mind save the task in question,
and he set about it with a will. At the expense of some considerable
labor the main hatches were removed and lashed together, after having
been placed on the starboard side near where the rail was stove, in
order that they might be easily launched, and on them were fastened
doors from the cabin and such other buoyant articles as could most
readily be procured.
The labor was interrupted only by a summons to a cold breakfast and
afterward to dinner, and at three o’clock in the afternoon all was in
readiness for the trip to the shore. The waves were running high, yet
not to such an extent but that the passage could be made in safety, and
Jake called all hands on deck as soon as the rude craft had been pushed
into the water.