How long they lay in this half-unconscious condition, neither took note.
It could not have been many minutes, for the mind under such
circumstances does not long surrender itself to a state of tranquillity.
They were at length suddenly roused from it,--not, however, by any
thought from within,--but by an object striking on their external
senses, or, rather, upon the sense of sight. Both were lying upon their
backs, with eyes open and upturned to the sky, upon which there was not
a speck of cloud to vary the monotony of its endless azure.
Its monotony, however, was at that moment varied by a number of objects
that passed swiftly across their field of vision, shining and
scintillating as if a flight of silver arrows had been shot over the
raft. The hues of blue and white were conspicuous in the bright
sunbeams, and those gay-coloured creatures, that appeared to belong to
the air, but which in reality were denizens of the great deep, were at
once recognised by the sailor.
"A shoal o' flyin'-fish," he simply remarked, and without removing from
his recumbent position.
Then at once, as if some hope had sprung up within him at seeing them
continue to fly over the raft, and so near as almost to touch the
tarpaulin, he added, starting to his feet as he spoke--
"What if I might knock one o' 'em down! Where's the handspike?"
The last interrogatory was mechanical, and put merely to fill up the
time; for as he gave utterance to it he reached towards the implement
that lay within reach of his hands, and eagerly grasping raised it
aloft.
With such a weapon it was probable that he might have succeeded in
striking down one of the winged swimmers that, pursued by the bonitos
and albacores, were still leaping over the raft. But there was a surer
weapon behind him,--in the piece of canvas spread between the upright
oars; and just as the sailor had got ready to wield his huge club, a
shining object flashed close to his eyes, whilst his ears were greeted
by a glad sound, signifying that one of the vaulting fish had struck
against the tarpaulin.
Of course it had dropped down upon the raft: for there it was, flopping
and bounding about among the folds of the flying-jib, far more taken by
surprise than Ben Brace, who had witnessed its mishap, or even little
William, upon whose face it had fallen, with all the weight of its
watery carcass. If a bird in the hand be worth two in the bush, by the
same rule a fish in the hand should be worth two in the water, and more
than that number flying in the air.
Some such calculation as this might have passed through the brain of Ben
Brace; for, instead of continuing to hold his handspike high flourished
over his head, in the hope of striking another fish, he suffered the
implement to drop down upon the raft; and stooping down, he reached
forward to secure the one that had voluntarily, or, rather, should we
say, involuntarily, offered itself as a victim.
As it kept leaping about over the raft, there was just the danger that
it might reach the edge of that limited area, and once more escape to
its natural element.
This, however naturally desired by the fish, was the object which the
occupants of the raft most desired to prevent; and to that end both had
got upon their knees, and were scrambling over the sail-cloth with as
much eager earnestness as a couple of terriers engaged in a scuffle with
a harvest rat.
Once or twice little William had succeeded in getting the fish in his
fingers; but the slippery creature, armed also with its spinous
fin-wings, had managed each time to glide out of his grasp; and it was
still uncertain whether a capture might be made, or whether after all
they were only to be tantalised by the touch and sight of a morsel of
food that was never to pass over their palates.
The thought of such a disappointment stimulated Ben Brace to put forth
all his energies, coupled with his greatest activity. He had even
resolved upon following the fish into the sea if it should prove
necessary,--knowing that for the first few moments after regaining its
natural element it would be more easy of capture. But just then an
opportunity was offered that promised the securing of the prey without
the necessity of wetting a stitch of his clothes.
The fish had been all the while bounding about upon the spread
sail-cloth, near the edge of which it had now arrived. But it was fated
to go no farther, at least of its own accord; for Ben seeing his
advantage, seized hold of the loose selvage of the sail, and raising it
a little from the raft, doubled it over the struggling captive. A stiff
squeeze brought its struggles to a termination; and when the canvas was
lifted aloft, it was seen lying underneath, slightly flattened out
beyond its natural dimensions, and it is scarcely necessary to say, as
dead as a herring.
Whether right or no, the simple-minded seaman recognised in this
seasonable supply of provision the hand of an overruling Providence; and
without further question, attributed it to the potency of that prayer
twice repeated.
"Yes, Will'm, you see it, my lad, 'tis the answer to that wonderful
prayer. Let's go over it once more, by way o' givin' thanks. He who
has sent meat can also gie us drink, even here, in the middle o' the
briny ocean. Come, boy! as the parson used to say in church,--let us
pray!"
And with this serio-comic admonition--meant, however, in all due
solemnity--the sailor dropped upon his knees, and, as before, echoed the
prayer once more pronounced by his youthful companion.