Sleep followed, brought on by weariness and long exertion; and when I
awoke, I felt my strength greatly restored. Singular enough, my spirits
were a good deal lighter, and I was far less despairing than I had been
before. It seemed as if some supernatural influence sustained me--
perhaps an inspiration given by the great Creator himself, to enable me
to persevere. Notwithstanding that my disappointments had been many and
oft-repeated, I bore up under the infliction as meekly as I could, and
never yet had I felt in my heart a rebellious feeling against God.
I still continued to offer up prayers for my success, and to place
reliance upon the hope that His mercy would yet be extended to me. This
feeling it was--I am sure it was--that upheld me, and kept me from
falling into utter despondency.
On awaking again, as I have said, my spirits felt lighter, though I know
not why, unless it was that I was cheered by some influence from above.
I can only account for it in this way, since there was no change in the
circumstances that surrounded me--at least none for the better--nor had
I conceived any new hope or plan.
It was certain that I could penetrate no further through the boxes of
cloth and bales of linen, as I had no place to stow their contents
behind me. That side, therefore, was now no longer the object of my
attention.
There were still two other directions in which I might search--the one
directly in front, and that toward the left, which last I knew to be in
the direction of the bows of the ship.
In front, the space was taken up by the great water-butt, and of course
I did not think of cutting a way through this. It would lead to the
loss of my supply of water. I did for a moment imagine that I might
make a hole high up above the water-line, through which I might squeeze
my body, and then get through to the opposite side by making a second
hole. I knew that the butt was now scarce half full, as the heat had
kept me almost continually athirst, and, confident in my supply, I had
drunk large quantities. But it occurred to me that if I made this great
opening, I might lose all my water in a single night. A sudden squall
might arise--for several had been encountered already--and set the ship
a-rolling. In that case, if the vessel, crank as she was, came near
getting upon her beam-ends, which she often did, my butt would be turned
half over, and the water of course would all escape--the precious water
that had hitherto stood my friend, and but for which I should have long
ago miserably perished.
Another consideration influenced me not to touch the butt: there was an
easier direction to proceed in, and that was _through the brandy-cask_.
This stood end towards me, and, as already stated, shut me in upon the
left. Its head or bottom--I could not say which--lay quite up against
the end of the water-butt; but for some reason it had been cleated
closer up to the side timbers of the ship, so that there was hardly any
vacant space behind it. For this reason, nearly one half of its
diameter overlapped the end of the water-butt--the other half completing
the enclosure of my cabin.
Through this last half I resolved to cut my way, and then, creeping
inside the cask, to make another hole that would let me through its
opposite side.
Perhaps, beyond the brandy-cask I might find food and safety? It was
only blind guessing on my part; but I again prayed for success.
Making an incision across the thick oak plank that formed the bottom
staves, was a very different affair from cutting through soft spruce
deal, and I progressed but slowly. A beginning had already been made,
however, where I had formerly tapped the cask; and entering my blade at
this same hole, I worked away until I had cut one of the pieces clear
across. I then put on my buskins, and, getting upon my back, kicked
upon the stave with all my might, using my heels as a trip-hammer. It
was a stiff job; for the piece, being jointed into the others on both
sides, refused for a long time to yield. But the constant hammering at
length loosened it, by breaking off one of the joinings, and I had the
satisfaction to find that it was giving way. A few more strong
finishing blows did the business, and the stave was at length forced
inward.
The immediate result was a gush of brandy that completely overwhelmed
me. It rushed over me, not in a jet but in a grand volume as thick as
my body; and before I could raise myself into an erect position, it was
all over and around me, so that I had a fear I was going to be drowned
in it! The whole space I occupied was filled up, and it was only by
holding my head close up to the ship's timbers that I could keep my
mouth clear of being filled. At the first gush, a quantity had got into
my throat, and eyes as well, and well-nigh choked and blinded me; and it
was some time before I got over the fit of coughing and sneezing which
it had suddenly brought on.
I was in no mood to be merry at the time; yet strange enough, I could
not help thinking of the Duke of Clarence and his odd fancy of being
drowned in the butt of malmsey.
The singular flood subsided almost as rapidly as it had risen. There
was plenty of space for it down below; and in a few seconds' time it had
all gone down to mix among the bilge-water, and jabble about during the
remainder of the voyage. The only traces it had left were in my wet
clothes, and the strong alcoholic smell that filled the atmosphere
around me, and almost hindered me from getting breath.
As the ship's head rose upon the waves, the cask was tilted upwards, and
this movement in ten minutes emptied it so completely that not a single
pint remained inside.
But I had not waited for this. The stave I had kicked out left an
aperture large enough to admit my body--it did not need to be very large
for that--and as soon as my coughing fit had ended, I squeezed myself
through to the inside of the cask.
I groped around for the bung, believing that this would be the best
place to cut across one of the staves. The hole, usually a large one,
would admit the blade of my knife, and would be so much of my work done
to hand. I found the place easily enough, and fortunately it was not on
the top, where I fancied it might be, but on the side, and just at a
convenient height. Closing the blade of my knife, I hammered on the
wooden plug with the half. After a few strokes, I succeeded in forcing
it outwards, and then set to work to make the cross-cut of the stave.
I had not made a dozen notches, before I felt my strength wonderfully
increased. I had been weak before, but now it appeared to me as if I
could push out the staves without cutting them. I felt in a measure
cheerful, as if I had been merely working for the play of the thing, and
it was of but little consequence whether I succeeded or not. I have
some recollection that I both whistled and sang as I worked. The idea
that I was in any danger of losing my life quite forsook me, and all the
hardships through which I had been passing appeared to have been only
imaginary--a chimera of my brain, or, at most, only a dream.
Just then I was seized with a terrible fit of thirst, and I remember
making a struggle to get out of the brandy-cask for the purpose of
having a drink from the water-butt. I must have succeeded in getting
out of the cask, but whether I actually did drink at the time, I could
never be certain; for after that I remembered nothing more, but was for
a long while as completely unconscious as if I had been dead!