FRANCIS DREAMS A DREAM.
We now rapidly left the floundering and mazed man-of-war. But our men
kept firing into the medley on her decks, plying the stern-chasers in
furious haste; and, ever as he was able, the enemy did shoot at us with
muskets and pistols, and once--his ship having slewed right round--gave
us a thundering great broadside. But his gunners did much mistake,
in that they hulled us (as the saying is), instead of aiming at our
masts and tackling, whereby they might have crippled us, and, perhaps,
brought us quite to a stand.
As it was, our ship took no great hurt, though the splinters flew, and
six of her ports were battered in; yet many of our men were wounded
after a dreadful manner, and one was killed outright. Whereupon such
brutish and demoniac fury came upon the rest as transported them like
very devils.
Our decks were bloody like a slaughter-house; and from the spar-deck
the wounded men roared out very grievously as Surgeon Burke wrought
upon them, so that their groans and shrieks did mingle with the horrid
blasphemies.
Now, all this time my brother, the Captain, did frantically rage as
hot as any man; yea, so far beside himself was he, that, when he found
we drew out of gunshot and could no longer murder the King’s men, he
was for going about and returning upon them. He had even given the
order to bear up the helm; but hereupon, to my huge surprise, the
Quartermaster did interpose. ’Twas no more than a look and a word, but
it availed, and the order was immediately revoked.
We now lay right out of the bay; and, having set studding sails, stood
off to sea, whilst the decks were cleared, the broken ports stopped,
and the bolts and tackling overhauled. But I, being sick at heart, went
and shut myself in the master’s cabin, which I found empty; and, a
great weariness coming over me, I got me into a hammock, and presently
slept.
I dreamed a fearful dream; and it seemed to me that one went before me
through a gully in a terrible high cliff. And the gully became dark
and darker as we went, and its sheer sides of dank rock towered higher
yet; so that they were frightful to look on. Still they rose and rose,
until their tops might no longer be discerned; and darkness fell, a
darkness that seemed to wither my soul! Then he who went before me did
turn himself about, and lo! ’twas Ouvery, the Quartermaster. His face
gleamed ghastly white, but his eyes were blacker than the darkness.
They seized on mine, and held them--for ever!
I woke gasping and shaking; and there were two eyes as black as jet
fixed on mine! Ouvery, the Quartermaster, gazed across at me from the
middle of the cabin, where he sat in close converse with my brother.
He got up from his chair; and, making a sign that I was awake,
immediately went out. Hereupon my brother rose also, and stepped to my
hammock.
“Well, my heart,” said he, “hast been a-voyaging to Tophet, or is’t the
ghosts from the Haunted Island? Bless us! you screeched like a stuck
pig.”
“Scoff away! Scoff away!” cried I. “’Twill be another tale to-morrow!”
“Ay!” said he, but I thought his countenance fallen, “pieces-of-eight,
and golden bars, and jewels--jewels by the shipload--that’ll be the
tale to-morrow!”
“And a hempen cord about your neck, and iron chains to hang in, and
yokel faces a-gape at you!”
On that he flamed out in a fury, snapping his fingers, swearing and
cursing. But I let him rave, answering nothing, and soon he fell quiet,
and throwing himself into a chair, sat still, seeming to brood in his
mind.