MY NEW COMMAND--A HEAVY SQUALL AND CAPSIZE--SAVED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE
SCHOONER--TAKEN OFF BY A SLAVER--CHASED BY THE OPOSSUM--THE SPANIARD'S
THREAT--A HURRICANE--SHIPWRECK--MY FRIENDS THE MARLOWS--CONCLUSION.
There is a common saying that "there's many a slip between the cup and
the lip." I experienced the truth of it on the present occasion.
Scarcely had I got on board my new command, when one of the thick fogs I
have before described came on. The _Zerlina_ was leading, and being by
far the faster vessel of the two, was already a mile ahead of us.
However, I was pressing on all sail to keep up with her, while Waller
shortened sail to enable me to effect this object. The fog grew thicker
and thicker, and at last night came on, and we lost sight of our
consort. The fog lasted two days. When at length it partially cleared,
we saw a sail hull down to the southward; but not another speck was
visible in the whole circle of the horizon.
"We must pack on her, and try and overtake Mr Waller," said I to Jack
Stretcher. "He will heave-to for us, probably, when he finds we are so
far astern."
Pack on her we did, in truth. If Jack had a fault as a seaman, it was a
too great fondness for carrying on to the last. We neither of us took
warning from our misfortune in the _Opossum_. The faster the little
schooner ran through the water, the greater was our satisfaction.
"If we continue to make as good way as we do at present, we shall soon
overtake the _Zerlina_," said I to Jack.
"She's got a clean pair of heels of her own, I'll allow; but we have
taught our little craft to go along too," he answered, looking up with
no small amount of pride at our well-set canvas.
A true sailor has a pride in the good behaviour of any craft he happens
to be on board. Thus a couple of hours passed, and we certainly were
gaining on our consort. I own that I had not been keeping that look-out
to mark any change in the weather which I ought to have done. In a
tropical climate, especially, a seaman cannot be too careful--the
changes are so very sudden. I had gone below to dinner, that meal
consisting of some cold salt beef and hard biscuit, washed down with
rum-and-water drunk out of a tin cup. I had been off the deck rather
more than half an hour, and was just putting my head up the
companion-hatch, when I heard Jack Stretcher sing out, "Let go the
fore-sheet!--down with the helm!--down with the--"
Before he could finish the sentence, there came the rushing sound of a
heavy squall. Down bent the schooner to its fury--over, over she went.
To spring on deck and to clamber up to the weather-bulwarks was the work
of a moment. Still the vessel rose not: the helm had lost its power;
the sheets remained fast; her sails reached the water.
"She's gone!--she's gone!" shouted my crew.
I still had a faint hope she might right herself again; but when she
made the attempt, the furious wind beat her back, the sea washed over
her sails, and in another moment she turned completely over. I can
scarcely describe my sensations. I had no time, I fancy, to experience
any; at all events, I do not remember what they were. I never lost
hope; for, bad as things were, I did not expect to be drowned. In the
meantime I had clambered to the outside of the bulwarks.
"Give me your hand here, sir!" I heard Jack Stretcher sing out, and
looking up, I saw that he was hanging on to the main-chains. With his
assistance, as the vessel went over, I managed to climb up on her keel,
and there we together sat for the moment in comparative security. Like
a true sailor, he had caught hold of a rope, and brought the end up with
him. Our first thought was to look out for our shipmates. One had,
unhappily, been below; the other two had been washed off the deck. They
were, however, supporting themselves in the water, at no great distance
from the vessel. When they saw us they shouted to us to help them, for
neither of them were good swimmers.
"Keep up, my lads!" cried Jack, in return. "Get a little nearer, and
I'll lend you a hand."
Meantime he was hauling in on the rope, and coiling it up ready to heave
to them.
Just then I saw something dark moving under the water close astern of
the vessel. Jack saw it also, as I guessed by the glance of his eye.
"What's that!" I asked, a thrilling sensation of horror creeping over
me, for I knew too well.
"One of those sea-devils--a shark, sir," he answered, in a low tone.
Then he shouted out, "Strike away, my lads!--strike away! you'll soon be
within reach. Never say die! Strike away! Hurra!"
Inspirited by these words of encouragement, one of the men at length got
within reach of the rope. Jack hove it to him. He made a spring and
grasped the end, and without difficulty we hauled him up, he little
suspecting the terrific danger he had for the present escaped. The
strength of the other poor fellow was evidently fast failing. The
dreaded monster of the deep was not far from him. Still, happily, he
did not know of its presence, and the exertions he made kept it at a
distance.
"I'm afraid poor Sandy will never reach us, sir," said Jack, looking at
him compassionately. "Just do you, sir, and Jim Dore, lay hold of the
end of the rope, and I'll try and carry it out to him. There isn't much
fear of Jack Shark as long as one keeps moving; and I see a bit of a
stick down there, which I'll catch hold of, and give him such a rap on
the nose if he attempts to meddle with me, that he'll remember it for
many a day to come."
He said this as he was coiling up the rope again. I could not dissuade
him from his gallant resolve, and yet so dreadful seemed the risk of his
being destroyed by the shark, that I almost wished he had not thought of
it.
Jim and I caught hold of the other end of the rope, and seizing it
without another word, he plunged into the sea, encouraging Sandy to
perseverance with his loud shouts. He first grasped the piece of wood
he had seen, and with it in his hand he swam towards Sandy, every now
and then stopping to strike the water vehemently with it. Although the
foam was flying over the tops of the waves all the time, and the sea was
washing up the sides and almost sweeping as off from where we sat, under
the lee of the vessel it was comparatively calm. Anxiously indeed did I
watch my brave shipmate's proceeding. Every moment I expected to see
the shark make a dash at him, but his splashings and kickings kept the
monster at bay. He was almost up to poor McTavish, when the latter
threw up his arms and disappeared from our sight. Jack was after him,
though; and, diving down, in another instant appeared holding him by the
hair. Throwing the bight of the rope under his arms, he sang out to us
to haul away on it. We did so, while he supported the man with one
hand, and kept slashing the water with the stick which he held in the
other.
Meantime I saw the fin of the shark as the monster kept swimming about
in his neighbourhood, eager evidently to make a dash at him, yet afraid
of approaching. At length we got the almost drowned man up to the side
of the vessel, and were hauling him up, Jack still being in the water,
when some feeling, I scarcely know what, prompted me to look in the
direction where I had just before seen the shark. The monster was no
longer there. I instantly cried out to Jack. The words were scarcely
out of my mouth, when he made a spring and scrambled out of the water by
the main-chain-plates. Then, turning round, he dealt a tremendous blow
at the tail of the shark, who had closely followed him.
"I'll teach you to play such a sneaking trick as that, my boy!" he
shouted, as the greedy fish swam off discomfited.
I breathed more freely when brave Jack was once more seated alongside of
me on the keel of the vessel Sandy McTavish, whose life he had thus so
gallantly preserved, now came to his senses, and in a short time was
sufficiently recovered to take care of himself. Our position, however,
was far from enviable. Here were we, four human beings, seated on the
keel of a vessel which might any moment go down, with neither land nor a
sail in sight. For some time, after all our exertions, we sat silent,
collecting our thoughts.
"Well, Jack," said I, "what are we to do?"
"Wait patiently, till God sends us help, sir," he replied. "We can't
help ourselves. It's fortunate we've just had our dinners. We shall
hold out the longer."
We scarcely exchanged another word for some hours, but kept wistfully
glancing our eyes round the horizon, in the hopes of a sail appearing.
Shortly before darkness came on, and the hour of ten passed by, I began
to feel rather hungry. At the same time I happened to put my hand into
my pocket, and there I found the greater part of a ship's biscuit,
which, as I was quitting the cabin, I had mechanically thrust into it.
I almost shouted for joy as I found the prize--though it was not much to
be divided among four men. The discovery made the rest fumble in their
pockets. McTavish had a tobacco-box, which he had only just filled, and
Jack found a huge lump of grease, which, though not very savoury, was
not to be despised. How it had come there he could not recollect.
These treasures, however, we determined not to begin to consume till the
following morning, for that night we had no hopes of being taken off the
wreck. The squall had rapidly passed off, and the ocean was now as calm
as before. The sky was clear, and the sun went down in a blaze of
glory, shedding a bright ruddy hue over the wide expanse which
surrounded us. Night came on, and the stars burst forth from the blue
vault of heaven, and cast their reflection on the smooth, mirror-like
water, as we sat on, hour after hour, afraid of going to sleep, lest we
should slip from our hold, yet longing for repose. At last it occurred
to me to have the rope passed from one to the other, and secured round
our waists, so that if one fell asleep and began to slip, the rest might
support him. Thus we got through the longest night I had ever then
passed.
The grey dawn came at length, and as the light rapidly increased, we
looked anxiously around the horizon, but nothing but the smooth glassy
sea met our sight. Oh, then, well do I remember it! There came over me
a deep sense of our utter helplessness, and of the palpable necessity of
dependence on a higher power. Of what use was our strength? Of what
use was our seamanship? Our strength without food would quickly leave
us; while all we could do was to sit still. I spoke my thoughts to my
companions. They listened attentively, and we all knelt down together
on our unstable support, and prayed to God for preservation from our
great peril. After this act we felt refreshed and encouraged; and I
observed that the voices of my companions assumed a more cheerful tone
than before. Our trials, however, were but commencing. As the sun rose
in the sky, his beams struck down on our undefended heads and scorched
us dreadfully, till Jack bethought him of fastening his handkerchief
over the top of his, and we followed his example. Instead of breakfast,
we each of us took a quid from Sandy's box, and that had the effect of
staying our appetites for some hours. This, however, did not satisfy
our stomachs entirely, and a short time after noon we could no longer
resist attacking our scanty store of provisions. My biscuit I broke in
two, and returning one-half to my pocket, I divided the other into four
parts, Jack treating his lump of grease in the same way. We ate it with
a relish I can scarcely describe. It was the only food we consumed for
the whole of the day. Again the sun went down without a sail having
appeared. That night passed away as had the former one, though each of
us got rather more sleep. The next morning there was the same dull
calm. Noon came, and with a heavy heart I served out the remainder of
our provisions, but none of us seemed to care much for food. Water was
what we craved for. A thimbleful to moisten our tongues would have been
worth its bulk in gold. A raging thirst was growing on us. I urged the
men to abstain from drinking salt water, for I well knew that if they
did, it would only increase their sufferings. Earnestly did I pray that
we might not have to endure another night on the wreck, for I thought
that we could never exist through it; but the night came, and we passed
it, how, I scarcely know, for, though not asleep, I was certainly not
fully awake, except to a sense of some overpowering misfortune. The day
came, a day which we must pass without food or water. Our sufferings
hitherto had not been great, but this morning they became very intense.
Hope, which had till now never deserted us, began to grow faint, and
alas! even trust in God's providence to wane. I tried to pray, but my
thoughts were confused. I could not for two consecutive minutes fix
them on the same subject, and I experienced practically the folly of
attempting to wait for a death-bed repentance, for sickness, or for such
a moment as the present, for reconciliation with God. I speak of my own
feelings, and I believe that they were not far different from those of
my men. Hour after hour we sat gazing stupidly at each other. The hot
sun rose and scorched us as before, while the bright glare his rays cast
on the smooth ocean almost blinded our eyes. Several times I tried to
rouse myself to talk to my men, and to encourage them; but I own that I
failed miserably in the attempt, and, from weakness, I was scarcely able
to refrain from giving way to a flood of tears. It was some time past
noon, when I saw Jack's countenance brighten up.
"What is it?" I asked.
He pointed eagerly to the southward. I turned round, and looked, and
there I saw in the horizon a long, thin, well-defined, dark blue line,
and in the centre of it a white speck.
"A breeze! a breeze!" I cried.
"Ay, and a sail, too," added Jack. "She is standing this way. Huzza!
my lads."
Jim and Sandy cheered faintly. They were the first words they had
uttered for some hours. We now all found our tongues, a fillip had been
given to our spirits, and we thought scarcely of our hunger or thirst.
The dark blue line advanced, and grew wider and wider, till it spread
itself over the ocean; and the white speck grew higher and higher, till
the topsails of a vessel were seen rising out of the water. Oh! with
what intense anxiety did we watch her, fearing every moment to see her
alter her course, or pass by without noticing us.
"Can she be the _Zerlina_?" said I to Jack. "I think when Mr Waller
found that we were not following him, he would have put back to look for
us."
"No, sir; she has too wide a spread of canvas, to my mind, for the
_Zerlina_," answered Jack. "I'm doubtful what she is."
"Maybe she's the _Opossum_ hersel'," remarked Sandy. "I ken she ought
to be found hereabouts."
"No, no, my boy; that craft is a square-rigged schooner, and a big one
too," said Jack, positively.
Less than an hour showed us he was right, and a long, low, black,
rakish-looking schooner, with a wide spread of canvas, everything set
alow and aloft, to catch the breeze, came sweeping past us.
"She's a slaver," I exclaimed, with dismay.
"Ay, and has as wicked a look as I ever wish to see," said Jack.
He was right in his description, and as she glided by us, a villainous
set of ruffians of every shade of colour, of every variety of costume,
appeared looking at us over her bulwarks. Still, ruffians as they might
be, it appeared better to be taken off by them than to remain and perish
where we were. We waved to them to come to us, and Jack and Jim Dore
sung out, "_Misericordia_! _misericordia_!"
They appeared, however, to take no notice, either of our signs or our
cries, and our hearts sank within us. Happy would it have been for us
had they left us where we were (so it seemed a short time afterwards).
However, directly they had passed us, their studding-sails were taken
in, the yards braced up, and in fine seamanlike style the schooner was
rounded-to, close to leeward of us. A boat was instantly lowered, and
pulled up alongside the wreck. Her crew did not improve in appearance
on a nearer inspection. As they made signs to us to get into the boat,
we slid off the bottom of the schooner, when they hauled us in, and
placed us in the stern-sheets.
While they were pulling on board their own vessel I saw them eyeing my
uniform with suspicious glances, and they made remarks which I did not
understand. Our condition was sad enough to excite the compassion of
anything human. When we were lifted on deck we could scarcely stand,
and even Jack, with drooping head, had to support himself against the
bulwarks, and little would any of those who saw him have supposed the
gallant deeds of which his brawny arm was capable. Our lack-lustre eyes
and parched lips showed what we most needed, and at last some of the
crew brought us some water in a bowl, which speedily revived us, while
others came with a mixture of soup and beans. I never ate anything I
thought so delicious, in spite of its being redolent of garlic, and
containing no small quantity of grease. While we were being fed, the
boat was hoisted in, the schooner put before the wind, and the
studding-sails again set. She was a powerful vessel, and, from several
unmistakeable signs, I perceived that she was full of slaves. I had
done eating, and was beginning to look about me, when a little, dark,
one-eyed man, who by his dress I saw was an officer, came up to me, and
taking me by one of my uniform buttons, asked--
"What for this?"
"It's the button of my coat," said I, in a simple tone.
"I know. You officer, then?" asked my friend. "English ship?"
"I have that honour," I replied.
"What ship, then?" he inquired.