I had as before, on reaching the Tyne, to remain and keep ship, though
little Clem went on shore and did not return till we had a fresh cargo
on board, and were just about sailing.
Scarcely were we clear of the river than a heavy gale sprang up and
severely tried the old collier. The seas came washing over her deck,
and none of us for'ard had a dry rag on our backs. When my watch below
came, I was glad to turn in between my now darkly-tinted blankets; but
they soon became as wet as everything else, and when I went on deck to
keep my watch, I had again to put on my damp clothes. The forecastle
was fearfully hot and steamy. We had to keep the fore hatch closed to
prevent the seas which, washing over our decks, would otherwise have
poured down upon us. In a short time, as the ship strained more and
more while she struggled amid the waves, the water made its way through
the deck and sides till there was not a dry space to lie on in our
berths. Then I began really to understand the miseries of forecastle
life on board a collier, and many other craft too, in which British
seamen have to sail; with bad food, bad water, and worse treatment. Ay,
I speak the truth, which I know from experience, they have to live like
dogs, and, too often, die like dogs, with no one to care for them.
Day after day this sort of work continued. I wondered that the captain
did not run back, till I heard him say that the price of coals was up in
the London market, and he wanted to be there before other vessels
arrived to lower it; so, tough seaman as he was, he kept thrashing the
old brig along against the south-westerly gale, which seemed to increase
rather than show any signs of moderating. We had always, during each
watch, to take a spell at the pumps, and now we had to keep them going
without intermission. I took my turn with the rest, and my shoulders
ached before I had done; still I sang and laughed away as usual.
"It's no laughing matter, youngster," said old Growl, as he passed me.
"You will be laughing the wrong side of your mouth before long."
"Never fear, mate," I replied; "both sides are the same to me."
The captain and mate at last took their turns with the rest of us, for
the crew were getting worn out. I did not know the danger we were in,
but I was beginning to get tired of that dreadful "clank, clank, clank."
At last, by dint of keeping at it, we had got a good way to the
southward, when one night, just as we had gone about hoping to lay our
course for the Thames, the wind shifted and came again right in our
teeth. I had turned into my wet bunk all standing, when, having dropped
off to sleep, I was awoke by a tremendous crash, and on springing up on
deck I found that the mainmast had gone by the board. The gale had
increased, and we were driving before it. As I made my way aft, the
flashes of lightning revealed the pale faces of the crew, some
endeavouring to clear away the wreck of the mast, others working with
frantic energy at the pumps. The leaks had increased. As may be
supposed, the deeply-laden collier had but a poor chance under such
circumstances. Presently the vessel gave a heavy lurch. A sea rolled
up. The next instant I found myself struggling in the midst of the
foaming surges. All around was dark; I felt for the deck of the vessel,
it was not beneath me; I had been washed overboard. I struck out for
life, and in another minute I was clinging to the mainmast, which had
been cut clear. I clambered up on it, and looked out for the brig. She
was nowhere to be seen; she must have gone down beneath the surge which
washed me from her deck. What had become of my shipmates? I shouted
again and again at the top of my voice. There was a faint cry, "Help
me; help me." I knew the voice; it was Clement's. Leaving the mast, I
swam towards him; he was lashed to a spar. The old captain's last act
had been to try and save the young boy's life ere he himself sank
beneath the waves. I caught hold of the spar, bidding Clement keep his
head above the water while I towed it to the mast. I succeeded, and
then clambering on it, and casting off the lashings, dragged him up and
placed him beside me. We hailed again and again, but no voice replied.
It may seem strange that we, the two youngest on board, should have
survived, while all the men were drowned, but then, not one of them
could swim. We could, and, under Providence, were able to struggle for
our lives.
I did my best to cheer up little Clem, telling him that if we could
manage to hold on till daylight, as a number of vessels were certain to
pass, we should be picked up. "I am very, very sorry, Clem, for your
father," I said; "for though he was somewhat gruff to me, he was a
kind-hearted man, I am sure."
"That indeed he was," answered Clement, in a tone of sorrow. "He was
always good to me; but he was not my father, as you fancy--the more
reason I have to be grateful to him."
"Not your father, Clem!" I exclaimed. "I never suspected that."
"No, he was not; though he truly acted the part of one to me. Do you
know, Brooke, this is not the first time that I have been left alone
floating on the ocean? I was picked up by him just as you hope that we
shall be picked up. I was a very little fellow, so little that I could
give no account of myself. He found a black woman and me floating all
alone on a raft out in the Atlantic. She died almost immediately we
were rescued, without his being able to learn anything from her. He had
to bury her at sea, and when he got home he in vain tried to find out my
friends, though he preserved, I believe, the clothes I had on, and most
of her clothes. He sent me to an excellent school, where I was well
taught; and Mrs Grimes, who was a dear, kind lady, far more refined
than you would suppose his wife to have been, acted truly like a mother
to me. He was very fond of her, and when she died, nearly a year ago,
he took me to sea with him. I did not, however, give up my studies, but
used to sit in the cabin, and every day read as much as I could.
Captain Grimes used to say that he was sure I was a gentleman born, and
a gentleman he wished me to be, and so I have always felt myself."
I had been struck by little Clem's refined manners, and this was now
accounted for. "I am sure you are a gentleman, Clem," I observed; "and
if we ever get home, my father, who is a lawyer, shall try to find out
your friends. He may be able to succeed though Captain Grimes could
not. I wonder he did not apply to my father, as, from my having been
sent on board his ship, the captain must have known him. I suspect that
they wanted to sicken me of a sea life, and so sent me on board the
_Naiad_; but they were mistaken; and now when they hear that she has
gone down--if we are not picked up--how sorry they will be!"
The conversation I have described was frequently interrupted--sometimes
by a heavier sea than usual rolling by, and compelling us to hold tight
for our lives; at others we were silent for several minutes together.
We were seated on the after-part of the maintop, the rigging which hung
down on either side acting as ballast, and contributing to keep the
wreck of the mast tolerably steady in one position. We were thus
completely out of the water, though the spray from the crest of the seas
which was blown over us kept us thoroughly wet and cold. Fortunately,
we both had on thick clothing. Clement was always nicely dressed, for
the captain, though not particular about himself, liked to see him look
neat, while I, on the contrary, had on my oldest working suit, and was
as rough-looking a sea-dog as could be imagined. My old tarry coat and
trousers, and sou'-wester tied under my chin, contributed, however, to
keep out the wind, and enable me the better to endure the cold to which
we were exposed. I sheltered Clem as well as I could, and held him
tight whenever I saw a sea coming towards him, fearing lest he might be
washed away. I had made up my mind to perish with him rather than let
him go. Hour after hour passed by, till at length, the clouds breaking,
the moon came forth and shone down upon us. I looked at Clem's face: it
was very pale, and I was afraid he would give way altogether. "Hold on,
hold on, Clem," I exclaimed. "The wind is falling, and the sea will
soon go down; we shall have daylight before long, and in the meantime we
have the moon to cheer us up. Perhaps we shall be on shore this time
to-morrow, and comfortably in bed; and then we will go back to my
father, and he will find out all about your friends. He is a
wonderfully clever man, though a bit strict, to be sure."
"Thank you, Jack, thank you," he answered. "Don't be afraid; I feel
pretty strong, only somewhat cold and hungry."
Just then I recollected that I had put the best part of a biscuit into
my pocket at tea-time, having been summoned on deck as I was eating it.
It was wet, to be sure; but such biscuits as we had take a good deal of
soaking to soften thoroughly. I felt for it. There it was. So I put a
small piece into Clem's mouth. He was able to swallow it. Then I put
in another, and another; and so I fed him, till he declared he felt much
better. I had reserved a small portion for myself, but as I knew that I
could go on without it, I determined to keep it, lest he should require
more.
I continued to do my best to cheer him up by talking to him of my home,
and how he might find his relations and friends, and then I bethought me
that I would sing a _song_. I don't suppose that many people have sung
under such circumstances, but I managed to strike up a stave, one of
those with which I had been accustomed to amuse my messmates in the
_Naiad's_ forecastle. It was not, perhaps, one of the merriest, but it
served to divert Clem's thoughts, as well as mine, from our perilous
position.
"I wish that I could sing too," said Clem; "but I know I could not, if I
was to try. I wonder you can, Jack."
"Why? because I am sure that we shall be picked up before long, and so I
see no reason why I should not try to be happy," I answered
thoughtlessly.
"Ah, but I am thinking of those who are gone," said Clem. "My kind
father, as I called him, and old Growl, and the rest of the poor
fellows; it is like singing over their graves."
"You are right, Clem," I said; "I will sing no more, though I only did
it to keep up your spirits. But what is that?" I exclaimed, suddenly,
as we rose to the crest of a sea. "A large ship standing directly for
us."
"Yes; she is close-hauled, beating down Channel," observed Clement.
"She will be right upon us, too, if she keeps her present course."
"We must take care to let her know where we are, by shouting together at
the top of our voices when we are near enough to be heard," I said.
"She appears to me to be a man-of-war, and probably a sharp look-out is
kept forward," Clement remarked. We had not observed the ship before,
as our faces had been turned away from her. The sea had, however, been
gradually working the mast round, as I knew to be the case by the
different position in which the moon appeared to us.
"We must get ready for a shout, Clem, and then cry out together as we
have never cried before. I'll say when we are to begin."
As the ship drew nearer Clem had no doubt that she was a man-of-war, a
large frigate apparently, under her three topsails and courses.
"She is passing to windward of us," I exclaimed.
"Not so sure of that," cried Clem. "She will be right over us if we do
not cry out in time."
"Let us begin, then," I said. "Now, shout away, Hip! Hip!"
"No, no!" cried Clem, "that will not do. Shout `Ship ahoy!'"
I had forgotten for the moment what to say, so together we began
shouting as shrilly as we could, at the very top of our voices. Again
and again we shouted. I began to fear that the ship would be right over
us, when presently we saw her luff up. The moon was shining down upon
us, and we were seen. So close, even then, did the frigate pass, that
the end of the mast we were clinging to almost grazed her side. Ropes
were hove to us, but the ship had too much way on her, and it was
fortunate we could not seize them. "Thank you," I cried out. "Will you
take us aboard?" There was no answer, and I thought that we were to be
left floating on our mast till some other vessel might sight us. We
were mistaken, though. We could hear loud orders issued on board, but
what was said we could not make out, and presently the ship came up to
the wind, the head yards were braced round, and she lay hove-to. Then
we saw a boat lowered. How eagerly we watched what was being done. She
came towards us. The people in her shouted to us in a strange language.
They were afraid, evidently, of having their boat stove in by the wreck
of the mast. At last they approached us cautiously.
"Come, Clem, we will swim to her," I said. "Catch tight hold of my
jacket; I have got strength enough left in me for that."
We had not far to go, but I found it a tougher job than I expected. It
would have been wiser to have remained till we could have leaped from
the mast to the boat. I was almost exhausted by the time we reached
her, and thankful when I felt Clem lifted off my back, I myself, when
nearly sinking, being next hauled on board. We were handed into the
stern-sheets, where we lay almost helpless. I tried to speak, but could
not, nor could I understand a word that was said. The men at once
pulled back to the ship, and a big seaman, taking Clem under one of his
arms, clambered up with him on deck. Another carried me on board in the
same fashion. The boat was then hoisted up, and the head yards being
braced round, the ship continued her course. Lanterns being brought, we
were surrounded by a group of foreign-looking seamen, who stared
curiously at us, asking, I judged from the tones of their voices, all
sorts of questions, but as their language was as strange to us as ours
was to them, we couldn't understand a word they said, or make them
comprehend what we said.
"If you would give us some hot grog, and let us turn into dry hammocks,
we should be much obliged to you," I cried out at last, despairing of
any good coming of all their talking.
Just as I spoke, an officer with a cloak on came from below, having
apparently turned out of his berth. "Ah, you are English," I heard him
say. "Speak to me. How came you floating out here?"
I told him that our vessel had gone down, and that we, as far as I knew,
were the only survivors of the crew.
"And who is that other boy?"
"The captain's son," I answered.
"Ah, I thought so, by his appearance," said the officer. "He shall be
taken into the cabin. You, my boy, will have a hammock on the lower
deck, and the hot grog you asked for. I'll visit you soon. I am the
doctor of the ship."
He then spoke to the men, and while Clement was carried aft, I was
lifted up and conveyed below by a couple of somewhat rough but not
ill-natured-looking seamen. I was more exhausted than I had supposed,
for on the way I fainted, and many hours passed by before I returned to
a state of half consciousness.