THE CRUISE OF THE MATTRESSES
"I wish," said Aunt Amanda, "that I had brought some sewing with me. I
don't suppose I could sew very well by moonlight on a mattress in the
middle of the ocean, but I don't believe this would have happened if I'd
had my sewing with me."
"Hi carn't see 'ow that would 'ave--" began Mr. Punch.
"Now look here," said Toby. "We've got to sit in the middle of this here
raft, or else she'll tilt over. Why don't you sit in the middle,
Warden?"
"I _am_ sitting in the middle," said the Churchwarden. "I wonder what
the Vestry would say if they could--"
"I wish it distinctly understood," said the Sly Old Fox, "that I am here
under protest. If I had for one moment imagined--"
"Now listen to me," said Aunt Amanda. "There's got to be a captain of
this expedition, and as there's nobody here but a lot of helpless
men-creatures, I suppose I've got to be the captain myself. All those in
favor say aye. I'm elected. That's done. Warden, sit a little bit over
to the right."
"Ay, ay, sir; ay, ay, ma'am; certainly," said the Warden.
"Now everybody sit up close to the Warden," said Aunt Amanda. "There. Is
the raft balanced now?"
"Ay, ay, sir," said the Churchwarden. "I mean, ay, ay, ma'am."
"Then my orders as captain is, to sit still and see what's going to
happen."
Nothing happened. Freddie grew sleepy, and leaned his head against Aunt
Amanda's shoulder. As he was falling off to sleep, a slim dark object
rose from the sea near by and whirred across the ocean and plopped into
the water.
"Bless me heyes," said Mr. Punch, "hit's a flying-fish, as ever was."
"Is it, really?" said Freddie. "Did he really fly?"
"How wonderful is nature!" said the Sly Old Codger. "Such an opportunity
to improve the mind! My little friend, I trust you will profit by what
you have seen. It is very educational; very educational indeed."
"Ahem!" said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg. "What do you
suppose--er--ahem!--if you will pardon me--what are those little things
sparkling out there on the surface of the water?"
"Hit's a school of sardines!" said Mr. Punch. "Hi know them wery well;
when I was a lad--"
"There must be millions of them," said Freddie. "Just look!"
The tiny fish were leaping by thousands on the surface of the water,
immediately in the path of moonlight; and they flashed and sparkled as
they leaped.
"Hi believe there's a great fish arfter them," said Mr. Punch.
"Maybe a whole regiment of big fish," said Toby. "By crackey, there's
one now!"
As he spoke, a black fin cut the water near the sardines, and they
became more agitated than ever; from the size of the fin, it must have
been a very great fish indeed; and along the upper edge of the fin was
a row of long sharp saw-teeth, looking big and strong enough to have
sawed through a wooden plank.
"There's another one!" cried Freddie.
"And another! and another!" cried Aunt Amanda.
There must have been five or six of the great fish.
"I hope they won't come near this boat," said Toby. "One of 'em would
just about turn us upside down if he struck us."
"Mercy!" said Aunt Amanda. "Don't say such a terrible thing."
At that moment a great round black back appeared above the surface of
the water, some hundred yards or so away, and in another moment a great
black blunt head joined itself to the back, and a spout of white vapor
rose from the head.
"A whale!" cried several voices at once.
"Oh!" said Aunt Amanda. "Suppose he should come this way?"
The five or six fins of the great fish near the sardines now
disappeared. The whale threw up his enormous tail, and went down head
first beneath the water. Almost immediately, one of the saw-toothed fins
reappeared, much nearer the raft than before.
"Merciful heavens!" cried Aunt Amanda. "He's coming towards us! Oh
dear!"
The great fish was in fact evidently making straight towards the raft.
Freddie clutched Aunt Amanda's arm. The fin cut the water at a high
speed; it disappeared at times, but on each reappearance it was still
pointed towards the raft.
"He's nearly on us!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Hold on tight, Freddie!"
The great fish came on with a rush, and as he reached the raft struck it
with his back and slid under it. There was a tremendous bump, which
nearly sent the company flat; then there was a rubbing under the raft,
and everything was quiet again.
"He's gone," said Toby.
"No, 'e isn't," said Mr. Punch. "Look at 'is tail!"
A great tail could be seen beyond the edge of the raft, just below the
surface of the water. It thrashed about and churned up the water
violently for a few seconds, and then waved back and forth quietly; but
it did not disappear.
"By crackey," said Toby, "he's stuck! His fin has got stuck into the
bottom of the raft! He's got the whole kit and bilin' of us on his
back!"
"Mercy on us!" said Aunt Amanda.
"Is it really true?" said Freddie.
"On due consideration," said the Churchwarden, "I think Toby's right."
"Hi believe 'e is!" said Mr. Punch. "Blimy if I ever rode on the back of
a fish before! Now 'e's got us on 'is back, what's 'e going to do with
us?"
"We're moving!" cried Freddie.
"So we are!" said Aunt Amanda.
"Blamed if we ain't," said Toby.
The mattress craft was in fact moving; very slowly, indeed, but still
moving; and it was moving in the opposite direction to the fish's tail,
which could be seen now and then under the water, waving back and forth
like the tail of a swimming fish.
"If this don't beat all," said Toby. "That fish down there has certainly
got his fin hooked into our mattress, and he's swimming along with us on
top of him. I've seen a snail crawlin' with his shell on top of him, but
a fish with a load of mattresses and live-stock is a new thing to me!"
"I'm the captain," said Aunt Amanda, "and my orders is to sit as still
as you can and see where he's taking us to."
"Ay, ay, sir," said the Churchwarden. "I mean, ay, ay, ma'am."
The party huddled on top of the mattresses sat as still as mice, hardly
daring to breathe. Their little craft continued to move gently through
the water. They expected each moment that the fish would free himself,
but evidently his fin had embedded itself so firmly in one of the bottom
mattresses that he could not get loose; he went on swimming with his
load on his back.
Hour after hour they waited to feel their craft stop; but hour after
hour it moved gently and slowly across the surface of the sea. They
settled themselves more comfortably against each other, and spoke very
little. No one noticed that their raft was now much lower in the water.
The air was warm, the moonlight and the silence were extremely soothing,
and the motion of the raft was gentle and languorous. Freddie's head
sank against Aunt Amanda's shoulder, and his eyes closed; and in another
moment he was asleep. Aunt Amanda herself nodded, and her eyes closed;
she was asleep too. Toby yawned, and leaned heavily against the Sly Old
Codger; his eyes closed, and--in short, every eye closed, and every
frame relaxed heavily against its neighbor, and at last, doubled over in
a closely huddled group in the exact center of their mattresses, the
whole party slept; each and every one.
The raft went on steadily and quietly through the water, the moon
glittered on the sea, the raft settled deeper and deeper, and there was
absolute silence on the ocean, except for a slight groan which came
regularly and gently from the nose of the Churchwarden.