THE STEAMER _FENG-SHUI_, FOR CHINA--CAPTAIN GOLDHEUGH--DISCIPLINE AND A
ROPE'S END!
When I again recovered consciousness I found myself in a comfortable
berth, in what appeared an airy cabin on the deck of a vessel. The
distant churning noise which attracted my rather wandering attention,
and the shaking of the furniture, told me that I was on board a screw
steamer. From the cabin windows I perceived a dim light upon the sea.
The steamer rolled and plunged and shook herself with great energy, and
at times the lamp hung, apparently, quite sideways across the room. As
I continued to gaze rather listlessly about me, my eyes fastened
themselves upon two words, of which I could make no sense nor meaning.
These were painted upon a locker in golden characters, above some
peculiar characters, and read--
FENG-SHUI.
What was Feng-Shui? I had never heard of it. I puzzled over it. Was
it a name, a motto, or a spell of some kind? It seemed to my still
obscured brain "neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring," and the
painted characters beneath the words looked even funnier than those
upon a tea-chest. FENG-SHUI!
The letters burned into my brain; they kept recurring in a kind of
sing-song refrain, and finally adapted themselves to the "Tit-Willow"
song in the _Mikado_. _Feng-Shui, Feng-Shui, Feng-Shui_! As I lay
staring at the locker my mind turned the song anew--
A poor little sailor-boy lay in a berth,
_Feng-Shui, Feng-Shui, Feng-Shui!_
And never could tell what was meant on this earth
By Shui, Feng-Shui, Feng-Shui!
And so on, _ad infinitum_, till my senses reeled again. At length,
being almost desperate, I rose, and was in the act of quitting the
horrible cabin, when a man in uniform--merchant service--came in.
"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what are you up to? Sleep-walking? Get back
directly, d'ye hear? Smart now!"
He aimed a blow at my back, and literally ran me into the swinging cot
which I had just vacated.
"Are ye mad?" he inquired, with a touch of the brogue of northern
Ireland--a most amusing accent to my mind--which gave a comic turn to
his most serious remarks.
I made no reply immediately, only by staring.
"Ah! the boy's off his head! D'ye hear me? Are ye deaf and mad?"
"No," I replied; "neither, I think."
"Ye _think_! Ye're not sure! Then bedad _I_ think ye're mad. What
made ye jump out o' bed, then, like a lunatic?"
"I was wondering where I was, and thinking of those queer letters. I
am better now. I was confused when I woke up."
"Oh, that's better! Sure it was a miracle ye woke at all; we all
thought ye dead as Kerry mutton. What's ailing ye?"
"Nothing, except those queer letters."
"What! The ship's name, is it? That's nothing but _Feng-Shui_, and
it's written in Chinese besides."
"Oh, thank you, I see. I couldn't make it out. What does it mean?"
"_Wind and Weather_, and a lot more, in China. Ye'll see in time. Be
easy now, I tell ye."
"In time! What do you mean?" I asked, starting up.
"What I say. In time! By and by,--when ye get there."
"Get where? To China?"
"That's it," replied my new acquaintance. "Ye've hit it plumb."
"But _I_ am _not going_ to China!"
"Aren't ye, bedad! Well, we'll agree to differ on that."
"What rot!" I exclaimed rudely. "Surely you're going to London?"
"Not till I get back, round the East. Then, maybe I will."
"Do you mean to say that this vessel is bound to China?"
"I do; and ye're bound to go with it."
"Then I _won't_! I want to go home to Beachmouth. Can't you put me
ashore anywhere?--I don't care where it is."
"Can ye swim?" he asked, looking at me with a funny wink.
"I can, of course. Well?"
"Then ye must swim home. We're away in the Channel, and France is on
the port-beam, if ye know what that is."
"Of course I do. Do you think me an idiot?"
"I did--a while ago. If ye're not a fool ye'll stay where ye are. Of
course, ye're a bit mad now, but by the mornin' ye'll be well. Lie
quiet now, and I'll send ye some food."
"No, thank you, I am not hungry. I am thirsty and chilly, though. Why
can't I go home?"
"Because, unless I stop to put ye aboard some ship, ye can't. I can't
stop now till daylight, anyway; and then we shall be about in the Bay.
By that time I expect ye'll want to stay where ye are. Lie quiet now,
I'll send the steward to ye with a lemon drink. Maybe in the morning
ye'll feel better. Anyhow, ye must remain here--for the present, and
keep yer claws in, like Tim Connor's cat."
"Are _you_ the captain?" I asked, with some deference.
"So they tell me," was the quaint reply, as he left the cabin.
The captain of the _Wind and Weather_! Perhaps I had been too
"cheeky." What would he do to me, I wondered. He seemed a nice man.
Then I began to wonder what had become of Tim. He had not been given a
cabin. Why had the captain taken such care of me? he had never heard
of me, I was sure.
While thus groping in my mind for assistance and ideas, the steward
appeared with a warm drink, which smelt of lemon juice, and some
spirit--I think whisky. I had never tasted spirits, and declined the
draught then.
"If you don't drink it the doc will come and fix you," said the
steward. "Better this than him. He's a 'nailer' at nastiness. Take
my advice, drink this, and you'll sleep like a top."
"On one leg, do you mean?" I asked, taking the glass and smiling.
"Anyhow, after that. There, you've some sense in you, I see. You came
up pretty limp from the boat. Now lie down, and sleep till mornin',
I'll come and see after you."
"I say, steward, wait a second. What's the captain's name?"
"Goldheugh--Martin Goldheugh--and a first-rate captain, too, I can tell
you. But you must do as you're bid, mind; no skulking. Now shut your
eyes and keep quiet. Good-night."
I murmured something. The drink I had imbibed was mounting to my head;
I felt warm and comfortable. Then I began to count the distant throbs
of the engine, and just as I had reached three hundred and sixty-two
I--woke.
It was broad daylight. I rubbed my eyes in surprise. _Day_light! Had
I slept (like Scrooge in the "Christmas Carol") through a whole night
in a few minutes. It could not be daylight, surely? I had only
counted three hundred and odd beats of the engine at supper-time, and
already morning had come. My first glance fell upon "_Wind and
Weather_"--the _Feng-Shui_ sign; and then my heart beat fast. I
flushed hotly. What would my parents _think_? what would they _do_?
I confess I was miserable and greatly upset. I was at sea, and for the
first time very unhappy. My thoughts rushed to my mother, then to my
indulgent stepfather, and I compared them with other fellows' parents
who were so strict and stiff and severe. Neither my own father nor
mother, not even Mr. Bentham, had been really severe with me. Most of
my troubles had been caused by my own wilfulness and obstinacy; and, I
then confessed, my disobedience! Yes, they had advised and guided me,
while I, in my conceit, fancied I knew best, and consequently came to
grief at last. Punishments came at times, and I rebelled, got punished
again, and sulked. I perceived then that my parents had been just, and
I regretted now that I had been so rude, and had parted from my mother
so brusquely and unkindly.
My melancholy reflections were disturbed by the entrance of the
steward. I was pleased to see him.
"Good-morning," he said. "Sleep well?"
"Splendidly! Where are we, steward?"
"Off Ushant. We shall get a tossing presently."
"What do you call this?" I asked, as the waves came rushing past the
bulwarks. I could see great mountains rising and sinking outside, and
white foam dashing up. The air was cool too, and raw.
"That's nothing at all; wait a while. The wind's rising fast, and
we'll have a fine sea presently. Are you getting up?"
"What's the time, please? I feel better now."
"It's seven bells in the morning watch--half-past seven, you know."
"Yes, I know _that_," I replied. "Can I have breakfast?"
"Of course; whatever you like--in reason."
"Where will you reach port and land me?"
"I can't say; maybe at Gib--or Malta. We're in the Bay now. It's all
the Bay between Ushant and Cape Finisterre."
"It's awful rough, I think I had better lie still," I said.
"As you like. The swell comes in here from the west, you see. But it
isn't any rougher than the Atlantic between Ireland and America."
"I suppose you have sailed all around England, and also abroad?"
"Yes, I've been in a few places in my time. I was a schoolmaster once."
"You--a schoolmaster!" I exclaimed, sitting up with a jerk.
"Yes. Then I left the business, and went to sea as a purser's mate in
the American trade. I saw a bit, and learned more geography than I
could teach. I suppose you know all the celebrated sea places?"
"Oh yes; Trafalgar, and all those, of course."
"And Dungeness, Beachy Head, Harfleur, and Ushant close here, on the
great first of June. I could tell boys all about them better now. Ay,
ay; but let's not think of them. You want breakfast--all right."
He disappeared, and in a few minutes another man entered with a tray of
good things, including marmalade and jam, toast, and hot rolls. What a
splendid breakfast I made. I _almost_ forgot my home then. But the
reaction came, and I felt miserable once more.
At half-past eight--I mean one bell in the forenoon watch--I said I
would get up. I received some assistance from the steward, who had
dried my clothes, but they had shrunk sadly. I made inquiries for Tim.
"He's forward all right,--you mean the fisherman, don't you?"
"Yes, Tim Murry. I should like to see him."
"You can see him on the forecastle, if you like. You can walk forward
when you've found your legs. Gently does it."
I was greatly amused by being advised to take care. Why, I had been
out in vessels in _very_ rough seas often! The idea of the steamer
being so bad was ridiculous. So I stepped out on deck, and was just
about to gaze around when I was thrown forcibly against the port (lee)
bulwarks, and the breath knocked out of my body.
Wildly I grasped at the shrouds and halyards within reach. I gasped,
turned blue and pale, and felt as if I was dying.
"Hold up!" cried the steward, who had come out behind me. "Don't try
to kill yourself, young fellow! You're too venturesome. Here, let me
lead you to the companion, and sit there by the steps."
He assisted me to the companion stair, and placed me in safety by the
entrance to the little saloon.
The captain was on the bridge close by, over the chart-house. The ship
was flush-decked, broken only by the commander's cabin, the charthouse,
and the skylights, masts, and funnel. Forward was the men's berth and
hatch. I could only observe these points when the captain hailed me.
"Hallo, my lad, are ye practisin' for the slack-wire? Would ye like a
sling for yer legs?"
I blushed because the mate and steward laughed. The sailor at the
wheel grinned silently.
"All right, captain," I replied, "I'll have a sling, please. Hoist
away!"
The mate--I thought him the mate--on the deck laughed again, but in a
different key. The captain spoke to him in a low tone. The officer
came aft and beckoned to me to approach the bulwarks.
I staggered up as bidden, and in a moment he had secured me with a rope
to a belaying pin amidships, beneath the bridge. The rope hurt me, and
pressed hard upon my waist in front.
"Let me go," I cried, struggling to reach the deck, from which I was
just lifted by the rope; "I can't breathe."
"You can shout, anyhow," replied the mate. "You'll find your level
presently. Then you'll walk circumspectly."
"Can you spell it?" I sneered. I was annoyed then by the laughter.
"I T," was the answer. "And you'll spell 'rope's end' if you're
impudent, my lad. So put that in your pipe!"
"I don't smoke," I retorted. "Let me go, please."
"Presently. Keep quiet, as the captain says. You'll be glad
presently. How do you feel now, eh?".
"None the better for seeing you," I said rudely. "Let me go!"
"No, no; you must feel better first. You see this rope's end, you'll
feel it presently. Just a little pleasant warming. See?"
He then suddenly laid the rope across my shoulders sharply, and on my
back a few times.
"That will keep you," he concluded, stepping forward and leaving me to
my reflections. "Now you know the ropes," he cried jeeringly.
I was angry, and made up my mind to fight the mate when I got released.
The captain did not interfere at all, though he saw all that had
occurred. However, I suspected he would have said something had he
disapproved. I was very savage, though not really hurt--except in my
inmost feelings. I wriggled, and kicked, and yelled aloud, but no one
took any notice of me whatever. At length I subsided,--I felt rather
sick and faint.
"Cut him down," said the captain to one of the hands; "he's had enough.
He'll lie quiet now."
The man at once untied the knot which I could not reach; I fell on
deck, and felt terribly ill.
"Come along o' me," said the sailor. "Just stand here to leeward!
You'll be all spry in a few minutes now. Hold up, matey! Why, you're
a greenhorn, and no mistake! Shave my cat's whiskers, but you _are_!"
I felt too unwell to dispute the question. I considered that I had
been most unkindly treated; that the captain and crew, including the
mate most particularly, had been almost brutal! I longed to quit the
ship and to return home. Even Granding and Smith's, I believed, would
be more pleasant than the steamer. I began to _hate_ the sea, the
waves, the voyage! Was _this_ the beautiful Ocean on which I had
sailed so joyfully so often? What a mercy it was that I had been
plucked in eyesight!
My eyes were open now, long before the usual nine days. I could see
things in a different light. No doubt the Royal Navy was different
from this "tramp" steamer, but it was all the same feeling _at_ sea!
Oh, my head! my head!