A cry rose from the deck, and Steve Young in that brief moment felt that
all was over, and that he was struck a violent blow in the ribs. Next
moment he swung against the starboard shrouds to which he clung, feeling
sick and giddy with pain, but awaking to the fact that the big Norwegian
sailor had gripped his jacket on the right side and taken up a little
fold of flesh as well. The pain was keen for a few moments, but partly
ceased as the man thrust his other hand, by which he had held on between
the ratlines, and took a good hold of his waistband.
"Now, then, can you get round this side?"
For answer Steve worked himself from the inner to the outer slope of the
shrouds just below the cross-bars, and then thrust his legs through and
held on, waiting for the fluttering nervous sensation which had attacked
him to pass off.
"Ahoy, there!" came from the deck in the captain's stern tones. "I'll
send up a line; make it fast round his chest, and lower him down."
These words sent the blood flushing to the boy's cheeks, for the idea of
being lowered down like a bale or cask sounded too degrading.
"No, no!" he cried. "It's all right, sir; I can come down. Only
slipped," he added.
"Only slipped!" said the Norseman bitterly. "Didn't I tell you to be
careful, sir?"
"Yes; but I forgot."
"Lucky for you I was watching you."
"Can you come down?" cried the captain.
"Yes, sir, yes; it's all right"; and feeling more confident now, the boy
began to descend the shrouds steadily enough, gaining confidence at
every step till he reached the main-top, where he caught a rope, twisted
his legs round, slid down to the deck, and laughingly faced his friends.
"Steve, my lad," cried the doctor, "what a turn you gave me! I thought
you were gone."
"Yes," said Captain Marsham in a low tone; "and instead of laughing, my
boy, you ought to go down to the cabin and thank God for your narrow
escape. It was my fault, though, for encouraging you in your own
confidence."
"I'm very, very sorry, Mr Handscombe," whispered Steve, as the captain
walked away. "I didn't mean to treat it lightly, only to look as if I
were not a coward."
"Yes, yes, I understand, my lad," was the reply; "but it is a lesson to
you. I wouldn't go through those moments again for a thousand pounds.
Why, Steve, my lad, I saw, as if in a flash, a funeral at sea, our trip
at an end, and poor Captain Marsham going back feeling that he was to
blame for your death."
"Oh, I say, Mr Handscombe, don't talk like that!" whispered Steve.
"Was it really so bad?"
"Bad, sir! Why, what do you think you are made of--india-rubber? Did
you suppose that you would drop on to the deck and bounce up again, to
come down then on your feet and strike an attitude like a clown in a
pantomime? I haven't patience with you!"
"I'm very sorry, sir, really," said Steve again.
"Not half so sorry as we should have been," said the doctor testily.
"But there, I don't know; it would have been a good riddance. Boys are
more bother than they are worth, especially consequential and conceited
boys, like you are. Hullo! what are you putting your hand there for?
Not hurt?"
"I--I don't know," said Steve, pressing both hands to his side. "Yes, I
do; it hurts horribly."
"But you didn't fall."
"No; Johannes struck me there, and gripped the flesh. Feels as if he
had broken my ribs."
"How do you know, sir? You never had any ribs broken, did you?"
"No," replied Steve; "but it feels as one would suppose ribs would feel
if they were broken."
"Bah! You don't know anything about it. That's why I called you
conceited. Here, come down into the cabin."
He took Steve by the arm, and the boy winced.
"What! Something wrong there, too?"
"I don't know," said Steve in an altered tone. "I don't know anything,
only that I'm so horribly conceited. If I did, I should say my shoulder
was wrenched with the jerk."
"Come along," said the doctor, changing his tone. "There, my lad, I was
a bit hard upon you; but you gave me a terrible fright, and I haven't
got over it yet."
He led the way toward the cabin; but before they reached the companion
hatch the captain came up, looking very stern. Then he, too, altered
his manner.
"What is it?" he said anxiously. "Steve is not hurt?"
"Not much, I think. We're going down to see."
"I hope not," said the captain quickly; and his eyes met Steve's as,
without another word, he quietly held out his hand.
It was a very simple action, but it meant a great deal; and as the lad
felt the quiet, firm pressure given to his fingers, he grew more and
more, as he had expressed himself, sorry for the pain he had so
inadvertently caused.
"Now, then," said the doctor, as soon as he had closed the cabin door,
"I ought to be very much obliged to you, Steve, for giving me something
to keep my surgical lore from growing rusty."
"Oh, I say!" cried the boy, "don't talk like that, sir. There isn't
much the matter, is there?"
"Not much the matter! Why, you talked about broken ribs. Don't you
call that much the matter?"
"Oh, but--"
"Here, let's see, patient. Don't; I'll do that."
He pressed the boy back on to the locker, and then proceeded to make his
examination, while Steve watched his face anxiously, trying to gather
from the intent countenance whether he had sustained any serious injury.
"Hum! ha!" ejaculated the doctor, as he went on manipulating the boy's
chest, back, and ribs. "That hurt you?"
"Horribly, sir."
"And that?"
"Yes, sir; worse."
"Can't help it. Well, that?"
"Oh! that's worse of all, sir."
"Humph! Now then, take a good, long, deep breath."
Steve obeyed.
"Now another, deeper and longer. Draw the air well in after an outward
breath, to empty the lungs. Hah! that's better. Well, there are no
broken rib ends piercing the lungs."
"Oh no, I hope not!" cried Steve anxiously. "The ribs are broken,
then?"
"Not they. All sound as mine are. There, that will do; get on your
jacket."
Steve began, but the pain the act gave him turned him sick, and seeing
this the doctor helped him.
"There must be something the matter, sir," he said, rather piteously,
"or it wouldn't hurt like this."
"Hardly fair to call it anything the matter, my lad. Your shoulder has
had a nasty wrench from the jerk with which you were brought up."
"But it hurts so much lower down."
"And no wonder. In two or three days your side there will be black and
blue."
"And why--what should make it so, sir?"
"Johannes' great hand. Why, he must have gripped you there like a steel
claw."
"Yes, he did. I felt it like that. He got hold of a lot of the flesh."
"Exactly; and a good thing, too. Better than letting you fall sixty to
seventy feet."
"Much," said Steve dolefully.
"Humph! don't sound as if you thought so, my boy. There, you've not
anything serious the matter with you. The bruises will get well of
themselves. But don't look at me in that disappointed way; were you in
the hope that I should perform some serious operation?"
"Ugh! No, sir."
"Oh, I see; you are disappointed because I have given you no medicine.
Why, Steve, you are as bad as the poor people who come to a dispensary.
They are not happy unless they have a box of pills and a bottle of
medicine. I'll mix you up something."
"No, no! don't, sir, please," cried Steve. "I am very much better now;
I am, indeed."
"Very well, then; lie down there for an hour or two, till the sickness
produced by the shock has gone off."
"Oh no, sir. I needn't do that, need I?"
"Well, then, come on deck."
Steve rose from the locker, winced, and subsided again.
"I think I will lie for a little while."
The doctor nodded and left him in the cabin, where he lay back for about
ten minutes listening to the thumping about on deck, where the men were
evidently busy making more preparations for the adventurous cruise. His
shoulder ached, and there was a peculiar strained feeling about the
muscles of his chest; but this did not trouble him so much as the
strained sensation in his mind. For, as he lay back there, he began to
think about what they were saying respecting him on deck. The doctor
would have told Captain Marsham how he was, Mr Lowe would hear it, and
then it would go to the men from the engineer and the four Norwegians
downward.
"And they'll think I've no more pluck than a girl," he thought at last;
"just when I want to show that I am ready to take my part in anything.
Why, if I'm ready to be upset like this, I shall be left on board when
they are going on expeditions fishing, shooting, or hunting, and--Oh!
this won't do."
And to prove that it would not do he jumped up, walked up and down the
cabin twice,--a very short journey, by the way,--found that it did not
hurt him more than lying still on the locker, and then went on deck.