HOPES OF ESCAPE--HARRY'S ADVICE TO WILLY--AMONG ICEBERGS--WONDERFUL
APPEARANCE OF ICE ISLANDS--GETTING UP JURY-MASTS--DRIFTING TOWARDS AN
ICEBERG--THE ICEBERGS MOVING--THE SHIP STRIKES A BERG--CONSTERNATION OF
PASSENGERS--THE SOLDIERS AT THE PUMPS--SHIP DRIVEN STERN-ON TO A BERG--
FEARFUL DAMAGE RECEIVED--A SLANT OF WIND TAKES HER OFF--THE LEAKS
INCREASING--STORES HOVE OVERBOARD--JURY-MASTS CARRIED AWAY--ATTEMPTS TO
STOP THE LEAKS--MATTERS BECOME WORSE--AN ANXIOUS NIGHT--THE WATER GAINS
ON THE LEAKS.
The "Ranger" had been running on for another night. Though the wind had
fallen, there was too much sea to attempt rigging jury-masts, or heaving
her to. The weather had been tolerably clear, and a bright look-out
being kept, it was hoped that, should icebergs appear ahead, they might
be seen in sufficient time to steer clear of them. During the whole
time the commander had not gone below; indeed none of the officers had
turned in, and a few only of the men had taken short snatches of sleep.
Not for a moment had the clanging pumps ceased to work. At frequent
intervals the carpenter had sounded the well, and reported that they
were greatly gaining on the leaks.
"I hope, Willy, you will still be able to write home a long yarn of our
adventures," said Harry Shafto, as they stood together on the deck.
"The sea has gone down considerably during the last two hours, and if we
can pump the ship clear we may yet stop the leaks, get jury-masts up,
and reach New Zealand not long after the time we were due."
"I hope so," said Willy, who was feeling somewhat worn-out, and whose
spirits for a midshipman were getting unusually low. "I cannot help
thinking of the poor fellows who were washed overboard, and thankful I
ought to be that I was not among them. I was holding on when one of the
men who was making his way for'ard was carried off by the sea. I know I
wish that it was daylight."
"It will soon come," said Harry, "and we shall get the ship to rights;
and with regard to those poor fellows, I would not tell you not to think
about them, but that their fate should teach us always to be ready. If
we are so, we shall never fear to face danger."
"By the by, Willy, I wish to report your conduct to the commander. I
find that it was your sharp eyes that first discovered the iceberg from
which we so providentially escaped."
"Thank you," said Willy; "but I was only just doing my duty in keeping a
bright look-out."
"Exactly," said Harry; "that's the utmost we can do, and all that is
expected of any man; just go on, Willy, doing that, and you'll do well.
But see, there is a light streak in the horizon; the clouds are clearing
away. Though the ocean looks black enough at present, it will soon be
sparkling with brightness."
The two friends made their way along the deck to the forecastle, where
they found the officers who were stationed there eagerly looking out.
One declared that he saw land ahead. "If it is, daylight will soon show
it," observed another. While the discussion was going on, the sea
seemed on a sudden to go down, and the ship glided on in comparatively
smooth water.
"It may or may not be land ahead," exclaimed the master; "but I tell you
what--we are under the lee of a large field of ice, and it is a mercy we
did not run on it in the dark. See, there! What do you think of that?"
Stretching far round in the eastern horizon, appeared a white line,
clearly marked on the dark ocean. All hands were now called and set to
work to get up jury-masts. Every one worked with a will, from the
smallest boy on board. No time was to be lost. The soldiers were
summoned on deck to lend a hand in pulling and hauling. Gradually the
light increased, and, as it did so, the work went on more rapidly.
Willy had but little time to look about him, but he could not help every
now and then glancing towards the east, which was now illuminated by a
rich, ruddy glow, extending far and wide, gradually melting into a
yellow tint, that again vanished in the dark-blue sky overhead.
Presently the sun itself rose out of the ocean, at first like a fiery
arch, till, springing rapidly upwards, the whole circle appeared in
view. Just then he turned his eyes to the right. He could not refrain
from uttering an exclamation of astonishment; for there appeared, not a
mile away to the westward, what seemed like a vast island of alabaster,
covered with countless edifices--towers and columns, and embattled
walls, glowing with numberless brilliant and varied hues. Colonel
Morley, who had just then come on deck, observed it also, and pointing
it out to the commander, hastened below to summon his wife and daughters
to witness the beautiful spectacle. Commander Newcombe's countenance
did not show that he was as pleased with the sight as the colonel had
apparently been. Casting an anxious glance round, he summoned the
first-lieutenant to his side, who seemed to be holding earnest
conversation with him. Willy, who had gone aft on some duty, heard the
latter remark, "We are embayed, sir, there is no doubt about it. All we
can hope for is a breeze from the southward to get out again." Willy
heard no more.
"Oh, how beautiful! oh, how magnificent!" exclaimed the Miss Morleys, as
they reached the deck; "it is worth making a voyage to witness such a
scene as that!"
Willy could now observe what he had only before partially seen. The
whole ocean to the west was of a deep-purple hue, from out of which rose
several superb icebergs; some could not have been less than a third of a
mile in length, and from two to three hundred feet in height. The sides
of one appeared perfectly smooth, as if carefully chiselled all over.
In one of the nearest were seen bold projecting bluffs, with deep
caverns beyond, into which the sea forced its way, rushing out again
with a loud sound. On the summits of others appeared the towers and
pinnacles, the ruined arches and buttressed walls, which had at first
caught Willy's sight. It seemed, indeed, as if a large city of
alabaster had once stood there, reduced to ruins by a convulsion of
nature. Here appeared huge piles of buildings grouped together, with
long lanes and streets winding irregularly through them, with what had
been the citadel rising in their midst. As the sun rose, the whole mass
became bathed in a red light. No words, however, can convey a full idea
of the beauty and grandeur of the spectacle.
"I was thinking for a moment that I should like to get out my
drawing-book and colour-box," said Emma Morley to her sister; "but I am
sure it would be impossible to do anything like justice to such a
scene."
"Those who have not witnessed it would believe that you had taken a
painter's licence," answered her sister; "and yet I believe that you
might produce a very fair idea of the scene. Let me go and get your
drawing things."
Mrs Morley was afraid her daughters might suffer from the cold if they
remained much longer on deck. Cloaks were, however, brought, and what
her parents considered a masterly sketch was quickly produced by their
young daughter. Little did they think at the time of the dangerous
position in which the ship was still placed.
While the drawing was going on, numerous sea-birds were seen to be
passing in and out of the caverns, now plunging down into the ocean to
seek their breakfasts, now rising again and pitching upon the icy points
and pinnacles as if they were their accustomed home.
"Don't you think we have drawn nearer to that magnificent iceberg?" said
Fanny to her sister.
"Yes, I am almost sure we have," was the answer. "Papa, what do you
think?"
"It is possible, but perhaps the changing light may have deceived us; it
is difficult to calculate distances in this atmosphere."
As may be supposed, they had been several times interrupted by the crew,
who now and then came by leading aft the stays of the mast now at length
set up. Scarcely any of the men cast more than a momentary glance at
the icebergs, but this glance showed that they looked on them with no
favourable eyes. All the time, too, it must be remembered, the pumps
were kept clanking away as before. No human beings ever worked harder
than the crew of the "Ranger;" they well knew, indeed, that they were
labouring for their lives. Hour after hour passed by--there was no
knocking off even for breakfast; it would be time enough to take their
food when the sails were spread, and the ship was standing away from the
beautiful but fearfully dangerous icebergs.
By the time the sun had risen high in the sky the water around had
become of a dark-green hue, and now not only icebergs and the distant
fields of ice were seen, but vast masses of drift ice were observed
floating about. Already two or three yards had been got across, and the
sails were being bent.
Willy found himself close to his friend Harry. "Shafto, you look
unusually grave," he observed; "you seem pretty well knocked up."
"We all of us have reason to be grave," answered Harry; "there is
evidently a strong in-draught towards that big berg, and unless we can
get the sails bent and a breeze to take us off, no human power can save
us from driving against it, and then we shall be worse off than we were
when we struck the berg the other night."
"But don't you think we shall get the sails bent in time?" asked Willy.
"We may get the sails bent, but the wind to fill them may not come; we
must depend on Heaven's mercy for that."
Harry Shafto would not generally have spoken so despondingly, but he was
well-nigh worn-out; and yet he probably did not see matters in a worse
light than most of the other officers.
The passengers had been sometime before summoned below to breakfast, and
only the crew and soldiers engaged in active duty remained on deck.
They were all working away as hard as ever.
The foremast, which had stood, had been well stayed, and a fresh
fore-topmast had also been got up. The captain and officers were
watching anxiously for a breeze. It came at length from the southward.
Sail was made, the ship was put before the wind, and it seemed that she
was now about to move out of her dangerous position. "Let the people go
below and get their breakfasts, Mr Tobin," said the commander to the
first-lieutenant; "they are well-nigh knocked up, and may still have
heavy work before them." The boatswain's whistle was soon heard piping
to the welcome meal, and the men gladly hurried below, though with less
of the elasticity which they exhibited generally on such occasions.
The lofty icebergs were still dangerously near on the port side. Shafto
and Willy, who had snatched a hurried meal in the midshipmen's berth,
were quickly again on deck, as were indeed many of the officers and men,
those who had remained on duty going below. The ship made but slow way.
In the far distance could still be seen a field of ice, which had
hitherto sheltered them from the tumbling sea, which came in from the
north-east; several large pieces were also floating about, and it
required much watchful care to avoid them. But the chief danger
evidently lay from the icebergs to the west; they, too, it appeared,
were slowly moving and slightly changing their relative positions. The
most northern of a line of bergs was much the largest, its summit
towering far above the ship's masts. The anxious glances which the
commander and first-lieutenant occasionally cast towards it showed that
they wished they were farther off. Still, as Willy looked over the
side, and saw the calm waters and the clear space ahead, he could not
fancy but that the ship would soon be out in the open sea. "I shall be
quite sorry to lose sight of these beautiful icebergs," he observed to
Shafto; "it may be a long time before we again shall see anything like
them."
"And I shall be very thankful to bid farewell to them for ever,"
answered Harry. "Just fancy what it would be to have the ship driven in
under one of them. Should there be any sea at the time she would
speedily be ground to pieces, or, as sometimes happens, the whole mass
might come tumbling over and crush her, without a prospect of a human
being on board escaping."
"Very dreadful!" said Willy; "and I am thankful there is no chance, of
that. In another ten minutes we shall be well clear of them."
"I hope so," said Harry; but still he looked grave.
They had just then reached the forecastle, where the master was
standing.
Though the ship was moving on parallel to the side of the berg, the
in-draught was evidently carrying her nearer and nearer it. The master
had gone on to the end of the bowsprit, where he stood holding on by the
stay, and looking anxiously ahead; still it seemed as if no danger need
be apprehended.
"What can the master be looking out for?" asked Peter Patch, who had
just then come up to Willy; "we are all right enough at last."
The words were scarcely out of the young midshipman's mouth when a loud
crash was heard. The ship trembled from stem to stern, and it appeared
as if the masts were going by the board. Orders were instantly given to
brace round the yards, so as to box the ship off. In so doing she made
a stern-board, and drove rapidly in towards the berg. The sound of the
first shock had brought all hands on deck. For a moment discipline was
well-nigh lost: the soldiers, women, and children came rushing up from
below, the poor women frantically shrieking and clinging to their
husbands; even some of the seamen, who understood the danger, evidently
thought that all hope was gone. The passengers, too, came hurrying up
out of their cabins, with dismay on their countenances. Their alarm was
still further increased when, in another instant, the stern of the ship
struck with tremendous force against the mass of ice concealed below the
surface; it seemed indeed as if the stern was completely stove in. At
this juncture the voice of Colonel Morley was heard ordering the
soldiers below. "Take your wives with you, and remain till you receive
fresh orders; they will be safer there than on deck," he exclaimed.
"To your stations, men," shouted Commander Newcombe. "We are not going
to lose the ship yet."
The officers hurrying among the men soon brought them back to a sense of
their duty. It was found, however, that the damage the ship had
received was very severe. The rudder had been torn from its position;
the starboard tiller rope had been carried away, and the neck of the
rudder was wrenched off so as to render it unserviceable. Believing
tackles were at once applied to the tiller, in hopes that the rudder
might be made to work; but after several attempts it was found to be
utterly useless. In vain were the yards braced round. Without the use
of the rudder the ship could not be got sufficiently off to give her
head-way. Slowly she continued to drive towards the monstrous berg,
which threatened, should she strike it, to overwhelm her in an instant.
"A slight shift of wind would take her off," observed the
first-lieutenant to the commander.
"I pray that it may come, then," was the answer.
Again and again the ship struck, evidently on each occasion receiving
fearful damage. The soldiers who had been stationed at the pumps had
knocked off, forgetting their duty in their alarm, when the ship first
struck. The officers now went among them, and urged them to return;
Colonel Morley had himself, however, to go before his orders were
obeyed. The carpenter, who had been sent to sound the well, reported
two feet in the hold. "We may keep that under," observed the commander,
"if the men do their duty."
Mrs Rumbelow was not idle all this time. She had been from the first
tending to the other women; but when she found that the men were
inclined not to obey orders, she was in their midst in an instant.
"What, my lads!" she exclaimed; "is this like you, to let the ship sink
with your wives and children, and the good colonel, and his lady and
daughters, and not do your best to keep her afloat? Shame on you! I
would not have believed it if it had been told me!" In another moment
the pumps were heard clanking away, and sending out the water as rapidly
as before.
The ship was moving at a fearfully rapid rate towards the side of the
vast iceberg. The crew, after the first alarm had subsided, exerted
themselves manfully, and arrangements were being made for the dreaded
encounter. Spars were got out and secured to the sides and quarters,
but still some hope remained that the wind might catch her headsails,
and pay her off in time to avoid it. Every instant, however, that hope
lessened, and on she drove, stern foremost, till the summit of the berg
appeared almost overhead. Close at hand was seen, between two bluffs, a
vast cavern, into which it seemed more than probable that the ship would
drive, and if so, her escape would be impossible.
Such moments try the stoutest hearts. Many countenances became pale,
and some eyes were turned away from the danger; but the commander and
officers faced it boldly, while the crew remained steadily at their
stations. Willy Dicey fully understood the terrific danger in which
they were placed. He looked at the blue sky, at the sun shining
brightly, at the waters dancing gaily, and he thought of the loved ones
at home, and of the little prospect which existed of their ever hearing
of him again. But, boy though he was, even his young heart did not
quail; he was at the post of duty, he knew that; and he knew that there
was One all-powerful watching over him, who would carry him safely
through the danger, if He thought fit.
Nearer and nearer the "Ranger" drew to the iceberg--the bravest held
their breath as they saw that she must inevitably strike. Then came a
fearful crash. So perpendicular was the side of the berg that the stern
davits drove right against it. The stern boat was crushed in, a portion
of the taffrail and the upper part of the spar-deck bulwarks wrenched
off. It seemed as if the whole stern of the ship was about to be
carried away. Her larboard quarter next came in contact with the ice,
but the severity of the shock saved her; for after the damage which has
been described was received, she again bounded off with a cant to
starboard. The jib was instantly run up, and it and the other headsails
catching the wind, away she glided from the berg. Those who had their
eyes turned aft, however, could not refrain from uttering a cry of
horror, for at that instant the berg, shaken by the concussion,
threatened to fall over and crush them. From its summit down came
rushing an avalanche of ice and snow, a portion of the mass even
striking the poop. Still the ship glided on; the after-sails were
trimmed, and again she was clear of another threatened danger. Yet,
with the rudder gone, her stern crushed in, with numberless rents in her
side, and two of her masts carried away, the "Ranger" was indeed in a
perilous condition.
The first thing to be done was to get the rudder repaired. The breeze
had increased, and rendered the operation difficult. The weather, too,
had far from a satisfactory appearance. Whatever Commander Newcombe
thought of the prospect of ultimately saving the ship, he was not the
man to relax in his efforts till the last. It was no easy matter to
steer the ship while the rudder was being repaired; the only means of
doing so was by keeping the yards swinging to and fro, in order to
direct the ship's head towards the opening between the bergs.
Mrs Rumbelow insisted on lending a hand in pulling and hauling. "Why,
boys," she exclaimed, "I can do it as well as any of you, and I don't
see why a woman should be idle because she is a woman." She well knew
that by acting thus she should assist in keeping up the men's spirits.
At length the rudder was shipped, but even then it could be only worked
by relieving tackles, which required a number of hands for the purpose.
The carpenter had been so busy with the rudder that he had not for some
time sounded the well. He now did so.
"Are we keeping the leaks under, Mr Chisel?" asked the commander, when
he came to make his report.
"No, sir, I am sorry to say we are not," he answered. "There are three
feet of water in the hold, and I fear, from the damages the ship has
received, that no power can keep her afloat much longer. If we cannot
repair them, you know, sir, that it won't be for want of our doing our
best."
"I am very sure of that, Mr Chisel, and hope that we may still overcome
the leaks, if the sea continues tolerably smooth," observed the
commander. "But we must not let the pumps be idle." He said this in a
cheerful tone, that those who overheard the carpenter's report might not
lose heart.
The ship was now standing out clear of the ice, and being thus more
exposed than before to the sea, which rolled in from the northward,
began to labour heavily. In a short time the carpenter again reported
that the water had gained another foot on the pumps in spite of the
incessant way they had been kept going. The commander now summoned the
superior officers round him, though what was said was not generally
known. The first-lieutenant instantly collecting a party of men, led
them between-decks, where, aided by some of the soldiers, they at once
set to work to heave overboard such heavy stores and provisions as could
be got at. Everything that had been received at the Cape was thrown
overboard. The purser was in despair. "Remember, Tobin," he observed,
"we have got all these mouths to feed. We may as well drown at first as
starve."
"You are right, purser," answered the first-lieutenant. "We will get up
what provisions we can, and place them on the upper deck. They will
soon be destroyed if they remain where they are."
At length the ship got clear of the ice, and now the crew were piped
below to snatch a hasty meal, those only required to work the rudder and
the pump gangs remaining on duty. Matters did not change much till the
sun went down in a bank of dark clouds, its rays casting a ruddy glow
across the western sky. As darkness came on, the wind increased, the
waters becoming covered with crests of foam, which danced and hissed
around the ship. No one could be ignorant of their dangerous position;
but in spite of it, most of the weary seamen and soldiers not actually
on duty turned into their berths to sleep. The officers did so
likewise, though they were aware that it might perhaps be the last sleep
they should ever enjoy. Two persons, however, did not for a moment
retire to their berths, the commander of the ship and the colonel of the
regiment. Both felt that the lives of the people under them had been
committed to their charge. The commander remained on deck to take
advantage of any change for the better which might occur, or to guard
against any fresh accident; and the colonel, that he might go among his
men labouring at the pumps, and encourage them to persevere in their
duty. The hammocks had been piped down as usual, and most of the men
turned into them all standing. Willy Dicey had done the same, though,
weary as he was, he could not for some time go to sleep--an unusual
event in a midshipman's career. He was thinking of home and the loved
ones there, and those voyaging like himself; and when he did sleep, he
continued dreaming of, that same home, and of his brother and sisters,
now probably far distant from it. He fancied in his troubled dreams
that he saw their ship tempest-tossed. Now her masts and yards were
shattered. Onward she drove towards a rocky shore. He was there
himself; he stretched out his arms, imploring them to keep at a
distance. Still on came the ship; her destruction seemed inevitable.
Wildly he waved his arms--he shrieked loudly. A dreadful crash was
heard--the ship was split into a thousand fragments. He awoke. That
loud crash rang in his ears; he sprang from his hammock, and rushed on
deck. One of the jury-masts had gone.
Morning was breaking, the faint grey light exhibiting the destruction
which had taken place, and the wild leaden-coloured sea, which rose in
foaming billows around, now leaping here, now there, threatening
destruction to the ship. At the same moment the boatswain's whistle
sounded shrilly, calling all hands on deck. While one party was
endeavouring to secure the jury-mast which had been carried away,
another was employed in fothering a sail: this, filled with oakum, was
lowered over the bows and drawn under the keel, where it was hoped the
water rushing in would suck it into the leaks, and thus contribute to
stop them. It seemed, however, to have but little effect.
"We must try another sail," said the commander. The sail was prepared,
and, like the first, with great difficulty dragged under the ship's
bottom. The seamen employed in the work were drenched to the skin by
the heavy seas which frequently broke over the hapless ship; still they
persevered, no one flinching from the work. Harry Shafto attracted the
notice of the commander by his activity. Willy Dicey imitated him to
the best of his power. Although not so strong as a man, by his
intelligence and comprehension of what was to be done he was able to
direct others, and thus rendered good service.
"I say, Dicey," exclaimed Peter Patch, who was standing near him, "do
you think really the ship will go down? I feel awfully queer. I wish
that I'd followed your advice about some things long ago. I should like
to say my prayers, but I don't know how to begin, and there isn't time
for it now."
"That's it," answered Willy. "Had you said them morning and night, and
not have been afraid of our messmates laughing at you, you would have
known how to say them even while you are hard at work. I don't think
God would be well pleased if we all were to knock off, and go down on
our knees to pray and ask Him for help while we were neglecting to help
ourselves."
"I must work now, at all events," said Peter.
"Of course you must," answered Willy, "or praying would be mockery; but
you can pray out of your heart while you are pulling and hauling, or
while you are running along the deck with a message."
"I daresay you are right, Dicey," sighed Peter; "but it's very terrible.
I had no thought, when we left England, that we should get into such a
scrape as this. For what I see, we may all be drowned, or be driven on
those fearful icebergs, and be frozen to death before many days are
over."
"Very true, Peter. I have been thinking the same; but it is our duty to
struggle to the end--first to try and save the ship, and then our own
lives."
Matters did not mend as the day advanced. Again and again the carpenter
sounded the well, and reported that the water had rather increased than
diminished. The after-part of the deck was now scuttled, so that more
provisions and stores could be got up and hove overboard. The pumps
continued to be worked as energetically as at first, but still the water
gained on them, till it reached the orlop-deck.
The fearful condition of the ship could no longer be concealed from the
people. Even the most sanguine began to lose heart. Many cast wistful
glances at the boats. Notwithstanding this, the commander kept them
labouring at the pumps, still hoping against hope that the wind and sea
might go down, and that the ship might be kept afloat. At length,
however, some of the crew showed signs of giving in. Willy saw several
of them steal off to hide themselves away, but he instantly followed and
drove them up again; they grumbled, but obeyed.
"What's the use of working when we shall have to go to the bottom in a
few hours?" exclaimed one.
"I only wish we had a chance of getting to the spirit room," cried
another. "A short life and a merry one for me."
"You should be ashamed of yourselves," cried the young midshipman. "Are
you men with souls, and do you wish to die like dogs?" The seamen,
astonished at a mere boy thus addressing them, felt ashamed, and
returned to their duty. Others, however, soon afterwards were seen
behaving in the same manner. Willy, falling in with Mr Bolland,
reported what he had observed.
"We will soon put a stop to that," observed the boatswain, seizing a
rope's end. He was not long in hunting out the fellows.
The water continuing to rise, the poor women and children were now
collected on the poop cabins.
There they sat, crouching down on the deck, holding their children in
their arms, and hiding their pallid faces. Mrs Rumbelow was the only
one who remained calm. She might have been a little more excited than
usual, as she went among them, trying to cheer them up. "Do not be
downhearted, my dear women," she exclaimed. "There is a God in heaven,
remember, who takes care of us. He may make the storm to cease, and
keep the old ship afloat notwithstanding all the leaks she has got in
her bottom. Do you think the men of our regiment are not going to do
their duty, and work away at the pumps as long as the pumps will work?
If they do not, we will go and handle them ourselves, and put them to
shame. Hurrah, lasses! you think better of your young husbands than to
suppose that, and we old ones have tried ours, and know that they will
not shirk their duty." Still, though Mrs Rumbelow spoke thus
cheerfully, she had a heavy weight at her heart. She had been too often
at sea not to know the danger the ship was in, and she observed no signs
of the weather improving.
The night was again drawing on; Commander Newcombe had done his utmost.
The ship was kept under easy sail, to relieve her as much as possible.
He would get another sail fothered, which might help to keep out the
water a few hours longer. "Should that fail," he observed to Mr Tobin,
"we must get the boats ready, and endeavour to save the lives of as many
as they can hold."
"Too true, sir," was the answer. "I see no other prospect for us."
"We must trust in God, Mr Tobin; He is our only hope," observed the
commander with a sigh.
Darkness came down once more upon the hapless ship as she lay rolling
and pitching heavily in that cold antarctic sea. The pumps kept
clanking away the whole night; the gush of water was heard even amid the
roar of the waves, as it rushed from her sides. The men crouched down
in groups at their stations in different parts of the ship, many a stout
heart knowing full well that at any moment the fearful cry might be
heard, "She is sinking! she is sinking!"
The colonel was in his cabin with his wife and daughters. Captain Power
sat at the table reading, or endeavouring to read, and every now and
then addressing a few remarks to the officers around him. They were
mostly behaving as English gentlemen generally do behave under such
circumstances, with calm courage, ready to perform any duty which might
be required of them. The only person who did not show his face was the
unhappy Ensign Holt, who kept himself shut up in his cabin for most of
the time. Now and then he appeared, with a pale face, to inquire
whether the leaks were being got under; and on being told that they were
still gaining on the pumps, he rushed back again, with a look of dismay
on his countenance.