expectation that by daylight we should discover land in sight to the
southward, where we had seen the great light. But nothing was visible
in that or any other quarter. Possessed by some hope of this kind,
Arthur had been up, searching the horizon, since the first streak of day
in the east. He showed me a large green branch which he had picked up
as it floated near us. By the elegantly scolloped leaves, of a dark and
glossy green, it was easily recognised as a branch of the bread-fruit
tree; and from their bright, fresh colour, and the whiteness of the
wood, where it had joined the trunk, it must have been torn off quite
recently. The calm still continued. Immense schools of black-fish, or
porpoises, or some similar species, could be seen about half a mile
distant, passing westward, in an apparently endless line. The temporary
beneficial effect of yesterday's scanty supply of food and drink, had
passed away entirely, and all seemed to feel in a greater or less
degree, the bodily pain and weakness, and the lassitude and
indisposition to any kind of effort, by which I was affected. To such
an extent was this the case, that when Arthur proposed that we should
row towards the school of fish in sight, and try to take some of them,
the strongest disinclination to make any such attempt was evinced, and
it was only after much argument and persuasion, and by direct personal
appeals to us individually, that he overcame this strange torpor, and
induced us to take to the oars.
On getting near enough to the objects of our pursuit to distinguish them
plainly, we were sorry to find that they were Porpoises instead of
black-fish, as we had at first supposed; the former being shy and timid,
and much more difficult to approach than the latter; and so they proved
at present. Still we persevered for a while; the hope of obtaining food
having been once excited, we were almost as reluctant to abandon the
attempt as we had been at first to commence it. But after half an
hour's severe labour at the oars, we were obliged to give it up as quite
hopeless, and soon afterward the last of the long column passed beyond
pursuit, leaving us completely disheartened and worn out. The sail was
again arranged so as to shelter us as much as possible from the sun, and
Arthur commenced distributing the leaves and twigs of the bread-fruit
branch, suggesting that some slight refreshment might perhaps be derived
from chewing them. But they retained a saline taste from having been in
the sea-water, and no one proceeded far with the experiment. Morton cut
some small slips of leather from his boots, and began to chew them. He
fancied that they afforded some nourishment, and recommended the rest of
us to make a similar trial, which I believe we all did. Max almost
immediately rejected with disgust the first morsel which he put into his
mouth, saying that he must "starve a little longer before he could
relish that." At noon the heat was more intense, if possible, than it
had been the day before. Johnny was now in a high fever, accompanied by
symptoms of an alarming character. It was distressing to witness his
sufferings, and feel utterly unable to do any thing for him. Yet there
was nothing that we could do--food and drink were the only medicines he
needed, and these we could not give him. Towards the close of the
afternoon he became delirious, and began to cry out violently and
incessantly for water. His voice seemed to have changed, and could now
scarcely be recognised. There was something very strange and horrible
in the regular, unceasing cries which he uttered, and which sounded at
times almost like the howlings of a brute. Arthur had made a sort of
bed for him, to which each of us contributed such articles of clothing
as could be spared. It was now necessary to watch him every moment and
frequently to use force to keep him from getting overboard. At one
time, having got to the side of the boat, before he could be prevented,
he commenced dipping up the sea-water with his hand, and would have
drunk it had he not been forcibly restrained. After this had lasted
nearly two hours, he suddenly ceased his struggles and violent cries,
and began to beg piteously for "a drink of water." This he continued
for a considerable time, repeatedly asking Arthur to tell him _why_ he
could not have "just a little," since there was "such a plenty of it."
It is impossible to describe the horrible and sickening effect of all
this upon us, in the state of utter physical prostration to which we had
been gradually reduced. Browne and Arthur watched over Johnny with all
the care and patient unwearying kindness that a mother could have shown;
and they would not permit the rest of us to relieve them for a moment,
or to share any part of their charge, painful and distressing as it was.
Twice, when it became necessary to hold the little sufferer fast, to
prevent him from getting over the gunwale, he spat fiercely in Arthur's
face, struggling and crying out with frightful vehemence. But Browne's
voice seemed to soothe and control him, and when Johnny spoke to him, it
was gently, and in the language of entreaty. Towards night he became
more quiet, and at last sunk into a kind of lethargy, breathing deeply
and heavily, but neither speaking nor moving, except to turn from one
side to the other, which he did at nearly regular intervals.
This change relieved us from the necessity of constantly watching and
restraining him, but Arthur viewed it as an unfavourable and alarming
symptom; he seemed now more completely depressed than I had ever before
seen him, and to be overcome at last by grief, anxiety, and the horrors
of our situation.
The heat did not abate in the least with the going down of the sun, but
the night, though very close and sultry, was calm and beautiful, like
the last. Soon after the moon rose, Max and Morton undressed, and
bathed themselves in the sea. The smooth moonlit water looked so cool
and inviting, that the rest of us soon followed their example,
notwithstanding the danger from sharks. We were all good swimmers, but
no one ventured far from the boat except Morton; I found that a few
strokes quite exhausted me, and I was obliged to turn and cling to the
gunwale. In fact, so great was the loss of strength which we had all
suffered, that we came near perishing in a very singular and almost
incredible manner: After having been in the water a sufficient time, as
I thought, I discovered, on trying to get into the boat again, that I
was utterly unable to do so, through sheer weakness. At the same time I
observed Max making a similar attempt nearer the stern, with no better
success. We were all in the water except Johnny; any difficulty in
getting into the boat again had not been dreamed of; but I began now to
feel seriously alarmed. My feet were drawn forcibly under the boat's
bottom, and even to maintain my hold of the gunwale, as we rose and sunk
with the swell, required an exhausting effort, which I knew I could not
long continue. Arthur was swimming near the stern, holding on to the
end of a rope, which he had cast over before coming in. By great
exertion I raised myself so far as to be able to look over the gunwale,
when I saw Browne in the same position directly opposite me.
"Can't you get into the boat!" I asked.
"Really, I don't think I can," said he, speaking like a person
exhausted.
"I can't," added Max, faintly, "it is as much as I can do to maintain my
hold." At this moment a voice was heard, calling out apparently from a
distance, "Hilloa! where are you? Hilloa!" It was hoarse, strained,
and distressed. Almost immediately the cry was repeated, much nearer at
hand, as it seemed; and then, a third time, faint, and distant as at
first. I was horror-stricken; the cry sounded strange and fearful, and
I did not recognise the voice. Then it occurred to me that it must be
Morton, who had swum out farther than the rest, and losing sight of the
boat for a moment in the swell of the sea, had become bewildered and
alarmed. This might easily happen; if but the length of a wave distant
we should be invisible to him, unless both should chance to rise on the
swell at the same time. The moon, too, had just passed behind a dark
mass of cloud, and the sea lay in partial obscurity. I now heard Browne
and Arthur shouting, in order, as I supposed, to guide Morton by the
sound of their voices. I, too, called out as loudly as I was able. For
a moment all was still again. Then I heard some one say, "There he is!"
and a dark speck appeared on the crest of a wave a little to the right.
At this moment the moon shone out brightly! and I saw that it was
Morton, swimming toward us. He reached the boat panting and out of
breath, and catching hold near me with an almost convulsive effort,
remained some minutes without being able to speak a word. Arthur, who
had observed Max's struggles to get into the yawl, now swam round to
where Morton and I were hanging on, and taking hold also, his additional
weight depressed the gunwale nearly to the water's edge, when he got his
knee over it, and at last, by a sudden effort rolled into the boat. He
then helped me to get in, and we two the rest.
Morton said that after swimming but a short distance from the boat, as
he supposed, he found himself getting tired and very weak, and on
turning, greatly to his surprise, could see nothing of us. In reality,
however, there was nothing surprising in this, his face being on a level
with the surface, and the boat with neither sail nor mast up, being much
less in height than the long smooth swells. Perceiving how great was
his danger, and becoming somewhat alarmed, he had called out in the
manner described: when he heard us shouting in return, he was actually
swimming _away_ from us, and it was only by following the direction of
our voices that he had at last reached the boat.
That night we kept no regular watch as we had hitherto done, or at least
we made no arrangement for that purpose, though one or another of us was
awake most of the time, watching Johnny, who continued, however, in the
same deep lethargic slumber.
For my part, it was a long time before I could sleep at all. There was
something in the fate that threatened us, more appalling than the
terrors of death. The impressions produced by the ravings, and cries,
and struggles, of our poor little fellow-sufferer were yet fresh, and
they could not be effaced. All in vain I strove to control the workings
of my morbidly excited imagination--I could not shut out the fearful
thoughts and anticipations which the occurrences of the day so naturally
and obviously suggested. The lapse of twenty-four hours might find us
all reduced to the same helpless state, deprived of consciousness and
reason. One after another must succumb to the fever and become
delirious, until he who should last fall its victim, should find himself
alone in the midst of his stricken and raving companions--alone
retaining reason, no longer to be accounted a blessing, since it could
only serve to make him sensible to all the accumulated horrors of his
situation. I shuddered as I contemplated the possibility that I might
be the most wretched one, the last of all to sink and perish. At
length, I began to imagine that my mind was actually beginning to fail,
and that I was becoming delirious. At first it was but a fearful
suspicion. Soon, however, it took such strong possession of me, that I
was compelled to relinquish all thought of sleep. Sitting up, I saw
that Arthur was awake and by the side of Johnny. His face was upturned,
and his hands clasped as if in prayer. I could see his lips move, and
even the tears trickling from beneath his closed lids, for the moonlight
fell upon his countenance. He did not observe me, and after a few
moments he laid down again without speaking, and soon appeared to
slumber like the rest.
Pressing my hands to my head, I leaned over the stern, my face almost
touching the water. A current of cooler air was stirring close to the
surface, as if it were the breathing of the sea, for there was no wind.
How preternaturally still every thing seemed--what an intensity of
silence! How softly the pale moonlight rested upon the water! A grand
and solemn repose wrapped the heavens and the ocean--no sound beneath
all that vast blue dome--no motion, but the heaving of the long sluggish
swell. Gradually I became calmer; the excitement and perturbation of my
mind began to subside, and at length I felt as though I could sleep. As
I resumed my place by the side of Browne, he moved, as if about to
awake, and murmured indistinctly some broken sentences. From the words
that escaped him, he was dreaming of that far-off home which he was to
behold no more. In fancy he was wandering again by the banks of the
Clyde, the scene of many a school-boy ramble. But it seemed as though
the shadow of present realities darkened even his dreams, and he beheld
these familiar haunts no longer in the joyous light of early days. "How
strange it looks!" he muttered slowly, "how dark the river is--how deep
and dark!--it seems to me it was not so _then_, Robert." Truly,
companion in suffering, this is no falsely coloured dream of thine, for
we have all come at last into deep and dark waters!
CHAPTER TEN.
A SAIL.
THE CACHELOT AND HIS ASSAILANTS--THE COURSE--NEW ACQUAINTANCES.
"Strange creatures round us sweep:
Strange things come up to look at us,
The monsters of the deep."
The first thought that flashed through my mind with returning
consciousness, in the morning, was, "This is the last day for hope--
unless relief comes to-day in some shape, we must perish." I was the
first awake, and glancing at the faces of my companions lying about in
the bottom of the boat, I could not help shuddering. They had a strange
and unnatural look--a miserable expression of pain and weakness. All
that was familiar and pleasant to look upon, had vanished from those
sharpened and haggard features. Their closed eyes seemed singularly
sunken; and their matted hair, sunburned skin, and soiled clothing,
added something of wildness to the misery of their appearance.
Browne, who had slept beside me, was breathing hard, and started every
now and then, as if in pain. Johnny slumbered so peacefully, and
breathed so gently, that for a moment I was alarmed, and doubted whether
he was breathing at all, until I stooped down and watched him closely.
There were still no indications of a breeze. A school of whales was
visible about a quarter of a mile to the westward, spouting and pursuing
their unwieldy sport; but I took no interest in the sight, and leaning
over the gunwale, commenced bathing my head and eyes with the sea-water.
While thus engaged I was startled by seeing an enormous cachelot, (the
sperm-whale), suddenly break the water within fifteen yards of the boat.
Its head, which composed nearly a third of its entire bulk, seemed a
mountain of flesh. A couple of small calves followed it, and came
swimming playfully around us. For a minute or two, the cachelot floated
quietly at the surface, where it had first appeared, throwing a slender
jet of water, together with a large volume of spray and vapour into the
air; then rolling over upon its side, it began to lash the sea with its
broad and powerful tail, every stroke of which produced a sound like the
report of a cannon. This roused the sleepers abruptly, and just as they
sprang up, and began to look around in astonishment, for the cause of so
startling a commotion, the creature cast its misshapen head downwards,
and, throwing its immense flukes high into the air, disappeared. We
watched anxiously to see where it would rise, conscious of the perils of
such a neighbourhood, and that even a playful movement, a random sweep
of the tail, while pursuing its gigantic pastime, would be sufficient to
destroy us. It came to the surface at about the same distance as
before, but on the opposite side of the boat, throwing itself half out
of the water as it rose: again it commenced lashing the sea violently,
as if in the mere wanton display of its terrible strength, until far
around, the water was one wide sheet of foam. The calves still
gambolled near us, chasing each other about and under the yawl, and we
might easily have killed one of them, had we not been deterred by the
almost certain consequences of arousing the fury of the old whale.
Meantime, the entire school seemed to be edging down towards us. There
was not a breath of air, and we had no means of getting out of the way
of the danger, to which we should be exposed, if among them, except by
taking to the oars; and this, nothing short of the most pressing and
immediate peril could induce us to do. But our attention was soon
withdrawn from the herd, to the singular and alarming movements of the
individual near us. Rushing along the surface for short distances, it
threw itself several times half clear of the water, turning after each
of these leaps, as abruptly as its unwieldy bulk would permit, and
running a tilt with equal violence in the opposite direction. Once, it
passed so near us, that I think I could have touched it with an oar, and
we saw distinctly its small, dull eye, and the loose, wrinkled, folds of
skin, about its tremendous jaws. For a minute afterwards, the boat
rolled dangerously in the swell caused by the swift passage of so vast
an object. Suddenly, after one of these abrupt turns, the monster
headed directly towards us, and came rushing onward with fearful
velocity, either not noticing us at all, or else mistaking the boat for
some sea-creature, with which it designed to measure its strength.
There was no time for any effort to avoid the danger; and even had there
been, we were too much paralysed by its imminence, to make such an
effort. The whale was scarcely twelve yards off--certainly not twenty.
Behind it stretched a foaming wake, straight as an arrow. Its vast
mountainous head ploughed up the waves like a ship's cutwater, piling
high the foam and spray before it. To miss us was now a sheer
impossibility and no earthly power could arrest the creature's career.
Instant destruction appeared inevitable. I grew dizzy, and my head
began to swim, while the thought flashed confusedly through my mind,
that infinite wisdom had decreed that we must die, and this manner of
perishing had been chosen in mercy, to spare us the prolonged horrors of
starvation. What a multitude of incoherent thoughts and recollections
crowded upon my mind in that moment of time! A thousand little
incidents of my past life, disconnected and trivial--a shadowy throng of
familiar scenes and faces, surged up before me, vividly as objects
revealed for an instant by the glare of the lightning, in the gloom of a
stormy night. Closing my eyes, I silently commended my soul to God, and
was endeavouring to compose myself for the dreadful event when Morton
sprang to his feet, and called hurriedly upon us to shout together. All
seemed to catch his intention at once, and to perceive in it a gleam of
hope; and standing up we raised our voices in a hoarse cry, that sounded
strange and startling even to ourselves. Instantly, as it seemed, the
whale drove almost perpendicularly downwards, but so great was its
momentum, that its fluked tail cut the air within an oar's length of the
boat as it disappeared.
Whether the shout we had uttered, caused the sudden plunge to which we
owed our preservation, it is impossible to decide. Notwithstanding its
bulk and power, the cachelot is said to be a timid creature, except when
injured or enraged, and great caution has to be exercised by whalers in
approaching them. Suddenly recollecting this, the thought of
undertaking to scare the formidable monster, had suggested itself to
Morton, and he had acted upon it in sheer desperation, impelled by the
same instinct that causes a drowning man to catch even at a straw.
But, however obtained, our reprieve from danger was only momentary. The
whale came to the surface at no great distance, and once more headed
towards us. If frightened for an instant, it had quickly recovered from
the panic, and now there was no mistaking the creature's purpose: it
came on, exhibiting every mark of rage, and with jaws literally wide
open. We felt that no device or effort of our own could be of any
avail. We might as well hope to resist a tempest, or an earthquake, or
the shock of a falling mountain, as that immense mass of matter,
instinct with life and power, and apparently animated by brute fury.
Every hope had vanished, and I think that we were all in a great measure
resigned to death, and fully expecting it when there came, (as it seemed
to us, by actual miracle), a most wonderful interposition.
A dark, bulky mass, (in the utter bewilderment of the moment we noted
nothing distinctly of its appearance), shot perpendicularly from the sea
twenty feet into the air, and fell with a tremendous concussion,
directly upon the whale's back. It must have been several tons in
weight, and the blow inflicted was crushing. For a moment the whale
seemed paralysed by the shock, and its vast frame quivered with agony;
but recovering quickly, it rushed with open jaws upon its strange
assailant which immediately dived, and both vanished. Very soon, the
whale came to the surface again; and now we became the witnesses of one
of those singular and tremendous spectacles, of which the vast solitudes
of the tropical seas are doubtless often the theatre, but which human
eyes have rarely beheld.
The cachelot seemed to be attacked by two powerful confederates, acting
in concert. The one assailed it from below, and continually drove it to
the surface, while the other--the dark bulky object--repeated its
singular attacks in precisely the same manner as at first, whenever any
part of the gigantic frame of the whale was exposed, never once missing
its mark, and inflicting blows, which one would think, singly sufficient
to destroy any living creature. At times the conflict was carried on so
near us, as to endanger our safety; and we could see all of the
combatants with the utmost distinctness, though not at the same time.
The first glimpse which we caught of the second antagonist of the whale,
as it rose through the water to the attack, enabled us at once to
identify it as that most fierce and formidable creature--the Pacific
Sword-fish.
The other, as I now had an opportunity to observe, was a fish of full
one third the length of the whale itself, and of enormous bulk in
proportion; it was covered with a dark rough skin, in appearance not
unlike that of an alligator. The cachelot rushed upon its foes
alternately, and the one thus singled out invariably fled, until the
other had an opportunity to come to its assistance; the sword-fish
swimming around in a wide circle at the top of the water, when pursued,
and the other diving when chased in its turn. If the whale followed the
sword-fish to the surface, it was sure to receive a stunning blow from
its leaping enemy; if it pursued the latter below, the sword-fish there
attacked it fearlessly, and, as it appeared, successfully, forcing it
quickly back to the top of the water.
Presently the battle began to recede from us, the whale evidently making
towards the school, which was at no great distance; and strange as the
sight was, we watched it with but a languid interest, as soon as our
safety appeared to be no longer involved. The whale must have been
badly hurt for the water which it threw up on coming to the surface and
spouting, was tinged with blood. After this I saw no more of the
sword-fish and his associate; they had probably abandoned the attack.
[See note.] As nearly as I can recollect, we did not, either during the
progress of the fight, or after it was over, exchange a single word on
the subject, so dumb and apathetic had we become. After a while the
school of whales appeared to be moving off, and in half an hour more, we
lost sight of them altogether.
All this while, Johnny had continued to sleep soundly, and his slumbers
seemed more natural and refreshing than before. When at length he
awoke, the delirium had ceased, and he was calm and gentle, but so weak
that he could not sit up without being supported. After the
disappearance of the whales, several hours passed, during which we lay
under our awning without a word being spoken by any one. Throughout
this day, the sea seemed to be alive with fish; myriads of them were to
be seen in every direction; troops of agile and graceful dolphins;
revolving black-fish, chased by ravenous sharks; leaping albatross,
dazzling the eye with the flash of their golden scales, as they shot
into the air for a moment; porpoises, bonito, flying-fish, and a hundred
unknown kinds which I had never seen or heard of. At one time we were
surrounded by an immense shoal of small fishes, about the size of
mackerel, so densely crowded together that their backs presented an
almost solid surface, on which it seemed as if one might walk dry-shod.
None, however, came actually within our reach, and we made no effort to
approach them.