which presented a marked difference to that of Teddy; and he noticed
besides that one was considerably taller than he was while the second
was shorter and a little slimmer.
"Here, you, Jones and Maitland, I won't have you caulking away this
bright morning when the sun ought to be scorching the sleep out of your
eyes. What do you mean by it, eh?" began Mr Capstan as if lashing
himself into a passion, but had not quite got enough steam up yet.
"I thought, sir, as this is our first day out and the ship still in
charge of the pilot, we needn't turn out so early," said Jones, the
biggest of the two, acting as spokesman.
"You thought!" snarled the second-mate, catching up a rope's-end with
the apparent intention of laying it across the shoulders of Jones, only
he kept a wary distance away. "I've half a mind to give you something
for answering me like that! No one has any business to think on board
ship."
"Aye, where you're boss!" said the offender speaking aside.
"What is that you're jabbering?" quickly interposed Mr Capstan--"some
impudence, I reckon. Now, just you pull off those patent-leather pumps
of yours and set to work washing decks. It's gone six bells, and it
ought to have been done half an hour ago."
Teddy thought this was a very unkind cut of the mate at poor Jones's
boots, which were a dilapidated pair of bluchers that needed mending
badly; still, he couldn't help smiling, which didn't seem to please Mr
Capstan, who, turning round, now addressed him:
"And you, my fine young shaver, with your dandy rig, you'd better be
doing something to earn your salt, and not be a useless lubber, looking
on like a fine lady! You just put off and go and help Jones."
Teddy, though he didn't relish the job, obeyed willingly; and soon he
was paddling about in bare feet with his trousers rolled up to the knee,
while the crew under Jones's direction rigged the head pump and sluiced
the decks down from end to end of the ship, beginning with the poop and
ending with the midship section in the waist, where all the water was
collected in a sort of small lake and had to be swabbed out of the
scuttles.
Young Maitland meanwhile had been sent up the main royal mast to clear
the dog vane, which had somehow or other got fouled; so Mr Capstan,
satisfied at seeing everybody busily employed but himself, paced
contentedly up and down the poop, sniffing about and snorting
occasionally like an old grampus, as if in satisfaction at "taking it
out of the youngsters."
The man was naturally a bully, and loved to display the little authority
he had by "hazing" those under him, to use the technical sea phrase.
By dint of continually nagging at the men below from his commanding
position above, the second-mate hurried them up so with their work that
in a very short space of time the decks were scrubbed and washed, the
sun drying them almost without the use of the swab.
Mr Capstan then set them to work coiling down the loose ropes lying
about, there being nothing else to do, as the ship had not altered her
course but remained on the starboard tack with the wind well on her
quarter; and, although everything had been made snug before leaving the
Downs, he was just going to tell the hands to unship the motley contents
of the long-boat and stow it again afresh in default of some other task,
when eight bells struck, and Uncle Jack came up from below to relieve
him from his watch--a relief, it may be added, to all hands in more than
one sense!
Presently, Captain Lennard came on deck too; although he must not be
thought lazy for being so late, for he had remained up with the pilot on
the bridge all night conning the ship, only turning in for a short nap
at daylight.
Then, the passengers, of whom there were some sixty in the first-class
saloon, began to creep up the companion, one by one as if not yet
accustomed to the somewhat unsteady footing of a ship's deck at sea; as
for the steerage emigrants they remained below, and even after they had
been weeks afloat it required almost force to drive them up into the
fresh air.
Teddy was looking at the queer figures some of the gentlemen and ladies
presented on the poop, when all at once the breakfast gong sounded, and
they all scuttled down much faster than they had come up, the sea air
having given those able to get out of their bunks fresh appetites after
they had paid homage to Neptune.
He was not invited to go down with these, however, having to mess along
with Jones and Maitland in the deck-house close to the galley, where the
three mids consoled themselves with the reflection that if they were
excluded from the saloon, at all events they were nearer the place where
their meals were cooked, and so had the advantage of getting them
hotter!
After breakfast the pilot left the ship, a boat putting out for him from
the land when they were near Saint Michael's; and then Captain Lennard,
hauling round a bit, shaped a west-south-west course, steering out into
the broad Atlantic until he had reached longitude 12 degrees West, when
the vessel's head was turned to the south for Madeira and the Canaries.
Strange to say, Teddy up to now had not been once sick.
It is true they had not as yet had any rough weather; but the sea was
brisk enough to try the stomachs of all the landsmen on board, so it was
curious he was not affected in any way by the ship's motion.
As Uncle Jack said at the first, he was a born sailor!
Soon he began, too, to understand his duties; and being naturally quick
of intellect and active, he after a time became handier on the yards and
up aloft than little Maitland, who had been two voyages out and home
before; while Jones had to exert himself to hold his own with him--with
Uncle Jack, besides, coaching him up in seamanship, Teddy ere the vessel
had reached Madeira was a greenhand no longer.
At Teneriffe Captain Lennard put in to coal, the ship being, as formerly
mentioned, an auxiliary screw, and able to enlist the aid of steam when
she came to the calm latitudes, which they were now approaching.
The passengers being allowed to go on shore for a few hours, Teddy
received permission to accompany those taking advantage of the
opportunity of landing.
There was no time to try and climb up the celebrated peak, which can be
seen so far out at sea that it looks like an island in the clouds; but
there was much amusement gained in donkey riding and studying the
manners and customs of the natives.
The garments, Teddy noticed, of the ladies were rather limited in
dimensions; but what they lacked in quantity they made up for in style,
all the dresses being provided with those "improvers" of late fashion in
England. These made the skirts of the Portuguese damsels stick out all
round, giving them a very funny appearance with their brown skins and
bare feet!
It was well they coaled here, for while they were yet in sight of the
huge cloud-cap't mountain above Santa Cruz, the wind that had favoured
them so well up to now dropped to a dead calm; so, Captain Lennard,
ordering the sails to be furled and the screw-propeller lowered, the
vessel was able to proceed under steam across the equator, making almost
as good time as when sailing before a good breeze--almost, but not
quite, as she was a clipper under canvas.
They touched once more at the Cape of Good Hope, to fill up the coal
they had expended in case of another emergency necessitating their
steaming again; but, the wind being favourable when the _Greenock_ got
below the forties, she bowled along steadily before it under canvas,
reaching Melbourne within sixty days.
Altogether, the voyage was uneventful except for one thing, and that was
the persistent bullying of Mr Capstan the second-mate, who, whether
from his relationship to Uncle Jack, his superior officer, or from some
other cause, had apparently conceived such a dislike to Teddy that he
tyrannised over him more than he seemed to think necessary either with
little Maitland or Jones--although they suffered, too, at his hands!
Teddy would not complain, though, to the captain; and as for his Uncle
Jack, he would have thought it dishonourable to breathe a word to him.
He would rather have suffered the crudest torture the bully could
inflict than that!
However, he and little Maitland matured their plans together, and coming
to the conclusion that they could not very well have any satisfaction
from Mr Capstan without telling tales, they determined to steal away
from the ship when she got into harbour, and run away ashore up into the
bush, Val Maitland retailing for Teddy's benefit the most wonderful
stories anent gold-digging and bush-ranging--stories that cordially
agreed with his own fancy.
Not long, therefore, after the _Greenock_ had entered within Port Philip
Heads and got up to Sandridge Pier, the two boys, mixing amongst the
crowd of passengers landing, touters touting for various boarding-
houses, and all the different sorts of people that throng round the
newly-arrived at the colonial metropolis, especially at its harbour
mouth, managed easily to get into the town unobserved, giving the slip
most successfully to their ship and all its belongings.
"And what shall we do now?" asked Teddy, his companion, although smaller
than himself, taking the lead, from being an older sailor and having
been previously in Australia.
"Do! why, go into the bush, of course!" promptly answered the other.
"And how shall we get there?" next inquired Teddy cheerfully, wishing to
start off that very moment for the golden land he had dreamt of.
"Why, by train," said Val.
"By train!" echoed Teddy in a voice of consternation, the idea was such
a terrible come down to what he had imagined.
"Yes, by train; come along with me," repeated little Maitland, catching
hold of his arm; and turning into Collins Street he soon made his way to
the railway depot and took a couple of tickets for Ballarat.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE WRECK.
"I say," began Val presently when the train was in motion.
"Well?" said Teddy rather grumpily.
He could not stomach the fact that here they were journeying along by
the aid of an ordinary railway, just as they would have done in England.
When Val had suggested their going to the diggings he had imagined they
would tramp thither through the bush, with their blankets and swag on
their shoulders, as he had often read of men doing; and that they would
end by picking up a big nugget of gold that would make all their
fortunes!
The train disposed of all these dreams in a moment; for, how could they
pick up nuggets along a line of "permanent way," as Jupp would have
called it--a beaten track that thousands traversed every day by the aid
of the potent iron-horse and a bucket of hot water?
It was scandalous that Val hadn't told him of the railroad!
It dispelled all the romance of the expedition at once, he thought
grumblingly. Despite all Mr Capstan's bullying, he had not run away
from the ship for that; so he was not at all in a mood to have any
conversation with such an unprincipled fellow as Val, who ought to have
enlightened him before.
"Well?" he said again, seeing that young Maitland hesitated about
proceeding, his grumpy tone acting as a sort of damper to his
contemplated eloquence.
"I say, old fellow," then began Val again, making a fresh start and
blurting out his question, "have you got any money?"
Teddy was all sympathy now.
A comrade in distress should never appeal to him in vain!
So he commenced searching his pockets.
"I ought to have some," he said. "Father gave me a five-pound note
before I left home, and Uncle Jack when I was in London with him tipped
me a sovereign, and I haven't spent or changed either for that matter;
but, now I come to think of it, they're both in my chest in the cabin.
I never thought of taking them out before we left the _Greenock_."
"That's precious unlucky," observed Val, searching his pockets too, and
trying each vainly in turn. "I've only a couple of shillings left now
after paying for the railway tickets. Whatever shall we do?"
"Oh, bother that!" replied Teddy sanguinely; "we sha'n't want any. The
fellows I've read about who went to the diggings never had a halfpenny,
but they always met with a friendly squatter or tumbled into luck in
some way or other."
"That was in the old days," said Val in a forlorn way. "The squatters
have all been cleared out, and there are only hotels and boarding-houses
left, where they expect people to pay for what they have to eat."
"They're a stingy lot then, and quite unlike what I've read in books
about the customs in Australia; but what can you expect when they have a
railway!"
Teddy spoke in such a scornful manner of this sign of civilisation that
he made Val laugh, raising his spirits again.
"All right, old chap!" said the little fellow. "I daresay we'll get
along very well although we haven't any money to speak of with us. Two
shillings, you know, is something; and no doubt it will keep us from
starving till we come across luck."
Teddy cheerfully acquiesced in this hopeful view of things; and then the
two, being alone in the carriage, chatted away merrily on all sorts of
subjects until they arrived at their station, which a porter sang out
the name of exactly in the same fashion as if they were at home.
This quite exasperated Teddy, who, when he got down and looked about
him, opened his eyes with even greater wonder.
Surely this large town couldn't be Ballarat!
Why, that place ought to be only a collection of hastily-run-up wooden
shanties, he thought, with perhaps one big store where they sold
everything, provisions, and picks and shovels, with cradles for rocking
the gold-dust out of the quartz and mud.
Where were the canvas tents of the diggers, and the claims, and all?
But, yes, Ballarat it was; although the only diggings were quarries
worked by public mining companies with an immense mass of machinery that
crushed the rock and sent streams of water through the refuse, using
quicksilver to make an amalgam with--companies that were satisfied to
get a grain of gold for every ton of quartz they excavated and pounded
into powder, and realised a handsome dividend at that, where ordinary
diggers wouldn't have had a chance of keeping themselves from starving.
He and little Maitland wandered about; and then, feeling hungry,
exhausted all their capital in one meal, "burning their boats," like the
old Athenians.
They would now have either to find something to do to get lodging or
food, or else tramp it back to the ship.
They slept that night in the open air, under some scaffolding round a
new building that was being run up on the outskirts of the town; and the
next morning were wandering about again, feeling very miserable and
wishing they were safely back on board the _Greenock_, it being just
breakfast-time, when they were accosted by a stout, hairy sort of man,
dressed in a species of undress uniform.
"Hullo, my young friends!" the man said, his voice being much pleasanter
than his looks, "where do you hail from? I don't think I've ever seen
you in Ballarat before."
"You wouldn't again if we could help it," replied Teddy so heartily that
the hairy man laughed as jollily as might have been expected from his
musical voice.
"Ah! I think I know who you are," he observed, eyeing them both
critically.
"Well, you must be a conjuror if you do," answered little Maitland, who
had a good deal of native impudence about him, "considering we haven't
been twenty-four hours in Australia!"
"What say you to Maitland being your name and Vernon that of your
companion, eh, my young cocksparrow?" said the man with a quizzical
look. "Am I conjuror or not?"
The boys stared at each other in amazement.
"Well," exclaimed Teddy at length, "this is certainly the funniest
country I have ever been in. The diggings that I've read about in print
over and over again have all vanished into nothing, and here there are
railways running through the bush, with people knowing who you are
twenty thousand miles away from home. It is wonderful!"
"Not so very wonderful after all, Master Teddy Vernon," suggested the
hairy man at this juncture. "I'm an inspector of police here, and we
received a telegram last night which had been circulated in all
directions from the chief office at Melbourne, saying that you two young
gentlemen were missing from the ship _Greenock_, just arrived from
England, and that any information about you would be gladly received and
rewarded by Captain Lennard, the commander of the vessel."
"I'm very glad," said Teddy, interrupting any further remark the
inspector might have made. "We came away suddenly because of something
that occurred on board; and now I sha'n't be at all sorry to go back
again, for we have no money or anything to eat. Besides, the place
isn't a bit like what I expected--there!"
"Ah! you're hungry, my young friends, and that soon takes the pluck out
of a body," observed the inspector kindly. "Come along with me and have
some breakfast, after which I'll see you into the train for Melbourne."
"But we haven't got any money," said Teddy, looking at him frankly in
the face.
"Never mind that," he replied jokingly. "I daresay I can put my hand on
an odd sixpence or so, and this I've no doubt your captain will pay me
back."
"That he will," cried Teddy and Val together in one breath; "besides,
we've got money of our own on board the ship, only we forgot to bring it
with us."
"And a very good job too," said the inspector laughing, "otherwise, you
might not perhaps have been so glad to meet me this morning; but come on
now, lads. Let us go into the town to some restaurant, and then I will
see you to the depot, if I can depend on your going back."
"That you can, sir," replied Val drily, "if you buy the tickets for us."
"Oh, I'll see about that," said the inspector; and so, under his escort,
they went into the nearest restaurant and had a good meal, after which
the inspector took tickets for them, seeing them into the railway-
carriage. The worthy policeman must also have said something to the
guard, for after he had given Teddy his name, at the lad's especial
request, and wished them good-bye, some official or other came up and
locked the door of the compartment, so that they could not have got out
again if they had wished save by climbing through the window.
"He needn't have been alarmed at our giving him the slip," observed
little Maitland. "I am only too glad to be sent back in any fashion,
ignominious though it may be to be under charge of the police."
"So am I," said Teddy; "but the inspector is a nice fellow after all,
and has behaved very well to us."
He had been even more thoughtful, however, than the boys imagined; for,
on the train arriving once more at the Melbourne terminus, who should be
there to meet them but Uncle Jack!
"Well, you're a nice pair of young scamps," was his exclamation when the
door of the carriage was opened by another policeman, and they got out
right in front of where he was standing. "What have you got to say for
yourselves, eh, for taking leave in French fashion like that? Why, you
ought to be keel-hauled both of you!"
But he saved them a long explanation by telling them that Jones, the
other midshipman, having been knocked down with a marlinespike by the
second-mate, Captain Lennard had both him and Mr Capstan brought before
him, when, sifting the matter to the bottom, Jones had made a clean
breast of the way in which he and the other youngsters had been bullied.
"And the upshot of the whole affair is," continued Uncle Jack, "Captain
Lennard has dismissed Capstan from his ship, giving him such a discharge
certificate that I don't think he'll get another second-mate's place in
a hurry! As for you, my young scamps, I don't think the skipper will be
very hard on you; but, Teddy, you ought to have told me of the treatment
you three poor beggars were receiving at that ruffian's hands all the
voyage. Old Bill Summers, the boatswain, confirmed every word that
Jones said, and was quite indignant about it."
"I didn't like to tell, you being my uncle and over Mr Capstan," said
Teddy; "I thought it would be mean."
"It is never mean to complain of injustice," replied Uncle Jack gravely;
"still, the matter now rests with the skipper."
Captain Lennard gave the boys a good talking to for running away, saying
that it wasn't manly for young sailors to shirk their work in that way
for any reason. However, considering all the circumstances of the case
and the lesson they had learnt, that boys couldn't be absolutely
independent of those in authority over them, he said that he had made up
his mind to forgive them, telling them they might return to their duty.
The passengers having all landed and the ship cleared of her home cargo,
she began immediately taking in wool for her return voyage, and in a few
weeks' time set sail from the Heads for England--though _via_ Cape Horn
this time, as is generally the routine with vessels sailing to Australia
when coming back to the Channel.
There were only two passengers on board, the captain and mate of a
vessel that had been sold at Melbourne, she having only been navigated
out by these officers for the purpose, and the vessel being unencumbered
by emigrants the sailors had more room to move about. Teddy found it
much pleasanter than on the passage out, as Captain Lennard was able to
spare more time in teaching him his duty, a task which he was ably
backed up in by Uncle Jack and Robins, the new second-mate, a smart
young seaman whom the captain had promoted from the fo'c's'le to take
Capstan's vacant place, and a wonderful improvement in every way to that
bully.
After leaving Port Philip, they had a fair enough passage till they got
about midway between New Zealand and the American continent, Captain
Lennard taking a more northerly route than usual on account of its being
the summer season in those latitudes, and the drift-ice coming up from
the south in such quantities as to be dangerous if they had run down
below the forties.
When the _Greenock_ was in longitude somewhere about 150 West and
latitude 39 South a fierce gale sprung up from the north-east, right in
their teeth, causing the lighter sails of the ship to be handed and the
topgallants to be taken in.
At midnight on the same day, the wind having increased in force, the
upper topsails were handed and the foresail reefed, the ship running
under this reduced canvas, and steering east-south-east, the direction
of the wind having shifted round more to the northward. The next
evening, the wind veered to the westward, and was accompanied with such
terrific squalls and high confused sea that Captain Lennard, who had
thought at first he could weather out the storm under sail, determined
to get up steam, and lowered the propeller so that the ship might lay-to
more easily.
Later on in the afternoon, however, another shift of wind took place,
the gale veering to sou'-sou'-west in a squall heavier than any of its
predecessors; while a heavy sea, flooding the decks, broke through the
hatchway and put out the engine fires.
Being a smart seaman, the captain had sail set again as soon as
possible, hoisting reefed topsails and foresail to lift the vessel out
of the trough of the following seas, in which she rolled from side to
side like a whale in its death flurry.
All seemed going on well for a short time after this; and he and Uncle
Jack thought they had weathered the worst of it, when the foresheet
parted and the clew of the foresail, going through the lower
foretopsail, split it in ribbons.
The barque was then brought to the wind on the port tack under the lower
maintopsail, and she lay-to pretty well; but the wind kept on veering
and beating with frequent squalls from sou'-sou'-west to west, so that
at noon a strong gale prevailed again fiercer than before.
Teddy had not seen anything like this; but he wasn't a bit frightened,
and he was as active as the oldest sailor in lending help to carry out
the captain's orders, jumping here, there, and everywhere like a monkey.
The skipper was so pleased with his behaviour that he complimented him
by telling Uncle Jack he was as good as his right hand!