DECEMBER 8th to 17th.--When night came we wrapped ourselves in our
sails. For my own part, worn out with the fatigue of the long watch in
the top-mast, I slept for several hours; M. Letourneur and Andre did
the same, and Miss Herbey obtained sufficient rest to relieve the tired
expression that her countenance had lately been wearing. The night
passed quietly. As the raft was not very heavily laden the waves did not
break over it at all, and we were consequently able to keep ourselves
perfectly dry. To say the truth, it was far better for us that the sea
should remain somewhat boisterous, for any diminution in the swell of
the waves would indicate that; the wind had dropped, and it was with a
feeling of regret that when the morning came I had to note down “weather
calm” in my journal.
In these low latitudes the heat in the day-time is so intense, and
the sun burns with such an incessant glare, that the entire atmosphere
becomes pervaded with a glowing vapour. The wind, too, blows only in
fitful gusts and through long intervals of perfect calm the sails flap
idly and uselessly against the mast. Curtis and the boatswain, however,
are of opinion that we are not entirely dependent on the wind. Certain
indications, which a sailor’s eye alone could detect, make them almost
sure that we are being carried along by a westerly current, that flows
at the rate of three or four miles an hour. If they are not mistaken,
this is a circumstance that may materially assist our progress, and
at which we can hardly fail to rejoice, for the high temperature often
makes our scanty allowance of water quite inadequate to allay our
thirst.
But with all our hardships I must confess that our condition is
far preferable to what it was when we were still clinging to the
“Chancellor.” Here at least we have a comparatively solid platform
beneath our feet, and we are relieved from the incessant dread of being
carried down with a foundering vessel. In the day-time we can move about
with a certain amount of freedom, discuss the weather, watch the sea,
and examine our fishing-lines; whilst at night we can rest securely
under the shelter of our sails.
“I really think, Mr. Kazallon,” said Andre Letourneur to me a few
days after we had embarked, “that our time on board the raft passes as
pleasantly as it did upon Ham Rock; and the raft has one advantage even
over the reef, for it is capable of motion.”
“Yes, Andre,” replied, “as long as the wind continues favourable the
raft has decidedly the advantage; but supposing the wind shifts, what
then?”
“Oh, we mustn’t think about that,” he said; “let us keep up our courage
while we can.”
I felt that he was right, and that the dangers we had escaped should
make us more hopeful for the future; and I think that nearly all of us
are inclined to share his opinion.
Whether the captain is equally sanguine I am unable to say. He holds
himself very much aloof, and as he evidently feels that he has the great
responsibility of saving other lives than his own, we are reluctant to
disturb his silent meditations.
Such of the crew as are not on watch spend the greater portion of their
time in dozing on the fore part of the raft. The aft, by the captain’s
orders, has been reserved for the use of us passengers, and by erecting
some uprights we have contrived to make a sort of tent, which affords
some shelter from the burning sun. On the whole our bill of health is
tolerably satisfactory. Lieutenant Walter is the only invalid, and he,
in spite of all our careful nursing, seems to get weaker every day.
Andre Letourneur is the life of our party, and I have never appreciated
the young man so well. His originality of perception makes his
conversation both lively and entertaining and as he talks, his wan
and suffering countenance lights up with an intelligent animation. His
father seems to become more devoted to him than ever, and I have seen
him sit for an hour at a time, with his hand resting on his son’s,
listening eagerly to his every word.
Miss Herbey occasionally joins in our conversation, but although we all
do our best to make her forget that she has lost those who should have
been her natural protectors, M. Letourneur is the only one amongst us to
whom she speaks without a certain reserve. To him, whose age gives him
something of the authority of a father, she has told the history of her
life--a life of patience and self-denial such as not unfrequently falls
to the lot of orphans. She had been, she said, two years with Mrs.
Kear, and although now left alone in the world, homeless and without
resources, hope for the future does not fail her. The young lady’s
modest deportment and energy of character command the respect of all
on board, and I do not think that even the coarsest of the sailors has
either by word or gesture acted towards her in a way that she could deem
offensive.
The 12th, 13th, and 14th of December passed away without any change in
our condition. The wind continued to blow in irregular gusts, but always
in the same direction, and the helm, or rather the paddle at the back of
the raft has never once required shifting; and the watch, who are posted
on the fore, under orders to examine the sea with the most scrupulous
attention, have had no change of any kind to report.
At the end of a week we found ourselves growing accustomed to our
limited diet, and as we had no manual exertion, and no wear and tear
of our physical constitution, we managed very well. Our greatest
deprivation was the short supply of water, for, as I said before, the
unmitigated heat made our thirst at times very painful.
On the 15th we held high festival. A shoal of fish, of the sparus tribe,
swarmed round the raft, and although our tackle consisted merely of long
cords baited with morsels of dried meat stuck upon bent nails, the fish
were so voracious that in the course of a couple of days we had caught
as many as weighed almost 200lbs., some of which were grilled, and
others boiled in sea-water over a fire made on the fore part of the
raft. This marvelous haul was doubly welcome, inasmuch as it not only
afforded us a change of diet, but enabled us to economize our stores; if
only some rain had fallen at the same time we should have been more than
satisfied.
Unfortunately the shoal of fish did not remain long in our vicinity. On
the 17th they all disappeared, and some sharks, not less than twelve or
fifteen feet long, belonging to the species of spotted dog-fish, took
their place. These horrible creatures have black backs and fins, covered
with white spots and stripes. Here, on our low raft, we seem almost on
a level with them, and more than once their tails have struck the spars
with terrible violence. The sailors manage to keep them at a distance
by means of handspikes, but I shall not be surprised if they persist in
following us, instinctively intelligent that we are destined to become
their prey. For myself, I confess that they give me a feeling of
uneasiness; they seem to me like monsters of ill-omen.