JANUARY 11th to 14th.--Owen’s convulsions returned with increased
violence, and in the course of the night he expired in terrible agony.
His body was thrown overboard almost directly; it had decomposed so
rapidly that the flesh had not even consistency enough for any fragments
of it to be reserved for the boatswain to use to bait his lines. A
plague the man had been to us in his life; in his death he was now of no
service!
And now, perhaps, still more than ever, did the horror of our situation
stare us in the face. There was no doubt that the poisoned barrel had
at some time or other contained copperas; but what strange fatality had
converted it into a water-cask, or what fatality, stranger still, had
caused it to be brought on board the raft, was a problem that none could
solve. Little, however, did it matter now: the fact was evident; the
barrel was poisoned, and of water we had not a drop.
One and all, we fell into the gloomiest silence. We were too irritable
to bear the sound of each other’s voices; and it did not require a
word, a mere look or gesture was enough, to provoke us to anger that was
little short of madness. How it was that we did not all become raving
maniacs, I cannot tell.
Throughout the 12th no drain of moisture crossed our lips, and not
a cloud arose to warrant the expectation of a passing shower; in
the shade, if shade it might be called, the thermometer would have
registered at least 100deg., and, perhaps, considerably more.
No change next day. The salt water began to chafe my legs, but although
the smarting was at times severe, it was an inconvenience to which I
gave little heed; others who had suffered from the same trouble had
become no worse. Oh! if this water that surrounds us could be reduced to
vapour or to ice! its particles of salt extracted, it would be available
for drink. But no! we have no appliances, and we must suffer on.
At the risk of being devoured by the sharks, the boatswain and two
sailors took a morning bath, and as their plunge seemed to refresh them,
I and three of my companions resolved to follow their example. We had
never learnt to swim, and had to be fastened to the end of a rope and
lowered into the water; while Curtis during the half-hour of our bath,
kept a sharp look-out to give warning of any danger from approaching
sharks. No recommendation, however, on our part, nor any representation
of the benefit we felt we had derived, could induce Miss Herbey to allay
her sufferings in the same way.
At about eleven o’clock, the captain came up to me, and whispered in my
ear,--
“Don’t say a word, Mr. Kazallon; I do not want to raise false hopes, but
I think I see a ship.”
It was as well that the captain had warned me; otherwise, I should
have raised an involuntary shout of joy; as it was, I had the greatest
difficulty in restraining my expressions of delight.
“Look behind to larboard,” he continued in an undertone.
Affecting an indifference which I was far from feeling, I cast an
anxious glance to that quarter of the horizon of which he spoke, and
there, although mine is not a nautical eye, I could plainly distinguish
the outline of a ship under sail.
Almost at the same moment the boatswain who happened to be looking in
the same direction, raised the cry, “Ship ahoy!”
Whether it was that no one believed it, or whether all energies were
exhausted, certain it is that the announcement produced none of
the effects that might have been expected. Not a soul exhibited the
slightest emotion, and it was only when the boatswain had several times
sung out his tidings that all eyes turned to the horizon. There, most
undeniably, was the ship, and the question rose at once to the minds of
all, and to the lips of many, “Would she see us?”
The sailors immediately began discussing the build of the vessel, and
made all sorts of conjectures as to the direction she was taking. Curtis
was far more deliberate in his judgment. After examining her attentively
for some time, he said, “She is a brig running close upon the wind, on
the starboard tack, If she keeps her course for a couple of hours, she
will come right athwart our track.”
A couple of hours! The words sounded to our ears like a couple of
centuries. The ship might change her course at any moment; closely
trimmed as she was, it was very probable that she was only tacking about
to catch the wind, in which case, as soon as she felt a breeze, she
would resume her larboard tack and make away again. On the other hand,
if she were really sailing with the wind, she would come nearer to us,
and there would be good ground for hope.
Meantime, no exertion must be spared, and no means left untried, to make
our position known. The brig was about twelve miles to the east of us,
so that it was out of the question to think of any cries of ours being
overheard; but Curtis gave directions that every possible signal should
be made. We had no fire-arms by which we could attract attention, and
nothing else occurred to us beyond hoisting a flag of distress. Miss
Herbey’s red shawl, as being of a colour most distinguishable against
the background of sea and sky, was run up to the mast-head, and was
caught by the light breeze that just then was ruffling the surface of
the water. As a drowning man clutches at a straw, so our hearts bounded
with hope every time that our poor flag fluttered in the wind.
For an hour our feelings alternated between hope and despair. The ship
was evidently making her way in the direction of the raft, but every
now and then she seemed to stop, and then our hearts would almost stand
still with agony lest she was going to put about. She carried all
her canvas, even to her royals and stay-sails, but her hull was only
partially visible above the horizon.
How slowly she advanced! The breeze was very, very feeble, and perhaps
soon it would drop altogether! We felt that we would give years of our
life to know the result of the coming hour!
At half-past twelve the captain and the boatswain considered that the
brig was about nine miles away; she had, therefore, gained only three
miles in an hour and a half, and it was doubtful whether the light
breeze that had been passing over our heads had reached her at all. I
fancied, too, that her sails were no longer filled, but were hanging
loose against her masts. Turning to the direction of the wind I tried to
make out some chance of a rising breeze; but no, the waves were calm and
torpid, and the little puff of air that had aroused our hopes had died
away across the sea.
I stood aft with M. Letourneur, Andre and Miss Herbey, and our glances
perpetually wandered from the distant ship to our captain’s face. Curtis
stood leaning against the mast, with the boatswain by his side; their
eyes seemed never for a moment to cease to watch the brig, but their
countenances clearly expressed the varying emotions that passed through
their minds. Not a word was uttered, nor was the silence broken, until
the carpenter exclaimed, in accents of despair,--
“She’s putting about!”
All started up: some to their knees, others to their feet, The boatswain
dropped a frightful oath. The ship was still nine miles away, and at
such a distance it was impossible for our signal to be seen; our
tiny raft, a mere speck upon the waters, would be lost in the intense
irradiation of the sunbeams. If only we could be seen, no doubt all
would be well; no captain would have the barbarous inhumanity to leave
us to our fate; but there had been no chance; only too well we knew that
we had not been within the range of sight.
“My friends,” said Curtis, “we must make a fire; it is our last and only
chance.”
Some planks were quickly loosened and thrown into a heap upon the fore
part of the raft. They were damp and troublesome to light; but the very
dampness made the smoke more dense, and ere long a tall column of dusky
fumes was rising straight upwards in the air. If darkness should come
on before the brig was completely out of view, the flames we hoped might
still be visible. But the hours passed on; the fire died out; and yet no
signs of help.
The temper of resignation now deserted me entirely; faith, hope,
confidence--all vanished from my mind, and like the boatswain, I swore
long and loudly. A gentle hand was laid upon my arm, and turning round I
saw Miss Herbey with her finger pointing to the sky. I could stand it
no longer, but gliding underneath the tent I hid my face in my hands and
wept aloud.
Meanwhile the brig had altered her tack, and was moving slowly to the
east. Three hours later and the keenest eye could not have discerned her
top-sails above the horizon.