PRECAUTIONS--A MUTINY--MUTINEERS DEFEATED--ATTEMPT TO ROUND CAPE HORN--
DRIVEN BACK--A FEARFUL GALE--AMIDST ICEBERGS--A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT--MAN
OVERBOARD--MUTINEER KILLED BY AN ALBATROSS.
Walter was thankful to hear eight bells strike, when Mr Shobbrok coming
on deck, sent the second mate below.
"Why don't you turn in, Walter?" asked the first mate, on seeing him
still lingering on deck.
"I should like to speak a word to you," said Walter.
"If it's a short one, my lad, say it, but I don't wish to keep you out
of your berth."
As several of the mutineers were on deck, Walter thought he might be
observed, and therefore merely whispered to the mate, "Be on your guard.
I have information that the boatswain is at the head of a conspiracy to
take possession of the ship. I will go below and tell my father how
matters stand. Be careful not to be taken at a disadvantage, and let
none of the men come near you."
"I am not surprised. I will be on my guard," answered the mate in a low
tone; adding in a higher one--
"Now go below, youngster, and turn in."
Walter, hurrying to the cabin, found his father asleep. A touch on the
arm awoke him.
"I want to speak to you about something important," he said; and then
told him all he had heard from Dan Tidy.
"It does not surprise me," he observed, repeating almost the words of
the mate. "We of course must take precautions to counteract the designs
of the misguided men without letting them suspect that we are aware of
their intentions. Call Mr Lawrie, that I may tell him what to do; and
then I will go on deck and speak to the first mate."
"I have told him already. I thought it better to put him on his guard,"
said Walter.
"You did right," said the captain. "We must let the other officers
know. Bring me two brace of pistols from the rack." The captain
quickly loaded the firearms. "Now, Walter, do you go and wake up Nub;
then bring all the muskets into my cabin while I am on deck."
The captain's appearance would not excite suspicion, as it is customary
for a commander to go on deck at all hours of the night, especially when
there is a change of weather; and the mate was heard at that moment
ordering the watch on deck to shorten sail. Captain Tredeagle did not
interfere, but allowing the mate to give the necessary orders, waited
till the topgallant-sails were furled and two reefs taken in the
topsails. He then went across to where Mr Shobbrok was standing.
"Walter has told me what the men intend doing," he said in a low voice.
"Do you try and find out who are likely to prove stanch to us."
"I think we may trust nearly half the crew," answered the mate; "and I
will try and speak to those on whom we can most certainly rely. Tidy
will be able to point them out."
"In case they should attempt anything immediately, here are the means of
defending yourself," said the captain; and finding that none of the men
were observing him, he put a brace of pistols into the mate's hands.
"Who is at the helm?" he asked.
"Tom Hulk," answered the mate.
"He is among the ringleaders," said the captain; "he will be suspicious
if he sees us talking together. I'll warn Beak, that he may be on the
alert, and will send him to speak with you."
The captain crossed the deck to where Mr Beak, the fourth mate, was
standing. Telling him of the conspiracy which had been discovered, he
put a pistol into his hand, and desired him to go over and speak with
the first mate, who would direct him what to do. On returning below, he
found that Walter and Nub had carried out his orders, and that Mr
Lawrie had awakened the other two mates, who soon made their appearance
in the cabin. Two midshipmen, or rather apprentices, who slept further
forward, had now to be warned. Nub undertook to do this without
exciting the suspicion of the mutineers. The captain in the meantime
gave the officers the information he had received, and told them the
plan he proposed following,--assuring them that they had only to be on
the alert and to remain firm, and that he had no doubt, should the
mutineers proceed to extremities, they would soon be put down; no one,
however, felt inclined to turn in again, not knowing at what moment the
mutiny might break out. Had the boatswain and his companions guessed
that Tidy had overheard their conversation, they would have lost no time
in carrying out their plan, and would probably have caught the captain
unprepared.
The night passed quietly away, and when morning came the mutineers went
about their duty as usual. Notwithstanding the threatenings of a gale
on the previous evening, the wind continued fair and moderate, and the
ship was standing on under all sail.
Breakfast was over, and the captain and mate, with Walter, were standing
with their sextants in hand taking an observation to ascertain the
ship's latitude. Mr Lawrie having been in his surgery mixing some
medicines for two men who were on the sick-list, was going forward when
he observed a number of the crew with capstan-bars, boat-stretchers, and
other weapons in their hands, the boatswain and Tom Hulk being among
them. He at once hurried to the captain and told him what he had seen.
"Call aft the men whom we selected as a guard, Mr Shobbrok," whispered
the captain--"Let the officers arm themselves, but keep out of sight in
the cabin, ready to act if necessary."
The mate had agreed on a private signal with the trustworthy men. He
was to let fly the mizzen-royal, when they were to come aft on the
pretence of hauling in the sheet. This would give them the start of the
mutineers, and allow them time to obtain arms,--though of course the
object of the device would quickly be perceived.
The captain and Walter went on taking their observation full in sight of
the crew forward, as if there were nothing to trouble them. The mate
made the signal agreed on. As the sail fluttered in the wind, Dan Tidy
and eight others came running aft, and immediately the muskets, which
had already been loaded, were handed up from below and placed in their
hands. So quick had been their movements that the mutineers, who had
been looking at the captain, had not observed them; and, confiding in
their numbers, and not knowing that the officers were armed or prepared
for them, came rushing aft, led by the boatswain, uttering loud shouts,
to intimidate their opponents. The captain stood perfectly calm, with
Walter by his side.
"What does this strange conduct mean, my men?" he asked, turning round.
"We will show you, captain," answered the boatswain. "We want a captain
who understands his own interest and ours, and won't let the prizes we
might have got hold of slip through our fingers as you have done."
"You are under a mistake, my friends, in more ways than one," answered
the captain. "I call on all true men on board to stand by me."
As he spoke, Tidy and the men who had come aft showed themselves with
muskets in their hands; and at the same moment the officers sprang on
deck, fully armed.
"Now I will speak to you," said the captain, handing his sextant to
Walter, and drawing his pistols. "The first man who advances another
step must take the consequences. I shall be justified in shooting him,
and I intend to do so. His blood be upon his own head. Now lay down
these capstan-bars and stretchers, and tell me, had you overpowered us,
what you intended to do."
The mutineers were dumbfounded, and even the boldest could make no
reply. Most of them, indeed, did as they were ordered and threw their
weapons on the deck, hanging down their heads and looking ashamed of
themselves. The boatswain and Hulk, and a few of the more daring, tried
to brazen it out.
"All we want is justice," blustered out the boatswain. "We shipped
aboard here to fight our enemies, like brave Englishmen, and to take as
many prizes as we could fall in with; but there does not seem much
chance of our doing so this voyage."
"You shipped on board to do as I ordered you, and not to act the part of
sea-robbers and pirates, which is what you would wish to be," answered
the captain. "Those who intend to act like honest men, and obey orders,
go over to the starboard side; the rest stand on the other."
The greater number of the crew--with the exception of the boatswain and
Hulk and two others--went over to starboard. The captain then ordered
the remainder of the crew to be piped on deck. They quickly came up.
"Now, my lads, those who wish to obey me and do their duty, join their
shipmates on the starboard side; those who are inclined the other way,
stand on one side with Mr Capstick and his mate."
Two or three cast a look at the boatswain, but one and all went over to
the starboard side. The boatswain looked greatly disconcerted, for he
had evidently counted on being joined by the greater part of his
shipmates.
"Now," said the captain, "I am averse to putting men in irons, but as
these have shown a spirit of insubordination which would have been
destructive, if successful, to all on board, they must take the
consequences. Mr Shobbrok, seize the fellows and put them in
confinement below."
The three mates, calling six other men, sprang on the mutineers, who,
drawing their knives, attempted to defend themselves; but they were
quickly disarmed, and their weapons being thrown overboard, their hands
were lashed behind them, and they were carried below, to have the irons
put on by the armourer, who was among those who could be trusted. None
of the rest of the crew attempting to interfere, order was speedily
restored on board the _Champion_.
Though the captain had quelled the mutiny, he lost the services of four
of the most active of the hands; but he hoped that reflection would
bring them to reason, and that, repenting of their folly, they would be
willing to return to their duty.
While these events had been occurring a dark bank of clouds had been
gathering to the southward; and though the ship still sailed with a fair
wind, it was evident that a change was about to take place. The
cloud-bank rose higher and higher in the sky.
"All hands shorten sail," cried the captain. The crew flew aloft to
obey the order and lay out on the yards, each man striving to get in the
sail as rapidly as possible. Sail after sail was taken in, but before
the work could be completed the gale was upon them--not a soft breeze,
such as they had been accustomed to, but a sharp cutting wind, with hail
and sleet, which struck their faces and hands with fearful force,
benumbing their bodies, dressed only in light summer clothing. It
seemed as if on a sudden the ship had gone out of one climate into
another.
"This is regular Cape Horn weather," observed the mate to Walter, who
stood shivering on deck. "You had better go below and get on your
winter clothing. It may be many a day before we are in summer again, if
the wind comes from the westward."
Walter hesitated, for he thought it manly to stand the cold; but his
father told him to do as the mate advised, so he hastened into the
cabin. He found Alice looking very much alarmed, not having been able
to make out all that had been occurring. She had seen the officers come
down and arm themselves, and the muskets loaded and handed out, and had
supposed that they were about to encounter an enemy. Walter quieted her
fears, by assuring her that though there had been danger it was all
over, and that they had now only to battle with a storm, such as all
good sailors are ready to encounter and overcome.
Walter was soon equipped and ready to go on deck again, and Alice wanted
to accompany him.
"Why, you will be frozen if you do, so pray don't think about it," he
answered. "I am sure father will wish you to remain in the cabin."
The gale increased, however, and the ship rolled, pitched, tossed, and
tumbled about, in a way Alice had never before experienced. She sat
holding on to the sofa trying to read, and wondering why neither her
father nor Walter again came below. "What could have occurred?" She
heard loud peals of thunder, the sea dashing against the ship's sides,
the howling of the wind in the rigging, the stamp of the men's feet
overhead, and other noises sounding terrific in her ears. The uproar
continued to increase, and the ship seemed to tumble about more and
more. At last she could endure it no longer.
"I must go on deck and see what is the matter," she said to herself
putting on her cloak and hat. She endeavoured to make her way to the
companion-ladder, first being thrown on one side and then on the other,
and running a great risk of hurting herself. At length, however, she
managed to reach the foot of the ladder. Just at that moment Walter
appeared at the top of it, looking down at her. She felt greatly
relieved on seeing him.
"Oh, what has happened?" she exclaimed as he came below.
"Only a regular Cape Horn gale," he answered. "We have got the ship
under close-reefed fore and main topsails, and she is behaving nobly.
It is cold, to be sure; but the men have been sent below, as they could
be spared, to put on warmer clothing, and we shall get out of it some
day or other."
Walter's remarks greatly restored Alice's spirits. She had expected to
see him with alarm on his countenance, bringing her the announcement
that the ship was in fearful danger. The time had not been quite so
long as Alice had supposed. Nub brought in dinner for her and Walter,
which he advised them to take on the deck of the cabin, as there would
be little use in placing it on the table, in spite of puddings and
fiddles to keep the dishes in their places.
"You see, Missie Alice, if de ship gib a roll on one side den half de
soup go out, and den when she gib a roll on de oder side de oder half go
out, and you get none; and de 'taties come flying ober in de same way;
den de meat jump out of de dish, and before you can stop it will be on
de oder side of de cabin; and de mustard and pepper pots dey go cruising
about by demselves. Now, if you sit on de deck, you put de tings in one
corner and you sit round dem, and when dey jump up you catch dem and put
dem back, and tell dem to stop till you want to eat dem."
Nub's graphic description of the effects likely to be produced by the
storm induced Alice and Walter to agree to his proposal, and they
partook of their meal in a corner of the cabin. The latter enjoyed it,
for he was very hungry. Alice could eat but little; she was, however,
very anxious that her father should come down, or that he would allow
her to send him up some food.
Walter laughed. "I am sure he will not do that," he answered. "He is
too much occupied at present to come below."
When Walter went on deck again, Alice felt very forlorn. Nub, however,
now and then looked in to cheer her up.
"It's all right, Miss Alice, only de wind it blow bery hard,--enough to
shave a man in half a minute. The captain told me to keep below or I
turn into one icicle." Towards the evening Nub brought in a pot of hot
coffee, which he had managed to boil at the galley-fire; and presently
the captain and Walter came down. The captain had no time to eat
anything, but he drank two cupfuls of the coffee scalding hot.
"Bless you, my child," he said to Alice. "We have a stormy night before
us; but God looks after us, and I wish you to turn in and try and go to
sleep. We are doing our best, and the ship behaves well, so keep up a
good heart and all will be right."
The mates and Mr Lawrie came down, and Nub supplied them also with
coffee. The surgeon declared he could stand it no longer, and as he was
not required on deck he sat down in the cabin and tried to read; but he
had to give it up and stagger off to his berth. Walter at last came
below again, saying that his father would not allow him to remain longer
on deck; though, like a gallant young sailor, he had wished to share
whatever the rest had to endure. In a very few minutes, notwithstanding
the tossing of the ship and the uproar of the elements, he was fast
asleep.
All night long the ship stood on close-hauled, battling bravely with the
gale, showers of sleet, snow, and hail driving furiously against the
faces of the crew. The captain, with his mates and both watches,
remained on deck, to be ready for any emergency.
The topgallant-masts and royal-masts had been sent down; the
studding-sail-booms and gear unrove, to lighten the ship as much as
possible of all top hamper.
It was still dark when Walter awoke. The ship was pitching into the
seas as heavily as before, and the wind roaring as loudly. He longed to
go on deck to ascertain the state of things; but the captain had told
him to remain in his berth till summoned, and he had learned the
important duty of implicit obedience to his father's commands. At
length the light of day came down through the bull's-eye overhead into
his little berth. He quickly dressed, and entering the main cabin,
found that his father had just come below. He was taking off his wet
outer clothing preparatory to throwing himself on his bed.
"You go on deck now, Walter; but don't remain long, or you will be
well-nigh frozen," he said. "I am to be called should any change in the
weather take place."
Walter sprang on deck, but he had need of all his courage to stand the
keen cutting south-westerly wind, which seemed sufficient to blow his
teeth down his throat. The ship looked as if made of glass, for every
rope and spar was coated over with ice. The men were beating their
hands to keep them warm; and when they moved about the deck they had to
keep close to the bulwarks, and catch hold of belaying-pins, ropes, or
stanchions, to prevent themselves from slipping away to leeward. The
sea, as it broke on board, froze on the deck, till it became one mass of
ice. Walter, who had thought only of smooth seas and summer gales, was
little prepared for this sort of weather.
"Cheer up, my lad, never mind it; we shall be in summer again, and find
it pretty hot too, when we round the Horn," observed the first mate.
"I don't mind it," answered Walter, his teeth chattering. "Do you think
it will last long?"
"That depends on the way the wind blows," answered the first mate.
Dark seas rose up on every side, higher than he had ever seen them
before; the foam driven aft in white sheets, their combing crests
shining brilliantly as the sun burst forth from the driving clouds.
"Now you have seen enough of it; you had better go below," said the
mate. "One of those seas might break aboard and sweep you off the deck.
As you can do nothing now, it is useless to expose your life to
danger."
Walter, who would have wished to remain had the wind been less cutting,
thought the mate right, and obeyed him. He had been for some time in
the cabin when the fourth mate came down.
"Come on deck, Walter," he said, "and see something you have never
before set eyes on." Walter followed the mate up the companion-ladder.
As far as the eye could reach, the sea was of a dark-blue tint; the
waves still high and foam-crested, sparkling in the rays of the sun,
while at some distance on the larboard bow rose a vast mountain-island,
its numerous pinnacles glittering in the sun like the finest alabaster,
and its deep valleys thrown into the darkest shade. The summit of the
mighty mass was covered with snow, and its centre of a deep indigo tint.
"What island is that?" asked Walter.
"It's an island, though it's afloat. That is an iceberg," answered the
mate. "It's little less, I judge, than three miles in circumference,
and is several hundred feet in height."
The vast mass rose and fell in the water with a slow motion, while its
higher points seemed to reach to the sky, and often to bend towards each
other as if they were about to topple over. The waves furiously dashed
against its base, breaking into masses of foam; while ever and anon
thundering sounds, louder than any artillery, reached the ears of the
voyagers, as from the mighty berg, cracking in all directions, huge
pieces came tumbling down into the water. Above the thick fringe of
white foam appeared an indigo tint, which grew lighter and lighter, till
it shaded off from a dark-blue to the pile of pure snow which rested on
the summit.
Walter could not resist the temptation of bringing Alice to see the
strange and beautiful sight. Hurrying below, he wrapped her up in a
warm cloak, and, calling Nub to his assistance, they brought her on
deck.
"That is beautiful," she exclaimed; "but how dreadful it would be to run
against it in the dark!" she added, after a minute's silence.
"We hope to keep too bright a lookout for anything of that sort," said
the mate; "and, happily, at night we know when we are approaching an
iceberg by the peculiar coldness of the air and the white appearance
which it always presents even in the darkest nights. However, there can
be no doubt that many a stout ship has been cast away on such a berg as
that; or on what is more dangerous still, a floating mass of sheet-ice
just flush with the water."
The mate would not allow Alice to remain long on deck for fear of her
suffering from the cold, and Walter and Nub hurried her below. Walter
was soon again on deck. The ship was passing the iceberg, leaving it a
mile to leeward. As it drew over the quarter there was a cry from
forward of "Ice ahead!" The captain was immediately called.
"Hard up with the helm!" he shouted; and the ship passed a huge mass of
ice, such as the mate had before described, flush with the water. Had
the ship struck against it, her fate would have been sealed. The
sharpest eyes in the ship were kept on the lookout: one man on each bow,
and another in the bunt of the fore-yard; the third mate forward, and
one on each quarter. Two of the best hands were at the wheel; while the
captain and first mate were moving about with their eyes everywhere.
All knew that the slightest inattention might cause the destruction of
the ship.
Hour after hour went by. No one spoke except those on the lookout or
the officer in command, when the cry came from forward, "Ice on the
weather bow," "Another island ahead," "Ice on the lee bow," and so on.
Evening at length approached. Walter for the first time became aware of
the perilous position in which the ship was placed; yet his father stood
calm and unmoved, as he had ever been, and not by look or gesture did he
betray what he must have felt; indeed, he had too long been inured to
peril of all sorts to be moved as those are who first experience it.
Gradually, however, the sea began to go down and the wind to decrease,
shifting more to the southward. A clear space appearing, the captain
eagerly wore ship, and then hauling up on the other tack, stood to the
southward, hoping to weather the icebergs among which he had before
passed. The cold was as intense as before, but it could be better borne
as hopes were entertained that the gale would abate, and that at length
Cape Horn would be doubled.
That night, however, was one of the greatest anxiety; for, owing to the
darkness, the ice-field could not be seen at any distance, and it might
be impossible to escape running on it. Captain Tredeagle could
therefore only commit himself and ship to the care of Heaven, and exert
his utmost vigilance to avoid the surrounding dangers.
He and all on board breathed more freely when daylight returned, and the
field of ice they had just weathered was seen over the quarter, with
clear water ahead. A few more icebergs were passed; some near, shining
brilliantly in the sun, and others appearing like clouds floating on the
surface.
In two days more there was a cry of "Land on the starboard bow!" The
ship rapidly neared it. The wind coming from the eastward, the reefs
were shaken out of the topsails, the courses set, and she stood towards
the west. The land became more and more distinct.
"Now," said the first mate to Walter, "if Alice would like to see Cape
Horn, bring her on deck. There it is, broad on our starboard beam."
Alice quickly had on her cloak. "Is that Cape Horn?" she asked,
pointing to a dark rugged headland which rose, scarcely a mile off, out
of the water. "What a wild, barren spot! Can any human beings live
there?"
"I have heard that some do," answered the mate; "and what is very
strange, that they manage to exist with little or no clothing to shield
their bodies from the piercing winds! It's a wonder they can stand it;
but then they are savages who have been accustomed to the life since
they were born, and know no better."
Scarcely was the ship round Cape Horn when the wind moderated, and the
sea went down till it was almost calm. The order was now given to get
up the topgallant and royal-masts and rig out studding-sail-booms.
The mutineers had long been kept in irons, and some of the men declared
that they were better off than themselves during the bitter weather to
which they had been exposed; but the boatswain and the rest had more
than once petitioned to be set free, promising to be obedient in the
future. The captain, willing to try them, at length liberated them, and
they were now doing duty as if nothing had happened, though the captain
was too wise a man not to keep a watchful eye on them.
Alice, after being so long shut up in the cabin, was glad to be on deck
as much as she could during the day, watching the various operations
going on. The men were aloft rigging out studding-sail-booms, when, to
her horror, she saw one of them fall from the fore-yard. Her
instinctive cry was, "Save him! save him!"
"A man overboard!" shouted those who saw the accident. The ship was
running rapidly before the wind, and under such circumstances
considerable time elapsed before sail could be shortened and the ship
hove-to. Preparations had in the meantime been made to lower a boat,
and willing hands jumped into her, under the command of the second mate,
to go to the rescue of the drowning man. The captain had kept an eye on
the spot where he had fallen, so as to direct the boat in what direction
to pull. Away dashed the hardy crew, straining every muscle to go to
the rescue of their fellow-creature.
A moment before not a bird had been in sight, but just then a huge
albatross was seen soaring high in the air. Its keen eye had caught
sight of the unfortunate man. The boat dashed on, the mate and the crew
shouting loudly in the hope of scaring off the bird; but heeding not
their cries, downwards it flew with a fearful swoop. In vain the
wretched man, who was a strong swimmer, endeavoured to defend himself
with his hands; its sharp beak pierced his head, and in another instant
he floated a lifeless corpse on the surface of the water.
"Who is he?" asked several voices.
"Tom Hulk," answered the mate. "I caught sight of his face just as the
bird struck him, and I hope I may never again see such a look of horror
in the countenance of a fellow-creature as his presented."
"It was a bad ending to a bad life," said one of the men. "A greater
villain never came to sea, and it's the belief of some of us that he
would have worked more mischief aboard before long."
"That he would," said another. "He was always jeering at the boatswain
for his cowardice, and telling him he ought to act like a man. We knew
pretty well what he meant by that." Similar remarks were made by
others; for all the men in the boat were honest and true, and had been
among those who had at once sided with the captain and officers. Such
are always found the most ready to go to the aid of a fellow-creature,
and they had been the first to spring into the boat.
By this time they were nearly up to the body of the dead man. The
albatross, on seeing them coming, had flown away. Just then, either
some ravenous fish had seized it from below, or the body, no longer
supported by the talons of the bird, lost its buoyancy, or from some
other cause, it began to sink; and before the boatman could catch it
with his boat-hook it had disappeared from sight, sinking down to the
depths of the ocean, there to remain till the sea gives up its dead.
When the mate returned on board, he did not fail to tell the captain
what the men had said. "We must nevertheless keep a watchful eye on the
boatswain and others who associated with him," was the answer. "If
Hulk, however, was the chief malcontent, we have little reason to fear
them."
The ship, with her lighter canvas set, was now making rapid progress
towards the warm latitudes of the Pacific.