It was a horrible sight, one which made me cling to the bulwarks
absolutely paralysed, for the man who had climbed on deck was one mass
of blue and yellow flames, which flickered and danced from foot to
shoulder, and in those brief moments I realised that he must have fallen
and overset the spirit-keg when Jarette fired, saturated his garments,
and no doubt the fallen lantern had set all instantaneously in a blaze.
It was impossible to stir. My legs trembled, and every shriek uttered
by the poor wretch, as he ran wildly here and there, thrilled me through
and through. One moment it seemed as if he were coming headlong toward
me, and I felt that discovery was inevitable; but before he reached the
open hold, he dashed across the deck to the starboard bulwark, turned
and ran forward again shrieking more loudly than ever, while the rapid
motion through the air made the flames burn more furiously, and I could
distinctly hear them flatter and roar.
His messmates, headed by Jarette, were not idle; they shouted to him to
stop; they chased him, and some tried to cut him off here and there; but
as if the idea of being stopped maddened him, the poor wretch shifted,
dodged, and avoided them in the most wonderful manner, shrieking more
wildly than ever, as a man who had been below suddenly confronted him
with a tarpaulin to fling round him and smother the flames.
At last, with the sharp tongues of fire rising above his head, he made
one maddened rush forward, and the whole of the party in pursuit; while
his cries, and the sight of the man dashing on like a living torch
through the darkness of that awful night, made me long to close my eyes
and stop my ears. But I could not--it was impossible. I could only
cling helplessly to that bulwark, praying for the power to help, but
unable to stir.
It takes long to describe all this, but it was only a matter of a minute
or two, before, with the flames rushing up to a point above his head and
streaming behind him, he rushed for the bows.
I grasped in an instant what he intended to do, and felt that at last I
could act. For, seeing that he meant to leap overboard, I made a start
to run back to the cabin and shout to those in the boat to pick him up,
when he caught his foot in a rope, and fell upon the deck with a heavy
thud; and before he could rise, the man with the oilskin overcoat flung
it over him, rolled him over and over in it, and extinguished the
flames.
In the midst of the loud talking which followed, I heard Jarette's voice
above all the rest.
"It was his own fault," he cried. "Here, carry him below. I shall not
take the blame."
"But you shot at and hit him," growled a man angrily.
"As I will at you, you dog," roared Jarette, "if you disobey my orders.
Quick!--get him below."
I saw Jarette bend down to the moaning man, for two of the crew held
lanterns over him; and then, as they were all crowding down the
hatchway, I hurried into the cabin, closed the door after me, and going
to the window, I leaned out, and called in a whisper to Mr Brymer, but
there was no answer.
I called again and again, raising my voice till, had any one been on
deck, there must have been an alarm raised; but still there was no reply
from the boat, and feeling at last that my companions must have rowed
along by the ship to try and find out what was the matter, I was about
to go back and run along till I could hail them and implore the doctor
to come on board to try and save the poor wretch's life, when, all at
once, there was the faint splash of an oar, and Mr Brymer exclaimed--
"Ah, at last! I was afraid you were being hunted. What were they
doing? What was the meaning of those cries, and the torches they were
rushing about the deck with?"
I explained in few words, and, saying I would fetch a rope, implored Mr
Frewen to come up and help the poor creature.
"Come? Of course I will, Dale," he said; "but it seems curious work to
do--help the men who have sent us adrift on the ocean in an open boat."
"Yes," I cried excitedly; "but wait while I get a rope."
"Yes; quick, my lad," said Mr Brymer. "It is our only opportunity."
I made no attempt now at concealment, but ran through the saloon, and
out on the deck, to secure the first coil of rope I could find.
I got hold of one directly, not neatly coiled, but tumbled down anyhow;
and then, looking forward to see if any one was on deck, I was conscious
of a dull bluish glow, which I attributed to the lights by the
forecastle-hatch, from which I could hear a low muttering of voices
dominated by Jarette's sharp angry snapping.
Then grasping the fact that there appeared to be no one on deck, I ran
back into the dark saloon, tapped smartly on the door of Miss Denning's
cabin, cried, "Help coming!" and darted through the door, closing it
after me.
"Got a rope?" came from below; and my answer was to lower it down as
quickly as I could before passing it twice round the legs of the fixed
table.