"A BIT OF A BLOW!"
The doctor did not like the flippant way in which the lieutenant alluded
to our providential escape.
"You ought to thank God, Mr Jellaby, with all your heart that you have
not gone down in her," he said in a grave and impressive tone, looking
him full in the face. "It is far too serious a matter for you to speak
of so lightly. Just think, man, we've only been saved by a
hair's-breadth from death!"
The lieutenant, however, was incorrigible.
"A miss is as good as a mile, doctor," he rejoined with a laugh, which
made all the boat's crew grin in sympathy, his devil-may-care philosophy
appealing more strongly to their sailor nature than the doctor's moral
reflections. "Stand by, bows!"
On this, the bowmen unshipped their oars with great care, so as not to
cause any rocking; and, laying them in dexterously, faced round at the
same time, one holding a boathook ready and the other the grapnel with a
coil of rope attached, prepared to fling it when we were near enough to
the ship.
Our gallant vessel was plunging along athwart our course as if she meant
to give us the go-by, the sea foaming up at her bows in a big wave that
curled up in front of her forefoot and broke over her figurehead as she
dipped, sending the surf high in the air in a sheet of foam over her
forecastle.
Those on board, though, had no intention of abandoning us, as we could
quickly see, had we needed any assurance on the point.
Just as she was within half a cable's length of our starboard beam, we
could hear the sound of the shrill boatswain's pipe above the splash of
the sea; when she came up to the wind so close to the cutter that it
looked as if she was going to run us down instanter.
But, we knew better than that.
"Way enough!" shouted Mr Jellaby; and, by an adroit turn of the tiller,
the boat's nose shoved in under her lee to port into the slack water
made by her hull. "Be ready with that grapnel there forrud!"
There was no necessity, however, for using this, for Commander Nesbitt
had stationed a man in the chains to watch for us; and, immediately we
rounded-in under the counter the seaman payed out a long grass rope
attached to a buoy, which, as it floated past the bowman was easily able
to pick up with his boathook and make fast beneath the thwarts of the
cutter forwards.
We were, by this means, hauled up alongside until we were right below
the quarter, with the side of our noble vessel towering above us like a
great wall, and swinging over our heads; the creaking boat falls,
oscillating backwards and forwards as if they were a couple of
pendulums, rendering it very difficult to hook on the cutter, especially
as she was lifted up one moment by a wave passing under the keel to the
main deck ports, and lowered the next down to the ship's bilge.
But, at last, the task was accomplished, and then at the pipe of the
boatswain, which we could now hear more clearly than before, the cutter,
with all her crew and passengers still in her, was run up to the davits
and secured, the ship at once filling and bearing away on her course
again, now close-hauled on the starboard tack.
Captain Farmer was standing on the poop talking with the commander when
we gained the deck; and, as Mr Jellaby at once went up to them to make
his report, while Dr Nettleby was busying himself with superintending
the removal of the man we had rescued, who had not yet regained
consciousness, down to the sick bay, a couple of other marines being
called to help the corporal, I thought I might as well go below also and
shift my uniform, which was pretty nearly soaked through, making me feel
very cold and uncomfortable.
This was a day of surprises.
For, no sooner had I got down to my chest in the steerage and begun to
peel off my wet clothes, than Ned Anstruther came up to me.
I thought at first he was going to congratulate me on having got off
from the wreck before she foundered, all on board, having, of course,
seen her sink.
But, greatly to my astonishment, my watch-mate raised a rope's-end which
he held in his outstretched hand and proceeded to lay it across my
shoulders; the beggar giving me several sharp cuts with the "colt" ere I
realised what he was up to.
"That will teach you not to supplant me and go in my boat again, you
young rascal!" he cried, pegging away merrily with the rope's-end on my
bare back. "I intend to give you one of the best thrashings you ever
had in your life for doing it!"
"What do you mean?" I exclaimed, trying to ward off the cuts with my
arm. "Anstruther, you're mad, I think! I never wished to supplant you.
It was the commander who would not let you go in the cutter, not I."
"Oh, was it?" said he, ironically, still laying on as hard as he could
with the rope's-end, which really stung me very much. "Well, as I can't
lick him, my joker, I shall lick you!"
"Will you?" I retorted; and, finding expostulation of no avail, I tried
retaliation, commencing now to hit out with my fists in return. "Two
can play at that game, old fellow; and as you force me to do it, take
that and that!"
My action followed suit to my words, as I gave him a smart "one, two"
with my left, which knocked him backwards against Mr Stormcock just as
the latter was coming out of the gunroom.
"Hullo, what is this?" cried the master's mate, as Ned Anstruther,
cannoned off his stomach, sending him flying across the deck from the
ship lurching. "Fighting again? By jingo, I never saw such a pack of
young gamecocks in my life. There was, cheeky little Tom Mills wanting
to peg into that swab Andrews last night, and now here are you two at it
hammer and tongs. Why, I thought you were chums and both of you in the
same watch, the very closest of friends."
"Of course we are," said I, laughing at the comicality of the situation,
which struck me all of a moment. "Anstruther and I are very good
friends. I'm sure I don't want to do him any harm."
"So I should think," replied Mr Stormcock, drily. "It looks uncommonly
like it, judging by the way you are slogging each other about! But come
now, I won't have any more of this. Shake hands and make it up at once,
do you hear, or I'll report you to the commander."
"Why," exclaimed my antagonist, rubbing his eye ruefully, "Commander
Nesbitt is the cause of it all!"
"Indeed!" said Mr Stormcock, with a whistle of surprise at this
extraordinary assertion. "How do you make that out?"
"Because he sent Jack Vernon in the first cutter in my place."
"Oh, you ass! It was for that, then, that you were fighting this poor
chap here, who I'm sure you ought to be grateful to for taking a very
nasty job off your hands. See, he's not only wet to the skin, but
narrowly escaped going to the bottom, as you know; and now, in return
for this kindness, you try to wop him, and end in getting wopped instead
yourself. Anstruther, you're an ass, and more than that, you're an
ungrateful ass; and I've half a mind to thrash you myself for your
conduct to Vernon!"
"I never thought of it in that light," said Ned, holding out his fist to
me in a different fashion to that in which I had presented mine to him
shortly before. "Let us be friends again, old chap. I'm very sorry I
struck you, Jack; but I was so jealous of your going off in the cutter
and angry at being left behind that I didn't think of what I was doing."
"Well, I'm sorry I hit you, too, my dear Ned," said I, shaking hands in
a cordial grip. "I hope I didn't hurt you much."
"You've only given me a black eye, which will make me go on the sick
list," he replied with a grin. "I can't very well appear on the
quarter-deck with the `Blue Peter' hoisted; for, the cap'en would notice
it in a minute and ask me how I came by it."
"There would be no difficulty about that," interposed Mr Stormcock;
"you could tell him the commander gave it to you, for you said just now
he was the cause of all the row, you know."
This made us both laugh, and dinner being now ready, Ned Anstruther and
I went into the gunroom together as soon as I had completed my
interrupted toilet.
Here, sitting side by side, the best of friends, and enjoying our pea
soup, no one looking at us not in the secret would have readily imagined
that any such "little unpleasantness," as I have described had just
occurred between us two; though, I am happy to be able to state, this
was our first and last quarrel, Ned and I remaining the closest chums
ever after and never subsequently having even a word squabble.
During the afternoon, the wind veered to the north-west, blowing
stronger after the sun passed the meridian and increasing hourly so much
in force that, at Four Bells, we hauled down the jib and close-reefed
the spanker, the mizzen topsail being also taken in at the same time.
There was every indication of our having a gale, the barometer having
fallen considerably since the morning; while the sea got up more and
more and the horizon ahead became banked with a mass of blue-black
clouds as dark as night, patches of lighter vapour also scudding rapidly
across the sky.
At Six Bells things began to look serious, the wind now shrieking as it
tore through the rigging and the heavy rolling waves to break inboard,
washing the decks fore and aft; so, the hands were turned up to furl the
mainsail and take in the spanker.
This relieved the ship somewhat; but, as she still laboured very much,
the topsails were close-reefed and a reef taken in the foresail, the men
being almost blown off the yards when aloft while doing this and having
hard work to get down safely on deck again when the job was done, the
force of the gale being such that they were flattened against the
rigging and had to hold on "by the skin of their teeth," as sailor folk
say.
Even this amount of canvas, however, reduced though it was, presently
proved too much for her; and the commander therefore gave the order to
furl the foresail and haul down the foretopmast staysail, a storm
staysail being set on the forestay to keep the vessel under steerage way
as she tore through the tempest-tossed water like a maddened thing,
rolling her gunwales under and pitching sometimes to that extent that
she seemed about to dive into the deep never to rise again.
There were four men at the wheel; and yet, with all their exertion, it
was impossible to preserve a straight course, for the ship yawed from
side to side, as if seeking to escape the following seas that raced
after her, rearing their threatening crests right over the taffrail.
So, fearing that we might get pooped, we now furled the foretopsail and
lay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thus
awaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not then
seem possible that anything could be worse!
We were all soon undeceived, however, on this point; although we had
about half-an-hour's let off, during which interval the commander and
gunnery lieutenant employed themselves in having the guns secured with
double breechings and stout seven-inch hawsers triced up along the decks
in their rear, a separate tackle being bent on into this and passing
under the neck ring of each of the long thirty-two pounders, in order to
prevent their taking charge and waltzing about amidships when the vessel
rolled.
Ay, and she did roll, too!
The decks also were battened down to keep out the floods of water, which
she was continually taking in over the bows, from passing too freely
below, where a considerable quantity had already, indeed, gone, making
us rather damp down in the steerage.
Lifelines were likewise rove on the poop and upper deck, where it was
now impossible to move a step without having something to lay hold of.
This was not only on account of the heavy lurches the vessel gave from
port to starboard and then back again to port; but, the planks were wet
and slippery, and besides, as she plunged and pitched, head to sea,
great green, rolling waves would break on the forecastle and pour down
into the waist, rushing aft like a river and sweeping anyone off his
legs who was caught unprepared.
The wind itself was blowing so strongly that I couldn't stand upright,
having to shelter myself under the lee of the bulwarks when I was on the
poop.
But, this was nothing to what came later, old Boreas then putting a
fresh hand to his bellows.
Hardly had the guns been properly secured and everything made snug and
fast below and aloft, when the gale recommenced with tenfold violence;
constant squalls bursting over the ship, accompanied by showers of hail
that pattered on the planks like rifle bullets and took the skin off any
fellow's face that was exposed to it without protection.
It made mine smart, I know!
In the midst of one of these sharp squalls, the maintopsail was blown to
pieces with a report that sounded as if a gun had been fired off close
to my ear; and, at the same moment, there was a loud crack heard from
the top as if something had given way in addition to the sail.
Nothing, though, could be done about this for the moment, more pressing
business being on hand; for, in consequence of the topsail giving, the
ship's head payed off and getting into the hollow of the sea she
precious nearly rolled her masts out her in less time than one could
count.
"Down with that fore staysail," shouted the commander through his
speaking trumpet. "Look alive man and set the topsail at once!"
His voice could not be distinguished beyond the length of the trumpet he
roared through; but the boatswain's mates passed on the order from hand
to hand until it reached the first lieutenant and the master, both of
whom were stationed forwards, where it was instantly acted on and the
ship's head brought back to the wind.
After this the storm staysail was rehoisted and we lay-to again in
comparative safety.
Mr Cleete, the carpenter, then went up into the maintop to see what had
happened to cause the loud crack we had heard.
He came back from his perilous journey with the unwelcome news that the
topsail yard had been sprung and was in a very ticklish state, the
carpenter adding that the spar ought to be fished as soon as possible or
it might part company.
It had to remain as it was, however, for the present, the commander not
wishing to peril the men's lives needlessly by sending them aloft unless
it was absolutely necessary for the safety of the ship; for it was not
any easy thing to shift such a big spar as the topsail yard in a gale of
wind. "If it chooses to go by the board before it could be seen to,"
said he, "why, well and good, go it must, that's all!"
So Commander Nesbitt evidently thought, I was sure, from the way in
which he shrugged his shoulders and pointed in dumb show aloft and then
to the sea, when the carpenter tried to press the claims of the topsail
yard on his notice.
When the hands were sent down and the watch set at Eight Bells, to my
inexperienced eyes the hurricane appeared to be at its height; the
howling of the wind and angry roar of the clashing waves being
absolutely awful to listen to, drowning as they did every other sound on
board the ship on deck.
Nor was it any the better below, the groaning of the timbers there, as
of a lost soul crying out in its last agony, with the rattling of
crockery and other mess gear, adding to the tumult without, made a
perfect pandemonium of the gunroom.
A fellow could not hear what another said, though it were shouted in his
ear as loudly as the speaker could bawl; albeit some of my messmates
certainly had powerful lungs of their own--lungs which they were not
chary of testing when occasion offered!
I turned in early; but, not being able to sleep for the racket that was
going on, I returned to the deck, remaining there in the most sheltered
corner I could find with Tom Mills, the two of us watching with
spellbound attention until close on midnight the wonderful struggle
between the spirits of the air and the demons of the deep--the
pale-faced moon shining out occasionally from the dark vault of the
heavens overhead, lighting up the stormy sea that served as the
battle-ground of the storm fiends with her sickly gleams and making it
seem like a field of snow, its vast expanse being covered with yeasty
foam as far as the eye could reach.
The gale lasted all that night and the following day; when, late in the
evening, the weather commenced to moderate, the wind calming down
finally towards the close of the middle watch next morning.
It had then been blowing for thirty-six hours, during the whole of which
time neither Captain Farmer nor the commander had left the deck; while
most of the officers and men also had remained up on duty, it being a
case almost of "all hands" from the beginning of the tempest to its end!