THE IMMUTABLE EAST
Under the able guidance of this impassive pagan, who merely waved his
hands in the direction in which he wanted the ship to go, she was
brought gently to her allotted moorings in the splendid harbour, amid
the great crowd of cosmopolitan shipping which is the outward and
visible sign of this mighty seaport of the Far East. Down went one
anchor after another in orthodox style (which beautiful manoeuvre I
would like to explain, but dare not for fear of being tedious), the
sails were clewed up or hauled down, and the deed was done.
“Give the sails a harbour furl, men,” shouted Mr. Cope; and lovingly
they rolled and patted into regulation shape the great squares of
canvas, whose precision of outline when fast owed nothing to painted
coverings put on afterwards, but were the hall mark of good seamanship.
Then the yards were trimmed and squared, the ropes coiled up, the
decks swept, and at four o’clock, “That’ll do for to-day, men,”
sounded gratefully on the ears of the crew, who sauntered towards the
forecastle with the air of men who had earned their reward.
In the next berth lay a big Yankee ship, the _Colorado_, of New York,
which had come in almost side by side with the _Sealark_. But what
an amazing difference in the methods followed on board of the two
ships! In the English vessel, an occasional quiet order which was just
sufficiently loud to be heard; in the American, a very hurricane of
oaths and yells which raged incessantly, no matter how well and rapidly
the work was done. Of course it was done well, slipshod seamanship in
a Yank being quite unthinkable; but at what a price! Then when the
_Sealark’s_ crew received that consideration from their commander to
which they were really entitled, the crowd of the _Colorado_ seemed
only just to have begun their work. Frank watched, fascinated, the
tremendous energy of the mates, the desperate efforts of the men, heard
the ghastly chorus of profanity by which the whole work was accompanied.
As I have said, the work on board the _Sealark_ ceased at four o’clock,
the ship being made snug and harbour-worthy for the night; but on board
the _Colorado_ there was not one moment’s respite from labour until
everything on board was as if she had been in harbour a month--sails
unbent and stowed away, running gear stopped up, cargo gear prepared
ready for the morning, and a host of other things, leaving the hapless
crew, when they entered the fo’c’sle at eight o’clock, relieved at
last, so weary as to be almost unable to crawl when the relief came. I
believe in work, and hard work, but a feeling of utter disgust comes
over me when I see how men are driven under the flag of the great
Republic. Nowhere in the world is the last ounce so mercilessly
extracted from poor flesh and blood as it is there, or less concession
made to human weakness or limitations.
I said that Frank was fascinated, and with reason, for he could hardly
tear himself away from the rail to his supper. But when the second
mate sauntered up to him and said, “That’s the way to get a ship’s
work done, my lad; no crawling there,” Frank looked quickly round and
said, “I see they’re smart, sir, but it isn’t necessary to work them so
long or curse them so hard. The work is not so pressing as all that,
surely.” The old black scowl came over the second mate’s face as he
muttered, “You so-and-so lime-juicers don’t know what a man is,” and
turned away.
For which sentiment I cannot help hating him and his like, while fully
appreciating their splendid seamanship. The sight not only held Frank
fascinated, as I have said, but it fired his blood; and he made a
mental vow that whatever happened he would, if ever he had the power,
treat his men as remembering that they were made of the same material
as himself.
He was drawn from the contemplation of brutality by one of the small
boys calling his attention to a sampan, or a Chinese boat, which had
stolen up alongside. It was not much bigger than a large rowing-boat,
but rising in a graceful curve at the bow, and completely decked over
except for a domed cabin aft. In this craft there were obviously three
generations--grandfather and grandmother, father and mother, and a
family of five children of varying ages, the youngest being a toddles
of about three, who staggered about the deck with a big bladder
attached to its waist by a stout cord.
The use of this appendage bothered Frank very much, until he saw
the tiny creature stumble, and take an involuntary dive over the
unprotected side of the boat. As coolly as possible the mother, who
was standing at the big steer-oar, lifted a boat-hook from the deck,
and hooking the child by the bladder cord as it floated quite safely,
hauled it on board, and, giving it a shake, set it on deck to drain, at
the same time scolding it in what seemed a very discordant, loudly-sung
song.
Meanwhile all the other members of the family were begging with
eloquent gestures, pointing to their attenuated bodies and their mouths
alternately. Frank went and fetched some bread, and was about to give
it to them, when the mate espied him, and calling him said, “Now
remember, Frank, you must never give these people anything; if you do,
the ship will be surrounded with sampans from morning till night, and
there will not only be annoyance but danger from them. There are 30,000
people like that living upon the waters of this harbour, who do not
know from whence their next meal will come, and who are consequently
pressed so much that they will stick at nothing to get plunder of
any kind. They must not go ashore, and every boat is registered and
numbered, as you see; so that if a crime is committed they are easily
traced, but that is like locking the stable after the horse is gone.
The only wise thing to do is to keep them at a distance.”
And so saying he mounted the rail, and in a fierce voice with violent
gestures made the boat clear off, the head of the family looking at
mate and ship alternately with utterly expressionless face, as if
nothing in life interested him at all.
“I can’t understand,” said the mate, turning away, “why they don’t make
an organised raid some night upon a ship like this, and steal or murder
as they like. But I suppose they’ve got no power of combining for a
purpose of that sort, besides having, as a race, a tremendous respect
for the law. Hello, here comes the skipper.”
He went to the gangway to receive Captain Jenkins, who had been ashore
in the agent’s smart little launch, and was now returning with a
promising little bundle in his hand that said “Letters from home.” In
five minutes Frank was transported from all his surroundings by the
magic of the written word, was oblivious of strange sights and sounds
and smells, and actually listening to the well-remembered tones of the
dear ones at home.
There was quite an accumulation for him, for his people were wise, and
knew how eagerly prized were their letters; so they all wrote to him
once a month, and consequently, owing to their long long passage, there
were at least a dozen letters. No more getting a word out of Frank that
evening, or claiming his attention even for meals. He was perfectly
happy, for the letters breathed only love and the calm, even flow of
a prosperous life, which he could not help mentally comparing, to its
disadvantage, with the stirring times through which he had just passed,
or feeling that a special Providence had watched over him in answer to
his mother’s tender prayers.
I am glad to say that he immediately set about writing a long letter of
reply, that is, as soon as he had mastered the contents of his budget.
It was boy-like, and glossed over many of the thrilling incidents of
the passage in curt, careless fashion; but it must always be remembered
to a young man’s credit who occupies a position like Frank’s, that such
letter-writing as he does is pursued under great difficulties in the
matter of position and light. There is no comfortable table for him to
spread his materials upon, and there are usually many interruptions; so
that, when the parents get a good letter, they ought to bear in mind
that it means much perseverance against odds.
Next day they commenced to discharge, and this was also a revelation
to Frank. For the appliances were of the simplest--just shallow,
saucer-like baskets and spades, and a hundred or so sturdy Chinese to
handle them. A huge scow-like junk came alongside, a tarpaulin was
carefully stretched between her and the ship to catch any falling
lumps, and gangways were laid, along which, when once the business was
started, there went a never-ending procession of naked men bearing
baskets full of coal, which, as they reached the side, they emptied
over into the junk, and then returned by another route to where they
found full baskets awaiting them. The air was full of coal-dust, the
heat was melting, and the noise bewildering.
In the midst of it all stood a spectacled Chinese, a wadded teapot
by his side, from which he continually refreshed himself with tiny
cups of straw-coloured, tepid tea, as impervious apparently to the
discomfort and din of his surroundings, as if he were carved out of
wood. Overside the scene was stranger still. There were at least twenty
sampans, the occupants of which were diligently engaged in dredging
the bottom for such small fragments of coal as, in spite of all care,
would occasionally bounce overboard. And these energetic snappers up of
unconsidered trifles conducted all their operations amid a deafening
uproar of languages that sounded quite uncanny, and made Frank wonder
whether such a queer concatenation of sounds could in any possible way
serve to communicate thought. In which he was only following a line of
fancy trodden by very many before him.
There was, however, one cry which, especially in the evenings and early
mornings, resounded over the waters of the harbour and puzzled Frank a
great deal. He had considerable difficulty in locating its source, but
did so at last. He found that it proceeded from the solitary occupant
of a small canoe-like boat that was apparently drifting aimlessly about
the bay doing nothing at all.
And then one night there suddenly broke out in the forecastle a furious
and exceedingly bloody fight, in which the good, peaceable men who
composed the crew were changed into devils incarnate, with a mad lust
to rend and tear each other to pieces. The skipper and two mates rushed
forward to quell the frightful outbreak, but soon found that they were
not dealing with sane men, but with raving lunatics, and were bound
to retire and leave them to fight it out, since to persist in the
endeavour to separate the warring fiends was only to court destruction
themselves. They waited outside, though full of anxiety, and wondered
mightily whatever could be the meaning of it all. Drink, of course, but
whence obtained, and what kind of drink that could thus change this
peaceable crew so entirely?
Neither the skipper nor second mate had ever been to China before, and
so they were inclined to believe that the bumboatman employed to supply
the crew with fresh fruit, bread, eggs, vegetables, &c. was guilty. But
Mr. Cope, who had made one visit to Hong-Kong before, scouted the idea.
He said that he had heard that the bumboatmen were above suspicion
in that direction, knowing that they would certainly be found out,
and when that happened they would forfeit all the money due to them
from the crew, for such was the law, besides getting a long term of
imprisonment. Mr. Cope, however, could find no reasonable explanation
of the source whence liquor could have come.
Then it was that Frank bethought him of the weird cry and the drifting
canoe, and going up to the skipper he told him of what he had seen, and
suggested modestly that there might here be found some explanation.
At that very time, and just as Frank had finished speaking, the cry
was heard again, quite softly but clearly, close under the bows. The
skipper rushed forrard and nipped over the bows, where he struck a
match, held it blazing for a moment, and then extinguished it. There
was silence for a moment or two, and then the grating of a boat against
the cable below, while a soft voice called up through the darkness,
“Wanchee samshaw, Johnny?”
“Yes, yes,” hurriedly whispered the skipper, “What thing wanchee for
one bottle?”
“You no catchee dolla, my takee shirtee, Climean shirtee good one,
shabee?”
“All right, John, I catchee,” whispered the skipper, lowering the end
of the jib downhaul; “you makee fast one bottle, I bring shirtee chop
chop.”
And away he went, hurriedly explaining the situation to the two
officers, and telling them to get each as big a lump of coal as they
could handle and bring it forward to him when he had got a shirt ready.
Then the obtained shirt was exchanged for a bottle, but as soon as the
latter was safely hauled up the two masses of coal, each weighing at
least half a hundredweight, were hurled down through the darkness on
top of the purveyor of madness. There was an awful crash and a yell,
then all was silence, as the skipper said with a sigh of relief, “I
hope there is one villain less in the world.” Indeed it seemed so, for
their utmost peering through the gloom could not descry a trace of
anything, even wreckage.
The bottle was taken aft and opened. Its contents stunk of all the foul
things imaginable, while as for the taste, no description of it would
be adequate.
“And this was the stuff those unspeakable asses forward have been
poisoning themselves with after buying it at such a rate. Well, well!”
said the skipper, “the folly of sailors is surely without limit. But,
thank God, that infernal devil will never poison a poor fool of a
sailor any more.”
“Indeed I don’t know so much about that,” said Mr. Cope. “It’s harder
to kill a Chinaman than a cat, and I shouldn’t be a bit surprised if
that fellow isn’t about again plying his vile business in a day or two.
But at any rate we know now, thanks to Frank’s keeping his weather eye
lifting, and others are not likely to come along here any more without
getting their due.”
“Yes,” went on Mr. Jacks, “that boy gets smarter and better every day.
I never saw a more likely lad, or one that shaped for a first-class
seaman more steadily than he does.”
“I’ll have a talk to him presently,” said the skipper; “meanwhile let’s
go and have a look at those poor fools in the forecastle, they seem to
have quieted down a bit now.”
So they went forward to the forecastle, and hearing only groans and
heavy breathing went in, to find the place a very slaughter-house,
reminding one more of a Roman arena after a gladiatorial show than
anything else. Fortunately no knives had been used, so that although
blood had flowed in a ghastly manner the wounds were only superficial.
But the bodies were nearly all naked, the clothes having been torn off
them in shreds, beards and hair had been torn out by handfuls, and--but
you can imagine what _would_ happen if a dozen homicidal maniacs were
suddenly turned loose upon one another, and further attempts at
description would be disgusting.
Captain Jenkins turned away from the miserable spectacle with a sigh,
feeling that he could do literally nothing at present until the fumes
of that horrible poison had died out of its victims. But he went and
found Frank and thanked him warmly for his help in locating the source
of the evil.
Then, as a sudden idea came to him, he led the young man forward
and showed him the forecastle, “Look at that, Frank,” he said, “and
remember it all your life. The poor sailor has many drawbacks to a
comfortable existence, but he has none greater than himself. And yet
he is much to be pitied. Don’t forget this when you come to be in
command, as I feel sure you will be; always remember that a sailor, in
a ship like this at any rate, needs to be protected against himself in
spite of himself, and, if you find a man who is all right, he deserves
and should get every encouragement that you can safely give him, and
you needn’t patronise him, which is of all things the treatment which
disgusts him. Now go and turn in, and don’t forget that what you have
done to-night has saved more trouble and suffering than you have any
idea of, to say nothing of the expense to the ship.”
And so they parted for the night, Frank feeling at least an inch
taller. But when Johnson asked him what on earth the old man had
been gassing about for so long and he told him, Johnson replied
discontentedly, “Some people have all the blessed luck.” As if luck
could have anything to do with the matter.
Oh, but she was a sad ship the next day. The condition of the crew
was too pitiful for words. Their injuries, severe as they were in
many cases, were as nothing compared with the state of their brains
and stomachs from the poison. The doctor paid his usual visit in
the morning when the forecastle had been cleansed a little and the
sufferers had got into their bunks. He gave it as his opinion that,
despite the proverbial toughness of the sailor, it would be fully a
week before any of them were fit for work again.
The skipper asked if nothing could be done officially to prevent
the possibility of such horrors. The doctor shrugged his shoulders,
saying, “The policing of this great harbour with its 30,000 of a
floating population ready for any deed of darkness which they may do
with impunity is hard enough, especially when you remember that one
side of it is Chinese territory, and the only thing that can be done
is to keep a good look-out. But I admit that all captains that are
new-comers should be warned of the possibility of such an occurrence as
yours. Which you certainly were not.” And he went away, leaving Captain
Jenkins both angry and sorrowful, but, with all a sailor’s cheery
optimism, ready to admit that it might have been a good deal worse.
Fortunately the ship was in very good order aloft, as the crew had been
employed there out of the way of the smother on deck since she came in,
and therefore the loss of their services was not so much felt. The
discharging went on steadily, and the ballast came in natural sequence
without any disturbance, so that by the time the crew were all fit
again the ship, except for the bending of her sails, was ready for her
passage across to Manila, where she was to load hemp for New York.
But as soon as it was evident that she was ready for sea, those men,
only newly risen from their bunks of pain, came aft and demanded the
usual twenty-four hours’ liberty and a month’s wages. This presented a
cruel problem to Captain Jenkins. He was no admirer of the system by
which alone among workmen the sailor is kept out of his money for a
period sometimes of two years, and then, getting it all in a lump, is
liable to be robbed of it in a lump, but he saw a great danger ahead
now. These men were obviously unfit to be trusted, for, if he was any
judge, he felt sure they would not profit a bit by the awful lesson
they had received.
But he felt bound to make the attempt, so he said, “Now, men, I am
quite aware that a day’s liberty and some money to spend is due to you
by the usual custom, and if you are bent upon having it I don’t feel
justified in driving you into any foolishness by refusing it. But you
know very well how ill you have all been through that filthy liquor
you bought so dearly. Now the same kind of stuff is obtainable ashore,
and if it drives you mad as it did before, you’ll get locked up and
have a very bad time, while I shall lose the services of as good a crew
as I’ve ever had. Don’t you think you’d better wait until we get to
Manila and have your liberty there? You’ll have had more time to get
thoroughly well.”
The two Britons at once growled out a reply that they wanted their
liberty, and the skipper, looking round upon the rest of them, saw only
sullen insistence upon their right in every face, so, angrily, but
feeling deeply sorry for the foolish fellows at the same time, he said,
“Very well, then, the starboard watch can go ashore to-morrow, and the
port watch the day after, Saturday. Come to me in the morning, you
starboard watch men, and I’ll give you your liberty money.”
The only reply was a series of satisfied grunts, conveying the idea
that he had tried to bluff them out of their rights, but he had found
he couldn’t do as he liked with them, and so on. So they parted, and
the skipper returned to his cabin and held a consultation with his
officers on the immediate probability of their having to get a new crew
of such wastrels and loafers as Hong-Kong usually affords. Nothing
could be done, though, but hope that the men would come aboard again
not more than ordinarily drunk; in their then surly condition of mind
evidently too much to hope for.
Why prolong this pitiful part of my story, the starboard watch went
ashore the next morning in the best rig they had, and although
they certainly did drop a few of their hard-earned dollars in the
curio-shops, it was not long before they got to the bad end of the
Queen’s Road, and had commenced an orgie which finally landed them
all in the lock-up in a most deplorable condition, the more so because
their stamina was still very low.
The news was brought off to the skipper, who received it with an
outburst of keenest sorrow, and immediately called the port watch aft
to hear what had become of their shipmates. And so far from it making
any favourable impression upon them, it seemed as if it only spurred
their appetite for such fearful joys, and a spokesman stepped forward
saying, “I s’pose you ain’t goin’ to stop the port watch’s liberty
because the starboard watch ’as got into chokey, sir?”
“Since you ask me,” responded the skipper, “that is just what I am
going to do. As I told you yesterday, I don’t want to lose a good lot
of men like you by giving in to your foolishness, and until I see
whether I can get the starboard watch back there’s no beach for you,
make up your mind to that. You’re just a pack of fools and idiots, and
must be treated as such.”
“All right, sir,” answered Micky, “that’s what you say; what I say is
that I don’t do another hand’s turn aboard this hooker until I have had
my liberty, and my watchmates say the same; don’t ye, boys?”
A fierce growl of assent clinched this outburst, and, turning sharply
round, the watch went forrard into the fo’c’sle.
I must digress for a moment to point out that such an occurrence as
this was by no means uncommon in the days I am writing of, twenty
years ago, and is certainly not unknown to-day. It serves to show
the peculiar character of the “deep water” sailor, and the difficulty
of dealing with him. The _Sealark_ was certainly not a bad ship,
and the crew were, as we have seen, very good men, but whether it
is the sight of land and the thought of its allurements, a sense of
irresponsibility, and an impatience of the long confinement, or some
such kindred feeling, I know not; I can only say that, incredible as
it must appear to landsfolk, men will and do act as I have described
without any provocation or other inducement than the prospect of a
debauch. And nothing is more likely to stir up this tendency to revolt
than the stoppage of liberty for any cause whatever.
The next morning the skipper went ashore, having first ascertained
definitely that the port watch were firm in their determination to
do nothing more unless they had their liberty, he being equally firm
in his refusal to grant it to them. He interviewed the authorities,
who informed him that his men had been so savage and had so severely
injured several Sikh policemen that fines would not satisfy justice,
and they must be imprisoned. Then he laid the case of his mutineers
on board before them, and it was decided that he must take a posse
of police on board and put the mutineers in irons if they still
persisted in their refusal and he was determined to take them to sea.
So he returned on board with the police, and the foolish men, after
being almost implored to be sensible for once, and being told of the
condition of their companions, and still remaining obstinate, were
ironed and placed in the after part of the ’tween decks with all sorts
of evil passions raging in their hearts at what they considered the
gross and shameful injustice of their treatment.
Then he had to go ashore again, taking with him the effects of the men
who were in prison, go through all the formality of paying them off
after duly deducting the charges he had been put to, and then go and
hunt up some more men. But here he found a difficulty, men appeared to
be very scarce, and in the end he was fain to be content with eight
Lascars, natives of India, who had been landed as shipwrecked men from
a sailing ship. He was distressed about this, but his duty to his
owners in the matter of getting the ship away compelled him to leave no
stone unturned for that purpose.
In the result he sailed on Monday morning with his swarthy recruits
doing very well, and the second mate was duly warned not to be too
severe in handling them, while the stubborn men down below aft, with
a spirit that nothing seemed able to quell, munched their bread and
drank their water of affliction and made no sign of being discontented
therewith. The ship, being in ballast, was fairly tender, and so he
(the captain) did not dare to carry a press of sail to the strong
breeze blowing, even had he been efficiently manned.
But a smart passage was quite out of the question anyhow, and he felt
a glow of satisfaction as he saw how capable were his Lascars and how
ardent his two senior apprentices. The two younger boys, unhappily,
were neither of them at all adapted for a sea life, and regarded
every opportunity afforded them for acquiring practical knowledge
as a hardship and an additional outrage upon their already offended
sensibilities. Which was a serious loss to them as well as an annoyance
to other people.
So the passage across progressed most favourably for the willing
workers, and Captain Jenkins’ hopes rose high that he should after
all be able to make so successful a voyage as would justify his
appointment, a matter that is usually, or was usually, a serious
consideration for every new-fledged skipper in those days. And to crown
his satisfaction, the day before they sighted Luzon the mate came to
him and said that the recalcitrant watch confined in the ’tween decks
had at last weakened, and expressed a wish to see the skipper.
He went down at once, and addressing them said, “Well, men, I hear you
have something to say to me. What is it you want to say?”
There was an uneasy movement among the pathetic little group, and then
the young Welshman, who had been the leader of the party of revolt,
said, “Beg ye pardon, cap’n, we’re ready to turn to.”
The skipper waited a few moments in case there should be anything
else, and then replied, “I’m glad to hear it. Don’t think I’ve had
any pleasure in seeing you suffer as you must have done, but if you
had gone ashore and behaved as the men of the starboard watch did
you’d be far worse off than you are. Now, I want to make a bargain
with you. If you’ll only go back to your work, and behave as you did
on the passage out, I promise you that neither my officers nor myself
will make any difference in our treatment of you from what you received
then, treatment that you said you were perfectly satisfied with. More
than that, although I have of course entered all this affair up in my
official log, I promise you it shan’t be mentioned again or charged
against you. But you must not think of going ashore at Manila, and you
must treat these Lascars properly whom I have had to engage instead of
the starboard watch, and who have behaved splendidly. I’ve put them all
on the starboard side of the fo’c’sle so that you needn’t mix, but I
will have them treated like men, for they are quite worthy of it. Is it
a bargain?”
“Yes, sir,” was the simultaneous answer. Whereupon the skipper, raising
his voice, shouted, “Mr. Cope, bring the key of these irons. The port
watch is resuming duty.”
So for once a difficult and dangerous situation was ended in a way
entirely satisfactory to all concerned. Alas! the causes where such
temporary aberrations of intellect on the part of our sailors have led
to widespread misery and awful crime have been only too common. And
most of their horrors might have been averted if only those in command
had been fully competent and firm. In such a case weakness is a crime,
but few there be among men who are judicially convinced of this most
fundamental fact or believe that justice impartially administered is
the truest mercy; or indeed know what justice is. But I must not pursue
this subject further. I would not have trenched upon it now but to show
how entirely good was the schooling my hero was receiving thus early in
his sea career, as I hope I have shown how capable he was of acquiring
the same.
Now all was peace and satisfaction on board the _Sealark_, for the
skipper gave orders that the released watch should be furnished with
an extra good meal before resuming duty--well he knew how gratefully
it would come to men who had been champing the dry biscuit which used
to be the sole bread of the sailor. And when they came on deck in the
afternoon, eager to take hold again, glad to feel the fresh breeze
blowing upon them, and glad also to sniff the briny air, they were
delighted to get the order from Mr. Jacks to make sail.
They sprang to his call, giving him as much pleasure as his saturnine
nature was capable of feeling, for he, like many others of his class,
had a positive hatred of niggers, as he called them all without
distinction, and preferred the rowdiest, most undisciplined crowd you
could find anywhere to a gang of willing, subservient dark men, who had
to be pushed and pulled and handled generally like a flock of sheep by
a shepherd without a dog. The chief officer, on the other hand, was
quite contented with his docile crowd, who not merely did the best
they were capable of, but were really good specimens of the seafaring
Indians, whose capacity is always highly spoken of by those who have
had the opportunity of commanding them.
Only twenty-four hours afterwards the good ship _Sealark_ sailed into
the bay of Cavité with as favourable wind and weather as could possibly
be desired, and anchored off the old city of Manila amid a goodly
company of sailing ships of all nations, and one Spanish steamer. Here
she lay in the most comfortable quarters, except for the fact that,
with the well-known carelessness and freedom from provision on the
part of the Spanish authorities, she was left alone for the remainder
of the day, until her skipper had almost fretted himself into a fever,
knowing well that he dare not go ashore until the authorities had given
him permission. But some men are like that, great emergencies find them
prepared and able, little things get on their nerves, irritating them
almost beyond endurance.
I feel, however, that of late I have been letting my favourite slip
into the background too much. He has been accorded his proper place
in the scheme of things though, occupying as he does an entirely
subordinate position in the ship, having a minor part to play, and
although playing it extremely well, not being of any supreme importance
to any one except his own immediate family and himself. Fortunately
Frank was one of those well-balanced youths who was not always dwelling
upon his position and wondering whether other people thought as well of
him as he deserved. And this freedom from introspection stood him in
splendid stead both at this time and afterwards, saving him much mental
trouble.
As regards his actual duties, I doubt whether he had ever been so happy
in his life. For the skipper had rigged a boat with a suit of sails
with that loving care that only a good sailor bestows upon a pet hobby.
Having made her complete, he asked Frank and Johnson whether either of
them knew anything about handling a boat under sail, and Frank, who had
been taught at Lytham, after waiting for Johnson’s denial, modestly
said he thought he would be able to do so now, having done it before he
came to sea.
So the skipper, to his intense delight, gave him charge of the
boat, with the two junior apprentices to teach also, and set him
free of all ship work whatever. It is a good long distance from the
anchorage off Manila into the “Canash,” as sailors will persist in
calling the carenage, and sometimes there is a very strong breeze,
necessitating three reefs, but Frank rose to the occasion and, like a
veteran boatman, handled the craft of which he had suddenly been made
commander. Moreover he drilled those two slack youngsters ruthlessly,
making them dress neatly, keep themselves clean, and practised them
at rowing until they behaved themselves in the boat as if they had an
object in life.
Now there may be better ways of making a boy self-reliant and
resourceful than giving him a boat to handle under sail where he is
likely to meet with bad weather occasionally, but I do not know of
them. And if in addition the boy is passionately addicted to the
sport, the rapidity with which he will acquire those qualities to which
I have alluded, and others, is amazing. The beauty of boat-sailing
is that the novice there learns that difficult art of feeling the
direction of the wind, that impalpable force which means so much to the
sailing craft in proportion to her size.
Hitherto, of course, Frank had been obliged to gather what little
knowledge he possessed of how to trim the yards to the wind by what
the second mate did while he was at the wheel. Now he was learning
practically, finding out how when he jammed her up into the wind she
drifted crabwise to leeward, and how he who was not too greedy of
stealing to windward, and never let his craft shake a stitch, was sure,
so long as he was not lavish, and let her swagger off the wind, to get
to windward of those would-be smarties who were always fancying they
could reverse the laws of mechanics, and imagining that they could
outpoint the wind.
Nor was this all. He learned here by practice how the trim of a vessel
affects her sailing powers, a law which applies equally to the ship’s
boat under sail and the 3000-ton four-master; learned how to dispose
of his crew of two to the best advantage, and to study the effect that
even their slight weight had upon the weatherly qualities of his boat
or her speed with a free wind. Also he learned to command; to give no
unnecessary orders, but to have such orders as he did give carried out
instanter, or else to visit with condign punishment the slack offender.
But there is no doubt that he was heavily handicapped by the character
of the two boys placed under his charge. They did nothing willingly.
The only thing that appealed to them was fear of a punching from him,
or of being reported to the skipper. Ideas of honour, truth, or honesty
they had none, and Frank, who could not understand them at all, had
to watch them like a warder watching convicts, or, when the boat was
waiting at the bund in the Canash for the captain, to exercise constant
vigilance lest they should run away into some of the filthy native
quarters and get into serious trouble.
By all of which I do not mean to suggest that Frank was anything of
a prig or a prude. He was essentially a manly boy, with a high sense
of trustworthiness, and while, if he were on liberty with fellows of
his own class and age, he would doubtless kick up his heels like a
young colt in a meadow, yet when in a position of responsibility he
was as sternly bent upon doing his duty to the best of his ability as
any man old enough to be his father. Of course captain and officers
noted this, and enjoyed it quietly, but after the manner of their kind
said nothing, only occasionally showing by their actions how much they
trusted him. And this only on his second voyage. True they were long
voyages, and the circumstances highly educational, but still we must
recognise the rapidity with which a lad of Frank’s type will rise,
given fitting occasion.
The time spent by the _Sealark_ in Manila was almost idyllic in its
peace and simplicity. The weather was all that could be desired, the
men were most tenderly handled by way of compensation for their
enforced abstinence from the dubious delights of what sailors always
term “the beach”; and owing to the complete division of the white
portion of the crew from the Lascars, there was no friction there
either. True, they had never yet been called to work side by side in
a position of danger or emergency, but in the daily work of the ship
harmony reigned. The ballast was discharged by native labourers, and
the hemp began to arrive all in most leisurely fashion, for when did
ever a Spaniard hurry except to fight.
But the chief thing was that no trouble ensued from either end of
the ship; and when at last the flag was run up to show that the last
bale of hemp was rammed into its place, and all that now remained
was to carry it to New York, although some of the white men forward
did certainly look longingly at the shore, there was no word of
grumbling at the inevitable decision of the skipper that no leave
should be granted. Johnson growled consumedly, telling Frank what a
shame he thought it that his junior should be so privileged, just
because he possessed a little knowledge of boat-sailing; but Frank
speedily appeased him by repeating his asseverations of the absolute
unattractiveness of the place, as far as he had been able to see it.
Besides, the cholera was raging, and it would have been constructive
murder to send fellows ashore on liberty in such a reeking hole.
Therefore, without any difficulty whatever, behold the _Sealark_ at
daybreak on a lovely Monday morning getting under weigh for her long
long passage, her crew singing lustily at the windlass brakes, but
without much concord, because the Lascars could not savvy English
singing, and yet would try to assist, with the strangest and most
unmusical results. The wind blew fair for the passage down the bay,
and the men, if not exactly satisfied, were at least resigned to what
they considered their loss of the pleasures (?) that Manila could
afford. And such good progress did they make that before dusk they had
passed out between the heads of the great bay, and saw the island of
Luzon fade away like a huge blue-black cloud in the dim and indefinite
distance. They got a fine offing, then the wind faltered and died
away to a dead calm. The vessel lay listlessly rolling upon the black
expanse of waters under a sky of deepest violet, while the stars shone
down upon the unreflecting waters like pin-points of white-hot metal
without a twinkle.
Then a strange transformation took place in that dark, placid sea. It
began to be streaked with greenish lambent light in ridges, and little
pools of glare appeared to rise from the inscrutable depths, so uncanny
that it seemed impossible to give them the name of light. There was
also a faint suggestion of rippling sound, as if the silken surface of
the ocean were being disturbed by sudden currents. This extraordinary
glare grew in intensity, until the awed observers noticed that the
lustre of the stars paled to a dead white, and the beautiful violet of
the sky, with its soft suggestions of after-glow, became of a velvety
blackness, such as those who sail in far northern seas are wont to
associate with the middle of the auroral arch.
Then through and through the growing whiteness of the sea there began
to run bands of brighter light, that marked the passage of the sea
creatures as they came and went in their never-ending quest for food.
And occasionally a series of ripples, untraceable to any cause, would
break against the vessel’s side, lighting it up with a ghostly glare,
and reflecting upon the faces of the onlookers with something of the
same effect which may be observed in a darkened room from the flare
of burning spirit in a dish. This wonderful appearance of the ocean,
which is known by the entirely inadequate name among sailors of a “milk
sea,” lasted about four hours, and then passed away as suddenly as it
had come, with no atmospheric disturbance following it except that
there was a gentle breeze sprang up from the northward, which gradually
freshened into a wind that carried the good ship along at the rate of
five knots an hour directly on her homeward course.
And now, as I have the interests of my young readers at heart, I must
pass very rapidly over the easy, eventless course of the next fifty
days. They were easy days, for the winds blew generally fair if light,
and the passage through the Sunda Straits, except for one terrific
thunderstorm, was unmarked by any difficulty. The crew were contented,
not too hard worked, but still kept fully employed during the watch
on deck in the daytime, and the upper gear of the ship was put in as
good repair as was possible to conceive of, the white men doing all the
sailorising, sail-mending, &c., and the Lascars doing all the cleaning,
scraping, &c., which demands not so much manual skill as patience and a
complete indifference as to the nature of the work the man is engaged
upon, an indifference which it is hard to find among men who put their
brains into their work, as good sailors should.
So that there was absolutely nothing worth chronicling throughout
the passage of the Indian Ocean, and even getting round the Cape
was unattended by anything more exciting than a strong wind, not
amounting to a gale. The only fact that I am obliged to record is that
Captain Jenkins took it into his head to invite Frank and Johnson
into the saloon in the second dog-watch to study navigation, and was
immeasurably surprised to find that they knew the theory of it almost
as well as he did. So he set them to practise with the sextant and
chronometer, until, as he declared, they were as well able to navigate
a vessel as he was.