To awake "all at sea"--in other words, ignorant of one's locality--is a
rather common experience, but to awaken both at and in the sea, in a
similar state of oblivion, is not so common.
It was the fortune of Robin Wright to do so on the first morning after
the day of the wreck.
At first, when he opened his eyes, he fancied, from the sound of water
in his ears, that it must have come on to rain very heavily, but, being
regardless of rain, he tried to fall asleep again. Then he felt as if
there must be a leak in his berth somewhere, he was so wet; but, being
sleepy, he shut his eyes, and tried to shut his senses against moisture.
Not succeeding, he resolved to turn on his other side, but experienced
a strange resistance to that effort. Waxing testy, he wrenched himself
round, and in so doing kicked out somewhat impatiently. This, of
course, woke him up to the real state of the case. It also awoke Slagg,
who received the kick on his shins. He, delivering a cry of pain
straight into Sam Shipton's ear, caused that youth to fling out his
fist, which fell on Stumps's nose, and thus in rapid succession were the
sleepers roused effectually to a full sense of their condition.
"It's cold," remarked Stumps, with chattering teeth.
"You should be thankful that you're alive to feel the cold, you
ungrateful creetur," said Slagg.
"I _am_ thankful, Jim," returned the other humbly, as he sought to undo
the rope that held him fast; "but you know a feller can scarcely express
thanks or--or--otherwise half asleep, an' his teeth goin' like a pair o'
nut-crackers."
"The wind is evidently down," remarked Sam, who had already undone his
lashings. "Here, Robin, help me to untie this corner of the sail. I
had no idea that sleeping with one's side in a pool of water would make
one so cold and stiff."
"If it had bin a pool, Mr Shipton," said Slagg, "it wouldn't have made
you cold; 'cause why? you'd have made it warm. But it was the sea
washin' out and in fresh that kep' the temperater low--d'ee see?"
"What a cargo o' rheumatiz we've been a-layin' in this night for old
age," said Stumps ruefully, as he rubbed his left shoulder.
Throwing off the sail, Sam stood up and looked round, while an
exclamation of surprise and pleasure broke from him. The contrast
between the night and morning was more than usually striking. Not only
had darkness vanished and the wind gone down, but there was a dead calm
which had changed the sea into a sheet of undulating glass, and the sun
had just risen, flooding the sky with rosy light, and tipping the summit
of each swell with gleaming gold. The gentle, noiseless heaving of the
long swell, so far from breaking the rest of nature, rather deepened it
by suggesting the soft breathings of slumber. There were a few gulls
floating each on its own image, as if asleep, and one great albatross
soared slowly in the bright sky, as if acting the part of sentinel over
the resting sea.
"How glorious!" exclaimed Robin, as, with flashing eyes, he gazed round
the scarce perceptible horizon.
"How hard to believe," said Sam, in a low voice, "that we may have been
brought here to die."
"But surely you do not think our case so desperate?" said Robin.
"I hope it is not, but it may be so."
"God forbid," responded Robin earnestly.
As he spoke his arm pressed the little bible which he had rescued from
the wreck. Thrusting his hand into his bosom he drew it out.
"Darling mother!" he said, "when she gave me this she told me to consult
it daily, but especially in times of trouble or danger. I'll look into
it now, Sam."
He opened the book, and, selecting the verse that first met his eye,
read: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his
presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and
he bare them and carried them all the days of old."
"That's a grand word for us, isn't it?--from Isaiah," said Robin.
"Well, what do you make of it?" asked Sam, whose religious education had
not been attended to as well as that of his friend.
"That our God is full of love, and pity, and sympathy, so that we have
nothing to fear," said Robin.
"But surely you can't regard that as a message to us when you know that
you turned to it by mere chance," said Sam.
"I do regard it as a special message to us," returned Robin with
decision.
"And what if you had turned up an entirely unsuitable or inapplicable
verse?" said Sam.
"Then I should have concluded that God had no _special_ message for us
just now, but left us to that general comfort and instruction contained
throughout the whole word. When, however, special comfort is sought and
found, it seems to me ungrateful to refuse it."
"But I don't refuse it, Robin," returned Sam; "I merely doubt whether it
is sent to us or not."
"Why, Sam, _all_ the bible was sent to us for comfort and instruction."
"True--true. I have not thought much on that subject, Robin, but I'll
try to believe at present that you are right, for we stand much in need
of strong hope at all events. Here we are, none of us knows how far
from the nearest land, with little food and less water, on a thing that
the first stiff breeze may knock to pieces, without shelter and without
compass!"
"Without shelter and compass, Mr Shipton!" said Jim Slagg, who had
hitherto listened in silence to the conversation; "why, what d'ye call
this?" (taking hold of the sail). "Ain't that shelter enough, and
won't the sun guide us by day and the stars by night. It seems to me
that you are too despondin', Mr Shipton."
"Don't `mister' me any more, Slagg. It was all very well aboard ship
where we had our relative positions, but now we are comrades in
distress, and must be on an equal footing."
"Very good," replied Slagg, looking round in his comrades' faces, and
raising his voice as if making a speech. "Bein' equal, as you say, I
takes the liberty o' callin' a general meetin' o' this free and--if I
may be allowed the expression--easy Republic. Moreover, I move myself
into the chair and second the motion, which, nobody objectin', is
carried unanimously. Gentlemen, the business of this here meetin' is to
appoint a commander to this here ship, an' what could be more in
accordance with the rule o' three--not to mention the rules o' four and
common sense--than a Shipton takin' command. Who's goin' to make the
first reslootion?"
Entering into the spirit of the thing, Robin moved that Samuel Shipton
be appointed to command the ship and the party, with the title of
captain.
"And without pay," suggested Slagg.
"And _I_ move," said Stumps, who was just beginning to understand the
joke, though a little puzzled by the fact that it was done in earnest,
"I move that Robin Wright be first leftenant."
"Brayvo, Stumps!" cried Slagg, "your intellec' _is_ growin'. It on'y
remains to appoint you ship's monkey and maid-of-all-work--specially
dirty work--and, then, with a hearty vote o' thanks to myself for my
conduct in the chair, to vacate the same an' dissolve the meetin'."
These matters having been satisfactorily settled, the castaways
proceeded to prepare breakfast, and while this was being done the
recently appointed captain looked once more anxiously round in the hope
of seeing the large raft with their late shipmates on it, but it was not
to be seen. Neither raft, ship, nor any other sign of man wos visible
on all the glittering sea.
Breakfast was not a tempting meal. The biscuits were, indeed, as good
as ship's biscuits ever are, and when moistened with sea water formed a
comparatively pleasant as well as strengthening food; but the barrel of
pork was raw; they had no means of cooking it, and had not yet
experienced those pangs of hunger which induce men to luxuriate in
anything that will allay the craving. They therefore breakfasted
chiefly on biscuit, merely making an attempt, with wry faces, to swallow
a little pork.