"North-east-and-by-east, three-quarters east."
"Is the boat--or whatever it is--still straight ahead, Mr Forbes?" I
inquired.
"Straight to a hair, sir," came the reply.
"Then keep her at that," I called to the helmsman. "Well there with the
braces; belay! Overhaul the main clew-garnets and get the sheet aft.
Roll up the awning aft here, some of you, and haul out the mizzen; then
jump aloft, one hand, and loose the gaff-topsail."
The ship was by this time astir and in a little flutter of excitement,
fore and aft, at the prospect of another break in the monotony of our
existence. Forecastle Jack is not, as a rule, very demonstrative; it
appears to be regarded as "bad form" to exhibit excitement under any
circumstances, or undue animation unless when confronted with some great
and sudden crisis. Then, indeed, his movements are as active and
springy as those of a cat; but, unless there is some pressing necessity
for nimbleness, Jack regards it as the correct thing and a duty he owes
to his own dignity to be deliberate of action. And, above all, whatever
the circumstances, there must be no exhibition of vulgar curiosity, no
eagerness, no enthusiasm, no astonishment while one of ocean's countless
mysteries is unfolding itself before his eyes; he must exhibit an air of
semi-contemptuous indifference, as who should say, "I am a seasoned
hand--a shell-back, and none of your beach-combers. I have long been
familiar with all the strange sights and sounds and vicissitudes to be
met with upon the broad ocean; for me the tale of them is exhausted; so
far as I am concerned there is nothing new under the sun, nothing so
strange or unexpected as to be capable of arousing my interest, nothing
that can astonish or disconcert me." The effect of this unspoken
tradition was apparent in the studied carelessness of the one or two
inquiries that were addressed to the man Joe, when at length he
descended from aloft and rejoined his mates on the forecastle-head. But
the indifference was only assumed; and as Joe--who, in his character of
first discoverer, was entitled to the privilege of unrestrained
loquacity--stated not only what he had seen, but also what he _now
fancied_ he had seen--his imagination rapidly supplying him with fresh
details even as he talked--his group of listeners gradually closed in
round him; questions were asked, conjecture was indulged in, and every
now and then the little conclave temporarily lost control of itself,
and, yielding to the sympathy and excitement that was quickening its
pulses, began to discuss eagerly the chances for and against some
possibility that had been advanced by one of its number. As for my
passengers, they were the slaves of no such code as that which
influenced the lads forward; they yielded at once and without restraint
to the feeling of solicitude and sympathy that was awakened within them
at the news of the waif ahead, with its possible freight of physical
suffering or still worse torment of mental anxiety, apprehension, and
hope deferred "that maketh the heart sick" and breaks down all but the
most stubborn courage, and fairly swamped me with eager questions and
suggestions that, while they exhibited very effectively the goodness of
heart of the speakers, were not of much practical value.
I succeeded at length in effecting my escape from these good people,
and, arming myself with the ship's glass, set out for Forbes' coign of
vantage--the fore-topmast cross-trees--to see what news the lapse of an
hour might enable me to discover. I found, however, that there was no
need for me to travel so far, for before I had mounted halfway up the
lower rigging I caught sight of the object of my quest quivering in the
hot air, upon the verge of the horizon straight ahead. I therefore
settled myself comfortably in the top, from which convenient platform I
made a minute and prolonged inspection of her.
It needed not a second glance through the powerful instrument I wielded
to assure me that the object ahead was indeed a boat, and that she
carried a spar of some sort on end with something fluttering from it--
whether sail or signal I could not tell, for the rarefied air through
which I viewed her so distorted her shape and proportions that it bore
as much resemblance to the one as to the other; but, if a sail, it was
certainly doing no good, for I could see by the peculiar lift and flap
of it that both tack and sheet were adrift. As to whether she had any
occupants or not, I could not for the life of me determine; for although
I remained aloft there in the top for a good half-hour, with my eye
glued to the telescope all the while, only once did I detect what had
the appearance of something moving on board her; but the sight was so
transitory and unsatisfactory that I might easily have been mistaken.
However, we had by this time neared her to within some five miles; so,
as another hour would decide the question, I determined to possess my
soul in patience until then, and accordingly closed the telescope, slung
it over my shoulder, and returned to the deck. As I wended my way down
the ratlines I noticed two of the men--who were now supposed to be
busily engaged in clearing up the decks after the work of the day--
standing halfway up the topgallant forecastle ladder, and staring so
intently ahead that they were altogether oblivious of my close
proximity, from which I concluded that the boat must be already visible
to them. As I swung myself out of the rigging on to the deck I heard
one of them exclaim to the other--
"There, did ye see that? I swear I saw somebody get up and wave his
hand, and then fall back again into the bottom of the boat!"
This description answered so accurately to what I thought I also had
seen through the glass, that the doubts I had hitherto entertained as to
the presence of people on board the boat now began to yield to the
belief that there were, especially as the man who had just spoken bore
the reputation of being the keenest-sighted man in the ship. I held my
peace, however, and made my way aft to the poop, where Sir Edgar and his
party--himself and the two ladies armed with binoculars--were still
assembled, eagerly scanning the horizon ahead.
"Oh, captain," exclaimed Lady Emily, as I joined the little group, "is
it really true that there are shipwrecked people in that little boat?
You have been up there watching it for so long through your telescope
that you will be able to tell us for certain."
"I am afraid I cannot do anything of the kind," answered I. "It is true
that for a single moment I thought I detected a movement of some kind on
board her; but, if so, it was not repeated, and I therefore scarcely
know what to think. However, we shall soon know now. Of one thing I
feel sure, and that is that, if there are any people in that boat, they
must be in the last stage of exhaustion, or a better lookout would have
been maintained, our proximity discovered, and some effort made ere now,
either to reach us or to attract our attention."
"Do you mean that you think it possible there are people actually
_dying_ in that boat?"
"If she really contains any human beings it would not in the least
surprise me were we to find them in that condition; dying, too, one of
the most dreadful deaths that man can be called upon to endure, a slow,
lingering agony--the indescribable, maddening torment of long-continued
hunger and thirst," said I.
"Oh, what an awful possibility to contemplate!" murmured her ladyship,
her face blanching at the picture my words had conjured up. "Poor
creatures! how frightful to think that--"
"By Heaven, there _is_ at least one living being in that boat!"
interrupted Sir Edgar, excitedly, as he lowered his binoculars and
turned to me. "See, captain,"--looking again toward the boat--"you can
distinguish him with the naked eye."