Yes, there was Captain Snaggs, braced up against the poop rail in his
usual place, with one eye scanning the horizon to windward and the other
inspecting the sails aloft, and his billy-goat beard sticking out as it
always did. He looked as hearty as if nothing had happened, the only
sign that I could see of his drunken fit of the night before being a cut
across the bridge of his long hooked nose, and a slight discolouration
of his eye on the port side, the result, no doubt, of his fall on the
cabin floor.
Tom Bullover could read my doubts in my face.
"You must have dreamed it, Charley, I s'pose, on account of all that
talkin' we had in the fo'c's'le about ghostesses afore you went aft an'
turned in, an' that's what's the matter," he repeated, giving me a nudge
in the ribs, while he added more earnestly: "And, if I was you, my boy,
I wouldn't mention a word of it to another soul, or the hands 'll chaff
the life out of you, an' you'll wish you were a ghost yerself!"
Tom moved off as he uttered these last words with a chuckle, and
accompanied by an expressive wink, that spoke volumes; so, seeing his
advice was sound, I determined to act upon it, although the fear struck
me that Jones, the steward, would mention it even if I didn't, just to
make me the laughing-stock of the crew.
However, I had no time then for reflection; Captain Snaggs, as if to
show that he had all his wits about him still, calling out for the hands
forward to overhaul the studding-sail gear and rig out the booms; and,
by breakfast time, when the steward and I had to busy ourselves again in
the galley, the _Denver City_ was covered with, a regular pyramid of
canvas, that seemed to extend from the truck to the deck, while she was
racing through the water at a rate of ten knots or more, with a clear
sky above and a moderate sea below, and a steady nor'-nor'-west wind
after us.
At noon, when the captain took the sun and told us forward to "make it
eight bells," we learnt that we were in longitude 8 degrees 15 minutes
West, and latitude 49 degrees 20 minutes North, or well to the westward
of the Scilly Islands, and so really out at sea and entered on our long
voyage to California.
This fact appeared to give no little satisfaction to the crew, who
raised a chorus whenever a rope had to be pulled or a brace taughtened,
the fine weather and brighter surroundings making the sailors apparently
forget, with that sort of happy knack for which seafaring folk are
generally distinguished, all the rough time we had coming down Saint
George's Channel, when off the Tuskar, and the terrible events of the
preceding day.
That very afternoon, indeed, the last act that was to blot out poor Sam
Jedfoot's memory from the minds of all the hands took place, the skipper
ordering the usual auction of the dead man's effects to be held on the
fo'c's'le; when, such is the comedy of life, the very men who were so
indignant about the captain shooting him a few hours before now cut
jokes about the poverty of the darkey's kit, when his sea-chest was
opened and its contents put up for sale to the highest bidder!
Sam's banjo led to a spirited competition, Hiram Bangs finally
succeeding in becoming its purchaser for five dollars, which Captain
Snaggs was authorised to deduct from the American sailor's wages--
crediting it to the cook's account, should the dead man's heirs or
assigns apply for any balance due to the poor darkey when the ship
arrived in port.
The rest of the things only fetched a trifle; and, with the disposal of
his goods and chattels, all recollection of the light-hearted Sam, who
was once the life of the fo'c's'le, passed out of everyone's mind.
Hiram stowed the banjo away in his box, for he could not play it, and
had only bought it from its association with its late owner, who used to
make him, he said, merry and sad, `jest as the durned nigger liked,'
with the melody he drew from the now silent strings.
And yet, somehow or other, it seemed destined that Sam should not be so
soon forgotten, at least by me; for, in the evening, when I took in the
cabin dinner and remained to wait at table, in lieu of the steward, who
was too much occupied in cooking to come aft, Captain Snaggs brought up
the subject again.
He was in high spirits at the manner in which the ship was travelling
along, appearing to have quite recovered from his drinking bout; and
when I uncovered the dish that I placed before him, he made a joke about
it to the first-mate, who, according to custom, shared meals with the
skipper in the cuddy and always sat down the same time that he did, the
second-mate having to shift by himself, and eat when he had the chance
between watches.
"Guess thaar ain't no jalap in this lot, Flinders, hey?" said the
captain, with a snigger; "thet thaar cuss of a stooard would be too
skeart of my fixin' him same ez I done thet durned nigger to try on any
games, ye bet!"
"I reckon so, boss," replied the other, with his mouth full, stuffing
away in his usual fashion. "Ye potted the coon nicely, ye did; an'
sarved him right, too, fur meddlin' with the grub. I thought I wer
pizened sure!"
"An' so did I, by thunder!" echoed Captain Snaggs, bringing his fist
down with a bang on the table, that almost made Mr Flinders' plate leap
out of the `fiddle' in which it was placed, to prevent it from spilling
its contents as the ship rolled. "I did so, by thunder! I sw'ar, or
else I wouldn't a' shot the cuss. Them hands furrud thinks I'm going to
be sich a durned fool ez to call in at Bahia or Rio, an' make a
statement of the case, telling how the nigger got overboard; but ye
catch me stoppin' at any a port 'fore I drops anchor in 'Frisco. Ye
knows better ner thet, Flinders, hey?"
The first-mate sniggered sympathetically at this, expressing by a wink
his confidence in the skipper's promise to the men; and the two laughed
with much heartiness and fellow feeling over the credulity of those who
had been so easily satisfied, and gone back to their work, confidently
trusting in Captain Snaggs' word and honour.
A little later on, when the rum bottle was produced, the captain alluded
to his excess of the night before in the same jocular vein:--
"Must keep a kinder stiffer helm this evenin', Flinders," he observed,
helping himself to a tumblerful, and then passing on the bottle to the
mate; "guess I wer a bit sprung yesterday?"
"Aye, cap, ye hed y'r load," replied Mr Flinders, with a grin; adding,
however, in fear of the skipper taking offence: "Not mor'n ye could
carry, though. Ye scooted down the companion all right at eight bells."
"Thet's so," said the other; "but, d'ye know, Flinders, I wer flummuxed
up inter a heap when I got below, an' saw snakes terrible. I guess I
seed, too, thet air durned nigger, an' hed a notion he wer come back
agen to haunt me--I did so, Flinders, by thunder!"
"Ye must take keer, cap," responded the first-mate to this confession.
"If ye don't draw in a bit ye'll be hevin' the shakes, an' thet 'd never
do, I reckon."
"I guess not; but last night I wer kinder overcome with all the muss,
an' might jist hev swallerd a drop or so too much, I reckon. Good rum
can't hurt nary a one--thet is, in moderation, Flinders, strictly in
moderation."
So saying, Captain Snaggs helped himself to another stiff tumblerful;
and how many more glasses he had afterwards I could not say, as he
dismissed me just then, telling me I could go forwards when I had
cleared away the things--which I did in a jiffy, glad to quit the cabin
and its occupants.
On reaching the fo'c's'le, I found that the steward had, as I perceived,
told the men of my fright, and so I got finely chaffed about `Sam's
ghost.' The next day I was revenged, though; for, Jones spoiled the
crew's dinner, and got so mauled by the indignant sailors that he had to
beat a retreat back to the cabin, giving up thus ingloriously his brief
tenancy of the galley.
Hiram Bangs was then elected cook in his place by the hands, with whom
the captain left the matter, to settle it as they pleased; and, as the
good-natured Yankee selected me to be his `mate' or assistant, by this
means I was relieved of any further association with the Welshman, and
released from his tyranny, taking up my quarters thenceforth with the
crew forward.
The nor'-westerly wind lasted us right across the Bay of Biscay and down
to the Western Islands; and, we were only becalmed for a day or so, with
light, variable breezes between the Azores and Madeira, when we picked
up the nor'-east trades, which rattled us onward past the Canaries and
Cape Verde.
From thence, all went well on board, nothing eventful happening until we
were close up with the Equator, in latitude 7 degrees North, and
longitude about 28 degrees West, when, late in the evening of our
thirtieth day out, just as the man at the wheel had been relieved, and
the port watch, under charge of the first-mate, come on duty at `eight
bells,' I smelt something burning in the forepeak.
Looking to see what was the matter, I noticed a thin column of smoke
coming up from the small hatch under the fo'c's'le.
Of course, I went aft at once and told Mr Flinders, who would not
believe me at first; but, as one of the other hands followed me up,
bringing the same report, he was at length induced to descend the poop
ladder and go forward to judge for himself whether we had told the truth
or not, muttering the while, though, that it was "all a pack o' durned
nonsense!"
He did not think this long, however, for hardly had he got beyond the
long-boat, when the smoke, which had got much denser while he had been
wasting time palavering without taking action, blowing into his face
convinced him that the matter was really serious.
All his nonchalance was gone in a moment, as well as his discretion;
for, without pausing to consider the effect that any sudden disclosure
of the danger might have on the crew by destroying their coolness and
pluck, he roared out at the pitch of his voice, as he banged away with
the heel of his boot on the deck:
"All hands ahoy! Tumble up thaar! Tumble up! The shep's on fire in
the hold!"