"Well, sir, you see, I was a boy once, and I was born with a lot of
human natur' in me, and I never got rid of it, and I am afraid I never
shall. There, go on, sir," whispered Joe. "Pitch it into him at once."
Rodd moved towards the skipper as he came up, and as the latter looked
at him inquiringly he began--
"You heard what my uncle said, captain?"
"What about, my lad?"
"Letting me have some powder to play with."
"Ay, ay! But you don't want that?"
"Oh, I don't know. I wish you would have a canister and let the men
load the gun properly."
"Eh?"
"It would be like practice."
"Well, that's true. But it would be only waste of powder; and I'm not
going to waste any of the cannon balls."
"No, I don't want you to do that."
"Besides, I don't want to use either of the powder-bags, and they're
made for a regular charge."
"Beg pardon, sir," cried Cross. "Might make small charges up with a
snuff of powder wrapped up in paper; and then I could prick and prime."
"Um-m-m!" the captain growled, and frowned, while the gun crew stood
with parted lips, looking as eager as so many boys on the Fifth of
November. Then the captain grunted.
"There, Mr Rodd," he said, "it will be a bit of practice for the lads,
and it won't please you, of course. You don't want to see the gun
really fired?"
"Oh, I have seen salutes fired, at Plymouth."
"Ah, so you have, of course, my lad. But those are bangs, and this
would be a bit of a whiff."
"That doesn't matter," said Rodd. "It will be real, and not pretending
to fire."
"Very well," said the captain, smiling grimly. "Maybe you'd like to
fire?"
"Yes, I should," cried Rodd. "No; let Joe Cross and the other men do
that. I'll stand aside."
There was a little more discussion, quite in opposition to ordinary
drill, while the skipper went below and then returned with a pound
gunpowder canister painted red.
"I say, look here, Chubb," cried the doctor. "Shall I have to move?"
"Oh no, sir; we shan't shoot you," replied the skipper grimly. "You'll
be safe enough, unless the long gun bursts. But she's too new and
strong for that. Here you are, Cross. Make that into four charges."
The speaker was in the act of passing the canister to the man, when the
look-out man from forward suddenly shouted--
"Sail ho!"
"Where away?" cried the captain. "About five points off the starboard
bow, sir. Leastwise, sir, it aren't a sail. It's a big boat, bottom
upwards and just awash."
"Stop a minute," cried Rodd. "I'll fetch our glass."
"Bring mine too, my lad," cried the captain, and Rodd raised his hand in
token of his having heard the order, as he dashed to the cabin hatch, to
return directly after and find that his uncle was forward along with the
skipper scanning the object about a quarter of a mile away.
"Catch hold, uncle," cried Rodd, and he held out the telescope with one
hand, and the captain's big mahogany tubed spy-glass, decorated with
coloured flags, with the other.
"No, focus it and use it yourself, boy. I'll have a look afterwards."
Rodd raised the glass at once to his eye, but by this time the skipper
had caught the object, and began to growl remarks.
"Capsized long-boat," he muttered. "No, it's a fish--sick whale, I
think. But I don't know. It's moving pretty well through the water.
What do you make of it, my lad?"
"It's very big and long," cried Rodd excitedly, "and it may be part of a
whale's back just showing above the water. I don't know, though. I
never saw a whale swimming before. Here, I know! I think it's five or
six porpoises swimming one after the other and close together."
"Nay!" growled the captain. "It's something--"
"It's gone!" shouted Rodd. "Oh, uncle, I wish you'd seen it. It seemed
to sink down out of sight all at once."
"'Cause it didn't like to be looked at, sir," whispered Joe Cross. "But
look out, sir," he cried eagerly. "There it is again, a little farther
off."
"Have a look, doctor," said the skipper, passing the glass to Uncle
Paul.
"Is it a whale?" asked the doctor.
"Nay, that's no whale, sir," replied the captain. "A whale don't go
under water like that when she sounds. Down goes her head, and she
throws her flukes up in the air."
"Then what is it?" cried Uncle Paul, with the glass now glued to his
eye. "It's something very big. Yes, I can see plainly now--
blackish-grey, and shiny as if slimy. It seems to undulate, for one
minute the back seems to be only a few feet long, then three or four
parts are above the surface at once, as if the creature were twenty or
thirty feet long."
"Yes, sir; I can see that with the naked eye.--Nay, nay, sir; you keep
the glass. It's more in your way than mine. Seems to me as if we have
hit a curiosity for you, only it's rather too big to tackle."
"I think it's a great snake," cried Rodd excitedly. "I mean, a very
large eel, swimming on the top, and he keeps throwing his head about as
if he were feeding in the middle of a shoal of fish."
"Yes, it is something like that, Rodd," said the doctor; "but no conger
eel could be as large as that, and really I don't know."
"Sea-sarpint, sir," whispered Joe Cross to Rodd, and looking longingly
at the glass the while.
"Nonsense!" cried Rodd. "Here, you have a look, Joe," and he passed the
glass to the sailor. "Now then," he said, "what do you make of it?"
"I say sea-sarpint, sir." The captain growled more deeply than ever.
"Sea-sarpint!" he said, in a tone of disgust. "There, hold your tongue,
my lad. You're a naturalist, doctor; you haven't got no sea-sarpints in
your books, have you?"
"No," replied the doctor, handing the glass to one of the men, as he
caught his longing eye. "But this must be a very curious fish, and it
is evidently feeding. I wish it were coming this way, so that we could
have a better view."
Joe Cross lowered the boy's glass and looked questioningly at Rodd,
giving at the same time a wag of his head in the direction of the
nearest man.
"Yes, let him have a look," said Rodd hoarsely, and as the glass was
passed the boy caught the sailor by the sleeve, and whispered, making
Joe start and gaze at him inquiringly, before stooping down and giving
his thigh a slap with his right hand.
"Ay, ay, sir!" he whispered. "Ask the skipper."
"Ask the _captain_ what?" said the skipper sharply.
"I have been thinking, Captain Chubb," panted Rodd. "Have the long gun
loaded with a ball, and let the men try and hit that thing. 'Tisn't
above a quarter of a mile away."
"Eh? Have a shot at it, my lad?" said the captain, staring, and then
shading his eyes to watch the object that was gliding along, making the
water ripple strangely, while all around it was in violent ebullition,
betokening that a large shoal of fish was feeding there. "Well, I don't
know. What do you say, doctor?" continued the speaker. "I don't say
that the lads could hit it, but they might."
"Certainly," said the doctor eagerly. "Try."
There was no occasion to give orders for a ball to be fetched up. Joe
Cross and Rodd had darted off together, plunged down the hatchway, and
were back again in an incredibly short space of time, the sailor
carrying the ball, while Rodd had snatched up three or four big sheets
of paper from off one of the laboratory lockers, and then as rapidly as
possible a good charge of powder was emptied into one of the sheets, the
gun's crew fell into place and rammed the charge home in the most
business-like manner, the ball followed, Joe Cross thrust the pricker
down into the touch-hole and primed, while another of the men ran with a
piece of slow match to the cook's galley, where the water was being
boiled for tea.
Everything was done skilfully and with speed, while all on deck were in
a state of profound excitement and dread lest the great creature should
disappear from sight and rob the spectators of their looked-for sport.
"Oh, do be quick!" cried Rodd.
"Yah-h-h!" came in a groan, for as the words left the boy's lips there
was a violent ebullition where the great serpent or whatever it was had
been playing, the beautiful ripple of the shoal of fish died out, and in
the fast-fading light of the evening the sea all around lay gleaming and
grey, as it gently heaved, with no other movement now.
"Oh, what a pity we were so long," said Rodd dismally. "I believe we
should have hit it. I am disappointed!"
"Well, so am I, if you come to that, Rodd, my boy," said the doctor,
"though I don't think the men could have made a successful shot. You
see, it requires a great deal of practice to hit an object like that
with a big gun."
"Whatever it was," growled the captain, "it was feeding on that shoal of
fish, and when it made that dash it scared the lot away. There it is
again! You, Joe Cross, take a good long careful sight. Don't hurry.
Slow and sure. My word, you ought to hit that, my lad! It's a big 'un
and no mistake. Silence there! Every man in his place. Slew the
muzzle round a little more. Ready, Cross?"
"No, sir; want to lower a little;" and as he spoke the sailor thrust in
one of the wedges a trifle. "That's about got it, sir."
"Looks as if he'd come to stay, doctor," said the captain excitedly, as
he bent down to glance along over the gun's two sights, for the shoal of
fish had risen once more, turning the beautiful smooth sea into a
diaper-like pattern, while the strange object seemed as far as they
could make out to be making a snatching dart here and another there,
seeming to be like some whale-like creature with a long neck.
"Now she's steady, sir," whispered Joe Cross huskily, after taking the
captain's place for another sight. "It's as near as I can get, sir. If
you'll give me the word."
As he spoke the sailor drew back slightly, the captain cried "Fire!" and
with a heavy, sharp crack a puff of white smoke darted from the muzzle
and began to expand forward like a grey balloon, obscuring everything
from the sight of the lookers-on for about a minute, before it rose
clear, and then the darkening sea was all grey once more.