A STORM--THE BOAT LOST--A DISCOVERY--HARRY SAVES DAVID'S LIFE--PUMPING--
THE STRANGE SAIL.
Another night began on board the wreck. The boys, however, saw nothing
unpleasant in the prospect. They had plenty of food and firing, their
clothes were dry, old Jefferies appeared to be recovering, and they
hoped he would be able to assist them in navigating the boat homeward.
They agreed that they would be up by daylight, and fit the boat with a
mast and sails and oars, besides loading her with as many provisions as
she could carry. They felt rather chilly, so they made up a fire, and
sat chatting over it quite comfortably, till they almost forgot they
were out on the ocean, no land in sight, in a dismasted vessel, and all
by themselves. Harry again broached the idea of carrying in the ship
herself, but David doubted whether they could manage to do so. Harry
then explained that they might form ury-masts out of a number of spars
lashed together, and that sails might be hoisted on these, fixed in
different parts of the deck.
"The rudder is in good order, so that we may just as easily find our way
to the land, and into port, I hope, in the ship, as in the boat; while
we shall be far more comfortable, and not much longer about it, I should
think," he remarked. "I only fear lest an enemy's cruiser should see
us, and either take possession of the brig, or burn her, and carry us
off prisoners."
"Not much chance of that, I should hope," answered David. "We should
not prove a prize of much value, after all."
"Oh, indeed! they would think it no small thing to capture a British
naval officer," remarked the young mid, drawing himself up to his full
height, which was not very great; "and I vote we do not give in without
a fight for it."
"But I only saw two guns on deck, and I do not think that we should be
able to work them, even if we can find powder and shot," said David.
"Oh, there is a store of both on board, depend on it, and if we put on a
bold face, we may drive off an enemy, provided he is not a very big
one," answered the midshipman.
Some time was occupied in these discussions. They then went on deck and
looked about them. Though a long slow swell swept as it were
occasionally across the ocean, the surface was otherwise perfectly
smooth; indeed, there was not a breath of air to disturb it, but a thick
mist hung over the sea, which prevented any objects from being seen even
at a short distance off. This was as likely to prove advantageous to
them as the contrary; and so, having taken a short walk on dock, they
went below, said their prayers, found that the old man was asleep,
turned in and followed his example. Harry knew perfectly well that,
according to strict discipline, a watch ought to have been kept, but he
and David agreed that, as there was a calm, they could not be run down,
and that the wreck was not likely to drift far from where they then
were, while it was clearly far pleasanter to be asleep than walking the
deck. Hitherto they had not had time to examine the hold or the fore
part of the vessel. This, however, they purposed doing in the morning.
Happy time of youth! They slept very soundly and comfortably, looking
forward with confidence to the future, and little dreaming what was to
happen. When people have been deprived of their night's rest, they
frequently sleep a very long time on a stretch. Harry was awaked by
David, who exclaimed--
"Dear me! the ship is tumbling about fearfully; the gale must have
sprung up again."
He then heard old Jefferies say, in a weak voice, "What, lads, are you
there? I was afraid that you had deserted the old man."
"No, no, we would not do that," answered David. "But I am afraid that
the ship must be shaken to pieces if this continues."
"If she has floated through one gale she may float through another. We
must trust in God," said the old man. "Ah me! I am very feeble. If we
couldn't put our faith in Him, we should be badly off indeed. I cannot
help myself, much less you."
Harry was by this time fully awake, and called David to follow him on
deck, to ascertain what was the matter. When David got there, he wished
himself below again. The gale had returned with tenfold fury, and the
helpless ship was driving before it, surrounded by high foaming and
roaring seas; the mist had cleared away, but the clouds were as thick as
ever, chasing each other across the sky. Nothing else was to be seen.
Mountain waves and dark clouds almost pressing down on their heads--no
sail in sight to bring them assistance. So violently was the ship
tossed about, that they could scarcely keep their feet, even by holding
on.
"Oh, the boat! the boat!" shouted David. Just before, they had seen her
still afloat, secured by the hawser, when a heavy sea, rolling towards
the ship, broke aboard the boat, and filled her in an instant. She rose
on the top of a high foaming sea, when the thwart to which the two ropes
were secured was torn out of her, and the next moment she sunk from
sight. The boys looked at each other for a minute or more without
speaking.
"We shall have to stick to the ship now, at all events," said Harry at
last.
"I hope that the ship will stick to us, and keep afloat, then," remarked
David.
"We'll sound the well presently, and see what water she has in her,"
said Harry. "In the meantime, let us go down into the hold, and see of
what her cargo consists. Much depends on that, whether or not she keeps
afloat. I want to have a look into the fore peak also; I cannot make
out why the vessel should have been deserted."
The main hatch was on, and as it would have been dangerous to lift it,
even if they could have done so, when any moment the deck might have
been swept by a sea, they worked their way on to the fore hatch. This
was not secured. They descended. It was some time before they could
see about them in the close, dark, and dirty abode of the seamen. On
either side were bed-places, one above another, with a few large wooden
chests below them, and jackets and trousers, and various other articles,
hanging up against the bulkhead. They observed nothing of consequence,
and as the atmosphere was stirring, they were about to climb up again on
deck, when a low groan was heard. Both were brave fellows, but it must
be confessed that their hearts sunk, and their first impulse was to
hurry up the ladder as fast as they could go. Again there was a groan.
They looked at each other. Was it a human voice? There could be little
doubt about that. Where could it come from? They stopped for a few
seconds, holding on to the ladder, to recover their composure. The
voice came from one of the berths; of that they were soon satisfied.
Just then Harry observed a small locker close to the ladder, and putting
in his hand found a candle and tinder-box. A light was soon struck; and
they approached the berth whence the groans had proceeded. It is not
surprising that they should have started back with horror. The dim
light of the candle fell on the ghastly features of a human being, who,
except that his eyes moved wildly, might have been taken for a corpse.
His beard was long and tangled, and blood, which had flowed from a
fearful gash across his brow, stained the blankets in which he was
wrapped. His eyes were staring wildly, his mouth was open. He seemed
at the point of death. Yet he was not dying of starvation, for within
his reach hung a bottle of water and a bag of biscuits. Why, however,
he had been deserted was a mystery which he himself seemed incapable of
solving. In vain Harry and David asked him. Not a word did he speak in
answer to their questions. He was, however, conscious of their
presence, they thought, by the way his eyes followed them as they moved
about the cabin. Had they discovered him before, they might have been
of some assistance to him, but they could not now even attempt to move
him into another berth. David, however, undertook to get some better
food from the cabin. Harry did not feel altogether comfortable when
left alone with the dying man. He looked so horrible, and the groans
which he uttered were so fearful. David seemed to be absent a long
time. He did not like to leave the wretched man, or he would have gone
to look for him. What could have become of David? The sea every now
and then washed with a loud sound across the deck. Could he have been
carried away by it? How dreadful the thought! He went back to the
dying man, and stood over him, hoping that he might return, to
consciousness. Suddenly the man sat up, and pointing with his thin hand
across the cabin, uttered a loud shriek, and sinking back was a corpse.
The young midshipman was left alone in the dark fore peak of the sinking
vessel. The sad thought came across him that perhaps he might be the
only living person on board. Old Jefferies was apparently on the point
of death, and perhaps David had been washed overboard. As he could be
of no use where he was, he determined to ascertain the worst, and
climbed up on deck, immediately closing the hatch again. He looked
about him. David was not to be seen. Even during the time he had been
below matters had grown worse--the ship was tumbling about more than
ever, and the seas, which rose high above the bulwarks, seemed every
instant about to engulf her. But where was David? He worked his way,
not without great danger of being carried overboard, to the companion
hatch, over which, stooping down, he shouted David's name. His heart
sank within him. There was no answer. "David! David!" he cried again.
"Oh, David, where are you?" Was his dear brave friend really gone?
Just then he observed that some rigging had been washed over the
starboard quarter, and he fancied that he heard a faint cry. From the
temporary position of the wreck, the sea ceased just then to break
aboard. Harry sprang aft, and there, clinging desperately to the
rigging, now almost under water, now lifted into the air, as the stern
of the ship was thrown upwards, he saw David. His friend recognised
him, but seemed unable to speak. Though Harry could not swim he could
climb well, and was strong and active. His immediate impulse was to
fasten a rope round his own waist, the other end secured round a
stanchion, and to spring towards David. "We will die together," he said
to himself as he did so, "or I will save him. May we be protected!" He
alighted on a spar close to David, whose arm he saw was caught by a
rope, from which he could not disengage himself. To do this without the
risk of his friend being washed away was no easy task. He succeeded at
length, however, in doing so, and by an effort, of which he would not
have thought himself capable, he scrambled up on deck again by means of
the tangled mass of ropes, and tattered sails and spars, which hung
overboard. Then, dreading that another sea would come and sweep them
back together into the seething ocean, they tottered to the companion
hatchway, down which Harry half dragged, half carried his friend,
closing the hatch above him. Scarcely had he done so than a tremendous
blow on the hatch, and the loud rushing sound of the water as it passed
over the deck, told them that another sea had broken aboard, which would
in all probability have swept them away to destruction. They fell on
their knees in thankfulness as they reached the cabin, that they had
been thus providentially preserved. They then went to the berth in
which old Jefferies lay. He was still too weak to move, but perfectly
sensible. They told him what had just occurred, and of the death of the
poor seaman whom they had discovered in the fore peak. He could not
conjecture why the man had been left there. The boys, however, thought
that, by examining all the papers, they might elucidate the mystery.
They feared, from the appearance of the poor stranger, that some foul
deed had been done on board. Now, however, they were more concerned
about themselves. The brig had hitherto withstood all the buffeting she
had received without apparently leaking much, but would she continue to
do so? Old Jefferies thought not. He had heard, he said, strange
sounds as he lay in bed, which he knew well proceeded from water forcing
its way into the hold, or rather from the air which was thereby forced
out--groans, and sighs, and low cries.
"Some people, when they hear these sounds for the first time, think that
the ship is full of ghosts and spirits, and that they are crying out
that she is going down," observed the old man. "But I know better. I
wish that I hadn't heard them, for they make me sad. Not for myself,
though, for I am well-nigh worn out, and that poor boy's death weighs
heavy on me. I daren't face his grandmother, and tell her that he is
gone. But, boys, I am sorry for you. You are young and full of life,
and there are many who love you on shore, and will mourn your loss."
"What, do you think that the ship is going down?" exclaimed Harry and
David together, in a very natural tone of dismay.
"It would be cruel in me not to tell you so, and I hope that you are
prepared to die, my boys," answered the old man. "Still I don't say but
that in God's mercy you may escape. A vessel may heave in sight in time
to take you off, or you may build a raft, and it may float you till you
are picked up. I don't say give in, but be prepared for the worst."
The boys listened calmly to what the old man said.
"We will hope for the best, rig the pumps, and try and keep her free,"
answered Harry.
"Not much hope of that, I fear," said the old man. "We can but try,"
exclaimed David. "Let us go on deck at once, and see what we can do."
"You may be washed overboard if you go now on deck," said old Jefferies.
"You must wait till the sea goes down again somewhat, and you may then
pump away with a will."
The latter part of this advice the boys agreed, after waiting some time,
to disregard. If the ship was sinking, the sooner the water could be
pumped out of her the better. They fancied, also, that she rolled less
than before. In spite of the old man's warnings, they once more,
therefore, found their way on deck. The state of the wreck seemed
almost hopeless, but, like brave boys as they were, they still kept to
their resolution of trying to pump out the water. They fortunately
found the brake of the pump, as the handle is called, and shipping it,
began to work away with might and main. The water quickly came up in a
clear, bright stream, which told too plainly, without their sounding the
well, the large amount of water which had either leaked in or found its
way below. They had left their coats and shoes in the cabin, everything
that would encumber them, in case they should be washed from their hold.
The waves rose up around them, the spray in dense showers dashing every
instant over their heads, and almost blinding them when it struck them
in the face. Still undaunted they stood at their post.
"This must tell," exclaimed David, as he watched the full stream flowing
from the pump. "If we get the ship clear, all may yet be well."
"It may be coming in faster than we are pumping it out," said Harry.
"Still it may keep us afloat till help comes."
"I am afraid that there is not much prospect of that," said David.
"Though, to be sure, we cannot be so very far from land, or those
screeching seagulls would not be hovering about us."
"They have powerful wings, and can fly a long way from land," observed
Harry. "Those come probably from the west coast of Ireland."
These remarks were made at intervals and by jerks, as it were, while
they stopped pumping for an instant to change their position. They were
encouraged to persevere, first, by believing that their efforts were
producing some effect on the amount of water in the ship, and then, by
observing that the sea was again going down. During one of these
intervals, when the wreck had been thrown higher up than usual, Harry
exclaimed, "A sail! a sail! she is standing this way."
The glimpse was momentary, and before David could catch sight of the
stranger the ship had again sunk into the trough of the sea. In vain
David looked out for the ship. Still Harry asserted that he was not
mistaken. After pumping for some time they were compelled to knock off
from fatigue. For fear of being washed away they lashed themselves to
the stump of the nearest mast, and thus secured they lay down on the wet
deck to rest. Again they rose bravely to their work, but each tune they
had to stop pumping they rested for a longer period, and continued
pumping after it for a shorter period.
David, at last, caught sight of the vessel Harry had seen, and was also
of opinion that she was approaching them. The hope of being saved,
which had never died, now grew stronger and stronger. Now, as the wreck
was lifted up the side of a sea, or the stranger mounted a foaming
billow, her whole hull was visible, and they saw she was a long, low
black schooner. Even at that distance Harry did not like her
appearance. To satisfy himself he went to the companion hatch, inside
of which a telescope was hung up. With it both he and David took a more
exact examination of the stranger, and came to the same conclusion.
"She is not an English craft, of that I am certain," observed Harry.
"She may be a privateer, but is more like those rascally pirates who
infest the West Indies and African coast, and used to be found down on
the Spanish main; she has a large crew, too, I see. Now, I suspect, if
we were to get aboard her the fellows would make us join them or walk
the plank. Still, it might be better to pretend to enter on board than
to go down with this wreck. What do you say?"
"If yonder craft is of the character you fancy, I say let us stick to
the wreck; but we will ask old Jefferies what he thinks about it--we
wouldn't leave him on any account; at the same time, if he wishes to go,
I should say that we ought to go."
"I agree with you," answered Harry. "Let us pump away till she gets
nearer, and then we will go and consult Jefferies."
The schooner approached, and a nearer view only confirmed the boys in
their opinion of her character. Why she came near the wreck it was
difficult to say. Another look through the spy-glass showed them a
number of men on board and several guns on her deck.
"I do not suppose they will trouble themselves about us unless we hail
them, and then, perhaps, they might endeavour to take us off the wreck,
but I am not quite certain about it," observed Harry. They were
standing while speaking inside the companion hatch, with their heads
just above it.
The schooner was coming up fast. Suddenly the ports nearest them were
opened, wreaths of smoke burst forth, and several shots whistled close
above their heads, one going through the bulwarks and ploughing up the
deck. Their impulse was to jump below. They could do nothing to help
themselves, but they hoped that the strangers would not continue to make
a target of them.
Jefferies had heard the shots, and wondered why they had been fired.
When they told him their suspicions, he advised them to keep below.
"I have my thoughts on the subject," he remarked. "Hark! they are
firing again; there! another shot struck the ship. If it was not for
the heavy sea running we should be worse off than we are. It is no easy
matter to take aim from the deck of a craft tumbling about as the
schooner must be. If it was, depend upon it there would be a score or
more sent into the brig between wind and water."
"But why should the schooner's people be so anxious to make a target of
the brig?" asked David.
"To sink her," answered the old man. "They think, if fallen in with,
she might tell a tale they don't wish to have known. That's my notion,
but I may be wrong."
"There they go again at it!" exclaimed Harry. "Two shots struck us.
Don't you think, David, that we had better go on deck and show
ourselves? They would scarcely try to sink the wreck if they found that
there were people on board, even though they might not take us off."
"The very reason that would make them still more anxious to send us to
the bottom. You had better not show yourselves," said the old man; but
the lads did not hear him, for they were already on their way on deck.